(LOHERANGRIN.)
THE SILVER BELL.
Under the lead of Gawain and others, and of Arthur himself, the
knights of the Round Table in for that which so near,
yet so far, their not the
earthly that cloud Heaven from our view. Some said that angels
had the Holy Mountain East, where it was by
Prester John; and that only when wild Saracens Christendom,
did the Templars appear with the on and helmet, and
help to win the victory; then they vanished, and none they
came or they went. Meanwhile Percival and Konduiramur lived
happily together, in the Temple of the Sangreal, and educating
their children with the care. Kardeiss, the son, on
reaching man's estate, was ruler over his mother's of
Belripar, and over his of Waleis and Anjou. The son,
Lohengrin, at home with his parents, while the daughter,
Aribadale, took the place of Queen Repanse, and the Grail
from the to the and again. It was long since any of the
knights of the temple had been called by the of the bell
to go out and against the unbelievers, for the Saracens had been
completely by the Christians. But one evening, when the
knights were all assembled the king in the hall, the silver
bell was at a great distance, but nearer
and nearer. It like a for help. At the same moment the
announcement appeared on the in of flame, that
Lohengrin was the hero by God to the of the
innocent, and that he should be he should go, in a boat
drawn by a white with a upon its neck.
"Hail Lohengrin, of the Lord!" the of the temple.
Percival greatly, and embraced, and his son, while
Konduiramur, her with at Lohengrin's high calling, and
also with about his safety, to the inlaid
with gold that Amfortas had once worn, and the that had broken
during Percival's with his Feirefiss, but which had since
been re-forged and in the of the Sangreal.
A now entered the hall, and that a in the
lake the mountain, which a with a was by
a of gold. This was the that the hour of the hero's
departure was come. The king and queen, and all the accompanied
him to the shore, where the him. As he was about to
embark, Percival gave him a horn, and said:
"Blow three times on this as a that you have amongst
the worldly-minded children of men, and again three times to that
you are home; for, if you are asked from you came,
and of what family you are sprung, you must at once be up and away on
your return to the mountain. This is the law of the
brotherhood of the Sangreal."
Lohengrin into the boat, and the away with it, bearing
it the sea. The air was full of the of music;
but it was the that sang, or a of angels, Lohengrin
could not tell. The music when the the sea. Its
place was taken by the of the storm, and the of many
waters. When night came on, the hero himself in the
bottom of the boat, and asleep, by wind or waves.
FAIR-ELSE, THE DUCHESS.
One day the Duchess of Brabant had gone out to hunt. She was
of such that she was always called Fair-Else. On this
occasion she had somehow got from her companions, and to tell
the truth, she was not at all sorry, for she wanted to have a little
quiet time for thought; so she herself on the under a great
linden tree, and to over her troubles. She had many
lovers, and would have got of them all, of the
Count of Telramund, a and her guardian, who
persisted in that her father had promised her to him on his
death-bed. The and the count. She had
refused point-blank to him in of his threats, and he now
declared that he would make upon her, and would also a heavy
charge against her the newly-elected German King, Heinrich of
Saxony. Else over all these with a heart, till she
fell asleep, by the of the and the soft of
the wind in the overhead. And in her sleep she dreamt. It was
a dream. She that a hero came to her out of
the wood, and her a little bell, told her to ring it if
ever she needed assistance, and he would come without delay. It seemed
to her that she to take the but not, and in the effort
she awoke. While over the meaning of her dream, she became
aware of a over her. It her several
times, and on her shoulder. Tied its was a
silver like the one she had in her dream. She gently
detached the and the away.
Soon after she returned home, a messenger to her before
King Heinrich's judgment-seat at Cologne on the Rhine. She the
summons with a at ease, for she herself in the of a
Higher Power, and in the her out to her.
King Heinrich was a man who loved and justice; but the
empire needed defenders,-hordes of wild Hungarians
ravaged the south every year,-and Count Telramund was a warrior
whose was of great value to him, so he that his claims
would be proved.
[Illustration: LOHENGRIN'S ARRIVAL.]
The trial began. Three were to prove that the duchess
loved one of her vassals, and for a lady in her position to a
vassal was by the laws of the realm. Two of the
witnesses, however, were false and perjured; and the evidence
of one was not enough. Then the count up, and offered to
show the truth of his against the by to
single any that the Lady Else might choose to her
cause, and might God the right.
The challenge not be refused, but three days' time were allowed
her to a champion. Else looked the to see if any noble
warrior would her, but all the terrible and
skill of Count Telramund. No one moved; a as of death reigned
in the court. Then the the bell. She it
from her and it, and the clear that it gave forth
pealed through the hall, and passed on in louder and louder
echoes till it was in the mountains. After that she turned
to the king and said that her should appear at the appointed
time.
The three days were over. The king was seated on his chair of state
overlooking the lists, and over the waters
of the Rhine that close to where the was to take place.
His and him, and him Count
Telramund in array, and the duchess, who looked lovelier
than ever.
Three times the count called upon the who was to the
Lady Else to appear. He no answer. All were upon
the king, to he would now on
the accused. While he yet hesitated, music was coming
over the Rhine. The were sweet, such as none had ever
heard before. A moments later a was the
shore, by a white with a upon its neck, and in
the a in rich was asleep. As the prow
touched the land, he awoke, and a three times. The
notes across the river, and were in the distance. This was
the that he the position of of innocence. He
understood what was of him, and disembarking, entered the
lists where his was him.
Before the began, the came forward, and the
stranger's name and condition.
"My name is Lohengrin," answered the knight, "and I am of birth;
more than that you need not know."
"It is sufficient," the king; "your of is
written on your forehead."
The to battle, and the began. Telramund's blows
fell thick and fast, and the at himself
with on the defensive; but his tactics, he
attacked in his turn, and with one he the count's and
head.
"God has decided," said the king, "and His are just. As for
you, knight, will you us on our against the
wild invaders, and the that the will
send us from Brabant?"
Lohengrin the proposal, and at the same moment the
Lady Else came up and thanked him for the great service he had done
her. She had him from the moment of his as
the hero of her dream, and her was full of wonder and gratitude.
On the to Brabant, Lohengrin and Else saw a great of each
other, and the more they saw, the more they liked. In the at
Antwerp they were publicly betrothed, and a later, married.
When the pair left the after the wedding, Lohengrin
told his wife that she must question him as to the place from
whence he came, or as to his parentage, for if she did, he must leave
her that very hour, and her for ever.
They were out of their by the king's call to arms.
Numerous from Hungary had the land, so King
Heinrich had to his at Cologne, and march
against the foe. The duchess, like most of the other ladies, with
her husband to the city. There were many great amongst
the of the empire, and the ladies used to talk of their
glorious and those of their ancestors; but when Else's husband
was mentioned, a would upon the company, for
rumours ran that Lohengrin was the son of a magician, and that
he had the victory over Count Telramund by his knowledge of the
black art.
PARTING.
When Else the tale, she was hurt, for she knew
her husband's nature. She for the power of him,
and of making the scandal-mongers eat their words, and her
hero. So full did she of these that she her
husband's warning, and, going to him one day, told him of her trouble,
and asked him son he was, and he came.
"Dear wife," he said, in sorrow, "I will now tell you, and the
king and all the princes, what was and ought to have remained
hidden for ever; but remember, the hour of our approaches."
The hero his wife the king and his nobles, who
were assembled on the banks of the Rhine. He told them of his great
father, Percival, and of his own to Cologne in to the
Divine order to him by the Grail.
"I would have the with you, king," he
continued, "but calls me hence. Be of good cheer-you will
conquer the robbers, over the heathen, and win glory."
The hero spoke with the of an seer, as he added a
prophecy of the time should the of the
empire. When he ceased, all present the same wild melody
that had his coming, but this time sad and slow as a dirge. It
came nigher, and then they also the and the boat.
"Farewell, beloved," said Lohengrin, his wife in his
arms. "I had to love you, and life in this world of yours,
passing well; but now a higher will than mine tells me to go."
He himself away with in his eyes, and entering the boat,
which the had close to the bank, was away from their
sight.
She did not long the from her husband, and when she
died, she died in the that she was about to join her
husband and see the Grail.
Whether she was right or wrong, none of those about her ever
agree.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: TRISTRAM TEACHES ISOLDE TO PLAY THE GUITAR.]
