Page:Legends of Rubezahl, and Other Tales (1845).djvu/31



HERE was once a very, very rich Count, who wasted his substance by the most lavish expenditure. He lived in king-like style, keeping open house every day in the year. Whoever claimed his hospitality, whether knight or squire, was feasted sumptuously for three long days; and no guest but what left him delighted with the entertainment he had received. He was terribly fond of gambling; his Court swarmed with golden-haired pages, running footmen, and heyducs in splendid liveries, and his stables absolutely ran over with countless horses and hounds. His treasures at last became exhausted by all this profusion. He mortgaged one town after another, sold his jewels and plate, dismissed his servants, and shot his dogs; and of all his vast wealth nothing remained but an old