The Poor Gentleman Part 10

"Alas! is it true, sir," said the farmer, in a stifled voice,--"is it true that you are going to leave Grinselhof, and that, perhaps, we shall never see you again?"

"Come, come, mother Bess," said the poor bankrupt, as he took and pressed her hand; "don't weep on that account; you see we bear our lot with resignation."

Bess raised her head, threw her eyes once more over the humble dress of her old master, and began to cry so violently that she could not utter a word. Her husband strove manfully to repress his emotion; and, after an effort or two, addressed Monsieur De Vlierbeck in a manly way:--

"May I ask the favor of you, sir, to let me say a word or two to you in private?"

De Vlierbeck entered the adjoining room, where he was followed by the farmer, who shut the door carefully.

"I hardly dare, sir," said he, "to mention my request; but will you pardon me if it displeases you?"

"Speak out frankly, my friend," returned De Vlierbeck, with a smile.

"Look you, sir," stammered the tender-hearted laborer. "Every thing that I have earned I owe to you. I had nothing when I married Bess; and yet, with your kindness, we have managed to succeed. G.o.d's mercy and your favor have made us prosperous; while you, our benefactors, have become unfortunate and are forced to wander away from their home,--G.o.d knows where! You may be forced to suffer privations and want; but that must not be: I would reproach myself as long as I live. Oh, sir!" continued he, as his voice faltered and his eyes filled with tears, "all that I have on earth is at your service!"

De Vlierbeck pressed the hard hand of the rustic with a trembling grasp, as he replied,--

"You are a worthy man indeed, and I am, happy that it was once in my power to protect and serve you; but I cannot accept your offer, my friend: keep what you have earned by the sweat of your brow, and do not concern yourself for our future fate, for, with G.o.d's help, we shall find means to live."

"Oh, sir," said the farmer, beseechingly, and clasping his hands in an att.i.tude of entreaty, "do not reject the trifle I offer you;"--he opened a drawer and pointed to a small heap of silver.--"See!" said he; "that is not the hundredth part of the good you have done us. Grant me this favor, I beseech you: take this money, sir; and if it spare you a single suffering or trial I shall thank G.o.d for it on my knees!"

Tears streamed down the wan and wrinkled cheeks of the poor gentleman as he replied,--

"Thanks! thanks! my friend; but I must refuse it. All persuasion is useless. Let us leave this room!"

"But, sir," cried the farmer, in astonishment, "where do you intend to go? Tell me, for G.o.d's sake!"

"I cannot," replied Monsieur De Vlierbeck, "for I don't know myself; and, even if I did, prudence would make me silent."

Uttering these words, he returned to the other room, where he found everybody in tears. He saw at once that for his own sake as well as his daughter's he must end these trying scenes; and accordingly, in a firm voice, he told her it was time to be gone. There were a few more tender and eager pressures of hands, a few more farewells, a few last looks at the old homestead and its surroundings, and the bankrupt pair sallied forth with their bundles, and, pa.s.sing the bridge just at sunset, departed on foot across the desolate moor.

It is hard to bid farewell and quit the spots with which, even in a summer's journey, we have formed agreeable a.s.sociations: but harder far it is to bid adieu forever to the home of our ancestors and the haunts of our youth. This dreadful trial was pa.s.sing in De Vlierbeck's heart.

From a distant point on the road where the domain of Grinselhof was masked by thickets, the wanderer turned his eyes once more in the direction of the old _chateau_. Big tears stood in his eyes and slowly rolled down his hollow cheeks as he stood there, silent and motionless, with clasped hands, gazing into vacancy. But night was rapidly falling around the wayfarers; and, recalling him to consciousness with a kiss, Lenora gently drew her father from the spot till they disappeared in the windings of the wood.

CHAPTER IX.

Monsieur De Vlierbeck had not been gone a week, when a letter addressed to him from Italy reached the village post-office. The carrier inquired of Farmer John where the old proprietor of Grinselhof had fixed his residence; but neither from him, the notary, nor any one else in the neighborhood, could he discover the bankrupt's retreat. The same fate awaited three or four other letters which followed the first from Italy; and, indeed, n.o.body bothered himself any more about the wanderers except the peasant, who every market-day pestered the country-folks from every quarter with questions about his old master. But no one had seen or heard of him.

Four months pa.s.sed slowly by, when one morning a handsome post-chaise stopped at the door of our old acquaintance the notary and dropped a young gentleman in travelling-costume.

"Where's your master?" said he impatiently to the servant, who excused the notary under the plea of his present engagement with other visitors, but invited the stranger to await his leisure in the parlor.

The youth was evidently disconcerted by the delay; for he paced the apartment with rapid strides and seemed altogether absorbed by some anxiety or disappointment which made him extremely restless. The notary's visitors seemed to be either very tedious clients or engaged in very important business; for more than half an hour elapsed before that functionary made his appearance. He came into the room ceremoniously, prepared to measure his words and reception by his visitor's rank; but no sooner did he perceive who it was than his calculating features relaxed into a professional smile, and he advanced rapidly toward Gustave with outstretched hands.

"How are you, how are you, my dear sir?" said he. "I have been expecting you for several days, and I am really happy to see you at last. I am greatly flattered by the confidence you are disposed to place in me, and am ready, whenever you please, to devote myself to your affairs.

By-the-way, I suppose there is a will?"

A shadow pa.s.sed over Gustave's brow and his face became serious as he took a portfolio from his overcoat and drew forth a package of papers.

"I am pained, sir, at your loss," said the notary. "Your excellent uncle was my friend, and I deplore his death more than that of any one else.

It pleased G.o.d that he should die far away from his home. But such, alas! is man's fate. We must console ourselves by the reflection that we are all mortal. Your uncle was _very_ fond of you, and I suppose you have not been forgotten in his last moments?"

"You may see for yourself," said Gustave, as he placed the package on the table.

The notary ran his eyes over the papers, and, as he perused them, his face exhibited by turns surprise and satisfaction.

"Permit me," said he, "to congratulate you, Monsieur Gustave; these doc.u.ments are all in order and una.s.sailable. Heir of all his fortune! Do you know, sir, that you are more than a _millionaire_?"

"We will speak of that another time," said Gustave, interrupting him rather sharply. "I called on you to-day to ask a favor."

"You have but to name it, sir."

"You were the notary of Monsieur De Vlierbeck?"

"I was."

"I heard from my uncle that Monsieur De Vlierbeck had become very poor.

I have reasons for desiring that his misfortunes may not be prolonged."

"Sir," said the notary, "I presume that you intend to do him an act of kindness; and, in truth, it could not be bestowed on a worthier man, for I know the cause of his ruin and sufferings. He was a victim of generosity and honor. He may have carried these virtues to imprudence and even to madness; but he deserved a better fate."

"And now, sir," said Gustave, "I want you to let me know, with the least amount of details possible, what I can do to a.s.sist De Vlierbeck without wounding his pride. I know the condition of his affairs; for my uncle told me all about them. Among other debts there was a bond for four thousand francs, which belongs to the heirs of Hoogebaen: I want that bond _immediately_, even if I have to pay four times as much as it is worth."

The notary stared at Gustave without replying.

"You seem disconcerted by my demand," said Gustave, somewhat anxiously.

"Not exactly," returned the notary; "but I do not altogether understand your emotion, although I fear the news I must impart will affect you painfully. If my antic.i.p.ations are correct I have cause to be sorry for you, sir!"

"Explain yourself," cried Gustave, alarmed; "explain yourself, sir! Has death been at Grinselhof? Is my last hope destroyed?"

"No, no," replied the notary, quickly; "don't tremble so; they both live, but they have been stricken by a great misfortune."

"Well? well?" exclaimed Gustave, with questioning eagerness, rising from his chair.

"Be calm, be calm, sir," said the notary, soothingly; "sit down and listen; it is not so terrible as you may perhaps think, since fortune enables you to soften their misery."

"Oh, G.o.d be thanked!" cried Gustave. "But let me beg you to hasten your disclosures, for your slowness racks me!"

"Know, then," continued the notary, "that during your absence the bond in question fell due. For many months De Vlierbeck made unavailing efforts to find money to honor it at maturity; but all his property was mortgaged, and no one would a.s.sist him. In order to escape the mortification of a forced sale, De Vlierbeck offered every thing at public auction, even down to his furniture and clothes! The sale produced about enough to pay his debts, and everybody was satisfied by the honorable conduct of De Vlierbeck, who plunged himself into absolute beggary to save his name."

"And so he lives in the _chateau_ of his family only as a tenant?"

"No; he has left it."