In the Fire of the Forge | Page 8

until death released him from his suffering.
On his return to Castle Schorlin he found many changes; the old knight
had been called away from earth a few days before his son's death, and
Heinz Schorlin, his present master, had fallen heir to castle and lands.
This, however, was no great fortune, for the large estates of the
Schorlin family were burdened by heavy debts.
The dead lord, as countryman, boon companion, and brother in arms of
the Emperor Rudolph, had been always ready to place his sword at his
service, and whenever a great tournament was held he never failed to
be present. So the property had been consumed, and the Lady Wendula
and her son and three daughters were left in moderate circumstances.
The two older girls had taken the veil, while the youngest, a merry little
maiden, lived with her mother.
But the Emperor Rudolph had by no means forgotten the Lady
Wendula and her dead husband, and with the utmost kindness
requested her to send him her only son as soon as he was able to wield
a sword and lance. He intended to repay Heinz for the love and loyalty
his father had shown him through his whole life.
"And the Hapsburg," Biberli added, "had kept his word."
In a few years his young lord was ready for a position at court.
Gotthard von Ramsweg, the Lady Wendula's older brother, a valiant
knight, went to his sister's home after her husband's death to manage

the estate and instruct his nephew in all the exercises of knighthood.
Soon the strong, agile, fearless son of a brave father, under the
guidance of such a teacher, excelled many an older youth. He was
barely eighteen when the Lady Wendula sent him to his imperial
master. She had given him, with her blessing, fiery horses, the finest
pieces of his father's suits of mail, an armour bearer, and a groom to
take with him on his journey; and his uncle had agreed to accompany
him to Lausanne, where the Emperor Rudolph was then holding his
court to discuss with Pope Gregory--the tenth of the
name--arrangements for a new crusade. But nothing had yet been said
about Biberli. On the evening before the young noble's departure,
however, a travelling minstrel came to the castle, who sang of the deeds
of former crusaders, and alluded very touchingly to the loneliness of
the wounded knight, Herr Weisenthau, on his couch of pain. Then the
Lady Wendula remembered her eldest son, and the fraternal tendance
which Biberli had given him.
"And so," the servant went on, "in the anxiety of a mother's heart she
urged me to accompany Heinz, her darling, as esquire; and watch over
his welfare."
"Since I could use a pen, I was to write now and then what a mother
desires to hear of a son. She felt great confidence in me, because she
believed that I was true and steadfast. And I have kept in every respect
the vow I then made to the Lady Wendula--that she should not find
herself mistaken in me. I remember that evening as if it were only
yesterday. To keep constantly before my eyes the praise my mistress
had bestowed upon me, I ventured to ask my young master' sister to
embroider the T and the S on the cap and the new coat, and the young
lady did so that very night. Since that time these two initials have gone
with me wherever our horses bear us, and as, after the battle of
Marchfield, Biberli nursed his master back to health with care and toil,
he thinks he can prove to you, his sole sweetheart, that he wears his T
and S with good reason."
In return for these words Katterle granted her friend the fitting reward
with such resignation that it was robbing the moon not to permit her to

look on. Her curiosity, however, was not to remain wholly ungratified;
for when Biberli found that it was time for him to repair to the Town
Hall to learn whether his master, Heinz Schorlin, needed his services,
Katterle came out of the house door with him.
They found much more to say and to do ere they parted.
First, the Swiss maid-servant wished to know how the Emperor
Rudolph had received Heinz Schorlin; and she had the most gratifying
news.
During their stay at Lausanne, where he won the victory in a
tournament, Heinz was knighted; but after the battle of Marchfield he
became still dearer to the Emperor, especially when a firm friendship
united the young Swiss to Hartmann, Rudolph's eighteen-year-old son,
who was now on the Rhine. That very day Heinz had received a
tangible proof of the imperial favour, on account of which he had gone
to the dance