SCHNETZEN.
Spectre! do dead men rise?
NORDMANN.
Yea, for revenge!
I swear, Lord Schnetzen, by my knightly honor,
She who is dancing yonder to her death,
Is thy wife's child!
[SCHNETZEN and PRINCE WILLIAM make a rush forward towards the
flames. Music ceases; a sound of crashing boards is heard and
a great cry—HALLELUJAH!]
PRINCE WILLIAM and SCHNETZEN.
Too late! too late!
CITIZENS.
All's done!
PRINCE WILLIAM.
The fire! the fire! Liebhaid, I come to thee.
[He is about to spring forward, but is held back by guards.]
SCHNETZEN.
Oh cruel Christ! Is there no bolt in heaven
For the child murderer? Kill me, my friends! my breast
Is bare to all your swords.
[He tears open his jerkin, and falls unconscious.]
[Curtain falls.]
THE END.
Note:
The plot and incidents of this Tragedy are taken from a little
narrative entitled "Der Tanz zum Tode; ein Nachtstuck aus dem
vierzehnten Jahrhundert," (The Dance to Death—a Night-piece of
the fourteenth century). By Richard Reinhard. Compiled from
authentic documents communicated by Professor Franz Delitzsch.
The original narrative thus disposes, in conclusion, of the
principal characters:—
"The Knight Henry Schnetzen ended his curse-stricken life in a
cloister of the strictest order.
"Herr Nordmann was placed in close confinement, and during the
same year his head fell under the sword of the executioner.
"Prince William returned, broken down with sorrow, to Eisenach.
His princely father's heart found no comfort during the remainder
of his days. He died soon after the murder of the Jews—his last
words were, 'woe! the fire!'
"William reached an advanced age, but his life was joyless. He
never married, and at his death Meissen was inherited by his nephew.
"The Jewish cemetery in Nordhausen, the scene of this martyrdom,
lay for a long time waste. Nobody would build upon it. Now it
is a bleaching meadow, and where once the flames sprang up, to-day
rests peaceful sunshine."
TRANSLATIONS.