smiling softly and showing her little flashing teeth, in a mouth as red as a carnation and whimsically opened, mabel clarke was counting with the point of her umbrella the boxes on the truck—large boxes of yellow or maroon leather, either long and soft or high and massive, with shining brass clasps and locks, and long stripes painted a vivid white and red, upon which was described a large red "c." standing beneath the roof of the pretty little station of coire, amongst the crowd that surged, as it waited from minute to minute the departure of the engadine express, mabel clarke, tall, slender, upright, in her pearl-grey, tailor-made dress, which outlined all her youthful grace, not wanting in a certain expression of robustness and strength, watched the porters who were placing their boxes in the train. she counted up to eighteen, of all forms and dimensions, with the great clamorous "c" in blood red.
"eighteen," she exclaimed, turning round. "eighteen, isn't that so, dear broughton?"
an elderly woman, with hair more white than grey, quietly dressed in black, nodded her head, with a gesture not lacking in respect.
"are you sure that is all?" resumed mabel clarke, with a slight frown of her dark chestnut eyebrows on the white forehead. "eighteen seems very few for mamma and me."
"mrs. clarke expects four boxes from paris. everything was not ready from the tailor's to leave with us."
"ah, very well, then!" murmured mabel clarke, nodding her head. turning her back, she approached her mother, who, patiently seated beneath the station roof near a little buffet table, had been served with a cup of coffee, which she was not drinking.
mabel had continually to pass different groups of people who were massing together for departure. pushed about and jostled, she reached her mother at last, and asked, with a little smile:
"all right, mamma?"
"all right, rather bored," replied mrs. clarke, shaking her head, as she regarded the crowd with a lofty and silent expression of fastidiousness.
men, women, and children were coming and going; strolling, stopping, and running. there were old ladies dressed in black, with awkward round hats from which hung a dark blue or brown veil, and who were pressing round their necks large fur tippets against the cold which had surprised them on leaving the train. there were young women dressed brightly, with large, light travelling-cloaks left open, beneath which appeared short skirts and elegantly booted feet, and hats enveloped in white veils. there were children of various ages, watched over carefully by nurses and governesses, and there was even a nurse with a dress of white and grey stripes, a large white and grey cloak, and an encircling cap of white ribbons above her mass of hair: she carried the baby in her arms, wrapped in a little white fur jacket, all rosy in its infantile sleep.
men of every race and age mingled with the women they were accompanying: they separated from them, returned and disputed. there were fine old men—tall and thin, of energetic and handsome countenance—beardless old men, with invincible, lordly stamp in face and person, and other old men, stout, with heightened complexion and heavy moustaches, with a gay and thoughtless air; then middle-aged men, some of a consumptive appearance, but bearing traces of former virile beauty, others showing signs of pleasures enjoyed too violently. there were robust young men, well made, whose faces, though regular and perfect in feature, lacked expression; while other youths, whose appearance was fashionable, but slender and delicate, had colourless complexions, and in all their aspect an absence of health. on all this curious and attractive variety—a great mass of men of every age—there was a decided ugliness, a common awkwardness, though varied in form, and a proud, harsh expression. according to their ages and conditions this rudeness, imperiousness, and clownishness assumed different aspects, but it was manifest in the high and insolent voices that spoke german, in the gestures, now grotesque and now solemn, but ever imperious—the german crowd dominating nearly all the other nations.
beyond the peculiar character of their clothes there were to be recognised those whom the trains from calais, brussels, vienna, and berlin had brought together at paris or basle to make up the great cosmopolitan engadine train: the englishman with white shoes, check overcoat, turned-up trousers, cloth cap; the frenchman with light cloak, which he was wrapping round himself, as he already felt chilly and caught by the keen mountain air. finally, and above all, there was the great mass of germans, clothed in suits which were too baggy, or too long, or too short, of strange cut and gloomy colours, and in stranger cloaks. but especially there was the tyrolese costume, with its short breeches, jacket of big pleats, and belt of the same cloth; on the head a green cap always too small, with a narrow crease, a myrtle-green cap, like the suit, with a tyrolese feather behind that resembled an interrogation mark. these suits were worn on fat bodies and thin, or broad and bony, and the cap on a square head, with ruddy cheeks, blond moustaches, and peeling neck in reddish-purple folds. lower down, standing apart, one of them, one only, had an imposing stature and a robust head, a face with a black beard, rough and bristly, with two eyes of sweetest blue; he the only one among so many, apart, solitary, and silent.
while the long and complicated work of loading the baggage of the crowd was being accomplished, mabel clarke, keeping close to her mother, watched with her large grey eyes, full of an ardent curiosity of life, those who were moving around her. not far from her two ladies were seated round another café table. one of them was of uncertain age, dressed in black, with a black hat and a decided grey veil; the other was a very young figure, bending as she wrote the addresses on several post cards. nothing was revealed save the lines of a white and delicate face and the curve of a pretty mouth, closed and smileless. beneath the light blue veil her hair was very blond and pleasant to the eye, while the hand that ran over the cards as she wrote was very white.
"english," said mabel, almost to herself, with a rather pretty little laugh of disparagement.
"yes," replied her mother, with a rather more pronounced laugh. the writer raised her head, and revealed a quite pale face beneath whose very transparent complexion coursed a pink flush. the tout ensemble was white and virginal, an appearance which was still more increased by the white travelling-dress. the smile round mabel clarke's beautiful but jesting mouth increased.
"poitrinaire, peut-être," murmured her mother in french, with a strong american accent.
the daughter's eyes were averted, attracted by another feminine figure: a young woman who beside her was sprinkling drops of water on a bunch of roses that she was pressing to herself, which appeared faded owing to the length of the journey.
she was slender and tall, with a little erect and proud head, and a refined face with charming features, without true beauty, but charming in their harmony, with a staidness of postures and gestures and a ladylike and disdainful aloofness from whatever was happening around her. two or three times mabel regarded her and made some lively movement to attract her attention. the other did not turn round and observed nothing in her gracious and proud aloofness.
"french: exquisite," sighed mabel clarke.
"exquisite," sighed her mother, even more deeply.
meanwhile the guttural german cries announced the departure for the engadine, and the crowd thronged at the doors, carrying characteristic hand luggage; tennis-rackets in their coverings, travelling-cloaks, sticks with chamois-horn handles and iron-spiked tips, and leather cases with golf-clubs.
as they clambered up, from short skirts the ladies disclosed dainty feet, shod some of them as if they were to walk through the boulevards of paris, and others as if they must immediately climb the bernina. mabel clarke and her mother, followed step by step, like a shadow, by mrs. broughton, approached without undue hurry the large compartment which they had reserved. a railway official advanced, as if searching amidst the crowd, with a yellow envelope in his hands.
at once mrs. clarke summoned him.
"a telegram for clarke?"
"ja," said the man, offering the envelope.
mrs. clarke read her telegram quietly.
mabel in a whisper asked:
"papa! all right?"
"all right."
loudly the german voices of the railway officials resounded.
"thusis, preda, bergun, tiefenkastel, st. moritz—st. moritz—st. moritz."
as the train left overflowing with travellers, from the lowered windows there was an appearing and disappearing of heads, veiled in white and grey, in blue and brown; there was a fluctuating of faces, fresh or consumptive, while some large german face all aflame, with great yellow moustaches and green tyrolese cap that pressed the square forehead, would lean out to exchange loud and harsh german words with a friend, who might have been his brother, so much did he resemble him, as he raised his head from the station platform.
"st. moritz! st. moritz! st. moritz!"
this was the last feeble echo which reached the travellers who were already on their way. for some minutes there was a sound of windows being raised rapidly against the fresh, almost cold, evening air; and no face leant out throughout the long train to gaze at the country where the tamina places its whirlpool gorges beneath high rocks, while the flowering gardens of la rezia smile around pretty white villas, which are more italian than swiss. for some time no one passed in the narrow corridor that flanked the first-class compartments; everyone remained quietly in his place.
in their reserved compartment—six places for three people—mrs. clarke and miss mabel clarke of the great house of clarke of new york, of which john clarke, husband and father, was the soul, with his great talent and magnificent business activity—the house of clarke rated at six hundred actual millions, john clarke himself at three hundred millions, and miss mabel credited with a dowry of fifty millions—mother and daughter, silent and quiet, were receiving the most minute attentions from mrs. broughton, so that the remainder of the journey of three hours and a half might be comfortable for the two ladies. mrs. clarke especially accepted these attentions with the aspect of a cold and silent idol. mrs. broughton opened some large travelling rugs of fur and the little white and grey feathers of the eider, and wrapped them round the two ladies. she drew forth five or six cushions of stamped leather and liberty silk, and placed them behind mrs. clarke's shoulders and at her side; she made long play with a silver and cut-glass scent bottle, sending into the air, on the windows and seats of the compartment, a little shower of eau de cologne, together with another, rather stronger, perfume, perhaps a disinfectant; and she hung on the linings of the compartment two or three portable electric lamps to illuminate them when night came, and to enable them to read better. in an open, red leather case, a nécessaire, full of everything for making tea in the train, shone with its warm tones of silver-gilt. afterwards she gave a questioning and respectful glance to her chief mistress, mrs. clarke, who either did not notice her, or did not deign to do so, and another glance at mabel clarke, who replied with the shortest little nod in the negative. mrs. broughton settled herself in a far corner of the compartment, drew forth from a bag a long note-book, and with a small pencil began to write some notes and figures therein. suddenly mrs. clarke awoke from her proud torpor, and said:
"broughton, the big and small boxes?"
the woman understood at once, and rising, pointed to two long boxes, or rather coffers, on the rack, of yellow leather with steel locks and clasps, and added:
"i checked them before starting."
suddenly mabel asked:
"mamma, did you bring your large pearl necklace?"
"yes, dear."
"and the large diadem?"
"of course."
"and, mamma, did you bring the tiara?"
"the tiara, of course! it was necessary."
mabel approved, with a charming smile. then she resumed:
"mamma, they say the italians at st. moritz have extraordinary jewels."
"do you believe it, mabel?"
"they say so. also some south american ladies have great pearls and diamonds, mamma."
"do you believe all of them can be more beautiful than my jewels? mabel, do you think so?"
and a keen expression of uneasiness, the first that had animated that marble countenance, seized her.
"to me it seems impossible," added mabel thoughtfully.
"also to me it seems impossible."
in the next compartment were two ladies alone, who had also taken six places for themselves. one was a woman of thirty, with a very white face slightly coloured as to the cheeks, with two marvellous large eyes of deep grey, somewhat velvety, while the whites of the pupils had a blue reflection. her mouth was vivid and sinuous, more expressive than beautiful. her hair was of a very bright and fine chestnut, massed round the neck and waving over the temples. only the temples showed a streak of blue veins, and the little ears were exceedingly white. one of the hands, bared of its kid glove, showed long, graceful, but bony fingers. she who accompanied her was the image of her, though with thirty more years; but she was very fat, with an expression of perfect good-nature on the broad face and an unexplainable sense of fear in the eyes that had remained childish.
the younger woman was dressed in white cloth; but she wore a long jacket of otter with chinchilla facings of a soft grey, which suited her rather morbid beauty, and she remained huddled in her furs, as if cold, with her head snuggled in the collar. sometimes she coughed a little. then her mother started, became disturbed, and questioned her a little anxiously in german. the daughter scarcely replied, in a whisper, and settled herself better in her corner, as she dreamed with closed eyes. a scent of sandal emanated from her, and all the minute, very elegant luggage bore her initials, an "e." and an "l."—else landau—with a baronial coronet.
all was silent, too, in a compartment further on, full of ladies. the exquisite french lady, of the faded roses, preserved her aspect of one who neither sees nor hears, since she neither wishes to see nor hear. her hands, gloved in new white gloves, held an open book, whose title was not to be discovered, since it was hidden in an antique silk book cover. she turned over the pages very seldom, perhaps keeping the book open so as not to occupy herself with her neighbours. there was a dark lady, with fine arched eyebrows, black, passionate eyes, a carnal and florid mouth, and all this beauty augmented and made artificial by the rouge on the cheeks, the black beneath the eyes, and the carmine on the lips. she was still a very young woman, but she was got up like an old one. every now and then the dark woman, so strangely embellished, exchanged a word with her husband, who came to see her from another compartment, where he had found a seat. the husband was tall and gross, with a rather truculent countenance and big rings on his fingers. they spoke spanish. the third lady, the english girl, she who was writing post cards in the station at coire, kept silence behind the window that gave on to the corridor. now all the virginal purity of her very white face was apparent beneath the slightly blue shadow of her veil. beneath the mother-of-pearl complexion a rosiness spread itself almost at every beating of the arteries. the closed lips, together with the eyes of periwinkle-blue, which gazed in sweetness and candour, all spoke of the fragile and fascinating beauty of anglo-saxon women, whose grace is invincible. her companion was beside her; but she must have been used to the patient silences of long journeys.
as the train climbed in bizarre curves and loops the great pass of albula, crossing daring bridges and more daring viaducts, ever climbing from thusis, from solis, from tiefenkastel, not one of those travellers gave a thought to the singular and powerful ascent of the train, as it elevated itself ever more and more towards its lofty point of arrival. here there was a lively chattering in german, in french, in english, especially in german; there someone was slumbering in his seat; here two men and two women were playing bridge. others were trying to read big papers like the "koelnische zeitung," "the times," and the "temps." some governesses and nurses were watching two or three compartments full of children. a french preceptor, a priest, was talking in a low voice to a youth who was accompanying him; the nurse was walking with her baby in the corridor with slow and heavy step. now and then some young man came and went hurriedly in the corridor, giving a glance at all the compartments where the ladies were, stopping behind the windows where some feminine profile was to be seen, with particular curiosity at the last compartment, where mrs. clarke, very bored with the slow journey, as she said, had lowered the blinds.
no one knew anything, or wished to, of that summer night and its cold gusts passing over the heights of the lenzerhorn and mounting to preda, to filisur, to bergun, penetrating the heart of the mountains, and issuing from them to cross the deep valleys, leaving to right and left peaks covered with snow, to which no one gave a glance through the windows as they rumbled across fantastic bridges that joined two precipices. no one knew or wished to know how rich with alpine perfumes was the summer night, nor how the voices of forest, meadow, and waters around the train were forming the great mountain chorus without words. no one knew or wished to know what a tremendous and mortal thing it had been for mind and hands and life of man to construct that iron road of the high mountains, and how many existences had been scattered there. each trembled with impatience, anticipating the halting of the train at little stations all of wood behind which some houses gleamed white or a church tower rose.
the women were slumbering or thinking or dreaming behind their veils. each repressed her impatience to arrive up there, whither she was carrying either a great, keen longing, or one more subdued, or an unrestrainable curiosity, a need of health, or a humble, secret dream. some were talking to cheat the waiting, and exchanging names of hotels; and old frequenters of the engadine were instructing novices with a knowing air. there was not one of them who was not aspiring with secret ardour—sprung from the idlest or perhaps most puerile instincts, or moral and material necessity, or from a dream—to the goal, to st. moritz; careless of everything except of arriving up there, where their life should suffer the whip's lash, or the triumph of vanity, or the victory of ambition, or health regained, or pleasure broadly conquered, or an unknown fortune taken by assault. and when in the evening the word samaden was clearly and precisely heard, and each felt that the goal was almost touched, every torpor was scattered, every silence was interrupted, every dream released before the reality. jumping to their feet in extreme impatience, all of them crowded to the windows and doors. still some minutes and yet more, and then the word resounded from carriage to carriage, repeated softly and loudly from a hundred voices:
"st. moritz! st. moritz! st. moritz!"
in the obscurity of the night the spectacle unfolded itself as if in a broad, deep stage setting. all the hill was gleaming with lights, now feeble, now flaming. in capricious and charming lines burnt the lights of the palace hotel, in lines direct and uniform those of the schweizerhof; like an immense edifice perforated with a thousand windows, like a colossal plaything of giant babies, flamed the white grand hotel, and further on high, at the summit, in triple lines, gleamed at the foot of the mountains, the h?tel kulm. around these mastodons shone the other houses and smaller hotels.
the blaze of lights from the palace and the grand hotels, and from the whole crown of large lamps which illuminated the road from the village to the baths, was wonderfully reflected in the dark lake; thus the lights were multiplied and eyes and soul were dazed thereby. on the opposite bank the wood, which skirted the lake, the acla silva, had neither house nor light in its sylvan austerity. directly above on the rosatch and curvatsch the whiteness of the snow became even purer in the dark night. very far-away, in a circle on the horizon, the snows of the julier, the polaschin, and the albana gleamed whitely, and still further away at the extremity glistened the margna with her twin peaks. a thousand eyes could not turn away from that beacon of light which streamed from hotels and houses in patches, while from below, from the bad, long green streaks of colour flickered as they were reflected in the lake. at the vision which scorched eyes and heart, as the train drew up at the little terminus, there was a crowding and jostling to descend and touch that land of every promise, and to be immersed in that light.
the omnibus conductors of the great hotels were running hither and thither as they gathered together their travellers; noisily luggage was piled upon luggage, and carriages departed and carriages returned in rapid movement. white, green, and grey omnibuses were crammed with travellers, and the laden vehicles turned and disappeared to the rapid trot of their good horses, towards the upper village and the baths on the shores of the lake. st. moritz dorf flamed scintillatingly in the night, and flamed more blandly and afar st. moritz bad.
around mrs. clarke and the smiling mabel clarke a circle of railway officials, servants, and porters was formed; the secretary of the "palace" arrived in a hurry in a private carriage, and was obsequiously talking in english in a low voice. mollified, the mother received the homage, and mabel smiled at the flaming lights of the uplands where for a month she was to pass a gay and vivid existence, where her fresh and strong youth should be intoxicated with joy. they left in the carriage with mrs. broughton and the secretary.
the exquisite french lady also left alone in a carriage, still tranquil, still aloof, gave the address of the "palace." the viennese, else von landau, with the large otter furs, who coughed and smelled of sandal-wood, got into a carriage, and the mother with the startled eyes climbed in with her and gave an address towards st. moritz bad.
the young spanish woman, so made up, who was bound for the grand hotel, departed, disputing in rapid spanish with her husband and appearing annoyed at going to an hotel different from the palace hotel, whither she had seen so many people of aristocratic appearance bound. but no one, whether climbing into omnibus, or jumping into carriage, or taking on foot the path that leads to the dorf, gave a single glance to the majestic mountains that had seen the passing of the ages, to the proud and solitary peaks so near to the sky, to the quiet and dark waters of the lake, to the brown woods, whence came fresh and sharp fragrances. none gave them a glance. all were trembling with satisfaction at having arrived at last; and were eager to immerse themselves in the exalting stream of life up there amidst the light and the luxury and joy of fantasy and senses. the young english girl only, of the virginal countenance, before climbing into the "kulm" bus, raised her veil, and gazed with her periwinkle-blue eyes at the white heights so deserted and imposing. a smile for the first time bloomed on the pure mouth.
