In the glare of noon- at the dead hour of night- in
sickness or in health- in calm or in tempest- the young Metzengerstein
seemed rivetted to the saddle of that colossal horse, whose
intractable audacities so well accorded with his own spirit.
There were circumstances, moreover, which coupled with late
events, gave an unearthly and portentous character to the mania of the
rider, and to the capabilities of the steed. The space passed over
in a single leap had been accurately measured, and was found to
exceed, by an astounding difference, the wildest expectations of the
most imaginative. The Baron, besides, had no particular name for the
animal, although all the rest in his collection were distinguished
by characteristic appellations. His stable, too, was appointed at a
distance from the rest; and with regard to grooming and other
necessary offices, none but the owner in person had ventured to
officiate, or even to enter the enclosure of that particular stall. It
was also to be observed, that although the three grooms, who had
caught the steed as he fled from the conflagration at Berlifitzing,
had succeeded in arresting his course, by means of a chain-bridle
and noose- yet no one of the three could with any certainty affirm
that he had, during that dangerous struggle, or at any period
thereafter, actually placed his hand upon the body of the beast.
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