her faithful Beppo,
who related the story of his pursuit of her, and the perfidy of
Luigi;--a story so lengthy, that his voluble tongue running at full
speed could barely give the outlines of it. He informed her, likewise,
that he had been sent for, while lying in Trent, by Captain Weisspriess,
whom he had seen at an inn of the Ultenthal, weak but improving. Beppo
was the captain's propitiatory offering to Vittoria. Meanwhile the
ladies sat on a terrace, overlooking the court, where a stout fellow
in broad green braces and blue breeches lay half across a wooden table,
thrumming a zither, which set the groups in motion. The zither is a
melancholy little instrument; in range of expression it is to the harp
what the winchat is to the thrush; or to the violin, what that bird is
to the nightingale; yet few instruments are so exciting: here and there
along these mountain valleys you may hear a Tyrolese maid set her voice
to its plaintive thin tones; but when the strings are swept madly
there is mad dancing; it catches at the nerves. "Andreas! Andreas!" the
dancers shouted to encourage the player. Some danced with vine-poles;
partners broke and wandered at will, taking fresh partners, and
occasionally huddling in confusion, when the poles were levelled and
tilted at them, and they dispersed. Beppo, dancing mightily to recover
the use of his legs, met his acquaintance Jacob Baumwalder Feckelwitz,
and the pair devoted themselves to a rivalry of capers; jump, stamp,
shuffle, leg aloft, arms in air, yell and shriek: all took hands around
them and streamed, tramping the measure, and the vine-poles guarded
the ring. Then Andreas raised the song: "Our Lady is gracious," and
immediately the whole assemblage were singing praise to the Lady of the
castle. Following which, wine being brought to Andreas, he drank to
his lady, to his lady's guests, to the bride, to the bridegroom, to
everybody. He was now ready to improvize, and dashed thumb and finger on
the zither, tossing up his face, swarthy-flushed: "There was a steinbock
with a beard." Half-a-dozen voices repeated it, as to proclaim the
theme.

"Alas! a beard indeed, for there is no end to this animal. I know him;"
said the duchess dolefully.

"There was a steinbock with a beard;
Of no gun was he afeard
Piff-paff left of him: piff-paff right of him
Piff-paff everywhere, where you get a sight of him."

The steinbock led through the whole course of a