ranches of trees, and then, escorted by a few knights, Barbarossa
rode over to Cinola, whither he was soon followed by the other troops
and the wounded Germans.

_CHAPTER VI_.

_THE COURT FOOL_.

Scarcely was the Emperor installed in the fortress, when the German
levies began to come in, and Frederic was extremely gratified by the
arrival of several bishops, whose presence, he hoped, would lend great
moral strength to his cause, although they came, not as messengers of
peace, but in complete armor, and attended by well-appointed troops.
Foremost among the temporal chiefs were Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony
and Bavaria, next to Barbarossa himself, the most powerful prince of
the Empire; Leopold, Duke of Bohemia; and the mighty counts of Dachau,
d'Andech's and d'Abenberg. Duke Henry of Austria had not yet arrived,
although his army stood close at hand in the defiles of the Alps.

In the immense plain before the castle a vast camp rose, as if by
magic. Over the white tents fluttered the pennons of the knights, and
before the pavilions of the princes were hoisted their several
standards, rich in gold and silver embroidery. Through the canvas
streets pressed a gay crowd in rich dresses and shining armor, while
knights surrounded by their brilliant retinues, rode in every
direction.

In the middle of the camp stood the Imperial pavilion, and toward it,
as to a common centre, seemed to tend all the varied parts of the
strange tumult.

Meanwhile a sad spectacle might have been witnessed before the gates of
the fortress, distant a thousand paces from the camp. From the open
postern of the huge round tower, which formed the principal salient of
the fortification, Bonello was being led out to execution. The three
days' respite had expired, and the certainty of his speedy death,
joined to the sorrow that he had not yet seen his child, had left upon
the prisoner's face traces of deep anguish. His trembling knees could
scarcely support him as he followed the jailers who were conducting him
to the scaffold from which hung the fatal knot.

The condemned man made every effort to meet his fate with courage, but
when, a few steps from the gallows, the executioner seized the rope,
all his fortitude deserted him, and he halted.

"What is the matter now," cried the brutal soldier who commanded the
escort. "Until now you have given proofs of bravery; do you tremble at
t