About the tall brother, Rinaldo, however, many stories are told, and a thousand streets, hotels, or parks, in France and Italy and Belgium, are named after him. Tired of war, he became a monk and entered the cloister in the city that makes sweet smelling eau de Cologne, or cologne water. He had shown much skill in building forts and castles, but now he resolved to rear a grand cathedral, more splendid than any in the Rhine country. He thus became one of the first architects of that noble house of worship, whose two magnificent spires have been completed, only within the memory of men still living.
Rinaldo evidently had a bad temper, and, this time, instead of a quarrel over a chess board, he got into a row with the masons, and these rough fellows threw him into the river Rhine and let him drown. Yet later the pope made him a saint and a fine monument to his memory, and over his relics, was reared in the city of Dortmund, where the Germans brew much beer and whence, from the mines near by, they dig up much coal.
Of the younger brothers, the last one before he died, gave Bayard a good feed of oats, and [[223]]then slapping him on the flank let him go free. Bayard trotted off and back to Belgic Land and into the forest of Ardennes. There, happy and free with no work to do, or burdens to carry, Bayard enjoyed the freedom of the wild horse.
But at last, Charlemagne’s men captured the splendid animal, and brought him before the mighty ruler, who thus addressed Bayard:
“You have often in the past brought my plans to naught, but now you do so no more.”
Thereupon Charlemagne gave orders that a great heavy stone, as big as a load of hay, should be tied around his neck. Then Bayard was to be driven off the high rock at Dinant, into the Maas, or Meuse, River; and, as every one might expect, to be drowned.
Now the lofty pinnacle rock at Dinant, called the Roche à Bayard, stands up by the river side. In shape, it is like an old fashioned sugar loaf, or a colossal Lombardy poplar, or a pointed fir tree, turned into stone. Close to it, is the solid bed rock of the hill. Between both, a famous high road runs, so that the two masses form a natural stone portal, or gateway, into the suburbs of the famous and beautiful city of Dinant.
Thousands of people assembled to see the wonderful sight, expecting the funeral and a watery grave of a noble animal that must surely be drowned. Some wept copiously, at the loss of so [[224]]splendid a creature. Bayard had certainly been loyal to its masters and deserved a better fate.
But, instead of grief and sadness, there was merriment. In place of drowning, a resurrection and a triumph surprised the multitude of gazers. For one moment, the gallant animal was seen, leaping into the air. Then, with a tremendous splash, the horse fell into the Maas River.
In the next moment, however, he had shaken off the load, and leaving the big stone behind him, swam across the river. Emerging from the stream, Bayard shook off the water from his flank. Then, rearing up on his hind legs, he neighed three times, as much as to say “catch me, if you can”; and trotted off into the woods.