same man I mean, he does not visit Ulm for your sake alone. Should you
ever meet him again, be guarded how you trust such a vagabond. But the
watchman now calls ten o'clock. Lay down again, and dream away your
confinement. But before I go, give me your word about the fourteen
days; and, I can tell you, if you leave Ulm without saying farewell to
old Fronsberg----"

"I will not fail to do so!" cried Albert, touched by the pain which he
perceived his revered friend felt at parting, and which he tried to
smother under a smile. He gave him his hand as a pledge of his promise,
according to the desire of the council of war, upon which the knight
left the room, with long measured steps.

CHAPTER XII.

"Could I but once that face so dear
Behold before we sever;
And once again those accents hear,
Before we part for ever."
C. GRUeNEISEN.

On the following day a horseman, oppressed by the heat of the mid-day
sun, was bending his way over that part of the Swabian Alb which leads
towards Franconia. He was young, more slim than strong built, and rode
a large brown horse; he was well armed with cuirass, dagger, and sword;
some parts of his defensive apparel, such as his helmet, and steel
plates to cover his limbs, hung to his saddle. The striped light blue
and white scarf, which passed across his breast over the right shoulder
(the distinguishing prerogative of high rank in those days), shewed the
young man to be of noble birth.

He had reached the summit of a hill, which afforded a view into the
valley below, and stopping his horse, he turned on one side to enjoy
the beautiful prospect. Before him lay an extended plain, bounded on
each side by wooded heights, through which flowed the green waters of
the Danube; on his right the chain of hills of the Wuertemberg Alb; on
his left the distant snow-capped Tyrolean Alps. The blue vault of
heaven encircled the scene, and its soft colouring brought out in
strong relief the dark walls of Ulm, its massive spire, and the whole
extent of the town, which lay at the foot of the mountain.

Noon was announced at this moment by the tolling of the bells of the
cathedral; their solemn tones resounded throughout the town and its
extended plain, until they were lost among the distant mountains.

"The same sounds accompany my departure which greeted my arrival,"
thought t