THE BURIAL
Now when Father Heilman heard that the knight was dead, he hastened to
the castle to comfort Bertalda. The priest, who but the day before had
married the maiden to the knight, had already fled from the haunted
house.
But Father Heilman found that the haughty spirit of the bride needed
no comfort. She was more angry with Undine than sorrowful that she had
lost the knight. Indeed, as she thought of the strange way in which
Huldbrand had been snatched away from her, she cried aloud, 'Why did
Huldbrand bring a water spirit to his home? She is worse than a
mermaiden, she is a witch, a sorceress!'
Then the old fisherman, who heard her cruel words, hushed her, saying,
'It was God's will that Huldbrand should die, and Undine alone,
forsaken, weeps for his death in great sorrow of soul.'
But if Father Heilman was not needed to comfort Bertalda, his presence
was wanted at the burial of the knight.
Not far off there was a little village church to which the lord of
Ringstetten and others of his race had given gifts. It was arranged
that in the churchyard the knight should be laid to rest.
His shield and helmet were laid on his coffin and would be buried with
him, for the knight of Ringstetten had left no son to bear them in the
years that were to come.
On the day that had been fixed the mourners walked slowly toward the
churchyard, Father Heilman in front carrying a crucifix.
Then slowly a figure clad in snow-white garments, and wringing her
hands in great sorrow, came to join the mourners, who all wore black
clothes as a sign of their grief. Those who noticed the white-veiled
figure drew closer together, terror-stricken. Others, seeing them thus
fearful, turned to see the reason of their fear, and soon these too
drew aside, for the white-robed figure was in their very midst.
Seeing the confusion among the mourners, some soldiers, trying to be
brave, as was their duty, spoke to the white-robed figure and even
tried to drive her away. But she glided quickly past them and followed
onward, still toward the little church.
The maids who were walking close to Bertalda saw that the white-veiled
figure would soon be by their side, and they, lest she should harm
them, drew back, so that it was easy for the shadowy form to keep
close to the new-made bride.
Softly, noiselessly she moved, so noiselessly that Bertalda neither
heard nor saw the phantom figure.
At length the mourners reached the churchyard and gathered around the
grave. Then Bertalda, looking up, saw the white-veiled figure standing
by her side, and knew that it was Undine.
Fear whispered to Bertalda to leave the veiled figure undisturbed,
anger bade Bertalda order that it should at once depart. And anger was
going to have its way, for Bertalda opened her lips to speak, but
Undine shook her head and held out her hands as though she begged for
mercy.
Then Bertalda remembered all the kindness Undine had shown toward her,
and especially how lovingly she had held out to her the coral
necklace as they were sailing on the Danube, and as she remembered her
hard heart melted, and she wept.
At that moment Father Heilman began to pray, and all the mourners
knelt around the grave, in which the coffin bearing the shield and
helmet of the knight had now been placed.
When the prayer was ended the company arose, but the white-veiled
figure was no longer to be seen.
Only on the spot where she had knelt a stream of crystal water gushed
out of the earth. Quietly it flowed around the grave of the knight and
then onward until it joined the river which ran past the little
village church.
And in days to come the villagers would ofttimes point to the crystal
stream as they told their children in solemn whispers that it, the
little crystal stream, was none other than Undine, poor forsaken
Undine, who thus surrounded and protected Huldbrand, her beloved.
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