The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-06-15
Hildegarde
How She Decided Be-
tween Two Unruly
Suitors.
ByF. A. Mitchell

q
=
The modern traveller steaming up the
river Rhine will pass not far from its
junction with the Moselle in quick sue.
cession the ruins OF three castles. each
perched on an eminence.
There is nothing so inviting to a
dreamer an to picture In its prime
what has belonged to a distant past.
In gazing up at one of these piles of
stone he sees its towers rising above
the battlements, its ensign floating
from the highest point. A drawbridge
"a lowered, and out pour a troop Of
armed men. Some merchant traveller
has been seen In the valley, and these
horsemen are going to extract from
him the wherewithal for their suzerain
to support this proud establishment, or
perhaps company of different kind
win emerge
A giimmering, giittering cavalcade of
knights and ladies. and every one
In princely sheen arrayed.
On what mission are they bent? Is
It merely for exercise and pleasure, OF
do they carry some important message
to neighbor or the emperor?
This may now be fancy, but there
was a time when it was not. That
heap Of stones was once what the
Imagination recalls. Time and again
men at arms rode down upon the luck
less merchant As for the knights and
ladies
80 They rode and rode. and the steeds
they Weighed
And pranced. and the sun on their glossy
hides
F1ickered and lightened and glanced and
played
Like the moon on ripping tides.
These three castles were once occu,
pied, one by Baron Hugemont, anoth-
er by Count Herbert Ballenstein and
the third by Baron Carl Steigler.
Hugemont was an old man; the other
two were young. Hugemont, having
passed an age where a man is ready
to fight for what concerns him, was
in an unpleasant position. He pos
sessed daughter that each of his two
neighbors wanted to wed. If he gave
her to Ballenstein he feared to offend
Steigler; If he gave her to Steigler he
would incur the enmity of Ballenstein.
And this is the burden Of my story.
Hildegarde was kept at school in
Cologne till she was seventeen years
old. Till then she had seen neither
Ballenstein nor Steigler, nor had they
seen her. When she had finished her
education her father, In order that she
should make her debut in the social
world of the region In which she lived,
gave for her a hunting party, to which
the neighboring mobiles were invited
One bright morning a company OF
knights and ladies were gathered in
the courtyards of the castle, each with
a falcon on the wrist; the draw
bridge was lowered, and the cavalcade
emerged.
From the moment Count Herbert
and Baron Carl saw Hildegarde each
was attracted to her. AS the company
rode out from the castle 1t was led by
her, with one of these young men on
either hand. When they rode back
again she was still thus fianked, for
neither would give way to the other.
On the face of each man was Il
scowl flashed now and again at his
rival, while between them, like an an
gel between two devils. rode the smil-
ing maiden.
When her father heard of this rival.
~ he was sore distressed. He was q
shrewd old man and foresaw that since
he had the disposition of his daugh.
ter's hand the burden of a decision
would fall upon him. and him alone
1t would avail nothing for the rivals
to fight each other for Hildegarde, be.
cause the victor could not claim the
prize. The baron that same evening
called her into his cabinet and said:
my daughter. this rivalry that has
sprung up between Count Herbert Bal.
ienstein and Baron Carl Steigler may
result disastrously for US. If l give
you to the count the baron, incensed,
win pick a quarrel with me, and /
shall not be able to protect myself
against him. II / give you to the
baron | shall have the same to fear
from the count. l am thinking of solv.
ing the problem by sending you away"
Calm your fears, father. If these
young men apply to you for my hand
tell them that l alone will decide which
/ will take for a husband; that you
have nothing to do with the matter
will manage 1t Sc that neither will
have cause to be wroth with you oil
even with me, and yet ] will marry
the one I want"
s'Then you have a preferenceT'
81 have"
sis It the baron or the ccnntT
'"To tell you that, dear father, would
not be wise In fact, you must revea
to no one that have already chosen
very well. my daughter. sincere
~ hope that you may succeed in avert
ing catastrophe"
With that he kissed his daughter ani
she returned to her apartments.
The very next morning Count Her
bert rode into the castle courtyard and
asked to see the baron. He was ad
mitted to the old mans presence ant
made formal application for Hide
garde's hand He was evidently aware
that his rival would make the sans
demand and showed a certain irrlta
ton. He did not say that he woulC
not be refused. but his manner con
vayed that impression. When he wal
informed that Hildegarde woulS