new. Lo! soon her glorious beauty she discovers: Soon droops :-and sheds her leaves of faded hue: Of mortal life the green leaf, and the flower, Love, in Youth's lovely prime ! ere aged love meet scorning. The Field of Terror, a Tale; BY FREDERICK, BARON DE LA MOTTE FOUQUE. DEAR CHRISTOPHER, I HAVE, for the sake of variety, chosen, instead of another dramatic criticism, to present your readers, in this Number, with one of the "Kleine Romane" of my excellent friend, the Baron de La Motte Fouqué. Nor have I selected one of his longer and more serious compositions under this title, but preferred one of the numerous (I might say numberless) fairy tales, which he has thrown off with the playful grace of a genuine master. To shadow out the various modifications and contentions of good and evil in this life, typified and impersonized by fairies, demons, &c. is a favourite system of the Baron. Hence his partiality to the superstitions of his country-to which, by his inventive genius, and his moral and philosophic powers, he has given an interest and importance altogether That your readers may duly appreciate this little Tale, it may be permitted us to remind them, that among the mountains, in the north of Germany, there is one which has been said to possess, among other minerals, the magnet, in such abundance, that the labours of the husbandman were there found to be impracticable. As one fable naturally begets another, it followed, of course, that this difficulty was ascribed to the immediate agency of malignant demons. It remained however, for the genius of Fouqué, to moralize this legend; and probably, one ought not to rate the intelligence of any reader so low as to suppose that the moral of the following tale will not immediately be discovered. It may be considered, indeed, but a new modification of our own old chivalric legend of a knight, assailed by all the delusive horrors of witchcraft and sorcery, which vanish, one after another, before his invincible courage and constancy. (A legend, by the way, which has been so well given in the "Bridal of Triermain," and in vol. III. of Drake's "Literary Hours.") It will dess be perceived, that the adventures of Conrad are, in reality, no perseverance, more those of many a poor Farmer-who, with and courage struggles against the difficulties of his fortune-and, at last, even from sterile fields, on which he is haunted by the demons of apprehension, indolence, and despondency, may, by contented industry, gain a competent livelihood, a comparative affluence. Your friend, R. P. G. AT the foot of the Giant Mountain, (so called from its pre-eminent height), in a fertile district of Silesia, there fell to be divided among several relations the property of a rich commoner, who had died without children, and whose various farms were scattered about in different quarters of this romantic country. For this purpose, they had assembled in a small inn of the head village, and would have very soon come to an amicable agreement on the division of VOL. VIII. their inheritance, had it not been that it included one farm, called the FIELD OF TERROR; which, of course, no one was inclined to receive for his portion. Yet the surface of this field was adorned with blooming flowers, and a variety of wild shrubs and underwood, betokening at once the fertility of the soil, and the neglect of the husbandman. Many years indeed had passed since any one had ventured there with a plough, nor had any seeds been planted or sown but those which Na R ture herself supplied. Or if some bold adventurer had now and then made such an attempt, the work-oxen were invariably seized with an uncontrollable fury;-even the ploughman and sower fled in wild affright,-complaining that horrible spectres floated around them, pretending to join in their labour, and looking over their shoulders with an hideous confidence and familiarity, which no mortal courage could endure. Who should now take this accursed and ominous field into his allotment became the grand question in debate. To every one it appeared (according to the usual way of the world) that what to himself was even in idea insupportable, might, by his neighbour, be encountered without risk or hesitation. Thus they continued disputing till a late hour of the evening. At last, after an interval of silence, one of the party announced the following suggestion. "We are,” said he, "according to the injunctions of our predecessor, obliged to make some provision for a poor cousin, who lives here in this village. To us the girl is but very distantly related-besides, she will probably soon have a good husband to protect her, for she is amiable and prudent, and is commonly called the beautiful Sabina. Therefore, my counsel is, that we freely give to our cousin in a present this " FIELD OF TERROR. We shall then have at once fulfilled our duty, and supplied a dowry for Sabina; which, unpromising as it appears at present, may yet prove no inconsiderable fortune, if her husband should chance to be sufficiently skilful and courageous to venture on its improvement." The rest of the party unanimously approved of this motion; and one of their number was immediately despatched on an embassy to acquaint Sabina with their determination. Before this debate was at an end, Sabina had, in the dusk of the evening, heard a light knocking at the door. To her question of "who was there?" an answer was returned, which induced her immediately to rise from her seat, open the lattice, and look It was the well remembered out. and long wished for voice of Conrad; a young man like herself, handsome and amiable, but also extremely poor; on which account he had left the village about two years before as a soldier, in hopes of returning with such a portion of worldly gain as might render practicable a marriage with the beloved mistress, whose affections he had already won. Pleasant and affecting was it now to behold how the tall and graceful young soldier, with joyful countenance, proffered his faithful right hand to Sabina-while her bright and beautiful eyes, glistening with tears, beamed through the changeless verdure of ivy boughs on her changeless lover! "Ah, Conrad!" said she, deeply blushing, "Heaven be praised that your life has been preserved ;-for this alone, I prayed in your long absence; nor do I now require any other boon of fortune!"- -"Her golden gifts indeed," said Conrad, smiling and shaking his head, "have come but sparingly-yet, at least, I have returned richer than I went; and if my dear Sabina has but courage, I think we might now venture on marriage, and honourably brave the world."faithful Conrad !" sighed his mistress, "to link thy fate unalterably thus, for weal and wo, with a poor helpless orphan!"-" Dearest girl," interrupted the soldier-" if thou lov'st me, say but YES," and rest assured, that all will go well-we shall live together happier indeed than king and queen!" Ah, 66 But," said Sabina, are you then free-no longer a soldier ?"-Conrad, without speaking, now searched in a leather purse which contained his little fortune, for a silver medal, which he handed to Sabina, who held it so, that the light of her lamp fell on the device. With old-fashioned wit, a broken drum was there represented, and Sabina began to read the motto"Thank heaven war has"- "Thank heaven war has an end" *" it should say," added Conrad,-" it is true, indeed, that peace is not yet ratified; but there is a truce, which will probably have good results; and meanwhile, our general has disbanded his troops.' With joyful anticipations, Sabina now gave her hand to her lover; then *The word END (loch) in German, is here susceptible of a pun, which cannot be translated. 1 opened the cottage door, and allowed him, as her accepted bridegroom, to enter the small apartment, where he sat down beside his mistress, and related how he had gained a small sum in gold and silver, from an Italian officer, whom he had honourably conquered in the field; and who, by the surrender of this treasure, had ransomed his life.-Turning her wheel industriously, and smiling softly, at intervals, on her brave lover, Sabina congratulated herself, that neither to her own or to Conrad's future gains, the slightest imputation of injustice or violence could be attached. During this conversation, her cousin made his appearance to deliver his embassy. Sabina, with modest blushes, introduced to him Conrad as her accepted lover, just returned from an honourable campaign. 66 Ha, then," said her new guest, "I have luckily come in the very nick of time; for if by chance your bridegroom has returned from the wars without much worldly gain, the dowry with which, by authority of your other cousins, I am now to present you, will no doubt be very welcome to him." Conrad, on the contrary, was of a spirit too proud and independent, and besides, was too much of a romantic lover, to express any sort of exultation on hearing this address. The humble Sabina, however, as yet unconscious of what her cousins really intended, seemed to acknowledge, on this occasion, the special favour of Providence, and cast down her eyes, with soft smiles of gladness and gratitude. But when she now heard that her whole portion was to be the FIELD OF TERROR, then the selfish avarice of her cousins struck at once with icy coldness on her heart, and she could no longer restrain the starting tears of disappointment. Her cousin looked at her with scornful smiles, pretending to regret that she should have reckoned on any better share of the inheritance, this being a much larger portion than, from the degree of her relationship, she was entitled to receive. Upon this, he wished immediately to retire. Conrad, however, intercepted his retreat, and, with a cold composure, which often accompanied his greatest indignation, he thus addressed him: "Sir, I perceive that of the good intentions of the deceased to my betrothed wife, you and your companions have chosen to make a jest, and that you are altogether resolved that not one farthing shall accrue to her from your inheritance. Yet we now take, in God's name, your allotment, hoping that this FIELD OF TERROR, which, in the hands of envious and avaricious poltroons, might have remained barren, may, under the management of a brave soldier, prove of more worth than you suppose.' Sabina's cousin, terrified by Conrad's martial appearance, turned pale, and did not venture on any reply. On his departure, the young soldier kissed the tears from the beautiful eyes of his bride, and hastened with her to a neighbouring priest, to plight before him their mutual troth, and appoint their wedding-day. Within a few weeks after this, Conrad and Sabina were married, and began to arrange their small household. The young man had spent almost all his gold and silver in the purchase of two fine oxen, a plough, seed-corn, and household furniture. The remainder was just sufficient to guard, with prudence and frugality, against the privations of poverty, until the next harvest season. However, when Conrad first went out with his plough and oxen to labour, he looked back laughing to Sabina, and promised her that the gold which he was now to trust in the ground would not prove deceitful, and that by another year they would be far richer. Sabina looked after him anxiously, and wished only to see him safely returned from the Field of Terror. Conrad, indeed, returned earlier than she had expected, but in a mood of mind by no means so tranquil as that in which he had set out. He dragged behind him his plough, broken in pieces, and laboriously goaded along one of his oxen, severely wounded, while he himself also was bleeding in the shoulder and head. Yet, after all, he strove to look cheerful and unconcerned; and, with the unconquerable spirit of a brave soldier, tried to console the weeping Sabina. "6 Now," said he, " you will have enough to do! Salting, pickling, and cookery! The goblins on the field of terror have provided us with beef enough for a whole season. This poor animal has, in his madness, hurt himself so much as to be quite useless, and (at least as long as he lives) incurable. His comrade has run furiously down the mountain. I saw him fall into the torrent below, from whence he will never be recovered." "My cousins! Oh, my wicked cousins!" cried Sabina: "Now has their perfidious gift robbed us of all your hard-won earnings; and above all, dear Conrad, you are yourself dangerously wounded.” "As to my wounds, they are nothing," replied her husband; "the pair of oxen, no doubt, got me once between them when their fury was at its full height, and I was resolved not to let them go. But all this, Heaven be praised! I have got well over; and tomorrow morning, I shall make another attempt on the FIELD OF TER ROR. Sabina now tried, by every method in her power, to dissuade him from this resolve; but he said firmly, that the field, so long as he lived, should not be suffered to remain unprofitable; where a man could not plough, he must dig; and the goblin would now no longer have to deal with timid irrational animals, but with a steady and experienced soldier, who scorned to run, even from the devil himself. In the course of that day, he had a butcher to kill and cut up the poor wounded beast; and next morning, while Sabina had betaken herself to her new employment of pickling and salting, Conrad had proceeded again upon his way, scarcely less contented now when he had but a pick-axe and spade, than on the preceding day when he set out in style with a plough and team of oxen. On this occasion it was somewhat late in the evening before he returned: he was fatigued, and even looked pale; yet he was more cheerful, and soon tranquillized his timid and anxious wife. “This kind of husbandry,' said he, "is rather tiresome, no doubt; besides, there is a strange ghostlylooking figure, that starts up now on one side, and now on another, mocks at my labour, and interrupts me both by gestures and words. However, he seems even himself to wonder that I take so little notice of him; and upon this I gain always new courage, which, indeed, never can be wanting to an honest man, who is only desirous peaceably to follow out his own proper avocations." as In this manner many days and weeks were spent. The resolute Conrad persevered undauntedly in the labour of levelling the ground and rooting out the weeds, digging and sowing in the most favourable situations. It is true, indeed, that with the spade alone he was able to cultivate but a very small part of the field; however, he redoubled on this account his care and attention; and at length had the satisfaction to see a harvest spring up, which, if not very rich, yet promised, and made good, a profit fully equal to his expectations. He was obliged, however, to get through the toil of reaping and leading home as well he could, without the assistance of any friend or servant. No day-labourers would, for any temptation of wages, venture on the FIELD OF TERROR; and as to Sabina, her husband would not suffer her to go thither, more especially as he had reason to think that he would soon become a father. The child accordingly was born, and in the third year after their marriage, was followed by another, while, in other respects, no material change had yet taken place in Conrad's situation. By courage and exertion, he knew how to gain harvest upon harvest from the field; and thus fulfilled his assurance to Sabina, that in their married state they would honourably brave the world. One autumnal evening, when the deep shades of darkness had already fallen around him, Conrad as usual (his harvest having been reaped and cleared away) plied industriously his labour with the spade. Suddenly there arose opposite to him the figure of a tall muscular man, black and swarthy like a collier, with a long iron bar or poker in his hand, who said to him" Is there not then one pair of oxen to be had in this country, that you labour with both hands in this manner? Yet to judge the extent of your grounds, you should be a rich farmer!"-Conrad knew very well who it was that spoke to him, and persevered in his usual way—that is, he kept silence, turned his eyes and thoughts as much as possible from the goblin, and plied at his task more assiduously than before. But the collier did not in his usual manner vanish away, in order to return in a form more hideous and distracting; but, on the contrary, stood still, and said, in _66 a friendly tone – "Conrad, you do great injustice not only to me, but to yourself. Answer me with truth and confidence. Perhaps I could point out a remedy for all your evils.”- Well, in God's name," said Conrad, "if by the guilt your words you deceive me, is yours, and not mine!"-Then he began, without farther hesitation, to relate accurately and truly all that had befallen him since his possession of that field; nor did he in the least conceal his indignation at the Hobgoblin, who, by his perpetual interruptions, had rendered it so difficult for him, with the assistance of only a pick-axe and spade, to raise a sufficient harvest for the bare maintenance of himself and his family. The collier listened to him seriously and attentively; then, after some reflection, replied as follows: “ I think, friend, that you already know very well who I am; and it argues no little courage on your part, not to have abated one jot of your honour as a soldier, but truly and openly to have expressed how much you are dissatisfied with me. To tell the truth, you have had reason enough to be angry; but as I have proved you to be a brave fellow, I shall now make a proposal which may do you no little service. Now listen: There are times when after I have, in wood, field, and mountain, played the fool, and terrified the people to my heart's content, there has risen within me a sincere and ardent desire of entering into the family of some honest householder, and living there regularly and peaceably for one half year. Now then, what if you should hire me for this half year "It is base and as your servant? wicked in thee," said Conrad, "thus to mock at an honest man, who has, at thine own request, given thee his confidence."-"Nay, nay,' said the other, "there is no mockery-I am quite serious. You shall find an honest labourer in me; and so long as I remain in your service, not one phantom will appear on the FIELD OF TERROR, So that you may bring a whole herd of oxen thither without apprehension." "That, indeed, would be something," said Conrad, meditating; "if I only knew that thou wouldst keep thy promise; and especially, whether I, as a Christian, may venture to deal with thee!"- As for the last point, you must judge for your"but my proself," said the goblin; mise I have never yet broken, and never shall, as long as the Giant Mountain stands; neither am I by nature very wicked-somewhat wild and sportive, it is true-but this is all.""I believe indeed," said Conrad," that thou art the well-known Rubezahl."-"Listen," said the stranger, somewhat angrily: "If you believe this, know also that the powerful genius of this land cannot endure to be called by that pitiful name, but chooses to be styled the Lord of the Mountain!" "He would prove a goodly menial, forsooth, whom I must learn to style the Lord of the Mountain !" said Conrad. "You may call me Waldmann,* then," said the collier. Conrad looked stedfastly at him for some time, and at last answered"Good! It shall be so !-Methinks I shall do no wrong in accepting thine offer. I have often seen that people take dogs for turnspits, and use other irrational animals about a householdwhy not then a goblin?"-At this the collier laughed heartily, and said -"Well! this is certainly the first time that such conditions were ever made with one of my rank; but even for this very reason, and for the sake of variety, I like it the better. then, dear master, your hand on the bargain! Conrad, however, insisted on some special conditions; first, that his new servant should never make it known to Sabina, or the children, that he had any connection with the FIELD of TERROR, and still less, that he had come from the hideous gloomy caverns of the Giant Mountain; secondly, that within the limits of his master's house and garden, no sort of diablerie should ever be exhibited; and as Waldmann very readily agreed to all this, the bargain was forthwith concluded, and they went home amicably together. So Sabina was not a little surprised at this addition to her household, and entertained considerable feelings of terror at the gigantic swarthy figure of the new servant. The children also would not for some time venture out of doors, if he were at work in the garden or farm-yard. However, by his quiet, regular, and industrious conduct, Waldmann soon gained the good opinion of every one; or if at * In English, Woodman. |
