“Nay, dear son,” answered Hildiridur, “that was indeed the magnificent Rhein-fall at Schaffhausen. I remember well, how joyfully thou didst clasp thy hands, and tried, after thine own manner, to shout aloud; and though thy voice was unheard amid the roaring of the falling torrents, the pleasure with which thou wert animated sparkled in thine eyes; yet all this while the boards on which we stood shook beneath us; and at length the stern Sir Hugur was so delighted with thy courage, that he kissed both his wife and child, and exclaimed,--‘That is my brave son,--a true scion of the old northern tree!--Thanks to thee, far-famed and majestic Rhine, for the trial which thou hast now afforded me of his spirit!’--Truly thou art but little changed since that time, if I might say so of one who has been transformed from a blooming boy into a warlike knight; but at the first glance I could not but recognise thy features.” “And yet thou could’st remain so long concealed from me,” said Sir Otto mournfully, “and I have been so long denied that confidence in which I now so much rejoice!” “My son,” answered Hildiridur, “to one who is ever led, as I have been, to look over deeply into the mysteries of nature and the world of spirits, the knowledge so acquired often proves a heavy and almost insupportable burden. Already have I spoken to this effect with thy cousin Bertha, when she came to my castle in East Friesland. Thus, while free-hearted champions, such as thou art, are pursuing their own path to glory and conquest, and are guided by their own impulses, there are deep mysterious signs and admonitions by which we, who are endowed with supernatural gifts, are made aware, that we must submit to the conditions of that destiny which Providence has decreed for us. The fitting hour was not yet come.” “But is it possible,” inquired Sir Otto, “that you have heretofore looked upon Ottur, my strange double-goer, whose name I have now bestowed on my sword, as your son?” “Truly there have been moments when I have thus acknowledged him,” said Hildiridur; “but at length I perceived only too well who he really is. Thou also wilt soon become acquainted with this mystery; for my story draws near to the fatal hour, when it was to me clearly revealed, how frightfully his fate was intwined with thine and with my own.”