The Broken Cup

  Produced by Joyce Wilson and David Widger

  THE BROKEN CUP

  By Johann Heinrich Daniel Zschokke

  Translated by P. G.

  Copyright, 1891, by The Current Literature Publishing Company

  Author's Note.--There is extant under this name a short piece by theauthor of "Little Kate of Heilbronn." That and the tale which herefollows originated in an incident which took place at Bern in the year1802. Henry von Kleist and Ludwig Wieland, the son of the poet, wereboth friends of the writer, in whose chamber hung an engraving called_La Cruche Cassee_, the persons and contents of which resembled thescene set forth below, under the head of The Tribunal. The drawing,which was full of expression, gave great delight to those who saw it,and led to many conjectures as to its meaning. The three friends agreed,in sport, that they would each one day commit to writing his peculiarinterpretation of its design. Wieland promised a satire; Von Kleistthrew off a comedy; and the author of the following tale what is heregiven.

  MARIETTA.

  NAPOULE, it is true, is only a very little place on the bay of Cannes;yet it is pretty well known through all Provence. It lies in the shadeof lofty evergreen palms, and darker orange trees; but that alone wouldnot make it renowned. Still they say that there are grown the mostluscious grapes, the sweetest roses, and the handsomest girls. I don'tknow but it is so; in the mean time I believe it most readily. Pity thatNapoule is so small, and can not produce more luscious grapes, fragrantroses, and handsome maidens; especially, as we might then have some ofthem transplanted to our own country.

  As, ever since the foundation of Napoule, all the Napoulese women havebeen beauties, so the little Marietta was a wonder of wonders, as thechronicles of the place declare. She was called the _little_ Marietta; yetshe was not smaller than a girl of seventeen or thereabout ought to be,seeing that her forehead just reached up to the lips of a grown man.

  The chronicles aforesaid had very good ground for speaking of Marietta.I, had I stood in the shoes of the chronicler, would have done thesame. For Marietta, who until lately had lived with her mother Manonat Avignon, when she came back to her birthplace, quite upset the wholevillage. Verily, not the houses, but the people and their heads; and notthe heads of all the people, but of those particularly whose heads andhearts are always in danger when in the neighborhood of two bright eyes.I know very well that such a position is no joke.

  Mother Manon would have done much better if she had remained at Avignon.But she had been left a small inheritance, by which she received atNapoule an estate consisting of some vine-hills, and a house that lay inthe shadow of a rock, between certain olive trees and African acacias.This is a kind of thing which no unprovided widow ever rejects; and,accordingly, in her own estimation, she was as rich and happy as thoughshe were the Countess of Provence or something like it.

  So much the worse was it for the good people of Napoule. They neversuspected their misfortune, not having read in Homer how a single prettywoman had filled all Greece and Lesser Asia with discord and war.

  HOW THE MISFORTUNE CAME ABOUT.

  Marietta had scarcely been fourteen days in the house, between the olivetrees and the African acacias, before every young man of Napoule knewthat she lived there, and that there lived not, in all Provence, a morecharming girl than the one in that house.

  Went she through the village, sweeping lightly along like a dressed-upangel, her frock, with its pale-green bodice, and orange leaves androsebuds upon the bosom of it, fluttering in the breeze, and flowersand ribbons waving about the straw bonnet, which shaded her beautifulfeatures--yes, then the grave old men spake out, and the young ones werestruck dumb. And everywhere, to the right and left, little windows anddoors were opened with a "Good morning," or a "Good evening, Marietta,"as it might be, while she nodded to the right and left with a pleasantsmile.

  If Marietta walked into church, all hearts (that is, of the youngpeople) forgot Heaven; all eyes turned from the saints, and theworshiping finger wandered idly among the pearls of the rosary. Thismust certainly have provoked much sorrow, at least, among the moredevout.

  The maidens of Napoule particularly became very pious about this time,for they, most of all, took the matter to heart. And they were not tobe blamed for it; for since the advent of Marietta more than oneprospective groom had become cold, and more than one worshipper of somebeloved one quite inconstant. There were bickerings and reproaches onall sides, many tears, pertinent lectures, and even rejections. The talkwas no longer of marriages, but of separations. They began to returntheir pledges of troth, rings, ribbons, etc. The old persons took partwith their children; criminations and strife spread from house to house;it was most deplorable.

  Marietta is the cause of all, said the pious maidens first; then themothers said it; next the fathers took it up; and finally all--even theyoung men. But Marietta, shielded by her modesty and innocence, likethe petals of the rosebud in its dark-green calix, did not suspectthe mischief of which she was the occasion, and continued courteous toeverybody. This touched the young men, who said, "Why condemn the pureand harmless child--she is not guilty!" Then the fathers said the samething; then the mothers took it up, and finally all--even the piousmaidens. For, let who would talk with Marietta, she was sure to gaintheir esteem. So before half a year had passed, everybody had spoken toher, and everybody loved her. But she did not suspect that she was theobject of such general regard, as she had not before suspected that shewas the object of dislike. Does the violet, hidden in the downtroddengrass, think how sweet it is?

  Now every one wished to make amends for the injustice they had doneMarietta. Sympathy deepened the tenderness of their attachment. Mariettafound herself greeted everywhere in a more friendly way than ever; shewas more cordially welcomed; more heartily invited to the rural sportsand dances.

  ABOUT THE WICKED COLIN.

  All men, however, are not endowed with tender sympathy; some havehearts hardened like Pharaoh's. This arises, no doubt, from that naturaldepravity which has come upon men in consequence of the fall of Adam, orbecause, at their baptism, the devil is not brought sufficiently undersubjection.

  A remarkable example of this hardness of heart was given by one Colin,the richest farmer and proprietor in Napoule, whose vineyards and olivegardens, whose lemon and orange trees could hardly be counted in a day.One thing particularly demonstrates the perverseness of his disposition;he was twenty-seven years old, and had never yet asked for what purposegirls had been created!

  True, all the people, especially damsels of a certain age, willinglyforgave him this sin, and looked upon him as one of the best young menunder the sun. His fine figure, his fresh, unembarrassed manner, hislook, his laugh, enabled him to gain the favorable opinion of theaforesaid people, who would have forgiven him, had there been occasion,any one of the deadly sins. But the decision of such judges is notalways to be trusted. While both old and young at Napoule had becomereconciled to the innocent Marietta, and proffered their sympathiesto her, Colin was the only one who had no pity upon the poor child. IfMarietta was talked of he became as dumb as a fish. If he met her in thestreet he would turn red and white with anger, and cast sidelong glancesat her of the most malicious kind.

  If at evening the young people met upon the seashore near the old castleruins for sprightly pastimes, or rural dances, or to sing catches,Colin was the merriest among them. But as soon as Marietta arrived therascally fellow was silent, and all the gold in the world couldn'tmake him sing.--What a pity, when he had such a fine voice! Everybodylistened to it so willingly, and its store of songs was endless.

  All the maidens looked kindly upon Colin, and he was friendly with allof them. He had, as we have said, a roguish glance, which the lassesfeared and loved; and it was so sweet they would like to have had
itpainted. But, as might naturally be expected, the offended Mariettadid not look graciously upon him. And in that he was perfectly right.Whether he smiled or not, it was all the same to her. As to his roguishglance, why she would never hear it mentioned; and therein too shewas perfectly right. When he told a tale (and he knew thousands) andeverybody listened, she nudged her neighbor, or perhaps threw tufts ofgrass at Peter or Paul, and laughed and chattered, and did not listen toColin at all. This behavior quite provoked the proud fellow, so that hewould break off in the middle of his story and stalk sullenly away.

  Revenge is sweet. The daughter of Mother Manon well knew how to triumph.Yet Marietta was a right good child and quite too tenderhearted. IfColin was silent, it gave her pain. If he was downcast, she laughed nomore. If he went away, she did not stay long behind: but hurried to herhome, and wept tears of repentance, more beautiful than those of theMagdalen, although she had not sinned like the Magdalen.

  THE CUP.

  Father Jerome, the pastor of Napoule, was an old man of seventy, whopossessed all the virtues of a saint, and only one failing; which was,that by reason of his advanced years, he was hard of hearing. But, onthat very account, his homilies were more acceptable to the children ofhis baptism and blessing. True, he preached only of two subjects, as ifthey comprehended the whole of religion. It was either "Little children,love one another," or it was "Mysterious are the ways of Providence."And truly there is so much Faith, Love, and Hope in these that one mightat a pinch be saved by them. The little children loved one another mostobediently, and trusted in the ways of Providence. Only Colin, with hisflinty heart, would know nothing of either: for even when he professedto be friendly, he entertained the deepest malice.

  The Napoulese went to the annual market or fair of the city of Vence.It was truly a joyful time, and though they had but little gold to buywith, there were many goods to look at. Now Marietta and Mother Manonwent to the fair with the rest, and Colin was also there. He bought agreat many curiosities and trifles for his friends--but he would notspend a farthing for Marietta. And yet he was always at her elbow,though he did not speak to her, nor she to him. It was easy to see thathe was brooding over some scheme of wickedness.

  Mother Manon stood gazing before a shop, when she suddenly exclaimed:

  "Oh! Marietta, see that beautiful cup! A queen would not be ashamed toraise it to her lips. Only see: the edge is of dazzling gold, and theflowers upon it could not bloom more beautifully in the garden, althoughthey are only painted. And in the midst of this Paradise! pray see,Marietta, how the apples are smiling on the trees. They are verilytempting. And Adam cannot withstand it, as the enchanting Eve offershim one for food! And do see how prettily the little frisking lamb skipsaround the old tiger, and the snow-white dove with her golden throatstands there before the vulture, as if she would caress him."

  Marietta could not satisfy herself with looking. "Had I such a cup,mother!" said she, "it is far too beautiful to drink out of: I wouldplace my flowers in it and constantly peep into Paradise. We are at thefair in Vence, but when I look on the picture I feel as if I were inParadise."

  So spoke Marietta, and called her companions to the spot, to share heradmiration of the cup: but the young men soon joined the maidens, untilat length almost half the inhabitants of Napoule were assembled beforethe wonderfully beautiful cup. But miraculously beautiful was it mainlyfrom its inestimable, translucent porcelain, with gilded handles andglowing colors. They asked the merchant timidly: "Sir, what is the priceof it?" And he answered: "Among friends, it is worth a hundred livres."Then they all became silent, and went away in despair. When theNapoulese were all gone from the front of the shop, Colin came there bystealth, threw the merchant a hundred livres upon the counter, had thecup put in a box well packed with cotton, and then carried it off. Whatevil plans he had in view no one would have surmised.

  Near Napoule, on his way home, it being already dusk, he met oldJacques, the Justice's servant, returning from the fields. Jacques was avery good man, but excessively stupid.

  "I will give thee money enough to get something to drink, Jacques," saidColin, "if thou wilt bear this box to Manon's house, and leave it there;and if any one should see thee, and inquire from whom the box came, say'A stranger gave it to me.' But never disclose my name, or I will alwaysdetest thee."

  Jacques promised this, took the drink-money and the box, and went withit toward the little dwelling between the olive trees and the Africanacacias.

  THE CARRIER.

  Before he arrived there he encountered his master, Justice Hautmartin,who asked; "Jacques, what art thou carrying?"

  "A box for Mother Manon. But, sir, I cannot say from whom it comes."

  "Why not?"

  "Because Colin would always detest me."

  "It is well that thou canst keep a secret. But it is already late; giveme the box, for I am going to-morrow to see Mother Manon; I will deliverit to her and not betray that it came from Colin. It will save thee awalk, and furnish me a good excuse for calling on the old lady."

  Jacques gave the box to his master, whom he was accustomed to obeyimplicitly in all things. The justice bore it into his chamber, andexamined it by the light with some curiosity. On the lid was neatlywritten with red chalk: "For the lovely and dear Marietta." But MonsieurHautmartin well knew that this was some of Colin's mischief, and thatsome knavish trick lurked under the whole. He therefore opened the boxcarefully for fear that a mouse or rat should be concealed within.When he beheld the wondrous cup, which he had seen at Vence, he wasdreadfully shocked, for Monsieur Hautmartin was a skilful casuist, andknew that the inventions and devices of the human heart are evil fromour youth upward. He saw at once that Colin designed this cup as ameans of bringing misfortune upon Marietta: perhaps to give out, when itshould be in her possession, that it was the present of some successfullover in the town, or the like, so that all decent people wouldthereafter keep aloof from Marietta. Therefore Monsieur Hautmartinresolved, in order to prevent any evil reports, to profess himselfthe giver. Moreover, he loved Marietta, and would gladly have seen herobserve more strictly toward himself the sayings of the gray-headedpriest Jerome, "Little children, love one another." In truth, MonsieurHautmartin was a little child of fifty years old, and Marietta didnot think the saying applied particularly to him. Mother Manon, on thecontrary, thought that the justice was a clever little child, he hadgold and a high reputation from one end of Napoule to the other. Andwhen the justice spoke of marriage, and Marietta ran away in affright,Mother Manon remained sitting, and had no fear for the tall, staidgentleman. It must also be confessed there were no faults in his person.And although Colin might be the handsomest man in the village, yet thejustice far surpassed him in two things, namely, in the number of years,and in a very, very big nose. Yes, this nose, which always went beforethe justice like a herald to proclaim his approach, was a real elephantamong human noses.

  With this proboscis, his good purpose, and the cup, the justice went thefollowing morning to the house between the olive trees and the Africanacacias.

  "For the beautiful Marietta," said he, "I hold nothing too costly.Yesterday you admired the cup at Vence; to-day allow me, lovelyMarietta, to lay it and my devoted heart at your feet."

  Manon and Marietta were transported beyond measure when they beheld thecup. Manon's eyes glistened with delight, but Marietta turned and said:"I can neither take your heart nor your cup."

  Then Mother Marion was angry, and cried out: "But I accept both heartand cup. Oh, thou little fool, how long wilt thou despise thy goodfortune! For whom dost thou tarry? Will a count of Provence make theehis bride, that thou scornest the Justice of Napoule? I know better howto look after my interests. Monsieur Hautmartin, I deem it an honor tocall thee my son-in-law."

  Then Marietta went out and wept bitterly, and hated the beautiful cupwith all her heart.

  But the justice, drawing the palm of his flabby hand over his nose,spoke thus judiciously:

  "Mother Manon, hurry nothing. The dove w
ill at length, when it learnsto know me better, give way. I am not impetuous. I have some skill amongwomen, and before a quarter of a year passes by I will insinuate myselfinto Marietta's good graces."

  "Thy nose is too large for that," whispered Marietta, who listenedoutside the door and laughed to herself. In fact, the quarter of a yearpassed by and Monsieur Hautmartin had not yet pierced the heart evenwith the tip of his nose.

  THE FLOWERS.

  During this quarter of a year Marietta had other affairs to attend to.The cup gave her much vexation and trouble, and something else besides.

  For a fortnight nothing else was talked of in Napoule, and every onesaid it is a present from the justice, and the marriage is alreadyagreed upon. Marietta solemnly declared to all her companions that shewould rather plunge to the bottom of the sea than marry the justice,but the maidens continued to banter her all the more, saying: "Oh, howblissful it must be to repose in the shadow of his nose!" This was herfirst vexation.

  Then Mother Manon had the cruelty to force Marietta to rinse out thecup every morning at the spring under the rock and to fill it with freshflowers. She hoped by this to accustom Marietta to the cup and heart ofthe giver. But Marietta continued to hate both the gift and giver, andher work at the spring became an actual punishment.

  Second vexation.

  Then, when in the morning, she came to the spring, twice every week shefound on the rock, immediately over it, some most beautiful flowers,handsomely arranged, all ready for the decoration of the cup. And on theflower-stalks a strip of paper was always tied, on which was written,"Dear Marietta." Now no one need expect to impose upon little Mariettaas if magicians and fairies were still in the world. Consequently sheknew that both the flowers and papers must have come from MonsieurHautmartin. Marietta, indeed, would not smell them because the livingbreath from out of the justice's nose had perfumed them. Neverthelessshe took the flowers, because they were finer than wild flowers, andtore the slip of paper into a thousand pieces, which she strewed uponthe spot where the flowers usually lay. But this did not vex JusticeHautmartin, whose love was unparalleled in its kind as his nose was inits kind. Third vexation.