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VOLUME V.—NUMBER 14.
see
ZEEE:
{Drawn and engraved expressly for The Weekly Novelette.].
[Entered according to Act of Congress,in the Clerk’s Office’of
the District Court of Massachusetts.]
THE VENETIAN BUCCANEER:
The Prophet of the Bohmer Wald.
A TALE OF THE TIME OF JOSEPH II.
BY SYLVANUS COBB, Jr.
{conTINUED.|
CHAPTER VI.
THE LADY ULRICA IN THE BARON’S CITAMBER.
Acarn the old castle clock struck the hour of mid-
night. Long had a dull silence pervaded the old
chambers and turrets, and as the last deep echoes of the
bell died away among the adjacent mountains, a renew-
ed quict settled down over the massive pile. \ Various
were the feelings that found plaee in the different bo-
soms in thatold castle, and a good proportion of thein-
mates counted the twelve strokes that we have just
noticed ; but to one heart their peals sent a thrill that
went leaping through every fibre of its frame with a
power almost overwhelming.
The Lady Ulrica sat alone in her chamber, and as
the flickering candle sent its dim light around upon the
high walls and dark drapery, every shadow seemed to
her excited vision as the evil spirits that were some-
times supposed to haunt the place. Hard did she press
her hands upon her heaving bosom, but the tumultuous
beatings of her heart could not be quelled. In vain
did she invoke the spirit of her husband, whose por-
trait hung upon the wall, to give her strength, but all to.
no purpose. Within the strength of her own purpose
did she at length turn for her sole aid, and setting her
hands firmly together, she started from her seat and
exclaimed :
THE WILL DISPUTED.
“ Tt must be done, let the consequences be what they
ay !
She seized the candle, and drawing her garments
close about her, stepped out into the open corridor.
For a moment she stopped and listened, and being sure
that no one save herself was stirring, she moved on
towards the eastern wing of the castle. As her long
white dressing gown trailed along upon the pavement,
and the candle sent its pale light upon her still paler
countenance, the lady looked more like a ghost than she
did like an honest inhabitant of flesh. Door after door
was passed, corner after corner was turned, and at
length she stopped in front of a deep recess over which
hung the emblazoned arras of Walstein. Her hand
trembled as she moved aside the glittering drapery, and
for a moment she hesitated as her finger rested upon
the latch of the oaken door; but she stayed not long,
for in a few moments the heavy door moved slowly
open, and Ulrica stood in the chamber of her brother.
She felt a cold chill run through. her frame as her eye
rested upon the high bed, which was now unoccupied,
and when she thought that even she had been instru-
mental, in a measure, in bringing about this result, her
heart for a moment shrank back from the work before
her; but again summoning up all her strength, she
started forward.
In the extreme end of the apartment stood a large
oaken cabinet, within the secret recesses of which lay
all the papers which the old baron considered as of im-
portance. Before this cabinet Ulrica stood for several
moments, and then pressing her hand upon a spring
which lay hidden beneath one of the seeming bolt
heads, a small door flew open and revealed a recess
within which lay a small bunch of keys. Drawer after
drawer, and door after door were opened in quick suc-
cession, till at length a small iron panel, which had be-
fore escaped her notice, was slid back into the wood-
work, and a feeling of something like satisfaction shot
through her mind, as she beheld the desired object of
her search. She knew it by the paeti-colored ribbon,
and the broad seal which it bore—she knew that she
held in her hand the will of Walstein, and the carte
blanche of the empress.
Perhaps -Ulrica felt satisfied with the result of her
labors, but at any rate her hand trembled so that it was
%
PRICE FOUR CENTS.
[See page 214.]
with difficulty that she re-locked the cabinet, and closed
the little door that concealed the keys. As she stood
for a moment and gazed upon the instrument she held
in her hand, a sudden thought came across her mind,
which seemed to more than counterbalance all the sat-
isfaction she felt in having gained the desired paper,
and she leaned against the wall for support, as she
reflected upon that which had not before entered her
thoughts.
Certainly, the ‘first act of the baron’s legal adviser
would be to secure the will, as such an instrument was
known to exist, and in all probability the search would
be made the next morning, as the justice was a resi-
dent at Deckendorf, and would be surely informed of
what had transpired as soon as possible; and it was
more than probable that he knew it already, as such in-
telligence generally spreads very rapidly.. At first she
thought of returning the document to the place from
whence she took it; but fearing that she might thus
blast the hopes of her son, she resolved to keep it and
trust to fate for the result.
Silently the Lady Ulrica closed the door of the bar-
on’s room, and then crept steadily along the dark cor-
ridor, having extinguished her candle as soon as she
left the chamber of her, brother. Even the sound of
her own footfall caused her to start at every step, and
the phantoms ot her own excited imagination seemed
to be dancing about her in all directions. Thus she
moved on, stopping at almost every door to listen, and
trembling at every corner and turn as though she ex-
pected some ghost was to rise up and confront her.
Only two more turns and she would be at her own
door. Her heart began to throb more violently, and
her vision became clearer. She approached -the first
corner, and just as she cast her eyes into the recess
where stood one of the high windows, she distinctly
saw the figure of an armed man crouching behind the
arras. For an instant her knees trembled beneath their
dead weight, and then she sank upon the marble pave-
ment, the single sentence, “ God have mercy !” escap-
ing from her lips. .
The man sprang forward, and raising the form of
the lady from the floor, he carried her to the window ;
and as the dim light of the stars fell upon her counte-
nance, he exclaimed ;
