Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-02-21
THE .M.lGIC RLNG.
1T. Imdme"c" Lpon tie L'je Of" f"'"""s
German Kaiser.

Its ImfueHc" LpOa TIE L'je Of" f"h'o"S
German Kaiser.
When the German Kaiser, Kari. lived
at Zurich, according to the old Legend
he dwelt in q house, callcd"The Hole"
in front of which he caused a pillar to
be erected with a bell on the top 1t.
to the end that whoever demanded
Justice should have the means OF an
nouncing himself. One day as he sat
at dinner in his house, he heard the bell
ring and sent out his servants to bring
the claimant before him. But they
could find no one A second n a
third time the bell rang, but still no
human being was to be seen. At length
the Kaiser himself went forth and he
found a large serpent, which had twlned
itself round the shaft Of the pillar and
was then in the very act Of pulling the
bell rope.
This is Gods will. said the monarch.
"Let the brute be brought before me.
/ may deny justice to none of Gods
creatures. man OF beast
The serpent was accordingly ushered
into the imperial presence, and the
Kaiser spoke to it as he would to one of
his own kind, gravcly asking what it
required. The serpent made a most
courteous reverence and signaled iu its
I own dumb way for him to follow. He
| did so. accompanied by his court, and
the creature led them to the shores Of
the lake where it had its nest. Arrived
there the Kaiser, soon saw the
cause of the serpent's seeking him. for
its nest. which was full OF eggs. was
occupied by a hideous toad OF mon
strous proportions.
Let the toad be flung into the fire."
said the monarch, and let the serpent
have the possession Of the nest restored
to it,
Three days after, as tho Kaiser again
sat at dinner, he vas surprised at the
appearance of the serpent. which this
time glided into the hall unannounced.
What does this mean?" thought the
Kaiser.
The reptile approached the table. and,
raising itself on its tail, dropped from
its mouth into al empty plate which
stood beside the monarch a precious
diamond. 1t then silently disappeared.
This diamond the Kaiser caused to be
set in a costly ring, which he presented
to his wife, the much beloved Fas,
trada.
Now, this stone had the virtue Of at.
traction, and whose. received it from
another, so long as he Or she wore it.
received also the intense love of that
individual. It was thus with Fastrada,
For no sooner did she place the ring on
her finger than the attachment Of the
Kaiser, great before, no longer knew
any bounds. In fact, his love was more
like madness than any a passion
But though the talisman had full powe,
over love, it had no power over death,
and the mighty monarch was sent into
despair over the sudden demise of his
wife. He was inconsolable. He would
not listen to the voice Of friendship, but
sorrowed in silence over the dead body
of his once beautiful bride. He would
not allow her to be buried. At length
Turpin, Archbishop Of Rheims, being
made aware Of the cause Of the kaiser's
inconsolable grief, contrived to engage
his attention while he removed the
magic ring.
Immediately that the talisman was
removed the spell was broken. The
esteem, however, that he had held
for Fastrada was now transferred to the
possessor Of the ring, Archbishop Tur-
pin, and the pious ecclesiastic was so
prosecuted by the Emperor's affection
that he finally cast the talisman into a
distant lake, which surrounded one OF
the monarch's castles.
An immediate transference of the
royal liking took place and the monarch
thenceforth and forever after during his
lifetime loved this castle and lake as 9
man might love his wife. So much did
he become attached to it that he di-
rected that he should be buried there,
and there accordingly his remains rest
unto this day.
WENc TO Make SURE.
There is O well-known gentleman in