Translation:The Mysterious Individual/III

Cheerfully they drove out of town, the coachman riding one of the horses in the English manner. After the open car of the mail-coach, the comfortable carriage seemed extremely pleasant to the young traveller, and it was not long before the rocking motion had lulled him into a pleasant slumber. When he awoke an hour later, he heard a strange and confused conversation outside on the coach box, and he saw that someone else was seated next to old Christoph. The old man was angry and speaking loudly, and the stranger did not seem to quite understand him and could only reply in broken German. In the excitement they knocked against the glass, and the stranger looked around in alarm. As he did so, Kronenberg thought he recognized in him the same man who had approached him the previous evening in so striking a manner. But it seemed impossible to him that he could be here already, as he himself had been travelling quite fast despite the bad roads.

He was interrupted in these reflections, for they were now passing through a small town and the carriage was being jolted by the broken cobblestones to such an extent that before long something had shattered, even though the coachman was driving quite cautiously. They stopped in front of the tavern. The stranger diligently and politely assisted the traveller to alight, whilst Christoph summoned a blacksmith. The unknown man was just as eager to help young Kronenberg undress in his room, and then asked if there was anything else he wanted him to do. The servants brought some refreshments, and after the stranger had also been obliged to take a seat, the young man asked him:

How could you possibly have caught up with me, because I never expected to see you again?

It could only have happened by the strangest coincidence, the stranger replied in his own language. You had barely left when a courier arrived with an urgent delivery. The man was known to me and he gave me a ride as far as the nearest large town, where we parted company. On the good road we were able to travel faster than you, even though it's a few miles longer. In that town I met a departing carriage, which took me to the place where I met up with your equipage, which, counting on your kind permission, I was so bold as to make use of, and here I shall take my leave of you with profound gratitude, and forever preserve in my faithful heart the image of my benefactor; for that city is already quite near where I can assuredly expect to find help and friends.

Forgive me, said Kronenberg, if I ask you a few questions before bidding you farewell. You surprised me yesterday, and when I had reflected on things, I was somewhat anxious that I might actually have been courting disaster, or that I might even have been committing a criminal act. I see that you avoid being seen in the city; you were even being pursued when we first met each other; and since you have interested me, and since I realize that I have helped a cultured and educated man as much as I could, I would also very much like to preserve a pure and unclouded picture of you in my memory through a somewhat closer acquaintance.

Sir, said the stranger, my name would mean nothing to you, even if I told you that I am called Cronibert and live with my family in Rouen. That which might appear very strange is a simple misfortune, a deplorable situation into which I fell when family matters and an alleged inheritance brought me to northern Germany. Instead of the immense fortune I had expected, all I found was utter confusion. Seemingly prior claims and artful proceedings before the courts superseded my claims. I did not have the ready money for a longer stay, I could only expect a meagre allowance from home, and when this finally arrived, most of it was used up paying the debts I had been obliged to incur in the intervening time. With a light purse and a heavy heart I set out for home in the bitter knowledge that I was bringing back to my family not opulence but increased poverty. Even though I travelled mostly on foot, the small sum I had managed to save was finally exhausted. And you can scarcely imagine how I now felt when a blackguard stole my passport in an inn one night, and I had to beg for alms from many a hard-hearted individual. I had never before experienced such feelings. I had been wandering about in that town in this terrible situation, looking for help; the poor-law wardens were on my tracks; they had learned that I had no passport, and if you, my esteemed protector, had been less generous I would have been imprisoned there as a beggar and a vagrant, and I, my wife and our uneducated children would have been ruined.

He could not conclude his narration without shedding a few tears, just enough that Kronenberg could not listen without being moved.

There are indeed circumstances, the latter said, moved, which so terribly frustrate and torment a man that it would be cruel and godless when even the total stranger, without waiting to be asked, won't jump up and help. I only wish I could have done more for you than merely shorten your journey by a few miles.

With these words he was about to press a few gold pieces into the unfortunate man's hand, but the latter took a few steps back with the noblest expression and exclaimed:

No, my good man, I cannot accept it. You have done enough for me. I am certain to find friends and assistance just two miles from here; it would be an abuse of your kindness. If I could only be so fortunate as to render you some service, or favour even, I would consider myself indescribably happy. However, it is also a beautiful and reassuring sensation to feel oneself under an obligation to a nobleman; and, also, the nobleman is blessed to have bestowed a benefit on one grateful enough to have deserved it.

With these words, he bowed and walked out the door. Presently, however, he returned and once again thanked Kronenberg, who was deeply moved; but there was once again something so piercing in the stranger's parting glance, so much furtive guile, so much unpleasantness in his wan countenance, that a change came over the young man's feelings; it was as though he were in a dreamlike, almost feverish state. In the end he even reprimanded himself for harbouring such suspicions; if the stranger had appeared so thoroughly repugnant at the last moment, Kronenberg set it down as a delusion brought on by the excitement of the journey. The carriage was now repaired and Christoph was ready to depart.

So, where did you hook this strange pike, Sir? he asked morosely. Because he mentioned your name when he clambered aboard our coach there before the city gates.

A poor man, said Kronenberg, by helping whom one may earn a reward from God; an unfortunate family man. What were you arguing with him about?

Oh, replied the other man, that French dunderhead insisted on finding fault with the vehicle, the horses and everything else, the know-it-all. Admittedly, I couldn't make out all his gibberish and he couldn't quite grasp my meaning, which always makes for a good and lively discourse. I've rubbed shoulders with this chap once before, and on that occasion we squabbled even more.

Where was this? Kronenberg asked, astonished.

Oh, last summer, Christoph continued, when we were with the old lord on his estate back there in the mountains. One morning I find our friend, whom I had seen prowling around quite a bit, in our garden. He must have scaled the fence. He sat down there and sketched the whole area. He said that our country had a lot of natural scenery, and fine prospects, and a certain Bellvue, and some more mixed-up stuff that he was gassing about. But I led him without ceremony through the manor and threatened to tell my lord on him. On that occasion he gave me a tip and did not look so beggarly. The next day I saw him again at a party when I went to fetch our elderly lord.

Christoph had to interrupt his rigmarole, as they took their seats in the carriage. They soon arrived at the city where the traveller's friend lived. After a few more minutes the carriage drew up in front of his house. __________