"Herr Kaiser, since yesterday. She has not returned to the Schloss;
her steed came back without its rider. We sent out messengers, but
none have found her."
The Kaiser turns pale.
"And thou hast not told me till now! Reinhilde, Reinhilde not here?
Merciful God! Reinhilde, my child! Lost in the forest in storm and
tempest! Up; ring the alarm! To horse! to horse! Let loose the
hounds in the forest; let the horns resound that my child may know
the father calls. Bring me my steed, I will myself ride forth into
the storm."
And a thousand torches light up the forest, and the echo of a
thousand voices rings far and wide. And the Kaiser's voice combats
with the storm as he cries, "Reinhilde! Reinhilde! my little
daughter!"
At length despair seizes the father's heart, he throws himself to the
earth in wild agony, beats his brow and tears his hair, while a troop
of attendants stand weeping around him.
With a sudden light in his face, he springs to his feet and exclaims,
"Back to the Schloss! There is one who will find Reinhilde, but that
one pines in the dungeon. He has loved her like me. I know his love
is true; the God of love will be with him; _he_ will find my little
daughter." And the Kaiser commands, "Let Werner be set free! And
when he finds Reinhilde, she herself shall be his reward; let her be
his wife, and he my son!"
In the dark mountain cave, on the hard, cold ground, kneels the
silver-haired hermit Volkmar, and without before the entrance, by the
image of the Virgin, Reinhilde, pale and trembling, is kneeling, in
prayer. She vows to become the bride of heaven if the Kaiser does
not relent.
The good old man, when she came yesterday telling him all her sorrow,
received her lovingly, and gave her a secure refuge in his peaceful
retreat. "Stay here, my daughter," he said; "hope and trust in God."
Hark! The horns are heard, and Volkmar rises hastily from his knees
and cries, "Quick, in the cave, Reinhilde, that no one see thee; the
way leads close by the Virgin's shrine."
The searchers come, and cry, "God greet thee Volkmar! Hast thou not
seen the Kaiser's daughter?"
And Volkmar replies, "I have only seen a bride of heaven, who is
resting in the cave."
They ride on, and Volkmar asks the trembling Reinhilde, "Hast thou
heard? They are seeking thee."
"My father has disowned me. I stand alone. Only in the Kloster can
I find a home."
And now a single man approaches, stops by the entrance, throws
himself on his knees before the shrine of the Virgin, and as
Reinhilde hears the voice she trembles and turns pale, for the Kaiser
it is who prays.
She exclaims in anguish, "It is my father, but I do not answer, for
he has disowned me his child. I stand in the world alone. Only in
the Kloster can I find a home."
The Kaiser rides forth with his train, and a knight comes on foot and
alone, kneels before the shrine and prays, and at the sound of his
voice Reinhilde's eye grows bright.
His prayer ended his voice rings mightily through the forest as he
cries in love and longing, "Reinhilde! Reinhilde!"