LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume IV, Issue 330, 3 July 1875, Page 3

LITERATURE.

THE FLYING POST.

From the Danish.

( Concluded .)

It is said that up to thirty years of age a man is especially exposed to the influence of love, and that after that period he becomes ambitious. But in the present case Bagger’s ambition, if not satisfied, was at least allayed ; while his amatory propensities had not been severely strained. The note, then, he had just received acted on him like a spark on a barrel of gunpowder. A glow ran through every vein in his body. Still thei’e was so much of the lawyer about him that, after the first rapturous emotion had subsided., he though!;,— ‘ What if It be some practical joke, after all ? ’ On the other hand, he was quite certain that he had never alluded to the comparison of the old Northmen’s chair props to a living soul, much less had he breathed that now precious syllable, * geb, ’ in mortal ear. Evidently, therefore, the missive he had once sent forth had come into the possession of a lady (for the handwriting, the delicate perfume of the note paper, proclaimed her to be such), who by some means or other had discovered his secret. Again and again he looked at the envelope. It bore only the Copenhagen postmark. The writer, then, must be living in that city—perhaps was close by. But who could she be ? Ah ! that was the vexatious thing about it! ‘And yet it must inevitably be so,’he reflected ; ‘ for how could she have come in propria and have said while handing me the note, ‘lt is I? ’ . . . Perhaps she would write again. ’ Some nine or ten days elapsed, and found the Assessor in a very despondent mood. All the bright castles he had been building up were demolished as soon as completed. One evening, however, the postman left a note at the door. It was in the same handwriting, and contained the following words : ‘ I ought to act honestly towards you, and, as we may never meet, can do so.’ Bagger gasped for breath. Some persons, indeed, might have put a different interpretation on this sentence, and for ‘ I ought to act honestly,’ &c., have read ‘I mean to make a fool of you ;’ and for ‘we may never meet,’ ‘ shall soon see you ;’ but the worthy i udge took .every word for gospel. ‘ I am ashamed,’ the writer continued, ‘at the words I last wrote you. My excuse must be that I only learnt a clay or two ago that you were married. My consolation is that you will never know who I am, and that I shall be forgotten as I will forget. ’ *Oh !’ thought the judge ; ‘ supposing wc were to meet some day when we are both grey-headed, and she were then to learn that I never was, am not, and never intend to marry ! —can anything more dreadful be imagined? Yet, if she were to find her mistake out to-morrow, she would not, she could not write again to say, I was in error. No ? I am completely cut off from her. I might as well be living up in the moon. Nay ! what is even worse, I may meet her in the street, brush up against her dress, without any suspicion that she is my geb. Our age boastsjof its penny post, its steamers, railways, telegraphs, &c. As far as lam concerned, they need not exist —what use are they if they cannot help me to find out her address ?’ A sudden idea now flashed across Bagger’s brain. ‘Stay! why not advertise? But how? Fritz Bagger is not married ! No! that would be too plain, F, B. is not married ! No, that is not plain enough. Hah ? I have it. Geb is not married !’ And, after many corrections, he finally wrote out the following advertisement, and sent it to the leading paper in Copenhagen. ‘ Geb ! it is a mistake. He waits only for Geb.’

A few days later another note in the same precious handwriting reached him. ‘ Good ! be at Mrs Knudsen’s this day week to congratulate her on her birthday.’ On the appointed day, Bagger knocked at Mrs Knudsen’s door at a very early hour. The lady of the house was alone, and appeared to be not a little surprised at such an early visit. But Bagger was so lively and amusing a character, that wherever he went, late or early, he was always welcome. The time, therefore, passed (prickly, and Bagger, feeling that he could not with propriety protract his visit, was on the point of taking leave when a knock was heard at the door, and the next moment a young lady was ushered into the room. Mrs Knudsen rose and kissed her new visitor affectionately. *I am so glad to see you, dear! thanks for your kind wishes. . . . How are they at home ? But, I beg pardon ; lam forgetting; let me introduce you to my particular friend. Miss Hjehn —Justice Bagger.’ Now the judge was of course by no means sure that this was the lady, but felt quite certain that she ought to be ; for not only was she extremely pretty and ladylike, but his heart, being like a photographer’s plate ready dipped in collodion, was prepared to receive the first pretty image that fell on it. His only fear was lest other ladies should come in to blur the picture. The impression, too, that the judge had made on the young lady was evidently a pleasing one; at least such was Mrs Knudsen’s opinion, who was no mean authority in such matters, and was moreover a confirmed match maker. “What an excellent husband he would make for dear Ingeborge ! I must see if I can’t manage it,’ she thought to herself. Other visitors kept arriving and leaving, but still the the judge remained, quite unconscious of the length of time he had been there. Presently Miss Brandt was ushered into the room. On seeing Judge Bagger sitting by the side of Miss Hjelm, with whom he was still earnestly engaged in conversation, she gave a little cry of surprise, but, quickly regaining her composure, advanced to offer her congratulations to the lady of the house. On looking at his watch, Bagger now perceived that his visit had lasted over three hours, two of which had been spent in Miss Hj elm’s company ; so, after addressing a few commonplace remarks to Miss Brandt, took his leave, and returned home in a very happy frame of mind indeed. If hitherto Fritz Bagger’s nature has seemed to be rather dreamy and unpractical, no such charge could henceforth be brought against him ; for, within a week from his visit to Mrs Knudsen’s, he had not only ascertained where Miss Hjelm lived, but had engaged lodgings for himself in the neighbourhood, and had become a daily visitor at the house of that lady’s mother. He had been in the country but a few days when he receivedjanother note from his unknown correspondent: ‘ Be more fortunate this time : two o’clock on Tuesday at Mrs Lund’s ; mind the hour.’ ‘ Can she be a coquette? ’ thought Bagger. ‘ I don’t think I could possibly be more fortunate than I was then.’ Early on the following Tuesday, Bagger repaired to Mrs Hjelm’s house, but, to his surprise, saw no signs betokeniug a journey in to Copenhagen. Ingebord was dressed, as usual, in a plain morning gown, busily employed at needlework, and seemed quite unconcerned. All this puzzled the judge to such a degree than when at last the clock struck twelve, he exclaimed: ‘ Miss Hjelm, you know that I am a Judge in the Supreme Court ? ’ ‘ Certainly,’ said Ingeborg, wondering at his meaning. ‘ And that, consequently, I do not believe in sorcery,’ continued Bagger. ‘ Has anyone accused you, then, of such a thing ?’ asked his companion, in a tone of surprise. ‘ No, dear lady ; but I can assure you that when the clock struck just now it occurred to me that you were going to take wing. ’ ‘ Why ? . . . what can you mean ?’ asked Ingeborg. ‘ Under ordinary circumstances it seemed to me an impossibility for any lady to perform her toilette and drive ten miles all in two hours.’ ‘Very true, judge ; but I have no intention of driving ten miles to-day.’ ‘ And that was just why I spoke of Hying.’ ‘ Neither of ilying,’ added Ingeborg. ‘To convince you of this fact you can, if you please, remain here till—what hour did you say?’ ‘Two o’clock.’ ‘ Two long hours, certainly ; but perhaps a Judge of the Supreme Court can for once offer that sacrifice on the altar of enlightenment. ’ ‘ I would rather sacrifice two hours on a different altar,’ thought Bagger. ‘ And you know you promised my cousin and me to read us something about natural history,’ continued Ingeborg. ‘Yes, dear joung lady ; but I cannot fly, and my carriage is already waiting for me,’ answered Bagger. ‘ Oh, I beg your pardon, then ; a pleasant drive. ’ ‘ But I can’t see why I should drive ten miles. ’ ‘ A person must be the best judge of his own affairs, remarked Ingebord. ‘ Possibly ; but I am not of mine. ’ A pause ensued, during which Ingeborg sorely puzzled herself to try and account for the strange manner of her visitor. ‘ May I take the liberty, asked Bagger, to propose that you accompany me ? ’ ‘I told you I was not going out to-day,’ replied Ingeborg, rather coldly. ‘ Then,’ continued Bagger, ‘ we might just as well remain where we are. ’ Ingeborg was fairly at a loss to fathom the worthy judge’s meaning, and began to think he must have taken leave of his senses, when he said, in a voice trembling with emotion : ‘ Miss Ingeborg ! take pity on me ; tell me, didn’t you expect me at two o’clock today at Mrs Lund’s ? ’ ‘ I expect you at Mrs Lund’s ! ’ exclaimed Ingeborg, in an astonished tone. ‘Was it not you, then, that wrote to me . . . and . . . ?’ ‘ I never wrote a line to you in my life, Judge Bagger,’ answered Ingeborg, very indignantly. ‘For God’s sake, don’t go yet’ exclaimed the judge ; for Miss Hjelm had risen to leave the room. ‘ Forgive me, I will tell you everything. ’ And Bagger gave her a full and detailed account of his whole story, beginning with the note he had once entrusted to the whirlwind, down to the present time.

When he had ended his confession, Ingeborg said with a soft smile, without trying to withdraw the hand which the judge had been holding for at least five minutes in his own : ‘ The meaning of all which is that your affections are engaged to an unknown lady ?’ ‘No ; that is not quite my meaning, Ingeborg.’_ ‘ But it is the fact! At the very moment you stand at the altar witli me, another may step forward and claim you.’ ‘Oh-! but that scrap of paper I once threw in the air,’ cried the judge, ‘is neither morally nor legally binding. It is you, dearest Ingeborg, I love ! ’ Ingeborg reflected a moment. She would not yet confess that she was the original possessor of his note ; neither did she quite like to acknowledge that she had given it to Miss Brandt, who she now felt must have been acting the part of the Incognita. She therefore merely said: ‘ You must first have your note back. 1 ‘ Certainly; but how am Ito get it ? There’s the difficulty.’ ‘ Write by the same post as before. Let the wind once more act the postman !’ ‘Ah ! but I am no longer a youth, Ingeborg ; and I should not care to write what might fall into strange hands now.’ ‘Well, then, for once, I must act the sorcerer. Write as I dictate, and I will take care your letter shall reach its destinanation. ’ The judge seated himself with alacrity at the table. ‘ Write,’ continued Ingeborg : ‘ ‘Dear Fairy, as I am paying my addresses to Miss Hjelm . . .’ Have you got that ?’ * Oh, dearest girl!’ exclaimed Bagger, beside himself with joy, making an abortive attempt to seize Ingeborg’s hand, ‘ Wait a minute.’ ‘ ‘ I pray you, ’ resumed Ingeborg, *to return my note. ’ Have you got that ?’ * Yes, Ingeborg, darling; Ingeborg—my ’ ‘ Now the name, date, and address. So ! have you got that ? Now the postscript.’ ‘ P.S.—I give you my word of honor that Ido not know who you are or how this will reach you ’ —have you got that ? And now I will add the magic formulary. Give me the pen ; we must send it off before two.’ ‘ Two ! how strange. Her last letter said two o’clock.’ And Ingeborg wrote : ‘ Dear Miss Brandt, —I too beg you to return the letter I gave you ; and I must ask you to write on it “ Given me by Miss Hjelm.” It will be best for all parties that this joke goes no farther. Your letters shall be returned by the same post that your enclosure arrives.’ We need not stay to pry into the feelings of Miss Brandt when she received Judge Bagger’s note with Miss Hjelm’s addendum; neither need we inquire what her original intention had been in writing those mysterious notes which had so perplexed that worthy functionary. Suffice it to say, that on the following day an envelope came addressed to Judge Bagger ‘care of Miss Hjelm.’ Ingeborg, of course, was in the room when the letter came, and when, on breaking the seal, the judge recognised his youthful effusion, he trembled as if he had received a communication from the spirit world ; but on seeing the words, * Given me by Miss Hjelm,’ exclaimed : ‘ Am I awake ? or dreaming? How is it possible ? ‘ Possible ! ’ said Ingeborh. ‘ Why, who should have got your letter but geb ? ’ ‘ Geb !—geb !—yes—but who is geb ? asked the judge in increasing bewilderment. ‘Who but Ingleborg? is it not second syllable in my name ?’ ‘Oh !’ cried the judge, embracing her. * I have indeed had more luck than wit.’ ‘ Yes,’ answered Ingeborg, with a roguish smile ; that is only to be expected when a man entrusts his destiny to the whirlwind. ’