"
"But," said the confused, surprised Ebbo, "what can I do? They say I
shall not walk for many weeks to come. And, even if I could, I am so
young--I have so blundered in my dealings with my own mountaineers,
and with this fatal bridge--how should I manage such estates as
yours? Some better--"
"Look you, Ebbo," said Wildschloss; "you have erred--you have been
hasty; but tell me where to find another youth, whose strongest
purpose was as wise as your errors, or who cared for others' good
more than for his own violence and vainglory? Brief as your time has
been, one knows when one is on your bounds by the aspect of your
serfs, the soundness of their dwellings, the prosperity of their
crops and cattle above all, by their face and tone if one asks for
their lord."
"Ah! it was Friedel they loved. They scarce knew me from Friedel."
"Such as you are, with all the blunders you have made and will make,
you are the only youth I know to whom I could intrust my child or my
lands. The old Wildschloss castle is a male fief, and would return
to you, but there are domains since granted that will cause
intolerable trouble and strife, unless you and my poor little heiress
are united.
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