His
father's castle was not far distant from the old fortress of
Landshort, although an hereditary feud rendered the families
hostile and strangers to each other.
In the warm-hearted moment of recognition the young friends
related all their past adventures and fortunes, and the count
gave the whole history of his intended nuptials with a young lady
whom he had never seen, but of whose charms he had received the
most enrapturing descriptions.
As the route of the friends lay in the same direction, they
agreed to perform the rest of their journey together, and that
they might do it the more leisurely, set off from Wurtzburg at an
early hour, the count having given directions for his retinue to
follow and overtake him.
They beguiled their wayfaring with recollections of their
military scenes and adventures; but the count was apt to be a
little tedious now and then about the reputed charms of his bride
and the felicity that awaited him.
In this way they had entered among the mountains of the Odenwald,
and were traversing one of its most lonely and thickly wooded
passes. It is well known that the forests of Germany have always
been as much infested by robbers as its castles by spectres; and
at this time the former were particularly numerous, from the
hordes of disbanded soldiers wandering about the country.
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