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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Monk and The Hangman's Daughter, by
-Adolphe Danziger De Castro and Ambrose Bierce
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Title: The Monk and The Hangman's Daughter
-
-Author: Adolphe Danziger De Castro and Ambrose Bierce
-
-Release Date: January 17, 2012 [EBook #38602]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ASCII
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MONK ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by David Widger
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-THE MONK AND THE HANGMAN'S DAUGHTER
-
-By Adolphe Danziger De Castro and Ambrose Bierce
-
-1911
-
-Under the name of G. A. Danziger I wrote in the year 1889 a story
-founded on a German tale, which I called _The Monk and the Hangman's
-Daughter_. The story was tragic but I gave it a happy ending. Submitting
-it to the late Ambrose Bierce, asking him to revise the story, he
-suggested the retention of the tragic part and so revised it. The story
-was published and the house failed.
-
-When in 1900 a publisher desired to bring out the story provided I gave
-it a happy ending, I submitted the matter to Bierce and on August 21,
-1900, he wrote me a long letter on the subject of which the following is
-an extract:
-
-'I have read twice and carefully, your proposed addition to _The Monk_,
-and you must permit me to speak plainly, if not altogether agreeably, of
-it. It will not do for these reasons and others:
-
-'The book is almost perfect as you wrote it; the part of the work that
-pleases me least is _my_ part (underscores Bierce's). I am surprised
-that you should yield to the schoolgirl desire for that shallowest of
-all literary devices, a "happy ending," by which all the pathos of the
-book is effaced to "make a woman holiday." It is unworthy of you. So
-much vii did I feel this unworthiness that I hesitated a long time
-before even deciding to have so much of "odious ingenuity" and "mystery"
-as your making Benedicta the daughter of the Saltmaster and inventing
-her secret love for Ambrosius instead of Rochus.
-
-'"Dramatic action," which is no less necessary in a story than in a
-play, requires that so far as is possible what takes place shall be
-_seen_ to take place, not related as having previously taken place....
-Compare Shakespeare's _Cymbeline_ with his better plays. See how he
-spoiled it the same way. You need not feel ashamed to err as Shakespeare
-erred. Indeed, you did better than he, for his explanations were of
-things already known to the reader, or spectator, of the play. _Your_
-explanations are needful to an understanding of the things explained; it
-is _they_ that are needless. All "explanation" is unspeakably tedious,
-and is to be cut as short as possible. Far better to have nothing to
-explain--to _show_ everything that occurs, in the very act of occurring.
-We cannot always do that, but we should come as near to doing it as we
-can. Anyhow, the "harking back" should not be done at the end of the
-book, when the denouement is already known and the reader's interest in
-the action exhausted....
-
-'Ambrosius and Benedicta are unique in letters. Their nobility, their
-simplicity, their sufferings--everything that is theirs stamps them
-as "beings apart." They live in the memory sanctified and glorified by
-these qualities and sorrows. They are, in the last and most gracious
-sense, children of nature. Leave them lying there in the lovely valley
-of the gallows, where Ambrosius shuddered as his foot fell on the spot
-where he was destined to sleep....
-
-'Let _The Monk and the Hangman's Daughter_ alone. It is great work and
-_you_ should live to see the world confess it. Let me know if my faith
-in your faith in me is an error. You once believed in my judgment; I
-think it is not yet impaired by age.
-
-'Sincerely yours,
-
-'(Signed) Ambrose bierce.'
-
-I can only add that my faith in Bierce's judgment of letters is as firm
-to-day as it was then, when I gave him power of attorney to place
-my book with a publisher. This publisher embodied _The Monk and the
-Hangman's Daughter_ in Bierce's collected works, then sold the right to
-Messrs. Albert and Charles Boni who without knowledge of the true facts
-brought out an edition under Bierce's name.
-
-ADOLPHE de CASTRO.
-
-
-
-
-THE MONK AND THE HANGMAN'S DAUGHTER
-
-1
-
-On the first day of May in the year of our Blessed Lord 1680, the
-Franciscan monks AEgidius, Romanus and Ambrosius were sent by their
-Superior from the Christian city of Passau to the Monastery of
-Berchtesgaden, near Salzburg. I, Ambrosius, was the strongest and
-youngest of the three, being but twenty-one years of age.
-
-The Monastery of Berchtesgaden was, we knew, in a wild and mountainous
-country, covered with dismal forests, which were infested with bears
-and evil spirits; and our hearts were filled with sadness to think what
-might become of us in so dreadful a place. But since it is Christian
-duty to obey the mandates of the Church, we did not complain, and were
-even glad to serve the wish of our beloved and revered Superior.
-
-Having received the benediction, and prayed for the last time in the
-church of our Saint, we tied up our cowls, put new sandals on our feet,
-and set out, attended by the blessings of all. Although the way was
-long and perilous, we did not lose our hope, for hope is not only the
-beginning and the end of religion, but also the strength of youth and
-the support of age. Therefore our hearts soon forgot the sadness of
-parting, and rejoiced in the new and varying scenes that gave us our
-first real knowledge of the beauty of the earth as God has made it. The
-colour and brilliance of the air were like the garment of the Blessed
-Virgin; the sun shone like the Golden Heart of the Saviour, from which
-streameth light and life for all mankind; the dark blue canopy that hung
-above formed a grand and beautiful house of prayer, in which every blade
-of grass, every flower and living creature praised the glory of God.
-
-As we passed through the many hamlets, villages and cities that lay
-along our way, the thousands of people, busy in all the vocations of
-life, presented to us poor monks a new and strange spectacle, which
-filled us with wonder and admiration. When so many churches came into
-view as we journeyed on, and the piety and ardour of the people were
-made manifest by the acclamations with which they hailed us and their
-alacrity in ministering to our needs, our hearts were full of gratitude
-and happiness. All the institutions of the Church were prosperous and
-wealthy, which showed that they had found favour in the sight of the
-good God whom we serve. The gardens and orchards of the monasteries
-and convents were well kept, proving the care and industry of the pious
-peasantry and the holy inmates of the cloisters. It was glorious to hear
-the peals of bells announcing the hours of the day: we actually breathed
-music in the air--the sweet tones were like the notes of angels singing
-praise to the Lord.
-
-Wherever we went we greeted the people in the name of our patron Saint.
-On all sides were manifest humility and joy: women and children hastened
-to the wayside, crowding about us to kiss our hands and beseech a
-blessing. It almost seemed as if we were no longer poor servitors of God
-and man, but lords and masters of this whole beautiful earth. Let us,
-however, not grow proud in spirit, but remain humble, looking carefully
-into our hearts lest we deviate from the rules of our holy Order and sin
-against our blessed Saint.
-
-I, Brother Ambrosius, confess with penitence and shame that my soul
-caught itself upon exceedingly worldly and sinful thoughts. It seemed to
-me that the women sought more eagerly to kiss my hands than those of my
-companions--which surely was not right, since I am not more holy than
-they; besides, I am younger and less experienced and tried in the fear
-and commandments of the Lord. When I observed this error of the women,
-and saw how the maidens kept their eyes upon me, I became frightened,
-and wondered if I could resist should temptation accost me; and often I
-thought, with fear and trembling, that vows and prayer and penance alone
-do not make one a saint; one must be so pure in heart that temptation is
-unknown. Ah me!
-
-At night we always lodged in some monastery, invariably receiving a
-pleasant welcome. Plenty of food and drink was set before us, and as we
-sat at table the monks would crowd about, asking for news of the great
-world of which it was our blessed privilege to see and learn so much.
-When our destination was learned we were usually pitied for being
-doomed to live in the mountain wilderness. We were told of ice-fields,
-snow-crowned mountains and tremendous rocks, roaring torrents, caves and
-gloomy forests; also of a lake so mysterious and terrible that there was
-none like it in the world. God be with us!
-
-On the fifth day of our journey, while but a short distance beyond the
-city of Salzburg, we saw a strange and ominous sight. On the horizon,
-directly in our front, lay a bank of mighty clouds, with many grey
-points and patches of darker hue, and above, between them and the blue
-sky, a second firmament of perfect white. This spectacle greatly puzzled
-and alarmed us. The clouds had no movement; we watched them for hours
-and could see no change. Later in the afternoon, when the sun was
-sinking into the west, they became ablaze with light. They glowed and
-gleamed in a wonderful manner, and looked at times as if they were on
-fire!
-
-No one can imagine our surprise when we discovered that what we had
-mistaken for clouds was simply earth and rocks. These, then, were the
-mountains of which we had heard so much, and the white firmament was
-nothing else than the snowy summit of the range--which the Lutherans say
-their faith can remove. I greatly doubt it.
-
-2
-
-When we stood at the opening of the pass leading into the mountains we
-were overcome with dejection; it looked like the mouth of Hell. Behind
-us lay the beautiful country through which we had come, and which now
-we were compelled to leave forever; before us frowned the mountains with
-their inhospitable gorges and haunted forests, forbidding to the sight
-and full of peril to the body and the soul. Strengthening our hearts
-with prayer and whispering anathemas against evil spirits, we entered
-the narrow pass in the name of God, and pressed forward, prepared to
-suffer whatever might befall.
-
-As we proceeded cautiously on our way giant trees barred our progress
-and dense foliage almost shut out the light of day, the darkness being
-deep and chill. The sound of our footfalls and of our voices, when we
-dared to speak, was returned to us from the great rocks bordering the
-pass, with such distinctness and so many repetitions, yet withal so
-changed, that we could hardly believe we were not accompanied by troops
-of invisible beings who mocked us and made sport of our fears. Great
-birds of prey, startled from their nests in the treetops and the sides
-of the cliffs, perched upon high pinnacles of rock and eyed us malignly
-as we passed; vultures and ravens croaked above us in hoarse and savage
-tones that made our blood run cold. Nor could our prayers and hymns
-give us peace; they only called forth other fowl and by their own echoes
-multiplied the dreadful noises that beset us. It surprised us to observe
-that huge trees had been plucked out of the earth by the roots and
-hurled down the sides of the hills, and we shuddered to think by what
-powerful hands this had been done. At times we passed along the edges of
-high precipices, and the dark chasms that yawned below were a terrible
-sight. A storm arose, and we were half-blinded by the fires of heaven
-and stunned by thunder a thousand times louder than we had ever heard.
-Our fears were at last worked up to so great a degree that we expected
-every minute to see some devil from Hell leap from behind a rock in our
-front, or a ferocious bear appear from the undergrowth to dispute our
-progress. But only deer and foxes crossed our path, and our fears were
-somewhat quieted to perceive that our blessed Saint was no less powerful
-in the mountains than on the plains below.
-
-At length we reached the bank of a stream whose silvery waters presented
-a most refreshing sight. In its crystal depths between the rocks we
-could see beautiful golden trout as large as the carp in the pond of
-our monastery at Passau. Even in these wild places Heaven had provided
-bountifully for the fasting of the faithful.
-
-Beneath the black pines and close to the large lichen-covered rocks
-bloomed rare flowers of dark blue and golden yellow. Brother AEgidius,
-who was as learned as pious, knew them from his herbarium and told us
-their names. We were delighted by the sight of various brilliant beetles
-and butterflies which had come out of their hiding-places after the
-rain. We gathered handfuls of flowers and chased the pretty winged
-insects, forgetting our fears and prayers, the bears and evil spirits,
-in the exuberance of our joy.
-
-For many hours we had not seen a dwelling nor a human being. Deeper and
-deeper we penetrated the mountain region; greater and greater became the
-difficulties we experienced in forest and ravine, and all the horrors of
-the wilderness that we had already passed were repeated, but without so
-great an effect upon our souls, for we all perceived that the good God
-was preserving us for longer service to His holy will. A branch of the
-friendly river lay in our course, and, approaching it, we were delighted
-to find it spanned by a rough but substantial bridge. As we were about
-to cross I happened to cast my eyes to the other shore, where I saw a
-sight that made my blood turn cold with terror. On the opposite bank
-of the stream was a meadow, covered with beautiful flowers, and in the
-centre a gallows upon which hung the body of a man! The face was turned
-toward us, and I could plainly distinguish the features, which, though
-black and distorted, showed unmistakable signs that death had come that
-very day.
-
-I was upon the point of directing my companions' attention to the
-dreadful spectacle, when a strange incident occurred: in the meadow
-appeared a young girl, with long golden hair, upon which rested a wreath
-of blossoms. She wore a bright red dress, which seemed to me to light up
-the whole scene like a flame of fire. Nothing in her actions indicated
-fear of the corpse upon the gallows; on the contrary, she glided toward
-it barefooted through the grass, singing in a loud but sweet voice, and
-waving her arms to scare away the birds of prey that had gathered
-about it, uttering harsh cries and with a great buffeting of wings and
-snapping of beaks. At the girl's approach they all took flight, except
-one great vulture, which retained its perch upon the gallows and
-appeared to defy and threaten her. She ran close up to the obscene
-creature, jumping, dancing, screaming, until it, too, put out its wide
-wings and flapped heavily away. Then she ceased her dancing, and, taking
-a position at the gibbet's foot, calmly and thoughtfully looked up at
-the swinging body of the unfortunate man.
-
-The maiden's singing had attracted the attention of my companions, and
-we all stood watching the lovely child and her strange surroundings with
-too much amazement to speak.
-
-While gazing on the surprising scene, I felt a cold shiver run through
-my body. This is said to be a sure sign that someone has stepped upon
-the spot which is to be your grave. Strange to say, I felt this chill at
-the moment the maiden stepped under the gallows. But this only shows how
-the true beliefs of men are mixed up with foolish superstitions; for how
-could a sincere follower of Saint Franciscus possibly come to be buried
-beneath a gallows?
-
-'Let us hasten,' I said to my companions, 'and pray for the soul of the
-dead.'
-
-We soon found our way to the spot, and, without raising our eyes, said
-prayers with great fervour; especially did I, for my heart was full of
-compassion for the poor sinner who hung above. I recalled the words of
-God, who said, 'Vengeance is mine,' and remembered that the dear Saviour
-had pardoned the thief upon the cross at His side; and who knows that
-there were not mercy and forgiveness for this poor wretch who had died
-upon the gallows?
-
-On our approach the maiden had retired a short distance, not knowing
-what to make of us and our prayers. Suddenly, however, in the midst of
-our devotions, I heard her sweet, bell-like tones exclaim: 'The vulture!
-the vulture!' and her voice was agitated, as if she felt great fear. I
-looked up and saw a great grey bird above the pines, swooping downward.
-It showed no fear of us, our sacred calling and our pious rites. My
-brothers, however, were indignant at the interruption caused by the
-child's voice, and scolded her. But I said: 'The girl is probably a
-relation of the dead man. Now think of it, brothers; this terrible bird
-comes to tear the flesh from his face and feed upon his hands and his
-body. It is only natural that she should cry out.'
-
-One of the brothers said: 'Go to her, Ambrosius, and command her to be
-silent that we may pray in peace for the departed soul of this sinful
-man.'
-
-I walked among the fragrant flowers to where the girl stood with her
-eyes still fixed upon the vulture, which swung in ever narrowing circles
-about the gallows. Against a mass of silvery flowers on a bush by which
-she stood the maid's exquisite figure showed to advantage, as I wickedly
-permitted myself to observe. Perfectly erect and motionless, she watched
-my advance, though I marked a terrified look in her large, dark eyes, as
-if she feared that I would do her harm. Even when I was quite near her
-she made no movement to come forward, as women and children usually did,
-and kiss my hands.
-
-'Who are you?' I said, 'and what are you doing in this dreadful place
-all alone?'
-
-She did not answer me, and made neither sign nor motion; so I repeated
-my question:
-
-'Tell me, child, what are you doing here?'
-
-'Scaring away the vultures,' she replied, in a soft, musical voice,
-inexpressibly pleasing.
-
-'Are you a relation of the dead man?' I asked.
-
-She shook her head.
-
-'You knew him?' I continued, 'and you pity his unchristian death?'
-
-But she was again silent, and I had to renew my questioning: 'What was
-his name, and why was he put to death? What crime did he commit?'
-
-'His name was Nathaniel Alfinger, and he killed a man for a woman,' said
-the maiden, distinctly and in the most unconcerned manner that it is
-possible to conceive, as if murder and hanging were the commonest and
-most uninteresting of all events. I was astounded, and gazed at her
-sharply, but her look was passive and calm, denoting nothing unusual.
-'Did you know Nathaniel Alfinger?'
-
-'No.'
-
-'Yet you came here to protect his corpse from the fowls?'
-
-'Yes.'
-
-'Why do you do that service to one whom you did not know?'
-
-'I always do so.'
-
-'How--!'
-
-'Always when any one is hanged here I come and frighten away the birds
-and make them find other food. See--there is another vulture!'
-
-She uttered a wild, high scream, threw her arms above her head, and ran
-across the meadow so that I thought her mad. The big bird flew away,
-and the maiden came quietly back to me, and, pressing her sunburnt hands
-upon her breast, sighed deeply, as from fatigue. With as much mildness
-as I could put into my voice, I asked her:
-
-'What is your name?'
-
-'Benedicta.'
-
-'And who are your parents?'
-
-'My mother is dead.'
-
-'But your father--where is he?'
-
-She was silent. Then I pressed her to tell me where she lived, for
-I wanted to take the poor child home and admonish her father to have
-better care of his daughter and not let her stray into such dreadful
-places again.
-
-'Where do you live, Benedicta? I pray you tell me.'
-
-'Here.'
-
-'What! here? Ah, my child, here is only the gallows.'
-
-She pointed toward the pines. Following the direction of her finger, I
-saw among the trees a wretched hut which looked like a habitation more
-fit for animals than human beings. Then I knew better than she could
-have told me whose child she was.
-
-When I returned to my companions and they asked me who the girl was, I
-answered: 'The hangman's daughter.'
-
-3
-
-Having commended the soul of the dead man to the intercession of the
-Blessed Virgin and the Holy Saints, we left the accursed spot, but as
-we withdrew I looked back at the lovely child of the hangman. She stood
-where I had left her, looking after us. Her fair white brow was still
-crowned with the wreath of primroses, which gave an added charm to her
-wonderful beauty of feature and expression, and her large, dark eyes
-shone like the stars of a winter midnight. My companions, to whom the
-hangman's daughter was a most unchristian object, reproved me for the
-interest that I manifested in her; but it made me sad to think this
-sweet and beautiful child was shunned and despised through no fault of
-her own. Why should she be made to suffer blame because of her father's
-dreadful calling? And was it not the purest Christian charity which
-prompted this innocent maiden to keep the vultures from the body of a
-fellow-creature whom in life she had not even known and who had been
-adjudged unworthy to live? It seemed to me a more kindly act than that
-of any professed Christian who bestows money upon the poor. Expressing
-these feelings to my companions, I found, to my sorrow, that they did
-not share them; on the contrary, I was called a dreamer and a fool who
-wished to overthrow the ancient and wholesome customs of the world.
-Everyone, they said, was bound to execrate the class to which the
-hangman and his family belonged, for all who associated with such
-persons would surely be contaminated. I had, however, the temerity to
-remain steadfast in my conviction, and with due humility questioned the
-justice of treating such persons as criminals because they were a part
-of the law's machinery by which criminals were punished. Because in the
-church the hangman and his family had a dark corner specially set apart
-for them, that could not absolve us from our duty as servants of the
-Lord to preach the gospel of justice and mercy and give an example of
-Christian love and charity. But my brothers grew very angry with me, and
-the wilderness rang with their loud vociferations, so that I began to
-feel as if I were very wicked, although unable to perceive my error. I
-could do nothing but hope that Heaven would be more merciful to us all
-than we are to one another. In thinking of the maiden it gave me comfort
-to know that her name was Benedicta. Perhaps her parents had so named
-her as a means of blessing to one whom no one else would ever bless.
-
-But I must relate what a wonderful country it was into which we were now
-arrived. Were we not assured that all the world is the Lord's, for He
-made it, we might be tempted to think such a wild region the kingdom of
-the Evil One.
-
-Far down below our path the river roared and foamed between great
-cliffs, the grey points of which seemed to pierce the very sky. On our
-left, as we gradually rose out of this chasm, was a black forest of
-pines, frightful to see, and in front of us a most formidable peak.
-This mountain, despite its terrors, had a comical appearance, for it was
-white and pointed like a fool's cap, and looked as if some one had put a
-flour-sack on the knave's head. After all, it was nothing but snow. Snow
-in the middle of the glorious month of May!--surely the works of God are
-wonderful and almost past belief! The thought came to me that if this
-old mountain should shake his head the whole region would be full of
-flying snow.
-
-We were not a little surprised to find that in various places along our
-road the forest had been cleared away for a space large enough to build
-a hut and plant a garden. Some of these rude dwellings stood where
-one would have thought that only eagles would have been bold enough to
-build; but there is no place, it seems, free from the intrusion of Man,
-who stretches out his hand for everything, even that which is in the
-air. When at last we arrived at our destination and beheld the temple
-and the house erected in this wilderness to the name and glory of our
-beloved Saint, our hearts were thrilled with pious emotions. Upon the
-surface of a pine-covered rock was a cluster of huts and houses, the
-monastery in the midst, like a shepherd surrounded by his flock. The
-church and monastery were of hewn stone, of noble architecture, spacious
-and comfortable.
-
-May the good God bless our entrance into this holy place.
-
-4
-
-I have now been in this wilderness for a few weeks, but the Lord, too,
-is here, as everywhere. My health is good, and this house of our beloved
-Saint is a stronghold of the Faith, a house of peace, an asylum for
-those who flee from the wrath of the Evil One, a rest for all who bear
-the burden of sorrow. Of myself, however, I cannot say so much. I am
-young, and although my mind is at peace, I have so little experience of
-the world and its ways that I feel myself peculiarly liable to error and
-accessible to sin. The course of my life is like a rivulet which draws
-its silver thread smoothly and silently through friendly fields and
-flowery meadows, yet knows that when the storms come and the rains fall
-it may become a raging torrent, defiled with earth and whirling away to
-the sea the wreckage attesting the madness of its passion and its power.
-
-Not sorrow nor despair drew me away from the world into the sacred
-retreat of the Church, but a sincere desire to serve the Lord. My only
-wish is to belong to my beloved Saint, to obey the blessed mandates of
-the Church, and, as a servant of God, to be charitable to all mankind,
-whom I dearly love. The Church is, in truth, my beloved mother, for, my
-parents having died in my infancy I, too, might have perished without
-care had she not taken pity on me, fed and clothed me and reared me as
-her own child. And, oh, what happiness there will be for me, poor monk,
-when I am ordained and receive holy orders as a priest of the Most High
-God! Always I think and dream of it and try to prepare my soul for
-that high and sacred gift. I know I can never be worthy of this great
-happiness, but I do hope to be an honest and sincere priest, serving God
-and Man according to the light that is given from above. I often pray
-Heaven to put me to the test of temptation, that I may pass through
-the fire unscathed and purified in mind and soul. As it is, I feel the
-sovereign peace which, in this solitude, lulls my spirit to sleep, and
-all life's temptations and trials seem far away, like perils of the sea
-to one who can but faintly hear the distant thunder of the waves upon
-the beach.
-
-5
-
-Our Superior, Father Andreas, is a mild and pious gentleman. Our
-brothers live in peace and harmony. They are not idle, neither are they
-worldly nor arrogant. They are temperate, not indulging too much in the
-pleasures of the table--a praiseworthy moderation, for all this region,
-far and wide--the hills and the valleys, the river and forest, with all
-that they contain--belongs to the monastery. The woods are full of all
-kinds of game, of which the choicest is brought to our table, and we
-relish it exceedingly. In our monastery a drink is prepared from malt
-and barley--a strong, bitter drink, refreshing after fatigue, but not,
-to my taste, very good.
-
-The most remarkable thing in this part of the country is the
-salt-mining. I am told that the mountains are full of salt--how
-wonderful are the works of the Lord! In pursuit of this mineral Man
-has penetrated deep into the bowels of the earth by means of shafts and
-tunnels, and brings forth the bitter marrow of the hills into the
-light of the sun. The salt I have myself seen in red, brown and yellow
-crystals. The works give employment to our peasants and their sons, with
-a few foreign labourers, all under the command of an overseer, who is
-known as the Saltmaster. He is a stern man, exercising great power, but
-our Superior and the brothers speak little good of him--not from any
-unchristian spirit, but because his actions are evil. The Saltmaster has
-an only son. His name is Rochus, a handsome but wild and wicked youth.
-
-6
-
-The people hereabout are a proud, stubborn race. I am told that in an
-old chronicle they are described as descendants of the Romans, who
-in their day drove many tunnels into these mountains to get out the
-precious salt; and some of these tunnels are still in existence. From
-the window of my cell I can see these giant hills and the black forests
-which at sunset burn like great firebrands along the crests against the
-sky.
-
-The forefathers of these people (after the Romans) were, I am told, more
-stubborn still than they are, and continued in idolatry after all the
-neighbouring peoples had accepted the cross of the Lord our Saviour.
-Now, however, they bow their stiff necks to the sacred symbol and soften
-their hearts to receive the living truth. Powerful as they are in body,
-in spirit they are humble and obedient to the Word. Nowhere else did the
-people kiss my hand so fervently as here, although I am not a priest--an
-evidence of the power and victory of our glorious faith.
-
-Physically they are strong and exceedingly handsome in face and figure,
-especially the young men; the elder men, too, walk as erect and proud as
-kings. The women have long golden hair, which they braid and twist about
-their heads very beautifully, and they love to adorn themselves with
-jewels. Some have eyes whose dark brilliancy rivals the lustre of the
-rubies and garnets they wear about their white necks. I am told that
-the young men fight for the young women as stags for does. Ah, what
-wicked passions exist in the hearts of men! But since I know nothing of
-these things, nor shall ever feel such unholy emotions, I must not judge
-and condemn.
-
-Lord, what a blessing is the peace with which Thou hast filled the
-spirits of those who are Thine own! Behold, there is no turmoil in my
-breast; all is calm there as in the soul of a babe which calls 'Abba,'
-dear Father. And so may it ever be.
-
-7
-
-I have again seen the hangman's beautiful daughter. As the bells were
-chiming for mass I saw her in front of the monastery church. I had just
-come from the bedside of a sick man, and as my thoughts were gloomy the
-sight of her face was pleasant, and I should have liked to greet her,
-but her eyes were cast down: she did not notice me. The square in front
-of the church was filled with people, the men and youths on one side, on
-the other the women and maidens all clad in their high hats and adorned
-with their gold chains. They stood close together, but when the poor
-child approached all stepped aside, whispering and looking askance at
-her as if she were an accursed leper and they feared infection.
-
-Compassion filled my breast, compelling me to follow the maiden, and,
-overtaking her, I said aloud:
-
-'God greet you, Benedicta.'
-
-She shrank away as if frightened, then, looking up, recognised me,
-seemed astonished, blushed again and again and finally hung her head in
-silence.
-
-'Do you fear to speak to me?' I asked.
-
-But she made no reply. Again I spoke to her: 'Do good, obey the Lord and
-fear no one: then shall you be saved.'
-
-At this she drew a long sigh, and replied in a low voice, hardly more
-than a whisper: 'I thank you, my lord.'
-
-'I am not a lord, Benedicta,' I said, 'but a poor servant of God, who
-is a gracious and kind Father to all His children, however lowly their
-estate. Pray to Him when your heart is heavy, and He will be near you.'
-
-While I spoke she lifted her head and looked at me like a sad child that
-is being comforted by its mother. And, still speaking to her out of the
-great compassion in my heart, I led her into the church before all the
-people.
-
-But do thou, O holy Franciscus, pardon the sin that I committed during
-that high sacrament! For while Father Andreas was reciting the solemn
-words of the mass my eyes constantly wandered to the spot where the poor
-child knelt in a dark corner set apart for her and her father, forsaken
-and alone. She seemed to pray with holy zeal, and surely thou didst
-grace her with a ray of thy favour, for it was through thy love of
-mankind that thou didst become a great saint, and didst bring before the
-Throne of Grace thy large heart, bleeding for the sins of all the world.
-Then shall not I, the humblest of thy followers, have enough of thy
-spirit to pity this poor outcast who suffers for no sin of her own? Nay,
-I feel for her a peculiar tenderness, which I cannot help accepting as a
-sign from Heaven that I am charged with a special mandate to watch over
-her, to protect her, and finally to save her soul.
-
-8
-
-Our Superior has sent for me and rebuked me. He told me I had caused
-great ill-feeling among the brothers and the people, and asked what
-devil had me in possession that I should walk into church with the
-daughter of the public hangman.
-
-What could I say but that I pitied the poor maiden and could not do
-otherwise than as I did?
-
-'Why did you pity her?' he asked.
-
-'Because all the people shun her,' I replied, 'as if she were mortal
-sin itself, and because she is wholly blameless. It certainly is not her
-fault that her father is a hangman, nor his either, since, alas, hangmen
-must be.'
-
-Ah, beloved Franciscus, how the Superior scolded thy poor servant for
-these bold words.
-
-'And do you repent?' he demanded at the close of his reproof. But how
-could I repent of my compassion--incited, as I verily believe, by our
-beloved Saint?
-
-On learning my obduracy, the Superior became very sad. He gave me a long
-lecture and put me under hard penance. I took my punishment meekly
-and in silence, and am now confined to my cell, fasting and chastising
-myself. Nor in this do I spare myself at all, for it is happiness to
-suffer for the sake of one so unjustly treated as the poor friendless
-child.
-
-I stand at the grating of my cell, looking out at the high, mysterious
-mountains showing black against the evening sky. The weather being mild,
-I open the window behind the bars to admit the fresh air and better
-to hear the song of the stream below, which speaks to me with a divine
-companionship, gentle and consoling.
-
-I know not if I have already mentioned that the monastery is built upon
-a rock high over the river. Directly under the windows of our cells are
-the rugged edges of great cliffs, which none can scale but at the peril
-of his life. Imagine, then, my astonishment when I saw a living figure
-lift itself up from the awful abyss by the strength of its hands, and,
-drawing itself across the edge, stand erect upon the very verge! In the
-dusk I could not make out what kind of creature it was; I thought
-it some evil spirit come to tempt me; so I crossed myself and said a
-prayer. Presently there is a movement of its arm, and something flies
-through the window, past my head, and lies upon the floor of my cell,
-shining like a white star. I bend and pick it up. It is a bunch of
-flowers such as I have never seen--leafless, white as snow, soft as
-velvet, and without fragrance. As I stand by the window, the better to
-see the wondrous flowers, my eyes turn again to the figure on the cliff,
-and I hear a sweet, low voice, which says: 'I am Benedicta, and I thank
-you.'
-
-Ah, Heaven! it was the child, who, that she might greet me in my
-loneliness and penance, had climbed the dreadful rocks, heedless of the
-danger. She knew, then, of my punishment--knew that it was for her.
-
-She knew even the very cell in which I was confined. O holy Saint!
-surely she could not have known all this but from thee; and I were worse
-than an infidel to doubt that the feeling which I have for her signifies
-that a command has been laid upon me to save her.
-
-I saw her bending over the frightful precipice. She turned a moment and
-waved her hand to me and disappeared. I uttered an involuntary cry--had
-she fallen? I grasped the iron bars of my window and shook them with all
-my strength, but they did not yield. In my despair I threw myself upon
-the floor, crying and praying to all the saints to protect the dear
-child in her dangerous descent if still she lived, to intercede for her
-unshriven soul if she had fallen. I was still kneeling when Benedicta
-gave me a sign of her safe arrival below. It was such a shout as these
-mountaineers utter in their untamed enjoyment of life--only Benedicta's
-shout, coming from far below in the gorge, and mingled with its own
-strange echoes, sounded like nothing I had ever heard from any human
-throat, and so affected me that I wept, and the tears fell upon the wild
-flowers in my hand.
-
-9
-
-As a follower of Saint Francisais, I am not permitted to own anything
-dear to my heart, so I have disposed of my most precious treasure; I
-have presented to my beloved Saint the beautiful flowers which were
-Benedicta's offering. They are so placed before his picture in the
-monastery church as to decorate the bleeding heart which he carries upon
-his breast as a symbol of his suffering for mankind.
-
-I have learned the name of the flower: because of its colour, and
-because it is finer than other flowers, it is called Edelweiss--noble
-white. It grows in so rare perfection only upon the highest and wildest
-rocks--mostly upon cliffs, over abysses many hundred feet in depth,
-where one false step would be fatal to him who gathers it.
-
-These beautiful flowers, then, are the real evil spirits of this wild
-region; they lure many mortals to a dreadful death. The brothers here
-have told me that never a year passes but some shepherd, some hunter or
-some bold youth, attracted by these wonderful blossoms, is lost in the
-attempt to get them.
-
-May God be merciful to all their souls!
-
-10
-
-I must have turned pale when one of the brothers reported at the supper
-table that upon the picture of Saint Franciscus had been found a bunch
-of edelweiss of such rare beauty as grows nowhere else in the country
-but at the summit of a cliff which is more than a thousand feet high,
-and overhangs a dreadful lake. The brothers tell wondrous tales of the
-horrors of this lake--how wild its waters and how deep, and how the most
-hideous spectres are seen along its shores or rising out of it.
-
-Benedicta's edelweiss, therefore, has caused great commotion and wonder,
-for even among the boldest hunters there are few, indeed, who dare
-to climb that cliff by the haunted lake. And the tender child has
-accomplished the feat! She has gone quite alone to that horrible place,
-and has climbed the almost vertical wall of the mountain to the green
-spot where the flowers grow with which she was moved to greet me. I
-doubt not that Heaven guarded her against mishap in order that I might
-have a visible sign and token that I am charged with the duty of her
-salvation.
-
-Ah, thou poor sinless child, accurst in the eyes of the people, God hath
-signified His care of thee, and in my heart I feel already something of
-that adoration which shall be thy due when for thy purity and holiness
-He shall bestow upon thy relics some signal mark of His favour, and the
-Church shall declare thee blessed!
-
-I have learned another thing that I will chronicle here. In this country
-these flowers are the sign of a faithful love: the youth presents them
-to his sweetheart, and the maidens decorate the hats of their lovers
-with them. It is clear that, in expressing her gratitude to a humble
-servant of the Church, Benedicta was moved, perhaps without knowing it,
-to signify at the same time her love of the Church itself, although,
-alas, she has yet too little cause.
-
-As I ramble about here, day after day, I am becoming familiar with
-every path in the forest, in the dark pass, and on the slopes of the
-mountains.
-
-I am often sent to the homes of the peasants, the hunters and the
-shepherds, to carry either medicine to the sick or consolation to the
-sad. The most reverend Superior has told me that as soon as I receive
-holy orders I shall have to carry the sacraments to the dying, for I am
-the youngest and the strongest of the brothers. In these high places it
-sometimes occurs that a hunter or a shepherd falls from the rocks,
-and after some days is found, still living. It is then the duty of the
-priest to perform the offices of our holy religion at the bedside of
-the sufferer, so that the blessed Saviour may be there to receive the
-departing soul.
-
-That I may be worthy of such grace, may our beloved Saint keep my heart
-pure from every earthly passion and desire!
-
-11
-
-The monastery has celebrated a great festival, and I will report all
-that occurred.
-
-For many days before the event the brothers were busy preparing for
-it. Some decorated the church with sprays of pine and birch and with
-flowers.
-
-They went with the other men and gathered the most beautiful Alpine
-roses they could find, and as it is midsummer they grow in great
-abundance. On the day before the festival the brothers sat in the
-garden, weaving garlands to adorn the church; even the most reverend
-Superior and the Fathers took pleasure in our merry task. They walked
-beneath the trees and chatted pleasantly while encouraging the brother
-butler to spend freely the contents of the cellars.
-
-The next morning was the holy procession. It was very beautiful to see,
-and added to the glory of our holy Church. The Superior walked under a
-purple silken canopy, surrounded by the worthy Fathers, and bore in his
-hands the sacred emblem of the crucifixion of our Saviour. We brothers
-followed, bearing burning candles and singing psalms. Behind us came a
-great crowd of the people, dressed in their finest attire.
-
-The proudest of those in the procession were the mountaineers and the
-salt-miners, the Saltmaster at their head on a beautiful horse adorned
-with costly trappings. He was a proud-looking man, with his great sword
-at his side and a plumed hat upon his broad, high brow. Behind him rode
-Rochus, his son. When we had collected in front of the gate to form
-a line I took special notice of that young man. I judged him to be
-self-willed and bold. He wore his hat on the side of his head and cast
-flaming glances upon the women and the maidens. He looked contemptuously
-upon us monks. I fear he is not a good Christian, but he is the most
-beautiful youth that I have ever seen: tall and slender like a young
-pine, with light brown eyes and golden locks.
-
-The Saltmaster is as powerful in this region as our Superior. He is
-appointed by the Duke and has judicial powers in all affairs. He has
-even the power of life and death over those accused of murder or any
-other abominable crime. But the Lord has fortunately endowed him with
-good judgment and wisdom.
-
-Through the village the procession moved out into the valley and down to
-the entrances of the great salt mines. In front of the principal mine an
-altar was erected, and there our Superior read high mass, while all the
-people knelt. I observed that the Salt-master and his son knelt and bent
-their heads with visible reluctance and this made me very sad. After
-the service the procession moved toward the hill called 'Mount Calvary,'
-which is still higher than the monastery, and from the top of which one
-has a good view of the whole country below. There the reverend Superior
-displayed the crucifix in order to banish the evil powers which abound
-in these terrible mountains; and he also said prayers and pronounced
-anathemas against all demons infesting the valley below. The bells
-chimed their praises to the Lord, and it seemed as if divine voices were
-ringing through the wilderness. It was all, indeed, most beautiful and
-good.
-
-I looked about me to see if the child of the hangman were present, but I
-could not see her anywhere, and knew not whether to rejoice that she was
-out of reach of the insults of the people or to mourn because deprived
-of the spiritual strength that might have come to me from looking upon
-her heavenly beauty.
-
-After the services came the feast. Upon a meadow sheltered by trees
-tables were spread, and the clergy and the people, the most reverend
-Superior and the great Saltmaster partook of the viands served by the
-young men. It was interesting to see the young men make big fires of
-pine and maple, put great pieces of beef upon wooden spits, turn them
-over the coals until they were brown, and then lay them before the
-Fathers and the mountaineers. They also boiled mountain trout and carp
-in large kettles. The wheaten bread was brought in immense baskets, and
-as to drink, there was assuredly no scarcity of that, for the Superior
-and the Saltmaster had each given a mighty cask of beer. Both of these
-monstrous barrels lay on wooden stands under an ancient oak. The boys
-and the Saltmaster's men drew from the cask which he had given, while
-that of the Superior was served by the brother butler and a number of
-us younger monks. In honour of Saint Franciscus I must say that the
-clerical barrel was of vastly greater size than that of the Saltmaster.
-
-Separate tables had been provided for the Superior and the Fathers,
-and for the Saltmaster and the best of his people. The Saltmaster and
-Superior sat upon chairs which stood upon a beautiful carpet, and
-their seats were screened from the sun by a linen canopy. At the table,
-surrounded by their beautiful wives and daughters, sat many knights, who
-had come from their distant castles to share in the great festival. I
-helped at table. I handed the dishes and filled the goblets and was able
-to see how good an appetite the company had, and how they loved that
-brown and bitter drink. I could see also how amorously the Saltmaster's
-son looked at the ladies, which provoked me very much, as he could not
-marry them all, especially those already married.
-
-We had music, too. Some boys from the village, who practise on various
-instruments in their spare moments, were the performers. Ah, how they
-yelled, those flutes and pipes, and how the fiddle bows danced and
-chirped! I do not doubt the music was very good, but Heaven has not seen
-fit to give me the right kind of ears.
-
-I am sure our blessed Saint must have derived great satisfaction from
-the sight of so many people eating and drinking their bellies full.
-Heavens! how they did eat--what unearthly quantities they did away with!
-But that was nothing to their drinking. I firmly believe that if every
-mountaineer had brought along a barrel of his own he would have emptied
-it, all by himself. But the women seemed to dislike the beer, especially
-the young girls. Usually before drinking a young man would hand his cup
-to one of the maids, who barely touched it with her lips, and, making a
-grimace, turned away her face. I am not sufficiently acquainted with the
-ways of woman to say with certainty if this proved that at other times
-they were so abstemious.
-
-After eating, the young men played at various games which exhibited
-their agility and strength. Holy Franciscus! what legs they have, what
-arms and necks! They leapt, they wrestled with one another; it was like
-the fighting of bears. The mere sight of it caused me to feel great
-fear. It seemed as if they would crush one another. But the maidens
-looked on, feeling neither fear nor anxiety; they giggled and appeared
-well pleased. It was wonderful, too, to hear the voices of these young
-mountaineers; they threw back their heads and shouted till the echoes
-rang from the mountain-sides and roared in the gorges as if from the
-throats of a legion of demons.
-
-Foremost among all was the Saltmaster's son. He sprang like a deer,
-fought like a fiend, and bellowed like a wild bull. Among these
-mountaineers he was a king. I observed that many were jealous of his
-strength and beauty, and secretly hated him; yet all obeyed. It was
-beautiful to see how this young man bent his slender body while leaping
-and playing the games--how he threw up his head like a stag at gaze,
-shook his golden locks and stood in the midst of his fellows with
-flaming cheeks and sparkling eyes. How sad to think that pride and
-passion should make their home in so lovely a body, which seems created
-for the habitation of a soul that would glorify its Maker!
-
-It was near dusk when the Superior, the Saltmaster, the Fathers and all
-the distinguished guests parted and retired to their homes, leaving the
-others at drink and dance. My duties compelled me to remain with the
-brother butler to serve the debauching youths with beer from the great
-cask. Young Rochus remained too. I do not know how it occurred, but
-suddenly he stood before me. His looks were dark and his manner proud.
-
-'Are you,' he said, 'the monk who gave offence to the people the other
-day?'
-
-I asked humbly--though beneath my monk's robe I felt a sinful anger:
-'What are you speaking of?'
-
-'As if you did not know!' he said, haughtily. 'Now bear in mind what I
-tell you; if you ever show any friendship toward that girl I shall teach
-you a lesson which you will not soon forget. You monks are likely to
-call your impertinence by the name of some virtue; but I know the trick,
-and will have none of it. Make a note of that, you young cowl=wearer,
-for your handsome face and big eyes will not save you.'
-
-With that he turned his back upon me and went away, but I heard his
-strong voice ringing out upon the night as he sang and shouted with the
-others. I was greatly alarmed to learn that this bold boy had cast his
-eyes upon the hangman's lovely daughter. His feeling for her was surely
-not honourable, or, instead of hating me for being kind to her, he would
-have been grateful and would have thanked me. I feared for the child,
-and again and again did I promise my blessed Saint that I would watch
-over and protect her, in obedience to the miracle which he has wrought
-in my breast regarding her. With that wondrous feeling to urge me on,
-I cannot be slack in my duty, and, Benedicta, thou shalt be saved--thy
-body and thy soul!
-
-12
-
-Let me continue my report.
-
-The boys threw dry brushwood into the fire so that the flames
-illuminated the whole meadow and shone red upon the trees. Then they
-laid hands upon the village maidens and began to turn and swing them
-round and round. Holy saints! how they stamped and turned and threw
-their hats in the air, kicked up their heels, and lifted the girls from
-the ground, as if the sturdy wenches were nothing but feather balls!
-They shouted and yelled as if all the evil spirits had them in
-possession, so that I wished a herd of swine might come, that the devils
-might leave these human brutes and go into the four-legged ones. The
-boys were quite full of the brown beer, which for its bitterness and
-strength is a beastly drink.
-
-Before long the madness of intoxication broke out; they attacked one
-another with fists and knives, and it looked as if they would do murder.
-Suddenly the Saltmaster's son, who had stood looking on, leaped among
-them, caught two of the combatants by the hair and knocked their heads
-together with such force that the blood started from their noses, and I
-thought surely their skulls had been crushed like egg-shells; but they
-must have been very hard-headed, for on being released they seemed
-little the worse for their punishment. After much shouting and
-screaming, Rochus succeeded in making peace, which seemed to me, poor
-worm, quite heroic. The music set in again: the fiddles scraped and
-the pipes shrieked, while the boys with torn clothes and scratched and
-bleeding faces, renewed the dance as if nothing had occurred. Truly,
-this is a people that would gladden the heart of a Bramarbas or a
-Holofernes!
-
-I had scarcely recovered from the fright which Rochus had given me, when
-I was made to feel a far greater one. Rochus was dancing with a tall and
-beautiful girl, who looked the very queen of this young king. They made
-such mighty leaps and dizzy turns, but at the same time so graceful,
-that all looked on with astonishment and pleasure. The girl had a
-sensuous smile on her lips and a bold look in her brown face, which
-seemed to say: 'See! I am the mistress of his heart!' But suddenly he
-pushed her from him as in disgust, broke from the circle of dancers, and
-cried to his friends: 'I am going to bring my own partner. Who will go
-with me?'
-
-The tall girl, maddened by the insult, stood looking at him with the
-face of a demon, her black eyes burning like flames of hell! But her
-discomfiture amused the drunken youths, and they laughed aloud.
-
-Snatching a firebrand and swinging it about his head till the sparks
-flew in showers, Rochus cried again: 'Who goes with me?' and walked
-rapidly away into the forest. The others seizing firebrands also, ran
-after him, and soon their voices could be heard far away, ringing out
-upon the night, themselves no longer seen. I was still looking in the
-direction which they had taken, when the tall girl whom Rochus had
-insulted stepped to my side and hissed something into my ear. I felt her
-hot breath on my cheek.
-
-'If you care for the hangman's daughter, then hasten and save her from
-that drunken wretch. No woman resists him!'
-
-God! how the wild words of that woman horrified me! I did not doubt the
-girl's words, but in my anxiety for the poor child I asked: 'How can I
-save her?'
-
-'Run and warn her, monk,' the wench replied: 'she will listen to you.'
-
-'But they will find her sooner than I.'
-
-'They are drunk and will not go fast. Besides, I know a path leading to
-the hangman's hut by a shorter route.'
-
-'Then show me and be quick!' I cried.
-
-She glided away, motioning me to follow. We were soon in the woods,
-where it was so dark I could hardly see the woman's figure; but she
-moved as fast and her step was as sure as in the light of day. Above us
-we could see the torches of the boys, which showed that they had taken
-the longer path along the mountain-side. I heard their wild shouts, and
-trembled for the child. We had walked for some time in silence, having
-left the youths far behind, when the young woman began speaking to
-herself. At first I did not understand, but soon my ears caught every
-passionate word:
-
-'He shall not have her! To the devil with the hangman's whelp! Every one
-despises her and spits at the sight of her. It is just like him--he
-does not care for what people think or say. Because they hate he loves.
-Besides, she has a pretty face. I'll make it pretty for her! I'll mark
-it with blood! But if she were the daughter of the devil himself he
-would not rest until he had her. He shall not!'
-
-She lifted her arms and laughed wildly--I shuddered to hear her! I
-thought of the dark powers that live in the human breast, though I know
-as little of them, thank God, as a child.
-
-At length we reached the Galgenberg, where stands the hangman's hut, and
-a few moments' climb brought us near the door.
-
-'There she lives,' said the girl, pointing to the hut, through the
-windows of which shone the yellow light of a tallow candle; 'go warn
-her. The hangman is ill and unable to protect his daughter, even if he
-dared. You'd better take her away--take her to the Alpfeld on the Goell,
-where my father has a house. They will not look for her up there.'
-
-With that she left me and vanished in the darkness.
-
-13
-
-Looking in at the window of the hut, I saw the hangman sitting in a
-chair, with his daughter beside him, her hand upon his shoulder. I could
-hear him cough and groan, and knew that she was trying to soothe him
-in his pain. A world of love and sorrow was in her face, which was more
-beautiful than ever.
-
-Nor did I fail to observe how clean and tidy were the room and all in
-it. The humble dwelling looked, indeed, like a place blessed by the
-peace of God. Yet these blameless persons are treated as accurst and
-hated like mortal sin! What greatly pleased me was an image of the
-Blessed Virgin on the wall opposite the window at which I stood. The
-frame was decorated with flowers of the field, and the mantle of the
-Holy Mother festooned with edelweiss.
-
-I knocked at the door, calling out at the same time: 'Do not fear; it is
-I--Brother Ambrosius.'
-
-It seemed to me that, on hearing my voice and name, Benedicta showed a
-sudden joy in her face, but perhaps it was only surprise--may the saints
-preserve me from the sin of pride. She came to the window and opened it.
-
-'Benedicta,' said I, hastily, after returning her greeting, 'wild and
-drunken boys are on their way hither to take you to the dance. Rochus
-is with them, and says that he will fetch you to dance with him. I have
-come before them to assist you to escape.' At the name of Rochus I saw
-the blood rise into her cheeks and suffuse her whole face with crimson.
-Alas, I perceived that my jealous guide was right: no woman could resist
-that beautiful boy, not even this pious and virtuous child. When her
-father comprehended what I said he rose to his feet and stretched out
-his feeble arms as if to shield her from harm, but, although his soul
-was strong, his body, I knew, was powerless. I said to him: 'Let me take
-her away; the boys are drunk and know not what they do. Your resistance
-would only make them angry, and they might harm you both. Ah, look!
-See their torches; hear their boisterous voices! Hasten, Benedicta--be
-quick, be quick!'
-
-Benedicta sprang to the side of the now sobbing old man and tenderly
-embraced him. Then she hurried from the room, and after covering my
-hands with kisses ran away into the woods, disappearing in the night,
-at which I was greatly surprised. I waited for her to return, for a
-few minutes, then entered the cabin to protect her father from the wild
-youths who, I thought, would visit their disappointment upon him.
-
-But they did not come. I waited and listened in vain. All at once I
-heard shouts of joy and screams that made me tremble and pray to the
-blessed Saint. But the sounds died away in the distance, and I knew that
-the boys had retraced their steps down the Galgenberg to the meadow of
-the fires. The sick man and I spoke of the miracle which had changed
-their hearts, and we were filled with gratitude and joy. Then I returned
-along the path by which I had come. As I arrived near the meadow, I
-could hear a wilder and madder uproar than ever, and could see through
-the trees the glare of greater fires, with the figures of the youths
-and a few maids dancing in the open, their heads uncovered, their hair
-streaming over their shoulders, their garments disordered by the fury
-of their movements. They circled about the fires, wound in and out among
-them, showing black or red according to how the light struck them, and
-looking altogether like Demons of the Pit commemorating some infernal
-anniversary or some new torment for the damned. And, holy Saviour!
-there, in the midst of an illuminated space, upon which the others did
-not trespass, dancing by themselves and apparently forgetful of all
-else, were Rochus and Benedicta!
-
-14
-
-Holy Mother of God! what can be worse than the fall of an angel? I
-saw--I understood, then, that in leaving me and her father, Benedicta
-had gone willingly to meet the very fate from which I had striven to
-save her!
-
-'The accurst wench has run into Rochus' arms,' hissed someone at my
-side, and, turning, I saw the tall brown girl who had been my guide,
-her face distorted with hate. 'I wish that I had killed her. Why did you
-suffer her to play us this trick, you fool of a monk?'
-
-I pushed her aside and ran toward the couple without thinking what I
-did. But what could I do? Even at that instant, as though to prevent
-my interference, though really unconscious of my presence, the drunken
-youths formed a circle about them, bawling their admiration and clapping
-their hands to mark the time.
-
-As these two beautiful figures danced they were a lovely picture. He,
-tall, slender and lithe, was like a god of the heathen Greeks, while
-Benedicta looked like a fairy. Seen through the slight mist upon the
-meadows, her delicate figure, moving swiftly and swaying from side to
-side, seemed veiled with a web of purple and gold. Her eyes were cast
-modestly upon the ground; her motions, though agile, were easy and
-graceful; her face glowed with excitement, and it seemed as if her whole
-soul were absorbed in the dance. Poor, sweet child! her error made me
-weep, but I forgave her. Her life was so barren and joyless; why should
-she not love to dance? Heaven bless her! But Rochus--ah, God forgive
-him!
-
-While I was looking on at all this, and thinking what it was my duty to
-do, the jealous girl--she is called Amula--had stood near me, cursing
-and blaspheming. When the boys applauded Benedicta's dancing Amula made
-as if she would spring forward and strangle her. But I held the furious
-creature back, and, stepping forward, called out: 'Benedicta!'
-
-She started at the sound of my voice, but though she hung her head a
-little lower, she continued dancing. Amula could control her rage no
-longer, and rushed forward with a savage cry, trying to break into
-the circle. But the drunken boys prevented. They jeered at her, which
-maddened her the more, and she made effort after effort to reach her
-victim. The boys drove her away with shouts, curses and laughter. Holy
-Franciscus, pray for us!--when I saw the hatred in Amula's eyes a cold
-shudder ran through my body. God be with us! I believe the creature
-capable of killing the poor child with her own hands, and glorying in
-the deed!
-
-I ought now to have gone home, but I remained, I thought of what might
-occur when the dance was over, for I had been told that the youths
-commonly accompanied their partners home, and I was horrified to think
-of Rochus and Benedicta alone together in the forest and the night.
-
-Imagine my surprise when all at once Benedicta lifted her head, stopped
-dancing, and, looking kindly at Rochus, said in her sweet voice, so like
-the sound of silver bells: 'I thank you, sir, for having chosen me for
-your partner in the dance in such a knightly way.'
-
-Then, bowing to the Saltmaster's son, she slipped quickly through the
-circle, and, before anyone could know what was occurring, disappeared
-in the black spaces of the forest. Rochus at first seemed stupefied with
-amazement, but when he realized that Benedicta was gone he raved like a
-madman. He shouted: 'Benedicta!' He called her endearing names; but all
-to no purpose--she had vanished. Then he hurried after her and wanted
-to search the forest with torches, but the other youths dissuaded him.
-Observing my presence, he turned his wrath upon me; I think if he had
-dared he would have struck me. He cried: 'I'll make you smart for this,
-you miserable cowl-wearer!'
-
-But I do not fear him. Praise be to God! Benedicta is not guilty, and
-I can respect her as before. Yet I tremble to think of the many perils
-which beset her. She is defenceless against the hate of Amula as well as
-against the lust of Rochus. Ah, if I could be ever at her side to
-watch over and protect her! But I commend her to Thee, O Lord: the poor
-motherless child shall surely not trust to Thee in vain.
-
-15
-
-Alas! my unhappy fate!--again punished and again unable to find myself
-guilty.
-
-It seems that Amula has talked about Benedicta and Rochus. The brown
-wench strolled from house to house telling how Rochus went to the
-gallows for his partner in the dance. And she added that Benedicta
-had acted in the most shameless manner with the drunken boys. When the
-people spoke to me of this I enlightened them regarding the facts, as it
-seemed to me my duty to do, and told all as it had occurred.
-
-By this testimony, in contradiction of one who broke the Decalogue by
-bearing false witness against her neighbour I have, it seems, offended
-the Superior. I was summoned before him and accused of defending the
-hangman's daughter against the statements of an honest Christian girl. I
-asked, meekly, what I should have done--whether I should have permitted
-the innocent and defenceless to be calumniated.
-
-'Of what interest,' I was asked, 'can the hangman's daughter be to you?
-Moreover, it is a fact that she went of her own will to associate with
-the drunken boys.'
-
-To this I replied: 'She went out of love to her father, for if the
-intoxicated youths had not found her they would have maltreated him--and
-she loves the old man, who is ill and helpless. Thus it happened, and
-thus I have testified.'
-
-But His Reverence insisted that I was wrong, and put me under severe
-penance. I willingly undergo it: I am glad to suffer for the sweet
-child. Nor will I murmur against the revered Superior, for he is my
-master, against whom to rebel, even in thought, is sin. Is not obedience
-the foremost commandment of our great saint for all his disciples? Ah,
-how I long for the priestly ordination and the holy oil! Then I
-shall have peace and be able to serve Heaven better and with greater
-acceptance.
-
-I am troubled about Benedicta. If not confined to my cell I should go
-toward the Galgenberg: perhaps I should meet her. I grieve for her as if
-she were my sister.
-
-Belonging to the Lord, I have no right to love anything but Him who died
-upon the cross for our sins--all other love is evil. O blessed Saints in
-Heaven! what if it be that this feeling which I have accepted as a sign
-and token that I am charged with the salvation of Benedicta's soul is
-but an earthly love?
-
-Pray for me, O dear Franciscus, that I may have the light, lest I stray
-into the road which leads down to Hell. Light and strength, beloved
-Saint, that I may know the right path, and walk therein forever!
-
-16
-
-I stand at the window of my cell. The sun sinks and the shadows creep
-higher on the sides of the mountains beyond the abyss. The abyss itself
-is filled with a mist whose billowy surface looks like a great lake. I
-think how Benedicta climbed out of these awful depths to fling me the
-edelweiss; I listen for the sound of the stones displaced by her daring
-little feet and plunging into the chasm below. But night after night has
-passed. I hear the wind among the pines; I hear the water roaring in the
-deeps; I hear the distant song of the nightingale; but her voice I do
-not hear.
-
-Every evening the mist rises from the abyss. It forms billows; then
-rings; then flakes, and these rise and grow and darken until they are
-great clouds. They cover the hill and the valley, the tall pines and the
-snow-pointed mountains. They extinguish the last remaining touches of
-sunlight on the higher peaks, and it is night. Alas, in my soul also
-there is night--dark, starless and without hope of dawn!
-
-To-day is Sunday. Benedicta was not in church--'the dark corner'
-remained vacant. I was unable to keep my mind upon the service, a sin
-for which I shall do voluntary penance.
-
-Amula was among the other maidens, but I saw nothing of Rochus. It
-seemed to me that her watchful black eyes were a sufficient guard
-against any rival, and that in her jealousy Benedicta would find
-protection. God can make the basest passions serve the most worthy ends,
-and the reflection gave me pleasure, which, alas, was of short life.
-
-The services being at an end, the Fathers and friars left the church
-slowly in procession, moving through the vestry, while the people went
-out at the main entrance. From the long covered gallery leading out of
-the vestry one has a full view of the public square of the village. As
-we friars, who were behind the Fathers, were in the gallery, something
-occurred which I shall remember even to the day of my death as an unjust
-deed which Heaven permitted for I know not what purpose. It seems that
-the Fathers must have known what was coming, for they halted in the
-gallery, giving us all an opportunity to look out upon the square.
-
-I heard a confused noise of voices. It came nearer, and the shouting and
-yelling sounded like the approach of all the fiends of Hell. Being at
-the farther end of the gallery I was unable to see what was going on
-in the square, so I asked a brother at a window near by what it was all
-about.
-
-'They are taking a woman to the pillory,' he answered.
-
-'Who is it?'
-
-'A girl.'
-
-'What has she done?'
-
-'You ask a foolish question. Whom are pillories and whipping-posts for
-but fallen women?'
-
-The howling mob passed farther into the square, so that I had a full
-view. In the front were boys, leaping, gesticulating and singing vile
-songs. They seemed mad with joy and made savage by the shame and pain of
-their fellow-creature. Nor did the maids behave much better. 'Fie upon
-the outcast!' they cried. 'See what it is to be a sinner! Thank heaven,
-we are virtuous.'
-
-In the rear of these yelling boys, surrounded by this mob of screaming
-women and girls--O God! how can I write it? How can I express the
-horror of it? In the midst of it all--she, the lovely, the sweet, the
-immaculate Benedicta!
-
-O my Saviour! how did I see all this, yet am still living to relate
-it? I must have come near to death. The gallery, the square, the people
-seemed whirling round and round; the earth sank beneath my feet, and,
-although I strained my eyes open to see, yet all was dark. But it must
-have been for but a short time; I recovered, and, on looking down into
-the square, saw her again.
-
-They had clothed her in a long gray cloak, fastened at the waist with a
-rope. Her head bore a wreath of straw, and on her breast, suspended by
-a string about the neck, was a black tablet bearing in chalk the word
-'Buhle'--harlot.
-
-By the end of the rope about her waist a man led her. I looked at him
-closely, and--O most holy Son of God, what brutes and beasts Thou didst
-come to save!--it was Benedicta's father! They had compelled the poor
-old man to perform one of the duties of his office by leading his own
-child to the pillory! I learned later that he had implored the Superior
-on his knees not to lay this dreadful command upon him, but all in vain.
-
-The memory of this scene can never leave me. The hangman did not remove
-his eyes from his daughter's face, and she frequently nodded at him and
-smiled. By the grace of God, the maiden smiled!
-
-The mob insulted her, called her vile names and spat upon the ground in
-front of her feet. Nor was this all. Observing that she took no notice
-of them, they pelted her with dust and grass. This was more than the
-poor father could endure, and, with a faint, inarticulate moan, he fell
-to the ground in a swoon.
-
-Oh, the pitiless wretches!--they wanted to lift him up and make him
-finish his task, but Benedicta stretched out her arm in supplication,
-and with an expression of so ineffable tenderness upon her beautiful
-face that even the brutal mob felt her gentle power and recoiled before
-her, leaving the unconscious man upon the ground. She knelt and took
-her father's head in her lap. She whispered in his ear words of love and
-comfort. She stroked his gray hair and kissed his pale lips until she
-had coaxed him into consciousness and he had opened his eyes. Benedicta,
-thrice blessed Benedicta, thou surely art born to be a saint, for thou
-didst show a divine patience like that with which our Saviour bore His
-cross and with it all the sins of the world!
-
-She helped her father to rise, and smiled brightly in his face when he
-made out to stand. She shook the dust from his clothing, and then, still
-smiling and murmuring words of encouragement, handed him the rope. The
-boys yelled and sang, the women screamed, and the wretched old man led
-his innocent child to the place of shame.
-
-17
-
-When I was back again in my cell I threw myself upon the stones
-and cried aloud to God against the injustice and misery that I had
-witnessed, and against the still greater misery of which I had been
-spared the sight. I saw in my mind the father binding his child to the
-post. I saw the brutal populace dance about her with savage delight.
-I saw the vicious Amula spit in the pure one's face. I prayed long and
-earnestly that the poor child might be made strong to endure her great
-affliction.
-
-Then I sat and waited. I waited for the setting of the sun, for at
-that time the sufferer is commonly released from the whipping-post. The
-minutes seemed hours, the hours eternities. The sun did not move; the
-day of shame was denied a night.
-
-It was in vain that I tried to understand it all; I was stunned and
-dazed. Why did Rochus permit Benedicta to be so disgraced? Does he think
-the deeper her shame the more easily he can win her? I know not, nor do
-I greatly care to search out his motive. But, God help me! I myself feel
-her disgrace, most keenly.
-
-And, Lord, Lord, what a light has come into the understanding of Thy
-servant! It has come to me like a revelation out of Heaven that my
-feeling for Benedicta is more and less than what I thought it. It is
-an earthly love--the love of a man for a woman. As first this knowledge
-broke into my consciousness my breath beat quick and hard; it seemed to
-me that I should suffocate. Yet such was the hardness of my heart from
-witnessing so terrible an injustice tolerated by Heaven, that I was
-unable wholly to repent. In the sudden illumination I was blinded: I
-could not clearly see my degree of sin. The tumult of my emotions was
-not altogether disagreeable; I had to confess to myself that I would not
-willingly forego it even if I knew it wicked. May the Mother of Mercy
-intercede for me!
-
-Even now I cannot think that in supposing myself to have a divine
-mandate to save the soul of Benedicta, and prepare her for a life of
-sanctity, I was wholly in error. This other human desire--comes it not
-also of God? Is it not concerned for the good of its object? And what
-can be a greater good than salvation of the soul?--a holy life on earth,
-and in Heaven eternal happiness and glory to reward it. Surely the
-spiritual and the carnal love are not so widely different as I have been
-taught to think them. They are, perhaps, not antagonistic, and are but
-expressions of the same will. O holy Franciscus, in this great light
-that has fallen about me, guide thou my steps. Show to my dazzled eyes
-the straight, right way to Benedicta's good!
-
-At length the sun disappeared behind the cloister. The flakes and
-cloudlets gathered upon the horizon; the haze rose from the abyss and,
-beyond, the purple shadow climbed higher and higher, the great slope of
-the mountain, extinguishing at last the gleam of light upon the summit.
-Thank God, oh, thank God, she is free!
-
-18
-
-I have been very ill, but by the kind attention of the brothers am
-sufficiently recovered to leave my bed. It must be God's will that I
-live to serve Him, for certainly I have done nothing to merit His great
-mercy in restoring me to health. Still, I feel a yearning in my soul for
-a complete dedication of my poor life to Him and His service. To embrace
-Him and be bound up in His love are now the only aspirations that I
-have. As soon as the holy oil is on my brow, these hopes, I am sure,
-will be fulfilled, and, purged of my hopeless earthly passion for
-Benedicta, I shall be lifted into a new and diviner life. And it may be
-that then I can, without offence to Heaven or peril to my soul, watch
-over and protect her far better than I can now as a wretched monk.
-
-I have been weak. My feet, like those of an infant, failed to support
-my body. The brothers carried me into the garden. With what gratitude
-I again looked upward into the blue of the sky! How rapturously I gazed
-upon the white peaks of the mountains and the black forests on their
-slopes! Every blade of grass seemed to me of special interest, and I
-greeted each passing insect as if it were an old acquaintance.
-
-My eyes wander to the south, where the Galgenberg is, and I think
-unceasingly of the poor child of the hangman. What has become of her?
-Has she survived her terrible experience in the public square? What is
-she doing? Oh, that I were strong enough to walk to the Galgenberg! But
-I am not permitted to leave the monastery, and there is none of whom I
-dare ask her fate. The friars look at me strangely; it is as if they
-no longer regarded me as one of them. Why is this so? I love them, and
-desire to live in harmony with them. They are kind and gentle, yet they
-seem to avoid me as much as they can. What does it all mean?
-
-19
-
-I have been in the presence of the most reverend Superior, Father
-Andreas. 'Your recovery was miraculous,' said he. 'I wish you to be
-worthy of such mercies, and to prepare your soul for the great blessing
-that awaits you. I have, therefore, my son, ordained that you leave us
-for a season, to dwell apart in the solitude of the mountains, for the
-double purpose of restoring your strength and affording you an
-insight into your own heart. Make a severe examination apart from any
-distractions, and you will perceive, I do not doubt, the gravity of your
-error. Pray that a divine light may be shed upon your path, that you may
-walk upright in the service of the Lord as a true priest and apostle,
-with immunity from all base passions and earthly desires.'
-
-I had not the presumption to reply. I submit to the will of His
-Reverence without a murmur, for obedience is a rule of our Order. Nor
-do I fear the wilderness, although I have heard that it is infested with
-wild beasts and evil spirits. Our superior is right: the time passed in
-solitude will be to me a season of probation, purification and healing,
-of which I am doubtless in sore need. So far I have progressed in sin
-only; for in confession I have kept back many things. Not from the fear
-of punishment, but because I could not mention the name of the maiden
-before any other than my holy and blessed Francisais, who alone can
-understand. He looks kindly down upon me from the skies, listening to
-my sorrow; and whatever of guilt there may be in my compassion for the
-innocent and persecuted child he willingly overlooks for the sake of our
-blessed Redeemer, who also suffered injustice and was acquainted with
-grief.
-
-In the mountains it will be my duty to dig certain roots and send them
-to the monastery. From such roots as I am instructed to gather the
-Fathers distil a liquor which has become famous throughout the land,
-even as far, I have been told, as the great city of Munich. This liquor
-is so strong and so fiery with spices that after drinking it one feels
-a burning in his throat as if he had swallowed a flame from Hell; yet it
-is held in high esteem everywhere by reason of its medicinal properties,
-it being a remedy for many kinds of ills and infirmities; and it is said
-to be good also for the health of the soul, though I should suppose
-a godly life might be equally efficacious in places where the liquor
-cannot be obtained. However this may be, from the sale of the liquor
-comes the chief revenue of the monastery.
-
-The root from which it is chiefly made is that of an Alpine plant
-called _gentiana_, which grows in great abundance on the sides of the
-mountains. In the months of July and August the friars dig the roots and
-dry them by fire in the mountain cabins, and they are then packed and
-sent to the monastery. The Fathers have the sole right to dig the root
-in this region, and the secret of manufacturing the liquor is jealously
-guarded.
-
-As I am to live in the high country for some time, the Superior
-has directed me to collect the root from time to time as I have the
-strength. A boy, a servant in the monastery, is to guide me to my
-solitary station, carrying up my provisions and returning immediately.
-He will come once a week to renew my supply of food and take away the
-roots that I shall have dug.
-
-No time has been lost in dispatching me on my penitential errand. This
-very evening I have taken leave of the Superior, and, retiring to
-my cell, have packed my holy books, the _Agnus_ and the _Life of St.
-Franciscus_, in a bag. Nor have I forgotten my writing-materials with
-which to continue my diary. These preparations made, I have fortified my
-soul with prayer, and am ready for any fate, even an encounter with the
-beasts and demons.
-
-Beloved Saint, forgive the pain I feel in going away without having seen
-Benedicta, or even knowing what has become of her since that dreadful
-day. Thou knowest, O glorious one, and humbly do I confess, that I long
-to hasten to the Galgenberg, if only to get one glimpse of the hut
-which holds the fairest and best of her sex. Take me not, holy one, too
-severely to task, I beseech thee, for the weakness of my erring human
-heart!
-
-20
-
-As I left the monastery with my young guide all was quiet within its
-walls; the holy Brotherhood slept the sleep of peace, which had so long
-been denied to me. It was early dawn, and the clouds in the east were
-beginning to show narrow edges of gold and crimson as we ascended the
-path leading to the mountain. My guide, with bag upon his shoulder, led,
-and I followed, with my robe fastened back and a stout stick in my hand.
-This had a sharp iron point which might be used against wild beasts.
-
-My guide was a light-haired, blue-eyed young fellow with a cheerful and
-amiable face. He evidently found a keen delight in climbing his native
-hills toward the high country whither we were bound. He seemed not to
-feel the weight of the burden that he bore; his gait was light and
-free, his footing sure. He sprang up the steep and rugged way like a
-mountain-goat.
-
-The boy was in high spirits. He told me strange tales of ghosts and
-goblins, witches and fairies. These last he seemed to be very well
-acquainted with. He said they appeared in shining garments, with bright
-hair and beautiful wings, and this description agrees very nearly with
-what is related of them in books by certain of the Fathers. Anyone to
-whom they take a fancy, says the boy, they are able to keep under their
-spell, and no one can break the enchantment, not even the Holy Virgin.
-But I judge that this is true of only such as are in sin, and that the
-pure in heart have nothing to fear from them.
-
-We travelled up hill and down, through forests and blooming meadows and
-across ravines. The mountain-streams, hastening down to the valleys,
-full-banked and noisy, seemed to be relating the wonderful things that
-they had seen and the strange adventures they had met with on their way.
-Sometimes the hillsides and the woods resounded with nature's various
-voices, calling, whispering, sighing, chanting praises to the Lord of
-all. Now and again we passed a mountaineer's cabin, before which played
-children, yellow-haired and unkempt. On seeing strangers, they ran away.
-But the women came forward, with infants in their arms, and asked for
-benedictions. They offered us milk, butter, green cheese, and black
-bread. We frequently found the men seated in front of their huts,
-carving wood, mostly images of the Saviour upon the cross. These are
-sent to the city of Munich, where they are offered for sale, bringing, I
-am told, considerable money and much honour to their pious makers.
-
-At last we arrived at the shore of a lake, but a dense fog prevented a
-clear view of it. A clumsy little boat was found moored to the bank; my
-guide bade me enter it, and presently it seemed as if we were gliding
-through the sky in the midst of the clouds. I had never before been
-on the water, and felt a terrible misgiving lest we should capsize and
-drown. We heard nothing but the sound of the ripples against the sides
-of the boat. Here and there, as we advanced, some dark object became
-dimly visible for a moment, then vanished as suddenly as it had
-appeared, and we seemed gliding again through empty space. As the mist
-at times lifted a little, I observed great black rocks protruding from
-the water, and not far from shore were lying giant trees half submerged,
-with huge limbs that looked like the bones of some monstrous skeleton.
-The scene was so full of horrors that even the joyous youth was silent
-now, his watchful eye ever seeking to penetrate the fog in search of new
-dangers.
-
-By all these signs I knew that we were crossing that fearful lake which
-is haunted by ghosts and demons, and I therefore commended my soul to
-God. The power of the Lord overcomes all evil. Scarcely had I said my
-prayer against the spirits of darkness, when suddenly the veil of fog
-was rent asunder, and like a great rose of fire the sun shone out,
-clothing the world in garments of colour and gold!
-
-Before this glorious eye of God the darkness fled and was no more. The
-dense fog, which had changed to a thin, transparent mist, lingered a
-little on the mountain-sides, then vanished quite away. Except in the
-black clefts of the hills, no vestige of it stayed. The lake was as
-liquid silver; the mountains were gold, bearing forests that were like
-flames of fire. My heart was filled with wonder and gratitude.
-
-As our boat crept on I observed that the lake filled a long, narrow
-basin. On our right the cliffs rose to a great height, their tops
-covered with pines, but to the left and in front lay a pleasant land,
-where stood a large building. This was Saint Bartholomae, the summer
-residence of his Reverence, Superior Andreas.
-
-This garden spot was of no great extent: it was shut in on all sides but
-that upon which the lake lay by cliffs that rose a thousand feet into
-the air. High in the front of this awful wall was set a green meadow,
-which seemed like a great jewel gleaming upon the gray cloak of the
-mountain. My guide pointed it out as the only place in all that region
-where the edelweiss grew. This, then, was the very place where Benedicta
-had culled the lovely flowers that she had brought to me during my
-penance. I gazed upward to that beautiful but terrible spot with
-feelings that I have no words to express. The youth, his mood
-sympathetic with the now joyous aspect of nature, shouted and sang, but
-I felt the hot tears rise into my eyes and flow down upon my cheeks, and
-concealed my face in my cowl.
-
-21
-
-After leaving the boat we climbed the mountain. Dear Lord, nothing comes
-from Thy hand without a purpose and a use, but why Thou shouldst have
-piled up these mountains, and why Thou shouldst have covered them
-with so many stones, is a mystery to me, since I can see no purpose in
-stones, which are a blessing to neither man nor beast.
-
-After hours of climbing we reached a spring, where I sat down, faint
-and footsore and out of breath. As I looked about me the scene fully
-justified all that I had been told of these high solitudes. Wherever I
-turned my eyes was nothing but gray, bare rocks streaked with red and
-yellow and brown. There were dreary wastes of stones where nothing
-grew--no single plant nor blade of grass--dreadful abysses filled with
-ice, and glittering snowfields sloping upward till they seemed to touch
-the sky.
-
-Among the rocks I did, however, find a few flowers. It seemed as if
-the Creator of this wild and desolate region had Himself found it too
-horrible, and, reaching down to the valleys, had gathered a handful
-of flowers and scattered them in the barren places. These flowers, so
-distinguished by the Divine hand, have bloomed with a celestial beauty
-that none others know. The boy pointed out the plant whose root I am to
-dig, as well as several strong and wholesome herbs serviceable to man,
-among them the golden-flowered arnica.
-
-After an hour we continued our journey, which we pursued until I was
-hardly able to drag my feet along the path. At last we reached a lonely
-spot surrounded by great black rocks. In the centre was a miserable hut
-of stones, with a low opening in one side for an entrance, and this, the
-youth told me, was to be my habitation. We entered, and my heart sank to
-think of dwelling in such a place. There was no furniture of any kind. A
-wide bench, on which was some dry Alpine grass, was to be my bed.
-There was a fireplace, with some wood for fuel, and a few simple
-cooking-utensils.
-
-The boy took up a pan and ran away with it, and, throwing myself down in
-front of the hut, I was soon lost in contemplation of the wildness and
-terror of the place in which I was to prepare my soul for service of
-the Lord. The boy soon returned, bearing the pan in both hands, and on
-seeing me he gave a joyful shout, whose echoes sounded like a hundred
-voices babbling among the rocks on every side. After even so short a
-period of solitude I was so happy to see a human face that I came near
-answering his greeting with unbecoming joy. How, then, could I hope to
-sustain a week of isolation in that lonely spot?
-
-When the boy placed the pan before me it was full of milk, and he
-brought forth from his clothing a pat of yellow butter, prettily adorned
-with Alpine flowers, and a cake of snow-white cheese wrapped in aromatic
-herbs. The sight delighted me, and I asked him, jokingly: 'Do butter
-and cheese, then, grow on stones up here, and have you found a spring of
-milk?'
-
-'You might accomplish such a miracle,' he replied, 'but I prefer to
-hasten to the Black Lake and ask this food of the young women who live
-there.' He then got some flour from a kind of pantry in the hut, and,
-having kindled a fire on the hearth, proceeded to make a cake.
-
-'Then we are not alone in this wilderness,' I said. 'Tell me where is
-that lake on the shore of which these generous people dwell?'
-
-'The Black Lake,' he replied, blinking his eyes, which were full of
-smoke, 'is behind that _Kogel_ yonder, and the dairy-house stands on the
-edge of the cliff above the water. It is a bad place. The lake reaches
-clear down to Hell, and you can hear, through the fissures of the rocks,
-the roaring and hissing of the flames and the groans of the souls. And
-in no other place in all this world are there so many fierce and
-evil spirits. Beware of it! You might fall ill there in spite of your
-sanctity. Milk and butter and cheese can be obtained at the Green Lake
-lower down; but I will tell the women to send up what you require. They
-will be glad to oblige you; and if you will preach them a sermon every
-Sunday, they will fight the very devil for you!'
-
-After our meal, which I thought the sweetest I had ever eaten, the boy
-stretched himself in the sunshine and straightway fell asleep, snoring
-so loudly that, tired as I was, I could hardly follow his example.
-
-22
-
-When I awoke the sun was already behind the mountains, whose tops were
-fringed with fire. I felt as one in a dream, but was soon recalled to my
-senses, and made to feel that I was alone in the wilderness by shouts
-of the young man in the distance. Doubtless he had pitied my condition,
-for, instead of disturbing me, he had gone away without taking leave,
-being compelled to reach the dairy on the Green Lake before nightfall.
-Entering the cabin, I found a fire burning lustily and a quantity of
-fuel piled beside it. Nor had the thoughtful youth forgotten to prepare
-my supper of bread and milk. He had also shaken up the grass on my hard
-bed, and covered it with a woollen cloth, for which I was truly grateful
-to him.
-
-Refreshed by my long sleep, I remained outside the cabin till late in
-the evening. I said my prayers in view of the gray rocks beneath the
-black sky, in which the stars blinked merrily. They seemed much more
-brilliant up here than when seen from the valley, and it was easy to
-imagine that, standing on the extreme summit, one might touch them with
-his hands.
-
-Many hours of that night I passed under the sky and the stars, examining
-my conscience and questioning my heart. I felt as if in church, kneeling
-before the altar and feeling the awful presence of the Lord. And at last
-my soul was filled with a divine peace, and as an innocent child presses
-its mother's breast, even so I leaned my head upon thine, O Nature,
-mother of us all!
-
-23
-
-I had not before seen a dawn so glorious! The mountains were rose-red,
-and seemed almost transparent. The atmosphere was of a silver lucidity,
-and so fresh and pure that with every breath I seemed to be taking new
-life. The dew, heavy and white, clung to the scanty grass-blades like
-rain and dripped from the sides of the rocks.
-
-It was while engaged in my morning devotions that I involuntarily became
-acquainted with my neighbours. All night long the marmots had squealed,
-greatly to my dismay, and they were now capering to and fro like hares.
-Overhead the brown hawks sailed in circles with an eye to the birds
-flitting among the bushes and the wood-mice racing along the rocks.
-Now and again a troop of chamois passed near, on their way to the
-feeding-grounds on the cliffs, and high above all I saw a single eagle
-rising into the sky, higher and higher, as a soul flies heavenward when
-purged of sin.
-
-I was still kneeling when the silence was broken by the sound of voices.
-I looked about, but, although I could distinctly hear the voices and
-catch snatches of song, I saw no one. The sounds seemed to come from the
-heart of the mountain and, remembering the malevolent powers that infest
-the place, I repeated a prayer against the Evil One and awaited the
-event.
-
-Again the singing was heard, ascending from a deep chasm, and presently
-I saw rising out of it three female figures. As soon as they saw me they
-ceased singing and uttered shrill screams. By this sign I knew them to
-be daughters of the earth, and thought they might be Christians, and so
-waited for them to approach.
-
-As they drew near I observed that they carried baskets on their heads,
-and that they were tall, good-looking lasses, light-haired, brown in
-complexion and black-eyed. Setting their baskets upon the ground, they
-greeted me humbly and kissed my hands, after which they opened the
-baskets and displayed the good things they had brought me--milk, cream,
-cheese, butter and cakes.
-
-Seating themselves upon the ground, they told me they were from the
-Green Lake, and said they were glad to have a 'mountain brother' again,
-especially so young and handsome a one; and in saying so there were
-merry twinkles in their dark eyes and smiles on their red lips, which
-pleased me exceedingly.
-
-I inquired if they were not afraid to live in the wilderness, at which
-they laughed, showing their white teeth. They said they had a hunter's
-gun in their cabin to keep off bears, and knew several powerful
-sentences and anathemas against demons. Nor were they very lonely, they
-added, for every Saturday the boys from the valley came up to hunt wild
-beasts, and then all made merry. I learned from them that meadows and
-cabins were common among the rocks, where herdsmen and herdswomen lived
-during the whole summer. The finest meadows, they said, belonged to the
-monastery, and lay but a short distance away.
-
-The pleasant chatting of the maidens greatly delighted me, and the
-solitude began to be less oppressive. Having received the benediction,
-they kissed my hand and went away as they had come, laughing, singing
-and shouting in the joy of youth and health. So much I have already
-observed: the people in the mountains lead a better and happier life
-than those in the damp, deep valleys below. Also, they seem purer in
-heart and mind, and that may be due to their living so much nearer to
-Heaven, which some of the brothers say approaches more closely to the
-earth here than at any other place in the world excepting Rome.
-
-24
-
-The maidens having gone, I stowed away the provisions which they had
-brought me, and, taking a short pointed spade and a bag, went in search
-of the gentiana roots. They grew in abundance, and my back soon began
-to ache from stooping and digging; but I continued the labour, for I
-desired to send a good quantity to the monastery to attest my zeal and
-obedience. I had gone a long distance from my cabin without observing
-the direction which I had taken, when suddenly I found myself on the
-brink of an abyss so deep and terrible that I recoiled with a cry of
-horror. At the bottom of this chasm, so far below my feet that I was
-giddy to look down, a small circular lake was visible, like the eye of
-a fiend. On the shore of it, near a cliff overhanging the water, stood a
-cabin, from the stone-weighted roof of which rose a thin column of blue
-smoke. About the cabin, in the narrow and sterile pasture, a few cows
-and sheep were grazing. What a dreadful place for a human habitation!
-
-I was still gazing down with fear into this gulf when I was again
-startled: I heard a voice distinctly call a name! The sound came from
-behind me, and the name was uttered with so caressing sweetness that I
-hastened to cross myself as a protection from the wiles of the fairies
-with their spells and enchantments. Soon I heard the voice again, and
-this time it caused my heart to beat so that I was near suffocation, for
-it was Benedicta's! Benedicta in this wilderness, and I alone with her!
-Surely I now had need of thy guidance, blessed Franciscus, to keep, my
-feet in the path of the Divine purpose.
-
-I turned about and saw her. She was now springing from rock to rock,
-looking backward and calling the name that was strange to me. When she
-saw that I looked at her she stood motionless. I walked to her, greeting
-her in the name of the Blessed Virgin, though, God forgive me! hardly
-able in the tumult of my emotions to articulate that holy title.
-
-Ah, how changed the poor child was! The lovely face was as pale as
-marble; the large eyes were sunken and inexpressibly sad. Her beautiful
-hair alone was unaltered, flowing over her shoulders like threads of
-gold. We stood looking at each other, silent from surprise; then I again
-addressed her: 'Is it, then, you, Benedicta, who live in the cabin down
-there by the Black Lake--near the waters of Avemus? And is your father
-with you?'
-
-She made no reply, but I observed a quivering about her delicate mouth,
-as when a child endeavours to refrain from weeping. I repeated my
-question: 'Is your father with you?'
-
-She answered faintly, in a tone that was hardly more than a sigh:
-
-'My father is dead.'
-
-I felt a sudden pain in my very heart, and was for some moments unable
-to speak further, quite overcome by compassion. Benedicta had turned
-away her face to hide her tears, and her fragile frame was shaken by her
-sobs. I could no longer restrain myself. Stepping up to her, I took her
-hand in mine, and, trying to crush back into my secret heart every human
-desire, and address her in words of religious consolation, said: 'My
-child--dear Benedicta--your father is gone from you, but another Father
-remains who will protect you every day of your life. And as far as may
-accord with His holy will I, too, good and beautiful maiden, help you to
-endure your great affliction. He whom you mourn is not lost; he is gone
-to the mercy seat, and God will be gracious to him.'
-
-But my words seemed only to awaken her sleeping grief. She threw herself
-upon the ground and gave way to her tears, sobbing so violently that I
-was filled with alarm. O Mother of Mercy! how can I bear the memory
-of the anguish I suffered in seeing this beautiful and innocent child
-overwhelmed with so great a flood of grief? I bent over her, and my own
-tears fell upon her golden hair. My heart urged me to lift her from
-the earth, but my hands were powerless to move. At length she composed
-herself somewhat and spoke, but as if she were talking to herself rather
-than to me: 'Oh, my father, my poor, heart-broken father! Yes, he is
-dead--they killed him--he died long ago of grief. My beautiful mother,
-too, died of grief--of grief and remorse for some great sin, I know
-not what, which he had forgiven her. He could only be compassionate and
-merciful. His heart was too tender to let him kill a worm or a beetle,
-and he was compelled to kill men. His father and his father's father had
-lived and died in the Galgenberg. They were hangmen all, and the awful
-inheritance fell to him: there was no escape, for the terrible people
-held him to the trade. I have heard him say that he was often tempted to
-kill himself, and but for me I am sure he would have done so. He could
-not leave me to starve, though he had to see me reviled, and at last, O
-Holy Virgin! publicly disgraced for that of which I was not guilty.'
-
-As Benedicta made this reference to the great injustice that she had
-been made to suffer, her white cheeks kindled to crimson with the
-recollection of the shame which for her father's sake she had, at the
-time of it, so differently endured.
-
-During the narrative of her grief she had partly risen and had turned
-her beautiful face more and more toward me as her confidence had grown;
-but now she veiled it with her hair, and would have turned her back but
-that I gently prevented her and spoke some words of comfort, though God
-knows my own heart was near breaking through sympathy with hers. After
-a few moments she resumed: 'Alas, my poor father! he was unhappy every
-way. Not even the comfort of seeing his child baptised was granted him.
-I was a hangman's daughter, and my parents were forbidden to present me
-for baptism; nor could any priest be found who was willing to bless me
-in the name of the Holy Trinity. So they gave me the name Benedicta, and
-blessed me themselves, over and over again.
-
-'I was only an infant when my beautiful mother died. They buried her
-in unconsecrated ground. She could not go to the Heavenly Father in the
-mansions above, but was thrust into the flames. While she was dying my
-father had hastened to the Reverend Superior, imploring him to send a
-priest with the sacrament. His prayer was denied. No priest came, and my
-poor father closed her eyes himself, while his own were blind with tears
-of anguish for her terrible fate.
-
-'And all alone he had to dig her grave. He had no other place than near
-the gallows, where he had so often buried the hanged and the accurst.
-With his own hands he had to place her in that unholy ground, nor could
-any masses be said for her suffering soul.
-
-'I well remember how my dear father took me then to the image of the
-Holy Virgin and bade me kneel, and, joining my little hands, taught me
-to pray for my poor mother, who had stood undefended before the terrible
-Judge of the Dead. This I have done every morning and evening since that
-day, and now I pray for both; for my father also has died unshriven, and
-his soul is not with God, but burns in unceasing fire.
-
-'When he was dying I ran to the Superior, just as he had done for my
-dear mother. I besought him on my knees. I prayed and wept and embraced
-his feet, and would have kissed his hand but that he snatched it away.
-He commanded me to go.'
-
-As Benedicta proceeded with her narrative she gained courage. She rose
-to her feet and stood erect, threw back her beautiful head and lifted
-her eyes to the heavens as if recounting her wrongs to God's high angels
-and ministers of doom. She stretched forth her bare arms in gestures of
-so natural force and grace that I was filled with astonishment, and
-her unstudied words came from her lips with an eloquence of which I had
-never before had any conception. I dare not think it inspiration, for,
-God forgive us all! every word was an unconscious arraignment of Him and
-His Holy Church; yet surely no mortal with lips untouched by a live coal
-from the altar ever so spake before! In the presence of this strange and
-gifted being I so felt my own unworth that I had surely knelt, as before
-a blessed saint, but that she suddenly concluded, with a pathos that
-touched me to tears.
-
-'The cruel people killed him,' she said, with a sob in the heart of
-every word. 'They laid hands upon me whom he loved. They charged me
-falsely with a foul crime. They attired me in a garment of dishonour,
-and put a crown of straw upon my head, and hung about my neck the black
-tablet of shame. They spat upon me and reviled me, and compelled him
-to lead me to the pillory, where I was bound and struck with whips
-and stones. That broke his great, good heart, and so he died, and I am
-alone.'
-
-25
-
-When Benedicta had finished I remained silent, for in the presence of
-such a sorrow what could I say? For such wounds as hers religion has
-no balm. As I thought of the cruel wrongs of this humble and harmless
-family there came into my heart a feeling of wild rebellion against
-the world, against the Church, against God! They were brutally unjust,
-horribly, devilishly unjust!--God, the Church, and the world.
-
-Our very surroundings--the stark and soulless wilderness, perilous with
-precipices and bleak with everlasting snows--seemed a visible embodiment
-of the woeful life to which the poor child had been condemned from
-birth; and truly this was more than fancy, for since her father's death
-had deprived her of even so humble a home as the hangman's hovel she had
-been driven to these eternal solitudes by the stress of want. But below
-us were pleasant villages, fertile fields, green gardens, and homes
-where peace and plenty abided all the year.
-
-After a time, when Benedicta was somewhat composed, I asked her if she
-had anyone with her for protection.
-
-'I have none,' she replied. But observing my look of pain, she added:
-'I have always lived in lonely, accurst places; I am accustomed to that.
-Now that my father is dead, there is no one who cares even to speak to
-me, nor any whom I care to talk with--except you.' After a pause she
-said: 'True, there is one who cares to see me, but he----'
-
-Here she broke off, and I did not press her to explain lest it should
-embarrass her. Presently she said: 'I knew yesterday that you were here.
-A boy came for some milk and butter for you. If you were not a holy man
-the boy would not have come to me for your food. As it is, you cannot
-be harmed by the evil which attaches to everything I have or do. Are
-you sure, though, that you made the sign of the cross over the food
-yesterday?'
-
-'Had I known that it came from you, Benedicta, that precaution would
-have been omitted,' I answered.
-
-She looked at me with beaming eyes, and said:
-
-'Oh, dear sir, dear Brother!'
-
-And both the look and the words gave me the keenest delight--as, in
-truth, do all this saintly creature's words and ways.
-
-I inquired what had brought her to the cliff-top, and who the person was
-that I had heard her calling.
-
-'It is no person,' she answered, smiling; 'it is only my goat. She has
-strayed away, and I was searching for her among the rocks.'
-
-Then nodding to me as if about to say farewell, she turned to go, but I
-detained her, saying that I would assist her to look for the goat.
-
-We soon discovered the animal in a crevice of rock, and so glad was
-Benedicta to find her humble companion that she knelt by its side, put
-her arms about its neck and called it by many endearing names. I thought
-this very charming, and could not help looking upon the group with
-obvious admiration.
-
-Benedicta, observing it, said: 'Her mother fell from a cliff and broke
-her neck. I took the little one and brought it up on milk, and she
-is very fond of me. One who lives alone as I do values the love of a
-faithful animal.'
-
-When the maiden was about to leave me I gained courage to speak to her
-of what had been so long in my mind. I said: 'It is true, is it not,
-Benedicta, that on the night of the festival you went to meet the
-drunken boys in order to save your father from harm?'
-
-She looked at me in great astonishment. 'For what other reason could you
-suppose I went?'
-
-'I could not think of any other,' I replied, in some confusion.
-
-'And now good-bye, Brother,' she said, moving away.
-
-'Benedicta,' I cried. She paused and turned her head.
-
-'Next Sunday I shall preach to the dairy women at the Green Lake; will
-you come?'
-
-'Oh, no, dear Brother,' she replied hesitating and in low tones.
-
-'You will not come?'
-
-'I should like to come, but my presence would frighten away the dairy
-women and others whom your goodness would bring there to hear you. Your
-charity to me would cause you trouble. I pray you, sir, accept thanks,
-but I cannot come.'
-
-'Then I shall come to you.'
-
-'Beware, oh pray, beware!'
-
-'I shall come.'
-
-26
-
-The boy had taught me how to prepare a cake. I knew all that went to the
-making of it, and the right proportions, yet when I tried to make it I
-could not. All that I was able to make was a smoky, greasy pap, more fit
-for the mouth of Satan than for a pious son of the Church and follower
-of Saint Franciscus. My failure greatly discouraged me, yet it did not
-destroy my appetite; so, taking some stale bread, I dipped it in sour
-milk and was about to make my stomach do penance for its many sins, when
-Benedicta came with a basketful of good things from her dairy. Ah, the
-dear child! I fear that it was not with my heart only that I greeted her
-that blessed morning.
-
-Observing the smoky mass in the pan, she smiled, and quietly throwing
-it to the birds (which may Heaven guard!) she cleansed the pan at the
-spring, and, returning arranged the fire. She then prepared the material
-for a fresh cake. Taking two handfuls of flour, she put it into an
-earthen bowl, and upon the top of it poured a cup of cream. Adding a
-pinch of salt, she mixed the whole vigorously with her slender white
-hands until it became a soft, swelling dough. She next greased the pan
-with a piece of yellow butter, and, pouring the dough into it, placed
-it on the fire. When the heat had penetrated the dough, causing it to
-expand and rise above the sides of the pan, she deftly pierced it here
-and there that it should not burst, and when it was well browned she
-took it up and set it before me, all unworthy as I was. I invited her
-to share the meal with me, but she would not. She insisted, too, that I
-should cross myself before partaking of anything that she had brought me
-or prepared, lest some evil come to me because of the ban upon her;
-but this I would not consent to do. While I ate she culled flowers from
-among the rocks, and, making a wreath, hung it upon the cross in front
-of the cabin; after which, when I had finished, she employed herself in
-cleansing the dishes and arranging everything in order as it should
-be, so that I imagined myself far more comfortable than before, even in
-merely looking about me. When there was nothing more to be done, and my
-conscience would not permit me to invent reasons for detaining her, she
-went away, and O my Saviour! how dismal and dreary seemed the day when
-she was gone. Ah, Benedicta, Benedicta, what is this that thou hast done
-to me?--making that sole service of the Lord to which I am dedicated
-seem less happy and less holy than a herdsman's humble life here in the
-wilderness with thee!
-
-27
-
-Life up here is less disagreeable than I thought. What seemed to me
-a dreary solitude seems now less dismal and desolate. This mountain
-wilderness, which at first filled me with awe, gradually reveals its
-benign character. It is marvellously beautiful in its grandeur, with a
-beauty which purifies and elevates the soul. One can read in it, as in a
-book, the praises of its Creator. Daily, while digging gentiana roots, I
-do not fail to listen to the voice of the wilderness and to compose and
-chasten my soul more and more.
-
-In these mountains are no feathered songsters. The birds here utter only
-shrill cries. The flowers, too, are without fragrance, but wondrously
-beautiful, shining with the fire and gold of stars. I have seen slopes
-and heights here which doubtless were never trodden by any human foot.
-They seem to me sacred, the touch of the Creator still visible upon
-them, as when they came from His hand.
-
-Game is in great abundance. Chamois are sometimes seen in such droves
-that the very hillsides seem to move. There are steinbocks, veritable
-monsters, but as yet, thank Heaven, I have seen no bears. Marmots play
-about me like kittens, and eagles, the grandest creatures in this high
-world, nest in the cliffs to be as near the sky as they can get.
-
-When fatigued, I stretch myself on the Alpine grass, which is as
-fragrant as the most precious spices. I close my eyes and hear the wind
-whisper through the tall stems, and in my heart is peace. Blessed be the
-Lord!
-
-28
-
-Every morning the dairy women come to my cabin, their merry shouts
-ringing in the air and echoed from the hills. They bring fresh milk,
-butter and cheese, chat a little while and go away. Each day they relate
-something new that has occurred in the mountains or been reported from
-the villages below. They are joyous and happy, and look forward with
-delight to Sunday, when there will be divine service in the morning and
-a dance in the evening.
-
-Alas, these happy people are not free of the sin of bearing
-false witness against their neighbour. They have spoken to me of
-Benedicta--called her a disgraceful wench, a hangman's daughter and (my
-heart rebels against its utterance) the mistress of Rochus! The pillory,
-they said, was made for such as she.
-
-Hearing these maidens talk so bitterly and falsely of one whom they so
-little knew, it was with difficulty that I mastered my indignation. But
-in pity of their ignorance I reprimanded them gently and kindly. It was
-wrong, I said, to condemn a fellow-being unheard. It was unchristian to
-speak ill of any one.
-
-They do not understand. It surprises them that I defend a person like
-Benedicta--one who, as they truly say, has been publicly disgraced and
-has not a friend in the world.
-
-29
-
-This morning I visited the Black Lake. It is indeed an awful and
-accursed place, fit for the habitation of the damned. And there lives
-the poor forsaken child! Approaching the cabin, I could see a fire
-burning on the hearth, and over it was suspended a kettle. Benedicta was
-seated on a low stool, looking into the flames. Her face was illuminated
-with a crimson glow, and I could observe heavy tear-drops on her cheeks.
-
-Not wishing to see her secret sorrow, I hastened to make known my
-presence, and addressed her as gently as I could. She was startled, but
-when she saw who it was, smiled and blushed. She rose and came to greet
-me, and I began speaking to her almost at random, in order that she
-might recover her composure. I spoke as a brother might speak to his
-sister, yet earnestly, for my heart was full of compassion.
-
-'O Benedicta,' I said, I know your heart, and it has more love for that
-wild youth Rochus than for our dear and blessed Saviour. I know how
-willingly you bore infamy and disgrace, sustained by the thought that he
-knew you innocent. Far be it from me to condemn you, for what is holier
-or purer than a maiden's love? I would only warn and save you from the
-consequence of having given it to one so unworthy.'
-
-She listened with her head bowed, and said nothing, but I could hear
-her sighs. I saw, too, that she trembled. I continued: 'Benedicta, the
-passion which fills your heart may prove your destruction in this life
-and hereafter. Young Rochus is not one who will make you his wife in the
-sight of God and Man. Why did he not stand forth and defend you when you
-were falsely accused?'
-
-'He was not there,' she said, lifting her eyes to mine; 'he and his
-father were at Salzburg. He knew nothing till they told him.'
-
-May God forgive me if at this I felt no joy in another's acquittal of
-the heavy sin with which I had charged him. I stood a moment irresolute,
-with my head bowed, silent.
-
-'But, Benedicta,' I resumed, 'will he take for a wife one whose good
-name has been blackened in the sight of his family and his neighbours?
-No, he does not seek you with an honourable purpose. O Benedicta,
-confide in me. Is it not as I say?'
-
-But she remained silent, nor could I draw from her a single word. She
-would only sigh and tremble; she seemed unable to speak. I saw that she
-was too weak to resist the temptation to love young Rochus; nay, I saw
-that her whole heart was bound up in him, and my soul melted with pity
-and sorrow--pity for her and sorrow for myself, for I felt that my power
-was unequal to the command that had been laid upon me. My agony was so
-keen that I could hardly refrain from crying out.
-
-I went from her cabin, but did not return to my own. I wandered about
-the haunted shore of the Black Lake for hours, without aim or purpose.
-
-Reflecting bitterly upon my failure, and beseeching God for greater
-grace and strength, it was revealed to me that I was an unworthy
-disciple of the Lord and a faithless son of the Church. I became more
-keenly conscious than I ever had been before of the earthly nature of my
-love for Benedicta, and of its sinfulness. I felt that I had not given
-my whole heart to God, but was clinging to a temporal and human hope.
-It was plain to me that unless my love for the sweet child should be
-changed to a purely spiritual affection, purified from all the dross of
-passion, I could never receive holy orders, but should remain always a
-monk and always a sinner. These reflections caused me great torment,
-and in my despair I cast myself down upon the earth, calling aloud to
-my Saviour. In this my greatest trial I clung to the Cross. 'Save me, O
-Lord!' I cried. 'I am engulfed in a great passion--save me, oh, save me,
-or I perish forever!'
-
-All that night I struggled and prayed and fought against the evil
-spirits in my soul, with their suggestions of recreancy to the dear
-Church whose child I am.
-
-'The Church,' they whispered, 'has servants enough. You are not as yet
-irrevocably bound to celibacy. You can procure a dispensation from your
-monastic vows and remain here in the mountains, a layman. You can learn
-the craft of the hunter or the herdsman, and be ever near Benedicta to
-guard and guide her--perhaps in time to win her love from Rochus and
-take her for your wife.'
-
-To these temptations I opposed my feeble strength and such aid as
-the blessed Saint gave me in my great trial. The contest was long and
-agonising, and more than once, there in the darkness and the wilderness,
-which rang with my cries, I was near surrender; but at the dawning of
-the day I became more tranquil, and peace once more filled my heart,
-even as the golden light filled the great gorges of the mountain where
-but a few moments before were the darkness and the mist. I thought then
-of the suffering and death of our Saviour, who died for the redemption
-of the world, and most fervently I prayed that Heaven would grant me the
-great boon to die likewise, in a humbler way, even though it were for
-but one suffering being--Benedicta.
-
-May the Lord hear my prayer!
-
-30
-
-The night before the Sunday on which I was to hold divine service great
-fires were kindled on the cliffs--a signal for the young men in the
-valley to come up to the mountain dairies. They came in great numbers,
-shouting and screaming, and were greeted with songs and shrill cries by
-the dairy maidens, who swung flaming torches that lit up the faces
-of the great rocks and sent gigantic shadows across them. It was a
-beautiful sight. These are indeed a happy people.
-
-The monastery boy came in with the rest. He will remain over Sunday,
-and, returning, will take back the roots that I have dug. He gave me
-much news from the monastery. The reverend Superior is living at Saint
-Bartholomae, fishing and hunting. Another thing--one which gives me great
-alarm--is that the Saltmaster's son, young Rochus, is in the mountains
-not far from the Black Lake. It seems he has a hunting-lodge on the
-upper cliff, and a path leads from it directly to the lake. The boy told
-me this, but did not observe how I trembled when hearing it. Would that
-an angel with a flaming sword might guard the path to the lake, and to
-Benedicta!
-
-The shouting and singing continued during the whole night, and between
-this and the agitation in my soul I did not close my eyes. Early the
-next morning the boys and girls arrived in crowds from all directions.
-The maidens wore silken kerchiefs twisted prettily about their heads,
-and had decorated themselves and their escorts with flowers.
-
-Not being an ordained priest, it was not permitted me either to read
-mass or to preach a sermon, but I prayed with them and spoke to them
-whatever my aching heart found to say. I spoke to them of our sinfulness
-and God's great mercy; of our harshness to one another and the Saviour's
-love for us all; of His infinite compassion. As my words echoed from the
-abyss below and the heights above I felt as if I were lifted out of
-this world of suffering and sin and borne away on angel's wings to the
-radiant spheres beyond the sky! It was a solemn service, and my little
-congregation was awed into devotion and seemed to feel as if it stood in
-the Holy of Holies.
-
-The service being concluded, I blessed the people and they quietly went
-away. They had not been long gone before I heard the lads send forth
-ringing shouts, but this did not displease me. Why should they not
-rejoice? Is not cheerfulness the purest praise a human heart can give?
-
-In the afternoon I went down to Benedicta's cabin and found her at the
-door, making a wreath of edelweiss for the image of the Blessed Virgin,
-intertwining the snowy flowers with a purple blossom that looked like
-blood.
-
-Seating myself beside her, I looked on at her beautiful work in silence,
-but in my soul was a wild tumult of emotion and a voice that cried:
-'Benedicta, my love, my soul, I love you more than life! I love you
-above all things on earth and in Heaven!'
-
-31
-
-The Superior sent for me, and with a strange foreboding I followed his
-messenger down the difficult way to the lake and embarked in the boat.
-Occupied with gloomy reflections and presentiments of impending evil,
-I hardly observed that we had left the shore before the sound of merry
-voices apprised me of our arrival at St. Bartholomae. On the beautiful
-meadow surrounding the dwelling of the Superior were a great number of
-people--priests, friars, mountaineers and hunters. Many were there who
-had come from afar with large retinues of servants and boys. In the
-house was a great bustle--a confusion and a hurrying to and fro, as
-during a fair. The doors stood wide open, and people ran in and out,
-clamouring noisily. The dogs yelped and howled as loud as they could. On
-a stand under the oak was a great cask of beer, and many of the people
-were gathered about it, drinking. Inside the house, too, there seemed to
-be much drinking, for I saw many men near the windows with mighty cups
-in their hands. On entering, I encountered throngs of servants carrying
-dishes of fish and game. I asked one of them when I could see the
-Superior. He answered that His Reverence would be down immediately after
-the meal, and I concluded to wait in the hall. The walls were hung with
-pictures of some large fish which had been caught in the lake. Below
-each picture the weight of the monster and the date of its capture,
-together with the name of the person taking it, were inscribed in
-large letters. I could not help interpreting these records--perhaps
-uncharitably--as intimations to all good Christians to pray for the
-souls of those whose names were inscribed.
-
-After more than an hour the Superior descended the stairs. I stepped
-forward, saluting him humbly, as became my position. He nodded, eyed
-me sharply, and directed me to go to his apartment immediately after
-supper. This I did.
-
-'How about your soul, my son Ambrosius?' he asked me, solemnly. 'Has the
-Lord shown you grace? Have you endured the probation?' Humbly, with my
-head bowed, I answered: 'Most reverend Father, God in my solitude has
-given me knowledge.'
-
-'Of what? Of your guilt?' This I affirmed.
-
-'Praise be to God!' exclaimed the Superior. 'I knew, my son, that
-solitude would speak to your soul with the tongue of an angel. I have
-good tidings for you. I have written in your behalf to the Bishop of
-Salzburg. He summons you to his palace. He will consecrate you and give
-you holy orders in person, and you will remain in his city. Prepare
-yourself, for in three days you are to leave us.'
-
-The Superior looked sharply into my face again, but I did not permit him
-to see into my heart. I asked for his benediction, bowed and left him.
-Ah, then, it was for this that I was summoned! I am to go away forever.
-I must leave my very life behind me; I must renounce my care and
-protection of Benedicta. God help her and me!
-
-32
-
-I am once more in my mountain home, but tomorrow I leave it forever. But
-why am I sad? Does not a great blessing await me? Have I not ever looked
-forward to the moment of my consecration with longing, believing it
-would bring me the supreme happiness of my life? And now that this great
-joy is almost within my grasp, I am sad beyond measure.
-
-Can I approach the altar of the Lord with a lie on my lips? Can I
-receive the holy sacrament as an impostor? The holy oil upon my forehead
-would turn to fire and burn into my brain, and I should be for ever
-damned.
-
-I might fall upon my knees before the Bishop and say: 'Expel me, for
-I do not seek after the love of Christ, nor after holy and heavenly
-things, but after the things of this world.'
-
-If I so spoke, I should be punished, but I could endure that without a
-murmur.
-
-If only I were sinless and could rightly become a priest, I could be of
-great service to the poor child. I should be able to give her infinite
-blessings and consolations. I could be her confessor and absolve her
-from sin, and, if I should outlive her--which God forbid!--might by my
-prayers even redeem her soul from Purgatory. I could read masses for the
-souls of her poor dead parents, already in torment.
-
-Above all, if I succeeded in preserving her from that one great and
-destructive sin for which she secretly longs; if I could take her with
-me and place her under thy protection, O Blessed Virgin, that would be
-happiness indeed.
-
-But where is the sanctuary that would receive the hangman's daughter?
-I know it but too well: when I am gone from here, the Evil One, in the
-winning shape he has assumed, will prevail, and she will be lost in time
-and in eternity.
-
-33
-
-I have been at Benedicta's cabin.
-
-'Benedicta,' I said, 'I am going away from here--away from the
-mountains--away from you.'
-
-She grew pale, but said nothing. For a moment I was overcome with
-emotion; I seemed to choke, and could not continue. Presently I said:
-'Poor child, what will become of you? I know that your love for Rochus
-is strong and, love is like a torrent which nothing can stay. There is
-no safety for you but in clinging to the cross of our Saviour. Promise me
-that you will do so--do not let me go away in misery, Benedicta.'
-
-'Am I, then, so wicked?' she said, without lifting her eyes from the
-ground. 'Can I not be trusted?'
-
-'Ah, but, Benedicta, the enemy is strong, and you have a traitor to
-unbar the gates. Your own heart, poor child, will at last betray you.'
-
-'He will not harm me,' she murmured. 'You wrong him, sir, indeed you
-do.'
-
-But I knew that I did not, and was all the more concerned to judge that
-the wolf would use the arts of the fox. Before the sacred purity of
-this maiden the base passions of the youth had not dared to declare
-themselves. But none the less I knew that an hour would come when she
-would have need of all her strength, and it would fail her. I grasped
-her arm and demanded that she take an oath that she would throw herself
-into the waters of the Black Lake rather than into the arms of Rochus.
-But she would not reply. She remained silent, her eyes fixed upon mine
-with a look of sadness and reproach which filled my mind with the most
-melancholy thoughts, and, turning away, I left her.
-
-34
-
-Lord, Saviour of my soul, whither hast Thou led me? Here am I in the
-culprit's tower, a condemned murderer, and to-morrow at sunrise I shall
-be taken to the gallows and hanged! For who so slays a fellow being, he
-shall be slain; that is the law of God and man.
-
-On this the last day of my life I have asked that I be permitted to
-write, and my prayer is granted. In the name of God and in the truth I
-shall now set down all that occurred.
-
-Leaving Benedicta, I returned to my cabin, and, having packed
-everything, waited for the boy. But he did not come: I should have to
-remain in the mountains another night. I grew restless. The cabin seemed
-too narrow to hold me; the air was too heavy and hot to sustain life.
-Going outside, I lay upon a rock and looked up at the sky, dark and
-glittering with stars. But my soul was not in the heavens; it was at the
-cabin by the Black Lake.
-
-Suddenly I heard a faint, distant cry, like a human voice. I sat upright
-and listened, but all was still. It may have been, I thought, the note
-of some night-bird. I was about to lie down again, when the cry was
-repeated, but it seemed to come from another direction. It was the
-voice of Benedicta! It sounded again, and now it seemed to come from the
-air--from the sky above my head, and distinctly it called my name; but,
-O Mother of God, what anguish was in those tones!
-
-I leapt from the rock. 'Benedicta, Benedicta!' I cried aloud. There was
-no reply.
-
-'Benedicta, I am coming to thee, child!'
-
-I sprang away in the darkness, along the path to the Black Lake. I ran
-and leapt, stumbling and falling over rocks and stumps of trees. My
-limbs were bruised, my clothing was torn, but I gave no heed; Benedicta
-was in distress, and I alone could save and guard her. I rushed on until
-I reached the Black Lake. But at the cabin all was quiet; there was
-neither light nor sound; everything was as peaceful as a house of God.
-
-After waiting a long time I left. The voice that I had heard calling me
-could not have been Benedicta's, but must have been that of some evil
-spirit mocking me in my great sorrow. I meant to return to my cabin, but
-an invisible hand directed my steps another way; and although it led me
-to my death, I know it to have been the hand of the Lord.
-
-Walking on, hardly knowing whither, and unable to find the path by which
-I had descended, I found myself at the foot of a precipice. Here was a
-narrow path leading steeply upward along the face of the cliff, and I
-began ascending it. After I had gone up some distance I looked above,
-and saw outlined against the starry sky a cabin perched upon the very
-verge. It flashed through my mind that this was the hunting-lodge of
-the Saltmaster's son, and this the path by which he visited Benedicta.
-Merciful Father! he, Rochus, was certain to come this way; there could
-be no other. I would wait for him here.
-
-I crouched in the shadow and waited, thinking what to say to him and
-imploring the Lord for inspiration to change his heart and turn him from
-his evil purpose.
-
-Before long I heard him approaching from above. I heard the stones
-displaced by his foot roll down the steep slopes and leap into the lake
-far below. Then I prayed God that if I should be unable to soften the
-youth's heart he might miss his footing and fall, too, like the stones;
-for it would be better that he should meet a sudden and impenitent
-death, and his soul be lost, than that he should live to destroy the
-soul of an innocent girl.
-
-Turning at an angle of the rock, he stood directly before me as, rising,
-I stepped into the faint light of the new moon. He knew me at once, and
-in a haughty tone asked me what I wanted.
-
-I replied mildly, explaining why I had barred his way, and begging him
-to go back. He insulted and derided me.
-
-'You miserable towler,' he said, 'will you never cease meddling in my
-affairs? Because the mountain maids are so foolish as to praise your
-white teeth and your big black eyes, must you fancy yourself a man, and
-not a monk? You are no more to women than a goat!'
-
-I begged him to desist and to listen to me. I threw myself on my knees
-and implored him, however he might despise me and my humble though holy
-station, to respect Benedicta and spare her. But he pushed me from
-him with his foot upon my breast. No longer master of myself, I sprang
-erect, and called him an assassin and a villain.
-
-At this he pulled a dagger from his belt, saying: 'I will send you to
-Hell!'
-
-Quick as a flash of lightning my hand was upon his wrist. I wrested the
-knife from him and flung it behind me, crying: 'Not with weapons,
-but unarmed and equal, we will fight to the death, and the Lord shall
-decide!'
-
-We sprang upon each other with the fury of wild animals, and were
-instantly locked together with arms and hands. We struggled upward and
-downward along the path, with the great wall of rock on one side, and
-on the other the precipice, the abyss, the waters of the Black Lake! We
-writhed and strained for the advantage; but the Lord was against me for
-He permited my enemy to overcome me and throw me down on the edge of the
-precipice. I was in the grasp of a strong enemy, whose eyes glowed
-like coals of fire. His knee was on my breast and my head hung over the
-edge--my life was in his hands. I thought he would push me over, but he
-made no attempt to do so. He held me there between life and death for a
-dreadful time, then said, in a low, hissing voice: 'You see, monk, if I
-but move I can hurl you down the abyss like a stone. But I care not to
-take your life, for it is no impediment to me. The girl belongs to me,
-and to me you shall leave her; do you understand?'
-
-With that he rose and left me, going down the path toward the lake. His
-footfalls had long died away in the silent night before I was able to
-move hand or foot. Great God! I surely did not deserve such defeat,
-humiliation and pain. I had but wished to save a soul, yet Heaven
-permitted me to be conquered by him who would destroy it!
-
-Finally I was able to rise, although in great pain, for I was bruised by
-my fall, and could still feel the fierce youth's knee upon my breast
-and his fingers about my throat. I walked with difficulty back along
-the path, downward toward the lake. Wounded as I was, I would return to
-Benedicta's cabin and interpose my body between her and harm. But my
-progress was slow, and I had frequently to rest; yet it was near dawn
-before I gave up the effort, convinced that I should be too late to do
-the poor child the small service of yielding up my remnant of life in
-her defence.
-
-At early dawn I heard Rochus returning, with a merry song upon his lips.
-I concealed myself behind a rock, though not in fear, and he passed
-without seeing me.
-
-At this point there was a break in the wall of the cliff, the path
-crossing a great crevice that clove the mountain as by a sword-stroke
-from the arm of a Titan. The bottom was strewn with loose boulders and
-overgrown with brambles and shrubs, through which trickled a slender
-stream of water fed by the melting snows above. Here I remained for
-three days and two nights. I heard the boy from the monastery calling
-my name as he traversed the path searching for me, but I made no answer.
-Not once did I quench my burning thirst at the brook nor appease my
-hunger with blackberries that grew abundantly on every side. Thus I
-mortified the sinful flesh, killed rebellious nature and subdued my
-spirit to the Lord until at last I felt myself delivered from all evil,
-freed from the bondage of an earthly love and prepared to devote my
-heart and soul and life to no woman but thee, O Blessed Virgin!
-
-The Lord having wrought this miracle, my soul felt as light and free
-as if wings were lifting me to the skies. I praised the Lord in a loud
-voice, shouting and rejoicing till the rocks rang with the sound. I
-cried: 'Hosanna! Hosanna! I was now prepared to go before the altar and
-receive the holy oil upon my head. I was no longer myself. Ambrosius,
-the poor erring monk, was dead; I was an instrument in the right hand of
-God to execute His holy will. I prayed for the delivery of the soul of
-the beautiful maiden, and as I prayed, behold! there appeared to me
-in the splendour and glory of Heaven the Lord Himself, attended by
-innumerable angels, filling half the sky! A great rapture enthralled my
-senses; I was dumb with happiness. With a smile of ineffable benignity
-God spake to me:
-
-'Because that thou hast been faithful to thy trust, and through all the
-trials that I have sent upon thee hast not faltered, the salvation of
-the sinless maiden's soul is now indeed given into thy hand.'
-
-'Thou, Lord, knowest,' I replied, 'that I am without the means to do
-this work, nor know I how it is to be done.'
-
-The Lord commanded me to rise and walk on, and, turning my face away
-from the glorious Presence, which filled the heart of the cloven
-mountain with light, I obeyed, leaving the scene of my purgation and
-regaining the path that led up the face of the cliff. I began the
-ascent, walking on and on in the splendour of the sunset, reflected from
-crimson clouds.
-
-Suddenly I felt impelled to stop and look down, and there at my feet,
-shining red in the cloudlight, as if stained with blood, lay the sharp
-knife of Rochus. Now I understood why the Lord had permitted that wicked
-youth to conquer me, yet had moved him to spare my life. I had been
-reserved for a more glorious purpose. And so was placed in my hands the
-means to that sacred end. My God, my God, how mysterious are Thy ways!
-
-35
-
-'You shall leave her to me.' So had spoken the wicked youth while
-holding me between life and death at the precipice. He permitted me
-to live, not from Christian mercy, but because he despised my life, a
-trivial thing to him, not worth taking. He was sure of his prey; it did
-not matter if I were living or dead.
-
-'You shall leave her to me.' Oh, arrogant fool! Do you not know that the
-Lord holds His hand over the flowers of the field and the young birds
-in the nest? Leave Benedicta to you?--permit you to destroy her body and
-her soul? Ah, you shall see how the hand of God shall be spread above
-her to guard and save. There is yet time--that soul is still spotless
-and undefiled. Forward, then, to fulfil the command of the Most High
-God!
-
-I knelt upon the spot where God had given into my hand the means of her
-deliverance. My soul was wholly absorbed in the mission entrusted to
-me. My heart was in ecstasy, and I saw plainly, as in a vision, the
-triumphant completion of the act which I had still to do.
-
-I arose, and, concealing the knife in my robe, retraced my steps, going
-downward toward the Black Lake. The new moon looked like a divine wound
-in the sky, as if some hand had plunged a dagger into Heaven's holy
-breast.
-
-Benedicta's door was ajar, and I stood outside a long time, gazing upon
-the beautiful picture presented to my eyes. A bright fire on the hearth
-lit up the room. Opposite the fire sat Benedicta, combing her long
-golden hair. Unlike what it was the last time I had stood before her
-cabin and gazed upon it, her face was full of happiness and had a glory
-that I had never imagined in it. A sensuous smile played about her
-lips while she sang in a low, sweet voice the air of a love song of the
-people. Ah me! she was beautiful; she looked like a bride of Heaven. But
-though her voice was that of an angel, it angered me, and I called out
-to her: 'What are you doing, Benedicta, so late in the evening? You sing
-as if you expected your lover, and arrange your hair as for a dance. It
-is but three days since I, your brother and only friend, left you, in
-sorrow and despair. And now you are as happy as a bride.'
-
-She sprang up and manifested great joy at seeing me again, and hastened
-to kiss my hands. But she had no sooner glanced into my face than she
-uttered a scream of terror and recoiled from me as if I had been a fiend
-from Hell!
-
-But I approached her and asked: 'Why do you adorn yourself so late in
-the night?--why are you so happy? Have the three days been long enough
-for you to fall? Are you the mistress of Rochus?' She stood staring at
-me in horror. She asked: 'Where have you been and why do you come? You
-look so ill! Sit, sir, I pray you, and rest. You are pale and you shake
-with cold. I will make you a warm drink and you will feel better.'
-
-She was silenced by my stern gaze. 'I have not come to rest and be
-nursed by you,' I said. 'I am here because the Lord commands. Tell me
-why you sang.'
-
-She looked up at me with the innocent expression of a babe, and replied:
-'Because I had for the moment forgotten that you were going away, and I
-was happy.'
-
-'Happy?'
-
-'Yes--he has been here.'
-
-'Who? Rochus?'
-
-She nodded. 'He was so good,' she said. 'He will ask his father to
-consent to see me, and perhaps take me to his great house and persuade
-the Reverend Superior to remove the curse from my life. Would not that
-be fine? But then.' she added, with a sudden change of voice and manner,
-lowering her eyes, 'perhaps you would no longer care for me. It is
-because I am poor and friendless.'
-
-'What! he will persuade his father to befriend you?--to take you to his
-home?--you, the hangman's daughter? He, this reckless youth, at war
-with God and God's ministers, will move the Church! Oh, lie, lie, lie! O
-Benedicta--lost, betrayed Benedicta! By your smiles and by your tears I
-know that you believe the monstrous promises of this infamous villain.'
-
-'Yes,' she said, inclining her head as if she were making a confession
-of faith before the altar of the Lord, 'I believe him.'
-
-'Kneel, then,' I cried, 'and praise the Lord for sending one of His
-chosen to save your soul from temporal and eternal perdition!'
-
-At these words she trembled as in great fear.
-
-'What do you wish me to do?' she exclaimed.
-
-'To pray that your sins may be forgiven.'
-
-A sudden rapturous impulse seized my soul. 'I am a priest,' I cried,
-'anointed and ordained by God Himself, and in the name of the Father,
-and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, I forgive you your only sin,
-which is your love. I give you absolution without repentance. I free
-your soul from the taint of sin because you will atone for it with your
-blood and life.'
-
-With these words, I seized her and forced her down upon her knees. But
-she wanted to live; she cried and wailed. She clung to my knees and
-entreated and implored in the name of God and the Blessed Virgin. Then
-she sprang to her feet and attempted to run away. I seized her again,
-but she broke away from my grasp and ran to the open door, crying:
-'Rochus! Rochus! help, oh help!'
-
-Springing after her, I grasped her by the shoulder, turned her
-half-round and plunged the knife into her breast.
-
-I held her in my arms, pressed her against my heart and felt her warm
-blood upon my body. She opened her eyes and fixed upon me a look of
-reproach, as if I had robbed her of a life of happiness. Then her eyes
-slowly closed, she gave a long, shuddering sigh, her little head turned
-upon her shoulder, and so she died.
-
-I wrapped the beautiful body in a white sheet, leaving the face
-uncovered, and laid it upon the floor. But the blood tinged the linen,
-so I parted her long golden hair, spreading it over the crimson roses
-upon her breast. As I had made her a bride of Heaven, I took from the
-image of the Virgin the wreath of edelweiss and placed it on Benedicta's
-brow; and now I remembered the edelweiss which she had once brought me
-to comfort me in my penance.
-
-Then I stirred the fire, which cast upon the shrouded figure and the
-beautiful face a rich red light, as if God's glory had descended there
-to enfold her. It was caught and tangled in the golden tresses that lay
-upon her breast, so that they looked a mass of curling flame.
-
-And so I left her.
-
-36
-
-I descended the mountain by precipitous paths, but the Lord guided my
-steps so that I neither stumbled nor fell into the abyss. At the dawning
-of the day I arrived at the monastery, rang the bell and waited until
-the gate was opened. The brother porter evidently thought me a fiend,
-for he raised a howl that aroused the whole monastery. I went straight
-to the room of the Superior, stood before him in my bloodstained
-garments, and, telling him for what deed the Lord had chosen me,
-informed him that I was now an ordained priest. At this they seized me,
-put me into the tower, and, holding court upon me, condemned me to death
-as if I were a murderer. Oh, the fools, the poor demented fools!
-
-One person has come to me to-day in my dungeon, who fell upon her
-knees before me, kissed my hands and adored me as God's chosen
-instrument--Amula, the brown maiden. She alone has discovered that I
-have done a great and glorious deed.
-
-I have asked Amula to chase away the vultures from my body, for
-Benedicta is in Heaven.
-
-I shall soon be with her. Praise be to God! Hosanna! Amen.
-
-*****
-
-[To this old manuscript are added the following lines in another hand:
-'On the fifteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord, 1680, in this
-place, Brother Ambrosius was hanged, and on the following day his body
-was buried under the gallows, close to that of the girl Benedicta, whom
-he killed. This Benedicta, though called the hangman's daughter, was (as
-is now known through declarations of the youth Rochus) the bastard child
-of the Saltmaster by the hangman's wife. It is also veritably attested
-by the same youth that the maiden cherished a secret and forbidden love
-for him who slew her in ignorance of her passion. In all else Brother
-Ambrosius was a faithful servant of the Lord. Pray for him, pray for
-him!]
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Monk and The Hangman's Daughter, by
-Adolphe Danziger De Castro and Ambrose Bierce
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