enderness and
love.

After this parting, many years passed over Frau Gensfleisch's head ere
she beheld her son again; and few and far between were the tidings of
him that reached her cottage. Long and weary years were they to her; and
the hope so long deferred of seeing him again made, indeed, her heart
grow sick. Many and many a time would she go on foot into the town to
make inquiries of Father Gottlieb as to whether aught had been heard of
the absent one; and if by chance she was told of some traveller who had
come into the town from the south, she would go there though ever so
weak and weary, and never rest until she had found the stranger out, to
question him herself about all the youths whom he might have fallen in
with, in the hope that her Hans might have been one of them.

Through Father Gottlieb she heard of his safe arrival at Worms; and
these tidings came written on a slip of parchment by Hans himself, and
was brought by a travelling monk who was going about to collect alms,
and who called at the convent of St. Gothard in Mainz. In return, Frau
Gensfleisch got one of the monks to write for her a letter, in which she
told Hans of the recovery of the youth whom he had wounded, and begged
him to return to her. This letter was given into the charge of the same
monk, who, after visiting several other cities, was likely to return to
Worms; but as it did not bring Hans home again, no one felt sure that it
had ever reached him.

Several years passed without any more tidings of her son reaching Frau
Gensfleisch, until there called at her cottage one day a pilgrim who was
returning from the Holy Land, and was on his way to the city of Treves,
to which he was taking some holy relics. He brought to Frau Gensfleisch
a small bag of silver coin, as much in value as the money she had given
to Hans at his departure. The pilgrim told her it was sent by a youth in
the town of Strasburg, who sent with it love and greeting, and directed
him where to find her cottage. The pilgrim had forgotten the name of the
youth, he said, but that he had marked the little bag with a mark that
he was sure his mother would know; and sure enough she did; for there on
the leather had been imprinted the very same letter =g= which Hans
had saved from the fire, when his other letters were burnt. Frau
Gensfleisch knew by this that the money came from Hans, and her heart
beat for joy at the knowledge that he was well and rich, and above all
that he