On entering the beautiful valley, in the narrowest part of which Trèves is built, the heart of the wanderer began to beat. He saw before him the Mecca of his pilgrimage; but, instead of rushing towards it with the ardour of a devotee, his strength failed him for the first time during the journey; he hung back terrified, and large drops of perspiration broke upon his brow. It was no consideration, however, of personal appearance that made him pause. He was untouched by the circumstances of his matted locks, which hung in wild confusion from beneath his cap, the gold band of which was blackened with rain, and the black fur turned yellow with dust. Neither did his boots affect him, incrusted though they were with the mud of the Eifel, whitened by the sun; nor his travel-stained frock, the brown colour of which was emulated by that of his bare neck and breast, once as pure as driven snow. Such things are forgotten by persons of strong feelings, and by almost all persons when placed in trying or extraordinary circumstances. And yet, when about to enter the gates, the evident curiosity with which he was regarded by the passers by, caused him to turn a look of observation upon himself; and, forgetting Ida for a moment, he felt a pang of shame at the idea of appearing in such costume in the streets of a large and handsome town. He turned away from the walls, determining to return under cover of the approaching night, and, having made such inquiries as were necessary, to seek again whatever shelter his guitar might in the meantime procure for him.

The inhabitants of a distant cottage which he entered, who were principally women, received the minstrel with great demonstrations of joy: but his proposal

to return after visiting the town, which he made when the night began to close definitely in, was listened to with surprise and alarm. He was welcome, said they, to a bed, if he chose to stay; but not for worlds would they open their door to him again if he once went out. Carl, who had shown himself the most goodnatured of singers, persisted somewhat indignantly; but the only effect which his eloquence produced, was to excite the suspicion of the family group, who, after exchanging looks significant at once of terror and determination, informed him, that till this moment they had forgotten the circumstance of the only spare-bed in the house being engaged. The minstrel threw his guitar upon his back, and shouldering his little bundle, prepared to quit the inhospitable roof.

"If you be not what they fear you are," said the youngest daughter, gliding after him, and whispering in his ear, "do not venture to leave the town tonight! You may meet with those on the road with whom a single man will have no chance."

"Do you allude to robbers? lose ?"

What have I to

"They would murder you for your guitar, or for the mere pastime of shedding blood!"

"And is it of such you take me to be? Do I look like an assassin? Perhaps you think I am Schinderhannes himself!" At this redoubted name, which for two years past had kept the banks of the Rhine in terror, from Cologne to the Neckar, a faint shriek escaped from the lips of the girls; and Benzel, with a look of sorrow and indignation, went out.

Determining at all hazards to enter the town, and take his chance afterwards of a night's lodging, he walked leisurely along, amusing himself with anticipa

tions of the interview with Ida, which perhaps was destined to take place to-morrow. The fears of the cot

tagers appeared to him to have extended to the whole district; for although it was yet early in the night, the road was completely deserted, and the houses shut up. He saw enough, in fact, to convince him, that if he could not find harbour in Trèves there was no chance of it in the neighbourhood; and having hitherto avoided the great towns, in which he feared that his notes would not be taken in lieu of money, he was somewhat puzzled.

The name of Schinderhannes was one of those sounds with which the timid were scared without knowing why. If a murder was committed, Schinderhannes was the assassin; if a Jew was roasted at his own fire till he told where his treasures were concealed, Schinderhannes was the cook; if a pretty girl ran off to the forest to hear a love tale, the youth it was told by was sure to be Schinderhannes. Carl well remembered that Wolfenstein and he had once proposed to their comrades to set out on a crusade against this famous chief; and he now called to mind that he touched upon the confines of his peculiar territory. The crimes. indeed, imputed truly or falsely to the universal Schinderhannes, filled a large tract of country extending on both sides of the Rhine; but the district situated between the Moselle and the Nahe, to which Trèves was the key on the north, was supposed to be his principal residence. Musing on such matters Carl arrived at the town, and entered the gates unmolested.

A few of the shops were still open, and our adventurer had no difficulty in inquiring his way to the house of Madame Dallheimer. It was a large and handsome edifice, and, although in the middle of the

city, possessed an ample extent of garden; which Carl found to be the case with many other abodes of the wealthy. This peculiarity made the area of the town appear greatly disproportioned to the number of inhabitants, which scarcely exceeds ten thousand within the ramparts.

The beating of his heart was renewed as he approached the walls. He was perhaps separated only a by a few yards from his lost Ida! In vain, however, he looked for some light in the windows which might indicate the place dedicated to the sleeping apartments, to which he fancied the family must by this time have retired. Nothing was clearly visible except the massive form of the pillars of the portico, and the outline of the roof sketched upon the sky behind. Carl at length began to think that there was something strange and unusual in the total darkness of so great a building; and, in sudden alarm, he knew not of what nature, he approached the door, and rung the servants' bell.

The sound swung hollow and heavy within, as if the house was untenanted; and, after waiting an instant, with a more vigorous application of his hand, he sent forth a larum peal that shook the whole house.

"Thou ringest in vain," said a low calm voice behind him. Carl jumped round, and saw the figure of a man, muffled in a dark cloak, standing motionless on the steps. The approach of the stranger had been so noiseless that a momentary sensation of alarm passed across the heart of the wanderer; but the next moment he stepped quickly up to him, and looked in his face. It was the face of a Jew; and Carl staggered back. Owing to some early impressions, heightened by his late religious bias, there was no animal on the face of the

earth so abhorrent to his imagination as a member of that ancient people who were called but not chosen. At the present moment the cry of a raven would have been more welcome to his ear; and he looked upon the Hebrew face before him, although youthful and handsome in itself, as a sign of the most disastrous omen. He turned his back without replying a word, and grasped the bell again.

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"Thou ringest to no purpose," repeated the stranger, except to rouse the watchers of the night, and get thee into the house of bondage."

"I ask not your counsel, Jew," said Carl haughtily. Why not?" demanded the other. "Dost thou fear me?"

"Fear thee! Son of an accursed race, I only hate and despise thee!"

"That is hard," observed the Jew sarcastically, “thou owest me nothing! Nevertheless I must do my bidding. If thou art the Christian Benzel, whose baptismal name is Carl, follow me ;" and so saying, he turned suddenly round, and strode away. Carl followed mechanically; for the Jew spoke as one having authority.

As he walked after his conductor, however, it was not without some difficulty that his wearied limbs kept pace with his. A doubt crossed his mind, for it would be unfair to call it a fear, of his personal safety. He remembered the warning he had received at the cottage, and the curiosity his appearance had previously excited as he entered the gates; and in spite of himself the idea of the redoubted Schinderhannes fastened upon his imagination. At any rate, there was no harm, he thought, in being on his guard; and, securing his bundle and guitar, side by side, upon his