Excerpt from Legends of the Rhineland: A Journey Through the Land of the Monks, Knights and Rogues<br><br>When King Rudolph came with his army to p'rotect his lands around the Rhine, he pitched his camp in the depths of winter before the gates of Mainz. One day, very early in the morning, he was walking in his homely-looking cloak through the narrow streets of the cathedral city when, in the district where the bakers lived, the delicious warm smell of fresh bread was wafted to him through an open door. He quickly slipped through the door and was soon inside the bakehouse, where a stout woman was bustling about with a duster and broom, cleaning the kneading trough and the table. When she saw the tall soldier with the long Hapsburg nose who, after a word of greeting, had stood himself boldly in front of the oven, his legs wide apart, she became very angry and screamed, We're not even safe from the Emperor's beggars in our own homes. The king replied, If the Emperor's soldiers didn't protect the land many a fat citizen of Mainz and a certain baker's wife too, would be a lot thinner than they are At this the furious woman snatched up the pail she was using for her cleaning and poured the dirty water in itover her visitor's head, calling him the worst names she could think of. Rudolph shook himself like a wet dog, and laughingly but hurriedly strode through the door, leaving the woman still screaming abuse at him.<br><br>On the afternoon of the same day the doorbell of the baker's shop tinkled and a slim, smartly-dressed youth stepped inside. He set a tankard down on the table, and told the woman to drink to the health of the soldier who had warmed himself so well in the bake house early that morning. When the stout woman saw the cpstly tankard she began to feel very frightened, for she thought that the giver of so rich a gift must be a very powerful nobleman. She ran after the youth as fast as her fat legs would carry her, and eventually came to where the army was encamped and to the entrance to the king's tent. Here she ran past the startled sentry, pulled back the curtains and pushed her way through the nobles gathered round Rudolph's table; She at once recognised the soldier whom she had treated so badly, and fell on her knees, weeping and begging for mercy.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.