Barlasch of the Guard

Barlasch of the Guard, by H. S.
Merriman

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Title: Barlasch of the Guard
Author: H. S. Merriman
Release Date: May, 2005 [EBook #8158] [This file was first posted on

June 22, 2003]
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Language: English
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BARLASCH OF THE GUARD BY HENRY SETON MERRIMAN

"And they that have not heard shall understand"

CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I.
ALL ON A SUMMER'S DAY II. A CAMPAIGNER III. FATE IV.
THE CLOUDED MOON V. THE WEISSEN ROSS'L VI. THE
SHOEMAKER OF KONIGSBERG VII. THE WAY OF LOVE VIII.
A VISITATION IX. THE GOLDEN GUESS X. IN DEEP WATER XI.
THE WAVE MOVES ON XII. FROM BORODINO XIII. IN THE
DAY OF REJOICING XIV. MOSCOW XV. THE GOAL XVI. THE
FIRST OF THE EBB XVII. A FORLORN HOPE XVIII. MISSING
XIX. KOWNO XX. DESIREE'S CHOICE XXI. ON THE WARSAW
ROAD XXII. THROUGH THE SHOALS XXIII. AGAINST THE
STREAM XXIV. MATHILDE CHOOSES XXV. A DESPATCH

XXVI. ON THE BRIDGE XXVII. A FLASH OF MEMORY XXVIII.
VILNA XXIX. THE BARGAIN XXX. THE FULFILMENT
CHAPTER I.
ALL ON A SUMMER'S DAY.

Il faut devoir lever les yeux pour regarder ce qu'on aime.
A few children had congregated on the steps of the Marienkirche at
Dantzig, because the door stood open. The verger, old Peter Koch-- on
week days a locksmith--had told them that nothing was going to
happen; had been indiscreet enough to bid them go away. So they
stayed, for they were little girls.
A wedding was in point of fact in progress within the towering walls of
the Marienkirche--a cathedral built of red brick in the great days of the
Hanseatic League.
"Who is it?" asked a stout fishwife, stepping over the threshold to
whisper to Peter Koch.
"It is the younger daughter of Antoine Sebastian," replied the verger,
indicating with a nod of his head the house on the left-hand side of the
Frauengasse where Sebastian lived. There was a wealth of meaning in
the nod. For Peter Koch lived round the corner in the Kleine
Schmiedegasse, and of course--well, it is only neighbourly to take an
interest in those who drink milk from the same cow and buy wood from
the same Jew.
The fishwife looked thoughtfully down the Frauengasse where every
house has a different gable, and none of less than three floors within the
pitch of the roof. She singled out No. 36, which has a carved stone
balustrade to its broad verandah and a railing of wrought-iron on either
side of the steps descending from the verandah to the street.
"They teach dancing?" she inquired.

And Koch nodded again, taking snuff.
"And he--the father?"
"He scrapes a fiddle," replied the verger, examining the lady's basket of
fish in a non-committing and final way. For a locksmith is almost as
confidential an adviser as a notary. The Dantzigers, moreover, are a
thrifty race and keep their money in a safe place; a habit which was to
cost many of them their lives before the coming of another June.
The marriage service was a long one and not exhilarating. Through the
open door came no sound of organ or choir, but the deep and
monotonous drawl of one voice. There had been no ringing of bells.
The north countries, with the exception of Russia, require more than
the ringing of bells or the waving of flags to warm their hearts. They
celebrate their festivities with good meat and wine consumed decently
behind closed doors.
Dantzig was in fact under a cloud. No larger than a man's hand, this
cloud had risen in Corsica forty-three years earlier. It had
overshadowed France. Its gloom had spread to Italy, Austria, Spain;
had penetrated so far north as Sweden; was now hanging