ly
believe, to weaken, if not annihilate, the curse which has so long
persecuted thy unhappy race.'

"Hubert drew a parchment from the folds of his garment, and placed it
in the hands of the astounded Bolko. The priest immediately withdrew.
The youthful noble as quickly drew a chair to the window; and by the
vanishing light of the evening sky, he read the following history:--

"'_This is the last Confession of Walter, baron of Gottmar, which
I, his Confessor, write down by his command, that it may be
preserved in everlasting remembrance, by all who are Descendants
of the House of Gottmar._

"'My great-uncle Herbert, the tenth inheritor of this territory,
was a passionate lover of the chase. In all seasons of the year,
in good weather and in bad, by day and night, he scoured the
boundless forests which he called his own. In his time, the
hunting of the boar was a noble and especial sport, and hence
the breeding of these beasts was diligently fostered and
encouraged. The immense forests of beech and fir upon the slopes
of the mountain which bears our name, attracted to their
neighbourhood an extraordinary number of these boars; so that at
all times my ancestor could indulge his passion to the full.
During one of his grand expeditions, two remarkable events had
place. A gigantic boar dug open with his tusks a marvellously
clear spring, which bubbled forth so vigorously, and purled so
bright and cool along the mossy fields, that a brook was formed
from it immediately. This discharged itself into the low grounds
with rare turns and windings; so that Herbert was fain to fix a
village there, and to name it after the boar, and the brook which
his ferocity had brought to light. Whilst this was happening on
the western declivity of the mountain, a similar accident took
place upon the slope projecting to the eastward. Here, in like
manner, a considerable bed of turf was discovered, and close upon
it, beneath granitic sand, another powerful spring. This Herbert
caused empty itself into large ponds; and the turf-pit he had
worked by skilful men, over whom he placed as chief Wittehold his
page. The profit from this turf was so large that the wealth of
Herbert grew more and more, and the population of the
newly-founded village rose as rapidly; since every new settler
was su