"We will seek its bright side, dearest."
"With all my heart.-Carlton, do you not remember that you left the heroine of that story you were last telling me in a most critical situation?"
"True, she was carried off by the banditti. Shall I complete the story?"
"Yes, pray do."
CHAPTER VII.—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 outposts were as regularly set as are those of an advancing army in an enemy's country.