IN THE FIRE OF THE FORGE, Complete

A ROMANCE OF OLD NUREMBERG

By Georg Ebers

Translated from the German by Mary J. Safford

IN THE FIRE OF THE FORGE--PART I. 

CHAPTER I. 

On the eve of St. Medard's Day in the year 1281, the moon, whichhad just risen, was shining brightly upon the imperial free city ofNuremberg; its rays found their way into the street leading from thestrong Marienthurm to the Frauenthor, but entrance to the Ortliebmansion was barred by a house, a watchtower, and--most successfullyof all--by a tall linden tree. Yet there was something to be seen herewhich even now, when Nuremberg sheltered the Emperor Rudolph and so manysecular and ecclesiastical princes, counts, and knights, awakened Luna'scuriosity. True, this something had naught in common with the brilliantspectacles of which there was no lack during this month of June; on thecontrary, it was very quiet here. An imperial command prohibited thesoldiery from moving about the city at night, and the Frauenthor, through which during the day plenty of people and cattle passed in andout had been closed long before. Very few of the worthy burghers--whowent to bed betimes and rose so early that they rarely had leisure toenjoy the moonlight long--passed here at this hour. The last one, anhonest master weaver, had moved with a very crooked gait. As he saw themoon double--like everything else around and above him--he had wonderedwhether the man up there had a wife. He expected no very pleasantreception from his own at home. The watchman, who--the moon did notexactly know why--lingered a short time in front of the Ortlieb mansion, followed the burgher. Then came a priest who, with the sacristan andseveral lantern bearers, was carrying the sacrament to a dying man inSt. Clarengasse. 

There was usually more to be seen at this hour on the other side of thecity--the northwestern quarter--where the fortress rose on its hill, dominating the Thiergartenthor at its foot; for the Emperor Rudolphoccupied the castle, and his brother-in-law, Burgrave Friedrich vonZollern, his own residence. This evening, however, there was littlemovement even there; the Emperor and his court, the Burgrave and histrain, with all the secular and ecclesiastical princes, counts, andknights, had gone to the Town Hall with their ladies. High revel washeld there, and inspiring music echoed through the open windows of thespacious apartment, where the Emperor Rudolph also remained during theball. Here the moonbeams might have been reflected from glittering steelor the gold, silver, and gems adorning helmets, diadems, and gala robes;or they might surely have found an opportunity to sparkle on the ripplesof the Pegnitz River, which divided the city into halves; but theheavenly wanderer, from the earliest times, has preferred leafy hiddennooks to scenes of noisy gaiety, a dim light to a brilliant glare. Lunalikes best to gaze where there is a secret to be discovered, and mortalshave always been glad to choose her as a confidante. Something exactlysuited to her taste must surely be going on just now near the lindenwhich, in all the splendour of fullest bloom, shaded the street in frontof the Ortlieb mansion; for she had seen two fair girls grow up in theancient dwelling with the carved escutcheon above the lofty oak door, and the ample garden--and the younger, from her earliest childhood, hadbeen on especially intimate terms with her. 

Now the topmost boughs of the linden, spite of their dense foliage, permitted a glimpse of the broad courtyard which separated the patricianresidence from the street. 

A chain, which with graceful curves united a short row of granite posts, shut out the pedestrians, the vehicles and horsemen, the swine and otheranimals driven through the city gate. In contrast with the street, whichin bad weather resembled an almost impassable swamp, it was always keptscrupulously clean, and the city beadle might spare himself the troubleof looking there for the carcasses of sucking pigs, cats, hens, andrats, which it was his duty to carry away. 

A young man with an unusually tall and powerful figure was standing inthis yard, gazing up at a window in the second story. The shadow of thelinden concealed his features and his dress, but the moon had alreadyseen him more than once in this very spot and knew that he was ahandsome fellow, whose bronzed countenance, with its prominent nose andbroad brow, plainly indicated a strong will. She had also seen thescar stretching from the roots of his long brown locks across the wholeforehead to the left cheek-bone, that lent the face a martial air. Yethe belonged to no military body, but was the son of a noble family ofNuremberg, which boasted, it is true, of "knightly blood" and the rightof its sons to enter the lists of the tournament, but was engagedin peaceful pursuits; for it carried on a trade with Italy andthe Netherlands, and every male scion of the Eysvogel race had thebirthright of being elected a member of the Honourable Council andtaking part in the government of Nuremberg. 

The moon had long known that the young man in the courtyard was anEysvogel, nor was this difficult to discover. Every child in Nurembergwas familiar with the large showy coat of arms lately placed above thelofty doorway of the Eysvogel mansion; and the nocturnal visitor wore adoublet on whose left breast was embroidered the same coat of arms, withthree birds in the shield and one on the helmet. 

He had already waited some time in vain, but now a young girl's headappeared at the window, and a gay fresh voice called his Christian name, "Wolff!"

Waving his cap, he stepped nearer to the casement, greeted her warmly, and told her that he had come at this late hour to say good-night, though only from the front yard. 

"Come in, " she entreated. "True, my father and Eva have gone to thedance at the Town Hall, but my aunt, the abbess, is sitting with mymother. "

"No, no, " replied Wolff, "I only stopped in passing. Besides, I amstealing even this brief time. "

"Business?" asked the young girl. "Do you know, I am beginning to bejealous of the monster which, like an old spider, constantly binds youcloser and closer in its web. What sort of dealing is this?--to givethe whole day to business, and only a few minutes of moonlight to yourbetrothed bride!

"I wish it were otherwise, " sighed Wolff. "You do not know how hardthese times are, Els! Nor how many thoughts beset my brain, since myfather has placed me in charge of all his new enterprises. "

"Always something new, " replied Els, with a shade of reproach in hertone. "What an omnivorous appetite this Eysvogel business possesses!Ullmann Nutzel said lately: 'Wherever one wants to buy, thebird--[vogel]--has been ahead and snapped up everything in Venice andMilan. And the young one is even sharper at a bargain, ' he added. "

"Because I want to make a warm nest for you, dearest, " replied Wolff. 

"As if we were shopkeepers anxious to secure customers!" said the girl, laughing. "I think the old Eysvogel house must have enough big stoves towarm its son and his wife. At the Tuckers the business supports seven, with their wives and children. What more do we want? I believe that welove each other sincerely, and though I understand life better than Eva, to whom poverty and happiness are synonymous, I don't need, like thewomen of your family, gold plates for my breakfast porridge or a bedof Levantine damask for my lapdog. And the dowry my father will give mewould supply the daughters of ten knights. "

"I know it, sweetheart, " interrupted Wolff dejectedly; "and how gladly Iwould be content with the smallest--"

"Then be so!" she exclaimed cheerily. "What you would call 'thesmallest, ' others term wealth. You want more than competence, and I--thesaints know-would be perfectly content with 'good. ' Many a man has beenshipwrecked on the cliffs of 'better' and 'best. '"

Fired with passionate ardour, he exclaimed, "I am coming in now. "

"And the business?" she asked mischievously. "Let it go as it will, " heanswered eagerly, waving his hand. But the next instant he dropped itagain, saying thoughtfully: "No, no; it won't do, there is too much atstake. "

Els had already turned to send Katterle, the maid, to open the heavyhouse door, but ere doing so she put her beautiful head out again, andasked:

"Is the matter really so serious? Won't the monster grant you even agood-night kiss?"

"No, " he answered firmly. "Your menservants have gone, and before themaid could open----There is the moon rising above the linden already. It won't do. But I'll see you to-morrow and, please God, with a lighterheart. We may have good news this very day. "

"Of the wares from Venice and Milan?" asked Els anxiously. 

"Yes, sweetheart. Two waggon trains will meet at Verona. The firstmessenger came from Ingolstadt, the second from Munich, and the one fromLandshut has been here since day before yesterday. Another should havearrived this morning, but the intense heat yesterday, or some cause--atany rate there is reason for anxiety. You don't know what is at stake. "

"But peace was proclaimed yesterday, " said Els, "and if robber knightsand bandits should venture----But, no! Surely the waggons have a strongescort. "

"The strongest, " answered Wolff. "The first wain could not arrive beforeto-morrow morning. "

"You see!" cried the girl gaily. "Just wait patiently. When you areonce mine I'll teach you not to look on the dark side. O Wolff, why iseverything made so much harder for us than for others? Now this evening, it would have been so pleasant to go to the ball with you. "

"Yet, how often, dearest, I have urged you in vain----" he began, butshe hastily interrupted "Yes, it was certainly no fault of yours, butone of us must remain with my mother, and Eva----"

"Yesterday she complained to me with tears in her eyes that she would beforced to go to this dance, which she detested. "

"That is the very reason she ought to go, " explained Els. "She iseighteen years old, and has never yet been induced to enter into any ofthe pleasures other girls enjoy. When she isn't in the convent she isalways at home, or with Aunt Kunigunde or one of the nuns in the woodsand fields. If she wants to take the veil later, who can prevent it, butthe abbess herself advises that she should have at least a glimpse ofthe world before leaving it. Few need it more, it seems to me, than ourEva. "

"Certainly, " Wolff assented. "Such a lovely creature! I know no girlmore beautiful in all Nuremberg. "

"Oh! you----, " said his betrothed bride, shaking her finger at herlover, but he answered promptly, "You just told me that you preferred 'good' to 'better, ' and sodoubtless 'fair' to 'fairer, ' and you are beautiful, Els, in person andin soul. As for Eva, I admire, in pictures of madonnas and angels, thosewonderful saintly eyes with their uplifted gaze and marvellously longlashes, the slight droop of the little head, and all the other charms;yet I gladly dispense with them in my heart's darling and future wife. But you, Els--if our Lord would permit me to fashion out of divine claya life companion after my own heart, do you know how she would look?"

"Like me--exactly like Els Ortlieb, of course, " replied the girllaughing. 

"A correct guess, with all due modesty, " Wolff answered gaily. "But takecare that she does not surpass your wishes. For you know, if the littlesaint should meet at the dance some handsome fellow whom she likesbetter than the garb of a nun, and becomes a good Nuremberg wife, theexcess of angelic virtue will vanish; and if I had a brother--in seriousearnest--I would send him to your Eva. "

"And, " cried Els, "however quickly her mood changes, it will surely doher no harm. But as yet she cares nothing about you men. I know her, andthe tears she shed when our father gave her the costly Milan suckenie, in which she went to the ball, were anything but tears of joy. "

 [Suckenie--A long garment, fitting the upper part of the body closely and widening very much below the waist, with openings for the arms. ]

"I only wonder, " added Wolff, "that you persuaded her to go; the piouslamb knows how to use her horns fiercely enough. "

"Oh, yes, " Els assented, as if she knew it by experience; then sheeagerly continued, "She is still just like an April day. "

"And therefore, " Wolff remarked, "the dance which she began with tearswill end joyously enough. The young knights and nobles will gatherround her like bees about honey. Count von Montfort, my brother-in-lawSiebenburg says, is also at the Town Hall with his daughter. "

"And the comet Cordula was followed, as usual, by a long train ofadmirers, " said Els. "My father was obliged to give the count lodgings;it could not be avoided. The Emperor Rudolph had named him to theCouncil among those who must be treated with special courtesy. So hewas assigned to us, and the whole suite of apartments in the back of thehouse, overlooking the garden, is now filled with Montforts, Montforthousehold officials, menservants, squires, pages, and chaplains. Montfort horses and hounds crowd our good steeds out of their stalls. Besides the twenty stabled here, eighteen were put in the brewery inthe Hundsgasse, and eight belong to Countess Cordula. Then the constantturmoil all day long and until late at night! It is fortunate that theydo not lodge with us in the front of the house! It would be very bad formy mother!"

"Then you can rejoice over the departure all the more cordially, "observed Wolff. 

"It will hardly cause us much sorrow, " Els admitted. "Yet the youngcountess brings much merriment into our quiet house. She is certainly atireless madcap, and it will vex your proud sister Isabella to know thatyour brother-in-law Siebenburg is one of her admirers. Did she not go tothe Town Hall?"

"No, " Wolff answered; "the twins have changed her wonderfully. You sawthe dress my mother pressed upon her for the ball--Genoese velvet andVenetian lace! Its cost would have bought a handsome house. She wasinclined, too, to appear as a young mother at the festival, and I assureyou that she looked fairly regal in the magnificent attire. But thismorning, after she had bathed the little boys, she changed her mind. Though my mother, and even my grandmother, urged her to go, she insistedthat she belonged to the twins, and that some evil would befall thelittle ones if she left them. "

"That is noble!" cried Els in delight, "and if I should ever---. Yetno, Isabella and I cannot be compared. My husband will never benumbered among the admirers of another woman, like your detestablebrother-in-law. Besides, he is wasting time with Cordula. Herworldliness repels Eva, it is true, but I have heard many pleasantthings about her. Alas! she is a motherless girl, and her father is anold reveller and huntsman, who rejoices whenever she does any audaciousact. But he keeps his purse open to her, and she is kind-hearted andobliging to a degree----"

"Equalled by few, " interrupted Wolff, with a sneer. "The men know howto praise her for it. No paternoster would be imposed upon her in theconfessional on account of cruel harshness. "

"Nor for a sinful or a spiteful deed, " replied Els positively. "Don'tsay anything against her to me, Wolff, in spite of your dissolutebrother-in-law. I have enough to do to intercede for her with Eva andAunt Kunigunde since she singed and oiled the locks of a Swiss knightbelonging to the Emperor's court. Our Katterle brought the coals. Butmany other girls do that, since courtesy permits it. Her train to theTown Hall certainly made a very brave show; the fifty freight waggonsyou are expecting will scarcely form a longer line. "

The young merchant started. The comparison roused his forgotten anxietyafresh, and after a few brief, tender words of farewell he left theobject of his love. Els gazed thoughtfully after him; the moonlightrevealed his tall, powerful figure for a long time. Her heart throbbedfaster, and she felt more deeply than ever how warmly she loved him. Hemoved as though some heavy burden of care bowed his strong shoulders. She would fain have hastened after him, clung to him, and asked whattroubled him, what he was concealing from her who was ready to shareeverything with him, but the Frauenthor, through which he entered thecity, already hid him from her gaze. 

She turned back into the room with a faint sigh. It could scarcely besolely anxiety about his expected goods that burdened her lover's mind. True, his weak, arrogant mother, and still more his grandmother, thedaughter of a count, who lived with them in the Eysvogel house and stillruled her daughter as if she were a child, had opposed her engagement toWolff, but their resistance had ceased since the betrothal. On theother hand, she had often heard that Fran Eysvogel, the haughty mother, dowerless herself, had many poor and extravagant relations besidesher daughter and her debt-laden, pleasure-loving husband, Sir SeitzSiebenburg, who, it could not be denied, all drew heavily upon thecoffers of the ancient mercantile house. Yet it was one of the richestin Nuremberg. Yes, something of which she was still ignorant must beoppressing Wolff, and, with the firm resolve to give him no peace untilhe confessed everything to her, she returned to the couch of her invalidmother. 

CHAPTER II. 

Wolff had scarcely vanished from the street, and Els from the window, when a man's slender figure appeared, as if it had risen from the earth, beside the spurge-laurel tree at the left of the house. Directly aftersome one rapped lightly on the pavement of the yard, and in a fewminutes the heavy ironbound oak doors opened and a woman's hand beckonedto the late guest, who glided swiftly along in the narrow line of shadowcast by the house and vanished through the entrance. 

The moon looked after him doubtfully. In former days thenarrow-shouldered fellow had been seen near the Ortlieb house oftenenough, and his movements had awakened Luna's curiosity; for he had beenengaged in amorous adventure even when work was still going on at therecently completed convent of St. Clare--an institution endowed by theEbner brothers, to which Herr Ernst Ortlieb added a considerable sum. Atthat time--about three years before--the bold fellow had gone there tokeep tryst evening after evening, and the pretty girl who met him wasKatterle, the waiting maid of the beautiful Els, as Nuremberg folkcalled the Ortlieb sisters, Els and Eva. Many vows of ardent, changelesslove for her had risen to the moon, and the outward aspect of the manwho made them afforded a certain degree of assurance that he wouldfulfil his pledges, for he then wore the long dark robe of reputablepeople, and on the front of his cap, from which a net shaped like a baghung down his back, was a large S, and on the left shoulder of hislong coat a T, the initials of the words Steadfast and True. They borewitness that the person who had them embroidered on his clothing deemedthese virtues the highest and noblest. It might have been believedthat the lean fellow, who scarcely looked his five-and-thirty years, possessed these lofty traits of character; for, though three full yearshad passed since his last meeting with Katterle at the building site, he had gone to his sweetheart with his wonted steadfastness and truthimmediately after the Emperor Rudolph's entry. 

He had given her reason to rely upon him; but the moon's gaze reachesfar, and had discovered the quality of Walther Biberli's "steadfastnessand truth. "

In one respect it proved the best and noblest; for among thousands ofservitors the moon had not seen one who clung to his lord with moreloyal devotion. Towards pretty young women, on the contrary, hedisplayed his principal virtues in a very singular way; for the pallidnocturnal wanderer above had met him in various lands and cities, andwherever he tarried long another maid was added to the list of those towhom Biberli vowed steadfastness and truth. 

True, whenever Sir Long Coat's travels led him back to any one to whomhe had sworn eternal love, he went first to her, if she, too, retainedthe old affection. But Katterle had cause to care for him most, for hewas more warmly devoted to her than to any of the others, and in his ownfashion his intentions were honest. He seriously intended, as soon ashis master left the imperial court--which he hoped would not happen toosoon--and returned to his ancestral castle in his native Switzerland, to establish a home of his own for his old age, and no one save Katterleshould light the hearth fire. Her outward circumstances pleased him, aswell as her disposition and person. She was free-born, like himself--theson of a forest keeper--and, again like him, belonged to a Swiss family;her heritage (she was an orphan), which consisted of a house and arableland in her home, Sarnen, where she still sent her savings, satisfiedhis requirements. But above all she believed in him and admired hisversatile mind and his experience. Moreover, she gave him absoluteobedience, and loved him so loyally that she had remained unwedded, though a number of excellent men had sought her in marriage. 

Katterle had met him for the first time more than three years beforewhen, after the battle of Marchfield, he remained several weeks inNuremberg. They had sat side by side at a tournament, and, recognisingeach other as Swiss-born by the sharp sound of the letters "ch" and thepronunciation of other words, were mutually attracted. 

Katterle had a kind heart; yet at that time she almost yielded to thetemptation to pray Heaven not to hasten the cure of a brave man's woundstoo quickly, for she knew that Biberli was a squire in the serviceof the young Swiss knight Heinz Schorlin, whose name was on every lipbecause, in spite of his youth, he had distinguished himself at thebattle of Marchfield by his rare bravery, and that the young hero wouldremain in Nuremberg only until his severe injuries were completelyhealed. His departure would bring to her separation from his servant, and sometimes when homesickness tortured her she thought she would beunable to survive the parting. Meanwhile Biberli nursed his master withfaithful zeal, as if nothing bound him to Nuremberg, and even after hisdeparture Katterle remained in good health. 

Now she had him again. Directly after the Emperor Rudolph's entrance, five days before, Biberli had come openly to the Ortlieb house andpresented himself to Martsche, --[Margaret]--the old house keeper, as thecountryman and friend of the waiting maid, who had brought her a messagefrom home. 

True, it had been impossible to say anything confidential either inthe crowded kitchen or in the servants' hall. To-night's meeting was toafford the opportunity. 

The menservants, carrying sedan chairs and torches, had all gone outwith their master, who had taken his younger daughter, Eva, to thedance. They were to wait in front of the Town Hall, because it wasdoubtful whether the daughter of the house, who had been very reluctantto go to the entertainment, might not urge an early departure. Countvon Montfort, whose quarters were in the Ortlieb mansion, and his wholetrain of male attendants, certainly would not come back till very lateat night or even early morning, for the Countess Cordula remained at aball till the close, and her father lingered over the wine cup till hisdaughter called him from the revellers. 

All this warranted the lovers in hoping for an undisturbed interview. The place of meeting was well chosen. It was unsatisfactory only to themoon for, after Biberli had closed the heavy door of the house behindhim, Luna found no chink or crevice through which a gliding ray mighthave watched what the true and steadfast Biberli was saying to Katterle. There was one little window beside the door, but it was closed, andthe opening was covered with sheepskin. So the moon's curiosity was notgratified. 

Instead of her silver rays, the long entry of the Ortlieb house, withits lofty ceiling, was illumined only by the light of three lanterns, which struggled dimly through horn panes. The shining dots in a darkcorner of the spacious corridor were the eyes of a black cat, watchingthere for rats and mice. 

The spot really possessed many advantages for the secret meeting of twolovers, for as it ran through the whole width of the house, it had twodoors, one leading to the street, the other into the yard. In the rightwall of the entry there were also two small doors, reached by a flightof steps. At this hour both closed empty rooms, for the office and thechamber where Herr Ernst Ortlieb received his business friends had notbeen occupied since sunset, and the bathroom and dressing-room adjoiningwere used only during the day. 

True, some unbidden intruder might have come down the long broadstaircase leading to the upper story. But in that case the lovers hadthe best possible hiding-place close at hand, for here large and smallboxes, standing side by side and one above another, formed a protectingwall; yonder heaps of sacks and long rows of casks afforded room forconcealment behind them. Rolls of goods packed in sacking leaned againstthe chests, inviting a fugitive to slip back of them, and surely noone would suspect the presence of a pair of lovers in the rear of thesemountains of hides and bales wrapped in matting. Still it would scarcelyhave been advisable to remain near them; for these packages, which theOrtlieb house brought from Venice, contained pepper and other spicesthat exhaled a pungent odor, endurable only by hardened nerves. 

Valuable goods of various kinds lay here until they could be placed incellars or storehouses or sold. But there was many an empty space, too, in the broad corridor for, spite of Emperor Rudolph's strictness, robbery on the highroads had by no means ceased, and Herr Ernst Ortliebwas still compelled to use caution in the transportation of costlywares. 

After Biberli and his sweetheart had assured themselves that the ardourof their love had by no means cooled, they sat down on some bags filledwith cloves and related to each other the experiences through which theyhad passed during the period of separation. 

Katterle's life had flowed on in a pleasant monotony. She had no causeto complain of her employers. 

Fran Maria Ortlieb, the invalid mistress of the house, rarely needed herservices. 

During a ride to visit relatives in Ulm, the travellers, who were underthe same escort of men at arms as a number of Nuremberg freight waggons, had been attacked by the robber knights Absbach and Hirschhorn. Anarrow had struck Frau Ortlieb's palfrey, causing the unfortunate womana severe fall, which produced an internal injury, from which she had notyet recovered. The assault resulted unfortunately for young Hirschhorn, who led it; he met with a shameful death on the gallows. 

The information enraged Biberli. Instead of feeling any sympathy for theseverely injured lady, he insisted that the Nuremberg burghers haddealt with Hirschhorn in a rascally fashion; for he was a knight, andtherefore, as honest judges familiar with the law, they ought to haveput him to death by the sword instead of with the rope. And Katterleagreed with him; she never contradicted his opinions, and surelyBiberli must know what treatment befitted a knight, since he was thefoster-brother of one. 

Nor did the maid, who was in the personal service of the daughters ofthe house, make any complaint against them. Indeed, she could not praiseEls, the elder, sufficiently. She was very just, the careful nurse ofher invalid mother, and always unvarying in her cheerful kindness. 

She had no fault to find with Eva either, especially as she was morereligious than any one in the whole house. Spite of her marvellousbeauty--Katterle knew that there was nothing false about it--she wouldprobably end by joining the nuns in the convent. But her mood changedwith every breath, like the weathercock on the steeple. If she got outof bed the wrong way, or one did not guess her wishes before theywere uttered, she would fly into a rage at the least trifle. Then shesometimes used very unkind words; but no one could cherish anger againsther long, for she had an indescribably lovely manner of trying to atonefor the offences which her hasty young blood made her commit. She hadgone to the ball that night as if it were a funeral; she shunned menlike poison, and even kept out of the way of her sister's friends. 

Biberli laughed, as if there could be no doubt of his opinion, andexclaimed: "Just wait a while! My master will meet her at the Town Halltonight, and if the scrawny little squirrel I saw three years ago hasreally grown up into such a beauty, if he does not get on her track andcapture her, my name isn't Biberli. "

"But surely, " replied Katterle doubtfully, "you told me that you hadnot yet succeeded in persuading him to imitate you in steadfastness andtruth. "

"But he is a knight, " replied the servant, striking himself pompouslyunder the T on his shoulder, as if he, too, belonged to this favouredclass, "and so he is as free to pursue a woman as to hunt the game inthe forest. And my Heinz Schorlin! You saw him, and admitted that he wasworth looking at. And that was when he had scarcely recovered from hisdangerous wounds, while now----The French Knight de Preully, in Paris, with whom my dead foster-brother, until he fell sick-----" Here hehesitated; an enquiring look from his sweetheart showed that--perhapsfor excellent reasons--he had omitted to tell her about his sojourn inParis. 

Now that he had grown older and abandoned the wild revelry of thatperiod in favour of truth and steadfastness, he quietly relatedeverything she desired to know. 

He had acquired various branches of learning while sharing the studiesof his foster-brother, the eldest son of the old Knight Schorlin, whowas then living, and therefore, when scarcely twenty, was appointedschoolmaster at Stansstadt. Perhaps he might have continued toteach--for he promised to be successful--had not a vexatious discoverydisgusted him with his calling. 

He was informed that the mercenaries in the Schnitzthurm guard were paidfive shillings a week more than he, spite of the knowledge he had gainedby so much toil. 

In his indignation he went back to Schorlin Castle, which was alwaysopen to him, and he arrived just at the right time. 

His present master's older brother, whose health had always beendelicate, being unable to follow the profession of arms, was on theeve of departing to attend the university at Paris, accompanied by thechaplain and an equerry. When the Lady Wendula, his master'smother, learned what an excellent reputation Biberli had gained as aschoolmaster, she persuaded her husband to send him as esquire withtheir sickly son. 

In Paris there was at first no lack of pleasures of every description, especially as they met among the king's mercenaries many a dissoluteSwiss knight and man at arms. His foster-brother, to his sorrow, wasunable to resist the temptations which Satan scatters in Paris as thepeasants elsewhere sow rye and oats, and the young knight was soonattacked, by a severe illness. Then Biberli's gay life ended too. Formonths he did not leave his foster-brother's sick bed a single hour, byday or night, until death released him from his suffering. 

On his return to Castle Schorlin he found many changes; the old knighthad been called away from earth a few days before his son's death, andHeinz Schorlin, his present master, had fallen heir to castle andlands. This, however, was no great fortune, for the large estates of theSchorlin family were burdened by heavy debts. 

The dead lord, as countryman, boon companion, and brother in arms ofthe Emperor Rudolph, had been always ready to place his sword at hisservice, and whenever a great tournament was held he never failed to bepresent. So the property had been consumed, and the Lady Wendula andher son and three daughters were left in moderate circumstances. Thetwo older girls had taken the veil, while the youngest, a merry littlemaiden, lived with her mother. 

But the Emperor Rudolph had by no means forgotten the Lady Wendula andher dead husband, and with the utmost kindness requested her to sendhim her only son as soon as he was able to wield a sword and lance. Heintended to repay Heinz for the love and loyalty his father had shownhim through his whole life. 

"And the Hapsburg, " Biberli added, "had kept his word. "

In a few years his young lord was ready for a position at court. 

Gotthard von Ramsweg, the Lady Wendula's older brother, a valiantknight, went to his sister's home after her husband's death to managethe estate and instruct his nephew in all the exercises of knighthood. Soon the strong, agile, fearless son of a brave father, under theguidance of such a teacher, excelled many an older youth. He was barelyeighteen when the Lady Wendula sent him to his imperial master. She hadgiven him, with her blessing, fiery horses, the finest pieces of hisfather's suits of mail, an armour bearer, and a groom to take with himon his journey; and his uncle had agreed to accompany him to Lausanne, where the Emperor Rudolph was then holding his court to discuss withPope Gregory--the tenth of the name--arrangements for a new crusade. Butnothing had yet been said about Biberli. On the evening before the youngnoble's departure, however, a travelling minstrel came to the castle, who sang of the deeds of former crusaders, and alluded very touchinglyto the loneliness of the wounded knight, Herr Weisenthau, on his couchof pain. Then the Lady Wendula remembered her eldest son, and thefraternal tendance which Biberli had given him. 

"And so, " the servant went on, "in the anxiety of a mother's heart sheurged me to accompany Heinz, her darling, as esquire; and watch over hiswelfare. "

"Since I could use a pen, I was to write now and then what a motherdesires to hear of a son. She felt great confidence in me, because shebelieved that I was true and steadfast. And I have kept in every respectthe vow I then made to the Lady Wendula--that she should not findherself mistaken in me. I remember that evening as if it were onlyyesterday. To keep constantly before my eyes the praise my mistress hadbestowed upon me, I ventured to ask my young master' sister to embroiderthe T and the S on the cap and the new coat, and the young lady did sothat very night. Since that time these two initials have gone with mewherever our horses bear us, and as, after the battle of Marchfield, Biberli nursed his master back to health with care and toil, he thinkshe can prove to you, his sole sweetheart, that he wears his T and S withgood reason. "

In return for these words Katterle granted her friend the fitting rewardwith such resignation that it was robbing the moon not to permit her tolook on. Her curiosity, however, was not to remain wholly ungratified;for when Biberli found that it was time for him to repair to the TownHall to learn whether his master, Heinz Schorlin, needed his services, Katterle came out of the house door with him. 

They found much more to say and to do ere they parted. 

First, the Swiss maid-servant wished to know how the Emperor Rudolph hadreceived Heinz Schorlin; and she had the most gratifying news. 

During their stay at Lausanne, where he won the victory in a tournament, Heinz was knighted; but after the battle of Marchfield he became stilldearer to the Emperor, especially when a firm friendship united theyoung Swiss to Hartmann, Rudolph's eighteen-year-old son, who was nowon the Rhine. That very day Heinz had received a tangible proof of theimperial favour, on account of which he had gone to the dance in anextremely cheerful mood. 

This good news concerning the knight, whom her young mistress hadperhaps already met, awakened in the maid, who was not averse to thebusiness of matchmaking, so dear to her sex, very aspiring plans whichaimed at nothing less than a union between Eva and Heinz Schorlin. ButBiberli had scarcely perceived the purport of Katterle's words when heanxiously interrupted her and, declaring that he had already lingeredtoo long, cut short the suggestion by taking leave. 

His master's marriage to a young girl who belonged to the city nobility, which in his eyes was far inferior in rank to a Knight Schorlin, shouldcast no stone in the pathway of fame that was leading him so swiftlyupward. Many things must happen before Biberli could honestly advisehim to give up his present free and happy life and seek rest in his ownnest. 

If Eva Ortlieb were as lovely as the Virgin herself, and Sir Heinz'sinflammable heart should blaze as fervently as it always did, she shouldnot lure him into the paralysing bondage of wedlock so long as he wasthere and watched over him. 

If he must be married, Biberli had something else in view forhim--something which would make him a great lord at a single stroke. Butit was too soon even for that. 

When he crossed the Fleischbrucke in the market place and approached thebrilliantly lighted Town Hall, he had considerable difficulty in movingforward, for the whole square was thronged with curious spectators, servants in gala liveries, sedan chairs, richly caparisoned steeds, and torchbearers. The von Montfort retinue, which had quarters in theOrtlieb house, was one of the most brilliant and numerous of all, and Biberli's eyes wandered with a look of satisfaction over thegold-mounted sedan chair of the young countess. He would rather havegiven his master to her than to the Nuremberg maiden whom Katterlecompared to a weathercock, and who therefore certainly did not possessthe lofty virtue of steadfastness. 

CHAPTER III. 

Sir Heinz Schorlin's servant was on intimate terms with many of theservitors of the imperial family, and one of them conducted him to thebalcony of the city pipers, which afforded a view of the great hall. TheEmperor sat there at the head of the banquet table, and by his side, ona lower throne, his sister, the Burgravine von Zollern. Only the mostdistinguished and aristocratic personages whom the Reichstag attractedto Nuremberg, with their ladies, shared the feast given by the city intheir honour. 

But yonder, at a considerable distance from them, though within thespace enclosed by a black and yellow silk cord, separated from theglittering throng of the other guests, he perceived--he would not trusthis own eyes--the Knight Heinz Schorlin, and by his side a wonderfullycharming young girl. 

Biberli had not seen Eva Ortlieb for three years, yet he knew thatit was no other than she. But into what a lovely creature the active, angular child with the thin little arms had developed!

The hall certainly did not lack superb women of all ages and every styleof figure and bearing suited to please the eye. Many might even boast ofmore brilliant, aristocratic beauty, but not one could vie in witcherywith her on whom Katterle had cast an eye for his master. She had onlybegun a modest allusion to it, but even that was vexatious; for Biberlifancied that she had thereby "talked of the devil, " and he did not wishhim to appear. 

With a muttered imprecation, by no means in harmony with his character, he prepared to leave the balcony; but the scene below, though itconstantly filled him with fresh vexation, bound him to the spot as ifby some mysterious spell. 

Especially did he fancy that he had a bitter taste in his mouth when hisgaze noted the marvellous symmetry of Heinz Schorlin's powerfulthough not unusually tall figure, his beautiful waving locks, and thearistocratic ease with which he wore his superb velvet robe-sapphireblue on the left side and white on the right, embroidered with silverfalcons-or perceived how graciously the noblest of the company greetedhim after the banquet; not, indeed, from envy, but because it piercedhis very heart to think that this splendid young favourite of fortune, already so renowned, whom he warmly loved, should throw himself away onthe daughter of a city merchant, though his motley wares, which he hadjust seen, were adorned by the escutcheon of a noble house. 

But Heinz Schorlin had already been attracted by many more aristocraticfair ones, only to weary of them speedily enough. This time, also, Biberli would have relied calmly on his fickleness had Katterle'sfoolish wish only remained unuttered, and had Heinz treated hiscompanion in the gay, bold fashion which usually marked his manner toother ladies. But his glance had a modest, almost devout expression whenhe gazed into the large blue eyes of the merchant's daughter. And nowshe raised them! It could not fail to bewitch the most obdurate womanhater!

Faithful, steadfast Biberli clenched his fists, and once even thoughtof shouting "Fire!", into the ballroom below to separate all who wereenjoying themselves there wooing and being wooed. 

But those beneath perceived neither him nor his wrath--least of all hismaster and the young girl who had come hither so reluctantly. 

At home Eva had really done everything in her power to be permitted tostay away from the Town Hall. Herr Ernst Ortlieb, her father, however, had been inflexible. The chin of the little man with beardless faceand hollow cheeks had even begun to tremble, and this was usually theprecursor of an outburst of sudden wrath which sometimes overpowered himto such a degree that he committed acts which he afterwards regretted. 

This time he had been compelled not to tolerate the opposition of hisobstinate child. Emperor Rudolph himself had urged the "honourable"members of the Council to gratify him and his daughter-in-law Agnes, whom he wished to entertain pleasantly during her brief visit, by thepresence of their beautiful wives and daughters at the entertainment inthe Town Hall. 

Herr Ortlieb's invalid wife could not spare Els, her older daughter andfaithful nurse, so he required Eva's obedience, and compelled her togive up her opposition to attending the festival; but she dreaded thevain, worldly gaiety--nay, actually felt a horror of it. 

Even while still a pupil at the convent school she had often askedherself whether it would not be the fairest fate for her, like her AuntKunigunde, the abbess of the convent of St. Clare, to vow herself tothe Saviour and give up perishable joys to secure the rapture of heaven, which lasted throughout eternity, and might begin even here on earth, in a quiet life with God, a complete realisation of the Saviour's lovingnature, and the great sufferings which he took upon himself for love'ssake. Oh, even suffering and bleeding with the Most High were rich inmysterious delight! Aye, no earthly happiness could compare with theblissful feeling left by those hours of pious ecstasy. 

Often she had sat with closed eyes for a long time, dreaming that shewas in the kingdom of heaven and, herself an angel, dwelt with angels. How often she had wondered whether earthly love could bestow greaterjoy than such a happy dream, or the walks through the garden and forest, during which the abbess told her of St. Francis of Assisi, who foundedher order, the best and most warmhearted among the successors of Christ, of whom the Pope himself said that he would hear even those whom Godwould not! Moreover, there was no plant, no flower, no cry of any animalin the woods which was not familiar to the Abbess Kunigunde. Like St. Francis; she distinguished in everything which the ear heard and theeye beheld voices that bore witness to the goodness and greatness of theMost High. The abbess felt bound by ties of sisterly affection to everyone of God's creatures, and taught Eva to love them, too, and, as aperson who treats a child kindly wins the mother's heart also, to obtainby love of his creatures that of the Creator. 

Others had blamed her because she held aloof from her sister's friendsand amusements. They were ignorant of the joys of solitude, which heraunt and her saint had taught her to know. 

She had endured interruptions and reproaches, often humbly, oftenerstill, when her hot blood swept away her self-control, with vehementindignation and tears; but meanwhile she had always cherished the secretthought that the time would come when she, too, would be permitted, atone with God and the Saviour, to enjoy the raptures of eternal bliss. She loved her invalid mother and, often as his sudden fits of passionalarmed her, she was tenderly attached to her father; yet it would haveseemed to her an exquisite delight to be permitted to imitate the saintsand sever all bonds which united her to the world and its cloggingdemands. She had long been yearning for the day when she would beallowed to entreat the abbess to grant her admittance to the convent, whose doors would be flung wide open for her because, next to thebrothers Ebner, who founded it, her parents had contributed the largestsum for its support. 

But she was obliged to wait patiently, for Els, her older sister, wouldprobably soon marry her Wolff, and then it would be her turn to nurseher invalid mother. Her own heart dictated this, and the abbess hadsaid: "Let her enter eternity clasping your hand before you begin, withus, to devote all your strength to securing your own salvation. Besides, you will thereby ascend a long row of steps nearer to your sublimegoal. "

But Eva would far rather have given her hand now, aloof from the world, to the Most High in an inviolable bond. What marvel that, with such agoal in view, she was deeply reluctant to enter the gay whirl of a noisyball!

With serious repugnance she had allowed Katterle and her sister to adornher, and entered the sedan chair which was to convey her to the TownHall. Doubtless her own image, reflected in the mirror, had seemedcharming enough, and the loud expressions of delight from the servantsand others who admired her rich costume had pleased her; but directlyafter she realized the vanity of this emotion and, while approaching theballroom in her chair, she prayed to her saint to help her conquer it. 

Striving honestly to vanquish this error, she entered the hall soonafter the Emperor and his young daughter-in-law; but there she wasgreeted from the balcony occupied by the city pipers and musicians, long before Biberli entered it, with the same fanfare that welcomed theillustrious guests of the city, and with which blended the blare ofthe heralds' trumpets. Thousands of candles in the chandeliers andcandelabra diffused a radiance as brilliant as that of day and, confusedby the noise and waves of light which surged around her, she had drawncloser to her father, clinging to him for protection. She especiallymissed her sister, with whom she had grown up, who had become her secondself, and whom she needed most when she emerged from her quiet life ofintrospection into the gay world. 

At first she had stood with downcast lashes, but soon her eyes wanderedover the waving plumes and flashing jewels, the splendour of silk andvelvet, the glitter of gold and glimmer of pearls. 

Sometimes the display in church had been scarcely less brilliant, andeven without her sister's request she had gazed at it, but how entirelydifferent it was! There she had rejoiced in her own modest garb, andtold herself that her simplicity was more pleasing to God and the saintsthan the vain splendour of the others, which she might so easily haveimitated or even surpassed. But here the anxious question of how sheappeared among the rest of the company forced itself upon her. 

True, she knew that the brocade suckenie, which her father had orderedfrom Milan, was costly; that the sea-green hue of the right sideharmonised admirably with the white on the left; that the tendrils andlilies of the valley wrought in silver, which seemed to be scatteredover the whole, looked light and airy; yet she could not shake off thefeeling that everything she wore was in disorder--here something waspulled awry, there something was crushed. Els, who had attended toher whole toilet, was not there to arrange it, and she felt thoroughlyuncomfortable in the midst of this worldly magnificence and bustle. 

Notwithstanding her father's presence, she had never been so desolate asamong these ladies and gentlemen, nearly all of whom were strangers. 

Her sister was intimate with the other girls of her age and station, few of whom were absent, and if Eva could have conjured her to her sidedoubtless many would have joined them; but she knew no one well, andthough many greeted her, no one lingered. Everybody had friends withwhom they were on far more familiar terms. The young Countess vonMontfort, a girl of her own age and an inmate of her own home, also gaveher only a passing word. But this was agreeable to her--she dislikedCordula's free manners. 

Many who were friends of Els had gathered around Ursula Vorchtel, thedaughter of the richest man in the city, and she intentionally avoidedthe Ortliebs because, before Wolff Eysvogel sued for Els's hand, he andUrsula had been intended for each other. 

Eva was just secretly vowing that this first ball should also bethe last, when the imperial magistrate, Herr Berthold Pfinzing, hergodfather, came to present her to the Emperor, who had requested to seethe little daughter of the Herr Ernst Ortlieb whose son had fallen inbattle for him. His "little saint, " Herr Pfinzing added, looked noless lovely amid the gay music of the Nuremberg pipers than kneeling inprayer amid the notes of the organ. 

Every tinge of colour had faded from Eva's cheeks, and though a fewhours before she had asked her sister what the Emperor's greatnesssignified in the presence of God that she should be forced, for hissake, to be faithless to the holiest things, now fear of the majesty ofthe powerful sovereign made her breath come quicker. 

How, clinging to her godfather's hand, she reached the Emperor Rudolph'sthrone she could never describe, for what happened afterwards resembleda confused dream of mingled bliss and pain, from which she was firstawakened by her father's warning that the time of departure had come. 

When she raised her downcast eyes the monarch was standing before thethrone placed for him. She had been compelled to bend her head backwardin order to see his face, for his figure, seven feet in height, toweredlike a statue of Roland above all who surrounded him. But when, afterthe Austrian duchess, his daughter-in-law, who was scarcely beyondchildhood, and the Burgrave von Zollern, his sister, had graciouslygreeted her, and Eva with modest thanks had also bowed low before theEmperor Rudolph, a smile, spite of her timidity, flitted over her lips, for as she bent the knee her head barely reached above his belt. TheBurgravine, a vivacious matron, must have noticed it, for she beckonedto her, and with a few kind words mentioned the name of the young knightwho stood behind her, between her own seat and that of the young DuchessAgnes of Austria, and recommended him as an excellent dancer. HeinzSchorlin, the master of the true and steadfast Biberli, had bowedcourteously, and answered respectfully that he hoped he should not provehimself unworthy of praise from such lips. 

Meanwhile his glance met Eva's, and the Burgravine probably perceivedwith what, ardent admiration the knight's gaze rested on the youngNuremberg beauty, for she had scarcely stepped back after the farewellgreeting when the noble lady said in a low tone, but loud enough forEva's quick ear to catch the words, "Methinks yonder maiden will do wellto guard her little heart this evening against you, you unruly fellow!What a sweet, angelic face!"

Eva's cheeks crimsoned with mingled shame and pleasure at such wordsfrom such lips, and she would have been only too glad to hear what theknight whispered to the noble lady. 

The attention of the young Duchess Agnes, daughter of King Ottocar ofBohemia and wife of the Emperor's third son, who also bore the name ofRudolph, had been claimed during this incident by the Duke of Nassau, who had presented his ladies to her, but they had scarcely retired whenshe beckoned to Heinz Schorlin, and while talking with him gazed intohis eyes with such warm, childlike pleasure that Eva was incensed; shethought it unseemly for a wife and a duchess to be on such familiarterms with a simple knight. Nay, her disapproval of the princess'sconduct must have been very deep, for during the whole time of herconversation with the knight there was a loud singing in the younggirl's ears. The Bohemian's face might be considered pretty; her darkeyes sparkled brightly, animating the immature features, now slightlysunburnt; and although four years younger than Eva, her figure, thoughnot above middle height, was well developed and, in spite of itsflexibility, aristocratic in bearing. While conversing with HeinzSchorlin she seemed joyously excited, unrestrainedly cordial, but hermanner expressed disappointment and royal hauteur as another group ofladies and gentlemen came forward to be presented, compelling herto turn her back upon the young Swiss with a regretful shrug of hershoulders. 

The counts and countesses, knights and ladies who thronged around herconcealed her from Eva's eyes, who, now that Heinz Schorlin had left theBohemian, again turned her attention to the Emperor, and even venturedto approach him. What paternal gentleness Rudolph's deep tonesexpressed! How much his face attracted her!

True, it could make no pretensions to beauty--the thin, hooked nose wasfar too large and long; the corners of the mouth drooped downward toomuch; perhaps it was this latter peculiarity which gave the whole faceso sorrowful an aspect. Eva thought she knew its source. The wound dealta few months before by the death of his faithful wife, the love of hisyouth, still ached. His eyes could not be called either large or bright;but how kindly, how earnest, shrewd and, when an amusing thought passedthrough his mind, how mischievous they could look! His light-brown hairhad not yet turned very grey, spite of his sixty-three years, but thelocks had lost their luxuriance and fell straight, except for a slightcurl at the lower ends, below his neck. 

Eva's father, when a young man, had met Frederic II, of the Hohenstaufenline, in Italy, and was wont to call this a special boon of fate. True, her aunt, the abbess, said she did not envy him the honour of meetingthe Antichrist; yet that very day after mass she had counselled Eva toimpress the Emperor Rudolph's appearance on her memory. To meet noblegreat men elevates our hearts and makes us better, because in theirpresence we become conscious of our own insignificance and the duty ofemulating them. She would willingly have given more than a year of herlife to be permitted to gaze into the pure, loving countenance of St. Francis, who had closed his eyes seven years after her birth. 

So Eva, who was accustomed to render strict obedience to her honouredaunt, honestly strove to watch every movement of the Emperor; but herattention had been continually diverted, mainly by the young knight, from whom--the Emperor's sister, Burgravine Elizabeth, had said soherself--danger threatened her heart. 

But the young Countess Cordula von Montfort, the inmate of her home, also compelled her to gaze after her, for Heinz Schorlin had approachedthe vivacious native of the Vorarlberg, and the freedom with which shetreated him--allowing herself to go so far as to tap him on the arm withher fan--vexed and offended her like an insult offered to her whole sex. To think that a girl of high station should venture upon such conductbefore the eyes of the Emperor and his sister!

Not for the world would she have permitted any man to talk and laughwith her in such a way. But the young knight whom she saw do this wasagain the Swiss. Yet his bright eyes had just rested upon her with suchdevout admiration that lack of respect for a lady was certainly not inhis nature, and he merely found himself compelled, contrary to his wish, to defend himself against the countess and her audacity. 

Eva had already heard much praise of the great valour of the youngknight Heinz Schorlin. When Katterle, whose friend and countryman was inhis service, spoke of him--and that happened by no means rarely--shehad always called him a devout knight, and that he was so, in truth, heshowed her plainly enough; for there was fervent devotion in the eyeswhich now again sought hers like an humble penitent. 

The musicians had just struck up the Polish dance, and probably theknight, whom the Emperor's sister had recommended to her for a partner, wished by this glance to apologise for inviting Countess Cordula vonMontfort instead. Therefore she did not need to avoid the look, andmight obey the impulse of her heart to give him a warning in thelanguage of the eyes which, though mute, is yet so easily understood. Hitherto she had been unable to answer him, even by a word, yet shebelieved that she was destined to become better acquainted, if only toshow him that his power, of which the Burgravine had spoken, was baffledwhen directed against the heart of a pious maiden. 

And something must also attract him to her, for while she had the honourof being escorted up and down the hall by one of the handsome sons ofthe Burgrave von Zollern to the music of the march performed by the citypipers, Heinz Schorlin, it is true, did the same with his lady, but helooked away from her and at Eva whenever she passed him. 

Her partner was talkative enough, and his description of the Germanorder which he expected to enter, as his two brothers had already done, would have seemed to her well worthy of attention at any other time, butnow she listened with but partial interest. 

When the dance was over and Sir Heinz approached, her heart beat soloudly that she fancied her neighbours must hear it; but ere he hadspoken a single word old Burgrave Frederick himself greeted her, inquired about her invalid mother, her blithe sister, and her aunt, theabbess, who in her youth had been the queen of every dance, and asked ifshe found his son a satisfactory partner. 

It was an unusual distinction to be engaged in conversation by thisdistinguished gentleman, yet Eva would fain have sent him far away, andher replies must have sounded monosyllabic enough; but the sweet shynessthat overpowered her so well suited the modest young girl, who hadscarcely passed beyond childhood, that he did not leave her until the'Rai' began, and then quitted her with the entreaty that she wouldremove the cap which had hitherto rendered her invisible, to the injuryof knights and gentlemen, and be present at the dance which he shouldsoon give at the castle. 

The pleasant old nobleman had scarcely left her when she turned towardsthe young man who had just approached with the evident intention ofleading her to the dance, but he was again standing beside Cordula vonMontfort, and a feeling of keen resentment overpowered her. 

The young countess was challenging his attention still more boldly, tossing her head back so impetuously that the turban-like roll on herhair, spite of the broad ribbon that fastened it under her chin, almostfell on the floor. But her advances not only produced no effect, butseemed to annoy the knight. What charm could he find in a girl who, ina costume which displayed the greatest extreme of fashion, resembleda Turk rather than a Christian woman? True, she had an aristocraticbearing, and perhaps Els was right in saying that her strongly markedfeatures revealed a certain degree of kindliness, but she wholly lackedthe spell of feminine modesty. Her pleasant grey eyes and full red lipsseemed created only for laughter, and the plump outlines of her figurewere better suited to a matron than a maiden in her early girlhood. Notthe slightest defect escaped Eva during this inspection. Meanwhile sheremembered her own image in the mirror, and a smile of satisfactionhovered round her red lips. 

Now the knight bowed. 

Was he inviting the countess to dance again? No, he turned his back toher and approached Eva, whose lovely, childlike face brightened as if asun beam had shone upon it. The possibility of refusing her hand for the'Rai' never entered her head, but he told her voluntarily that he hadinvited Countess Cordula for the Polish dance solely in consequence ofthe Burgravine's command, but now that he was permitted to linger at herside he meant to make up for lost time. 

He kept his word, and was by no means content with the 'Rai'; for, afterthe young Duchess Agnes had summoned him to a 'Zauner', and duringits continuance again talked with him far more confidentially thanthe modest Nuremberg maiden could approve, he persuaded Eva to trythe 'Schwabeln' with him also; and though she had always disliked suchdances she yielded, and her natural grace, as well as her quick ear fortime, helped her to catch the unfamiliar steps without difficulty. While doing so he whispered that even the angels in heaven could haveno greater bliss than it afforded him to float thus through the hall, clasping her in his arm, while she glanced up at him with a happy lookand bent her little head in assent. She would gladly have exclaimedwarmly: "Yes, indeed! Yet the Burgravine says that danger threatens mefrom you, you dear, kind fellow, and I should do well to avoid you. "

Besides, she felt indebted to him. What would have befallen her here inhis absence! Moreover, it gave her a strange sense of pleasure to gazeinto his eyes, allow herself to be borne through the wide hall by hisstrong arm, and while pressed closely to his side imagine that hisswiftly throbbing heart felt the pulsing of her own. Instead of injuringher, wishing her evil, and asking her to do anything wrong, he certainlyhad only good intentions. He had cared for her as if he occupied theplace of her own brother who fell in the battle of Marchfield. Itwould have given him most pleasure--he had said so himself--to danceeverything with her, but decorum and the royal dames who kept him inattendance would not permit it. However, he came to her in every pauseto exchange at least a few brief words and a glance. During the longestone, which lasted more than an hour and was devoted to the refreshmentof the guests, he led her into a side room which had been transformedinto a blossoming garden. 

Seats were placed behind the green birch trees--amid whose boughs hunggay lamps--and the rose bushes which surrounded a fountain of perfumedwater, and Eva had already followed the Swiss knight across thethreshold when she saw among the branches at the end of the room theCountess Cordula, at whose feet several young nobles knelt or reclined, among them Seitz Siebenburg, the brother-in-law of Wolff Eysvogel, hersister's betrothed bridegroom. 

The manner of the husband and father whose wife, only six weeks before, had become the mother of twin babies--beautiful boys--and who forCordula's sake so shamefully forgot his duties, crimsoned her cheekswith a flush of anger, while the half-disapproving, half-troubled lookthat Sir Boemund Altrosen cast, sometimes at the countess, sometimesat Siebenburg, showed her that she herself was on the eve of doingsomething which the best persons could not approve; for Altrosen, wholeaned silently against the wall beside the countess, ever and anonpushing back the coal-black hair from his pale face, had been mentionedby her godfather as the noblest of the younger knights gathered inNuremberg. A voice in her own heart, too, cried out that this was nofitting place for her. 

If Els had been with her, Eva said to herself, she certainly wouldnot have permitted her to enter this room, where such careless mirthprevailed, alone with a knight, and the thought roused her for a shorttime from the joyous intoxication in which she had hitherto revelled, and awakened a suspicion that there might be peril in trusting herselfto Heinz Schorlin without reserve. 

"Not here, " she entreated, and he instantly obeyed her wish, though theCountess Cordula, as if he were alone, instead of with a lady, loudlyand gaily bade him stay where pleasure had built a hut under roses. 

Eva was pleased that her new friend did not even vouchsafe the youngcountess an answer. His obedience led her also to believe that heranxiety had been in vain. Yet she imposed greater reserve of mannerupon herself so rigidly that Heinz noticed it, and asked what cloud haddimmed the pure radiance of her gracious sunshine. 

Eva lowered her eyes and answered gently: "You ought not to have takenme where the diffidence due to modesty is forgotten. " Heinz Schorlinunderstood her and rejoiced to hear the answer. In his eyes, also, Countess Cordula this evening had exceeded the limits even of theliberty which by common consent she was permitted above others. Hebelieved that he had found in Eva the embodiment of pure and beautifulwomanhood. 

He had given her his heart from the first moment that their eyes met. Tofind her in every respect exactly what he had imagined, ere he heard asingle word from her lips, enhanced the pleasure he felt to the deepesthappiness which he had ever experienced. 

He had already been fired with a fleeting fancy for many a maiden, butnot one had appeared to him, even in a remote degree, so lovable as thisgraceful young creature who trusted him with such childlike confidence, and whose innocent security by the side of the dreaded heart-breakertouched him. 

Never before had it entered his mind concerning any girl to ask himselfthe question how she would please his mother at home. The thought thatshe whom he so deeply honoured might possess a magic mirror which showedher her reckless son as he dallied with the complaisant beautieswhose graciousness, next to dice-playing, most inflamed his blood, hadsometimes disturbed his peace of mind when Biberli suggested it. Butwhen Eva looked joyously up at him with the credulous confidence ofa trusting child, he could imagine no greater bliss than to hear hismother, clasping the lovely creature in her arms, call her her dearlittle daughter. 

His reckless nature was subdued, and an emotion of tenderness which hehad never experienced before thrilled him as she whispered, "Take me toa place where everybody can see us, but where we need not notice anyoneelse. "

How significant was that little word "we"! It showed that already sheunited herself and him in her thoughts. To her pure nature nothing couldbe acceptable which must be concealed from the light of the sun and theeyes of man. And her wish could be fulfilled. 

The place where Biberli had discovered them, and where refreshments hadjust been served to the Emperor and the ladies and gentlemen nearest tohis person, who had been joined by several princes of the Church, wasshut off by the bannerets, thus preventing the entrance of any uninvitedperson; but Heinz Schorlin belonged to the sovereign's suite and hadadmittance everywhere. 

So he led Eva behind the black and yellow rope to two vacant chairsat the end of the enclosed space where the banquet had been swiftlyarranged for the Emperor and the other illustrious guests of Nuremberg. 

These seats were in view of the whole company, yet it would have been asdifficult to interrupt him and his lady as any of the table companionsof the imperial pair. Eva followed the knight without anxiety, and tookher place beside him in the well-chosen seat. 

A young cup-bearer of noble birth, with whom Heinz was well acquainted, brought unasked to him and his companion sparkling Malvoisie in Venetianglasses, and Heinz began the conversation by inviting Eva to drink tothe many days brightened by her favour which, if the saints heard hisprayer, should follow this, the most delightful evening of his life. Heomitted to ask her to pour the wine for him, knowing that many of theguests in the ballroom were watching them; besides the saucy littlecount came again and again to fill his goblet, and he wished to avoideverything which might elicit sarcastic comment. The young cup-bearerdesisted as soon as he noticed the respectful reserve with which Heinztreated his lady, and the youth was soon obliged to leave the hallwith his liege lord, Duke Rudolph of Austria, who was to set out forCarinthia early the following morning, and withdrew with his wifewithout sharing the banquet. The latter accompanied her husband to thecastle, but she was to remain in Nuremberg during the session of theReichstag with the lonely widowed Emperor, who was especially fond ofthe young Bohemian princess. Before and during the dance with Heinz thelatter had requested him to use the noble Arabian steed, a gift fromthe Sultan Kalaun to the Emperor, who had bestowed it upon her, and alsoexpressed the hope of meeting the knight frequently. 

In the conversation which Heinz began with Eva he was at firstobliged to defend himself, for she had admitted that she had heard theBurgravine's warning to beware of him. 

At the same time she had found opportunity to tell him that her heartyearned for something different from worldly love, and that she feltsafe from every one because St. Clare was constantly watching over her. 

He replied that he had been reared in piety, that he knew the closerelations existing between her patron saint and the holy Francis ofAssisi, and that he, too, had experienced many things from this man ofGod. Eva, with warm interest, asked when and where, and he willinglytold her. 

On the way from Augsburg to Nuremberg, while riding in advance of theimperial court, he had met an old barefooted man who, exhausted by theheat of the day, had sunk down by the side of the road as if lifeless, with his head resting against the trunk of a tree. Moved withcompassion, he dismounted, to try to do something for the greybeard. A few sips of wine had restored him to consciousness, but his weary, wounded feet would carry him no farther. Yet it would have grieved theold man sorely to be forced to interrupt his journey, for the ChapterGeneral in Portiuncula, in Italy, had sent him with an important messageto the brothers of his order in Germany, and especially in Nuremberg. 

The old Minorite monk was especially dignified in aspect, and when hechanced to mention that he had known St. Francis well and was one ofthose who had nursed him during his last illness, a dispute had arisenbetween Heinz Schorlin, the armor bearer, and his servant WaltherBiberli, for each desired to give up his saddle to the old man andpursue his journey on foot for his sake and the praise of God. 

But the Minorite could not be persuaded to break his vow never againto mount a knight's charger and, even had it not been evident from hiswords, Heinz asserted that the aristocratic dignity of his bearing wouldhave shown that he belonged to a noble race. 

Biberli's eloquence gained the victory in this case also, and though thegroom led by the bridle another young stallion which the ex-schoolmastermight have mounted, he had walked cheerily beside the old monk, sweepingup the dust with his long robe. At the tavern the knight and hisattendants had been abundantly repaid for their kindness to theMinorite, for his conversation was both entertaining and edifying; andHeinz repeated to his lady, who listened attentively, much that the monkhad related about St. Francis. 

Eva, too, was also on the ground dearest and most familiar to her. Herlittle tongue ran fast enough, and her large blue eyes sparkled with anunusually bright and happy lustre as she completed and corrected whatthe young knight told her about the saint. 

How much that was lovable, benevolent, and wonderful there was to relateconcerning this prophet of peace and good-will, this apostle of povertyand toil who, in every movement of nature, perceived and felt a summonsto recognise the omnipotence and goodness of God, an invitation todevout submission to the Most High!

How many amusing, yet edifying and touching anecdotes, the AbbessKunigunde had narrated of him and the most beloved of his followers!Much of this conversation Eva repeated to the knight, and her pleasurein the subject of the conversation increased the vivacity of her activemind, and soon led her to talk with eager eloquence. Heinz Schorlinfairly hung on her lips, and his eyes, which betrayed how deeply allthat he was hearing moved him, rested on hers until a flourish oftrumpets announced that the interval between the dances was over. 

He had listened in delight and, he felt, was forever bound to her. Whenduty summoned him to attend the Emperor he asked himself whether such aconversation had ever been held in the midst of a merry dance; whetherGod, in his goodness, had ever created a being so perfect in soul andbody as this fair saint, who could transform a ballroom into a church. 

Aye, Eva had done so; for, ardent as was the knight's love, somethingakin to religious devotion blended with his yearning desire. The lastwords which he addressed to her before leading her back to the otherscontained the promise to make her patron saint, St. Clare, his own. 

The Princess of Nassau had invited him for the next dance, but she foundHeinz Schorlin, whom the young Duchess Agnes had just said was merryenough to bring the dead to life, a very quiet partner; while youngHerr Schurstab, who danced with Eva and, like all the members of theHonourable Council, knew that she desired to take the veil, afterwardstold his friends that the younger beautiful E would suit a Carthusianconvent, where speech is prohibited, much better than a ballroom. 

But after this "Zauner" Heinz Schorlin again loosed her tongue. When hehad told her how he came to the court, and she had learned that he hadjoined the Emperor Rudolph at Lausanne just as he took the vow to takepart in the crusade, there was no end to her questions concerningthe reason that the German army had not already marched against theinfidels, and whether he himself did not long to make them feel hissword. 

Then she asked still further particulars concerning Brother Benedictus, the old Minorite whom he had treated so kindly. Heinz told her what heknew, and when he at last enquired whether she still regretted havingmet him whom she feared, she gazed frankly into his eyes and, smilingfaintly, shook her head. 

This increased his ardour, and he warmly entreated her to tell him wherehe could meet her again, and permit him to call her his lady. But shehesitated to reply, and ere he could win from her even the faintestshadow of consent, Ernst Ortlieb, who had been talking with othermembers of the council in the room where the wine was served, interrupted him to take his daughter home. 

She went reluctantly. The clasp of the knight's hand was felt allthe way to the house, and it would have been impossible and certainlyungracious not to return it. 

Heinz Schorlin had obtained no assent, yet the last glance from her eyeshad been more eloquent than many a verbal promise, and he gazed afterher enraptured. 

It seemed like desecration to give the hand in which hers had rested tolead any one else to the dance, and when the rotund Duke of Pomeraniainvited him to a drinking bout at his quarters at the Green Shield heaccepted; for without Eva the hall seemed deserted, the light robbed ofits brilliancy, and the gay music transformed to a melancholy dirge. 

But when at the Green Shield the ducal wine sparkled in the beakers, the gold shone and glistened on the tables, and the rattle of thedice invited the bystanders to the game, he thought that whatever heundertook on such a day of good fortune must have a lucky end. 

The Emperor had filled his purse again, but the friendly gift did notcover his debts, and he wanted to be rid of them before he told hismother that he had found a dear, devout daughter for her, and intendedto return home to settle in the ancestral castle, his heritage, andshare with his uncle the maintenance of his rights and the management offields and forests. 

Besides, he must test for the first time the power of his new patroness, St. Clare, instead of his old one, St. Leodegar. But the former servedhim ill enough--she denied him her aid, at any rate in gambling. Thefull purse was drained to its last 'zecchin' only too soon, and Heinz, laughing, turned it inside out before the eyes of his comrades. Butthough the kind-hearted Duke of Pomerania, with whom Heinz was a specialfavourite, pushed a little heap of gold towards him with his fat hands, that the Swiss might try his luck again with borrowed money, whichbrings good fortune, he remained steadfast for Eva's sake. 

On his way to the Green Shield he had confessed to Biberli--who, torchin hand, led the way--that he intended very shortly to turn his backon the court and ride home, because this time he had found the rightchatelaine for his castle. 

"That means the last one, " the ex-schoolmaster answered quietly, carefully avoiding fanning the flame of his young master's desire bycontradiction. Only he could not refrain from entreating him not toburn his fingers with the dice, and, to confirm it, added that luck ingambling was apt to be scanty where fortune was so lavish in the giftsof love. 

Heinz now remembered this warning. It had been predicted to his darlingthat meeting him would bring her misfortune, but he was animated by thesincere determination to force the jewel of his heart to remember HeinzSchorlin with anything but sorrow and regret. 

What would have seemed impossible to him a few hours before, he nowrealised. With a steady hand he pushed back the gold to the duke, whopressed it upon him with friendly glances from his kind little eyes andan urgent whispered entreaty, and took his leave, saying that to-nightthe dice and he were at odds. 

With these words he left the room, though the host tried to detain himalmost by force, and the guests also earnestly endeavoured to keep thepleasant, jovial fellow. The loss, over which Biberli shook his headangrily, did, not trouble him. Even on his couch Heinz found but a shorttime to think of his empty purse and the lovely maid who was to make theold castle among his beloved Swiss mountains an earthly paradise, forsleep soon closed his eyes. 

The next morning the events of the evening seemed like a dream. Wouldthat they had been one! Only he would not have missed, at any cost, thesweet memories associated with Eva. But could she really become his own?He feared not; for the higher the sun rose the more impracticable hisintentions of the night before appeared. At last he even thought of thereligious conversation in the dancing hall with a superior smile, asif it had been carried on by some one else. The resolve to ask from herfather the hand of the girl he loved he now rejected. No, he was not yetfit for a husband and the quiet life in the old castle. Yet Eva shouldbe the lady of his heart, her patron saint should be his, and he wouldnever sue for the love of any other maiden. Hers he must secure. Topress even one kiss on her scarlet lips seemed to him worth the risk oflife. When he had stilled this fervent longing he could ride with hercolour on helm and shield from tourney to tourney, and break a lance forher in every land through which he passed with the Emperor. What wouldhappen afterwards let the saints decide. As usual, Biberli was hisconfidant, and declared himself ready to use Katterle's services in hismaster's behalf. 

He had his own designs in doing this. He could rely upon the waitingmaid's assistance, and if there were secret meetings between Eva Ortlieband his lord, which would appease the knight's ardour, even in a smalldegree, the task of disgusting Heinz with his luckless idea of an earlymarriage would not prove too difficult. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Eva Ortlieb had been borne home from the ball in her sedan chair with ahappy smile hovering round her fresh young lips. 

It still lingered there when she found her sister in their chamber, sitting at the spinning wheel. She had not left her suffering motheruntil her eyes closed in slumber, and was now waiting for Eva, to hearwhether the entertainment had proved less disagreeable than she feared, and--as she had sent her maid to bed--to help her undress. 

One glance at Eva told her that she had perhaps left the ballroom evenmore reluctantly than she entered it; but when Els questioned her soaffectionately, and with maternal care began to unfasten the ribbonwhich tied her cap, the young girl, who in the sedan chair haddetermined to confess to no one on earth what so deeply moved her heart, could not resist the impulse to clasp her in her arms and kiss her withimpetuous warmth. 

Els received the caress with surprise for, though both girls loved eachother tenderly, they, like most sisters, rarely expressed it by tangibleproofs of tenderness. Not until Eva released her did Els exclaim inmerry amazement: "So it was delightful, my darling?"

"Oh, so delightful!" Eva protested with hands uplifted, and at the sametime met her sister's eyes with a radiant glance. 

Yet the thought entered her mind that it ill beseemed her to express somuch pleasure in a worldly amusement. Her glance fell in shame, and shegently continued in that tone of self-compassion which was by no meansunfamiliar to the members of her family. "True, though the Emperor isso noble, and both he and the Burgravine were so gracious to me, atfirst--and not only for a brief quarter of an hour, but a very longtime I could feel no real pleasure. What am I saying? Pleasure! Iwas indescribably desolate and alone among all those vain, bedizenedstrangers. I was like a shipwrecked sailor washed ashore by the wavesand surrounded by people whose language is unfamiliar. "

"But half Nuremberg was at the ball, " her sister interrupted. "Now yousee the trouble, darling. Whoever, like you, remains in seclusion andmounts a tall tree to be entirely alone, will be deserted; for who wouldbe kind-hearted enough to learn to climb for your sake? But it seemsthat afterwards one and another----"

"Oh!" Eva interrupted, "if you think that any of your friends gave memore than a passing greeting, you are mistaken. Not even Barbel, Ann, or Metz took any special notice of your sister. They kept near UrselVorchtel, and she and her brother Ulrich, of course, behaved as ifI wore a fern cap and had become invisible. I cannot tell you howuncomfortable I felt, and then--yes, Els, then I first realiseddistinctly what you are to me. Obstinate as I often am, in spite of allyour kindness and care, ungraciously as I often treat you, to-night Iclearly perceived that we belong together, like a pair of eyes, andthat without you I am only half myself--or, at any rate--not complete. And--as we are speaking in images--I felt like a sapling whose prophas been removed; even your Wolff can never have longed for you moreardently. My father found little time to give me. As soon as he saw metake my place in the Polish dance he went with Uncle Pfinzing to thedrinking room, and I did not see him again till he came to bring mehome. He had asked Fran Nutzel to look after me, but her Kathrin wastaken ill, as I heard when we were leaving, and she disappeared withher during the first dance. So I moved forlornly here and there untilhe--Heinz Schorlin--came and took charge of me. "

"He? Sir Heinz Schorlin?" asked Els in surprise, a look of anxioussuspense clouding her pretty, frank face. "The reckless Swiss, whomCountess Cordula said yesterday was the pike in the dull carp pond ofthe court, and the only person for whom it was worth while to bear thepenance imposed in the confessional?"

"Cordula von Montfort!" cried Eva scornfully. "If she speaks to me Ishall not answer her, I can tell you. My cheeks crimson when I think ofthe liberty----"

"Never mind her, " said her sister soothingly. "She is a motherlesschild, and therefore unlike us. As for Heinz Schorlin, he is certainly agallant knight; but, my innocent lambkin, he is a wolf nevertheless. "

"A wolf?" asked Eva, opening her large eyes as wide as if they beheldsome terrible object. But she soon laughed softly, and added quietly:"But a very harmless wolf, who humbly changes his nature when the righthand strokes him. How you stare at me! I am not thinking of your belovedWolff, whom you have tamed tolerably well, but the wolf of Gubbio, whichdid so much mischief, and to which St. Francis went forth, accosted himas Brother Wolf, and reminded him that they both owed their lives tothe goodness of the same divine Father. The animal seemed to understandthis, for it nodded to him. The saint now made a bargain with the wolf, which gave him its paw in pledge of the oath; and it kept the promise, for it followed St. Francis into the city, and never again harmedanyone. The citizens of Gubbio fed the good beast, and when it diedsincerely mourned it. If you wish to know from whom I heard thisedifying story--which is true, and can be confirmed by some one now inNuremberg who witnessed it--let me tell you that it was the wicked wolfhimself; not the Gubbio one, but he from Switzerland. An old Minoritemonk, to whom he compassionately gave his horse, is the witness Imentioned. At the tavern the priest told him what he had beheld with hisown eyes. Do you still inveigh against the dangerous beast, which actslike the good Samaritan, and finds nothing more delightful than hearingor speaking of our dear saint?"

"And this in the Town Hall during the dance?" asked Els, clasping herhands as if she had heard something unprecedented. 

Eva, fairly radiant with joy, nodded assent; and Els heard the ring ofpleasure in her clear voice, too, as she exclaimed: "That was just whatmade the ball so delightful. The dancing! Oh, yes, it is easy enoughto walk and turn in time to the music when one has such a knight for apartner; but that was by no means the pleasantest part of it. During theinterval--it seemed but an instant, yet it really lasted a considerabletime--we first entered into conversation. "

"In one of the side rooms?" asked Els, the bright colour fading from hercheeks. 

"What are you thinking of?" replied Eva in a tone of offence. "I believeI know what is seemly as well as anybody else. True, your CountessCordula did not set the most praiseworthy example. She allowed the wholethrong of knights to surround her in the ante-room, and your futurebrother-in-law, Siebenburg, outdid them all. We--Heinz Schorlin andI--sat near the Emperor's table in the great hall, where everybody couldsee us. There the conversation naturally passed from the old Minorite tothe holy founder of his order, and remained there. And if ever valiantknight possessed a devout mind, it is Heinz Schorlin. Whoever goes intobattle without relying upon God and his saints, ' he said, 'will find hiscourage lack wings, and his armour the surest defensive 'weapon. '"

"In the ballroom!" again fell from her sister's lips in the same tone ofamazement. 

"Where else?" asked Eva angrily. "I never met him except there. What doyou other girls talk about at such entertainments, if it surprises you?Besides, St. Francis was by no means our only subject; we spoke of thefuture crusade, too. And oh!--you may believe me--we would have beenglad to talk of such things for hours. He knew many things about oursaint; but the precise one which makes him especially great and lovable, and withal so powerful that he attracted all whom he deemed worthy tofollow him, he had not understood, and I was permitted to be the firstperson to bring it clearly before his mind. Ah! and his wit is as keenas his sword, and his heart is as open to all that is noble and sacredas it is loyal to his lord and Emperor. If we meet again I shall winhim for the white cross on the black mantle and the battle against theenemies of the faith. "

"But, Eva, " interrupted her sister, still under the spell ofastonishment, "such conversation amid the merry music of the pipers!"

"'Wherever three Christians meet, even though they are only laymen, there is a church, ' says Tertullian, " Eva answered impressively. "Oneneed not go to the house of God to talk about the things which ought tobe the highest and dearest to every one; and Heinz Schorlin--I know itfrom his own lips--is of the same opinion, for he told me voluntarilythat he would never forget the few hours which we had enjoyed together. "

"Indeed!" said her sister thoughtfully. "But whether he does not owethis pleasure more to the dancing than to the edifying conversation----"

"Certainly not!" replied Eva, very positively. "I can prove it, too;for later, after he had heard many things about St. Clare, the femalecounterpart of Francis, he vowed to make her his patron saint. Or doyou suppose that a knight changes his saints, as he does his doublet andcoat of mail, without having any great and powerful motive? Do you thinkit possible that the idle pleasure of the dance led him to so importanta decision?"

"Certainly not. Nothing led him to it except the irresistible zeal of mydevout sister, " answered Els, smiling, as she continued to comb her fairhair. "She spoke with tongues in the ballroom, as the apostles did atPentecost, and thus our 'little saint' performed her first miracle: theconversion of a godless knight during the dancing. "

"Call it so, if you choose, " replied Eva, her red lips poutingscornfully, as if she felt raised above such pitiful derision. "How youhurt, Els! You are pulling all the hair out of my head!"

The object of this rebuke had used the comb with the utmost care, butthe great luxuriance of the long, fair, waving locks had presentedmany an impediment, and Eva seemed unusually sensitive that night. Elsthought she knew why, and made no answer to the unjust charge. She knewher sister; and as she wound the braids about her head, and then, in themaid's place, hung part of her finery on hooks, and laid part carefullyin the chest, she asked her numerous questions about the dance, but wasvouchsafed only monosyllabic replies. 

At last Els knelt before the prie-dieu. Eva did the same, resting herhead so long upon her clasped hands that the patient older sister couldnot wait for the "Amen, " but, in order not to disturb Eva's devotion, only pressed a light kiss upon her head and then carefully drew thecurtains closely over the windows which, instead of glass, containedoiled parchment. 

Eva's excitement filled her with anxiety. She knew, too, what a powerfulinfluence the bright moonlight sometimes exerted upon her while sheslept, and cast another glance at the closely curtained window beforeshe went to her own bed. There she lay a long time, with eyes wide open, pondering over her sister's words, and in doing so perceived moreand more clearly that love was now knocking at the heart of the childkneeling before the prie-dieu. Sir Heinz Schorlin, the wild butterfly, desired to sip the honey from this sweet, untouched flower, and thenprobably abandon her like so many before her. Love and anxiety made thegirl, whose opinion was usually milder than her sister's, a stern andunwise judge, for she assumed that the Swiss--whose character in realitywas far removed from base hypocrisy--the man whom she had just termeda wolf, had donned sheep's clothing to make her poor lambkin an easierprey. But she was on guard and ready to spoil his game. 

Did Eva really fail to understand the new feeling which had seized herso swiftly and powerfully? Did she lull herself in the delusion that shecared only for the welfare of the soul of the pious young knight?

Yes, it might be so, and prudent Els, who had watched her own littleworld intently enough, said to herself that it would be pouring oil uponthe flames to tease Eva about the defeat which she, the "little saint, "had sustained in the battle against the demands of the world and of thefeminine heart. Besides, her sister was too dear for her to rejoice inher humiliation. Els resolved not to utter a word about the Swiss unlesscompelled to do so. 

Eva's prayers before retiring were often very long, but to-night itseemed as if they would never end. 

"She is not appealing to St. Clare for herself alone, but for another, "thought Els. "I spend less time in doing it. True, a Heinz Schorlinneeds longer intercession than my Eva, my Wolff, and my poor piousmother. But I won't disturb her yet. "

Sighing faintly, she changed her position, but remained sitting proppedagainst the white pillows in order not to allow herself to be overcomeby sleep. But it was a hard struggle, and her lids often fell, her headdrooped upon her breast. 

Dawn was already glimmering without when the supplicant at last rose andsought her couch. Her sister let her lie quietly for a while, then sherose and put out the lamp which Eva had forgotten to extinguish. Thelatter noticed it, turned her face towards her and called her gently. "To think that you should have to get up again, my poor Els! Give me agood-night kiss. "

"Gladly, dearest, " replied the other. "But it is really quite time tosay 'good-morning. "'

"And you have kept awake so long!" replied Eva compassionately, as shethrew her arms gratefully around her sister's neck, kissed her tenderly, and then pressed her hot cheek to hers. 

"What is this?" cried Els, with sincere anxiety. "Are you hurt, child?Surely you are weeping?"

"No, no, " was the reply. "I am only--I only thought that I had adornedmyself, decked myself out with idle finery, although I know how manypoor people are starving in want and misery, and how much more pleasingin the sight of the Lord is the grey robe of the cloistered nun. I couldscarcely leave the hall in my overweening pleasure, and yet it wouldhave beseemed me far better to share the sufferings of the crucifiedSaviour. "

"But, child, " replied Els, striving to soothe her sister, "how oftenI have heard from you and our aunt, the abbess, that no one was socheerful and so glad to witness the enjoyment of human beings andanimals as your St. Francis!"

"He--he!" groaned Eva, "he who attained the highest goal, who heardthe voice of the Lord wherever he listened; he who chose poverty as hisbeloved bride, who scorned show and parade and the trappings of wealth, as he disdained earthly love; he who celebrated in song the love of thesoul glowing for the highest things, as no troubadour could do--oh, howardently he knew how to love, but to love the things which do not belongto this world!"

Els longed to ask what Eva knew about the ardent fire of love; butshe restrained herself, darkened the bed as well as she could with themovable curtain which hung from the ceiling on both sides abovethe double couch, and said: "Be sensible, child, and put aside suchthoughts. How loudly the birds are twittering outside! If our father isobliged to breakfast alone there may be a storm, and I should be gladto have an hour's nap. You need slumber, too. Dancing is tiresome. Shutyour eyes and sleep as long as you can. I'll be as quiet as a mousewhile I am dressing. "

As she spoke she turned away from her sister and no longer resisted thesleep which soon closed her weary eyes. 

CHAPTER V. 

As her father had ordered the servants not to disturb the young girls, Els did not wake till the sun was high in the heavens. Eva's place ather side was empty. She had already left the room. For the first timeit had been impossible to sleep even a few short moments, and when sheheard from the neighbouring cloister the ringing of the little bell thatsummoned the nuns to prayers, she could stay in bed no longer. 

Usually she liked to dress slowly, thinking meanwhile of many thingswhich stirred her soul. Sometimes while the maid or Els braided her hairshe could read a book of devotion which the abbess had given her. Butthis morning she had carried the clothes she needed into the next roomon tiptoe, that she might not wake her sister, and urged Katterle, whohelped her dress, to hurry. 

She longed to see her aunt at the convent. While kneeling at theprie-dieu, she had reached the certainty that her patron saint had ledHeinz Schorlin to her. He was her knight and she his lady, so he mustrender her obedience, and she would use it to estrange him from thevanity of the world and make him a champion of the holy cause of theChurch of Christ, the victorious conqueror of her foes. Sky-blue, theHoly Virgin's colour, should be hers, and thus his also, and everyvictory gained by the knight with the sky-blue on his helmet, under St. Clare's protection, would then be hers. 

Heinz Schorlin was already one of the boldest and strongest knights; herlove must render him also one of the most godly. Yes, her love! If St. Francis had not disdained to make a wolf his brother, why might she notfeel herself the loving sister of a youth who would obey her as a noblefalcon did his mistress, and whom she would teach to pursue the rightquarry? The abbess would not forbid such love, and the impulse thatdrew her so strongly to the convent was the longing to know how her auntwould receive her confession. 

The night before when, after her conversation with Els, she began topray, she had feared that she had fallen into the snare of earthly love, and dreaded the confession which she had to make to her aunt Kunigunde. Now she found that it was no fleshly bond which united her to theknight. Oh, no! As St. Francis had gone forth to console, to win soulsfor the Lord, to bring peace and exhort to earnest labour in the serviceof the Saviour, as his disciples had imitated him, and St. Clare hadbeen untiring in working, in his spirit, among women, she, too, wouldobey the call which had come to her saint in Portiuncula, and proveherself for the first time, according to the Scripture, "a fisher ofsouls. "

Now she gladly anticipated the meeting; for though her sister did notunderstand her, the abbess must know how to sympathise with what waspassing in her mind. This expectation was fulfilled; for as soon asshe was alone with her aunt she poured forth all her hopes and feelingswithout reserve, eagerly and joyfully extolling her good fortune that, through St. Clare, she had been enabled to find the noblest and mostvaliant knight, that she might win him for the Holy War under hersaint's protection and to her honour. 

The abbess, who knew women's hearts, had at first felt the same fearas Els; but she soon changed her opinion, and thought that she might bepermitted to rejoice over the new emotion in her darling's breast. 

No girl in love talked so openly and joyously of the conquest won, leastof all would her truthful, excitable niece, whom she had drawn into herown path, speak thus of the man who disturbed her repose. No sensitivegirl, unfamiliar with the world and scarcely beyond childhood, woulddecide with such steadfast firmness, so wholly free from every selfishwish, the future of the man dearest to her heart. No, no! Eva hadalready attained her new birth, and was not to be compared with othergirls She had already once reached that ecstatic rapture which followedonly a long absorption in God and an active sympathy with the deep humanlove of the Saviour and the unspeakable sufferings which he had takenupon himself. Little was to be feared from earthly love for one whodevoted herself with all the passion of her fervid nature to the divineBridegroom. Among the many whom Kunigunde received into the convent asnovices, she was most certainly "called. " If she felt something whichresembled love for the young knight--and she made no concealment ofit--it was only the result of the sweet joy of winning for the Lord, thefaith, and her saint a soul which seemed to her worthy of such grace. 

Dear, highly gifted child!

She, the abbess Kunigunde, was willing it should be so, and that Evashould surpass herself. She should prove that genuine piety conquerseven the yearning of a quickly throbbing heart. 

True, she must keep her eyes open in order to prevent Satan, who iseverywhere on the watch, from mingling in a game not wholly free fromperil. But, on the other hand, the abbess intended to help her belovedniece to reap the reward of her piety. 

It was scarcely to be doubted that Heinz Schorlin was fired with ardentlove for Eva; but, for that very reason, he would be ready to yield herobedience, and therefore it was advisable to tell her exactly to whatshe must persuade him. She must win him to join the Order of Malta, andif the famous champion of Marchfield performed heroic deeds with thewhite cross on his black mantle, or in war on his red tunic, he, theEmperor's favourite, would be sure of a high position among the militarymembers of the order. 

The young girl listened eagerly, but the elderly abbess herself becameexcited while encouraging the young future "Sister" to her noble task. The days when, with the inmates of the convent, she had prayed that theEmperor Rudolph might fulfil the Pope's desire, and in a new crusadeagain wrest the Holy Land from the infidels, came back to her memory, and Heinz Schorlin, guided by the nuns of St. Clare, seemed the man tobring the fulfilment of this old and cherished wish. 

It appeared like a leading of the saints and a sign from God that Heinzhad been dubbed a knight, and commenced his glorious career at Lausannewhile the Emperor Rudolph pledged himself to a new crusade. 

She detained Eva so long that dinner was over at the Ortlieb mansion, and her impatient father would have sent for her had not the invalidmother urged him to let her remain. 

True, she longed to have a talk with her darling, who for the first timein her life had attended a great entertainment, and doubtless it grievedher to think that Eva did not feel the necessity of pouring out herheart to her own mother rather than to any one else, and sharing withher all the new emotions which undoubtedly had thrilled it; but she knewher child, and would have considered it selfish to place any obstacle inthe pathway to eternal salvation of the elect whom God summoned with soloud a voice. Formerly she would rather have seen the young girl, whosecharms were developing into such rare beauty, wedded to some good man;but now she rejoiced in the idea that Eva was summoned to rule over thenuns in the neighbouring cloister some day as abbess, in the place ofher sister-in-law Kunigunde. Her own days, she knew, were numbered, butwhere could her child more surely find the happiness she desired forher than with the beloved sisters of St. Clare, whose home she and herhusband had helped to build?

Els had concealed from her parents what she fancied she had discovered, for any anxiety injured the invalid, and no one could anticipate how herirritable father might receive the information of her fear. On theother hand, she could confide her troubles without anxiety to Wolff, herbetrothed husband. He was wise, prudent, loved Eva like a sister, and inexchanging thoughts with him she always discovered the right course topursue; but though she expected him so eagerly and confidently, he didnot come. 

When, in the afternoon, Eva returned home, her whole manner expressedsuch firm, cheerful composure that Els began to hope she might have beenmistaken. The undemonstrative yet tender affection with which she mether mother, too, by no means harmonised with her fears. 

How lovely the young girl looked as she sat on a low stool at the headof the invalid's couch and, with her mother's emaciated hand clasped inhers, told her all that she had seen and experienced the evening before!To please the beloved sufferer, she dwelt longer on the description ofthe gracious manner of the Emperor Rudolph and his sister to her and herfather, the conversation with which the Burgrave had honoured her, andhis son's invitation to dance. Then for the first time she mentionedHeinz Schorlin, whom she had found a godly knight, and finally spokebriefly of the distinguished foreign nobles and ladies whom he hadpointed out and named. 

All this reminded the mother of former days and, in spite of the warningof watchful Els not to talk too much, she did not cease questioning orrecalling the time when she herself attended such festivals, and as oneof the fairest maidens received much homage. 

It had been a good day, for it was long since she had enjoyed so muchquiet in her own home. The von Montforts, she told Eva, had setoff early, with a great train of knights and servants, to ride toRadolzburg, the castle of the Burgrave von Zollern. Her father thoughtthey would probably have a dance there, for the young sons of theBurgrave would act as hosts. 

Eva asked carelessly who rode with Cordula this time to submit to herwhims, but Els perceived by her sister's flushed cheeks and the tone ofher voice what she desired to know, and answered as if by accident thatSir Heinz Schorlin certainly was not one of her companions, for he hadridden through the Frauenthor that afternoon in the train of the EmperorRudolph and his Bohemian daughter-in-law. 

Twilight was already beginning to gather, and Els could not see whetherthis news afforded Eva pleasure or annoyance, for her mother had takentoo little heed of her weakness, and one of the attacks which thephysician so urgently ordered her to avoid by caution commenced. 

Els and the convent Sister Renata, who helped her nurse the invalid, were now completely absorbed in caring for her, but Eva turned away fromthe beloved sufferer--her sensitive nature could not endure the sight ofher convulsions. 

As soon as her mother again lay weak but quiet on the pillows which Elshad rearranged for her, Eva obeyed her entreaty to go away, and wentto her own chamber. When another attack drew her back to the invalid, a sign from her sister as she reached the threshold bade her keep awayfrom the couch. Should it prove necessary, she whispered, she would callher. If Wolff came, Eva was to tell him that she could not leave hermother, but he must be sure to return early the next morning, as she hada great deal to say to him. 

Eva then went to her father, who was dressing to attend a banquet atthe house of Herr Berthold Vorchtel, the first Losunger--[PresidingOfficer]--in the Council, from which he would be loath to absent himselffor the very reason that his host's family had been hostile to him eversince the rumour of the betrothal of Wolff Eysvogel, whom the Vorchtelshad regarded as their daughter Ursula's future husband. 

Nevertheless, Herr Ernst would not have gone to the entertainment hadhis wife's condition given cause for anxiety. But he was familiar withthese convulsions which, it is true, weakened the invalid, but producedno other results; so he permitted Eva to help him put the last touchesto his dress, on which he lavished great care. Spick and span as if hewere just out of a bandbox, the elderly man, before leaving the house, went once more to the sick-room, and Eva stood near as, after manyquestions and requests, he whispered something to Els which she did nothear. With excited curiosity she asked what he had said so secretly, but he only answered hurriedly, "The name of the Man in the Moon's dog, "kissed her cheek, and ran downstairs. 

At the foot he again turned to Eva and told her to send for him if hermother should grow worse, for these entertainments at the Vorchtelsusually lasted a long time. 

"Will the Eysvogels be there too?" asked the girl. 

"Who knows, " replied her father. "I shall be glad if Wolff comes. "

The tone in which he uttered the name of his future son-in-lawdistinctly showed how little he desired to meet any other member ofthe family, and Eva said sympathisingly, "Then I hope you will have anopportunity to remember me to Wolff. "

"Shall I say nothing to Ursel?" asked the father, pressing a good-nightkiss upon the young girl's forehead. 

"She would not care for it, " was the reply. "It cannot be easy to forgeta man like Wolff. "

"I wish he had stuck to Ursel, and let Els alone, " her father answeredangrily. "It would have been better for both. "

"Why, father, " interrupted Eva reproachfully, "do not our lovers seemreally created for each other?"

"If the Eysvogels were only of the same opinion, " exclaimed ErnstOrtlieb, shrugging his shoulders with a faint sigh. "Whoever marries, child, weds not only a man or a woman; all their kindred, unhappily, must be taken into the bargain. However, Els did not lack earnestwarning. When your time comes, girl, your father will be more careful. "

Smiling tenderly, he passed his hand over the little cap which coveredher thick, fair hair, and went out. 

Eva returned to her room and sat down at the spinning-wheel in the bowwindow, where Katterle had just drawn the curtains closely and lightedthe hanging lamp. But the distaff remained untouched, and her thoughtswandered swiftly to the evening before and the ball at the Town Hall. Heinz Schorlin's image rose more and more distinctly before her mind, and this pleased her, for she fancied that he wore on his helm the bluefavour which she had chosen, and it led her to consider against whatfoe she should first send him in the service of his lady and the HolyChurch. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Eva had gazed into vacancy a long time, and beheld a succession ofpleasing pictures, in every one of which, Heinz Schorlin appeared. Once, in imagination, she placed a wreath on his helmet after a great victoryover the infidels. 

Why should not this vision become a reality? Doubtless it owed itsorigin to a memory, for Wolff Eysvogel had been fired with love for hersister while Els was winding laurel around his helmet. 

After the Honourable Council had resolved that the youths belonging tonoble families, who had fought in the battle of Marchfield and returnedvictorious, should be adorned with wreaths by the maidens of theirchoice, Fate had appointed her sister to crown Eysvogel. 

At that time Wolff had but recently recovered from the severe woundswith which he had returned from the campaign. But while he knelt beforeEls and his eyes met hers, love had overmastered him so swiftly andpowerfully, that at the end of a few days he determined to woo her. 

Meanwhile his own family resolutely opposed his choice. The fatherdeclared that he had made an agreement with Berthold Vorchtel to marryhim to his daughter Ursula, and withdrawal on his son's part wouldembarrass him. His grandmother, the arrogant old Countess Rotterbach, agreed with him, and declared that Wolff ought to wed no one excepta lady of the most aristocratic birth or an heiress like Ursula. Herdaughter Rosalinde Eysvogel, as usual, was the echo of her mother. 

Herr Ernst Ortlieb, too, would far rather have seen his Els marryinto another home; but Wolff himself was a young man of such faultlesshonour, and the bride he had chosen was so eager to become his, that hedeemed it a duty to forget the aversion inspired by the suitor's family. 

As for Wolff, he had so firmly persisted in his resolve that his parentsat last permitted him to ask for his darling's hand, but his father hadmade it a condition that the betrothal, on account of the youth ofthe lovers, should not be announced till after Wolff had returned fromMilan, where he was to finish the studies commenced in Venice. True, everyone had supposed that they were completed long ago, but Eysvogelsenior insisted upon his demand, and afterwards succeeded in deferringthe announcement of the betrothal, until the resolute persistence ofWolff, who meanwhile had entered the great commercial house, and thewish of his own aged mother, a sensible woman, who from the first hadapproved her grandson's choice and to whom Herr Casper was obligedto show a certain degree of consideration, compelled him to give itpublicity. 

A few days later Herr Casper's brother died, and soon after hisestimable old mother. He used these events as a pretext for longerdelay, saying that both he and his wife needed at least six months'interval ere they could forget their mourning in a gay wedding festival. Besides, he would prefer not to have the marriage take place until afterWolff's election to the Council, which, in all probability, would occurafter Walpurgis of the coming year. 

Ernst Ortlieb had sullenly submitted to all this. Nothing but his lovefor his child and respect for Herr Casper's dead mother, who had takenEls to her heart like a beloved granddaughter, would have enabled himto conquer his hasty temper in his negotiations with the man whomhe detested in his inmost soul, and not hurl back the consent soreluctantly granted to his son. 

The friends who knew him admired the strength of will with which hegoverned his impetuous nature in this transaction. Some asserted thatsecret obligations compelled him to yield to the rich Eysvogel; forthough the Ortlieb mercantile house was reputed wealthy, the businessprudence of its head resulted in smaller profits, and people had notforgotten that it had suffered heavy losses during the terrible periodof despotism which had preceded the Emperor Rudolph's accession to thethrone. 

The insecurity of the high-roads had injured every merchant, but intrying to find some explanation for Herr Ortlieb's submission theattacks which had cost him one and another train of wares were regardedas specially disastrous. 

Finally, the dowry which Els was to bring bore no comparison to thelarge sums Ernst Ortlieb had lavished upon the erection of the St. Clare Convent, and hence it was inferred that the wealth of the firm hadsustained considerable losses. This found ready credence, owing to theretired life led by the Ortliebs, --whose house had formerly been oneof the most hospitable in the city, --ever since the wife had become aninvalid and Eva had grown up with an aversion to the world. Few took thetrouble to inquire into the very apparent causes for the change. 

Yet this view of the matter was opposed by many-nay, when theconversation turned upon these subjects, Herr Berthold Vorchtel, perhapsthe richest and most distinguished man in Nuremberg, who rented theimperial taxes, made comments from which, had it not been so difficultto believe, people might have inferred that Casper Eysvogel was indebtedto Ernst Ortlieb rather than the latter to him. 

Yet the cautious, prudent man never explained the foundation of hisopinion, for he very rarely mentioned either of the two firms; yet priorto the battle of Marchfield he had believed that his own daughter Ursulaand Wolff Eysvogel would sooner or later wed. Herr Casper, the youngman's father, had strengthened this expectation. He himself and hiswife esteemed Wolff, and his "Ursel" had shown plainly enough that shepreferred him to the other friends of her elder brother Ulrich. 

When he returned home the two met like brother and sister, and theparents of Ursula Vorchtel had expected Wolff's proposal until the dayon which the wreaths were bestowed had made them poorer by a favouritewish and destroyed the fairest hope of their daughter Ursula. 

The worthy merchant, it is true, deemed love a beautiful thing, but inNuremberg it was the parents who chose wives and husbands for their sonsand daughters; yet, after marriage, love took possession of the newlywedded pair. A transgression of this ancient custom was very rare, and even though Wolff's heart was fired with love for Els Ortlieb, hisfather, Herr Vorchtel thought, should have refused his consent to thebetrothal, especially as he had already treated Ursel as his futuredaughter. Some compulsion must have been imposed upon him when hepermitted his son to choose a wife other than the one selected. 

But what could render one merchant dependent upon another exceptbusiness obligations?--and Berthold Vorchtel was sharp-sighted. He knewthe heavy draft which Herr Casper had made upon the confidence reposedin the old firm, and thought he had perceived that the great splendourdisplayed by the women of the Eysvogel family, the liberality with whichHerr Casper had aided his impoverished noble relatives, and the lavishexpenditure of his son-in-law, the debt-laden Sir Seitz Siebenburg, drewtoo heavily upon the revenues of the ancient house. 

Even now Casper Eysvogel's whole conduct proved how unwelcome was hisson's choice. To him, Ursula's father, he still intimated on manyan occasion that he had by no means resigned every hope of becoming, through his son, more nearly allied to his family, for a betrothal wasnot a wedding. 

Berthold Vorchtel, however, was not the man to enter into suchdouble-dealing, although he saw plainly enough how matters stood withhis poor child. She had confided her feelings to no one; yet, inspite of Ursula's reserved nature, even a stranger could perceive thatsomething clouded her happiness. Besides, she had persistently refusedthe distinguished suitors who sought the wealthy Herr Berthold's prettydaughter, and only very recently had promised her parents, of her ownfree will, to give up her opposition to marriage. 

Ever since the betrothal, to the sincere sorrow of Els, she hadstudiously avoided Wolff's future bride, who had been one of her dearestfriends; and Ulrich, Herr Vorchtel's oldest son, took his sister's part, and at every opportunity showed Wolff--who from a child, and also in thebattle of Marchfield, had been a favourite comrade--that he bore him agrudge, and considered his betrothal to any one except Ursula an act ofshameful perfidy. 

The fair-minded father did not approve of his son's conduct, for hiswife had learned from her daughter that Wolff had never spoken to her oflove, or promised marriage. 

Therefore, whenever Herr Berthold Vorchtel met Els's father--and thisoften happened in the Council--he treated him with marked respect, andwhen there was an entertainment in his house sent him an invitation, as in former years, which Ernst Urtlieb accepted, unless something ofimportance prevented. 

But though the elder Vorchtel was powerless to change his children'sconduct, he never wearied of representing to his son how unjust anddangerous were the attacks with which, on every occasion, he irritatedWolff, whose strength and skill in fencing were almost unequalled inNuremberg. In fact, the latter would long since have challenged hisformer friend had he not been so conscious of his own superiority, andshrunk from the thought of bringing fresh sorrow upon Ursula and herparents, whom he still remembered with friendly regard. 

Eva was fond of her future brother-in-law, and it had not escaped hernotice that of late something troubled him. 

What was it?

She thoughtfully gave the wheel a push, and as it turned swiftly sheremembered the Swiss dance the evening before, and suddenly clenched hersmall right hand and dealt the palm of her left a light blow. 

She fancied that she had discovered the cause of Wolff's depression, forshe again saw distinctly before her his sister Isabella's husband, SirSeitz Siebenburg, as he swung Countess Cordula around so recklessly thather skirt, adorned with glittering jewels, fluttered far out from herfigure. In the room adjacent to the hall he had flung himself upon hisknees before the countess, and Eva fancied she again beheld his big, red face, with its long, thick, yellow mustache, whose ends projected onboth sides in a fashion worn by few men of his rank. The expression ofthe watery blue eyes, with which he stared Cordula in the face, werethose of a drunkard. 

To-day he had followed her to the Kadolzburg, and probably meant tospend the night there. So Wolff had ample reason to be anxious about hissister and her peace of mind. That must be it!

Perhaps he would yet come that evening, to give Els at least a greetingfrom the street. How late was it?

She hastily tried to draw the curtains aside from the window, but thiswas not accomplished as quickly as she expected--they had been carefully fastened with pins. Eva noticed it, and suddenly remembered herfather's whispered words to Els. 

They were undoubtedly about the window. According to the calendar, the moon would be full that day, and she knew very well that it had astrange influence upon her. True, within the past year it appearedto have lost its power; but formerly, especially when she had devotedherself very earnestly to religious exercises, she had often, withoutknowing how or why, left her bed and wandered about, not only in herchamber but through the house. Once she had climbed to the dovecot inthe courtyard, and another time had mounted to the garret where, she didnot know in what way, she had been awakened. When she looked around, the moon was shining into the spacious room, and showed her that shewas perched on one of the highest beams in the network of rafters which, joined with the utmost skill, supported the roof. Below her yawneda deep gulf, and as she looked down into it she was seized with suchterror that she uttered a loud shriek for help, and did not recover hercalmness until the old housekeeper, Martsche, who had started from herbed in alarm, brought her father to her. 

She had been taken down with the utmost care. No one was permitted tohelp except white-haired Nickel, the old head packer, who often let awhole day pass without opening his lips; for Herr Ernst seemed to laygreat stress upon keeping the moon's influence on Eva a secret. Therewas indeed something uncanny about this night-walking, for even now itseemed incomprehensible how she had reached the beam, which was at leastthe height of three men above the floor. A fall might have cost herlife, and her father was right in trying to prevent a repetition of suchnocturnal excursions. This time Els had helped him. 

How faithfully she cared for them all!

Yes, she had barred out even the faintest glimmer. Eva smiled as she sawthe numerous pins with which her sister had fastened the curtain, andan irresistible longing seized her to see once more the wonderful lightthat promoted the growth of the hair if cut during its increase, andalso exerted so strange an influence upon her. 

She must look up at the moon!

Swiftly and skilfully, as if aided by invisible hands, her daintyfingers opened curtain and window. 

Drawing a deep breath, with an emotion of pleasure which she had notexperienced for a long time, she gazed at the linden before the housesteeped in silvery radiance, and upward to the pure disk of the fullmoon sailing in the cloudless sky. How beautiful and still the nightwas! How delightful it would be to walk up and down the garden, with heraunt the abbess, with Els, and perhaps--she felt the blood crimson hercheeks--with Heinz Schorlin!

Where was he now?

Undoubtedly with the Emperor and his ladies, perhaps at the side of theBohemian princess, the young Duchess Agnes, who yesterday had so plainlyshowed her pleasure in his society. 

Just then the watch, marching from the Marienthurn to the Frauenthor, gave her vagrant thoughts a new turn. The city guard was soon followedby a troop of horse, which probably belonged to the Emperor's train. 

It was delightful to gaze, at this late hour, into the moonlit street, and she wondered that she had never enjoyed it before. True, it wouldhave been still pleasanter had Els borne her company; and, besides, shelonged to tell her the new explanation she had found for Wolff's alteredmanner. 

Perhaps her mother was asleep, and she could come with her. 

How still the house was!

Cautiously opening the door of the sick-room, she glanced in. Els wasstanding at the head of the bed, supporting her mother with herstrong young arms, while Sister Renata pushed the cushions between thesufferer's back and the bedstead. 

The old difficulty of breathing had evidently attacked her again. 

Yes, yes, the dim light of the lamp was shining on her pale face, andthe large sunken eyes were gazing with imploring anguish at the image ofthe Virgin on the opposite wall. 

How gladly Eva would have afforded her relief! She looked with a faintsense of envy at her sister, whose skilful, careful hands did everythingto the satisfaction of the beloved sufferer, while in nursing she failedonly too often in giving the right touch. But she could pray--implorethe aid of her saint very fervently; nay, she was more familiar withher, and might hope that she would fulfil a heartfelt wish of hers morequickly than for her sister. It would not do to call Els to the window. She closed the door gently, returned to her chamber, knelt and imploredSt. Clare, with all the fervour of her heart, to grant her mother a goodnight. Then she again drew the curtains closely over the window, andwent to call Katterle to help her undress. 

But the maid was just entering with fresh water. What was the matterwith her?

Her hand trembled as she braided her young mistress's hair andsometimes, with a faint sigh, she stopped the movement of the comb. 

Her silence could be easily explained; for Eva had often forbiddenKatterle to talk, when she disturbed her meditation. Yet the girl musthave had some special burden on her mind, for when Eva had gone to bedshe could not resolve to leave the room, but remained standing on thethreshold in evident embarrassment. 

Eva encouraged her to speak, and Katterle, so confused that she oftenhesitated for words and pulled at her ribbons till she was in danger oftearing them from her white apron, stammered that she did not comeon her own account, but for another person. It was well known in thehousehold that her betrothed husband, the true and steadfast WaltherBiberli, served a godly knight, her countryman. 

"I know it, " said Eva with apparent composure, "and your Biberlihas commissioned you to bear me the respectful greeting of Sir HeinzSchorlin. "

The girl looked at her young mistress in surprise. She had been preparedfor a sharp rebuke, and had yielded to her lover's entreaties to undertake this service amid tears, and with great anxiety; for if her actshould be betrayed, she would lose, amid bitter reproaches, the placeshe so greatly prized. Yet Biberli's power over her and her faith in himwere so great that she would have followed him into a lion's den; and ithad scarcely seemed a more desirable venture to carry a love-greetingto the pious maiden who held men in such disfavour, and could burst intopassionate anger as suddenly as her father. 

And now?

Eva had expected such a message. It seemed like a miracle to Katterle. 

With a sigh of relief, and a hasty thanksgiving to her patron saint, sheat once began to praise the virtue and piety of the servant as well ashis lord; but Eva again interrupted, and asked what Sir Heinz Schorlindesired. 

Katterle, with new-born confidence, repeated, as if it were some trivialrequest, the words Biberli had impressed upon her mind. 

"By virtue of the right of every good and devout knight to ask his ladyfor her colour, Sir Heinz Schorlin, with all due reverence, humbly praysyou to name yours; for how could he hold up his head before you andall the knights if he were denied the privilege of wearing it in yourhonour, in war as well as in peace?"

Here her mistress again interrupted with a positive "I know, " and, stillmore emboldened, Katterle continued the ex-schoolmaster's lesson to theend:

"His lord, my lover says, will wait here beneath the window, in allreverence, though it should be till morning, until you show him yoursweet face. No, don't interrupt me yet, Mistress Eva, for you must knowthat Sir Heinz's lady mother committed her dear son to my Biberli'scare, that he might guard him from injury and illness. But since hismaster met you, he has been tottering about as though he had received aspear-thrust, and as the knight confessed to his faithful servitor thatno leech could help him until you permitted him to open his heart to youand show you with what humble devotion----"

But here the maid was interrupted in a manner very different from herexpectations, for Eva had raised herself on her pillows and, almostunable to control her voice in the excess of her wrath, exclaimed:

"The master who presumes to seek through his servant----And by whatright does the knight dare thus insolently----But no! Who knows whatmodest wish was transformed in your mouth to so unprecedented a demand?He desired to see my face? He wanted to speak to me in person, toconfess I know not what? From you--you, Katterle, the maid--the knightexpects----"

Here she struck her little hand angrily against the wood of the bedsteadand, panting for breath, continued:

"I'll show him!----Yet no! What I have to answer no one else----From me, from me alone, he shall learn without delay. There is paper in yonderchest, on the very top; bring it to me, with pen and ink. "

Katterle silently hurried to obey this order, but Eva pressed her handupon her heaving bosom, and gazed silently into vacancy. 

The manservant and the maid whom Heinz Schorlin had made his messengerscertainly could have no conception of the bond that united her to him;even her own sister had misunderstood it. He should now learn thatEva Ortlieb knew what beseemed her! But she, too, longed for anothermeeting, and this conduct rendered it necessary. 

The sooner they two had a conversation, the better. She couldconfidently venture to invite him to the meeting which she had in view;her aunt, the abbess, had promised to stand by her side, if she neededher, in her intercourse with the knight. 

But her colour?

Katterle had long since laid the paper and writing materials beforeher, but she still pondered. At last, with a smile of satisfaction, sheseized the pen. The manner in which she intended to mention the colourshould show him the nature of the bond which united them. 

She was mistress of the pen, for in the convent she had copied thegospels, the psalms, and other portions of the Scriptures, yet her handtrembled as she committed the following lines to the paper:

"I am angered--nay, even grieved--that you, a godly knight, who knowsthe reverence due to a lady, have ventured to await my greeting in frontof my father's house. If you are a true knight, you must be aware thatyou voluntarily promised to obey my every glance. I can rely upon thispledge, and since I find it necessary to talk with you, I invite you toan interview--when and where, my maid, who is betrothed to your servant, shall inform him. A friend, who has your welfare at heart as well asmine, will be with me. It must be soon, with the permission of St. Clare, who, since you have chosen her for your patron saint, looks downupon you as well as on me. 

"As for my colour, I know not what to name; the baubles associated withearthly love are unfamiliar to me. But blue is the colour of the pureheaven and its noble queen, the gracious Virgin. If you make this colouryours and fight for it, I shall rejoice, and am willing to name itmine. "

At the bottom of the little note she wrote only her Christian name"Eva, " and when she read it over she found that it contained, in apt andseemly phrases, everything that she desired to say to the knight. 

While folding the paper and considering how she could fasten it, asthere was no wax at hand, she thought of the narrow ribbons with whichEls tied together, in sets of half a dozen, the fine kerchiefs worn overthe neck and bosom, when they came from the wash. They were sky-blue, and nothing could be more suitable for the purpose. 

Katterle brought one from the top of the chest. Eva wound it swiftlyaround the little roll, and the maid hastily left the room, sure of thegratitude of the true and steadfast Biberli. 

When Eva was again alone, she at first thought that she might rejoiceover her hasty act; but on asking herself what Els would say, she feltcertain that she would disapprove of it and, becoming disconcerted, began to imagine what consequences it might entail. 

The advice which her father had recently given Wolff, never to let anyimportant letter pass out of his hands until at least one night hadelapsed, returned to her memory, and from that instant the little noteburdened her soul like a hundred-pound weight. 

She would fain have started up to get it back again, and a strongattraction drew her towards the window to ascertain whether HeinzSchorlin had really come and was awaiting her greeting. 

Perhaps Katterle had not yet delivered the note. What if she werestill standing at the door of the house to wait for Biberli? If, tobe absolutely certain, she should just glance out, that would not belooking for the knight, and she availed herself of the excuse withoutdelay. 

In an instant she sprang from her bed and gently drew the curtain aside. The street was perfectly still. The linden and the neighbouring housescast dark, sharply outlined shadows upon the light pavement, and fromthe convent garden the song of the nightingale echoed down the quietmoonlit street. 

Katterle had probably already given the note to Heinz Schorlin who, obedient to his lady's command, as beseemed a knight, had gone away. This soothed her anxiety, and with a sigh she went back to bed. 

But the longing to look out into the street again was so strong that sheyielded to the temptation; yet, ere she reached the window, she summonedthe strength of will which was peculiar to her and, lying down, oncemore closed her lids, with the firm resolve to see and hear nothing. Asshe had not shut her eyes the night before and, from dread of the ball, had slept very little during the preceding one, she soon, though themoon was shining in through the parted curtains, lapsed into acondition midway between sleep and waking. Extreme fatigue had deadenedconsciousness, yet she fancied that at times she heard the sound offootsteps on the pavement outside, and the deep voices of men. 

Nor was what she heard in her half-dozing state, which was soon followedby the sound slumber of youth, any delusion of the senses. 

CHAPTER VII. 

The moon found something in front of the Ortlieb house worth looking at. Rarely had she lighted with purer, brighter radiance the pathway of themortals who excited her curiosity, than that of the two handsome youngmen who, at a moderate interval of time, passed through the Frauenthor, and finally entered the courtyard of the Ortlieb residence almost at thesame instant. 

Luna first saw them pace silently to and fro, and delighted in theresentful glances they cast at each other. This joy increased as the onein the long coat, embroidered on the shoulder with birds, and then theother, whose court costume well became his lithe, powerful limbs, satdown, each on one of the chains connecting the granite posts between thestreet and the courtyard. 

The very tall one, who looked grave and anxious, was Wolff Eysvogel; theother, somewhat shorter, who swung gaily to and fro on the chain as ifit afforded him much amusement, Heinz Schorlin. 

Both frequently glanced up at the lighted bow-window and the smallerone on the second story, behind which Eva lay half asleep. This was thefirst meeting of the two men. 

Wolff, aware of his excellent right to remain on this-spot, would haveshown the annoying intruder his displeasure long before, had he notsupposed that the other, whom at the first glance he recognised as aknight, was one of Countess Cordula von Montfort's admirers. Yet he soonbecame unable to control his anger and impatience. Yielding to a hastyimpulse, he left the chain, but as he approached the stranger the lattergave his swaying seat a swifter motion and, without vouchsafing himeither greeting or introductory remark, said carelessly, "This is alovely night. "

"I am of the same opinion, " replied Wolff curtly. "But I would liketo ask, sir, what induced you to choose the courtyard of this house toenjoy it?"

"Induced?" asked the Swiss in astonishment; then, looking the other inthe face with defiant sharpness, he added scornfully:

"I am warming the chain because it suits me to do so. "

"You are allowed the pleasure, " returned Wolff in an irritated tone;"nay, I can understand that night birds of your sort find no betteramusement. Still, it seems to me that a knight who wishes to keep ironhot might attain his object better in another way. "

"Why, of course, " cried Heinz Schorlin, springing swiftly to his feetwith rare elasticity. "It gives a pleasant warmth when blade strikesblade or the hot blood wets them. I am no friend to darkness, and itseems to me, sir, as if we were standing in each other's light here. "

"There our opinions concur for the second time this lovely night, "quietly replied the patrician's son, conscious of his unusual strengthand skill in fencing, with a slight touch of scorn. "Like you, I amalways ready to cross blades with another; only, the public street ishardly the fitting place for it. "

"May the plague take you!" muttered the Swiss in assent to Wolff'sopinion. "Besides, sir, who ever grasps iron so swiftly is worth aparley. To ask whether you are of knightly lineage would be uselesstrouble, and should it come to a genuine sword-dance. 

"You will find a partner in me at any time, " was the reply, "as I, whowear my ancient escutcheon with good right, would gladly give you acrimson memento of this hour--though you were but the son of a cobbler. But first let us ascertain--for I, too, dislike darkness--whether weare really standing in each other's light. With all due respect foryour fancy for warming chains, it would be wise, ere Sir Red Coat--[Theexecutioner]--puts his round our ankles for disturbing the peace, tohave a sensible talk. "

"Try it, for aught I care, " responded Heinz Schorlin cheerily. "Unluckily for me, I live in a state of perpetual feud with good sense. One thing, however, seems certain without any serious reflection: theattraction which draws me here, as well as you, will not enter thecloister as a monk, but as a little nun, wears no beard, but braids herhair. Briefly, then, if you are here for Countess Cordula von Montfort'ssake, your errand is vain; she will sleep at Kadolzburg to-night. "

"May her slumber be sweet!" replied Wolff calmly. "She is as near to meas yonder moon. "

"That gives the matter a more serious aspect, " cried the knight angrily. "You or I. What is your lady's name?"

"That, to my mind, is asking too much, " replied Wolff firmly. 

"And the law of love gives you the right to withhold an answer. But, sir, we must nevertheless learn for the sake of what fairest fair wehave each foregone sleep. "

"Then tell me, by your favour, your lady's colour, " Wolff asked theSwiss. 

The latter laughed gaily: "I am still putting that question to mysaint. "

Then, noticing Wolff's shake of the head, he went on in a more serioustone: "If you will have a little patience, I hope I may be able to tellyou, ere we part. "

This assurance also seemed to Wolff an enigma. Who in the wide worldwould come from under the respectable Ortlieb roof, at this hour, totell a stranger anything whatsoever concerning one of its daughters?Neither could have given him the right to regard her as his lady, andsteal at night, like a marten, around the house which contained hisdearest treasure. This obscurity was an offence to Wolff Eysvogel, andhe was not the man to submit to it. Yonder insolent fellow should learn, to his hurt, that he had made a blunder. 

But scarcely had he begun to explain to Heinz that he claimed the rightto protect both the daughters of this house, the younger as well as theolder, since they had no brother, when the knight interrupted:

"Oho! There are two of them, and she, too, spoke of a sister. So, if itcomes to sharing, sir, we need not emulate the judgment of Solomon. Letus see! The colour is uncertain, but to every Christian mortal a nameclings as closely as a shadow and, if I mention the initial letter ofthe one which adorns my lady, I believe I shall commit no offence thata court of love could condemn. The initial, which I like because it isdaintily rounded and not too difficult to write-mark it well--is 'E. '"

Wolff Eysvogel started slightly and gripped the dagger in his belt, but instantly withdrew his hand and answered with mingled amusementand indignation: "Thanks for your good will, Sir Knight, but this, too, brings us no nearer our goal; the E is the initial of both the Ortliebsisters. The elder who, as you may know, is my betrothed bride, bearsthe name of Elizabeth, or Els, as we say in Nuremberg. "

"And the younger, " cried Heinz joyously, "honours with her graciousinnocence the name of her through whom sin came into the world. "

"But you, Sir Knight, " exclaimed Wolff fiercely, "would do better not toname sin and Eva Ortlieb in the same breath. If you are of a differentopinion----"

"Then, " interrupted the Swiss, "we come back to warming the iron. "

"As you say, " cried Wolff resolutely. "In spite of the peace of thecountry, I will be at your service at any time. As you see, I went outunarmed, and it would not be well done to cross swords here. "

"Certainly not, " Heinz assented. "But many days and nights will followthis moonlight one, and that you may have little difficulty in findingme whenever you desire, know that my name is Heinrich--or to moreintimate friends, among whom you might easily be numbered if we don'tdeprive each other of the pleasure of meeting again under the sun--HeinzSchorlin. "

"Schorlin?" asked Wolff in surprise. "Then you are the knight who, whena beardless boy, cut down on the Marchfield the Bohemian whose lance hadslain the Emperor's charger, the Swiss who aided him to mount the steedof Ramsweg of Thurgau--your uncle, if I am not mistaken--and then tookthe wild ride to bring up the tall Capeller, with his troops, who sogloriously decided the day. "

"And, " laughed Heinz, "who was finally borne off the field as deadbefore the fulfilment of his darling wish to redden Swiss steel withroyal Bohemian blood. This closed the chronicle, Herr--what shall I callyou?"

"Wolff Eysvogel, of Nuremberg, " replied the other. 

"Aha! A son of the rich merchant where the Duke of Gulich foundquarters?" cried the Swiss, lifting his cap bordered with fine miniver. "May confusion seize me! If I were not my father's son, I wouldn'tmind changing places with you. It must make the neck uncommonly stiff, methinks, to have a knightly escutcheon on door and breast, and yet beable to fling florins and zecchins broadcast without offending the devilby an empty purse. If you don't happen to know how such a thing looks, Ican show you. "

"Yet rumour says, " observed Wolff, "that the Emperor is gracious to you, and knows how to fill it again. "

"If one doesn't go too far, " replied Heinz, "and my royal master, wholacks spending money himself only too often, doesn't keep his wordthat it was done for the last time. I heard that yesterday morning, andthought that the golden blessing which preceded it would last the dearsaints only knew how long. But ere the cock had crowed even once thismorning the last florin had vanished. Dice, Herr Wolff Eysvogel--dice!"

"Then I would keep my hands off them, " said the other meaningly. 

"If the Old Nick or some one else did not always guide them back! Didyou, a rich man's son, never try what the dice would do for you?"

"Yes, Sir Knight. It was at Venice, where I was pursuing my studies, and tried my luck at gambling on many a merry evening with other sons ofmercantile families from Nuremberg, Augsburg, and Cologne. "

"And your feathers were generously plucked?"

"By no means. I usually left a winner. But after they fleeced a dearfriend from Ulm, and he robbed his master, I dropped dice. "

"And you did so as easily as if it were a short fast after an abundantmeal?"

"It was little more difficult, " Wolff asserted. "My father would havegladly seen me outdo my countrymen, and sent me more money than Ineeded. Why should I deprive honest fellows who had less?"

"That's just the difficulty, " cried his companion eagerly. "It was easyfor you to renounce games of chance because your winnings only addedmore to the rest, and you did not wish to pluck poorer partners. But I!A poor devil like me cannot maintain armour-bearer, servants, and steedsout of what the dear little mother at home in her faithful care canspare from crops and interest. How could we succeed in making a fairappearance at court and in the tournament if it were not for the dice?And then, when I lose, I again become but the poor knight the saintsmade me; when I win, on the contrary, I am the great and wealthy lord Iwould have been born had the Lord permitted me to choose my own cradle. Besides, those who lose through me are mainly dukes, counts, andgentlemen with rich fiefs and fat bourgs, whom losing doubtlessbenefits, as bleeding relieves a sick man. What suits the soldier doesnot befit the merchant. We live wholly amid risks and wagers. Everybattle, every skirmish is a game whose stake is life. Whoever reflectslong is sure to lose. If I could only describe, Herr Eysvogel, what itis to dash headlong upon the foe!"

"I could imagine that vividly enough, " Wolff eagerly interposed. "I, too, have broken many a lance in the lists and shed blood enough. "

"What a dunce I am!" cried Heinz in amazement, pressing his hand uponhis brow. "That's why your face was so familiar! By my saint! I am noknight if I did not see you then, before the battle waxed hot. Itwas close beside your Burgrave Frederick, who held aloft the imperialbanner. "

"Probably, " replied Wolff in a tone of assent. "He sometimes entrustedthe standard to me, when it grew too heavy for his powerful arm, because I was the tallest and the strongest of our Nuremberg band. But, unluckily, I could not render this service long. A scimitar gashed myhead. The larger part of the little scar is hidden under my hair. "

"The little scar!" repeated Heinz gaily. "It was wide enough, at anyrate, for the greatest soul to slip through it. A scar on the headfrom a wound received four years ago, and yet distinctly visible in themoonlight!"

"It should serve as a warning, " replied Wolff, glancing anxiously up thestreet. "If the patrol, or any nocturnal reveller should catch sightof us, it would be ill for the fair fame of the Ortlieb sisters, foreverybody knows that only one--Els's betrothed lover--has a right toawait a greeting here at so late an hour. So follow me into the shadowof the linden, I entreat you; for yonder--surely you see it too--afigure is gliding towards us. "

Heinz Schorlin's laugh rang out like a bell as he whispered to theNuremberg patrician: "That figure is familiar to me, and neither we norour ladies need fear any evil from it. Excuse me moment, and I'll wagertwenty gold florins against yonder linden leaf that, ere the moonlighthas left the curbstone, I can tell you my lady's colour. "

As he spoke he hastened towards the figure, now, standing motionlesswithin the shadow of the door post beside the lofty entrance. 

Wolff Eysvogel remained alone, gazing thoughtfully upon the ground. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The silent wanderer above had expected to behold a scene very unlikean interview between two men. The latter required neither her purest, fullest light, nor the shadow of a blossoming linden. 

Now Luna saw the young Nuremberg merchant gaze after the Swiss with anexpression of such deep anxiety and pain upon his manly features thatshe felt the utmost pity for him. He did not look upward as usual tothe window of his beautiful Els, but either fixed his eyes upon the spotwhere his new acquaintance was conversing with another person, or bentthem anxiously upon the ground. 

As Wolff thought of Heinz Schorlin, it seemed as if Fate had thrown himinto the way of the Swiss that he might feel with twofold anguish thethorns besetting his own life path. The young knight was proffered therose without the thorn. What cares had he? The present threw into hislap its fairest blessings, and when he looked into the future he beheldonly the cheering buds of hope. 

Yet this favourite of fortune had expressed a desire to change placeswith him. The thought that many others, too, would be glad to step intohis shoes tortured Wolff's honest heart as though he himself were toblame for the delusion of these short-sighted folk. 

Apart from his strength and health, his well-formed body, his noblebirth, his faith in the love of his betrothed bride--at this hour heforgot how much these things were--he found nothing in his lot whichseemed worth desiring. 

He might not even rejoice in his stainless honesty with the same perfectconfidence as in his betrothal. 

Yes, he had cared for noble old Berthold Vorchtel's daughter as if shewere his sister. He had even found pleasure in the thought that Ursulawas destined to become his wife, yet no word either of love or allusionto future marriage had been exchanged between them. He had felt free, and had a right to consider himself so, when love for Els Ortlieboverwhelmed him so swiftly and powerfully. 

Yet Ursula and her oldest brother treated him as if he had been guiltyof base disloyalty. His pure conscience, however, enabled him to endurethis more easily than the other burden, of which he became aware on thelong-anticipated day when his father made him a partner in the oldfirm and gave him an insight into the condition of the property and thecourse of the business. 

Then he had learned the heavy losses which had been sustained recently, and the sad disparity existing between the great display by which hisfather and mother, as well as his grandmother, the countess, maintainedthe appearance of their former princely wealth, and the balances of thelast few years. 

When he had just boasted to the reckless young knight that he had givenup gaming, he told but half the truth, for though since his period ofstudy in Venice, and later in Milan, he had not touched dice, he hadbeen forced to consent to a series of enterprises undertaken by hisfather, whose stakes were far different from the gambling of the knightsand nobles at the Green Shield or in the camp. 

Yet he intended to bind the fate of the woman he loved to his own, forEls, spite of the opposition of his family, would have been alreadyindissolubly united to him, had not one failure after another destroyedhis courage to take her hand. Finally, he deemed it advisable to awaitthe result of the last great enterprise, now on the eve of decision. Itmight compensate for many of the losses of recent years. Should it befavourable, the heaviest burden would be lifted from his soul; in theopposite case the old house would be shaken to its foundations. Yeteven its fall would have been easier for him to endure than this crueluncertainty, to which was added the torturing anxiety of bearing theresponsibility of things for which he was not to blame, and of which, moreover, he was even denied a clear view. Yet he felt absolutelycertain that his father was concealing many things, perhaps the worst, and often felt as if he were walking in the darkness over a moulderingbridge. Ah, if it could only be propped up, and then rebuilt! But if itmust give way, he hoped the catastrophe would come soon. He knew thathe possessed the strength to build a new home for Els and himself. Evenwere it small and modest, it should be erected on a firm foundation andafford a safe abode for its inmates. 

What did the young, joyous-hearted fellow who was wooing Eva knowof such cares? Fate had placed him on the sunny side of life, whereeverything flourished, and set him, Wolff, in the shade, where grass andflowers died. 

There is a magic in fame which the young soul cannot easily escape, andthe name of Heinz Schorlin was indeed honoured and on every lip. Theimagination associated with it the cheerful nature which, like a loyalcomrade, goes hand in hand with success, deserved and undeserved goodfortune, woman's favour, doughty deeds, the highest and strongest traitsof character. 

An atmosphere like sunshine, which melts all opposition, emanated fromHeinz. Wolff had experienced it himself. He had seriously intended tomake the insolent intruder feel his strong arm, but since he had learnedthe identity of the Swiss his acts and nature appeared in a new light. His insolence had gained the aspect of self-confidence which did notlack justification, and when a valiant knight talked to him so frankly, like a younger brother to an older and wiser one, it seemed to thelonely man who, of late, completely absorbed in the course of business, had held aloof from the sports, banquets, and diversions of thecompanions of his own age, that he had experienced something unusuallypleasant. How tender and affectionate it sounded when Heinz alluded tothe "little mother" at home! He, Wolff, on the contrary, could thinkonly with a shade of bitterness of the weak woman to whom he owed hisexistence, and whom filial duty and earnest resolution alike commandedhim to love, yet who made it so difficult for him to regard her withanything save anxiety or secret disapproval. 

Perhaps the greatest advantage which the Swiss possessed over him washis manner of speaking of his family. How could it ever have enteredWolff Eysvogel's mind to call the tall, stiff woman, who was the feebleecho of her extravagant, arrogant mother, and who rustled towards him, even in the early morning, adorned with feathers and robed in richbrocade, his "dear little mother"?

Whoever spoke in the warm, loving tones that fell from the lips of SirHeinz when he mentioned his relatives at home certainly could have noevil nature. No one need fear, though his usual mode of speech was sowanton, that he would trifle with a pure, innocent creature like Eva. 

How Heinz had succeeded in winning so speedily the devout child, whowas so averse to the idle coquetries of the companions of her own age, seemed incomprehensible, but he had no time to investigate now. 

He must go, for he had long been burning with impatience to depart. Thedeclaration of peace had taken effect only a few hours before, and thelong waggon trains from Italy, of which he had told Els yesterday, werestill delayed. The freight of spices and Levantine goods, Milan velvets, silks, and fine Florentine cloths, which they were bringing from thecity of St. Mark, represented a large fortune. If it arrived in time, the profits would cover a great portion of the losses of the past twoyears, and the house would again be secure. If the worst should befall, how would his family submit to deprivation, perhaps even to penury? Hehad less fear of his grandmother's outbursts of wrath, but what wouldbecome of his feeble mother, who was as dependent as a child on her ownmother? Yet he loved her; he felt deeply troubled by the thought of thesevere humiliation which menaced her. His sister Isabella, too, was dearto him, in spite of her husband, the reckless Sir Seitz Siebenburg, inwhose hands the gold paid from the coffers of the firm melted away, yetwho was burdened with a mountain of debts. 

Wolff had left orders at home to have his horse saddled. He had intendedonly to wave a greeting to his Els and then ride to Neumarkt, or, ifnecessary, as far as Ingolstadt, to meet the wains. 

A word of farewell to the new acquaintance, who was probably destinedto be his brother-in, law, and then--But just at that moment Heinzapproached, and in reply to Wolff's low question "And your lady'scolour?" he answered joyously, pointing to the breast of his doublet: "Iam carrying the messenger which promises to inform me, here on my heart. In the darkness it was silent; but the bright moonlight yonder willloose its tongue, unless the characters here are too unlike those of theprayer-book. "

Drawing out Eva's little roll as he spoke, he approached a brightlylighted spot, pointed to the ribbon which fastened it, and exclaimed:"Doubtless she used her own colour to tie it. Blue, the pure, exquisiteblue of her eyes! I thought so Forget-me-not blue! The most beautiful ofcolours. You must pardon my impatience!"

He was about to begin to read the lines; but Wolff stopped him bypointing to the Ortlieb residence and to two drunken soldiers whocame out of the tavern "For Thirsty Troopers, " and walked, singing andstaggering, up the opposite side of the street. Then, extending hishand to Heinz in farewell, he asked in a low tone, pointing to Biberli'sfigure just emerging from the shade, who was the messenger of love whoserved him so admirably. 

"My shadow, " replied the knight. "I loosed him from my heels and badehim stand there. But no offence, Herr Wolff Eysvogel; you'll make thequeer fellow's acquaintance if, like myself, it would be agreeable toyou to meet often, not only on iron chains, but on friendly terms witheach other. "

"Nothing would please me more, " replied the other. "But how in the worldcould it happen that this well-guarded fortress surrendered to you afterso short a resistance?"

"Heinz Schorlin rides swiftly, " he interrupted; but Wolff exclaimed:

"A swift ride awaits me, too, though of a different kind. When Ireturn, I shall expect you to tell me how you won our 'little saint, ' mysister-in-law Eva. The two beautiful Ortlieb 'Es' are one in the eyesof the townsfolk, so we also will be often named in the same breath, andshall do well to feel brotherly regard for each other. There shall be nofault on my part. Farewell, till we meet again, an' it please God in andnot outside of our ladies' dwelling. "

While speaking he clasped the knight's hand with so firm a grasp thatit seemed as if he wished to force him to feel its pressure a long time, and hastened through the Frauenthor. 

Heinz Schorlin gazed thoughtfully after him a short time, then beckonedto Biberli and, though the interval required for him to reach hismaster's side was very brief, it was sufficient for the bold younglover, tortured by his ardent longing, to form another idea. 

"Look yonder, Biberli!" he exclaimed. "The holy-water basin on thedoor-post, the escutcheon on the lintel above, the helmet, which wouldprobably bear my weight. From there I can reach the window-sill with myhand, and once I have grasped it, I need only make one bold spring and, hurrah! I'm on it. "

"May our patron saint have mercy on us!" cried the servant in horror. "You can get there as easily as you can spring on your two feet overtwo horses; but the coming down would certainly be a long distance lowerthan you would fancy--into the 'Hole, ' as they call the prison here, and, moreover, though probably not until some time later, straight tothe flames of hell; for you would have committed a great sin against anoble maiden rich in every virtue, who deemed you worthy of her love. And, besides, there are two Es. They occupy the same room, and the houseis full of men and maid servants. "

"Pedagogue!" said the knight, peevishly. 

"Ay, that was Biberli's calling once, " replied the servant, "and, forthe sake of your lady mother at home, I wish I were one still, and you, Sir Heinz, would have to obey me like an obedient pupil. You are wellaware that I rarely use her sacred name to influence you, but I do sonow; and if you cherish her in your heart and do not wish to swoop downon the innocent little dove like a destroying hawk, turn your back uponthis place, where we have already lingered too long. "

But this well-meant warning seemed to have had brief influence upon theperson to whom it was addressed. Suddenly, with a joyous: "There sheis!" he snatched his cap from his head and waved a greeting to thewindow. 

But in a few minutes he replaced it with a petulant gesture of the hand, saying sullenly: "Vanished! She dared not grant me a greeting, becauseshe caught sight of you. "

"Let us thank and praise a kind Providence for it, " said his servitorwith a sigh of relief, "since our Lord and Saviour assumed the form of aservant, that of a scarecrow, in which he has done admirable service, isfar too noble and distinguished for Biberli. "

As he spoke he walked on before the knight, and pointing to the tavernbeside the Frauenthurm whose sign bore the words "For Thirsty Troopers, "he added: "A green bush at the door. That means, unless the host is arogue, a cask fresh broached. I wonder whether my tongue is cleaving tomy palate from dread of your over-hasty courage, or whether it is reallyso terribly sultry here!"

"At any rate, " Heinz interrupted, "a cup of wine will harm neither ofus; for I myself feel how oppressive the air is. Besides, it is light inthe tavern, and who knows what the little note will tell me. "

Meanwhile they passed the end of St. Klarengasse and went up to thegreen bush, which projected from the end of a pole far out into thestreet. 

Soldiers in the pay of the city, and men-at-arms in the employ of theEmperor and the princes who had come to attend the Reichstag, weresitting over their wine in the tavern. From the ceiling hung two crossediron triangles, forming a six-pointed star. The tallow candles burninglow in their sockets, which it contained, and some pitch-pans in thecorners, diffused but a dim light through the long apartment. 

Master and man found an empty table apart from the other guests, in aniche midway down the rear wall. 

Without heeding the brawling and swearing, the rude songs and disorderlyshouts, the drumming of clenched fists upon the oak tables, the wildlaughter of drunken soldiers, the giggling and screeching of bar-maids, and the scolding and imperious commands of the host, they proved thatthe green bush had not lied, for the wine really did come from a freshlyopened cask just brought up from the cellar. But as the niche wasillumined only by the tiny oil lamp burning beneath the image of theVirgin, bedizened with flowers and gold and silver tinsel, fastenedagainst the wall, Biberli asked the weary bar-maid for a brighter light. 

When the girl withdrew he sighed heavily, saying: "O my lord, if youonly knew! Even now, when we are again among men and the wine hasrefreshed me, I feel as if rats were gnawing at my soul. Conscience, mylord-conscience!"

"You, too, are usually quite ready to play the elf in the rose-gardenof love, " replied Heinz gaily. "Moreover, I shall soon need a T and anS embroidered on my own doublet, for----Why don't they bring the light?Another cup of wine, the note, and then with renewed vigour we'll goback again. "

"For God's sake, " interrupted Biberli, "do not speak, do not even think, of the bold deed you suggested! Doesn't it seem like a miracle that notone of the many Ortlieb and Montfort servants crossed your path? Evensuch a child of good luck as yourself can scarcely expect a second onethe same evening. And if there is not, and you go back under the window, you will be recognised, perhaps even seized, and then--O my lord, consider this!--then you will bear throughout your life the reproach ofhaving brought shame and bitter sorrow upon a maiden whom you yourselfknow is lovely, devout, and pure. And I, too, who serve you loyally inyour lady mother's behalf, as well as the poor maid who, to pleasure me, interceded for you with her mistress, will run the risk of our livesif you are caught climbing into the window or committing any similaroffence; for in this city they are prompt with the stocks, the stonecollar, the rack, and the tearing of the tongue from the mouth wheneverany one is detected playing the part of go-between in affairs of love. "

"Usually, old fellow, " replied Heinz in a tone of faint reproach, "weconsidered it a matter of course that, though we took the most daringrisks in such things, we were certain not to be caught. Yet, to befrank, some incomprehensible burden weighs upon my soul. My feelingsare confused and strange. I would rather tear the crown from the headof yonder image of the Virgin than do aught to this sweet innocence forwhich she could not thank me. "

Here he paused, for the bar-maid brought a two-branched candelabrum, inwhich burned two tallow candles. 

Heinz instantly opened the little roll. 

How delicate were the characters it contained! His heart's beloved hadcommitted them to the paper with her own hand, and the knight's bloodsurged hotly through his veins as he gazed at them. It seemed as thoughhe held in his hand a portion of herself and, obeying a hasty impulse, he kissed the letter. 

Then he eagerly began to study the writing; he had never seen anythingso delicate and peculiar in form. 

The deciphering of the first lines in which, it is true, she called hima godly knight, but also informed him that his boldness had angered her, caused him much difficulty, and Biberli was often obliged to help. 

Would she have rebuffed him so ungraciously with her lips as with thepen? Was it possible that, on account of a request which every loverventured to address to his lady, she would withdraw the favour whichrendered him so happy? Oh, yes, for innocence is delicate and sensitive. She ought to have repelled him thus. He was secretly rejoiced to see thesweet modesty which had so charmed him again proved. He must know whatthe rest of the letter contained, and the ex-schoolmaster was at hand togive the information at once. 

True, the hastily written sentences presented some difficulties even forBiberli, but after glancing through the whole letter, he exclaimed witha satisfied smile: "Just as I expected! At the first look one mightthink that the devout little lady was wholly unlike the rest of hersex, but on examining more closely she proves as much like any otherbeautiful girl as two peas. With good reason and prudent caution sheforbids the languishing knight to remain beneath her window, yet shewill risk a pleasant little interview in some safe nook. That is wisefor so young a girl, and at the same time natural and womanly. I don'tknow why you knit your brows. Since the first Eve came from a crookedrib, all her daughters prefer devious ways. But first hear what shewrites. " Then, without heeding his master's gloomy face, he began toread the note aloud. 

Heinz listened intently, and after he had heard that the lady of hislove did not desire to meet him alone, but only under the protection ofa friend and her saint, when he heard her name her colour, it is true, but also express the expectation that, as a godly knight, he would fightfor her sake in honour of the gracious Virgin, his face brightened. 

During Biberli's scoffing comments he had felt as if a tempest hadhurled her pure image in the dust. But now that he knew what she askedof him, it returned as a matter of course to its old place and, witha sigh of relief, he felt that he need not be ashamed of the emotionswhich this wonderful young creature had awakened in his soul. She hadopened her pious heart like a trusting sister to an older brother, andwhat he had seen there was something unusual--things which had appearedsacred to him even when a child. Since he took leave of her in theball-room he had felt as though Heaven had loaned this, its darling, to earth for but a brief space, and her brocade robe must conceal angelwings. Should it surprise him that the pure innocence which filled herwhole being was expressed also in her letter, if she summoned him, notto idle love-dalliance but to a covenant of souls, a mutual conflict forwhat was highest and most sacred? Such a thing was incomprehensible toBiberli; but notwithstanding her letter--nay, even on its account--helonged still more ardently to lead her home to his mother and see herreceive the blessing of the woman whom he so deeply honoured. 

He had Eva's letter read for the second and the third time. But whenBiberli paused, and in a few brief sentences cast fresh doubts upon thewriter, Heinz angrily stopped him. "The longing of the godly heart of apure maiden--mark this well--has naught in common with that diabolicaldelight in secret love--dalliance for which others yearn. My wish toforce my way to her was sinful, and it was punished severely enough, forduring your rude scoffs I felt as though you had set fire to the houseover my head. But from this I perceive in what a sacred, inviolable spother image had found a place. True, it is denied you to follow the lofty, heavenward aspiration of a pure soul--"

"O my lord, " interrupted the servitor with hands uplifted in defence, "who besought you not to measure this innocent daughter of a decoroushousehold, who was scarcely beyond childhood, by the standard youapplied to others? Who entreated you to spare her fair fame? And if youdeem the stuff of which the servant is made too coarse to understandwhat moves so pure a soul, you do Biberli injustice, for, by my patronsaint, though duty commanded me to interpose doubts and scruples betweenyou and a passion from which could scarcely spring aught that wouldbring joy to your mother's heart I, too, asked myself the questionwhy, in these days, a devout maiden should not long to try her skill inconversion upon a valiant knight who served her. Ever since St. Francisof Assisi appeared in Italy, barefooted monks and grey-robed nuns, whofollow him, Franciscans and Sisters of St. Clare stream hither as waterflows into a mill-race when the sluice-gates are opened. With whatedification we, too, listened to the old Minorite whom we picked up bythe wayside, at the tavern where we usually found pleasure in nothingbut drinking, gambling, shouting, and singing! Besides, I know frommy sweetheart with what exemplary devotion the lovely Eva follows St. Clare. "

"Who is now and will remain my patron saint also, old Biber, "interrupted Heinz with joyful emotion, as he laid his hand gratefullyon his follower's shoulder; then rising and beckoning to the bar-maid, added: "The stuff of which you are made, old comrade, is inferior tono man's. Only now and then the pedagogue plays you a trick. Had youuttered your real opinion in the first place, the wine would have tastedbetter to us both. Let Eva try the work of conversion on me! What, savemy lady's love, is more to me than our holy faith? It must indeed be adelight to take the field for the Church and against her foes!" Whilespeaking, he paid the reckoning and went out with Biberli. 

The moon was now pouring her silver beams, with full radiance, over thequiet street, the linden in front of the Ortlieb house, and its loftygable roof. Only a single room in the spacious mansion was stilllighted, the bow-windowed one occupied by the two sisters. 

Heinz, without heeding Biberli's renewed protest, looked upward, silently imploring Eva's pardon for having misjudged her even a moment. His gaze rested devoutly on the open window, behind which a curtain wasstirring. Was it the night breeze that almost imperceptibly raised andlowered it, or was her own dear self concealed behind it?

Just at that moment he suddenly felt his servant's hand on his arm, andas he followed his horror-stricken gaze, a chill ran through his ownveins. From the heavy door of the house, which stood half open, awhite-robed figure emerged with the solemn, noiseless footfall of aghost, and advanced across the courtyard towards him. 

Was it a restless spirit risen from its grave at the midnight hour, which must be close at hand? Through his brain, like a flash oflightning, darted the thought that Eva had spoken to him of her invalidmother. Had she died? Was her wandering soul approaching him to drivehim from the threshold of the house which hid her endangered child?

But no!

The figure had stopped before the door and now, raising its head, gazedwith wide eyes upward at the moon, and--he was not mistaken--it wasno spectre of darkness; it was she for whom every pulse of his heartthrobbed--Eva!

No human creature had ever seemed to him so divinely fair as she inher long white night-robe, over which fell the thick waves of herlight hair. The horror which had seized him yielded to the most ardentyearning. Pressing his hand upon his throbbing heart, he watched herevery movement. He longed to go forward to meet her, yet a supernaturalspell seemed to paralyse his energy. He would sooner have dared clasp inhis arms the image of a beautiful Madonna than this embodiment of pure, helpless, gracious innocence. 

Now she herself drew nearer, but he felt as if his will was broken, andwith timid awe he drew back one step, and then another, till the chainstopped him. 

Just at that moment she paused, stretched out her white arm with abeckoning gesture, and again turned towards the house, Heinz followingbecause he could not help it, her sign drew him after her with magneticpower. 

Now Eva entered the dimly lighted corridor, and again her uplifted handseemed to invite him to follow. Then--the impetuous throbbing of hisheart almost stifled him--she set her little white foot on the firststep of the stairs and led the way up to the first landing, where shepaused, lifting her face to the open window, through which the moonbeamsstreamed into the hall, flooding her head, her figure, and everysurrounding object with their soft light. 

Heinz followed step by step. It seemed as if the wild surges of a seawere roaring in his ears, and glittering sparks were dancing before hisyearning, watchful eyes. 

How he loved her! How intense was the longing which drew him afterher! And yet another emotion stirred in his heart with still greaterpower-grief, sincere grief, which pierced his in, most soul, that shecould have beckoned to him, permitted him to follow her, granted himwhat he would never have ventured to ask. Nay, when he set his foot onthe first step, it seemed as if the temple which contained his holiesttreasure fell crashing around him, and an inner voice cried loudly:"Away, away from here! Would you exchange the purest and loftiest thingsfor what tomorrow will fill you with grief and loathing?" it continuedto admonish. "You will relinquish what is dearest and most sacred tosecure what is ready to rush into your arms on all the high-roads. 

"Hence, hence, you poor, deluded mortal, ere it is too late!"

But even had he known it was the fair fiend Venus herself moving beforehim under the guise of Eva, the spell of her unutterable beauty wouldhave constrained him to follow her, though the goal were the Horselberg, death, and hell. 

On the second landing she again stood still and, leaning against apillar, raised her arms and extended them towards the moon, in whosesilvery light they gleamed like marble. Heinz saw her lips move, heardhis own name fall from them, and all self-control vanished. 

"Eva!" he cried with passionate fervor, holding out his arms to claspher; but, ere he even touched her, a shriek of despairing anguish echoedloudly back from the walls. 

The sound of her own name had broken the threads with which themysterious power of the moonlight had drawn her from her couch, downthrough the house, out of doors, and again back to the stairs. 

Sleep vanished with the dream which she had shared with him and, shuddering, she perceived where she was, saw the knight before her, became conscious that she had left her chamber in her night-robe, withdisordered hair and bare feet; and, frantic with horror at the thoughtof the resistless might with which a mysterious force constrained her toobey it against her own will, deeply wounded by the painful feeling thatshe had been led so far across the bounds of maidenly modesty, hurt andangered by the boldness of the man before her, who had dared to followher into her parents' house, she again raised her voice, this time tocall her from whom she was accustomed to seek and find help in everysituation in life. 

"Els! Els!" rang up the stairs; and the next moment Els, who had alreadyheard Eva's first scream, sprang down the few steps to her sister'sside. 

One glance at the trembling girl in her nightrobe, and at the moonlightwhich still bathed her in its rays, told Els what had drawn Eva to thestairs. 

The knight must have slipped into the house and found her there. Sheknew him and, before Heinz had time to collect his thoughts, she saidsoothingly to her sister, who threw her arms around her as thoughseeking protection, "Go up to your room, child!--Help her, Katterle. I'll come directly. "

While Eva, leaning on the maid's arm, mounted the stairs with tremblingknees, Els turned to the Swiss and said in a grave, resolute tone: "Ifyou are worthy of your escutcheon, Sir Knight, you will not now fly likea coward from this house across whose threshold you stole with shamefulinsolence, but await me here until I return. You shall not be detainedlong. But, to guard yourself and another from misinterpretation, youmust hear me. "

Heinz nodded assent in silence, as if still under the spell of what hehad recently experienced. But, ere he reached the entry below, Martsche, the old housekeeper, and Endres, the aged head packer, came towardshim, just as they had risen from their beds, the former with a petticoatflung round her shoulders, the latter wrapped in a horse-blanket. 

Eva's shriek had waked both, but Els enjoined silence on everyone and, after telling them to go back to bed, said briefly that Eva in hersomnambulism had this time gone out into the street and been broughtback by the knight. Finally, she again said to Heinz, "Presently!" andthen went to her sister. 

CHAPTER IX. 

When Biberli bade farewell to his sweetheart, who gave him Eva's littlenote, he had arranged to meet her again in an hour or, if his dutiesdetained him longer, in two; but after the "true and steadfast" fellowleft her, her heart throbbed more and more anxiously, for the wrongshe had done in acting as messenger between the young daughter of heremployers and a stranger knight was indeed hard to forgive. 

Instead of waiting in the kitchen or entry for her lover's return, asshe had intended, she had gone to the image of the Virgin at the gate ofthe Convent of St. Clare, before which she had often found consolation, especially when homesick yearning for the mountains of her nativeSwitzerland pressed upon her too sorely. This time also it had beengracious to her, for after she had prayed very devoutly and vowed togive a candle to the Mother of God, as well as to St. Clare, shefancied that the image smiled upon her and promised that she should gounpunished. 

On her return the knight had just followed Eva into the house, andBiberli pursued his master as far as the stairs. Here Katterle met herlover, but, when she learned what was occurring, she became greatlyenraged and incensed by the base interpretation which the servant placedupon Eva's going out into the street and, terrified by the danger intowhich the knight threatened to plunge them all, she forgot the patienceand submission she was accustomed to show the true and steadfastBiberli. But--resolved to protect her young mistress from thepresumptuous knight-scarcely had she angrily cried shame upon her loverfor this base suspicion, protesting that Eva had never gone to seek aknight but, as she had often done on bright moonlight nights, walked inher sleep down the stairs and out of doors, when the young girl's shriekof terror summoned her to her aid. 

Biberli looked after her sullenly, meanwhile execrating bitterly enoughthe wild love which had robbed his master of reason and threatened tohurl him, Biberli, and even the innocent Katterle, whose brave defenceof her mistress had especially pleased him, into serious misfortune. 

When old Endres appeared he had slipped behind a wall formed of balesheaped one above another, and did not stir until the entry was quietagain. 

To his amazement he had then found his master standing beside the doorof the house, but his question--which, it is true, was not wholly devoidof a shade of sarcasm--whether the knight was waiting for the return ofhis sleep-walking sweetheart, was so harshly rebuffed that he deemed itadvisable to keep silence for a time. 

Though Heinz Schorlin had perceived that he had followed an unconscioussomnambulist, he was not yet capable of calmly reflecting upon what hadoccurred or of regarding the future with prudence. He knew one thingonly: the fear was idle that the lovely creature whose image, surroundedby a halo of light, still hovered before him like a vision from ahigher, more beautiful world, was an unworthy person who, with a faceof angelic innocence, transgressed the laws of custom and modesty. Hershriek of terror, her horror at seeing him, and the cry for help whichhad brought her sister to her aid and roused the servants from theirsleep, gave him the right to esteem her as highly as ever; and thisconviction fanned into such a blaze the feeling of happiness which lovehad awakened and his foolish distrust had already begun to stifle, thathe was firmly resolved, cost what it might, to make Eva his own. 

After he had reached this determination he began to reflect morequietly. What cared he for liberty and a rapid advance in the careerupon which he had entered, if only his future life was beautified by herlove!

If he were required to woo her in the usual form, he would do so. Andwhat a charming yet resolute creature was the other E, who, in heranxiety about her sister, had crossed his path with such grave, firmdignity! She was Wolff Eysvogel's betrothed bride, and it seemed tohim a very pleasant thing to call the young man, whom he had so quicklylearned to esteem, his brother-in-law. 

If the father refused his daughter to him, he would leave Nuremberg andride to the Rhine, where Hartmann, the Emperor Rudolph's son, whom heloved like a younger brother, was now living. Heinz had instructed thelad of eighteen in the use of the lance and the sword, and Hartmann hadsent him word the day before that the Rhine was beautiful, but withouthim he but half enjoyed even the pleasantest things. He needed him. Hundreds of other knights and squires could break in the new horses forthe Emperor and the young Bohemian princess, though perhaps not quiteso skilfully. Hartmann would understand him and persuade his imperialfather to aid him in his suit. The warmhearted youth could not bear tosee him sorrowful, and without Eva there was no longer joy or happiness. 

He was roused from these thoughts and dreams by his own name called in alow tone. 

Katterle had gone with Eva to the chamber, whither the older sisterfollowed them. Tenderly embracing the weeping girl, she had kissedher wet eyes and whispered in an agitated voice, with which, however, blended a great deal of affectionate mischief: "The wolf who forced hisway into the house does not seem quite so harmless as mine, whom I havesucceeded in taming very tolerably. Go to mother now, darling. I'll beback directly. "

"What do you intend to do?" asked Eva timidly, still unable, under theinfluence of her strange experiences, to regain her self-control. 

"To look around the house, " replied her sister, beckoning to Katterle toaccompany her. 

In the entry she questioned the maid with stern decision, and thetrembling girl owned, amid her tears, that Eva had sent a little note tothe knight in reply to his request that she would name her colour, andwhatever else her anxious mistress desired hastily to learn. 

After a threatening "We will discuss your outrageous conduct later, " Elshurried down-stairs, and found in the entry the man whose pleasure inthe pursuit of the innocent child whom she protected she meant to spoil. But though she expressed her indignation to the knight with the utmostharshness, he besought a hearing with so much respect and in such seemlywords, that she requested him, in a gentler tone, to speak freely. Butscarcely had he begun to relate how Eva, at the ball, had filled hisheart with the purest love, when the trampling of horses' hoofs, whichhad come nearer and nearer to the house, suddenly ceased, and Biberli, who had gone into the court-yard, came hurrying back, exclaiming in atone of warning, "The von Montforts!"

At the same moment two men-servants threw back both leaves of the door, torchlight mingled with the moonbeams in the courtyard, and the nextinstant a goodly number of knights and gentlemen entered the hall. 

Biberli was not mistaken. The von Montforts had returned home, insteadof spending the night at Kadolzburg, and neither Els nor the Swiss hadthe time or disposition to seek concealment. 

The intruders were preceded by men-servants, whose torches lighted thelong, lofty storehouse brilliantly. It seemed to Els as if her heartstopped beating and she felt her cheeks blanch. 

Here she beheld Count von Montfort's bronzed face, the countenance of asportsman and reveller; yonder the frank, handsome features of the youngBurgrave, Eitelfritz von Zollern, framed by the hood of the Knights ofSt. John, drawn up during the night-ride; there the pale, noble visageof the quiet knight Boemund Altrosen, far famed for his prowess withlance and sword; beyond, the scarred, martial countenance of CountCasper Schlick, set in a mass of tangled brown locks; and then thewatery, blue eyes of Sir Seitz Siebenburg, the husband of her futuresister-in-law Isabella. 

They had pressed in, talking eagerly, laughing, and rejoicing that thewild night ride proposed by Cordula von Montfort, which had led overdark forest paths, lighted only by a stray moonbeam, and often acrossfields and ditches and through streams, had ended without mischance toman or beast. 

Now they all crowded around the countess, Seitz Siebenburg bendingtowards her with such zeal that the ends of his huge mustache brushedthe plumes in her cap, and Boemund Altrosen, who had just been gazinginto the flushed face of the daring girl with the warm joy of true love, cast a look of menace at him. 

Els, too, greatly disliked "the Mustache, " as her future brother-in-lawwas called because the huge ornament on his upper lip made himconspicuous among the beardless knights. She was aware that he returnedthe feeling, and had left no means untried to incite Wolff Eysvogel'sparents to oppose his betrothal. Now he was one of the first to noticeher and, after whispering with a malicious smile to the countess andthose nearest to him, he looked at her so malevolently that she couldeasily guess what interpretation he was trying to put upon her nocturnalmeeting with the Swiss in the eyes of his companions. 

Her cheeks flamed with wrath, and like a flash of lightning came thethought of the pleasure it would afford this wanton company, whosegreatest delight was to gloat over the errors of their neighbours, ifthe knight who had brought her into this suspicious situation, or sheherself, should confess that not she, but the devout Eva, had attractedHeinz hither. What a satisfaction it would be to this reckless throng totell such a tale of a young girl of whom the Burgravine von Zollern hadsaid the evening before to their Uncle Pfinzing, that purity and pietyhad chosen Eva's lovely face for a mirror!

What if Heinz Schorlin, to save her, Els, from evil report, shouldconfess that she was here only to rebuke his insolent intrusion into adecorous household?

This must be prevented, and Heinz seemed to understand her; for aftertheir eyes had met, his glance of helpless enquiry told her that hewould leave her to find an escape from this labyrinth. 

The merry party, who now perceived that they had interrupted thenocturnal tryst of lovers, did not instantly know what to do and, asone looked enquiringly at another, an embarrassed silence followed theirnoisy jollity. 

But the hush did not last long, and its interruption at first seemed toEls to bode the worst result; it was a peal of gay, reckless laughter, ringing from the lips of the very Cordula von Montfort, into whose eyes, as the only one of her own sex who was present, Els had just gazed witha look imploring aid. 

Had Eva's aversion to the countess been justified, and was she about totake advantage of her unpleasant position to jeer at her?

Had the two quarreled at the ball the night before, and did Cordula nowperceive an opportunity to punish the younger sister by the humiliationof the older one?

Yet her laugh sounded by no means spiteful--rather, very gay andnatural. The pleasant grey eyes sparkled with the most genuine mirth, and she clapped her little hands so joyously that the falcon's chain onthe gauntlet of her riding glove rattled. 

And what was this?

No one looks at a person whom one desires to wound with an expression ofsuch cheerful encouragement as the look with which Cordula now gazed atEls and Heinz Schorlin, who stood by her side. True, they were at firstextremely perplexed by the words she now shouted to those around her ina tone of loud exultation, as though announcing a victory; but from thebeginning they felt that there was no evil purpose in them. Soon theyeven caught the real meaning of the countess's statement, and Els wasashamed of having feared any injury from the girl whose defender she hadalways been. 

"Won, Sir Knight--cleverly won!" was her first sentence to Heinz. 

Then, turning to Els, she asked with no less animation: "And you, myfair maid and very strict housemate, who has won the wager now? Do youstill believe it is an inconceivable thought that the modest daughterof a decorous Nuremberg race, entitled to enter the lists of a tourney, would grant a young knight a midnight meeting?" And addressing hercompanions, she continued, in an explanatory yet still playful tone:"She was ready to wager the beautiful brown locks which she now hidesmodestly under a kerchief, and even her betrothed lover's ring. It should be mine if I succeeded in leading her to commit such anabominable deed. But I was content, if I won the wager, with a smallerforfeit; yet now that I have gained it, Jungfrau Ortlieb, you must pay!"

The whole company listened in astonishment to this speech, which noone understood, but the countess, nodding mischievously to her nearestneighbours, went on:

"How bewildered you all look! It might tempt me to satisfy yourcuriosity less speedily, but, after the delightful entertainment yougave us, my Lord Burgrave, one becomes merciful. So you shall hear howI, as wise as the serpent, craftily forced this haughty knight"--shetapped Heinz Schorlin's arm with her riding whip--"and you, too, Jungfrau Ortlieb, whose pardon I now entreat, to help me win the bet. Nooffence, noble sirs! But this bet was what compelled me to drag you allfrom Kadolzburg and its charms so early, and induce you to attend me onthe reckless ride through the moonlit night. Now accept the thanks ofa lady whose heart is grateful; for your obedience helped me winthe wager. Look yonder at my handsome, submissive knight, Sir HeinzSchorlin, so rich in every virtue. I commanded, him, on pain of myanger, to meet me at midnight at the entrance of our quarters--that is, the entry of the Ortlieb mansion; and to this modest and happy betrothedbride (may she pardon the madcap!) I represented how it troubled me andwounded my timid delicacy to enter so late at night, accompanied onlyby gentlemen, the house which so hospitably sheltered us, and go to mysleeping room, though I should not fear the Sultan and his mamelukes, if with this in my hand"--she motioned to her riding whip--"and my dearfather at my side, I stood on my own feet which, though by no meanssmall, are well-shod and resolute. Yet, as we are apt to measure othersby our own standard, the timid, decorous girl believed me, and poorCordula, who indeed brought only her maids and no female guardian, andtherefore must dispense with being received on her return by a ladycapable of commanding respect, did not appeal in vain to the charitablefeelings of her beautiful housemate. She promised faithfully to comedown into the entry, when the horses approached, to receive the poorlamb, surrounded by lynxes, wild-cats, foxes, and wolves, and lead itinto the safe fold--if one can call this stately house by such a name. Both Sir Heinz Schorlin and Jungfrau Elizabeth Ortlieb kept theirword and joined each other here--to their extreme amazement, I shouldsuppose, as to my knowledge they never met before--to receive me, andthus had an interview which, however loudly they may contradict it, Icall a nocturnal meeting. But my wager, fair child, is won, and tomorrowyou will deliver to me the exquisite carved ivory casket, while I shallkeep my bracelet. "

Here she paused, paying no heed to the merry threats, exclamations ofamazement, and laughter of her companions. 

But while her father, striking his broad chest, cried again and again, with rapturous delight, "A paragon of a woman!" and Seitz Siebenburg, inbitter disappointment, whispered, "The fourteen saintly helpers in timeof need might learn from you how to draw from the clamps what is notworth rescue and probably despaired of escape, " she was trying togive time to recover more composure her young hostess, to whom shewas sincerely attached, and who, she felt sure, could have met HeinzSchorlin, who perhaps had come hither on her own account, only bysome cruel chance. So she added in a quieter tone: "And now, JungfrauOrtlieb, in sober earnest I will ask your protection and guidancethrough the dark house, and meanwhile you shall tell me how Sir Heinzgreeted you and what passed between you, either good or bad, during thetime of waiting. "

Els summoned up her courage and answered loud enough to be heard byall present: "We were speaking of you, Countess Cordula, and the knightsaid:

"I ventured to remark, Countess, " said Heinz, interrupting the new ally, "that though you might understand how to show a poor knight his folly, no kinder heart than yours throbbed under any bodice in Switzerland, Swabia, or France. " Cordula struck him lightly on the shoulder with herriding whip, saying with a laugh: "Who permits you to peep under women'sbodices through so wide a tract of country, you scamp? Had I beenin Jungfrau Ortlieb's place I should have punished your entry into arespectable house:

"Oh, my dear Countess, " Heinz interrupted, and his words bore sodistinctly the stamp of truth and actual experience that even Sir SeitzSiebenburg was puzzled, "though I am always disposed to be grateful toyou, I cannot feel a sense of obligation for this lady's reception ofme, even to the most gracious benefactress. For, by my patron saint, sheforbade me the house as if I were a thief and a burglar. "

"And she was right!" exclaimed the countess. "I would have treated youstill more harshly. Only you would have spared yourself many a sharpword had you confessed at once that it was I who summoned you here. I'lltalk with you tomorrow, and am I not right, Jungfrau Elsyou won't makehim suffer for losing the wager, but exercise your domestic authorityafter a more gentle fashion?"

While speaking, she looked at Els with a glance so full of meaning thatthe young girl's cheeks crimsoned, and the longing to put an end to thisdeceitful game became almost uncontrollable. The thought of Eva alonesealed her lips. 

CHAPTER X. 

One person only besides Sir Seitz Siebenburg had not been deceived--theyoung knight Boemund Altrosen, whose love for Cordula was genuine, andwho, by its unerring instinct, felt that she had invented her tale andfor a purpose which did honour to her kindness of heart. So his calmblack eyes rested upon the woman he loved with proud delight, whileSeitz Siebenburg twisted his mustache fiercely. Not a look or movementof either of the two girls had escaped his notice, and Cordula's boldinterference in behalf of the reckless Swiss knight, who now seemedto have ensnared his future sister-in-law also, increased the envy andjealousy which tortured him until he was forced to exert the utmostself-restraint in order not to tell the countess to her face that he, atleast, was far from being deceived by such a fable. Yet he succeeded incontrolling himself. But as he forced his lips to silence he gazed withthe most open scorn at the bales of merchandise heaped around him. Hewould show the others that, though the husband of a merchant's daughter, he retained the prejudices of his knightly rank. 

But no one heeded the disagreeable fellow, who had no intimate friendsin the group. Most of the company were pressing round Heinz Schorlinwith jests and questions, but bluff Count von Montfort warmly claspedEls's hand, while he apologised for the bold jest of his young daughterwho, in spite of her recklessness, meant kindly. 

Nothing could have been more unwelcome to a girl in so unpleasant asituation than this delay. She longed most ardently to get away but, ere she succeeded in escaping from the friendly old noble, two gentlemenhastily entered the brightly lighted entry, at sight of whom her heartseemed to stop beating. 

The old count, who noticed her blanched face, released her, askingsympathisingly what troubled her, but Els did not hear him. 

When she felt him loose her hand she would fain have fled up the stairsto her mother and sister, to avoid the discussions which must nowfollow. But she knew into what violent outbursts of sudden anger herusually prudent father could be hurried if there was no one at hand towarn him. 

There he stood in the doorway, his stern, gloomy expression forming astrange contrast to the merry party who had entered in such a jovialmood. 

His companion, Herr Casper Eysvogel, had already noticed his futuredaughter-in-law, recognised her by an amazed shrug of the shoulderswhich was anything but a friendly greeting, and now eyed the excitedrevellers with a look as grave and repellent as that of the owner of thehouse. Herr Casper's unusual height permitted him to gaze over the headsof the party though, with the exception of Count von Montfort, they wereall tall, nay, remarkably tall men, and the delicacy of his clear-cut, pallid, beardless face had never seemed to Els handsomer or moresinister. True, he was the father of her Wolff, but the son resembledthis cold-hearted man only in his unusual stature, and a chill ranthrough her veins as she felt the stately old merchant's blue eyes, still keen and glittering, rest upon her. 

On the day of her betrothal she had rushed into his arms with a warm andgrateful heart, and he had kissed her, as custom dictated; but it wasdone in a strange way--his thin, well-cut lips had barely brushed herbrow. Then he stepped back and turned to his wife with the low command, "It is your turn now, Rosalinde. " Her future mother-in-law rose quickly, and doubtless intended to embrace her affectionately, but a loud coughfrom her own mother seemed to check her, for ere she opened her arms toEls she turned to her and excused her act by the words, "He wishes it. "Yet Els was finally clasped in Frau Rosalinde's arms and kissed morewarmly than--from what had previously occurred--she had expected. 

Wolff's grandmother, old Countess Rotterbach, who rarely left the hugegilt armchair in her daughter's sitting-room, had watched the wholescene with a scornful smile; then, thrusting her prominent chin stillfarther forward, she said to her daughter, loud enough for Els to hear, "This into the bargain?"

All these things returned to the young girl's memory as she gazed at thecold, statuesque face of her lover's father. It seemed as if he held histall, noble figure more haughtily erect than usual, and that his plaindark garments were of richer material and more faultless cut than ever;nay, she even fancied that, like the lion, which crouches and strainsevery muscle ere it springs upon its victim, he was summoning all hispride and sternness to crush her. 

Els was innocent; nay, the motive which had brought her here to defendher sister could not fail to be approved by every well-disposed person, and certainly not last by her father, and it would have suited hertruthful nature to contradict openly Countess Cordula's friendlyfalsehood had not her dread of fatally exposing Eva imposed silence. 

How her father's cheeks glowed already! With increasing anxiety, sheattributed it to the indignation which overpowered him, yet he was onlyheated by the haste with which, accompanied by his future son-in-law'sfather, he had rushed here from the Frauenthor as fast as his feet wouldcarry him. Casper Eysvogel had also attended the Vorchtel entertainmentand accompanied Ernst Ortlieb into the street to discuss some businessmatters. 

He intended to persuade him to advance the capital for which he had justvainly asked Herr Vorchtel. He stood in most urgent need for the nextfew days of this great sum, of which his son and business partner musthave no knowledge, and at first Wolff Eysvogel's future father-in-lawsaw no reason to refuse. But Herr Ernst was a cautious man, and when hiscompanion imposed the condition that his son should be kept in ignoranceof the loan, he was puzzled. He wished to learn why the business partnershould not know what must be recorded in the books of the house; butCasper Eysvogel needed this capital to silence the Jew Pfefferkorn, fromwhom he had secretly borrowed large sums to conceal the heavy lossessustained in Venice the year before at the gaming table. 

At first courteously, then with rising anger, he evaded the questionsof the business man, and his manner of doing so, with the littlecontradictions in which the arrogant man, unaccustomed to falsehood, involved himself, showed Herr Ernst that all was not as it should be. 

By the time they reached the Frauenthor, he had told Casper Eysvogelpositively that he would not fulfil the request until Wolff was informedof the matter. 

Then the sorely pressed man perceived that nothing but a frankconfession could lead him to his goal. But what an advantage it wouldgive his companion, what a humiliation it would impose upon himself!He could not force his lips to utter it, but resolved to venture a lastessay by appealing to the father, instead of to the business man; andtherefore, with the haughty, condescending manner natural to him, he asked Herr Ernst, as if it were his final word, whether he hadconsidered that his refusal of a request, which twenty other men woulddeem it an honour to fulfil, might give their relations a form veryundesirable both to his daughter and himself?

"No, I did not suppose that a necessity, " replied his companion firmly, and then added in an irritated tone: "But if you need the loan so muchthat you require for your son a father-in-law who will advance it to youmore readily, why, then, Herr Casper--"

Here he paused abruptly. A flood of light streamed into the streetfrom the doorway of the Ortlieb house. It must be a fire, and withthe startled cry, "St. Florian aid us! my entry is burning!" he rushedforward with his companion to the endangered house so quickly that thetorchbearers, who even in this bright night did good service in thenarrow streets, whose lofty houses barred out the moonlight, couldscarcely follow. 

Thus Herr Ernst, far more anxious about his invalid, helpless wife thanhis imperilled wares, soon reached his own door. His companion crossedthe threshold close behind him, sullen, deeply incensed, and determinedto order his son to choose between his love and favour and the daughterof this unfriendly man, whom only a sudden accident had prevented frombreaking the betrothal. 

The sight of so many torches blazing here was an exasperating spectacleto Ernst Ortlieb, who with wise caution and love of order insisted thatnothing but lanterns should be used to light his house, which containedinflammable wares of great value; but other things disturbed hiscomposure, already wavering, to an even greater degree. 

What was his Els doing at this hour among these gentlemen, all of whomwere strangers?

Without heeding them or the countess, he was hastening towards her toobtain a solution of this enigma, but the young Burgrave Eitelfritz vonZollern, the Knight of Altrosen, Cordula von Montfort, and others barredhis way by greeting him and eagerly entreating him to pardon theirintrusion at so late an hour. 

Having no alternative, he curtly assented, and was somewhat soothedas he saw old Count von Montfort, who was still standing beside Els, engaged in an animated conversation with her. His daughter's presencewas probably due to that of the guests quartered in his home, especiallyCordula, whom, since she disturbed the peace of his quiet householdnight after night, he regarded as the personification of restlessnessand reckless freedom. He would have preferred to pass her unnoticed, butshe had clung to his arm and was trying, with coaxing graciousness, tosoften his indignation by gaily relating how she had come here andwhat had detained her and her companions. But Ernst Ortlieb, who wouldusually have been very susceptible to such an advance from a young andaristocratic lady, could not now succeed in smoothing his brow. In hisexcitement he was not even able to grasp the meaning of the story sherelated merrily, though with well-feigned contrition. While listeningto her with one ear, he was straining the other to catch what Sir SeitzSiebenburg was saying to his father-in-law, Casper Eysvogel. 

He gathered from Countess Cordula's account that she had succeeded inplaying some bold prank in connection with Els and the Swiss knightHeinz Schorlin, and the words "the Mustache" was whispering to hisfather-in-law-the direction of his glance betrayed it--also referred toEls and the Swiss. But the less Herr Ernst heard of this conversationthe more painfully it excited his already perturbed spirit. 

Suddenly his pleasant features, which, on account of the lady at hisside, he had hitherto forced to wear a gracious aspect, assumed anexpression which filled the reckless countess with grave anxiety, andurged the terrified Els, who had not turned her eyes from him, to ahasty resolution. That was her father's look when on the point of anoutbreak of fury, and at this hour, surrounded by these people, he mustnot allow himself to yield to rage; he must maintain a tolerable degreeof composure. 

Without heeding the young Burgrave Eitelfritz or Sir Boemund Altrosen, who were just approaching her, she forced her way nearer to her father, He still maintained his self-control, but already the veins on his browhad swollen and his short figure was rigidly erect. The cause ofhis excitement--she had noticed it--was some word uttered by SeitzSiebenburg. Her father was the only person who had understood it, butshe was not mistaken in the conjecture that it referred to her and theSwiss knight, and she believed it to be base and spiteful. 

In fact, after his father-in-law had told him that Ernst Ortlieb thoughthis house was on fire, "the Mustache, " in reply to Herr Casper's enquiryhow his son's betrothed bride happened to be there, answered scornfully:"Els? She did not hasten hither, like the old man, to put the fireout, but because one flame was not enough for her. Wolff must know itto-morrow. By day the slender little flame of honourable betrothed loveflickers for him; by night it blazes more brightly for yonder Swissscoundrel. And the young lady chooses for the scene of this toying withfire the easily ignited warehouse of her own father!"

"I will secure mine against such risks, " Casper Eysvogel answered; then, casting a contemptuous glance at Els and a wrathful one at the Swissknight, he added with angry resolution: "It is not yet too late. So longas I am myself no one shall bring peril and disgrace upon my house andmy son. "

Then Herr Ernst had suddenly become aware of the suspicion with whichhis beautiful, brave, self-sacrificing child was regarded. Pale asdeath, he struggled for composure, and when his eyes met the imploringgaze of the basely defamed girl, he said to himself that he mustmaintain his self-control in order not to afford the frivolous revellerswho surrounded him an entertaining spectacle. 

Wolff was dear to him, but before he would have led his Els to thehouse where the miserable "Mustache" lived, and whose head was thecoldhearted, gloomy man whose words had just struck him like a poisonedarrow, he, whom the Lord had bereft of his beloved, gallant son, wouldhave been ready to deprive himself of his daughters also and take bothto the convent. Eva longed to go, and Els might find there a new andbeautiful happiness, like his sister, the Abbess Kunigunde. In theEysvogel house, never!

During these hasty reflections Els extended her hand toward him, andthe shining gold circlet which her lover had placed on her ring fingerglittered in the torchlight. A thought darted through his brain withthe speed of lightning, and without hesitation he drew the ring fromthe hand of his astonished daughter, whispering curtly, yet tenderly, inreply to her anxious cry, "What are you doing?"

"Trust me, child. "

Then hastily approaching Casper Eysvogel, he beckoned to him to move alittle aside from the group. 

The other followed, believing that Herr Ernst would now promise the sumrequested, yet firmly resolved, much as he needed it, to refuse. 

Ernst Ortlieb, however, made no allusion to business matters, but with aswift gesture handed him the ring which united their two children. Then, after a rapid glance around had assured him that no one had followedthem, he whispered to Herr Casper: "Tell your Wolff that he was, andwould have remained, dear to us; but my daughter seems to me too goodfor his father's house and for kindred who fear that she will bringinjury and shame upon them. Your wish is fulfilled. I hereby break thebetrothal. "

"And, in so doing, you only anticipate the step which I intended to takewith more cogent motives, " replied Casper Eysvogel with cool composure, shrugging his shoulders contemptuously. "The city will judge to-morrowwhich of the two parties was compelled to sever a bond sacred in thesight of God and men. Unfortunately, it is impossible for me to giveyour daughter the good opinion you cherish of my son. "

Drawing his stately figure to its full height as he spoke, he gazed athis diminutive adversary with a look of haughty contempt and, withoutvouchsafing a word in farewell, turned his back upon him. 

Repressed fury was seething in Ernst Ortlieb's breast, and he wouldscarcely have succeeded in controlling himself longer but for theconsolation afforded by the thought that every tie was sundered betweenhis daughter and this cold, arrogant, unjust man and his haughty, evildisposed kindred. But when he again looked for the daughter on whomhis hasty act had doubtless inflicted a severe blow, she was no longervisible. 

Directly after he took the ring she had glided silently, unnoticed bymost of the company, up the stairs to the second story. Cordula vonMontfort told him this in a low tone. 

Els had made no answer to her questions, but her imploring, tearfuleyes pierced the young countess to the heart. Her quick ear had caughtSiebenburg's malicious words and Casper Eysvogel's harsh response and, with deep pity, she felt how keenly the poor girl must suffer. 

The happiness of a whole life destroyed without any fault of her own!From their first meeting Els had seemed to her incapable of any carelesserror, and she had merely tried, by her bold, interference, to protecther from the gossip of evil tongues. But Heinz Schorlin had justapproached and whispered that, by his knightly honour, Els was a totalstranger to him, and he only wished he might find his own dear sister athome as pure and free from any fault. 

Poor child! But the countess knew who had frustrated her interventionin behalf of Els. It was Sir Seitz Siebenburg, "the Mustache, " whoseofficious homage, at first amusing, had long since become repulsive. Herheart shrank from the thought that, merely from vain pleasure in havinga throng of admirers, she had given this scoundrel more than one glanceof encouragement. The riding whip fairly quivered in her right handas, after informing Ernst Ortlieb where Els had gone, she warned thegentlemen that it was time to depart, and Seitz Siebenburg submissively, yet as familiarly as if he had a right to her special favour, held outhis hand in farewell. 

But Countess Cordula withdrew hers with visible dislike, saying in atone of chilling repulse: "Remember me to your wife, Sir Knight. Tellher to take care that her twin sons resemble their father as little aspossible. "

"Then you want to have two ardent admirers the less?" asked Siebenburggaily, supposing that the countess's remark was a jest. 

But when she did not, as he expected, give these insulting words aninterpretation favourable to him, but merely shrugged her shouldersscornfully, he added, glancing fiercely at the Swiss knight:

"True, you would doubtless be better pleased should the boys grow upto resemble the lucky Sir Heinz Schorlin, for whose sake you provedyourself the inventor of tales more marvellous, if not more credible, than the most skilful travelling minstrel. "

"Perhaps so, " replied the countess with contemptuous brevity. "But Ishould be satisfied if the twins--and this agrees with my first wishshould grow up honest men. If you should pay me the honour of a visitduring the next few days, Sir Seitz, I could not receive it. "

With these words she turned away, paying no further heed to him, thoughhe called her name aloud, as if half frantic. 

CHAPTER XI. 

It was after midnight when the servants closed the heavy door of theOrtlieb mansion. The late guests had left it, mounted their horses, andridden away together through the Frauenthor into the city. 

The moon no longer lighted their way. A sultry wind had swept fromthe southwest masses of grey clouds, which constantly grew denser anddarker. Heinz Schorlin did not notice it, but his follower, Biberli, called his attention to the rising storm and entreated him to choose thenearest road to the city. To remain outside the gate in such darknesswould be uncomfortable, nay, perhaps not without peril, but the knightmerely flung him the peevish answer, "So much the better, " and, toBiberli's surprise, turned into St. Klarengasse, which brought him by nomeans nearer to his distant lodgings in the Bindergasse. 

It was unfortunate to be warmly devoted to a master who had no fear, whom he was obliged to serve as a messenger of love, and who nowprobably scarcely knew himself whither this love would lead him. 

But true and steadfast Biberli would really have followed Sir Heinz, notonly in a dangerous nocturnal ramble, but through all the terrors of. Hell. So he only glanced down at his long, lean legs, which would beexposed here to the bites of the dogs, with whom he stood on especiallybad terms, raised his long robe higher, as the paths over which theymust pass were of doubtful cleanliness, and deemed it a good omenwhen his foot struck against a stout stick, which his patron sainthad perhaps thrown in his way as a weapon. Its possession was somewhatsoothing, it is true, yet he did not regain the pleasant consciousnessof peace in which his soul had rejoiced a few short hours before. 

He knew what to expect from the irritable mood into which recent eventsappeared to have thrown his master. Heinz usually soon forgot any suchtrivial disappointment, but the difficulty threatening himself andKatterle was far worse--nay, might even assume terrible proportions. 

These alarming thoughts made him sigh so deeply that Heinz turnedtowards him. 

He would gladly have relieved his own troubled breast in the same way. Never before had the soul of this light-hearted child of good fortuneserved as the arena for so fierce a struggle of contending emotions. 

He loved Eva, and the image of her white, supernaturally beautifulfigure, flooded by the moonlight, still stood before him as distinctlyas when, after her disappearance, he had resolved to plead his suitfor her to her sister; but the usually reckless fellow asked himself, shuddering, what would have happened had he obeyed Eva's summons andbeen found with her, as he had just been surprised with her sister. Shewas not wholly free from guilt, for her note had really contained aninvitation to a meeting; yet she escaped. But his needless impetuosityand her sudden appearance before the house had placed her modest, charming sister, the betrothed bride of the gallant fellow who hadfought with him in the Marchfield, in danger of being misunderstood anddespised. If the finger of scorn were pointed at her, if a stain restedon her fair fame, the austere Wolff Eysvogel would hardly desire to makeher his wife, and then this also would be his fault. 

His kind, honest heart suffered keenly under these self-accusations, thefirst which he had ever heeded. 

Hitherto the volatile young fellow, who had often gaily risked his lifein battle and his last penny at the gaming table, had never thought ofseriously examining his own soul, battling by his own strength of willagainst some secret longing and shunning its cause. On the contrary, from childhood he had accustomed himself to rely on the protection andaid of the Virgin and the saints; and when they passed the imagewith the ever-burning lamp, where Katterle had just sought and foundconsolation, he implored it not to let his bold intrusion into the homeof the maiden he loved bring evil upon her and her sister. He also vowedto the convent and its saint--which, come what might, should also behis--a rich gift whenever the Emperor or the gaming table again filledhis purse. 

The thought of being burdened his whole life long with the reproachof having made two such charming, innocent creatures miserable seemedunendurable. He would gladly have given gold and blood to remove it. 

It was too late that day, but he resolved to go to the confessional onthe morrow, for absolution had always relieved and lightened hisheart. But how trivial his errors had been! True, the wrong he had nowcommitted was not a mortal sin, and would hardly impose a severe penanceupon him, yet it burdened him like the most infamous crime. He did notunderstand himself, and often wondered why he, reckless Heinz, thusmade a mountain out of a molehill. Yet when, after this reflection, heuttered a sigh of relief, it seemed as if a voice within commanded himnot to think lightly of what had passed, for on that evening he hadceased to bestow pleasure on every one, and instead of, as usual, being helpful and agreeable, he had plunged others who had done him nowrong--nay, perhaps a whole household, whose daughter had given himthe first love of her young heart-into misery and disgrace. Had heconsidered the consequences of his act, he would still be merry Heinz. Then he remembered how, when a boy, playing with other lads high upamong the mountains just as it was beginning to thaw, he had hurled thework they had finished with so much toil, a snow man, down the slope, rejoicing with his playfellows over its swift descent towards thevalley, until they noticed with what frightful speed its bulk increasedas it sped over its snowy road, till at last, like a terrible avalanche, it swept away a herdsman's hut--fortunately an empty one. Now, also, hisheedlessness had set in motion a mass which constantly rolled onward, and how terrible might be the harm it would do!

If Hartmann, the Emperor's son, were only there! He confided everythingto him, for he was sure of his silence. Both his duty as a knight andhis conscience forbade him to relate his experiences and ask counselfrom any one else. 

He was still absorbed in these gloomy thoughts when, just beforereaching the Walch, he heard Biberli's deep sigh. Here, behind andbeside the frames of the cloth weavers, stood the tents before which thefollowers and soldiers of the princes and dignitaries who had come tothe Reichstag were still sitting around the camp fire, carousing andlaughing. 

Any interruption was welcome to him, and to Biberli it seemed like adeliverance to be permitted to use his poor endangered tongue, for hismaster had asked what grief oppressed him. 

"If you desired to know what trouble did not burden my soul I could finda speedier answer, " replied Biberli piteously. "Oh, this night, my lord!What has it not brought upon us and others! Look at the black cloudsrising in the south. They are like the dark days impending over us poormortals. "

Then he confided to Heinz his fears for himself and Katterle. Theknight's assurance that he would intercede for him and, if necessary, even appeal to the Emperor's favour, somewhat cheered his servitor'sdrooping spirits, it is true, but by no means restored his composure, and his tone was lugubrious enough as he went on:

"And the poor innocent girl in the Ortlieb house! Your little lady, mylord, broke the bread she must now eat herself, but the other, the olderE. "

"I know, " interrupted the knight sorrowfully. "But if the graciousVirgin aids us, they will continue to believe in the wager Cordula vonMontfort----"

"She! she!" Biberli exclaimed, enthusiastically waving his stick aloft. "The Lord created her in a good hour. Such a heart! Such friendlykindness! And to think that she interposed so graciously for you--you, Sir Heinz, to whom she showed the favour of combing your locks, as ifyou were already her promised husband, and who afterwards, for another'ssake, left her at the ball as if she wore a fern cap and had becomeinvisible. I saw the whole from the musician's gallery. True, thesomnambulist is marvellously beautiful. "

But the knight interrupted him by exclaiming so vehemently: "Silence!"that he paused. 

Both walked on without speaking for some distance ere Heinz began again:

"Even though I live to grow old and grey, never shall I behold aughtmore beautiful than the vision of that white-robed girlish figure on thestairs. "

True and steadfast Biberli sighed faintly. Love for Eva Ortlieb heldhis master as if in a vise; but a Schorlin seemed to him far too good amatch for a Nuremberg maiden who had grown up among sacks of pepper andchests of goods and, moreover, was a somnambulist. He looked higher forhis Heinz, and had already found the right match for him. So, turning tohim again, he said earnestly:

"Drive the bewitching vision from your mind, Sir Heinz. You don'tknow--but I could tell you some tales about women who walk in theirsleep by moonlight. "

"Well?" asked Heinz eagerly. 

"As a maiden, " Biberli continued impressively, with the pious intentionof guarding his master from injury, "the somnambulist merely runs therisk of falling from the roof, or whatever accident may happen to asleepwalker; but if she enters the estate of holy matrimony, the evilpower which has dominion over her sooner or later transforms her atmidnight into a troll, which seizes her husband's throat in his sleepand strangles him. "

"Nursery tales!" cried Heinz angrily, but Biberli answered calmly:

"It can make no difference to you what occurs in the case of suchpossessed women, for henceforward the Ortlieb house will be closedagainst you. And--begging your pardon--it is fortunate. For, my lord, the horse mounted by the first Schorlin--the chaplain showed it to youin the picture--came from the ark in which Noah saved it with the otheranimals from the deluge, and the first Lady Schorlin whom the familychronicles mention was a countess. Your ancestresses came from citadelsand castles; no Schorlin ever yet brought his bride from a tradesman'shouse. You, the proudest of them all, will scarcely think of making suchan error, though it is true--"

"Ernst Ortlieb, spite of his trade, is a man of knightly lineage, towhom the king of arms opens the lists at every tournament!" exclaimedHeinz indignantly. 

"In the combat with blunt weapons, " replied Biberli contemptuously. 

"Nay, for the jousts and single combat, " cried Heinz excitedly. "TheEmperor Frederick himself dubbed Herr Ernst a knight. "

"You know best, " replied Biberli modestly. But his coat of arms, likehis entry, smells of cloves and pepper. Here is another, however, who, like your first ancestress, has a countess's title, and who has aright--My name isn't Biberli if your lady mother at home would not bemore than happy were I to inform her that the Countess von Montfort andthe darling of her heart, which you are:

"The name of Montfort and what goes with it, " Heinz interrupted, "wouldsurely please those at home. But the rest! Where could a girl be foundwho, setting aside Cordula's kind heart, would be so great a contrast tomy mother in every respect?"

"Stormy mornings merge into quiet days, " said the servant. "Everythingdepends, my lord, upon the heart of which you speak so slightingly--theheart and, even above that, upon the blood. 'Help is needed there, 'cried the kind heart just now, and then the blood did its 'devoir'. Theact followed the desire as the sound follows the blow of the hammer, the thunder the flash of lightning. Well for the castle that is ruled bysuch a mistress! I am only the servant, and respect commands me to curbmy tongue; but to-day I had news from home through the Provost Werner, of Lucerne, whom I knew at Stansstadt. I meant to tell you of itover the wine at the Thirsty Troopers, but that accursed note and themisfortune which followed prevented. It will not make either of us morecheerful, but whoever is ordered by the leech to drink gall and wormwooddoes wisely to swallow the dose at one gulp. Do you wish to empty thecup now?"

The knight nodded assent, and Biberli went on. "Home affairs are notgoing as they ought. Though your uncle's hair is already grey, theknightly blood in his veins makes him grasp the sword too quickly. Thequarrel about the bridge-toll has broken out again more violently thanever. The townsfolk drove off our cattle as security and, by way ofpunishment, your uncle seized the goods of their merchants, and theycame to blows. True, the Schorlin retainers forced back the men fromtown with bloody heads, but if the feud lasts much longer we cannot holdout, for the others have the money, and since the war cry has soundedless frequently there has been no lack of men at arms who will serve anyone who pays. Besides, the townsfolk can appeal to the treaty of peace, and if your uncle continues to seize the merchant's wares they willapply to the imperial magistrate, and then:

"Then, " cried Heinz eagerly, "then the time will have come for me toleave the court and return home to look after my rights. "

"A single arm, no matter how strong it may be, can avail nothing there, my lord, " Biberli protested earnestly. "Your Uncle Ramsweg has scarcelyhis peer as a leader, but even were it not so you could not bringyourself to send the old man home and put yourself in his place. Besides, it would be as unwise as it is unjust. What is lacking at homeis money to pay the town what it demands for the use of the bridge, orto increase the number of your men, and therefore:

"Well?" asked Heinz eagerly. 

"Therefore seek the Countess von Montfort, who favours you above everyone else, " was the reply; "for with her all you need will be yourswithout effort. Her dowry will suffice to settle twenty such bridgedues, and if it should come to a fray, the brave huntress will ride tothe field at your side with helmet and spear. Which of the four Fs didCountess Cordula von Montfort ever lack?"

"The four Fs?" asked Heinz, listening intently. "The Fs, " explained theex-pedagogue, "are the four letters which marriageable knights shouldconsider. They are: Family, figure, favour, and fortune. But hold yourcap on! What a hot blast this is, as if the storm were coming straightfrom the jaws of hell. And the dust! Where did all these witheredleaves come from in the month of June? They are whirling about as if thefoliage had already fallen. There are big raindrops driving into my facetoo B-r-r! You need all four Fs. No rain will wash a single one of themaway, and I hope it won't efface the least word of my speech either. What, according to human foresight, could be lacking to secure thefairest happiness, if you and the countess--"

"Love, " replied Heinz Schorlin curtly. 

"That will come of itself, " cried Biberli, as if sure of what he wassaying, "if the bride is Countess Cordula. "

"Possibly, " answered the knight, "but the heart must not be filled byanother's image. "

Here he paused, for in the darkness he had stumbled into the ditch bythe road. 

The whirlwind which preceded the bursting of the storm blew suchclouds of dust and everything it contained into their faces that it wasdifficult to advance. But Biberli was glad, for he had not yet found afitting answer. He struggled silently on beside his master against thewind, until it suddenly subsided, and a violent storm of rain streamedin big warm drops on the thirsty earth and the belated pedestrians. Then, spite of Heinz's protestations, Biberli hurriedly snatched thelong robe embroidered with the St from his shoulders and threw it overhis master, declaring that his shirt was as safe from injury as hisskin, but the rain would ruin the knight's delicate embroidered doublet. 

Then he drew over his head the hood which hung from his coat, andmeanwhile must have decided upon an answer, for as soon as they moved onhe began again: "You must drive your love for the beautiful sleepwalkerout of your mind. Try to do so, my dear, dear master, for the sakeof your lady mother, your young sister who will soon be old enough tomarry, our light-hearted Maria, and the good old castle. For your ownhappiness, your lofty career, which began so gloriously, you must hearme! O master, my dear master, tear from your heart the image of thelittle Nuremberg witch, tempting though it is, I admit. The wound willbleed for a brief time, but after so much mirthful pleasure a fleetingdisappointment in love, I should think, would not be too hard to bearif it will be speedily followed by the fairest and most enduringhappiness. "

Here a flash of lightning, which illumined the hospital door closebefore them, and made every surrounding object as bright as day, interrupted the affectionate entreaty of the faithful fellow, and at thesame time a tremendous peal of thunder crashed and rattled through theair. 

Master and servant crossed themselves, but Heinz exclaimed:

"That struck the tower yonder. A little farther to the left, and alldoubts and misgivings would have been ended. "

"You can say that!" exclaimed Biberli reproachfully while passing withhis master through the gate which had just been opened for an imperialmessenger. "And you dare to make such a speech in the midst of thisheavenly wrath! For the sake of a pair of lovely eyes you are ready toexecrate a life which the saints have so blessed with every giftthat thousands and tens of thousands would not give it up from sheergratitude and joy, even if it were not a blasphemous crime!"

Again the lightning and thunder drowned his words. Biberli's hearttrembled, and muttering prayers beseeching protection from the avenginghand above, he walked swiftly onward till they reached the Corn Market. Here they were again stopped, for, notwithstanding the late hour, a throng of people, shouting and wailing, was just pouring from theLedergasse into the square, headed by a night watchman provided withspear, horn, and lantern, a bailiff, torchbearers, and some policeofficers, who were vainly trying to silence the loudest outcries. 

Again a brilliant flash of lightning pierced the black mass of clouds, and Heinz, shuddering, pointed to the crowd and asked, "Do you supposethe lightning killed the man whom they are carrying yonder?"

"Let me see, " replied Biberli, among whose small vices curiosity was byno means the least. He must have understood news gathering thoroughly, for he soon returned and informed Heinz, who had sought shelter from therain under the broad bow window of a lofty house, that the bearers werejust carrying to his parents' home a young man whose thread of life hadbeen suddenly severed by a stab through the breast in a duel. After thewitnesses had taken the corpse to the leech Otto, in the Ledergasse, and the latter said that the youth was dead, they had quickly dispersed, fearing a severe punishment on account of the breach of the peace. Themurdered man was Ulrich Vorchtel, the oldest son of the wealthy BertholdVorchel, who collected the imperial taxes. 

Again Heinz shuddered. He had seen the unfortunate young man theday before yesterday at the fencing school, and yesterday, full ofoverflowing mirth, at the dance, and knew that he, too, had fought inthe battle of Marchfield. His foe must have been master of the art ofwielding the sword, for the dead man had been a skilful fencer, and wastall and stalwart in figure. 

When the servant ended his story Heinz stood still in the darkness for atime, silently listening. The bells had begun to ring, the blast of thewatchman's horn blended with the wailing notes summoning aid, and intwo places--near the Thiergartenthor and the Frauenthor--the sky wascrimsoned by the reflection of a conflagration, probably kindled by someflash of lightning, which flickered over the clouds, alternately risingand falling, sometimes deeper and anon paler in hue. Throngs of people, shouting "Fire!" pressed from the cross streets into the square. Thestillness of the night was over. 

When Heinz again turned to Biberli he said in a hollow tone:

"If the earth should swallow up Nuremberg tonight it would not surpriseme. But over yonder--look, Biber, the Duke of Pomerania's quarters inthe Green Shield are still lighted. I'll wager that they are yet atthe gaming table. A plague upon it! I would be there, too, if my purseallowed. I feel as if yonder dead man and his coffin were burdening mysoul. If it was really good fortune in love that snatched the zecchinsfrom my purse yesterday:

"Then, " cried Biberli eagerly, "to-night is the very time, ere CountessCordula teaches you to forget what troubles you, to win them back. Thegold for the first stake is at your disposal. "

"From the Duke of Pomerania, you think?" asked Heinz; then, in a quick, resolute tone, added: "No! Often as the duke has offered me his purse, I never borrow from my peers when the prospect of repayment looks souncertain. "

"Gently, my lord, " returned Biberli, slapping his belt importantly. "Here is what you need for the stake as your own property. No miracleshave been wrought for us, only I forgot But look! There are the blackclouds rolling northward over the castle. That was a frightful storm!But a spendthrift doesn't keep house long-and the thunder has not yetfollowed that last flash of lightning. There is plenty of uproar withoutit. It's hard work to hear one's self speak amid all the ringing, trumpeting, yelling, and shrieking. It seems as if they expected to putout the fire with noise. The fathers of the city can attend to that. It doesn't appear to disturb the duke and his guests at their dice;and here, my lord, are fifty florins which, I think, will do for thebeginning. "

Biberli handed the knight a little bag containing this sum, and whenHeinz asked in perplexity where he obtained it, the ex-schoolmasteranswered gaily: "They came just in the nick of time. I received themfrom Suss, the jockey, while you were out riding this afternoon. "

"For the black?" Heinz enquired. 

"Certainly, my lord. It's a pity about the splendid stallion. But, asyou know, he has the staggers, and when I struck him on the coronet hestood as if rooted to the earth, and the equerry, who was there, saidthat the disease was proved. So the Jew silently submitted, let thehorse be led away, and paid back what we gave him. Fifty heavy florins!More than enough for a beginning. If I may advise you, count on the twoand the five when fixed numbers are to be thrown or hit. Why? Becauseyou must turn your ill luck in love to advantage: and those from whomit comes are the two beautiful Ortlieb Es, as Nuremberg folk call theladies Els and Eva. That makes the two. But E is the fifth letter inthe alphabet, so I should choose the five. If Biberli did not put thingstogether shrewdly--"

"He would be as oversharp as he has often been already, " Heinzinterrupted, but he patted Biberli's wet arm as he spoke, and addedkindly "Yet every day proves that my Biberli is a true and steadfastfellow; but where in the wide world did you, a schoolmaster, gaininstruction in the art of throwing the dice?"

"While we were studying in Paris, with my dead foster brother, " repliedthe servant with evident emotion. "But now go up, my lord, beforethe fire alarm, and I know not what else, makes the people upstairsseparate. The iron must be forged during this wild night. Only a fewdrops of rain are falling. You can cross the street dry even without mylong garment. "

While speaking he divested the knight of his robe, and continuedeagerly: "Now, my lord, from the coffin, or let us say rather the leadenweight, which oppresses your soul, let a bolt be melted that will strikemisfortune to the heart. Glittering gold has a cheering colour. "

"Stop! stop!" Heinz interrupted positively. "No good wishes on the eveof hunting or gaming. 

"But if I come bounding down the stairs of the Green Shield with a purseas heavy as my heart is just now--why, Biberli, success puts a new faceon many things, and yours shall again look at me without anxiety. "

CHAPTER XII. 

The thunderclouds had gathered in the blackest masses above theFrauenthor and the Ortlieb mansion. Ere the storm burst the oppressiveatmosphere had burdened the hearts within as heavily as it weighedoutside upon tree, bush, and all animated creation. 

In the servants' rooms under the roof the maids slept quietly anddreamlessly; and the men, with their mouths wide open, snored after thelabour of the day, unconscious of what was passing outside in the sky orthe events within which had destroyed the peace of their master and hisfamily. 

The only bed unoccupied was the one in the little room next to thestairs leading to the garret, which was occupied by Katterle. The Swiss, kneeling before it with her face buried in the coarse linen pillow case, alternately sobbed, prayed, and cursed herself and her recklessness. 

When the gale, which preceded the thunderstorm, blew leaves and strawsin through the open window she started violently, imagining that HerrOrtlieb had come to call her to account and her trial was to begin. Thebarber's widow, whom she had seen a few days before in the pillory, with a stone around her neck, because she had allowed a cloth weaver'sheedless daughter to come to her lodging with a handsome trumpeter whobelonged to the city musicians, rose before her mental vision. How thepoor thing had trembled and moaned after the executioner's assistanthung the heavy stone around her neck! Then, driven frantic by the jeersand insults of the people, the missiles flung by the street boys, andthe unbearable burden, she could control herself no longer but, pouringforth a flood of curses, thrust out her tongue at her tormentors. 

What a spectacle! But ere she, Katterle, would submit to such disgraceshe would bid farewell to life with all its joys; and even to thecountryman to whom her heart clung, and who, spite of his well-proventruth and steadfastness, had brought misery upon her. 

Now the memory of the hateful word which she, too, had called to thebarber's widow weighed heavily on her heart. Never, never again wouldshe be arrogant to a neighbour who had fallen into misfortune. 

This vow, and many others, she made to St. Clare; then her thoughtswandered to the city moat, to the Pegnitz, the Fischbach, and all theother streams in and near Nuremberg, where it was possible to drown andthus escape the terrible disgrace which threatened her. But in so doingshe had doubtless committed a heavy sin; for while recalling the DutzenPond, from whose dark surface she had often gathered white water liliesafter passing through the Frauenthor into the open fields, and wonderingin what part of its reedy shore her design could be most easilyexecuted, a brilliant flash of lightning blazed through her room, andat the same time a peal of thunder shook the old mansion to itsfoundations. 

That was meant for her and her wicked thoughts. No! For the sake ofescaping disgrace here on earth, she dared not trifle with eternalsalvation and the hope of seeing her dead mother in the other world. 

The remembrance of that dear mother, who had laboured so earnestly totrain her in every good path, soothed her. Surely she was looking downupon her and knew that she had remained upright and honest, that shehad not defrauded her employers of even a pin, and that the little faultwhich was to be so grievously punished had been committed solely outof love for her countryman, who in his truth and steadfastness meanthonestly by her. What Biberli requested her to do could be no heavy sin. 

But the powers above seemed to be of a different opinion; for again adazzling glare of light illumined the room, and the crash and rattle ofthe thunder of the angry heavens accompanied it with a deafening din. Katterle shrieked aloud; it seemed as if the gates of hell had openedbefore her, or the destruction of the world had begun. 

Frantic with terror, she sprang back from the window, through whichthe raindrops were already sprinkling her face. They cooled her flushedcheeks and brought her back to reality. The offence she had justcommitted was no trivial one. She, whom Herr Ortlieb, with entireconfidence, had placed in the service of the fair young girl whoseinvalid mother could not care for her, had permitted herself to beinduced to persuade Eva, who was scarcely beyond childhood, to arendezvous with a man whom she represented to the inexperienced maidenas a godly, virtuous knight, though she knew from Biberli how far thelatter surpassed his master in fidelity and steadfastness. 

"Lead us not into temptation!" How often she had repeated the wordsin the Lord's Prayer, and now she herself had become the serpent thattempted into sin the innocent child whom duty should have commanded herto guard. 

No, no! The guilt for which she was threatened with punishment was by nomeans small, and even if her earthly judge did not call her to account, she would go to confession to-morrow and honestly perform the penanceimposed. 

Moved by these thoughts, she gazed across the courtyard to the convent. Just at that moment the lightning again flashed, the thunder pealed, andshe covered her face with her hands. When she lowered her arms shesaw on the roof of the nuns' granary, which adjoined the cow-stable, a slender column of smoke, followed by a narrow tongue of flame, whichgrew steadily brighter. 

The lightning had set it on fire. 

Sympathy for the danger and losses of others forced her own grief andanxiety into the background and, without pausing to think, she slippedon her shoes, snatched her shawl from the chest, and ran downstairs, shouting: "The lightning has struck! The convent is burning!"

Just at that moment the door of the chamber occupied by the two sistersopened, and Ernst Ortlieb, with tangled hair and pallid cheeks, cametoward her. 

Within the room the dim light of the little lamp and the fiery glare ofthe lightning illumined tear-stained, agitated faces. 

After Heinz Schorlin had called to her, and Els had hurried to her aid, Eva, clad in her long, plain night robe, and barefooted, just as shehad risen from her couch, followed the maid to her room. What must theknight, who but yesterday, she knew, had looked up to her as to a saint, think of her now?

She felt as if she were disgraced, stained with shame. Yet it wasthrough no fault of her own, and overwhelmed by the terrible convictionthat mysterious, supernatural powers, against which resistance washopeless, were playing a cruel game with her, she had felt as if thestormy sea were tossing her in a rudderless boat on its angry surges. 

Unable to seek consolation in prayer, as usual, she had given herself upto dull despair, but only for a short time. Els had soon returned, andthe firm, quiet manner with which her prudent, helpful friend and sistermet her, and even tried to raise her drooping courage by a jest ereshe sent her to their mother's sick room, had fallen on her soullike refreshing dew; not because Els promised to act for her--on thecontrary, what she intended to do roused her to resistance. 

She had been far too guilty and oppressed to oppose her, yet indignationconcerning the sharp words which Els had uttered about the knight, and her intention of forbidding him the house, perhaps forever, hadstimulated her like strong acid wine. 

Not until after her sister had left her did she become capableof clearly understanding what she had felt during her period ofsomnambulism. 

While her mother, thanks to a narcotic, slept soundly, breathingquietly, and in the entry below something, she knew not what, perhapsdue to her father's return, was occurring, she sat thinking, pondering, while an impetuous throng of rebellious wishes raised their voices, alternately asking and denying, in her agitated breast. 

How she had happened to rise from her couch and go out had vanishedutterly from her memory, but she was still perfectly conscious of herfeelings during the night walk. If hitherto she had yearned to drainheavenly bliss from the chalice of faith, during her wanderings throughthe house she had longed for nothing save to drink her fill from the cupof earthly joy. Ardent kisses, of which she had forbidden herself evento think, she awaited with blissful delight. Her timorous heart, heldin check by virgin modesty, accustomed to desire nothing save what shecould have confessed to her sister and the abbess, seemed as if it hadcast off every fetter and boldly resolved to risk the most daring deeds. The somnambulist had longed for the moment when, after Heinz Schorlin'sconfession that he loved her, she could throw her arms around his neckwith rapturous gratitude. 

If, while awake, she had desired only to speak to him of her saint andof his duty to overthrow the foes of the Church, she had wished whilegazing at the moon from the stairs, and in front of the house door, to whisper sweet words of love, listen to his, and in so doing forgetherself, the world, and everything which did not belong to him, to her, and their love. 

And she remembered this longing and yearning in a way very unlike a meredream. It seemed rather as if, while the moon was attracting her by itsmagic power, something, which had long slumbered in the depths of hersoul, had waked to life; something, from which formerly, ere her heartand mind had been able rightly to understand it, she had shrunk withpious horror, had assumed a tangible form. 

Now she dreaded this newly recognised sinful part of her own nature, which she had imagined a pure vessel that had room only for what wasnoble, sacred, and innocent. 

She, too--she knew it now--was only a girl like those on whose desirefor love she had looked down with arrogant contempt, no bride of heavenor saint. 

She had not yet taken the veil, and it was fortunate, for what wouldhave become of her had she not discovered until after her professionthis part of her nature, which she thought every true nun, if shepossessed it, must discard, like the hair which was shorn from her head, before taking the vow of the order. 

During this self-inspection it became more and more evident that she wasnot one person, but two in one--a twofold nature with a single body andtwo distinct souls; and this conviction caused her as much pain as ifthe cut which had produced the separation were still bleeding. 

Just at that moment her eyes fell upon the image of the Virgin opposite, and the usual impulse to lift her soul in prayer took possession of hereven more powerfully than a short time before. 

With fervent warmth she besought her to release her from this newlyawakened nature, which surely could not be pleasing in the sight ofHeaven, and let her once more become what she was before the unfortunateramble in the moonlight. 

But the composure she needed for prayer was soon destroyed, for theimage of the knight rose before her again and again, and it seemed asif her own name, which he had called with such ardent longing, once morerang in her ears. 

Whoever thus raises his voice in appeal to another loves that person. Heinz Schorlin's love was great and sincere and, instead of heeding theinner voice that warned her to return to prayer, she cried defiantly, "Iwill not!"

She could not yet part from the man for whom her heart throbbed withsuch passionate yearning, who was so brave and godly, so ardentlydevoted to her. 

True, it had been peacefully beautiful to dream herself into the brightglory of heaven, yet the stormy rapture she had felt while thinking ofhim and his love seemed richer and greater. She could not, would notpart from him. 

Then she remembered her sister's intention of driving Heinz--Eva alreadycalled the knight by that name in her soliloquy--from her presence, andthe thought that she might perhaps wound him so keenly that knightlyhonour would forbid his return alarmed and incensed her. 

What right had Els to distrust him? A godly knight played no base gamewith the chosen lady of, his heart, and that, yes, that she certainlywas, since she had named her colour to him. Nothing should separatethem. She needed him for her happiness as much as she did light and air. Hitherto she had longed for bliss in another world, but she was so youngshe probably had a long life before her, and what could existence onearth offer if robbed of the hope of his possession?

The newly awakened part of her nature demanded its rights. It wouldnever again allow itself to be forced into the old slumber. 

If her sister came back and boasted of having driven away the dangerousanimal forever, she would show her that she had a different opinionof the knight, and would permit no one to interpose between them. But, while still pondering over this plan, the door of the sick-room wassoftly opened and her father beckoned to her to follow him. 

Silently leading the way through the dusky corridor, no longer illuminedby the moonlight, he entered his daughter's room before her. The lamp, still burning there, revealed the agitated face of her sister who, resting her chin on her hand, sat on the stool beside the spinningwheel. 

Eva's courage, which had blazed up so brightly, instantly fell again. 

"Good heavens! What has happened?" she cried in terror; but her fatheranswered in a hollow tone:

"For the sake of your noble sister, to whom I pledged my word, I willforce myself to remain calm. But look at her! Her poor heart must belike a graveyard, for she was doomed to bury what she held dearest. Andwho, " he continued furiously, so carried away by grief and indignationas to be unmindful of his promise to maintain his composure, "who is toblame for it all, save you and your boundless imprudence?"

Eva, with uplifted hands, tried to explain how, unconscious of her acts, she had walked in her sleep down the stairs and out of the house, but heimperiously cut her short with:

"Silence! I know all. My daughter gave a worthless tempter the rightto expect the worst from her. You, whom we deemed the ornament of thishouse, whose purity hitherto was stainless, are to blame if peoplepassing on the street point at it! Alas! alas! Our honour, our ancient, unsullied name!"

Groaning aloud, the father struck his brow with his clenched hand; butwhen Els rose and passed her arm around his shoulders to speak wordsof consolation, Eva, who hitherto had vainly struggled for words, couldendure no more. 

"Whoever says that of me, my father, " she exclaimed with flashing eyes;scarcely able to control her voice, "has opened his ears to slander;and whoever terms Heinz Schorlin a worthless tempter, is blinded by adelusion, and I call him to his face, even were it my own father, towhom I owe gratitude and respect--"

But here she stopped and extended her arms to keep off the deeplyangered man, for he had started forward with quivering lips, and--sheperceived it clearly--was already under the spell of one of the terriblefits of fury which might lead him to the most unprecedented deeds. Els, however, had clung to him and, while holding him back with all herstrength, cried out in a tone of keen reproach, "Is this the way youkeep your promise?"

Then, lowering her voice, she continued with loving entreaty: "My dear, dear father, can you doubt that she was asleep, unconscious of her acts, when she did what has brought so much misery upon us?"

And, interrupting herself, she added eagerly in a tone of the firmestconviction: "No, no, neither shame nor misery has yet touched you, myfather, nor the poor child yonder. The suspicion of evil rests on me, and me alone, and if any one here must be wretched it is I. "

Then Herr Ernst, regaining his self-control, drew back from Eva, but thelatter, as if fairly frantic, exclaimed: "Do you want to drive me out ofmy senses by your mysterious words and accusations? What, in the nameof all the saints, has happened that can plunge my Els into misery andshame?"

"Into misery and shame, " repeated her father in a hollow tone, throwinghimself into a chair, where he sat motionless, with his face buried inhis hands, while Els told her sister what had occurred when she wentdown into the entry to speak to the knight. 

Eva listened to her story, fairly gasping for breath. For one briefmoment she cherished the suspicion that Cordula had not acted from puresympathy, but to impose upon Heinz Schorlin a debt of gratitude whichwould bind him to her more firmly. Yet when she heard that her fatherhad given back his daughter's ring to Herr Casper Eysvogel and brokenhis child's betrothal she thought of nothing save her sister's griefand, sobbing aloud, threw herself into Els's arms. 

The girls held each other in a close embrace until the first flash oflightning and peal of thunder interrupted the conversation. 

The father and daughters had been so deeply agitated that they hadnot heard the storm rising outside, and the outbreak of the tempestsurprised them. The peal of thunder, which so swiftly followed thelightning, also startled them and when, soon after, a second one shookthe house with its crashing, rattling roar, Herr Ernst went out to wakethe chief packer. But old Endres was already keeping watch among thewares entrusted to him and when, after a brief absence, the master ofthe house returned, he found Eva again clasped in her sister's arms, and saw the latter kissing her brow and eyes as she tenderly strove tocomfort her. 

But Eva seemed deaf to her soothing words. Els, her faithful Els, was nolonger the betrothed bride of her Wolff; her great, beautiful happinesswas destroyed forever. On the morrow all Nuremberg would learn that HerrCasper had broken his son's betrothal pledge, because his bride, for thesake of a tempter, Sir Heinz Schorlin, had failed to keep her troth withhim. 

How deeply all this pierced Eva's heart! how terrible was the tortureof the thought that she was the cause of this frightful misfortune!Dissolved in an agony of tears, she entreated the poor girl to forgiveher; and Els did so willingly, and in a way that touched her father tothe very depths of his heart. How good the girls must be who, spite ofthe sore suffering which one had brought upon the other, were still soloving and loyal!

Convinced that Eva, too, had done nothing worthy of punishment, he wenttowards them to clasp both in his arms, but ere he could do so the clapof thunder which had frightened Katterle so terribly shook the wholeroom. "St. Clare, aid us!" cried Eva, crossing herself and falling uponher knees; but Els rushed to the window, opened it, and looked down thestreet. Nothing was visible there save a faint red glow on the distantnorthern horizon, and two mailed soldiers who were riding into the cityat a rapid trot. They had been sent from the stables in the Marienthurmto keep order in case a fire should break out. Several men with hooksand poles followed, also hurrying to the Frauenthor. 

In reply to the question where the fire was and where they going, theyanswered: "To the Fischbach, to help. Flames have burst out apparentlyunder the fortress at the Thiergartenthor. "

The long-drawn call for help from the warder's horn, which came at thesame moment, proved that the men were right. 

Herr Ernst hastened out of the room just as Katterle's shriek, "Thelightning struck! the convent is burning!" rung from the upper step ofthe stairs. 

He had already pronounced her sentence, and the sight of her roused hiswrath again so vehemently that, spite of the urgent peril, he shouted toher that, whatever claimed his attention now, she certainly should notescape the most severe punishment for her shameful conduct. 

Then he ordered old Endres and two of the menservants to watch thesleeping-room of his invalid wife, that in case anything should happenthe helpless woman might be instantly borne to a place of safety. 

Ere he himself went to the scene of the conflagration he hurried back tohis daughters. 

While the girls were giving him his hat and cloak he told them where thefire had broken out, and this caused another detention of the anxiousmaster of the house, for Eva seized her shoes and stockings and, kickingher little slippers from her feet, declared that she, too, would notremain absent from the place when her dear nuns were in danger. But herfather commanded her to stay with her mother and sister, and went to thedoor, turning back once more on the threshold to his daughters with theanxious entreaty: "Think of your mother!"

Another peal of thunder drowned the sound of his footsteps hurrying downthe stairs. When Els, who had watched her father from the window a shorttime, went back to her sister, Eva dried her eyes and cheeks, saying:"Perhaps he is right; but whenever my heart urges me to obey any warmimpulse, obstacles are put in my way. What a weak nonentity is thedaughter of an honourable Nuremberg family!"

Els heard this complaint with astonishment. Was this her Eva, her"little saint, " who yesterday had desired nothing more ardently thanwith humble obedience, far from the tumult of the world, to becomeworthy of her Heavenly Bridegroom, and in the quiet peace of the conventraise her soul to God? What had so changed the girl in these few hours?Even the most worldly-minded of her friends would have taken such animpeachment ill. 

But she had no time now to appeal to the conscience of her misguidedsister. Love and duty summoned her to her mother's couch. And then!The child had become aware of her love, and was she, Els, who had beenparted from Wolff by her own father, and yet did not mean to give himup, justified in advising her sister to cast aside her love and the hopeof future happiness with and through the man to whom she had given herheart?

What miracles love wrought! If in a single night it had transformed thedevout future Bride of Heaven into an ardently loving woman, it couldaccomplish the impossible for her also. 

While Eva was gazing out of the window Els returned to her mother. Shewas still asleep and, without permitting either curiosity or longingto divert her from her duty, Els kept her place beside the couch of thebeloved invalid, spite of the fire alarm which, though somewhat subdued, was heard in the room. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Eva was standing at the open window. The violence of the storm seemedexhausted. The clouds were rolling northward, and the thunder followedthe flashes of lightning at longer and longer intervals. Peace wasrestored to the heavens, but the crowd and noise in the city and thestreet constantly increased. 

The iron tongues of the alarm bells had never swung so violently, thewarder's horn had never made the air quiver with such resonant appealsfor aid. 

Nor did the metallic voices above call for help in vain, for while aroseate glow tinged the linden in front of her window and the houseson the opposite side of the street with the hues of dawn, the crowdsthronging from the Frauenthor to St. Klarengasse grew denser and denser. 

The convent was not visible from her chamber, but the acrid odor ofthe smoke and the loud voices which reached her ear from that directionproved that the fire was no trivial one. While she was seeking out thespot from which Heinz must have looked up to her window, the Ortliebmenservants, with some of the Montfort retainers, came out of the housewith pails and ladders. 

A female figure glided into the dark street after them. A black shawlconcealed her head and the upper part of her figure, and she held abundle in her hand. 

It must be Katterle. 

Where was she going at this hour? As she was carrying the package, shecould scarcely intend to help in putting out the fire. Was she stealingaway from fear of punishment? Poor thing! Even the maid was hurled intomisfortune through her guilt. 

It pierced her very heart. But while she called to Katterle to stopher, something else, which engrossed her still more, diverted herattention--the loud voice of Countess Cordula reached her from thestreet door. With whom was she talking? Did the girl, who ventured uponso many things which ill-beseemed a modest maiden, intend to join themen? Eva forgot that she, too, would have hurried to the nuns hadnot her father prevented it. The countess was already standing in thecourtyard. 

After Eva had given her a hasty glance she again looked for the maid, but Katterle had already vanished in the darkness. This grieved her; shehad neglected something which might have saved the girl, to whom shewas warmly attached, from some imprudent act. But while attracted by thestrange appearance of the countess she had forgotten the other. 

Cordula had probably just left her couch, for she wore only a plaindress tucked up very high, short boots, which she probably used inhunting, and a shawl crossed over her bosom; another was wound roundher head in the fashion of the peasant women who brought their goods tomarket on cold winter days. No farmer's wife could be more simply clad, and yet--Eva was forced to admit it--there was something aristocratic inher firm bearing. 

Her companions were her father's chaplain and the equerry who hadgrown grey in his service. Both were trying to dissuade her. The formerpointed to a troop of women who were following the chief of police andsome city constables, and said warningly: "Those are all wanton queans, whom the law of this city compels to lend their aid in putting outfires. How would it beseem your rank to join these who shame theirsex----No, no! It would be said to-morrow that the ornament of the houseof Montfort had----"

"That Countess Cordula had used her hands in extinguishing the fire, "she interrupted with gay self-confidence. "Is there any disgrace inthat? Must my noble birth debar me from being numbered among those whohelp their neighbours so far as lies in their power? If any good isaccomplished here, those poor women yonder will make it no worse bytheir aid. If people here believe that they do, it will give me doublepleasure to ennoble it by working with them. Putting out the flames willnot degrade me, and will make the women better. So, forward! See how thefire is blazing yonder! Help is needed there and, thank Heaven, I am noweakling. Besides, there are women who want assistance and, to women inperil, the most welcome aid is woman's. "

The old equerry, his eyes glittering with tears, nodded assent, andled the way into the street; but the countess, instead of followinginstantly, glanced back for the page who was to carry the bandages whichshe had learned to use among her retainers at home. The agile boy didnot delay her long; but while his mistress was looking to see that hehad forgotten nothing of importance, he perceived at the windowEva, whose beauty had long since fired his young heart, and cast alanguishing glance at her. Then Cordula also noticed her and called apleasant greeting. Eva was on the point of answering in the same tone, when she remembered that Cordula had spoken of Heinz Schorlin in thepresence of others as if he were awaiting her in all submission. Angersurged hotly in her breast, and she drew back into the room as if shehad not heard the salutation. 

The countess perceived it, and shrugged her shoulders pityingly. 

Eva, dissatisfied with herself, continued to gaze down into the streetlong after the crowds of people flocking from the city had concealedCordula from her eyes. It seemed as though she would never again succeedin anything that would bring contentment. Never had she felt so weak, soill-tempered, so devoid of self-reliance. Yet she could not, as usual, seek consolation with her saint. There was so much here below to diverther attention. 

The roseate glow on the linden had become a crimson glare, theflickering light on the opposite walls a dazzling illumination. Thewind, now blowing from the west, bore from St. Klarengasse burningobjects which scattered sparks around them--bundles of hay caught by theflames--from the convent barn to the Marienthurm opposite, and into thestreet. Besides, the noise above and behind, before and below her, grewlouder and louder. The ringing of the bells and the blare of trumpetsfrom the steeples continued, and with this constant ringing, pealing, and crashing from above, mingled the high, clear voices of the choir ofnuns in the convent, beseeching in fervent litanies the help of theirpatron saint. True, the singing was often drowned by the noise from thestreet, for the fire marshals and quartermasters had been informedin time, and watchmen, soldiers in the pay of the city, men from thehospital, and the abandoned women (required by law to help put outthe fires) came in little groups, while bailiffs and servants of theCouncil, barbers (who were obliged to lend their aid, but whose surgicalskill could find little employment here), members of the Council, priests and monks arrived singly. The street also echoed with thetrampling of many steeds, for mounted troopers in coats of mail firstdashed by to aid the bailiffs in maintaining order, then the inspectorof water works, with his chief subordinate, trotted along to St. Klarengasse on the clumsy horses placed at their disposal by theCouncil in case of fire. He was followed by the millers, with brass fireengines. While their well-fed nags drew on sledges, with little noise, through the mire of the streets now softened by the rain, the heavywooden water barrels needed in the work of extinguishing the flames, there was a loud rattling and clanking as the carts appeared on whichthe men from the Public Works building were bringing large and smallladders, hooks and levers, pails and torches, to the scene of theconflagration. 

Besides those who were constrained by the law, many others desired toaid the popular Sisters of St. Clare and thereby earn a reward from God. A brewer had furnished his powerful stallions to convey to the sceneof action, with their tools, the eight masons whose duty it was to usetheir skill in extinguishing the flames. All sorts of people--men andwomen--followed, yelling and shrieking, to seek their own profit duringthe work of rescue. But the bailiffs kept a sharp eye on them, and madeway when the commander of the German knights, with several companions onwhose black mantles the white cross gleamed, appeared on horseback, andat last old Herr Berthold Vorchtel trotted up on his noble grey, whichwas known to the whole city. He still had a firm seat in the saddle, but his head was bowed, and whoever knew that only one hour beforethe corpse of his oldest son, slain in a duel, had been brought home, admired the aged magistrate's strength of will. As First Losunger andcommander in chief he was the head of the Council, and therefore of thecity also. Duty had commanded him to mount his steed, but how pale andhaggard was his shrewd face, usually so animated!

Just in front of the Ortlieb mansion the commander of the German knightsrode to his side, and Eva saw how warmly he shook him by the hand, as ifhe desired to show the old man very cordially his deep sympathy in somesore trouble which had assailed him. 

Ever since Wolff's betrothal to Els had been announced the Vorchtelshad ceased to be on terms of intimacy with the Ortliebs; but old HerrBerthold, though he himself had probably regarded young Eysvogel as his"Ursel's" future husband, had always treated Eva kindly, and she wasnot mistaken--tears were glittering on his cheeks in the torchlight. Thesight touched the young girl's inmost heart. How eagerly she desired toknow what had befallen the Vorchtels, and to give the old man some tokenof sympathy! What could have caused him so much sorrow? Only a few hoursbefore her father had returned from a gay entertainment at his house. It could scarcely concern Herr Berthold's wife, his daughter Ursula, oreither of his two vigorous sons. Perhaps death had only bereft him ofsome more distant, though beloved relative, yet surely she would haveknown that, for the Ortliebs were connected by marriage both with theold gentleman and his wife. 

Tortured by a presentiment of evil, Eva gazed after him, and alsowatched for Heinz Schorlin among the people in the street. Must notanxiety for her bring him hither, if he learned how near her house thefire was burning?

Whenever a helmet or knight's baret appeared above the crowd she thoughtthat he was coming. Once she believed that she had certainly recognisedhim, for a tall young man of knightly bearing appeared, not mounted, buton foot, and stopped opposite to the Ortlieb house. That must be he! Butwhen he looked up to her window, the reflection of the fire showed thatthe man who had made her heart beat so quickly was indeed a young andhandsome knight, but by no means the person for whom she had mistakenhim. It was Boemund Altrosen, famed as victor in many a tournament, who when a boy had often been at the house of her uncle, Herr Pfinzing. There was no mistaking his coal-black, waving locks. It was said thatthe dark-blue sleeve of a woman's robe which he wore on his helmet inthe jousts belonged to the Countess von Montfort. She was his lady, forwhom he had won so many victories. 

Heinz Schorlin had mentioned him at the ball as his friend, and toldher that the gallant knight would vainly strive to win the recklesscountess. Perhaps he was now looking at the house so intently onCordula's account. Or had Heinz, his friend, sent him to watch over herwhile he was possibly detained by the Emperor?

But, no; he had just gone nearer to the house to question a man in thevon Montfort livery, and the reply now led him to move on towards theconvent. 

Were the tears which filled Eva's eyes caused by the smoke thatpoured from the fire more and more densely into the street, or todisappointment and bitter anguish?

The danger which threatened her aunt and her beloved nuns also increasedher excitement. True, the sisters themselves seemed to feel safe, forsnatches of their singing were still audible amid the ringing of thebells and the blare of the trumpets, but the fire must have been veryhard to extinguish. This was proved by the bright glow on the lindentree and the shouts of command which, though unintelligible, rose aboveevery other sound. 

The street below was becoming less crowded. Most of those who hadleft their beds to render aid had already reached the scene of theconflagration. Only a few stragglers still passed through the open gatetowards the Marienthurm. Among them were horsemen, and Eva's heart againthrobbed more quickly, but only for a short time. Heinz Schorlin was fartaller than the man who had again deceived her, and his way would hardlyhave been lighted by two mounted torch bearers. Soon her rosy lips evenparted in a smile, for the sturdy little man on the big, strong-bonedVinzgau steed, whom she now saw distinctly, was her dearest relative, her godfather, the kind, shrewd, imperial magistrate, Berthold Pfinzing, the husband of her father's sister, good Aunt Christine. 

If he looked up he would tell her about old Herr Vorchtel. Nor did heride past his darling's house without a glance at her window, and whenhe saw Eva beckon he ordered the servants to keep back, and stoppedbehind the chains. 

After he had briefly greeted his niece and she had enquired what hadbefallen the Vorchtels, he asked anxiously: "Then you know nothing yet?And Els--has it been kept from her, too?"

"What, in the name of all the saints?" asked Eva, with increasing alarm. 

Then Herr Pfinzing, who saw that the door of the house was open, askedher to come down. Eva was soon standing beside her godfather's bigbay, and while patting the smooth neck of the splendid animal he saidhurriedly, in a low tone: "It's fortunate that it happened so. Youcan break it gradually to your sister, child. To-night Summon up yourcourage, for there are things which even a man--To make the story short, then: Tonight Wolff Eysvogel and young Vorchtel quarreled, or ratherUlrich irritated your Wolff so cruelly that he drew his sword--"

"Wolff!" shrieked Eva, whose hand had already dropped from the horse. "Wolff! He is so terribly strong, and if he drew his sword in anger----"

"He dealt his foe one powerful thrust, " replied the imperial magistratewith an expressive gesture. "The sword pierced him through. But I mustgo on Only this one thing more: Ulrich was borne back to his parents asa corpse. And Wolff Where is he hiding? May the saints long be the onlyones who know! A quarrel with such a result under the Emperor's eyes, now when peace has just been declared throughout the land! Who knowswhat sentence will be pronounced if the bailiffs show themselvesshrewder this time than usual! My office compelled me to set the packupon him. That is the reason I am so late. Tell Els as cautiously aspossible. "

He bowed gallantly and trotted on, but Eva, as if hunted by enemies, rushed up the staircase, threw herself on her knees before the priedieu, and sobbed aloud. 

Young Vorchtel had undoubtedly heard of the events in the entry, tauntedWolff with his betrothed bride's nocturnal interview with a knight, andthus roused the strong man to fury. How terrible it all was! How couldshe bear it! Her thoughtlessness had cost a human life, robbed parentsof their son! Through her fault her sister's betrothed husband, whomshe also loved, was in danger of being placed under ban, perhaps even ofbeing led to the executioner's block!

She had no thought of any other motive which might have induced thehot-blooded young men to cross swords and, firmly convinced that herluckless letter had drawn Heinz Schorlin to the house and thus led toall these terrible things, she vainly struggled for composure. 

Sometimes she beheld in imagination the despairing Els; sometimes theaged Vorchtels, grieving themselves to death; sometimes Wolff, outlawed, hiding like a hunted deer in the recesses of the forest; sometimes themaid, fleeing with her little bundle into the darkness of the night;sometimes the burning convent; and at intervals also Heinz Schorlin, as he knelt before her and raised his clasped hands with passionateentreaty. 

But she repelled every thought of him as a sin, and even repressed theimpulse to look out into the street to seek him. Her sole duty nowwas to pray to her patron saint and the Mother of God in behalf of hersister, whom she had hurled into misfortune, and her poor heart bleedingfrom such deep wounds; but the consolation which usually followed themere uplifting of her soul in prayer did not come, and it could notbe otherwise, for amid her continual looking into her own heart andlistening to what went on around her no real devotion was possible. 

Although she constantly made fresh efforts to collect her thoughts, and continued to kneel with clasped hands before the prie dieu, not ahoof-beat, not a single loud voice, escaped her ear. Even the alternatedeepening and paling of the reflection of the fire, which streamedthrough the window, attracted her attention, and the ringing of bellsand braying of trumpets, which still continued, maintained the agitationin her soul. 

Yet prayer was the sole atonement she could make for the wrong she haddone her sister; so she did not cease her endeavours to plead for her tothe Great Helper above, but her efforts were futile. Yet even when sheheard voices close by the house, among which she distinguished CountessCordula's and--if she was not mistaken--her father's, she resisted theimpulse to rise from her knees. 

At last the vain struggle was ended by an interruption from without. After unusually loud voices exclaiming and questioning had reached herfrom the entry, the door of her chamber suddenly opened and old Martschelooked in. The housekeeper was seeking something; but when she found thedevout child on her knees she did not wish to disturb her, and contentedherself with the evidence of her eyes. But Eva stopped her, and learnedthat she was searching for Katterle, who could neither be found in herroom, or anywhere else. Herr Ortlieb had brought Countess von Montforthome severely burned, and there were all sorts of things for the maid todo. 

Eva clung shuddering to the back of the prie dieu, for the certaintythat the unfortunate girl had really fled was like strewing salt on herwounds. 

When Martsche left her and Els entered, her excitement had risen to sucha pitch that she flung herself before her, as if frantic and, clingingto her knees, heaping self-accusations upon herself with passionateimpetuosity, she pleaded, amid her sobs, for pardon and mercy. 

Meanwhile Els had been informed by her father of her lover's fatal deed, and as soon as she perceived what tortured her sister she relieved her, with loving words of explanation, from the reproach of being the causeof this misfortune also, for the quarrel had taken place so early thatno tidings of the meeting in the entry could have reached young Vorchtelwhen he became involved in the fray with Wolff. 

Nor was it solely to soothe Eva that she assured her that, deeply as shemourned the death of the hapless Ulrich and his parents' grief, Wolff'sdeed could not diminish either her love or her hope of becoming his. 

Eva listened to this statement with sparkling eyes. The love in hersister's heart was as immovably firm as the ancient stones of her nativestronghold, which defied every storm, and on which even the destroying, kindling lightning could inflict no injury. This made her doublydear, and from the depths of dull despair her soul, ever prone to soarupwards, rose swiftly to the heights of hopeful exaltation. 

When Els at last entreated her to go to rest without her, she willinglyconsented, for her mother was comfortable, and Sister Renata waswatching at her bedside. 

Eva kept her promise, after Els, who wanted to see the Countess vonMontfort, had satisfied her concerning the welfare of the nuns andpromised to go to rest herself as soon as possible. 

The stopping of the alarm bells proved that the fire was under control. Even its reflection had disappeared, but the eastern sky was beginningto be suffused with a faint tinge of rose colour. 

When her sister left her Eva herself drew the curtains before thewindow, and sleep soon ended her thoughts and yearnings, her grief andher hope. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Countess Cordula von Montfort's room faced the east and looked out intothe garden. The sun of the June morning had just risen, filling it withcheerful light. 

The invalid's maid had wished to deny Els admittance, but the countesscalled eagerly to her, and then ordered the windows to be opened, because she never felt comfortable unless it was light around her andshe could breathe God's pure air. 

The morning breeze bore the smoke which still rose from the fire inanother direction, and thus a refreshing air really entered the roomfrom the garden, for the thunderstorm had refreshed all nature, andflower beds and grass, bush and tree, exhaled a fresh odour of earth andleafage which it was a delight to breathe. 

The leech Otto, to whom the severely wounded Ulrich Vorchtel had beencarried, had just left the countess. The burns on her hands and arms hadbeen bandaged--nay, the old gentleman had cut out the scorched portionsof her tresses with his own hand. Cordula's energetic action had madethe famous surgeon deem her worthy of such care. He had also advised herto seek the nursing of the oldest daughter of her host, whose invalidwife he was attending, and she had gladly assented; for Els hadattracted her from their first meeting, and she was accustomed to beginthe day at sunrise. 

"How does it happen that you neither weep nor even hang your head afterall the sorrow which last night brought you?" asked Cordula, as theNuremberg maiden sat down beside her bed. "You are a stranger to theSwiss knight, and when we surprised you with him you had not come to ameeting--I know that full well. But if so true and warm a love unitesyou to young Eysvogel, how does it happen that your joyous courage is solittle damped by his father's denial and his own unhappy deed, which atthis time could scarcely escape punishment? You do not seem frivolous, and yet--"

"Yet, " replied Els with a pleasant smile, "many things have made adeeper impression. We are not all alike, Countess, yet there is muchin your nature which must render it easy for you to understand me; for, Countess----"

"Call me Cordula, " interrupted the girl in a tone of friendly entreaty. "Why should I deny that I am fond of you? and at the risk of making youvain, I will betray----"

"Well?" asked Els eagerly. 

"That the splendid old leech described you to me exactly as I hadimagined you, " was the reply. "You were one of those, he said, whosemere presence beside a sick-bed was as good as medicine, and so you are;and, dear Jungfrau Els, this salutary medicine benefits me. "

"If I am to dispense with the 'Countess, '" replied the other, "you mustspare me the 'Jungfrau. ' Nursing you will give me all the more pleasureon account of the warm gratitude----"

"Never mind that, " interrupted Cordula. "But please look at the bandage, beneath which the flesh burns and aches more than is necessary, and thengo on with your explanation. "

Els examined the countess's arm, and then applied a household remedywhose use she had learned from the wife of Herr Pfinzing, her AuntChristine, who was familiar with the healing art. It relieved the pain, and when Cordula told her so, Els went on with her explanation. "When all these blows fell upon me, they at first seemed, indeed, unprecedented and scarcely possible to endure. When afterwards myWolff's unhappy deed was added, I felt as though I were standing in adense, dark mist, where each step forwards must lead me into a stiflingmorass or over a precipice. Then I began to reflect upon what hadhappened, as is my custom; I separated, in my thoughts, the evilmenacing in the future from the good, and had scarcely made a littleprogress in this way when morass and abyss lost their terrors; both, Ifound, could be left to take care of themselves, since neither Wolff norI lack love and good will, and we possess some degree of prudence andcaution. "

"Yes, this thinking and considering!" cried the countess, with a faintsigh. "It succeeds in my case, too, only, unluckily, I usually don'tbegin until it is too late and the folly has been committed. "

"Then, henceforth, you must reverse the process, " answered Els cheerily. But directly after she changed her tone, which sounded serious enough asshe added: "The sorrow of the poor Vorchtels and the grief my betrothedhusband must endure, because the dead man was once a dear friend, certainly casts a dark shadow upon many things; but you, who love thechase, must surely be familiar with the misty autumn mornings to whichI allude. Everything, far and near, is covered by a thick veil, yetone feels that there is bright sunshine behind it. Suddenly the mistscatters----"

"And mountain and forest, land and water, lie before us in the radiantsunlight!" cried the countess. "How well I know such scenes! And how Ishould rejoice if a favourable wind would sweep the grey mist away foryou right speedily! Only--indeed, I am not disposed to look on the darkside--only, perhaps you do not know how resolute the Emperor is that thepeace of the country shall be maintained. If your lover allowed himselfto be carried away----"

"This was not the first time, " Els eagerly interrupted, "that youngVorchtel tried to anger him in the presence of others; and he believedthat he was justified in bearing a grudge against his former friend--itwas considered a settled thing that Wolff and his sister Ursula were tomarry. "

"Until, " Cordula broke in, "he gazed into your bright eyes. "

"How could you know that?" asked Els in confusion. 

"Because, in love and hate, as well as in reckoning, two and threefollow one, " laughed the countess. "As for your Wolff, in particular, Iwill gladly believe, with you, that he can succeed in clearing himselfbefore the judges. But with regard to old Eysvogel, who looks as though, if he met our dear Lord Himself, he would think first which of the twowas the richer, your future brother-in-law Siebenburg, that disagreeable'Mustache, ' and his poor wife, who sits at home grieving over herdissolute husband--what gratitude you can expect from such kindred--"

"None, " replied Els sadly. Yet a mischievous smile hovered around herlips as, bending over the invalid, she added in a whisper: "But thegood I expect from all the evil is, that we and the Eysvogels will beseparated as if by wall and moat. They will never cross them, but Wolffwould find the way back to me, though we were parted by an ocean, andmountains towering to the sky divided----"

"This confidence, indeed, maintains the courage, " said the countess, andwith a faint sigh she added: "Whatever evil may befall you, many mightenvy you. "

"Then love has conquered you also?" Els began; but Cordula answeredevasively:

"Let that pass, dear Jungfrau. Perhaps love treats me as a mother dealswith a froward child, because I asked too much of her. My life hasbecome an endless battue. Much game of all kinds is thus driven outto be shot, but the sportsman finds true pleasure only in tracking thesingle heathcock, the solitary chamois. Yet, no, " and in her eagernessshe flung her bandaged hand so high into the air that she groaned withpain and was forced to keep silence. When able to speak once more, stilltortured by severe suffering, she exclaimed angrily: "No, I want neitherdriving nor stalking. What do I care for the prey? I am a woman, too. Iwould fain be the poor persecuted game, which the hunter pursues at therisk of breaking his bones and neck. It must be delightful; one wouldwillingly bear the pain of a wound for its sake. I don't mean thesepitiful burns, but a deep and deadly one. "

"You ought to have spared yourself these, " said Els in a tone ofaffectionate warning. "Consider what you are to your father, and howyour suffering pains him! To risk a precious human life for the sake ofa stupid brute--"

"They call it a sin, I know, " Cordula burst forth. "And yet I wouldcommit the same tomorrow at the risk of again--Oh, you cautious citypeople, you maidens with snow-white hands! What do you know of a girllike me? You cannot even imagine what my child life was; and yet it istold in a single word--motherless! I was never permitted to see her, tohear her dear, warning voice. She paid with her own life for givingme mine. My father? How kind he is! He meant to supply his dead wife'splace by anticipating my every wish. Had I desired to feast my eyes onthe castle in flames, it would, perhaps, now lie in ashes. So I becamewhat I am. True--and this is something--I grew to be at least oneperson's joy--his. No, no, at home there are others also, though theydwell in wretched hovels, who would gladly welcome me back. But exceptthese, who will ask about the reckless countess? I myself do not care tolinger long when the mirror shows me my image. Do you wish to know whatthis has to do with the fire? Much; for otherwise I should scarcely havebeen wounded. The lightning had struck only the convent barn; the cowstable, when we arrived, was still safe, but the flames soon reachedit also. Neither the nuns nor the men had thought of driving the cattleout. Poor city cattle! In the country the animals have more friendlycare. When the work of rescue was at last commenced the cows naturallyrefused to leave their old home. Some prudent person had torn the dooroff the hinges that they might not stifle. Just in front of it stood apretty red cow with a white star on her face. A calf was by her side, and the mother had already sunk on her knees and was licking it inmortal terror. I pitied the poor thing, and as Boemund Altrosen, theblack-haired knight who entered your house with the rest after the rideto Kadolzburg, had just come there, I told him to save the calf. Ofcourse he obeyed my wish, and as it struggled he dragged it out of thestable with his strong arms. The building was already blazing, and thethatched roof threatened to fall in. Just at that moment the old cowlooked at me so piteously and uttered such a mournful bellow that ittouched me to the heart. My eyes rested on the calf, and a voice withinwhispered that it would be motherless, like me, and miss during thefirst part of its life God's best gift. But since, as you have heard, I act before I think, I went myself--I no longer know how--into theburning stable. It was hard to breathe in the dense smoke, and fierysparks scorched my shawl and my hair, but I was conscious of onethought: You must save the helpless little creature's mother! So Icalled and lured her, as I do at home, where all the cows are fond ofme, but it was useless; and just as I perceived this the thatched rooffell in, and I should probably have perished had not Altrosen this timecarried my own by no means light figure out of the stable instead of thecalf. "

"And you?" asked Els eagerly. 

"I submitted, " replied the countess. 

"No, no, " urged Els. "Your heart throbbed faster with grateful joy, for you saw the desire of your soul fulfilled. A hunter, and one ofthe noblest of them all, risked his life in the pursuit of your love. O Countess Cordula, I remember that knight well, and if the dark-bluesleeve which he wore on his helm in the tournament was yours--"

"I believe it was, " Cordula interrupted indifferently. "But, what wasof more importance, when I opened my eyes again the cow was standingoutside, licking her recovered calf. "

"And the knight?" asked Els. "Whoever so heroically risks his life forhis lady's wish should be sure of her gratitude. "

"Boemund can rely on that, " said Cordula positively. "At least, whathe did this time for my sake weighs more heavily in the scale thanthe lances he has broken, his love songs, or the mute language ofhis longing eyes. Those are shafts which do not pierce my heart. Howreproachfully you look at me! Let him take lessons from his friend HeinzSchorlin, and he may improve. Yes, the Swiss knight! He would be theman for me, spite of your involuntary meeting with him and your devoutsister, for whom he forgot every one else, and me also, in the dancinghall. O Jungfrau Els, I have the hunter's eyes, which are keen-sighted!For his sake your beautiful Eva, with her saintly gaze, might easilyforget to pray. It was not you, but she, who drew him to-night to yourhouse. Had this thought entered my head downstairs in the entry Ishould probably, to be honest, have omitted my little fairy tale and letmatters take their course. St. Clare ought to have protected her futurevotary. Besides, it pleases the arrogant little lady to show me asplainly as possible, on every occasion, that I am a horror to her. Letthose who will accept such insults. My Christianity does not go farenough to offer her the right cheek too. And shall I tell you something?To spoil her game, I should be capable, in spite of all the lifepreservers in the world, of binding Schorlin to me in good earnest. "

"Do not!" pleaded Els, raising her clasped hands beseechingly, andadded, as if in explanation: "For the noble Boemund Altrosen's sake, donot. "

"To promise that, my darling, is beyond my power, " replied Cordulacoolly, "because I myself do not know what I may do or leave undonetomorrow or the day after. I am like a beech leaf on the stream. Let ussee where the current will carry it. It is certain, " and she lookedat her bandaged hands, "that my greatest beauty, my round arms, aredisfigured. Scars adorn a man; on a woman they are ugly and repulsive. At a dance they can be hidden under tight sleeves, but how hot thatwould be in the 'Schwabeln' and 'Rai'! So I had better keep away fromthese foolish gaieties in future. A calf turns a countess out of aballroom! What do you think of that? New things often happen. "

Here she was interrupted; the housekeeper called Els. Sir SeitzSiebenburg, spite of the untimely hour, had come to speak to her aboutan important matter. Her father had gone to rest and sleep. The knightalso enquired sympathisingly about Countess von Montfort and presentedhis respects. 

"Of which I can make no use!" cried Cordula angrily. "Tell him so, Martsche. "

As the housekeeper withdrew she exclaimed impatiently: "How it burns!The heat would be enough to convert the rescued calf into an appetisingroast. I wish I could sleep off the pain of my foolish prank! Thesunlight is beginning to be troublesome. I cannot bear it; it isblinding. Draw the curtain over the window. "

Cordula's own maid hastened to obey the order. Els helped the countessturn on her pillows, and as in doing so she touched her arm, thesufferer cried angrily: "Who cares what hurts me? Not even you!"

Here she paused. The pleading glance which Els had cast at her must havepierced her soft heart, for her bosom suddenly heaved violently and, struggling to repress her sobs, she gasped, "I know you mean kindly, but I am not made of stone or iron either. I want to be alone and go tosleep. "

She closed her eyes as she spoke and, when Els bent to kiss her, tearsbedewed her cheeks. 

Soon after Els went down into the entry to meet her lover'sbrother-in-law. He had refused to enter the empty sitting-room. TheCountess von Montfort's unfriendly dismissal had vexed him sorely, yet it made no lasting impression. Other events had forced into thebackground the bitter attack of Cordula, for whom he had never felt anygenuine regard. 

The experiences of the last few hours had converted the carefullybedizened gallant into a coarse fellow, whose outward appearance borevisible tokens of his mental depravity. The faultlessly cut garment waspushed awry on his powerful limbs and soiled on the breast with winestains. The closely fitting steel chain armour, in which he had riddenout, now hung in large folds upon his powerful frame. The long mustache, which usually curled so arrogantly upwards, now drooped damp and limpover his mouth and chin, and his long reddish hair fell in dishevelledlocks around his bloated face. His blue eyes, which usually sparkled sobrightly, now looked dull and bleared, and there were white spots on hiscopper-coloured cheeks. 

Since Countess Cordula gave him the insulting message to his wife he hadundergone more than he usually experienced in the course of years. 

"An accursed night!" he had exclaimed, in reply to the housekeeper'squestion concerning the cause of his disordered appearance. 

Els, too, was startled by his looks and the hoarse sound of his voice. Nay, she even drew back from him, for his wandering glance made her fearthat he was intoxicated. 

Only a short time before, it is true, he had scarcely been able to standerect, but the terrible news which had assailed him had quickly soberedhim. 

He had come at this unwontedly early hour to enquire whether theOrtliebs had heard anything of his brother-in-law Wolff. There was not aword of allusion to the broken betrothal. 

In return for the promise that she would let the Eysvogels know assoon as she received any tidings of her lover, which Els gave unasked, Siebenburg, who had always treated her repellently or indifferently, thanked her so humbly that she was surprised. She did not know howto interpret it; nay, she anticipated nothing good when, with urgentcordiality, he entreated her to forget the unpleasant events of thepreceding night, which she must attribute to a sudden fit of angeron Herr Casper's part. She was far too dear to all the members of thefamily for them to give her up so easily. What had occurred--shemust admit that herself--might have induced even her best friend tomisunderstand it. For one brief moment he, too, had been tempted todoubt her innocence. If she knew old Eysvogel's terrible situation shewould certainly do everything in her power to persuade her father toreceive him that morning, or--which would be still better--go to hisoffice. The weal and woe of many persons were at stake, her own aboveall, since, as Wolff's betrothed bride, she belonged to him inseparably. 

"Even without the ring?" interrupted Els bitterly; and when Siebenburgeagerly lamented that he had not brought it back, she answered proudly"Don't trouble yourself, Sir Seitz! I need this sacred pledge as littleas the man who still wears mine. Tell your kinsfolk so. I will inform myfather of Herr Casper's wish; he is asleep now. Shall I guess arightin believing that the other disasters which have overtaken you areconnected with the waggon trains Wolff so anxiously expected?"

Siebenburg, twirling his cap in confusion, assented to her question, adding that he knew nothing except that they were lost and, afterrepeating his entreaty that she would accomplish a meeting between thetwo old gentlemen, left her. 

It would indeed have been painful for him to talk with Els, for amessenger had brought tidings that the waggons had been attacked androbbed, and the perpetrators of the deed were his own brothers and theircousin and accomplice Absbach. True, Seitz himself had had no share inthe assault, yet he did not feel wholly blameless for what had occurred, since over the wine and cards he had boasted, in the presence of therobbers, of the costly wares which his father-in-law was expecting, andmentioned the road they would take. 

Seitz Siebenburg's conscience was also burdened with something quitedifferent. 

Vexed and irritated by the countess's insulting rebuff, he had gone tothe Green Shield to forget his annoyance at the gaming table in the Dukeof Pomerania's quarters. He had fared ill. There was no lack of fieryRhine wine supplied by the generous host; the sultry atmosphere causedby the rising thunderstorm increased his thirst and, half intoxicated, and incensed by the luck of Heinz Schorlin, in whom he saw the preferredlover of the lady who had so suddenly withdrawn her favour, he had beenled on to stakes of unprecedented amount. At last he risked the lands, castle, and village which he possessed in Hersbruck as his wife's dower. Moreover, he was aware of having said things which, though he could notrecall them to memory in detail, had roused the indignation of many ofthose who were present. The remarks referred principally to the Ortliebsisters. 

Amid the wild uproar prevailing around the gaming table that night theduel which had cost young Vorchtel his life was not mentioned untilthe last dice had been thrown. In the discussion the victor's betrothedbride had been named, and Siebenburg clearly remembered that he hadspoken of the breaking of his brother-in-law's engagement, and connectedit with accusations which involved him in a quarrel with several of theguests, among them Heinz Schorlin. 

Similar occurrences were frequent, and he was brave, strong, and skilfulenough to cope with any one, even the dreaded Swiss; only he was vexedand troubled because he had disputed with the man to whom he had losthis property. Besides, his father-in-law had so earnestly enjoined itupon him to put no obstacle in the way of his desire to make peace withthe Ortliebs that he was obliged to bow his stiff neck to them. 

The arrogant knight's position was critical, and real inward dignity wasunknown to him. Yet he would rather have been dragged with his brothersto the executioner's block than humbled himself before the Swiss. But hemust talk with him for the sake of his twin sons, whose heritage hehad so shamefully gambled away. True, the utmost he intended was theconfession that, while intoxicated, he had staked his property atthe gaming table and said things which he regretted. Heinz Schorlin'sgenerosity was well known. Perhaps he might offer some acceptablearrangement ere the notary conveyed his estate to him. He did not yetfeel that he could stoop so low as to receive a gift from this youngupstart. 

If his father-in-law, who supported him, was really ruined, as he hadjust asserted, he would indeed be plunged into beggary, with his wife, whose stately figure constantly rose before him, with a look of mutereproach, his beautiful twin boys, and his load of debt. 

The gigantic man felt physically crushed by the terrible blows of fatewhich had fallen upon him during this last wakeful night. He would fainhave gone to the nearest tavern and there left it to the wine to bringforgetfulness. To drink, drink constantly, and in the intervals sleepwith his head resting on his arms, seemed the most tempting prospect. But he was obliged to return to the Eysvogels. There was too much atstake. Besides, he longed to see the twins who resembled him so closely, and of whom Countess Cordula had said that she hoped they would not belike their father. 

CHAPTER XV. 

The city gates were already open. Peasants and peasant women bringingvegetables and other farm produce to market thronged the streets, wainsloaded with grain or charcoal rumbled along, and herds of cattle andswine, laden donkeys, the little carts of the farmers and bee keepersconveying milk and honey to the city, passed over the dyke, which wasstill softened by the rain of the preceding night. 

The thunderstorm had cooled the air, but the rays of the morning sunwere already scorching. A few heavy little clouds were darkly relievedagainst the blue sky, and a peasant, driving two sucking pigs beforehim, called to another, who was carrying a goose under each arm, thatthe sun was drawing water, and thundershowers seldom came singly. 

Yet the city looked pleasant enough in the freshness of early June. Themaidservants who were opening the shutters glanced gaily out into thestreets, and arranged the flowers in front of the windows or bowedreverently as a priest passed by on his way to mass. The barefootedCapuchin, with his long beard, beckoned to the cook or the tradesman'swife and, as she put something into his beggar's sack and he thankedher kindly with some pious axiom, she felt as if she herself and all herhousehold had gained a right to the blessing of Heaven for that day, andcheerily continued her work. 

The brass counter in the low, broad bow window of the baker's houseglittered brightly, and the pale apprentice wiped the flour from hisface and gave his master's rosy-cheeked daughter fresh warm cakes to seton the shining shelves. The barber's nimble apprentice hung the toweland basin at the door, while his master, wearied by the wine-bibbingand talk at the tavern or his labour at the fire, was still asleep. Hisactive wife had risen before him, strewed the shop with fresh sand, andrenewed the goldfinch's food. 

The workshops and stores were adorned with birch branches, and theyoung daughters of the burghers, in becoming caps, the maid servants andapprentices, who were going to market with baskets on their arms, wore aflower or something green on their breasts or in their caps. 

The first notes of the bells, pealing solemnly, were summoningworshippers to mass, the birds were singing in the garden, and the cockswere crowing in the yards of the houses. The animals passing in thestreet lowed, grunted, and cackled merrily in the dawn of the young day. 

Gay young men, travelling students who had sought cheap quarters inthe country, now entered the city with a merry song on their lips justshaded by the first down of manhood, and when a maiden met them shelowered her eyes modestly before the riotous fellows. 

The terrors of the frightful thunderstorm seemed forgotten. Nuremberglooked gladsome; a carpet hung from many a bow-window, and flags andstreamers fluttered from roofs and balconies to honour the distinguishedguests. Many signs of their presence were visible, squires andequerries, in their masters' colours, were riding spirited horses, anda few knights who loved early rising were already in the saddle, theirshining helmets and coats of mail flashing brightly in the sunshine. 

The gigantic figure of Sir Seitz Siebenburg moved with drooping headthrough the budding joy of this June day towards the Eysvogel dwelling. 

His gloomy, haggard face and disordered attire made two neatly dressedyoung shoemaker's apprentices, on their way to their work, nudge eachother and look keenly at him. 

"I'd rather meet him here in broad daylight among houses and people thanin the dusk on the highway, " remarked one of them. 

"There's no danger, " replied the other. "He wears the curb now. He movedfrom the robber nest into the rich Eysvogel house opposite. That's HerrCasper's son-in-law. But such people can never let other folks' propertyalone. Only here they work in another way. The shoes he wears were madein our workshop, but the master still whistles for his pay, and he oweseverybody--the tailor, the lacemaker, the armourer, the girdlemaker, andthe goldsmith. If an apprentice reminds him of the debt, let him bewareof bruises. "

"The Emperor Rudolph ought to issue an edict against such injustice!"wrathfully exclaimed the other and taller youth, the handsome son of amaster of the craft from Weissenburg on the Sand, who expected soon totake his father's place. "Up at Castle Graufels, which is saddled on ourlittle town, master and man would be going barefoot but for us; yet forthree years we haven't seen so much as a penny of his, though my fathersays times have already improved, since the Hapsburg, as a just man----"

"Things have not been so bad here for a long while, the saints bepraised!" his companion broke in. "Siebenburg, or some of his wife'srich kindred, will at last be compelled to settle matters. We havethe law and the Honourable Council to attend to that. Look up! Yonderstately old house gave its daughter to the penniless knight. She is oneof our customers too; a handsome woman, and not one of the worst either. But her mother, who was born a countess--if the shoe doesn't make a footsmall which Nature created big, there's such an outcry! True, the oldwoman, her mother, is worse still; she scolds and screams. But look upat the bow window. There she stands. I'm only a poor brewer's son, butbefore I----"

"You don't say so!" the other interrupted. "Have you seen the owl in thecage in front of the guardhouse at the gate of the hospital? It is herliving image; and how her chin projects and moves up and down, as thoughshe were chewing leather!"

"And yet, " said the other, as if insisting upon something difficult tobelieve, "and yet the old woman is a real countess. "

The Weissenburg apprentice expressed his astonishment with another: "Youdon't say so!" but as he spoke he grasped his companion's arm, addingearnestly: "Let us go. That ugly old woman just looked at me, and if itwasn't the evil eye I shall go straight to the church and drive away themisfortune with holy water. "

"Come, then, " answered the Nuremberg youth, but continued thoughtfully:"Yet my master's grandmother, a woman of eighty, is probably older thanthe one up there, but nobody could imagine a kinder, pleasanter dame. When she looks approvingly at one it seems as if the dear God's blessingwere shining from two little windows. "

"That's just like my grandmother at home!" exclaimed the Weissenburgapprentice with sparkling eyes. 

Turning from the Eysvogel mansion as they spoke, they pursued their way. 

Siebenburg had overtaken the apprentices, but ere crossing the thresholdof the house which was now his home he stopped before it. 

It might, perhaps, be called the largest and handsomest in Nuremberg;but it was only a wide two-story structure, though the roof had beenadorned with battlements and the sides with a small bow-windowed turret. At the second story a bracket, bearing an image of the Madonna, had beenbuilt out on one side, and on the other the bow window from which oldCountess Rotterbach had looked down into the street. 

The coat of arms was very striking and wholly out of harmony with thesimplicity of the rest of the building. Its showy splendour, visible fora long distance, occupied the wide space between the door of the houseand the windows of the upper story. The escutcheon of the noble familyfrom which Rosalinde, Herr Casper's wife, had descended rested againstthe shield bearing the birds. The Rotterbach supporters, a nude manand a bear standing on its hind legs, rose on both sides of the doubleescutcheon, and the stone cutter had surmounted the Eysvogel helmet witha count's coronet. 

This elaborate decoration of the ancient patrician house had becomeone of the sights of the city, and had often made Herr Casper, at theHonourable Council and elsewhere, clench his fist under his mantle, forit had drawn open censure and bitter mockery upon the arrogant man, buthis desire to have it replaced by a more modest one had been baffled bythe opposition of the women of his family. They had had it put up, andwould not permit any one to touch it, though Wolff, after his returnfrom Italy, had strenuously urged its removal. 

It had brought the Eysvogels no good fortune, for on the day of itscompletion the business received its first serious blow, and it alsoserved to injure the commercial house externally in a very obviousmanner. Whereas formerly many wares which needed to be kept dry had beenhoisted from the outer door and the street to the spacious attic, thiswas now prevented by the projecting figures of the nude men and thebears. Therefore it became necessary to hoist the goods to be stored inthe attic from the courtyard, which caused delay and hindrances of manykinds. Various expedients had been suggested, but the women opposed themall, for they were glad that the ugly casks and bales no longer foundtheir way to the garret past their windows, and it also gratified theirarrogance that they were no longer visible from the street. 

Siebenburg now looked up at the huge escutcheon and recalled the daywhen, after having been specially favoured by Isabella Eysvogel at adance in the Town Hall, he had paused in the same place. A long line ofladen waggons had just stopped in front of the door surmounted by thedouble escutcheon, and if he had previously hesitated whether to profitby the favour of Isabella, whose haughty majesty, which attracted him, also inspired him with a faint sense of uneasiness, he was now convincedhow foolish it would be not to forge the iron which seemed aglow inhis favour. What riches the men-servants were carrying into the vaultedentry, which was twice as large as the one in the Ortlieb mansion!Besides, the escutcheon with the count's coronet had given the knightassurance that he would have no cause to be ashamed, in an assembly ofhis peers, of his alliance with the Nuremberg maiden. Isabella's handcould undoubtedly free him from the oppressive burden of his debts, andshe was certainly a magnificent woman! How well, too, her tall figurewould suit him and the Siebenburgs, whose name was said to be derivedfrom the seven feet of stature which some of them measured!

Now he again remembered the hour when she had laid her slender hand inhis. For a brief period he had been really happy; his heart had notfelt so light since early childhood, though at first he had ventured toconfess only one half his load of debt to his father-in-law. He hadeven assumed fresh obligations to relieve his brothers from their mostpressing cares. They had attended his brilliant wedding, and it hadflattered his vanity to show them what he could accomplish as thewealthy Eysvogel's son-in-law. 

But how quickly all this had changed! He had learned that, besidesthe woman who had given him her heart and inspired him with a passionhitherto unknown, he had wedded two others. 

Now, as the image of old Countess Rotterbach, Isabella's grandmother, forced itself upon his mind, he unconsciously knit his brow. He had notheard her say much, but with every word she bestowed upon him he wasforced to accept something bitter. She rarely left her place in thearmchair in the bow window in the sitting-room, but it seemed as if herlittle eyes possessed the power of piercing walls and doors, for sheknew everything that concerned him, even his greatest secrets, which hebelieved he had carefully concealed. More on her account than on that ofhis mother-in-law, who did nothing except what the former commanded, he had repeatedly tried to remove with his wife to the estate ofTannenreuth, which had been assigned to him on the day of the marriage, that its revenues might support the young couple, but the mother andgrandmother detained his wife, and their wishes were more to her thanhis. Perhaps, however, he might have induced her to go with him had nothis father-in-law made his debts a snare, which he drew whenever itwas necessary to stifle his wishes, and he, too, wanted to retain hisdaughter at home. 

Since Wolff's return from Italy he had become aware that the stream ofgold from the Eysvogel coffers flowed more sparingly, or even failedaltogether to satisfy his extravagant tastes. Therefore his relationswith his brother-in-law, whose prudent caution he considered avarice, and whose earnest protests against his often unprecedented demandsfrequently roused his ire, became more and more unfriendly. 

The inmates of the Eysvogel house rendered his home unendurable, andfrom the experiences of his bachelor days he knew only too well wheremirth reigned in Nuremberg. So he became a rare guest at the Eysvogels, and when Isabella found herself neglected and deceived, she made himfeel her resentment in her own haughty and--as soon as she deemedherself injured--harsh manner. 

At first her displeasure troubled him sorely, but the ardent passionwhich had absorbed him during the early days of their marriage had diedout, and only flamed up with its old fervour occasionally; but at suchtimes the haughty, neglected wife repulsed him with insulting severity. 

Yet she had never permitted any one to disparage her husband behind hisback. True, Siebenburg did not know this, but he perceived more and moreplainly that both the Eysvogels, father and son, were oppressed by somegrave anxiety, and that the sums which Wolff now paid him no longersufficed to hold his creditors in check. He was not accustomed to imposeany restraint upon himself, and thus it soon became known throughout thecity that he did not live at peace with his wife and her family. 

Yet five weeks ago matters had appeared to improve. The birth of thetwins had brought something new into his life, which drew him nearer toIsabella. 

The children at first seemed to him two lovely miracles. Both boys, both exactly like him. When they were brought to him on their white, lace-trimmed pillows, his heart had swelled with joy, and it was hisgreatest delight to gaze at them. 

This was the natural result. 

He, the stalwart Siebenburg, had not become the father of one ordinaryboy, but of two little knights at once. When he returned home--even ifhis feet were unsteady--his first visit was to them, and he had oftenfelt that he was far too poor and insignificant to thank his neglectedwife aright for so precious a gift. 

Whenever this feeling took possession of him he expressed his love toIsabella with tender humility; while she, who had bestowed her handupon him solely from love, forgot all her wrongs, and her heart throbbedfaster with grateful joy when she saw him, with fatherly pride, carrythe twins about with bent knees, as if their weight was too heavy forhis giant arms to bear. 

The second week after their birth Isabella fell slightly ill. Her motherand grandmother undertook the nursing, and as the husband found themboth with the twins whenever he came to see the infants and theirmother, the sick-room grew distasteful to him. Again, as before theirbirth, he sought compensation outside of the house for the annoyancecaused by the women at home; but the memory of the little boys hauntedhim, and when he met his companions at the tavern he invited them todrink the children's health in the host's best wine. 

So life went on until the Reichstag brought the von Montforts, whom hehad met at a tournament in Augsburg, to the city of Nuremberg. 

Mirth reigned wherever Countess Cordula appeared, and Siebenburg neededamusement and joined the train of her admirers--with what evil result henow clearly perceived for the first time. 

He again stood before the stately dwelling where he had hoped to findluxury and wealth, but where his heart now throbbed more anxiously thanthose of his kinsmen had formerly done in the impoverished castle of hisfather, who had died so long ago. 

The Eysvogel dwelling, with its showy escutcheon above the door, wasthreatened by want, and hand in hand with it, he knew, the most hideousof all her children--disgrace. 

Now he also remembered what he himself had done to increase the perilmenacing the ancient commercial house. Perhaps the old man within wasrelying upon the estate of Tannenreuth, which he had assigned to him, toprotect some post upon which much depended, and he had gambled it away. This must now be confessed, and also the amount of his own debts. 

An unpleasant task confronted him but, humiliating and harassing as wasthe interview awaiting him beyond the threshold before which he stilllingered, at least he would not find Wolff there. This seemed a boon, since for the first time he would have felt himself in the wrong in thepresence of his unloved brother-in-law. Even the burden of his debtsweighed less heavily on his conscience than the irritating words withwhich he had induced his father-in-law to break off Wolff's betrothal toEls Ortlieb. The act was base and malicious. Greatly as he had erred, he had never before been guilty of such a deed, and with a curse uponhimself on his bearded lips he approached the door; but when half wayto it he stopped again and looked up to the second-story windows behindwhich the twins slept. With what delight he had always thought ofthem! But this time the recollection of the little boys was spoiled byCountess Cordula's message to his wife to rear them so that they wouldnot be like him, their father. 

An evil wish! And yet the warmest love could have devised no better onein behalf of the true welfare of the boys. 

He told himself so as he passed beneath the escutcheon through the heavyopen door with its iron ornaments. He was expected, the steward toldhim, but he arched his broad breast as if preparing for a wrestlingmatch, pulled his mustache still longer, and went up the stairs. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The spacious, lofty sitting-room which Seitz Siebenburg entered lookedvery magnificent. Gay Flanders tapestries hung on the walls. The ceilingwas slightly vaulted, and in the centre of each mesh of the net designedupon it glittered a richly gilded kingfisher from the family coat ofarms. Bear and leopard skins lay on the cushions, and upon the shelfwhich surrounded three sides of the apartment stood costly vases, gold and silver utensils, Venetian mirrors and goblets. The chairs andfurniture were made of rare woods inlaid with ebony and mother of pearl, brought by way of Genoa from Moorish Spain. In the bow window juttingout into the street, where the old grandmother sat in her armchair, twogreen and yellow parrots on brass perches interrupted the conversation, whenever it grew louder, with the shrill screams of their ugly voices. 

Siebenburg found all the family except Wolff and the twins. His wife washalf sitting, half reclining, on a divan. When Seitz entered she raisedher head from the white arm on which it had rested, turned her oval facewith its regular features towards him, and gathered up the fair lockswhich, released from their braids, hung around her in long, thicktresses. Her eyes showed that she had been weeping violently, and as herhusband approached she again sobbed painfully. 

Her grandmother seemed annoyed by her lamentations for, pointing toIsabella's tears, she exclaimed sharply, glancing angrily at Siebenburg:

"It's a pity for every one of them!"

The knight's blood boiled at the words, but they strengthened hiscourage. He felt relieved from any consideration for these people, notone of whom, except the poor woman shedding such burning tears, hadgiven him occasion to return love for love. Had they flowed only forthe lost wealth, and not for him and the grief he caused Isabella, theywould not have seemed "a pity" to the old countess. 

Siebenburg's breath came quicker. 

The gratitude he owed his father-in-law certainly did not outweigh thehumiliations with which he, his weak wife, and ill-natured mother-in-lawhad embittered his existence. 

Even now the old gentleman barely vouchsafed him a greeting. After hehad asked about his son, called himself a ruined man, and upbraided theknight with insulting harshness because his brothers--the news had beenbrought to him a short time before--were the robbers who had seized hisgoods, and the old countess had chimed in with the exclamation, "Theyare all just fit for the executioner's block!" Seitz could restrainhimself no longer; nay, it gave him actual pleasure to show these hatedpeople what he had done, on his part, to add to their embarrassments. Hewas no orator, but now resentment loosened his tongue, and with swift, scornful words he told Herr Casper that, as the son-in-law of a housewhich liked to represent itself as immensely rich, he had borrowed fromothers what--he was justified in believing it--had been withheld throughparsimony. Besides, his debts were small in comparison with the vastsums Herr Casper had lavished in maintaining the impoverished estatesof the Rotterbach kindred. Like every knight whose own home was notpleasant, he sometimes gambled; and when, yesterday, ill luck pursuedhim and he lost the estate of Tannenreuth, he sincerely regretted thedisaster, but it could not be helped. 

Terror and rage had sealed the old countess's lips, but now they partedin the hoarse cry: "You deserve the wheel and the gallows, not thehonourable block!" and her daughter, Rosalinde Eysvogel, repeated in atone of sorrowful lamentation, "Yes, the wheel and the gallows. "

A scornful laugh from Siebenburg greeted the threat, but when HerrCasper, white as death and barely able to control his voice, askedwhether this incredible confession was merely intended to frighten thewomen, and the knight assured him of the contrary, he groaned aloud:"Then the old house must succumb to disgraceful ruin. "

Years of life spent together may inspire and increase aversion insteadof love, but they undoubtedly produce a certain community of existence. The bitter anguish of his aged household companion, the father of hiswife, to whom bonds of love still unsevered united him, touched evenSeitz Siebenburg. Besides, nothing moves the heart more quickly than thegrief of a proud, stern man. Herr Casper's confession did not make himdearer to the knight, but it induced him to drop the irritating tonewhich he had assumed, and in an altered voice he begged him not to giveup his cause as lost without resistance. For his daughter's sake oldHerr Ortlieb must lend his aid. Els, with whom he had just spoken, wouldcling firmly to Wolff, and try to induce her father to do all that waspossible for her lover's house. He would endeavour to settle with hisown creditors himself. His sharp sword and strong arm would be welcomeeverywhere, and the booty he won----Here he was interrupted by thegrandmother's query in a tone of cutting contempt: "Booty? On thehighway, do you mean?"

Once more the attack from the hostile old woman rendered the knight'sdecision easier, for, struggling not to give way to his anger, heanswered: "Rather, I think, in the Holy Land, in the war againstthe infidel Saracens. At any rate, my presence would be more welcomeanywhere than in this house, whose roof shelters you, Countess. If, Herr Casper, you intend to share with my wife and the twins what is leftafter the old wealth has gone, unfortunately, I cannot permit you to doso. I will provide for them also. True, it was your duty; for eversince Isabella became my wife you have taken advantage of my poverty andimpaired my right to command her. That must be changed from this veryday. I have learned the bitter taste of the bread which you provide. I shall confide them to my uncle, the Knight Heideck. He was my deadmother's only brother, and his wife, as you know, is the children'sgodmother. They are childless, and would consider it the most preciousof gifts to have such boys in the castle. My deserted wife must staywith him, while I--I know not yet in what master's service--provide thatthe three are not supported only by the charity of strangers---"

"Oh, Seitz, Seitz!" interrupted Isabella, in a tone of urgent entreaty. She had risen from her cushions, and was hurrying towards him. "Do notgo! You must not go so!"

Her tall figure nestled closely against him as she spoke, and she threwher arms around his neck; but he kissed her brow and eyes, saying, witha gentleness which surprised even her: "You are very kind, but I cannot, must not remain here. "

"The children, the little boys!" she exclaimed again, gazing up at himwith love-beaming eyes. Then his tortured heart seemed to shrink, and, pressing his hand on his brow, he paused some time ere he answeredgloomily: "It is for them that I go. Words have been spoken whichappeal to me, and to you, too, Isabella: 'See that the innocent littlecreatures are reared to be unlike their unhappy father. ' And the personwho uttered them----"

"A sage, a great sage, " giggled the countess, unable to control herbitter wrath against the man whom she hated; but Siebenburg fiercelyretorted:

"Although no sage, at least no monster spitting venom. "

"And you permit this insult to be offered to your grandmother?" FrauRosalinde Eysvogel wailed to her daughter as piteously as if the injuryhad been inflicted on herself. But Isabella only clung more closelyto her husband, heeding neither her mother's appeal nor her father'swarning not to be deluded by Siebenburg's empty promises. 

While the old countess vainly struggled for words, Rosalinde Eysvogelstood beside the lofty mantelpiece, weeping softly. Before Siebenburgappeared, spite of the early hour and the agitating news which she hadjust received, she had used her leisure for an elaborate toilette. Along trailing robe of costly brocade, blue on the left side and yellowon the right, now floated around her tall figure. When the knightreturned she had looked radiant in her gold and gems, like a princess. Now, crushed and feeble, she presented a pitiable image of powerless yetoffensively hollow splendour. It would have required too much exertionto assail her son-in-law with invectives, like her energetic mother;but when she saw her daughter, to whom she had already appealed severaltimes in a tone of anguished entreaty, rest her proud head so tenderlyon her husband's broad breast, as she had done during the first weeksof their marriage, but never since, the unhappy woman clearly perceivedthat the knight's incredible demand was meant seriously. What she hadbelieved an idle boast he actually requested. Yonder hated intruderexpected her to part with her only daughter, who was far more to herthan her unloved husband, her exacting mother, or the son who restrictedher wishes, whom she had never understood, and against whom her hearthad long been hardened. But it could not be and, losing all self-controland dignity, she shrieked aloud, tore the blue headband from her hairand, repeating the "never" constantly as if she had gone out of hersenses, gasped: "Never, never, never, so long as I live!"

As she spoke she rushed to her startled husband, pointed to herson-in-law, who still held his wife in a close embrace, and in ahalf-stifled voice commanded Herr Casper to strike down the gambler, robber, spendthrift, and kidnapper of children, or drive him out of thehouse like some savage, dangerous beast. Then she ordered Isabella toleave the profligate who wanted to drag her down to ruin; and when herdaughter refused to obey, she burst into violent weeping, sobbing andmoaning till her strength failed and she was really attacked with one ofthe convulsions she had often feigned, by the advice of her own mother, to extort from her husband the gratification of some extravagant wish. 

Indignant, yet full of sincere sympathy, Herr Casper supported his wife, whose queenly beauty had once fired his heart, and in whose embracehe had imagined that he would be vouchsafed here below the joys of theredeemed. As she rested her head, with its long auburn tresses, still soluxuriant, upon his shoulder, exquisite pictures of the past rose beforethe mental vision of the elderly man; but the spell was quickly broken, for the kerchief with which he wiped her face was dyed red from herrouged cheeks. 

A bitter smile hovered around his well-formed, beardless lips, and theman of business remembered the vast sums which he had squandered togratify the extravagant wishes of the mother and daughter, and showthese countesses that he, the burgher, in whose veins ran noble blood, understood as well as any man of their own rank how to increase thecharm of life by luxury and splendour. 

While he supported his wife, and the old countess was seeking to relieveher, Isabella also prepared to hasten to her mother's assistance, buther husband stopped her with resistless strength, whispering: "You knowthat these convulsions are not dangerous. Come with me to the children. I want to bid them farewell. Show me in this last hour, at least, thatthese women are not more to you than I. " He released her as he spoke, and the mental struggle which for a short time made her bosom heaveviolently with her hurried breathing ended with a low exclamation, "Iwill come. "

The nurse, whom Isabella sent out of the room when she entered with herhusband, silently obeyed, but stopped at the door to watch. She saw theturbulent knight kneel beside the children's cradle before the wifewhom he had so basely neglected, raise his tearful eyes to the majesticwoman, whose stature was little less than his own and, lifting hisclasped hands, make a confession which she could not hear; saw her drawhim towards her, nestle with loving devotion against his broad breast, and place first one and then the other twin boy in his arms. 

The young mother's cheeks as well as the father's were wet, but the eyesof both sparkled with grateful joy when Isabella, in taking leave of herhusband, thanked him with a last loving kiss for the vow that, whereverhe might go, he would treasure her and the children in his heart, and doeverything in his power to secure a fate that should be worthy of them. 

As Siebenburg went downstairs he met his father-in-law on thesecond-story landing. Herr Casper, deadly pale, was clinging with hisright hand to the baluster, pressing his left on his brow, as he vainlystruggled for composure and breath. He had forgotten to strengthenhimself with food and drink, and the terrible blows of fate which hadfallen upon him during these last hours of trial crushed, though butfor a short time, his still vigorous strength. The knight went nearerto help him, but when he offered Herr Casper his arm the old merchantangrily thrust it back and accepted a servant's support. 

While the man assisted him upstairs he repented that he had yieldedto resentment, and not asked his son-in-law to try to discover Wolff'shiding place, but no sooner had food and fiery wine strengthened himthan his act seemed wise. The return of the business partner, withoutwhose knowledge he had incurred great financial obligations, would haveplaced him in the most painful situation. The old gentleman would havebeen obliged to account to Wolff for the large sum which he owed to theJew Pfefferkorn, the most impatient of his creditors, though he neednot have told him that he had used it in Venice to gratify his love ofgaming. How should he answer his son if he asked why he had rejected hisbetrothed bride, and soon after condescended to receive her again as hisdaughter and enter into close relations with her father? Yet this mustbe done. Ernst Ortlieb was the only person who could help him. It hadbecome impossible to seek aid from Herr Berthold Vorchtel, the man whoseoldest son Wolff had slain, and yet he possessed the means to save thesinking ship from destruction. 

When the news of the duel reached him the messenger's blanched face hadmade him believe that Wolff had fallen. In that moment he had perceivedthat his loss would have rendered him miserable for the rest of hislife. This was a source of pleasure, for since Wolff had extorted hisconsent to the betrothal with Els Ortlieb, and thus estranged him fromthe Vorchtels, he had seriously feared that he had ceased to love him. Nay, in many an hour when he had cause to feel shame in the presence ofhis prudent, cautious, and upright partner, it had seemed as if he hatedhim. Now the fear of the judge whom he saw in Wolff was blended withsincere anxiety concerning his only son, whose breach of the peacemenaced him with banishment--nay, if he could not pay the price of bloodwhich the Vorchtels might demand, with death. Doubtless he had done manythings to prejudice Wolff against his betrothed bride, yet he who hadcast the first stone at her now felt that, in her simple purity, shewould be capable of no repudiation of the fidelity she owed her futurehusband. However strongly he had struggled against this conviction, heknew that she, if any one, could make his son happy--far happier thanhe had ever been with the tall, slender, snow-white, unapproachablecountess, who had helped bring him to ruin. 

While consuming the food and drink, he heard his wife, usually a mostobedient daughter, disputing with her mother. This was fortunate; for, if they were at variance, he need not fear that they would act as firmallies against him when he expressed the wish to have Wolff's marriagesolemnised as soon as circumstances would permit. 

It was not yet time to discuss the matter with any one. He would firstgo to the Jew Pfefferkorn once more to persuade him to defer hisclaims, and then, before the meeting of the Council, would repair to theOrtliebs, to commit to Herr Ernst the destiny of the Eysvogel firmand his partner Wolff, on which also depended the welfare of the youngmerchant's betrothed bride. If the father remained obdurate, if heresented the wrong he had inflicted yesterday upon him and his daughter, he was a lost man; for he had already availed himself of the good willof all those whose doors usually stood open to him. Doubtless the newsof his recent severe losses were in every one's mouth, and the letterwhich he had just received threatened him with an indictment. 

The luckless Siebenburg's creditors, too, would now be added to his own. It was all very well for him to say that he would settle his debts himself. As soon as it was rumoured abroad that he had gambled away theestate of Tannenreuth, whose value gave the creditors some security, they would rise as one man, and the house assailed would be his, CasperEysvogel's. 

The harried man's thoughts of his son-in-law were by no means the mostkindly. 

Meanwhile the latter set out for the second distasteful interview of themorning. 

His purpose was to make some arrangement with Heinz Schorlin about thelost estate and obtain definite knowledge concerning his quarrelwith him, of which he remembered nothing except that intoxication andjealousy had carried him further than would have happened otherwise. He had undoubtedly spoken insultingly of Els; his words, when utteredagainst a lady, had been sharper than beseemed a knight. Yet was notany one who found a maiden alone at night with this man justifiedin doubting her virtue? In the depths of his soul he believed in herinnocence, yet he avoided confessing it. Why should not the Swiss, whom Nature had given such power over the hearts of women, have alsoentangled his brother-in-law's betrothed bride in a love affair? Whyshould not the gay girl who had pledged her troth to a grave, dullfellow like Wolff, have been tempted into a little love dalliance withthe bold, joyous Schorlin?

Not until he had received proof that he had erred would he submit torecall his charges. 

He had left his wife with fresh courage and full of good intentions. Nowthat he was forced to bid her farewell, he first realised what she hadbeen to him. No doubt both had much to forgive, but she was a splendidwoman. Though her father's storehouses contained chests of spices andbales of cloth, he did not know one more queenly. That he could havepreferred, even for a single moment, the Countess von Montfort, whosesole advantage over her was her nimble tongue and gay, bold manners, nowseemed incomprehensible. He had joined Cordula's admirers only to forgetat her feet the annoyances with which he had been wearied at home. Hehad but one thing for which to thank the countess--her remark concerningthe future of the twins. 

Yet was he really so base that it would have been a disgrace for hisdarlings to resemble him? "No!" a voice within cried loudly, and as thesame voice reminded him of the victories won in tournaments and swordcombats, of the open hand with which, since he had been the richEysvogel's son-in-law, he had lent and given money to his brothers, andespecially of the manly resolve to provide for his wife and children asa soldier in the service of some prince, another, lower, yet insistent, recalled other things. It referred to the time when, with his brothers, he had attacked a train of freight waggons and not cut down their armedescort alone. The curse of a broad-shouldered Nordlinger carrier, whosebreast he had pierced with a lance though he cried out that he was afather and had a wife and child to support, the shriek of the pretty boywith curling brown hair who clung to the bridle of his steed as he rodeagainst the father, and whose arm he had cut off, still seemed to ringin his ears. He also remembered the time when, after a rich capture onthe highway which had filled his purse, he had ridden to Nurembergin magnificent new clothes at the carnival season in order, by hisbrothers' counsel, to win a wealthy bride. Fortune and the saints hadpermitted him to find a woman to satisfy both his avarice and hisheart, yet he had neither kept faith with her nor even showed her properconsideration. But, strangely enough, the warning voice reproached himstill more sharply for having, in the presence of others, accused anddisparaged his brother-in-law's betrothed bride, whose guilt he believedproved. Again he felt how ignoble and unworthy of a knight his conducthad been. Why had he pursued this course? Merely--he admitted it now--toharm Wolff, the monitor and niggard whom he hated; perhaps also becausehe secretly told himself that, if Wolff formed a happy marriage, he andhis children, not Siebenburg's twin boys, would obtain the larger shareof the Eysvogel property. 

This greed of gain, which had brought him to Nuremberg to seek a wife, was probably latent in his blood, though his reckless accumulation ofdebts seemed to contradict it. Yesterday, at the Duke of Pomerania's, ithad again led him into that wild, mad dice-throwing. 

Seitz Siebenburg was no calm thinker. All these thoughts passed singlyin swift flashes through his excited brain. Like the steady monotone ofthe bass accompanying the rise and fall of the air, he constantly heardthe assurance that it would be a pity if his splendid twins shouldresemble him. 

Therefore they must grow up away from his influence, under the care ofhis good uncle. With this man's example before their eyes they wouldbecome knights as upright and noble as Kunz Heideck, whom every oneesteemed. 

For the sake of the twins he had resolved to begin a new and worthierlife himself. His wife would aid him, and love should lend him strengthto conduct himself in future so that Countess von Montfort, and everyone who meant well by his sons, might wish them to resemble theirfather. 

He walked on, holding his head proudly erect. Seeing the firstworshippers entering the Church of Our Lady, he went in, too, repeatedseveral Paternosters, commended the little boys and their mother tothe care of the gracious Virgin, and besought her to help him curb theturbulent impulses which often led him to commit deeds he afterwardsregretted. 

Many people knew Casper Eysvogel's tall, haughty son-in-law andmarvelled at the fervent devotion with which, kneeling in the firstplace he found near the entrance, beside two old women, he continuedto pray. Was it true that the Eysvogel firm had been placed in a verycritical situation by the loss of great trains of merchandise? One ofhis neighbours had heard him sigh, and declared that something mustweigh heavily upon the "Mustache. " She would tell her nephew Hemerlein, the belt-maker, to whom the knight owed large sums for saddles andharnesses, that he would be wise to look after his money betimes. 

Siebenburg quitted the church in a more hopeful mood than when heentered it. 

The prayers had helped him. 

When he reached the fruit market he noticed that people gazed at himin surprise. He had paid no heed to his dress since the morning of theprevious day, and as he always consumed large quantities of food anddrink he felt the need of refreshment. Entering the first barber's shop, he had the stubble removed from his cheeks and chin, and arranged hisdisordered attire, and then, going to a taproom close by, ate and drank, without sitting down, what he found ready and, invigorated in body andmind, continued his walk. 

The fruit market was full of busy life. Juicy strawberries and earlycherries, red radishes, heads of cabbages, bunches of greens, and longstalks of asparagus were offered for sale, with roses and auriculas, balsams and early pinks, in pots and bouquets, and the ruddy peasantlasses behind the stands, the stately burgher women in their big roundhats, the daughters of the master workmen with their long floating locksescaping from under richly embroidered caps, the maidservants withneat little baskets on their round arms, afforded a varied and pleasingscene. Everything that reached the ear, too, was cheery and amusing, andrendered the knight's mood brighter. 

Proud of his newly acquired power of resistance, he walked on, afteryielding to the impulse to buy the handsomest bouquet of roses offeredby the pretty flower girl Kuni, whom, on Countess Cordula's account, during the Reichstag he had patronised more frequently than usual. Without knowing why himself, he did not tell the pretty girl, who hadalready trusted him very often, for whom he intended it, but ordered itto be charged with the rest. 

At the corner of the Bindergasse, where Heinz Schorlin lodged, he founda beggar woman with a bandaged head, whom he commissioned to carry theroses to the Eysvogel mansion and give them to his wife, Fran IsabellaSiebenburg, in his--Sir Seitz's--name. 

In front of the house occupied by the master cloth-maker Deichsler, where the Swiss had his quarters, the tailor Ploss stopped him. Hecame from Heinz Schorlin, and reminded Siebenburg of his by no meansinconsiderable debt; but the latter begged him to have patience a littlelonger, as he had met with heavy losses at the gaming table the nightbefore, and Ploss agreed to wait till St. Heinrich's day--[15th July]. 

How many besides the tailor had large demands! and when could Seitzbegin to cancel his debts? The thought even darted through his mind thatinstead of carrying his good intentions into effect he had not paid forthe roses--but flowers were so cheap in June!

Besides, he had no time to dwell upon this trifle, for while quietingthe tailor he had noticed a girl who, notwithstanding the heat of theday, kept her face hidden so far under her Riese--[A kerchief for thehead, resembling a veil, made of fine linen. ]--that nothing but her eyesand the upper part of her nose were visible. She had given him a hastynod and, if he was not mistaken, it was the Ortlieb sisters' maid, whomhe had often seen. 

When he again looked after the muffled figure she was hurrying up thecloth-maker's stairs. 

It was Katterle herself. 

At the first landing she had glanced back, and in doing so pushed thekerchief aside. What could she want with the Swiss? It could scarcelybe anything except to bring him a message from one of her mistresses, doubtless Els. 

So he had seen aright, and acted wisely not to believe the countess. 

Poor Wolff! Deceived even when a betrothed lover! He did not exactlywish him happiness even now, and yet he pitied him. 

Seitz could now stand before Heinz Schorlin with the utmost confidence. The Swiss must know how matters stood between the older E and himself, though his knightly duty constrained him to deny it to others. Siebenburg's self-reproaches had been vain. He had suspected no innocentgirl--only called a faithless betrothed bride by the fitting name. 

The matter concerning his estate of Tannenreuth was worse. It had beengambled away, and therefore forfeited. He had already given it up inimagination; it was only necessary to have the transfer made by thenotary. The Swiss should learn how a true knight satisfies even theheaviest losses at the gaming table. He would not spare Heinz Schorlin. He meant to reproach the unprincipled fellow who by base arts hadalienated the betrothed bride of an honest man--for that Wolff certainlywas--when adverse circumstances prevented his watching the faithlesswoman himself. Twisting the ends of his mustache with two rapid motions, he knocked at the young knight's door. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Twice, three times, Siebenburg rapped, but in vain. Yet the Swiss wasthere. His armour-bearer had told Seitz so downstairs, and he heard hisvoice within. At last he struck the door so heavily with the handle ofhis dagger that the whole house echoed with the sound. This succeeded;the door opened, and Biberli's narrow head appeared. He looked at thevisitor in astonishment. 

"Tell your master, " said the latter imperiously, recognising HeinzSchorlin's servant, "that if he closes his lodgings against dunningtradesfolk--"

"By your knock, my lord, " Biberli interrupted, "we really thought thesword cutler had come with hammer and anvil. My master, however, needhave no fear of creditors; for though you may not yet know it, SirKnight, there are generous noblemen in Nuremberg during the Reichstagwho throw away castles and lands in his favour at the gaming table. "

"And hurl their fists even more swiftly into the faces of insolentvarlets!" cried Siebenburg, raising his right hand threateningly. "Nowtake me to your master at once!"

"Or, at any rate, within his four walls, " replied the servitor, preceding Seitz into the small anteroom from which he had come. "As tothe 'at once, ' that rests with the saints, for you must know----"

"Nonsense!" interrupted the knight. "Tell your master that Siebenburghas neither time nor inclination to wait in his antechamber. "

"And certainly nothing could afford Sir Heinz Schorlin greater pleasurethan your speedy departure, " Biberli retorted. 

"Insolent knave!" thundered Seitz, who perceived the insult conveyed inthe reply, grasping the neck of his long robe; but Biberli felt that hehad seized only the hood, swiftly unclasped it, and as he hurried to aside door, through which loud voices echoed, Siebenburg heard the lowcry of a woman. It came from behind a curtain spread over some clothesthat hung on the wall, and Seitz said to himself that the person must bethe maid whom he had just met. She was in Els Ortlieb's service, and hewas glad to have this living witness at hand. 

If he could induce Heinz to talk with him here in the anteroom itwould be impossible for her to escape. So, feigning that he had noticednothing, he pretended to be much amused by Biberli's nimble flight. Forcing a laugh, he flung the hood at his head, and before he opened thedoor of the adjoining room again asked to speak to his master. Biberli replied that he must wait; the knight was holding a religiousconversation with a devout old mendicant friar. If he might venture tooffer counsel, he would not interrupt his master now; he had receivedvery sad news, and the tailor who came to take his measure for hismourning garments had just left him. If Seitz had any business with theknight, and expected any benefit from his favour and rare generosity----

But Siebenburg let him get no farther. Forgetting the stratagem whichwas to lure Heinz hither, he burst into a furious rage, fiercelydeclaring that he sought favour and generosity from no man, least ofall a Heinz Schorlin and, advancing to the door, flung the servant whobarred his passage so rudely against the wall that he uttered a loud cryof pain. 

Ere it had died away Heinz appeared on the threshold. A long whiterobe increased the pallor of his face, but yesterday so ruddy, and hisreddened eyes showed traces of recent tears. 

When he perceived what had occurred, and saw his faithful follower, with a face distorted by pain, rubbing his shoulder, his cheeks flushedangrily, and with just indignation he rebuked Siebenburg for hisunseemly intrusion into his quarters and his brutal conduct. 

Then, without heeding the knight, he asked Biberli if he was seriouslyinjured, and when the latter answered in the negative he again turnedto Seitz and briefly enquired what he wanted. If he desired to ownthat, while in a state of senseless intoxication he had slandered modestmaidens, and was ignorant of his actions when he staked his castle andlands against the gold lying before him, Heinz Schorlin, he might keepTannenreuth. The form in which he would revoke his calumny to JungfrauOrtlieb he would discuss with him later. At present his mind wasoccupied with more important matters than the senseless talk of adrunkard, and he would therefore request the knight to leave him. 

As Heinz uttered the last words he pointed to the door, and thisindiscreet, anything but inviting gesture robbed Siebenburg of the lastremnant of composure maintained with so much difficulty. 

Nothing is more infuriating to weak natures than to have others expectthem to pursue a course opposite to that which, after a victory overbaser impulses, they have recognised as the right one and intended tofollow. He who had come to resign his lost property voluntarily wasregarded by the Swiss as an importunate mendicant; he who stood hereto prove that he was perfectly justified in accusing Els Ortlieb ofa crime, Schorlin expected to make a revocation against his betterknowledge. And what price did the insolent fellow demand for therestored estate and the right to brand him as a slanderer? The pleasureof seeing the unwelcome guest retire as quickly as possible. No greaterdegree of contempt and offensive presumption could be imagined, and asSeitz set his own admirable conduct during the past few hours farabove the profligate behaviour of the Swiss, he was fired with honestindignation and, far from heeding the white robe and altered countenanceof his enemy, gave the reins to his wrath. 

Pale with fury, he flung, as it were, the estate the Swiss had won fromhim at his feet, amid no lack of insulting words. 

At first Heinz listened to the luckless gambler's outbreak of ragein silent amazement, but when the latter began to threaten, and evenclapped his hand on his sword, the composure which never failed him inthe presence of anything that resembled danger quickly returned. 

He had felt a strong aversion to Siebenburg from their first meeting, and the slanderous words with which he had dragged in the dust the goodname of a maiden who, Heinz knew, had incurred suspicion solely throughhis fault, had filled him with scorn. So, with quiet contempt, he lethim rave on; but when the person to whom he had just been talking--theold Minorite monk whom he had met on the highroad and accompanied toNuremberg--appeared at the door of the next room, he stopped Seitz witha firm "Enough!" pointed to the old man, and in brief, simple words, gave the castle and lands of Tannenreuth to the monastery of themendicant friars of the Franciscan order in Nuremberg. 

Siebenburg listened with a contemptuous shrug of the shoulders, then hesaid bitterly: "I thought that a life of poverty was the chief rule inthe order of St. Francis. But no matter! May the gift won at the gamingtable profit the holy Brothers. For you, Sir Knight, it will gain thefavour of the Saint of Assisi, whose power is renowned. So you haveacted wisely. "

Here he hesitated; he felt choked with rage. But while the Minorite wasthanking Heinz for the generous gift, Siebenburg's eyes again rested onthe curtain behind which the maid was concealed. 

It was now his turn to deal the Swiss a blow. The old mendicant friarwas a venerable person whose bearing commanded respect, and Heinz seemedto value his good opinion. For that very reason the Minorite shouldlearn the character of this patron of his order. 

"Since you so earnestly desire to be rid of my company, Sir HeinzSchorlin, " he continued, "I will fulfil your wish. Only just now youappeared to consider certain words uttered last night in reference to alady--"

"Let that pass, " interrupted Heinz with marked emphasis. 

"I might expect that desire, " replied Siebenburg scornfully; "for as youare in the act of gaining the favour of Heaven by pious works, it willbe agreeable to you--"

"What?" asked the Swiss sharply. 

"You will surely desire, " was the reply, "to change conduct which is anoffence to honourable people, and still more to the saints above. Youwho have estranged a betrothed bride from her lover and lured her tomidnight interviews, no doubt suppose yourself safe from the futurehusband, whom the result of a duel--as you know--will keep from herside. But Wolff happens to be my brother-in-law, and if I feel disposedto take his place and break a lance with you----"

Heinz, pale as death, interrupted him, exclaiming in a tone of thedeepest indignation: "So be it, then. We will have a tilt with lances, and then we will fight with our swords. "

Siebenburg looked at him an instant, as if puzzled by his adversary'ssharp assault, but quickly regained his composure and answered: "Agreed!In the joust--[single combat in the tourney]--with sharp weapons it willsoon appear who has right on his side. "

"Right?" asked Heinz in astonishment, shrugging his shouldersscornfully. 

"Yes, right, " cried the other furiously, "which you have ceased toprize. "

"So far from it, " the Swiss answered quietly, "that before we discussthe mode of combat with the herald I must ask you to recall the insultswith which yesterday, in your drunkenness, you injured the honour of avirtuous maiden in the presence of other knights and gentlemen. "

"Whose protector, " laughed Seitz, "you seem to have constitutedyourself, by your own choice, in her bridegroom's place. "

"I accept the position, " replied Heinz with cool deliberation. "Not you, nay, I will fight in Wolff Eysvogel's stead--and with his consent, Ithink. I know him, and esteem him so highly----"

"That you invite his plighted bride to nocturnal love dalliance, andexchange love messages with her, " interrupted the other. 

This was too much for Heinz Schorlin and, with honest indignation, hecried: "Prove it! Or, by our Lord's blood!--My sword, Biberli!--Spite ofthe peace proclaimed throughout the land, you shall learn, ere you openyour slandering lips again----"

Here he paused suddenly, for while Biberli withdrew to obey the commandwhich, though it probably suited his wishes, he was slow in executing, doubtless that he might save his master from a reckless act, Siebenburg, frantic with fury, rushed to the curtain. Ere Heinz could interfere, he jerked it back so violently that he tore it from the fastenings andforced the terrified maid, whose arm he grasped, to approach the knightwith him. 

Heinz had seen Katterle only by moonlight and in the twilight, soher unexpected appearance gave him no information. He gazed at herenquiringly, with as much amazement as though she had risen from theearth. Siebenburg gave him no time to collect his thoughts, but draggedthe girl before the monk and, raising his voice in menace, commanded:"Tell the holy Brother who you are, woman!"

"Katterle of Sarnen, " she answered, weeping. "And whom do you serve?"the knight demanded. 

"The Ortlieb sisters, Jungfrau Els and Jungfrau Eva, " was the reply. 

"The beautiful Es, as they are called here, holy Brother, " saidSiebenburg with a malicious laugh, "whose maid I recognise in this girl. If she did not come hither to mend the linen of her mistress's friend--"

But here Biberli, who on his return to the anteroom had been terrifiedby the sight of his sweetheart, interrupted the knight by turning toHeinz with the exclamation: "Forgive me, my lord. Surely you knowthat she is my betrothed bride. She came just now--scarcely a dozenPaternosters ago-to talk with me about the marriage. "

Katterle had listened in surprise to the bold words of her true andsteadfast lover, yet she was not ill pleased, for he had never beforespoken of their marriage voluntarily. At the same time she felt theobligation of aiding him and nodded assent, while Siebenburg rudelyinterrupted the servant by calling to the monk: "Lies and deception, pious Brother. Black must be whitened here. She stole, muffled, to hermistress's gallant, to bring a message from the older beautiful E, withwhom this godly knight was surprised last night. "

Again the passionate outbreak of his foe restored the Swiss tocomposure. With a calmness which seemed to the servant incomprehensible, though it filled him with delight, he turned to the monk, sayingearnestly and simply: "Appearances may be against me, Pater Benedictus. I will tell you all the circumstances at once. How this maid came herewill be explained later. As for the maiden whom this man calls the olderbeautiful E, never--I swear it by our saint--have I sought her love orreceived from her the smallest token of her favour. "

Then turning to Siebenburg he continued, still calmly, but with menacingsternness: "If I judge you aright, you will now go from one to anothertelling whom you found here, in order to injure the fair fame of themaiden whom your wife's valiant brother chose for his bride, and toplace my name with hers in the pillory. "

"Where Els Ortlieb belongs rather than in the honourable home of aNuremberg patrician, " retorted Siebenburg furiously. "If she became toobase for my brother-in-law, the fault is yours. I shall certainly takecare that he learns the truth and knows where, and at what an hour, hisbetrothed bride met foreign heartbreakers. To open the eyes of othersconcerning her will also be a pleasant duty. "

Heinz sprang towards Biberli to snatch the sword from his hand, buthe held it firmly, seeking his master's eyes with a look of warningentreaty; but his faithful solicitude would have been futile had notthe monk lent his aid. The old man's whispered exhortation to his youngfriend to spare the imperial master, to whom he was so deeply indebted, a fresh sorrow, restored to the infuriated young knight his power ofself-control. Pushing the thick locks back from his brow with a hastymovement, he answered in a tone of the most intense contempt:

"Do what you will, but remember this: Beware that, ere the joust begins, you do not ride the rail instead of the charger. The maidens whose purename you so yearn to sully are of noble birth, and if they appear tocomplain of you----"

"Then I will proclaim the truth, " Siebenburg retorted, "and the Court ofLove and Pursuivant at Arms will deprive you, the base seducer, of theright to enter the lists rather than me, my handsome knight!"

"So be it, " replied Heinz quietly. "You can discuss the other pointswith my herald. Wolff Eysvogel, too--rely upon it--will challenge you, if you fulfil your base design. "

Then, turning his back upon Seitz without a word of farewell, hemotioned the monk towards the open door of the antechamber, and lettinghim lead the way, closed it behind them. 

"He will come to you, you boaster!" Siebenburg shouted contemptuouslyafter the Swiss, and then turned to Biberli and the maid with apatronising question; but the former, without even opening his lips inreply, hastened to the door and, with a significant gesture, induced theknight to retire. 

Seitz submitted and hastened down the stairs, his eyes flashing as if hehad won a great victory. At the door of the house he grasped the hiltof his sword, and then, with rapid movements, twisted the ends of hismustache. The surprise he had given the insolent Swiss by the discoveryof his love messenger--it had acted like a spell--could not havesucceeded better. And what had Schorlin alleged in justification?Nothing, absolutely nothing at all. Wolff Eysvogel's herald shouldchallenge the Swiss, not him, who meant to open the deceived lover'seyes concerning his betrothed bride. 

He eagerly anticipated the joust and the sword combat with Heinz. Thesharper the herald's conditions the better. He had hurled more powerfulfoes than the Swiss from the saddle, and from knightly "courtoisie" noteven used his strength without consideration. Heinz Schorlin should feelit. 

He gazed around him like a victor, and throwing his head back haughtilyhe went down the Bindergasse, this time past the Franciscan monasterytowards the Town Hall and the fish market. Eber, the sword cutler, livedthere and, spite of the large sum he owed him, Seitz wished to talk withhim about the sharp weapons he needed for the joust. On his way he gavehis imagination free course. It showed him his impetuous onset, hisenemy's fall in the sand, the sword combat, and the end of the joust, the swift death of his hated foe. 

These pictures of the future occupied his thoughts so deeply that heneither saw nor heard what was passing around him. Many a person forwhom he forgot to turn aside looked angrily after him. Suddenly he foundhis farther progress arrested. The crier had just raised his voice toannounce some important tidings to the people who thronged around himbetween the Town Hall and the Franciscan monastery. Perhaps he mighthave succeeded in forcing a passage through the concourse, but when heheard the name "Ernst Ortlieb, " in the monotonous speech of the citycrier, he followed the remainder of his notice. It made known to thecitizens of Nuremberg that, since the thunderstorm of the precedingnight, a maid had been missing from the house of the Honourable HerrErnst Ortlieb, of the Council, a Swiss by birth, Katharina of Sarnen, called Katterle, a woman of blameless reputation. Whoever should learnanything concerning the girl was requested to bring the news to theOrtlieb residence. 

What did this mean?

If the girl had vanished at midnight and not returned to her employerssince, she could scarcely have sought Heinz Schorlin as a messenger oflove from Els. But if she had not come to the Swiss from one of the Es, what proof did he, Seitz, possess of the guilt of his brother-in-law'sbride? How should he succeed in making Wolff understand that his belovedEls had wronged him if the maid was to play no part in proving it?Yesterday evening he had not believed firmly in her guilt; that verymorning it had even seemed to him a shameful thing that he had castsuspicion upon her in the presence of others. The encounter with themaid at the Swiss knight's lodgings had first induced him to insist onhis accusation so defiantly. And now? If Heinz Schorlin, with the helpof the Ortliebs, succeeded in proving the innocence of those whom he hadaccused, then--ah, he must not pursue that train of thought--then, atthe lady's accusation, he might be deprived of the right to enter thelists in the tournament; then all the disgrace which could be inflictedupon the slanderous defamer of character threatened him; then Wolffwould summon him to a reckoning, as well as Heinz Schorlin. Wolff, whomhe had begun to hate since, with his resistless arm of iron, he hadexposed him for the first time to the malicious glee of the bystandersin the fencing hall. 

Yet it was not this which suddenly bowed his head and loudly admonishedhim that he had again behaved like a reckless fool. Cowardice was hisleast fault. He did not fear what might befall him in battle. Whetherhe would be barred out from the lists was the terrible question whichdarkened the bright morning already verging towards noon. He had chargedEls with perfidy in the presence of others, and thereby exposed her, theplighted bride of a knight, to the utmost scorn. And besides--foolthat he was!--his brothers had again attacked a train of waggons onthe highway and would soon be called to account as robbers. This wouldcertainly lead the Swiss and others to investigate his own past, andthe Pursuivant at Arms excluded from joust and tourney whoever "injuredtrade or merchant. " What would not his enemy, who was in such highfavour with the Emperor, do to compass his destruction? But--and at thethought he uttered a low imprecation--how could he ride to the joust ifhis father-in-law closed his strong box which, moreover, was said tobe empty? If the old man was forced to declare himself bankruptSiebenburg's creditors would instantly seize his splendid chargers andcostly suits of armour, scarcely one half of which were paid for. Howmuch money he needed as security in case of defeat! His sole propertywas debts. Yet the thought seemed like an illumination--his wife'svaluable old jewels could probably still be saved, and she might beinduced to give him part of the ornaments for the tournament. He needonly make her understand that his honour and that of the twins were atstake. Would that Heaven might spare his boys such hours of anxiety andself-accusation!

But what was this? Was he deluding himself? Did his over-excitedimagination make him hear a death knell pealing for his honour and hishopes, which must be borne to their grave? Yet no! All the citizens andpeasants, men and women, great and small, who thronged the salt market, which he had just entered, raised their heads to listen with him; forfrom every steeple at once rang the mournful death knell which announcedto the city the decease of an "honourable" member of the Council, asecular or ecclesiastical prince. The mourning banner was alreadywaving on the roof of the Town Hall, towards which he turned. Men in theservice of the city were hoisting other black flags upon the almshouse, and now the Hegelein--[Proclaimer of decrees]--in mourning garments, mounted on a steed caparisoned with crepe, came riding by at the head ofother horsemen clad in sable, proclaiming to the throng that Hartmann, the Emperor Rudolph's promising son, had found an untimely end. Thenoble youth was drowned while bathing in the Rhine. 

It seemed as if a frost had blighted a blooming garden. The gay bustlein the market place was paralysed. The loud sobs of many women blendedwith exclamations of grief and pity from bearded lips which had justbeen merrily bargaining for salt and fish, meat and game. Messengerswith crepe on their hats or caps forced a passage through the throng, and a train of German knights, priests, and monks passed with bowedheads, bearing candles in their hands, between the Town Hail and St. Sebald's Church towards the corn magazine and the citadel. 

Meanwhile dark clouds were spreading slowly over the bright-blue vaultof the June sky. A flock of rooks hovered around the Town Hall, and thenflew, with loud cries, towards the castle. 

Seitz watched them indifferently. Even the great omnipotent sovereignthere had his own cross to bear; tears flowed in his proud palace also, and sighs of anguish were heard. And this was just. He had never wishedevil to any one who did not injure him, but even if he could haveaverted this sore sorrow from the Emperor Rudolph he would not havestirred a finger. His coronation had been a blow to him and to hisbrothers. Formerly they had been permitted to work their will on thehighways, but the Hapsburg, the Swiss, had pitilessly stopped theirbrigandage. Now for the first time robber-knights were sentenced andtheir castles destroyed. The Emperor meant to transform Germany into asheepfold, Absbach exclaimed. The Siebenburg brothers were his faithfulallies, and though they complained that the joyous, knightly clank ofarms would be silenced under such a sovereign, they themselves took carethat the loud battle shouts, cries of pain, and shrieks for aid were nothushed on the roads used for traffic by the merchants. But this was notSeitz's sole reason for shrugging his shoulders at the expressions ofthe warmest sympathy which rose around him. The Emperor was tenderlyattached to Heinz Schorlin, and the man who was so kindly disposedto his foe could never be his friend. Perhaps to-morrow Rudolph mightbehead his brothers and elevate Heinz Schorlin to still greater honors. Seitz, whose eyes had overflowed with tears when the warder of hisnative castle lost his aged wife, who had been his nurse, now found nocause to grieve with the mourners. 

So he continued his way, burdened with his own anxieties, amid the tearsand lamentations of the multitude. The numerous retinue of servants inthe Eysvogel mansion were moving restlessly to and fro; the news of theprince's death had reached them. Herr Casper had left the house. He wasprobably at Herr Ernst Ortlieb's. If the latter had already learnedwhat he, Seitz Siebenburg, had said at the gaming table of his daughter, perhaps his hand had dealt the first decisive blow at the totteringhouse where, so long as it stood, his wife and the twins would under anycircumstances find shelter. Resentment against the Swiss, hatred, and jealousy, had made him a knave, and at the same time the mostshortsighted of fools. 

As he approached the second story, in which the nursery was situated andwhere he expected to find his wife, it suddenly seemed as if a star hadrisen amid the darkness. If he poured out his heart to Isabella and lether share the terrible torture of his soul, perhaps it would awaken atender sympathy in the woman who still loved him, and who was dearer tohim than he could express. Her jewels were certainly very valuable, butfar more precious was the hope of being permitted to rest his achinghead upon her breast and feel her slender white hand push back the hairfrom his anxious brow. Oh, if misfortune would draw her again as near tohim as during the early months of their married life and directly beforeit, he could rise from his depression with fresh vigour and transformthe battle, now half lost, into victory. Besides, she was clever and hadpower over the hearts of her family, so perhaps she might point outthe pathway of escape, which his brain, unused to reflection, could notdiscover. 

His heart throbbed high as, animated by fresh hope, he entered thecorridor from which opened the rooms which he occupied with her. But hiswish to find her alone was not to be fulfilled; several voices reachedhim. 

What was the meaning of the scene?

Isabella, her face deadly pale, and her tall figure drawn up to itsfull height, stood before the door of the nursery with a stern, coldexpression on her lovely lips, like a princess pronouncing sentence upona criminal. She was panting for breath, and before her, her mother, andher grandmother, Countess Cordula's pretty page, whom Siebenburg knewonly too well, was moving to and fro with eager gestures. He held in hishand the bunch of roses which Seitz had sent to his newly-won wife anddarling as a token of reconciliation, and Siebenburg heard his clear, boyish tones urge: "I have already said so and, noble lady, you maybelieve me, this bouquet, which the woman brought us, was intended formy gracious mistress, Countess von Montfort. It was meant to give hera fair morning greeting, and--Do not let this vex you, for it was doneonly in the joyous game of love, as custom dictated. Ever since we camehere your lord has daily honoured my countess with the loveliestflowers whose buds unfold in the region near the Rhine. But my graciousmistress, as you have already heard, believes that you, noble lady, havea better right to these unusually beautiful children of the spring thanshe who last evening bade your lord behold in you, not in her, fairlady, the most fitting object of his homage. So she sent me hither, mostgracious madam, to lay what is yours at your feet. "

As he spoke, the agile boy, with a graceful bow, tried to place theflowers in Isabella's hand, but she would not receive the bouquet, andthe abrupt gesture with which she pushed them back flung the nosegay onthe floor. Paying no further heed to it, she answered in a cold, haughtytone: "Thank your mistress, and tell her that I appreciated her kindintention, but the roses which she sent me were too full of thorns. "Then, turning her back on the page, she advanced with majestic pride tothe door of the nursery. 

Her mother and grandmother tried to follow, but Siebenburg pressedbetween them and his wife, and his voice thrilled with the anguish of asoul overwhelmed by despair as he cried imploringly: "Hear me, Isabella!There is a most unhappy misunderstanding here. By all that is sacred tome, by our love, by our children, I swear those roses were intended foryou, my heart's treasure, and for you alone. "

But Countess Rotterbach cut him short by exclaiming with a loud chuckle:"The unripe early pears will probably come from the fruit market tothe housewife's hands later; the roses found their way to Countess vonMontfort more quickly. "

The malicious words were followed like an echo by Frau Rosalinde'stearful "It is only too true. This also!"

The knight, unheeding the angry, upbraiding woman, hastened in pursuitof his wife to throw himself at her feet and confess the whole truth;but she, who had heard long before that Sir Seitz was paying CountessCordula more conspicuous attention than beseemed a faithful husband, andwho, after the happy hour so recently experienced, had expected, untilthe arrival of the page, the dawn of brighter, better days, now feltdoubly abased, deceived, betrayed. 

Without vouchsafing the unfortunate man even a glance or a word, sheentered the nursery before he reached her; but he, feeling that he mustfollow her at any cost, laid his hand on the lock of the door and triedto open it. The strong oak resisted his shaking and pulling. Isabellahad shot the heavy iron bolt into its place. Seitz first knocked withhis fingers and then with his clenched fist, until the grandmotherexclaimed: "You have destroyed the house, at least spare the doors. "

Uttering a fierce imprecation, he went to his own chamber, hastilythrust into his pockets all the gold and valuables which he possessed, and then went out again into the street. His way led him past Kuni, theflower girl from whom he had bought the roses. The beggar who wasto carry them to his wife did not hear distinctly, on account of herbandaged head, and not understanding the knight, went to the girl fromwhom she had seen him purchase the blossoms to ask where they belonged. Kuni pointed to the lodgings of the von Montforts, where she hadalready sent so many bouquets for Siebenburg. The latter saw both theflower-seller and the beggar woman, but did not attempt to learn how theroses which he intended for his wife had reached Countess Cordula. Hesuspected the truth, but felt no desire to have it confirmed. Fate meantto destroy him, he had learned that. The means employed mattered little. It would have been folly to strive against the superior power of such anadversary. Let ruin pursue its course. His sole wish was to forget hismisery, though but for a brief time. He knew he could accomplish thisby drink, so he entered the Mirror wine tavern and drained bumper afterbumper with a speed which made the landlord, though he was accustomed tomarvellous performances on the part of his guests, shake the head set onhis immensely thick neck somewhat suspiciously. 

The few persons present had gathered in a group and were talking sadlyabout the great misfortune which had assailed the Emperor. The universalgrief displayed so hypocritically, as Seitz thought, angered him, and hegazed at them with such a sullen, threatening look that no one venturedto approach him. Sometimes he stared into his wine, sometimes intovacancy, sometimes at the vaulted ceiling above. He harshly rebuffed thelandlord and the waiter who tried to accost him, but when the peasant'sprediction was fulfilled and the thunderstorm of the preceding nightwas followed at midnight by one equally severe, he arose and left thehostelry. The rain tempted him into the open air. The taproom was sosultry, so terribly sultry. The moisture of the heavens would refreshhim. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

The fury of the tempest had ceased, but the sky was still obscured byclouds. A cool breeze blew from the northeast through the damp, heavyair. 

Heinz Schorlin was coming from the fortress, and after crossing theDiligengasse went directly towards his lodgings. His coat of mail, spurs, and helmeted head were accoutrements for the saddle, yet hewas on foot. A throng of men, women, and children, whispering eagerlytogether, accompanied him. One pointed him out to another, as if therewas something unusual about him. Two stalwart soldiers in the pay of thecity followed, carrying his saddle and the equipments of his horse, andkept back the boys or women who boldly attempted to press too near. 

Heinz did not heed the throng. He looked pale, and his thick locks, falling in disorder from under his helmet, floated around his face. Thechain armour on his limbs and his long surcoat were covered with mire. The young knight, usually so trim, looked disordered and, as it were, thrown off his balance. His bright face bore the impress of a horrorstill unconquered, as he gazed restlessly into vacancy, and seemed to beseeking something, now above and now in the ground. 

The pretty young hostess, Frau Barbara Deichsler, holding her littlethree-year-old daughter by the hand, stood in front of the house in theBindergasse where he lodged. The knight usually had a pleasant or merryword for her, and a gay jest or bit of candy for Annele. Nay, the youngnoble, who was fond of children, liked to toss the little one in hisarms and play with her. 

Frau Barbara had already heard that, as Heinz was returning from thefortress, the lightning had struck directly in front of him, killing hisbeautiful dun charger, which she had so often admired. It had happeneddirectly before the eyes of the guard, and the news had gone from manto man of the incredible miracle which had saved the life of the youngSwiss, the dearest friend of the Emperor's dead son. 

When Heinz approached the door Frau Barbara stepped forward with Anneleto congratulate him that the dear saints had so graciously protectedhim, but he only answered gravely: "What are we mortals? Rejoice in thechild, Frau Barbara, so long as she is spared to you. "

He passed into the entry as he spoke, but Frau Deichsler hastilyprepared to call his armour-bearer, a grey-bearded Swiss who had servedthe knight's father and slept away the hours not devoted to his dutiesor to the wine cup. He must supply the place of Biberli, who had leftthe house a long time before, and for the first time in many years waskeeping his master waiting. But Heinz knew where he was, and while thearmour-bearer was divesting him, awkwardly enough, of his suit of mailand gala attire, he was often seized with anxiety about his faithfulfollower, though many things with which the morning had burdened hissoul lay nearer to his heart. 

Never had he been so lucky in gambling as last night in the Duke ofPomerania's quarters. Biberli's advice to trust to the two and five hadbeen repeatedly tested, and besides the estate of Tannenreuth, whichSiebenburg had staked against all his winnings, he had brought home moregold than he had ever seen before. 

Yet he had gone to rest in a mood by no means joyous. It was painfulto him to deprive any one of his lands and home. He had even resistedaccepting Siebenburg's reckless stake, but his obstinate persistence anddemand could not be opposed. The calumnies by which the "Mustache" hadassailed the innocent Els Ortlieb haunted him, and many others had showntheir indignation against the traducer. Probably thirty gentlemen at thegaming table had been witnesses of these incidents, and if, to-morrow, it was in everybody's mouth that he, Heinz, had been caught at mid-nightin an interview with the elder beautiful Ortlieb E, the fault was his, and he would be burdened with the guilt of having sullied the honour andname of a pure maiden, the betrothed bride of an estimable man. 

And Eva!

When he woke in the morning his first thought had been of her. She hadseemed more desirable than ever. But his relatives at home, and thecounsel Biberli had urged upon him during their nocturnal wandering, had constantly interposed between him and the maiden whom he so ardentlyloved. Besides, it seemed certain that the passion which filled hisheart must end unhappily. Else what was the meaning of this unexampledgood luck at the gaming table? The torture of this thought had kept himawake a long time. Then he had sunk into a deep, dreamless sleep. In themorning Biberli, full of delight, roused him, and displayed three largebags filled with florins and zecchins, the gains of the night before. 

The servant had begged to be permitted to count the golden blessing, which in itself would suffice to buy the right to use the bridge fromthe city of Luzerne twice over, and the best thing about which wasthat it would restore the peace of mind of his lady mother at SchorlinCastle. 

Now, in the name of all the saints, let him continue his life ofliberty, and leave the somnambulist to walk over the roofs, and sufferAltrosen, who had worn her colour so patiently, to wed the countess. 

But how long the servitor's already narrow face became when Heinz, witha grave resolution new to Biberli, answered positively that no ducatswould stray from these bags to Schorlin Castle. If, last night, anxietyhad burdened his mind like the corpse of a murdered man, these gainsweighed upon his soul like the loathsome body of a dead cat. Neverin his whole life had he felt so poor as with this devil's money. Thewitch-bait which Biberli had given him with the two and the five haddrawn it out of the pockets of his fellow gamblers. He would be neithera cut-purse nor a dealer in the black arts. The wages of hell shoulddepart as quickly as they came. While speaking, he seized the secondlargest bag and gave it to the servant, exclaiming: "Now keep yourpromise to Katterle like an honest man. The poor thing will have a hardtime at her employer's. I make but one condition: you are to remain inmy service. I can't do without you. "

While the armour-bearer, in the agile Biberli's place, was handing himthe garments to be worn in the house, Heinz again remembered how thefaithful fellow had thrown himself on his knees and kissed his master'shands and arms in the excess of his joyful surprise, and yet he had feltas if a dark cloud was shadowing the brightness of his soul. The morningsun had shone so radiantly into his window, and Annele had come withsuch bewitching shyness to bring him a little bunch of lilies of thevalley with a rose in the centre, and a pleasant morning greeting fromher mother, that the cloud could not remain, yet it had only partedoccasionally to close again speedily, though it was less dense and darkthan before. 

Yet he had taken the child in his arms and looked down into the narrowstreet to show her the people going to market so gaily in the earlymorning. But he soon put her down again, for he recognised in a horsemanapproaching on a weary steed Count Curt Gleichen, the most intimatefriend of young Prince Hartmann and himself, and when he called to himhe had slid from his saddle with a faint greeting. 

Heinz instantly rushed out of the house to meet him, but he had foundhim beside his steed, which had sunk on its knees, and then, tremblingand panting, dragged itself, supported by its rider's hand, into theentry. There it fell, rolled over on its side, and stretched its limbsstiffly in death. It was the third horse which the messenger had killedsince he left the Rhine, yet he was sure of arriving too soon; for hehad to announce to a father the death of his promising son. 

Heinz listened, utterly overwhelmed, to the narrative of theeye-witness, who described how Hartmann, ere he could stretch out a handto save him, had been dragged into the depths by the waves of the Rhine. 

In spite of the sunny brightness of the morning the young Swiss had hada presentiment of some great misfortune, and had told himself that hewould welcome it if it relieved him from the burden which had darkenedhis soul since the disgraceful good luck of the previous night. Nowit had happened, and how gladly he would have continued to bear theheaviest load to undo the past. He had sobbed on his friend's breastlike a child, accusing Heaven for having visited him with thisaffliction. 

Hartmann had been not only his friend but his pupil--and what a pupil!He had instructed him in horsemanship and the use of the sword, andduring the last year shared everything with him and young Count Gleichenas if they were three brothers and, like a brother, the prince hadconstantly grown closer to his heart. Had he, Heinz, accompaniedHartmann to the Rhine and been permitted to remain with him, neither orboth would have fallen victims to the river! And Hartmann's aged father, the noble man to whom he owed everything, and who clung with his wholesoul to the beloved youth, his image in mind and person--how would theEmperor Rudolph endure this? But a few months ago death had snatchedfrom him his wife, the love of his youth, the mother of his children, the companion of his glorious career! The thought of him stirred Heinzto the depths of his soul, and he would fain have hastened at once tothe castle to help the stricken father bear the new and terrible burdenimposed upon him. But he must first care for the messenger ofthese terrible tidings who, with lips white from exhaustion, neededrefreshment. 

Biberli, who saw and thought of everything, had already urged thehostess to do what she could, and sent the servant to the tailor that, when Heinz rode to the fortress, he might not lack the mourning--atabard would suffice--which could be made in a few hours. 

Frau Barbara had just brought the lunch and promised to obey the commandto keep the terrible news which she had just heard a secret from everyone, that the rumor might not reach the fortress prematurely, whenanother visitor appeared--Heinz Schorlin's cousin, Sir Arnold Maier ofSilenen, a tall, broad-shouldered man of fifty, with stalwart frame andpowerful limbs. 

His grave, bronzed countenance, framed by a grey beard, revealed thathe, too, brought no cheering news. He had never come to his youngcousin's at so early an hour. 

His intelligent, kindly grey eyes surveyed Heinz with astonishment. Whathad befallen the happy-hearted fellow? But when he heard the news whichhad wet the young knight's eyes with tears, his own lips also quivered, and his deep, manly tones faltered as he laid his heavy hands on themourner's shoulders and gazed tearfully into his eyes. At last heexclaimed mournfully: "My poor, poor boy! Pray to Him to whom we owe allthat is good, and who tries us with the evil. Would to God I had lesspainful tidings for you!"

Heinz shrank back, but his cousin told him the tidings learned from aSwiss messenger scarcely an hour before. The dispute over the bridgetoll had caused a fight. The uncle who supplied a father's place toHeinz and managed his affairs--brave old Walther Ramsweg--was killed;Schorlin Castle had been taken by the city soldiery and, at the commandof the chief magistrate, razed to the ground. Wendula Schorlin, Heinz'smother, with her daughter Maria, had fallen into the hands of the citysoldiers and been carried to the convent in Constance, where she and heryoungest child now remained with the two older daughters. 

Heinz, deeply agitated by the news, exclaimed: "Uncle Ramsweg, our kindsecond father, also in the grave without my being able to press hisbrave, loyal hand in farewell! And Maria, our singing bird, our nimblelittle squirrel, with those grave, world-weary Sisters! And my mother!You, too, like every one, love her, Cousin--and you know her. She whohas been accustomed to command, and to manage the house and thelands, who like a saint dried tears far and near amid trouble anddeprivation--she, deprived of her own strong will, in a convent! Oh, Cousin, Cousin! To hear this, and not be able to rush upon the rabblewho have robbed us of the home of our ancestors, as a boy crushes asnail shell! Can it be imagined? No Castle Schorlin towering high abovethe lake on the cliff at the verge of the forest. The room where we allsaw the light of the world and listened to our mother's songs destroyed;the sacred chamber where the father who so lovingly protected us closedhis eyes; the chapel where we prayed so devoutly and vowed to the HolyVirgin a candle from our little possessions, or, in the lovely month ofMay, brought flowers to her from our mother's little garden, the cliff, or the dark forest. The courtyard where we learned to manage a steed anduse our weapons, the hall where we listened to the wandering minstrels, in ruins! Gone, gone, all gone! My mother and Maria weeping prisoners!"

Here his cousin broke in to show him that love was leading him to lookon the dark side. His mother had chosen the convent for her daughter'ssake; she was by no means detained there by force. She could livewherever she pleased, and her dowry, with what she had saved, would beample to support her and Maria, in the city or the country, in a stylesuited to their rank. 

This afforded Heinz some consolation, but enough remained to keep hisgrief alive, and his voice sounded very sorrowful as he added: "Thatlessens the bitterness of the cup. But who will re build the ancientcastle? Who will restore our uncle? And the Emperor, my beloved, fatherly master, dying of grief! Our Hartmann dead! Washed away like adry branch which the swift Reuss seizes and hurries out of our sight!Too much, too hard, too terrible! Yet the sun shines as brightly asbefore! The children in the street below laugh as merrily as ever!"

Groaning aloud, he covered his face with his hands, and those from whomhe might have expected consolation were forced to leave him in the midstof the deepest sorrow; for the Swiss mail, which had come to Maierof Silenen as the most distinguished of his countrymen, was awaitingdistribution, and Count Gleichen was forced to fulfill his sorrowfulduty as messenger. His friend Heinz had lent him his second horse, theblack, to ride to the fortress. 

While Heinz, pursued by grief and care, sometimes paced up and down theroom, sometimes threw himself into the armchair which Frau Barbara, todo him special honour, had placed in the sitting-room, the Minorite monkBenedictus, whom he had brought to Nuremberg, had come uninvitedfrom the neighbouring monastery to give him a morning greeting. Theenthusiasm with which St. Francis had filled his soul in his early yearshad not died out in his aged breast. He who in his youth had borne theescutcheon of his distinguished race in many a battle and tourney, as aknight worthy of all honour, sympathised with his young equal in rank, and found him in the mood to provide for his eternal salvation. On theride to Nuremberg he had perceived in Heinz a pious heart and a keenintellect which yearned for higher things. But at that time the joyousyouth had not seemed to him ripe for the call of Heaven; when he foundhim bowed with grief, his eyes, so radiant yesterday, swimming in tears, the conviction was aroused that the Omnipotent One Himself had taken himby the hand to lead the young Swiss, to whom he gratefully wished thebest blessings, into the path which the noble Saint of Assisi himselfhad pointed out to him, and wherein he had found a bliss for which inthe world he had vainly yearned. 

But his conversation with his young friend had been interrupted, firstby the tailor who was to make his mourning garb, then by Siebenburg, andeven later he had had no opportunity to school Heinz; for after Seitzhad gone Biberli and Katterle had needed questioning. The result of thiswas sufficiently startling, and had induced Heinz to send the servantand his sweetheart on the errand from which the former had not yetreturned. 

When the young knight found himself alone he repeated what the monk hadjust urged upon him. Then Eva's image rose before him, and he had askedhimself whether she, the devout maiden, would not thank her saint whenshe learned that he, obedient to her counsel, was beginning to providefor his eternal salvation. 

Moved by such thoughts, he had smiled as he told himself that theMinorite seemed to be earnestly striving to win him for the monastery. The old man meant kindly, but how could he renounce the trade of arms, for which he was reared and which he loved?

Then he had been obliged to ride to the fortress to wait upon theEmperor and tell him how deeply he sympathised with his grief. But hewas denied admittance. Rudolph desired to be alone, and would not seeeven his nearest relatives. 

On the way home he wished to pass through the inner gate of theThiergartnerthor into Thorstrasse to cross the milk market. The violenceof the noonday thundershower had already begun to abate, and he hadridden quietly forward, absorbed in his grief, when suddenly a loud, rattling crash had deafened his ears and made him feel as if the earth, the gate, and the fortress were reeling. At the same moment his horseleaped upward with all four feet at once, tossed its clever headconvulsively, and sank on its knees. 

Half blinded by the dazzling light he saw, and bewildered by thesulphurous vapour he noticed, Heinz nevertheless retained his presenceof mind, and had sprung from the saddle ere the quivering steed fellon its side. Several of the guard at the gate quickly hastened to hisassistance, examined the horse with him, and found the noble animalalready dead. The lightning had darted along the iron mail on itsforehead and the steel bit, and struck the ground without injuring Heinzhimself. The soldiers and a Dominican monk who had sought shelter fromthe rain in the guardhouse extolled this as a great miracle. Thepeople who had crowded to the spot were also seized with pious awe, andfollowed the knight to whom Heaven had so distinctly showed its favour. 

Heinz himself only felt that something extraordinary had happened. Theworld had gained a new aspect. His life, which yesterday had appeared soimmeasurably long, now seemed brief, pitifully brief. Perhaps it wouldend ere the sun sank to rest in the Haller meadows. He must deem everyhour that he was permitted to breathe as a gift, like the earnest moneyhe, placed in the trainer's hand in a horse trade. According to humanjudgment the lightning should have killed him as well as the horse. Ifhe still lived and breathed and saw the grey clouds drifting across thesky, this was granted only that he might secure his eternal salvation, to which hitherto he had given so little concern. How grateful he oughtto be that this respite had been allowed him--that he had not beensnatched away unwarned, like Prince Hartmann, in the midst of his sins!

Would not Eva feel the same when she learned what had befallen him?Perhaps Biberli would come back soon--he had been gone so long--andcould tell him about her. 

Even before the thunderbolt had stirred the inmost depths of his being, when he was merely touched by his deep grief and the monk's admonition, he had striven to guide the servant and his sweetheart into the rightpath, and the grey-haired monk aided him. The monastic life, it is true, would not have suited Biberli, but he had shown himself ready to atonefor the wrong done the poor girl who had kept her troth for three longyears and, unasked, went back with her to her angry master. 

Ere Heinz set forth on his ride to the fortress he had goneout declaring that he would prove the meaning of his truth andsteadfastness, thereby incurring a peril which certainly gave him aright to wear the T and St on his long robe and cap forever. He mustexpect to be held to a strict account by Ernst Ortlieb. If the incensedfather, who was a member of the Council, used the full severity of thelaw, he might fare even worse than ill. But he had realised the passto which he had brought his sweetheart, and the Minorite led his honestheart to the perception of the sin he would commit if he permittedher to atone for an act which she had done by his desire--nay, at hiscommand. 

With the gold Heinz had given him, and after his assurance that he wouldretain him in his service even when a married man, he could, it is true, more easily endure being punished with her who, as his wife, would soonbe destined to share evil with him as well as good. He had also securedthe aid of both his master and the Minorite, and had arranged an accountof what had occurred, which placed his own crime and the maid's in amilder light. Finally--and he hoped the best result from this--Katterlewould bring the Ortliebs good news, and he was the very man to make ituseful to Jungfrau Els. 

So he had committed his destiny to his beloved master, behind whom wasthe Emperor himself, to the Minorite, who, judging from his great ageand dignified aspect, might be an influential man, St. Leodogar, and hisown full purse and, with a heart throbbing anxiously, entered the streetwith the closely muffled Katterle, to take the unpleasant walk to theexasperated master and father. 

The morning had been rife with important events to Biberli also. Themeans of establishing a household, the conviction that it would be hardfor him to remain a contented man without the idol of his heart, and thestill more important one that it would not be wise to defer happinesslong, because, as the death of young Prince Hartmann had shown, andPater Benedictus made still more evident, the possibility of enjoyingthe pleasures of life might be over far too speedily. 

He had been within an ace of losing his Katterle forever, and through noone's guilt save that of the man on whose truth and steadfastness she sofirmly relied. After Siebenburg's departure she had confessed with tearsto him, his master, and the monk, what had befallen her, and how she hadfinally reached the Bindergasse and Sir Heinz Schorlin's lodgings. 

When, during the conflagration, fearing punishment, she had fled, shewent first to the Dutzen pond. Determined to end her existence, she reached the goal of her nocturnal and her life pilgrimage. Themysterious black water with its rush-grown shore, where ducks quackedand frogs croaked in the sultry gloom, lay before her in the terribledarkness. After she had repeated several Paternosters, the thought thatshe must die without receiving the last unction weighed heavily on hersoul. But this she could not help, and it seemed more terrible to standin the stocks, like the barber's widow, and be insulted, spit uponby the people, than to endure the flames of purgatory, where so manyothers--probably among them Biberli, who had brought her to thispass--would be tortured with her. 

So she laid down the bundle which--she did not know why herself--she hadbrought with her, and took off her shoes as if she were going intothe water to bathe. Just at that moment she suddenly saw a red lightglimmering on the dark surface of the water. It could not be thereflection of the fires of purgatory, as she had thought at first. Itcertainly did not proceed from the forge on the opposite shore, nowclosed, for its outlines rose dark and motionless against the moon. No--a brief glance around verified it--the light came from the burningof the convent. The sky was coloured a vivid scarlet in two places, butthe glow was brightest towards the southeastern part of the city, where St. Klarengasse must be. Then she was overpowered by torturingcuriosity. Must she die without knowing how much the fire had injuredthe newly built convent, on whose site she had enjoyed the springtimeof love, and how the good Sisters fared? It seemed impossible, and hergreatest fault for the first time proved a blessing. It drew her backfrom the Dutzen pond to the city. 

On reaching the Marienthurm she learned that only a barn and a cowstable had b@en destroyed by the flames. For this trivial loss she hadsuffered intense anxiety and been faithless to her resolution to seekdeath, which ends all fears. 

Vexed by her own weakness, she determined to go back to her employer'shouse and there accept whatever fate the saints bestowed. But whenshe saw a light still shining through the parchment panes in the roomoccupied by the two Es, she imagined that Herr Ernst was pronouncingjudgment upon Eva. In doing so her own guilt must be recalled, and thethought terrified her so deeply that she joined the people returningfrom the fire, for whom the Frauenthor still stood open, and allowedthe crowd to carry her on with them to St. Kunigunde's chapel in St. Lawrence's church; and when some, passing the great Imhof residence, turned into the Kotgasse, she followed. 

Hitherto she had walked on without goal or purpose, but here thequestion where to seek shelter confronted her; for the torchbearers whohad lighted the way disappeared one after another in the various houses. Deep darkness suddenly surrounded her, and she was seized with terror. But ere the last torch vanished, its light fell upon one of the brassbasins which hung in front of the barbers' shops. 

The barber! The woman whom she had seen in the stocks was the widow ofone, and the house where she granted the lovers the meeting, on whoseaccount she had been condemned to so severe a punishment, was in theKotgasse, and had been pointed out to her. It must be directly opposite. The thought entered her mind that the woman who had endured such aterrible punishment, for a crime akin to her own, would understandbetter than any one else the anguish of her heart. How could the widowyonder refuse her companion in guilt a compassionate reception!

It was a happy idea, but she would never have ventured to rouse thewoman from her sleep, so she must wait. But the first grey light of dawnwas already appearing in the eastern horizon on the opposite side ofthe square of St. Lawrence, and perhaps Frau Ratzer would open her houseearly. 

The street did honour to the name of Kotgasse--[Kot or koth-mire]. Holding her dress high around her, Katterle waded across to the northernrow of houses and reached the plank sidewalk covered with mud to herankles; but at the same moment a door directly in front of her opened, and two persons, a man and a woman, entered the street and glided by;but they came from Frau Ratzer's--she recognised it by the bow-windowabove the entrance. The maid hurried towards the door, which still stoodopen, and on its threshold was the woman to whom she intended to pay herearly visit. 

Almost unable to speak, she entreated her to grant a poor girl, whodid not know where to seek shelter at this hour, the protection of herhouse. 

The widow silently drew Katterle into the dark, narrow entry, shut thedoor, and led her into a neat, gaily ornamented room. A lamp which wasstill burning hung from the ceiling, but Frau Ratzer raised the tallowcandle she had carried to the door, threw its light upon her face, andnodded approvingly. Katterle was a pretty girl, and the flush of shamewhich crimsoned her cheeks was very becoming. The widow probably thoughtso, too, for she stroked them with her fat hand, promising, as shedid so, to receive her and let her want for nothing if she proved anobedient little daughter. Then she pinched the girl's arm with the tipsof her fingers so sharply that she shrank back and timidly told thewoman what had brought her there, saying that she was and intendedto remain a respectable girl, and had sought shelter with Frau Ratzerbecause she knew what a sore disgrace she had suffered for the samefault which had driven her from home. 

But the widow, starting as if stung by a scorpion, denounced Katterle asan impudent hussy, who rightfully belonged in the stocks, to which thebase injustice of the money-bags in the court had condemned her. Therewas no room in her clean house for anyone who reminded her of thisoutrage and believed that she had really committed so shameful an act. Then, seizing the maid by the shoulders, she pushed her into the street. 

Meanwhile it had grown light. The sun had just risen in the east abovethe square of St. Lawrence and spread a golden fan of rays overthe azure sky. The radiant spectacle did not escape the eyes of thefrightened girl, and she rejoiced because it gave her the assurance thatthe terrifying darkness of the night was over. 

How fresh the morning was, how clear and beautiful the light of theyoung day! And it shone not only on the great and the good, but on thelowly, the poor, and the wicked. Even for the horrible woman within thesky adorned itself with the exquisite blue and glorious brilliancy. 

Uttering a sigh of relief she soon reached the Church of St. Lawrence, which the old sexton was just opening. She was the first person whoentered the stately house of God that morning and knelt in one of thepews to pray. 

This had been the right thing for her to do. Dear Lord! Where was thereany maid in greater trouble, yet Heaven had preserved her from the deathon a red-hot gridiron which had rendered St. Lawrence, whose name thechurch bore, a blessed martyr. Compared with that, even standing in thepillory was not specially grievous. So she poured out her whole soul tothe saint, confessing everything which grieved and oppressed her, untilthe early mass began. She had even confided to him that she was fromSarnen in Switzerland, and had neither friend nor countryman here inNuremberg save her lover, the true and steadfast Biberli. Yet no! Therewas one person from her home who probably would do her a kindness, thewife of the gatekeeper in the von Zollern castle, a native of Berne, who had come to Nuremberg and the fortress as the maid of the CountessElizabeth of Hapsburg, the present Burgravine. This excellent womancould give her better counsel than any one, and she certainly owed therecollection of Frau Gertrude to her patron saint. 

After a brief thanksgiving she left the church and went to the fortress. 

As she expected, her countrywoman received her kindly; and afterKatterle had confided everything to her, and in doing so mentioned WolffEysvogel, the betrothed husband of the elder of her young mistresses, Frau Gertrude listened intently and requested her to wait a short time. 

Yet one quarter of an hour after another elapsed before she againappeared. Her husband, the Bernese warder, a giant of a man to whom thered and yellow Swiss uniform and glittering halberd he carried in hishand were very becoming, accompanied his wife. 

After briefly questioning Katterle, he exacted a solemn promise ofsecrecy and then motioned to her to follow him. Meanwhile the maid hadbeen informed how the duel between Wolff Eysvogel and Ulrich Vorchtelhad ended, but while she still clasped her hands in horror, the Swisshad opened the door of a bright, spacious apartment, where Els Ortlieb'sbetrothed husband received her with a kind though sorrowful greeting. Then he continued his writing, and at last gave her two letters. One, onwhose back he drew a little heart, that she might not mistake it forthe other, was addressed to his betrothed bride; the second to HeinzSchorlin, whom Wolff--no, her ears did not deceive her--called thefuture husband of his sister-in-law Eva. At breakfast, which she sharedwith her country people and their little daughter, Katterle wouldhave liked to learn how Wolff reached the fortress, but the gatekeepermaintained absolute silence on this subject. 

The maid at last, without hindrance, reached the Deichsler house andfound Biberli (not) at home. She ought to have returned to the Ortliebsin his company long before, but the knight still vainly awaited hisservant's appearance. He missed him sorely, since it did not enter hishead that his faithful shadow, Biberli, knew nothing of the thunderboltwhich had almost robbed him of his master and killed his pet, the dunhorse. Besides, he was anxious about his fate and curious to learn howhe had found the Ortlieb sisters; for, though Eva alone had power tomake Heinz Schorlin's heart beat faster, the misfortune of poor Elsaffected him more deeply as the thought that he was its cause grew moreand more painful. 

Wolff's letter, which Katterle delivered to him, revealed youngEysvogel's steadfast love for the hapless girl. In it he also alluded tohis nocturnal interview with Heinz, and in cordial words admitted thathe thought he had found in him a sincere friend, to whom, if to any one, he would not grudge his fair young sister-in-law Eva. Then he describedhow the unfortunate duel had occurred. 

After mentioning what had excited young Ulrich Vorchtel's animosity, he related that, soon after his interview with Heinz, he had met youngVorchtel, accompanied by several friends. Ulrich had barred his way, loading him with invectives so fierce and so offensive to his honour, that he was obliged to accept the challenge. As he wore no weapon savethe dagger in his belt, he used the sword which a German knight amongUlrich's companions offered him. Calm in the consciousness that he hadgiven his former friend's sister no reason to believe in his love, andfirmly resolved merely to bestow a slight lesson on her brother, he tookthe weapon. But when Ulrich shouted to the crusader that the blade helent was too good for the treacherous hand he permitted to wield it, hisblood boiled, and with his first powerful thrust all was over. 

The German knight had then introduced himself as a son of the Burgravevon Zollern and taken him to the castle, where, with his father'sknowledge, the noble young Knight Hospitaller concealed him, and thepoint now was to show the matter, which was undoubtedly a breach of thepeace, to the Emperor Rudolph in the right light. The young Burgravethought that he, Heinz Schorlin, could aid in convincing the sovereign, who would lend him a ready ear, that he, Wolff, had only drawn his swordunder compulsion. So truly as Heinz himself hoped to be a happy manthrough Eva's love, he must help him to bridge the chasm which, by hisluckless deed, separated him from his betrothed bride. 

Heinz had had this letter read aloud twice. Then when Biberli had goneand he rode to the fortress, he had resolved to do everything in hispower for the young Nuremberg noble who had so quickly won his regard, but the sorely stricken imperial father had refused to see him, andtherefore it was impossible to take any step in the matter. 

Yet Wolff's letter had showed that he believed him in all earnestness tobe Eva's future husband, and thus strengthened his resolve to woo her assoon as he felt a little more independent. 

After the thunderbolt had killed the horse under him, and the oldMinorite had again come and showed him that the Lord Himself, throughthe miracle He had wrought, had taken him firmly and swiftly by the handas His chosen follower, it seemed to his agitated mind, when he took upthe letter a second time, as though everything Wolff had written abouthim and Els's sister was not intended for him. 

Eva was happiness--but Heaven had vouchsafed a miracle to prove thetransitoriness of earthly life, that by renunciation here he mightattain endless bliss above. Sacrifice and again sacrifice, according tothe Minorite, was the magic spell that opened the gates of heaven, andwhat harder sacrifice could he offer than that of his love? "Renounce!renounce!" he heard a voice within cry in his ears as, with muchdifficulty, he himself read Wolff's letter, but whatever he might castaway of all that was his, he still would fail to take up his cross asFather Benedictus required; for even as an unknown beggar he would haveenjoyed--this he firmly believed--in Eva's love the highest earthlybliss. Yet divine love was said to be so much more rapturous, and howmuch longer it endured!

And she? Did not the holy expression of her eyes and the aspiration ofher own soul show that she would understand him, approve his sacrifice, imitate it, and exchange earthly for heavenly love? Neither couldrenounce it without inflicting deep wounds on the heart, but every dropof blood which gushed from them, the Minorite said, would add new andheavy weight to their claim to eternal salvation. 

Ay, Heinz would try to resign Eva! But when he yielded to the impulseto read Wolff's letter again he felt like a dethroned prince whom somestranger, ignorant of his misfortune, praises for his mighty power. 

The visions of the future which the greyhaired monk conjured up, allthat he told hint of his own regeneration, transformation, and thehappiness which he would find as a disciple of St. Francis in poverty, liberty, and the silent struggle for eternal bliss, everything whichhe described with fervid eloquence, increased the tumult in the youngknight's deeply agitated soul. 

IN THE FIRE OF THE FORGE--PART II. 

CHAPTER I. 

The vesper bells had already died away, yet Heinz was still listeningeagerly to the aged Minorite, who was now relating the story of St. Francis, his breach with everything that he loved, and the sorrowfulcommencement of his life. The monk could have desired no more attentiveauditor. Only the young knight often looked out of the window in searchof Biberli, who had not yet returned. 

The latter had gone to the Ortlieb mansion with Katterle. 

The runaway maid, whose disappearance, at old Martsche's earnestrequest, had already been "cried" in the city, had no cause to complainof her reception; for the housekeeper and the other servants, who knewnothing of her guilt, greeted her as a favourite companion whom they hadgreatly missed, and Biberli had taken care that she was provided withanswers to the questions of the inquisitive. The story which he hadinvented began with the false report that a fire had broken out in thefortress. This had startled Katterle, and attracted her to the citadelto aid her countrywoman and her little daughter. Then came the statementthat she spent the night there, and lastly the tale that in the morningshe was detained in the Swiss warder's quarters by a gentleman ofrank--perhaps the Burgrave himself--who, after he had learned who shewas, wished to give her some important papers for Herr Ernst Ortlieb. She had waited hours for them and finally, on the way home, chanced tomeet Biberli. 

At first the maid found it difficult to repeat this patchwork of truthand fiction in proper order, but the ex-schoolmaster impressed it sofirmly on his sweetheart's mind that at last it flowed from her lips asfluently as his pupils in Stanstadt had recited the alphabet. 

So she became among the other servants the heroine of an innocentadventure whose truth no one doubted, least of all the housekeeper, whofelt a maternal affection for her. Some time elapsed ere she could reachthe Es; they were still with their mother, who was so ill that the leechOtto left the sick-room shaking his head. 

As soon as he had gone Biberli stopped Els, who had accompanied thephysician outside the door of the sufferer's chamber, and earnestlyentreated her to forgive him and Katterle--who stood at his side withdrooping head, holding her apron to her eyes and persuade her fatheralso to let mercy take the place of justice. 

But kind-hearted Els proved sterner than the maid had ever seen her. 

As her mother had been as well as usual when she woke, they had told herof the events of the previous night. Her father was very considerate, and even kept back many incidents, but the invalid was too weak forso unexpected and startling a communication. She was well aware of herexcitable daughter's passionate nature; but she had never expected thather little "saint, " the future bride of Heaven, would be so quicklyfired with earthly love, especially for a stranger knight. Moreover, theconduct of Eva who, though she entreated her forgiveness, by no meansshowed herself contritely ready to resign her lover, had given her somuch food for thought that she could not find the rest her frail bodyrequired. 

Soon after these disclosures she was again attacked with convulsions, and Els thought of them and the fact that they were caused by Eva'simprudence, instigated by the maid, when she refused Biberli herintercession with her father in behalf of him and his bride, as he nowcalled Katterle. 

The servitor uttered a few touching exclamations of grief, yet meanwhilethrust his hand into the pocket of his long robe and, with a courteousbow and the warmest message of love from her betrothed husband, whomKatterle had seen in perfect health and under the best care in theZollern castle, delivered to the indignant girl the letter which Wolffhad entrusted to the maid. Els hurried with the missive so impatientlyexpected to the window in the hall, through which the sun, not yetreached by the rising clouds, was shining, and as it contained nothingsave tender words of love which proved that her betrothed husband firmlyrelied upon her fidelity and, come what might, would not give her up, she returned to the pair, and hurriedly, but in a more kindly tone, informed them that her father was greatly incensed against both, butshe would try to soften him. At present he was in his office with HerrCasper Eysvogel; Biberli might wait in the kitchen till the latter wentaway. 

Els then entered the sick-chamber, but Biberli put his hand under hissweetheart's chin, bent her head back gently, and said: "Now you see howBiberli and other clever people manage. The best is kept until the last. The result of the first throw matters little, only he who wins the lastgoes home content. To know how to choose the bait is also an art. Thetrout bites at the fly, the pike at the worm, and a yearning maiden ather lover's letter. Take notice! To-day, which began with such cruelsorrow, will yet have a tolerable end. "

"Nay, " cried Katterle, nudging him angrily with her elbow, "we neverhad a day begin more happily for us. The gold with which we can set uphousekeeping--"

"Oh, yes, " interrupted Biberli, "the zecchins and gold florins arecertainly no trifle. Much can be bought with them. But Schorlin Castlerazed to the ground, my master's lady mother and Fraulein Maria held ashalf captives in the convent, to say nothing of the light-hearted PrinceHartmann and Sir Heinz's piteous grief--if all these things could beundone, child, I should not think the bag of gold, and another intothe bargain, too high a price to pay for it. What is the use of a housefilled with fine furniture when the heart is so full of sorrow? At homewe all eat together out of a cracked clay dish across which a tinker haddrawn a wire, with rude wooden spoons made by my father, yet how we allrelished it!--what more did we want?"

As he spoke he drew her into the kitchen, where he found a friendlyreception. 

True, the Ortlieb servants were attached to their employers andsincerely sorry for the ill health of the mistress of the house, butfor several years the lamentations and anxiety concerning her had beenceaseless. The young prince's death had startled rather than saddenedthem. They did not know him, but it was terrible to die so young andso suddenly. They would not have listened to a merry tale which stirredthem to laughter, but Biberli's stories of distant lands, of the court, of war, of the tournament, just suited their present mood, and thenarrator was well pleased to find ready listeners. He had so many thingsto forget, and he never succeeded better than when permitted to use histongue freely. He wagged it valiantly, too, but when the thunderstormburst he paused and went to the window. His narrow face was blanched, and his agile limbs moved restlessly. Suddenly remarking, "My masterwill need me, " he held out his hand to Katterle in farewell. But as thezigzag flash of lightning had just been followed by the peal of thunder, she clung to him, earnestly beseeching him not to leave her. He yielded, but went out to learn whether Herr Casper was still in the office, andin a short time returned, exclaiming angrily: "The old Eysvogel seems tobe building his nest here!"

Then, to the vexation of the clumsy old cook, whom he interrupted by hisrestless movements in the Paternosters she was repeating on her rosary, he began to stride up and down before the hearth. 

His light heart had rarely been so heavy. He could not keep his thoughtsfrom his master, and felt sure that Heinz needed him; that he, Biberli, would have cause to regret not being with him at this moment. Had thestorm destroyed the Ortlieb mansion he would have considered it onlynatural; and as he glanced around the kitchen in search of Katterle, who, like most of the others, was on her knees with her rosary in herhand, old Martsche rushed in, hurried up to the cook, shook her as if torouse her from sleep, and exclaimed: "Hot water for the blood-letting!Quick! Our mistress--she'll slip through our hands. "

As she spoke, the young kitchen maid Metz helped the clumsy woman up, and Biberli also lent his aid. 

Just as the jug was filled, Els, too, hastened in, snatched it from thehand of Martsche, whose old feet were too slow for her, and hurried withit into the entry and up the stairs, passing her father, to whom she hadcalled on the way down. 

Casper Eysvogel stood at the bottom of the steps, and called after herthat it would not be his fault, but her father's, if everything betweenher and his son was over. 

She probably heard the words, but made no answer, and hastened as fastas her feet would carry her to her mother's bed. 

The old physician was holding the gasping woman in his arms, and Evaknelt beside the high bedstead sobbing, as she covered the dry, burninghand with kisses. 

When Ernst Ortlieb entered the chamber of his beloved wife a cold chillran down his back, for the odour of musk, which he had already inhaledbeside many a deathbed, reached him. 

It had come to this! The end which he had so long delayed by tender loveand care was approaching. The flower which had adorned his youth and, spite of its broken stem, had grown still dearer and was treasuredbeyond everything else that bloomed in his garden, would be torn fromhim. 

This time no friendly potion had helped her to sleep through the noiseof the thunderstorm. Soon after the attack of convulsions the agitated, feeble sufferer had started up in terror at the first loud peal ofthunder. Fright followed fright, and when the leech came voluntarily toenquire for her, he found a dying woman. 

The bleeding restored her to consciousness for a short time, and sheevidently recognised her husband and her children. To the formershe gave a grateful, tender glance of love, to Els an affectionate, confidential gesture, but Eva, her pride and joy, whom the past nighthad rendered a child of sorrow, claimed her attention most fully. 

Her kind, gentle eyes rested a long time upon her: then she lookedtoward her husband as if beseeching him to cherish this child withspecial tenderness in his heart; and when he returned the glance withanother, in which all the wealth of his great and loyal love shonethrough his tears, her fever-flushed features brightened. Memories ofthe spring of her love seemed to irradiate her last moments and, as hereyes again rested on Eva, her lips once more smiled with the bewitchingexpression, once her husband's delight, which had long deserted them. 

It seemed during this time as if she had forgotten the faithful nursewho for years had willingly sacrificed the pleasures of her days and thesleep of her nights, to lavish upon the child of her anxiety all thather mother-heart still contained, which was naught save love. 

Els doubtless noticed it, but with no bitter or sorrowful thoughts. Sheand the beloved dying woman understood one another. Each knew what shewas to the other. Her mother need not doubt, nor did she, that, whateverobstacles life might place in her pathway, Els would pursue the rightcourse even without counsel and guidance. But Eva needed her love andcare so much just now, and when the sufferer gave her older daughteralso a tender glance and vainly strove to falter a few words of thanks, Els herself replaced in Eva's the hand which her mother had withdrawn. 

Fran Maria nodded gently to Els, as if asking her sensible elderdaughter to watch over her forsaken sister in her place. 

Then her eyes again sought her husband, but the priest, to whom she hadjust confessed, approached her instead. 

After the holy man had performed the duties of his office, she againturned her head toward Eva. It seemed as though she was feasting hereyes on her daughter's charms. Meanwhile she strove to utter what moreshe desired to say, but the bystanders understood only the words--theywere her last: "We thought--should be untouched--But now Heaven----"

Here she paused and, after closing her eyes for a time, went on in alower but perfectly distinct tone: "You are good--I hope--the forge-fireof life--it is fortunate for you The heart and its demands Thehap--pi--ness--which it--gave--me----It ought--it must--you, too----"

Whilst speaking she had again glanced towards her husband, then at theAbbess Kunigunde, who knelt beside him, and as the abbess met the lookshe thought, "She is entrusting the child to me, and desires Eva tobe happy as one of us and the fairest of the brides of Heaven!" ErnstOrtlieb, wholly overpowered by the deepest grief, was far from enquiringinto the meaning of these last words of his beloved dying wife. 

Els, on the contrary, who had learned to read the sufferer's featuresand understood her even without words when speech was difficult, hadwatched every change in the expression of her features with the utmostattention. Without reflecting or interpreting, she was sure that themovements of her dying mother's lips had predicted to Eva that the"forge fire of life" would exert its purifying and moulding influence onher also, and wished that in the world, not in the convent, she might beas happy as she herself had been rendered by her father's love. 

After these farewell words Frau Maria's features became painfullydistorted, the lids drooped over her eyes, there was a brief struggle, then a slight gesture from the physician announced to the weeping groupthat her earthly pilgrimage was over. 

No one spoke. All knelt silently, with clasped hands, beside the couch, until Eva, as if roused from a dream, shrieked, "She will never comeback again!" and with passionate grief threw herself upon the lifelessform to kiss the still face and beseech her to open her dear eyes oncemore and not leave her. 

How often she had remained away from the invalid in order to let heraunt point out the path for her own higher happiness whilst Els nursedher mother; but now that she had left her, she suddenly felt what shehad possessed and lost in her love. It seemed as if hitherto she hadwalked beneath the shadow of leafy boughs, and her mother's deathhad stripped them all away as an autumn tempest cruelly tears offthe foliage. Henceforth she must walk in the scorching sun withoutprotection or shelter. Meanwhile she beheld in imagination fierce flamesblazing brightly from the dark soot--the forge fire of life, to whichthe dead woman's last words had referred. She knew what her mother hadwished to say, but at the present time she lacked both the desire andthe strength to realise it. 

For a time each remained absorbed by individual grief. Then the fatherdrew both girls to his heart and confessed that, with their mother'sdeath life, already impoverished by the loss of his only son, had beenbereft of its last charm. His most ardent desire was to be summoned soonto follow the departed ones. 

Els summoned up her courage and asked: "And we--are we nothing to you, father?"

Surprised by this rebuke, he started, removed his wet handkerchief fromhis eyes, and answered: "Yes, yes--but the old do not reckon Ay, much isleft to me. But he who is robbed of his best possession easily forgetsthe good things remaining, and good you both are. "

He kissed his daughter lovingly as he spoke, as if wishing to retractthe words which had wounded her; then gazing at the still face of thedead, he said: "Before you dress her, leave her alone with me for atime----There is a wild turmoil here and here"--he pointed to his breastand brow--"and yet The last hours----There is so much to settle andconsider in a future without her With her, with her dear calm featuresbefore my eyes----"

Here a fresh outburst of grief stifled his voice; but Els pointed to theimage of the Virgin on the wall and beckoned to her sister. 

Wholly engrossed by her own sorrow, Eva had scarcely heeded her father'swords, and now impetuously refused to leave her mother. Herr Ernst, pleased by this immoderate grief for the one dearest to him, permittedher to remain, and asked Els to attend to the outside affairs which adeath always brought with it. 

Els accepted the new duty as a matter of course and went to the door;but at the threshold she turned back, rushed to the deathbed, kissed thepure brow and closed eyelids of the sleeper, and then knelt beside herin silent prayer. When she rose she clasped Eva, who had knelt and risenwith her, in a close embrace, and whispered: "Whatever happens, you mayrely on me. "

Then she consulted her father concerning certain arrangements which mustbe made, and also asked him what she should say to the maid's lover, whohad come to beseech his forgiveness. 

"Tell him to leave me in peace!" cried Herr Ernst vehemently. Els triedto intercede for the servant, but her father pressed both hands over hisears, exclaiming: "Who can reach a decision when he is out of his senseshimself? Let the man come to-morrow, or the day after. Whoever may call, I will see no one, and don't wish to know who is here. "

But the peace and solitude for which he longed seemed denied him. A fewhours after he left the chamber of death he was obliged to go to theTown Hall on business which could not be deferred; and when, shortlybefore sunset, he returned home and locked himself into his own room, old Eysvogel again appeared. 

He looked pale and agitated, and ordered the manservant--who deniedhim admittance as he had been directed--to call Jungfrau Els. His voicetrembled as he entreated her to persuade her father to see him again. The matter in question was the final decision of the fate of his ancienthouse, of Wolff, and also her own and her marriage with his son. Perhapsthe death of his beloved wife might render her father's mood moregentle. He did not yet know all Now he must learn it. If he again said"No, " it would seal the ruin of the Eysvogel firm. 

How imploringly he could plead! how humbly the words fell from the oldmerchant's lips, moving Els to her inmost heart as she remembered thecurt inflexibility with which, only yesterday, this arrogant man, inthat very spot, had refused any connection with the Ortliebs! How muchit must cost him to bow his stiff neck before her, who was so muchyounger, and approach her father, whose heart he had so pitilesslytrampled under foot, in the character of a supplicant for aid, perhaps abeggar!

Besides, Wolff was his son!

Whatever wrong the father had done her she must forget it, and the taskwas not difficult; for now--she felt it--no matter from what motive, he honestly desired to unite her to his son. If her lover now led herthrough the door adorned with the huge, showy escutcheon, she wouldno longer come as a person unwillingly tolerated, but as a welcomehelper-perhaps as the saviour of the imperilled house. Of the women ofthe Eysvogel family she forbade herself to think. 

How touching the handsome, aristocratic, grey-haired man seemed to herin his helpless weakness! If her father would only receive him, he wouldfind it no easier than she to deny him the compassion he so greatlyneeded. 

She knocked at the lonely mourner's door and was admitted. 

He was sitting, with his head bowed on his hands, opposite to thelarge portrait of her dead mother in her bridal robes. The dusk of thegathering twilight concealed the picture, but he had doubtless gazedlong at the lovely features, and still beheld them with his mentalvision. 

Els was received with a mournful greeting; but when Herr Ernst heardwhat had brought her to him, he fiercely commanded her to tell HerrCasper that he would have nothing more to do with him. 

Els interceded for the unfortunate man, begging, pleading, and assuringher father that she would never give up Wolff. The happiness of herwhole life was centred in him and his love. If he refused the Eysvogelsthe aid besought by the old merchant who, in his humility, seemed adifferent man----

Here her father indignantly broke in, ordering her to disturb him nolonger. But now the heritage of his own nature asserted itself in Elsand, with an outburst of indignation, she pointed to the picture ofher mother, whose kind heart certainly could not have endured to seea broken-hearted man, on whose rescue the happiness of her own childdepended, turned from her door like an importunate beggar. 

At this the man whose locks had long been grey sprang from his chairwith the agility of a youth, exclaiming in vehement excitement: "Toembitter the hours devoted to the most sacred grief is genuine Eysvogelselfishness. Everything for themselves! What do they care for others?I except your Wolff; let the future decide what concerns him and you. Iwill stand by you. But to hope for happiness and peace-nay, even a lifewithout bitter sorrow for you from the rest of the kin--is to expect togather sweet pears from juniper bushes. Ever since your betrothal yourmother and I have had no sleep, disturbed whenever we talked to eachother about your being condemned to live under the same roof with thatold devil, the countess, her pitiable daughter, and that worthlessSiebenburg. But within the past few hours all this has been changed. The table-cloth has been cut between the Eysvogels and the Ortliebs. No power in the world can ever join it. I have not told you what hashappened. Now you may learn that you----But first listen, and thendecide on whose side you will stand. 

"Early this morning I went to the session of the Council. In themarket-place I met first one member of it, then a second, third, andfourth; each asked me what had happened to the beautiful E, my lovelylittle daughter. Gradually I learned what had reached their ears. Yesterday evening, on his way home from here, the man outside, CasperEysvogel, sullied your--our--good name, child, in a way I have justlearned the particulars. He boasted, in the presence of those estimableold gentlemen, the Brothers Ebner, that he had flung at my feet the ringwhich bound you to his son. You had been surprised at midnight, he said, in the arms of a Swiss knight, and that base scoundrel Siebenburg, his daughter's husband, dared at the gaming-table, before a number ofknights and gentlemen--among them young Hans Gross, Veit Holzschuher, and others-to put your interview with the Swiss in so false a light thatNo, I cannot bring my lips to utter it----

"You need hear only this one thing more: the wretch said that he thankedhis patron saint that they had discovered the jade's tricks in time. Andthis, child, was the real belief of the whole contemptible crew! But nowthat the water is up to their necks, and they need my helping hand tosave them from drowning-now they will graciously take Ernst Ortlieb'sdaughter if he will give them his property into the bargain, that theymay destroy both fortune and child. No--a thousand times no! It is notseemly, at this hour, to yield to the spirit of hate; but she who islying in her last sleep above would not have counselled me by a singleword to such suicidal folly. I did not learn the worst until I went tothe Council, or I would have turned the importunate fellow from the doorthis morning. Tell the old man so, and add that Ernst Ortlieb will havenothing more to do with him. "

Here the deeply incensed father pointed to the door. 

Els had listened with eyes dilating in horror. The result surpassed herworst fears. 

She had felt so secure in her innocence, and the countess had intercededfor her so cleverly that, absorbed by anxieties concerning Eva, Cordula, and her mother, she had already half forgotten the disagreeableincident. 

Yet, now that her fair name was dragged through the mire, she couldscarcely be angry with those who pointed the finger of scorn at her; forfaithlessness to a betrothed lover was an offence as great as infidelityto a husband. Nay, her friends were more ready to condemn a girl whobroke her vow than a wife who forgot her duty. 

And if Wolff, in his biding-place in the citadel, should learn what wassaid of his Els, to whom yesterday old and young raised their hats inglad yet respectful greeting, would he not believe those who appealed tohis own father?

Yet ere she had fully realised this fear, she told herself that it washer duty and her right to thrust it aside. Wolff would not be Wolff ifeven for a moment he believed such a thing possible. They ought not, could not, doubt each other. Though all Nuremberg should listen to thebase calumny and turn its back upon her, she was sure of her Wolff. Ay, he would cherish her with twofold tenderness when he learned by whomthis terrible suffering had been inflicted upon her. 

Drawing a long breath, she again fixed her eyes upon her mother'sportrait. Had she now rushed out to tell the old man who had so cruellyinjured her--oh, it would have lightened her heart!--the wrong hehad done and what she thought of him, her mother would certainly havestopped her, saying: "Remember that he is your betrothed husband'sfather. " She would not forget it; she could not even hate the ruinedman. 

Any effort to change her father's mood now--she saw it plainly--wouldbe futile. Later, when his just anger had cooled, perhaps he might bepersuaded to aid the endangered house. 

Herr Ernst gazed after her sorrowfully as, with a gesture of farewell, she silently left the room to tell her lover's father that he had comein vain. 

The old merchant was waiting in the entry, where the wails of theservants and the women in the neighbourhood who, according to custom, were beating their brows and breasts and rending their garments, couldbe heard distinctly. 

Deadly pale, as if ready to sink, he tottered towards the door. 

When Els saw him hesitate at the top of the few steps leading to theentry, she gave him her arm to support him down. As he cautiously putone foot after the other on the stairs, she wondered how it was possiblethat this man, whose tall figure and handsome face were cast in so noblea mould, could believe her to be so base; and at the same moment sheremembered the words which old Berthold Vorchtel had uttered in herpresence to his son Ulrich: "If anything obscure comes between you and afriend, obtain a clear understanding and peace by truth. "

Had the young man who had irritated his misjudged friend into crossingswords with him followed this counsel, perhaps he would have been alivenow. She would take it herself, and frankly ask Wolff's father whatjustified him in accusing her of so base a deed. 

The lamps were already lighted in the hall, and the rays from thecentral one fell upon Herr Casper's colourless face, which wore anexpression of despair. But just as her lips parted to ask the questionthe odour of musk reached her from the death-chamber, whose door Evahad opened. Her mother's gentle face, still in death, rose before hermemory, and she was forced to exert the utmost self-control not toweep aloud. Without further reflection she imposed silence upon herselfand--yesterday she would not have ventured to do it--threw her armaround Herr Casper's shoulders, gazed affectionately at him, andwhispered: "You must not despair, father. You have a faithful ally inthis house in Els. "

The old man looked down at her in astonishment, but instead of drawingher closer to him he released himself with courteous coldness, sayingbitterly: "There is no longer any bond between us and the Ortliebs, Jungfrau Els. From this day forth I am no more your father than youare the bride of my son. Your will may be good, but how little it canaccomplish has unfortunately been proved. "

Shrugging his shoulders wearily as he spoke, he nodded a farewell andleft the house. 

Four bearers were waiting outside with the sedan-chair, three servantswith torches, and two stout attendants carrying clubs over theirshoulders. All wore costly liveries of the Eysvogel colours, and whentheir master had taken his seat in the gilded conveyance and the menlifted it, Els heard a weaver's wife, who lived near by, say to herlittle boy: "That's the rich Herr Eysvogel, Fritzel. He has as muchmoney to spend every hour as we have in a whole year, and he is a veryhappy man. "

CHAPTER II. 

Els went back into the house. 

The repulse which she had just received caused her bitter sorrow. Herfather was right. Herr Casper had treated her kindly from a purelyselfish motive. She herself was nothing to him. 

But there was so much for her to do that she found little time to grieveover this new trouble. 

Eva was praying in the death-chamber for the soul of the beloved deadwith some of the nuns from the convent, who had lost in her mother agenerous benefactress. 

Els was glad to know that she was occupied; it was better that hersister should be spared many of the duties which she was obliged toperform. Whilst arranging with the coffin-maker and the "Hegelein, "the sexton and upholsterer, ordering a large number of candlesand everything else requisite at the funeral of the mistress of anaristocratic household, she also found time to look after her fatherand Countess Cordula, who was better. Yet she did not forget her ownaffairs. 

Biberli had returned. He had much to relate; but when forced to admitthat nothing was urgent, she requested him to defer it until later, andonly commissioned him to go to the castle, greet Wolff in her name, andannounce her mother's death; Katterle would accompany him, in order toobtain admittance through her countryman, the Swiss warder. 

Els might have sent one of the Ortlieb servants; but, in the firstplace, the fugitive's refuge must be concealed, and then she toldherself that Biberli, who had witnessed the occurrence of the previousevening, could best inform Wolff of the real course of events. But whenshe gave him permission to tell her betrothed husband all that he hadseen and heard the day before at the Ortlieb mansion, Biberli repliedthat a better person than he had undertaken to do so. As he left hismaster, Sir Heinz was just going to seek her lover. When she learned allthat had befallen the knight, she would understand that he was no longerhimself. Els, however, had no time to listen, and promised to hear hisstory when he returned; but he was too full of the recent experienceto leave it untold, and briefly related how wonderfully Heaven hadpreserved his master's life. Then he also told her hurriedly that thetrouble which had come upon her through Sir Heinz's fault burdened hissoul. Therefore he would not let the night pass without at least showingher betrothed husband how he should regard the gossip of idle tongues ifit penetrated to his hiding-place. 

Els uttered a sigh of relief. Surely Wolff must trust her! Yet whatviciously coloured reports might reach him from the Eysvogels! Now thathe would learn the actual truth from the most credible eye-witnesses sheno longer dreaded even the worst calumny. 

No one appeared at supper except her father. Eva had begged to beexcused. She wished to remain undisturbed; but the world, with rude yetbeneficent hand, interrupted even her surrender to her grief for hermother. 

The tailor, who protested that, owing to the mourning for young PrinceHartmann, he had fairly "stolen" this hour for the beautiful Ortliebsisters, came with his assistant, and at the same time a messengerarrived from the cloth-house in the market-place bringing the packagesof white stuffs for selection. Then it was necessary to decide uponthe pattern and material; the sisters must appear in mourning the nextmorning at the consecration, and later at the mass for the dead. 

Eva had turned to these worldly matters with sincere repugnance, but Elswould not release her from giving them due attention. 

It was well for her tortured soul and the poor eyes reddened by weeping. But when she again knelt in the chamber of death beside her dear nunsand saw the grey robe, which they all wore, the wish to don one, whichshe had so often cherished, again awoke. No other was more pleasing toher Heavenly Bridegroom, and she forbade herself in this hour to thinkof the only person for whose sake she would gladly have adorned herself. Yet the struggle to forget him constantly recalled him to her mind, no matter how earnestly she strove to shut out his image whenever itappeared. But, after her last conversation, must not her mother havedied in the belief that she would not give up her love? And the deadwoman's last words? Yet, no matter what they meant, here and now nothingshould come between her and the beloved departed. She devoted herselfheart and soul to the memory of the longing for her. 

Grief for her loss, repentance for not having devoted herself faithfullyenough to her, and the hope that in the convent her prayers might obtaina special place in the world beyond for the beloved sleeper, now revivedher wish to take the veil. She felt bound to the nuns, who shared heraspirations. When her father came to send her to her rest and askedwhether, as a motherless child, she intended to trust his love and careor to choose another mother who was not of this world, she answeredquietly with a loving glance at the picture of St. Clare, "As you wish, and she commands. "

Herr Ernst kindly replied that she still had ample time to make herdecision, and then again urged her to leave the watch beside the deadto the women who had been appointed to it and the nuns, who desired toremain with the body; but Eva insisted so eagerly upon sharing it thatEls, by a significant gesture to her father, induced him to yield. 

She kept her sister away whilst the corpse was being laid out and thewomen were performing their other duties by asking Eva to receive theirAunt Christine, the wife of Berthold Pfinzing, who had hurried to thecity from Schweinau as soon as she had news of her sister-in-law'sdeath. 

Nothing must cloud the memory of the beloved sufferer in the mind of herchild, and Els knew that Frau Christine had been a dear friend of thedead woman, that Eva clung to her like a second mother, and that nothingcould reach her sister from her honest heart which would not benefither. Nor was she mistaken, for the warm, affectionate manner in whichthe matron greeted the young girl restored her composure; nay, when FranChristine was obliged to go, because her time was claimed by importantduties, she would gladly have detained her. 

When Eva, in a calmer mood than before, at last entered the hall whereher mother's body now lay in a white silk shroud on the snowy satinpillows, as she was to be placed before the altar for the service ofconsecration on the morrow, she was again overwhelmed with all theviolence of the deepest grief; nay, the burning anguish of her soulexpressed itself so vehemently that the abbess, who had returned whilstthe sisters were still taking leave of their Aunt Christine, didnot succeed in soothing her until, drawing her aside, she whispered:"Remember our saint, child. He called everything, even the sorestagony, 'Sister Sorrow'. So you, too, must greet sorrow as a sister, the daughter of your heavenly Father. Remember the supreme, loving handwhence it came, and you will bear it patiently. "

Eva nodded gratefully, and when grief threatened to overpower her shethought of the saint's soothing words, "Sister Sorrow, " and her heartgrew calmer. 

Els knew how much the emotions of the previous nights must have weariedher, and had permitted her to share the vigil beside the corpse onlybecause she believed that she would be unable to resist sleep. She hadslipped a pillow between her back and that of the tall, handsome chairwhich she had chosen for a seat, but Eva disappointed her expectation;for whatever she earnestly desired she accomplished, and whilst Elsoften closed her eyes, she remained wide awake. When sleep threatenedto overpower her she thought of her mother's last words, especially onephrase, "the forge fire of life, " which seemed specially pregnant withmeaning. Yet, ere she had reached any definite understanding of itstrue significance, the cocks began to crow, the song of the nightingaleceased, and the twittering of the other birds in the trees and bushes inthe garden greeted the dawning day. 

Then she rose and, smiling, kissed Els, who was sleeping, on theforehead, told Sister Renata that she would go to rest, and lay down onher bed in the darkened chamber. 

Whilst praying and reflecting she had thought constantly of her mother. Now she dreamed that Heinz Schorlin had borne her in his strong arms outof the burning convent, as Sir Boemund Altrosen had saved the Countessvon Montfort, and carried her to the dead woman, who looked as fresh andwell as in the days before her sickness. 

When, three hours before noon, she awoke, she returned greatly refreshedto her dead mother. How mild and gentle her face was even now; yet thedear, silent lips could never again give her a morning greeting and, overwhelmed by grief, she threw herself on her knees before the coffin. 

But she soon rose again. Her recent slumber had transformed thepassionate anguish into quiet sorrow. 

Now, too, she could think of external things. There was little tobe done in the last arrangement of the dead, but she could place thedelicate, pale hands in a more natural position, and the flowers whichthe gardener had brought to adorn the coffin did not satisfy her. Sheknew all that grew in the woods and fields near Nuremberg, and no onecould dispose bouquets more gracefully. Her mother had been especiallyfond of some of them, and was always pleased when she brought them homefrom her walks with the abbess or Sister Perpetua, the experienced olddoctress of the convent. Many grew in the forest, others on the brink ofthe water. The beloved dead should not leave the house, whose guide andornament she had been, without her favourite blossoms. 

Eva arranged the flowers brought by the gardener as gracefully aspossible, and then asked Sister Perpetua to go to walk with her, tellingher father and sister that she wished to be out of doors with the nunfor a short time. 

She told no one what she meant to do. Her mother's favourite flowersshould be her own last gift to her. 

Old Martsche received the order to send Ortel, the youngest manservantin the household, a good-natured fellow eighteen years old, with abasket, to wait for her and Sister Perpetua at the weir. 

After the thunderstorm of the day before the air was specially fresh andpure; it was a pleasure merely to breathe. The sun shone brightly fromthe cloudless sky. It was a delightful walk through the meadows andforest over the footpath which passed near the very Dutzen pool, whereKatterle the day before had resolved to seek death. All Nature seemedrevived as though by a refreshing bath. Larks flew heavenward with alow sweet song, from amidst the grain growing luxuriantly for the winterharvest, and butterflies hovered above the blossoming fields. Slenderdragon-flies and smaller busy insects flitted buzzing from flower toflower, sucking honey from the brimming calyxes and bearing to othersthe seeds needed to form fruit. The songs of finches and the twitter ofwhite-throats echoed from many a bush by the wayside. 

In the forest they were surrounded by delightful shade animated byhundreds of loud and low voices far away and close at hand. Countlessbuds were opening under the moss and ferns, strawberries were ripeningclose to the ground, and the delicate leafy boughs of the bilberrybushes were full of juicy green oared fruit. 

Near the weir they heard a loud clanking and echoing, but it had avery different effect from the noise of the city; instead of excitingcuriosity there was something soothing in the regularity of the blows ofthe iron hammer and the monotonous croaking of the frogs. 

In this part of the forest, where the fairest flowers grew, the morningdew still hung glittering from the blossoms and grasses. Here it wassecluded, yet full of life, and amidst the wealth of sounds in whichmight be heard the tapping of the woodpecker, the cry of the lapwing, and the call of the distant wood-pigeon, it was so still and peacefulthat Eva's heart grew lighter in spite of her grief. 

Sister Perpetua spoke only to answer a question. She sympathised withEva's thought when she frankly expressed her pleasure in every newdiscovery, for she knew for whom and with what purpose she was seekingand culling the flowers and, instead of accusing her of want of feeling, she watched with silent emotion the change wrought in the innocent childby the effort to render, in league with Nature, an act of loving serviceto the one she held dearest. 

True, even now grief often rudely assailed Eva's heart. At such timesshe paused, sighing silently, or exclaimed to her companion, "Ah, if shecould be with us!" or else asked thoughtfully if she remembered how hermother had rejoiced over the fragrant orchid or the white water-lilywhich she had just found. 

Sister Perpetua had taken part of the blossoms which she had gathered;but Ortel already stood waiting with the basket, and the house-dog, Wasser, which had followed the young servant, ran barking joyously tomeet the ladies. Eva already had flowers enough to adorn the coffin asshe desired, and the sun showed that it was time to return. 

Hitherto they had met no one. The blossoms could be arranged here in theforest meadow under the shade of the thick hazel-bushes which borderedthe pine wood. 

After Eva had thrown hers on the grass, she asked the nun to do the samewith her own motley bundle. 

Between the thicket and the road stood a little chapel which hadbeen erected by the Mendel family on the spot where a son of old HerrNikolaus had been murdered. Four Frank robber knights had attackedhim and the train of waggons he had ridden out to meet, and killed thespirited young man, who fought bravely in their defence. 

Such an event would no longer have been possible so near the city. ButEva knew what had befallen the Eysvogel wares and, although she did notlack courage, she started in terror as she heard the tramp of horses'hoofs and the clank of weapons, not from the city, but within theforest. 

She hastily beckoned to her companion who, being slightly deaf had heardnothing, to hide with her behind the hazel-bushes, and also told theyoung servant, who had already placed the basket beside the flowers, toconceal himself, and all three strained their ears to catch the soundsfrom the wood. 

Ortel held the dog by the collar, silenced him, and assured his mistressthat it was only another little band of troopers on their way fromAltdorf to join the imperial army. 

But this surmise soon proved wrong, for the first persons to appear weretwo armed horsemen, who turned their heads as nimbly as their steeds, now to the right and now to the left, scanning the thickets along theroad distrustfully. After a somewhat lengthy interval the tall figureof an elderly man followed, clad in deep mourning. Beneath his cap, bordered with fine fur, long locks fell to his shoulders, and he wasmounted on a powerful Binzgau charger. At his side, on a beautifulspirited bay, rode a very young woman whose pliant figure was extremelyaristocratic in its bearing. 

As soon as the hazel-bushes and pine trees, which had concealed thenoble pair, permitted a view of them, Eva recognised in the gentlemanthe Emperor Rudolph, and in his companion Duchess Agnes of Austria, hisyoung daughter-in-law, whom she had not forgotten since the dance at theTown Hall. Behind them came several mailed knights, with the emblemsof the deepest mourning on their garments and helmets, and among thosenearest to the Emperor Eva perceived--her heart almost stood still--theperson whom she had least expected to meet here--Heinz Schorlin. 

Whilst she was gathering the flowers for her mother's coffin his imagehad almost vanished from her mind. Now he appeared before her in person, and the sight moved her so deeply that Sister Perpetua, who saw her turnpale and cling to the young pine by her side, attributed her alteredexpression to fear of robber knights, and whispered, "Don't be troubled, child; it is only the Emperor. "

Neither the first horsemen-guards whom the magistrate, BertholdPfinzing, Eva's uncle, had assigned to the sovereign without hisknowledge, to protect him from unpleasant encounters during his earlymorning ride--nor the Emperor and his companions could have seen Evawhilst they were passing the chapel; but scarcely had they reached itwhen the dog Wasser, which had escaped from Ortel's grasp, burst throughthe hazel copse and, barking furiously, dashed towards the duchess'shorse. 

The spirited animal leaped aside, but a few seconds later Heinz Schorlinhad swung himself from the saddle and dealt the dog so vigorous a kickthat it retreated howling into the thicket. Meanwhile he had watchedevery movement of the bay, and at the right instant his strong hand hadgrasped its nostrils and forced it to stand. 

"Always alert and on the spot at the right time!" cried the Emperor, then added mournfully, "So was our Hartmann, too. "

The duchess bent her head in assent, but the grieving father pointedto Heinz, and added: "The boy owed his blithe vigour partly to thehealthful Swiss blood with which he was born, but yonder knight, duringthe decisive years of life, set him the example. Will you dismount, child, and let Schorlin quiet the bay?"

"Oh, no, " replied the duchess, "I understand the animal. You have notyet broken the wonderful son of the desert of shying, as you promised. It was not the barking cur, but yonder basket that has dropped from theskies, which frightened him. "

She pointed, as she spoke, to the grass near the chapel where, besideEva's flowers, stood the light willow basket which was to receive them. 

"Possibly, noble lady, " replied Heinz, patting the glossy neck of theArabian, a gift to the Emperor Rudolph from the Egyptian Mameluke SultanKalaun. "But perhaps the clever creature merely wished to force hisroyal rider to linger here. Graciously look over yonder, Your Highness;does it not seem as if the wood fairy herself had laid by the roadsidefor your illustrious Majesty the fairest flowers that bloom in field andforest, mere and moss?"

As he spoke he stooped, selected from the mass of blossoms gathered byEva those which specially pleased his eye, hastily arranged them in abouquet, and with a respectful bow presented them to the duchess. 

She thanked him graciously, put the nosegay in her belt, and gazed athim with so warm a light in her eyes that Eva felt as if her heart wasshrinking as she watched the scene. 

Even princesses, who were separated from him by so wide a gulf, couldnot help favouring this man. How could she, the simple maiden whom hehad assured of his love, ever have been able to give him up?

But she had no time to think and ponder; the Emperor was already ridingon with the Bohemian princess, and Heinz went to his horse, whose bridlewas held by one of the troopers who followed the train. 

Ere he swung himself into the saddle again, however, he paused toreflect. 

The thought that he had robbed some flower or herb-gatherer of a portionof the result of her morning's work had entered his mind and, obeying ahasty impulse, he flung a glittering zecchin into the basket. 

Eva saw it, and every fibre of her being urged her to step forward, tellhim that the flowers were hers, and thank him in the name of the poorfor whom she destined his gift; but maidenly diffidence held herin check, although he gave her sufficient opportunity; for when heperceived the image of the Virgin in the Mendel chapel, he crossedhimself, removed his helmet, and bending the knee repeated, whilst theothers rode on without him, a silent prayer. His brown locks floatedaround his head, and his features expressed deep earnestness and glowingardour. 

Oh, how gladly Eva would have thrown herself on her knees beside him, clasped his hands, and--nay, not prayed, her heart was throbbing toostormily for that-rested her head upon his breast and told him thatshe trusted him, and felt herself one with him in earthly as well asheavenly love!

Whoever prayed thus in solitude had a soul yearning for the loftiestthings. Others might say what they chose, she knew him better. This man, from the first hour of their meeting, had loved her with the most ardentbut also with the holiest passion; never, never had he sought her merelyfor wanton amusement. Her mother's last wish would be fulfilled. Sheneed only trust him with her whole soul, and leave the "forge fire oflife" to strengthen and purify her. 

Now she remembered where the dying woman had heard the phrase. 

Her Aunt Christine had used it recently in her mother's presence. YoungKunz Schurstab had fallen into evil ways in Lyons. Every one, evenhis own father, had given him up for lost; but after several years hereturned home and proved himself capable of admirable work, both in hisfather's business and in the Council. In reply to Frau Ortlieb's enquirywhere this transformation in the young man had occurred, her auntanswered:

"In the forge fire of life. " Eva told herself that she had intentionallykept aloof from its flames, and in the convent, perhaps, they wouldnever have reached her. Yesterday they had seized upon her for the firsttime, and henceforward she would not evade them, that she might obey hermother and become worthy of the man praying silently yonder. He owed tohis heroic courage and good sword a renowned name; but what had she everdone save selfishly to provide for her own welfare in this world andthe next? She had not even been strong enough to hold the head of themother, to whom she owed everything and who had loved her so tenderly, when the convulsions attacked her. 

Even after she closed her eyes in death--she had noticed it--she hadbeen kept from every duty in the household and for the beloved dead, because it was deemed unsuitable for her, and Els and every one avoidedputting the serious demands of life between the "little saint" and heraspirations towards the bliss of heaven. Yet Eva knew that she couldaccomplish whatever she willed to do, and instead of using the strengthwhich she felt stirring with secret power in her fragile body, she hadpreferred to let it remain idle, in order to dwell in another world fromthat in which she had been permitted to prove her might. The fire ofthe forge, by whose means pieces of worthless iron were transformed intoswords and ploughshares, should use its influence upon her also. Letit burn and torture her, if it only made her a genuine, noble woman, awoman like her Aunt Christine, from whom her mother had heard the phraseof "the forge fire of life, " who aided and pointed out the right pathto hundreds, and probably, at her age, had needed neither an Els nor anAbbess Kunigunde to keep her, body and soul, in the right way. She lovedboth; but some impulse within rebelled vehemently against being treatedlike a child, and--now that her mother was dead--subjecting her own willto that of any other person than the man to whom she would have gladlylooked up as a master. 

Whilst Heinz knelt in front of the chapel without noticing SisterPerpetua, who was praying before the altar within, these thoughts dartedthrough Eva's brain like a flash of lightning. Now he rose and went tohis horse, but ere he mounted it the dog, barking furiously, again brokefrom the thicket close at her side. 

Heinz must have seen her white mourning robes, for her own name reachedher ears in a sudden cry, and soon after--she herself could not havetold how--Heinz was standing beside the basket amidst the flowers, withher hand clasped in his, gazing into her eyes so earnestly and sadlythat he seemed a different person from the reckless dancer in the TownHall, though the look was equally warm and tender. Whilst doing so, hespoke of the deep wound inflicted upon her by her mother's death. Fatehad dealt him a severe blow also, but grief taught him to turn whithershe, too, had directed him. 

Just at that moment the blast of the horn summoning the Emperor's trainto his side echoed through the forest. 

"The Emperor!" cried Heinz; then bending towards the flowers he seizeda few forget-me-nots, and, whilst gazing tenderly at them and Eva, murmured in a low tone, as if grief choked his utterance: "I know youwill give them to me, for they wear the colour of the Queen of Heaven, which is also yours, and will be mine till my heart and eyes fail me. "

Eva granted his request with a whispered "Keep them"; but he pressed hishand to his brow and, as if torn by contending emotions, hastily added:"Yes, it is that of the Holy Virgin. They say that Heaven has summonedme by a miracle to serve only her and the highest, and it often seems tome that they are right. But what will be the result of the conflictingpowers which since that flash of lightning have drawn one usually soprompt in decision as I, now here, now there? Your blue, Eva, the hueof these flowers, will remain mine whether I wear it in honour of theBlessed Virgin, or--if the world does not release me--in yours. Sheor you! You, too, Eva, I know, stand hesitating at the crossing of twopaths--which is the right one? We will pray Heaven to show it to you andto me. "

As he spoke he swung himself swiftly into the saddle and, obeying thesummons, dashed after his imperial master. 

Eva gazed silently at the spot where he had vanished behind a group ofpine trees; but Ortel, who had gathered a few early strawberries forher, soon roused her from her waking dream by exclaiming, as he clappedhis big hands: "I'll be hanged, Jungfrau Eva, if the knight who spoke toyou isn't the Swiss to whom the great miracle happened yesterday!"

"The miracle?" she asked eagerly, for Els had intentionally concealedwhat she heard, and this evidently had something to do with the"wonderful summons" of which Heinz had spoken without being understood. 

"Yes, a great, genuine miracle, " Ortel went on eagerly. "Thelightning--I heard it from the butcher boy who brings the meat, helearned it from his master's wife herself, and now every child in thecity knows it--the lightning struck the knight's casque during thethundershower yesterday; it ran along his armour, flashing brightly; thehorse sank dead under him without moving a limb, but he himself escapedunhurt, and the mark of a cross can be seen in the place where thelightning struck his helmet. "

"And you think this happened to the very knight who took the flowersyonder?" asked Eva anxiously. 

"As certainly as I hope to have the sacrament before I die, JungfrauEva, " the youth protested. "I saw him riding with that lank Biberli, Katterle's lover, who serves him, and such noblemen are not found bythe dozen. Besides, he is one of those nearest to the Emperor Rudolph'sperson. If it isn't he, I'll submit to torment----"

"Fie upon your miserable oaths!" Eva interrupted reprovingly. "Do youknow also that the tall, stately gentleman with the long grey hair----"

"That was the Emperor Rudolph!" cried Ortel, sure he was right. "Whoeverhas once seen him does not forget him. Everything on earth belongs tohim; but when the knight took our flowers so freely just now as ifthey were his own, I thought But there--there--there! See for yourself, Jungfrau! A heavy, unclipped yellow zecchin!"

As he spoke he took the coin in his hand, crossed himself, andadded thoughtfully: "The little silver coin, or whatever he flungin here--perhaps to pay for the flowers, which are not worth fiveshillings--has been changed into pure gold by the saint who wrought themiracle for him. My soul! If many in Nuremberg paid so high for forage, the rich Eysvogel would leave the Council and go in search of wildflowers!"

Eva begged the man to leave the zecchin, promising to give him anotherat home and half a pound in coppers as earnest money. "This is what Icall a lucky morning!" cried Ortel. But directly after he changed histone, remembering Eva's white mourning robe and the object of theirexpedition, and his fresh voice sounded very sympathetic as he added:"If one could only call your lady mother back to life! Ah, me! I'd spendall my savings to buy for the saints as many candles as my mother has inher little shop, if that would change things. "

Whilst speaking he filled the basket with flowers, and the nun helpedhim. Eva walked before them with bowed head. 

Could she hope to wed the man for whom Heaven had performed such amiracle? Was it no sin to hope and plead that he would wear their commoncolour, not in honour of the Queen of Heaven, but of the lowly Eva, inwhom nothing was strong save the desire for good? Was not Heinz forcingher to enter into rivalry with one the most distant comparison with whommeant defeat? Yet, no! Her gracious Friend above knew her and her heart. She knew with what tender love and reverence she had looked up to herfrom childhood, and she now confided the love in her heart to her whohad shown herself gracious a thousand times when she raised her soul toher in prayer. 

Eva was breathing heavily when she emerged from the forest and stoppedto wait until Sister Perpetua had finished her prayer in the chapel andovertook her. Her heart was heavy, and when, in the meadow beyond thewoods, the heat of the sun, which was already approaching the zenith, made itself felt, it seemed as if she had left the untroubled happinessof childhood behind her in the green thicket. Yet she would not havemissed this forest walk at any price. She knew now that she had no rivalsave the one whom Heinz ought to love no less than she. Whether theyboth decided in favour of the world or the cloister, they would remainunited in love for her and her divine Son. 

CHAPTER III. 

Outside the courtyard of the Ortlieb mansion Eva saw Biberli goingtowards the Frauenthor. He had been with Els a long time, giving areport as frankly as ever. The day before he said to Katterle: "Calmyourself, my little lamb. Now that the daughters need you and me tocarry secret messages, the father will leave us in peace too. A memberof the Council would be like the receiver of stolen goods if he alloweda man whom he deemed worthy of the stocks to render him many services. "

And Herr Ernst Ortlieb really did let him alone, because he was forcedto recognise that Biberli and Katterle were indispensable in carrying onhis daughter's intercourse with Wolff. 

Els had forgiven the clever fellow the more willingly the more consolingbecame the tidings he brought her from her betrothed bridegroom. Besides, she regarded it as specially fortunate that she learned throughhim many things concerning Heinz Schorlin, which for her sister's sakeshe was glad to know. 

True, it would have been useless trouble to try to extort from the trueand steadfast Biberli even a single word which, for his master'ssake, it would have been wiser to withhold, yet he discussedmatters patiently, and told her everything that he could communicateconscientiously. So, when Eva returned, she was accurately informed ofall that had befallen and troubled the knight the day before. 

She listened sympathisingly to the servant's lamentation over themarvellous change which had taken place in Heinz since his horse waskilled under him. But she shook her head incredulously at Biberli'sstatement that his master seriously intended to seek peace in thecloister, like his two older sisters; yet at the man's animateddescription of how Father Benedictus had profited by Sir Heinz's mood toestrange him from the world, the doubt vanished. 

Biberli's assurance that he had often seen other young knights rush intothe world with specially joyous recklessness, who had suddenly haltedas if in terror and known no other expedient than to change the coat ofmail for the monk's cowl, reminded her of similar incidents among herown acquaintances. The man was right in his assertion that most of themhad been directed to the monastery by monks of the Order of St. Francis, since the name of the Saint of Assisi and the miracles he performed hadbecome known in this country also. Whoever believed it impossible to seethe gay Sir Heinz in a monk's cowl, added the experienced fellow, mightfind himself mistaken. 

He had intentionally kept silence concerning Sir Seitz Siebenburg'schallenge and his master's other dealings with the "Mustache. " On theother hand, he had eagerly striven to inform Els of the minutest detailsof the reception he met with from her betrothed lover. With what zealouswarmth he related that Wolff, like the upright man he was, had rejectedeven the faintest shadow of doubt of her steadfastness and truth, whichwere his own principal virtues also. 

Even before Sir Heinz Schorlin's visit young Herr Eysvogel had knownwhat to think of the calumnies which, it is true, were repeated to him. His calm, unclouded courage and clear mind were probably best shown bythe numerous sheets of paper he had covered with estimates, all relatingto the condition of the Eysvogel business. He had confided thesedocuments also to him to be delivered to his father, and afterdischarging this duty he had come to her. According to his custom, hehad reserved the best thing for the last, but it was now time to give itto her. 

As he spoke he drew from the breast pocket of his long coat awrought-iron rose. Els knew it well; it had adorned the clasp of herlover's belt, and the unusual delicacy of the workmanship had oftenaroused her admiration. What the gift was to announce she read on thepaper accompanying it, which contained the following simple lines:

 "The iron rude, when shaped by fire and blows, Delights our eyes as a most beauteous rose. So may the lies which strove to work us ill But serve our hearts with greater love to fill. "

Biberli withdrew as soon as he had delivered the gift; his master wasawaiting him on his return from his early ride with the Emperor; butEls, with glowing cheeks, read and reread the verse which brought suchcheering consolation from her lover. It seemed like a miracle that theyrecalled the words of her dying mother concerning the forge fire which, in her last moments, she had mentioned in connection with Eva's future. Here it had formed from rude iron the fairest of flowers. Nothingsweeter or lovelier, the sister thought, could be made from her darling. But would the fire also possess the power to lead Eva, as it were, fromheaven to earth, and transform her into an energetic woman, symmetricalin thought and deed? And what was the necessity? She was there to guideher and remove every stone from her path. 

Ah, if she should renounce the cloister and find a husband like herWolff! Again and again she read his greeting and pressed the belovedsheet to her lips. She would fain have hastened to her mother's corpseto show it to her. But just at that moment Eva returned. She mustrejoice with her over this beautiful confirmation of her hope, and as, with flushed cheeks and brow moist with perspiration, she stood beforeher, Els tenderly embraced her and, overflowing with gratitude, showedher her lover's gift and verse, and invited her to share the greathappiness which so brightly illumined the darkness of her grief. Eva, who was so weary that she could scarcely stand thought, like her sister, as Els read Wolff's lines aloud, of her mother's last words. But theforge fire of life must not transform her into a rose; she would becomeharder, firmer, and she knew why and for whose sake. Only yesterday, hadshe been so exhausted, nothing would have kept her, after a few briefwords to prevent Els's disappointment, from lying down, arranging herpillows comfortably, and refreshing herself with some cooling drink; butnow she not only succeeded in appearing attentive, but in sympathisingwith all her heart in her sister's happiness. How delightful it was, too, to be able to give something to the person from whom hitherto shehad only received. 

She succeeded so fully in concealing the struggle against the claims ofher wearied body that Els, after joyously perceiving how faithfully hersister sympathised with her own delight, continued to relate whatshe had just heard. Eva forced herself to listen and behave as if heraccount of Heinz Schorlin's wonderful escape and desire to enter amonastery was news to her. 

Not until Els had narrated the last detail did she admit that she neededrest; and when the former, startled by her own want of perception, urgedher to lie down, she would not do so until she had put the flowers shehad brought home into water. At last she stretched herself on the couchbeside her sister, who had so long needed sleep and rest, and a fewminutes after the deep dreamless slumber of youth chained both, untilKatterle, at the end of an hour, woke them. 

Both used the favourable moments which follow the awakening from a soundsleep to cherish the best thoughts and most healthful resolutions. WhenEva left her chamber she had clearly perceived what the last hourshad taken and bestowed, and found a positive answer to the importantquestion which she must now confront. 

Els, like her lover, would cling fast to her love, and strive withtireless patience to conquer whatever obstacles it might encounter, especially from the Eysvogel family. 

Before leaving home Eva adorned the beloved dead with the flowers, leaves, and vines which the gardener had brought and she herself hadgathered, and at the church she put the last touches to this work sodear to her heart. She gave the preference to the flowers which had beenher mother's favourites, but the others were also used. With a lighthand and a delicate appreciation of harmony and beauty she interwovethe children of the forest with those of the garden. She could not besatisfied till every one was in the right place. 

Countess Cordula had insisted upon attending the consecration, but shehad not known who cared for its adornment. Yet when she stood in thechurch by the side of the open coffin she gazed long at the gentle faceof the quiet sufferer, charming even in death, who on her bright couchseemed dreaming in a light slumber. At last she whispered to Els: "Howwonderfully beautiful! Did you arrange it?"

The latter shook her head, but Cordula added, as if soliloquising: "Itseems as though the hands of the Madonna herself had adorned a sleepingsaint with garden flowers, and child-angels had scattered over her theblossoms of the forest. "

Then Els, who hitherto had refused to talk in this place and this solemnhour, broke her silence and briefly told Cordula who had artisticallyand lovingly adorned her mother. 

"Eva?" repeated the countess, as if surprised, gazing at her friend'syounger sister who, as the music of the organ and the alternatechanting had just begun, had already risen from her knees. Cordula feltspellbound, for the young girl looked as fresh as a May rose and sotouchingly beautiful in the deep, earnest devotion which filled herwhole being, and the white purity of her mourning robes, that thecountess did not understand how she could ever have disliked her. Eva, with her up lifted eyes, seemed to be gazing directly into the openheavens. 

Cordula paid little attention to the sacred service, but watched theEs, as she liked to call the sisters, all the more closely. The elder, though so overwhelmed with grief that she could not help sobbing aloud, did not cease to think of her dear ones, and from time to time gazedwith tender sympathy at her father or with quiet sorrow at her sister. Eva, on the contrary, was completely absorbed by her own anguish andthe memory of her to whom it was due. The others appeared to have noexistence for her. Whilst the large tears rolled slowly down her cheeks, she sometimes gazed tenderly at the face of the beloved dead; sometimes, with fervent entreaty, at the image of the Virgin. The pleadingexpression of the large blue eyes seemed to the countess to express suchchildlike need of help that the impetuous girl would fain have claspedher to her heart and exclaimed:

"Wait, you lovely, obstinate little orphan; Cordula, whom you dislike, is here, and though you don't wish to receive any kindness from her, youmust submit. What do I care for all the worshippers of a very poor idolwho call themselves my 'adorers'? I need only detain wandering pilgrims, or invite minnesingers to the castle, to shorten the hours. And he forwhom yonder child-angel's heart yearns--would he not be a fool to prefera Will-o'-the-wisp like me? Besides, it is easy for the peasant to givehis neighbour the cloud which hangs over his field. True, before thedance----But the past is past. Boemund Altrosen is the only person whois always the same. One can rely upon him, but I really need neither. IfI could only do without the open air, the forest, horses, and hunting, I should suit convent walls far better than this Eva, whom Heaven itselfseems to have created to be the delight of every man's heart. We willsee what she herself decides. "

Then she recognised Sir Boemund Altrosen in the congregation and pursuedher train of thought. "He is a noble man, and whoever thus makes himselfmiserable about me I ought to try to cure. Perhaps I will yet do so. "

Similar reflections occupied her mind until she saw Heinz Schorlinkneeling, half concealed by a pillar, behind Boemund Altrosen. He hadlearned from Biberli at what hour the consecration would take place, andhis honest heart bade him attend the service for the dead woman who hadso much to forgive him. 

The Ortlieb sisters did not see him, but Cordula unconsciously shook herhead as she gazed. Was this grave man, so absorbed in devotion that hedid not vouchsafe those who surrounded him even a single glance, theHeinz whose delightful gaiety had captivated her heart? The linden, withfoliage withered by the autumn blasts, was more like the same treein the spring when the birds were singing in its boughs, than yonderabsorbed supplicant resembled the bold Heinz of a few days ago. Theold mocker, Chamberlain Wiesenthau, was right when he told her andher father that morning that the gay Swiss had been transformed bythe miracle which had befallen him, like the Saul of holy writ, inthe twinkling of an eye, into a Paul. The calendar-makers were alreadypreparing to assign a day to St. Schorlin. 

But she ought not to have joined in the boisterous laugh with which herfather rewarded the old slanderer's news. No! The knight's experiencemust have made a deeper impression than the others suspected. 

Perhaps little Eva's love would result in her seeking with the sistersof St. Clare, and Heinz with the Franciscans, peace and a loftierpassion. She was certainly to be pitied if love had taken as firm a holdupon her heart as Cordula thought she had perceived. 

Again her kind heart throbbed with tender sympathy, and when the sistersleft the sedan chairs which had brought them back to the house, andCordula met Eva in the corridor, she held out her hand with frankcordiality, saying, "Clasp it trustingly, girl. True, you do not valueit much, but it is offered to no one to whom Cordula does not meankindly. "

Eva, taken by surprise, obeyed her request. How frank and kindly hergrey eyes were! Cordula herself must be so, too, and, obeying a hastyimpulse, she nodded with friendly warmth; then, as if ashamed of herchange of mood, hurried past her up the stairs. 

The following day had been appointed for the mass for the dead in St. Sebald's Church. 

Els had told Eva that the countess had seen Heinz Schorlin at theconsecration. The news pleased her, and she expressed her joy soanimatedly and spoke so confidently of the knight's love that Els feltanxious. But she did not have courage to disturb her peace of mind, andher father's two sisters, the abbess, and Herr Pfinzing's wife, alsosaid nothing to Eva concerning the future as they helped Els to arrangethe dead woman's clothing, which was to be given to the poor, decide towhat persons or charitable institutions it should be sent, and listenedto her account of the facts that formed the foundation of the slandersagainst her, which were being more loudly and universally discussedthroughout the city. 

Eva felt painfully how incapable of rendering assistance the othersconsidered her, and her pride forbade her to urge it upon them. Even herAunt Kunigunde scarcely asked her a question. It seemed to the abbessthat the right hour for a decisive enquiry had not yet come, and wiseAunt Christine never talked with her younger niece upon religioussubjects unless she herself requested her to do so. 

The mass for the dead was to be celebrated at an unusually early hour, for another, which would be attended by the whole city and allthe distinguished persons, knights, and nobles who had come to theReichstag, was to begin four hours before noon. This was for PrinceHartmann, who had been snatched away so prematurely. 

The Ortliebs, with all their kindred and servants, the members of theCouncil with their wives and daughters, and many burghers and burgherwomen, assembled soon after sunrise in St. Sebald's Church. 

Those present were almost lost in the spacious, lofty interior with itsthree naves. At first there was little appearance of devotion, for theearly arrivals had many things to ask and whisper to one another. Thecity architect lowered his loud voice very little as he discussed witha brother in the craft from Cologne in what way the house of God, whichoriginally had been built in the Byzantine style, could be at leastpartly adapted to the French pointed arch which was used with suchremarkable success in Germany, at Cologne and Marburg. They discussedthe eastern choir, which needed complete rebuilding, the missingsteeples, and the effect of the pointed arch which harmonised soadmirably with the German cast of character, and did not cease until themusic began. Now the great number of those present showed how much lovethe dead woman had sowed and reaped. The sisters, when they first lookedaround them, saw with grateful joy the father of the young man who hadfallen in the duel with Wolff, old Herr Berthold Vorchtel, his wife, and Ursula. On the other hand, the pew adorned with the Eysvogel coat ofarms was still empty. This wounded Els deeply; but she uttered a sighof relief when--the introitus had just begun--at least one member of thehaughty family to which she felt allied through Wolff appeared, Isabella Siebenburg, her lover's sister. It was kind in her to comenotwithstanding the absence of the others, and even her own husband. Elswould return it to her and her twins. 

The music, whose heart-stirring notes accompanied the solemn service, deeply moved the souls of both sisters; but when, after the Gloria inexcelsis Deo, the Cum Sancto Spiritu pealed forth, Eva, who, absorbedin devotion, had long since ceased to gaze around her, felt her sister'shand touch her arm and, following the direction of her glance, saw atsome distance the man for whom her heart yearned, and the grave, devoutknight yonder seemed far nearer to her than the gay companion who, inthe mazes of the dance, had gazed so boldly into the faces of the men, so tenderly into those of the fair women. How fast her heart throbbed!how ardently she longed for the moment when he would raise his head andlook across at her! But when he moved, it was only to follow the sacredservice and with it Christ's sacrifice upon the cross. 

Then Eva reproached herself for depriving her dead mother, to the reposeof whose soul this hour was dedicated, of her just due, and she strovewith all her power to regain the spirit of devotion which she had lost. But her lover sat opposite and, though she lowered her eyes, her earnestendeavour to concentrate her thoughts was futile. 

Her struggle was interrupted by the commencement of the Credo, andduring this confession, which brings before the Christian in a fixedform what it is incumbent upon him to believe, the thought entered hermind of beseeching her whose faithful love had always guided her safelyand for her good--the Queen of Heaven, to whom Heinz was as loyallydevoted as she herself--that she might give her a sign whether she mightcontinue to believe in his love and keep faith with him, or whether sheshould return to the path which led to a different form of happiness. 

During the singing of the Credo the heavenly Helper, for whose aid shehoped, made known to her that if, before the end of the Sanctus, whichimmediately followed the Credo, Heinz looked over at her and returnedher glance, she might deem it certain that the Holy Virgin wouldpermit her to hope for his love. If he omitted to do so, then she wouldconsider it decided that he renounced his earthly for his heavenlylove, and try herself to give up the earthly one, in which, however, shebelieved she had recognised something divine. The Credo closed and diedaway, the resonant harmonies of the Sanctus filled the wide space, andthe knight, with the same devout attention, followed the sacred servicein which, in the imagination of believers, the bread and wine istransformed into the body and blood of Christ, and a significant, painless ceremony represents the Saviour's bloody death upon the cross. 

Eva told herself that she ought to have followed with the sameintentness as Heinz the mass celebrated for the soul of her own mother, but she could no longer succeed in doing so. Besides, she was deniedthe privilege of looking freely and often at him upon whose movementsdepended the fate of her life. Many glances were undoubtedly directed ather, the daughter of the dead woman in whose memory so many citizenshad gathered; many, perhaps, had come solely to see the beautiful Es. Therefore propriety and modesty forbade her to watch Heinz. She onlyventured to cast a stolen glance at him. 

Every note of the Sanctus was familiar to her, and when it drew near theend Heinz retained the same position. The fairest hope of her life mustbe laid with the flowers in her mother's coffin. 

Now the last bars of the Sanctus were commencing. He had scarcely hadtime to change his attitude since her last secret glance at him, yet shecould not resist the temptation, though it was useless, of looking athim once more. She felt like the prisoner who sees the judge rise anddoes not know whether he intends to acquit or condemn him. The citylute-player who led the choir was just raising his hands again to letthem fall finally at the close of the Sanctus, and as she turned hereyes from him in the direction whence only too soon she was to bedeprived of the fairest of rights, a burning blush suddenly crimsonedher cheeks. Heinz Schorlin's eyes had met hers with a full, clear gaze. 

Eva pressed her clasped hands, as if beseeching aid, upon her bosom, which rose and fell beneath them with passionate emotion; and No, shecould not be mistaken; he had understood her, for his look expresseda wealth of sympathy, the ardent, sorrowful sympathy which only loveknows. Then the eyes of both fell. When their glances met again, thehosanna of the choir rang out to both like a shout of welcome with whichliberated Nature exultingly greets the awakening spring; and to thedeeply agitated knight, who had resolved to fly from the world and itsvain pleasures, the hosanna which poured its waves of sound towardshim, whilst the eyes of the woman he loved met his for the secondtime, seemed to revive the waning joy of existence. The shout which hadgreeted the Saviour on his entry into Jerusalem reached the "called" manlike a command from love to open wide the gate of the heart, and whetherhe willed it or not, love, amidst the solemn melody of the hosanna, made a new and joyous entrance into his grateful soul. But duringthe Benedictus he was already making the first attempt to resistthis emotion; and whilst Eva, first offering thanks for the cheeringdecision, and then earnestly striving to enter with her whole soul intothe sacred service, modestly denied herself the pleasure of lookingacross at her lover, Heinz was endeavouring to crush the hopes which hadagain mastered the soul resolved on renunciation. 

Yet he found the conflict harder than he expected and as, at the closeof the mass, the Dona nobis pacem (grant us peace) began, he joinedbeseechingly in the prayer. 

It was not granted, for even during the high mass for the soul of hisdearest friend, which also detained the Ortliebs in church, he soughtEva's glance only too often, but always in vain. Once only, when theDona nobis pacem pealed forth again, this time for the prince, his eyesmet those of the woman he loved. 

The young Duchess Agnes noticed whither he looked so often, but whenCountess Cordula knelt beside the Ortliebs, cordially returned everyglance of the knight's, and once even nodded slightly to him, the youngBohemian believed the report that Heinz Schorlin and the countess werethe same as betrothed, and it vexed her--nay, spoiled the whole of theday which had just begun. 

When Heinz left the church Eva's image filled his heart and mind. Hewent directly from the sanctuary to his lodgings; but there neither FrauBarbara, his pretty young hostess, nor Biberli would believe their eyesor ears, when the former heard in the entry, the latter in the adjoiningroom, the lash of a scourge upon naked limbs, and loud groans. Bothsounds were familiar to Barbel through her father, and to Biberli fromthe time of penance after his stay in Paris, and his own person. 

Heinz Schorlin, certainly for the first time in his life, had scourgedhimself. 

It was done by the advice of Father Benedictus but, although he followedthe counsel so earnestly that for a long time large bloody stripescovered his back and shoulders, this remedy for sinful thoughts producedan effect exactly opposite to the one expected; for, whenever the placeswhere the scourge had struck him so severely smarted under his armour, they reminded him of her for whose sake he had raised his hand againsthimself, and the blissful glance from her eyes. 

CHAPTER IV. 

During the days which succeeded the mass for the dead the Ortliebmansion was very silent. The Burgrave von Zollern, who still gladlyconcealed in his castle the brave companion in arms to whom he hadentrusted the imperial standard on the Marchfield, when his own strongarm needed rest, had permitted Herr Ernst, as the young man's futurefather-in-law, to visit him. Both were now in constant communication, asEls hoped, for the advantage of the Eysvogel business. 

Biberli did not cease acting as messenger between her and her futurebridegroom; nay, he could now devote the lion's share of his days toit; his master, for the first time since he had entered his service, hadleft him. 

The Emperor had been informed of the great shock experienced by theyoung knight, but it was unnecessary; an eye far less keen would nothave failed to note the change in Heinz Schorlin. 

The noble man who, even as a sovereign, retained the warmth of heartwhich had characterised him in his youth as a count, sincerely loved hisblithe, loyal, brave young countryman, whose father he had valued, whosemother he highly esteemed, and who had been the dearest friend of theson whom death had so early snatched from him. 

He knew him thoroughly, and had watched his development with increasingwarmth of sympathy, the more so as many a trait of character which herecognised in Heinz reminded him of his own nature and aspirations athis age. 

At the court of Frederick II he too had not always walked in thepaths of virtue but, like Heinz, he had never let this merge intolicentiousness, and had maintained the chivalrous dignity of his stationeven more strictly than the former. 

Neither had he at any time deviated from the sincere piety which hehad brought from his home to the imperial court, and this was far moredifficult in the train of the bold and intellectual Hohenstaufen, whowas prone to blaspheme even the holiest things, than for Heinz. Finally he, too, had lapsed into the mood which threatened to lead thelight-hearted Schorlin into a monastery. 

The mighty impulse which, at that time, owing to the example andteachings of St. Francis in Italy, had taken possession of so manyminds, also left its impress on his young soul, already agitated bysympathy with many an extravagant idea, many an opinion condemned bythe Church. But ere he had taken even the first decisive step he wassummoned home. His father had resolved to obtain on the sacred soil ofPalestine the mercy of Heaven which was denied to the excommunicatedEmperor, and desired his oldest son, Rudolph, to represent him at home. 

Before his departure he confided to his noble son his aspirations forthe grandeur and enlargement of his house, and the youth of twenty-onedid not venture to tell the dignified, far-sighted man, whom hissubjects rightly surnamed "the Wise, " his ardent desire to livehenceforth solely for the salvation of his endangered soul. 

The sense of duty inherited from father and mother, which both hadimprinted deeply upon his soul, and also the ambition that had beensedulously fostered at the court of the Emperor Frederick, had givenhim courage to repress forever the wish with which he had left theHohenstaufen court. The sacrifice was hard, but he made it willinglyas soon as it became apparent to his reflective mind that not only hisearthly but his heavenly Father had appointed the task of devoting thefull wealth of his talents and the power of his will to the elevation ofthe house of Hapsburg. 

The very next year he stood in the place of his father who fell atAscalon, deeply lamented. 

The arduous labour imposed by the management of his own greatpossessions, and the ceaseless endeavour to enlarge them, in accordancewith the dead man's wishes, gave him no time to cherish the longing forthe peace of the cloister. 

After his election as King of Germany, which had long been neglectedunder the government of sham emperors, increased the burden of hisduties the more seriously he took them, and the more difficult theBohemian king Ottocar, especially, rendered it for him to maintain thecrown he had won, the more eagerly he strove, particularly after thevictory of Marchfield had secured his sovereignty, to increase the powerof his house. 

A binding duty, a difficult task, must also withhold Heinz Schorlin fromthe wish for whose fulfilment his fiery young soul now fervently longed, and which he knew was receiving powerful sustenance from a worthy andeloquent Minorite. 

Rudolph's own brother had died in peace as canon of Basel andStrasbourg; his sister was happy in her convent as a modest Dominican;but the young knight over whose welfare he had promised his mother towatch, and whom he loved, was not fitted for the monastic life. 

However earnest might be his intention--after the miracle which seemedto have been wrought specially for him--of renouncing the world, sooneror later the time must come when Heinz would long to return to it andthe profession of arms, for which he was born and reared. But if hecould not be deterred from entering the modest order of the mendicantmonks, who proudly called poverty their beloved bride, and should becomethe head of a bishopric while young, he would inevitably be one ofthose fighting prelates who seemed to the Emperor--who disliked halfwaymeasures--neither knight nor priest, and with whom he had had many aquarrel. 

Opposition would merely have sharpened the young knight's desire;therefore his imperial patron had treated him as if he were ignorant ofwhat was passing in his mind. Without circumlocution, he commanded him, at the head of several bodies of Frank, Swabian, and Swiss troopers, whom he placed at his orders, to attack the brothers Siebenburg andtheir allies, and destroy their castle. If possible, he was to bringthem alive before the imperial judgment seat, and recover for theEysvogels the merchandise of which they had been robbed. 

When Heinz, after the Emperor Rudolph had mentioned the latter name, earnestly entreated him to prevent Wolff's persecution, the sovereignpromised to fulfil the wish as soon as the proper time came. He himselfdesired to be gracious to the brave champion of Marchfield, who undergreat irritation had drawn his sword. But when Heinz also asked theEmperor to send his friend Count Gleichen with him, the request wasrefused. He must have the entire responsibility of the expedition whichhe commanded; for nothing except an important duty that no one wouldhelp him bear, gave promise of making him forget everything that usuallyengrossed his attention, and thus his new object of longing. Besides, ifhe returned victorious his fame and reward would be undivided. 

The Hapsburg wished to try upon his young favourite the means which hadavailed to keep his own footsteps in the path which he desired to seeHeinz follow: constant occupation associated with heavy responsibility, the success which brings with it the hope of future achievement andthereby rouses ambition. 

The wisdom and kindness of heart of the Emperor Rudolph, whom thegrey-haired ruler's friends called "Wisdom, " had certainly chosen theright course for Heinz. But he who had always regarded every opportunityof drawing his sword for his master as a rare piece of good fortune, shrank in dismay from this, the most important and honourable chargethat had ever been bestowed upon him. It drew him away from the newpath in which he did not yet feel at home, because the love he could notabjure constantly thrust him into the world, into the midst of the lifeand tumult from which Heaven itself commanded him to turn aside. 

The Minorite had scarcely been right in the assertion that only thefirst rounds of the ladder which leads to heavenly bliss were hard toclimb. 

How quickly he had set his foot on the first step; but each upwardstride was followed by one that dragged him down-nay, it had seemedadvisable wholly to renounce the effort to ascend them, when the monkexpected him to sever the bond which united him to the Emperor, and totell the sovereign that he had entered the service of a greater Master, who commanded him to fight with other weapons than the sword and lance. 

Heinz had regarded this demand as a summons to turn traitor. It did notseem to be the call of the devout, experienced director of souls to thedisciples, but the Guelph to the Ghibelline, for Ghibelline he meant toremain. Gratitude was a Christian virtue, too, and to refuse his serviceto the Emperor, who had been a father to him, to whom he had swornfealty, and who had loaded him with benefits, could not be pleasingin the sight of any God. He could never become a Guelph, he told hisvenerable friend. The Emperor Rudolph was his beloved master, from whomhe had received nothing but kindness. He might as well be required torefuse obedience to his own father. 

"What Guelph? What Ghibelline?" cried the Minorite in a tone of graverebuke. "The question is submission to the Most High, or to the worldand its claims. And why should not Heaven require, as you term it, thatyou should obey the Lord more willingly than your earthly father--you, whom the mercy of God summoned amidst thunder and lightning in thepresence of thousands? When Francis, our beloved model, the son of PierBernardone, was threatened with his father's curse if he did not turnback from the path which led to the highest goal, Francis restored allthat he had received from him, except his last garment, and with theexclamation, 'Our Father who art in heaven, not Pier Bernardone, ' hemade the choice between his earthly and his heavenly Father. From theformer he would have received in abundance everything that the heartof a child of the world desires-wealth, paternal love, and the blessingwhich is said to build houses on earth. But Francis preferred povertyand contempt, nay, even his father's curse and the reproach ofingratitude, receiving in exchange possessions of a nobler nature andmore lasting character. You have heard their names. To obtain them, means to share the bliss of heaven. And you"--he continued loudly, adopting for the first time a tone of authoritative severity--"if youreally yearned for the greatest possessions, go to the fortress thisvery hour, and with the cry in your heart, though not on your lips, 'Our Father who art in heaven, not my gracious master and benefactorRudolph, ' inform the Emperor what higher Lord you have vowed to serve. "

This kindled a fierce conflict in Heinz Schorlin's soul, which perhapsmight have ended in favour of a new career and St. Francis, had notBiberli, ere he reached a conclusion, rushed into the room shouting:"Seitz Siebenburg, the Mustache, has joined his brothers, and the Knightof Absbach, with several others--von Hirsdorf, von Streitberg, andwhatever their names may be--have made common cause with them! It issaid that they also expected reinforcements from the Main, in order thatthe right to the road----"

"Gossip, or positive news?" interrupted Heinz, drawing himself up to hisfull height with the cool composure which he attained most easily whenany serious danger threatened him. 

"As positive, " replied his follower eagerly, "as that Siebenburg is thegreatest rascal in Germany. You will be robbed of your joust with him, for he'll mount the block instead of the steed, just as you predicted. The ladies will drive him from the lists with pins and rods, to saynothing of the scourging by which knight and squire will silence him. Oh, my lord, if you only knew!"

"Well?" asked the knight anxiously. 

Then Biberli, paying no further heed to his master's orders neverto mention the Ortlieb sisters again in his presence, burst forthindignantly: "It might move a stone to pity to know the wrong themonster has done Jungfrau Eva and her pure and virtuous sister, theloyal betrothed bride of a brave man--and the abominable names bestowedon the young ladies, whom formerly young and old, hat in hand, calledthe beautiful Es. "

Heinz stamped his foot on the floor and, half frantic, impetuouslyexclaimed, his blood boiling with honest indignation: "May the air hebreathes destroy the slandering scoundrel! May I be flayed on the rackif----"

Here he was interrupted by a low exclamation of warning from theMinorite, who perceived in the knight's fierce oaths a lamentablerelapse. Heinz himself felt ashamed of the ungodly imprecations; yet hecould by no means succeed in regaining his former composure as, drawinga long breath, he continued: "And those city hypocrites, who callthemselves Christians, and build costly cathedrals for the good of theirsouls, are not ashamed--yes, holy Father, it is true--basely to denyour Lord and Saviour, who is Love itself, and deemed even the Magdalenworthy of His mercy, and rub their hands in fiendish malignity whenunpunished they can sully the white robe of innocence, and drag pious, lovely simplicity to the pillory. "

"That is the very reason, my son, " the monk interrupted soothingly, "that we disciples of the Saint of Assisi go forth to show the deludedwhat the Lord requires of them. Therefore leave behind you the dust ofthe world, which defiles both body and soul, join us, who did so beforeyou, and help, as one of our order, to make those who are perishingin sin and dishonouring the name of Christ better and purer, genuineChristians. In this hour of stress lay the sword out of your hand, andleave the steed----"

"I shall ride forth, rely upon it, holy Father, " Heinz burst forthafresh. "With the sky-blue of the gracious Virgin, whom I love, onmy shield and helmet, I will dash like the angel Michael amongst theSiebenburgs and their followers. And let me tell you, holy Father--youwho were once a knight also--if the Mustache, weltering in his blood atmy feet, prays for mercy, I'll teach him----"

"Son! son!" interrupted the monk again, this time raising his handsimploringly; but Heinz, paying no heed, exclaimed hoarsely:

"Where did you get this news?"

"From our Berne countryman at the fortress, " replied the servanteagerly; "Brandenstein, Schweppermann, and Heidenab brought the tidings. The Emperor received them at the gate of the citadel, where he waskeeping watch ere he mounted his steed. He heard him call to themessengers, 'So our Heinz Schorlin will have a hard nut to crack. '"

"Which he will crush after his own heart!" cried Heinz, with flashingeyes. 

Then, forcing himself to be calm, he exclaimed in broken sentences, whilst Biberli was helping him put on his armour: "Your wish, reverendFather, is also mine. The world--the sooner I can rid myself of it thebetter; yet what you describe in the most alluring terms is the peace inyour midst, I--I--Never, never will my heart be calm until----"

Here he paused suddenly, struck his breast swiftly and repeatedly withhis fists, and continued eagerly: "Here, Father Benedictus, here are oldand strong demands, which you, too, must once have known ere you offeredthe other cheek to the foe. I know not what to call them, but until theyare satisfied I shall never be yours. They must be fulfilled; then, if in battle and bloodshed I can also forget the love which ever risesagain when I think I have given it the deathblow, if Heaven stilldesires poor, heartsick Heinz Schorlin, it shall have him. "

The Minorite received the promise with a silent bend of the head. Hefelt that he might seriously endanger the fulfilment of his ardent wishto gain this soul for heaven if he urged Heinz further now. Patientlyawaiting a more fitting season, he therefore contented himself withquestioning him carelessly about the foe and his castles. 

The day was hot, and as Biberli laced the gambeson--the thick, quiltedundergarment over which was worn the heavy leather coat covered withscales and rings--the monk exclaimed: "When the duty which you believeyou owe to the world has been fulfilled, you will gratefully learn, asone of our order, how pleasant it is to walk with liberated soul in ourlight-brown cowl. "

But he ought to have repressed the remark, for Heinz cast a glance athim which expressed his astonishment at being so misunderstood, andanswered with unyielding resolution: "If I long for anything in yourorder, reverend Father, it is not for easy tasks, but for the mostdifficult burden of all. Your summons to take our Redeemer's cross uponme pleases me better. "

"And I, my son, believe that your words will be inscribed amongst thosewhich are sure of reward, " the monk answered; then with bowed head added"At that moment you were nearer the kingdom of heaven than the agedcompanion of St. Francis. "

But perceiving how impatiently Heinz shrugged his shoulders, andconvinced that it would be advisable to leave him to himself for a time, the old man blessed him with paternal affection and went his way. Whenthe fiery youth had performed the task which now claimed all his powers, he hoped to find him more inclined to allow himself to be led fartheralong the path which he had entered. 

CHAPTER V. 

The Minorite had gone. Biberli had noticed with delight that his masterhad not sought as usual to detain him. The iron now seemed to him hot, and he thought it would be worth while to swing the hammer. 

The danger in which Heinz stood of being drawn into the monastery madehim deeply anxious, and he had already ventured several times to opposehis design. Life was teaching him to welcome a small evil when it barredthe way to a greater one, and his master's marriage, even with a girl offar lower station than Eva Ortlieb, would have been sure of his favour, if only it would have deterred him from the purpose of leaving the worldto which he belonged. 

"True, " the servitor began, "in such heat it is easier to walk in thethin cowl than in armour. The holy Father is right there. But when itis necessary to be nimble, the knight has his dancing dress also. Oh, my lord, what a sight it was when you were waltzing with the lovelyJungfrau Eva! Look at Heinz Schorlin, the brave hero of Marchfield, andthe girl with the angel face who is with him!' said those around me, as I was gazing down from the balcony. And just think--I can't helpspeaking of it again--that now respectable people dare to point theirfingers at the sisters and join in the base calumny uttered by ascoundrel!"

Then Heinz fulfilled Biberli's secret longing to be questioned about theEs and the charges against them, and he forged the iron. 

Not from thirst, he said, but to ascertain what fruit had grown from thehellish seeds sown by Siebenburg, and probably the still worse ones ofthe Eysvogel women, he went from tavern to tavern, and there he heardthings which made him clench his fists, and, at the Red Ox, roused himto such violent protest that he went out of the tap-room faster than heentered it. 

Thereupon, without departing far from the truth, he related what wassaid about the beautiful Es in Nuremberg. 

It was everywhere positively asserted that a knight belonging to theEmperor's train had been caught at the Ortlieb mansion, either in anocturnal interview or while climbing into the window. Both sisterswere said to be guilty. But the sharpest arrows were aimed at Els, thebetrothed bride of the son of a patrician family, whom many a girlwould have been glad to wed. That she preferred the foreigner, whether aBohemian, a Swabian, or even a Swiss, made her error doubly shameful inthe eyes of most persons. 

Whenever Biberli had investigated the source of these evil tales, he hadinvariably found it to be Seitz Siebenburg, his retainers, the Eysvogelbutler, or some man or maidservant in their employ. 

The Vorchtels, who, as he knew from Katterle, would have had the mostreason to cherish resentment against the Ortliebs, had no share in theseslanders. 

The shrewd fellow had discovered the truth, for after Seitz Siebenburghad wandered about in the open air during the storm, he again tried tosee his wife. But the effort was vain. Neither entreaties nor threatswould induce her to open the door. Meanwhile it had grown late and, halffrantic with rage, he went to the Duke of Pomerania's quarters in theGreen Shield to try his luck in gaming. The dice were again movingrapidly, but no one grasped the box when he offered a stake. No moreinsulting rebuff could be imagined, and the repulse which he receivedfrom his peers, and especially the duke, showed him that he was to beexcluded from this circle. 

He was taught at the same time that if he answered the challenge of theSwiss he would not be permitted to enter the lists. Thus he confrontedthe impossibility of satisfying a demand of honour, and this terriblethought induced him to declare war against everything which honour hadhitherto enjoined, and with it upon its guardians. 

If they treated him as a robber and a dishonoured man, he would behavelike one; but those who had driven him so far should suffer for it. 

During the rest of the night and on the following day, until the gatewas closed, he wandered, goblet in hand, only half conscious of what hewas doing, from tavern to tavern, to tell the guests what he knew aboutthe beautiful Es; and at every repetition of the accusations, of whosejustice he was again fully convinced, his hatred against the sisters, and those who were their natural defenders and therefore his foes, increased. Every time he repeated the old charges an addition increasingthe slander was made and, as if aided by some mysterious ally, it soonhappened that in various places his own inventions were repeated to himby the lips of others who had heard them from strangers. True, hewas often contradicted, sometimes violently but, on the whole, peoplebelieved him more readily than would have happened in the case of anyother person; for every one admitted that, as the brother-in-law of theolder E, he had a right to express his indignation in words. 

Meanwhile his twins often returned to his memory. The thought ought tohave restrained him from such base conduct; but the idea that he wasavenging the wrong inflicted upon their father's honour, and thus upontheirs, urged him further and further. 

Not until a long ride through the forest had sobered him did he see hisconduct in the proper light. 

Insult and disgrace would certainly await him in the city. His brotherswould receive him kindly. They were of his own blood and could not helpwelcoming his sharp sword. Side by side with them he would fight and, ifit must be, die. A voice within warned him against making common causewith those who had robbed the family of which he had become a member, yet he again used the remembrance of his innocent darlings to palliatehis purpose. For their sakes only he desired to go to his death, swordin hand, like a valiant knight in league with those who were riskingtheir lives in defence of the ancient privilege of their class. Theymust not even suspect that their father had been shut out from thetournament, but grow up in the conviction that he had fallen as a heroicchampion of the cause of the lesser knights to whom he belonged, and onwhose neck the Emperor had set his foot. 

The assurance which Biberli brought Heinz Schorlin that Seitz Siebenburghad joined those whom he was ordered to punish, placed the task assignedhim by the Emperor in a new and attractive light; but the servant'sreport, so far as it concerned the Ortlieb sisters, pierced the inmostdepths of his soul. He alone was to blame for the disgrace which hadfallen upon innocent maidens. By the destruction of the calumny he wouldat least atone for a portion of his sin. But this did not suffice. Itwas his duty to repair the wrong he had done the sisters. How? That hecould not yet determine; for whilst wielding the executioner's swordin his master's service all these thoughts must be silenced; he couldconsider nothing save to fulfil the task confided to him by his imperialbenefactor and commander in chief, according to his wishes, and show himthat he had chosen wisely in trusting him to "crack the nut" which hehimself had pronounced a hard one. The yearning and renunciation, thereproaches and doubts which disturbed his life, until recently so easy, had disgusted him with it. He would not spare it. Yet if he fell hewould be deprived of the possibility of doing anything whateverfor those who through his imprudence had lost their dearestpossession--their good name. Whenever this picture rose before him itsometimes seemed as if Eva was gazing at him with her large, bright eyesas trustingly as during the pause in the dancing, and anon he fancied hesaw her as she looked at her mother's consecration in her deep mourningbefore the altar. At that time her grief and pain had prevented her fromnoticing how his gaze rested on her; yet never had she appeared moredesirable, never had he longed more ardently to clasp her in his arms, console her, and assure her that his love should teach her to forget hergrief, that she was destined to find new happiness in a union with him. 

This had happened to him just as he commenced the struggle for a newlife. Startled, he confessed it to his grey-haired guide, and used themeans which the Minorite advised him to employ to attain forgetfulnessand renunciation, but always in vain. Had he, like St. Francis, rushedamong briers, his blood would not have turned into roses, but doubtlessfresh memories of her whose happiness his guilt had so suddenly andcruelly destroyed. 

For her sake he had already begun to doubt his vocation on the verythreshold of his new career, and did not recover courage until FatherBenedictus, who had communicated with the Abbess Kunigunde, informed himthat Eva was wax in her hands, and within the next few days she wouldinduce her niece to take the veil. 

This news had exerted a deep influence upon the young knight's soul. IfEva entered the cloister before him, the only strong tie which unitedhim to the world would be severed, and nothing save the thought ofhis mother would prevent his following his vocation. Yet vehementindignation seized him when he heard from Biberli that the slanderer'smalice would force Eva to seek refuge with the Sisters. 

No, a thousand times no! The woman whom he loved should need to seekrefuge from nothing for which Heinz Schorlin's desire and resolve alikecommanded him to make amends. 

He must succeed in proving to the whole world that she and her sisterwere as pure as they lived in his imagination, either by offering in thelists the boldest defiance to every one who refused to acknowledge thatboth were the most chaste and decorous ladies in the whole world, and Eva, at the same time, the loveliest and fairest, or by theopen interference of the Emperor or the Burggravine in behalf of thepersecuted sisters, after he had confessed the whole truth to hisexalted patrons. 

But when Biberli pointed out the surest way of restoring the endangeredreputation of the woman he loved, and begged him to imagine how muchmore beautiful she would look in the white bridal veil than in hermourning Riese--[Kerchief of fine linen, arranged like a veil]--heordered him to keep silence. 

The miracle wrought in his behalf forbade him to yearn for happiness andjoy here below. It was intended rather to open his eyes and urge himto leave the path which led to eternal damnation. It pointed him to thekingdom of heaven and its bliss, which could be purchased only by severesacrifice and the endurance of every grief which the Saviour had takenupon Himself. But he could at least pay one honour to the maiden to whomhe was so strongly attracted, and whose happiness for life was menacedby his guilt. When he had assembled his whole force at Schwabach, hewould go into battle with her colour on his helmet and shield. The Queenof Heaven would not be angry with him if he wore her light blue to atoneto the pure and pious Eva, who was hers even more fully than he himself, for the wrong inflicted upon her by spiteful malice. 

Heinz Schorlin's friends thought the change in his mood a naturalconsequence of the events which had befallen him; young Count Gleichen, his most intimate companion, even looked up to him since his "call" as aconsecrated person. 

His grey-haired cousin, Sir Arnold Maier, of Silenen, was a devout manwhose own son led a happy life as a Benedictine monk at Engelberg. Thesign by which Heaven had signified its will to Heinz had made a deepimpression upon him, and though he would have preferred to see himcontinue in the career so auspiciously begun, he would have consideredit impious to dissuade him from obeying the summons vouchsafed by theMost High. So he offered no opposition, and sent by the next courier aletter to Lady Wendula Schorlin, his young cousin's mother, in which, with Heinz's knowledge-nay, at his request--he related what her son hadexperienced, and entreated her not to withhold him from the vocation ofwhich God deemed him worthy. 

Meanwhile, Biberli wrote to his master's mother in a different strain, and did not desist from expressing his opinion, to Heinz, and assuringhim that his place was on a battle charger, with his sword in its sheathor in his hand, rather than in a monastery with a rosary hanging from ahempen girdle. 

This had vexed Heinz--nay, made him seriously angry with the faithfulfellow; and when in full armour he prepared to mount his steed toreceive the last directions of his imperial master, and Biberli askedhim on which horse he should follow, he answered curtly that this timehe would go without him. 

Yet when he saw tears fill the eyes of his "true and steadfast"companion, he patted the significant St. On his cap, and added kindly:"Never mind, Biber, everything will be unchanged between us till I obeymy summons, and you build your own nest with Katterle. "

So Biberli had remained in Nuremberg whilst Heinz Schorlin, after theEmperor with fatherly kindness had dismissed him, granting him fullauthority, set forth at the head of his troops as their commander, totake the field against the Siebenburgs and their allies. 

The servant was permitted to attend him only to the outskirts of thecity. 

Before the Spitalthor, Countess Cordula, though she was returning from aride into the country, had wheeled her spirited dappled horse and joinedhim as familiarly as though she belonged to him. Heinz, who would haveliked best to be alone, and to whom any other companion would have beenmore welcome, showed her this plainly enough, but she did not seem tonotice it, and during the whole of their ride together gave her tonguefree rein and, though he often indignantly interrupted her, describedwith increasing warmth what the Ortlieb sisters had suffered through hisfault. In doing so she drew so touching a picture of Eva's silent sorrowthat Heinz sometimes longed to thank her, but more frequently to haveher driven away by his men at arms; for he had mounted his horse withthe intention of dividing the time of his ride between pious meditationsand plans for the arrangement of the expedition. What could be moreunwelcome than the persistent loquacity of the countess, who filled hisheart and mind with ideas and wishes that threatened most seriously toimperil his design?

Cordula plainly perceived how unwillingly he listened. Nay, as Heinzmore and more distinctly, at last even offensively, showed her howlittle he desired her society, it only increased the animation of herspeech, which seemed to her not to fail wholly in the influence shedesired to exert in Eva's favour; therefore she remained at his sidelonger than she had at first intended. She did not even turn back whenthey met the young Duchess Agnes, who with her train was returning tothe city from a ride. 

The Bohemian princess had known that Heinz would ride through theSpitalthor at this hour to confront his foe, and had intended that themeeting with her should seem like a good omen. The thought of wishinghim success on his journey had been a pleasant one. True, Cordula'spresence did not prevent this, but it disturbed her, and she was vexedto find the countess again at Heinz Schorlin's side. 

She showed her displeasure so plainly that her Italian singing mistress, the elderly spinster Caterina de Celano, took sides with her, andscornfully asked the countess whether she had brought her curling ironswith her. 

But she bit her lips at Cordula's swift retort "O no! Malice meets uson every road, but in Germany we do not pull one another's hair on thehighway over every venomous or foolish word. "

She turned her back on her as she spoke until the duchess had takenleave of Heinz, and then rode on with him; but as soon as a portionof the road intervened between her and the countess the youngBohemian exclaimed: "We must certainly try to save Sir Heinz from thisdisagreeable shrew!"

"And the saints will aid the good work, " the Italian protested, "forthey themselves have a better right to the charming knight. How grave helooked! Take care, your Highness, he is following, as my nimble cousinFrangipani did a short time ago, in the footsteps of the Saint ofAssisi. "

"But he must not, shall not, go into the monastery!" cried the youngduchess, with childish refractoriness. "The Emperor is opposed to it, and he, too, does not like the von Montfort's boisterous manner. We willsee whether I cannot accomplish something, Caterina. "

Here she stopped. They had again reached the village of Rottenpach, andin front of the newly built little church stood its pastor, with thedignitaries of the parish, and the children were scattering flowers inthe path. She checked her Arabian, dismounted, and graciously inspectedthe new house of God, the pride of the congregation. 

On the way home, just beyond the village, her horse again shied. Theanimal had been startled by an old Minorite monk who sat under acrab apple tree. It was Father Benedictus, who had set out early toanticipate Heinz and surprise him in his night quarters by his presence. But he had overestimated his strength, and advanced so slowly that Heinzand his troopers, from whom he had concealed himself behind a dustyhawthorn bush, had not seen him. From Schweinau the walk had becomedifficult, especially as it was contrary to the teaching of the saintto use a staff. Many a compassionate peasant, many a miller's lad andCarter, had offered him a seat on the back of his nag or in his waggonbut, without accepting their friendly offers, he had plodded on with hisbare feet. 

Perhaps this journey would be his last, but on it he would redeem thepromise which he had made his dying master, to go forth according tothe command of the Saviour, which Francis of Assisi had made his own andthat of his order, to preach and to proclaim, "The kingdom of heaven isat hand!"

"Without price, " ran the words, "have ye received, without price give. "He had no regard for earthly reward, therefore he yearned the moreardently for the glad knowledge that he had saved a soul for heaven. 

He had learned to love Heinz as the saint had formerly loved him, and hedid not grudge him the happiness which, at the knight's age, had fallento the lot of the man whose years now numbered eighty. How long he hadbeen permitted to enjoy this bliss! True, during the last decades it hadbeen clouded by many a shadow. 

He had endured much hardship in the service of his sacred cause, butthe greater the sacrifice he offered the more exquisite was the rewardreaped by his soul. Oh, if this pilgrimage might yield him HeinzSchorlin's vow to follow his saint and with him the Saviour!--if hemight be permitted, clasping in his the hand of the beloved youth he hadsaved, to exchange this world for eternal bliss!

Earth had nothing more to offer; for he who was one of the leaders ofhis brotherhood beheld with grief their departure from the paths oftheir founder. Poverty, which secures freedom to the body, which knowsnothing of the anxieties of this world and the burden of possession, which permits the soul to soar unfettered far above the dust--poverty, the divine bride of St. Francis, was forsaken in many circles of hisbrother monks. With property, ease and the longing for secular influencehad stolen into many a monastery. Many shunned the labour which thesaint enjoined upon his disciples, and the old jugs were often filledwith new wine, which he, Benedictus, never tasted, and which the saintrejected as poison. He was no longer young and strong enough to let hisgrief and indignation rage like a purifying thunderstorm amidst theseabuses. 

But Heinz Schorlin!

If this youth of noble blood, equally gifted in mind and person, whomHeaven itself had summoned with lightning and thunder, devoted himselffrom sincere conviction, with a heart full of youthful enthusiasm, tohis sacred cause--if Heinz, consecrated by him, and fully aware ofthe real purposes of the saint, who, also untaught and rich only inknowledge of the heart, had begun a career so momentous in consequences, announced himself as a fearless champion of St. Francis's will, then theSt. George had been found who was summoned to slay the dragon, and withhis blood instil new life at last into the monasteries of Germany, thenperhaps the fresh prosperity which he desired for the order was athand. The larger number of its recruits came from the lower ranks of thepeople. Sir Heinz Schorlin's example would perhaps bring it also, as anelevating element, the sons of his peers. 

So, bathed in perspiration, and often on the point of fainting, hefollowed Heinz through the dust of the highway. 

Often, when his strength failed, and he sat down by the roadside to takebreath, his soul-life gained a loftier aspiration. 

After Heinz rode by without seeing him he continued his way until hisfeet grew so heavy that he was forced to sit down beside the road. Thenhe imagined that the Saviour Himself came towards him, gazed lovinglyinto his face, and turned to beckon some one, Benedictus did not knowwhom, heavenward. Suddenly the clouds that had covered the sky parted, and the old man fancied he heard the song of the troubadour whosesoul had been subdued by love for God, which his friend and master hadaddressed to his Redeemer. It must come from the lips of his angels onhigh, but he longed to join in the strain. True, his aged lips, rapidlyas they moved, uttered no sound, but he fancied he was sharing inthis song of the soul, glowing with fervent, consuming flames of love, dedicated to the Saviour, the source of all love:

 "Love's flames my kindling heart control, Love for my Bridegroom fair, When on my hand he placed the ring, The Lamb whose fervent love I share Did pierce my inmost soul, "

the fiery song began, and an absorbing yearning for death and thebeloved Redeemer, whose form had vanished in the sea of flames surgingbefore his dilated eyes, moved the very depths of his soul as hecommenced the second verse:

 "My heart amidst Love's tortures broke, Slain by the might of Love's keen stroke, To earth my senseless body sank, Love's flames my life-blood drank. "

With flushed cheeks, utterly borne away from the world and everythingwhich surrounded him, he raised his arms towards heaven, then theysuddenly fell. Starting up, he passed his hand over his dazzled eyes andshook his head sorrowfully. Instead of the angels' song, he heard thebeat of horses' hoofs coming nearer and nearer. The open heavens hadclosed again; he lay a poor exhausted mortal, with burning brow, besidethe road. 

Duchess Agnes, after visiting the new church at Rottenpach, rode pasthim on her return to Nuremberg. 

Neither she nor her train heeded the old monk. But the Italian who, asshe rode by, had been attracted by the noble features of the agedman, whose eyes still sparkled with youthful enthusiasm, gazed at himenquiringly. Her glance met his, and the Minorite's wrinkled featureswore a look of eager enquiry. He longed to rise and ask the name of theblack-eyed lady at the duchess's side. But ere he could stand erect, theparty had passed on. 

Disturbed in mind, and scarcely able to set one sore foot before theother, he dragged himself forward. 

Before he reached Rottenpach he met one of the duchess's pages who hadremained at the village forge and was now riding after his mistress. Father Benedictus called to him, and the boy, awed by the grey-hairedmonk, answered his questions, and told him that the lady on the horsewith the white star on its face was the duchess's Italian singingmistress, Caterina de Celano. 

Every drop of blood receded from the Minorite's fever-flushed cheeks, and the page was about to spring from his saddle to support him, but themonk waved him back impatiently, and by the exertion of all his strengthof will forced himself to stagger on. 

He had just felt happy in the heart of eternal love; but now theexpression of his countenance changed, and his dark, sunken eyes flashedangrily. 

The faded woman beside the duchess bore the name of the lady whosefaithlessness had first induced him to seek rest and forgetfulness inthe peace of the cloister, and led him to despise her whole sex. 

The horsewoman must be a granddaughter, daughter, or niece of the womanwho had so basely betrayed him. How much she resembled the traitress, but she did not understand how to hide her real nature as well; herfaded features wore a somewhat malicious expression. The resentmentwhich he thought he had conquered again awoke. He would have liked torush after her and call her to her face----. Yet what would that avail?How was she to blame for the treachery of another person, whom perhapsshe did not even know?

Yet he longed to follow her. 

His fevered blood urged him on, but his exhausted, aching limbs refusedto serve him. One more violent effort, and sparks flashed before hiseyes, his lips were wet with blood, and he sank gasping on the ground. 

After some time he succeeded in dragging himself to the side of theroad, where he lay until a Nuremberg carrier, passing with his team offour horses, lifted him, with the help of his servant, into his cart andtook him on. 

At Schweinau the jolting of the vehicle became unendurable to thesufferer, and the carrier willingly fulfilled his wish to be taken tothe hospital where mangled criminals, tortured by the rack, were nursed. 

There, however, they instantly perceived that his place was not inthis house dedicated to criminal misfortune, and the kind Beguines ofSchweinau took charge of him. 

On the way the old monk suffered severely in both soul and body. Itseemed like treason, like a rejection of his pure and pious purposes, that Heaven itself barred the path along which he was wearily wanderingto win it a soul. 

CHAPTER VI. 

The entombment of the magnificent coffin of Frau Maria Ortlieb under thepavement of the family chapel was over. The little group of sympathisingfriends had left the church. Only the widower and his daughtersremained, and when he knew that he could no longer be seen by the fewwho still lingered in the house of God, he clasped the two girls to hisheart with a suppressed sob. 

Never had he experienced such deep sorrow, such anguish of soul. Hehad not even been permitted to take leave of his beloved companion withunmixed grief; fierce resentment had mingled with his trouble. 

To remain alone in the house with his daughters after the burial andanswer their questions seemed to him impossible. 

The meeting of the Council, which would soon begin, served as a pretencefor leaving them. Eva was to blame for what he had just suffered; but heknew everything concerning the rumours about the inexperienced girl andHeinz Schorlin, and there fore was aware that her fault was trivial. Tocensure her seemed as difficult as to discuss calmly with her and thesensible Els what could be done under existing circumstances; besides, he was firmly convinced that Eva had nothing left except to take, without delay, the veil for which she had longed from childhood. Hissister, the Abbess Kunigunde, was keeping the door of the convent open. She had promised the girl to await her at home. In taking leave of hisdaughters, he begged them not to wait for him, because the Council wereto decide the fate of the Eysvogel business, and the session might lasta long while. 

Then his Els gazed at him with a look of such earnest entreaty that henodded, and in a tone of the warmest compassion began: "I shall be morethan glad to aid your Wolff, my dear girl, but he himself told you howthe case stands. What would it avail if I beggared myself and you forthe Eysvogels and their tottering house? I must remain hard now, inorder later to smooth the path for Wolff and you, Els. If BertholdVorchtel would make up his mind to join me, it might be different, but he summoned the Council as a complainant, and if he is the oneto overthrow the reeling structure, who can blame him? We shall see. Whatever I can reasonably do for the unfortunate family shall beaccomplished, my girl. "

Then he kissed his older daughter on the forehead, hastily gave theyounger the same caress, and left the chapel. But Els detained him, whispering: "Whatever wrong was inflicted upon us yesterday, do notlet it prejudice you, father. It was meant neither for her whose peacenothing can now disturb, nor for you. We alone----"

"You certainly, " Herr Ernst interrupted bitterly, "were made to feel howfar superior in virtue they considered themselves to you, who are betterand purer than all of them. But keep up Eva's courage. I have beentalking with your Uncle Pfinzing and your Aunt Christine. You yourselftook them into your confidence, and we will consult together how theserpent's head is to be crushed. "

He turned away as he spoke, but Els went back to her sister, and after abrief prayer they left the church with bowed heads. 

The sedan-chairs were waiting outside. Each was to be borne homeseparately, but both preferred, spite of the bright summer weather, todraw the curtains, that unseen they might weep, and ask themselveshow such wrongs could have been inflicted upon the dead woman andthemselves. 

The respect of high and low for the Ortlieb family had been mostbrilliantly displayed when the body of the son, slain in battle, hadbeen interred in the chapel of his race. And their mother? How many hadheld her dear! to how many she had been kind, loving, and friendly! Howgreat a sympathy the whole city had shown during her illness, and howmany of all classes had attended the mass for her soul! And the burialwhich had just taken place?

True, on her father's account all the members of the Council werepresent, but scarcely half the wives had appeared. Their daughters--Elshad counted them--numbered only nine, and but three were included amongher friends. The others had probably come out of curiosity. And thecommon people, the artisans, the lower classes, who in countless numbershad accompanied her brother's coffin to its resting place, and duringthe mass for the dead had crowded the spacious nave of St. Sebald's?There had been now only a scanty group. The nuns from the convent werepresent, down to the most humble lay Sister; but they were under greatobligations to her mother, and their abbess was her father's sister. There were few other women except the old crones from the hospitals andnurseries, who were never absent when there was an opportunity to weepor to backbite. In going through the nave of the church into the chapelthe sisters had passed a group of younger lads and maidens, who hadnudged one another in so disrespectful a way, whispering all sorts ofthings, that Els had tried to draw Eva past them as swiftly as possible. 

Her wish to keep her more sensitive sister from noticing thedisagreeable gestures and insulting words of the cruel youths and girlswas gratified. True, Eva also felt with keen indignation that far toolittle honour was paid to her beloved dead; that the blinded peoplebelieved the slanderers who repeated even worse things of her Els thanof herself, and made their poor mother, who had lived and suffered likea saint, atone for what they imagined were the sins of her daughters;but the jeers and scorn which had obtruded themselves upon her fatherand sister from more than one quarter, in many a form, had entirelyescaped her notice. She had accustomed herself from childhood toindulge in reflections and emotions apart from the demands of the world. Whatever occupied her mind or soul absorbed her completely; here she hadbeen wholly engrossed in this silent intercourse with the departed, and a single glance at the group assembled in the church had showed hereverything which she desired to know of her surroundings. 

Heinz had gone to the field the day before yesterday. Her silentcolloquy concerned him also. How difficult he made it for her tomaintain the resolution which she had formed during the mass for thedead, since he remained aloof, without giving even the slightest tokenof remembrance. True, an inward voice constantly repeated that he couldnot part from her any more easily than she from him; but her maidenlypride rebelled against the neglect with which he grieved her. Thedefiant desire to punish him for departing without a word of farewellurged her back to the convent. She had spent many hours there daily, andin its atmosphere of peace felt better and happier than in her father'shouse or any other spot which she visited. The close association withher aunt, the abbess, was renewed. True, she had not urged Eva to adefinite statement by so much as a single word, yet she had made herfeel plainly how deeply it would wound her if her pupil should resolveto disappoint the hopes which she herself had fostered. If Eva refusedto take the veil, would not her kind friend be justified in charging herwith unequalled ingratitude? and whose opinion did she value even halfas much, if she excepted her lover's, whose approval was more to herthan that of all the rest of the world?

He was better than she, and who could tell what important motive kepthim away? Countless worldly wishes had blended with the devotion whichshe felt in the convent; and had not the abbess herself taught her toobey, without regard to individuals or their opinion, the demands of herown nature, which were in harmony with the will of the Most High? andhow loudly every voice within commanded her to be loyal to her love!She had made her decision, but offended pride, the memory of the happy, peaceful hours in the convent and, above all, the fear of grievingthe beloved guide of her childhood, withheld her from the firm andirrevocable statement to which her nature, averse to hesitation anddelay, impelled her. 

The nearer the sedan-chair came to the Ortlieb mansion the faster herheart beat, for that very day, probably within the next few hours, theabbess would compel her to choose between her father's house and theconvent. 

She was panting for breath and deadly pale when, just after Els'sarrival, she stepped from the chair. It had become intensely hot. Within the vaulted corridor with its solid, impenetrable walls, acooler atmosphere received her, and she hoped to find in her own chamberfresher, purer air, and--at least for the next few hours--undisturbedpeace. 

But what was the meaning of this scene? At her entrance, theconversation which Els had evidently just commenced with several otherwomen at the door of the office suddenly ceased. It must be due toconsideration for her; for she had not failed to notice the significantglance with which her sister looked at her and then removed her fingerfrom her lips. 

The abbess, who had been concealed by a wall of chests piled one aboveanother, now came forward and laid her hand upon the shoulder of alittle elderly woman, who must have been disputing vehemently with theold housekeeper, Martsche, for she was flushed with excitement, and thehousekeeper's chin still quivered. 

Usually Eva paid little heed to the quarrels of the servants, but thisone appeared to have some connection with herself, and the cause couldbe no trivial one, since Aunt Kunigunde took part in it. 

But she had no sooner approached the other women than the abbess drewher aside and asked her a few unimportant questions. They were probablyintended to keep her away from the disputants. But Eva knew the littlewoman, and wished to learn what offence had been given modest, humbleWidow Vorkler. Her husband had been employed by the Ortlieb firm as acarrier, who had driven his team of six horses to Milan faithfully untilkilled in the Tyrol during an attack by robber knights in the lawlessperiod before the coronation of the Emperor Rudolph. 

With the aid of Herr Ernst Ortlieb, the widow had then set up a littleshop for the sale of wax candles, images of the saints, rosaries, and modest confirmation gifts, by which means she gained an honestlivelihood for her seven children and herself. Her oldest son, who onaccount of hip disease was not fit for hard work, helped her, and theyoungest was Ortel, who had carried Eva's basket on the day of herdead mother's consecration. Her daughter Metz was also in the Ortlieb'sservice as assistant to the chief cook. 

When Frau Vorkler had come to see her children, she had scarcelybeen able to find words which sufficiently expressed her gratefulappreciation, but to-day she seemed like a different person. 

The brief colloquy between the abbess and Eva already appeared to hertoo long, and when the former bade her finish her business later withEls and old Martsche, she angrily declared that, with all due reverencefor the Lady Abbess, she must inform Jungfrau Eva also what compelledher, a virtuous woman with a grateful heart, to take her children fromthe service of the employer for whom her husband had sacrificed hislife. 

Els, who was eager to conceal the woman's insulting errand from Eva, tried to silence Frau Vorkler, but she defiantly persisted, and withredoubled zeal protested that speak she must or her heart would break. Then she declared that she had been proud to place her children in sogodly a household, but now everything was changed, and though it grievedher to the soul, she must insist upon taking Metz and Ortel from itsservice. She lived by the piety of people who bought candles for thedear saints and rosaries for praying; but even the most devout had eyeseverywhere, and if it were known that her young children were serving ina house where such things happened, as alas! were reported through thewhole city concerning the daughters of this family----

Here old Martsche with honest indignation interrupted the excited woman;but Fran Vorkler would not be silenced, and asked what a poor girl likeher Metz possessed except her good name. How quickly suspicion wouldrest on a lass whose respectability was questioned! People had begun todo so ever since the Ortlieb sisters were called the "beautiful" insteadof the pious and virtuous Es. This showed how such notice of the faceand figure benefited Christian maidens. Yesterday and to-day she hadgiven a three-farthing candle to her saint as a thank offering that thishorror had not reached their mother's ears. The dead woman had been atruly devout and noble lady, and her soul would be grateful to her forimpressing upon the minds of her motherless daughters that the pathwhich they had recklessly entered----

This was too much for Ortel, who, concealed behind a heap of sacks, hadlistened to the discussion, and clasping his hands beseechingly, henow went up to his mother and entreated her to beware of repeatingthe slanders of evil-minded people who had dared to cast stones at thegracious maidens, who were as pure and innocent as their saint herself. 

Poor Ortel! His kind young eyes streaming with tears might have softeneda rock; but the enraged candle-dealer misinterpreted his honest emotion, and he certainly would not have been allowed to go on so far had notrage and amazement kept her silent. But Frau Vorkler never lost the useof her tongue long, and what a flood of abuse of the degenerate childrenof the time, who forgot the respect and gratitude due to their ownmother, she began to pour forth! But when faithful Endres, who had growngrey in the Ortlieb service, and under whose orders Ortel was placed tohelp in unpacking, commanded her to be silent or leave the house, andtold her son, instead of following her, to stay with his old employer, Frau Vorkler proceeded to lament over the corruption of the whole world, and did not fail to deal a few side-thrusts at the two daughters of thehouse. 

But here also she made little progress, for the abbess led Eva up thestairs, and the two old family servants, Martsche representing theguiding mind and Endres the rude strength, made common cause. The latterupheld Ortel in his refusal to leave the house, and the former declaredthat Metz must remain the usual time after giving notice. She would nothelp Frau Vorkler to force the poor child into an unequal, miserablemarriage with the old miser to whom she wanted to give her. 

This remark was aimed at the master-tailor Seubolt, the guardian of theVorkler children, who, though forty years her senior, wanted to makepretty Metz his wife, and who had also promised the widow to obtain forhis future brother-in-law Ortel an excellent place in the stables of theGerman order of military monks. Not outraged morality, but the guardianand suitor in one person, had induced the candle-dealer to take herchildren from their good places in the Ortlieb household. The widow'sfear of having her real motive detected spared the necessity of usingforce. But whilst slowly retiring backwards, crab fashion, she shriekedat her antagonists the threat that her children's guardian, no less apersonage than master-tailor Nickel Seubolt, was a man who would helpher gain her just rights and snatch the endangered souls of Ortel andher poor young Metz from temporal and eternal destruction in this Sodomand Gomorrah----

The rest of the burden which oppressed her soul she was forced toconfide to the street. Endres closed the heavy door of the house behindher with a strength and celerity marvellous in a man of his years. 

Ortel was terribly agitated. Soon after his mother's departure he wentwith his sister to the woodhouse, where both wept bitterly; for Metzhad given her heart to a young carrier who was expected to return froma trip to Frankfort the first of July, and would rather have thrownherself into the Pegnitz than married the rich old tailor to whom sheknew her mother had promised her pretty daughter; whilst her brother, like many youths of his station, thought that the place of driver of asix-horse wain was the most delightful calling in the world, and bothwere warmly attached to their employer and the family whom they served. And yet both felt that it was a heavy sin to refuse to obey theirmother. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Eva was spared witnessing the close of this unpleasant incident. Theabbess had led her up the stairs into the sitting-room. St. Clareherself, she thought, had sent Fran Vorkler to render the choice sheintended to place before her niece that very day easier for Eva. 

Even whilst ascending the broad steps she put her arm around her, butin the apartment, whence the noonday sun had been shut out and theywere greeted with a cool atmosphere perfumed with the fragrance of thebouquets of roses and mignonette which Eva and the gardener had setin jars on the mantelpiece early in the morning, the abbess drew herdarling closer to her side, saying, "The world is again showing you itsmost disagreeable face, my poor child, ere you bid it farewell. "

She kissed her brow and eyes tenderly as she spoke, expecting Eva, asshe had often done when anything troubled her young soul, to return thecaress impulsively, and accept with grateful impetuosity the invitationto the shelter which she offered; but the vile assault of the coarsewoman who brought to her knowledge what people were thinking and sayingabout her produced upon the strange child, who had already given hermany a surprise, an effect precisely opposite to her expectations. No, Eva had by no means forgotten the pain inflicted by Frau Vorkler's baseaccusations; but if whilst in the sedan-chair she had feared that sheshould lack courage to inflict upon her beloved aunt and friend so greata disappointment, she now felt that this dread had been needless, andthat her offended maidenly pride absolved her from consideration for anyperson. 

With cautious tenderness she released herself from the arms of theabbess, gazed sorrowfully at her with her large eyes as if beseechingforgiveness then, as she saw her aunt look at her with pained surprise, again threw herself on her breast. 

Instead of being protectingly embraced by the elder woman, the younggirl clasped her closely to her heart, kissed and patted her withcaressing love, and with the winning charm peculiar to her besoughther forgiveness if she denied herself and her that which she had longdesired as the fairest and noblest goal. 

When the abbess interrupted her to represent what awaited her in theworld and in the convent, Eva listened, nestling closely to her sideuntil she had finished, then sighing as deeply as if her own resolvecaused her the keenest suffering, threw her head back, exclaiming, "Yet, in spite of everything, I cannot, must not enter the conventnow. " Clasping the abbess's hand, she explained what prevented her fromfulfilling the wish of her childhood's guide, which had so long beenher own, extolling with warm, sincere gratitude the quiet happiness andsweet anticipations enjoyed with her beloved nuns ere love had conqueredher. 

During the recent days of sorrow she had again sought the path toher saints and found the greatest solace in prayer; but whenever sheuplifted her heart to the Saviour, whose bride she had once so ferventlyvowed to become, the Redeemer had indeed appeared as usual beforethe eyes of her soul, but he resembled in form and features Sir HeinzSchorlin, and, instead of turning her away from the world to divinelove, she had surrendered herself completely to earthly affection. Prayer had become sin. The saint's song:

 "O Love, Love's reign announcing, Why dost thou wound me so? Into thy fiercest flames I fling My heart, my life below. "

no longer invited her to give herself up to be fused into divine love, but merely rendered the need of her own soul clearer, and expressed inwords the yearning of her heart for her lover. 

Here her aunt interrupted her with the assurance that all this--she hadhad the same experience when, renouncing the love of the noblest andbest of men, she took the veil--would be different, wholly different, when with St. Clare's aid she had again found the path on which shehad already once so nearly reached heaven. Even now she beheld inimagination the day when Eva would look back upon the world she had leftas if it were a mere formless mass of clouds. These were no idle words. The promise was something derived from her own experience. 

On her pilgrimage to Rome she had gazed from an Alpine peak and beheldat her feet nothing save low hills, forests, valleys, and flashingstreams, with here and there a village; but she could distinguishneither human beings nor animals; a light mist had veiled everything, converting it into one monotonous surface. But above her head the sky, like a giant dome free from cloud and mist, arched in a beautifulvault, blue as turquoise and sapphire. It seemed so close that the eaglesoaring near her might reach it with a few strokes of his pinions. She was steeped in radiance, and the sun shone down upon her withoverpowering brilliancy like the eye of God. 

Close at her side a gay butterfly hovered about the solitary littlewhite flower which grew from a bare rock on the topmost summit. In thebrilliant light and amidst the solemn silence that butterfly seemed likea transfigured soul, and aroused the question, Who that was permittedto live on this glowing height, so near the Most High, could desire toreturn to the grey mist below?

So the human soul which soared to the shining height where it was sonear heaven, would blissfully enjoy the purity of the air and the unshadowed light which bathed it, and all that was passing in the worldbelow would blend into a single vanquished whole, whose details could nolonger be distinguished. Thus Heinz Schorlin's image would also minglewith the remainder of the world, lying far below her, to which hebelonged. It should merely incite her to rise nearer and nearer toheaven, to the radiant light above, to which her soul would mount aseasily as the eagle that before the pilgrim's eyes had vanished in thedivine blue and the golden sunshine. 

"So come and dare the flight!" she concluded with warm enthusiasm. "Thewings you need have grown from your soul, you chosen bride of Heaven. Use them. That which now most repels you from the goal will fall awayas the snake sheds its skin. Like the phoenix rising from its ashes, thedestruction of the little earthly love which even now causes you morepain than pleasure, will permit the ascent of the great love for Him Whois Love incarnate, the love which encompasses the lonely butterfly onthe white blossom in the silent, deserted mountain solitude, which lacksno feather on its wings, no tiniest hair on its feelers, as warmly andcarefully as the vast, unlimited universe whose duration ends only witheternity. "

Eva, with labouring breath, had fairly hung upon the lips of the reveredwoman, who at last gazed upwards with dilated eyes like a prophetess. 

When she paused the young girl nodded assent. Her teacher and friendseemed to have crushed her resistance. 

Like the eagle which had disappeared before the pilgrim's eyes in theazure vault of heaven, the radiant light on the pure summit summoned herpure soul to dare the flight. 

The abbess watched with delight the influence of her words upon the soulof her darling, who, gazing thoughtfully at the floor, now seemed to bepondering over what she had urged. 

But suddenly Eva raised her bowed head, and her eyes, sparkling with abrighter light, sought those of the abbess. 

Her quick intellect had attentively considered what she had heard, andher vivid power of imagination had enabled her to transfer to realitythe picture which had already half won her over to her friend's wishes. 

"No, Aunt Kunigunde, no!" she began, raising her hands as if in repulse. "Your radiant height strongly allures me also, yet, gladly as I believethat, for many the world would be easily forgotten above, where no soundfrom it reaches us and the mist conceals individual figures from oureyes, for me, now that love has filled my heart, it would be impossibleto ascend the peak alone and without him. 

"Hear me, aunt!

"What was it that attracted me so powerfully from the beginning?At first, as you know, the hope of making him a combatant for thepossessions which I have learned through you to regard as the highestand most sacred. Then, when love came, when a new power, heretoforeunknown, awoke within me and--everything must be told--I longed for hiswooing and his embrace, I also felt that our union could take root andput forth blossoms only in the full harmony of our mutual love for Godand the Saviour. And though since the mass for the dead was celebratedfor my mother--it wounded me, and defiance and the wish to punish himurged me to put the convent walls between us--no further token of hislove has come, though I know as well as you that he desired to quitthe world, this by no means impairs--nay, it only strengthens--theconfidence I feel that our souls belong to one another as inseparably asthough the sacrament had hallowed our union. 

"Therefore I should never succeed in coming so near heaven as you, thelonely, devout pilgrim, attained on the summit of your mountain peak, unless he accompanied me in spirit, unless his soul joined mine in theascent or the flight. It rests in mine as mine rests in his, and werethey separated both would bleed as if from severed veins. For thisreason, aunt, he can never blend into a uniform mass with the rest ofthe world below me; for if I gained the radiant height, he would remainat my side and gaze with me at the mist-veiled world beneath. He cannever vanish from the eyes of my soul, and so, dear aunt, because I oweit to him to avoid even the semblance----"

Here she hesitated; for from the adjoining room they heard a man's deepvoice telling Els something in loud, excited tones. 

This interruption was welcome to the abbess; she had as yet found noanswer to her niece's startling objection. 

Eva answered her questioning glance with the exclamation, "UnclePfinzing!"

"He?" replied the abbess dejectedly. "His opinion has some weight withyou, and this very day, during the burial, he told me how glad he shouldbe to see you sheltered in the convent from the hateful calumnies causedby your imprudence!"

"Yet--you will see it directly, " the girl declared, "he will surelyunderstand me when I explain that I would rather endure the worst thanappear to seek refuge from evil tongues in flight. Whoever has expectedEva Ortlieb to shelter herself from malice behind strong walls will bemistaken. Heinz is certainly aware of the shameful injustice which haspursued us, and if he returns he must find me where he left me. I am nowencountering what my dead mother called the forge fire of life, and Iwill not shun it like a coward. Heinz, I know, will overthrow the manwho unchained this generation of vipers against us; but if he does notreturn, or can bring himself to cast the love that unites us behind himwith the world from which he would fain turn, then, aunt"--and Eva'seyes flashed brightly with passionate fire, and her clear voiceexpressed the firm decision of a vigorous will--"then I will commit ourcause to One who will not suffer falsehood to conquer truth or wrongto triumph over right. Then, though it should be necessary to walk overred-hot ploughshares, let the ordeal bear witness for us. "

The abbess, startled, yet rejoicing at the fulness of faith flamingin her darling's passionate speech, approached Eva to soothe her;but scarcely had she begun to speak when the door opened and BertholdPfinzing entered with his older niece. 

He was holding Els by the hand, and it was evident that some sorrowfulthought occupied the minds of both. 

"Has any new horror happened?" fell in tones of anxious enquiry fromEva's lips before she even greeted her dearest relative. 

"Think of something very bad, " was her sister's reply, in a tone sodejected and mournful, that Eva, with a low cry--"My father!"--pressedher hand upon her heart. 

"Not dead, darling, " said the magistrate, stroking her head soothinglywith his short, broad hand, "by all the saints, not even wounded or ill. Yet the daughter has guessed aright, and I have kept the 'Honourables'waiting, that I might tell you the news myself; for what may not suchtidings become whilst passing from lip to lip! It is a toad, a very uglytoad, and I would not permit a dragon to be brought into the house toyou poor things in its place. "

He poured all this forth very rapidly, for, notwithstanding the intenseheat, and the burden of business at the Town Hall, he had left it, though only to do his dear Es a kindness, lie and his worthy wifeChristine, the sister of Herr Ernst Ortlieb and of the abbess, had longbeen familiar with all the tales which slander had called to life, andhad striven zealously enough to refute them. What he had now to relatefilled him with honest indignation against the evil tongues, and heknew how deeply it would excite and grieve Eva, his godchild, who stoodespecially near his heart. He would gladly have said a few kind words toher before beginning his story, but he was obliged to return to the TownHall immediately to open the important conference concerning the fate ofthe Eysvogel business. 

His appearance showed how rapidly he had hurried to the house throughthe burning sunshine, for drops of perspiration were trickling down hisbroad, low forehead over his plump, smoothshaven cheeks and thick redneck, in which his small chin vanished as if it were a cushion. Besides, he constantly raised a large linen handkerchief to his face, and hishuge chest laboured for breath as he hastily repeated to Eva and theabbess what he had just announced to Els in a few rapid words. 

Herr Ernst Ortlieb had gone to the Town Hall, where he attended anexamination in his character as magistrate, and had entered thecourt yard to enjoy the cool air for a short time with a few other"Honourables, " in the shady walk near the main gate. 

Just then master-tailor Seubolt, the guardian of Ortel and his sister, who were in service at the Ortlieb mansion, approached the Town Hall. No one could have supposed that the tall, grey-headed man with the bowedback, who was evidently nearing sixty, really meant to make a young girllike Metz Vorkler his wife. Besides, he assumed a very humble, modestdemeanour when, passing through the vaulted entrance of the Town Hall, which stood open to every citizen, he approached Herr Ernst to ask, with many bows and humble phrases, for the permission, which he had beenrefused at the Ortlieb house, to remove his wards from a place whichtheir mother, as well as he himself, felt sure--he had supposed that the"Honourable" would have no objection--would be harmful to them in bothbody and soul. 

Surprised and indignant, but perfectly calm, Herr Ernst had requestedhim to tell him whatever he had to say at a more convenient time. Butas the tailor insisted that the matter would permit no delay, he invitedhim to step aside with him, in order not to make the councillors whowere with him witnesses of the unpleasant discussion. 

Seubolt, however, seemed to have no greater desire than to be heardby as many people as possible. Raising his voice to a very loud tone, though he still maintained an extremely humble manner, he began to givethe reasons which induced him, spite of his deep regret, to removehis wards from the Ortlieb house. And now, sheltering himself behindfrequent repetitions of "As people say" and "Heaven forbid that I shouldbelieve such things, " he began to relate what the most venomous slanderhad dared to assert concerning the beautiful Es. 

For a time Herr Ernst had forced himself to listen quietly to thismalicious abuse of those whom he held dearest, but at last it became toomuch for the quick-tempered man. The tailor had ventured to allude toJungfrau Els "who certainly had scarcely given full cause for such evilslander" in words which caused even the councillors standing near tocontradict him loudly, and induced Herr Pfinzing, who had just come up, to beckon to the city soldiers. At that instant the blood mounted to theinsulted father's brain, and the misfortune happened; for as the tailor, with an unexpected gesture of the arm he was flourishing, brushed HerrErnst's cap, the latter, fairly insane with rage, snatched the pikefrom one of the men who, obeying Herr Pfinzing's signal, were justapproaching the tailor, and with a wild cry struck down the basetraducer. 

Herr Pfinzing, with the presence of mind characteristic of him, instantly ordered the beadles to carry the wounded man into the TownHall, and thus prevented the luckless deed of violence from creating anyexcitement. 

The few persons in the courtyard had been detained, and perhapseverything might yet be well. Herr Ernst had instantly delivered himselfup to justice, and instead of being taken to prison like a commoncriminal, had been conveyed in a closed sedan-chair to the watch-tower. 

The pike had pierced the tailor's shoulder, but the wound did not seemto be mortal, and Herr Ernst's rash deed might be made good by thepayment of blood-money, though, it is true, on account of the tailor'sposition and means, this might be a large sum. 

"My horse, " said Herr Berthold in conclusion, "was waiting for me, andbrought me here as swiftly as he must carry me back again. But, you poorthings! as for you, my Els, you have a firm nature, and if you insistupon refusing the invitation to our house, why, wait here to learnwhether your father needs you. You, my little goddaughter Eva, areprovided for. This sorrow, of course, will throw the veil over your fairhead. "

The worthy man, as he spoke, laid his hand on her shoulder and lookedat her with a glance which seemed to rely on her assent, but sheinterrupted him with the exclamation, "No, uncle! Until you haveconvinced yourself that no one will dare assail Eva Ortlieb's honour, donot ask her again if she desires the protection of the convent. "

The magistrate hurriedly passed his huge handkerchief over his face;then taking Eva's head between his hands, kissed her brow, and--turningthe shrewd, twinkling eyes, which were as round as everything else abouthis person, towards the others, said: "Did any one suggest this, or didthe 'little saint' have the sensible idea herself?"

When Eva, smiling, pointed to her own forehead, he exclaimed: "Myrespects, child. They say that what stirs up there descends fromgodfather to godchild, and I'll never put goblet to my lips again ifI--"

Here he stopped, and called after Els that he had not meant to hint, forshe was hurrying out to get her uncle something to drink. But ere thedoor closed behind her he went on eagerly:

"But to you, my saintly child, I will say: your piety soars far too highfor me to follow with my heavy body; yet on the ride here I, old sinnerthat I am, longed--no offence, sister-in-law abbess!--to warn youagainst the convent, for the very reason which keeps you away fromyour saint. We'll find the gag to stop the mouths of these accursedslanderers forever, and then, if you want to enter the convent, theyshall not say, when you take the veil, 'Eva Ortlieb is hiding from herown shame and the tricks with which we frightened her out of the world. 'No! All Nuremberg shall join in the hosanna!"

Then taking the goblet which Els had just filled, he drained it withgreat satisfaction, and rushing off, called back to the sisters: "I'llsoon see you again, you brave little Es. My wife is coming to talk overthe matter with you. Don't let that worthless candle-dealer's childrenleave the house till their time is up. If you wish to visit your fatherin the watch-tower there will be no difficulty. I'll tell the warder. Only the drawbridge will be raised after sunset. You can provide for hisbodily needs, too, Els. We cannot release him yet; the law must take itscourse. "

At the door he stopped again and called back into the room: "We can't besure. If Frau Vorkler and the tailor's friends make an outcry and molestyou, send at once to the Town Hall. I'll keep my eyes open and give thenecessary orders. "

A few minutes after he trotted through the Frauenthor on his clumsystallion. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The watch-tower was in the northern part of the city, in the cornmagazine of the fortress, and the whole width of Nuremberg must betraversed to reach it. Even before Herr Pfinzing had left the house thesisters determined to go to their father, and the abbess approved theplan. She invited the girls to spend the night at the convent, if theyfound the deserted house too lonely, but they did not promise to do so. 

Countess Cordula, who was on friendly terms with Eva, also emptied thevials of her wrath with all the impetuosity of her nature upon SirSeitz Siebenburg and the credulity and malice of the people. From thebeginning she had been firmly convinced that the "Mustache, " as she nowcalled the knight in a tone of the most intense aversion, had contrivedthis base conspiracy, and her opinion was strengthened by Biberli. Nowshe would gladly have torn herself into pieces to mitigate the sisters'hard lot. She wanted to accompany them to the watch-tower, to have themtaken there in her sedan-chair carried by horses, which had room forseveral persons, and at last begged for the favour of being allowed tospend the night in the room adjoining theirs. If the girls, amidst allthese base suspicions, should find Nuremberg unendurable, she wouldleave the scene of the Reichstag with them to-morrow, if necessary, andtake them to her castle in the Vorarlberg. She had other plans for them, too, in her mind, but lacked time now to explain them to the sisters;they could not obtain admittance to their father's prison after sundown, and in a few hours the long summer day would be over. 

It was not advisable to use their sedan-chairs adorned with the Ortliebcoat of arms, which every one knew, so they went on foot with theirfaces shrouded by the 'Reise' which was part of their mourning dress;and, in order not to violate usage, were accompanied by two servants, old Martsche and Katterle. 

From the Fleischbrucke they might have avoided the market-place, but Elswanted to enquire whether the Eysvogel matter was being discussed. Oneof the "Honourables"--all of whom she knew--was always to be found nearthe Town Hall, and Eva understood her sister's anxiety and went with herwillingly. 

But when they were passing the prison she became frightened. 

Through the squares formed by the iron grating in front of the broadwindow of the largest one, head after head, hand after hand, was thrustinto the street. The closely cropped heads of the prisoners, many ofwhich showed mutilations by the hand of the executioner, which hadbarely healed, formed, as separated only by the iron bars, theyprotruded above, below, and beside one another into the open air, amosaic picture, startlingly repulsive in appearance; for savage greedglittered in the eyes of most, and showed itself in the movements of thelong, thin hands extended for gifts. Bitter need and passionate longinggazed defiantly, beseechingly, and threateningly at the people whocrowded round the window. Few were silent; they implored the curious andpitying men, women, and children, who in the presence of their miseryrejoiced in their more favoured lot, for aid in their distress, andrarely in vain; for many a mother gave her children a loaf to hand tothe unfortunates, and meanwhile impressed on their minds the lesson thatthey would fare as badly as the most horrible of the mutilated prisonersunless they were good and obedient to their parents and teachers. 

Street boys held out an apple or a bit of bread, to snatch it away justas they touched it with their finger-tips, thus playing with them fortheir own amusement, but the tribulation of the wretched captives. Thensome man who had seen better days, or a criminal whom sudden passionhad made a murderer, would burst into a rage and, seizing the iron bars, shake them savagely, whilst the others, shrieking, drew in their heads. Then fierce curses, threats, and invectives echoed over the market-placeand, screaming aloud, the boys ran back; but they soon resumed theirmalicious sport. 

Often, it is true, a mother came who placed her gift in the hands ofher child, or a modest old woman, tradesman, or soldier, from motivesof genuine compassion, offered the prisoners a jug of new milk orstrengthening wine. Nor was there any lack of priests or monks whodesired to give the consolations of religion to the pitiable men behindthe bars, but most of them reaped little gratitude; only a few listenedto their exhortations with open hearts, and but too frequently they weresilenced by insults and rude outcries. 

Whilst the sisters, attended by their maidservants, were passing thesepitiable people, Frau Tucher, whose daughter had been very ill, sent, for the love of God, a large basket of freshly baked bread to theprisoners. One of her servants was distributing it, and they greedilysnatched the welcome gift from his hand. A woman, who was about to giveone of the rolls to the hollow-eyed child in her arms just as a rudefellow who had lost his ears snatched it, scratched his dirty, freckledface with her sharp nails, and the sight of the blood which dripped fromhis lip over his chin upon the roll was so hideous a spectacle that Evaclung closer to her sister, who had just put her hand into the pockethanging from her belt to give the unfortunates a few shillings, and drewher away with her. 

Both, followed by the two maids, made their way as fast as possiblethrough the people who had flocked hither in great numbers for a purposewhich the sisters were to learn only too soon. 

It was a long time since they had been here, and a few weeks previouslythe "Honourables" had had the pillory moved from the other side of theTown Hall to this spot. Katterle's warning was not heard in the dinaround them. 

The crowd grew denser every moment, and Eva had already asked her sisterto turn back, when Els saw the man who brought to her father the summonsto the meetings of the Council, and requested him to accompany themthrough the throng to the courtyard; but amidst the uproar of shouts andcries he misunderstood her, and supposing that she wished to witness thespectacle which had attracted so many, forced a way for the sisters intothe very front rank. 

The person who had just been bound in this place of shame was thebarber's widow from the Kotgasse, who had already been here once forgiving lovers an opportunity for secret meetings, and to whom Katterlehad fled for shelter. Bowed by the weight of the stone which hadbeen hung around her neck, the woman, with outstretched head, lookedfuriously around the circle of her tormentors like a wild beast crouchedto spring, and scarcely had the messenger brought the sisters and theirservants to a place near her when, recognising Katterle, she shriekedshrilly to the crowd that there were the right ones, the dainty folkwho, if they did not belong to a rich family, would be put in the placewhere, in spite of the Riese over their faces, with which they mournedfor their lost good name, they had more reason to be than she, who wasonly the lowly widow of a barber. 

Overwhelmed with horror the girls pressed on, and at Eva's terrifiedexclamation, "Let us, O let us go!" the man did his best. But theymade slow progress through the crowd, whose yells, hisses, and catcallspursued them to the entrance of the neighbouring Town Hall. 

Here the guard, with crossed halberds, kept back the people who werecrowding after the insulted girls, and it was fortunate, for Eva's feetrefused to carry her farther, and her older sister's strength to supporther failed. 

Sighing deeply, Els led her to a bench which stood between two pillars, and then ordered old Martsche, and Katterle, who was trembling in everylimb, to watch Eva till her return. 

Before they went on, her sister must have some rest, and Martin Schedel, the old Clerk of the Council, was the man with whom to obtain it. 

She went in search of him as fast as her feet would bear her, and by alucky accident met the kind old man, whom she had known from childhood, on the stairs leading to the Council chamber and the upper offices. 

Ernst Ortlieb's unhappy deed, and the story of the base calumnies incirculation about the unfortunate man's daughters, which he had justheard from Herr Pfinzing, had filled the worthy old clerk's heart withpity and indignation; so he eagerly embraced the opportunity afforded toatone to the young girls for the wrongs committed against them by theirfellow-citizens. Telling the maidservants to wait in the antechamber ofthe orphan's court-room, he led the sisters to his own office, helpingEva up the long flight of stairs with an arm which, though aged, wasstill vigorous. After insisting that she should sit in the armchairbefore the big desk, and placing wine and water before her, he beggedthe young girls to wait until his return. He was obliged to be presentat the meeting, which had probably already begun. The matter in questionwas the Eysvogel business, and if Els would remain he could tell her theresult. Then he left them. 

Eva, deadly pale, leaned back with closed eyes in the clerk's highchair. Els bathed her brow with a wet handkerchief, consoling herby representing how foolish it would be to suffer the lowest of thepopulace to destroy her happiness. 

Her sister nodded assent, saying: "Did you notice the faces of thosepeople behind the bars? Most of them, I thought, looked stupid ratherthan evil. " Here she hesitated, and then added thoughtfully: "Yet theycannot be wise. These poor creatures seldom obtain any great sumby thieving and cheating. To what terrible punishments they exposethemselves both in this world and the next! And conscience!"

"Yes, conscience!" Els eagerly repeated. "So long as we can say that wehave done nothing wrong, we can suffer even the worst to be said of uswithout grieving. "

"Still, " sighed Eva, "I feel as if that horrible woman's insults hadsullied me with a stain no water can wash away. What sorrows have comeupon us since our mother died, Els!"

Her sister nodded, and added mournfully: "Our father, my Wolff, yourpoor, stricken heart, and below in the Council chamber, Eva, perhapswhilst we are talking, those who are soon to be my kindred are beingdoomed. That is harder to bear, child, than the invectives with whicha wicked woman slanders us. Often I do not know myself where I get thestrength to keep up my courage. "

She turned away as she spoke to wipe the tears from her eyes withoutbeing seen; but Eva perceived it, and rose to clasp her in her arms andwhisper words of cheer. Ere she had taken the first step, however, shestarted; in rising she had upset the clerk's tin water-pail, which fellrattling on the floor. 

"The water!" she exclaimed sadly, "and my tongue is parched. "

"I'll fetch more, " said Els consolingly; "Herr Martin brought it fromover yonder. "

Opening the door to which she had pointed, she entered a low, spaciousanteroom, in which was a brass fire engine, ladders, pails, and variousother utensils for extinguishing a fire in the building, hung on therough plastered wall which separated this room from the office of thecity clerk. The centre of the opposite wall was occupied by two smallwindows surmounted by a broad, semicircular arch, and separated by ashort Roman pillar. The sashes of both, whose leaden casings were filledwith little round horn panes, stood wide open. This double window wasin the upper part of the Council chamber, which occupied two stories. Tocreate a draught this hot day it had been flung wide open, and Els coulddistinguish plainly the words uttered below. The first that reached herwas the name: "Wolff Eysvogel. "

A burning sensation thrilled her. If she went nearer to the window shecould hear what the Honourables decided concerning the Eysvogel house;and, overpowered by her ardent desire not to lose a single word of thediscussion which was to determine the happiness of Wolff's life, andtherefore hers, she instantly silenced the voice which admonished herthat listening was wrong. Yet the habit of caring for Eva was so dearto her, and ruled her with such power, that before listening to what waspassing in the Council chamber below she looked for the water, which shespeedily found, took it to the thirsty girl, and hurriedly told her whatshe had discovered in the next room and how she intended to profit byit. 

In spite of Eva's entreaty not to do it, she hastened back to the openwindow. 

The younger sister, though she shook her head, gazed after her with asignificant smile. 

To Eva this was no accident. 

Perhaps it was her saint herself who, when her sister went to seekrefreshment for her, had guided her to the window. Eva deemed it a boonto be permitted to find here in solitude the rest needful for her bodywhich, though usually so strong, had been shaken by horror, and tostruggle and pray for a clear understanding of the many things whichtroubled her; for to her prayer was far more than the petition for aspiritual or earthly blessing; nay, she prayed far less frequently toimplore anything than from yearning for the Most High to whose presencethe wings of prayer raised her. So long as she was absorbed in it, shefelt removed from the world and borne into the abode of God. 

Now also, whilst Els was listening, she brought no earthly matter to thePower who guided the universe as well as her own little individual life, but merely lost herself in supplication and in her intercourse with theOmnipotent One, who seemed to her a familiar friend; she forgot whatgrieved and troubled her and how she had been pained. But meanwhile theprediction she had made to the abbess was verified; she felt as if herlover's soul rose with hers to the pure height where she dwelt, and thatthe earthly love which filled her heart and his was but an effluence ofthe Eternal Love, whose embodiment to her was God and the Saviour. 

The union of herself and Heinz seemed imaged by two streams flowingfrom the same great inexhaustible, pure, and beneficent fountain, which, after having run through separate channels, meet to traverse as a singleriver the blooming meadows and keep them fresh and green. God's love, her own, and his were each separate and yet the same, portions of thegreat fount which animated, saved, and blessed her, him, and the wholevast universe. The spring gushing from her love and his was eternal, andtherefore neither could be exhausted, no matter how much it gave. 

But both were still in the world. As he would certainly put forth allhis might to show himself worthy of the confidence placed in him byhis Emperor and master, she too must test her youthful strength in thearduous conflict which she had begun. Her recent experiences were theflames of the forge fire of life of which her mother had spoken--andhow pitifully she had endured their glow! This must be changed. She hadoften proved that when the body is wearied the soul gains greater powerto soar. Should she not begin to avail herself of this to make herfeeble body obey her will? With compressed lips and clenched hand sheresolved to try. 

CHAPTER IX. 

Whilst Eva, completely absorbed in herself, was forming this resolution, Els, panting for breath, stood at the open window under the ceilingof the Council chamber, gazing down and listening to the sounds frombeneath. 

Directly opposite to her was the inscription

"Feldt Urtel auf erden, als ir dort woldt geurtheilt werden, " in theGerman and Latin languages, and below this motto, urging the magistratesto justice, was a large fresco representing the unjust judge Sisamnesbeing flayed by an executioner in the costume of the NurembergLeben--[Executioner's assistant. Really "Lowen. "]--before the eyesof King Cambyses, in order to cover the judgment seat with his skin. Another picture represented this lofty throne, on which sat the rulerof Persia dispensing justice. The subject of a third was the Roman armyinterrupted in its march by the order of the Emperor Trajan, that hemight have time to hear a widow's accusation of the murderer of her sonand to punish the criminal. 

Els did not bestow a single glance upon these familiar pictures, butgazed down at the thirteen elderly and the same number of much youngermen, who in their high-backed chairs were holding council together ather left hand far below her. These were the burgomasters of the city, of whom an elder and a younger one directed for the space of a month, as"Questioner, " the government of the public affairs of the city and thebusiness of the "Honourable Council. "

At this time the office was filled by Albert Ebner and Jorg Stromer, whilst in the secret council formed by seven of the older gentlemen, as the highest executive authority, Hans Schtirstab as the second andBerthold Vorchtel as first Losunger filled the chief offices. 

So this year the deeply offended father held the highest place in theCouncil, and in the whole community of Nuremberg he, more than any oneelse, would decide the fate of the Eysvogels. 

Els knew this, and with an anxious heart saw him gaze earnestly andsadly at the papers which Martin Schedel, the city clerk, had justbrought to him from a special desk. At his side, in the centre of thetable covered with green cloth, sat the listener's uncle, the magistrateBerthold Pfinzing, who in the Emperor's name presided over the court ofjustice. 

He also appeared in his character of protector of the Jews, andSamuel Pfefferkorn, a Hebrew usurer, had just left the hall after anexamination. 

Casper Eysvogel was gazing after him with a face white as death. Hishandsome head shook as the imperial magistrate, turning to BertholdVorchtel, the chief Losunger, said in a tone loud enough to be heard byall present, "So this is also settled. Herr Casper contracted the greatdebt to the Jew without the knowledge of his son and partner, and thisexplains to a florin the difference between the accounts of the fatherand son. The young man was intentionally kept in the dark about thegreatest danger which threatened the business. To him the situation ofthe house must have appeared critical, but by no means hopeless. Butfor the Siebenburgs and the other bandits, who transformed the lastimportant and promising venture of the firm into a great loss, and withthe sale of the landed property, it might perhaps have speedily risen, and under prudent and skilful management regained its former prosperity. The enormous sum to which the debt to Samuel Pfefferkorn increased givesthe position of affairs a different aspect. Since, as protector ofthe Jew, I must insist upon the payment of this capital with theusual interest, the old Eysvogel firm will be unable to meet itsobligations--nay, its creditors can be but partially paid. Thereforenothing remains for us to do save to consider how to protect as faras possible our city and the citizens who are interested. Yet, in myopinion, the entire firm does not deserve punishment--only the father, who concealed from his upright son his own accounts and those ofSamuel Pfefferkorn, and--it is hard for me to say this in Herr Casper'spresence;--also, when the peril became urgent, illegally deprived hisbusiness partner of the possibility of obtaining a correct view of thereal situation of affairs. So, in the Emperor's name, let justice takeits course. "

These words pronounced the doom of the ancient, great, and wealthyEysvogel firm; yet the heart of Els throbbed high with joy when, aftera brief interchange of opinions between the assembled members of theCouncil, the imperial magistrate, turning to Herr Vorchtel, again began:"As Chief Losunger, it would be your place, Herr Berthold, to raise yourvoice on the part of the Honourable Council in defence of the accused;but since we are all aware of the great grief inflicted upon you by theson of the man in whose favour you would be obliged to speak, we should, I think, spare you this duty, and transfer it to Herr Hans Schtirstab, the second Losunger, or to Herr Albert Ebner, the oldest of thegoverning burgomasters, who, though equally concerned in this sad case, are less closely connected with the Eysvogels themselves. "

Els uttered a sigh of relief, for both the men named were friendly toWolff; but Herr Vorchtel had already risen and began to speak, turninghis wise old head slowly to and fro, and drawing his soft grey beardthrough his hand. 

He commenced his address as quietly as if he were talking with friendsat his own table, and the tones of his deep voice, as well as theexpression of his finely moulded aged features, exerted a soothinginfluence upon his listeners. 

Els, with a throbbing heart, felt that nothing which this man advocatedcould be wrong, and that whatever he recommended would be sure ofacceptance; for he stood amongst his young and elderly fellow directorsof the Nuremberg republic like an immovably steadfast guardian of dutyand law, who had grown grey in the atmosphere of honesty and honour. Thus she had imagined the faithful Eckart, thus her own Wolff might looksome day when age had bleached his hair and labour and anxiety had linedhis lofty brow with wrinkles; Berthold Vorchtel, and other "Honourables"who resembled him; grey-haired Conrad Gross; tall, broad-shoulderedFriedrich Holzschuher, whose long, snow-white hair fell in thick wavesto his shoulders; Ulrich Haller, in whose locks threads of silverwere just appearing, princely in form and bearing; stately HermannWaldstromer, who had the keen eyes of a huntsman; the noble Ebnerbrothers, who would have attracted attention even in an assembly ofknights and counts--nay, the Emperor Rudolph was probably thinking ofthe men below when he said that the Nuremberg Council reminded him ofa German oak wood, where firm reliance could be placed on every nobletrunk. 

Herr Berthold Vorchtel was just such a noble, reliable tree. Els toldherself so, and though she knew how deeply he was wounded when Wolffpreferred her to his daughter Ursula, and how sorely he mourned his sonUlrich's death, she was nevertheless convinced that this man would bearthe Eysvogels no grudge for the grief suffered through them, for no wordwhich was not just and estimable would cross his aged lips. 

She was not mistaken; for after Herr Berthold had insisted upon hisright to raise his voice, not in behalf of Herr Casper but for hisbusiness firm and its preservation, he remarked, by way of introduction, that for the sake of Nuremberg he would advise that the Eysvogel houseshould not be abandoned without ceremony to the storm which its chiefhad aroused against the ancient, solid structure. 

Then he turned to the papers and parchments, to which the city clerk hadjust added several books and rolls. His address, frequently interruptedby references to the documents before him, sounded clear and positive. The amount of the sums owed by the Eysvogel firm, as well as the namesof its creditors in Nuremberg, Augsburg, Ulm, and Regensburg, Venice, Milan, Bruges, and other German and foreign cities, formed the mostimportant portion of his speech. During its progress he frequentlyseized a bit of chalk and blackboard, writing rapidly on the green tablewhole rows of figures, and the young burgomasters especially exchangedadmiring smiles as the experienced old merchant added and subtractedin an instant sums for which they themselves would have needed twice asmuch time. 

The figures and names buzzed in the ears of the listener at the windowlike the humming of a swarm of gnats. To understand and remember themwas impossible, and she gazed in astonishment at the old man who soclearly comprehended the confused tangle and drew from it so readilyjust what he needed for his purpose. 

When he closed, and with a loud "Therefore" began to communicate theresult, she summoned all the mental power she possessed in order tounderstand it. She succeeded, but her knees fairly trembled when sheheard the sum which the house was obliged to repay to others. 

Yet, when Herr Berthold lastly gave the estimate of the Eysvogelproperty in merchandise, buildings, and estates, she was againsurprised. She had not supposed that Wolff's proud family was sowealthy; but the close of this report brought fresh disappointment, for including the sum which Herr Casper had borrowed from the JewPfefferkorn, the debts of the firm exceeded its possessions far morethan Els had expected from the amount of its riches. 

She was wholly ignorant of the condition of her own father's property;but she thought she knew that it was far from being enough to sufficehere. And this appeared to be the case, for when Berthold Vorchtelresumed his speech he alluded to Ernst Ortlieb. In words full ofsympathy he lamented the unprecedented insult which had led himto commit the deed of violence that prevented his sharing in thisconsultation. But before his removal he had given him an importantcommission. Upon certain conditions--but only upon them--he would placea considerable portion of his fortune at his disposal for the settlementof this affair. Still, large as was the promised sum, it would by nomeans be sufficient to save the Eysvogel business from ruin. Yet he, Berthold Vorchtel, was of the opinion that its fall must be prevented atany cost. The sincerity of this conviction he intended to prove by thebest means at a merchant's command-the pledge of his own large capital. 

These words deeply moved the whole assembly, and Els saw her uncleglance at the old gentleman with a look which expressed the warmappreciation of a man of the same mind. 

Casper Eysvogel, who, lost in thought, had permitted the statements ofthe Losunger, which were mingled with many a bitter censure of his ownconduct, to pass without contradiction--nay, apparently in a stateof apathy in which he was no longer capable of followingdetails--straightened his bowed figure and gazed enquiringly into HerrBerthold's face as if he did not venture to trust his own ears; butthe other looked past him, as he added that what he was doing forthe Eysvogel business was due to no consideration for the man who hadhitherto directed it, or his family, but solely on account of the goodcity whose business affairs the confidence of the Council had summonedhim to direct, and her commerce, whose prosperity was equally dear tomost of the Honourables around him. 

Cries and gestures of assent accompanied the last sentence; but BertholdVorchtel recognised the demonstration by remarking that it showed himthat the Council, in the name of the city, would be disposed to do itsshare in raising the amount still lacking. 

This statement elicited opposition, expressed in several quarters in lowtones, and from one seat loudly, and Herr Berthold heard it. Turning toPeter Ammon, one of the Eysvogels' principal creditors, who was makingthe most animated resistance, he remarked that no one could be moreunwilling than himself to use the means of the community to protect fromthe consequences of his conduct a citizen whose own errors had placedhim in a perilous position, but, on the other hand, he would always--andin this case with special zeal--be ready to aid such a person in spiteof the faults committed, if he believed that he could thus protect thecommunity from serious injury. 

Then he asked permission to make a digression, and being greeted withcries of "Go on!" from all sides, began in brief, clear sentences toshow how the commerce of Nuremberg from small beginnings had reached itspresent prosperity. Instead of the timid, irregular exchange of goodsas far as the Rhine, the Main, and the Danube, regular intercourse withVenice, Milan, Genoa, Bohemia, and Hungary, Flanders, Brabant, and thecoast of the Baltic had commenced. Trade with the Italian cities, and through them, even with the Levant, had made its first successfulopening under the Hohenstaufen rule; but during the evil days when theforeign monarchs had neglected Germany and her welfare, it sustained themost serious losses. By the election of Rudolph of Hapsburg who, withvigour, good-will, and intelligence, had devoted his attention to thesecurity of commerce in the countries over which he reigned, better daysfor the merchant had returned, and it was very evident what hiswork required, what injured and robbed it of its well-earned reward. Confidence at home and abroad was the foundation of prosperity, notalone of the Nuremberg merchant but of trade in general. Under theHohenstaufen rule their upright ancestors had so strengthened thisconfidence that wherever he went the Nuremberg merchant received respectand confidence above many--perhaps all others. The insecurity of theroads and of justice in the lawless times before the election of theHapsburgs might have impaired this great blessing; but since Rudolphhad wielded the sceptre with virile energy, made commerce secure, andadministered justice, confidence had also returned, and to maintainit no sacrifice should be too great. As for him, Berthold Vorchtel, hewould not spare himself, and if he expected the city to imitate him hewould know how to answer for it. 

Here he was interrupted by loud shouts of applause; but, without heedingthem, he quietly went on: "And it is necessary to secure confidence inthe Nuremberg merchant in two directions: his honesty and the capitalat his command. Our business friends, far and near, must be permittedto continue to rely upon our trustworthiness as firmly as upon rock andiron. If we brought the arrogant Italian to say of us that, amongst theGerman cities who were blind, Nuremberg was the one-eyed, we ought nowto force them to number us amongst those who see with both eyes, thehonest, trust-inspiring blue eyes of the German. But to attain thisgoal we need the imperial protection, the watchful power of a great andfriendly ruler. The progress which our trade owed to the Hohenstaufenproves this; the years without an Emperor, on the contrary, showedwhat threatens our commerce as soon as we lack this aid. Rights andprivileges from sovereigns smoothed the paths in which we have surpassedothers. To obtain new and more important ones must be our object. Fromthe first Reichstag which the Emperor Rudolph held here, he has shownthat he esteems us and believes us worthy of his confidence. Manyvaluable privileges have revealed this. To maintain this confidence, which is and will remain the source of the most important favours toNuremberg, is enjoined upon us merchants by prudence, upon us directorsof the city by regard for its prosperity. But, my honourable friends, reluctantly as I do so, I must nevertheless remind you that thisconfidence, here and there, has already received a shock throughthe errors of individuals. Who could have forgotten the tale of thebeautiful cap of the unhappy Meister Mertein, who has preceded us intothe other world? Doubtless it concerned but one scabby sheep, yet itserved to bring the whole flock into disrepute. Perhaps the fact that itoccurred so soon after Rudolph's election to the sovereignty, during theearly days of his residence in our goodly city, imprinted it so deeplyupon our imperial master's memory. A few hours ago he asked for someinformation concerning the sad affair which now occupies our attention, and when I represented that the public spirit and honesty of mycountrymen, fellow-citizens, and associate members of the Council wouldprevent it from injuring our trade at home or abroad, he alluded to thatstory, by no means in the jesting way with which he formerly mentionedthe vexatious incident that redounded to the honour of no one more thanthat of his own shrewdness, which at that time--seven years ago--was sooften blended with mirth. "

When the speaker began to allude to this much-discussed incident a smilehad flitted over the features of his listeners, for they rememberedit perfectly, and the story of Emperor Rudolph and the cap was stillrelated to the honour of the presence of mind of the wise Hapsburgjudge. 

During the period of the assembly of the princes a Nuremberg citizenhad taken charge of a bag containing two hundred florins for a foreignmerchant who had lodged with him, but when he was asked for the propertyentrusted to him denied that he had received it. 

This disgraceful occurrence was reported to the Emperor, but heapparently paid no heed to it, and received Master Mertein, amongstother citizens who wished to be presented to him. The dishonest manappeared in a rich gala dress and as, embarrassed by the Emperor'spiercing gaze, he awkwardly twirled his cap--a magnificent articlebordered with costly fur; the sovereign took it from his hand, examinedit admiringly and, with the remark that it would suit even a king, placed it on his own royal head. Then he approached one after another toexchange a few words and, as if forgetting that he wore the head-gear, left the apartment to order a messenger to take the cap at once to itsowner's wife, show it to her as a guarantee of trustworthiness, and askher to bring the bag which the foreign merchant had given him to thecastle. The woman did so and the cheat was unmasked. 

Everyone present, like Els, was familiar with this story, which wronglycast so evil a light upon the uprightness of the citizens of Nuremberg. Who could fail to be painfully affected by the thought that Rudolph, during his present stay amongst them, must witness the injury of othersby a Nuremberg merchant? Who could have now opposed Herr Berthold, whenhe asked, still more earnestly than before, that the community woulddo its share to maintain confidence in the reliability of the Nurembergcitizens, and especially of the Honourable Council and everyone of itsmembers?

But when he mentioned the large sum which he himself, and the otherwhich Ernst Ortlieb intended on certain conditions to devote to thesettlement of this affair, Peter Ammon also withdrew his opposition. The First Losunger's proposal was unanimously accepted, and also thecondition made by his associate, Ernst Ortlieb. Casper Eysvogel, on whomthe resolution bore most heavily, submitted in silence, shrugging hisshoulders. 

How high Els's heart throbbed, how she longed to rush down into theCouncil chamber and clasp the hand of the noble old man at thegreen table, when he said that in consequence of Ernst Ortlieb'scondition--which he also made--the charge of the newly establishedEysvogel business must be transferred from Herr Casper's hands to thoseof his son, Herr Wolff, as soon as the imperial pardon permitted him toleave his hiding-place. He, Berthold Vorchtel, would make no complaintagainst him, for he knew that Wolff had been forced to cross swords withhis Ulrich. He had formed this resolution after a severe struggle withhimself; but as a Christian and a fair-minded man he had renounced thehuman desire for revenge, and as God had wished to give him a token ofhis approval, he had sent to his house a substitute for his dead son. Fresh cries of approval interrupted this communication, whose meaningEls did not understand. 

Not a word of remonstrance was uttered when the imperial magistrate atlast proposed that Casper Eysvogel and the women of his family shouldleave the city and atone for his great offence by ten years in exile. One of his estates, which he advised the city to buy, could be assignedhim as a residence. Herr Casper's daughter, Frau Isabella Siebenburg, had already, with her twin sons, found shelter at the Knight Heideck'scastle. Her husband, who had joined his guilty brothers, would speedilyfall into the hands of justice and reap what he had sowed. For the finalsettlement of this affair he begged the Honourable Council to appointcommissioners, whom he would willingly join. 

Then Herr Vorchtel again rose and requested his honourable friends totreat the new head of the house with entire confidence; for fromthe books of the firm and the statements which he had made in hishiding-place and sent to the Council, both he and the city clerk hadbecome convinced that he was one of the most cautious and uprightyoung merchants in Nuremberg. Their opinion was also shared by the mostprominent business acquaintances of the house. 

This pleased the listener. But whilst the speaker sat down amidst theeager assent of his associates in office, and Herr Casper Eysvogel, leaning on the arm of his cousin, Conrad Teufel, left the hall withtottering steps, utterly crushed, she saw the city clerk Schedel, aftera hasty glance upwards, approach the side door, through which he couldreach the staircase leading to his rooms. 

He evidently intended to tell the result of the discussion. But theold gentleman would need considerable time to reach her, so she againlistened to what was passing below. 

She heard her uncle, the magistrate, speak of her father's unfortunatedeed, and tell the Council how the name of Herr Ernst's daughters, whowere held in such honour, had become innocently, through evil gossip, the talk of the people. Just at that moment the old man's shuffling stepsounded close by the door. 

Els stopped listening to hasten towards the messenger of good tidings, and the old gentleman could scarcely believe his own eyes when he sawthe happiness beaming in the girl's beautiful fresh face, whose anxietyand pallor had just roused his deep sympathy. 

It was scarcely possible that anyone could have anticipated him withthe glad news, and spite of his seventy-two years the city clerk hadretained the keen eyes of youth. When he entered the anteroom with Elsand saw the open window and beside it the white Riese which she hadremoved in order to hear better, he released himself from the arm shehad passed around his shoulders, shook his finger threateningly ather, and cried: "It's fortunate that I find only the Riese, and not thelistener, otherwise I should be compelled to deliver her to the jailer, or even the torturer, for unwarranted intrusion into the secrets of thehonourable Council. I can hardly institute proceedings against a bit oflinen!"

CHAPTER X. 

A few minutes later the sisters left the Town Hall. Their white Rieseswere wound so closely about their faces that their features werecompletely hidden, but the thin material permitted them to see HerrVorchtel, leaning upon the arm of the young burgomaster, Hans Nutzel, leave the Council chamber, where the other Honourables were stilldeliberating. Pointing to the old man, the city clerk told Els witha significant smile that Ursula Vorchtel was engaged to the talented, attractive young merchant now walking with her father, and that he hadpromised Herr Vorchtel to aid him and his younger son in the managementof his extensive business. This was a great pleasure to the noble oldmerchant, and when he, the city clerk, met Ursula that morning, spiteof her deep mourning, she again looked out upon the world like the happyyoung creature she was. Her new joy had greatly increased her beauty, and her lover was the very person to maintain it. Herr Schedel thoughtit would be pleasant news to Els, too. The young girl pressed his handwarmly; for these good tidings put the finishing touch to the gladtidings she had just heard. The reproach which, unjust as it might be, had spoiled many an hour for Wolff and entailed such fatal consequences, was now removed, and to her also "Ursel's" altered manner had oftenseemed like a silent accusation. She felt grateful, as if it were apersonal joy, for the knowledge that the girl who had believed herselfdeserted by Wolff, her own lover, was now a happy betrothed bride. 

Ursula's engagement removed a burden from Eva's soul, too, only she didnot understand how a girl whose heart had once opened to a great lovecould ever belong to anyone else. Els understood her; nay, in Ursula'splace she would have done the same, if it were only to weave a freshflower in her afflicted father's fading garland of joy. 

The city clerk accompanied them to the great entrance door of the TownHall. 

Several jailers and soldiers in the employ of the city were standingthere, and whilst their old friend was promising to do his utmost tosecure Ernst Ortlieb's liberation and recommending the girls to theprotection of one of the watchmen, Eva's cheeks flushed; for a messengerof the Council had just approached the others, and she heard him utterthe name of Sir Heinz Schorlin and his follower Walther Biberli. Elslistened, too, but whilst her sister in embarrassment pressed her handupon her heart, she frankly asked the city clerk what had befallen theknight and his squire, who was betrothed to her maid. She heard that atthe last meeting of the Council an order had been issued for Biberli'sarrest. 

His name must have been brought up during the discussions of theslanders which had so infamously pursued the Ortlieb sisters, but shecould not enquire how or in what connection, for the sun was already lowin the western sky, and if the girls wished to see their father therewas no time to lose. 

Yet, though Katterle had just said that Countess von Montfort waswaiting outside in her great sedan-chair for the young ladies, they werestill detained, for they would not leave the Town Hall without thankingthe city clerk and saying farewell to him. He was still near, but thecaptain of the city soldiers had drawn him aside and was telling himsomething which seemed to permit no delay, and induced the old gentlemanto glance at the sisters repeatedly. 

Eva did not notice it; for Biberli's arrest, which probably had someconnection with Heinz and herself, had awakened a series of anxiousthoughts associated with her lover and his faithful follower. Elstroubled herself only about the events occurring in her immediatevicinity, and felt perfectly sure that the captain's communicationsreferred not only to the four itinerant workmen and the three women whohad just been led across the courtyard to the "Hole, " and to whom thespeaker pointed several times, but especially to her and her sister. 

When the city clerk at last turned to them again, he remarked carelesslythat a disagreeable mob in front of the Ortlieb mansion had beendispersed, and then, with urgent cordiality, invited the two girls tospend the night under the protection of his old housekeeper. When theydeclined, he assured them that measures would be taken to guard themfrom every insult. He had something to tell their uncle, and thecommunication appeared to permit no delay, for with a haste very unusualin the deliberate old gentleman he left the two sisters with a brieffarewell. 

Meanwhile Countess Cordula had become weary of waiting in thesedan-chair. She came striding to meet her new friends, attired in arustling canary-green silk robe whose train swept the ground, but itwas raised so high in front that the brown hunting-boots encasing herwell-formed feet were distinctly visible. She was swinging her heavyriding-whip in her hand, and her favourite dogs, two black dachshundswith yellow spots over their eyes, followed at her heels. 

As it was against the rules to bring dogs into the Town Hall, thedoorkeeper tried to stop her, but without paying the slightest attentionto him, she took Els by the hand, beckoned to Eva, and was turning toleave the path leading to the market-place. 

In doing so her eyes fell upon the courtyard, where, just after the AveMaria, a motley throng had gathered. Here, guarded by jailers, stoodvagabonds and disreputable men and women, sham blind beggars andcripples, swindlers, and other tatterdemalions, who had been caughtin illegal practices or without the beggar's sign. In another spot, dark-robed servants of the Council were discussing official and othermatters. Near the "Hole" a little party of soldiers were resting, passing from hand to hand the jug of wine bestowed by the HonourableCouncil. The "Red Coat"--[Executioner]--was giving orders to his"Life"--[Executioner's assistant ("Lion")]--as they carried across thecourtyard a new instrument of torture intended for the room adjoiningthe Council chamber, where those who refused to make depositions wereforced to it. In a shady corner sat old people, poorly clad women, andpale-faced children, the city poor, who at this hour received food fromthe kitchen of the Town Hall. A few priests and monks were going intothe wing of the building which contained the "Hole, " with its variouscells and the largest chamber of torture, to give the consolations ofreligion to the prisoners and those tortured by the rack who had not yetbeen conveyed to the hospital at Schweinau. 

The countess's keen glance wandered from one to another. When theyreached the group of paupers they rested upon a woman with deadly pale, hollow cheeks, pressing a pitifully emaciated infant to her dry breast, and her eyes swiftly filled with tears. 

"Here, " she whispered to old Martsche, taking several gold coins fromthe pocket that hung at her belt, "give these to the poorest ones. Youare sensible. Divide it so that several will have a share and the moneywill reach the right hands. You can take your time. We need neither younor Katterle. Go back to the house. I will carry your young mistressesto their father and home again. Where I am you need have no fear thatharm will befall them. "

Then she turned again towards the "Hole, " and seeing the people yellingand shouting while awaiting imprisonment, she pointed to them with herwhip, saying, "That's a part of the pack which was set upon you. Youshall hear about it presently. But now come. "

As she spoke she went before the girls and urged them to step quicklyinto the large, handsome sedan-chair, around which an unusual numberof people had assembled, for she wished to avoid any recognition of thesisters by the curious spectators. The gilded box, borne between twopowerful Brabant horses in such a way that it hung between the tail ofthe first and the head of the second, would have had room for a fourthoccupant. 

When it moved forward, swaying from side to side, Cordula pointed to thecurtained windows, and said: "Shameful, isn't it? But it is better so, children. That arch-rascal Siebenburg robbed the people of the littlesense they possessed, and that cat of a candle-dealer, with her mate, the tailor, or rather his followers, poisoned the minds of the rest. How quickly it worked! Goodness, it seems to me, acts more slowly. True, your hot-tempered father spoiled the old rascal's inclination towoo pretty Metz for a while; but his male and female gossips, aunts, cousins, and work-people apparently allowed themselves to be persuadedby his future mother-in-law to the abominable deed, which caused thebrawling rabble you saw in the Town Hall court to content themselveswith a hard couch in the 'Hole' overnight. "

"They have done everything bad concerning us, though I don't knowexactly what, " cried Els indignantly. 

"Wished to do, Miss Wisdom, " replied the countess, patting Els's armsoothingly. "We kept our eyes open, and I helped to put a stop to theirproceedings. The rabble gathered in front of your house, yelling andshrieking, and when I stepped into your bow-window there was as greatan outcry as if they were trying to bring down the walls of Jericho asecond time. Some boys even flung at me everything they could findin the mire of the streets. The most delightful articles! There wasactually a dead rat! I can see its tail flying now! Our village ladsknow how to aim better. Before the worst came, by the advice of theequerry and our wise chaplain, whom I consulted, we had done what wasnecessary, and summoned the guard at the Frauenthor to our assistance. But the soldiers were in no great haste; so when matters were going toofar, I stepped into the breach myself, called down to tell them my name, and also showed my crossbow with an arrow on the string. This had aneffect. Only a few women still continued to load me with horrible abuse. Then the chaplain came to the window and this restored silence; but, inspite of his earnest words, not a soul stirred from the spot until thepatrol arrived, dispersed the rabble, and arrested some of them. "

Els, who sat by Cordula's side, drew her towards her and kissed hergratefully; but Eva's eyes had filled with tears of grief at thebeginning of the countess's report of this new insult, and the hostilityof so many of the townsfolk; yet she succeeded in controlling herself. She would not weep. She had even forced herself to gaze, without thequiver of an eyelash, at the sorrowful and horrible spectacle outsideof the "Hole. " She must cease being a weak child. How true her dyingmother's words had been! To be able to struggle and conquer, she mustnot withdraw from life and its influences, which, if she did not spareherself, promised to transform her into the resolute woman she desiredto become. 

She had listened with labouring breath to the speaker's last words, and when Els embraced Cordula, she raised her little clenched hand, exclaiming with passionate emotion: "Oh, if I had only been at home withyou! You are brave, Countess, but I, too, would not have shrunk fromthem. I would voluntarily have made myself the target for theirmalice, and called to their faces that only miserably deluded people orshameless rascals could throw stones at my Els, who is a thousand timesbetter than any of them!"

"Or at you, you dear, brave child, " added Cordula in an agitated tone. 

From the day following the burning of the convent the countess had givenup her whim of winning Heinz Schorlin. She now knew that all her noblerfeelings spoke more loudly in favour of the quiet man who had borne herout of the flames. Sir Boemund Altrosen's love had proved genuine, and she would reward him for it; but the heart of the pretty creatureopposite to her was also filled with deep, true love, and she woulddo everything in her power for Eva, whom she had loved ever since heraffliction had touched her tender heart. 

Both sisters were now aware of Cordula's kind intentions, and thewarm pleasure she displayed when Els told her what the Council haddetermined, showed plainly enough that the motherless young countess, who had neither brother nor sister, clung to the daughters of her hostlike a third sister. Old Herr Vorchtel's treatment of the man who hadinflicted so deep a sorrow upon him touched her inmost soul. It wasgrand, noble; the Saviour himself would have rejoiced over it. "If itwould only please the good old man, " she exclaimed, "I would ratheroffer him my lips to kiss than the handsomest young knight. "

Though two of Count von Montfort's mounted huntsmen and severalconstables accompanied the unusually large and handsome sedan-chair, acurious crowd had followed it; but the opinion probably prevailed thatthe countess's companions were some of her waiting-women. When theyalighted in front of the watch-tower, however, an elderly laundry-maidwho had worked for the Ortliebs recognised the sisters and pointed themout to the others, protesting that it was hard for a woman of her chastespirit to have served in a house where such things could have happened. Then a tailor's apprentice, who considered the whole of the guildinsulted in the wounded Meister Seubolt, put his fingers to his widemouth and emitted a long, shrill whistle; but the next instant a blowfrom a powerful fist silenced him. It was young Ortel, who had come tothe watch-tower to seek Herr Ernst and tell him that he and his sisterMetz, spite of their mother and guardian, meant to stay in his service. His heart's blood would not have been too dear to guard Eva, whom heinstantly recognised, from every insult; but he had no occasion to usehis youthful strength a second time, for the soldiers who guarded thetower and the city mercenaries drove back the crowd and kept the squarein front of the tower open. 

The countess would not be detained long, for the sun had already sunkbehind the towers and western wall of the fortress, and the reflectionof the sunset was tinging the eastern sky with a roseate hue. The wardenreally ought to have refused them admittance, for the time during whichhe was permitted to take visitors to the imprisoned "Honourable" hadalready passed. But for the daughters of Herr Ernst Ortlieb, to whomhe was greatly indebted, he closed his eyes to this fact, and onlyentreated them to make their stay brief, for the drawbridge leading tothe tower must be raised when darkness gathered. 

The young girls found their father, absorbed in grief as if utterlycrushed, seated at a table on which stood a leaden inkstand with severalsheets of paper. He still held the pen in his hand. 

He received his daughters with the exclamation, "You poor, poorchildren!" But when Els tried to tell him what had given her so muchpleasure, he interrupted her to accuse himself, with deep sorrow, ofhaving again permitted sudden passion to master him. Probably this wasthe last time; such experiences would cool even the hottest blood. Thenhe began to relate what had induced him to raise his hand againstthe tailor, and as, in doing so, he recalled the insolent hypocrite'sspiteful manner, he again flew into so violent a rage that the blowwhich he dealt the table made the ink splash up and soil both thepaper lying beside it and his own dress, still faultlessly neat even inprison. This caused fresh wrath, and he furiously crushed the topmostsheet, already half covered with writing, and hurled it on the floor. 

Not until Els stooped to pick it up did he calm himself, saying, witha shrug of the shoulders, "Who can remain unmoved when the whirlwindof despair seizes him? When a swarm of hornets attacks a horse, and itrears, who wonders? And I--What stings and blows has Fate spared me?"Els ventured to speak soothingly to him, and remind him of God, andthe saints to whom he had made such generous offerings in building theconvent; but this awakened an association, and he asked if it were truethat Eva had refused to take the veil. 

She made a silent gesture of assent, expecting another outburst ofanger; but her father only shook his head sorrowfully, clasped her righthand in both his, and said sadly: "Poor, poor child! But she, she--yourmother--would probably----The last words her dear lips bestowed upon usconcerned you, child, and I believe their meaning----"

Here the warden interrupted him to remind the girls that it was time todepart; but whilst Els was begging the man for a brief delay, Herr Ernstlooked first at the paper and writing materials, then at his daughters, and added with quiet decision: "Before you go, you must hear that, inspite of everything, I did not wholly lose courage, but began to act. "

"That is right, dear father, " exclaimed Els, and told him briefly andquickly what the Council had decided, how warmly old Berthold Vorchtelhad interceded for Wolff, and that the management of the business was tobe confided solely to him. 

These tidings swiftly and powerfully revived the fading hopes of thesorely stricken man. He drew up his short figure as if the vigour ofyouth had returned, declaring that he now felt sure that this first starin the dark night would soon be followed by others. "It will now be yourWolff's opportunity, " he exclaimed, "to make amends for much that FateBut I was commencing something else. Give me that bit of crumpled paper. I'll look at it again early to-morrow morning; it is a letter to theEmperor I was composing. Your brother ought not to have given uphis young life on the battlefield for the Crown in vain. He owesme compensation for the son, you for the brother. He is certainly afair-minded man, and therefore will not shut his ears to my complaint. Just wait, children! And you, my devout Eva, pray to your saint that thepetition, which concerns you also, may effect what I expect. "

"And what is that?" asked Eva anxiously. "That the wrong done you, you poor, deceived child, shall be made good, " replied Herr Ernst withimperious decision. 

Eva clasped his hand, pleading warmly and tenderly: "By all that youhold dear and sacred, I beseech you, father, not to mention me andSir Heinz Schorlin in your letter. If he withdrew his love from me, noimperial decree--"

The veins on the Councillor's brow again swelled with wrath, and thoughhe did not burst into a passion, he exclaimed in violent excitement:"A nobleman who declares his love to a chaste Nuremberg maiden of noblebirth assumes thereby a duty which, if unfulfilled, imposes a severepunishment upon him. This just punishment, at least, the tempter shallnot escape. The Emperor, who proclaimed peace throughout the land andcleared the highways of the bands of robbers, will consider it his firstduty--"

Here the warden interrupted him by calling from the threshold of theroom that the draw-bridge would be raised and the young ladies mustfollow him without delay. 

Eva again besought her father not to enter an accusation against theknight, and Els warmly supported her sister; but their brief, ardententreaty produced no effect upon the obstinate man except, after hehad pressed a farewell kiss upon the brows of both, to tell them withresolute dignity that the night would bring counsel, and he was quitesure that this time, as usual, he should pursue the right course for thereal good of his dear children. 

Hitherto Herr Ernst had indeed proved himself a faithful and prudenthead of his family, but this time his daughters left him with heavy, anxious hearts. 

Fear of her father's intention tortured Eva like a new misfortune, andEls and the countess also hoped that the petition would go without theaccusation against Heinz. 

Whilst the sedan-chair was bearing the girls home few words wereexchanged. Not until they approached the Frauenthor did they enter intoa more animated conversation, which referred principally to Biberliand the question whether the Honourable Council would call Katterleto account also, and what could be done to save both from severepunishment. Cordula had drawn aside the curtain on the right and wasgazing into the street, apparently from curiosity, but really with greatanxiety. But Herr Pfinzing had done his part, and with the exception ofseveral soldiers in the pay of the city there were few people in sightnear the Ortlieb mansion. 

A horse was being led up and down on the opposite side of the courtyard, and behind the chains stood a sedan-chair with several men, to whom Metzhad just brought from the kitchen a coal of fire to light their torches. The pretty girl looked as bright as if she felt small concern for thesevere wound of the grey-haired tailor who had chosen her for his wife. 

CHAPTER XI. 

As the young girls were getting out of their sedan-chair, theFrauenthor, which was closed at nightfall, opened to admit another whosedestination also seemed to be the Ortlieb mansion. 

Katterle was standing in the lower entry with her apron raised to herface. She had learned that her true and steadfast lover had been carriedto the "Hole, " and was waiting here for her mistresses and also forHerr Pfinzing and his wife, whom old Martsche had conducted to thesittingroom in the second story. Herr Pfinzing, in her opinion, had asmuch power as the Emperor, and his wife was famed all over the cityfor her charitable and active kindness. When the noble couple came downKatterle meant to throw herself on her knees at their feet and beseechthem to have mercy on her betrothed husband. The sisters and Cordulacomforted her with the promise that they would commend Biberli's causeto the magistrate; but as they went upstairs they again expressed to oneanother the fear that Katterle herself would sooner or later follow theman she loved to prison. 

They found Herr Pfinzing and his wife in the sitting-room. 

Katterle was not wrong in expecting kindly help from this lady, for amore benevolent face than hers could scarcely be imagined, and, moreover, Fran Christine certainly did not lack strength to do whatshe deemed right. Though not quite so broad as her short, extremelycorpulent husband, she surpassed him in height by several inches, andtime had transformed the pretty, slender, modest girl into a majesticwoman. The slight arch of the nose, the lofty brow, the light down onthe upper lip, and the deep voice even gave her a somewhat imperiousaspect. Had it not been for the kind, faithful eyes, and an extremelypleasant expression about the mouth, one might have wondered how shecould succeed in inspiring everyone at the first glance with confidencein her helpful kindness of heart. 

Her grey pug had also been brought with her. How could an animal supplythe place of beloved human beings? Yet the pug had become necessaryto her since her son, like so many other young men who belonged topatrician Nuremberg families, had fallen in the battle of Marchfield, and her daughter had accompanied her husband to his home in Augsburg. The onerous duties of her husband's office compelled him to leave heralone a great deal, and even in her extremely active life there werelonely hours when she needed a living creature that was faithfullydevoted to her. 

She was often overburdened with work, for every charitable institutionsought her as a "fosterer. " True, in many cases their request was vain. Whatever she undertook must be faultlessly executed, and the charge ofthe orphan children in the city, the Beguines, and the hospital at hersummer residence occupied her sufficiently. During the winter she livedwith her husband at his official quarters in the castle, but as soon asspring came she longed for her little manor at Schweinau, for shehad taken into the institution erected there for the widows of noblecrusaders, but in which only the last four of these ladies were nowsupported, a number of Beguines. These were godly girls and women whodid not wish to submit to convent rules, or did not possess the favouror the money required for admission. 

Without pledging themselves to celibacy or any of the other restrictionsimposed upon the nuns, they desired only, in association with others ofthe same mind, to lead a life pleasing in the sight of God and devotedto Christian charity. Schweinau afforded abundant opportunity forcharitable women to aid suffering fellow-mortals, since it was here thatthe unfortunates who had been mutilated by the hands of the executionerand his assistants, or wounded on the rack, often nearly unto death, were brought to be bandaged, and as far as possible healed. The Beguinesoccupied themselves in nursing them, but had many a conflict with thespiritual authorities, who preferred the monks and nuns bound by amonastic vow. The order of St. Francis alone regarded them with favour, interceded for them, and watched over them with kindly interest, takingcare that they were kept aloof from everything which would expose themto reproach or blame. 

Frau Christine, the Abbess Kunigunde's sister, aided her in this effort, and the Beguines, to whom the magistrate's wife in no way belonged, but who had given them a home on her own estate, silently rendered herobedience when she wished to see undesirable conditions in their commonlife removed. 

Els, as well as Eva, had long since told Frau Christine, who was equallydear to both, everything that afforded ground for the shameful calumnieswhich had now urged their father to a deed for which he was atoning inprison. 

When, a few hours before, a messenger from her husband informed her ofwhat had occurred, she had instantly come to the city to see that theright thing was done, and take the girls thus bereft of their fatherfrom the desolate Ortlieb mansion to her own house. Herr Pfinzing hadwarmly approved this plan, and accompanied her to the "Es, " as he, too, was fond of calling his nieces. 

When she had been told what motives induced Eva not to confide herselfjust now to the protection of the convent, Frau Christine struck herbroad hips, exclaiming, "There's something in blood! The young creatureacts as if her old aunt had thought for her. "

Her invitation sounded so loving and cordial, her husband pressed itwith such winning, jovial urgency, and the pug Amicus, whose attachmentto Eva was especially noticeable, supported his mistress's wishwith such ardent zeal, that she called the sisters' attention to hisintercession. 

Meanwhile the girls had already expressed to each other, with the mutelanguage of the eyes, their inclination to accept the invitation soaffectionately extended. Els only made the condition that they were notto go to Schweinau until early the following morning, after theirvisit to their father; Eva, on the other hand, desired to go as soonas possible, gladly and gratefully confessing to her aunt how much morecalmly she would face the future now that she was permitted to be underher protection. 

"Just creep under the old hen's wings, my little chicken; she will keepyou warm, " said the kind-hearted woman, kissing Eva. But, as shebegan to plan for the removal of the sisters, more visitors wereannounced--indeed, several at once; first, Albert Ebner, of the Council, and his wife, then Frau Clara Loffelholz, who came without her husband, and the two daughters of the imperial ranger Waldstromer, Els's mostintimate friends. They had come in from the forest-house the daybefore to attend Frau Maria Ortlieb's burial. Now, with their mother'spermission, they came to invite the deserted girls to the forest. Theothers also begged the sisters to come to them, and so did CouncillorsSchurstab, Behaim, Gross, Holzschuher, and Pirckheimer, who came, somewith their wives and some singly, to look after the daughters of theirimprisoned colleague. 

The great sitting-room was filled with guests, and the stalwart figuresand shrewd, resolute faces of the men, the kind, good, and usuallypleasing countenances of the women, whose blue eyes beamed withphilanthropic benevolence, though they carried their heads high enough, afforded a delightful spectacle, and one well calculated to inspirerespect. There could be no doubt that those whose locks were alreadygrey represented distinguished business houses and were accustomed tomanage great enterprises. There was not a single one whom the title"Honour of the Family" could not have well befitted; and what cheerfulself-possession echoed in the deep voices of the men, what maternalkindness in those of the elder women, most of whom also spoke insonorous tones!

Els and Eva often cast stolen glances at each other as they greeted thevisitors, thanked them, answered questions, gave explanations, acceptedapologies, received and courteously declined invitations. They did notcomprehend what had produced this sudden change of feeling in so many oftheir equals in rank, what had brought them in such numbers at so latean hour, as if the slightest delay was an offence, to their quiet house, which that very day had seemed to Frau Vorkler too evil to permit herchildren to remain in its service. 

The old magistrate and his wife, on the contrary, thought that theyknew. They had helped the sisters to receive the first callers; but whenFrau Barbara Behaim, a cousin of the late Frau Maria, had appeared, theygave up their post to her, and slipped quietly into the next room toescape the throng. 

There they retired to the niche formed by the deep walls of the broadcentral window of the house, and Herr Berthold Pfinzing whispered to hiswife: "There was too much philanthropy and kindness for me in there. Agreat deal of honey at once cloys me. But you, prophetess, foresaw whatis now occurring, and I, too, scarcely expected anything different. Solong as one still has a doublet left compassion is in no haste, butwhen the last shirt is stripped from the body charity--thank thesaints!--moves faster. We are most ready to help those who, we feel verysure, are suffering more than they deserve. There are many motherlesschildren; but young girls who have lost both parents, exposed to everyinjustice----"

"Are certainly rare birds, " his wife interrupted, "and this willundoubtedly be of service to the children. But if they are now invitedto the houses of the same worthy folk who, a few hours ago, thoughtthemselves too good to attend the funeral of their admirable mother, andanxiously kept their own little daughters away from them, they probablyowe it especially to the right mediators, noble old Vorchtel andanother. "

"To-day, if ever, certainly furnished evidence how heavily the testimonyand example of a really estimable man weighs on the scale. The FirstLosunger interceded for the children as if they were his own daughters, attacked the slanderers, and of course I didn't leave him in the lurch. "

"Peter Holzschuher declared that you defended them like the RomanCicero, " cried Frau Christine merrily. "But don't be vexed, dear husband; no matter how heavily the influence of the twoBertholds--Vorchtel's and yours--weighed in the balance, nay, had thatof a third and a fourth of the best Councillors been added, what is nowtaking place before our eyes and ears would not have happened, if---"

"Well?" asked the magistrate eagerly. 

"If, " replied the matron in a tone of the firmest conviction, "theyhad not all been far from believing, even for a moment, in their inmostsouls the shameful calumny which baseness dared to cast upon thosetwo--just look more closely. "

"Yet if that was really the case--" her husband began to object, but sheeagerly continued: "Many did not utter their better knowledge or faithbecause the evil heart believes in wickedness rather than virtue, especially if their own house contains something--we will say a youngdaughter--whose shining purity is thereby brought into a clearer light. Besides, we ourselves have often been vexed by--let us do honour tothe truth!--by the defiant manner in which your devout godchild--yonder'little saint'--held aloof in her spiritual arrogance from thecompanions of her own age----"

"And then, " the corpulent husband added, "two young girls cannot becalled 'the beautiful Es' unpunished in houses which contain a lesscomely T, S, and H. Just think of the Katerpecks. There--thank thesaints!--they are taking leave already. "

"Don't say anything about them!" said Frau Christine, shaking her fingerthreateningly. "They are good, well-behaved children. It was prettyErmengarde Muffel yonder by the fireplace who, after the dance at theTown Hall, assailed your godchild most spitefully with her sharp tongue. My friend Frau Nutzel heard her. "

"Ah, that dance!" said the magistrate, sighing faintly. "But the childwas certainly distinguished in no common way. The Emperor Rudolphhimself looked after her as if an angel had appeared to him. Youyourself heard his sister's opinion of her. Her husband, the oldBurgrave, and his son, handsome Eitelfritz--But you know all that. Halfwould have been enough to stir ill-will in many a heart. "

"And to turn her pretty little head completely, " added his wife. 

"That, by our Lady, Christine, " protested the magistrate, "that, atleast, did not happen. It ran off from her like water from an oil jar. Inoticed it myself, and the abbess--"

"Your sister, " interrupted the matron thoughtfully, "she was the veryone who led her into the path that is not suited for her. "

"No, no, " the magistrate eagerly asserted. "God did not create a girl, the mere sight of whom charms so many, to withdraw her from the gaze ofthe world. "

"Husband! husband!" exclaimed Frau Christine, tapping his arm gaily. "But there go the Schurstabs and Ebners. What a noise there is in thestreet below!"

Her husband looked out of the bow window, pointed down, and asked her tocome and stand beside him. When she had risen he passed his arm aroundthe slenderest part of her waist, which, however, he could not quiteclasp, and eagerly continued: "Just look! One would think it was abanquet or a dance. The whole street is filled with sedan-chairs, servants, and torch-bearers. A few hours ago the constables had hardwork to prevent the deluded people from destroying the house ofthe profligate Es, and now one half of the distinguished honourableCouncillors come to pay their homage. Do you know, dear, what pleasesthe most in all this?"

"Well?" asked Frau Christine, turning her face towards him with a lookof eager enquiry, which showed that she expected to hear something good. But he nodded slightly, and answered:

"We members of patrician families cling to old customs; each wants tokeep his individuality, as he would share or exchange his escutcheonwith no one. Then, when one surpasses the rest in external things, whatever name they may bear, no one hastens to imitate him. We men areindependent, rugged fellows. But if the heart and mind of any one of usare bent upon something really good and which may be said to be pleasingin the sight of God, and he successfully executes it, then, Christine, then--I have noticed it in a hundred instances--then the rest rush afterhim like sheep after the bellwether. "

"And this time you, and the other Berthold, were the leaders, " criedFran Christine, hastily pressing a kiss upon her old husband's cheekbehind the curtain. 

Then she turned back into the dusky chamber, pointed to the open doorof the sitting-room, and said, "just look! If that isn't----There comesUrsula Vorchtel with her betrothed husband, young Hans Nutzel! Whata fine-looking man the slender youth has become! Ursel--her visit isprobably the greatest pleasure which Els has had during this blessedhour. "

The wise woman was right; for when Ursel held out her hands to herformer friend, whom she had studiously avoided so long, the eyes of bothgirls were moist, and Els's cheeks alternately flushed and paled, likethe play of light and shadow on the ground upon a sunny morning in aleafy wood when the wind sways the tree tops. 

What did they not have to say to each other! As soon as they wereunnoticed a moment Ursel kissed her newly regained friend, andwhispered, pointing to her lover, with whom Fran Barbara Behaim wastalking: "He first taught me to know what true love is, and since then Ihave realised that it was wrong and foolish for me to be angry with you, my dear Els, and that Wolff did right to keep his troth, hard as hisfamily made it for him to do so. Had my Hans met me a little sooner, weshould not now have to mourn our poor Ulrich. I know--for I have triedoften enough to soothe his resentment--how greatly he incensed yourlover. Oh, how sad it all is! But your aunt, the abbess, was right whenshe told us before our confirmation, 'When the cross that is imposedupon us weighs too heavily, an angel often comes, lifts it, and twinesit with lovely roses!' That has been my experience, dear Els; and whatgreat injustice I did you when I kept out of your way so meanly! Ialways felt drawn to you. But when that evil gossip began I turnedagainst them all and bade them be silent in my presence, for it was allfalse, base lies. I upheld your Eva, too, as well as you, though she hadbeen very ungracious whenever we met. "

How joyously Els opened her heart to these confessions! How warmly sheinterceded for her sister! The girls had passed their arms around eachother, as if they had returned to the days of their childhood, andwhen Ursel's lover glanced at his betrothed bride, who, spite of herwell-formed figure and pleasant face, could not be classed amongst themost beautiful of women, he thought she might compare in attractivenesswith the loveliest maidens, but no one could equal her in kindness ofheart. She saw this in the warm, loving look with which he sought herpleasant grey eyes, as he approached to remind her that it was time togo; but beckoning to him, she begged him to wait just a moment longer, which she employed in whispering to Els: "You should find shelter withus, and no one else, if my father----Don't think he refused to let meinvite you on account of poor Ulrich, or because he was angry with you. It's only because----After the session to-day they all praised his nobleheart, and I don't know what else, so loudly and with such exaggerationthat it was too much to believe. If he interceded for the Eysvogel firmand you poor children, it was only because, as a just man, he could notdo otherwise. "

"Oh, Ursel!" Els here interrupted, wishing to join in her father'spraise; but the latter would not listen and eagerly continued:

"No, no, he really felt so. His modesty made him unwilling to awaken thebelief that he asked the betrothed bride of the man--you understandand her sister into his house, to set an example of Christianreconciliation. False praise, he says, weighs more heavily thandisgrace. He has already heard more of it than he likes, and therefore, for no other reason, he does not open his house to you, but upon hiscounsel and his aid, he bids me tell you, you can confidently rely. "

Then the friends took leave of each other, and Ursula also embraced Eva, who approached her with expressions of warm gratitude, kissed her, andsaid, as she went away, "When next we meet, Miss Ungracious, I hope weshall no longer turn our backs on each other. "

When Ursel had gone with her lover, and most of the others had followed, Els felt so elated by thankfulness that she did not understand how herheart, burdened with such great and heavy anxieties, could be capable ofrising to such rapturous delight. 

How gladly she would have hastened to Wolff to give him his share ofthis feeling! But, even had not new claims constantly pressed upon her, she could on no account have sought his hiding-place at this hour. 

When the last guest and the abbess also had retired, Aunt Christineasked Els to pack whatever she and her sister needed for the removal toSchweinau, for Eva was to go there with her at once. 

Countess Cordula, who, much as she regretted the necessity of beingseparated from her companions, saw that they were right to abandon thehouse from which their father had been torn, wanted to help Els, but just as the two girls were leaving the room a new visitorarrived--Casper Teufel, of the Council, a cousin of Casper Eysvogel, who had leaned on his arm for support when he left the session thatafternoon. 

Els would not have waited for any other guest, but this one, as hisfirst words revealed, came from the family to which she felt that shebelonged, and the troubled face of the greyhaired, childless widower, who was usually one of the most jovial of men, as well as the unusuallylate hour of his call, indicated so serious a reason for his coming thatshe stopped, and with anxious urgency asked what news he had brought. 

It was not unexpected, yet his brief report fell heavily on the heart ofEls, which had just ventured to beat gaily and lightly. 

Her uncle and aunt, Eva and the countess, also listened to the story. 

He had accompanied Casper Eysvogel to his home and remained with himwhilst, overflowing with resentment and vehement, unbridled complaintsof the injustice and despotism to which--owing specially to thehostility and self-conceit of old Berthold Vorchtel--he had fallen avictim, he informed Fran Rosalinde and her mother what the Council haddetermined concerning his own future and that of his family. 

When he finally reported that he himself and the ladies must leave thehouse and the city, Countess Rotterbach, with a scornful glance at herdeeply humiliated son-in-law, exclaimed, "This is what comes of throwingone's self away!" The unfortunate man, already shaken to the inmostdepths of his being, sank on his knees. 

Conrad Teufel had instantly placed him in bed and sent for the leech;but even after they had bathed his head with cold water and bled him hedid not regain consciousness. His left side seemed completely paralysed, and his tongue could barely lisp a few unintelligible words. 

At the leech's desire a Sister of Charity had been sent for. IsabellaSiebenburg, the sufferer's daughter, had already gone with her twinsons, in obedience to her husband's wish, to Heideck Castle. 

She had departed in anger, because she had vainly endeavoured to induceher mother and grandmother, who opposed her, to speak more kindly of herhusband. When they disparaged the absent man with cruel harshness, shefelt--she had told her cousin so--as if the infants could understand theinsult offered to their father, and, to protect the children even morethan herself, from her husband's feminine foes, she left the fallinghouse, in spite of the entreaties and burning tears with which, in thehour of parting, her mother strove to detain her. 

Ere her departure she gave her jewels and the silver which hergrandfather had bequeathed to her to Conrad Teufel, to satisfy the mosturgent demands of her husband's creditors. Her father and she had partedkindly, and he made no attempt to oppose her. 

No one except the Sister of Charity was now in attendance upon the oldgentleman; for his wife wept and wailed without finding strength to doanything, and even reproached her own mother, whom she accused of havingplunged them all into misfortune, and caused the stroke of paralysisfrom which her husband was suffering. 

The grey-haired countess, the cousin went on, had passed from one attackof convulsions into another, and when he approached her had shriekedthe words "ingratitude" and "base reward" so shrilly at him, in varioustones, that they were still ringing in his ears. 

Everything in the luckless household was out of gear, and its nobleguest, the Duke von Gulich, would feel the consequences, for theservants had lost their wits too. Spite of the countless men and maids, he had been obliged to go himself to the pump to get a glass of waterfor the sick man, and the fragments of the vase which the grandmotherhad flung at him with her own noble hand were still lying on the floor. His name was Teufel--[devil]--but even in his home in Hades things couldscarcely be worse. 

When Herr Teufel at last paused, the magistrate and his wife exchanged asignificant glance, while Eva gazed with deep suspense, and Cordula withearnest pity, at Els, who had listened to the story fairly panting forbreath. 

When she raised her tearful eyes to Herr Pfinzing and Frau Christine, saying mournfully, "I must beg you to excuse me, my dear aunt and uncle;you have heard how much my Wolff's father needs me, " all saw theirexpectations fulfilled. 

"Hard, hard!" said the magistrate, patting her on the shoulder. "Yet thelead with which we burden ourselves from kindly intentions becomes wood, or at last even feathers. "

But Frau Christine was not content with uttering cheering words; sheoffered to accompany Els and secure the place to which she was entitled. Frau Rosalinde had formerly often visited the matron to seek counsel, and had shown her, with embarrassing plainness, how willingly sheadmitted her superior ability. She disliked the old countess--but withwhom would not the self-reliant woman, conscious of her good intentions, have dared to cope? Since the daughter of the house had left herrelatives, the place beside his father's sick-bed belonged to the son'sfuture wife. Frau Rosalinde was weak, but not the worst of women. "Justwait, child, " Aunt Christine concluded, "she will see soon enough whata blessing enters the house and the sick-room with you. We will try toerect a wall against the old woman's spite. "

Conrad Teufel confessed that he had come with the hope of inducing Els, who had nursed her own mother so skilfully and patiently, to make sopraiseworthy a resolution. In taking leave he promised to keep a sharplookout for her rights, and, if necessary, to show the old she-devil hisown cloven foot. 

After he, too, had gone, the preparations for the sisters' departurewere commenced. Whilst Cordula was helping Eva to select the articlesshe wished to take to Schweinau, and her older sister, with Katterle'sassistance, was packing the few pieces of clothing she needed as a nursein the Eysvogel family, the countess offered to visit Herr Ernst in thewatch-tower early the following morning and tell him what detainedhis daughters. Towards evening Eva could come into the city under theprotection of her aunt, who had many claims upon her the next day, andsee the prisoner. 

This time, to the surprise of her sister, who had always relieved her ofsuch cares, Eva herself did the packing. When she had finished she ledthe weeping Katterle to her uncle, that she might beg for mercy upon herlover. 

The magistrate was thoroughly aware of the course of affairs, and talkedto the maid with the gentle manner, pervaded with genuine kindness ofheart, which was one of his characteristics. Biberli had already beensubjected to an examination by torture; but even on the rack he hadnot said one word about his betrothed bride, and had resolutely deniedeverything which could criminate his master. A second trial awaited himon the morrow, but the magistrate promised to do all in his power toobtain the mildest possible sentence for him. At any rate, like allwhose blood was shed by a legal sentence, he would be sent to Schweinauto be cured, and as Katterle would accompany Eva there, she could findan opportunity of nursing her betrothed husband herself. 

With these words he dismissed the girl, but when again alone withhis wife he admitted to her that the poor fellow might easily farebadly--nay, might even lose his tongue--if on the rack, which was oneof the instruments of torture to which he must again be subjected, heconfessed having forced his way into the house of an "Honourable" atnight. True, the fact that in doing so he had only followed his master, would mitigate the offence. He must bind the judges to secrecy, shouldit prove impossible to avoid the necessity of informing them of Eva'ssomnambulism. If the sentence were very severe, he might perhaps beable to delay its execution. Sir Heinz Schorlin, who stood high in theEmperor's favour, would then be asked to apply to the sovereign to annulit, or at any rate to impose a lighter punishment. 

Here he was interrupted by his nieces and Cordula, and soon afterFrau Christine went out with Els to go to the Eysvogels. Herr Pfinzingremained with the others. 

A personage of no less distinction than the Duchess Agnes had complainedto him of the reckless countess. Only yesterday she had ridden into theforest with her father, and when the young Bohemian princess met her, Cordula's dogs had assailed her skittish Arabian so furiously that itwould have been difficult for a less practised rider to keep her seatin the saddle. This time the docile animals had refused to obey theirmistress, and the duchess expressed the suspicion that she had notintended to call them off; for, though she had carelessly apologised, she asked, as if the words were a gibe, if there was anything moredelightful than to curb a refractory steed. She had an answer ready forCordula, however, and retorted that the disobedience of her dogs provedthat, if she understood how to obtain from horses what she called thegreatest delight, she certainly failed in the case of other livingcreatures. She therefore offered her royal condolence on the subject. 

Then she remarked to the magistrate that the incident had occurred inthe imperial forest where, as she understood, the unrestricted wanderingof strange hunting dogs was prohibited. Therefore, in future, Countessvon Montfort might be required to leave hers at home when she rode tothe woods. 

The magistrate now brought the complaint to the person against whom itwas made, adopting a merry jesting tone, in which Cordula gaily joined. 

When the old gentleman asked whether she had previously angered theirritable princess, she answered laughing, "The saints have hithertodenied to the wife of the Emperor's son, as well as to other girls ofthirteen or fourteen, the blessing of children, so she likes to playwith dolls. She chanced to prefer the same one for which she saw mestretch out my hands. "

The old magistrate vainly sought to understand this jest; but Eva knewwhom the countess meant by the doll, and it grieved her to see two womenhostile to each other, seeking to amuse themselves with one who boreso little resemblance to a toy, and to whom she looked up with all theearnestness of a soul kindled by the deepest passion. 

While the magistrate and the countess were gaily arguing and jestingtogether she sat silent, and the others did not disturb her. 

After a long time Frau Christine returned. Traces of tears were plainlyvisible, though she had tried, whilst in the sedan-chair, to effacethem. The scenes which Els had experienced at the Eysvogels' hadcertainly been far worse than she had feared--nay, the old countess'sattack upon her was so insulting, Frau Rosalinde's helpless grief andHerr Casper's condition were so pitiable, that she had thought seriouslyof bringing the poor girl back with her, and removing her from thesepeople who, she was sure, would make Els's life a torment as soon as sheherself had gone. 

The grandmother's enquiry whether Jungfrau Ortlieb expected to find herSwiss gallant there, and similar insolent remarks, seemed fairly steepedwith rancour. 

What a repulsive spectacle the old woman, utterly bereft of dignity, presented as with solemn mockery she courtesied to Els again and again, as if announcing herself her most humble servant; but the poor childkept silence until Frau Christine herself spoke, and assigned her nieceto the place beside Herr Casper's sick-bed, which no one else could fillso well. 

Stillness reigned in this chamber, and Els scarcely had occasion todread much disturbance, for the countess had been strictly forbidden toenter the sufferer's room. Frau Rosalinde seemed to fear the sightof the helpless man, and the Sister of Charity was a strong, resolutewoman, who welcomed Els with sincere cordiality, and promised FrauChristine to let no evil befall her. 

The sedan-chairs were already waiting outside, and the lady would havegladly deferred her account of these sorrowful events until later, butCordula so affectionately desired to learn how her friend had fared inher lover's home, that she hurriedly and swiftly gratified her wish. Speaking of the matter relieved her heart, and in a somewhat calmer moodshe was carried to Schweinau. 

CHAPTER XII. 

The little Pfinzing castle in Schweinau was neither spacious norsplendid, but it was Fran Christine's favourite place of abode. 

The heat of summer found no entrance through the walls--three feet inthickness--of the ancient building. Early in the morning and at eveningit was pleasant to stay in the arbour, a room open in the front, extending the whole length of the edifice, where one could breathe thefresh air even during rainy weather. It overlooked the herb garden, which was specially dear to its mistress, for it contained roses, lilies, pinks, and other flowers; and part of the beds, after being dugby the gardener, who had charge of the kitchen garden in the rear, wereplanted and tended by her own hand. 

The hour between sunrise and mass was devoted to this work, in which Evawas to help her, and it would afford her much information; for her auntraised many plants which possessed healing power. Some of the seedsor bulbs had been brought from foreign lands, but she was perfectlyfamiliar with the virtues of all. Schweinau afforded abundantopportunity to use them, and the nurses in the city hospital, and theleech Otto, and other physicians, as well as many noble dames in theneighbourhood who took the place of a physician among their peasants anddependents, applied to Fran Christine when they needed certain roots, leaves, berries, and seeds for their sick. Nor did the monks and nuns, far and near, ever come to her for such things in vain. 

True, the life at Castle Schweinau was by no means so quiet as the onewhich Eva had hitherto loved. 

When she accepted the invitation she knew that, if she shared all heraunt's occupations, she would not have even a single half hour of herown; but this was not her first visit here, and she had learned thatFrau Christine allowed her entire liberty, and required nothing whichshe did not offer of her own free will. 

When she saw the matron, after the mass and the early repast which herhusband shared with her before going to the city, visit the aged widowsof the crusaders in the little institution behind the kitchen garden andinspect and regulate the work of the Beguines, she often wondered wherethis woman, whose age was nearer seventy than sixty, found strength forall this, as well as the duties which followed. First there were ordersto give in the kitchen that the principal meal, after the vesper bellshad rung, should always win from the master of the house the "Couldn'tbe better, " which his wife heard with the same pleasure as ever. Then, after visiting the wash-house, the bleachcry, the linen presses, thecellar, the garret, and even the beehives to see that everything wasin order, and emerging from the hands of the maid as a well-dressednoblewoman, she received visit after visit. Members of the patricianfamilies of Nuremberg arrived; monks and nuns on various errands fortheir cloisters and their poor; gentlemen and ladies from ecclesiasticaland secular circles, in both city and country, among them frequentlythe most aristocratic attendants of the Reichstag; for she numbered theBurgrave and his wife among her friends, and when questioned about theNuremberg women, the Burgrave Frederick mentioned her as second to nonein ability, shrewdness, and kindness of heart. 

Both he and his worthy wife sometimes sought her in the sphere ofoccupation which consumed the lion's share of her time and strength--thesuperintendence of the Schweinau hospital. True, she often letdays elapse without entering it; but if anything went wrong and herassistance was desirable or necessary in serious cases, she remainedthere until late at night, or even until the following morning. 

At such times even the most distinguished visitors were sent home withthe message that Frau Christine could not leave the sick. 

The Burgrave and his wife were the only persons permitted to followher into the hospital, and they had probably gained the privilegeof speaking to her there because they were among its most liberalsupporters, and three of their sons wore the cross of the KnightsHospitaller, and often spent weeks there, as the rule of the orderprescribed, in nursing the sufferers. 

Women also had the right to enter the hospital to be cured of the woundsinflicted by the scourge or the iron of the executioner. 

Each sufferer was to be nursed there only three days, but Frau Christinetook care that no one to whom such treatment might be harmful should beput out. The Honourable Council was obliged, willing or unwilling, todefray the necessary expense. The magistrate had many a battle to fightfor these encroachments, but he always found a goodly majority on theside of the hospital and his wife. If the number of those who requiredlonger nursing increased too rapidly they did not spare their own fineresidence. 

The hospital and the hope of being allowed to help within its walls hadbrought Eva to Schweinau. The experiences of the past few days had sweptthrough the peace of her young soul like a tempest, overthrowing firmlybuilt structures and fanning glimmering sparks to flames. Since herquiet self-examination in the room of the city clerk, she had known whatshe lacked and what duty required her to become. The bond which unitedher to her saint and the Saviour still remained, but she knew what wascommanded by him from whom St. Clare's mission also came, what Francisof Assisi had enjoined upon his followers whose experiences had beenlike hers. 

They were to strive to restore peace to their perturbed souls byfaithful toil for their brothers and sisters; and what toil bettersuited a feeble girl like herself than the alleviation of her unhappyneighbour's suffering? The harder the duties imposed upon her in theservice of love, the better. She would set to work in the hope of makingherself the true, resolute woman which her mother, with the eyes of thesoul, had seen her fragile child become; but she could imagine nothingmore difficult than the tasks to be fulfilled here. This was the realfierce heat of the forge fire to which the dead woman had wished toentrust her purification and transformation. She would not shun, buthasten to it. While her lover was wielding the sword she, too, had abattle to fight. She had heard from Biberli that Heinz wished to undergothe most severe trials. This was noble, and her enthusiastic nature, aspiring to the loftiest goal, was filled with the same desire. Eager tolearn how they would bear the test, she scanned her young shoulders andgazed at the burden which she intended to lay upon them. 

When, the year before, her aunt took her to the hospital for the firsttime, she had returned home completely unnerved. She had not even hadthe slightest suspicion that there was such suffering on earth, suchpain amongst those near her, such depravity amongst those of her ownsex. What comparison was there between what Els had done for her gentle, patient mother, or what she would do for old Herr Casper, who lay in asoft bed--it had been shown to her as something of rare beauty, of ebonyand ivory--and the task of nursing these infamous gallows-birds bleedingfrom severe wounds, and these depraved sick women? But if God's own Songave up His life amidst the most cruel suffering for sinful humanity, how dared she, the weak, erring, slandered girl, who had no goodnesssave her passionate desire to do what was right, shrink from helping themost pitiable of her neighbours? Here in the hospital at Schweinau laythe heavy burden which she wished to take upon herself. 

She desired it also in order to maintain the bond which had united herto the Saviour. She would be constantly reminded here of his own words, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. " To become a bride of Jesus Christ and, closelyunited to Him in her inmost soul, await the hour when He would openHis divine arms to her, had seemed the fairest lot in life. Now she hadpledged herself in the world to another, and yet she did not wish togive up her Saviour. She desired to show Him that though she neithercould nor would resign her earthly lover, her heart still throbbedfor the divine One as tenderly as of yore. And could He who was Loveincarnate condemn her, when He saw how, without even being permittedto hope that her lover would find his way back to her, she clung withinviolable steadfastness to her troth, though no one save He and Hisheavenly Father had witnessed her silent vow?

She belonged to Heinz, and he--she knew it--to her. Even though later, after all the world had acknowledged her innocence, the walls of conventand monastery divided them, their souls would remain indissolublyunited. If there should be no meeting for them here below, in the otherworld the Saviour would lead them to each other the more surely, themore obediently they strove to fulfil His divine command. As Heinzdesired to take up the cross in imitation of Christ she, too, wouldbear it. It was to be found beside the straw pallets of the woundedcriminals. The fulfilment of every hard duty which she voluntarilyperformed seemed like a step that brought her nearer to the Saviour, and at the same time to the union with her lover, even though in anotherworld. 

The first request she made to her aunt on the way to mass, early in themorning of the first day of her stay in Schweinau, was an entreaty forpermission to work in the hospital. It was granted, but not until theeyes of the experienced woman, ever prompt in decision, had rested withanxious hesitation upon the beautiful face and exquisite lithe youngfigure. The thought that it would be a pity for such lovely, pure, stainless girlish charms to be used in the service of these outcasts hadalmost determined her to utter a resolute "No"; but she did not do it;nay, a flush of shame crimsoned her face as her eyes rested on the imageof the crucified Redeemer which stood beside the road leading to thelittle village church; for whom had He, the Most High, summoned toHis service and deemed specially worthy of the kingdom of heaven? Thesimple-hearted, the children, the adulterers, the sinners and publicans, the despised, and the poor! No, no, it would not degrade the lovelychild to help the miserable creatures yonder, any more than it did therarest plant which she raised in her herb garden when she used it toheal the hurts of some abandoned wretch. 

And besides, with what deep loathing she herself had gone to thehospital at first, and how fully conscious of her own infinitesuperiority she had returned from amongst these depraved beings to theoutdoor air. 

Yet how this feeling, which had stirred within her heart, graduallychanged!

During her closer acquaintance with the poor and the despised, thenature and work of Christ first became perfectly intelligible to her;for how many traits of simple, self-sacrificing readiness to help, what touching contentment and grateful joy in the veriest trifle, what childlike piety and humble resignation even amidst intolerablesuffering, these unfortunates had shown! Nay, when she had becomefamiliar with the lives of many of her protegees and learned how theyhad fallen into the hands of the executioner and reached Schweinau, shehad asked herself whether, under similar circumstances, the majority ofthose who belonged to her own sphere in life would not have found theway there far more speedily, and whether they would have endured thepunishment inflicted half so patiently or with so much freedom frombitterness and rebellion against the decrees of the Most High. She haddiscovered salutary sap in many a human plant that had at first seemedabsolutely poisonous; where she had shrunk from touching such impurity, violets and lilies had bloomed amidst the mire. Instead of holding herhead haughtily erect, she had often left the hospital with a sense ofshame, and it was long since she had ceased to use the proud privilegeof her rank to despise people of lower degree. If sometimes tempted toexercise it, the impulse was roused far more frequently by those of herown station, who were base in mind and heart, than by the sufferers inthe hospital. 

She had become very modest in regard to herself, why should she wake tonew life the arrogance now hushed in Eva's breast?

Much secret distress of mind and anguish of soul had been endured by thepoor child, who yesterday had opened her whole heart to her, when shewent to rest in her chamber. How lowly she felt, how humble was thelittle saint who recently had elevated herself above others only tooquickly and willingly! It would do her good to descend to the lowestranks and measure her own better fate by their misery. She who feltbereaved could always be the giver in the hospital, and she felt withsubtle sympathy what attracted Eva to her sufferers. 

The magistrate's wife was a religious matron, devoted to her Church, butin her youth she had been by no means fanatical. The Abbess Kunigunde, her younger sister, however, had fought before her eyes the conflict ofthe soul, which had finally sent the beautiful, much-admired girl withinconvent walls. No one except her quiet, silent sister Christine hadbeen permitted to witness the mental struggle, and the latter now sawrepeated in her young niece what Kunigunde had experienced so many yearsbefore. Difficult as it had then been for her to understand the futureabbess, now, after watching many a similar contest in others, it waseasy to follow every emotion in Eva's soul. 

During a long and happy married life, in which year by year mutualrespect had increased, the magistrate and his wife had finally attainedthe point of holding the same opinions on important questions; but whenHerr Berthold returned from the city, and finding Eva already at thehospital, told his wife, at the meal which she shared with him, thatfrom his point of view she ought to have strenuously opposed her niece'sdesire, and he only hoped that her compliance might entail no disastrousconsequences upon the excitable, sensitive child, the remarkable thinghappened that Frau Christine, without as usual being influenced by him, insisted upon her own conviction. 

So it happened that this time the magistrate was robbed of the littlenap which usually followed the meal, and yet, in spite of the best willto yield, he could not do his wife the favour of allowing himself to beconvinced. Still, he did not ask her to retract the consent which shehad once given, so Eva was permitted to continue to visit the hospital. 

The nurse, a woman of estimable character and strong will, wouldfaithfully protect her whatever might happen. Frau Christine had placedthe girl under her special charge, and the Beguine Hildegard, a woman ofnoble birth and the widow of a knight who had yielded his life in Italyfor the Emperor Frederick, received her with special warmth because shehad a daughter whom, just at Eva's age, death had snatched from her. 

Yet the magistrate would not be soothed. Not until he saw from thearbour, whilst the dessert still remained on the table; Cordula ridingup on horseback did he cease recapitulating his numerous objections andgo to meet the countess. 

To his straightforward mind and calm feelings the most incomprehensiblething had been Frau Christine's description of the soul-life of hersister and her niece. He knew the terrible impressions which even a mancould not escape amongst the rabble in the hospital, and had used thecomparison that what awaited Eva there was like giving a weak childpepper. 

As Countess Cordula, aided by the old man's hand, swung herself from thesaddle of her spirited dappled steed, he thought: "If it were she whowanted to tend our sick rascals instead of the delicate Eva, I wouldn'tobject. She'd manage Satan himself whilst my little godchild was holdingintercourse with her angels in heaven. "

In the arbour Cordula explained why she had not come before; but heraccount told the elderly couple nothing new. 

When she went to see Ernst Ortlieb in the watch-tower that morning hehad already been taken to the Town Hall. No special proceedings wererequired, since he was his own accuser, and many trustworthy witnessesdeposed that he had been most grossly irritated--nay, as his advocaterepresented, had wounded the tailor in self-defence. Yet Ernst Ortliebcould not be dismissed from imprisonment at once, because the tailor'srepresentative demanded a much larger amount of blood-money than thecourt was willing to grant. The wound was not dangerous to life, butstill prevented his leaving his bed and appearing in person beforehis judges. The candle-dealer was nursing him in his own house andinstigating him to make demands whose extravagance roused the judges'mirth. As after a tedious discussion Meister Seubolt still insistedupon them, the magistrates from the Council and the Chief of Police, whocomposed the court, advised Herr Ernst to have the sentence deferredand recognise the tailor's claim that his case belonged to the criminalcourt. Out of consideration for the citizens and the excited state ofthe whole guild of tailors, it seemed advisable to avoid any appearanceof partiality, yet in that case the self-accuser must submit toimprisonment until the sentence was pronounced. This delay, however, wasof trivial importance; for Herr Pfinzing had promised his brother-in-lawthat his cause should be considered and settled on the following day. 

Herr Berthold had told his wife all this soon after his return, andadded, with much admiration of the valiant fellow's steadfastness, thatBiberli, Sir Heinz Schorlin's servant, had again been subjected to anexamination by torture and was racked far more severely than justicecould approve. 

The countess reported that after her friend's father had been taken backto the watch-tower a few hours before, she had found him in excellentspirits. 

True, the Burgrave von Zollern had not come to visit him in person, likemany "Honourables" and gentlemen, but he had sent his son Eitelfritz toenquire how he fared, and the prisoner was occupied with the petitionwhich he wished to send the sovereign the next day through MeisterGottlieb von Passau, the Emperor Rudolph's protonotary. He had toldCordula, with a resolute air, that it contained the charge that SirHeinz Schorlin had found his way into his house at night, and wouldnot even suffer her to finish her entreaty to omit the accusation. "Andnow, " the countess added mournfully, "I urge you, to whom the young girlis dear, to consider the pitiable manner in which, by her own father'sfolly, Eva's name will be on the tongues of the whole court, andwhat the gossips throughout the city will say about the poor child inconnection with such an accusation. "

Frau Pfinzing sighed heavily, and rose, but her husband, who perceivedher intention, stopped her with the remark that it would be uselessto go that day, for the sun was already setting and the watchtower wasclosed at nightfall. 

This induced the matron to return to her seat; but she had scarcelytouched the easy-chair ere she again rose and told the servant to saddlethe big bay. She would ride to the city on horseback this time; thebearers moved too slowly. Then turning to her husband, she said gaily:

"I thank you for the excuse you have made for me, but I cannot use it inthis case. My foolish brother must on no account make the charge whichwill expose his daughter; it would be a serious misfortune were I toarrive too late. What is the use of being the wife of the imperialmagistrate, if a Nuremberg drawbridge cannot be raised for me even aftersunset? If the petition has already gone, I must see Meister Gottlieb. True, it was not to be sent until to-morrow, but there is nothingof which we are more glad to rid ourselves than the disagreeabletransactions from which we shrink. Give me a pass for the warder, Pfinzing; and you, Countess, excuse me; it is you who send me away. "

Whilst the maid brought her headkerchief and her cloak, and themagistrate in a low tone told he servant to have his horse ready, too, Frau Christine asked Cordula to bring Eva from the hospital, if she feltno disgust at the sight of common people suffering from wounds. 

"The huts of our wood-cutters, labourers, and fishermen look cleaner, it is true, than the hovels of the charcoal burners and quarrymen inthe Montfort forests and mountains; yet none of them are perfumed withsandal-wood and attar of roses, and the blow of the axe which gashes oneof our wood-cutter's flesh presents a similar spectacle to the woundswhich your criminals bring with them to Schweinau. And let me tell you, I am the leech in Montfort, and unless death is near, and the chaplainaccompanies me bearing the sacrament, I often go alone with themanservant, the maid, or the pages who carry my medicines. Since Igrew up I have attended to our sick, and I cannot tell you how manyfractures, wounds, hurts, and fevers I have cured or seen progress toa fatal end. I stand godmother to nearly all the newborn infants in ourvillages and hamlets. The mothers whom I nurse insist upon it. There arealmost as many Cordulas as girls on the Montfort estates, and in many ahut there are two or three of them. Michel the fisherman has a Cordula, a Cordel, and a Dulla. Therefore it follows that I am accustomed tosevere wounds, though my heart often aches at the sight of them. I knowhow to bandage as well as a barber, and, if necessary, can even use theknife. "

"I thought so, " cried the magistrate, much comforted. "Set my delicatelittle Eva an example if her courage fails; or, what would be stillbetter, if you see that the horrible business goes too much against thegrain, persuade her to give up work which requires stronger hands and aless sensitive nature. But there are the horses already. I want to go tothe city, too, Christel, and it's lucky that I don't have to go alone atnight. "

"So said the man who jumped in to save somebody from drowning, " repliedFran Christine laughing: "It's lucky it happened, because I wasjust going to take a bath!" But it pleased her to have her husband'scompanionship, and she did not approach her horse until he had examinedthe saddle-girth and the bridle with the utmost care. 

Before putting her foot in the stirrup, she told the old housekeeperto take Countess von Montfort to the hospital and commend her to thespecial care of Sister Hildegard. She would call for Cordula and Evaon her return from the city; but they must not wait for her should thestrength of either fail. She had ordered a sedan-chair to be kept readyfor her niece at the hospital. A second one would be at the countess'sdisposal. 

"That's what I call foresight!" cried the magistrate laughing. "Only, my dear countess, see that our little saint doesn't attempt anythingtoo hard. Her pious heart would run her little head against the wall ifmatters came to that and, like the noble Moorish steeds, she would dropdead in her tracks rather than stop. Such a delicate creature is like alute. When the key is raised higher and higher the string snaps, and wewant to avoid that. With you, my young heroine----"

"There is no danger of that kind, " Cordula gaily protested. "Thisinstrument is provided with metal strings; the tone is neither sweet normusical, but they are durable. "

"Good, firm material, such as I like, " the magistrate declared. Thenhe helped his wife mount her horse, placed the bridle in her left hand, looked at the saddle-girth again, and, spite of his corpulence, swunghimself nimbly enough on his strong steed. Then, with Frau Christine, hetrotted after the torch-bearers towards the city. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

The drawbridge before the watch-tower was promptly lowered for theimperial magistrate and his wife. He would have dissuaded Frau Chris thefrom the ride and come alone, had not experience taught him that ErnstOrtlieb was more ready to listen to her than to him. But they came toolate; just before sunset Herr Ernst had availed himself of the visit ofthe imperial forester, Waldstromer, to give him the petition to conveyto the protonotary, by whom it was to reach the Emperor. Nor did heregret this decision, but insisted that his duty as a father and aNuremberg "Honourable" would not permit the wrong done to his child andhis household by a foreign knight to pass unpunished. 

True, Fran Christine exerted all her powers of persuasion to change hisopinion, and her husband valiantly supported her, but they accomplishednothing except to gain the prisoner's consent that if the paper had notyet reached the Emperor the protonotary might defer its presentationuntil he was asked for it. 

Herr Ernst had made this concession after the magistrate'srepresentation that Sir Heinz Schorlin had been subjected to anexperience which had stirred the inmost depths of his soul, and soonafter had been unexpectedly sent in pursuit of the Siebenburgs. Hencehe had found no time to speak to the father. If he persisted in hisintention of entering a monastery, the petition would be purposeless. If it proved that he was merely trifling with Eva, there would be timeenough to call upon the Emperor to punish him. Besides, he knew fromMaier of Silenen that the knight had firmly resolved to renounce theworld. 

But the magistrate and his wife did not take their nocturnal ride invain, for after leaving the watch-tower they met the protonotary at St. Sebald's. He had received the petition, but had not yet delivered it tohis royal master, and promised to withhold it for a time. 

Rejoicing over this success, Herr Pfinzing accompanied Fran Christine, who wanted to visit Els, to the Eysvogel residence. 

The din of many voices and loud laughter greeted them from the spaciousentry. Three mendicant friars, with overflowing pouches, pressedpast them, and two others were still standing with the men and themaidservants assembled in the light of the lanterns. They had filled thebarefooted monks' bags, for the salvation of their own souls, with theprovisions of the house, and were talking garrulously, already halfintoxicated by the jugs of wine which the butler willingly filled toearn a sweet reward from the young maids, who eagerly sought the favourof the rotund bachelor whose hair was just beginning to turn grey. 

The magistrate's entrance startled them, and the butler vainly stroveto hide a large jar whose shape betrayed that it came from Sicily andcontained the noble vintage of Syracuse. Two of the maids slid undertheir aprons the big hams and pieces of roast meat with which they hadalready begun to regale themselves. 

Herr Berthold, smiling sadly, watched the conduct of the masterlessservants; then raising his cap, bowed with the utmost respect to thedisconcerted revellers, and said courteously, "I hope it will agree withyou all. "

The startled group looked sheepishly at one another. The butler wasthe only person who quickly regained his composure, came forward tothe magistrate cap in hand, and said obsequiously that he and hisfellow-servants were in evil case. The house had no master. No oneknew from whom he or she was to receive orders. Most of them had beendischarged by the Honourable Councillor, but no one knew when he was toleave or whom to ask for his wages. 

The magistrate then informed them that Herr Wolff Eysvogel had the rightto give orders, and during his absence his betrothed bride, JungfrauEls Ortlieb. The next morning a member of the Council would examine theclaims of each, pay the wages, and with Frau Rosalinde and Jungfrau Elsdetermine the other matters. 

The butler had imbibed a goodly share of the noble wine. His fat cheeksglowed, and at the magistrate's last remark he laughed softly: "If wewait for the folk upstairs to agree we shall stay here till the Pegnitzflows up the valley. Just listen to their state of harmony, sir!"

In fact the shrill, angry accents of a woman's loud voice, with whichmingled deeper tones that were very familiar to Herr Berthold, echoeddown into the entry. It certainly looked ill for the concord of thewomen of the house; yet the magistrate could not permit the unprincipledservant's insolence to pass unpunished, so he answered quietly:

"You are right, fellow. One can put a stop to this shameful conduct morequickly than several, and by virtue of my office I will therefore be theone to command here. You will leave this house and service to-morrow. "

But when the angry butler, with the hoarse tones of a drunkard, declaredthat in Nuremberg none save rascals were turned out of doors directlyafter a discharge, the magistrate, with grave dignity, cut him short byremarking that he would do better not to bring before the magistratesthe question of what beseemed the servant who wasted the valuableproperty entrusted to his care, as had been done here. 

With these words he pointed to the spot where the jug of wine which hehad plainly seen was only half concealed, and the threat silenced theman, whose conscience reproached him far more than Herr Pfinzing couldimagine. 

Meanwhile quiet had not been restored upstairs. Frau Christine hadreleased Els from a store-room in which the old countess, afterpersuading her daughter to this spiteful and childish trick, had lockedher. A serious discussion amongst the women followed, which was closedonly by the interposition of the magistrate. Perhaps this might havebeen accomplished less quickly had not the leech Otto appeared as awelcome aid. 

Frau Rosalinde penitently besought forgiveness, her mother was againforbidden to come to the lower story, and threatened, if she approachedthe sick-room, with immediate removal from the house. 

This strictness was necessary to render it possible for Els to maintainher difficult position. 

The day had been filled with painful incidents and shamefulhumiliations. The old countess had summoned two relatives, both elderlycanonesses, to aid her in her assault upon the intruder, and perhapsthey were the persons who advised locking up Sir Casper's nurse, to whomthey denied the right of still calling herself the bride of the youngmaster of the house. 

Frau Christine had arrived at the right time. Els was beginning to losecourage. She had found nothing which could aid her to sustain it. 

Since Biberli had been deprived of his liberty she had rarely heard fromWolff, and his invalid father, for whose sake she remained in the house, seemed to view her with dislike. At first he had tried neither to speakto nor look at her, but that morning, while raising a refreshing cup tohis parched lips, he had cast at her from the one eye whose lid stillmoved a glance whose enmity still haunted her. 

Even the priest who visited him several times was by no means kindlydisposed towards her. He belonged to the Dominican order, and wasthe confessor of the old countess and Frau Rosalinde. They must haveslandered her sorely to him; and as the order of St. Francis, to whichthe Sisters of St. Clare belonged, was a thorn in his flesh, he bore hera grudge because, as the Abbess Kunigunde's niece, she stood by her andher convent, and threatened to win the Eysvogel household over to theFranciscans. 

Before the magistrate and his wife left their niece, Herr Bertholdordered the men and maidservants to stand in separate rows, then, in thephysician's presence, introduced Els to them as the mistress whom theywere to obey, and requested her to choose those whose services shewished to retain. The rest would be compensated at the Town Hall thenext day for their abrupt dismissal. 

Els had never found it harder to say good-by to her relatives; but theleech Otto remained with her some time, and was soon joined by ConradTeufel, thereby rendering it a little easier for her to persist in theperformance of her difficult duty. On the way home to Schweinau themagistrate and his wife talked together as eagerly as if they had justmet after a long separation. They had gone back to the query how nursingthe wounded criminals would affect Eva, and both hoped that Cordula'spresence and encouragement would strengthen her power of resistance. 

But what did this mean?

As they approached the little castle they saw from the road in thearbour, which was lighted with links, the figure of the countess. Shewas sitting in Frau Christine's easy chair, but Eva was nowhere in view. Had her strength failed, and was Cordula awaiting their return afterputting her more delicate friend to bed? And Boemund Altrosen, who stoodopposite to her, leaning against one of the pillars which supported thearched ceiling of the room, how came he here? The Pfinzings had knownhim from early childhood, for his father had been a dear friend andbrother in arms of the magistrate; and--whilst Boemund, as a boy, wasenjoying the instruction of the Benedictines in the monastery of St. AEgidius, he had been a favourite comrade of Frau Christine's son, who had fallen in battle, and always found a cordial reception in hisparents' house. 

With what tender anxiety the knight gazed into Cordula's pale face!Something must have befallen the blooming, vigorous huntress and daringhorsewoman, and both Herr Berthold and his wife feared that it concernedEva. 

The young couple now perceived their approach, and Cordula, rising, waved her handkerchief to them. Yet how slowly she rose, how feebly thevivacious girl moved her hand. 

Herr Berthold helped his wife from the saddle as quickly as possible, and both hurried anxiously towards the arbour. Frau Christine did notremain in the winding path, but though usually she strictly insistedthat no one should tread on the turf, hastily crossed it to reach hergoal more quickly. But ere she could put the question she longed to ask, Cordula sorrowfully exclaimed: "Don't judge me too severely. 'He whoexalts himself shall be humbled, ' says the Bible, and also that thefirst shall be last, and the last first; but I have been forced to situpon the ground whilst Eva occupies the throne. I belong at the end ofthe last rank, whilst she leads the foremost. "

"Please explain the riddle at once, " pleaded Frau Christine. 

Sir Boemund Altrosen came forward, held out his hand to his old friend, and spoke for Cordula "The horror and loathsomeness were too much forher, whilst Jungfrau Ortlieb endured them. "

"Eva remained at the hospital, " the countess added dejectedly, "becausea dying woman would not let her go; whilst I--the knight is right--couldbear it no longer. "

Frau Christine glanced triumphantly at her husband, but when she sawCordula's pale cheeks she exclaimed: "Poor child! And there was no onehere to----One moment, Countess!"

Throwing down her riding-whip and gloves as she spoke, she was hurryingtowards the sideboard on which stood the medicine-case, to prepare astrengthening drink; but Cordula stopped her, saying: "The housekeeperhas already supplied the necessary stimulant. I will only ask to have myhorse brought to the door, or my father will be anxious. I was obligedto await your return, because----Well, my flight from the hospitalcertainly was not praiseworthy, and it affords me no special pleasureto confess it. But you must not think me even more pitiful than I provedmyself, so I stayed to tell you myself----"

"That it is one thing, " interrupted Sir Boemund, "to nurse worthywood-cutters, gamekeepers, fishermen, and charcoal-burners, who, whenwounded and ill, look up to their gracious mistress as if she were anangel of deliverance, and quite a different matter to mingle with themiserable rabble yonder. The bloody stripes which the executioner'slash cuts in the criminal's back do not render him more gentle; themutilation which he curses, and the disgrace with which an abandonedwoman----"

"Stop!" interrupted Cordula, whose lips and cheeks had again growncolourless. "Do not mention those scenes which have poisoned my soul. It was too hideous, too terrible! And how the woman with the red bandaround her neck, the mark of the rope by which she carried the stone, rushed at the other whose eye had been put out! how they fought on thefloor, scratching, biting, tearing each other's hair----"

Here the tender-hearted girl, covering her convulsed face with herhands, sobbed aloud. 

Frau Christine drew her compassionately to her heart, pressed themotherless child's head to her bosom, and let her weep her fill there, whilst the magistrate said to Sir Boemund: "And Eva Ortlieb alsowitnessed this hideous scene, yet the delicate young creature enduredit?"

Altrosen nodded assent, adding eagerly, as if some memory rosevividly before him: "She often looked distressed by these horrors, butusually--how shall I express it?--usually calm and content. "

"Content, " repeated the magistrate thoughtfully. Then, suddenlystraightening his short, broad figure, he thrust his little fat handinto a fold of the knight's doublet, exclaiming: "Boemund, do you wantto know the most difficult riddle that the Lord gives to us men tosolve? It is--take heed--a woman's soul. "

"Yes, " replied Altrosen curtly; the word sounded like a sigh. 

While speaking, his dark eye was bent on Cordula, whose head stillrested on Frau Christine's breast. 

Then, adjusting the bandage which since the fire had been wound aroundhis forehead and his dark hair, he continued in a tone of explanation:"Count von Montfort sent me, when it grew dark, to accompany hisdaughter home. From your little castle I was directed to the hospital, where I found her amongst the horrible women. She had struggledfaithfully against her loathing and disgust, but when I arrived herpower of resistance was already beginning to fail. Fortunately thesedan-chair was there, for she felt that her feet would scarcely carryher back. I ordered one to be prepared for Jungfrau Ortlieb, though Iremembered the dying woman who kept her. As if the matter were some easytask, she begged the countess to excuse her, and remained beside thewretched straw pallet. "

The deeply agitated girl had just released herself from the matron'sembrace, and begged the knight to have her Roland saddled; but FrauChristine stopped him, and entreated Cordula, for her sake, to use hersedan-chair instead of the horse. 

"If it will gratify you, " replied the countess smiling; "but I shouldreach home safely on the piebald. "

"Who doubts it?" asked the matron. "Give her your arm, husband. Thebearers are ready, and you will soon overtake them on your horse, Boemund. "

"The walk through the warm June night will do me good, " the latterprotested. 

Soon after the sedan-chair which conveyed Cordula, lighted by severaltorch-bearers on foot and on horseback, began to move towards the city. 

At St. Linhard, Boemund Altrosen, who walked beside it, asked thequestion, "Then I may hope, Countess? I really may?"

She nodded affectionately, and answered under her breath: "You may; butwe must first try whether the flower of love which blossomed for you outof my weakness is the real one. I believe it will be. "

He joyously raised her hand to his lips, but a torch-bearer'sshout--"Count von Montfort and his train!"--urged him back from thesedan chair. A few seconds after Cordula welcomed her father, who hadanxiously ridden forth to meet his jewel. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

"I can hardly do more, and yet I must, " groaned Frau Christine, asshe gazed after the torch-bearers who preceded Cordula. Her husband, however, tried to detain her, offering to go to their young guest in herplace. 

But the effort was vain. The motherless child, whom the captive fatherprobably believed to be in safety with her sensible sister, was at apost of danger, and only a woman's eye could judge whether it woulddo to yield to Eva's wish, which the housekeeper had just told hermistress, and allow her--it was already past midnight-to remain longerat the hospital. 

She would not have hesitated to require her niece's return home had notmaternal solicitude urged her to deprive her of nothing which could aidher troubled soul to regain its poise. If possible at all, it would bethrough devotion to an arduous work of charity that she would understandher own nature, and find an answer to the question whether, when theslanderers were silenced, she would take the veil or cling firmly to thehopeless love which had mastered her young heart. 

If she succeeded in remaining steadfast here and, in spite of the gladconsciousness of having conquered by the sign of the cross, was stillloyal to her worldly love, then the latter was genuine and strong, andEva did not belong to the convent; then her sister, the abbess, wasmistaken in the girl whose soul she had guided from early childhood. 

Frau Christine, who usually formed an opinion quickly and resolutely, had not dared to give Eva a positive answer the previous evening. 

With sympathising emotion the matron had heard her confess that duringher nocturnal wanderings a new feeling, which she could no longer still, had awakened in her breast. When she also told her the image of truelove which she had formed, she could not bring herself to undeceive her. 

The abbess had made a somewhat similar confession to her, the oldersister, when her young heart--how long ago it seemed!--had also beenmastered by love. The object of its ardent passion was no less apersonage than the Burgrave von Zollern. 

Frau Christine had seen his marriage with the Hapsburg princess awakenher sister's desire to renounce the world. Kunigunde was then a maidenof rare, majestic beauty, and only the Burgrave's exalted station hadprevented his wedding "Eva, " as she was called before she took the veil. 

As a husband and father, he had found deep happiness in the love ofthe Countess Elizabeth, the future Emperor Rudolph's sister, yet he hadremained a warm friend of the abbess; and when he treated Eva with suchmarked distinction at the dance, she owed it not only to her own charmsbut also to the circumstance that, like the girl whom he had loved inhis youth, she bore the name of "Eva Ortlieb, " and the expression of hereyes vividly recalled the happiest time in his life. 

The abbess, after a still more severe renunciation, had attained evengreater happiness in the convent. Her sister could not blame her forwishing the same lot for the devout young niece, whose fate seemed tobear a closer and closer resemblance to her own; but yesterday she hadargued with her, for Kunigunde had insisted firmly that if the girl didnot voluntarily knock at the convent door she should be forced to enter, not only for her own sake but also Sir Heinz Schorlin's. Nothing couldrouse the ire of every true Christian more than the thought that a nobleknight, for whose conversion Heaven had wrought a miracle, could turna deaf ear to the summons for the sake of a girl scarcely beyondchildhood. To place convent walls between the pair would therefore be awork pleasing in the sight of God-nay, necessary for the example. 

This statement sounded so resolute and imperative that Frau Christine, who knew her sister's gentle nature, had been convinced that she wasobeying the mandate of a superior. Soon afterward she learned thatKunigunde had followed the dictates of the zealous prior of theDominicans, who was regarded as the supreme judge in religious affairs. At a chance meeting she had imprudently asked this man, who had neverbeen friendly to her or her order, to give his opinion concerning thismatter, which gave her no rest. 

Frau Christine had eagerly opposed her. The case of Heinz Schorlinwas different from that of the Burgrave Frederick, who could never bepermitted to wed the daughter of a Nuremberg merchant. If the Swissrenounced his intention of entering the monastery, there was nothingto prevent his wooing Eva. It should by no means be as the prior of theDominicans had said: "They must both renounce the world, " but, "Theymust test themselves, and if the world holds them firmly, and theEmperor, who is a fatherly friend to Heinz, makes no objection, it wouldbe a duty to unite the pair. "

The decisive hour for Eva was now at hand, and Fran Christine, eager tolearn in what condition she should find her niece, had herself carriedto the hospital. 

Her husband and several men-servants accompanied her, for at this latehour the neighbourhood, where so many criminals were nursed for a shorttime, was by no means safe. Companions, friends, and relatives ofthe criminals were often attracted thither by sympathy, curiosity, orbusiness affairs. Whoever had occasion to shun appearing by daylightin a place which never lacked bailiffs and city soldiers, slunk to thehospital at night. 

As a heavy rain had just begun to fall, the short distance to betraversed by the magistrate and his wife was empty. Ample provisionalso seemed to have been made to guard the place of healing, for severalarmed troopers belonging to the city guard were pacing up and downbefore he board fence which surrounded it, and the approach of the latevisitors was heralded by the deep baying of large hounds. 

The magistrate was well known here, and the doorkeeper, roused from hissleep, hastened to light the way for him and his wife with a lantern. Inspite of the planks which had been placed in he courtyard, the task ofcrossing it was by no means easy; for the night was intensely dark, andthe foot passed beyond the boards, it plunged into the mire, on whichthey floated rather than lay. 

At first the barking of the dogs had drowned very other sound, but asthey approached the house thatched with straw, where the wounded menwere nursed, harsh voices, interrupted at times by the angry oaths ofsome patient roused from sleep, or the watchman's command to keep quiet, reached them in a loud uproar. 

A narrow passage dimly lighted by a lantern led to the women's quarters, where Eva had remained. The magistrate entered the men's dormitory tomake an inspection, while his wife, needing no guidance, passed on tothe women, meeting no one on her way except a Sister of Charity and twomen-servants who, under the guidance of a sleepy Dominican monk, werebearing out the corpse of some one who had just passed away. 

Sister Hildegard, who was sitting at the door of the dormitory, halfasleep, started up as Frau Christine crossed the threshold. 

The knight's widow, a vigorous matron, whose hair had long been grey, pointed with the rosary in her hand to the end of the long, dimlylighted apartment, and said in a low tone: "The sick woman seems to beasleep now. The prior sent the old Dominican to whom Eva is talking. Heis said to be the most learned and eloquent member of the order. If I amright, he came here to appeal to your niece's conscience. At least hisfirst question was for her, and you see how eagerly he is speaking. Whenyonder sick woman seemed to be drawing near her end she asked for thesacrament, which was administered by the Dominican. It was a sorrowfulfarewell on account of her children, but the barber thinks we mayperhaps save her yet. Father Benedictus, the old Minorite, who was foundon the road and brought to us, seems, on the other hand, to be dying. Wewill gladly keep him in the Beguines home until the angel summons him. Unfortunately, yonder poor woman's third day will end tomorrow. We arenot permitted to shelter her here any longer, and if we turn her out--"

"What is the matter with the woman?" interrupted Frau Christine, butthe other gazed into her face with warm sympathising affection and suchtender entreaty that the magistrate's wife, before she began her reply, exclaimed: "So it is the old, pitiful story! But let her stay! Yes, eventhough, instead of every pound of farthings, she cost us ten times asmuch in gold! But we will spare what is necessary for her. I see by yourface that it will not be wasted. "

"Certainly not, " replied Sister Hildegard gratefully. "Oh, how she camehere! Now, it is true, she has more than she needs. Your dear niece--sheis an angel of charity--sent her Katterle out to get what was wanted. But where is the girl?" She gazed around the spacious chamber as shespoke, but could not find Katterle. 

True, a dim light pervaded the whole apartment, and Sister Hildegard, referring to it, added "The light keeps many of the patients awake, andwe have a better use for the pennies which the oil and chips cost. Whenthere are brilliant entertainments to be given, or works of mercy donewhich the whole world sees, the Honourables let their gold flow freelyenough, but who beholds the abodes of horror? We look best in the dark, and no one will miss what we save in light. "

Certainly no one present incurred any danger of seeing at this hourthe pitiable spectacles visible by day; for what was occurring at theopposite end of the room could not be perceived from the door. So whenit closed Eva could not distinguish who had entered. 

But this was agreeable to Frau Christine; for before going to her nieceshe wished to inquire about the woman by whom she had been detained. 

Like the others, she was lying upon the board platform which surroundedthe four walls of the room, interrupted only by the door through whichshe had just passed. It rose in a slanting direction towards the wall, that the sufferers' heads might be higher than their feet. Instead ofcushions, it was covered with a thick layer of straw, the beds of thepatients who were nursed here. It seemed to be changed very rarely, forespecially near the door at which the two women were still standinga damp, unpleasant odour emanated from the straw. It belonged here, however, as feathers are a part of birds, and the people who were nursedwithin its walls were accustomed to nothing better. When, fifteen yearsbefore, the oversight of the hospital was entrusted to Frau Christine, she had found the condition of affairs still worse, and the idea ofprocuring beds for the injured persons to be cured here was as farfrom her thoughts, or those of the rest of the world, as cushioning thestable. 

That was the way things were at Schweinau. Straw of all sorts might beexpected to be found here, not only on the wooden platform but on thefloor, in the yard, and everywhere else, as surely as leaves upon theground of a wood in the autumn. To leave the house without taking stalksin the hair and garments was as impossible as for any person accustomedto better conditions, who did not wish to faint from discomfort, to dowithout a scent bottle. 

Formerly Frau Christine had endeavoured to obtain better air, but evenher kind-hearted husband had laughed at the foolish idea, because suchthings would benefit only herself and some of the nurses. In the tavernsusually frequented by the inmates of the hospital they learned to endurea different atmosphere, which was stifling to him. 

After contagious diseases certain precautions were always taken. OnSunday morning it was even fumigated with juniper-berries on hot tin andboiling vinegar. 

Frau Christine had introduced this disinfectant herself by the advice ofOtto the leech, when all who had been brought hither with open wounds, among them vigorous young men, had died like flies. At that time thedistinguished physician had even succeeded in getting the HonourableCouncil to defray the cost of having the walls newly white washed andfresh clay stamped on the floor. He had also directed that the old strawshould be replaced by clean every Sunday morning, and now matters werebetter still, for the rule was that every sick person should have afresh layer. True, it was not always fulfilled, and many a person wasforced to be content with his predecessor's couch. 

In the women's room, however, the change of straw was more rigidlyrequired. The nurse herself attended to it, and Sister Hildegard gaveher energetic assistance. 

In difficult cases the influence of the leech Otto was called to heraid, but he had grown old and no longer came to Schweinau. Two barbersnow cared for the bandaging and healing of the wounds, and if they wereat a loss the younger city physician was summoned. 

Sister Hildegard now pointed to the couch beside which the Dominican wastalking to Eva, and said: "She is the widow of a carrier and the childof worthy people; her father was the sexton of St. Sebald's. True, he died long ago, at the same time as her mother. It was twelve yearssince, during the plague. 

"Reicklein, yonder, had no other relatives here--her parents were fromBamberg--but she was well off, and her husband, Veit, earned enough byhis travels through the country. But on St. Blaise's day, early in themonth of February, during a trip to Vogtland, it was at Hof, he wasovertaken by a snowstorm, and the worthy man was found frozen under adrift, with his staff and pouch. The sad news reached her just after thebirth of a little boy, and there were two other mouths to feed besides. Her savings went quickly enough, and she fell into dire poverty, for shehad not yet recovered her strength, and could not do housework. DuringPassion Week she sold her bed to pay what she had borrowed and to feedthe children. It was cold, she had not a copper, nor any possibilityof earning anything. Then the rest went, too, and there was no way ofgetting food enough for the children and herself. 

"But as her father had been in the employ of the city and was an honestman, by the advice of the provost of St. Sebald's, who had been herconfessor from childhood, she applied to the Honourable Council, andreceived the answer that old Hans Schab was by no means forgotten, andtherefore, to relieve her need, she was referred to the beadle, whowould give her the permit which enabled her to ask alms from those whowent to St. Sebald's Church, and had already afforded many a personample support. 

"For her children's sake she crushed the pride which rebelled againstit, and stood at the church door, not once, but again and again. Theother mendicants, however, treated her so roughly, and the cruelenmity with which they tried to crowd her out of her place seemed sounbearable, that she could not hold out. Once, when they insulted hertoo much, and again thrust her back so spitefully that not even oneof the many churchgoers noticed her, she, fled to her children in thelittle room, determined to stop this horrible begging. This happened theSaturday before Whitsuntide, and as she had gone out hoping this timeto bring something back, she had promised the children food enough tosatisfy their hunger. They should have some Whitsuntide cakes, too, as they did years ago. When she reached the house and littleWalpurga--you'll see her presently, a pretty child six years old--ranto meet her, asking for the cakes and the bread to satisfy her hunger, while Annelein, who is somewhat older, but less bright and active, didthe same, she felt as if she should die, and carrying the baby, whichshe had held in her arms while begging at the church door, back into theroom, she told Walpurga to watch it, as she had long been in the habitof doing, until she came back with the bread. 

"For the children's sake she would try begging once more, but she couldnot go to St. Sebald's. 

"So she went from house to house, asking alms; but she was a well-formedwoman, who did not show her serious illness. She kept herself tidy, too, and looked better in her poor rags than many who were better off. Hadshe carried her nursing infant, perhaps she might have succeeded better, but even the most compassionate housewives either turned her from theirdoors or offered her work at the wash-tub, or in cleaning or gardening. The weakness from which she had suffered since the birth of her childmade stooping so painful that she could not do what they required. 

"When she was at last obliged to turn homeward, because the baby hadprobably been screaming for her a long time, she had only one smallcopper coin, with which she went to the baker Kilian's, in theStopfelgasse, to ask for a penny's worth of bread. The baker's wifewas not there, and her spinster sister-in-law, an elderly, ill-naturedwoman, was serving the customers in her place. 

"As she turned to cut the bit of bread, and all sorts of nice sweetcakes lay on the shining counters before poor Riecklein, the childrenseemed to stand before her, headed by Walpurga, asking for the cakesand the bread she had promised them to eat their fill; and as no onewas passing in the quiet street, Satan stirred within her for the firsttime, and a sweet jumble slid into the little basket on her arm. Hadshe stopped there she might have escaped unpunished; but there were twohungry little beaks agape in the nest, and she saw a pretty lamb witha little red flag on its back. If Walpurga could only have it! And withthe clumsiness due to her inexperience in such matters she seized that, too, and put it with the other. 

"Meanwhile the sister-in-law had turned, and instead of enquiring at atime so near the holy feast what had induced her to commit such a crime, she shrieked, 'Stop thief!' and similar cries. 

"So the widow was taken to the Hole, and as she had hitherto borne anunsullied reputation and was the child of a good man, justice alloweditself to be satisfied with having her scourged with rods privatelyinstead of in public. So she came here. But as her poor body was toofragile to withstand all the trouble which had come upon her, she hada violent attack of fever, and a few hours ago death stretched its handtowards her. "

"And the children?" asked Frau Christine, deeply moved. 

"She was allowed to have the baby, " answered Sister Hildegard, "but shetold us about the others and their desolate condition. In the deliriumof fever she saw them stealing and the constable seizing them. Then yourEva encouraged me to send for them by promising to provide their food. So they came here. The worker on cloth from whom she rented her littleroom had helped them, and it was from her that Sister Pauline, whom Isent there, first learned that Walpurga, for whose sake she had so sadlyforgotten her duty, was not even her own child, but an adopted onewhom her late husband, on one of his trips, had found abandoned on thehighroad at Vierzehnheiligen, beside an image of the Virgin, and broughthome with him. "

Here Sister Hildegard paused, and Frau Christine also remained silent along time. 

Yet, it was horrible here, and the air was impure; but had CountessCordula looked more closely she would probably have seen one ofthe beautiful flowers which often bloomed amidst all the weeds, thepoisonous and parasitic vegetation. 

Eva was right to pity this woman, and if her life could be saved sheherself would relieve her necessities and secure her children's future. She silently made this resolve whilst the Sister led the way to thecouch of the scourged thief. The unfortunate woman should learn thatGod often compels us to traverse the roughest and stoniest paths in thewilderness ere he leads us into the Promised Land. 

Eva was so deeply absorbed in her conversation with the Dominican thatshe did not see her aunt until she stood before her. 

They greeted each other with a silent nod, and a smile of satisfactionflitted over the girl's face as she motioned to the sleeper whoseslumber she was watching. 

The young mother's pretty face still glowed with the flush of fever. Onearm clasped the baby, which lay amidst the white linen Katterle had justbrought. He was a pretty child, who showed no traces of the poverty inwhich he had been reared. Beside the widow were two little girls aboutsix years old. The one at the left was sound asleep, with her headresting on her little fat arm. The other, at the sick woman's right, pressed her fair head upon her breast. Her slumber was very light, andshe often opened her large, blue eyes and gazed with touching anxiety atthe sick woman. This was the adopted child, Walpurga, and never had thematron beheld amongst the poor and suffering so lovely a human floweras this little six-year-old child, struggling with sleep in heraffectionate desire to render aid. The other little girl's free handalso touched her mother, and thus these four, united in povertyand sorrow, but also in love, seemed to form a single whole. What apeaceful, charming picture!

Frau Christine gazed with earnest sympathy at each member of this group. How well-formed was every one! how pure and innocent the features of thechildren looked! how kind and loving those of the suffering mother, who was a thief, and whose tender back had felt the scourge of theexecutioner!

The thought made her shudder. But when little Walpurga, half asleep, raised her tiny hand and lovingly stroked the wounded shoulder of heradopted mother, the matron, as usual when anything pleasant moved herheart, longed to have her husband at her side. How easily, since hewas so near, she could afford him a sight of this touching picture! Itshould prove that she had been right to let Eva remain here. 

Faithful to her custom of permitting no delay in the execution of a goodresolution, she wanted to send Katterle to call her husband, but thegirl could not be found. 

Then Frau Christine went herself, beckoning to Eva to follow; butthey had scarcely reached the centre of the room when a peal of shrilllaughter greeted them from a couch on the left. 

The person from whom it came was the barber's widow, whose attack hadalarmed Eva so terribly the day before in front of the pillory. Itpealed loudly and shrilly through the stillness of the night, and whenthe matron turned angrily to reprove the person who so inconsideratelydisturbed the rest of the others, the woman clapped her hands andinstantly a chorus of sharp, screaming voices rose around her. The barber's widow, who knew everybody who lived in Nuremberg, hadrecognised the magistrate's wife at her entrance, and secretly incitedher neighbours to follow her example and, as soon as she gave thesignal, demand better fare and make Frau Christine, the patroness of thehospital, feel what they thought of the cruelty of her husband, who haddelivered them to the executioner. 

The female thieves and swindlers-in short, all the reprobate womenaround Frau Ratzer, whose feet had just been tied on account of herunruly behaviour in the Countess von Montfort's presence--obeyed hersignal, and the fierce voices raised in demand and invective woke thosewho were sleeping farther away. Weeping, wailing, and screaming theystarted up, clamouring to know what danger threatened them, whilst FrauRatzer and her fellow-conspirators shrieked for beer or wine instead ofwater, for meat with the black bread and wretched broth and, yellingand howling, bade the patroness tell her husband that they thought him abrute and a bloodhound. 

There was a hideous, confused, ear-splitting din, which threatenedserious consequences, for some of the women, leaving their straw beds, hastened towards the door or surrounded Frau Christine and Eva withuplifted fists and threatening nails. 

The warning voices of the matrons, to whose aid the Beguines hadhastened, were drowned by the uproar, but the danger which speciallythreatened Eva, whom the barber's widow pointed out to her neighbourwho had stolen a child to train it to beg, was soon ended, for the wildcries had reached the men's building, from which Herr Berthold Pfinzingcame hurrying in, accompanied by the superintendent, his assistants, andseveral monks. 

If the women reproached the magistrate, who in reality was a lenientjudge, with being a cruel tyrant, they were now to learn that hecertainly did not lack uncompromising energy. The unpleasant position inwhich he found his wife and his beloved godchild did not incline himto gentleness. He would have liked to have tied the hands of all thesewomen, most of whom had forfeited the consideration due their sex. Thiswas really done to the most unruly, while the barber's widow was carriedto the prison-chamber, which the hospital did not lack. 

After quiet was at last restored and Frau Christine had told her husbandthat she had been attacked while on her way to show him a delightfulscene in the midst of all this terrible misery, he angrily exclaimed:"A magnificent picture! Balm for the eyes and ears of your own brother'svirginal daughter! The saints be praised that you both escaped soeasily. Can there be in the worst hell anything more horrible than whathas just been witnessed here? Really, where a Countess Cordula cannotendure----"

Here Frau Christine soothingly interrupted her irate husband, and sogreat was her influence over him, that his tone sounded like friendlyencouragement as he added: "You wanted to show me something special, but I was detained over there. Though it was late, I wanted to seethe worthy fellow again. What a man he is! I mean Sir Heinz Schorlin'ssquire. "

"Poor Biberli?" asked Eva eagerly; and there was a faint tone ofreproach in her voice as she continued, "You promised to look afterhim. "

"So I did, child, " the magistrate protested. "But justice must take itscourse, and the rack is part of the examination by torture. He mighteasily have lost his tongue, and if his master doesn't return soon andanother accuser should appear, who knows what will happen!"

"But that must not, shall not be!" cried Eva, the old defiance echoingimperiously in her voice. "Heinz Schorlin--you said so yourself--wouldnot plead in vain for mercy to the Emperor; and before I will see thefaithful fellow----"

"Gently, child, " whispered Frau Christine to her niece, laying her handon her arm, but the magistrate, shaking his finger at her, answeredsoothingly: "Jungfrau Ortlieb would rather thrust her own little feetinto the Spanish boot. Be comforted! The three pairs we have are all toolarge to squeeze them. "

Eva lowered her eyes in embarrassment, and exclaimed in a modest, beseeching tone: "But, uncle, do not you, too, feel that it would becruel and unjust to make this honest fellow a cripple in return for hisfaithful services?"

"I do feel it, " answered Herr Berthold, his face assuming an expressionof regret; "and for that very reason I ventured to take a girl over whomI have no authority out of her service. "

"Katterle?" asked Eva anxiously. 

Her uncle nodded assent, adding: "First hear what interested me soquickly in the strange fellow. At the first charge, which merely accusedhim of having carried a message of love from his master to JungfrauOrtlieb, I interceded for him, and yesterday the other magistrates, towhom I had explained the case, joined me. So he escaped with a sentenceof exile from the city for five years. I hoped it would not be necessaryto present the second accusation, for it was signed by no name, butmerely bore three crosses, and for a long time most of the magistrates, following my example, have considered such things as treacherous attacksmade by cowards who shun the light of day; but it was impossibleto suppress it entirely, because the law commands me to withhold nocomplaint made to the court. So it was read aloud, and Hans Teufel'smotion to let it drop without any action met with no approval, warmly asI supported it. 

"We must not blame the gentlemen. They all wish to act for your benefit, and desire nothing except a clear understanding of this vexatiousbusiness. But in that indictment Biberli was charged with having forcedhis way into an Honourable's house at night to obtain admittance forhis master. In collusion with a maid-servant he was also said to havemaintained the love correspondence between Herr Ernst Ortlieb's twodaughters, a Swiss knight, and Boemund Altrosen. "

"Infamous!" cried Eva. "What, in the name of all the saints, have we todo with Altrosen?"

"You certainly have very little, " replied Frau Christine, "but theOrtlieb mansion has all the more. To-night he will again be seen beforeits door, and if still later he appears with his lute under CountessCordula's windows and is heard singing to her, it wouldn't surprise me. "

"And people, " exclaimed Eva with increasing indignation, "will addanother link to the chain of slander. If a Vorkler and her companionsrepeat the calumny, who can wonder? But that the magistratesshould believe such shameful things about the brothers of their ownfellow-member----"

"It was precisely because they do not believe it and wish to keep youaway from the court, " her uncle interrupted, "that they insisted uponthe examination. They desired to show the people by their verdict andthe severity of the procedures how thoroughly in earnest they were. But whilst I was compelled to absent myself an hour because the Emperorwished to inspect the new towers on the city wall, and I had to attendhim in the character of showman, they sentenced the poor fellow, sincehis loose tongue had brought the whole rout and rabble against him, totorture so severe that I shuddered when told of it. "

"And Biberli?" asked Eva, trembling with suspense. 

"All honour is due the man!" cried Herr Berthold, raising his cap. "Therods scourged his fettered limbs, his thumbs were pressed in the screws, bound to the ladder, he was dragged over the larded hare---"

"Oh, hush!" cried Fran Christine with uplifted hands, and her husbandnodded understandingly. Then, with a faint sigh, he added:

"Why should I torture you with these horrors? Nothing was spared him. Yet the worthy fellow stuck to his statement that he had accompanied hismaster to your house in the full moonlight to take a somnambulistwho had wandered out of the open door back to her friends. Sir HeinzSchorlin had met Jungfrau Ortlieb only once--at the dance in the TownHall. Though he had sometimes appeared before her father's house, it wasnot on account of Herr Ernst's daughters, but--and this was an allusionto Cordula von Montfort--for the sake of another lady. 

"After the lightning had killed his master's horse under him he hadavoided every woman, because he wished to enter a monastery. He couldprove all these statements by many witnesses. Yesterday he named them, and Count Gleichen and his retainers appeared with several others. TheMinorite Benedictus was vainly sought at the Franciscans. "

"He is here in the house of the Beguines, " replied Frau Christine, "andweak as he is, he will have strength enough to make a deposition in theknight's favour. "

The magistrate said that this might be necessary if a new charge werebrought against the servitor, Katterle, and perhaps even Sir HeinzSchorlin himself. Rarely had he seen a bad cause maintained with so muchobstinacy. The complainants had witnesses who testified under oath whatthey had heard in taverns and tap-rooms from Sir Seitz Siebenburg andthose who repeated his tales. Their examination had lasted a long time, and what they alleged was as absurd as possible, yet for that veryreason difficult to refute. These depositions had aided the cause of theaccused, but in consequence of such numerous charges many questionsof course were put to Biberli, and thus the torture had been cruellyincreased and prolonged. 

Here Eva interrupted the speaker with another outburst of indignation, but he only shrugged his shoulders pityingly, saying: "Gently, child! Ashoemaker who recently upbraided the 'Honourables' for something similarwas publicly scourged, and if cruelties have been practised here it isthe fault of the law, not of the judges. But worse yet may come, if thepack is not silenced by a higher will. "

"The Emperor?" asked the girl with quivering lips. 

"Yes, child, " was the reply, "and your old godfather had thought ofbringing this evil cause before our royal master. He gladly exercisesmercy, but only after carefully investigating the pros and cons. In thiscase there is but one person in whom he has full confidence, and who isalso in a position to tell him the exact truth. "

"Heinz Schorlin!" cried Eva. "He must be informed at once, withoutdelay. "

"Certainly, " replied Herr Pfinzing quietly. "And since, as the uncle andgodfather of Jungfrau Eva, who would have gladly undertaken the ride, I could not order her horse to be saddled, I sent some one else whoseheart also will point out the way. "

"Uncle!" Eva eagerly interrupted, raising her clasped hands ingratitude. "But whom can you----"

Here she hesitated, then suddenly exclaimed as if sure of her point:"Oh, I know the messenger, Countess von Montfort----"

"You've aimed too high, " replied Herr Berthold smiling, "yet I think thechoice was no worse. Your maid, child, the poor fellow's sweetheart. "

Frau Christine and Eva, in the same breath, uttered an exclamation ofsurprise and assent, and both asked how the magistrate had chanced toselect her. 

A waggon from Schwabach, which happened opportunely to be on its way toSiebenburg, had brought Biberli to Schweinau on its homeward trip, justbefore the magistrate and his wife reached the hospital. 

Katterle had been present when the tortured man was brought out and laidupon his couch of straw. 

She did not recognise him until, with pathetic reproach, he called herby name and, horrified by the spectacle he presented, she fell upon herknees. But the couch at her side had already been prepared for him, andshe did not need to rise again in order to stroke him, comfort him, andpromise not to desert him, even if he should be a miserable cripple forlife. 

When the magistrate approached the couple, to offer Biberli his friendlyaid, the latter faltered that he had only one desire--to see his belovedmaster once more. Besides, his case was hopeless unless the knightobtained a pardon for him from the Emperor Rudolph, for his persecutorswould not cease their pursuit of him, and he could not endure thetorture a second time. 

Here the magistrate paused in his narrative, for he thought of anincident which he was reluctant to mention in the presence of theDominican who had administered the sacrament to the suffering widowand now joined the group of listeners. This was, that a member of thelatter's order had approached Biberli and exhorted him not to fearanother examination by torture, for the Lord gave the innocent strengthto maintain the truth even under the keenest suffering. A peculiar smilehovered around the lips of the poor tortured fellow, which Herr Bertholdfully understood; for the brave servitor had by no means stuck to thetruth during the pangs inflicted upon him. 

"Oh, my dear ones, " Herr Pfinzing continued, "a harder heart than minewould have been touched by what I saw and heard beside that couch ofstraw when I was left alone with poor Biberli and his sweetheart. If youcould have seen how Katterle threw herself upon her lover after I hadtold her that even the most agonizing torture could not force him toconfirm the charge which had been brought against her! Rarely does onemortal pour forth such a flood of ardent gratitude upon another; andwhen Biberli repeated that his dear master's help would be necessaryto protect her and him from another examination, she offered to go insearch of him at once, notwithstanding the rain and the darkness. 

"Then I thought that no messenger could be found who was more familiarwith the course of affairs, and at the same time inspired with moreloving zeal. So, as the waggon in which Biberli had come was stillwaiting outside, I spoke to the carter, who had brought a load of wheatto Nuremberg, and now, on his way home, had ample room under the tilt. I knew the man, and we soon came to an agreement. From Schwabach, hisbrother, who knows every foot of the road, will take her to the imperialtroops who are fighting with the Siebenburgs. I undertook to arrangewith you for her absence. She is now rolling along in the old carterApel's waggon towards Schwabach and Sir Heinz Schorlin. "

Hitherto the magistrate had maintained his composure, but now hisdeep voice lost its firmness, and it was neither the loving words ofappreciation whispered by his wife nor the gratitude which Eva tenderlydisplayed that checked his speech, but the remembrance of the partingbetween the man so cruelly tortured and his sweetheart. 

Biberli had hoped that she would nurse him; the sight of her wouldhave cheered his eyes and heart, yet he sent her out into darkness anddanger. Gratitude and love, the consciousness that just now she couldbe of infinite importance to him and do much for him, bound her to hiscouch like so many fetters, yet she had gone, and had even assumed theappearance of doing so willingly and being confident of success. 

How their faces had brightened when the magistrate told them that hiswife and Eva would take charge of him, and he himself would see that hehad a better bed!

Biberli murmured sadly: "Straw and I have been used to each other inmany a tavern, but now a somewhat softer couch might be of service, forwherever my racked body was touched I believe there would be somethingout of joint. "

Herr Berthold had no reason to be ashamed of his emotion, for hehad learned from the barber that the poor fellow had by no meansexaggerated, and, as a witness of part of the torture, he knew that eventhe most cruel anguish had not conquered the faithful Biberli's firmresolve to bring neither his master nor his sweetheart before the judge. 

In recalling this noble act of the lowly servitor he grew eloquent, anddescribed minutely what the poor fellow had suffered, and how, afterKatterle had left him, he lay motionless, with his thin, pale faceirradiated by a grateful smile. 

The women, too, and the monk AEgidius, an old Minorite, who had beenwatching beside the aged Brother of his order, Benedictus, and had justjoined them, shed tears at his story; but Eva, from the very depths ofher soul, exclaimed aloud, "Happy is he who is permitted to endure suchtortures for love's sake!"

The others gazed in surprise at the young girl who, with her claspedhands pressed upon her heaving bosom, and her large eyes uplifted, looked as if she beheld heaven opening before her. 

The old Minorite's heart swelled at this confession and the sight ofthe maiden. Thus, though far less richly endowed with the divine gift ofbeauty, he had seen St. Clare absorbed in prayer. The words uttered bythe fresh lips of this favoured girl, whom he beheld for the first time, expressed a feeling which might guide her into the path of the HolyMartyrs and, filled with pious enthusiasm, he approached, drew herclasped hands away from her breast, pressed them in his own and, remembering what the Abbess Kunigunde had told him yesterday beside thecouch of Benedictus concerning her severe conflict, exclaimed:

"Whoever said that, knows the words of Holy Writ which promise the crownof eternal life to those who are faithful unto death. Obey the voice, my child, which unites you to those who are called. St. Clare herselfsummons you to her heavenly home. "

The others listened to the old monk in silence. Eva slightly shook herhead. But when the disappointed Minorite released her hands she claspedhis thin one, saying modestly: "How could I be worthy of so sublimea promise? The poor servant on his straw bed, with his T and Stembroidered on cap and cloak, of whom my uncle told us, has a tenfoldgreater claim, I think, to the crown of life, for which, as yet, I havebeen permitted to do so little. But I hope to win it, and the saintwho calls everything that breathes and lives brothers and sisters, aschildren of the same exalted Father, cannot teach that the fidelityshown in the world deserves less reward than that of the chosen ones inthe convent. "

"That is a foolish and sacrilegious opinion, " answered the Dominicansternly. "We will take care, my dear daughter, to guide your soul frompathless wandering into the right path which Holy Church has marked outfor you. "

He turned his back upon the group as he spoke, but the grey-hairedMinorite, smiling sadly, turned to Eva, saying: "I cannot contradicthim. Fidelity to those whom we love, my child, is far less meritoriousthan that which we show to Heaven. To you, daughter, its doors havealready opened. How strong must be the pleasure felt by the children ofthe world in this brief earthly happiness, since they are so ready tosacrifice for it the certainty of eternal bliss! Your error will grievethe abbess and Father Benedictus. "

With these words he, too, took his leave, but Frau Christine whisperedto her niece: "These monks are not the Holy Church to which we bothbelong as obedient daughters. To my poor mind and heart it seems as ifthe Saviour would deem you right. "

"Amen, " added the magistrate, who had heard his wife's murmured words. 

CHAPTER XV. 

Day followed day, a week elapsed, and no message had reached Schweinaufrom Heinz Schorlin or Katterle. 

The magistrate had learned that the Siebenburg brothers, with the robberknights who had joined them, were obstinately defending their castlesand making it difficult for Heinz Schorlin to perform his task. The daybefore news had come that the Absbach's strong mountain fortresshad fallen; that the allied knights, in a sortie which merged into aminiature battle, had been defeated, and the Siebenburgs could not holdout much longer; but in the stress of his duties the knight seemed tohave forgotten to make the slightest effort in behalf of his faithfulservant. At least the protonotary Gottlieb, a friend of Herr Berthold, through whose hands passed all letters addressed to the Emperor, positively assured them that, though plenty of military reports hadarrived, in not a single one had the young commander mentioned hisservant even by a word. He, the protonotary, had taken advantage of afavourable hour to urge his royal master, as a reward for Biberli's rarefidelity, to protect him from further persecution by the citizens ofNuremberg; but the Emperor Rudolph did not even allow him to finish, because, as a matter of principle, he refrained from interference inmatters whose settlement rightfully pertained to the Honourable Council. 

When soon after Herr Pfinzing availed himself of a report which he hadto deliver to the Emperor to intercede himself for the valiant fellow, the Hapsburg, with the ruler's strong memory, recalled the protonotary'splea and referred Herr Berthold to the answer the former had received, remarking, less graciously than usual, that the imperial magistrateought to know that he would be the last to assail the privileges whichhe had himself bestowed upon the city. 

Finally even Burgrave Frederick, whose sympathy had been enlisted inBiberli's behalf by Herr Berthold, fared no better. 

His interests were often opposed to those of the Council and, kindlyas was his disposition, disputes concerning many questions of law wereconstantly occurring between him and the Honourables. When he beganto persuade the Emperor to prevent by a pardon the cruelty which theCouncil intended to practise upon a servant of Sir Heinz Schorlin, whowas doing such good service in the field, the sovereign told even him, his friend and brother-in-law, who had toiled so energetically to securehim the crown, that he would not interfere, though it were in behalfof a beloved brother, with the decrees of the Council, and the noblepetitioner was silenced by the reasons which he gave. The Burgravedeemed the Emperor's desire to maintain the Honourables' willingness togrant the large loan he intended to ask to fill his empty treasury stillmore weighty than those with which he had repulsed Herr Pfinzing. 

On the other hand, the pardon granted to Ernst Ortlieb and WolffEysvogel could only tend to increase the good will of the Council. Theformer was given at once, the latter only conditionally after the FirstLosunger of the city, with several other Honourables, had recommendedit. The Emperor thought it advisable to defer this act of clemency. Aviolation of the peace of the country committed under his own eyes oughtnot to be pardoned during his stay in the place where the bloody deedwas committed. It would have cast a doubt upon the serious intent ofthe important measure which threatened with the severest punishment anyattempt upon the lives and property of others. 

So long as the Emperor held his court at Nuremberg, Wolff, against whomno accuser had yet appeared, must remain concealed. When the sovereignhad left the city he might again mingle with his fellow-citizens. Animperial letter alluding to the gratitude which Rudolph owed to thesoldiers of Marchfield, to whose band the evildoer belonged, and thewhole good city of Nuremberg for the hospitable reception tendered tohim and his household, should shield from punishment the young patricianwho had only drawn his sword in self-defence, and fulfil the petition ofthe Council for Wolff Eysvogel's restoration to the rights which he hadforfeited. 

The news of this promise gave Els the first happy hour after long daysof discomfort and the most arduous mental conflict. True, the measuresadopted by her friends seemed to have guarded her from the attacks ofthe old Countess Rotterbach; but Fran Rosalinde, since she had beenallowed more freedom to move about than her mother, who had beenconfined to the upper story, felt like a boat drifting rudderless downthe stream. She needed guidance and, as Els now ruled the house, askeddirection from her for even the most simple matters. Clinging to herlike a child deserted by its nurse, she told her the most hostile andspiteful remarks which the countess never failed to make whenever itsuited her daughter to bear her company. During the last few days theold lady had again won Rosalinde over to her side, and in consequence anenmity towards Els had sprung up, which was often very spiteful in itsmanifestations, and was the more difficult to bear, the more rigidly herposition as daughter of the house forbade energetic resistance. 

But most painful of all to the volunteer nurse was the sick man'smanner; for though Herr Casper rarely regained perfect consciousness, heshowed his unfriendly disposition often enough by glances, gestures, andwords stammered with painful effort. 

Yet the brave girl's patience seemed inexhaustible, and she resolutelyperformed even the most arduous tasks imposed by nursing the sufferer. Nay, the thought that Wolff owed his life to him aided her always tobe kind to her father-in-law, no matter how much he wounded her, and totend him no less carefully than she had formerly cared for her invalidmother. 

So she had held out valiantly until, at the end of a long, torturingweek, something occurred which destroyed her courage. On returning froman errand in the city, she was received at the door of the sick-room byher future mother-in-law with the statement that she would take chargeof her husband herself, and no longer allow the intruder to keep herfrom the place which belonged to her alone. The old countess's power ofpersuasion had strengthened her courage, and the unwonted energy of theweak, more than yielding woman, exerted so startling and at the sametime disheartening an effect upon the wearied, tortured young creaturethat she attempted no resistance. The entreaties of the leech and kindHerr Teufel, however, induced her to persist a short time longer. 

But when, soon after, the same incident occurred a second time, itseemed impossible to remain in their house even another day. 

Without opposing her lover's mother, she retired to her chamber and, weeping silently, spite of the earnest entreaties of the Sister ofCharity, packed the few articles she had brought with her and preparedto leave the post maintained with so much difficulty. To be again withEva under the protection of her uncle and aunt now seemed the highestgoal of her longing. She did not wish to go home; for after hisliberation from the tower her father had had a long conversation withWolff and old Berthold Vorchtel, and then, at the desire of the Council, had ridden to Augsburg and Ulm to arrange the affairs of the Eysvogelfirm. He had felt that he could be spared by his family, knowing thathis younger daughter was safe at Schweinau, and having heard thatWolff's pardon would not be long delayed. 

Eva, too, had experienced toilsome days and many an anxious night. True, Biberli and the carrier's widow, with her children, had been moved tothe Beguines' house, where she could pursue her charitable work safefrom the rude attacks of the criminal inmates of the hospital; but whatheavy cares had burdened her concerning the two patients for whom shewas battling with death! how eagerly she watched for tidings from theneighbourhood of the Siebenburgs! what hours of trouble were caused bythe prior of the Dominicans and his envoys, who strove to convince herthat her intention of renouncing her conventual life was treason toGod, and that the boldness with which she had released herself from theformer guides of her spiritual life and sought her own way would leadher to heresy and perdition! How painful, too, was the feeling thatshe was being examined to discover whether the Abbess Kunigunde had anyshare in her change of purpose!

The torture to which stronger men rarely succumbed seemed to threatenthe life of the more delicate ex-schoolmaster. At first the leech Otto, who, to please Els and Fran Christine, and touched by the brave spiritof this humble man, had daily visited Biberli, believed that he couldnot save him. On the straw pallet, and with the incompetent nursingat the hospital, he would have died very speedily, and what would havebefallen his poor mangled toes and fingers in the hands of the barberswho managed affairs there?

At the Beguines the kindly, skilful old physician had bandaged his handsand feet as carefully as if he had been the most aristocratic gentleman, and no prince could have been more tenderly and patiently watched bytrained nurses; for, wonderful to relate, Eva, who had so willinglyleft her sick mother to her sister's care, and had often been vexed withherself because she could not even remotely equal Els beside the couchof the beloved invalid, rendered the mangled squire every service witha touch so light and firm that the old physician often watched her withglad astonishment. 

Caution, the quality she most lacked, seemed to have suddenly waked froma long slumber with doubly clear, far-seeing eyes. If it was necessaryto turn the sick man, she paid special heed to every aching spot in histortured body, and invented contrivances which she arranged with patientcare to save him pain. 

Her own bed had been placed in the widow's chamber next to Biberli's, and from the night that her Aunt Christine had permitted her to remainin the Beguine house, she, who formerly had loved sleep and slumberedsoundly, had been beside the sick woman at the least sign. On the thirdday she rendered her, with her own hands, every service for which shehad formerly needed a Beguine's aid. She had possessed the gift ofuttering words of cheer and comfort even to her invalid mother betterthan any one else, and often gave new courage to the suffering man whenalmost driven to despair by the anguish of pain assailing him in tenplaces at once. How kindly she taught him what comfort the suffererfinds who not only moves his lips and turns his rosary in prayer, as hehad hitherto done, but commends himself and his pain to Him who enduredstill worse agonies on the cross! What a smile of content rested on thelips of the man who, in the ravings of fever, had so often repeated thewords "steadfast and true, " when she told him that he had done honourmost marvellously to his favourite virtue, represented by the T and St, and might expect his master's praise and gratitude!

All these things fell from her lips more warmly the more vividly sheconjured up the image of the man for whose sake the gallant fellow hadendured this martyrdom, the happier it made her to help Heinz, thoughwithout his knowledge, to pay the great debt of gratitude which he owedthe faithful servitor. She was not aware of it, but the strongest ofall educational powers--sorrow and love--were transforming the unsocial, capricious "little saint" into a noble, self-sacrificing woman. She wastraining herself to be what she desired to become to her lover, and thesecret power whose influence upon her whole being she distinctly feltat each success, she herself called--remembering the last words of herdying mother--"the forge fire of life. "

At first it had been extremely painful for Biberli to allow himself tobe nursed with such devoted, loving care by the very person from whom hehad earnestly endeavoured to estrange his master; but soon the warmestgratitude cast every other feeling into the shade, and when he woke fromthe light slumber into which he frequently fell and saw Eva beside hisbed, his heart swelled and he often felt as if Heaven had sent her tohim to restore the best gifts for which he was struggling--life andhealth. When he began to recover, the faithful fellow clung to her withthe utmost devotion; but this by no means lessened his love for hismaster and his absent sweetheart. On the contrary, the farther hisconvalescence progressed the more constantly and anxiously he thought ofHeinz and Katterle, the more pleasure it afforded him to talk about themand to discuss with Eva what could have befallen both. 

It was impossible--Biberli believed this as firmly as his nurse--thatHeinz could coldly forget his follower or Katterle neglect what she hadundertaken. So both agreed in the conjecture that the messengers sent bythe absent ones had been prevented from reaching their destination. 

The supposition was correct. Two troopers despatched by Heinz had beencaptured by the Siebenburgs, and the maid's messenger had cheated herby pocketing the small fee which she paid him and performing anothercommission instead of going to Schweinau. Of the knight's letters whichhad fallen into the wrong hands, one had besought the Emperor Rudolphto pardon the loyal servant, the other had thanked Biberli, and informedhim that his master remembered and was working for him. 

Katterle had reached Heinz, had been required to tell him everything sheknew about Eva and Biberli down to the minutest detail and had then beencommissioned to repeat to the latter what had been also contained in theletter. On the way home, however, she only reached Schwabach, for thelong walk in the most terrible anxiety, drenched by a pouring rain, whilst enquiring her way to Heinz, and especially the terribleexcitements of the last few days, had been too much even for hervigorous constitution. Her pulse was throbbing violently and her browwas burning when she knocked at the door of Apel, the carrier, who hadtaken her into his waggon at Schweinau, and the good old man and hiswife received and nursed her. The fever was soon broken, but weaknessprevented her journeying to Schweinau on foot, and, as Apel intended togo to Nuremberg the first of the following week, she had been forcedto content herself with sending the messenger who had betrayed herconfidence. 

How hard it was for Katterle to wait! And her impatience reached itsheight when, before she could leave, some of the imperial troopersstabled their horses at the carrier's and reported that CastleSiebenburg and the robber stronghold of the Absbachs were destroyed. SirHeinz Schorlin had fought like St. George. Now he was detained only bythe fortresses of the knights Hirschhorn and Oberstein, whose situationon inaccessible crags threatened long to defy the imperial power. 

The thought that the strong Swiss girl might be ill never entered themind of Biberli or Eva, but in quiet hours he asked himself which itwould probably grieve him most to miss forever--his beautiful youngnurse or his countrywoman and sweetheart. His heart belonged solelyto Katterle, but towards Eva he obeyed the old trait inherent in hisnature, and clung with the same loyalty hitherto evinced for his masterto her whom he now regarded as his future mistress. 

This she must and should be, because already life seemed to him nolonger desirable without her voice. Never had he heard one whose puretones penetrated the heart more deeply. And had Heinz been permitted tohear her talk with the Dominicans, he would have given up his wish torenounce the world and, instead of entering a monastery, striven withevery power of his being to win this wonderful maiden, for whom hisheart glowed with such ardent love. When she persisted in her refusal totake the veil because she had learned that it is possible in the worldto live at peace with one's self, feel in harmony with God, and followin love and fidelity the footsteps of the Saviour, she had heard manya kindly word of admonition, many a sharp reproof, and many a fiercethreat from the Dominicans, but she did not allow herself to be ledastray, and understood how to defend herself so cleverly and forciblythat his heart dilated, and he asked himself how a girl of eighteencould maintain her ground so firmly, so shrewdly, and with such thoroughknowledge of the Scriptures, against devout, highly educated men--nay, the most learned and austere. 

The Abbess Kunigunde had also appeared sometimes at his bedside, andEva's conversations with her revealed to him that she had obtained herarmour against the Dominicans from the Sisters of St. Clare. True, atfirst the former had laboured with the utmost earnestness to win herback to the convent, but two days before she had met two Dominicans, andthe evident efforts of one who seemed to hold a distinguished positionamong his brother monks to gain Eva for his own order and withdraw herfrom the Sisters of St. Clare, whom he believed to be walking in pathsless pleasing to God, had so angered the abbess that she lost the power, and perhaps also the will, to maintain her usual composure. Therefore, yesterday she had opposed her niece's wish to remain in the world lessstrongly than before; nay, on parting with her she had clasped her inher arms and, as it were, restored her freedom by admitting that variouspaths led to the kingdom of heaven. 

This was balm to the convalescent's wounds; for he cherished no wishmore ardent than to accompany his master to the marriage altar, whereEva would give her hand to Heinz Schorlin as her faithful husband, andthe abbess's last visit seemed to favour this desire. Besides, he whohad gazed at life with open eyes had never yet beheld a brave youngwarrior, soon after reaping well-earned renown, yearn for the monk'scowl. Doubt, suffering, and a miraculous escape from terrible peril hadinspired the joyous-hearted Heinz with the desire to renounce the world. Now, perhaps, Heaven itself was showing him that he had not received theboon of life to bury himself in a monastery, but to be blessed with thefairest and noblest of gifts, the love of a woman who, in his opinion, had not her equal beneath the wide vault of the azure sky. 

Countess Cordula was not suited for his master. During the long hoursthat he lay quietly on his pallet a hundred reasons strengthened thisopinion. The man for whom he had steadfastly endured such severe agony, and was suffering still, was worthy of a more beautiful, devout, andcalm companion-nay, the very loveliest and best--and that, in his eyes, was the girl for whom Heinz had felt so overmastering a passion justbefore his luckless winnings at the gaming table. This potent fireof love might doubtless be smothered with sand and ashes, but neverextinguished. 

Such were Biberli's thoughts as he recalled the events of the previousday. He had found Eva less equable in her tender management than usual. Some anxiety concerning something apart from her patients seemed tooppress her. True, she had not wished to reveal it, but his eyes werekeen. 

Soon after sunrise that morning she had carefully rebandaged his crushedthumb, which was not yet healed. Then she had gone away, as she assuredhim, for only a few hours. Now the sun was already high in the heavens, yet she did not return, though it was long past the time for thebandages to be renewed, and the drops to be given which sustained thelife of the dying Minorite in the adjoining room. It made him uneasy, and when anxiety had once taken root in his heart it sent its shootsforward and backward, and he remembered many things in which Eva hadbeen different the day before. Why had she whispered so long with HerrPfinzing and then looked so sorrowfully at him, Biberli? Why had FrauChristine come not less than three times yesterday afternoon, and againin the evening? She had some secret to discuss with the surgeon Otto. Had any change taken place in his condition? and did the leech intendto amputate his thumb, or even his hand? But, no! only yesterday he hadbeen assured that he could save all five fingers, and his sorelymangled left foot too. The widow was better, and all hope of saving theMinorite's life had been relinquished two days ago. Eva's anxiety musthave some other cause, and he asked himself, in alarm, whether she couldhave received any bad news from his master or Katterle?

A terrible sense of uneasiness overpowered him, and the necessity ofconfiding it to some one took such possession of the loquacious man thathe called little Walpurga from the next room. But instead of running tohis bedside, she darted forward with the joyful cry, "She is coming!"towards the door and Eva. 

Soon after the latter, leading the child by the hand, entered the room. Biberli felt as if the sun were rising again. How gay her greetingsounded! The expression of her blue eyes seemed to announce somethingpleasant. Whoever possessed this maiden would be sure to have no lack oflight in his home, no matter how dark the night might be. 

He must have been mistaken concerning the anxiety which had seemed tooppress her on his account. Instead of bad news, she was surely bringinggood tidings. Nay, she had the best of all; for Katterle, Eva told him, would soon arrive. But his future wife had been ill too. Her cheeks hadnot yet regained their roundness or their bright colour. 

Sharp-sighted Biberli noticed this, and exclaimed: "Then she is herealready! For, my mistress, how else could you know how her cheeks look?"

Soon afterwards the maid was really standing beside her lover's couch. 

Eva allowed them to enjoy the happiness of meeting undisturbed, and wentto her other two patients. When she returned to the couple, Katterlehad already related what she had experienced in Schwabach. It was littlemore than Eva had already heard from her uncle and others. 

That Seitz Siebenburg, whom he bitterly hated, had fallen in a swordcombat by his master's own hand, afforded Biberli the keenest delight. No portion of the narrative vexed him except the nonarrival of themessengers, and the probability that some time must yet elapse ere Heinzcould sheathe his sword. 

Eva's cheeks flushed with joy and pride as she heard how nobly her loverhad justified the confidence of his imperial patron. But it seemed to beimpossible to follow Biberli's flood of eloquence to the end. She was inhaste, and he had been right concerning the cares which oppressed her. 

She had stood beside his couch the day before with a heavy heart, andit required the exercise of all her strength to conceal the anxiety withwhich her mind was filled, for if she did not intercede for him thatvery day; if his pardon could not be announced early the followingmorning during the session of the court in the Town Hall, then thehalf-recovered man must be surrendered to the judges again, and Ottobelieved that the torture would be fatal to his enfeebled frame. 

The tailor and his adherents, as Eva knew from Herr Pfinzing, weremaking every effort to obtain his condemnation and prove to the citythat they had not censured the proceedings of the Ortlieb household asmere reckless slanderers. Eva and her sister would be again mentioned inthe investigation, and were even threatened with an examination. 

At first this had startled her, but she believed her uncle's assurancethat this examination would fully prove her innocence before the eyesof the whole world. For her own sake Eva surely would not have sufferedherself to be so tortured by anxiety night and day, or undertaken andresolved to dare so much. The thought that the faithful follower whomher patient nursing had saved from death and to whom she had becomewarmly attached must now lose his life, and Heinz Schorlin be robbed ofthe possibility of doing anything for him, had cast every other fear inthe shade, and had kept her constantly in motion the evening before andthis morning. 

But all that she and her Aunt Christine had attempted in behalf of theimperilled man had been futile. To apply to the Emperor again every one, including the magistrate, had declared useless, since even the Burgravehad been refused. 

The members of the Council and the judges in the court had already, atAunt Christine's solicitation, deferred the proceedings four days, butthe law now forbade longer delay. Though individuals would gladlyhave spared the accused the torture, its application could scarcely beavoided, for how many accusers and witnesses appeared against him, andif there were weighty depositions and by no means truthful replies onthe part of the prisoner, the torture could not be escaped. It legallybelonged to the progress of the investigation, and how many who had byno means recovered from the last exposure to the rack were constantlyobliged to enter the torture chamber? Besides, the judges would becharged with partiality by the tailor and his followers, and to showsuch visible tokens of favour threatened to prejudice the dignity of thecourt. 

She had found good will everywhere, but all had withheld any positivepromise. It was so easy to retreat behind the high-sounding words"justice and law, " and then: who for the sake of a squire--who, moreover, was in the service of a foreign knight--would awaken therighteous indignation of the artisans, who made the tailor's cause theirown. 

Whatever the aunt and niece tried had failed either wholly or partially. Besides, Eva had been obliged to keep in the background in order not toexpose herself to the suspicion of pleading her own cause. Many probablythought that Frau Christine herself was talking ostensibly in behalf ofthe servant and really for her brother's slandered daughter. 

When Eva met Katterle in front of the hospital, she had passed withoutnoticing her, so completely had sorrow, anxiety, and the effort to thinkof some expedient engrossed her attention. 

It had been very difficult to meet Biberli with an untroubled manner, yet she had even succeeded in showing a bright face to the carrier'swidow, as well as to Father Benedictus, whose hours seemed to benumbered, and who only yesterday had wounded her deeply. 

When she returned from the Minorite's room to Biberli's the lovers wereno longer alone. The fresh, pleasant face of a vigorous woman, whohad already visited the sufferer several times, greeted her beside hiscouch. 

When, in the exchange of salutations, her eyes met Eva's the lattersuddenly found the plan of action she had vainly sought. Gertrude ofBerne could help her take the chance which, in the last extremity, she meant to risk, for she was the wife of the Swiss warder in theBurgrave's castle. It certainly would not be difficult for her toprocure her an interview with the Burgravine Elizabeth. If the noblelady could not aid herself, she could--her cheeks paled at the thought, yet she resolutely clung to it--present her to her brother, the Emperor. 

When Eva, in a low tone, told Frau Gertrude what she hoped to accomplishat the castle, she learned that the Emperor had ridden with theArchduchess Agnes and a numerous train to the imperial forest, to showhis Bohemian daughter-in-law the beekeeper's hives, and would scarcelyreturn before sunset; but the Burgravine had remained at home on accountof a slight illness. 

Nevertheless Eva wished to go to the castle, and, whatever reception thenoble lady bestowed upon her, she would return to Schweinau as soon aspossible. Father Benedictus was so ill that she could not remain awayfrom him long. 

If the Burgravine could do nothing for Biberli, she would undertake therisk which made her tremble, because it compelled her, the young girl, to appear alone at the court with all its watchful eyes and sharptongues. She would go to the fortress to beseech the Emperor herself forpardon. 

She could act with entire freedom to-day, for her uncle had ridden tothe city and, Frau Gertrude said, was one of the party who accompaniedthe Emperor to the beekeeper's, whilst her aunt had just gone toNuremberg to see Els, who had besought her, in a despairing letter, tolet her come to Schweinau, for her power of endurance was exhausted. 

How gladly Eva would have accompanied her aunt to her sister to exhorther to take courage! What a strange transformation of affairs! Eversince she could think Els had sustained her by her superior strength andperseverance. Now she was to be the stronger, and teach her to exercisepatience. 

She thought she had gained the right to do so. Whilst Eva was stillexplaining her plan to Frau Gertrude, she herself perceived that she hadtaken no account of time. 

It was nearly noon, and if she ordered a sedan-chair to convey her tothe city and back again to Schweinau, it would be too late to approachthe Emperor as a petitioner. She could fulfil her design only byriding; but the warder's wife reminded her that it would be contrary tocustom--nay, scarcely possible--to appear before the Emperor, or evenhis sister, in a riding habit. 

But the young girl speedily found a way to fulfil her ardent wish toaid. On her swift palfrey, which her uncle had sent to Schweinau longbefore that she might refresh herself, after her arduous duties, by aride, she would go to the city, stop at her own home, and have hernew expensive mourning clothes taken to the castle. The only doubt waswhether she could change her garments in the quarters of the Swiss, andwhether Frau Gertrude would help her do so. 

The latter gladly assented. There was no lack of room in her apartments, nor did Frau Gertrude, who had served the Burgravine as waiting maidmany years before her marriage, lack either skill or good will. 

So she went directly home on her mule; but Eva, after promising herpatients to return soon, hastened to her uncle's residence. 

There she mounted the palfrey and reached the city gate a long timebefore the Swiss. The clothes she needed were soon found in the Ortliebmansion, and she was then carried in a sedan-chair to the castle withher wardrobe, whilst the groom led her palfrey after her. CountessCordula was not at home; she, too, had ridden to the forest with theEmperor. 

The Burgravine Elizabeth willingly consented to receive the charmingchild whose fate had awakened her warm interest. She had just beenhearing the best and most beautiful things about Eva, for the leech Ottohad been called to visit her in her attack of illness, and the old manwas overflowing with praises of both sisters. He indignantly mentionedthe vile calumnies with which Heinz Schorlin's name was associated, andwhich base slander had fixed upon the innocent girls whose pure moralityhe would guarantee. 

The great lady, who probably remembered having directed Heinz'sattention to Eva at the dance, understood very clearly that they couldnot fail to attract each other. Of all the knights in her imperialbrother's train, none seemed to the Burgravine more worthy of her favourthan her gay young countryman, whose mother had been one of the friendsof her youth. She would gladly have rendered him a service and, in thiscase, not only for his own sake but still more on account of the rarefidelity of his servant, who was also a native of her beloved Swissmountains. Yet, notwithstanding all this, it seemed impossible to bringthis matter again before the Emperor. She knew her husband, and afterthe rebuff he had received on account of the tortured man he would beangry if she should plead his cause with her royal brother. 

But her kind heart, and the regard which both Eva and Heinz Schorlin hadinspired, strengthened her desire to aid, as far as lay in her power, the brave maiden who urged her suit with such honest warmth, and thepetitioner's avowal of her intention, as a last resort, of appealingto the Emperor in person showed her how to convert her kind wishes intodeeds. 

Let Eva's youth and beauty try to persuade the Emperor to an act ofclemency which he had refused to wisdom and power. 

After supper her brother received various guests, and she could presentthe daughter of a Nuremberg patrician whom he already knew, and whoserare charms had attracted his notice. 

Though she had been compelled to forego the ride to the forest, she waswell enough to appear at supper in the Emperor's residence, which wasclose to her own castle. When the meal was over she would take Evaherself to her royal brother. 

She told her this, and the gratitude which she received was so warm andearnest that it touched her heart, and as she bade the beautiful, bravechild farewell she clasped her in her arms and kissed her. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Encouraged and hopeful, Eva again mounted her palfrey, and urged theswift animal outside the city to so rapid a pace that the old groomon his well-fed bay was left far behind. But the change of dress, thewaiting, and the numerous questions asked by the Burgravine had consumedso much time that the poplars were already casting long shadows when shedismounted before the hospital. 

Sister Hildegard received her with an embarrassment by no means usual, but which Eva thought natural when the former told her that the dyingFather Benedictus had asked for her impatiently. The widow was doingwell, and Biberli would hardly need her; for the wife of a Swabianknight in whose service he had formerly been was sitting by his couchwith her young daughter, and their visit seemed to please him. 

Eva remarked in surprise that she thought the sick man had never servedany one except the Schurlins, but she was in too much haste for furtherquestions, and entered the room where Biberli lay. 

Her face was flushed by the rapid ride; her thick, fair hair, whichusually fell loosely on her shoulders, had been hastily braided beforeshe mounted her horse, but the long, heavy braids had become unfastenedon the way, and now hung in tresses round her face and pliant figure. 

She waved her hand gaily from the threshold to the patient for whom shehad done and dared so much; but ere approaching his couch she modestlysaluted the stately matron who was with Biberli, and nodded a pleasantwelcome to her daughter, whose pretty, frank face attracted her. Afterthe Swabians had cordially returned her greeting, she briefly excusedherself, as an urgent duty would not permit her to yield to her desireto remain with them. 

Lastly, she addressed a few hasty questions to the squire about hishealth, kissed little Walpurga, who had nestled to her side, bade hertell her another that she would come to her later, and entered the nextroom. 

"Well?" Biberli asked his visitors eagerly, after the door had closedbehind her. 

"Oh, how beautiful she is!" cried the younger lady quickly, but hermother's voice trembled with deep emotion as she answered: "How Iobjected to my son's marriage with the daughter of a city family! Nay, I intended to cast all the weight of my maternal influence between Heinzand the Nuremberg maiden. Yet you did not say too much, my friend, andwhat your praise began Eva's own appearance has finished. She will bewelcome to me as a daughter. I have scarcely ever seen anything morelovely. That she is devout and charitable and, moreover, has a clearintellect and resolute energy, can be plainly perceived in spite of thefew minutes which she could spare us. If Heaven would really suffer ourHeinz to win the heart of this rare creature----"

"Every fibre of it is his already, " interrupted Biberli. "Therub--pardon me, noble lady!--is somewhere else. Whether he--whetherHeinz can be induced to renounce the thought of the monastery, is thequestion. "

He sighed faintly as he gazed into the still beautiful, strong, and yetkindly face of the Lady Wendula Schorlin, Sir Heinz's mother, for shewas the older visitor. 

"We ought not to doubt that, " replied the matron firmly. "As the lastof his ancient race, it is his duty to provide for its continuance, notsolely for his own salvation. He was always a dutiful son. "

"Yet, " replied Biberli thoughtfully, "'Away with those who gave uslife!' was the exhortation of Father Benedictus in the next room. 'Awaywith the service of sovereign and woman!' he cried to our knight. 'Awaywith everything that stands in the way of your own salvation!' And, "Biberli added, "St. Francis was not the first to devise that. Our Lordand Saviour commanded His disciples to leave father and mother and tofollow Him. "

"Who will prevent his walking in the paths of Jesus Christ?" replied theLady Wendula? "Yet, though he follows His footsteps, he must and cando so as a scion of a noble race, as a knight and the brave soldierand true servant of his Emperor, which he is, as a good son and, Godwilling, as a husband and father. He is sure of my blessing if he wieldshis sword as a champion of his holy faith. When my two daughters tookthe veil I submissively yielded. They can pray for heavenly bliss fortheir brother and ourselves. My only son, the last Schorlin, I neithercan nor will permit to renounce the world, in which he has tasks toperform which God Himself assigned him by his birth. "

"And how could Heinz part from this angel, " cried Maria--to whom, nextto her mother, her brother was the dearest person on earth--"if he isreally sure of her love!"

She herself had not yet opened her heart to love. To wander throughforest and field with the aged head of her family, assist her mother inhousekeeping, and nurse the sick poor in the village, had hitherto beenthe joy and duty of her life. Gaily, often with a song upon her lips, she had carelessly seen one day follow another until Schorlin Castlewas besieged and destroyed, and her dear uncle, the Knight Ramsweg, wasslain in the defence of the fortress confided to his care. Then she andher mother were taken to the convent at Constance. Both remained therein perfect freedom, as welcome guests of the nuns, until the mountedcourier brought a letter from the Knight Maier of Silenen, her cousin, who wrote from Nuremberg that Heinz, like his sisters, intended torenounce the world. 

Lady Schorlin set out at once, and with an anxious heart rode toNuremberg with her daughter as fast as possible. 

They had arrived a few hours before and gone to their cousin fromSilenen. From him the Lady Wendula learned what her maternal lovedesired to know. Biberli's fate brought her, after a brief rest, to thehospital, and how it comforted the faithful fellow's heart to see thenoble lady who had confided his master to his care, and in whose housethe T and St had been embroidered on his long coat and cap!

Lady Wendula had remembered these letters, and when she spoke of themhe replied that since he had partially verified what the T and St hadannounced to people concerning his character, and to which the lettershad themselves incited him, he no longer needed them. 

Then he lapsed into silence, and at last, as the result of hismeditations, told his mistress that there was something unusual abouthis insignificant self, because he earnestly desired to practise thevirtues whose possession he claimed before the eyes of the people. Hehad usually found the worst wine in the taverns with showy signs, andwhen the Lady Wendula's daughter had embroidered those letters on thecloth for him, what he furnished the guests was also of very doubtfulquality. On his sick bed he had been obliged to place no curb upon hisproneness to reflection, and in doing so had discovered that there wasno virtue which can be owned like a house or a steed, but that each mustbe constantly gained anew, often amidst toil and suffering. One thing, however, was now firmly established in his belief: that his favouritevirtues were really the fairest of all, because--one will answer forall--man never felt happier than when he had succeeded in keeping hisfidelity inviolate and maintaining his steadfastness. He had learned, too, from Fraulein Eva that the Redeemer Himself promised the crown ofeternal life to those who remain faithful unto death. In this confidencehe awaited the jailers, who perhaps would come very soon to lead himinto the most joyless of all apartments--the Nuremberg torture chamber. 

Then he told the ladies what he knew of the love which united Heinzand Eva. The four Fs which he had advised his master to heed in hiswooing--Family, Figure, Favor, and Fortune--he no longer deemed theright touch-tones. Whilst he was forced to lie idly here he hadfound that they should rather be exchanged for four Ss--Spirituality, Steadfastness, Stimulation, and Solace--for the eyes and the heart. 

All these were united in Eva and, moreover, there could be no objectionto the family to which she belonged. 

Thereupon he had commenced so enthusiastic a eulogy of his beloved nurseand preserver that more than once Lady Wendula, smiling, stopped him, accusing him of permitting his grateful heart to lead him to suchexaggeration that the maiden he wished to serve would scarcely thankhim. 

Yet Eva's personal appearance had disappointed neither the experiencedmother nor the easily won daughter. Nay, when Maria Schorlin gazed ather through the half-open door of the Minorite's room, because she didnot want to lose sight of the girl who had already attracted her onaccount of her hard battle in the cause of love, and who speciallycharmed her because it was her Heinz whom she loved, she thought nohuman being could resist the spell which emanated from Eva. 

With her finger on her lip she beckoned to her mother, and she, too, could not avert her eyes from the wonderful creature whom she hoped soonto call daughter, as she saw Eva standing, with eyes uplifted to heaven, beside the old man's couch, and heard her, in compliance with his wish, as she had often done before, half recite, half sing in a low voice theSong of the Sun, the finest work of St. Francis. 

The words were in the Italian language, in which this song had flowedfrom the poet heart of the Saint of Assisi, so rich in love to God andall animate nature; for she had learned to speak Italian in the Conventof St. Clare, to which several Italians had been transferred from theirown home and that of their order and its founder. 

Lady Wendula and her daughter could also follow the song; for the motherhad learned the beautiful language of the Saint of Assisi from theminnesingers in her youth, and in the early years of her marriage hadaccompanied the Emperor Frederick, with her husband, across the Alps. Soshe had taught Maria. 

As Lady Schorlin approached the door Eva, with her large eyes uplifted, was just beginning the second verse:

 "Praised by His creatures all Praised be the Lord my God By Messer Sun, my brother, above all, Who by his rays lights us and lights the day. Radiant is he, with his great splendour stored, Thy glory, Lord, confessing. 

 "By sister Moon and stars my Lord is praised, Where clear and fair they in the heavens are raised. 

 "By brother Wind, my Lord, thy praise is said, By air and clouds, and the blue sky o'erhead, By which thy creatures all are kept and fed. 

 "By one most humble, useful, precious, chaste, By sister Water, O my Lord, thou art praised. 

 "And praised is my Lord By brother Fire-he who lights up the night; Jocund, robust is he, and strong and bright. 

 "Praised art Thou, my Lord, by mother Earth, Thou who sustainest her and governest, And to her flowers, fruit, herbs, dost colour give and birth. 

 "And praised is my Lord By those who, for Thy love, can pardon give And bear the weakness and the wrongs of men. 

 "Blessed are those who suffer thus in peace, By Thee, the Highest, to be crowned in heaven. 

 "Praised by our sister Death, my Lord, art Thou, From whom no living man escapes. Who die in mortal sin have mortal woe, But blessed are they who die doing Thy will; The second death can strike at them no blow. 

 "Praises and thanks and blessing to my Master be! Serve ye Him all, with great humility. "

How God was loved by this saint, who beheld in everything the Most Highhad created kindred whom he loved and held intercourse with as withbrother and sister! Whatever the divine Father's love had formed--thesun, the moon and stars, the wood, water and fire, the earth and herfair children, the various flowers and plants--he made proclaim, eachfor itself and all in common, like a mighty chorus, the praise of God. Even death joins in the hymn, and all these sons and daughters of thesame exalted Father call to the minds of men the omnipotent, beneficentrule of the Lord. They help mortals to appreciate God's majesty, filltheir hearts with gratitude, and summon them to praise His sublimityand greatness. In death, whom the poet also calls his sister, he seesno cruel murderer, because she, too, comes from the Most High. "Andwhat sister, " asks the saint, "could more surely rescue the brother fromsorrow and suffering?" Whoever, as a child of God, feels like the lovingSaint of Assisi, will gratefully suffer death to lead him to union withthe Father. 

Benedictus had followed the magnificent poem with rapture. At the lines, "But blessed are they who die doing Thy will; The second death can strike at them no blow, "

he nodded gently, as if sure that the close of his earthly pilgrimagemeant nothing to him except the beginning of a new and happy life; butwhen Eva ended with the command to serve the Lord with great humility, he lowered his eyes to the floor hesitatingly, as if not sure ofhimself. 

But he soon raised them again and fixed them on the young girl. Theyseemed to ask the question whether this noble hymn did not draw hisnurse also to him who had sung it; whether, in spite of it, she stillpersisted, with sorrowful blindness, in her refusal to join theSisters of St. Clare, whom the saintly singer also numbered amongst hisfollowers. Yet he felt too feeble to appeal to her conscience now, ashe had often done, and bear the replies with which this highly gifted, peculiar creature, in every conversation his increasing weaknesspermitted him to share with her, had pressed him hard and sometimes evensilenced him. 

True, they fought with unequal weapons. Pain and illness paralysed hiskeen intellect, and difficulty of breathing often checked the eloquenttongue, both of which had served him so readily in his intercoursewith Heinz Schorlin. She contended with the most precious goal of youthbefore her eyes, fresh and healthy in mind and body, conscious, in themidst of the struggle, against doubt and suffering, for what she helddearest of her own vigorous energy, panoplied by the talisman of thelast mandate from the lips of her dying mother. 

Benedictus, during a long life devoted to the highest aims, had battledenough. He already saw Sister Death upon the threshold, and he wishedto depart in peace and reap the reward for so much conflict, pain, and sacrifice. The Lord Himself had broken his weapons. The MinoriteEgidius, his friend and companion in years, must carry on with Eva, Father Ignatius, the most eloquent member of the order in Nuremberg, with Heinz Schorlin, the work which he, Benedictus, had begun. Thoughhe himself must retire from the battlefield, he was sure that his postwould not remain empty. 

The chant had placed him in the right mood to take leave of theBrothers, whose arrival Sister Hildegard had just announced. 

Since yesterday he had seen the Saviour constantly before his mentalvision. Sometimes he imagined that he beheld Him beckoning to him;sometimes that He extended His arms to him; sometimes he even fanciedthat he heard His voice, or that of St. Francis, and both invited him toapproach. 

To-day-the leech had admitted it, and he himself felt it by his feveredbrow, the failing pulsations of the heart, and the chill in the coldfeet, perhaps already dead--he might expect to leave the dust of theworld and behold those for whom he longed face to face in a purer light. 

He wished to await the end surrounded only by the Brothers, who werefighting the same battle, reminded by nothing of the world, as if in theouter court of heaven. 

Eva, the beautiful yet perverse woman, was one of the last persons whomhe would have desired to have near him when he took the step into theother world. 

Speech was difficult. A brief admonition to renounce her earthly lovein order to share the divine one whose rich joys he hoped to taste thatvery day was the farewell greeting he vouchsafed Eva. When she tried tokiss his hand he withdrew it as quickly as his weakness permitted. 

Then she retired, and Father AEgidius led the Brothers of the order inNuremberg into the room. Meanwhile it had grown dark, and the BeguinePaulina brought in a two-branched candelabrum with burning candles. Evatook it from her hand and placed it so that the light should not dazzleher patient; but he saw her and, by pointing with a frowning brow to thedoor, commanded her to leave the room. 

She gladly obeyed. When she had passed the Brothers, however, she pausedon the threshold before going into the entry and again gazed at the oldman's noble, pallid features illumined by the candlelight. 

She had never seen him look so. He was gazing, radiant with joy, at themonks, who were to give him the benediction at his departure. Then heraised his dark eyes as if transfigured; he was thanking Heaven for somuch mercy, but the other Minorites fell on their knees beside the bedand prayed with him. 

How lovingly the old man looked into each face! He had never favouredher with such a glance. Yet no other nursing had been so difficult andoften so painful. At first he had shown a positive enmity to her, and even asked Sister Hildegard for another nurse; but no suitablesubstitute for Eva could be found. Then he had earnestly desired to beremoved to the Franciscan monastery in Nuremberg; this, however, couldnot be done because it would have hastened his death. So he was forcedto remain, and Eva felt that her presence was not the least thing whichrendered the hospital distasteful. 

Yet, as his aged eyes refused their service and he liked to have someoneread aloud from the gospels which he carried with him, or from noteswritten by his own hand, which also comprised some of the poems of St. Francis, and no one else in the house was capable of performing thisoffice, he at last explicitly desired to keep her for his nurse. 

To anoint and bandage, according to the physician's prescription, hissore feet and the deep scars made on his back by severe scourging, which had reopened, became more difficult the more plainly he showed hisaversion to her touch, because she--he had told her so himself--wasa woman. She certainly had not found it easy to keep awake and wear apleasant expression when, after a toilsome day, he woke her at midnightand forced her to read aloud until the grey dawn of morning. But hardestof all for Eva to bear were the bitter words with which he wounded her, and which sounded specially sharp and hostile when he reproached her forstanding between Heinz Schorlin and the eternal salvation for which theknight so eagerly longed. He seemed to bear her a grudge like thatwhich the artist feels towards the culprit who has destroyed one of hismasterpieces. 

Often, too, a chance word betrayed that he blamed Heaven for havingdenied him victory in the battle for the soul of Heinz. Schorlin whichhe had begun to wage in its name. True, such murmuring was alwaysfollowed by deep repentance. But in every mood he still strove topersuade Eva to renounce the world. 

When she confessed what withheld her from doing so, he at first tried toconvince her by opposing reasons, but usually strength to continue theinterchange of thought soon failed him. Then he confined himself tocondemning with harsh words her perverse spirit and worldly nature, andthreatening her with the vengeance of Heaven. 

Once, after repeating the Song of the Sun, as she had done just now, heasked whether she, too, felt that nothing save the peace of the cloisterwould afford the possibility of feeling the greatness and love of theMost High as warmly and fully as this majestic song commands us to do. 

Then, summoning her courage, she assured him of the contrary. Though buta simple girl, she, who had often been the guest of the abbess, felt thegrandeur and glory of God as much more deeply in the world and duringthe fulfilment of the hardest duties which life imposed than with theSisters of St. Clare, as the forests and fields were wider than thelittle convent garden. 

The old man, in a rage, upbraided her with being a blinded fool, and asked her whether she did not know that the world was finite andlimited, whilst what the convent contained was eternal and boundless. 

Another time he had wounded her so deeply by his severity that she hadfound it impossible to restrain her tears. But he had scarcely perceivedthis ere he repented his harshness. Nothing but love ought to movehis heart on the eve of a union with Him whom he had just called Loveitself, and with earnest and tender entreaties he besought Eva toforgive him for the censure which was also a work of love. Throughoutthe day he had treated her with affectionate, almost humble, kindness. 

All these things returned to Eva's thoughts as she left her grey-hairedpatient. 

He was standing on the threshold of the other world, and it was easy forher to think of him kindly, deeply as he had often wounded her. Nay, her heart swelled with grateful joy because she had been so patientand suffered nothing to divert her from the arduous duty which she hadundertaken in nursing the old man, who regarded her with such disfavour. 

A light had been brought into Biberli's room too. When Eva entered withglowing cheeks she found the Swabians still sitting beside his couch. The door leading into the chamber of the dying man had been closed longbefore, yet the notes of pious litanies came from the adjoining room. Lady Schorlin noticed her deep emotion with sympathy, and asked her tosit down by her side. Maria offered her own low stool, but Eva declinedits use, because she would soon be obliged to ride back to the city. Shepressed her hand upon her burning brow, sighing, "Now, now--after suchan hour, at court!"

Lady Wendula urged her with such kindly maternal solicitude to take alittle rest that the young girl yielded. 

The matron's remark that she, too, was invited to the reception at theimperial residence that evening brought an earnest entreaty from Eva toaccept the invitation for her sake, and the Swabian promised to gratifyher if nothing occurred to prevent. At any rate, they would ride to thecity together. 

Biberli's astonished enquiry concerning the cause of Eva's visit to thefortress was answered evasively, and she was glad when the singing inthe next room led the Swabian to ask whether it was true that the masterof her suffering friend on the couch, who intended to devote himself toa monastic life, meant to enter the order of the Minorite whom she hadjust left and become a mendicant friar. When Eva assented, the ladyremarked that members of this brotherhood had rarely come to her castle;but Biberli said that they were quiet, devout men who, content with thealms they begged, preached, and performed other religious duties. Theywere recruited more from the people than from the aristocratic classes. Many, however, joined them in order to live an idle life, supported bythe gifts of others. 

Eva eagerly opposed this view, maintaining that true piety could be mostsurely found in the order of St. Francis. Then, with warm enthusiasm, she praised its founder, asserting that, on the contrary, the Saint ofAssisi had enjoined labour upon his followers. For instance, one ofhis favourite disciples was willing to shake the nuts from the rottenbranches of a nut tree which no one dared to climb if he might havehalf the harvest. This was granted, but he made a sack of his wide browncowl, filled it with the nuts, and distributed them amongst his poor. 

This pleased the mother and daughter; yet when the former remarkedthat work of this kind seemed to her too easy for a young, noble, andpowerful knight, Eva agreed, but added that the saint also requiredan activity in which the hands, it is true, remained idle, but whichheavily taxed even the strongest soul. St. Francis himself had set theexample of performing this toil cheerfully and gladly. 

Whilst giving this information she had again risen. Sister Hildegard hadannounced that her palfrey and the horses of the guests had been led up. 

Finally Eva promised to mount at the same time as the Swabians, badefarewell to Biberli, who looked after her with surprise, yet silentlyconjectured that this errand to the Emperor was in his behalf, andthen went into the entry, where Sister Hildegard told her that FatherBenedictus had just died. 

The monks were still chanting beside his deathbed. Brother AEgidius, the friend and comrade of the dead man, however, had left them andapproached Eva. 

Deeply agitated, he struggled to repress his sobs as he told her thatthe old man's longing was fulfilled and his Saviour had summoned him. Todie thus, richly outweighed the many sacrifices he had so willingly madehere below during a long life. If Eva had witnessed his death she wouldhave perceived the aptness of the saying that a monk's life is bitter, but his death is sweet. Such an end was granted only to those who castthe world aside. Let her consider this once more, ere she renounced theeternal bliss for which formerly she had so devoutly yearned. 

Eva's only answer was the expression of her grief for his friend'sdecease. But whilst passing out into the darkness she thought: theholy Brother certainly had a beautiful and happy death, yet how gently, trusting in the mercy of her Redeemer, my mother also passed away, though during her life and on her deathbed she remained in the world. And then--whilst Father Benedictus was closing his eyes--what concerndid he probably have for aught save his own salvation, but my motherforgot herself and thought only of others, of those whom she loved, whilst the Saviour summoned her to Himself. Her eyes were already dimand her tongue faltered when she uttered the words which had guided herdaughter until now. The forge fire of life burns fiercely, yet to it mygratitude is due if the resolutions I formed in the forest after I hadgathered the flowers for her and saw Heinz kneeling in prayer have notbeen vain, but have changed the capricious, selfish child into a womanwho can render some service to others. 

If Heinz comes now and seeks me, I think I can say trustingly, "HereI am!" We have both striven for the divine Love and recognised itsglorious beauty. If later, hand in hand, we can interweave it with theearthly one, why should it not be acceptable to the Saviour? If Heinzoffers me his affection I will greet it as "Sister Love, " and it willcertainly summon me with no lower voice to praise the Father from whomit comes and who has bestowed it upon me, as do the sun, the moon andstars, the fire and water. 

Whilst speaking she went out, and after learning that Frau Christine andher husband had not yet returned, she rode with the Swabians towards thecity. 

In order not to pass through the whole length of Nuremberg, Eva guidedher friends around the fortifications. Their destination was almost thesame, and they chose to enter at the Thiergartnerthor, which was in thenorthwestern part of the city, under the hill crowned by the castle, whilst the road to Schweinau usually led through the Spitalthor. 

On the way Lady Wendula induced Eva to tell her many things aboutherself, urging her to describe her father and her dead mother. Herdaughter Maria, on the other hand, was most interested in her sisterEls, who, as she had heard from Biberli, was the second beautiful E. 

Eva liked to talk about her relatives, but her depression continuedand she spoke only in reply to questions, for the Minorite's death hadaffected her, and her heart throbbed anxiously when she thought of themoment that she must appear amongst the courtiers and see the Emperor. 

Would her errand be vain? Must poor Biberli pay for his resolutefidelity with his life? What pain it would cause her, and how heavily itwould burden his master's soul that he had failed to intercede for him!

Not until Lady Schorlin questioned her did Eva confess what troubledher, and how she dreaded the venture which she had undertaken on her ownresponsibility. 

They were obliged to wait outside the Thiergartnerthor, for it had justbeen opened to admit a train of freight waggons. 

Whilst Eva remained on the high-road, with the castle before her eyes, she sighed from the depths of her troubled heart: "Why should theEmperor Rudolph grant me, an insignificant girl, what he refused hissister's husband, the powerful Burgrave, to whom he is so greatlyindebted? Oh, suppose he should treat me harshly and bid me go back tomy spinning wheel!"

Then she felt the arm of the dignified lady at her side pass round herand heard her say: "Cheer up, my dear girl. The blessing of a woman whofeels as kindly towards you as to her own daughter will accompanyyou, and no Emperor will ungraciously rebuff you, you lovely, loyal, charitable child. "

At these words from her kind friend Eva's heart opened as if the dearmother whom death had snatched from her had inspired her with freshcourage, and from the very depths of her soul rose the cry, "Oh, how Ithank you!"

She urged her nimble palfrey nearer the lady's horse to kiss her lefthand, which held the bridle, but Lady Wendula would not permit it and, drawing her towards her, exclaimed, "Your lips, dear one, " and as herred mouth pressed the kind lady's, Eva felt as if the caress had sealedan old and faithful friendship. But this was not all. Maria also wishedto show the affection she had won, and begged for a kiss too. 

Without suspecting it, Eva, on the way to an enterprise she dreaded, received the proof that her lover's dearest relatives welcomed her withtheir whole hearts as a new member of the family. 

On the other side of the gate she was obliged to part from the Swabians. 

Lady Wendula bade her farewell with an affectionate "until we meetagain, " and promised positively to go to the reception at the castle. 

Eva uttered a sigh of relief. It seemed like an omen of success thatthis lady, who had so quickly inspired her with such perfect confidence, was to witness her difficult undertaking. She felt like a leader whotakes the field with a scanty band of soldiers and is unexpectedlyjoined by the troops of a firm friend. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

When Arnold, the warder from Berne, helped Eva from the saddle, a blazeof light greeted her from the imperial residence. The banquet was justbeginning. 

Frau Gertrude had more than one piece of good news to tell whileassisting the young girl. Among the sovereign's guests was her uncle themagistrate, who had accompanied the Emperor to the beekeeper's, andwith his wife, whom she would also find there, had been invited to thebanquet. Besides--this, as the best, she told her last--her father, Herr Ernst Ortlieb, had returned from Ulm and Augsburg, and a shorttime before had come to the fortress to conduct Jungfrau Els, by theBurgrave's gracious permission, to her betrothed husband's hiding place. Fran Gertrude had lighted her way, and a long separation might be bornefor such a meeting. 

The ex-maid was obliged to bestir herself that Eva might have a fewminutes for her sister and Wolff, yet she would fain have spent a muchlonger time over the long, thick, fair hair, which with increasingpleasure she combed until it flowed in beautiful waving tresses over therich Florentine stuff of her plain white mourning robe. 

The Swiss had also provided white roses from the Burgrave's garden tofasten at the square neck of Eva's dress. The latter permitted her todo this, but her wish to put a wreath of roses on the young girl's head, according to the fashion of the day, was denied, because Eva thoughtit more seemly to appear unadorned, and not as if decked for a festivalwhen she approached the Emperor as a petitioner. The woman whose lifehad been spent at court perceived the wisdom of this idea, and at lastrejoiced that she had not obtained her wish; for when her work wasfinished Eva looked so bewitching and yet so pure and modest, thatnothing could be removed or--even were it the wreath of roses--addedwithout injuring the perfect success of her masterpiece. 

Lack of time soon compelled the young girl to interrupt the exclamationsof admiration uttered by the skilful tiring woman herself, her littledaughter, the maidservant, and the friend whom Fran Gertrude had invitedto come in as if by accident. 

While following the warder's wife through various corridors and rooms, Eva thought of the hour in her own home before the dance at the TownHall, and it seemed as if not days but a whole life intervened, and shewas a different person, a complete contrast in most respects to the Evaof that time. 

Before the dance she had secretly rejoiced in the applause elicited byher appearance; now she was indifferent to it--nay, the more eagerly thespectators expressed their delight the more she grieved that the onlyperson whom she desired to please was not among them. 

How easy it had been to be led to the dance, and how hard was the errandawaiting her! Her heart shrank before the doubt awakened by the floodof light pouring from the windows of the imperial residence; thedoubt whether her lover would not avoid her if--ah, had it only beenpossible!--if he should meet her among the guests yonder; whether theeloquent Father Ignatius, who had followed him, might not already havewon from the knight a vow compelling him to turn from her and summon allhis strength of will to forget her. 

But, no! He could no more renounce his love than she hers. She wouldnot, dare not, let such terrible thoughts torture her now. 

Heinz was far away, and the fate of her love would be decided later. The cause of her presence here was something very different, andthe conviction that it was good, right, and certain of his approval, dispelled the pain that had overpowered her, and raised her courage. 

Unspeakably hard trials lay behind her, and harder ones must, perhaps, yet be vanquished. But she no longer needed to fear them, for shefelt that the strength which had awakened within her after she becameconscious of her love was still sustaining and directing her, and wouldenable her to govern matters which she could not help believing that sheherself would be too weak to guide to their goal. She felt freed fromher former wavering and hesitation, and as formerly in the modest houseof the Beguines, now in the stately citadel she realised that, in sorrowand severe trial, she had learned to assert her position in life by herown strength. Her father, whom she was to meet presently, wouldfind little outward change in her, but when he had perceived thetransformation wrought in the character of his helpless "little saint"it would please him to hear from her how wonderfully her mother's lastprophetic words were being fulfilled. 

She was emerging from the forge fire of life, steeled for everyconflict, yet those would be wrong who believed that, trusting to herown newly won strength, she had forgotten to look heavenward. On thecontrary, never had she felt nearer to her God, her Saviour, and thegracious Virgin. Without them she could accomplish nothing, yet for thefirst time she had undertaken tasks and sought to win goals which wereworthy of beseeching them for aid. Love had taught her to be faithfulin worldly life, and she said to herself, "Better, far better I cancertainly become; but firmer faith cannot be kept. "

Wolff's hiding place was a large, airy room, affording a view of theFrank country, with its meadows, fields, and forests. Eva saw thereby the light of the blazing pine chips her father, sister, andbrother-in-law. 

Yet the meeting between all these beloved ones after a long separationpartook more of sorrow than of joy. Els had really resolved to leave theEysvogel mansion, yet she met her Aunt Christine with the joyful cry: "Ishall stay! Wolff's father and I have become good friends. "

In fact, a few hours before Herr Casper had looked at her kindly andgratefully, and when she showed him how happy this rendered her, warmlyentreated her in a broken voice not to leave him. She had proved herselfto be his good angel, and the sight of her was the only bright spot inhis clouded life. Then she had gladly promised to stay, and intended tokeep her word. She had only accompanied her father, who had unexpectedlyreturned for a short time, because she could trust the nun who sharedher nursing of the paralysed patient, and he rarely recognised hiswatcher at night. 

How long Els had been separated from her lover! When Eva greeted thereunited pair they had already poured forth to each other the eventswhich had driven them to the verge of despair, and which now once morepermitted them with budding hope to anticipate new happiness. 

Eva had little time, yet the sisters found an opportunity to confidemany things to each other, though at first their father ofteninterrupted them by opposing his younger daughter's intention of goingto the Emperor as a supplicant. 

The girl whose wishes but a short time ago he had refused or gratified, according to the mood of the moment, like those of a child, had sincegained, even in his eyes, so well founded a claim to respect, sheopposed him in her courteous, modest way with such definiteness ofpurpose, Biberli's fate interested him so much, and the prospect ofseeing his daughters brought before the court was so painful, thathe admitted the force of Eva's reasons and let her set forth on herdifficult mission accompanied by his good wishes. 

Els had dropped her maternal manner; nay, she received her sister asher superior, and began to describe her work in the hospital to Wolff insuch vivid colours that Eva laid her hand on her lips and hurried out ofthe room with the exclamation, "If you insist upon our changing places, we will stand in future side by side and shoulder to shoulder! Farewelltill after the battle!"

She could not have given much more time to her relatives under anycircumstances, for the Burgravine's maid of honour who was to attendher to the reception was already waiting somewhat impatiently in FrauGertrude's room, and took her to the castle without delay. 

The place where they were to stay was the large apartment adjoining thedining hall. 

The confidence which Eva had regained on her way to her relativesvanished only too quickly in the neighbourhood of the sovereign and thesight of the formal reception bestowed on all who entered. Her heartthrobbed more and more anxiously as she realised for the first timehow serious a step she had taken; nay, it was long ere she succeeded incalming herself sufficiently to notice the clatter of the metal vesselsand the Emperor's deep voice, which often drowned the lower tones of theguests. Reverence for royalty was apparent everywhere. 

How much quieter this banquet was than those of the princes and nobles!The guests knew that the Emperor Rudolph disliked the boisterous mannersof the German nobility. Besides, the sovereign's mourning exerted arestraint upon mirth and recklessness. All avoided loud laughter, thoughthe monarch was fond of gaiety and heroically concealed the deep griefof his own soul. 

When the lord high steward announced to the maid of honour who hadbrought Eva here that dessert was served, the latter believed that thedreaded moment when she would be presented to the Emperor was close athand, but quarter of an hour after quarter of an hour passed and shestill heard the clanking of metal and the voices of the guests, whichnow began to grow louder, and amidst which she sometimes distinguishedthe strident tones of the court fool, Eyebolt, and the high ones of theCountess Cordula. 

Time moved at a snail's pace, and she already fancied her heart couldno longer endure its violent throbbing, when at last--at last--the heavyoak chairs were pushed noisily back over the stone floor of the dininghall. 

From the balcony of the audience chamber a flourish of trumpets echoedloudly along the arches of the lofty, vaulted ceiling of the apartment, and the Emperor, leading the company, crossed the threshold attended byseveral dignitaries, the court jesters, and some pages. 

His august sister, the Burgravine Elizabeth, leaned on his arm. Thepapal ambassador, Doria, in the brilliant robe of a cardinal, followed, escorting the Duchess Agnes, but he parted from her in the hall. Amongmany other secular and ecclesiastical princes and dignitaries appearedalso Count von Montfort and his daughter, the old First Losunger ofNuremberg, Berthold Vorchtel, and Herr Pfinzing with his wife. 

Several guests from the city entered at the same time through anotherdoor, among whom, robed in handsome festal garments, were Eva's newSwabian acquaintances. How gladly she would have hastened to them! Buta grey-haired stately man of portly figure, whose fur-trimmed cloak hungto his ankles--Sir Arnold Maier of Silenen, led them to a part of thehall very distant from where she was standing. 

To make amends, Count von Montfort and Cordula came very near her; butshe could not greet them. Each person--she felt it--must remain in hisor her place. And the restraint became stronger as the Duchess Agnes, giving one guest a nod, another a few words, advanced nearer and nearer, pausing at last beside Count von Montfort. 

The old huntsman advanced respectfully towards the Bohemian princess, and Eva heard the fourteen-year-old wife ask, "Well, Count, how faresyour wish to find the right husband for your wilful daughter?"

"Of course it must be fulfilled, Duchess, since your Highness deigned toapprove it, " he answered, with his hand upon his heart. 

"And may his name be known?" she queried with evident eagerness, herdark eyes sparkling brightly and a faint flush tingeing the slight shadeof tan on her child face. 

"The duty of a knight and paternal weakness unfortunately still seal mylips, " he answered. "Your Highness knows best that a lady's wish--evenif she is your own child--is a command. "

"You are praised as an obedient father, " replied the Bohemian witha slight shrug of the shoulders. "Yet you probably need not concealwhether the happy man, who is not only encouraged, but this time alsochosen by the charming huntress of many kinds of game, is numbered amongour guests. "

"Unfortunately he is denied the pleasure, your Highness, " replied thecount; but Cordula, who had noticed Eva, and had heard the DuchessAgnes's last words, approached her royal foe, and with a low, reverential bow, said: "My poor heart must imagine him far away fromhere amid peril and privation. Instead of breaking ladies' hearts, he isdestroying the castles of robber knights and disturbers of the peace ofthe country. "

The duchess, in silent rage, clenched her white teeth upon her quiveringlips, and was about to make an answer which would scarcely haveflattered Cordula, when the Emperor, who had left his distinguishedattendants, approached Eva, with the Burgravine still leaning on hisarm. 

She did not notice it; she was vainly trying to interpret the meaning ofCordula's words. True, she did not know that when no messenger broughtHeinz Schorlin's intercession for Biberli, in whose fate the countessfelt a sincere interest, she had commanded her own betrothed husbandto ride his horse to death in order to tell the master of the sorelyimperilled man what danger threatened his faithful servant, and remindhim, in her name, that gratitude was one of the virtues which beseemed atrue knight, even though the matter in question concerned only a servantBoemund Altrosen had obeyed, and must have overtaken Heinz long agoand probably aided him to rout the Siebenburgs and their followers. But Cordula read the young Bohemian's child heart, and it affordedher special pleasure to deal her a heavy blow in the warfare they werewaging, which perhaps might aid another purpose. 

The surprise and bewilderment which the countess's answer had aroused inEva heightened the spell of her beauty. 

Had she heard aright? Could Heinz really have sued for the countess'shand and been accepted? Surely, surely not! Neither was capable of suchperfidy, such breach of faith. Spite of the testimony of her own ears, she would not believe it. But when she at last saw the Emperor's tallfigure before her, and he gazed down at her with a kind, fatherlyglance, she answered it with her large blue eyes uplifted beseechingly, and withal as trustilly, as if she sought to remind him that, if he onlychose to do so, his power made it possible to convert everything whichtroubled and oppressed her to good. 

The tearful yet bright gaze of those resistless eyes pierced theEmperor's very soul, and he imagined how this lovely vision of purityand innocence, this rare creature, of whom he had heard such marvellousthings from Herr Pfinzing during their ride through the forest, wouldhave fired the heart of his eighteen-year-old son, so sensitive to everyimpression, whom death had snatched from him so suddenly. And whilstremembering Hartmann, he also thought of his dead son's most loyal anddearest friend, Heinz Schorlin, who was again showing such prowess inhis service, and had earned a right to recognition and reward. 

He did not know his young favourite's present state of mind concerninghis desire for a monastic life, but he had probably become aware thathis swiftly kindled, ardent love for yonder lovely child had led himinto an act of culpable imprudence. Besides, that very day many thingshad reached his ears concerning these two who suited each other asperfectly as Heinz Schorlin seemed--even to the Hapsburg, who wasloyally devoted to the Holy Church--unfit for a religious life. 

The Emperor could do much to further the union of this pair, yet he toowas obliged to exercise caution. If he joined them in wedlock as thoughthey were his own children he might be sure of causing loud complaintsfrom the priesthood, and especially the Dominicans, who were veryinfluential at the court of Rome--nay, he must be prepared foropposition directed against himself as well as the young pair. The priorof the order had already complained to the nuncio of the lukewarmnessof the Superior of the Sisters of St. Clare, who idly witnessed theestrangement from the Church of the soul of a maiden belonging to adistinguished family; and Doria had told the sovereign of this provokingmatter, and expressed the prior's hope that Sir Heinz Schorlin, whoenjoyed the monarch's favour, would be won for the monastic life. Opposition to this marriage, which he approved, and therefore desired tofavour, was also to be expected from another quarter. Therefore he mustact with the utmost caution, and in a manner which his antagonists couldnot oppose. 

At this reflection a peculiar smile, familiar to the courtiers as anomen of a gracious impulse, hovered around his lips, which during thepast month had usually revealed by their expression the grief thatburdened his soul and, raising his long forefinger in playful menace, hebegan:

"Aha, Jungfrau Eva Ortlieb! What have you been doing since I had theboon of meeting so rare a beauty at the dance? Do you know that you havecaused a turmoil amongst both ecclesiastical and secular authorities, and that many a precious hour has been shortened for me on your account?You have disturbed both the austere Dominican Fathers and the devoutSisters of St. Clare. The former think the gentle nuns treat you tooindulgently, and the latter charge the zealous followers of St. Domingowith too much strictness concerning you. 

"And, besides, if you were not so well aware of it yourself, you wouldscarcely believe it: for the sake of an insignificant serving man, whois under your special protection, I, who carry the burden of so manyserious and weighty affairs, am beset by those of high and low degree. How much, too, I have also suffered on account of his master, Sir HeinzSchorlin--again in connection with you, you lovely disturber of thepeace! To say nothing of the rest, your own father brings a chargeagainst him. The accusation is made in a letter which Meister Gottlieb, our protonotary, was to withhold by Herr Ortlieb's desire, but through awelcome accident it fell into my hands. This letter contains statements, my lovely child, which I--Nay, don't be troubled; the roses on yourcheeks are glowing enough already, and for their sake I will notmention its contents; only they force me to ask the question--comenearer--whether, though it caused you great annoyance that a certainyoung Swiss knight forced his way into your father's house under coverof the darkness, you do not hope with me, the more experienced friend, that this foolhardy fellow, misguided by ardent love, with the aid ofthe saints to whom he is beginning to turn, may be converted to greatercaution and praiseworthy virtue? Whether, in your great charity--which Ihave heard so highly praised--you would be capable"--Here he paused and, lowering his voice to a whisper, added:

"Do me the favour to lend your ear--what a well-formed little thingit is!--a short time longer, to confide to the elderly man who feelsa father's affection for you whether you would be wholly reluctant toattempt the reformation of the daring evil-doer yourself were he tooffer, not only his heart, but the little ring with--I will guaranteeit--his honourable, knightly hand?"

"Oh, your Majesty!" cried Eva, gazing at the gracious sovereign with anexpression of such imploring entreaty in her large, tearful blue eyesthat, as if regretting his hasty question, he added soothingly:

"Well, well, we will reach the goal, I think, at a slower pace. Such aconfession will probably flow more easily from the lips when soughtby the person for whom it means happiness or despair, than when astranger--even one as old and friendly as I--seeks to draw it from amodest maiden. "

Here he paused; he had just recognised Lady Wendula Schorlin. Waving hishand to her in joyous greeting, he ordered a page to conduct her to himand, again turning to Eva, said: "Look yonder, my beautiful child: thereis someone in whom you would confide more willingly than in me. I thinkSir Heinz's mother, who is worthy of all reverence and love--"

Here surprise and joy forced from Eva's lips the question, "His mother?"and there was such amazement in the tone that, as the Lady Wendula, bowing low, approached the Emperor, after exchanging the first greetingswhich pass between old friends who have been long separated, he askedhow it happened that though Eva seemed to have already met the matron, she heard with such surprise that she was the mother of his bravefavourite. 

Lady Wendula then confessed the name she had given herself, that shemight study the young girl without being known; and again that peculiarsmile flitted across the Emperor Rudolph's beardless face, and lingeredthere, as he asked the widow of his dead companion in arms whether, after such an examination, she believed she had found the right wife forher son; and she replied that a long life would not give her time enoughto thank Heaven sufficiently for such a daughter. 

The maiden who was the subject of this whispering, whose purport only aloving glance from the Lady Wendula revealed, pressed her hand upon herheart, whose impetuous throbbing stifled her breath. Oh, how gladly shewould have hastened to the mother of the man she loved and his youngsister, who stood at a modest distance, to clasp them in her arms, and confide to them what seemed too great, too much, too beautiful forherself alone, yet which might crumble at a single word from her lover'slips like an undermined tower swept away by the wind! But she was forcedto have patience, and submit to whatever might yet be allotted to her. 

Nor was she to lack agitating experiences, for the Emperor's murmuredquestion whether she desired to hear herself called "daughter" by thisadmirable lady had scarcely called forth an answer, which, though mute, revealed the state of her heart eloquently enough, than he added in alouder tone, though doubtfully: "Then, so far, all would be well; but, fair maiden, my young friend, unfortunately, was by no means satisfied, if I heard aright, with knocking at the door of a single heart. Thingshave reached my ears--But this, too, must be----"

Here he suddenly paused, for already during this conversation withthe ladies there had been a noise at the door of the hall, and now theperson whom the Emperor had just accused entered, closely followed bythe chamberlain, Count Ebenhofen, whose face was deeply flushed from hisvain attempts to keep Sir Heinz Schorlin back. 

Heinz's cheeks were also glowing from his struggle with the courtier, who considered it a grave offence that a knight should dare to appearbefore the Emperor at a peaceful social assembly clad in full armour. 

His appearance created a joyful stir among the other members of thecourt--nay, in spite of the sovereign's presence, cordial expressions ofwelcome fell from the lips of ladies and nobles. The Bohemian princessalone cast an angry glance at the blue ribbon which adorned the helmetof the returning knight; for "blue" was Countess von Montfort's colour, and "rose red" her own. 

The ecclesiastics whom Heinz passed whispered eagerly together. TheDuchess Agnes's confessor, an elderly Dominican of tall stature, waslistening to the provost of St. Sebald's, a grey-haired man a headshorter than he, of dignified yet kindly aspect, who, looking keenly atHeinz, remarked: "I fear that your prior hopes too confidently to winyonder young knight. No one walks with that bearing who is on the eve ofrenouncing the world. A splendid fellow!"

"To whom armour is better suited than the cowl, " observed the Bishop ofBamberg, a middleaged prelate of aristocratic appearance, approachingthe others. "Your prior, my dear brothers, would have little pleasure, I think, in the fish he is so eagerly trying to drag from the Minorite'snet into his own. He would leap ashore again all too quickly. He is notfit for the monastery. He would do better for a priest, and I would bidhim welcome as a military brother in office. "

"Bold enough he certainly is, " added the Dominican. "I would notadvise every one to enter the Emperor's presence and this distinguishedgathering in such attire. "

In fact, Heinz showed plainly that he had come directly from thebattlefield and the saddle, for a suit of stout chain armour, whichcovered the greater part of his tolerably long tunic, encased his limbs, and even the helmet which he bore on his arm, spite of the blue ribbonthat adorned it, was by no means one of the delicate, costly ones wornin the tournament. Besides, many a bruise showed that hard blows andthrusts had been dealt him. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

At Heinz Schorlin's quarters the day before his young hostess, FrauBarbel, had had the costly armour entrusted to her care, and thetrappings belonging to it, cleaned and put in order, but her labourwas vain; for Heinz Schorlin had ridden directly to the fortress fromSchweinau, without stopping at his lodgings in the city. 

Only a short time before he had learned that his two messengers had beencaptured and failed to reach their destination. He owed this informationto Sir Boemund Altrosen--and many another piece of news which Cordulahad given him. 

The main portion of Heinz Schorlin's task was completed when thecountess's ambassador reached him, so he set out on his homeward wayat once, and this time his silent friend had been eloquent and told himeverything which had occurred during his absence. 

He now knew that Boemund and Cordula had plighted their troth, what thefaithful Biberli had done and suffered for him, and lastly--even to theminutest detail--the wonderful transformation in Eva. 

When he had ridden forth he had hoped to learn to renounce her whom heloved with all the might of his fervid soul, and to bring himself toclose his career as a soldier with this successful campaign; but whilsthe destroyed castles and attacked the foe, former wishes were stilled, and a new desire and new convictions took their place. He could not giveup the profession of arms, which all who bore the name of Schorlin hadpractised from time immemorial, and to resign the love which unitedhim to Eva was impossible. She must become his, though she resembledan April day, and Biberli's tales of the danger which threatened thehusband from a sleep-walking wife returned more than once to his memory. 

Yet what beautiful April days he had experienced, and though Eva mighthave many faults, the devout child, with her angel beauty, certainly didnot lack the will to do what was right and pleasing to God. When she wasonce his she should become so good that even his mother at home wouldapprove his choice. 

He had wholly renounced the idea of going into the monastery. TheMinorite Ignatius, whom Father Benedictus had sent after him that hemight finish the work which the latter had begun, was a man who lackedneither intellect nor eloquence; but he did not possess the fieryenthusiasm and aristocratic confidence of the dead man. Yet when thezealous monks, whom the prior of the Dominicans had despatched tocomplete Heinz's conversion, opposed him, the former entered into suchsharp and angry arguments with them that the young knight, who witnessedmore than one of their quarrels, startled and repelled, soon held alooffrom all three and told them that he had resolved to remain in theworld, and his onerous office gave him no time to listen to theirwell-meant admonitions. 

He was not created for the monastery. If Heaven had vouchsafed him amiracle, it was done to preserve his life that--as Eva desired--he mightfight to the last drop of his blood for the Church, his holy faith, andthe beloved Emperor. But if he remained in the world, Eva would do thesame; they belonged to each other inseparably. Why, he could not haveexplained, but the voice which constantly reiterated it could not lie. 

After he had slain Seitz Siebenburg in the sword combat, and destroyedhis brother's castle, his resolve to woo Eva became absolutely fixed. 

His heart dictated this, but honour, too, commanded him to restore tothe maiden and her sister the fair fame which his passionate impetuosityhad injured. 

During the rapid ride which he and Boemund Altrosen took to Nuremberghe had stopped at Schweinau hospital, and found in Biberli, Eva's formerenemy, her most enthusiastic panegyrist. Heinz also heard from him howquickly she had won the hearts of his mother and Maria, and that hewould find all three at the fortress. 

Lastly, Sister Hildegard had informed him of the great peril threateninghis beloved faithful servant and companion, "old Biber, " which had ledEva there to appeal to the Emperor. 

Beside the body of Father Benedictus he learned how beautiful had beenthe death of the old man who had so honestly striven to lead him intothe path which he believed was the right one for him to tread. In abrief prayer beside his devout friend Heinz expressed his gratitude, andcalled upon him to witness that, even in the world, he would not forgetthe shortness of this earthly pilgrimage, but would also provide forthe other life which endured forever. True, Heinz had but a few shortmoments to devote to this farewell, the cause of the faithful followerwho, unasked, had unselfishly endured unutterable tortures for him, tookprecedence of everything else and would permit no delay. 

When the knight, with his figure drawn up to its full height, strodehastily into the royal hall, he beheld with joyful emotion those whowere most dear to him, for whose presence he had longed most ferventlyduring the ride--his mother, Eva, his sister, and the imperial friend heloved so warmly. 

Overwhelmed by agitation, he flung himself on his knees before hismaster, kissing his hand and his robe, but the Emperor ordered him torise and cordially greeted him. 

Before speaking to his relatives, Heinz informed the monarch that hehad successfully executed his commission and, receiving a few words ofthanks and appreciation, modestly but with urgent warmth entreated theEmperor, if he was satisfied with his work, instead of any other reward, to save from further persecution the faithful servant who for his sakehad borne the most terrible torture. 

The face of the sovereign, who had welcomed Heinz as if he were along-absent son, assumed a graver expression, and his tone seemed tovibrate with a slight touch of indignation, as he exclaimed: "First, letus settle your own affairs. Serious charges have been made against you, my son, as well as against your servant, on whose account I have been sotormented. A father, who is one of the leading men in this city, accusesyou of having destroyed his daughter's good name by forcing yourselfinto his house after assuring his child of your love. "

Heinz turned to Eva, to protest that he was here to atone for the wronghe had done her, but the Emperor would not permit him to speak. It wasimportant to silence at once any objection which could be made againstthe marriage by ecclesiastical and secular foes; therefore, eagerly ashe desired to enjoy the happiness of the young pair, he forced himselfto maintain the expression of grave dissatisfaction which he hadassumed, and ordered a page to summon the imperial magistrate, the FirstLosunger of the city, and his protonotary, who were all amongst theguests, and, lastly, the Duchess Agnes. 

He could read the latter's child eyes like the clear characters ofa book, and neither the radiant glow on her face at Heinz Schorlin'sentrance nor her hostile glance at the Countess von Montfort had escapedhis notice. Both her affection and her jealous resentment should servehim. 

The young Bohemian now thought herself certain that Heinz Schorlin, andno other, was Cordula's chosen knight; the countess, at his entrance, had exclaimed to her father loudly enough, "Here he is again!"

When the princess stood before the Emperor, with the gentlemen whom hehad summoned, he asked her to decide the important question. 

"Yonder knight--he motioned towards Heinz--had been guilty of an actwhich could scarcely be justified. Though he had wooed the daughter of anoble Nuremberg family, and even forced his way into her father's house, he had apparently forgotten the poor girl. 

"And, " cried the young wife indignantly, "the unprincipled man hasnot only made a declaration of love to another, but formally asked herhand. "

"That would seem like him, " said the Emperor. "But we must not close ourears to the charge of the Nuremberg Honourable. His daughter, a lovely, modest maiden of excellent repute, has been seriously injured byHeinz Schorlin, and so I beg you, child, to tell us, with the keenappreciation of the rights and duties of a lady which is peculiar toyou, what sentence, in your opinion, should be imposed upon Sir HeinzSchorlin to atone for the wrong he has done to the young Nurembergmaiden. "

He beckoned to the protonotary, as he spoke, to command him to showErnst Ortlieb's accusation to the duchess, but she seemed to havepractised the art of reading admirably; for, more quickly than it wouldotherwise have appeared possible to grasp the meaning of even the firstsentences, she exclaimed, drawing herself up to her full height andgazing at Cordula with haughty superiority: "There is but one decisionhere, if the morality of this noble city is to be preserved and themaiden daughters of her patrician families secured henceforward from themisfortune of being a plaything for the wanton levity of reckless heartbreakers. But this decision, on which I firmly and resolutely insist, aslady and princess, in the name of my whole sex and of all knightly menwho, with me, prize the reverence and inviolable fidelity due a lady, is: Sir Heinz Schorlin must ask the honourable gentleman who, withfull justice, brought this complaint to your imperial Majesty, for hisdaughter's hand and, if the sorely injured maiden vouchsafes to acceptit, lead her to the marriage altar before God and the world. "

"Spoken according to the feelings of my own heart, " replied the Emperorand, turning to the citizens of Nuremberg, he added: "So I ask you, gentlemen, who are familiar with the laws and customs of this goodcity and direct the administration of her justice, will such a marriageremove the complaint made against Sir Heinz Schorlin and his servant?"

"It will, " replied old Herr Berthold Vorchtel, gravely and firmly. 

Herr Pfinzing also assented, it is true, but added earnestly that anunfortunate meeting had caused another to suffer even more severelythan Eva from the knight's imprudence. This was her older sister, thebetrothed bride of young Eysvogel. For her sake, as well as to make thebond between Sir Heinz Schorlin and the younger Jungfrau Ortlieb valid, the father's consent was necessary. If his imperial Majesty desiredto bring to a beautiful end, that very day, the gracious work soauspiciously commenced there was no obstacle in the way, for ErnstOrtlieb was at the von Zollern Castle with the daughter who had been sobasely slandered. 

The Emperor asked in surprise how they came there, and then orderedEva's father and sister to be brought to him. He was eager to make theacquaintance of the second beautiful E. 

"And Wolff Eysvogel?" asked the magistrate. 

"We agreed to release him after we had turned our back on Nuremberg, "replied the sovereign. "Much as we have heard in praise of this youngman, gladly as we have shown him how gratefully we prize the blood abrave man shed for us upon the Marchfield, no change can be made inwhat, by virtue of our imperial word----"

"Certainly not, little brother, " interrupted the court fool, Eyebolt, "but for that very reason you must open the Eysvogel's cage as quicklyas possible and let him fly hither, for on the ride to the beekeeper'syou crossed in your own seven-foot tall body the limits of this goodcity, whose length does not greatly surpass it--your imperial person, Imean. So you as certainly turned your back upon it as you stand in frontof things which lie behind you. And as an emperor's word cannot haveas much added or subtracted as a fly carries off on its tail, if ithas one, you, little brother, are obliged and bound to have the strangemonster, which is at once a wolf and a bird, immediately released andsummoned hither. "

"Not amiss, " laughed the Emperor, "if the boundaries of Nuremberg sawour back for even so brief a space as it needs to make a wise man afool. 

"We will follow your counsel, Eyebolt. --Herr Pfinzing, tell youngEysvogel that the Emperor's pardon has ended his punishment. The breachof the country's peace may be forgiven the man who so heroically aidedthe battle for peace. "

Then turning to Meister Gottlieb, the protonotary, he whispered so lowthat he alone could hear the command, that he should commit to paper aform of words which would give the bond between Heinz Schorlin and EvaOrtlieb sufficient legal power to resist both secular authority and thatof the Dominicans and Sisters of St. Clare. 

During this conference court etiquette had prevented the company fromexchanging any remarks. Whatever one person might desire to say toanother he was forced to entrust to the mute language of the eyes, anda sportive impulse induced Emperor Rudolph to maintain the spell whichheld apart those who were most strongly attracted to each other. 

Meantime, whilst he was talking with the protonotary, the bolder guestsventured to move about more freely, and of them all Cordula imposed theleast restraint upon herself. 

Ere Heinz had found time to address a word to Eva or to greet his mothershe glided swiftly to his side and, with an angry expression on herface, whispered: "If Heaven bestowed the greatest happiness upon themost deserving, you must be the most favoured of mortals, for a moreexquisite masterpiece than your future wife--I know her--was nevercreated. But now open your ears and follow my advice: Do not reveal thestate of your heart until you have left the castle so far behind thatyou are out of sight of the Bohemian princess, or your ship of happinessmay be wrecked within sight of port. "

Then, with a well-assumed air of indignation, she abruptly turned herback upon him. 

After moving away, she intentionally remained standing near the duchess, with drooping head. The latter hastily approached her, saying withadmirably simulated earnestness: "You, Countess, will probably be thelast to refuse your approval of my interference against our knightlybutterfly and in behalf of the poor inexperienced girl, his victim. "

"If that is your Highness's opinion, " replied Cordula, shrugging hershoulders as if it were necessary to submit to the inevitable, "for mypart I fear your kind solicitude may send me behind convent walls. "

"Countess von Montfort a nun!" cried the child wife, laughing. "If itwere Sir Heinz Schorlin to whom you just alluded, you, too, are amongthe deluded ones whom we must pity, yet with prudent foresight youprovided compensation long ago. Instead of burying yourself in aconvent, you, whom so many desire, would do better to beckon to one ofyour admirers and bestow on him the happiness of which the other was notworthy. "

Cordula fixed her eyes thoughtfully on the floor a short time, then, as if the advice had met with her approval, exclaimed: "Your RoyalHighness's mature wisdom has found the right expedient this time also. I am not fit for the veil. Perhaps you may hear news of me to-morrow. By that time my choice will be determined. What would you say to thedark-haired Altrosen?"

"A brave champion!" replied the Bohemian, and this time the laugh whichaccompanied her words came from the heart. "Try him, in the name of allthe saints! But look at Sir Heinz Schorlin! A gloomy face for a happyman! He does not seem quite pleased with our verdict. "

She beckoned, as she spoke, to her chamberlain and the high steward, took leave of her imperial father-in-law and, with her pretty littlehead flung proudly back, rustled out of the hall. 

Soon after Herr Pfinzing ushered Ernst Ortlieb, his daughter, and Wolffinto the presence of the sovereign, who gazed as if restored to youthat the handsome couple whose weal or woe was in his hands. Thisconsciousness afforded him one of the moments when he gratefully feltthe full beauty and dignity of his responsible position. 

With friendly words he restored Wolff's liberty, and expressed theexpectation that, with such a companion, he would raise the noble houseof his ancestors to fresh prosperity. 

When he at last turned to Heinz again he asked in a low tone: "Do youknow what this day means to me?"

"Nineteen years ago it gave you poor Hartmann, " replied the knight, hisdowncast eyes resting sadly on the floor. 

The kind-hearted sovereign nodded significantly, and said, "Then it mustbenefit those who, so long as he lives, may expect his father's favour. "

He gazed thoughtfully into vacancy and, faithful to his habit of fixinghis eye on a goal, often distant, and then carefully carrying out thedetails which were to ensure success, ere he turned to the next one, hesummoned the imperial magistrate and the First Losunger to his side. 

After disclosing to them his desire to allow the judges to decide and, should the verdict go against Biberli, release him from punishment bya pardon, both undertook to justify the absence of the accused fromthe trial. The wise caution with which the Emperor Rudolph avoidedinterfering with the rights of the Honourable Council afforded old HerrBerthold Vorchtel great satisfaction. Both he and the magistrate, sureof the result, could promise that this affair, which had aroused somuch excitement, especially among the artisans, would be ended by themarriage of the two Ortlieb sisters and the payment of the blood moneyto the wounded tailor. Any new complaint concerning them would then belawfully rejected by both court and magistrate. 

Never had Heinz thanked his imperial benefactor more warmly forany gift, but though the Emperor received his gallant favourite'sexpressions of gratitude and appreciation kindly, he did not yet permithim to enjoy his new happiness. 

There were still some things which must be decided, and for the thirdtime his peculiar smile showed the initiated that he was planning somepleasant surprise for those whom it concerned. 

The mention of the blood money which Herr Ernst Ortlieb owed theslandering tailor, who had not yet recovered from his wound, induced theEmperor to look at the father of the beautiful sisters. 

He knew that Herr Ernst had also lost a valiant son in the battle ofMarchfield, and Eva's father had been described as an excellent man, butone with whom it was difficult to deal. Now, spite of the new happinessof his children, the sovereign saw him glance gloomily, as if somewrong had been done him, from his daughters to Heinz, and then to LadySchorlin and Maria, to whom he had not yet been presented. He doubtlessfelt that the Emperor had treated him and his family with raregraciousness, and was entitled to their warmest gratitude yet, as afather and a member of the proud and independent Honourable Councilof the free imperial city of Nuremberg, he considered his rightsinfringed--nay, it had cost him a severe struggle not to protest againstsuch arbitrary measures. He had his paternal rights even here--Els andEva were not parentless orphans. 

The noble monarch and shrewd judge of human nature perceived what waspassing in the Nuremberg merchant's mind, but the pleasant smile stillrested on his lips as, with a glance at the ill-humoured Honourable, heexclaimed to his future son-in-law: "I have just remembered something, Heinz, which might somewhat cool your warm expressions of gratitude. Yonder lovely child consented to become yours, it is true, but that doesnot mean very much, for it was done without the consent of her father, by which the compact first obtains signature and seal. Herr ErnstOrtlieb, however, seems to be in no happy mood. Only look at him! He iscertainly mutely accusing me of vexatious interference with his paternalrights, and yet he may be sure that I feel a special regard for him. Hisson's blood, which flowed for his Emperor's cause, gives him a peculiarclaim upon our consideration, and we therefore devoted particularattention to his complaint. In this he now demands, my son, that yourestore to him, Herr Ernst Ortlieb, the two hundred silver marks whichare awarded to the tailor as blood money and he must pay to the injuredartisan. The prudent business man can scarcely be blamed for making thisclaim, for the wound he inflicted upon the ill-advised tradesman whoso basely, insulted those dearest to him would certainly not have beendealt had not your insolent intrusion into the Ortlieb mansion unchainedevil tongues. So, Heinz, you caused his hasty act, and therefor, arejustly bound to answer for the consequence; If he brings the accusation, the judges will condemn you to pay the sum. I therefore ask whether youhave it ready. "

Here Herr Ernst attempted to explain that, in the present state ofaffairs, there could be no further mention of a payment which was only, intended to punish the disturber of his domestic peace more severely;but the Emperor stopper him and bade Heinz speak. 

The latter gazed in embarrassment at the helmet he held in his hand, andhad not yet found; fitting answer when the Emperor cried: "What am Ito think? Was the Duke of Pomerani; wrong when he told me of a heap ofgold----"

"No, Your Majesty, " Heinz here interrupter without raising his eyes. "What was left of the money would have more than sufficed to cover thesum required----"

"I thought so!" exclaimed the sovereign with out letting him finish;"for a young knight who like a great lord, bestows a fine estate uponthe pious Franciscans, certainly need only command his treasurer to openthe strong box----"

"You are mocking me, Your Majesty, " Heinz quietly interposed. "You aredoubtless well aware whence the golden curse came to me. I thrust itaside like noxious poison, and if I am reluctant to use it to buy, as itwere, what is dearest and most sacred to me, indeed it does not springfrom parsimony, for I had resolved to offer the two remaining purses tothe devout Sisters of St. Clare and the zealous Minorite Brothers, oneof the best of whom laboured earnestly for the salvation of my soul. "

"That is right, my son, " fell from the Emperor's lips in a tone of warmapproval. "If the gold benefits the holy poverty of these pious Brothersand Sisters, the devil's gift may easily be transformed into a divineblessing. You both--" he gazed affectionately at Heinz and Eva ashe spoke--"have, as it were, deserted the cloister, and owe itcompensation. But your depriving yourself of your golden treasure, my friend--for two hundred silver marks are no trifle to a youngknight--puts so different a face upon this matter that--that----" Herehe lowered his voice and continued with affectionate mirthfulness--"thata friend must determine to do what he can for him. True, my gallantHeinz, I see that your future father-in-law, the other NurembergHonourables, and even your mother, are ready to pay the sum; but he whois most indebted to you holds fast this privilege, and that man am I, my brave champion! What you did for your Emperor and his best work, thepeace of the country, deserves a rich reward and, thanks to the saints, I have something which will discharge my debt. The Swabian fief ofReichenbach became vacant. It has a strong citadel, from which wecommand you to maintain the peace of the country and overthrow robberknights. This fief shall be yours. You can enjoy it with your dear wife. It must belong to your children and children's children forever; forthat a Schorlin should be born who would be unworthy of such a fief andfaithless to his lord and Emperor seems to me impossible. Three villagesand broad forests, with fields and meadows, pertain to the estate. Aslord of Reichenbach, it will be easy for you to pay the blood money, ifyour father-in-law is not too importunate a creditor. "

The latter certainly would not be that, and it cost Ernst Ortlieb noeffort to bend the knee gratefully before the kindly monarch. 

The Emperor Rudolph accepted the homage, but he clasped the young lordof Reichenbach to his heart like a beloved son, and as he placed Eva'shand in his, and she raised her beautiful face to him, he stooped andkissed her with fatherly kindness. 

When Wolff entreated him to bless his alliance in the place of hissuffering father, he did so gladly; and Els also willingly offered himher lips; when he requested the same favour her sister had granted him, that he might boast of the kisses bestowed on him by the two beautifulEs, Nuremberg's fairest maidens. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Heinz heeded Cordula's warning. In the royal hall every one would havebeen justified in believing him a very cool lover, but during the walkwith Eva to the lodgings of his cousin Maier of Silenen, where theSchurlins, Ortliebs, Wolff, and Herr Pfinzing and his wife were to meetto celebrate the betrothal, the moon, whose increasing crescent wasagain in the sky, beheld many things which gave her pleasure. 

The priest soon united Heinz and Eva, but the celestial pilgrimwillingly resigned the power formerly exerted over the maiden to thehusband, who clasped her to his heart with tender love. 

Luna was satisfied with Wolff and Els also. She afterwards watchedthe fate of both couples in Swabia and Nuremberg, and when the showyescutcheon was removed from the Eysvogel mansion, and a more modest oneput in its place, she was gratified. 

She soon saw that a change had also been made in the one above the doorof the Ortlieb house, for the Ortlieb coat of arms, in accordance withthe family name, had borne the figure of a cat, the animal which lovesthe place, --[Ort, place. ]--the house to which it belongs, but on thewedding day of the two beautiful Es the Emperor Rudolph had commandedthat, in perpetual remembrance of its two loveliest daughters, theOrtliebs should henceforward bear on their escutcheon two linden leavesunder tendrils, the symbol of loyal steadfastness. 

When, a few months after Wolff's union with his heart's beloved, thecoffin of old Countess Rotterbach, adorned with a handsome coronet uponthe costly pall, was borne out of the house at the quiet evening hour, she thought there was no cause to mourn. 

On the other hand, she grieved when, for a long time, she did not seeold Casper Eysvogel, whose tall figure she had formerly watched withpleasure when, at a late hour, he returned from some banquet, hisbearing erect, and his step as firm as if wine could not get the betterof him. But suddenly one warm September noon, when her pale, waxingcrescent was plainly visible in the blue sky by daylight, she beheldhim again. He was less erect than before, but he seemed content withhis fate; for, as a cooler breeze waved the light cobwebs in the littlegarden, into which he had been led, his daughter-in-law Els with lovingcare wrapped his feet in the rug which she had embroidered for him withthe Eysvogel coat of arms, and he gratefully kissed her brow. 

It was fully ten years later that Luna saw him also borne to the grave. Frau Rosalinde, his son, and his beautiful wife followed his coffinwith sincere sorrow. The three gifted children whom Els had given to herWolff remained standing in front of the house with Frau Rickel, theirnurse. The carrier's widow, who had long since regained her health inthe Beguine House at Schweinau, had been taken into Frau Eysvogel'sservice. Her little adopted daughter Walpurga, scarcely seventeen yearsold, had just been married to the Ortlieb teamster Ortel. The moon heardthe nurse tell what a pleasant, quiet man Herr Casper had been, and how, away from his own business affairs and those of the Council, his soleeffort had seemed to be to interfere with no one. 

The moon had forgotten to look at Frau Rosalinde. Besides, after hermother's death she was rarely seen even by the members of her ownhousehold, but when Els desired to seek her she was sure of finding herwith the children. The parents willingly afforded her the pleasure shederived from the companionship of the little ones, but they were oftenobliged to oppose her wish to dress her grandchildren magnificently. 

Frau Rosalinde rarely saw the twin sons of her daughter Isabella, who took the veil after her husband's death to pray for his sorelyimperilled soul. 

The Knight Heideck, the uncle and faithful teacher of the boys, wasunwilling to let them go to the city. He ruled them strictly untilthey had proved that Countess Cordula's wish had been fulfilled and, resembling their unfortunate father only in figure and beauty, strengthand courage, they had grown into valiant, honourable knights. 

Wolff justified the expectations of Berthold Vorchtel and the HonourableCouncil concerning his excellent ability. When, eight years after heundertook the sole guidance of the business, the Reichstag again metin Nuremberg, it was the house of Eysvogel which could make the largestloan to the Emperor Rudolph, who often lacked necessary funds. 

At the Reichstag of the year 1289, whose memory is shadowed by many asorrowful incident, most of the persons mentioned in our story met oncemore. 

Countess Cordula, now the happy wife of Sir Boemund Altrosen, had alsocome and again lodged in the Ortlieb house. But this time the onlyperson whose homage pleased her was the grey-haired, but still vigorousand somewhat irascible Herr Ernst Ortlieb. 

The Abbess Kunigunde alone was absent. When, after many an arduousconflict, especially with the Dominicans, who did not cease to accuseher of lukewarmness, she felt death approaching, she had summoned herdarling Eva from Swabia, and the young wife's husband, who never lefther save when he was wielding his sword for the Emperor, willinglyaccompanied her to Nuremberg. 

With Eva's hand clasped in hers, and supported by Els, the abbess diedpeacefully, rich in beautiful hopes. How often she had described suchan end to her pupil as the fairest reward for the sacrifices in whichconvent life was so rich! But the memory of her mother's decease hadbrought to Eva, while in Schweinau, the firm conviction that dwellers inthe world were also permitted to find a similar end. The Saviour Himselfhad promised the crown of eternal life to those who were faithful untodeath, and she and her husband maintained inviolable fidelity to theSaviour, to each other, and to every duty which religion, law, and lovecommanded them to fulfil. Therefore, why should they not be permitted todie as happily and confidently as her aunt, the abbess?

Her life was rich in happiness, and though Heinz Schorlin as a husbandand father, as the brave and loyal liegeman of his Emperor, and theprudent manager of his estate, regained his former light-heartedness, and taught his wife to share it, both never forgot the painful conflictby which they had won each other. 

When Eva passed the village forge and saw the smith draw the glowingiron from the fire and, with heavy hammer strokes, fashion it upon theanvil as he desired, she often remembered the grievous days after hermother's death, which had made the "little saint"--she did not admit itherself, but the whole Swabian nobility agreed in the opinion--the mostfaithful of wives and mothers, the Providence of the poor, the zealouspromoter of goodness, the most simply attired of noblewomen far andnear, yet the most aristocratic and distinguished in her appearance ofthem all. 

Hand in hand with her husband she devoted the most faithful careto their children, and if Biberli, the castellan of the castle, andKatterle his wife, who had remained childless, were too ready to readthe wishes of their darlings in their eyes, she exclaimed warningly tothe loyal old friend, "The fire of the forge!" He and Katterle knew whatshe meant, for the ex-schoolmaster had explained it in the best possibleway to his docile wife. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Abandoned women (required by law to help put out the fires) Deem every hour that he was permitted to breathe as a gift False praise, he says, weighs more heavily than disgrace His sole effort had seemed to be to interfere with no one No virtue which can be owned like a house or a steed Retreat behind the high-sounding words "justice and law" Shipwrecked on the cliffs of 'better' and 'best' Strongest of all educational powers--sorrow and love The heart must not be filled by another's image Usually found the worst wine in the taverns with showy signs Welcome a small evil when it barred the way to a greater one