Anne of Geierstein

,To lord it o’er the fertile plains of Gaul.HelvetiaThe eyes of the English travellers, wearied with a succession of wild mountainous scenery, now gaz

t in passion. “Has the Emperor Sigismund profited so little by the example of his predecessors — ”“The Emperor,” replied the delegate of Bale, interrupting the Banneret, “is a well-intentioned and peaceful monarch, as he has been ever; but — there are Burgundian troops, of late, marched into the Sundgaw, and messages have been sent to our State from Count Archibald of Hagenbach.”“Enough said,” replied the Landamman. “Draw not farther the veil from a weakness for which you blush. I comprehend you entirely. Bale lies too near the citadel of La Ferette to permit its citizens to consult their own inclinations. — Brother, we see where your difficulty lies — we pity you — and we forgive your inhospitality.”“Nay, but hear me to an end, worthy Landamman,” answered the magistrate. “There is here in the vicinity an old hunting-seat of the Counts of Falkenstein, called Graffs-lust, 4 which, though ruinous, yet may afford better lodgings than the open air, and is capable of some defence — though Heaven forbid that any one should dare to intrude upon your repose! And hark ye hither, my worthy friends; — if you find in the old place some refreshment, as wine, beer, and the like, use them without scruple, for they are there for your accommodation.” I do not refuse to occupy a place of security,” said the Landamman; “for although the causing us to be excluded from Bale may be only done in the spirit of petty insolence and malice, yet it may also, for what we can tell, be connected with some purpose of violence. Your provisions we thank you (or but we will not, with my consent, feed at the cost of friends who are ashamed to own us unless by stealth.”“One thing more, my worthy sir,” said the official of Bale -” You have a maiden in company, who, I presume to think, is your daughter. There is but rough accommodation where you are going, even for men; — for women there is little better, though what we could we have done to arrange matters as well as may be. But rather let your daughter go with us back to Bible, where my dame will be a mother to her till next morning, when I will bring her to your camp in safety. We promised to shut our gates against the men of the Confederacy, but the women were not mentioned.”“You are subtle casuists, you men of Bale,” answered the Landamman; “but know, that from the time in which the Helvetians sallied forth to encounter Caesar down to the present hour, the women of Switzerland, in the press of danger, have had their abode in the camp of their fathers, brothers, and husbands, and sought no farther safety than they might find in the courage of their relations. We have enough of men to protect our women, and my niece shall remain with us, and take the fate which Heaven may send us.”“Adieu, then, worthy friend,” said the magistrate of Bale; “it grieves me to part with you thus, but evil fate will have it so. Yonder grassy avenue will conduct you to the old hunting-seat, where Heaven send that you may pass a quiet night; for apart from other risks, men say that these ruins have no good name. Will you yet permit your niece, since such the young person is, to pass to Bale for the night in my company?”“If we are disturbed by beings like ourselves,” said Arnold Biederman, “we have strong arms, and heavy partisans; if we should be visited, as your words would imply, by those of a different description, we have, or should have, good consciences, and confidence in Heaven. — Good friends, my brethren on this embassy, have I spoken your sentiments as well as mine own?”The other deputies intimated th