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Page 25
"I hope the Baron of Stramen has lost none of his vigor," said the duke;
"we were together at Hohenburg, and I may need him at my side again. His
son Henry, too, whom I knighted before the battle, and who won his spurs
so nobly, how is he?"
"They were both well," replied Father Omehr, "when I saw them last, and
were anxiously expecting a visit from their liege."
"And the Lady Margaret, from whom not a knight can boast a token, though
all are striving to obtain one?"
"She has not altered since you saw her," answered the priest; "she was
always rather frail, but I do not see that she grows weaker."
"You cannot imagine," interposed Rodolph, "how much it grieves me to be
unable to reconcile these two families whom I so dearly love, and who,
in the camp or in the chamber, have proved themselves so devotedly
attached to me. I cannot even ask of one in the hearing of the other,
without giving offence or receiving a bitter answer. In all things else,
they are obedient as this horse to his rein; but the moment I speak of
reconciliation, the stubborn neck is arched, and will not relax either
for threats or entreaties."
"Your grief cannot equal mine," returned the missionary, "and I confess,
that without the hope of obtaining assistance from heaven, I should
despair of ever softening the determined animosity of the Baron of
Stramen. The Lord of Hers, perhaps, might be induced to throw enmity
aside, if his adversary relented; but he cannot be persuaded to sue for
peace, especially when his supplication might be unavailing."
"I cannot believe," continued the duke, "that my friend of Hers could
have killed Robert of Stramen, since he most positively denies it. It is
true that their relations were anything but amicable, yet Albert of Hers
would scorn to take a knight at a disadvantage, and would not attempt to
conceal the result of a mortal struggle. If Robert of Stramen fell by
his hand, it must have been in fair combat; and if in a fair tilt, there
is no motive for concealment."
"But the circumstances are strong enough to amount to conviction in an
angry brother's eyes. A woman, who has since lost her mind, named
Bertha, her father, and her husband, all swore to have seen Sir Albert
ride away from the spot a short time before the body was found; and the
scarf of the Lord of Hers was clutched convulsively in the dead man's
hand. The wound upon the head resembled that produced by hurling a mace,
and was of such a character that the head could not have been protected
by any steel piece. I do not consider this conclusive against the Lord
of Hers, or even incapable of explanation; but real and unequivocal
guilt itself could not justify the untiring malignity of the Baron of
Stramen. His brother's soul would be much better honored by his prayers,
than by imprecations and the clash of steel; we cannot avenge the dead,
for their bodies are dust, and their souls absorbed in things eternal;
and Sandrit de Stramen is but making his brother's misfortune the
occasion of his own temporal, and perhaps eternal injury. I wish,
indeed, this criminal work of vengeance could be stopped."
"Yes," replied the duke, "they had better husband their energies, for if
I read the future aright, Suabia will have need of every nerve."
Rodolph paused here; and as his companion did not reply, they rode on in
silence.
"I have a plan," exclaimed the duke, with singular vivacity. "But tell
me first, has that young Gilbert seen the Lady Margaret?"
In reply the missionary briefly narrated the events of which the reader
is already in possession. "Then," pursued the King of Arles, eagerly, "I
have strong hopes of success. Listen to me, holy Father: the maiden is
beautiful and virtuous, the youth fair and knightly, and I can so
represent one to the other, as to create an attachment strong enough to
insure to filial love a victory over parental hate. It is fair, I think,
to employ the bodily graces of these young persons against the mental
deformity of their parents--to array the child against the father, when
we seek the triumph of innocence over sin."
"Your highness is inclined to be romantic," rejoined the priest.
"Only the circumstances are romantic, and they seem to have shaped
themselves; my plan is practical enough. Tell me--what think you of it?"
"Briefly, then, I think your project impracticable."
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