"Joubert," I said, "I am afraid of this house, and I am afraid of Gretel; and I want to say my prayers again, please, for I was not thinking when I said them just now."
I said them again; and Heaven knows I needed them more than any prince trapped in the ogre's castle of a fairy tale.
CHAPTER VIII THE HUNTING-SONG
Scarcely had Joubert left me than a faint sound, stealing from below, made me sit up in bed.
The sound of violins tuning up.
Ever since I could perceive the difference between musical sounds, music has fascinated me, thrilled me, filled me with hauntings. Music can make me drunk, music can make me everything but bad; but it is not in the province of music to do that.
A band of wandering musicians had come to the schloss, and were preparing to entertain the guests in the great hall.
Our rooms were quite close to the gallery surrounding the hall. I could hear the complaint of the violin-strings protesting their readiness, and the deep, gasping grunts of the 'cello saying as plainly as a 'cello could speak, "Begin."