There was a spot on the Rhine near the little hamlet of Kempten that Charlemagne, the great Emperor, always loved. There the sun seemed ever to shine more brightly than elsewhere; there the air was balmiest; and there the quiet and peacefulness always calmed his spirit, and filled it with joy.

To this place he seemed always to come when he was worried with matters of state. When he returned from a journey or a war, he always paid his first visit to this lovely spot.

All his life long, this was the favorite spot of the great Emperor. He loved to see it by daylight, and he loved it by moonlight. Often did he wander there at night, when all the rest of the world was asleep. The green hills, the vineclad[90] slopes, and the pleasant glades¹ were more soothing² to him than sleep.

He even desired to be buried in this place, but his people would not have it so; and the great man was buried in state in the beautiful cathedral that he had built at Aix-la-Chapelle.

But even after death his spirit longed to visit the spot that had brought so much peace into his life. It is said that his spirit visits the place yearly in the late summer time, even to this day.

On the most beautiful moonlight night of all the year, people say, Charlemagne leaves his tomb in the great cathedral and comes to this quiet valley of the Rhine. He comes not to do harm, nor simply to rest and enjoy the place. His purpose is to bless the spot which was such a blessing³ to him during his life.

On the nights when Charlemagne’s spirit visits the place, the silvery moonbeams may be seen to make a fairy bridge across the river. On this bridge the great[91] monarch’s spirit passes across the Rhine.

He glides⁴ back and forth⁵, bestowing⁶ his blessing on everything in the neighborhood. Every little village, every cottage, every hill and valley, the vineyards, the shore, and the great peaceful river itself—all receive his blessing.

Last of all he visits the palace which he built here and called Ingelheim, or Angel’s Home. From here he returns to his rest again.

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