The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1869-01-02
Selected Story.
THE GOLD HERB.
from Once a Week !

From Once Week.
stories very similar to the following are told
throughout the mountain districts Of Ger
many, as Ithe Riesen-Gebirge, the nsen-
TEN, &c. by Grimm Wolf Mannhardt This
particular version is the best, and is found,
among other collections of Harz legends, in
the Harz-bilden or Harz sagen of Rellstab.
Have you been in the pine forest at even
fall? If you have you will recall the sensa- |
tons of mystery which Cypress the spirit |
when you find yourself alone among the fra |
gran. trees, that stand stiff and entranced,
awaiting the coming on of night. To per |
sons unaccustomed to the woods, few mo- |
ments of greater solemnity could occur than
those following the set OF sun. A shadow
falls over the forest and in the deep winding
tunnels that radiate among the grey moss-
hung trunks the blackness of night con-
denses apace. Mysterious noises are heard;
the rustling of large birds settling themselves |
for the night, the click Of fallen cones, the cry
of the wild cat. The gold light, that all Gay |
fickered through the Dough and dispered the |
spine stlewn soil, has wholly Disappeared,
and patches OF ash-gray heavens, seen
through the interstices oil the branches, dill
fuse no light. Perhaps an evening breeze
whispers secret among the tree tops and pipes
between the trunks, or NUNS an indistinct
time. peryading the whole air among the vi
brating green reedle-lke lea7es of the frs.
Robert, the huntsman, was too accustomed
to forest sights and sounds to pay attention
TO what would have impressed another less
familiar with them, Besides he was occu-
pied with anxious thought. He had just part
ed for the night with Gertrude, his afiianced
bride in few days he proposed going forth
into the world to seek his fortune, in the ex-
pectation of returning to claim her when
that fortune had been found. Yet Robert
was not in bad circumstances. His gun and
his small patrimony furnished him with
subsistence; hut Robert was not content
with little,-he craved for much. His ambi'
ton was to be rich, and he was ready to sac
riice even his love of Gertrude for the gold
that dazzled his eyes and allured him from
home into the world. Musing on his schemes
he would not return TO his own house, but
pacing the TO est alone with his thoughts of
ambition, from dusk till dark, from nightfall
till midnight. The weird signs and sounds of
th e forest at sunset had warned him to leave
It to spirits of evil and good, to the gnome and
the nix and the ell, but he had not needed
them. Midnight sounded from the village
steeple and suddenly, in the midst of his med
itations, he became cOncious Of figure be-
fore him, bobbing among the shadows, NOV
ing at hundred yards before him with the
head bent, but raising itself occasionally, faud
then STOPPING again. On approaching, Rob
ert saw that the figure belonged to an old
miner with silver beard and long gray hair.
He paid no attention to the hnntsman, but
clept ip and out among bushes, rocks and
tree-holes, peering among the herbs, and
then turning his ear to the soil to listen.
"What are you doing here?" asked Robert.
Its past midnight.
The old man rose, stretched himself and
answered: "Ah, the silence is broken, aud my
eyes are dim. am too old"
TOO old for what?"
"Too old to find the gold herb" answered
oh h
"And pray what is the gold-herb," answer
ed the hunter, arrested by curloity.
"Imdeed! do YOU not knowp Well, well,
these are days of ignorance. Folks seek
learning and acquire novelties which cannot
profit them, but forget the old truths which
could have availed them most. am seeking
the gold herb which blooms. only at night"
"Then why have you not brought a Ian
ternP The moon is not up, and it is as dark
as pitch here under the shadow of these
great pines"
"Ah! see" mutterod the aged man; "you
know nothing about it. am too old to find
the herb. Yes! am too old"
"And what is the good of this herb when
you have found t?'
why this, friend Robert"
you know my name, then how Is that?"
u have been eighty years in these mount
aims, and do you suppose that do not know
by name every inhabitant"
Il have never seen you BEFORE" said the
hunter. "And your appearance is sufficient
one"
The old man shook his head, at is seldom
that / show my self, and then only at night. |
l live tar off on the Rammberg, and there l |
spend the better part of my time under |
ground; but at night, in silence and darkness
wander about the country. / am tired now
and disappointed at my want of success.
must sitdown the night is warm"
Robert seated himself on a fallen stump
near the old miner. He was anxious to know
something abont the gold herb, but he shrank
from asking. The miner, however, himself
returned to the subject by exclaiming. "Ah
nae! would that were not too old to find the
gold-herb.'
"Have you ever found it before ?" asked the
huntsman.
"Never," answered the old man; che who
found it once would not require to seek 1t
second time. II you like to undertake the
quest of it, you are welcome; l see clearly
that my chance is forever passed away! Lis
ten. The gold herb flowers only from the
seventh to the thirteenth day after the feast
ofSt. John, and only then when the moon
does not shine. Nor does it bloom every
night during this time, but only on the odd
night, that is, on the seventh, ninth, eleventh
and thirteenth. And again, only when the
1dSt udI vi Otu uOOu anu uCSG Gay Oh
the new moon fall on odd days can the herb
become visible, Many know of the plant, but
few know the law regulating its blooming,
consequently it is sought in years when Il
cannot flower and on nights when it does not
appear. This year is favorable to It; to-day
Is the eleventh after st. Johns feast, conse-
quently the day after tomorrow is the last
on which it can be found. 1t also blooms on
ly for seven minutes and generally at the
stroke of midnight
"Why are you too old to find it?n
That, replied the old man, is mystery. |
II you will promise to share with me the BEN
etits acquired by the discovery of the gold |
herb, should you chance to find it, will tell |
you everything"
"MillingIy," replied Robert, with precipita- |
ton. "But you have not told me the advau-
tages Of finding the flower"
They are these" The miners voice sank
TO whisper. "The herb belongs to an earth |
nix, and she gives it away. 1t is no natural
flower; it belongs to the underground world,
but the nix brings it above to give to NOR
tails. Rarely does she offer it to old men, new
er to girls. She loves best to present it to
youths. Consequently you are far more like
~ to receive it than l."
Robert shuddered. SIS there ans danger
In the Quest?" he asked,
"Dangerw chuckled the Old man. "The
earth-nix is maid of exquisite beauty. Hap-
py Is he wh1 looks on her codntenance."
Tell me-" said Robert, eagerly, show am |
70 seek the herbw
throughout the range of the Harz the
gold-herb grows only in this forest and in
this spot. You must be here an hour before
midnight; and should you see glow worms on
the grass, then remain where you are, but
should you not, then walk due north until
You see the green light of the insects In the
dewy herbs. When there repeat the words
thrice:
Thrice in seven years bloom
In the silent orchards gloom,
Blossoms golden, starry bright,
Bursting at the turn of night.
As soon as you hear the clock strike twelve |
m the village steeple mutter this verse, bend |
ing over the soil, and then STOPPING proceed |
slowly northwards. DO not look to the one |
side or the other, or your labor is in vain. |
and on no account turn your head when
once you are on the search, or i'll will befall
you"
sand how shall recognize the plant when |
/ see it?"
"That may not tell you. But once seen
you cannot mistake it."
"Well, and when 1 have found 1t, what
then r'
"Then, answered the miner, ''your fortune |
Is made He who has that plant for thrice |
seven years is secure from sickness; he can |
see through the surface of the earth as |
though it were glass, and can mark the veins |
n .r,1s a1