At length she also fell asleep,
Was buried with all solemn state;
But lo! her spirit, found no rest,
And very dreadful was her fate.
In the cold moonlight she was seen,
Dressed in her bridal dress and veil,
Pacing the halls she knew in life,
With features very calm and pale.
She came to one, she came to all,
That had her blood within their veins;
She came at morn, she came at noon—
They met her in familar lanes;
She gazed upon them with sad eyes,
Then slowly faded from their sight;
Before their death she came in black,
But otherwise was dressed in white.
In every castle of her race,
Her sad white face was seen at times;
She followed them from place to place,
And she was seen in many climes;
She stood beside the new-born babe,
The dying gazed upon her face;
In vain were masses for her soul,
Said by the righteous of her race.
In Neuhausen she made her home,
If ghosts, indeed, a home can make,
And it was there her soul found rest,
Found rest at length for Jesus’ sake.
Our Domherr[1] was a righteous man,
A godly priest who loved the truth;
But he was of her haunted race,
And had to die for her, forsooth.
Once to Neuhausen he was called,
And in a stately room was led,
Where many family paintings hung,
There they had made for him a bed.
’Twas evening and the candle’s light
Half hid the portraits hanging low.
And one was of a wedded pair,
It seemed to him he ought to know;
- ↑ Canon.
