rs, body and soul; ask him what you please, there is
no fear of a refusal."

"What can have caused this fortunate change?"

"Oh! little enough. Alexander received Louis' envoy quite roughly; he
preached a long sermon to the Abbot Theobald of St. Germains, and
threatened the Archbishop of Orleans, the royal Chancellor, with
canonical censure. The courtiers complain; the king is hurt, and
proposes to abandon Alexander."

"Very well!--What do you advise me to do now?"

"Let the Count, in the name of his sovereign, notify the French
ecclesiastics, and announce Alexander's coming. If, in the meanwhile,
Louis should change his mind, which, with the French character, is not
at all unlikely, either the Count will oblige the King to keep his
word, or he must be himself disavowed. In which latter case, Troyes,
Champagne, and the rich provinces which belong to them, will be happily
annexed to the Empire, and the French kingdom necessarily weakened."

"Your advice is good," said Frederic; "send in the Count, and have the
contract ready."

"The Count will doubtless remind your Majesty of my promises; do not
hesitate, ratify everything, and affix your seal, without scruple, to
all which he may propose."

"Best content," replied Barbarossa, as the Chancellor left the
apartment.

"Alexander, your death-knell has sounded!" exclaimed the Emperor; "and
soon the most dangerous enemy of our Imperial supremacy, the most
intrepid and cunning opponent to our wishes, will regret his haughty
conduct. Ah! for the Emperor to be altogether Emperor, the Pope must
not seek to divide the Empire with him. The pagan emperors called
themselves _Pontifices maximi_, and they were; why should I not be the
head of Church as well as State?"

Meanwhile Count Dassel was making every preparation for the treaty. On
his passage through the palace he approached a window looking into the
garden.

"He is not there yet," he said. "Ah! still--there they are; it is all
right!" and with a scornful sneer he disappeared.

It was towards Rechberg that the Chancellor's attention had been
directed. The Count was approaching, accompanied by a young nobleman,
whose appearance offered a certain resemblance to that of Rinaldo
himself. They were conversing with animation, and the bright look, the
graceful bearing, the elegant shape and ironical expression of the
nobleman, vividly recalled the German statesman.

"Your description of the Countess is calculated to exc