CHAPTER XVI.
HOW IT FARED FURTHER WITH HULDBRAND.
Shall we say it is well or ill, that our sorrow is of such shortduration? I mean that deep sorrow which affects the very well-springof our life, which becomes so one with the lost objects of our lovethat they are no longer lost, and which enshrines their image as asacred treasure, until that final goal is reached which they havereached before us! It is true that many men really maintain thesesacred memories, but their feeling is no longer that of the firstdeep grief. Other and new images have thronged between; we learn atlength the transitoriness of all earthly things, even to our grief,and, therefore. I must say "Alas, that our sorrow should be of suchshort duration?"
The lord of Ringstetten experienced this whether for his good, weshall hear in the sequel to this history. At first he could donothing but weep, and that as bitterly as the poor gentle Undine hadwept when he had torn from her hand that brilliant ornament withwhich she had wished to set everything to rights. And then he wouldstretch out his hand, as she had done, and would weep again, likeher. He cherished the secret hope that he might at length dissolvein tears; and has not a similar hope passed before the mind of manya one of us, with painful pleasure, in moments of great affliction?Bertalda wept also, and they lived a long while quietly together atCastle Ringstetten, cherishing Undine's memory, and almost whollyforgetful of their former attachment to each other. And, therefore,the good Undine often visited Huldbrand in his dreams; caressing himtenderly and kindly, and then going away, weeping silently, so thatwhen he awoke he often scarcely knew why his cheeks were so wet;whether they had been bathed with her tears, or merely with his own?
These dream-visions became, however, less frequent as time passedon, and the grief of the knight was less acute; still he wouldprobably have cherished no other wish than thus to think calmly ofUndine and to talk of her, had not the old fisherman appeared oneday unexpectedly at the castle, and sternly insisted on Bertalda'sreturning with him as his child. The news of Undine's disappearancehad reached him, and he had determined on no longer allowingBertalda to reside at the castle with the widowed knight.
"For," said he, "whether my daughter love me or no, I do not care toknow, but her honor is at stake, and where that is concerned,nothing else is to be thought of."
This idea of the old fisherman's, and the solitude which threatenedto overwhelm the knight in all the halls and galleries of thedesolate castle, after Bertalda's departure, brought out thefeelings that had slumbered till now and which had been whollyforgotten in his sorrow for Undine; namely, Huldbrand's affectionfor the beautiful Bertalda. The fisherman had many objections toraise against the proposed marriage. Undine had been very dear tothe old fisherman, and he felt that no one really knew for certainwhether the dear lost one were actually dead. And if her body weretruly lying cold and stiff at the bottom of the Danube, or hadfloated away with the current into the ocean, even then Bertalda wasin some measure to blame for her death, and it was unfitting for herto step into the place of the poor supplanted one. Yet the fishermanhad a strong regard for the knight also; and the entreaties of hisdaughter, who had become much more gentle and submissive, and hertears for Undine, turned the scale, and he must at length have givenhis consent, for he remained at the castle without objection, and amessenger was despatched to Father Heilmann, who had united Undineand Huldbrand in happy days gone by, to bring him to the castle forthe second nuptials of the knight.
The holy man, however, had scarcely read the letter from the knightof Ringstetten, than he set out on his journey to the castle, withfar greater expedition than even the messenger had used in going tohim. Whenever his breath failed in his rapid progress, or his agedlimbs ached with weariness, he would say to himself: "Perhaps theevil may yet be prevented; fail not, my tottering frame, till youhave reached the goal!" And with renewed power he would then pressforward, and go on and on without rest or repose, until late oneevening he entered the shady court-yard of castle Ringstetten.
The betrothed pair were sitting side by side under the trees, andthe old fisherman was near them, absorbed in thought. The momentthey recognized Father Heilmann, they sprang up, and pressed roundhim with warm welcome. But he, without making much reply, beggedHuldbrand to go with him into the castle; and when the latter lookedastonished, and hesitated to obey the grave summons, the reverendfather said to him:--
"Why should I make any delay in wishing to speak to you in private,Herr von Ringstetten? What I have to say concerns Bertalda and thefisherman as much as yourself, and what a man has to hear, he mayprefer to hear as soon as possible. Are you then so perfectlycertain, Knight Huldbrand, that your first wife is really dead? Itscarcely seems so to me. I will not indeed say anything of themysterious condition in which she may be existing, and I know, too,nothing of it with certainty. But she was a pious and faithful wife,that is beyond all doubt; and for a fortnight past she has stood atmy bedside at night in my dreams, wringing her tender hands inanguish and sighing out: 'Oh, prevent him, good father! I am stillliving! oh, save his life! save his soul!' I did not understand whatthis nightly vision signified; when presently your messenger came,and I hurried thither, not to unite, but to separate, what ought notto be joined together. Leave her, Huldbrand! Leave him, Bertalda! Heyet belongs to another; and do you not see grief for his lost wifestill written on his pale cheek? No bridegroom looks thus, and avoice tells me that if you do not leave him, you will never behappy."
The three listeners felt in their innermost heart that FatherHeilmann spoke the truth, but they would not believe it. Even theold fisherman was now so infatuated that he thought it could not beotherwise than they had settled it in their discussions during thelast few days. They therefore all opposed the warnings of the priestwith a wild and gloomy rashness, until at length the holy fatherquitted the castle with a sad heart, refusing to accept even for asingle night the shelter offered, or to enjoy the refreshmentsbrought him. Huldbrand, however, persuaded himself that the priestwas full of whims and fancies, and with dawn of day he sent for afather from the nearest monastery, who, without hesitation, promisedto perform the ceremony in a few days.