Johann Karl August Musäus

“ If the language of the heart is unintelligible to you, take the confession of love from my mouth. What hinders us for the future to unite the fate of our lives?”—“Ah!” sighed Godfrey, “your goodness enraptures me; but you know not the vow which binds me, to receive no wife but from the hand of my mother, and not to leave this good mother, till I have performed a child’s last duties, and closed her eyes. Could you resolve to quit your court and follow me to Ardennes, my lot would be the happiest on earth.” ”

“ This advice pleased the lovely Blanche well; the noble pilgrim left her, and spoke without, to the attendants who crowded around him, with feigned words,—“The corpse of your mistress will never again arise; the fountain of life is dried up; all is lost—all is dead.” But the faithful dwarfs, who knew the truth, kept the secret, privately provided the maiden with food and drink, watched round the grave as before, and awaited the return of the pious pilgrim. ”

“ For some time the vain widow enjoyed this imaginary pleasure with secret content, till a strange knight came to her court, who, on the way, had called at the Countess Blanche’s castle, and had found her not in the grave, but at her toilet, and, struck with her beauty, had chosen her for the lady of his heart. ”

“ In a few moments the torpidity disappeared, and soul and life returned into the body. The maiden wondered at the handsome youth who was near her; and the rejoiced dwarfs considered the wonder-worker as a very angel from heaven. Godfrey told the restored one who he was, and she informed him of her fate, and of the persecutions of her cruel stepmother. “You will not,” said Godfrey, “escape the efforts of the poisoner if you do not follow my counsel. Abide still, a short time, in this grave, that it may not be rumoured about that you live. ”

“ After the faithful dwarfs had buried her the first time, and masses had been performed, they, with the weeping servants, kept constant watch by the grave, and often looked through the window into the coffin, to enjoy the sight of their beloved mistress, till corruption should destroy her form. But, with wonder, they perceived, that after a few days, her white cheeks were tinted with a faint blush, the purple of life again began to glow on her faded lips, and soon the maiden opened her eyes. ”

“ Now great wonder seized her, that the figure of this handsome knight should be quite unknown and strange to her; she had never seen him at her court, although there was not a young cavalier in Brabant who had not sought her. She therefore carefully inspected the marks of his armour and livery, stood a whole hour before the mirror, without turning her eyes from the attractive form which she looked at in it; every feature, the whole attitude, and the least peculiarity, which she observed, were fixed in her memory. ”

“ An old spy on men has well observed, that young widows resemble a piece of green wood, which burns at one end while water drops out of the other. The heart of the Countess Richilda could not long remain unoccupied; her morning dress set off her charms so well, that every one pressed to see the beautiful widow. Many knight-errants came to her court to try their fortune, and to seize on the rich prize ”

“ When the pious pilgrim had performed his devotions, and, according to his custom, placed a small gift in the alms-box, he asked the Brother Sacristan why the chapel was hung with black, and what the grief of the whole castle meant? The latter related to him all that had happened to the beautiful Blanche through the wicked hatred of her stepmother. At this Godfrey was much surprised, and said, “Is it permitted to see the corpse of the maiden? Lead me to the grave. If God will, I can call her back to life, if indeed her soul still be in her. ”

“ All the wishes that Henry’s daughter in our days used to dream;—to be admired, flattered, adored, to stand foremost in the ranks of her companions, and to shine above all, like the lovely moon among the little stars ”

“ We are married in a forbidden relationship, that of first cousins; which is almost a marriage between brother and sister, for which no absolution or dispensation is of any avail: this troubles my conscience night and day, and eats into my very soul.”
The good lady might oppose and object as much as she pleased, to quiet her lord’s conscience; it was useless trouble. “Ah! beloved husband,” said she. “if you have no pity for your unhappy wife, pity our innocent babe!” A flood of bitter tears followed these words. But the iron breast of the wicked man felt not the seven-fold sorrow of his wife ”

“ Give a maiden of the eighteenth or of the thirteenth century a wise, clever man, in a word a Socrates, for a lover; place beside him a handsome man, an Adonis, Ganymede, or Endymion, and give her the choice; you may lay a hundred to one, that she will turn coldly away from the former, and foolishly choose one of the latter. Just so the beautiful Richilda! Among her lovers were many handsome men ”

“ The Countess did not take long to consider; she agreed to all that he desired. The proposal to leave Brabant did not much please her, nor the stepmother either, whom she thought a troublesome addition; but love overcame all. With great celerity was the procession prepared, the persons of the glittering train appointed, among whom appeared the court physician Sambul, although his beard and both ears were wanting. The cunning Richilda had loosened his fetters, and again graciously accorded to him the former honour of favourite ”

“ In danger of losing a good, one commonly first learns to prize its worth. The beautiful Richilda had formerly often allowed years to pass without taking counsel of the mirror with regard to her beauty, now she let no day pass without doing so. ”

“ Her lord no longer found comfort in his married state; a certain spleen pressed on his soul, the gleams of love had faded from his eyes, and his conscience, of which he had formerly made a hypocritical jest, began now to sting him in earnest. ”

“ The Jew joyfully stroked his beard, put the gold into his pocket, and promised to do what the wicked woman desired. He took a pointed needle, made three little holes in the pomegranate, poured into it a certain liquid; and when the Countess had received the pomegranate, she mounted her horse, and trotted, with a few attendants, to her daughter Blanche, in the solitary castle where the maiden lived. She sent a messenger on before, to give notice that the Countess Richilda was advancing, to visit the maiden, and to weep with her over her father’s loss. ”

“ The beautiful Richiida was acknowledged in her court as the only and highest image of womanly beauty, and because by the testimony of the magic mirror she was indeed the most beautiful woman in Brabant, and possessed great wealth, even many cities and castles, high-born suitors were not wanting. ”