Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1896-04-04
THE LORELEI.

dark curtained, and a yawning cavern
ous fireplace, l sat and pondered. The
fire was burned out, save pile of glow
ing Goals, which threw a fitful glare
through the shadows of the room up to
the brown raftcrs overhead Without the
wind shrieked and howled and whis
tied, the shutters clattered and the hail
beat upon the window panes. The fire
CLEANS ceased. The wind shrieked loud
en- and the spirit of fear entered into and
took possession Of me.
Oh, for light!
Starting in a frenzy, I raked some
Goals together, and seizing an old violin
that lay in a corner | threw it on the
Goals i'll hope of light sufficient to dispel
the gloom for a few moments at least
There was cracking, and there went
up blue flame, and at that instant
there came a quick, stinging blow on
my temple-a blow like the shock from
an electric battery-and l fell to the
floor, insensible. When my mind came
back to me, the room was filled with
darkness so intense could discern moth
ing. | looked toward the fire. Written
i'll letters of flame upon the back wall of
black, i'll letters that f1ickered and grew
pale and then bright, now with blue
light and now with red, l saw this
strange story that | try to tell to you:
OF Old there was a race of women
who We're 1.-the and tall and fair. Their
eyes We're like stars and their hair like
strands of gold, or veil covering them
below the knees This was when Jove
reigned in Olympus and the gods and
goddesses paid homage to him there.
Now these women We're slaves to the
goddesses, but when they sang, Jove left
his throne and all the gods wept and
thought Of naught save these-the Lore
lei
Then the gCddesses were sore dis
pleased, and their hearts were bitter
with jealousy so that they pleaded with
.Ioye and finally prevailed upon him to
cast the Lorelei out of Olympus and to
drown them i'll the sea.
So the Lorelei We're hurled into the
waters. But as they sank they cried
aloud, and the sweetness of their voices
pierced Nepsune's heart, SO it was filled
with compassion, and he sent ENJOYS to
guide them through the waters and into
the caveruous palaces under the sea-the
palaces whose walls We're Of silver span
gled with gold, whose light was the
SlimmCr from diamonds, whose floors
were Of pearls, and many gems were in
the sands around. The Lorelei sang to
thank kind Neptune, and the monsters
of the deep drew near and ceased to
move, but stood by the entrances to the
caverns and We're spellbound by the mu-
sic
The LOrelei maidens were happy.
They danced and sang the livelong day,
and the queen of Lorelei led them. The
water was warm, and its surface glitter
ed and sparkled and flashed, and the
very gladneSs. There was ship Oh the
sea, and when the breeze reached it laden
with muSic--the music of the Lorelei's
VOiCeS--the sailors We're charmed, so
that the helmsman stood as one dead,
and the captain was silent, but reached
forth his hands. The winds and waves
bore the ship on, and the voices of the
Lorelei sCIlided more plainly than be-
fore.
Tie ship was without guidance. 1t
struck upon the rocks and sank. But the
men We're as dead men before it went
down, for their ears We're filled and
their pulses were stopped by the songs
Of the sirens. The waters closed over
the ship and her crew, and after many
days the bones Of the sailors We're cast
upon the sands Of the shore, and the
summer suns and winter rains bleached
them. Other ships came. The crews
heard ard perished, and the shore was
streWn with bones, even as the sands
The Lorclei mourned and sang to warn
men away. But the voices We're so sweet
men came ever toward them to their de-
structiCn.
Ike LCrClei We're accused by man.
kind, 50 th1t the queen of the Lorelei
came no more through the waters, bat
wandered i'll and out through the coral
groves IN the depths of the sea. Ships
ceased to be lost and the bones upon the
seahor0 were covered with moss and the
grass and flowers grew near to the wa
tar's edge.
Now, baci; from the shore was for
est, mighty and old. The trunks of the
trees We're like great columns and the
branches formed arches overhead; the
leaves were the canopy and the whole
seemed like Il great cathedral. The
ground WAS soft with the fallen leaves,
and in this forest the sun never shone
save when the winds came softly and
gently through the boughs lifted the
leaves tiutteringly and let sunbeam
through, which fell aslant upon the
ground. III the heart of this forest was
Il castle. The castle was DID, dark and
grim, and the lord of the castle had
been wandering i'll foreign lands for
many yeals
y new year had como and was half
gone when the lord came home. The air
was soft and warm and filled with the
song OF birds and the hum of insects.
The sunbCams came down on the old
castle, glancing off on the blooming
TOsas on the castle walls and falling
through the windows on marble forms
and crystal fountains The lord of the
castle was blave and strong and calm
and drew all men toward him.
1t was morning.
The lord left his castle and wandered
through the forest, his arms folded upon
his breast and his face raised to watch
the pale sunbeams come flickering
through the tICcs Each football crushed