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>si:i\'i Cltsby.
MACON, THURSDAY, 3 O’Cj
THIS
Hlitinnioflj tfc'lcrlif*)
tblc sh;
must fathom
the m v.M. 13, must conquer or die. lie had
a hi>;h reputation, too, as a warrior ; had
0 "■< held the lists in Bwgttndy, in occasion of
bpab'.lahodut tb' -reueiiiiiurit low prlte orTWo | tlie Emperor’s marriage, for two summer
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Special Notice.
| days against all comers, and threw his j\
| satinn revenues about with a profusion tlmt
astonished the whole court. Also, the ex*
! travagant absurdity of hi.-, dress was only
equalled by its splendor; so the Austrian
ladies vowed, in thoir suit Austrian tones,
that he was enchanting. > . oj£ ^
As nn aspirant to the hand of the beau
tiful Clothilde, he had especially devoted
his military talents to the service of her fa
ther; He wore the young archduchess’
colors on all occasions; and although he
had once been .unhorsed in a tournament
by an unknown knight who bore a knot of
ribbons of tho same hue on his helmet, his
stout arm and skillful lance had made the
terrible violet, Clothilde’s favorite emblem,
a dread to all who sat in knightly telle,, from
which the Landgrave was extremely suc-
cesssful in extricating them.
Still she liked Count Karl tho best.—
How her heart had bent, that well-remem
bered day, when from the gall-ey she re
cognised her own cognizance on an un
them to become Subscribers.
For the Telegraph.
FAKE WELL.
* BTU.U. A
FarewHl) oh, ’Mu • bitter word 1
Moat painful to the heart.
And yal the truth we seldom feel,
Until we come to pArt
The extended hand, the trembling graap,
The aad the deep ttcart-awell;
The molrtenlng eye, the trad embrace
lie touching pathos tell.
And then the aad, long lingering look
. On all that's left behind;
Oh! who can tell what feelings then
ThJ soul in anguish hied!
Ah 1 memory now renews the past,
Aud thonghts of peace ahd Joy,
Of friends and scenes long loved, the mind,
In fitful spells employ.
Oh I may I live so that my last
Farewell to lovud on os given,
Shall be with that blast Christian hope
Of meeting them In Ucaren.
Where parting aeenea, so fraught with pain.
Shall ne'er again arise;
Where sadness, sorrow ne'er arc known.
Where pleasure never dies.
Lowland Cottage, Twiggs Co., Ga., Feb. 18,1801.
A pica for my Cow, “Wind Suko,’* rcspoct-
foily submitted to tho Board of Aldermen.
If bake, ns once In Eaops day—
Could only speak her mind;
What knowledge would her talk betray,
Of cruel bnman-kind I
We'll Jnst imagine things are note.
As things “should ought to he,”
Suppose this hungry city cow,'
Coaid say her say at formerly.
Says Suko, “ good morning, Alderman”—
(Says ho, ••good-gracloua—me!")
—
They say you are about to paw
A law whose very name
Would make dumb brute* (like balsam's as?,)
Cry out, • Ol fle, for sbamol'
"Cow law 1" "to keep saa off the street
When all the barm I do,
la to eat the grass yen cannot eat,
Aud give roy milk to you 1
Afy milk aud hotter, cream and cheese,
1 give you In my blindness, y
And only ask ia pay for these,
The "milk of hitman IdndnflM.’’
She said, and wandered from his sight;
The thought came to bis mind—
"Treat Bnky so!” can It be right!
la she not poor aud blind 1
££sf~If Patrons think we are try
ing to prod good aud jKsgf«l
paper, and are disposed to lend US I known helmet, nnd somethingtold her she
a helping hand, let them show the „ as e u , ess i n g: rightly at the face beneath.
1 ' ®, . ... , . ., I Hf> w she held her breath and turned sick
paper to their neighborsand mvite at the crash of the encounter; and how
her faintness passed away and her blood
, thrilled when she sawtheLanagravcor, his
buck, with ills squire unclasping his visor,
while the unknown champion wheeled his
charger round in triumph to receive the
plaudits of the Emperor. After that, of
I course, site Jet him declare himself; nnd
when he appeared at court in a full suit of
viol#satin, embroidered with seed pearls,
I to tho empress’ admiration and iho Land
grave’s unbounded disgust, rewarded him
with a sunny smile, and permitted him to
eat off the same plate with her at supper—
a partner.-hip which in those unsophistica
ted times, implied rather an excess of good
will than a scarcity 6f china.
And Count Karl loved.her very dearly,
nnd for her sake spilt his blood in her fath
er’s battles, winning great .honor and re
nown ; and for her sake haunted her fath
ers court, where he was not exceedingly wel
come,’ and preferred his almost hopeless
suit, with all its sorrows, to the bright eyes
nnd kindly smiles that wooed him from bis
rest. tx-.» ' -r i • - ..-.I*
It was strange-, said the Austrian ladies,
to see so high-couraged a warrior with a
heart so cold.
But stranger still was tho conduct of Clo
thilde. So little advanced was this young
lady in the codo of coquetry, that she did
not despise her lover for his unswerving
devotion to his mistress; that she did not
| undervalue a possession simply because
she was sure of it; nor humiliate him be'
cause he was too proud to endure and too
kind to resent it; nor visit on him all her
petty cares and annoynnees whencesoever
they might spring; nor inflict upon him ant’
one of the thousand insults and injustices
with which women take pains to destroy a
self, when the card castle has fallen to
pieces, and all the ingenuity of the pretty
fingers, and all the tears from the pretty
eyes can never put it together any more ?
Our young couple, however, had plenty
of difficulties in their way without making
any for themselves. Courtiers’glances are-
sharp, and courtiers’ longues are nimble,
neither do the former restrict themselves to
seeing nor the latter to detailing oniy that
which actually takes place. Too overt an
admiration on the part of Count Karl for
the emperor’s daughter would have destroy
ed ils object by earning his own dismissal
from the court. In public the lovers were
compelled to appear cold and distant, yet it
did seem Irani, very hard, if they never
were to qonverse at all. Of course, then,
they met in secret; perhaps enjoyed such
meetings all the more for the necessity;
nnd the manner in which they arranged
these interviews w ithout being novel was
sufficiently ingenious.
First of all, Clothilde, seized ns it would
seem, with a violent horticultural turn, be
gan to make a practice of walking at sunset
in the garden. After a while, when her
absence from vespers ceased to be remark
ed, she extended her rambles to the adja
cent pine forest; nnd somehow or another
it was a very short time before she made
outtlmt if a handful of violets should chance
to come floating dow n the stream whilst she
took her evening stroll, she need not bestar^
tied in a few minutes afterwards to find
Count Karl at the spring.
On the occasion in question, when the
archduchess expressed so much surprise,
tinged with displeasure, at the rencontre,
he was particularly anxious for an inter
view with her admirer. That very day,
some two hours after noon—for tho empe
ror dined at eleven, and sat two hours after
dinner—site hnd been summoned to her fa
ther’s chair *o pour out his llhenish and
listen to a few- words of paternal advice.—
The three or four courtiers present sat so
low tho ihtis as to ho out of c ar shot ;
"1 knew it was that odious Landgrave
thought ,oor Clomiide ; nnd how site lelt
she hated his goodly person, with its cur
ling locks, and its shining apparel, and its
high and mightly airs ; nevertheless, she
took a little sip of the Rhenish, and glnnc-
ing at her father, added, inquiringly:
“And a good lance ?’’
“A true daughter of Austria !” shouted
the emperor, cxultingly, emptying his gob
let. “Kiss me, la-s ! Not a stouter arm nor
a firmer seat amongst all my paladins, or
indeed how should he presume to love a
descendant of Charlemagne and ft grand
daughter of Charles the Bold ?”
Maximilian, he it observed, even in bis
moments of hilarity, held the memory of
bis wife’s father in considerable awe. Nor
s this a rare sentiment amongst that des
fund potentate’s kinsmen and allies. Per
haps a more headstrong, inconsiderate, un-
compromising individual than Charles the
Bold never took the vows of chivalry, aud
the worst of him was, he used always to
he ready to justify the most unreasonable
arguments with his sword.
Clothilde, not more deficient than other
young ladievi.^ 'vrenan’s wit, caught at tl
i«Ua,
P. M., FEBRUARY 21, 1861.
Volume XXXI”
were those two in the shade of the pine for
est, with tno spring bubling softly up at
their feet, and the evening star sh dding its
ray-f swlralv down upon their pale, le ine
faces.
Hand in hand, with many a petty oath
and foolish vow between, had ti/y talked
over tLo coming tournament, antj ‘he chan
ces of victory tor him whose arm was nerv
ed by the smiles of his beloved. Of course,
at first she would not hear of hi§entering
forthe prize. She .would never tindanger
Iter dear Karl’s life forsooth, not she ! and
he must give her up and not think of her
any more, and be satisfied with he* assur
ance that she could never, t vet forget
him ; and of course if he had taken her at
her word she would .have been infinitely
disgusted, and rated him as low os ho would
have deserved. Then, on his ctlingshort
all this kind of thing, rather brusquely, but
in a sufficiently pleasant manner, the sub
ject came to be more practically discussed
and the archduches" did not scruple to ex.
press her high opin.on of the L'tndg’rave’s
prowess, antb intense dread th<(t he would
prove the conqueror and winner of the prize.
(Doubtless, b ; tore the ldiMte f c . HHHHH
It was only alterthe excitement had pass- j As the Alsatian, in coinpb a- at mot*, and their various courses ' _-.i\..... i
ed away, and its inevitable reaction com-1 with vizor down, rode into the lists, there [respective lances, amidst the pea' of
menced, .hat Clothilde s heart turned sick f was a loud cheer ot approval even fromthe trumpets, too shouting of heralds, and.
within her to think his wounds would never j phlegmatic Saxot.s, and the, air resounded . t be applause of the delighted ladies.—
be healed in time for the tournament. ■ wnh outcries of “Thu Landgrave; J the : Count Schmarn, ImWngtwice disposed
The Landgrave of Eheohetm, tt ts scarce- Landgrave! an Ll.eftte.rn ! an Eh.-nln-im !” | rffoferf*. competitors, was obliged to
succumb to Ehrenbreitstein. and the
[proud Lord of the Rhino again in his
turn was rolled over bv the good bay-
horse he had lust to the Chatelaine.—
wliiol. Uor father's tone suggested 11he Alsatian went down, the knight who
when he mentioned the nameofher formula- laid that lance in rest would obtain Cloth
hie grand-ire. As a last chance she resolv- ilde’s hand. Must not Karl reserve his for-
cd to claim a right which she had heard
Mary of Burgundy declare was the privi
lege of all female dccendants of her illus-
trous house.
“Father, 5 ’ she began timidly, and paus
ed ; but tho emperor set his cup down with
an air of such unbounded satisfaction that
she took courage to proceed. “Father I ask
ns a boon what my mother’s daughter mav
claim as a right. A grandchild of Charles
the Bold may protest against a marriage
w ith any but the brn'vest of the brave. Her
hand is the meet reward of him alone who
bears liimslf best for a summer’s day in
closed lists. Mamma told me so only yes
terday, and what would grandpapa have said
if he could have heard I was to be married
like a miller’s daughter’ without a drop of
liquid spilt more precious than a few flanks
of Rhenish
She spoke in German, of course, and in
high-flown language; but our translation
though colloquial, conveys as ncarlj'as pos
sible what she intended to say. j
Maximilian ponder, d and lookc-d pro- | the heavens, and^under the shadow o? the
found. To oppose Mary of Burgundy was
ces as much as possible for this formidable
antagonist, so that the result of the tourna
ment should indeed be a duel between the
two wearers of the violet ? And then,
could the Count of the Fen but come into
the struggle a fresher man than the Land
grave of Ehenheim, what doubt of victory
and subsequent happiness ? With a wo
man’s enviable faculty of talking herself
into any given opinion in less than ten
minutes, and her implicit faith that the man
she loves has only to attempt it, and he must
succeed in any and every enterprise, Cloth
ilde sbon found herself triumphantly an
ticipating t e result of the very contest she
had so much dreaded; nay, before the in
creasing darkness warned them it was time
to part, she had taken such a jump into the
future as to hare settled in her own mind the
very dress she meant to be married in, and
even sundry subsequent arrangements in
which the unconscious Karl was to bear an
obedient and unassuming part.
But the evening star ere this was high in
From Fra*«r'a Magazine.
A BIDE FOR THE RING!
Count Karl of tho Fen was one of ihr
spriglitliest young noblemen at the court of
Maximilian L, a fur seeing and ami right,
ly-judging Emperor of Austria, who, with
thnt keen eye to his own interests which
marks the' successful man, had married
Mary of Burgundy, daughter of Charles
the Bold, the richest heiress in Europe, and scom
a personable Indy enough into the bargain.
Like his son, Philip the Fair—who follow
od the paternal precept in espousing ano
ther heiress, Jean of Arragon—Muximii-
iau adopted a metier of-fact and practical
view of the holy state, such as meets with
the cordial approval of ‘'patents and guar,
dians,” and oniy entails upon society the
bitterest of all the curses with which na
lure takes care to avenge herself on those
who rebel against her law-. Nevertheless
if people must repent, it has become nn cs.
tablished axiom that they had better “re
pent in a coach and six ;” nnd even in the
fifteenth century a certain Intin distich im
pressed upon the magnates of Austria the
wisdom of marrying for money rather than
fighting for aggrandizement:
Delta gerunt fi>rte». tu felh Austria nuhe;
itam qua Mure alii*, dal lilti regno Venii*.
Ay ? the doves built in the helmet of Mars,
but tho goose in those piping times laid her
golden eggs in tho corom-i ot Austria. Of
course Mnximiilinn looked to a wealthy
match for Clothilde, the pearl of all his
handsome children.
Maidens of twenty, however, are apt to
view these matters in n different light from
their sires. A score of years later, when
her heart is hardened nnd her good sense
developed, the prudent matron can scarcely
believe she cun ever feel like his “miss in
her teens,'* Wcmon exhaust their affec
tions faster than men. and const quefitly pro
less hampered with them in advanced life.
Herein they show their accustomed tact; a
doting greybeard may be a pitiable Mght
enough, but a romantic old woman is ns
ridiculous an anomaly as a cow in a gal
lop. Nevertheless, the young ones can be
as willful as you please. Clothilde could
Dot be brought to see tho merit of a .-niior
whom her f.the especially favored, simply,
it would appear, because Maximilian did
favor him, and became he was the wealthi
est nnd most sumptuous noble about the
court. And vet Otto of Alsatia, Land
grave of Ehenheim, was n gnllnnt well cal
culated to make wild work in the female
bosom. He was in the prime of life, c\-
c... li .ijyly looking tv it ft a certain air
of conscious superiority and nonchalance
which tn«ii.s -a much way in a tvoraiiiV
good graces. Indifference, von see, inter
ests them, it j>iijti< s them, raises tho com
bative prjrfofple, or «hi;li they poss-ss a
fe
nd tho j. stcr, whose privilege it was to
stand behind his master, was by ibis time so
d.unk as to be both blind and deaf; thus
parent nnd child might be said to be alone.
Maximilian I., slightly elevated, began
the conversation.
My pretty Clothilde, it is time thou
t married. Fill mv cup, daughter, and
married thou simlt be forthwith.”
It was contrary to etiquette for the lady
to make any comments on so natural an ar
rangement, nevertheless it was not in wo
man to refrain fronidisclosing a pardonable
our.isity as to the proposed husband.
“Doth it pl.-ase thee, mv pretty one ?’’
continued the emperor, in high good humor,
for he was fond of bis children as well us
his liquor, “Speak, answer me—thou hast
thy father’s leave.' 1
“I would fain know that he is a brave
warrior, sire,’’ replied the demur, damsel,
“and n t;ood lance, and—and—\' but is his
name ?”
The emperor lauithed l.ni.l enough to
waken the jester, who looked into bis empty
breaker, simpered, nnd went to sleep again.
“A warrior! mv little vixen P quoth his
mnjesiv ; “ay, that is he! Fill my cup,
daughter. Otto of Ehenheim und his Alsa-
I pins a re not the last in men 's mouths when
l ard blows and good service are the theme.
Fill mv cup, 1 sav, and drink to the Land
grave's In all).
in itself no tempting venture. All that fami
ly, as he used to observe, required the most
licate management; and in his few col
lisions with his empress, he had invariably
come worst off. But to contravene any es
tablished dictum of hers, inherited from her
tempestuous old father, why it was net to
be thought of. He had not the nerve to do
it.
“Besides,’’"thrught tho emperor, stnring
wisely into his cup, “Otto of Ehenheim is
a formidable warrior. 1 have seen the best
o( our champions go down before him like
barley in harvest-time. He will riot tilt the
worse that he is fighting for ah archduchess
of Austria. Sappcrmeut! he shall win her
with bis lance, and everybody trill be sat-
"oiTtr (Tit? jfflftiii ..itfivsll
t which tlmt professional, though wincing
from nn application delivered with the
pointed toe of the period,was fain to raise an
ill.ii—mbled luuglt, and imprintinga kiss
upon Itis daughter’s forehead, exclaimed
“Bo it as thou wilt, my iass. *Thou art
thy mother’s own child, acd doubtless are
ever bast pleased in the midst of confusion
and strife. Let them fall to blows, an’they
must; and perhaps the victor may find, ere
all be done, that he tod bus met with his
match.’’
So he dismissed her from tie presence, and
summoning ltis lie raids, commanded agrand
tournament to be proclaimed forthatday
week, specifying the condiilons of the con
test, and the value of the prize. Cunning
Maximilian reflected !hut the shorter notice
given, the fewer competitors, and conse
quently the better chance tor his favoritet,
Otto of Ehenheim. -j#>•»'!• .e-. ■
And now was running to and fro about
the precincts of the court, and dispatching
of retainers hither and thither, and much
inspection of horse-fleshy nnd proving of
mail, and driving of armorers to their wit’s
end; for a week was but a brief period of
prepare ion for such an event as a tourna
ment in which an emperor’s daughter was
to be the prize. Every man thought his
chance as good as another’s and resolved
that no deficiency in charger, weapons, or
accoutrements, should give his antagonist
the slightest ndventage. Business, ns we
should say in these commercial days, re
ceived no inconsiderable impetus. Sigis-
mutid of Kalbsbraten givo Leopold, Count
Schmarn, fifty gold pieces on the spot for a
new fashioned head-piece, which he hnd
long hoped to come by in a less honest man
ner: while Rodolpli the Chatelaine ox
changed a suit of Milan armor, without a
murmur, for a famous bay steed belonging
to the Lord of Ehrenbreitstein. Tfiecour.
tiers’ tongues ran more nimbly than ever,
and the Indies could hardly be expected to
keep silence on so congenial a topic.
“Have vOu tienid of'he tournament?’’
“Dame Clothilde to many the conqueror.’’
“Holy Virgin Lyou don’t say so? - ’ “The
emperor proclaimed it alter dinner.’’ “Long
live the emperor ! Was he tolerably sober
at the time !" "Who is likely to win ?”
“Kalbsbraten is a .-ton. warrior.’’ “Ro-
dolpb is a trood lance.’ “Otto of Alsatia
will empty all tlu ir saddles.’’ “How I hope
he will, that duck of a Landgrave!’’ ‘the
last i. mark from the empress’ junior ptaid
of honor)—and such like were the sounds
that pervaded the palace. Otto was evi
dently the favorite, especially amongst the
ladie8 : and although many of those gentle
partisans, for sundry reasons, did not care
to -have him married, perhaps there was
but one feminine heart in the whole court
that would leap to sec nim vanquished—
and that heart was bealirg beneath the bo
dice of the fair prize imrself.
He took it very coolly—he always did
take matters coolly ; but while he abated
not to one jewel in the splendor of his daily
peaceful apparel, he pre pared for a strict
investigation of his horses and armor, not
with .ut a strong conviction on his own part
that h. must win, if lie only did his best.
These imperturbable, resolute champions
are the most dangerous ; dvcr.-aries.
And whilst the whole palace was alive
with bustle and shoutirg, with the din of
armor, the flashing of torches, and the dis
cord of many voices, how still aud quiet
gloomy pines,thenight, as theGejrman says,
was “black as a wolf’s mouth.’’' Mary of
Burgundy resembled the strict old dame in
the nursery ballad—
of Northumberland
Who kept her daughter in her hand,
rigidly enforcing certain rules, which nei
ther family nor household dared venture to
disobey. It was not good to offend the house
of Burgundy. Strong and fiery, like the
wines of their dukedom, their blood boiled
up quickly, but took a long time to cool
down. Nobody dreampt of disputing the
Empress’ authority—least of all the Em-
peror. It was high time to part. • A hurri
ed sentence—a warm pressure of the hand
two heads bowing nearer and nearer each
othef—something that would have been a
IffllUHIIUuJrailiii Wmb mann
ing away througli.tiie darkness to the edge
of the pine forest, whilst her lover remaim d
like a statue at the spring, listening to catch
the last echo of her footfall.
But another footfall caused Karl to start
as if ho was shot, and crouching down to
the earth, he put his ear on its surface and
listened for an instant in an agony of sus
pense No! there was no mistaking the
long stealthy gallop, nor the snuffling nos
trils hunting stealthily on the track of their
prey. Ere she could reach the border of
the forest the wolf must be upon her—the
gaunt gray wolf that would pull a man
down if he fled from him, that maddened
with hunger, after the severe winter, would
tear the life out of a fallen prey. Karl
started to his feet and flew along the path
with all the vigor of his stalwart manhood
and the speed of his fresh elastic youth.
Love’s ears are sharper than those of fear,
she had # hnlf turned round to meet him,
when a dim panting shape, with flaring
eyes, bounded up against her and bore her
to the earth. There was a faint shriek—a
fierce stifled snarl—a dark, rough outline,
and a mass ot white draperies on tho path.
With an instinct fiercer and more reckless
than the wolPs , Karl flung himself down
to the rescue.
Short, sharp, but decisive, it was a gal-
ant struggle between the man and the brute.
The former had no weapon save those which
nature had provided him, and twice the
long white iangs of his antagonist drank
deep from the stream of life. Once the sharp
muzzle tvas buried in his thigh, once in his
side ; each time it tore away the dripping
flesh, but the countof the Fen was no child
in a death-grapple like this, ami the grasp
of hU two strong hands grew tighter and
tighter round that sinewy neck, till at last
he got his knee and his whole weight to
bear upon its throat, and so pressed life
and breath together out of the long, lean,
hairy monster. When Karl arose, bleed-
ing, gasping, and exhausted, the wolf’s dead
carcass lay stretched on the path at his feet.
His first care was the archduchess, but he
was giddy nnd faint, and it was her hand
that wiped his brow and strove to staunch
his wounds with the strips she tore from her
dress, and her voice that bade him rest his
bead on her knees (for he had fallen once
more) and look up in her face, and tell her
he was not hurt to the death, her preserver!
her own ! She had forgotton all about the
tonrnament now, and the Emperor, and the
Landgrave, all but Karl, bleeding, it might
be dying, and for her sake.
She was not hurt. The rescue had ar
rived just in time, and ere the savage ani
mal which had dragged her to the ground
could tear away more than a mouthful of
lace and velvet and ermine from her dress,
it had found an unsparing enemy instead of
a defenceless prey.
She did not faint. She was Charles the
Bold’s grand-daughter. She was not even
frightened. She would have helped him in
the struggle had there been time; but she
supported her lover’s steps to the very wall*
of the palace, und would not leave him till
she was satisfied he coull walk alone. Then
she sailed into her mother’s presence with
a haughtier step and a brighter eye than or-
inary, and thoutth the usual hour was long
past, and a biting reproof was on the tip ol
the imperial tongue, there was that in her
daughter's bearing which forbade Mary of
Burgundy to question or chide.
ly necessary to observe, was not a man to whilst the royal trumpets gave an extra
throw away his chances, either in love or I flourish in honor of his gallant bearing arid
war. Though his handsome face looked so [the splendor of ltis appointments,
imperturbable,and lie affected in hisder.lean- Hud one ot the seven champions of
or so much languor and and carelessness, Christendom reappeared upon earth he could _
bis real character was one of quiet energy i not have moi'Q completely realized the ideal ; Kodidph Ilow looked like a winner, but
and perseverance. Like most successful ,of chivalry than did Otto of Ehenheim, as ! rtlrtS! the hand that had lilted so many
combatants, his experience had taught him hq guided his managed charger.jut the spa lull beakers to set them down empty,
the advantage of severe training; aad no | cious enclosure. Qver his burnished ar- though it retained) its strength, had lost
sooner itad he learned the duv fixed for the mor, which shone like glass, and which was
tournament than he devoted all his spare curio’usly inlaid in gold with an elaborate
hours to preparation forthe conflict. True pattern representing wreaths of violets, he
to bis assumed character, he appeared in- wore a velvet surcoat of the same hue us
deed as engrossed as formerly with the dis- ■ :hat modest floweret. Tho housing of his
sipations of live court; but Kalbsbraten, who \ charger were also of the favorite color, and
allowed nothing to interfere with his revel--,! a violet scarf flouted loosely from hisshoul-
was heard to observe more than once that' ders. His fine frame showed to great ad-
these Alsatians could not drink with your i vantage, sheathed as it was in mail and
thorough-bred Saxon, after all; and sundry 'plate ; and when, with consummate horse-
eyes, as sharp as they were beautiful de- [ noanship, lie caused his steed—a dark roan
u;ii a shutle uoloi un ilio LsHiiiWru
brbnized check, a trifle more listlessues.- !
his bearing, when - he joined the Empress,
circle after the severe exercises of chivalry
in which he spent the morning.
How many pieces of armor he proved and
cast aside—how many steeds he rejected for
flinching from the shock of the encounter—
how many tough ashen lances he splinter
ed, it would be waste of time to enumerate.
Suffice it to say that sword, mace and bat
tle-axe were only resigned to lay lance in
rest; and that poor Johann von Muller, his
squire, with whom he tilted for practice, and
whom ho hurled repeatedly from his saddle
with irresistible velocity, found by the third
day’s preparation every double-tooth loos
ened in his head. •
Perhaps, except Clothilde herself, no one
hated the very name of the tournament so
heartily as this long-suffering acolyte tread-
ng his thorny path towards the spurs of gold.
So the great day came at last. The lists
were up, the galleries prepared. His ma
jesty’s own private box covered anew with
scarlet velvet. Trumpets sounded their
fanfares all over the place. One only topic
of conversation pervaded every circle, both
high and low. Jongleurs and minstrels
sung their jingling rhymes to applauding
hundreds, ringing many a fanciful change
on the beauties and attractions of the fair
Clothilde, and less directly on the valor and
munificence oftheXandgrave of Ehenheim,
the implied winner of the prize. Courlgal-
lants and court ladies could talk of nothin^
else. The chances were calculated, the
combatants'enumerated. Wagers were laid
(as in modern times, fewer taken than were
proffered,) and chains, brooches and arm
lets were freely gaged by rosy lips upon the
lance of some fair one’s favorite. Also, as
in modem times, the starters, as we should
now say, were in small proportion to the en
tries. Some had been hurt in the practice
ground, others had succumbed in the train
ing. A few were too diffident to contend
for so magnificent a prize. A good many
xx.i..aui.Ut-|i, UilU
Ehrenbreitstein,- above all,-the dreaded Al
satian witluthe violets on his armor; so that
when Hildebrand of Hoehcinier, imperial
grand marshal, ordered the heralds to pro
claim the names and titles of the aspirants,
there were not above a dozen aspirants on
his list. TheEihperor was delighted. The
business would be over the sooner, and he
would get the earlier to dinner; so he point
ed them out to Clothilde in high good hu
mor, as she sat by him, pale and dejected,
nor noticed how her whole frame trembled
when the herald concluded his task without
reading on the roll the well known title of
Count Karl of the Fen.
As at a bull-fight in modern Spain, so at
a passage of arms in medimval Europe, the
fair sex mustered in considerable numbers,
and betrayed a vital interest, tinged, of
course, with womanly pity in the fate of
the principal actors. Not that they suffer
ed the real tragedy to interfere with their
own by-play, or allowed themselves to bs
so engrossed with the admirer-in mail and
plate down yonder, fighting for his life, as
to neglect the nearer conquest up here in
satin doublet and silken hose, whispering
elaborate compliments in a willing ear.—
Their dresses, too, occupied a large share
••r gif ii power an : symmetry—to passage
sideways along iiit- arena so as to ke< p his
front to the ladies’ gallery till lie arrived be
neath the throne, and then haltingjnade him
stand motionless as a statue, while lie low
ered his lance in knightly homage to his
Imperial master and the fair girl whose
cognizance he wore, the spectators were
already waxing vehement in their applause.
But when, in the execution of these ma
noeuvres, it appeared that he bore no device
on his shield, no plume on his helmet, but
in the center of the one and on the crest of
the other a large posy of fresh gathered
violets, the enthusiasm, particularly among
tho ladies, knew no bounds.
“He must win!' ! said they. “ He
shall win. He deserves to win ! Hap
py Clothilde! How T wish I was an
archduchess! such gallantry! such
delicacy ! such romantic feeling! Aud
that lovely armor must have cost a
king’s rati sum ! Look at the velvet and
that dear horse ! The violets, too, gath
ered this morning, with the dew on
them. How charming of him ! Did
you ever ? Ho ! There never was.such
a knight as Otto the Alsatian, Land
grave of Ehenheim !”
At this juncture, when the senti
ment of admiration was at its height,
and the last arrival was carrying all
before him, a fresh flourish of trum
pets announced the appearance of an
other competitor for the prize ; and lo
to the breathless astonishment of eve
ry individual present there rode into
the lists the exact counterpart of the
magnificent Landgrave, so completely
in every respect the double of his pre
decessor that men looked agape in each
other’s faces as though doubting the
evidence of their senses. The same
figure, the same size, the same strong
graceful seat in the saddle. The bur
nished armor was inlaid .with the saute
iAi.iv. >-.1 uiu veiy same snaac. - Xne
scarf appeared cut from the same
piece; the housings, nay, the very char
ger beneath tliem, were identical with
the Alsatian’s ; aud wheu the rider, af
ter performing precisely the same, evo
lutions, lowered liis lauce, and ran
ging up alongside ot his predecessor
disclosed a posy of violets in the boss
of ltis shield, and another on the crest
of his helmet, the ladies began to cross
themselves, and the Emperor turned
pale, and bethought him of his sins,
and the power of the black art; and
even amongst the redoubtable cham
pions themselves there were no small
misgivings as to the character of their
new competitor. Count Schmarn, ap
pealing at once to his confessor, caused
his armor to Besprinkled with holy wa
ter on tho spot. Rodolpli and Ehren-
breitsteiu swore great oaths inside their
helmets, the latter qualifying ltis im
precations with vows to his patron
saint. Kalbsbraten, whose gigantic
frame eticlosed a superstitious mind,
trembled till his armor rattled again,
and was not restored till, raisins his
its steadiness—his lane shook as he
couched it against his adversary’s hel
met and when he missed that object al
together, and received the whole force
of the hostile weapon on his own cors
let, it was no wonder that man and
horse went dawn before that resistless
shock.
Once more the crowd shouted “An
Ehenl find an Ehttnhotmi” bnt comi-
toi- on arose forthe unknown champion
and people asked each oilier Lr -some
consternation whether it were the Al
satian or his double who had made such
an example of Rodolpli the Chatelaine?
Even Hoch-Heimer, the Grand Mar
shal, was unable to answerthoquestion,
puzzled as lie was by the exact situili
tudo of the combatants, aud their
squires.
Meanwhile the other
of their attention. Sumptuous apparel in both J vizor and calling tor a bowl ot wine, he
sexes was the principal extravagance of tin' j quaffed oft that restorative at a draught
age. It was not probable that the duiigh- j Only the Landgrave, it he felt aston-
ters of Eve, whose consciousness of dress j ishtnent or alarm, suliered neither sen-
has in all times been as sensitive as the >•! eitnent to appear; he sat unmoved by
mother’s was of nudity, would forego the j t|, e s id e of Ins double, and the specta;
opportunity of arraying themselves « a i tors began to wonder which was wit ch,
style of splendor fatal to all beholders. I The Heralds theti proclaimed the hist
Tier upon tier, the ranks of beauty shone . comel . as v.q; lle Knight 0 f the Violet.”
and sparkled in the gallery, commenting U accol ;dafice with the usages of chiv-
freely the while on the warriors below. ft j - h(J qot jt (i not be required to give
“See how Kalbsbraten backs his Flenuffi | more oxolioit account of himself,
roan. He looks ltke a tower ot steel. ’I ts &t j eas( . unti i alter the conclusion of the
a fair device, too, the Tele de Fe«u, so cun- f oliriiainun t Knights were- in the
n.ngiy embroidered on bis surcoat. of making such eccentric vows,
opinion, Sigtsmund s weight and size nr’ 01 1 "
bear down all before it!”
“Nay, Baroness, just observe how Count
Schmarn sits in the saddle. Trust me, lie
is the better lance. They say last year at
the tournament at Aix ho unhorsed six
and were altogether such mysterious
characters, that their laws invariably
treated an incognito with the strictest
respect.
Perhaps Clothilde knew something
French knights running, without unlacing I about it. She looked very pale and
his helmet.’’ j anxious ou the first appearance of the
“Pooh! the French knight never won a 1 new arrival; but when she Itad assur
course against Burgundy. Montmorency 0( J herself tbat he sat strong and up-
acknawledged it himself. Honorable lady,; ,.;g nt j„ b i 8 saddle s l )e seemed to gatli-
I will wager you my collar of pearls against ( er couragQ> an d listened with sufficient
your diamond cross, that in six cpursM | ^ mp0S;ir0 to t .| ie Emperor’s expres-
Ehrenbeitstein proves the best kntght ; siun3 of rt osit a|)d as touishment.
here, savo one. . . The hour of combat had now arriv-
“ I will accept. Baroness, know you that i . , .. , . rp , n ,
the Lord of the Rhine has sold his good ej 5 1 lu . llsts / ere cl ” setL lho W d . . „ . . , . . ,
bay horse to Rodolpli? Perhaps the Chute- Marshal made a progress round tho the victory, said she, raising her proud
iuine may win the prize, after all. j arena, lhe Emperor assumed his war- | head. “Enough blood has been shed
“Nay, Countess,” interrupted a deep der. Tho ladies’ tongues were hushed, for the honor of the House oCBnrguu-
voice joining in the conversation, “ with and all stood on the tiptoe of cxpecta- dy, and so we decided more than one
sword and battle-axo Rodolpli is a form id- tion. j doubtful contest in my lather s time. ’
able champion, but his hand is not so stea- The antagonist were at first chosen ; The Emperor fidgeted and looked as
dy as it once was with the lance. There by lot. Whichsoever should bo adjttdg- though he would have spoken. Some
rides one who could have held the lists a- e d by the Marshal and confirmed by | of the bystanders even affirmed that he
gainst all comers in the days of Qtarle- t | ie Emperbr to have coine best otf’n did mutter something about “the soup
magne!” . . _ ... three courses was to be set aside in the | being cold,” and “would it take long?”
Ihe ladies gazed^ intently in the direc- victorious class ; these again were to i “At the court of Charles tho Bold,”
noni pointed out. lhetr informant was an CuIlte st the palm among themselves I added the Empress, fixing her consort
e conqueror should be L it. with a freezing look. Ihe magical
mtnenctng on the principle of a name produced its usual effect. Sum*
Knight of the
Violet” was preparing to engage with
Kalbsbraten. That redoubtable war
rior’s weight and size had disposed
readily of all who encountered him; and
he now addressed himself to the con
flict with considerable confidence, part
ly the result of his Knightly courage,
and partly quaffed during his intervals
of repose. Mentally defying the Alsa
tian, or the Devil, who, lie devoutly
believed, had entered the lists in that
warrior’s likeness, lie made the sign of
the cross, laid lance in rest, aud charged
furiously at the foe. The arm that met
him, however, was as strong and more
skilful than his own. Aimed at the
gorget, his adversaries lance took him
exactly in the throat, and the extra le
verage lifted ltis huge bulk clean out
of the saddle, aud left him senseless on
the ground, whence he was conveyed
to his lodging, where the leech who at
tended him affirmed that the lancet
drew from his veins a mingled stream
of blood and wino.
The prize now remained to be con
tested Ly tho two Knights of the Violet,
and the excitement of the spectators,
stimulated by curiosity as well as inter
est, knew no hounds.
Two courses they ran, each shivering
his lance fairly against the body of his
adversary, but neitherto the most criti-
ed so even a match, and the crown be
gan to innriner that the combat must
be fought out at last with sword and
battle-axe.
As they rode once more to their re
spective posts for a third essay, one of
the Knights reeled in the saddle as if
about to fall from exhaustion. Clothilde
turned paler than ever.
Father,” site whispered “the Land
grave is faint aud weary. Throw the
warder down, or thy daughter must be”
come the prize of an un knowa
Knight.”
Why did she think it was the Alsa
tian whose stamina would fail to en
dure the severe labors of the day ? Ill’s
training had been pf the strictest; it
was none of Otto’s blood that a wolf’s
sharp fangs had drained but one short
week ago.
The Mack lie is of both sexes; the. ’
white almost invariably a female.
The Emperor was a reasonable man
enough. He did not wish Clothilde to
marry any one but the Alsatian, and
be jumped at once to the conclusion,
that it was Ehenheim and not his ad
versary (for in Ins heart lie believed the
latter to be a magician) whose strength
was failing him. Besides he wanted to
go to dinner, so lie fluutr his warder
into the lists and stopped the fight just
as the champions were couching their
lances for the third time. lloch-Hei-
nter rode under the gallery to receive
the imperial commands in ill-dissem
bled wrath. The Grand Marshall was
choking with indignation at such an
infringement of the laws of chivalry.—
He even ventured on a respectful re
monstrance, though it crossed ltis mind
the while that the Emperor was hun~>
gry and the dinner-hour already past.
“Stuff!” said Maximilian. “The
champions have borne themselves
equally well. It is a drawn battle.—
They can’t both marry my daughter.—
It shall be decided by lot.”
In his heart he dreaded a protracted
contest with sword and axe, the dinner
cold, and probably the Alsatian worst
ed after all. A.s for a decision by lot,
it was very easy to arrange all that.
Here the clear cold tones of Mary of
Burgundy broke in on his reflections.
“ Let them ride at the ring to decide
having held the post of honor for ten years ;,
as one of the ten champions ol the empire,' j" 11 !" 1 '
n rll-t inf>tim. urtiiidi nan itAnferrAil on It in ''01011
distinction which now conferred on Em ! ' Y mam, these conflicts could only
an immunity from all military service lor terminate like the famous duel ot the
life: aud in the present instance the criti- j Kilkenny eats.
cul approval of, the warrior was ratified It is necessary to follow the fortunes
by the plaudits of the multitude. ‘of the different combatants as they ran
moning the Grand Marshal to his side,
Maximilian^ after a brief consultation
with that functionary, desired that tho
heralds might proclaim his imperial
Conchhled on eighth
