ve been
placed at his bedside. For the chaplain smiled at him as he had never
yet seen him smile. There was in it a token of victory and blessing, or
at least of the near approach of both. "Thou hast done much yesterday,
very much," said the holy priest; and his hands were joined, and his
eyes full of bright tears. "I praise God for thee, my noble knight.
Verena knows all, and she too praises God for thee. I do indeed now dare
hope that the time will soon come when thou mayst appear before her.
But Sintram, Sir Sintram, there is need of haste; for the old man
above requires speedy air, and thou hast still a heavy--as I hope the
last--yet a most heavy trial to undergo for his sake. Arm thyself, my
knight, arm thyself even with bodily weapons. In truth, this time only
spiritual armour is needed, but it always befits a knight, as well as a
monk, to wear in decisive moments the entire solemn garb of his station.
If it so please thee, we will go directly to Drontheim together. Thou
must return thence to-night. Such is a part of the hidden decree, which
has been dimly unfolded to Verena's foresight. Here there is yet much
that is wild and distracting, and thou hast great need to-day of calm
preparation."

With humble joy Sintram bowed his assent, and called for his horse and
for a suit of armour. "Only," added he, "let not any of that armour be
brought which was last night overthrown in the hall!"

His orders were quickly obeyed. The arms which were fetched, adorned
with fine engraved work, the simple helmet, formed rather like that
of an esquire than a knight, the lance of almost gigantic size, which
belonged to the suit--on all these the chaplain gazed in deep thought
and with melancholy emotion. At last, when Sintram, with the help of his
esquires, was well-nigh equipped, the holy priest spoke:

"Wonderful providence of God! See, dear Sintram, this armour and this
spear were formerly those of Sir Weigand the Slender, and with them he
did many mighty deeds. When he was tended by your mother in the castle,
and when even your father still showed himself kind towards him, he
asked, as a favour, that his armour and his lance should be allowed to
hang in Biorn's armoury--Weigand himself, as you well know, intended
to build a cloister and to live there as a monk--and he put his old
esquire's helmet with it, instead of another, because he was yet
wearing that one when he first saw the fair Verena's angelic face. How
wondrously