the morning, the very best time to accomplish
his purpose.

"Put on these clothes," said he, as he unfolded a soldier's uniform;
"take this hat, and here is a gun. As quickly as you possibly can,
transform yourself into a soldier."

They escaped in safety from the prison, accompanied by the faithful
Richard, and went as rapidly as they could towards the Rhine. They
reached old Solomon's ferry house. The young man knocked gently at the
window, and asked his father to come out as soon as possible and take
the duke over the river.

"Are you not going to take your little girl with you?" said the old
ferryman.

"What little girl?" asked the duke.

"Your little daughter, whom my brother has brought here this very day;
and she is as sweet a child as I ever saw in my life. She lies asleep
now in the corner of the room."

This was news which the nobleman did not expect to hear, and he was
almost overcome with joy. But he had no time to spend in greeting,
except to give his dear Lillie a kiss. Soon they were over the Rhine;
but before reaching the bank on the opposite side, they were fired at
by soldiers who had come in search of them. A bullet passed through
the top of the duke's high soldier hat, but he was not harmed, and
escaped in safety.

The great task for him to accomplish now was to find his wife and boy,
though he had but little hope of ever finding them. Old Richard had
enough money to buy the duke a horse; so the father mounted the horse,
and took his little daughter on the saddle with him. They travelled
over the mountains and through the vales, asking, whenever they met
any person, to tell them if they knew of any strangers in that section
of the country. But nobody gave any information.

Old Richard was yet with them, for he had still enough money left to
buy a mule, and he rode beside his good master and Lillie until the
17th of July arrived, and that was Lillie's birthday. The duke
determined that they three should stop and celebrate it by taking a
little rest and a good meal in a cottage by the wayside. Having
finished their dinner, they went out of doors and looked about the
beautiful yard, which was all blooming with flowers. A bird cage was
hanging by the side of the door, and the bird was singing the tune to
these words:--

"Take courage, bird;
Our Father says,
In winter's storms
And summer's rays
You have no barns,
You sow no wheat