Ulbo Garvema

Summary

In the prologue, a boat with some shipwrecked persons is drifting at sea. Among them is Baron van Waldheim, who, before he dies of exhaustion, entrusts his little son Alfred to the care of his butler Hendrik. The evil Jan van Oort persuades Hendrik to give him the Baron's papers. When they put the boy ashore, he wounds himself on a nail (leaving a scar that will later prove his identity). For years Van Oort manages to pass himself off as Baron van Waldheim; he is married and has a daughter and a son. One day Hendrik turns up demanding a job as butler, swearing that otherwise he will betray Van Oort's secret. Meanwhile, Alfred - now an adult known as Ulbo Garvema - has become a teacher. Unaware of who Van Oort really is, he accepts the position of tutor to Van Oort's children. He falls in love with the daughter, but Van Oort refuses to give his consent to their marriage. Ulbo and the girl elope. More years pass by. Ulbo has become a village school teacher and is living with his wife and children in wretched circumstances. His wife pines away, saddened by the refusal of her parents to forgive her. After her death, her mother, whose son has also died, longs to have her grand-daughter Erna with her in the castle. Ulbo finally gives his mother-in-law permission to have Erna educated. When the girl grows up, she falls in love with a young Count. However, his mother will only consent to their marriage if Erna renounces her humble father, which the girl refuses to do. Because of a fall, Hendrik has become insane, but in a moment of clarity he exposes the false Baron and reveals the true identity of Ulbo Garvema. All's well that ends well. Ulbo is reinstated as Baron van Waldheim, and his daughter Erna can marry her Count.