CHAPTER X.
HOW THEY LIVED IN THE CITY.
The sudden disappearance of the young knight, Huldbrand vonRingstetten, from the imperial city, had caused great sensation andsolicitude among those who had admired him, both for his skill inthe tournament and the dance, and no less so for his gentle andagreeable manners. His servants would not quit the place withouttheir master, although not one of them would have had the courage togo in quest of him into the shadowy recesses of the forest. Theytherefore remained in their quarters, inactively hoping, as men arewont to do, and keeping alive the remembrance of their lost lord bytheir lamentations. When, soon after, the violent storms and floodswere observed, the less doubt was entertained as to the certaindestruction of the handsome stranger; and Bertalda openly mournedfor him and blamed herself for having allured the unfortunate knightinto the forest. Her foster-parents, the duke and duchess, had cometo fetch her away, but Bertalda entreated them to remain with heruntil certain intelligence had been obtained of Huldbrand's fate.She endeavored to prevail upon several young knights, who wereeagerly courting her, to follow the noble adventurer to the forest.But she would not pledge her hand as a reward of the enterprise,because she always cherished the hope of belonging to the returningknight, and no glove, nor riband, nor even kiss, would tempt any oneto expose his life for the sake of bringing back such a dangerousrival.
When Huldbrand now suddenly and unexpectedly appeared, his servants.and the inhabitants of the city, and almost every one, rejoiced.Bertalda alone refused to do so; for agreeable as it was to theothers that he should bring with him such a beautiful bride, andFather Heilmann as a witness of the marriage, Bertalda could feelnothing but grief and vexation. In the first place, she had reallyloved the young knight with all her heart, and in the next, hersorrow at his absence had proclaimed this far more before the eyesof all, than was now befitting. She still, however, conductedherself as a wise maiden, reconciled herself to circumstances, andlived on the most friendly terms with Undine, who was looked uponthroughout the city as a princess whom Huldbrand had rescued in theforest from some evil enchantment. When she or her husband werequestioned on the matter, they were wise enough to be silent orskilfully to evade the inquiries. Father Heilmann's lips were sealedto idle gossip of any kind, and moreover, immediately afterHuldbrand's arrival, he had returned to his monastery; so thatpeople were obliged to be satisfied with their own strangeconjectures, and even Bertalda herself knew no more of the truththan others.
Day by day, Undine felt her affection increase for the fair maiden."We must have known each other before," she often used to say toher, "or else, there must be some mysterious connection between us,for one does not love another as dearly as I have loved you from thefirst moment of our meeting without some cause--some deep and secretcause." And Bertalda also could not deny the fact that she feltdrawn to Undine with a tender feeling of confidence, however muchshe might consider that she had cause for the bitterest lamentationat this successful rival. Biassed by this mutual affection, theyboth persuaded--the one her foster-parents, the other her husband--topostpone the day of departure from time to time; indeed, it waseven proposed that Bertalda should accompany Undine for a time tocastle Ringstetten, near the source of the Danube.
They were talking over this plan one beautiful evening, as they werewalking by starlight in the large square of the Imperial city, underthe tall trees that enclose it. The young married pair had incitedBertalda to join them in their evening walk, and all three werestrolling up and down under the dark-blue sky, often interruptingtheir familiar talk to admire the magnificent fountain in the middleof the square, as its waters rushed and bubbled forth with wonderfulbeauty. It had a soothing happy influence upon them; between theshadows of the trees there stole glimmerings of light from theadjacent houses; a low murmur of children at play, and of othersenjoying their walk, floated around them; they were so alone, andyet in the midst of the bright and living world; whatever hadappeared difficult by day, now became smooth as of itself; and thethree friends could no longer understand why the slightesthesitation had existed with regard to Bertalda's visit toRingstetten. Presently, just as they were on the point of fixing theday for their common departure, a tall man approached them from themiddle of the square, bowed respectfully to the company, and saidsomething in the ear of the young wife. Displeased as she was at theinterruption and its cause, she stepped a little aside with thestranger, and both began to whisper together, as it seemed, in aforeign tongue. Huldbrand fancied he knew the strange man, and hestared so fixedly at him that he neither heard nor answeredBertalda's astonished inquiries.
All at once Undine, clapping her hands joyfully, and laughing,quitted the stranger's side, who, shaking his head, retired hastilyand discontentedly, and vanished in the fountain. Huldbrand now feltcertain on the point, but Bertalda asked: "And what did the masterof the fountain want with you, dear Undine?"
The young wife laughed within herself, and replied: "The day afterto-morrow, my dear child, on the anniversary of your name-day, youshall know it." And nothing more would she disclose. She invitedBertalda and sent an invitation to her foster-parents, to dine withthem on the appointed day, and soon after they parted.
"Kuhleborn? was it Kuhleborn?" said Huldbrand, with a secretshudder, to his beautiful bride, when they had taken leave ofBertalda, and were now going home through the darkening streets.
"Yes, it was he," replied Undine, "and he was going to say all sortsof nonsensical things to me. But, in the midst, quite contrary tohis intention, he delighted me with a most welcome piece of news. Ifyou wish to hear it at once, my dear lord and husband, you have butto command, and I will tell it you without reserve. But if you wouldconfer a real pleasure on your Undine, you will wait till the dayafter to-morrow, and you will then have your share too in thesurprise."
The knight gladly complied with his wife's desire, which had beenurged so sweetly, and as she fell asleep, she murmured smilingly toherself: "Dear, dear Bertalda! How she will rejoice and beastonished at what her master of the fountain told me!"
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