American clocks, as they are called, have the weights raised by pulleys
on one side. Hungary and Russia fancy fruit-pieces and landscapes.
Ornaments of the best taste are not always preferred; on the contrary,
a finical style is often most popular. If you can improve the
appearance of our clocks, you will be doing Pilgrim a service. Perhaps
you can give him a fresh start in life; though he hardly needs it, for
he possesses the rare art of being happy without being prosperous."
"I should like to make his acquaintance."
"You shall call upon him with me to-morrow. Only come bright and early,
so that we can take a walk over the hills. I will show you some fine
views, and nice people beside."
After bidding the engineer a hearty good night the doctor and his
family re-entered the house.
The moon shone clear in the heavens; the flowers sent out their
fragrance into the night, with none to enjoy it, and the stars looked
down upon them. No sound was heard, save from a house here and there
the striking of a clock.
CHAPTER VI.
THE WORLD PRESENTS ITSELF.
"Good morning, Lenz! You have had a good night's rest, just as children
do who have cried themselves to sleep." Thus was Lenz greeted the next
morning by Faller's deep bass voice. "O my friend," he answered; "it
brings back all my misery to wake up and remember what happened
yesterday. But I must be calm. I will proceed at once to write the
security for you. Take it to the mayor before he starts on his round,
and greet him from me. I remember I dreamed of him last night. Go to
Pilgrim's too, if you can, and tell him I shall wait at home for him
to-day. Good luck with your house! I am glad to think you will have a
roof of your own."
Faller started off for the valley with the paper, leaving Lenz to his
work. But before sitting down to it he wound up one of his musical
clocks and made it play a choral. The piece goes well, he said to
himself, nodding his head approvingly over the wheel on which he was
filing. It was her--my mother's--favorite tune. The great musical clock
with the handsomely carved nut-wood case, as tall as a good-sized
wardrobe, was called "The Magic Flute," from the overture of that
opera, which was the longest of five pieces that it played. It was
already sold to a large tea-dealer in Odessa. A smaller clock stood
beside it, and near that a third, on which Lenz was working. At noon,
after laboring uninterruptedly all the morning, he began to feel
hungry; but no sooner had he sat down to his solitary meal than all
hunger forsook him. He asked the old serving-maid to eat with him, as
she used to do in his mother's lifetime. She consented, after a great
show of maidenly delicacy at the idea of dining alone with so young a
man; but by the time the soup was finished, she had so far recovered
her self-possession as to bring up the question of his marriage and
gave her advice against it.
"Who says I mean to marry?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account