Young Alphonsus Cohenburg enters his mother's bedroom and finds her covered in blood.
She tells him his uncle has murdered his father, and orders him to flee Cohenburg castle forever to save his own life A disconsolate exile, Alphonsus wanders the earth seeking the means of survival, first as a soldier, then a miner, and finally as sacristan of a church, where he meets the beautiful Lauretta.
They wed and establish a home together, and everything seems to promise them a happy future.
Valancourt Books The midnight bell: a german story, founded on incidents in real life, paperback/francis lathom
