Robert Merry's Museum, Vol. VIII, July to December, 1844Various
General
Robert Merry's Museum, Vol. VIII, July to December, 1844
Various
Children's literature -- Periodicals
I am sorry to have anything to say about this personage; but a century
ago, when these things happened, it was very much the fashion to lay
everything to him which could not be otherwise explained. Of course,
whoever undertakes to tell a story of that day, is likely to have
something to say about him. We need only add, that we shall have as
little as possible to do with him on this, as on every other occasion.
The suggestion having been once made that the scenes we have described
were the work of a being of the other world, it soon grew into the
established opinion of the people attached to Hielder house. Nor were
confirmations of this wanting. Several of the servants declared that
they had seen, in the evening twilight, a dark figure, with a slouched
hat and wrapped in a cloak, moving mysteriously along the avenues
around the house. Others insisted that they had seen a strange light
dancing in the hollow of the mountain, where M. Hielder had met the
strange apparition.
These tales soon reached the ears of their master, and he readily
concluded that they might be founded in truth. He determined,
therefore, to investigate the subject for himself. In the course of
a few evenings, he saw a dusky figure standing in the shadow of the
trees at no great distance from the house. He approached it, but it
glided from him, and was soon lost in the depths of the forest. He,
however, pursued the retreating spectre. He soon saw it again, and it
seemed now to pause. He approached it, and could distinctly recognize
the tall and majestic figure of Hieldover. At this moment, the latter
spoke--“Approach me not, as you value your life; but if you wish to
know the fate of your child, visit me to-morrow at this hour. You will
find me at home in the mountains.” Saying this, the form departed, and
was immediately buried in the mazes of the wood.
M. Hielder was thrilled with a kind of horror, but he determined to
accept the fearful invitation. At the appointed time, he left the
house alone, and set out for the mountains. It was now autumn, and the
leaves were beginning to fall from the trees. The night was gloomy,
and the wind swept in hollow gusts through the forest. The tops of the
trees waved with an uneasy and troubled motion in the gale. There was
no human voice to disturb the night, but many strange and ominous
sounds came upon the ear of the adventurer, as he now began to ascend
the shaggy sides of the highlands. The creaking of the trees, whose
branches rubbed against each other, the shrill wailing of the owl, and
the continued roar of the wind, served to increase his excitement,
though not in any degree to shake his purpose.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account