Undine (2nd translation) | Page 4

OF BERTALDA'S NAME-DAY
XII. HOW THEY DEPARTED FROM THE IMPERIAL CITY
XIII. HOW THEY LIVED AT CASTLE RINGSTETTEN
XIV. HOW BERTALDA RETURNED HOME WITH THE KNIGHT
XV. THE JOURNEY TO VIENNA
XVI. HOW IT FARED FURTHER WITH HULDBRAND
XVII. THE KNIGHT'S DREAM
XVIII. HOW THE KNIGHT HULDBRAND IS MARRIED
XIX. HOW THE KNIGHT HULDBRAND WAS BURIED

DEDICATION.
Undine, thou image fair and blest, Since first thy strange mysterious glance, Shone on me from some old romance, How hast thou sung my heart to rest!
How hast thou clung to me and smiled, And wouldest, whispering in my ear, Give vent to all thy miseries drear, A little half-spoiled timorous child!
Yet hath my zither caught the sound, And breathed from out its gates of gold, Each gentle word thy lips have told, Until their fame is spread around.
And many a heart has loved thee well, In spite of every wayward deed, And many a one will gladly read, The pages which thy history tell.
I catch the whispered hope expressed, That thou should'st once again appear; So cast aside each doubt and fear, And come, Undine! thou spirit blest!
Greet every noble in the hall, And greet 'fore all, with trusting air, The beauteous women gathered there; I know that thou art loved by all.
And if one ask thee after me, Say: he's a true and noble knight, Fair woman's slave in song and fight And in all deeds of chivalry.

UNDINE.


CHAPTER I.
HOW THE KNIGHT CAME TO THE FISHERMAN.
There was once, it may be now many hundred years ago, a good old fisherman, who was sitting one fine evening before his door, mending his nets. The part of the country in which he lived was extremely pretty. The greensward, on which his cottage stood, ran far into the lake, and it seemed as if it was from love for the blue clear waters that the tongue of land had stretched itself out into them, while with an equally fond embrace the lake had encircled the green pasture rich with waving grass and flowers, and the refreshing shade of trees. The one welcomed the other, and it was just this that made each so beautiful. There were indeed few human beings, or rather none at all, to be met with on this pleasant spot, except the fisherman and his family. For at the back of this little promontory there lay a very wild forest, which, both from its gloom and pathless solitude as well as from the wonderful creatures and illusions with which it was said to abound, was avoided by most people except in cases of necessity.
The pious old fisherman, however, passed through it many a time undisturbed, when he was taking the choice fish, which he had caught at his beautiful home, to a large town situated not far from the confines of the forest. The principal reason why it was so easy for him to pass through this forest was because the tone of his thoughts was almost entirely of a religious character, and besides this, whenever he set foot upon the evil reputed shades, he was wont to sing some holy song, with a clear voice and a sincere heart.
While sitting over his nets this evening, unsuspicious of any evil, a sudden fear came upon him, at the sound of a rustling in the gloom of the forest, as of a horse and rider, the noise approaching nearer and nearer to the little promontory. All that he had dreamed, in many a stormy night, of the mysteries of the forest, now flashed at once through his mind; foremost of all, the image of a gigantic snow-white man, who kept unceasingly nodding his head in a portentous manner. Indeed, when he raised his eyes toward the wood it seemed to him as if he actually saw the nodding man approaching through the dense foliage. He soon, however, reassured himself, reflecting that nothing serious had ever befallen him even in the forest itself, and that upon this open tongue of land the evil spirit would be still less daring in the exercise of his power. At the same time he repeated aloud a text from the Bible with all his heart, and this so inspired him with courage that he almost smiled at the illusion he had allowed to possess him. The white nodding man was suddenly transformed into a brook long familiar to him, which ran foaming from the forest and discharged itself into the lake. The noise, however, which he had heard, was caused by a knight beautifully apparelled, who, emerging from the deep shadows of the wood, came riding toward the cottage. A scarlet mantle was thrown over his purple gold-embroidered doublet; a red and violet plume waved from his golden-colored head-gear; and a beautifully and richly ornamented sword flashed from his shoulder-belt. The white steed that bore the knight was