ent-bell. Immediately the
spell was broken, and once more snow and ice dominated the scene. The
courtiers, who had rid themselves of as much of their clothing as court
etiquette would permit, shivered in the bitter blast, and looked the
very picture of blank amazement--so much so that William forgot his own
suffering and laughed heartily at the discomfiture of his train.

This story has a quaint sequel. To show his approval of the magic feat
William granted to the convent a piece of land of considerable extent in
the neighbourhood of Cologne, and sent some of his courtiers to present
the deed of gift. The hospitable prior, anxious that the members of the
deputation should be suitably entertained, drew from the well-furnished
cellars of the monastery some choice Rhenish, which so pleased the
palates of the courtiers that they drank and drank and did not seem
to know when to stop. At length the prior, beholding with dismay the
disappearance of his finest vintage, privately begged the magician
to put a stop to this drain on the resources of his cellar. Albertus
consented, and once more the wine-cups were replenished. Imagine the
horror of the courtiers when each beheld ghastly flames issuing from his
cup! In their dismay they seized hold of one another and would not let
go.

Only when the phenomenon had disappeared did they discover that each
held his neighbour by the nose! and such was their chagrin at being seen
in this unconventional pose that they quitted the monastery without a
word, and never entered it again.

Truenfels

At a place called Truenfels, near the Oelberg, and not very far from
Cologne, there lived at one time in the Middle Ages a knight named Sir
Balther. His schloss was known as The Mount, and there dwelt with him
here his only daughter, Liba, whose great beauty had won for her a vast
entourage of suitors. Each was equally importunate, but only one was in
any way favoured, Sir Sibert Ulenthal, and at the time the story opens
this Sir Sibert had lately become affianced to Sir Balther's daughter.

Now Sir Balther felt an ardent aversion to one of his neighbours, the
Bishop of Cologne, and his hatred of this prelate was shared abundantly
by various other knights and nobles of the district. One evening it
chanced a body of these were gathered together at The Mount; and after
Rhenish had circulated freely among them and loosened their tongues,
one and all began to vent wrath on the ill-starred Churchman