University of Virginia Library

1. CHAPTER I. THE SECRET REVEALED.

IT was night. Stillness reigned in the
grand old feudal castle of Klugenstein.
The year 1222 was drawing to a close.
Far away up in the tallest of the castle's
towers a single light glimmered. A secret
council was being held there. The stern old
lord of Klugenstein sat in a chair of state
meditating. Presently he said, with a tender
accent:

“My daughter!”

A young man of noble presence, clad from
head to heel in knightly mail, answered:

“Speak, father!”

“My daughter, the time is come for the revealing
of the mystery that hath puzzled all

your young life. Know, then, that it had its
birth in the matters which I shall now unfold.
My brother Ulrich is the great Duke
of Brandenburgh. Our father, on his deathbed,
decreed that if no son were born to
Ulrich, the succession should pass to my house,
provided a son were born to me. And further,
in case no son were born to either, but only
daughters, then the succession should pass to
Ulrich's daughter, if she proved stainless; if
she did not, my daughter should succeed,
if she retained a blameless name. And so I,
and my old wife here, prayed fervently for
the good boon of a son, but the prayer was
vain. You were born to us. I was in despair.
I saw the mighty prize slipping from
my grasp, the splendid dream vanishing away.
And I had been so hopeful! Five years had
Ulrich lived in wedlock, and yet his wife had
borne no heir of either sex.

“ `But hold,' I said, `all is not lost.' A
saving scheme had shot athwart my brain.
You were born at midnight. Only the leech,
the nurse, and six waiting-women knew your
sex. I hanged them every one before an hour

[ILLUSTRATION]

This is the Dog that "worried" the cat that caught
the rat that ate the malt that lay in the House
that Jack built.

[Description: 501EAF. Page 025. Image of the cat sitting at a desk writing on a scroll with a quill pen grasped in his paws, with paper spread around his feet and the Tribune sticking out of his jacket pocket. Near his feet is a very tiny dog, with a human head, barking at him. The head is that of a balding man with a rather large beard. The collar on the dog says "SUN".]

had sped. Next morning all the barony went
mad with rejoicing over the proclamation that
a son was born to Klugenstein, an heir to
mighty Brandenburgh! And well the secret
has been kept. Your mother's own sister nursed
your infancy, and from that time forward we
feared nothing.

“When you were ten years old, a daughter
was born to Ulrich. We grieved, but hoped
for good results from measles, or physicians, or
other natural enemies of infancy, but were always
disappointed. She lived, she throve—
Heaven's malison upon her! But it is nothing.
We are safe. For, Ha-ha! have we not a son?
And is not our son the future Duke? Our
well-beloved Conrad, is it not so?—for, woman
of eight-and-twenty years as you are, my child,
none other name than that hath ever fallen to
you!

“Now it hath come to pass that age hath
laid its hand upon my brother, and he waxes
feeble. The cares of state do tax him sore.
Therefore he wills that you shall come to him
and be already Duke in act, though not yet in

name. Your servitors are ready—you journey
forth to-night.

“Now listen well. Remember every word I
say. There is a law as old as Germany that if
any woman sit for a single instant in the great
ducal chair before she hath been absolutely
crowned in presence of the people, SHE SHALL
DIE! So heed my words. Pretend humility.
Pronounce your judgments from the Premier's
chair, which stands at the foot of the throne.
Do this until you are crowned and safe. It is
not likely that your sex will ever be discovered;
but still it is the part of wisdom to make
all things as safe as may be in this treacherous
earthly life.”

“Oh, my father, is it for this my life hath
been a lie! Was it that I might cheat my unoffending
cousin of her rights? Spare me,
father, spare your child!”

“What, huzzy! Is this my reward for the
august fortune my brain has wrought for thee?
By the bones of my father, this puling sentiment
of thine but ill accords with my humor.

Betake thee to the Duke, instantly! And beware
how thou meddlest with my purpose!”

Let this suffice, of the conversation. It is
enough for us to know that the prayers, the
entreaties and the tears of the gentle-natured
girl availed nothing. They nor anything could
move the stout old lord of Klugenstein. And
so, at last, with a heavy heart, the daughter
saw the castle gates close behind her, and
found herself riding away in the darkness surrounded
by a knightly array of armed vassals
and a brave following of servants.

The old baron sat silent for many minutes
after his daughter's departure, and then he
turned to his sad wife and said:

“Dame, our matters seem speeding fairly. It
is full three months since I sent the shrewd
and handsome Count Detzin on his devilish
mission to my brother's daughter Constance.
If he fail, we are not wholly safe;
but if he do succeed, no power can bar
our girl from being Duchess e'en though
ill fortune should decree she never should be
Duke!”

“My heart is full of bodings, yet all may still
be well.”

“Tush, woman! Leave the owls to croak.
To bed with ye, and dream of Brandenburgh
and grandeur!”