A JtOYAL 
 KNIGHT 
 
 ISABELLA MACFARLANE
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT
 
 ROYAL KNIGHT 
 
 A Tale of Nuremberg 
 
 BY 
 
 ISABELLA MACFARLANE 
 
 G. W. DILLINGHAM COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS NEW YORK
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1905, BY 
 
 G. W. DILLINGHAM COMPANY 
 
 Issued March, 1905 
 
 A Royal Knight
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 I 9 
 
 II 19 
 
 III 26 
 
 IV 34 
 
 V 43 
 
 VI 52 
 
 VII 55 
 
 VIII 63 
 
 IX 74 
 
 X 79 
 
 XI 84 
 
 XII 96 
 
 XIII 101 
 
 XIV 103 
 
 XV 113 
 
 XVI 119 
 
 XVII 127 
 
 XVIII 136 
 
 XIX 142 
 
 XX 154 
 
 XXI 162 
 
 XXII 172 
 
 XXIII 175 
 
 XXIV 180 
 
 XXV 188 
 
 XXVI 194 
 
 XXVII 201 
 
 XXVIII 208 
 
 XXIX 214 
 
 XXX 223 
 
 XXXI 235 
 
 XXXII 243 
 
 XXXIII 251 
 
 XXXIV 256 
 
 XXXV 264 
 
 2137191
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 It was a gala day in Nuremberg. 
 
 From early morn the city had been all astir. 
 "When the May sun arose in cloudless splendor, and 
 filled the valley of the Pegnitz with a flood of ex- 
 hilarating light, the streets had already begun to 
 show signs of unwonted bustle and excitement. 
 
 As the morning advanced, these signs rapidly 
 increased. 
 
 The chimes of all the churches rang out a joy- 
 peal, from the deep tones that boomed from the 
 great towers of St. Lawrence down to the little bell 
 of some small suburban chapel. 
 
 The blare of trumpets and the roll of drums re- 
 sounded on all sides, as the city troops were called 
 out by companies from each guard-house, to be 
 marshalled in the market-place under their gallant 
 commandant, Frederick von Schonberg, son of the 
 Burggraf of Nuremberg. They were foot soldiers, 
 belonging to the Landwehr or National Guard, 
 whose duty it was, not to fight in foreign wars, but 
 
 9
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 to defend the city from its enemies. They were a 
 fine looking body of men, variously armed; and 
 Nuremberg was proud of them. 
 
 As the young commander placed himself at their 
 head, and led the procession, clad in a rich military 
 costume and mounted on a magnificent white 
 charger, he presented a fine example of the chivalry 
 of the fifteenth century ; and the eyes of many a fair 
 lady followed him with unconcealed admiration. 
 
 After the troops marched the different trades 
 the artificers in steel and iron and bronze, the 
 swordsmiths, the arrowsmiths, the gold-and-silver 
 smiths, the armorers, the wood-carvers, the weavers, 
 the wool-combers, and many others, with banners 
 and emblematical devices. This was an annual 
 function, known as the "marching of the trades," 
 and it was a happy thought to unite the civic with 
 the military parade, in order to give more honor to 
 the occasion. 
 
 For intelligence having been received from the 
 imperial court that a great victory had been 
 achieved by the young Emperor Maximilian, over 
 the Turks, the authorities of Nuremberg had given 
 orders that a grand parade should be held in honor 
 
 10
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 of the event, and that the despatch containing the 
 news should.be publicly read by the town clerk in 
 the market-place, for the information of the people. 
 
 For there was not one of the great free cities 
 more loyal to its hereditary lord than Nuremberg. 
 
 A vast throng was gathered in the market-place, 
 in the centre of which the "Beautiful Fountain," 
 Schonen Brunnen, the pride and ornament of the 
 city, lifted its tall and elegant form. 
 
 People of all ranks flocked thither. The shoe- 
 maker left his last, the carpenter his hammer and 
 saw, the mercer his yard-stick; the spinster forsook 
 her spinning-wheel, the knitter her long wooden 
 needles ; and in the eagerness of all to hear the joy- 
 ful tidings, the noble and the merchant-prince rubbed 
 shoulders with the humble artisan and his wife and 
 daughters. 
 
 The Burggraf, or chief magistrate, was there, 
 clothed in purple and miniver, as the representative 
 of imperial authority. He sat with his councillors 
 on a raised platform, in front of which had been 
 erected a sort of pulpit or rostrum, on which the 
 town clerk was> to stand. 
 
 A few favored guests, friends of the magistrates, 
 ii
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 had been invited to occupy seats on the platform. 
 
 Among them might have been observed an old 
 gentleman of stout form and pleasant countenance, 
 and by his side a lady arrayed in an almost bar- 
 baric splendor of apparel, both as to brilliancy of 
 color and richness of texture. 
 
 It was the Baron von Eisenfeld and his daugh- 
 ter, the Lady Alexia. 
 
 They were not residents of Nuremberg, but had 
 come on the invitation of the Burggraf from their 
 estate in Bavaria, to participate in this loyal dem- 
 onstration in the Emperor's honor. 
 
 The Lady Alexia was a beautiful woman; but 
 her beauty was of a somewhat masculine type, and 
 the expression of her features cold and haughty. 
 She was attired in a robe of the rich silk of Padua 
 known as paduasoy, of a soft lustrous texture, shot 
 with threads of silver; and her stomacher was en- 
 crusted with pearls and rubies set in fretted gold. 
 Rings adorned her fingers, and ear-rings glittered 
 from under the head-dress of silk and lace that 
 crowned her auburn hair. 
 
 Near her was seated her brother Rupert, a young 
 
 12
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 giant, whose large and well-developed frame be- 
 tokened the athletic training of the times. 
 
 Another guest of the Burggraf was the Count 
 von Carlsberg, the official bearer of the despatch, 
 who had been persuaded to delay his return to Vi- 
 enna in order to be present at the festivities of the 
 day. He was a noble knight, of fine appearance and 
 courtly manners, high in favor with the Emperor. 
 
 Among the less favored multitude who thronged 
 the market-place stood two young girls, who clung 
 closely together, as if afraid of being lost in the 
 crowd. 
 
 They were noticeable partly from their beauty, 
 which was remarkable, and partly from the fact 
 that they resembled each other so much that it was 
 scarcely possible to distinguish the one from the 
 other. 
 
 "God be with us!" ejaculated a big, brawny 
 blacksmith, on observing them. "What a resem- 
 blance ! It makes my flesh creep to see it ! It looks 
 so weird and uncanny!" 
 
 "Shame on you, Hugo!" said a young man in 
 student cap and gown. "A man of your thews and 
 sinews to be so easily frightened! For my part, I 
 
 13
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 think where one finds beauty like that there can't be 
 too much of it." 
 
 "I am not afraid of anything mortal, Otto. But 
 all that savors of witchwork I abhor," said the 
 superstitious blacksmith. 
 
 The girls were dressed alike, in skirt of dark 
 woolen, with bodice of blue cloth laced up the front, 
 and finished with sleeves and kerchief of snow- 
 white linen. 
 
 From their attire, which, though neat and taste- 
 ful, was somewhat coarse in texture, it might have 
 been inferred that they belonged to the working 
 classes; which was further evidenced by their being 
 found in that surging crowd without servant or 
 escort. But there was an indescribable air of re- 
 finement about them, notwithstanding; and on their 
 hands, small and shapely, though somewhat em- 
 browned by exposure, one could perceive the fine- 
 grained skin that does not roughen or crack, even by 
 daily toil. In a word, it was plain that they were 
 gentlewomen. 
 
 Their hair, which was very abundant, was coiled 
 in heavy braids about their heads; and herein lay 
 their one distinguishing mark the locks of the 
 
 14
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 one being flaxen and somewhat fluffy, while those 
 of the other were of a rich golden color, smooth 
 and glossy as silk. No hat or hood concealed its 
 beauty. A simple ribbon confined it in place. 
 
 They were Barbara and Margarethe Uhler, twin 
 daughters of the Widow Brunhilda Uhler. 
 
 Barbara, the eldest by a small fraction of time, 
 wore no ornament whatever; but round the neck 
 of the other hung loosely a long string of many- 
 colored glass beads, such as were brought from 
 Venice by traveling chapmen, of whom the roguish, 
 tricky Autolycus was a type. 
 
 With eager eyes the sisters watched the gay do- 
 ings which were evidently a novel sight to them, as 
 they had been brought up in seclusion. 
 
 The throngs of well-dressed people, the rich ladies 
 in their plumes and silks and laces, attracted the 
 particular attention of Margarethe or Gretchen, 
 to use the pet name by which she was usually called. 
 But the soldiers delighted her the most the pike- 
 men with their long pikes, the arquebusiers with 
 their clumsy firelocks, the strong-armed archers 
 with their bows of toughest yew, and quivers full 
 of arrows. The men were not in armor, except 
 
 15
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 their corselets and helmets of steel, which glittered 
 in the bright May sunshine. 
 
 But chiefly their handsome leader took the girl's 
 attention. 
 
 "Oh, look! Barbara," exclaimed she. "Look at 
 that gallant cavalier! See that beautiful white 
 horse ! How I should like to own him !" 
 
 "The horse, or the cavalier ?" said her sister, with 
 a smile. 
 
 "Both both!" cried the lively girl. "Oh, how 
 glad I am that our mother gave consent for us to 
 come and see all these delightful things! You 
 know she thought at first that it would not be safe 
 or fitting for us. I wish she had come also, to en- 
 joy them. 'T would have cheered her, and made 
 her forget her cares and troubles. But that splen- 
 did cavalier! See those long, drooping white 
 plumes. There is not another like him in the whole 
 cavalcade !" 
 
 "But what of poor Karl? Is it fair to him, to 
 be so carried away with a soldier?" asked her sis- 
 ter. 
 
 "Karl is my dear love my very heart's heart. 
 There is none like him. Yet surely one may admire 
 
 16
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 a gallant soldier? Honestly now, Barbara, do not 
 you yourself admire that splendid knight?" 
 
 "Yes," said Barbara, who had observed the com- 
 mander of the troops long before her sister did, 
 and whose eyes had followed his every movement 
 since. 
 
 Slowly and with dignity the procession, starting 
 from the town hall, passed along the principal 
 streets of the city, where the gabled fronts of the 
 tall buildings, the many-turreted walls, the ponder- 
 ous gateways, the numerous bridges spanning the 
 river Pegnitz, the magnificent churches in which 
 earlier in the day high mass had been said, to give 
 thanks for the victory and pray for the souls of the 
 soldiers slain in battle and the stately stone man- 
 sions of the wealthy merchants, who, as a writer of 
 the period declares, were "better housed than the 
 kings of Scotland" all presented a scene of pic- 
 turesque interest and beauty, scarcely to be equalled 
 in any other city. 
 
 On the highest ground, overlooking the whole 
 surrounding country, loomed up the great castle or 
 fortress, the Reichsveste, built ages before by Con- 
 rad II and Frederic Barbarossa for the defence of 
 
 17
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 the city. From its loftiest tower floated the imperial 
 standard, with the cross and double-headed eagle, 
 while the town-hall displayed the city colors, the 
 black-and-yellow banner of Nuremberg, on which 
 was embroidered the well-known motto of the proud 
 commercial city: 
 
 "Niirnberg's Hand 
 Reicht durch alle Land."* 
 
 *Nuremberg's hand 
 Reaches through every land. 
 
 18
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 When, after the parade, all had reassembled in 
 the great square, a herald by command of the Burg- 
 graf, summoned Johannes Edler, town clerk of Nur- 
 emberg, to ascend the rostrum and read to the people 
 the despatch received from Vienna. 
 
 Johannes Edler was an old gray-haired man. 
 He was habited in a long gown of black serge, girt 
 about the waist with a leathern girdle. From this 
 girdle depended an immense silver watch, famil- 
 iarly known as a "Nuremberg egg," from its oval 
 form and its having been invented by a mechanician 
 of that city. 
 
 Beside the watch hung a portable ink horn, gar- 
 nished with a gray goose-quill ; showing that though 
 town clerk, he was not above performing the office 
 of a public scribe for such of his fellow-citizens as 
 might desire it since to him belonged the rare 
 and marvelous faculty of communicating ideas by 
 means of pen, ink and paper; a faculty from which 
 he derived considerable emolument, especially in 
 
 19
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 the interests of amorous youths and love-sick 
 maidens. 
 
 Being a man of great deliberation, Johannes 
 Edler slowly ascended the structure intended for 
 his use; and after fumbling for some time in the 
 folds of his garments, produced a pair of spectacles 
 another of the enterprising city's recent discov- 
 eries and carefully adjusted them on his nose. 
 They were of enormous size, the lenses circular, 
 and the mountings of horn, at least a quarter of an 
 inch in breadth. 
 
 To many they were a novel sight; and some of 
 the "rough fellows" in the crowd raised a shout of 
 derision. 
 
 "Ha ! ha ! ha ! Look at him ! He has owl's eyes ! 
 To-whoo! To-whoo! To-whit!" 
 
 But Johannes paid no heed to them. 
 
 Unfolding the parchment, which had been tied 
 with a silken thread and stamped with the great 
 seal of the empire, he read, in a loud, sonorous voice, 
 the despatch announcing the complete rout of the 
 Turks, and the victory achieved by the imperial 
 arms. 
 
 Shouts rent the air as he concluded. 
 20
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT 
 
 "Long live the Emperor! Long live our brave 
 Kaiser Max!" 
 
 Then, as soon as the tumult had subsided, and 
 silence had been obtained, a company of men-sing- 
 ers, selected from the Guild of the Meistersingers, 
 to the number of forty voices, led by Leonhard 
 Nonnenbeck, the head of the Guild (best known as 
 the preceptor of Hans Sachs) sang in full chorus 
 a spirited patriotic song. 
 
 This also was received with rounds of applause. 
 
 "Oh, Barbara," whispered Gretchen, "I saw 
 Karl among the singers and, oh! how beautifully 
 he sang!" For little Gretchen's lover was a noted 
 member of the Guild. 
 
 These ceremonies concluded, the trumpets again 
 sounded, the drums beat, the word of command : 
 
 "Forward! March!" was given, and the proces- 
 sion once more started. 
 
 "Here he comes again! that splendid knight!" 
 cried Gretchen, excitedly. 
 
 But Barbara needed no promptings from her sis- 
 ter; for from the moment of his reappearance in 
 the market-place she had not lost sight of him. 
 
 Whether it was owing to the magnetism of this 
 
 21
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 fixed gaze, or was merely the result of chance, it is 
 certain that, as his slowly-pacing charger passed 
 the spot where the twins stood, the eyes of Freder- 
 ick Schonberg were attracted to the countenance of 
 Barbara. 
 
 With a startled look he glanced from her' to her 
 sister, as if astonished at the resemblance; then his 
 eyes flew back to Barbara's face, and became riv- 
 eted there with such a look of passionate admira- 
 tion that the girl colored deeply and cast down her 
 eyes. 
 
 With a self-satisfied smile the cavalier rode on, 
 first touching his plumed beaver with as courtly a 
 grace to the lowly maiden as if she had been a 
 princess. 
 
 But scarcely had he gone a pace or two when a 
 terrible panic ensued. An ill-advised individual, 
 full of patriotic enthusiasm and strong beer (made 
 from "that wicked weed hops," just coming into 
 use), discharged an arquebus under the very nose 
 of Schonberg's horse. 
 
 The spirited animal, snorting with fright, sprang 
 backwards among the crowd, which also surged 
 
 22
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 backwards, causing many persons to be thrown to 
 the ground. 
 
 Among these unfortunates was Barbara Uhler. 
 
 Gretchen shrieked and tried to raise her, but was 
 forced to separate from her by the pressure of the 
 crowd. At such a time it is "every one for him- 
 self," and for some moments Barbara lay unheeded, 
 in imminent danger of being trampled to death. 
 
 But Schonberg, as soon as he got his horse under 
 control, sprang from the saddle, and throwing the 
 reins to his servant, forced his way to her, and 
 lifted her tenderly from the ground. 
 
 "Are you hurt, fair maiden?" said he, in a tone 
 of solicitude. 
 
 "No, I am not much hurt. Only a few bruises," 
 said she, faintly, and with a very pale face. 
 
 "Thank heaven for that! I am grieved to think 
 I should have been the cause of this mishap." 
 
 His arm was still around her, for he was afraid 
 she might fall again, she looked so white. But she 
 tried to free herself. 
 
 "My head feels a little dizzy. But I am sure I 
 can stand and walk." 
 
 "Could I leave my place in the parade, I would 
 
 23
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 procure a litter and have you conveyed to your 
 home. Nay, to convey such loveliness, I should 
 delight to order a coach such as a queen would be 
 proud to ride in! But my servant shall see you 
 home, and give you all the assistance in his power. 
 Here, Jerome," to his servant, "take this damsel 
 under your care, and see that she reaches her home 
 safely/' 
 
 "It is not necessary," said Barbara, drawing her- 
 self up proudly. "My sister is here, and will assist 
 me. Indeed, it is not necessary. I do not require 
 your servant's escort." 
 
 She took the arm of her sister, who had now 
 reached her, and with a graceful inclination to her 
 rescuer, turned to leave the market-place. 
 
 Frederick's first thought had been to offer her a 
 piece of gold to heal her hurts, as he might have 
 done to some peasant girl ; but the unmistakable air 
 of refinement about the sisters rendered that out of 
 the question. 
 
 He looked after them a moment, as they slowly 
 left the square, Gretchen supporting her sister. 
 
 "Who are those damsels, Jerome?" said he, as 
 his servant assisted him to remount. 
 
 24
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "Hang me if I know, your honor. I never saw 
 them before." 
 
 "Hark ye, Jerome. Follow them home, and 
 bring me word where she lives?" 
 
 "She? But there be two of them, and as like as 
 two peas. Which of them shall I follow, your 
 honor?" 
 
 "Be off with you, you fool. Haste! before you 
 lose sight of them." 
 
 He put spurs to his horse and hastened to resume 
 his place at the head of his troops; while Jerome 
 proceeded to obey his commands.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The parade over, and the crowd rapidly dispers- 
 ing, Frederick von Schonberg dismounted at the 
 armory and hastened to the official residence of the 
 Burggraf, whither his father had already escorted 
 his guests, including Count von Carlsberg. Hur- 
 riedly exchanging his steel corselet and other mil- 
 itary accoutrements for a rich and splendid civilian 
 dress, he hastened to pay his respects to them. 
 
 "Well done! Herr Fritz!" cried the Baron, 
 grasping his hand with heartiest pressure. "That 
 was a grand affair! 'Twas a credit to your city." 
 
 "And may I ask how the Lady Alexia enjoyed 
 the festivities?" said Frederick, with a courtly sal- 
 utation, as he took her hand in his and raised it to 
 his lips. 
 
 But there was a frown on the Lady Alexia's brow, 
 and a tone of resentment in her voice, as, without 
 taking notice of his question, she said : 
 
 "And may / ask, who that girl was whom you 
 picked up from the street?" for she, from her ex- 
 
 26
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 alted position on the platform, had had a full view 
 of the little episode. 
 
 Frederick laughed and colored. 
 
 "I do not know," he said. "A fellow with an ar- 
 quebus which he did not know how to handle fright- 
 ened my horse, the horse frightened the people, and 
 the poor damsel would have been trodden to death 
 had I not as you put it picked her up." 
 
 The lady's only answer was a scornful toss of 
 the head. For there was a contract of marriage 
 between Frederick von Schonberg and the Baroness 
 Alexia von Eisenfeld, and her jealousy had been 
 aroused by the incident she had witnessed. 
 
 The Baron, not observing this little by-play, went 
 on with his enthusiastic commendations of the day's 
 festivities. The troops, the crowds of people, the 
 music, the reading of the despatch, the singing of 
 the song of victory, the shouts and praises of the 
 multitude all came in for a share of his appro- 
 bation. 
 
 "I tell you, Schonberg," to the Burggraf, "if 
 ever a monarch was loved by his subjects, it is our 
 brave Max." 
 
 "And if ever a monarch deserved the plaudits of 
 
 27
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 his subjects, it is he," said the Burggraf. "From 
 the moment of his accession to the throne, the wel- 
 fare of his people has been his first thought by night 
 and day alike in peace or war, in joy or sorrow. 
 He met with a sad blow in the death of his wife, 
 the beautiful Princess Mary, who was killed, as 
 you all know, a few years after her marriage by 
 a fall from her horse while hunting. Indeed the 
 whole country was plunged into grief, for all loved 
 her. , 
 
 "It was my inestimable privilege," continued the 
 Burggraf, with whom this was a favorite theme, 
 "to be present at the wedding of those two lovely 
 young persons. I was there as representative of 
 our good city. It was the most charming sight I 
 ever saw in my life." 
 
 "Oh, dear Count, do tell us all about it!" said 
 Alexia, eagerly. 
 
 "The marriage was rather sudden and romantic. 
 A year before, they had been betrothed with great 
 pomp and magnificence, but certain matters of state 
 policy had caused the affair to be broken off. Then 
 Charles the Bold died on the fatal field of Nancy, 
 and as he left no son, the dukedom lapsed to the 
 
 28
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 crown of France. Not content with this, the king 
 of France, that greedy, cruel Louis XI, was about 
 to seize the princess' Flemish possessions also, and 
 even to lay hands on her person. It was then that 
 Mary sent a ring to her lover and besought him to 
 deliver her. 
 
 "Maximilian responded with heart and soul to 
 the touching and pathetic appeal. Despatching his 
 kinsman, the Duke of Bavaria, with an armed band 
 to carry her to Ghent, he caused hasty though sump- 
 tuous arrangements to be made there for their im- 
 mediate marriage." 
 
 "And where met they?" 
 
 "They met first in the streets of Ghent, where 
 rich tapestries and draperies were hung on the 
 fronts of the houses, intermingled with garlands of 
 flowers and wreaths of ivy. Escorted by Bavaria 
 and his armed band, Mary rode into Ghent on a 
 beautiful milk-white palfrey, with trappings of sil- 
 ver and housings of crimson velvet. The young 
 Archduke he was then but eighteen years of. age 
 went to meet her, mounted on a noble bay horse, 
 his long fair hair crowned with a wreath of flowers 
 intertwined with pearls, his tall, graceful form clad 
 
 29
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 in a suit of silver armor, richly enameled with gold, 
 and his bright honest eyes beaming with the light 
 of love and happiness. Both dismounted, and as 
 the bells of the town-hall and the churches rang a 
 joyful peal and the people cheered and waved their 
 caps, the sweet young prince and princess clasped 
 hands and kissed each other." 
 
 "Bravo!" exclaimed the three young men to- 
 gether; and "Ha! ha! ha!" laughed the Baron; 
 "human nature is the same whether in prince or 
 peasant." 
 
 Then the Burggraf, at Alexia's request, gave 
 some details of the wedding ceremony; and even 
 described, as well as a "mere man" could do so, the 
 bridal robes of the beautiful princess. 
 
 "Thanks, Herr Burggraf, for your excellent de- 
 scription. How I should have liked to be present! 
 I love all such gay, festal scenes splendid pageants, 
 tournaments, festivals, rich costumes, courtly dis- 
 play, and all such things. I hope the time will come, 
 sometime, when I shall be presented at the Imperial 
 Court," said Lady Alexia, her eyes sparkling with 
 animation. 
 
 "When that time shall arrive," said von Carlsberg, 
 
 30
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "the Lady Alexia will grace the Imperial Court far 
 more than the court will honor her." 
 
 For which high flown compliment he was re- 
 warded with a brilliant smile. 
 
 "I think," said Frederick, "my father would 
 make a good master of the ceremonies at the Im- 
 perial Court, since he can give so good an account 
 of those scenes, after so many years." 
 
 "It is because the whole of the charming scenes 
 are so indelibly impressed on my memory, that I 
 cannot forget a single circumstance; and because I 
 love our noble, brave Emperor, so much." 
 
 "That he is noble and brave," said von Carls- 
 berg, "none knows better than I ; yet I wish he were 
 not so ready to engage in rash and perilous adven- 
 tures that menace his precious life. Once he went 
 unarmed into a lion's den, and, the door closing on 
 him, he had to defend himself with a shovel until 
 help arrived. On another occasion, in seeking ad- 
 ventures among the mountains, he fell down a pre- 
 cipice and was lost for several days. But the most 
 thrilling exploit of all was his ascent of the spire of 
 Ulm Cathedral, the highest in the world. We had 
 gone to that city, a company of us, to attend a ban-
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 quet of the Teutonic Knights, of which military 
 order the Emperor is a member, ever ready to suc- 
 cor the lowliest of his soldiers on the battlefield or 
 in the hospital. The banquet over, the knights were 
 conversing socially, when one happened to mention 
 the daring feat of a Spanish cavalier, who, in mere 
 bravado, had climbed the Giralda, or bell-tower of 
 the Cathedral of Seville. 'That is nothing!' cried 
 our brave Max. 'Yonder spire,' pointing to it, 'is 
 twice as high as the Giralda of Seville! yet I shall 
 climb to the top of it, and show you how a German 
 knight can outdo your Spanish cavalier.' Tearing 
 off his long white mantle, with its black cross, the 
 distinguishing garment of the Teutonic Knights, he 
 at once began the ascent. Up and up he climbed. 
 A great crowd assembled to witness the bold at- 
 tempt. Men held their breath. Women sobbed 
 and cried out some even fainted with the excite- 
 ment. Up and up he climbed, until he reached the 
 topmost pinnacle of that sky-piercing spire, and 
 standing erect upon it, with one foot hanging over, 
 waved his cap to the multitude below." 
 
 "Thrilling, indeed, it must have been it makes 
 one thrill even to hear it told," said the Burggraf. 
 
 32
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "They say," remarked the Baron, "that the Em- 
 peror is to marry the daughter of the Duke of Milan, 
 Bianca Sforza." 
 
 "If it be so, it is a mere matter of state policy. 
 He will never love another woman as he loved his 
 lost Mary." The Burggraf sighed; for he was a 
 widower himself, and the turn the conversation had 
 taken recalled his own loss. 
 
 To this conversation between the chief magistrate 
 and his guests, Frederick paid but little attention. 
 His mind was preoccupied. His thoughts were else- 
 where. He was wondering whether his servant had 
 succeeded in discovering the home of the beautiful 
 girl who had so fascinated him in the market-place, 
 and whom he had rescued from the trampling feet of 
 the multitude. 
 
 Von Carlsberg, on the contrary, paid marked at- 
 tentions to Lady Alexia, who received them most 
 graciously, in retaliation of what she considered the 
 studied neglect of her fiance. 
 
 33
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Keeping at a safe distance, lest they should dis- 
 cover his object, the lackey followed the sisters 
 through a labyrinth of obscure streets and unpaved 
 lanes, to that portion of the city inhabited by the 
 very poor ; and in a dark and narrow thoroughfare, 
 well named the Kleine Strasse, or "little street," 
 saw them enter an old, time-discolored cottage, one 
 of a long row of dwellings of a similar description. 
 
 "Well, I vow," said Jerome to himself, "to see 
 the patrician airs of that girl, who would expect to 
 find her dwelling in a hovel like this ? 'It is not nec- 
 essary/ mimicking, 'I do not desire your servant's 
 escort/ O, no; it was the master she wanted, not 
 the servant. And truly, I think my master was 
 much struck with her ; which may not be altogether 
 for her good. But for my part, I like the one with 
 the fluffy hair and the beads the best," meaning 
 Gretchen; "she has bright eyes, and looks lively." 
 
 Observing an old cobbler seated at his door, with 
 hammer and lapstone, hard at work on a coarse shoe 
 
 34
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 which he was mending, Jerome asked him, with as- 
 sumed carelessness, who those two girls were who 
 had just entered the neighboring dwelling. 
 
 "I did not notice them," answered the old man, 
 continuing his work, "I can't be raising my head 
 every minute, and so hindering my work, to look 
 after girls. I leave that to such idle swaggerers as 
 yourself." 
 
 "Oh, but," said Jerome, determined to obtain the 
 desired information, "you must know them, living 
 so near them two girls so like each other, that the 
 devil himself could not tell the difference." 
 
 "Ah," said the cobbler, looking up, with hammer 
 suspended in mid air, "now I know whom you mean. 
 Tis the twin daughters of the Widow Uhler ;" and 
 down came the hammer with an emphatic blow on 
 the heel of the shoe, as if to signify that the inter- 
 view was closed. 
 
 But Jerome, having learned what he wanted to 
 know, did not attempt to prolong it. Bidding the 
 crusty old man good day, and gingerly picking his 
 steps along the muddy street, through the middle 
 of which flowed a noisome gutter breathing deadly 
 
 35
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 miasma, he returned to his master with the infor- 
 mation he had obtained. 
 
 ******** 
 
 The little house in which the Uhlers dwelt was of 
 an unpretending, even unprepossessing exterior. The 
 high, peaked gable-front might once have had some 
 pretentions in the way of carved ornamentation, 
 but the lines had become obliterated, the leaves and 
 flowers had been worn off or torn off, through age 
 or misusage. The dingy walls were low, and the 
 dark, red-slated roof, projecting several feet be- 
 yond them, obstructed a considerable portion of 
 the light that found its way, over the top of a higher 
 house opposite, to the two small latticed windows. 
 These were placed on either side of a heavy oaken 
 door, divided horizontally into two parts. Great 
 beams stretched across the gable in various direc- 
 tions, apparently for no purpose but to disfigure it. 
 
 But unattractive as was the outside, light never 
 shone on a more pleasing scene than that presented 
 by the interior of the cottage. It consisted of but 
 two rooms. The larger room of the two was 
 kitchen, parlor, and workroom, all in one. In the 
 
 36
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 other, though very small, the three women managed 
 to find sleeping room. 
 
 The earthen floors were strewn with clean white 
 sand. Of furniture there was but little, and that 
 of the simplest kind. A plain deal table, a few 
 cooking utensils, a few wooden stools of the most 
 primitive construction merely a piece sawed off 
 the end of a log, the bark removed, the edges neatly 
 trimmed, and three stout pins stuck into it by way 
 of legs, making on the whole a not uncomfortable 
 seat a chair or two, well-worn, and with the paint 
 rubbed from their backs, a shelf with a few cups 
 and dishes of wood or pewter and that was all. 
 But there as a quiet air of neatness and even ele- 
 gance about the whole, which compensated for a 
 world of deficiencies a touch here and there that 
 betokened good taste some little thing that re- 
 lieved and brightened the sordid look of poverty. 
 
 There were two articles of furniture in the liv- 
 ing-room which presented a singular contrast to 
 the rest. The one was a large, high-backed arm- 
 chair of dark, polished oak, elaborately carved, and 
 cushioned with rich though faded crimson silk bro- 
 cade. The other was a small, round, claw-footed 
 
 37
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 table, of ebony, curiously inlaid with ivory. Its top, 
 working on a wooden hinge, could be turned up 
 against the wall, where its black polished surface re- 
 flected everything as in a mirror. It was of Oriental 
 workmanship, and had in its interior a secret re- 
 ceptacle, for the concealment of treasure and other 
 valuables. The chair also possessed a secret 
 drawer, concealed by its cushions. 
 
 These two articles the Widow Uhler regarded 
 as the apple of her eye, and guarded with a jealous 
 care. 
 
 They were relics of former grandeur reminders 
 of bygone affluence, happiness and love. 
 
 For Brunhilda Uhler had not always been poor. 
 
 Her husband had been one of the wealthiest mer- 
 chants of the city. He had been engaged in the 
 Venetian trade, in which he had amassed great 
 riches. 
 
 When the prosperity of Venice was ruined by the 
 deflection of commercial enterprise into other chan- 
 nels, that of Bernhard Uhler went with it. To this 
 was added the dishonesty of a partner in whom he 
 trusted, who robbed him of the residue of his prop- 
 erty, and left him almost penniless. 
 
 38
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 When the plague, that most terrible of diseases, 
 made one of its many visits to Nuremberg, Bern- 
 hard Uhler, depressed and low-spirited, was one 
 of its first victims. Then the eldest son, a fine 
 young man of one-and-twenty, was taken. Then 
 another and another; until of her seven children, 
 two little helpless twin baby girls were all that re- 
 mained to the bereaved and half-distracted mother. 
 
 But she bore up nobly, for her heart was stayed 
 on God. 
 
 Gathering together the poor remnants of her for- 
 tune, she had withdrawn to this obscure lodging, 
 and devoted herself to the bringing up of the two 
 children that were left. 
 
 Many a hard struggle had she had with poverty. 
 But now the twins were grown up, able to assist 
 her in earning a livelihood, and were the joy and 
 comfort of her life. 
 
 And here she stands at the open half-door, wait- 
 ing to welcome them home from the parade. 
 
 "Well, my children But what is the matter, Bar- 
 bara ? You limp and your face is as white as your 
 sleeves? What has happened?" 
 
 Then Gretchen, half laughing and half crying, 
 
 39
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 told of all that had taken place what a lovely time 
 they had had and how they had been almost killed 
 and how she had seen Karl among the singers 
 who gave the song of victory and how the old 
 town clerk wore the funniest things on his eyes 
 and how fine the soldiers looked and how the most 
 splendid cavalier of them all had jumped from his 
 horse, and lifted Barbara in his arms and how he 
 had offered to get a litter to carry her home and 
 how he rode the most beautiful horse, with a long 
 tail and the most elegant housings and how it was 
 all so delightful, that she wished there might be an- 
 other parade next week and so on and on while 
 the mother bathed Barbara's bruises, and brushed 
 the dust from her disordered garments, and with 
 loving, tender touch smoothed her satin-shining 
 hair at the same time trying to make sense of 
 Gretchen's confused and desultory remarks. 
 
 But Barbara said nothing. 
 
 At one part of her sister's narration, her cheek 
 grew hot, and her nerves tingled, and she seemed to 
 feel again the clasp of that manly arm about her 
 waist. As her mother finished her ministrations, 
 the girl caught her in her arms, and kissed her with 
 
 40
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 extraordinary fervor, and the mother saw a light in 
 her eyes that had never been there before. 
 
 Although the sisters resembled each other so 
 much in personal appearance, they were essentially 
 different in their mental characteristics. Gretchen 
 was frank, cheerful, and sprightly, enlivening the 
 household with her songs and merry sayings. 
 Barbara, of a deeper and more thoughtful nature, 
 was quiet and undemonstrative. But beneath this 
 placid exterior lay an energy and strength of mind 
 known only to her mother, of whom she was the de- 
 voted friend and counsellor. 
 
 Their frugal meal partaken of, each member of 
 the family settled down to her work, for each one 
 had her appointed task to do; and the labor of all 
 was necessary to their maintenance, so small were 
 the returns. 
 
 Barbara wove fine baskets and other articles, of 
 the osiers that grew on the wet alluvial grounds 
 beside the Pegnitz; Gretchen, with her spinning- 
 wheel, spun woolen yarn for a wool-merchant in the 
 neighborhood; and the mother's deft fingers and 
 burnished needles flew in and out with astonishing 
 yet graceful rapidity, among the endless meshes of
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT, 
 
 her knitting-work. It was plain to see from whom 
 the girls derived their beautiful hands. 
 
 Two other members of the household remain to 
 be mentioned a large black cat, named Schwarz, 
 whose rich and glossy fur might have adorned the 
 robe of some city official ; and a bullfinch in a cage, 
 which had been taught to whistle several tunes, and 
 which often accompanied Gretchen as she sang at 
 her spinning, sometimes with his natural music, 
 sometimes with that which he had acquired. 
 
 '42
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 On the morning following the parade, as the fam- 
 ily were engaged in their various vocations, a 
 shadow darkened the open half of the door. 
 
 It was the young noble, Frederick Schonberg, at- 
 tended by his servant, Jerome. 
 
 "This is the place, your honor, I know it by that 
 half-door, and by that big black cat on the window- 
 sill, where also it lay yesterday, in the self-same 
 spot." 
 
 He knocked a loud rat-tat-tat on the door with 
 his knuckles ; and then stepping aside, gave place to 
 his master. 
 
 "You may go, now, Jerome. I shall not want 
 you any more at present." 
 
 The lackey departed, with some reluctance; for, 
 being a bold varlet, he had hoped to obtain another 
 glimpse of the "fluffy-haired girl." 
 
 Dame Uhler, laying down her knitting, opened 
 the door, and greeted her guest with dignified 
 courtesy. 
 
 43
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "What is your pleasure, sir?" said she, coldly, 
 with her hand still on the latch of the door. 
 
 "I have come, madam," (the "madam" an invol- 
 untary tribute to her unexpectedly lady-like appear- 
 ance) "to inquire after the welfare of the fair 
 maiden whom I unfortunately caused to suffer yes- 
 terday to learn in what condition she finds herself 
 today, and whether she requires the services of a 
 physician." 
 
 Then the door was opened wide. 
 
 Bending his head in courteous salutation, and 
 doffing his plumed and diamond-looped hat, he 
 stepped across the threshold looking so handsome, 
 so graceful, so noble, in his rich patrician costume 
 of amber velvet, with ruffles and neck-scarf of Flem- 
 ish lace, that to the inmates of the humble cottage 
 he almost seemed like a visitant from another world. 
 
 Barbara turned red and white by turns, Gretchen 
 stopped her spinning-wheel, and stood in astonished 
 silence at sight of the stranger, whom she scarcely 
 recognized in his civilian garb as the cavalier whom 
 she had so much admired the day before. 
 
 He turned at once to Barbara, who greeted him 
 with a smile of grateful recognition. 
 
 44
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "I hope you were not much hurt," said he, taking- 
 her hand. 
 
 "O! no. Not much. I am almost as well as 
 ever, and able, as you see, to resume my daily toil. 
 Dear mother," turning to her, "this is the gentle- 
 man who saved my life yesterday. But for him I 
 must have been trampled to death." 
 
 The widow made her acknowledgments promptly 
 and heartily. 
 
 "I could do no less," said he. "It was my horse 
 that caused the trouble. Yet it was not poor 
 Saladin's fault. It was the fault of that senseless 
 fool with his gun whom I caused to be arrested, 
 taken to prison, and soundly whipped. But it is 
 time that I should introduce myself. I am Fred- 
 erick von Schonberg, son of Count Schonberg, our 
 worthy Burggraf." 
 
 This was a startling announcement. That he 
 was a person of some consequence they knew, but 
 they did not dream of his rank being so exalted as 
 this. For the Burggraf was a Count of the em- 
 pire, appointed to his high office by the Emperor 
 as his representative. And a little trembling hope 
 that had crept unbidden into Barbara's heart re- 
 
 45
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 ceived a check on her learning the high rank of her 
 rescuer. 
 
 While they sat conversing, the little bird began to 
 whistle a popular melody. 
 
 "Why what ? that is one of the songs of Hans 
 Sachs, the cobbler. How comes your bird to know 
 the songs of Hans Sachs?" said Frederick, aston- 
 ished. For the business of teaching birds to sing 
 tunes was yet in its infancy. 
 
 "It is because Gretchen is constantly singing 
 them," said Barbara. 
 
 "Nay, it was Karl who taught him, not I. I 
 have no time to take so much pains." 
 
 "And who is Karl?" 
 
 The color mounted to the girl's cheek. She made 
 no reply. But Barbara answered for her. 
 
 "Karl is my sister's betrothed. He is a fine 
 singer, and belongs to the Guild of the Meister- 
 singers. He sang in the patriotic chorus yesterday. 
 His name is Karl Steiner." 
 
 "I believe I know him. I have seen him at the 
 meetings of the Guild ; for I also am a member." 
 
 For the Guilds of the Meistersingers included 
 all ranks of people. The members were for the 
 
 46
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 most part men dependent on their skill and industry 
 for their support; but the most aristocratic of the 
 burghers were not too proud to be found in the 
 ranks of the Meistersingers. On the contrary, they 
 considered it an honor. 
 
 "Yes," continued Schonberg, "I have noticed this 
 young Karl Steiner. He has a grand tenor voice. 
 He makes good verses, too. So it was he who 
 taught your bird to sing those pretty love-songs?" 
 to Gretchen. 
 
 "Yes. He gave me the bird in the first place, and 
 has spared no pains to train it." 
 
 "Happy Karl! Would to heaven," with an im- 
 passioned glance at Barbara, "that I could find so 
 charming a way to express the feelings of my soul ! 
 But I am dull and stupid. I can neither write verses 
 nor train birds. I am only a pupil of the Guild. I 
 fear I shall never be a Master-singer." 
 
 "It is nobler to be a soldier," said Barbara, soft- 
 ly; and the young man's eyes beamed with pleas- 
 ure. 
 
 Frederick Schonberg had the faculty of making 
 himself agreeable to everybody. A certain mag- 
 netism attracted people to him almost in spite of 
 
 47
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 themselves. He could readily adapt his conversa- 
 tion either to the young or the old; and as he sat 
 there, while his eyes roved continually to the fair 
 face and shapely form of Barbara, he chatted 
 familiarly with the mother, and drew from her much 
 of her life-history, and the, sad story of her reverse 
 of fortune. 
 
 In her youth, she had been noted as one of the 
 most charming women of Nuremberg; and even 
 now, in spite of care and poverty, and the lapse of 
 years, she was still beautiful, with a quiet inborn 
 dignity that pleased and attracted him all the more 
 so, perhaps, that he saw it reflected with still greater 
 charm in Barbara. 
 
 Her soft brown hair, streaked thickly with threads 
 of silver, but fine and silkly like that of her daugh- 
 ters, shaded a still unwrinkled brow, and her calm 
 blue eyes gave evidence of the steadfastness, purity, 
 and strength of the spirit that dwelt within. 
 
 She on her part was equally pleased with the 
 affability of the young nobleman. She was the 
 more drawn to him that she saw, or fancied she saw, 
 a resemblance in him to her own beloved eldest son, 
 who had died of the plague when about the same 
 
 48
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 age. Her maternal feelings were still further 
 touched, and a compassionate sentiment awakened, 
 by the intimation that he was motherless. 
 
 "I lost my mother/' said he, with emotion, "when 
 a mere boy. And oh ! what a loss that has been to 
 me!" 
 
 He took notice of the great carved chair, so dif- 
 ferent from its surroundings, in which she had in- 
 vited him to be seated, also of the inlaid table; and 
 inquired their history. 
 
 "They were favorite possessions of my late hus- 
 band, and at the ruin and breaking up of my home, 
 I retained them in remembrance of him. I suppose 
 it was foolish ; but it seemed to comfort me." 
 
 "On the contrary, it did you credit. And I feel 
 honored in being permitted to sit in a relic so pre- 
 cious. The carving is exquisite. The chair reminds 
 me of some that I saw in the imperial palace at 
 Vienna, where I spent a year or two at the military 
 school. It was there that I learned the art of war," 
 with a glance at Barbara. "And I should have liked 
 to join the imperial army; but my father thought 
 my duty lay nearer home, as commandant of the 
 city troops." 
 
 49
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "You have been in Vienna? Then you must 
 have seen the Emperor?" said Barbara. 
 
 "Yes. Brave 'Kaiser Max!' we cannot say too 
 much in his honor. I saw him frequently. He is 
 the grandest, noblest knight of the age truly, a 
 royal knight. No wonder the people shout and sing 
 in his praise as they did yesterday. He is also 
 spoken of as the 'handsomest man of our times.' ' 
 
 Here Frederick, as he glanced at Barbara, caught 
 an expression on her face that seemed to say there 
 was another who might well rival their emperor 
 in that respect; and he flashed back an answering 
 look that made her cheek burn and her eyes droop. 
 
 He smiled. 
 
 "But it is the Emperor's nobility of character that 
 calls forth our highest admiration, and draws men's 
 hearts to him. He is the very soul of truth and 
 honor. None ever applied to him for justice, ami 
 failed to obtain it." 
 
 After a prolonged interview he took his leave, 
 having made a most favorable impression on the 
 minds of all. 
 
 On his side, he was charmed with the purity, 
 modesty, and general superiority of the inmates of 
 
 50
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 the cottage, and more and more captivated with the 
 girl whom fortune and a restive horse seemed to 
 have thrown into his arms. 
 
 But with all his wiles, he failed to gain the good 
 will of the big black cat, which eyed him sus- 
 piciously, and refused to sit on his lap. Nor was he 
 more successful with the bullfinch, Vogel* so 
 Gretchen had named it, as being the bird of all birds 
 to her, because it was Karl's gift : which cocked its 
 little black head to one side, puffed out its russet-red 
 breast, and looked at him out of its intelligent eyes, 
 but utterly refused to resume its song at his bid- 
 ding. 
 
 *Bird. 
 
 51
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 In Gretchen's love affair there had been very little 
 romance. The course of true love in her case had 
 run smooth and even, without any jagged rocks or 
 swirling whirlpools to disturb its placidity. 
 
 Karl Steiner, a broad-shouldered, stalwart young 
 fellow, was the son of the wool-merchant for whom 
 she spun the yarn, that was afterwards to be woven 
 into cloth by the slow, laborious work of the hand- 
 loom. 
 
 To this merchant's warehouse she was accustomed 
 to go, week by week, to procure the wool for her 
 spinning. The warehouse was a considerable dis- 
 tance from her mother's cottage, and she had several 
 crowded streets to traverse, with her burden; but 
 though her delicate limbs trembled beneath the 
 weight of the pack of wool, her heart was light, and 
 when she thought of all that her mother had done 
 for her, she scarcely felt the fatigue. 
 
 Karl was employed in his father's warerooms. 
 
 52
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 It was his business to weigh out the wool to the 
 spinners. 
 
 As Gretchen came from week to week, to return 
 the smooth, evenly spun yarn, and obtain a fresh 
 supply of wool, he was attracted to her by her beauty 
 and modest deportment. 
 
 One day, as she left the warehouse, her slender 
 form bending beneath the weight of a bulky burden, 
 he called a comrade to take his place at the scales, 
 and followed her. 
 
 "I am going your way, Gretchen," he said, as he 
 overtook her. "Let me carry your bundle of wool." 
 
 With a gentle force, he relieved her of it; and 
 slinging it lightly on his shoulder accompanied her 
 to the door of her home, where he set down the pack, 
 and with a smile and a bow, passed rapidly on, with- 
 out giving her time to express her thanks. 
 
 Week after week this was repeated; for by a re- 
 markable coincidence, the young man always hap- 
 pened to be "going her way" at that particular hour. 
 
 And in process of time Karl and Gretchen were 
 betrothed, with the full consent and approval of 
 Steiner's parents. 
 
 "For," said the worthy wool merchant, "what if 
 
 53
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 the girl is poor, and obliged to work for her living ? 
 I was poor myself once ; and now I am a prosperous 
 burgher of Nuremberg, and can hold my own with 
 the best of them. And, as Ludwig Steiner is a 
 burgher, so was Bernhard Uhler no less a burgher. 
 He w r as unfortunate, and I have been favored by 
 Providence is that any reason why I should scorn 
 his daughter, or refuse to let my son wed with her ? 
 A pretty girl she is, and as honest and true as she 
 is pretty. Never is there a knot or a raveling or a 
 kink in the yarn she spins." 
 
 Although betrothed, their marriage was not to 
 take place for some time, owing to the youthfulness 
 of the lovers. But Karl and Gretchen, being de- 
 votedly attached to each other, were very happy in 
 the intermediate time. 
 
 54
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Only a few days had elapsed, when Schonberg 
 paid a second visit to the cottage. This time it was 
 ostensibly to order one of the exquisite little baskets 
 woven by Barbara's busy fingers, which he wished 
 to purchase as a gift to a friend, and for which he 
 insisted on paying much more than the price she had 
 asked for it. 
 
 After that, he came again, and yet again, many 
 times, without any excuse at all, except the undis- 
 guised pleasure of being in Barbara's company. 
 
 Not unfrequently he met Karl there, in the long 
 summer evenings, after the business of the ware- 
 rooms was closed for the day. At first, the young 
 burgher was rather shy of the young patrician ; but 
 the all-pervading affability of Frederick conquered 
 him, and they became warm friends. 
 
 Being both members, the two young men would 
 often sing together the songs they had learned at the 
 meetings of the Guild of Master-singers. In these 
 songs, Gretchen would sometimes join, with her 
 
 55
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 flute-like treble, and Barbara with a soft yet thrilling 
 second. For though women were not admitted to 
 the classes of the Guild, the quick ears of the girls 
 soon caught the airs from the singing of their lovers. 
 
 And every love-song that was sung for they 
 were chiefly love songs Frederick's eloquent eyes, 
 as they rested on the fair face of Barbara, translated 
 into their own impassioned language. 
 
 And sometimes the quartette became a quintette; 
 for Vogel would join in it with all his powers of 
 song ; occasionally varying the programme by jump- 
 ing off his perch, and cracking a hard hempseed with 
 his short little round bill. At which they would all 
 laugh, in the light-heartedness of youth. 
 
 The Society of the Master-singers, which had its 
 headquarters in Nuremberg, was an organization 
 that for three hundred years dominated the poetic 
 literature of Germany. Its most noted name was 
 that of Hans Sachs, as among the Minnesingers of 
 a former epoch, that of Walther von der Vogel- 
 weide was the most illustrious. 
 
 That its rules were most rigid is well known. 
 The Tabulator, or list of rules governing the singing 
 
 56
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 of a master-song, specified thirty-three faults to be 
 avoided, and the penalties attached to them. 
 
 "To become a master, one must begin as 'a 
 scholar.-' royal road to perfection there was none. 
 To have obtained by study a familiarity with the 
 rules was to be a 'school friend.' To be able to sing 
 a number of songs correctly was to earn a place as a 
 ' singer.' He who could make verses for a specified 
 tune might be a 'poet' and, finally, the originating 
 of an entirely new scheme of verse to a known or 
 an original tune, was to qualify for a 'mastership.' 
 The aspirant to this high position must, however, 
 accomplish much before the honor was awarded to 
 him." 
 
 The three annual festal days of the Guild were 
 held at Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide. They 
 were occasions of competitive singing, at which 
 prizes were awarded to the best singer of a song, 
 he being also the composer of the song. 
 
 The ordinary meetings of the classes were held 
 in the little church of Saint Martha, where also the 
 song festivals were celebrated. 
 
 "Whitsuntide is drawing near," said Frederick 
 one evening, as the friends sat at the cottage door 
 
 57
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 enjoying the long clear twilight of northern Europe. 
 "Shall you compete this year, Karl?" 
 
 "Yes, I shall compete. I have a great desire to 
 win that silver chain not that I care for it myself ; 
 but little Gretchen, here, has set her heart on my 
 winning it." 
 
 "Shall not you compete also, Herr Schonberg?" 
 said Barbara. 
 
 " 'Twould be of no use. I have not the talent of 
 our friend Karl. Were it sword-play, or lance-play, 
 I might have some chance of winning. But verse- 
 making ." He shook his head. 
 
 "But the singing you might win in that," per- 
 sisted she. "Your voice is at least as good as 
 Karl's" 
 
 "Better," interpolated Karl. 
 
 " And I am quite sure you could compose a few 
 verses to some old tune, even if you did not make 
 a new one." 
 
 "Do you think so, fair flatterer? And do you 
 really wish me to try ? Then I shall enter my name 
 in the singing contest. And if I win, I claim the 
 privilege of laying my trophy at your feet. So then, 
 friend Karl, look out for your laurels ! for the cele- 
 
 58
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 brated poet Schonberg is going to enter the lists 
 against you." 
 
 When the season of Whitsuntide arrived, the 
 church of Saint Martha was gaily decorated with 
 flowers and evergreens, and there the people gath- 
 ered to the Festival of Song. 
 
 A framework covered with black cloth was erected 
 in the church. On it sat four of the masters. The 
 oldest had a Bible before him, to note if the singer 
 used the language of Scripture correctly, should 
 the song be of a sacred character. The second mas- 
 ter, known as the "marker," noted every fault on a 
 tablet with chalk. The third wrote out the last 
 word of each line, and kept watch if the rhymes were 
 correct. The fourth listened sharply for faults in 
 the singing and division of the verses. 
 
 The church was filled with spectators, among 
 whom were found the Uhler sisters, in company 
 with the family of Karl Steiner, who of course were 
 deeply interested in the contest. 
 
 All being ready, the first of the contestants took 
 his place in the singer's chair, and removed his hat. 
 The marker cried: "Begin!" and after a short 
 
 59
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 silence, the song was sung, the audience listening 
 with the closest attention. 
 
 Several contestants had appeared, sung their 
 verses, and stepped aside, when the name of Fred- 
 erick von Schonberg was called. 
 
 With graceful ease, he took his place, and after 
 a pause in which his eyes roved over the assembly 
 in search of Barbara's face, sang a little sonnet in 
 praise of love and beauty. It was a trifle, but 
 pretty. It was his own composition. 
 
 After him came Karl. His song was more elab- 
 orate, more highly finished, and gave evidence of 
 great study and painstaking. His large frame, wide 
 chest, and head well-poised, formed a picture of 
 manly strength and vigor; and the rich, full tones 
 of his voice filled the church. 
 
 Others followed; and in the opinion of many, it 
 was the best exhibition of talent that had been given 
 in several years. 
 
 The first prize was awarded to Karl Steiner. He 
 was adjudged to have sung the best; and was dec- 
 orated with a massive silver chain, on the links of 
 which the names of the masters, past and present, 
 were engraved, and from which depended many 
 
 60
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 coins and medals donated by the masters and friends 
 of the organization. 
 
 The winning of the first prize was considered an 
 honor, not only to the successful competitor, but also 
 to his family, and his trade guild, if he belonged to 
 one. 
 
 The second prize, to the surprise of every one (in- 
 cluding himself) was awarded to Frederick von 
 Schonberg, in token of which, he was crowned with 
 a wreath of flowers. 
 
 Joy danced in the eyes of Gretchen as her lover 
 approached her, adorned with the much-coveted 
 silver chain. 
 
 Frederick, as the crowd was dispersing, advanced 
 to where Barbara stood with Wilhelmina Steiner, 
 Karl's sister, took the wreath of flowers from his 
 head, and laid it at her feet, with mock solemnity. 
 
 "I am a poet! I did not know it before! It is 
 you that have made me one." Then stooping to her 
 ear, he whispered: "It is love that has made me a 
 poet, as love made the Fleming, Quentin Matsys, a 
 painter." 
 
 The highest prize of all was a representation of 
 King David playing on the harp, stamped on a gold 
 
 61
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 plate. It was only given to those who had already 
 won all the other prizes; and was awarded to none 
 on the present occasion. 
 
 62
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 After the song festival, Frederick's visits to the 
 cottage became even more frequent. 
 
 Perhaps none of the party enjoyed those visits 
 more than did Dame Uhler herself. 
 
 It had been the dream of her life to see her daugh- 
 ters freed from the burden of toil, and restored to 
 the station in life from which their father's accumu- 
 lated misfortunes had hurled them. With this 
 thought in view, she had reared them most carefully, 
 guarding them especially from contact with the low 
 and coarse elements of those surroundings to which 
 her poverty condemned them. Even when the 
 twins were little girls, she would not let them play 
 with the rough, ill-mannered children of the Kleine- 
 Strasse to the no small indignation both of the 
 children and their mothers, who stigmatized the sis- 
 ters as the "proud little Uhlers." 
 
 Being a woman of excellent understanding, and, 
 for the times in which she lived, well educated, she 
 had taught them all she knew herself; at the same 
 
 63
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 time insensibly imparting to them that refinement 
 which comes from personal contact with the refined, 
 and which no book learning can supply. 
 
 In the growing attachment of the young patrician 
 for Barbara, she saw a vision of future prosperity 
 and happiness. For, with the example of honest, 
 true-hearted Karl before her, how could she doubt 
 that Frederick's attentions were equally honorable? 
 
 But alas ! for those dreams ! from them there had 
 to come an awakening. 
 
 She did not know that Frederick's visits to the 
 cottage were stolen visits, of which his father, the 
 Burggraf, knew nothing that Jerome, his servant, 
 was sworn to secrecy on the subject that a bride 
 had already been selected for him in the person of 
 the Lady Alexia Eisenfeld, daughter of one of the 
 wealthiest nobles of Bavaria that he, at his father's 
 suggestion, had promised to marry this lady, and 
 that the contract was already signed, although the 
 betrothal had not yet taken place. 
 
 Frederick Schonberg was the spoiled child of 
 fortune. The son of opulent and indulgent parents, 
 he had from his earliest years scarcely known what 
 it was to have a wish ungratified. 
 
 64
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 Gifted, in addition to wealth and position, with 
 personal beauty and knightly accomplishments, an 
 elegant address, and a winning tongue, his society 
 was courted in every circle. Ladies smiled upon 
 him, bright eyes grew brighter at his approach, and 
 he had learned to believe that his attractions were 
 irresistible. 
 
 Having lost his mother at an early age, and hav- 
 ing no sisters, the sweet restraints of home had ex- 
 ercised no influence over him. For his father, 
 though one of the noblest of men, was so immersed 
 in civic business, that he could not bestow that care 
 on the son's education which would have insured the 
 young man's treading in his own honored footsteps. 
 
 Furnished with unlimited funds, surrounded by 
 flatterers, and seduced by evil associates, it was 
 little wonder that Frederick's ungoverned passions 
 should have led him into vices that tarnished his 
 honor, and wounded his self-respect. 
 
 At twenty-two, he had already "seen life." 
 
 Many times, no doubt, his "young man's fancy" 
 had "lightly turned to thoughts of love." But un- 
 til the moment when he first beheld Barbara Uhler, 
 he had never felt a real love his engagement to 
 
 65
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 the Lady Alexia being a family affair, in which his 
 heart was not much interested. 
 
 When, after rescuing Barbara from her perilous 
 position, he sent his servant to ascertain where she 
 lived, he had thought of her merely as some peasant 
 girl with whom, in the loose gallantry of the age, he 
 might have a few hours' diversion. But instead of 
 that, he had met his fate. Instead of a mere pass- 
 ing fancy, the one absorbing passion that comes but 
 once in a lifetime had taken possession of his whole 
 being. And every successive visit to the cottage 
 plunged him deeper in the flood. 
 
 To win her love was now the object of his life. 
 
 Forsaking the society of the boon companions 
 with whom he had been wont to seek pleasure of a 
 rather low and sensuous description, he found in the 
 purer atmosphere of the widow's cottage a new and 
 inexpressible delight. 
 
 So intimate did he become that he frequently 
 stayed on the widow's invitation to partake of their 
 simple Abendessen, or supper; and never did the 
 costliest cates served up at the Burggraf's table taste 
 so sweet to him as the brown bread and water- 
 cresses, with perhaps a bit of ewe-milk cheese, 
 
 66
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 offered to him by Barbara, and eaten in the light of 
 her smile. 
 
 He made many presents, not only to Barbara her- 
 self, but to the family, sending Jerome, now with a 
 basket of choice fruit, now with a brace of quail 
 or partridge, shot by his own cross-bow, or brought 
 down by his falcons, when he engaged in the chase 
 with the young cavaliers and ladies of his own class. 
 
 One of his earliest gifts to Barbara was a lute, on 
 which instrument he himself played passably well, 
 and in the use of which he took great pleasure in 
 teaching her. At their little family concerts, also, 
 the lute's accompaniment proved an agreeable ad- 
 junct. 
 
 He frequently took the party (Karl included) to 
 see the marionettes, or puppet-plays a species of 
 dramatic entertainment much in vogue at the time, 
 and which we are told even Shakespeare and Ben 
 Jonson took delight in. 
 
 In order to conceal this intimacy from his father 
 and his associates, he seldom went directly to the cot- 
 tage in the Kleine Strasse; but, mounting his horse 
 as if for a ride, accompanied by his servant, would 
 make a wide detour, dismount in a neighboring 
 
 67
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 street, leave the animal in the hands of Jerome, and 
 slip unperceived to the place of attraction. With 
 the same end in view, he laid aside on such occasions 
 the rich and showy attire the silks and velvets, 
 the ribbons and laces and jewels, in which the young 
 nobles were wont to array themselves and substi- 
 tuted for it a plain citizen's dress, in all respects, 
 save perhaps fineness of texture, the same as that of 
 his new friend, Karl Steiner, the wool merchant's 
 son. 
 
 "Come!" said he, one evening, on calling at the 
 cottage, "Let us go to the puppet-show. They have 
 a new play on the wires, which will no doubt be 
 worth seeing." 
 
 The rest of the party joyfully agreed to this 
 proposal. 
 
 Accompanied by Karl and the two girls, he was 
 proceeding towards the place where the marionette 
 performance was to be given, when he suddenly 
 ran up against Rupert von Eisenfeld, the tall, hand- 
 some brother of the Lady Alexia. He was clad in 
 hunting-suit of dark green, with silver trimmings, 
 and wore on his head a velvet cap with an eagle's 
 feather. 
 
 68
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "Ha! Fritz," exclaimed he, "well met! At first 
 I hardly knew you, in that rig. Whither bound?" 
 
 Frederick turned first red and then pale, fof 
 Alexia's brother was of all persons the one whom 
 he would have wished to avoid. But in the gather- 
 ing twilight his prospective brother-in-law did not 
 seem to notice his confusion. 
 
 Recovering himself in a moment, he answered, 
 boldly: "Going with these friends to the puppet- 
 play. Will you not join us?" 
 
 "No. I cannot. I have a long ride before me* 
 and shall scarce reach home by midnight." 
 
 "What is your hurry? There are spare beds at 
 my father's house," said Frederick, forcing himself 
 to appear hospitable. 
 
 Rupert again declined, however; and with great 
 relief Schonberg saw him disappear around the 
 corner, apparently suspecting nothing. 
 
 But Rupert, though not of a reflective turn of 
 mind, could not help pondering on the subject as 
 he rode homeward. So much was he impressed by 
 it, that on the following morning he sought a 
 private interview with his father. 
 
 69
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "I saw a queer thing yesterday in Nuremberg, 
 father." 
 
 "What was it, my son?" 
 
 "After I had finished the business that took me 
 to the city, as I was hastening back to the hostelry 
 where I had stabled my horse, whom should I meet 
 but Fritz von Schonberg, masquerading in a plain 
 citizen's dress of gray cloth, a little woolen cap like 
 a prentice's cap on his head, without plume or jewel 
 or ribbon; and accompanied by two young women 
 and a young man, evidently of a rank much inferior 
 to his own. He said they were going to some place 
 of amusement, and that they were friends of his, 
 but he did not present them to me, and seemed em- 
 barrassed, and anxious to keep them in the back- 
 ground. Now, what does that mean?" 
 
 "Tut, tut!" said the Baron, with a deprecatory 
 wave of his hand; "that is nothing. Young men 
 have their fancies, their little secrets, their adven- 
 tures, into which it will not do to look too closely. 
 Think no more of it!" 
 
 "But they did not seem to be of that sort at all. 
 The girls were pretty and modest-looking, and so 
 much alike that I could not tell one from the other. 
 
 70
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 And the young man appeared quite respectable, and 
 not at all of the rowdy or swash-buckler breed. And 
 now I think of it, I believe he was one of the forty 
 members of the Guild, who sang the song of victory 
 at the Emperor's parade." 
 
 "That accounts for it," said the Baron. "Schon- 
 berg is a member also. As chums and comrades of 
 the Guild, they would naturally fraternize. And 
 the girls might have been the young man's sisters." 
 
 "But the disguise?" 
 
 "Pshaw! some whim of Schonberg's. Again I 
 say, think no more of it. And above all, say noth- 
 ing of it in Alexia's hearing." 
 
 "But it is on Alexia's account, and as Alexia's 
 brother, that I am troubled about it. Under the 
 circumstances, he has no right " 
 
 "Softly, my son. Do not you interfere. I have 
 made it a rule through life, not to meddle in other 
 people's affairs. And 'tis a wise rule. No good 
 ever comes of family interference. Let things take 
 their course. Only keep it from Alexia." 
 
 "But in this case," persisted Rupert, "where my 
 sister's happiness is at stake, I think interference 
 would be fully justified. If Frederick is playing
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 fast and loose with her, and carrying on an affair of 
 which he is ashamed with another woman, it is your 
 right as her father, or mine as her eldest brother, 
 to interfere, even at the point of the sword." 
 
 And Rupert's honest blue eyes gleamed with a 
 dangerous light, like the glitter of burnished steel. 
 For he loved his sister dearly. 
 
 Indeed, being the only girl among five grown-up 
 brothers, she ruled in their hearts like a queen over 
 the most devoted subjects ; and there was not one of 
 them who would not, like Rupert, have risked his 
 life to avenge any slight or indignity offered her. 
 
 But the Baron viewed the matter differently from 
 his son. 
 
 "No, no, not so," said the Baron. "Let him 
 alone. When Frederick has sowed all his wild oats, 
 he will settle down and become a worthy man, I 
 have no doubt." 
 
 With this fallacious reasoning, so ready on men's 
 lips, so misleading and ruinous in effect, the Baron 
 quieted the suspicions of his son. And the subject 
 was dropped. 
 
 Meantime Frederick, all unconscious of how 
 near he had been to the brink of a precipice, had 
 
 72
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 gaily conducted his friends to the puppet-show ; and 
 in the amusement afforded by the mimic performers, 
 and the delight of being with Barbara, the little cir- 
 cumstance was soon forgotten. But it must be 
 owned that he saw little of what was passing on the 
 stage, so absorbed was he in observing Barbara's 
 beauty, and listening to her sweet voice and silvery 
 laugh. 
 
 Thus the summer drifted away, and Frederick 
 Schonberg drifted with it, scarcely pausing to con- 
 sider whither its tide was bearing him. 
 
 73
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Jerome, Frederick's servant, was a close observer 
 of all that passed; and being deeply imbued with 
 superstition, put his own construction on his mas- 
 ter's infatuation. He believed it to be the effect of 
 sorcery. 
 
 He had a friend, named Gottlieb, another lackey, 
 with whom he was accustomed to discuss the subject 
 for Jerome's idea of keeping his master's secrets 
 was to communicate them to his friend. 
 
 To him he gave it as his opinion that the extraor- 
 dinary power obtained over his master by the inmates 
 of the cottage was the result of the Black Art. 
 
 "For I know not how else to account for it. That 
 a young noble like my master, who could choose any 
 girl in the circle of Franconia nay, who is affianced 
 to one of the finest of them all should turn his back 
 on those of his own rank, and devote himself to 
 the society of a poor miserable basket-maker! It 
 passes my comprehension ! Were it the other sister, 
 
 74
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 she with the bright eyes and fluffy hair I could 
 understand it better. But no more of that." 
 
 "Can nothing be done to save him from their 
 toils?" 
 
 "I know of nothing," said Jerome, gloomily. "If 
 you knew my master as well as I do, you would 
 understand that he will have his way, even if it leads 
 to his own destruction." 
 
 Soon after this conversation, something occurred 
 that served to confirm Jerome's worst fears. 
 
 Frederick, having learned that Barbara's mother 
 was suffering from a fit of illness, sent her with 
 thoughtful kindness a flask of choice wine to 
 strengthen her. 
 
 Jerome was as usual the bearer of the gift; and 
 in delivering it had well-nigh come to grief. 
 
 It happened that the black cat, instead of lying on 
 the window-sill as formerly, had stretched itself at 
 full length in the middle of the floor in front of the 
 fire; and Jerome, not observing it, unfortunately 
 set his foot on its tail. 
 
 With a yell of pain, the animal started up, spat 
 at him furiously, and darted out of the cottage door 
 like a flash. 
 
 75
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "And as I am a living man!" said Jerome, in de- 
 tailing the circumstances to his friend and crony 
 Gottlieb, "as I am a living man, I believe that cat 
 was the Foul Fiend himself! For when I got to 
 the door and I tell you I did not tarry I looked 
 up the street and down the street, but not a vestige 
 of that cat could I see ! It had vanished !" 
 
 "That was a fearsome thing, truly," said his 
 sympathizing friend. 
 
 "Yes. And that is not the only thing that makes 
 me suspicious of those women. Do you know, 
 Gottlieb, I think they have bewitched my master. 
 He can neither eat nor sleep for thinking of that 
 girl. He has forsaken all his former associates, and 
 spends hours and hours in that little hovel in the 
 Kleine Strasse. I fear they have given him a 
 philter, or enchanted love potion." 
 
 "I have heard of such things," said Gottlieb. 
 "The saints deliver us from all such devilish con- 
 trivances !" 
 
 "Then besides all that, they have a queer bird, 
 a little black-headed fellow of a bullfinch, that can 
 sing songs like a mortal. And how could it learn 
 to do that, except some evil spirit had possessed it? 
 
 76
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 Anyway, if they are not witches, they are Hussites, 
 or Calixtines, or whatever they call themselves, and 
 therefore capable of anything evil. The neighbors 
 say they never go to confession, nor admit a priest 
 within their doors. Moreover, they have been seen 
 reading certain mysterious writings, and offering 
 prayers not sanctioned by the church probably to 
 demons." 
 
 "A heretic is worse than a witch," remarked Gott- 
 lieb. 
 
 "I don't know, Gottlieb. There is little to choose 
 between them. The stake is the only cure for either 
 one. But I wish my master were quit of them, and 
 safe married to the red-haired Baroness Alexia. 
 Ah, Gottlieb, that is a bride worth having! Her 
 father has immense estates. True, she has five 
 brothers but there will be a goodly portion for 
 each when the old Baron dies. And yet my master 
 cares not for her, but is throwing himself away on 
 this penniless witch-woman's child." 
 
 " 'Tis surely a strange thing." 
 
 "And then, the airs they put on! I did but 
 touch my cap one day to the fluffy-haired one, and 
 give her one of my smiles, which you know, Gott- 
 
 77
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 lieb, are pleasing to most girls, but lord! she gave 
 me a look of scorn ; and the mother rebuked me for 
 a saucy varlet"
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 It was true, as Jerome had intimated, that the 
 Uhlers belonged to the sect of the Hussites those 
 early reformers who came before Luther, and who, 
 although their leader, John Huss, perished at the 
 stake, had spread throughout Germany, preparing 
 the way, like the Wycliffites in England, for the 
 advent of the greater Reformation. 
 
 Bernhard Uhler had been a zealous and prominent 
 person in the new sect, frequently assisting his less 
 fortunate brethren by the liberal use of his ample 
 means, yet conducting himself with so much dis- 
 cretion as to avoid the persecutions to which some 
 were subjected. 
 
 After his death, his widow had adhered to the 
 same faith, and brought up her children in it. But 
 their belief in the new teachings was quiet and un- 
 obtrusive, showing itself rather in purity of life and 
 the faithful discharge of all the duties that belong 
 to life, than in controversy and debate. 
 
 When the widow invited Frederick Schonberg to 
 
 79
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 be seated in the great arm chair, and pointed out to 
 him the beauty of the inlaid table, she did not tell 
 him that both chair and table concealed a secret 
 which, if known, might have brought the family into 
 trouble. 
 
 Under the cushions of the one, ana in the secret 
 receptacle in the mechanism of the other, lay hidden 
 certain Hussite manuscripts, copies of portions of 
 the Bible, forbidden to the laity, written in the Ger- 
 man or the Bohemian language, with other writ- 
 ings of Huss and his compeers treasures to her be- 
 yond computation, which if discovered by the agents 
 of the Inquisition, would have gone to feed the 
 flames, as perchance might have been the fate of 
 their possessors. 
 
 Meantime, as Frederick's visits to the cottage con- 
 tinued, his passion increased, until he felt that with- 
 out Barbara life would not be worth living. He 
 had never yet spoken of love to her, for his oppor- 
 tunities of seeing her alone had been few; but he 
 knew that he had won her artless and innocent heart. 
 
 And he forsooth! had promised to marry the 
 Lady Alexia von Eisenfeld! 
 
 But the thought of this marriage, in which his 
 80
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 heart had never been engaged, became daily more 
 distasteful to him. 
 
 "Frederick," said the Burggraf one day, "I am 
 about to set out on a visit to the Castle of Eisenfeld, 
 in order to see the Baron, and finish the legal busi- 
 ness connected with your marriage. Shall you 
 accompany me, in order to pay your respects to the 
 Lady Alexia?" 
 
 The young man started to his feet, paie as death. 
 
 "I I excuse me, dear father," he stammered. 
 "It will not be convenient for me to go at this 
 time." 
 
 "I am sorry. It seems to me that you are not a 
 very ardent lover. When I courted your dear 
 mother, it was different." 
 
 "That was because you loved my mother, and I 
 oh, my mother! would to God she were alive now! 
 For I need her counsels." 
 
 "Is anything troubling you, my son?" said the 
 Burggraf, struck with the tones of his voice, which 
 trembled in spite of him. 
 
 Why did he not stand up and say: "Father! I 
 love another woman. She is beautiful and good. 
 She is the equal of the Lady Alexia in all save wealth 
 
 81
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 and social standing. She is my heart's desire the 
 woman of my choice ! Break off negotiations with 
 Baron von Eisenfeld, and let me marry Barbara 
 Uhler!" 
 
 Instead of this manly course, he merely said: 
 "You had better postpone your visit, dear father. I 
 see some heavy clouds hanging on the mountains. 
 I fear you will be caught in a storm." 
 
 And to his great relief, his father yielded. For 
 the Castle of Eisenfeld was twenty miles distant, 
 up among the mountains of Bavaria, and the journey 
 had to be performed on horseback. 
 
 But this was only putting off the evil day; for 
 the matter still hung over him, like the clouds on 
 the mountains. 
 
 A decision must be arrived at. But what de- 
 cision? Marry the Baroness he must. His word 
 was pledged. To break it were to put an affront 
 on a noble and high-born lady which would embroil 
 the two families in a deadly feud, and make a breach 
 between himself and his father, on whom he was 
 wholly dependent 
 
 But to give up Barbara? That was impossible. 
 
 "Oh, that I were free to follow the dictates of 
 82
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 my heart!" he sighed. "Then would I make thee 
 my bride, my sweet Barbara! Then would I taste 
 
 true happiness! But " 
 
 But the wish, though oft repeated, brought him 
 no nearer the solution of the difficulty.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 He now watched for an opportunity to confer 
 with Barbara alone. 
 
 But such opportunities were rare, owing to the 
 strictness of the widow's family rules. If he some- 1 
 times met her near the wondrous shrine in Saint 
 Sebaldus' Church, where she went to perform her 
 devotions, she was sure to be accompanied by either 1 
 her mother or sister. Sometimes he encountered 
 her in the market-place, as she rested her slender 
 basket of provisions on the railing of the "Beautiful 
 Fountain;" but that, in the midst of the noise and 
 turmoil of traffic the shrill cries of the market- 
 women in their red petticoats and quilted caps, the 
 cackling of hens, the squeaking of pigs, and other 
 kindred sounds was no place for conversation. 
 
 One day, Barbara had gone to a low-lying field 
 on the bank of the river, a little out of the city, 
 where grew the osiers best suited for the fine basket 
 work in which she excelled osiers of a peculiar 1 
 growth, long, supple, slender, and valuable in pro- 
 
 84
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 portion to their length, their suppleness, their slen- 
 derness, and their toughness. 
 
 Having cut a sufficient quantity of the withes 
 (technically "rods") she tied them up in a bundle 
 or fagot, to be carried home there to be peeled and 
 soaked and rendered fit for use, by a more or less 
 laborious process. 
 
 Then sitting down on a grassy bank, beneath the 
 spreading branches of a linden tree, she fell into 
 a reverie. 
 
 Needless to say of what and of whom she was 
 thinking ! 
 
 The breeze rustled gently through the boughs 
 of the tree overhead, and one of the fragrant leaves, 
 detaching itself from its pendent stalk, dropped on 
 her lap. 
 
 Barbara was well acquainted with the legends 
 connected with the linden, which in Germany is the 
 lovers' favorite tree probably, says one, because 
 its leaves are heart-shaped. She knew that lovers 
 delighted to do their wooing under it, and that the 
 love-songs of the people abounded with allusions 
 to it. She had seen in the courtyard of the castle 
 the great linden tree said to be coeval with the found- 
 
 85
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 ing of the fortress, and to have been planted by the 
 hand of Queen Cunegunde herself. And she said 
 within her heart: "Who knows what tales of love 
 that linden might reveal? 
 
 "Under its branches sat Conrad with his wife 
 Gisela. Under its branches the great Emperor Fred- 
 eric Barbarossa held sweet converse with his be- 
 loved Beatrice, whose influence over him was so 
 great that on one occasion he sent her away from 
 him, lest her pleadings should hinder him from exe- 
 cuting strict justice on some enemies of the empire. 
 Who knows but that as he sits, according to ancient 
 legend, in his cave amid the mountains of Thuringia, 
 surrounded by his knights in full armor, ready to 
 sally forth in Germany's most pressing hour of need 
 who knows but that the red-bearded chieftain 
 thinks of her and of the linden tree under which he 
 sat with her, so many centuries ago?" 
 
 To Barbara, therefore, the falling of the heart- 
 shaped linden leaf in her lap seemed like a good 
 omen a silent message of love from her absent 
 lover. 
 
 The birds sang in the tree. The river purled 
 86
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 i 
 
 softly at her feet. A skylark, poised in the upper 
 air, poured forth a flood of melody. 
 
 The bank on which she sat was gemmed with 
 daisies not the tall ox-eyed daisy, but the "wee, 
 modest, crimson tipped flower," the Marguerite of 
 the French, the Ganzeriblume of the German peasant, 
 the theme of the poet in many lands. 
 
 She picked a daisy from amid the grass; and, 
 scarcely noting what she was doing, began to pull 
 its petals off, one by one, murmuring the while the 
 well-known rustic love-test: "He loves me, he 
 loves me not," etc. And when the small yellow 
 disc, with one solitary petal attached, answering 
 to the magic words, "He loves me!" remained in 
 her hand, she softly kissed it, and hid it in the 
 bosom of her bodice. Another omen ; and this time, 
 she thought, a true one, surely. 
 
 "For does he not love me?" she whispered to 
 herself. "Ah, yes, I cannot doubt it. His every 
 act and look assure me of it. And oh ! how I love 
 him ! My gallant knight ! My noble cavalier ! Was 
 there ever another like him?" 
 
 Soon after, she heard the sound of horses' feet, 
 and on looking up, beheld Frederick Schonberg 
 
 87
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 approaching rapidly, on his good horse Saladin. 
 
 Instinctively, and with a fluttering heart, sh 
 drew a swaying branch of willow towards her, as 
 if to conceal herself from his observation. But the 
 well-known blue bodice, which displayed the ex- 
 quisite symmetry of her form and accorded so well 
 with the clear red and white of her complexion, 
 attracted his attention. 
 
 Springing from his horse, he was at her side in a 
 moment. 
 
 "Fortune has favored me today," he said, taking 
 her hand and raising it to his lips, as he seated him- 
 self on the turf beside her. "I have long looked 
 for such an opportunity as this, in which I might, 
 uninterrupted, speak to you of that which lies near- 
 est my heart. Barbara! dearest Barbara! I love 
 you!" 
 
 The smiles and blushes of the artless maiden told 
 that the pleasure of the meeting was mutual. And 
 as he poured into her ear protestations of passion- 
 ate and unchanging love, her hand trembled in his 
 grasp, and a feeling of ecstatic joy thrilled the in- 
 most recesses of her spirit. For her whole nature 
 
 88
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 had gone out to him. She loved him nay, she 
 almost adored him as a superior being. 
 
 It was rapture to hear him tell that he loved her, 
 as the flowers love the summer rain and the sun- 
 shine that he loved her as man never loved be- 
 fore that she was his light, his life, his star that 
 he could not live without her with other rhapso- 
 dies, which lovers have spoken and maidens have 
 listened to, since the beginning of the world. 
 
 His ardent pleadings won from the girl an avowal 
 of her love; and the seal of love was imprinted on 
 her lips by the impassioned youth. 
 
 Then, with his arm around her, and her fair head 
 resting on his bosom, he pictured to her the beauti- 
 ful, luxurious bower he had prepared for her, 
 adorned with silken hangings, rich tapestries, and 
 priceless treasures from the Orient a bower where 
 every delight that heart could desire or wealth could 
 purchase should be hers. She should wear the rich- 
 -est jewels and the most costly attire. She should 
 have servants to do her slightest bidding; and she 
 should see him ever at her feet, her devoted lover, 
 her slave, her worshiper. 
 
 "All that is most beautiful and delightful in life 
 89
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 shall be thine, my beloved! Sweet music shall 
 charm thine ears, and everything that could give 
 pain or discomfort shall be banished forever! 
 
 "No more," he continued, "shall those beautiful 
 hands of thine, fit only to touch the lute or sound 
 the zithern, to charm the ear of him who loves you 
 no more shall they handle those hateful sticks of 
 willow." He kicked the bundle of rods that lay at 
 their feet, and made it roll down the bank. "No- 
 more shall you engage in those degrading labors " 
 
 "Nay," interrupted Barbara, "toilsome they are, 
 but not 'degrading.' Honest toil is never degrad- 
 ing. It is only evil-doing that is degrading." 
 
 A shadow passed over his face at these words. 
 
 "Be that as it may, there shall be no more toil 
 for those dear fingers." He kissed them as he 
 spoke. 
 
 "But my mother my sister? " 
 
 "Shall also be freed from labor. You shall pro- 
 vide for them, so that they shall never again know 
 what poverty means." 
 
 "But but your father, the Burggraf will he 
 does he approve ?" faltered Barbara. 
 
 Again a cloud swept over her lover's face. 
 90
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "My father oh, well in fact, my father does 
 not know of our love; and I wish it still to be kept 
 secret from him." 
 
 "But why?" said Barbara, startled. "I am sure 
 my mother will never consent to a secret mar- 
 riage." 
 
 It was evident that she had not understood the 
 import of his words. Such was the innocence of 
 her heart and the sincerity of her nature, that she 
 could not conceive of those burning words being- 
 steeped in falsehood. She believed that he was 
 wooing her as his bride, like honest Karl with her 
 sister Gretchen. 
 
 But when at last the shameful truth broke in 
 upon her, that it was love without marriage he was 
 offering her, she felt like one in whose path an 
 abyss has suddenly opened. 
 
 She sprang to her feet, a deep flush of shame 
 and indignation on her countenance, and cast on 
 him a look in which horror, anguish, and reproach 
 were mingled. 
 
 Frederick quailed before it. 
 
 Then she turned from him without a word. 
 
 "Nay, but hear me, Barbara. Listen to me,
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 darling of my heart," said he, following her, and 
 trying to take her hand. "Forgive me pity me, 
 Barbara. Most gladly would I wed you, were I 
 free to follow the dictates of my heart. But my 
 father holds my fate in his hands. He has other 
 plans for me " 
 
 "Stop !" said Barbara, in a voice that startled him, 
 as, shaking off his grasp, she stood up before him, 
 rigid as a statue. 
 
 Frederick stepped back in involuntary admira- 
 tion. He had never seen her look so beautiful. It 
 was no longer the gentle Barbara who stood before 
 him it was a queenly woman, with flushed cheeks, 
 and eyes flashing with the fire of her outraged and 
 indignant womanhood. 
 
 "What do you take me for, Herr Schonberg?" 
 she said, in a voice trembling with agitation. "How 
 dare you offer such an insult to the daughter of my 
 father to the child of the angel-woman whom I 
 have the privilege to call mother? How dare you 
 thus wrong the heart that loved you? For I loved 
 you, Frederick Schonberg. I loved you and trusted 
 you with my whole heart. I gave you, even before 
 you asked me for it, the pure, virgin love of an 
 
 92
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 innocent maiden. For I thought you an honorable 
 man a knight without reproach; and your conde- 
 scension in seeking (as I thought) to mate with 
 me, a poor girl who had nothing to give you in re- 
 turn, seemed to me something kinglike almost 
 godlike. But now now! I scorn you! I despise 
 you! I fling your love in your face, for it was 
 false! false! false!" 
 
 With an expressive gesture, as if throwing away 
 something utterly worthless, she turned from him, 
 and busied herself in adjusting the cord that held 
 her rods together, which his savage kick had dis- 
 arranged. 
 
 "Barbara! darling!" said he, following her, "do 
 not leave me do not scorn me thus; I love you, 
 Barbara I have loved you from the first moment I 
 saw you I need you, dearest I cannot exist with- 
 out you !" Thus he went on, uttering vow on vow, 
 and protestation on protestation, with the most pas- 
 sionate earnestness. 
 
 But Barbara answered him not a word. 
 
 Having, with shaking hands that could hardly 
 do the office, bound up her rods, she turned to him 
 again, with a face now pale as monumental marble; 
 
 93
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 and it was once more the mild and gentle Barbara 
 that looked from her eyes as she spoke. 
 
 "I forgive you this insult, Herr Schonberg. And 
 I shall pray God to forgive you for having thus 
 tempted me. But oh! I beseech you, let me never, 
 never see your face again." 
 
 At these words, so calmly yet so firmly spoken, 
 Frederick uttered a cry of pain, and flung himself, 
 face down, on the grassy bank among the daisies 
 like a petted child balked of its wish. 
 
 Barbara heard that agonized cry, and glancing 
 towards him, beheld him lying prone on the earth, 
 his face buried in his hands while heavy sobs con- 
 vulsed his frame. 
 
 She trembled. 
 
 Her heart bled. 
 
 A thrill of tender pity for him penetrated her soul ; 
 for a love like hers cannot be crushed out all at 
 once, even by the un worthiness of its object. 
 
 She made one step towards him. 
 
 Then raising her clasped hands and her eyes to 
 heaven in a prayer for help, she caught up her bun- 
 dle of osiers, and hastened from the spot. 
 
 Schonberg, as he heard her depart, raised his 
 
 94
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 head, but made no further effort to detain her. He 
 watched her until she disappeared from his view. 
 
 Then, rising hastily, he remounted his horse, and, 
 driving his spurs into the animal's sides, rode away 
 at a furious pace, half mad with disappointment, 
 vexation, and love. 
 
 The decision had at last been made a decision 
 which his previous training and the loose morals 
 of the age rendered all too easy of adoption. And 
 did not his better nature plead against the evil 
 thing he was contemplating? Yes; but passion 
 pleaded yet more urgently, and the dictates of pas- 
 sion were stronger than those of honor. 
 
 95
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 How Barbara reached her home that day she 
 scarcely knew. Her strength, the buoyant strength. 
 of her youth and perfect health, that had been wont 
 to render her burden so light and her step so elastic, 
 seemed all at once to have forsaken her. 
 
 Faintly and wearily, her eyes blinded by tears, 
 she dragged one foot after the other, stumbling at 
 almost every step. 
 
 As she entered the cottage, she dropped her bun- 
 dle of rods on the threshold, and sank down beside 
 it, limp and helpless. 
 
 Her mother sprang to her. 
 
 "My child ! , My darling ! What has happened ? 
 Are you ill?'* 
 
 "No, mother dear. Only tired oh, so tired." 
 
 "It is too far for you to carry those rods. You 
 must not go to the osier swamp again; or if you 
 do, we must give a boy a groschen or two to carry 
 them for you;" said her mother, thinking she was 
 over-fatigued with her burden. 
 
 96
 
 A ROYAE KNIGHT. 
 
 "Yes, mother. It is too far," humoring the idea. 
 "I shall never go there again to cut osiers." 
 
 And that was all she said on the subject. For 
 she could not bring herself to tell even her mother 
 of Frederick's perfidy. She wished to lock it in 
 her own bosom, to hide it from every one, save God 
 alone. 
 
 But the mother, with a mother's intuitive percep- 
 tions, saw that something painful had happened 
 that some crushing blow had fallen upon her child; 
 and, surmising the truth, at length drew the whole 
 sad story from the heart-broken girl. 
 
 The widow's indignation knew no bounds. And 
 self-reproach mingled largely with her indignation. 
 She felt that she had entertained a wolf in sheep's 
 clothing, and blamed herself severely, because she 
 had not been more wary. 
 
 "Oh, the villain! The base, dishonorable vil- 
 lain! Was it for this that he sought our humble 
 cottage, and spoke so fair, and seemed so good and 
 kind to all of us? Who would have suspected him 
 of evil intentions? Oh, my darling! forgive me, 
 that I, your mother, did not guard you more care- 
 fully against this false traitor. Alas ! my pride mis- 
 
 97
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 led me. But God be praised that my child had firm- 
 ness enough and principle enough to withstand the 
 tempter's wiles." 
 
 With sweet endearments and pious teachings she 
 endeavored to pour the balm of consolation into 
 poor Barbara's bleeding wounds. 
 
 But what could restore the broken idol? What 
 replace the lost faith in the one she loved? Or 
 what console the heart, forced to despise where it 
 once had worshiped? Nothing, save submission 
 to the Divine will. 
 
 When Barbara disrobed that night, the remains 
 of the daisy she had plucked to pieces and hidden 
 in her bosom dropped on the floor. A false omen 
 indeed it had proved! With a swelling heart she 
 set her foot on it, and crushed it into the sand 
 with which the floor was strewn. 
 
 Naturally reticent, Barbara kept her trouble to 
 herself, never speaking of it again, after the one 
 explanation to her mother. Often, in the night 
 time, her twin sister, who slept with her, would 
 hear, or rather feel, her half-suppressed sobs, and 
 would lovingly put her arms around her, and whis- 
 per sweet, soothing words to her; but Frederick's 
 
 98
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 name was never mentioned between them : though 
 it was hard sometimes for impulsive Gretchen to 
 keep still, so incensed was she against her whilom 
 "splendid cavalier," who had so pleased her at the 
 civic parade. 
 
 No outward change took place in Barbara's de- 
 portment. She retained the same mild and gentle 
 manner by which she had always been distinguished, 
 ever ready to lighten her mother's cares, and make 
 herself useful in the household. But her cheek 
 grew pale, her form lost its roundness, and her 
 step became more languid from day to day, as she 
 went on her little errands, or wandered by the 
 brookside gathering osiers (the cottagers who 
 dwelt near that low-lying field on the banks of the 
 Pegnitz noticed with surprise that the pretty bas- 
 ket-maker never came there any more, to obtain 
 osiers for her work). 
 
 The shock to her sensibilities had been more than 
 she could bear. Like Shakespeare's heroine, she 
 "pined in thought," and, brooding silently on her 
 trouble, let it eat into her heart. 
 
 And in all probability she would have faded away, 
 or fallen into a condition of settled melancholy, had 
 
 99
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 not something occurred that roused her to action, 
 and effectually stayed the advances of the wasting 
 heart-sickness. 
 
 100
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 When Jerome saw the plight to which his master 
 was reduced, after his interview with Barbara, he 
 was more than ever convinced that the young noble" 
 was bewitched, and that the Uhler family had deal- 
 ings with the Evil One. 
 
 "I have no longer any doubt of it," said he to 
 Gottlieb. "I am convinced that either the old wom- 
 an or the young one or perhaps both have signed 
 a compact with Satan, written in their own blood, 
 with a quill drawn from a raven's wing, by which 
 they have obtained the power to exercise a super- 
 natural influence on others. It is impossible in any 
 other way to account for the condition into which 
 my poor master has fallen. Sometimes he raves 
 and rages like a madman. At other times he is 
 sunk in gloom. There seems to have been a lovers' 
 quarrel between him and the girl. She refuses to 
 see him. And he is downright ill about it. Either 
 they have given him a love-philter, or perhaps they 
 have his image in wax laid before the fire, that as 
 
 101
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 it slowly melts, so he may languish and gradually 
 pine away. For I know by the way his clothes 
 hang on him, that he is falling away in flesh." 
 
 " 'Tis a pity. He was a goodly young gentle- 
 man," said Gottlieb, sympathetically. 
 
 "I tell you, Gottlieb, that great black cat is not 
 there for nothing. That he is the old woman's 
 'familiar' I have no doubt. I seem to feel his claws 
 in my flesh, and to see his great green eyes, and 
 his huge tail as thick as my arm, and to hear his 
 horrid yell as he rushed past me, and vanished! 
 Ugh!" 
 
 "If the woman is a witch, her case ought to be 
 attended to," said Gottlieb, sententiously. "There is 
 no telling what harm she may do to others besides 
 your master." 
 
 102
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 At the sign of the Bratwurstglocklein, a long, 
 low-ceiled but spacious wine-room, or tavern, a mot- 
 ley company was gathered. 
 
 The place, as its name implies, was famous for 
 the excellence of its fried sausages. 
 
 It was frequented by some of the first people of 
 the city. Poets and painters, men of letters and 
 men of art, as well as those of a lower grade, met 
 there, in social converse. There, perhaps, Peter 
 Visscher and his five gifted sons may have sat, and 
 discussed the details of that wonderful shrine of 
 St. Sebaldus, on which they labored for thirteen 
 years ; and Adam Krafft, the sculptor, as he munched 
 the savory sausage and drank the cup of mead, 
 may have received fresh inspiration for the tracery 
 of that marvelous stone tabernacle in St. Lawrence's 
 Church, which some one has called a piece of lace- 
 work in stone. 
 
 The Nurembergers were a sociable people, and 
 their houses being for the most part small, the 
 
 103
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 family and social gatherings of all ranks were held 
 in the wine-rooms, or other places of entertain- 
 ment. 
 
 At intervals on the sanded floor were placed little 
 tables, garnished with tankards of wine, ale, or 
 mead, around which gathered small coteries of con- 
 genial friends, to discuss the news of the day, inter- 
 change opinions of things in general, and partake 
 of the toothsome sausage for which the house was 
 famed. Ever and anon, the little bell (glocklein) 
 would sound, to signify that more refreshment, 
 either solid or liquid, was needed. The tapsters 
 flitted from table to table with the brimming tank- 
 ards. The vintner himself from time to time stepped 
 in, to see that his guests were well attended to ; and 
 the cook heaped relays of sausages on his brasier. 
 
 At one table, on the present occasion, sat Albert 
 Diirer, Germany's greatest painter, whose home was 
 in Nuremberg. Here, with his friend, Willibald 
 Pirckheimer, and other distinguished painters and 
 engravers, he talked of art, its charms, its develop- 
 ments, its possibilities. That Diirer was fond of 
 social pleasures, and was even "full of fun," is 
 learned from his correspondence with Pirckheimer 
 
 104
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 and others. This relaxation was no doubt neces- 
 sary to relieve the tremendous tension of such con- 
 ceptions as his "Melancholia," his "Death on the 
 Pale Horse," and other masterpieces, which must 
 have taxed his powers to the uttermost. 
 
 In strong contrast to this refined and intellectual 
 group, at another table a company of rough-coated 
 farmers and drovers discussed crops and cattle. 
 
 At another table, old white-haired Leonhard 
 Nonnenbeck, the weaver, leader of the Meister- 
 singers, sat amid a bevy of his pupils. Hans Sachs, 
 the cobbler-poet, was not there, he having gone off 
 on one of his periodical foot- journeys, with his 
 shoemaker's kit on his back, and the songs that de- 
 lighted his countrymen in his heart and on his 
 lips. 
 
 At still another table, placed somewhat apart from 
 the others, were seated Jerome, his friend Gottlieb, 
 and half a dozen other men of similar rank in life. 
 They talked in low tones, yet loud enough to be 
 overheard by the other guests. 
 
 From time to time the huge tankard a tall ves- 
 sel of brown pottery, with a hunting scene depicted 
 in bas-relief on its sides, the handle formed of the 
 
 105
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 body of a hound stretched to the utmost as if at 
 full speed passed from hand to hand around the 
 table, each man taking a deep draught from it, and 
 setting it down with a sigh of satisfaction, as he 
 wiped the foam from his lips. And the oftener it 
 passed, the tongues wagged the more freely. 
 
 Jerome was the chief speaker, and his subject 
 was -witchcraft. 
 
 "Do you know, neighbors," said Gottlieb, "that 
 another witch has been discovered?" 
 
 A thrill of horror and disgust passed around. 
 
 "Where? Where?" cried several voices. 
 
 "In the lane called the Kleine Strasse. Jerome 
 knows all about it. Tell them the story of the black 
 cat, Jerome." 
 
 Jerome, nothing loth, immediately launched out 
 in a highly embellished account of his adventure 
 with the Widow Uhler's cat. 
 
 "I had gone to the house on a little errand for 
 my master. I had been there before, and had seen 
 the cat many times a great, monstrous, black beast, 
 without a hair of white upon him. He had never 
 troubled me before. But this time, as he lay 
 sprawled out on the floor, I happened to set my 
 
 1 06
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 foot on "the end of his tail. And Lord! you ought 
 to have heard the yell he gave, as he twisted his 
 body up for my foot was still on his tail and 
 spat at me, and clawed at me, as if he would tear 
 the skin from my foot and leg. But, luckily, my 
 shoe, having been lately cobbled by the rhymester,, 
 Sachs, withstood his efforts. Then he pulled his 
 tail from under my foot, and as his fur brushed 
 across my woolen hose, sparks of fire flew out of 
 it with a crackling noise, and away he flew, swift 
 as a flash of lightning, his tail as thick as my arml 
 And when I hurried to the door to see what had 
 become of him, he had vanished he was nowhere !" 
 
 His hearers listened with open mouths and star- 
 ing eyes. Some uttered exclamations of horror, 
 and crossed themselves; while others breathed the 
 specific prayer which was Luther's safeguard against 
 the attacks of the devil: "Gott sei bei uns!" (God 
 be with us!), which, by the way, is a good prayer 
 at all times. 
 
 "There, now," said Hugo, the blacksmith, "I 
 knew I should hear some ill news today; for when 
 I went out in the morning, the first thing, a mag- 
 pie flew across my path. And that is a bad omen." 
 
 107
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "Ah, yes," said another, " 'tis an ill-omened bird, 
 the magpie." 
 
 "But this witch that I speak of," said Jerome, 
 "has a bird that beats your magpie all hollow. It 
 is nothing but a bullfinch; but by the shrine of 
 Saint Sebaldus! it can whistle and sing just like a 
 human being. Such is the power the witch exer- 
 cises." 
 
 "That is nothing," said an intelligent-looking 
 young man in the dress of a student, who had not 
 yet spoken. "I had a starling once, that learned to 
 pronounce my name Otto Wenzel as plainly as 
 I say it now." 
 
 "But that is very different from singing songs 
 and roundelays, as this bird does." 
 
 " 'Tis astonishing," said an old sailor from Genoa, 
 who had come to Nuremberg to dispose of some 
 rich Oriental cloths which he had brought from 
 India. " 'Tis astonishing what power those witches 
 attain by their compact with the devil. They have 
 been known to raise a great storm at sea, just by 
 whipping a bucket of water with a switch ! And, by 
 the way, I am told that a man, a countryman of 
 
 1 08
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 my own, one Columbus, has lately sailed across the 
 unknown seas, and discovered a new world! 
 Doubtless by the wonderful power of witchcraft!" 
 
 "I am not afraid of witches," remarked another 
 of the company; "no, nor of magpies, neither; for 
 I wear a talisman constantly around my neck." 
 
 "So do I," said another. "I have the word 
 'Abracadabra? written in a triangle, and folded in 
 the form of a cross. This not only keeps away 
 witches, but cures the ague, if you wear it nine 
 days in your bosom, and then throw it backward 
 before sunrise into a stream running eastward. And 
 besides all that, every egg I eat I crush the shell of 
 it in my hand, lest the witches should use it as a 
 boat." 
 
 "I," said Otto Wenzel, "possess an amulet a 
 real abraxas stone from Egypt, beautifully carved 
 with the form of a man and the head of a bird, 
 which my mother insists on my wearing. But I 
 confess I have not much faith in it. I keep it as a 
 curiosity." 
 
 "I have a horse-shoe nailed to the lintel of my 
 door," said Hugo, the blacksmith, "and a plant o 
 
 109
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 St. John's-wort growing at the very door-step. 
 You know the old rhyme 
 
 " Trefoil, vervain, John's-wort, dill, 
 Hinder witches of their will.' 
 
 And if those things won't keep witches away, I 
 know not what would." 
 
 "I had rather," said another, "have the trefoil 
 than the John's-wort; for the trefoil is the emblem 
 of the Trinity. And every one knows that no witch 
 can pronounce the name of God, or say the Pater 
 Noster, unless she says it backward." 
 
 "I am glad," remarked another of the worship- 
 ful company, "that I and my family dwell on the 
 opposite side of the Pegnitz from the Kleine Strasse, 
 for, as you all know, no witch can cross a running 
 stream." 
 
 "No," said Otto, banteringly, "but she can mount 
 in the air on a broomstick, and fly over it. So you 
 see, you are no better off than the rest of us." 
 
 "But there is another thing, besides the cat and 
 the -bird," said Jerome, returning to his text, "about 
 that Uhler woman; and that is, the extraordinary 
 resemblance between the two daughters." 
 
 no
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "I have seen them," eagerly interrupted Hugo. 
 
 "Though I have seen them many times, I can 
 scarcely tell the one from the other yet. That, too, 
 I doubt not, is the work of the Evil One," said 
 Jerome. 
 
 "That is common enough in the case of twins," 
 said the skeptical Otto. "I also have seen those 
 twin sisters. Beautiful maidens they are! I am 
 loth to believe them the children of the Evil One. 
 To me, they seem rather like the handiwork of 
 heaven." 
 
 "Do you not know that Satan sometimes appears 
 as an angel of light, as the priests tell us ? And tEat 
 it was in the shape of a beautiful woman that he 
 tempted the good Saint Anthony, when everything 
 else had failed?" said one. 
 
 "That is common enough, too," replied the young 
 man, with a laugh. "If you have no better proofs 
 to bring forward, you have no right to call this 
 gentlewoman a witch!" 
 
 "But I can give you a proof," said the big, burly 
 blacksmith, roughly. "When my neighbor, old 
 Andreas, went to milk his cow this morning, the 
 never a drop of milk would the beast let down into 
 
 in
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 the pail. I thought it was because his young gal- 
 lows-bird of a boy had raced the cow all the way 
 from the pasture to his door-yard; but now I know 
 the true reason the cow was bewitched." 
 
 "And did not the steeple of St. Joseph's church 
 fall down the other night in the storm? What bet- 
 ter proof could you have that there were witches 
 abroad? One thing is certain, that this matter will 
 have to be attended to. Witches are a most dan- 
 gerous class. The last visitation of the plague that 
 we had was undoubtedly caused by the witches." 
 
 "Or by the filthy condition of the streets and 
 alleys, the ill-ventilated houses, and the lack of sani- 
 tary care," said Otto Wenzel. 
 
 "Not so not so. For after a few hundred 
 witches had been burned at the stake, the plague 
 ceased, and has not visited us since." 
 
 "Perhaps the lighting of so many funeral pyres 
 had the effect of purifying the air," persisted Otto, 
 to the great displeasure of his companions, who 
 thought him little better than a heretic. 
 
 112
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 While this conversation was going on each man 
 giving some detail of witchcraft calculated to make 
 the flesh creep and the hair stand on end, until it 
 became necessary to order another tankard of Ein- 
 beker beer to brace them up Frederick Schonberg 
 entered the room. He took a seat at the table 
 where Nonnenbeck and his pupils sat. He did not 
 call for wine, neither did he take any part in the 
 conversation, but sat silent and gloomy, staring 
 straight before him. 
 
 His face was pale, his long hair, which it was 
 the fashion to wear in flowing locks on the shoul- 
 ders, hung uncurled, and his attire, though as rich 
 and costly as usual, lacked the almost finical neat- 
 ness it was wont to display. 
 
 As Jerome sat with his back to that part of the 
 room, he was not aware that his master had entered ; 
 otherwise he would scarcely have spoken as he had 
 done. 
 
 Frederick was, as Jerome had told his friend
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 and confidant Gottlieb, a changed man. Not only 
 had his plans been thwarted by the obstinate virtue 
 of the girl his vanity had been wounded, his self- 
 love assailed. His love had been transformed, not 
 indeed to hatred, but to a fierce anger. The thought 
 that he, Frederick Schonberg, son of the chief 
 magistrate of Nuremberg he, 
 
 "The glass of fashion and the mould of form, 
 The observed of all observers," 
 
 should have been treated so contemptuously was 
 gall and wormwood to him. He wanted to be re- 
 venged on Barbara for the bitter words she had 
 spoken. 
 
 And yet, such are the contradictions of human 
 passion, he loved her more madly than ever, and 
 was resolved to win her yet. 
 
 For a few weeks after that stormy parting, he 
 had shut himself in his rooms, refusing all society. 
 
 To make any attempt to see her at the present 
 juncture, he knew would be useless. 
 
 But other means might be found, he thought, to 
 reach her. 
 
 One day, in hopes to divert himself, and make 
 
 114
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 him forget his trouble, he went out on the rivet 
 with Jerome, his crossbow in his hands. 
 
 Having shot a brace of wild duck, he sent them, 
 with his compliments, to Dame Uhler, by way of 
 peace-offering. 
 
 But alas! when Jerome returned, he not only 
 brought back the ducks, but with them another and 
 larger package. 
 
 In this package was the lute, with all the other 
 gifts he had bestowed on Barbara. 
 
 She had gathered them all together a ruby ring, 
 a necklace of fragrant amber beads with golden 
 clasp, a scarf of costly Flemish lace, a gold chain 
 and locket, the last containing a miniature of him- 
 self, painted on vellum gifts which it had been 
 his delight to bestow and hers to receive. 
 
 She had kept nothing, except a withered rosebud, 
 which he had dropped on the floor on his first fate- 
 ful visit, and she had picked up after his departure. 
 "Poor faded thing !" thought she. "It is an emblem 
 of myself." And she put it back into its secret 
 hiding-place. 
 
 "Did you see her, Jerome?" he asked, eagerly, 
 when the lackey returned. "Did you see Barbara?"
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "No, your honor. Only the mother, who stood 
 in the doorway, as stiff as a grenadier, and handed 
 me the package, saying that neither she nor her 
 daughter wished to have any further communica- 
 tion with the Herr von Schonberg." 
 
 On this Frederick flew in a rage, and hurled im- 
 precations on the head of the beautiful girl who had 
 enthralled him. 
 
 "Curse her beauty! She has ruined my life! 
 Would to God I had never seen her!" 
 
 Snatching up the lute, and taking, or rather tear- 
 ing, it from its case, he struck a few discordant 
 notes on its strings; then tossed it from him. 
 
 "Take it away, Jerome! Burn it! Throw it out 
 on the street! Let me never set eyes on it again!" 
 
 Jerome took up the lute and removed it from the 
 room. But he did not burn it. He carried it to a 
 Jew friend of his in the city, to whom he disposed 
 of it for a considerable sum. For it was a fine in- 
 strument too good to burn or throw away. 
 
 It was while still chafing under the humiliation 
 pf having his overtures refused and his gifts re- 
 turned, that Frederick strayed into the Bratwurst- 
 
 116
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 glocklein, and casually overheard the conversation 
 of Jerome and his boon companions. 
 
 As he listened to their superstitious gabble, a 
 thought entered his disturbed and ill-regulated mind 
 a thought that surely must have been suggested 
 by the very evil spirit of whom the men were talk- 
 ing. He would attack Barbara through her mother. 
 Knowing with what devoted affection the girl re- 
 garded her mother, he resolved to touch her in her 
 tenderest part. 
 
 He would go before the council, and secretly 
 accuse the Widow Uhler of having practiced the 
 arts of witchcraft on himself and others. 
 
 Let it not be imagined, however, that he intended 
 any serious harm to the amiable woman whose hos- 
 pitality he had so often enjoyed, and whom he had 
 learned to regard with almost filial affection. His 
 design was a sufficiently base one to frighten 
 Barbara into submission, and then withdraw the 
 charge. 
 
 His plan was the more easy to put in execution, 
 owing to the temporary absence of his father, who 
 had gone to make his long-deferred visit to his 
 friend the Baron von Eisenfeld, at his castle among 
 
 117
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 the mountains, leaving his civic duties in the hands 
 of his deputy, Herr Doppenheim. Frederick re- 
 joiced in his absence, for he feared that, like the 
 spear of Ithuriel, the keen perceptions of his pure- 
 minded and honorable father would detect the false- 
 ness of his charge, and the baseness of his intent. 
 
 By the time his father returned, he hoped the 
 affair would be over the widow released from 
 prison and saved by his withdrawal of the accusa- 
 tion and Barbara, subdued, conquered, and grate- 
 ful to him for his supposed rescue of her mother, 
 would no longer refuse to share the luxurious re- 
 treat he had prepared for her. 
 
 118
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The rumor spread like wildfire through the city, 
 that a witch had been found within its bounds, and 
 every bosom burned with abhorrence and indigna- 
 tion. Whispers suspicions had already begun to 
 circulate, springing, no doubt, from the idle gossip 
 of Jerome and his compeers of the wine-room; 
 which gossip had been retailed by them at their 
 several places of abode, with many additions and 
 exaggerations. Added to this was the ever-present 
 dread and horror of sorcery, which pervaded all 
 ranks of people, from the highest to the lowest. It 
 needs but a spark to kindle a flame, when everything 
 is laid in readiness for it. 
 
 Before the court, which was somewhat slow and 
 deliberate in its movements, had had time to exe- 
 cute the necessary process of law, a great crowd 
 of people, of all ranks and conditions, thronged 
 the little street in which stood the widow's cot- 
 tage. 
 
 While these rumors had been passing from mouth 
 119
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 to mouth, and penetrating every part of the city, the 
 household in the cottage had pursued its wonted 
 vocations, all unconscious of what was impending 
 over it. True, the misfortune that had befallen 
 one of its members had cast a gloom over all. But 
 daily sustenance required daily toil; and though the 
 heart ached and the eyes longed for an idle hour in 
 which to weep, the busy fingers must still keep up 
 their task. The poor have no time in which to in- 
 dulge in what might be termed the luxury of sor- 
 row. 
 
 Gretchen had gone to the warehouse to deliver 
 some of the smooth, even skeins of yarn that her 
 employer esteemed so highly, and obtain a fresh 
 supply of wool. 
 
 Barbara, pale and silent, with drooping head and 
 heavy eyes, sat on her little bench, mechanically 
 weaving and twisting the pliant osiers, while her 
 thoughts were far distant. The mother was pa- 
 tiently knitting on a pair of coarse fisherman's 
 hose, and glancing from time to time on her stricken 
 child with tender pity. 
 
 On a sudden, the door flew open, and Gretchen, 
 flushed, excited, and out of breath, burst into the 
 
 1 20
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 room. She carried a parcel in her hands, in addi- 
 tion to her bundle of wool. 
 
 "What is the matter, my child?" 
 
 "I do not know, mother. The streets are full of 
 people men crowding each other talking in 
 groups yelling, shouting and some of them 
 looked at me so strangely, and even spoke rudely to 
 me. One insolent fellow stared right in my face 
 and said, 'Ha! you are one of the witch's spawn!' 
 What could he mean? I was so frightened, I ran 
 nearly all the way." 
 
 "Why did not Karl come with you?" 
 
 "He was not at home. But oh, mother oh, Bar- 
 bara," with a complete change of manner "only 
 see what a beautiful present dear Mamma Steiner 
 has given me. A web of linen for my house-keep- 
 ing ! Enough to make half a dozen sheets ! all spun 
 and woven with her own hands, and bleached to 
 snowy whiteness on the green grass and the pretty 
 white daisies! Oh, how good she is! And how 
 dearly I love her !" 
 
 "That is indeed a valuable present," said her 
 mother, unrolling a portion of the piece of linen, 
 and scanning it with the eye of a connoisseur. For 
 
 121
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 once on a time her own presses and wardrobes had 
 overflowed with just such treasures. 
 
 "I must now," said Gretchen, "work with re- 
 doubled diligence, that I may finish my daily stint 
 of yarn, and yet find time to sew the long seams 
 together, and to hem the ends with the smallest 
 and neatest of stitches that it is possible to take. 
 Oh, how happy I am!" 
 
 But here a loud, tumultuous noise a noise like 
 the distant sound of the sea was heard outside; 
 and on looking forth they beheld a great multitude 
 of people surging into the little street; yelling and 
 gesticulating, jostling each other, and crowding 
 closely around the cottage. 
 
 Cries and execrations filled the air, and the im- 
 mediate seizure of the witch was demanded. 
 
 Gretchen had closed and bolted the lower half of 
 the door when she entered. Trembling with fear, 
 she now tried to shut the upper half, but was pre- 
 vented by a man who placed his brawny arms on 
 the closed half-door, and thrusting in his head, 
 stared impudently into the room. 
 
 "Here she is!" he shouted to his companions. 
 "Here is the witch ! and by St. Lawrence ! with the 
 
 122
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 great black cat, her familiar, seated in her lap!" 
 
 For Schwarz, terrified by the noise and tumult, 
 had jumped on his mistress* lap for safety. 
 
 The girls ran to their mother and threw their 
 arms around her. But the widow, though equally 
 alarmed, said calmly to the rude intruder, who was 
 shaking the door viciously, and trying to force it 
 open: 
 
 "Who are you, rude man? and what do you 
 want here?" 
 
 "We want you, old witch! and we mean to have 
 you, too," said the man, with a loud, horse-laugh, 
 in which his companions joined. 
 
 Again he tried to burst open the door. But the 
 sturdy oak and well-tempered iron resisted, until 
 three or four men headed by the big, burly black- 
 smith, Hugo, in leathern apron, and with great, 
 knotty arms bared to the shoulder fell upon the 
 door at once, and forced it open. 
 
 "Ho ! servant of Satan ! we have found you out !" 
 cried Hugo, as he seized the astonished and terrified 
 woman, and despite the shrieks and struggles of 
 herself and her daughters, dragged her into the 
 street. 
 
 123
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 Her appearance was greeted with a shout that 
 threatened to make the old houses topple down head- 
 long; while ribald jests and vociferous laughter 
 echoed on every side. 
 
 "Swim her! Swim her!" cried one. 
 
 "Burn her! Hang her!" shouted others. 
 
 "Prick her ! Prick her with pins !" yelled another, 
 tearing the fair white linen handkerchief from her 
 shoulders. "Let us find the devil's mark!" 
 
 A difference of opinion having arisen as to the 
 best mode of treating her, the crowd came near 
 fighting about it; but those who had hold of her 
 being in favor of "swimming her" that is, sub- 
 jecting her to the ordeal by water, in which, if the 
 victim floated, she was adjudged guilty, if she sank 
 she was innocent, but of course perished she was 
 dragged with some difficulty to the river. 
 
 Here, more dead than alive, she was laid on the 
 ground, her thumbs and great toes tied together, 
 and her apparel carefully searched for pins, the be- 
 lief being held that the presence of a single pin 
 destroyed the efficacy of the ordeal. 
 
 But when they were about to throw her into the 
 water, their purpose was hindered by her daugh- 
 
 124
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 ters, who clung frantically to her, twining their 
 arms about her, while the agonizing cries they ut- 
 tered would have moved a heart of stone. Nothing 
 could induce them to relax their hold; and at last 
 a brutal fellow, exasperated by their resistance, 
 seized a hatchet, and threatened to cut off their 
 hands unless they let go. 
 
 "No, no!" cried another in the crowd. "Better 
 duck them all together!" 
 
 This inhuman proposal was received with shouts 
 of merriment, and was about to be carried out, 
 when an officer, sent by the city authorities, with 
 a posse of constables, arrived on the scene, and res- 
 cuing the widow and her daughters from the ex- 
 cited populace, marched them off to the town hall, 
 followed and escorted by the yelling and hooting 
 multitude. 
 
 They had not gone far, when suddenly there 
 burst through the crowd, cleaving his way with 
 strong arm and determined will, a young man in 
 the dress of a well-to-do citizen, who caught the 
 weeping Gretchen in his arms, and despite the ef- 
 forts of the guards, bore her off in triumph. 
 
 As he dashed through the mob with the speed 
 
 125
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 of a hunted deer, a few gave chase, but the greater 
 part held back, having a strong conviction that the 
 rescuer was the Foul Fiend himself, come to aid 
 his servants in this strait. 
 
 But it was none other than true-hearted Karl 
 Steiner, who, learning that his betrothed was in a 
 situation of danger and distress, paused not to ask 
 the reason why, but rushed like a true knight to 
 her rescue. 
 
 126
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Barbara and her mother were taken before the 
 magistrates, and a formal charge of sorcery and 
 witchcraft preferred against the latter. 
 
 The chief magistrate, father of Frederick Schon- 
 berg, being absent, as has been mentioned, his place 
 was filled by a consequential little man, his deputy. 
 This person closely questioned the reputed witch 
 concerning her dealings with the "Arch Enemy." 
 
 "Brunhilda Uhler," said he, "you are accused 
 of having entered into a compact with Satan, for 
 the purpose of working evil to your fellow-citizens ; 
 of keeping certain imps of Satan in your dwelling 
 as familiars; of flying through the air on a broom- 
 stick, to join in the horrid orgies of the Witches' 
 Sabbath; of placing waxen images of those whom 
 you wish to injure before the fire, to melt gradually 
 away, that thus they may pine and die ; with many 
 other wicked and dangerous acts, which it boots 
 not to rehearse. Do you confess the truth of those 
 accusations?" 
 
 127
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "I do not. I am innocent," replied Dame Uhler, 
 in a firm voice; for she had recovered her com- 
 posure. Her calm demeanor presented a marked 
 contrast to the fierce excitement depicted in the 
 faces of those around her. For, even in those try- 
 ing circumstances, her trust in the God whom she 
 had loved and served all her life, and to whom she 
 had given the keeping of her soul, was unshaken. 
 
 "Do you confess to having in your possession a 
 red chair, the counterpart of 'The Red Chair' in 
 which, we are assured, the devil's mother sits, as 
 she superintends the cookery of hell's kitchen ?* Do 
 you confess to having also in your house a table 
 curiously inlaid with dead men's bones ? They have 
 been sent for, and will soon be produced here." 
 
 "I repeat it. I am innocent. I know not who 
 has brought this cruel charge against me; for to 
 my knowledge I have never injured any one. I am 
 a Christian woman, and my soul abhors the horrible 
 crime with which I am charged." 
 
 "Yes, yes," said the little deputy. "So they all 
 say. But the torture makes them tell a different 
 tale." 
 
 *Heine. 
 
 128
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 Here there was a commotion at the door; and 
 the proceedings were interrupted by the entrance of 
 some constables, with the widow's carved chair, its 
 cushions hanging in tatters, and the inlaid table. 
 Another man carried an armful of parchments. 
 
 "Please your worships, we found these here writ- 
 ings concealed in the cushions of the chair, and we 
 brought them along with us." 
 
 "Doubtless they are cabalistic writings, connect- 
 ed with the woman's hellish employments," said 
 the little deputy. "Let Johannes Edler, the town 
 clerk, examine them, and inform us of their na- 
 ture." 
 
 Johannes Edler stepped forward, and taking off 
 the velvet cap which was by the stringent sumptu- 
 ary laws restricted to nobles, knights, and official 
 persons, adjusted his spectacles on his nose, and 
 proceeded, with his usual deliberation, to examine 
 the manuscripts. 
 
 These are no cabalistic writings," said he. "They 
 are portions of the Holy Scriptures, in good Ger- 
 man text. They appear to be Hussite manu- 
 scripts " 
 
 129
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "Hussite!" exclaimed the little deputy. "Worse 
 and worse! Woman, are you a Hussite?" 
 
 "Yes," said the widow, firmly, "I am a Hussite, 
 and I glory in the name. I need no priest, nor 
 saint, nor Virgin, to present my prayers to the Al- 
 mighty; for I know that I can come boldly to the 
 throne of grace, and find grace to help in time of 
 need." 
 
 "Hark to that! hark to that!" cried the little 
 deputy, excitedly. "Here is an avowed heretic, as 
 well as a witch! Away with her to the stake!" 
 
 But his colleagues demurred to this summary 
 proceeding, and a consultation ensued. 
 
 As Barbara turned her terrified gaze around the 
 hall, she espied a man muffled in a cloak, seated 
 near the judges. 
 
 It was Frederick Schonberg. 
 
 Forgetting everything except her mother's dan- 
 ger, she made her way to him, and, falling at his 
 feet, cried in piteous accents : 
 
 "Herr Schonberg! save my mother! Oh, if it is 
 in your power, save my mother!" 
 
 "He?" said one of the magistrates. "Why, he 
 is her principal accuser." 
 
 130
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 Frederick raised her up tenderly, and drew her 
 aside. 
 
 "Yes, Barbara, it is in my power, and I will most 
 gladly do it. But on one condition." 
 
 Barbara looked into his face, and comprehending 
 his meaning, a flush of shame and indignation suf- 
 fused her cheeks, and her eyes flashed fire. 
 
 "No!" she said; "no! Death rather than dis- 
 honor." 
 
 "Think before you decide, Barbara. Remember 
 your mother's life hangs on your answer." 
 
 "I have decided. I have answered." 
 
 "Then see your mother perish miserably," cried 
 Frederick, enraged. "Her blood be on your head. 
 You might have saved her, and you would not." 
 
 For an instant Barbara hesitated. But it was 
 only for an instant. 
 
 A sudden light irradiated her countenance; and 
 turning to the magistrates, she knelt before them. 
 
 "Oh, sirs noble sirs hear me! My mother is 
 innocent. This man this cruel, cruel Frederick 
 Schonberg has accused her falsely. Let her go 
 free, and let me take her place. If any witchcraft 
 has been practiced, it is I who have practiced
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 it. Lead me to death, for I have lived too long!" 
 "Hey! what!" exclaimed the little deputy. "Do 
 you confess it, mistress? Do you plead guilty to 
 the charges herein specified, namely," reading from 
 a paper, "that you by your arts caused the steeple 
 of St. Joseph's church to fall down, injuring many 
 people; that you inflicted various aches and pains 
 upon sundry persons herein mentioned, and pinched 
 them black and blue; that you did ride through the 
 air on a broomstick, in company with the prince 
 of darkness, and other witches as wicked as your- 
 self; that you entertain an evil spirit in the shape 
 of a black cat, which several persons depose to hav- 
 ing seen reposing on the best chair in your dwell- 
 ing, to wit, the red chair now present before us; 
 that your ordinary food is the flesh of unchris- 
 tened babes ; and that you possess a table whose sur- 
 face is inlaid with their bones also here present? 
 Do you plead guilty to all these things, mistress, 
 with many more that might be enumerated ?" 
 
 "No. I will not stain my soul with falsehood. I 
 plead guilty to nothing; but I am ready to die in 
 place of my mother." 
 
 "That will not do. You must not only confess 
 132
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 these charges, but also reveal who are your accom- 
 plices and associates in diabolical arts. Officers! 
 take this young woman to the torture-chamber." 
 
 Frederick Schonberg started to his feet. 
 
 "Hold!" he exclaimed. "This shall not be ! This 
 maiden shall not be tortured ! Let her be remanded 
 to prison until my father's return." 
 
 "And who are you, Herr Frederick Schonberg," 
 said the little deputy, with astonishment and indig- 
 nation, "that you dare to interfere between the 
 magistrates of Nuremberg and the execution of the 
 laws?" Nothing could exceed the pomposity with 
 which the little man uttered the words "the magis- 
 trates of Nuremberg." Though he used the plural, 
 it was evident that he only meant himself. 
 
 "But I see I see," he continued, with a knowing 
 look; "you are a young man, Herr Frederick, and 
 you are touched by the beauty of this youthful serv- 
 ant of Satan. But the magistrates of Nuremberg 
 are insensible to the charms of beauty. Justice 
 inflexible justice is their motto." 
 
 "Curse her beauty !" muttered Frederick, between 
 his teeth. But he made another effort to save her. 
 
 133
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "I demand, in the name of my father, that this case 
 be postponed until his return." 
 
 "So far from waiting for the return of your hon- 
 ored father," continued the deputy, "I consider it a 
 fortunate circumstance that he is absent at this time, 
 and myself my humble self occupying his place. 
 For our worthy Burggraf, although a man in every 
 way to be honored, and one whom I regard with 
 the most profound esteem, is yet a man of a soft- 
 hearted and humane disposition, who instinctively 
 shrinks from putting women and children to the 
 torture. It is a weakness with him. He cannot 
 help it. And I tremble to think that, had he occu- 
 pied this bench, those abandoned wretches might 
 have escaped the full penalty of the law. But the 
 magistrates of Nuremberg, here present, are made 
 of sterner stuff. Officers ! let the old witch be taken 
 to prison until a further hearing, and the young 
 one stretched on the rack!" 
 
 During this speech, a terrible conflict was going 
 on in the mind of Frederick. Should he withdraw 
 his charge without having accomplished his pur- 
 pose? or should he suffer the proud maiden to pay 
 the penalty of her scorn ? Love and pity urged him 
 
 134
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 to the former course. But pride kept him silent. 
 His fiery spirit disdained to yield to one who would 
 yield nothing to him. 
 
 Yet he would make one more effort 
 
 At the magistrate's last words he again ap- 
 proached her. "Yield, Barbara yield," he whis- 
 pered, entreatingly. 
 
 "I will not yield. I scorn you I defy you! 
 Leave me to my fate !" 
 
 Frederick, his heart torn with conflicting emo- 
 tions, pulled his hat over his brows and rushed from 
 the hall, as the hardened executors of the law rude- 
 ly laid hold of the heroic maiden. 
 
 135
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Meantime, where was Gretchen? Safe under the 
 roof of her prospective father-in-law, Ludwig 
 Steiner, whither the faithful Karl had borne her 
 when he snatched her from the officers of the court ; 
 and tenderly cared for by the kind mother of her 
 betrothed, and his sister Wilhelmina, a girl about 
 her own age. 
 
 But though safe herself, the fate of her mother 
 and sister awakened her deepest solicitude and 
 alarm. 
 
 "Oh, my poor mother ! my darling sister ! What 
 will become of them?" 
 
 She wept and mourned incessantly, and refused 
 to be comforted. When tidings reached her of 
 what had occurred in the court-room, her distress 
 was greater still. The prison the stake the rack 
 were ever before her. 
 
 Hoping to divert her mind, Karl went to the 
 cottage to see if her little bird were still alive; but 
 found nothing there but desolation. The door was 
 
 136
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 off the hinges ; the floor, ordinarily so spotless, was 
 trampled with mud and filth ; the cat and bird were 
 gone, as were also the great chair and table; the 
 shelves on which the housekeeping articles had been 
 ranged were thrown down, the pewter plates and 
 cups marred and twisted, the wooden ones broken. 
 
 Among the debris he found, soiled and trampled 
 into the earth, a long twisted and contorted rope 
 of something, it was hard to say what; but which 
 on examination proved to be Gretchen's beautiful 
 web of linen, over which she had felt so proud and 
 so happy only a few moments before the catastrophe 
 had occurred that plunged them all into so great 
 misery. The poor girl wept afresh when she saw 
 its condition. But Mamma Steiner comforted her 
 with the assurance that, thanks to the excellent qual- 
 ity of the linen, the texture was not at all injured, 
 and that an application of soap and water, with 
 plenty of "elbow grease," and subsequent bleaching 
 in the sun and air, would restore it to its pristine 
 beauty. 
 
 Karl could almost have wept himself, to see the 
 condition of the once happy little dwelling. He re- 
 turned home more grieved and depressed than be- 
 
 137
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 fore, having first secured the door as well as he 
 could, to prevent further destruction and ruin. 
 
 Scarcely had he re-entered his father's house 
 when there came a loud knocking at the door. 
 
 On opening it, Karl perceived a young man in 
 the garb of a student. 
 
 "Does Ludwig Steiner the wool merchant dwell 
 here ?" said the stranger. 
 
 "He does." 
 
 "And does not that is is there not one of the 
 twin sisters Uhler in the house the daughters of 
 the unhappy woman who has just been dragged to 
 the court-house on a charge of witchcraft, after 
 being misused by an infuriated mob?" 
 
 In terror lest some new trouble were about to fall 
 on his betrothed, Karl hesitated to answer. 
 
 "You need not be afraid," said the other with a 
 smile, observing his hesitation. "I come on a friend- 
 ly errand. Half an hour ago, in passing the cot- 
 tage where the Uhler family dwelt, I heard a bird- 
 like voice whistling a well-known tune. Seeing the 
 door broken down, and hanging by one hinge, I 
 entered and found a little bird in a cage, singing 
 with all its might. I marvel that the ruffians had 
 
 138
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 not killed it; but I suppose they were afraid, be- 
 lieving in their superstition that it was possessed 
 of an evil spirit, like the famous nightingale that 
 bewitched the good fathers and bishops at the Coun- 
 cil of Basel.* But there it was; and having heard 
 of your gallant rescue of one of the unfortunate 
 women, I have brought it here, that I might restore 
 it to her." 
 
 He drew from under his cloak a wicker cage, in 
 which sat Vogel, frightened and silent, but un- 
 harmed. 
 
 Karl was profuse in his thanks, in which Gretch- 
 en, who had also come to the door, heartily joined. 
 
 The young man was invited to enter, but de- 
 clined. 
 
 "But may we not know," said Karl, "to whom 
 my betrothed is indebted for the return of her pet 
 bird?" 
 
 "My name is Otto Wenzel. I am a student at 
 the University. And I hope to see the day when 
 such scenes as we have this day witnessed shall be 
 unknown in this city." 
 
 "Then you do not believe that my dear mother 
 
 *Heine. 
 
 139
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 is oh, horrid word! a witch?" said Gretchen. 
 
 "No, I do not believe in witchery at all except 
 of one kind," said the young man, with an admiring 
 glance at Gretchen; and, touching his student cap 
 of dark woolen cloth, he passed on. 
 
 And Gretchen, as she tended and fed her bird, 
 and cooed and prattled to it, was really somewhat 
 relieved from the pressure of her grief and anxiety. 
 
 Far different from the fate of Vogel had been 
 that of Schwarz, the black cat. 
 
 When the mob broke into the cottage an adven- 
 turous boy had attempted to capture the cat; but 
 the animal leapt from his arms, inflicting several 
 deep scratches on his hands with its formidable 
 hind-claws, and, scrambling up a tree, placed itself 
 in the crotch of the branches and glared defiance at 
 the howling mob of men and boys beneath. 
 
 A man in the crowd, a Tyrolese, in a gay jacket 
 adorned with silver buttons, pointed an arquebus 
 at the cat. 
 
 "It's no use! you can't kill it!" criea several 
 voices. " Tis an evil spirit ! Nothing short of a 
 silver bullet or an elf-arrow will kill a witch or her 
 familiars." 
 
 140
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "Ja wohl" said the Tyrolese, "a silver bullet he 
 shall have." 
 
 Seizing a knife, he cut off a button from his jack- 
 et, and charged the arquebus with it ; and a moment 
 after poor Schwarz tumbled to the ground with 
 the improvised silver bullet in his heart. 
 
 141
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Frederick Schonberg sat in his chamber, gloomy, 
 unhappy, disconsolate. Remorse, like the vulture 
 of Prometheus, was gnawing at his vitals. The 
 thought of Barbara his Barbara suffering on that 
 fearful engine, drove him wild. 
 
 At times he paced his room like a caged animal, 
 wringing his hands and saying to himself : 
 
 "What have I done? My God! what have I 
 done?" 
 
 Blinded by passion, it was not till now that he 
 fully realized the enormity of which he had been 
 guilty. 
 
 "Oh, that my father were at home! One can do 
 nothing with that fool of a man," meaning the con- 
 sequential deputy. "When my father returns I 
 shall confess the whole to him, and I think I feel 
 sure he will be able to save that good woman 
 from the stake. But meantime Barbara must under- 
 go her martyrdom. O Barbara ! dear, foolish, head- 
 strong, noble, brave Barbara! Oh, to think of 
 
 142
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 those tender limbs wrenched and torn by torture 
 and / the cause ! Ah ! how can I bear it ? How can 
 I endure these pangs of self-reproach?" 
 
 In his despair and misery his life seemed no 
 longer of any value to him. He longed to die ; and 
 having learned that the armies of the empire were 
 still fighting on the Danube against the restless and 
 ever-encroaching Turks, he almost resolved to re- 
 sign his command at home and apply to the Em- 
 peror for the leadership of some "forlorn hope," 
 that he might throw himself with it into "the im- 
 minent deadly breach" and be slain. But he did not 
 act on this suggestion. For he could not tear him- 
 self away from the place where Barbara dwelt, even 
 though in durance. 
 
 Night found Barbara Uhler in a prison cell, one 
 of those horrible dungeons under the Rathhaus of 
 Nuremberg. 
 
 By a refinement in cruelty, the mother and daugh- 
 ter were placed in separate cells, that neither might 
 minister to the other in the sweet tender offices of 
 affection. 
 
 Barbara lay on a miserable pallet of straw, every 
 bone and joint in her body throbbing with pain. 
 
 143
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 By the side of her couch stood a bench, on which 
 were a mug of water and a piece of bread. But 
 though her thirst was great, her arm had scarcely 
 strength to raise the grateful beverage to her lips, 
 so enfeebled was she by the suffering to which she 
 had been subjected. 
 
 But it was not in her frame alone that she suf- 
 fered. 
 
 Sad were her thoughts when left alone, after she 
 recovered from the swoon that had mercifully re- 
 lieved her from the rack. She knew that as soon 
 as her strength returned she would be again sub- 
 jected to that or some other form of torture, and 
 that a fearful death by burning or strangulation 
 awaited her at the end; and she prayed long and 
 earnestly for strength to bear whatever might be 
 inflicted on her. She felt very thankful that the 
 court had accepted her in place of her mother; and 
 also that her dear sister Gretchen was safe, as she 
 rightly judged, under the hospitable roof of the 
 Steiners. 
 
 Still she was very sorrowful; for the image of 
 Frederick Schonberg, as the tempter, the persecu- 
 
 144
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 tor, the cruel instigator of all these evils, was ever 
 before her. 
 
 Exhaustion, however, after a time overcame both 
 physical pain and mental affliction. 
 
 She sank into a deep sleep. From this she was 
 awakened about midnight, by some one softly kiss- 
 ing her cheek. 
 
 On looking up, she beheld by the light of a small 
 lamp, a female form seated on the couch beside her, 
 and bending over her. 
 
 "My sister!" exclaimed Barbara; and in an in- 
 stant the twin sisters were locked in each other's 
 arms, and weeping on each other's bossom. 
 
 When they became somewhat composed, Barbara 
 asked her sister how she had gained admittance. 
 
 "Karl bribed the jailer, and with much reluctance 
 he admitted me." 
 
 "But why oh, why are you here, my sister? 
 If you are discovered you will be taken and tor- 
 tured as I have been." 
 
 "It was for that I came," said Gretchen, hastily, 
 seeing the other was about to interrupt her. "And 
 now hear my project. Those poor limbs of yours 
 have been cruelly tortured, and I have heard that in 
 
 145
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 a few days the infliction is to be repeated. But 
 that poor suffering frame of yours can bear no more. 
 I have therefore come, dearest, to take your place 
 and let you escape." 
 
 "Nay," began Barbara; but her sister silenced 
 her. 
 
 "Hear me out, dear. Nobly, as I have heard, 
 did you offer your life for our dear mother's, and 
 gallantly did you bear the sufferings that were in- 
 flicted on you. But, believe me, were you tortured 
 again, weak as you are, exhausted nature would 
 give way, and who can tell what exquisite pain might 
 wring from you ? Now you know how strong is the 
 resemblance between us two our persecutors will 
 undoubtedly mistake me for you and if I endure 
 the pains as resolutely as you have done (and I 
 trust I shall) it will be supposed that you have gone 
 through the two ordeals victoriously, and their 
 minds will be convinced of your truth and our 
 mother's innocence; and she will be set at liberty, 
 and we shall all return to our happy home again." 
 And the sanguine girl clapped her hands at the 
 thought. 
 
 "Ah, no, my sister, no. It cannot be. You know 
 146
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 not what you say. You cannot conceive the pain 
 the the agony O, no, beloved Gretchen; those 
 tender limbs of thine must never be stretched upon 
 the rack." 
 
 "Are my limbs more tender than yours? Are 
 they not fresh, and strong, and free from pain, and 
 better able to endure?" 
 
 "Gretchen," said Barbara, "it is useless to talk 
 thus. Return as you came, and leave me leave 
 me to my fate. Fear not for me. If I die upon the 
 rack, I shall not accuse my mother, nor perjure 
 myself. Fly! you have ties to bind you to life 
 which I have not. Think of Karl." 
 
 "I do I do!" cried the poor girl. "Oh, Bar- 
 bara, he is the truest friend ! He bore me home to 
 his father's house when he snatched me from your 
 side, and has done all in his power to soothe my 
 sorrow. When I told him I must see you, he 
 brought me hither, and largely bribed the jailer to 
 admit me. He now waits to convey you to his 
 father's house. Now go, sister, go. Here, take 
 my cloak and hood." 
 
 "And does he," said her sister, suddenly, "does 
 
 147
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 Karl Steiner consent to this exchange? He loves 
 you not as I would have him love you." 
 
 "Barbara," said Gretchen, with a look of an- 
 guish, "say not a word against Karl. He does not 
 know of my design. He would never have con- 
 sented never. Do you know he had not heard of 
 our misfortune until a few moments before he bore 
 me away from the armed men. He and his sister 
 Wilhelmina were just going to set out for Wiirz- 
 burg, where the Emperor now is " 
 
 "Is he is the Emperor at Wiirzburg?" inquired 
 Barbara, eagerly. 
 
 "Yes. He is there on a visit to the Prince- 
 Bishop of Wiirzburg. There are great doings being 
 held in honor of the occasion, and it was to see them 
 that Karl and Wilhelmina were going." 
 
 "When did you say they designed to torture me 
 again?" asked Barbara, abruptly. 
 
 "Three days hence, if your strength permitted." 
 
 "Three days hence," repeated the other, as if 
 thinking aloud. "Gretchen ! I consent to this ex- 
 change! Give me your hood and cloak." 
 
 With an energy that surprised her sister, she 
 arose from the pallet of straw on which she had 
 
 148
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 been seated, and putting on the hood and cloak 
 with her sister's assistance, adjusted them so as to 
 shroud her face and form. Then sitting down again 
 she put her arms around Gretchen and kissed her 
 tenderly. 
 
 "Sister !" she said, "there is hope." 
 
 "God grant it!" ejaculated Gretchen, wondering 
 what had come to her sister. 
 
 "Yes ! In His name I tell you there is hope. In 
 His name I bid you be of good heart. You shall 
 not be tortured, my poor Gretchen. Neither, I 
 trust, shall our mother be slain. At all events, you 
 shall not be tortured, for I shall be back, God will- 
 ing, in time to prevent it. It is only in this con- 
 viction that I consent to leave you. I am going to 
 ask my mother's life of the Emperor ! I know that 
 he is the very soul of truth and honor and clem- 
 ency. I know that none ever applied to him for 
 justice and was refused. And I feel sure that one 
 so noble and magnanimous will not suffer this cruel 
 wrong to be done." 
 
 A noise was heard on the outside of the cell, and 
 the clanking of iron and drawing of bolts announced 
 the approach of the jailer. 
 
 149
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 Gretchen burst into tears. Her courage was fail- 
 ing her. 
 
 Barbara murmured words of hope and encourage- 
 ment, and again embraced her. 
 
 Gretchen then flung herself on the pallet and 
 buried her face in her hands. 
 
 "Come, mistress," said the jailer. " Tis time 
 to go." 
 
 Barbara drew the hood and cloak more closely 
 around her, and followed him to the outside of the 
 prison without his suspecting who she was. 
 
 Karl, she well knew, would not be so easily de- 
 ceived; but the darkness favored her, and her sobs 
 prevented the necessity of talking. 
 
 He noticed that she walked feebly, and leaned 
 heavily on him for support, but he attributed these 
 symptoms to the violence of her emotions. 
 
 Never doubting that his companion was Gretchen, 
 he took her to his father's house, where a fire and 
 lamp were still burning. 
 
 Here Barbara threw off her cloak, and gazing 
 steadily in his face, said: 
 
 "Karl Steiner! look at me!" 
 
 "Barbara!" exclaimed he, starting back aghast. 
 
 150
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "And where my God! where is Gretchen?" 
 
 "Gretchen is in the prison. Stay!" as he seized 
 his cap and was about to rush from the room. 
 "Hear me for a moment." 
 
 She then told him of the generous exchange that 
 had been effected by her sister, to which he listened 
 with a countenance expressive of the most poignant 
 anguish. "But think not," continued she, "that I 
 would have consented to this exchange had it not 
 been for a design which I intend to put in execution, 
 and which will require your help, dear Karl. I have 
 heard that our dear lord the Emperor is at Wiirz- 
 burg, and I purpose to go there, seek an audience 
 of him, and never leave his feet until I have ob- 
 tained my mother's liberation. For I was told by 
 by one who knew him well that none ever ap- 
 pealed to him for justice, and appealed in vain." 
 
 "But Gretchen my Gretchen," said Karl. "In 
 the meantime her tender frame will be shattered by 
 those dreadful engines " 
 
 "No, Karl. If you will assist me, I shall be back 
 in time to take her place again. Wurzburg is but 
 ten miles from Nuremberg.* A fleet horse could 
 
 *The German mile contains four English miles.
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 travel thither and back in two days and if we set 
 out immediately I shall be in the prison by the time 
 at which they were to " 
 
 "I tell you it is quite impossible. Think how 
 feeble you are your strength, nay, your very life 
 would fail before you had gone half way. And 
 Gretchen my own, my generous Gretchen I can- 
 not go and leave her to such a doubtful chance. 
 Indeed, Barbara, I cannot go with you." 
 
 "Then I shall go alone!" exclaimed Barbara. "I 
 have heard the tale of Gertrude von der Wart, who 
 rose from a sickbed, enfeebled as she was by a 
 fever, and traveled for three days on foot and with- 
 out sustenance, that she might soothe the last mo- 
 ments of her husband, broken on the wheel for the 
 crime of treason. The God who strengthened her 
 will also strengthen me. I shall go alone, and on 
 foot!" 
 
 "No, my noble sister," cried the true-hearted 
 Karl, his plain features (for Karl was not hand- 
 some) glowing with generous feeling. "You shall 
 not go alone I will go with you. I will leave my 
 Gretchen in the keeping of God, and go with you, 
 to aid and protect you." 
 
 152
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 He then roused his sister Wilhelmina, and in- 
 formed her of the matter in hand. She arose hastily, 
 and calling a servant, ordered a comfortable meal 
 to be prepared for the travelers. 
 
 Then, with kind, womanly solicitude, she has- 
 tened to minister to the forlorn and unexpected 
 guest. Having bathed Barbara's hands and face, 
 and applied some soothing liniment to such parts 
 of her suffering body as seemed to ache the most, 
 and arranged her beautiful hair in smooth coils 
 about her head, Wilhelmina brought a complete 
 suit of her own apparel to replace the soiled and 
 disordered prison garments. 
 
 "How can I thank you for your kind thought- 
 fulness, dear Wilhelmina?" said Barbara. "I was 
 so excited and eager, I never thought about my 
 clothes; and a pretty figure I should have made to 
 appear before the Emoeror in those wretched rags !" 
 
 153
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 By this time day was breaking; and at the doot 
 stood a stout horse, saddled and furnished with a 
 pillion. For as there was neither coach nor car- 
 riage road, all journeying of any extent had to be 
 performed on horseback. 
 
 Little conversation passed between the travelers 
 as they jogged along, but the thoughts of each were" 
 busy enough. 
 
 Karl sympathized with Barbara in her brave ef- 
 fort, yet his thoughts would ever and anon revert 
 to the dear one who lay, self-imprisoned, in the 
 gloomy dungeon at Nuremberg. 
 
 Barbara's thoughts dwelt chiefly on the personage 
 whom she was going to see, and the hopes she had 
 built on him. In her conversations with Frederick 
 she had heard much of the Emperor; for Frederick 
 was an enthusiastic admirer of Maximilian. She 
 knew that he was one of the best and noblest sov- 
 ereigns that the house of Hapsburg had produced, 
 brave in war and wise in council, a man of fine phy- 
 
 154
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 sique and varied accomplishments, distinguished by 
 a kingly presence, a chivalrous disposition, a genial 
 manner, and a generous heart. 
 
 But most of all did she recall the comforting" 
 fact that his leading characteristics were his love 
 of justice and his unalterable determination that 
 the rights of all in his dominions, even the lowliest, 
 should be respected. 
 
 "He will surely hear me," she thought. "He will 
 surely grant to me my mother's life. He is too- 
 just and noble to let the innocent suffer." 
 
 About noon they stopped at a wayside inn, where 
 they obtained some food and a draught of mead. 
 And there, while their horse fed and rested, Karl' 
 made Barbara lie down on a settle in the public 
 room a comfortable couch with a drapery of large- 
 flowered printed linen; and that she might not take 
 cold, the kind-hearted, motherly landlady brought 
 forth an eider-down quilt of similar material, on 1 
 which were portrayed peacocks, golden pheasants, 
 singing-birds, roses, lilies, and peonies, all as large' 
 as life. 
 
 "The poor maiden is sick," said she, compassion- 
 
 155
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 ately, "or just recovering from sickness. She does 
 not seem in fit condition to travel." 
 
 "You are right, my good woman. But the case 
 was urgent, and the journey could not be post- 
 poned." 
 
 "God will sustain me," murmured Barbara. 
 
 Although the distance to be traveled was but 
 forty miles, and they met with no unnecessary de- 
 lays, evening had begun to fall when they reached 
 Wiirzburg, the capital of the sovereign bishopric 
 of that name. As they rode along the principal 
 street many objects of interest presented themselves 
 which at another time might have claimed their at- 
 tention. To Karl especially, as a singer, the cathe- 
 dral would have been the point of attraction, for 
 there, he knew, lay the remains of Walther von der 
 Vogelweide, the chief of the Minnesingers he who 
 left a legacy to the birds, because, he said, they had 
 taught him to sing. 
 
 But on the present occasion each had but one 
 thought Barbara, to see the Emperor and Karl, 
 to reach their journey's end before his companion 
 broke down. But she stood the journey better than 
 could have been expected. She seemed to be en- 
 
 156
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 dowed with supernatural strength; for her nerves 
 were so highly strung and her mind so excited, 
 that neither the fatigue of her long ride, nor the 
 pain of her hurts appeared to have any effect on 
 her. 
 
 As soon as Karl and Barbara arrived in the city 
 they hastened, after putting up their horse at an inn, 
 to the Episcopal palace, around which, as the tem- 
 porary abode of the Emperor, a great degree of ex- 
 citement prevailed. 
 
 There was to be a grand masquerade in the even- 
 ing, in honor of the monarch, and great was the 
 bustle and many the preparations observable on. 
 every side. 
 
 Soldiers stood on guard around the palace. 
 Troops of servants thronged the entrance hall, or 
 loitered about the courtyard, or hurried to and fro 
 on errands. 
 
 Karl inquired of one of the lackeys whether he 
 and his companion could see the Emperor. 
 
 The man eyed the travel-stained couple from head 
 to foot, and laughed derisively. 
 
 "No, certainly not. It is impossible." 
 
 157
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "Can we see his grace, the Prince-Bishop, then ?" 
 said Karl. 
 
 "Equally impossible. The Lord Bishop is not in 
 the palace." 
 
 Expostulation and entreaty were alike in vain. 
 Even the "golden key," which Karl produced, was 
 unavailing. The saucy lackeys treated him and his 
 companion with supercilious haughtiness and con- 
 tempt, and finally drove them from the gates, while 
 the soldiers regarded them with suspicious looks. 
 
 Barbara's heart sank as Karl led her into the 
 street, and her feeble limbs were scarcely able to 
 support her. But her faithful friend endeavored to 
 cheer and comfort her with words of hope. 
 
 "Be not discouraged, dear Barbara. I shall now 
 take you back to the inn where you may lie down and 
 rest awhile; and I shall return to the charge, and 
 never desist until I obtain permission for you to see 
 the emperor." 
 
 Just as they were about to depart, a splendidly 
 caparisoned horse on which was seated a man of 
 noble presence, in raiment half secular, half religious, 
 stopped at the entrance of the palace. A mitre lined 
 with ermine graced the rider's head, and a mantle 
 
 158
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 of purple velvet embroidered with gold hung from 
 his shoulders. 
 
 He was accompanied by a body-guard in magnifi- 
 cent uniforms. 
 
 It was the Prince-Bishop of Wurzburg himself. 
 
 Half a dozen obsequious lackeys immediately sur- 
 rounded him, and assisted him to dismount. 
 
 This was the critical moment of Barbara's fate. 
 
 She sprang forward, and falling on her knees, 
 caught the hem of the Bishop's robe as he placed 
 his foot upon the palace steps. 
 
 "Hear me ! my Lord Bishop ! hear me !" she cried, 
 in tones of entreaty. 
 
 The Bishop of Wurzburg was a just and benev- 
 olent prince. He had the interests of his people 
 thoroughly at heart, and no suppliant, however hum- 
 ble, could apply to him without obtaining a hearing. 
 
 Sternly rebuking the officious servitors who were 
 about to drag Barbara away, he raised her from the 
 ground, and kindly inquired what she wanted. 
 
 "Oh, my lord ! I am a poor maiden of Nuremberg 
 my mother has been falsely accused of sorcery and 
 witchcraft, and thrown into prison, and threatened 
 with torture and death " 
 
 159
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "But I have no authority in Nuremberg, my girl. 
 My power extends not beyond my own bishopric of 
 Wiirzburg." 
 
 "No, my lord. But I have come hither to seek an 
 audience of our most gracious lord the Emperor, that 
 I may beg my mother's life from him. Oh, my lord 
 Bishop! I beseech you I implore you have pity 
 on me help me to an interview with his majesty 
 the Emperor, or see me die at your feet!" 
 
 Again she sank on her knees, while her clasped 
 hands, her streaming eyes, her pallid and careworn 
 countenance, and her trembling frame, attested the 
 depth of her distress. 
 
 The Bishop was evidently moved by her appeal. 
 He hesitated, however, a moment, in the fear that 
 she might be an impostor, perhaps a traitor ; but he 
 soon dismissed the thought. 
 
 "Your request is a strange one, my poor girl ; and 
 there are few emperors who would permit one so 
 humble to approach them. But as we have the hap- 
 piness to be tributary to a sovereign whose chief 
 pleasure is in doing good to his subjects, especially 
 those who may be suffering from wrong or injustice, 
 I think I may venture to introduce you to his pres- 
 
 160
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 ence. But unless you can convince him of your 
 truth, and the justice of your cause, I warn you that 
 it will be the worse for yourself." 
 
 "If I do not speak the truth, I shall be willing to 
 submit to the severest punishment." 
 
 "Come with me, then," said the Bishop; and as 
 he spoke he took her by the hand, and motioning 
 Karl to follow, led her into the palace, to the no small 
 disgust of the astonished and scandalized servants. 
 
 Ascending a splendid staircase, and passing 
 through several richly decorated corridors and cham- 
 bers, the Bishop, with Barbara and her companion, 
 entered an ante-chamber adjoining the apartments 
 set apart for the Emperor and his immediate friends 
 and courtiers. 
 
 At a sign from the Bishop, an attendant opened 
 a door, without announcing his presence. 
 
 161
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 The Bishop and his companions found the Em- 
 peror in a small but elegantly furnished apartment, 
 where he was enjoying, with the most perfect aban- 
 donment of imperial dignity, the society of some 
 of the young nobles of his court. 
 . It was this affability, this friendly unbending, this 
 approachableness, that had gained for him the pet 
 sobriquet of "Kaiser Max," by which he was uni- 
 versally called among his subjects. 
 
 The Emperor and his friends were talking and 
 laughing together very familiarly, and appeared to 
 be in the highest spirits. 
 
 The monarch was attired in a rich chamber-robe 
 of Genoa velvet lined with sable ; the others in gar- 
 ments equally unconventional and unceremonious. 
 
 They had apparently been trying on portions of 
 the costumes they were to wear at the masquerade 
 that evening ; for the Emperor himself had on a black 
 satin mask and a fantastic head-dress, while one of 
 the others figured in a burnished steel helmet that 
 
 162
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 contrasted rather oddly with the easy and luxurious 
 negligence of his silken attire. 
 
 "Yes," said the Emperor, "of all our costumes, 
 yours, von Carlsberg, pleases me the most I mean, 
 that of the knight-errant." 
 
 "Your majesty does me honor," said he of the hel- 
 met, bowing low. 
 
 "The character of a knight-errant," continued 
 Maximilian, "is one for which I have always felt a 
 peculiar veneration. Had I lived in the times of 
 King Arthur of England, I had been one of the 
 Knights of his Round Table. Had I been cotempo- 
 rary with Amadis de Gaul, we should have been 
 sworn brothers. To read of Roland and the Pala- 
 dins of Charlemagne fires my blood. 'Tis true, 
 knight-errantry was sometimes carried to a ridicu- 
 lous excess ; still, the idea of going about the world 
 redressing wrongs, and protecting the oppressed, 
 appeals to me as so noble a vocation, that were I not 
 an emperor, I would be " 
 
 He stopped suddenly, for his eye at that moment 
 caught the figure of his host, the Bishop of Wurz- 
 burg, who was standing in the doorway with Bar- 
 bara Uhler by his side. 
 
 163
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "Hey! my Lord Bishop!" cried the Emperor, in 
 some displeasure; "you treat us with little cere- 
 mony." 
 
 "Your majesty will pardon my intrusion, when 
 you learn the cause of it. And I think I could not 
 have come at a better time, since your majesty ap- 
 pears to be in the humor of righting wrongs and 
 succoring the poor and the innocent. Now, go for- 
 ward, damsel, and plead your own cause." 
 
 Barbara advanced with a timid and irresolute 
 step, for she was awed by the presence in which she 
 stood, and not a little startled at the aspect of the 
 Emperor, who had forgotten to remove the mask 
 from his face, and was unaware of the somewhat 
 ludicrous appearance which he presented to the pe- 
 titioner. The other young men, who had withdrawn 
 to the background, smiled and exchanged looks. 
 
 "What do you want of me, young woman ?" said 
 the Emperor, kindly. 
 
 "O, my Lord Emperor!" said she, stepping for- 
 ward, and dropping on one knee, "I come to beg 
 the life of my mother." 
 
 "What crime has your mother committed ?" 
 
 "No crime, my Lord Emperor. She has been 
 164
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 falsely accused of sorcery and witchcraft, and must 
 perish miserably unless your majesty shall interpose 
 to save her." 
 
 "That is a very serious matter. Is it the Holy 
 Office or the city courts who have her case in hand ?" 
 
 "It is the magistrates of Nuremberg, my lord, 
 who have cast her into prison, and who threaten her 
 with torture and death at the stake." 
 
 "There is hope, then; for with the Holy Inquisi- 
 tion, not even the Emperor must meddle. But how 
 came your mother, if innocent, to be accused of this 
 crime? Who is her accuser?" 
 
 "His name is Frederick Schonberg," answered 
 Barbara, with downcast eyes, and in a voice scarcely 
 audible. 
 
 "Schonberg? Surely not the son of Count von 
 Schonberg, the Burggraf of Nuremberg?" 
 
 Barbara bowed in answer. 
 
 "But what was his motive in accusing your mother 
 falsely of so terrible a crime?" 
 
 The blood rushed tumultuously over Barbara's face 
 and neck. She tried to speak, but could not. 
 
 But here Karl, who had followed her into the 
 room, came to her assistance. 
 
 165
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "It was done out of revenge, please your majesty, 
 because the virtue of this brave girl withstood his 
 base arts." 
 
 "The villain!" 
 
 "Not content with sacrificing her mother, it was 
 through his means that she herself was stretched on 
 the rack " 
 
 "O, no, Karl. You know he tried to save me from 
 that, but the magistrates would not heed him," in- 
 terposed Barbara, hastily. 
 
 The Emperor looked at her keenly. Being a man 
 of penetration, he perceived that the poor girl loved 
 the accuser, notwithstanding his perfidy, and was 
 even then trying to palliate his offence. 
 
 He was now deeply interested. He ordered Bar- 
 bara to be seated, for he observed that she was almost 
 fainting from weakness; and by close questioning 
 soon learned the whole story, including the exchange 
 effected by the twins in the prison. 
 
 The romantic fancy of the young Emperor was 
 caught by the tale, and his interest awakened in a 
 high degree. He was thoroughly convinced of the 
 truth of all that he was told, for who could see those 
 
 166
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 pleading eyes, those glowing cheeks, who could hear 
 that earnest voice, and doubt their sincerity? 
 
 That her surpassing beauty, heightened as it was 
 by the flush and animation of excitement, contributed 
 greatly to the interest which her story awakened, it 
 would be vain to deny. For the Emperor was 
 young, ardent, enthusiastic, and deeply susceptible 
 to the power of beauty. He was struck with ad- 
 miration of her generous conduct in offering to sacri- 
 fice herself to save her mother ; and incensed beyond 
 measure at the perfidious conduct of Frederick 
 Schonberg. 
 
 "But he shall not go unpunished," he said; "the 
 base, unmanly villain ! He shall suffer for his wicked 
 acts." 
 
 Barbara's heart shrank at this. She did not wish 
 to make him suffer. To save her mother was all she 
 asked for. 
 
 "Take courage, fair damsel. You shall have re- 
 dress. I am convinced that your mother is innocent. 
 A minister of Satan could not have given birth to 
 such a daughter to two such daughters, I should 
 say. Be assured you shall have justice. When my 
 honored father (God rest his soul!) was living, he 
 
 167
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 took for his motto a Latin phrase which signifies 
 'Austria shall rule the universe ;' for he loved his na- 
 tive Austria, and sought in every way to aggrandize 
 her. But I take a wider view. While I also love 
 Austria, I consider myself responsible to God for 
 every part of the dominions which He has seen fit 
 to put under my rule yes! for every individual in 
 those dominions ; and so far as I am able to prevent 
 it, not one shall suffer wrong. My motto is 'Right- 
 eousness shall rule the universe !' And, God helping 
 me! I shall do all in my power to bring about that 
 glorious consummation !" 
 
 As he spoke these words, with glowing cheeks, 
 sparkling eyes, and voice that rang with earnest 
 feeling, an involuntary cheer burst from those pres- 
 ent, including the Bishop, the courtiers, and the 
 wool-merchant's son. 
 
 "God bless our noble Kaiser Max!" 
 
 "Have no fear, therefore, fair maiden," said the 
 Emperor, turning again to Barbara. "You shall 
 certainly have justice. . But I cannot of my own au- 
 thority set your mother at liberty; for Nuremberg 
 is a free city, and its magistrates have a right to do 
 as they please with their own citizens which right, 
 
 168
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 it seems, they abuse. But I shall send thither an 
 order, given under my hand and seal, to stay all pro- 
 ceedings in the case. It shall be sent this very night ; 
 after which, means shall be taken to procure your 
 mother's liberation, and punish her accuser. It will 
 be strange indeed if the successor of the Caesars can- 
 not rescue a poor old woman from the clutches of a 
 set of wrong-headed burghers. Eh ! my Lord Bish- 
 op?" 
 
 "God bless your majesty!" was all that Barbara 
 could say, as, bending low before him, she kissed 
 the hand he held out to her. 
 
 Requesting that the Bishop would order some 
 refreshment for them, he then signed to her and her 
 companion to depart. 
 
 The Bishop accordingly gave them into the charge 
 of some attendants, by whom they were bountifully 
 entertained. 
 
 Barbara ardently desired to start on the return 
 journey that very night. But to this Karl would not 
 consent; and she was with difficulty persuaded to 
 wait until the morrow morning. For, her fears for 
 her mother allayed by the Emperor's promise, all her 
 
 169
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 anxiety was now to reach the prison in time to re- 
 lieve her sister. 
 
 As they left the Episcopal palace, a heavy rain was 
 falling, which Karl urged as another reason besides 
 her own and their horse's fatigue, for deferring the 
 journey until the next morning. 
 
 "Your majesty," said the Count von Carlsberg, 
 as soon as Barbara and her escort had left the room, 
 "has done good today in the way that we are strictly 
 enjoined to do it you have done it covertly" 
 
 "Yes," said another, "a deed of masked benevo- 
 lence is by far the best and noblest." 
 
 "Your majesty," added another, in the same half 
 bantering, half deferential tone, "has already begun 
 the profession of a knight-errant, in the way of suc- 
 coring distressed damsels; but the only part of his 
 costume that you have adopted is the visor" 
 
 Maximilian glanced from one to the other, totally 
 at a loss to comprehend their good-humored badi- 
 nage ; but when at last he saw their drift, he snatched 
 off his mask, and threw it from him. He attempted 
 to laugh at the strange ideas the cottage maiden 
 would have of what an Emperor's face was made of ; 
 
 170
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 yet felt at the same time excessively annoyed, and re- 
 proved his companions for not having informed him 
 of his mistake. 
 
 171
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 After a comfortable sleep in the Stag's-Head Inn, 
 at Wiirzburg, Barbara arose the next morning, 
 much refreshed and invigorated. 
 
 But on looking out, she was dismayed to find that 
 the rain still poured in torrents. However, they 
 must set out on their journey, rain or no rain. 
 
 The prospect was most dismal. The wind blew 
 cold and bleak. The rain drove in slant needles 
 across the drenched and sloppy ground. But Karl 
 Tiad a heavy camlet cloak, large enough to envelop 
 both riders in its folds, and almost impervious to 
 moisture. Besides, their hearts were now buoyed 
 up with hope, and that which would have crushed 
 them the day before seemed but a light matter now. 
 
 "You had better stay till tomorrow," said the 
 innkeeper, with an eye to his own interest, as well as 
 that of his guests. "After such a heavy rain, the 
 next day is sure to be fine." 
 
 But that they told him, was impossible, as they 
 had to be back in Nuremberg by a certain time. 
 
 172
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 It was a great satisfaction to both that the Em- 
 peror's courier, bearing the order to stay the pro- 
 ceedings, had been despatched the night before. 
 Even though they themselves were detained, that 
 order would insure the safety of both the mother 
 and Gretchen. Still, they hastened on, as fast as the 
 heavy roads and a horse carrying double would per- 
 mit. 
 
 But on their reaching a little stream that they had 
 crossed the day before on a substantial wooden 
 bridge, they found that, swollen by mountain tor- 
 rents, it had overflowed its banks, and the bridge 
 had been swept away. To ford the rapid stream was 
 out of the question. No horse, even with a single 
 rider, could have kept its footing; with two riders, 
 it was simply impossible. 
 
 For the first time, Barbara's courage gave way. 
 Seeing their progress utterly stopped, she laid her 
 head on Karl's shoulder, and wept and sobbed like 
 a child. "Oh, Karl, what shall we do ? What shall 
 we do?" 
 
 "We must go back on our tracks some distance," 
 said Karl. "There is another bridge further up the 
 stream a stone bridge, which has probably with- 
 
 173
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 stood the fury of the waters; but it will take us 
 many miles out of our course to reach it. But keep 
 up your courage, dear Barbara. Remember the Em- 
 peror's order. The courier must have crossed this 
 bridge early in the morning, before the water rose 
 so high, and must be far on his way to Nuremberg 
 by this time." 
 
 Night had overtaken them by the time they 
 reached the stone bridge; and the road from thence 
 being entirely unknown to Karl, he dared not under- 
 take to travel it in the dark, and with the roads in 
 such condition. They were therefore obliged to stay 
 all night at the bridge-keeper's cottage. 
 
 When the morning of the third day dawned they 
 resumed their journey, still many miles distant from 
 their goal. But the innkeeper's prediction had come 
 true. The rain had ceased, and the morning was 
 clear and beautiful. 
 
 174
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 As soon as Margarethe Uhler was left alone in 
 the prison, she experienced in its fullest extent the 
 chilling blank and sinking of the spirits which is apt 
 to follow a state of over-excitement. 
 
 She was, as has been seen, the creature of impulse. 
 Her sister's self-devotion had roused in her the de- 
 sire to attempt a similar sacrifice. Barbara's tem- 
 porary resistance had strengthened her resolve. But 
 no sooner was she taken at her word, and the last 
 sound of her sister's footsteps had died away, than 
 the reaction set in, and she would have given the 
 world that all might be recalled. 
 
 Let it not be thought that this was want of af- 
 fection for either mother or sister. She did not 
 absolutely regret what she had done. But she had al- 
 ways been so gay and light-hearted, never having 
 known an hour of sorrow, or been separated for a 
 her past happiness with the lonely and miserable 
 day from those she loved; and when she contrasted 
 present, and the dark impending future, no wonder 
 
 175
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 her heart sank. For she lacked the lofty principle 
 and strength of character that sustained her sister 
 under her trials. 
 
 Then there was Karl to think of. It seemed al- 
 most cruel in Karl to go away, and leave her alone 
 in that loathsome prison. Why did he go with 
 Barbara ? Why did he not send a servant with her 
 instead ? "Oh, Karl, my beloved ! hurry back ! and 
 save your poor Gretchen from the cruel rack !" 
 
 Alter a while, however, she became more com- 
 posed, and calling to her aid that devotion which 
 her pious mother had striven to instil into her mind, 
 endeavored to meet her fate with patience and resig- 
 nation, if not with fortitude. 
 
 At times she would try to cheer her loneliness by 
 singing some of her favorite songs and hymns ; and 
 the prisoners confined in the other dungeons heard 
 her, and thought that some celestial being had visit- 
 ed the prison. But to her it seemed as if the thick 
 stone walls and the impure air deadened her voice, 
 and gave it a cavernous sound. 
 
 Two days passed away, in a solitude unbroken 
 save by the entrance of the sullen jailer with her 
 necessary food. 
 
 176
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 But on the morning of the third day, he came ac- 
 companied by a physician, who had been sent to as- 
 certain whether or not the supposed Barbara would 
 be able to undergo a second application of the rack. 
 
 No sooner had that personage begun his exam- 
 ination, than he inquired, in a tone of astonishment : 
 
 "Is this the woman who was subjected to the 
 rack a few days ago ?" 
 
 "The very same, Herr Doctor," said the man; 
 "and an obstinate hussy she is, for not one word of 
 confession could the tormenters draw from her." 
 
 "Is that so? Then methinks she has been lightly 
 dealt with." 
 
 "Nay, that she was not; unless you would so call 
 the utmost stretch of the rack, so that she fainted 
 with the pain." 
 
 "Why, then, here has been a miracle wrought," 
 said the physician. "The limbs of this young woman 
 are as sound as if no instrument of torture had ever 
 touched her, and her cheeks are rosy with the hue 
 of health. The hand of God has been here." 
 
 "Say, rather, the hand of the devil, most worship- 
 ful sir," said the jailer, with a loud, brutal laugh. 
 "The same friend who, as I heard, carried off her 
 
 177
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 sister in a flame of fire from the men of law, has 
 healed the limbs of this his chosen servant by some 
 hellish process." 
 
 The physician did not attempt to argue the mat- 
 ter, but proceeded at once to prepare his report for 
 the magistrates. 
 
 During his examination, Gretchen trembled lest 
 the deception should be discovered; but even in the 
 midst of her grief and terror, was amused by the 
 remarks of the men. And oh! how she longed to 
 know whether Karl and Barbara had arrived, and 
 whether their mission had been successful. 
 
 The chief magistrate had meanwhile returned 
 from his visit to the Castle of Eisenfeld. 
 
 Much dissatisfaction had been manifested by the 
 Baron and the Lady Alexia, because Frederick had 
 not accompanied his father on this visit a dissatis- 
 faction which was scarcely mollified by the excuses 
 he had sent for his absence. 
 
 "I tell you, Schonberg," said the Baron, a bluff old 
 nobleman who was apt to speak his mind plainly, 
 "it was not so in our young days. What cared we 
 though twenty miles lay between us and our lady 
 love? We went to see her all the same. I remem- 
 
 178
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 her once riding through a snow-storm, through 
 drifts ten feet high, to keep an appointment with 
 Alexia's mother. I got lost among the mountains, 
 too; but what of that? The warm welcome I met 
 with when at last I reached her father's castle, made 
 me forget it all. Love was love in those days." 
 
 "It is not the distance," said the Burggraf, apolo- 
 getically; "but really my son has not been well of 
 late. I know not what ails him, but he does not 
 appear like himself at all. He is pale and languid, 
 and avoids all society." 
 
 "Send him up here next week," said the Baron, 
 heartily. "I and my sons will get up a grand boar- 
 hunt, to which all my neighbors for forty miles 
 around shall be invited ; and after the hunt, we shall 
 have a feast and a dance, and if that does not drive 
 the megrims out of him, I shall be much mistaken." 
 
 The two old men laughed at their own pleasan- 
 tries; but a frown gathered on the brow of the 
 Baroness Alexia, and resentment rilled her heart, for 
 this new instance of neglect on the part of her care- 
 less lover. 
 
 179
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 The Burggraf had returned, and had been in- 
 formed that during his absence a witch had been 
 before the court, who was also a Hussite heretic, 
 and that the witch's daughter having been put to the 
 torture once, and having refused to confess, was 
 about to be subjected to the same a second time. 
 
 The chief magistrate sighed. Being a tender- 
 hearted man, he did not like such cases. So great 
 was his "weakness," that he could feel compassion 
 even for a reputed witch. 
 
 The court having convened, and the startling re- 
 port of the physician having been laid before it, 
 Gretchen, pale, and shivering with terror, was taken 
 from her dungeon, and conveyed to the hall of Jus- 
 tice. Her last hope of deliverance was gone. For 
 the three days had expired, and Barbara had not 
 come, as she had promised. And Karl ? Alas ! Karl 
 also had proved false to his promises, and had left 
 her to perish. 
 
 With eager eyes she scanned every face in the 
 
 1 80
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 court room. But the two faces she desired to see 
 were not there. 
 
 A buzz of admiration ran through the assembly at 
 sight of her beauty, which was in no wise impaired 
 by her three days' sojourn in prison, for her beauti- 
 ful flaxen hair with its natural curl, needed little of 
 the art of the coiffeur, and though somewhat dis- 
 ordered, still crowned her fair face as with a halo. 
 
 An added interest was given to her appearance by 
 the strange report of the physician ; but no one for a 
 moment doubted that she was Barbara. 
 
 The Burggraf himself occupied the principal seat 
 on this occasion, Herr Doppenhein, the little deputy, 
 much to his chagrin, being relegated to the second 
 place. 
 
 When Gretchen was brought in, Count Schon- 
 berg was engaged in listening to the reading of the 
 minutes of the former day's proceedings. 
 
 She was asked if she still refused to divulge her 
 crimes and those of her mother. 
 
 Encouraged by the benevolent countenance of the 
 chief magistrate, and the kind tones of his voice, she 
 answered firmly: 
 
 "I know of no crime that my darling mother has 
 181
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 committed; and certainly I have committed none 
 myself." 
 
 "I do not think it will be necessary to put this 
 young woman to the torture again," said the Burg- 
 graf. 
 
 "I differ from you entirely, my worthy friend,'* 
 said the little deputy ; for he was there, greatly shorn 
 of his beams by the presence of his superior, but 
 ready to put in a word whenever an opportunity of- 
 fered. "I differ from you entirely. She is a stiff- 
 necked, obstinate, impertinent minx. You can do 
 nothing with her. I myself could not. The only 
 way is to take her to the torture-chamber at once." 
 
 So also said the rest of the council ; for they had 
 all that deep abhorrence of witchcraft which was 
 considered necessary to the character of a good 
 Christian; and the humane intentions of the chief 
 magistrate were over-ruled. 
 
 The poor trembling Gretchen was then seized by 
 the officers of the law, and about to be taken to the 
 scene of her sister's sufferings, when suddenly there 
 arose a great hubbub at the entrance, the crowd was 
 driven back, and a young man burst wildly into the 
 hall. 
 
 182
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 It was Karl Steiner. 
 
 He was splashed with mud from head to foot ; and 
 for some moments he stood, panting, breathless, un- 
 able to articulate a word. 
 
 "O, Karl ! Karl ! save me !" cried Gretchen, stretch- 
 ing out her arms to him. 
 
 The first words he gasped out were : "Thank God ! 
 I am not too late !" and rushing up to Gretchen, he 
 shook off the astonished officers, and clasping her 
 in his arms, kissed her again and again. "My poor 
 girl! my dear love!" he murmured. "Cheer up! 
 there is deliverance at hand !" 
 
 "What is the meaning of this?" demanded the 
 court. "Officers! seize that man, and thrust him 
 out!" 
 
 On this Karl, releasing Gretchen, turned to the 
 magistrates. 
 
 "How dare you, sirrah, thus interrupt the pro- 
 ceedings of the court?" said the little deputy, in his 
 most pompous manner. 
 
 "I have come," said Karl, "and God be praised 
 that I have not come too late ! to save that innocent 
 girl from immolation on yonder dread engine. I 
 had arrived sooner, but was delayed by the state 
 
 183
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 of the roads; for heavy rains in the mountains had 
 brought down the waters in torrents, and carried off 
 a bridge; which obliged us to take a very circuitous 
 route. On my arrival, I ran first to the prison, and 
 was half frantic to find my betrothed already gone. 
 Has not the Emperor's order arrived?" 
 
 "Order? What order?" 
 
 "An order to stay all proceedings in this case, ob- 
 tained from the Emperor himself by the prayers and 
 tears of Barbara Uhler." 
 
 "Young man, you are dreaming. Is not this 
 Barbara Uhler?" 
 
 "No. That is Margarethe Uhler, her twin sister, 
 She who escaped when Barbara and her mother were 
 apprehended." 
 
 "This young man is mad," said the court. "Re- 
 move him." 
 
 "Hear me!" exclaimed Karl; "and you will find 
 that I am neither mad nor dreaming." 
 
 He then, in as few words as possible, acquainted 
 them with the exchange effected by the twins, the 
 subsequent journey of himself and Barbara, and her 
 personal application to the Emperor. A murmur of 
 applause ran through the assembly, and many an eye 
 
 184
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 was turned in wonder and admiration on Gretchen. 
 But it was evident that the court did not believe a 
 word of his story. 
 
 "Do you mean to say," asked the little deputy, 
 with his usual pomposity, "that there are two per- 
 sons in the world so exactly alike that the magis- 
 trates of Nuremberg could not detect the slightest 
 difference ? Do you mean to tell me, that the young 
 woman who stands there is not the same young 
 woman whom I I myself examined three days 
 ago?" 
 
 "Even so," replied Karl. 
 
 "And where then, is the other one if there be 
 another one?" said the deputy, superciliously. 
 
 "Barbara Uhler is at my father's house, where 
 I left her this morning, more dead than alive, ex- 
 hausted with her journey, and distracted with the 
 delays we had encountered, and the fear that she 
 might be too late to save her sister. Think you," 
 continued Karl, turning to the chief magistrate, and 
 growing eloquent from the very strength of his 
 feelings, "that the daughters of a servant of Satan 
 would thus dispute with each other the privilege of 
 suffering for their mother? I appeal to you all, if
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 the circumstance you have just heard be not one of 
 the strongest proofs on record of filial and sisterly 
 affection? Could this proof have been given if the 
 persons had not been filled with a deep and holy 
 trust in God ? I have known the Widow Uhler and 
 her daughters long. They are as innocent of witch- 
 craft as I am myself." 
 
 "Your language, young man, bears the stamp of 
 truth," said the Burggraf ; "but still the principal 
 accuser of the woman is a gentleman of high station, 
 who could have no motive in accusing her falsely. 
 
 "Pardon me, Herr Burggraf. He had a motive, 
 and he did accuse her falsely." 
 
 "Take care what you say, sir. What motive could 
 he possibly have had?" 
 
 "He dared to tempt the virtue of Barbara Uhler ; 
 and because she repulsed him, he accused her mother 
 of witchcraft." 
 
 "Young man," said Count Schonberg, in a tone of 
 severity, "my son is incapable of such baseness. Your 
 whole story convinces me that you are in league 
 with these evil women, and therefore not entitled 
 to a moment's credence." 
 
 On this, there arose a vociferous clamor. "Con- 
 186
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 victed ! convicted ! Away with him to prison !" rang 
 on all sides ; while the little deputy rubbed his hands, 
 crying: "I said so I said so all the time!" 
 
 "Let Frederick Schonberg be brought hither, and 
 confronted with Barbara Uhler, and let him deny it 
 if he dare!" cried Karl, in a loud voice. 
 
 "He is right. Go, some one, for my son ; and let 
 this other sister (if she exists) be also brought. 
 Where is she, did you say?" to Karl. 
 
 "At my father's house the house of Steiner, the 
 wool-merchant." 
 
 "Are you the son of Steiner the wool-merchant ? I 
 know your father. He is a worthy man. If you 
 are a man like your father you have spoken truth. 
 Pray God it be not so." 
 
 187
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Frederick had not gone to the court that day. 
 Knowing nothing of the exchange that had been 
 made, he of course supposed it was Barbara, scarcely 
 recovered from her former sufferings, weak, perhaps 
 crippled, who was to be subjected to further cruel- 
 ties; and he felt that he could not bear it. 
 
 As he sat in his room, dejectedly brooding on the 
 subject, and suffering in imagination from every 
 pang inflicted on her, he was interrupted by the hasty 
 entrance of Jerome. 
 
 "Please, your honor, an order has come from your 
 worshipful father for you to attend the court imme- 
 diately." 
 
 "What can they want with me, I wonder?" he 
 said, as he rose reluctantly, and passed on to the 
 Rathhaus, attended by Jerome. 
 
 As they went along, the gossipping tongue of Je- 
 rome put him in possession of what had occurred in 
 the court room that morning the marvelous narra- 
 tive of Karl Steiner concerning the exchange ef- 
 
 188
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 fected by the sisters, the journey to Wiirzburg, and 
 the order of the Emperor which, however, had not 
 yet arrived. 
 
 "And what, I ask again, do they want of me?" 
 
 "Your worshipful father refused to believe what 
 Karl Steiner said concerning your honor; and Karl 
 on that demanded that you be placed face-to-face 
 with Barbara ; and the Herr Burggraf observing me, 
 sent me off, in hot haste, to fetch your honor." 
 
 Just as they entered the town hall, there alighted 
 at the entrance an imperial courier, "bloody with 
 spurring, fiery-red with haste," and, like Karl, be- 
 spattered with mud from head to foot. 
 
 Advancing to the chief magistrate, he with a low 
 obeisance presented a parchment, to which was at- 
 tached the great seal of the empire. 
 
 He should have arrived, he explained, on the day 
 previous, but had been delayed by the freshets ; hav- 
 ing lost his horse, and nearly lost his life, in an 
 attempt to swim the impetuous stream mentioned 
 above, from which the bridge had been carried 
 away. 
 
 "This," said the Burggraf, "must be the imperial 
 order of which that young man spoke. Johannes 
 
 i8g
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 Edler, the town clerk, will now read it publicly, that 
 we may know what is the will and pleasure of our 
 imperial suzerain." 
 
 Once more Johannes Edler respectfully took off 
 his velvet cap, and put on his great horn spectacles ; 
 and taking the parchment in his hand, unfolded it, 
 and read, in loud sonorous tones, the imperial order, 
 namely : "That all proceedings against the widow 
 Brunhilda Uhler should be suspended; that she 
 should be detained in prison, but comfortably enter- 
 tained; and that her case should be decided accord- 
 ing to the ancient 'Wager of Battle/ as soon as a 
 champion should be found, able and willing to appear 
 in the lists, in mortal combat, against Frederick von 
 Schonberg, her accuser." 
 
 The order further commanded that the twin 
 daughters of the widow should be immediately set 
 at liberty, and that they should be permitted to visit 
 their mother in prison at their will. 
 
 It would be difficult to describe the variety of 
 emotions which the reading of this order called up. 
 By the Burggraf it was received with pain and per- 
 plexity; by Frederick, with a feeling of angry de- 
 fiance; by the friends of the widow, with mingled 
 
 190
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 hope and dismay; and by all, with wonder and ex- 
 cited interest. 
 
 "Here is a new turn of affairs," said one of the 
 magistrates. "But where is this champion to come 
 from?" 
 
 "I would his majesty had provided one," re- 
 marked another, "and sent him to us along with this 
 strange and preposterous order." 
 
 "Hush! my friends," said the chief magistrate. 
 "Talk not treason. Strange or not, the order must 
 be obeyed. Will any one here present," raising his 
 voice, "become the champion of the widow Brun- 
 hildaUhler?" 
 
 There was a dead silence. 
 
 Every eye turned instinctively on Karl Steiner. 
 But Karl spoke not. 
 
 "Ha! ha!" laughed the little deputy; "judgment 
 will go by default, I fear; for if this word- valiant 
 braggart cannot stand the test to which his im- 
 perial majesty would put his friendship, who else 
 would be willing to risk his life for a miserable, ob- 
 stinate, troublesome old witch-woman and a Hus- 
 site to boot?" 
 
 "That I am not a friend in word only," said Karl, 
 
 191
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 stoutly, "all who know me will be ready to declare, 
 I think. But I am a man of peace I know nothing 
 of fighting I never handled a sword or a lance in 
 my life and for me to undertake the championship 
 would be to insure not only my own destruction, 
 but hers also." 
 
 "The young man speaks very sensibly," said the 
 Burggraf. "His majesty the emperor should have 
 considered that the age of chivalry is over now, and 
 that peaceful citizens do not care to risk " 
 
 "The age of chivalry is not yet over !" said a rich, 
 manly voice; and a man of noble presence stepped 
 forward into the light. 
 
 He was of a tall, commanding figure, well-formed 
 and muscular, and his countenance was of that 
 striking cast which at once rivets the attention. His 
 eyes, bright, piercing, penetrating, seemed to look 
 into the very soul, and betokened an intellect of no 
 common order. 
 
 "The age of chivalry is not yet over," he said. 
 "The age of chivalry will last as long as there are 
 helpless women to be defended, and brave men to 
 defend them. I here declare myself the widow's 
 champion ! There is my gage," throwing down his 
 
 192
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 glove ; "and if Frederick Schonberg dares to take it 
 up, he shall own his perfidy at the point of my sword, 
 or pay the penalty with his life !" 
 
 193
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 "Who are you?" asked the court, as every eye 
 was turned on the stranger. 
 
 "I am 'The Widow's Champion!' at present I 
 have no other name. I have been in this court for 
 some time, and am acquainted with the leading 
 points in the case. It is my firm belief that the 
 Widow Uhler has been falsely accused; and I chal- 
 lenge you, Frederick Schonberg, to mortal combat. 
 Do you accept the challenge?" 
 
 "Before I do so, I must know particularly who is 
 my antagonist." 
 
 "My rank," said the stranger, "is at least equal 
 to your own. I am at the head of an extensive 
 establishment in Vienna, which has ramifications all 
 over Germany. My name it is my pleasure at pres- 
 ent to conceal." 
 
 "But I have a right to know it," said Frederick. 
 "I am not bound to accept the challenge of an entire 
 stranger." 
 
 "Do you still hesitate?" said the other, with a 
 194
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 look of scorn. "I am not surprised to find a coward 
 in one who could deliberately plunge a whole family 
 into misery and imminent danger, because one of 
 its members was proof against his base arts." 
 
 "It is false!" exclaimed Frederick, with flashing 
 eyes, his pride taking fire at this public exposure. 
 
 The stranger fixed his eagle eye upon him with 
 a look of ineffable scorn. He tried to return the 
 look with scorn for scorn; but in spite of himself 
 his eyes sank, for he felt that the other was reading 
 his inmost thoughts. At the same time a vague, 
 undefined feeling possessed him of having seen the 
 stranger before ; but where he could not recall. 
 
 As he glanced at him again, he saw a sudden 
 change come over the stranger's expression a gleam 
 of pleasure overspread his countenance ; and follow- 
 ing the direction of his eyes, he saw them rest with 
 a look of tenderness and pity on the pale face and 
 enfeebled frame of Barbara Uhler, who was at that 
 moment brought into court on a litter, in obedience 
 to the commands of the chief magistrate. 
 
 Frederick started as if stung by an adder. The 
 motives of the stranger seemed now to be explained. 
 He saw in him a rival for the love of Barbara; and
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 a feeling of the most intense hatred against the offi- 
 cious intruder took possession of his soul. For, 
 with a strange inconsistency, he still passionately 
 loved the woman whom he persecuted. Stranger 
 still, he loved and honored her all the more for the 
 heroic manner in which she had borne the persecu- 
 tions, and resisted the temptations, of his own in- 
 temperate passions. 
 
 Burning with rage and jealousy, he snatched up 
 the stranger's glove, and throwing down his own, 
 said fiercely: 
 
 "I accept this challenge !" 
 
 The stranger picked up his gage, and coolly plac- 
 ing it in his cap, turned with easy and graceful cour- 
 tesy to Barbara. 
 
 "Fair maid," said he, "behold in me your mother's 
 Champion. Dismiss all your fears. Trust me, vir- 
 tue and innocence shall triumph falsehood and per- 
 jury shall meet their just reward." 
 
 Barbara looked up earnestly in his face; for his 
 voice fell on her ear like the sound of remembered 
 music. But the face was strange to her. She could 
 not remember ever to have seen it before. 
 
 She murmured her thanks for his kind interfer- 
 196
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 ence in her mother's behalf. But she looked un- 
 happy, dejected and spiritless; and the wan smile 
 with which she greeted him seemed trembling on 
 the verge of tears. 
 
 For alas ! the triumph of the one combatant meant 
 the doom of the other. 
 
 Frederick watched them with a savage glare. He 
 was too far off to hear the words spoken, and his 
 jealous eyes could see nothing in their brief inter- 
 view but the interchange of mutual affection; and 
 his heart swelled with suppressed rage. 
 
 He noticed, also, with a feeling of inexpressible 
 bitterness, that Barbara never once turned her eyes 
 in his own direction. "She hates me," he thought. 
 "She will not look at me." 
 
 "It is then understood/' said the Burggraf, "that 
 the case of the widow Brunhilda Uhler, accused of 
 witchcraft, and also of heresy, is to be decided by 
 single combat, commonly called the Wager of Bat- 
 tle, between Frederick Schonberg and an unknown 
 person calling himself the Widow's Champion. I 
 would to heaven," he added, sighing heavily, "that 
 this matter did not concern me so closely as it does. 
 But the issue is in the hands of God: and if my 
 
 197
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 son be guilty of the baseness with which he is 
 charged, it is just that he should bear the conse- 
 quences." 
 
 The eyes of the stranger rested on the countenance 
 of the chief magistrate with a look of deep com- 
 miseration, which gave a softened, an almost wom- 
 anly, expression to his fine features. 
 
 "Yours is indeed, Herr Count von Schonberg, a 
 position trying in the extreme. Believe me, I deeply 
 sympathize with you." 
 
 "And who are you," said the little deputy, impa- 
 tient of his long silence, "that the Chief Magistrate 
 of Nuremberg should care for your sympathy?" 
 
 The stranger drew himself up to his full height, 
 and looked down on the little man with a glance of 
 withering contempt, much as a great mastiff or St. 
 Bernard might look on a little snarling pug that 
 was annoying him. Although his fine form was 
 simply clad, in the garb of the better class of citi- 
 zens, the bearing of the stranger was decidedly 
 military; and an indescribable air of superiority 
 pervaded all that he did or said. 
 
 Seeing the poor deputy quail beneath his gaze, his 
 features relaxed. 
 
 198
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "I am 'The Widow's Champion/ " said he, with 
 a good-humored smile; "and at the appointed time 
 and place I hope to prove my title to the name." 
 
 The Burggraf immediately proceeded to appoint a 
 time for the combat. It was to take place two weeks 
 from that day, as some time would be required for 
 preparation. 
 
 He then gave orders that the accused woman 
 should be removed from the miserable cell in which 
 she had hitherto been confined, to one where, in ac- 
 cordance with the imperial mandate, she could be 
 more "comfortably entertained," and that her daugh- 
 ters should be free to return to their home. 
 
 He then dismissed the court. 
 
 As the litter bearing the feeble and exhausted 
 form of Barbara passed the spot where Frederick 
 Schonberg stood, gloomy and dark, wrapped in his 
 cloak as he marked the pallor of her cheek, the 
 dimness of the eyes once so bright and remem- 
 bered that he was the cause of her thus appearing 
 but the shadow of her former self an almost re- 
 sistless impulse seized him to fall at her feet, and 
 confess all, beseeching her forgiveness. But, chanc- 
 ing to turn his head, he saw that the hated stranger 
 
 199
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 was intently watching him with those powerful eyes 
 of his; and he turned away with an angry gesture, 
 muttering to himself : 
 
 "No ! I will die sooner than confess !" 
 
 200
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 On the following morning, Frederick entered the 
 private apartment of his father. 
 
 The Burggraf was seated in a large chair, beside a 
 table covered with papers and scrolls of parchment. 
 But he was not writing, neither was he reading. 
 
 He sat with his elbows resting on the table, his 
 head on his hands, the image of dejection and sor- 
 row. 
 
 "Father," said Frederick, approaching him. 
 
 He raised his head. 
 
 "What do you want?" he said harshly. "You 
 have disgraced yourself and me, and I no longer own 
 you as a son." 
 
 "It is true, father. I have disgraced you and dis- 
 honored myself. But I have only, it may be, a few 
 more days to live and can you not forgive me, 
 father? What I did was done in the heat of pas- 
 sion I was half mad with love and disappointment. 
 And let me add, father what I did was partly 
 your own fault." 
 
 201
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "How? my fault? How so? I did not know 
 one word of the matter until yesterday. How could 
 it be my fault?" said his father, angrily. 
 
 "By your forcing me into a contract of marriage 
 with a woman for whom I cared nothing." 
 
 "Forcing you ? Nay, you gave ready assent." 
 
 "Yes. I was heart-whole then. I cared little 
 about the matter, for my mind was filled with dreams 
 of military glory; and the match on which you had 
 set your heart seemed on the whole a desirable alli- 
 ance. But after I met Barbara, things were changed. 
 The very thought of Alexia became distasteful to 
 me, as I contrasted her proud, imperious beauty and 
 her coarse manners with the exquisite loveliness of 
 the other. 
 
 He then detailed to his father the history of his 
 acquaintance with Barbara and her family, with the 
 mutual attachment that had been the result; and 
 described the many happy hours he had spent in the 
 humble cottage. "I loved her, father I declare it 
 on my honor with a love as true and pure as that 
 you bore to my sainted mother, and would gladly 
 have made her my bride. But there I was bound 
 hand and foot by that contract and what could I 
 
 202
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 do? I loved Barbara to distraction I could not 
 marry her I could not give her up and thus thus 
 I fell into the snares of the devil." 
 
 "But why, my son, did you not confide in me?" 
 said his father, relenting. "I would have found 
 means honorably to withdraw from the agreement 
 with von Eisenfeld and his daughter; and would 
 not have forbidden your marriage with this maiden, 
 who, though in a lowly walk of life, is of good 
 parentage. I knew her father, Bernard Uhler. He 
 was a member of the Burger- Adel.* Therefore his 
 daughter is "well-born," and may wed with even a 
 count of the empire." 
 
 "Oh ! if I had known ! then all this misery might 
 have been spared !" 
 
 "But what has all this to do with the accusation 
 of witchcraft?" 
 
 "Ah! that was a piece of mad folly and wicked- 
 ness of which I am ashamed. When I found that 
 Barbara was proof against all my persuasions and 
 
 *A sort of semi-nobility, composed of those patrician fam- 
 ilies who had engaged in commercial pursuits in Nuremberg 
 and other large cities, but who still retained the prestige and 
 many of the privileges of their former rank. 
 
 203
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 inducements to live with me par amours, some de- 
 mon whispered to me to accuse her mother of witch- 
 craft, and immediately withdraw the charge. I 
 thought to terrify her into submission. But ah! 
 instead of that, the brave girl, in the spirit of a mar- 
 tyr, offered herself to the torture and the stake in 
 place of her mother. I tried to save her, but in 
 vain. And oh ! father when I saw the tormentors 
 seize my pearl, my treasure, and drag her off to the 
 chamber of horrors, it seemed as if I died a thou- 
 sand deaths in thinking of her sufferings! And / 
 the cause of all! Can God forgive such wicked- 
 ness?" 
 
 "Then the accusation was really false, as was 
 declared in court?" said his father. 
 
 "Yes, father. It was false. I confess it to you, 
 though I refused to confess it to that man, and shall 
 refuse, though I feel his sword-point in my heart." 
 
 "Am I to understand, then," said the elder Schon- 
 berg, severely, "that you are going to fight in de- 
 fense of a LIE?" 
 
 "I am going to fight, in order to slay the lover of 
 Barbara," replied Frederick, his eyes kindling with 
 a baleful fire. "She no longer loves me how could 
 
 204
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 she? She loves this man, whoever he may be. 1 
 saw it in her eyes when they talked together in the 
 court room. Yet she loved me dearly once. She 
 said so. The words are engraven on my heart. *I 
 loved you, Frederick Schonberg, with the pure, vir- 
 gin love of an innocent maiden.' Father! I killed 
 that love. And now" his voice faltered. 
 
 He covered his face with his hands, and remained 
 for some moments in silence. 
 
 His father kept silence also; but his anger was 
 all gone. 
 
 "Have you any idea," said he, after a pause, 
 "who the stranger can be?" 
 
 "I have not. It seems to me that I have seen 
 him somewhere; but where or when I cannot tell. 
 He reminds me somewhat of Ulric von Carlsberg, 
 whom I used to know in Vienna. But it is not he. 
 And now, father, there is a matter that must be at- 
 tended to before I that is, before the combat. It re- 
 lates to the Lady Alexia. Although I love her not, I 
 am bound, as a man of honor, to save her from 
 affront or annoyance. As I lay sleepless last night, I 
 thought out a plan which, I think you will agree 
 with me, would be the most honorable thing to do. 
 
 205
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 She will certainly hear of this matter from others 
 it is better that she should hear of it first from 
 myself. I shall go to the boar-hunt next week 
 and if the boar's tusks should gore me, what mat- 
 ter? I shall ask an interview with Alexia, and 
 shall tell her the truth concerning my love 'for Bar- 
 bara. She will be very angry, of course who could 
 blame her ? Perhaps she will storm a little, for they 
 say she has a temper. Then she not I, you observe 
 will break off the engagement, as every lady, has 
 a right to do, without disparagement to herself 
 tinder such circumstances." 
 
 "But suppose that she, after storming a little, 
 holds you to the contract?" 
 
 "In that case, I shall send for a priest and let him 
 marry us off-hand. It may be, she will be a widow 
 almost as soon as she is a wife; but I shall have 
 saved my honor, and cast no slight or indignity on 
 a noble and blameless lady." 
 
 The Burggraf highly approved of this proposi- 
 tion; and felt confident that both the lady and her 
 father would be satisfied that no slur was intended, 
 by the turn the affair had taken. He was also 
 
 206
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 gratified to learn that the spirit of manliness still 
 dwelt in his erring son. 
 
 "There is one thing more, father, that I wish to 
 speak of. In the coming combat, if I be slain, my 
 death will of course establish the innocence of the ac- 
 cused woman, according to the rules of the Wager of 
 Battle. But if her champion be slain and slain he 
 shall be, for I am determined that he shall not enjoy 
 the love that I have lost if, as I say, her champion 
 is slain, she will still remain under the imputation 
 of guilt. 
 
 "Promise me, father, that you will see her cleared. 
 Promise me that you will save that good woman 
 from the fury of the mob and the rigor of the law ; 
 and afterwards, that you will care for her and for 
 for Barbara, so that they may want for nothing. If 
 I must fill an unhonored grave, let not the curse of 
 those whom I have injured rest upon it. Do you 
 promise, father?" 
 
 "I promise," said the Burggraf, deeply moved. 
 
 Frederick held out his hand, but his father threw 
 his arms around him, and strained him to his heart. 
 
 207
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Dame Uhler had up to this time been kept in 
 prison; but in accordance with the imperial man- 
 date, was now removed from the dark and noisome 
 cell into which she had at first been thrust, to a 
 clean, airy one, where many comforts were allowed 
 her. 
 
 Here the stranger, who was obliged to return to 
 his "business in Vienna," pending the preparations 
 for the combat, visited her before his departure; 
 having, as he said, a desire to see the mother of two 
 such daughters. 
 
 He assured her that she need entertain no more 
 fears for her safety, as the Emperor would protect 
 her, according to his promise. 
 
 "But of the combat," said he, "I have no doubts ; 
 for though it does not become me to boast, I have 
 been considered by competent judges the best swords- 
 man in Germany except the Emperor and if it 
 were possible for me to measure swords with him, 
 I doubt not that he would find me his equal." 
 
 208
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 The widow, like all who came in contact with 
 him, was most favorably impressed by the handsome 
 and courteous stranger, and cordially thanked him 
 for his generous interference in her behalf. 
 
 "It is to the influence of virtue in the person of 
 this fair maiden," said he, turning to Barbara, "that 
 you owe my interference." 
 
 "To me!" exclaimed she, astonished. And again 
 she looked earnestly in his face in a vain endeavor 
 to recall his lineaments; but colored and looked 
 down when she found that the eloquent eyes of the 
 stranger were fixed upon her with a gaze as earnest. 
 For an instant the suspicion that had so aroused 
 the jealousy of Frederick crossed her mind. But in 
 the next instant it vanished. For the manner of 
 the Champion towards her was that of a protector, 
 not a lover. It was pity, kindness, friendliness, that 
 shone in his eyes it was not love. But who he 
 was, and how she had happened to excite an interest 
 in him, was a mystery to her. And the stranger 
 departed, leaving the mystery unsolved. 
 
 The sisters had now returned to their dismantled 
 cottage, which, by the exertions of Karl and Wil- 
 helmina, had again been rendered habitable. The 
 
 209
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 broken door had been mended, the floor cleansed 
 and strewed with fresh sand, the shelves, with their 
 small though pleasing array of wooden cups and 
 dishes, replaced; and Vogel hung on his accustomed 
 peg, where he sang his songs, and cracked his hemp- 
 seed, as if nothing had occurred to break the cur- 
 rent of his existence. Even the chair and table had 
 been restored; but with that Karl declared he had 
 had nothing to do. He thought it had probably 
 been done by the orders of the chief magistrate. 
 But Barbara, in her secret heart, believed that it 
 was the work of Frederick; and as with many pa- 
 tient stitches she repaired the damage done to the 
 chair-cover by the rough men, she drew a little 
 spark of comfort from the thought. The manu- 
 scripts discovered in the chair had been burned by 
 command of the little deputy. But the secret recep- 
 tacle of the table, having been contrived by Orien- 
 tal craft and ingenuity, had escaped detection, and 
 its contents, so prized by the widow, remained in- 
 tact. 
 
 Another unexplained matter was, that certain deli- 
 cacies found their way to the widow's cell nour- 
 ishing food and invigorating cordials and no one 
 
 210
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 could tell who sent them. But again Barbara in- 
 tuitively thought of Frederick. 
 
 "It is he," she whispered to herself. "He re- 
 pents. He is sorry for my mother. He seeks to 
 make atonement." 
 
 In this conjecture she was not far from the truth. 
 While it could hardly be said of Frederick that he 
 repented, he now fully realized his guilt, and his 
 soul was gnawed by the pangs of remorse which 
 he sought to mollify by such little acts of kind- 
 ness, while his pride withheld him from an open 
 and manly confession of his guilt. 
 
 Reassured by the cheering words of the stranger, 
 the light of hope again dawned on the family. The 
 mother, with that firm reliance on Heaven which 
 had sustained her in all her trials, remained in a 
 calm, serene frame of mind, hoping for deliverance, 
 yet prepared for defeat. 
 
 But to the sanguine and impetuous Gretchen the 
 possibility of defeat never for a moment presented 
 itself. She was sure the generous stranger would 
 win the combat. She laughed and sang from morn- 
 ing to night, in the exuberance of joy and hope; 
 and blushingly arranged with the happy Karl that 
 
 211
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 her mother's deliverance should be signalized by 
 their nuptials. 
 
 In the midst of this happiness and joyful antici- 
 pation, Barbara alone was sad. Her feelings had 
 undergone a complete revulsion. Relieved of her 
 fears for her mother, her sympathies, strange to 
 say, were now with the guilty Frederick. The 
 words of the Emperor that he should not go un- 
 punished gave her the first intimation of danger to 
 him, showing that he had incurred a penalty; and 
 the challenge of the stranger, given and accepted 
 in her hearing, brought to her the terrible thought 
 that that penalty was death. To save her mother, 
 Frederick must die. 
 
 This was a blow that staggered her. The deep, 
 absorbing love with which she had once regarded 
 him, rushed back upon her heart like a torrent over- 
 flowing its banks. With all the sophistry of love, 
 she found herself making a thousand excuses for 
 his conduct. True, he had erred but his passions 
 were strong, and he had had no mother to lead 
 his youth in the paths of virtue. He had dared to 
 profane her ears with the words of dishonorable 
 love but she had done very wrong to encourage 
 
 212
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 his attentions, for how could one so high-born, so 
 wealthy, so courted, espouse a lowly maiden like 
 herself? He had plunged her mother into misery 
 and danger but her treacherous heart whispered, 
 like Richard to the hapless Anne, that " 'twas her 
 beauty that incited him." 
 
 Unconscious that he was still an object of tender 
 interest to her, Frederick remained during the in- 
 terval in a most unhappy frame of mind. Jealousy, 
 anger, and remorse alternated in his bosom. 
 Ashamed of his conduct, he was yet compelled by 
 circumstances to defend it. Every other feeling, 
 however, was swallowed up in his desire to avenge 
 himself on the officious stranger, whose noble quali- 
 ties, contrasting with his own baseness, had robbed 
 him, as he believed, of the love of Barbara. 
 
 213
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 At the dawn of the day appointed for the boar- 
 hunt, Frederick, mounted on his good horse Sala- 
 din, and attended by Jerome, wended his way to the 
 Castle of Eisenfeld. 
 
 It was situated on a craggy steep, overlooking a 
 brawling stream, a tributary of the Main. Great 
 forests spread over a considerable portion of the 
 Baron's demesne, the haunt of the wild boar, the 
 deer, wolf, and other animals of the chase. 
 
 Of all the hunts, that of the wild boar was by far 
 the most preferred among the bold spirits of tKe 
 times. There was an element of danger in it that 
 added zest to a sport, in itself peculiarly exciting, 
 from the stubborn and savage character of the ani- 
 mal itself. Horses were torn by its formidable 
 tusks ; hounds by the score were mangled, and even 
 the hunters themselves ran great risks of receiving 
 injuries, sometimes fatal; so that Frederick's re- 
 mark about being gored to death was by no means 
 irrelevant. 
 
 214
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 The sun was well up in the heavens when he 
 reached the castle, and most of the guests were 
 already assembled. He found the court-yard filled 
 with men, dogs, and horses, all in a state of excited 
 preparation. The baying of the hounds, the clatter 
 of the horses' feet on the stones of the court-yard, 
 and the shouts and salutations of the hunters, made 
 a prodigious din. 
 
 The bluff old Baron stepped around from one to 
 another, with the heartiest of welcomes. 
 
 "Ha! Herr Fritz! Welcome to Eisenfeld! Saw 
 you ever a more glorious day for a boar-hunt? 
 Run in, my boy, run in, and pay your devoirs to 
 Alexia before we start She will not be pleased 
 else." 
 
 Whether she would be "pleased" with what he 
 had to say, Frederick doubted. But he was glad 
 of the opportunity thus afforded for an interview. 
 
 As he entered the great door of the castle, he 
 met another cavalier in hunting costume, with sil- 
 ver-mounted hunting-horn slung over his shoulder, 
 who had also, as it appeared, been paying his "de- 
 voirs" to Alexia. 
 
 To his surprise, he found it was that very Ulric 
 
 215
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 von Carlsberg of whom he had spoken to his father 
 a few days before. 
 
 A pleasant greeting was exchanged between them, 
 with a few words relative to the sport of the day; 
 after which, as there was but little time to spare, 
 Frederick hastened his steps to the boudoir of the 
 Lady Alexia, who, though accustomed to take part 
 in the hunting-parties of her father and brothers, 
 was forbidden to join in a boar-hunt, as being too 
 dangerous for a woman, even one of so masculine 
 a spirit as the Lady Alexia von Eisenfeld. 
 
 He found her, as usual, arrayed in a costly and 
 elegant costume, on which she had evidently be- 
 stowed much care, and which was so becoming to 
 her that Frederick thought he had never seen her 
 look so attractive. Her abundant hair, which Je- 
 rome had rudely described as "red," but which was 
 really of a rich and mellow shade of auburn, was 
 disposed about her head in such a manner as to 
 bring out the whiteness of her skin, and enhance 
 the lustre of her dark hazel eyes. 
 
 She was in high spirits, and received him most 
 graciously, but failed not to rally him on the fact 
 
 216
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 that she owed his visit to the outside attractions 
 held out by her father. 
 
 "Not so, dear lady. My visit to the castle today 
 was mainly to see you. The hunt was a mere ex- 
 cuse." 
 
 "I am deeply impressed by the compliment the 
 more so that it has been heretofore of rare occur- 
 rence." 
 
 "Forgive me, dear Alexia. I acknowledge the 
 justice of your reproof. Certainly one so honored 
 as I, ought to have been more attentive." 
 
 Then a long pause ensued; for the subject was 
 an embarrassing one, and Frederick scarcely knew 
 how to begin. 
 
 But the moments were speeding. The winding 
 of a hunting-horn resounded from the courtyard. 
 The words he had come to say must be spoken. 
 
 "Lady Alexia," he said, "when your father and 
 mine contracted us two in marriage, I deeply felt 
 the honor of the alliance I feel it still. But there 
 are currents in our hearts that we cannot always 
 control currents that bear us impetuously on a dif- 
 ferent course from that on which we had started. 
 With every desire to be true to the " 
 
 217
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 Here, to his chagrin and disappointment, he was 
 interrupted by the hasty entrance of Carlsberg. 
 
 "Come, Schonberg, come! Hurry up! The hunt 
 is starting out, and men and dogs are wild with 
 excitement." 
 
 Another blast of the horn confirmed his words. 
 
 Frederick rose reluctantly. 
 
 "Excuse me, dear Lady Alexia. I suppose I 
 must go. But I beg that you will grant me another 
 interview after the hunt is over. I have something 
 of importance to say to you." 
 
 "Certainly I will. And I wish you both of you," 
 with a quick glance at Carlsberg, "the highest hon- 
 ors of the chase. I would I could join you in the 
 noble sport, but they will not let me." 
 
 Accompanied by the other cavalier, whose pres- 
 ence and apparent familiarity in the castle puzzled 
 him somewhat, Frederick returned to the court- 
 yard, where he found about forty huntsmen assem- 
 bled knights, nobles and squires, friends and 
 neighbors of the Baron. Foresters holding the dogs 
 in leash, were in readiness to start, and all the 
 preparations for a grand hunt were in progress. 
 
 Frederick was hailed with loud cries of welcome 
 218
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 by the company, with most of whom he was more 
 or less acquainted. The five gallant sons of the 
 house were there, each one a picture of health, 
 vigor, and manliness. Rupert at first was rather 
 shy of Frederick, remembering the incident of the 
 summer evening; but very soon the enthusiasm and 
 good-fellowship of the "noble art of venerie" drove 
 the thought out of his mind, and drew them to- 
 gether again. 
 
 A great deal of good-humored banter passed from 
 lip to lip, as to who should be the winner of the 
 day, and have the pre-eminent honor of giving the 
 coup-de-grace, or, as those merry youths expressed 
 it, "sticking the pig." 
 
 Though vexed at the result of his interview with 
 Alexia, Frederick entered heartily into the spirit of 
 the occasion. Mounted on a fresh horse, inspired 
 by the stir, the excitement, and the impetuous hi- 
 larity of his companions, he cast aside all cares and 
 impending troubles, and gave himself up, heart and 
 soul, to the chase of the savage beast. 
 
 Through forest and field, through meadow and 
 streamlet, through deep ravine and over stony hill,, 
 sped the wild hunt the thunder of the horses' feet, 
 
 219
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 the baying of the hounds, and the cheerful "tra- 
 rah! tra-rah!" of the hunting-horn, awaking the 
 woodland echoes, and startling the eagle on his 
 mountain crag, and the wolf in the deep recesses of 
 the wood. 
 
 Whether it was that his horse was fleeter than 
 the others, or that the peculiar circumstances in 
 which he stood rendered him reckless, Frederick 
 Schonberg had out-distanced all his companions, 
 with the exception of Rupert von Eisenfeld, whose 
 steed kept pace with his, almost neck-and-neck. 
 
 At the entrance of a thick wood, where the 
 tangled underbrush forbade further progress, the 
 tired animal turned and stood at bay. In the same 
 instant Frederick launched his boar-spear at him, 
 and, springing from his horse, drew his short hunt- 
 ing-sword. 
 
 With a furious guttural snarl, mouth wide open, 
 and tusks poised to strike, the wild boar rushed at 
 him; and it would have gone hard with Frederick, 
 had not Rupert, strong and fearless woodsman that 
 lie was, sprung to his assistance. 
 
 Leaping to the ground, he seized the wild boar 
 220
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 by the long, coarse bristles of its neck and shoulders, 
 and held it back by main force. 
 
 "Strike, Fritz!" he cried. 
 
 Frederick, alert and wide-awake, thrust his sword 
 into the throat of the beast; and with a wild yell, 
 the monarch of the forest fell lifeless on the green- 
 sward. 
 
 As Frederick stood panting, the blood dripping 
 from his sword-point, and the gallant Rupert was 
 gathering himself up from under the carcass of the 
 animal, which had fallen on him, the rest of the 
 company rode up. 
 
 Loud cheers greeted the brave act of the two 
 young men, and congratulations were showered 
 upon them from every side. 
 
 "Aha!" exclaimed the jolly old Baron, clapping 
 Frederick heartily on the shoulder; "said I not that 
 this grand old sport would drive the megrims out 
 of your head ? I see, my lad, that you are no milk- 
 sop, no parlor knight, though you have dwelt cooped 
 up within the stone walls of a city. There is good 
 grit in you; and it needed but the free air of the 
 mountains, the breezy woods, and the bustle and 
 
 221
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 excitement of this glorious chase, to call it forth!" 
 The head forester now came forward, and with 
 great precision and formality measured the carcass 
 of the wild boar, in order that the figures might be 
 compared with others on record; for this was an 
 animal of unusual size. This done, it was therr 
 given in charge to some of the attendants, to be 
 by them conveyed to the castle, and placed in the 
 hands of the chief cook. 
 
 222
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 With great noise and clatter the tired but merry 
 hunters re-entered the courtyard of the castle. 
 
 Here the old Baron, elated with the success of 
 the expedition, presented Frederick to the Lady 
 Alexia, who had come forth with her maidens to 
 greet them, as the slayer of an immense wild-boar, 
 whose body measured full four feet in length, and 
 whose tusks were of enormous size and sharpness. 
 
 "Not so," said Frederick; "that is hardly a fair 
 statement. It is to Rupert that the honor belongs. 
 For without his strong arms and ready hands those 
 same mighty tusks would have spilled my heart's 
 blood." 
 
 But Rupert also disclaimed the honor; and a 
 friendly contest ensued between them, which was 
 not yet decided, when suddenly the voice of Lady 
 Alexia broke into the badinage with a loud and 
 startled cry: 
 
 "Where is the Count von Carlsberg?" 
 
 For he had not returned with the rest. 
 
 223
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "He is coming," said the Baron. "He had a little 
 mishap, and your brothers Albert and Rudolf are 
 bringing him home." 
 
 "Ah!" shrieked the Lady Alexia, throwing up 
 her arms, "you are hiding something from me he 
 is slain he is dead! the tusks of the wild boar 
 have gored him !" 
 
 "No such thing!" said her father. "In passing 
 through a rocky ravine with the rest of the hunt, 
 his horse stumbled and fell he was thrown to the 
 ground, struck his head on a stone, and was insensi- 
 ble for a time, but " 
 
 "Insensible? Struck on his head? Oh, he is 
 surely killed. O! Ulric! Ulric!" 
 
 She wrung her hands in an agony of terror and 
 distress. 
 
 "What is the meaning of this?" said the Baron, 
 sternly, while Frederick stood gazing on her in 
 amazed and stupefied silence. "Why this unseemly 
 show of emotion? What is Ulric von Carlsberg to< 
 you?" 
 
 "Everything! everything! He is all the world 
 to me!" She clasped her hands together, and 
 pressed them against her heart. 
 
 224
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "Alexia !" cried the Baron, now thoroughly angry, 
 "leave the courtyard! Go to your chamber! Have 
 you no regard for the honor of your father's house 
 that you thus unblushingly display your interest 
 in another man, in the very face and eyes of the 
 noble knight to whom you are contracted in mar- 
 riage? Go go I am ashamed of you." 
 
 Weeping and sobbing, leaning on the arm of her 
 favorite attendant, she turned to go. But at that 
 juncture the person under discussion rode into the 
 courtyard, one of the young Eisenfelds leading his 
 horse, the other supporting him in the saddle. 
 
 He presented rather a rueful appearance. His 
 face, pale and drawn, was streaked with blood, his 
 head bound up with a soiled and bloody cloth, his 
 garments stained and torn, and his silver-mounted 
 hunting-horn crushed out of shape. Alexia uttered 
 a cry at the sight. 
 
 The attendants lifted him from his horse, carried 
 him into the castle, and laid him on a couch. A 
 basin of water removed the disfiguring marks from 
 his face, and revealed the fact that his hurts, though 
 painful, were not dangerous. The most severe was 
 a gaping cut on the head, which had bled profusely. 
 
 225
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 A retainer of the Baron, who had some knowledge 
 of surgery, took a few stitches on it, applied some 
 sticking plaster, and bound it up Math a clean linen 
 bandage, prepared by the fair hands of Alexia her- 
 self. She was now quite calm, having resumed her 
 usual cold and dignified manner. 
 
 The needs of the injured knight having been 
 attended to, the seneschal now announced to the 
 Baron and his other guests that the banquet, for 
 which their exertions in the hunting field had given 
 them a keen appetite, was ready. 
 
 Here Frederick distinguished himself as a trench- 
 erman fully as much as he had done as a huntsman 
 earlier in the day. 
 
 As he partook of the savory viands set before 
 him the lordly venison pasty, the roasted sucking- 
 pig served whole with an apple in its mouth, the 
 larded goose, the pheasant and ptarmigan and other 
 wild fowl of forest and mountain and tarn he pon- 
 dered on the new turn that had come to the affair 
 in which he was so deeply interested. 
 
 "Alexia in love with Carlsberg! Then we are 
 both in the same predicament, and the breaking of 
 the contract is as desirable to her as to myself." 
 
 226
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 At first he thought this would simplify the mat- 
 ter, and make it easier for him to escape the con- 
 ditions of the contract, the onus now resting on her. 
 But on second thought he felt that it served rather 
 to complicate it. 
 
 "For how can I," said he to himself, "as a man 
 of honor, take advantage of the avowal she was 
 surprised into making by her terror and alarm? 
 No. I shall proceed as I first intended. I shall tell 
 her the truth about myself at least, as much of it 
 as may be necessary. And if she and her father still 
 insist on the fulfillment of the contract why, ful- 
 filled it shall be even if I have to run Carlsberg 
 through the body with my rapier immediately after 
 the ceremony or before it." 
 
 When the banquet was over, the "little dance" 
 was held as had been arranged; and Frederick 
 "trode a measure" with the woman towards whom 
 he now stood in so peculiar a relation whose 
 thoughts he suspected were not on him or on the 
 dancing, but with the wounded cavalier on his couch 
 of pain. 
 
 Owing to the tired condition of the company, 
 and the untoward incidents that had occurred, this 
 
 227
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 pastime was not kept up to a very late hour. The 
 guests dispersed to their several homes, and only 
 Frederick and Carlsberg remained at the castle over 
 night. 
 
 Alexia excused herself in regard to the interview 
 she had promised to give after the hunt, and begged 
 that it might be postponed until the morrow; to 
 which Frederick of course consented. 
 
 But the stout old Baron, jealous for the honor of 
 his house, could not go to his rest until he had had 
 an explanation with the son of his old friend, the 
 Burggraf. 
 
 "I am deeply grieved over this matter," said he. 
 "I knew that the Count von Carlsberg had been 
 paying court to Alexia, but had no idea that matters 
 had gone so far. He had been coming here, off 
 and on, since the day they first met at the military 
 parade in Nuremberg. He had even hinted to me 
 that he desired an alliance with my family. But I 
 silenced him at once. As soon as he is well enough 
 to travel, I shall send him from the castle, and for- 
 bid my daughter to see him again. A contract is 
 a contract, and it is not the fashion of the Eisen- 
 felds to break their word. Of course there will be 
 
 228
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 some tears and angry words. But after a time she 
 will get over it, and things will settle back in the old 
 way. Alexia is wilful and headstrong, but at heart 
 she is a good girl, and I have no doubt will make 
 you an excellent wife." 
 
 Several times in the course of this long speech 
 Frederick tried to interrupt it, but could not. 
 
 As the Baron paused he spoke. 
 
 "Do nothing rashly, Herr Baron. Tomorrow I 
 shall have an interview with Alexia, in which I be- 
 lieve many things will be cleared up. Till then, 
 suspend your judgment, I beg of you." 
 
 To this the Baron agreed. 
 
 Next morning, as soon as etiquette permitted, 
 Frederick repaired to the boudoir of Lady Alexia. 
 
 As their eyes met, she colored deeply, but looked 
 at him with an air of defiance. 
 
 "Have you come to reproach me?" she said. 
 
 "No, Lady Alexia, I have not. On the contrary, 
 I have come to accuse myself. Let me resume my 
 tale where I dropped it yesterday. I reminded you 
 of the contract of marriage existing between us. 
 I told you how highly I esteemed the honor of an 
 alliance with you. But the heart, dear lady, cannot 
 
 22Q
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. . 
 
 always be controlled. There are feelings in it that 
 carry us away in spite of us. With every desire to 
 be true to the promise that bound me to you, my 
 heart has been swept away into a love for another 
 woman." 
 
 Lady Alexia started. A half-uttered cry escaped 
 her. "You also?" 
 
 "I offer no excuse I merely state the fact, leaving 
 it to you to decide what course you will take in the 
 matter. If you will accept the shell without the ker- 
 nel if you will be satisfied with the hand without 
 the heart I am ready to fulfill the contract. 
 
 Lady Alexia was deeply agitated. 
 
 "Oh, Frederick, I know not what to say. From 
 what you saw and heard yesterday, you know that 
 I also love another. Since the contract was made, 
 it has been my fortune to meet and to love Ulric 
 von Carlsberg; and I have been anxiously seeking 
 some means of getting rid of that contract, without 
 offending you or your honored father, the Burggraf. 
 For my own father, with his stubborn old German 
 honesty, insists that it must be fulfilled. But 
 now " 
 
 "Now," said Frederick, "with no love on either 
 230
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 side and not only that, but each heart devotedly 
 attached to another object to fulfill that contract 
 were a mockery a sin against ourselves. Still, as 
 I said, I am ready to fulfill it." 
 
 "But I am not !" exclaimed Lady Alexia. "What 
 you have now told me places an entirely different 
 aspect on the case. When my father knows that 
 you no longer desire the marriage, he will yield, and 
 I shall be free to wed my dear Ulric. You know 
 him, do you not?" 
 
 "Yes, I know him. He was my classmate at the 
 military school in Vienna. He is a fine fellow, and 
 high in favor with the Emperor Maximilian. I con- 
 gratulate you and him," with a courtly obeisance. 
 
 "Allow me also to congratulate you. Who is the 
 fair lady who has supplanted me in your affections, 
 may I ask?" 
 
 "She is the daughter of the late Bernhard Uhler, 
 once an opulent merchant of Nuremberg." And he 
 thought within himself, "Alas! there are no con- 
 gratulations for me!" 
 
 At the word "merchant" Alexia raised her eye- 
 brows in surprise, having expected to hear the name 
 of some high-born lady of his own class. But she 
 
 231
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 made no comment, nor did Frederick explain fur- 
 ther. 
 
 Before seeing the Baron again, he paid a visit to 
 the chamber of the Count von Carlsberg. 
 
 After inquiring into the condition of the other's 
 hurts "Carlsberg," said he, abruptly, "did you 
 know that the lady Alexia and I were contracted in 
 marriage ?" 
 
 "Well yes I did." 
 
 "And was it fair, think you, to supplant your old 
 comrade in the lady's affections, as you have done?" 
 
 "All is fair in love and war," said Carlsberg, with 
 an uneasy laugh, not knowing but that Frederick's 
 next word would be a challenge. "You see, the case 
 stood thus. I found a beautiful woman a magnifi- 
 cent woman whose so-called lover neglected her, 
 and who deeply felt the neglect. Many a heart is 
 caught in the rebound. It was so with hers. You 
 were content to woo her through your father. But 
 I followed a different plan. I did my own wooing, 
 and it is my joy and happiness to know that I have 
 won her love. And gladly would I make her the 
 Countess von Carlsberg, did not her father insist on 
 the keeping of that unlucky contract." 
 
 232
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "He will insist no more, I think," said Frederick. 
 He then informed the other that he and Lady Alexia 
 had come to an understanding, and had mutually and 
 amicably agreed to dissolve the contract that had 
 caused so much annoyance and unhappiness sub- 
 ject only to the approval of the Baron. 
 
 "Let me get up!" said Carlsberg, springing from 
 his couch so hastily that he somewhat disarranged 
 his bandages. "Let us go at once to the Baron, 
 and have this matter settled." 
 
 The two young men then sought the presence of 
 the lord of the castle; and Frederick, after detail- 
 ing to him exactly how the matter stood, at last 
 succeeded in satisfying the old nobleman that he 
 was willing to resign his promised bride to his more 
 fortunate friend Carlsberg, and that the breaking 
 of the contract involved no principle of honor, but 
 was agreeable to all parties. 
 
 But it was a great disappointment *o the Baron. 
 
 "Wolfgang von Schonberg and I were boys to- 
 gether, and it had long been a favorite wish of 
 mine that his boy and my girl might make a match. 
 But it was not so to be. The will of God be done." 
 
 233
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 Frederick kept up his cheerful aspect until he 
 bade adieu to the castle of Eisenfeld. 
 
 But as he rode back to Nuremberg his gloom re- 
 turned at thought of what lay before him; and he 
 sighed as he rode on: "Oh, if I had known! if I 
 had only known !" 
 
 Jerome, who had kept well out of the way of the 
 wild boar's tusks, had had a full feast of gossip 
 as well as of the Baron's good things and had not 
 failed to inform the other lackeys of the great pas- 
 sage of arms about to take place between his mas- 
 ter and an officious stranger whom nobody knew, 
 but who had dared to call his veracity in question. 
 The matter he told them was concerning a certain 
 witch woman who was also a heretic, and who 
 would doubtless be bumed as she deserved to be, 
 when the combat was over. 
 
 But Jerome was so far loyal to his master that 
 with all his love of gossip he did not mention Bar- 
 bara's name, or hint at Frederick's connection with 
 her. 
 
 234
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 Preparations for the combat were begun on a 
 grand scale. Lists were set out and judges ap- 
 pointed. Everything, in a word, was arranged, ac- 
 cording to the rules for such contests ; and the Nur- 
 embergers looked forward to the coming pageant, 
 so novel and interesting, with a vast deal of ex- 
 citement and delighted expectation. 
 
 Tilts and tourneys were common enough. They 
 were the favorite amusement of the patrician young 
 men of the place, being held either in the large 
 market-place or the great hall of the Rathhaus, 
 usually with twelve combatants on either side. But 
 those were merely, in the language of chivalry 
 combats a plaisance, or for amusement resulting 
 in nothing more serious than a multitude of shiv- 
 ered lances, or perhaps a disabled horse or two. 
 
 But the Wager of Battle, or Battle Ordeal, was 
 very different. It was a combat a entrance, or to- 
 the-death. It was fought between a person accused 
 of crime and his accuser. But if the accused person 
 
 235
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 were "a woman, or a child, or a priest, or a man 
 of sixty years, or blind, or lame," he or she could 
 appear by a "champion." The conditions, however, 
 were the same in either case, namely, that the com- 
 bat was an appeal to the judgment of God, and 
 that He would give the victory to the innocent or 
 injured party. The combatants were to join hands 
 before a magistrate, and to swear that neither of 
 them would resort to sorcery or witchcraft. The 
 combat might last "until the stars appeared," when, 
 if neither was killed, the one most disabled would 
 be adjudged guilty, and immediately handed over 
 to the executioner. 
 
 The appeal to the Trial-by-Combat was rare. 
 There had not been such a thing in Nuremberg 
 within the memory of man. 
 
 Hence the unusual interest with which it was 
 looked forward to. 
 
 But here a difficulty arose, as unexpected as it 
 seemed at first insurmountable. 
 
 The hereditary nobility of the Circle of Fran- 
 conia the counts, barons, and knights arose and 
 protested loudly and vehemently against the pro- 
 posed combat, declaring it to be a direct and un- 
 
 236
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 provoked insult to them and to their order. They 
 maintained that the combat a outrance, as well as 
 a plaisance, was a knightly privilege, only to be 
 engaged in by persons of pure blood and high birth, 
 and that it was peculiarly debarred to all those 
 whose fingers had been soiled by the dirty traffic of 
 commerce. 
 
 Frederick Schonberg, being himself a knight, 
 and the son of the noble and well-born Count von 
 Schonberg, was of course entitled to all the priv- 
 ileges of knighthood. But this person who had 
 challenged him, who had refused to give his name, 
 and had said he was at the head of an establishment 
 in Vienna probably a mercantile establishment 
 was in no manner fit to be opposed to him. They 
 therefore demanded that the proposed combat 
 should be given up, unless the man calling himself 
 the Widow's Champion could show that he was of 
 equal rank with his opponent; and declared that 
 otherwise the combat could not and should not take 
 place. 
 
 The authorities of Nuremberg, on the other hand, 
 asserted their right to do as they pleased in their 
 own city that it was a free city and a wealthy 
 
 237
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 city that if they chose to get up a costly pageant 
 to decide a point of law, no one had any right to 
 interfere that the time had gone by when high 
 descent and noble blood were the only things held 
 in estimation that a wealthy merchant nowadays 
 was as good as a lord or a knight, if not better 
 and finally that the combat would and should take 
 place, in spite of all the lords, and knights, and 
 counts, and barons, in Christendom. 
 
 On this, the wrath of the knightly party went 
 beyond all bounds. They stormed, and raved, and 
 protested, and talked stupendous things; and de- 
 nounced the city of Nuremberg in a manner truly 
 terrible. 
 
 But the sturdy burghers were not to be daunted. 
 They stormed and raved and protested quite as 
 much as their opponents; and the more that was 
 said on both sides only rendered each party more 
 obstinate. Meetings without number were held; 
 ambassadors passed continually between the con- 
 tending powers. Threats and expostulations were 
 alternately bandied from one to the other side; and 
 the greatest confusion reigned throughout the cir- 
 cle. 
 
 238
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 Nor was this all. People not personally inter- 
 ested in the quarrel began to take different sides 
 the inhabitants of the cities taking part with the 
 Nurembergers, and the country people, high and low, 
 with the knightly complainants. The adherents of 
 both parties were so fiercely pitted against each 
 other, serious fears were entertained that instead! 
 of a single combat a general civil war would ensue 
 springing, as some wars on record have done, 
 from a mere punctilio. 
 
 At length, seeing that there was no probability 
 of their agreeing, they resolved to refer their dif- 
 ferences to the Emperor Maximilian, at whose 
 suggestion the Wager of Battle had been first pro- 
 posed, and to stand by his decision, whatever it 
 might be. 
 
 Expectation was on the qui vive during the time 
 that elapsed between the departure of their mes- 
 senger and the arrival of the imperial decision. 
 The people of Nuremberg felt confident that it 
 would be given in their favor, since his imperial 
 majesty never would have proposed a thing that 
 was contrary to law ; while the nobility were equally 
 confident that when the matter was represented in 
 
 239
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 its true light to his majesty he would at once see 
 the propriety of curbing the arrogance of the as- 
 piring burghers. 
 
 After some delay the much-desired decision 
 came. 
 
 But how describe the joy, the pride, the gratu- 
 lation and the triumph of the Nurembergers when 
 they found that it had been given in their favor, 
 with the additional information that his gracious 
 majesty had been pleased to laugh very heartily 
 when the subject was laid before him. 
 
 And those who knew Maximilian best suspected 
 that he was glad of the opportunity to humble the 
 pride of the nobles, and show himself the friend 
 of the people. 
 
 Pleasure and admiration now sparkled in every 
 eye. The Emperor was extolled as a wise, sensible 
 and judicious prince. This opinion, however, was 
 entertained by only one side, the other being firmly 
 convinced that the decision savored of partiality 
 and injustice. But they had to submit with the 
 best grace possible, since from the imperial fiat 
 there was no appeal. The more sensible of them 
 took their defeat in good part, and even made the 
 
 240
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 whole matter a subject of mirth. But there were 
 some who regarded themselves as deeply injured, 
 who nevertheless took some comfort in thinking 
 that the pageant should not be honored with their 
 presence. 
 
 Scarcely had this matter been settled, when an- 
 other arose to vex and hinder the authorities. 
 
 A question was raised by the agents of the In- 
 quisition as to whether a Hussite heretic, who was 
 at the same time accused of the detestable crime of 
 witchcraft, could, without sacrilege, appeal to 
 Heaven for a decision in her favor. 
 
 But the sturdy Nurembergers claimed that in 
 their great free city they had a right to administer 
 their laws in the manner that suited themselves, 
 especially when backed by the word of the Emperor. 
 As in the other case, meeting after meeting was 
 held, and much discussion ensued. But the town 
 council stood firm ; and after a time the ecclesiastical 
 court withdrew its objections. 
 
 For though the Inquisition was still a power in 
 the principal cities of Germany, it was tottering to 
 its fall; for the trumpet of the Reformation had 
 
 241
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 begun to sound, and men claimed the right of free 
 thought and free speech. 
 
 The preparations which, though hindered, had 
 never been wholly stopped, then went on with 
 great vigor. The sound of the carpenter's tools re- 
 sounded from morn till night; the gilder and deco- 
 rator displayed their taste and ingenuity in fitting 
 up and arranging the galleries and pavilions erected 
 to accommodate the spectators. 
 
 The combat was looked forward to by all ranks 
 of people as something to break the dull routine of 
 everyday life; and in the excitement incident to the 
 occasion it seemed to be forgotten that the struggle 
 was to be one of life and death, and that the fate of 
 a poor unhappy woman depended on the issue of it. 
 
 242
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 The day the all-important day appointed for 
 the Wager of Battle dawned in beauty and splendor 
 over the city of Nuremberg, and showed a scene 
 of unwonted bustle and activity. 
 
 Groups of people in holiday attire appeared on 
 the streets at an early hour, whose footsteps all 
 turned in the same direction. 
 
 By and by their numbers increased, and a con- 
 tinuous stream composed not only of the citizens 
 of Nuremberg, but also of the people of the neigh- 
 boring cities and the surrounding country poured 
 eagerly toward the scene of action. 
 
 This was outside the gates of the city, where a 
 large open space had been inclosed, somewhat in the 
 form of an amphitheatre. And certainly no spot 
 could have been found more suitable for reviving 
 one of the almost obsolete usages of chivalry than 
 beneath the walls and turrets of this ancient city. 
 
 The four massive cylindrical watch towers that 
 flank the arched gateway were gaily hung .with ban- 
 
 243
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 ners, and their battlements, as well as the walls 
 themselves, crowded with people, eager to witness 
 the spectacle. Galleries and pavilions had been 
 erected around the inclosure, decorated with dra- 
 peries and gilding and surmounted by waving flags. 
 
 These structures, as the spectators began to as- 
 semble, were soon filled with the elite of the bur- 
 gravate of Nuremberg the belles and beaux, the 
 beauty and fashion, both of town and country. For 
 the greater part of the "preux chevaliers" who had 
 so rancorously opposed the combat found their 
 curiosity stronger than their animosity, and, with 
 their ladies, were among the first to attend. As a 
 general thing the nobles looked down on the civic 
 festivities of the city on the Pegnitz; but the pe- 
 culiar circumstances of this case created an unusual 
 degree of interest and curiosity. 
 
 Magnificent was the display of rich and costly 
 attire, of brilliant color, of splendid court robes and 
 military uniforms, of bright eyes and beautiful 
 faces, of white arms and bosoms veiled with filmy 
 laces, that met the gaze of the less fortunate indi- 
 viduals who were obliged to stand on mother earth, 
 
 244
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 as they turned it admiringly on the carved, gilded 
 and curtained fronts of the galleries. 
 
 At one end stood a pavilion superior in height 
 and embellishment to the rest. This was appro- 
 priated to the magistrates, their families and friends. 
 It was hung with elegant draperies of crimson and 
 white; and its front was adorned with the armorial 
 bearings of the city. Fringes, trappings, and or- 
 naments of gold gave a splendid finish to its deco- 
 rations; and over all floated the standard of the 
 great free city an immense sheet of spick-and-span 
 new yellow silk, tapering at the end, and cleft in a 
 swallow-tail emblazoned with the arms of the 
 city in black and gold, and unfolding for the first 
 time on the balmy air of heaven. 
 
 In the front of the pavilion sat the Burggraf, pale 
 and silent, but with inflexible resolve written on 
 his brow; striving, like the Roman father of old, 
 to stifle the yearnings of parental affection at the 
 imperious command of public duty. His colleagues, 
 who deeply sympathized with him, all advised him 
 to absent himself from a scene necessarily so pain- 
 ful to him particularly our friend the little deputy, 
 whose sympathy was perhaps not wholly unmixed, 
 
 245
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 for in his superior's absence he himself occupied 
 the place of honor and authority. 
 
 But the Burggraf remained firm. 
 
 Prominent among the guests in the magisterial 
 pavilion appeared, as on a former occasion, the rubi- 
 cund face and stout form of the old nobleman Baron 
 von Eisenfeld, with his five sons and his beautiful 
 daughter, the Baroness Alexia. 
 
 The lady was looking her best. She was attired 
 in a robe of dazzling scarlet velvet, richly embroid- 
 ered with threads of gold ; and was resplendent with 
 chains and gauds and jewels that a queen might have 
 envied. 
 
 By her side sat the Emperor's favorite, Count 
 Ulric von Carlsberg, to whom she was now affianced, 
 and through her marriage with whom she expected 
 soon to have the gratification of her darling wish 
 to be presented at the imperial court. 
 
 By this time the whole story of Frederick's in- 
 fatuation for Barbara had reached the ears of the 
 proud Baroness; and she was filled with disdain to 
 learn that the woman for whom he had renounced 
 an alliance with herself was that very same poorly- 
 
 246
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 clad maiden whom he had "picked up" from the 
 dusty flagging of the market-place. 
 
 "A girl of the people!" exclaimed she, in accents 
 of scorn: "A girl who has neither high birth, nor 
 long descent, nor money, nor anything, except a 
 rather pretty face! A girl who has labored with 
 her hands to support her mother and herself ! And 
 to think that he might have had Me!" 
 
 "All the better for me that he did not appreciate 
 the privilege," said Ulric von Carlsberg, as he 
 thought of the forests, and the mines, and the broad 
 acres that would one day be his, through his wife. 
 
 On a plain, unadorned bench, just below this gay 
 pavilion, sat the family of Steiner the wool-mer- 
 chant, with the twin sisters under their care. 
 
 Gretchen was attired as became the affianced bride 
 of the wealthy wool-merchant's son for so Karl, 
 as well as his mother and sisters, had insisted that 
 she should be, on an occasion so public. The un- 
 wonted richness of her garments, while it delighted 
 her youthful fancy, enhanced her beauty in no small 
 degree. Her eyes sparkled with pleasure, and her 
 pretty, fair hair, crowned, but not concealed, by a 
 
 247
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 little silken cap, glistened in the sunshine like a 
 tangle of golden threads. 
 
 Jerome, who espied her from a distance, mur- 
 mured to himself: "Ah! the fluffy-haired one for 
 me!" and sighed to think how utterly vain was his 
 admiration. 
 
 The same kind friends wished to furnish similar 
 adornments to her sister ; but with a gentle firmness 
 Barbara declined them, and appeared in the same 
 blue bodice, with kerchief and sleeves of linen, that 
 she had worn on the day when she first met Fred- 
 erick Schonberg looking far lovelier in this simple 
 attire than many a proud beauty who shone in splen- 
 dor in the gay painted galleries. 
 
 Not far from where they sat, in a sort of pen or 
 cage, guarded by officers of the law, the poor widow 
 was placed, to await the result of the Trial by Bat- 
 tle; while a little space apart stood an iron stake 
 with chain attached, and fagots piled around its 
 base showing what her fate would be, should her 
 champion be defeated. 
 
 Among the spectators were to be seen all who 
 have figured in our story Johannes Edler, the town 
 clerk, with his huge watch and spectacles, who was 
 
 248
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 of course seated in the great pavilion, Albert Diirer, 
 the distinguished painter, Hans Sachs, the poet, 
 Leonhard Nonnenbeck, leader of the Guild of Mas- 
 ter-singers who also occupied seats of honor ; Otto. 
 Wenzel, the student, the man in advance of his age ; 
 big Hugo the blacksmith, with the other guests of 
 the Bratwwstglocklein, even to the old sailor from 
 Genoa, whose ship was not yet ready to sail. 
 Jerome, of course, was there, in attendance on his 
 master ; also his friend Gottlieb, with his master. 
 
 The Champion had arrived from Vienna the day 
 before. He had expressed himself as highly pleased 
 with the arrangements that had been made, and com- 
 plimented the citizens of Nuremberg on their taste 
 and their liberality. 
 
 After an interview with the authorities, he had 
 again visited the widow, and once more assured her 
 and her daughters of his kindly interest, and his 
 certain success. 
 
 And in that brief interview, he had read the heart 
 of Barbara. As he spoke in stern tones of Fred- 
 erick of his false and cruel conduct, of his impend- 
 ing fate and probable, nay, certain death by his 
 hand, he saw how her bosom heaved, her lip 
 
 249
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 trembled, and her whole soul looked from her eyes 
 in a pathetic though silent appeal for mercy he 
 understood that she still loved the man who had 
 wrought so much evil to her and hers. 
 
 He became grave and silent, and soon after took 
 his leave, wondering much at the heart of woman, 
 and feeling quite unable to sound its unsearchable 
 depths. 
 
 250
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 As the last stroke of the appointed hour resounded 
 from the belfry of St. Lawrence church, a trumpet 
 sounded. A herald then advanced into the lists, 
 and in a loud voice delivered the challenge of the 
 Widow's Champion. 
 
 "An armed knight, who desires to be known as 
 the Widow's Champion, gives the lie to Frederick 
 von Schonberg, in his accusation of witchcraft 
 against Brunhilda Uhler, and will, in single combat 
 with him, maintain the innocence of the said Brun- 
 hilda Uhler, to the death! And God defend the 
 right!" 
 
 Another trumpet sounded, and the challenge was 
 answered by another herald: 
 
 "Frederick von Schonberg, a knight and citizen 
 of Nuremberg, accuses Brunhilda Uhler of witch- 
 craft, and in single combat with an unknown knight, 
 calling himself the 'Widow's Champion,' will main- 
 tain his allegations, to the death !" 
 
 This done, the marshal then announced the terms 
 
 251
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 of the combat. The usual terms of the battle- 
 ordeal were, that the death of either combatant de- 
 cided the day; but if the accuser, when disarmed, 
 craved his life, he was allowed to live as a "recreant," 
 that is, on retracting the perjury he had sworn to. 
 
 This ceremony over, the trumpets sounded again, 
 and the combatants entered the lists, one at each end, 
 accompanied by their squires. They were to fight 
 on horseback, and in complete armor. 
 
 Frederick rode his beautiful Arabian, Saladin ; his 
 opponent, a splendid black charger, of the same 
 noble breed. 
 
 Frederick's shield displayed the coat-of-arms of 
 his family, and his helmet its crest; but he bore on 
 his lance the black and yellow colors of the city, he 
 being in a sense her representative. 
 
 The stranger's casque was perfectly plain. His 
 lance bore a pennon of blue, the symbol of truth. 
 His shield, of burnished bronze, was without de- 
 vice of any kind. 
 
 Each was arrayed in a complete suit of chain- 
 mail, that of Frederick being by far the most costly, 
 embellished with silver and other rich ornamentation 
 from which the wise ones argued that the Nurem- 
 
 252
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 berger was more wealthy than "the man from 
 Vienna." 
 
 A murmur of admiration ran through the as- 
 sembly at the noble appearance of the two young 
 men the one slender, graceful, and pre-eminently 
 handsome, the other tall, muscular, commanding. 
 
 As they entered the arena, their eyes met, with a 
 look on the one side of stern determination, on the 
 other, of fierce defiance. 
 
 At the word of the marshal, each lance was placed 
 in rest, each steed given rein ; and with a shock that 
 seemed to shake the ground, the combatants met in 
 the centre. 
 
 Both lances were shivered, but no other damage 
 inflicted. 
 
 Returning to the starting-point, fresh lances were 
 supplied by their squires, and another furious tilt 
 was made. Here the superior weight and strength 
 of the stranger were apparent. For though both 
 spears struck the shields at the same moment, such 
 was the force of the Champion's blow, that Fred- 
 erick was unhorsed, and his charger galloped off to 
 the end of the lists. 
 
 Unhurt by his fall, however, he was on his feet 
 
 253
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 in an instant, with drawn sword. The stranger 
 sprang from his horse, and drawing his sword also, 
 the combat was recommenced on foot. 
 
 It was a masterly trial of skill, for the contestants 
 were fairly well matched, the superior strength of 
 the stranger being amply compensated by the light- 
 ness and agility of Frederick. In fact, the latter 
 was so well versed in the noble art of fencing, that 
 the Champion might well think he had been flattered 
 by those who had pronounced him the "best swords- 
 man in Germany." 
 
 The contest was watched with breathless attention 
 by the assembly. But it was evident, from the ex- 
 clamations that from time to time broke forth, that 
 the sympathies of the majority were enlisted in favor 
 of the Widow's Champion, rather than their own 
 townsman ; for "people," says a French writer, "are 
 always ready to applaud a generous impulse, even 
 though by so doing they condemn themselves." 
 
 A vast number of brilliant strokes were given 
 and parried on both sides, without signal advantage 
 to either. Frederick's aim, as we have seen, was 
 to slay his adversary; but the Champion, remem- 
 bering the pathetic appeal in Barbara's eyes, sought 
 
 254
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 rather to disable his opponent, and force him to con- 
 fess the falsehood of his accusation. 
 
 At last Frederick, by a skillful and well-managed 
 ruse, succeeded in throwing his antagonist off his 
 guard, and making a furious lunge at his left side, 
 drew back his sword, red with the blood of the 
 Champion. 
 
 Elated with this, and eager to consummate the 
 victory, he lost his caution, and rushed madly for- 
 ward, as if to annihilate his adversary at one blow. 
 
 But the Champion received the stroke on his 
 shield, and taking advantage of Schonberg's im- 
 prudence, returned it with interest, and at one blow 
 stretched him on the ground. 
 
 255
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 Springing on him like a tiger on its prey, heedless 
 of the blood that dripped from his own wound, the 
 Champion placed his knee on the breast of the fallen 
 man, and brandishing his sword, cried in a loud 
 voice : 
 
 "Confess your perfidy, or die by this sword !" 
 
 Schonberg made no reply, but gazed on him 
 through the openings of his visor with a look of hate 
 and defiance. 
 
 "Confess!" repeated the victor, placing his sword 
 in position to strike. 
 
 Still no answer. 
 
 "Once more, and for the last time, Frederick von 
 Schonberg, I offer you your life. Confess !" 
 
 Again he paused, and every breath was suspended, 
 every ear strained to catch the answer of the doomed 
 man. 
 
 But it came not. The proud heart refused to 
 yield; and the Champion drew back his sword-arm 
 to give due impetus to the death-stroke, when he 
 
 256
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 was startled by an agonized cry, and Barbara Uhler, 
 breaking from the struggling grasp of her sister and 
 Karl 3teiner, rushed frantically into the arena, and 
 clutching his arm with both hands, clung to it with 
 all her strength. The public place the gazing 
 crowd mother, sister, wrongs, insults all were 
 forgotten in the wild agony of her love and anguish. 
 Her hair was disordered, her cheek pale as death, 
 her eyes glowing with unearthly light, and her whole 
 frame quivering with emotion. 
 
 The Champion lowered his sword point, but still 
 retained his grasp of Frederick. 
 
 "Oh, spare him!" gasped Barbara. "Give him 
 more time he will confess he must not die. 
 Spare him spare him !" 
 
 "Fair maid," said the Champion, "it is for your 
 sake alone that I wish to spare him, unworthy as 
 he is. But you see he is obdurate he will not ac- 
 cept mercy. Stand aside, I pray you, and let the 
 sword of Justice do its work." 
 
 He raised his weapon as if to strike ; but Barbara, 
 uttering a faint cry, threw herself on the mailed 
 breast of Frederick, with a motion so quick and 
 
 257
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 sudden, that the upraised sword nearly entered her 
 body. 
 
 Startled by the movement, the Champion relaxed 
 his hold, and Schonberg sprang to his feet, support- 
 ing with one arm the unconscious form of Barbara, 
 who had fainted. 
 
 Expecting a renewal of hostilities, the Champion 
 placed himself on the defensive. 
 
 But Frederick, with an altered aspect, threw his 
 sword on the ground, and raised his visor. 
 
 "I yield," said he, with deep emotion. "I am 
 conquered. I confess my crime, and declare the 
 Widow Uhler's innocence. Believing you to be my 
 rival in the love of this suffering angel, I would 
 have died sooner than confess to you. But now I 
 know that my Barbara still loves me. Secure in 
 that belief, I hasten to retract the words I spoke." 
 
 "I am glad to see by this," said the stranger, "that 
 the image of God is not wholly obliterated from 
 your soul. I have hope of you yet there is still a 
 spark of honor in your breast." 
 
 Then turning to the people, and raising his visor, 
 he cried, in a voice that was heard to the utmost 
 limits of the crowd : "The Widow Uhler is innocent, 
 
 258
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 and her accuser, Frederick von Schonberg, hereby 
 withdraws the charge falsely brought against her." 
 
 A deafening shout of joyful acclamation burst 
 from every heart and lip among the thousands there 
 assembled. Ladies burst into tears, and wept in un- 
 controllable emotion. Hands were clapped, hats 
 and caps were waved, scarfs and kerchiefs were flut- 
 tered. The trumpeters, so delighted were they, 
 blew an unbidden blast on their instruments. Every 
 one seemed to be trying to surpass his neighbor in 
 demonstrations of joy; and the tumult was tre- 
 mendous. 
 
 Meantime, Barbara still lay in the arms of Fred- 
 erick in a deep and death-like swoon, unconscious 
 of the burning kisses with which he attempted to 
 resuscitate her, or the tender and endearing words 
 with which he addressed her. 
 
 As the tumult continued, however, she slowly 
 opened her eyes, and the first object she beheld was 
 the countenance of Frederick, gazing down on her 
 with an expression that recalled the first happy days 
 of her love, and the vision of beauty that had dawne3 
 upon her, when his foot first entered her mother's 
 cottage door. 
 
 259
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 Bewildered and confused, she closed her eyes 
 again, murmuring : "Where am I ? And what noise 
 is that?" 
 
 "It is the people shouting for joy over your 
 mother's liberation," said he. 
 
 "Is my mother safe ? Is she free ?" said Barbara, 
 attempting to raise herself. "Oh, take me to her !" 
 
 He bore her tenderly to the spot where the widow, 
 released from her cage, and surrounded by her 
 friends, was giving thanks to God for her deliver- 
 ance, with Gretchen by her side, shedding tears of 
 
 joy- 
 Barbara flung herself into her mother's arms, 
 and her feelings also found relief in a flood of tears. 
 Frederick turned away from this affecting scene, 
 and approaching the place where his father stood, 
 a pale and agitated spectator of all that had occurred, 
 formally gave himself up to justice. 
 
 "I have been guilty of the crimes of perjury and 
 false witness," said he, "and am ready to suffer the 
 penalty." 
 
 Until this moment, the Chief Magistrate had pre- 
 served a calm and dignified demeanor, giving little 
 outward sign of the anguish that reigned within. 
 
 260
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 But now, when it became necessary for him to sen- 
 tence his only and beloved son, his firmness gave 
 way. Large tears rolled down his cheeks, and his 
 voice broke when he attempted to speak. 
 
 "Count von Schonberg," said the Champion, 
 kindly, "this duty is too painful for you. I would 
 suggest that you stand aside, and let this gentleman, 
 your deputy, take your place for the present." 
 
 Elated beyond measure, the little deputy ad- 
 vanced with the air and self-satisfied strut of a 
 bantam. 
 
 "Frederick von Schonberg," said he, in a severe 
 tone, "you have been found guilty on your own con- 
 fession, of a wicked and cruel crime, by which the 
 life of an innocent and most exemplary person has 
 been placed in jeopardy in imminent jeopardy. 
 By those laws which it is the privilege of the mag- 
 istrates of Nuremberg to administer, your punish- 
 ment is banishment from the city for a period not 
 exceeding ten years, and the confiscation of all your 
 worldly goods, one-half to go to the city, and the 
 other to the injured person." 
 
 Frederick bowed his head. 
 261
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "The punishment is just," he said. "I shall de- 
 part immediately." 
 
 "And I will tell you where to go," said the Cham- 
 pion. "The armies of the Emperor are righting the 
 Turks on the Danube he wants soldiers if you 
 will enlist under his banners, you may soon win a 
 renown which will wipe out the memory of this 
 transaction, and gild with glory the name now so 
 sadly tarnished." 
 
 "I accept the proposal," said Schonberg, eagerly. 
 "Hitherto, I have lived without a motive, wasting 
 my time in frivolity and pleasure. But now I am 
 resolved to live for a purpose and what purpose 
 more worthy than to fight the enemies of Christen- 
 dom, under the brave leadership of our noble Em- 
 peror our beloved Kaiser Max?" 
 
 A flush of pleasure mounted to the cheek of the 
 stranger, and his eagle eye beamed with a softened 
 light. 
 
 Turning to his father, Frederick took his hand, 
 and kissed it respectfully. 
 
 "Father," he said, "farewell. Forget the son who 
 has so wrung your loving heart, and sullied with 
 crime the honorable name you gave him. Think 
 
 262
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 only of him wfio is fighting the battles of his coun- 
 try, and who will return to you covered with honor, 
 or return jievermore." 
 
 263
 
 CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 The Chief Magistrate grasped his son's hand in 
 silence, and turned away his head ; for the dignity of 
 the magistrate was fast giving way before the feel- 
 ings of the father. Had Frederick remained bold 
 and defiant, he might still have maintained his firm- 
 ness; but the humility and penitence of the young 
 man unmanned him, and it was with difficulty that 
 he restrained himself from falling on his son's neck. 
 
 But on a sudden, he felt some one grasp his robes ; 
 and on looking down, beheld the widow and her 
 daughters at his feet. 
 
 "O worthy Sir!" said the elder woman, "let me 
 not, in regaining my liberty, be the cause of break- 
 ing a parent's heart, and sending into exile a young 
 man in the flower of his days. He is penitent he 
 will yet be a worthy citizen oh, pardon him, Herr 
 Burggraf!" 
 
 "Pardon him !" echoed Gretchen and Barbara, the 
 one pleading because her mother pleaded the other 
 with her whole heart on her lips. 
 
 264
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 A murmur of approbation ran through the assem- 
 bly at this generous interference; and a reaction 
 having taken place in favor of Frederick, cries of 
 "Pardon him !" resounded from different quarters. 
 
 The Burggraf, much moved, raised Dame Uhler 
 from the ground. 
 
 "I thank you, generous woman, and you also, my 
 friends. But it is not for me, his father, to pardon 
 him, lest I should be accused of undue partiality." 
 
 "You forget," interposed the Champion, "that 
 you are here a mere spectator that you have re- 
 signed your office for the time being and that this 
 distinguished gentleman, your deputy, is at present 
 chief magistrate of Nuremberg. It is for him, not 
 you, to say, whether the culprit shall be pardoned 
 or not." 
 
 The little deputy bustled forward, with his usual 
 aspect of self-consequence, casting a look of the 
 most condescending patronage on the Champion, 
 who smiled quietly, as if inwardly amused. 
 
 "Frederick von Schonberg," said the deputy, after 
 consulting for a few minutes with his colleagues, 
 "the magistrates of Nuremberg are fully convinced 
 of your guilt ; but believing you truly penitent, they 
 
 265
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 that is, we consent to remit your punishment, in 
 answer to the petition of this most excellent woman 
 and her charming daughters, seconded by the voice 
 of the whole city. I therefore pronounce your par- 
 don. You are free." 
 
 Again the crowd sent up a deafening shout, and 
 behaved as before in an extremely excited manner. 
 
 Frederick threw himself on his father's breast, 
 and remained for some moments unable to speak. 
 But soon recovering himself, he in a graceful man- 
 ner acknowledged the intercession of the people and 
 the clemency of the magistrates; and pledged him- 
 self before God to render his future life worthy of 
 botK. 
 
 He then turned to the woman on whom he had in- 
 flicted so much undeserved suffering. 
 
 "To you, dear mother of my love, I know not 
 what acknowledgments to make. Your generosity 
 overwhelms me. But you must allow me to secure 
 to you by a legal instrument, that moiety of my pos- 
 sessions which the law allowed you." 
 
 The widow would have remonstrated, but he 
 silenced her. 
 
 He then, with a throbbing Heart and a Hushed 
 266
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 cheek, approached Barbara, and taking her hand,, 
 raised it to his lips. 
 
 Frightened, surprised, and covered with blushes, 
 she tried to extricate her hand ; but he held it firmly. 
 
 "Oh, Barbara ! beautiful, noble, adorable Barbara ! 
 do not turn from me. Here, publicly, let me 
 acknowledge that I have basely insulted you here, 
 publicly, let me offer you the only reparation in my 
 power. Dearest Barbara, will you be my wife?" 
 
 Before the agitated girl could answer, the Cham- 
 pion stepped forward, and taking her other hand,, 
 turned to Frederick. 
 
 "You are not worthy of her," said he ; "and were 
 I not thoroughly convinced that she loves you, I 
 would not consent to your renewing a suit that has 
 caused her so much pain." 
 
 "You would not consent?" exclaimed Schonberg, 
 firing up. "And pray what right have you to " 
 He stopped short, for he had resolved to put a curb 
 on his fiery, jealous temper, and felt that he was 
 transgressing. 
 
 "Believing that her love is too deep to be eradi- 
 cated," calmly continued the other, disregarding the 
 interruption, "and trusting that the experience 
 
 267
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 through which you have passed will be a warning 
 and a benefit to you, I take it on myself to answer 
 for this sweet, blushing maiden, that she does con- 
 sent to be your wife and a precious wife she will 
 be. By the blood of my fathers! I grudge you 
 your happiness, and had I not been betrothed to a 
 princess, would have made a bold push to win her 
 myself! There take her hand and see that you 
 use her well ! for remember, her mother's Champion 
 has a sword ready to draw for her also. And now, 
 having settled matters so amicably, and having be- 
 sides incurred a great deal of trouble and some little 
 pain in this affair," glancing at his undressed wound, 
 which was fortunately a very slight one, "I beg leave 
 to remind you that I deserve some remuneration." 
 
 "Alas!" said Barbara, "how can we ever repay 
 what we owe you?" 
 
 "Nothing easier; the payment rests with you," 
 with a meaning look and smile. 
 
 "With me? And what is it?" 
 '' 'Tis this !" exclaimed the Champion, suddenly 
 throwing his arm around her, and snatching a kiss 
 from her lips. 
 
 Covered with confusion, Barbara shrank back; 
 268
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 while the young man laughed, begged her pardon, 
 and declared he was amply rewarded. Frederick 
 glared, but said nothing. 
 
 "And now," said the Burggraf, "tell us who is the 
 mysterious stranger who has thus busied himself in 
 our affairs, apparently without a motive." 
 
 The Champion hesitated. 
 
 "Nay, I would rather you did not press me to 
 divulge my name and station for I fear I shall be 
 laughed at as a mad-brained fool, for entering on 
 such a dangerous adventure, and exposing a life on 
 which so much depends, for the sake of a fair dam- 
 sel in distress." 
 
 "At least," said Barbara, "tell us your name, that 
 we may remember it in our prayers." 
 
 "My name, sweet girl, will tell my whole story. 
 But I can refuse you nothing." He took from his 
 vest a black satin mask, and put it on. "Do you 
 remember this?" 
 
 "In God's name!" ejaculated Barbara, starting 
 violently. "Are you are you " 
 
 "Yes," said the Champion, with a smile, as he 
 removed his mask. "I am Maximilian of Haps- 
 burg, whom you met in the Bishop's palace." 
 
 269
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 Frederick uttered a cry of astonishment. 
 
 "By all that's holy !" he exclaimed, " 'tis Kaiser 
 Max himself! I knew I had seen the face before, 
 but could not recall it. For who would have 
 thought of such a thing? who, but Maximilian? 
 Oh, my liege!" kneeling; "pardon me for having 
 shed the blood of him for whom I would gladly 
 spend the last drop of my own!" 
 
 " 'Tis nothing a mere scratch," glancing down 
 at the drops of blood now crusted on his armor. "I 
 took the risk." 
 
 "I am overcome with confusion, to think of your 
 Majesty's condescension, in imperiling your august 
 and precious life against my worthless one." 
 
 "Say not so, Herr Schonberg. No life that is 
 redeemable is worthless. And as God has given you 
 the opportunity to redeem yours, you may make it 
 as valuable in your sphere as my own is in mine." 
 
 By this time it was bruited around that the un- 
 known champion was none other than the Emperor 
 himself ; and the greatest excitement and enthusiasm 
 prevailed. A shout that rent the welkin burst from 
 the astonished crowd, as soon as they could collect 
 their bewildered faculties. 
 
 270
 
 A ROYAL KNIGHT. 
 
 "Long live Maximilian of Hapsburg !" "Long live 
 our gallant Kaiser Max !" 
 
 "Yes," said the young monarch, "I am Maxi- 
 milian of Hapsburg Emperor of Germany, King 
 of the Romans, Archduke of Austria; but the title 
 which I shall henceforth hold in the highest estima- 
 tion, is that which I have just acquired in the exer- 
 cise of justice to the oppressed 'The Widow's 
 
 Champion.' " 
 
 "God save the Widow's Champion!" cried Karl 
 Steiner, throwing up his cap; and the assembled 
 multitude simultaneously catching the action and the 
 cry, the air was darkened with a cloud of hats and 
 caps, while mountain and plain and forest and city 
 rang with repeated shouts of, "God save the 
 Widow's Champion!" 
 
 THE END. 
 
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