Bagging his Rival.
Two gentlemen, one a Spaniard, the other a German, asked of Maximilian II. the hand of his daughter, the fair Helene Scharfequinn, in marriage. After a long delay, the emperor one day informed them that, esteeming them equally, and not being able to bestow a preference, he should leave it to the force and address of the claimants to decide the question. He did not mean, however, to risk the life of one or the other, or perhaps of both. He could not, therefore, permit them to encounter with offensive weapons, but had ordered a large bag to be produced. It was his decree that whichever succeeded in putting his rival into the bag should have the hand of his daughter. The singular encounter between the two gentlemen took place in the presence of the whole court. The contest lasted for more than an hour. At length the Spaniard yielded, and the German, Ehberhard, Baron de Talbert, having planted his rival in the bag, took it upon his back and gallantly laid it at the feet of his mistress, whom he espoused the next day. This incident is gravely vouched for by M. de St. Foix.