_By Miss Emma Roberts_.
Already the pile of heaped-up fagots reached above the low roof of his
hut; but Carl Scheffler still continued lopping off branches, and
binding fresh bundles together, almost unconscious that the sun had set,
and that the labours of the day being over, the neighbouring peasants
were hastening to the skittle-ground to pass away an hour in sport. The
wood-cutter's hut was perched upon an eminence a little out of the
public path; but he heard the merry songs of his comrades as they
proceeded gaily to the place of rendezvous, at the Golden Stag in the
village below. Many of his intimate acquaintance paused as they
approached the corner of the road nearest to his hut, and the wild wood
rang with their loud halloes; but the call, which in other times had
been echoed by the woodman's glad voice, was now unanswered; he busied
himself with his work; his brow darkened as the joyous sounds came over
his ear; he threw aside his hatchet, resumed, it again, and again
casting it from him, exclaimed, "Why, let them go, I will not carry this
chafed and wounded spirit to their revels; my hand is not steady enough
for a bowling-match; and since Linda will doubtless choose a richer
partner, I have no heart for the dance."
It was easy to perceive that Carl Scheffler was smarting under a recent
disappointment: he had borne up bravely against the misfortunes which,
from a state of comparative affluence, had reduced him to depend upon
his own arm for subsistence, fondly trusting that ere long his prospects
would amend; and that, at the return of the Count of Holberg to his
ancestorial dominions, he should obtain a forester's place, and be
enabled to claim the hand of Linda Von Kleist, to whom, in happier
times, he had been betrothed. But these dreams had vanished; the count's
bailiff having seen Linda, the flower of the hamlet, became his rival,
and consequently his enemy: he had bestowed the office promised to Carl
upon another; and Linda's father ungratefully withdrawing the consent
given when the lover's affairs were in a more flourishing condition, had
forbidden him the house. Buoyed up with the hope that Linda would remain
faithful, and by her unabated attachment console him under the pressure
of his calamities, Carl did not at first give way to despair; but Linda
was too obedient, or perchance too indifferent, to disobey her father's
commands. He sought her at the accustomed spot--she came not, sent not:
he hovered round her residence, and if chance favoured him with a
glimpse of his beloved, it was only to add to his misery, for she
withdrew hastily from his sight. A rumour of the intended marriage of
his perjured mistress reached his ears, and, struck to the soul, he
endeavoured, by manual labour, to exhaust his strength and banish the
recollection of his misery. He toiled all day in feverish desperation;
and now that there was no more to be done, sat down to ponder over his
altered prospects. The bailiff possessed the ear of his master, and it
was useless to hope that the count would repair the injustice committed
by so trusted a servant. The situation which above all others he had
coveted, which would have given him the free range of the forest, the
jovial hunter's life which suited his daring spirit, delighting in the
perils of the chase, and, above all, a home for Linda, was lost, and for
ever; henceforward he must relinquish all expectation of regaining the
station which the misfortunes that had brought his parents to the grave
had deprived him of, and be content to earn a sordid meal by bending his
back to burthens befitting the brute creation alone; to hew wood, and to
bear it to the neighbouring towns; to delve the ground at the bidding of
a master, and to perform the offices of a menial hireling. "At least not
here," cried the wretched young man, "not in the face of all my former
friends; there is a refuge left where I may hide my sorrows and my
wrongs. Fair earth, and thou fair sky, I gaze upon you for the last
time; buried from the face of day in the centre of the deepest mine,
I'll spend the remnant of my life unpitied and unknown." Determined to
execute this resolution on the instant, Carl hastily collected such
parts of his slender property as were portable; and having completed his
arrangements, prepared to cross the Brocken, and shaped his course
towards the Rammelsburg. The last rich gleam of crimson had faded from
the sky; but there was light enough in the summer night to guide him on
his way. A few bright and beautiful stars gemmed the wide concave of
heaven; the air was soft and balmy, scarcely agitating the leaves of the
forest trees; the fragrance-weeping limes gave out their richest scent,
and the gentle gush of fountains, and the tricklings of the mountain
springs, came in music on the ear; and had the traveller been more at
ease, the calm and tranquil scene must have diffused its soothing
influence over his heart. Carl, disregarding every thing save his own
melancholy destiny, strode along almost choked by bitter thought, and so
little heedful of the road, that he soon became involved in thickets
whose paths were unknown to him; he looked up to the heavens, and
shaping his course by one of the stars, was somewhat surprised to find
himself still involved in the impenetrable mazes of the wood. Compelled
to give more attention than heretofore to his route, he once or twice
thought that he distinguished a human figure moving through the darkness
of the forest. At first, not disposed to fall in with a companion, he
remained silent, lest the person, whoever he might be, should choose to
enter into conversation with him; then not quite certain whether he was
right in his conjecture--for upon casting a second glance upon the
object which attracted him, he more than once discovered it to be some
stunted trunk or fantastic tree--he became anxious to ascertain whether
he was in reality, alone, or if some other midnight wanderer trod the
waste, and he looked narrowly around; all was still, silent, and
solitary; and fancying that he had been deceived by the flitting shadows
of the night, he was again relapsing into his former reverie, when he
became aware of the presence of a man dressed in the garb of a forester,
and having his cap wreathed with a garland of green leaves, who stood
close at his side. Carl's tongue moved to utter a salutation, but the
words stuck in his throat, an indescribable sensation of horror thrilled
through his frame; tales of the demons of the Hartz rushed upon his
memory--but he recovered instantly from the sudden shock. The desperate
state of his fortune gave him courage, and, looking up, he was surprised
at the consternation which the stranger had occasioned: he was a person
of ordinary appearance, who, accosting him frankly, exclaimed, "Ho,
comrade, thou art, I see, bent on the same errand as myself; but
wherefore dost thou seek the treasures of the Nibelungen without the
protecting wreath?"--"The treasures of the Nibelungen?" returned Carl;
"I have indeed heard of such a thing, and that it was hidden in the
bosom of the Hartz by a princess of the olden time; but I never was mad
enough to think of so wild a chase as a search after riches, which has
baffled the wisest of our ancestors, must surely prove."--"Belike then,"
replied the forester, "thou art well to do in the world, and therefore
needest not to replenish thy wallets with gold,--travelling perchance to
take possession of some rich inheritance."--"No, by St. Roelas," cried
the woodcutter, "thou hast guessed wide of the mark. I am going to hide
my poverty in the mine of Rammelsburg."--"The mine of Rammelsburg!"
echoed the stranger, and laughed scornfully, so that the deep woods rang
with the sound; and Carl feeling his old sensations return as the
fiendish merriment resounded through the wilderness, again gazed
stedfastly in his companion's face, but he read nothing there to justify
his suspicions: the fiery eye lost its lustre; the lip its curl; and,
gazing benignantly upon the forlorn wood-cutter, he continued his
speech, saying, "Then prithee take the advice of one who knows these
forests, and all that they contain. Here are materials in abundance for
our garland; advance forward, and fear not the issue;"--and, gathering
leaves from the boughs of trees of a species unknown to his new
acquaintance, he twined them into a wreath, and placed the sylvan diadem
on Carl's head. The instant that he felt the light pressure on his
temples, all his fears vanished; and he followed his guide, conversing
pleasantly through wide avenues and over broad glades of fresh turf,
which seemed to be laid out like a royal chase, till they came to a wall
of rock resembling the Hahnen Klippers, and entering through an arch, a
grey moss-covered tower arose in the distance. The ponderous doors were
wide open; and Carl advancing, found himself in a large hall well
lighted, and showing abundance of treasure scattered abroad in all
directions. He was conscious that he had lost his companion, but he
seemed no longer to require his instruction; and casting down his own
worthless burthen, he laded himself with the riches that courted his
touch. The adventurer was soon supplied with a sufficient quantity of
gold and jewels to satisfy his most unbounded wishes; and turning from
the spot with a light heart, he sped merrily along. The country round
about seemed strange to him; but on repassing the rocky ledge, a brisk
wind suddenly springing up blew off his cap. The morning air was cold,
and Carl, hastening to regain his head-gear, discovered that the wreath
had disappeared; and, as if awakening from a dream, he found himself
surrounded by familiar objects; he felt, however, the weight of the load
upon his back, and though panting with the fatigue it occasioned, made
the best of his way home. On approaching the hut, a low murmur struck on
his ear. He paused; listened attentively; and distinguishing a female
voice, he rushed forward, and in the next moment clasped Linda in his
arms. She had fled from the persecutions of the bailiff to seek shelter
in Carl's straw-roofed hut; and the now happy lovers, as they surveyed
the treasures which had been snatched from the Nibelungen, agreed that
they owed their good fortune to Riebezhahl the Wood King, who sometimes
taking pity upon the frail and feeble denizens of earth, pointed out to
their wondering eyes the inexhaustible riches of which he was the
acknowledged guardian.
_London Weekly Review_.
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