riance unchecked by formality or restraint. One branch of the education of this interesting child was entrusted to Frederick's father, and this connection had caused between his enthusiastic son and his lovely and engaging ward a degree of acquaintance, and even intimacy, seldom enjoyed in Germany by an individual of his station. And Frederick soon found all his happiness consisted in gathering wreaths for the princess of the rarest flowers which grew in the wilds near the district, or in planting her favorite arbors with the fragrant and umbrageous willow from the banks of the Saale. Even in church, where the formality with which the lady's station was preserved prevented her from recognizing him, he often had the pleasure of seeing in her large and soft blue eye when directed towards him a look of satisfaction and delight-to him worth all the world beside. But this intimacy was not fated to be lasting. The haughty duke had either observed or was informed of this daring attachment, and incensed beyond measure at such a possibility, the old Curé was instantly restricted to his manse, and the son sternly forbidden to approach the grounds of the castle. Frederick, though he warmly admired, never suspected that he had dared to love, till the speedy death of every former enjoyment deeply convinced him of the fatal truth. At the University, to which he was soon after removed, he strove manfully to recal his entrapped affections: in the recklessness of his spirit he plunged foremost into all the wild excesses of his dissipated companions; and he strove to quench the fever of his mind by the intensest study of the varied learning of the schools. He almost succeeded in wearing the rooted feeling from his soul; and though the altered color of his cheek told how deep it had been seated, he believed and rejoiced that it was overcome, when a simple and unexpected incident revived the slumbering passion in all its force, and consigned the unfortunate youth to the varied tortures of uncontrollable and of hopeless love.

It was one of those splendid evenings of the German autumn, when sunset turns the atmosphere into purest azure and the sky to burnished gold, that young Frederick stood upon the rampart of Erfurth admiring the glories of a landscape unsurpassed for beautywhere vast forests, and dim mountains, and noble rivers stretching beyond him in boundless continuity, were all bathed in one rich dye of expiring light, and seemed hushed into the calmness of reposing life. He had just risen from the perplexing study of the old philosophy, and his mind was confused with a thousand distracting influences: the unrivalled scene before him had a composing effect upon his feelings, and he had almost forgot he was in being in the deep revery which fell upon his spirit, when his attention was attracted by a splendid equipage, proceeding at a rapid rate toward the city from the direction of Rodoldstadt. In the listless state of mind which often

succeeds wearied spirits, with what anxiety will we watch the smallest incident that tends to mar the monotony. And thus Frederick continued to trace the glittering vehicle and its numerous attendants, as it wound its way, now hid in valleys, now glancing through scattered trees, and now driving furiously over the level champaign toward the city. When it came up, it stopped directly under the rampart, and two ladies were assisted to alight by the officious servants. The student from his elevated position could observe all their motions. The eldest seemed to be about forty, of a noble and dignified demeanor; and her companion, hardly yet a woman, was gifted with a beauty so surpassing, that Frederick, in his warmest dreams of perfection, had never supposed such reality could exist. So absolutely had the idea of the lovely stranger possessed him, that he almost felt his existence a blank, as she disappeared under the arch; but his whole soul thrilled with an emotion he had never felt before, when as again he saw her and her companion mount the rampart and approach, he recognized in that modelled loveliness only the matured and expanded charms of the girlish heiress of Naumburgh. Her form was as faultless as her countenance; and there was a sylph-like lightness in her step that, to the impassioned student, seemed the very harmony of grace. As they passed along, Frederick felt regret steal upon his mind, that that beautiful vision would soon be gone for ever, when he saw the younger lady drop something from her person, which she did not notice. With the rapidity of lightning he flew from the spot where he was standing, and snatched the precious relic from the ground. It was a bracelet ; and in the warmth of his feelings the excited Stapps could not avoid pressing an impassioned kiss on the costly gems which it enchased. Whether it was that the lady had missed the article, or had been struck by the sudden precipitancy of the before motionless figure, she and her companion turned, and before the unconscious Frederick was aware, his glance met the soft blue eyes of the lovely owner. He instantly blushed the deepest crimson, and in unutterable confusion hastened to present the bracelet-though he had never wished for grace in his movements so much, yet he never felt so awkward. Perhaps, from sympathy with the extraordinary agitation displayed by the young man-the exquisite features of the lady colored slightly as she received it-and that transient blush touched his heart with rapture. And though she gave him no other sign of recognition than the tones of winning sweetness in which she thanked him, she left Frederick Stapps from that absorbing moment an altered and a ruined man.

On events how slender hang the destinies of individuals as well as nations. That simple incident of the bracelet altered every taste, and habit, and predilection of the Erfurth student. Every succes

sive evening saw him standing on the same spot, admiring the same glorious sunset, and the same magnificent expanse of landscape, not however with the feelings of ardent admiration as at first, but with the single hope of seeing that equipage return, which contained the lovely creature who had laid a spell upon his soul. He attended the lectures of the different professors assiduously as ever-but science had lost its charms. He still mingled, but without enjoyment, in the wild revelry of his companions, and to the little fêtes of the friendly citizens--he went as ever a welcome but an unconscious guest— he met there many a fair and even beautiful maiden--but only felt that there was not present the soft violet eyes and the sunny curls, which shaded the tinted beauty of that countenance which had left its impression for ever on his heart.

A passion so lone, so cherished, so consuming, could not exist long without producing serious inroads upon his constitution; and young Stapps, once the admired of all, soon became pale and emaciated.

Frederick had a friend. Theodore Guzmann was the son of an Amtsrath,* who lived in the neighborhood of the village of which his own father was the curate and from infancy their predilections and tastes had been the same. Circumstances had, however, given a different complexion to their character. Frederick, tutored by his father in the bold doctrines of Luther, felt an admiration only for those illustrious personages, whose enthusiasm in former ages had sprinkled history with the coloring of romance. The indignant virtue of Lucretia-the heroic self-devotion of Mutius-the daring intrepidity of Philipmen, and the tireless patriotism of Tell were subjects on which he loved to ponder-and he conceived nothing could be more glorious than self-devotion in a cause of public good. Theodore, on the contrary, viewed distinction only with admiration. Patriotism was with him an instrument, and not a passion: and the Cæsars, and Sforzas, and Cromwells of history, were the only idols of his fancy--panting for eminence in any form-he found full scope for his ambition, in taking advantage of the reaction in public opinion, which the overstretched power of Napoleon after the battle of Jena had produced upon the continent, and in bending all the energies of his compeers to the new-formed project of liberating their favorite Teutonia, as they designated Germany in the mystic language which they loved to assume. He was therefore deeply connected with the secret societies then in active operation throughout all the states of the Rhine and Danube, and was mainly instrumental in abolishing the odious rivalry of the old Landmannschaften, and cementing that most in

The Amtsrath of Germany is an individual very nearly resembling our esquire in habits

and influence.

fluential of all classes of society in Germany, the students, under the more extended and generous title of Burschenschaft.

It was to this friend that Frederick at length confided the hopeless secret, which was wasting him in his prime. That evening they were seen to wander far, far from the ramparts; and late at night they returned, linked arm in arm, and still engaged in earnest conversation, to the little apartment of Frederick on the Schneider Platz.

"It were foolish, my dear Stapps," said his friend, removing a number of dusty books, and sitting down in the old carved oak chair, "to let the prediction of this foolish woman sink upon your mind. I never give any credit to such visionaries."- "You cannot ridicule me out of this impression, Theodore," returned the other, sinking back in his chair, and withdrawing the poker from the half extinguished fire he had been raking, "as sure as this metal is in my hand, the incident of that day will exercise an influence on my fate." Theodore only answered by applying himself assiduously to renovate the dying embers, and soon succeeded in kindling a blaze. Frederick sat still watching his operations without speaking. He was recalled to himself by Theodore looking up-and repeated with solemn emphasis-" In one month you will see in the ducal ball-room of Erfurth the person who will determine your fate." "Yes," said Theodore, "those were the words of the soothsayer; and I think it will be unfortunate for her that she has ventured, contrary to the custom of her tribe, to affix a day, "This is September," said Frederick. "Yes," said the other with emphasis-" and the sixth of September, too-the very night of the general meeting of our body, do, Stapps, forget this foolish adventure and still more foolish prediction, and you will find nobler objects to engross your attention than a ridiculous love for a lady you know nothing about; and who would most probably, were she aware of your attachment, ridicule you most heartily for your pains." He winced under the bitter truth of the remark, and replied with a sigh, "it is indeed foolish, but that high-born girl has occupied all my thoughts from infancy. In my father's church, when she was as yet a child, my earliest exercise of thought was remarking how transcendantly her flaxen curls and radiant countenance surpassed the sculptured cherubs upon the princely pew of her family. I never heard her mentioned but with lavish praise. I never saw her but she evinced a condescension so different from the hauteur of elevated rank, that I loved her before I knew it and when all these unconscious but organized impressions were revived at once by that unexpected sight-when in the frame of mind in which I was, her appearance seemed like a descended seraph-and then the still more unexpected interview. Oh! Theodore, can you wonder that I should resign every faculty of my soul

to the delicious fascination of that presumptuous but intoxicating love." "Yes," said Theodore, touched by the enthusiasm with which he spoke, and convinced that since the cure of Stapps was hopeless, he could best serve his friend by affording passion a ray of hope to live on-"Yes, Frederick, the lady is worthy of supreme idolatry. By yourself and unassisted, no probability holds out the the slightest chance of your being able to succeed. Come and join our body, and the united and directed efforts of the whole Burschenschaften shall be directed to your success, and to you I need not expatiate upon their power." Frederick was struck with the proposal, and after remaining silent a few moments, he held out his hand. "Theodore," said he, "I embrace your proposal; but to you alone have I communicated this perilous secret; with you alone must it remain.""To death," said the other, warmly returning the grasp and seizing his hat-"so come away, it is full time we should set out." Frederick muffled himself after the other's example in his cloak, and they proceeded on their way. They hurried through that deserted portion of the city which remains, in silent and lonely grandeur, a memorial of the flourishing opulence which in the fifteenth century attracted to this insignificant place all the commerce of the empire--and passed by the Augustine monastery, now converted into an orphan hospital, whose time-worn walls first harbored that man, the greatest ever Germany produced-whose tongue of thunder upset the settled superstition of a thousand years, and effected the greatest moral revolution ever history recorded.* They then entered a spacious but seemingly deserted building, which had formerly accommodated one of the Palatines of the empire. They were received by a very suspicious looking Hausmeister, who immediately passed them on, interchanging a word with Theodore. Then winding through a narrow passage they descended a long flight of stairs, into what Frederick thought must have been the wine-cellars of the house. Through many of these apartments they groped their way in the profoundest darkness, guided only by jutting stones, placed so as to render it utterly futile for any but the initiated ever to have discovered the haunt to which they were the guides. At last, when Frederick was almost weary, his uncertainty was removed by his friend's touching a spring which opened a door, and disclosed to the wondering Stapps a scene that might well have filled with astonishment and even awe any one less firm than himself, whose undaunted hardihood had obtained among his companions the appellation of Stock-am-eisen, or the "Iron Trunk."

It was a long and low arched room, supported by massive columns, and lit by numberless smoky torches. A long table in the centre was

* It was in this monastery that Lather formed one of the brotherhood. His cell is still shown.