uppose they will disobey the
orders of their magistrates at the risk of the loss of their property,
and imprisonment? Ulerich has too little money to retain them, and they
will not serve him upon mere promises."

"But you cannot call that behaving honourably," remarked Albert, "to
deprive the enemy of the arms with which he wishes to meet you in fair
contest."

"In politics, as we call it," answered the scribe, thinking to
establish his knowledge of state affairs in the mind of the
inexperienced young soldier, "in politics, honour at best is assumed
but for appearance sake; for example, the Swiss will explain to the
Duke, in excuse for deserting him, that it would be against their
conscience to allow their troops to serve against the independence of
the free towns; but the truth is, that we can fill the pockets of the
bears with more gold florins in order to keep them at home, than the
Duke can to assist him."

"Well, after all, let the Swiss desert the Duke," said Albert,
"Wuertemberg will still be able of herself to send forth valiant and
ready hearts sufficient to prevent any dog passing the Alb."

"We have thought of an expedient in that case also," replied the
scribe, in explanation; "we will address a letter to the states of
Wuertemberg, and warn them against the insufferable government of their
Duke, exhorting them at the same time to cast off their allegiance to
him, and join the League in the laudable undertaking of crushing his
tyrannous conduct."

"How!" cried Albert, with horror, whose generous mind was as yet
unacquainted with the intrigues of politics: "I call that playing the
traitor. Would you force the Duke out of his country by such underhand,
unworthy means, and corrupt his confiding subjects to induce them to
become his bitterest enemies?"

"I believe you have been thinking, all along, that we wish nothing more
than that he should restore Reutlingen again to its former rank of a
town of the empire? But how then is Hutten, with his forty-two
associates, to be remunerated? In what way is Sickingen to satisfy the
demands of his thousand cavalry and twelve thousand infantry, if he
does not get a good slice of the country to pay them? And the Duke of
Bavaria, do you suppose he will not require a share of it also? And we
Ulmers, our frontier borders on Wuertemberg----"

"But the Princes of Germany," interrupted Albert, impatiently, "do you
suppose they will quietly look on and see you parcel out h