Little Rosalind

Irish Jesuit Province

Little RosalindAuthor(s): Alexandra BrandtSource: The Irish Monthly, Vol. 38, No. 444 (Jun., 1910), pp. 328-337Published by: Irish Jesuit ProvinceStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20502826 .

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[ 328 ]

LITTLE ROSALIND

By ALEXANDRA BRANDT

FORESTS have many features in common, but I venture to say that none more than the German forests can boast of an air of romance and waken a train of fanciful associa

tions. The particular forest in which little Rosalind was born and reared was surely enchanted ground. It was nearer heaven than all the neighbouring country. for it covered a high hilt, and nowhere in the wide world could there be trees so expressive in their very attitude. Tfo the casual straggler they seemed to say,t Siste viatorr! and to their own friends and inmates,

Stav with us, and- wve'll protect you.i" Nowhere the birds, beasts, and insects were so tamie, so blithe, and so clever-at least in the oplinion of Rosalind, who was on a familiar footing

withl them all ever sirnce her little feet had carried her through the greei vistas, and that was long ere she learned to distinguish them. Can you wonder that there seemned no place on earth so beautiful to her as her own dear forest ? Nor could she form any clear idea of what life outside those leafy walls nmeant; her ten happy years of her existence were spent in this sanctuary, and it never occurred to her that a change might be at hand.

Her father's lodge stood in the heart of the forest, half way

up-hill. Tony Martin, the ducal forester and gamekeeper, had lost his adored young wife after the birth of their first child, and never baby had a more devoted and careful nurse than little Rosalind had in her father. Often and often he would spend whole nights by the side of her cradle and look wistfully down on his sleeping little daughter, watching the complacent smile that dimpled her cheeks-such as sluimbering infants will smile

when all their wants are being attended to. His thou-ghts then wandered back into the happy past; once more he lived through the spring-morning of his wedded life, which was so soon darkened by the thunder-cloud of destiny; hie remembered the fatal day that made him a father: the raptures, the fear, the feverish suspense, and the final torture when they carried his dead wife out of his house, and he saw her laid low into the bleak earth, never more to return to his hearth and heart ! No one ever saw

Martin laugh after that day; scarcely had the innocent prattle of his little daughter power now and then to evoke the ghost of



LITTLE ROSALIND 329

a smile. But the rare treasure of the man's first and only affec tion was not buried in his wife's grave: all his deep love was now lavished on his darling's legacy, Rosalind. He suffered no one to interfere with che child; the rough work was done by an old

woman from the neighbouring village, but the rest Martin looked to himself.

The Duke, on hearing of his keeper's bereavement and en cumbrance, was so considerate as to send him an assistant, a strong lad of the name of Nico Hamnier, who was glad to ex change the dull town for the country in order to live a forester's life, and who soon won his superior's confidence and good graces. So these three dwelt together in the lonely lodge in perfect peace and contentment, and the motherless girl grew up as blithe and cheerful a creature as a merry butterfly dancing in the sunshine, or a nimble squirrel running from tree to tree, or rather like one of those pretty white strawberry blossoms that hide in the forest grass, fully as lovely, as modest, and as secluded as such.

Every season had its peculiar charms for the child. Winter, with its short, cold, dreary days and long dark nights, was least welcome, still it afforded her manv a rare enjoyment. How would she clap her hands at the beautiful crystalline icicles that

hung, fantastically shaped, from all the trees and bushes and ghttered like priceless jewels when the sun shone! How care fullv did she examine the curious frost-flowers that feathered her window-pane, or watch the dizzy snow-flakes whirl around her and melt in an instant on her warm hand ! With what delight used she to paddle in the deep soft masses of snow that accumulated before the house, or stare into the flickering fire of the hearth at night!

Each succeeding Spring found her prettier and more intel ligent. Often she would climb the summit of the hill which commanded a splendid view of the fertile valley and the winding river with its numberless rafts-that looked no bigger than beetles from her exalted stand-and watch them glide one by one, towards the rapids, then suddenly shoot with breathless speed to reappear safely on the other side of the dangerous looking chute. And then she never tired gazing at the opposite hills, one of which was adorned with a beautiful votive chapel, to which pilgrims resorted from all parts of the Fatherland, and which had been entrusted to the care of Franciscan monks, who had their monastery close by. Another hill displayed on its bare rocky summit a Calvary that looked far out into the land,



330 THE IRISH MONTHLY

while a third wore a diadem of slender pines, and a fourth boasted

a ruined tower which, at a distance, looked quite picturesque,

but was a mere heap of mouldering stones when you stood

before it. Not that the child had any wish to stray beyond the borders

of the forest: she never felt happier than in her favourite haunts,

surrounded by her " friends." She loved to talk to them, and

to pour all her childish griefs and many joys, all the quaint starts

of her fancy, into their sympathetic ears. Strange friends they

were, indeed, for so lovely a creature, but they did look up to

her and would never betray her secrets-that much was certain !

There was " Ramas," her father's setter, to begin with; he was

as clever as any two-legged companion., and twice as attached to

his little mistress. And then there was " Bill," the magpie,

with its broken wing, which Rosalind had cured by pasting on

a plaster; and "Puck," the tame hedgehog, that would run

after her and suffer itself to be taken up and carried about in

her apron; and, last not least, " Hoohoo," the old one-eyed

owl, that woald sit opposite her in her sylvan bowers and blink

judiciously at every word she said.

Whom else should she associate with ? Her schoolmates,

poor girls from the neighbourhood, felt awkward with her; they

found out that she was of a different sort altogether, and after

a few ineffective attempts to interest her in their boisterous

sports and pastimes, thev left her to herself.

So Rosalind grew up, living her lonely life, and thinking her

own thoughts about many things she could not vent in words or

confide even to her trustworthy friends: thoughts about this

life's mystery and the bliss to come in the next. She had been

to church regularly since she was five years old, and she learned

her catechism and Bible History with great zeal and pleasure.

The old priest's lectures and his weekly sermons soon began to

make a deep impression on the sensitive child, and though her

young mind could not grasp all he said, still she loved to listen,

but whenever he spoke of the wonders of God's beautiful creation,

and of His love and bounty for His creatures, she understood

every word, and her eyes sparkled with intelligence and sym

pathy. He had lived in this forest all his life, and his deep

feeling for nature could not but appear blended with that greater

and holier love of God and his humble charge, the poor parish

ioners. They lived in hamlets and stray huts, and in the little

village that climbed up the steep woody hill, on the top of which

stood the fine old church-erected centuries ago by skilful



LITTLE ROSA LIND 33I

Benedictine friars-and the priest's house at a stone's throw from it. This poor congregation worshipped their pastor; they knew

well he might have had a much better parish had he wished: for had not the bishop himself paid him repeated visits, and had not the Holy Father sent him his blessing on two occasions ?

To this good priest Rosalind went full of trust and confidence, whenever a passing cloudlet happened to appear on the usually serene sky of her existence. So, little by little, the seeds were sown, and the holy lessons of faith and virtue implanted in that innocent soul; and Rosalind came to love her God with her

whole heart that kind Father, who was so generous to her and to all around her, whose protecting hand she seemed to feel and a great longing, vague at first, sprang up in her bosom, grew, and became ever stronger and more vigorous: to be soon

united to Him for ever! Rarely, indeed, does this longing take possession of one so young, but such as feel it in purity and

humility of heart have it generally satisfied. With her father or Nico, Rosalind could not broach that

subject. Of the latter, though he spoiled her much, she was not quite sure-he might have laughed at her. Her father, it is true, watched over her with a woman's tenderness and care, but the honest man little dreamt that the child might require something more than scrupulous attendance to her bodily wants; and even if the thought had crossed his mind, he would scarcely have known how to set about it, his duties keeping him from home the greater part of the day, and sometimes during the

night also; and when he was indoors, there were long reports to be written to the Duke's administrator, or accounts to be settled with the wood-cutters or the timber-merchants. Of late, he had had a good deal of annoyance and worry about poachers that were trespassing on his preserve, and who, in

spite of redoubled watchfulness, were never to be caught. One evening Tony Martin sat in his arm-chair in an unusually

sombre frame of mind. In vain his child's fond caresses en

deavoured to coax him out of his bad humour; he did not even listen to her, and when she tried to climb his knee, as was her

wont, he pushed her gruffly out of his way and rose to leave the room.

Abashed and intimidated, the girl crept into a corner; she

had hardly ever before seen her father in such a dark, unsociable

mood. "I say, Nico," she heard him shout at the bottom of the

stairs, and there was a roll of distant thunder in his voice.




Nico Hammer had become his right hand; the ten years the young man had spent in Martin's household he had never been found wanting in duty and obedience. He answered the summons at once.

" It can't go on like that, Nico," the keeper addressed him in an excited tone. " One of our finest bucks again ! And there is absolutely no clue as to who could have his hand in the matter.

When last Autumn we suspected that rogue, Klaus Rosner, and they got him under lock and key for theft in L -, and after

wards despatched him to South Africa, I hoped ve should have seen the last of poachers ! Now we have to be on our guard and keep a sharp look-out. This time, I shall not rest until I have hunted the rascals up, whoever they be! Take the south eastern side of the hill to-night, Nico; I am going to watch in the north-western. They hid the buck near the Three Pines, and are sure to come for it."

Nico demurred; he protested that he was younger and

stronger, would not Martin let him watch near the Pines ? But the keeper cut short his expostulations with a peremptory gesture.

Little Rosalind crouched in her corner, forgotten, neglected and crying bitterly. The two men had taken no notice of her, but she had heard every word of their talk before they left the house with their guns. Her dog had been locked in, as he wvas not wanted on this nightly excursion, and the girl's tiny arm could not reach the bolt of the stable-door, or Rosalind would have freed her dear companion and taken him into the lonely house. XVhat was she to do ? The darling roes were being killed by some wicked men, and father and Nico had gone in search of them. What if she also went ? She was not afraid, and she knew every devious path, every hunter's track in the forest. The moon was at her full, and the child felt sure she

would find her way by night as well as by daylight. So the aple little creature set forth of her own accord to stop the poachers

Nico Hammer had shouldered his gun and walked swiftly towvards the southern hillside, where the wood was less dense and majestic, but the paths became more numerous and entangled and often disappeared in the copse ; the descent was steeper

here, in some places almost perpendicular. The young man wvas in a feverish excitement, which he had

been most careful to hide as lorg as his superior was near him. Hoxv stupid ha: had been I He stamped his foot and clenched

his fists-how stupid not to have removed that capital buck,



LITTLE ROSALIND 333

before Martin's keen eyes had found it out! How cleverly had he managed, up to now, how well had he warded off detection, or put the keeper on the wrong scent!

Indeed, how wily he had been for months in taking his booty to that forsaken log-hut beyond the pales of the country, none

but himself and " Smuggler Hannes " could tell. The latter was a desperate old rascal, who sold the game in the neighbouring duchy; he had obtained a dangerous hold upon Nico and ever urged the unfortunate youth to commit fresh offences by stirring the fatal greed in the fellow's breast and by sharing his profit

with him. True, the money did not tempt the young man much; he had all he wanted and handsome pay to boot; it was the very jeopardy, the constant danger he incurred of being found out in his two-fold capacity of gamekeeper and poacher that goaded him on.

An hour's brisk walk broughit him to the outskirts of the forest, and from thence he directed his steps northward, pursuing, a steep brambly path down hill which led him to a dark ravine at the bottom of the hill. It was the gloomiest place of the whole district, dismal enough even in broad daylight; now it was pitch dark. The whistle of a woodcock repeated three times gave him notice that his companion in crime was near. He whistled in return, lit a pocket lantern, and after a few minutes came on Hannes, who sat on a rotten tree that barred the path.

" You're late to-night," grumbled the smuggler in a surly tone. " I've no mind to sit here for hours like a tomfool and -but where's the buck ? Don't you know that I must have one ? Why, man, you look as if you had buried your sweet heart. What's up, ho ? "

Nico shrugged his shoulders, threw his gun on the ground, and sat down beside the smuggler.

" It's all up, Hannes,-at least for a time. The old one smells a rat. At dawn already, I shot the promised buck near the Three Pines, but could not carry it away, as I was detained in the forest, this being wood-day. Damn those old women who impudently break the branches off the sound trees instead of being satisfied with the dry knags and rotten twigs which we allow them twice a week! I had to book at least a dozen of them for damage done. So time passed, and the devil took Marlin to the very spot he should not have visited to-day: he found the buck and is in a towering rage ever since; swore he'd find out the culprit, Cand so forth! He is up there now near the big pines where the buck lies. In vain I endeavoured to coax

Voiz. xxxvxi.-No.4t44. 23




him over to the other side and to get the watch in those parts; he is bent on catching the guilty person himself. Well, let him if he can ! " he concluded with a chuckle.

"But I must have the game, do you hear ? " yelled the other man in a fury. "You'll have to take your chance and fetch it on the spot. Another hand's creeping in my trade, and if I cannot satisfy my customers to-morrow, they'll buy from old Peter instead. They warned me repeatedly, saying that I was not to be relied upon. I won't be disappointed again, I tell you -so you had better go '}

" And rum into Martin's arms! Are you mad, Hannes ? Not 1, indeed! Go, and risk your neck. Fetch it yourself since you are so keen on it; I told you where it lies."

There was a vicious twinlkle in the smuggler's eyes which the darkness hid from his companion.

" Poor chap, you're afraid ! Ha, ha, I don't wonder at it. Aye, aye, it requires but little courage to send a couple of old hags into prison for stealing some fuel, or to slay a dumb animal that cannot defend itself, but as to facing the consequences and exposing oneself to danger-well, that's a different thing, of course. You're only a greenhorn, after all, without any mettle in you. \Vell, well, so I'd better go myself and -"

" Hold your infernal tongue! " shouted Nico, enraged. "You have no right to brand me as a coward-not you! Stay here; I'll try and fetch the buck. I'm not afraid-neither of you, nor of Martin, nor of the devil himself ! "

With this boast he took up his gun and climbed the steep hillside as fast as the briars and the gnarled roots that spread in every direction would let him. When he neared the spot he

was bound for, his pace slackened, and he approached with infinite caution. A death-like stillness reigned about the place

where three enormous pine-trees formed an obtuse angle. No one seemed near. With a sigh of relief Nico saw the roe-buck lying where he had hidden it, covered with fir-sprigs. He stooped over his prey, tied the legs of the animal with strong twine, shouldered it, and was about to descend when suddenly the silence was broken by a fierce shout and the tall form of the keeper stepped from behind one of the gigantic trees in front.

"Hands oft, scoundrel," he roared, "or you'll rue it! Nico threw down his load, snatched his gun, and, without

uttering a sound, involuntarily turned his head, as he was on the point of beating a hasty retreat, when, at this moment, the



LITTLE ROSALIND 335

moon emerged from a cloud, sent down her bright beams on

the group, and lighted up the men's faces glaring at each other.

Martin stood rooted to the spot as if he saw a spectre; then,

suddenly the terrible truth flashed through his mind: the trans gressor was his own assistant-the fellow he had loved like a

son, and would have trusted his life to ! For a moment the strong man trembled like an aspen-leaf, then he exclaimed in

a voice, strangely unlike his own. " Can that be you, Nico ?

You! " The two men, friends so long, stood facing each other

as foes. The forester levelled his gun. "Come along, sirrah, walk

before me, or by Heaven " You shan't have me alive, if I can help it," hissed the

desperate youth. He took aim and fired-Martin reeled, spun Tound, and, with a heavy thud, fell face forward into the ferns.

Something white fluttered before the eyes of the wretched young fellow, who stood transfixed, his reeking gun in hand, horrified at what had happened. A miserable little bit of humanity it was that, raising both arms, wailed in piteous tones

" Oh, Nico, Nico, what have you done to my father ? Nico started back,-the harpies of fear and remorse clawed

his heart; he began to realize what he had done: he had killed the man xvho had always been a kind master to him-the father of his little pet ! The xwretch fell on his knees and covered his

eyes, and it seemeid to him that henceforth he could never raise them any more to look into another human face, or up to the

sky above him. Remorse, as passionate as his fury had been, rent his heart and nearly maddened him.

The child's feeble voice roused him at last. "You did not mean it, Nico dear, did you ? Why, you must

-tell father to get up and go home with us. We'll help him to rise. Come along," and she tugged his sleeve. " He might catch cold lying in the damp grass, ybu know. I fear his foot is sore, or perhaps, he knocked his head against a stone ?

She seemed quite alarmed now, as her father lay where he had falleni and never stirred.

A flood of scalding tears burst forth from the unfortunate fellow's eyes, and stifled sobs shook his muscular frame. He

winced and writhed under the touch of the poor innQcent little hand. At last he staggered to his feet, and with a great effort




approached his victim. WVith a cry hardly human in its utter anguish and horror, he turned and fled-fled, fleeter of foot than the forest quarry when pursued by the hounds, and left behind him the murdered man and his weeping little child. There was only one thought now burnt in his brain in characters of fire: " Expiation! "

He had, almost unconsciously, taken the road to the priest's house where he rang so furiously that he tore the bell-rope. In a few broken words he informed the confused housekeeper that an accident had happened near the three big pines, bade her send the priest there at once, then continued his mad race until he reached the distant town and fell down half-dead at the door of the police station, where no one, at first, was willing to believe his gruesome tale.... Fifteen long years of imprison

ment followed, during which time the working of God's grace completed what his repentance had begun.

And Rosalind ? The poor little girl had been so utterly terrified that she durst not move. Overcome by excitement and fear, she sank down beside the senseless body of her father, gently nestling close to him and laving her head on his shoulder.

What with crying, what with exhaustion, she fell asleep on the corpse of her parent! Thus she was found by the kind old priest who had hurried to the spot accompanied- by the sexton and the sexton's son. XVhen he saw that poor Tony Martin was past help and last consolation, he said a few fervent prayers for the departed soul, and then the three men made a litter of strong branches and managed between them to carry the corpse and the sleeping child to the priest's house, where his warm hearted sister at once took charge of the helpless little orphan and laid her, sleeping still, in her own bed.

Poor Rosalind! A sad waking was hers the next morning, and the next, and the next ! The exposure to the cold damp night air, together with the deadly fright and agony of soul she had gone through, brought on a serious attack of pneumonia, which the feeble body seemed unable to resist. Although every possible care was taken, every human help provided, the girl got worse and worse. In her wanderings, she was ever calling her father, begging him Ilot to leave her, seeing him once more fall on his face T The old priest was very sad ; when, at intervals, she recognized him, she sweetly smiled and asked would he soon let her have Holy Communion ?

He consulted the doctor, who concurred in the priest's opinion that the Sacraments should be administered without



LITTLE ROSALIND 337

delay. The child's intelligence was unquestionable, but the intermittent fever left her very weak. She had so often betrayed

her great longing that her confessor deemed it wise not to weary her with any more preliminaries, but simply announced to her one morning when she was unusually bright, that her wish was to be granted.

" I knew it!" she exclaimed, " I knew it! The Blessed Virgin came to tell mie last night. Oh, I am so happy, so

happy! " All were present in the bedroom when the Lord of Hosts

entered that lowly roof; her teachers and her fellow-pupIls, especially such as were preparing for First Communion, and no fitter preparation could they have had than to see that saintly child receive her God. She was no longer on earth; an angelic smile lit the pale face; a gentle seriousness far beyond her years settled on her features, and made the other children stare at her with wonder and awe.

" Thank you, dear Lord! May I now always remain with

You !" was all she whispered. Then those next to the bed

saw a great change: the lips parted, the eyes looked into space as if entranced; and little Rosalind, her great desire fulfilled, had ceased to breathe.

A grey-haired Franciscan Brother, whom I often met when he was working hard in the coinvent fields on the other side of the river, once told me Rosalind's story, leaning on his spade.

A tear trickled down his sallow cheek while he spoke of the little

angel that had implored forgiveness for her father's murderer at the throne of Divine Justice, and to whose intercession it

must have been due that the unfortunate man obtained the

grace of leading, for many peaceful years, a life of penance, labour, and prayer. That old Brother was no other than Nlico

Hammer.



Little Rosalind

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