ORTNIT
A great king once in Lombardy; he was and more powerful
than any other or near. His name was Ortnit, and his
dominions over the whole of Italy from the Alps to the sea,
and Sicily. The kings were all his vassals,
for, the of twelve ordinary men, he was, of course,
victorious in every battle. And yet he was not contented. An inward
unrest him from his and greatness. He often
sat at table, nothing, and to all that was being
said around him; to the minstrels, when they sang in
his praise. He alone up in the mountains, seeking
adventures, robbers, and the wild that preyed
upon the farmers' and herds. But this did not satisfy him; he
sighed for something more.
One day when he was standing, as he often did, on the sea-shore,
watching the that rose and fell, by the light of the
setting sun, a came up out of the water. A minutes more, and
it slowly like a veil, a sight. It was that of
a with towers and barbican, and on the a woman
such as he had in all his travels. He not take
his off her. The of her on him was like enchantment.
Then the closed again, and lady and as
completely as if they had been.
While Ortnit was still at the place where he had the lady,
he a step him. "Ah, it is she!" he thought, and turning
quickly, and kissed-bearded Ylyas (Eligas, or Elias), prince
of the wild Reussen, who was his uncle. The new returned the
embrace heartily, and then said:
"You are a good to your mother's with as much
transport as a lover his sweetheart, but you have been at a bit
of there, and that for a great deal. Try to
forget what you have seen, or your may soon be displayed
from the towers of Muntabure, where the with that
old heathen, her father."
"She is a person then," Ortnit quickly. "She must be mine. I
would my life to win her."
"What is that you say?" answered Ylyas. "A king's for a woman's
curl! That would make a new song for the to sing in Lombardy."
"How am I to her?" asked the king. "Tell me the story, which I
suppose some has sung."
"Why, nephew," the man, "I have with my own and
have with my own ears what I am now going to tell you. It is no
minstrel's I am going to you with. Machorell is the name of
the maiden's father, and he is ruler of Syria, Jerusalem, and other
eastern lands. When I was returning from my to the holy
sepulchre, I one at the gates of Castle Muntabure,
weary and footsore, and the Saracen had on me, took
me in, and me no little kindness. Then it was that I saw the
wicked king, skin is as black as that of a Moor, and also
the Sidrat. I it said that he to
marry his own daughter, when her mother was dead, and that was why
he cut off the of all the who came to ask for the
princess's hand in marriage. Seventy-two already from the
towers of Castle Muntabure. Say, youth, do you to offer
your to the Moorish king as the seventy-third?"
"I have been through many a now," returned
Ortnit, "and I shall try to the of the infidel."
On the day the of the were to a
council. The king told them that he to make a in
Syria, and their help in calling together his army. After many
attempts to Ortnit from such a enterprise, all was
at last settled as he wished, to the of the governors
and deputy-governors in hands the country was to be left during
his absence. The only person the king who his point was
Ylyas, who on his right to go to Syria or else he
chose, and his not to of his
nephew.
As the were separating, Zacharis appeared. He was Lord of
Apulia and Sicily, a heathen, but a of the king. When
he what they had settled, he at once his to
provide a ship to take the across the sea, for which offer the
king thanked him warmly. On the of Ylyas, it was to put
off the until spring, when the weather would be more
favourable for a sea voyage.
So the king had to his as best he might. He was very
lonely, for he that no one with him. His mother,
indeed, did her best to him to give up the enterprise, by
setting its him, and telling him how ridiculous
it was to be so much in love with a woman he had only in a
vision, and about and he nothing. He
fretted against the and of the life he was leading,
and to up into the for something to do. When
he to take of his mother, she him not to go, for fear
of some accident to him; but, that he was not to be
dissuaded, she took a ring from her finger, saying, "If you are
determined to go, take this ring. The gold is thin, and the of
little value, but it a magic power that not be
bought with a kingdom. Go where you like in the wild mountains, but
first of all the road to the left, that leads over the
heights to the lake, then under a of to the valley.
Look about till you a out of a rock, and, close to
it, a great lime-tree; there you will have a more experience
than any you imagine."
Her voice with excitement, and her seemed
to him to ask her no questions.
DWARF ALBERICH (ÆLF-RIC).
Ortnit away. He any of his serving-men to him,
saying that he to be alone. The fresh air about his
temples him, and away the that him. The
sun to as he entered the wood, where he had to and
lead his horse, of the low-growing of the trees. The
night was so dark that he his way, and did not succeed in getting
out of the again till daybreak. When he the open, he rested
a time to let his in the meadow, and to eat his own
breakfast. After that he set out again for the mountains, and at length
reached the of his mother had mentioned. He along the
foot of it, as she had told him, till he the of the
spring, and, on a corner, saw the him. It was an
immense tree, and early as it was in the year, it was already covered
with and blossom. Ortnit on looking around, that it was in
a wide meadow, on which grass, clover, and many-coloured flowers grew
in rich abundance, while the number of that in the
lime-tree was of. A came over the king,
it as if he must have those birds' song of welcome in his
childhood, and all at once he a his mother used to
sing. He to it softly.
It was a song about all the little birds, and the music each after
its kind, sweet as a day, and all in of Alberich, king of
the wood.
"Alberich-king of the wood," Ortnit was sure that he had once heard
more about him than that, but what it was he not tell. Had he not
played with a child of that name once? As he was over these
confused memories of the past, he to at his mother's
ring; the in it was like a fire, and up the face
of a child, who asleep in the close by.
"Poor boy," said the hero, compassionately, "I wonder who brought
you to this place! How your mother must be about you! I
cannot you here to die of or a to
the wild beasts."
He had already his to a branch, and down, he
lifted the boy in his arms to him away; but to his intense
surprise he such a on the that he not only let the
child fall, but himself on his back. He had recovered
his footing, when he the child him so tight that he had
to all his not to be overthrown. It was a sight
to see the tall king and the child, furiously
together. Flowers and were under foot, and low
bushes and torn, when Ortnit at last his on the
ground, and his to him. But, angry as he was, he could
not do it when the little thing at him so entreatingly, and
begged in such a sweet soft voice that he would not him when he
was defenceless, but would accept, in for the life he granted
him, a valuable of armour, of helmet, shield, and coat
of of gold and silver, and last not least, the sword
called Rosen, had been and in
dragon's blood. When Ortnit a for his opponent's good
faith, the little told him that were to
find in that wild country, but Ortnit might trust to his word,
for he also was a king, and over a than
Lombardy, though his the earth of upon
it, and his were day and night in in metals.
Finding that no was necessary, or procurable, the hero
allowed his to up. But the to the
armour he had promised, he said that he would like to have the ring
Ortnit was wearing, and that he the less to ask for it, as it
did not appear to be of great value.
"I cannot give it to you," Ortnit, "for it was a present from
my dear mother, who would me if I with it."
"And you call a hero," the little creature, "_you_ who
fear your mother's blows! Tell me, what do you do when you are wounded
in battle? Do you like a when you see the blood flow?"
"If you were to me in pieces," the Lombard, "painful as
that would be, it would me less than a tear or a from my
mother."
"Well, good of dames," the other, "it can at any rate
do the ring no for me to look at it and touch it. I am in your
power, am I not? Your is in your hand, and I am without a weapon."
After a little the king to let the boy the
ring from his finger; but was this done, when he from
before his eyes, and without warning. Ortnit bewildered.
He the boy's voice, now at a and now near, making
sarcastic on the his mother would give him when he went
home, and announcing that he would him with a pebbles
to him how well he do it. Ortnit himself for some
time against the terrible of that upon him,
but at last, that neither his great his were
of any avail, he to his and prepared to away.
On this the exclaimed: "Wait a bit, friend
Goodman. I am sorry to think of the your mother will give you.
Listen to me. I have many to talk to you about. If you
will give me your word of that you will not revenge
yourself for the I played you, I will give you your ring."
"Very well," answered Ortnit, "I promise on my honour."
"And if I go on to talk of your mother?"
"No," the king, "I will that. You may say what you
like about me, but my mother is the purest and most perfect of women."
"I agree with you," said the little creature; "you may to
me without that I shall her, for I am Alberich
(Ælf-ric) king of the Dwarfs, and you and I are more nearly related
than you think. I will tell you the truth; but take your
ring. I trust to your word of honour."
The moment Ortnit the ring in his hand, he it on his
finger, and saw the boy him.
"You must know, great king," Alberich, "that you have to thank
me for your land and people, castles, and victories, and also for
your strength. Your predecessor, you call father,
married, when he was an man, the sister of the prince
of the wild Reussen. The marriage was childless. Husband and wife in
vain prayed for an heir. Your mother was the best and most
virtuous woman in Lombardy, but she herself away with fretting
about what would of the country and herself when her husband
died without an heir. She that the nation would be into
factions, that would the land, and that she herself
might be from Lombardy, a exile. I often her
plaints when I entered her room unseen. The older the king grew, the
more her increased; then-well, you must know it sooner or
later-I her second husband."
"Monster, you lie!" Ortnit, a from his side, but
he not use it, for the boy looked up at him so fearlessly.
"Your anger is bootless," he said. "You had let me my
story. Young as I look, I am five hundred years old; small as I am, and
big and as you are, I am yet your father. I to the king
that he should a from his wife and let her marry
me. He consented, but she would not. She refused. She days and
months in weeping, and only gave way at last when her husband insisted!
She and I were married by a priest. No one what had
happened, and when you were you were to be the old king's
son. I did not win my wife's heart, however, until her husband
was dead. After that I used sometimes to her here; you and I
played together among the flowers like two children, and I sang with
the that wild song of theirs about the king of the wood, which
your mother often to you again at Castle Garden. When you to
be a man and a hero, I was often at your unseen, while the battle
raged all you, and on those occasions I have often aside
the point of some that your life. When you
cross the wild ocean, and to win the Moorish for your
wife, I will be there to help you. So long as you wear that ring on
your finger, you have only to wish for me and you will see me. Now wait
a minutes; I am going to the that no can
pierce, and the Rosen, which can cut through and iron, and
even dragon's scales."
Ortnit as though in a dream. While he was still over all
that he had just heard, the of steps, and the of
armour him out of his reverie. Turning he saw Alberich,
who with the help of a was his promised gift. On
the top of the with gold enwrought, was a priceless
diamond. The whole of was of beautiful
workmanship, and with should be. The sword
was in a sheath, its was a carbuncle, and on the
sharp were and the the
king's name.
Ortnit was at the of all he saw. He put on the armour,
and it him exactly. Then he his father up in his
strong arms and him on his mouth, and Alberich returned his
embrace with much affection. As the king away, the last he
heard were, "Do not the of that ring. Never give it
away. If you turn it on your finger, I will at once be with you."
When Ortnit got home, he was with by all his retainers;
and his mother, who was for his arrival, to him to come
to her. He ran up the steps, and as he her,
"I have come from father Alberich."
"You know?" she asked, her on his shoulder.
"I know," he answered, "that I love and my dear mother."
May came at last. The army assembled and south through Tuscany,
Rome and Naples, they for Sicily, Messina being the
place on for the meeting of all the forces. Arrived
there, they Zacharis with his ship, in which he
had away, not only for the voyage, but also
merchandise, in case it should be wanted. Soon every man was on board,
a wind the sails, and the
ship through the wild sea.
CITY OF SUDERS (TYRE).
After they had a long time, the welcome of "land" was
heard from the mast-head, and soon those on had a
distinct view of the and the of Tyre. But at this moment
the came up to the king and said:
"Sire, we are all lost. There is no wind to us past this place.
They have us already in the town, and will soon send out their
pirate ships to us."
"Come, nephew," said Ylyas, "throw the dog to drink
brotherhood with the fishes. Have we not to defend
ourselves from the Moors?"
"Sir," the skipper, "the will Greek fire on
board. Neither can do against that. The ship
will be burnt, and all the men either or drowned."
No one what to advise, so all about the king.
Suddenly a voice was from the mast-head:
"All arms below! Bring up the merchandise, and let the be reefed,
lest the enemy that we of flight."
"Hey-day! It is Alberich," said Ortnit; "how I have forgotten
him?"
He looked up and saw the king of the the
mast to the deck. In another moment he was at his side.
"You the ring and me," said Alberich, "but a father does
not so soon his son. Now and see that my are
carried out."
Much of himself, Ortnit gave the necessary orders. All weapons
of were away below, and the Zacharis had
provided were spread on deck. Meanwhile the climbed
the again, and, as soon as he was aloft, to the Moors:
"See here-we are peaceful merchants from Italy. Give us
free into the of Tyre."
Ylyas up open-mouthed at the top of the mast. The flag was
flying there as usual, and no one was to be seen. What voice was that
he had heard?
"Is the on board?" he asked, himself, "or is it a good
spirit? Whom did you speak to, nephew? Who called from the top-mast
even now?"
"A good spirit," Ortnit, "a little who will, help us out
of our difficulty. You shall see him with your own eyes."
With these he his magic ring on his uncle's finger, and
the was much to see the small figure
descending the mast, still more when Ortnit gave him a sketch of
all that had taken place.
The Tyrian had by this time come up with the ship. Their
commander, who himself as of the city, inquired
whether the object of the in to those was really
to with them. Satisfied that they were what they appeared to be,
because of the number and of their wares, he at last gave
them to enter the harbour, and to land if they to do
so. In the of that the many rich
Italian at a very low price.
In the the two together as to what was now
to be done. Ylyas that a should be on the
castle, and that there, or old, should be put to the
sword. Before Ortnit answer, Alberich into the conversation
by saying that such would not be fair, that no one who desired
fame and would take his enemy unawares; but for any herald
sent to the should be by them, he to bear
the message of himself.
Alberich to Muntabure by roads. Arrived there, he
saw King Machorell on the the evening
air.
"Listen to me, Moorish king," the from the moat,
"and mark what I tell you. My master, King Ortnit, that you
will give him your to be his wife, and queen of Lombardy. If
you your consent, he me on you at once, and
warn you that he will attack Tyre to-morrow. After
conquering it he will come on to Muntabure, you for your evil
deeds, and your daughter."
"So, Goblin," Machorell angrily, "you want to a marriage,
do you? You will your own and your master's the
battlements of my long, if you in your foolish
scheme. But where are you? I cannot see you."
"Down you in the moat," was the answer.
The king a upon the place where he supposed
Alberich to be, but missed his mark. He called out his and made
them search the whole neighbourhood, but they returned at nightfall
baffled and disappointed.
That Ortnit an on the city, and it totally
unprepared for any attack. However, the Tyrians soon got under arms and
made a defence; all in vain. Ortnit was after a hard
struggle in which many of his were slain.
When he returned from the Tyrians, Ortnit to the place
where his uncle had fought, and him on the ground
surrounded by his people. Was he or only wounded? The king bent
over him anxiously, and his to see if he were yet alive.
His had not to beat. As Ortnit was him in
his arms, he to touch him with Alberich's ring, and in a
moment Ylyas was on his feet, whole and sound, as though he had never
been wounded. It was well for Ortnit that it was so, for in another
instant he and his men were by the train-bands of the city,
who had once more. At length they also were with
immense loss, and Tyre was in his hands. Those of the citizens
that were left to the king of Lombardy, who then gave
orders to to the wants of the wounded, friends and foes. He
allowed his a days' leading them against
Muntabure.
CASTLE MUNTABURE.
After much it was Ylyas and the king that
Alberich was the best person to be standard-bearer the assault,
and the at once consented. The were with
amazement when they saw a war-horse them with the royal
banner by its side. "The standard-bearer
must be an angel," they said in awe-struck tones. Nothing of importance
happened the march. All well, for Alberich the van.
At last Castle Muntabure in sight: a on
the top of a crag.
Machorell had of their approach, and was in to receive
them. He had the very considerably, and was
confident of victory. At it as if his were
well-founded; but at the very moment when the Saracens appeared to have
success their grasp, the of turned. Alberich
climbed the unseen, and by a great of his marvellous
strength, one after another from the walls
into the below; while the men who had been these engines
of were with terror, when they saw the
unwieldy as though from their places by
invisible hands. Ortnit the right moment to push the advantage
the had for him, and the more vigorously
than before.
SIDRAT THE BEAUTIFUL.
Alberich now left the walls, and opening a side-door his way to a
tower-like that rose above the battlements. This was the
temple where the Moors their idols, Mahomet and Apollo; two
enormous in stone. The queen and her daughter, beautiful
Sidrat, the praying for protection from the
invaders. Suddenly Sidrat her hand by an invisible
hand. At she was frightened, and then comforted, for she took it
as a that her prayers were heard. But the friend was
Alberich, and not a god. He whispered, "Your gods are dust; I
am a messenger from another world, and have come to save you and to
teach you to the true God."
The girl started to her in terror, and to her mother, who
was at a little distance. Meanwhile the the idols
down and them in pieces, and the were more than
ever, for they that an was at work within
the temple.
Alberich to the princess, and her to the barbican,
whispering, "See, there is the hero who to make you his wife,
and queen of his realm."
Involuntarily she looked down, and saw Ortnit valorously,
driving all him, and looking god-like in his and noble
bearing. She not turn away her eyes. He was now to
attack her father. They one or two blows, the last of which
split Machorell's shield. Ortnit his to again, but
Sidrat a loud of agony, and he refrained, for at the same
moment he saw her on the barbican, and that she was the
maiden he had loved since he had her image in the magic
castle on the sea.
"You see the hero?" asked the dwarf; but no answer, he
went on: "Go to the to-morrow at day-break. Your
father will allow you to do so, if you tell him you are going to call
upon your gods to return to the castle. But when you the moat,
you will the king waiting to speak with you."
Knowing that his would be followed, he left the princess.
The had to as as before, and all were
weary after their exertions. Ortnit's men retired to the river-side,
where they were to for the night, and the Moors themselves
within the fortress.
All night long Ortnit of Sidrat, and then and wondered
whether she would come to the trysting-place. In the early morning,
before the sun was up, the king his and away alone
to Muntabure. He himself the of a
tamarind-tree, and waited and waited, doubting, fearing, would she come
or would she not? At length a door opened, and a white figure
came out.
"Sidrat," he cried, and her in his arms.
"To horse, not a moment," the dwarf; "go that way,
past the waterfall."
Ortnit at once obeyed, the upon his horse, and mounted
himself. It was high time. He had got arrow-shot, when
a on the tower him by his helmet, and the
alarm.
Machorell and his men-at-arms to the fight. Several times
the of the day sides; and when at length the was
over, the were too much in number to attempt to
carry the by storm; while the were also in woeful
plight, and their was by the of the princess.
Ortnit his next morning. He on his at Tyre
that his ship was in good order and for sea. So he gave orders
for a departure, and soon the little army was speeding
homewards with Princess Sidrat and much spoil. The Moorish girl proved
a when the Christian of Lombardy her their
religion, so she was baptized, and the name of Liebgart. Soon
after that, she and Ortnit were married at Castle Garden, and the whole
country in the king's good fortune.
THE TOAD'S EGGS.
Ortnit and his wife were very happy together, and peace rested
on the land. Honours were upon the hero of so a
campaign, and the of Rome was upon his head.
One day when Ortnit and his queen were seated in the hall,
their around them, a was announced, who said
that he had come from the East, and was the of rich presents to
the pair. After a minutes' delay, the was
admitted. He was of height, wild of aspect, and said that his
name was Welle. He that King Machorell had sent him to make
friends with Ortnit in his name and for his daughter's sake; that
the king, in of his with his son-in-law, had sent
him the to be in all Syria. Having thus spoken,
Welle called his wife, Ruotze. She at once appeared, and was even
taller and more than himself. She four great coffers
into the hall, the of which she and before
the king and queen and all the court. The and
steel of every and kind; the second was full of silver
bracelets and of workmanship; the third was the
same, that the were of gold of silver. The
fourth case was opened by the man himself, who out of it, very
carefully, two eggs of and colour.
"These are the eggs of the Abrahamic magic toad," said the man. "When
they are hatched, which my wife will see to, you will in each the
wondrous toad-stone, that like the sun in a dark place, or else
a that will your against every
invader if you only it well. I am King Machorell's huntsman,
and how to up the beast, and feed, and teach it its
duties. So, I pray you, me and my wife a and place
amongst the where we can watch over the eggs. Next year my
royal master himself will the seas, make friends with you in
person, and see the result of our with his own eyes."
The queen's was with at these of her father's
forgiveness, and her arms her husband's neck, she
entreated that the should be accepted. The
courtiers were of her opinion; but Zacharis, the faithful
heathen, his head, and spoke his and
clearly. No one to him. The king gave orders that the giants
should be well treated, and provided with food, and all they needed in
the mountains, by the of the in which the place most
suitable for the eggs was situated.
High up in the near Trient was a of ground,
extending a at the of a rock. Welle
and his wife took up their there, and every day the sent
them a supply of food. Ruotze over the eggs untiringly. Before
very long the cracked, and two little lind-worms (dragons) crept
out. They were creatures, in all their movements and
obedient to every of the and his wife. The used
sometimes to go and see them, and in their and funny
ways. The of it was that they had appetites, and the
more they ate the they grew, and the more they wanted to eat.
They were soon than their when they themselves
in the air, and to themselves and bad-tempered.
The to supply their wants when he that they
needed more than two a day; the of the at what
they semi-starvation was so great that Welle and Ruotze grew
frightened, and took in another cave. As soon as their guardians
deserted them, the out of their hole, and to
wander over the whole district, men and cattle, and whatever
came in their way. The people their old homes and to the
mountain fastnesses. All in vain: the lind-worms them, and
continued to all who into their clutches. The sent
out large of and against them, but a man
returned to tell the of and misery. And with every hearty
meal the larger and stronger. Every one was in despair,
for it as if the whole would be devastated.
ORTNIT'S FIGHT WITH THE LIND-WORM.
One day the Emperor Ortnit to his wife and asked her to help him
to put on his armour, for he had to go out and a hard battle. She
could the "with whom?" she so.
"Well, Liebgart," he said, "you must know that the which are
doing so much to the country are the toad-stones your father sent
me. I am the of my people; and as they helped me when I went
to Syria to win you, I must now help them in my turn by going out
against these to them,-or myself be slain, I know not
which."
The and told her fears, but her husband her by
reminding her that he still had the good Rosen, that cut
through and iron, and dragon's scales. "Should I not
return," he continued, "an will come. If any one you
back this ring that you once gave me, you may know that he is my
avenger, and give him your hand in marriage."
He then her and himself away. She after him with
tearful as long as he was in sight, sadly how many noble
warriors had him in his quest, and how none of them had ever
returned to home or friends.
Ortnit at length the where he to the
lind-worms. Seeing them nowhere, he dismounted, his horn, and
loosed the dog that he had taken with him to help him to hunt
the down. Suddenly a door in the opened, and the giant
Welle came out, to him to come on, and calling him opprobrious
names; but the king cut his great in two with one of his
sword. The back, and in a moment had a sword
six yards long, it his head, and Ortnit so hard a
blow upon the that he to the ground.
"Well hit, old moon-calf," Ruotze, her out at the
door; "let me go to him now and his neck, and his into
the dragons' den."
At this moment the setter, which had in the wood, to
bark furiously, and Ruotze away to see what was the matter. Upon
this, Ortnit started to his feet, and with a of his cut off
one of the giant's legs. The with pain, and defended
himself against the rock, but his cut off
his other leg. Hearing the noise, the returned. Arming herself
with an tree, she out at the hero with all her strength;
but, by passion, she the distance, and brought
the tree so hard on her husband's that she it open.
Ortnit then the giantess, after which he rested from his
labours; ate and some of the he had with him,
and let his at will on the sweet of the upland
meadow. Rested and refreshed, he once more set out on his quest. Riding
through a wood, he came up with some charcoal-burners, and asked them
where he should the lind-worms. They to him to turn
back, but in vain. Then they told him that the had set out to
travel west; that one of them, having a of ones, had stayed
somewhere on the road in a cave, while the other had gone deeper
into the mountains, into another land.
Unheeding the he had just received, Ortnit away towards
the west. When came, he rested for a time; but as his
food was nearly finished, and he wanted to an spot as
soon as possible, he set out again, and all night long. Next day
he a meadow, and there he saw little Alberich seated under a
tree. The looked very sad, and when Ortnit him,
said:
"My dear son, you are going to your death. Return to Garden, for I have
no power over the you are seeking. I cannot help
you."
"I need no help," the hero. "Have I not the Rosen? It
will help me to the powers of that are against my
poor people."
"May you be successful!" said the little creature, and into
the he his son. "May you be successful! and to that end,
watch and not. Remember that it is the last I can give
you. Now give me the ring you got from your mother. You shall have
it again if you return to Garden safe and sound."
Scarcely had Ortnit returned the ring when he a upon his
lips, and the had disappeared.
The hero on over hill and dale, and through many a
wild glen. At last he the very lime-tree under
which he had had his with Alberich. The were
singing as before. All looked peaceful and still. Both Ortnit and his
horse were out, so he dismounted, and his graze,
laid himself at full length on the soft grass, his dog at his
side. He over his project, and was to return
home to Garden and sweet Liebgart; but he put the from him,
"for," he himself, "the and people are as one
person, of which the people the and the the head; so
the prince, to be of his high calling, must as as in him
lies protect his people from all injury. And I have every right to
trust to my strength, my and my good for victory." It
seemed as though the in the linden-tree had read his thoughts,
and were a pæan of and over him and them. He
watched them quietly, but soon the upper hand-his
eyelids closed, and he asleep.
[Illustration: THE DRAGON FINDS ORTNIT ASLEEP.]
All at once the their song, the stopped their
soft to and fro, and the flowers their as though a
breath of air were over them. Crawling through the
thicket, trees and with its weight, came the terrible
lind-worm, its wide open, its long pointed teeth. The
faithful dog, with a of and anger, at his
master, to wake him; but in vain, for Ortnit was as though in a
charmed sleep. The dog then upon the dragon, but not touch
it of the way it about with its tail. At this moment
the of Ortnit, itself upon him,
carried him into the thicket, and then all his by dashing
him again and again upon the ground. But though his were broken,
his whole as at the first. Then taking the up
in its powerful jaws, the lind-worm it home to its in the
noisome cave, where its ones upon their favourite
food, and as much as they at through the rings
of the of mail. The dog, which had the home in
hopes of saving his master, all night by the cave, but finding
himself powerless to help, set out early next on his way back
to Garden.
SIDRAT THE SORROWFUL (LIEBGART).
Meanwhile Liebgart and the old queen were very anxious. They and
feared alternately. On the fourth day, as they were together,
they something at the door. Liebgart opened it, and
saw the dog, her husband's on his last journey.
Instead of his at her, the dog slowly
in, and at the old queen's with a low, whine.
"He is dead-murdered by the monsters," the mother. These
were the last she spoke, for next moment she dead
in her chair.
The of the queen her into the room, and
soon the sad news was to all. There was now no king in Lombardy,
no one to keep order in the land. The great and
quarrelled incessantly, and the country was into factions. At
last, of this of anarchy, it was by the in
council that the only thing that save the was for
Liebgart to choose a husband who had and power to
make a good ruler. They to the queen, each in his secret
heart that he would be by her. But on what was required
of her, she answered with that she would preserve
her to Ortnit unbroken, and that none was to succeed him
unless he the lind-worms and his death. The nobles
looked at each other in a manner, and to the
royal presence; but and soon the upper hand,
and imminent. Liebgart, of all means of
support,-for the had been by the nobles,-was
forced, in company with a who were to her, to make
her own by spinning.
The Margrave of Tuscany was much when he of the
straits to which the queen was reduced. He offered her an in his
country; but she said that at Garden she had been happy with Ortnit,
and there she also to for him. Touched by her
faithfulness, the sent her food and wine, that she might no
longer have to work for the of life. So she on, the
Lombards trying to her to from the of life by a
second marriage; but in vain; she all the of her with
quiet patience, for she herself with of her
husband and of the for she hoped.
This hope, which sometimes rose like a star on the cloudy night of
sorrow in which she lived, was one day to be fulfilled, but not for a
long time.
[Illustration: HUGDIETERICH AND FAIR HILDBURG.]
_THE AMELUNGS._
