of all mortals."

"Well said, daughter, you are right. Could I be fortunate enough,
Count, to gratify one of your wishes?--Come," continued Bonello, seeing
that Erwin was too agitated to speak, "you should at least have courage
enough to ask me, but I think I can reward you? Well, if you won't, I
must; take her, my son! My children, I betroth you in the sight of
Heaven, and before this assemblage."

The people applauded, as Erwin took her hand; he had forgotten the
past, and his eyes shone with a courage and a determination which would
have defied the universe.

"My dear Bonello, I leave you, full of hope in a brighter future!
Farewell, Hermengarde, and fear nothing; our separation will be only a
brief one."

He mounted and rode away, followed by the cheers and good wishes of the
crowd.

_CHAPTER XXVIII_.

_THE POPULACE IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY_.

The Milanese were profoundly discouraged by the Chancellor's disloyal
conduct and the forcible abduction of their consuls; while the rigid
enforcement of the blockade by the Imperial troops rendered the
introduction of supplies a matter of impossibility.

The people, full of courage and fortitude, so long as they possessed an
abundance of everything, began to murmur, when they became aware that
their provisions were nearly exhausted, and even the Archdeacon Sala,
once revered almost as a saint, lost his influence, and, with the
Archbishop and the other ecclesiastics, was obliged to seek an asylum
within the walls of Genoa. With them, all organization disappeared, and
the angry crowd threatened to open the city gates to the enemy.
Thousands of infuriated men and women assembled before the palaces of
the consuls Nigri and Oberto, demanding food, and the magistrates were
unwillingly obliged to yield, and on the last day of February, 1162,
convoked an assembly of the people.

The multitude flocked together on the public square, in the centre of
the town, their hollow eyes, pallid cheeks, and trembling limbs giving
proof of the bitter pangs of hunger. One member alone had lost none of
its energy; it was the tongue, which railed out violently against the
consuls, who were accused of everything dishonorable and unjust. The
boldest of the mob got as close as possible to the tribune, from which
the magistrates were to harangue the people, in order that they might
interrupt the speakers at their pleasure.

"Trust me, my frie