The Project Gutenberg EBook of Barbara Blomberg, Complete, by Georg Ebers

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Title: Barbara Blomberg, Complete

Author: Georg Ebers

Last Updated: March 10, 2009
Release Date: October 17, 2006 [EBook #5571]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BARBARA BLOMBERG, COMPLETE ***

Produced by David Widger

BARBARA BLOMBERG

By Georg Ebers

Translated from the German by Mary J. Safford

BOOK 1.

CHAPTER I.

The sun sometimes shone brightly upon the little round panes of the
ancient building, the Golden Cross, on the northern side of the square,
which the people of Ratisbon call "on the moor"; sometimes it was veiled
by gray clouds. A party of nobles, ecclesiastics, and knights belonging
to the Emperor's train were just coming out. The spring breeze banged
behind them the door of the little entrance for pedestrians close beside
the large main gateway.

The courtiers and ladies who were in the chapel at the right of the
corridor started. "April weather!" growled the corporal of the Imperial
Halberdiers to the comrade with whom he was keeping; guard at the foot
of the staircase leading to the apartments of Charles V, in the second
story of the huge old house.

"St. Peter's day," replied the other, a Catalonian. "At my home fresh
strawberries are now growing in the open air and roses are blooming in
the gardens. Take it all in all, it's better to be dead in Barcelona
than alive in this accursed land of heretics!"

"Come, come," replied the other, "life is life! 'A live dog is better
than a dead king,' says a proverb in my country."

"And it is right, too," replied the Spaniard. "But ever since we came
here our master's face looks as if imperial life didn't taste exactly
like mulled wine, either."

The Netherlander lowered his halberd and answered his companion's words
first with a heavy sigh, and then with the remark: "Bad weather upstairs
as well as down--the very worst! I've been in the service thirteen
years, but I never saw him like this, not even after the defeat in
Algiers. That means we must keep a good lookout. Present halberds! Some
one is coming down."

Both quickly a