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Avenger

It was in September, 1815, that I received a letter from the chief secretary to the Prince of M----, a nobleman connected with the

diplomacy of !ssia, from which I "!ote an e#tract$ %I wish, inshort, to recommend to yo!r attentions, and in terms stronger than

I &now how to devise, a yo!ng man on whose behalf the c'ar himself is privately &nown to have e#pressed the very strongest interest()e was at the battle of *aterloo as an aide-de-camp to a +!tchgeneral officer, and is decorated with distinctions won !pon thatawf!l day( )owever, tho!gh serving in that instance !nder nglishorders, and altho!gh an nglishman of ran&, he does not belong tothe nglish military service( )e has served, yo!ng as he is, !nderAI./S banners, and !nder o!rs, in partic!lar, in the cavalry of

o!r imperial g!ard( )e is nglish by birth, nephew to the arl of (, and heir pres!mptive to his immense estates( 0here is a wild

story c!rrent, that his mother was a gypsy of transcendent bea!ty,which may acco!nt for his somewhat Moorish comple#ion, tho!gh,

after all, 0)A0 is not of a deeper tinge than I have seen amongmany an nglishman( )e is himself one of the noblest loo&ing of od2s creat!res( 3oth father and mother, however, are now dead(Since then he has become the favorite of his !ncle, who detainedhim in ngland after the emperor had departed--and, as this !ncleis now in the last stage of infirmity, Mr( *yndham2s s!ccession to

the vast family estates is inevitable, and probably near at hand(Meantime, he is an#io!s for some assistance in his st!dies(

Intellect!ally he stands in the very first ran& of men, as I ams!re yo! will not be slow to discover4 b!t his long military

service, and the !nparalleled t!m!lt of o!r !ropean history since185, have interfered 6as yo! may s!ppose7 with the c!ltivation of his mind4 for he entered the cavalry service of a erman power whena mere boy, and shifted abo!t from service to service as theh!rricane of war blew from this point or from that( +!ring therench anabasis to Moscow he entered o!r service, made himself aprodigio!s favorite with the whole imperial family, and even now isonly in his twenty-second year( As to his accomplishments, they

will spea& for themselves4 they are infinite, and applicable toevery sit!ation of life( ree& is what he wants from yo!4--never

as& abo!t terms( )e will ac&nowledge any tro!ble he may give yo!,as he ac&nowledges all tro!ble, en prince( And ten years hence yo!will loo& bac& with pride !pon having contrib!ted yo!r part to theformation of one whom all here at St( Petersb!rg, not soldiersonly, b!t we diplomates, loo& !pon as certain to prove a great man,and a leader among the intellects of 9hristendom(%

0wo or three other letters followed4 and at length it was arranged

that Mr( Ma#imilian *yndham sho!ld ta&e !p his residence at mymonastic abode for one year( )e was to &eep a table, and an

establishment of servants, at his own cost4 was to have anapartment of some do'en or so of rooms4 the !nrestricted !se of the

library4 with some other p!blic privileges willingly conceded bythe magistracy of the town4 in ret!rn for all which he was to payme a tho!sand g!ineas4 and already beforehand, by way of


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ac&nowledgment for the p!blic civilities of the town, he sent,thro!gh my hands, a contrib!tion of three h!ndred g!ineas to thevario!s local instit!tions for ed!cation of the poor, or forcharity(

0he !ssian secretary had latterly corresponded with me from a

little erman town, not more than ninety miles distant4 and, as hehad special co!riers at his service, the negotiations advanced so

rapidly that all was closed before the end of September( And, whenonce that cons!mmation was attained, I, that previo!sly had

breathed no syllable of what was stirring, now gave loose to theinteresting tidings, and s!ffered them to spread thro!gh the wholecompass of the town( It will be easily imagined that s!ch a story,already romantic eno!gh in its first o!tline, wo!ld lose nothing inthe telling( An nglishman to begin with, which name of itself,and at all times, is a passport into erman favor, b!t m!ch moresince the late memorable wars that b!t for nglishmen wo!ld havedrooped into disconnected efforts--ne#t, an nglishman of ran& and

of the ha!te noblesse--then a soldier covered with brilliantdistinctions, and in the most brilliant arm of the service4 yo!ng,

moreover, and yet a veteran by his e#perience--fresh from the mostawf!l battle of this planet since the day of Pharsalia,--radiant

with the favor of co!rts and of imperial ladies4 finally 6whichalone wo!ld have given him an interest in all female hearts7, anAntino!s of fa!ltless bea!ty, a recian stat!e, as it were, intowhich the breath of life had been breathed by some modernPygmalion4--s!ch a pomp of gifts and endowments settling !pon oneman2s head, sho!ld not have re"!ired for its effect the v!lgar

cons!mmation 6and yet to many it *AS the cons!mmation and crest of the whole7 that he was rep!ted to be rich beyond the dreams of

romance or the necessities of a fairy tale( /nparalleled was theimpression made !pon o!r stagnant society4 every tong!e was b!sy in

disc!ssing the marvelo!s yo!ng nglishman from morning to night4every female fancy was b!sy in depicting the personal appearance of this gay apparition(

.n his arrival at my ho!se, I became sensible of a tr!th which Ihad observed some years before( 0he commonplace ma#im is, that itis dangero!s to raise e#pectations too high( 0his, which is th!sgenerally e#pressed, and witho!t limitation, is tr!e only

conditionally4 it is tr!e then and there only where there is b!tlittle merit to s!stain and :!stify the e#pectation( 3!t in any

case where the merit is transcendent of its &ind, it is always!sef!l to rac& the e#pectation !p to the highest point( Inanything which parta&es of the infinite, the most !nlimitede#pectations will find ample room for gratification4 while it iscertain that ordinary observers, possessing little sensibility,!nless where they have been warned to e#pect, will often fail tosee what e#ists in the most conspic!o!s splendor( In this instanceit certainly did no harm to the s!b:ect of e#pectation that I had

been warned to loo& for so m!ch( 0he warning, at any rate, p!t meon the loo&o!t for whatever eminence there might be of grande!r in

his personal appearance4 while, on the other hand, this e#isted ins!ch e#cess, so far transcending anything I had ever met with in my

e#perience, that no e#pectation which it is in words to raise co!ld

have been disappointed(


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0hese tho!ghts traveled with the rapidity of light thro!gh mybrain, as at one glance my eye too& in the s!premacy of bea!ty andpower which seemed to have alighted from the clo!ds before me(Power, and the contemplation of power, in any absol!te incarnationof grande!r or e#cess, necessarily have the instantaneo!s effect of "!elling all pert!rbation( My compos!re was restored in a moment(

I loo&ed steadily at him( *e both bowed( And, at the moment whenhe raised his head from that inclination, I ca!ght the glance of

his eye4 an eye s!ch as might have been loo&ed for in a face of s!ch noble lineaments--

%3lending the nat!re of the star *ith that of s!mmer s&ies4%

and, therefore, meant by nat!re for the residence and organ of serene and gentle emotions4 b!t it s!rprised, and at the same time

filled me more almost with consternation than with pity, to observethat in those eyes a light of sadness had settled more profo!nd

than seemed possible for yo!th, or almost commens!rate to a h!mansorrow4 a sadness that might have become a ;ewish prophet, when

laden with inspirations of woe(

0wo months had now passed away since the arrival of Mr( *yndham()e had been !niversally introd!ced to the s!perior society of theplace4 and, as I need hardly say, !niversally received with favorand distinction( In reality, his wealth and importance, his

military honors, and the dignity of his character, as e#pressed inhis manners and deportment, were too eminent to allow of his being

treated with less than the highest attention in any societywhatever( 3!t the effect of these vario!s advantages, enforced and

recommended as they were by a personal bea!ty so rare, was somewhattoo potent for the comfort and self-possession of ordinary people4and really e#ceeded in a painf!l degree the standard of pretensions!nder which s!ch people co!ld feel themselves at their ease( )ewas not nat!rally of a reserved t!rn4 far from it( )is dispositionhad been open, fran&, and confiding, originally4 and his roving,advent!ro!s life, of which considerably more than one half had beenpassed in camps, had comm!nicated to his manners a more than

military fran&ness( 3!t the profo!nd melancholy which possessedhim, from whatever ca!se it arose, necessarily chilled the native

freedom of his demeanor, !nless when it was revived by strength of friendship or of love( 0he effect was aw&ward and embarrassing toall parties( very voice pa!sed or faltered when he entered aroom--dead silence ens!ed--not an eye b!t was directed !pon him, orelse, s!n& in timidity, settled !pon the floor4 and yo!ng ladiesserio!sly lost the power, for a time, of doing more than m!rm!ringa few conf!sed, half-inartic!late syllables, or half-inartic!lateso!nds( 0he solemnity, in fact, of a first presentation, and the

!tter impossibility of soon recovering a free, !nembarrassedmovement of conversation, made s!ch scenes really distressing to

all who participated in them, either as actors or spectators(9ertainly this res!lt was not a p!re effect of manly bea!ty,

however heroic, and in whatever e#cess4 it arose in part from the

many and e#traordinary endowments which had centered in his person,not less from fort!ne than from nat!re4 in part also, as I have


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said, from the profo!nd sadness and free'ing gravity of Mr(*yndham2s manner4 b!t still more from the perple#ing mystery whichs!rro!nded that sadness(

*ere there, then, no e#ceptions to this condition of awestr!c&admiration< =es4 one at least there was in whose bosom the spell

of all-con"!ering passion soon thawed every trace of icy reserve(*hile the rest of the world retained a dim sentiment of awe toward

Mr( *yndham, Margaret >iebenheim only heard of s!ch a feeling towonder that it co!ld e#ist toward )IM( ?ever was there so

victorio!s a con"!est interchanged between two yo!thf!l hearts--never before s!ch a rapt!re of instantaneo!s sympathy( I did notwitness the first meeting of this mysterio!s Ma#imilian and thismagnificent Margaret, and do not &now whether Margaret manifestedthat trepidation and embarrassment which distressed so many of heryo!thf!l co-rivals4 b!t, if she did, it m!st have fled before thefirst glance of the yo!ng man2s eye, which wo!ld interpret, pastall mis!nderstanding, the homage of his so!l and the s!rrender of

his heart( 0heir third meeting I +I+ see4 and there all shadow of embarrassment had vanished, e#cept, indeed, of that delicate

embarrassment which clings to impassioned admiration( .n the partof Margaret, it seemed as if a new world had dawned !pon her that

she had not so m!ch as s!spected among the capacities of h!mane#perience( >i&e some bird she seemed, with powers !ne#ercised forsoaring and flying, not !nderstood even as yet, and that never!ntil now had fo!nd an element of air capable of s!staining herwings, or tempting her to p!t forth her b!oyant instincts( )e, onthe other hand, now first fo!nd the reali'ation of his dreams, and

for a mere possibility which he had long too deeply contemplated,fearing, however, that in his own case it might prove a chimera, or

that he might never meet a woman answering the demands of hisheart, he now fo!nd a corresponding reality that left nothing to

see&(

)ere, then, and th!s far, nothing b!t happiness had res!lted fromthe new arrangement( 3!t, if this had been little anticipated bymany, far less had I, for my part, anticipated the !nhappyrevol!tion which was wro!ght in the whole nat!re of erdinand von)arrelstein( )e was the son of a erman baron4 a man of goodfamily, b!t of small estate who had been pretty nearly a soldier of

fort!ne in the Pr!ssian service, and had, late in life, wons!fficient favor with the &ing and other military s!periors, to

have an early prospect of obtaining a commission, !nder flatteringa!spices, for this only son--a son endeared to him as the companionof !nprospero!s years, and as a d!tif!lly affectionate child(erdinand had yet another hold !pon his father2s affections$ hisfeat!res preserved to the baron2s !nclo!ded remembrance a mostfaithf!l and living memorial of that angelic wife who had died ingiving birth to this third child--the only one who had longs!rvived her( An#io!s that his son sho!ld go thro!gh a reg!lar

co!rse of mathematical instr!ction, now becoming ann!ally moreimportant in all the artillery services thro!gho!t !rope, and that

he sho!ld receive a tinct!re of other liberal st!dies which he hadpainf!lly missed in his own military career, the baron chose to

&eep his son for the last seven years at o!r college, !ntil he was

now entering !pon his twenty-third year( or the fo!r last he hadlived with me as the sole p!pil whom I had, or meant to have, had


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not the brilliant proposals of the yo!ng !ssian g!ardsmanpers!aded me to brea& my resol!tion( erdinand von )arrelstein hadgood talents, not da''ling b!t respectable4 and so amiable were histemper and manners that I had introd!ced him everywhere, andeverywhere he was a favorite4 and everywhere, indeed, e#cepte#actly there where only in this world he cared for favor(

Margaret >iebenheim, she it was whom he loved, and had loved foryears, with the whole ardor of his ardent so!l4 she it was for

whom, or at whose command, he wo!ld willingly have died( arly hehad felt that in her hands lay his destiny4 that she it was who

m!st be his good or his evil geni!s(

At first, and perhaps to the last, I pitied him e#ceedingly( 3!tmy pity soon ceased to be mingled with respect( 3efore the arrivalof Mr( *yndham he had shown himself genero!s, indeed magnanimo!s(3!t never was there so painf!l an overthrow of a noble nat!re asmanifested itself in him( I believe that he had not himself s!spected the strength of his passion4 and the sole reso!rce for

him, as I said often, was to "!it the city--to engage in activep!rs!its of enterprise, of ambition, or of science( 3!t he heard

me as a somnamb!list might have heard me--dreaming with his eyesopen( Sometimes he had fits of reverie, starting, fearf!l,

agitated4 sometimes he bro&e o!t into maniacal movements of wrath,invo&ing some absent person, praying, beseeching, menacing someair-wove phantom4 sometimes he sl!n& into solitary corners,m!ttering to himself, and with gest!res sorrowf!lly significant, orwith tones and fragments of e#post!lation that moved the mostcallo!s to compassion( Still he t!rned a deaf ear to the only

practical co!nsel that had a chance for reaching his ears( >i&e abird !nder the fascination of a rattlesna&e, he wo!ld not s!mmon !p

the energies of his nat!re to ma&e an effort at flying away(%3egone, while it is time@% said others, as well as myself4 for

more than I saw eno!gh to fear some fearf!l catastrophe( %>ead !snot into temptation@% said his confessor to him in my hearing 6for,tho!gh Pr!ssians, the on )arrelsteins were oman 9atholics7, %lead!s not into temptation@--that is o!r daily prayer to od( 0hen, myson, being led into temptation, do not yo! persist in co!rting,nay, almost tempting temptation( 0ry the effects of absence,tho!gh b!t for a month(% 0he good father even made an overt!retoward imposing a penance !pon him, that wo!ld have involved an

absence of some d!ration( 3!t he was obliged to desist4 for he sawthat, witho!t effecting any good, he wo!ld merely add spirit!al

disobedience to the other offenses of the yo!ng man( erdinandhimself drew his attention to 0)IS4 for he said$ %everend father@do not yo!, with the p!rpose of removing me from temptation, beyo!rself the instr!ment for tempting me into a rebellion againstthe ch!rch( +o not yo! weave snares abo!t my steps4 snares thereare already, and b!t too many(% 0he old man sighed, and desisted(

0hen came--3!t eno!gh@ rom pity, from sympathy, from co!nsel, and

from consolation, and from scorn--from each of these ali&e the poorstric&en deer %recoiled into the wilderness4% he fled for days

together into solitary parts of the forest4 fled, as I still hopedand prayed, in good earnest and for a long farewell4 b!t, alas@ no$

still he ret!rned to the ha!nts of his r!ined happiness and his

b!ried hopes, at each ret!rn loo&ing more li&e the wrec& of hisformer self4 and once I heard a penetrating mon& observe, whose


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convent stood near the city gates$ %0here goes one ready e"!allyfor doing or s!ffering, and of whom we shall soon hear that he isinvolved in some great catastrophe--it may be of deep calamity--itmay be of memorable g!ilt(%

So stood matters among !s( ;an!ary was drawing to its close4 the

weather was growing more and more winterly4 high winds, piercinglycold, were raving thro!gh o!r narrow streets4 and still the spirit

of social festivity bade defiance to the storms which sang thro!gho!r ancient forests( rom the accident of o!r magistracy being

selected from the tradesmen of the city, the hospitalities of theplace were far more e#tensive than wo!ld otherwise have happened4for every member of the corporation gave two ann!al entertainmentsin his official character( And s!ch was the rivalship whichprevailed, that often one "!arter of the year2s income was spent!pon these galas( ?or was any ridic!le th!s inc!rred4 for thecostliness of the entertainment was !nderstood to be an e#pressionof .I9IA> pride, done in honor of the city, not as an effort of

personal display( It followed, from the spirit in which thesehalf-yearly dances originated, that, being given on the part of the

city, every stranger of ran& was mar&ed o!t as a privileged g!est,and the hospitality of the comm!nity wo!ld have been e"!ally

affronted by failing to offer or by failing to accept theinvitation(

)ence it had happened that the !ssian g!ardsman had beenintrod!ced into many a family which otherwise co!ld not have hopedfor s!ch a distinction( /pon the evening at which I am now

arrived, the twenty-second of ;an!ary, 181, the whole city, in itswealthier classes, was assembled beneath the roof of a tradesman

who had the heart of a prince( In every point o!r entertainmentwas s!perb4 and I remar&ed that the m!sic was the finest I had

heard for years( .!r host was in :oyo!s spirits4 pro!d to s!rveythe splendid company he had gathered !nder his roof4 happy towitness their happiness4 elated in their elation( ;oyo!s was thedance--:oyo!s were all faces that I saw--!p to midnight, very soonafter which time s!pper was anno!nced4 and that also, I thin&, wasthe most :oyo!s of all the ban"!ets I ever witnessed( 0heaccomplished g!ardsman o!tshone himself in brilliancy4 even hismelancholy rela#ed( In fact, how co!ld it be otherwise< near to

him sat Margaret >iebenheim--hanging !pon his words--more l!stro!sand bewitching than ever I had beheld her( 0here she had been

placed by the host4 and everybody &new why( 0hat is one of thel!#!ries attached to love4 all men cede their places with pleas!re4women ma&e way( ven she herself &new, tho!gh not obliged to &now,why she was seated in that neighborhood4 and too& her place, if with a rosy s!ff!sion !pon her chee&s, yet with f!llness of happiness at her heart(

0he g!ardsman pressed forward to claim Miss >iebenheim2s hand for

the ne#t dance4 a movement which she was "!ic& to favor, byretreating behind one or two parties from a person who seemed

coming toward her( 0he m!sic again began to po!r its vol!pt!o!stides thro!gh the bo!nding p!lses of the yo!thf!l company4 again

the flying feet of the dancers began to respond to the meas!res4

again the mo!nting spirit of delight began to fill the sails of theh!rrying night with steady inspiration( All went happily( Already


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had one dance finished4 some were pacing !p and down, leaning onthe arms of their partners4 some were reposing from theire#ertions4 when--. heavens@ what a shrie&@ what a gathering t!m!lt@

very eye was bent toward the doors--every eye strained forward todiscover what was passing( 3!t there, every moment, less and less

co!ld be seen, for the gathering crowd more and more interceptedthe view4--so m!ch the more was the ear at leis!re for the shrie&s

redo!bled !pon shrie&s( Miss >iebenheim had moved downward to thecrowd( rom her s!perior height she overloo&ed all the ladies at

the point where she stood( In the center stood a r!stic girl,whose feat!res had been familiar to her for some months( She hadrecently come into the city, and had lived with her !ncle, atradesman, not ten doors from Margaret2s own residence, partly onthe terms of a &inswoman, partly as a servant on trial( At thismoment she was e#ha!sted with e#citement, and the nat!re of theshoc& she had s!stained( Mere panic seemed to have mastered her4and she was leaning, !nconscio!s and weeping, !pon the sho!lder of

some gentleman, who was endeavoring to soothe her( A silence of horror seemed to possess the company, most of whom were still

!nac"!ainted with the ca!se of the alarming interr!ption( A few,however, who had heard her first agitated words, finding that they

waited in vain for a f!ller e#planation, now r!shed t!m!lt!o!slyo!t of the ballroom to satisfy themselves on the spot( 0hedistance was not great4 and within five min!tes several personsret!rned hastily, and cried o!t to the crowd of ladies that all wastr!e which the yo!ng girl had said( %*hat was tr!eiebenheim--andshe wo!ld have fallen to the gro!nd b!t for Ma#imilian, who sprangforward and ca!ght her in his arms( She was long of ret!rning toherself4 and, d!ring the agony of his s!spense, he stooped and

&issed her pallid lips( 0hat sight was more than co!ld be borne byone who stood a little behind the gro!p( )e r!shed forward, with

eyes glaring li&e a tiger2s, and leveled a blow at Ma#imilian( Itwas poor, maniacal on )arrelstein, who had been absent in theforest for a wee&( Many people stepped forward and chec&ed hisarm, !plifted for a repetition of this o!trage( .ne or two hadsome infl!ence with him, and led him away from the spot4 while asto Ma#imilian, so absorbed was he that he had not so m!ch asperceived the affront offered to himself( Margaret, on reviving,was confo!nded at finding herself so sit!ated amid a great crowd4

and yet the pr!des complained that there was a loo& of lovee#changed between herself and Ma#imilian, that o!ght not to have

escaped her in s!ch a sit!ation( If they meant by s!ch asit!ation, one so p!blic, it m!st be also recollected that it was a

sit!ation of e#cessive agitation4 b!t, if they all!ded to the

horrors of the moment, no sit!ation more nat!rally opens the heartto affection and confiding love than the recoil from scenes of


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e#"!isite terror(

An e#amination went on that night before the magistrates, b!t allwas dar&4 altho!gh s!spicion attached to a negro named Aaron, whohad occasionally been employed in menial services by the family,and had been in the ho!se immediately before the m!rder( 0he

circ!mstances were s!ch as to leave every man in !tter perple#ityas to the pres!mption for and against him( )is mode of defending

himself, and his general deportment, were mar&ed by the coolest,nay, the most sneering indifference( 0he first thing he did, on

being ac"!ainted with the s!spicions against himself, was to la!ghferocio!sly, and to all appearance most cordially and !naffectedly()e demanded whether a poor man li&e himself wo!ld have left so m!chwealth as lay scattered abroad in that ho!se--gold repeaters, massyplate, gold sn!ff bo#es--!nto!ched< 0hat arg!ment certainlyweighed m!ch in his favor( And yet again it was t!rned againsthim4 for a magistrate as&ed him how ) happened to &now alreadythat nothing had been to!ched( 0r!e it was, and a fact which had

p!''led no less than it had awed the magistrates, that, !pon theire#amination of the premises, many rich articles of bi:o!terie,

:ewelry, and personal ornaments, had been fo!nd lying !nderanged,and apparently in their !s!al sit!ations4 articles so portable that

in the very hastiest flight some might have been carried off( Inpartic!lar, there was a cr!cifi# of gold, enriched with :ewels solarge and rare, that of itself it wo!ld have constit!ted a pri'e of great magnit!de( =et this was left !nto!ched, tho!gh s!spended ina little oratory that had been magnificently adorned by the elderof the maiden sisters( 0here was an altar, in itself a splendid

ob:ect, f!rnished with every article of the most costly materialand wor&manship, for the private celebration of mass( 0his

cr!cifi#, as well as everything else in the little closet, m!sthave been seen by one at least of the m!rdero!s party4 for hither

had one of the ladies fled4 hither had one of the m!rderersp!rs!ed( She had clasped the golden pillars which s!pported thealtar--had t!rned perhaps her dying loo&s !pon the cr!cifi#4 forthere, with one arm still wreathed abo!t the altar foot, tho!gh inher agony she had t!rned ro!nd !pon her face, did the elder sisterlie when the magistrates first bro&e open the street door( And!pon the bea!tif!l par"!et, or inlaid floor which ran ro!nd theroom, were still impressed the footsteps of the m!rderer( 0hese,

it was hoped, might f!rnish a clew to the discovery of one at leastamong the m!rdero!s band( 0hey were rather diffic!lt to trace

acc!rately4 those parts of the traces which lay !pon the blac&tessellae being less distinct in the o!tline than the others !ponthe white or colored( Most !n"!estionably, so far as this went, itf!rnished a negative circ!mstance in favor of the negro, for thefootsteps were very different in o!tline from his, and smaller, forAaron was a man of colossal b!ild( And as to his &nowledge of thestate in which the premises had been fo!nd, and his having sofamiliarly relied !pon the fact of no robbery having ta&en place as

an arg!ment on his own behalf, he contended that he had himself been among the crowd that p!shed into the ho!se along with the

magistrates4 that, from his previo!s ac"!aintance with the roomsand their ordinary condition, a glance of the eye had been

s!fficient for him to ascertain the !ndist!rbed condition of all

the val!able property most obvio!s to the grasp of a robber that,in fact, he had seen eno!gh for his arg!ment before he and the rest


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of the mob had been e:ected by the magistrates4 b!t, finally, thatindependently of all this, he had heard both the officers, as theycond!cted him, and all the t!m!lt!o!s gatherings of people in thestreet, arg!ing for the mysterio!sness of the bloody transaction!pon that very circ!mstance of so m!ch gold, silver, and :ewels,being left behind !nto!ched(

In si# wee&s or less from the date of this terrific event, the

negro was set at liberty by a ma:ority of voices among themagistrates( In that short interval other events had occ!rred no

less terrific and mysterio!s( In this first m!rder, tho!gh themotive was dar& and !nintelligible, yet the agency was not so4ordinary assassins apparently, and with ordinary means, hadassailed a helpless and !nprepared family4 had separated them4attac&ed them singly in flight 6for in this first case all b!t oneof the m!rdered persons appeared to have been ma&ing for the streetdoor74 and in all this there was no s!b:ect for wonder, e#cept theoriginal one as to the motive( 3!t now came a series of cases

destined to fling this earliest m!rder into the shade( ?obodyco!ld now be !nprepared4 and yet the tragedies, henceforward, which

passed before !s, one by one, in sad, leis!rely, or in terrificgro!ps, seemed to arg!e a lethargy li&e that of apople#y in the

victims, one and all( 0he very midnight of mysterio!s awe fell!pon all minds(

0hree wee&s had passed since the m!rder at Mr( *eisha!pt2s--threewee&s the most agitated that had been &nown in this se"!esteredcity( *e felt o!rselves solitary, and thrown !pon o!r own

reso!rces4 all combination with other towns being !navailing fromtheir great distance( .!r sit!ation was no ordinary one( )ad

there been some mysterio!s robbers among !s, the chances of avisit, divided among so many, wo!ld have been too small to distress

the most timid4 while to yo!ng and high-spirited people, withco!rage to spare for ordinary trials, s!ch a state of e#pectationwo!ld have sent p!lses of pleas!rable an#iety among the nerves(3!t m!rderers@ e#terminating m!rderers@--clothed in mystery and!tter dar&ness--these were ob:ects too terrific for any family tocontemplate with fortit!de( )ad these very m!rderers added totheir f!nctions those of robbery, they wo!ld have become lessterrific4 nine o!t of every ten wo!ld have fo!nd themselves

discharged, as it were, from the roll of those who were liable to avisit4 while s!ch as &new themselves liable wo!ld have had warning

of their danger in the fact of being rich4 and wo!ld, from the veryriches which constit!ted that danger, have derived the means of repelling it( 3!t, as things were, no man co!ld g!ess what it wasthat m!st ma&e him obno#io!s to the m!rderers( Imaginatione#ha!sted itself in vain g!esses at the ca!ses which co!ld bypossibility have made the poor *eisha!pts ob:ects of s!ch hatred toany man( 0r!e, they were bigoted in a degree which indicatedfeebleness of intellect4 b!t 0)A0 wo!nded no man in partic!lar,

while to many it recommended them( 0r!e, their charity was narrowand e#cl!sive, b!t to those of their own religio!s body it e#panded

m!nificently4 and, being rich beyond their wants, or any means of employing wealth which their gloomy asceticism allowed, they had

the power of doing a great deal of good among the indigent papists

of the s!b!rbs( As to the old gentleman and his wife, theirinfirmities confined them to the ho!se( ?obody remembered to have


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seen them abroad for years( )ow, therefore, or when co!ld theyhave made an enemy< And, with respect to the maiden sisters of Mr(*eisha!pt, they were simply wea&-minded persons, now and then toocensorio!s, b!t not placed in a sit!ation to inc!r serio!s angerfrom any "!arter, and too little heard of in society to occ!py m!chof anybody2s attention(

9onceive, then, that three wee&s have passed away, that the poor

*eisha!pts have been laid in that narrow sanct!ary which nom!rderer2s voice will ever violate( B!iet has not ret!rned to !s,

b!t the first fl!tterings of panic have s!bsided( People arebeginning to respire freely again4 and s!ch another space of timewo!ld have cicatri'ed o!r wo!nds--when, har&@ a ch!rch bell ringso!t a lo!d alarm4--the night is starlight and frosty--the ironnotes are heard clear, solemn, b!t agitated( *hat co!ld this mean<I h!rried to a room over the porter2s lodge, and, opening thewindow, I cried o!t to a man passing hastily below, %*hat, in od2sname, is the meaning of this


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already laid low, and her name among the list of vanished things(Probably she was his mother, for the dress was rich with pearls,and evidently that of a person in the highest ran& of co!rtbea!ties( I sighed as I tho!ght of the stern melancholy of herson, if Ma#imilian were he, as connected, probably, with the fateand fort!nes of this ma:estic bea!ty4 somewhat ha!ghty, perhaps, in

the e#pression of her fine feat!res, b!t still noble--genero!s--confiding( >aying the pict!re on the table, I awo&e Ma#imilian,

and told him of the dreadf!l news( )e listened attentively, madeno remar&, b!t proposed that we sho!ld go together to the meeting

of o!r "!arter at the 3lac& riars( )e colored !pon observing theminiat!re on the table4 and, therefore, I fran&ly told him in whatsit!ation I had fo!nd it, and that I had ta&en the liberty of admiring it for a few moments( )e pressed it tenderly to his lips,sighed heavily, and we wal&ed away together(

I pass over the fren'ied state of feeling in which we fo!nd themeeting( ear, or rather horror, did not promote harmony4 many

"!arreled with each other in disc!ssing the s!ggestions bro!ghtforward, and Ma#imilian was the only person attended to( )e

proposed a nightly mo!nted patrol for every district( And inpartic!lar he offered, as being himself a member of the !niversity,

that the st!dents sho!ld form themselves into a g!ard, and go o!tby rotation to &eep watch and ward from s!nset to s!nrise(Arrangements were made toward that ob:ect by the few people whoretained possession of their senses, and for the present weseparated(

?ever, in fact, did any events so &eenly try the difference betweenman and man( Some started !p into heroes !nder the e#citement(

Some, alas for the dignity of man@ drooped into helplessimbecility( *omen, in some cases, rose s!perior to men, b!t yet

not so often as might have happened !nder a less mysterio!s danger(A woman is not !nwomanly beca!se she confronts danger boldly( 3!tI have remar&ed, with respect to female co!rage, that it re"!ires,more than that of men, to be s!stained by hope4 and that it droopsmore certainly in the presence of a M=S0I./S danger( 0he fancyof women is more active, if not stronger, and it infl!ences moredirectly the physical nat!re( In this case few were the women whomade even a show of defying the danger( .n the contrary, with 0)M

fear too& the form of sadness, while with many of the men it too&that of wrath(

And how did the !ssian g!ardsman cond!ct himself amidst thispanic< Many were s!rprised at his behavior4 some complained of it4I did neither( )e too& a reasonable interest in each separatecase, listened to the details with attention, and, in thee#amination of persons able to f!rnish evidence, never failed tos!ggest :!dicio!s "!estions( 3!t still he manifested a coolnessalmost amo!nting to carelessness, which to many appeared revolting(

3!t these people I desired to notice that all the other militaryst!dents, who had been long in the army, felt e#actly in the same

way( In fact, the military service of 9hristendom, for the lastten years, had been anything b!t a parade service4 and to those,

therefore, who were familiar with every form of horrid b!tchery,

the mere o!tside horrors of death had lost m!ch of their terror(In the recent m!rder there had not been m!ch to call forth


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sympathy( 0he family consisted of two old bachelors, two sisters,and one grandniece( 0he niece was absent on a visit, and the twoold men were cynical misers, to whom little personal interestattached( Still, in this case as in that of the *eisha!pts, thesame twofold mystery confo!nded the p!blic mind--the mystery of the).*, and the profo!nder mystery of the *)=( )ere, again, no atom

of property was ta&en, tho!gh both the misers had hordes of d!catsand nglish g!ineas in the very room where they died( 0heir bias,

again, tho!gh of an !npop!lar character, had rather availed to ma&ethem !n&nown than to ma&e them hatef!l( In one point this case

differed memorably from the other--that, instead of fallinghelpless, or flying victims 6as the *eisha!pts had done7, these oldmen, strong, resol!te, and not so m!ch ta&en by s!rprise, leftproofs that they had made a desperate defense( 0he f!rnit!re waspartly smashed to pieces, and the other details f!rnished evidencestill more revolting of the acharnement with which the str!ggle hadbeen maintained( In fact, with 0)M a s!rprise m!st have beenimpracticable, as they admitted nobody into their ho!se on visiting

terms( It was tho!ght sing!lar that from each of these domestictragedies a benefit of the same sort sho!ld res!lt to yo!ng persons

standing in nearly the same relation( 0he girl who gave the alarmat the ball, with two little sisters, and a little orphan nephew,

their co!sin, divided the very large inheritance of the *eisha!pts4and in this latter case the acc!m!lated savings of two long livesall vested in the person of the amiable grandniece(

3!t now, as if in moc&ery of all o!r an#io!s cons!ltations andelaborate devices, three fresh m!rders too& place on the two

consec!tive nights s!cceeding these new arrangements( And in onecase, as nearly as time co!ld be noted, the mo!nted patrol m!st

have been within call at the very moment when the awf!l wor& wasgoing on( I shall not dwell m!ch !pon them4 b!t a few

circ!mstances are too interesting to be passed over( 0he earliestcase on the first of the two nights was that of a c!rrier( )e wasfifty years old4 not rich, b!t well off( )is first wife was dead,and his da!ghters by her were married away from their father2sho!se( )e had married a second wife, b!t, having no children byher, and &eeping no servants, it is probable that, b!t for anaccident, no third person wo!ld have been in the ho!se at the timewhen the m!rderers got admittance( Abo!t seven o2cloc&, a

wayfaring man, a :o!rneyman c!rrier, who, according to o!r ermansystem, was now in his wander:ahre, entered the city from the

forest( At the gate he made some in"!iries abo!t the c!rriers andtanners of o!r town4 and, agreeably to the information he received,made his way to this Mr( )einberg( Mr( )einberg ref!sed to admithim, !ntil he mentioned his errand, and p!shed below the door aletter of recommendation from a Silesian correspondent, describinghim as an e#cellent and steady wor&man( *anting s!ch a man, andsatisfied by the answers ret!rned that he was what he representedhimself, Mr( )einberg !nbolted his door and admitted him( 0hen,

after slipping the bolt into its place, he bade him sit to thefire, bro!ght him a glass of beer, conversed with him for ten

min!tes, and said$ %=o! had better stay here to-night4 I2ll tellyo! why afterwards4 b!t now I2ll step !pstairs, and as& my wife

whether she can ma&e !p a bed for yo!4 and do yo! mind the door

while I2m away(% So saying, he went o!t of the room( ?ot onemin!te had he been gone when there came a gentle &noc& at the door(


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It was raining heavily, and, being a stranger to the city, notdreaming that in any crowded town s!ch a state of things co!lde#ist as really did in this, the yo!ng man, witho!t hesitation,admitted the person &noc&ing( )e has declared since--b!t, perhaps,confo!nding the feelings gained from better &nowledge with thefeelings of the moment--that from the moment he drew the bolt he

had a misgiving that he had done wrong( A man entered in ahorseman2s cloa&, and so m!ffled !p that the :o!rneyman co!ld

discover none of his feat!res( In a low tone the stranger said,%*here2s )einbergord ;es!s@--Mary, Mary, save me@% 0he servant

resolved to give what aid she co!ld, sei'ed a large po&er, and was

h!rrying to his assistance, when she fo!nd that they had nailed !pthe door of comm!nication at the head of the stairs( *hat passed


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after this she co!ld not tell4 for, when the imp!lse of intrepidfidelity had been bal&ed, and she fo!nd that her own safety wasprovided for by means which made it impossible to aid a poor fellowcreat!re who had :!st invo&ed her name, the genero!s-heartedcreat!re was overcome by ang!ish of mind, and san& down on thestair, where she lay, !nconscio!s of all that s!cceeded, !ntil she

fo!nd herself raised in the arms of a mob who had entered theho!se( And how came they to have entered< In a way

characteristically dreadf!l( 0he night was starlit4 the patrolshad peramb!lated the street witho!t noticing anything s!spicio!s,

when two foot passengers, who were following in their rear,observed a dar&-colored stream traversing the ca!seway( .ne of them, at the same instant tracing the stream bac&ward with hiseyes, observed that it flowed from !nder the door of Mr( M!n'er,and, dipping his finger in the tric&ling fl!id, he held it !p tothe lamplight, yelling o!t at the moment, %*hy, this is blood@% Itwas so, indeed, and it was yet warm( 0he other saw, heard, andli&e an arrow flew after the horse patrol, then in the act of

t!rning the corner( .ne cry, f!ll of meaning, was s!fficient forears f!ll of e#pectation( 0he horsemen p!lled !p, wheeled, and in

another moment reined !p at Mr( M!n'er2s door( 0he crowd,gathering li&e the drifting of snow, s!pplied implements which soon

forced the chains of the door and all other obstacles( 3!t them!rdero!s party had escaped, and all traces of their persons hadvanished, as !s!al(

arely did any case occ!r witho!t some pec!liarity more or lessinteresting( In that which happened on the following night, ma&ing

the fifth in the series, an impressive incident varied the monotonyof horrors( In this case the parties aimed at were two elderly

ladies, who cond!cted a female boarding school( ?one of the p!pilshad as yet ret!rned to school from their vacation4 b!t two sisters,

yo!ng girls of thirteen and si#teen, coming from a distance, hadstayed at school thro!gho!t the 9hristmas holidays( It was theyo!ngest of these who gave the only evidence of any val!e, and onewhich added a new feat!re of alarm to the e#isting panic( 0h!s itwas that her testimony was given$ .n the day before the m!rder, sheand her sister were sitting with the old ladies in a room frontingto the street4 the elder ladies were reading, the yo!nger onesdrawing( >o!isa, the yo!ngest, never had her ear inattentive to

the slightest so!nd, and once it str!c& her that she heard thecrea&ing of a foot !pon the stairs( She said nothing, b!t,

slipping o!t of the room, she ascertained that the two femaleservants were in the &itchen, and co!ld not have been absent4 thatall the doors and windows, by which ingress was possible, were notonly loc&ed, b!t bolted and barred--a fact which e#cl!ded allpossibility of invasion by means of false &eys( Still she feltpers!aded that she had heard the so!nd of a heavy foot !pon thestairs( It was, however, daylight, and this gave her confidence4so that, witho!t comm!nicating her alarm to anybody, she fo!nd

co!rage to traverse the ho!se in every direction4 and, as nothingwas either seen or heard, she concl!ded that her ears had been too

sensitively awa&e( =et that night, as she lay in bed, dim terrorsassailed her, especially beca!se she considered that, in so large a

ho!se, some closet or other might have been overloo&ed, and, in

partic!lar, she did not remember to have e#amined one or twochests, in which a man co!ld have lain concealed( 0hro!gh the


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greater part of the night she lay awa&e4 b!t as one of the towncloc&s str!c& fo!r, she dismissed her an#ieties, and fell asleep(0he ne#t day, wearied with this !n!s!al watching, she proposed toher sister that they sho!ld go to bed earlier than !s!al( 0histhey did4 and, on their way !pstairs, >o!isa happened to thin&s!ddenly of a heavy cloa&, which wo!ld improve the coverings of her

bed against the severity of the night( 0he cloa& was hanging !p ina closet within a closet, both leading off from a large room !sed

as the yo!ng ladies2 dancing school( 0hese closets she hade#amined on the previo!s day, and therefore she felt no partic!lar

alarm at this moment( 0he cloa& was the first article which mether sight4 it was s!spended from a hoo& in the wall, and close tothe door( She too& it down, b!t, in doing so, e#posed part of thewall and of the floor, which its folds had previo!sly concealed(0!rning away hastily, the chances were that she had gone witho!tma&ing any discovery( In the act of t!rning, however, her lightfell brightly on a man2s foot and leg( Matchless was her presenceof mind4 having previo!sly been h!mming an air, she contin!ed to do

so( 3!t now came the trial4 her sister was bending her steps tothe same closet( If she s!ffered her to do so, >ottchen wo!ld

st!mble on the same discovery, and e#pire of fright( .n the otherhand, if she gave her a hint, >ottchen wo!ld either fail to

!nderstand her, or, gaining b!t a glimpse of her meaning, wo!ldshrie& alo!d, or by some e"!ally decisive e#pression convey thefatal news to the assassin that he had been discovered( In thistort!ring dilemma fear prompted an e#pedient, which to >ottchenappeared madness, and to >o!isa herself the act of a sibyl instinctwith blind inspiration( %)ere,% said she, %is o!r dancing room(

*hen shall we all meet and dance again togetherottchen co!ld not be so d!ll as entirely tomis!nderstand her( She s!ffered herself to be led !p the firstflight of stairs, at the head of which was a room loo&ing into thestreet( In this they wo!ld have gained an asyl!m, for the door hada strong bolt( 3!t, as they were on the last steps of the landing,

they co!ld hear the hard breathing and long strides of the m!rdererascending behind them( )e had watched them thro!gh a crevice, and

had been satisfied by the hysterical la!gh of >o!isa that she hadseen him( In the dar&ness he co!ld not follow fast, from ignoranceof the localities, !ntil he fo!nd himself !pon the stairs( >o!isa,dragging her sister along, felt strong as with the strength of l!nacy, b!t >ottchen h!ng li&e a weight of lead !pon her( Sher!shed into the room, b!t at the very entrance >ottchen fell( Atthat moment the assassin e#changed his stealthy pace for a lo!dclattering ascent( Already he was on the topmost stair4 already he

was throwing himself at a bo!nd against the door, when >o!isa,having dragged her sister into the room, closed the door and sent

the bolt home in the very instant that the m!rderer2s hand cameinto contact with the handle( 0hen, from the violence of her

emotions, she fell down in a fit, with her arm aro!nd the sister

whom she had saved(


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)ow long they lay in this state neither ever &new( 0he two oldladies had r!shed !pstairs on hearing the t!m!lt( .ther personshad been concealed in other parts of the ho!se( 0he servants fo!ndthemselves s!ddenly loc&ed in, and were not sorry to be saved froma collision which involved so awf!l a danger( 0he old ladies hadr!shed, side by side, into the very center of those who were

see&ing them( etreat was impossible4 two persons at least wereheard following them !pstairs( Something li&e a shrie&ing

e#post!lation and co!nter-e#post!lation went on between the ladiesand the m!rderers4 then came lo!der voices--then one heart-piercing

shrie&, and then another--and then a slow moaning and a deadsilence( Shortly afterwards was heard the first crashing of thedoor inward by the mob4 b!t the m!rderers had fled !pon the firstalarm, and, to the astonishment of the servants, had fled !pward(#amination, however, e#plained this$ from a window in the roof they had passed to an ad:oining ho!se recently left empty4 andhere, as in other cases, we had proof how apt people are, in themidst of elaborate provisions against remote dangers, to neglect

those which are obvio!s(

0he reign of terror, it may be s!pposed, had now reached its acme(0he two old ladies were both lying dead at different points on the

staircase, and, as !s!al, no con:ect!re co!ld be made as to thenat!re of the offense which they had given4 b!t that the m!rder *ASa vindictive one, the !s!al evidence remained behind, in the proofsthat no robbery had been attempted( 0wo new feat!res, however,were now bro!ght forward in this system of horrors, one of whichriveted the sense of their insec!rity to all families occ!pying

e#tensive ho!ses, and the other raised ill blood between the cityand the !niversity, s!ch as re"!ired years to allay( 0he first

arose o!t of the e#perience, now first obtained, that theseassassins p!rs!ed the plan of secreting themselves within the ho!se

where they meditated a m!rder( All the care, therefore, previo!slydirected to the sec!ring of doors and windows after nightfallappeared n!gatory( 0he other feat!re bro!ght to light on thisoccasion was vo!ched for by one of the servants, who declared that,the moment before the door of the &itchen was fastened !pon herself and fellow servant, she saw two men in the hall, one on the pointof ascending the stairs, the other ma&ing toward the &itchen4 thatshe co!ld not disting!ish the faces of either, b!t that both were

dressed in the academic cost!me belonging to the st!dents of the!niversity( 0he conse"!ences of s!ch a declaration need scarcely

be mentioned( S!spicion settled !pon the st!dents, who were moren!mero!s since the general peace, in a m!ch larger proportionmilitary, and less select or respectable than heretofore( Still,no part of the mystery was cleared !p by this discovery( Many of the st!dents were poor eno!gh to feel the temptation that might beoffered by any >/9A0I system of o!trage( ;ealo!s and painf!lcoll!sions were, in the meantime, prod!ced4 and, d!ring the lattertwo months of this winter, it may be said that o!r city e#hibited

the very anarchy of evil passions( 0his condition of things lasted!ntil the dawning of another spring(

It will be s!pposed that comm!nications were made to the s!preme

government of the land as soon as the m!rders in o!r city were

!nderstood to be no cas!al occ!rrences, b!t lin&s in a systematicseries( Perhaps it might happen from some other b!siness, of a


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higher &ind, :!st then engaging the attention of o!r governors,that o!r representations did not ma&e the impression we hade#pected( *e co!ld not, indeed, complain of absol!te neglect fromthe government( 0hey sent down one or two of their mostaccomplished police officers, and they s!ggested some co!nsels,especially that we sho!ld e#amine more strictly into the "!ality of

the miscellaneo!s pop!lation who occ!pied o!r large s!b!rb( 3!tthey more than hinted that no necessity was seen either for

"!artering troops !pon !s, or for arming o!r local magistracy withampler powers(

0his correspondence with the central government occ!pied the monthof March, and, before that time, the bloody system had ceased asabr!ptly as it began( 0he new police officer flattered himself that the terror of his name had wro!ght this effect4 b!t :!dicio!speople tho!ght otherwise( All, however, was "!iet !ntil the depthof s!mmer, when, by way of hinting to !s, perhaps, that thedreadf!l power which clothed itself with dar&ness had not e#pired,

b!t was only reposing from its labors, all at once the chief :ailerof the city was missing( )e had been in the habit of ta&ing long

rides in the forest, his present sit!ation being m!ch of asinec!re( It was on the first of ;!ly that he was missed( In

riding thro!gh the city gates that morning, he had mentioned thedirection which he meant to p!rs!e4 and the last time he was seenalive was in one of the forest aven!es, abo!t eight miles from thecity, leading toward the point he had indicated( 0his :ailer wasnot a man to be regretted on his own acco!nt4 his life had been atiss!e of cr!elty and br!tal ab!se of his powers, in which he had

been too m!ch s!pported by the magistrates, partly on the plea thatit was their d!ty to bac& their own officers against all

complainers, partly also from the necessities created by thet!rb!lent times for a more s!mmary e#ercise of their magisterial

a!thority( ?o man, therefore, on his own separate acco!nt, co!ldmore willingly have been spared than this br!tal :ailer4 and it wasa general remar& that, had the m!rdero!s band within o!r wallsswept away this man only, they wo!ld have merited the p!blicgratit!de as p!rifiers from a p!blic n!isance( 3!t was it certainthat the :ailer had died by the same hands as had so deeplyafflicted the peace of o!r city d!ring the winter--or, indeed, thathe had been m!rdered at all< 0he forest was too e#tensive to be

searched4 and it was possible that he might have met with somefatal accident( )is horse had ret!rned to the city gates in the

night, and was fo!nd there in the morning( ?obody, however, formonths co!ld give information abo!t his rider4 and it seemedprobable that he wo!ld not be discovered !ntil the a!t!mn and thewinter sho!ld again carry the sportsman into every thic&et anddingle of this sylvan tract( .ne person only seemed to have more&nowledge on this s!b:ect than others, and that was poor erdinandvon )arrelstein( )e was now a mere r!in of what he had once been,both as to intellect and moral feeling4 and I observed him

fre"!ently smile when the :ailer was mentioned( %*ait,% he wo!ldsay, %till the leaves begin to drop4 then yo! will see what fine

fr!it o!r forest bears(% I did not repeat these e#pressions toanybody e#cept one friend, who agreed with me that the :ailer had

probably been hanged in some recess of the forest, which s!mmer

veiled with its l!#!riant !mbrage4 and that erdinand, constantlywandering in the forest, had discovered the body4 b!t we both


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ac"!itted him of having been an accomplice in the m!rder(

Meantime the marriage between Margaret >iebenheim and Ma#imilianwas !nderstood to be drawing near( =et one thing str!c& everybodywith astonishment( As far as the yo!ng people were concerned,nobody co!ld do!bt that all was arranged4 for never was happiness

more perfect than that which seemed to !nite them( Margaret wasthe impersonation of May-time and yo!thf!l rapt!re4 even Ma#imilian

in her presence seemed to forget his gloom, and the worm whichgnawed at his heart was charmed asleep by the m!sic of her voice,

and the paradise of her smiles( 3!t, !ntil the a!t!mn came,Margaret2s grandfather had never ceased to frown !pon thisconnection, and to s!pport the pretensions of erdinand( 0hedisli&e, indeed, seemed reciprocal between him and Ma#imilian(ach avoided the other2s company and as to the old man, he went sofar as to spea& sneeringly of Ma#imilian( Ma#imilian despised himtoo heartily to spea& of him at all( *hen he co!ld not avoidmeeting him, he treated him with a stern co!rtesy, which distressed

Margaret as often as she witnessed it( She felt that hergrandfather had been the aggressor4 and she felt also that he did

in:!stice to the merits of her lover( 3!t she had a filialtenderness for the old man, as the father of her sainted mother,

and on his own acco!nt, contin!ally ma&ing more claims on her pity,as the decay of his memory, and a childish fretf!lness growing !ponhim from day to day, mar&ed his increasing imbecility(

"!ally mysterio!s it seemed, that abo!t this time Miss >iebenheimbegan to receive anonymo!s letters, written in the dar&est and most

menacing terms( Some of them she showed to me( I co!ld not g!essat their drift( vidently they glanced at Ma#imilian, and bade her

beware of connection with him4 and dreadf!l things were insin!atedabo!t him( 9o!ld these letters be written by erdinand< *ritten

they were not, b!t co!ld they be dictated by him< M!ch I fearedthat they were4 and the more so for one reason(

All at once, and most ine#plicably, Margaret2s grandfather showed atotal change of opinion in his views as to her marriage( Insteadof favoring )arrelstein2s pretensions, as he had hitherto done, henow threw the feeble weight of his enco!ragement into Ma#imilian2sscale4 tho!gh, from the sit!ation of all the parties, nobody

attached any PA90I9A> importance to the change in Mr( >iebenheim2sway of thin&ing( ?obody< Is that tr!e< ?o4 one person +I+ attach

the greatest weight to the change--poor, r!ined erdinand( )e, solong as there was one person to ta&e his part, so long as thegrandfather of Margaret showed co!ntenance to himself, had stillfelt his sit!ation not !tterly desperate(

0h!s were things sit!ated, when in ?ovember, all the leaves dailyblowing off from the woods, and leaving bare the most secret ha!ntsof the thic&ets, the body of the :ailer was left e#posed in the

forest4 b!t not, as I and my friend had con:ect!red, hanged( ?o4he had died apparently by a more horrid death--by that of

cr!cifi#ion( 0he tree, a remar&able one, bore !pon a part of itstr!n& this brief b!t savage inscription$--%0( )(, :ailer at -----4

9r!cified ;!ly 1, 181(%

A great deal of tal& went on thro!gho!t the city !pon this


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discovery4 nobody !ttered one word of regret on acco!nt of thewretched :ailer4 on the contrary, the voice of vengeance, rising !pin many a cottage, reached my ears in every direction as I wal&edabroad( 0he hatred in itself seemed horrid and !nchristian, andstill more so after the man2s death4 b!t, tho!gh horrid andfiendish for itself, it was m!ch more impressive, considered as the

meas!re and e#ponent of the damnable oppression which m!st havee#isted to prod!ce it(

At first, when the absence of the :ailer was a recent occ!rrence,

and the presence of the m!rderers among !s was, in conse"!ence,revived to o!r an#io!s tho!ghts, it was an event which few all!dedto witho!t fear( 3!t matters were changed now4 the :ailer had beendead for months, and this interval, d!ring which the m!rderer2shand had slept, enco!raged everybody to hope that the storm hadpassed over o!r city4 that peace had ret!rned to o!r hearths4 andthat henceforth wea&ness might sleep in safety, and innocencewitho!t an#iety( .nce more we had peace within o!r walls, and

tran"!illity by o!r firesides( Again the child went to bed incheerf!lness, and the old man said his prayers in serenity(

9onfidence was restored4 peace was re-established4 and once againthe sanctity of h!man life became the r!le and the principle for

all h!man hands among !s( reat was the :oy4 the happiness was!niversal(

. heavens@ by what a th!nderbolt were we awa&ened from o!rsec!rity@ .n the night of the twenty-seventh of +ecember, half anho!r, it might be, after twelve o2cloc&, an alarm was given that

all was not right in the ho!se of Mr( >iebenheim( ast was thecrowd which soon collected in breathless agitation( In two min!tes

a man who had gone ro!nd by the bac& of the ho!se was heard!nbarring Mr( >iebenheim2s door$ he was incapable of !ttering a

word4 b!t his gest!res, as he threw the door open and bec&oned tothe crowd, were "!ite eno!gh( In the hall, at the f!rthere#tremity, and as if arrested in the act of ma&ing for the bac&door, lay the bodies of old Mr( >iebenheim and one of his sisters,an aged widow4 on the stair lay another sister, yo!nger and!nmarried, b!t !pward of si#ty( 0he hall and lower flight of stairs were floating with blood( *here, then, was Miss >iebenheim,the grandda!ghter< 0hat was the !niversal cry4 for she was beloved

as generally as she was admired( )ad the infernal m!rderers beendevilish eno!gh to brea& into that temple of innocent and happy

life< veryone as&ed the "!estion, and everyone held his breath tolisten4 b!t for a few moments no one dared to advance4 for thesilence of the ho!se was omino!s( At length some one cried o!tthat Miss >iebenheim had that day gone !pon a visit to a friend,whose ho!se was forty miles distant in the forest( %Aye,% repliedanother,% she had settled to go4 b!t I heard that something hadstopped her(% 0he s!spense was now at its height, and the crowdpassed from room to room, b!t fo!nd no traces of Miss >iebenheim(

At length they ascended the stair, and in the very first room, asmall closet, or bo!doir, lay Margaret, with her dress soiled

hideo!sly with blood( 0he first impression was that she also hadbeen m!rdered4 b!t, on a nearer approach, she appeared to be

!nwo!nded, and was manifestly alive( >ife had not departed, for

her breath sent a ha'e over a mirror, b!t it was s!spended, and shewas laboring in some &ind of fit( 0he first act of the crowd was


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to carry her into the ho!se of a friend on the opposite side of thestreet, by which time medical assistance had crowded to the spot(0heir attentions to Miss >iebenheim had nat!rally deranged thecondition of things in the little room, b!t not before many peoplefo!nd time to remar& that one of the m!rderers m!st have carriedher with his bloody hands to the sofa on which she lay, for water

had been sprin&led prof!sely over her face and throat, and waterwas even placed ready to her hand, when she might happen to

recover, !pon a low foot-stool by the side of the sofa(

.n the following morning, Ma#imilian, who had been !pon a h!ntingparty in the forest, ret!rned to the city, and immediately learnedthe news( I did not see him for some ho!rs after, b!t he thenappeared to me thoro!ghly agitated, for the first time I had &nownhim to be so( In the evening another perple#ing piece of intelligence transpired with regard to Miss >iebenheim, which atfirst afflicted every friend of that yo!ng lady( It was that shehad been sei'ed with the pains of childbirth, and delivered of a

son, who, however, being born premat!rely, did not live many ho!rs(Scandal, however, was not allowed long to batten !pon this

imaginary tri!mph, for within two ho!rs after the circ!lation of this first r!mor, followed a second, a!thenticated, anno!ncing that

Ma#imilian had appeared with the confessor of the >iebenheimfamily, at the residence of the chief magistrate, and thereprod!ced satisfactory proofs of his marriage with Miss >iebenheim,which had been d!ly celebrated, tho!gh with great secrecy, nearlyeight months before( In o!r city, as in all the cities of o!rco!ntry, clandestine marriages, witnessed, perhaps, by two friends

only of the parties, besides the officiating priest, aree#ceedingly common( In the mere fact, therefore, ta&en separately,

there was nothing to s!rprise !s, b!t, ta&en in connection with thegeneral position of the parties, it +I+ s!rprise !s all4 nor co!ld

we con:ect!re the reason for a step apparently so needless( or,that Ma#imilian co!ld have tho!ght it any point of pr!dence ornecessity to sec!re the hand of Margaret >iebenheim by a privatemarriage, against the final opposition of her grandfather, nobodywho &new the parties, who &new the perfect love which possessedMiss >iebenbeim, the growing imbecility of her grandfather, or the!tter contempt with which Ma#imilian regarded him, co!ld for amoment believe( Altogether, the matter was one of profo!nd

mystery(

Meantime, it re:oiced me that poor Margaret2s name had been th!sresc!ed from the fangs of the scandalmongers( 0hese harpies hadtheir prey torn from them at the very moment when they were sittingdown to the !nhallowed ban"!et( or this I re:oiced, b!t elsethere was little s!b:ect for re:oicing in anything which concernedpoor Margaret( >ong she lay in deep insensibility, ta&ing nonotice of anything, rarely opening her eyes, and apparently!nconscio!s of the revol!tions, as they s!cceeded, of morning or

evening, light or dar&ness, yesterday or to-day( reat was theagitation which conv!lsed the heart of Ma#imilian d!ring this

period4 he wal&ed !p and down in the cathedral nearly all day long,and the ravages which an#iety was wor&ing in his physical system

might be read in his face( People felt it an intr!sion !pon the

sanctity of his grief to loo& at him too narrowly, and the wholetown sympathi'ed with his sit!ation(


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At length a change too& place in Margaret, b!t one which themedical men anno!nced to Ma#imilian as boding ill for her recovery(0he wanderings of her mind did not depart, b!t they altered theircharacter( She became more agitated4 she wo!ld start !p s!ddenly,and strain her eye-sight after some fig!re which she seemed to see4

then she wo!ld apostrophi'e some person in the most piteo!s terms,beseeching him, with streaming eyes, to spare her old grandfather(

%>oo&, loo&,% she wo!ld cry o!t, %loo& at his gray hairs@ ., sir@he is b!t a child4 he does not &now what he says4 and he will soon

be o!t of the way and in his grave4 and very soon, sir, he willgive yo! no more tro!ble(% 0hen, again, she wo!ld m!tterindistinctly for ho!rs together4 sometimes she wo!ld cry o!tfrantically, and say things which terrified the bystanders, andwhich the physicians wo!ld solemnly ca!tion them how they repeated4then she wo!ld weep, and invo&e Ma#imilian to come and aid her(3!t seldom, indeed, did that name pass her lips that she did notagain begin to strain her eyeballs, and start !p in bed to watch

some phantom of her poor, fevered heart, as if it seemed vanishinginto some mighty distance(

After nearly seven wee&s passed in this agitating state, s!ddenly,

on one morning, the earliest and the loveliest of dawning spring, achange was anno!nced to !s all as having ta&en place in Margaret4b!t it was a change, alas@ that !shered in the last great change of all( 0he conflict, which had for so long a period raged withinher, and overthrown her reason, was at an end4 the strife was over,and nat!re was settling into an everlasting rest( In the co!rse of

the night she had recovered her senses( *hen the morning lightpenetrated thro!gh her c!rtain, she recogni'ed her attendants, made

in"!iries as to the month and the day of the month, and then,sensible that she co!ld not o!tlive the day, she re"!ested that her

confessor might be s!mmoned(

Abo!t an ho!r and a half the confessor remained alone with her( Atthe end of that time he came o!t, and hastily s!mmoned theattendants, for Margaret, he said, was sin&ing into a fainting fit(0he confessor himself might have passed thro!gh many a fit, so m!chwas he changed by the res!lts of this interview( I crossed himcoming o!t of the ho!se( I spo&e to him--I called to him4 b!t he

heard me not--he saw me not( )e saw nobody( .nward he strode tothe cathedral, where Ma#imilian was s!re to be fo!nd, pacing abo!t

!pon the graves( )im he sei'ed by the arm, whispered somethinginto his ear, and then both retired into one of the manyse"!estered chapels in which lights are contin!ally b!rning( 0herethey had some conversation, b!t not very long, for within fivemin!tes Ma#imilian strode away to the ho!se in which his yo!ng wifewas dying( .ne step seemed to carry him !pstairs( 0he attendants,according to the directions they had received from the physicians,m!stered at the head of the stairs to oppose him( 3!t that was

idle$ before the rights which he held as a lover and a h!sband--before the still more sacred rights of grief, which he carried in

his co!ntenance, all opposition fled li&e a dream( 0here was,besides, a f!ry in his eye( A motion of his hand waved them off

li&e s!mmer flies4 he entered the room, and once again, for the

last time, he was in company with his beloved(


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*hat passed who co!ld pretend to g!ess< Something more than twoho!rs had elapsed, d!ring which Margaret had been able to tal&occasionally, which was &nown, beca!se at times the attendantsheard the so!nd of Ma#imilian2s voice evidently in tones of replyto something which she had said( At the end of that time, a littlebell, placed near the bedside, was r!ng hastily( A fainting fit

had sei'ed Margaret4 b!t she recovered almost before her womenapplied the !s!al remedies( 0hey lingered, however, a little,

loo&ing at the yo!thf!l co!ple with an interest which no restraintsavailed to chec&( 0heir hands were loc&ed together, and in

Margaret2s eyes there gleamed a farewell light of love, whichsettled !pon Ma#imilian, and seemed to indicate that she wasbecoming speechless( ;!st at this moment she made a feeble effortto draw Ma#imilian toward her4 he bent forward and &issed her withan ang!ish that made the most callo!s weep, and then he whisperedsomething into her ear, !pon which the attendants retired, ta&ingthis as a proof that their presence was a hindrance to a freecomm!nication( 3!t they heard no more tal&ing, and in less than

ten min!tes they ret!rned( Ma#imilian and Margaret still retainedtheir former position( 0heir hands were fast loc&ed together4 the

same parting ray of affection, the same farewell light of love, wasin the eye of Margaret, and still it settled !pon Ma#imilian( 3!t

her eyes were beginning to grow dim4 mists were rapidly stealingover them( Ma#imilian, who sat st!pefied and li&e one not in hisright mind, now, at the gentle re"!est of the women, resigned hisseat, for the hand which had clasped his had already rela#ed itshold4 the farewell gleam of love had departed( .ne of the womenclosed her eyelids4 and there fell asleep forever the loveliest

flower that o!r city had reared for generations(

0he f!neral too& place on the fo!rth day after her death( In themorning of that day, from strong affection--having &nown her from

an infant--I begged permission to see the corpse( She was in hercoffin4 snowdrops and croc!ses were laid !pon her innocent bosom,and roses, of that sort which the season allowed, over her person(0hese and other lovely symbols of yo!th, of springtime, and of res!rrection, ca!ght my eye for the first moment4 b!t in the ne#tit fell !pon her face( Mighty od@ what a change@ what atransfig!ration@ Still, indeed, there was the same innocentsweetness4 still there was something of the same loveliness4 the

e#pression still remained4 b!t for the feat!res--all trace of fleshseemed to have vanished4 mere o!tline of bony str!ct!re remained4

mere pencilings and shadowings of what she once had been( 0his is,indeed, I e#claimed, %d!st to d!st--ashes to ashes@%

Ma#imilian, to the astonishment of everybody, attended the f!neral(It was celebrated in the cathedral( All made way for him, and attimes he seemed collected4 at times he reeled li&e one who wasdr!n&( )e heard as one who hears not4 he saw as one in a dream(0he whole ceremony went on by torchlight, and toward the close he

stood li&e a pillar, motionless, torpid, fro'en( 3!t the greatb!rst of the choir, and the mighty blare ascending from o!r vast

organ at the closing of the grave, recalled him to himself, and hestrode rapidly homeward( )alf an ho!r after I ret!rned, I was

s!mmoned to his bedroom( )e was in bed, calm and collected( *hat

he said to me I remember as if it had been yesterday, and the verytone with which he said it, altho!gh more than twenty years have


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passed since then( )e began th!s$ %I have not long to live%4 andwhen he saw me start, s!ddenly awa&ened into a conscio!sness thatperhaps he had ta&en poison, and meant to intimate as m!ch, hecontin!ed$ %=o! fancy I have ta&en poison4--no matter whether Ihave or not4 if I have, the poison is s!ch that no antidote willnow avail4 or, if they wo!ld, yo! well &now that some griefs are of

a &ind which leave no opening to any hope( *hat difference,therefore, can it ma&e whether I leave this earth to-day, to-

morrow, or the ne#t day< 3e ass!red of this--that whatever I havedetermined to do is past all power of being affected by a h!man

opposition( .cc!py yo!rself not with any fr!itless attempts, b!tcalmly listen to me, else I &now what to do(% Seeing a s!ppressedf!ry in his eye, notwithstanding I saw also some change stealingover his feat!res as if from some s!btle poison beginning to wor&!pon his frame, awestr!c& I consented to listen, and sat still(%It is well that yo! do so, for my time is short( )ere is my will,legally drawn !p, and yo! will see that I have committed an immenseproperty to yo!r discretion( )ere, again, is a paper still more

important in my eyes4 it is also testamentary, and binds yo! tod!ties which may not be so easy to e#ec!te as the disposal of my

property( 3!t now listen to something else, which concerns neitherof these papers( Promise me, in the first place, solemnly, that

whenever I die yo! will see me b!ried in the same grave as my wife,from whose f!neral we are :!st ret!rned( Promise(%--I promised(--%Swear(%--I swore(--%inally, promise me that, when yo! read thissecond paper which I have p!t into yo!r hands, whatsoever yo! maythin& of it, yo! will say nothing--p!blish nothing to the world!ntil three years shall have passed(%--I promised(--%And now

farewell for three ho!rs( 9ome to me again abo!t ten o2cloc&, andta&e a glass of wine in memory of old times(% 0his he said

la!ghingly4 b!t even then a dar& spasm crossed his face( =et,thin&ing that this might be the mere wor&ing of mental ang!ish

within him, I complied with his desire, and retired( eeling,however, b!t little at ease, I devised an e#c!se for loo&ing in!pon him abo!t one ho!r and a half after I had left him( I &noc&edgently at his door4 there was no answer( I &noc&ed lo!der4 stillno answer( I went in( 0he light of day was gone, and I co!ld seenothing( 3!t I was alarmed by the !tter stillness of the room( Ilistened earnestly, b!t not a breath co!ld be heard( I r!shed bac&hastily into the hall for a lamp4 I ret!rned4 I loo&ed in !pon this

marvel of manly bea!ty, and the first glance informed me that heand all his splendid endowments had departed forever( )e had died,

probably, soon after I left him, and had dismissed me from somegrowing instinct which informed him that his last agonies were athand(

I too& !p his two testamentary doc!ments4 both were addressed inthe shape of letters to myself( 0he first was a rapid tho!ghdistinct appropriation of his enormo!s property( eneral r!leswere laid down, !pon which the property was to be distrib!ted, b!t

the details were left to my discretion, and to the g!idance of circ!mstances as they sho!ld happen to emerge from the vario!s

in"!iries which it wo!ld become necessary to set on foot( 0hisfirst doc!ment I soon laid aside, both beca!se I fo!nd that its

provisions were dependent for their meaning !pon the second, and

beca!se to this second doc!ment I loo&ed with confidence for asol!tion of many mysteries4--of the profo!nd sadness which had,


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from the first of my ac"!aintance with him, possessed a man sogorgeo!sly endowed as the favorite of nat!re and fort!ne4 of hismotives for h!ddling !p, in a clandestine manner, that connectionwhich formed the glory of his life4 and possibly 6b!t then Ihesitated7 of the late !nintelligible m!rders, which still lay!nder as profo!nd a clo!d as ever( M!ch of this *./>+ be !nveiled--

all might be$ and there and then, with the corpse lying beside meof the gifted and mysterio!s writer, I seated myself, and read the

following statement$

%MA9) C, 181D(

%My trial is finished4 my conscience, my d!ty, my honor, areliberated4 my 2warfare is accomplished(2 Margaret, my innocentyo!ng wife, I have seen for the last time( )er, the crown thatmight have been of my earthly felicity--her, the one temptation top!t aside the bitter c!p which awaited me--her, sole sed!ctress 6.

innocent sed!ctress@7 from the stern d!ties which my fate hadimposed !pon me--her, even her, I have sacrificed(

%3efore I go, partly lest the innocent sho!ld be bro!ght into

"!estion for acts almost e#cl!sively mine, b!t still more lest thelesson and the warning which od, by my hand, has written in blood!pon yo!r g!ilty walls, sho!ld perish for want of its a!thentice#position, hear my last dying avowal, that the m!rders which havedesolated so many families within yo!r walls, and made theho!sehold hearth no sanct!ary, age no charter of protection, are

all d!e originally to my head, if not always to my hand, as theminister of a dreadf!l retrib!tion(

%0hat acco!nt of my history, and my prospects, which yo! received

from the !ssian diplomatist, among some errors of littleimportance, is essentially correct( My father was not soimmediately connected with nglish blood as is there represented()owever, it is tr!e that he claimed descent from an nglish familyof even higher distinction than that which is assigned in the!ssian statement( )e was pro!d of this nglish descent, and themore so as the war with revol!tionary rance bro!ght o!t moreprominently than ever the moral and civil grande!r of ngland(

0his pride was genero!s, b!t it was impr!dent in his sit!ation()is immediate progenitors had been settled in Italy--at ome first,

b!t latterly at Milan4 and his whole property, large and scattered,came, by the progress of the revol!tion, to stand !nder renchdomination( Many spoliations he s!ffered4 b!t still he was toorich to be serio!sly in:!red( 3!t he foresaw, in the progress of events, still greater perils menacing his most capital reso!rces(Many of the states or princes in Italy were deeply in his debt4and, in the great conv!lsions which threatened his co!ntry, he sawthat both the contending parties wo!ld find a colorable e#c!se for

absolving themselves from engagements which pressed !npleasantly!pon their finances( In this embarrassment he formed an intimacy

with a rench officer of high ran& and high principle( My father2sfriend saw his danger, and advised him to enter the rench service(

In his yo!nger days, my father had served e#tensively !nder many

princes, and had fo!nd in every other military service a spirit of honor governing the cond!ct of the officers( )ere only, and for


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the first time, he fo!nd r!ffian manners and !niversal rapacity()e co!ld not draw his sword in company with s!ch men, nor in s!ch aca!se( 3!t at length, !nder the press!re of necessity, he accepted6or rather bo!ght with an immense bribe7 the place of a commissaryto the rench forces in Italy( *ith this one reso!rce, event!allyhe s!cceeded in ma&ing good the whole of his p!blic claims !pon the

Italian states( 0hese vast s!ms he remitted, thro!gh vario!schannels, to ngland, where he became proprietor in the f!nds to an

immense amo!nt( Inca!tio!sly, however, something of thistranspired, and the res!lt was do!bly !nfort!nate4 for, while his

intentions were th!s made &nown as finally pointing to ngland,which of itself made him an ob:ect of hatred and s!spicion, it alsodiminished his means of bribery( 0hese considerations, along withanother, made some rench officers of high ran& and infl!ence thebitter enemies of my father( My mother, whom he had married whenholding a brigadier-general2s commission in the A!strian service,was, by birth and by religion, a ;ewess( She was of e#"!isitebea!ty, and had been so!ght in Morganatic marriage by an archd!&e

of the A!strian family4 b!t she had relied !pon this plea, thathers was the p!rest and noblest blood among all ;ewish families--

that her family traced themselves, by tradition and a vast seriesof attestations !nder the hands of the ;ewish high priests, to the

Maccabees, and to the royal ho!ses of ;!dea4 and that for her itwo!ld be a degradation to accept even of a sovereign prince on theterms of s!ch marriage( 0his was no vain pretension of ostentatio!s vanity( It was one which had been admitted as validfor time immemorial in 0ransylvania and ad:acent co!ntries, wheremy mother2s family were rich and honored, and too& their seat among

the dignitaries of the land( 0he rench officers I have all!dedto, witho!t capacity for anything so dignified as a deep passion,

b!t merely in p!rs!it of a vagrant fancy that wo!ld, on the ne#tday, have given place to another e"!ally fleeting, had dared to

ins!lt my mother with proposals the most licentio!s--proposals asm!ch below her ran& and birth, as, at any rate, they wo!ld havebeen below her dignity of mind and her p!rity( 0hese she hadcomm!nicated to my father, who bitterly resented the chains of s!bordination which tied !p his hands from avenging his in:!ries(Still his eye told a tale which his s!periors co!ld broo& as littleas they co!ld the disdainf!l neglect of his wife( More than onehad been concerned in the in:!ries to my father and mother4 more

than one were interested in obtaining revenge( 0hings co!ld bedone in erman towns, and by favor of old erman laws or !sages,

which even in rance co!ld not have been tolerated( 0his myfather2s enemies well &new, b!t this my father also &new4 and heendeavored to lay down his office of commissary( 0hat, however,was a favor which he co!ld not obtain( )e was compelled to serveon the erman campaign then commencing, and on the s!bse"!ent oneof riedland and yla!( )ere he was ca!ght in some one of thesnares laid for him4 first trepanned into an act which violatedsome r!le of the service4 and then provo&ed into a breach of

discipline against the general officer who had th!s trepanned him(?ow was the long-so!ght opport!nity gained, and in that very

"!arter of ermany best fitted for improving it( My father wasthrown into prison in yo!r city, s!b:ected to the atrocio!s

oppression of yo!r :ailer, and the more detestable oppression of

yo!r local laws( 0he charges against him were tho!ght even toaffect his life, and he was h!mbled into s!ing for permission to


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send for his wife and children( Already, to his pro!d spirit, itwas p!nishment eno!gh that he sho!ld be red!ced to s!e for favor toone of his bitterest foes( 3!t it was no part of their plan toref!se 0)A0( 3y way of e#pediting my mother2s arrival, a militaryco!rier, with every facility for the :o!rney, was forwarded to herwitho!t delay( My mother, her two da!ghters, and myself, were then

residing in enice( I had, thro!gh the aid of my father2sconnections in A!stria, been appointed in the imperial service, and

held a high commission for my age( 3!t, on my father2s marchingnorthward with the rench army, I had been recalled as an

indispensable s!pport to my mother( ?ot that my years co!ld havemade me s!ch, for I had barely accomplished my twelfth year4 b!t mypremat!re growth, and my military station, had given meconsiderable &nowledge of the world and presence of mind(

%.!r :o!rney I pass over4 b!t as I approach yo!r city, thatsep!lcher of honor and happiness to my poor family, my heart beatswith frantic emotions( ?ever do I see that venerable dome of yo!r

minster from the forest, b!t I c!rse its form, which reminds me of what we then s!rveyed for many a mile as we traversed the forest(

or leag!es before we approached the city, this ob:ect lay before!s in relief !pon the frosty bl!e s&y4 and still it seemed never to

increase( S!ch was the complaint of my little sister Mariamne(Most innocent child@ wo!ld that it never had increased for thyeyes, b!t remained forever at a distance@ 0hat same ho!r began theseries of monstro!s indignities which terminated the career of myill-fated family( As we drew !p to the city gates, the officer whoinspected the passports, finding my mother and sisters described as

;ewesses, which in my mother2s ears 6reared in a region where ;ewsare not dishonored7 always so!nded a title of distinction, s!mmoned

a s!bordinate agent, who in coarse terms demanded his toll( *epres!med this to be a road ta# for the carriage and horses, b!t we

were "!ic&ly !ndeceived4 a small s!m was demanded for each of mysisters and my mother, as for so many head of cattle( I, fancyingsome mista&e, spo&e to the man temperately, and, to do him :!stice,he did not seem desiro!s of ins!lting !s4 b!t he prod!ced a printedboard, on which, along with the vilest animals, ;ews and ;ewesseswere rated at so m!ch a head( *hile we were debating the point,the officers of the gate wore a sneering smile !pon their faces--the postilions were la!ghing together4 and this, too, in the

presence of three creat!res whose e#"!isite bea!ty, in differentstyles, agreeably to their different ages, wo!ld have ca!sed

noblemen to have fallen down and worshiped( My mother, who hadnever yet met with any flagrant ins!lt on acco!nt of her nationaldistinctions, was too m!ch shoc&ed to be capable of spea&ing( Iwhispered to her a few words, recalling her to her native dignityof mind, paid the money, and we drove to the prison( 3!t the ho!rwas past at which we co!ld be admitted, and, as ;ewesses, my motherand sisters co!ld not be allowed to stay in the city4 they were togo into the ;ewish "!arter, a part of the s!b!rb set apart for

;ews, in which it was scarcely possible to obtain a lodgingtolerably clean( My father, on the ne#t day, we fo!nd, to o!r

horror, at the point of death( 0o my mother he did not tell theworst of what he had end!red( 0o me he told that, driven to

madness by the ins!lts offered to him, he had !pbraided the co!rt-

martial with their corr!pt propensities, and had even mentionedthat overt!res had been made to him for "!ashing the proceedings in


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ret!rn for a s!m of two millions of francs4 and that his solereason for not entertaining the proposal was his distr!st of thosewho made it( 20hey wo!ld have ta&en my money,2 said he, 2and thenfo!nd a prete#t for p!tting me to death, that I might tell nosecrets(2 0his was too near the tr!th to be tolerated4 in concertwith the local a!thorities, the military enemies of my father

conspired against him--witnesses were s!borned4 and, finally, !ndersome anti"!ated law of the place, he was s!b:ected, in secret, to a

mode of tort!re which still lingers in the east of !rope(

%)e san& !nder the tort!re and the degradation( I, too,tho!ghtlessly, b!t by a nat!ral movement of filial indignation,s!ffered the tr!th to escape me in conversing with my mother( Andshe--4b!t I will preserve the reg!lar s!ccession of things( Myfather died4 b!t he had ta&en s!ch meas!res, in concert with me,that his enemies sho!ld never benefit by his property( Meantime mymother and sisters had closed my father2s eyes4 had attended hisremains to the grave4 and in every act connected with this last sad

rite had met with ins!lts and degradations too mighty for h!manpatience( My mother, now become incapable of self-command, in the

f!ry of her righteo!s grief, p!blicly and in co!rt deno!nced thecond!ct of the magistracy--ta#ed some of them with the vilest

proposals to herself--ta#ed them as a body with having !sedinstr!ments of tort!re !pon my father4 and, finally, acc!sed themof coll!sion with the rench military oppressors of the district(0his last was a charge !nder

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