“This charming and royal young widow was bright, intelligent, and had a mind of her own; it was easy to see that.  She had formed a scheme for her deliverance, and she had been waiting to find some one to help her carry it out.  Now, she thought I was the man she had been looking for.  I was elderly, apparently respectable, and she had to trust somebody.

“This was her scheme.  She was well aware that unless some powerful friend interfered in her behalf she would be obliged to marry Adalbert, or remain in prison for the rest of her life, which would probably be unduly shortened.  Therefore she had made up her mind to appeal to the court of the Emperor Otto I of Germany, and she wanted me to carry a letter to him.

“I stood silent, earnestly considering this proposition, and as I did so she gazed at me as if her whole happiness in this world depended upon my decision.  I was not long in making up my mind on the subject.  I told her that I was willing to help her, and would undertake to carry a letter to the emperor, and I did not doubt, from what I had heard of this noble prince, that he would come to her deliverance.  But I furthermore assured her that the moment it became known that the emperor was about to interfere in her behalf, she would be in a position of great danger, and would probably disappear from human sight before relief could reach her.  In that prison she was utterly helpless, and to appeal for help would be to bring down vengeance upon herself.  The first thing to do, therefore, was to escape from this prison, and get to some place where, for a time at least, she could defend herself against Berengar, while waiting for Otto to take her under his protection.

“She saw the force of my remarks, and we discussed the matter for half an hour, and when I left—­being warned by the soldier on guard, who was in love with the queen’s black-eyed maid, that it was time for me to depart—­it was arranged that I should return the next night and confer with the fair Adelheid.

“There were several conferences, and the unfaithful sentinel grumbled a good deal.  I cannot speak of all the plans and projects which we discussed, but at last one of them was carried out.  One dark, rainy night Adelheid changed clothes with her maid, actually deceived the guard—­not the fellow who had admitted me—­with a story that she had been sent in great haste to get some medicine for her royal mistress, and joined me outside the prison.

“There we mounted horses I had in readiness, and rode away from Ivrea.  We were bound for the castle of Canossa, a strong-hold of considerable importance, where my royal companion believed she could find refuge, at least for a time.  I cannot tell you of all the adventures we had upon that difficult journey.  We were pursued; we were almost captured; we met with obstacles of various kinds, which sometimes seemed insurmountable; but at last we saw the walls of Canossa rising before us, and we were safe.