city together.

Biberli's astonished enquiry concerning the cause of Eva's visit to the
fortress was answered evasively, and she was glad when the singing in
the next room led the Swabian to ask whether it was true that the master
of her suffering friend on the couch, who intended to devote himself to
a monastic life, meant to enter the order of the Minorite whom she had
just left and become a mendicant friar. When Eva assented, the lady
remarked that members of this brotherhood had rarely come to her castle;
but Biberli said that they were quiet, devout men who, content with the
alms they begged, preached, and performed other religious duties. They
were recruited more from the people than from the aristocratic classes.
Many, however, joined them in order to live an idle life, supported by
the gifts of others.

Eva eagerly opposed this view, maintaining that true piety could be most
surely found in the order of St. Francis. Then, with warm enthusiasm,
she praised its founder, asserting that, on the contrary, the Saint of
Assisi had enjoined labour upon his followers. For instance, one of
his favourite disciples was willing to shake the nuts from the rotten
branches of a nut tree which no one dared to climb if he might have
half the harvest. This was granted, but he made a sack of his wide brown
cowl, filled it with the nuts, and distributed them amongst his poor.

This pleased the mother and daughter; yet when the former remarked
that work of this kind seemed to her too easy for a young, noble, and
powerful knight, Eva agreed, but added that the saint also required
an activity in which the hands, it is true, remained idle, but which
heavily taxed even the strongest soul. St. Francis himself had set the
example of performing this toil cheerfully and gladly.

Whilst giving this information she had again risen. Sister Hildegard had
announced that her palfrey and the horses of the guests had been led up.

Finally Eva promised to mount at the same time as the Swabians, bade
farewell to Biberli, who looked after her with surprise, yet silently
conjectured that this errand to the Emperor was in his behalf, and
then went into the entry, where Sister Hildegard told her that Father
Benedictus had just died.

The monks were still chanting beside his deathbed. Brother AEgidius,
the friend and comrade of the dead man, however, had left them and
approached Eva.

Deeply agitated, he struggled to repress his sobs as he told her