topher like Findelkind of Arlberg."

But his little swaying body and pleading hands and shouting voice and
blowing curls frightened the horses: one of them swerved, and very
nearly settled the woes of Findelkind for ever and aye by a kick. The
soldier who rode the horse reined him in with difficulty: he was at the
head of the little staff, being indeed no less or more than the general
commanding the garrison, which in this city is some fifteen thousand
strong. An orderly sprang from his saddle and seized the child, and
shook him and swore at him. Findelkind was frightened, but he shut his
eyes and set his teeth, and said to himself that the martyrs must have
had very much worse than these things to suffer in their pilgrimage. He
had fancied these riders were knights--such knights as the priest had
shown him the likeness of in old picture-books--whose mission it had
been to ride through the world succoring the weak and weary and always
defending the right.

"What are your swords for if you are not knights?" he cried, desperately
struggling in his captor's grip, and seeing through his half-closed lids
the sunshine shining on steel scabbards.

"What does he want?" asked the officer in command of the garrison, whose
staff all this bright and martial array was. He was riding out from the
barracks to an inspection on the Rudolf Platz. He was a young man, and
had little children himself, and was half amused, half touched, to see
the tiny figure of the dusty little boy.

"I want to build a monastery like Findelkind of Arlberg, and to help the
poor," said our Findelkind valorously, though his heart was beating like
that of a little mouse caught in a trap, for the horses were trampling
up the dust around him and the orderly's grip was hard.

The officers laughed aloud; and indeed he looked a poor little scrap of
a figure, very ill able to help even himself.

"Why do you laugh?" cried Findelkind, losing his terror in his
indignation, and inspired with the courage which a great earnestness
always gives. "You should not laugh. If you were true knights you would
not laugh: you would fight for me. I am little, I know. I am very
little, but he was no bigger than I, and see what great things he did.
But the soldiers were good in those days: they did not laugh and use bad
words." And Findelkind, on whose shoulder the orderly's hold was still
fast, faced the horses which looked to him as huge as Martinswand, and
the swords which he