Irmgard held her little son over the holy spring. "Dear Queen of the running water!" she prayed, "be gracious to my child, that his limbs may become strong, and his body well formed, like that of my lord." She bathed the boy, who cried impatiently, and kicked out with his legs; she rubbed his little body with a linen cloth, wrapped him up warmly, laid him on the moss, and spoke to him caressingly, till his cries ended, and he again smiled on his mother. Then she rose, and took off her upper dress, so that she stood, without her girdle, in her under dress; she rinsed the border of her wet dress in the water, and spread it out where the rays of the sun fell on the turf.

"Once I had maid-servants, who tucked up their dresses for my service, and seldom did my hands touch either hearth or trough; now I dwell with Frida and the serving-maid alone in the wilderness, and my hands have become rough; I fear that this will vex my lord. If my hands were soft, as they once were, he would lose many comforts. How could he live without my help on the wild march?" She looked at her image, which moved hither and thither in the rippling water, and loosened the bands of her hair. The long curly locks fell down, dipping their ends in the water, but she fixed her eyes on the ripples, and said in a low voice:

"It was thus I pleased him once; I should like to know whether he thinks of me as when he kissed me in the morning light? Or has my secret grief at the anger of my father and the sorrow of my mother changed me? I conceal my sighs from the King, and clasp my hands only in solitude. But this solitary repose vexes his proud spirit, and he longs to go forth to glorious hero-work; for exalted is his mind, and he has all his life long been accustomed to prepare the battle-field for the eagles. Now he hides his head under the wooden roof for my sake."

She bowed her head down over the stone edge with heavy thoughts. The tower watchman called out, and there was a sound of footsteps on the rock, without her heeding it; then a horse snorted near her, and a woman's deep voice exclaimed:

"Why does the woman cower down by the edge of the spring? Is she so desirous to behold her own face, that her eyes and ears are closed?"

Irmgard started up; before her, high upon her horse, sat a powerful woman; a veil hung down from her yellow hair; over her shoulders fell a purple mantle, covering the back of the horse, the equipments of which glittered with gold; its hoofs stamped on the linen dress that Irmgard had spread out. Behind the stranger she saw the pale face of Sintram. The blood mounted into her face; she knew who the stranger was, before whom she stood without a girdle, with bare legs. But her eyes flamed with anger, as also those of the Queen. Thus did the women silently examine each other with hostile looks; then Irmgard drew her hair like a veil over her breast, and seated herself on the moss by the fountain, that she might conceal her bare legs. She took her child upon her lap, and held it before her. "Is the woman dumb that squats down on the ground?" cried the Queen back to her follower.

"It is Irmgard herself, Princess," answered Sintram. "The Queen calls thee, Cousin Irmgard."

Irmgard remained sitting motionless, but she called out in a tone of command, "Turn thy face away, Sintram; it does not become thee to direct thine eyes to me, while the horse of thy Queen stamps upon my dress."

"Hast thou learned so well what becomes a woman in the house of thy father, from which thou hast escaped as mistress of a foreign man?"

"Untruly dost thou slander me, though thou art a queen," retorted Irmgard, angrily; "I live faithfully with my affianced husband. See to it, envious one, whether thou canst boast of a like honor."

The Queen raised her arm threateningly; then there was a sound of voices on the height.

"Hither, Ingo," cried Irmgard, beside herself, "help thy wife!"

Ingo sprang down the steep footpath to her side; he was astonished at seeing his wife seated on the ground, and before her, on a horse, the angry Queen, with her attendant. He stepped past his wife, and bent his head and knee in homage before Gisela. "Welcome to the great Queen of Thuringia!" he exclaimed, joyfully; "respectfully do I greet thy noble head; grant thy favor to the house of thy true cousin."

The countenance of the Queen changed, when she saw the Hero so glad and respectful in his demeanor to her, and she said kindly, "Welcome to thee also, my cousin."

"Does no one, according to court customs, help the Queen from her horse?" exclaimed Ingo, offering the Queen his foot and arm, that she might vault down. Gisela laid hold of his curly hair with her hand, to hold by it, and let herself down at his feet. "Pardon, Cousin Gisela," continued Ingo, as the Queen stood before him on the ground, "it is unfitting that my wife should sit without clothing before the eyes of the Queen and of a stranger; graciously lend her thy mantle, that she may go away in a befitting manner." Quickly he caught hold of her mantle where the clasp held it fast, and drew it from her shoulders. The Queen turned pale, and stepped back, but Ingo threw the mantle round his wife, and, raising her, ordered her to go, pointing out the path to her: "Leave us!"

Irmgard covered herself and the boy with the ample vesture, and walked up the footpath. But when Ingo turned again to the Queen, he saw how she struggled for composure, and that Sintram had sprung from his horse, and came on with drawn sword. But the Queen made a sign, and Sintram drew back obediently.

"Bold was the hand which took the mantle of the Queen, but it becomes a man to guard the honor of his house; thou, Ingo, hast courageously remedied what we in zeal did wrong, and I am not angry with thee for it."

She for the second time made a sign to her attendant; Sintram retired backward with the horses, and Ingo and the Queen stood alone opposite each other.

"It has happened as I desired," began Gisela; "thou art before mine eyes, Ingo, as before, when I received thee on the steps of the hall; and as then, I approach thee with good intentions." Then she continued more earnestly: "Thou hast enemies in my country, who have evil intentions toward thee, and loud sounds the cry of revenge at the King's castle; my countrymen, also, the Burgundians, raise, as I hear, complaints against thy plundering people."

"Thou knowest the custom on the boundaries of the land, oh Queen; my people measure out for themselves their revenge for the injuries they have suffered from the foreigners. Yet if a Thuringian has been hurt by my comrades, we will hasten to atone to the injured one; but do thou, oh Queen, grant the peace which Ingo and his boundary people desire from thy power."

"The Hero whom I once knew had a nobler pride than to drive the cows of the Burgundians into his fortress," said the Queen, scoffingly.

"The man who roams homeless over the earth gladly raises a roof under which he can command as host," replied Ingo.

"I call the home insecure," replied the Queen, "out of which the mistress of the house has been demanded by the call of the people. The father, and the bridegroom whom thou hast robbed of his wife, have called for a warlike expedition against thee; the young King needs the help of his nobles, and can not refuse to demand of thee her whom thou hast stolen; I fear destruction approaches thee, for with difficulty has the King's will hitherto held back the angry men."

"What thou threatenest, oh Queen, compels me to hold still firmer to my house; if war is approaching, it is welcome to me; the sword becomes rusty which hangs by the hearth."

"Fool!" cried the Queen, approaching nearer, "thou livest in the forest quite without misgiving, while on all sides the hunters are drawing together against thee. Caesar has began a new expedition against the Allemanns, and seeks thee to satisfy his revenge; he has offered an alliance to the Burgundians, and Gundomar has summoned the army of his people."

"Thou namest Caesar," exclaimed Ingo; "thanks for good news, oh Queen! it was for that my sword clinked; for the approach of the warriors whom I long day and night to meet." His eyes sparkled, and his hand passed to his weapon.

"Thou speakest well, Hero," exclaimed Gisela, herself carried away by his ardor; "it would be lost trouble to try to frighten thee by dangers. I bring thee the warning, for I know of a more glorious companionship for thee than among the peasants of the forest and boundary. Ingo, my cousin, thou art the man to whom, rather than to any other, I would trust the young King and myself; I desire a Hero, who will ride in front of the people's army in the battle, and teach my son how to win fame. To such dignity have I chosen thee, and I am here to woo thee to the King's castle."

Ingo stood agitated; thoughts whirled rapidly through his brain. He saw before him the beautiful woman with the King's crown, holding out her hand to him, and offering him entreatinly that which would be the desire and happiness of the proudest Hero.

"Thou was a boy," continued Gisela, with deep emotion, "when our fathers laid my hand in thine; thou becamest a hero renowned among the people, and I a discontented wife, at the King's castle; there thou didst stroke my hand with thy finger, smiling. What divided thee from the Queen has since been laid on the burning funeral pile. Now I come and invite thee, the most illustrious of all the heroes in these countries, to come to me. We both pray to the same high God --- the grandchildren to the ancestors; for we both descend from the race of the gods, and high ought we to raise our heads over all the people upon man's earth; thou and I are dedicated by the invisible powers themselves to be rulers of people."

When Ingo heard from the lips of another the same words which he had spoken himself, he looked bewildered at the Queen, who thus decided like a goddess upon his fate. There was a noise on the height above; the mantle of the Queen fell down; and in the distance there was a sound of the low whimpering of a child.

"This is the attire befitting a cherished hero," exclaimed the Queen, touching his shoulder with her hand. Ingo raised his head.

"I hear a soft voice in my need," he said. "I hear my little son over me lamenting, and, like one who wakes from a dream, I stand before the Queen. I am bound to one who is dearer to me than my life. She has abandoned everything for me. I have vowed to her, amidst the circle of my blood-comrades, that I will care for her as her father, and that I will share her bed as her lawful husband. How can I leave her for the King's castle?"

"No more, Ingo!" cried Gisela, with flaming countenance; "remember that thou didst hold out thine hand to me; think of that night when I held back the sword of the dead King. Then, when I saved thy life, the invisible powers bound my fate to thine. Thou belongest to me, and me alone, and a dear price have I paid for thee."

"Thou hast shown thyself noble-hearted, and a heroine," replied Ingo; "and I shall remain thankful to thee as long as I breathe."

"Shame upon thy cold greeting!" called out the Queen, beside herself, "and shame upon the Hero who can express in courtly words his gratitude that a woman has burdened herself for him with the curse of the death-gods. Dost thou understand so little what I did when I restrained the sword of mine own lord and husband? I conjured up against my own life, the bad powers --- suspicion, and lurking hatred; gall was ever after my drink, and that of another; every word suspected, and restlessness every night. Whether I should any longer breathe in the light while the other continued to drink with his wild boys, that was my anxiety --- heart-gnawing anxiety --- day and night."

"If thou has suffered danger of death on my account," said Ingo, moved, "then call me when danger threatens thee, and I will willingly pay with my blood what I have to bear of thy burden."

The Queen scarcely listned to his words; she stepped close up to him, and whispered with a hoarse voice: "Art thou so willing, beloved? It is possible that the other would not have died if thou hadst not stood in my chamber on that night."