un. Roland had
returned home from the wars, crowned with glory, to claim his bride. But
when he heard that she had taken the veil his buoyant spirits sank. The
Lord of Drachenfels told him that they had believed the report of his
death to be true.

A cry of despair broke from the hero of a hundred fights. He crossed
the Rhine to the castle of Rolandseck, where he remained for many weeks,
abandoned to grief.

Frequently he looked toward the convent which held his beloved. One
evening he heard the bells tolling and saw a funeral procession of nuns
carrying a coffin to the chapel. His page told him that his love was
dead, but Roland had already divined that she who had mourned his
supposed death had died through grief for him who was still alive to
mourn her death.

Time rolled on and Roland went again to the wars and achieved greater
conquests, but at length he fell fighting against the Moors at
Roncevaux, dying on the battlefield as he had wished. His valorous
deeds and his glorious death were sung by minstrels throughout all
Christendom, and his fame will never die.

LEGENDS OF AIX-LA-CHAPELLE

Aix-la-Chapelle was the ancient seat of the Empire of Charlemagne,
and many legends cluster around it, several of which have already been
noticed in connexion with its great founder. The following legends,
however, deal with the town itself, and not with any circumstance
connected with the mighty Karl.

The Hunchbacked Musician

In Aix-la-Chapelle dwelt two hunchbacked musicians. Friedel was a lively
fellow with a pleasant face and an engaging manner. Heinz had red hair,
green eyes, and a malevolent expression. Friedel was a better player
than Heinz; that, combined with his agreeable looks, made him a general
favourite.

Friedel loved Agathe, the daughter of a rich wine-merchant. The lovers'
prospects were not encouraging, for Agathe's father sought a son-in-law
from higher circles. The poor musician's plight was rendered desperate
by the wine-merchant compelling his daughter to accept a rich but
dissipated young man. When the hunchback approached the merchant to
declare his feelings toward the maiden, he was met with derision and
insult. Full of bitterness, he wandered about, till midnight found him
in the fish-market, where the Witches' Sabbath was about to take place.
A weird light was cast over everything, and a crowd of female figures
quickly gathered. A lady who seemed to be at the head of the party
offere