Read Ebook: The Initials: A Story of Modern Life by Tautphoeus Jemima Montgomery Baroness

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XL. HOHENFELS 442

THE INITIALS.

THE LETTER.

ABOUT twelve years ago , the Golden Stag, kept by an old and very corpulent Frenchman, of the name of Havard, was considered the very best hotel in Munich. It was there that all crowned heads and royal personages took up their abode; and many and bitter were the complaints of English families obliged to turn out of their apartments to admit of the turning in of an emperor, king, or archduke! In the month of August, however, such guests were unusual; and, accordingly, a young English traveller had remained for a week in undisturbed possession of one of the most comfortable rooms in the house. He seemed, however, thoroughly dissatisfied with it or with himself, walked impatiently up and down, looked long and listlessly out of the window, and then, with evident effort and stifled yawn, concluded a letter which he had previously been writing. A few lines of this letter I shall transcribe.

The young man folded up and sealed his letter, with a look of infinite vexation, and putting it in his pocket while he murmured something about "taking it himself to the post-office, for want of other occupation," he slowly left the room and sauntered down the staircase, drawing his cane along the iron stair-railing as he went.

Hamilton, on his return, sprang lightly up the stairs, followed by a waiter, who lit the candles and prepared to assist him in taking off his rather tightly-fitting coat. The operation had proceeded about half-way, when his eyes fell on a letter which was placed conspicuously on the table. In a moment the coat was again on his shoulders and the letter in his hand.

"When did this come?"

"To-day, sir. Mr. Havard desired me to say it was carried by mistake to a gentleman's room who left this morning early."

Hamilton hastily opened the letter and read as follows:

"DEAR MR. HAMILTON,--I have this moment read your name among the arrivals in Munich, and write to tell you that we are for the present at Seon, a short journey distant from you. Our house is not at present habitable, and we have made this old monastery our headquarters. It was some years ago a tolerably frequented bath, but being no longer so, I shall have no difficulty whatever in procuring an apartment for you. We shall be delighted to see you, and show you the beauties of our neighbourhood. Perhaps, too, we can arrange a tour in the Tyrol together. John, I know, has joined his regiment; therefore I do not expect to see him. But probably Mrs. Hamilton is with you; in which case I am quite sure you will not leave Germany without having visited your sincere friend,

A. Z."

"How far is Seon from Munich? What sort of a place is it?" asked Hamilton.

"I am sorry I cannot give you any information, sir. Since I have been here no traveller has left for Seon."

"Is there no mail or stage-coach to any place near it? There must be a post-town, or something of that sort."

"I really do not know, sir."

"Try and decipher the post-mark," said Hamilton, impatiently handing him the envelope.

"I think it is Altenmarkt, but I am not quite sure."

"Give me my maps, if you please, and tell Mr. Havard I wish to speak to him for a few minutes."

When he had left the room, Hamilton turned the letter in every possible direction, examined the seal, which was a small coronet with the initials "A. Z.," read it five or six times over, and in thought mustered his tolerably numerous acquaintance. Not an "A. Z." among them all! How very provoking! "And yet the letter may be intended for me," he murmured, twisting it around his fingers: "It is not impossible that the writer may have thought that I was travelling with my aunt--why not? And John has actually joined his regiment very lately!--or--or--it may be some friend of my father's; in which case, as I do not know the name, and cannot explain by letter, I consider it a sort of duty to go to Seon, and in his name thank the good-natured person for the invitation. But what if it were not intended either for me or for my father? No matter. The letter is addressed to A. Hamilton, Esq.; if the writer intended it for an Abraham, an Achilles, or an Anthony, the fault is not mine. Alfred also begins with A.; the address is to the Golden Stag; my correspondent has seen my name or my father's in the newspapers;--mentions my mother and my brother. What more can I require?"

And Hamilton required nothing more, for on this occasion he was disposed to be easily satisfied. Besides, he was not going to force himself upon any person or persons unknown; he was merely going to Seon instead of Kissingen. Seon was also a place of public resort, quite as desirable for him as any other; nor could he see anything wrong in making some inquiries about this A. Z. when he arrived there.

Mr. Havard entered his room just as he was resolved what course he should pursue. "Pray, Mr. Havard, can you tell me how far Seon is from here?"

"Generally, especially if you don't require much place for luggage. I think I can procure a light carriage and tolerable horses for you."

"Thank you. To-morrow morning, at six o'clock, I should like to be off, if possible."

An unpleasant idea just then occurred to him, and it required an effort on his part to add, with affected indifference:

"By-the-by, Mr. Havard, perhaps you can tell me if there have been any persons here lately whose names were the same as mine?"

Mr. Havard looked puzzled.

"My name is Hamilton."

"Hameeltone--Hameeltone!" he repeated, thoughtfully. "We have a great many Hameeltone in our book. You shall see directly. I will send it to you."

"So," muttered Hamilton, as he walked up and down the room, "so, after all, the letter was not intended for me or my father! This is in consequence of having such a common name! And yet the name in itself is good, but the Hamiltons have multiplied so unconscionably of late, that I have no doubt we shall in time be quite as numerous as the Smiths! Should, however, no Hamilton have been here for the last week or ten days, I conceive that I have a right to appropriate this letter; for A. Z. says distinctly that he or she had that moment seen my name among the arrivals in Munich, and with every allowance for irregularity of post in an out-of-the-way place, chance, or unexpected delays, reference at least is made to some paper of a tolerably recent date. Oh! thank you," he exclaimed, hurrying towards the waiter, who at that moment entered the room with the strangers' book. "Before you go, show me the name of the gentleman into whose room my letter was taken by mistake."

He pointed to the name of "Alexander Hambledon, from London."

Hamilton turned back the leaves, six, eight, ten days, and no Hamilton; before that time, as Mr. Havard had said, "A great many Hamiltons." He wished them, their families, and suites very agreeable journeys, closed the book, put A. Z.'s letter carefully into his writing-case, and, after having desired the waiter to call him very early the next day, hurried to bed.

"Is, then, the country so very ugly?" asked Hamilton, anticipating nothing less than an American prairie.

"Flat--very flat; but in the evening we shall have the mountains nearer."

"You seem fond of the mountains!"

"I am a Tyrolean, and used to them. Life is not the same thing in these plains," he answered, cracking his whip, but not touching his horses.

"A Tyrolean!" exclaimed Hamilton; "oh, then you can sing your national songs, of course. Do, pray, let me hear one of them."

"No matter; try it at all events, and you shall have an additional glass of beer at dinner-time."

On the strength of this promise he "lifted up his voice in song," and shouted out a melody which there was no manner of doubt would have been "by distance made more sweet;" but which, as he leaned on the door of the carriage, and poured the whole force of his stentorian lungs into Hamilton's face, almost made him vibrate on his seat.

"There's no music like it in the world," said the man, as he seated himself again on the box; and laying aside his pipe, he continued singing for more than an hour, interrupted only by an occasional "Ho--he--hot!" addressed to his horses.

The country was indeed flat, but highly cultivated, and thickly wooded alternately--the absence of all walls or fences giving to German scenery in general the appearance of a domain; they passed through, and saw in the distance, many pretty villages, while the mountains were becoming more distinct and the scenery more interesting every hour. Had not the day been intensely sultry, Hamilton would have insisted on the head of the carriage being thrown back, and the odious rattling windows opposite to him being removed; as it was, however, the shade was agreeable, and the almost imperceptible current of air, produced by the motion of the carriage, as it blew on his face, had the somniferous effect attributed to the vampire's wing--he slept, and so soundly that until the carriage stopped suddenly before a house on the roadside, not all the jolting and consequent thumping of his head against the hard side of the carriage could waken him; he then rubbed his eyes, stretched out his legs, and was endeavouring once more to compose himself to sleep, when the coachman informed him that they were to remain there two hours to rest and dine. He looked at his watch--it was twelve o'clock; then at the inn; it did not promise much; but near the door he caught a glimpse of a carriage in form and colour exactly resembling his own, containing, however, a number of packages which denoted female travellers. The blue bandboxes and embroidered bags decided his movements. He sprang from the carriage, and almost unconsciously ran his fingers through his hair as he entered the house. Passing through a large room filled with peasants, he reached a smaller apartment containing some narrow tables furnished at each side with benches covered with black leather cushions. At one of these tables sat three ladies, and an equal number of little boys. Hamilton had learned to bow civilly on entering a room to any persons who might be in it; after which he generally contrived to commence a conversation, and let people know that he was an Englishman; having ascertained that being one was a sort of recommendation, or at least an excuse for all sorts of eccentricity. On the present occasion his bow was returned, but no further notice taken; scarcely even a look bestowed on him; this was, however, not at all what he wished, for two of the party were young and remarkably pretty.

She who seemed to be the mother of the children, a tall, gaunt person, had her head and chin bound up with a large pocket-handkerchief, and seemed to be suffering from toothache, which rather puzzled Hamilton when he had discovered that she had apparently lost all her teeth, though by no means old, as appeared from her fresh-coloured features and hair untinged with gray. The other two were very young and perfect personifications of German beauty--blue eyes, blooming cheeks, red lips, and a profusion of brown hair most classically braided and platted. That they were sisters scarcely admitted of a doubt, so remarkable was their resemblance to each other--a nearer inspection made it equally evident that one was much handsomer than the other. They were both tall and very slightly formed, and their dark cotton dresses were made and put on with an exactness that proved they were not indifferent to the advantages bestowed on them by nature.

Hamilton stood at the window, an object of interest, as it seemed, to no one excepting the three little boys, who, with their mouths full of roast chicken, turned round on their chairs to stare at him, notwithstanding the repeated admonitions of their mother, enforced by an occasional shake of the shoulder. The young ladies, to Hamilton's infinite astonishment, took the chicken-bones in their fingers and detached the meat from them with their teeth! He felt at once convinced that they were immeasurably vulgar, thereby forming an erroneous conclusion very common on the part of his travelling countrymen, who are not aware that the mode of eating is in Germany no such exact criterion of manners as in England. His dinner was now ready, and as he seated himself at the table one of his pretty neighbours glanced shyly towards him in a manner that proved that he had not been so unobserved as he imagined. With all the vanity of youth he determined in his turn to play indifference, traced diligently his route on the map which he had placed beside him, and made inquiries about Seon. The lady with the bound-up head tapped at the window and asked her coachman if he were ready to put to the horses; the answer was indistinct, but the words "late enough" and "Seon" reached Hamilton's ears. Bonnets, gloves, and handkerchiefs were sought, and the children given in charge of their maid to be packed into the carriage.

"I think we had better get in with the boys and arrange ourselves comfortably," observed the elder lady, following them out of the room.

"Comfort!" exclaimed one of the girls, in a melancholy voice, as she tied on her bonnet; "comfort is quite out of the question. I wish with all my heart we were at Seon! On such a day as this seven in a carriage is anything but agreeable."

"I should not mind," answered the other, half-laughing, "if Peppy did not insist on sitting on my knee; he kicks so incessantly that I suffered tortures on my way here."

"And why especially to Seon?" asked Hamilton.

"Oh, because I have heard so much of it from one of my school friends."

"Perhaps, then, you can give me some information. I have not the least idea what sort of a place it is."

"I believe it is a great old monastery, with long corridors, where one might expect to meet the ghosts of the monks stalking about--and the windows look into dark courts--and on a moonlight night it is quite romantic walking in the cloisters!"

"And did your friend wander about quite alone and by moonlight in such a place?"

"So I imagined--probably her mother or her sister walked with her."

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