cerns of war, when many of them, even
before the spring should be fully advanced, would cover the green grass
with their bodies, with no other price offered for their blood than the
tear of a comrade, or the short-lived glory of having fallen before the
enemy as brave men.

His eye turned instinctively to that quarter where he knew the reward
which he hoped would crown the success of his present undertaking
awaited him. He there saw many figures at the window, but soon the
black smoke of the torches, which suddenly, as a cloud, almost covered
the square, veiled the objects so as to give them the appearance of
mere shadows. He turned away in disappointment, saying to himself,
"Such are my prospects also; at one moment the present indeed looks
bright, but in the next, how dark, how uncertain is the prospect of the
future!"

His kind friend roused him from this foreboding frame of mind, with the
question, "Where are your servants with your horses?" Had the spot
where they stood been better lighted, our good Kraft might, perhaps,
have discovered a passing blush upon the cheek of his friend at this
inquiry.

"A young soldier," answered Albert, quickly recovering his composure,
"must learn to look after his own affairs as well as he can, without
the assistance and trouble of servants, and therefore I have not
brought one with me. I have given Breitenstein's groom charge of my
horse."

The scribe of the council applauded the young man for the self-denial
which he exercised; but he could not help making the remark, that when
once in the field he would not be able to assert his independence so
easily. The attention which his companion paid to his own person, his
well-combed hair, his neatly curled beard, convinced Albert that he
spoke from his heart, and the snug comfortable lodging into which he
was introduced did not belie this opinion.

The menage of Herrn von Kraft was, in fact, a young bachelor's
establishment, for his parents died before he attained the age of
manhood. He had often thought of looking for a partner to share his
comforts with him, but he hesitated to renounce the charm of
independence; an advantage he thought not to be despised, flattered as
he was by being honored and looked upon by the ladies of Ulm as a
desirable match. But ill-natured folks whispered abroad, that it was
principally owing to the decided disinclination of his old nurse and
housekeeper to have a young mistress in the house, which det