in,
who was apt at such errands, and bid her suitor come to see her.

Then I perceived that there was but small hope; with a heavy heart,
and, indeed, a secret intent behind, I took the task upon me, for I saw
plainly that my refusal would ruin all. All the same, meseemed it was
a happy ordering that the Magister should have set forth early that
morning to spend a few days at Nordlingen, to take possession of the
house he had fallen heir to; for, when a great misfortune lies ahead, a
hopeful soul clings to delay as the harbinger of deliverance.

I made my way home full of forebodings, and in front of our door I saw
my Forest uncle's horses in waiting. He was above stairs with cousin
Maud, and I soon was informed that he had come to bid me and Ann to the
great hunt which was to take place at the New Year. His Highness Duke
Albrecht of Bavaria, with divers other knights and gentlemen, had
promised to take part in it, and he needed our help for his sick and
suffering wife; also, said he, he loved to see "a few smart young maids"
at his board. Already he and cousin Maud had discussed at length whether
it would be seemly to bring the coppersmith's stepdaughter into the
company of such illustrious guests; and the balance in her favor had
been struck in his mind by his opinion that a fair young maid must ever
be pleasing in the hunter's eyes out in the forest, whatever her rank
might be.

He had now but one care, and that was that neither he nor any other man
had hitherto dared to utter the name of Master Ulman Pernhart to my aunt
Jacoba, and that she therefore knew not of his marriage with her dear
Ann's mother. Yet must the lady be informed thereof; so, finding that my
cousin Maud made no secret of her will to speed the Magister's wooing,
while I weened, with good reason, that my aunt would gladly support me
in hindering it, I then and there made up my mind to go back with my
uncle, and hold council with his shrewd-witted wife.

CHAPTER XV.

We reached the forest lodge that evening with red faces and half-frozen
hands and feet. The ride through the deep snow and the bitter December
wind had been a hard one; but the woods in their glittering winter
shroud, the sharp, refreshing breath of the pure air, and a thousand
trifling matters--from the white hats that crowned every stock and
stone to the tiny crystals of snow that fell on the green velvet of my
fur-lined bodice--were a joy to me, albeit my heart was heavy wi