"ODILE DROPPED HER EYES.""ODILE DROPPED HER EYES."
And I related the extraordinary experiences of the last twenty-fourhours, exulting in our victory over the hag. When I had finished, and recalled to my now happy love her promise of the day before, Odile dropped her eyes, flushed charmingly, and returned the pressure of my hand with averted head.
After some precious moments passed in the indulgence of our new-foundhappiness, I proceeded to the Count's chamber. I found him in a very satisfactory condition. He was naturally in a state of complete exhaustion after the terrible crises that he had been through, but was entirely himself, and the fever had disappeared the evening before.Everything pointed towards a speedy recovery.
"Monsieur," I said, as he greeted me with a warm grasp of my hand, "your restored health is assured, and it is but the matter of a few days when you will be able to indulge in your favorite pastime again."
"I believe you, monsieur! I feel that myself as I have never done before, and I am bound that you shall remain at Nideck and accompany me on my first boar hunt."
"Nothing would give me greater pleasure, monsieur," I replied. "Though an entire novice in the art, I shall doubtless gain much by employing my powers of observation."
"And furthermore," continued the Count, "your reward for this greatestof all services which you have performed for me shall be whatever you may require that lies within my gift!"
"Monsieur," I replied, bowing low, "your generosity overwhelms me. However, we will discuss the matter of compensation at a future time, when your strength will better admit of it. At present let me say that the existing state of affairs is an ample reward for anything I may have been able to accomplish in your behalf." And meanwhile I wondered if the Count realized the significance of his promise as I reflected upon the recompense I was presently to seek at his hands.
As his malady left him, I found the master of Nideck a changed man. His features, which had at first aroused only a sentiment of repugnance in me, slowlyresumed their natural expression, and became dignified and even handsome. His generosity and kindness exceeded anything I had before experienced, and everything that Knapwurst had declared in his master's favor was realized to the utmost. From liking I grew to loving him, as I felt indeed I must have done if only as the author of Odile's being.
The fortnight that followed was one of rejoicing throughout Nideck. The Count gained with wonderful rapidity, and for a week past he had moved about the Castle with a buoyancy and contentment of demeanor which only Odile and the old steward could recall having seen in him long years before, ere the dead witch had yet entwined him in the meshes of her baneful spell.
Even the grim, melancholy Sebalt had become grotesquely gay, and he discontinued his matinal post on the Altenberg, feeling, no doubt, that he had contributed not a little to his master's recovery. As for Sperver, he was radiant, and he would come to my chamber late at night, after I had left Odile, and as we sat over our bottles we would discuss for the fiftieth time the circumstances of my stay within the Castle.
During the earlier stages of the Count's convalescence I repaired each morning to his chamber, where I invariably found Odile arrived before me, and as the Count was fond of reading, which served to wear away the period of his enforced inactivity, Odile and I would share for hours together thereading of "Garin the Lorrainer," which was one of his favorite romances.
The extent of my contentment may be imagined. Whenever I glanced up from my book as it became necessary to turn a page, I invariably met Odile's eyes fastened upon my face, and speaking the whole language of love and contentment, and when she in turn assumed the reading, I found myself lost in a world of reverie and speculation as I continued to study her beautiful face, which was always a revelation to me, no matter how long it remained before my gaze.
Oh, the delight of all this! How I pity you crabbed misanthropes who know not the richness of a loving woman's endearments!
I had determined, with Odile's sanction,to broach the subject of our betrothal to the Count as soon as his health would permit it.
Meanwhile, our hours at table were spent in laying plans for our future. I was sanguine of success in my avowal, for added to the Count's desire of seeing his line perpetuated,—which lay nearest his heart,—I knew that he felt, though how deservedly I leave it to the reader to determine, that I had been instrumental in restoring him to health. These considerations, combined with his invariable desire to secure to his daughter her slightest wish or whim, I believed would be sufficient to ensure the consummation of my desire. Moreover, with my beloved champion beside me, I felt strong enough to overcome the opposition of the universe.
But the future still held something in store, and as it often happens when we fancy ourselves beyond the reach of an adverse Fate, we may in reality be standing within the shadows of the Valley of Darkness.
"You must be ready to start with the Count in an hour," exclaimed Sperver, as he stood on my threshold before the sun had yet risen. "Sebalt and Becker came in late last night, famished, and covered with mud, and they have reported a wild boar's tracks near the Leidenthal. I will lend you whatever clothes you need, but be quick, for there's only breakfast between us and the start."
I got up, and taking a hasty plunge in the icy water beside my bed, which served to drive the vapors from mybrain, I half dressed myself, and followed Sperver to his room.
"The beaters found game worthy of our powder," continued Gideon. "They brought back a dried clump of bog-mud with an enormous hoof-print in the middle of it. If the Count's carbine misses fire, we must stand in well beside him this time, though he always grudges the fatal shot to any arm but his own."
I paid little heed to his words, busied as I was in accommodating myself to my borrowed garments, and I presently emerged from the chamber dressed in a leather hunting-jacket, cap, and long gaiters which reached to my hips; a carbine and long hunting-knife completed my outfit.
"If I only had you for a couple of weeks on the forest patrol, I wouldmake a first-class shot out of you," said Sperver with a grin. "As it is, I suppose you know as much about a gun as a pike does of mountain climbing."
"Just about!" I laughed. "However, I'm fortunately in such good company that it will make little difference whether I can tell the muzzle from the stock, or not."
"There's something in that," he returned; "and as there are to be ladies in the party you may find other employment as agreeable as the killing of animals," and he looked at me with a dry twitching of his mouth.
I made no reply to this beyond rather a grim smile, and a moment later we reached the dining-room. I found the Count dressed in hunting-costume, seated at the table, on which Tobiaswas placing the last dishes for the breakfast. He complimented me on my professional appearance, and added that, judging from externals, a little practice was all that was necessary to make me an accomplished huntsman.
I looked in vain for Odile as I entered the room, but she presently appeared in a close-fitting habit which became her marvellously well, sparkling with health and freshness, and bearing in one hand her long skirt, and in the other a pearl-handled crop. A pistol with a heavy barrel was thrust beneath her belt, more for ornament, I fancied, than for service.
"Ha! Odile!" cried her father, as she greeted us and took her seat at the table, "the mere sight of your rosy cheeks and lithe step puts new life into me! It's a pleasure to look at you.Isn't it so, Monsieur Gaston?" then, as Odile grew crimson with confusion, the Count perceived his blunder, and began to busy himself with the dishes before him. The next moment I caught Odile's eye, as she stole an amused glance at me, and I nodded a quick affirmative, without violence to my conscience.
The meal passed with narratives of hunting exploits by the Count, who delighted in recalling his past experiences, often discontinuing his meal to illustrate by attitudes and gestures his combats with the different animals of the regions round about. Odile and I proved good listeners, though, perhaps, as one sometimes hearkens to a strain of music, the better to indulge his own reflections.
Breakfast finished, we went down into the courtyard. A dozen horses stood saddled just inside the principal gate. Sebalt, in his leather dress, with his double-coiled horn strapped across his back, and a heavy cowhide whip in his hand ready to strike, held a score of dogs in leash, that were baying and tugging at their bonds in excited anticipation of the part they were to play in the day's sport. Joy gleamed in every line of his goat's face as his long deferred desire was now about to be realized. Gideon, who held the Count's horse, looked more himself than I had seen him since the death of poor Lieverlé; he seemed to have recovered much of his wonted good spirits.
I pushed aside the groom who stood beside Odile's horse, and she sprangfrom my hand into the saddle. Then I, in turn, mounted my horse, and moved abreast of Odile and the Count.
When all was in readiness, Sebalt raised his horn and sounded the departure as, according to Sperver, he alone could sound it.
The neighboring hillsides took up the sound, and threw it back in tones of purest silver, and all the echoes of the valleys were awakened and fled away towards the rising sun. This warm February sun had done its work, and the snow had disappeared to a level of but a few inches, covered with a hard crust. We started off at a gallop. Sebalt and Sperver rode first, with Odile, the Count, and myself close behind them. Becker and the under-keepers came on in the rear.
Sebalt led the pack along the base of the Gaisenberg, and skirting the falls of the Lauterbach, he followed along the defile at its further side, from which point the trail diverged in the direction of the Leidenthal. The weather was superb, not a cloud in the heavens, and the frosty air clear as crystal. The bare oaks creaked their gaunt branches, and the singing pines waved their lofty tops in the fresh south wind. The yelping of the pack could have been heard for a mile around, and Gideon, turning from time to time, called to them:
"Hold your noise, you rascals; you'll have reason enough to howl before long, I'll warrant."
There was little chance for conversation at the furious pace which wewere following, and I contented myself with frequent glances at Odile, whose superb beauty was enhanced by the bright color in her cheeks, which excitement, exercise and happiness called forth. As for the Count, I could no longer recognize in him the dying patient of my first night at Nideck. All trace of his terrible illness had vanished, and he rode like a youth of twenty years, vigorous, calm, confident.
At the end of an hour we emerged from the defile into the dazzling sunlight beyond. The dogs came upon the trail of the boar, and their long, full cries changed to exultant yappings; they glided along to right and left among the rocks, their noses to the ground, and they ran and leaped along the trail. Not one of them followedthe other's lead, until he had verified the scent for himself; like all true hunting dogs, they relied only upon themselves.
Meanwhile, the blast of the horn, the short, savage yelps of the pack, and the noise of our horses' hoofs as they pierced the sparkling snow crust, made music of an exciting, bewildering sort. I galloped on imbued to the finger-tips with the contagious anticipation everywhere around me.
For some little time past the order of the hunt had been broken up. The Count, seemingly lost in the one object of the chase and oblivious to all else, had ridden far ahead, and had almost overtaken Sebalt and Sperver, who were at such a distance from us that the sound of their trumpets grew feeblerand feebler, and at length were entirely lost, save that at rare intervals they reached our ears like the sigh of the passing breeze. The mounts of Becker and his comrades, though chosen for endurance and strength, were not the equal of ours in speed; and thus it was that Odile and I now found ourselves alone, as it were, midway in the plain.
On we went. Every now and then Odile would turn her head and smile at me; then she would whisper to her horse, and we bounded along yet faster. From the less frequent pauses of the pack, that glided, no larger than rabbits now, up the distant slopes, and their straight-ahead course, I fancied that the foremost of the party were approaching the whereabouts of the game.
It was now that a belt of dense woods became visible on the rising ground before us. The Count had by this time gained so far upon us that we presently saw him disappear, together with his followers, within its borders.
"We must be in at the death!" cried Odile breathlessly; "let's make haste!" and she urged her horse still further, while I clapped spurs to mine. Twenty minutes later we had covered the intervening distance, and dashed into the shadows of the wood.
We had not proceeded above a mile further, when we found that our road forked, and running over an extensive ledge of rock, swept bare of snow and pine-needles by the wind, we were at a loss which path to follow, for there wereno tracks of horses nor dogs, and the direction of both paths being apparently the same, the noise of the pack growing momentarily fainter, afforded us no clue to our proper course.
We reined up, impatient at this vexatious occurrence.
"Which way now?" I cried to Odile.
She hesitated for a moment.
"Let's go to the right!" she replied. "There's a new blaze on that beech-tree yonder. Perhaps one of the men's guns bruised the bark as he passed it!" and without waiting for me to reply, she started on again.
It occurred to me a few moments later that we might now be left entirely alone if, perchance, we had chosen the wrong path, and if our followers, who would inevitably meet with the samequestion of direction on reaching the fork in the road, should decide upon the one to the left.
I felt little apprehension in being thus deserted, as it were, but let it not be understood by this that fearlessness formed any part of my character; it was to the more ignoble trait of ignorance that my present equanimity was due. I did, however, feel that Odile should be reminded of the fact, and I proceeded to communicate it to her; but whether it was that her attention was so much engrossed by the business in hand that she had no thought for anything else, or whether she considered my apprehensions groundless, her only reply was a smile and a motion of her head, as her horse carried her away from me, which I interpreted asmeant to reassure me, and I gave my horse his head.
From time to time we heard, far over on the mountainside, the sound of the woodcutter's axe, falling against the oak with measured stroke,—that slow, heavy stroke that is taken up and exaggerated by the echoes,—then the creaking of the falling tree, the shout of warning, and the thud of the giant as it measured its length upon the earth, crashing among the underbrush. Owing to the frequent windings of the woodland path, and the uncertain character of the ground, we were obliged to moderate our speed, and as we came upon the open land between the hills, the barking of the dogs reached us, loud for a moment, then faint again, as some intervening object came between us.
"You hear the dogs!" cried Odile; "we are on the right path after all!"
And as the sounds became more distinct with each moment, I was satisfied that she was right.
Here and there, as we entered a dark defile, we saw the fire of the charcoal-burner beneath the shadowy boughs, spreading its purple ring over the snow-crust and even to the tops of the swaying firs, then drawing its uncertain rays the closer until it was no longer but a spark, only to spread them out again yet wider than before. The outline of the charcoal-burner, stooping over the flame, with his broad-brimmed hat flattened on his shoulders, smoking his short, black pipe, and turning potatoes in the embers, reminded me at a distance of the trolls that are said to quarrygems of untold value in the centre of the earth.
The noise of the dogs, forming a discordant, frenzied concert, grew nearer every moment. At length a sharp turn to the left, as we emerged from the deep, narrow glen which we had been traversing for some minutes past, brought us, it almost seemed, right upon the game, so startling was the uproar that greeted us.
I was now convinced that we had happened upon the right path, and I expected momentarily to come upon the Count's party engaged in securing the game. I glanced back to see if Becker and his comrades were near us, but our frequent windings through the forest would have concealed them completely from our view, even had they followed us.
Up to this point I had been vaguely regretting my inexperience in the hunt, though I still had little realization of the danger that might threaten us. But now, as I heard the loud blare of Sebalt's horn not above a quarter of a mile before us, I felt entirely reassured, and both Odile and I were looking expectantly for the forms of the Count and his huntsmen among the trees.
A few rods further on we came upon a brake, half swamp, half stubble, beyond which, as far as the eye could reach, the sun once more shone brightly. We advanced at a walk, which the treacherous nature of the ground made necessary. The din of the maddened dogs, and a strange, ominous snarl, the like of which I had never before heard, told us that the beast was run, or nearly run, to earth.
"Whose hand will the slaying fall to to-day?" I exclaimed laughingly to Odile.
"To my father's, if his aim is true," replied Odile excitedly.
She had hardly finished these words when a sudden parting of the bushes before us brought us into a crescent-shaped clearing some fifty yards in extent, and entered at its opposite side by the other forest path. Directly in the centre of this clearing, surrounded by a score of dogs that had seized him by the ears and neck, and were vainly endeavoring to bear him down, regardless of those of their number who had succumbed to his savage tusks,—was a huge wild boar!
I confess to a sensation of horror at the sight. I glanced involuntarily atOdile, whom I would have given anything in the gift of man to see removed as far as possible from the spot. She, apparently undaunted still, though with a shade less color in her fair cheeks, turned hastily towards me and motioned me to hand her my rifle. I complied with misgiving, silently cursing my ignorance of the weapon's use, and in another moment Odile was gazing along its glistening barrel.
There was a report, and though the aim was true it failed of its effect. And now the raging brute, infuriated by the pain of the wound, charged directly upon Odile, heedless of the sharp fangs which lacerated him, unchecked by the combined strength of the pack.
My dismay was complete when, the next moment, the frightened animalwhich Odile rode, rearing up at the boar's furious onslaught, lost its footing in the treacherous bog-land and fell on its side,—happily upon its right side.
"I FELL UPON MY KNEE BEFORE THE BRUTE.""I FELL UPON MY KNEE BEFORE THE BRUTE."
Leaping to the ground, I had only time to seize my love about the waist and swing her beyond the reach of the horse's flying hoofs, when the boar was upon me. There was no time for reflection. I fell upon my knees before the brute, my hunting-knife extended straight before me, and heldwith all the strength of my arm.
So quickly works the eye sometimes, in moments of danger, that in this instant I saw the Count, or rather, perhaps, he came within my range of vision, pale as death, and riding at the highest speed along the opposite path, whileclose behind him followed Gideon and Kraft.
The knife in my hand never swerved, for the love I bore Odile steadied my arm as I fancy that alone could have done. The mad rush of the boar was but the means of his surer destruction. He came straight upon theknife, and the momentum of his ponderous body drove the steel deep through his heart. I felt the gush of his life's blood pour over my arm and chest; then I heard a cry from Odile's lips and a shout of wild triumph from the Count and his huntsmen; then I fell backwards, my consciousness half crushed out by the enormous weight of the brute's body as it struck against me in its swaying fall to the earth.
A moment later Odile, oblivious toall around her, had thrown herself into my arms and burst into uncontrollable tears. The crisis of the moment just passed had completely unnerved her and robbed her of her usual calm control.
We stood thus when the Count reined up before us.
"Ha! is it so?" he exclaimed, endeavoring to hide his emotion beneath a joking exterior. "And why not? Who deserves better of a woman than the lad who has saved her life and her father's too!" And as Sebalt and Gideon rode up, all three jumped from their saddles and wrung my hands, while good old Sperver beamed with gratified pride, and pulled the brim of his hat down over his eyes to screen them from the glare of the sun.
These words of the Count had filled our cup of happiness to the brim. Though I had dared to hope for little exception on his part when I should determine to impart to him my wishes, yet this complete and cordial acceptance of the relationship existing between Odile and myself filled me with unwonted exultation. Nor was the Count's satisfaction any less, I believe, as he realized that the fulfilment of that desire which lay nearest his heart was now assured him. It seemed, moreover, that he had guessed something of the truth during the hours which we had passed together in his sick-room.
"Aye," said he, in speaking of it afterwards, "did you think I had not weighed my words, Gaston, when I promised you any reward you shouldrequire of me? And was I wrong in believing that such a spirited lad as you, and one after my own heart, might find his happiness in Odile; for she is lovely, is she not, though she is my child?"
For all answer, I drew Odile closer to me, and kissed the fair face that rested on my shoulder.
The body of the boar was strapped across the backs of the two horses which the beaters, Wilhelm Mölz and Yeri Scharf, relinquished for the purpose, themselves returning on foot to the Castle.
I looked with strange fascination at the shaggy brute that had so nearly put an end to all my cherished prospects. The bristling, wiry hair running over head and shoulders and extending half-way to the haunches; the broadyellow tusks that forced up the black, leathery upper lip; the small, savage eyes now glazed and half-closed in death, all inspired me with reluctant curiosity and loathing.
We retraced our road to the Castle, walking our jaded mounts. The dogs followed close behind us, their tongues lolling from their mouths, and eyeing at intervals their fallen foe, as if not yet sure that he was beyond renewing the combat.
As we reached the eventful fork in the forest path, the Count drew up:
"Here's where you went astray," he said; "you didn't see the bit of red flannel, torn from the lining of Sebalt's jacket, that we pinned to the tree, just here, within the left-hand path? ByJove, it's gone! This stiff breeze must have drawn it against the knife's edge and cut it through. Look! There it is, caught in the thicket."
Sure enough, a long strip of red flannel was fluttering in the twigs of the underbrush a few feet away.
"I shudder when I think how we might be returning now!" exclaimed the Count, and a look of gloom settled for a moment upon his face.
Gideon rode up to the tree, and pulling out his hunting-knife, restored it to his belt. We looked thoughtfully along the fateful path for several minutes still. Then we resumed our homeward course.
It was towards two o'clock when we trooped into the courtyard. We presented a somewhat less spirited appearancethan at our setting out at daybreak, but we were victorious and happy, nevertheless.
While the huntsmen and hostlers were busy in removing the boar and caring for the dogs and horses, the Count continued to the lodge gate, and Odile and I followed him leisurely, along the rugged path.
As we passed the lodge room, wherein we could descry the dwarf and a half-dozen other figures seated about the fireplace, Offenloch stepped out, and bowing to the Count, he said:
"Some musicians from the Forest, monsieur! They ask permission to play in the Castle this evening in return for food and a night's lodging."
"Good!" said the Count; "music is just what we want, and such as thesefellows play! For I was just sending for you, Offenloch, to bid you prepare a feast to-night worthy of the triple event to be celebrated. Tell all the people of the Castle to be present in the dining-room at eight o'clock, and see that no one of them all is missing. These players shall furnish us music. Let nothing be wanting to every one's pleasure."
The delighted butler smiled expectantly, and withdrew to carry out his master's instructions.
We continued to the drawing-room, where we took leave of one another to prepare for the evening's festivities. A few minutes later I found myself in my chamber. I was pretty thoroughly used up with the unusual experiences of the morning, and throwing off my borrowedclothes, I lay down on my bed, where I presently fell into a leaden slumber.
I woke some hours later, much refreshed, to find the sun set and my tower chamber dark. After five minutes of yawning and stretching, I got up, and striking a light, I set about to prepare myself for the feast.
Meanwhile I reflected—in that state of complete happiness which life cannot offer twice, and which it does not often fall to our lot that first time to embrace—upon the circumstances of my present. It seemed like the touch of the genie's hand that I should now find myself installed for all time at Nideck, the accepted lover of its mistress, and beloved by its master, the Count.
I was still reflecting in this wise as Iwent down the stairs to the dining-room. I found a gay company assembled there. Many of the faces were new to me, as I had never penetrated to the remoter parts of the Castle; but all were gay and laughing, and bespoke impatient expectation of the amusement in store for them. The arrangements for the repast were elaborate and complete, and worthy of their projector, Offenloch.
Hardly had the members of the household finished greeting me, when Odile appeared on the Count's arm, her exquisite beauty well set off by a rich gown of black brocade that made her complexion dazzling by contrast, and in her hair a single band of jewels.
They proceeded to the head of the table, and the Count motioned me tohim. Then, with Odile on his right hand and I at his left, he addressed the gathering:
"My friends," said he, "you shall now know the purpose of your being called hither to-night. It is to celebrate the greatest of all events in the lives of three of us; namely, the saving of your mistress's life this morning, as you have doubtless already heard, and the restoration of your master's health, both the work of Monsieur de la Roche beside me here" (I experienced much more embarrassment than gratification at this unexpected eulogy), "and lastly, that which is fraught with like significance for us all, the betrothal of your mistress and our benefactor!"
At this point the Count was interrupted by a chorus of cheers that wereprolonged for several moments. As the noise subsided he went on:
"It is well known to you all how dear to me the thought has been of feeling that the ancient line of Nideck, which has held an honorable place in the history of Alsace for many centuries, should continue to flourish long after I, Count Hermann, shall have passed away. That time is not far distant, and when it comes it rejoices me to think that I shall hand over to these young people beside me here the future of my race. Your young master has endeared himself already to your hearts, and he will continue to do so during the years which are to come. Your devotion to me in the past has been complete, and the memory of it is one of the proudest of my possessions; and now I ask you toextend this devotion to those who shall succeed me when I in turn pass on the Castle and its lands. And now but one more word. This night shall be devoted to revelry, and there should be no downcast eye among us! He who rejoices most shall best prove his loyalty to his house. Eat, drink, and be merry! The Count of Nideck requires it of you!"
He paused, and a chorus of shouts greeted his message of good-will. The old housekeeper wiped her eyes with a corner of her apron, while some of the younger maids were reduced even to whimpering; the men maintained a sturdy silence, but it was evident that all, especially the old steward, the dwarf, and the master of the hounds, were no less affected than the women.
Ere we resumed our seats, the ancient wassail-bowl of the Nidecks, blackened by centuries past, was filled to overflowing with sparkling wine from the Drachenfels, and went the round of the table, each one draining all he could at a breath. The generous draught served to increase the already growing hilarity. The happy eyes and faces sparkled more brightly under its magic spell. Then, in response to a signal from the Count, we seated ourselves about the board.
The table fairly groaned beneath its burden of dishes ranged everywhere with lavish profusion. Bottles of all shapes and sizes, cobwebbed and redolent of the Castle's earthen vaults, were dotted all about, with glasses of as various patterns beside them, and long-stemmedpipes lay beside the plate of each smoker, while an army of small dishes, the contents of which I could not even guess, were ranged the length of the board. Directly in the centre of it all, in an enormous platter of flowered china, rested the head of the ill-favored boar, swimming in a lake of white wine sauce.
The meal progressed; the merriment increased. To-night there was license everywhere, and each one enjoyed himself after his own manner. Healths were emptied with marvellous rapidity till I felt my head reeling with the fumes of the wine and the intoxication of happiness.
An hour passed. The Count, Odile, and I, were toasted at intervals of every few minutes. I wondered how long thisstate of things could continue successfully. I looked about me.
There was Sperver, a little distance down the table, with his thin forehead and bristling gray head, his eyes shining and his mustache wet with wine; at his right sat Knapwurst and on his left Marie Lagoutte. His cheeks were a good deal flushed, and on his breast sparkled the badge of his office; it was a pleasure to see his honest, happy face. Marie Lagoutte was even more loquacious than was her wont; her large, cotton cap was pushed very much to one side, and she drank first with one and then with another with the greatest impartiality.
Knapwurst, squatting in his armchair, his head on a level with Sperver's elbow, looked like an enormous cabbage. Thencame Tobias Offenloch, so red that he looked as though he had dipped his face in the wine before him. His wig rested against the chair-back, and his wooden leg was stuck straight out before him under the table. Further on, Sebalt's long, melancholy face stood out in grotesque relief, smiling faintly into his glass.
There were, besides the musicians, the serving-men and women, domestics and hangers-on,—all that little world, in short, which lives and flourishes around great families as the moss, the ivy, and the convolvulus cling about the forest oak. Their eyes were moist with wine-begotten tears. The Vine of Bacchus wept freely everywhere. The light of the great bronze lamp shed over all its beautiful amber tint and left in theshadows the old gray walls where hung in wreaths the trumpets, bugles, and horns of the former lords of the Castle. The scene was like a glimpse from ages past.
The roof rang with songs and shouts, and ballads long lain dormant in the minds of the singers now came forth and woke the startled echoes of the Castle.
For my part, I did little else but listen and occupy myself with the faces about me; for thanks to the exercise of the morning and my long inhaling of the old wine, smelling of vervain and cypress, that mounted to my brain, and clothed all things for me in vague, unreal beauty, I was in that wholly receptive mood which disaffects even the semblance of effort.
So I listened with entire complacency to the singularly successful efforts of the entertainers, who were elated to an unusual degree by every circumstance of the occasion.
The evening wore on. The boar's head had disappeared; the array of small dishes was reduced to a mass of indistinguishable débris; one set of bottles had been emptied and replaced by another, and our pipe-bowls were aglow.
At this point the Count suggested that we should have music. The musicians, having enjoyed their fill of food and wine, and burned out a generous pipe, hastened to comply.
Taking up their instruments, they moved over before the hearth, where seats had been arranged for them inthe form of a semicircle. They seated themselves, and began to put their instruments in tune.
It was a picturesque sight, these sons of the Black Forest seated in the dim light of the hall,—the old harper, bent with years, leaning over his instrument; next him a short, thick-set fellow, whom his comrades called Black Pierre, passively supporting his 'cello, and gazing about him curiously at the unfamiliar objects in the room; at his side the handsome, jovial-looking flute player, a picture of rugged health and careless good humor; while next in line came a man of medium stature, whose indistinctive features were rendered more so by the large creases in his cheeks, made by supporting his violin, which he held firmly beneath his square chin,while he tightened the horse-hair of his bow; and finally, to complete the semicircle, the clarinet player, a slight, sunburned boy, scarce turned eighteen, unmistakably a member of one of those numerous Gypsy bands whose camps are always to be found in the plateau of the Rothalps between Alsace and Lorraine.
The music began, and in justice to the vagabond players it must be said that it was of no ordinary degree of excellence. All the fire and pathos of their lawless natures was blended in the melody; now low and sad and tender as the reveries of old age itself; then rising and swelling into a burst of passion and longing that bewildered and electrified you; then in the midst of all this followed a lively measure,persuasive and careless, that in turn gave way to a waltz, foolish, palpitating, wanton.
I sat enchanted, my eyes roving over the faces of those around me. Odile, too, seemed to find the strains a fitting accompaniment to her thoughts, for she nodded approvingly at me from time to time, and once I thought I saw a tear hang on her eyelash. However, that may have been mere imagination, as I invariably become sentimental with my third bottle.
After a little the music began again. This time it was Schiller's "Brigands," and this more ambitious undertaking was rendered with a spirit and understanding hardly to be looked for in those who rarely aspired higher than the audiences of the inns, or the woodcutter'sgatherings in the shambles of the forest.
I glanced once more about me. Everyone's eyes were fastened on the flooring. Even the frowzy scullion, who winced as he became conscious of my gaze, and passed the back of his hand across his nose apologetically, seemed lifted for the moment from his pots and kettles to loftier thoughts. Other pieces followed; there were those to suit every mood and fancy. The Count was enthusiastic in his applause at the end of each number, and demanded more, while the others expressed their satisfaction with clapping and stamps on the stone floor.
When at last the music came to an end, the players were rewarded with generous gold pieces by the master, andreturned well satisfied to the table to wear away what little was left of the night, in wine and conversation.
The hour was late. The old clock ticked on in the chimney-corner, and groaned in its casing as its heavy weights ran out their length. The fire fell on the hearth; the great yule logs of the early evening had given out their substance, and now were crumbling away into ruddy embers and soft, flaky ashes. And still the merriment continued, still glasses were filled and drained, and still the call for songs and stories went on.
At length, at that hour when fatigue begins to assert itself over inclination, when vitality is low, and the shadows become deeper, colder, and the night more mysterious, then it was that the Count exclaimed:
"Each one shall sing a final song except Knapwurst, for he has a voice like a bull-frog, but he is first in story-telling in all Alsace! When it comes his turn he shall tell us a story. Sperver, you shall begin with the song of Black Hatto the Burgrave!
"I am the king of these mountains of mine."
And the steward, rising and standing like the figure of the wild huntsman in the heather, thundered forth the song with wonderful effect. The entire room joined in the chorus, and the old suits of mail fairly creaked and trembled with the sound.
"Bravo!" cried the Count. "Nobly done, Sperver! It is your turn now, Becker! Sing what you like!"
Becker, whose arm had stolen unperceivedaround Gretchen's waist, got up hastily, in some embarrassment, and steadying himself against the table, complied with a species of madrigal, proclaiming the virtues of lasses of the present, and claiming in a loud refrain that they were quite the equal of those of the olden times. And in truth they were, judging from the fair faces at intervals about the board, sitting with their eyes veiled by long, drooping lashes, as sleep and the wine were now stealing over them. The kennel-keeper's tribute to their charms served to arouse them, however, and they stole shy and gratified glances at each other as he sang.
After Becker, the Gypsy youth followed with a herdsman's jodel, and so the round was gradually completed.
The clock struck two from its niche in the corner. The last embers flared up and fell. The lamp burned low.
"A story from Knapwurst now!" exclaimed the Count; "and then the day is done!"
A complete silence succeeded; Knapwurst's quaint relations were favorites, it seemed.
The dwarf, half-tipsy as a result of his liberal potations, rested his elbows on the table, and with his fists dug into his hollow cheeks, and his eyes staring out of his head, he began in a harsh, monotonous voice:
"Bernhard Hertzog relates that the Burgrave Hugh, surnamed the Wolf, the founder of Nideck, having become old, used to cover his head with a sort of hood that fell down about his shoulders,which he wore over his steel helmet when engaged in combat; when he wished to breathe more easily, he removed the helmet and covered his head with the hood alone, the scallops of which hung down about his waist. Up to the age of eighty-two, Hugh still wore his armor, though he could hardly breathe in it. Then he sent for Otto of Burlach, his chaplain; Hugh, his eldest son; Berthold, his second son; and his daughter, Bertha, of the red hair, the wife of a Saxon chief named Zaan, and said to them, 'Your mother, the she-wolf, has bequeathed to you her claws; her blood is mixed with mine, and it will be born again among you from century to century, and weep among the snows of the Black Forest. Some will say, 'It is the moaningof the wind!' Others, 'Hark! The owl hoots!' But it is your blood, mine, and the blood of the she-wolf who made me to murder Elfreda, my first wife before God and the Holy Church! Yes, she has perished by my hand. Cursed be the she-wolf, for it is written, 'I will visit the crime of the father upon the children, unto the third and fourth generations;' aye, until justice be done.' And old Hugh died. From that day the north wind has sobbed, and the owl has hooted, and the lost traveller by night knows not that it is the blood of the she-wolf bemoaning her crime. 'And she will bemoan it,' says Hertzog, 'from century to century, until that day when Hugh's first wife, Elfreda, shall reappear in the form of an angel at Nideck, to pardon and console.'"
The dwarf paused, and silence succeeded, which lasted for a full minute; then he continued, with drunken gravity, pointing his long forefinger at Odile:
"There is she who was to return to pardon and console. She has returned. At this moment she is sitting beside the Count, our master! Look, sirs! Do you not recognize her? Is it not she? Henceforth the lords of Nideck may rest in peace, for justice is done, and the good angel of this noble house has returned."