"King Rother then began to distribute a great many handsome presents amongst the Greeks. Everyone who visited him in his temporary abode received either a mantle or some piece of arms. Amongst others there also came an outlawed count, to whom he gave a thousand silver crowns, and took him into his service, so that his train was increased by many hundred knights.

"Thus, the so-called Dietrich's praise was in the mouth of everybody, and amongst the women there began a whispering and talking, so that there was not a chamber whose walls did not ring with Sir Dietrich's name.

"Then, the goldenhaired daughter of the Emperor said to Herlindis, her waiting-woman: 'Alas, what shall I do, that I also may obtain a look at the man whom they all renown so?' And Herlindis replied: 'The best thing would be if you begged your father, to give a great banquet, and to invite the stranger guests; then you could easily see him.'

"The Emperor's daughter followed this advice, and Constantine did not say her nay, and he invited all his dukes and counts as well as the foreign heroes. All who were invited came; and around him, whom they called Dietrich, there was a great crowd, and just when the princess with her hundred court-ladies came in, with the golden crown on her head, and her gold-embroidered purple mantle, there was a great noise, which was occasioned by a chamberlain's having ordered Asprian the giant, to move on his bench, to make room for other people. For all reply, Asprian gave the chamberlain a box on the ear which split his head, and there ensued a general jostling, so that Dietrich had to restore order himself.

"For this reason, the Emperor's daughter could not obtain the desired glimpse of the hero; though she wanted it ever so much.

"When she had returned home, she said to Herlindis: 'Woe is me! I shall neither have rest now by night nor by day, until my eyes have beheld that valiant man. He, who would bring me the hero to my chamber, might win a handsome reward.' And Herlindis replied laughingly: 'That message I will faithfully undertake. I will go to the house where he lives.'

"Then, the sly maiden put on her most becoming garments, and went out to Sir Dietrich, who received her with due courtesy. And she sat down beside him, and whispered into his ear: 'My mistress, the Emperor's daughter, sends you many gracious greetings. She has taken a great fancy to you, and wishes you to pay her a visit.'

"But Dietrich replied: 'woman, thou art not doing right. I have entered many a bower, in days gone by; why dost thou mock the homeless wanderer? At the Emperor's court there are n.o.ble dukes and princes enough, and thy mistress never dreamt of what thou art now saying!'

"And when Herlindis insisted on the truth of her words, Sir Dietrich said: 'There are so many spies about here, that he, who wishes to keep his reputation unstained, must be very careful. Constantinus would banish me, if he found out that I had been to see his daughter. Please to tell her this; though I should much like to serve her.'

"Herlindis, was rising to go, when the King ordered his goldsmiths to make a pair of golden shoes, and another pair of silver, and he gave her one of each pair, as well as a mantle and twelve bracelets; for he was a gallant man and knew that a princess's waiting-woman, entrusted with such delicate matters, ought to be much honoured." ...

Praxedis here stopped a moment, for Master Spazzo who had begun drawing a number of big-nosed faces on the sand, with the scabbard of his sword, now hummed audibly, but as he did not say anything she continued.

"And Herlindis returned home full of glee, and spoke thus to her mistress: 'the valiant knight holds his honour dear. He values the Emperor's good will too much to comply with your wishes. But look here, what he gave me! The shoes, the bracelets and the mantle! How glad I am that I went there; for surely I shall never behold a handsomer knight in this wide world. G.o.d pardon me, but I stared at him as if he were an angel!'

"'Alas!' said the princess, 'am I never to be made happy? Then, at least thou must give me the shoes which the n.o.ble hero gave to thee. I will give thee their weight in gold.'

"Thus, the bargain was concluded. First she put on the golden shoe, but when she took up the silver one, she perceived that it was made for the same foot. 'Woe is me!' cried the beautiful maiden. 'Thou hast made a mistake, and I shall never get it on. Thou must go once more to Sir Dietrich, and beg him to give thee the other shoe, and also that he should come himself.'

"'That will delight all scandal-loving tongues,' laughed Herlindis, 'but what does it matter? I will go!'--and she drew up her skirts almost to her knees, and walked over the wet courtyard to Sir Dietrich, and the n.o.ble hero saw her coming, and he well knew what she wanted.

Still, he feigned not to see her.

"But Herlindis accosted him thus: 'You see that I had to come again. A mistake has been made; so my mistress bids me ask you, to give me the other shoe, and to accompany me yourself.'

"'Verily I should much like to go,' said he, 'but the Emperor's chamberlains would betray me.'

"'Never fear that,' said Herlindis, 'for they are all out, practising the throwing of the spear. Take two servant-men with you, and follow me softly, and n.o.body will miss you during the tournament.'

"After this, the faithful maiden wanted to go, but the hero detained her, saying: 'I will first inquire after the shoes.' Then Asprian, who was outside called out: 'What matters an old shoe? We have made many thousands of them, and the servants are now wearing them. I will look for the right one.' So he brought it, and Dietrich again gave a mantle and twelve bracelets to the waiting-woman.

"So she went on before, and imparted the desired news to her mistress.

"Sir Dietrich meanwhile, caused a great uproar to be made in the courtyard at Hippodrom. Widolt came out first with his iron bar, and raved like a madman. Asprian cut a summersault in the air, and Eveningred threw an immense stone of several hundred weight a long distance, and then sprang after it, so that none of the spies thought of watching Sir Dietrich, as he steadily walked across the yard.

"At the window stood the princess, looking out and her heart beat fast, when she saw him approach. Her chamber-door was then opened to him and she addressed him thus: 'Welcome, my n.o.ble lord! Great pleasure does it give me, to see you. Now you can put the beautiful shoes on my feet yourself.'

"'Gladly I will do so,' said the hero, sitting down at her feet; and his manners were graceful and elegant. So she put her foot on his knee, and the foot was dainty and the shoes fitted well. So Sir Dietrich put them on for her.

"'Please to tell me, n.o.ble and gracious lady,' the artful man now began, 'thou hast probably been wooed by many a man; now confess, which of them has pleased thee most?'

"Then the Emperor's daughter replied with a serious mien. 'Sir, by the purity of my soul, and by my holy baptism! If all the heroes of the world were brought together, not one of them would be found worthy to be called thy equal. Thou art a virtuous and n.o.ble man,--yet if I could choose freely, I would take a hero, of whom I cannot help thinking day and night. The messengers whom he has sent to woo me, have been thrown into a deep, dreary dungeon. His name is Rother; he lives across the seas, and if he will not become my own, I shall remain a maid all the days of my life!'

"'Heigho!' said Dietrich, 'if thou wilt wed with Rother, I will bring him hither quickly. We have lived pleasantly together as friends, and he has ever been kind and good to me, although he drove me away from his lands.'

"Then the princess replied: 'How canst thou love a man, who has banished thee?--Ah, now I see it all! Thou art a messenger, sent by King Rother. And now speak out forthwith, and hide nothing from me, for what thou wilt now tell me, I will keep secret until the day of judgment.'

"When she had thus spoken, the hero looked steadily at her and said!

'Then I will put my trust in G.o.d and leave my fate in thy hands. Know then, that thy feet are resting on King Rother's knees!'

"Great was the terror of the gentle maiden. Hastily drawing away her feet, she cried: 'Woe is me! how could I be so ill-bred and thoughtless, as to place my foot on thy lap! If G.o.d had really sent thee hither, I should be deeply thankful. But how can I trust thee? If thou couldst prove to me the truth of what thou hast told me, I would gladly quit my father's realms with thee, even to-day. There is not a man living whom I would take but thee, if thou wert really King Rother,--but for the present this must remain undone.'

"'How could I prove it better, than through my imprisoned friends?'

said the King. 'If they could see me, thou wouldst soon be convinced that I have spoken truth.'

"'Then I will beg my father to let them out,' said the princess. 'But who will prevent their escape?'

"'I will look to that,' replied he.

"Then, the Emperor's daughter kissed the hero, and he left her chamber in all honour, and returned to his house, his heart full of deep joy.

"At the first dawn of the next day, the princess took a staff and put on a black mourning dress, with the pilgrim's badge on her shoulders, as if she wanted to leave the land, and her face was very pale and sad.

Thus, she knocked at the Emperor's door and artfully said: 'My dear father! Though still alive, I am yet suffering great torments. I feel very miserable, and who will comfort me? In my dreams, the imprisoned messengers of King Rother have appeared to me, and they look pale and worn, and leave me no peace. So I must go to escape from them, if you will not at least let me comfort the miserable men, with good food, wine and a bath. Let them come out of their prison, if it were only for three days.'

"Then the Emperor made answer. 'This will I grant thee, if thou wilt find me security, that they return to their prison on the third day.'

"At the usual hour for supper, the so-called Sir Dietrich with his knights also came to the Emperor's hall, and when the repast was over, and everyone was washing his hands, the princess walked round the tables, as if she wanted to choose someone among the number of rich dukes and n.o.ble lords, who would stand bail. When she came to Dietrich she said: 'Now it is time that thou shouldst help me. Stand bail for thy messengers with thy life.'

"Then he replied: 'I will be surety, most beautiful maiden.' And he pledged his head to the Emperor, who sent out some men to open the prison-gate. The wretched messengers were by this time reduced to a state of great weakness. When the doors were opened, the clear daylight shone in, and dazzled the unfortunate men, who had grown unused to it.

Then they took the twelve counts, and made them go out. Each one was followed by a knight. They could scarcely walk. Lupolt their leader, again walked at their head. He wore a torn ap.r.o.n round his loins; his beard was long and s.h.a.ggy, and his body was covered with sores. Sir Dietrich was overwhelmed with sadness, and he turned his head away, that they might not recognize him; and he could scarcely repress the rising tears, which the pitiful sight called forth. He then had them all brought to his house, where everything was got ready for their reception, and the counts said to each other, 'who was he, who stood aside? He is surely befriending us.' And they, with their hearts full of old grief, laughed with a new joy; but they did not recognize him.

"On the following day, the Emperor's daughter invited the sorely-tried men to court, presented them with good, new garments, ordered a warm bath to be prepared for them, and had a table spread for a sumptuous repast. As soon as the n.o.blemen were seated around it, forgetting their woe for a moment, Sir Dietrich took his harp, and hiding himself behind a curtain, touched the strings and played one of the melodies which he had before played on the seash.o.r.e.

"Lupolt, who had raised the cup to his lips, let it fall, so that the wine was all spilt over the table; and another who was cutting bread, dropped his knife, and all listened wondering. Louder and clearer their king's song was heard, and then Lupolt jumped across the table, and all the counts and knights followed him, as if something of their old strength had suddenly returned, and they tore down the curtain, and kissed the harper, and knelt before him, and the joy was indescribable.

"Then, the princess knew that he was really and truly King Rother of Vikingland, and she uttered a loud cry of delight, which attracted her Father Constantine thitherwards; and whether he liked it or not, he could do nothing but join the lover's hands. The messengers never went back to their dungeon; Rother was no longer called Dietrich, and he kissed his bride and took her home over the seas, and became a very happy man, holding his wife in great honour. And whenever they sat lovingly together, they would say: 'Thanks be to G.o.d, to knightly valour, and prudent waiting-woman's cunning.'

"That is the story of King Rother!"

Praxedis had spoken a long while.

"We are well satisfied," said the d.u.c.h.ess, "and whether smith Weland will carry off the prize, after King Rother's history has been told, seems to me rather doubtful."

Master Spazzo was not annoyed at this.

"The waiting-women at Constantinople, seem to have eaten wisdom with spoons," said he. "But although _I_ may be conquered, the last tale has not yet been told." He glanced over at Ekkehard who was sitting lost in thought. He had not heard much of King Rother. All the time that Praxedis had been speaking, his eyes had been fixed on the d.u.c.h.ess's headband with the rose in it.

"To say the truth," continued Master Spazzo, "I hardly believe the story. Some years ago, when I was sitting in the bishop's courtyard at Constance, drinking a jug of wine, a Greek pedlar, trafficking with relics, came that way. His name was Daniel, and he had many holy bones and church-ornaments, and the like articles, amongst which there was also an ancient sword, with jewel-set hilt, which he tried to foist on me, saying, that it was the sword of King Rother, and if the gold crowns had not then been as scanty with me, as the hairs on the pedlar's pate, I should have bought it. The man told me that Sir Rother had fought for the Emperor's daughter with that very same sword, with King Ymelot of Babylon, but of golden shoes, waiting-women or harp-playing, he knew nothing whatever."

"I dare say that many things might still be found in this world, which you know nothing about," lightly said Praxedis.

The evening had set in. The moon had risen, shedding her pale light over hills and plain. Strong fragrant perfumes filled the air, and the fireflies were getting ready for flight, in the bushes and crevices of the rocks round about.