The castle was one of the most important fortresses in the kingdom. The number of men belonging to the garrison and household was not inconsiderable. Whenever the chapel bell rung for mattins, the commandant, with all the inmates of the castle and its precincts, proceeded to the chapel across the spacious square of the castle. They now were returning from mattins with their extinguished lanterns in their hands. The captive maidens were guarded without any severity. When accompanied by one female attendant, the whole castle was open to them during the day. They were obliged, however, to sleep at night in the tower, which was never unlocked until daylight; and the porter was only permitted to open the castle gate for them when the commandant himself or his family accompanied them to the church of the town, or through the orchard to the chase of the castle, where at this season of the year they sometimes amused themselves by hawking, a sport of which Ulrica was passionately fond, but in which Margaretha only shared for her sister's sake. When Ulrica, with her sister and the attendant maiden, stepped out of the dark passage into the vestibule, she instantly ran as usual to one of the bow windows, and breathed upon one of the panes to clear away the frost and make herself a peep-hole into the castle yard. "Look! look!" she said, gaily; "we shall have the new yellow car to drive in to-day to church; and look! there they ride to water with the strangers' horses--I declare they have long silken coverings on, and there are the royal grooms with them--Look! the commandant, with the Drost and the strangers, are crossing over this way--one of the strangers is a canon; but who _can_ those two comical men be with the German caps?" "Let us go into the ladies' apartment," said Margaretha; "it would not be seemly that they should find us here alone so early." "One can never see any thing, or enjoy any thing, because of that tiresome seemliness," said Ulrica, pettishly, and followed her sister reluctantly into the ladies' apartment. Shortly afterwards the door opened, and Drost Aage entered the ante-chamber, with the king's confessor. Master Petrus de Dacia, and the two German minstrels, accompanied by the commandant. Sir Ribolt, a tall man of noble presence, whose knightly attire was arranged in strict conformity to the fashion of the time. The commandant first crossed the threshold, and closed the door to keep in the warmth, which began to diffuse itself from the large glowing stone chimney. "In the king's name!" he said, with a kind of solemnity, as he doffed his high plumed hat, "welcome in his hall, noble sirs! Here he is your host, though in my insignificant person--I may expect him here, then, in the spring, venerable sir?"