The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1862-03-01
The KnIght's Cellar---A German
Legend.

The Knights CelIar---A German
Legend. -~
There was poer, but very honest10eH-
tented and merry kind of man in the viii
lage Of Tilleda, who happened to be CIV
ing christening treat, ior the eigth time,
to some of his neighbors." DESTROYS of
showing all respect to the party at the
christening, he set before them the best
country wine he possessed, which being
quickly despatched, his guests seemed to
lie looking for a'litIle more. Go. then,
said the father to his eldest daughter, a
young girl about sixteen years old, go,
and bring US some better wine from the
cellar
From what cellar, father?' inquired
the daughter.
What cellar, child 2 repeated the faith
er, merely in jest. Why, the great wine
cellar belonging to the old knights upon
the kyfhau>cn.'
With perfect simplicity, the young
maiden took fitkin in one hand, and
proceeded towards the mountain. About
middle way, seated in an old deserted
path leading down towards the spot, she
found an aged housekeeper, dressed in a
singular, quaint fashion, with q large
bunch of keys hanging at her side. The
young woman paused, not little sur
Prised at the sight; but the old lady in.
quired of her very kindly, whether she
had not come to fetch wine from the
Knights cellar:
Yes, am replied the girl; but l
have got no money.
I Come with me- said the old house
keeper; you shall have it for nothing,
and better wine than your father ever
bought in his life
They both proceeded along an old, de-
serted road, the old lady inquiring very
particularly, by the way, what the ap.
pearance Of things then was in Tilleda-
who was alive and who was dead. Once,
said she, : | was as young and pretty as
thou art, before was kidnapped and bar
red under ground by the knights, or,
rather, night.riders, who stole me away
from the house that now belongs to thy
father. Shortly before this, they had
seized four young ladies' of these parts,
who were often afterwards seen about
here, on their four richly caparisoned
steeds. They were entrapped and carried
off in open day, by these mountain knights
as they were coming from church at kcl-
ba. They made me, as | grew older, their
houSckeeper, and entrusted me with the
keys Of the cellar, which, you see, | still
wear
by this time, they had reached the GEL
lar door, which the old housckecpcr nm
locked, 1t was fine spacious cellar, on
both sides it was well laid out with rows
Of watts aud butts Most of them were Ell
thcr quite or more than half:full, and,
broaching,ouc Of them with great dexter
ity, she took the little frkin and filled it
up to the hrim.
There she said, take that to your
father, and when he may happen to be
giving a treat, you may come again; only
see that you tell no one besides your iathy
er where you have it from. And, mOreo-
yer, take heed that you sell none of it, nor
give it away. for in neither case will it be
worth anything at all. If any one venture
hither to obtain wine to sell, let him be
warned-hiS last bread has been baked
No 60 ..,.....-.
Unluckily, just opposite to them lived
the landlord OF the village inn, who dealt
as largely as he could in adulterated spir.
its. He, among others, had taste of the
knights wine; my friend, said he to the
host, you might mix this with ten times
its body OF water, and sell it for good wine
still. Where can you cOntrive to get it
from?'
lie resolved to watch; and he followed
the daughter as she went for it, about the
fourteenth time, with her little tirkin, to-
wards the Kyiihausen hills lie hid him
self, and saw her come the exact way
from the cellar, with her frkin quite full,
shortly afterwards. Accordingly, next
evening, he set out himself, having first
rolled into little cart one of the largest
empty barrels be could find, intending to
fill it with the same precious kind of H.
quOr lie thought it would be easy to
convey it down hill, and he made vow
to return every night until the cellar be-
came empty As he approached the spot
where he had marked the path the day
before, the sky suddenly began to grow
dark and lowering. The wind rose, and
whistlcd portentiOusly of the gathering
rain, which soon fell in torrents. The
tempest carried him from one side of the
road to the other. And, at last, down
the hill he went, and continued to fall
deeper and deeper, until he finally found
himself lodged in a burial vault. Here,
there appeared an awful procession before
his eyes-a regular funeral, with the bier
hung with black and his wife and four
neighborS, whom he recognized easily
enough by their gait and garments, fol-
lowing in its wake. He was certainly
more dead than alive, and scarcely ven
tured to breathe. But see i-amonk now
approaches him slowly down the narrow
steps, opens the vault-door, and, in per-
feet silence, puts some money into his
hand, and then taking him into his arms,
he laid him down at the foot Of the noun.
tain. 1t was a cold, frosty night. BY
degrees, the publican came to himself, and
crept, without either wine or wine-cask,
as far as home. 1t struck one Just as he
reached there, and he felt so unwell that
he was forced to take to his bed. In the
course of three days, he died, and the
money which he had brought home, given
him by the ghOstIy mOBE;7 was just suffi-
cient to delray the funeral expenses. His
uifn on6 hic Eour noi.rhhnrs nc ha h. n