The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1880-07-18
THE PROUD LADY OF THE CASTLE.

Last Of the mighty race Of Windeck,
| famed for brave men and lovely women, was
| Adelheid, heiress of the castle and broad
lands that had been owned by her ances-
tors, and, so far as beauty went, she was
worthy of her lineage, but of proud and
| naughty temper So proud was she that
among all the mobiles of Brisgau she could
| find none whom she thought worthy TO call
| her lord and year after year passed on
| finding her still unwedded, and every year
| some unfortunate lover or other turned from
| the castle gates with looks of scorn and words
| of ridicule.
Among those whom she had, after her
| fashion, first attached TO her by every art.
| and afterward repealed with bitter derision,
was young man of noble family, but slcn-
der fortune, who had long been in her ser
vice az page or squire, as the fashion of
| those days demanded.
After years of patient waiting and hope,
| the youth vcnturcd TO declare himself, and
was received by the lady with storm of
sarcasms that literally overwhelmed him.
Stung to the heart by her hard speeches, and
by the sense of his own folly and presump-
ton, which suddenly poured in upon him
| like flood. he left his mistress's presence
only to write word of farewell TO his
mother. whose only son he was, and whom
he tenderly loved, then threw himself into
the Rhine.
| A few days afterward n woman, maddened
with rage and sorrow, n widow whose only
son had died suicides death, sought the
Lady Adclheid in her castle on the hill, ac.
cused her of being the murdercss of her boy,
and hcaped upon her head the bittcrcst
curses that her outraged mother heart could
devise or her woman's tongue utter
"unloved you shall live" she cried, "and
| urpft nl lin Evpp in tho prayp Won
shall find no peace; even there my revenge
shall follow you and send you forth to wan
der, restless, miserable ghost-rcstless for
| evcr!'
"Ah." cried the Lady Adelheid, with
white face and scared eyes, all her haughti-
ness flown. edo not utter such terrible
words Have you no mercy ?"
The wrctched mother smiled grimly. eyes,
| ] will have mercy she said. I" Thus shall
your spirit wander through these very halls
until you find lover az true, AS honest, as
pure hearted, as my poor lost son, willing TO
WOO the phantom for his bride. Then only
you shall rest in peace
| Under this curse, says the legend, the lady
of Windeck lived and died. She was the
last of her race, and not many years after her
death the castle, uninlabitcd and deserted,
fell into ruins. Its new owners had, indeed,
made many attempts to inhabit it, but had
been absolutely driven out of the place by
the uncarthy sounds which disturbed the
stiffness of the night, and which scarcely al
lowed a living soul in the building SO much
as TO close an eye from midnight to cock
crow. Doors would open and shut mystcri-
ously, footsteps rcsound through the silent
corridors, lights, illumined by no visible
hand, suddenly burn in the windows, while
over every mirror in the house the shadowy
form of woman, clothed in white, with long
black hair hanging below her shoulders,
would be scen-would disappearing in
one place only to appear the next moment in
another.
1t happened, hswevcr, that one day a
| young hunter of noble family, n stranger
guest in one of the neighboring castles, was
led, in the excitement of the chase, up to the
very gate of the deserted mansion. The deer
which he was pursuing rushed by him into
the very ruins, as though it were taking
sanctuary. The young man, by name Kurt
| Won Stein, had heard some curious legends as
connected with ruined castle on the height,
and possibly, half from curiosity and half
| because he was hot and tired with a day of
specially poor SPORT he dismounted and led
| his horse, tired like himself, through the
brambles and bushes that had oversrown the
ruined gateway, into the grass-grown court
yard.
"a curious place, to be surc,' said the
| young man. seating himself for moment $
rest on fallen mass of brick work overlaid
with soft moss, and letting his horse mean
time Craze at his will from the rank growth
of the court yard "a very curious place.
Looks as if no one had been here for n hun
dred years. wonder if this can be the
haunted castle my uncle was speaking about
only the other night Ifso,' he added, 81
wish to goodness the spiritually would have
the hospitality to welcome me to her do
mains, and offer me a drink of something this
hot day" And as lie took off his hunting
cap to air his heated brow, his thoughts re-
verted to n certain glass tankard in his
uncle's house, which, when filled with vel
low Strasburg beer, was about rs pleasant a
sight to Kurt Won Stein as the world could
well offer.
After awhile the idea occurred to the
young man that as chance had brought him
to the castle, he might as well pay his re-
spects to the owner of it, whether she were Il
phantom or not.
A turret stair, broken and worn, was close
at hand to the spot which he had chosen fol
a resting place. Twilight was beginning to
fall as he reached the castle; now, suddenly
darkness seemed to have come, and as he
mounted the winding turret stairs he noticed
that lights were already showing through
many of the windows of what appeared
to be less ruinons part of the building than
that by which he had entered.
"That is all right said Kurt to him
self. :" l was wise to try my fortune here
A supper, or even n bed, would not CONF
amiss to me, for scarcely know how shall
find my way back to my uncle's house to
night. But at any rate shall get some d
rections, and perhaps, if the people are no
OyprhOspitable, n guide hOme.'
So saying, he made his way up the stair
case, and knocked at n door which was n
the top of il. The door opened noiselessly
az though by an unseen hand, and admitted
him INTO long corridor, lighted and adorned
with white marble statues. From this III
passed into suite ofrooms hung with tapes
try, and strewn with freshly laid PUSHES
with few carved settles and chests for fur
niture. still he. met no one.
Next he came into great hall on th
walls of which hung number of antique
portraits, while in tho centre of the apart
inent was n table spread as if for supper.
"This is very curious" said Kurt to him
self. .'Where can the family be gone to
However, one comfort is, they've got some
thing to eat. think I'll wait here AM
give them the chance of inviting me-"
So saying, he sat quietly down ut one EN-
of the table, which was laid for two persons
Scarcely had lie don" 80 wheh the 400
opened noiselessly and lady, young AM
beautiful, but with Il somewhat sad and pal
face, entered the room.
> Kurt rose and at once began to make apollo
! ges for his unwarrantable intrusion. Tn
lady waved white hand toward him an
babe him be seated. "Say no more,
she said, in a sweet, sad voice. F" expects
you.
There was evidently some mistake here
,. thought Kurt, but AS the mistake seemed /
mean n good supper, he was not unwilling I
fall into il. lie at once took his seat a
the table, and the lady took hers oppcsit
him.
She was certainly very beautiful, Ii
thought, as he Looked again at her over tn
! trimming wine-cup. Thewine, too, was excel
lent; SO was the whole repast-at which TIL
lady waited upon him with her own fai
+ hands-tho only popularity about il bein
j that neither bread nor salt was to be ioun