Wilhelm Hauff

“ The old castle of Lichtenstein has long since fallen into ruin. A huntsman's house now occupies its foundations, light and airy, like a castle in the air, which imagination builds upon the ruins of antiquity. Würtemberg's fields spread themselves before the enchanted eye, rich and blooming as formerly, when Bertha by the side of her lover gazed upon them, and the most unhappy of her princes cast a farewell glance on his country from Lichtenstein's windows. The subterranean apartments of the castle, which received the exile, are still to be seen, in all their pride and glory ”

“ The piercing eye of Fronsberg darted a searching look at Albert. "You are too young, and I believe too honourable, to be guilty of such a villanous deed," said he; "and should you even have had such an intention, we know you would have scarcely quitted the League, but have remained among us as Würtemberg's spy. This clears you in my mind. Appearances, however, are against you."
"Am I then so evil spoken against? If you have a particle of regard for me, tell me who is the wretch that has thus calumniated me," said Albert, starting up in anger.
"Do not be so violent," replied Fronsberg. ”

“ Banish gloomy thoughts from your mind, nunc vino pellite curas; drink, and let us hope for better times. I pledge you in this Würtemberg wine,--'to the Duke's happy return with his faithful followers!'"
These words seemed to reanimate the sunken spirits of the knight, and like a ray of sunshine shed a smile over his features. "Yes!" he cried, "sweet is the word which sends comfort to the broken-hearted; it is like a drop of cold water to refresh the weary wanderer in the desert. Forget my weakness, my friend; pardon it in a man who otherwise never gives place to grief. ”

“ With God's will, I have seen the sun set for the last time in Ulm!"
"And is it really true what I also heard, but which I cannot believe," asked Kraft, with astonishment, "that Albert von Sturmfeder would quit our good cause on account of this trifle?"
"To wound a man's honour is by no means a trifle," replied Albert, gravely; "at least, according to my mind. But having carefully reconsidered what you call your good cause, I find I should have to draw my sword neither in an honourable nor a just one, but only to satisfy the cupidity of a few unwashed townsfolk." ”

“ Do not blush so, as if you had some great sin to confess, this being the moment to act. Venerable father," said he, turning to the knight of Lichtenstein, "I appear before you as the intercessor of a couple of loving hearts. You will not disdain the son-in-law whom I propose to you?"
"I do not understand you, gracious Lord," said the knight, looking with astonishment at his daughter.
The Duke took Albert's hand, and led him to the old man. "This young man loves your daughter, and she is not indifferent to him,--what think you of making them a happy couple? ”

“ Albert tried all means to console her and stop her tears; and so far succeeded, as to enable her to answer his questions respecting the army of the League.
"Ah! sir," she said, "terror and misery are our portion now-a-days! it is just as if a wild huntsman were riding on the clouds, driving over the country with his ghost hounds. They have overrun all the low country, and now the whole force is gone to attack Tübingen."
"So all the fortresses are in their hands?" said Albert, astonished: "Höllenstein, Schorndorf, Göppingen, Teck, Urach--are they all taken?" ”

“ But when the Duke of Bavaria creates you a knight on the field of battle, for carrying desolation through our fields, when he decorates the neck of Albert von Sturmfeder with the chain of honour, for having been the foremost in crushing Würtemberg's citizens, may the joy of your thoughts not be troubled then, by having broken the heart of one so true to you--of one who loved you so tenderly! ”

“ The departure of all the men, young and old, who could carry arms, caused many a beautiful eye to weep that night, when they marched out of Stuttgardt with the Duke, to the field of battle; but the wailing of the women and young maidens was drowned in the warlike noise of the marching army, resembling the sobs of a child amidst the raging of the elements. Bertha's grief, though almost overpowering, was silent, as she accompanied her husband to the door, where his servants awaited him and her father with their horses. ”

“ The prisoners were guarded by Peter, the brave Magdeburger, and Staberl of Vienna. They stood at their post with outstretched legs, their halberds resting on the floor, upright as candles.
"I say, we have important business at present," continued the Duke; "but why do you look so intent upon him with the rose-coloured gown? he is a hardened sinner; the sword is being sharpened for his neck!"
"Will your highness allow me but one word," replied Albert. "I know that man, and would stake all I possess in the world, that he is a peaceable subject; and positively not a criminal who deserves death." ”

“ The question now is, to ascertain who it is that the people love. The League, by their violent measures, have estranged the public mind from them; this was therefore precisely the most favourable moment for the Duke to appear in the country, for all hearts are with him; but if you repel the good feeling of the people by insidious measures, if you attempt to destroy the ancient laws and institutions, and build upon their ruins your own invented constitution, oh, beware! beware of the consequences, and remember that the love of the people is the only powerful support upon which you can rely. ”

“ Believe that your name is destined to nourish in distant, very distant times, in the land of your forefathers, and that in remote ages the Princes of Würtemberg will bear the features of your generation."
"Well, then, I will hope so," replied Ulerich von Würtemberg; "I will continue to hope, that the country will still hold to us, dark as our present lot may appear. May our grand-children never experience such hard times as we have, and may it ever be said they are--fearless."
"And faithful!" added the fifer of Hardt, with emphasis, as he rose from his seat. ”

“ Taxes are oppressive--the injury done to our fields by hunting is ruinous and galling--and the court squanders what is taken from us;--but when such a master, though tyrant he be, is in misfortune, it is quite a different thing. The only feeling now among us is, that he is our legitimate Duke; and, though unfortunate, he is a brave man, whom his enemies would drive from his country. A whisper was no sooner circulated that he wished to fight a battle, than each man grasped his sword firmer, shook his spear fiercely, and vociferated loud curses on the League. ”

“ The country is a mere bit of parchment in the eyes of Ambrosius, to be turned and twisted according to his whim. He'll know how to shape and fashion it preparatory to meeting the Duke's eye; but he'll keep the pen in his own hand. But, as old Rosel would say, 'Any fool can cut out; the art is to sew the garment together.'" Thus thought the knight of Lichtenstein, in passing along the gallery. He seized his long white beard in anger; whilst his heart beat with zeal in the cause of Würtemberg. ”

“ He stopped every moment in fresh surprise, and holding the torch high up, viewed in amazement and wonder the lofty and majestic vaulted arches which continued the whole length of the cavern, sparkling and glittering like thousands of crystals and diamonds. But his astonishment was still more excited when his leader, turning to the left, conducted him into a spacious grotto, which fancy might figure to itself the magnificent saloon of the subterranean palace.
The fifer could not help remarking the powerful impression which this wonder of nature made on the mind of the young man. ”

“ He who seeks to better his fortune, let him conduct a wife home. I am fifty years old, and still on the look-out for a partner; and you, also, Dieterich von Kraft, are you not upon the same scent?"
"Not at all,--quite the contrary,--I am already provided," he replied, as if awoke out of a dream; "when one sees such a couple, we know what is next to be done. I am going to put myself, this very hour, into my sedan, on my journey to Ulm, there to conduct my cousin Marie to my home. ”

“ Bertha had stood aloof, with tears in her eyes. She now drew near with hesitating step, put her hand on his shoulder, and, beholding him with a look of tender compassion, at last took courage to say, "My Lord Duke! it is still good Würtemberg for ever!"
A deep sigh escaping from his breast, was the only notice he took of the kind girl's solicitude. Albert then approached him. The expression which the exile had made use of, when they first met, flashed across his mind, and he ventured to address the same words now to his afflicted friend. "Man without a name," said he, "why so downhearted? ”

“ Ah! if he had a hundred hearts such as yours, not a rag of the League's ensigns would ever float over the castles of Würtemberg;--could I but persuade you to join his cause! Far be it from me, however, to invite you to share his misery; it is enough that your sword, and an arm such as yours, do not belong to his enemies. May your days be happier than his! may heaven reward your good opinion of an unfortunate man!"
The spirit which breathed throughout the words of the exile, struck many a corresponding chord in the heart of Albert. ”

“ The Duke of Bavaria had advanced into the heart of the country, and the call to arms startled Albert out of the embrace of his beloved wife.
Nature had gifted her with a strength of mind, and a superiority of character, which entered into every transaction of her life, and exists only in that purity of soul which commits its dearest interests into the hands of a higher Power, with implicit confidence. ”

“ Such was the result of this adventure upon the mind of Albert, that he felt it relieved of a mountain's weight of trouble and anxiety, with which, but a few moments back, it had been oppressed. The malicious reports of the hostess of the Golden Stag, which he had too readily given credit to, now stung him with shame and remorse. He would willingly have risked every thing at that moment to have gained admittance to the castle, and thrown himself at the feet of his beloved, to implore her forgiveness for having given place to a doubt of her faithful attachment. ”

“ The Duke stopped his horse, and looked about him in the dead silence which afterwards succeeded. The fifer then came forward, knelt down, holding his stirrup for him to dismount, and said, "Here's to good Würtemberg for ever!"
"Ha! are you there, Hans, my trusty companion in misfortune, the first to salute me in Würtemberg? I expected my nobles would have been the foremost to greet my arrival in my country, my chancellor and my council--where are the dogs? Where are the representatives of my estates? will they not welcome me to my home? Is no one here to hold my stirrup but this peasant?" ”

“ He replied with a sarcastic and malignant smile, "A little more, and you would call him the handsome Duke; who, for aught I know, if he were aware what an advocate he had in you, might think it worth his trouble to ingratiate himself in your heart, and supplant poor Albert."
"I really did not think you capable of such petty jealousy," Bertha answered, and turned away, with a tear of indignation starting into her eye, from a feeling of wounded dignity. "Cannot you believe it possible for the heart of a young girl to beat warm in the cause of her country?" ”

“ A loud voice, from the person who now held him fast in both his arms, cried, "Run him through, sir; such assassins don't deserve a moment's time to say their paternoster."
"You do it, Hans," said the stranger; "I am not the one to take the life of a defenceless man; run him through with his own sword, and be quick about it."
"Let me rather do it myself, sir," said Albert, with a firm voice; "you have robbed me of my love,--what further need have I of life?" ”

“ I have often thought of you with pride, even when you stood opposed to me in the enemy's ranks. Your name, young as you are, will always be mentioned with respect; for fidelity and courage in an enemy are always highly esteemed by a man of honour. Most of us rejoice that the Duke has escaped, for what could we have done with him? Truchses might perhaps have committed a rash step, which we all might have had cause to repent."
"And what is my fate to be?" asked Albert. "Am I to remain long in prison? Where is the knight of Lichtenstein? ”

“ The experience of a long life has taught me to respect the opinion of others, and to assert that a man who entertains pure and honest views of a subject, is not therefore to be prejudged by another, who may think differently. But when a person changes his colours from real disinterested motives, as you appear to have done, Albert von Sturmfeder, and turns his back upon prosperity, for the noble purpose of allying himself to, and aiding the oppressed, in a just cause, then it is that his virtuous intentions justify his conduct, and carry along with them the stamp of a noble act. ”

“ I can now command hundreds who will cry, 'Long live Ulerich!' nevertheless, that shout is far less dear to me than the toast which you gave me in the cavern, and which was re-echoed through its vaults. I'll repeat it, and give it you back again. May you live happy with your wife,--may your offspring blossom and prosper for ever,--and may Würtemberg never fail in hearts as bold in prosperity and faithful in adversity as yours has proved itself! ”

“ Having satisfied their curiosity, they return to the light of day, more pleased than ever with the glories of sunshine and the comfort of earth's blessings. Ascending the road leading to the heights of Lichtenstein, they arrive on its summit, where the men, surrounded by their wives and families, with the glass in the hand, overlook the distant fields, displayed to their view in all the lovely colours of the setting sun, and, with grateful hearts, thank heaven for the blessings of their father-land. ”

“ Ay! what does one live to see? Young Albert, it is you who have been upbraiding my child!"
During this rapid flow of exclamations, Albert in vain sought to escape from the old woman, and though he determined, in the heat of the moment, to leave the castle, he felt it unseemly to let her suppose he had been quarrelling with Bertha. He shook off the grasp which the nurse had of him, and, in spite of her reproachful smile, took the hand of Bertha, at the same time pressing it to his heart. ”

“ They were all well mounted and armed. Albert von Sturmfeder carried Würtemberg's banner; next to him rode the Duke in complete armour. When they came within about two hundred paces of the lansquenet, Long Peter, in a loud voice, said to his people, "Attention, my people. When his Grace is near enough, and I raise my hat off my head, let every one cry, 'Vivat Ulericus!' lower the colours, and you, drummers, rattle upon your sheep-skins like thunder and lightning! Give us the animating flourish of the drum as at the storming of a fortress! ”

“ Ulerich himself had examined the post. In vain did Albert von Sturmfeder endeavour to persuade him that the garrison of Stuttgardt was too weak to make any formidable resistance, in vain did he represent to him the desire the burghers had to see him again, and would willingly open the gates, the Duke looked darker than the night, pressed his lips together, and gnashed his teeth in anger.
"You don't understand these things," he muttered to the young man; "you don't know the world; they are all false; never trust any one but yourself. They accommodate themselves to every change of wind. ”

“ The knights who followed an army seldom fought in solid masses; but with a quick eye, they marked out an adversary from among the ranks of the enemy, rode at him, and fought him with lance and sword. Such a band of gallant men, headed by old Lichtenstein, was that which now closed with Albert's troop. The Duke himself, burning with the desire of wielding his powerful arm, and proving the renown of his far-famed prowess in single combat, was only controlled in this romantic idea by the pressing exhortations of his friends. ”