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Page 7
CHAPTER III.
HUSBAND AND WIFE.
About a half a mile from the valley--the name of which we shall conceal,
as many personages who are to play a part in our little story are still
living--was situated the estate of Almvik, which the present proprietor
Fabian H----, had purchased one year before, and had immediately removed
thither with his family.
Mr. H----, and above all his puissant wife Mistress Ulrica Eugenia, her
proper name, but which she had afterwards tortured into the more refined
patronymic, Ulrique Eugenie--were individuals who moved in the higher
classes of society, at least he who should endeavor to prove to the
contrary would find the task a thankless one.
Mr. Fabian H----, imagined himself a second Brutus, that is to say; he
was fully convinced that the time would certainly arrive when he should
arouse himself from his present listlessness; when he should be released
from the thraldom of his wife, and awaken to renewed strength and vigor.
But it was much to be feared that poor Brutus never would realize his
bright anticipations of liberty.
Mistress Ulrica Eugenia was characterized by a strong desire to assist
in the work of emancipating women from the tyranny of men, and that she
might forward the good work she had entirely set at naught the command
that a wife should obey her husband; she openly declared that the
ancient law which compelled the woman to subserve to the man, was but a
concoction of man himself, that the Bible itself never contained such an
absurd command, but that the translators, who she triumphantly affirmed
were men, had placed that law in the scripture, merely to suit their own
selfish ends. She also affirmed that she would stake her life upon the
issue that she would not find, even if she should search the scriptures
through, such an absurd command. And she was right. _She_ would not find
it.
In the immediate neighborhood of Almvik, Mr. H---- was reverenced as a
wealthy nobleman, and a man of power. He wished to be considered a
hospitable man, and frequently rejoiced his neighbors with invitations
to visit his beautiful estate. To him strangers were godsends. He
entertained them to the best of his ability, invited the neighbors to
see them, and although his little soirees were very pleasant, still, as
the guests were drawn from all classes of society, many amusing scenes
were enacted, in all of which, Mistress Ulrica Eugenia performed a
prominent and independent part.
Although Mrs. Ulrica had liberated herself from all obedience to her
legal master, and had in fact assumed the reins of government herself,
she nevertheless possessed some, if not a great deal of affection for
the rosy cheeks and sleepy eyes of her husband, and at the same time she
kept a watchful eye upon those whom she suspected of partaking with her
in this sentiment. Not only was Mrs. H---- occasionally aggravated by
the pangs of jealousy, but she was also tormented by the thought that
her husband entirely confided in her own fidelity, thus at once cutting
off the possibility of a love quarrel and a reconciliation.
Upon the evening when we first made the personal acquaintance of the
inmates of Almvik, Mr. H---- and his wife were riding out in their gig;
for in the morning they rode in a light hunting wagon, and at noon they
used the large family coach.
Mr. H----, immediately before starting forth on the ride had received a
severe lecture from his spouse, because he indulged in an afternoon's
nap, instead of devising means for the amusement of the family, that
is, of the worthy dame herself, and their only treasure, the little
Eugene Ulrich, and Mr. H----, we say, never felt inclined for sprightly
conversation after such a lecture.
He well knew that he would be obliged to succumb in everything; but like
a stubborn boy, who is punished by being compelled to stand in a corner
until shame forces him to submit, Mr. H---- determined, to speak
figuratively--to stand silently in that corner the entire day rather
than to acknowledge himself conquered.
That was, at least, one point gained, towards his emancipation. It
cannot but be supposed, however, that, if the lecture had been upon any
other subject less trivial than the mere act of sleeping, Mr. H----
would have undoubtedly acted in an entirely different manner. At least
that is the only excuse we can find for his conduct on this occasion.
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