But she?  What will she do; how will she demean her; is she aware of his presence?  Will she shrink from him as Dame Gossenprot did at Augsburg, and the inn-keeper’s smart wife at Ingolstadt, who of old was so over-eager to be at his service?  Would Ann, who had rejected many a lordly suitor, be as sweet as of yore to that breathless creature?  And if she were to follow the example which he long since set her, if she now cut the bond which he of old had snatched asunder, or if—­Merciful Virgin!—­if his sickness should increase, and he himself should shrink from fettering her blooming young life to his own—­then, oh, then it might be my turn, then. . . .

And on a sudden there was a cry from the depths of my heart, but heard by none:  “Look on this side.  Look on me, my one and only beloved!  Turn from him who once turned from thee, and hearken to Kunz who loves thee with a more faithful and fervent love than that man, who to this day knows not what thy true worth is, whose heart is as fickle as mine is honest and true.  Here I stand, a strong and stalwart man, the friend of every good man, willing and able to carry you in my strong hands through a life crowned with wealth and happiness!”

And while the voice of the Evil One whispered this and much more, my gaze, meseemed, was spellbound to her countenance, and the light of her eyes from afar shone deep into mine.  And on a sudden I flung up my arms and, without knowing what I did, stretched them forth, as though beside myself, towards that hotly-loved maiden.  Whether she saw this or no I may never learn.  And the grace of the Blessed Virgin or of my guardian Saint, preserved me from evil and disgrace, for whereas all that was in me yearned for that beloved one, a clear voice called to me by name, and when I turned, behold it was Margery, who had leaped her light palfrey into the ditch and now had sprung up the grassy bank.  It was a breakneck piece of horsemanship, to which she had been driven by longing and sisterly love; and behind her came a man, my cousin Gotz, whose newly-married wife’s daring leap was indeed after his own heart.  One more plunge, and their horses were on the highroad, and I had lifted Margery out of her saddle and we held each other clasped, stammering out foolish disconnected words, while we first laughed and then wept.

This went on for some while till I was startled by an outcry, and behold, Eppelein, in his impatience to greet his dear master, had been fain to do as Margery and Gotz had done, but with less good fortune, inasmuch as that he had fallen under his horse, which had rolled over with him.  His lamentable outcry told me that he needed help, and once more in my life I fulfilled my strange fate, which has ever been to cast to the winds that for which my soul most longed, for another to take it up.  While Margery turned to greet Herdegen I hastened down the bank to rescue the faithful fellow who had endured so much in my brother’s service, ere the worst should befall him.