Page:Libussa, Duchess of Bohemia; also, The Man Without a Name.djvu/36

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Libussa.

the Bohemian chivalry to their triumphal car, she remained in the paternal mansion, superintended the household affairs, gave advice to the enquiring, and help to the oppressed and suffering, from sheer good-will, without expectation of a reward. She was gentle and modest, and her conduct virtuous and without blemish, such as befitted a noble young lady. It is true, she rejoiced secretly upon her conquests, and considered the sighs of her admirers as a just tribute to her charms; but none of them dared to speak to her of love, or sue for her hand. But the god of love exercises his prerogative most willingly upon prudes, and often throws his burning torch upon a low thatched roof when he intends to set a lofty palace in flames.

A veteran knight, who had come into the country with the army of Czech, had settled himself in the midst of the forest, where, having put the waste land into a state of cultivation, and erected a country seat, he intended to pass the rest of his days in peace, and to live upon the produce of his fields. But a powerful and violent neighbour seized upon the knight’s property, and drove him away, when a hospitable husbandman received him into his habitation, giving him shelter and protection. The poor old man had