ons upon his
companions. In the appearance of the stately personage who filled the
situation of honour in the fifer of Hardt's house, self importance and
dignity seemed pre-eminent whilst much kindliness of expression was
marked on her features. Had not her better half been a man of
determined character, and positive in maintaining the upper hand in the
essentials of domestic government, there was something in the bearing
of his wife which indicated, that one less bold might easily have been
brought under her dominion.

In her daughter's countenance, the combined charms of simple unaffected
goodness and innocence beamed forth in all their glory. The purity of
her heart, and kindliness of her feelings, were delineated in the
delicate lines of her features, and the soft modest expression of her
eye bespoke unconsciousness of nature's best gifts. Such was this child
of nature, bred and born in the lonely cottage of a restless intriguing
peasant; Albert could not behold her without admiration, and owned to
himself that, had his heart not been already fully occupied with
another, and the distance between the heir to the name of Sturmfeder
and the lower born daughter of the fifer of Hardt been immeasurably
great, she might have won no insignificant place in it. His eye rested
with peculiar pleasure and interest upon her innocent face, and, had
not her mother been so much occupied with her porridge, she could not
have avoided noticing the blushes of her child, when a stolen look at
the young knight by chance met his glance.

"Now that the platter is empty, is the time to gossip," is a true
saying; which was put in practice as soon as the table cloth was taken
away. Albert had two things particularly at heart. He wished to know
for certain, when the fifer of Hardt would return from Lichtenstein,
because he only awaited intelligence from Bertha to hasten immediately
to her; and, secondly, it was highly necessary for him to learn where
the army of the League was at the present moment. To the first question
he could not expect any further information, than that which the maiden
had already given him, namely, that her father had been absent about
six days, but, having promised to be back on the fifth, she now looked
for his arrival every hour. The good matron shed tears as she bewailed
to her guest how her husband, since the commencement of the war, had
been but a few hours at home; how he had always had the reputation of
being a