Those were wild times--the antipodes of ours:
Ladies were there, who oftener saw themselves
In the broad lustre of a foeman's shield
Than in a mirror, and who rather sought
To match themselves in battle, than in dalliance
To meet a lover's onset.--But though Nature
Was outraged thus, she was not overcome.
FEUDAL TIMES.
Brenhilda, Countess of Paris, was one of those stalwart dames who
willingly hazarded themselves in the front of battle, which, during the
first crusade, was as common as it was possible for a very unnatural
custom to be, and, in fact, gave the real instances of the Marphisas
and Bradamantes, whom the writers of romance delighted to paint,
assigning them sometimes the advantage of invulnerable armour, or a
spear whose thrust did not admit of being resisted, in order to soften
the improbability of the weaker sex being frequently victorious over
the male part of the creation.
But the spell of Brenhilda was of a more simple nature, and rested
chiefly in her great beauty.
From a girl she despised the pursuits of her sex; and they who ventured
to become suitors for the hand of the young Lady of Aspramonte, to
which warlike fief she had succeeded, and which perhaps encouraged her
in her fancy, received for answer, that they must first merit it by
their good behaviour in the lists. The father of Brenhilda was dead;
her mother was of a gentle temper, and easily kept under management by
the young lady herself.
Brenhilda's numerous suitors readily agreed to terms which were too
much according to the manners of the age to be disputed. A tournament
was held at the Castle of Aspramonte, in which one half of the gallant
assembly rolled headlong before their successful rivals, and withdrew
from the lists mortified and disappointed. The successful party among
the suitors were expected to be summoned to joust among themselves. But
they were surprised at being made acquainted with the lady's further
will. She aspired to wear armour herself, to wield a lance, and back a
steed, and prayed the knights that they would permit a lady, whom they
professed to honour so highly, to mingle in their games of chivalry.
The young knights courteously received their young mistress in the
lists, and smiled at the idea of her holding them triumphantly against
so many gallant champions of the other sex. But the vassals and old
servants of the Count, her father, smiled to each other, and intimated
a different result than the gallants anticipated. The knights who
encountered the fair Brenhilda were one by one stretched on the sand;
nor was it to be denied, that the situation of tilting with one of the
handsomest women of the time was an extremely embarrassing one. Each
youth was bent to withhold his charge in full volley, to cause his
steed to swerve at the full shock, or in some other way to flinch from
doing the utmost which was necessary to gain the victory, lest, in so
gaining it, he might cause irreparable injury to the beautiful opponent
he tilted with. But the Lady of Aspramonte was not one who could be
conquered by less than the exertion of the whole strength and talents
of the victor. The defeated suitors departed from the lists the more
mortified at their discomfiture, because Robert of Paris arrived at
sunset, and, understanding what was going forward, sent his name to the
barriers, as that of a knight who would willingly forego the reward of
the tournament, in case he had the fortune to gain it, declaring, that
neither lauds nor ladies' charms were what he came thither to seek.
Brenhilda, piqued and mortified, chose a new lance, mounted her best
steed, and advanced into the lists as one determined to avenge upon the
new assailant's brow the slight of her charms which he seemed to
express. But whether her displeasure had somewhat interfered with her
usual skill, or whether she had, like others of her sex, felt a
partiality towards one whose heart was not particularly set upon
gaining hers--or whether, as is often said on such occasions, her fated
hour was come, so it was that Count Robert tilted with his usual
address and good fortune. Brenhilda of Aspramonte was unhorsed and
unhelmed, and stretched on the earth, and the beautiful face, which
faded from very red to deadly pale before the eyes of the victor,
produced its natural effect in raising the value of his conquest. He
would, in conformity with his resolution, have left the castle after
having mortified the vanity of the lady; but her mother opportunely
interposed; and when she had satisfied herself that no serious injury
had been sustained by the young heiress, she returned her thanks to the
stranger knight who had taught her daughter a lesson, which, she
trusted, she would not easily forget. Thus tempted to do what he
secretly wished, Count Robert gave ear to those sentiments, which
naturally whispered to him to be in no hurry to withdraw.
He was of the blood of Charlemagne, and, what was still of more
consequence in the young lady's eyes, one of the most renowned of
Norman knights in that jousting day. After a residence of ten days in
the castle of Aspramonte, the bride and bridegroom set out, for such
was Count Robert's will, with a competent train, to our Lady of the
Broken Lances, where it pleased him to be wedded. Two knights who were
waiting to do battle, as was the custom of the place, were rather
disappointed at the nature of the cavalcade, which seemed to interrupt
their purpose. But greatly were they surprised when they received a
cartel from the betrothed couple, offering to substitute their own
persons in the room of other antagonists, and congratulating themselves
in commencing their married life in a manner so consistent with that
which they had hitherto led. They were victorious as usual; and the
only persons having occasion to rue the complaisance of the Count and
his bride, were the two strangers, one of whom broke an arm in the
rencontre, and the other dislocated a collar-bone.
Count Robert's course of knight-errantry did not seem to be in the
least intermitted by his marriage; on the contrary, when he was called
upon to support his renown, his wife was often known also in military
exploits, nor was she inferior to him in thirst after fame. They both
assumed the cross at the same time, that being then the predominating
folly in Europe.
The Countess Brenhilda was now above six-and-twenty years old, with as
much beauty as can well fall to the share of an Amazon. A figure, of
the largest feminine size, was surmounted by a noble countenance, to
which even repeated warlike toils had not given more than a sunny hue,
relieved by the dazzling whiteness of such parts of her face as were
not usually displayed.
As Alexius gave orders that his retinue should return to
Constantinople, he spoke in private to the Follower, Achilles Tatius.
The Satrap answered with a submissive bend of the head, and separated
with a few attendants from the main body of the Emperor's train. The
principal road to the city was, of course, filled with the troops, and
with the numerous crowds of spectators, all of whom were inconvenienced
in some degree by the dust and heat of the weather.
Count Robert of Paris had embarked his horses on board of ship, and all
his retinue, except an old squire or valet of his own, and an attendant
of his wife. He felt himself more incommoded in this crowd than he
desired, especially as his wife shared it with him, and began to look
among the scattered trees which fringed the shores, down almost to the
tide-mark, to see if he could discern any by-path which might carry
them more circuitously, but more pleasantly, to the city, and afford
them at the same time, what was their principal object in the East,
strange sights, or adventures of chivalry. A broad and beaten path
seemed to promise them all the enjoyment which shade could give in a
warm climate. The ground through which it wound its way was beautifully
broken by the appearance of temples, churches, and kiosks, and here and
there a fountain distributed its silver produce, like a benevolent
individual, who, self-denying to himself, is liberal to all others who
are in necessity. The distant sound of the martial music still regaled
their way; and, at the same time, as it detained the populace on the
high-road, prevented the strangers from becoming incommoded with
fellow-travellers.
Rejoicing in the abated heat of the day-wondering, at the same time, at
the various kinds of architecture, the strange features of the
landscape, or accidental touches of manners, exhibited by those who met
or passed them upon their journey, they strolled easily onwards. One
figure particularly caught the attention of the Countess Brenhilda.
This was an old man of great stature, engaged, apparently, so deeply
with the roll of parchment which he held in his hand, that he paid no
attention to the objects which were passing around him. Deep thought
appeared to reign on his brow, and his eye was of that piercing kind
which seems designed to search and winnow the frivolous from the
edifying part of human discussion, and limit its inquiry to the last.
Raising his eyes slowly from the parchment on which he had been gazing,
the look of Agelastes--for it was the sage himself--encountered those
of Count Robert and his lady, and addressing them, with the kindly
epithet of "my children," he asked if they had missed their road, or
whether there was any thing in which he could do them any pleasure.
"We are strangers, father," was the answer, "from a distant country,
and belonging to the army which has passed hither upon pilgrimage; one
object brings us here in common, we hope, with all that host. We desire
to pay our devotions where the great ransom was paid for us, and to
free, by our good swords, enslaved Palestine, from the usurpation and
tyranny of the infidel. When we have said this, we have announced our
highest human motive. Yet Robert of Paris and his Countess would not
willingly set their foot on a land, save what should resound its echo.
They have not been accustomed to move in silence upon the face of the
earth, and they would purchase an eternal life of fame, though it were
at the price of mortal existence."
"You seek, then, to barter safety for fame," said Agelastes, "though
you may, perchance, throw death into the scale by which you hope to
gain it?"
"Assuredly," said Count Robert; "nor is there one wearing such a belt
as this, to whom such a thought is stranger."
"And as I understand," said Agelastes, "your lady shares with your
honourable self in these valorous resolutions?--Can this be?"
"You may undervalue my female courage, father, if such is your will,"
said the Countess; "but I speak in presence of a witness who can attest
the truth, when I say that a man of half your years had not doubted the
truth with impunity."
"Nay, Heaven protect me from the lightning of your eyes," said
Agelastes, "whether in anger or in scorn. I bear an aegis about myself
against what I should else have feared. But age, with its incapacities,
brings also its apologies. Perhaps, indeed, it is one like me whom you
seek to find, and in that case I should be happy to render to you such
services as it is my duty to offer to all worthy knights."
"I have already said," replied Count Robert, "that after the
accomplishment of my vow,"--he looked upwards and crossed
himself,--"there is nothing on earth to which I am more bound than to
celebrate my name in arms as becomes a valiant cavalier. When men die
obscurely, they die for ever. Had my ancestor Charles never left the
paltry banks of the Saale, he had not now been much better known than
any vine-dresser who wielded his pruning-hook in the same territories.
But he bore him like a brave man, and his name is deathless in the
memory of the worthy."
"Young man," said the old Grecian, "although it is but seldom that such
as you, whom I was made to serve and to value, visit this country, it
is not the less true that I am well qualified to serve you in the
matter which you have so much at heart. My acquaintance with nature has
been so perfect and so long, that, during its continuance, she has
disappeared, and another world has been spread before me, in which she
has but little to do. Thus the curious stores which I have assembled
are beyond the researches of other men, and not to be laid before those
whose deeds of valour are to be bounded by the ordinary probabilities
of everyday nature. No romancer of your romantic country ever devised
such extraordinary adventures out of his own imagination, and to feed
the idle wonder of those who sat listening around, as those which I
know, not of idle invention, but of real positive existence, with the
means of achieving and accomplishing the conditions of each adventure."
"If such be your real profession," said the French Count, "you have met
one of those whom you chiefly search for; nor will my Countess and I
stir farther upon our road until you have pointed out to us some one of
those adventures which, it is the business of errant-knights to be
industrious in seeking out."
So saying, he sat down by the side of the old man; and his lady, with a
degree of reverence which had something in it almost diverting,
followed his example.
"We have fallen right, Brenhilda," said Count Robert; "our guardian.
angel has watched his charge carefully. Here have we come among an,
ignorant set of pedants, chattering their absurd language, and holding
more important the least look that a cowardly Emperor can give, than
the best blow that a good knight can deal. Believe me, I was wellnigh
thinking that we had done ill to take the cross--God forgive such an
impious doubt! Yet here, when we were even despairing to find the road
to fame, we have met with one of those excellent men whom the knights
of yore were wont to find sitting by springs, by crosses, and by
altars, ready to direct the wandering knight where fame was to be
found. Disturb him not, my Brenhilda," said the Count, "but let him
recall to himself his stories of the ancient time, and thou shalt see
he will enrich us with the treasures of his information."
"If," replied Agelastes, after some pause, "I have waited for a longer
term than human life is granted to most men, I shall still be overpaid
by dedicating what remains of existence to the service of a pair so
devoted to chivalry. What first occurs to me is a story of our Greek
country, so famous in adventures, and which I shall briefly detail to
you:--
"Afar hence, in our renowned Grecian Archipelago, amid storms and
whirlpools, rocks which, changing their character, appear to
precipitate themselves against each other, and billows that are never
in a pacific state, lies the rich island of Zulichium, inhabited,
notwithstanding its wealth, by a very few natives, who live only upon
the sea-coast. The inland part of the island is one immense mountain,
or pile of mountains, amongst which, those who dare approach near
enough, may, we are assured, discern the moss-grown and antiquated
towers and pinnacles of a stately, but ruinous castle, the habitation
of the sovereign of the island, in which she has been, enchanted for a
great many years.
"A bold knight, who came upon, a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, made a vow to
deliver this unhappy victim of pain and sorcery; feeling, with justice,
vehemently offended, that the fiends of darkness should exercise any
authority near the Holy Land, which might be termed the very fountain
of light. Two of the oldest inhabitants of the island undertook to
guide him as near to the main gate as they durst, nor did they approach
it more closely than the length of a bow-shot. Here, then, abandoned to
himself, the brave Frank set forth upon his enterprise, with a stout
heart, and Heaven alone to friend. The fabric which he approached
showed, by its gigantic size, and splendour of outline, the power and
wealth of the potentate who had erected it. The brazen gates unfolded
themselves as if with hope and pleasure; and aerial voices swept around
the spires and turrets, congratulating the genius of the place, it
might be, upon the expected approach of its deliverer.
"The knight passed on, not unmoved with wonder, though untainted by
fear; and the Gothic splendours which he saw were of a kind highly to
exalt his idea of the beauty of the mistress for whom a prison-house
had been so richly decorated. Guards there were in Eastern dress and
arms, upon bulwark and buttress, in readiness, it appeared, to bend
their bows; but the warriors were motionless and silent, and took no
more notice of the armed step of the knight than if a monk or hermit
had approached their guarded post. They were living, and yet, as to all
power and sense, they might be considered among the dead. If there was
truth in the old tradition, the sun had shone and the rain had fallen
upon them for more than four hundred changing seasons, without their
being sensible of the genial warmth of the one or the coldness of the
other. Like the Israelites in the desert, their shoes had not decayed,
nor their vestments waxed old. As Time left them, so and without
alteration was he again to find them." The philosopher began now to
recall what he had heard of the cause of their enchantment.
"The sage to whom this potent charm is imputed, was one of the Magi who
followed the tenets of Zoroaster. He had come to the court of this
youthful Princess, who received him with every attention which
gratified vanity could dictate, so that in a short time her awe of this
grave personage was lost in the sense of ascendency which her beauty
gave her over him. It was no difficult matter--in fact it happens every
day--for the beautiful woman to lull the wise man into what is not
inaptly called a fool's paradise. The sage was induced to attempt feats
of youth which his years rendered ridiculous; he could command the
elements, but the common course of nature was beyond his power. When,
therefore, he exerted his magic strength, the mountains bent and the
seas receded; but when the philosopher attempted to lead forth the
Princess of Zulichium in the youthful dance, youths and maidens turned
their heads aside lest they should make too manifest the ludicrous
ideas with which they were impressed.
"Unhappily, as the aged, even the wisest of them, will forget
themselves, so the young naturally enter into an alliance to spy out,
ridicule, and enjoy their foibles. Many were the glances which the
Princess sent among her retinue, intimating the nature of the amusement
which she received from the attentions of her formidable lover. In
process of time she lost her caution, and a glance was detected,
expressing to the old man the ridicule and contempt in which he had
been all along held by the object of his affections. Earth has no
passion so bitter as love converted to hatred; and while the sage
bitterly regretted what he had done, he did not the less resent the
light-hearted folly of the Princess by whom he had been duped.
"If, however, he was angry, he possessed the art to conceal it. Not a
word, not a look expressed the bitter disappointment which he had
received. A shade of melancholy, or rather gloom, upon his brow, alone
intimated the coming storm. The Princess became somewhat alarmed; she
was besides extremely good-natured, nor had her intentions of leading
the old man into what would render him ridiculous, been so accurately
planned with malice prepense, as they were the effect of accident and
chance. She saw the pain which he suffered, and thought to end it by
going up to him, when about to retire, and kindly wishing him
good-night.
"'You say well, daughter,' said the sage, 'good-night--but who, of the
numbers who hear me, shall say good-morning?'
"The speech drew little attention, although two or three persons to
whom the character of the sage was known, fled from the island that
very night, and by their report made known the circumstances attending
the first infliction of this extraordinary spell on those who remained
within the Castle. A sleep like that of death fell upon them, and was
not removed. Most of the inhabitants left the island; the few who
remained were cautious how they approached the Castle, and watched
until some bold adventurer should bring that happy awakening which the
speech of the sorcerer seemed in some degree to intimate.
"Never seemed there a fairer opportunity for that awakening to take
place than when the proud step of Artavan de Hautlieu was placed upon
those enchanted courts. On the left, lay the palace and donjon-keep;
but the right, more attractive, seemed to invite to the apartment of
the women. At a side door, reclined on a couch, two guards of the
haram, with their naked swords grasped in their hands, and features
fiendishly contorted between sleep and dissolution, seemed to menace
death to any who should venture to approach. This threat deterred not
Artavan de Hautlieu. He approached the entrance, when the doors, like
those of the great entrance to the Castle, made themselves instantly
accessible to him. A guard-room of the same effeminate soldiers
received him, nor could the strictest examination have discovered to
him whether it was sleep or death which arrested the eyes that seemed
to look upon and prohibit his advance. Unheeding the presence of these
ghastly sentinels, Artavan pressed forward into an inner apartment,
where female slaves of the most distinguished beauty were visible in
the attitude of those who had already assumed their dress for the
night. There was much in this scene which might have arrested so young
a pilgrim as Artavan of Hautlieu; but his heart was fixed on achieving
the freedom of the beautiful Princess, nor did he suffer himself to be
withdrawn from that object by any inferior consideration. He passed on,
therefore, to a little ivory door, which, after a moment's pause, as if
in maidenly hesitation, gave way like the rest, and yielded access to
the sleeping apartment of the Princess herself. A soft light,
resembling that of evening, penetrated into a chamber where every thing
seemed contrived to exalt the luxury of slumber. The heaps of cushions,
which formed a stately bed, seemed rather to be touched than impressed
by the form of a nymph of fifteen, the renowned Princess of Zulichium."
"Without interrupting you, good father," said the Countess Brenhilda,
"it seems to me that we can comprehend the picture of a woman asleep
without much dilating upon it, and that such a subject is little
recommended either by our age or by yours."
"Pardon me, noble lady," answered Agelastes, "the most approved part of
my story has ever been this passage, and while I now suppress it in
obedience to your command, bear notice, I pray you, that I sacrifice
the most beautiful part of the tale."
"Brenhilda," added the Count, "I am surprised you think of interrupting
a story which has hitherto proceeded with so much fire; the telling of
a few words more or less will surely have a much greater influence
upon, the sense of the narrative, than such an addition can possibly
possess over our sentiments of action."
"As you will," said his lady, throwing herself carelessly back upon the
seat; "but methinks the worthy father protracts this discourse, till it
becomes of a nature more trifling than interesting."
"Brenhilda," said the Count, "this is the first time I have remarked in
you a woman's weakness."
"I may as well say, Count Robert, that it is the first time," answered
Brenhilda, "that you have shown to me the inconstancy of your sex."
"Gods and goddesses," said the philosopher, "was ever known a quarrel
more absurdly founded! The Countess is jealous of one whom her husband
probably never will see, nor is there any prospect that the Princess of
Zulichium will be hereafter better known, to the modern world, than if
the curtain hung before her tomb."
"Proceed," said Count Robert of Paris; "if Sir Artavan of Hautlieu has
not accomplished the enfranchisement of the Princess of Zulichium, I
make a vow to our Lady of the Broken Lances,"--
"Remember," said his lady interfering, "that you are already under a
vow to free the Sepulchre of God; and to that, methinks, all lighter
engagements might give place."
"Well, lady--well," said Count Robert, but half satisfied with this
interference, "I will not engage myself, you may be assured, on any
adventure which may claim precedence of the enterprise of the Holy
Sepulchre, to which we are all bound."
"Alas!" said Agelastes, "the distance of Zulichium from the speediest
route to the sepulchre is so small that"--
"Worthy father," said the Countess, "we will, if it pleases you, hear
your tale to an end, and then determine what we will do. We Norman
ladies, descendants of the old Germans, claim a voice with our lords in
the council which precedes the battle; nor has our assistance in the
conflict been deemed altogether useless."
The tone in which this was spoken conveyed an awkward innuendo to the
philosopher, who began to foresee that the guidance of the Norman
knight would be more difficult than he had foreseen, while his consort
remained by his side. He took up, therefore, his oratory on somewhat a
lower key than before, and avoided those warm descriptions which had
given such offence to the Countess Brenhilda.
"Sir Artavan de Hautlieu, says the story, considered in what way he
should accost the sleeping damsel, when it occurred to him in what
manner the charm would be most likely to be reversed. I am in your
judgment, fair lady, if he judged wrong in resolving that the method of
his address should be a kiss upon the lips." The colour of Brenhilda
was somewhat heightened, but she did not deem the observation worthy of
notice.
"Never had so innocent an action," continued the philosopher, "an
effect more horrible. The delightful light of a summer evening was
instantly changed into a strange lurid hue, which, infected with
sulphur, seemed to breathe suffocation through the apartment. The rich
hangings, and splendid furniture of the chamber, the very walls
themselves, were changed into huge stones tossed together at random,
like the inside of a wild beast's den, nor was the den without an
inhabitant. The beautiful and innocent lips to which Artavan de
Hautlieu had approached his own, were now changed into the hideous and
bizarre form, and bestial aspect of a fiery dragon. A moment she
hovered upon the wing, and it is said, had Sir Artavan found courage to
repeat his salute three times, he would then have remained master of
all the wealth, and of the disenchanted princess. But the opportunity
was lost, and the dragon, or the creature who seemed such, sailed out
at a side window upon its broad pennons, uttering loud wails of
disappointment."
Here ended the story of Agelastes. "The Princess," he said, "is still
supposed to abide her doom in the Island of Zulichium, and several
knights have undertaken the adventure; but I know not whether it was
the fear of saluting the sleeping maiden, or that of approaching the
dragon into which she was transformed, but so it is, the spell remains
unachieved. I know the way, and if you say the word, you may be
to-morrow on the road to the castle of enchantment."
The Countess heard this proposal with the deepest anxiety, for she knew
that she might, by opposition, determine her husband irrevocably upon
following out the enterprise. She stood therefore with a timid and
bashful look, strange in a person whose bearing was generally so
dauntless, and prudently left it to the uninfluenced mind of Count
Robert to form the resolution which should best please him.
"Brenhilda," he said, taking her hand, "fame and honour are dear to thy
husband as ever they were to knight who buckled a brand upon his side.
Thou hast done, perhaps, I may say, for me, what I might in vain have
looked for from ladies of thy condition; and therefore thou mayst well
expect a casting voice in such points of deliberation.--Why dost thou
wander by the side of a foreign and unhealthy shore, instead of the
banks of the lovely Seine?--Why dost thou wear a dress unusual to thy
sex?--Why dost thou seek death, and think it little in comparison of
shame?--Why? but that the Count of Paris may have a bride worthy of
him.--Dost thou think that this affection is thrown away? No, by the
saints! Thy knight repays it as he best ought, and sacrifices to thee
every thought which thy affection may less than entirely approve."
Poor Brenhilda, confused as she was by the various emotions with which
she was agitated, now in vain endeavoured to maintain the heroic
deportment which her character as an Amazon required from her. She
attempted to assume the proud and lofty look which was properly her
own, but failing in the effort, she threw herself into the Count's
arms, hung round his neck, and wept like a, village maiden, whose true
love is pressed for the wars. Her husband, a little ashamed, while he
was much moved by this burst of affection in one to whose character it
seemed an unusual attribute, was, at the same time, pleased and proud
that he could have awakened an affection so genuine and so gentle in a
soul so high-spirited and so unbending.
"Not thus," he said, "my Brenhilda! I would not have it thus, either
for thine own sake or for mine. Do not let this wise old man suppose
that thy heart is made of the malleable stuff which forms that of other
maidens; and apologize to him, as may well become thee, for having
prevented my undertaking the adventure of Zulichium, which he
recommends."
It was not easy for Brenhilda to recover herself, after having afforded
so notable an instance how nature can vindicate her rights, with
whatever rigour she may have been disciplined and tyrannized over. With
a look of ineffable affection, she disjoined herself from her husband,
still keeping hold of his hand, and turning to the old man with a
countenance in which the half-effaced tears were succeeded by smiles of
pleasure and of modesty, she spoke to Agelastes as she would to a
person whom she respected, and towards whom she had some offence to
atone. "Father," she said, respectfully, "be not angry with me that I
should have been an obstacle to one of the best knights that ever
spurred steed, undertaking the enterprise of thine enchanted Princess;
but the truth is, that in our land, where knighthood and religion agree
in permitting only one lady love, and one lady wife, we do not quite so
willingly see our husbands run into danger--especially of that kind
where lonely ladies are the parties relieved--and--and kisses are the
ransom paid. I have as much confidence in my Robert's fidelity, as a
lady can have in a loving knight, but still"--
"Lovely lady," said Agelastes, who, notwithstanding his highly
artificial character, could not help being moved by the simple and
sincere affection of the handsome young pair, "you have done no evil.
The state of the Princess is no worse than it was, and there cannot be
a doubt that the knight fated to relieve her, will appear at the
destined period." The Countess smiled sadly, and shook her head. "You
do not know," she said, "how powerful is the aid of which I have
unhappily deprived this unfortunate lady, by a jealousy which I now
feel to have been alike paltry and unworthy; and, such is my regret,
that I could find in my heart to retract my opposition to Count
Robert's undertaking this adventure." She looked at her husband with
some anxiety, as one that had made an offer she would not willingly see
accepted, and did not recover her courage until he said, decidedly,
"Brenhilda, that may not be."
"And why, then, may not Brenhilda herself take the adventure,"
continued the Countess, "since she can neither fear the charms of the
Princess nor the terrors of the dragon?"
"Lady," said Agelastes, "the Princess must be awakened by the kiss of
love, and not by that of friendship."
"A sufficient reason," said the Countess, smiling, "why a lady may not
wish her lord to go forth upon an adventure of which the conditions are
so regulated."
"Noble minstrel, or herald, or by whatever name this country calls
you," said Count Robert, "accept a small remuneration for an hour
pleasantly spent, though spent, unhappily, in vain. I should make some
apology for the meanness of my offering, but French knights, you may
have occasion to know, are more full of fame than of wealth."
"Not for that, noble sir," replied Agelastes, "would I refuse your
munificence; a besant from your worthy hand, or that of your
noble-minded lady, were centupled in its value, by the eminence of the
persons from whom it came. I would hang it round my neck by a string of
pearls, and when I came into the presence of knights and of ladies, I
would proclaim that this addition to my achievement of armorial
distinction, was bestowed by the renowned Count Robert of Paris, and
his unequalled lady." The Knight and the Countess looked on each other,
and the lady, taking from her finger a ring of pure gold, prayed the
old man to accept of it, as a mark of her esteem and her husband's.
"With one other condition," said the philosopher, "which I trust you
will not find altogether unsatisfactory. I have, on the way to the city
by the most pleasant road, a small kiosk, or hermitage, where I
sometimes receive my friends, who, I venture to say, are among the most
respectable personages of this empire. Two or three of these will
probably honour my residence today, and partake of the provision it
affords. Could I add to these the company of the noble Count and
Countess of Paris, I should deem my poor habitation honoured for ever."
"How say you, my noble wife?" said the Count. "The company of a
minstrel befits the highest birth, honours the highest rank, and adds
to the greatest achievements; and the invitation does us too much
credit to be rejected."
"It grows somewhat late," said the Countess: "but we came not here to
shun a sinking sun or a darkening sky, and I feel it my duty, as well
as my satisfaction, to place at the command of the good father every
pleasure which it is in my power to offer to him, for having been the
means of your neglecting his advice."
"The path is so short," said Agelastes, "that we had better keep our
present mode of travelling, if the lady should not want the assistance
of horses."
"No horses on my account," said the Lady Brenhilda. "My waiting-woman,
Agatha, has what necessaries I may require; and, for the rest, no
knight ever travelled so little embarrassed with baggage as my husband."
Agelastes, therefore, led the way through the deepening wood, which was
freshened by the cooler breath of evening, and his guests accompanied
him.