Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: A LEGEND OF THE RHINE. REVISED AND ILLUSTRATED. SECOND EDITION. ADVERTISEMENT. "Nonnenwerth, a Legend of the Khine," is founded upon one of the most beautiful and romantic traditions. The scenes are laid in the latter part of the eighth century. The unhappy Hilde- garde was the Lady of Heligoland, and was betrothed to Koland the Nephew of Charlemagne. Koland was ordered to the wars by his uncle the king: this was on the eve of their marriage which was postponed until his return. In vain she waited, and he came not: an occasional pilgrim's return brought her only indefinite tidings. The duplicity of Lupo and Hunald may, or may not, be true: I have introduced it, to give some vivid realism to the cause of Hildegarde's sad resolution. Lupo and Hunald are, however, the real names of two remorseless enemies of Roland—no doubt, the principal of those at whose hands he afterwards met his death at Koneesvalles. The "Arch of Rolandseck" only remains of the once strong and magnificent castle built by Koland. He chose for its site the pinnacle of Koderberg overlooking the Rhine. From its watch-towers could also be seen the lake, and the convent of Nonnenwerth in which his promised bride, believing him to be dead, immured herself previous to his long delayed return from the crusades. Koland was the son of Milo, Count of Angiers, and Bertha, sister of Charlemagne. The word "Paladin," or "Palatine," afterward so common in poetry as a characteristic designation of the warriors of Charlemagne, was first applied to Koland and his followers, by a Saxon poet who wrote in the reign of the Emperor Arnulphus about seventy years after the death of Charles. In the dells of the Pyrenees, is yet shown a flower called the Casque de Koland; and a steep and rugged defile in the Cr...