I told how the commander of the Italian army, inspired with
admiration by the desperate valor of the loyal knight, released him
and did honor him greatly. And how this noble knight, my father's
ancestor, followed the Emperor Frederick to the Holy Land and fought
the Saracens. "And," added I, "my father's great book of heraldry
contains the legend of the curse which fell on our house through the
villainy of the Imperial Grand Chancellor of Blazonry, who was
commanded to devise and procure a brand new heraldic escutcheon for
our family.
"He blazoned our shield with the ominous motto, 'in der fix, Haben
nix,' over gules d'or on a stony field, which was sown to a harvest
of tares and oats, and embossed with a whirlwind rampant. As they
were in knightly honor bound to live up to the motto on their shield,
my ancestor were doomed to remain poor forever. At last they took
service with the free city of Hamburg, where they settled finally and
became honored citizens."
Happening to remember my mother's admonishment not to annoy people
with too much talk, I apologized to the young ladies. Smilingly, they
begged me to continue, for they seemed to enjoy my boyish prattle.
"Listen, now, girls," said Rose laughingly to her companions, "now, I
shall make him open his mother's closet and show us her choicest
family skeleton.
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