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Page 21
"Fool! you have kept me waiting!" said he harshly as the man advanced.
Humbly but with a humility which was more assumed than natural, the
"Butler," presented Mr. Fabian with two hares, and two partridges; which
would fill his game-bag uncommonly well and ensure a loving welcome upon
his return home. After this ceremony was performed Mr. H---- threw his
accomplice a few pieces of silver, and when the last named performer in
this little scene had vanished, our huntsman fatigued by his arduous
exertions cast himself upon a moss-covered bank and was soon continuing
the dream which had been so unpleasantly interrupted by his sweet
Ulgenie.
* * * * *
"In the woods, near the sea I have lived
Many a day!
Ho, ho, ho,
Ha, ha, ha,
It is so lovely on the earth!"
Thus sang or hummed Carl as he proceeded on his way.
Suddenly he experienced a strong desire to rush into the woods to listen
to the sighing of the wind as it swept through the high branches of the
trees. In this music Carl took such delight that he would listen to it,
for hours, while great tears of pleasure and excitement would roll down
his sun-burnt cheeks. But it was the pleasure and excitement of a
religious enthusiast in the house of the God he worshipped. Carl never
spoke of these sentiments, and how would it have been possible for him
to do so. He never thought from whence they originated. He followed his
inclination only.
While Carl was thus engaged he suddenly saw an object which caused him
instantly to neglect the sound of his favorite music. In the grass near
the fence over which Carl was about climbing, he saw the slumbering
huntsman, with the freshly killed game reposing at his side.
Carl, without knowing why, had conceived the idea that Magde disliked
Mr. Fabian H----, and as for himself, he instinctively hated that
worthy gentleman. And another thought entered his head as he looked upon
the game. He remembered that Magde had once said: "Ah! had we but a hare
or a partridge, how delicious it would be! But such things are too good
for us, they must be sent to the manor house."
Carl laughed silently. He extended his hand towards the sleeping man,
and then withdrew it undecidedly. Our friend Carl possessed a few
indistinct ideas concerning the law of _meum and teum_. By dint of great
exertion, his father had implanted in his mind the great necessity of
observing the eighth commandment, and upon the present occasion the
lesson of his younger days interfered in a great degree with the
accomplishment of his present designs; for as he gazed upon the objects
of his envy, he muttered to himself:
"_The Eighth Commandment:_ Thou shalt not steal!"
His brain was not only troubled with the eighth, but the words of the
tenth commandment came to his memory, "Thou shalt not covet thy
neighbor's wife, nor his servant, nor his maid, nor his ox, nor his
ass."
As he thus spoke, and thought first of the commandments and then of
Magde, he continued to advance and retreat, wavering in his decision,
and he might have remained in this state until Mr. Fabian awoke, had not
a bright idea forced itself upon his mind.
"O," exclaimed he, "the commandments say nothing about _game_!" and as
even the veriest simpleton has it in his power to convince himself of
the purity of an action, however wrong, Carl soon satisfied himself with
the excuse which he had so ingeniously invented. He entirely forgot the
closing line of the commandment, "nor anything that is his," which,
however, would not bear consideration on that occasion. He therefore
seized the two hares that were nearest him, and by the assistance of a
long stick he gained possession of the partridges also.
In the meantime, Mr. Fabian's assistant, who had not yet left the
forest, having been attracted by Carl's movements, had been an
eye-witness to his proceedings. But instead of warning the lad of his
crime, the spectator seemed rather to rejoice at his patron's
misfortune. He might safely do this, for after the crime had been
committed, he could easily disclose the name of the thief, and thus
avert suspicion from himself. He thought that Mr. H---- would not injure
a person of Carl's character, and that at all events he would be likely
to receive a proper reward for any zeal he should exert to promote the
interest of his employer. Carl had discovered that his actions had been
observed; but as the spectator, by sundry winks and nods, seemed rather
to encourage than to prevent him, Carl proceeded without fear.
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