Sidonia the Sorceress V1

pet stag, and what evil con

their carouse by that godly prophesying of the doctor's, and they now returned to their own quarter to finish it, headed by the old treasurer Zitsewitz. Then a merry uproar of laughing, singing, and jesting commenced, and as the door lay wide open as usual, Sidonia heard all from her chamber; so stepping out gently with

the tame stag with bread, and then jumped on its back while she held the horns, and that the animal had immediately galloped off like lightning into the second court; so that the young knights and squires rushed instantly after her, fearing that some accident mi

he knights' horses, she must have been killed. But Satan had not yet done

for the castellan's son, who was playing ball, had flung the ball right between his legs, out of tricks, as he was running by, and nearly threw him down, whereupon Wedig seized hold of the urchin by his thick hair to punish him, for all the youn

s rage now when he beheld the equerry,

all of what had happened. The old treasurer, with the other young knights, came up now, and strove to make peace between the two rivals, holding them apart by force; but nothing could calm the jealous Wedig, who still cried, "Let me avenge Sidonia!-let me avenge Sidonia!" So that Prince Ernest, hearing the tumult in the garden, ran with his lute in his hand to see what had happened. When they told him, he grew as pale as a corpse that such an indignity should have been off

ainted with this part of the castle, she ran direct into an old lumber-room, where she found, to her great surprise, a young man dressed in rusty armour, and wearing a helmet with a serpent crest upon his head. This was Hans von Marintzky, whose brain Sidonia had turned by reading

-"Adored Princess, your serpent knight is here to claim your love, and tender his hand to you in betrothal, for no other wife

ay suppose, and retreated a few steps, say

I am then really dear to you, adored Princess? Ah!

d her laughter, remembering how she had lost her lover Uckermann by showing scorn; so

lingly, how willingly you would have taken any husband half a year after.) "But if you will do me a service, brave knight, run instantly to the court, whe

the greaves; and rushing into the middle of the crowd, with his vizor down, and the drawn sword in his hand, he began making passes at every one that came in

to get out of reach of his sword, which he kept whirling about his head;

ss the noble Sidonia as she lay there faint and insensible? Yet I saw him do thi

let, this groom, dared to kiss her? and I would think myself bless

ve aroused the Duchess and Ulrich even from

hdeacon was sick, and Doctor Gerschovius was obliged to take his place there. No one, therefore, was left in the castle to give orders or hold command; even the castellan h

ly subsided just at the moment the serpent knight fell upon Appelmann. The Prince then ordered his equerry to

he bite in his hip made him stiff. Appelmann darted through the little water-gate and over the bridge; the other pursued him; and Appelmann, seeing that he was foam

s heavy cuirass, plunged in directly, and soon reached the drowning man. Wedig, however, in his death-struggles, seized hold of him with such force that they both instantly disappeared. Then every on

Helen of Troy up to the present moment, the world has known this well; but, alas! this was but th

o sooner heard the tidings than he rushed down to the water-gate. There he found a great crowd assembled, all eagerly trying, with poles and hooks, to fish out the bodies of the two young men; and one fellow even had tied a piece of barley bread to a rope, and flung it into the w

y, having put on some old armour to frighten the others, as he believed, they pursued him in fun over the bridge, and he and anoth

o rule land and people, I counsel you, send all the young fellows to the devil. Away with them! they are a vain and dissolute crew. Get up the bodies, if you can; b

it all happened." It was her own cousin, Marcus Bork, who spoke, for which reason Sidonia n

to tell him all. When Marcus had related the whole affair, he swore by the seven thousand

promise-you must now make one to me: it is to leave this maiden in peace; sh

se," said the Prince. "No

nsented to leave her undisturbed, and departed with vehement imprecations on her head