adopted parents, eloquent in speech, and a general favorite at the emperor's court. For a time, Conrad was as pleased with the attainments of the young Henry, as he had been with those of his poor father; but time brought with it envy, and he soon hated the youth, as he had before the unfortunate count. A dreadful suspicion haunted Conrad's mind that he had been deceived by his knights, and that the youthful favorite of the people was the woodman's child, against whom he had been warned by the secret voice. The most cruel thoughts entered his mind, and he determined, this time, not to be deceived by his agents.

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Henry," said he to the young count, "I have a letter of the utmost importance that I wish to be delivered to my wife; to you I commit it, for you I can trust; haste, then, prepare for your journey, whilst I write the letter."

Henry retired to his apartments to prepare for his ride; he chose his best riding suit, and his strongest horse, desirous in every way to do honor to the Emperor's mission. Conrad went to his private room to prepare the letter.

"As soon as this letter reaches you," he wrote, "I command you to cause the bearer thereof to be put to death. See that this be done, as you value my love."

Henry received the letter, and prepared to commence his journey. As it happened, his horse cast one of its shoes, and he was compelled to wait until another could be forged. Unwilling that the emperor should know of the delay, the young man wandered into the royal chapel, and seating himself in one of the royal stalls, fell asleep.

There was a prying, crafty priest in the chapel, who had heard the message given to the young count, and wished very much to discover the secret of the message. Seeing the young man asleep, he silently approached the youth, and extracting the letter from the little silken bag in which it was enclosed, opened its folds, and read, with astonishment, the proposed wickedness.

"Poor youth," murmured the priest, “thou little thinkest on what errand you are riding. But, come, I will deceive this cruel emperor," continued he, as he erased the passage in which

Henry's death was commanded, and inserted these words: "Give him our daughter in marriage."

The letter altered and replaced, his horse re-shod, Henry set out on his journey, and soon arrived at the city where the queen dwelt. Presenting his letter to the queen, he was greatly surprised when she hailed him as her son-in-law, by virtue of the royal commands, and bade the priests and nobles of her court to assist in rendering the celebration of the nuptials as gorgeous as befitted the occasion.

It was in vain that Conrad raged against the deceit thus practised on him; one by one the wonderful facts of the young man's deliverance were revealed to him, and he could not but recognize in them all the hand of a protecting Providence. Deeply penitent for his many offences against God and man, he confirmed the marriage of his daughter, recalled the old count from his forest hut, and proclaimed the young Henry heir to his empire.

"There is a great family likeness between this tale of yours, and the German story of the Giant with the Golden Hair."

"In what respect?"

"In the manner in which the fortunate youth obtains the princess as his wife. In that legend, a king discovers the babe after a manner very similar to that in which Henry is found by Conrad, and-warned that the child is to be his son-in-law-he sends him on a message to his queen, with a letter of the same import as in your tale. Fatigued with his journey, the youth arrived at a robber's cottage, falls asleep, and during his rest the thieves alter the letter, as the priest does that borne by Henry. The effect is, of course, similar."

"But what of the golden-haired giant?" asked Herbert.

"He does not appear until the second part of the legend, and this is doubtless added on from some other tradition. You will find the whole story in Grimm's most amusing collection of German popular stories.” "With this tale, then, we conclude our evening's amusement."

"I am afraid it must be so, Herbert," rejoined Lathom; "I should not like to be left without material for to-morrow, our last meeting; and between this and then, I am unable to prepare any more tales "

CHAPTER XII.

Love and Marriage-THE KNIGHT AND THE THREE QUESTIONS-Racing for a WifeJONATHAN AND THE THREE TALISMANS-Tale of the Dwarf and the Three SoldiersConclusion.

"I HAVE been very much surprised at the almost entire absence of compulsory marriages from your tales; marriage, indeed, is the staple incident of the story, but the course of love seems to be allowed to run almost too smooth."

"Why, Herbert," said Frederick Thompson, with a smile, "were it not rank heresy to suppose that power, and wealth, and policy influenced marriages in those romantic days, when knignts performed impossibilities, and ladies sang love ditties from high towers!"

"You must not delude yourselves that ladies were married in the tenth and eleventh centuries on principles very widely differing from those now prevailing. I could give you far worse examples than the wondrous nineteenth century furnishes."

"What!" exclaimed Herbert, "worse examples than eighty linked to eighteen because their properties adjoined? or a spendthrift title propped up by a youthful heiress, because the one wanted 'money and the other rank ?"

"Hilloa, Master Reginald Herbert, methinks we speak feelingly; is there not something of the accepted lover and disappointed son-in-law in that exalted burst of indignation, eh, Lathom? can it be true that

The lady she was willing,

But the baron he say No."

"Be it as it may," said Lathom, "we will solace our friend with an example or two of the approved ways of lady-winning in the tenth century. Which shall it be, the case of a successful racer or a clever resolver of riddles ?"

"Oh, I will answer for Reginald; pray leave Miss Atalanta for the present, and favor us with the resolver of hard questions." Here begins the tale of

THE KNIGHT AND THE THREE QUESTIONS.

A CERTAIN emperor had a very beautiful, but wilful, daughter, and he much wished to marry her, for she was his heir, but to all

his wishes she was deaf. At last she agreed to marry that person who should answer succinctly these three questions. The first question was, "What is the length, breadth, and depth of the four elements?" The second required a means of changing the north wind; and the third demanded by what means fire might be carried in the bosom without injury to the person.

Many and many were the nobles, knights, and princes that endeavored to answer the princess's questions. It was all in vain some answered one, sone another, but no one resolved all three, and each reserved his secret from his competitor, in the hopes of another and more successful trial. The emperor began to grow angry with his daughter, but she still persisted in her intentions, and her father did not like to compel her. At length, after many years, came a soldier from a foreign land, and when he heard of the questions of the princess, he volunteered for the trial. On the appointed day, the soldier entered the court of the palace accompanied by one attendant, who led an extremely fiery horse by the bridle. The king descended to the gate of the inner court-yard, and demanded the soldier's wishes.

"I come, my lord, to win thy daughter, by rightly answering her three questions; I pray thee propose them to me."

"Right willingly," rejoined the emperor. "If thou succeedest, my daughter, and the succession to my throne, is thine; but mark me, if thou failest, a sound whipping awaits thee as an impudent adventurer. Shall I propose the questions ?"

"Even so, my lord-I am ready: a crown and a wife, or the whipping-post."

“Tell me, then, succinctly, how many feet there are in the length, breadth, and depth of the elements."

"Launcelot," said the soldier to his servant, "give the horse to a groom, and lie down on the ground.”

The servant obeyed his master's orders, and the soldier carefully measured his length, his breath, and the thickness of his body.

"My lord," said the soldier, as soon as the measuring was complete, "the length of the elements is scarcely seven feet,

the breadth is nearly three, and the depth does not exceed

"How mean you, sir; what has this to do with the ele ments?"

My lord," rejoined the soldier, "man is made of the four elements: I have given you the measure of man, and therefore of those parts of which he is composed."

"You have answered well, sir soldier: now resolve this difficulty—how can the north wind be changed?”

"Launcelot, bring up Niger."

The servant brought up the horse at his master's command, and the soldier placed it with its head to the north; after a few minutes he administered to it a potion, and at the same moment turned its head to the east; the horse that before had breathed fiercely now became quiet, and its breathing was soft and quiet.

"See, my lord, the wind is changed."

"How, sir soldier ?" asked the emperor, "what has this to

do with the wind ?"

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My lord," rejoined the soldier, "who knows not that the life of every animal is in its breath, and that breath is air? When my horse looked northward, he breathed fiercely and snorted excessively. Lo, I gave him a potion and turned his head to the east, and now the same breath comes softly and quietly, for the wind is changed."

"Well done-well done, soldier! for these two answers thou shalt escape the whipping-post. Now resolve me this difficulty, How can fire be carried in the bosom without injury to the person ?"

"Look and see, my lord."

With these words, the soldier stooped towards a fire that burned in the court-yard, and hastily seizing some of the burning wood, placed it in his bosom.. Every one expected to see him injured, but after the fire had burned out the soldier threw the wood from his breast and there was neither scar nor burn on his flesh.

"Well hast thou performed thy task, O soldier," said the king. "My daughter is thine according to promise-the in