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MAURUSJOKAI 
 
 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 B novel 
 
 TRANSLATED BY 
 
 FRANCES A. GERARD 
 
 NKW YORK AND LONDON 
 HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS 
 
 1S98 
 
^ 0-4' (JiJrcbLLy^ 
 
 Copyright, 1896, by Harpek & Brother,'- 
 
 All rights reserved. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAI'TEK PAGE 
 
 I. A Black Place ] 
 
 II. The Slave of the Black Diamonds .... ii 
 
 III. The iMAN-E.\TER 27 
 
 IV. A Modern Alchemist. ... 35 
 
 V. The Doctor 50 
 
 VI. Countess Theudelinde 63 
 
 VII. The Countess's Album 79 
 
 VIII. The Exorcist 95 
 
 IX. "An Obstina'ie Fellow " ...... 132 
 
 X. The Higher Mathematics 146 
 
 XI. Soirees Amalgamantes 155 
 
 XII. Ritter Magnet . 166 
 
 XIII. Only a Trifle 189 
 
 XIV. Thirty-three I'art.^ 207 
 
 XV. Two Points , 225 
 
 X\ 1. Good-bye 232 
 
 XVn. The Last Rehearsal 245 
 
 XVIII. Financial Wisdom 253 
 
 XIX. Filthy Lucre 259 
 
 XX. No, Eveline ! . . 278 
 
 XXI. Respect for Halina Cloth 291 
 
 XXII. Two Suppliants. 301 
 
iv CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XXin. Financial Intrigue 312 
 
 XXIV. The Bondavara Railway . . . .• 317 
 
 XXV. The Poor Dkau Prince 324 
 
 XXVI. Dies 1km 327 
 
 XXVII. From the Sublime to the Ridiculous . 348 
 
 XXVIII. Two Children 352 
 
 XXIX. I.mmaculate ... ... .... 357 
 
 XXX. Man and Wife 365 
 
 XXXI. Eva Dirkmai 373 
 
 XXXII. Crushed -378 
 
 XXXIII. Charcoai 387 
 
 XXXIV. Csanta's Las 1 Will and Testament . . . 395 
 
 XXXV. The Ground Hurfs under His Feet. . . 401 
 
 XXXVl. Child's Play .406 
 
 XXXVII. Eureka 411 
 
 XXXVIII. At Par 419 
 
 XXXIX. The Underground World. . . . 428 
 
 XL. Angela is Even with Ivan 442 
 
 XLI. How Ivan Mourned 450 
 
 XLII. EviLA ... 453 
 
 XLIII. The Diamond Remained always a Diamond 459 
 
BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 CIIArTER I 
 A BLACK PLACE 
 
 We are in the depths of an underground cavern. It 
 is bad enouirh to be underjiround, but here \ve are all 
 enveloped in black as well : the ceiling is black, so are 
 the walls ; they are made of blocks of coal. The floor 
 is one great black looking-glass. It is a sort of pond, 
 polished as steel. Over this polished surface glistens 
 the reflection of a solitary light, the light of a safety- 
 lamp shining through a wire net. 
 
 A man guides himself over the pond in a narrow 
 boat. By the doubtful light of the lamp he sees high 
 pillars, which rise out of the depths below and reach to 
 the very roof of the cavern — pillars slender, like the 
 columns of a ]\Ioorish palace. These pillars are half 
 white and half black; up to a certain point only are 
 they coal black, beyond that they are light in color. 
 
 What are these pillars ? 
 
 They are the stems of pines and palm-trees. These 
 gigantic stems are quite at home in the layers over the 
 coal-mine, but how have they descended here ? They 
 belong to another world — the world of light and air. 
 
2 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 The coal layers overhead sometimes take fire of them- 
 selves, and the fire, being intense, has loosened the hold 
 of these giants and sent them below. 
 
 Coal-pits kindle of themselves often, as every novice 
 knows, but in this case who extinguished the flames? 
 That is the question. 
 
 The solitary occupant of the rudely shaped boat or 
 canoe goes restlessly here and there, up and down. He 
 is a man of about thirty years, with a pale face and a 
 dark beard. His firmly closed lips give him an expres- 
 sion of earnestness, or strong, decided will ; while his 
 forehead, which is broad, with large bumps over the eyes, 
 shows that he is a deep thinker. His head is uncovered, 
 for here in this vault the air is heavy, and his curly 
 black hair is in thick masses, so that he needs no cover- 
 ing. 
 
 What is he doing here ? 
 
 He drives his boat over the black looking-glass of the 
 lake; round and round he goes, searching the black 
 walls with anxiety, his lamp raised in his disengaged 
 hand. Does he imagine that a secret is hidden there ? 
 Does he think that by touching a spring, and saying 
 "Open Sesame," the treasure hidden there for hundreds 
 of years will spring forth ? 
 
 In truth, he does find treasures. Here and there 
 from the black wall — weakly constructed in some places 
 by Nature's hand — a piece of stone loosens itself — upon 
 it the impression of a leaf belonging to a long-ago-ex- 
 tinct species. A wonderful treasure this ! In other 
 places he comes upon unknown crystals, to which 
 science has not as yet given a name ; or upon a new 
 conglomeration of different quartz, metal, and stone — a 
 silent testimony to a convulsion of Nature before this 
 world was. All these witnesses speak. 
 
A BLACK PLACE 3 
 
 ^The pillars, too; over them the water of the pond 
 has by degrees formed a crustation of crystals, small, but 
 visible even without a glass. This, too, gives testimony. 
 The pond is in itself wonderful. It has ebb and 
 flow : twice in the day it empties itself ; twice in the 
 day it fills. The water rushes in leaps and bounds, 
 joyously, tumultuousl}^, into this dark, sullen vault ; fills 
 it higher, higher, until it reaches the point on the pil- 
 lars where the color changes. There it remains, some- 
 times for two hours, stationary, smooth, and placid as a 
 glass. Then it begins to sink, slowly, surely, until it 
 vanishes away into the secret hiding-places from whence 
 it has come. Curious, mysterious visitor ! The man 
 in the boat knows its ways ; he has studied them. He 
 waits patiently, until, with a sullen, gurgling sound, as 
 if lamenting the necessit}^ the last current of water 
 vanishes behind a projecting mass of coal. Then he 
 hurriedly casts off his coat, his shoes, his stockings ; 
 he has nothing on but his shirt and trousers. He fas- 
 tens round him a leather pocket, in which is a hammer 
 and chisel; he takes his safety-lamp and fastens it to 
 his belt ; and, so equipped, he glides into one of the 
 fissures in the black rock. He is following the vanish- 
 ing stream. He is a courageous man to undertake such 
 a task, for his way lies through the palace of death. It 
 needs a heart of stone to be there alone in the awful 
 silence. It is a strong motive that brings him. He is 
 seeking the secret which lies under seven seals, the 
 treasure which Nature has concealed for thousands of 
 years. But this man knows not what fear is. He re- 
 mains three hours seeking. If he had any one — a wife, 
 a sister, even a faithful servant, who knew where he 
 was, what danger he was in, how their souls would have 
 gone out in agony of fear for what might happen ! 
 
4 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 But he has no one ; he is alone — always alone. There 
 is no one to weep for his absence or to be joyful at his 
 coming ; his life is solitary, in the clear air of daylight as 
 well as in the depths of the cavern. 
 
 The vanished stream is as capricious as a coquettish 
 maiden, as full of tricks and humors. Sometimes it 
 does not show itself for three or four hours ; at other 
 moments it comes frolicking back in one, and woe to the 
 unfortunate wight who is caught in its embrace in the 
 narrow windings of the coal-vault ! But this man knows 
 the humors of the stream; he has studied them. He 
 and it are old acquaintances ; he knows the signs upon 
 which he can depend, and he knows how long the pause 
 will last. He can gauge its duration by the underground 
 wind. When it whistles through the clefts and fissures, 
 then he knows the stream is at hand. Should he wait 
 until the shrill piping ceases, then he is a dead man. 
 
 In the darkness a ghostly sound is heard — it is like a 
 long-drawn sigh, the far-away sobbing of an ^olian 
 harp ; and immediately the shimmer of the lamp is seen 
 coming nearer and nearer, and in a minute the mysteri- 
 ous searcher of the hidden secret appears. 
 
 His countenance is paler than before — deathly; and 
 drops of sweat course down his forehead and cheeks. 
 Down below the air must be heavier in the cavern, or 
 the nightmare of the abyss has caused this cold damp. 
 He throws his well-filled wallet into the boat, and seats 
 himself in it again. 
 
 It was time. Scarcely has he taken his place when a 
 gurgling is heard, and out of the fissures of the rock 
 comes a gush of black water, shooting forth with a loud, 
 bubbling noise. Then follows a few minutes' pause, and 
 again another gush of water. The cavern is filling rapid- 
 ly. In a short time, over the smooth surface of the wall, 
 
A BLACK PLACE 5 
 
 the watermark shows itself. Clear as a looking-glass it 
 rises, noiselessly, surely, until it has reached the black 
 line upon the pillars. 
 
 The boat, with its silent, watchful occupant, floats 
 upon the water like the ghost of the cavern. The water 
 is not like ordinary water; it is heavy like metal. The 
 boat moves slowly, only now the rower does not care to 
 look into the depths of the black looking-glass ; he pays 
 no attention to the mysterious signs on the walls. He 
 is occupied taking stock of the air about him, which is 
 growing denser every moment, and he looks carefully at 
 his safety-lamp, but it is closely shut. No escape there. 
 
 There is a great fog all round the lamp. The air in 
 this underground abyss takes a blue shade. The man 
 in the boat knows well what this means. The flame of 
 the safety-lamp flares high, and the wick turns red — bad 
 signs these ! The angel of death is hovering near. 
 
 Two spirits dwell in these subterranean regions — two 
 fearfully wicked spirits. The pitmen call one Stormy 
 Weather, the other Bad Weather ; and these two evil 
 spirits haunt every coal-mine, under different names. 
 Bad Weather steals upon its victim, lies like a thick 
 vapor upon his chest, follows the miner step by step, 
 takes away his breath and his speech, laughs at his 
 alarm, and vanishes, when it has reached its height, just 
 as suddenly as it came. Stormy Weather is far more 
 cruel — fearful. It comes like a whirlwind ; it sets every- 
 thing in a flame, kindles the lumps of coal, shatters the 
 vaults, destroys the shaft, burns the ground, and dashes 
 human beings to pieces. Those who gain their liveli- 
 hood by working underground can never tell when they 
 may meet one or other of these evil spirits. 
 
 The secret of " stormy weather," whence it comes, 
 when it may come, no man has yet discovered. It is 
 
6 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 believed that it arises from the contact of the hydrogen 
 gases with the acid gases which are contained in the 
 open air; and "bad weather" needs only a spark to turn 
 into "stormy weather." The thoughtless opening of a 
 safety-lamp, the striking of a match, is sufficient to fuse 
 the two evil spirits into one. 
 
 The solitary man whom we have been shadowing sees, 
 with an anxiety that increases every moment, how the air 
 becomes more and more the color of an opal. Already 
 it is enveloping him in a thin cloud. He does not wait 
 for the flood to rise to its highest point, for, when he 
 reaches a place in the wall where a sort of landing-stage 
 has been made, he jumps upon it, draws the boat by its 
 chain, and moors it fast, and then, ascending by some 
 rude steps to a strong iron door, he opens it with a key, 
 and, closing it behind him, finds himself in a passage 
 which leads him straight into the pit. 
 
 Here he is in a busy world, very different from the 
 solitude he has left. The streets, which are narrow and 
 close, are full of miners hard at work with their hammers. 
 The men are nearly naked, the boys who push the wag- 
 ons are wholly so. There is no sound heard but that of 
 the never-ceasing hammers. In the mine there are no 
 jolly songs, no hearty laughter. Over the mouth of each 
 miner a thick cloth is tied, through which he breathes. 
 
 Some of the passages are so narrow that the worker 
 is obliged to lie upon his back, and in this position to 
 reach the coal with his pick. When he has loosened it 
 he drops it into the little wagon, which the naked boys, 
 crawling upon their stomachs, push before them to the 
 opening. 
 
 The man who has come out of the dark cavern does 
 not differ in dress from any of the others. He is clothed, 
 certainly, but his clothes are covered with coal-dust, his 
 
A BLACK PLACE 7 
 
 hnnds are just as coarse, and he carries a pick and a 
 hammer on his shoulder. Nevertheless, they all know 
 him ; there is a rough civility in the tone of each man as 
 he answers the other's greeting, " Good-evening. Bad 
 Weather is coming.'' 
 
 The word is repeated all round. 
 
 It was true. Bad Weather was close at hand, and 
 these men and boys, who quietly come and go, hammer, 
 shove the wagons, lie on their backs, all know, as well as 
 the convict who is awaiting the execution of his sen- 
 tence, that death is near. 
 
 The heavy, damp fog which lies upon each man's 
 chest, and which fills the mine with its unwholesome 
 smell, needs only a spark, and those who now live and 
 move are dead men, buried underground, while overhead 
 a hundred widows and orphans weep and clamor for 
 their lost ones. 
 
 And yet, knowing this, the miners continue calmly to 
 work, as if quite unconscious that the dread Angel of 
 Death is hovering about them. 
 
 The man who has just entered is Ivan Behrend, the 
 owner of the mine. He unites in himself the office of 
 overseer, director, surveyor, and bookkeeper. He has 
 enough to do ; but we all know the proverb, and, if we 
 have lived long enough, have tested its truth, " If you 
 want a thing well done, do it yourself." Moreover, it is 
 an encouragement to the worker if he sees his employer 
 go shoulder to shoulder with him in the work. There- 
 fore, as we have just seen, the master greets all his 
 workmen with the words, "Bad Weather is coming," and 
 they all know that the master does not consider his life 
 of more value than theirs ; he does not fly and leave 
 them all the danger, because he is the owner and gets 
 all the profit. Quietly, with the most perfect composure, 
 
8 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 he gives his orders — the ventilators are to be opened — a 
 charge of cool air at once to the heated coal; and the 
 workers are to go off work after three instead of six 
 hours. He gets into the pail, covered with buffalo-skin, 
 and lets himself down to the bottom of the shaft, to see 
 if the new openings are dangerous. He turns over care- 
 fully with an iron bar the coal-dust, to try if any of it is 
 heated, or if gas is there concealed which might cause 
 an explosion. Then, as the ventilators below and the 
 air-pump above begin to work, he takes his place at the 
 anometer. This is a tender little machine, something 
 like the humming-top of children. Its axle turns upon 
 a ruby, and the spring" sets a wheel with a hundred teeth 
 in motion ; the velocity of this wheel shows the strength 
 of the current of air in the shaft. It should neither 
 be stronger nor weaker than the motion of the "bad 
 weather." 
 
 He has now seen to everything ; he has taken every 
 precaution, he has left nothing to chance, and, when all 
 the miners have quitted the pit, he is the last to ascend 
 in the baskejt to the fresh air and the daylight. 
 
 Fresh air — daylight ! 
 
 In Bondavara the sun never shines, the shadow of the 
 smoke hangs like a thick cloud over the land ; it is a 
 black country, painted in chalk. The roads are black 
 with coal-tracks ; the houses are black from the coal- 
 dust, which the wind carries here and there from the 
 large coal warehouses ; the men and the women are 
 black. It is a wonder the birds over there in the woods 
 are not black also. 
 
 The mouth of the Bondavara pit is on the slope of a 
 hill, which, when you ascend it, gives you a fine view 
 over the whole country. On the other side, in the val- 
 ley, are the tall chimneys of the distilling-ovens. These 
 
A BLACK PLACE 9 
 
 chimneys are busy night and day, vomiting forth smoke, 
 sometimes white, but generally coal-black j for here is 
 distilled the sulphur which forms a component of the 
 coal. 
 
 The metal can only be melted when in this condition. 
 One of the principal customers of the coal-mine is the 
 iron-foundry on the neighboring mountain, which has 
 five chimneys from which the smoke issues. If the 
 hammer throws up white smoke, then the oven distils 
 black smoke, and so contrariwise. Both factories work- 
 ing together cast over the valley a continuous veil of 
 cloud and smoke, through which even the beams of the 
 sun look brown and dingy. 
 
 From the foundry flows a rusty-red stream, and out of 
 the coal-mine another, which is as black as ink. In the 
 valley both these streams unite and continue their course 
 together. For a little the rusty-red tries to get the bet- 
 ter of the inky-black, but it has to give up, and the black 
 rivulet flows on triumphantly through the black meadow 
 lands. 
 
 It is a most depressing landscape, and it is saddening 
 to reflect that in such a place men have grown from child- 
 hood to middle age, from middle age to old age, and have 
 never seen the green fields or the blue sky of God's 
 heaven. 
 
 But Ivan Behrend, when he ascended from the pit into 
 the open air, found little contrast between the upper and 
 the under ground. Below, there was the stifling smell 
 of gas ; above, a suffocating fog : below, the black vault 
 of the mine ; above, the murky vault of the heavens : 
 and the same men above and below. 
 
 It was then evening ; the sun had gone down, and for 
 the moment even the vile smoke could not rob it of its 
 setting glory. The towers of the distant castle of Bon- 
 
lO BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 davara were touched with its gleam, and the chimneys 
 of the distilling -houses were aglow with this crimson 
 light. The miners were standing about idly; the women 
 and the girls, who are employed in shoving the wheel- 
 barrows, sat gossiping together, as is the manner of the 
 sex. One of them, a young girl, began to sing — a sim- 
 ple little song, with simple words. It was a Slav volks- 
 lied — a sort of romance. A mother is taking leave of 
 her daughter, a bride of a few hours ; she recalls to the 
 girl her childish days and her mother's care in these 
 
 words : 
 
 " Wenn ich das Haar dir strich, 
 Zerr' ich am Haare dich ? 
 Wenn ich dich wusch, mein Kind, 
 War ich je ungelind ?" 
 
 The melody was touching, with the sad strain that all 
 the Slav music has, as if composed with tears ; and the 
 voice of the one who sang was musical and full of feel- 
 ing. Ivan stopped to listen to the song until the singer 
 and her companions disappeared behind the houses. 
 
 At this moment it seemed to him that there was a 
 great difference between life underground and life in the 
 open. 
 
 The song still sounded in the distance ; the clouds 
 had passed over and extinguished the light of the set- 
 ting sun, enveloping the landscape in total darkness. 
 No star, no white house; only the light from the win- 
 dows of the foundry lighted up the darkness of night; 
 and the smoke of the distilling-factory rose from the 
 chimneys and cast yellow circles upon the sky. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 THE SLAVE OF THE BLACK DL\MONDS 
 
 There is nothing startling or new in the declaration 
 that when we speak of " black diamonds " we mean coal. 
 That beautiful, brilliant stone, the diamond, is made of 
 carbon. So is your house-coal — the only difference 
 being, the one is transparent, the other black; and the 
 first is the demon, the last the angel. 
 
 Coal moves the world. The spirit of progress comes 
 from it ; railroads, steamboats borrow from it their 
 wonderful strength. Every machine that is, and works, 
 has its existence from coal. It makes the earth habi- 
 table ; it gives to the great cities their mighty blaze and 
 splendor. It is a treasure, the last gift presented by 
 earth to extravagant man. 
 
 Therefore it is that we call coal "black diamonds." 
 
 Ivan Behrend, the owner of the Bondavara coal-mine, 
 was not exactly in the condition of some of his pitmen. 
 He had seen God's heaven, and knew how in happier 
 lands life was bright, careless, sunny as the cloudless 
 sky itself. But for an existence which was all play and 
 no work, Ivan would not have cared. He had inherited 
 the coal-mine from his father, who had left him also an 
 inheritance of a strong will and inflexible perseverance. 
 No trifle, nor even a great obstacle, could stand in the 
 way of Ivan's wishes, and his wish and his pride was to 
 work the Bondavara mine without any help but what 
 
12 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 his pitmen gave him. It was his ambition — perhaps a 
 fooUsh one — to have no company at his back, no share- 
 holders to find fault, no widows and orphans to be in- 
 volved in possible ruin ; the mine was his, and his it 
 should be absolutely. Therefore it was a quiet busi- 
 ness. The foundry and the inhabitants of the nearest 
 town consumed the yearly output at an uncommonly 
 low price. It never could be, unless with enormous 
 outlay, a great money-making business, seeing that the 
 mine was too far away from any of the great centres. 
 Nevertheless, it brought in a steady income, especially 
 as Ivan paid no useless expenses, and was, as we have 
 said, his own overseer and accountant. He knew every- 
 thing that went on, he understood his own business per- 
 fectly, and he took a pleasure in looking after his own 
 affairs ; and these three qualifications, as any business 
 man knows, insure ultimate success. 
 
 It was well, however, that he enjoyed such good 
 health, and that this superabundance of vital energy 
 kept him always occupied, and, by a natural conse- 
 quence, never dull. There was no denying that it was 
 a solitary life for so young a man. 
 
 Ivan was very little over thirty, and when he opened 
 the door of his small house with his key, and closed the 
 door behind him, he was alone. He hadn't even a dog 
 to come and greet him. He waited upon himself; and 
 in this he was a great man. Eating he looked upon as 
 an unnecessary waste of time ; nevertheless, he ate a 
 great deal, for his muscular and mental system needed 
 food. He was not delicate in his appetite. He dined 
 every day at the tavern. His food was very little better 
 than that of his pitmen, the only difference being that 
 he avoided the strong drinks they indulged in — for this 
 reason, that they worked only with their bodies ; he had 
 
THE SLAVE OF THE BLACK DIAMONDS 13 
 
 to bring to his work a clear intellect, not a soddened 
 one. His bed needed no making. It was a wooden 
 plank, upon which a mattress was placed, covered with a 
 sheep-skin. There was no use in brushing his clothes ; 
 they were always permeated with coal-dust. 
 
 Any one who would offer, by way of doing him a 
 service, to clear out his room, would, in fact, have done 
 him a deadly injury. It was full of every sort of thing 
 — new books half cut, minerals, scientific instruments, 
 plans, pictures, retorts. Not one of these should be 
 moved from its place. There was order in the disorder, 
 and in the heterogeneous mass Ivan could find what he 
 wanted. In one corner was Lavoisier's pyrometer; in 
 another Berard's gas food-warmer. Over there a won- 
 derful sun-telescope; against the wall Bunsen's galvanic 
 battery, together with every conceivable invention, every 
 sort of chemical apparatus for analyzing and searching 
 into the mysteries of Nature. 
 
 Amongst these things Ivan was wont to spend the 
 long nights. Another man, tired as he must have been 
 with his day's work, would have flung himself upon his 
 bed, and have sought in sleep some compensation for 
 the labors of the day, or if not weary enough for this, 
 would have sat before his door and breathed the fresh 
 air, which at night was free from smoke and coal-dust. 
 But this student of the unseen withdrew into his inner 
 chamber, lit his fire, made his lamp blaze, and busied 
 himself breaking lumps of coal, cooking seeds, develop- 
 ing deadly gases, a breath of which was enough to send 
 a man into eternity. 
 
 What was it he searched for.? Was he seeking the 
 secret of the philosopher's stone ? Did he abandon 
 sleep to find out how diamonds can be made out of 
 coal? Did he strive to extract deadly poisons, or was 
 
14 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 he simply pursuing the ignis fatuus of knowledge — try- 
 ing experiments, grubbing in the dark until, in the hope- 
 less endeavor, the over-strained brain would give way, 
 and there would be only the w^eck of what was once a 
 noble intellect ? 
 
 Nothing of the sort. This man had a purpose ; he 
 wanted to learn a secret wiiich would be of infinite 
 benefit to mankind — at least, to those who are buried 
 in the pits and caverns of the earth. He wanted to 
 find out by what means it would be possible to extin- 
 guish fire in burning pits. To discover this he con- 
 sumed his nights and the years of his youth and his 
 manhood. It was no thought born of to-day or yester- 
 day ; it had been his one desire for many years. He had 
 seen so much misery, such heartrending scenes enacted 
 before these pit mouths — these monsters which swallow 
 up human life like the Juggernauts of old. He wanted 
 to prevent this amount of sacrifice — a sacrifice never 
 thought of by those who profit from the labor of these 
 victims, whose very blood is spilled to keep others warm. 
 It is possible this one idea might drive him mad, or he 
 might lose his life ; but the knowledge, if he did gain 
 it, would be, in his opinion, worth the loss. After all, 
 what is the loss of one life against the saving of mill- 
 ions ? This man had a fine nature ; there was no tinge 
 of self in Ivan Behrend. Also, he had a certain enjoy- 
 ment in his search. Enjoyment is not the word. 
 Whenever he got even a glimpse of what he wanted, his 
 joy was something unearthly. Surely these moments 
 were worth all the pleasures the world could offer him ; 
 and if we can bring our minds to understand this, then 
 we shall comprehend how a young man preferred to be 
 shut up in a cavern, in danger of losing his life, or in 
 a stifling room, trying risky experiments, rather than 
 
THE SLAVE OF THE BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 15 
 
 spend the night with beautiful maidens or pleasant 
 fellows, drinking, dancing, and love-making. There is 
 a charm in Science to those who know her that far sur- 
 passes carnal joys. 
 
 To-night, however, it must be confessed, Ivan's ex- 
 periments fell a little flat. Either he was tired, or some 
 other cause was at work. Could it be possible that a 
 girl's song— Yes, such was the humiliating condition 
 of affairs. At the moment when he least expected it, 
 this thing had unexpectedly seized upon him. 
 
 With an effort Ivan lit his lamp and lighted his fur- 
 nace. His experiments, however, were a failure. That 
 girl's song kept running in his head, and the words- 
 how did they go } 
 
 " Say when I smoolhed thy hair, 
 Showed I not tender care ? 
 Say when I dressed my child, 
 Was I not fond and mikl ?" * 
 
 It was very pretty, and the voice wonderful— so sweet 
 and clear and melodious. To-morrow evening she 
 might be at the pit's mouth again, and then he would 
 find out her name. Even if she were not there, the 
 other girls would know ; there were not so many singers 
 among them. 
 
 "Say when I smoothed thy hair" — 
 
 Oh, he could settle down to nothing with this tiresome 
 song ! — 
 
 " Showed I not tender care?" 
 
 He wished he had seen her face, merely to know if it 
 matched the voice. Very likely not. She would be 
 
 * These lines have been kindly translated from the original by 
 Miss Troutbeck. 
 
1 6 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 hard-featured, like the other girls — bold, unwomanly 
 creatures ; beauty and modesty were rare gifts in Bon- 
 davara. 
 
 The next day Ivan was early at the pit. The opening 
 of the air-oven had done its work ; there was only a frac- 
 tional quantity of hydrogen mixed with the pit air. The 
 ventilators could be shut, and Ivan was able to spend 
 some time in the open. 
 
 At twelve o'clock the bell rang to leave off work. As 
 the girls came from the wheelbarrows, he again heard 
 the clear young voice singing the same song. He had 
 not been wrong as to the voice ; it was fresh and lovely, 
 like the blackbird in the woods, uneducated and un- 
 spoiled, but full of natural charm, tender and joyous as 
 the feathered songster. He could now see the singer — 
 a very young girl, not more than sixteen. The common 
 blue bodice she wore showed every undulation of her 
 girlish figure, untrammelled by any fashionable stays. 
 Her short red skirt, tucked up on one side, and fastened 
 to her waist, disclosed her still shorter chemise, which 
 only reached to her knees, so that her legs were uncov- 
 ered. They might have been modelled for a statue of 
 Hebe, so perfect were they in shape — the ankles small, 
 and little feet beautifully rounded, like a child's. About 
 her head the girl had wound a colored cloth, and under 
 this she had tucked away her hair ; her face, like those 
 of her companions, was blackened by the coal-dust, but 
 even this enemy to beauty could not disfigure her. You 
 could see that her features were regular, her eyebrows 
 thick and dark, her lips red. There was a mixture of 
 earthly dirt and supernatural beauty about this child ; 
 besides, she had one thing that even coal-dust could not 
 conceal or dim, her eyes — her large black eyes — shining 
 like two diamonds, which lit up the darkness as two stars. 
 
THE SLAVE OF THE BLACK DIAMONDS 1 7 
 
 As these wonderful eyes met Ivan's glance, it seemed 
 to that philosopher as if these diamonds cut away a por- 
 tion of the glass phial in which he had preserved his 
 heart, and so kept it untouched up to this. But he did 
 not know that this was only the beginning ; his glass 
 protector will soon lie in fragments all round him. 
 
 The girl made a little curtsey to her employer, and ac- 
 companied this small act of duty with a smile which 
 showed two rows of beautiful, pearly-white teeth, 
 
 Ivan felt like an enchanted knight in a fairy tale. He 
 forgot what had brought him here, and what he w^anted 
 to say ; he remained rooted to the spot, gazing blankly 
 after the retreating figure of the girl and her companions. 
 He hoped, without exactly defining what his hope was, 
 that she would look back. That little action would have 
 broken the charm under which he lay. But she did not 
 look back, although one of her companions called her by 
 her name, " Evila." Ivan could see them talking to her, 
 whispering, no doubt, about him. This did not seem to 
 rouse any curiosity in her. She and they had now come 
 to an open shed. Here they seated themselves upon 
 the ground, took out of their pockets pieces of black 
 bread and wild apples, and ate their meal with as much 
 zest as if it had been chicken and grapes. 
 
 Ivan returned to his house. For the first time in his 
 life it struck him how lonely it was. It was his custom 
 to keep a sort of log-book, in which he entered his per- 
 sonal notes upon all his work-people. He found this 
 practice very necessary ; he knew that a skilled work- 
 man of good conduct is far more useful at high wages 
 than a lazy, good-for-nothing fellow of doubtful charac- 
 ter who would come for half the wage. At the footnote 
 by the name " Evila" he read — 
 
 " A young orphan ; supports a crippled brother younger 
 
ig BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 than herself, who goes upon crutches, and whose tongue 
 is paralyzed. She is very steady, and does not go to the 
 town." 
 
 It was certain, therefore, that he must have seen this 
 child before, but had given no attention to her. Every 
 Saturday he paid every workman, every girl and lad in 
 the pit ; how, then, had he escaped noticing those won- 
 derful eyes ? He did not know, learned as he was, that 
 there is an affinity between two souls destined for one 
 another. It is like an electric shock, this sudden birth 
 of love ; but Ivan ridiculed such an idea. Love ? Non- 
 sense ! He in love with a girl out of the pit ? Ridicu- 
 lous ! It was compassion, merely pity for a pretty child, 
 left without either father or mother to watch over her 
 tender age, and, still worse, with a deformed brother to 
 care for and provide with food and medicines. No doubt 
 she gave him the best of everything, while she had to be 
 content with black bread and wild apples, and all the 
 time remained an honest, steady girl. She never even 
 turned her head to look after him. There was nothmg 
 but pity in his heart for this coal-black Naiad ; it was 
 only pity made him wish to cover those tender little feet 
 with proper shoes ; it was only a proper regard for the 
 weakest among his work-people which would cause hrni 
 to make inquiries as to this poor forlorn child. Oh, self- 
 deception, what a part you play in men's hearts ! 
 
 The following Saturday the workers came to receive 
 their weekly wages. Ivan, who always paid them him- 
 self, remained at his desk until the last one came. On 
 this occasion Evila was the last. Ivan sat at a table, on 
 which was placed the sum to be paid, which was regu- 
 lated by the account of the work done, which was regis- 
 tered in the day-book. 
 
 When the irirl, who was dressed as when we first saw 
 
THE SLAVE OF THE BLACK DIAMONDS 19 
 
 her, in her blue bodice and red skirt, presented herself, 
 Ivan said to her kindly — 
 
 " My child, I have determined to increase your wages ; 
 from this day you shall have double pay." 
 
 The girl opened her large eyes, and stared in surprise. 
 "Why so?" she asked. 
 
 " Because I am told that you have a crippled brother, 
 whom you have to keep out of your small earnings. You 
 cannot have enough to clothe and feed both him and 
 yourself. I have also heard that you are a well-con- 
 ducted, honest girl, and therefore it gives me pleasure 
 to reward you by giving you double pay." 
 
 " I cannot take it." 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 " Because I know what the others would say. They 
 would joke and tease me about your being my lover, and 
 I should get so tormented that I could not stay in the 
 place." 
 
 Ivan was so confounded by this naive explanation, 
 given without the slightest confusion, that he could 
 make no answer. He counted out the usual week's 
 wages, which she stowed away in the bosom of her 
 bodice, wished him good morning, and went her way. 
 
 He remained, his thoughts in a maze. In all his ex- 
 perience — and he had a good deal, for his time had not 
 been always spent in Bondavara, and out in the world 
 he had known many women — he had known no woman 
 like this. 
 
 She is afraid they will say I am her lover ; she is 
 afraid they will tease her so much on that account that 
 she may have to leave the place ! Has she, then, no 
 idea that once I, the master, loved a girl here, she would 
 not push the wheelbarrow any more ? Does she even 
 know what a lover is? She knows well that she must 
 
20 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 guard herself against one. Poor child ! How earnest 
 she was, and yet she laughed, and she did not know why 
 she laughed, nor yet why she was grave. A savage in 
 the guise of an angel ! 
 
 He got up, locked his desk, and turned to leave his 
 office ; then again remained, thinking. 
 
 She is unlike every other woman. I doubt if she 
 knows how beautiful she is, or what is the worth of 
 beauty. She is Eve, a perfect copy of Eve — the Eve of 
 Scripture, and the Eve of IMilton. She is Eve, in not 
 knowing wherefore she should blush over her own 
 nakedness — the type of the beautiful in its primitive 
 state, unwashed, savage, with hair unconfined, who wan- 
 ders through the garden, fearing nothing, and even play- 
 ing with a serpent. With men she is a woman, by her- 
 self she is a child, and yet she displays a motherly x:are 
 for her little brother. Her figure is a model for a 
 sculptor, her countenance is full of mind, her eyes be- 
 witching, her voice melodious; and yet her hands are 
 hard with the barrow-poles, her mind is troubled with 
 sordid cares for her daily bread, her face is covered with 
 coal-smut, and she has learned her songs in the street. 
 
 " The worse for her !" and, after a pause, Ivan added 
 with a sigh, " and the worse for another besides her." 
 
 In his mind a total revolution had taken place. The 
 intellectual spirits had for the nonce deserted him, and 
 in their place others had come of a very different order 
 — those demons which the blessed Antony had fought 
 with such good effect in the desert. 
 
 When poor Ivan tried to banish these tempters by 
 burying himself in his books and his scientific instru- 
 ments the form of Evila came between him and the ex- 
 periment he was busy on, just as Marguerite appeared 
 to Doctor Faust in his laboratory ; her voice sounded in 
 
THE SLAVE OF THE BLACK DIAMONDS 21 
 
 his ear, her eyes glowed in the coals, and when he tried 
 to write he found himself drawing a maiden in a blue 
 bodice and short red skirt. It was the same with every- 
 thins: he undertook. Some mockins: demon seemed bent 
 on tormenting him. 
 
 Abandoning his experiments, this unfortunate man 
 took to reading a volume of light literature. What did 
 he open on ? The loves of great and nobly-born men 
 for lowly-born and inferior women. Thus Lord Douglas 
 fell in love with a shepherdess, and became a shepherd 
 for her sake; Count Pelletier took for his wife a gypsy 
 girl, and went about the streets turning an organ ; Ber- 
 nadotte, the King of Sweden, sought the hand of a 
 young girl who watched a flock of geese for a farmer; 
 Archduke John married the daughter of a postmaster ; 
 and another Austrian duke raised an actress to the 
 position of grand duchess; the consort of Peter the 
 Great was the daughter of a villager ; a Bonaparte mar- 
 ried a washerwoman who had been his mistress. 
 
 And why not ? Are not beauty, sweetness, fidelity, 
 and true worth to be found under a woollen as well as 
 under a silken frock ? And, on the other hand, do we 
 not find sinners enough in the upper circles ? 
 
 Did not Zoraida kill her own children, and was she 
 not a born princess ? Faustina took money from her 
 lovers, although she w^as the daughter of an emperor ; 
 the Marquise Astorgas ran a hairpin through her hus- 
 band's heart ; Semiramis strewed a whole churchyard 
 with the corpses of her spouses ; King Otto was poi- 
 soned in a grove by his queen ; Joanna of Naples 
 treasured the ribbon with which the king, her husband, 
 was strangled ; Jeanne Lafolle tormented her husband 
 to death ; the Empress Catharine betrayed her sovereign 
 and consort, and connived at his murder ; and the 
 
22 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 Borgias, Tudors, Cillis, all had wives who became no- 
 torious in that they wore entwined in their crowns the 
 girdle of Aphrodite. 
 
 And do we not find the most exalted virtue in what is 
 called low life ? The actress Gaussin, to whom her 
 wealthy lover gave a check with carte blanche to write a 
 million thereupon, only wrote that she would always love 
 him , Quintilla, another actress, bit off her tongue, lest 
 she should betray her lover, who was implicated in a 
 conspiracy ; Alice, who undertook to fight a duel for her 
 husband, and was killed ; and many others who have 
 suffered silently and died for very love. 
 
 Philosophy and history both conspired against Ivan. 
 And then came sleep. 
 
 A dream is a magic mirror in which we see ourselves 
 as we would be if our own wishes and inclinations were 
 all-powerful. In his dream the bald man has hair and 
 the blind sees. 
 
 Towards the end of the following week Ivan made 
 the discovery that he had lost the use of his understand- 
 ing. The more he endeavored to force his mind back 
 to its original groove of abstract theories, the more the 
 demons ranged themselves against him. One evening, 
 in a fit of absence of mind, he overheated one of the 
 retorts, so that it burst in his face, and the small glass 
 particles cut his nose and cheek, and he was forced to 
 bind up his wounds with bits of sticking-plaster. It 
 did not occur to him that these strips of black diachy- 
 lon placed obliquely across his nose did not improve his 
 appearance. He was, however, very angry at his own 
 folly — a folly which went still further, for he began to 
 argue with himself in this way : 
 
 " It would be better to marry this girl than to become 
 mad for her sake. Marry her? Who ever heard the 
 
THE SLAVE OF THE BLACK DL-VMONDS 23 
 
 like ? A pit-girl ! What a mesalliance I And who cares ? 
 Am I not alone in the world ? Do I not form the whole 
 family? And does not this constant thought of her 
 come between me and my business ? If this goes on I 
 shall be ruined ; and as for the mesa/Iia?ice, is there a 
 soul for six miles round who understands the meaning 
 of the word ? Not one ; and if there should be one, he 
 would have to seek me in the coal-pit, and he would find 
 my face blackened with coal-dust, so that no one could 
 see me blush for shame." 
 
 All the same, he never sought the girl. He waited 
 for the Saturday, when he knew she would come for her 
 weekly wages, and on that day she appeared, as usual, 
 the last, because she was the youngest, and stood before 
 him as he sat at his desk. But this time, when Ivan 
 had put the money into Evila's hand, he kept the little 
 fingers in his firm clasp. The girl laughed — perhaps at 
 the plasters, which still ornamented her lover's face. 
 
 "Listen to me, Evila. I have something to say to 
 you." 
 
 Evila looked uneasy; she ceased to laugh. 
 
 "Will you have me for your lover? Nay, my child, I 
 mean you no harm ; only one must play the lover before 
 one talks of marriage." 
 
 The girl nodded, and then shook her head. " It is 
 not possible," she said. 
 
 " Not possible ! Why not i*" 
 
 " Because I am already engaged." 
 
 Ivan let go his clasp of her hand. " To whom ?" 
 
 " That I am not going to tell you," said Evila, " for if 
 I did, I know very well what you would do. You would 
 discharge him, or you would keep him back, and we can- 
 not be married until he is taken on as a regular pitman." 
 
 *' You mean as a day laborer ?" 
 
24 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " And you think more of this low fellow than you do 
 of me, your employer ?'" 
 
 The girl shrugged her shoulders, held her head a little 
 to one side, and threw a look at Ivan which sent the 
 blood coursing to his head. Then she went on, quietly — 
 
 "I gave him my promise before mother died, and I 
 must keep my word." 
 
 " To the devil with your father and your mother !" 
 cried Ivan, out of himself with baffled hope and rage. 
 " Do you imagine I care what you have promised to a 
 fellow like that? I ask you again, will you give him up 
 and come to me V 
 
 Again Evila shook her head. " I dare not. IMy bride- 
 groom is a wild, desperate fellow ; he would think noth- 
 ing of doing for you, and setting the pit on fire into the 
 bargain when bad weather w^as on. Good - evening !" 
 And so saying, she ran away quickly, and mingled with 
 her companions. 
 
 Ivan threw the day-book from him so violently that 
 the leaves flew from one corner to another. A common 
 creature, a wheelbarrow-girl, a half-savage, had dared to 
 cross his wishes and refuse his offer! And for a dirty, 
 miserable, underground miner — a common mole ! 
 
 Ivan had a hard battle to fight with himself when he 
 was once more alone in the solitude of the night. The 
 suppressed passion of the ascetic had suddenly broken 
 through the dams, which moderation had set up to re- 
 strain its course. 
 
 Beware of the man who professes to be above human 
 passion, who glories in his iron will and his heart of ice ; 
 avoid him and the quiet, holy, studious man of soft 
 tongue,who turns away his eyes from women, and shuns 
 what others enjoy. It is upon such as these that out- 
 
THE SLAVE OF THE BLACK DL\MONDS 25 
 
 raged human nature revenges itself ; and once the demon 
 within gets loose, he plays a fine game to indemnify him- 
 self for all the restraint he has undergone. The love of 
 the worldling is a small dog ; that of the hermit is a lion. 
 
 With this wild beast, which he had suddenly unchained, 
 did Ivan, the man of science, spend the long night, now 
 walking up and down the narrow room, now throwing him- 
 self on his bed, a prey to the most horrible temptations, 
 his heart beating with a thousand passionate desires, his 
 thoughts running in as many evil directions. The oppo- 
 sition that had been made to its wishes by Evila had 
 stimulated his passion, and also roused the pride of his 
 nature. The master of the Bondavara mine was a man 
 of fiery temper, kept in check by his strong command 
 over himself ; but this command seemed now at fault. 
 He had no longer any power to lay this demon, which 
 had got possession of him, tempting him from every side. 
 With his powerful fist he struck himself a blow upon his 
 chest, near to his throbbing heart. 
 
 " Wilt thou be silent ? Who is master, thou or I ? Do 
 thy duty, slave. I am thy lord, thy king. Thy duty con- 
 sists in nothing but keeping my arteries in motion, in 
 pumping the air into my lungs, in forcing the blood in 
 the right direction. When you cease your work, your ill- 
 ness is atrophy; but you cannot be my master, for the 
 sovereign ruler is my will." 
 
 And as Ivan beat his breast, it seemed to him as if 
 in a magic mirror there were reflected two forms — him- 
 self and another Ivan, with whom he waged a deadly 
 combat. It appeared to him as if this other self had 
 robbed him of his form and features, to perpetrate in 
 his name the most odious sins, and as he hit out against 
 this horrid image of himself, it slowly vanished; and 
 then Ivan, falling back upon his pillow^, cried out in a 
 
26 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 loud voice, " Never return, O fiend ; never defile my 
 sight again !" 
 
 In another hour, pale and exhausted, Ivan was seated 
 quietly before his desk. It required an heroic effort on 
 his part to go into prosaic calculations, to add up long 
 columns of figures ; but he forced his weary brain, his 
 tired fingers to the task, and the slave obeyed its master, 
 the body submitted to the mind. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 THE MAN-EATER 
 
 The morning light found Ivan still seated at his table. 
 As daybreak and lamplight did not agree, he extinguish- 
 ed his lamp, threw aside his papers, and gave himself a 
 momentary rest. 
 
 He had conquered ; he was himself again. All the 
 fire of passion had died out, the sinful images had van- 
 ished, and in his breast reigned profound peace. He 
 had resolved upon his course ; an angel had been at his 
 side and inspired him. 
 
 It was Sunday morning. The engines which work the 
 distillery were at rest. On Sundays the enormous water- 
 basin, or trough, which fed the steam-pump was utilized 
 to remove the dirt of the week from the miners. From 
 six to seven the basin was free to the women, from half- 
 past seven to nine to the men. The keys of the great 
 pump-house were given over by the machine superintend- 
 ent on every Saturday night to Ivan, so that no curious 
 or peeping Tom of Coventry could hide himself there, 
 and see these Venuses bathing through a little window, 
 which gave upon the basin, and which was placed there 
 to allow the stoker to see that the water-course was not 
 disturbed when the pumps were at work. 
 
 It had never once entered Ivan's brain that he could 
 play Tom if he were so minded. But on this Sunday 
 morning he took the key from its nail and put it in his 
 
28 BLACK dia:\ionds 
 
 pocket. Don't start ; he did this, not between six and 
 seven, but shortly after eight o'clock. He wanted to see 
 the men bathing, unseen himself. And wherefore ? Be- 
 cause he knew the customs which prevail in coal-mines, 
 and that when a pair are engaged, it is customary to in- 
 scribe the name of the girl upon the man's naked body. 
 Where the miners have got this Indian and savage 
 method is hard to say. There is a certain tenderness in 
 it, and tenderness is more often found with the savage 
 than the civilized man. The lovers tattoo themselves 
 with a needle, upon the arm or shoulder, and then rub in 
 a corrosive acid, either red or blue. Such a testimony 
 is ineffaceable. Sometimes some poetic temperament 
 adds two hearts transfixed by an arrow, or a couple of 
 doves, or it may be the signs of the miner — the mallet and 
 the pick. It occasionally happens that the relations 
 alter, and the lover would gladly remove the name of the 
 fickle one from his album. This can be done by placing 
 a blister over the name, and then the writing vanishes, 
 together with the skin ; a new skin grows, and upon this 
 a new name can be written. It is a real palimpsest. 
 Many are not so discreet. They punctuate a fresh name 
 under the old one, and let the register increase, until 
 sometimes there is not a vacant place. 
 
 It did not give Ivan much trouble to find the man 
 he sought. As soon as the water removed the black 
 soot from the bodies of the bathers, he saw on the 
 shoulder of one of them the name of Evila, the letters 
 in blue, two hearts in red. His rival was an intelligent, 
 most industrious laborer; he was called Peter Saffran, 
 and his comrades had added the nickname — the man- 
 eater. To this misnomer Peter had never taken any 
 umbrage. He was a particularly quiet man, and when 
 they teased him he took no notice. He never com- 
 
THE MAN-EATER 29 
 
 plained of anything, and never entered either the 
 church or the tavern. Towards children he had a par- 
 ticular antipathy. If one came near him he drove it 
 away, ground his teeth together, and threw anything he 
 had in his hand at it. This peculiarity was so well 
 known that the mothers always cautioned the little ones 
 against the man-eater. For the rest, he was on good 
 terms with every one. 
 
 Ivan, having found what he wanted, left the pump- 
 house and returned home, placing himself before the 
 door, so that he could see the people as they went by 
 presently in groups towards the neighboring village to 
 the church. He noticed that Evila was among them. 
 He examined her critically and in cold blood, and he 
 came to quite a scientific conclusion as to the peculiar 
 character of her beauty, which showed a mixture of 
 races. The small hands and feet, the slender form, the 
 narrow forehead, the finely cut nose, the silky black 
 hair— all spoke the Indian or Hindoo type; but the 
 short upper lip and the long, serpent-like eyebrows 
 were derivable from some Slav ancestor. The starry, 
 seductive eyes were decidedly Eastern, the chin and the 
 coloring recalled the Malay race, and the quick, sud- 
 den rising of the red blood to the velvet cheek the 
 Caucasian — for this people blush constantly, owing 
 to the cellular texture being fine almost to transpar- 
 ency. 
 
 Ivan pondered on all this as Evila passed him ; he 
 wondered also why her lover was not with her, for this 
 was an established custom in Bondavara. Peter, how- 
 ever, evidently did not mind these rules of courtship ; 
 he was lounging on one of the benches outside the gates 
 of the ventilation-oven, close to the pitmouth, his head 
 in the air, his chin in his hand. 
 
30 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 Ivan went to him. " Good-morning, Peter. What are 
 you doing there, my man .?" 
 
 " I am listening to the wind that is coming from be- 
 low." 
 
 " Why don't you go to church ?" 
 
 " Because I never pray at all." 
 
 " And why not ?" 
 
 "I do nobody any harm. I neither rob nor murder, 
 and if there is a God, He knows better than I do what 
 is good for me." 
 
 " You are quite wrong there, Peter. In these matters 
 there is an immense difference between educated peo- 
 ple and what are called the children of Nature. I have 
 my science and thought to fall back on — my intellect 
 is my guide, and preserves me from temptation ; but 
 with you, and men like you, it is otherwise. Those who 
 have no other knowledge but v.'hat concerns their daily 
 labor have need of faith, of hope, of consolation, and 
 of forgiveness." As he spoke, Ivan seated himself be- 
 side the other and laid his hand upon his shoulder. 
 " Something is on your mind, Peter?" 
 
 Peter nodded. " There is something." 
 
 " Does it weigh on your soul ?" 
 
 " On my soul, on my body — everywhere !" 
 
 " Is it a secret, Peter ?" 
 
 " No, it is not. If you care to hear it, I will tell it you." 
 
 " A murder .?" 
 
 " Worse than that." 
 
 " Don't you think you had better not tell it to me ? 
 It may place you in danger." 
 
 "There is no danger for me. If it were published 
 on the Market Cross, the law could not touch me ; be- 
 sides, most people know it. You would hear it from 
 some one else if not from me." 
 
THE MAN-EATER 
 
 31 
 
 "Then tell me." 
 
 " It is a short story. When I was only a lad, not quite 
 twenty, I went to sea to seek my fortune. I bound my- 
 self as stoker on board a Trieste steamboat. We sailed 
 with a cargo of meal to the Brazils. Our voyage there 
 was prosperous. On our return we took black cof- 
 fee and wool. On this side of the equator we met a 
 tornado, which broke our engine, smashed our main- 
 mast, and drove the vessel upon a sandbank, where she 
 foundered. Some of the passengers took to the boat ; 
 they went only a short way when she upset, and they 
 were all drowned. The rest made a raft from the planks 
 of the sunken ship, and trusted to this frail thing on the 
 open sea. I was one of them. We were in all thirty- 
 nine, including the captain, the steersman, and a mer- 
 chant from Rio de Janeiro, with his wife and a three- 
 year-old child. We had no other woman or child, 
 for the rest had perished in the open boat. We thought 
 them unfortunate, but now I think they were happy. 
 Better, far better, to have died then. Out of our thirty- 
 nine, soon only nine remained. Oh, how I wish I had 
 been among the dead ! For eight days we floated upon 
 the water, the sport of the waves ; now buffeted here 
 and there, again in a calm, immovable, nailed as it 
 were to the ocean, without one drop of water to quench 
 our thirst or one morsel of food. Ten of us had died 
 of hunger. For two days we had never eaten, and the 
 ninth day came, and no hope of succor. The sun was 
 burning us up, and the water reflected the heat, so that 
 we lay between two fires. Oh, the horror of that awful 
 time ! That evening we took the resolve that one of 
 us should be a victim for the others— that is, that we 
 should draw lots which should be eaten by the others. 
 We threw our names into a hat, and we made the 
 
32 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 innocent child draw for us. Tiiat child drew its own 
 name. 
 
 " I cannot tell you, sir, the rest of the ghastly busi- 
 ness. Often I dream the whole thing over again, and I 
 always awake at the moment when the miserable 
 mother cursed all those who partook of that horrible 
 meal, invoking heaven that we might never again have 
 peace. At the recollection of her words I spring out 
 of my bed, I run into the woods and wait, to see if I 
 shall be changed into a wolf. It would serve me 
 right. 
 
 "Of the partakers of the cursed meal I am the only 
 survivor. The thought haunts me ; it burns into my 
 very soul. Besides my own blood, the blood of another 
 human being circulates in my veins. Fearful thoughts 
 pursue me. The piece of human flesh that I have eaten 
 is in me still ; it has taken away all wish for any other 
 food. I understand the delight of the cannibals. I 
 never see a rosy-faced child without thinking what a 
 delicious morsel his little rounded arm would be. When 
 I behold a sickly, pale baby, the idea at once occurs to 
 me — Why let it live ? Would it not be better — " 
 
 He shuddered, and stood up. He hid his hands in 
 his blouse, and after a pause, went on — 
 
 " Tell me now, sir, is there any relief for what I suffer? 
 Is there a physician who can cure me, or a priest who 
 will absolve me ? I have told my story to both priest 
 and doctor, and one has enjoined me to fast and to 
 chastise myself, the other to drink no brandy and to 
 have myself bled. Neither of them is worth a straw, 
 and such counsel only makes the matter worse." 
 
 " I will advise you," said Ivan. " Marry." 
 
 Saffran looked with some surprise at his employer, 
 and after a minute a feeble smile stole over his face. 
 
THE MAN-EATER 
 
 33 
 
 "I have thought of that. Perhaps if I had children 
 of my own this horror of them would disappear." 
 "Then why don't you marry?" 
 
 "Because I am such a poor devil. If two beggars 
 come together, then you have a couple of paupers in- 
 stead of one. One must first have something to live 
 on." 
 
 " That is true ; but you are an industrious fellow. I 
 have long wanted to have you as a first-class pitman, 
 but I waited to advance you until you got married. It 
 is my rule to give all the best places to married men. 
 I have found by experience that the unmarried ones, 
 when they get higher pay, go straight to the bad. There 
 is more dependence to be placed in a married man ; he 
 won't leave his place for a mere nothing. Therefore, 
 consider the matter. After the first Saturday on which 
 you can tell me that you have been called in church 
 with your intended, you will receive the pay of a pitman, 
 and I shall give you a dwelling-house for yourself." 
 
 Peter's face was a study. He could not believe that 
 what he heard was real earnest. When this was made 
 clear to him, he was ready to fall at the feet of his bene- 
 factor; he almost sobbed as he stammered forth some 
 words of thanks. 
 
 "Now," cried Ivan, with friendly encouragement, "to- 
 day is a Sunday. Does nothing occur to you, my 
 friend ?" 
 
 The man sprang to his feet. 
 
 " Service has not yet begun," went on Ivan ; " the 
 congregation have not all arrived at the church yet. I 
 think there would be time for you to catch up your bride 
 and go with her to the clergyman." 
 
 Peter said no word to this proposal, but he began to 
 run ; his legs were long, and he was soon out of sight. 
 
34 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 He was bareheaded ; he had forgotten his hat upon the 
 seat. Ivan saw it, and took it into his house to keep, 
 but he stood looking after the fleet lover until he had 
 disappeared behind the stone wall at the turning. Then 
 he went in, with Saffran's hat in his hand. 
 
 "How happy he is !" he thought, and sighed. 
 
 When he was in his room he wrote in his day-book 
 that from the following day, Monday, he had engaged 
 Peter Saffran as a first-class pitman with the usual wages, 
 and that in his place another day-laborer should be 
 taken on. When he had closed the book, his heart 
 whispered — 
 
 " My cruel master, art thou content ?" 
 
 But Ivan had his misgivings, and answered his heart 
 thus — 
 
 " I doii't believe in you, since I have seen how easy it 
 was for you to slip on the ice. I must for the future 
 watch closely. I am not sure of the purity of my own 
 motives even now. God knows what lies under this 
 apparent abnegation. Perhaps you think as a young 
 wife — But I shall watch you closely, traitorous heart 
 of mine ; you shall lead me into no more pitfalls." 
 
 Again he consulted his account-book, and found that 
 the increase in this year's income allowed him to take 
 on an overseer at a very fair salary. He wrote out the 
 proper advertisement, and despatched it that very even- 
 ing to different papers for insertion. In this way he 
 wouki not be thrown into daily contact with his work- 
 people. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 A MODERN ALCHEMIST 
 
 A FORTNIGHT had passed since Ivan sent his adver- 
 tisement for insertion, when, one morning, and again it 
 was Saturday morning, Peter Saffran came and told him 
 that two gentlemen had just arrived, who wished to see 
 the mine. 
 
 '' They must be foreigners," he added, " since they 
 spoke French together." Peter's life as a sailor had 
 given him some knowledge of the French tongue. 
 
 "I shall be wdth them immediately," returned Ivan, 
 who was busy pouring a green liquid through a pointed 
 felt hat. '' Let them meanwhile get into the usual 
 miner's dress." 
 
 "That is already done ; they are all ready for you." 
 
 " Very good. I am going. And how are you getting 
 on, Peter?" 
 
 " With the wedding ? Everything is in order ; to-mor- 
 row we shall be called in church for the third time." 
 
 " And when shall you be betrothed .?" 
 
 " It is just now Advent, and our priest will not marry 
 us ; but on the first Sunday after the Three Kings we 
 shall have the wedding. I am not at all annoyed at the 
 delay, for I have to get together a little money. When 
 a man marries he must have all sorts of things — furni- 
 ture and the like ; and something for the cold winter 
 into the bargain." 
 
36 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 " And have you put by nothing out of your wages ?" 
 
 "Yes, sir; I had over a hundred and fifty gulden laid 
 by. I had spared everything on myself — food and 
 drink, and even the pipe — and I had got together this 
 sum. Then what should the devil do but bring the re- 
 cruiting commission down here, and I had to give all 
 my money into the greasy palm of the examining doctor, 
 so that he might report me as being unfit for service 
 because I squinted. It's a trick I have. I can squint 
 for a quarter of an hour together, although my eyes are 
 straight ; on this account I shall be let off by the doctor, 
 but my hundred and fifty gulden are gone. I shall have 
 to squint at the marriage ceremony, for the priest only 
 marries me because I am unfit for service." 
 
 " Well, Peter, you may count upon some help from 
 me." 
 
 "Thank you, sir, but I don't like loans; that is like 
 eating one's supper at dinner." 
 
 By this time they had reached the place where the 
 strangers were waiting. 
 
 " Ah," cried Ivan, " so it is you, Felix !" and he held 
 out his hand cordially to the visitor. 
 
 The old acquaintance whom Ivan called Felix looked 
 as if he belonged to another generation. His soft com- 
 plexion, carefully waxed mustache, short imperial, his 
 fine, dark-blue eyes, and particularly the shape of his 
 head, and the way it was placed on his shoulders, taken 
 together with his elegant dress, which the rough miner's 
 blouse could not quite conceal, betrayed the man of the 
 world. When he spoke, his voice was almost womanly; 
 the tone was clear and high, like one of the Pope's 
 choir. 
 
 Felix hastened at once to put his friend's mind at 
 ease upon a necessary part of his visit. 
 
A MODERN ALCHEMIST 37 
 
 "I hope you will forgive our putting up at the inn. 
 I was sure you would have made us welcome, but you 
 are a busy man, and you would not care to be at the 
 bother of entertaining us ; besides, like all men of busi- 
 ness, you are, I dare say, a little in the rough, and the 
 inn is really very comfortable. May I introduce you to 
 my travelling companion, Gustav Raune ? He is a mine- 
 surveyor and engineer." 
 
 Ivan was well pleased at his friend's forethought in 
 the matter of hospitality; not that he would not have 
 made him welcome so far as lay in his power — and 
 there were unoccupied rooms in the house which would 
 have accommodated the two men — but his manner of 
 life would have been disturbed. He had never for one 
 moment thought of entertaining a guest. 
 
 " My house," he said, frankly, " is not fitted to re- 
 ceive my friends, and, indeed, none come ; but the inn 
 is also mine. I trust you will consider yourselves my 
 guests while you remain here." 
 
 " We accept your offer," returned the other ; " the 
 more readily, since we have really come here on your 
 business. Yesterday I read your advertisement. You 
 require an overseer ?" 
 
 "I do." Ivan looked doubtfully at the two gentlemen. 
 
 "No, no ; it is not for me," laughed Felix. " I under- 
 stand nothing of the business; but Raune is inclined 
 to join you, should he find that there are capabilities 
 here for real work. Raune is an old friend of mine. 
 He has learned his business under Erenzoter. You 
 know the firm of Erenzoter.? He is thoroughly up in 
 the whole thing." 
 
 Raune all this time said not a word, perhaps for the 
 best of reasons, that, being a Frenchman, he did not 
 understand the language in which the others spoke. He 
 
38 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 was a small man, slight, and well-made, with penetrat- 
 ing eyes, a sharp-cut face, and very long mustache. 
 
 To this gentleman Ivan explained in fluent French 
 that he would be glad to show him all the properties 
 of the Bondavara mine before going closer into the 
 matter of engaging him permanently. 
 
 After these courtesies they went down into the pit. 
 Here the two men were soon convinced that each was 
 thoroughly conversant with the whole machinery and 
 working of a mine. Sometimes they held different 
 opinions upon certain systems, and in the dispute or 
 argument which would arise each disputant saw that the 
 other had nothing to learn from him. 
 
 Raune displayed extraordinary quickness and knowl- 
 edge in valuing the coal stratum. Even without look- 
 ing at the geometrical maps he was able to decide 
 upon the probable profit, as also upon the probable 
 extent of the layer or stratum beyond the actual ground 
 covered by Ivan's pit. His valuation agreed in almost 
 every particular with that already made by Ivan. By 
 mid-day the inspection was over, and they went to the 
 inn for dinner, having first given some time to washing 
 and general purification. A visit to a pit is by no means 
 a cleanly undertaking. 
 
 The afternoon was devoted to the inspection of the 
 distilling-ovens, and in the evening they went over the 
 foundry. When they returned from the foundry, Felix 
 went in with Ivan to his house, while Raune returned to 
 the inn. 
 
 Ivan led his old acquaintance into his workroom, 
 where, in truth, a wonderful disorder prevailed, cleared 
 a chair, full of maps and books, for him to sit upon, 
 and told him to light his cigar at a chemical lamp of a 
 new construction. After a pause Felix began : 
 
A MODERN ALCHEMIST 
 
 39 
 
 " You were always of an inquiring mind, Ivan. I re- 
 member well how at college you distanced every one. 
 As for me, I was a pygmy near a giant. Now, tell me 
 truly, have all your science, your industry, and your 
 physical exertions made you a rich man ?" 
 
 Ivan laughed. " This mine gives me an annual in- 
 come of ten thousand gulden." 
 
 "In other words, it produces nothing, or, at least, 
 next to nothing. You are director, overseer, cashier, 
 engineer, secretary, bookkeeper, and conveyer of goods, 
 and you receive, roughly calculated, just what you would 
 have to pay these employes if you had not united all 
 their different offices in yourself. In other words, your 
 work, your talent, your studies, your zeal, your expendi- 
 ture of thought and strength upon this mine of yours 
 only bring you in the miserable return which any pro- 
 prietor would give to a man who filled only one of 
 these offices. As a fact, you don't get a farthing 
 by it." 
 
 "The mine is not to blame, neither am I ; it is the 
 result of a small consumption, and, in consequence of 
 this, the production cannot be increased." 
 
 " I will tell you in two words where the fault lies. In 
 the present day strength is alone to be found in co-opera- 
 tion. In the political world the smaller states go to the 
 wall ; they are forced to tack themselves on to larger 
 ones, and so form a union. It is the same in the com- 
 mercial world ; small tradesmen must give way to the 
 larger co-operative centres, and it is better for them to 
 understand this, and make part of a company." 
 
 "There is no danger of our foundry closing; our iron 
 and our coal take a first place, and could not be crushed 
 out." 
 
 "An additional reason for developing my idea — an 
 
40 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 idea which, I may as well tell you, was the factor that 
 brought nie here. You have already guessed, I imagine, 
 that I am not such a good fellow as to undertake 
 the journey solely on Raune''s account. He is not a 
 chicken, and could have introduced himself. I have a 
 great plan in my head. I intend to make you a wealthy 
 man, and, naturally, I shall feather my own nest at the 
 same time." 
 
 '' How so ?" 
 
 " I do not know where I once read this short synopsis 
 of how different nations acquire money : ' The Hun- 
 garian seeks it, the German earns it, the Frenchman 
 wins it, and the American makes it.' It is a most 
 characteristic description. You have only to watch the 
 Hungarian, how he seeks in every hole and puddle for a 
 piece of gold ; the German will work in the sweat of his 
 brow till he gets his reward, a piece of gold ; the light- 
 hearted Frenchman will win the last piece of gold his 
 victim has ; but the Yankee sits in a corner, gnaws his 
 finger-nails, and makes his pile. Yes, gold lies, in undis- 
 covered millions, only waiting to be 'made.'" 
 
 " Where does it lie?" 
 
 " In the capabilities of life, in bold undertakings, in 
 the concealed treasures of the earth, which require de- 
 velopment, and in the outlay of capital ; in new discov- 
 eries, in the extension of the means of communication, 
 in the increase of luxury, in the follies of mankind, in 
 the exertions made by scientists ; and especially in the 
 money-box where small capitalists keep their gold, which 
 should circulate through large channels to be of use. 
 The number of small capitals should be thrown into one 
 large, commercial mart, and by means of this credit 
 every gulden would bring in three times its value. This 
 is the art of the American ; this is how to make a pile of 
 
A MODERN ALCHEMIST 4I 
 
 gold. It is a splendid art, an honest art, and it seems to 
 thrive with those who adopt it." 
 
 When he had concluded this rather long-winded exor- 
 dium, Felix threw himself back in his chair with an air 
 as who should say, " Are you not dazzled with the brill- 
 iancy of my conception.'* Is not Felix Kanlmann one of 
 the greatest financiers of the day ? Surely you are con- 
 vinced that he is." 
 
 So far as that went, the name had a fair reputation. 
 The Kaulmanns had always been in finance, and were 
 well-known bankers. Of late, since Felix had inherited 
 the business from his father, the firm were more before 
 the public. Ivan knew his old schoolfellow well ; he 
 looked at him now quietly. 
 
 " How do you propose to make a pile out of my pit?" 
 
 " I have a big scheme in my head." 
 
 "But the whole pit is anything but big." 
 
 " So it appears to you, because you don't view it from 
 my standpoint. You have sought for diamonds in the 
 mine, but it has never occurred to you that there may be 
 iron ore. This pit produces, you tell me, a profit of ten 
 thousand gulden; that is the interest of two hundred 
 thousand florins. I can get you a company who will buy 
 the whole place out and out for two hundred thousand 
 florins." 
 
 " But I would not part with my pit at any price. I am 
 here in my element, like the mud-w^orm in the mud." 
 
 "You need not leave it— certainly not; on the con- 
 trary, if you wished to go, I would keep you chained, if 
 necessary. The company wdll start with a recognized 
 capital of four millions ; we will form a large business, 
 which on one side will ruin Prussian coal, on the other 
 side will drive the English iron out of market. You 
 shall be the principal director of the business, with a 
 
42 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 yearly salary of ten thousand florins, and two shares in 
 the business ; besides which you will be allowed to take, 
 if you wish it, a portion of the purchase-money in bonds 
 at par, and these will bear interest at twenty per cent. 
 You will enjoy an income of thirty thousand florins, in- 
 stead of your beggarly ten thousand florins, which you 
 now have, and, into the bargain, hardly any work." 
 
 Ivan listened to this proposal without interrupting the 
 speaker. When Felix had finished, he said, in a calm 
 voice — 
 
 " My dear Felix, if I were to propose to a company 
 ready provided with four millions the purchase of a busi- 
 ness which up to the present had only produced ten 
 thousand guldens profit, and which profit could never in 
 the future realize more than eight hundred thousand 
 gulden, do you not think I would be a despicable vil- 
 lain ^ If, on the other hand, I placed my own mon- 
 ey in such a company, I should be equally a perfect 
 fool." 
 
 At this clear definition of his recent proposal Felix 
 burst into a peal of laughter. Then, passing his pliant 
 little walking-stick behind his back, he placed both his 
 hands on the ends, and said with an air of profound 
 wisdom — 
 
 " You have not heard all my plan. It has not alto- 
 gether to do with your colony. You know well that your 
 pit is only a small portion of the monster coal stratum 
 of the Bonda Valley, which stretches far away — as far, 
 indeed, as Muld Valley. I intend to buy this entire re- 
 gion ; it can be had now for a mere song, and when 
 properly worked it will be worth millions — millions 
 earned by honest means. No stealing or taking unfair 
 advantage of any one. We only raise a treasure which 
 lies at our feet, so to speak, which is there ready for us, 
 
A MODERN ALCHEMIST 
 
 43 
 
 or for any one. It needs only sufficient strength on the 
 part of those who Hft it." 
 
 " That is quite another thing. Now I can understand 
 your scheme. I will also not contradict your assertion 
 that it is lawful and generous; but it is just because it 
 is so that it is full of holes. It is quite true that the 
 treasure which lies concealed in the Bonda Valley is im- 
 mense — it is possible that it represents millions ; but this 
 treasure cannot be discovered, for the Bondavara prop- 
 erty is not for sale.^' 
 
 " Really !" 
 
 " I will tell you why ; because at this moment it be- 
 longs to Prince Bondavary, who is one of the richest 
 men in this country." 
 
 " I should imagine that no one knows better than I 
 do how rich he is." 
 
 " In the next place, this man is one of the proudest of 
 our aristocrats, to whom I, for one, would not venture to 
 make the proposal to turn his old family property — the 
 cradle, we might say, of his race — into a mine to be 
 worked by a company." 
 
 " Oh, so far as that goes, we have seen many an an- 
 cient race glad to do a bit of commercial dirt. The 
 King of Italy is a crowned king ; and, nevertheless, he has 
 sold Savoy, the place from which his family took their 
 name and the right to have a cross on their shield." 
 
 " Well, suppose the old prince were inclined to sell 
 this property, he could not do so as long as his sister, 
 the Countess Bondavary, is alive. Her father left the 
 castle and the property round about to his daughter, 
 who is now nearly fifty-eight, and may live yet another 
 thirty years. She has grown up in that castle ; she has, 
 to my knowledge, never left it, not even for one day; 
 she hates the world, and no human power would induce 
 
44 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 her to part with her beloved Bondavara to a coal com- 
 pany, not if the last remaining stratum were to be found 
 under the castle, and without this the world should 
 perish from want of fuel." 
 
 Felix laughed, then answered with an air of ineffable 
 conceit — 
 
 " I have conquered greater difficulties than an old 
 maid's fad, and for the matter of that, women's hearts 
 are not locked with a Bramah key." 
 
 " Well, let us suppose," said Ivan, good-humoredly, 
 "that you have overcome the prejudices of the prince 
 and his sister, and that you have actually started your 
 monster company. Then begin all the technical diffi- 
 culties ; for what is the first necessary to an undertaking 
 of the kind ?" 
 
 " A sufficient supply of money." 
 
 "By no means. A sufficient supply of workmen." 
 
 "Wherever money is plentiful, human beings are 
 pretty sure to flock." 
 
 " Between men and men there is a wonderful differ- 
 ence. This is an article in which one is likely to be 
 easily deceived. With us there is a want of first-class 
 workmen." 
 
 " We would get men from France and Belgium." 
 
 " But the men who would come from France and Bel- 
 gium would not work for the wages we give our men. 
 They would ask double. In such a commercial under- 
 taking, the first false step would be to raise the wages 
 to more than the old system, for my conviction is that 
 every industrial enterprise to be safe must work upon 
 its own internal capabilities. We should measure our 
 strength according to the circumstances in which we 
 find ourselves, and we should educate our ow^n work- 
 men : draw them to us by learning together. The 
 
A MODERN ALCHEMIST 45 
 
 trade should extend slowly, but surely, by small ex- 
 periments." 
 
 " You are too cautious. I can convince you to the 
 contrary. For instance, a steam-engine of a hundred- 
 horse power needs just the same labor to work it as one 
 of four-horse power ; and a small business requires as 
 many account-books as a large one, and small undertak- 
 ings in like manner, even if they are in themselves 
 lucrative, will eventually be swamped by the larger ones 
 on account of the want of the proper activity, without 
 ^Yhich all trade dies of itself." 
 
 " Nevertheless, there is less danger of sudden collapse 
 in a small business," returned Ivan, reflectively. " I like 
 a certainty." 
 
 "And what certainty have you? Suppose, just for 
 the sake of argument, that one bright morning the Aus- 
 trian minister of trade listens to the petition of the 
 English iron masters, and that the free importation of 
 raw iron is allowed. Your neighbor over there will at 
 once shut his foundry, and you may go and sell your 
 coal to the smithy, eh, Ivan ?" 
 
 " I have gone into all that. Our raw iron can com- 
 pete with the English, and there would be—" 
 
 "Your ideas are rococo ; they belong to the last cen- 
 tury. If America had worked on these lines she would 
 not have overshadowed Europe." 
 
 "That may be. What I maintain is that foreign 
 workmen are a bad investment. Those who come to us 
 are, for the most part, men who cannot get on in their 
 own country ; restless fellows, ever wanting ^ change ; 
 members of secret societies, socialists, and atheists ; and 
 so soon as they get among our men they begin dissem- 
 inating their vicious doctrines, and the next thing is a 
 strike for higher wages." 
 
46 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 " Have you ever had a strike here ?" 
 
 "Never!" 
 
 " How do you prevent it ?" 
 
 " That is my secret, which cannot be told in a few 
 words. I am, however, convinced of one thing: the 
 first obstacle a company would have to contend against 
 would be the price of labor, and the second difficulty 
 would be to secure the services of a really capable over- 
 seer ; one who would understand the technique of the 
 business." 
 
 " We could easily get one from abroad." 
 
 "That might be ; but I, as a private individual, could 
 get one easily if I had sufficient money to pay him, 
 for I could choose the best for my purpose, and could 
 give him what I chose, as far as his merits deserved." 
 
 Felix laughed at Ivan's description. "That is it 
 exactly, as if you read it out of a book ; and just on this 
 account I intend to give the complete direction of the 
 business to a man who understands it to a T, and this 
 man is you." 
 
 "That is a complete mistake. I do understand the 
 working of my own small business, but I am quite ig- 
 norant of the ways of a great concern. Like many 
 another small man, I should be a child in the hands of 
 big speculators, and I should probably wreck the whole 
 concern." 
 
 "You are too modest. On the contrary, I think you 
 would outwit the big speculators." 
 
 " Well, suppose all went according to your wishes, or, 
 rather, as it presents itself to your imagination. The 
 great business is in full swing, delivers goods at moder- 
 ate prices, and in sufficient quantity. Now comes the 
 real objection — the topographical impediment. The 
 Bonda coal-mine is twenty miles from the nearest rail- 
 
A MODERN ALCHEMIST 47 
 
 way, and twenty-five miles from the nearest river. On 
 your way here you must have noticed the state of the 
 roads. During four months of the year we can send no 
 freight to a distance, and at any time the cost of trans- 
 porting our coal and iron adds so much to the price that 
 it is impossible for us to compete with either Prussia or 
 England." 
 
 " I know all that," said Felix, stroking his beard with 
 the coral head of his stick ; " but a light railway would 
 soon settle all this. We could run it from Bonda Valley 
 to the principal emporium." He spoke as if running 
 light railways were a mere trifle. 
 
 " A railway through the Bonda Valley !" returned 
 Ivan, in a tone of surprise. " And do you really believe 
 that with a capital of four millions you could construct 
 a railway twenty miles long ?" 
 
 " Certainly not. That would be quite a separate 
 affair." 
 
 " And do you think you would find people ready to 
 advance money for such an uncertain return as mere 
 luggage trafiic would insure to the shareholders in such 
 a railway ?" 
 
 Felix moved his stick from his beard to his mouth, 
 and began to suck the top. 
 
 "And why not," he said, at last, "when the state 
 would guarantee a certain rate of interest on the ad- 
 vance ?" 
 
 Ivan opened his eyes still wider, and placed upon 
 each word an emphasis. 
 
 " The state will give to this railway a guarantee of 
 interest! You will excuse me, Kaulmann — that is not 
 possible." 
 
 Felix answered, after some consideration, "There 
 are certain keys by which the bureaus of even ministers 
 
48 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 of state can be opened." After this oracular speech he 
 was silent, pressing the top of his stick upon his lips, as 
 if to restrain his words. 
 
 Ivan drew out the drawer of his writing-desk and 
 took therefrom a piece of black bread. 
 
 " Do you see this .? People who eat such coarse stuff 
 don't dance attendance upon ministers." 
 
 Felix threw his head back with a scornful laugh and 
 twisted his stick impatiently between his fingers. 
 
 ^'' AHofis, n'en parlous plus,''"' he said. "You have 
 plenty of time to make up your mind, for what I have 
 once resolved to do, that I do. I am quite ready to 
 bet with you that I shall secure the Bonda Valley prop- 
 erty from under the nose of the old prince and the 
 faddy countess, and that the largest factory in the king- 
 dom shall be established here, and the trade carried on 
 with the outside world. This will all come to pass, as 
 sure as my name is Felix Kaulmann." 
 
 "Well, I wish you every luck in your undertaking, 
 but for my part I will have none of it." 
 
 The arrival of Raune interrupted the conversation. 
 The Frenchman explained that he had considered 
 Ivan's offer, and was ready to agree to his conditions 
 and to enter on its office at once. Thereupon Ivan 
 gave him his hand as a sign that the agreement was 
 concluded. Then he handed him the books and the 
 strong-box, the former with the complete list of the 
 pitmen, the laborers, the girls, and boys engaged in 
 the mine ; the latter with the money which was paid to 
 them for the week's work, and he asked the new overseer 
 to appoint a room in the inn, where he was going to 
 live, as the place where the miners should come to be 
 paid. 
 
 As it happened, this was a Saturday, and therefore 
 
A MODERN ALCHEMIST 49 
 
 on this evening the overseer should enter on his new 
 duties. 
 
 The inn was exactly opposite to Ivan's house. Groups 
 of pitmen collected on the vacant space between the 
 two houses. Ivan went to the window to see in what 
 order the payments would be made by the new direct- 
 or. Felix also amused himself by means of his pocket- 
 glass, staring at all the women. 
 
 "Ah !" he exclaimed, suddenly, " that little Cinderella 
 over there in the red skirt wouldn't be bad for the 
 model of a bronze statuette. I should like her to teach 
 me how to say ' I love you ' in the Slav language." 
 
 " Take care," laughed Ivan ; " she is betrothed, and 
 her lover is called a man-eater." 
 
 Just then Peter Saffran came out of the tavern. He 
 had received Evila's money with his own, and offered it 
 to her. She, however, refused to take it, and the pair 
 went off together in good -humor with one another. 
 The young girl's hand was upon Peter's arm, and as she 
 passed the window they heard her singing. 
 
 ^^ Sapcrlot ! What a voice!" exclaimed the banker. 
 "Why, she beats The'rese. If she were in Paris — " 
 
 He didn't finish his sentence. Ivan lit a cigar, and 
 sat smoking silently. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 THEDOCTOR 
 
 The next day was Sunday, Ivan took Felix and 
 Raune through the workmen's colony to show them the 
 dwelling-houses, which were clustered together like a 
 village. This village had been made by Ivan's father. 
 The district had been formerly occupied by the very 
 poorest, who eat nothing but potatoes ; but now the 
 miners who lived here w^ere w^ell-fed and well-lodged. 
 Each pitman had his own cottage and fruit-garden. 
 
 When the three men came to the house in which 
 Evila lived they stood still and looked into the little 
 yard beyond. They felt obliged to do so, first, because 
 the door stood open, and secondly, because in the yard a 
 scene was going on of which they were unseen spectators. 
 
 Peter Saffran was beating Evila. The lover held his 
 betrothed by her long black hair, which fell over her 
 shoulders nearly to the ground. He had the rich 
 masses gathered up in his left hand and wound round 
 his wrist, while in his right hand he had a thick plaited 
 cord with which he struck the poor girl over the shoul- 
 ders, neck, and back. As he did so, his eyes expanded 
 until nearly all the white Avas visible, his eyebrows al- 
 most touched one another, his countenance grew white 
 with rage, and through his open lips his white teeth 
 looked like those of an infuriated tiger. At each blow 
 of the rope he growled out — 
 
THE DOCTOR 5 1 
 
 "So you will have your own way, will you? You 
 will defy me, will you?" 
 
 The girl made no protest against her lover's violence. 
 She did not cry, neither did she beg him to spare her. 
 She pressed her apron to her lips, and looked at her 
 cruel persecutor with eyes full of the most divine com- 
 passion. 
 
 " What a beast !" cried Felix. " And he is her 
 lover !" 
 
 "Just so," replied Ivan, indifferently. 
 
 " But you should interfere ; you should not allow that 
 pretty child to be ill-used by the savage." 
 
 Ivan shrugged his shoulders. "He has the right; 
 she is his betrothed, and if I were to interfere he would 
 beat her more. Besides, don't you see he has been at 
 the brandy flask? There would be no use in reasoning 
 with him." 
 
 " Well, I shall reason wdth him to some purpose," re- 
 turned Felix. " I am not going to stand by and see 
 that pretty creature beaten." 
 
 " You will do no good, I warn you. The underground 
 laborer has no respect for men in black coats." 
 
 " We shall soon see as to that. Do me the favor to 
 call out ' doctor ' as soon as you see me take the fellow 
 by his arm." 
 
 As he spoke, the elegantly attired Felix rushed across 
 the narrow passage which led to the yard, and con- 
 fronted the infuriated savage. 
 
 "You brute!" he cried. "Let go that girl. Why 
 do you beat her?" 
 
 Saffran answered phlegmatically, " What is that to 
 you ? She is my betrothed." He smelled fearfully of 
 brandy. 
 
 " Ah, so you are thinking of marrying, are you ?" re- 
 
52 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 turned Felix, looking at the Hercules, to whose shoulder 
 he hardly reached. "And how is it that you are not 
 on military service, my friend ?" 
 
 The cord slipped from Peter's hand. " I could not 
 pass," he said, in a low voice. " I have it in black and 
 white. I am not fit." 
 
 " Could not pass — not fit — when you can use your 
 arms so well ? Who was the upright doctor that gave 
 you that certificate in black and white ? Such mus- 
 cles — " He touched with the tips of his gray gloves the 
 starting muscles on the brawny arm. 
 
 "Doctor!" called out Ivan. 
 
 When Peter heard this exclamation, and felt the pres- 
 sure of Felix's fingers, he let go his hold of Evila's hair. 
 She was free. 
 
 " You just wait till to-morrow, young man," continued 
 Felix, shaking his cane before Peter's nose — "till to- 
 morrow, and you shall have a second examination. I 
 shall be curious to find out what is the secret impedi- 
 ment which makes you unfit to serve your country. That 
 is my business here." 
 
 Peter began suddenly to squint. 
 
 Felix burst out laughing. "Two can play that game, 
 young man," and he, too, fell to squinting. " I shall pay 
 you a visit to-morrow." 
 
 At this Peter took to his heels, and making one rush 
 of it, was soon over the wall of the yard, and never 
 ceased running until he reached the wood. 
 
 Ivan was astonished at the result of Felix's inter- 
 ference. He, who was twice as strong mentally and 
 physically as this effeminate towm-bred man, would have 
 been routed signally, and behold, the weak one in gray 
 gloves had chased the savage from the field, and was 
 master of the situation ! He felt vexed, yet he wished 
 
THE DOCTOR 53 
 
 to conceal his vexation. He saw Felix calmly convers- 
 ing with Evila, whose deliverer he had been. Ivan was 
 not going to stand open-mouthed looking at the hero. 
 
 " Let us go on,'' he said to Raune'. " Herr Kaulmann 
 can follow us if he wishes." 
 
 Herr Kaulmann was not inclined to continue his walk. 
 A full hour afterwards, when they were returning, he met 
 them. He said he had been looking everywhere for 
 them without effect. He had done a good morning's 
 work in their absence. Finding himself alone in the 
 yard with the girl, he had spoken to her in a sympa- 
 thizing tone. 
 
 " My poor child, what did you do to that brute, that he 
 should ill-use you so cruelly .f*'' 
 
 The girl dried her eyes with the corner of her apron 
 and made an effort to smile. It was a piteous attempt, 
 tragic in its effort to hide her suft\nings. 
 
 "Oh, sir, the whole thing was only a joke. He only 
 pretended to strike me." 
 
 " A nice joke ! Look at the welts his blows have 
 made.'' 
 
 He took from his pocket a little case, which held his 
 pocket-comb, a dandified affair with a small looking- 
 glass, which he held before her eyes. 
 
 Evila reddened over face and neck when she saw the 
 disfiguring marks of her lover's affection. She spoke 
 with some anger in her voice — 
 
 " Sir, you have been very kind, and I will tell you all 
 about it. I have a little brother who is a cripple. As 
 soon as father died mother married again. Her hus- 
 band was a drunkard, and when he was tipsy he would 
 beat us and tear my hair. Once he threw my brother, 
 who was only three years old, down a height, and since 
 then he has been crippled. His bones are bent and 
 
54 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 weak, and he has to go on crutches ; his breath, too, is 
 affected ; he can hardly breathe from asthma, and this 
 was stepfather's doing. But that did not soften him ; on 
 the contrary, he persecuted the poor baby, and it was ten 
 times worse after mother died. How many blows I have 
 had to bear, and glad I was to get them if I could only 
 spare the child! At last stepfather fell from the shaft; 
 he was drunk, and he broke his neck. A good thing it 
 was, too ; and since then we have lived alone, and what 
 I earn does for us both. But now I am going to marry 
 Peter, and Peter hates my poor crippled brother. He 
 says he must go out and beg ; that an object like him on 
 crutches could stand at the church-door on Sundays, and 
 in the market on week-days, and get pence enough to 
 support himself. Oh, it is shameful of him ! And to- 
 day we had a quarrel about it. He came to take me to 
 church, where we were to be called for the third time. 
 I was nearly ready, but I said I should first give my little 
 brother some warm milk, and I went to fetch it. The 
 boy was sitting on the doorstep waiting for it. 
 
 " ' Warm milk T cried Peter, in a rage. ' I will give 
 him what will make him fat!' and then he struck the 
 child and tore at his ear as if he would tear it from his 
 head. The child has a peculiarity — strange for a child 
 — he never cries, although you might beat him to death. 
 He opens his eyes and his mouth, but says nothing, and 
 gives out no sound. I implored Peter to let the poor 
 thing alone, for I loved him. This set him in a horrible 
 rage. 
 
 " ' Then let the dwarf go packing !' he screamed. 
 ' Give him a beggar's wallet, and let him beg from door 
 to door; there never was a more unsightly cripple than 
 he is, so let him bring home something for his keep, the 
 scarecrow !' " 
 
THE DOCTOR 55 
 
 The tears ran down the girl's face as she told this. 
 
 " How can he help being so ugly and deformed ?" she 
 went on. "It was not God who made him so, it was 
 stepfather; and so I told Peter, and that I would rather 
 he would beat me than that he should touch the child. 
 
 " ' And I will beat you,' he said, ' if you say another 
 word'; and then he seized hold of the child and kicked 
 him. 'Get out of my sight, you little monster of ugli- 
 ness !' he said. ' Go to the church-door and beg, or I will 
 eat you.' And he made such a horrible face that my 
 poor little brother shrieked with fright. I could not 
 stand seeing him tortured in this way. I took him from 
 him, and would have covered him up in my arms, but he 
 ran and hid himself in the chimney. I was very angry. 
 
 '"If you torment him like this,' I said, 'I shall break 
 with you.' 
 
 "Then he seized me by my hair and fell to beating 
 me, as you saw. Now he will do it every day." 
 
 " No, no," returned Felix. " The fellow will have to 
 serve his term ; a muscular giant like him cannot shirk 
 military duty. If every one did that, who the deuce 
 would defend the country and the emperor.? It cannot 
 be winked at — " 
 
 " Then are you really a doctor .?" said Evila, doubting. 
 
 "Of course I am, when I say I am." 
 
 A faint reflection of pleasure crossed the girl's face. 
 
 "Then perhaps you can tell me if my little brother 
 can ever be cured .?" she said, eagerly. 
 
 " I can tell you. Bring me the child." 
 
 Evila went into the kitchen, and after some trouble 
 persuaded the cripple to come out of his shelter in the 
 chimney. This poor victim of man's cruelty was a mis- 
 erable object. He looked as if nature had exhausted 
 the stuff of which he was made ; not one of his limbs 
 
56 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 fitted the other, and his will seemed to have no power 
 over his body. 
 
 Evila took the sick boy upon her knee, and kissing 
 his cheek, withered like a bit of dried parchment, told 
 him not to be afraid, for that the stranger was a kind 
 gentleman. 
 
 Felix examined the limbs of the cripple with all the 
 attention of an experienced surgeon, and then with a 
 professional air said — 
 
 "The injury can still be cured ; it requires only time 
 and care. There is in Vienna an orthopedic institution 
 expressly for such cases ; cripples are there treated, and 
 grow up strong, healthy boys." 
 
 "Ah!" cried the girl, taking hold of Felix's hand. 
 " Would they take Janoska there ? But it would cost 
 money, which I haven't got. I might get employment 
 in this institution where cripples are made straight 
 again. I would serve them well if they would cure my 
 little brother." 
 
 " I don't see any reason why he shouldn't be ad- 
 mitted," returned Felix, gravely, " especially on my rec- 
 ommendation. I have great influence, and a word from 
 me — " 
 
 "You will say it, won't you, and God will forever 
 bless you ?" cried the girl, throwing herself on her knees 
 and covering the hands and feet of the pretended doctor 
 with kisses. " I will serve them ; I will work for them 
 day and night. They need not keep a dog ; I will be 
 their dog, and guard the house for them, if they will 
 make Janoska straight, so that he need not beg at the 
 church-door. Is it far to Vienna?" 
 
 Felix laughed. " You don't think you could carry the 
 boy to Vienna, do you ? I will manage the journey for 
 you. When I have once promised, I keep my word. I 
 
THE DOCTOR 57 
 
 have my carriage here; I will, if you like, take you both 
 to Vienna." 
 
 " Oh, I will sit by the coachman, with Janoska on my 
 lap !" 
 
 "Very well, my child,'' returned Felix, with the air 
 of a patron. " I am glad to help you ; therefore, if you 
 have resolved to take your brother to Vienna to have 
 him cured, I shall give you the opportunity. Be ready 
 to-morrow morning when you hear the post-horn sound. 
 That rough fellow who beat you just now will be taken 
 by the pioneers corps, who recruit next week, and he will 
 have to serve his four years. Now, here is some money 
 for you, that you may buy some warm clothing for the 
 boy, for the nights are cold, and I travel day and night." 
 
 The sum of money he placed in the girl's hand took 
 away her breath, and left her no voice to thank him. 
 Two bank-notes, ten pounds each — a fortune to a poor 
 girl. The gentleman was a great nobleman ; he was a 
 prince. He was, however, already on his way before 
 she could speak a word, and it would not do to run 
 through the street after him. 
 
 Evila then gave way to her joy like a child, as she 
 was. She laughed, ran about the room carrying the 
 boy, set him on a seat, knelt before him, kissed and 
 hugged in her arms his emaciated body. 
 
 "We are going away, Janoska, my heart's darling, in 
 a coach to Vienna. Ho, ho, little horse, ho ! In a 
 coach with four gee-gees all hung with little bells ! And 
 Janoska will sit in my lap. Janoska will have good 
 medicine and good food, and his feet and his hands, 
 his back and his chest will get straight. He will be a 
 big fellow, like other boys. Then we will come home, 
 not in a coach, but on our feet. We go in a coach, and 
 we come back on two feet without a crutch !'' 
 
58 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 Then the poor little cripple began to laugh like her. 
 Evila ran off to the store, and bought for the child a 
 warm winter jacket, a cap, and boots ; still, she could 
 not, even with these stupendous purchases, spend half 
 of the money. What she had left she determined to re- 
 turn to the gentleman. 
 
 Now it was full time to go to church. Her friends 
 wondered to see her come in alone. They asked her 
 where was Peter? Evila answered she had not seen 
 him that day. It went against her conscience to tell a 
 lie before mass, but then, when one is placed in a situ- 
 ation that one must lie, what can be done ? A woman 
 or a girl who has been beaten by her betrothed or her 
 husband must deny it. God pardons the lie, and society 
 demands it. 
 
 Peter Saffran was nowhere to be seen in the church. 
 Evila felt terribly ashamed when the clergyman from the 
 pulpit gave out for the third time the banns of her mar- 
 riage. And there would be no marriage ! Tears came 
 into her eyes and sorrow filled her heart at the thought 
 that she was leaving her home, her bridegroom, her 
 friends, all the places she knew, the things she was ac- 
 customed to, and was going out into the world alone. 
 These thoughts preyed upon her all day, until she was 
 obliged to go out and look for Peter Saffran. She sus- 
 pected where she would find him. 
 
 In the depths of the woods at the bottom of a moun- 
 tain ravine lay a cottage, or hut, where, at the time of 
 the recruiting, the men and boys who wanted to avoid 
 the conscription would hide themselves for weeks, until 
 the officers would have gone on to another place. Not 
 one betrayed their hiding-place ; and here, no doubt, 
 Peter lay concealed. Evila went blindly through the 
 thicket. The night was dark, the wood still darker. 
 
THE DOCTOR 59 
 
 From the mountain came the growling of the hungry- 
 wolves. The girl trembled with fear, but went her way, 
 nevertheless, resolved to find her betrothed, although 
 she was sure he would again beat her. On the path she 
 picked up a stick, and as she went along she beat the 
 bushes, crying, "Go away, wolf!" But her heart beat 
 wildly when, with a rustling sound, some beast flew 
 away through the brushwood. She was getting deeper 
 into the wood, and every moment it was growing darker ; 
 still she kept on her way. 
 
 At last through the darkness she saw the glimmer of 
 a light in a window. This was the hut. Her breath 
 came shorter as she drew near to the house, from whence 
 came the sound of bagpipes mixed with shouts. They 
 were very merry inside. She stole softly to the lighted 
 window, and peeped in. They were dancing. Evila 
 knew the girls who were there ; they \vere none of her 
 companions ; she and her friends crossed the street 
 when they met these. The piper sat upon the pig- 
 trough, and when he blew his instrument grunted like so 
 many pigs. 
 
 Among the men Evila saw Peter Saffran. He was in 
 high spirits, leaping so high as he danced that his fist 
 struck the ceiling. He danced with a girl whose cheeks 
 had two spots of red paint. Peter had both his arms 
 round her waist ; he threw her up and caught her again, 
 kissing her painted face. 
 
 Evila turned away in disgust and hastened back 
 through the woods, unmindful of the cries of the wolves 
 and the howling of the wind. She had not even her 
 stick ; that she had dropped, and she had no means of 
 beating: the bushes. 
 
 •i=> 
 
 That evening Felix Kaulmann came again to Ivan. 
 
6o BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 " I want to have your last word," he said. "Will you 
 join my speculation ?" 
 
 " I don't change my mind so quickly," returned Ivan, 
 coldly. "My answ^er is the same as it was this morn- 
 ing — I will not." 
 
 "Very well. I have acted in a friendly manner in 
 this matter, and now I tell you frankly that, as you do 
 not choose to join me, I shall start the company alone, 
 always leaving it open to you to rescind your determina- 
 tion and to join me if you wish. I cannot say fairer 
 than this, and I trust we shall always be good friends. 
 You will forgive me if I try to pick up some of the dia- 
 monds which are scattered about." 
 
 " I leave you perfectly free to do what you can." 
 
 " I shall avail myself of your permission, and the day 
 will come when I shall remind you of your words." 
 
 Ivan's forehead contracted as he thought, " What does 
 he mean ? What can he take from me ? Not my coal- 
 mine ; that is mine by right of possession, and the law 
 protects me. The cut on the neighboring mountain ? 
 So he may ! What I have suffices for me." 
 
 "Good-luck to your company!" he said, aloud; "and 
 many thanks to the director." 
 
 So they parted. Early next morning Ivan was roused 
 from his sleep. It was the post-horn which sounded the 
 note of Felix Kaulmann's departure. -Ivan wished him 
 a happy journey, then fell asleep again. Later, as he 
 was leaving his house, he met Peter Saffran at the door. 
 The miner presented a sorry figure. His features bore 
 the impression of his night's dissipation ; his eyes were 
 bloodshot, his hair ragged, his dress in disorder. 
 
 " Now, what is it .?" asked Ivan, angrily. 
 
 "Sir," said the man, in a hoarse voice, "that doctor 
 who was with you yesterday — his name ?" 
 
THE DOCTOR 6 1 
 
 "What do you want with him ?" 
 
 " He has carried off Evila !" burst out Peter. In wild 
 agitation he snatched the hat off his head, tore his hair, 
 and raised both his hands to heaven. 
 
 In the first moment Ivan was conscious of feeling a 
 cruel satisfaction. 
 
 " It serves you right, you beast !" he said. " Serves 
 you right ! What business had you to ill-use the girl — 
 your promised wife — on the very day that you were called 
 for the third time ?" 
 
 " Oh, sir," cried the miserable man, his teeth chatter- 
 ing, and beating his head with his hands, " I was drunk ! 
 I did not know what I did ; and, after all, it was only a 
 few blows with a light strap. What was that.? With us 
 common people it is nothing. A woman likes a man the 
 better when he cudgels her. It is true ; but to leave me 
 for a gentleman — " 
 
 Ivan shrugged his shoulders and went on his way. The 
 miner caught him by the tail of his coat. 
 
 " Ah, sir, what shall I do } Tell me, what shall I do .?" 
 
 Ivan, however, was in no mood for giving advice ; he 
 was angry. He pushed Peter away, saying, sternly : 
 
 " Go to hell ! Run to the tavern, drink brandy, then 
 choose among the girls whose company you frequent 
 another bride, who will be only too glad if you are 
 drunk every day in the year." 
 
 Peter took up his hat, put it on his head, looked Ivan 
 in the face, and, in an altered voice, said : 
 
 " No, sir, I shall never drink brandy again ; only once 
 in my life shall I taste the accursed thing — once. You 
 will remember what I say, and when I smell of it, when 
 I am seen coming out of the public-house, or when you 
 hear that I have been there, then stay at home, for on 
 that day no one will know how or when he will die." 
 
62 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 Ivan left the man standing, and going back into his 
 house, shut the door behind him. His tirst satisfaction 
 at the news was passing away. This miserable peasant, 
 who had dared to be his successful rival, had lost the 
 treasure which he coveted. The fool had the pearl in his 
 keeping, but he didn't know how to value it, and he had 
 let it fall. That was good ; but where had it fallen, this 
 pearl so white and lovely in its purity and innocence ? 
 His soul was full of sorrow as he thought how in his eyes 
 it had lost all its value. The girl who had seemed to him 
 so virtuous, who kept her troth so faithfully, whose sim- 
 plicity had been what he really loved — she had fallen at 
 the first word from a villain. She refused her master, 
 who had honorably offered her his name, his house, his 
 all. But he had not the gifts of the other; he was not 
 a dressed-up fellow, with town manners and seductive 
 ways ; he had not the tongue of a seducer, and had not 
 promised her jewels and fine clothes, balls and operas. 
 It was the same story with all women, and Mahomet was 
 right when he gave them no souls, and no place either 
 on earth or in heaven. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 COUNTESS THEUDELINDE 
 
 The mistress of Bondavara was at this time fifty-eight 
 years old. Ivan had not overstated her age when he 
 gave FeHx the information. Countess Theudelinde had 
 long since given up the world. The renunciation cost 
 her very little; she had never been in touch with it. Up 
 to her fourteenth year she had grown up in the house 
 of her father, the prince; at that period her mother, the 
 princess, died. The governess of Theudelinde was beau- 
 tiful, the prince was old. The countess — only the first- 
 born can have the princely title; the younger children 
 are all counts and countesses — could not, for various 
 reasons, remain under the paternal roof; she was sent 
 out of the way and to finish her education at a convent. 
 Before she went, however, she was betrothed to the 
 Marquis Don Antonio de Padua, only son of the Mar- 
 quis de Colomorano, then eighteen years of age. It was 
 settled between the two fathers that when Antonio was 
 twenty-four and Theudelinde twenty, she should be 
 fetched out of her convent, and both should be united 
 in wedlock by Holy Church. This arrangement was 
 carried out so far as Theudelinde spending six blameless 
 years in a most highly respectable convent. She was 
 then brought home, and the marriage belis were set 
 ringing. But, horror of horrors, when the girl saw her 
 betrothed .husband, she shrieked and ran away! This 
 
64 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 was not the man she had promised to marry; this one 
 had a mustache ! (Naturally, for he was an officer in 
 the hussars.) 
 
 Theudelinde had never seen a man with a mustache. 
 Six years before, when she was at home, all the distin- 
 guished guests who came to her father's house, the mag- 
 nates, the ambassadors, were' all smooth-shaved, so were 
 the man-servants, even the coachman. In the convent 
 there was only one man, the father confessor; his face 
 was like a glass. And now they proposed to marry her 
 to a man all hair! Impossible! The saints and the 
 prophets of old wore beards, that was true; some of 
 them had a good deal of hair, but none had it only on 
 the upper-lip. The only one she could remember with 
 this adornment was the servant of the high-priest in the 
 Stations of the Cross, which, to a pious mind like Theu- 
 delinde's, was conclusive. She would hear no more of 
 the marriage; the betrothal rings were returned on 
 both sides, and the alliance was at an end. 
 
 After this the countess avoided all worldly amuse- 
 ments. Nothing would induce her go to a ball, or to 
 the theatre. Nevertheless, she did not seem inclined to 
 take the veil; she had strong leanings towards this 
 wicked world, only she wanted one of a different sort, 
 without the wickedness. She desired out of the general 
 chaos to create an ideal, and this ideal should be her 
 husband. He should be tender, faithful, no wine- 
 drinker, no smoker; a man with a smooth face, a pure 
 soul, a sweet-sounding voice; a gifted, sympathetic, 
 patient, amiable, soft, romantic, domestic, pious man; 
 prudent, scientific, literary, distinguished, well-born, 
 much respected, covered with orders, rich, loyal, brave, 
 and titled. Such a 7'ara avis was impossible to find. 
 Countess Theudelinde spent the best days of her life 
 
COUNTESS THEUDELINDE 65 
 
 seeking a portrait to fit the frame she had made, but she 
 sought in vain ; there was no husband for her. 
 
 When the countess had reached thirty there was a halt. 
 The ideal was as far off as ever. She was anxious to 
 come to terms with the world, but the world would 
 have none of her. Her day was past; she had no right 
 to any pretensions. She found herself in the posi- 
 tion of having to choose between utter renunciation or 
 acceptance of the world, with all its wickedness. At 
 this critical juncture the old prince, her father, died, 
 leaving the countess the property of Bondavara, together 
 with the castle. Here Theudelinde retired to nurse her 
 ideal, and mourn over her shattered idols. Here she 
 was absolute mistress, her brother, to whom the property 
 reverted, leaving her to her own devices. 
 
 The countess carried out, therefore, her theories un- 
 molested, and her dislike to beards and mustaches had 
 free play. The growers of these enormities were ban- 
 ished from her presence, and, as was only a natural con- 
 sequence, as time went on her hatred of the male sex in- 
 creased. No man was allowed in the neighborhood of 
 the countess. She only suffered women about her — not 
 alone in the house, but outside. The garden, the con- 
 servatories, were attended to by women — unmarried 
 women, all. ^Matrimony was as a red rag to Theudelinde, 
 and no one durst mention the word in her presence. 
 Any girl who showed any inclination to wear the "ma- 
 tron's cap " was at once dismissed with contumely. Even 
 the "coachman" was a woman; and for the reason that 
 it would not have been fitting to sit upon a coach-box in 
 woman's clothes, this female Jehu was allowed to wear 
 a long coachman's cloak, a man's coat, as also a cer- 
 tain garment, at the bare mention of which an English- 
 woman calls out, " Oh, how shocking !" and straightway 
 
66 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 faints. Truly, at the time this history was written, in 
 our good land of Hungary, this very garment played a 
 serious part, since it was the shibboleth and visible sign 
 of fidelity to the governing powers, and of submission to 
 the mediators; in truth, ever since those days the "leg 
 of the boot" has been worn. So it came to pass that 
 Mrs. Liese wore this thing, the only one of the kind to 
 be seen in the castle. Liese, also, was allowed to drink 
 wine, and to smoke tobacco, and, needless to say, she 
 did both. 
 
 Fraulein Emerenzia, the countess's companion, was, 
 so to speak, the exact counterpart of her noble mistress. 
 The countess was tall and slender; she had a white skin, 
 her features were sharp, her nose almost transparent, 
 her lips, scarlet in color, were shaped like a bow ; her 
 cadaverous form bent forward ; her eyelids fell over her 
 lack-lustre eyes, her face appeared to have two sides 
 which didn't belong to one another, each half having a 
 totally different expression; even the wrinkles didn't 
 correspond. She wore her hair as it was worn in the 
 days of her youth, as it was worn when Caroline Pia 
 was married, and as it is possible it will be worn again. 
 Her hands were fine, transparent ; they were not strong 
 enough to cut the leaves of a book with a paper-knife. 
 Her whole being was nerveless and sensitive. At the 
 slightest noise she would shriek, be seized with a cramp, 
 or go off in hysterics. She had certain antipathies to 
 beasts, flowers, air, food, motion, and emotion. At the 
 sight of a cat she was ready to faint ; if she saw a flesh- 
 colored flower her blood grew excited. Silver gave 
 everything an unpleasant taste, so her spoons were all 
 of gold. If any women crossed their legs she sent them 
 out of the room. If the spoons, knives, or forks were 
 bv accident laid crosswise on the table, she would not 
 
COUNTESS THEUDELINDE 67 
 
 sit down ; and if she were to see velvet on any of her 
 attendants she was thrown into a nervous attack, from 
 the bare idea that perhaps her hand might come in con- 
 tact with this electric and antipathetic substance. 
 
 Fortunately for her household her nervous fears kept 
 her quiet at night. She locked and double-locked the 
 door of her room, and never opened it until the morning 
 came — no, not if the house were burning over her head. 
 
 Fraulein Emerenzia was, as we have before said, the 
 counterpart of her mistress, in so far that she affected a 
 close imitation of her ways, for in her appearance she 
 was a direct contrast, Emerenzia being a round, short, 
 fat woman, with a full face, the skin of which was so 
 tightly stretched that it was almost as white as the 
 countess's ; she had a snub nose, which in secret was 
 addicted to the vice of snuff-taking. Her dress and her 
 manner of doing her hair were identical with the count- 
 ess's fashion in each, only that the stiff-set clothes had 
 on her small body a humorous expression. She affected 
 to be as nerveless as the countess ; her hands were as 
 weak — they could not break a chicken bone. Her eyes 
 were as sensitive to light, her antipathies were as nu- 
 merous, and she was as prone to faints and hysterics as 
 her patroness. In this direction, indeed, she went fur- 
 ther. So soon as she observed that there was any cause 
 for emotional display, she set up trembling and scream- 
 ing, and so got the start of the countess, and generally 
 managed to sob for a minute longer; and when Theu- 
 delinde fell fainting upon one sofa Emerenzia dropped 
 lifeless upon another ; likewise, she took longer coming 
 to than did her mistress. At night Emerenzia slept pro- 
 foundly. Her room was only separated from that of the 
 countess by an ante-chamber, but Theudelinde might tear 
 down all the bells in the castle without wakinc: her com- 
 
68 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 panion, who maintained that her sleep was a species of 
 nervous trance. 
 
 One man only was ever allowed entrance into the 
 Castle of Bondavara. What do we say? — no man, no 
 masadinuvi. The language of dogma has defined that 
 the priest is 7ietitrius ge?ieris, is more and less than a being 
 of the male sex ; bodily he can be no man's father, spir- 
 itually he is father of thousands. No one need think 
 he will here read any calumnies against the priesthood. 
 The pastor Mahok was a brave, honest man ; he said 
 mass devoutly, baptized, married, buried when called 
 upon, would get up in the middle of the night to attend 
 the death-bed of a parishioner, and would never grumble 
 at the sacristan for waking him out of his first sleep. 
 The pastor wrote no articles in the Church News, neither 
 did he ever read one. If he wanted a newspaper he 
 borrowed from the steward the daily paper. When his 
 clerk collected Peter's pence, Pastor Mahok sent it with 
 an additional gulden or two to the office of the chief 
 priest ; but this did not prevent him sitting down in the 
 evening to play " tarok " with the Lutheran pastor and 
 the infidel steward. He held to having a good cellar; 
 he had a whole family of bees in his garden, and w^as a 
 successful cultivator of fruit. In politics he was a loy- 
 alist, and confessed he belonged to the middle party, 
 which in the country means just this, and no more, "We 
 vote for the tobacco monopoly, but we smoke virgin to- 
 bacco because it is good and we have it." 
 
 From this account every one will understand that dur- 
 ing the course of this narrative this excellent gentleman 
 will offend no one. We would, in fact, have nothing to 
 say to him were it not that he came every day, punctu- 
 ally at eleven o'clock, to Bondavara Castle to hear the 
 countess's confession, and that done, he remained to 
 
COUNTESS THEUDELINDE 69 
 
 dinner, and in both directions he honestly earned his 
 small honorarium. There was a general air of satisfac- 
 tion in his whole appearance, in his double chin, in his 
 fresh color, in his round, shining face. 
 
 To-day the excellent man was punctual. The count- 
 ess, however, was not. Just as eleven o'clock struck, 
 the spiritual man knocked at the door of the sitting- 
 room. Only the voice of Emerenzia answered, " Come 
 in!" 
 
 The smile of greeting on the countenance of the vis- 
 itor was reflected on that of the companion. It was the 
 meeting of two full moons. 
 
 "The countess is still locked in her room," Emeren- 
 zia said in a whisper, as if afraid that her voice could 
 penetrate into the third room. 
 
 The pastor expressed bv a movement of his hand and 
 an elevation of his eyebrows that the sleep of the just 
 was not to be disturbed. The good man was not aware 
 that it was the toilette of the just that was then in prog- 
 ress. These mysteries were conducted by the countess 
 in private. No one, not even a faithful maid, was ad- 
 mitted until Theudelinde was clothed, and for this rea- 
 son her garments were made to close in front. 
 
 The priest made use of this unexpected delay to 
 search in the pocket of his coat, and to draw from 
 thence a mysterious something, which, after first casting 
 a look round the room, to make sure no one was spying 
 on him, he pressed into the fat hand of the countess's 
 companion, who hastily concealed this surreptitious 
 something in the depths of the pocket of her dress, ex- 
 pressing her gratitude by a friendly nod, which the pas- 
 tor returned by a courteous movement which expressed, 
 " No thanks are necessary for so small a service." 
 Whereupon Emerenzia, turning away, half-shyly drew 
 
70 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 the something carefully out of her pocket, peered into 
 the contents of the same, held it close to her nose, 
 drinking in the scent of the something, turning her eyes 
 up to heaven, and again to the pastor, who, on his part, 
 expressed by the motion of the thumb and forefinger of 
 his left hand, "Excellent — special brand!" Then, no 
 longer able to restrain her feelings, the companion took 
 from the mysterious packet between the thumb and 
 forefinger of her right hand something which she placed 
 in both nostrils, and sniffed up in silent ecstasy. It 
 was the pastor's pleasure to fill Emerenzia's snuff-box 
 with the very best mixture. This was the platonic bond 
 which existed between them — the mutual desire of two 
 noses for one ideal. 
 
 Yellow snuff is not an unattainable ideal. In the or- 
 dinary way of business a quarter of a pound can be pro- 
 cured for a few^ pence ; but common snuff was as differ- 
 ent from the priest's mixture as cherry brandy is from 
 Chartreuse, or Veuve Cliquot from the vintage of Pres- 
 burg. This is easily understood by those who take snuff. 
 How is it that a clergyman always has the best tobacco ? 
 How does he prepare it ? Does he get it prepared .-* 
 These are broad questions that a man of liberal mind 
 dare not ventilate. Even if he knew, it would not be 
 advisable to make use of his knowledge. One thing is 
 certain, the best tobacco is used by the Church. A 
 bishop, who died not long since, left behind him a hun- 
 dredweight of the most heavenly stuff, two ounces of 
 which fetched a ducat. 
 
 The quiet tete-a-tete between the two snuff-takers was 
 disturbed by the sound of a bell ; then a metal slide in 
 the door of the countess's room opened, and a tray with 
 an empty teacup was put through. This was a sign that 
 the countess had breakfasted. 
 
COUNTESS THEUDELINDE 7 1 
 
 Every door in the castle had sliding panels, some 
 large, others small. The slides were made of copper, 
 the doors of strong wood, with brass locks and fasteners. 
 The door of the countess's bedroom was all of iron, 
 covered on the inside with a tapestry curtain. Since no 
 man was allowed in the house, it was necessary to have 
 a defence system against any possible attack. This sys- 
 tem included some cleverly-constructed machinery, by 
 means of which the countess, by pressing her foot, could 
 raise up the flooring, and precipitate any bold invader of 
 the sacred precincts of her bedroom into a cellar without 
 light or exit. From the alcove of her bed an electric 
 telegraph connected with the fire-tower, so that by rais- 
 ing her finger the alarm-bell could be set ringing, and in 
 case of danger the masculine inhabitants of the adjacent 
 farm-houses and hunting-lodges could be summoned with- 
 out a moment's delay. In Emerenzia's room there was 
 likewise a communication with this electric apparatus, 
 and to the door were affixed the different signs by which 
 the countess expressed her wishes. The cup signified 
 that the waiting-maid was required, a book would have 
 meant that the companion was needed. 
 
 Emerenzia, therefore, sent the girl to her mistress. 
 When her work was finished the bell rang again, the 
 book appeared, and the companion went to the countess. 
 After a short time she returned, and opened the door for 
 the pastor, while she whispered to him softly — 
 
 " She has seen the spirits again ; she has much to tell 
 you." 
 
 We will follow the pastor into his penitent's room ; 
 but no one need be afraid that he or she is about to 
 listen to the lady's confession. When the pastor had 
 closed the door behind him, he came to the countess, 
 who sat in a large armchair, looking pale and exhausted. 
 
72 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 She signed to the priest to take his place in another 
 armchair opposite to her. 
 
 " Have you seen them again ?" he asked. 
 
 " I have," said the countess, in an awed whisper. " All 
 happened in the same way as usual. So soon as the 
 clock-tower had sounded midnight, there rose from below, 
 as if out of the vault, a fearful chorus of voices intoning 
 the De Profundis. It was a ghostly, terrible sound. I 
 could distinguish the solo of the celebrant, the anti- 
 phon, the chorus ; and between them loud laughter, 
 diabolical words, the shrieks of women, and the clatter 
 of glasses. I heard comic songs accompanied by wild 
 howls ; then, again, the soft, pious hymn succeeded by 
 the wild disorder. I pinched my arm to see did I dream. 
 Here you can see the mark. 'Twas not dreaming. I 
 got up; I wished to convince myself that I was awake. 
 I took my pencil and note-paper, and when a distinct 
 tune reached my ear I wrote it down. Here is the paper. 
 You understand music." 
 
 The priest tiirew a hasty glance over the ghostly 
 melod}^ and recognized a well-known Hungarian volks- 
 lied — " Maiden with the black eyes, let me taste thy 
 lips." Undoubtedly an unclean song to issue from the 
 family vault at midnight ! 
 
 "And, gracious countess, have you never heard the 
 peasants singing this in the fields .''" 
 
 The countess drew herself up with dignity. " Do I 
 frequent the places where peasants sing ?" she made an- 
 swer ; and then continued her story. " These notes are 
 sufficient proof that I was awake ; my nerves were too 
 excited to allow me to sleep again. Moreover, I was 
 drawn by an invincible desire to go to the spot from 
 whence the sound came. I dressed myself. I am cer- 
 tain that I took out my grass-green skirt of Gros de 
 
COUNTESS THEUDELINDF 73 
 
 Naples, with a flounce of cashmere. I called none of 
 my servants; every one in the house was asleep. An 
 extraordinary courage awoke in me. Quite alone I de- 
 scended the steps which lead to the family vault. When 
 I reached the door both sides opened of themselves ; I 
 entered, and found myself in the presence of my de- 
 parted ancestors. The monuments were all removed, 
 the niches empty ; the occupiers of both sat round the 
 long table which stands in the vault, in the identical 
 dress in which they are painted in the portraits which 
 hang in the hall, and by which their calling in life is dis- 
 tinguishable. My great-uncle, the archbishop, in full 
 canonicals, celebrated mass before the requiem altar ; 
 my grandfather, the chancellor, had large parchment 
 documents before him, upon which he affixed the state 
 seal. My great-uncle, the field-marshal, in armor, and 
 with the marshal's baton in his hand, gave orders. My 
 ancestress Katherine, who was a lady of the court, and 
 of remarkable beauty, rolled her eyes about, and in her 
 whole face no feature moved but those glittering eyes; 
 and my aunt Clementina, the abbess of the Ursuline 
 Convent, sang psalms with my uncle, in which the others 
 from time to time joined." 
 
 "But the laughter, the tumult, tlie comic songs?" 
 asked the pastor. 
 
 " I am coming to that. At the other end of the table 
 sat some of my more distant relatives — my young cousin 
 Clarissa, who danced herself to death ; and a cousin, 
 who was a celebrated flute player ; and my great-uncle 
 Otto, who was devoted to hazard, and now rattled dice 
 into a copper goblet, and cursed his bad-luck when he 
 made a bad throw; also another cousin, who died on the 
 very night of her marriage, and still wore a faded wed- 
 ding wreath ; finally, my uncle Ladislaus, who was ban- 
 
74 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 ished from the family circle earl}^ in the century, and 
 whose frame hangs in the picture-gallery empty, his por- 
 trait being removed." 
 
 " How did you know him, then ?" By this question 
 the pastor hoped to check the flow of the countess's 
 visions. 
 
 Theudelinde, however, answered that her uncle Ladis- 
 laus, being a rebel and a heretic, had not alone been de- 
 clared a traitor, but had incurred the ban of excommuni- 
 cation. He was taken prisoner and beheaded. "And 
 therefore," she added, with an air of conviction, "it was 
 easy to recognize him by his death's-head. Likewise, 
 during his lifetime he ignored the king's express com- 
 mand, and was the first to introduce tobacco-smoke into 
 the country, and on this account, at his execution, he re- 
 ceived the punishment awarded to the smoker, of hav- 
 ing a pipe-handle run through his nose. Last night, as 
 he sat at the table, he held between the teeth of his 
 monstrous death's-head a large meerschaum pipe, and 
 the whole vault smelled in the most fearful manner of 
 tobacco-smoke." 
 
 This remark convinced the priest that the countess 
 had been dreaming. 
 
 " Between both my cousins," she went on, " the nun 
 and the bride, there was an empty chair. There I felt 
 obliged to seat myself. The bride wished to hear of the 
 fashions ; she praised the stuff of my Gros de Naples 
 dress, taking it between her fingers, which, when they 
 touched mine, were cold as death itself. The upper end 
 of the table was covered with green cloth, the lower end 
 with a yellow silk table-cloth, embroidered with many- 
 colored flowers. At this end every one laughed, talked, 
 sang noisy songs ; while at the top the psalms were 
 intoned and the antiphon was sung. Both sounded hor- 
 
COUNTESS THEUDELINDE 75 
 
 rible in my ears. The dishes contained cooked hazel- 
 hens and roast pheasants, with the feathers sticking in 
 their heads; sparkhng wine filled the cups, I was 
 pressed to eat and drink, but neither the food nor the 
 liquor had any taste. Once the bride, my cousin, as is 
 the custom with very young girls, offered me the spur of 
 the pheasant's breast, saying, jokingly, ' Break this spur 
 with me, and we shall see which of us two gets a hus- 
 band first.' I seized hold of my end of the spur ; I 
 tugged and tugged, and at last broke it. The largest 
 half remained in my hand. The bride laughed. 'Theu- 
 delinde shall be the first married !' she cried, I blushed ; 
 it seemed to me something terrible that the spirits of my 
 dead ancestors should be so frivolous," 
 
 The worthy pastor said nothing. Nevertheless, he 
 was minded to agree with his penitent. He could not 
 imagine w^hy blessed souls, or even condemned ones, 
 should occupy themselves breaking pheasant bones with 
 an old maid, of all people in the world. 
 
 "What gave me most offence," continued Theude- 
 linde, "was the outrageous behavior of my uncle Ladis- 
 laus. One minute he shrieked, then laughed loudly, 
 sang horrid songs. Again he broke out into fearful 
 curses, scorned the saints, the pope, the sacraments, 
 made witticisms that brought a blush to the faces of the 
 ladies, and blew all his tobacco-smoke over me. I 
 shook the skirt of my green silk to prevent the hor- 
 rid smell sticking to it, but I felt this precaution 
 was of little use. My uncle Ladislaus began then to 
 tease me, and said I had concealed the prophetic bone 
 in the pocket of my green dress. My face glowed with 
 shame, for it was true. I denied it, however, where- 
 upon he began to swear in his heathenish way, and to 
 thump with his fists on the table until the vault re- 
 
76 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 sounded with his blows. My cousins put their hands 
 over his mouth. Then he spoke through his empty 
 eye-sockets. It was terrible 1 He cursed all the saints 
 in the calendar and the emperor. My great-uncle, the 
 archbishop, stretched out his hands and damned him ; 
 my grandfather, the chancellor, sealed the sentence ; 
 and my great-uncle, the field- marshal, drew his sword 
 and cut off my uncle's death's-head. The head rolled 
 over, and fell at my feet, still holding the pipe between 
 its teeth, and blew its filthy breath over me. Then I 
 arose and fled." 
 
 The pastor had now made up his mind that the whole 
 story was nothing but the dream of an hysterical wom- 
 an. It was strange, however, that the countess should 
 have the same vision so often, and that it should always 
 begin in the same manner. 
 
 As she now concluded her recital with the words, 
 "As I took off my silk dress it smelled horribly of tobacco- 
 smoke," a brilliant idea came to Father Mahok. 
 
 "Will you excuse my asking you where your green 
 dress is ?" he asked, gravely. 
 
 The countess betrayed some embarrassment. 
 
 " I do not know. My wardrobe is in the care of 
 Fraulein Emerenzia — " 
 
 " Allow me to ask you the question, did you not take 
 the dress off in this apartment?" 
 
 " I no longer remember. Emerenzia has been here 
 since ; she may know." 
 
 "Will you grant me the favor, countess, to send for 
 Fraulein Emerenzia?" 
 
 "Certainly. She will be here in a minute." 
 
 The countess pressed her finger twice on the electric 
 apparatus, and the companion entered. 
 
 "Fraulein," said the countess, "you remember my 
 
COUNTESS THEUDELINDE 77 
 
 green Gros de Naples silk, bordered with a trimming 
 of fur ?" 
 
 "Yes; it is a pelisse of peculiar cut, with hanging 
 sleeves, and fastened by a silk band and buckle/' 
 
 " That is the dress," returned the countess. " Where 
 is it?" 
 
 " In the wardrobe. I hung it there myself, first put- 
 ting camphor in the sleeves, that the moths might not 
 get at the fur." 
 
 " When did you do this ?" 
 
 " Last summer." 
 
 The pastor laughed slyly to himself. "Now," thought 
 he, " the countess must be convinced that she dreamed 
 the whole scene she has so accurately described." 
 
 "Have I not worn it since last summer?" questioned 
 Theudelinde. 
 
 " Not once. The open-hanging sleeves are only for 
 the hottest weather." 
 
 "Impossible!'' 
 
 "But, countess," put in the priest, "it is easy to con- 
 vince yourself of what ma'm'selle says. You have only 
 to look into the wardrobe. Who keeps the key ?" 
 
 " Ma'm'selle Emerenzia." 
 
 " Do you command me to open the press ?" asked the 
 companion, with a discomfited look. 
 
 " I do," answered the countess, nodding to the pastor 
 to follow her into the next room. 
 
 Emerenzia, her face puckered into an expression of 
 annoyance, drew her bunch of keys from her pocket, 
 and placed one in the lock of an antique and highly or- 
 namented press, of which she threw the doors open. 
 At least fifty silk dresses hung there, side by side. The 
 countess never allowed any of her clothes to get into 
 strange hands ; no man's eye should ever rest upon 
 
78 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 what she had worn. Through this museum of old 
 clothes Emerenzia's fingers went with unerring cer- 
 tainty, and drew forth the oft-mentioned green silk dress 
 with the fur trimming. 
 
 " Here it is," she said, shortly. 
 
 The pastor was triumphant, but the countess, whose 
 nerves were more impressionable than those of ordinary 
 mortals, grew suddenly pale and began to shake all 
 over. 
 
 " Take that dress down," she said, in a whisper. And 
 Emerenzia, with a jerk, tore it from its peg. What, in 
 Heaven's name, had come to the pastor and her mis- 
 tress ? 
 
 The countess took it from her hand, and held it, while 
 she turned her head the other way, across his nose. 
 
 " Do you smell it .?" she said. " Is it tobacco-smoke .?" 
 
 Father Mahok was astonished. This fine silk dress, 
 straight from out of a lady's wardrobe, smelled as strong- 
 ly of the commonest tobacco as the coat of a peasant 
 who had passed his night in an ale-house. Before he 
 could answer Theudelinde's question she was ready with 
 another. From the pocket of the green Gros de Naples 
 she now drew forth a broken pheasant bone. 
 
 "And this.?" she asked. But here her strength was 
 exhausted. Without waiting for a reply, she fell faint- 
 ing on the sofa. 
 
 Emerenzia, sobbing loudly, fell helplessly into an arm- 
 chair. The clergyman was so upset by the whole thing 
 that, in his embarrassment, he opened the doors of three 
 more wardrobes before finding the one which communi- 
 cated with the sitting-room. Then he summoned the 
 servants to attend to their mistress. The evidence of 
 witchcraft was proved. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 THE countess's ALBUM 
 
 The worthy Pastor Mahok was of opinion that the 
 mystery of the countess's dress smelling so strongly of 
 tobacco-smoke could not be accounted for by any law of 
 Nature, and judged, therefore, by the light of his priestly 
 office, as well as from his worldly experience, that these 
 diabolical visions were matters worthy of deep consider- 
 ation on his part. They occupied his mind during din- 
 ner, which he partook of in company with the countess's 
 companion, but of the subject of his thoughts he spoke 
 no word to her. They were alone at table. The countess 
 remained in her room, as was her habit when she suf- 
 fered from what was called "cramps," and her only re- 
 freshment was some light soup. After dinner she again 
 sent for the pastor. 
 
 He found her lying on the sofa, pale and exhausted ; 
 her first words had reference to the subject which filled 
 both their minds. 
 
 " Are you now convinced," she said, "that what I told 
 you was, indeed, no dream ?" 
 
 " Doubtless there has been some strange work going 
 on." 
 
 " Is it the work, think you, of good or bad spirits ?" 
 asked the countess, raising her eyes. 
 
 "That can only be ascertained by a trial." 
 
 "What sort of a trial, holv father ?" 
 
8o BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 " An attempt to exorcise them. If these spirits who 
 every night leave their graves are good, they must, by 
 the strength of the exorcism, return to their resting- 
 places, and remain there till summoned by the angel's 
 trumpet to arise on the last day." 
 
 "And in case they don't return?" inquired the count- 
 ess, anxiously. 
 
 "Then they are bad spirits." 
 
 "That is to say, damned. How do you know that.'"' 
 
 For a minute there was a struggle in the pastor's 
 mind ; then he answered, boldly: 
 
 " This night I shall keep watch in the castle." 
 
 "And if you hear the unearthly noises ?" 
 
 "Then I shall descend into the vault, and scatter the 
 ghosts with holy water." 
 
 The countess's face glowed with fervor as she ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 " Holy father, I shall accompany you." 
 
 " No, countess ; no one shall accompany me but my 
 sacristan." 
 
 " The sacristan ! A man ! He shall not put his foot 
 in this house !" cried the countess, excitedly. 
 
 The pastor, in a soothing voice, explained to her that 
 his sacristan was almost as much a part of the Church 
 as himself ; moreover, that he was absolutely necessary 
 on this occasion for the performance of the exor- 
 cism ; in fact, wdthout him the ceremony could not take 
 place, seeing that the sacred vessel containing the 
 holy water, the crucibulum and lanterns, should be car- 
 ried before him to give all due effect to the religious 
 rite. 
 
 Under these circumstances Countess Theudelinde 
 gave her consent, on the condition that the obnoxious 
 male intruder should not enter the castle itself. Still 
 
THE countess's ALBUM 8l 
 
 more, the pastor promised to watch in the greenhouse 
 after the castle gates were locked. 
 
 According to these arrangements, when it began to 
 get dark, Father Mahok arrived, bringing with him his 
 sacristan, a man of about forty, with a closely shaved 
 mustache and a very copper-colored face. The pastor 
 left him in the greenhouse, and proceeded himself to 
 the dining-room, where the countess was awaiting him 
 for supper. No one ate a morsel. The pastor had no 
 appetite, neither had the countess, nor her companion. 
 The air was too full of the coming event to allow of 
 such a gross thing as eating. 
 
 After supper the countess withdrew to her room, and 
 Herr Mahok went to the greenhouse, where the sacristan 
 had made himself comfortable with wine and meat, and 
 had kept up the fires in the oven. The servants had 
 been kept in ignorance of what was going on ; they had 
 never heard the midnight mass, nor the wild shrieks 
 and infamous songs of the inhabitants of the vault, and 
 the countess would not allow the ears of her innocent 
 handmaidens to be polluted with such horrors. There- 
 fore, every one in the castle slept. The pastor watched 
 alone. At first Herr Mahok tried to pass the long 
 hours of the night in reading his prayers, but as his 
 habitual hour for sleep drew near he had to fight a 
 hard battle with his closing eyelids. He was afraid that 
 if he slumbered his imagination would reproduce the 
 countess's dream, to which, be it said, he did not give 
 credence; at the same time, he did not wholly doubt. 
 Generally, he found that his breviary provoked sleep, 
 and now he thought it better to close the book, and try 
 what conversation with the sacristan would do as a 
 means to keep awake. 
 
 The clerk's discourse naturally turned upon ghostly 
 
 /euoO 
 
82 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 appearances ; he told stories of a monk without a head, 
 of spirits that appeared on certain nights in the year, of 
 hobgoblins and witches, all of which he had either seen 
 with his own eyes or had heard of from persons whose 
 veracity was unimpeachable. 
 
 '' Folly ! lies !" said the excellent pastor ; but he could 
 not help a creeping sensation coming over him. If he 
 could even have smoked, it would have strengthened his 
 nerves ; but smoking was forbidden in the castle. The 
 countess would have smelled it, as the giant in the old 
 fairy tale smelled human flesh. 
 
 When the sacristan found that all his wonderful tales 
 of ghosts and hobgoblins were considered lies, he thought 
 it was no use tiring himself talking, and as soon as he 
 ceased sleep began to fall upon his eyelids. Seated 
 upon a stool, his head leaning against the w^all, his 
 mouth open, he slept profoundly, to the envy, if not 
 the admiration, of the good pastor, who would w^illingly 
 have followed his example. Soon some very unmusical 
 sounds made themselves heard. The sacristan snored 
 in all manner of keys, in all variations of nasal discord, 
 which so jarred on the pastor's nerves that he several 
 times shook the sleeper to awake him, with the result 
 that he slept again in no time. 
 
 At last the clock on the castle tower chimed twelve. 
 Herr Mahok struck the sacristan a good blow on his 
 shoulder. 
 
 " Get up !" he said. " I did not bring you here to 
 sleep," 
 
 The clerk rubbed his eyes, already drunk with sleep. 
 The pastor took his snuff-box to brighten himself up 
 with a pinch of snuff, when suddenly both men were 
 roused out of all the torpor of sleep by other means. 
 Just as the last beat of the clock had finished striking 
 
THE countess's ALBUM 83 
 
 the unearthly mass began to be intoned in the vault be- 
 low. Through the profound silence of the night was 
 heard the voice of the priest singing the Latin mass, 
 with the responses of the choir, accompanied by some 
 instrument that sounded like an organ, but which had 
 a shriller tone, and seemed to be a parody of the 
 same. 
 
 Over the whole body of Herr Mahok crept a ghostly 
 shiver. 
 
 " Do you hear it ?'' he asked the sacristan, in a whis- 
 per. 
 
 " Hear it ? Who could help hearing it .? Mass is 
 saying somewhere." 
 
 " Here, under us, in the vault." 
 
 "Who can it be ?" 
 
 " The devil ! All good spirits praise the Lord," stam- 
 mered the worthy pastor, making the sign of the cross 
 three times. 
 
 " But it seems that the evil spirits praise the Lord as 
 well as the good ones," returned the clerk. 
 
 This assertion of his was, however, quickly contradict- 
 ed, for in the middle of the next psalm a diabolical cho- 
 rus struck in wildly, and the air resounded with — 
 
 " Come, dearest, come to me. 
 Come, I am at home ; 
 Two gypsies play for me, 
 And here I dance alone." 
 
 Then followed shrieks of laughter, in which women's 
 shrill cackle mingled with the hoarse roar of men and 
 the wildest discord, as if hell itself were let loose. 
 
 The poor priest, who had trembled at the pious 
 psalms, nearly fell to the ground on hearing this pan- 
 demonium. A cold sweat broke out all over him ; he 
 
84 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 knew now that the countess was right, and that this was, 
 in truth, the work of the evil one. 
 
 " Michael," he said, his teeth chattering with fear, 
 " have you heard — " 
 
 " I must be stone deaf if I didn't — such an infernal 
 din!" replied the other. "All the spirits of hell are 
 holding a Sabbath — " 
 
 Just then there was the tinkle of a bell. The tumult 
 subsided, and the voice of the celebrant was once more 
 heard intoning mass. 
 
 " What shall we do ?" asked Herr Mahok. 
 
 "What shall we do? Descend into the vault and ex- 
 orcise the evil spirits." 
 
 " What !" cried the priest. " Alone ?" 
 
 "Alone!" repeated Michael, with religious fervor. 
 " Are we alone when we come in the name of the Lord 
 of armies? Besides, we are two. If I were a priest, 
 and if I were invested with the stole, had I the right to 
 wear the three-cornered hat, I should go into the vault, 
 carrying the holy water, and with the words, 'Apage 
 Satanas,' I w^ould drive before me all the legions of hell 
 itself." 
 
 The excellent pastor felt ashamed that his ignorant 
 sacristan should possess greater faith, and show more 
 courage in this combat with the powers of darkness, 
 than himself; still, fear predominated over his shame. 
 
 "I would willingly face these demons," he said, in 
 a somewhat hesitating manner, "were it not that the 
 gout has suddenly seized my right foot. I am not able 
 to walk." 
 
 "But consider what a scandal it will be if we, who 
 have heard the spirits, have not pluck enough to send 
 them packing." 
 
 " But my foot, Michael ; I cannot move my foot" 
 
THE countess's ALBUM 85 
 
 "Well, then, I will carry you on my back. You can 
 hold the holy water and I will take the lantern." 
 
 There was no way out of this friendly offer. The pastor 
 commended his soul to God, and, taking heart, resolved 
 to fight the demons below^, armed only with the holy 
 insignia of his office. The good man, however, did not 
 mount, like Anchises on the back of ^neas, without 
 much inward misgiving. 
 
 "You will be careful, jMichael; you will not let me 
 fall ?" he said, in a somewhat quavering voice. 
 
 " Don't be afraid, pastor," returned the sacristan, as 
 he stooped and raised the pastor on his shoulders. 
 " Now, forward !" he cried, taking the lantern in his 
 hands, while Herr Mahok carried the vessels necessary 
 for the exorcism. 
 
 A cold blast of air saluted them as they issued from 
 the greenhouse and crossed the large hall of the castle, 
 which the glimmering light from the small lantern only 
 faintly illumined. Half of it remained in darkness; 
 but on the side of the wall where hung the portraits 
 of the armed knights an occasional gleam showed Herr 
 Mahok the faces of the countess's warlike ancestors, 
 who had done in their day good service against tiie 
 Turks. They looked at him, he thought, somewhat con- 
 temptuously, and seemed to say, "What sort of man is 
 this, who goes to fight pickaback ?" 
 
 Michael stopped before a strong iron door in the 
 centre of the hall. This was the entrance to the sub- 
 terranean vaults and cellars underneath the castle. 
 And now the pastor suddenly remembered he had left 
 the key of this gate in the greenhouse. There was noth- 
 ing for it but to retrace their steps. Just as they 
 reached the threshold, however, Michael suggested that 
 something very hard was pressing against his side. 
 
86 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 Could it be the key -which was, after all, in his rever- 
 ence's pocket? This suggestion proved correct, and 
 once more he had to run the gantlet of the old cru- 
 saders and their contemptuous superiority. 
 
 The key creaked as it turned in the lock, and a 
 heavy, damp smell struck upon them as they passed 
 through the iron gate. 
 
 " Leave the door open," said the pastor, with an eye 
 to securing a safe retreat. 
 
 And now they began to descend the steps, Herr 
 Mahok remarking that his horse was not too sure-footed. 
 He tottered in going down the steps so much that the 
 pastor, in his fright, caught him with his left hand 
 tightly by the collar, while he pressed the other more 
 closely round his throat, a proceeding which Michael 
 resented by calling out, in a strangled voice : 
 
 "Reverend sir, don't squeeze me so ; I am suffocat- 
 ing!" 
 
 "What was that.?" 
 
 A black object whizzed past them, circling round 
 their heads. A bat, the well-known attendant upon 
 ghosts ! 
 
 " We shall be there in a few minutes," said the clerk, 
 to encourage his rider, whose teeth chattered audibly. 
 
 While they were descending the steps the noise in the 
 vault had been less audible, but now, as they came into 
 the passages which ran underneath the hall, it broke out 
 again in the most horrible discord. The passage was 
 long, and there were two wings ; one led to the cellars 
 proper, the other to the vaults. Opposite to the steps 
 there was a cross passage, at the end of which, by as- 
 cending some seven or eight steps and passing through 
 a lattice door, you could get into the open air. This 
 lattice served likewise as a means of ventilatin"; the 
 
THE countess's ALBUM 87 
 
 passages, and on this particular night there was such a 
 strong current of air that the light in the lantern was in 
 danger every minute of being blown out. It would have 
 been well if that were all. The sacristan hadn't taken 
 three steps in the direction of the vault before a terrible 
 sight revealed itself to both men. 
 
 At the other end of the passage a blue flame burned ; 
 before the flame there stood, or sat, or jumped, a dwarfish 
 figure all in white. It was not three feet in height, and, 
 nevertheless, its head was of monstrous size. As the 
 sacristan, with the pastor, drew near this horrid ap- 
 pearance, the blue flame suddenly flared up, throwing a 
 bright, whitish light all over the passage, and by this 
 light the terrified spectators beheld the dwarfish figure 
 stretch itself out, and grow taller and taller — six, eight, 
 twelve feet— and still it grew and grew. Its shadow 
 danced in the light of the blue. flame upon the marble 
 floor of the passage like a black serpent. Then the fear- 
 ful appearance raised its head, and the vaulted roof 
 echoed with its howls and shrieks. 
 
 Michael's courage flew out of the window. He turned, 
 and, burdened as he Avas with the weight of the pastor 
 on his back, he ran back as fast as he could. In the 
 middle of the passage, however, he made a false step 
 and fell, with Herr Mahok, flat upon his face. In the 
 fall he broke the lantern, the light went out, and left 
 them in the dark. Groping along with outstretched 
 hands, they missed the steps which led up to the iron 
 gate, but after some time found themselves in the cross 
 passage, and saw the soft light of the moon shining 
 through the lattice window. They made at once for the 
 door. At first there was some difficulty in opening it, 
 but Michael managed to force it, and, to their great joy, 
 they were once more in the open air. Over the stubble, 
 
88 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 through the thorn-bushes they flew, never pausing to 
 look back. Singularly enough, the gout in the pastor's 
 foot in no way affected his speed. He ran quite as fast 
 as Michael, and in less than a quarter of an hour was in 
 his bed. So, too, the sacristan, whose fright produced 
 an attack of fever, which kept him a prisoner there for 
 three days. 
 
 The next morning Herr Mahok, with many inward 
 qualms, went up to the castle. His was an honest, 
 simple mind; he preferred rather to believe in the wiles 
 of the devil than in the wickedness of human nature ; he 
 credited what he had seen with his own eyes, and never 
 sought to penetrate the dark veil which shrouds many 
 supernatural mysteries. He believed firmly that he had 
 now to do with damned spirits, who at their midnight 
 orgies cracked pheasant bones to see who should first 
 be married. 
 
 He found the countess in good humor; she was 
 friendly, lively, and received her visitor with a smiling 
 countenance. This change did not surprise Herr Ma- 
 hok. He was by this time accustomed to the caprices 
 of Countess Theudelinde. One day she was out of 
 humor, the next all serenity. 
 
 The pastor went straight to the kernel he had to crack. 
 
 " I watched last night," he said. 
 
 "Oh, father, thanks, ten thousand thanks! Your 
 mere presence has been sufficient to banish the evil 
 spirits which have haunted the castle for so long. Last 
 night all was peace ; not a sound did I hear." 
 
 " Not a sound !" cried the pastor, rising from his 
 chair in his astonishment at such a statement. " Count- 
 ess, is it possible that you did not hear the noise ?" 
 
 "Profound repose. Arcadian peace, reigned in the 
 house, both up-stairs and below." 
 
THE countess's ALBUM 89 
 
 " But I was there, and awake. I did not dream it. 
 And, moreover, I can show you the bruises and abrasions 
 on my elbow ; they witness to the fall we had, to say 
 nothing of Michael, the sacristan, who is this moment 
 in a high fever in consequence. No, never did any one 
 hear so demoniacal, so terrible a noise as echoed through 
 the vault last night. I was there myself, countess, in 
 my own person. I was ready to encounter the wicked 
 spirits ; I would have met them armed with all the 
 terrors of Mother Church, but the courage of my weak- 
 kneed sacristan failed. I have now come to tell you 
 that my knowledge is at an end. This castle is be- 
 witched, and, countess, my advice to you is to leave it 
 without delay, and to take up your residence in a city, 
 where your family ghost cannot follow you." 
 
 The countess placed the middle finger of her left 
 hand upon her breast, and spoke with haughty dignity: 
 
 " I leave this castle because the spirits of my ances- 
 tors dwell here ! Your advice, reverend father, shows 
 how little you know me. To my mind, it is a power- 
 ful reason for remaining. Here the spirits of my fore- 
 fathers, the ghosts of ancestors, surround me. They 
 know me, they claim me as theirs; they honor me with 
 their visits, with their invitations, and you counsel me 
 to abandon them. Never! Bondavara is dearer to me 
 than ever; the presence of my ancestors has doubled 
 its value a hundredfold." 
 
 It was on the tip of Herr Mahok's tongue to answer, 
 " Well, then, remain here by all means, but for my part 
 I give my resignation; provide yourself with another 
 confessor." He restrained himself, however, and said, 
 quietly : 
 
 "Will you tell me, countess, how it happens that, if 
 you have these close relations with your ancestors' 
 
90 
 
 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 spirits, you heard nothing of the witch's Sabbatli they 
 kept last night ?" 
 
 At this bold question the countess's pale cheeks were 
 suddenly decorated by two carnation spots ; her eyes 
 fell before the sharp look of her father confessor, and, 
 striking her breast with her hand, she sank slowly on 
 her knees, whispering, in great agitation : 
 
 "Pater, peccavi. There is something which I have 
 never confessed to you, and which lies heavy on my 
 conscience." 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 " Oh, I fear to tell you !" 
 
 "Daughter, fear nothing," said the priest, soothingly. 
 "God is merciful ta human weakness." 
 
 "I believe that; but I am more afraid that you will 
 laugh at me." 
 
 "Ah!" And the pastor, at this strange speech, fell 
 back in his chair, smiling to himself. 
 
 The countess rose from her kneeling position and went 
 to her writing-table ; she opened a secret draw^er, and 
 took from thence an album. It was a splendid book 
 with an ivory cover, chasings of gilt enamel, and clasp 
 of the same. 
 
 " Will you look through this album, father ?" 
 
 The priest opened the clasp, took off the cover, and 
 saw a collection of cabinet photographs, such as are gen- 
 erally to be found on drawing-room tables. There were 
 portraits of eminent statesmen, poets, actors, with whose 
 likenesses all the world is familiar. Two points were 
 remarkable in this gallery — one, that no one was in- 
 cluded who had any scandal connected with his name; 
 secondly, it was only clean-shaved men w^ho had a place 
 in the volume. Herr Mahok recognized many whom he 
 knew^ either by sight or personally — Liszt, Reme'nyi, the 
 
THE COUNTESS S ALBUM 9 1 
 
 actors Lendvay, Szerdahelyi, and others, together with 
 many foreign celebrities, who wore neither beard nor 
 mustache. Another peculiarity struck the pastor. Sev- 
 eral of the leaves, instead of portraits, had pieces of 
 black crape inserted into the frames. This circum- 
 stance made him reflective. 
 
 " It is a very interesting volume," he said, closing the 
 book; "but Avhat has it to do with the present circum- 
 stances ?" 
 
 "I confess to you," said the countess, in a low voice, 
 " that this book is a memorial of my folly and weakness. 
 A picture-dealer in Vienna has for many years had an 
 order from me ; he sends me every photograph that 
 comes out of clean-shaved men, and I seek among them 
 for my ideal. I have been seeking many years. Some- 
 times I imagine I have found it; some one of the por- 
 traits takes my fancy. I call the mnn whom it repre- 
 sents my betrothed. I place the photograph before 
 me; I dream for hours looking at it; I almost fancy 
 that it speaks to me. We say to one another all man- 
 ner of things — sweet nothings, but they fill my mind 
 with a sort of ecstasy. It is silly, I know, and some- 
 thing tells me that it is worse than silly, that it is sinful. 
 I have been for a long time wondering whether I should 
 confess this as a sin, or keep silence about such foolish 
 nonsense. What is your opinion, father.^" 
 
 Herr Mahok, in truth, did not know what to say. It 
 was true that in the Scripture some words were said 
 about sinning with the eyes, but photographs were not 
 named. He answered, vaguely — 
 
 " Anything further, my daughter ?" 
 
 " After I had for some time been silly over one of the 
 portraits, I saw in a dream the man it represented. He 
 appeared to me as a beautiful apparition, we walked to- 
 
92 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 gether through fields and meadows, arm-in-arm; a sort 
 of heavenly halo surrounded us, flowers sprang up under 
 our feet. We were young, and we loved one another." 
 The poor lady wept bitt'erly as she related her dream, 
 and she sobbed as she said, " Is not this a sin, father V 
 
 Herr Mahok had no hesitation in answering. He had 
 found the name of the sin — it was witchcraft ; but the 
 form the penance should take puzzled him. The count- 
 ess, however, helped him to a decision, 
 
 " Ah," she said, sadly, " I thought it was some demo- 
 niac possession ; and for these visions, sweet as they 
 were, I must now do penance. Is it not so, father .'' 
 Will it satisfy for my fault if I burn in the fire the por- 
 trait of the man who appeared to me in my dream, and 
 fill the empty space in my book with black crape?" 
 
 This remark explained the many frames filled with 
 crape. The pastor thought that the penance was well 
 chosen. Nothing could be better than a burnt-offering. 
 
 Theudelinde continued, "During these visions I lie in 
 a profound slumber. My soul is no longer on the earth; 
 T am in the paradise of lovers. No earthly feeling chains 
 me here below; I am a clear spirit, consequently no 
 sound reaches me. I am as deaf to this world as if I 
 were already dead." 
 
 "Therefore the ghostly tumult never reached you last 
 night; you were wandering in your dream world." 
 
 " I confess it was so," whispered the countess, cover- 
 ing her face with her hands. 
 
 " Now, here is a nice state of things !" thought the 
 pastor. " The dead ancestors play all manner of pranks 
 in the family vault, while their descendant projects her- 
 self out of her human body to make love in some other 
 region. They are, indeed, an extraordinary race. A poor 
 man daren't even think of such extravagances, and how 
 
THE COUNTESS S ALBUM 
 
 93 
 
 can I, a poor parish priest, deal with such queer goings- 
 on ? I only know how to settle with the every-day pen- 
 itent, who commits the usual sins." 
 
 This complication, in truth, of the ghosts below and 
 the bewitched countess above, was too much for a man 
 of his calibre to deal with. It required a superior genius 
 to exorcise the spirits and to calm the hysterical mind 
 of Theudelinde. In the difficulty it appeared to him 
 better to temporize. 
 
 "My daughter, the penance you have imposed upon 
 yourself is well thought of. Have you already com- 
 mitted to the flames the portrait of the last demoniacal 
 appearance ?" 
 
 " No," answered the countess, witli all the hesitation 
 a young girl would have in speaking of her lover's 
 picture. 
 
 "And why not ?'' questioned the priest, almost sternly. 
 He was glad to find some tangible fault. 
 
 "It would be wrong, I think, to throw this particular 
 portrait into the fire." 
 
 " And wherefore should it be wrong ?" 
 
 Before she replied the countess opened a concealed 
 pocket of the album and drew forth what it contained. 
 
 " Ah !" cried the pastor as he took the photograph, 
 which he at once recognized as the Abbe Samuel, the 
 head of an influential order which possessed many dif- 
 ferent branches. 
 
 "The photographer in Vienna liad my directions to 
 send me the photograph of every clean-shaven celebrity. 
 He, therefore, has committed the sin of sending me the 
 portrait of an eminent priest. The fault is mine, not his." 
 
 " And in your dreams have you wandered arm-in-arm 
 with the original of this?" asked Herr Mahok, still hold- 
 ing in his hand the photograph. 
 
94 
 
 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 "I am guilty!" stammered the countess, laying her 
 hands upon her breast. 
 
 "Then," said the pastor, "Heaven inspired you not to 
 throw this portrait, like that of the others, into the fire, 
 for in this man you will find a physician able to cure 
 your sick soul. It is really providential that this por- 
 trait should be in your hands, for the others were idle, 
 foolish dreams. Here you have found your ideal, under 
 whose guidance you may hope to find health and salva- 
 tion. He will lead you, not in a dream, but in reality, 
 to the blessed regions of peace and true piety, where 
 alone, my daughter, real happiness is to be found. This 
 man possesses strength of mind and elevation of charac- 
 ter sufficient to exorcise all the spirits which haunt your 
 castle, and to banish from your mind those temptations 
 which spring from the same source as the more visible 
 demons which we call ghosts." 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 THE EXORCIST 
 
 Acting upon the advice of Herr Mahok, the countess 
 resolved to lay all her troubles before a new physician 
 for her soul. That very day the pastor wrote to Abbe 
 Samuel, who was then in Pesth, inviting him to come to 
 Bondavara Castle. 
 
 The abbe v/as a man of high calling; one of those 
 priests who are more or less independent in their ideas. 
 He had friendly relations with certain personages, and 
 the initiated knew that certain articles with the signature 
 " S," which appeared in the opposition paper, were from 
 his pen. In society he was agreeable and polished, and 
 his presence never hindered rational enjoyment. In in- 
 tellectual circles he shone ; his lectures, which were pre- 
 pared with great care, were attended by the elite of so- 
 ciety, and, as a natural consequence, the ultramontane 
 papers were much against him. Once, even, the police 
 had paid him a domiciliary visit, although they them- 
 selves did not know wherein he had given cause for 
 suspicion. All these circumstances had raised his repu- 
 tation, which had lately been increased by the appear- 
 ance of his picture in a first-rate illustrated journal. 
 This won for him the general public. So stately was 
 his air, his high, broad forehead, manly, expressive feat- 
 ures, well-marked eyebrows, and frank, fearless look, 
 with nothing sinister or cunning in it. For the rest, 
 
g6 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 there was little of the priest about him ; his well-knit, 
 robust, muscular form was rather that of a gladiator. 
 Through the whole country he was well-known as the 
 independent priest, who ventured to tell the government 
 what he thought. 
 
 For this reason the excellent Herr Mahok had for 
 him the greatest respect. He, as an insignificant parish 
 priest, could do nothing for his fatherland. It was true 
 that, many years ago, he had fought more than twenty 
 battles with the Honve'd Battalion ; he had preached to 
 his men how they should love their country, and for 
 this he had been sentenced to death, which sentence 
 had been commuted to ten years' imprisonment ; he had 
 passed five of those years in chains, and his feet still 
 bore the marks of the wounds made by the heavy irons. 
 But what were these trifles, of which Herr Mahok thought 
 little, in comparison to the bold deeds of the Abbe 
 Samuel, who dared to write independent articles in the 
 papers, and to sign them with the initial of his name. 
 To have fought with Haynau against the Russians under 
 fire of heavy cannon, to have been in the galleys, that 
 was a mere joke. To have the fearful police upon your 
 track, that was serious. Herr Mahok thought most 
 highly of the abbe's capabilities, measuring them by the 
 loss of his own physical and mental energy — for after 
 fifteen years, five of which had been spent in heavy iron 
 chains, a man is not what he was. 
 
 After some days the invited guest arrived at the par- 
 sonage of Herr Mahok. The pastor related to him, 
 circumstantially, all that had reference to the count- 
 ess, with the exception, of course, of such matters as 
 were under the sacred seal of confession. He told him 
 about the ghosts, and his own experience under that 
 head. 
 
THE EXORCIST 97 
 
 Herr Samuel received the narration with fits of 
 laughter. 
 
 "You may laugh here as much as you Hke, but I beg 
 of you not to do so before the countess; she holds to 
 her ghosts," remarked the pastor, with an air of one who 
 knew what he was saying. 
 
 The abbe then asked for information concerning the 
 disposition of the rooms in the castle, how they were 
 situated in regard to one another. He made the pastor 
 describe minutely every particular of what he had him- 
 self been witnsss to, also how he and his sacristan had 
 made good their escape through the lattice door. 
 
 The equipage of the countess came at the usual hour 
 to fetch both the guests to the castle, which lay at some 
 little distance from the village. 
 
 It was only natural, all things taken into account, 
 that the countess on her first introduction to the abbe 
 should lose all control of her nerves, and that she 
 should give way to several hysterical symptoms, which 
 could only be calmed by the abbe laying his hand in 
 paternal benediction upon her forehead. Fraulein Emer- 
 enzia's nerves, in accordance with the sympathy which 
 existed between her and her mistress, became at once 
 similarly affected, and required a similar imposition of 
 hands ; but neither of the priests troubled themselves 
 about her, and when the countess recovered from her 
 attack, the companion did likewise. 
 
 During dinner, which was served with great elegance, 
 the abbe discoursed upon every possible subject, and 
 made inquiries as to the prospects of the countr}^ the 
 occupations of the people, the age of the servants, and 
 so forth. He addressed a great deal of his conversa- 
 tion to Fraulein Emerenzia, attended to her w^ants ; when 
 he offered her wine she covered her glass with her hand, 
 
98 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 and declared she never tasted anything but water, which 
 seemed infinitely to surprise him ; also, when he wished 
 to know whether the ring on her finger was one of 
 betrothal, Emerenzia tried to blush, and gave him to 
 understand that, from her own choice, she meant to live 
 and die a maid. 
 
 After dinner was over, Herr Mahok remained in the 
 dining-room to entertain the Fraulein — that is to say, 
 he seated himself in an armchair, folded his hands upon 
 his rotund stomach, closed his eyes, and during a sweet 
 doze heard the clatter of Emerenzia's sharp voice. 
 
 The abbe went with the countess into her private 
 sitting-room. She sat upon the sofa, her eyes on the 
 ground, waiting with much inward trepidation to hear 
 what sentence so exalted a personage would pronounce 
 upon the demoniacal possession. As he did not speak, 
 she in a timid voice began — 
 
 " Has my confessor told you the terrible secret of 
 the castle ?" 
 
 " He has told me all that he knows." 
 
 "And what view would the authorities of the Church 
 take, do you think?" 
 
 " My individual opinion, countess, is that the whole 
 thing is a conspiracy of the living." 
 
 " Of the living !" repeated the countess. " And my 
 visions ?" 
 
 " Those can be explained by psychological means. 
 You are of a susceptible, nervous temperament ; your 
 senses are made acquainted with the first portion of 
 the history, your imagination works out the remainder. 
 Your dreams, countess, are hallucinations, nothing else. 
 Visible ghosts do not exist ; those who are dead cannot 
 live and move, for the reason that their organic powers 
 are at an end." 
 
THE EXORCIST 99 
 
 The countess shook her head incredulously. To say 
 the truth, she was ill-pleased. She had expected from 
 so high and intellectual an ecclesiastic a very different 
 explanation. If he could only tell us this, it was, indeed, 
 lost trouble to send so far for him. 
 
 Herr Samuel was quick enough to read in her face 
 what was passing in her mind, and hastened to apply 
 a radical cure. 
 
 "Countess, I know you doubt what I say, because you 
 have firm faith in what your eyes have seen, your ears 
 have heard. You are quite convinced that you yourself 
 have been many times in the haunted vault, and have 
 there seen the spirits of your departed ancestors." 
 
 " Only last night," whispered the countess, in an awed 
 voice, " the tumult was fearful. They told me they would 
 come again to-night, that they would expect me." 
 
 " And have you promised to go to them .''" 
 
 "When day comes I shudder from the idea, but at 
 night some strange, mysterious power draws me to the 
 vault; I know all fear will vanish, and I shall not be 
 able to stay away." 
 
 " Very good. Then to-night I shall go with you to 
 the vault of your ancestors." 
 
 At these words a sudden flush covered the pale face 
 of the countess. The living portrait! She should go 
 with him — where ? Perhaps into hell. She trembled 
 at the thought; then with a violent effort recovered her 
 composure, and said, in a hesitating manner — 
 
 " I do not know. I do not think it would be possible. 
 I should have to let my household into the secret." 
 
 The abbe understood the nature of the question, and 
 all the consequences it involved. 
 
 "That would not be necessary. On the contrary, 
 your household must know nothing of my visit." 
 
lOO BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 The countess looked at him. She was puzzled, agi- 
 tated. What could he mean ? He could not imagine for a 
 moment that he was to spend the night with her — alone? 
 
 The abbe read her thought and answered quietly — 
 
 " I shall go away now with Pastor Mahok. I shall 
 return about midnight and will knock at your door to 
 announce my arrival." 
 
 Theudelinde shook her head. " That is impossible. 
 In winter every door in my house is locked by seven 
 o'clock. To reach my suite of rooms, you should pass 
 through no less than seven doors. First the castle door. 
 This is watched by my portress, an old woman who 
 never sleeps ; besides, two monstrous bloodhounds keep 
 guard there. They are chained to the door with long 
 chains; they would eat you if you tried to pass. Then 
 comes the door of the corridor, to which there are two 
 locks; my companion keeps the key of one, my house- 
 keeper the key of the other, and to open it you must 
 awake both. The third is the door to the staircase; the 
 cook has the key under her pillow, and she sleeps so 
 soundly, and the whole house is astir before she moves. 
 The fourth is the entrance to the secret lattice passage; 
 this is in the keeping of the housemaid, a nervous girl, 
 who, when it grows dark, would not go into the next 
 room. The fifth door leads to the chamber of my own 
 maid, a very modest young person, who would not open 
 the door to a man were he prophet or saint. The sixth 
 door is that of Fraulein Emerenzia, my companion ; she 
 falls into violent hysterics if at night any one turns the 
 handle of her door. The seventh and last door is that 
 of my dressing-room, which is fitted with a peculiar self- 
 acting lock, a new invention. I ask your reverence if, 
 under such conditions, you could make your way here at 
 midnight ?" 
 
THE EXORCIST lOI 
 
 " Permit me, in my turn, to put a question to you. 
 You have given me to understand tliat you descend con- 
 stantly to the vault of your ancestors. How does it 
 happen that you pass through all these well-guarded 
 doors.?" 
 
 Over the countenance of the countess a triumphant 
 smile passed. The superstitious woman could repel the 
 attack of the scientist. 
 
 " Oh, I do not pass through any of them ! From my 
 bedroom a secret staircase leads to the chapel vault. I 
 go down this staircase." 
 
 It would have been only natural that the abbe on 
 hearing this should have proposed to conceal himself in 
 the librar}', and there await the countess. But he read 
 the character of his hostess and knew that such a pro- 
 posal would have shocked her prudish mind and have 
 offended her so deeply that, in all probability, she would 
 have refused to listen any further. She required the 
 most delicate management ; this the quick-seeing abbe 
 recognized perfectly. 
 
 "I am still of the same mind," he said, calmly. "I 
 shall knock at your door this night at twelve o'clock." 
 
 At these words the countess was seized with a ner- 
 vous shudder, but the abbe went on without taking any 
 notice — 
 
 "If you believe that there are unearthly beings who 
 are possessed of mysterious powers by which they pass 
 through locked doors and make themselves visible to 
 some human beings, invisible to others, then why should 
 I not have this power also ? But you imagine that be- 
 cause I am only a man born of dust I cannot infringe 
 the laws of nature. Let me remind you that there is a 
 natural explanation for all that may seem to you incom- 
 prehensible. Witchcraft is now no longer a mystery. 
 
I02 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 We do not now burn Boscos and Galuches upon funeral 
 piles. Do not for a moment think that I am a Bosco or 
 a Paracelsus. I repeat that what I promise I will per- 
 form ; at the same hour at which the ghosts begin their 
 orgies will I knock at your door with the words, In 
 nomine Domini aperientu?- portce Jideliiivi — ' In the name 
 of the Lord may the doors of the faithful be opened.' 
 Remember, no one but us two is to know anything of 
 my coming to-night. Till then may the blessing of God 
 be with you." 
 
 Theudelinde was much impressed by her strange vis- 
 itor. His confidence infused courage into her weak 
 mind, while his masterful ways influenced her like a 
 spell. He addressed her from such a superior height 
 that she felt it would be almost desecration not to place 
 the utmost faith in his promises, and, nevertheless, he 
 had promised to perform an impossible thing. How 
 could she reconcile the two, unless, indeed, she had to 
 do with a being of another world ? She saw from the 
 window the carriage drive away with the two clergymen. 
 She watched them get in ; she remained at her post 
 until the carriage returned empty. 
 
 The female Jehu showed to the other servants the 
 pourboire she had received ; it was a new silver piece. 
 It passed from hand to hand. What a miracle ! Of 
 the fifteen million inhabitants of Hungar}^ fourteen mill- 
 ion five hundred thousand had never seen such a thing 
 as a silver piece of money. There was a clergyman for 
 you, of a very different pattern from that other, who 
 gave, every Sunday, a fourpenny piece wrapped care- 
 fully in a piece of paper, to be divided among the wait- 
 resses ! 
 
 The time passed slowly to the countess ; the clock 
 seemed to go with leaden weights. She wandered 
 
THE EXORCIST I03 
 
 through all the rooms, her mind revolving in what pos- 
 sible manner, by what possible entrance a man could 
 find his way into the castle. When it had struck seven 
 o'clock she saw herself that every door which communi- 
 cated with her wing was carefully locked ; then she sat 
 herself down in her own room. She took out the plan 
 of the castle, which had been prepared by the Floren- 
 tine artist who had built it. It was not the first time 
 she had studied it ; when she had received the castle 
 as a present from her father, she had made herself mis- 
 tress of every particular concerning it. The building 
 was three times larger than her income could afford to 
 maintain. She had, therefore, to choose which wing 
 she would occupy. In the centre there were fine re- 
 ception-rooms, a banqueting- hall, an armory, and a 
 museum for pictures and curiosities. This portion was 
 out of the question. Also, from this portion of the 
 castle a concealed staircase led to a subterranean pas- 
 sage. This could be used as a means of escape, and 
 had no doubt served such a purpose when the old castle 
 had been besieged by the Turks. The grandfather of 
 the countess had walled up these steps, and no one 
 could now get into the- secret passage. The left wing, 
 which was similarly constructed to the one which the 
 countess inhabited, had served as a sort of pleasure 
 residence to her pleasure-loving ancestors. There were 
 all manner of secret holes and corners in it, communi- 
 cations of all kinds connecting the rooms, doors behind 
 pictures, concealed alcoves, and the like. The archi- 
 tect's plan showed these without any reticence. Theude- 
 linde naturally turned away in horror from the idea of 
 inhabiting this tainted wing, so full of sinful associa- 
 tions ; she set up her Lares and Penates in the less 
 handsome, but more homely, right wing, where were a 
 
I04 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 few good rooms fitted for domestic life, an excellent 
 librar}^, and the family vault below. It contained no 
 other secret staircase than the one which led to the 
 tombs of the departed members of the famil3^ For the 
 rest, Countess Theudelinde had taken care to wall up 
 all the passages which led to either the centre or left 
 wing of the castle, and there was no means of commu- 
 nication between them and her apartments. All the 
 chimneys had iron gates to shut off any possible en- 
 trance that way; every window was provided with strong 
 iron bars. It would have been impossible for even a 
 cat to effect an entrance into this enchanted castle. 
 
 The countess, meditating on all these precautions, 
 came to the conclusion that there was only one way 
 by which the Abbe' Samuel could introduce himself into 
 the house, and that was by a secret understanding with 
 some one of her household. But again, setting alto- 
 gether aside the high character borne by the priest, 
 which would render such an act upon his part improb- 
 able, the very nature of the circumstances attending his 
 visit made it impossible. He had never been absent 
 from the countess for a minute, except during his short 
 walk to the carriage, and then Herr Mahok had been 
 his companion. Theudelinde, therefore, dismissed the 
 idea from her mind. She sent her household early to 
 bed ; she complained to Fraulein Emerenzia of suffering 
 from pains on one side of her head. Immediately that 
 sympathetic companion complained of pains on the oth- 
 er side of her head. When the countess thought she 
 would try to sleep, Emerenzia felt the like desire; she 
 wrapped her whole head up in warm cotton wool, and 
 snored without mercy. 
 
 Theudelinde shut herself up in her bedroom and 
 counted the minutes. She tried to play Patience, but 
 
THE EXORCIST I05 
 
 the cards would not come right; her mind was too 
 much disturbed. She took out her Bible, splendidly 
 illustrated by Dore. She looked at all the pictures ; 
 she counted the figures of the different men and women 
 upon those two hundred and thirty large plates ; then 
 the horses and the camels, till she came to the scenes 
 of murders. Then she tried to pass the time by read- 
 ing the text. She counted which letter of the alphabet 
 was repeated the most frequently upon one side of the 
 page. For the greater part the letter a was the favorite. 
 e came next, then <?, also // ; / was the worst represented. 
 This was in the French print. In the Hungarian text e 
 had the majority, then a, o, and /, and, last of all, ^ and 
 7/. But of this she also wearied. Then she sat down 
 to the piano, and tried to calm her agitation by playing 
 dreamy fantasias ; neither did this succeed. Her hands 
 trembled, and she could not sustain herself at the in- 
 strument, she was so wearied ; and as the fatal hour of 
 midnight drew nearer she gave up making efforts to dis- 
 tract her mind, and abandoned herself to thoughts of 
 the impending ghostly tumult. She found herself alto- 
 gether under the influence of her ancestral spectres, for 
 she was always consumed with en/iui until the noise 
 began. Then a sort of fever would come to her ; she 
 would undress herself, crawl into bed, draw the cover- 
 ings over her head until she broke into a perspiration, 
 and then fall into a deep sleep. The next morning, 
 when she awoke, she really believed that she had wit- 
 nessed the scenes of which she had only dreamed. 
 
 This night she drew forth her talisman, the photo- 
 graph of the abbe, and tried to find some strength by 
 considering it. She placed it before her on the reading- 
 desk and sat gazing at it. Was he really a superior 
 being, at whose command the doors of the castle would 
 
Io6 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 fly open, spectres would vanish, and the gates of hell 
 would close upon them ? It could not be that such 
 things would happen. The more the night advanced 
 the greater grew her nervous fears. Her heart beat 
 loudly. It was not so much the nightly ghosts that she 
 dreaded, but this new and equally unearthly visitor. 
 What was he? A wizard, an enchanter like Merlin of 
 old, or a saint come to exorcise and banish her tor- 
 mentors ? 
 
 The weary lagging hours went by, until at last the 
 pendulum of the old clock began to vibrate, and its 
 iron tongue gave out midnight. The countess counted 
 every stroke. Its vibration had hardly ceased when, 
 punctual to its usual time, the infernal noise began ; 
 from the vault below the tones of the mass reached 
 Theudelinde's ears. She was, however, listening for an- 
 other sound, listening with feverish anxiety to catch a 
 stealthy footfall in the adjoining room, to hear the rattle 
 of a key surreptitiously moving in the lock. Nothing ! 
 She came to the door, and, putting her head to the key- 
 hole, strained her ears in vain. All was still. It was 
 now a quarter past midnight ; the tumult in the vault 
 below was in full swing — the witches' Sabbath, as it 
 might be called, with its yells, shouts, songs, prayers; 
 it was as if all the devils of hell had given one another 
 rendezvous in the company of the countess's ancestors. 
 
 " He will not come," she thought, and trembled in 
 every limb of her fever-stricken body. It was folly to 
 expect it. How could a man accomplish what is only 
 permitted to spirits ? 
 
 She retired to the alcove and prepared to lie down. 
 At this moment she heard a tap at the door of her sit- 
 ting-room, and, after a moment, a low voice spoke in 
 firm tones — 
 
THE EXORCIST 107 
 
 "In nomine Domini aperientur porte fidelium." 
 
 It was the signal given by the abbe. Theudelinde 
 gave a shriek; she nearly lost her senses from fright, 
 but gathered herself together with a supreme effort. It 
 was real ; no hallucination, no dream ! He was at the 
 door, her deliverer. Forward ! 
 
 The countess ran to the door and opened it. The 
 crisis gave her unusual strength. This might be a trap, 
 and instead of a deliverer she might find herself opposite 
 to a robber or murderer. Under the carpet lay con- 
 cealed the trap-door ; the midnight visitor stood on the 
 very spot. One pressure of the secret spring and down 
 he went into the abyss below. Theudelinde had her 
 foot on the spring as she undid the door. 
 
 There stood the abbe before her. No appearance of 
 his clerical calling was to be seen. He wore a long 
 coat, which reached to his feet, and carried neither bell, 
 book, nor candle, wherewith to exorcise the spirits. In 
 his right hand he held a thick stick made of rhinoceros' 
 skin, and in the left a dark lantern. 
 
 " Remain where you are," said the countess, in a com- 
 manding voice. " Before you set foot in this room you 
 shall tell me how you got here. Was it with the help of 
 God, of man, or of the devil .'*" 
 
 " Countess," returned the abbe, " look about you. Do 
 you not see that every door in your castle stands open ? 
 Through these open doors I have passed easily. How 
 I passed through the court is another thing. I will tell 
 you that later." 
 
 "And my household, who sleep in those rooms ?" said 
 the countess, in an incredulous voice. 
 
 "The curtains hang round every bed; I have not 
 raised them. If your household be asleep, they will no 
 doubt sleep as the just do, without waking." 
 
I08 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 The countess listened, only half believing what she 
 heard ; she was growing nerveless again. She led the 
 abbe into the sitting-room, and sank exhausted upon the 
 sofa. 
 
 The tumult in the vault was indescribable. 
 
 " Do you hear itP she said, in a whisper. 
 
 " I do hear, and I know whence it comes. I am here 
 to face those who cause this unseemly riot." 
 
 " Have you the weapons that Holy Church has pro- 
 vided for such a task .?" asked Theudelinde, anxiously. 
 
 The priest for all answer held towards her the strong 
 staff he carried. 
 
 " I have this good stick, countess." 
 
 " Do you hear above all the tumult that strident voice t 
 It is my uncle Ladislaus," cried the countess, grasping 
 the abbe's arm with both her hands. " Do you hear that 
 horrible laugh? It is my uncle's laugh." 
 
 " We will soon learn the author of that unpleasant 
 cachinnation," remarked the priest, quietly. 
 
 " Why, what do you propose to do .''" 
 
 " I shall go down and join the worshipful society be- 
 low." 
 
 " You wall descend into the vault ? What to do ?" 
 
 " To pass judgment upon that unruly gang, countess. 
 You promised to accompany me." 
 
 " I promised !" and Theudelinde retreated from him, 
 her eyes staring wildly, her hands pressed to her breast. 
 
 " It was your own wish." 
 
 " True, true ! I am so confused ; my thoughts are all 
 astray. I cannot recollect them. You here, and that 
 fearful noise below ! I am terribly afraid." 
 
 " How ? You who had the courage to go among the 
 ghosts by yourself, are you afraid now that / am with 
 you ? Give me your hand/' 
 
THE EXORCIST 1 09 
 
 The countess placed her trembling fingers in the 
 abbe's hand, and as she felt the firm, manly clasp, an 
 unusual sense of strength and protection possessed her ; 
 she ceased to shake and shiver, her eyes no longer saw 
 shapes and fantasies moving before them ; her heart be- 
 gan to beat steadily. The bare touch of this man's 
 hand gave her new life. 
 
 " Come with me," he said, in a decided voice, while he 
 stuck his whip under his left arm, and with the right 
 drew the countess after him. " Where are the keys of 
 the secret staircase, and of the room through which we 
 must pass ?'' 
 
 Theudelinde felt that she could not let go his hand 
 for one minute. She was for the moment, so to speak, 
 mesmerized by his superior mind. She crawled after 
 him submissively; she should follow him, were it to the 
 very gates of hell itself. Without a word she pointed to 
 the key cabinet, an antique piece of furniture which 
 would have made the joy of a bric-a-brac collector, and 
 in which there was a drawer full of keys. 
 
 Without a moment's hesitation the priest put his hand 
 on the ones that were wanted. It was no miracle that 
 he should do so, although to the weakened mind of his 
 companion it appeared to be miraculous ; on one of the 
 keys there was the well-known sign of a vault key, the 
 crucifix. 
 
 The abbe now drew aside the curtain which concealed 
 the secret passage to the library, and here, at the first 
 step, he was met by a certain proof, if such were want- 
 ing, to show him the credit to be given to the countess's 
 statements that she was in the habit of descending to 
 the vault : as he opened the door a mass of cobwebs 
 blew into his face. The countess, however, was firm in 
 her hallucination. It is a phase of such nervous dis- 
 
no BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 orders as hers to believe that what they have dreamed 
 is actual fact ; they can even supply small details. 
 
 As the countess went up the steps she whispered to 
 her companion — 
 
 "A window is broken here^ and the wind whistles 
 through it." And as they turned the angle of the steps 
 there was a narrow slip-window which in the daytime 
 gave light to the staircase, the panes of which were actu- 
 ally broken. She had never seen this. When they came 
 to the door of the library she confided to the abbe that 
 she was always frightened to pass the threshold. 
 
 " It is such a ghostly place !" she said. " When the 
 moon shines through the shutter of the upper window 
 it throws white specks upon the mosaic pattern of the 
 marble floor, which makes it look like some mysterious 
 writing. In one of the corners between two presses 
 there is a glass case with a skeleton in it ; in another 
 case the wax impression, taken after death, of Ignatius 
 Loyola." 
 
 Everything was precisely as the countess related. 
 The moon shone through the upper panes of glass, the 
 skeleton stood in his glass case, the waxen head of the 
 dead saint lay in the other, but the countess had never 
 crossed the threshold. In her childhood her nurse had 
 told her these tales of the Bondavara Castle, and when 
 she had become its mistress her first care had been to 
 lock these rooms. Ten years' dust lay on the carpets, 
 on the chairs and tables ; cobwebs hung from the ceil- 
 ings, mice played games in the deep wainscots, for no 
 one ever came here. 
 
 At the moment in which the countess and her com- 
 panion entered the library a certain peace reigned in the 
 vault below. The tumult seemed lulled ; there were 
 neither shrieks nor demoniacal songs to be heard. From 
 
THE EXORCIST III 
 
 the mortuary chapel, however, the notes of the organ 
 reached the ears of the two listeners. It sounded like 
 the prelude which is played in church before mass be- 
 gins, only the chords of the prelude were all discords; 
 it was as if the organ were played by a condemned spirit. 
 
 The countess stood before the chapel door, her breast 
 heaving with emotion. She caught hold of the abbe"s 
 hand with a strong grasp, and kept him from turning 
 the key in the lock. She trembled in every limb. 
 
 " What are those fearful tones .''" 
 
 Then came a confused sound, as of many voices in- 
 toning the vespers. One voice, which imitated the mo- 
 notonous delivery of the celebrant, began to sing in 
 Latin the words of a hymn — 
 
 "Bacchus, prepare the libation," 
 
 Another voice answ^ered in the same tone — • 
 
 "And hasten, brethren, to drink '" 
 
 Then a third took up the text in a parody of the 
 Gloria — 
 
 " Gloria Baccho, et filiae ejus Cerevisiai et Spiritui 
 vini, sicut erat in Baccho natus, et nunc, et semper, et 
 per omnia pocula poculorum. Stramen." 
 
 The countess felt her whole body turning into ice; 
 fear mingled with horror. She understood the impious 
 parody. 
 
 Now the organ accompanied the antiphon. 
 
 " Date nobis de cerevisia vestra ; quia sitiunt guttura 
 nostra" — "Give us of your beer; our throats are dry." 
 
 Then followed the psalm — 
 
 " Brother to brother spoke these words : shall two 
 goblets of beer quench man's thirst.^" 
 
112 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 "Two, three, five, six are not enough for man's satiety." 
 
 "Blessed be Bacchus, who gave us beer." 
 
 Then followed the Capitulum. 
 
 " Brethren, attend, and do as I command ye. Before 
 ye leave the ale-house for your own homes empty all the 
 pots, leave not a drop therein, but tilt them and drain 
 every drop of wine. This do from goblet to goblet. 
 Stramen." 
 
 The countess felt, as she listened to this profanity, 
 what a damned soul must experience when for the first 
 time it consorts with devils. But now a hellish chorus 
 broke forth of men's and women's voices, yelling out a 
 parody of a hymn — 
 
 "Bacchus, ■who gave us drink, 
 Art thou not called the god of liquor? 
 Grant us all the holy grace. 
 Strength to drink in every place, 
 So that, drinking everywhere. 
 We for glory may prepare 
 In thy everlasting wine-cellar." 
 
 This was followed by the ringing of the bell, and the 
 priest's voice intoned the blessing. 
 
 " Bacchus be with you." 
 
 The chorus answered, "And with thy pint-pots." 
 
 Then came the Oratio — 
 
 " Let us eat. O all-powerful Bacchus, since thou hast 
 created this society of ours for thine own honor, grant to 
 us its continuance, and give to us a constant supply of 
 brave topers, who never may cease drinking from goblet 
 to goblet." 
 
 And the chorus answered, " Stramen." 
 
 The countess was not able any longer to hold herself 
 up. She sank upon her knees, and looked up at the 
 
THE EXORCIST II3 
 
 priest in mute horror. Hardly knowing what she did, 
 she gazed in utter despair at the tall figure lit up as it 
 was by the rays of the moon, which played round his 
 head like a halo. 
 
 The abbe' put the key into the lock of the chapel door. 
 The countess caught his hand ; her fright amounted to 
 agony. 
 
 " Do not — do not open it !" she cried. " Inside is hell 
 let loose." 
 
 With an elevation of his head, the abbe answered 
 proudly — 
 
 " Nee portal inferi — the gates of hell shall not prevail " ; 
 and then he turned the key, and the heavy iron door swung 
 open, and disclosed the actors in the strange drama. 
 
 On the altar all the candles were lighted, and their 
 light showed with distinctness every incident of the per- 
 formance, every feature in the faces of the performers. 
 
 What a scene ! 
 
 On one side of the vault ran a long table, round which 
 was seated, eating and drinking, not the countess's an- 
 cestors and ancestresses, but all the servants of her 
 household. The maids, who were so strictly guarded, 
 were here in the company of the men who were so rigor- 
 ously excluded. The countess could, therefore, see that 
 these were flesh-and-blood ghosts which had so long 
 haunted her ancient castle. Each of her handmaidens 
 had a lover in either the steward, bailiff, gamekeeper, or 
 clerk in the neighborhood. The nervous housemaid, who 
 at night was afraid of her own shadow, was now drinking 
 out of the glass of the innkeeper; the virtuous maid was 
 embraced by the mayor's footman ; the portress, an el- 
 derly virgin, held a jug in her hand, while she executed 
 a clog-dance upon the table. All the rest clapped hands, 
 shrieked, sang at the top of their voices, and beat the 
 
1 14 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 table as if it were a big drum. The shepherd, who rep- 
 resented the countess's grandfather, sat upon the monu- 
 ment of the chancellor, his legs round the cross, and 
 played the bagpipes. It was this instrument which at 
 the burlesque of vespers imitated the harmonium. Upon 
 the gravestone of the first archbishop the beer-barrel was 
 set up. The maids were all dressed in the countess's silk 
 dresses, with the exception of the female coachman, who, 
 as usual, wore man's clothes, but by way of symmetry 
 her lover, the coachman of the neighboring brewery, was 
 dressed in woman's clothes. The countess recognized 
 on the head of this bearded fellow her nightcap, and 
 round his body her cloak, trimmed with her best lace. 
 Worst of all, at the top of the table sat Fraulein Emer- 
 enzia, on very intimate terms with her neighbor, a young 
 lawyer. She wore the skirt of a favorite dress of Theu- 
 delinde's, a flame-colored brocade ; the body could not fit 
 her corpulent form, so she had her mistress's best lace 
 shawl wrapped round her. Her face was red ; she had a 
 large tumbler of wine before her, and she smoked a pipe. 
 The modest Emerenzia ! 
 
 The men were all drunk and noisy, the women screamed 
 in an unearthly manner ; the bagpipes squealed ; the 
 table resounded with thumps and the clatter of the por- 
 tress's clogs. From the altar came the voice of the 
 mock priest, his arms outstretched in blessing. Through 
 the din the words " Bacchus vobiscum" were heard, and 
 the tinkle of the bell. This mock priest was no other 
 than Michael the sacristan, who brought all the church 
 ornaments confided to his care. He wore the pastor's 
 vestments, and on his head an improvised skull-cap. The 
 acolyte was the parish bell-ringer. 
 
 The countess was cut to the heart. The terrible in- 
 gratitude, especially of these girls, to whom she had 
 
THE EXORCIST 
 
 IS 
 
 been as a mother — more anxious indeed than their own 
 mothers to keep them pure and innocent — wounded the 
 poor lady who had taught them to sing hymns on Sun- 
 day, had fed them from her own table, and had never 
 allowed them to read a novel or hear a bad word. And 
 this was the outcome of her efforts. They insulted the 
 graves of her ancestors, played upon her nervous fears, 
 destroyed her rest, nearly drove her mad with their 
 ghostly noises, wore her clothes at their orgies, and, 
 worse insult of all, she, a high-born lady and a pure 
 woman, had the degradation of'wearing these same gar- 
 ments, defiled as they were with the smell of wine and 
 stale tobacco. 
 
 Bitter as such ingratitude was, it counted as nothing 
 in comparison with the profanation of using the holiest 
 things of religion, the sacred ornaments of the Church, 
 to carry out these impious rites. " Woe to them from 
 who.n scandal cometh," says the Scripture, and this woe 
 means pain and suffering that no soothing balsam can 
 alleviate. 
 
 A mortal terror still filled the countess's heart. She 
 was in the presence of those who had no control over 
 their already besotted senses. If these drunken savages, 
 these unsexed women, found their revels were discov- 
 ered, what was to hinder them tearing her to pieces.? 
 There was only one man between her and them. Theu- 
 delinde looked at her solitary protector. His eyes 
 gleamed with such apostolic anger that her timid soul 
 grew fearful of the consequences, both to him and to 
 herself, of his just wrath. She seized both his hands, 
 to hold him from venturing among such demons. The 
 abbe easily freed himself from the clasp of her weak 
 fingers. In one bound he sprang down the steps, fell 
 upon the false priest as he was in the act of pronouncing 
 
Il6 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 his final stramen ; Avith the butt-end of his rhinoceros 
 whip he gave him two blows. 
 
 What the countess now witnessed was truly no vision. 
 She saw how one man, armed with no more formidable 
 weapon than a horsewhip, ventured into the midst of 
 the hellish assembly, with one hand seized the table and 
 overturned it and all that w^as on it of dishes, glasses, 
 and wine-cups, with the other cracked his whip in the 
 faces of the guests, who sprang to their feet in all the 
 terror of detection, like to the profaners of the Temple. 
 They were driven towards the door of the vault, the 
 abbe's whip descending on their shoulders with impar- 
 tial justice. They went tumbling over one another, 
 howling and screaming, pressing onwards and pursued 
 by the flagellation of the abbe. The bagpipe player in 
 his haste missed his footing, those behind stumbled over 
 him, and so lay all in a heap together. Not one went 
 without carrying a remembrance of the abbe's strong 
 arm, for he spared no one. No effort was made at re- 
 prisals ; the criminal who is caught seldom shows fight. 
 These last were, moreover, taken by surprise, and the 
 clergyman was possessed of extraordinary strength ; one 
 man who tried to drag the horsewhip from his hand was 
 dealt such a blow in his face that he was glad to relin- 
 quish his hold and take to his heels without loss of time. 
 
 " Give it to them ! give it to them !" cried the countess, 
 who had no pity for her former servants, who had to 
 pass her as they made their way pell-mell to the door. 
 Emeienzia covered her head, not from shame, but fear- 
 ing her face might get a blow. Almost the last was the 
 sacristan, whose clerical dress hindered his speed, and 
 whose back was so battered by the abbe that the vest- 
 ment he wore hung in ribbons. 
 
 After the last guest had departed, the abbe closed 
 
THE EXORCIST II7 
 
 the heavy door of the vault and returned to where the 
 countess was standing. His face wore an ahnost glori- 
 fied expression ; it was the consciousness of having 
 asserted his strength. As he approached the countess 
 fell on her knees, and made as if she would kiss his 
 feet, but the abbe raised her. 
 
 '' Compose yourself, countess. Your present situation 
 needs all your strength. Do you know that at this mo- 
 ment there are only two persons in this castle, for I have 
 locked the door which leads to the court-yard. This 
 folly is played out. You see now that no wicked spirit 
 had any part in it. It was no ghost, only human beings 
 who have had to do with this miserable business." 
 
 "What shall I do.?" asked the countess, constraining 
 herself to speak calmly. 
 
 "Take my lantern. I am going to lock the lattice 
 door, so as to stop any entrance from this side. But 
 you can return by the way we came, back to your own 
 apartment, where I advise you to make yourself some 
 tea; you are freezing with cold." 
 
 "Must I go back all that way alone?" 
 
 " Remember the words, ' If God is with me, who is 
 against me,' and you can never be alone. To see ghosts 
 is an illness ; the method of curing it must be heroic." 
 
 And as he saw that the countess, in spite of her 
 efforts, could not subdue her nervous tremor, he took 
 her by the hand, and, returning with her to the library, 
 led her to the glass case which enclosed the skeleton, 
 and opened the door. 
 
 " Were you afraid of this ? Why, it is nothing to fear. 
 It is a standing proof of the wisdom of God. Every 
 limb of this wonderful collection of bones tells us the 
 Almighty created man to be ruler of the earth. Look 
 at the skull ; upon this arched forehead is written the 
 
il5 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 birthright of humanity, in every corner and line of the 
 face the superiority of the white race over all others. 
 This skull teaches us how deep should be our gratitude 
 to an all-seeing Providence who has created us the su- 
 perior over all other beings on the earth. The sight of 
 a skull should cause no shudder in the breast of man ; 
 it should give rise to feelings of thankfulness and rever- 
 ence, for it is the symbol of the great love which our 
 Heavenly Maker has for the creature He has made and 
 chosen from all eternity." 
 
 As he spoke the priest laid Theudelinde's cold hand 
 upon the skull of the skeleton. The countess trembled 
 no more. New life and strength born of the words of 
 this singular man seemed to infuse themselves into her 
 veins. She looked another being. 
 
 "Now go to your room," said the abbe. "I shall 
 soon follow, but I must first put out the torches on the 
 altar. We must not have a conflagration on our 
 hands." 
 
 " I am quite ready to go alone," returned the count- 
 ess. " My foolish fears are cured, but I am now con- 
 cerned for 3^ou. Perhaps those wretched servants of 
 mine are still about, and if you venture into the vault in 
 the dark they may fall upon you and take their revenge 
 for being discovered." 
 
 " Oh, I am provided with what would soon scatter 
 such cowards as they are," said the abbe, drawing a re- 
 volver from a secret pocket. " I had resolved to use 
 stringent measures with them if necessary. Now, in 
 God's name, retire to your room, countess." 
 
 Theudelinde, w^ithout another word, took the lantern 
 and went through the long library. The priest watched 
 her until she had crossed the passage, and had opened 
 the door of her own apartment. He then hastened back 
 
THE EXORCIST 
 
 to the vault. In the passage he saw a blue flame burn- 
 ing on a tin dish. 
 
 "Alcohol and ammonia mixed together," murmured 
 the priest. "This is what frightened Herr Mahok."^ 
 Close to it lav the winding-sheet and mask. The abbe 
 pushed the vessel with the flame into the corner, for he 
 knew that in an encounter with an adversary it would 
 be little profit to have an illumination, and then he went 
 down the dark passage carefully. No one was there ; 
 they had all run away, and were probably running still. 
 The lattice door stood open ; he drew it to, and barred 
 it carefully; then he returned into the vault and locked 
 it also, having first extinguished the lights, with the ex- 
 ception of one, which he took to light him back to the 
 countess's room. 
 
 He found her sitting composedly before the tea equi- 
 page. She had obeyed him. As he entered the room 
 she rose, and, folding her hands upon her breast, cried : 
 " Most holy saint and apostle !" 
 
 "You must not give me such exalted titles," said the 
 abbe, smiling. " What I have done does not merit such 
 hio-h-sounding terms. I have accomplished no miracle, 
 fo? I had to do with mortals only. One circumstance 
 which appears to you in a miraculous light is easily ex- 
 plained. I allude to my entering a house wherein all 
 the doors were locked. But first, will you pour out the 
 tea?— and if you will give me a cup I shall be grateful, 
 for the occurrences of the last hour have somewhat ex- 
 cited me. Then we will talk the whole affair over." 
 
 The countess gave her guest his tea, then sank back 
 in her arm-chair, and wrapped herself in her cloak ; she 
 was still shivering. 
 
 "That the supposed ghostly appearances and noises 
 were in no sense supernatural was borne in on me," 
 
I20 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 continued the abbe, as he sipped his tea, "from the first 
 moment Herr ]\Iahok took me into his confidence. I 
 was convinced that the nocturnal disturbance was the 
 work of your own household, and it served their purpose 
 to' make it as ghost-like as possible. The situation had 
 been created by your over- caution, countess. Your 
 women servants were not allowed to hold communica- 
 tion with the opposite sex ; they, therefore, found other 
 means to meet, and to give a cover to these illicit meetings 
 they set up an atmosphere of ghostly mystery, by which 
 their goings-on were well concealed. The conspiracy 
 was perfectly carried out. If they had conducted their 
 sinful intercourse on any other lines you would have 
 long since discovered them. When the pastor told me 
 that he and his sacristan had escaped through the lattice 
 door, I suspected that it was through this door the men 
 found their way into the vault, and that the sacristan 
 must be a participator in the plot, whatever it was. 
 Moreover, I calculated that the women must, of neces- 
 sity, find their way through the cellar passage, and 
 that, therefore, they would naturally leave every door in 
 the house open^ so that their return might be conducted 
 without any danger of awaking you by noise, such as 
 unlocking doors. The countenance, the coloring, the 
 eyes of your companion betray her ; it is easy to see 
 what she has been, and that, moreover, she drinks. I 
 knew to-day at dinner that she was a hypocrite. She 
 held forth against all alcoholic drinks ; that settled her 
 with me. I had no doubt that I should find all the 
 doors open ;, and I did. In order to make no noise I 
 came on foot to the garden door. Countless footsteps 
 in the fresh snow showed me that the company had al- 
 ready assembled. From the open garden door the foot- 
 prints led to the lattice door, and thence to the vault. 
 
THE EXORCIST 121 
 
 This door was put to. I pushed it open and was in the 
 passage. I went to the left, up the steps to the cellar 
 passage ; the door was open. I could not count upon 
 finding every door open ; it was exactly as I imagined. 
 The only difficulty lay in passing through your wardrobe- 
 room, which has no key, but a peculiarly constructed 
 spring-lock. I felt certain that your maids would borrow 
 some of their mistress's silk dresses, and therefore the 
 spring-lock would be arranged so as not to betray by its 
 loud snap the return of the stolen garments to their 
 proper place. On looking closely I found this to be the 
 case ; the lock was kept in its place by the insertion of 
 a penkr^ife, which could be easily withdrawn. There- 
 fore, countess, you have, night after night, slept in this 
 castle with every door open — in real danger — at the 
 mercy of robbers, or even murderers; all the time 
 frightened to death with ghostly noises, which kept 
 you a prisoner to your room, not venturing to call your 
 treacherous servants. Countess, you have been terribly 
 punished." 
 
 " Punished !" stammered the countess, her face grow- 
 ing even paler. 
 
 "Yes, punished; for you have richly deserved to 
 suffer." 
 
 Theudelinde fixed a horrified look on the abbe. 
 
 " Countess, at your door," said the priest, sternly, 
 " lies the heaviest portion of the sins into which your 
 servants have fallen. You have, in fact, driven them 
 into vice. Your eccentric rules, bizarre and ridiculous 
 ideas, made your women servants liars and induced their 
 irregularities. Nature punishes those who revolt against 
 her, and the long years during which you have isolated 
 yourself from the world and from society have been flat 
 rebellion, which has brought its own punishment. You 
 
122 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 now Stand before two judges, Heaven and the World ; 
 Heaven is ready to punish you, the world to laugh at 
 you ; and the wrath of Heaven and the ridicule of the 
 world is equally hard to bear. How do you mean to 
 protect yourself against both ?" 
 
 The countess sank back annihilated. Only just re- 
 covered from the anxieties, horrors, and dangers of this 
 dreadful night, she was not able to face the denuncia- 
 tions of the priest, which were, in fact, only the echo of 
 her own conscience. The torture was greater than all 
 she had undergone. There was silence in the room, 
 during which the words rang in Theudelinde's ears like 
 the tolling of a bell. 
 
 " How shall you face the anger of Heaven and the 
 ridicule of the world ?" 
 
 At last she thought of a way out of the difiiculty, and, 
 raising her head, she said, in a low voice : 
 
 " I will hide my miserable head in a convent. There 
 the ridicule of the world will not reach me ; there, kneel- 
 ing before the altar, I will day and night pray to God to 
 pardon my fault. You, oh most reverend father, will per- 
 haps use your influence with the abbess of some convent 
 — I should prefer the very strictest order — and get me 
 admitted. There I shall find a living grave, and no one 
 will ever hear my name. I shall leave this castle, and 
 all my fortune, together with my savings of the last few 
 years, to your order, with only one condition, that every 
 night at twelve o'clock vespers shall be sung in the fam- 
 ily vault, which has been desecrated by such abomina- 
 tions as have been practised there." 
 
 The countess's voice, which was low and broken in 
 the beginning, gathered strength as she made this re- 
 nunciation of her worldly goods. 
 
 The abbe rose up as she finished, and took her trem- 
 
THE EXORCIST 1 23 
 
 bling hand in his, while, with a haughty elevation of his 
 head, he answered : 
 
 " That everything may be quite clear, I beg you will 
 understand, countess, that neither I nor my order need, 
 nor would accept, the donation of your castle, your prop- 
 erty, or your mone3^ It is not our custom to take ad- 
 vantage of weak-minded persons in a moment of contri- 
 tion, and to extort from them compensation for their sins 
 in the shape of their worldly goods. We have no desire 
 to acquire property in so sneaking and contemptible a 
 manner, and therefore, countess, in the name of my or- 
 der, I decline to spend the night singing vespers in 
 your family vault, or the day in living on your fortune. 
 This idea you may dismiss altogether from your 
 mind." 
 
 These words filled the countess witii admiration. She 
 had already felt herself singularly attracted by this man. 
 This proof of his disinterestedness and indifference to 
 worldly considerations completed his dominion over her 
 mind, and subjugated her to his authority. She listened 
 submissively while he continued his admonitions. 
 
 " For the rest," he said, " I should recommend you to 
 abandon all ideas of conventual life, which is quite un- 
 suited to a person of your nervous, excitable nature. 
 You would find neither peace nor happiness; on the 
 contrary, you would be a prey to all manner of scruples 
 and disquieting thoughts. There are those who find a 
 refuge and salvation in a cloister ; for you it would be a 
 foretaste of damnation, and in all probability you would 
 end like the hermit who fled from the world to pray to 
 God, and instead of praying, cursed Him." 
 
 The eyes of the countess glared at this awful pros- 
 pect, but she murmured to herself, " True, quite true !" 
 
 "The recollection of your faults has banished you from 
 
124 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 the Church and has robbed you of all power to pray," 
 continued the priest, in a harsh voice. 
 
 " True, quite true !'' sobbed the countess, and beat her 
 breast. " I can never again enter a church, and I dare 
 not pray." Then with a cry of despair she threw her- 
 self at the feet of the abbe, and with feverish strength 
 clasped both his hands, while she screamed out, "Where 
 shall I go, if not to the Church of God ? Who shall help 
 me, if I cannot pray to Him ?" 
 
 The clergyman saw it was necessary to soothe her 
 terrible excitement. 
 
 " Your proper refuge is in your own heart," he said, 
 gently, " and your good deeds shall plead for you." 
 
 Theudelinde pressed the priest's hand to her burning 
 forehead. Then she rose from her kneeling position 
 and stretched out her arms. 
 
 "Command me. Advise me. What shall I do .?" 
 
 "Return to society, and take the place your rank and 
 wealth entitle you to hold." 
 
 The countess fell back a step, and stared at the abbe', 
 her face all astonishment. 
 
 " Return to the world ! /who left it five-and-twenty 
 years ago! I should be the laughing-stock of every 
 one were I to seek, at my age, pleasures which I long 
 ago renounced." 
 
 " Countess, you have voluntarily thrown away that 
 portion of your life to which the world offers its best 
 gifts; but there still remains to you that other half, 
 wherein you can acquire the esteem of the world — that is, 
 if you avail yourself of the means necessary for success." 
 
 " My father, remember that in that circle which you 
 wish me to enter I shall meet nothing but contempt and 
 humiliations. The present generation don't know^ my 
 name, my contemporaries despise me." 
 
THE EXORCIST 125 
 
 "But there is a magic circle in which every one is 
 recognized and no one is despised. Would you wish to 
 enter this circle ?" 
 
 " Place me in this circle, father. Where is it to be 
 found ?" 
 
 " I will tell you, countess. Your nation is passing 
 through a crisis; it maybe called the battle for intel- 
 lectual freedom. All are striving to place themselves on 
 a footing with the intellectuality of other nations — phi- 
 losophers, poets, industrials ; men, women, boys, gray- 
 beards, magnates, and peasants. If they all knew how 
 to strive together they might attain their purpose, but all 
 are divided ; each works for himself and by himself. 
 Individual effort is doomed to failure, but united, cer- 
 tain of success." 
 
 The countess listened in breathless astonishment. 
 She did not understand where the abbe was leadina: 
 her. 
 
 "What is wanting in this tremendous struggle is a 
 centre. The country has no centre. Debreczyn is 
 thoroughly Hungarian, but its religious exclusiveness 
 has narrowed its sphere of influence. Szegedin is well 
 suited, but it is far too democratic. Klausenburg is in- 
 deed a Hungarian town. The aristocracy are to be 
 found there, and a certain amount of culture, but it lies 
 beyond the Kiralyhago, and the days of the Bethlens 
 and the Bocskais are over. Pesth would be the proper 
 centre ; it has every qualification. I have been through 
 the five quarters of the globe, and nowhere have I found 
 such a place. In Pesth no man troubles himself about 
 his neighbor, and each man believes that the world is 
 made for him alone. The first look of the city takes 
 one by surprise ; the fine embankment along the broad 
 Danube River, the beautiful squares and streets, with 
 
126 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 the six-Story tin houses, each in a different style of archi- 
 tecture. Side by side are palaces built in the Roman, 
 Moorish, Spanish, or Renaissance style, with, perhaps, 
 the occasional introduction of a quaint Dutch mansion 
 or Gothic structure. Opposite to the great edifice of 
 the chain bridge rises a large stone bandbox with four 
 towers ; this is called the Basilica, but it looks more 
 like a giant scaffold than anything else. On all sides 
 rage monster factory chimneys, which vomit forth vol- 
 umes of poisonous smoke upon the town. Factories, 
 docks, academical palaces, redoubts, tin card -houses, 
 art conservatories, are crowded one over the other. 
 The academy interferes with the business of the docks, 
 and the noise of the shipping-trade disturbs the acad- 
 emicians. The smoke of the steam - engines suffocates 
 every one ; while the town-hall, w-ith all its ornamented 
 peaks and minarets, says to the stranger, ' Come nearer, 
 friend ; this is Constantinople.' " 
 
 The countess could not help smiling over this graphic 
 description. 
 
 "The inner town," continued the abbe, "is a laby- 
 rinth of narrow, irregular streets, which were built when 
 the site of the present town-hall was only a marsh for 
 the pigs to wallow in. In spite of the narrow propor- 
 tions, these streets contain some of the finest shops in 
 Europe. The contrasts are something w^onderful ; the 
 finest equipages jammed against the overladen wagons 
 conveying merchandise ; the most elegantly dressed 
 women jostling against beggars in rags. The prettiest 
 women are to be seen in this quarter, and this in face 
 of a wind that drives all the dust into the eyes. In the 
 suburbs houses are rising on all sides with marvellous 
 rapidity, little and big, in every style and variety, giving 
 more dust for the wind to play tricks with. The whole 
 
THE EXORCIST 12/ 
 
 place is a stony wilderness, with here and there a small 
 green oasis not bigger than a private garden. Round 
 about the city lies a Sahara, the earth of which is con- 
 stantly dug up, so that the sirocco is never in want of 
 dust. This is the exterior appearance of Pesth, which 
 in itself presents the different features of a manufactur- 
 ing town, an emporium for trade, and a city of arts and 
 science, as well as those of the capital of an empire 
 and of an American colon)', where men of all classes 
 assemble to make their pile of gold, but when this is 
 secured hurry away to spend their winnings in other 
 places. 
 
 "So far as social conditions are concerned, and these, 
 after all, concern us most," said the abbe', with a quick 
 look at his listener, " they are as complicated as the 
 commercial interests of Pesth. Each class is surround- 
 ed, so to speak, with a Chinese wall. Trade and the 
 stock-exchange are altogether in the hands of Jews and 
 Germans. This would not be so much an evil were it 
 not that a great amount of fraudulent speculation goes 
 on, and at every turn of the money market in Vienna 
 the funds go down. The Hungarian element is made 
 up of tobacco-merchants and hand-workers ; there are, 
 besides these, about twenty thousand Slavonians from 
 the hills, who are day-laborers. Pesth is, or should be, 
 the headquarters of national education. It is, however, 
 not the fashion to support it. It should be also the 
 centre of science and literature ; it is not, however, con- 
 sidered good 'ton' to cultivate anything but foreign 
 literature. Pesth can boast of very distinguished 
 savivits, and of a very haughty aristocracy; but no one 
 is allowed to enter this magic circle but those who be- 
 long to the upper ten. The whole society is on a wrong 
 footing ; each one fights his own battle, bears his own 
 
128 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 burden ; the finest ideas are lost because no one under- 
 stands the other. A common standpoint is wanting. 
 All healthy life is dying out, full freedom of thought 
 and action being strangled by the iron laws of the 
 short-sighted government, which forbids discussion of 
 any kind. 
 
 " The Reichstag and the Comitatshaus are both 
 closed. The only free ground left is that of general 
 society; but here class prejudices step in. A certain 
 portion of our aristocracy are too indifferent to trouble 
 themselves to do anything for the general good ; the 
 rest are too fond of their own ease and amusement; 
 they acknowledge no other aim in life but their own 
 pleasure. There are some, however, who do know what 
 their duty is, and who would willingly make sacrifices to 
 fulfil it, but during the last ten years they have suffered 
 such a loss of income that they are no longer in a posi- 
 tion to bear the expense which would be entailed by 
 opening their houses. There are others, those most 
 fitted by intellect as well as by position to be leaders. 
 Alas ! they will never return to Pesth ; it is to them full 
 of tragic memories, which haunt the houses where they 
 once lived, and which have banished forever the laugh 
 and jest from those walls. Therefore it is that we have 
 arrived at this position, that there is not a single centre 
 where the clever, the good, the nobleman, and the gen- 
 tleman can meet on equal terms ; and without this no 
 real good can be done." 
 
 "Then let me create this centre!'' cried the countess, 
 rising to her feet and addressing the abbe with an in- 
 spired look. Her whole being seemed changed by this 
 new thought, which had been skilfully suggested by the 
 words of the clergyman, who seemed well pleased at the 
 effect he had produced. 
 
THE EXORCIST 129 
 
 "Then you understood," he said; "and for 30U the 
 advantages will be incalculable. Here is the shelter you 
 require. If you come to Pesth, if you live there as befits 
 your rank and your fortune, you can assemble round you 
 the very cream of society. To your salo7i will come every 
 one, distinguished not alone by birth, but by talent — pol- 
 iticians, artists, poets, magnates, priests, prelates, and 
 laymen , the aristocracy of the land and the aristocracy 
 of intellect shall be alike represented. Your mission 
 will be to further by this means the apostolate of truth, 
 of culture ; and, by so doing, to assist the progress and 
 development of your own nation, and for the rest your 
 own position will be most honorable. As hostess and 
 mistress of such you will be respected and admired." 
 
 The countess seized the clergyman's hand in both 
 hers, and covered it with kisses, while in her excitement 
 she sobbed : 
 
 " i thank you, I thank you, I thank you !" 
 
 " Do you not see, countess, that there is a vocation 
 for you besides that of conventual life.'"' 
 
 " You are a prophet." 
 
 " In the meantime, may I ask you a practical ques- 
 tion .'' For the task which you have undertaken with 
 such praiseworthy zeal there are certain material qual- 
 ifications absolutely necessary, the first being a sufficient 
 income. May I ask you to give me your confidence on 
 this delicate subject.''" 
 
 " I am rich," answ^ered Theudelinde. " I have my 
 capital at good interest. Likewise, out of my savings I 
 have bought a fine mansion situated in the best part of 
 Pesth ; it is at present let." 
 
 "You will now take it into your own hands," said the 
 abbe, "and have it properly appointed, suitable to your 
 rank. So far as your securities go, it may be better to 
 9 
 
130 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 invest your capital differently. We shall see. How 
 much does your yearly income from the Bondavara estate 
 amount to ?" 
 
 "About twenty thousand florins." 
 
 " How large is the estate ?" 
 
 " From about nine to ten thousand acres." 
 
 *' Then the return is far too small. The agent is to 
 blame for this ; this income would be too little to sup- 
 port the position you now intend to hold. Twenty thou- 
 sand florins would not be nearly enough to keep up an 
 establishment on a proper footing in Pesth." 
 
 The countess was surprised. She said, humbly, " I 
 imagined it was a great deal of money." 
 
 " So it is for living in the country ; but Pesth is as 
 dear, if not dearer, than Paris. To keep a proper estab- 
 lishment going, and take the position of a leader of soci- 
 ety, such as it is your ambition to be, you must at least 
 command a yearly income of forty thousand florins." 
 
 "But I cannot do that. What shall I do?" Theu- 
 delinde said, in great distress. 
 
 The abbe's lips parted in a smile. "Oh, we will 
 manage it for you ! For the rest it will not be difficult. 
 The rental of the estate must be overhauled ; you must 
 get a better agent, a more enterprising steward. I my- 
 self do not understand finance, but I have friends in the 
 inner circle of the stock-exchange, and one or other of 
 these will undertake to advise you as to your affairs 
 when you are settled in Pesth. In any case, I am quite 
 certain that your land is let too low , it should bring in 
 double the interest you get from it. I know so much of 
 political economy." 
 
 The countess was delighted at these words. What a 
 friend to have ! Her income to be doubled ! Truly 
 this abbe was sent to her from heaven. 
 
THE EXORCIST 131 
 
 " Do as you think best," she said. " I give you full 
 power to act for me." 
 
 " Then, if you will allow me, I shall have your prop- 
 erty revalued, and fresh leases made. This will double 
 your income, and it will only cost you a trifle — a factor's 
 fee, in fact." 
 
 Theudelinde was like a child in her joy — like a child 
 in her submission to her spiritual adviser, to whom she 
 looked up as a father, a counsellor, a true friend. 
 
 All this he might be ; but it was also true that from 
 the date of this conversation the owner of Bondavara 
 lost her hold on her own property forever. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 Countess Theudelinde was beside herself with joy. 
 She ran to her bell-apparatus, touched the spring, and 
 the machine put itself into motion. 
 
 "What are you doing, countess?" asked the abbe', in 
 some amazement. 
 
 " I am desiring my steward to be sent for at once." 
 
 " By what messenger ?'' 
 
 And then for the first time the countess remembered 
 there was not a living soul in the house. 
 
 She grew very grave. 
 
 " It is truly a problem," continued the priest, " to 
 know how we are to get out of the castle." 
 
 "What do you mean?" asked Theudelinde, who was 
 so weak-minded that she always required to have every- 
 thing explained to her. 
 
 "We two are quite alone in this house," returned the 
 abbe'. " If I go away to get the necessary assistance 
 for packing up your things and making the arrange- 
 ments for departure I must leave you alone here." 
 
 " I would not for all the world remain alone here." 
 
 " Then you have the alternative of accompanying 
 me on foot to the nearest post-house in the adjacent 
 village." 
 
 As he spoke the snow-storm was heard outside beat- 
 ins: against the window. Theudelinde shivered. 
 
"an obstinate fellow" 133 
 
 "Why cannot we drive? My horses are in the 
 stable." 
 
 "But I can neither harness them nor drive them." 
 
 " Oh, I should never think of such a thing!" 
 
 Nevertheless, the countess had now to consider 
 whether she should remain alone in the castle or take 
 the alternative of accompanying the priest in a heavy 
 fall of snow. 
 
 " Somebody is knocking at the door," said the abbe. 
 
 "It must be my steward," returned Theudelinde. 
 "He has heard what has happened, and has come to 
 our assistance," 
 
 " But there is no one to open the door. Your portress 
 was one of the ghosts." 
 
 "She was the old witch who danced on the table." 
 
 "Have you by chance a second key.''" 
 
 " It hangs there on that large bunch to the right." 
 
 "Then I will take it with me, in case there is none in 
 the lock." 
 
 " But the dogs, father , they will tear you in pieces. 
 They are fierce to strangers." 
 
 " I will call them by their names, if you will tell me 
 what they are." 
 
 "I don't know their names," returned the countess, 
 who never troubled herself about such a common thing 
 as a watch-dog's name. 
 
 " Then I must shoot them." 
 
 " But, father, as gently as you can." By this Theude- 
 linde did not mean to appeal to his compassion for the 
 dogs, but to remind him to spare her sensitive nerves. 
 
 The abbe' took his revolver and went on his mission ; 
 he carried no lantern with him, for daylight had come. 
 
 Both the watch-dogs lay one on each side of the door- 
 way. They were chained loosely, so that they could 
 
134 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 keep well clear of one another, but it was impossible to 
 pass between them to the door ; if you escaped being 
 bitten by one, the other was sure to tear you. The 
 abbe, therefore, to get to the door, had to shoot one and 
 wound the other. He then drew the bolt, and saw a man 
 standing before him, a revolver in his hand. 
 
 " Who are you ? What do you want .'"' asked the 
 priest. 
 
 " Who are you, and what brings you here ?" returned 
 the stranger. 
 
 " I am the Abbe Samuel, the countess's confessor." 
 
 "And I am Ivan Behrend, the countess's next 
 neighbor." 
 
 The abbe lowered his pistol, and changed his tone to 
 one of courtesy. 
 
 "You must confess that it is rather an unusual hour 
 for you to come," he said, smiling. 
 
 " Honi soit qui mal y pense," said Ivan, putting his 
 weapon into his pocket. " I came at this unusual hour 
 in consequence of a letter which I received this very 
 night, in which I was informed that the castle was in a 
 state of confusion, and the countess was in great need 
 of help." 
 
 " The cause of the confusion — " 
 
 " Oh, I know , that was also in the letter. Therefore, 
 I have come to do what I can, although I am aware the 
 countess admits no man into her house, especially at 
 this hour." 
 
 " She will receive you most certainly. Allow me first 
 to close the door. There is absolutely no one in the 
 house. Take care of the dog on the left-hand side ; he 
 is still alive." 
 
 "You have shot the other ?" 
 
 " Yes ; you heard the shot and drew your revolver ?" 
 
"an obstinate fellow" 135 
 
 " Naturally. I did not know who might have fired 
 the pistol." 
 
 Both men ascended to the apartments of the countess. 
 The abbe entered first to prepare her. 
 
 "We have got unexpected help," he said; "a neigh- 
 bor of yours, Ivan Behrend." 
 
 "A doubtful person," returned Theudelinde, scorn- 
 fully. " He is an atheist." 
 
 "It does not matter in the present crisis whether he 
 be a Thug, a Mormon, or a Manichaean , we have great 
 need of his help. Some one told him of the plight you 
 are in, and he wishes to see you." 
 
 " I will not see him, or speak to him. I beg you will 
 confer with him instead of me." 
 
 " Countess, if this man is what you say, a heretic, he 
 may say that he will not confer with one of my cloth." 
 
 "Very well. I suppose I must see him, but you will 
 be present ?" 
 
 " If it should be necessary." 
 
 The countess rolled her shawl round her, and went 
 into the reception-room, into which the morning light 
 was breaking. Abbe Samuel thought it necessary, how- 
 ever, to light the candelabras on the chimney. 
 
 Theudelinde, with a freezing air, asked Ivan to take a 
 chair, and placed herself at a considerable distance 
 from her visitor. She signed to him to begin the con- 
 versation. 
 
 '^ Countess, this night while I was busy reading, some 
 one tapped at my window, and when I opened it thrust 
 this note into my hand. It is written by your steward." 
 
 " By my steward !" exclaimed the countess, in a tone 
 of surprise. 
 
 " It is written in his style, and quite unfit for you to 
 read. I will tell you what interests you. The steward 
 
136 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 says that your entire household, without any exception 
 of sex, have made good their escape, and that he is fol- 
 lowing their example." 
 
 " My steward also ! And for what reason ?" 
 
 " He gives the reason in his letter. I suspect, how- 
 ever, it is only a pretext on his part to conceal a very 
 criminal design. I am of opinion that he has robbed 
 you." 
 
 " Robbed me !" repeated the countess. 
 
 "Do not alarm yourself; there are different sorts of 
 robbery, such as being an unfaithful steward, injuring 
 your land, making profit to himself to your disadvantage. 
 This man, I imagine, played this game, and has now 
 tried to give a humorous turn to his flight, so that the 
 laugh may be turned against you. This is my idea." 
 
 The countess was obliged to acknowledge that her 
 neighbor wms both a clever and a kind-hearted man. 
 
 "In this letter," continued Ivan, "your steward states 
 that after what has happened he could never dare to look 
 you in the face again, as he could not convince you that 
 the late scandals in the castle had gone on without his 
 knowledge. I did not believe these words. I felt cer- 
 tain that you had dismissed your household on finding 
 out how grossly they had deceived you ; therefore, my first 
 care on getting this letter was to send a messenger on 
 horseback to the nearest telegraph-station with a mes- 
 sage to your banker in Pesth, to tell him that the agent 
 of the Bondavara estate had absconded, and on no ac 
 count to honor his checks. I thought it was probable 
 he had liberty to draw in your name." 
 
 " This was really very practical and thoughtful on 
 your part," said the abbe. "The countess must feel 
 most grateful to you." 
 
 Theudelinde bowed her head graciously. 
 
"an obstinate fellow'' 137 
 
 "One reason that brought me here," continued Ivan, 
 "was to know if you approved of what I had done, and also 
 to offer you my assistance in case you wish to leave the 
 castle. I will help you to get away, and I will send my 
 people to look after your property till you can make fur- 
 ther arrangements." 
 
 "This is really most neighborly and friendly, and the 
 countess owes you a debt of gratitude," repeated the 
 priest, again assuming all responsibility. 
 
 " I am merely doing my duty," returned Ivan. " And 
 I would add that if you should be in any difficulty as to 
 the necessary funds, which is very likely, as the steward 
 and bailiff have both made off, don't let this for a mo- 
 ment distress you ; I can lend you ten thousand florins." 
 
 The Abbe Samuel whispered to the countess to accept 
 this offer in the spirit in which it was meant, and on no 
 account to say anything of interest. 
 
 Theudelinde accordingly held out her hand with gra- 
 cious dignity to her chivalrous neighbor, who drew from 
 his pocket the money in bank-notes. The countess 
 wished to give him an acknowledgmewt, which he de- 
 clined, saying the money was lent for such a short time 
 that it was not necessary. 
 
 " And about leaving the castle," he said. " How soon 
 do you start ?" 
 
 "The sooner the better!" cried the countess. 
 
 "Then, if you will allow me to suggest a plan for ac- 
 complishing the first stage of the journey, which is the 
 difficult part of the business, in the first place it will be 
 necessary to pack up what you need. Will you be good 
 enough, countess, to select the trunks you mean to bring? 
 When this is done I will harness the horses ; then we 
 must lock and seal the rooms, and my servants will watch 
 them until you send your proper people. This done, 
 
138 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 we can set out ; and as we shall have to pass the stew- 
 ard's house, we can call there, and look for any books 
 he may have for keeping the accounts of the estate. 
 They would be useful." 
 
 " I shall not go there ; I don't want any accounts." 
 
 " Very good. Then we shall go straight to the inn in 
 my village." 
 
 "What to do.?" 
 
 "Because the post is there. We must get post- 
 horses." 
 
 "And why post-horses? Cannot I drive my own 
 horses?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "And why not?" 
 
 " Because they are screws. They would not reach 
 the next station." 
 
 "My horses! Why do you say they are screws?" 
 asked the countess, angrily. 
 
 "Because they are in bad condition." 
 
 " Bear !" thought Theudelinde. " He answers me so 
 roughly." 
 
 "I shall not enter the inn," she said, determinedly. 
 " I go nowhere where men drink. Cannot I wait at 
 your house until the horses are changed ?" 
 
 " Certainly. I am charmed to receive you, countess ; 
 only you will find nothing suitable for you. I live alone 
 en gar^onT 
 
 "Oh, that does not matter," returned the countess, 
 with an air of indifference. 
 
 "Will you have the goodness, then," said Ivan, "to 
 begin your preparations and select the clothes you mean 
 to pack up ?" 
 
 Theudelinde gave a strange smile. " My packing will 
 not take long ; my luggage will not be heavy. Will you 
 
AN OBSTIXATE FELLOW 
 
 139 
 
 make a good fire while I go to my wardrobe ? It is 
 very cold in this room." 
 
 In the sitting-room there was a large marble fireplace, 
 and in the ashes of the grate some sparks still lingered. 
 Ivan put some wood on the smouldering fire, and soon 
 a genial blaze glowed in the chimney. It welcomed the 
 countess, who presently returned, carrying in her arms a 
 heap of dresses and clothes of all description. 
 
 Ivan looked at her in dismay. "You are going to 
 pack all those ?" 
 
 "Yes, and as many more, which still remain in my 
 wardrobe." 
 
 " But, countess, where?" 
 
 " Here," returned Theudelinde, as she flung the bun- 
 dle on the fire. 
 
 It filled up the whole fireplace, and the fire, catching 
 the light materials, there was presently a crackling 
 sound, while the old chimney roared again wiih joy over 
 such a splendid contribution. 
 
 The two men looked on in silence at this auto-da-fc. 
 
 Ten times did Theudelinde go backward and for- 
 ward to her room, each time returning with fresh arm- 
 fuls of finery, and when these were exhausted, her linen, 
 boots, shoes, etc., followed ; while at each sacrifice the 
 flames in the chimney leaped and danced, and the wind 
 blew the flames up the chimney, where they roared like 
 so many demons. 
 
 " Well, this sort of packing makes short work," thought 
 Ivan, but said nothing. 
 
 The clergyman stood with his hands behind his back. 
 The countess's eyes danced, her cheeks were flushed, her 
 activity was unceasing. When all was consumed she 
 turned to Ivan with a triumphant air. 
 
 " It is finished," she said. 
 
140 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 " And may I ask in what toilette your ladyship intends 
 to travel ?" 
 
 " In the clothes I wear, and my fur cloak." 
 
 " Then I shall go and get the carriage." 
 
 When he was gone the countess, assisted by the abbe, 
 put on her fur pelisse lined with sable. She took with 
 her nothing that she had ever used ; in her opinion 
 everything was defiled. 
 
 After a few minutes Ivan returned, and announced 
 that the carriage was at the entrance. The doors were 
 then locked, and a seal affixed to each. 
 
 When they entered the hall the sight of the dog which 
 the abbe had spared presented a difficulty. If they left 
 him he would die of hunger. The countess thought it 
 would be better to shoot him also. Ivan, however, was 
 more merciful. 
 
 " I will chain him to the carriage, and he will follow 
 us." 
 
 Theudelinde was certain the hound would bite him; 
 but the dog's instinct assured him that it was a friend 
 who now approached. He allowed Ivan to put on his 
 chain, and licked his hand to show his gratitude. All 
 was now done. Ivan locked the gates, gave the key to 
 the abbe, who with the countess was already seated in 
 the carriage, jumped on the coach-box, and drove away 
 from Bondavara Castle. They went slowly, for the two 
 miserable na^-s, which were dio;nified with the name of 
 carriage horses, could hardly drag them along. They 
 were spent with age and starvation, and were only fit for 
 the knacker's yard. 
 
 As the vehicle turned in the direction of the coal-mine 
 Ivan remarked a cloud of smoke in the distance, and 
 soon after they met a group of laborers carrying requi- 
 sites for putting out a fire, hurrying in the direction of 
 
"AN OBSTINATE FELLOW ' I4I 
 
 the smoke. On being questioned they said the granary 
 of the noble countess was burning, but that they hoped 
 to extinguish the fire. 
 
 " I think it will be easily done," Ivan said. " The 
 steward set it on fire to conceal the defalcation in the 
 crop." 
 
 The countess was indignant, but Ivan remarked dryly 
 that property had its duties, and that those who never 
 looked after their own interests were fair game for the 
 thief. 
 
 A rough, ill-mannered man ! 
 
 It was full daylight before the noble coach, drawn by 
 the pair of noble nags, made its way through the heavy 
 snow into the Bergwerk Colony. The wretched beasts 
 were steaming as they drew up at Ivan's door. Ivan's 
 first care was to call the postmaster to take them to his 
 stable, and to order a good pair of fresh horses to re- 
 place them. Then he led his tired guests into his work- 
 room. All the other rooms were cold and cheerless, so 
 he took them where there was warmth and light. 
 
 In the room everything was in the utmost disorder ; 
 it was hard to find a place where the countess could sit 
 down. She looked about her with astonishment at the 
 strange objects which encumbered the tables and chairs ; 
 every available spot was taken up by some extraordinar}', 
 diabolical-looking invention. She cast a look of terror 
 at the chemical laboratory, upon whose furnace the coals 
 still glimmered, testifying to the experiment upon which 
 Ivan had been at work when interrupted by the steward's 
 tap at the window. 
 
 " Cagliostro's workshop," she whispered to the abbe. 
 "There are mysterious things done here." 
 
 What annoyed the countess far more than the evi- 
 dences of mystery and magic which surrounded her 
 
142 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 was the idea that she was the guest and the debtor cf 
 this rough, common fellow. She, rich, well-born, a 
 faithful child of the Church, owed her rescue from a 
 most unpleasant position to this obscure, godless trades- 
 man. If she could only pay him the heaviest interest 
 for his loan, and had not to say " thank you !" And 
 yet she had to swallow the indignity. 
 
 Ivan, after an absence of a few minutes, returned, 
 followed by a maid carrying a tray with the steaming 
 breakfast. She laid the cloth, and set out the cups and 
 coffee-cans. The countess would gladly have made 
 some excuse to avoid tasting the food presented by her 
 unholy host, but the abbe, who was a man of the world, 
 drew his chair to the table, and invited Theudelinde to 
 follow his example, "For," he said, "we shall not get 
 anything to eat till the evening, as there are no inns on 
 our road ; and you want refreshment before your long 
 journey." 
 
 When the countess saw that no demons seized upon 
 the clergyman, and that the coffee of the Warlock 
 seemed innocent of all evil, she, too, came to the table 
 and sipped a few spoonfuls, but she found it was execrable 
 stuff; the milk was not so bad, and she contented her- 
 self with that and bread. 
 
 Ivan began to talk about the weather — a very general 
 subject of conversation ; but herein there was this dif- 
 ference. Instead of an ignoramus, it was a meteorol- 
 ogist who handled the theme. Ivan assured the count- 
 ess that both the barometer and his English glass 
 pointed to fine weather, the sun was as warm as in May, 
 their journey would be excellent. As he spoke, Ivan 
 drew back the thick green window curtains, and let in 
 the bright sunlight to enliven the half-darkened room. 
 The first effect of this sudden eruption of light was to 
 
"an obstinate fellow 143 
 
 show the countess her own face reflected in a large con- 
 cave mirror which hung on the wall opposite to her. 
 
 It is an undoubted fact that we all like to see our 
 reflection in a glass; our eyes wander to it naturally, 
 and the most earnest orator, in the midst of his finest 
 peroration, will gesticulate to his own image with more 
 satisfaction than to a crowded audience; but it is a 
 totally different thing if it should be a magnifying-glass. 
 What a horrible distortion of ourselves — head as large 
 as a cask, features of a giant, expression that of a satyr ; 
 a sight too dreadful to contemplate. 
 
 " What an awful glass you have there," said the count- 
 ess, peevishly, as she turned her back to the mirror. 
 
 "It is undoubtedly not a toilette mirror; it is a glass 
 which we use in chemical experiments to test the high- 
 est degrees of heat." 
 
 Here the abbe, who wished to air his scientific knowl- 
 edge, put in — 
 
 " As, for example, for burning a diamond." 
 
 "Just so," returned Ivan. "That is one of the uses 
 of a concave mirror; it is necessary for burning a dia- 
 mond, which requires the flame of a gas retort." 
 
 The countess was grateful for the abbe"s remark, for 
 it gave her a happy inspiration. 
 
 " Do you mean to tell me," she said, addressing Ivan, 
 "that a diamond is combustible ?" 
 
 " Undoubtedly, for the diamond is, in fact, nothing 
 but coal in the form of a crystal. With the necessary 
 degrees of heat you can extract from the patrician dia- 
 mond ninety florins carat weight, the same amount of 
 invisible gas or oxide of coal as from the plebeian lump 
 of coal." 
 
 "That is proved by the focus of the magnifier," re- 
 marked the abbe. 
 
144 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 " I don't believe it," said the countess, throwing back 
 her head. 
 
 " I am sorry," returned Ivan, " that I cannot give you 
 a proof that the diamond is combustible. We do not 
 use such costly things for mere experiment, but have 
 splints for the purpose, which are cheap in comparison. 
 I have, however, none of these by me." 
 
 " I should like to be convinced, for I do not believe 
 it," repeated the countess. " Will you make the experi- 
 ment with this ?" As she spoke she unfastened a brooch 
 from her dress, and handed it to her host. The centre 
 stone was a fine two-carat brilliant. Theudelinde ex- 
 pected that Ivan would return it to her, saying, " Oh, it 
 would be a pity to use this beautiful stone ;" and then she 
 would reply, "Then pray keep it as a slight remem- 
 brance ;" and in this manner this perverse individual 
 would have been paid and forgotten. But, to her amaze- 
 ment, the countess found she had deceived herself. 
 
 With the indifference of a philosopher and the courtesy 
 of a gentleman Ivan took the brooch from its owner. 
 
 " I conclude you do not wish to have the ornament 
 melted," he said, quietly. " I will take the diamond out 
 of its setting, and if it should not burn you can have it 
 reset." 
 
 Without another word he extracted the stone with a 
 little pincers, and placed it at the bottom of a flat clay 
 saucepan ; then he opened the window, which lay in the 
 full blaze of the sun. He placed the saucepan upon a 
 stand in the middle of the room and just in front of the 
 countess ; then he took the magnifying-glass and went 
 outside, for in the room the sun's rays had not power to 
 concentrate themselves upon the mirror. 
 
 The countess was now certain that the trick would not 
 succeed, and that she would have an opportunity of 
 
"AN OBSTINATE FELLOW 1 45 
 
 offering the diamond to Ivan on the pretext of repeating 
 the experiment when the sun's rays would be more pow- 
 erful. 
 
 Ivan, when he had found the proper spot outside the 
 window, directed the rays from the apex of the burning- 
 glass straight upon the saucepan, where the diamond 
 was waiting the moment of its annihilation. The stone 
 emitted a thousand sparks. As the sun's rays touched 
 it, it threw out as many colors as are in the rainbow; 
 it seemed as if it were to be the victor in this fight. All 
 of a sudden the fiery rays condensed themselves in a 
 narrower circle upon the doomed diamond, the small 
 room was filled with a blinding light that turned every- 
 thing into silver; not a shadow remained. Out of the 
 saucepan shot a ball of fire like a flash of lightning ; the 
 next minute the burning-glass ceased to work. 
 
 Ivan still stood outside the window. He spoke to the 
 countess, who was transfixed with astonishment. 
 
 " What is in the saucepan ?" he asked. 
 
 " Nothing." 
 
 Ivan returned to the room, hung the mirror in its 
 place, and returned to the countess her brooch without 
 its centre stone. 
 
 The abbe could not help remarking, dryly, " That little 
 drama is fit to be played before a queen." 
 
 But now the postilion blew his horn, the countess 
 put on her fur pelisse, and was escorted to the carriage 
 by Ivan. She was obliged to give him her hand, and to 
 say the words, " God be with you." 
 
 When the carriage had gone a little way she said to 
 the abbe', " That man is a sorcerer." 
 
 But the clergyman shook his head. " He is far worse ; 
 he is an inquirer into the secrets of nature." 
 
CHAPTER X 
 THE HIGHER MATHEMATICS 
 
 The counting-house of the firm of Kaulmann stands in 
 the same place where it stood fifty years ago. The en- 
 trance is as it was, and the very panes of glass are iden- 
 tical with those through which the founder of the house, in 
 1811, was wont to make his observations — as from an 
 observatory — upon the countenances of the passers-by, 
 when a rise or fall in the funds was expected. He knew 
 what an excellent barometer the faces of a crowd make, 
 and how much can be gleaned by observation ; so too a 
 chance word, which is let fall as it w^ere by accident, often 
 contains the germ of much truth, and is, to an experi- 
 enced man, in a measure prophetic. 
 
 The young head of the house did not set much store 
 by the counting-house business. He had higher aims. 
 He lived on the first floor in luxurious bachelor cham- 
 bers ; his sitting-room was a museum, and his Avriting- 
 table was crowded with bronzes and antiques ; his ink- 
 stand w^as a masterpiece of Benvenuto Cellini's — or, 
 perhaps, a good imitation in galvanized plaster; his pen 
 was gold, with a diamond top ; he used gold sand for 
 blotting-paper ; the sand-sifter was made of porphyry, 
 the pen-holder w^as a branch of real coral, the paper- 
 weight a mosaic from Pompeii, the candle-shades of real 
 crystal, the cover of the blotting-book Japanese. Every 
 article had a value of its own, from the Turkish paper- 
 
THE HIGHER MATHEMATICS 1 47 
 
 knife to the paper itself, which was of all sorts and de- 
 scriptions, from the thickest vellum to the most delicate 
 straw note, perfumed with mignonette and musk. In spite 
 of these elaborate arrangements, no one had ever been 
 known to write at this so-called writing-table. The 
 science cultivated by Felix Kaulmann did not require 
 the use of pen and ink ; it was purely mental work. 
 Felix worked night and day; during his sleep, even, he 
 worked, but no trace of his labor was to be found on 
 paper. When he amused himself — dancing, riding, 
 making love — he seemed altogether occupied with the 
 subject on hand ; he worked, nevertheless, all the time. 
 He had a certain goal at which he was aiming; for this 
 he lived, for this he strove, and this alone aroused his 
 interest and his enthusiasm ; he never forgot for one 
 moment the aim of his life. He had something more to 
 do than to make a pen travel over paper ; he iiad to 
 move men. 
 
 One day, not long after the events in the Castle of 
 Bondavara, the Abbe Samuel was seated in Felix Kaul- 
 mann's room. Both were engaged in serious conversa- 
 tion. Before them an elegant equipage of fragrant 
 Mocha, whose fumes mingled with that of the Latakia, 
 which our friend the abbe smoked from a genuine 
 Turkish pipe. Felix only smoked cigars. 
 
 "Well, here is your agreement with the countess. As 
 you wished for thirty-two years, it is regularly drawn up. 
 And now I should like to know of what use it can pos- 
 sibly be to either you or your company. It is not 
 enough for the countess to sign it ; it wants the signa- 
 ture of the prince to make the contract advantageous to 
 you, for the countess has only a life-interest in the Bonda- 
 vara property. As soon as she dies it goes to the prince, 
 or to his grandson, and then your agreement is null." 
 
148 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 " I know that," returned Felix, knocking the ash from 
 his cigar ; " and for this reason we must take care and 
 keep the old girl alive. Let her have a good time, and 
 she will live to a great age. It is very hard to kill an 
 old maid, especially if she has lots of money. Besides, 
 I am not so careless as you suppose. I have looked 
 into the matter; I have seen the will of the old prince, 
 and I know all its provisions. There is a clause that 
 makes me pretty safe. When Countess Theudelinde 
 goes off the reel, her brother, the present man, or his 
 heirs, are obliged to compensate all those, either tenants, 
 householders, or creditors, who may have erected any 
 buildings on the estate. You see, the old prince con- 
 sidered that it would be more than probable that his 
 crazy daughter might, in a fit of holy enthusiasm, build 
 either a church or a convent, and he thought he would 
 give the heirs the advantage of her generosity. It never 
 entered into his head that any one would erect a fac- 
 tor}', a refinery, or open a mine. Now you see how 
 useful this clause is to me ; the heirs will not be in a 
 position to refund us the two millions of money we are 
 putting on the property." 
 
 "Unless they find another company to advance them 
 the money." 
 
 "That would not be so easy. First of all, it would 
 have to go into the very intricate affairs of the Bonda- 
 vara family ; then it would require immense capital, 
 great energy, and a certain amount of risk. For the 
 rest, I can see as far as my neighbors. I don't sit with 
 my hands in my lap, I can tell you, and I have not put 
 all my money on one card." 
 
 " Right ! By-the-way, what has become of the little 
 wild kitten you brought away from the Bondavara 
 mine ?" 
 
THE HIGHER MATHEMATICS 1 49 
 
 " I have placed her for the present in INIadame Risan's 
 school ; she is being educated, for she has extraordinary 
 capabilities, although in a general way she is a stupid 
 creature. She has a splendid voice, but she cannot 
 sing, as singing is nowadays ; she has a wonderfully ex- 
 pressive face, but does not know how to make use of it; 
 she is full of feeling, and speaks no language but her 
 mother-tongue." 
 
 " Do you mean to educate her for the stage ?" 
 
 ''Certainly." 
 
 "And then ?" 
 
 "I intend to marry her." 
 
 The abbe raised his eyebrows in some astonishment. 
 
 " I should hardly have thought," he said, coldly, 
 "that a pupil of Madame Risan's would be likely to 
 make a satisfactory wife, although she might be an ex- 
 cellent actress." 
 
 Felix looked haughtily at his visitor, then shrugged 
 his shoulders, as who would say the abbe"s opinion on 
 this point was indifferent to him. For a few minutes 
 the men smoked in silence ; then, with a sudden clear- 
 ing of his face, Kaulmann said, in his blandest manner: 
 
 "I want to ask you a question. You know the ins 
 and outs of the marriage laws. Is there any means by 
 which a marriage can be set aside without having re- 
 course to the divorce court ? That is always attended 
 with great expense and a good deal of scandal : and if 
 the other side should be obstinate and malicious, it can 
 drag for an interminable time." 
 
 " I know of only one other method. We will suppose 
 that you are already married according to the rules of 
 the Church in this country. You wish, for some reason, 
 for a dissolution of this marriage. Well, you have only 
 to go to Paris, and take up your residence in the bank- 
 
ISO 
 
 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 ing-house your firm has there. Your father was a 
 French subject, so are you. According to the French 
 law, no marriage is valid that is not solemnized before 
 the civil authorities ; therefore, the remedy would be in 
 your hands. A short time ago the process was tried by 
 the French court. A certain count had married in 
 Spain ; the eldest son of this marriage sought to recover 
 his birthright, which had been forfeited in consequence 
 of his father's having neglected to be remarried before 
 the registrar in France. The court, however, pro- 
 nounced the Spanish marriage invalid, and yours would 
 be a similar case." 
 
 Felix got up from his seat. "I thank you," he said, 
 " more than I can say. If the recollection of our youth- 
 ful friendship didn't remind me that our compact was 
 always to love one another, I should certainly feel that I 
 owed you a heavy debt." 
 
 " For what ?" returned the abbe, lifting his eyes in 
 some surprise. "It is well for you to remind me of our 
 young days. Was I not then the debtor of your father } 
 What did he not do for me } He found me a miserable, 
 overworked, ill-paid student; he made me your tutor, 
 and so opened for me the road to better things. Oh, I 
 never forget ! But let us not talk any more of the past." 
 
 " No, for the future is before us, and we shall work to- 
 gether. Now, I must ask you, as the countess's repre- 
 sentative, to sign the necessary papers. There is the 
 contract, and here is the check for the first half-year's 
 rent, and here is another check for the sum of forty 
 thousand gulden on my cashier." 
 
 " To whom payable ?" 
 
 Felix answered by pressing the check into the abbe"s 
 hand, while he whispered in his ear: 
 
 "To the friendly representative." 
 
THE HIGHER MATHEMATICS 151 
 
 The Other shook his head, with a wounded look on his 
 face. " You mean to offer vie a present ?" he said, 
 haughtily. 
 
 "You do not understand," returned Felix. "This 
 money does not come from me ; it forms part of the ex- 
 penses of the company, and in all such undertakings 
 figures under the head of 'necessary expenses.' " 
 
 As he spoke, Felix lit another cigar, and looked slyly 
 at his companion, as who should say, "You see what a 
 capital fellow I am !" Round the abbe Samuel's mouth 
 a contemptuous smile flickered as he tore the check for 
 forty thousand gulden into four pieces ; then he laid his 
 hand upon the banker's shoulder. 
 
 " My dear boy," he said, " I had the whole Bondavara 
 property in the hollow of my hand ; it was mine to do as 
 I chose with it. I did with it as I do with these pieces 
 of paper." He threw the torn check into the grate. 
 " Know me, once for all. I am no begging monk. I 
 am a candidate for high honors; nothing will content 
 me but to be ruler of a kingdom." 
 
 The haughty air with which the abbe said these words 
 impressed the banker so much that he laid down his 
 cigar and stared vacantly at his visitor. 
 
 " That is a great word," he said, slowly. 
 
 " Sit down and listen to what I shall disclose to you," 
 returned the priest, who, with his hands behind his back, 
 now began to walk up and down the room, pausing from 
 time to time before his astonished listener, to whom he 
 poured out a torrent of words. 
 
 "The whole world is in labor," he said, "and brings 
 forth nothing but mice. And wherefore ? Because the 
 lions will not come into the world. Ciiaos rules every- 
 where — in finance, in diplomac}^, in the Church. One 
 man who would have intellect enough to see clearly 
 
152 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 could be master of the situation. But where is he to be 
 found? Fools in embroidered coats are the leaders; 
 therefore we see a country governed by incapables, who 
 do not know even where to begin. They would fain 
 force it to submit, but are afraid to use the necessary 
 means. They oppress it, and at the same time live in 
 dread of what it may do. And this same country does 
 not itself know what to-morrow may bring, whether it 
 shall submit, pay the demands of its oppressors, or ap- 
 peal to arms against their tyranny ; neither does it know 
 who is its foe, who is its friend, with whom to ally itself, 
 against whom to fight ; whether it will go on submitting, 
 whether it shall break out into curses or wild laughter 
 at its own follies. The country still possesses one ele- 
 ment, which stands, as it were, neutral between the two 
 parties; this element is the clerical; the Church is a 
 power in Hungary." 
 
 Felix's face grew darker; he could not imagine what 
 all this would lead to. But the abbe had now paused, 
 and was standing before him. 
 
 " What do you think, my son," he said, " would be the 
 reward due to the man who could find a way out of this 
 mass of confusion — who could unite the classes, and 
 bring them into conformity with the wishes of the gov- 
 ernment.^ Do you not think that there is nothing 
 which would better further your Bondavara speculation 
 than a submissive deputation of priests and people, 
 who would give a promise of fidelity to the minister? 
 One hand washes the other; he who brings about such 
 an unlooked-for condition of affairs must be recom- 
 pensed. Now do you understand what use this would 
 be to you?" 
 
 " I think I begin to see," 
 
 " And what office do you think should be offered to 
 
THE HIGHER MATHEMATICS 1 53 
 
 the man who brings the peasant's frock into subjection 
 and elevates the mitre ?"' 
 
 Fehx clasped his hands together. That was his an- 
 swer. The clergyman resumed his walk up and down 
 the room ; his lips were compressed, his head in the air. 
 
 "The primate is an old man," he said, suddenly. 
 
 Felix leaned back in his chair. He could see better 
 in this position the various expressions which passed 
 over the abbe's face. He started when the abbe mur- 
 mured, almost under his breath : 
 
 "The pope is still older." 
 
 There was a moment's silence, and then tlie abbe 
 continued, speaking fast and with excitement : 
 
 " Dwarfs are at the rudder, my son ; dwarfs who be- 
 lieve that their impotent efforts will stem the storm. The 
 Church is in danger of going to pieces, and they make 
 use of the old worn-out means of support. Listen to 
 my words. All the efforts of Rome are fruitless; it tries 
 to maintain its dignity with Peter's pence, and has al- 
 lowed millions to slip through its fingers. Only here in 
 Hungary has the Church any property left. I know well 
 that in the minister's drawer there is a paper prepared 
 which only needs the signature of the state to become 
 law; it only requires a slight pretext, and Vienna will 
 declare war against the clerical power in Hungary. She 
 will fight it upon the liberal principle, and those who 
 oppose will be the unpopular, the losing side. It is only 
 a question of time. The deficit grows daily, the gov- 
 ernment is in a hole, the treasury is empty, there is no 
 loan possible. Hence a fight over the budget, or a 
 trifling war somewhere. You know the proverb, 'When 
 the devil is hungry he eats flies.' The clerical property 
 in Hungary is the fly, and Austria will make one bite at 
 it. The chair of St. Peter and the Church property in 
 
154 
 
 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 Hungary are both in danger. How is the danger to be 
 averted ? Let us put our shoulders to the wheel ; let us 
 be more patriotic than the democrats, more loyal than 
 the prime-minister, more liberal than revolutionists ; let 
 us save the Church property from the government, and 
 the Church itself from the revolution. Let us throw into 
 the market a gigantic loan of a hundred millions upon 
 the property of the Hungarian Church for the rescue of 
 the throne of St. Peter. What do you now think of the 
 man who could do this thing .^ What should be his re- 
 ward ?" 
 
 " Everything," stammered Felix, his mind confused 
 over this bewildering, yet fascinating, programme. 
 
 "To this great work I have destined you," said the 
 abbe, with a solemn, majestic air. "Your Bondavara 
 speculation is necessary, for with it you can make 3. coup 
 which shall bring you a world-wide reputation, your name 
 shall be on a par with that of the Strousbergs, the Pe- 
 reiras, with that of Rothschild itself. This is the reason 
 why I have given you my support. When you are firmly 
 established, then I shall say to you, ' Lend me your shoul- 
 der,' upon which I shall climb where I will." 
 
 After this Felix sank into a waking dream. Before 
 his eyes gleamed the gigantic loan, and through a mist 
 he saw the tall form of the abbe with a crown upon his 
 head. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 SOIREES AMALGAMANTES 
 
 One winter's morning Ivan Behrend, to his great as- 
 tonishment, received a notice from the president of the 
 Hungarian Academy of Arts and Science. This notice 
 set forth that the members of the physical, scientific, 
 and mathematical department had in the last general 
 assembly chosen him as an honorary member of the be- 
 fore-mentioned departments ; and before being elected 
 member of the academy itself he should, in conformity 
 to the established custom, read before the assembly his 
 first address. Ivan was petrified with amazement. How 
 had such an honor come to him .'* He who had never 
 written a scientific paper in any periodical ; who had no 
 connections or friend in the academical assembly, who 
 was not a magnate, or had played no part in political 
 life. He was puzzled ; he could not conceive who had 
 brought forward his name. Could it have been, he 
 thought, that in some way his chemical researches had 
 reached their ears ? In which case, as he told himself, 
 every director of a mine, every manager of a factory, 
 would be considered a philosopher and made member 
 of the Academy, for every one of them possessed as 
 much knowledge as he did. There was no use in think- 
 ing about it ; the honor had come to him, and should be 
 accepted. Ivan thought it best not to look the gift- 
 horse in the mouth ; he therefore wrote to the secretary, 
 
156 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 expressing his gratitude for the unlooked-for honor con- 
 ferred upon him, and stating that towards the end of 
 the year he would present himself in Pesth, and read 
 before the illustrious assembly his inaugural address. 
 Then he considered the subject of this address long and 
 carefully, and spent much of his time over its elabora- 
 tion. It was an account of microscopical crustations, 
 the study of which he had followed closely during the 
 boring of an artesian well, and which during ten years 
 he had perfectly mastered. It took him until late in 
 the autumn to complete his essay on the subject. 
 
 In many places, where such scientific research is 
 valued at its proper merit, his paper would have been 
 appreciated, and would have even caused a sensation ; 
 but we are bound in honesty to confess that it did not 
 do so in Pesth, and that during the sixty minutes allowed 
 by the canon law of all institutions for such lectures, 
 the microscopical crustations produced an amount of 
 yawning unprecedented, even among academicians. 
 
 After the reading of the lecture was over the very 
 first person to greet the neophyte and offer his congrat- 
 ulations was the Abbe Samuel, and then a light burst 
 suddenly upon Ivan. He now saw who it was who had 
 discovered his talents, and who had been his patron. It 
 was something of a fall to his vanity ; he had thought — 
 well, it didn't matter, the abbe was doubtless as learned 
 as any one in the assembly, and his thanks were due to 
 him. Small attentions, it is said, consolidate friendship. 
 
 Ivan decided to spend some days in Pesth ; he had 
 business to do. During the week several papers noticed 
 his academical address ; the most merciful was one 
 which announced he had given an interesting lecture 
 upon the "Volcanic Origin of the Stalactites." Ivan's 
 only consolation was that in his own country no one read 
 
SOIREES AMALGAMANTES 157 
 
 The Referate, and that abroad no one understood it, 
 as it was written in Hungarian. He was wrong, how- 
 ever ; some one did read it — but of this again. One 
 day, as Ivan was making his preparations for his home- 
 ward journey, he received from the Countess Theude- 
 linde Bondavara a card of invitation for a soiree, which 
 would take place three evenings later. 
 
 " Aha !" thought Ivan, " another thank-offering. It is 
 well that it did not come sooner." 
 
 He sat down to his writing-table and answered the 
 invitation in the most courteous manner, regretting his 
 inability to avail himself of it in consequence of his im- 
 mediate departure from Pesth. He was in the act of 
 sealing the letter when the door opened and the Abbe 
 Samuel was announced. Ivan expressed his great pleas- 
 ure at receiving so distinguished a visitor. 
 
 " I could not let you leave Pesth without coming," 
 answered the abbe, in his most friendly manner. " My 
 visit was due, not only because I am much indebted for 
 your kind assistance at Bondavara, but also because I 
 felt it a necessity to tell you what an honor I count it to 
 know such a distinguished scholar as you have proved 
 yourself to be." 
 
 Ivan felt inclined to say that he was neither distin- 
 guished nor a scholar; he remained, however, silent. 
 
 " I trust," continued the abbe', seating himself upon 
 the sofa, " that you intend to make a long stay in Pesth .?" 
 
 "I am leaving to-morrow," returned Ivan, dryly. 
 
 "Oh, impossible! We cannot lose you so soon. I 
 imagine you have a card for the Countess Theudelinde's 
 next soiree f 
 
 " I regret that I am prevented from accepting her 
 agreeable invitation ; I have pressing business which ne- 
 cessitates mv return." 
 
158 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 The aljbe laughed. *' Confess honestly," he said, 
 "that if you had no other reason to return home, you 
 would run away from an entertainment which would 
 bore you infmitely." 
 
 "Well, then, if you will have the truth, I do confess 
 that a soiree is to me something of a penance." 
 
 " These soirees, however, are on a different footing 
 from those reunions which, I agree with you, are more 
 pain than pleasure, and where a stranger feels himself 
 ' out of it,' as the saying goes. Countess Theudelinde 
 aims at having a salon^ and succeeds admirably. She 
 receives all the best people. I don't mean by that ge- 
 neric word only the upper ten, but the best in the true 
 sense, the best that Pesth affords in art, in literature, in 
 science \ the aristocracy of birth, talent, and beauty." 
 
 Ivan shook his head incredulously. " And how does 
 such a mixed gathering answer ?" 
 
 The abbe did not reply at once ; he scratched his 
 nose thoughtfully. 
 
 "Until they get to know one another, it is perhaps 
 somewhat stiff. But with intellectual people this stiff- 
 ness must soon disappear, and each one will do some- 
 thing to keep the ball rolling. You have an excellent 
 delivery; I noticed it the night of your lecture. You 
 could easily find a subject on which to lecture which 
 would interest your listeners by its novelty, surprise 
 them by its profundity, and amuse them by its variety ; 
 their intellect and their imagination would be equally 
 engaged." 
 
 It was Ivan's turn to laugh, which he did loudly. 
 " My excellent sir, such a subject is unknown to me. I 
 confess my ignorance; neither in print nor in manuscript 
 have I met with it." 
 
 The clergyman joined in the laugh. 
 
SOIREES AMALGAM ANTES 1 59 
 
 At this moment a servant brought Ivan a despatch, 
 which claimed instant attention, so that the receipt 
 might be given to the messenger who waited for it. 
 Ivan begged his guest to excuse him if he opened this 
 urgent document. The abbe', with a wave of his hand, 
 requested him not to mind his presence. 
 
 As Ivan read the letter a remarkable change passed 
 over his face ; he grew suddenly pale, his eyebrows con- 
 tracted, then a sudden rush of color came into his cheeks. 
 He held the letter before him, read it several times, 
 while his eyes had a wild stare, as if he had seen a 
 ghost. Then all at once he fell to laughing. He thrust 
 the letter into his pocket, and returned to the subject he 
 had been discussing. 
 
 "Yes, yes," he said, " I shall go to Countess Theude- 
 linde's soiree, and I shall give a lecture before her guests 
 such as they have never heard the equal ; that I prom- 
 ise you. Science and poetry, imagination and learning 
 mixed together, with dates and genealogy, so that the 
 savants present will not know what to think ; I shall give 
 a lecture which will make every geologist a prince, and 
 every princess a geologist. Do you follow me ?" 
 
 "Perfectly," returned the other; not, indeed, that he 
 saw what Ivan meant, but that he Avished to encourage 
 him. " That will be the very thing — first-rate !" 
 
 " What do you say to illustrations by means of an 
 electric-magnetic machine, eh?" 
 
 " A capital idea, and amusing. My dear friend, you 
 will have a succesT 
 
 " May I ask you to convey to the countess my ac- 
 ceptance of her invitation ? I shall require a large ap- 
 paratus." 
 
 "I can assure you in advance that the countess w'ill 
 be charmed at your kind offer. As for tiie apparatus 
 
l6o BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 and arrangement, leave that to her , she will be over- 
 joyed when she hears that she is to expect you." 
 
 The abbe then took his leave, fully contented with 
 his visit. Ivan again read his letter, and again sat star- 
 ing into space, as if a ghost had appeared to him. 
 
 People said the Countess Theudelinde's Soirees Amal- 
 ga7na7ites would certainly make history. The mixture 
 was excellent : grandees jostled elbows with poets ; acad- 
 emicians with prelates; musicians, painters, sculptors, 
 actors, critics, professors, physicians, editors, sportsmen, 
 and politicians of all shades gathered under one roof. 
 It was a bold experiment, a brilliant society in thesi. 
 Neither was there wanting the element of female attrac- 
 tion ; all that Pesth held of beauty, charm, and grace 
 lent its aid to the scheme of amalgamation. 
 
 Count Stefan, a cousin of Countess Theudelinde, was 
 a great help to her soirees, for he w^as a w^ell-informed 
 and cultivated young man, able to talk on all subjects, 
 and especially on the poetry of the world. As for the 
 Countess Angela, she was a classic beauty ; her grand- 
 father was a political celebrity — a great man, who had a 
 surrounding of all kinds, bad and good. It was there- 
 fore quite in keeping, according to the usages of society, 
 that when an unfortunate outsider was presented to 
 Countess Angela, he should, after the third word or so, 
 make mention of her illustrious grandfather, Prince 
 Theobald of Bondavara, and inquire after his health. 
 After this question, however, the Countess Angela never 
 addressed the stranger another word. She allowed him 
 to speak, if he so wished, and to retire in some confu- 
 sion. Even the most dried-up specimen of university 
 learning felt aggrieved. His heart could not resist the 
 first glance of those heavenly eyes, so sweet and friendly, 
 now so cold and haughty. And yet what had he done ? 
 
SOIREES AMALGAMANTES l6l 
 
 The poor man will probably never know ; he is not in 
 the inner circle. 
 
 Countess Angela was indeed a perfect ideal beauty; 
 this cannot be too often repeated. A pure, noble face, 
 with classical, well-proportioned features, nose and lips 
 finely cut, long, straight eyebrows and lashes, which 
 veiled the eyes of a goddess. When these eyes glowed, 
 or when they were half-closed under their downy lids, 
 they looked black, but when they laughed at you, you 
 would swear they were blue. Her hair was rich, of that 
 most lovely of all shades, chestnut brown ; her whole 
 countenance betrayed that she knew herself to be charm- 
 ing, that she was aware that she was the centre, at all 
 times, of admiration, and that such knowledge pleased 
 her well. And why not.^ A woman must be very silly 
 not to be aware that beauty is a gift and a power. 
 
 But what was the reason of her cold looks at the men- 
 tion of her grandfather's name ? Just what one might 
 expect from a woman with her face. All the world — 
 that is, her world — knew that she and her grandfather, 
 Prince Theobald of Bondavara, were at daggers drawn. 
 The wily old politician had given his only and beautiful 
 granddaughter to a German, Prince Sondersheim. She 
 w^as to consolidate some political matter, only she didn't 
 see it in that light, and refused to ratify the bargain, not 
 caring for Sondersheim ; and, for the matter of that, 
 neither did he care for her. But, then, it didn't mean so 
 much to him. Angela had her ideal of married life, 
 however, and so she quarrelled with her grandfather 
 because he pooh-poohed her ideals and called them 
 romantic folly. Upon this she vowed she would never 
 speak to him again, and he, being angry, told her to 
 leave his house, which she did at once, and came to her 
 Aunt Theudelinde, who had just set up at Pesth, and 
 
1 62 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 was glad to have so bright and beautiful a niece. Since 
 then she had refused all communication with her grand- 
 father. This was the reason that she would not even 
 hear his name mentioned ; and it never was, except by 
 ignorant outsiders, or " know-nothings," as the Yankees 
 call them. 
 
 The Abbe Samuel had wit enough to see that the 
 Soirees Amalgamantes were not the success they should 
 be. Conversation did not suffice ; amalgamation was at 
 a standstill. The young girls sat in one room, the mar- 
 ried women in another; the men herded together, look- 
 ing glum, but not so bored as the women. Then the 
 abbe, considering what ought to be done, had a happy 
 idea. He introduced dramatic representations, dramatic 
 readings, concerts, which were a decided success. Soon 
 conversation became lively, strangers got to know one 
 another ; when they rehearsed together duets and little 
 pieces their stiffness wore off. The women seemed dif- 
 ferent in morning dress, free from the restraints of the 
 grand toilette ; they grew quite friendly, and later on 
 they found a subject upon which they discoursed quite 
 at their ease. It must be confessed, however, that after 
 midnight, when the readings, the concert, or the repre- 
 sentation was over, and the outsiders had gone home to 
 their beds, society began to enjoy itself. The young 
 people danced, the old played whist or tarok, and they 
 stayed till daybreak. They would have done the same 
 had the scientists, the poets, the artists remained ; they 
 didn't want them to leave, but, naturally, these people 
 felt themselves out of it, and, besides, they could not sit 
 up all night like the others, so they went home very 
 properly ; they knew their place. 
 
 The Abbe Samuel understood how to manage mat- 
 ters. Whenever the countess was to have a particularly 
 
SOIREES AMALGAMANTES 163 
 
 good evening he took care it should get talked about, 
 and the names of the performers, their parentage and 
 histor}', together with any interesting circumstance, 
 true or false, should be subjects of conversation for days 
 before. In this way he sent about Ivan Behrend's 
 name with a great many details as to his interesting life 
 in the mines, his extraordinary cleverness, and the won- 
 derful lecture he was going to give at the countess's 
 next soiree. 
 
 The abbe knew his world, and how to whet its curiosity 
 by exaggerated reports. 
 
 "Is it true that, for one experiment only, he burned a 
 brilliant belonging to Countess Theudelinde which was 
 worth eight hundred gulden ?" 
 
 " The stone weighed four carats, and was worth fif- 
 teen hundred pounds." 
 
 "We must give him a good reception. See, here he 
 comes, escorted by Abbe Samuel !" 
 
 The gentleman who had just spoken, and who was 
 the Countess Angela's cousin, was Count Edmund, a 
 handsome young man of about twenty-two years of age. 
 He hastened to meet Ivan and the abbe as they entered 
 the door, and introduced himself as nephew to the lady 
 of the house. He took Ivan by the arm in the most 
 friendly manner, and led him to Count Stefan, uncle to 
 the countess. The count was a man of intelligence and 
 reading ; he assured Ivan there were those in the room 
 who were much interested to hear his lecture. After 
 this he was presented by his new friend to several dis- 
 tinguished-looking persons with decorations, who all 
 pressed his hand, and spoke in the most friendly 
 manner. The beginning of the evening was the most 
 agreeable portion. The abbe and Ivan finally made 
 their way into the next room, where the ladies were as- 
 
164 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 sembled, and here they found the Countess Theudelinde, 
 who received them, and especially Ivan, most graciously. 
 The young man. Count Edmund, again took possession 
 of him, and, laughing and talking, led him up to the 
 Countess Angela, to whom he was introduced with a 
 great flourish. Before this lovely vision Ivan bowed, 
 feeling somewhat stunned, yet not shy or awkward. 
 
 " You come very seldom to Pesth," said the young 
 countess, with a reassuring smile. 
 
 " It is some time since I have been here ; but I under- 
 stand this is your first visit, countess. You have never 
 lived in Pesth ?" 
 
 Angela's face assumed its cold expression ; she felt 
 sure he was going to inquire for Prince Theobald. 
 
 " I do not see," she said, in a sarcastic voice, " what 
 it is to any one whether I have ever been in Pesth." 
 
 "It is not an uncommon accident," returned Ivan, 
 quietly, "that a man visits a place where he has never 
 been JDcfore ; but when many people meet in the same 
 spot, it looks as if there was something more than acci- 
 dent in such a gathering; and in this instance, where so 
 many brilliant personages are brought together, it seems 
 as if Providence had more to do with it than mere 
 chance." 
 
 At these words Angela's face cleared, "Then you 
 believe in Providence ? you acknowledge there is such 
 a thing as Divine ordinance ?" 
 
 "Undoubtedly, I do believe." 
 
 "Then we shall be friends." She turned away as she 
 spoke, and Ivan took this movement as a signal to re- 
 tire. 
 
 After a quarter of an hour's further waiting, Edmund 
 came to tell him that everything was in readiness in the 
 lecture-room, and the company had already gathered 
 
SOIREES AMALGAMANTES 1 65 
 
 there in considerable numbers. Ivan, therefore, as- 
 cended the stage, which had been erected at the farther 
 end of the large room, and, holding his papers in his 
 hand, addressed his audience. He had a pleasant voice, 
 his manner of address was perfectly unaffected, com- 
 posed, and taking. From the first moment he held the 
 attention of the audience — his subject was Magnetism. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 RITTER MAGNET 
 
 When the lecture had concluded the lamps were car- 
 ried out of the room, and only the candles in the lustre 
 were left lighted. Ivan then exhibited to the astonished 
 spectators the electric light. Many of them had never 
 seen such a clear, beautiful light as this ball of virgin- 
 like purity. It looked like one of the heavenly planets, 
 as if Venus had descended from her place in the firma- 
 ment and was shining on the company. The candles 
 in the lustre burned blue, and threw shadows on the 
 wall. Every face lost all trace of color from the effect 
 of this strange illumination ; people whispered to one 
 another, almost frightened. Ivan, standing upon the 
 platform, looked like some magician of old, his features 
 chiselled like a statue, his eyes in deep shadow; and 
 what added considerably to the picturesque effect, and 
 heightened the charm of this noble assembly, was the 
 strange coloring given by the light to the splendid 
 national costume worn by the company, and the enam- 
 elled appearance of the jewels on the ladies' necks and 
 arms. 
 
 The eyes of every one were directed to two persons, 
 while an involuntary " Ah !" was whispered about at the 
 extraordinary transformation produced in their appear- 
 ance. One was Countess Angela. The light seemed to 
 have taken from her face that pride and self-satisfaction 
 
RITTER MAGNET 1 67 
 
 which, although natural in one so beautiful, gave an 
 earthly expression to her face, and somewhat marred its 
 beauty. Now she looked a heavenly vision, with the ex- 
 pression of a glorified spirit who had done with earth 
 and had soared upward to her true home in heaven ; all 
 earthly passions, joy, sorrow, love, and pride, had van- 
 ished. Such was the miraculous effect of the magic 
 light. The other transformation was in Countess Theu- 
 delinde. She was seated in an armchair, raised upon a 
 sort of divan. The magic light touched her face gently, 
 and gave it a fairy-like expression ; the noble features 
 were spiritualized, her naturally pale coloring became 
 transparent, the brilliants in her magnificent tiara spar- 
 kled over her forehead as a garland of stars ; she was 
 sublime, and for five minutes the most beautiful among 
 the beautiful. It was, nevertheless, many a long year 
 since her mirror had told her she was beautiful. This, 
 too, was the miraculous effect of the magic light. Round 
 the hall there were large pier-glasses set into the wain- 
 scot, which reflected every one of the company. Theu- 
 delinde, therefore, could see herself beautified. She 
 sighed as she thought, " I look like Queen Mab." 
 
 Suddenly the miraculous light went out, and the room, 
 lit only by the candles, seemed in total darkness. "Ah !" 
 in sorrowful tones was echoed through the assembly; 
 people rubbed their eyes and recognized the familiar 
 faces again. Alas ! it was over too soon. There were 
 no more angels, fairies, queens, or heroes ; only a group 
 of excellent every-da}^ people, counts and countesses. 
 The face of Angela again wore its proud, vain expres- 
 sion, and Theudelinde was once more stiff and ill-tem- 
 pered. 
 
 Ivan now descended from his platform, and received 
 the congratulations and compliments due to his efforts. 
 
l68 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 There were different opinions, of course, but they were 
 private. Every one joined in praising the lecturer to 
 himself. 
 
 Ivan thanked every one for their approval, but with a 
 coldly reticent manner, and soon disengaged himself 
 from his admirers to go in search of his hostess ; he 
 wished to thank her for her kindness. 
 
 Theudelinde received him with smiles. Countess An- 
 gela was with her, leaning on the back of her aunt's 
 chair. The young girl had just said : 
 
 " You looked, auntie, quite lovely — a perfect Queen 
 Mab." 
 
 The smile these words had called to Theudelinde's 
 face still lingered round her lips when Ivan presented 
 himself. For these five minutes of beauty she was in- 
 debted to this man, and was not ungrateful. She gave 
 him her hand, and thanked him in the most gracious 
 manner for the enjoyment he had given her. 
 
 " I owe you something," returned Ivan. ''When you 
 honored my house with a visit, you gave me a diamond 
 which you allowed me to burn before your eyes. I now 
 in return for your goodness on that occasion give you 
 this diamond, which was created before your eyes." With 
 these words he handed her a piece of carbon, which he 
 had taken from the voltaic pillar. " As I explained to 
 you in my lecture, coal can be changed by electricity 
 into a diamond, and in this condition can cut glass." 
 
 "Ah!" cried the Countess Angela, her eyes beaming 
 with pleasure, "let us try the experiment now. Where 
 is there a glass ? Yes, one of the pier-glasses. Come." 
 
 Countess Theudelinde was also excited. She stood 
 up, and went with the others to the pier-glass. 
 
 "Write one of the letters of the alphabet," said An- 
 gela, and watched Ivan attentively. She was curious to 
 
RITTER MAGNET 169 
 
 see the letter he would choose. If he were vain, as very 
 likely he was, he would write his own initial " I "; if a 
 toady and flatterer, like most of the people round her 
 aunt, he would choose " T," as the countess's initial ; and 
 if he were a silly fool, like so many other men, he would 
 write " A." In either of these cases he would have seen 
 on the beauty's face a scornful smile. 
 
 Ivan took the piece of coal, and with the point wrote 
 on the glass the letter " X." Both ladies expressed their 
 astonishment at seeing the coal write, and Countess 
 Theudelinde assured Ivan it should be preserved care- 
 fully with her other jewels. 
 
 Countess Angela stood so near Ivan that the folds of 
 her dress touched him. 
 
 " I believe," she said, slowly, " every word you told us. 
 I beg of you do not tell me that all your romantic de- 
 scriptions were but the necessary clothing of a dry 
 scientific subject, meant to make it palatable to your silly, 
 ignorant audience, and to raise in their minds a wish to 
 seek further, so that they might in so seeking acquire a 
 taste for knowledge. I do not want to seek, I believe 
 implicitly all you said ; but of this world of wonder and 
 miracles I would know more. How far does it go ? 
 What more do you see, for the magician must know 
 everything .'"' 
 
 The young countess looked into Ivan's eyes as she 
 spoke with a strange magnetic power impossible to re- 
 sist. Such a look as this had often dazzled men's brains. 
 " You said, also," continued Angela, " how fiery and 
 strong are those who live in this magnetic kingdom, but 
 that they have no credit for the virtues they possess; it 
 is due to the working of magnetism. I believe this also. 
 Magnetism has, however, two poles, the north and the 
 south pole. I have read that the opposite poles are 
 
lyo 
 
 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 drawn to one another, and the homogeneous drift asun- 
 der. If, therefore, in the magnetic kingdom hearts are 
 drawn to one another, seek one another, love one an- 
 other, which is an immutable fact, so also is it an im- 
 mutable fact that there must be human beings who hate 
 one another with an undying, a deadly hatred, and that 
 such hatred is no sin. Am I not right ?" 
 
 Ivan felt that he was driven into a corner ; he under- 
 stood the drift of the countess's question. Here his 
 knowledge of natural philosophy came to his assistance. 
 
 " It is true," he said, " that so far as life upon the 
 earth is in question, there must also exist antipathies 
 and sympathies. You have studied magnetism, you have 
 read of the poles, therefore you must know that there 
 exists an equator, or line, which is neither north nor 
 south. This is the magnetic equator, that neither draws 
 the magnet nor repulses it, and here there is perfect 
 peace. Just such an equator is found in every human 
 heart, and however a man may be carried away by the 
 passions of love or hatred, his line remains unchange- 
 able, and those who dwell there dwell in peace." 
 
 " And who are the people who live under the mag- 
 netic equator?" asked the countess, with curiosity. 
 
 " For example, parents and their children should 
 dwell there." 
 
 The young girl's face was covered with a vivid blush ; 
 her beautiful eyes shot a battery of lightning glances at 
 Ivan, who remained quite unmoved under this battery. 
 
 "We must talk more of this," she said, with sudden 
 dignity. 
 
 Ivan bowed before the haughty beauty, who turned 
 and left him to the company of her aunt or of his own 
 sex. He preferred the latter. 
 
 Meantime, the lecture being over, a rush had been 
 
RITTER MAGNET 171 
 
 made to the refreshments. The army of outsiders were 
 the first in the field. If they were of little account else- 
 where, they took first place at the buffet, and here the 
 citizen showed distinctly his origin. 
 
 Ivan mixed with the company, and conducted himself 
 as one accustomed to such society, and quite at his ease 
 in it, and he was w'ell received. The men were very 
 civil towards him ; every man under forty used the 
 friendly " thou " in addressing him ; he was made one 
 of themselves. It didn't matter much, as he was said 
 to be leaving Pesth the next day, and would be lost in 
 the depths of Mesopotamia. Some one said he came 
 from Africa. They tried teasing him a bit, all in a 
 friendly way, and w^ere pleased to find this pedant was 
 an excellent fellow, who took the joke in good part, 
 laughed heartily at a well- delivered thrust, and re- 
 turned it with a sly hit, which never offended any one's 
 feelings. 
 
 "He is one of us,'' they said. "This man is up to 
 everything ; he is a capital fellow. We must give him a 
 good time." 
 
 " Is it true that you don't drink wine ?" asked the 
 Marquis Salista of Ivan. 
 
 "Once a year." 
 
 "And to-day is not the anniversary ?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Then we have drunk enough for one year ; let us be 
 moving." 
 
 Some of the men returned to the drawing-room ; these 
 were, for the most part, the young fellows, and those 
 who wished to dance. The ladies, after their tea, had 
 begun to play quadrilles, and even the " Csardas " for 
 those who wished for it. 
 
 Count Stefan, however, drew away the better portion 
 
172 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 of the men to his quarters, which were on the second 
 story of the countess's house. Here he entertained in 
 his way. His rooms being on the other side of the 
 house, no noise penetrated to the story below, which 
 was necessary, as the count's champagne was of the 
 very best, and given with no sort of stint ; it flowed, in 
 fact. Ivan, who was of the party, showed himself in a 
 new light ; he drank wine ; his toasts were spicy, his 
 anecdotes fresh and amusing, his wit sharp and unre- 
 strained ; and although he drank freely, he didn't turn 
 a hair, he was quite steady. 
 
 " Brother," hiccoughed Count Geza, who towards two 
 o'clock was half drunk, " the captain and I have agreed 
 that when you are quite done up we shall carry you 
 home and put you to bed; but, my dear friend, my dear 
 Ritter Magnet, the misery is that I don't think I can get 
 up the stairs; I am quite done. Therefore, take your 
 wings and fly, and let the captain take his, and both of you 
 fly home. As for me — " Here the count laid down on 
 the sofa and fell asleep. 
 
 Every one laughed ; but the name he had given Ivan 
 — Ritter Magnet — stuck to him. 
 
 " Do you care to play cards, my learned one ?" said 
 the Marquis Salista. 
 
 '' Once every three years." 
 
 "That is not often enough." 
 
 The marquis could not at this moment explain why it 
 was not often enough, for at this moment Count Stefan 
 acquainted his guests that it was time for them to depart, 
 seeing that the ball below stairs had broken up, and 
 every one had gone aw^ay. The countess's rest, therefore, 
 might be disturbed by any noise overhead. Every one 
 agreed that this was quite proper. 
 
 "Only," said Salista, "there is no need for us to go 
 
RITTER MAGNET 1 73 
 
 home. Let us have the card-table. Let us spend our 
 time well. Who is for a game ?" 
 
 Three players soon presented themselves ; Baron Oscar 
 was one of the first. But the fourth? The captain 
 called to Ivan. 
 
 " Now, my learned friend." 
 
 Count Stefan thought it necessary to inform the 
 stranger, who was his guest, that at the tarok-table the 
 stakes were very high. 
 
 "Only a kreuzer the point," said the captain. 
 
 " Yes, but kreuzer points in such a game often amount 
 to seven or eight hundred gulden to the losing side. 
 These gentlemen have changed a simple game into a 
 hazardous venture." 
 
 Ivan laughed. ''Every day of my life I play hazard 
 with nature itself; every day I speculate with all I have 
 on a mere chance, and play only one card." So saying, 
 he rolled his chair to the green table. 
 
 The game commenced. The game of hazard, as it is 
 generally played, is a game of chance, it needs only luck 
 and boldness ; a drunken man can almost win by ac- 
 cident. But as it is played in Pesth it is something 
 quite different ; what is called luck, chance, accident, is 
 here allied to skill, prudence, consideration, and bold- 
 ness. The tarok-player must not only study his cards, 
 but also the faces of his adversaries. He must be La- 
 vater and Tartuffe in one; he must be a general who 
 develops at every moment a fresh plan of campaign, and 
 a Bosco who can, from the first card that is played, 
 divine the whole situation ; he must, however, be gener- 
 ous, and sacrifice himself for the sake of the general 
 good. Therefore it was that the spectators pitied Ivan 
 when he sat down to the card-table to play with these 
 three masters of the game. 
 
174 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 It was seven o'clock when the players rose from the 
 card-table. As Ivan pushed back his chair, the marquis 
 said to him : 
 
 "Well, comrade, it is a good thing for the world at 
 large that you only drink once a year and play cards 
 once in three years, for if you did both every day there 
 would be no more wine in Salista's cellar nor no gold 
 left in Rothschild's bank." 
 
 Ivan had, in truth, stripped the three gentlemen. 
 
 " Nevertheless, we must have a parting cup," con- 
 tinued Salista. "Where is the absinthe,?" As he spoke 
 he filled two large glasses with the green, sparkling 
 spirit, of which moderate people, regretting this pru- 
 dence, it may be, never drink more than a liqueur glass. 
 
 Count Stefan shook his head over what he considered 
 a bad joke, but Ivan did not shrink from the challenge; 
 he clinked his glass with that of the captain, and emptied 
 it without drawing breath. Then, with his most courte- 
 ous bow, he took leave of his host. Count Stefan, who on 
 his side assured him it would always be a pleasure to 
 receive so delightful a guest. 
 
 As Ivan made his way into the anteroom his step 
 was steady, his air composed. Not so the marquis ; the 
 dose had been too potent for him. He insisted upon 
 claiming Ivan's astrakhan cap as his, and, as there was 
 no use arguing the matter with an inebriate, Ivan had 
 to go home in the military helmet of a hussar officer. 
 On the staircase the captain maintained that he could 
 fly, that he was one of the inhabitants of the magnetic 
 kingdom, and had wings. The others had all the trouble 
 in the world to get him down the stairs. When he came 
 to the first floor he thought of paying the Countess 
 Theudelinde a visit, to thank her for her kind reception 
 of his lecture, for he was the lecturer, and he was ready 
 
RITTER MAGNET 1 75 
 
 to blow out the brains of any one who contradicted him. 
 He was with great difficulty got into 2i fiacre, and driven 
 to his hotel. When he got there he had to be carried 
 to his bed, where he lay in a deep sleep until late in the 
 following day. 
 
 Meantime Ivan, after a short rest, went about as usual, 
 wrote his letters, and paid some visits. 
 
 " He carries his liquor like a man," said Count Stefan. 
 And from this time all the world called him the knight 
 of the magnet. 
 
 The knight was to be met everywhere. He had 
 numerous visitors ; he was invited to the best houses. 
 He was elected honorary member of the club; he had 
 been introduced by the abbe'. The club had three 
 classes of members — the day grubs and the evening 
 and the night birds. In the daytime the library, which 
 was an excellent collection of rare books, was visited by 
 all the littej'ateurs of Pesth. From six to eight came the 
 lawyers and the politicians to play whist and talk poli- 
 tics, and from eight until midnight the men of fashion 
 had their innings. In this way two men might go every 
 day to the club and never meet one another. 
 
 Ivan first ransacked the library, then he distributed 
 his time equally. He thought no more of returning 
 home. He enjoyed everything and went everywhere, 
 never missing on the opera nights to pay a visit to the 
 Countess Theudelinde's box on the grand tier. 
 
 In the second week of his stay the countess gave her 
 ball. Ivan was invited, and went. 
 
 " Shall you dance ?" asked the captain. 
 
 " I haven't done so for fifteen years." 
 
 "It suits men of our years to look on," remarked the 
 marquis, languidly. " No man dances now after two- 
 and-thirty." 
 
176 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 Looking on was pleasant enough. The nameless grace 
 and wonderful agility displayed by the aristocratic, fash- 
 ionable woman was a sight for the gods to admire. 
 Countess Angela was to-night surpassing fair. She 
 wore a rose-colored dress, with a body, in the Hungarian 
 fashion, all studded with pearls ; the sleeves were of 
 lace. She had taken a fancy to dress her hair like the 
 peasant girls, in two long tresses plaited with ribbons; 
 it suited her to perfection. But men get tired of every- 
 thing, even of a sight fit for the gods. After supper one 
 said to the other : 
 
 "Let us make use of our time; the young fellows can 
 dance ; let us play tarok." 
 
 Ivan played cards every day. He played most games 
 well ; he never disputed with his partners. He could 
 lose with a good grace ; when he won was not elated. 
 When he held bad cards he showed no ill-temper, and 
 seldom made a mistake. He was looked upon as an 
 acquisition, and for a savant he was really a useful 
 man. On this evening he was in exceptionally good- 
 luck. 
 
 Suddenly Count Edmund came into the card-room in 
 a violent hurry. He said to Ivan : 
 
 " Throw down your cards. Angela wishes to dance a 
 turn of the Hungarian cotillon with you." 
 
 Hungarian cotillon ! Strange times, that we should 
 have a Hungarian court, a Hungarian ministry, Hun- 
 garian silver and gold coins. That is nothing wonder- 
 ful ; it is only natural, it is fate, and due to us. But a 
 Hungarian cotillon belongs to the day of agitators. We 
 dance the cotillon to the air of " Csardas." 
 
 Ivan obeyed Angela's mandate. When he came to 
 her he bowed low before her. 
 
 " You wouldn't have troubled yourself to come near 
 
RITTER MAGNET 
 
 77 
 
 me only I sent for you," she said, in a tone of gentle 
 reproach. 
 
 " Into the presence of a queen one doesn't intrude ; 
 we wait to be summoned." 
 
 " Don't try and flatter me ; if you do like the others 
 I shall treat you as I do them, and not speak one word 
 to you, I much prefer your way, although you are al- 
 ways offending me." 
 
 " I do not remember to have ever offended you." 
 
 " Because you do nothing else. You know that very 
 well." 
 
 It was now their turn ; they joined the waltzers, and 
 no one would have guessed that it was fifteen years 
 since Ivan had danced. 
 
 Meantime, in the card -room there was some gossip 
 over this new whim of the young countess. Count Ed- 
 mund, as he shuffled the cards, declared his cousin An- 
 gela was bewitched about this Ritter Magnet. 
 
 "Ah, is that so?" cried the Marquis Salista. 
 
 " Don't you believe him," interrupted Count Stefan. 
 "I know our pretty Angela; she is as full of mischief 
 as a kitten. As soon as she remarks that a man has a 
 hobby-horse, she makes him ride it, puts it through all its 
 paces, caracoling, leaping, haute ecole. This is her trick : 
 once she knows the subject which interests a man, she 
 talks of it with such an earnest face, such sympathetic 
 eyes ; and when he has left her, charmed at her intelli- 
 gence, her sweetness, she ridicules the unfortunate devil. 
 This is the way she treated poor Sondersheim, a very 
 brave young fellow, who has only one fault, that he wor- 
 ships Angela, and she abhors him. She laughs at ev- 
 erybody." 
 
 " That is true ; but she praises Ivan, not to his face, 
 but behind his back to me, and not because he is a man 
 
178 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 of science, a geologist, but because he is such a brave 
 man." 
 
 "That is another of her tricks ; the artful puss knows 
 right well that the praise which comes at third-hand is 
 the sweetest of all flattery." 
 
 "I take good care not to repeat one word to Ivan." 
 
 "There you show him real friendship," remarked Sa- 
 lista, laughing. 
 
 In the ball-room the dancers had returned to their 
 places. 
 
 "You were ready to leave Pesth," Angela was saying, 
 with a charming pout. " You needn't deny it ; the 
 abbe told me." 
 
 " Since then circumstances have detained me longer 
 than I expected," returned Ivan, coolly. 
 
 " Have you got a family at home ?" 
 
 " I have no one belonging to me in the world." 
 
 " And why have you not V 
 
 This was a searching question. 
 
 "Perhaps you already know what my business is. I 
 have a colliery ; I work with the miners, and spend my 
 day underground." 
 
 " Ah, that explains everything," said Angela, regard- 
 ing him with tender sympathy. " Now I understand 
 that you are indeed right. It would be terrible to con- 
 demn a woman to the sufferings a miner's wife must en- 
 dure. What can be more terrible than to take leave of 
 her husband each morning, not knowing whether they 
 will ever meet again ; to know he is in the depths of 
 the earth while she breathes the fresh air of heaven ; to 
 fancy her beloved is perhaps buried alive, and she can- 
 not hear his cries for help : that even if it is not so, that 
 he is surrounded by a deadly atmosphere, that it only 
 needs a spark to become a hell, in which her darling 
 
RITTER MAGNET 
 
 79 
 
 would be lost to her forever ? I can understand how a 
 woman's heart would break under such a daily agony; 
 even to her child she would say, 'Do not run so fast, 
 else a stone may fall on your father's head and kill 
 him.' " Then, with a sudden change of expression, An- 
 gela turned angrily to Ivan. " But why do you stay 
 down in the mine like a common miner?" 
 
 "Because it is my element, as the battle-field is that of 
 the soldier, the sea of the sailor, the desert of the trav- 
 eller. It is with me as it is with them — a passion. I 
 love the mysterious darkness of the world underground." 
 
 The warmth with which Ivan spoke these words 
 kindled an answering enthusiasm in his listener. 
 
 "Every passion is absorbing," she said, "especially 
 the passion for creation and for destruction. I under- 
 stand how a w^oman would follow a man she loved, not 
 only to the field, but into the battle itself, although the 
 art of war has now become a very prosaic and second- 
 class affair, and has lost every trace of idealism. I con- 
 fess, however, the heroism of the miner is to me incom- 
 prehensible. A man who occupies himself with dead, 
 cold stones is to me like that Prince Badrul-Buder in 
 the 'Arabian Nights,' who was turned into a stone, and 
 whose wife preferred a living slave to her marble hus- 
 band. I prefer those who penetrate to unknown regions 
 of the globe, and I could envy the wife of Sir Samuel 
 Baker, who travelled by his side all through the deserts 
 of South Africa, holding in one hand a pistol, while the 
 other hand was clasped in that of her husband. To- 
 gether they bore the burning heat, together repulsed the 
 savage wild beasts. Hand in hand they appeared be- 
 fore the King of Morocco, and what the arm of the hus- 
 band failed to procure was given to the charms of the 
 wife. I can place myself in the position of this woman, 
 
l8o BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 who, alone and deserted in the Mangave wood, sat 
 through the livelong night with the head of the wounded 
 traveller on her lap and a loaded pistol beside her. To 
 heal his wounds she ventured into the woods and found 
 herbs ; for his food she contrived to cook in the desert. 
 She did this for the only man she loved, whose only love 
 she is and has ever been. Her name is known and 
 revered in every place where Europeans have pene- 
 trated." 
 
 Again they had to join the circle of dancers, and when 
 they returned to their place Angela resumed the conver- 
 sation : 
 
 "What I said just now was sheer nonsense; the whole 
 thing was the outcome of despicable vanity. A misera- 
 ble idea to travel through countries where a woman is 
 hardly to be distinguished from a beast, and that be- 
 cause she walks upright; where the ideal of beauty is to 
 have the upper lip bored into a big hole, so that when 
 laughing the nose is visible — ridiculous ! And then to 
 be proud because she was the most beautiful woman, 
 and her husband perforce was faithful to her. A great 
 thing, indeed, to be the queen of beauty amid mon- 
 sters of ugliness ! No, no ; I know of something better, 
 far bolder. A w^oman, Fraulein Christian, has accom- 
 plished a journey alone on horseback all across the 
 steppes of Asia. What if a man and a woman had the 
 courage to penetrate through the Polenia Canal to the 
 warm seas discovered by Kane ? or if a man and a 
 \voman had the courage to cast anchor in the regions of 
 the north pole, and to the inhabitants of that magnetic 
 kingdom boldly say, ' Compare yourselves with us ; we 
 are handsomer, stronger, more faithful, happier than 
 you are ' ? That would be a triumph ; and such a jour- 
 ney I would willingly undertake." 
 
RITTER MAGNET l8l 
 
 As she said these words, Angela's eyes gleamed 
 upon Ivan with the splendor of the aurora borealis. 
 Ivan decided within himself upon a sudden experiment. 
 
 " Countess, if you have the passion or desire to visit 
 strange worlds, and to excite the benighted inhabitants 
 to a proper emulation for something better, truer, more 
 intellectual than that they have hitherto known, if this 
 is really your laudable wish, I can recommend to your 
 notice a country equally in need of such enlightenment, 
 and infinitely nearer to you." 
 
 " What is it .?" 
 
 " It is Hungary." 
 
 "But are we not in Hungary already?" 
 
 " Countess, you are in it, but not of it. You are 
 merely visiting us. You do not know what and who we 
 are. You need not go so far as the poles or Abyssinia ; 
 here is a new world open to you, a large field where 
 your passion for creating and improving can be easily 
 gratified." 
 
 Angela opened her fan, and with an air of indiffer- 
 ence fanned her white bosom. 
 
 "What can Ido^ I am not my own mistress." 
 
 " You are not your own mistress, and, nevertheless, 
 you rule." 
 
 " Over whom ?" 
 
 " Countess, it would only need one word from you to 
 bring the green palace and all it contains from Vienna to 
 Pesth. The society here requires that leading person- 
 ality which now in Vienna is lost among the crowd, 
 whose existence is spent in aimless inaction. Pesth 
 needs the prince, your grandfather. He adores you. 
 One word from you would give to our life a new being; 
 one word from you and Prince Theobald would reside 
 here." 
 
l82 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 Angela ceased fanning herself; with an angry gesture 
 she folded her hands, and turned an angry look upon 
 Ivan. 
 
 " Do you know that the subject you have just men- 
 tioned is so distasteful to me that any one who has vent- 
 ured to name it to me has forfeited ray acquaintance?" 
 
 " I am quite aware of the fact, countess.*' 
 
 "And why have you dared to approach the subject?" 
 
 " I will tell you, countess. Because of an old con- 
 nection between our families." 
 
 " Ah, that is something quite new. I have never 
 heard of it." 
 
 " Possibly not. One of your ancestors was a cardinal, 
 and one of mine was a minister in Patak — a great 
 difference in their relative positions, no doubt; and this 
 difference had a terrible result for my ancestor. The 
 cardinal condemned him to the galleys for life. The 
 minister had, however, only one word to speak, as the 
 cardinal told him, and he would be free. That word 
 was ahrenwicio — 'I renounce,' or 'recant.' He would 
 not say the word, however, and so he went to the gal- 
 leys. As they were putting round his neck the iron 
 collar, from which the chains hang w^hich fasten the 
 slave to his bench, your ancestor, the cardinal, who was 
 not a hard-hearted man, with tears in his eyes entreated 
 my ancestor to say the word 'abrenuncio.' The minis- 
 ter, however, not only refused, but called out ' Non 
 abrenuncio.' In the same manner I now stand opposite 
 to you and repeat the same words — ' Non abrenuncio.' 
 This is the rapport between us. Would you treat me 
 as the cardinal did my ancestor ?" 
 
 Countess Angela tapped her fan upon her knee as she 
 whispered between her small white teeth, and with a 
 cruel smile upon her lips : 
 
RITTER MAGNET 183 
 
 " What a pity that those da3-s are past! If I were in 
 the place of my ancestor I would order you to have iron 
 goads driven under your nails." 
 
 At this formidable threat Ivan burst out laughing. 
 After a minute Angela followed his example and 
 laughed also. 
 
 It was rather a bold experiment to meet the young 
 beauty's wrath with a burst of laughter, but it was a 
 good answer to her foolish speech. The countess felt 
 now that she had given cause for laughter ; but she was 
 offended, nevertheless, and with a haughty look at the 
 offender she seated herself. 
 
 Ivan did not move from her side. A cotillon, even 
 though it be the " Hungarian," has its uses. One 
 partner cannot leave the other if they wish to sep- 
 arate. 
 
 In the meantime a young man, one of the stupid per- 
 sons of society, came to Ivan and whispered in his ear 
 that Edmund sent him to say he should return to his 
 game ; the luck had changed, and the heap of gold Ivan 
 had left was lost. 
 
 " Tell him he has done well," returned Ivan ; and he 
 took his pocket-book from his breast-pocket and handed 
 it to the messenger. " Tell him to make use of what is 
 in this," he said, "and lose it, if necessary." And he 
 remained where he was. 
 
 Angela never turned her head to him again. The 
 cotillon lasted a long time ; Count Geza, who led it, 
 wished to show that the Hungarian presented as many 
 opportunities for new figures as the German cotillon, 
 and the demonstration lasted two hours. Ivan remained 
 to the end, although Angela preserved her cold silence. 
 When they had to join in the waltz circle she leaned on 
 his shoulder, her fingers pressed his, her breath touched 
 
184 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 his face ; when she returned to her place she resumed 
 her coldness, and kept her head steadily averted. 
 
 When the cotillon was over Edmund brought Ivan 
 the news that this long dance had cost him a thousand 
 gulden. Ivan shrugged his shoulders, as if the loss 
 didn't concern him. 
 
 "Wonderful man !" thought Edmund. Presently he 
 said to his cousin : 
 
 '• It seems that you kept Ritter Magnet all to yourself, 
 my pretty cousin." 
 
 Angela raised her white shoulder to him, while she 
 said, angrily : 
 
 " This man has bored me for a long time." 
 
 From the moment that these words were spoken by 
 the queen of fashion a marked change took place in the 
 opinion of the world as to Ivan's merits. He was no 
 longer considered a capital fellow, but was looked upon 
 as a pushing parveniL Angela said nothing more, but 
 this one sentence conveyed much. There are men of 
 low origin whose own vanity misinterprets the true mean- 
 ing of the condescension shown to them by those above 
 them in station, and by so doing make terrible mistakes 
 which must be punished. Such hold par7'en7is must be 
 taught to curb their wishes. Ivan was counted as one 
 of these. The foolish man had imao^ined that a hioh- 
 born lady, a Bondavara, because she was patriotic, w^ould, 
 forsooth, stoop to such as he ; he had mistaken her 
 graciousness for the encouragement she might give to 
 one of her own class. He must be ostracized, and that 
 speedily. 
 
 The signal had been given by those words of the 
 countess's: " He has for a long time bored me." The 
 first means taken under such circumstances is to make 
 the offender ridiculous. This can be done in different 
 
RITTER MAGNET 185 
 
 ways. The victim remarks that his weak points are held 
 up, that he is never left in peace, that he is perpetually 
 placed in situations which are arranged to make him a 
 laughing-stock. Not that any one is rude enough to 
 laugh at him openly; on the contrary, they are most 
 polite to him, but it is a politeness that provokes laugh- 
 ter. He soon finds that no one is his friend, no one 
 makes any intimacy with him, although no one actually 
 insults him ; but if he is a man of any intelligence he 
 soon feels that he is not one of the society, and that his 
 best part will be to take his hat and go. 
 
 This happened now to Ivan, but his habitual phlegm 
 did not desert him; he understood the situation, and 
 was determined to stand his ground to the bitter end. 
 He was invited to take part in an amateur opera, made 
 up of most aristocratic personages ; it was done on pur- 
 pose to subject him to a mortilication. He was given 
 the 7-ble of the " King." He made a sensation ; his voice 
 was a fine, melodious bass. Angela was the " Elvira " ; 
 Salista, "Ernani"; but the " King" was the favorite. 
 
 "The devil is in the man," growled the marquis. 
 " He has been an actor. Til bet." 
 
 On another occasion he was invited to a fox-hunt at 
 Count Stefan's splendid hunting-seat near Pesth. The 
 elite of the country round gathered at these hunts, w^hich 
 took place in the beginning of the season. It was ar- 
 ranged that Ivan should be mounted on a fiery Arabian. 
 This was considered a great joke. It would be such fun 
 to see the quiet book-worm in the saddle; he would have 
 to cling on, for the Arabian would hardly allow his 
 owner to ride. It would be rare sport. But here was 
 another disappointment ; Ivan sat the fiery racer as if he 
 had grown in the saddle. When Salista saw him mounted, 
 he muttered between his teeth : 
 
l86 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 "The devil is in the fellow, I would take abet he 
 has been a hussar." 
 
 Countess Angela took part in the first run at Count 
 Stefan's. She sat her horse splendidly ; she was quite 
 at home in the field. 
 
 About ten sportsmen drew the first cover; the hounds 
 had the fox out of the bushes, and the cavalcade rode 
 after Renard, who took his course over a slope of a hill, 
 which was divided by a cleft in the rock, at the "bottom 
 of which ran a mountain stream. The fox took refuge in 
 this cleft; he probably thought he might find there an 
 empty fox-hole, into which he might sneak. In any case 
 he might escape by the skin of his teeth, as the horses 
 could not venture to follow him. It was a chance, for if 
 the dogs hunted him out of the burrow he could make 
 tracks by the right-hand side. The hunt was on the left. 
 
 " Forward !" cried the daring Countess Angela, and 
 put her horse to leap the cleft. 
 
 It was a breakneck jump. How many will risk their 
 lives to follow her ? When she reached the other side 
 she turned and looked back. Ivan was beside her. The 
 dogs pursued the fox, who had taken to the stream ; the 
 rest of the hunt galloped along the left side of the chasm. 
 Angela thought as little about them as they did of her. 
 In every one's mind there was only one idea — the fox. 
 The countess rode at the very edge of the chasm, taking 
 no heed of the dizzy height she was on and the danger- 
 ous depths into which one false step of her horse might 
 precipitate her. She followed poor Renard, who was 
 seeking an outlet, distracted as he was by his pursuers. 
 Suddenly he rushed out through the riders on the left 
 bank and took to the woods. 
 
 "After him! Tally ho!" resounded along the hill- 
 side, and soon fox, dogs, and horsemen were lost to 
 
RITTER MAGNET 1 87 
 
 Angela's sight. At once she turned her horse's bridle ; 
 she made for a short-cut through the mountain, over 
 which she meant to jump her horse, and so join the 
 hunt without loss of time. She never looked back to 
 see if Ivan followed her, but galloped up the steep 
 mountain-side, sitting her horse in splendid style. At 
 the turn of the path a hare suddenly broke from the 
 cover under the horse's feet. The animal shied, and 
 swerved violently to one side, throwing the countess out 
 of the saddle. In the fall the long skirt of her habit got 
 entangled in the saddle and kept her fastened to the 
 horse. Her head hung, with all her hair streaming on 
 the ground. The frightened horse ran towards the 
 crevice ; if he dragged his rider down its side her head 
 would be battered to pieces by the trunks of the trees. 
 Ivan fortunately caught his bridle in time. He freed 
 the foolhardy rider from the saddle ; she was uncon- 
 scious. Ivan laid her upon the soft turf, and pillowed 
 her head upon the stump of a moss-grown tree. Then 
 he saw how the fall had disarranged her dress. The 
 malachite buttons had come off the body of her habit, 
 and the bodice was treacherously open. Ivan drew 
 from his necktie his breast-pin, and with it closed the 
 countess's corselet. 
 
 When Angela came to herself she was alone. Both 
 the horses were tied to a tree by their bridles. In the 
 distance through the gathering mist she saw a man com- 
 ing towards her from the valley below. It was Ivan, 
 who had gone to fill his hunting-flask with water. The 
 countess rose at once to her feet ; she needed no help. 
 Ivan offered her the water ; she thanked him, but said 
 she was quite herself. Ivan threw the water away. 
 
 " I think it would be well if you were to return to the 
 castle." 
 
l88 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 " I will do SO." 
 
 " It is not far. I know a short way through the wood. 
 We can lead the horses." 
 
 "Very well," returned the countess, submissively. 
 But when she looked at her dress and saw how it was 
 fastened a hot blush covered her face. When she was 
 in the shade of the wood she turned to Ivan, and said, 
 suddenly, "Have you ever heard of Julia Gonzaga .'"' 
 
 " No, countess." 
 
 " She was the Chatelaine of Fondi. Barbarossa had 
 surprised Fondi in the night and carried off Julia. A 
 noble knight came to her rescue, and she escaped with 
 him from the freebooter. It was in the night, and she 
 had to ride barefooted, for she had just risen from her 
 couch. Do you know how she rewarded her deliverer ? 
 She stabbed him through the heart with the first dagger 
 that came to her hand." 
 
 "And she did right," returned Ivan. "A strange 
 man should not have seen her naked feet." 
 
 " And the man ?" asked Angela. 
 
 " Ah, poor fellow ! he had the misfortune of enjoying 
 too much happiness." 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 ONLY A TRIFLE 
 
 The fox was taken. Out of the far distance a trium- 
 phant " Halali !" was heard, and then the horn sounded 
 to collect the scattered members of the hunt. Countess 
 Angela and her escort were by this time at the border 
 of the wood. Ivan sounded his horn in answer to the 
 summons, and to show the others that they were already 
 on their way home. They arrived at the castle a quar- 
 ter of an hour before the rest of the company. Then 
 they separated, and did not meet again until supper- 
 time. The huntsmen spent the interval talking over the 
 day's exploits, and the ladies were occupied with their 
 toilettes. 
 
 Countess Angela told her aunt what had hnppened. 
 She was incapable of any sort of deceit. Lies, which 
 come so easily to the lips of some women, were impos- 
 sible to her. If she did not tell a thing she kept silent; 
 but to speak what was not true — never ! But what if 
 Ivan related to the men what had occurred ? It was so 
 much the habit to talk over the day's sport, and make 
 a jest of everything. Wh}'- should he not make capital 
 of such an adventure — a rescued lady — a beauty in 
 deshabille ^ 
 
 When supper - time came it struck every one that the 
 countess had a constrained manner, and closer observers 
 noticed that she avoided looking at Ivan. She was 
 
I go BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 dressed all in black, which was, perhaps, the reason 
 that she was so pale. She was silent and preoccupied ; 
 she was wondering if they all knew what Ivan knew. 
 The gentlemen tried to amuse her. They were full of 
 the day's run, how the fox had doubled, how they 
 thought they would never catch him, how they regretted 
 that the countess had not been present, how unfortu- 
 nate it was that she had been on the opposite side of 
 the mountain, but that it was far better for her to have 
 lost the run than to have ventured to leap the crevice. 
 That would, indeed, have been madness; an accident 
 would certainly have been the result. No one alluded 
 to the fact that she had met an ugly one ; but, then, well- 
 bred people never do allude to anything unpleasant, 
 which, though otherwise agreeable, has this drawback, 
 that one never knows how much or how little they 
 know. 
 
 It was a remark of her cousin Edmund that convinced 
 Angela eventually that Ivan had kept his own counsel 
 as to her accident. 
 
 " Did Behrend accompany )^ou to the house ?" he 
 asked. (No one now called him Ritter Magnet, nor 
 were there any familiar jokes with him). 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " And his escort was not agreeable to you ?" 
 
 "What makes you say that?" inquired Angela, 
 hastily. 
 
 " From Ivan's manner ; he seems terribly down in his 
 luck. He hasn't a word to say to a dog, and he avoids 
 looking at you. Don't you remark it ? You have, I 
 think, made the place too hot for him ; he won't stay 
 longer. Have I guessed right?" 
 
 " Yes, quite right." 
 
 " Shall I give him a hint to go ?" 
 
ONLY A TRIFLE IQI 
 
 " Do, for my sake ; but without harshness. I will not 
 have him offended." 
 
 "Do you think I am such a bungler? I have an ex- 
 cellent plan to get him away quietly." 
 
 " You must tell me what it is. I am not vexed with 
 the man, only he bores me. Do you understand .'* I 
 won't have him driven away by any of you ; but if he 
 goes by his own free choice, I should be glad if he were 
 at the antipodes." 
 
 "Well, I have no objection to tell you what I mean to 
 do. This man is a scholar, a philosopher, as you know. 
 He holds very different opinions from us who live in the 
 world. For one thing, he abhors duelling. Don't spoil 
 your pretty face by frowning. I am not going to call 
 him out, neither is any one else, so far as I know; that 
 would be a stupid joke. But this evening, in the smok- 
 ing-room, Salista and I will get up a dispute about some 
 trifle or another ; the end of it v^^ill be a challenge. I 
 will ask Behrend and Geza to be my seconds. Now, 
 what will happen ? If Behrend refuses, which is most 
 likely, he will have to withdraw from our party — that is 
 the etiquette — and we will have nothing more to say to 
 him. If, on the contrary, he accepts, then the other 
 seconds will manage to fall out about the arrangements 
 of our meeting — Salista's and mine — and the regular 
 consequence of such a falling out is that the seconds 
 challenge one another ; then our philosopher packs up 
 his traps, thanks us for our hospitality, goes back to 
 brew his gas. He doesn't fight, not he ; for I hold that, 
 although it is within the bounds of possibility that even 
 a philosopher, if deeply insulted, may have recourse to 
 his pistol to punish the offender, yet, when it is a matter 
 of pure, worldly etiquette, it is only your born gentleman 
 who will stand up in a duel." 
 
192 ELACK DIAMONDS 
 
 " But suppose he does consent to fight this duel ?" 
 
 "Then my plot has failed. We should then have a 
 sort of court-martial, and it would have to decide that 
 no offence was meant and none given. We would all 
 shake hands, and the little comedy would be at an 
 end." 
 
 Angela yawned, as if weary of the subject. " Do as 
 you like," she said. " But take care. This man can 
 show his teeth ; he can bite." 
 
 "Leave that to me." 
 
 That evening at supper the conversation was pur- 
 posely turned on duelling, for the purpose of convincing 
 Angela that Ivan's views on the subject were sound as 
 regarded his own safety. The opportunity offered, for 
 the latest event in fashionable life was a duel, in which 
 the only son of a well-known and distinguished family 
 had lost his life for some silly dispute about a trifle. 
 
 " I hold the duel to be not merely a mistake, but a 
 crime," said Ivan. " It is flying in the face of God to 
 take the law into our own hands. The Te Deiim which 
 the conqueror sings over his murderous act is a dis- 
 grace ; it cries to Heaven for vengeance. The appeal 
 to weapons as satisfaction is likewise an offence against 
 society, for it hinders the possibility of telling the truth. 
 The man who tells us our faults openly to our face is a 
 benefactor, but by the present laws of society we are 
 bound to challenge him, and to kill him if we can ; we 
 have no other course, so it must be false compliments or 
 the duello." 
 
 Edmund continued the discussion. " I take a differ- 
 ent view of the matter," he said. " If duelling were not 
 a law of society it would be in a sense a denial of God's 
 mercy, for if you look at it in this way it cannot be de- 
 nied that one man is weak, another man strong, and that 
 
ONLY A TRIFLE 193 
 
 this is a decree of Providence. The result of this differ- 
 ence in many instances would be that the weaker would 
 be the slave of the stronger, who could box his ears, in- 
 sult him, and all the law would give him would be, per- 
 haps, a couple of pounds. This chasm between the law 
 of God and the law of man is filled by the pistol-ball, 
 which puts the strong and the weak on the same level. 
 The pistol is not a judge, for it often decides the cause 
 unjustly. Nevertheless, this unwritten law, and the re- 
 spect, not to say fear, it infuses, has a salutary effect, and 
 makes it impossible for the bully to tyrannize over a man 
 of more education but less physical strength. 
 
 " But that it should be so is a crime of society," an- 
 swered Ivan. "A false sentiment of honor has dictated 
 this law. The world has no right to make such a rule ; 
 it should honor those equally, be they poor or rich, well- 
 born or humble, who keep the law of the land as it is 
 constituted. But what does society do .'' If a gentle- 
 man gets a box on the ear from another, and does not 
 immediately demand satisfaction for the insult, and, 
 nolens volens^ make himself a target to be shot at by 
 perhaps a better marksman than himself, w^hat happens } 
 He is at once dishonored ; society ostracizes him. The 
 world, if it pretend to any justice in the matter, should 
 reform this absurd principle, and punish the man who 
 has given the first offence. Then society, and not a 
 leaden ball, would be judge." 
 
 "That is all very fine in theory, my dear sir; but 
 I ask you, as a man of honor, to put yourself in the 
 position in which, for some reason or another, you find 
 it necessary to have satisfaction for an affront." 
 
 " I could not imagine myself placed in any such posi- 
 tion," Ivan answered, quietly. " I offend no one inten- 
 tionally, and should I do so inadvertently, I would at 
 
194 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 once apologize. I give no man the opportunity to as- 
 perse my honor, and if he were foolish enough to do so 
 I would call upon those who know, and I should deem 
 myself indeed unfortunate if they did not clear me of 
 any such accusation," 
 
 " But suppose the honor of some one near and dear 
 to you were attacked?" 
 
 " I have no one who stands to me in that close re- 
 lationship." 
 
 This last remark cut short the discussion. Never- 
 theless, before many hours had passed the Marquis 
 Salista proved to Ivan that there was one person whose 
 good name was dear to him. 
 
 It was at supper, and Angela was present. The mar- 
 quis was entertaining her with anecdotes of the revolu- 
 tion, in which he had taken part. He was bragging 
 fearfully that when he was lieutenant of the cuirassiers 
 he performed prodigies. At the battle of Izsasseg, with 
 only a handful of men, he routed the entire regiment 
 of Lehel Hussars, and at Alt Gzoney he cut the Wilhelm 
 Hussars to pieces, and didn't spare a man. 
 
 Not a feature in Ivan's face moved. He listened 
 silently to these wonderful tales. Angela at last grew 
 weary of all this boasting and glorification of the Austri- 
 ans over the degraded Hungarians ; she turned to Ivan, 
 and put to him a direct question : 
 
 "Is this all true?" 
 
 Ivan shrugged his shoulders. "What can I, a poor 
 miner who lives underground, know of what goes on on 
 the surface of the great earth?" 
 
 Angela need not have anxiety about him. He is a phi- 
 losopher, and there is no fear he will go too near the fire. 
 
 After supper the company separated ; Count Stefan, 
 with Countess Theudelinde and some other ladies, went 
 
ONLY A TRIFLE I95 
 
 into the drawing-room. The moon shone through the 
 bow- windows. The countess phiyed the piano, and 
 Angela came and spoke to Ivan. 
 
 "Here is your pin," she said. "You know the old 
 superstition — a present of sharp-pointed instruments 
 dissolves friendship, and those who wish to be friends 
 never give them ?" 
 
 " But," answered Ivan, smiling, " the superstition pro- 
 vides an antidote which breaks the spell. Both friend's 
 must laugh over the present." 
 
 " Ah, that is why you laughed when I spoke of the 
 iron goads. There, take back your pin, and let us laugh 
 for superstition's sake !" 
 
 And they laughed together, because it was a super- 
 stition so to do. Then Angela went out on the bal- 
 cony, and took counsel from the soft air of the summer's 
 evening; she leaned over the balustrade, waiting for 
 Couat Edmund, who had promised to bring her the first 
 news of how the plot had worked. 
 
 The gentlemen stayed late in the smoking-room; the 
 night is their time for enjoying themselves, so Angela 
 had a long vigil. The moon had long disappeared be- 
 hind the high tops of the poplar -trees before Angela 
 heard Edmund's step coming through the drawing-room 
 to the bow-window. The ladies were still playing the 
 piano ; they could talk unreservedly. 
 
 " Well, what has happened .^" asked Angela. 
 
 Edmund was agitated. "Our trifle has turned out a 
 rank piece of folly," he said, crossly. 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "I should not tell you, Angela, but the situation is 
 such that it would be wrong to coilceal anything from 
 you. We had it all arranged just as I told you. When 
 we were in the smoking-room we began to play our 
 
196 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 practical joke. Some one said how pleased you seemed 
 to be with Hungary — " 
 
 "Oh, how stupid of you!" said Angela, angrily. 
 
 "I know now it was a stupid thing to do. I wish I 
 had seen it before; but it always happens the knowl- 
 edge comes too late." 
 
 "What business had you, or any one, to mention my 
 name ? I gave no permission to have it done." 
 
 "I know, I know ; but in men's society, unfortunately, 
 no one asks a lady's permission to mention her name. 
 It was only a joke. It had been settled among us that 
 I, being your cousin, should protest against this chatter 
 in connection with your name ; then Salista was to say 
 that he knew well that what kept you in Pesth was the 
 fine eyes of a certain gentleman, that I was to get angr}^ 
 and forbid him to say any more, and that then we should 
 get up the mock duel." 
 
 Angela was trembling with anger, but, anxious to hear 
 more, she controlled herself with difficulty. 
 
 " I never heard such a childish joke," she said. " It 
 was a college trick." 
 
 "It would have been good for us all if it had ended 
 like a college trick. When I told you that we had pre- 
 pared a trick you approved of it, Angela; you know 
 you did. None of us thought for a moment that it 
 would end as it has done. Behrend was sitting at the 
 chess-table ; Salista was opposite to him, leaning against 
 the chimney-piece. After Salista had said the words, 
 ' I know that a certain pair of eyes keeps Countess An- 
 gela in Pesth,' and before I had time to make the an- 
 swer agreed upon, Ivan threw down the gauntlet. ' That 
 is a lie !' he said." 
 
 " Ah !" cried Angela, while an electric thrill ran through 
 her veins. 
 
ONLY A TRIFLE 197 
 
 " We all sprang to our feet ; the joke had ended bad- 
 ly. Salista grew pale; he had not counted upon this. 
 'Sir,' he said to Behrend, 'take back that word of 
 yours ; it is a word that in my life no man has said 
 to me." " 
 
 " And Behrend ?" asked Angela, seizing Edmund's 
 
 hand. 
 
 "Behrend stood up from the table, and answered 
 quietly, in a cold voice, ' It is possible that up to the 
 present you have given no occasion for this reproach to 
 be cast in your face ; but to-night I repeat that you have 
 lied.' Then he left the room. I ran after him to try 
 and smooth down matters. I met him in the hall. He 
 turned to me and said, quietly, ' My dear friend, you 
 know what must now happen. I beg that you will ask 
 Count Geza in my name, and that you and he will be 
 my seconds. You will communicate to me what has 
 been settled ; all is in your hands.' In this way he in- 
 vited me to play the part which I had destined for him. 
 Now he is the duellist, and I am the second. I tried to 
 drive him into a corner. I represented to him that it 
 was not his right to throw down the gauntlet for the 
 Countess Angela. He answered, ' It is the right and 
 the duty of every gentleman to protect the lady whose 
 guest he*is.' This answer, from a chivalrous point of 
 view, is perfectly correct, but it sounds strangely from 
 the lips of the man who a couple of hours ago told us 
 there was no one in the world for whose good name he 
 would fight a duel." 
 
 Angela sank back in her chair. " Oh, what terrible 
 folly it has all been !" she wailed. " No, no, this duel 
 cannot be ! I shall prevent it !" 
 
 " I wish you would tell me what means you intend to 
 take to prevent it." 
 
198 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 " I will at once speak with Ivan Behrend — this mo- 
 ment ; do you hear ?■' 
 
 " Unfortunately, that is impossible. When he left me 
 he gave the order to put his horses to. There, you hear 
 those wheels .'* That is his carriage. Geza has gone 
 with him, and we four are to follow him presently. One 
 cannot arrange this sort of thing in a strange house ; 
 that is done only on the stage. The principals must 
 wait in their own houses to hear what we have decided 
 to do." 
 
 " But, my God ! I will not let it be done ; do you 
 hear ? I will speak to Uncle Stefan." 
 
 "I have told you everything, so that our sudden de- 
 parture should not surprise you ; but I can tell you 
 exactly what Count Stefan will say — that no fuss must 
 be made ; let the whole thing be done quickly and 
 quietly. The seconds, too, must act with great pru- 
 dence, and not irritate the principals by much delay." 
 
 " What do you mean by saying the seconds should 
 act with prudence ?" 
 
 " So far as depends upon them they must determine 
 the issue of the duel, and either soften or accentuate 
 the conditions according to circumstances. In this case 
 we will soften. Your name will not appear as the cause 
 of the challenge. We will induce Behrend to say that 
 he used the word ' lie ' in connection with Salista's ex- 
 pressions concerning the Hungarian troops. This plau- 
 sible ground for a challenge will be accepted as sufficient 
 by both sides, and in this way your name need never be 
 mentioned." 
 
 "But I do not care! What does that matter? If 
 any one is killed for my sake — " 
 
 " Compose yourself, my dear cousin ; the seconds will 
 be prudent, We shall place them thirty feet apart, and 
 
ONLY A TRIFLE I99 
 
 give them worn-out pistols with which, at half the dis- 
 tance, the aim would be uncertain ; then we shall not 
 allow them to take aim more than a minute, and you 
 may be certain if they were both as thick as an elephant 
 and protected like robin red-breasts they couldn't be 
 safer ; they may fire away for hours and never hit one 
 another. Now, my dear child, be sensible, I beg of you. 
 When you have a husband he will have many an affair 
 of this kind upon his hands, and all for your beautiful 
 eyes. But I must be going, the carriage is at the door, 
 and we start at daylight." 
 
 And Edmund took himself off with a hasty good-bye. 
 
 This little joke had spoiled all the sport. The loss of 
 six men made it impossible to continue hunting the next 
 day; therefore every one resolved to return to Pesth in 
 the morning. The night was disturbed. The com- 
 panion of the Countess Angela, who slept in her room, 
 told everyone that her mistress had hardly slept a wink, 
 that she was constantly getting up and lighting the 
 candle, saying that it must be daylight and time to set 
 off for the city. 
 
 The next morning, at ten o'clock, when all the guests 
 had left, and Countess Theudelinde and her suite were 
 already in Pesth, Countess Angela went to her room, 
 and walked up and down restlessly until about eleven 
 o'clock, when Count Edmund was announced. 
 
 He came in pale and disturbed, and Angela, who tried 
 to read his face, concluded that something had hap- 
 pened. 
 
 " I-n God's name, what is it ?" she asked. " Who is 
 hmtr 
 
 "No one," replied Edmund, dryly.; "but the affair is 
 in a worse state than it was." 
 
 " Has the duel taken place ?" 
 
200 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 "Yes and no. It has begun, but is not finished.'* 
 
 "I do not understand." 
 
 " I own it is something quite new. I have never 
 known such a thing in my experience. If you wish, I 
 will tell you all about it." 
 
 " Oh, for Heaven's sake, do !" 
 
 *'As agreed, I called at Behrend's house at six o'clock 
 to fetch him; Geza went on with the doctor. When we 
 got to Lassloosky, Salista was just getting out of his 
 carriage. Ivan lifted his cap and wished him good- 
 morning; he probably did not know that this is not 
 usual. The principals never greet one another. Salista 
 did not return his bow, although he might have done so, 
 seeing that Ivan was evidently ignorant of the proper 
 etiquette. From Lassloosky we all drove together to 
 Leopold's Field, where we got out of the carriages and 
 went on foot through the forest. When we reached the 
 appointed place, a clearing in the wood, we stopped, and 
 the seconds on both sides asked the principals, according 
 to precedent, whether they would not make up their dif- 
 ference. Both sides refused. Upon which we measured 
 the distance, marked the barrier with our pocket-hand- 
 kerchiefs, and loaded the pistols. When this was over, 
 the principals, who had been pulling blades of grass and 
 standing about, took their places. We handed them 
 their pistols ; the signal was given by Geza clapping his 
 hands. Salista made two steps forv/ard and shot. Just 
 as I expected, he did not hit his man. Ivan called out in 
 a loud voice, ' To the barrier !' and Salista advanced to 
 where the white pocket-handkerchief lay, while Ivan went 
 to his barrier. Then he said, addressing Salista, 'You 
 did not return my salutation, but if I hit your head-piece 
 you will have to take off your cap to me.' He then took 
 aim ; the half-minute during which he held his pistol 
 
ONLY A TRIFLE 20I 
 
 showed US his nerve was perfect. The pistol went off, 
 and Salista stood opposite his adversary bareheaded; his 
 helmet lay two perches behind him, with the gold rose 
 torn from its front." 
 
 " Ah !" cried Angela. 
 
 " This man shoots as well as Robin Hood. We 
 loaded the pistols again, because, according to the agree- 
 ment, they were to have three shots each." 
 
 " Three shots !" exclaimed Angela. 
 
 " Yes. We all agreed it was better to have the affair 
 on a proper footing, so far as the conditions went. Thirty 
 steps is a great distance ; besides, the pistols were bad. 
 In addition, both men were wrapped up to the chin ; one 
 had a black coat, the other a dark gray military cloak — 
 colors bad for hitting ; and both had their shirt-collars 
 concealed. There was not a point about either that 
 would serve for a target. But the cap business had 
 changed the nature of the whole affair, and made much 
 bad blood. It proved, for one thing, that Behrend was 
 a first-rate shot, and this put Salista's military spirit on 
 its metal. The barriers were withdrawn for the second 
 shot. Salista took off his gray cloak, tied back liis hussar 
 jacket, so that his red waistcoat and white shirt stood 
 out clear, and instead of standing, as is usual in a duel, 
 with one side to 3'our adversar}^, he presented to him a 
 full front, and this with red and white, the best colors, 
 as every one knows, for a mark. Yes, and while we were 
 loading the pistols, what do you think he did ? But 
 Salista is a madman when he is roused! He took his 
 cigar-case out of his pocket, and lighted one to show his 
 indifference. For the second time it was his turn to 
 begin. He took much more pains than the first time ; in 
 fact, he was such a time taking aim that we had to call 
 to him to shoot. A^ain he missed. The leaves of the 
 
202 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 branches under which Ivan stood fell upon his head ; 
 the ball had gone into the tree." 
 
 Angela shuddered. 
 
 " Ivan now addressed his opponent. ' Sir,' he said, 
 ' it is not fitting that at such a supreme moment as this 
 you should smoke a cigar.' Salista made no answer, 
 but stood fionting Behrend ; his face was slightly turned 
 to one side, and he blew clouds of smoke into the air. 
 Ivan raised his pistol for a second, took deliberate aim, 
 then a sharp report, and Salista's cigar flew from his 
 mouth into space." 
 
 An involuntary smile spread over Angela's lips, but it 
 was gone in an instant, and her face resumed its im- 
 movable expression, as if cut out of stone. 
 
 Count Edmund went on. " In a fury Salista threw 
 his pistol upon the ground. 'The devil take me,' he 
 cried, stamping with rage, ' if I shoot any more with this 
 man ! He is Beelzebub in person. He has shot the 
 cap from my head, the cigar from my mouth, and the 
 third time he will shoot the spurs from my boots. He 
 shoots all round me ; he is like a Chinese juggler. I 
 will not shoot any more with him ; that's fiat !' His 
 seconds in vain tried to persuade him; he would not 
 listen to them ; he was furious ; he would hear nothing. 
 He wasn't going to be such a fool as to stand up there 
 to be a mark for a second William Tell, who would not 
 only shoot the apple from his head, but aim right at his 
 heart. If they wanted to have a fair fight, with all his 
 heart — but let it be with swords ; then one would see 
 who was the best man. We all talked to him, told him 
 not to play the fool, that he must stand his adversary's 
 fire no matter where he was shot, in his spur or his head. 
 The duellist has no power to refuse ; he is in the hands 
 of his seconds. At last Behrend got curious to know 
 
ONLY A TRIFLE 
 
 203 
 
 what the row was about ; he called to me and Geza, 
 and we had to tell him that Salista would not stand 
 another shot, but had demanded that the duel should 
 be decided by swords. To our surprise Ivan answered, 
 coolly, ' With all my heart. Give us the sabres.' ' Do 
 you consent?' 'I consent to fight with scythes if he 
 wishes.' So it was agreed. Salista's seconds heard this 
 discussion with great satisfaction ; they were very much 
 put out by his outbreak, it being quite unusual to 
 change the weapons in a duel; and there would have 
 been a regular scandal if Ivan had used his right of re- 
 fusing any such alteration in the conditions under which 
 the duel wms to be fought." 
 
 "And you have allowed such an innovation to be 
 made.-"' said Angela, looking at her cousin with con- 
 tracted eyebrows. 
 
 " Certainly, when the challenger has agreed to it." 
 
 "It was shameful of you !" Angela continued, with 
 suppressed tears in her voice — "ungenerous to allow 
 such an unequal fight. One man has practised fencing 
 all his life ; it is his profession ; the other has never had 
 a sword in his hand." 
 
 "The fight will be drawn at the first blood," said Ed- 
 mund, in a soothing voice. 
 
 "But you had no right to agree to such a bloodthirs- 
 ty idea ; you have overstepped your duty as second. 
 You should have said to Salista's seconds that the af- 
 fair should conclude then or never." 
 
 " That is quite true ; and we should have done so, 
 only Behrend chose to interfere." 
 
 "You should not have allowed it; you could have 
 stopped it. When does the duel take place ?" 
 
 "As we had no swords we could not fight this morn- 
 ing. It is against the law to have a duel in the after- 
 
204 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 noon, therefore we have postponed the second meeting 
 until to-morrow at da3dight." 
 
 "Before daylight to-morrow I will put a stop to the 
 duel." 
 
 " How so ?" 
 
 " I shall speak to Behrend ; I shall explain everything 
 to him." 
 
 "If you tell him that this affair has arisen out of a 
 joke, the result will be that, instead of fighting a duel 
 with one man, Behrend will have six duels on his hands." 
 
 " I will tell him in such a way that he will not ask to 
 fight with any of you." 
 
 "Then you will have ruined Salista." 
 
 " How so ? What has he to do with it ?" 
 
 "If this half -finished i-encontre gets wind, and it 
 reaches the ears of the authorities that an officer re- 
 fused his adversary's third fire, Salista will have to 
 leave his regiment, he will be received nowhere, and he 
 would have to go back to the pope's army as zouave."" 
 
 " For my part, I don't care if he becomes the devil's 
 zouave ! What do I care about him ? Let him go to 
 the Sultan of Dahomey. He is only fit to be the gen- 
 eral of his army. For my part, he may go quite to the 
 bad ; he is half-way there already. But who cares what 
 happens to him? /don't. Your duty is clear; you 
 should protect your man. Isn't that so ?" 
 
 Edmund looked with astonishment at the excitement 
 into which the countess had thrown herself; she was 
 trembling, and her eyes gleamed with passion. 
 
 "This is quite a new view of the affair," he said. 
 " If you look upon it in this light, I must agree that we 
 have been wrong, and you most certainly right. I shall 
 go at once and look for Geza; we will both repair to 
 Behrend, and tell him our opinion." 
 
ONLY A TRIFLE 205 
 
 He bowed low before his cousin, and left. In an 
 hour he returned. He found Angela in the same place. 
 
 " Well, what is done ? Is it all settled ?" 
 
 *' Listen. Geza and I went to Ivan. I explained to 
 him that we considered it our dut}^ not to infringe the 
 conditions laid down in such matters, and that we were 
 resolved not to allow the duel with swords to proceed. 
 He pressed both our hands warmly. ' I thank you,' he 
 said, 'for the friendship you have shown me, and since 
 your convictions will not allow you to stand by me in 
 this affair, I shall not try to persuade you. I shall go 
 to the nearest barracks, the Karls Kaserne, and I shall 
 tell the first two officers I may meet that I am engaged 
 in an affair of honor to be fought with swords, that I am 
 a stranger in the town, and that I throw myself upon 
 their kindness to be my seconds.' " 
 
 Angela, with a despairing gesture, clasped her hands 
 together. 
 
 "You said the truth," continued Edmund, "when 
 you prophesied that this man would show his teeth. 
 He has the grip of a bull- dog when he gets an idea. 
 We told him that Salista was a celebrated swordsman. 
 He took It quite coolly. ' If the devil himself was my 
 adversary, I should look him in the face,' was all he 
 said." 
 
 Angela sat down and hid her face in her hands. 
 
 "We had no other course than to assure him, so far 
 as our services went, he was free to make use of us. 
 So it was settled. We go for him to-morrow at daybreak. 
 How it will all end, God only knows !" 
 
 With these words Edmund took himself away. Angela 
 never noticed he had left the room. 
 
 That niiiht she never lav down. All throu2:h the Ions: 
 hours of the night she walked to and fro in her room. 
 
2o6 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 When fatigue forced her to sit down for a moment she 
 could not rest. Once only the thought that was in her 
 mind found expression in words : 
 
 " I have treated him as Julia Gonzaga treated the 
 man who saved her life." 
 
 When daylight broke she threw herself, dressed as 
 she was, upon her bed. The maid next morning found 
 the pillow, in which she had buried her face, wet with 
 tears. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 THIRTY-THREE PARTS 
 
 It must certainly be said of our philosopher that he 
 was acting somewhat inconsistently. He had left his 
 home and property, where he had lived a simple country 
 life amid his own people, happy in the study of those 
 mysterious powers — fire and water; he had abandoned 
 all his scientific pursuits to belong to a world to which 
 he was, and must ever be, a stranger, feeling more or 
 less like a fish upon dry land. Even his science he had 
 turned into a farce, so bringing it into disgrace. He 
 had lent himself to lectures and tableaux, to singing 
 operas, and dancing Hungarian cotillons, to hunting 
 foxes at breakneck speed, to rescuing beautiful ladies, 
 mixing himself up therewhile in the affairs of noble 
 families, to fighting duels with officers for the sake of 
 lovely countesses, and running the risk of being sabred 
 by an intemperate savage ! It was no wonder that, 
 reviewing all this, Ivan should say to himself, "Good 
 heavens, what an ass I have made, and am making, of 
 myself ! What have I to do with all the nonsense that 
 goes on in this fashionable world of Pesth ? Above all, 
 what is it to me whether Countess Angela is at war 
 with her grandfather, whether she goes to Vienna, or 
 whether he comes to Pesth ? Why is it necessary for 
 me to remain here, leading such an uncongenial life, ap- 
 parently without any object ? — and, although I have an 
 
208 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 object, yet if this were known to the world I should be 
 considered an even greater fool than I am at present 
 deemed to be." 
 
 Now, as Ivan's reflections have been made public, it is 
 only proper that the reason of his apparently objectless 
 conduct should be laid before the reader of these pages, 
 so that he or she may be in a position to judge whether 
 he was a fool or a wise man, or something between the 
 two — a man of sentiment and feeling, who does what his 
 heart commands him to do. With some natures the 
 heart cannot be silenced ; it has its rights. We may re- 
 member that when the Abbe Samuel paid his first visit 
 to Ivan, he found that gentleman in the act of writing a 
 refusal to the Countess Theudelinde's invitation ; that 
 he was, in fact, upon the point of returning to Bondavara, 
 and that the arrival of a letter changed all his plans, and 
 was the cause of his remaining in Pesth. This letter 
 came from Vienna ; the writer was a certain pianist whose 
 name had been for some years mentioned among the 
 first class of artists — Arpad Belenyi. 
 
 Nearly fourteen years before our story began Ivan 
 had lived for a long time in the house of the Belenyis. 
 We shall know later what he did there. Arpad was at 
 that time a child of five years old ; he was already counted 
 a prodigy, and could play long pieces upon the piano. 
 At that time warlike and patriotic marches were all the 
 fashion. One day the bread-winner of the family, the 
 father, died suddenly. The widow was in despair, espe- 
 cially for her orphaned boy. Ivan consoled her with the 
 promise that he would look after him, and provide for his 
 education. 
 
 On account of certain circumstances, some months 
 after, however, Ivan had to leave the family Belenyi 
 somewhat suddenly, and it seemed doubtful if he should 
 
THIRTY-THREE PARTS 209 
 
 ever see them again. Ivan at parting gave all the money 
 he could spare to the widow, and told her to get Arpad 
 a good musical education, such as would fit him for an 
 artistic career. The boy, he thought, would attain emi- 
 nence, and make a livelihood by his art. And here let 
 it be clearly understood that Ivan was neither a friend 
 of Belenyi nor the lover of Madame Belenyi; neither was 
 he connected with the family in any way, nor was he in 
 duty bound to do as he did. For years the Belenyis 
 heard nothing from Ivan, nor he from them. Once, on 
 his inquiring about them, he was told that in consequence 
 of a lawsuit they had lost their house, had left the town, 
 and that neither mother nor son had since been heard 
 of. Then, after another spell of years, Arpad Belenyi's 
 name began to be mentioned in different newspapers, 
 always as a young and astonishingly clever artist. From 
 this time Ivan took in regularly a musical paper or mag- 
 azine, and so followed attentively his adopted son's 
 career. The latter, however, knew nothing of his kind 
 benefactor until, later, Ivan's name also appeared in the 
 papers. His discourse at the Academy led to his being 
 traced by his adopted son, who at once wrote him a let- 
 ter, beginning with the words, " My dear father." It was 
 a letter full of simple, boyish sentiments, through which 
 broke at intervals the natural fun and playful humor of the 
 artist. He told Ivan everything concerning himself ; how 
 he had travelled in many countries, accompanied always 
 by his mother, to whom he had always to give an account 
 of his actions as near the truth as possibly could be. 
 He had already given concerts before crowned heads, 
 and had received several orders which he was allowed to 
 wear only on Sundays ; the other days of the week they 
 were locked up by his mother. He had earned a good 
 deal of money, but he was not permitted to spend much. 
 
2IO BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 Mamma gave him every day a five-shilling piece for 
 pocket-money; the rest she put by to buy back her lit- 
 tle house which "old Raize" had robbed her of. He, 
 therefore, to make more money, gave music-lessons and 
 played accompaniments for artists. This was well paid, 
 particularly of late, when he had fallen in with a little 
 artist, a new singer, who paid splendidly. She was said 
 to be the wife of Felix Kaulmann, the rich banker. 
 
 When he came to this passage Ivan's heart began to 
 beat. He laid down the letter, then took it up again, 
 and read it with renewed attention. 
 
 "This girl is a mixture of Muse and Mcenad," wrote 
 Arpad. " Now she is a petulant child, the next minute a 
 wild Amazon ; a born artist, full of genius, yet she is not 
 likely ever to rise above mediocrity. She is full of intelli- 
 gence and life, and with this often as stupid as a donkey. 
 There is no doubt she could attain an unenviable noto- 
 rietv, but she shrinks from it, for although she conducts 
 herself like a courtesan, I would take my oath she is in 
 reality as innocent as the child she really is. She is 
 very trying to me, full of mischief and petulance, and 
 this because I treat her to no soft manners, but scold 
 her well for being so naughty. If you could only see, 
 dear papa, what a splendid master I am, always serious, 
 no frivolity allowed ! Now I have photographed myself 
 for you, have I not ? Do not think, however, that I 
 would have scrawled all over my paper this monologue 
 about my pupil, as if I had nothing better or wiser to 
 write about. I have done so because the subject has a 
 certain interest for you. You must know this curious 
 little angel confides in me as if I were her confessor. 
 Sometimes she chatters all through her lesson, telling 
 me where she has been, what she has done, everything 
 that has happened to her j and she often tells me things 
 
THIRTY-THREE PARTS 211 
 
 "which, if I were in her place, I would not talk about. 
 Have a little patience, my dear good papa. This lady 
 has thirty-three different rbles, all of them of different 
 kinds. They are not, strictly speaking, stage parts, but 
 monologues, which are composed expressly for her. 
 These scenes we rehearse together; I play her accom- 
 paniment, while she sings and acts, 
 
 "I am coming now to the kernel of the nut. I am 
 going to crack it for you. Here are the names of the 
 actress's thirty-three parts — ' Loreley,' ' Cleopatra,' ' The 
 Queen of the Sun,' ' The Greek Slave,' ' The Bacchante,' 
 'Nourmahal,' 'The Bride,' 'The Matron's Cap,' 'The 
 Bayadere,' ' Claudia Laeta, the Vestal,' ' Amalasontha,' 
 'Magdalene,' 'Ninon,' 'La Somnambula,' 'Medea,' 'Sa- 
 lome,' 'The Houris,' 'The Despair of Hero,' 'The Phryg- 
 ian Cap,' 'Turandot,' 'The Peasant Girl,' 'The Mother,' 
 'Jeanne la Folle,' ' Ophelia," Judith," Zuleika Potiphar,' 
 ' The Market Woman,' ' The Grisette,' ' The Creole,' 
 'Lucretia,' 'The Will-o'-the-Wisp,' 'Julia Gonzaga.' 
 
 " The thirty-third part I do not know ; we have not 
 as yet rehearsed it. But why the deuce does she learn 
 all these parts, for she never treads the boards ? The 
 report is that the reason why this lady's talent is so 
 much cultivated is that she is engaged to sing at the 
 Opera-house. This seems even more strange, and I, 
 for one, am slow to believe it. A banker like Kaul- 
 mann, who is a millionaire, and whose wife pays for her 
 apartment four thousand florins! Besides, she would 
 have to give her singing-master, who has got her the 
 engagement, six thousand; to the leader of the orchestra, 
 two thousand ; four thousand to the newspapers to puff 
 her ; another three thousand to the claqueurs; and some- 
 thing else to the men who throw the wreaths and flowers. 
 There would remain for her about a thousand florins ; 
 
2 12 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 that would hardly pay for her scents. So you see the 
 absurdity of the whole thing. Where are we now? This 
 pretty creature, who wishes also to be a famous artist, 
 has several lovers who can easily pay their court to 
 madame, seeing that she and her husband live in sepa- 
 rate apartments. This is only natural ; the banker could 
 not have his mind, which is occupied with important 
 speculations, disturbed by constant solfeggi. There 
 are several persons in Vienna who bear the title of 
 the 'Maecenas of Art'; they are gentlemen of high 
 position, who have great w^eight in the departmental 
 government, and w^iose voices are heard in all social 
 and ofificial capacities. These have been allowed the 
 privilege of being present during the rehearsals of the 
 thirty-two monologues ; the thirty-third has not as yet 
 been played before any one. In all this I can assure 
 you everything is conducted with the greatest propriety. 
 I am always present, also the husband, who remains 
 so long as the comedy continues. Among the com- 
 pany are representatives of the highest nobility, counts, 
 princes, senators, and ministers. They are good sort 
 of people, and call one another Fritz, Nazi, Muke, etc. 
 Among others we have two princes, who come every 
 time we have a rehearsal — the Prince Mari and the 
 Prince Baldi ; the names they received on baptism being 
 Waldemar and Theobald. Yesterday Eveline — for so is 
 my pupil named — w^as not inclined to work, and without 
 my asking her what ailed her, with her usual frankness 
 she came out with her annoyance. 
 
 " 'Only fancy,' she said; 'that odious Prince Walde- 
 mar, when he was in my opera-box last night, threatened 
 that if I did not let him come to our next rehearsal he 
 would ruin Lixi.' (Lixi is short for Felix, her husband's 
 name.) 
 
THIRTY-THREE PARTS 213 
 
 " ' Wh}^ don't you admit him?' I asked. 'He is not 
 worse than the other jackanapes who come here.' 
 
 " ' Because I cannot endure him. I told Lixi what 
 Prince Waldemar had said, and Lixi answered that he 
 would ruin the prince. At the same time he gave me to 
 understand that Prince Theobald must be invited to the 
 rehearsal,' 
 
 '"AH right,' said I; 'he is a fine old gentleman. 
 You can have no objection to him; he is old enough to 
 be your grandfather.' 
 
 " The young wife bit her lips, and, with a frown on 
 her lovely face, said : 
 
 " ' I have to ask him to do something. What do you 
 think it is? Oh, you could never guess ! It is to give 
 his signature that he will consent to a certain affair 
 which will cost him nothing, but which will heljD Lixi 
 greatly. You know that Lixi has a grand speculation 
 on hand, a gigantic coal company, which is to start the 
 business with I don't know how many millions of money ; 
 but the place where the coal-mines are situated, the 
 Bondavara propert}^ belongs to Prince Theobald and his 
 sister. The countess has already given her consent, 
 but without his ratification the shares would not be 
 taken up at the exchange. Prince Waldemar is work- 
 ing against us, and therefore I am to win over the old 
 prince to our side. Lixi says it will be very easy to get 
 round him just at the present moment, because his 
 granddaughter. Countess Angela, of whom he is very 
 fond, has quarrelled with him and left him. The poor 
 old man is very sad and lonely, and Lixi says whoever 
 cheers him up will be able to do anything with him ; 
 and,' she added, with a wise look, ' we are not deceiv- 
 ing him, for the Bondavara coal is the finest in the 
 world.' 
 
214 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 " I burst out laughing ; I could not help it. Then 
 she pulled my hair and said : 
 
 " ' Why do you laugh, you ridiculous donkey ? I 
 think I must be a judge of coal, for I worked as day- 
 laborer for ten years in the mines of Herr Behrend.' 
 
 " At these words my astonishment was so great that 
 I jumped up from my seat. 
 
 " ' You may stare your eyes out of your head,' she 
 said, laughing at my amazement, 'but it is quite true. 
 I used to shove the coal-wagons, and barefoot into the 
 bargain.' 
 
 " ' Gracious lady, believe me, I did not jump up from 
 astonishment ; I was surprised to hear you name Ivan 
 Behrend. What do you know of him ? Pray tell me.' 
 
 " ' He was the owner of the coal-mines in Bondavara, 
 near which Felix is going to open works upon an enor- 
 mous scale. He was my master ; God bless him, wher- 
 ever he goes !' 
 
 " Now, dear papa, I have come to the heart of the 
 business, after, it must be owned, an unconscionably 
 long prelude. With my weak intellect I have thought 
 out the whole thing. Here is my kind friend, my adopt- 
 ed father, the owner of a mine in Bondavara, and be- 
 side him men with I don't know how many millions at 
 their backs are going to form a coal company. It would 
 be a good thing to let him know, that he may act in 
 time ; it may be good for him, but it would seem to me 
 that it may also be very bad. Here the air is full of 
 speculation ; you see, I am already slightly bitten. Let 
 me know how and in what manner the affair affects you 
 and your interests. I shall write to you what goes on 
 here, for I shall be behind the scenes; this little fool 
 tells me everything." 
 
 The receipt of this letter had decided Ivan to accept 
 
THIRTY-THREE PARTS 215 
 
 the Countess Theudelinde's invitation to give a roman- 
 tic reading at her house, and to enter into the society of 
 Pesth. He wrote to Arpad, and begged him to give him 
 every day an exact account of what he heard through 
 Evila of the progress of the coal-mine company. 
 
 From this time Ivan received regularly every week 
 two or three letters from Vienna. 
 
 "The old prince nibbles at the bait. Kaulmann has 
 brought him to the rehearsal of the new piece. Eveline 
 sings and acts enchantingly ; that is, when she is within 
 four walls, and has only a few people for audience. If 
 she acted like this on the stage she would be a celebrated 
 actress in no time ; but so soon as she comes before the 
 footlights stage-fright seizes upon her, she trembles, for- 
 gets everything, stands there like a stick, and, worst of 
 all, sings quite false. These rehearsals have been given 
 on the pretext that the prince should have an opportu- 
 nity of judging of her talent, so that he may influence 
 those in power to give her an engagement at the opera. 
 I know what their real object is. The prince is a real 
 connoisseur in music, and he understands not alone art, 
 but artists. He knows that there is a price set upon 
 such black diamonds as sparkle in Eveline's eyes. There 
 is the additional incentive that Prince Waldemar is des- 
 perately in love with this woman, and Prince Theobald, 
 for certain reasons, will do anything to prevent her fall- 
 ing into his hands. He would even go the length of tak- 
 ing her himself sooner than such a misadventure should 
 happen. 
 
 "A short time since Prince Waldemar met me, and 
 offered me one hundred ducats for every leaf of the al- 
 bum in which are the portraits of Madame Kaulmann in 
 her character costumes. You must know, of late, each 
 day that we rehearse one of the monologues at the piano 
 
2l6 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 a photographer is present and takes the artist in her cos- 
 tume. Everything must be finished in the house, and 
 not more than four pictures are allowed to be executed ; 
 one of these is for Prince Theobald, one is kept by her- 
 self, one she presents to me, and the fourth is for my 
 friend Felix. The negative is then broken. I would not 
 sell my photographs to Prince Waldemar, but I send 
 them to you as they follow one another. Mamma does 
 not like to see such pictures in my room.'' 
 
 Ivan received with each letter a photograph ; each 
 portrait represented Evila as a lovely creation in a most 
 graceful pose. Arpad had not the least idea what a 
 hell of different passions were raised in Ivan's breast as 
 he looked at the beautiful image of the woman he had 
 and still loved. 
 
 In the first portrait she was represented as " Loreley " 
 the fairy, who, in the whirlpool of the Rhine, sings her 
 magic song and combs her hair with a golden comb, 
 while her left shoulder rises from the waves, which par- 
 tially conceal her form. Her eyes gaze invitingly at the 
 fisherman, whom she entices to his ruin. In the second 
 photograph she appeared as " Cleopatra " at Tarsus, 
 where she is displaying all her charms to seduce her 
 conqueror and make him her slave ; a rich portrait, in 
 which the lascivious queen is represented laden with 
 splendid dresses and jewels, while the expression of the 
 beautiful face was an admirable mixture of pride, dig- 
 nity, and weakness. The third photograph presented 
 the sun-queen, " Atahualpa," the wife of the last Inca. 
 Her look was haughty and sublime ; the sublimity of 
 the expression diverts attention from the uncovered 
 arms, white as marble, round as an infant's, which are 
 raised to heaven, offering as a sacrifice a human heart. 
 Her face mirrored the coldness of heaven itself. The 
 
THIRTY-THREE PARTS 217 
 
 fourth, as the "Greek Slave"; she represented the tor- 
 tured beauty, who in vain tries to break the chains of 
 shame in which she is bound — a lovely marble statue, 
 equal in conception to one by Thorwaldsen or Pradier. 
 The fifth was the " Bacchante," from one of the Roman 
 bas-reliefs, which represents the procession of Bacchus. 
 A wild, bold, dissolute conception ; showing accessories 
 of surprising drapery, panther skins, cups, etc., an ideal 
 debauch ; limbs in wild movement. The sixth portrait 
 w\as of a bride ; a white lace dress, upon her head a 
 white garland, her figure concealed by a white veil, on 
 her face an expression of soft emotion at the approach- 
 ing realization of her happiness, in her eyes tears, on her 
 lips a tremulous smile. With what wonderful charm she 
 stretches out her hand to receive the betrothal ring! 
 The eighth portrayed a young woman who for the first 
 time puts the matron's cap upon her head. Pride, 
 shame, and conscious triumph are all in her face. She 
 feels that the cap upon her head is a well-deserved 
 crown — a crown for which she has sacrificed a garland. 
 
 Ivan contemplated this picture for a long time; his 
 heart was full of the bitterness of disappointed love. 
 His adopted son's present had been somewhat unfort- 
 unate. 
 
 The ninth photograph represented Evila as a "Baya- 
 dere," in the artistic dress of the Indian dancer, striking 
 the tambourine over her head. Round her slight figure 
 a shawl embroidered in gold was wound in careless 
 folds, on her neck a chain of gold coins, her small feet 
 bare, and strings of pearls up to the knee. 
 
 In the tenth portrait she appeared as " Claudia 
 Laeta," the vestal virgin, at the moment when she is 
 led to the stake because she has refused the solicita- 
 tions of Caracalla ; on her face an expression of horror, 
 
2l8 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 of virginal modesty. With one hand she tries to cover 
 her head with her cloak to escajDe from the gaze of the 
 multitude. 
 
 How is it possible for one woman to play so many 
 parts? Arpad accompanied these pictures with diffuse 
 explanations, which were so many arrows in the heart of 
 Ivan. The result of all this posturing was, he said, be- 
 coming every day clearer. 
 
 "The prince is rnore and more fascinated ; he is fall- 
 ing deeper and deeper into the net spread for him. 
 After each rehearsal he declares that a real treasure has 
 been concealed, which has been a loss to art that must 
 be at once remedied." 
 
 But such treasures are very costly, especially when a 
 man has reached the age of sixty-eight, close on seventy, 
 and has a marriageable granddaughter; then it is neces- 
 sary to look very closely into his check-book to see if it 
 would be possible to provide for the grandchild and at 
 the same time satisfy the caprices of a beautiful young 
 woman. 
 
 Not long ago Prince Theobald had built a splendid 
 palace in the Maximilian Strasse; it was destined for 
 the Countess Angela, in the case that she agreed to her 
 grandfather's wish as to her marriage. The palace was 
 furnished with the utmost magnificence. The countess, 
 however, had thought otherwise. She broke off her mar- 
 riage with Sondersheim ; she had good reasons, no doubt, 
 but she need not have openly defied her grandfather. 
 It was unwise of her so to do, for Evila was weaving her 
 spell closer round the old man's heart, and Angela had 
 best be prudent, and return speedily to Vienna, else the 
 palace in the Maximilian Strasse will be presented, with- 
 out a shadow of doubt, to Madame Kaulmann. 
 
 Arpad's letters had made Ivan acquainted with the 
 
THIRTY-THREE PARTS 219 
 
 ins and outs of the whole affair ; through them he had 
 learned that the woman he had loved had become the 
 wife of another man, and was likely to be the mistress 
 of a third. The first blow he could bear with a certain 
 resignation ; he wished her all happiness ; but that she 
 should sink up to the neck in shame, led thither by the 
 act of her own husband, was a bitter thought ! No, that 
 she should be saved from, if Ivan could compass her 
 deliverance. For this end he remained in Pesth. Hence 
 it seemed to him he could pull the strings of this complex 
 drama, and defeat the conspiracy against Evila's honor ; 
 for this purpose he went into a world that he despised, 
 affected a manner of life totally inconsistent with his 
 ideas, and cultivated a friendship with the Countess An- 
 gela, that his influence might induce her to play the part 
 of the good angel. 
 
 Was he a fool to sacrifice his own feelings for a woman 
 who had inflicted upon him the severest mortification a 
 man can endure ? Those whose hearts are dominated 
 by cold prudence will judge his folly perhaps rightly ; 
 those who have hearts that feel for others will acknowl- 
 edge that he did well in obeying its dictates, and from 
 his own point of view, perhaps, he acted for his own 
 ultimate advantage. 
 
 If Prince Theobald is induced to consent to the lease 
 of his property to the Bondavara Company, Ivan's little 
 coal-mine is ruined. Good if he can, while working for 
 another, help himself. A man of business is always a 
 speculator ; therefore w^e say to the warm-hearted and 
 compassionate that Ivan acted a part to save Evila from 
 shame, and to the cold-hearted and unfeeling that it was 
 all in the way of business, to save, if he could, his little 
 all from the monster company ready to devour it bodily. 
 
 Arpad continued to send the photographs. They were 
 
220 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 of all kinds, tragic and comic. " Medea," with her mur- 
 derous revenge and jealousy ; the daughter of Herod, 
 with her voluptuous dance to gain the saint's head ; the 
 cruelty of "Judith," the wild laughter of "Jeanne la 
 Folle," the devotion of a holy nun, the coquettish tricks 
 of a grisette, a languid Creole, a supernatural " Will-o'- 
 the-Wisp " — these were the principal representations in 
 which Ivan found rather studied effort at catching an 
 artistic effect than natural instinct or expression. This 
 was the school of Madame Grissac, to whom Felix had 
 intrusted Evila's education. Two portraits that came at 
 the end produced upon Ivan a painful impression. One 
 represented a mother by the cradle of her child, the 
 other a peasant girl, a coal-carrier, with her hair plaited 
 down her back, and a red frock tucked up above her 
 ankles. It pained Ivan deeply that she should profane 
 these two sacred subjects. Why take a mother's love to 
 be made a vehicle to create an old man's admiration ? 
 And the girl with the red frock ! Ah, that was unpar- 
 donable ! He could riot forgive her for having wounded 
 him to the very heart. 
 
 One day the artist wrote to Ivan — 
 
 " My good patron, Felix Kaulmann, is an out-and-out 
 scoundrel. Up to the present he generally attends the 
 rehearsals when the prince is present. Yesterday Prince 
 Theobald seemed quite excited, so much so that Kaul- 
 mann was struck by it. To his question the prince said 
 that he was very happy. He had received a letter from 
 his granddaughter, the Countess Angela. She wrote 
 in the most friendly manner. She told him that she had 
 met a certain Ivan Behrend, who had the courage to- give 
 her a regular scolding, and had told her to her face what 
 was the duty of the Hungarian magnates towards their 
 country, a duty in which they were wanting, and which 
 
THIRTY-THREE PARTS 221 
 
 Prince Theobald would fulfil if he left Vienna and came 
 to reside in Pesth, in which case the countess would 
 agree to a reconciliation. The old prince seemed so 
 Ixappy at the idea of seeing his child again ! Kaulmann, 
 however, looked very black, blacker still when the prince 
 said he would consider the matter ; but that, as the 
 countess had taken a fancy to Pesth, he thought he 
 would go there. Inwardly Felix gnashed his teeth with 
 rage, outwardly he expressed great satisfaction that the 
 countess had at last broken the ice; it was a good sign 
 that she was getting tired of her obstinacy. But if he were 
 in the prince's situation he would try and persuade the 
 countess to come to Vienna, instead of going himself to 
 Pesth. The prince listened to this suggestion ; he fell 
 into the trap, and will not go at once to Pesth, but will 
 try to bring back the countess. In the meantime we 
 are to have the two last rehearsals. The thirty-second 
 is the representation of ' Julia Gonzaga,' whose story 
 you will find in any library. The most interesting part 
 of this scene is the toilette of the heroine, who appears 
 in a night-dress made of muslin, with her feet naked. In 
 spite of this rather risky costume the lady's virtue was 
 irreproachable, for in her hand she held a dagger, and 
 threatened to kill any one who ventured to look at her 
 feet. As I wrote to you, Kaulmann has always been 
 present at these rehearsals, but from this one of ' Julia 
 Gonzaga ' he is obliged to absent himself, as he has to 
 go away for a few days. I believe that my office should 
 be called garde des dames. As it happens, however, on 
 this occasion I, too, am unavoidably prevented from 
 being present. When I went home and showed mamma 
 the enclosed photograph she shuddered, and positively 
 forbade me to assist at a rehearsal in which a woman 
 appeared in such a costume. I must plead illness or 
 
2 22 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 any other cause, but stay at home I must. I thought 
 over several lies, but at last I decided that I would tell 
 my gracious pupil the truth ; so I did. 
 
 " ' Listen,' I said. * My mother will not allow me .to 
 accompany you if you sing barefoot. If it is really the 
 point of the piece that 'Julia' must present herself with- 
 out stockings on her feet, then I must deny myself the 
 pleasure of playing on the piano.' 
 
 " The silly child laughed very much, and said she 
 would get somebody else. She may do as she likes ; I 
 don't care. Mamma is perfectly right in forbidding me 
 to go, and I think that I have done perfectly right to 
 tell my pupil why I refuse to accompany her" 
 
 This letter depressed Ivan. For a long time he 
 looked at the photograph, considering it from every 
 point of view. Evila in a dress the thin material of 
 which showed every motion of her plastic limbs; in one 
 hand she gathered the folds across her breast, her eyes 
 had a murderous glare in their violet depths, her long and 
 beautiful hair fell to her feet ; in her right hand she 
 pointed a dagger towards a motionless form which lay 
 at her feet covered by a rug. This was the second time 
 that Ivan had heard the story from a lady. 
 
 The next day he received another letter from Arpad ; 
 he found it on his return from the first meeting with 
 Salista. 
 
 " Eveline," wrote the artist, " performed her tableau 
 before the prince without the accompaniment of the 
 piano and without the company of her husband. She 
 looked so lovely that all the prince's good principles 
 melted away like snow before the sun. He took her 
 hand and kissed it; then the murderous look disap- 
 peared from her sweet eyes; she broke out into a rip- 
 ple of laughter. 
 
THIRTY-THREE PARTS 223 
 
 " ' Prince, do you not see that I have a knife in my 
 hand ?' 
 
 "'I can take it from you.' 
 
 " The young girl laughed again ; and we all know 
 how easy it is to take anything from a smiling woman. 
 
 "At this moment there resounded through the room 
 an echo of Eveline's laugh ; that is to say, if you can 
 call a frog's croak an echo of a nightingale's song. Out 
 of the conservatory, which ornaments one side of the 
 room, there came a crippled dwarf, who supported him- 
 self upon crutches. His long head was sunk between 
 his high shoulders, and his white, satyr-like face was 
 distorted by an odious grin as he dragged himself be- 
 tween the prince and his inamorata. 
 
 " ' Prince, we are not alone,' laughed Eveline, freeing 
 her hand from the clasp of the astonished nobleman. 
 
 "'In Heaven's name, who is this splendid specimen 
 of a toad ?' he cried, with an air of disgust. 
 
 " ' This is my only beloved little brother,' cried Eve- 
 line, putting her arms round the little monster, and cov- 
 ering him with kisses while she stroked his head. ' My 
 dear, only little brother, my all, my dearest; my ugly, 
 cross, quarrelsome little tyrant, who comes to me when- 
 ever he likes.' 
 
 " ' A horrible creature 1' said the prince. ' The hob- 
 goblins who kept watch over the gate of the Witch of 
 Endor were cherubims as compared with this monster. 
 I beg of you, Eveline, not to kiss his face, as it takes 
 away forever the pleasure one would have in kissing 
 so lovely a mouth.' 
 
 " Eveline made no answer, but, suddenly turning away, 
 she threw a burnoose round her shoulders, put her tiny 
 feet into a pair of slippers, and said, demurely : 
 
 "'Prince, the thirty- second rehearsal is over, and 
 
224 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 there only remains the thirty- third to complete the 
 course.' 
 
 " The prince asked what the title of this last should 
 be, and Eveline whispered in his ear that he would 
 know the next day but one. 
 
 " ' And how many more will know it ?' 
 
 " ' No one but you.' 
 
 " ' Not this Caliban .?' 
 
 " ' Certainly not.' 
 
 " The prince took his leave in an ecstasy, firmly con- 
 vinced that at the last representation he would have 
 Eveline all to himself. Eveline needed a day to pre- 
 pare herself. 
 
 " The scene was repeated to me by the cripple, who 
 likes me very much, and comes nearly every evening to 
 share my supper ; for although everything possible for 
 his comfort is provided by Eveline, he is never happy 
 unless he begs from some one. If he were a prince, I 
 do believe the creature would get out of his carriage to 
 ask for alms. He finds such a wonderful pleasure in 
 begging. For a stick of sugar-barley he will tell me 
 everything. What pleased him most was the prince's 
 remark about his being a splendid specimen of a toad. 
 He imitated for me how he crept out of the conserva- 
 tory on his crutches, and how he laughed when he saw 
 the gentleman wanted to take the knife from his sister. 
 You will hear from me again the day after to-morrow," 
 
 The day after to-morrow ! These words to a man who 
 might be lying stark and stiff by that time ! They gave 
 Ivan a sudden chill; but he said to himself he would not 
 die easily, he would fight for his life. 
 
 That night he dreamed a curious dream, in which he 
 saw two " Julia Gonzagas," wl^o both wanted to kill him, 
 and yet he had deserved nothing but good at their hands. 
 
 So sfoes the world ! 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 TWO POINTS 
 
 A DUEL with swords has this distinct advantage over 
 a duel with pistols : you need have no concealment con- 
 cerning it ; the day before it is spoken of as an interest- 
 ing wager would be. In former times it happened rarely 
 that a duel with swords had a fatal ending, and therefore 
 it is surrounded with none of the mystery that attends 
 the more serious affair; for the seconds, likewise, there 
 is far less responsibility. If a principal gets severely 
 hurt, the attending surgeon declares that the sufferer has 
 not died of the wound, but that there was some trouble 
 in the organism which would have probably killed him 
 within the next forty-eight hours. And who, nowadays, 
 would make a fuss over a man who was doomed to die in 
 forty-eight hours ? 
 
 The duel which was to take place between the Marquis 
 Salista and Ivan was spoken of at the club with indif- 
 ference, as a thing that had a foregone conclusion. Salista 
 spoke most of it himself, and at six o'clock the evening 
 before stood at the chimney-piece and entertained a 
 select group of friends, among whom were the four sec- 
 onds, with his ideas on the subject. 
 
 The golden youth of Pesth, being in the habit of hav- 
 ing constant fencing-bouts at the different gymnasiums, 
 know well who is the most skilful fencer, and are there- 
 fore able to predicate, accurately enough in many cases. 
 
226 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 what the result will be. Salista had the reputation 
 of being a first-rate swordsman ; he had already fought 
 several duels, and always been the victor ; he had one 
 particular stroke, a master-stroke, which few fencers 
 could parry; it was a quick thrust in the stomach, which, 
 passing round the point of his adversary's sword, ripped 
 up his abdomen. If the other intercepted the thrust, he 
 was likely to get out of time, so that his face, being left 
 uncovered, was exposed to a well-delivered thrust which 
 would spoil his beauty, if it did not have more dangerous 
 consequences. Some men would have felt that the cir- 
 cumstances connected with the preceding duel required 
 explanation, that the refusal to stand your adversary's 
 fire had a doubtful sound. For a similar offence others 
 had been rigorously punished by having to leave Vienna 
 for some weeks, and being sometimes kept in Coventry 
 even longer. Salista was, however, a privileged person ; 
 his courage was not called in question. He was, more- 
 over, a cool hand, and carried off his difficult position 
 with the most astounding aplomb. As he now stood upon 
 the rug he talked with a good deal of swagger as to what 
 would happen on the morrow. 
 
 "We shall see what stuff this Admirable Crichton is 
 made of. Sword-exercise is not like pistol-shooting ; 
 there can be no mathematics. We will ask him how he 
 construes the under-cut when the sabre takes his legs 
 from under him." 
 
 Count Geza rebuked the boaster. "You must re- 
 member," he said, "that Ivan acted towards you in the 
 most chivalrous manner when he accepted the sword 
 instead of the pistol, and you must also consider that he 
 is a man of learning, very much thought of, and likely to 
 be of setvice in his generation." 
 
 "Very good. You needn't be afraid, I shall not kill 
 
TWO POINTS 227 
 
 him; I shall only slice a piece off his nose, that he may- 
 carry home a souvenir of Pesth. A scholar like him 
 will not care if his beauty is spoiled ; science is not 
 sniffed up like snuff, and his nose is no use for looking 
 through the telescope at the stars." 
 
 Here Edmund interfered, and protested hotly against 
 any injury being done to the nose of his principal. At 
 last the marquis had to content himself with a slice off 
 his ear; but Edmund still remonstrated. 
 
 "You should be satisfied with a cut on his hand," he 
 said; "the whole matter is not worth more." 
 
 Count Stefan here made a suggestion in his quiet 
 way. 
 
 "My good Salista, what if this coal-heaver were to 
 cut you down ?" 
 
 "What!" blustered the marquis, standing with long 
 legs apart in front of the chimney-piece. "To show 
 you what I think of him, I will give him two points; I 
 will let him have two cuts at me on my arm, and then I 
 will cut him down. You shall see! You can make 
 your bets. Who holds the wager ?" So he went on 
 boasting until the discussion came to an end. His last 
 question was whether the seconds would be quick 
 enough to interfere before he made a cripple of their 
 great scholar. 
 
 On the following day the two parties met. The large 
 ball-room in the hotel had been thought the most suit- 
 able place, as it was generally hired for such occasions. 
 The seconds had chalked the floor with pulverized chalk 
 to prevent the combatants from slipping. In an adjoin- 
 ing room both the principals had to strip to the waist; 
 then they were led into the room. There was no neces- 
 sity to draw lots as to the placing of the men, as the 
 room was panelled all round with looking-glasses. Be- 
 
228 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 fore they were given the sabres the following conditions 
 were read out : 
 
 " First blood. Stabbing is not allowed." 
 
 Salista protested. He would not hear of first blood. 
 The duel should go on until one of the combatants de- 
 clared himself no longer able to fight. Every one tried 
 to persuade him to be more moderate, but he would not 
 give in. 
 
 " Give us the swords !" cried Ivan, out of all patience. 
 "I am getting a chill, half-naked as I am." 
 
 This interruption decided the matter. The paces 
 were measured, the principals placed in position, and 
 their swords handed to them. 
 
 Both were naked to their waists. Salista exhibited 
 Herculean muscles, Ivan had a well -developed form. 
 He had certainly not so much flesh as his adversary, but 
 was bony, had long arms, and a vaulted chest. The 
 fight began in the usual manner. Both men held the 
 points of their swords towards each other, had the left 
 hand drawn back, and their heads protected by their 
 arms. Now and again they crossed their swords dex- 
 terously, trying to find a place for a good thrust, and 
 striking one another softly. Each stared into his ad- 
 versary's eyes, seeking to read his intentions. Salista 
 essayed to give his adversary a thrust which would 
 injure his face. This was very difficult, for the face 
 is always protected by the arm. Ivan, on his side, 
 endeavored to give his opponent the double thrust. 
 This requires extraordinary agility ; but he succeed- 
 ed. He tore the top muscle of Salista's right arm the 
 whole way dow^n. That this blow does not bleed at 
 once is explained by the cellular texture of the mus- 
 cles. 
 
 " Forward !" cried Salista. " No blood !" 
 
TWO POINTS 
 
 229 
 
 He now gave up all efforts at injuring his adversary 
 in the face, and resorted to his well-known trick, the 
 belly-thrust, which is difficult to parry, and if it hits is 
 often deadly in its effect. If it is not parried, the effect 
 is certain ; and if it is, the giver can, if he is a good 
 swordsman, hit his adversary a terrible cut over the 
 head. Ivan did not parry, good or bad. Salista had 
 not forgotten that the duelling-sword is shorter than the 
 cavalry practise-sword ; but he forgot, or rather didn't 
 know, that his adversary had arms of unusual length. 
 This is, therefore, what happened. Ivan did not at- 
 tempt to parry the belly-thrust; he raised his arm, and 
 let the sword-point of his opponent pass at a distance of 
 two lines over his body, while he aimed straight at the 
 other's arm, cutting him crossways in the same place 
 where he had before cut lengthways. 
 
 These were the two points. Through this cross-cut 
 the difference of strength between the two men was 
 equalized. This last defeat filled Salista with fury. 
 With the roar of a wild beast he threw himself upon his 
 adversary, and with all his strength made two cuts at 
 the head. He cut as a butcher cuts with his axe ; it 
 was a miracle that both swords didn't break in two, for, 
 according to rule, Ivan received both thrusts upon the 
 handle of his sword, and before the other could give 
 him a third he gave him quickly a thrust in front with 
 such strength and precision that it came with full force 
 on the head and face of the marquis. It was lucky that 
 the sword was light, otherwise he would have split his 
 skull in two. Salista reeled under the blow, then raised 
 his left arm to protect his head, tottered sideways, and 
 fell down, supporting himself upon the handle of his 
 sword. His seconds ran to him to raise him up and 
 lead him away. Ivan stood with his sword-point low- 
 
230 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 ered, his face apathetic, as if turned to marble. His 
 seconds congratulated him. 
 
 " Are the gentlemen content ?" he asked. 
 
 " I dare swear they are," returned Count Edmund. 
 " Nothing could have turned out better ; the affair is at 
 an end." 
 
 With these words they conducted Ivan into the next 
 room to dress himself. 
 
 When he returned to the hall he found that his ad- 
 versary had recovered consciousness ; the two doctors 
 were with him, one binding up his head, the other his 
 arm. 
 
 According to the usual etiquette, Ivan went to him. 
 
 '' Forgive me, comrade," he said. 
 
 Salista gave him his left hand, and said, cordially, 
 " It is not worth talking about ; but it was a splendid 
 fight. The other two don't count, because I had said I 
 would give you 'two points;' the third — ah, that was a 
 cut ! But I shall be all right in a week." 
 
 Ivan asked the doctors if the wounds were dangerous, 
 but Salista answered for them. 
 
 " Soldier's luck," he said. " I have given similar cuts 
 a hundred times; now it is my turn, and I don't com- 
 plain. Only one thing troubles me. Neither arnica 
 nor ice-bandages can do me any good ; but you who 
 have caused this suffering can mitigate it. Confess, 
 now, that you have been in the army." 
 
 " Without doubt," returned Ivan. " During the War 
 of Freedom I was lieutenant of hussars." 
 
 " May the devil fetch you ! Why didn't you tell us 
 before? In what regiment did you serve?" 
 
 "In the Wilhelm Hussars. Therefore I am the sole 
 survivor and witness of that memorable exploit of yours, 
 when you cut us to pieces." 
 
TWO POINTS 
 
 231 
 
 Everybody burst out laughing. No one laughed more 
 than the wounded man. The doctors reminded him 
 that he must not laugh, else the bandage over his face 
 would get disturbed. 
 
 " Very good," said Salista. " I shall laugh only on 
 one side of my face. Comrade, God bless you ! I shall 
 not think any more of the cut now that I know it was 
 the work of a soldier, and not of a civilian. Come, kiss 
 me on the other cheek, the one you have left me whole 
 and entire. So, my brother. I cannot give you my 
 right hand, for you have given me a cross-cut there that 
 will show a scar for many a day. It was first-rate, that 
 cut, a regular hussar cut, and, therefore, I don't in the 
 least mind it." 
 
 And the combatants kissed one another. 
 
 The next moment the wounds began to bleed afresh, 
 and Salista fainted from loss of blood. Ivan held his 
 head upon his knees while the doctors bound up the 
 veins ; then he helped to carry him to the carriage. 
 
 Every one said, " What a capital fellow 1" 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 GOOD-BYE 
 
 The friends and acquaintances of both parties were 
 assembled at Count Stefan's to hear the result of the 
 duel. The seconds on both sides had promised to 
 come and give the earliest news. All the habitues of 
 society were waiting ; there was suppressed excitement ; 
 bets were made upon which should be wounded, and 
 whether Salista would give a heavy wound or only a 
 slight scratch to his adversary. Count Stefan had the 
 courage to bet ten to one that Salista would get a 
 scratch ; he also risked " even money " that the marquis 
 would be the only one wounded. That Ivan would 
 escape with a whole skin no one else for an instant 
 imagined. If they had done so they might have offered 
 a hundred to one, and even at that no one of the party 
 would have taken the bet. 
 
 The outposts planted themselves at the windows, to 
 be the first to see the carriage with the seconds. When 
 a cab drove up, they shouted to the others: 
 
 " Edmund and Geza have arrived !" 
 
 "Then I have won my bet," said Count Stefan ; "the 
 seconds of the man who is least hurt get away first." 
 
 Count Edmund went to the countess's apartment to 
 let her know what had happened, while Geza ascended 
 to Count Stefan's rooms. He rushed in wdth the trium- 
 phant air a victorious second should have. 
 
GOOD-BYE 233 
 
 "He has put him to the sword." 
 
 " Who ? Who ? Ivan ? Salista ?" cried the company, 
 surrounding the messenger in their excitement. 
 
 " Ivan has put the marquis." 
 
 An "A-ah!" was the incredulous rejoinder of the 
 others. 
 
 " But I tell you he has," repeated the young count ; 
 "he has cut him into a jelly." 
 
 " And Ivan ?" 
 
 " He is as untouched as I am." 
 
 " Ah, you are making fun of us." 
 
 "It is no subject for fun. Ask Salista." 
 
 " But where is Ivan ,''" 
 
 "He v'ill be here immediately, and will convince the 
 unbelievers, who will find no wounds into which they 
 can poke their fingers. He went home with the doc- 
 tors, for Salista had two, who have at last succeeded in 
 stitching him together." 
 
 Then he related to them circumstantially all that had 
 happened. For those who did not clearly understand, 
 he demonstrated with the help of two walking-sticks the 
 course the duel took. He came to the double-cut. 
 
 " In this way Ivan parried the stomach-thrust and 
 gave the fore-cut — the final a tetnpo contre coup. The 
 performer of these wonderful exploits had not even 
 turned a hair." 
 
 " Why, he is a miracle !" 
 
 " No such thing," protested Count Geza. " He has 
 been in the army — captain in the hussars." (He ad- 
 vanced him a grade, but captain sounds belter than lieu- 
 tenant.) " He fought all through the revolution ; he 
 was nineteen times in action, and fought with the Cos- 
 sacks besides. He has also received a good-service 
 medal." 
 
234 
 
 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 All this the count imagined might be the fact, al- 
 though he had certainly not heard a word of such a his- 
 tory from Ivan. Once a man has scored one success, 
 he is credited with twenty more. 
 
 " Truly a wonderful man !" said Baron Oscar. " For 
 three months he has been among us every day, and 
 has never mentioned his soldiering experiences." 
 
 " Now we have really landed him upon us, like a Sind- 
 bad that can never be shaken off," remarked Baron Ed- 
 ward. " We wanted to be rid of him, and instead we have 
 raised him into the saddle. He will never dismount ; 
 he is saddled on us forever. No one would dare now 
 to speak to him." 
 
 " Good God of Saxony !" cried Baron Oscar, " how the 
 man will carry his nose in the air ! There wii^ be no 
 standing him, for the women will, of course, mak<? the 
 deuce of a fuss about him, and men must have a certain 
 respect for him. Sacre bleu ! A man who can shoot 
 and fence like this fellow ! But I would bet anything 
 that it was a mere accident." 
 
 " I think quite the contrary," remarked Count Stefan, 
 " and I very much fear that Ivan will leave us all cool- 
 ing our heels here, and not show his face. He will never 
 cross any of our thresholds again." 
 
 "Oh, he wouldn't be such a confounded fool ! I bet 
 you a hundred to one." 
 
 " First pay me the bet you have lost." 
 
 Baron Oscar put his hand in his pocket, but before 
 he drew out his pocket-book a happy thought struck 
 him. 
 
 " But how if Geza and his brother second were play- 
 ing off a joke .? They may have concocted this story. 
 Perhaps the truth is that at the last moment the quarrel 
 was made up and there was no duel, and that they have 
 
GOOD-BYE 235 
 
 both come from a luncheon where no blood, but plenty 
 of champagne, flowed." 
 
 " If you don't believe me, then drive to Salista. My 
 cab is at the door. Go and convince yourself." 
 
 The baron rushed off. On the staircase he met Count 
 Edmund coming up from the ladies. He asked where 
 Oscar was rushing in such haste. 
 
 " He doesn't believe Geza's story." 
 
 "That is just the way the ladies have treated me; 
 they won't believe me. They say, ' If nothing has hap- 
 pened to Ivan, where is he ?' The Countess Theude- 
 linde sheds tears like a river; she execrates us all, and 
 declares we have killed her hero. The cuckoo only 
 knows which of the two ladies is the most in love with him. 
 Up to this I thought I knew, but now I am all in the dark." 
 
 Baron Oscar returned at this moment. He didn't say 
 a word, but took out his pocket-book and paid Count 
 Stefan his bet. It was a very convincing answer. 
 
 "Well, how is Salista.^" asked several voices together. 
 
 " He is terribly disfigured." 
 
 On this every one took out their purses and paid 
 their lost bets ; they did it with very sour faces. If only 
 Ritter Magnet had been disfigured ! 
 
 Just then Ivan was announced. The sour faces 
 changed with marvellous rapidity into friendly smiles. 
 He was greeted wMrmly; every one wanted to shake 
 hands with him. He was the hero of the hour, but he 
 looked tired and very serious. Count Stefan was the 
 last to press his hand. 
 
 " I rejoice," he said, " to see you uninjured." 
 
 Two young fellows said to one another, "Old Stefan 
 may very well rejoice ; he has made a good thing of the 
 handicap, and cleared us out jollily." But in spite of 
 their losses, they, too, congratulated the victor. 
 
236 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 Every one seemed pleased except, perhaps, Ivan. " I 
 thank you all," he said, in his grave voice, "for your 
 warm sympathy; and I thank you, count, in particular, 
 for your cordial reception, and for the friendship which 
 you have accorded to me. I shall always preserve a 
 grateful remembrance of your kindness. I beg of you 
 to bear me likewise in your recollection, for I have come 
 now to take leave. I am returning to my home to-mor- 
 row." 
 
 The count winked with his left eye at Baron Oscar, 
 as who should say, " Did I not tell you so ?" But he 
 spoke no word to induce Ivan to rescind his resolution. 
 He pressed his hand warmly as he said : 
 
 "Be assured that I have a sincere esteem for you, 
 and wherever we may meet again always consider me as 
 an old friend. God bless you !" 
 
 Baron Oscar made much more fuss. He held Ivan 
 with both hands on his arm. 
 
 " My dear friend, we cannot allow this. Such a good 
 fellow as you have proved yourself to be cannot slip 
 away from us in this manner — just at the moment, too, 
 when you are going to be the lion of the season. You 
 sha'n't escape ; you belong to us." 
 
 Ivan laughed ; gentle sarcasm, half pain, half irony, 
 totally unmixed with bitterness, was in the laugh. Then 
 he answered this burst of friendship : 
 
 " I thank you, comrade, for the honor you do me, but 
 I am not fit to be Governor of Barataria; it is far better 
 for me to be at home. I go to get my ' grison ' saddled, 
 and I ride away." 
 
 (Any one who is conversant with " Don Quixote " will 
 remember the skit upon the island of Barataria, and the 
 affecting meeting between the ass and his master.) 
 
 When he had finished speaking, Ivan made a deep 
 
GOOD-BYE 237 
 
 bow to the company and left the room. Count Stefan 
 followed him, and, in spite of his protestations, accom- 
 panied him down the stairs to Theudelinde's door. He 
 was much moved by Ivan's last words. 
 
 When he returned he found the entire company still 
 in a very uncomfortable frame of mind, discussing the 
 scene that had just happened with much annoyance. 
 
 " Who has told him the joke about the island of 
 Barataria .?" asked Baron Oscar. 
 
 Each one gave his word of honor that he had not be- 
 trayed confidence. 
 
 " Then may the devil fly away with me if I don't be- 
 lieve it was the abbe'." 
 
 But Count Stefan shook his head. " No, my friends," 
 he said, " believe me, no one has told Behrend any- 
 thing. He is a man of acute penetration, and he has 
 read you like a book without appearing to take notice." 
 
 Geza, however, swore that the priest had blabbed. 
 
 We swear to nothing, but think it right to mention 
 that a few days previous the Abbe Samuel had received 
 a letter from Vienna with the words, " W'hat are you 
 about ? You are ruining the whole thing. That ass 
 Behrend is bringing about a reconciliation between the 
 countess and the old prince. Get him out of Pesth, for 
 he is working dead against us. — Felix." 
 
 "At all events, we have pleased my pretty cousin," re- 
 marked Count Edmund. " She wanted him to be sent 
 about his business, and we have done it." 
 
 " Oh, is that so ?" And Count Stefan smiled sardon- 
 ically. " Cherchez la femme, as Talleyrand said. But I 
 know the dear, capricious sex. When Ivan tells the 
 ladies down-stairs that he is leaving, there will be a re- 
 action, and your pretty cousin will cry out, ' Then we 
 shall go together!' " 
 
238 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 The Others laughed incredulously; only Edmund as- 
 sumed the air of Pontius Pilate. 
 
 " I should not be surprised," he said. ^^ Enfin^ there 
 would be nothing disgraceful in the affair. The fellow 
 is a gentleman ; he was a soldier, and is of good birth. 
 His land joins the Bondavara property ; his income is 
 something under two hundred thousand florins. Angela 
 is heiress to twenty millions ; but then, if our w^ell-be- 
 loved uncle, Prince Theobald, lives another ten years 
 and carries on as he is doing, it may result that Ivan 
 and Angela may be on the same platform as regards 
 their fortunes. So far as rank is in question, if the 
 government continues to play the game they are playing 
 with our rights and privileges, and if under the new par- 
 liamentary regime the peasant's coat is to ascend the 
 tribune, then I shall ask to be raised \q the peasantry." 
 
 The Countesses Theudelinde and Angela received 
 Ivan in their private sitting-room — a mark of close in- 
 timacy. He came in with a constrained air; his face 
 was pale, and the emotion he could not suppress gave 
 softness to his usually stern expression. Theudelinde 
 came to meet him with outstretched hands. When she 
 drew near she took his in her clasp, and pressed his 
 lingers warmly. Her lips trembled, and with difficulty 
 she kept the tears which filled her eyes from coursing 
 down her cheeks. She could not speak, but simply 
 nodded to Ivan to take his place before a small table, 
 upon which a splendid bouquet stood. Theudelinde 
 sat on the sofa, Angela beside her. The young countess 
 was simply dressed ; she had not even a flower in her 
 hair. She was grave, and hardly raised her eyes to Ivan. 
 
 It was Theudelinde who broke the rather embarrass- 
 ins: silence. 
 
GOOD-BYE 239 
 
 *'We have been in terrible trouble about you," she 
 said. " You cannot imagine what tortures of anxiety we 
 have gone through during these two days." 
 
 Angela's eyes were on the carpet; she was included 
 in the " we." 
 
 *' I cannot forgive myself, countess, for the share I 
 have had in causing you pain. I can only do penance 
 for my fault, and to-morrow I am going into banishment 
 at Bondathal." 
 
 "Ah !" Theudelinde's voice expressed surprise. "You 
 are going to leave us ? \\'hat are you going to do in 
 Bondathal ?" 
 
 " I will return to my business, which I have too long 
 neglected." 
 
 "And do you like to live in Bondathal?" 
 
 "I am tranquil there." 
 
 " Have you relatives V^ 
 
 " I have none." 
 
 "You have a household?" 
 
 " So far as I can, I do everything for myself." 
 
 " You have surely friends and acquaintances who form 
 a pleasant circle around you?" 
 
 " I have only my workmen and my machines." 
 
 "You live there a hermifs life?" 
 
 "No, countess, for a hermit lives alone, while I have 
 my books and my work; I am never alone." 
 
 The countess's face assumed almost a solemn ex- 
 pression. 
 
 " Herr von Behrend, give me your hand, and stay here." 
 
 Ivan got up, and bowed low before her. " The kind 
 feeling which has prompted your words, as well as the 
 honor you have done me, shall never be forgotten by 
 me. It is a proof to me of your great goodness, and I 
 beg of you to accept my heartfelt thanks." 
 
240 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 "Then you will remain ? How long ?" 
 
 ^' Until to-morrow morning." 
 
 " Ah," cried the countess, with a petulant air, " when 
 I ask you to stay !" 
 
 Her disappointment was so transparent, her annoyance 
 so sincere, that it was impossible not to feel sorry for 
 her. Theudelinde looked at Angela as if she expected 
 her to come to her help ; but Angela never raised her 
 eyes, shaded by their long lashes, while her fingers 
 plucked nervously at the petals of a marguerite, as if she 
 were consulting that well-known oracle. 
 
 " Countess," said Ivan, still standing, and with his 
 hand on the back of his chair, " when I answer a friend- 
 ly invitation such as yours with an apparently uncivil 
 refusal to remain, as you so kindly wish me to do, I 
 feel that it is incumbent on me to give you my true 
 reason for withdrawing myself from youV society. I 
 cannot say to you what I would to a mere acquaintance ; 
 I cannot make such excuses as 'that I have business 
 at home; that I have been too long here; that I shall 
 return soon.' To you I must confess that I go away 
 because no inducement would prevail on me to remain, 
 and that when I go I mean never to return. Countess, 
 this is not my world; here I could not live. I have 
 spent three months here ; I have been a daily guest 
 in the best circles; I have lived with members of the 
 highest and most cultivated society, have studied close- 
 ly their manner of life. I quite agree that these people 
 have every right to live in what manner they choose ; 
 but I, who have been accustomed to a totally different 
 manner of life, who have been taught to consider ex- 
 istence from a different point of view, to reverence the 
 higher aims and obey its finer instincts, / should be 
 acting a He and violating my own principles were I to 
 
GOOD-BYE 241 
 
 remain in such an atmosphere and live after such a 
 fashion. Here, in this exalted rank, you are all solitary 
 rings, while we in the lower order hang together as links 
 of one chain. You are totally independent one of the 
 other, therefore you follow each one his own inclina- 
 tions. With us the pressure of life knits us more closely 
 together, and we call egotism and generosity by differ- 
 ent names from what you do. I am, therefore, not fit 
 for your circle. I am ashamed to be haughty towards 
 those upon whom you look down, and I cannot bend 
 before those whom you delight to honor. I do not 
 recognize the gods whom you adore, neither can I 
 mock at 77iy God, and ignore Him as you do. In this 
 world of yours there is a malicious demon who trans- 
 forms all that is good in man's nature, and who prompts 
 him to laugh and deny every inclination to virtue. Who 
 tells his friend or neighbor the truth to his face, and 
 who cares for any one who is not present ? Dear friends 
 race together over hill and dale; but suppose one makes 
 a false step and breaks his neck, good-bye to him, the 
 dear friend is gone. Another does not break his neck 
 in the race, but he dissipates all his fortune ; those who 
 are running with him never say to him, ' Step out of 
 the course ; you are going to the bottom.' All at once 
 he stumbles, and his fortune and the honors of his an- 
 cestors lie tumbled in the dust. Good-bye to him ; his 
 name is struck out of the club-list ; that dear friend is 
 no more. It is true we knew yesterday and the day be- 
 fore yesterday that he would surely get a bad fall, but 
 no one else knew of it, so we rode with our dear friend 
 to the last. Now all the world is aware of his tumble 
 in the dust, therefore we know him no more. If any 
 one wishes to go on his own way, and live a rational life 
 to himself, oh, then, he is a coward, a miser, a carpet 
 
242 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 knight ! And how do the women fare in this world of 
 yours ? What about domestic life, and the sweet joys 
 of the home? What tragedies are enacted inside those 
 splendid mansions, and outside what fun is made of 
 them by friends and acquaintances ! What refinement 
 in sin ! what idolatry of false joys ! And when these 
 are over, what ennui of life, what endless weariness ! 
 No, countess, this life is not for me. I should be poi- 
 soned in such an atmosphere. You can bear it , you grace 
 it by your presence ; but for me, I should go mad were 
 I to remain. Therefore I go, and all that is now left 
 is to ask your forgiveness for my bold words. I ac- 
 knowledge my indiscretion ; I have spoken bitterly of 
 society, and yet I stand on its parquet floor, I have 
 been ungrateful ; I have given expression to my antipa- 
 thies in the presence of those who have shown toler- 
 ance towards my faults and my awkward manners; who 
 have accompanied me to the door of the circle where I 
 have often played a ridiculous part, and, notwithstand- 
 ing, have never been laughed at before my face. But, 
 countess, the words I have uttered I have felt, so to 
 speak, constrained by your goodness to say. You have, 
 with extraordinary kindness, asked me to remain, and I 
 would prove to you that I am forced to leave by a power 
 stronger than myself." 
 
 During Ivan's rather lengthy address Countess Theu- 
 delinde had risen to her feet. Her eyes began to light up, 
 her face to wear a glorified expression, her lips to move 
 as if she repeated each word he said ; and when he had 
 spoken the concluding sentence she seized both his 
 hands, while she stammered out : 
 
 "You speak the truth — the truth^nothing but the 
 truth; you speak as I spoke forty years ago, when /left 
 the world as you are doing now ! The world is ever the 
 
GOOD-BYE 243 
 
 same; it does not change." Here she wrung her hands 
 passionately. "Go home," she sobbed out; "go back 
 to your solitude, hide yourself under the earth, conceal 
 yourself in your mine, God will be with you wherever 
 you are — everywhere ! God bless you ! God bless you !" 
 
 She did not remark that Angela had also risen from 
 her seat, and as Ivan took his leave she made a step for- 
 ward, and said, in a firm, decided voice : 
 
 "If you go away, you do not go alone, for I shall go 
 with you." Her whole face glowed as she spoke these 
 words. 
 
 IVan was master of the situation. Standing upon this 
 giddy height, he did not for that reason lose his balance. 
 With wonderful presence of mind he answered the ex- 
 cited girl : 
 
 " You will do well, countess. To-morrow is your 
 grandfather's birthday, and early to-morrow you can be 
 with him. He is ready to clasp you in his arms." 
 
 Angela grew white as a marble statue. She sank back 
 in her armchair ; the leaves she had plucked from the 
 flower lay scattered at her feet. Ivan bowed to her 
 respectfully, kissed the hand of Countess Theudelinde, 
 and quitted the room. 
 
 Ah, there are men who never forget their first and only 
 love ! 
 
 Not long after Ivan had left, Count Edmund dropped 
 in to see the ladies. He appeared to come by accident, 
 but he was dying with curiosity. Countess Angela was 
 more amiable than usual. When he was leaving, she 
 said to her cousin : 
 
 "Go to Salista, and tell him that I have inquired for 
 him." 
 
 Count Edmund was courtier enough to conceal the 
 
244 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 ast(>mT>liment he most certainly felt, but as he went 
 clown the stairs he began to hum Figaro's song from the 
 Barber of Seville : 
 
 ' ' The falseness of women 
 One never can know, 
 One never can know !" 
 
 Countess Angela wTote that same evening to her grand- 
 fatlier. Ivan was right in saying the next clay was his 
 birthday, and this was her birthday greeting : 
 
 " I am not coming home. Adieu." 
 
 For two days every one in Pesth spoke of Ivan and 
 his duel with Salista ; tlie third day he was forgotten. 
 Good-bye to him ! 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 THE LAST REHEARSAL 
 
 On the morning of his birthday Prince Theobald re- 
 ceived a letter. It was from his only grandchild, and 
 ended with the word "Adieu." 
 
 The prince's birthday had been always a festival. 
 From Angela's childhood up to the last anniversary of 
 the day she had each year given him a remembrance. 
 On this day it had been a bitter gift. 
 
 Among his treasures the old man kept a particular 
 casket, handsomely fitted with gold mountings, in which 
 he preserved these birthday offerings. There was the 
 wreath Angela had given him when she was nine years 
 old ; the scrawl she had written in her childish hand- 
 writing on a sheet of Bristol-board ; the bit of embroid- 
 ery, worked in pearls and gold, which later she had done 
 for him with her own hand. To these gifts the prince, 
 with a deep sigh, added her last letter, with its cold 
 farewell. 
 
 Prince Theobald was easily moved to anger, while 
 his heart was sensitive to affection. When he reflected 
 calmly he found he had every right to exact obedience 
 from his granddaughter. Angela owed a duty to him, 
 to his position, to the princely house from which she 
 sprang. If, indeed, her heart stood in the way of agree- 
 ing to his wishes, one might, perhaps, excuse her; but 
 Angela, he knew, loved no one. Why, therefore, should 
 
246 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 she seek to defy him for a mere foolish whim ? Prince 
 Theobald went to Eveline's last rehearsal with his mind 
 in a tumult of annoyance and excitement; his blood 
 circulated wildly. He could send a strange answer to 
 her farewell. Yes, and he would ! 
 
 When he reached Eveline's house the servant ad- 
 mitted him as a favored habitue, without a word, and 
 left him in the drawling-room while he went to announce 
 him to his mistress. The prince looked round him ; it 
 was the room where Eveline usually gave her represen- 
 tations. The rose-colored curtains were drawn, one 
 corner was filled with greenhouse exotics, the air was 
 perfumed with the scent of the flowers. In another 
 corner two turtle-doves cooed melodiously, while from 
 behind a little bosquet a nightingale sang its soft stave 
 of love, sorrow, and triumph. One could hardly imag- 
 ine one's self in an ordinary drawing-room; it was more 
 like the throne of a nymph, or fairy, in the depth of a 
 wood. 
 
 The prince seated himself upon a sofa, and, taking up 
 an album which lay upon the table, he turned over the 
 leaves. It was a collection of photographs of Eveline in 
 her different parts. He went through it from cover to 
 cover, examining each tempting and seductive portrait 
 carefully, and as he did so there rose before his memory 
 the casket in which Angela's letters and embroidery 
 were preserved. His thoughts were so absorbed in 
 these recollections that, with a start, he found himself at 
 the last page in the book before him. He roused him- 
 self to look at the beautiful figure in a common stuff 
 frock. How captivating, how simple, how lovely ! 
 
 The nightingale sang, the doves cooed, the air grew 
 heavy with the scent of the pomegranates. The prince 
 wondered in what form of enchantment would his hostess 
 
THE LAST REHEARSAL 247 
 
 appear. And now there fell on his ear, coming from a 
 distance, a forgotten tune. Once he had heard it, long 
 ago ; but the air he remembered. It moved him strangely. 
 It was a simple volkslied, the same with which the nurse 
 was wont to rock the cradle of Angela when she was a 
 baby — a Slav tune. The text was unknown to him. 
 
 After a few minutes the song ceased, the door of Ev- 
 eline's dressing-room opened, and she came in — and 
 how.'' In what new and captivating costume did she 
 appear ? 
 
 She wore a simple white-and-black dress of crape 
 cloth ; her hair was smoothly combed back from her' 
 young face, and hung down in a long plait; a white lace 
 collar was round her throat. 
 
 Softly, modestly, and yet with the confidence of a 
 child, she drew near to the prince, and when she was 
 close to him she handed him a little sachet of white 
 satin, upon which was embroidered the kneeling figure 
 of a child. Then raising her eyes, full of tears, to his 
 face, she said, in a low voice, wifich trembled with emo- 
 tion : 
 
 " My lord, will you accept this little birthday gift from 
 me ? May Heaven preserve your days." 
 
 This scene was so devoid of all acting, it was so full 
 of feeling and sincerity, that Prince Theobald, thrown 
 off his guard, forgot himself, and, instead of the formal 
 " madame," said : 
 
 " My child—" 
 
 At these words the young girl, sobbing wildly, threw 
 herself into his arms. 
 
 "Oh, prince," she cried, "do not recall those words; 
 call me your child. There is on this earth no creature 
 more desolate, more unhappy than I am." 
 
 Prince Theobald laid his hand kindly upon the fair 
 
248 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 head of the sobbing girl and kissed her gently on the 
 forehead. 
 
 " Be it so," he said. " Look up and smile, Eveline. 
 I am in earnest. You are almost a child, and you shall 
 be one to me. I will be your father — no, your grand- 
 father. Fathers love their children sometimes, but not 
 always ; but grandfathers never fail in loving their grand- 
 children. You shall be my little granddaughter. When 
 I am sad you will cheer me with your gay chatter ; you 
 will read or sing to me when I cannot sleep ; you will 
 care for me and nurse me when I am ill. I shall adopt 
 you as my child. I shall take care of you, and provide 
 you with all that you want. In return you will obey me; 
 you will listen to me ; you wall bear with an old man's 
 whims and his petulant temper ; you will try and please 
 me. I promise you that you shall be treated well. You 
 shall be mistress over all that I have ; you shall have 
 everything suitable to the position of my daughter ; but 
 I must exact the obedience of a child." 
 
 Eveline answered by kissing her benefactor's hand. 
 
 " Are you pleased at my proposal ? Do you think you 
 will be happy ?" 
 
 Eveline laughed in childish delight. She danced about 
 the room in her joy, and fell down at the prince's feet, 
 crying out : 
 
 " Oh, my dear, dear grandpapa !" 
 
 Prince Theobald threw himself back on the sofa and 
 burst into a harsh, bitter laugh. 
 
 Eveline drew back, hurt and frightened by the horrid 
 discord in the laugh. 
 
 " I am not laughing at you, my dear," said the prince, 
 kindly. " Come, my pretty granddaughter, and sit be- 
 side me." (He had laughed at the answer he could now 
 make to Angela's farewell.) He stroked Eveline's hair 
 
THE LAST REHEARSAL 249 
 
 tenderly. " Now we must talk seriously. Listen to what 
 I have to say, for my words are commands. In <97/r fam- 
 ily there is only one master, whom all obey. First of all, 
 there is your husband to be considered. It seems to 
 me he takes the responsibilities of his position lightly. 
 Still, he must give his consent to my adoption of you. 
 I don't apprehend, however, any difficulty in obtaining 
 it; you may leave that to me. After that you will take 
 up your residence in my palace in the Maximilian Strasse. 
 It shall be yours on one condition — that you receive no 
 visitors without previously consulting me. Kaulmann 
 is included in this condition. You must have no inter- 
 course with him, except on matters of business. \\'ill it 
 pain you to be separated from him ?" 
 
 " I could not be pained by that. We have always 
 lived apart." 
 
 The prince pressed her hand kindly. "Poor child!" 
 he said. "Your husband is a scoundrel. He has 
 treated you as one of his speculations, and has attained 
 his end. One thing, however, you receive from him — 
 his name. He cannot take that from you. B3--and-by 
 you will learn what an inestimable advantage it is to a 
 woman to bear her husband's name. It is a passport; 
 but I do not think Kaulmann meant it in that light. 
 Well, let us talk no more of him, but of your future. I 
 shall procure for you an engagement at the Opera- 
 house. You must have a certain position before the 
 world, by whom the secret tie between us would not be 
 understood. The title of actress is like the mantle of a 
 queen ; it gives you the entree to the salons of a certain 
 artistic world. Your future shall be my care. You have 
 talent ; if you study you will succeed. You must rise 
 to the head of your profession, so that when I die you 
 will be able to support yourself." 
 
250 
 
 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 " If I could only get over my stage - fright !'' said 
 Eveline, sadly. 
 
 "You will when you get accustomed to the footlights. 
 You will learn by experience that in this world, and 
 especially on the stage, everyone is taken at his own 
 valuation. Any one who makes little of himself goes 
 cheap. Above all, you must be most careful how you 
 choose your friends. This is important, and on this 
 point you must allow me to judge for you. If 3'ou feel 
 a preference for any one person you must tell me with 
 frankness, and I shall know whether it will be a safe 
 friendship for you." 
 
 " Oh, prince," cried Eveline, " I shall be guided in all 
 things by you!" 
 
 " My child, do not promise too much. Engagements 
 made in a moment of enthusiasm or sentiment are 
 speedily forgotten ; but there is one promise I would 
 have from you. There is one man whom you must give 
 your word to me that you will never receive — that you 
 will never break the seal of a letter that comes from 
 him ; that you will never accept a present from him, 
 never take up a bouquet he may throw you, never notice 
 his applause. This man must not exist for you ; you 
 must take as little notice of him as if he were a cross- 
 ing-sweeper. This man is Prince Waldemar." 
 
 " Oh, sir, I already hate him. I shudder at his ap- 
 proach." 
 
 " I am glad to hear it. He deserves every good 
 woman's hatred ; but he is rich, young, handsome. He 
 raves of you. Women are flattered by the love of such 
 as he ; and circumstances may arise to alter your ideas. 
 Wealth has a wonderful attraction, and poverty is a 
 great temptation. The time must come when I shall 
 no longer be here. You must swear to me that when I 
 
THE LAST REHEARSAL 
 
 251 
 
 am dead or removed from you you will keep your oath 
 to accept nothing from Prince Waldemar." 
 
 " I swear it to you by what is most sacred — the mem- 
 ory of my dead mother." 
 
 " Now allow me to kiss your forehead. I am going 
 to Kaulmann to make the necessary arrangements. I 
 thank you for your remembrance of my birthday. Your 
 little present has made me rich. I came here in a very 
 perturbed state of mind ; I go aw^iy with a tranquil 
 heart. I shall always be grateful to you, God bless 
 you !" 
 
 Some days later Eveline removed to Prince Theo- 
 bald's palace in the Maximilian Strasse, where she was 
 surrounded by every splendor and luxury. 
 
 The world supposed — and we must acknowledge there 
 was reason for the supposition — that Kaulmann's wife 
 was the Prince's mistress. The prince imagined that he 
 would frighten the Countess Angela and bring her to 
 reason, and Eveline thought she was fulfilling her duty 
 as a wife when she obeyed her contemptible husband 
 by sacrificing her good name to further his ambitious 
 schemes. 
 
 At this time, and as the result of Eveline's obedience, 
 the Joint-Stock Mining Company received the assent of 
 Prince Theobald Bondavary to the contract already 
 signed by his sister. Countess Theudelinde. 
 
 And in this manner the Bondavara property passed 
 away from the last two possessors. If Countess Angela 
 had followed Ivan Behrend's advice this would not have 
 happened, and the property would have been hers. 
 
 Why was the Countess Angela so obstinate ? Why 
 
252 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 did she behave so foolishly as regarded her own inter- 
 ests, so ungratefully towards her kind grandfather ? A 
 w^ord must be said in her defence. This Prince Sonder- 
 sheim, whom Prince Theobald wished his granddaughter 
 to take as her husband, was the same Prince Waldemar 
 of whom mention has already been made. Prince Theo- 
 bald knew his character well. We have heard what he 
 said to Eveline. The world had the worst opinion of 
 him, and Angela knew what the world thought of her 
 future husband. 
 
 Was it any wonder she refused to give herself to such 
 a man ? Could she act otherwise than she did } Wom- 
 en are the best judges on this point. Men cannot wit- 
 ness against themselves. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 FINANCIAL WISDOM 
 
 The Bondavara Joint-Stock Company was about to 
 issue its prospectus ; the speculation had been adver- 
 tised largel}^, and now it only waited the necessary 
 capital of ten millions to start the railway which was 
 to put the finest coal-mines in the kingdom within the 
 reach of the markets of the great cities. The specula- 
 tion did not, however, attract the public. Who knows 
 about the value of the mine ? said one. Who believes 
 what the papers say ? W^e all know that trick. The 
 gudgeons held off, and did not rise to the bait offered. 
 
 One day Felix Kaulmann brought one of the directors 
 to see Ivan Behrend, and while these two were in con- 
 versation he noticed, lying on the table, a piece of 
 coal from the Bondavara mine, upon which was dis- 
 tinctly visible the outline of a plant about the size of 
 a finger. 
 
 " Is this the impression of an antediluvian bird's 
 claw ?" he asked. 
 
 "No," returned Ivan; "it is a petrified plant." 
 
 "Ah, I am making a collection of petrifactions." 
 
 "Then take that to add to it," said Ivan, carelessly. 
 
 Felix carried away the piece of coal in his pocket. 
 
 Shortly before the prospectus was issued there ap- 
 peared in one of the best-known scientific journals an 
 illustration and article descriptive of the petrified bird's 
 
254 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 foot which had been found in the Bondavara mine. 
 The article was signed " Doctor Felicius." 
 
 All the savants were excited. " We must see this im- 
 pression !" they cried. 
 
 The discoverer had given to the creature, whose foot- 
 mark had remained unalterably impressed upon the 
 tender (!) coal, the learned name of Frotoniithos lithan- 
 thracoides. 
 
 " Ho, ho !" exclaimed the united bodies of geologists, 
 physiologists, professors, philosophers, artisans, and ar- 
 tesian-well borers, " that is indeed a long word !" 
 
 One set of learned men declared the thing to be pos- 
 sible, another denied its possibility. 
 
 And why was it not possible ? Because at the period 
 of coal-formaiions neither birds nor any one of the 
 mammalia could exist, or did exist, in the bowels of the 
 earth. There we find only traces of plants, of mussels, 
 of fish sometimes. 
 
 And why is it credible? Because in these days we 
 make discoveries every day. Humboldt declared that 
 in the antediluvian world no apes had ever lived, for 
 the reason that the fossil of an ape had never been 
 found. Since then one fossil ape has been discovered 
 in England, in France three of the Ourang species. 
 
 By degrees the strife raged in every newspaper; it 
 was taken up in English, French, German, and American 
 publications. At last it was proposed that the matter 
 should be referred to a commission of five well-known 
 professors, to whom the petrifaction should be sub- 
 mitted, and who should decide the question in dispute. 
 Doctor Felicius offered one thousand ducats to the one 
 who would prove that his bird's claw was not a bird's 
 claw. 
 
 The tribunal of the five learned judges examined the 
 
FINANCIAL WISDOM 255 
 
 petrifaction with microscopical attention, and after a long 
 sitting brought in a unanimous verdict that the impres- 
 sion was not made by the claw of a Protornithos, but 
 was that of a leaf belonging to the plant Annularia longe- 
 folia; in fact, there could be no question of the bird 
 species, as the specimen of coal produced was not brown 
 coal, but X\iQ: pui'est black, in which coal formation it was 
 not possible for even a bird to exist. 
 
 Doctor Felix Kaulmann quietly paid the thousand 
 ducats, and thanked the whole republic of professors 
 for the service they had rendered to the Bondavara coal; 
 such an advertisement could not have been obtained at 
 an expense of forty thousand ducats. Let people say 
 that the Protornithos was a humbug — who cares ? The 
 reputation of the Bondavara coal was firmly established 
 on the best scientific grounds. 
 
 The period had now arrived when the undertaking 
 should be floated at the exchange. This, perhaps, is 
 the greatest science on earth. The stock-exchange has 
 its good and its bad days. Sometimes it is full of elec- 
 tricity, the sheep frolic in the meadow ; at other times 
 they hang their heads and will not touch the beautiful 
 grass. Sometimes they come bleating to the shepherd 
 to beg that he will shear them, for their wool presses too 
 heavily on them ; another day they butt their heads to- 
 gether and will not listen to their leader. Again, and 
 no one can tell why, when the bell-wether begins to run, 
 all the rest of the flock run after him ; neither the shep- 
 herd nor his dog can stop them. The science lies in 
 knowing when there is good weather on the stock-ex- 
 change. On a favorable day men are in such excellent 
 humor — there is so much gold in every pocket, every- 
 thing goes well — that even a company for the excava- 
 tion and alienation of the icebergs would find bidders. 
 
256 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 On a bad day the best and safest speculation would get 
 not a single offer. 
 
 It was on one of the good days that the Bondavara 
 Coal Company made its debut at the Vienna Stock-ex- 
 change. It caught on, and by the day on which the 
 subscriptions should be paid into the Bank of Kaul- 
 mann came round it was necessary to have a military 
 cordon drawn across the street, to allow the stream of 
 people to pass through in any sort of order. The sub- 
 scribers had, in fact, collected before the doors early in 
 the morning ; those who were strong trusted to their 
 own strength to make way for themselves by elbow force. 
 In the crush battered hats and torn coats were mat- 
 ters of small consequence; verbal insults and personal 
 injuries, such as pushing and squeezing, were treated as 
 nothing. The windows of the bank which looked on 
 the street were burst open, and some excited individual 
 called out : 
 
 "I subscribe ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a 
 million !" 
 
 When at last six o'clock struck, and the doors of the 
 bank were closed, a stentorian voice called from the 
 balcony to the crowd below : 
 
 "The subscription is closed !" 
 
 What a disappointment for those who had not been 
 able to get their money in in time ! They went away 
 dejected men. 
 
 The Bondavara mine had indeed " caught on." In- 
 stead of ten millions, eight hundred and twenty thou- 
 sand millions had been subscribed. Did the subscribers 
 really possess all that money ? Certainly not. Each 
 one deposited the tenth portion of the sum subscribed 
 as a guarantee, and this only on paper ; actual money 
 the company did not as yet touch. Those who made 
 
FINANCIAL WISDOM 257 
 
 part of the vast crowd, who tore the coats from one an- 
 other's backs, were not blessed with a superfluity of money, 
 neither had they the slightest interest in the production 
 of coal, but to-day it is fine weather on the exchange ; 
 the Bondavara Company's bonds stand at par. Every 
 one wanted to make this small profit ; that done they 
 care no more for the bonds or the company. 
 
 It is, however, a fact that trees do not grow in heaven. 
 Prince Waldemar was at the head of the countermine, 
 and he was one of the cleverest, most astute men " on 
 'change." 
 
 To understand the business the reader should be him- 
 self a speculator. It is carried on something after this 
 fashion. Those who want to buy in are oftentimes men 
 of straw ; they merely want shares to sell them at once 
 to the first bidder. As a natural consequence, this 
 lowers the value ; there is a fall, sometimes a total col- 
 lapse. If the investment is a sound one it recovers 
 vitality, and the shares go up again. There is, how- 
 ever, a way to guard against this trick. Almost every 
 company has a syndicate, whose oflice is to ascertain 
 whether the applicants for shares are men of straw or 
 not. Pending the inquiry, the time is made use of to 
 employ certain agents, to whom a free gift is made of, 
 say, five hundred shares. These men immediately set 
 up a tremendous uproar ; they drive up the shares, they 
 tear the certificates out of one another's hands, scream- 
 ing out the high rate at which they are buying. But the 
 general market sees no shares pass ; the experienced 
 ones know that this is all a well-acted farce, and that 
 any one who has ready -money need only go to the 
 fountain-head and buy as many shares as he wants at 
 par. On the other hand, the bears are waiting their 
 time to rush in and cause such a depreciation as will 
 
258 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 run down the shares to almost nothing. When they 
 have got them at this low figure they may allow them to 
 rise again. 
 
 The only one who loses in this cruel game is the 
 small capitalist, who has ventured, poor soul, on ice, and 
 who has sacrificed his little all at the shrine of the 
 golden calf, taken his carefully hoarded store, his hard- 
 earned salary out of his drawer, and has cast it upon 
 these unprofitable waters, tempted by the tales of high 
 interest, and the like. All of a sudden the bears have 
 rushed in, the mine has exploded, his hopes are blown 
 into air, vanished like a dream ; his shares are so much 
 waste-paper. He goes home certainly a sadder if not 
 a wiser man. Well for him if he is not a begger. This 
 is how they manage matters on the stock-exchange. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 FILTHY LUCRE 
 
 In the town of X there is a street called Greek 
 
 Street. It is a circle, or crescent, of pretty houses, 
 which at one time were erected and peopled by Greek 
 merchants. In the middle of the street stands a church 
 with a facade of marble and a splendid gilt tower, whose 
 bells are the most tuneful in the whole town. It is said 
 that when those bells were cast the Greeks threw, with 
 both hands, silver coins into the liquid metal. 
 
 Uid Francis Csanta was now the last of the race. 
 Once he had been a jovial fellow, a careless, free liver, 
 towards ladies a gallant cavalier, among men a desperate 
 gambler. With years he became silent, mood}^, miserly, 
 avoided the company of his fellow man or woman, and 
 was a hater of music and all pleasure. The more he in- 
 dulged in solitude the worse his peculiarities grew. So 
 soon as one of his former friends, or relations, or boon 
 companions died, he bought the house in which they 
 had lived. By degrees the whole street belonged to him ; 
 only one house remained, and that next door to his own. 
 This had been occupied by a connection of his who 
 had left one daughter. Strangely enough, she had not 
 followed the general custom of celibacy, but had married, 
 and was the wife of a music^' laster, who enjoyed the Mag- 
 yar name of Belenyi. Thj/! pair had in due course a son 
 born to them, to whom they gave the name of Arpad. 
 
26o BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 This vexed old Csanta sorely. Why should the last 
 remaining Greek girl have married — above all, married 
 a music-master ? Why should there be a son ? Why 
 should that son be baptized Arpad ? And why should 
 these annoying circumstances take place under his very 
 nose ? The house, too, was an offence ; the only house 
 in the street that did not belong to him. The church 
 was his; no one went in except himself; the clergyman 
 said mass for him only. He was the patron, the con- 
 gregation, the curator, the vestryman, the supporter; 
 he filled every office ; he was everything. When he was 
 dead the church would be closed, the grass would grow 
 upon the threshold. 
 
 The generation in the next house showed no sign of 
 dying ; the boy Arpad was as lively as an eel. At the 
 age of five he threw his ball over the roof, and it fell 
 into the old Greek's garden, who there and then con- 
 fiscated it. The lad gave him much more annoyance. 
 
 About this time evil days came to the country. The 
 Hungarians and the Austrians killed one another. 
 The reason of their so doing is hard to find. Histori- 
 ans of the present day say that it was all child's play, 
 and that the cause lay in the refusal of the Hungarian 
 sepoys — who are Mohammedans — to bite off cartridges 
 which had been prepared with the fat of swine — the 
 German method. Or did this happen in India? Now- 
 adays it is all uncertain ; mostly what is known about it 
 comes through the songs of the poets, and who believes 
 them? 
 
 What interests us in this old story is that it has to do 
 with Ivan Behrend, and how he came to dwell in the 
 Belenyi's house. It so happened that he was one of 
 the regiment who repulsed an assault on the tow^n, and 
 in consequence he was billeted on the music-master and 
 
FILTHY LUCRE 261 
 
 his wife. He was well liked. He was young then, and 
 had good spirits. One day the poor musician, coming 
 home through the streets, was struck by a shell, and 
 brought into his house dead. Such things happen oc- 
 casionally in time of war. Little Arpad was an orphan, 
 and then it was that Ivan adopted him as his son. A 
 short time after this Ivan laid down his arms and re- 
 tired into private hfe. Why he did so, and where he 
 went, is quite immaterial. Before he went Ivan gave 
 the widow Belenyi all the gold he had with him, so that 
 with this money Arpad's musical education might be 
 paid for. He did not care for the gold, and he could 
 not have employed it better. If he had taken it with 
 him, who knows into what worthless hands it would 
 have fallen ? 
 
 He hadn't been long gone when a Hungarian gov- 
 ernment official stood in the market-place of X , and, 
 
 to the accompaniment of much drumming, gave out the 
 government order that all German bank-notes should 
 be brought to the great square, and there made into a 
 funeral -pile and set fire to. Any one refusing to obey 
 this order should be dealt with accordingly. Every one 
 knew what this meant, and all who didn't wish to be dealt 
 with hastened to bring their bank-notes, which were then 
 and there burned. 
 
 The widow Belenyi had her little savings, a few hun- 
 dred gulden. What should she do ? It went hard with 
 her to see her money thrown into the fire. She went to 
 her rich neighbor and besought him to help her, and to 
 change her money into Hungarian bank-notes. The old 
 Greek at first refused to listen, but by-and-by he relent- 
 ed and did as she wished. He even did more, for after 
 a week had passed he came to her and said : 
 
 " I will no longer keep the money which your father 
 
262 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 lent to me at the rate of six per cent. Here it is for 
 you — ten thousand gulden ; take it, and make what you 
 can of it." As he spoke he paid her the whole sum in 
 Hungarian bank-notes. 
 
 A week later another commandant arrived in the 
 town ; this one was a German. The next morning more 
 drumming was heard in the market-place, and the order 
 was given that all who possessed Hungarian bank-notes 
 must give them up to have them burned. Those who 
 refused would be shot or hanged. 
 
 The poor widow ran weeping to her neighbor, and 
 asked what she should do. The whole sum he had 
 given her lay in her drawer untouched. If it were taken 
 from her she and her child must beg or starve. Why 
 had he given her this money ? Why had he changed 
 her German notes if he knew that this w^as going to 
 happen ? 
 
 " How could I know it .^" shrieked Csanta; and, still 
 screaming, he went on to lament over himself. " If you 
 are beggared, so am I — ten thousand times more beg- 
 gared than any one. I haven't a copper coin in the 
 house. I don't know how I can pay even for a bit of 
 meat. I shall have a hundred thousand bank-notes 
 burned. I am ruined ! I am a beggar !" 
 
 And he fell to cursing both Germans and Hungarians, 
 until the widow Belenyi implored him not to shriek so 
 loud, else he would be heard, and, God help us all ! 
 hanged. 
 
 " Let them hear, then ! Let them hang me ! I don't 
 care. I shall go to the market-place and tell them to 
 their faces they are robbers, and if they won't hang me 
 I'll hang myself. I am only considering whether I shall 
 suspend myself from the pump-handle or from the stee- 
 ple of the tower." 
 
FILTHY LUCRE 263 
 
 The widow besought him, for Heaven's sake, not to 
 do such a terrible deed, 
 
 " And what's to become of me ? Am I to go round 
 with a hat and beg for a penny? Here, these are my 
 last halfpence." 
 
 He drew a few coins from his pocket, and began to 
 weep piteously; his tears flowed in streams. The poor 
 woman tried her best to console him. She begged him 
 not to despair; the butcher and the baker knew him, 
 and would trust him. She was tempted to offer him a 
 piece of twenty groschen. 
 
 " Oh, you will soon see !" sobbed the old man. " Come 
 to-morrow morning early, and you will see me hanging 
 from a hook in the passage. I couldn't survive this !" 
 
 What could she do .'' The poor soul carried her Hun- 
 garian bank-notes to the commander, and saw them con- 
 sumed in the market-place. 
 
 Oh, it was a laughable joke! To this day when peo- 
 ple talk of it their eyes fill with tears. 
 
 For the widow, and many like her, there followed 
 months and years of grinding poverty. She had lost all 
 the capital saved for her by her father ; there remained 
 nothing but the house. The front rooms she let as a 
 shop, and in the back she lived and eked out her miser- 
 able income as best she could. 
 
 For a long time she looked with a frightened gaze at 
 her neighbor's passage, expecting to see the old man 
 hanging from an iron hook ; but she was spared this 
 sight. The old man had no notion of ending his days. 
 He had certainly lost a few thousand gulden, but these 
 were only the chaff; the corn w^as safe. He had a 
 secret hiding-place to wdiich he could have access by a 
 secret passage underneath his house ; the cellar was, in 
 fact, underneath the water. A mason from Vienna had 
 
264 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 built it for him, and the people of the town knew noth- 
 ing of it. The cellar was full of casks, and every cask 
 was full of silver; the old man's cellar concealed a 
 treasure. By means of secret machinery constructed 
 in his bedroom the owner was able by touching a spring 
 to open a sluice concealed in the bed of the stream, and 
 thus in a few minutes to submerge his cave. No rob- 
 ber could have penetrated there. All the gold and 
 silver pieces which came into Csanta's hand found 
 their way to this subterranean hiding-place, and never 
 saw the light of day again. 
 
 Meantime his neighbor, the widow, suffered the grip 
 of poverty; she sewed her fingers to the bone to keep 
 things together and to earn their daily bread. The 
 gold pieces Ivan had given she wouldn't have touched 
 even to save herself from starvation ; they were used 
 for the purpose for which he gave them — for Arpad's 
 musical education, and musical instruction was so dear. 
 The child was a genius. 
 
 But living grew dearer, work harder to get. The 
 widow was forced to get a loan upon the house ; she 
 asked her neighbor, and he gave it readily. The loan 
 grew and grew until it reached a good sum of money, 
 and then Csanta asked it back. Frau Belenyi was not 
 able to refund, and the old man instituted proceedings, 
 and as he was the only mortgagee he got it for one- 
 quarter its real value. The amount over and above the 
 debt and the costs were handed to the widow, and 
 there was nothing left but to leave. Madame Belenyi 
 took her son to Vienna, to begin in earnest his artistic 
 education. 
 
 The old Greek possessed the whole street ; there was 
 no one left to annoy him in his immediate neighbor- 
 hood ; he suffered neither from children, dogs, or birds. 
 
FILTHY LUCRE 265 
 
 And his treasure increased more and more. The casks 
 which filled the cellar that lay beneath the water were 
 filled to overflowing, and the contents were always 
 silver. 
 
 One day Csanta received a visit. It was an old ac- 
 quaintance, a banker from Vienna, whose father had 
 been a friend of the old man's, and at whose counting- 
 house he could always get exchange for his bank-notes 
 and other little accommodations. The visitor was Felix 
 Kaulmann. 
 
 " To what circumstance do I owe the honor ? What 
 good news do you bring me?" 
 
 " My worthy friend, I shall not make any preamble. 
 Time is precious to you, as it is to me, and therefore I 
 go straight to the point. By the authorization of the 
 Prince of Bondavara I have been placed at the head 
 of a joint-stock company, who have just started some 
 gigantic coal-works, whose capital has risen from ten 
 millions to eight hundred and twenty millions." 
 
 "That is eighty-two millions more than you would re- 
 quire." 
 
 "The money is the least part. What I stand in need 
 of is well-known men for the administration, for the re- 
 sult of the whole undertaking rests upon the zeal, the 
 capability, the intelligence of the governing body." 
 
 " Well, such men are not dilificult to find if there is a 
 prospect of a good dividend." 
 
 " The dividend is not to be despised. The bonus to 
 each member of the administration will be, yearly, five or 
 six thousand gulden." 
 
 "Really? What a nice income ! — a stroke of luck for 
 those who are chosen." 
 
 " Well, I have chosen you for a member, my worthy 
 friend." 
 
2 66 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 " An honor, a great honor for me ; but how much 
 must I put down before I am admitted ?" 
 
 "Neither before nor after shall you be asked to put 
 down anything. The only condition is that every mem- 
 ber of the administration must hold one thousand 
 shares." 
 
 "That means paying in a deal of money, my young 
 friend." 
 
 " I didn't say a word of paying in ; I only spoke of 
 holding." 
 
 " But, my young friend, although I am only a provin- 
 cial merchant in a small way, I know that, so far as 
 money is in question, to subscribe is another word for 
 payment-' 
 
 "With this exception — if both subscriptions equalize 
 one another. Ah, I see you do not like even a question 
 of subscribing. Well, listen. We will suppose that you 
 take one thousand shares in my coal company, and at 
 the same time I give you an undertaking to take over 
 one thousand shares at par from you; in this way we 
 are even, and neither of us loses a shilling." 
 
 " Hem ! But what is the necessity for such a joke ?" 
 
 "I will be frank with you. The world has its eyes 
 fixed upon the actions of important men ; if these stir 
 in any affair, the others stir likewise. If on 'change it 
 is known that you, my worthy friend, have bought a 
 thousand shares, a hundred small speculators will imme- 
 diately invest in shares. In this way you secure to your- 
 self a sinecure which will give you five or six thousand 
 gulden, and I will secure for my undertaking a splendid 
 future. Now, have I not spoken the truth ?" 
 
 " H'm ! I will consider the affair. Meet me to-mor- 
 row at the restaurant." 
 
 Csanta spent all the morning in the restaurant ; he 
 
FILTHY LUCRE 267 
 
 listened to all that was said of the Bondavara spec- 
 ulation, and came to the conclusion that he would 
 risk nothing, since all danger was covered by Kaul- 
 mann's bond. When Felix arrived he had made up his 
 mind. 
 
 " Good ! I shall draw the shares ; but none of them 
 shall hang round my neck, for I don't like paper. ' Paper 
 is only paper, and silver is always silver." 
 
 "Don't be afraid, my friend; I shall retain all shares 
 for myself. I deposit the caution for you, and I pay the 
 instalments." 
 
 Felix completely satisfied the old Greek as to his up- 
 right intentions in the matter of the shares, and left in 
 his hands the undertaking in which he pledged himself 
 to take them over at par. 
 
 Now began the manoeuvre behind the scenes. The 
 agents, the makers of books, the brokers rushed in ; the 
 Bondavara shares rose rapidly. The syndicate had, all 
 this time, never given a share into any one's hand. The 
 bears had not yet begun to dance. Herr Csanta had be- 
 come a student of the newspapers. True, his eyes never 
 left one column, but that contained for him the tree of all 
 knowledge ; it spoke golden truth. With amazement he 
 read how every day the value of the Bondavara shares 
 increased. The profit grew higher and higher; it went 
 up in leaps and bounds ; sixteen, eighteen, at last twenty 
 gulden over par. Those who had put down two hundred 
 thousand gulden had won in two weeks twenty thousand 
 gulden. A splendid speculation, indeed, in less than a 
 fortnight to make a fortune ! Compare the case of an 
 horlest, hard-working usurer like himself. What difficul- 
 ties he had to go through to extract twenty per cent, out 
 of his miserable clients ! The work was hardly worth the 
 gain; the fatigue of trapping some silly idiot, the odium 
 
268 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 and hatred incurred by exacting his rights from some 
 miserable beggar with a family, or taking the pillow from 
 under the head of a dying man ; these things go against 
 the grain, but they must be done if you want to fill your 
 cellar with silver coins. And here a wretched, good-for- 
 nothing speculator, by merely a stroke of the pen, makes 
 in two short weeks a fortune. Luck is not evenly meted 
 out to mortals. 
 
 The time had come when Felix Kaulmann could de- 
 mand from Csanta the thousand shares upon which he 
 could now make a profit of twenty thousand gulden. No 
 honest man could allow such an iniquitous robbery of 
 his rights, or, at least, not without making a struggle. It 
 is only a fool w^ho allows himself to be made a tool of. 
 A man may steal for himself ; to rob the widow and the 
 orphan to fill another man's purse, that is wicked and 
 immoral. 
 
 When Felix Kaulmann came again to the town of 
 
 X , the old Greek received him with great ceremony 
 
 and seeming cordiality. 
 
 '*! hope you bring good news, my dear young friend," 
 he said, clasping Kaulmann's hand in his. 
 
 "I have come about that little business of the shares," 
 returned Felix, with the air of a man of business. "You 
 remember our agreement ?'' 
 
 " What shares do you mean ? Oh, the Bondavara ! Is 
 it pressing ?" 
 
 " Yes, for the first instalment of interest is now due ; 
 two gulden each bond, which, as the shares are in my 
 name, will make an addition to my savings." 
 
 " Oh, so you intend to call in the shares?" 
 
 " But that was our agreement." 
 
 "And if I do not wish to surrender more than five 
 hundred ?" 
 
FILTHY LUCRE 269 
 
 Kaulmann drew in his lips. " Well, I suppose I should 
 be content." 
 
 " And if I do not wish to surrender any of the shares ?" 
 
 Kaulmann looked at him uneasily. " Sir," he said, 
 " I thought I was dealing with an honest man. Besides, 
 you forget I gave you a written agreement." 
 
 " My friend, my good young friend, that is true. You 
 gave me a written agreement signed with your name, 
 which covenanted that you were obliged to take these 
 shares from me at par ; but I gave you no signed docu- 
 ment, and there is nothing that can force me to hand 
 you over these shares. There you have the whole thing 
 in a nutshell." 
 
 " But, my good sir," repeated the banker, taking hold 
 of the lapels of the old Greek's coat, " listen to me. 
 Don't you know that it is one of the laws in the Chamber 
 of Commerce that there is no need of written indenture ? 
 If I take shares from you I have only to make a note in 
 my pocket-book. Surely you know that this is the law 
 on 'change ?" 
 
 " What do I know of the laws they make there ? I 
 never set my foot in the place." 
 
 Kaulmann made an effort to laugh. " I must confess 
 I have never been so sold by any one. I have found 
 my master. Will you give me none of the shares?" 
 
 "Not half a one." 
 
 " Very good. Then you must count out the sum-total 
 agreed upon." 
 
 " Certainly. I shall pay down the money." 
 
 " I mean the whole sum. Do you understand ?" 
 
 "Undoubtedly. Don't be afraid ; the money is ready ; 
 this house is bail for more than that amount. If needs 
 be I can pay you in gold, if needs be in silver." 
 
 " Well," cried Kaulmann, bringing his clinched fist 
 
270 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 down on the table, " I would never have believed that 
 in this little town I should have been so sold." 
 
 Csanta suspected that were he to fail in paying his 
 first instalment his shares might be annulled. He 
 therefore lost no time in placing the first thirty-five per 
 cent, into the bank. But this was not an easy task. To 
 transport seventy thousand silver gulden to Vienna 
 would necessitate a conveyance, and not only a con- 
 veyance, but an escort of gendarmes, and this para- 
 phernalia would make people stare. Well, let them 
 stare ! 
 
 When the old man descended into his cellar and 
 looked at the casks which contained the necessary sum, 
 his heart beat, his limbs trembled. These casks con- 
 tained the treasure he had garnered up ; his solid capital. 
 It was foolish, he knew, still he could not help tears 
 coming to his eyes as he chose seven casks from the 
 twenty which should be the first to go. He wept as he 
 spoke to these children of his heart. 
 
 " You shall have no cause to reproach me, you who 
 remain here," he said ; " those that are now leaving you 
 shall soon return. They are going on a safe journey, 
 not on a wild, venturous sea, where there would be danger 
 of shipwreck, but on a safe railroad, to increase and 
 multiply. Once I have the shares in my hand, they 
 shall not stay a night in my possession. I shall sell 
 them at once, and get back my silver. The profits, too, 
 I shall change into silver. Instead of seven casks I 
 shall return with nine." 
 
 In this way did the old Greek miser comfort himself 
 for the temporary loss of his silver pieces. He counted 
 them that night when the day's work was done, and 
 then set about arranging the transport of his treasure to 
 Vienna. 
 
FILTHY LUCRE 27I 
 
 The day before Csanta had decided upon this step 
 the " bears " had begun to explode their mine. It was, 
 however, only a trial ; they wanted merely to show their 
 teeth. Specie was in demand ; if silver goes up, paper 
 securities fall. The seven casks from Csanta's cellar 
 arrived opportunely. Two wagons laden with leaden 
 casks, and guarded by gendarmes with drawn sabres as 
 they went slowly through the streets, attracted the atten- 
 tion of passers-by. When it came to be known that 
 these casks were full of silver, and that all this silver 
 was to be paid as the first instalment of some Bonda- 
 vara shares, there was considerable excitement. Peru 
 and Brazil were opening their floodgates. The firm of 
 Kaulmann very naturally made as much as possible of 
 the event, as being a feather in their commercial cap. 
 The delivery arrived, as it happened, during the absence 
 of the chief cashier, which involved an immense amount 
 of running hither and thither in search of him, as it was 
 necessary Csanta should receive his receipt. In the 
 afternoon the shares were handed over and the silver 
 was counted. All this made much stir and business in 
 the Kaulmann Bank. Kaulmann intrusted the conduct 
 of the affair to his most capable clerk. He instructed 
 him how to act in regard to the matter, and added that 
 if the old Greek gave him a gratuity, he was to kiss his 
 hand, and to place himself altogether at his service. 
 This man's name was Spitzhase. 
 
 Later in the day Spitzhase brought Csanta his ac- 
 count, regularly drawn up, together with the shares, and 
 begged to inform his excellency " that he had brought 
 seven hundred gulden more than was necessary, for the 
 reason that since yesterday silver had risen one per 
 cent." 
 
 " H'm !" thou";ht Csanta, " this is an honest fellow ; I 
 
272 
 
 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 shall give him a gratuity." And he gave him a bank- 
 note of twenty gulden. 
 
 Spitzhase overpowered him with thanks; then took his 
 hand, and kissed it. 
 
 " H'm !" thought Csanta, " I have given him too 
 much ; perhaps five gulden would have been sufficient." 
 Aloud, he said : 
 
 " I made a mistake. Give me that note back ; I will 
 give you another.'" And he gave him a bank-note of 
 the value of five gulden. 
 
 Spitzhase thanked him warmly, and kissed his hand. 
 
 "H'm! this is really a good fellow — quite after my 
 heart. Give me back those five gulden ; here is another 
 note. I 'made a mistake." And he handed him a note 
 of fifty gulden. 
 
 Spitzhase kissed both his hands, and showered bless- 
 ings upon him. Csanta was now convinced that he 
 had made this man his friend for life. 
 
 "If I had brought the silver to-morrow, I should have 
 got more," he said, reflectively. 
 
 " No, you may believe me, to-day was the right mo- 
 ment ; to-morrow silver will fall two per cent." 
 
 " How do you know ?" 
 
 "Oh, I am acquainted with the weather on the stock- 
 exchange." 
 
 " You are ? Then why don't you speculate if you 
 know so well the ins and outs ?" 
 
 " Because one must have money, and I have none. I 
 can only dabble in trifling matters." 
 
 " Are you well known on 'change ?" 
 
 "I spend all my time there, except when I am 
 asleep." 
 
 " Then take me to the stock-exchange. I should like 
 to look about me." 
 
FILTHY LUCRE 273 
 
 Csanta meant, as soon as he could find a suitable pur- 
 chaser, to sell his Bondavara shares. 
 
 "One can go in the evening?" he asked, as they went 
 along. 
 
 "That is the most lively time, particularly on a day 
 like this." 
 
 Csanta was novv' introduced into the Temple of Mam- 
 mon. Even outside the door he could hear a strange 
 noise and tumult of voices, and as he stepped inside his 
 head almost reeled at the strange spectacle. The large 
 hall was stuffed full of men, who circulated in a narrow 
 circle. Each one spoke, or rather shrieked, as if all 
 were quarrelling. They gesticulated with their hands, 
 holding up pieces of paper in the air, making signs and 
 figures on their fingers, and screaming out names and 
 makins: offers until the noise was deafenins:. 
 
 Spitzhase, who was perfectly at home, led Csanta 
 through the throng. The old merchant was indignant 
 at the manner in which he was pushed and driven about, 
 no one even begging pardon for his rudeness. He 
 would have liked to know what was meant by the words 
 so constantly repeated, " I give !" " I take !" His atten- 
 tion, however, was at once riveted by another word 
 which seemed to be in every man's mouth, and which 
 gradually became plainer : " Puntafar ! Puntafar !" It 
 dawned upon him that it must be Bondavar. He 
 stopped and timidly asked one of those who were shriek- 
 ing, "Who wants 'Puntafar'.? What is the price at 
 which the Bondavara shares are selling?" 
 
 " Thirty over par." 
 
 Csanta's eyes blazed. " It is impossible ; it cannot 
 be !" he said. " Yesterday they were at twenty." 
 
 "That was yesterday. To-day they are thirty. If 
 
 you want to buy to-morrow you will have to pay thirty- 
 18 
 
2 74 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 five. The whole world is buying the scrip. A rich 
 nabob from India has brought all his silver here, and 
 bought Puntafar shares. The Dey of Morocco and a 
 Russian prince, who both own silver mines, have each 
 ordered ten thousand shares. Even the little folk, who 
 have only a few hundreds, are tearing the shares out of 
 one another's hands ; they won't have anything but 
 Puntafar. What will you take ?" 
 
 Csanta had very little idea that he united in his own 
 person the East Indian nabob, the Dey of Morocco, and 
 the Russian prince, as likewise that it was he who had 
 caused this uproar. Far from such an idea crossing his 
 mind, he believed that this man was making game of 
 him. 
 
 " Oh, sir," he said, " thirty gulden exchange is too 
 much. I can give you a thousand Bondavara shares at 
 five-and-twenty." 
 
 These words caused such a tumult as hardly ever had 
 been heard on 'change. Every one crowded round 
 Csanta; he was set upon from all sides — behind, before, 
 at his side, on his back — he was fairly mobbed. People 
 fought with one another over his head, and flourished 
 their fists in his face. 
 
 " Who is he ? Who is he ? A bear, a conspirator, a 
 thief, an agent ! Out with him ! Bonnet him ! Pitch 
 him out ! Twenty-five, will he take ? Give him twenty- 
 five blows on his back and tear his coat in pieces !" 
 
 Spitzhase could hardly manage to get him out. He 
 was in a deplorable condition when he issued forth, his 
 hat smashed, his clothes all awry, his face pale, his breath 
 short. Once in the open air his rescuer began to scold 
 him. 
 
 " What the devil did you do that for ? Just at the 
 moment when the cabal was silenced and trampled in 
 
FILTHY LUCRE 275 
 
 the dust, to come forward as one of them to run down 
 your own shares !" 
 
 " I did not want to run them down ; I only wanted to 
 ascertain if it was really the case that such an advance 
 on the price could be realized." 
 
 "Oh, that's the way with you," returned Spitzhase, in 
 an aggrieved tone. " Well, I can tell you the exchange 
 is not a good place to try jokes in. It was all quite au- 
 thentic. The Bondavara scrip is as sound as ready- 
 money. To-day it is thirty for scrip, eight-and-twenty 
 for gold ; to-morrow it will be thirty-two, and so on — al- 
 ways getting higher. If I had the money I would put 
 in my last farthing. I know what I know, and I have 
 studied the weather on 'change, but what I have learned 
 from Kaulmann I cannot tell ; my lips are sealed." 
 
 Upon this Csanta pressed the clerk very hard. " You 
 can tell me," he said ; " I am already in the boat. What 
 have you heard ?" 
 
 " Well," said Spitzhase, lowering his voice and looking 
 round cautiously, " what you say is true ; you are a large 
 holder of stock, so perhaps I may give you this hint. 
 Pimtafar has not reachedits highest point yet. Oho ! they 
 are very tricky who hold over. I am in the secret, and 
 there is a plan, the details of which I durst not reveal, 
 which will give such an impulse as will drive the shares 
 still higher. In six months one impulse will be given, 
 in another six months another. Oh, the world will open 
 its eyes and its ears ; but what I say to you, you will see ! 
 In a year's time Puntafar will be at one hundred over 
 par." 
 
 "A hundred !" repeated Csanta, falling back against 
 the wall in his astonishment. But he soon recovered 
 himself. He was angry with Spitzhase for treating him 
 as if he were a fool. 
 
276 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 "I tell you what you are," he said ; "you are a great 
 boaster. Leave me ; I shall get home by myself." 
 And he dismissed Spitzhase angrily. 
 
 The next morning his first word was to ask the waiter 
 for the papers. His eyes eagerly sought the exchange 
 column, and there, just as Spitzhase had prophesied, 
 silver currency had dropped two per cent. Bondavara 
 stood at thirty to thirty-two florins, and what is w'ritten 
 is gospel truth. 
 
 " Not one shall I sell !" cried Csanta, clapping his 
 hands. 
 
 And then he got up and dressed himself. Here was 
 a stroke of luck. It was like a fairy-tale ; a man had 
 only to leave the window open at night and next morn- 
 ing his pockets are full of gold. 
 
 He was swallowing his breakfast when Spitzhase was 
 ushered in, his face beaming with triumph. 
 
 "Now, what did I tell you .?" he cried, as he laid down 
 the paper before Csanta, pointing with his finger to the 
 exchange column. 
 
 The old Greek said not a word of having read the 
 good news , he nodded his head as he answered, with 
 great composure: 
 
 "Is it really true } Well, that is satisfactory." 
 
 " I rather think so ; by the evening they will be up to 
 thirty-two. Oh, if I had only some money !" 
 
 " Well, here is another note for you. Go and buy 
 yourself a share. There, don't kiss my hand. I can- 
 not allow it." But he did allow it. 
 
 "Don't sell the share," he went on; "keep it for 
 yourself. When the next instalment comes due I will 
 pay it for you. For God's sake, don't kiss my hand 
 again ! I will do more than that for you. If you kiss 
 my hand every time I shall have no hands left. Re- 
 
FILTHY LUCRE 277 
 
 member that I shall expect you to show your gratitude 
 in a more tangible manner. You must let me know the 
 first thing if the head of your bank is going to try any 
 tricks with the bonds. You will be sure to give me the 
 first news as to when I should sell. Do you understand 
 me? Good ! Now that you have a share yourself you 
 have an interest in the matter, and if we sell our shares 
 are we not entitled to a commission ?" 
 
 Spitzhase kissed every finger of the old man's hand. 
 
 " I implore one thing of you, master,"' he said , "don't 
 betray me to Kaulmann. If he found out that I be- 
 trayed his secrets to any one he would dismiss me on 
 the spot." 
 
 " Don't be afraid. You have to do with an honorable 
 gentleman," returned the Greek, with an air of dignity. 
 
 The honorable gentleman believed that he had won 
 over the honest clerk to betray the secrets of the honor- 
 able banker, his employer. It was an honorable game 
 all round. We shall see which of the honorable gentle- 
 men played it best. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 NO, EVELINE ! 
 
 It was high time Ivan returned to his coal-mine; he 
 was needed there. While he was fighting duels in Pesth, 
 strange things were happening in Bondathal. Not far 
 from his workmen's colony there arose enormous build- 
 ings with almost miraculous quickness. As often hap- 
 pens when no difficulty is made as to price, the only 
 question asked is, how soon shall the work be finished? 
 The shares had not yet been issued, and the company 
 had already spent in the interest of the undertaking a 
 million of money. Everything was pressed forward at 
 fever-heat. Here w^as a new invention for making tiles 
 by machinery, there a donkey-engine supplied the mate- 
 rials for building the walls. The earthworks were in a 
 most advanced condition, the chimneys smoked, the roofs 
 were covered, a whole street was already built, a new town 
 was rising as if by magic. 
 
 Of all this activity Ivan had been kept in ignorance 
 by his assistant, Raune, who had, likewise, been silent 
 as to another disturbing element which had made its 
 appearance for the first time among the workmen, and 
 which disputed the palm with "choke-damp" and "foul 
 air," and was quite as fatal as either. This new element 
 was " a strike.'' A portion of Ivan's workmen struck for 
 higher wages, otherwise they would join the new coal- 
 mine, which was called " The Gentleman's Colony." It 
 
NO, EVELINE! 279 
 
 offered nearly double the wages, certainly more than 
 the half again, of what Ivan paid. This happened after 
 Raune had explained to the men that he had accepted 
 the office of director, which had been offered to him by 
 the new company, and he naturally wished to take with 
 him the best and cleverest among Ivan's men, so that 
 they, too, might profit by the higher wages. Who could 
 resist such advantageous offers ? Miners are like all 
 other men ; they have their price. 
 
 Ivan now gnawed the bitter bread of self-reproach. 
 He saw the folly he had committed in taking into his 
 service and admitting into the secrets of the business 
 the paid director of a company created to bring about 
 his own ruin. 
 
 A scientific man is not a good business man. While 
 he was making investigations as to the probability of 
 animal life existing in the antediluvian strata of coal- 
 mines, he was blind to the danger of a rival company 
 close to his own factory. Nay, more ; he had allowed 
 himself to be hoodwinked by an inferior intelligence, and 
 had fallen into the trap set for him by his old friend 
 Felix. Ivan was philosopher enough to accommodate 
 himself to circumstances. There was little use, he told 
 himself, in crying over spilt milk ; he had broad shoul- 
 ders, and they should, if it were possible, push the wheel 
 of fortune. But though he said this, he had little hope 
 of succeeding. 
 
 On his return, and when he got, as he thought, to the 
 bottom of the evil, he called his workmen together. 
 
 " Comrades," he said, " a great undertaking has risen 
 up beside us ; the company of the new coal-mines offers 
 you wages which I give you my word of honor it is im- 
 possible to pay without considerable loss to themselves. 
 Up to the present I have worked my mines with a cer- 
 
28o BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 tain amount of profit; I offer you to-day, in addition to 
 your usual wages, a share out of this profit. For the 
 future we shall divide with one another what we earn. 
 At the end of the year I shall lay my accounts before 
 you ; one of your number, chosen by yourselves, shall 
 examine and audit them, and according to the wages of 
 each man and the work he has done he shall receive his 
 share. If you agree to this fair offer I shall continue the 
 work. If, however, you think it better for your interests 
 to take the higher wages offered by the company, I shall 
 not enter into competition with men who have millions 
 to spend ; it would be a folly on my part. I shall, there- 
 fore, sell them my mine, and you may then be certain of 
 one thing, that when they have both mines in their own 
 hands, and find that no rivalry is possible, the rate of 
 wages will be lowered. To those who stand by me I 
 offer a contract y6'r life ; the profits of this mine, so long 
 as I live, shall be divided between myself and my work- 
 men." 
 
 This was an excellent stroke, especially as the com- 
 pany could not imitate it. More than half the men 
 closed wath Ivan's offer, and undertook to remain with 
 him. A great number, however, influenced by paid 
 agents, who were sent about to stir them up, went over 
 to the "Gentleman's Colony." 
 
 Those who remained had a great deal to suffer from 
 the ones who left. Not a Sunday passed without fights 
 taking place between the two parties. 
 
 Ivan soon heard that his pow^erful rival had found a 
 way of checkmating him. His customers, to whom he 
 sent large consignments not only of coal but also of 
 copper and iron bars, wrote to him that the new Bonda- 
 vara Coal Company had offered the same class of goods 
 at fifty per cent, less, and that therefore, unless he was 
 
NO, EVELINE! 28 1 
 
 prepared to make a similar reduction, they could not 
 deal with him. Fifty per cent, higher wages and fifty 
 per cent, less profit means working for nothing. Raune 
 had Ivan's business in the hollow of his hand ; he could 
 ruin it, and he meant to do so. Ivan saw this quite 
 clearly, but he did not lose heart. He wrote to all his 
 former customers that it was not possible to give either 
 the coal or the iron a farthing cheaper, not if it hung 
 round his neck as a dead weight. The consequence 
 was his coal and his iron accumulated in his ware- 
 houses ; scarcely a wagon with his name was to be seen 
 in the streets of Bondathal. He had to work the mine 
 and the foundry for himself alone. 
 
 For the men who had remained true to him there was, 
 indeed, a bad outlook. Their former comrades jeered 
 at them in the open street. "Where is the profit?" 
 was a popular cry. Ivan tried to quiet the disap- 
 pointed men ; he asked them to wait patiently. By the 
 end of the year, he prophesied, they would be on the 
 right side. To give things for nothing wms not trade, 
 and if the company chose to do it he wasn't going to 
 follow such a suicidal example. 
 
 The great buildings of the new colony being now 
 completed, the directors of the company announced 
 that they would hold high festival in honor of the open- 
 ing of the undertaking. The principals, directors, man- 
 agers, shareholders were to come from Vienna and be 
 entertained at a banquet. The largest room in the fac- 
 tory was fitted up as a dining-room, the tables being 
 laid for workmen as well as for the distinguished com- 
 pany of strangers. It was widely circulated that the 
 prince w^as coming. The company had chosen him as 
 their president. Both the princes were patrons of com- 
 mercial and industrial undertakings, but Prince Theo- 
 
282 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 bald possessed an extraordinary financial talent; any 
 speculation he engaged in was a sound and sure one, so 
 it was said, as also that he had taken a million shares in 
 the new company. It was so far true that Kaulmann 
 had offered him this million, which was to increase the 
 value of the Bondavara property, but it is needless to 
 remark that the million of shares had no tangible exist- 
 ence. Previous to the inaugural ceremony a religious 
 service was to take place, and, as was only fitting, this 
 was to be conducted by the eminent Abbe Samuel. 
 Before such distinguished guests it would hardly be in 
 keeping to have a man such as pastor Mohak, although 
 it was true that he slaved all through the year among 
 the people. 
 
 The guests came from the castle, where they had ar- 
 rived the previous day. They drove into the town in 
 splendid coaches. That of Prince Theobald came first, 
 with his armorial bearings emblazoned on the panels. 
 Behind two footmen with dazzling liveries of scarlet and 
 gold. On the box the coachman with a powdered wig 
 and three-cornered hat. The coach drew up at the 
 church door, the footmen jumped down and opened the 
 carriage door. There alighted first an old gentleman 
 with white hair, a clean-shaven, soft, friendly face, and a 
 very distinguished air. He gave his hand to a splen- 
 didly dressed lady in a velvet and lace costume, who 
 descended from the equipage with graceful nonchalance. 
 The crowd saw her violet velvet boots and embroidered 
 silk stockings. 
 
 "What a great lady !" cried the boors to one another. 
 "She must be a princess, for all the gentlemen at the 
 church door received her hat in hand." 
 
 Only one man in a rough workman's coat called out : 
 "Evila!" 
 
NO, EVELINE ! 283 
 
 It was Peter Saffran who had recognized her. 
 
 The lady heard the exclamation, and turned a laugh- 
 ing face to the crowd outside. 
 
 " No," she said ; " it is Evel'mer 
 
 She bowed her head sweetly as she crossed the thresh- 
 old of the church. 
 
 Eveline's vanity had brought her to Bondathal; she 
 wanted to show her silk stockings to her former com- 
 panions, who had seen her in wooden shoes with no 
 stockings, except on occasions. It was the vanity of 
 the peasant girl — not pride, take notice, but mere van- 
 ity. She did not look down upon her friends, as some 
 upstarts do ; she wanted to do good to every one of 
 them. She was ready to give them money, to earn their 
 grateful thanks, particularly to those ^Yho had been 
 kind to her in the old days ; to those especially she 
 wished to prove that, although she had risen to a high 
 position, she had never forgotten how much she owed 
 to them. She would now, in her turn, do them good. 
 Eveline had looked forward to seeing her former bride- 
 groom. Most probably he had long since consoled 
 himself for her loss, and had married another. A pres- 
 ent of money would make him happy. She had also 
 counted on meeting Ivan. She had the most grateful 
 remembrance of his goodness, and she was glad to think 
 she had it in her power to prove her gratitude by deeds. 
 She could not give him a present, but she could tell him 
 of the dangers that threatened his property from the 
 large undertaking of the company, and she promised 
 herself to use all her influence to make the best terms 
 for Ivan in case he w^ould consent to arrange matters 
 with his gigantic rival. 
 
 Yes, it was indeed the vain desire of doing good that 
 had brought Eveline to Bondathal. She had arranged 
 
284 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 how and where she would have her first meeting with 
 Ivan. 
 
 The notal3ilities and proprietors of the neighborhood 
 had been invited in the name of the prince to the ban- 
 quet, which was to inaugurate the opening of the works. 
 No one could refuse such an invitation. It was true 
 that when Eveline had proposed to the Abbe Samuel 
 that he should undertake the office of intermediary, and 
 call on his learned colleague Behrend, and bring him 
 with him to the banquet, the abbe had exclaimed not 
 for all the world would he venture to propose such a 
 thing as that Behrend should wait upon their excellen- 
 cies. And when he said this he knew very well what 
 he was saying. 
 
 To return to the church door. As Peter Saffran stood 
 stock-still, gazing after the vanishing figure of his former 
 betrothed, he felt some one tap him on the shoulder; 
 turning round, he saw standing behind him Felix Kaul- 
 mann. Peter's face went deadly white, partly with fear, 
 more from inward rage. Felix, however, laughed care- 
 lessly, with the indifference of a great man, to what was, 
 in his opinion, only a good joke. 
 
 "Good-day, fellow. Mind you come to the dinner," 
 he said, as he followed the prince into the church. 
 
 Peter Saffran remained gaping at the noble gentlemen 
 as they got out of their carriages, and when the crowd 
 began to move into the church he followed in the stream. 
 He made his way into the darkest corner, before the 
 shrine of a saint, knelt down, with both his hands laid 
 upon the wall and his head upon his folded arms, and 
 there he made a vow — an awful, terrible vow. Those who 
 saw him in his kneeling attitude, with bent head, im- 
 agined he had been struck at last by grace, and was 
 repenting of his sins. When he had finished his prayer, 
 
NO, EVELINE ! 285 
 
 or his curse, he got up quickly, and, without waiting for 
 the end of the splendid ceremonial, hastened out of the 
 church, casting a wild look behind him as he went, for 
 he imagined that the saint in the shrine was pointing her 
 finger at him and calling out, "Take him prisoner! He 
 is a murderer !" 
 
 The church service being over, the distinguished com- 
 pany drove to the company's colony, and went over the 
 works. They drove under triumphal arches which were 
 erected in the streets, and were received by a deputa- 
 tion of workmen. The best orator made a speech, which 
 would have been very eloquent only he stuck fast in the 
 middle. The young girl who recited some verses was 
 more happy in her delivery, and her youngest sister pre- 
 sented a bouquet to Eveline, who kissed the child. 
 
 "Ah ! you are little Marie. Don't you know me?" 
 
 The child, however, was too frightened at this beau- 
 tiful lady to make her an answer. 
 
 The guests visited the buildings under the guidance of 
 Herr Raune, who spared them nothing — the factory, the 
 machinery, the iron-works. They were terribly tired of 
 it all, and glad to get into the large rooms which had 
 been temporarily arranged as the banqueting-hall. Here 
 they were received by two bands playing Rakoczy's 
 " March." To the banquet came a crowd of guests alike 
 invited and uninvited — gentlemen, peasants, clergymen, 
 and Bohemians. Eveline, however, looked in vain for 
 her former master. Ivan was not among the guests. He 
 had not even sent an excuse. What an uncouth man ! 
 and yet, perhaps, he had reason. If you drink before- 
 hand to the skin of the bear, the bear has every right to 
 decline being present at the feast. Peter Saffran, how- 
 ever, came ; he was treated as the chief guest, and given 
 the first place at the workman's table. This struck even 
 
286 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 his obtuse senses. Looking round he saw he was the 
 only representative of the Bondathal mine. 
 
 The banquet lasted far on into the evening. Gentle- 
 men and workmen were exceedingly merry. Towards 
 the close of the feast Felix sent for Peter. He pre- 
 sented him to the prince. 
 
 " Here is the brave miner of whom I have told your 
 excellency." 
 
 Saffran felt the blood rush to his face. 
 
 ''Well, my good friend," continued Felix, "how has 
 the world treated you since I last saw you ? Are yoia 
 still afraid of ' the doctor ' } There's a plaster for you ; 
 it will heal any remains of your former injuries." So 
 saying, he took out of his pocket-book a note for a hun- 
 dred gulden and put it into Peter's hand. " No," he 
 added, " don't thank me, but thank the kind lady there, 
 who remembered you." 
 
 He pointed to Eveline, and Peter kissed her hand, or, 
 rather, her beautiful mauve glove. 
 
 What a transformation in the man-eater ! He had 
 grown obedient and gentle. 
 
 " That good lady," continued Felix, " wishes you well. 
 At her request his excellency, Prince Theobald, has 
 given you the post of overseer in the new company's 
 colony, at the yearly salary of a thousand gulden. What 
 do you say to that ?" 
 
 What could he say ? He kissed the hand of his ex- 
 cellency. 
 
 Kaulmann filled a large goblet to the brim with foam- 
 ing champagne and handed it to Peter. 
 
 " Toss that off," he said. " But first drink to the long 
 life of his excellency, our generous prince." 
 
 " And to the health of this dear lady," added the 
 prince, gallantly, at which the trumpets sounded shrilly, 
 
NO, EVELINE ! 2S7 
 
 and Peter Saffran, the prince, the banker, and Eveline 
 drank to one another. 
 
 This scene dehghted the working-men. Here was no 
 pride, the gentlemen clinking glasses with the common 
 miner. This was the right spirit. 
 
 Peter Saffran, meantime, was wondering within him- 
 self which of the two gentlemen was Eveline's husband, 
 and in what relation did the other stand to her ? He 
 emptied his glass and put it down again, but it did not 
 occur to him to put the question to either of the three, 
 therefore it remained unanswered. 
 
 The festival closed with a splendid display of fire- 
 works. The sparks from the Catherine wheels fell in a 
 shower of molten gold into Ivan's mine. 
 
 The following morning Saffran came to Behrend and 
 informed him that he had taken service with the com- 
 pany. 
 
 "You also ?" said Ivan, bitterly. "Well, go !" 
 
 Peter was paler than ever. He had expected re- 
 proaches for his treachery, but as none came he sud- 
 denly burst out with what had been for some time in his 
 mind. 
 
 " Why did you that time call your friend a doctor ?" 
 
 " Because he is one. He is a doctor of law." 
 
 Saffran raised his finger in a threatening manner. 
 " Nevertheless, it was very wrong of you to call him that 
 time a doctor." And then he turned on his heel and 
 went his way. 
 
 Ivan's strength of mind was more and more put to 
 the proof. Each day brought fresh defections. His 
 best men left him to go over to his enemy, who, like 
 some horrid monster, raised large furnaces which 
 crushed the very life out of his smaller chimneys. His 
 business friends fell away from him. They looked upon 
 
288 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 him as an obstinate fool, carrying on such an unequal 
 fight ; but the darker the outlook the stronger grew his 
 determination to see the affair to the bitter end. He 
 would not leave his old home, his own little territory; 
 he would carry on the unequal, perhaps the fruitless, 
 task of opposing his apparently triumphant adversary. 
 
 In the depth of his misfortune one true, reliable friend 
 remained to him, and saved him from utter despair. 
 This friend was the multiplication-table. Before he be- 
 gan to calculate he put these questions to himself, as if 
 he were some one else : 
 
 " Is this colony a company of commercial men ? No, 
 a company of speculators. A joint-stock company? 
 No, it is a game of chance. Is it a factory ? No, a 
 tower of Babel." Then he went on to consider this 
 point. "Two and two make four, and, turn it how you 
 like, it makes nothing hut four; and if all the kings and 
 emperors in Europe, with decrees and ukases, were to 
 tell their individual subjects that two and two make five, 
 and if the pope fulminated a bull to enjoin on all true 
 believers that two and two make five, and if even the 
 best financial authority was to declare that we should 
 count two and two as five, all these — kings, emperors, 
 popes, and accountants — would not alter the fact that 
 two and two make four. These generous shareholders 
 of the Bondavara Company are working against a well- 
 known fact. The new company builds, creates, invents, 
 contracts, buys, and sells without taking any heed of the 
 primary rule of arithmetic ; therefore it is clear that the 
 company is not working for the future, but merely for 
 present gain. Therefore, I will live down this swindle." 
 
 At the end of the year the company gave their share- 
 holders a surprise. The Bondavara shares began to 
 
NO, EVELINE ! 289 
 
 fluctuate between thirty-five and forty florins exchange, 
 although the date of the payment of second instalments 
 of capital was at hand. At such times all the early 
 bonds are handed in. Csanta thought this would be a 
 good time for him to bring in his shares and to get his 
 silver back. He was contemplating a visit to the bank 
 when he received a private note from Spitzhase, putting 
 him on his guard not to fall into such a mistake as to 
 sell. " This very day the board of directors had met, 
 and a resolution had been carried unanimously that at 
 the next general meeting the shareholders should be 
 surprised by getting a bonus of twenty per cent., upon 
 which the shares would at once rise higher. This was a 
 profound secret, but he could not allow his good friend 
 to remain in ignorance." 
 
 And at the next general meeting the commercial world 
 heard the same story. The first two months of the 
 Bondavara Coal Company had been such a signal suc- 
 cess that, besides the usual rate of interest, the directors 
 were enabled to offer upon each share a bonus of six 
 florins, which amounted (with the usual rate) to thirty- 
 five per cent., an unheard-of profit in two months. 
 
 When Ivan read this in the newspaper he burst into a 
 loud laugh. He knew, no one better, what amount of 
 profit the factory had made, but it is easy to manipulate 
 accounts so that the ledger presents these remarkable 
 results. What do the unbusiness-like, credulous share- 
 holders understand of such matters ? The board of di- 
 rectors know very well how matters really stand ; but 
 they have their own ends to serve. The outside world 
 may bleed; what is that to them? There is no court- 
 martial in the stock-exchange, and no justice for the 
 injured. 
 
 Csanta did not sell his shares. He paid his second 
 
290 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 instalment in silver pieces, rejoiced over the bonus, and 
 blessed Spitzhase for preventing him from selling his 
 bonds at thirty-five. They had now risen to forty florins, 
 and continued to rise. 
 
 Ivan watched this diabolical swindle with calmness. 
 He said to himself : 
 
 " How long will the game last?" 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 RESPECT FOR HALINA CLOTH 
 
 It was a singular coincidence that in the same mo- 
 ment that Ivan said to himself, " How long will this 
 game last?" Prince Waldemar, meeting Felix Kaul- 
 mann, beaming with triumph, at the exchange, put to him 
 the question, " How long, do you think, will this comedy 
 last ?" 
 
 " The third act is still wanting," replied the banker. 
 
 "Yes, the third instalment Then I shall hoist you 
 on your own petard." 
 
 " We will see about that." 
 
 The bears could not imagine what Kaulmann had in 
 his head. That he had a plan was certain ; what it was 
 no one knew but the Abbe Samuel and Prince Theobald. 
 
 The third act was not the instalment ; it was the Bon- 
 davara Railway. This question bristled with difficulties. 
 The government was irritated against Hungary, and in 
 their irritation would not listen to any proposals as to 
 railways and the like. Even the country party was 
 sulky. Let the country go to the devil ; what did they 
 care? And no doubt they had justification for their 
 righteous indignation. Every Hungarian who wore 
 "broadcloth" was against them. Thebody of officials, the 
 middle class, the intelligence of the country, preferred 
 to lay down place and to give up government patronage 
 sooner than submit to the chimeras which the cabinet 
 
292 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 at Vienna indulged in by way of government. Good ! 
 So far as officials went, men were easily got to fill the 
 places the others had resigned, for when a good table is 
 spread, needless to say, guests are not hard to find. The 
 hired troop pocketed their salary, took the oath, stuffed 
 their pockets, but did nothing to promote the govern- 
 ment measures. Between the men who had resigned 
 and the newly appointed officials there was only this 
 difference : that one set openly declared they would do 
 nothing ; the others pretended to do something, but 
 found it impossible to accomplish anything. They tried 
 to shove, but the cart would not move an inch. From 
 those who wore cloth among the middle classes the gov- 
 ernment had to expect nothing, that was evident. For- 
 merly those who wore silk and satin acted as a sort of 
 counterpoise — the high and might}', and the magnates^ 
 the lawyers, and the priests— but now all these held 
 aloof. The primate remonstrated, the bishops advised 
 the nobility, the higher classes collected in Pesth and 
 talked treason. 
 
 Fiedere si nequeo superas — 
 
 Let us turn now to the Halina cloth. Halina cloth 
 is, as every one knows, the commonest description of 
 cloth, only worn by the poorer classes. This cloth was 
 suddenly adopted in the capital of the Austrian empire. 
 This was no capricious freak of fashion set in motion by 
 some high lady who " imagined " her elegance could give 
 dignity to the roughest material ; this was another affair 
 altogether, inaugurated by the legislative body of the 
 kingdom, who were all clothed in Halina. Well, what 
 has any one to say against this ? Why not ? Are we 
 not democrats ? It is true that these right-minded men 
 hardly understood a word of the language in which the 
 legislative debates were carried on, but this had the in- 
 
RESPECT FOR HALINA CLOTH 293 
 
 estimable advantage that they could make no long 
 speeches, and therefore could in no way impede the 
 course of business. Neither did they possess any 
 knowledge of the laws of nations, the rights of citizens, 
 the complicated details of finance, nor the construction 
 of budgets ; and this pastoral innocence entitled them 
 to universal respect and confidence, for it placed them 
 above suspicion. No one could suspect these honor- 
 able deputies of siding with the government because 
 they held government appointments. 
 
 We repeat that the introducer of Halina cloth to be 
 worn by the legislative assembly was a man of talent. 
 But in Hungary, also, the fashion should be adopted. 
 Were there not one hundred and eight seats in the leg- 
 islative assembly ready for so many excellent men ? 
 These should not be left vacant. To fill these seats, 
 however, there was one lever necessary, and that was 
 the influence of the clerical party. 
 
 The clergy in Hungary were such poor creatures, so 
 ignorant and uneducated, that they actually preferred to 
 remain faithful to the traditions of Radoczy than to 
 adopt the new-fangled ideas promulgated at Vienna. 
 Even such an insignificant pastor as Herr Mahok re- 
 turned the decree which had been sent to him from 
 headquarters, with directions to read it on Sundays to 
 his flock, saying that it was a mistake ; he was not the 
 village crier. If the government wished to issue a 
 protocol, let it be done in the market-place, by order of 
 the judge of the district, and accompanied by the drum 
 and trumpet. The pulpit was not the place for govern- 
 ment protocols. The like refusal came from every pas- 
 tor in Hungary, and in face of this flat rebellion the 
 ministers resolved that the power of the clerical party 
 should be broken. 
 
294 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 "Now is the time to act," said Felix Kaulmann to the 
 Abbe Samuel. 
 
 The primate had been in Vienna; he had been re- 
 fused an audience; he had fallen into disgrace. The 
 Bishop of Siebenburg had been elevated to the primate's 
 seat, and given all its honors and dignities. The cler- 
 ical party in Hungary was doomed. Against it the 
 sword was drawn ; the moment was approaching when 
 it would be cut in two. 
 
 The Bondavara Railway was the gradns ad Fai-jias- 
 siim. If it succeeded, if it was worked properly, the 
 house of Kaulmann would rank with that of the Pereires 
 and Strousbergs ; then, also, the pontifical loan upon the 
 Church property in Hungary could be effected. All 
 this with one blow ! Rank in the world, power in the 
 country, influence in the empire, success in the money- 
 market, and the triumph of the Church. 
 
 The Abbe Samuel had begun his ambitious career. 
 The first task was to introduce the hundred and eight 
 Hungarian wearers of Halina cloth into the legislative 
 body, and thus to secure the Bondavara Railway, the 
 title of bishop, and a seat in the House of Peers. These 
 three things lay in the hollow of his hand, for he had 
 three strings ready to pull, which would set in motion 
 the statesman, the financier, and the influence of woman. 
 
 On one Saturday Ivan, to his surprise, received a 
 visit from Raune, who, in a few words, stated the matter 
 which had brought him. The proprietors and inhabi- 
 tants of the different parts of Bondathal wished to send 
 a deputation to Vienna, to lay before the government 
 and Parliament their request that the means of com- 
 munication between their mountainous territory and the 
 other parts of the empire should be put on a better foot- 
 
RESPECT FOR HALINA CLOTH 295 
 
 fng. This matter interested Ivan equally with the rest, 
 and therefore it would be desirable that he and his 
 workmen should attend the mass-meeting which would 
 be held on the next day. 
 
 Ivan at once refused all co-operation. "We live," he 
 said, "under exceptional laws, which forbid political 
 meetings. This mass-meeting has a political object, 
 and therefore I refuse to disobey the law." 
 
 In spite of this protest the assembly took place next 
 day, and the Abbe Samuel made a brilliant speech. 
 His dignified appearance imposed respect, his proposal 
 was intelligible and for the general good ; its usefulness 
 could not be gainsaid. To insure its popularity the 
 astute abbe took care not to introduce into his speech 
 the hated word " Reichstag." The resolution was car- 
 ried unanimously that a deputation of twelve men should 
 be chosen to proceed at once to Vienna, and there 
 present the wishes of the people. The twelve delegates 
 were then chosen by the abbe, and his choice was re- 
 ceived with loud shouts of approbation. The Bondavara 
 shareholders came forward with unexampled generosity, 
 and presented each member of the deputation not only 
 the price of the journey, but a cloak made of Halina 
 cloth, a hat, and a pair of boots. Twelve new suits ! 
 That was worth going to Vienna for. Still, it went 
 against the grain. A peasant is suspicious; they don't 
 care to crack nuts with gentlemen ; they mistrust pres- 
 ents that most probably will be dearly bought. If any 
 man in a black coat had made the proposal it would 
 have encountered vigorous opposition, but a priest, a 
 distinguished priest, his advice can safely be followed ; 
 there is nothing to be afraid of when he is at the head 
 of the deputation. All will go well, even although they 
 may have to undertake heavy responsibilities which may 
 
296 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 some day involve loss. But what loss ? Ah ! time will 
 tell. Once on a time twelve men went to Vienna, and 
 sold the rights of their fellow-countrymen to the devil. 
 God knows what might happen, only that the priest is 
 with them; there is the plank of safety. 
 
 Nevertheless, the twelve men had to swear, man to 
 man, before they put on the new suits, upon their souls, 
 that they would deny that they could write. They were 
 to sign nothing, and if they were asked if such a one in 
 Bondathal had houses and fields, and, above all, sons, 
 they were not to give any answer. 
 
 The deputation started in a couple of days after the 
 meeting, under the guidance of the abbe. Peter Saffran 
 went also. He had been named one of the twelve, for 
 he was specially wanted in Vienna. 
 
 A day or so later Ivan was cited before the military 
 officer commanding the district; he was accused of 
 having acted against the law by causing the " Reichstag" 
 to be lowered in the eyes of the people, of having kept 
 the people, especially his own workmen, from taking 
 part in legal demonstrations, of having insulted mem- 
 bers of the legislature, and of having allied himself with 
 secret societies. He was cautioned to avoid anything 
 of the sort in future. The next time things would be 
 more serious ; he was at liberty to go this time un- 
 punished. 
 
 Ivan knew perfectly well from what quarter this de- 
 nunciation had come. To destroy his business utterly 
 it would be necessary to place its owner for a year in 
 confinement ; his innocence would then be established, 
 and he would be allowed to go scot-free. In the mean- 
 time his property would be ruined. It was lucky for 
 Ivan that on this occasion the jailer's wife was ill. It 
 would have been necessary to remove her from the rooms 
 
RESPECT FOR HALINA CLOTH 297 
 
 which were set apart for prisoners under suspicion, and 
 so Ivan was allowed to go his way. 
 
 Ah, it was a great day when the twelve men from 
 Bond'athal, in the twelve new suits of Halina cloth, 
 arrived in the metropolis. Here they are ! Here are 
 the Hungarians, the indomitable sons of the soil. A 
 deputation to the Reichsrath, an acknowledgment of 
 the February patent, the first pioneers ! They deserve 
 three times three. 
 
 All the newspapers hastened to congratulate them; 
 the leading articles of all political shades were full of 
 this new and remarkable demonstration. 
 
 The minister gave the deputation a private audience, 
 where the abbe set forth their demand in a well-ex- 
 pressed speech, laying great stress upon the fact that 
 it was the people themselves who wished to free their 
 country from its present condition, having learned to 
 distinguish their real benefactors from those false 
 prophets who wished to condemn them to a baneful 
 and ruinous inactivity. The abbe dwelt expressly upon 
 the great intelligence of the men who formed the depu- 
 tatio^n. In return his excellency the minister pressed 
 the hand of the abbe, and assured him that the bish- 
 opric would soon be vacant, and that it would be his 
 care to see that a loyal prelate should fill the seat. His 
 excellency then entered into conversation with the 
 members of the deputation, and as none of them under- 
 stood a word of his language, they were much pleased 
 with what he said. His excellency, having been told by 
 the abbe that Peter Saffran was the most distinguished 
 of the party, took especial notice of him. He pressed 
 his hand, while he expressed a hope that the members 
 of the deputation would attend the morning sitting; 
 
298 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 places would be reserved in the gallery— for the present 
 in the gallery. 
 
 Peter promised for his fellow-members. He could 
 speak German as well as French ; he had picked up 
 both languages during his ship experiences. 
 
 All this time the minister had said nothing as to the 
 grant to the Bondathal Railway, and that was the prin- 
 cipal thing. 
 
 At the next sitting of the Reichsrath the front row of 
 the gallery was reserved for the distinguished guests. 
 They sat in arm-chairs, leaning their elbows on the 
 cushions, and letting their round hats hang over the rails. 
 
 His excellency the minister gave a discourse which 
 lasted over an hour. The opposition maintained that 
 during his speech his excellency had glanced fifty-two 
 times at the gallery, to see the effect he was producing 
 upon the Hungarians. One fell asleep, and let his hat 
 fall into the hall. The hat fell upon one of the deputies, 
 and awoke him from a sweet doze. 
 
 For three days this trivial circumstance gave food to 
 the government papers; then it became the absolute 
 property of the accredited wit or fun journals, which put 
 into the mouths of the Hungarians all manner of things 
 which they had never said. Never mind ; those excel- 
 lent men couldn't read German, so it didn't matter. 
 They stuck fast to their arm-chairs in the gallery as long 
 as the sitting lasted ; they were more comfortable than 
 their beds. 
 
 The last evening of their stay they were taken to the 
 theatre. Not to the Burg Theatre — that would not do 
 for them — but to the Treumann Theatre, where a piece 
 was playing suitable for them, with plenty of fun, sing- 
 ing, dancing, laughing ; and the great joke of all was 
 that the principal part was to be played by the beautiful 
 
RESPECT FOR HALINA CLOTH 299 
 
 Eveline, Fraa von Kaulmann. Will Peter Saffran rec- 
 ognize her ? 
 
 It had not been possible to get an engagement at the 
 Opera-house for Eveline, for there was an Italian sea- 
 son running. When it finished there would be a pros- 
 pect of an engagement for her if she first learned the 
 routine of acting at some less important theatre, and 
 grew accustomed to the footlights. Therefore, she 
 played en cwiateiir on the boards of the Treumann The- 
 atre. Her natural gifts and her extraordinary beauty 
 caused a sensation. The jcuncsse doree went mad over 
 this new favorite of the hour. The piece which was 
 played in honor of the peasants was one of Offenbach's 
 frivolous operas, in which the ladies appear in the very 
 scantiest of costumes. The noble portion of the audi- 
 ence enjoy these displays more than do the poorer ; it 
 did not, at all events, amuse the simple folk in Halina 
 cloth. The ballet, with the lightly clothed nymphs, 
 their coquettish movements, their seductive smiles, their 
 bold display of limbs, and their short petticoats, was 
 not to the taste of the Bondavara miners. It was true 
 that the girls in the coal-pit wore no petticoats to speak 
 of, but then they were working. Who thought anything 
 of that? Chivalry belongs to the peasant as much as to 
 the gentleman ; the former indeed practise the motto, 
 " Honi soit qui mal y pense " more than do their better- 
 educated superiors. But now as Eveline entered they 
 felt ashamed. She came on as a fairy or goddess, con- 
 cealed in gold-colored clouds ; the clouds were, how- 
 ever, transparent. Peter glowed with rage to think all 
 the world could penetrate this slight transparency; he 
 burned with jealous fury as Eveline smiled, coquetted, 
 cast glances here, there, and was stared at through 
 a hundred opera-glasses. Peter forgot that this was 
 
300 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 only a stage, and that the fairies who played their parts 
 upon it for an hour or so were many of them most vir- 
 tuous women, excellent wives and daughters ; for what 
 happens on the stage is only play, not actuality. The 
 former bridegroom did not reason in this wise. You 
 see, he was an uneducated peasant in coarse Halina 
 cloth, and his ignorant mind was filled with horror, dis- 
 gust, rage. That she should allow herself to be kissed, 
 to be made love to — shame ! No, my good Peter, it was 
 no shame, but a great honor. Out of the boxes bou- 
 quets and wreaths fell on the stage ; there was hardly a 
 place where she could put her feet; it was all flowers. 
 The house resounded with applause. This was not 
 shame, but honor — certainly not of the same kind that 
 would be offered to a saint or a good woman ; it was 
 more the worship offered to an idol, and most women 
 like to be worshipped as idols. 
 
 Peter told himself all the sex are alike, and comforted 
 himself with the thought that not one of his companions 
 would recognize Eveline. But Peter took a sore heart 
 back to his inn. 
 
 In the hall he met the abbe, and asked him, "When 
 are we going back ?" 
 
 "Are you weary of Vienna, Peter?" 
 
 " I am." 
 
 " Have a little patience. To-morrow we must pay a 
 visit to a charming lady." 
 
 "What have we to do with charming ladies.''" 
 
 " Don't ask the why or the wherefore. If we want to 
 attain our end we must leave no means untried. We 
 must beg this lady to interest herself for us. One word 
 from her to his excellency the minister will do more 
 than if we said a whole litany." 
 
 "Very good; then we had better see her." 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 TWO SUPPLIANTS 
 
 The next day, at eleven o'clock, Abbe Samuel came 
 to fetch his followers, and conduct them to the house of 
 the influential lady whose one word had more weight 
 with his excellency than the most carefully arranged 
 speeches of priests and orators. 
 
 The carriage stopped before a splendid palace ; a 
 porter in a magnificent scarlet livery, with a bear-skin 
 cap, answered the bell, and between a double row 
 of marble pillars they ascended the steps. The stair- 
 case was also of marble, covered with a soft, thick car- 
 pet. The school-master at home, if he had a bit of this 
 stuff, would have made a fine coat of it. Up the stair- 
 case were such beautiful statues that the poor peasants 
 would have liked to kneel to kiss their hands. The 
 staircase was roofed in with glass and heated with hot 
 air, so that the lovely hot-house plants and costly china 
 groups suffered no injury from the cold air. In the 
 anteroom servants wearing silver epaulettes conducted 
 the visitors into the drawing-room. The sight almost 
 took away their breath. There was no wall to be seen ; 
 it was panelled in the most sumptuous silk brocade ; the 
 curtains of the same texture had gold rods, and splendid 
 pictures in rich frames hung on the silk panels. The 
 upper portion of the windows was of stained glass, such 
 as is seen in cathedrals, and opposite the windows was 
 
302 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 a large fireplace of white marble, upon whose mantel- 
 piece stood a wonderful clock, with a beautiful figure 
 which moved in time to the melodious tick. The fur- 
 niture was all of mahogan)'. From the ceiling, upon 
 whicli the arabesques in gold were a feast to the e)'e, 
 there hung a lustre with a hundred lights, whose thou- 
 sand glass drops sent out all the prismatic colors of the 
 rainbow. 
 
 The good peasants of Bondathal had hardly time to 
 take in the wonders of this fairy palace when a gentle- 
 man in a black coat and a spotless white tie came out 
 of an adjoining room. This grand personage, whom 
 they imagined to be the master of the house, turned out 
 to be an equally important person — the groom of the 
 chambers. He informed them that his mistress was in 
 the next room, and ready to receive them. 
 
 There was no door to this inner apartment, only cur- 
 tains of heavy damask, such as church banners are 
 made of. This second drawing-room was still more 
 wonderful than the first. The walls were panelled in 
 dove-colored silk. From the ceiling to the floor there 
 were enormous mirrors set in china frames, and be- 
 tween each mirror were consoles with marble statuettes 
 representing dancing nymphs. The stone floor was 
 covered with a soft carpet, into which the foot sank as 
 into summer grass. The fireplace was of black marble, 
 with a silver grating. The furniture was of the Ver- 
 sailles pattern ; tables and chairs, arm-chairs and foot- 
 stools, of delicate coloring ; chairs of Sevres, with feet 
 and elbow rests ornamented with delicate flower- gar- 
 lands and charming Watteau figures. Every piece of 
 furniture was a masterpiece. Upon the centre -table 
 and consoles were Japanese vases of different and most 
 elegant shapes. In one of the windows an aquari- 
 
TWO SUPPLIANTS 303 
 
 um had been constructed full of gold-fish and sea- 
 anemones. 
 
 The poor peasants did not notice all these beautiful ob- 
 jects ; their attention was fixed upon their own reflections 
 in the long glasses, and which in their ignorance they 
 imagined were other deputations, headed by another 
 abbe wearing a gold cross. But even this strange spec- 
 tacle was lost sight of in their amazement at the beauty 
 of the great lady who now came forward to receive them. 
 She was a lovely vision. Her dress of violet silk was 
 covered with the most costly lace, her black hair fell in 
 curls over her shoulders; her face was so beautiful, so 
 fascinating, so dignified, that every man in the deputa- 
 tion was ready to fall at her feet. 
 
 Peter Saffran was the only one who recognized her; 
 it was Eveline, his promised bride. 
 
 Now the abbe, bowing low, addressed her in most 
 respectful language, as he laid before her the desire of 
 the deputation, that she would accord her powerful pro- 
 tection to the Bondathal population. The lady answered 
 most graciously, and promised that, as far as possible, 
 she would exert her influence. She was heart and soul 
 in the matter, for she added, smiling : 
 
 " I am myself a child of Bondathal." 
 
 At these words the deputation exchanged glances, 
 and every one thought she must be the daughter or wife 
 of one of the Bondavara magnates. Only Saffran was 
 gloomy. 
 
 '' What is she ?" he thought. " Only last night she was 
 singing, dancing, and acting; her beauty was displayed 
 to the eyes of a crow^l, who looked at her through opera- 
 glasses, while I had to cover my eyes with my hat so as 
 not to look on her degradation, and here to-day she is a 
 sort of queen, promising us her influence with cabinet 
 
304 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 ministers. What is the truth? Was last night a comedy, 
 or is to-day a clever farce played by her and the priest ?" 
 
 You see, Peter Saffran had been in the Fiji Islands, 
 and he remembered how amazed the savages had been 
 when the white man washed the black from his hands, 
 and showed their natural color ; only here it was the 
 whole body that was in question. 
 
 The abbe', who seemed highly pleased with the success 
 of his interview, now gave those behind him a sign to 
 move on, and bowed respectfully to the lady, who whis- 
 pered a few words in his ear. 
 
 The abbe' stopped Peter Saffran as he was leaving 
 the room, and said, in a low voice : 
 
 "You are to remain ; this kind lady wishes to speak 
 with you." 
 
 Saffran felt the blood rush to his head. He almost 
 tottered, and as he returned to the room he could hardly 
 move. But Eveline hastened to him, holding out both 
 her hands. She had taken off her gloves, and he felt the 
 soft, velvety clasp of her fingers as she pressed his 
 horny hand in hers ; he heard in his ear the sweet, fresh 
 ring of her voice, to which he had often listened. 
 
 "Ah, Peter, say a word to me— a kind word;" and she 
 patted him two or three times on the back. " Are you 
 still angry with me? There, Peter, don't be vexed any 
 more. Stay and dine with me, and we shall drink to our 
 reconciliation." 
 
 And she put her arm into his, and stroked his cheek 
 with her delicate little hand, which looked as if it had 
 never known what hardship was. 
 
 Eveline had kept religiously to her promise of always 
 informing Prince Theobald when she expected guests, 
 and the prince reserved to himself the right of a veto if 
 
TWO SUPPLIANTS 305 
 
 he did not approve of their reception, for there were 
 among the dilettante^ and even among apparently most 
 respectable gentlemen, certain individuals who should 
 not have the entree to the drawing-room of a lady who is 
 not living under her husband's roof. 
 
 The prince liked pleasant society, and, if he approved 
 of the company, enjoyed himself all the more that Eve- 
 line did the honors for him. 
 
 On this particular day Eveline had told the prince she 
 expected two visitors. One was Peter Saffran. 
 
 The prince laughed. " Poor fellow !'' he said, " treat 
 him well ; it will do him good." But when he heard his 
 excellency the minister was coming he frowned heavily. 
 " What is this ?" he asked. " What brings him to see 
 you r 
 
 " Why ! Is he a woman-hater ?" 
 
 "On the contrary, he is a scoundrel, only he wears a 
 hypocrite's cloak. Great men who are at the helm and 
 guide public affairs have their weaknesses, but they dare 
 not sin openly. A man in his position might as soon 
 become a member of the Jockey Club as visit a beauti- 
 ful actress, unless he had some ostensible reason to give 
 for so doing." 
 
 " But he has a reason, and a very good one. I asked 
 him to make the appointment." 
 
 " You invited him here P'' The prince's face grew more 
 cloudy. 
 
 " That is to say, I asked him to give me a private 
 audience, and his secretary wrote to say his excellency 
 would prefer to come here." 
 
 '• And for what purpose do you require an audience ?" 
 
 " Felix desired me to ask for it." 
 
 " Ah, it was Kaulmann's doing! Wherefore ?" 
 
 " E[e wants these documents to be siscned." 
 
306 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 Eveline showed the prince a folded parchment. 
 
 The prince glanced at it and shook his head. " And 
 does his excellency know that this is the reason why 
 you asked for an audience .'"' 
 
 Eveline burst into a laugh. " Oh dear, no ! When 
 his secretary first wrote he asked why I required an 
 audience; I answered it was about my engagement at 
 the Opera, and then he said he would come. He knows 
 nothing of this," she added, touching the papers in her 
 hand. 
 
 " And Kaulmann told you to do this ?''' 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Then Kaulmann is a refined villain. Do as he has 
 told you ; but you may take my word that your husband 
 deceives himself if he imagines you can snare a savage 
 with a silken net. You can receive your guest, but I do 
 not think you will succeed in your scheme." 
 
 Eveline put her hand upon Peter Saffran's, and led 
 him into another room, where there was a wonderful 
 display of silver, and thence, through a private door, into 
 a fourth apartment, the w^alls of which were wainscoted 
 with dark wood ; the ceiling, too, was supported by cross- 
 beams of wood, and finished with painted shell-work. 
 
 No one was in the room. Eveline sat down on the 
 sofa, and made Peter sit beside her. 
 
 " Listen, Peter," she said, laying her hand on the rough 
 sleeve of his Halina-cloth coat. " It was the will of God 
 that I should separate from you. It grieved me very 
 much to leave you, because, you know, we had been 
 called in church three times. But, then, you could not 
 bear my little brother ; you were cruel to him, and you 
 beat me. I don't bear you any malice now. I have 
 forgotten and forgiven, but at the time I was very angry 
 
TWO SUPPLIANTS 307 
 
 with you, not so much because you ill-treated nie, but I 
 followed you that night to the cottage in the wood. I 
 was quite ready to forgive and forget, only I looked 
 through the window, and I saw you dancing with Ezifra 
 Mauczi. I saw you kiss her, and I was angry in down- 
 right earnest." 
 
 Peter gnashed his teeth. He felt the tables were 
 turned against him, and he could say nothing. It would 
 be very different if it were his wife who accused him of 
 such things ; he would know how to treat a jealous, 
 scolding wife ; but he couldn't take this beautiful lady 
 by the hair, and drag her round the room, and beat her 
 on the head until she begged for pardon. 
 
 "But, as I said," continued Eveline, smiling again, 
 "we are not going to talk about bygones. It was all 
 God's will, and for the best. We would have been a 
 most unhappy couple, for I am passionate and jealous, 
 and you would have given me cause. Now you can do 
 as you like, and I have the happiness of doing good. I 
 like to help as many people as possible, and every day 
 twenty poor creatures are fed in my house. Oh, I do 
 more than that ; I get heaps of things done for the poor ! 
 I speak a good word for them, and get them helped by 
 rich people. Also, I mean to be a benefactress to your 
 valley; thousands and thousands of people will bless 
 my name for what I shall do for them. Is it not a hap- 
 piness to be able to help others ?" 
 
 Eveline paused for an answer. Peter felt he ought 
 to say something, if it was only to show that he had not 
 become dumb. 
 
 " And does all this money come from the Bondavara 
 Company ?" he asked. 
 
 Eveline blushed scarlet. How was she to answer 
 such a question ? 
 
3o8 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 " Not altogether. I earn a good deal by my art ; for 
 every performance I receive five hundred gulden." 
 
 "Five hundred gulden!" thought Peter. "That ex- 
 plains a great deal. A good salary indeed ! A woman 
 might spare some of her clothing to earn so much money. 
 It is money got by work, and not such hard work as 
 carrying coals. She had to show her legs for that 
 also. But all said and done, it was money honestly 
 earned." 
 
 Peter's face began to clear. 
 
 " There, you look more like yourself. Don't look 
 wicked again," pleaded Eveline; "and when you go 
 back home tell every one that you have seen me, and 
 that we had a great talk together, and are good friends 
 again. If at any time you know of any one in want, 
 send me a line, and, if it is in my power, I will gladly 
 help them. You must marry, if you are not already 
 married. No ? Well, then, you must choose a good 
 girl, Peter. There is Panna, she is just the wife for 
 you, and she was always a friend of mine , or there is 
 Amaza, she liked you, I know, and she is an excellent 
 housekeeper ; only, don't marry Mauczi ; you would be 
 very unhappy with her, she is a bad girl. And in case 
 you do marry, Peter, here are my wedding-presents for 
 your wife ; and remember, I advise you to marry Panna. 
 Here are a pair of ear-rings, a necklace, and a brooch ; 
 and to you I give, as a remembrance of myself, this gold 
 watch. See, Peter, my likeness is on the back. Think 
 of me sometimes when you are very happy." 
 
 When she said these words Eveline's eyes overflowed, 
 and her lips trembled convulsively. Peter saw it, and 
 drew the conclusion that with all her splendor she was 
 not happy. One thought now took possession of him^ 
 He gave no heed to the bridal presents. Whether they 
 
TWO SUPPLIANTS 309 
 
 were of gold or lead was all one to him, no one should 
 ever see them ; but what he thought was: 
 
 " She has a good heart, she is generous, she gives with 
 an open hand ; but I do not care for her gifts. If she 
 will only kiss me once I will bless her. What is a kiss 
 to her? An alms, one out of the numbers she gives to 
 those fellows on the stage, with their smeared, painted 
 faces." 
 
 Poor fool! he didn't know that stage kisses are only 
 mock kisses, just as stage champagne is only lemonade 
 or pure water. Peter believed that one kiss from Eve- 
 line would satisfy his thirst ; it would assuage the pangs 
 of regret, of jealousv, or rage that had consumed him 
 since the previous night. All would vanish when he 
 would touch her cold, fresh lips. And, after all, had 
 they not been betrothed to one another — all but man 
 and wife? Who could object? Only he didn't know 
 how to express what was in his mind. 
 
 "And now let us eat together, Peter," said Eveline, 
 kindly. " I am certain that you are tired of all the good 
 things you get every day ; you are satiated with the 
 Vienna cookery. Wait, and I shall cook you something 
 myself — your favorite dish, Peter, which you often said 
 no one cooked so well as 1 did. I shall make you some 
 porridge." 
 
 Peter was electrified. A smile broke out all over his 
 face, either at the mention of his favorite dish, or at the 
 thought that his hostess would herself prepare it. But 
 how is she to cook? There is no hearth, no cooking- 
 vessels. 
 
 " Everything will be here," said Eveline, laughing 
 joyously. " I shall change my dress; I cannot cook in 
 this." 
 
 She ran off as she spoke, and returned in two minutes. 
 
3IO 
 
 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 Actresses learn how to dress quickly. She now wore a 
 white embroidered maid's frock, and a little cap on her 
 head. She called no one to help her, but laid a cloth 
 on the oak table, filled a silver kettle with water, set it 
 to boil on a spirit-lamp. She turned up the sleeves of 
 her dress to the elbows, and shook with a Hght hand 
 the meal into the boiling water ; then she turned the 
 mixture deftly with a silver spoon round and round un- 
 til it became thick. Then she took the kettle by the 
 handle, emptied it on to a glazed clay plate — yes, actu- 
 ally a clay plate ! — and poured some cream over the 
 mixture. She fetched two wooden spoons, one for Peter, 
 one for herself. 
 
 "Let us eat olT the one plate, Peter." 
 
 And they ate this porridge off one plate. Peter felt 
 a strange moisture fill his eyes; he had not wept since 
 he was a child. The porridge was excellent; all the 
 cooks in Vienna put together couldn't have given him a 
 meal so much to his mind. There was wine on the' 
 table, but no glasses. 
 
 Peasants never drink during meals ; but when they 
 had finished Eveline fetched a clay jug and asked 
 Peter to drink, after, as is the custom, she had taken a 
 draught. 
 
 " Drink this, Peter ; it is your old favorite." 
 
 There was mead in the jug — a very innocent sort of 
 drink — and Peter thought it was his duty to empty the 
 last drop. The hell that had been raging in his breast 
 seemed all at once to be extinguished. He said to him- 
 self: 
 
 "Yes, I shall go back to the church, and to the spot 
 where I made that awful vow ; I shall implore the Holy 
 Mother to allow me to take it back. I shall hurt no 
 one; I shall take no revenge. Let the green grass 
 
TWO SUPPLIANTS 311 
 
 grow again in the fields, and let her live in splendor in 
 the smiles of the great ones. I shall not grudge her 
 her happiness. This day, when she has received me so 
 kindly, has banished from my memory the day upon 
 which she left me. But I shall ask her for one kiss, so 
 that I may remember nothing but that." 
 
 He delayed, however, too long in putting his desire 
 into words. They were, indeed, hovering on his lips 
 when the door suddenly opened, and a servant an- 
 nounced that his excellency was in the drawing-room. 
 
 (Now, Peter, God help you; you may go hence with- 
 out your kiss !) 
 
 Eveline could hardly say good-bye ; she had to change 
 her dress. The footman showed him out at the secret 
 door; there another footman led him down the back 
 stairs, and, opening another door, left Peter in a narrow 
 street, where he had never been before. While he made 
 the best of his way to the hotel he had leisure to think 
 over what he should say to Evila if he ever again had 
 the chance of being alone with her in the round room. 
 The recollection of how he had missed his opportunity 
 roused the demon again in his mind. The burning lava 
 of hell began once more to fill his veins, the stream 
 of sulphur which the lost souls are ever drinking. He 
 kept repeating to himself, '*The grass shall not grow 
 again !" 
 
 By the time he reached the inn he brought with him a 
 g-oodly company — hatred, envy, rage at his own weak- 
 ness, horror at his own wickedness, mixed with political 
 fanaticism. A delightful gathering in one man's breast. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 FINANCIAL INTRIGUE 
 
 We can give no authentic account of the interview 
 between his excellency the minister and his beautiful 
 hostess. We were not present, and neither had we a 
 phonograph. 
 
 No doubt he complimented her upon her charming 
 talent, and promised her his powerful interest, and as in 
 this world nothing is given for nothing, there is every 
 probability that his excellency, who was an undoubted 
 scoundrel, hinted at the reward he would expect for 
 using his powerful interest in her behalf; upon which 
 Eveline, like a prudent woman, wishing to have every- 
 thing in blnck and white, produced from the drawer of 
 her writing-table the parchment which we have already 
 heard of. 
 
 His excellency took the paper, probably believing it 
 was a petition to grant her an engagement. He held it 
 in his hand while he smilingly assured her that the mat- 
 ter was as good as concluded. It is, however, more than 
 probable that when he gave a hurried glance at the con- 
 tents his face assumed its official expression; he saw 
 it did not refer to an operatic engagement, but to the 
 grant for the Bondavara Railway. Seeing this, it is 
 likely that his excellency got up at once, and, hat in 
 hand, explained to his lovely hostess how distressed he 
 felt not to be in a position to comply with her wishes, 
 
FINANCIAL INTRIGUE 313 
 
 as there were insuperable objections in the way, great 
 opposition from tlie legislative body, and yet greater op- 
 position in the Upper House, where Prince Sondersheim 
 was working heaven and earth against tlie Bondavara 
 Railway, and, therefore, from political and financial rea- 
 sons, from the condition of the country and many 
 other causes, it would be impossible, or almost impos- 
 sible, to hold out any hope of granting the Bondavara 
 Railway a guarantee from the government. That then 
 his excellency made a profound bow and left the room 
 may be considered a fact. It is psychologically certain 
 that he descended the staircase with a frown of vexation 
 on his face, and that he murmured between his teeth : 
 
 "If I had known that I was going to talk to the 
 banker's wife I should never have come here." As he 
 got into his carriage — and this is historical — he banged 
 the door with such violence that the glass window was 
 shattered in pieces. 
 
 At the very hour when this interview was taking 
 place a committee-meeting was being held in Prince 
 Theobald's palace, which had for its object to lay before 
 the shareholders the necessity of paying the third in- 
 stalment — a critical operation, this attack upon the 
 pockets of the public. The Bondavara Railway now 
 played its part. Felix Kaulmann announced he had 
 every confidence that in a couple of weeks it would be a 
 fact. The deputation from Bondathal had caused a 
 sensation, besides which the company had the interest 
 of a very influential person, who could persuade his ex- 
 cellency to do anything, even give the grant for the rail- 
 road. The finely cut, aristocratic face of the president 
 did not betray by a sign that he knew who this person 
 was. 
 
314 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 Kaulmann never for a moment suspected that Eveline 
 told the prince the names of all the visitors who came 
 to the palace during his absence, and that they were ad- 
 mitted tlirough the little door. He would have called 
 such stupidity by an ugly name. 
 
 While the meeting was sitting a note was brought to 
 Kaulmann, who at once recognized Eveline's writing. 
 He read the letter quickly, then laid it on the table with 
 a discontented air. 
 
 "What is that?" asked the prince, pointing to a roll 
 of paper. 
 
 . It was the unsigned document which Eveline had re- 
 turned. 
 
 Kaulmann wrote on a slip of paper, " Another hitch 
 in that damned railway." 
 
 The prince said to himself, *' Then his wife has again 
 escaped." Then he bent over Kaulmann, and, laying 
 his hand upon his shoulder, whispered to him: 
 
 " My dear friend, one doesn't get everything by a 
 pair of black eyes." 
 
 Spitzhase was the secretary of the meeting. After 
 this little scene he wrote upon a piece of paper, and, 
 twisting it up, handed it to Kaulmann. Kaulmann read 
 it; then tore it in small pieces and shrugged his 
 shoulders. 
 
 " I know all that,'' he said, sulkily. " I don't want 
 any advice." 
 
 The committee went away in bad humor with one an- 
 other. The expense of bringing the deputation from 
 Bondathal had been two thousand gulden, and this 
 comedy had been of no use. The last stake should now 
 be played. Csanta had determined not to pay the third 
 instalment. He would sell all his shares at the price 
 quoted and refill his casks with silver. On the day of 
 
FINANCIAL INTRIGUE 
 
 315 
 
 the Proclamation, however, he received a letter from 
 Spitzhase, which ran as follows : 
 
 "Sir, — To-morrow Herr Kaulmann is going to you to offer to 
 buy all your shares at forty - five florins exchange. Be on your 
 guard. I can assure you tljat the government has signed a grant 
 for the Bondavara Railway, and so soon as this is public the shares 
 will rise another twenty per cent." 
 
 Csanta believed in Spitzhase as in an oracle, and with 
 reason. All happened as he said. Immediately upon 
 the issue of the Proclamation, and when the shares were 
 
 a little fiat, Kaulmann appeared in X ; and offered 
 
 him forty-five florins exchange upon his shares. But 
 the old Greek was firm, not one would he part with ; he 
 would rather take his last cask to Vienna and empty its 
 contents than part with one share. 
 
 He was rewarded for his firmness. Two days later 
 he read in the newspaper how generously both Houses 
 had voted a grant to the Bondavara Railway. 
 
 His excellency the prime-minister had himself plead- 
 ed for the cause in the Lords and Deputies House, and 
 had proved conclusively that, from the political point of 
 view, from the present favorable condition of the money 
 market, as also from the side of the landed interest, 
 from every point of view — strategical, financial, co-oper- 
 ative, and universal — the government guarantee for the 
 Bondavara Railway was absolutely necessary, and, as a 
 natural consequence, the motion was carried. Prince 
 Waldemar, indeed, opposed it vigorously, but his fol- 
 lowing was small, so nobody minded him. 
 
 At the next audit of the Bondavara Company's ac- 
 counts presented to the shareholders there appeared 
 under the heading of expenditure this remarkable entry: 
 " Expense of foundations, forty thousand gulden." 
 
3l6 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 "What does this mean?" said the shareholders, with 
 one voice. 
 
 Kauhnann whispered something to the man nearest 
 him ; he passed the whisper on, whereupon every one 
 nodded his head, and tried t© think it was all right. 
 So it appeared to be, for after the government grant to 
 the railway the Bondavara shares rose to seventy florins 
 above par. Nothing could be more convincing. Csanta 
 had punch at dinner, and got drunk for joy. 
 
 Some evenings later Eveline met his excellency in 
 the green-room of the Treumann Theatre. The minis- 
 ter thought it was time to press for payment of his ser- 
 vices. 
 
 "My dear lady," he said, "have I not obeyed your 
 wishes in regard to the Bondavara Railway?" 
 
 Eveline made him a low courtesy. She w^ore the cos- 
 tume of the Duchess of Gerolstein. 
 
 " I am eternally indebted to your excellency," she 
 said. " To-morrow evening I shall blow you forty t/iou- 
 saud kisses." 
 
 At the words "forty thousand" his excellency grew 
 red. He turned on his heel, and for the future Eveline 
 was relieved from his attentions ; but it was also quite 
 certain that she had lost all chance of an engagement 
 at the Opera-house. She might sing like a nightingale, 
 but her petition would never be signed. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 THE BONDAVARA RAILWAY 
 
 The Bondavara Railway was begun. Prince Walde- 
 mar and his followers, the bears, were crushed— there are 
 always people who die of hunger in the midst of a plen- 
 teous harvest. 
 
 Prince Waldemar met his noble relative, Prince Theo- 
 bald, at the Jocky Club. Their encounter was hardly a 
 friendly one, considering their close relationship. 
 
 Said Prince Waldemar: "You have chosen to put 
 yourself at the head of my enemies. You have done 
 your utmost to trump my best card. You have allied 
 yourself with that man Kaulmann, with whom I am on 
 bad terms. I sought your granddaughter in marriage; 
 you promised she should be my wife, and then you sent 
 her away from Vienna. You have invented all manner 
 of pretexts to keep her at Pesth, and now the secret is 
 out— she is betrothed to Salista. I had a fancy for a 
 pretty little woman, and just to prevent my having her 
 you invite her to your palace and forbid her to receive 
 my visits. Worse than all, you have given over your 
 only unmortgaged property, Bondavara, to a swindling 
 company, who want to set themselves over me ; and 
 you have become their president. You have schemed 
 and jockeyed the government into giving the guarantee 
 for a railway that won't pay two per cent. You haven't 
 an idea how you are implicated in these transactions. 
 
3lJ^ BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 I pity you — for I have always felt esteem for you — and 
 I intend to set myself the task of regulating jj'6'z/r affairs 
 some day. Meantime take care, for if 1 succeed in 
 upsetting the human pyramid upon whose shoulders 
 you stand the greatesty^?// will be yours." 
 
 Of all this long harangue Prince Theobald only gath- 
 ered the fact that Angela had chosen the Marquis Salista 
 for her husband, and had never written to tell him. She 
 let him hear it from another. 
 
 The Bondavara Railway was being pressed forward ; 
 it was nearly finished. There was no further need for 
 a woman's black-diamond eyes. They had done their 
 work. One day Eveline visited her husband. Felix re- 
 ceived her with apparent satisfaction. 
 
 "I have come," she said, "to ask you a question. 
 Prince Theobald has been for some days so sad ; it is 
 melancholy to see his distress. Have you any idea of 
 its cause ?" 
 
 " I have. His granddaughter, the Countess Angela, is 
 married, and her husband, the Marquis Salista, is taking 
 steps to put the*prince under restraint, on account of the 
 foolish manner in which he is squandering his fortune." 
 
 " And much of this foolish extravagance is spent on 
 me." 
 
 " You are really wonderfully sharp, Eveline." 
 
 " I shall put an end to his spending his money on me. 
 I shall tell the prince that I must leave his palace. I 
 shall be always grateful to him ; he has been a benefac- 
 tor to me — and so have you. I ought to have men- 
 tioned you first. You have had me educated ; you have 
 taught me a great deal. I have to thank you for being 
 what I am. I can earn my own living, thanks to you. I 
 mean to become a real artist. But I must leave Vienna; 
 I do not care to remain here any longer." 
 
THE BONDAVARA RAILWAY 319 
 
 "I think, Eveline, you have decided well, and our 
 minds have really a wonderful sympathy. I was about 
 to advise the very course to you. By all means, leave 
 Vienna; by all means, make use of your talents, and 
 take up work seriously. I shall continue to do my duty 
 as your husband. I shall take you to Paris ; I shall 
 settle myself in my house there on purpose to be of as- 
 sistance to you. You will make a hit there, I know, 
 and we shall be always good friends." 
 
 In spite of her previous experience of this man's 
 character, Eveline was weak enough to be touched by 
 his words and to blame herself for having done him in- 
 justice, for it was a great sacrifice on his part to leave 
 Vienna for her sake. She could never have supposed 
 that this sacrifice was part of his well-considered plan 
 for ridding himself of her. She had played her part in 
 making his fortune, and now she could go where she 
 chose — to her native coal-pit if she liked. Once in Paris, 
 he would be able to say, " Madam, you are here under 
 the French law, and as no civil ceremony has passed be- 
 tween us, you are not my wife ; you are at liberty to call 
 yourself unmarried." 
 
 Felix had another reason for settling himself in Paris. 
 It was here he counted on carrying out the second part 
 of his programme. Now that the Bondavara Railway 
 was nearly finished, the castles in the air of the Abbe' 
 Samuel were beginning to take shape; the next step 
 should be a gigantic loan in the interest of the Church. 
 This loan would be another means of aggrandizing the 
 house of Kaulmann ; its reputation would be world- 
 wide. Already Kaulmann's name was of European 
 celebrity ; he belonged to the stars of the first order in 
 the financial world. From being a baro?i of the stock- 
 exchange he had become a prince. If he succeeded in 
 
320 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 effecting I his loan he would be a king of the money- 
 market, before whose name even that of Rothschild 
 would pale. 
 
 A halo was also beginning to surround the name of 
 the Abbe Samuel. The government had begun to see 
 that this popular orator held the people in his hand, 
 and could lead them as he chose. The people looked 
 upon him as their benefactor, a man whose influence 
 could get them benefits. Was not the Bondavara Rail- 
 way a proof of this ? The twelve Halinacoats were firm- 
 ly persuaded that the abbe' had carried back in his 
 pocket the government grant. The clerical party ac- 
 knowledged him as a new light. In Rome he was 
 lauded for his zeal in the papal cause. If he was made 
 bishop, which was almost a certainty, he would be the 
 first Hungarian prelate who had taken his seat in the 
 Austrian House of Lords. The minister would stare 
 when he found his scheme for the secularization of 
 Hungarian Church property met by another scheme 
 from the new bishop, which, while proposing a gigantic 
 loan upon these same Church lands, had for its 
 object the elevation of the Holy See by these very 
 means. The money-markets of France, Belgium, and 
 the Roman States would vie with one another in pro- 
 moting the loan, and the pontiff would look upon the 
 man who had conceived such a project as the saviour of 
 the pontificate ; his name should be written in letters of 
 gold. In Hungary, also, the scheme would be favorably 
 received as a means of saving the church property al- 
 ready threatened, for the government dared not refuse 
 this alternative. 
 
 Moreover, the primate was an old man ; the pope was 
 still older. All the wheels were in readiness ; the ma- 
 chine could now be put in motion. 
 
THE BONDAVARA RAILWAY 32 1 
 
 The day the first locomotive steamed out of the Bon- 
 davara station the Abbe Samuel might say to himself, 
 " The way to Rome is clear." It would be also safe to 
 prophesy that on this day Ivan Behrend's ruin would be 
 complete. 
 
 This railroad would bring the goods of the Joint-Stock 
 Company into the markets of the world, where they could 
 compete with the coal of Prussia and the English coal. 
 But, it will be said, Ivan had the same chance; his coals 
 were equally good, and the giant with the seven -mile 
 boots would carry his coal as well as his enemies'. But 
 here was where the shoes pinched. What was of use to 
 the company was destruction to him. 
 
 The railway was not to run through the valley where 
 his mine was situated, although that line was the best 
 and most natural course to take ; instead of which 
 mountains had to be made level, tunnels had to be bored 
 through the hills, to avoid his colliery and to carry the 
 rails close to the company's mine. In consequence of 
 this, Ivan would be obliged to make a circuit of a half- 
 day's journey to get to the railway, and so the freightage 
 to the station made his goods five or six per cent, dearer 
 than those of the company. For him, therefore, the rail- 
 road was a crushing blow. 
 
 In the meantime the end of the year drew near, the 
 time when the miners were to receive their share from 
 the profits. But profit there was none. Neither coal 
 nor iron had any sale. The company's low prices had 
 taken every customer from Ivan. 
 
 Any one who possesses ready money can always say, 
 even if he loses, that he wins ; the common people call this 
 eating your own entrails. Ivan had a sum by him, which 
 he had carefully gathered in better days. It amounted, 
 
322 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 alltold, to several thousands, and he calculated he could 
 hold his own against his giant rivals for at least ten 
 years. He forgot that the giants were cunning as well as 
 strong, and that they did not despise the smallest artifice. 
 
 When the railway directors issued their prospectus, 
 inviting all contractors to send in contracts for iron rails, 
 etc., Ivan thought to himself, " Now, I will have some 
 fun. The shareholders of the Joint-Stock Company 
 offer their iron six per cent, cheaper than it costs them. 
 I will offer to the railway directors to deliver iron rails at 
 ten per cent, cheaper than they cost me. I shall lose 
 fifty thousand gulden, but I shall have the satisfaction 
 of punishing my neighbors for their folly in lowering the 
 price of the raw material." 
 
 Simple fool ! Just as an honorable gentleman imag- 
 ines that when a letter is sealed no one would venture 
 to open it, so Ivan thought that all the offers were read 
 together, and that the most advantageous to the company 
 was accepted. 
 
 Good gracious ! nothing of the kind. 
 
 It is always settled beforehand who is to have the 
 contract. When the proposals come in it sometimes 
 happens that some one makes a yet lower offer than that 
 of the protege, and this last is then told to take pen and 
 ink and write an offer proposing to give the goods half 
 per cent, lower than the offer made by the outsider. 
 
 This is a well-known trick, and it is only men like Ivan, 
 whose minds are occupied with petrifactions and the 
 stars, who are in ignorance that such things are done. 
 
 The contract offered by the shareholders was half per 
 cent, lower than the one offered by Ivan. 
 
 But even this rebuff didn't daunt him. Two and two 
 make four, and those who sin against multiplication must 
 come to ruin sooner or later. 
 
THE BONDAVARA RAILWAY 323 
 
 Ivan continued making in his workshop iron bars and 
 rails. He accumulated a store in his magazines. Some 
 time they would be wanted. 
 
 The Bondavara Railroad was to be made. 
 
 Csanta wanted to sell his houses in X ; the whole 
 
 street was for sale. He said he was going to live in 
 Vienna, and to fill his office of one of the directors to 
 the company. He was to receive a large salary, and to 
 have little or nothing to do. He had changed all his 
 gold into papers — there is no use nowadays for houses 
 or land or cattle or mines ; nothing is good but paper. 
 // wants neither groom nor manure nor jDay nor ma- 
 chinery. 
 
 Therefore, he wished to sell the whole street. Fort- 
 unately, there was so little money in X that the in- 
 habitants of the whole town put together couldn't pro- 
 duce enough money to buy a poor little street. 
 
 The Bondavara Railway was in progress. Along the 
 line the navvies were working like a swarm of ants ; 
 they shoved wheelbarrows from morning until night ; 
 they dug the ground, blew up rocks, bored mountains, 
 rammed plugs into water-sources, hewed stones, dammed 
 rivers. 
 
 In the dark mouth of the Bondavara mine one man 
 stood immovable. He was ever watching the work. 
 His gloomy, threatening face was fixed steadily upon a 
 windlass. 
 
 This man was Peter Saffran. He held in his hand 
 a lump of coal, and as he looked back from the noisy 
 landscape to the remnant of trees his eyes seemed to 
 say, "Thou art the cause of all this tumult, this wealth, 
 this splendor ; thou art a living power — thou !" And 
 he hurled the coal against the wall. 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 THE POOR DEAR PRINCE 
 
 "You have something to tell me : what is it?" asked 
 Prince Theobald, as he entered Eveline's drawing-room 
 in answer to a letter from her, written after her inter» 
 view with her husband. 
 
 " I wish to leave Vienna." 
 
 " Ah ! this is sudden. And where are you going?" 
 
 " My husband is obliged to go to Paris. I am going 
 with him." 
 
 The prince looked inquiringly at her. ''Have you, 
 then, grown tired of being under my care ?" 
 
 "I am afraid I cannot deny it. I am like a slave in 
 a gilded cage. I am a sort of prisoner, and I want to 
 see life." 
 
 "You repent, then, of the promise you made me? 
 Well, then, I release you ; but stay with me." 
 
 " I should be too proud to receive benelits from any 
 one to whom I am ungrateful. Besides, it w^ould be 
 enough for me to know that you are the master of the 
 palace to take all sense of freedom from me. I don't 
 want to receive any more favors." 
 
 " You wish to become an actress ?" 
 
 " I do wish that." Eveline laid a stress on the last 
 word. 
 
 " From ambition ?" 
 
 " I cannot say so. If I were ambitious I should be 
 
THE POOR DEAR PRINCE 325 
 
 more diligent. I want my freedom. I don't want my 
 wings clipped. I like to feel I can use them as I choose." 
 
 " That is rather a dangerous experiment for any one 
 so young and pretty as you are."' 
 
 " One never falls so low that one cannot rise again." 
 
 " Where did you learn that ?"' 
 
 " From what I see every day." 
 
 " You are resolved to leave me ?" 
 
 " I am — I am — I am !" Eveline repeated these words 
 impatiently. 
 
 " Then 1 had better free you from my disagreeable 
 society as soon as possible," said the prince, taking up 
 his hat. Then, with an ironical bow, he added, " Forgive 
 me, madam, for the weary hours I must have imposed 
 upon you." 
 
 Eveline, with an impatient stamp of her foot, turned 
 her back upon him. The prince, when he had got as far 
 as the anteroom, found that he had forgotten his walk- 
 ing:-stick in the drawinsf-room. It had been a Christmas 
 present from Eveline, and he would not leave it with 
 her. He went back to fetch it. 
 
 He opened the door gently, and he saw a sight that 
 surprised him. Eveline still stood with her back to him. 
 She had in her hands the stick he had come for, which 
 she kissed two or three times, sobbing bitterly. The 
 prince withdrew gently. Everything was made clear to 
 him. Eveline quarrelled with him to make the separa- 
 tion less hard for him. She pretended to be mean and 
 ungrateful in order that he might forget her more easily. 
 Why did she do this ? 
 
 The next day the prince found the solution of this 
 riddle. His servant brought him the key of Eveline's 
 apartments. The lady had left by the very earliest train. 
 The prince hastened to the palace, and he then under- 
 
326 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 stood why it was that Eveline had left. She had taken 
 nothing; everything was there. She was a pearl among 
 women. A lock of her hair was wound round the handle 
 of the walking-stick — her beautiful hair, which fell from 
 the crown of her head to her feet. 
 
 Eveline arrived in Paris before Kaulmann. It had 
 been settled between them that she should stop at a hotel 
 until he arranged where she should live. 
 
 Some weeks later Felix came and said : "Your house 
 is ready for you. Will you come and see it?" 
 
 Eveline drove with Felix to her new home, whicli was 
 in the Rue Sebastopol, one of the best situations in Paris, 
 the first floor. As she came into the apartment her heart 
 beat. Everything was familiar to her eyes — the cherry- 
 colored curtains, the carpets, the dove-colored panels, 
 the black marble fireplace, the oval frames in china, 
 the window looking into the garden — all as in A^ienna. 
 The same pictures, the same service of silver, the ward- 
 robes, the jewel-cases, even to the glove which she had 
 left upon the table. 
 
 The tears fell from her eyes as she murmured to her- 
 self, " The good, kind prince !" 
 
 Felix, however, with perfect c?//i9w//', took all the credit 
 to himself, and asked her, " Have I not arranged your 
 apartment to your taste.?" 
 
 Eveline made him no answer. Her thoughts were 
 with the good, kind prince, her best friend. To him she 
 owed her engagement at the Opera-house in Paris, the 
 wreaths that were thrown to her on her first appearance, 
 the carriage she drove in every day. All was due to the 
 paternal interest of Prince Theobald, who, from the day 
 he called her his daughter, had never ceased to care for 
 her as his child. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 DIES IR^ 
 
 One gloomy day in late autumn Ivan went from the 
 forge to his mine, and upon the way his thoughts ran in 
 a sad groove. "What a curious world we live in ; every- 
 thing goes wrong — at least, for most people. Bread is 
 not for the wise man, nor success for the strong ; it was 
 so in the days of Solomon. One bad year follows the 
 other, for even nature acts like a step-mother to men. 
 The poor are hungry and beg for bread, and when they 
 have eaten they forget from whom they received nourish- 
 ment. All the great proprietors go to their graves with- 
 out doing, either for tlieir country or their neighbor, any- 
 thing worth mentioning ; all the burden of the present 
 and the future seems to fall upon the less numerous 
 and more exhausted class. The patriots are all hollow ; 
 they weep when they are in their cups ; they show their 
 fists, but no one dares to strike a blow. All manly 
 strength is gone ; there is not a man worth the name 
 in the whole country. And the women — they are all 
 the same, from the high-born dame to the peasant girl 
 — false and heartless. Even in the bowels of the 
 earth it is no better. For the last two days there has 
 been choke-damp in the mine ; the escape of gas has 
 been so great that the men cannot work ; it is as likely as 
 not that there will be an explosion while I am in the pit." 
 
 You see, Ivan's thoughts were as black as the land- 
 
328 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 scape, and suited to its gloom. His road from the forge 
 to the mine led him past the workmen's houses, and as 
 he passed one of these a miner came stumbling out of 
 the door. The house was a wine-shop. The miner had 
 his back towards Ivan, who did not recognize him, but 
 he noticed that the man had great difficulty in walking 
 straight. 
 
 " I wonder who it is that has got drunk so early in 
 the day ?" thought Ivan, and hastened after the man to 
 find out who he was. When he got up with him he saw, 
 to his surprise, that it was Peter Saffran. This struck 
 Ivan unpleasantly ; he recalled how, on the day when 
 Evila had eloped, Saffran had sworn never again to touch 
 brandy ; he knew also that Peter had kept this oath. 
 He recollected also, but imperfectly, that when he said that 
 he wouldn't drink any more he had let fall some threat. 
 Well, it didn't much matter ; if he got drunk, that was his 
 affair. But why did he come to Ivan's village to get 
 drunk ? Why didn't he go to the tavern in his own 
 colony. 
 
 Ivan hailed the man. " Good-morning, Peter." 
 
 Peter did not return the greeting ; he stared like a 
 stupid dog who doesn't know his own master. He 
 looked at Ivan with a wild eye , he pressed his lips to- 
 gether, and his nostrils extended. He drew his cap 
 down over his eyes. 
 
 Ivan asked him, " Has the choke-damp got into your 
 pit?" 
 
 No answer from Peter. He shoved his cap from off 
 his forehead, and, opening his mouth to its full extent, 
 bent his face to that of Ivan, and let his hot, spirit-laden 
 breath blow over him. Then, without saying a syllable, 
 he turned away, and set off running in the direction of the 
 company's mine. 
 
DIES IRJE 329 
 
 The heated breath of the man, with the sickening 
 smell of bad brandy, sent a shudder through Ivan's 
 frame. He stood still, staring after the runaway, who, 
 when he had got a certain distance, stopped and looked 
 back. Ivan could see his face distinctly. He looked 
 like a madman ; his lips hung apart, like those of a 
 mad dog ; his white teeth gleamed in contrast to his red 
 gums. His whole appearance was so strange and des- 
 perate that Ivan laid hold of the revolver in his pocket. 
 For one moment the thought passed through his mind 
 that he would be doing a good work in freeing the 
 world of such a creature, but on second thoughts he let 
 him go unharmed, and continued his way to the mine to 
 look after the ventilators. 
 
 In the vault the proportion between the hydrogen 
 and the air was three to seven. Ivan forbade any work 
 to be done in the mine, or any pumping out of the 
 dangerous gas. He employed his men in the open air, 
 removing the coal that was required, and only allowed 
 those to remain below who had to look after the air- 
 pumps. 
 
 He remained the whole day on the spot, controlling 
 everything and keeping a close watch. Towards even- 
 ing he left the mine and returned to his house. Every- 
 thing was apparently safe. It was a nasty, foggy, 
 gloomy evening ; the state of the atmosphere reacted 
 upon the mind and body alike. When nature is out of 
 sorts, man suffers ; when the sky is overcast, he, too, is 
 gloomy. And when the earth is sick, when w^orms and 
 mould destroy the fruit, when the harvest is ruined by 
 blight, and the cattle are decimated by pestilence — above 
 all, when the noxious vapors from the coal-mines rise to 
 the surface and poison the very air — then men sicken 
 and die. 
 
330 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 All through the day Ivan had felt cold shudders run- 
 ning over his whole body. His limbs were contracted 
 by that unpleasant feeling called goose-skin, and when 
 he got home he shivered, although his room was warm. 
 He was restless, uneasy. He could occupy himself 
 with nothing; everything palled upon him. The worst 
 symptom of all, he could not even work. 
 
 When a man refuses food or drink, when he does not 
 care for the company of a pretty woman, when his club 
 wearies him, these are unhealthy signs; but when he 
 turns away from work, and finds no longer any interest 
 in his usual occupation, then it is time to send for the 
 physician. 
 
 Ivan's head throbbed, yet he could not sleep, and to 
 stay awake was torture. He lay down, and with a reso- 
 lute effort closed his eyes. A panorama of past, present, 
 and future kept dancing before him. Peter Saffran's 
 hot, stinking breath seemed to breathe again in his nos- 
 trils, and the very horror brought back to his memory 
 the man's long-forgotten words : 
 
 " No more during my life shall I drink brandy — only 
 once; and when I do, and when you smell from my 
 breath that I have been drinking, or see me coming out 
 of the public-house, then take my advice and stop safe 
 at home, for on that day no man shall know in what 
 manner he shall die." 
 
 Who cares for the threat of a drunken man ? Let me 
 sleep. No, the drunken man would not allow Ivan to 
 sleep ; his breath was there. Faugh ! it made him sick. 
 His blear-eyed, pallid face was there bending over the 
 bed, looking into Ivan's eyes with his blood-shot eyes; 
 his open mouth and shut teeth came quite close to the 
 sleeper, who, vainly beating his arms in the air, tried to 
 drive away this horrid nightmare. 
 
DIES IRiE 331 
 
 Ah, what is that sound ? A crack like the crack of 
 doom awoke Ivan; not alone awoke him, but threw him 
 violently out of bed and on to the floor, where he lay 
 stunned. 
 
 His first consecutive thoughts were, "The choke- 
 damp has exploded ! My mine is in ruins !" This was 
 enough to get him on his legs and to send him out in 
 the darkness— darkness, raven-black darkness, the still- 
 ness only broken by a whistling sound in the air. Ivan 
 stood for a moment wondering. He felt the earth 
 swaying under his feet ; he heard a subterranean grum- 
 bling. There ! the pitch-dark night was suddenly illu- 
 mined ; a bright pillar of fire rose out of the Bondavara 
 Company's mine. At the same moment another fearful 
 explosion was heard, worse than the last. The windows 
 of the house were shattered in a thousand pieces, the 
 chimneys, the roofs fell in. The pressure of the air 
 forced Ivan back and threw him against the door of 
 his own house. By the strong light of the demoniacal 
 pillar he could see his own workmen all on their knees 
 with a horrified expression upon their ghastly faces. 
 Women and children were gathered at the doors of the 
 houses, but the terror was so great that every one was 
 speechless. 
 
 The entire valley glowed like the crater of a volcano. 
 It vomited forth a rain of fire-sparks, as in Gomorrah. 
 The flames reached almost to the clouds, and heaven 
 sent forth clap upon clap of thunder, the like of which 
 in the most terrible thunder-storm had never been heard. 
 Two minutes later the flames were extinguished. The 
 whole valley was again enveloped in pitch-darkness, only 
 over the company's mine floated a filmy white cloud. 
 
 "The neighboring mine has exploded!" shrieked 
 Ivan, " Help ! help !"' He never remembered that it 
 
332 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 was his enemy's mine ; he only thought that there, in 
 the bowels of the earth, a fearful, indescribably fearful, 
 calamity had happened. " Help ! help !" he cried, and 
 ran to the alarm-bell, at which he pulled with all the 
 strength of his body. 
 
 His own men came rushing in hot haste, all repeating 
 to one another, as if it were something new, "The neigh- 
 boring mine has exploded !" 
 
 Then followed a significant pause. The men carry- 
 ing lanterns surrounded Ivan, and looked at him ques- 
 tioningly, waiting for him to speak. 
 
 How had he guessed their thoughts ? 
 
 Those who under God's free heavens drew their 
 breath were bound to go to the rescue of those who lay 
 buried underground, and who perchance still lived. 
 Here it was no case of friend or foe. They were human 
 beings; that was enough. 
 
 "We must get the ventilators, the well-buckets to 
 work!" called Ivan. " Let each man bring a thick cloth 
 to tie over his mouth. Bring crow-bars, cords, ladders, 
 india-rubber tubes, hose-pipes. The women only are to 
 remain behind. Forward, my men !" 
 
 He threw on an old coat, seized a strong iron bar, 
 which he carried on his shoulder, placed himself at the 
 head of his men, and led the way to the company's mine. 
 
 It was not easy to force an entrance into the works. 
 The proprietors had set up all manner of barricades in 
 order to prevent Ivan's carts from making any use of 
 the new road. On the gates there were boards with 
 "No trespassing. No one to pass this way without a 
 written order." 
 
 No one now minded these orders. If a door or a 
 gate impeded their progress, Ivan thrust his iron rod 
 throudi it and soon made a passage, through which his 
 
DIES IR^ ^;^^ 
 
 men rushed pell-mell. The miners did not pause to 
 harness any horses to the machines. They harnessed 
 themselves, while others shoved behind, and drove them 
 on over sticks and stones down to the mouth of the pit. 
 Like an army of lunatics the party of rescuers rushed 
 on through the night, making their way as best they 
 could by means of the lanterns fastened to their waist- 
 bands. Soon, however, the darkness was again illu- 
 mined. The forge nearest to the pit, and consequently 
 the most exposed to the fiery heat, blew up suddenly, 
 and the flames from the heating-oven filled the air with 
 a red glow. The miners avoided, however, the direction 
 in which it burned, as it would be impossible to predicate 
 the direction which the molten metal would take. 
 
 When they reached the pit an awful spectacle pre- 
 sented itself. The ventilation-ovens which were placed 
 over the shaft-mouth were gone. The bricks and tiles 
 were scattered in a thousand directions all over the 
 fields. The large windlass of cast-iron lay on the 
 ground at a considerable distance from its former posi- 
 tion, and of the conical, bell-shaped buildings hardly a 
 stone was left. Only one wall was still standing ; the 
 iron fasteners hung from its side. The northern en- 
 trance to the pit had fallen in. The handsome stone 
 gates lay in ruins. Stones, beams, iron bars, coals were 
 all mixed up together in heterogeneous confusion, as if 
 a volcano had vomited them out. 
 
 The air was filled with the cries of weeping women. 
 Hundreds upon hundreds of women and children, prob- 
 ably widows and orphans, held up their hands to heaven 
 and wept. Under their feet their husbands, their fa- 
 thers, brothers, lovers lay buried, and no one could help 
 them. 
 
 More from recklessness than from actual courage 
 
334 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 some men had already attempted to go down into the 
 pit. They liad been at once stunned by the pressure of 
 the gas, and now their comrades, at the risk of their 
 own lives, were trying to drag them out by cords and 
 slings. Already one lay on the grass, while the women 
 stood round him wringing their hands. 
 
 Ivan now began to make his plans. " In the first 
 place," he said, "no one is to venture near the pit. 
 Let all wait until I return." 
 
 He took his way towards the house of the directors. 
 He forgot that he had sworn never to hold any com- 
 munication with Raune. In any case, he was not to be 
 found. In the next town there was high festival. The 
 directors of the new railway had given a banquet in 
 honor of the completion of the tunnel. Raune' was 
 there. Ivan, however, met the second engineer coming 
 out of his house. He was a cool, phlegmatic man, and 
 consoled himself with the trite reflection that these 
 things happened everywhere. "The gates must be re- 
 built," he said. " The pit roads must again be re-made, 
 and probably we shall have to sink another shaft. It 
 will cost a lot of money. Voila tout T' 
 
 " How many men are below ?" asked Ivan. 
 
 " Probably about a hundred and fifty." 
 
 " Only ! And what is to be done for them ?" 
 
 " It will be a hard job to get them out, for they were 
 at work at the passage which we were making be- 
 tween the north pit and the east to improve the venti- 
 lation." 
 
 "Therefore there is no other entrance to the pit but 
 the one which has fallen in ?" 
 
 " No ; and the eastern shaft is also in ruins. The 
 flames came from there ; you must have seen them." 
 
 " Yes ; and I couldn't understand how it was that the 
 
DIES IR.E 335 
 
 second explosion followed the first after an interval of a 
 few minutes." 
 
 "That is easily explained. The communicating wall 
 was already so thin that the explosion in the north pit 
 blew it into fragments ; the gas in the east pit undoubt- 
 edly was not kindled by the flames, for they had al- 
 ready gone out, but by the strong pressure of the air, 
 which was heated to fever-heat by the accumulation of 
 coal, and which, therefore, exploded through the shaft. 
 So it is when you put sand into the barrel of a gun; the 
 powder bursts the barrel before it throws out the sand." 
 
 It was plain that the engineer took a very cold- 
 blooded view of the whole affair, and that the design for 
 the new stone gate was a matter of more interest to him 
 than the hundred and fifty lives which were in jeopardy. 
 Ivan saw there was little assistance to be got from him. 
 
 "Before we can attempt the rescue of the men who 
 are buried in the pit," he said, " we must pump the gas 
 out of the opening of the cavern. Where is your air- 
 pump ?" 
 
 "Up there," returned the engineer, pointing to the 
 sky ; " that is to say, if it hasn't fallen down." 
 
 " You have no portable ventilator ?" 
 
 " We never contemplated the necessity of having 
 one." 
 
 " I have brought mine, if we can adjust it." 
 
 " I would gladly know how that can be done. If the 
 ventilator has a copper tube, it would be impossible to 
 introduce it througli all the zigzag of the rubbish and 
 general wreck ; if it has an india-rubber pipe it would be 
 too weak, and wouldn't stand being shoved forward." 
 
 " Some one must carry it into the pit." 
 
 " Some one ?" repeated the engineer, with an air of 
 amazement. "Look yonder; they are drawing up the 
 
336 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 third man who was foolish enough to Venture down 
 there ; he is dead, like the other two !" 
 
 " No, none of them are dead ; they will soon recover 
 consciousness ; they are stifled by the foul air." 
 
 " All the same, I can hardly believe that you wdll find 
 a man mad enough to be the first to carry a tube fifty 
 steps through all the wreckage." 
 
 " I have already found the man. I shall do it." 
 
 The engineer shrugged his shoulders, but he made no 
 effort to dissuade him. 
 
 Ivan went back to the men, who meantime had been 
 getting ready for work. He called the oldest miner on 
 one side. 
 
 " Paul," he said, " some one must carry the india- 
 rubber tube of the ventilator into the mouth of the pit." 
 
 "Good. Let us draw lots." 
 
 " We shall do nothing of the kind. I shall go. You 
 are all husbands and fathers with families. You have 
 wives and children to provide for. I have no one. How 
 long can a man hold out in that foul air without draw- 
 ing his breath ?" 
 
 " A hundred beats of his pulse ; no longer." 
 
 "Good. Fetch me the pipe. Bind a cord round 
 my body and hold the other end. When you see that I 
 no longer carry the pipe, draw the cord slowly back, but 
 take care to draw slowly, in case that I should have 
 fainted and that a sudden pull might strangle me." 
 
 Ivan loosened the woollen band from his waist, 
 steeped it in a vessel of vinegar, and wrung it out and 
 wrapped his face in it, so that his nose and mouth were 
 covered. He then bound the cord firmly round his 
 body, took the foremost end of the india-rubber pipe 
 upon his shoulder, and began to make his way through 
 the rubbish and debris at the pit's month. 
 
DIES IRJE 337 
 
 The old miner called after him, in a broken voice : 
 "Count the seconds. Fifty for going, fifty for coming 
 back." 
 
 Ivan vanished behind the ruins. The miners took off 
 their caps and folded their hands. The old man held 
 the fingers of his right hand on the wrist of his left and 
 counted his pulse. He had already counted over fifty 
 and the other end of the pipe had not moved. It had 
 passed sixty and was near seventy when suddenly it 
 was pulled forward. Ivan had penetrated into the 
 deadly atmosphere. The old miner wiped the perspira- 
 tion from his brow. He counted eighty, ninety, a hun- 
 dred seconds. They shall never see him again. Then 
 the pipe remained steady. 
 
 Now they began to draw the rope. It was slack, and 
 not tightened by any burden. Ivan was, therefore, so 
 far safe ; he was still walking, for the rope continued 
 slack. Suddenly it got stiffen Be careful now. The 
 cord again slackened; the old miner counted a hundred 
 and sixty seconds. Suddenly Ivan was seen coming out 
 of the pit's mouth, supporting himself upon the fallen 
 stones of the archway ; but his strength failed, and as 
 the men rushed to his assistance he tottered and fell 
 into their arms. His face was like that of a dying man. 
 
 They rubbed him with vinegar, and the fresh air soon 
 revived him. He sat up, and told them he was all 
 right, but — 
 
 " The air down there is something awful," he said. 
 "What is happening to those poor creatures who are 
 buried below ?" 
 
 It never occurred to him to remember that those poor 
 creatures were the same ungrateful men who had de- 
 serted him, who had taken service w^ith the men 
 who had sw^orn to ruin him, who had formed a con- 
 
338 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 spiracy against him, who were ready to murder him, 
 who had sent a deputation to the enemies of their native 
 land. Here they lay, buried in the depths of mother- 
 earth, which thus revenged upon them their treachery. 
 Ivan had forgotten their sin against him and their coun- 
 try, and his only thought was to save them if there was 
 yet time. 
 
 Now that the ventilator had been set in motion, the 
 work of rescue might begin ; but all the same it was 
 a terribly hard fight, 
 
 Ivan divided his band of men into two divisions. 
 Each man was only to stay an hour at the dangerous 
 work of clearing away the rubbish. Every one must 
 have his face covered by a cloth steeped in vinegar. So 
 soon as he began to feel faint he was to be carried away 
 by his comrades. 
 
 When the day began to break the wreck of the fallen 
 entrance had been moved to one side, but in the mouth 
 of the pit the sun could not penetrate. Tiie vault of 
 slate-clay had fallen altogether to one side, so that 
 Ivan, when he had carried the pipe into the pit, had 
 found there was scarcely room to allow it to wind 
 through the chasms. In the spot where he had placed 
 the mouth of the pipe the vault was altogether de- 
 stroyed. 
 
 It was an undertaking almost superhuman. What 
 had been the work of weeks had to be done in so many 
 days. And yet it must be done. 
 
 In their work of clearing away the rubbish Ivan's 
 men had very little assistance from the company's men 
 for this reason : the explosion had taken place at the 
 time when the miners were relieved. When men are 
 working in collieries it is usual to relieve them four 
 times. It was the time of the midnight relief when the 
 
DIES IR^ 339 
 
 accident happened. One party of the miners had al- 
 ready gone down the shaft; they were undoubtedly suf- 
 focated. The otlier party were on their way out, and 
 were killed at once by the explosion. There was 
 another party who had only reached the resting-stage, 
 where neither the flames nor the fragments could touch 
 them. These men were buried alive. It therefore re- 
 sulted that of all the company's miners only from twenty 
 to thirty were available. 
 
 The men who worked the forge were forbidden by the 
 director to give any help in the work of rescue. In all 
 the ovens the metal was in a liquid state ; if it was not 
 attended to it would turn into rammers. The workmen 
 give the name of ram^ or rammer^ to a solid mass of iron, 
 which, in consequence of faulty melting, cannot be re- 
 moved from the oven, and it and the oven have to be 
 thrown away as useless lumber. The forge-work was 
 urgently needed. The railway greaves had to be fin- 
 ished by a certain date, or a large fine would have to 
 be paid. Ivan therefore had to set his men almost un- 
 aided to the task of clearing the pit. The women 
 helped with all their strength. Their husbands, the 
 bread-winners, were underneath the ruins. 
 
 What a terrible undertaking ! In consequence of the 
 falling in of the arches the roof had, at a distance of sijc 
 feet, to be supported on plugs, and a sort of street made 
 through the ruins, where at every corner a new enemy 
 waited for the intrepid pioneers. 
 
 After the explosion the pit had been overflowed by 
 water. The water-pipes had to be set to work, and 
 where these were not sufficient the men were obliged to 
 empty out the black slime in buckets, standing for hours 
 in stinking mud, breathing foul air, threatened with death 
 or mutilation from the constant falling of stones and 
 
34© BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 wreckage. Undaunted by these obstacles, the men made 
 their way step by step into the bowels of the earth. 
 
 In the afternoon Raune arrived. In the middle of a 
 convivial festival he had heard the news. He was raging. 
 He came down the shaft and cursed all the dead men. 
 
 " The scoundrels ! They have cost the company a 
 million of money! What does it matter if they are all 
 killed ? Serves them right ! Why should any of them be 
 saved ? Stuff and nonsense ! Let them suffocate, the 
 drunken dogs !" 
 
 The workers made him no answer. First, because 
 they could not take up their time talking, and, secondly, 
 because every man's mouth was covered. The clearing 
 of a mine is very silent work. 
 
 But in the midst of his curses Raune encountered one 
 workman, who placed himself in front of him and con- 
 fronted him with a steady look. This man was covered 
 with mud and coal like the other laborers, his face was 
 tied up with a cloth, and only the eyes were visible ; 
 they, too, were blackened with coal-dust, but Raune' knew 
 by their expression that it was Ivan. No one who had 
 ever looked into his eyes could forget him. 
 
 Raune turned away without another word, and, in com- 
 pany with his engineer, left the pit. He interfered no 
 further with Ivan's work. 
 
 Four days and four nights the men never ceased work- 
 ing. They triumphed over every obstacle and cut a 
 pathway through every difficulty. During those four 
 days Ivan never for one hour left the mine. He ate his 
 meals sitting on a stone, and snatched an hour's sleep 
 in some corner. 
 
 On the fourth day the workmen came upon one of the 
 missing men. A man — no, but a mass, flattened against 
 the wall, of flesh and bones, which had once been a man. 
 
DIES IR^ 341 
 
 Some feet farther on there lay another body on the 
 ground, but the head was nowhere to be seen. They 
 tried to get him on one of the wheelbarrows which were 
 for drawing coal, but he was all in fragments; splinters 
 and shreds of that human body were sticking to every- 
 thing. 
 
 Then they came upon the charred, blackened corpses 
 of the men who had been burned. They were not rec- 
 ognizable. 
 
 Farther on there was a group of fifteen men crushed 
 by a huge weight of slate stratum. This could not be 
 moved, so they were left. It was more necessary to look 
 after the living than the dead. Everywhere they found 
 corpses ; still the number of the missing was not com- 
 plete. 
 
 The miners employed by the company told Ivan that 
 if any of the men were still living they would be found 
 at the resting-stage, where they left their coats before 
 they began to work and fetched them again as they went 
 up. In the passages, however, there had been such a 
 total upset that the oldest hand could not find his way. 
 In many places the explosion had torn down the partition 
 wall, in other places the entrance was stopped up with 
 rubbish, or the roof taken off some of the passages which 
 led into the inner vaults. It was all in such utter con- 
 fusion that no one could find out where the large vault 
 lay. 
 
 At last it struck Ivan that underneath a mass of coal 
 and slack he heard a faint, whimpering sound. He said 
 to the men, " Dig this spot." 
 
 At once they set to work to clear away the rubbish, 
 and as they cleared the company's men began to recog- 
 nize different landmarks, which convinced them they 
 were at the right place. 
 
342 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 "Yes, here is the door which leads to the resting- 
 stage." The pressure of the air had shut the door close, 
 the side walls had fallen in, and so these, who had been 
 safe from the conflagration, had been buried alive. 
 
 The whimpering cry for help, like that of an infant's 
 wail, was heard now more distinctly. The door, too, was 
 plainly visible, and as it was swung off its hinges Ivan 
 took a light and peered into the dark cavern below. 
 
 No cry of joy reached him ; the rescued men had not 
 the strength to make a sound. They were about a hun- 
 dred in all. They lay there still, speechless. Life had 
 almost ebbed away, but not altogether. They had suf- 
 fered the tortures of hunger and thirst, they had been 
 suffocated by the foul air, broken-hearted, despairing. 
 And now these human skeletons, when they saw the 
 light, could hardly raise a finger to show they were alive. 
 A heart-rending whimper, in which there was no human 
 tone, rose from the hundred parched throats. When the 
 explosion came they had been thrown upon their faces. 
 Their lamps had gone out, and it would have been mad- 
 ness to relight them. They had remained in total dark- 
 ness. After a little the danger of their situation increased. 
 Soon they began to feel that the water was gradually — 
 slowly at first — filling the space which served them as a 
 refuge and a grave, and this space or vault was, they 
 knew, a fathom deeper than the pit. They tried — for at 
 first they were not so weak — to get hold of some boards 
 and plugs that lay about, and out of these they made a 
 sort of stage or platform, upon which they all clambered, 
 and there waited for death — the death that might come 
 either through hunger, foul air, or drowning. When their 
 rescuers opened the door the water had reached the 
 threshold and touched the bottom of the wooden stage. 
 
 Ivan directed that the poor creatures should be carried 
 
DIES IR^ 343 
 
 carefully and silently out of their living grave. They did 
 not press forward, for they could not stand. Each man 
 lay where he was, and waited until his turn came. The 
 foretaste of death made every one tranquil. Some of 
 them could not at first open their eyes, but all were alive, 
 and Ivan could not help thinking how wonderful is the 
 strength of human nature. 
 
 He had saved them all, but the work was not yet fin- 
 ished. How if, beyond the breach of which the engineer 
 had spoken, there were more men waiting for deliverance.'* 
 One thing they must ascertain positively — if the explosion 
 had finished the work begun by the engineer's men, and 
 had carried away the wall which had divided one pit 
 from the other. If this were so, it w^ould considerably 
 lighten the work of those who had come to seek for 
 the victims. At the opening of the breach-tunnel lay a 
 man's body; he was such a charred, burned mass that 
 he was unrecognizable. The dead man held in his hand 
 his safety-lamp. // was open. 
 
 So this was the accursed one who had done the hellish 
 deed, and it was human folly that had caused this de- 
 moniacal explosion. 
 
 The corpse was not recognizable, the clothing was 
 burned to ashes. In his girdle, however, they found a 
 small steel casket, and in this casket a gold watch ; upon 
 the enamelled back w^as the portrait of a lovely woman. 
 
 When the watch was brought to Ivan he recognized 
 the portrait. It was Eveline. With the watch there 
 was also a bank-note for a hundred gulden. It was half 
 burned. Upon the back was written : 
 
 " A year ago to-day I received this money ; to-day I 
 pay it back." What a fearful repayment ! 
 
 Ivan was now able to grasp the connection between 
 
344 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 the words and the acts of this terrible man, whose recol- 
 lection of his own act of eating human flesh had prompt- 
 ed him to an unexampled and most horrid massacre. 
 His threats after Evila's elopement, his entering into 
 the company's service, the last occasion upon which he 
 had drunk brandy, and the breath he had blown into 
 Ivan's face. All was now explained. This was part of 
 the drama. This man had a character such as Antichrist 
 might be possessed of. His soul and body were full of 
 concealed demons, who prompted him to take revenge 
 of those who had offended him, ridiculed him, stolen 
 from him, scorned him, treated him as a fool, insulted 
 him with money, tempted him with luxuries, and taken 
 advantage of his simplicity to pull him by the nose. 
 
 All of them should fall. He would pull the founda- 
 tion-stone from under their feet, even if he dug his own 
 grave in so doing. They should fall from their high 
 estate — the banker, the pastor, the capitalist, the min- 
 ister, and the actress. 
 
 In hell the demons could teach Peter nothing. 
 
 Ivan stood before the unsightly corpse deep in thought. 
 In his heart there raged a wild conflict of passions. He 
 also had been robbed, oppressed by the wealth of his 
 enemies, his heart wounded by a hundred poisoned ar- 
 rows, and this by the same men upon whom the revenge- 
 ful hate of Peter Saffran had fallen. Ivan had come to 
 their help. He had saved the lives and the property of 
 his foes — at least, what they called their property; the 
 monstrous treasure which lies in the very bowels of the 
 earth does not, in truth, belong altogether to any man, 
 but to all men ; it is the treasure-trove of the state, 
 destined to serve and minister to all ages. 
 
 And yet a great dread, an unconquerable fear, pos- 
 sessed Ivan. He dared not mention his fear to any one. 
 
DIES IR^ 345 
 
 for if he were to share his suspicion with any one of the 
 workmen, who up to this had followed him obediently 
 through every peril, they would, without another word, 
 have turned their backs and fled for their lives. 
 
 The wire cylinder of Saffran's safety-lamp was filled 
 to the very top with a red flame. This was a warning 
 that the atmosphere was still charged with one-third of 
 hydrogen gas, and that only two-thirds were of fresh air. 
 
 But there is an even greater danger to be feared than 
 the pit-gas. Its fearful spirit had been laid; the victims 
 lay silent upon the wheelbarrows. Yet another and a 
 worse spirit lurks in ambush — a foe who goes about with 
 closed eyes, whose presence is awful in its consequences : 
 it is the carbon from the coals. 
 
 When the men had made the breach through the tun- 
 nel, they found, just as the engineer had said, that the 
 explosion had burst through the partition wall, and that 
 the debris had only to be removed, and the passage be- 
 tween the east and the north pits would be established. 
 Not one of the workmen could remain long at this work. 
 After some moments each one returned coughing, and 
 complaining that in that place his safety-lamp would 
 not burn. 
 
 In the pits the flame of the lamp filled the whole cyl- 
 inder ; this was not reassuring. But in the neighborhood 
 of the ruins it would hardly burn ; this was a far more 
 serious sign. 
 
 The last miner who returned said that as he removed 
 a large lump of coal such a terrible stench had pene- 
 trated through his mouth-protector that he had almost 
 fainted. The smell was like that of putrid vegetable 
 matter. 
 
 The old hands knew what this putrid stench signified. 
 Paul suggested to Ivan that he should go and examine 
 
34^ BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 whence it came. Let him cover his mouth very care- 
 fully, and hasten back as soon as possible. 
 
 Ivan took his iron rod and his lamp, and went. 
 Seizing hold of the rod with both hands, he struck it 
 with all his strength into a mass of coal, upon which the 
 lump rolled with a great noise into the adjoining space. 
 He then fastened his lamp to the hook of his rod and 
 pushed it into the hollow\ The lamp w-ent out at once, 
 and as he looked from the darkness into the hollow, to 
 his horror he saw in the next vault a red glow which 
 lighted up the space. He knew at once there was no 
 time to lose. He never paused to withdraw his rod, 
 but rushed back to the men. 
 
 " The east pit is burning !" he cried. 
 
 No one answ-ered, but the men seized hold of Ivan, 
 and bore him with them out of the pit into the open air. 
 Behind them followed the horrible stench — not merely 
 that of foul air such as accompanies "bad weather," 
 often with fatal effect; this was the more insidious car- 
 bon, that which kindles pit-fires, baffles the ingenuity of 
 man, respects neither the brave nor the scientific, and 
 which, when once it has begun, can never be turned 
 back. There is nothuig to do but to run for the bare 
 hfe. 
 
 In a few minutes the pit w^as empty. 
 
 As they issued into the light of day they were sur- 
 rounded by countless women and children, weeping and 
 screaming in their joy at being reunited to their lost 
 ones. 
 
 The engineer was also there. Ivan went straight to 
 him. Taking the cloth from his mouth, he said : 
 
 "Do you know, sir, what is going on down there in 
 your mine ? Complete, utter ruin ! The east pit is 
 burning; it must have been alight some days, for the 
 
DIES IRM 
 
 347 
 
 whole pit is red-hot. I shall never forget the sight. 
 Now let me tell you what this means. It is not the 
 hand of human wickedness, neither is it the avenging 
 hand of God ; it is altogether caused by the negligence 
 of the overseer. You, who are a great scientist, know 
 as well as I do that collieries take fire when sulphur gets 
 mixed with coal-dust and is allowed to lie in a heap. It 
 is always hot down there, and when the stuff is fanned 
 by the air it lights of itself. Your pit is full of this dan- 
 gerous burning mist. And now both your pit and my 
 mine are finished. The colliery fiie can never be extin- 
 guished. You have heard of the burning mountain of 
 Dutweeler ? A hundred and twenty years ago that coal- 
 mine took fire ; it is still burning. Here we shall expe- 
 rience another such tragedy. Good-morning." 
 
 The engineer only shrugged his shoulders ; it w^as 
 nothing to him. 
 
 Ivan shook the dust of the God-forsaken colony off 
 his feet. He and his men returned to his own side of 
 the mountain. 
 
 Meantime what had happened to his own mine? He 
 had been absent four days and four nights, and had 
 never given it a thought. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII 
 FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 
 Any one \vho wishes to understand the meaning of 
 the proverb, " There is only one step from the sublime 
 to the ridiculous," should gamble on the stock - ex- 
 change ; there he will learn the full meaning of the 
 words. 
 
 To-day you are a deity, to-morrow the meanest of 
 street curs. To-day sixty agents shriek out the name of 
 your speculation ; you are a sort of king, and all the 
 other kings on 'change study your countenance to see 
 how the wind shifts. To-day, so soon as one o'clock 
 strikes by the town clock, a swarm of buyers come round 
 you. Your note-book is held up to the view of all the 
 agents. It is handed from one to another; it is placed 
 upon the back of an agent, and the competitors write 
 the number of shares they w^ant. To-day all hands 
 point to the percentage, which is the proof of your high 
 estate. To-day the crowd who are speculating on your 
 credit fill all the passages ; they scream out, " I sell !" 
 "I buy!" Even outside the stock-exchange sweet creat- 
 ures of the opposite sex, who like dabbling in stock 
 quite as much as do the male creation, make their 
 books. Women are prohibited from showing their faces 
 on 'change ; but they gamble all the same. Hundreds 
 of ladies wait upon the stock-broker, with a copy of the 
 exchange list in their hands ; they have marked your 
 
FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 
 349 
 
 shares. Still greater ladies sit outside the exchange in 
 their grand carriages. In their eagerness they stretch 
 their heads out of their carriage windows to know from 
 the first-comer at what figure the shares — your shares — 
 stand. 
 
 This is all to-day. To-morrow you are not to be 
 found ; your name is scratched out of the exchange 
 list. Every one knows that your affair has "burst." 
 You are nowhere. You are nobody. Your place is 
 empty. 
 
 The firm of Kaulmann stood at the summit of its tri- 
 umph. Felix and his bosom friend, the Abbe Samuel, 
 were enjoying their afternoon siesta. The room w^as 
 full of a cloud of smoke, and under its soothing influ- 
 ence the friends were building castles in the air. 
 
 "To-morrow," said Felix, "the pope's loan upon the 
 Hungarian Church lands will be floated at the ex- 
 change." 
 
 " To-morrow I shall receive from Vienna my appoint- 
 ment as titular Bishop of the Siebenbtirger." 
 
 " The silver kings are ready to plank down their mill- 
 ions on the loan." 
 
 " The pope gives it his blessing," murmured the abbe. 
 "The cardinal's hat is ready for my head." 
 
 "The legitimist financiers have shown a decided ob- 
 jection to my wife appearing on the stage. This may 
 injure the loan; therefore I intend to-morrow to explain 
 to her that she is not legally my wife." 
 
 " Is it true that Prince Waldemar has arrived in 
 Paris ?" 
 
 "Yes, he has come after Eveline." 
 
 " But his presence here will be injurious to our specu- 
 lation. He is our declared enemy." 
 
350 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 " He cannot injure us now. Since he met such a 
 total defeat in the matter of the Bondavara mine and 
 the railway his teeth have been drawn. He and his 
 bears have kept very quiet." 
 
 " Then it is Eveline who has brought him here ?" 
 
 " He is mad about her ; he follows her everywhere 
 like a dog, and is only anxious to pick up any crumb 
 she will give him." 
 
 "But she cannot endure him." 
 
 "That is the worse for her. It was greatly Prince 
 Theobald's doing. That old fellow is mad." 
 
 " Is it not the case that the Countess Angela's hus- 
 band wants to put the prince's affairs into the hands of 
 trustees ?" 
 
 " Before we left Vienna there was some talk of it." 
 
 " Will this affect in any way the Bondavara shares ?" 
 
 " In no way. The only unmortgaged portion of his 
 capital is absolutely made over to the company. I can 
 assure you, the Bondavara speculation is built upon a 
 rock of gold." 
 
 As he spoke three telegraphic despatches were 
 brought in by the servant. One of these was addressed 
 to the abbe, under cover to the firm of Kaulmann. 
 
 " Lupus in fabula," said Kaulmann, as he handed the 
 first telegram to the abbe. The abbe' read : 
 
 " The Prince Theobald has been declared incapable 
 of managing his own affairs." 
 
 " Poor Eveline, she will have leisure to repent !" re- 
 marked Felix, with a cynical smile. 
 
 As he was speaking the abbe opened the telegram 
 addressed to him. He handed it to Felix, saying: 
 
 " And I, too, shall have time to repent." 
 
FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE RIDICULOUS 35 1 
 
 The telegram ran : 
 
 " The minister has resigned ; the emperor has ac- 
 cepted his resignation ; the whole system is to be 
 changed." 
 
 " Good-bye to the bishop's milre, to the cardinal's 
 hat ; good-bye to the velvet arm-chair in the House of 
 Peers." 
 
 They read the third telegram together. It contained 
 these words : 
 
 " Explosion in the Bondavara colliery. The whole 
 mine is on lire." 
 
 " This is indeed a blow," said Felix, as he let the tele- 
 gram fall from his hand. The three telegrams had come 
 like three flashes of lightning. The last was the worst. 
 
 When the news reached Prince Waldemar he would 
 let the bears loose with a vengeance. Something must 
 be done to avert the imminent danger — but what ? 
 
 If there was only time allowed to float the papal loan 
 such small things as the Bondavara shares and the burn- 
 ing of mines would be of little consequence. But could 
 the enemy be reduced to silence ? 
 
 It was settled that the abbe should without delay re- 
 pair to Eveline, and that Kaulmann should speak to 
 Prince Waldemar. 
 
 The beaming faces of the two men now wore a sombre 
 air. They had only one card to play — the smile of a 
 woman was their only salvation. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 TWO CHILDREN 
 
 Eveline had arrived in Paris at a very important 
 moment. Two great changes had been made in the 
 world of fashion : the Empress Eugenie had decreed 
 that the crinoHne should be laid aside, and Cardinal 
 Chigi, the papal nuncio, had pronounced that dresses 
 closed to the throat should be worn at receptions. Piety 
 had become the rage. It was considered good taste to 
 go to church and to wait for the sermon. 
 
 Piety being, therefore, the fashion, no better moment 
 could have been chosen by Kaulmann for floating the 
 papal loan. He was well pleased to find that Eveline 
 was as eager in the pursuit of piety as any of her fair 
 sisters, the truth being that it harmonized with the poor 
 child's frame of mind. A few days after her arrival in 
 Paris her cripple brother had died. A celebrated sur- 
 geon had performed an operation which had put him 
 out of pain forever. Eveline grieved over her loss; now 
 she felt alone in the w^orld, she had no one to love, no 
 one to live for. She kept the boy's useless crutches in 
 her room, one on each side of her dressing-table, and 
 twice a week she went to the church-yard and put fresh 
 flowers on the little grave. The penitential fashion just 
 suited her. She preferred to sing Mozart and Handel 
 in the church than Verdi at the opera. 
 
 One day she conceived the idea that she would have 
 
TWO CHILDREN 
 
 353 
 
 a sacred concert in her own drawing-room ; the price of 
 the ticlvets should be high, and the proceeds would be 
 for some good purpose — God knows what ! perhaps to 
 buy arms for the papal zouaves. She was busy making 
 out her programme when the door opened,* and Arpad 
 Belenyi, unannounced, rushed in in his old unceremoni- 
 ous way. 
 
 Eveline was delighted to see her former friend. She 
 threw down her pen, ran to meet him, holding out both 
 her hands. 
 
 "Oh, you delightful person, what has brought you 
 here ?" 
 
 " My profession. I am looking for some place where 
 I may strike the cymbals and give a concert." 
 
 "What a coincidence; you have come at the right 
 moment. But how did you find me out?" 
 
 " Not much difficulty in that. If I didn't see your 
 name in the list at the Opera, I couldn't avoid seeing it 
 outside St. Eustache." 
 
 "Then you have heard me sing?" 
 
 " In both places — the theatre and the church. I must 
 tell you I think the good fathers lay it on pretty strong. 
 For twelve francs I heard you at the Opera, and had the 
 play into the bargain ; but I didn't get out of the church 
 so cheap. A beautiful lady took twenty francs from 
 me." 
 
 " You silly man ! Well, I will pay it back to you. 
 What are your terms ?" 
 
 " May I ask your reason for the question ?" 
 
 " How stupid you are ! I am not going to engage you 
 for a restaurant. What are your terms for playing the 
 piano at an evening concert ?" 
 
 " To you, merely thanks ; to the public, five hundred 
 francs." 
 23 
 
354 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 " But if it is for a charitable purpose ?" 
 
 "Then either not at all or for money." 
 
 " No, no. You are a cynical creature ! Don't you 
 feel sympathy for any one ? Would you do nothing for 
 the poor?" 
 
 "I know a poor woman to whom I owe everything; 
 that is my mother. Every farthing which I give to an- 
 other is taken from her. When the world has given 
 back to her all that she has lost, then I shall give to the 
 world all that I possess ; but until then everything be- 
 longs to my mother." 
 
 "Very good; you shall pay your mother. You shall 
 have the five hundred francs ; but for this you must 
 play something super-excellent — Liszt's jMass or one of 
 Handel's oratorios." 
 
 " What is the concert got up for ? Is it to help a re- 
 ligious object ? or is it for the papal zouaves ?" 
 
 " Yes. I am arranging it." 
 
 "Then I can do nothing." 
 
 "Why so?" 
 
 "Why, because I shall not play for Garibaldi's ene- 
 mies !" 
 
 " Oh, what a goose you are, to be sure ! Who asks 
 you to play for Garibaldi's enemies ? You play for my 
 friends." 
 
 But the young man kept repeating no, no, he wouldn't, 
 and in his excitement he got up from his seat, and, throw- 
 ing back his waistcoat, showed her that he wore a red 
 shirt. 
 
 Eveline laughed unrestrainedly. "A red shirt! So 
 that means that you have enlisted as a Garibaldian ?" 
 
 " I should have done so long ago only for my mother." 
 
 " And what would you do if your hand was shot 
 off?" 
 
TWO CHILDREN 
 
 355 
 
 " Then I should become a pensioner to some fine 
 lady, who would, I know, support me." 
 
 Eveline burst into tears. His words had touched a 
 chord in her tender heart. Arpad, however, could not 
 imagine what he had said to grieve her; he tried to con- 
 sole her, and asked how he had offended her. Still sob- 
 bing, she said: 
 
 '* My poor little brother is dead. There by my table 
 I keep his crutches." 
 
 " I am sorry for you ; with all my heart I sympathize 
 in your grief. He and I were good friends; we had 
 plenty of fun together." 
 
 "Yes; you liked hhn. The world is quite dead to 
 me; everything is changed. I listen for the sound 
 of his crutches scratching along the floor up the stairs. 
 Ah, my little brother ! I have no one now. I want 
 some one to take care of. I should like to nurse some 
 one — an artist who had lost his eyesight; a musician 
 whose right hand had been shot off ; or a political hero, 
 who, being pursued, concealed himself in my room, and 
 to whom I should be benefactress, protectress, bread- 
 winner, everything." 
 
 "Why don't you go to Garibaldi ?" 
 
 She was laughing now ; her moods were as variable 
 as an April day. 
 
 " You have heard me sing in public. What do you 
 say of me ?" 
 
 " I say you would be a great artist if you could sing 
 for the devils as well as you do for the angels." 
 
 "I don't understand. What do you mean by the devils ?" 
 
 "You surely have heard from the pulpit that the 
 theatre is the devil's synagogue?" 
 
 "You rude man! Don't you know that I belong to 
 the theatre .?" 
 
2r6 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 " I beg pardon a thousand times. I believed that in 
 the daytime you were an abbess and at night you were 
 an actress ; that would be a fair bargain." 
 
 "You silly boy! Why do you think I am an ab- 
 bess ?'' 
 
 " Because you are dressed as such." 
 
 "This is only a penitential dress. You godless 
 creature, you are making fun of religion !" 
 
 "No, madame. I agree that it is a great mortifica- 
 tion to wear gray silk, a great penance to play the co- 
 quette with downcast eyes, a real fast to eat crawfish at 
 twenty francs the dish. I am also told that the reason 
 the fashionable ladies of Paris have taken to wearing 
 high dresses is that they discipline the flesh so severely 
 that their shoulders and necks are one mass of scars, 
 and therefore the effects of their flagellations must be 
 concealed." 
 
 "That is not true. We don't do anything of the 
 
 kind." . . . 
 
 "The world says so. I don't want to mqmre; it is 
 
 your secret." 
 
 "It is not true," Eveline repeated. "We do not 
 flagellate ourselves ; look !" And kneeling down before 
 Arpad she raised the lace collar which was round her 
 neck and made him look at her fair skin. 
 
 They were a pair of children. 
 
 Arpad took his hat and his leave. He left a card 
 with his address, but he would have no share in her 
 concert. 
 
 Eveline, however, went on writing her programme. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 IMMACULATE 
 
 Eveline was still writing her programme when the 
 Abbe Samuel was announced. In Paris it is not 
 thought out of the way for an abbe' to visit an actress, 
 and, for the rest, the abbe was an old friend, well known 
 to both husband and wife. He was naturally very much 
 interested in the concert, and read the programme most 
 attentively. 
 
 " It would have been all so nice," said Eveline, in a 
 vexed tone, " only for that stupid Arpad. See, father, 
 just there, between my song and the violoncello solo, he 
 would have come in so well." 
 
 " Is Arpad in town ?" 
 
 "Yes, he has only just gone. I begged of him to 
 help my concert ; and my song from the Stabat Mater 
 would have gone so much better to the harmonium, and 
 he accompanies beautifully ; but he has grown quite 
 silly; he has become a heretic." 
 
 The priest shook his sides with laughter, and then a 
 sudden idea struck him. It was plain Eveline liked 
 Arpad, which was only natural, for they were about the 
 same age. He was twenty, she nineteen — a pair of chil- 
 dren, and children like to amuse themselves. They 
 don't care for serious things ; that comes later. What 
 if he made use of Arpad to introduce Waldemar. 
 
 " I should like to take a bet with you that Arpad Be- 
 
358 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 lenyi will play the piano at your concert, and that, 
 moreover, he will accompany your Stabat Mater on 
 the harmonium. If he does so, what will you give 
 me?" 
 
 "Oh, he won't do it; you maybe sure of that! I 
 know him well ; he is very obstinate once he takes any- 
 thing into his cockatoo's head, and if / have not been 
 able to persuade him — " 
 
 Eveline had immense faith in the magic power of her 
 black eyes. 
 
 "Well, you shall see. What will you give me if I 
 succeed ?" repeated the abbe. 
 
 Eveline replied to this question by another : 
 
 " How do you mean to get round him ?" She said 
 nothing of what she would give in case he succeeded. 
 
 " Oh, there are many ways ; for instance, I might say 
 to him that if he played in your drawing-room it is very 
 likely he may be engaged by the empress, and that then 
 his fortune was made — at least, for this season. An 
 artist would at once see what a chance this would be. 
 Then I would offer him money." 
 
 "I have done that already— five hundred francs." 
 
 *'Well, although a young man may turn up his nose 
 at five hundred francs, an old woman will appreciate a 
 hundred Napoleons at their true value. Arpad must 
 obey his mother's wishes, and what she promises for 
 him he must do. I know the circumstances." 
 
 " You are a very sensibly man. I should have begun 
 with the mother, but it never occurred to me. Well, 
 manage it all for me. If you only accomplish it I shall 
 do whatever you ask me." 
 
 She was in such good-humor that the abbe saw he 
 could ask her anything ; still, it was with a slight 
 hesitation that he said : 
 
IMMACULATE 359 
 
 " I want you to give me an invitation for your charity 
 concert for a friend of mine." 
 
 " You shall have ten," cried Eveline, joyfully. 
 
 "I only require one, but this invitation must be 
 written with your own hand," 
 
 "Give me the name of your friend and I will write 
 the card this moment." 
 
 As she spoke she seated herself at her writing-table, 
 took an invitation-card from her drawer, and made all 
 ready to begin. 
 
 " Now the name." 
 
 *' Prince Waldemar Sondersheim." 
 
 When she heard the name Eveline threw down her 
 pen and sprang hastily to her feet. 
 
 " No," she said, decidedly, " never !" 
 
 The abbe burst into a shrill laugh. "Your excite- 
 ment is very becoming," he said. " You are a fine 
 actress." 
 
 " I shall not invite Prince Sondersheim to my con- 
 cert," returned Eveline, seating herself on the sofa with 
 a defiant air. 
 
 " Is the prince disagreeable to you ?" 
 
 " I loathe him." 
 
 "Do you imagine that the world contains nothing 
 but simpletons like Arpad Belenyi ?" 
 
 Eveline got up from the sofa, went to the writing- 
 table, and tore the programme she had been writing 
 into a hundred pieces. 
 
 " Arpad may stay at home, tied to his mother's 
 apron-strings. I don't want him nor any one. Ill give 
 up the concert ;" and she threw the torn fragments of 
 her programme into the fireplace. 
 
 The abbe rose from his seat and took the excited girl 
 by the hand. 
 
360 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 " Compose yourself, my dear young lady," he said. 
 " I have come to you on a most urgent matter — a matter 
 which is of serious consequence to you and your hus- 
 band, and I do not deny that it is of great moment to 
 me. I may, in fact, call it of vital importance to each 
 one of us. If it should turn out as badly as it threatens 
 your husband shall have to go to America, I must return 
 to my monastery, and what will become of you I do not 
 know." 
 
 Eveline sat down again on the sofa. She listened to 
 him attentively. 
 
 " At all events, you will have to go out of this," went 
 on the abbe, '' and that without loss of time. You must 
 know that the old Prince Theobald, after you had re- 
 turned to him the palace in the Maximilian Strasse, 
 which he had made a present to you, took shares in 
 your name in the Bondavara Company to the amount of 
 a million." 
 
 " I never knew it," said Eveline. 
 
 "That proves that you never thought of asking your 
 husband what the expense of this splendid hotel was, to 
 say nothing of your magnificent carriage and horses, 
 your numerous servants, your conservatory — " 
 
 " I thought that my salary, added to what Herr Kaul- 
 mann — " She stopped suddenly ; the incredulous smile 
 on the abbe's lips made her silent. He continued: 
 
 "All this splendor is at an end. A telegram which 
 came a few hours ago brings the news that, at the suit 
 of his son-in-law, Prince Theobald's affairs have been 
 placed in the hands of trustees ; the trustees will, with- 
 out any doubt, seize the shares taken for you." 
 
 " They may do as they like," returned the girl, indiffer- 
 ently. 
 
 " Oh, there may be a lawsuit ! But there is worse to 
 
IMMACULATE 36 1 
 
 come. Another telegram brings the news that last week 
 
 there was a fearful explosion at the Bondavara colliery." 
 
 At this news Eveline gave a cry; then quickly asked: 
 
 "And Herr Behrend, has his mine also exploded?" 
 
 The abbe looked somewhat surprised, but continued, 
 
 in his earnest manner: 
 
 " I believe not. The company's shares, however, have 
 received a terrible blow. The more so, that one of the 
 collieries is still burning, with no chance of being extin- 
 guished." 
 
 As he spoke he looked fixedly at her, and his penetra- 
 tion soon took in the truth: that her joy at the escape 
 of Behrend's property outweighed her sorrow for her 
 husband's loss. 
 
 "You can understand," continued the abbe, "in what 
 danger we are of actual ruin ; everything now depends 
 upon one thing. Of course, you are aware that, in con- 
 sequence of the Bondavara Company, Kaulmann's repu- 
 tation is one of the highest in the financial world. Mill- 
 ions of money have actually been put into the affair, 
 and ten times as much is floating in the air of the 
 stock-exchange. Money is not a tangible quantity. This 
 catastrophe — which, after all, may still be averted, for it 
 is possible that the fire may be extinguished — will be a 
 terrible engine in the hands of the enemies of the com- 
 pany, who want, above all things, to upset Kaulmann. 
 The colliery explosion is a powder-mine in the hands of 
 the bears. To-day he is a king, hands full of gold are 
 stretched out to him, a hundred millions are eagerly 
 offered to him ; to-morrow these very people will sur- 
 round him, clamoring to get back their money, which 
 they have intrusted to him. Whether the cry is raised 
 or not depends altogether on one man, and this man 
 is Prince Waldemar Sondersheim. He is here ; he ar- 
 
362 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 rived to-day. Probably he has had news of the explo- 
 sion sooner than Kaulmann, whose director, Raune, no 
 doubt, hoped against hope to get the fire under. Kaul- 
 mann's fate lies in the hands of Prince Sondersheim, 
 and so does my own. I do not conceal it. I was 
 the pivot of an enormous, world-wide project. To- 
 morrow Kaulmann's proposal for the Church loan was 
 to be laid before the financial world of Paris and Brus- 
 sels ; it is an important crisis that may give to history 
 a new page. If Prince Waldemar makes use of his 
 knowledge of the collapse of the Bondavara Company 
 to raise a cry against us, then the whole fabric upon 
 which so much is built vanishes as a dream. If he or 
 his bears call out on the exchange that the Bondavara 
 shares are sixty per cent, below par we are lost. If he 
 keeps silent the loan will float splendidly, and then the 
 Bondavara misfortune will sink into a matter of small 
 importance, such as constantly occurs in the money- 
 market. Now you can understand what an effect a word 
 from you may have, and what you can do if you speak 
 this word." 
 
 Eveline shook her head, and laid her finger on her 
 lips ; she looked the very genius of silence. 
 
 "What!" cried the abbe, his anger getting the better 
 of him, "you refuse? You think more of one word that 
 can cost you nothing than of the consequences? The 
 Holy See may be overthrown, the standard of infidelity 
 may be unfurled, the saints torn from their shrines — and 
 all for a woman's caprice." 
 
 Eveline spread out her arms as if she were engaged in 
 a combat with a giant. She called out, in a resolute 
 voice : 
 
 " No ; I cannot speak to that man." 
 
 The abbe grew angry. He said to himself if he could 
 
IMMACULATE 363 
 
 not persuade this vexatious woman, at least he would 
 give himself the pleasure of wounding her in a tender 
 point. He took his hat in his hand, and, holding it be- 
 hind his back, said, in a cold, cutting voice : 
 
 " I neither understand your dislike to the prince nor 
 your extreme delicacy. Prince Sondersheim is no way 
 inferior to the men you have admitted to your intimacy." 
 
 At this insult Eveline seized the hand of the abbe, and 
 cried, with a sudden abandonment of her usual reserve : 
 
 "Oh, father, I have never been a wife; I am still as 
 innocent as a child !" 
 
 The abbe looked at her in unfeigned astonishment. 
 He saw by her burning blushes, her modest, downcast 
 eyes, her childish sobs, that she was speaking the truth. 
 He sighed deeply ; he could not help it. It was his last 
 stake, and he had lost. Good-bye to glory, to greatness. 
 All had vanished into thin air at Eveline's words; they 
 had scattered his dreams. He recognized that all the great 
 deeds which have made men famous were as dust and 
 ashes in comparison with the real nobility of soul pos- 
 sessed by this peasant girl, this woman who, in obedi- 
 ence to her husband's infamous commands, and because 
 she had sworn to obey him, had worn the mask of a 
 Phryne while she preserved the purity of a saint. By 
 no act of his should she descend from her pedestal. 
 
 "Eveline," he said, in a voice of deep emotion, "the 
 words you have spoken banish me to my cell. My 
 dreams of power and splendor lie in the dust — their 
 fitting place. You said, 'I am still innocent'; my child, 
 keep yourself so. The French law recognizes no mar- 
 riage unless it has been contracted before the civil author- 
 ities. Your marriage with Felix Kaulmann is in this 
 country null and void ; you are here Mademoiselle Eva 
 Dirkmal, nothing more. You can tell Kaulmann that I 
 
364 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 have told you this. I have given him the same informa- 
 tion, as he wished to free himself from this nominal tie to 
 you. And now, farewell ; I return to ray monastery, to 
 reconcile myself with an offended God." 
 
 Eva Dirkmal threw herself at the feet of the priest, 
 and covered his hands with tears and kisses. 
 
 "Put your hand upon my head," she sobbed, "and 
 ask God to bless me." 
 
 "My daughter," said the abbe, "an invincible hand 
 watches over you and protects you. May you ever be 
 thus safely guarded." 
 
 With these words the priest left the room. He did 
 as he said ; he sought no further interview with Kaul- 
 mann, but went straight to the railway, and buried him- 
 self in his monastery. The world knew him no more. 
 
CHAPTER XXX 
 
 MAN AND WIFE 
 
 Felix lost no time in seeking an interview with 
 Prince Waldemar. He preferred to look for him in his 
 own house than to meet him accidentally on 'change. 
 
 Waldemar did not keep him long waiting, neither did 
 he treat him to any display of his superior rank. He 
 received him in his study. 
 
 " Ah, your highness is occupied with business," said 
 Felix, with the airy manner of an intimate friend ; but 
 he was secretly astonished to see that a man of the 
 prince's high position was actually cutting the pages 
 of the pamphlet before him, and underlining with red 
 and blue pencil-marks the passages that pleased him 
 most. 
 
 The prince laid down the pamphlet, and asked Felix 
 to take a chair. 
 
 "I have only this moment heard," continued the 
 banker, "that your excellency had arrived in Paris, and 
 I hastened to be the first to pay my respects." 
 
 " Strange ! At this very moment, I, too, was occupy- 
 ing myself with your affairs," returned the prince, with 
 a peculiar smile, which Felix noted and thought he 
 understood. He tried to put on a jaunty air as he made 
 answer : 
 
 " I have come as an envoy under the protection of a 
 flag of truce into the enemy's country." 
 
366 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 The prince thought to himself, "The fellow's flag of 
 truce is a handkerchief worked with the letter E." 
 
 " Even greater powers than we," went on Felix, twirl- 
 ing his hat in his fingers with some embarrassment, 
 " have in sudden emergencies co-operated, and from be- 
 ing enemies have become fast friends, recognizing that 
 to bury the hatchet was for their mutual advantage." 
 
 "And may I inquire what is for our mutual advan- 
 tage ?" 
 
 " My projected loan." 
 
 The prince said nothing, but the smile that played 
 upon his thin lips was a sufficient and most irritating 
 answer. Felix began to lose his calmness. He rose 
 from his chair, and in his earnestness leaned over the 
 table at which the prince was sitting. 
 
 " Prince," he said, " this loan is for the benefit of the 
 Holy See. You are, I know, a good Catholic." 
 
 " Who has betrayed my secret .^" 
 
 "Besides, you are a thorough aristocrat. It must go 
 against your highness's feelings to see that while in 
 Hungary a bureaucratic minister pillages the Church 
 and puts its revenues in his pocket, a band of freeboot- 
 ers throws the patrimony of St. Peter to the mob. All 
 this can be prevented by our striking one blow. You 
 will strike it, for you are a nobleman in the best sense 
 of the word." 
 
 "What else am I?" 
 
 "Above all, you are a financier. It cannot escape 
 your keen eye that this loan is one of the greatest, the 
 soundest of speculations; for you are a prudent man, 
 and you know how to add two and two." 
 
 " Have I any other qualifications ?" 
 
 Waldemar's cold, sarcastic rejoinders did not put 
 Felix out of countenance. His face assumed a still 
 
MAN AND WIFE 367 
 
 more amiable expression as he offered his hand to the 
 prince, saying, in a cordial manner : 
 
 " I trust you will be the honored friend of the house 
 of Kaulmann." 
 
 These words would be met either by a warm shake of 
 the hand or by a box on the ear. He ran the risk, wait- 
 ing breathlessly for the answer, which was different 
 from, and yet worse than, that he expected. The prince 
 took up the pamphlet which he had been busy under- 
 lining with red and blue pencil. 
 
 "Now, my excellent brother in the faith, my fellow 
 aristocrat, my comrade in finance, and my best friend, 
 just you throw your eye over this little brochure, for 
 there you will find my answer. I beg that you will take 
 your time." 
 
 He handed the pamphlet to Felix, and while that 
 gentleman cast his eye over it the prince pared his nails 
 carefully. 
 
 Felix laid down the pamphlet. "This purports to be 
 my biography." 
 
 "As I think the title-page mentions." 
 
 " Your highness is, I presume, the writer .?" 
 
 " I have given the heads." 
 
 "There are all manner of affairs mentioned here in 
 which I have played a sorry part by throwing dust in 
 the eyes of the public, principally, however, in the Bon- 
 davara speculation, in which, it seems, I have announced 
 a false balance and a feigned bonus, drawn ten millions 
 out of the capital, which capital is now irrecoverably 
 lost by the late catastrophe in the mine. It is a terrible 
 indictment against me." 
 
 " Perhaps it is not true V 
 
 " // z's true! Your highness is my faithful biogra- 
 pher ; but allow me to fill up the details of the memoir. 
 
368 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 The unlooked-for misfortune of yesterday can be re- 
 paired to-morrow; the unlucky speculation may be 
 glossed over if a better takes its place ; a small defeat 
 is compensated by a great victory. What use does your 
 highness intend to make of this brochure?" 
 
 " Frankly, I intend, as soon as you declare your new 
 loan, to circulate this pamphlet freely on 'change. I 
 shall then set the bears to work, so that in no time 
 your shares shall be driven out of the market." 
 
 "I guessed as much, and, to be frank, it was on this 
 very account that I have come here, to prevent, if I 
 can, such ruin to myself." 
 
 Felix tried by continuous winking of his eyes to ex- 
 press his despair. He put his right hand into his vest, 
 and in a low voice added : 
 
 " Perhaps when you see me stretched dead before 
 you your aim will then be accomplished." 
 
 Prince Waldemar broke into an irrepressible fit of 
 laughter and clapped Kaulmann on the shoulder, 
 
 " I beg of you not to act a farce for my benefit. You 
 did not come here to blow your brains out. Nothing of 
 the sort; you came to sell me something. You are a 
 ruined speculator, but you still possess one jewel of 
 value, a wonderful black carbuncle which you found in 
 the coal-mine and got smoothly cut, which you have al- 
 ready sold at a great profit, but which is now back on 
 your hands. You are perfectly aware that I desire to 
 get this jewel if I can, that I am willing to offer all I 
 have for it ; and this is why you have come here to-day. 
 Let us understand one another. I will treat with you. 
 What is your price ?" 
 
 The prince threw himself back in his chair, but he 
 let Kaulmann stand without again asking him to be 
 seated. 
 
MAN AND WIFE 369 
 
 The banker gave up his tragic manner, and resumed 
 his customary cool, hard, matter-of-fact voice. 
 
 " First of all, this ;" and he laid his hand upon the 
 pamphlet. 
 
 "Good! You shall have it — a thousand copies and 
 the manuscript. You can burn it, unless you care to 
 keep it as a souvenir." 
 
 "Secondly," went on Felix, "you must abandon your 
 conspiracy against me. During the three days of raising 
 the loan your bears are to keep quiet ; there are to be 
 no manoeuvres. Thirdly, your name must appear in the 
 list of subscribers with a good sum after it." 
 
 " Good ! We shall understand one another. Now 
 listen to my modifications of your proposal. On the 
 first day when the shares of the new loan are drawn I 
 undertake to keep the bears quiet, but I shall take no 
 shares. On the second day I shall also keep quiet, but 
 I shall not give you a shove. On the third day I shall 
 take one million shares, and from that time I undertake 
 to push your speculation as if I were your best friend." 
 
 " And why not on the first two days ?" 
 
 " I will tell you what is to happen on those days. This 
 very day you must go to madame and tell her that Prince 
 Theobald's fortune is sequestrated and that she can no 
 longer occupy his hotel. Madame was once generous 
 enough to return to the prince his palace in the Maxi- 
 milian Strasse, together with all it contained. She will 
 have to repeat this act of renunciation and return to her 
 husband's roof. Her husband must celebrate this happy 
 event by a splendid entertainment, to which he will, as 
 a matter of course, invite his best friend." Here the 
 prince laid, with a significant gesture, his little finger on 
 his breast. " The friend will take this opportunity to show 
 madame a photograph of his summer palace, which is 
 
370 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 situated on the Lake of Constance, and only waits for 
 the presence of its mistress to be perfection, while she 
 stands in great need of the lovely breezes of the lake to 
 restore her." 
 
 "You are really very thoughtful." 
 
 " Do not praise me too soon. On the second day 
 you must have an explanation with madame. You will 
 tell her that in France a marriage, to be legal, must be 
 contracted before the civil magistrate ; therefore you 
 will go with her before the registrar and have yourself 
 legally married." 
 
 " But, prince," cried Felix, with a horrified expression 
 upon his face, "why should I do that V 
 
 " Why?" returned the prince, standing up in his turn, 
 so as to be able the better to overwhelm his victim. 
 " Because I wish to defeat your little game. You took 
 to yourself a wife in another country, knowing you could 
 repudiate her here. It is my wish that madame shall 
 bear your name always ; otherwise you would have it in 
 your power on the fourth day to say to me, ' I gave you 
 what was not mine to give.' I shall have the diamond in 
 its proper setting. I shall not remove the centre-stone 
 from your wedding-ring ; but I shall wear it on mj fin- 
 ger." 
 
 Kaulmann could not conceal his embarrassment. 
 " This whim is incomprehensible," he said. 
 
 " On the contrary," returned the other, with a devilish 
 sneer, "it is quite clear; it simply means that I know 
 you an fond. And now to my own affairs. I am des- 
 perately in love with one woman, and she detests me. 
 She will not even look at me. But she little thinks I 
 know the reason of her abhorrence. Your wife is a 
 virtuous woman. You look surprised — naturally. It is 
 no merit of yours that she has remained so. Oh, you 
 
MAN AND WIFE 37 1 
 
 need not protest! Prince Theobald has told me the 
 whole histor}^ Among other things, he made her swear 
 that she would never receive me. Poor old fool ! He 
 did not act with much knowledge of human nature. If 
 he had not interfered it's very likely I should have 
 tired of pursuing a woman who did not care for me ; 
 but the mystery that surrounded her has added to my 
 interest. I adore her, not alone for her beauty, her 
 charm, but for her innocence, her goodness. She re- 
 quires nothing to raise her in my estimation ; but before 
 the world she must take her fitting place. She must 
 have the shield of her husband's name, the right to his 
 protection. Now you understand what I require of you." 
 
 " Prince, your ideas are demoniacal. You wish to 
 bind me to my dishonor." 
 
 "To your dishonor!" and the prince laughed scorn- 
 fully. " My good Kaulmann, who asked you to come 
 here and sell your honor ? Ah, you cannot answer that ! 
 Never mind, we shall keep our secret ; the world shall 
 know nothing. In society the head of the house of 
 Kaulmann shall be considered an honorable gentleman, 
 an excellent husband, a good family man. In the com- 
 mercial world he will be looked upon as a sound finan- 
 cier. Honors will crowd upon him ; he will go far. . . . 
 His real position will be known to only three people. 
 There, my good friend, don't feign so much virtuous in- 
 dignation. You are overacting, which always spoils the 
 effect. I will take it all for granted. Time is short; it 
 will be better to make use of it." 
 
 This was true. Every moment was precious. Felix 
 abandoned all attempts at outraged feelings of honor 
 and the like, and, composing his agitated features, held 
 out his hand to the prince. The latter, however, did not 
 take it. 
 
372 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 " There's no need to shake hands over our honorable 
 compact. Take your note-book and write down the 
 conditions, and be sure you put the dates correctly. To- 
 morrow, if I receive by one o'clock the card of invitation 
 to your entertainment, I shall remain away from the ex- 
 change. The next day I do the same ; that is, if I re- 
 ceive befo7'e one o'clock the official notification that your 
 civil marriage has taken place. On the fourth day, if 
 before ouQ o'clock your solicitor brings me the news that 
 you have set off to Brussels to negotiate the papal loan, 
 and that he hands me the key of your house, with the 
 request that I will look after the business in your ab- 
 sence, then I shall go down to the exchange, and push 
 your affair as if it were my own. Now you may go, sir, 
 and indulge your outraged feelings in private." 
 
CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 EVA DIRKMAL 
 
 Felix Kaulmann felt that he had made good use of 
 his opportunity. All would now go well. The prince 
 would no longer avail himself of the Bondavara catas- 
 trophe to ruin him ; on the contrary, his influence would 
 stem the panic which the news had, no doubt, already 
 caused in the Vienna money-market, and when the papal 
 loan was concluded all would be smooth. There was 
 Eveline, of course ; but a man such as Kaulmann, whose 
 conscience had long since been as withered as was his 
 heart, soon found excuses for any ill-doing. No one 
 could blame him for the prince's infatuation ; it would 
 be only a fool who wouldn't take advantage of it, es- 
 pecially one in his situation. A drowning man catches 
 at any plank ; and as for Eveline, she owed him a debt 
 of gratitude. Had he not raised her from the very dust 
 of the coal-pit to her present situation, saved her from a 
 brutal husband like the savage Saffran, educated her, 
 made her a fit companion for a prince ? Better women 
 than she w^ould be glad of the elevation that was await- 
 ing her ; and this reminded him that the Abbe Samuel's 
 interview must have opened the matter, so he went in 
 search of him. The priest, however, was not to be 
 found at any of his usual haunts. Felix, therefore, re- 
 paired to Eveline's hotel; neither was she at home. She 
 had gone to the theatre ; it was one of her acting nights. 
 
374 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 Felix drove to the Opera-house. He went first to his 
 wife's box, where there was no one but her companion. 
 He took a view of the house. In the pit there were 
 numerous claqners. In one of the front boxes he saw 
 Prince Waldemar. Then he went behind the scenes, 
 for he was known as the husband of the prima donna 
 and was allowed access to her dressing-room. 
 
 Eveline was dressed for her part and waiting to go 
 on. When she saw Kaulmann she turned away angrily. 
 Why did he disturb her when she was busy with her 
 calling } 
 
 " I have only come to wish you good-evening," he said. 
 
 "You migcht have waited until to-morrow." 
 
 " To wish you good-evening } Ha ! ha !" 
 
 " No ; but you know I am always so nervous before I 
 go on — " 
 
 " I only wished to tell you tliat the cream of Parisian 
 society are fighting to get tickets for your concert. 
 Have you reserved one for me ?" Felix was full of 
 amiability and admiration. 
 
 " I have reserved none." 
 
 " Ah ! And why not ?" He said this in a soft, com- 
 plaining voice. 
 
 " Because I have given up the concert. It shall not 
 take place." 
 
 The face of her husband suddenly lengthened. " Will 
 you kindly tell me the reason of this change ?" 
 
 " After I have come off. INIy scene has come. I 
 must go." So saying, she left the room and went to 
 the wings. 
 
 Felix followed to a point from which he could see 
 his wife on the stage and have a general view of the 
 house. 
 
 Eveline played badly and sang worse. Her voice 
 
EVA DIRKMAL 
 
 375 
 
 trembled, she was out of tune, and her runs and roulades 
 were imperfect. She was evidently nervous. Never- 
 theless, she was applauded to the echo, the <rA7^//^ worked 
 hard; and Prince Waldemar, from his box, clapped as 
 if he had been paid for it. When she had finished her 
 last song a shower of bouquets and wreaths came from 
 the prince's box and fell at her feet. 
 
 Eveline left them on the stage and hurried away to 
 her dressing-room. Kaulmann followed her. 
 
 " Why didn't you pick up those lovely bouquets ?" he 
 asked, carelessly. 
 
 " I felt I didn't deserve any. I know I did badly to 
 night." 
 
 " But surely for the sake of the giver you should have 
 taken one of the bouquets." 
 
 " Ah, you would like that." 
 
 " Yes. All those flowers came from you — at least, so 
 I have always understood." 
 
 "Pardon me, ma cJiere. Didn't you notice that they 
 all came from the side box.'' Didn't you recognize who 
 was in that box .'"' 
 
 " I never looked." 
 
 " It was Prince Waldemar." 
 
 "The man who is your enemy — who wants to ruin 
 you ?" 
 
 "Oh, that is not so ! He has quite changed. He is 
 now our best friend." 
 
 "(9//r friend? Whom do you include in 'our'?" 
 
 " You, as well as myself." 
 
 " Thanks ; but I decline my share." 
 
 " I am afraid you will find it difficult to stand aloof, 
 for I consider Prince Waldemar as my best friend, and 
 henceforth my house is open to him as to a brother." 
 
376 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 "As you please. My house shall be shut in his face." 
 
 " I am sorry, but your words oblige me to break a 
 disagreeable piece of news to you. But I see you are 
 busy ; you don't take any interest — " 
 
 "Go on talking," returned Eveline, who was standing 
 before the looking-glass washing the paint off her face. 
 " I am listening." 
 
 " For the future, I regret to say, you will not have a 
 house of your own. The affairs of your friend, Prince 
 Theobald, have been sequestrated ; his property is now 
 in the hands of trustees. I need not tell you, for I am 
 sure you have known all along, that the hotel you occupy, 
 together with all your expenses, has been paid for by 
 him. This, naturally, is at an end. In my circumstances 
 I could not afford to give you a separate establishment ; 
 we will, therefore, be obliged to live together, and it fol- 
 lows naturally that I shall expect my wife to receive as 
 her guests my friends^ and to make them welcome." 
 
 Eveline had laid aside her queenly robes ; she now 
 took off her diadem, and as she slowly unfastened her 
 bracelets she turned and faced Felix. 
 
 " And do you think," she said, " that when I leave 
 my hotel I cannot get for myself a garret somewhere, 
 where there will be a door with a strong bolt, with which 
 I can bar the entrance of any unpleasant visitors ?" 
 
 Felix looked at her in amazement ; he constrained 
 himself to take a more friendly tone. 
 
 " I must call your attention to one fact. We are in 
 Paris, and the French marital law is strict. A wife 
 must dwell under her husband's roof. She must go 
 where he goes. She must obey him." 
 
 Eveline was now busy undoing the gold sandals which 
 bound her feet. She looked steadily at Kaulmann, with 
 her eyes glo\ying like lamps. 
 
EVA DIRKMAL 377 
 
 " I must call your attention," she said, " to one fact. 
 We are in Paris, and according to the French law those 
 persons who have been married before the altar, and 
 not before the civil authorities, are not considered legal- 
 ly married, and that, therefore, our marriage is null and 
 void." 
 
 Kaulmann sprang to his feet as if he had been bitten 
 by a tarantula. 
 
 "What are you saying?" he cried, in a voice that was 
 almost a shriek, 
 
 Eveline had loosened the golden sandals. She stood 
 before Felix in her bare feet, and threw him the sandals. 
 
 " These belong to you. I am once more Eva Dirk- 
 mal. I belong to myself." 
 
 "Who has told you this ?" stammered the banker, pale 
 with rage. 
 
 "The Abbe' Samuel, who advised you to treat me in 
 the same manner." 
 
 Kaulmann felt the room going round. 
 
 "And now," continued Eveline, with a dignified mo- 
 tion of her hand, " I must remind you that this is the 
 dressing-room of a young girl." 
 
 Felix did not wait to have his dismissal repeated; he 
 took his hat and went without another word. He ran 
 away, and he ran so fast that he took no heed where he 
 was going till he stumbled and fell. 
 
 All WMS over; he had played his last card and lost. 
 Everything was gone ; there was no more help. He had 
 two courses open to him : he might put a pistol to his 
 head, and so end the drama, or he might take all the 
 money in his counting-house and fly. He chose the 
 last. 
 
CHAPTER XXXII 
 CRUSHED 
 
 Eveline felt as if she had been given new life. She 
 was no longer married, and yet she was not a widow. 
 She had to shed no tears over happiness that had van- 
 ished, no regrets for domestic joys. Her heart was full 
 of newly awakened desires, hopes she hardly dared to 
 confess to herself, dreams that delighted while they 
 embarrassed her — a delicious riddle that she feared to 
 guess. Next day, however, when she heard that Kaul- 
 mann had absconded and would never return, she recog- 
 nized fully that her chains had fallen off. 
 
 When the caged bird has escaped into the open air of 
 heaven, does he ever regret his gilded cage and all its 
 luxurious comforts or the tender endearments of his 
 owner ? The bird enjoys his freedom, and rejoices he is 
 no longer a slave. It may be that wilder and stronger 
 birds tear him in pieces ; that the frost and rain may 
 chill his body, unused to exposure. He cares not. He 
 wings his flight still higher; he seeks for a branch; he 
 cooes to his lady-love ; he is happy. 
 
 Eveline never for one moment reflected that she was 
 in any way implicated in the fall of Kaulmann and the 
 shame that attended his ruin. She had no idea that her 
 name was bandied about. She who had been as a queen, 
 who had been so admired, had such a S2ccch ! What was 
 to become of her now ? She belongs to no one. No 
 
CRUSHED 379 
 
 one knows anything of her past ; but it is pretty safe to 
 prophesy her future. She will have another protector. 
 Of course ; but who will he be ? Which of her many ad- 
 mirers ? She has a legion of adorers from which to choose. 
 
 This was the talk of the clubs and the gossip of soci- 
 ety. While Eveline sat in her room, rejoicing at her 
 new life of freedom, an idea suddenly came into her 
 head. She looked for Arpad's visiting-card, ordered her 
 carriage, and drove out to visit the Belenyis. They 
 lived some little way from Paris, in the suburbs, where 
 houses can still be had with rooms on the ground floor. 
 Madame Belenyi liked to live on the ground floor. The 
 house she had lost was of this sort, and it had the ad- 
 vantage that, having her own kitchen, she could cook for 
 her son, and feel sure he was not dining at some tavern 
 in bad company. Unless on special occasions Arpad 
 invariably came home to dine with his mother ; he would 
 not have missed doing so for a splendid feast. He 
 thought there was nothing to compare with her dishes of 
 pig's ear and delicately cooked vegetables. 
 
 Eveline's coachman found it hard to make out the 
 narrow little street in the neighborhood of Montmartre, 
 where the Belenyis had established themselves. Eveline 
 would not let the carriage go farther than the corner ; 
 there she got out, and, accompanied by her footman, 
 walked up the street, looking for the right house. It was 
 an old-fashioned cottage, in which Madame Belenyi had 
 hired two rooms divided by a kitchen. A girl who was 
 working in the garden showed Eveline where the young 
 gentleman lived. As Eveline pushed open the kitchen- 
 door very gently she noticed that the door of the inner 
 room opened suddenly and a woman looked out. This 
 was undoubtedly Arpad's mother, who was curious to see 
 who had come to visit her son. 
 
380 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 Eveline went on her toes to the door of the opposite 
 apartment, and noiselessly turned the handle ; she 
 wanted to surprise Arpad. 
 
 His room was the picture of comfort and order. It 
 was easy to see how carefully it was kept by his mother. 
 The table, the walls, were crowded with handsome pict- 
 ures and ornaments, the gift of different persons — cups, 
 wood-carvings, antique weapons, classical paintings; 
 the windows were supplied with plants in bloom ; there 
 were bookcases full of books. Everything was well 
 arranged ; there was taste and comfort, and Arpad liked 
 to be at home better than anywhere else. The hired 
 piano was from Erard's manufactory, and was now open. 
 Arpad was sitting with his back to it, brush in hand ; he 
 was painting. The pianoforte-player was also a painter. 
 Artists, many of them, indulge in these freaks. One of 
 our most distinguished portrait-painters loves to torture 
 his neighbors by scratching like a cat upon the strings 
 of a violin; so also a well-known musician spends his 
 time writing feeble verses ; and a third, who is a real 
 poet, produces unsightly excrescences in marble and 
 terra-cotta. 
 
 What was Arpad painting ? 
 
 Eveline stepped softly behind his back, but the rustle 
 of her silk dress betrayed her presence. 
 
 Arpad turned scarlet, shoved the picture into a 
 drawer, and, getting up quickly, confronted his visitor, 
 who had only time to see that it was a portrait he was 
 painting. 
 
 " Ah, it is you," he stammered, in an embarrassed 
 voice. " I thought it was my mother." 
 
 "Aha, you are doing something you should not! 
 Your mother does not allow you to paint ; isn't that it ? 
 Well, it is a silly thing, I must say, for a pianoforte- 
 
CRUSHED 381 
 
 player to spend his time painting; and what is the 
 subject?" 
 
 " Oh, nothing — a flower !" 
 
 ("What a lie !" thought Eveline ; " it was a portrait") 
 
 " Then if it is a flower, give it to me." 
 
 " I should rather not." 
 
 " But if it is only a flower?" 
 
 " I am not going to give it to you." 
 
 " Don't be so cross. Won't you ask me to sit down ?" 
 
 Arpad was really vexed. Why had she come to dis- 
 turb him just at this moment? Any other time she 
 would have been welcome. This beginning spoiled the 
 happy hour; for the picture was not Eveline's portrait. 
 
 " Sit near me, else 1 shall think you are afraid of me. 
 I expected that you would have come to see me, to find 
 fault with me for my performance yesterday evening. 
 Tell me frankly — didn't I sing badly?" 
 
 "Very badly," returned Arpad, discontentedly. "You 
 are going back instead of forward ; and you seem to 
 forget all you learn. I was quite ashamed of you. 
 And your acting! I thought I was looking at an 
 automaton." 
 
 "To teU you the truth, I was in a miserable state of 
 mind ; I had several domestic troubles. I am separated 
 from Kaulmann." 
 
 " That was no reason to sing false ; he wasn't worth 
 risking your engagement for, and playing in such a per- 
 functory manner — singing, too, all out of tune. You 
 never troubled yourself much about him." (Arpad 
 knew nothing of what had happened to Kaulmann ; the 
 news had not penetrated to Montmartre.) " And, at all 
 events, you should have had the discretion not to order 
 a shower of bouquets when you were doing so badly ; 
 it doesn't look well." 
 
382 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 Eveline was very much wounded at this unjust ac- 
 cusation. She answered, almost crying: 
 
 " I beg to assure you I have never ordered bouquets 
 to be thrown to me." 
 
 " Well, it was one of your adorers, that crazy prince. 
 It is all the same thing. To be handsome, to sing 
 badly, and to receive wreaths, those are three sins rolled 
 into one. The world cannot distinguish between them." 
 
 " Very well ; go on finding fault, go on scolding, my 
 excellent old master. What else have I done that is 
 displeasing to you ?" 
 
 Arpad began to laugh, and held out his hand to 
 Eveline. 
 
 " Forgive me," he said. " My roughness is only the 
 grumble of the preceptor ; it is over. Now we shall be 
 young again and chat. Shall I fetch the draught- 
 board ? Shall we play for love or for nothing?" 
 
 This tone warmed Eveline's heart. She laughed, and 
 slapped Arpad's hand, which he did not like. 
 
 " What are you going to do now you have got rid of 
 Kaulmann ?" he said. "Will you marry again.? Is an- 
 other man ready for the yoke ? Men are as plentiful as 
 blackberries. Or are you going to preserve the au- 
 tonomy of the actress ?" 
 
 Eveline cast down her eyes and grew suddenly grave. 
 
 " I have no one," she said, sorrowfully. 
 
 "Ah, that does not mean that there are not plenty 
 you can have if you like." 
 
 " It means the same thing. I shall belong to no one. 
 I shall never take a husband who is above me in sta- 
 tion. Do you see, the girl who went barefoot in the 
 coal-mine must stay in her own class. If I could give 
 any one a place in my heart, it would be to one who 
 was as free and independent as I am. He should owe 
 
CRUSHED 383 
 
 nothing to great people ; he should depend absolutely 
 on his own genius ; live absolutely by his own work. 
 He should be esteemed not for his money nor his rank, 
 but for his talent; he should glory in being an artist." 
 
 This was a frank confession for any one who under- 
 stood. Arpad understood ; he became more discon- 
 tented. 
 
 " H'm ! Then I am afraid you are walking in a path 
 that leads you away from such a man as you describe." 
 
 " What do you mean ?" 
 
 Arpad got up from his chair. " Artists have many 
 strange ideas ; these are inseparable from the artistic 
 temperament. Do 3'OU see that antique goblet there in 
 the centre of the table ? It was a present to me from 
 Count Demidoff on the occasion of a concert. It was 
 an heirloom in his family. It is a wonderful relic; a 
 classsical work. Princes, generals, rulers have drunk 
 out of it. I have a great respect for it, and I keep my 
 visitors' cards in it. But I never drink out of it ; I 
 prefer a common glass, for which I have paid fifteen 
 pence, but out of which no one has drunk but myself." 
 
 Eveline flushed deeply at this cruel speech. 
 
 Arpad had, however, resolved to make the matter still 
 clearer. 
 
 " You say," he went on, " that you would like to find 
 an artist, a genius, a proud, independent man ; him you 
 would choose for your husband ! And you imagine that 
 a man of this type would submit to sit by your side as 
 you drove in the Champs Elysees, knowing that the 
 people driving behind in other carriages or walking 
 along the path were saying, ' There is the curled and 
 scented Hyperion, but the steeds that draw him are not 
 paid for by his muse, they are the blood-horses of Prince 
 X ; and his wife is not content with the glory of /^/>y 
 
384 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 name, she wears the diamonds provided by Marquis 
 G .' Do you think you will easily find such a hus- 
 band ?" 
 
 Poor Eveline ! She tried to defend herself against 
 this cruel boy. 
 
 " But I am ready to throw away all splendor — every- 
 thing that is not earned by my honest labor. I wish to 
 live by my art, to be what I am — an actress. I would 
 work night and day to perfect myself. I do not want any 
 other distinction but that of an artist." 
 
 Arpad then told her what she had never heard until 
 now. Children and fools speak the truth, and in Arpad 
 there was a mixture of both ; he was a child in years, 
 and a fool as regarded the claims of art. 
 
 " My dear Eveline, you are not an artist; you will never 
 be an actress ; you are one of the step-daughters of the 
 muses. There are many such, to whom have been given 
 great capabilities ; one only is wanting — courage. You 
 sing wonderfully well, you act with feeling, with humor 
 — at home, before three people ; but so soon as the lights 
 of the proscenium are lit your voice grows weak, you 
 sing false, you see and hear nothing, and you act like a 
 wooden doll. This is called stage-fright, and it is never 
 cured; it has ruined more brilliant careers than the critics 
 have. You shake your head and appeal to your former 
 triumphs. Don't deceive yourself; I know the machin- 
 ery of the stage well, and how artificial thunder and light- 
 ning are manufactured. At every performance you gain 
 a triumph ; you receive thunders of applause, mountains 
 of flowers. The morning after your performance your 
 breakfast-table is covered with newspapers teeming with 
 laudatory criticisms. This is all gold-dust, and will 
 only last as long as some rich admirer pays the piper. 
 But try the experiment of closing your doors to your 
 
CRUSHED 385 
 
 wealthy patrons, and step on the boards with no help 
 but your own talents ; ask to be applauded for your own 
 sake. Then you will learn the price of the entertainment, 
 and that the critic's praise is only to be bought." 
 
 Eveline's head sank. She knew that every word he 
 said was true. Arpad viewed the matter not so much 
 from the artistic side as from his youthful, ardent nature. 
 He was indignant against the fashions of the world ; he 
 was indignant that Eveline should have lent herself to 
 these low intrigues, and so taken the place of better 
 artists, better musicians, better actresses ; but in his 
 heart he was sorry for her. She had been kind to him ; 
 she had never offended him. Why was he so cruel to 
 her? It was due to the petulance of his boy's nature. 
 Why had she disturbed him when he was happy at his 
 painting? Why had she asked him questions? What 
 was it to her whether it were a flower, and, if it were a 
 flower, why should she want it ? And when he put out his 
 hand, why should she tap it in that intimate manner? 
 The picture was not painted for her. 
 
 " What shall I do ? What am I fit for?" asked Eveline, 
 with a downcast air. Her beautiful eyes were full of 
 tears ; she was crushed to the earth. 
 
 The young man considered a few minutes what he 
 should answer. As she had asked to drink the chalice 
 she should do so to the dregs. 
 
 "You have two courses open to you, for I would not 
 advise you to take a third and return to your husband. 
 If I were a woman I would prefer to lie stretched out at 
 the morgue than be the joint possessor of that man's ill- 
 gotten wealth. We therefore have only the two courses 
 to consider. Either you continue on the stage as before, 
 take the bought applause and the flowers paid for by 
 your noble patrons, or return from whence you came, and 
 25 
 
386 , BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 be content to shove wheelbarrows for the rest of your 
 life." 
 
 Eveline rose from her seat, drew her wrap round 
 her shoulders, and, with a low, constrained voice, mur- 
 mured : 
 
 "Thank you." Then she silently left the room. 
 
 Tears came into Arpad's eyes. But why had she 
 come here .? Why had she disturbed him when he was 
 happy painting ? The moment she had closed the door 
 he returned to the table and took from the drawer his 
 Jfo7ver, to see if it had sustained any injury. It was in 
 one sense a flower — a fair child with blue eyes ! 
 
 The door opened again ; the picture was hastily con- 
 cealed. No one, however, came in. Arpad's mother 
 spoke through the half-opened door. 
 
 " Arpad, my son, who was that beautiful lady who 
 was here just now? A princess, was she not?" 
 
 " She was a poor woman who came to beg from me." 
 
 " H'm ! Surprising ! What extraordinary beggars 
 there are in this city — beggars dressed in silk, with a 
 Persian shawl for a wrap. Did you give her anything, 
 Arpad ?" 
 
 "Mother, I had nothing to give her." 
 
 "You have done well, my boy." And she shut the 
 door and Avent back to her own room to finish stitching 
 at her son's shirt-collar. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII 
 CHARCOAL 
 
 Eveline had resolved to make a great effort. She 
 recognized that there was truth in what Arpad had 
 said; only in one particular he was wrong: he had not 
 measured the gulf between "can" and "must." 
 
 She felt herself possessed by sudden energy ; her res- 
 olution to succeed grew in proportion as her chance of 
 success was less. Many people have found strength in 
 the thought, " If I have no one to care for me, I, at 
 least, am master of myself." She would carve her own 
 future ; she would be an actress. She would show the 
 world what was in her. She would nerve herself to 
 courage before the footlights. The very circumstances 
 which had deprived her of all courage would now give 
 her strength ; she would sing to the public as if she 
 were alone. The crowed should go for nothing, except 
 in being sharers in her triumph. 
 
 She spent a miserable night. The luxury which sur- 
 rounded her, the works of art which lay upon her tables, 
 in her cabinets, the costly vases, seemed silently to re- 
 proach her ; the cups set with precious stones recalled 
 Arpad's words. Better to be a glass of fifteen sous 
 than a goblet of silver ! 
 
 At last sleep fell upon her tired eyelids, and in the 
 morning she awoke refreshed and full of fresh energy. 
 
 This day the opera in which she had sung the day be- 
 
388 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 fore yesterday was to be repeated. The rehearsal was 
 to take place in the morning. At this rehearsal, then, 
 she would show what she could do; she would look at 
 no one ; she would sing like a blind nightingale. 
 
 She ordered her carriage. When she reached the 
 theatre she told the servants to return for her in two 
 hours. 
 
 As she entered the vestibule the stage-manager came 
 to meet her, and told her that her part had been given 
 to another singer. 
 
 Eveline flew into a passion. Why had it been taken 
 away from her, and in such a manner, without asking 
 her permission ? Such a want of proper deference tow- 
 ards her ! 
 
 The man regretted the circumstance, but either could 
 not or would not offer any explanation. Would she like 
 to see the manager ? 
 
 Eveline, in a very excited frame of mind, went to 
 look for him; but he was not in his office. His secre- 
 tary, however, handed her a letter, which the manager 
 had desired him to send to her address. 
 
 Eveline took the letter, and when she was in the hall 
 she broke the seal and read it. It was a dismissal, 
 immediate, discourteous, on the grounds that she was 
 quite unequal to fill the position of prima donna. 
 
 How she got out of the theatre and into the street 
 she did not know; she came to herself when she saw 
 the crowd of passers-by staring at her. She felt that it 
 was no wonder they looked at her. She v^^as walking 
 like one who was dead; her body moved forward, but 
 her mind was lifeless. It was strange to feel one's self 
 thus annihilated. 
 
 Then it was true; the cruel boy was right. The 
 clouds were golden only so long as the sun shone. All 
 
CHARCOAL 389 
 
 her splendor had been on the outside. There was noth- 
 ing tangible ; nothing came from herself. The whole 
 thing had been ?i fata morgana; it had now vanished 
 forever. 
 
 Eveline wandered, she didn't know where. Suddenly 
 she found herself opposite her own house. She would 
 not have thought it strange if some one had told her at 
 the door of the hotel that no one of her name lived there, 
 that she had been dead and buried years ago. She 
 thought she was too stunned to feel either astonishment 
 or pain, but her composure soon gave way under a new 
 trial. 
 
 She walked upstairs, still in a dream, and through 
 her apartment until she reached her dressing-room. 
 When she entered it she saw, stretched in an arm-cliair, 
 Prince Waldemar. 
 
 He was faultlessly attired, with a most elegant tour- 
 nure, carefully arranged hair, and fair whiskers, hanging 
 down on both sides in what were then called "cutlets"; 
 his mustache was pointed and waxed. 
 
 Eveline called out, in a voice of fear, mixed with 
 anger : 
 
 " May I ask, sir, what you want here ?" 
 
 " I was waiting to see you," said the prince, with well- 
 bred nonchalance ; but he never rose from the seat in 
 which he lounged so comfortably. 
 
 " Who gave you permission to enter my room ?" 
 
 " I asked for no permission." 
 
 " What right have you to intrude yourself here ?" 
 
 With a lazy air the prince put his hand into the pocket 
 of his coat and drew out a red paper like a bill ; this he 
 handed to Eveline with a slight motion of his head, 
 which conveyed, "This is the cause of my presence 
 here." 
 
39° BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 Eveline took the paper, which trembled in her hand. 
 
 " What is it ? I do not understand it." 
 
 " It is, however, very intelligible," said the prince, at 
 last getting out of the chair. " The creditors of Kaul- 
 mann have seized your things. Kaulmann was careless 
 or thoughtless enough — I really cannot say which — to 
 announce that what belonged to his wife was his, and 
 therefore his creditors have seized everything here, be- 
 lieving it is his. During your absence this morning 
 they got the law officers to break open your door and to 
 take possession. They affixed a notice outside, inviting 
 all passers-by to come in and inspect the things for sale. 
 In consequence of this invitation I am here. I came in 
 to look about me. You will observe that there are 
 government seals upon everything. I am here in the 
 right of purchaser." 
 
 Eveline looked round, and saw that what he said was 
 true. 
 
 "But, sir, it is impossible. Kaulmann knew perfectly 
 that nothing here was his property." 
 
 " I am sure of that. It was gross negligence on your 
 lawyer's side; he should have protected your interests 
 better. Every one knows that Kaulmann brought the 
 goods here ; it was supposed that he bought them. In 
 any case, he cannot testify in your favor. A misfortune 
 has happened to him. When he saw that the police 
 were after him he jumped out of the railway-carriage he 
 was in. Unfortunately, he broke his neck and died 
 immediately." 
 
 Eveline fell back upon the sofa and hid her face in 
 her hands. 
 
 " If you wish to shed a few tears to the memory of 
 Kaulmann I will retire to the window," remarked Prince 
 Waldem^r, with ironical courtesy. 
 
CHARCOAL 39^ 
 
 Eveline made him no answer. In her mind every- 
 thing was in confusion; she could think of nothing. 
 Let everything go ; \vhat did it matter ? Should she 
 institute a law-suit to recover her property ? Should she 
 bring witnesses to prove that this ornament, these 
 costfy hangings, these rich carpets were not the prop- 
 erty of her husband, but the gifts to her from a gray- 
 beard— the most upright, the dearest of men, a Hun- 
 garian magnate, who had adopted her, an actress, to be 
 his own child, with no self-seeking, no sinful gratifica- 
 tion, but out of pure affection ? No one would credit 
 her story. She would tell it to no one. She would not 
 subject the name of her benefactor to the jeers and 
 laughter of the incredulous. Sooner let everything go. 
 
 " I am not weeping, sir," she said to the prince. " If 
 you have anything further to tell me I am ready to 
 listen." 
 
 " I could tell you many other unfortunate circum- 
 stances," returned Waldemar, leaning against the fire- 
 place with the silver grate. " For one thing, Prince 
 Theobald, your former patron, has been placed by his 
 family under legal restraint, and cannot take any active 
 part in the affairs of this world." 
 
 " I know that." 
 
 " The shares w^hich he took as a provision for you in 
 the Bondavara Company have been also sequestrated 
 by law." 
 
 " That has been told to me already." 
 
 " This loss, however, has a compensation : those 
 shares are now almost worthless. Since the colliery ex- 
 plosion, and the impossibility of extinguishing the fire in 
 the mine, they have fallen to nothing." 
 
 " That does not concern me." 
 
 *' I have not quite finished. The clergyman who was 
 
392 
 
 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 your friend, whose dreams were of a bishop's mitre, has 
 returned to his monastery." 
 
 " I have known that some time." 
 
 " You seem to have learned everything. Perhaps 3^ou 
 know also that your manager has cancelled your engage- 
 ment and given your part to another actress ?" 
 
 " Here is the letter," answered Eveline, drawing a 
 crumpled paper from her pocket. And then she looked 
 at the prince with proud contempt. She was wondrous- 
 ly beautiful. " Have you taken the trouble to come here 
 to tell me all this ?" she asked, her eyes gleaming not 
 through tears but with indignation. 
 
 " I did not come here on that account," answered the 
 prince, sitting down on the sofa and bending over her. 
 " I came to speak to you frankly. Do you not see that the 
 whole fabric upon which your golden dreams were built 
 has crumbled ? The Bondavara mine is on fire ; the 
 shares are falling ; the prime-minister is disgraced ; the 
 prince is under restraint ; your husband is dead ; your 
 property will be sold by auction ; you are dismissed from 
 the theatre. The five acts of the drama are played out. 
 Let us applaud the finish, if we are so minded, and let us 
 begin again. I can give you back your shares. I can 
 get you a palace in the Maximilian Strasse. I can buy 
 back for you all your seized goods — your furniture, your 
 diamonds, your horses. I can arrange matters with the 
 manager of the theatre ; you shall be reinstated as prima 
 donna on better terms than before. I can give you afar 
 greater position than you have ever enjoyed, and I can 
 offer you a truer, more self-sacrificing, more adoring 
 lover than you have possessed. His name is Waldemar 
 Sondersheim." He bowed low before her. 
 
 Eveline looked with intense gravity at the top of his 
 boots. 
 
CHARCOAL 393 
 
 Waldemar was now certain that he was master of the 
 situation. He took from his waistcoat-pocket a watch, 
 and pressed it into her hand. 
 
 "My sweetest love, my time is precious. I am ex- 
 pected at the stock -exchange. The Kauhnann specu- 
 lation has to be crushed. It is just twelve o'clock. I 
 give you one hour to think over what I have said and 
 to decide your own fate. I am content to wait until 
 then ; it is only one word I ask for— yes or no." 
 
 Eveline gave him a yet shorter answer. She dashed 
 the timepiece which he had put into her hand with such 
 force on the floor that it flew into a hundred pieces. 
 That was her answer ! 
 
 Prince Waldemar laughed, put his hand in his left- 
 hand waistcoat-pocket, took out another \vatch, and said, 
 
 dryly : 
 
 " I expected just such an answer, and therefore I 
 brought with me another watch. I beg of you to break 
 this one also. I shall be only too happy to provide you 
 with a third." 
 
 This time, however, Eveline did not take the time- 
 piece in her hand. She sprang to her feet, and, pointing 
 with her hand towards the door, cried out : 
 
 " If you have bought my things, take everything away ; 
 but the apartment is still mine. Go P' 
 
 Prince Waldemar looked at her haughtily, although 
 he was still smiling. 
 
 " My dear lady, this is easily said ; but reflect a mo- 
 ment. What will become of you if you reject me ? You 
 have no other expedient." 
 
 "I have a shelter," returned the girl, bitterly, "to 
 which I can turn, and that is charcoal." 
 
 Prince Waldemar made her a low bow, and, without 
 uttering another word, took his hat and left her. 
 
394 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 A woman who appeals to charcoal needs no man's 
 friendship. In the metropolis of fashion many poor 
 wretches have found their last refuge there. 
 
 That evening Eveline paid a visit to her jeweller. 
 She brought him a pair of diamond ear-rings. They were 
 all she had ; her ornaments had been seized by the law 
 officers. She sold these to the jeweller, and left the 
 purchase-money in his care, to be spent in a yearly sum 
 on her little brother's grave in Pere la Chaise, to have 
 sods of green grass round it, and have fresh flowers 
 placed there on All-Souls' Day. The jeweller promised, 
 for she had been a good customer. She told him she 
 was going to travel. Apparently it was a long journey, 
 for the next morning a bundle was found by the police 
 on the banks of the Seine. It was tied up in a cash- 
 mere shawl, which her maid recognized as belonging to 
 the lost actress. 
 
 Prince Waldemar offered a large reward to whoever 
 found the body. But it was never found, for the bundle 
 laid at the water-side was only a pretence ; and while 
 every one was dragging the river, Eveline had kept her 
 word and sought refuge in the charcoal pit. 
 
 Prince Waldemar never heard of her again. He and 
 his household wore mourning in memory of her for six 
 weeks. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV 
 csanta's last will and testament 
 
 We have now to go back to the Bondavara Company 
 before the crash came, and when the shares stood at 
 sixty over par, and looked as if they would go even 
 higher. But Csanta was satisfied to sell at sixty. There 
 could be too much of even a good thing. One should 
 not be too grasping, and sixty thousand gulden is a nice 
 profit in one year. He thought he would act as Spitz- 
 hase had often recommended, and sell out his shares in 
 small quantities until they were all gone. It would add 
 to the pleasure not to do it all at once. 
 
 For some time the quotations had been stationary. 
 He was accustomed to go every morning to the cafe 
 and read the exchange column, and had always seen the 
 same quotation — "Bondavara, sixty above par." 
 
 On the morning of the day upon which Csanta had 
 arranged to send the first instalment of his shares to 
 Vienna he went to his cafe, and, while waiting to be 
 served, took up the first newspaper that came to hand. 
 As usual he commenced by reading it backwards, be- 
 ginning at the exchange column. The first thing that 
 caught his eye was, " Bondavara, sixty bdow par^ 
 
 A printer's error; and a very serious one! The 
 printer was drunk when he printed it. The fellow ought 
 to be put in prison. If there is any police in Vienna, 
 or justice in the government, such a thing should not 
 
396 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 pass unpunished ; it is enough to shake the nerves of 
 any man not made of iron. If this is not a disturbance 
 of the peace, I don't know what you can call it. 
 
 Then he took another paper. The same mistake ! 
 He went through the round of the daily papers, and 
 found that all the printers must have chosen this day 
 for a drinking-bout, as each one made the same error 
 between above and bdow par. 
 
 Csanta was convinced that some great mistake had 
 been made ; but as he could not rest until it was cleared 
 up, he telegraphed to Spitzhase. 
 
 A telegram from Spitzhase crossed his. It ran: 
 
 " Great misfortune. The Bondavara mine is on fire. 
 Great panic. The shares are sixty below par. Every 
 one is selling." 
 
 Csanta cursed and swore with rage. " The devil take 
 him ! Sixty below par ; a loss of sixty thousand gulden ! 
 That means for me extinction. Where is the cord and 
 the nail ? Let me hang myself ! Six casks full of silver 
 gone ! I shall murder some one ! I must go to Vienna. 
 I shall knock the whole place about their ears like a 
 card house if I don't get back my silver. I didn't take 
 my money to Vienna to leave it there." 
 
 He foamed like a madman, dragged his bonds out of 
 his safe, threw them on the floor and stamped upon 
 them. 
 
 "Villains! knaves! paper beggars! It is you who 
 have eaten up my silver crowns! You have swallowed 
 my sixty thousand silver crowns ! I will tear you in 
 pieces ! I will cut my crowns out of your stomachs ! I 
 will kill you dead !" 
 
 The upsetting of his safe had disturbed his papers. 
 
csanta's last will and testament 397 
 
 He suddenly caught sight of a deed. He looked at it 
 closely. His mood changed. 
 
 "What a fool I have been. I don't lose as much as 
 my finger-nail. Here is my young friend's signature. 
 How lucky I didn't destroy this, or light my pipe with 
 it He binds himself at any time, subject to my desire, 
 to take oyer a thousand shares at par. Ah, xvell done, 
 Csanta ' You are an old bird not easily caught with 
 chaff I am sayed, thanks to my own sagacity, to my 
 prudent, far-seeing nose that smells danger ahead. 
 This letter covers all loss. So far as I am concerned, 
 stones may fall from the sky. I am safe." 
 
 He folded the shares tenderly, and locked them and 
 the precious letter safely up in his safe. He then sat 
 down and wrote to his dear young friend in Pans. 
 Fortunately he had the address. He asked him polite- 
 ly-seeing how the matter stood-to send at once some 
 accredited person to take over the bonds, according to 
 their previous agreement, and to arrange in what manner 
 the money should be paid. As for the outstanding in- 
 terest, some compromise or arrangement could be made. 
 A week passed, and no answer came ; but, after all, it 
 
 is more than a cat's jump from X to Pans. 
 
 During the week he received twice every day, morn- 
 ing and evening, a telegram from Spitzhase pressing 
 him to part with his shares, for every day they were fall- 
 incr ten per cent, lower. At the end of the week they 
 had o-one down still more. The bears had won the day. 
 Cslmta never moved a finger. He hugged himself in 
 his own safety : and as for the others, their shares might 
 cro to the bottom of the sea for all he cared. He had 
 no shares. They were all KaulmaniVs. " Take them 
 away, and give me back my silver !" This was his cry. 
 " Rogue ! villain ! I have you by the neck! 
 
39^ BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 The accounts that he read of the sudden collapse of the 
 company and the ruin of the shareholders did not in the 
 least disturb him. The losses of others could not affect 
 him. On the ninth day, however, he began to tremble. 
 The morning's paper contained an account, telegraphed 
 from Paris, of the flight of the banker, Felix Kaulmann, 
 leaving his affairs in the uttermost confusion. This was 
 succeeded by a second telegram, announcing that the 
 banker, Kaulmann, seeing that the officers of police 
 were on his track, had thrown himself from the win- 
 dow of the railway-carriage, and had been killed instan- 
 taneously. 
 
 Csanta narrowly missed an apoplectic stroke. When 
 he came to he telegraphed to Spitzhase to sell all his 
 shares for what they would fetch. 
 
 Spitzhase answered by return : 
 
 "Too late ; they are quoted at seve?tfy, but this is only 
 nominal. There are neither buyers nor sellers. The 
 mine is gone ; the railway is gone ; everything is gone. 
 Why didn't you part with them a v/eek ago, when I ad- 
 vised you ? Now you can put your shares in the fire, and 
 cook chestnuts at the blaze." 
 
 "All is over with me!" sobbed Csanta. "Let me 
 get home ; let me lie down and die ! I cannot live ! I 
 shall not be alive in three days !" 
 
 He took leave of his acquaintances ; he had no 
 friends. He told them they need not be afraid, he 
 would do himself no injury. He was simply dying of 
 grief, just as a man might die of sickness. 
 
 All gone ! 
 
 Some compassionate souls had pity on the old man 
 and took him home. If he had been alone he had 
 
csanta's last will and testa^ient 399 
 
 never found his own house. Once arrived there, he 
 insisted on going down to his cellar, to see with his own 
 eyes if it were not some hideous dream, from which he 
 would wake and find his beloved casks in their old 
 places. When he saw all were gone, he set up a fearful 
 cry, " Fool ! fool ! fool f and fell forward on his face. 
 
 They carried him up-stairs, tenderly undressed him as 
 if he were a child, and put him to bed. He shrieked 
 for a priest, so they fetched him one. He made his 
 confession, and received the sacrament. 
 
 His lawyer then appeared on the scene, and his last 
 will was written out and duly signed. He had still 
 something to leave. There were his houses, the whole 
 street front ; the church into which no one came, on 
 whose threshold between the stones the grass grew 
 thick, in whose court-yard the school-boys played ball 
 on Thursday half-holidays. 
 
 The church, notwithstanding, was endowed with a 
 priest, a verger, and a bell-ringer. The priest should say 
 mass, the bell-ringer should ring the bell, the verger 
 should open the door every day ; just as a hundred years 
 ago, when through the open church doors a stream of 
 men passed, with silver buttons on their jackets, and 
 Avomen with long silk veils. The old man now dying is 
 the last descendant left on this earth of the old Greek 
 traders. The church shall remain standing in memory 
 of them. 
 
 The house next door to his own he bequeathed to the 
 widow, who was the daughter of the last Greek. This 
 woman and he had quarrelled long ago. God alone 
 can decide the justice of a quarrel that has to do with 
 paper money, which to-day is worth a great deal and 
 to-morrow not a penny. Therefore, he bequeathed to 
 her and her son the heap of cursed, worthless papers 
 
400 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 called shares in the Eondavara Company, which have 
 caused his unexpected death. They shall have these 
 papers, whether for good or ill. 
 
 After he had made these depositions and arranged 
 his affairs his will was sealed and inscribed by him- 
 self. He divided among his neighbors and servants his 
 few remaining possessions. He called the bell-ringer, 
 and enjoined him to toll the bell three times every two 
 hours, and if any one asked the reason why, he should 
 answer, "The Greek, Csanta, is dead." Then he sent 
 every one out of the room. 
 
 When next morning they returned he was dead. He 
 had died of grief, just as an aged husband will not sur- 
 vive the loss of his wife with whom he had grown old. 
 So a man with a strong will dies when he has said that 
 he can no longer support life. 
 
CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 THE GROUND BURNS UNDER HIS FEET 
 
 Peter Saffran's Curse seemed likely to be fulfillecl : 
 " Upon this field no grass shall grow for evermore." 
 
 It was true the green grass grew still upon the field, 
 but who could tell what was seething underneath, in the 
 bosom of the earth ? 
 
 The directors of the company's mine believed that 
 when they closed all the entrances and openings to the 
 shafts and vaults, they had given, by so doing, a check 
 to the conflagration ; by preventing the current of the 
 outer air from getting in, they felt sure the fire must in 
 a short time be extinguished. 
 
 On the other hand, there was the irremediable evil 
 that the supply of coal gradually diminished ; even the 
 necessary material for keeping the forge heated was 
 wanting. They tried to heat it with wood — there were 
 plenty of trees in the forest — but without coal the heat- 
 er would not work, and much iron was lost in conse- 
 quence. Instead of iron bars, a great quantity of "ram- 
 mers " lay scattered about. It was soon patent that, 
 from all these causes combined, the company were not 
 in a condition to fulfil their contract for supplying the 
 railway contractors with iron rails. The guarantee was 
 in danger, as was also that of the railway company, in 
 case the railway could not be opened for traffic at the 
 time promised in their agreement. 
 
402 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 The Bondavara Mine Company and Railway Company 
 were, so to speak, glued to one another ; one could hardly 
 take a step without dragging the other down the danger- 
 ous path on which both were going headlong to ruin. 
 
 Being in such evil straits, the directors began to look 
 for help to the other mine. Coal they must have. In 
 Ivan Behrend's colliery there must be a large supply. 
 For a whole year he had sold none. They must buy 
 from him, even at an advanced price. 
 
 Raune also bethought himself of begging for coal from 
 the same source. Surely no one could refuse to oblige 
 an old friend and neighbor. 
 
 His letter, however, came back to him with the seal 
 unbroken. At this moment Raune' was terribly hard 
 pressed. He resolved to wait upon Ivan, and make his 
 request in person. 
 
 His visit was a short one. He was in all less than two 
 seconds in Ivan's room, from which the first thing that 
 issued was his hat, which he followed promptly. After 
 this Ivan's voice was heard. 
 
 " I hold no conversation with spies." 
 
 Raune wrote the directors a long letter, in which he 
 said that Behrend was a boorish, selfish man, who was 
 determined to profit by the misfortune which had hap- 
 pened to the Bondavara mine, and would not give his 
 coal at any price ; instead of selling, he was using it in 
 the manufacture of a quantity of iron rails, and speculat- 
 ing on the chance that the company would be forced to 
 buy at any sum he chose to ask. 
 
 The result of his letter was very different from what 
 he had looked for. The railway directors wrote at once 
 to Ivan, and made him an advantageous offer for his iron 
 rails ; and if he had asked fifty per cent, more they were 
 prepared to accede to his demand. 
 
THE GROUND BURNS UNDER HIS FEET 403 
 
 The profit for Ivan's faithful workmen was a very full 
 harvest. The deserters to the enemies' camp now im- 
 plored to be taken on again ; they had no work. But 
 they were not received by their former comrades ; a com- 
 mittee of the men decided, without a dissentient voice, 
 against taking on one of the deserters, but took on a total 
 stranger. This decision settled the matter, and Ivan 
 was forced to acknowledge it was just. The new member 
 was bound to work for a year as a common laborer, and 
 the committee were not to decide whether he should be 
 admitted to the rights of the existing colony, and entitled 
 to his share of the profit; this should be put to the vote. 
 
 ]\Ieantime the work was splendidly done. Each man 
 looked upon the mine as his own property; there were 
 few blunders, and the success was remarkable ; neither 
 labor nor time was spared. Order was preserved, disci- 
 pline maintained, and there was no necessity for harsh 
 measures, nor for overseers. 
 
 Under all this fine weather, however, there lurked 
 clouds. In the far distance storms were gathering, evi- 
 dent to an experienced eye. 
 
 Ivan noted the coming danger, but he did not let it 
 escape his lips. It could not be averted. His mine was 
 threatened ; the fire that was consuming the neighboring 
 colliery might spread to his. This thought filled his 
 min4 by day and by night. From the situation of the 
 coal-stratum he could draw the conclusion that the con- 
 flagration must spread to Bondathal. It might take 
 years, but in the end the Bondathal mine would share 
 the same fate as its neighbor of Bondavara, and be re- 
 duced to ashes. 
 
 The earth has buried many such wrecks in its bosom. 
 But not alone below, but on the earth itself this Bonda- 
 vara misfortune had ruined a multitude of people. 
 
404 
 
 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 In the beginning the board of directors, who adminis- 
 tered the affairs of the shareholders, hit upon the idea 
 that with the ready money at their command they would 
 buy up all the shares in the market, and in this way serve 
 a double purpose. In the first place, they would secure 
 for themselves the shares which had been issued at par 
 at a price far below^ par, and in the next they would 
 check any further fall. 
 
 The board, however, by this manoeuvre only effected 
 a more rapid smash ; the money in the treasury dwin- 
 dled away until at last for the necessary expenses there 
 was nothing left. 
 
 Prince Waldemar knew how to make use of the daily 
 papers. He was always ready, and the shares having, 
 through him, fallen thirty per cent, lower, he was re- 
 solved to send them still further down. The time was 
 at hand when they would stand at ;///, and then the 
 owner of these miserable shares would be glad to offer ow^ 
 per cent, to any one who would take them off his hands. 
 
 It was a wicked game to play. Thousands were made 
 beggars. The poorer people suffered most — those who 
 a short year ago came with their little savings in their 
 hands, crying to take shares. Poor souls ! the high in- 
 terest had tempted them to their ruin. Ah, it is an old 
 story this, that repeats itself with periodic fidelity; the 
 clerk, the old man, the widow, the old maid, the go\*ern- 
 ess or teacher — these are the victims of this cruel Jug- 
 gernaut. The cashier who has gambled wdth his master's 
 money fills in the picture. But there are not wanting 
 others who suffer, but are not reduced altogether to 
 want. Solid tradesmen are crippled, people who drove 
 their carriages have to walk, lovers whose wedding-day 
 was fixed have to wait, and sometimes pine away in 
 single blessedness. Woe ! woe ! on every side. 
 
THE GROUND BURNS UNDER HIS FEET 405 
 
 But the Bondavara catastrophe had ruined not alone 
 poor and well-to-do people ; it had dragged down in its 
 fall the high and powerful family of Bondavary, one of 
 the most ancient in Hungary. The Marquis Salista had 
 learned a severe lesson ; he found that you cannot take 
 away the centrepiece of a building without endangering 
 the whole edifice. The sequestration of the prmce's 
 property had drawn the whole body of creditors upon 
 him. And so it came to pass that the large property of 
 a great nobleman, a reigning prince, fell under the ad- 
 ministration of his creditors; the heirs had really burned 
 the ground under their own feet. 
 
 If the stewards and agents in the prince's time had 
 been thieves, the administration of the property by the 
 creditors was the very realization of plunder on all sides. 
 
 The result was disastrous so far as the Countess Theu- 
 delinde was in question ; there was no one responsible, 
 so it appeared, for her forty thousand pounds. All the 
 family charges and mortgages came first on the list of 
 payments. Let her grasp hers— if she could. 
 
 The one who suffered most was the Countess Angela. 
 Her husband, Marquis Salista, had from the first lived 
 in the extravagant manner befitting a man who has come 
 into a fortune of twenty millions. It was impossible to 
 induce him to change his ideas. This led to sharp con- 
 flicts between the married pair. 
 
 On the other side, Angela showed him plainly that she 
 had married him not from liking, but out of pique. 
 
 The marquis knew it— and so did Ivan ; but he had 
 something else to think of. The ground was burning 
 under his feet. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVI 
 child's play 
 
 The concert season was in full swing when the Be- 
 lenyis received the news that Csanta was dead and had 
 bequeathed to them their former house. If Arpad had 
 been engaged to play a quartet with Beethoven, Mozart, 
 and Haydn he would have thrown up his engagement 
 and flown back with railway speed to his old home. 
 His mother was just as eager to be gone as he was. Not 
 a day did they stay ; they were off the very same evening. 
 
 On their arrival at X the magistrate unlocked 
 
 the door of their old home and gave Madame Belenyi 
 possession. Everything was exactly as they had left it, 
 only the dust of years covered all the pretty things. 
 
 Arpad's first thought was to run down to the garden. 
 The magistrate, however, detained him. He had an- 
 other legacy to make over to him, a large iron case 
 fastened with three iron locks. It contained the Bonda- 
 vara shares. 
 
 " The devil take his shares !" cried Arpad, laughing. 
 "Unluckily it is summer, so we don't want to make a 
 fire." 
 
 "They are down to nothing," said the magistrate. 
 "They are quoted to-day at ten guldens. They killed 
 poor Csanta." 
 
 They had to take the shares all the same. You must 
 not look a gift-horse in the mouth. 
 
CHILD'S PLAY 
 
 407 
 
 Arpad slipped out of the room and ran down to the 
 garden. The fruit-trees were untouched, and all in full 
 bloom. The cherry-tree was one mass of rosy blossom. 
 He remembered well how he daren't touch a blossom 
 under pain of a good whipping. And the forget-me-nots 
 on the bank of the stream, which flowed past the end of 
 the garden, and the May bells were ringing in a chorus, 
 to which no one listened. 
 
 Ev^erything was just as it had been, only grown. The 
 trees had such long branches that they were entangled 
 with those on the opposite shore. 
 
 He laid himself down in the green grass, all dotted 
 over with yellow cowslips. No one could beat him now. 
 He might waste his time and drink his fill of lazy enjoy- 
 ment. Fame, the chatter of the newspapers over his 
 sudden disappearance, the ladies who would regret him 
 — what were they all in comparison with this } In a 
 hiding-place on the river-bank he sought for the little 
 flute he had secretly made in those old days. To his 
 great joy it was there, just as he had left it. 
 
 Arpad took from his pocket a newspaper full of his 
 Parisian triumphs, an announcement of his next appear- 
 ance. Where is Paris now ? Out of the sheet he made 
 a large boat with sails, that it might take a cargo on 
 board. He pulled a bunch of the cherry blossom ; he 
 set the tiny vessel on the water, and while it danced 
 over the little bubbles in the stream he laid down again 
 among the forget-me-nots and played upon his flute the 
 national air^ " Repiilj fecskem." 
 
 At the sound of the flute another child appeared. She 
 came from the house opposite : a young girl about fif- 
 teen. She had a round, fair, laughing face and beauti- 
 ful blue eyes. Timidly, like a frightened fawn, she 
 made a few steps, then stopped and listened. By-and- 
 
408 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 by she drew nearer, then stood still again. She did not 
 see the flute - player ; she noticed nothing but his flute 
 and his boat with the cherry blossoms. 
 
 The girl had come quite close to the bank without 
 Arpad having seen her approach. He was made aware 
 of her presence by hearing her laugh. The laugh of a 
 child is as clear as a bell. Arpad looked up, surprised. 
 
 "Ah, is that you, Sophie? How pretty you have 
 grown ! I beg you will send me back my boat." 
 
 Sophie did not want to be asked twice. She held up 
 her frock with one hand, tucked it between her knees, 
 and after she had replaced the red cherry blossoms by 
 some white flowers, she gave the little boat such a hearty 
 shove that it came back to the opposite side. Then the 
 game began again. It was so amusing ! 
 
 Madame Belenyi saw the pair from the window. She 
 didn't disturb them, but let them amuse themselves un- 
 til the sun went down and the air began to get chill. 
 Then the most prudent of the two children — it was the 
 girl, no doubt — suggested to the other that the grass 
 was wet with dew, and that it would be well to go back 
 to the house. 
 
 Arpad took his boat out of the water, and put it and 
 the flute back in their hiding-place, and returned to his 
 mother. 
 
 Madame Belenyi did not scold him. She did not, 
 however, kiss him on his forehead, as she was wont to 
 do. She showed him all she had done to settle the 
 house while he had been amusing himself in the garden. 
 
 Arpad was very much pleased to find it so comfortable. 
 
 " Mother," he said, " we will live here always." 
 
 " I don't object to our living here, Arpad ; only there 
 is one condition. You must marry a good girl, and 
 bring her here to help me." 
 
CHILD S PLAY 409 
 
 " I, mother ?" returned Arpad, half pleased and yet 
 astonished. 
 
 " Yes, 5^ou. Why not ? You are a young man. I can- 
 not look after you always." 
 
 Arpad laughed again. " So, because I have grown a 
 young man, and that you cannot keep me any longer at 
 your apron-string, I must take a wife who will keep me 
 in better order than you can. Is that it, mother.^" 
 
 " My son, it is in the natural order," returned Madame 
 Belenyi, gravely, and as if there were no other course for 
 a young man but to have either a mother or a wife to 
 look after him. It did not enter into her imagination 
 that he could look after himself. 
 
 " Sooner or later I shall obey 5'-our wishes ; but just 
 now, as we have got a house, I shall have enough to do 
 to provide the house -keeping, and I could not take a 
 wife with me here and there when I have to fulfil my 
 professional engagements. For this sort of Bohemian 
 life, vagabondizing from Paris to London, Petersburg 
 to Vienna, is a bad thing for a woman, whether she goes 
 with her husband or is left behind." 
 
 " But we have something to live on, Arpad. I have 
 been very lucky with your earnings, and there is a nice 
 nest-egg in the bank. Besides, there are the shares. 
 Don't laugh, you silly boy ! Although they are only 
 worth ten gulden, yet there are a thousand of them. If 
 we realize them, that would be ten thousand gulden. In 
 a small town like this that sum would be a fortune, and 
 with it you need not scruple to take a wife." 
 
 " Mamma, you don't understand about these shares. 
 One could easily be realized, but if the next day I were 
 to go to the same place with another for sale they would 
 kick me out. Any one who would offer a thousand Bon- 
 davara shares in the money-market would be sent to the 
 
41 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 mad-house. Put the shares away with those other im- 
 portant papers Csanta gave you, and, if you like, treas- 
 ure the hope that one day they may be worth as much 
 as the paper they are printed on." 
 
 " Well, stranger things have happened. Did you ever 
 think we would come back to this house ? I am very 
 sorry I did not keep the other papers. I burned them. 
 Who knows what luck we may have with those bonds? 
 If, one day, they rise again to par, we shall realize twice 
 two hundred thousand gulden — " 
 
 "I don't count on such strokes of luck as that, mam- 
 ma. The worst compliment Providence can pay a man 
 is to let him win in a lottery. It is just as if God said to 
 him, 'You ass! I cannot keep you in any other man- 
 ner.' God would not allow a man who has any intellect 
 to win in a lottery. To such a one he would say, ' Wilt 
 thou cease to beg alms of Me in such a shameless man- 
 ner? Is it not sufficient that I have endowed thee with 
 talent ? My consolation prizes are reserved for the 
 dunderheads.' " Then he added, " Mother, don't be 
 afraid, we shall live from my art. Wait a little and you 
 shall see; only give me time. Meantime I shall buy for 
 the little girl a doll with a china head as a plaything. 
 You must take care of me for a little longer." 
 
 At these words the widow embraced her boy tenderly. 
 She was happy ; but that evening Arpad, when it was 
 moonlight, went out and sat under the weeping-willow 
 and played a melancholy air on his flute. Sometimes 
 he stopped to listen to a soft silvery voice singing a na- 
 tional air on the other side of the stream. The singer, 
 however, when she heard the flute no more, knew that 
 he was listening, and stopped her song. It is so sweet 
 to be young ! 
 
CHAPTER XXXVII 
 
 EUREKA 
 
 Ivan's fears as to the safety of his own colliery were 
 growing day by day. One morning he found that the 
 amount of hydrogen was scarcely perceptible; still there 
 was water in the pit. This discovery made him thought- 
 ful ; he could not understand it. He descended into 
 the cavern where the pond was. Not one drop of 
 water ! 
 
 Ivan remained for three hours, watching anxiously to 
 see would the water rise ; but none came. 
 
 At the end of three hours he was relieved by the men, 
 and it was then arranged that during the night they 
 would take turns in watching the tank. As soon as the 
 water began to rise they were to call him. Ivan went 
 home, lay down, and fell into a deep sleep, from which 
 he did not awake until the sun was high in the heavens. 
 He wondered that no one had called him, as had been 
 agreed. 
 
 It might be that the men had also been overcome by 
 sleep. Poor wretches, they also were exhausted. He 
 hastened to the pit. The men told him they had 
 watched all night, but there had been no sign of water 
 in the tank. He waited patiently for twenty-four hours. 
 Not a sign of water ! 
 
 Ivan thought he could explain the absence of the 
 water by the theory of the periodic springs — a theory 
 
412 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 too complicated to enter upon here. It is sufficient to 
 say that the water-supply of the mine was worked by 
 the pressure of the air upon these springs. If the water 
 did not now return, it would be attributable to one of 
 two causes : either the pipe which conducted the water 
 from the larger basin had suddenly closed, and was no 
 longer subject to atmospherical pressure, on which it 
 depended to keep open ; or some split or crevice had 
 come in the stone masonry which protected the basins, 
 and the force of the air had driven the water down 
 farther into the bowels of the earth, where, no doubt, 
 another basin was ready for its reception. We will re- 
 member that from the first Ivan had the idea that some 
 such reservoir existed. But where? — that was the 
 problem ; and if the reservoirs were not found, what 
 then ? 
 
 The cavern where Ivan stood was empty. The black 
 portals which guarded the subterranean kingdom of 
 death stood open to him. He could enter the labyrinth; 
 he could discover what he had long sought, the com- 
 munication between the upper and the lower water 
 basins. One difficulty lay in his way. He should take 
 a workman with him. He called the old miner, Paul. 
 
 " Paul, how old are you ?" 
 
 " Sixty-nine." 
 
 " You would like, no doubt, to complete your seven- 
 tieth year." 
 
 " I should like to see the gold wedding of this pit. 
 Next year it will be just fifty years since it was opened." 
 
 " And if you die before then ?" 
 
 " I should say, ' The name of the Lord be blessed.' " 
 
 " Are your sons grown to man's estate .'*" 
 
 "My grandson is able to keep himself." 
 
 " Would you be ready to accompany me on a dangerous 
 
EUREKA 4^3 
 
 expedition— one where the chances are we might never 
 
 return?"' 
 
 " I think I have run that chance before now." 
 "You must understand, Paul, the whole risk before 
 you agree. We are going to look for the water that 
 has left the tank. It is a matter of life and death to 
 every one of us, and, therefore, I think God will help us ; 
 but 'it may not be so. The Almighty may say, ' Why 
 should you mere worms of the earth dare to interfere 
 between me and the sentence I have passed against you 
 and yours? I did not listen to the entreaties of Lot, 
 and now the Dead Sea covers the ruins of the city. 
 You men of Bondathal are not better than the men of 
 Gomorrah.' Do you understand me? I have often 
 sought for the source of the spring through the narrow 
 winding paths of this cavern. These windings are so 
 narrow^ that one must sometimes press through them by 
 mere force, at other times creep along upon one's 
 stomach. Great abysses yawn under the feet; a fall 
 down one of these would be fatal ; we will have to cling 
 to the wall as we creep along. Again, we will pass 
 through stinking sewers, up to our elbows in putrid iilth. 
 All these clefts and fissures have been made some time- 
 God knows when— by an earthquake which has caused 
 the uprooting of the coal stratum. Now it is quite 
 possible that this last explosion has closed again many 
 of these clefts and opened others. If it has happened, 
 as I surmise, that the aperture has been shut which 
 communicated between the pit beneath us and the one 
 above— if this has taken place, then we have a tank full 
 of water over our heads. If we, in our search through 
 the bowels of the earth, come upon this aperture, and 
 accidentally break the smallest hole, not the size of a 
 pin's point, the water in the basin over our heads will 
 
414 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 burst through and annihilate us ; if we hear it roaring 
 we are already lost. But, on the other hand, it may be 
 that the explosion caused a rent in the upper cleft, and 
 if so the water has rushed through it to the lower basin 
 under our feet. What we have to do, whether we die 
 in the search or not, is to find out where the water is." 
 
 " I have no idea what you mean ; all I know is that I 
 am ready to go with you." 
 
 " Then go home and take leave of your family, as if 
 you were going a long journey. Go to your priest and 
 make your peace with God. Then come back, and tell 
 no one where we are froino-." 
 
 Ivan now made his own preparations. From this ad- 
 venture he might never return. He made his will. He 
 bequeathed his mine to his workmen, his money to 
 Paul's family. This was an act of justice. If the old 
 man were killed, it was in a measure his, Ivan's, doing. 
 When this was all done he went out and took hts 
 leave of light and air before going into the blackness of 
 everlasting night. It was well under the free air of 
 heaven. The sky might be bluer elsewhere, the grass 
 greener ; still, it was not eternal darkness. 
 
 The post brought him a letter. It was from Arpad 
 Belenyi. It told him all that we already know— the fall 
 of Kaulmann, the disappearance of Eveline, whom every 
 one thought had drowned herself. Ivan's heart was 
 stirred by deep sorrow. The sky lost its brightness ; 
 the meadow was no longer green ; the blackness of the 
 pit would be welcome to him. This news acted upon 
 him as a tonic; he felt braced; his fears vanished. 
 Life was now more worthless than before. 
 
 He set about the necessary preparations with calm- 
 ness. He collected the instruments which would be 
 needed for this strange search— the levelling instru- 
 
EUREKA 415 
 
 ment, the circuniferentor, the plumb-line. He put them 
 in a bag, which he tied round his neck. Paul carried 
 the pick, the iron rod, and a strong cord. 
 
 With this equipment they descended into the cavern, 
 and vanished through the windings of the water-course. 
 After six hours they reappeared. This went on day 
 after day. 
 
 Ivan took the measurements of all the windings of 
 the labyrinth, and when he was at home compared them 
 carefully. It took him hours. At night he retired into 
 his laboratory, heated deadly gases in his retorts, and 
 forced the mysterious elements to surrender their long- 
 concealed secrets. He fought with demons who refused 
 to obey him. 
 
 " Which of you is the spirit that can extinguish fire ? 
 Appear ! appear ! Not with Alpha and Omega, not 
 with Solomon's Seal, not in the name of Abraxas and 
 Mithras do I conjure you, but by the force of all-power- 
 ful science I order you appear !" 
 
 But no spirit appeared. 
 
 This double battle, the one under the earth, the one 
 in the air above it, this fight with the two great demons 
 of the world's creation, went on day by day, in daylight 
 and darkness. Ivan had no rest. 
 
 One morning he was told that the water in the castle 
 well was hot, and it had a decided taste of sulphur. He 
 began now to despair. The subterranean conflagration 
 was closing round him sooner than he had looked for 
 it. The situation was lost ; one year, and the whole 
 place would be consumed. 
 
 Raune, when this fact became known, threw up his 
 appointment and openly took service with Prince W^alde- 
 mar. He was commissioned by his employer to write 
 — as an authentic witness — the accounts of the catas- 
 
4l6 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 trophe, which appeared constantly in the Vienna pa- 
 pers. 
 
 Ivan threw himself with the energy of despair into 
 the search ; he penetrated farther into the subterranean 
 labyrinth. Paul was like a ghost; his very soul was 
 steeped in terror, but he held bravely to his master. 
 
 One day, amidst the confusion of the different wind- 
 ing passages in the rock, they came to a place out of which 
 there seemed to be no exit. They struck the wall. It 
 returned a hollow sound, so that they drew the conclu- 
 sion that on the other side there was a large cavern, or 
 space of some sort. The tumbled masses of slate- 
 stratum fallen over one another was a proof that the 
 blockade had been recently made. 
 
 "We must clear a passage here," said Ivan, taking 
 the pick in his hand. 
 
 Paul cow^ered down, clinging to the wall. He trem- 
 bled at every blow^ of the pick given by the vigorous 
 arm of Ivan, who worked with terrible earnestness. So 
 might a despairing soul beat against the gates of hell 
 and summon the devil to single combat. 
 
 At last the pick made a small hole, through which 
 Ivan passed the iron rod, and raised a wliole mass of 
 slates. 
 
 "Now, if the water is overhead the crack of doom 
 has come." 
 
 The old man crossed himself, and recommended his 
 soul to God. 
 
 Ivan, however, shouted with all the joy of a dis- 
 coverer : " Do you hear ? The rubbish as it falls 
 makes a splash. The lower basin I am in search of is 
 here, underneath us !" 
 
 But what if the one above is full ? They had still to 
 wait while they counted a hundred beats of the pulse. 
 
EUREKA 417 
 
 Never was a pulse felt under such terrible circum- 
 stances, not even when Ivan had gone down into the 
 burning mine. Not a sound was heard. In the bosom 
 of the earth all is quiet. Ivan was trembling with joy- 
 ful excitement. 
 
 "Found at last !" he cried. "Now bind the cord 
 round me, and lower me into the well cavern." 
 
 It was done. The old miner, as he held the rope, 
 prayed fervently to the Blessed Mother that she would 
 forgive this heretic, who did not know what he was do- 
 ing. Meantime the lamp sank deeper and deeper. 
 
 Suddenly Ivan cried out, " Pull me up !" 
 
 His old comrade drew him slowly out of the depths 
 of the earth. As he held out his hand to help him, 
 Ivan suddenly threw his arms round him and embraced 
 him. 
 
 "We have reached our goal," he said. "The plumb- 
 line shows a monstrous depth of water." 
 
 Paul's brain began to clear. For the first time he had 
 a dim idea of the aims of their labors. 
 
 " Now let us get into daylight." 
 
 As soon as Ivan got out of the pit he ran home as 
 fast as he could. He compared his measurements, and 
 w^as well content with the result. At night he shut him- 
 self in his laboratory. He was flushed with triumph ; 
 another victory would be his. He would also conquer 
 the demon that had hitherto resisted his will. He had 
 the proud feeling of a victorious general who demands 
 the last stronghold to surrender. 
 
 " I have already conquered," he said. " You are the 
 next to submit. God sometimes lends to his creature 
 immortal gifts, moments of creative power, when the in- 
 finite takes, as it were, shape, and the finite cries to the 
 infinite, ' Eureka !' " 
 27 
 
4l8 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 Ivan poured out ten drops of the water he had 
 brought from the well. There was not more than w^ould 
 be held in the point of a pen. The laboratory became 
 suddenly dark. The strong heat of the burning coal in 
 the oven went out as if by magic. All was dark ; black 
 as night. This darkness was the light for which Ivan 
 had been seeking. 
 
 " I have found it !" he cried aloud. " I have found 
 it !" he cried to his workmen, among whom he rushed, 
 half undressed, with his hat off, like a lunatic. 
 
 They did not know what he had found, but they felt 
 certain the discovery which was considered so impor- 
 tant by their guide and master must be a matter of re- 
 joicing, in proof of which the miners cheered lustily. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVIII 
 
 AT PAR 
 
 The devil's comedy was being played daily on the 
 stock-exchange. The Bondavara Company's shares, the 
 Bondavara Railway shares were tossed here and there, 
 from one hand to another. The tragedy had turned to 
 comedy — that is, for some people, who found the game 
 very humorous. The very word Bondavara made the 
 stockbrokers laugh. When it happened that some fool 
 bought a share, no one could help laughing. The shares, 
 in fact, were given in exchange for anything of little 
 value — for instance, as make-weight with an old um- 
 brella for a new one. They were also presented to 
 charitable institutions. 
 
 One witty man went to a fancy ball in a coat made of 
 the shares. This conceit was thought diverting. The ex- 
 change, however, was still the field where a desultory 
 fight was kept up by the shareholders. These poor 
 wretches fought for the last flicker of the lamp, which 
 the bears wanted to extinguish altogether. 
 
 Prince Waldemar, the leader of the conspiracy, forced 
 the shares day by day lower and lower. At last they fell 
 to one and a half per cent., then to one and a quarter, and 
 this quarter was to go lower, the prince wanting to banish 
 the shares from the quotation list. The owners were 
 making a fight to prevent this — an ineffectual one, it 
 seemed to be. They were almost agreed to give up the 
 
420 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 fight as a forlorn hope. How could they make head 
 against such odds ? The day upon which Raune"s re- 
 port was in the newspapers they resolved to lay down 
 their arms ; there seemed no good in protracting the 
 struggle. The report in question was the one which 
 stated what was the nature of the elements that, since 
 the fire in the Bondavara mine, had been found mixed 
 with the water on the lake of the castle ; this caused a 
 great "sensation," and was the last straw upon the back 
 of the unfortunate shareholders. 
 
 Prince Waldemar had the news proclaimed on 'change 
 that on the last day of the month he would sell his Bon- 
 davara Company shares at ten florins. Some people took 
 up the gauntlet he had thrown down. These were share- 
 holders who knew that they would lose by taking this 
 wager, but at the same time hoped by this stroke of pol- 
 icy to prevent the shares from disappearing altogether 
 from the share list. If, therefore, at the end of the 
 month the shares went down to six gulden, they must 
 pay the other side twenty thousand gulden difference ; if 
 the shares went up, the other side must do the same. 
 
 About noon a broker came to the bank, and said, loud 
 enough for all bystanders to hear, that a gentleman was 
 present who would take five hundred Bondavara shares 
 at par. 
 
 If some one had struck a hammer upon the open keys 
 of a piano no greater whir and whiz could have been 
 heard than now ran through the hall. Screams of laugh- 
 ter, exclamations of astonishment, howls of joy, curses, 
 and ejaculations of incredulity were raised in every cor- 
 ner. Who is he? Is he a lunatic? At par ! Bonda- 
 vara shares ! Where is the man ? 
 
 The broker pointed him out. He was evidently a 
 provincial gentleman, very unassuming in his appearance. 
 
AT PAR 421 
 
 He was leaning against a pillar, calmly surveying the 
 Olympian games. 
 
 " He is evidently a silly knave who wants to have a 
 joke," scoffed Prince Waldemar. " Go to him," he went 
 on to the agent, "and ask him for his name. We must 
 know what is the name of any one who treats with us.'' 
 
 The broker returned in a few minutes with the news 
 that the gentleman gave his name as a Hundred Thou- 
 sand Gulden, saying that money was the best surname. 
 He showed his hands full of bank-notes, which he re- 
 ceived from the stranger. 
 
 "Who sells five hundred Bondavara shares at par?" 
 
 This cry caused a revolution on 'change. Tranquillity 
 was at an end ; tumult took its place ; uproar and con- 
 fusion reigned. Credulous and incredulous people sur- 
 rounded the stranger ; they pressed upon him, over- 
 whelming him with questions, stretching over one another 
 to thrust their note-books into his hands. The unknown 
 met all this noise with cool indifference, merely pointing 
 out to his broker the crowd who \vere ready to do busi- 
 ness with him. 
 
 Prince Waldemar now made his w^iy through the mob 
 to where the new-comer stood. With the most refined 
 impertinence he drew^ the brim of his hat over his eyes 
 and stuck his hand into his w-aistcoat pockets as he sur- 
 veyed the other. 
 
 " Sir, your appearance has caused a sudden revolu- 
 tion. May I ask your name ?" 
 
 " My name is Ivan Behrend," returned the stranger, 
 without changing his negligent attitude. 
 
 " Ah," said the prince, suddenly taking off his hat and 
 bowing low. " I have had the honor of hearing of you. 
 Are you not the renowned pistol-shot, who can shoot a 
 cigar out of a man's mouth .? 1 am a nobody in com- 
 
422 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 parison ; I am only Prince Waldemar Sondersheim. 1 
 cannot shoot as you do. But let us talk sensibly. You 
 want to buy Bondavara shares at par ? Have you inher- 
 ited suddenly the fortune of an Indian nabob, who made 
 it a condition that you should buy the shares at par V 
 
 " No. I buy them because they are worth that price." 
 
 " Don't you know that the Bondavara mine is on fire ?" 
 
 " I happen to own the adjoining one, therefore I am 
 quite aware that such is the fact." 
 
 " Then your mine will be on fire next." 
 
 "Not so. I extinguished the fire in mine a fortnight 
 ago." 
 
 At these words the noise rose to a regular tumult; the 
 shareholders pressed round Ivan, and nearly suffocated 
 him. The man is there who can extinguish the fire. The 
 mine will soon be again in working order. Bondavara 
 stands once more at par. 
 
 The bears had to retire. The joyful shareholders sur- 
 rounded Ivan and carried him in triumph out of the hall. 
 
 That same evening a large meeting was held, at which 
 Ivan, before an enormous audience, filling the room to 
 suffocation, declared authoritatively that he had an in- 
 fallible plan, which had, in fact, been tried on the Bon- 
 davara mine, and had put out the conflagration. He 
 invited every one present to see the experiment tested 
 next day in the open air, when it would be distinctly 
 proved that his words were no idle boast. 
 
 The following morning, in presence of a large crowd, 
 he fulfilled his promise, succeeding admirably in the 
 demonstration. A funeral pile of coal and turf, over 
 which "petroleum had been poured, was set fire to, and 
 when blazing to its greatest height was put out in a few 
 minutes by some drops from a small bottle. 
 
 The jubilant public conducted Ivan back to the town 
 
AT PAR 423 
 
 in triumph, and at the next general meeting of share- 
 holders it was resolved to offer him a remuneration of 
 six hundred thousand gulden if he would undertake to 
 bring the Bondavara mine into working order. 
 
 There were not wanting, however, plenty of opponents. 
 Foremost there was Prince Waldemar, who possessed 
 the largest proportion of shares, and who, nevertheless, 
 offered the most determined opposition. He did every- 
 thing to embarrass and obstruct Ivan's scientific proposi- 
 tions. 
 
 " I grant," he said, "that you may be able to put out 
 with one bucket of fluid six cubit feet of burning coals; 
 but consider for a moment that in the Bondavara pit, 
 reckoning from the place where the explosion took place 
 to the castle, there must be at least sixty thousand cubit 
 feet of burning stratum. You must have, to meet this, 
 ten thousand buckets of fluid ready to shoot over the 
 mass. What machine have you that would be able for 
 such an operation as this.^" 
 
 " I have not forgotten that such a machine would be 
 necessary," returned Ivan, quietly. 
 
 " Let us suppose," continued the prince, " that you do 
 succeed in getting a sufficient quantity of fluid to bear 
 upon the burning mass. Don't you perceive that this 
 very supply will develop a monstrous amount of gas, 
 which would permeate the pit from top to bottom, and 
 cause another and still worse explosion ?" 
 
 " I have foreseen this danger." 
 
 "And, finally, if you possess any idea, which you evi- 
 dently do, of the mechanism of machines and the expen- 
 diture necessary to procure the best, you must face the 
 problem that a million of money will not be sufficient to 
 procure the necessary materials which would be wanting 
 to make the experiment successful." 
 
424 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 "I have drawn up an estimate of probable outlay." 
 
 The shareholders here shouted out to him that they 
 undertook all expenses, even if they amounted to a mill- 
 ion , and on the spot it was agreed that Ivan should re- 
 ceive full powers to do for the Bondavara mine what he 
 considered necessary, let the cost be what it might. 
 
 Prince Sondersheim saw that he could not stem the 
 course of Ivan's popularity ; it must have its way. 
 While the assembled shareholders were signing the 
 deed of authorization, he took Ivan aside, and said to 
 him: 
 
 " Ivan Behrend, whether the undertaking you have 
 engaged in succeeds or not — I do not believe that it 
 will succeed — you will have taken out of my pocket a 
 million — a million net. Besides this, you have squan- 
 dered five hundred gulden of your own money, without 
 reckoning what is yet to be spent. Let that be. You 
 have done this by fixing the quotations at par. It is 
 true that the shares will neither be bought nor sold, for 
 both sides will be afraid, and will hold back ; neverthe- 
 less, the quotation will stand at par, and I am obliged 
 to pay the difference on this — that will cost me a mill- 
 ion. But that is nothing ; I have lost as m.uch before 
 now, and recovered it again. One has only to play the 
 waiting game. If, however, in a fortnight's time you 
 find that you miscalculated your powers, and that your 
 experiment fails, you have only to let it be known, and 
 I shall pay one million into your hand." 
 
 Ivan answered this contemptible proposal with busi- 
 ness-like composure. 
 
 "Prince Sondersheim, the stock- exchange is, as I 
 am well aware, a privileged place. Here a man can say 
 things without having any fear of consequences. What 
 a man says or does, what proposals he makes — every- 
 
AT PAR 425 
 
 thing is, in a sense, allowable, and the ordinary rules 
 which govern the outside world do not apply. Here 
 one man may ask the other, ' How much do you ask for 
 selling the honor of your company ?' and if the answer 
 is, ' It is not for sale,' that is enough. Here there is 
 plain speaking ; no one is offended at being asked to be 
 an accomplice in a robbery. It would be no reflection 
 on his character ; he would assume no airs of righteous- 
 ness, but simply answer, ' I really haven't time.' If men 
 quarrel, if they spit at one another, tear the hats off one 
 another's heads, that is nothing; it goes no further; no 
 one turns round to look at them. They wipe the spittle 
 off their faces, pick up their hats, and after half an hour 
 walk about arm in arm. No one remembers that they 
 were fighting ; it was only a little ' difference,' which led 
 to an animated scene. Therefore, to the proposal made 
 by Sondersheim, the Bondavara coal -merchant, to Beh- 
 rend, the Bondavara coal-trader, there is but one answer, 
 * Sir, I cannot entertain your offer.' Prince Waldemar 
 Sondersheim will, however, do well to remember not 
 to repeat outside the stock-exchange such a proposal to 
 Ivan Behrend." 
 
 The prince laughed. "I guessed as much. I have 
 often heard of you, and if you behave well you shall 
 hear how it came to pass that I know so much about 
 you. Once upon a time you took my part in a very en- 
 ergetic manner ; and to a very pretty woman. I do not 
 know why you should have done so ; it is sufficient for 
 me that you did. Also, you withdrew your own claim 
 to the favor of this very pretty woman. But it was no 
 good, she is now the wife of an unworthy fellow; but 
 your unexplained intervention in my favor, which could 
 not have been a business manoeuvre, but must have 
 sprung from almost a chivalrous Puritanism, has placed 
 
426 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 me under a debt of gratitude towards you. It that lady 
 had Hstened to your advice, things would have been 
 very different. No sulphur deposit would have been 
 found in the castle lake ; the whole speculation, in fact, 
 would have had no existence. Outside the exchange we 
 will not recur to the subject. I have mentioned it from 
 a sense of gratitude, and I shall note it in my book. If 
 you succeed in extinguishing the fire you are to receive 
 six hundred thousand gulden from the company ; if you 
 fail you shall have a million from me." 
 
 This long conversation between Ivan and the prince 
 excited some alarm among the shareholders ; they tried 
 to interrupt it. 
 
 " No tampering, prince. Let our man alone." They 
 were afraid he would turn round. 
 
 "Don't be afraid," returned the prince; "we are talk- 
 ing of a lady whom we both admired." 
 
 But the shareholders' suspicions were not allayed by 
 these w^ords. They chose from among themselves a 
 commission of three members, who should accompany 
 Ivan in every step he took, never leave him, eat with him, 
 sleep outside his door, keep watch under his window, so 
 that their enemy should not approach him w-ithout their 
 knowledge. This was all done under the pretence of 
 giving him assistance, and for the purpose of keeping 
 him supplied with money. 
 
 Ivan procured the necessary machines and workmen, 
 and travelled back with them and his three companions 
 to Bondavara. 
 
 His three commissioners were likewise to furnish the 
 company with a daily report of the progress of the work. 
 One of the three was the clerk Spitzhase, who had the 
 reputation of being the most circumspect, careful, and 
 impudent servant of the company. This last epithet is 
 
AT PAR 427 
 
 not meant in the worst sense of the word. In money 
 matters modesty and meekness are oftentimes great 
 faults, and the contrary qualities are of infinite use. 
 The word is therefore meant in praise. Ivan many 
 times chucked Spitzhase out at the door, but the clerk 
 always returned by the window. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIX 
 THE UNDERGROUND WORLD 
 
 The three commissioners for the first fortnight had 
 little to say ; their report was meagre of incident. 
 Behrend came morning and evening to dine and sup 
 with them in the little village inn ; the rest of the day 
 and of the night he spent continuously underground. 
 When they asked him what he was doing, he said, short- 
 ly, that everything was going on well. 
 
 Things might be going well, but there was nothing 
 visible to the commissioners. And, moreover, there 
 was one very suspicious circumstance which struck 
 Spitzhase especially, and this was that Behrend spent 
 his time in his oivn colliery. It was there that all the 
 expensive machines had been set up and all the chemi- 
 cal stuffs had been taken. Not a single thing had been 
 done to the company's mine; not a bit of rubbish had 
 been cleared away, not one of the entrances had been 
 opened; in fact, a fortnight had slipped away, and no 
 work had been undertaken. It was undoubtedly true 
 that the machines were always at work, and cart-loads 
 of clay and stones were perpetually being wheeled away. 
 
 The whole thing was incomprehensible, and Behrend 
 would not give the slightest explanation. 
 
 At the beginning of the following week Spitzhase lost 
 all patience. 
 
 *' Sir," he said to Ivan, with suppressed irritation, 
 
THE UNDERGROUND WORLD 429 
 
 "you promised that in a fortnight the conflagration in 
 our mine would be extinguished. The time is up, and 
 I have not seen that anything has been even attempted." 
 
 " That is very probable," returned Ivan, quietly. 
 
 " Do you maintain still that everything is progressing 
 satisfactorily ?" 
 
 "I do." 
 
 " Can I see for myself what has been done ?" 
 
 "Where you are standing it would be impossible for 
 you to judge." 
 
 " Well, let me go where I can see something." 
 
 " Do you really wish to go below.? It is not a pleas- 
 ant place." 
 
 " Where you go, so can I ; for my part, I don't care 
 if it was hell itself." 
 
 " It is not unlike what hell must be." 
 
 " Well, I am resolved to pay it a visit. I want to 
 make the acquaintance of the devil ; perhaps I could 
 make an arrangement with him to supply us with coal." 
 
 "You may come on one condition : if you accompany 
 me you must understand that I cannot let you stand 
 gaping about. There is not room in the place for more 
 than two people, and they must both work." 
 
 " I am not afraid of work. I am the devil for work." 
 
 "Very good, then, come along," said Ivan; "and if 
 the other gentlemen w-ould like to accompany us to 
 where the machines are working they can follow us." 
 
 The others seized the opportunity. 
 
 Ivan made them put on miners' dress. They were 
 then hoisted into the crane, and descended into the 
 shaft. Each one had a safety-lamp fastened to his belt 
 and wore a thick felt hat. 
 
 Ivan led them through the different windings of the 
 pit until they came to the iron door of the cavern in 
 
430 
 
 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 which, not long since, the pond used periodically to 
 come and go. The middle of this space was now filled 
 by a large mill-like machine, which was kept in motion 
 by an endless strap worked from above. In this mill 
 some substance was being ground, and, when reduced 
 to fine powder, was carried, by means of certain me- 
 chanical contrivances, through a pipe and over abridge, 
 where it disappeared from view. 
 
 Ivan led his guests through still more tortuous ways. 
 Once they descended the shaft of a well •, once they 
 mounted high ladders, finding themselves when they 
 had done so in a small chamber, not measuring six feet 
 in circumference, in which two miners were waiting — an 
 old and a young man. 
 
 " Now," said Ivan to Spitzhase, " here is our dress- 
 ing-room ; we must put on our costume." 
 
 "What ! have we another change of clothes ?" 
 
 "Yes, we have to don a coat of mail in the tourna- 
 ment in which we are going to take part ; we require 
 armor." 
 
 At a sign from him the miners came forward and be- 
 gan to prepare the two gentlemen. The equipment was 
 something similar to that of a fireman— a coat and 
 stockings, the outer stuff being made of asbestos, while 
 the space between that and the lining was filled with 
 pulverized charcoal ; the hands and arms were also 
 covered with long gloves made of asbestos, the fingers 
 being air-proof. 
 
 "We could pass for knights," said Spitzhase, jest- 
 ingly. 
 
 " Wait until you see our helmets," returned Ivan. 
 
 The miners brought two helmets made of glass, each 
 of which had a hollow space with twelve joints and 
 three apertures. Ivan explained the use of these. 
 
THE UNDERGROUND WORLD 43 1 
 
 " The place into which we are about to descend is 
 full of coal-gas. We must have an apparatus which will 
 enable us to pass through fire and to dive under 
 water." 
 
 Spitzhase began to repent that he had been so ven- 
 turesome, but he was ashamed to turn back now, and he 
 had a certain amount of pluck. 
 
 "We need," continued Ivan, "an apparatus which is 
 a combination of the diver's and the fireman's dress. 
 To the glass helmet, which will be attached to the coat- 
 collar by means of air-proof caoutchouc, there will be 
 fastened two tubes, through one of which the necessary 
 amount of air will be conveyed to us, and through the 
 other the bad air will be expelled. The ends of both 
 the tubes will remain here, while we drag them after us 
 in the same manner as does the diver. Although all 
 bad air escapes from our helmets, still we shall find the 
 air rather warmer than it is up here, and it will smell 
 like vulcanized india-rubber; still we cannot suffocate. 
 To this third aperture an elastic tube will be fixed, 
 which unites both helmets ; through this tube each will 
 hear what the other says, for the glass is so thick that 
 no sound penetrates it, and when you have it on your 
 head you will with difficulty hear what is said by me." 
 
 Spitzhase had begun to feel very uncomfortable, for 
 now the miner proceeded to adjust the glass helmet to 
 his head. When the tubes were being fixed into the 
 three apartures he perceived that he had become sud- 
 denly stone deaf. He saw the lips of the two commis- 
 sioners moving, but not one word could he hear. He 
 no longer belonged to the world. Only one sound 
 reached him, and that was the voice of the man to whose 
 head he was fastened. 
 
 " Take one end of the hose upon your arm," shouted 
 
432 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 the voice into his helmet ; yet the sound seemed to come 
 from a long way off, or as if out of a tunnel. 
 
 Mechanically he took the coil on his shoulder. 
 
 "Let us go," shouted Ivan, taking the other end of 
 the coil on his shoulder, and, opening a thick oak door, 
 which had hitherto escaped Spitzhase's observation, they 
 passed through. 
 
 The two commissioners had heard nothing that had 
 passed between the two "knights"; but when they saw 
 the oak door open they hurriedly asked the miners wheth- 
 er the foul air did not come in. The older workman reas- 
 sured them ; the carbon was much heavier than oxygen, 
 and even thicker than hydrogen. The foul air remained 
 below, where the two divers had gone. They might 
 have every confidence so long as the safety -lamps 
 burned. Meantime, the others had penetrated into a 
 roomy cavern, the walls of which proved it had not been 
 made by the hands of men, but was a natural formation. 
 Each partition of the wall fitted into another, like the 
 blocks of a puzzle, and each block was as smooth as a 
 steel mirror. They were masses of coal set obliquely 
 one upon another. The cavern was bridged over wnth 
 thick, strong wooden planks. The gearing strap, which 
 had made its way from the cavern in serpent-like fash- 
 ion, had set a wheel in motion, and the noise of the 
 clapper resounded under the bridge, and made a sound 
 as if it were w^orking in deep water. From this bridge 
 a narrow path led obliquely into the stone layers. Once 
 beyond the entrance into this dark path the lamps 
 ceased to burn; the coal-gas had begun its sway. 
 Upon the bridge an electric machine was placed, whose 
 brilliant light was shaded by a wire screen. 
 
 The old miner set the machine working, and the light 
 flashed into every nook and cranny of the subterranean 
 
THE UNDERGROUND WORLD 
 
 433 
 
 cavern. It lighted up the narrow tunnel which, for the 
 last month, Ivan had been boring from his own mine to 
 that of his neighbor. He had told no one what he had 
 been doing, but now the work was almost finished ; it 
 only required to be broken through. This work, which 
 would take another week to complete, needed to be 
 done in a diver's equipment. The length of the narrow 
 tunnel was perfectly illumined by the electric machine, 
 as if in the broad light of the sun. Where it turned out 
 of its course high looking-glasses of polished steel were 
 placed in positions which reflected the light itself until 
 it faded away to a faint glimmer. The two divers could 
 now hardly discern an object. 
 
 " We shall soon be in darkness," said Spitzhase to 
 Ivan. 
 
 "We shall have light enough," returned Ivan; and 
 he led the way farther into the tunnel. 
 
 Spitzhase was forced to follow, for his head was fast- 
 ened to Ivan's head. Wonderful pair of Siamese twins ! 
 If the pipe that bound them together were to break, 
 both were dead men. 
 
 " Halt !" cried Ivan. " Here is the pump. Give me 
 the pipe." 
 
 In the half-darkness a little machine three feet high 
 was discernible; it was provided with a spring wheel. 
 This suction-pipe had been brought here only the day 
 before. Ivan took the caoutchouc coil from his com- 
 panion's shoulder, and screwed the pipe to the aperture 
 of the machine ; then he set the wheel in motion, and 
 in a few seconds it, with the heavy balls attached, was 
 revolving with velocity. Then he took the end of the 
 pipe and gave the coil back to Spitzhase with this dif- 
 ference: instead of putting it over his arm he hung the 
 
 hose over his neck. Spitzhase felt as if the pipe were 
 
 28 
 
434 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 about a hundredweight heavier, and that it had grown 
 suddenly stiff. 
 
 " Forward ! quick march !" shouted Ivan into his hel- 
 met. 
 
 *' It begins to be hot as hell itself," grumbled Spitz- 
 hase, who was suffering horribly. 
 
 " Because we are in a part of the mine where the fire 
 has been put out." 
 
 Both the men wore on their feet glass slippers, other- 
 wise they would have felt that the ashes through which 
 they were wading were glowing with heat. 
 
 The india-rubber hose hung round Spitzhase's neck. 
 It grew darker and darker, until at last it was as dark 
 as Erebus. 
 
 " I can see nothing," shouted Spitzhase. 
 
 "You are safe if you follow me," returned Ivan. 
 
 It began to grow somewhat lighter. The light, how- 
 ever, was rose color ; there was twilight, then, in the 
 bowels of the earth. 
 
 Spitzhase complained he could hardly draw his breath. 
 
 "That will get better presently," said Ivan, encourag- 
 ing him. 
 
 They had now turned the corner of the road, and the 
 terrible tragedy of hell itself lay before them. Yes, hell 
 itself, was there. A burning labyrinth, in whose glowing 
 passages the prismatic colors changed every moment. 
 The blue -green flames leaped from the ground and 
 blended with the flames of brilliant scarlet which played 
 upon the burning wall, and again faded in the far dis- 
 tance into a deep purple color. It was like a fairy 
 transparency at a pantomime. Through the fissures 
 and crevices sheets of white sun-rays poured like molten 
 silver. Amid the glowing coals there seemed to rise 
 shapes as of demons dancing, creatures with green hair 
 
THE UNDERGROUND WORLD 
 
 435 
 
 and red beards, and from the red sulphate of the vault- 
 ing there fell slowly a golden shower, a melting rain of 
 sparks. From the clefts in the side walls the gas, let 
 loose from all restraint, hissed like so many demoniacal 
 serpents, and kindled a subterranean flame of its own. 
 Out of the depths of the pit a waterspout of fire shot 
 suddenly, sending in every direction a shower of sparks. 
 Over the whole floated a milk-colored cloud, which filled 
 the vault with a nebulous vapor, wandering as a will-o'- 
 the-wisp here and there, and threatening every moment 
 to envelop the rash visitors to hell in its chill embrace. 
 Spitzhase, alarmed out of all control, pressed closer to 
 the wall ; fright was overcoming him. 
 
 " Let go the hose !" shouted Ivan. The hose fell like 
 a serpent unchained, wriggling backward and forward. 
 " Now follow me. Hold the pipe on your arm ;" and he 
 drew Spitzhase after him. 
 
 He was constrained to follow, although his heart was 
 in his mouth ; their heads were fastened to each other. 
 If he had had sufficient strength to free himself from this 
 terrible companionship, it would have in no way helped 
 him, for the carbon would have killed him instantane- 
 ously. 
 
 Mechanically he allowed himself to be drawn on. 
 Hell with all its horrors disclosed itself to his affrighted 
 gaze. His companion seemed to fear nothing. Was he 
 a human being, or a fiend, who was in reality possessed 
 of power over the demons of hell ^ He dragged him to 
 the very border of the fiery lake ; then he took from his 
 shoulder the hose, which lay in rings and coils, and, 
 opening the mouth of the stop-cock, directed its force at 
 the bosom of hell. The hose shot forth a flash like a 
 diamond ; the water-spirit fell into the glowing Gehenna. 
 
 '' Hold tight !" shouted Ivan. 
 
436 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 And from the force which the stream from the pipe 
 exercised upon the burning mass the air was filled with 
 dark clouds of smoke, which peopled the still brilliantly- 
 lighted cavern with strange, unearthly, spectral-like shad- 
 ows, which, dissolving suddenly into steam, covered the 
 two adventurous visitors with a damp moisture. One of 
 them tottered. 
 
 "Fear nothing," calls out the other; "we are quite 
 safe here." 
 
 "It is suffocating; I am burning !" cried Spitzhasc. 
 
 "Do not be afraid; follow me," said Ivan, and drew 
 his trembling comrade after him over the wet rocks, over 
 the charred, burning mounds. Every spot where he saw 
 the flames rising he directed the hose, and a shower of 
 cool, refreshing water fell from the india-rubber pipe upon 
 the burning, seething demoniacal flames. The gas hissed, 
 the hot steam boiled round them, the flames, beaten 
 down in one place, sprang up in another, but on they 
 went. He was afraid of nothing. " Forward ! go on ! 
 forward !" The mysterious clouds hovered over him. 
 
 " We are lost !" moaned the other poor mortal, whose 
 fear began to be uncontrollable. He fell on his knees. 
 
 "You of little faith," said the conqueror of hell, "get 
 up. Let us go back." And he lifted him up, as the Re- 
 deemer did Peter on the stormy Sea of Galilee. 
 
 Then he rolled the hose once more round his neck, 
 and took it back to the suction-pump.; this he closed, 
 and then led his comrade again to the little room where 
 they had put on their equipment. 
 
 Spitzhase sank back when he reached this haven. 
 When his helmet was taken off he panted like a man 
 who was suffocating for want of air. Ivan looked at 
 him compassionately. 
 
 The miners gave each of them a glass of fresh lemon- 
 
THE UNDERGROUND WORLD 437 
 
 ade to drink, and rubbed their temples with vinegar. 
 They then undressed them to the skin, put them into a 
 tub of cold water, took them out in two seconds, and 
 rubbed them with coarse towels. Spitzhase began to 
 recover his senses. 
 
 As they put on their usual clothes Ivan said to him, 
 " Well, sir, how did you like being below ?'' 
 
 Spitzhase was no fool, but he answered, good-humor- 
 edly, " I wouldn't have missed going down for a hundred 
 gulden, but I would pay twice that sum rather than go 
 there again." 
 
 " Now you know what to write to your board of direc- 
 tors. Paul, take this gentleman home. I remain here 
 to continue the work." 
 
 Spitzhase wrote a glowing account of what he called 
 "the fight with the world of spirits" to the Vienna 
 papers. 
 
 The next day Ivan said to the commissioners, "We 
 have now laid pipes four inches in diameter to work 
 upon the very heart of the fire. So soon as I am ready 
 we shall set the high-pressure machine at work. This 
 will empty in four hours ten thousand buckets of fluid 
 on the burning mass." 
 
 " The devil take it !" cried Spitzhase. " Will this 
 farce never have an end until the escaped gas blows up 
 the colliery, and makes of it and of us a new Pompeii ?" 
 
 " Do not be afraid. I have thought of this danger. 
 We have taken care to stop all the outlets to the quarry 
 gallery with sand-bags. We have walled up every pos- 
 sible fissure, crevice, and exit. I'he entrance to the 
 well-shaft has been provided with a strong iron door, 
 over which we have fastened a thick bed of clay. If, 
 therefore, it should happen that in the gallery, where 
 the conflagration is at its worst, and where the fluid 
 
438 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 must be poured freely, the mass of gas should develop 
 in such force that it must explode, then the iron door 
 will prove our salvation. It will resist all attack, and the 
 force of the gas will be broken." 
 
 The members of the commission shook with fright. 
 Here was a pleasant prospect ! Ivan, however, had no 
 time to spare on reassuring them ; the crisis was at 
 hand, and he had still much to do. Prudence, foresight 
 was necessary. At mid-day he returned to the quarry 
 gallery. 
 
 As the clock struck twelve he gave the signal at which 
 the large suction-pump was to be set in motion. He 
 remained from this time at his post, never leaving the 
 machine until the work was finished. To their honor 
 be it spoken, the three commissioners remained with 
 him ; they kept their places without moving, never 
 speaking a word. During the awful time that followed 
 no voice was heard but that of Ivan. Soon after the 
 signal was given a rushing sound was heard under- 
 ground, faint at first, but growing louder. It sounded 
 as if in the distance water was pouring from an open 
 sluice. 
 
 At first the machine was worked at only half its 
 strength. After half an hour or so there mingled with 
 the rushing sound a great tumult, as if many bells were 
 vibrating in the air. The noise did not die away ; on 
 the contrar}^, the vibration grew every moment stronger. 
 
 The earth was in labor ; the ground heaved and 
 trembled, and those who felt its throes trembled also. 
 The earth's sufferings were shared by her children. 
 Only one man was calm ; the master-spirit was not 
 afraid. 
 
 With close attention Ivan watched the pendulum and 
 the thermometer of the machine ; he marked the varia- 
 
THE UNDERGROUND WORLD 
 
 439 
 
 tions in the condition of the barometer, the ozonometer, 
 and electrometer, writing his observations in his note- 
 book. After another hour he made a sign to the man 
 working the machine to put on more pressure. 
 
 Thereupon arose from below a terrible uproar ; it was 
 the battle of the Cyclops. The bowels of the earth sent 
 up a dull roar like the rolling of thunder ; occasionally 
 came a shock as of an earthquake. The houses began 
 to rock, the tops of the tall trees and the cross upon the 
 tower tottered, and its fall added to the anxiety felt by 
 the entire valley. The underground fight grew every 
 moment fiercer ; the giants joined issue with their foes. 
 They howled in rage ; they put their gigantic shoulders 
 together and tried to upset the earth. To their cries 
 was added the bellowing of the hurricane confined in 
 the cave, and the tumult was indescribable. 
 
 The listeners to this fearful scene looked with a stony 
 stare of horror; they were speechless, but their look 
 seemed to say, "What rash act have you done? Are 
 you inciting the spirits who dwell under the earth to 
 war against one another.-*" 
 
 Ivan answered with another look of calm superiority. 
 " Fear nothing ; I have my foot upon the head of the 
 giant." 
 
 The underground battle had lasted three hours. The 
 people were beside themselves with fright; they turned 
 upon Ivan and cursed him. 
 
 " Do you think you are a God," they cried, " and can 
 create an earthquake ?" 
 
 Ivan paid no attention either to their fears or their 
 curses; he gave another signal to the men at the ma- 
 chine — 
 
 "With the whole power!" 
 
 The machine, the outcome of the wonderful inventive 
 
440 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 genius of man, stormed the very gates of hell itself. 
 The underground tremblings followed one another rap- 
 idly, growing stronger and stronger ; the deep groaning 
 rose to a stentorian, deafening roar. 
 
 " It is all over !" shrieked the people in the valley, 
 and fell upon their knees. 
 
 In the air a shrill, whistling sound was now heard, as 
 if an engine had suddenly let off steam, and out of the 
 shaft of the company's mine there arose rapidly a white 
 column of steam, which, as soon as it encountered the 
 cold regions of space, shot up into the sky, where it 
 formed itself into a white cloud, which cloud suddenly 
 broke into a deluge of rain. At once the underground 
 convulsion ceased, and the shrill whistling died away in 
 the distance. 
 
 Ivan, looking round, said, quickly, " Paul, collect the 
 rain-water ; I must know what it is made of." Upon 
 this he gave the machinist the signal to stop the ma- 
 chine. There was not even a drop of perspiration upon 
 his forehead. He took the bottle of rain-water that Paul 
 brought him and put it in his pocket. " Now, gentle- 
 men," he said, "you can go to supper. The work is 
 accomplished." 
 
 "Is the fire extinguished?" asked Spitzhase. 
 
 " Absolutely." 
 
 " And the pillar of steam yonder .?" 
 
 " Will remain in the sky until midnight and then 
 slowly damp aw-ay. Go to supper. I have something 
 of importance to do at home." 
 
 Who cared to eat supper .'' 
 
 The pillar of steam still continued to rise from the 
 shaft, and to form a cloud from which a steady down- 
 pour of rain fell continuously, occasionally interspersed 
 by flashes of lightning ; but no one thought of going in- 
 
THE UNDERGROUND WORLD 44I 
 
 doors. The richer members of society wrapped them- 
 selves in mackintoshes, the workmen in their cloaks, and 
 all continued to watch the strange appearance, until at 
 last, towards ten o'clock, it began to grow smaller. The 
 whistling sound was interrupted now and again by a 
 piercing shriek, and sometimes a flash of lightning illu- 
 mined the shadow of the pillar — the white cloud. 
 
 The steam giant then sank back ; not all at once, but 
 by degrees, into the pit from which it had arisen. Only 
 occasionally, from time to time, its head reappeared for 
 a second, but the whistling ceased altogether ; so, too, 
 did the heaving of the earth. The unearthly tumult was 
 silenced. In the church the sound of the organ was 
 heard, and voices intoning "Alleluia ! Alleluia!" The 
 people walked in procession, carrying lanterns and ban- 
 ners. 
 
 The commissioners made their way to the inn, where 
 they found Ivan eating his supper. He could eat now ; 
 it struck him that he was mortal and wanted food. 
 
 "I have finished the chemical examination," he said 
 to the other three with polite indifference, "and I can 
 give you the satisfactory news that in the residue 0.75 
 of carbonic acid is to be found." 
 
 Spitzhase did not understand. "What good is it," he 
 asked, " if seventy-five parts of carbonic acid are in the 
 residuum ?" 
 
 " To-morrow we can open both entrances to the col- 
 liery, and after the air-pumps have been settled the work 
 can be resumed." 
 
 Alleluia ! Alleluia 1 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 ANGELA IS EVEN WITH IVAN 
 
 Success brings with it fame, fortune, and universal 
 esteem. Men worship success, and with justice. 
 
 He who has saved a great treasure, who has restored 
 to thousands of people their country, their industry; he 
 who has overcome a universal calamity which threatened 
 an entire province; he who has given to thousands on 
 the verge of beggary their livelihood, who has dried the 
 tears of the widow and the orphan — he is near to God 
 himself. 
 
 Honors and rewards were showered upon Ivan. The 
 government gave him for all time the patent for his dis- 
 covery. By the Joint- Stock Mining Company he was 
 handsomely remunerated. A monster deputation obliged 
 him to accept the place of director. Scientific societies 
 at home and abroad elected him member. His picture 
 and biography appeared in all the illustrated papers of 
 Europe and America. The simple villagers in Bonda- 
 thal prayed for him night and morning ; and when the 
 first train steamed out of the Bondavara station, the 
 locomotive bore the name of " Behrend." It was only 
 God's providence that preserved him from receiving 
 " an order." 
 
 Perhaps the most interesting testimony, and the one 
 most valued by Ivan, was a letter which the Countess 
 Angela wrote to him with her own hand. 
 
ANGELA IS EVEN WITH IVAN 443 
 
 The countess told him frankly all that had happened 
 to her since they had met ; how she had married the 
 Marquis Salista ; how unhappy he had made her by 
 the pressure he brought to bear upon her grandfather, 
 Prince Theobald, which ended in his property being se- 
 questrated, to the ruin of the whole family of Bonda- 
 vary. She had suffered greatly in consequence, and 
 had known what privation meant; also the income of 
 the Countess Theudelinde had been considerably di- 
 minished, and the old lady had been forced to reduce her 
 household. This condition of affairs had shown them 
 their former friends in their true light — among others, 
 Salista, her husband, who had gone to Mexico, and left 
 her to shift for herself. Then Ivan had come to the 
 rescue. Prince Waldemar's triumphal progress had been 
 effectually checked. The million of money placed by 
 Prince Theobald in the Bondavara Company had re- 
 gained its value. The prince had arranged with his 
 creditors, and his affairs were once more settled. She 
 bad been reconciled to him, and lived with him. 
 Countess Theudelinde likewise had recovered her rents. 
 The great family of Bondavary, which had been so near 
 ruin, was reinstated in its former position. And for its 
 new lease of life it had to thank a certain beneficent, 
 clever — 
 
 Here Countess Angela's letter broke off. There was, 
 however, a postscript : 
 
 "Answer this letter. I beg for one word. Write 'I 
 forgive you.' " 
 
 Ivan answered her immediately. He expressed his 
 gratitude for her kind remembrance of him, but he 
 could not imagine what he had to forgive. On the con- 
 trary, he had a lively recollection of the many kindnesses 
 he had received from the Countess Angela Salista. 
 
444 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 The letter was evidently written with an effort to be 
 cold and polite. It was followed by a second letter from 
 Angela, which ran thus : 
 
 " Do not answer me in that way. I have sinned against 
 you. You do not reproach me, but my own heart and 
 conscience do. To quiet these tormentors I need your 
 pardon. Answer me sincerely. Can you ever forgive 
 me ? I should not have treated you as I did — " 
 
 Ivan answered this by a long, confidential letter. He 
 confessed to her secrets of his heart, made to her con- 
 fessions which never before passed his lips. The count- 
 ess might be confident that she had never offended 
 him. She had never forfeited the place she held in his 
 respect." 
 
 A third letter came from Angela. 
 
 " If you can do so from your heart, write upon a piece 
 of paper, 'Angela Bondavary, I forgive you, from my 
 heart.' " 
 
 Ivan wrote these words and nothing else. 
 
 One evening two carriages drove into the court-yard 
 of Ivan's house. He lived now in the handsome resi- 
 dence provided by the company for the director of the 
 mines. The porter exchanged some words with the per- 
 son who sat in the first carriage, and then came to Ivan 
 with two visiting-cards. 
 
 Ivan, to his surprise, read the names — 
 
 Countess Theudellnde Bondavary. 
 Countess Angela Bondavary. 
 
 These names caused a great disturbance in Ivan's 
 mind. What did they want ? Why did they come to 
 him ? He told the porter to show the ladies in, and then, 
 
ANGELA IS EVEN WITH IVAN 445 
 
 taking up the cards again, it struck him as odd that the 
 Countess Angela s did not bear the name of her husband. 
 
 The door opened, and only one lady entered. She 
 was dressed in mourning, and her face was covered by a 
 thick veil, the thick crape concealing her features. It 
 was the Countess Theudelinde. She had on a long 
 black travelling-cloak with two capes. She came to 
 Ivan and held out to him the finger-tips of her black 
 glove, which he carried to his lips, while she murmured 
 some words of greeting. 
 
 " Where is the marquise ?" asked Ivan, anxiously. 
 
 " She will be here immediately ; but it is very difficult 
 to bring her in." 
 
 Ivan conducted the lady to a sofa and asked her to be 
 seated. 
 
 " Do not go to meet her," continued the countess. 
 " She will find her way. You will receive her kindly, 
 won't you ?" 
 
 "Oh, countess," Ivan began; but Theudelinde inter- 
 rupted impatiently. 
 
 " No phrases, please. We have not come here for 
 polite words or to exchange compliments. We come to 
 make a request ; the answer is simple. Yes or no. 
 Angela wants to remain here." 
 
 " Here !'' repeated Ivan, horrified, 
 
 " Yes, here ! Do not be afraid ; not in this house, 
 but in the neighborhood. She wishes to remain near 
 you — never to leave you — that is her desire ; and she 
 has a right to have her wishes granted." 
 
 Ivan began to think he must be dreaming; he did 
 not know what to say, but his thoughts were distracted 
 by a strange noise outside. Along the passage came 
 the heavy tread of several men. The door opened and 
 four miners came in, carrying between them a metal 
 
44^ BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 coffin, on the lid of which lay a white wreath of repousse 
 silver. 
 
 The wreath surrounded the arms of the Bondavary 
 family, and underneath was carved in gold letters — 
 
 Angela Bondavary. 
 
 The coffin was placed upon the oak table. Ivan 
 stood as if he were turned into a statue, his eyes fixed 
 upon the wreath and the name underneath. 
 
 Theudelinde got up and seized his hand, saying, in a 
 low, agitated voice : 
 
 " This is the Countess Angela Bondavary, who begs 
 of you, as the master here in Bondavara, to find for her 
 a small place in the family vault of the castle, where she 
 may lie among her own people, waiting for the coming 
 of Jesus Christ — the Bridegroom of all poor women 
 whose lives have been desolated." 
 
 "How is it possible that she is dead.'*" said Ivan, 
 who was deeply moved. 
 
 "How? Very easily! When you throw a rose into 
 the lire, in two minutes you will only find its ashes. I 
 had just heard her laugh ; she was quite gay. Then she 
 went too near the stove ; the next moment she screamed, 
 and I saw her enveloped in flames !" 
 
 " She was burned to death !" cried Ivan, covering his 
 face with his hands. Then, after a pause, " Was there 
 no one near to save her .''" 
 
 "Was there no one ?" answered Theudelinde. " Were 
 you, then, asleep at midnight ? Did you not hear her 
 call, ' Ivan, help me !' t Did you not see her standing 
 beside your bed in flames — an angel with hell in her 
 heart ? Why were you not by her side to hold her in 
 your arms, to stifle the flames, to snatch her from the 
 jaws of death ? Where were you, who should have 
 
ANGELA IS EVEN WITH IVAN 447 
 
 saved her ? Now she is here, and says to you, ' I am 
 2[one. I am no one. Let us be united.' " 
 
 Ivan felt as if an iron band had been laid upon his heart. 
 
 "She lived," continued Theudelinde, "for two days. 
 She suffered the most terrible pain. When I think of 
 all she went through I feel as if my senses were leaving 
 me. To the last she was conscious. She spoke — But 
 no — why should I tell you what she said .? Just before 
 she died she asked for a pencil, and wrote a few words 
 to you. Here they are in this envelope. Do not break 
 the seal, do not read them, so long as I am here. I 
 would rather give you no explanation. If you have any- 
 thing to ask, ask it from her. Here is the key of the cof- 
 fin ; I give it to you." 
 
 Ivan recoiled from receiving such a present. 
 
 " Why should you be afraid ? Why do you object to 
 opening the coffin ? There is nothing to fear. The 
 body is embalmed, and the flames did not touch her 
 face. You will see that she smiles." 
 
 Ivan forced himself to raise the coffin-lid and to look 
 on the face of the dead. There was no smile on her 
 lips. She was calm and cold; as when she lay insensi- 
 ble in the wood, with her head upon a cushion of moss, 
 so now she lay upon her white satin cushion. Ivan felt 
 that if she could open her eyes for one minute she 
 would look at him proudly and say, " I want nothing," 
 and close them again. How beautiful she was, with her 
 still, marble face, her immovable eyebrows. Ivan would 
 not disturb its calm loveliness by even one kiss. He 
 would have felt it to be dishonorable, and yet, if she 
 could have come to life again, who knows — ? As on 
 the day when he had closed her dress with his breast- 
 pin, so now he shrouded her secret with the coffin-lid. 
 Her secret was safe with him. 
 
448 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 " Keep the key," said Theudelinde. " The coffin, its 
 key, and the treasure it holds are yours ; that is settled. 
 You are the master of the vault; it is your duty to take 
 her there. You cannot escape it." 
 
 With eyes that were hot and tearless, Theudelinde 
 looked through her veil at Ivan. He returned the 
 glance. If either had shed a tear, or even let a sob es- 
 cape, both would have burst into passionate weep- 
 ing, for grief is infectious ; but each one of them 
 was resolved to show mental strength in the presence 
 of the other. They could even command their emo- 
 tions. 
 
 " Do you undertake the duty ?" 
 
 Ivan bowed his head, 
 
 " Then you will perform it alone. Alive I shall never 
 enter the family vault. You know why." 
 
 Both were silent. Then Theudelinde burst out : 
 
 " Why was I not left in my castle ? Why was I unde- 
 ceived when I imagined that my ancestors visited me ? 
 If I had not been shaken in my delusions I should 
 still have been happy. I should never have gone into 
 the world, where I have only found misery; Angela 
 would not have come to me; my brother Theobald 
 would not have been ruined; hell would not have 
 been let loose in the Bondavara mines ; I should have 
 never known you; all — all would have been differ- 
 ent !" Then, after a pause, she went on : " There is no 
 need of a clergyman ; there is no need of any ceremony. 
 You can say some prayers. You are a Protestant — so 
 was Angela. She became one that she might get a sep- 
 aration from her unworthy husband. Let them carry 
 the coffin quietly and reverently to the family vault. 
 There I shall leave you and it, for I shall not go inside 
 —never, until I am dead. You will put the coffin in its 
 
ANGELA IS EVEN WITH IVAN 449 
 
 place, and then I return whence I came, where I am 
 wanted by no one." 
 
 Ivan called the miners to take the coffin again upon 
 their shoulders, and told them to carry it through the 
 vestibule to the private door which led into the park. 
 The park separated the director's house from the castle. 
 As they walked through the winding paths of the 
 park the trees shed their golden leaves upon the coffin 
 and the titmice in the brushwood chanted the dir^-e. 
 
 Ivan walked bareheaded behind the coffin, and be- 
 hind him came Countess Theudelinde. 
 
 When they reached the entrance of the vault Ivan 
 told the bearers to put the coffin down, and, kneeling 
 down beside it, he remained for a long time praying. 
 God hears us if we speak to Him in a whisper ; nay, He 
 hears us, even although we do not speak, but feel. 
 Theudelinde bent over Ivan and kissed his forehead. 
 " I thank you. You walked behind her with your 
 head uncovered. Now she is all yours." Then she re- 
 turned by the winding path, as if she were afraid that 
 Ivan would make her take away what she had brought. 
 
 Ivan placed the coffin in its resting-place and sent 
 away the bearers ; then he remained for many hours 
 beside it. By the light of the torches he read Angela's 
 last words to him — 
 
 " For whom shall I wait on the shore of the new 
 world r 
 
 Ivan sighed deeply. "Who will wait for me on the 
 shore of the new^ world .?" 
 
 Then he made his way back to the house. There was 
 no trace of either the countess's travelling carriage or 
 Angela's hearse. 
 
 29 
 
CHAPTER XLI 
 now IVAN MOURNED 
 
 They were both gone, the high - born lady and the 
 peasant girl— gone where there is no sorrow and no 
 more sin. One had lost her life by charcoal, the other 
 by fire — two vengeful spirits. 
 
 Ivan thought of both with bitter regret. He felt now 
 that he was alone in the world. He would have given 
 all the fame he had acquired, the money he had earned, 
 the good he had done, to have been able to save even 
 one of these women. He mourned for them not in 
 black, not with crape on his hat. What good are these 
 signs of grief ? 
 
 The European mourns in black, the Chinese in yel- 
 low, the Mussulman in green ; in the classical age they 
 mourned in white ; the former generation of Hungarians 
 in violet; the Jews in rags; the philosopher in his heart. 
 The wise man never shares his grief, but he does his 
 
 joys. 
 
 Meantime, in the Bondavara Valley there reigned 
 peace and plenty; where there had been a half-savage 
 race there was a happy people. The worst characters 
 had settled down, morality had grown popular. 
 
 Ivan sent the young men at his own expense to fac- 
 tories abroad, where they learned the arts of civiliza- 
 tion. He brought wood-carvers from Switzerland and 
 lace-workers from Holstein to teach their trades to the 
 
HOW IVAN MOURNED 45 1 
 
 women and children, so that they might unite artistic 
 hibor with increase of wages. For a population where 
 every one, big and little, works either from necessity 
 or for amusement — a people who look upon work as 
 pleasure and who feel it no privation to be employed — 
 such a people are ennobled by their toil. 
 
 Ivan looked after the schools. He emancipated the 
 national teachers from the misery of their national 
 tyrants; he rewarded the student with scholarships, the 
 school-boy with useful prizes ; in every parish he estab- 
 lished a library and reading-room. He accustomed the 
 people to put by the pence they could spare ; he taught 
 them how to help one another; he established in Bon- 
 davara a savings-bank and a hospital. 
 
 His own colliery was a model. The miners and him- 
 self were the joint owners, and shared the profit. Who- 
 ever was taken on in this colliery should pass an exam- 
 ination and work one year on trial. This rule applied 
 to women and men alike. This trial year was not easy. 
 particularly for the girls. 
 
 Nowhere was a girl so looked after; not in her 
 mother's house or in a convent or state institution was 
 there more particularity as to manners and morals than 
 in Ivan Behrend's colliery. Every word, every act was 
 watched. If anyone failed to be up to the mark during 
 his year of probation, no one taunted him, nor was he 
 despised. He was simply told to go and work in the 
 company's colliery, where there was better pay ; and the 
 workman or workwoman imagined this was an advance, 
 not a degradation. In the company's colliery there was 
 certainly more freedom, the rules being less strict. 
 
 If, however, at the end of the trial year the applicant 
 had fulfilled all requirements, he or she was received 
 into the colony and became a shareholder, so far as the 
 
452 
 
 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 profit was in question. Besides this, a prize for virtue 
 was given once a year, on the anniversary of the great 
 pit-burning, to the most modest, well-conducted girl in 
 the colony. 
 
 Ivan spent on this prize fifty ducats, and the miners 
 on their side promised the winner a handsome wedding 
 present. 
 
 It was, of course, an understood thing that no one 
 went in for the prize. No one knew who was likely to 
 get it. The elders took notes ; it was their secret. 
 
 The giving of this prize was not to be attended with 
 any ceremonial. It would take place on an ordinary 
 working day, when all the miners would have picks and 
 shovels in their hands, so that every one could see that 
 the reward was not for a pretty face, but for a good 
 heart and industrious fingers. It was to be a day of 
 general rejoicing. 
 
 This was how Ivan mourned. 
 
CHAPTER XLTI 
 EViLA 
 
 It was the anniversary of the great pit fire. Old Paul 
 had gone to look for Ivan at his house in the principal 
 colony, but Ivan had aheady started for the smaller 
 colliery. He saw Paul on the road, and, stopping his" 
 carriage, took the miner up. 
 
 "This day last year was a memorable day," said Paul. 
 
 " I recollect it well," returned Ivan ; " but to-day we 
 have to give the prize for virtue. Have the jury settled 
 to whom it is to be given .^'' 
 
 " They are agreed. A girl who has been little less than 
 a year in the colliery." 
 
 "And she has fulfilled all conditions?" 
 
 "In everyway. The child is most industrious. She 
 is every morning the first to come and the last to leave. 
 She never complains of the work, as many of them do ; she 
 treats it as if it were a pleasure to her. If her wheelbar- 
 row is overloaded, she encourages the digger to put on 
 still more; then she runs away gayly with her burden, 
 and com.es back singing as if siie had been amusing her- 
 self. At the end of the recreation she drives the other 
 girls back to their work." 
 
 " Is she vain?" 
 
 "No; she wears the same holiday clothes in which 
 she was dressed when she came a year ago; naturally 
 they are not quite as fresh as they were. She has a little 
 
454 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 string of beads round her throat, and in her hair a narrow 
 ribbon. At night she washes her clothes in the stream, 
 for she has one peculiarity — she wears fresh linen every 
 day; but she makes it up herself, so she alone has the 
 trouble/' 
 
 " Is she saving ?'' 
 
 " She has more in our savings-bank than any one of 
 the girls. She would have still more, only that on Sun- 
 days she gives a whole day's wages to the beggar who 
 sits at the church door." 
 
 " Does she go to church regularly?" 
 
 "Every Sunday she comes with us, but she never 
 sits with the other girls ; she kneels before a side-altar, 
 covers her face with her hands, and prays all through 
 mass." 
 
 " Is she good-tempered ?" 
 
 '"She has offended no one and has never been angry. 
 Once a woman said something very offensive to her, for 
 which we gave her a heavy fine. The woman was ready 
 to pay it, but the girl denied that she had been offended. 
 Soon after the woman got ill; she had no one to nurse 
 her, because she is a solitary widow, and this girl nursed 
 her every night, and fetched the medicine from the 
 apothecary for her." 
 
 "Do you think she is a hypocrite?" 
 
 " She is too merry for that, and ready for a joke. 
 Hypocrites are gloomy folk. Our people would soon find 
 her out if she wasn't on the square; but she is a prime 
 favorite with every one. We don't choose our words ex- 
 actly, but we can make a fair guess at the girl who respects 
 herself. We like one that gives a good box on the ear to 
 a fellow who would make too free. Sharp with the 
 hand, but soft with her tongue ; that's our sort. And 
 still, sometimes I have watched her when she was in 
 
EVILA 455 
 
 quite another mood; for instance, on Sunday afternoons, 
 when we sit under the mulberry-trees, they all get round 
 me and make me tell them — God knows how often ! — 
 the story of how you carried the pipe of the air-pump 
 into the gallery of the Bondavara mine, and how we all 
 thought you were a dead man. Women and children 
 hold their breath while I tell it. I believe I do tell that 
 story well, for they know it by heart, and yet they can- 
 not but listen. They take it in different ways ; but this 
 girl, I have noticed her, she covers up her face and cries 
 the whole time." 
 
 " And is she a modest girl ?'' 
 
 ^'To ascertain this point we had to call a jury of mar- 
 ried women. They couldn't bring forward a single 
 char^xe asfainst her. Then we jrot the girls together, and 
 we pressed them very close, if there was anything with 
 the young men, but ihey all said — no. And there was 
 no need for them to deny, for a peasant girl is fitly mated 
 with a miner, and if he wants her he can have her." 
 
 They had now reached the collier}^ and went into the 
 station-house, which stood at the corner of the branch 
 railroad. There was now another line, which ran under- 
 ground and connected the two collieries. Here Ivan 
 found a great many of the miners. He sent for the rest, 
 and told them work was over for the day. Men and 
 women assembled by degrees, and only one group of 
 girls still remained working. These had agreed not to 
 leave off until they had driven their load of coals to the 
 coal-hill, which lay between the entrance to the quarry 
 gallery and the station-house where Ivan sat waiting. 
 He could not see the girls ; he could only hear their 
 clear voices as they called to one another to make haste 
 and get the work finished, 
 ^ome one began to sing. The melody was familiar 
 
456 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 to Ivan — one of those sad Slav airs in which the sinjrer 
 seems on the brink of tears •, and the voice was sweet 
 and tuneful as a bell, full, too, of feeling. 
 
 "Say when I smootlied thy hair, 
 Showed I not tender care ? 
 Say when I dressed my child, 
 Was I not fond and mild ?" 
 
 Ivan's face clouded. "Why do they sing that air? 
 Why should it be on the lips of any one ? Why not let 
 it fall into oblivion ?" 
 
 "The girl is coming," said old Paul. "I hear her 
 singing; she is now coming down the hill with her 
 wheelbarrow." 
 
 The next moment the girl appeared upon the summit 
 of the coal-hill. With a run she had shoved her wheel- 
 barrow forward and emptied the contents with extraor- 
 dinary dexterity ; the big lumps of coal rolled down the 
 hill. She was a young, well-developed girl in a blue 
 jacket and a short petticoat ; but this red petticoat was 
 not tucked up — it fell over her ankles, and only showed 
 her feet. The colored handkerchief on her head had 
 fallen backward, and the rich plaits wound round her 
 small head could be seen. Her face was smudged wnth 
 coal-dust and was beaming with good-humor — earthly 
 dirt, supernatural glory. But what the coal-dust could 
 not conceal were the two large black eyes shining like 
 two brilliants — the darkness illumined by dazzling stars. 
 
 The girl stood immovable on the summit of the coal- 
 hill, then looked down with some surprise on the crowd 
 gathered in and around the station-house. 
 
 The next moment Ivan was beside her. In his joy 
 he had made one bound from the station-house across 
 the rails and had rushed up the coal-hill. 
 
EVILA 457 
 
 " Eveline !" he cried, clasping the girl's hand in his. 
 
 She shook her head, smiling at him. " No, sir," she 
 said, " Evila." 
 
 " You here ! You have come back here !" 
 
 " I have been in your collier\% sir, for a year, and if 
 you will keep me on I should like to stay." 
 
 " You shall stay only on one condition — as my 
 wife," cried Ivan, pressing her hand to his heart. 
 
 All who were at the foot of the hill saw this action ; 
 they could almost hear his w^ords. 
 
 Evila shook her head and drew away her hand. 
 " No, no. Allow me to be your servant, a maid in your 
 house, the maid of your wife. I shall be quite happy ; 
 I expect nothing more." 
 
 " But I wish it. You have come back to me ; you are 
 mine. How could you be so cruel as to be a year so 
 near me and never to tell me .'*" 
 
 " Oh, sir, you cannot raise me to your position !" said 
 Evila, with a sad yet dignified expression. "If you 
 knew all you would never forgive me." 
 
 " I know everything, and forgive everything." 
 
 These words proved that Ivan knew nothing. If he 
 had known the truth he would have been aware there 
 was absolutely nothing to forgive. As it was, he 
 pressed his young love close to his heart, while she 
 murmured : 
 
 " You may forgive me, but the world will never par- 
 don yoji.'''' 
 
 "The world !" cried Ivan, raising his head proudly. 
 "My world is here'''' — laying his hand on his breast. 
 " The world ! Look round you from this hill. Every- 
 thing that lives in this valley owes its breath to me; 
 every blade of grass has to thank vie that it is now 
 green. Hill and valley know that, under God, I have 
 
458 BLACK DIAMONDS 
 
 saved them from destruction. I have acquired a million, 
 and I have not despoiled any one. With every penny I 
 receive a blessing. In the palace of the prince and in 
 the cottage of the widow I have dried the tears of 
 despair; I have delivered my enemies from a living 
 grave, and I have saved their wives and children from 
 the misfortune of being widows and orphans. My name 
 is spoken of with admiration all over the globe, and yet 
 I have hid myself here^ not to be troubled with their 
 praises ; I do not care for praise. The most lovely of 
 women has smiled on me and loved me, but she was not 
 of my world. She is dead, and the key of her coffin is 
 a perpetual reminder to me that her world has passed 
 away. My world is within me, and into that inner 
 world of mine no one has ever entered, no one will 
 ever ^\\\itx^ but yojL ! Speak, Evila ; answer me. Will 
 you try to love me.^" 
 
 The girl's eyes sank before the ardent gaze of her 
 lover. Many men had made love to her, but none like 
 this man, whose face shone like Jupiter's when, \\'\\\\ a 
 look, he killed Semele. 
 
 " Oh, sir," she murmured, " if I do not die I shall love 
 you always ; but my mind misgives me that I shall die." 
 
 As she spoke she fell back fainting, her brilliant color 
 faded to a waxen pallor, the flashing eyes closed; her 
 body, which a moment before was like a blooming rose, 
 was now as lifeless as a withered leaf. 
 
 Ivan held her motionless form in his arms. 11ie 
 woman whom he had so loved, for whom he had suffered 
 so much, was his, just as her pulse ceased to beat, just 
 as she had said, " I shall love you always, but I know 
 that I shall die." 
 
 But she did not die. 
 
CHAPTER XLIII 
 THE DIAMOND REMAINED ALWAYS A DIAMOND 
 
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