strong imaginative powers; therefore the handsome Libussa sometimes abandoned herself to that pleasant indulgence of her fancy, and that obliging confidant invariably entertained her with the image of the young huntsman who had made such a lasting impression upon her heart. A thousand projects came into her head, which her imagination presented to her as easy and successful. At one time she proposed to draw the youth from his obscurity, place him in the army, and so raise him gradually from honour to honour; then fancy placed a laurel crown upon his temples, and led him, covered with glory and victory, to her throne, which she most willingly shared with him. At another time she gave a different turn to the romance: she fitted him out as a knight-errant, to seek adventure, introduced him at her court, where his bravery, his stateliness, and gallantry won for him every heart. But when cool reflection again resumed its sway over her senses, the figures of the magic lanthorn waned before the bright rays of wisdom, and the beautiful dream was gone. She considered what a hazardous enterprise such an undertaking would be, and what misfortunes would arise for the country and the people, when envy and jealousy should make her grandees revolt
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Libussa.
