How Theobaldo departed on a Pilgrimage into the
Holy Land.
Now it came to pass, that amid the banquet-hall, where all were
cheerful and joyous, there entered an unbidden guest, with looks dark
and discontented; and this was Theobaldo. Humbly he drew near to the
pious and beautiful Lady Bertha, and said, “For me, in sooth, all
the pleasures and hopes of this world are now at an end. My powers
of enchantment, to which I had devoted my whole life, are by thee
destroyed; and, as to that happiness which others may possess in the
arms of parents, brothers, and sisters, it is to me for ever lost, and
I have indeed wrought my own destruction. What then should I now seek
here? Truly I know not; but, at least, I would take leave, and then,
as is fitting, seek out some cavern in the earth wherein I may hide
myself from the eyes of all mankind. Should this not be found, some
friendly abyss of the mountains will doubtless lie in my way, where I
can at once make an end of all my regrets and sorrows.” “Methinks this
were not needful,” answered Bertha, with friendly earnestness of tone;
“and I can moreover assure thee, it is not the will of Heaven that thou
should’st thus despair. Penance, no doubt, is required of thee; and if
this duty be fulfilled, thou shalt yet be saved and comforted. It would
be well, methinks, wert thou to undertake a pilgrimage to Jerusalem,
and on thy solitary way contend stoutly with the evil thoughts that
beset thee,--confess thy sins at the holy sepulchre, and return home
consoled and absolved into our friendly circle. Courage then, sir
pilgrim; the great Shepherd yet calls with kind consoling voice for his
lost sheep.” At the same moment, all who were there present stretched
out their loving arms towards him, as if he were already returned
absolved and pure into his paternal castle. “Verily damsel,” said
Theobaldo, “thou hast not ceased to be the beneficent ambassadress of
Heaven, although thou art even now become a happy smiling bride. To
Jerusalem then! to Jerusalem! Long indeed have I felt within my heart
the impulse to journey thither, as if I had known by anticipation
the guilt that would one day cleave to my conscience. Yet, ere I go,
could’st thou but request for me the forgiveness of the venerable old
man, whom I am no longer worthy to name father? Obtain for me too the
mild grace of Hildiridur; and it were well if Otto, Christophorus, and
Blanchefleur, even the stern Zelotes himself, could look on me as a
brother, instead of only granting me forgiveness after the manner that
one in pity bestows golden fruit on a wretched convict as he is led to
the place of execution.” Smiling in her calm confidence and serenity,
Bertha replied, “There will be no need of assistance such as mine;
for Heaven has here already prepared your reconciliation.” With these
words, she gently drew the repentant youth towards his father, who
clasped him in his arms, while Hildiridur, and all the rest, drew near
to embrace and console him; and Otto, with melancholy regret in his
heart, exclaimed, “Alas! Theobaldo, no wonder then that, even at our
first meeting, thy presence was so unspeakably dear to my heart!”
Theobaldo at length, with gentle resolution, disengaged himself from
their embraces: “You have now,” said he, “afforded me refreshment
and strength; not only for the journey that lies before me, but for
my whole life to come. Farewell! I shall now depart in tranquillity,
gladness, and hope. Your love, like a guiding star, will still gleam
before me; and when, after an absence of a year or more, the pilgrim
comes hither with his scallop-shell hat and longstaff, you will not
refuse him admission, but rather there will be a feast of welcome
and rejoicing in the hall of his ancestors.” Thereafter he made his
parting salutations, and slowly retired. All remained for a space in
deep silence, and with their eyes glistening in tears; such are the
bitter drops which Joy almost ever mingles in the cup, in order to
remind us how short is her date, and how frail the tenure of our life
in this world.
At last the old Sir Hugh said, “My son will come again, and Heaven will
grant to me the blessing that I may once more embrace him ere I die.
It seemed as if a winged messenger now brought me from Heaven these
tidings; and if Lisberta has become a glorified angel, it may indeed
be she herself who thus hovers near me.” Hereupon the brothers and
sisters, husbands and brides, held each other’s hands, and embraced
with more cordial joy and affection when they heard these words from
their dignified ancestor; and in a deep full tone, as if his heart had
then for the first time been lightened from his perplexing emotions, he
added, “Bertha, thou art in the right; the spirit of peace and mutual
affection is among us. Come then, dear friends and children, let us go
together down to the blooming level banks of the Danube; for in your
presence, with Hildiridur by my side, methinks I can once more, as in
the happy days of youth, enjoy the sunlight and beauty of nature which
the beneficent Creator has here spread around us.”
So it came to pass, that, as if the Magic Ring had been converted
into a living circlet of blooming swains and damsels, the venerable
Sir Hugh, who had before been so lonely and desolate, now came forth
with wife, children, and friends, all smiling and joyous. Amid the
sweet evening-landscape, behold! there was stretched over the woods
a magnificent rainbow; and all that happy assemblage, clasping their
hands, greeted in silent prayer that far-gleaming token of Heaven’s
grace and forgiveness.