CHAPTER VI.
No ceremony that to great ones 'longs, Not the king's crown, nor the deputed sword, The marshal's truncheon, nor the judge's robe, Become them with one half so good a grace As mercy does.
MEASURE FOR MEASURE.
The sentence pronounced at Rome against Henry IV of Austria spread consternation wherever it went; the resolute prepared for instant action, and the timid looked in vain for a peaceful asylum.

There could be no neutrality, since not to serve the king was to serve his antagonist.

Throughout the empire the stern challenge was ringing: "Are you for the Pope or for the king ?" The gay and reckless champions of the court, the knights of the house of Franconia, and many a bold adventurer, crowded around the royal banner.

Many a haughty prelate, too, seduced by avarice or ambition, urged on the monarch in his mad career.
But the enterprise of Rodolph and the Lord of Hers had been most happily timed, and the chivalry of Suabia were prepared to follow their martial duke at a moment's warning.

That warning followed shortly after the date of the last chapter.