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Page 20
The view now opened might excuse his excitement, even in a less
interested person. The Castle of Hers, though built for strength,
presented a very different appearance from that of Stramen: its outline
was light and graceful, and it seemed rather to lift up than cumber the
tall hill that it so elegantly crowned. It was situated upon the border
of the lake, which, by trouv�re and troubadour, in song and in verse, in
every age and in every clime, has been so justly celebrated. A few miles
to the southwest the mighty Rhine came tumbling in; who, as the German
poets say, scorns to mingle his mountain stream with the quiet waters of
the lake. We will attempt no further description, for fear of spoiling a
finer picture, which must already exist in the eye of the reader,
created by more skilful hands.
As the horsemen neared the castle, they saw a knight, followed by a few
men, dashing down the hill. Gilbert knew his father, and hastened to
meet him. Their meeting was manly and cordial. The baron stopped but to
embrace his son, and hastened to welcome Father Omehr. He dismounted,
and imprinted a kiss upon the old man's still vigorous hand.
"I should be childless now," he said, "but for your kindness; and you
know that words would but mock my feelings."
The tears in the baron's eyes expressed more than a long oration.
Father Omehr only replied, with a laugh, "You must blame your son's
indiscretion, and not applaud me!" Thus saved from a formal and
unsatisfactory conversation, the knight remounted his horse and led the
way to the castle.
Upon the slope of the hill, half-way between the castle and the lake,
was a chapel built of white stone, which had stood there, according to
tradition, from the ninth century. It was said to have been erected by
Charlemagne, on his second expedition against the Saxons. The Baron of
Hers had ornamented and repaired it with much taste and at great
expense, until it was celebrated throughout the circle of Suabia for its
richness and elegance. It had been dedicated to Mary the Morning Star,
as appeared from a statue of the Blessed Virgin surmounted with a star,
and was called the Pilgrim's Chapel. It was in charge of Herman, a
priest, who had studied at Monte Cassino under the Benedictines, with
Father Omehr, whom he loved as a brother. They had spent their period of
training and had been ordained together; and, for forty years they had
labored in the same vineyard, side by side, yet seldom meeting. When
they did meet, however, it was with the joy and chastened affection
which only the pure-minded and truly religious can know; and they would
recall with tears of happiness the scenes of other days--the splendid
convent, whose church shone like a grotto of jewels and precious
stones--the learned and devout monk, and the theological difficulties
over which they had triumphed hand in hand.
After taking some slight refreshment (for the baron could ill brook a
refusal of his cheer), Father Omehr left the father and son to each
other, and began to descend the path to the chapel. Herman had gone to
administer the last Sacraments to a distant parishioner. Father Omehr
knelt down in the chapel and awaited his return. It did not seem long
before his brother missionary entered through the sacristy and knelt
beside him. The little chapel was very beautiful, with its branching
pillars, supporting clusters of Angels carved in stone. The images of
the Saints served to awaken many fine emotions--and the principal statue
of Our Lady, which the artist had designed to represent the immaculate
purity of the Mother of God--gave an indescribable sweetness to that
consecrated spot: but more beautiful still, and more acceptable to God,
were the two holy men who, bent with age and grown gray in the service
of a heavenly Master, bowed down together before the altar of the Most
High, and for a time forgot each other in the contemplation of the
majesty and infinite goodness of Him they served.
At length they rose; and when in the open air gave way to the impulse of
human love, which until then had yielded to a loftier feeling.
There was a room in the Castle of Hers in which Herman spent the hours
not required for the active duties of his ministry, and to this the two
friends retired. There for more than an hour, they discussed topics of
mutual interest--compared the condition of their flocks--and wandered
back to Naples and Monte Cassino. The introduction of this last subject
seemed to remind Herman of something he had forgotten; for he started up
and went to a shelf, which was filled with extracts he had been
permitted to make from the celebrated library of the convent, and taking
down a small piece of parchment, gave it to his companion. It was an
illuminated manuscript of the _Salve Regina_.
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