than the hovels of the charcoal burners and quarrymen in the
Montfort forests and mountains; yet none of them are perfumed with
sandal-wood and attar of roses, and the blow of the axe which gashes one
of our wood-cutter's flesh presents a similar spectacle to the wounds
which your criminals bring with them to Schweinau. And let me tell you, I
am the leech in Montfort, and unless death is near, and the chaplain
accompanies me bearing the sacrament, I often go alone with the
manservant, the maid, or the pages who carry my medicines. Since I grew
up I have attended to our sick, and I cannot tell you how many fractures,
wounds, hurts, and fevers I have cured or seen progress to a fatal end. I
stand godmother to nearly all the newborn infants in our villages and
hamlets. The mothers whom I nurse insist upon it. There are almost as
many Cordulas as girls on the Montfort estates, and in many a hut there
are two or three of them. Michel the fisherman has a Cordula, a Cordel,
and a Dulla. Therefore it follows that I am accustomed to severe wounds,
though my heart often aches at the sight of them. I know how to bandage
as well as a barber, and, if necessary, can even use the knife."

"I thought so," cried the magistrate, much comforted. "Set my delicate
little Eva an example if her courage fails; or, what would be still
better, if you see that the horrible business goes too much against the
grain, persuade her to give up work which requires stronger hands and a
less sensitive nature. But there are the horses already. I want to go to
the city, too, Christel, and it's lucky that I don't have to go alone at
night."

"So said the man who jumped in to save somebody from drowning," replied
Fran Christine laughing: "It's lucky it happened, because I was just
going to take a bath!" But it pleased her to have her husband's
companionship, and she did not approach her horse until he had examined
the saddle-girth and the bridle with the utmost care.

Before putting her foot in the stirrup, she told the old housekeeper to
take Countess von Montfort to the hospital and commend her to the special
care of Sister Hildegard. She would call for Cordula and Eva on her
return from the city; but they must not wait for her should the strength
of either fail. She had ordered a sedan-chair to be kept ready for her
niece at the hospital. A second one would be at the countess's disposal.

"That's what I call foresight!" cried the magistrate laughing. "On