it was not long before he regretted Egypt and Pharaoh! Why was not this woman Portia? why was she neither young nor beautiful?" And he added: "Ah! old fairy, you made him suffer!"It seemed to Count Larinski that this woman, this ugly fairy who had made Samuel Brohl suffer so much, stood there, before him, and that she scanned him from head to foot, as a fairy, whether old or young, might scan a worm.She had an imperious, contemptuous smile on her lips, the smile of a czarina; so Catharine II smiled, when she was dissatisfied with Potemkin, and said to herself, "I made him what he is, and to-morrow I can ruin him." "Yes, it was she, it was surely she," thought Count Larinski."I cannot mistake.I saw her five weeks ago, in the Vallee du Diable; she made me tremble!"This woman who had taken Samuel Brohl from out of the land of Egypt, and had showered attentions upon him, was a Russian princess.She owned an estate of Podolia, and chance would have it that one day, in passing, she stopped at the tavern where young Samuel was growing up in the shadow of the tabernacle.He was then sixteen.In spite of his squalid rags, she was struck by his figure.She was a woman of intelligence, and had no prejudices."When he is well washed and cared for," she thought, "when he is divested of his native impurities, when he has seen the world and had communication with honest people, he certainly will be a noble fellow." She made him talk, and found him intelligent; she liked intelligent men.She made him sing, assured herself that he had a voice; she adored music.She questioned him; he told her all his misery, and while he talked she said to herself: "No, I do not mistake; he has a future before him; in two or three years he will be superb.Three years is not long: the gardener who grafts a young tree is often condemned to wait longer than that." When he had ended his narrative, she told him that she was in want of a secretary, that she had had several, but that she had soon tired of them, on account of their not having the desired qualifications; she asked him if he would like to accept the position.He replied only by pointing his finger to his father, who was smoking his pipe on the door-step.Amoment later she was closeted with Jeremiah Brohl.
She at once proposed to him to buy his son; he dropped his arms in astonishment, then felt delighted and charmed.He declared, at first, that his son was not for sale; and then he insinuated that if ever he did sell him he would sell him dear; he was, according to his opinion, merchandise of the best quality, a rich and rare article.He raised his demands ridiculously; she exclaimed; he affirmed he could not put them lower, that he had his terms, and that he always sold at a fixed price.They disputed a long time; she was about to give up; he yielded, and they ended by making the transaction.She sent for Samuel and said to him: "My boy, you belong to me--I have bought you for cash.You are satisfied with the bargain, are you not?"He was stupefied to learn that he had a commercial value; he never had suspected it.He wanted very much to know what he was worth; but the princess was discreet upon the subject, and desired that he should believe that he had cost her a fabulous sum.After reflection, he made his conditions; he stipulated that he should belong to himself for three years, which time he would employ in study and in satisfying a multitude of curious longings.
She readily consented, as that had been her own intention: it would take fully three years before the fruit was ripe and ready to be served at the princely table.She gave him instructions and advice, all bearing the stamp of a superior mind; she understood the world, the state of public affairs, and physiology, all that can be learned, and all that cannot be learned.Thus Samuel Brohl set out, his pocket well filled, for the University of Prague, which he soon left to settle at Heidelberg, whence he went to Bonn, then to Berlin, then to Paris.He was restless, he did not know what he wanted, but wherever he went he studied semiquavers, naturals, and flats; it was part of the conditions.
The princess was herself a great traveller; two or three times a year Samuel Brohl received a visit from her.She questioned him, examined him, felt him, as we feel a peach to be certain it is ripe.Samuel was very happy; he was free, he enjoyed his life, he did as he pleased.
One single thing spoiled his happiness; when he looked in the glass, he would sometimes say within himself: "These are the features of a man who is sold, and the woman who bought him is neither young nor beautiful." Several times he determined to learn a trade, so that he might be in a position to refund the debt and break the bargain.But he never did.He was both ambitious and idle.He wanted to fly at once; he had a horror of beginnings of apprenticeships.His early education had been so neglected that in order to recover lost time he would have been compelled to study hard--all the more so because, although he was quick-witted, and had a marvellous facility for entering into the thoughts of others, his own stock was poor; he had no ideas of his own, nor individuality of mind.He possessed a collection of half-talents; even in music, he was incapable of originating; when he attempted to compose, his inspirations proved mere reminiscences.He did himself justice; he felt that, strive as he might, his half-talents never would aid him to secure the first position, and he disdained the second.In fact, what he most needed was will, which, after all, makes the man.He tried to fling himself from his horse, which carried him where he did not desire to go; but he felt that his feet held firm in the stirrup; he had not strength to disengage them, and he remained in the saddle.Not being able to be a great man, he abandoned himself to his fate, which condemned him to be only a knave.At the expiration of his term of freedom, he declared himself solvent, and the princess took possession of her merchandise.
