LEGEND OF THE LADY IN WHITE.[1]
The whirlwind is howling—the night it is dark—
The mountains like giants frown down on the scene.
The hall from whose windows a flickering light shines,
Is the only shelter for miles to be seen.
The whirlwind is raging through turrets and eaves,
It shrieks by the windows, it howls at the door.
Near by in the forest the trees creak and moan,
As the wind rushes through, with terrible roar.
“God be with the stranger that wanders to-night,
Amidst our wild mountains,” the servant said low,
And lit the red light at the Crucifix’s feet.
“God bless us, and keep us, and save us from woe.”
There’s a knock at the door—the servant turns pale,
And crosses himself, ere he opens the gate.
Two strangers are standing, he sees their long robes,
And blesses himself, and the strangers that wait.
“In the name of the Lord, whose servants we are,
We beseech thee, shelter us but for to-night.
Our way we have lost, and the tempest is great,
Let us stay here, I pray thee, till the dawn’s light.”
The servant bows. “Reverend fathers,” he said,
- ↑ This celebrated ghost is one of the most historical in Europe. She was born 1430, baptized Bertha (Perchta), married Hans von Licktenstein (of the steirischen Linie von Muran). She died in April, 1476, and was buried in Vienna in the vault to “den Shotten.” During the last part of her life she lived with her brother, Heinrich von Neuhausen. There are still many of her letters that can be seen and read, also letters from others who declare that they saw her. She was seen in Berlin by the Burggrafen von Zollern, also in Lyons, Paris, London, Stockholm and Copenhagen, where members of the Rosenbergs (now princes of Schwartzenberg) had wandered. Johann of the house of Liechtenstein, Domherr (canon or prebendary), was the last who saw her. He is said to have made peace, with saying mass and joining their hands. The same day next year he died.—Chronik of Böhmen, Prague, 1852.
