all about the hero and his exploits up
to the time my story commences. So once more. Listen--listen now!
Here goes:--

"Kurd von Stein was a gallant and adventurous knight; he cared not how
far he wandered, nor what danger lay in his path. He had travelled to
all lands, and in all climates, defending ladies from insult, and the
defenceless from oppression. His love of adventure led him through wood
and wild, over mountains and across seas; but it was in the night that
he loved best to ride forth, when the soft moon shone on the silvery
lake and quiet forest; when the stars gazed calmly on the earth, as if
seeking to penetrate its future, and mourning over its past; when the
hoot of the owl and the cry of the beast of prey were the only sounds to
be heard, besides the tread of his own charger, when he left the forest
glade for the more beaten track.

"The Castle of Jauf, whose grey ruins may still be seen on a wooded
height in the high country of the Rhine, was at that time a stately
pile, with battlements, towers, and walls of massive strength; but it
was uninhabited even then, and in the country round strange tales were
told of sights and sounds which issued from it, not only at night, but
even during the day. Spirits were said to hold their meetings there,
and the place was shunned by all mankind.

"Sir Kurd, however, knew nothing of these tales; he had come from a
great distance, and beyond inquiring his way, and ordering his necessary
food, had held no communication with the peasantry, whose dialect was
with difficulty understood either by his servant or himself. As he came
within some hours of Jauf, he desired his servant to proceed to the
castle of a baron whom he had met in the wars in Belgium, and who lived
at no great distance, while he himself turned into the forest in hopes
of meeting with some adventure. On he rode, through the pleasant oak
woods, and by many a wild crag; but he at last found that he had
wandered out of the direction he meant to have taken, and had no idea
where he was, or which way he ought to turn to find his friend's castle;
but he comforted himself with the old proverb, `that every road leads to
Rome, and even out of the labyrinth you will reach your destination.'

"The last ray of sunset had disappeared as Sir Kurd entered a wide
valley, and faintly through the deepening gloom descried a large
building, standing on a height at its further end--it was the Castle of
Jauf. His