CHAPTER VI.

THE RHINE LEGEND COMPLETED.





They laugh that win.

-Othello.

"WELL, Florinda, you must go with me in imagination to the mountain
fastness, which I referred to as the robbers' stronghold in the
mountains. A month nearly had passed since the period of Bettina's
being carried away from her home, and the time I would introduce you
there. It is a wild spot, almost inaccessible, unless one knows the
secret paths which have been hewn up the sides of the rocks, and
through the otherwise impassable undergrowth of the forest, by the
perseverance and labors of the robbers. The rude castle, which I
would now describe to you, was built with consummate military skill,
and the walls and bastions, though small and low, could hold out a
long time against any strength that might be brought against it.
Ever prepared for an enemy, too, was its cautious master and his