Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1860-09-05

master made of the watchmen of the castle.
lrmengard was filed with inexpressible anx-
iety. She must speak with the knight of
Dachau ;--she must warn him of his danger |
With this view she sent the gardener of the
castle, on whose fidelity she could rely, as
messenger to the convent, and appointed a /
meeting with Daehau at midnight, On the |
bank of the river where the boat lay. Trem- |
blingly she awaited the messengers return, /
and as he brought the answer that Dachau |
would meet her according to appointmen t,
she could but feebly concea. the emotion that
agitated her.
The night cane-ihe clock struck eleven, |
and in the castle every thing seemed to be |
buried in profound sleep Irmengard's |
chamber joined hall in which were sundry |
cfotf1es- -preSzas.s Ii Qnezce-these yer heft
suit of boys clothes which had been worn
by relation of the lady Won Thurm, who |
died at fourteen years of age, and the suit fit
ted as if it had been made for Irmengard -
That she might not be recognized on going
ont, she put on this suit of clothes and slip
ped out the castle through the garden and |
went to the place of meeting. Dachau was
already there, waiting for her, and filed
with vague and gloomy apprehensions She
impaired to him what she knew and what
she feared. Conrad fell into dspair, when he
of Irmengard's father but Irmengard con-
soled him in some degree with words of en-
couragement and grounds of hope that all
might yet be well.
Up yonder,' said she, pointing to the skies,
are the fates of men ordained; if heaven has
destined us for each other no human power
can long part u.s.
/ In such strain she continued to address
| him on this trying occasion, until she again
klndled In his breast some light of hope
But now they must separate for the present.
The young lady promised that on the next
day she would again send him a message
through the gardener lie accompanied her
to the outside of the thicket in which they
had met, and there he stood looking after
her as she approached the garden wall She
bad almost reached it, when he heard the
whizzing of an arrow through the air, and
Irmengard fell with cry to the ground.
Curd sprang up to her and found her lying
insensiblc, with the blood gushing from her
wounds.
oh, Irmengard Irmengardp he oxclaim-
ed, with voice of despair, you arc muir
dered'
Who Who? cried fearful voice, and
tall, dark form issued from the shadow of the
neighboring trees and came to the fallen
body
Curd recognized the Baron Hohenec1-
What, is it you {? he exclaimed. Have you
shed the blood Of your own child p
Man p muttered the old knight say
not again this is my daughter"
But do say that this is Irmengard of
Hoheneck," answered Conrad in tone of
bitterness.
! Woe! woe woe is me! have murder
ed my own chifdt cIled 1IU:lcuUoh, oz1ti rr.-,n
IL L 4 Il 4
, were pursuing him.
Conrad's call for help soon brought the
gardener and some others to the spot from
the castle Torches were brought, and the
bystanders shuddered at the sight which now
presented itself to their eyes. The young
lady was lying on the ground, pale as
a sheet and perfectly motionlesS. The arrow
had struck her right shoulder and the blood
was still gushing forth. After a while she
again opened her eyes and uttered cry OF
PAIN
God be praised, she lives !" exclaimed Curd
and kneeling down he took her cold hand in
his.
Now they prepared to carry her into the
! castle. The young man never quit her side
, until the chaplain of the castle, who also ex
E ercised the healing art, ha., drawn the arrow
from the wound and declared that no morta
5 injury had been done. Hardly yet, however
f could Conrad be persuaded to return to the
: convent, though they could not we'll refuse
to invite him to come daily to the castle, tha
d he might inquire after the young lady's con
dition.
: No one thought of the Karon Hoheneck
e until lrmengard the next day, having recov
S cred her vital powers, inquired for her father
e She seemed to have no suspicion that tn,
Haa6lu from, hicS baud apd ha,
heart yearned for bis forgiveness. Conrac
: came over at an early hour and inquired fo
r Irmengard. The chaplain gave him favor
: able report of her condition. Then tn,
e young knight suggested, that he might vel
; consider her as murdered by his hand, anc
n he might, in paroxysm Of despair, hay
IS committed some violence on himself.
!. Servants were sent out Immediately il
o search of him, and Curd devoted himself t
It the same object But all their efforts to fin,
s. the old knight were fruitless. They all re
). turned, one sitter another, with the repor
,r that they could not find a trace of him.
is Now the conjecture was that he had eithe
It plunged iato some river, or buried himse
le in monastery. Before lrmengard, however
,e not word was said of the matter The
at quieted her mind by accounting for her f;
e. theirs absence in a way that would ne
b. alarm her for his safety. Her wound 500
= began to heal, and IN few weeks she wa
to able to walk about in her room. Curd r.
ne ceived the intelligence of her recovery wit
inexpressble delight Never had he exper
10 enced purerjoy Yet from this time h
to had not the heart to visit the castle; for h
IL felt that the uncertainty which hung ove
ed the fate of Irmengard's father, must inie
y. pose itself like some threatening ghost b
IS. tween his wishes and his hopes.
m About this time there came to the abbe
ly of st. Martin monk from Lorraine, WI
nc who was by his prior's order making jou
ney to the Danube. He gave an accoun
w. among other things of strange sort of ma
who had lately sought refuge in their m
Is. mastery and although apparently of mob
he birth, had applied for the Office of herGsm'
an to the monastery. The abbot and Conri
h. had their attention reused by this story
St. They inquired about the personal appearan
nd of this ma !, his age and the time of his a
he pearance in Lorraine All that the trav
To- ing monk told them in answer to these
ng quiries, seemed to point. out the Baron H
lu. heneck and Conrad resolved immed ate
as to undertake journey to Lorraine.
ite
in VI.
Ho After iaborious journey of several dal
ar Curd reached the neighborhood of the n
tar mastery, where he hoped to find Emengar,
ion father. Already he beheld the two towers
oh the elegant church rising behind wood
nd oaks, and had mind to turn into footpa
that led from the highway through the WOO
E.nv<h h<n nkr~~ - l. -. =