Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-10-27
A Medisval Romance.
+ha ataaeorand de Montmorency knelt .,

dildehrand de Montmorency knelt A
sne Ieet OF Yolande V~avesour.
Lady, command me a duty to tasa
my love-" said the impassioned kniohs.
"sir Hildebrand." reioined the dam.
dasa OFTEN hast thou promised me to do
Ieeos o. high emprize in my name.
Mnow that the King of Abyssinia has
one 1alr daughter whom he guards from
al the world. She has never seen the
race OF man, u her father and her
brothers, for the King sweareth she is
a pearl OF great price, and that there
1lVes no mar worthy of her. The court
yard OF her palace is guarded by five
and-twenty trained lions who rend all in
truders. In her ~seclusion this fair
princess has learned a great secret. She
knoweth how to do up her back hair
without filling her mouth with hair-pins.
l command you to travel to Abyssinia.
learn her secret, and return to me ere
yet a year passes" So saving. She
gave her colors-a scarf composed of
two shades of ecru, bound with tilleuI-
shlrred and cut bias-to the good knight,
VINO thereupon set out on his quest.
Scarcely had the sound of the hoof-
beats Of the Knights palfrey died away
IN the distance when there arose from
the neigghboring pomegranate grove the
strains of a melody Of passing sweet
ness. Opening in 6-S time in C minor,
the melody, after a series of arpeggios
in B-fiat major, was skillfully developed
by the Inversion of the dominant seventh
and passed into A. whence, after a brief
succession of mordents written in close
counterpart, it was taken up by a
cadenza, and ended in one long-drawn
resolution of six consecutive tifths, allegro
assai, %sforzando, sherzo, q memo mosso.
'By my halidom," said the lady, .san
angel with his voice tuned to concert
pitch could scarce sing sweeter than Won
strain"
Scarcely had these words passed her
lips when .Blondel, the minstrel, knelt
before her, the ophicleide, the favorite
instrument of medieval minstrelsy, be-
ing drawn in q cart behind him.
"Lady, an thou lowest me, such
strains shall echo around thee all thy
life, even though the neighbors should
set up opposition with accordions."
minstrel" rejoined the fair one,
''thy songs are sweet and fain would I
give thee the rich reward thou cravest.
though I know many music teachers
wives have to live in extremely ineligible
flats; but as I have set atask to the good
Knights Sir Hildebrand de Montmorency,
it is but fitting one should be assigned
thee to test thy truth. Know, then, that
there dwellest on a high rock in the
River Rhine, in Almayne, a maiden
wondrous fair, who singeth a son that
bringeth her lovers from afar and near.
Woe to him who is drawn to the rock
whereon she sings. She seizes him and
carries him to her enchanted palace in
the rivers depths, whence he never re-
appears; charge thee go to Alma.ne;
transcribe this song. Be not lured by
the Lorelei, but bring me back the au-
thorized score of the song, with full
orchestral parts. No pianoforte score
with instrumental indications will bs
accepted at this shop"
lady" firmly answered the min
strel, ''an' l do not thy behest 1 were
only fit to be librarian to a circus band,''
and after breathing out his soul in one
imprisoned cadenza on the ophicleide,
he departed OF his way.
There lacked but q day of ayear since
the knight and the minstrel departed
when they reached the castle gate again
from the successful completion of their
tasks. But, alas! their perils were in
vain. The lady Yolande was wedto Sir
Aldegonde de rreville. He had kept
at home and invented ice-cream.-Bos-
ton transcript.