On the day of the dedication of the Church all the young people danced on the bridge.
The air inhaled on this bridge was held to be of peculiar salubrity, and an old locksmith, who lived to the age of 120, considered that the length of his life was entirely owing to his daily walk on the bridge; and he believed that he might have lived to a much greater age had not he been prevented one day from taking his accustomed exercise.
LEGEND OF THE MOSELLE BRIDGE.
A youth stood leaning on the parapet of the Moselle Bridge. He thought of the numerous stories then rife in those regions, in which water-spirits played so conspicuous a part. As he silently gazed, and his young heart yearned for something to love—something more pure and ethereal than the Sannchens and Lisbeths of every-day life, a gentle Spirit arose from the waters—a Spirit of purity raised by the Spirit of Love.
“Dreamer,” said the pure Spirit of Water, “day after day and night after night I hear thy sighs and complaints. Thy tears fall down into the stream, and cause me to pity thee. Nay more, I could love thy sad heart were I a mortal; but, unlike thee, my poor youth, I live for ever. I was old when thy fathers were young, and young shall I be when thou art departed.”
Then broke forth the youth:—“Ever young, ever glorious art thou! Receive but my love, and I shall be contented to pass from my mortal existence at once.”
“Nay,” gravely replied the pure Spirit, “thou thinkest alone of thy love and thy pleasure; know this for thy good,—all like thee of mortal race must perform the duties of their lives before their great reward is gained. If then thou truly lovest me, and earnestly fulfillest the work appointed thee to do, faithfully and steadfastly pursuing the straight path in life, then will I, when thy years are full, receive thee in my arms, for so only canst thou gain perpetual youth and be a fit associate for even such as I, who am but a handmaiden of the Queen Moselle, who herself is but one of the lesser Spirits of the Universe. Go, and be just, and honourable, and brave; be kind to all, and liberal to the poor; so shalt thou gain immortal youth and me.”
The Spirit was gone, and the bright waves shone in the moonlight; the youth returned, silent and thoughtful, towards the city.
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