DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.3584#0105
ja distance, 0f her
ed th me in ^
\tr°f4e servants
hhliden from vie,
t0 the Saloon,
held and at the
ffund» the host;
here 'during my
Dt but acknowledge
^ abearance
how often does it
'St prized by the
■highly deceptive
ide him!. Ah, she
l0m of her beautv
desty. A servant
before passed by
I to him, »what
rating?«
t with an arrog?"*
to honor me w
II stood mm
id to reply: »i
s to-day put aside
sented to become
lerefore a day of
low be off, fellow,
the servants.«
ired. — I stood
id into the
due. He
] could not ..
ssed happiness ot
iden in her heart,
irose amidst the
he accompanist
as filled to over-
it, and as I saw
ery which leads
e raised her hand
eeting, and how,
om my view, he
k as if in answer
i her, the blood
3ugh my veins,
me, and before
n again I had
»thief, robber,
ou know me -
a thrust at him
65
mid] oenoanbclt unb fremb, als rr>är id] rmrfN
lid? ein 2tnfommlmg von jenfeits bes (Srabes
unb bes Cobes Haub.
ö), t?ätt' id? bod} mit aller ZTZadrt mein
mtrenbiges (ßemütf] gan3 su <5ott gefefyrt in
jener Sfunbe, ifyn um <5elaffenl]eit unb (Se-
bulb angerufen; benn fold]e ttugenb mar mir
bamals f]od]nou]. 2ld], mie gefd]rr>inbe fd]tägt
bas menfd]lid]e (5emütBje um, unb ber IDtrbel
ber £ejbenfd]aft formnt oft bann mit feiner
größten Kraft bafyergebrauft, trenn bas ZTTeer
ber Seele am ftillften ift.
So meijj id? md]t, rote's gefd]afy: ba id]
am 23itterfaal üorüberfcrjrttt, mo bie Stiege
hinaufführte unb fat] broben bie ^enfter er*
leuchtet, fo blieb id] ftetjn, geroiß, id] gebad]te:
nnr einen fur3en 21ugenblicr\ 21ber roie
mir ba Cöne r>on (Seigen unb 51öten 3U
®bren brungen, ba3tt bas Haufcfjen r>on
Sd]ritten, fo erroad]te in mir ein 3U ftarfes
Seinen, r>ielleid]t aud] nur r»on Jerne ben
Jtnbücf 3u fyaben, beffen mir fo lange bie J^off»
nung mit ben fyelleften färben ausgefcfymücft
hatte. 3^ r>er3og nid]t unb fd]ritt bie Stiege
hinauf. Tlttba ftunb id] an ber Cfyür, bie
offen gehalten roar ber Wiener roegen bie ab
unb su giengen, hinter einem Pfeiler, beffen
Schatten midi 3iemlid]ermaaßen oerbarg, unb
lugte in ben Saal.
€in 5eftmal]l mar gehalten, unb oben näd]ft
ber Caube, faß Haymunb, ber JüirtB], unb
il]m 3ur Seiten Sabine, bann, (ßäfte, bie id]
nie gefefyen fyatte 3U meines Paters Reiten.
3bm mußte id] eine auserfannte Hittergeftalt
3ugefte£|en unb geminnenbe JTIienen (roie benn
bie Cugenben, bie in ber XPeit bas 2T(eifte
gelten, oft fyödjft trügerifd] finb) unb fie neben
ibm — ad}, fie prangte nid]t minber in fyerr*
lid] erblühter Sd]önf]eit mie in magbtid]er
gudfk
€in Diener, mir unbefannt, gieng oorüber.
„^reunb" fragt id] um, „mas giebts bjer bod\
fyeute für 'n 5eft?;/
^uerft fal] er fyoffäfjrtfcj mid] an, als moltt
er mir geringem 21Tanne bie 2tntmort nid]t
gönnen. XDcil id] aber fo bemütbjg vov itjm
ftunb, gab er mir bod]'23efd]eib unb fagte:
„Unfer <£belfräulein fyat fyeut bie Crauer ab*
gelegt unb unferes ^errn Braut 3U fein r>er-
anlügt. Drum galten mir fteut fröt]lid]en Cag
auf langenau; aber Du, (Sefell, mad] Did]
hinunter in J^of 3um (ßefinbe."
Damit gieng er. — Wie gebannet blieb id]
an meinem ©rte unb ftarrete mieberum nad}
ben Beiben l]in. <£r fd]ien aufgeräumt, aber
r>on itjrem flaren 21ngefid]te formte id] nid]t
with my knife, which according to the custom
of the lower classes I carried at my side. I
saw that I had wounded him in the hand
which he had stretched out to defend himself,
for the blood trickled from his silken sleeve,
and had he had his sword by his side my
life would no doubt have been ended on
the spot.
»A madman« he cried, turning pale.
But before he had finished speaking one
of the servants who had hastened to the spot
struck me such a blow on the head that I
reeled, and in the same minute, before I
could say another word, two other men
threw me to the ground gagged and pin-
ioned me.
Chapter YX.
How Wendelin was imprisoned in the dungeon.
They had dragged me to the dungeon
of the Palatinate, the same dungeon the
door of which at the end of a long gruesome
passage I had never dared to pass as a child,
but had only regarded from a distance
with shuddering curiosity. Now I lay in
this same prison, on the bare earth which
was as d^amp as the walls through which
the water of the moat oozed. And how
damp and musty was the air! It was prin-r
cipally the sharp mouldering smell which
aroused me from the stupor and weakness
into which I had sunk, exhausted by the
superhuman though vain efforts I had made
to defend myself,
Oh, had I never recovered my senses,
had the spark of life within me expired on
the spot and all been over! This was the
feeling which pervaded me as I came to
myself again. For at the remembrance of
the disgrace which had fallen on me, of
the triumph of my antagonist — the spoiler
of my happiness — and of the way in which
he had smiled, smiled back at her — ah,
at the remembrance of all this my soul
writhed in agony as if struggling in the con-
vulsive grip of the destroying angel, and as
I now fully realised where I was, in this
brooding darkness, in this silent grave, I
had well nigh gone distracted.
The pain in my limbs reminded me for
the first time that I was bound, but I suc-
ceeded in freeing myself from my fetters.
Ah, free! what a mockery! The few steps I
ed th me in ^
\tr°f4e servants
hhliden from vie,
t0 the Saloon,
held and at the
ffund» the host;
here 'during my
Dt but acknowledge
^ abearance
how often does it
'St prized by the
■highly deceptive
ide him!. Ah, she
l0m of her beautv
desty. A servant
before passed by
I to him, »what
rating?«
t with an arrog?"*
to honor me w
II stood mm
id to reply: »i
s to-day put aside
sented to become
lerefore a day of
low be off, fellow,
the servants.«
ired. — I stood
id into the
due. He
] could not ..
ssed happiness ot
iden in her heart,
irose amidst the
he accompanist
as filled to over-
it, and as I saw
ery which leads
e raised her hand
eeting, and how,
om my view, he
k as if in answer
i her, the blood
3ugh my veins,
me, and before
n again I had
»thief, robber,
ou know me -
a thrust at him
65
mid] oenoanbclt unb fremb, als rr>är id] rmrfN
lid? ein 2tnfommlmg von jenfeits bes (Srabes
unb bes Cobes Haub.
ö), t?ätt' id? bod} mit aller ZTZadrt mein
mtrenbiges (ßemütf] gan3 su <5ott gefefyrt in
jener Sfunbe, ifyn um <5elaffenl]eit unb (Se-
bulb angerufen; benn fold]e ttugenb mar mir
bamals f]od]nou]. 2ld], mie gefd]rr>inbe fd]tägt
bas menfd]lid]e (5emütBje um, unb ber IDtrbel
ber £ejbenfd]aft formnt oft bann mit feiner
größten Kraft bafyergebrauft, trenn bas ZTTeer
ber Seele am ftillften ift.
So meijj id? md]t, rote's gefd]afy: ba id]
am 23itterfaal üorüberfcrjrttt, mo bie Stiege
hinaufführte unb fat] broben bie ^enfter er*
leuchtet, fo blieb id] ftetjn, geroiß, id] gebad]te:
nnr einen fur3en 21ugenblicr\ 21ber roie
mir ba Cöne r>on (Seigen unb 51öten 3U
®bren brungen, ba3tt bas Haufcfjen r>on
Sd]ritten, fo erroad]te in mir ein 3U ftarfes
Seinen, r>ielleid]t aud] nur r»on Jerne ben
Jtnbücf 3u fyaben, beffen mir fo lange bie J^off»
nung mit ben fyelleften färben ausgefcfymücft
hatte. 3^ r>er3og nid]t unb fd]ritt bie Stiege
hinauf. Tlttba ftunb id] an ber Cfyür, bie
offen gehalten roar ber Wiener roegen bie ab
unb su giengen, hinter einem Pfeiler, beffen
Schatten midi 3iemlid]ermaaßen oerbarg, unb
lugte in ben Saal.
€in 5eftmal]l mar gehalten, unb oben näd]ft
ber Caube, faß Haymunb, ber JüirtB], unb
il]m 3ur Seiten Sabine, bann, (ßäfte, bie id]
nie gefefyen fyatte 3U meines Paters Reiten.
3bm mußte id] eine auserfannte Hittergeftalt
3ugefte£|en unb geminnenbe JTIienen (roie benn
bie Cugenben, bie in ber XPeit bas 2T(eifte
gelten, oft fyödjft trügerifd] finb) unb fie neben
ibm — ad}, fie prangte nid]t minber in fyerr*
lid] erblühter Sd]önf]eit mie in magbtid]er
gudfk
€in Diener, mir unbefannt, gieng oorüber.
„^reunb" fragt id] um, „mas giebts bjer bod\
fyeute für 'n 5eft?;/
^uerft fal] er fyoffäfjrtfcj mid] an, als moltt
er mir geringem 21Tanne bie 2tntmort nid]t
gönnen. XDcil id] aber fo bemütbjg vov itjm
ftunb, gab er mir bod]'23efd]eib unb fagte:
„Unfer <£belfräulein fyat fyeut bie Crauer ab*
gelegt unb unferes ^errn Braut 3U fein r>er-
anlügt. Drum galten mir fteut fröt]lid]en Cag
auf langenau; aber Du, (Sefell, mad] Did]
hinunter in J^of 3um (ßefinbe."
Damit gieng er. — Wie gebannet blieb id]
an meinem ©rte unb ftarrete mieberum nad}
ben Beiben l]in. <£r fd]ien aufgeräumt, aber
r>on itjrem flaren 21ngefid]te formte id] nid]t
with my knife, which according to the custom
of the lower classes I carried at my side. I
saw that I had wounded him in the hand
which he had stretched out to defend himself,
for the blood trickled from his silken sleeve,
and had he had his sword by his side my
life would no doubt have been ended on
the spot.
»A madman« he cried, turning pale.
But before he had finished speaking one
of the servants who had hastened to the spot
struck me such a blow on the head that I
reeled, and in the same minute, before I
could say another word, two other men
threw me to the ground gagged and pin-
ioned me.
Chapter YX.
How Wendelin was imprisoned in the dungeon.
They had dragged me to the dungeon
of the Palatinate, the same dungeon the
door of which at the end of a long gruesome
passage I had never dared to pass as a child,
but had only regarded from a distance
with shuddering curiosity. Now I lay in
this same prison, on the bare earth which
was as d^amp as the walls through which
the water of the moat oozed. And how
damp and musty was the air! It was prin-r
cipally the sharp mouldering smell which
aroused me from the stupor and weakness
into which I had sunk, exhausted by the
superhuman though vain efforts I had made
to defend myself,
Oh, had I never recovered my senses,
had the spark of life within me expired on
the spot and all been over! This was the
feeling which pervaded me as I came to
myself again. For at the remembrance of
the disgrace which had fallen on me, of
the triumph of my antagonist — the spoiler
of my happiness — and of the way in which
he had smiled, smiled back at her — ah,
at the remembrance of all this my soul
writhed in agony as if struggling in the con-
vulsive grip of the destroying angel, and as
I now fully realised where I was, in this
brooding darkness, in this silent grave, I
had well nigh gone distracted.
The pain in my limbs reminded me for
the first time that I was bound, but I suc-
ceeded in freeing myself from my fetters.
Ah, free! what a mockery! The few steps I