Marklissa, Silesia, Prussia, Germany (Marklissa, Schlesien, Preußen)
THE ZANGEN MAIDEN. By Mrs. E. F. Ellet. 1847

"———— Come l'Araba Penice
Che ci sia—ognun lo dice,
Dove sia—nessun lo sa."
Metastasio.

"_ Shapeless sights come wandering by,
The ghastly people of the realm of dream."
Prometheus Unbound.

FLINSBERG, at the foot of the Tafelfichte, is a comfortable watering-place; and many travellers resort thither for the benefit of the baths. There are other temptations to a sojourn in this region; the mountains well repay the most toilsome ascent; and the country is as rife with legends as with old bergs. A tourist, who lingered here-abouts, mentioned an incident received from a young man, a baker's apprentice, in the hamlet.

“Between the village of Schwerta and the town of Marklissa,” said the youth, "there is a mountain called the Zangenberg. I remember hearing in my childhood, that it was inhabited by a strange woman, who did not belong to the mortal race. At the foot of this mountain flows a stream, over which is thrown a foot-bridge. I crossed it late one night in 1837. As I walked over it, I saw a female figure standing just in my way, at the end of the bridge. She wore a dark dress with long train, and had on her head a dark-colored cap in the antique German fashion. Through her thin veil I could see a deathly-pale, emaciated countenance, the aspect of which filled me with terror. As I slowly approached, she beckoned me; and I heard a low mournful voice saying ‘ 'Come ! come with me! Save me! It shall be thy fortune!'

"'Depart!' I exclaimed, 'Depart, unhappy shade! I have naught to do with such as thou!' As I hastened past, to go homeward, the apparition vanished. For no reward would I venture again at night so near the Zangeuberg.”

The belief in the stated appearance of this female, is current throughout that country. According to popular tradition, a certain count came from Italy many centuries ago, with a numerous retinue of servants, and built, in a short time, a stately castle upon the Zangenberg. Here he and his daughter lived in a pomp and luxury the fame of which was spread far and wide. Seldom did a traveller visit that portion of country, without going to look at the abode of this wealthy noble.

When the count’s daughter was grown to womanhood, her remarkable beauty brought many suitors for her hand; but all were rejected. It appeared very strange to the inhabitants of the neighboring country, that of many knightly lovers who had visited the castle, none had ever been seen again; but no one took the trouble to enter into investigations with regard to these mysterious disappearances.

Ere long it was whispered that the knights, allured to the castle by the daughter’s charms, were robbed and murdered by order of the count.

For two years this continued; at length the count and his daughter were one day both found dead in his splendid hall. The count's features bore marks of violence, and his neck was twisted. The news soon spread; and the next morning people came from the valley to see the corpses. They could find no trace, not only of the dead, but of the castle or the servants. A peasant, who had passed near the spot on the preceding night, declared that he had been startled by aloud explosion, and that by the light of the full moon he had seen the castle sink into the earth.

This tale of the strange and wicked count, and the castle swallowed up in the mountain, was long the talk of the people in that region, till other events gradually caused it to pass from their minds. The old inhabitants died, the younger had no personal recollection of the circumstances; and only here and there might one say, " my grand father remembers having seen the great castle on the Zangcnberg."

Thus a century passed. Then a rumour prevailed that the figure of a woman, in dark flowing dress, had been seen therenbouts. It was said she beckoned those who saw, to follow her; but none did so; and the general impression was, that the dark-robed woman, with face of such deathly paleness, was no other than the Zangen maiden, seeking deliverance from her thraldom.

She was seen no more till another hundred years had passed. One day a countryman, crossing the Zangenberg, as he stepped on the bridge thrown across the stream, saw a female in white dress, but of antique fashion, wringing clothes she had rinsed in the water. She beckoned to the passer-by; and us he came nearer, said in a soft, melancholy voice, “ Follow me! Save me!" But the peasant, with a shudder of dread, hastened on to his home.

As he lay asleep that night, wearied with labor, he felt the touch of a cold hand, and started up. The Zangen maid stood there in the moonlight, beckoning to him, and clasping her hands imploringly. When he made the sign of the cross, the phantom vanished.

The next day the peasant went to a priest, to relate what he had seen and heard, and ask counsel. The priest advised him, should the apparition pay him another visit, to ask what it was she desired; and if it were nothing evil, to fulfill her request. This the countryman promised to do.

On his way to Marklissa the following day, the Zangen maid again presented herself. She beckoned the peasant; he stood still, and said to her, "What dost thou seek of me?”

“I am the maid of the Zangenberg,” was the replay; "and am doomed to wander restless within these mountains, till redeemed by a man who has no evil deed on his conscience. Once in a hundred years I can appear on earth, and beseech good men to rescue me; but my time is only seven days. If not released then, I must languish an other century in the bosom of the berg."

"What must I do for thy deliverance?" asked the countryman.

"Thou hast only to follow me,” replied the apparition, "and to bear away all the evil-gotten gold thou shalt see. Half must be spent in masses for my soul, the other half belongs to thee. But, observe, while in the berg, thou must not utter a word; and of the coins not one must be left behind, or all thy trouble is lost."

The peasant expressed his readiness to go with the maiden. They crossed the bridge. She smote her hands three times together, and they entered through a dark cleft in the rock, into a narrow passage. After an hour's walk, they came to a vaulted cavern, lighted with a lamp.

At the entrance to this vault were two large black dogs. In the centre stood a table, at which several knights, in sable apparel, were seated. Up on the table was a heap of gold and silver coins.

At a sign from his conductress, the peasant gathered up the coins from the table, filling his hat and pockets. He did not observe that some gold pieces were left behind. Then leaving the vault as quickly as possible, he hastened through the passage into the open air, stopping to breathe only when he heard the cleft in the rock close with a shock behind him.

When he sought the treasure, it had vanished altogether; and the maiden appeared to him no more.

The countryman to whom this adventure happened, had the fortune to live to an extreme old age. He enjoyed excellent health, and was highly respected, and the people from the hamlet of Schwerta used to come in the evenings to listen to the tales and legends he would tell. Two favorites he had among the young people, who came often to ask his advice in love matters; one was the youthful lgnatz, the best weaver and the most accomplished horseman in the country; the other, Veronica, the daughter of a rich and proud farmer, but the gentlest as well as the most beautiful girl among all who lived in the valley.

It had not escaped the observation of their aged friend, that Ignatz and Veronica loved each other; and he soon learned that money alone was wanting to make them happy. In reply to the young man's complaint of this want, his friend endeavored to console him by reminding him of the transitory nature of riches; as, for example, the treasure he had brought out of the Zangenberg. Ignatz had often heard the story; the reference to it awakened new ideas in his mind. Day and night these were before him. He visited the mountain often after dusk; but confided not his thoughts to Veronica.

The day came that numbered a hundred years from the time of the old man's adventure. Ignatz obtained leave of absence from his employer, on pretence of indisposition, and hastened to the Zangenberg.

ON the third day after that on which he had awaited the mysterious visit, he saw a female whose dress and appearance answered the description given by his old friend. She beckoned him; he went quickly towards her. But as she was about to speak, a company of travellers passed along the road; and laying her wasted finger on her lips, the apparition vanished.

Ignatz reported to his aged friend what he had seen. The old man warned him against the danger of companionship with unearthly beings, and too eager a search after riches. " You may come forth, like me, with empty pockets," said he. While they were speaking together, Veronica came in, and when the matter was communicated to her, besought her lover, with tears, to have no dealings with evil spirits. But neither warning nor entreaty could dissuade Ignatz from his purpose, when he saw wealth in the distance.

The youthful pair walked together to the Zangenberg. At some distance from the bridge, Ignatz parted from Veronica, who promised to await his return. He already saw, afar off, the floating veil of the Zangen maiden.

The young man followed the apparition into the mountain, and was never seen afterwards. Veronica died in a few weeks of a broken heart. Her old friend was buried by her side.

It is believed that the Zangen maiden never afterwards appeared. But the baker's apprentice, if not led astray by his imagination, could testify to the contrary.

Sartain's Union Magazine of Literature and Art: Volumes 1-3, January 1, 1847

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