Among the Ashes; or, Doomsday (with illustration) (Christmas Supplement) [pp. A001-A032]

I 872.1
U1?SULA'S 3iA~?E.
31
cane, unexampled, in that region, for
suddenness and violence, had visited
~Ieftzberg, stripping roofs, dislodging
weathercocks, smashing windows, and
whirling wooden pigeon4iouses, gm~denpalings, tubs, and all sorts of incon~ruous articles high into the air, and strewing fields, for half a mile eastward, with
their fragments.
But the storm had not stopped at
these freaks; it consummated, in a few
moments of fury, what the short surge
of the lake, under the influence of the
west wind, had been pottering over for
years. The bank of the church-yard
overhanging the lake h ad long been partially undermined by the water. The
civic authorities had inspected, cogitated,
planaed, and done every thing, in fact,
but repair the old wall which had for
centuries resisted the wear and tear of
that ceaseless ripple.
The gale had cut the matter shoft.
A great piece of the bank had tumbled
into the lake, carrying with it the grave,
headstone, and coffin, of the unfortunate
linus WouveA~eim, who had been buried
in that out-of-the-way corner of the ancient cemetery, and the outcast lay now
many fathoms under the level of the
water, in his rotten coffin never to be
brought to light again.
There was a good deal of disgust and
indignation. There were also many
gloomy inquiries of a superstitious kind;
and some people, learned in that sort of
lore, declared that although lians, so long
as lie lay in the church-yard, could not
return to plague his survivors, yet that
now, released from stake and cross, and
inimersed in another element, he might
emerge among the demons who somethncs appeared on the margin of the
lake, to affright or hurt the solitary passenger.
These spectral conjectures, however,
were interrupted by the bustle of prep aration, and the anticipation of a general
merry-making, and the sunshine of a glorious day filled men and girls with other
thoughts, and chased away the lingering
vapors of superstition.
The young Baron You Ramer, handsome, courteous, and immensely rich, had
arrived at the chateau at the other side
of the lake, and a whisper had reached
t-he town that he was not unlikely, in
strict incognito, and as if quite accidentally, to drop in, in the course of the
evening, to take part in the innocent
gayeties of this rural festival. The oh ateau of the rich young baron, of whose
splendor and generosity they had heard
so much, was about two and a half miles
distant across the water; and as the
tents were being erected, and other prep
arations were pressed forward, in the
course of the afternoon, many telescopes
were directed toward that particular
point; and it was reported that a boat
was being manned at the steps of the
terrace, under the walls of the baronial
castle.
This interesting inspection was, however, interrupted; for a thin mist that
had been rising at the other side of the
lake, grew rapidly denser, and, just at
the most interesting moment, when
people had appeared at the top of the
steps, and had begun to descend, it
ceased to be transparent, and half a dozen curious glasses that had been directed
to that point, were, one after another
reluctantly lowered, and only wistful
looks were turned, now and then, in that
direction.
The curtain had fallen. The fog spread
and thickened, and now it lay upou the
water like a white barrier of clouds between Meitzberg and the distant shore.
The sky above was beautifully clear,
and a full moon, that night, would lend
all its peculiar splendor to the Jete. It
was to he hoped that this fog, which
seemed steadily advancing, would not
spoil all by invading the grassy platform
on which the tents and lamps were
placed, and enveloped the town itself.
Farmer Straus was away at the great
fair of Loenthal buying and selling stock;
but that did not prevent his gay and
beautiful young wife from coming down,
attended by her maid, to enjoy the festive
scene.
It would certainly have been no harm,
if that pretty young matron had been a
little more circumspect.
Dancing, on these occasions, usually
began about sunset, and was continued
by torch and lamplight, or under the
beams of the moon, as il~e case might be,
till about ten o'clock; and now the evening was closing in a gorgeous sunset, fl~e
beams of which had just stremned forth,
dyed crimson in the edge of the mist;
and as this glorious light flooded the
scene, a distant blast of trumpets, and
other wind-instruments, emne sweetly
over the waters. It was probably a mile
away, and the boat and the musicians
were still hid in il~e mist. Ursula was
secretly delighted; she had set her heart
on winmug the admiration of th~ young
baron, whose visit they had been led to
hope for. All was going well; the fog
had ceased to advance, and was now
thiumug. The dancing had begun; peoplc were absorbed in the stirring scene,
and had all forgotten the baron-all except Ursula.
And now the sun was down, torches
blazed redly under the edge of the forest,
and colored l~mps gleamed from the
tents; while, over all, the glorious moon
shed her silvery lustre.
The quick ear of Ursula caught the
sound of music on the lake again, mii oh
nearer, but also fainter. She saw a boat
pulled by feur men in livery, and containing a number of musicians in a fantastic uniform, and one handsomelydressed gentleman in velvet and goldlace.
lie disembarked, followed by two
servants, one carrying a violin, the other
a fife. The rest remained in the boat.
Ursula's heart beat quick as she saw
this cavalier approach. lie drew near
the linden-tree, round which was the
principal gathering, and introduced himself in a manner so courtly, shaking
hands with everybody in the friendliest
way, that all hearts were won in a moment; and at length he caine to Ursula,
smiled, offered her his arm, and walked
with her, back and ferward in the moonlight, along the edge of the bank. liis
two servants followed, and his boat, some
little way out, rowed also slowly back
and forward, now and then sending forth
a plaintive swell of music.
Ursula and the young stranger seemed
soon to become deeply interested, and
talked with their heads close together.
More eyes were watching than she suspected, and they saw the courtly stranger
and Ursula exchange rings.
This was, certainlv, an odd proceeding, and we can't wonder that a l~tle
buzz of surprise, and even consternation,
from the decorous towns-people of Meitzberg greeted this piece of by-play.
Presently the stranger led his beautiful partner toward the linden-tree, and
signed to his two servants, who instantly
struck up a merry tune; and he and she,
hand-in-hand, began to dance to the
music with such exquisite grace, lightness, and spirit, that the admiration of
the assembly drew them nearer and
nearer. The dancers, meanwhile, were
moving in the direction of the lake; they
were now footing it on the very bank.
More fantastic and wonderful grew the
dance the nearer they drew to tiie edge,
over which suddenly, with a bound, both
dancers disappeared; the fife and viol
each emitting a wild, mocking scream
that chilled the listeners with horror.
From the boat a strange thunder of music swelled, and the hollow laughter of
many shrilly voices. As the crowd
rushed forward, the mist came rolling in
like the dense smoke of cannon. Every
thing was veiled from view by the white
fog that had broken its bounds, and was
already surging half-way up to the town.
The fog became so thick that one