St. Charles Republican intelligencer. (St. Charles [Charles City], Iowa) 1856-1857, 1856-08-30


had been given him by tho damse,
whom he loved, the virtuous and beau
tiful Matilda of Malsbourg, of whose
continued chastity and truth, the cap
tive declared the sanctity and white.
ness Of the scarf to be sufficient evi
dence: Of it's power for his own pres
ervation, the proofs were every day
apparent, '.'.'
-. a"! ta gl------ = ~ q eaw 5g.a
a " CHAPTER H. @'tf4& 'at O.
The young prince, being rich and
powerful, with an excitable imagina-
tion, and fond Of the marvellous, was
naturally seeker after adventure
just such a person as we frequently
read Of among the caliphs and vizers
Of the Thousand and One Nights. He
was impressed by the description Civ.
en- of Matilda, and determined secret.
ly to visit France, and to spare Meth.
er gold nor presents in the attempt to
win the affections of the betrothed
of our captive knight and by this
means, to see if the scarf would lose
it's virtue and change it's color. He
was not slow in carrying his 1esolu.
tion into effect. With great secrecy
and diligence, he passed into the Chris.
tian country 1t was cold bleak
evening in winter when he arrived at
the foot Of the tower where dwelt the
young heiress Of Malsbourg. He was
fortunate in beholding her the very
first moment of his arrival. Needless
of the cold and biting winds, she was
even then leaning out from the turret,
sending her eyes afar, as if seeking to
discern, amidst the whiteness of the
snow which covered the vast plain be-
fore her, the black plume of her knight
family glimmering in the distance :
striving to distinguish, amidst the
noise Of the wind, the sound of a we'll
known bugle. The form of the visito,
appeared before her, and, for mo-
ment, inspired her with a hope which
was. however,, soon dissipated. when
the faithful warder, Dietrich, throw
ing open the gates Of the castle, ad.
mitted our adventurous sultan. The
sight of a stranger, whose features
told her nothing but that they were
bronzed by the intense sun of Asia
only filled her heart with new terrors
and apprehensions, which the deep
sigh he uttered ashe surveyed her per.
son only tended to increase. She had
Everything to fear from messenger
coming from the East, in place of Her.
man but the stranger only implored
hospitality, and made no present rev.
elations. His prayer was necessarily
granted. The inclemency of the sea.
son was sufficient plea to the heart
Of charity for the lonely wayfarer at
such bitter time.
1t is related in the legend of Dr..
Faustus, that one day, Mephistopheles
tempted the fair Margaret with rich
ornaments of pearls and diamonds.
The poor child trembled, hesitated,
and finally allowed herself to become
his victim and this is the history of
very many Of the daughters of Eve.
Our sultan resorted to a like influence
to persuade the fair Matilda. She be-
held, in one night, at her feet, all the
riches Of the East. She heard her pa
gan suitor swear that her betrothed,
the noble Herman, would forever drag
the plow of the infidel unless she
yielded to his entreaties. The sultan
was beautiful as fallen angel, and
as eloquent as the devil when he tempt
cd the mother Of mankind in the gar
den and yet-and yet he failed. The
fair Matilda turned over the golden
leaves Of her missal, and remained
faithful to her lover. When left to
herself, she mourned over the cruel
destiny under which Herman suffered
in heather land, and prayed the Vir-
gin to give her strength and means to
deliver him from bis enemies.
Did the Virgin listen to her prayers
Did the maiden leave it to prayer
alone? We shall see. ,.ta} fae
7 Though swiftly roll the waves, yet
still more swiftly roll our days, The
linfdel, hopeless of his arts, has re.
turned ts Syria with empty Golfers
He has gained nothing by his adven.
ture, and bis gifts were all fruitless
with the fair Matilda. Herman still
labored with his. companions at the
lplow, and his scarf still remained i'm.
maculate as the white wing Of the
cherubim. s@9@a
Soon after this time, there arrived
at the court of our sultan mysterious
and unknown singing master. His
pale face, long fair hair, smooth chin,
and blue eyes-in short his whole ap-
Ipearance showed that he was from the
West, from those cold melancholy
countries SO often hid from the entrea.
tiles of the sun.
The stranger sang accompanying
himself with the sounds of an ebony
harp, inlaid1 with ivory, which he
brought with him. His sweet strains