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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 OOLLAIiS par annum—ONE DOLLAR for (tz m * - snb*'"ipU"*»» taken for mm Uian fix months. fay- menu mnst be made at the time of eubteriblnp, aad the paper will be stopped at the expiration of tho time mb- ecribed far, nnleaa tho aubscripUon is renewed hr anoth er paymimt. When Ton order the pnr>er, be into to write eery plain ly the name of the subscriber, hie post office, county, end Buts. When yon want a paper changed from one post offlee to another name both post offices. Thera are few papers In the world so large or so cheap at the TELBORAPD. Show it to yoor Mends and In duce them to subscribe. ADVERTISING.—The columns of the Txutonxrn •how the groat importance of tho paper as an adrcitis lug medium in Mlddlntiaurgfu. The price of AdeeMse- tnents is onodollarptr stjoars of an inch in length of column tor the Brst pnbUc&t n ...a hnlf that amount for all subsequent publications. Yearly contracts made at a radncUon from these rater. 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