ree times repeated, was a warning that he
who heard it should prepare for death, which he must infallibly and
unexpectedly receive from an unknown hand. The secret court was called the
_fehm_ tribunal (Vehmgericht) or Westphalian. It is difficult to determine
its origin; according to some writers it was instituted by Charlemagne. At
first necessary, it gave opportunity for many abuses later on, and
governments were forced to exercise severity occasionally against the
judges themselves, before this institution was completely overthrown.
[Scott's graphic description in "Anne of Geierstein" of the court and
procedure of the Vehmgericht will be instantly suggested.]

(16) _"__A sudden cry.__"_

_--__"__What cleaves the silent air,_
_So madly shrill, so passing wild?_
_It was a woman's shriek, and ne'er_
_In madlier ascents rose despair;_
_And they who heard it as it passed,_
_In mercy wished it were the last.__"_--PARISINA.

[The coincidence, or borrowing of ideas, is manifest, but the image has
been amplified and beautified in the Polish poem.]

_N.B._--In all the Polish words retained in the text, _j_ is pronounced
like _y_, and _w_ like _v_.

PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.

EDINBURGH AND LONDON.

1 Lithuanian woman.

2 Inhabitant of Rus (White Russia, Little Russia, also Red Russia, or
Galicia).

3 Pole. The native name of _Polska_ is derived from _pole_=field, and
_Lachy_=plain of the Lachs.

4 Bard.

5 "Exoriare aliquis ex ossibus nostris ultor."

--AEneid, B. iv. l. 625.

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KONRAD WALLENROD***

CREDITS

October 9, 2010

Project Gutenberg TEI edition 1
Produced by Jimmy O'Regan. (Produced from images generously
made available by the Internet Archive (http://archive.org/))

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