to the empire, Henry, duke ef Brunswick, then palatine of the Middle Rhine, sided with another aspirant to the throne, his own brother Otto of Brunswick, afterwards Otto the Fourth, emperor of Germany. The consequence was, that he was placed under the ban of the empire, on the capture of Otto, and the accession of Frederic the Second to the imperial dignity; and his principality, the palatinate, was bestowed by the victorious monarch on a faithful follower of his own, Ludwig, duke of Bavaria. The son of Ludwig, Otto of Bavaria, subsequently married the daughter of Henry, the deposed palatine, who bore the same name as her beautiful mother Agnes; and this union gave origin to the noble and powerful family of Wittelsbach, which long possessed the principality.

It was at this point of the Rhine that the Prussian and Russian armies, under the command of Blucher, crossed the Rhine, on the morning

of January 1,

1814.

GUTENFELS.-CAUB.

Gutenfels, in ancient times called Chaube, or Cub (the Castle), is believed to be built on a Roman foundation, and to have given its name to the town (Caub) which lies below it. The name of Gutenfels, or the Rock of Guda (Beatrix, Latin; Guda, old German), is said to be derived from a fair lady, who dwelt there in early days, and whose destiny was, in some slight

degree, connected with the history of our own country. Thus runs the tradition respecting it:-

GUDA AND RICHARD OF CORNWALL..

In the middle of the thirteenth century, Count Philip von Falkenstein was the lord of Caub and of the castle which commanded it; and his beautiful sister, Guda, and he lived there together the blessing of their vassals, and honoured of their neighbours. Both were unmarried. Knights and nobles, nay, princes of the empire, wooed the fair Guda, and eagerly sought her hand; for she was beautiful beyond all the Rhenish maidens, and she was purity itself in her mind and manners but they wooed in vain; none could win her heart; she turned a deaf ear to their sighs; she saw not their tears; and even to the earnest entreaties of her fond brother himself. that she would select a fitting spouse from her innumerable suitors, she gave for answer a cold but decided negative.

The Archbishop of Cologne, a pround and a pompous prince, gave a grand tourney in that ancient and opulent city. Among other Rhenish knights, the Lord of Caub was present at the fête; and his fair sister Guda accompanied him. A mighty hand has painted in undying colours a similar scene at Ashby-de-la-Zouch, and thus saved all future sketchers the trouble of attempting to depict such subjects. There were collected together within the walls of Cologne on that occasion the very flower of Teutonic chivalry; and

Scott-"Ivanhoe."

prodigies of valour and high feats of knightly skill were performed by many: but the deeds of all were eclipsed by those of a stranger knight, whose lineage was then known only to the archbishop. This stranger was a Briton; and every warrior who entered the lists against him quailed before the power and agility of his arm, and the strength and speed of his noble charger. He was a man of middle age, or, rather, in the full flower of life; tall, shapely, and handsome of face; and he had an innate nobility in his look which shewed he was born to command, or that custom of ruling had impressed on him that aspect as to make it so appear. A suit of costly armour incased his wellformed limbs; his shield bore the British lion or, on a field of azure; and his steed was of the noblest of the noble blood of English horses. He was the admiration of all: of the men for his bravery, and of the women for his noble bearing; but none did he notice in return save Guda. On her were his eyes fixed before he charged his opponent in the tilt; to her were they directed in the swift course; and when the queen of the festal awarded him the meed of bis valour, he saw her alone amid the brilliant throng which surrounded her elevated throne. They met once more at the ball: and he was by her side during the entire evening. Need it be said that such attention from such a man touched her heart? She felt, for the first time in her life, that she had found one every way worthy of her love in the distinguished stranger; and her secret joy knew no bounds, when her brother bade him to Caub, and he unhesitatingly accepted the hearty invitation.

Within seven days from the conclusion of the festal in Cologne, the horn which hung outside the castle-gate of Caub was sounded by a quaintly garbed squire; and soon after the noble stranger of the tournament alighted in the court-yard. Philip von Falkenstein stood there to greet him; and the lovely Guda, in a transport of pleasure awaited him in her bower. Every attention which friendship could imagine; every care which love could devise, was lavished on him by both brother and sister; and each seemed anxious only to emulate the other in making the stay of their guest as delightful to him as it was possible. Two days had already fled-fled like a blissful dream-and the third, the last he could spend in this happy state, had been entered on. Philip von Falkenstein had descended to the town to hold court there for an hour among his vassals; and Guda sat alone, in her bower overlooking the Rhine, with the stranger knight. It was a lovely morning in autumn. The rich, full grapes hung in clusters from the vines; the trees had put on the beautiful livery of that exquisite season; the river rolled below with a murmuring sound, quite in unison with the scene; and every thing around seemed happy.

"Fairest of maidens," began the Unknown, after a long pause, clasping reverentially in his own the unresisting hand of his gentle companionGuda blushed, and averted her bashful countenance: but he continued:

love I have loved you from the moment of our first meeting. May I hope?"

Guda scarce knew what to say, still less to do But what boots it to tell a tale of wooing?

It is an old story known to every one Guda blushed, and murmured assent, and the Unknown was enraptured, He prayed her to take it not amiss that even then he could not communicate to her his name; but he promised that, before three months had expired, he should come and claim her openly as his bride.

"In life and in death," said the fair Guda, when the next morning they parted, "I am yours. Nay, should a king, or a kaiser, Woo me for his bride, I am thine-thine alone, and for ever.

Three months had come and gone, and yet the maiden heard nought of her lover; she wondered much at his continuous silence; but still she attributed it to inevitable necessity. When, however, for the fourth and fifth time

"the moon's pale horn

Had wax'd and waned o'er land and sea 19

and no tidings of him had reached her, she could scarce conceal her sorrow! and it would infallibly have been noticed by her brother, and its cause, perhaps, discovered, had he not been then actively engaged in the deep political intrigues of the period.

Conrad the Fourth had just finished his unfortunate reign over the German empire (A.D. 1246); and with him had expired the princely stock of the Hohenstaufen family. The purple was eagerly contended for by many competitors; but the principal among them were Adolph, duke of Holland; Richard, earl of Cornwall, brother of Henry the Third of England; and