Under a natural arch of primeval granite, in the most secluded recess of a wild and savage mountain, was situated the deeply indented cave of the sorceress, Hiorba. The cavern was filled with sieves and cauldrons, mummies and bundles of herbs, hieroglyphics and mirrors, crystal globes and crocodiles, in mystical confusion. Two torches, held by skeleton hands, lighted the whole. In a circle of strange characters and human bones, lay the aged and despairing Hiorba, her face to the ground, frantically tearing the last remains of her silver hair with her withered hands. Two large black cats were caressingly and soothingly purring about her. Suddenly she appeared to be shaken as by an electric shock. She arose with flashing eyes, stretched out her magic wand towards the largest of the mirrors, and murmured some words of unknown meaning. Strange confused images appeared upon the clear crystal. As she anxiously watched the figures her interest seemed to increase every moment, and every moment her joy became more plainly visible, until at length she gave a cry of ecstatic delight as Aliande and Daura, her charming foster-daughters, rushed breathlessly into the cave.
'Here we are, good mother,' cried Daura, embracing her with ardor.
'Escaped from death, from shame, and from the terrible Rasalkol!' cried Aliande, pressing the old woman's hand to her lips with filial love. 'Saved by the noblest, bravest and handsomest youths....'
'Silence, children!' said the sorceress, interrupting them. 'My true mirror has already told me all, and more perhaps than you will be willing to confess.'
Blushing and confused, the maidens cast their sparkling eyes upon the ground.
'Quickly, ah too quickly, has love for your deliverers found its way to your young hearts. Faithfully until now have I guarded you against this dangerous passion; but the moment in which the traitor Rasalkol succeeded in abducting you from this protecting cavern, my power over you ceased. The reprobate's hellish plan of destroying both you and me has indeed failed; but you may yet one day wish that you had bled under his dagger;--for the sorrows of unrequited love cut more keenly into weak woman's heart than a thousand daggers.'
'You do not know our knights,' interposed Aliande in a scarcely audible murmur.
'I know them to be men. As the wolf resembles the hyena, and both of these the jackal, so also do the whole profligate sex resemble each other,--differing only in their outward appearance and capacity for seizing their prey. The inexperienced eyes of the harmless doe are easily fascinated by the beautiful stripes of the blood-thirsty tiger!'
Tears trickled down the maidens' cheeks, at this reproof.
'I love you my children,' continued Hiorba in a tenderer tone. 'You are the grand-children of my good niece, whom I buried on my hundredth birth day. Willingly would I have rendered you happy, which you can only be in an unmarried state; but you are in love, and all my warnings are spoken to the winds. For once, however, yield to a mother's anxiety: Let meprovethe men of your choice.'
'Has not their battle with Rasalkol and his Moors already proved them sufficiently?' asked Aliande.
'Their knightly courage,--but not their hearts.'
'If all men were proved in advance,' answered Daura, with a faint smile, 'who would come unscathed from the furnace?'
'Your questions contain a significant denial of my request,' answered Hiorba. 'Since you have seen these strangers I have no longer any influence over your hearts. Consider well my last warning.'
She again raised her wand to the mirror and the field of battle again presented itself. Aliande saw the fluttering veil, and the furious contention of the knights.
'For God's sake, Hiorba,' shrieked the maidens; 'help, protect save!'
'See you those rough and savage men?' said Hiorba; 'They do not know which has the best right to the flimsy web, and yet each knight is ready to murder his brother-in-arms for its possession. You have here a specimen of what men call honor; and believe me, as their feet now recklessly trample upon the delicate wood-flower in their deadly struggle, so will the tyranny of their strength, their pride, and their sensuality, trample upon all your tenderest feelings and finally break your hearts.'
'Why waste so many words,' complained the maidens; 'save, good mother, separate the frantic knights.'
Shaking her head in token of disapprobation, Hiorba reluctantly took her wand and opened a cage which hung from the arch above; a bird of paradise came chirping thence, and perched confidingly upon her shoulder.
'Go, bring me the veil, Immo!' said Hiorba; 'and lead hither the contending knights, also.'
With her wand she softly touched the bird between its wings, and, sweetly warbling, it shot off like an arrow from the bow.
Ryno and Idallan still continued their insane struggle. Their helmets and scarfs were hacked to pieces, and hung in fragments about their shoulders. The green sward was already dyed crimson from their many wounds, when the thrilling song of a bird, fuller and sweeter than the voluptuous tones of the nightingale, filled the neighboring air. Through the soothing influence of those tones, softer feelings were awakened in the breasts of the combatants. An armistice was tacitly concluded; and with suspended breath they listened to the heavenly music, until they at length perceived a beautiful winged songster fluttering about the branch upon which the veil was hanging. Softer and more soul-thrilling were the seductive tones poured from its little throat, and Ryno hazarded the remark:
'How foolish to be hacking each other's bones for a thing of so little consequence!'
'You are right!' said Idallan, putting up his sword and extending his hand to his brother-in-arms. A clear-ringing song of triumph resounded from the beak of the wonderful bird as their hands met with the grasp of reconciliation, while the little mediator seized the veil in its purple claws, and moved slowly and gracefully toward the west, still continuing its enticing music. 'It calls us, brother, shall we not follow?' asked Ryno.
'Yes, let us pursue the veil!' cried Idallan: 'this beauteous banner leads us to more delightful conquests!'
They resumed their saddles and hastened to follow their mysterious guide, keeping their eyes immovably fixed upon the bright and waving emblem, which remained constantly visible in the distance.
The gray-haired Hiorba was standing with her blooming daughters upon the ruins of an ancient castle. 'You will not listen to my warnings,' she sadly and affectionately remarked. 'You scorn to consecrate your virgin purity to the gods, as I have done, and receive rare knowledge, great power, and almost an earthly immortality, in return. The ardent wishes of youth kindle only for sensual enjoyments, which are ever mingled with sorrow and of short duration. Your desires shall be gratified. You shall possess whatever can bless mortal maidens: wealth, splendor, honors, and the husbands of your choice. The rest must depend upon the gods.'
'Why so earnest and solemn, good mother?' said Aliande.
'Your present situation, your inconsiderate choice for a whole life, the reflection that your days will be embittered and abridged by unappreciated and betrayed love, all contribute to make me sad. An equal affliction threatens both of you, for it is not in my power to call back spirits from the blooming fields of Walhalla to furnish husbands for you. It is done! I hear the distant song of Immo, and hasten to prepare your future abodes.'
Drawing a circle which included herself and the maidens, Hiorba then pronounced the mysterious words of conjuration. Subterranean thunder was heard, the earth heaved, gleams of lightning escaped through the cleft rocks, and a thick smoke almost destroyed the power of respiration. In an instant they became fearfully conscious that they were no longer alone among the ruins. Innumerable demons surrounded Hiorba's magic circle, respectfully awaiting her commands.
'Spirits of the Earth!' cried the antiquated virgin with great dignity, 'my foster-daughters, Aliande and Daura, require of me a dowry. Spirits of the east and west! I command you to convert these ruins into a splendid castle for the residence of Aliande. Spirits of the north and south! Prepare upon yonder hill a similar abode for my Daura. To the work! In nine times nine twinklings of the eye must all be completed.'
A motion of her wand, and half of the demons disappeared. The other half cleaved the earth for the purpose of bringing forth the granite, marble, gold, iron and other materials required for the edifice. The lightning played and the thunder rolled incessantly, earthquakes followed each other in quick succession, the winds howled, and the subterranean waters rushed and roared most fearfully. All nature appeared to lie in convulsions, as if it were a wicked invasion of her rights that immortal hands should perform the work of mortals. Powerless and insensible lay Aliande and Daura within the circle. Terrible flames burst from the crevices of the earth, giving fearful tokens of the subterranean labors of the gnomes. Hiorba stood amid the general uproar, calmly directing the raging elements, which never for a moment disturbed so much as one of the silver hairs of her head.
The nine times nine moments had expired; the subterranean flames were extinguished, and the bright sun shone upon a magnificent palace encompassed by high walls, while its rays were brilliantly reflected by the metal roof. The gilded summits of its seven towers flashed in the sunlight like the seven stars. Hiorba viewed the labor of her mysterious agents with satisfaction, and then awoke the damsels with a touch of her wand. They looked around with astonishment upon the new world in which they found themselves. They had fallen asleep among ruins, upon damp moss overgrown with thorns and nettles, and now awoke upon soft couches of velvet and gold, in the balcony of a splendid edifice. The building was of granite, faced with marble, uniting the strength of the Gothic with the lightness and beauty of the Grecian style. Masterpieces of Grecian sculpture adorned every nook, step, and landing-place,--while the magnificent pleasure-garden, with all its fountains, cascades, lakes, temples, shaded walks, islands and obelisks, extended down the mountain slope. It was some time before they were convinced that it was not all a dream.
The damsels embraced their kind foster-mother, while tears of affection and gratitude eloquently spoke their thanks. 'Enough,' said Hiorba, withdrawing herself from their embraces; 'you know not, as yet, whether I deserve your thanks. That will be discovered hereafter, when the roses and thorns of this life shall have been weighed and balanced by the immortal gods. I must be brief, for already do I hear the approaching steeds of Ryno and Idallan, and I cannot look upon the men who are about to pluck, and perhaps to crush and destroy, the two sweetest roses of my garden. I now take my leave. I shall always act a mother's part by you,--but, only three times is it allowed me to become visible to the wives of Ryno and Idallan; at the moments of their greatest happiness, of their deepest misery, and of their untimely deaths. Preserve the same purity of soul which I have so carefully nurtured, so that in your last sad hour I may kiss the dews of death from your foreheads, and conduct your liberated spirits to the elysian fields of Walhalla.'
A soft and heavenly light overspread Hiorba's countenance, the wrinkles of age disappeared, and golden locks surrounded her clear forehead like a halo. Azure and purple wings unfolded from her shoulders, a robe of light enveloped her tall, majestic form, and on an amber cloud she floated away from the sisters, who watched her disappearance with speechless awe.
The tuneful Immo now fluttered through the castle gate with Aliande's veil. The draw-bridge fell, and the two knights, who had closely followed her, leaped from their horses, bounded up the steps, and threw themselves at the feet of the maidens; whilst Immo, perched upon the highest castle tower, sweetly warbled forth the bridal song.
A crystal lamp, suspended from the arched ceiling of a lofty chamber, shed a soft moonlight over the silken tapestry of the bridal bed where Ryno was slumbering upon the bosom of the happy Aliande. The beauteous bride was watching the peaceful slumber of her beloved partner with mingled and undefinable feelings of joy and sorrow, when she suddenly heard a rustling of the drapery, and immediately the well known form of the sorceress stood before her.
'You are happy, Aliande?' she asked.
'Unspeakably!' murmured Aliande, hiding her blushing cheek in the bosom of her faithful foster-mother.
'Does your heart suggest no wish yet ungratified?'
'Only one!' timidly answered the lovely bride.
'Yet one?' rejoined the astonished Hiorba. 'Thus it is with poor mortals. Upon the highest pinnacle of earthly happiness they are still tormented by insatiable aspirations. Confide your secret wish to me, my daughter.'
'During the bridal supper, as my husband was giving a rapid sketch of his knightly adventures, and painting the charms of the various damsels he had saved, in glowing colors, I began to fear that I--perhaps soon--might be no longer theonlyobject of his love.'
'Already jealous, Aliande, on this your bridal night!....'
'Death, rather than a rival!'
'What is your wish of me?' asked Hiorba.
'To relieve me from the torture of uncertainty, I desire a faithful monitor which shall inform me when Ryno kneels before strange altars, that I may win back the idol of my heart with redoubled love, or,--learn to despise and scorn the inconstant.'
'An unfriendly star rules over both you and me,' said Hiorba in a desponding tone. 'I am convinced that the fulfilment of this wish will make you most miserable, and yet I am constrained by a power greater than my own to grant it.'
She stamped upon the floor, and immediately two hideous gnomes appeared with a time-piece made of the most costly materials, curiously wrought into the form of a temple of Venus.
'Take this production of magic art,' said Hiorba, 'but conceal it carefully from your husband, lest in the exasperation of conscious guilt he should destroy his innocent accuser. This clock will always stand still, this bell will always remain silent, and this mirror will reflect only your own features, so long as Ryno remains true to his vows; but should he ever yield to the common vice of his sex, voluptuous melodies will issue from the temple, the index will indicate the time, and the crystal mirror will reflect the image of the favored rival.'
Aliande was about to express her gratitude, but Hiorba interrupted her. 'Thank me not,--for with this present you receive enduring sorrow and late repentance. Soon shall I greet you a second time, but then it will be in tears.' She spoke, and disappeared.
Transporting herself to the splendid seven-towered palace of the other sister, the sorceress entered Daura's chamber and awoke her from her sweet dreams of happiness with a kiss. Then came the same questions, and the same protestations of unspeakable happiness; yet the quiet and contented Daura, also, seemed to haveonewish concealed in the secret recesses of her bosom. After Hiorba's long and tender entreaties for her confidence, she finally said: 'through repeated and pressing inquiries of both Ryno and Idallan, I have learned of the exhibition of savage rage by my husband in the bloody contest for the lost veil, which Ryno would have resigned for the sake of peace and friendship, refusing to fight until he was compelled to do so in his own defence. I fear that Idallan's violence, which did not spare even his beloved brother-in-arms, will also rend my heart and prepare many sad days and tearful nights for me. Oh that I were in possession of a charm which, like David's harp, would allay the demon of anger! What then could be wanting to my happiness?'
'Immo!' cried Hiorba, with a complacent smile, opening the window. In came the delicate bird, bearing about its neck a radiant diamond chain to which a small ivory flute was attached. 'Take this flute, my gentle Daura,' said the sorceress; 'pass this chain about your neck, and let your faithful mother's gift remain always upon your bosom. When Idallan's wild passions begin to kindle, when his inconsiderate bursts of anger threaten to wound the peace of my gentle daughter, then will the soothing tones of this instrument soften his rage and shed balm upon his mind.'
With glad surprise Daura extended her fair hand for the talisman, and Hiorba vanished.
A year had passed from the stream of time into the ocean of eternity since the marriage of the two sisters, when Hiorba arose out of the rocks in the oak forest between the two palaces. The proud edifices yet shone in all their original splendor, and their majestic walls cast long shadows over the vale below; but the rock upon which the sorceress was standing had changed its appearance. Instead of being bare, as formerly, it was now shaded by tall cedars, lofty pines, and trembling poplars, and encircled with blooming rose-hedges, A gilded dome, supported by nine Corinthian pillars of alabaster, adorned the summit. The sorceress inquisitively examined the temple, and with surprise and pleasure encountered her own statue crowned with fresh cypress and faded roses. Tears of joyful emotion filled Hiorba's eyes, and her first impulse was to fly immediately to her foster-daughters, that she might, invisible to them, impress a kiss of gratitude upon their unconscious foreheads; but while hesitating which of the happy brides she should first visit, she discerned two female forms approaching from opposite directions. Discovering that they were her two daughters, she wrapped herself in impenetrable clouds, that she might be a secret witness of their interview. Their appearance gave her no pleasure. Their pale cheeks were not lighted by the sun of matrimonial peace,--their lingering steps and downcast eyes spoke not of happiness,--and with fear and sorrow Hiorba leaned against the altar which supported her statue. At length the sisters reached the place and rushed sobbing into each other's arms.
'My sufferings have reached their utmost limit!' exclaimed Aliande.
'My last hope is annihilated!' sighed Daura.
'How ineffably miserable,' said Aliande, 'has our good mother's last gift made me! With almost every change of the moon does the warning voice of my magic clock rend my poor betrayed heart. My fatal mirror is constantly reflecting new faces which seldom indicate delicate feminine charms, never mental elevation. All my tears have hitherto been able to obtain but empty promises of amendment from the faithless one; and my just reproaches only exasperate him. To-day I see the hated features of my last waiting maid, the light and impudent Rosa! No, I will bear these mortifications, these repeated insults, no longer!'
'Ah, how much more miserable am I, good sister!' sobbed Daura. 'It was but the intoxication of the senses which led Idallan to my arms; and in addition to my other sorrows I now feel that he has never, never loved me. The first week of our honey-moon had scarcely passed when he found himself annoyed by the gentle tones of my flute, which, against his will, moderated the severity of his fierce disposition. In a confiding moment, after he had successfully feigned the tenderest affection, he succeeded in drawing from me the secret of the maternal gift. With pleasant jests and agreeable trifling he unwound the chain from my neck; but no sooner was the delicate instrument in his hands, than his brow became clouded, his eyes flashed with an unnatural fire, and with a voice of thunder he denounced me as a vile sorceress who had disgraced his knightly bed. Then with furious rage he dashed the flute to the earth. Yet once more were heard its soft and tranquilizing tones. Too late! Idallan's foot was already raised, and trampling it in his anger, he annihilated its sweet melody forever. What, what have I not suffered since that unhappy hour!....'
'His heart is depraved--forget him!' cried Hiorba, stepping visibly between the sisters, who threw themselves at her feet in glad surprise.
'You both decided too rashly!' continued the weeping foster-mother. 'I warned you in vain. In vain did I entreat permission to prove your lovers. The evil is done,--and requires help, not reproaches. Your case, Aliande, may possibly be remedied; yours, poor Daura--never! That you may not doubt the truth of my words, I will now commence the trial of both husbands, and wo to him who shall prove base!'
She concluded with a voice of thunder, and disappeared. The unhappy sisters silently embraced each other, and then slowly returned to their splendid prisons.
Idallan was restlessly tossing upon his solitary bed on the first anniversary of his marriage night, whilst the repudiated and suffering Daura rested in a distant chamber, steeping her pillow with her tears.
Idallan's heart was radically bad, as might be inferred from his conduct in the contest for the veil. Savage and boisterous passions tarnished the splendor of the many knightly virtues which adorned his nature; and his real character appeared, when fortune, from her cornucopia, suddenly poured the full stream of love, wealth and splendor upon him. This unexpected and overabundant fulfilment of all his wildest hopes, gave the finishing touch to his temperament. The beauteous woman, whom unreflecting love had conducted to his arms, he valued merely as the slave of his rough and savage will. The princely treasures which Hiorba's generosity had heaped in his coffers, had only excited his thirst for gold. Hundreds of families who had sought the protection of his castle, and converted the surrounding forest into fruitful fields, were happy to be considered his subjects, and thus ministered to his love of power and dominion. Schemes of ambition disturbed his brain. He already in imagination saw himself a prince, perhaps of the whole earth, with Ryno his vassal, and an emperor's daughter for his wife; but he looked upon his gentle and faithful Daura as the greatest obstacle in the way of his success. His undisguised scorn and contempt had taught her to weep the rash choice made during the brief intoxication of love. There lay Idallan, disturbed by dreams which naturally took the tone of his daily thoughts and the color of the black soul whence they emanated. A glimmering light suddenly disturbed his uneasy sleep. Idallan leaped wildly from his bed, and before him stood the monster Rasalkol, surrounded by a pale sulphurous light, and horribly disfigured by the wound which Ryno gave him in the oak forest.
'Your first matrimonial year is ended!' said the fearful phantom in a sepulchral tone, 'and thank the Gods! you are unhappy. Your great soul must feel the pressure of the chains which bind you forever to a lowly bride. Daura suffices not for a man of noble ambition, and fate has destined you for greater things. Three crowns are waiting to grace your brow, when you shall have rendered yourself worthy of them.'
'Messenger of Heaven!' cried Idallan in ecstasies.
'You must know,' continued the spectre, 'that since the day when you and Ryno attacked me with such inconsiderate zeal, I have been condemned through Hiorba's cruelty, to wander about among the subterranean caves of this mountain, until some firm and courageous adventurer deliver me from the power of that ugly witch. The brave man who shall accomplish this, I will raise to the first throne in the world, give him the daughter of the most powerful ruler for a wife, and lay my inexhaustible treasures open to him.'
'O that it may be my destiny to end your sorrows, wise magician!' said Idallan, sighing.
'You alone can do it, brave and noble knight,' answered Rasalkol. 'You alone have the means in your hands, to destroy Hiorba, deliver me, and procure unspeakable happiness for yourself; but he who would serve Rasalkol must not fear to shed blood!'
'Give me but wealth and power, and I will slay millions for you.'
'Take this withered twig,' said the phantom, handing him a wand. 'Bear it to the chamber where Daura sleeps, strike your dagger to her heart in such a manner that the warm blood shall sprinkle the wand. The twig will acquire new life; leaves, buds and flowers will instantly put forth, it will take root in the earth and bear a magnificent fruit, containing within itself the seeds of death. Divide the fruit and send it in the name of Daura to Ryno and Aliande. As soon as you hear that they are dead, bring their bodies here and lay them by the corpse of your wife. Then tear out their hearts and burn them with the wood of the tree. When the fire shall have destroyed the last fibre, Hiorba will expire with dreadful torments. I shall then be free and eternally grateful.'
'I am yours!' cried Idallan, cautiously proceeding to the sleeping chamber of the unhappy Daura, with the magic wand in one hand and his dagger in the other. A mysterious light preceded the monster's steps. Softly opening the door, the angelic form lay before him, wrapped in peaceful slumber. The sweet smile of innocence played upon her pale lips. In a tone of melancholy tenderness which would have softened a tiger, she exclaimed in her sleep, 'lovest thou me no longer, Idallan?' Yet did Idallan, with a malicious scowl, raise his arm to strike. At that instant a flash of lightning hurled the dagger from his hand, and, instead of Rasalkol, the sorceress Hiorba stood before him. Her piercing glance seemed almost annihilating, and the trembling culprit cast his eyes upon the earth, as if imploring it to open and swallow him.
'Daughter, your tender husband would become your murderer!' said Hiorba. 'Thus is your hasty choice rewarded.' Then turning to Idallan: 'the soul's deepest grief, the eternal loss of her heart's peace, punishes your unhappy wife for her disregard of the maternal advice; but what can be a sufficient punishment for you?'
Idallan was silent.
'Your obdurate heart was steeled against your wife, your faithful brother-in-arms, and against me, to whose kindness you were indebted for the foundation of your fortunes. Ambition and shameful avarice have incited you to the blackest crimes! Be your punishment proportioned to your deeds! Therefore up, demons! drag this condemned one to Hecla's ever flaming gulf! There let soul and body suffer the pain of the dreadful sulphur bath, until the mortal part has become changed to gold. For a thousand years may the sordid dross remain, until by millions of accidents it becomes transformed into a circle, and presses a crowned and joyless head. When the crown thus formed sparkles with gems, awaken in the miserable metal its gnawing consciousness, and, so long as the diadem endures, torture the soul with the perception of treasures and honors never to be enjoyed!'
Having spoken thus, Hiorba waved her fearful wand. Two horrible demons appeared, and, with a laugh, which extorted a howl of anguish from the criminal, forced him away.
The inconstant Ryno had one day been belated while engaged in the chase, which had become his favorite occupation since the destruction of his matrimonial peace. He had pursued a wounded doe into a thicket out of which he was unable to find his way. The evening air blew chill, the stars shone faintly through the nebulous atmosphere, and the moonless night was spreading its brown mantle over the earth. A deep silence pervaded the forest, broken only by the hootings of the owl, and the howlings of the wolf. Ryno dismounted to grope for the devious path. He wandered on in this manner for the space of a quarter of an hour, leading his horse by the bridle-rein, when suddenly he heard a flourish of drums and trumpets. Looking up, he was astonished to find himself at no great distance from a magnificent and brilliantly illuminated castle. Pleased and surprised, for in all his hunting excursions he had never encountered it before, he threw himself upon his horse and hastened toward its gates. Trumpets and comets rang a merry peal, the drawbridge descended, the gate flew open, and he soon found himself in the inner court, surrounded by a band of richly clad and golden locked pages. They seized his bridle, relieved him of his hunting-spear, bow and quiver,--one of them respectfully held his stirrup, while another, on bended knee, bade him welcome.
'Do you know me?' asked Ryno with astonishment.
'Who does not know the knightly Ryno, so renowned for his personal beauty, and indomitable courage!' humbly answered the courtly page. 'Will you please to follow me to the banqueting hall? You are expected there with affectionate impatience by count Arno, the lord of the castle, and Rosamunda his charming daughter.'
Readily yielding to this welcome invitation, he left his horse to the attendants, and followed the smooth-tongued flatterer into the castle. A marble vestibule, supported by a colonade of porphyry, led him to a broad alabaster stair-case, which was surmounted by a gilded and richly ornamented balustrade. Twelve servants in dresses of white silk, embroidered with gold, preceded him with torches to light his steps. The folding doors of the banqueting room flew open. A richly covered table, glittering with golden vessels and surrounded by knights and ladies, stood in the middle of the hall, and a splendid chandelier poured a flood of light from above. Uncertain whether he could trust his senses, Ryno entered, and the most delightful music from the balcony of the hall greeted his arrival. The knights and dames rose respectfully from their seats, while a venerable old man in a knightly costume, with a delicate female whose beauty was too dazzling for mortal pen to describe, advanced to meet him. Touching a full goblet with her rosy lips, the female thus addressed him: 'With this cup, Rosamunda, the daughter of the house, greets the brave Ryno, in the name of the lord of the castle.'
Already intoxicated by what he saw, Ryno drained the golden cup, impressed a glowing kiss upon Rosamunda's delicate fingers, shook the proffered hand of the old knight, who led him to the upper end of the table and seated him by Rosamunda's side. Familiar conversation, jests and laughter, the delightful music, the exhilarating cup, and, more than all these, the proximity of the blooming maiden, so warmed his blood and confused his mind, that the question never occurred to him how the castle came to be there, and its inhabitants to know him. He soon became engaged in a tender conversation with Rosamunda, and but too soon did they comprehend each other's glances. The table was now cleared, and the dance began. Drunk with pleasure, Ryno floated through the assembly with Rosamunda, pressing her divine form to his beating heart, and amid the tumult and giddiness of the waltz robbing her of a first kiss, which was warmly returned. When the dance was ended, the company sought the refreshing coolness of the gardens. The lovers soon found themselves in a solitary grotto, where, sunk in Ryno's embrace, Rosamunda murmured that she would be his forever, and that she doubted not of her father's consent to their union.
This brought the inconstant Ryno to his senses. With much embarrassment he stammered:
'By my knightly oath and duty, I love you beyond measure, charming girl, but I cannot become your husband, for--I am already another's.'
Tears flowed in torrents from Rosamunda's eyes, upon this declaration. With the most violent sorrow she reproached him for having stormed her heart and destroyed its peace, while bound by earlier ties. She declared that she could not live without him, and at last implored him to dissolve his first marriage, that he might become her's alone.
Ryno anxiously endeavored to effect a retreat. 'Aliande is my lawful wife,' said he, in a tone of decision: 'and never, never will I repudiate her.'
New reproaches, new tears, and new solicitations followed. Ardent kisses burned upon his lips, the softest arms twined about his neck, and the most voluptuous bosom beat against his throbbing heart. He was almost subdued; but he summoned resolution and, gently repulsing her, said: 'Leave me, charming maiden,--my integrity must soon wither under your warm embrace, and with a consciousness of my baseness, I should then stand before you as a faithless husband, a seducer of innocence, and a dishonored knight. Pardon my frankness. Your personal charms and yielding disposition captivate my senses, which have too often led me astray. You desire marriage. That must not, cannot be! I am weak and giddy; but no severity of torment shall make me a faithless villain! My wife is good; I am indebted to her for all my earthly prosperity and happiness. She has already suffered too much through my inconstancy,--and rather should this hand wither than I would repudiate Aliande for the purpose of pledging it to another; even were that other the divine Rosamunda.'
Once more she threw her arms around him in a last effort to subdue his heart;--and while he was vainly striving to escape from her embrace, the grotto was suddenly illuminated by torches, and the lord of the castle stood before him surrounded by knights and servants, and foaming with rage.
'What do I see!' thundered he: 'What shame and disgrace are visited upon my gray hairs! Rosamunda in this solitary grotto under the mantle of night, in the arms of a youthful stranger! My house is forever degraded and my lineage dishonored!'
'Your daughter is innocent and inviolate,' answered Ryno; 'and her lips will inform you, that no unworthy knight now stands before you.'
'You are in error, my good father,' cried Rosamunda, embracing his knees with anguish; 'Ryno is already married!'
'Married!' growled the old man, repulsing his daughter with a violence that caused her to sink to the earth in a swoon: 'Married! Then is my daughter's dishonor beyond remedy! That word decides your fate, Ryno! and you shall feel how the abuser of the laws of hospitality is punished in Arno's castle. Seize him, slaves! bind the wretch in fetters!'
Ryno's hand rushed to his side, but having thrown off his sword for the dance, he found no weapon there. He struggled manfully against the rabble host however, until he was finally overcome, cast upon the ground, bound, and thrown into a deep dungeon beneath the castle.
He lay upon mouldering straw, confined with clanking chains which were made fast to the wall. A dim lamp lighted the place clearly enough to show all its horrors. 'This is undeserved!' cried Ryno, as his eye wandered about his new residence and finally rested upon the heavy iron door. 'How many times have heavenly enjoyments rewarded my faithlessness to my Aliande; and now that I, for the first time, have conducted myself as became a virtuous knight, I sigh in these chains. If dame fortune will persist in such blindness and stupidity, I shall take care how I trust her hereafter!'
The prisoner had lost himself in sad rumination, the name of Aliande now and then escaping from his laboring bosom with many a sigh. At length a lively contention arose outside his prison door. A female voice was heard in earnest solicitation, and a manly one opposing; finally he heard the clinking of gold, and the bolts were withdrawn.
In the most seductive night dress, with streaming hair, tearful eyes and pale cheeks, which increased her beauty a thousand fold, Rosamunda tottered into the prison. With a trembling and mournful voice she said to him, 'you have rejected me when you were yet free to choose; but I come not now to speak of myself, of my love, or of the grief inflicted by your rejection. Your welfare alone has induced me to seek you once more. Your life, which is dearer to me than my own,--dearer even than my eternal happiness,--stands upon a cast.'
'I am sorry that such a momentary hallucination should be followed by such serious consequences,' said Ryno.
'The lioness robbed of her young, is a lamb in comparison with my father when the honor of his family is concerned. You have only the cruel choice between my hand and a miserable death.'
'That is a hard alternative!' said Ryno with a shudder.
'Reflect that you are forever lost to Aliande. If your wife loves like Rosamunda, she would rather yield you to another's arms than deliver you up to a horrible death.'
'No artful sophistry, or seductive blandishments, can change my resolution. Your father must cite me before a court of honor, if he be an honorable knight. There will I answer his charge, and give him all the satisfaction he has a right to claim. If he do not that, if he be determined to destroy a chained and defenceless man in a secret dungeon, he is a despicable assassin.'
'Ryno!' cried Rosamunda, again clasping him with wild self-abandonment. Gently releasing himself from her embrace he bore her as far as his chains would permit, and called the sentinels. Upon their entrance he committed the weeping maiden to their care and commanded them to conduct her to her father.
'A night of torment!' sighed Ryno, throwing himself back upon his straw: 'but I have one consolation amid all my sorrows. By my death I shall seal that fidelity which I have heretofore but ill kept, and expiate the tears which my inconstancy has cost Aliande,--thus becoming purified and prepared for the joys of Walhalla. The gods bless and protect my wife and children!'
Again were the bolts withdrawn, and, in a mourning dress, the lord of the castle entered.
'You may thank a feeling of compassion that I condescend once more to parley with you!' said the old man with a painful suppression of his rage.
'I desire not your compassion.'
'You have violated the laws of hospitality and seduced my only child.'
'That is not true!'
'Knights and serfs were witnesses of my shame, which blood alone can efface. Were your previous marriage dissolved, however, and Rosamunda your wife, I might, perhaps, forgive you.'
'That can never be.'
'Rosamunda's person is fair, and yet fairer is her guileless heart. She is of the noblest lineage. Immense treasures lie in the caves of this castle, and my lands extend twenty days' journey towards the north. Take your life from my daughter's hand!'
'Place everlasting torments in one scale, and an imperial crown in the other, I repudiate my wife at no price.'
'Will Aliande be less inconsolable as a widow than divorced?'
'Waste not your breath!'
'By the eternal gods! I warn you for the last time. These prison walls see you Rosamunda's husband, or echo the death-sigh forced from you by the rack!'
Ryno tore one of the golden locks from his head and handed it to his persecutor. 'If one spark of humanity yet slumbers in your bosom you will send this lock to my poor wife, with the message--That I die faithful to her, and that I wish her to train up my son as a good and virtuous knight.--Now let your executioners come on, I am ready.'
'Then, by Woden!' roared the foaming parent, 'you never behold the rising of another sun!'
He struck a bell, and twelve armed men with closed visors and drawn swords, slowly and silently entered. One of them detached Ryno's chains from the wall. Again the bell sounded, and at the other end of the prison the heavy doors of the torture vault flew open with a horrible clang. The cave-like room was hung with black and lighted with torches. Every instrument which the cruelty of man has invented for the torment of his fellow man, brightly polished and arranged with frightful regularity, met the glance of the unfortunate prisoner. Large pincers were glowing in a chafing dish, and in the centre of the room stood the dreadful rack with its fearful and mysterious equipments. Three hideous ruffians, with naked arms, in blood-red caps and doublets, stood waiting beside it. On the right was an open and empty coffin.
'For the last time, choose!' cried the incensed tyrant.
'Death!' said Ryno, calmly, and sighing the name of Aliande, he advanced toward the rack with a firm step. A beam of light suddenly illuminated the dungeon. The torture-chamber, the guards, the rack, the executioners, had all vanished,--and Ryno found himself again in a magnificent room whose azure star-besprinkled dome was supported by rose-crowned pillars. With a friendly smile the sorceress Hiorba approached him; and, as on the first day of his marriage, with the glow of newly awakened love, sank the happy Aliande upon his breast, thanking him for his unshaken fidelity to his early vows.
'You have sustained the trial!' said Hiorba, 'and thereby expiated many a former folly, which Aliande must now forget. Love has returned, confidence is born anew, and I shall leave the again united pair with unshaken hope. The unhappy Daura will accompany me. Possibly she may learn forgetfulness in my quiet and peaceful retreat, which she ought never to hare left. Farewell, my children. Forget not the true watchwords of hymen--LOVE AND FIDELITY! Ryno, remain the same Ryno you were in the grotto and in Arno's dungeon. Aliande, never forget that, not tears and reproaches, but kindness and affection only, can reclaim an erring husband.'
She disappeared in a cloud of incense, and the reunited lovers sealed their mutual promise to obey her sage instructions, with a kiss.
Faithfully was that promise kept. Even when Aliande's head had become silvered with age she alone was the happiness of Ryno, as he was hers; and it was many years before the venerable matron, surrounded by her grandchildren, was surprised by her friend Hiorba, who came in a robe of light to kiss her expiring breath from her pale lips.
THE ANABAPTIST.A TALE OF THE FIRST HALF OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.BY C. F. VAN DER VELDE.