and distasteful to her sex. We, as well as her ac
quaintance, could not help being astonished at her.
And thus, dear Francis, she will certainly become
insane in this passion of love, and destroy her own
peace of mind/

" Elizabeth now also described to me all the ex
travagances she committed when she heard of our
engagement ; at first, she intended to destroy both
herself and sister ; then again she said she knew
how to conquer me, so that I should love her and
abandon Elizabeth, whom she excelled both in good
ness aud intellect.

" I was naturally grieved at this news, feeling
full well how imprudently I had acted in making
such friendly advances to Ernestine, in my en
deavors to reconcile her. I was somewhat relieved,
when, a few days afterwards, Elizabeth told me
that her sister had apologised with tears for what
she had spoken in anger, that she had conjured her
not to communicate to me any thing of these aberra
tions, and only implored her to be allowed to ac
company us to our future residence, as she could not
possibly live without the company of her sister and
myself, without our conversation, and our music.
" Now plans and preparations were made, and the



THE KLAUSENBURG. 79

aunt accompanied us to the Klausenburg, to cele
brate, with a few friends, our nuptials in quiet, as
Elizabeth had always been excessively averse from
pomp and display. I had had a few apartments
and the ball-room prepared, as far as it was possible,
the greater part of the castle being in ruins. But
Elizabeth had a poetical predilection for old castles,
solitary mountainous countries, and the historical
legends connected with them. After the wedding,
we intended to take up our residence in a new house
not far distant, and only occasionally to spend a few
days or hours in the Klausenburg.

" We arrived ; the gate was opened to us, and
the first object that met our view in the court-yards
from amidst the ivy that twined the high walls, was
the old mad Sibyl, whom you, my friend, knew some
years ago. My wife was terrified, and I shuddered.
4 Welcome ! Welcome ! cried the old hag, jumping
about with wild gestures ; there comes the de
stroyer, the woman murderer, and brings his two
brides with him, whom he will murder also/ How
do you come here ? I exclaimed. The porter re
plied, She must have climbed down the other side
of the cliffs, which form the extreme wall of the
small garden, and must have concealed herself
among the shrubs and ruins/ You are right, you
are right/ screamed the old hag, it is pleasant to
live there/ Terrified as we were, Ernestine seemed
merry, for she did not cease laughing.



80 THE TOKEN".

" During the days on which we celebrated the
festival, Ernestine did not appear ; she had van
ished ; and being anxious about her, we despatched
people in search of her, when, on the third day, she
returned on foot, merry and in high spirits. She told us
she had not been able to withstand the inclination
to roam about in the mountains, as she always had
had a desire to do so. But thus alone, without
informing us ? said Elizabeth. c Alone ! she re
plied, No ! I have kept constant company with
that old prophetess whom you so unkindly sent away.
There I have learnt many things quite new, that
I never even read of, and we have become very
good friends/

" We looked at her with astonishment. I formed
an idea without expressing it, that Ernestine was
mad. So awful and ominous was her return to our
residence, such sad forebodings crowded in our
minds, that, in spite of my happiness, I felt no con
fidence on life, and Elizabeth could not regain her
cheerfulness.

" In other respects we were reconciled, and
enjoyed the present moment, and the beauty of the
surrounding woods and mountains. Our few guests,
as well as the aunt, had left us, and we might have
lived contented and in happy union in this delight
ful solitude, had I not observed that my wife avoided
her sister as much as circumstances permitted.
When I asked her the reason of this, she answered



THE KLAUSENBURG. 81

after some hesitation : l Dearest, I am terrified at
Ernestine ; she has become quite malicious, though
formerly she had not the least disposition that way.
Whenever she can vex me, spoil any thing, or even
expose me to danger, so that I may be startled,
stumble, or even fall ; or if any stones fall in my
way she shows the most malicious joy, as she did
when she lately set the curtains of my bed on fire
by bringing the candle too near them. She has told
me laughing, that the country people talk of trav
ellers and rangers having seen two spectres by moon
light, or in the morning-dawn in the lonely parts of
the forests, whom they describe as terrible hideous
beings ; that these were herself and the old gipsy,
and that she only wished that the circumstance
might appear in print, in order that she, with her
own signature, Ernestine Fraulein von Jertz, might
contradict the story of ghosts, and state that she was
one of the imagined spirits. Is not all this terri
ble ?

" Dear child/ said I, I must now tell you, in
confidence, that I believe she is mad/

" Is any malice, when it becomes a passion,
any thing but madness ? remarked Elizabeth, very
naturally.

" On the approach of autumn we left the
Klausenburg to take possession of our new house,
for, to my terror, I discovered a disposition to melan
choly in my wife, for which our solitude seemed any
4



82 THE TOKEtf.

thing but beneficial. While we were once walking
through the ancient apartments and the gothic hall,
which was in tolerable preservation, and our foot
steps echoed in the solitary room, my wife started
with a sudden shudder. I asked the reason.

" ! it is awful here/ she replied, trembling ; I
feel as if invisible spectres haunted this place/ I
was terrified, and the thought that my wife s mind,
like [that of her sister, might perhaps have suffered,
stared at me like a monster.

" When residing in our new house, we often
missed Ernestine, and on inquiry, found that she
staid in the Klausenburg and the ruins of the old
castle. Although we had been living on an un
pleasant footing, still my wife, as well as myself,
could not help wishing her with us when she was
away. But how different was my life from that
which I had once pictured to myself when I courted
Elizabeth !

"Other domestic calamities united with our
sufferings to increase our grief. That document
which really constituted my fortune and supported
my existence, which proved that large sums were
paid, and some still owing to me, as well as all the
deeds and papers which had been produced as proofs
after the death of Count Moritz, all these impor
tant papers which I had discovered after a long^
troublesome search, and had in my hands but a short
time before, had again disappeared. I had always



THE KLAUSENBURG. 83

kept them carefully locked up, and it was my inten
tion to travel to town and deliver them to my solici
tor in person, as on them the recovery of my estates
depended. They were gone ; and much as I medita
ted and reflected, I could not discover, nor even find
a trace of the way in which they had been purloined.
When at length I communicated my anxiety to my
wife, she did not seem surprised, and told me calmly,
Can you still doubt ? I have no doubt as to what
has become of them. Ernestine has profited by
some moment of your absence when you might have
left your escrutoire open, or some other forgetfulness,
to take the papers away/

" Not possible ! I cried with horror. c Possi
ble ? she repeated. c What is impossible to her ?

" As these documents were wanting, our long
standing lawsuit proceeded but slowly, and I felt
sure that I must lose it whenever it was decided. I
therefore availed myself of an opportunity which
the court afforded me, by proposing to quash it, that
I might defer the decision to some future period.
Still I could not help questioning Ernestine, and
informing her of my suspicions. I was horror-struck
at the manner in which she heard me communicate
a suspicion, which would have shocked any innocent
mind. When I had overcome my embarrassment,
and had concluded, she burst out in such laughter
that I lost all composure. Recovering again, I urged
her to reply, but she only said, with a sarcastic cold-



84 THE TOKEN.

ness, f My dear brother-in-law, there are here only
two cases possible, as you must yourself see, notwith
standing your short-sightedness, namely, that I am
either guilty or innocent. Is it not so ? If I have
committed the robbery, I must have been induced
by weighty reasons, or goaded to such an act by
malice, or something else. And then I ought to say :
yes ! I have done it, pray do not take it amiss. Now
you must confess that this would be more than stupid.
If I were a fool, I might have done it without any
particular intention, may be to light the kitchen
fire with them ; or because I was pleased with the
red seals, and might now say : there, take these pretty
papers back, considering they have some value for the
dear count. But a fool I have not been up to this
moment ; and if I am malicious, I am of course not
silly enough to confess the deed. Or again, assuming
the second case that I am innocent, then you, sir
brother-in-law (pray don t contradict me), are the
simpleton for putting such unbecoming questions to
me/

" I could not answer the spectral being. When
I saw that Elizabeth no longer took any pleasure in
playing the piano that I procured from abroad in our
retirement, and asked the reason of it, she said,
sadly, Dearest, if I do not wish to incur deadly
vexation, I must no longer play/ i How so ? l Be
cause Ernestine has flatly forbidden me. She says
that in a house where there lives such an accomplish-



THE KLAUSENBURG. 85

ed pianist as herself, she could not allow any one else
even to strike a note/ This presumption was too
much for my patience. I ran to her chamber and
asked her ironically to play me something, since she
would not allow any one else to touch the instru
ment. She followed me, laughing loudly ; and truly
she played in such a masterly style, that my anger
was turned into admiration and rapture. Well !
she said, gravely, when she had finished, one may
have in one s own house all enjoyments for which
connoisseurs would travel fifty miles, and yet one
can be satisfied with such bungling and such ham
mering up and down the keys with clumsy fingers.
Oh ! fools and idiots, who, rogues as they are, talk
of art and only mean vapor : they can only sip the
nectar, and the wonderful becomes but trash in their
rude hands. If I did not feel a constant disgust for
life, if men were not repulsive to me, I should never
cease laughing/ From that time she often joined
in our music, at most permitting Elizabeth and my
self to sing, though she maintained that we possessed
neither school nor method. Thus the winter passed
away. I was already poor, and with the prospect of
being reduced quite to beggary ; Elizabeth was sickly,
and the serenity of rny life was gone.

" It was almost to be called a relief to our existence,
when on the approach of spring, Ernestine became
ill, and was shortly so much worse that she could
not leave her bed. She grew more irritable as her



00 THE TOKEN.

illness increased, and nothing vexed her more than
that she could not visit the Klausenburg, of which
she had become so fond. One warm day I sent her
in the carriage, she searched long in the rooms, loiter
ed among the shurhs and ruins, and returned much
worse than before. It was now evident that she
could not recover. The physician said that he could
not understand her disease, nor the state of the suf
ferer, for the vital powers were so strong in her, that
all the symptoms usually indicating death did not
show themselves, and there was a probability of her
speedy recovery ; in few days, however, he gave up
all hope.

" We now really looked forward to a quieter fu
ture. Although we felt pity for the unhappy being,
yet we could not deny that she had a disturbing effect
on our life and the happiness of our love. We heard
that she was near death, but as she had arranged with
her doctor and nurse that we should not disturb
her, we had kept away. All of a sudden she much
desired to see me, but requested that Elizabeth
should not be present. I went, and said as I entered :
Dear friend, you will doubtless be kind enough to
give me back the documents which you took from
my escrutoire to vex me/ She looked at me signi
ficantly with her dying eyes, which now seemed
larger and sparkled brighter than formerly. There
was something so singular, bright and glaring in her
look, that any one having witnessed it would never



THE KLAUSENBURG. 87

wish to see any thing more terrible and inconceivable.
After a pause she said : Brother, do these foolish
trifles still occupy your head ? Yet it is no wonder,
every one lives as he can. Sit down, my friend/ she
continued, with an air of contempt ; I complied,
and sat down by her bed.

" You fancy/ she now began in a repulsive,
cutting tone, you will get rid of me ; but do not
deceive yourself by flattering yourself too soon with
such an idea. Death, life, non-existence, continua
tion ! what useless, unmeaning words ! When I
had scarcely passed my childhood, I could not help
laughing at men, if I saw them fretting about con
tinued existence after death. They drag in and
heap up like towers, proof after proof, probabilities
and wishes, entreaties, prayers, and the mercy of
the Almighty ; they talk of many fine talents which
cannot on this side of the grave, as they call it, be
possibly perfected, much less brought to maturity,
and all these preparations are but to hush their
base cowardice and fear of death. Poor wretches !
If I collect myself, become conscious of my various
energies in every direction, and then call to eternity,
to the Creator and the millions of spirits of the past
and the future, I will be immortal ! I will ! what
more is necessary, and what omnipotence can inter
fere to destroy my eternal, almighty will ? What
further security of being immortal and eternal does
the man want who has any consciousness ? How



00 THE TOKEN.

and in what manner, that is another question. What
farce we shall then play, what mask, what party-
colored wig, what gibbous labyrinth of entrails we
shall then possess, what etiquette and court taste
of ugliness and beauty will then be introduced, is
uncertain. But, my good friends, as my own power,
without any thing more, preserves me immortal,
the same energy and free-will may bring me back
to you whenever and as often as I like. Believe
me, ye fools, these spectres, as you call them, are not
exactly the worst or weakest spirits. Many a one
would fain return, but he has as little individual
character there as here, and hence the impossibility
of doing so. And to you, you paragon, rogue,
vain, amiable character, full of talents, you bud of
virtue, you barterer of beauty, whom I was com
pelled to love so intensely, yea, compelled despite
of my inmost soul, which told me that you did not
deserve it, to you, smooth skinned, straight grown,
human animal, I shall ever be quite near, believe
me. For this love arid jealousy, this rage after you
and your breathing, and conversation, will urge me
to the earth, and this will be, as the pious would
say, my purgatory. Therefore, no leave-taking ; we
shall meet again ! Thus saying she offered me her
cold, dead hand..

" When life was extinct I returned to Elizabeth,
but took care not to communicate any thing of the



THE KLAUSENBURG. 89

frantic ravings of the deceased, as her nerves were
already excited by great anxiety, and she often suf
fered from spasms.

" We now lived in still retirement in a rural
solitude, which, in spite of our reduced finances,
might have become delightful had I not remarked
that the morbid and melancholy mood of Elizabeth
was on the increase. She became pale and wasted,
and I often found her weeping when entering her
chamber unexpectedly. When I asked her the
reason of this, she told me she knew not herself
what was the matter with her, that she always felt
sorrowful without being able to say why : that
when she was alone she felt quite awed, it seemed
so terrible to her that her sister had been obliged to
end her existence in such a frantic passion, and that
often when entering or sitting alone in her chamber,
it was as if Ernestine stood near her ; she fancied
she heard her singing, felt her breath, and her
looks appeared to force themselves through the
empty air.

" I quieted her, left her rarely by herself, read
to her, we took walks together, and sometimes paid
visits to our acquaintance in the neighborhood. As
she became calmer she recovered by degrees her na
turally beautiful complexion. Feeling once unwell,
and lying comfortably stretched out on the sofa,
while she was reading an interesting story to me, I
said, * how beautiful and melodious is your voice
4*



90 THE TOKEN.

will you not sing again for once ? For a long time
you have not opened your music books, your instru
ment is locked, and your beautiful fingers will at
length become quite stiff/

" You know/ she replied, that a few mouths
ago my sister flatly forbade me to practise music ;
we were obliged to concede to her ill health, and thus
I have become quite out of practice/

" i Sing now/ I cried, the delight will be the
greater to me for its novelty !

" We looked out a cheerful, pleasing piece of
music, to avoid any thing melancholy, and Elizabeth
poured forth, with a truly heavenly voice, the clear
light tones, which thrilled bliss into my heart.
Suddenly she stopped, and was again seized with
that violent hysteric fit of weeping which had so
often terrified me. I cannot/ she cried, deeply
moved, all these sounds rise up before me like
fiends ; I always feel my sister quite near me ; her
dress rustling against mine, and her anger terrifies
me/ I felt clearly that my peace of mind as well
as hers was destroyed.

" Oar physician, a veiy judicious man, and a
friend of ours, when she confessed all these feelings,
her trembling, and the anxiety which almost inces
santly preyed on her and undermined her health, ap
plied every remedy to calm her, physically and men
tally. This honest and judicious persuasion had a
good effect, and his medicines proved salutary. When



THE KLAUSENBURG. 91

summer came we were much in the open air. We
were once taking a drive to the estate of an acquaint
ance, who told us that he intended to give a musical
festival, composed of friends and some virtuosi. My
wife s great talent for music being known, we were
invited, and she promised to play and sing ; being
then surrounded by strangers, flattered by both sexes
and in a cheerful mood. I was the more rejoiced at
this, as our physician made it a part of his advice
that she should forcibly combat these gloomy feel
ings and this hypochondriacal anxiety. She deter
mined to follow his advice. Much pleased and re
joiced, we returned to our humble residence. Eliza
beth with spirit went through the difficult pieces
of music, and the idea that she might in this way,
perhaps, recover her youthful vigor, delighted
me.

" A few days after this, while I was reading a
letter, that had just arrived, the door was suddenly
burst open, and Elizabeth rushed in, deadly pale,
and fell as if dead in my arms. c What is the mat
ter ? I cried, seized with horror. Her eye wan
dered wildly round, her heart palpitated almost to
bursting, and she was some time before she regained
her voice and breath.

" ( Oh ! heavens/ she at length exclaimed, every
word being expressive of horror, in there, while I
practised in a cheerful mood I accidentally cast a
look in the glass and I saw behind me Ernestine



92 THE TOKEN.

looking at me with that strange smile, and having
her withered arms folded across her chest. I know
not whether she is still there, I hardly know how I
reached here/

" I gave her in charge of her maid ; she retired,
and the doctor was immediately sent for. I went
into the other room, and found the music books
scattered under the instrument. Elizabeth must have
thrown them down in her fright.

" Of what avail are reasoning, joke, and conso
lation, diet and medicines against perfect madness/
said I to myself, and yet I could not help thinking
of the words with which her dying sister had threat
ened us.

" The news of my wife having been taken ill
reached our friend s ears, and was likely to prevent
the musical festival taking place. His wife came a
few days afterwards with a female singer, to inquire
after Elizabeth s health. Not having said any thing,
even to the doctor, of the apparition which my wife
imagined she had seen, we of course did not mention
this singular circumstance to our visitors- To all ap
pearances my wife having quite recovered from her
fright, we walked in our small garden with our friends
conversing about the festival, and the baroness and
the singer at length proposed to practise some music
in my wife s presence, that they might have her opin
ion, though she might not be able to join.

" We therefore returned to the drawing-room.



THE KLAUSENBURG. 93

and as it became dark, candles were lighted. The
singer sat at the instrument to accompany herself,
on her right was the baroness, I was just behind, and
my wife was on her left. We could not help admiring
the voices and the style of the singers. The music
by degrees became more animated and impassioned,
and I had once already omitted turning the page,
when, just as the next leaf was played, a long bony
finger appeared on it, quickly turned the leaf at the
right time, and the melody proceeded. I looked
round, and beheld the terrible Ernestine standing
close by me behind the baroness ; I know not how I
kept my composure, but I looked searchingly and
almost unmoved at the terrific apparition. She
smiled at me with that malicious expression which,
even when living, made her countenance repelling.
She wore her usual dress, her eyes were fiery, and
her face was white as chalk. I felt almost a satisfac
tion in the gloomy sensation of awe, remained silent,
and was glad that Elizabeth did not perceive the
spirit. Suddenly there was a shriek of terror, and
my wife fell fainting on the ground, while the wither
ed finger was just going again to turn the page. The
music of course ended, my wife was in a fever, and
our friends, who had not seen the spectre, returned
home."

Here the invalid paused. The physician looked
significantly at me, shaking his head.

" And you have/ he at length said, " never be-



94 THE TOKEN.

fore told your present doctor any thing of that ap
parition."

" No/ replied Francis, " you may call it shame,
or fear of his cold, searching understanding ; you
may call it weakness or what you please ; suffice it
to say, I could not prevail on myself to make this con
fession."

" Bat it was very necessary," said the paysician,
"for how could he judge correctly of your illness
without that information ? "

" From that time," resumed Fransis in a faint
voice, "we determined to quit the neighborhood, in
hopes that the furious spectre would not follow us
beyond the mountains. But while we continued in
our house we often saw her, mostly in the music-room.
Our doctor being with us one morning, he sat down to
the instrument, and played some passages extempore.
Suddenly the terrible spectre again stood by my
wife s chair, and laid her cold withered hand on her
shoulder. Hysterics and faintings again followed."

" And did your doctor see it also ? "

" No," said Francis, " she appeared behind him,
but I saw her distinctly then, as I often did after
wards by broad daylight. We had only to touch
the keys of the instrument, when she immediately
appeared, so that to strike a note was a summons.
When I once revisited the ancient Klausenburg, I
found her sitting upon a stone staring at me. Thus
persecuted, terrified, and in constant fear and anx-



THE KLAUSENBURG. 95

iety, we have become ripe for death, and the physician
despairing of our recovery, advised us at last to visit
this watering-place, as a last resource for restoring our
shattered health. But hitherto we have not found
any beneficial result. And who can assure us that
the spectre may not here haunt us also. She intends
to destroy us, and the most inconceivable things are
possible to her strong will. I believe we need only
sing an air, or play a sonata even at this distance, and
she would make her appearance."

" I will answer for that, count/ cried the doctor