Northern mythology

301 NETHERLANDISH TRADITIONS.
gcther ;
for one day passed after another^ and no one came
forward in her cause. But when these had assembled,
there came the swan with the boat swimming up the
Scheldt, having Lohengrin on board, sleeping on his
shield. When the swan reached the bank, Lohengrin
woke, sprang on shore, and was received by Elsa with
unutterable joy and gratification.
His helmet, shield and
sword were then brought from the boat, when the swan
disappeared, returning by the way it came.
When the first demonstrations of joy were over, Lohengrin
asked the duchess under what evil she was suffering,
and learned from her how Frederic was striving to ensnare
her, and had falsely accused her to the emperor, and that
now her cause was to be decided by the judgement of God.
Lohengrin then assured her that he would be her champion,
when Elsa immediately assembled all her kindred
and subjects, who came to Saarbriicken, whence in a body
they proceeded to Mentz. The emperor, who was keeping
his court at Frankfurt, came also thither,
and the day for
the combat was fixed, and the lists erected. After both
champions had asserted the justness of their cause, the
conflict began; but Lohengrin proved victorious, and
Frederic of Telramonde fell, and confessed that he had
falsely accused the duchess Elsa, in punishment for which,
according to the usage of the time, he suffered death by
the axe.
In reward, Lohengrin obtained the hand of the
fair Elsa of Brabant, and their nuptials were celebrated
with suitable magnificence. But Lohengrin at the same
time besought his wife never to
ask his name nor whence
he came ; for if she did either the one or the other, he
could no longer continue with her.
Lohengrin and Elsa had long lived together in peace
and happiness, and he proved a wise and just prince in
the territories of Brabant and Limburg ; but it chanced
that in a tournament he dangerously wounded the duke of