forgife me that I not tell that. But I will tell you dere are various
ways--yes, indeed, dere is de dream dat you dream tree times--dat is a
vary goot way.”
“I am glad of that,” said Oldbuck; “I have a friend” (with a side-glance
to Lovel) “who is peculiarly favoured by the visits of Queen Mab.”
“Den dere is de sympathies, and de antipathies, and de strange
properties and virtues natural of divers herb, and of de little
divining-rod.”
“I would gladly rather see some of these wonders than hear of them,”
said Miss Wardour.
“Ah, but, my much-honoured young lady, this is not de time or de way to
do de great wonder of finding all de church’s plate and treasure; but
to oblige you, and Sir Arthur my patron, and de reverend clergymans,
and goot Mr. Oldenbuck, and young Mr. Lofel, who is a very goot young
gentleman also, I will show you dat it is possible, a vary possible,
to discover de spring, of water, and de little fountain hidden in de
ground, without any mattock, or spade, or dig at all.”
“Umph!” quoth the Antiquary, “I have heard of that conundrum. That will
be no very productive art in our country;--you should carry that property
to Spain or Portugal, and turn it to good account.”
“Ah! my goot Master Oldenbuck, dere is de Inquisition and de
Auto-da-fe--they would burn me, who am but a simple philosopher, for one
great conjurer.”
“They would cast away their coals then,” said Oldbuck; “but,” continued
he, in a whisper to Lovel, “were they to pillory him for one of the
most impudent rascals that ever wagged a tongue, they would square the
punishment more accurately with his deserts. But let us see: I think he
is about to show us some of his legerdemain.”
In truth, the German was now got to a little copse-thicket at some
distance from the ruins, where he affected busily to search for such
a wand as would suit the purpose of his mystery: and after cutting and
examining, and rejecting several, he at length provided himself with a
small twig of hazel terminating in a forked end, which he pronounced
to possess the virtue proper for the experiment that he was about to
exhibit. Holding the forked ends of the wand, each between a finger and
thumb, and thus keeping the rod upright, he proceeded to pace the ruined
aisles and cloisters, followed by the rest of the company in admiring
procession. “I believe dere was no waters here,” said the adept, when he
had made the round of several of the buildings, without perceiving
any of those indications which he pretended to expect--“I believe those
Scotch monksh did find de water too cool for de climate, and alwaysh
drank de goot comfortable, Rhinewine. But, aha!--see there!” Accordingly,
the assistants observed the rod to turn in his fingers, although
he pretended to hold it very tight.--“Dere is water here about, sure
enough,” and, turning this way and that way, as the agitation of the
divining-rod seemed to increase or diminish, he at length advanced into
the midst of a vacant and roofless enclosure which had been the kitchen
of the priory, when the rod twisted itself so as to point almost
straight downwards. “Here is de place,” said the adept, “and if you do
not find de water here, I will give you all leave to call me an impudent
knave.”
“I shall take that license,” whispered the Antiquary to Lovel, “whether
the water is discovered or no.”
A servant, who had come up with a basket of cold refreshments, was now
despatched to a neighbouring forester’s hut for a mattock and pick-axe.
The loose stones and rubbish being removed from the spot indicated by
the German, they soon came to the sides of a regularly-built well; and
when a few feet of rubbish were cleared out by the assistance of the
forester and his sons, the water began to rise rapidly, to the delight
of the philosopher, the astonishment of the ladies, Mr. Blattergowl, and
Sir Arthur, the surprise of Lovel, and the confusion of the incredulous
Antiquary. He did not fail, however, to enter his protest in Lovers ear
against the miracle. “This is a mere trick,” he said; “the rascal had
made himself sure of the existence of this old well, by some means or
other, before he played off this mystical piece of jugglery. Mark
what he talks of next. I am much mistaken if this is not intended as
a prelude to some more serious fraud. See how the rascal assumes
consequence, and plumes himself upon the credit of his success, and how
poor Sir Arthur takes in the tide of nonsense which he is delivering to
him as principles of occult science!”
“You do see, my goot patron, you do see, my goot ladies, you do see,
worthy Dr. Bladderhowl, and even Mr. Lofel and Mr. Oldenbuck may see, if
they do will to see, how art has no enemy at all but ignorance. Look at
this little slip of hazel nuts--it is fit for nothing at all but to
whip de little child”--(“I would choose a cat and nine tails for your
occasions,” whispered Oldbuck apart)--“and you put it in the hands of a
philosopher--paf! it makes de grand discovery. But this is nothing,
Sir Arthur,--nothing at all, worthy Dr. Botherhowl--nothing at all,
ladies--nothing at all, young Mr. Lofel and goot Mr. Oldenbuck, to what
art can do. Ah! if dere was any man that had de spirit and de courage, I
would show him better things than de well of water--I would show him”--
“And a little money would be necessary also, would it not?” said the
Antiquary.
“Bah! one trifle, not worth talking about, maight be necessaries,”
answered the adept.
“I thought as much,” rejoined the Antiquary, drily; “and I, in the
meanwhile, without any divining-rod, will show you an excellent venison
pasty, and a bottle of London particular Madeira, and I think that will
match all that Mr. Dousterswivel’s art is like to exhibit.”
The feast was spread fronde super viridi, as Oldbuck expressed himself,
under a huge old tree called the Prior’s Oak, and the company, sitting
down around it, did ample honour to the contents of the basket.
CHAPTER EIGHTEENTH.
As when a Gryphon through the wilderness,
With winged course, o’er hill and moory dale,
Pursues the Arimaspian, who by stealth
Had from his wakeful custody purloined
The guarded gold: So eagerly the Fiend--
Paradise Lost.
When their collation was ended, Sir Arthur resumed the account of the
mysteries of the divining-rod, as a subject on which he had formerly
conversed with Dousterswivel. “My friend Mr. Oldbuck will now be
prepared, Mr. Dousterswivel, to listen with more respect to the stories
you have told us of the late discoveries in Germany by the brethren of
your association.”
“Ah, Sir Arthur, that was not a thing to speak to those gentlemans,
because it is want of credulity--what you call faith--that spoils the
great enterprise.”
“At least, however, let my daughter read the narrative she has taken
down of the story of Martin Waldeck.”
“Ah! that was vary true story--but Miss Wardour, she is so sly and so
witty, that she has made it just like one romance--as well as Goethe or
Wieland could have done it, by mine honest wort.”
“To say the truth, Mr. Dousterswivel,” answered Miss Wardour, “the
romantic predominated in the legend so much above the probable, that it
was impossible for a lover of fairyland like me to avoid lending a few
touches to make it perfect in its kind. But here it is, and if you do
not incline to leave this shade till the heat of the day has somewhat
declined, and will have sympathy with my bad composition, perhaps Sir
Arthur or Mr. Oldbuck will read it to us.”
“Not I,” said Sir Arthur; “I was never fond of reading aloud.”
“Nor I,” said Oldbuck, “for I have forgot my spectacles. But here is
Lovel, with sharp eyes and a good voice; for Mr. Blattergowl, I know,
never reads anything, lest he should be suspected of reading his
sermons.”
The task was therefore imposed upon Lovel, who received, with some
trepidation, as Miss Wardour delivered, with a little embarrassment, a
paper containing the lines traced by that fair hand, the possession of
which he coveted as the highest blessing the earth could offer to
him. But there was a necessity of suppressing his emotions; and after
glancing over the manuscript, as if to become acquainted with the
character, he collected himself, and read the company the following
tale:--
The Fortunes of Martin Waldeck.
The solitudes of the Harz forest in Germany, but especially the
mountains called Blocksberg, or rather Brockenberg, are the chosen
scenes for tales of witches, demons, and apparitions.
[The outline of this story is taken from the German, though the Author
is at present unable to say in which of the various collections of the
popular legends in that language the original is to be found.]
The occupation of the inhabitants, who are either miners or foresters,
is of a kind that renders them peculiarly prone to superstition, and
the natural phenomena which they witness in pursuit of their solitary or
subterraneous profession, are often set down by them to the interference
of goblins or the power of magic. Among the various legends current in
that wild country, there is a favourite one, which supposes the Harz to
be haunted by a sort of tutelar demon, in the shape of a wild man,
of huge stature, his head wreathed with oak leaves, and his middle
cinctured with the same, bearing in his hand a pine torn up by the
roots. It is certain that many persons profess to have seen such a form
traversing, with huge strides, in a line parallel to their own course,
the opposite ridge of a mountain, when divided from it by a narrow glen;
and indeed the fact of the apparition is so generally admitted, that
modern scepticism has only found refuge by ascribing it to optical
deception. *
*The shadow of the person who sees the phantom, being reflected upon a
cloud of mist, like the image of the magic lantern upon a white sheet,
is supposed to have formed the apparition.
In elder times, the intercourse of the demon with the inhabitants was
more familiar, and, according to the traditions of the Harz, he was
wont, with the caprice usually ascribed to these earth-born powers,
to interfere with the affairs of mortals, sometimes for their weal,
sometimes for their wo. But it was observed that even his gifts often
turned out, in the long run, fatal to those on whom they were bestowed,
and it was no uncommon thing for the pastors, in their care of their
flocks, to compose long sermons, the burden whereof was a warning
against having any intercourse, direct or indirect, with the Harz demon.
The fortunes of Martin Waldeck have been often quoted by the aged to
their giddy children, when they were heard to scoff at a danger which
appeared visionary.
A travelling capuchin had possessed himself of the pulpit of the
thatched church at a little hamlet called Morgenbrodt, lying in the
Harz district, from which he declaimed against the wickedness of the
inhabitants, their communication with fiends, witches, and fairies, and,
in particular, with the woodland goblin of the Harz. The doctrines of
Luther had already begun to spread among the peasantry (for the incident
is placed under the reign of Charles V. ), and they laughed to scorn the
zeal with which the venerable man insisted upon his topic. At length,
as his vehemence increased with opposition, so their opposition rose
in proportion to his vehemence. The inhabitants did not like to hear an
accustomed quiet demon, who had inhabited the Brockenberg for so many
ages, summarily confounded with Baal-peor, Ashtaroth, and Beelzebub
himself, and condemned without reprieve to the bottomless Tophet. The
apprehensions that the spirit might avenge himself on them for listening
to such an illiberal sentence, added to their national interest in his
behalf. A travelling friar, they said, that is here to-day and away
to-morrow, may say what he pleases: but it is we, the ancient and
constant inhabitants of the country, that are left at the mercy of the
insulted demon, and must, of course, pay for all. Under the irritation
occasioned by these reflections, the peasants from injurious language
betook themselves to stones, and having pebbled the priest pretty
handsomely, they drove him out of the parish to preach against demons
elsewhere.
Three young men, who had been present and assisting on this occasion
were upon their return to the hut where they carried on the laborious
and mean occupation of preparing charcoal for the smelting furnaces. On
the way, their conversation naturally turned upon the demon of the Harz
and the doctrine of the capuchin. Max and George Waldeck, the two elder
brothers, although they allowed the language of the capuchin to have
been indiscreet and worthy of censure, as presuming to determine upon
the precise character and abode of the spirit, yet contended it was
dangerous, in the highest degree, to accept of his gifts, or hold any
communication with him, He was powerful, they allowed, but wayward and
capricious, and those who had intercourse with him seldom came to a good
end. Did he not give the brave knight, Ecbert of Rabenwald, that famous
black steed, by means of which he vanquished all the champions at
the great tournament at Bremen? and did not the same steed afterwards
precipitate itself with its rider into an abyss so steep and fearful,
that neither horse nor man were ever seen more? Had he not given to Dame
Gertrude Trodden a curious spell for making butter come? and was she not
burnt for a witch by the grand criminal judge of the Electorate, because
she availed herself of his gift? But these, and many other instances
which they quoted, of mischance and ill-luck ultimately attending on
the apparent benefits conferred by the Harz spirit, failed to make any
impression upon Martin Waldeck, the youngest of the brothers.
Martin was youthful, rash, and impetuous; excelling in all the exercises
which distinguish a mountaineer, and brave and undaunted from his
familiar intercourse with the dangers that attend them. He laughed at
the timidity of his brothers. “Tell me not of such folly,” he said; “the
demon is a good demon--he lives among us as if he were a peasant like
ourselves--haunts the lonely crags and recesses of the mountains like
a huntsman or goatherd--and he who loves the Harz forest and its wild
scenes cannot be indifferent to the fate of the hardy children of the
soil. But, if the demon were as malicious as you would make him, how
should he derive power over mortals, who barely avail themselves of his
gifts, without binding themselves to submit to his pleasure? When you
carry your charcoal to the furnace, is not the money as good that is
paid you by blaspheming Blaize, the old reprobate overseer, as if you
got it from the pastor himself? It is not the goblins gifts which can
endanger you, then, but it is the use you shall make of them that you
must account for. And were the demon to appear to me at this moment,
and indicate to me a gold or silver mine, I would begin to dig away
even before his back were turned,--and I would consider myself as under
protection of a much Greater than he, while I made a good use of the
wealth he pointed out to me.”
To this the elder brother replied, that wealth ill won was seldom well
spent; while Martin presumptuously declared, that the possession of all
the treasures of the Harz would not make the slightest alteration on his
habits, morals, or character.
His brother entreated Martin to talk less wildly upon the subject, and
with some difficulty contrived to withdraw his attention, by calling it
to the consideration of the approaching boar-chase. This talk brought
them to their hut, a wretched wigwam, situated upon one side of a wild,
narrow, and romantic dell, in the recesses of the Brockenberg. They
released their sister from attending upon the operation of charring the
wood, which requires constant attention, and divided among themselves
the duty of watching it by night, according to their custom, one always
waking, while his brothers slept.
Max Waldeck, the eldest, watched during the first two hours of the
night, and was considerably alarmed by observing, upon the opposite
bank of the glen, or valley, a huge fire surrounded by some figures that
appeared to wheel around it with antic gestures. Max at first bethought
him of calling up his brothers; but recollecting the daring character of
the youngest, and finding it impossible to wake the elder without also
disturbing Martin--conceiving also what he saw to be an illusion of the
demon, sent perhaps in consequence of the venturous expressions used by
Martin on the preceding evening, he thought it best to betake himself to
the safeguard of such prayers as he could murmur over, and to watch in
great terror and annoyance this strange and alarming apparition. After
blazing for some time, the fire faded gradually away into darkness, and
the rest of Max’s watch was only disturbed by the remembrance of its
terrors.
George now occupied the place of Max, who had retired to rest. The
phenomenon of a huge blazing fire, upon the opposite bank of the glen,
again presented itself to the eye of the watchman. It was surrounded
as before by figures, which, distinguished by their opaque forms, being
between the spectator and the red glaring light, moved and fluctuated
around it as if engaged in some mystical ceremony. George, though
equally cautious, was of a bolder character than his elder brother.
He resolved to examine more nearly the object of his wonder; and,
accordingly after crossing the rivulet which divided the glen, he
climbed up the opposite bank, and approached within an arrow’s flight
of the fire, which blazed apparently with the same fury as when he first
witnessed it.
The appearance, of the assistants who surrounded it resembled those
phantoms which are seen in a troubled dream, and at once confirmed the
idea he had entertained from the first, that they did not belong to
the human world. Amongst these strange unearthly forms, George Waldeck
distinguished that of a giant overgrown with hair, holding an uprooted
fir in his hand, with which, from time to time, he seemed to stir the
blazing fire, and having no other clothing than a wreath of oak leaves
around his forehead and loins. George’s heart sunk within him at
recognising the well-known apparition of the Harz demon, as he had been
often described to him by the ancient shepherds and huntsmen who had
seen his form traversing the mountains. He turned, and was about to fly;
but upon second thoughts, blaming his own cowardice, he recited mentally
the verse of the Psalmist, “All good angels, praise the Lord!” which
is in that country supposed powerful as an exorcism, and turned himself
once more towards the place where he had seen the fire. But it was no
longer visible.
The pale moon alone enlightened the side of the valley; and when George,
with trembling steps, a moist brow, and hair bristling upright under
his collier’s cap, came to the spot on which the fire had been so lately
visible, marked as it was by a scathed oak-tree, there appeared not on
the heath the slightest vestiges of what he had seen. The moss and wild
flowers were unscorched, and the branches of the oak-tree, which had so
lately appeared enveloped in wreaths of flame and smoke, were moist with
the dews of midnight.
George returned to his hut with trembling steps, and, arguing like his
elder brother, resolved to say nothing of what he had seen, lest he
should awake in Martin that daring curiosity which he almost deemed to
be allied with impiety.
It was now Martin’s turn to watch. The household cock had given his
first summons, and the night was well-nigh spent. Upon examining the
state of the furnace in which the wood was deposited in order to its
being coked or charred, he was surprised to find that the fire had not
been sufficiently maintained; for in his excursion and its consequences,
George had forgot the principal object of his watch. Martin’s first
thought was to call up the slumberers; but observing that both his
brothers slept unwontedly deep and heavily, he respected their repose,
and set himself to supply the furnace with fuel without requiring
their aid. What he heaped upon it was apparently damp and unfit for the
purpose, for the fire seemed rather to decay than revive. Martin next
went to collect some boughs from a stack which had been carefully cut
and dried for this purpose; but, when he returned, he found the fire
totally extinguished. This was a serious evil, and threatened them
with loss of their trade for more than one day. The vexed and mortified
watchman set about to strike a light in order to rekindle the fire
but the tinder was moist, and his labour proved in this respect also
ineffectual. He was now about to call up his brothers, for circumstances
seemed to be pressing, when flashes of light glimmered not only through
the window, but through every crevice of the rudely built hut, and
summoned him to behold the same apparition which had before alarmed
the successive watches of his brethren. His first idea was, that the
Muhllerhaussers, their rivals in trade, and with whom they had had many
quarrels, might have encroached upon their bounds for the purpose of
pirating their wood; and he resolved to awake his brothers, and
be revenged on them for their audacity. But a short reflection and
observation on the gestures and manner of those who seemed to “work
in the fire,” induced him to dismiss this belief, and although
rather sceptical in such matters, to conclude that what he saw was a
supernatural phenomenon. “But be they men or fiends,” said the undaunted
forester, “that busy themselves yonder with such fantastical rites and
gestures, I will go and demand a light to rekindle our furnace.” He,
relinquished at the same time the idea of awaking his brethren. There
was a belief that such adventures as he was about to undertake were
accessible only to one person at a time; he feared also that his
brothers, in their scrupulous timidity, might interfere to prevent his
pursuing the investigation he had resolved to commence; and, therefore,
snatching his boar-spear from the wall, the undaunted Martin Waldeck set
forth on the adventure alone.
With the same success as his brother George, but with courage far
superior, Martin crossed the brook, ascended the hill, and approached
so near the ghostly assembly, that he could recognise, in the presiding
figure, the attributes of the Harz demon. A cold shuddering assailed him
for the first time in his life; but the recollection that he had at a
distance dared and even courted the intercourse which was now about to
take place, confirmed his staggering courage; and pride supplying what
he wanted in resolution, he advanced with tolerable firmness towards
the fire, the figures which surrounded it appearing still more wild,
fantastical, and supernatural, the more near he approached to the
assembly. He was received with a loud shout of discordant and unnatural
laughter, which, to his stunned ears, seemed more alarming than a
combination of the most dismal and melancholy sounds that could be
imagined. “Who art thou?” said the giant, compressing his savage and
exaggerated features into a sort of forced gravity, while they were
occasionally agitated by the convulsion of the laughter which he seemed
to suppress.
“Martin Waldeck, the forester,” answered the hardy youth;--“and who are
you?”
“The King of the Waste and of the Mine,” answered the spectre;--“and why
hast thou dared to encroach on my mysteries?”
“I came in search of light to rekindle my fire,” answered Martin,
hardily, and then resolutely asked in his turn, “What mysteries are
those that you celebrate here?”
“We celebrate,” answered the complaisant demon, “the wedding of Hermes
with the Black Dragon--But take thy fire that thou camest to seek, and
begone! no mortal may look upon us and live.”