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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/4927-h.zip b/4927-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..b73869b --- /dev/null +++ b/4927-h.zip diff --git a/4927-h/4927-h.htm b/4927-h/4927-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1465f5b --- /dev/null +++ b/4927-h/4927-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,16516 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<HTML> +<HEAD> + +<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> + +<TITLE> +The Project Gutenberg E-text of Bulfinch's Mythology, by Thomas Bulfinch +</TITLE> + +<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> +BODY { color: Black; + background: White; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + text-align: justify } + +P {text-indent: 4% } + +P.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +P.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-size: small } + +P.letter {text-indent: 0%; + font-size: small ; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.glossary {text-indent: -5%; + font-size: small ; + margin-left: 5% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.footnote {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.finis { font-size: larger ; + text-align: center ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +</STYLE> + +</HEAD> + +<BODY> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Legends of Charlemagne, by Thomas Bulfinch + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Legends of Charlemagne + +Author: Thomas Bulfinch + +Posting Date: January 18, 2010 [EBook #4927] +Release Date: January, 2004 +First Posted: March 27, 2002 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE *** + + + + +Produced by Robert Rowe, Charles Franks and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. HTML version by Al Haines. + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<BR><BR> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +BULFINCH'S MYTHOLOGY +</H1> + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE AGE OF FABLE +<BR> +THE AGE OF CHIVALRY +<BR> +LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE +</H4> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +BY THOMAS BULFINCH +</H3> + +<H5 ALIGN="center"> +COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME +</H5> + +<BR> + +<H5 ALIGN="center"> +[Editor's Note: The etext contains only LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE] +</H5> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PUBLISHERS' PREFACE +</H3> + +<P> +No new edition of Bulfinch's classic work can be considered complete +without some notice of the American scholar to whose wide erudition and +painstaking care it stands as a perpetual monument. "The Age of Fable" +has come to be ranked with older books like "Pilgrim's Progress," +"Gulliver's Travels," "The Arabian Nights," "Robinson Crusoe," and five +or six other productions of world-wide renown as a work with which +every one must claim some acquaintance before his education can be +called really complete. Many readers of the present edition will +probably recall coming in contact with the work as children, and, it +may be added, will no doubt discover from a fresh perusal the source of +numerous bits of knowledge that have remained stored in their minds +since those early years. Yet to the majority of this great circle of +readers and students the name Bulfinch in itself has no significance. +</P> + +<P> +Thomas Bulfinch was a native of Boston, Mass., where he was born in +1796. His boyhood was spent in that city, and he prepared for college +in the Boston schools. He finished his scholastic training at Harvard +College, and after taking his degree was for a period a teacher in his +home city. For a long time later in life he was employed as an +accountant in the Boston Merchants' Bank. His leisure time he used for +further pursuit of the classical studies which he had begun at Harvard, +and his chief pleasure in life lay in writing out the results of his +reading, in simple, condensed form for young or busy readers. The plan +he followed in this work, to give it the greatest possible usefulness, +is set forth in the Author's Preface. +</P> + +<P> +"Age of Fable," First Edition, 1855; "The Age of Chivalry," 1858; "The +Boy Inventor," 1860; "Legends of Charlemagne, or Romance of the Middle +Ages," 1863; "Poetry of the Age of Fable," 1863; "Oregon and Eldorado, +or Romance of the Rivers," 1860. +</P> + +<P> +In this complete edition of his mythological and legendary lore "The +Age of Fable," "The Age of Chivalry," and "Legends of Charlemagne" are +included. Scrupulous care has been taken to follow the original text of +Bulfinch, but attention should be called to some additional sections +which have been inserted to add to the rounded completeness of the +work, and which the publishers believe would meet with the sanction of +the author himself, as in no way intruding upon his original plan but +simply carrying it out in more complete detail. The section on Northern +Mythology has been enlarged by a retelling of the epic of the +"Nibelungen Lied," together with a summary of Wagner's version of the +legend in his series of music-dramas. Under the head of "Hero Myths of +the British Race" have been included outlines of the stories of +Beowulf, Cuchulain, Hereward the Wake, and Robin Hood. Of the verse +extracts which occur throughout the text, thirty or more have been +added from literature which has appeared since Bulfinch's time, +extracts that he would have been likely to quote had he personally +supervised the new edition. +</P> + +<P> +Finally, the index has been thoroughly overhauled and, indeed, remade. +All the proper names in the work have been entered, with references to +the pages where they occur, and a concise explanation or definition of +each has been given. Thus what was a mere list of names in the original +has been enlarged into a small classical and mythological dictionary, +which it is hoped will prove valuable for reference purposes not +necessarily connected with "The Age of Fable." +</P> + +<P> +Acknowledgments are due the writings of Dr. Oliver Huckel for +information on the point of Wagner's rendering of the Nibelungen +legend, and M. I. Ebbutt's authoritative volume on "Hero Myths and +Legends of the British Race," from which much of the information +concerning the British heroes has been obtained. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +AUTHOR'S PREFACE +</H3> + +<P> +If no other knowledge deserves to be called useful but that which helps +to enlarge our possessions or to raise our station in society, then +Mythology has no claim to the appellation. But if that which tends to +make us happier and better can be called useful, then we claim that +epithet for our subject. For Mythology is the handmaid of literature; +and literature is one of the best allies of virtue and promoters of +happiness. +</P> + +<P> +Without a knowledge of mythology much of the elegant literature of our +own language cannot be understood and appreciated. When Byron calls +Rome "the Niobe of nations," or says of Venice, "She looks a Sea-Cybele +fresh from ocean," he calls up to the mind of one familiar with our +subject, illustrations more vivid and striking than the pencil could +furnish, but which are lost to the reader ignorant of mythology. Milton +abounds in similar allusions. The short poem "Comus" contains more than +thirty such, and the ode "On the Morning of the Nativity" half as many. +Through "Paradise Lost" they are scattered profusely. This is one +reason why we often hear persons by no means illiterate say that they +cannot enjoy Milton. But were these persons to add to their more solid +acquirements the easy learning of this little volume, much of the +poetry of Milton which has appeared to them "harsh and crabbed" would +be found "musical as is Apollo's lute." Our citations, taken from more +than twenty-five poets, from Spenser to Longfellow, will show how +general has been the practice of borrowing illustrations from mythology. +</P> + +<P> +The prose writers also avail themselves of the same source of elegant +and suggestive illustration. One can hardly take up a number of the +"Edinburgh" or "Quarterly Review" without meeting with instances. In +Macaulay's article on Milton there are twenty such. +</P> + +<P> +But how is mythology to be taught to one who does not learn it through +the medium of the languages of Greece and Rome? To devote study to a +species of learning which relates wholly to false marvels and obsolete +faiths is not to be expected of the general reader in a practical age +like this. The time even of the young is claimed by so many sciences of +facts and things that little can be spared for set treatises on a +science of mere fancy. +</P> + +<P> +But may not the requisite knowledge of the subject be acquired by +reading the ancient poets in translations? We reply, the field is too +extensive for a preparatory course; and these very translations require +some previous knowledge of the subject to make them intelligible. Let +any one who doubts it read the first page of the "Aeneid," and see what +he can make of "the hatred of Juno," the "decree of the Parcae," the +"judgment of Paris," and the "honors of Ganymede," without this +knowledge. +</P> + +<P> +Shall we be told that answers to such queries may be found in notes, or +by a reference to the Classical Dictionary? We reply, the interruption +of one's reading by either process is so annoying that most readers +prefer to let an allusion pass unapprehended rather than submit to it. +Moreover, such sources give us only the dry facts without any of the +charm of the original narrative; and what is a poetical myth when +stripped of its poetry? The story of Ceyx and Halcyone, which fills a +chapter in our book, occupies but eight lines in the best (Smith's) +Classical Dictionary; and so of others. +</P> + +<P> +Our work is an attempt to solve this problem, by telling the stories of +mythology in such a manner as to make them a source of amusement. We +have endeavored to tell them correctly, according to the ancient +authorities, so that when the reader finds them referred to he may not +be at a loss to recognize the reference. Thus we hope to teach +mythology not as a study, but as a relaxation from study; to give our +work the charm of a story-book, yet by means of it to impart a +knowledge of an important branch of education. The index at the end +will adapt it to the purposes of reference, and make it a Classical +Dictionary for the parlor. +</P> + +<P> +Most of the classical legends in "Stories of Gods and Heroes" are +derived from Ovid and Virgil. They are not literally translated, for, +in the author's opinion, poetry translated into literal prose is very +unattractive reading. Neither are they in verse, as well for other +reasons as from a conviction that to translate faithfully under all the +embarrassments of rhyme and measure is impossible. The attempt has been +made to tell the stories in prose, preserving so much of the poetry as +resides in the thoughts and is separable from the language itself, and +omitting those amplifications which are not suited to the altered form. +</P> + +<P> +The Northern mythological stories are copied with some abridgment from +Mallet's "Northern Antiquities." These chapters, with those on Oriental +and Egyptian mythology, seemed necessary to complete the subject, +though it is believed these topics have not usually been presented in +the same volume with the classical fables. +</P> + +<P> +The poetical citations so freely introduced are expected to answer +several valuable purposes. They will tend to fix in memory the leading +fact of each story, they will help to the attainment of a correct +pronunciation of the proper names, and they will enrich the memory with +many gems of poetry, some of them such as are most frequently quoted or +alluded to in reading and conversation. +</P> + +<P> +Having chosen mythology as connected with literature for our province, +we have endeavored to omit nothing which the reader of elegant +literature is likely to find occasion for. Such stories and parts of +stories as are offensive to pure taste and good morals are not given. +But such stories are not often referred to, and if they occasionally +should be, the English reader need feel no mortification in confessing +his ignorance of them. +</P> + +<P> +Our work is not for the learned, nor for the theologian, nor for the +philosopher, but for the reader of English literature, of either sex, +who wishes to comprehend the allusions so frequently made by public +speakers, lecturers, essayists, and poets, and those which occur in +polite conversation. +</P> + +<P> +In the "Stories of Gods and Heroes" the compiler has endeavored to +impart the pleasures of classical learning to the English reader, by +presenting the stories of Pagan mythology in a form adapted to modern +taste. In "King Arthur and His Knights" and "The Mabinogeon" the +attempt has been made to treat in the same way the stories of the +second "age of fable," the age which witnessed the dawn of the several +states of Modern Europe. +</P> + +<P> +It is believed that this presentation of a literature which held +unrivalled sway over the imaginations of our ancestors, for many +centuries, will not be without benefit to the reader, in addition to +the amusement it may afford. The tales, though not to be trusted for +their facts, are worthy of all credit as pictures of manners; and it is +beginning to be held that the manners and modes of thinking of an age +are a more important part of its history than the conflicts of its +peoples, generally leading to no result. Besides this, the literature +of romance is a treasure-house of poetical material, to which modern +poets frequently resort. The Italian poets, Dante and Ariosto, the +English, Spenser, Scott, and Tennyson, and our own Longfellow and +Lowell, are examples of this. +</P> + +<P> +These legends are so connected with each other, so consistently adapted +to a group of characters strongly individualized in Arthur, Launcelot, +and their compeers, and so lighted up by the fires of imagination and +invention, that they seem as well adapted to the poet's purpose as the +legends of the Greek and Roman mythology. And if every well-educated +young person is expected to know the story of the Golden Fleece, why is +the quest of the Sangreal less worthy of his acquaintance? Or if an +allusion to the shield of Achilles ought not to pass unapprehended, why +should one to Excalibar, the famous sword of Arthur?-- +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "Of Arthur, who, to upper light restored,<BR> + With that terrific sword,<BR> + Which yet he brandishes for future war,<BR> + Shall lift his country's fame above the polar star."<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +[Footnote: Wordsworth] +</P> + +<P> +It is an additional recommendation of our subject, that it tends to +cherish in our minds the idea of the source from which we sprung. We +are entitled to our full share in the glories and recollections of the +land of our forefathers, down to the time of colonization thence. The +associations which spring from this source must be fruitful of good +influences; among which not the least valuable is the increased +enjoyment which such associations afford to the American traveller when +he visits England, and sets his foot upon any of her renowned +localities. +</P> + +<P> +The legends of Charlemagne and his peers are necessary to complete the +subject. +</P> + +<P> +In an age when intellectual darkness enveloped Western Europe, a +constellation of brilliant writers arose in Italy. Of these, Pulci +(born in 1432), Boiardo (1434), and Ariosto (1474) took for their +subjects the romantic fables which had for many ages been transmitted +in the lays of bards and the legends of monkish chroniclers. These +fables they arranged in order, adorned with the embellishments of +fancy, amplified from their own invention, and stamped with +immortality. It may safely be asserted that as long as civilization +shall endure these productions will retain their place among the most +cherished creations of human genius. +</P> + +<P> +In "Stories of Gods and Heroes," "King Arthur and His Knights" and "The +Mabinogeon" the aim has been to supply to the modern reader such +knowledge of the fables of classical and mediaeval literature as is +needed to render intelligible the allusions which occur in reading and +conversation. The "Legends of Charlemagne" is intended to carry out the +same design. Like the earlier portions of the work, it aspires to a +higher character than that of a piece of mere amusement. It claims to +be useful, in acquainting its readers with the subjects of the +productions of the great poets of Italy. Some knowledge of these is +expected of every well-educated young person. +</P> + +<P> +In reading these romances, we cannot fail to observe how the primitive +inventions have been used, again and again, by successive generations +of fabulists. The Siren of Ulysses is the prototype of the Siren of +Orlando, and the character of Circe reappears in Alcina. The fountains +of Love and Hatred may be traced to the story of Cupid and Psyche; and +similar effects produced by a magic draught appear in the tale of +Tristram and Isoude, and, substituting a flower for the draught, in +Shakspeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream." There are many other instances +of the same kind which the reader will recognize without our assistance. +</P> + +<P> +The sources whence we derive these stories are, first, the Italian +poets named above; next, the "Romans de Chevalerie" of the Comte de +Tressan; lastly, certain German collections of popular tales. Some +chapters have been borrowed from Leigh Hunt's Translations from the +Italian Poets. It seemed unnecessary to do over again what he had +already done so well; yet, on the other hand, those stories could not +be omitted from the series without leaving it incomplete. +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +THOMAS BULFINCH. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +CONTENTS +</H2> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE +</H3> + +<H4> + <A HREF="#intro">Introduction</A><BR> + <A HREF="#peers">The Peers, or Paladins</A><BR> + <A HREF="#tournament">The Tournament</A><BR> + <A HREF="#siege">The Siege of Albracca</A><BR> + <A HREF="#adventures">Adventures of Rinaldo and Orlando</A><BR> + <A HREF="#france1">The Invasion of France</A><BR> + <A HREF="#france2">The Invasion of France (Continued)</A><BR> +<BR> + <A HREF="#bradamante">Bradamante and Rogero</A><BR> + <A HREF="#astolpho">Astolpho and the Enchantress</A><BR> + <A HREF="#orc">The Orc</A><BR> + <A HREF="#isabella">Astolpho's Adventures continued, and Isabella's begun.</A><BR> + <A HREF="#medoro">Medoro</A><BR> + <A HREF="#orlando">Orlando Mad</A><BR> + <A HREF="#zerbino">Zerbino and Isabella</A><BR> + <A HREF="#abyssinia">Astolpho in Abyssinia</A><BR> + <A HREF="#war">The War in Africa</A><BR> + <A HREF="#rogero">Rogero and Bradamante</A><BR> + <A HREF="#roncesvalles">The Battle of Roncesvalles</A><BR> + <A HREF="#rinaldo">Rinaldo and Bayard</A><BR> + <A HREF="#death">Death of Rinaldo</A><BR> + <A HREF="#huon1">Huon of Bordeaux</A><BR> + <A HREF="#huon2">Huon of Bordeaux (Continued)</A><BR> + <A HREF="#huon2">Huon of Bordeaux (Continued)</A><BR> + <A HREF="#ogier1">Ogier, the Dane</A><BR> + <A HREF="#ogier2">Ogier, the Dane (Continued)</A><BR> + <A HREF="#ogier3">Ogier, the Dane (Continued)</A><BR> +<BR> +<A HREF="#gloss">GLOSSARY</A> +</H4> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="intro"></A> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE +</H2> + +<BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +INTRODUCTION +</H3> + +<P> +Those who have investigated the origin of the romantic fables relating +to Charlemagne and his peers are of opinion that the deeds of Charles +Martel, and perhaps of other Charleses, have been blended in popular +tradition with those properly belonging to Charlemagne. It was indeed a +most momentous era; and if our readers will have patience, before +entering on the perusal of the fabulous annals which we are about to +lay before them, to take a rapid survey of the real history of the +times, they will find it hardly less romantic than the tales of the +poets. +</P> + +<P> +In the century beginning from the year 600, the countries bordering +upon the native land of our Saviour, to the east and south, had not yet +received his religion. Arabia was the seat of an idolatrous religion +resembling that of the ancient Persians, who worshipped the sun, moon, +and stars. In Mecca, in the year 571, Mahomet was born, and here, at +the age of forty, he proclaimed himself the prophet of God, in dignity +as superior to Christ as Christ had been to Moses. Having obtained by +slow degrees a considerable number of disciples, he resorted to arms to +diffuse his religion. The energy and zeal of his followers, aided by +the weakness of the neighboring nations, enabled him and his successors +to spread the sway of Arabia and the religion of Mahomet over the +countries to the east as far as the Indus, northward over Persia and +Asia Minor, westward over Egypt and the southern shores of the +Mediterranean, and thence over the principal portion of Spain. All this +was done within one hundred years from the Hegira, or flight of Mahomet +from Mecca to Medina, which happened in the year 622, and is the era +from which Mahometans reckon time, as we do from the birth of Christ. +</P> + +<P> +From Spain the way was open for the Saracens (so the followers of +Mahomet were called) into France, the conquest of which, if achieved, +would have been followed very probably by that of all the rest of +Europe, and would have resulted in the banishment of Christianity from +the earth. For Christianity was not at that day universally professed, +even by those nations which we now regard as foremost in civilization. +Great part of Germany, Britain, Denmark, and Russia were still pagan or +barbarous. +</P> + +<P> +At that time there ruled in France, though without the title of king, +the first of those illustrious Charleses of whom we have spoken, +Charles Martel, the grandfather of Charlemagne. The Saracens of Spain +had made incursions into France in 712 and 718, and had retired, +carrying with them a vast booty. In 725, Anbessa, who was then the +Saracen governor of Spain, crossed the Pyrenees with a numerous army, +and took by storm the strong town of Carcassone. So great was the +terror excited by this invasion, that the country for a wide extent +submitted to the conqueror, and a Mahometan governor for the province +was appointed and installed at Narbonne. Anbessa, however, received a +fatal wound in one of his engagements, and the Saracens, being thus +checked from further advance, retired to Narbonne. +</P> + +<P> +In 732 the Saracens again invaded France under Abdalrahman, advanced +rapidly to the banks of the Garonne, and laid siege to Bordeaux. The +city was taken by assault and delivered up to the soldiery. The +invaders still pressed forward, and spread over the territories of +Orleans, Auxerre and Sens. Their advanced parties were suddenly called +in by their chief, who had received information of the rich abbey of +St. Martin of Tours, and resolved to plunder and destroy it. +</P> + +<P> +Charles during all this time had done nothing to oppose the Saracens, +for the reason that the portion of France over which their incursions +had been made was not at that time under his dominion, but constituted +an independent kingdom, under the name of Aquitaine, of which Eude was +king. But now Charles became convinced of the danger, and prepared to +encounter it. Abdalrahman was advancing toward Tours, when intelligence +of the approach of Charles, at the head of an army of Franks, compelled +him to fall back upon Poitiers, in order to seize an advantageous field +of battle. +</P> + +<P> +Charles Martel had called together his warriors from every part of his +dominions, and, at the head of such an army as had hardly ever been +seen in France, crossed the Loire, probably at Orleans, and, being +joined by the remains of the army of Aquitaine, came in sight of the +Arabs in the month of October, 732. The Saracens seem to have been +aware of the terrible enemy they were now to encounter, and for the +first time these formidable conquerors hesitated. The two armies +remained in presence during seven days before either ventured to begin +the attack; but at length the signal for battle was given by +Abdalrahman, and the immense mass of the Saracen army rushed with fury +on the Franks. But the heavy line of the Northern warriors remained +like a rock, and the Saracens, during nearly the whole day, expended +their strength in vain attempts to make any impression upon them. At +length, about four o'clock in the afternoon, when Abdalrahman was +preparing for a new and desperate attempt to break the line of the +Franks, a terrible clamor was heard in the rear of the Saracens. It was +King Eude, who, with his Aquitanians, had attacked their camp, and a +great part of the Saracen army rushed tumultuously from the field to +protect their plunder. In this moment of confusion the line of the +Franks advanced, and, sweeping the field before it, carried fearful +slaughter amongst the enemy. Abdalrahman made desperate efforts to +rally his troops, but when he himself, with the bravest of his +officers, fell beneath the swords of the Christians, all order +disappeared, and the remains of his army sought refuge in their immense +camp, from which Eude and his Aquitanians had been repulsed. It was now +late, and Charles, unwilling to risk an attack on the camp in the dark, +withdrew his army, and passed the night in the plain, expecting to +renew the battle in the morning. +</P> + +<P> +Accordingly, when daylight came, the Franks drew up in order of battle, +but no enemy appeared; and when at last they ventured to approach the +Saracen camp they found it empty. The invaders had taken advantage of +the night to begin their retreat, and were already on their way back to +Spain, leaving their immense plunder behind to fall into the hands of +the Franks. +</P> + +<P> +This was the celebrated battle of Tours, in which vast numbers of the +Saracens were slain, and only fifteen hundred of the Franks. Charles +received the surname of Martel (the Hammer) in consequence of this +victory. +</P> + +<P> +The Saracens, notwithstanding this severe blow, continued to hold their +ground in the south of France; but Pepin, the son of Charles Martel, +who succeeded to his father's power, and assumed the title of king, +successively took from them the strong places they held; and in 759, by +the capture of Narbonne, their capital, extinguished the remains of +their power in France. +</P> + +<P> +Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, succeeded his father, Pepin, on the +throne in the year 768. This prince, though the hero of numerous +romantic legends, appears greater in history than in fiction. Whether +we regard him as a warrior or as a legislator, as a patron of learning +or as the civilizer of a barbarous nation, he is entitled to our +warmest admiration. Such he is in history; but the romancers represent +him as often weak and passionate, the victim of treacherous +counsellors, and at the mercy of turbulent barons, on whose prowess he +depends for the maintenance of his throne. The historical +representation is doubtless the true one, for it is handed down in +trustworthy records, and is confirmed by the events of the age. At the +height of his power, the French empire extended over what we now call +France, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, and great part of Italy. +</P> + +<P> +In the year 800 Charlemagne, being in Rome, whither he had gone with a +numerous army to protect the Pope, was crowned by the Pontiff Emperor +of the West. On Christmas day Charles entered the Church of St. Peter, +as if merely to take his part in the celebration of the mass with the +rest of the congregation. When he approached the altar and stooped in +the act of prayer the Pope stepped forward and placed a crown of gold +upon his head; and immediately the Roman people shouted, "Life and +victory to Charles the August, crowned by God the great and pacific +Emperor of the Romans." The Pope then prostrated himself before him, +and paid him reverence, according to the custom established in the +times of the ancient Emperors, and concluded the ceremony by anointing +him with consecrated oil. +</P> + +<P> +Charlemagne's wars were chiefly against the pagan and barbarous people, +who, under the name of Saxons, inhabited the countries now called +Hanover and Holland. He also led expeditions against the Saracens of +Spain; but his wars with the Saracens were not carried on, as the +romances assert, in France, but on the soil of Spain. He entered Spain +by the Eastern Pyrenees, and made an easy conquest of Barcelona and +Pampeluna. But Saragossa refused to open her gates to him, and Charles +ended by negotiating and accepting a vast sum of gold as the price of +his return over the Pyrenees. +</P> + +<P> +On his way back, he marched with his whole army through the gorges of +the mountains by way of the valleys of Engui, Eno, and Roncesvalles. +The chief of this region had waited upon Charlemagne, on his advance, +as a faithful vassal of the monarchy; but now, on the return of the +Franks, he had called together all the wild mountaineers who +acknowledged him as their chief, and they occupied the heights of the +mountains under which the army had to pass. The main body of the troops +met with no obstruction, and received no intimation of danger; but the +rear-guard, which was considerably behind, and encumbered with its +plunder, was overwhelmed by the mountaineers in the pass of +Roncesvalles, and slain to a man. Some of the bravest of the Frankish +chiefs perished on this occasion, among whom is mentioned Roland or +Orlando, governor of the marches or frontier of Brittany. His name +became famous in after times, and the disaster of Roncesvalles and +death of Roland became eventually the most celebrated episode in the +vast cycle of romance. +</P> + +<P> +Though after this there were hostile encounters between the armies of +Charlemagne and the Saracens, they were of small account, and generally +on the soil of Spain. Thus the historical foundation for the stories of +the romancers is but scanty, unless we suppose the events of an earlier +and of a later age to be incorporated with those of Charlemagne's own +time. +</P> + +<P> +There is, however, a pretended history, which for a long time was +admitted as authentic, and attributed to Turpin, Archbishop of Rheims, +a real personage of the time of Charlemagne. Its title is "History of +Charles the Great and Orlando." It is now unhesitatingly considered as +a collection of popular traditions, produced by some credulous and +unscrupulous monk, who thought to give dignity to his romance by +ascribing its authorship to a well-known and eminent individual. It +introduces its pretended author, Bishop Turpin, in this manner: +</P> + +<P> +"Turpin, Archbishop of Rheims, the friend and secretary of Charles the +Great, excellently skilled in sacred and profane literature, of a +genius equally adapted to prose and verse, the advocate of the poor, +beloved of God in his life and conversation, who often fought the +Saracens, hand to hand, by the Emperor's side, he relates the acts of +Charles the Great in one book, and flourished under Charles and his son +Louis, to the year of our Lord eight hundred and thirty." +</P> + +<P> +The titles of some of Archbishop Turpin's chapters will show the nature +of his history. They are these: "Of the Walls of Pampeluna, that fell +of themselves." "Of the War of the holy Facundus, where the Spears +grew." (Certain of the Christians fixed their spears in the evening, +erect in the ground, before the castle; and found them, in the morning, +covered with bark and branches.) "How the Sun stood still for Three +Days, and of the Slaughter of Four Thousand Saracens." +</P> + +<P> +Turpin's history has perhaps been the source of the marvellous +adventures which succeeding poets and romancers have accumulated around +the names of Charlemagne and his Paladins, or Peers. But Ariosto and +the other Italian poets have drawn from different sources, and +doubtless often from their own invention, numberless other stories +which they attribute to the same heroes, not hesitating to quote as +their authority "the good Turpin," though his history contains no trace +of them; and the more outrageous the improbability, or rather the +impossibility, of their narrations, the more attentive are they to cite +"the Archbishop," generally adding their testimonial to his +unquestionable veracity. +</P> + +<P> +The principal Italian poets who have sung the adventures of the peers +of Charlemagne are Pulci, Boiardo, and Ariosto. The characters of +Orlando, Rinaldo, Astolpho, Gano, and others, are the same in all, +though the adventures attributed to them are different. Boiardo tells +us of the loves of Orlando, Ariosto of his disappointment and +consequent madness, Pulci of his death. +</P> + +<P> +Ogier, the Dane, is a real personage. History agrees with romance in +representing him as a powerful lord who, originally from Denmark and a +Pagan, embraced Christianity, and took service under Charlemagne. He +revolted from the Emperor, and was driven into exile. He afterwards led +one of those bands of piratical Northmen which ravaged France under the +reigns of Charlemagne's degenerate successors. The description which an +ancient chronicler gives of Charlemagne, as described by Ogier, is so +picturesque, that we are tempted to transcribe it. Charlemagne was +advancing to the siege of Pavia. Didier, King of the Lombards, was in +the city with Ogier, to whom he had given refuge. When they learned +that the king was approaching they mounted a high tower, whence they +could see far and wide over the country. "They first saw advancing the +engines of war, fit for the armies of Darius or Julius Caesar. 'There +is Charlemagne,' said Didier. 'No,' said Ogier. The Lombard next saw a +vast body of soldiers, who filled all the plain. 'Certainly Charles +advanced with that host,' said the king. 'Not yet,' replied Ogier. +'What hope for us,' resumed the king, 'if he brings with him a greater +host than that?' At last Charles appeared, his head covered with an +iron helmet, his hands with iron gloves, his breast and shoulders with +a cuirass of iron, his left hand holding an iron lance, while his right +hand grasped his sword. Those who went before the monarch, those who +marched at his side, and those who followed him, all had similar arms. +Iron covered the fields and the roads; iron points reflected the rays +of the sun. This iron, so hard, was borne by a people whose hearts were +harder still. The blaze of the weapons flashed terror into the streets +of the city." +</P> + +<P> +This picture of Charlemagne in his military aspect would be incomplete +without a corresponding one of his "mood of peace." One of the greatest +of modern historians, M. Guizot, has compared the glory of Charlemagne +to a brilliant meteor, rising suddenly out of the darkness of barbarism +to disappear no less suddenly in the darkness of feudalism. But the +light of this meteor was not extinguished, and reviving civilization +owed much that was permanently beneficial to the great Emperor of the +Franks. His ruling hand is seen in the legislation of his time, as well +as in the administration of the laws. He encouraged learning; he upheld +the clergy, who were the only peaceful and intellectual class, against +the encroaching and turbulent barons; he was an affectionate father, +and watched carefully over the education of his children, both sons and +daughters. Of his encouragement of learning we will give some +particulars. +</P> + +<P> +He caused learned men to be brought from Italy and from other foreign +countries to revive the public schools of France, which had been +prostrated by the disorders of preceding times. He recompensed these +learned men liberally, and kept some of them near himself, honoring +them with his friendship. Of these the most celebrated is Alcuin, an +Englishman, whose writings still remain, and prove him to have been +both a learned and a wise man. With the assistance of Alcuin, and +others like him, he founded an academy or royal school, which should +have the direction of the studies of all the schools of the kingdom. +Charlemagne himself was a member of this academy on equal terms with +the rest. He attended its meetings, and fulfilled all the duties of an +academician. Each member took the name of some famous man of antiquity. +Alcuin called himself Horace, another took the name of Augustin, a +third of Pindar. Charlemagne, who knew the Psalms by heart, and who had +an ambition to be, according to his conception, A KING AFTER GOD'S OWN +HEART, received from his brother academicians the name of David. +</P> + +<P> +Of the respect entertained for him by foreign nations an interesting +proof is afforded in the embassy sent to him by the Caliph of the +Arabians, the celebrated Haroun al Raschid, a prince in character and +conduct not unlike to Charlemagne. The ambassadors brought with them, +besides other rich presents, a clock, the first that was seen in +Europe, which excited universal admiration. It had the form of a +twelve-sided edifice with twelve doors. These doors formed niches, in +each of which was a little statue representing one of the hours. At the +striking of the hour the doors, one for each stroke, was seen to open, +and from the doors to issue as many of the little statues, which, +following one another, marched gravely round the tower. The motion of +the clock was caused by water, and the striking was effected by balls +of brass equal to the number of the hours, which fell upon a cymbal of +the same metal, the number falling being determined by the discharge of +the water, which, as it sunk in the vessel, allowed their escape. +</P> + +<P> +Charlemagne was succeeded by his son Louis, a well-intentioned but +feeble prince, in whose reign the fabric reared by Charles began +rapidly to crumble. Louis was followed successively by two Charleses, +incapable princes, whose weak and often tyrannical conduct is no doubt +the source of incidents of that character ascribed in the romances to +Charlemagne. +</P> + +<P> +The lawless and disobedient deportment of Charles's paladins, instances +of which are so frequent in the romantic legends, was also a trait of +the declining empire, but not of that of Charlemagne. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="peers"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE PEERS, OR PALADINS +</H3> + +<P> +The twelve most illustrious knights of Charlemagne were called Peers, +for the equality that reigned among them; while the name of Paladins, +also conferred on them, implies that they were inmates of the palace +and companions of the king. Their names are always given alike by the +romancers, yet we may enumerate the most distinguished of them as +follows: Orlando or Roland (the former the Italian, the latter the +French form of the name), favorite nephew of Charlemagne; Rinaldo of +Montalban, cousin of Orlando; Namo, Duke of Bavaria; Salomon, king of +Brittany; Turpin, the Archbishop; Astolpho, of England; Ogier, the +Dane; Malagigi, the Enchanter; and Florismart, the friend of Orlando. +There were others who are sometimes named as paladins, and the number +cannot be strictly limited to twelve. Charlemagne himself must be +counted one, and Ganelon, or Gano, of Mayence, the treacherous enemy of +all the rest, was rated high on the list by his deluded sovereign, who +was completely the victim of his arts. +</P> + +<P> +We shall introduce more particularly to our readers a few of the +principal peers, leaving the others to make their own introduction as +they appear in the course of our narrative. We begin with Orlando. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +ORLANDO +</H4> + +<P> +Milon, or Milone, a knight of great family, and distantly related to +Charlemagne, having secretly married Bertha, the Emperor's sister, was +banished from France, and excommunicated by the Pope. After a long and +miserable wandering on foot as mendicants Milon and his wife arrived at +Sutri, in Italy, where they took refuge in a cave, and in that cave +Orlando was born. There his mother continued, deriving a scanty support +from the compassion of the neighboring peasants; while Milon, in quest +of honor and fortune, went into foreign lands. Orlando grew up among +the children of the peasantry, surpassing them all in strength and +manly graces. Among his companions in age, though in station far more +elevated, was Oliver, son of the governor of the town. Between the two +boys a feud arose that led to a fight, in which Orlando thrashed his +rival; but this did not prevent a friendship springing up between the +two, which lasted through life. +</P> + +<P> +Orlando was so poor that he was sometimes half naked. As he was a +favorite of the boys, one day four of them brought some cloth to make +him clothes. Two brought white and two red; and from this circumstance +Orlando took his coat-of-arms, or quarterings. +</P> + +<P> +When Charlemagne was on his way to Rome to receive the imperial crown +he dined in public in Sutri. Orlando and his mother that day had +nothing to eat, and Orlando coming suddenly upon the royal party, and +seeing abundance of provisions, seized from the attendants as much as +he could carry off, and made good his retreat in spite of their +resistance. The Emperor, being told of this incident, was reminded of +an intimation he had received in a dream, and ordered the boy to be +followed. This was done by three of the knights, whom Orlando would +have encountered with a cudgel on their entering the grotto, had not +his mother restrained him. When they heard from her who she was they +threw themselves at her feet, and promised to obtain her pardon from +the Emperor. This was easily effected. Orlando was received into favor +by the Emperor, returned with him to France, and so distinguished +himself that he became the most powerful support of the throne and of +Christianity. [Footnote: It is plain that Shakspeare borrowed from this +source the similar incident in his "As you Like it." The names of +characters in the play, Orlando, Oliver, Rowland indicate the same +thing.] +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +ROLAND AND FERRAGUS +</H4> + +<P> +Orlando, or Roland, particularly distinguished himself by his combat +with Ferragus. Ferragus was a giant, and moreover his skin was of such +impenetrable stuff that no sword could make any impression upon it. The +giant's mode of fighting was to seize his adversary in his arms and +carry him off, in spite of all the struggles he could make. Roland's +utmost skill only availed to keep him out of the giant's clutches, but +all his efforts to wound him with the sword were useless. After long +fighting Ferragus was so weary that he proposed a truce, and when it +was agreed upon he lay down and immediately fell asleep. He slept in +perfect security, for it was against all the laws of chivalry to take +advantage of an adversary under such circumstances. But Ferragus lay so +uncomfortably for the want of a pillow that Orlando took pity upon him, +and brought a smooth stone and placed it under his head. When the giant +woke up, after a refreshing nap, and perceived what Orlando had done, +he seemed quite grateful, became sociable, and talked freely in the +usual boastful style of such characters. Among other things he told +Orlando that he need not attempt to kill him with a sword, for that +every part of his body was invulnerable, except this; and as he spoke, +he put his hand to the vital part, just in the middle of his breast. +Aided by this information Orlando succeeded, when the fight was +renewed, in piercing the giant in the very spot he had pointed out, and +giving him a death-wound. Great was the rejoicing in the Christian +camp, and many the praises showered upon the victorious paladin by the +Emperor and all his host. +</P> + +<P> +On another occasion Orlando encountered a puissant Saracen warrior, and +took from him, as the prize of victory, the sword Durindana. This +famous weapon had once belonged to the illustrious prince Hector of +Troy. It was of the finest workmanship, and of such strength and temper +that no armor in the world could stand against it. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +A ROLAND FOR AN OLIVER +</H4> + +<P> +Guerin de Montglave held the lordship of Vienne, subject to +Charlemagne. He had quarrelled with his sovereign, and Charles laid +siege to his city, having ravaged the neighboring country. Guerin was +an aged warrior, but relied for his defence upon his four sons and two +grandsons, who were among the bravest knights of the age. After the +siege had continued two months Charlemagne received tidings that +Marsilius, king of Spain, had invaded France, and, finding himself +unopposed, was advancing rapidly in the Southern provinces. At this +intelligence Charles listened to the counsel of his peers, and +consented to put the quarrel with Guerin to the decision of Heaven, by +single combat between two knights, one of each party, selected by lot. +The proposal was acceptable to Guerin and his sons. The names of the +four, together with Guerin's own, who would not be excused, and of the +two grandsons, who claimed their lot, being put into a helmet, Oliver's +was drawn forth, and to him, the youngest of the grandsons, was +assigned the honor and the peril of the combat. He accepted the award +with delight, exulting in being thought worthy to maintain the cause of +his family. On Charlemagne's side Roland was the designated champion, +and neither he nor Oliver knew who his antagonist was to be. +</P> + +<P> +They met on an island in the Rhone, and the warriors of both camps were +ranged on either shore, spectators of the battle. At the first +encounter both lances were shivered, but both riders kept their seats, +immovable. They dismounted, and drew their swords. Then ensued a combat +which seemed so equal, that the spectators could not form an opinion as +to the probable issue. Two hours and more the knights continued to +strike and parry, to thrust and ward, neither showing any sign of +weariness, nor ever being taken at unawares. At length Orlando struck +furiously upon Oliver's shield, burying Durindana in its edge so deeply +that he could not draw it back, and Oliver, almost at the same moment, +thrust so vigorously upon Orlando's breastplate that his sword snapped +off at the handle. Thus were the two warriors left weaponless. Scarcely +pausing a moment, they rushed upon one another, each striving to throw +his adversary to the ground, and failing in that, each snatched at the +other's helmet to tear it away. Both succeeded, and at the same moment +they stood bare-headed face to face, and Roland recognized Oliver, and +Oliver Roland. For a moment they stood still; and the next, with open +arms, rushed into one another's embrace. "I am conquered," said +Orlando. "I yield me." said Oliver. +</P> + +<P> +The people on the shore knew not what to make of all this. Presently +they saw the two late antagonists standing hand in hand, and it was +evident the battle was at an end. The knights crowded round them, and +with one voice hailed them as equals in glory. If there were any who +felt disposed to murmur that the battle was left undecided they were +silenced by the voice of Ogier the Dane, who proclaimed aloud that all +had been done that honor required, and declared that he would maintain +that award against all gainsayers. +</P> + +<P> +The quarrel with Guerin and his sons being left undecided, a truce was +made for four days, and in that time, by the efforts of Duke Namo on +the one side, and of Oliver on the other, a reconciliation was +effected. Charlemagne, accompanied by Guerin and his valiant family, +marched to meet Marsilius, who hastened to retreat across the frontier. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +RINALDO +</H4> + +<P> +Rinaldo was one of the four sons of Aymon, who married Aya, the sister +of Charlemagne. Thus Rinaldo was nephew to Charlemagne and cousin of +Orlando. +</P> + +<P> +When Rinaldo had grown old enough to assume arms Orlando had won for +himself an illustrious name by his exploits against the Saracens, whom +Charlemagne and his brave knights had driven out of France. Orlando's +fame excited a noble emulation in Rinaldo. Eager to go in pursuit of +glory, he wandered in the country near Paris, and one day saw at the +foot of a tree a superb horse, fully equipped and loaded with a +complete suit of armor. Rinaldo clothed himself in the armor and +mounted the horse, but took not the sword. On the day when, with his +brothers, he had received the honor of knighthood from the Emperor he +had sworn never to bind a sword to his side till he had wrested one +from some famous knight. +</P> + +<P> +Rinaldo took his way to the forest of Arden, celebrated for so many +adventures. Hardly had he entered it when he met an old man, bending +under the weight of years, and learned from him that the forest was +infested with a wild horse, untamable, that broke and overturned +everything that opposed his career. To attack him, he said, or even to +meet him, was certain death. Rinaldo, far from being alarmed, showed +the most eager desire to combat the animal. This was the horse Bayard, +afterward so famous. He had formerly belonged to Amadis of Gaul. After +the death of that hero he had been held under enchantment by the power +of a magician, who predicted that, when the time came to break the +spell, he should be subdued by a knight of the lineage of Amadis, and +not less brave than he. +</P> + +<P> +To win this wonderful horse it was necessary to conquer him by force or +skill; for from the moment when he should be thrown down he would +become docile and manageable. His habitual resort was a cave on the +borders of the forest; but woe be to any one who should approach him, +unless gifted with strength and courage more than mortal. Having told +this, the old man departed. He was not, in fact, an old man, but +Malagigi, the enchanter, cousin of Rinaldo, who, to favor the +enterprises of the young knight, had procured for him the horse and +armor which he so opportunely found, and now put him in the way to +acquire a horse unequalled in the world. +</P> + +<P> +Rinaldo plunged into the forest, and spent many days in seeking Bayard, +but found no traces of him. One day he encountered a Saracen knight, +with whom he made acquaintance, as often happened to knights, by first +meeting him in combat. This knight, whose name was Isolier, was also in +quest of Bayard. Rinaldo succeeded in the encounter, and so severe was +the shock that Isolier was a long time insensible. When he revived, and +was about to resume the contest, a peasant who passed by (it was +Malagigi) interrupted them with the news that the terrible horse was +near at hand, advising them to unite their powers to subdue him, for it +would require all their ability. +</P> + +<P> +Rinaldo and Isolier, now become friends, proceeded together to the +attack of the horse. They found Bayard, and stood a long time, +concealed by the wood, admiring his strength and beauty. +</P> + +<P> +A bright bay in color (whence he was called Bayard), with a silver star +in his forehead, and his hind feet white, his body slender, his head +delicate, his ample chest filled out with swelling muscles, his +shoulders broad and full, his legs straight and sinewy, his thick mane +falling over his arching neck,--he came rushing through the forest, +regardless of rocks, bushes, or trees, rending everything that opposed +his way, and neighing defiance. +</P> + +<P> +He first descried Isolier, and rushed upon him. The knight received him +with lance in rest, but the fierce animal broke the spear, and his +course was not delayed by it for an instant. The Spaniard adroitly +stepped aside, and gave way to the rushing tempest. Bayard checked his +career, and turned again upon the knight, who had already drawn his +sword. He drew his sword, for he had no hope of taming the horse; that, +he was satisfied, was impossible. +</P> + +<P> +Bayard rushed upon him; fiercely rearing, now on this side, now on +that. The knight struck him with his sword, where the white star +adorned his forehead, but struck in vain, and felt ashamed, thinking +that he had struck feebly, for he did not know that the skin of that +horse was so tough that the keenest sword could make no impression upon +it. +</P> + +<P> +Whistling fell the sword once more, and struck with greater force, and +the fierce horse felt it, and drooped his head under the blow, but the +next moment turned upon his foe with such a buffet that the Pagan fell +stunned and lifeless to the earth. +</P> + +<P> +Rinaldo, who saw Isolier fall, and thought that his life was reft, +darted towards the horse, and, with his fist gave him such a blow on +the jaws that the blood tinged his mouth with vermilion. Quicker than +an arrow leaves the bow the horse turned upon him, and tried to seize +his arm with his teeth. +</P> + +<P> +The knight stepped back, and then, repeating his blow, struck him on +the forehead. Bayard turned, and kicked with both his feet with a force +that would have shattered a mountain. Rinaldo was on his guard, and +evaded his attacks, whether made with head or heels. He kept at his +side avoiding both; but, making a false step, he at last received a +terrible blow from the horse's foot, and at the shock almost fainted +away. A second such blow would have killed him, but the horse kicked at +random, and a second blow did not reach Rinaldo, who in a moment +recovered himself. Thus the contest continued until by chance Bayard's +foot got caught between the branches of an oak. Rinaldo seized it and +putting forth all his strength and address, threw him on the ground. +</P> + +<P> +No sooner had Bayard touched the ground than all his rage subsided. No +longer an object of terror, he became gentle and quiet, yet with +dignity in his mildness. +</P> + +<P> +The paladin patted his neck, stroked his breast, and smoothed his mane, +while the animal neighed and showed delight to be caressed by his +master. Rinaldo, seeing him now completely subdued, took the saddle and +trappings from the other horse, and adorned Bayard with the spoils. +</P> + +<P> +Rinaldo became one of the most illustrious knights of Charlemagne's +court,--indeed, the most illustrious, if we except Orlando. Yet he was +not always so obedient to the Emperor's commands as he should have +been, and every fault he committed was sure to be aggravated by the +malice of Gan, Duke of Maganza, the treacherous enemy of Rinaldo and +all his house. +</P> + +<P> +At one time Rinaldo had incurred the severe displeasure of Charlemagne, +and been banished from court. Seeing no chance of being ever restored +to favor, he went to Spain, and entered into the service of the Saracen +king, Ivo. His brothers, Alardo, Ricardo, and Ricciardetto, accompanied +him, and all four served the king so faithfully that they rose to high +favor with him. The king gave them land in the mountains on the +frontiers of France and Spain, and subjected all the country round to +Rinaldo's authority. There was plenty of marble in the mountains, the +king furnished workmen, and they built a castle for Rinaldo, surrounded +with high walls, so as to be almost impregnable. Built of white stone, +and placed on the brow of a marble promontory, the castle shone like a +star, and Rinaldo gave it the name of Montalban. Here he assembled his +friends, many of whom were banished men like himself, and the country +people furnished them with provisions in return for the protection the +castle afforded. Yet some of Rinaldo's men were lawless, and sometimes +the supplies were not furnished in sufficient abundance, so that +Rinaldo and his garrison got a bad name for taking by force what they +could not obtain by gift; and we sometimes find Montalban spoken of as +a nest of freebooters, and its defenders called a beggarly garrison. +</P> + +<P> +Charlemagne's displeasure did not last long, and, at the time our +history commences, Rinaldo and his brothers were completely restored to +the favor of the Emperor, and none of his cavaliers served him with +greater zeal and fidelity than they, throughout all his wars with the +Saracens and Pagans. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="tournament"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE TOURNAMENT +</H3> + +<P> +It was the month of May, and the feast of Pentecost. Charlemagne had +ordered magnificent festivities, and summoned to them, besides his +paladins and vassals of the crown, all strangers, Christian or Saracen, +then sojourning at Paris. Among the guests were King Grandonio, from +Spain; and Ferrau, the Saracen, with eyes like an eagle; Orlando and +Rinaldo, the Emperor's nephews; Duke Namo; Astolpho, of England, the +handsomest man living; Malagigi, the Enchanter; and Gano, of Maganza, +that wily traitor, who had the art to make the Emperor think he loved +him, while he plotted against him. +</P> + +<P> +High sat Charlemagne at the head of his vassals and his paladins, +rejoicing in the thought of their number and their might, while all +were sitting and hearing music, and feasting, when suddenly there came +into the hall four enormous giants, having between them a lady of +incomparable beauty, attended by a single knight. There were many +ladies present who had seemed beautiful till she made her appearance, +but after that they all seemed nothing. Every Christian knight turned +his eyes to her, and every Pagan crowded round her, while she, with a +sweetness that might have touched a heart of stone, thus addressed the +Emperor: +</P> + +<P> +"High-minded lord, the renown of your worthiness, and of the valor of +these your knights, which echoes from sea to sea, encourages me to hope +that two pilgrims, who have come from the ends of the world to behold +you, will not have encountered their fatigue in vain. And, before I +show the motive which has brought us hither, learn that this knight is +my brother Uberto, and that I am his sister Angelica. Fame has told us +of the jousting this day appointed, and so the prince my brother has +come to prove his valor, and to say that, if any of the knights here +assembled choose to meet him in the joust, he will encounter them, one +by one, at the stair of Merlin, by the Fountain of the Pine. And his +conditions are these: No knight who chances to be thrown shall be +allowed to renew the combat, but shall remain prisoner to my brother; +but if my brother be overthrown he shall depart out of the country, +leaving me as the prize of the conqueror." +</P> + +<P> +Now it must be stated that this Angelica and her brother, who called +himself Uberto, but whose real name was Argalia, were the children of +Galafron, king of Cathay, who had sent them to be the destruction of +the Christian host; for Argalia was armed with an enchanted lance, +which unfailingly overthrew everything it touched, and he was mounted +on a horse, a creature of magic, whose swiftness outstripped the wind. +Angelica possessed also a ring which was a defence against all +enchantments, and when put into the mouth rendered the bearer +invisible. Thus Argalia was expected to subdue and take prisoners +whatever knights should dare to encounter him; and the charms of +Angelica were relied on to entice the paladins to make the fatal +venture, while her ring would afford her easy means of escape. +</P> + +<P> +When Angelica ceased sneaking she knelt before the king and awaited his +answer, and everybody gazed on her with admiration. Orlando especially +felt irresistibly drawn towards her, so that he trembled and changed +countenance. Every knight in the hall was infected with the same +feeling, not excepting old white-headed Duke Namo and Charlemagne +himself. +</P> + +<P> +All stood for a while in silence, lost in the delight of looking at +her. The fiery youth Ferrau could hardly restrain himself from seizing +her from the giants and carrying her away; Rinaldo turned as red as +fire, while Malagigi, who had discovered by his art that the stranger +was not speaking truth, muttered softly, as he looked at her, +"Exquisite false creature! I will play thee such a trick for this, as +will leave thee no cause to boast of thy visit." +</P> + +<P> +Charlemagne, to detain her as long as possible before him, delayed his +assent till he had asked her a number of questions, all which she +answered discreetly, and then the challenge was accepted. +</P> + +<P> +As soon as she was gone Malagigi consulted his book, and found out the +whole plot of the vile, infidel king, Galafron, as we have explained +it, so he determined to seek the damsel and frustrate her designs. He +hastened to the appointed spot, and there found the prince and his +sister in a beautiful pavilion, where they lay asleep, while the four +giants kept watch. Malagigi took his book and cast a spell out of it, +and immediately the four giants fell into a deep sleep. Drawing his +sword (for he was a belted knight), he softly approached the young +lady, intending to despatch her at once; but, seeing her look so +lovely, he paused for a moment, thinking there was no need of hurry, as +he believed his spell was upon her, and she could not wake. But the +ring which she wore secured her from the effect of the spell, and some +slight noise, or whatever else it was, caused her at that moment to +awake. She uttered a great cry, and flew to her brother, and waked him. +By the help of her knowledge of enchantment, they took and bound fast +the magician, and, seizing his book, turned his arts against himself. +Then they summoned a crowd of demons, and bade them seize their +prisoner and bear him to King Galafron, at his great city of Albracca, +which they did, and, on his arrival, he was locked up in a rock under +the sea. +</P> + +<P> +While these things were going on all was uproar at Paris, since Orlando +insisted upon being the first to try the adventure at the stair of +Merlin. This was resented by the other pretenders to Angelica, and all +contested his right to the precedence. The tumult was stilled by the +usual expedient of drawing lots, and the first prize was drawn by +Astolpho. Ferrau, the Saracen, had the second, and Grandonio the third. +Next came Berlinghieri, and Otho; then Charles himself, and, as his +ill-fortune would have it, after thirty more, the indignant Orlando. +</P> + +<P> +Astolpho, who drew the first lot, was handsome, brave, and rich. But, +whether from heedlessness or want of skill, he was an unlucky jouster, +and very apt to be thrown, an accident which he bore with perfect +good-humor, always ready to mount again and try to mend his fortune, +generally with no better success. +</P> + +<P> +Astolpho went forth upon his adventure with great gayety of dress and +manner, encountered Argalia, and was immediately tilted out of the +saddle. He railed at fortune, to whom he laid all the fault; but his +painful feelings were somewhat relieved by the kindness of Angelica, +who, touched by his youth and good looks, granted him the liberty of +the pavilion, and caused him to be treated with all kindness and +respect. +</P> + +<P> +The violent Ferrau had the next chance in the encounter, and was thrown +no less speedily than Astolpho; but he did not so easily put up with +his mischance. Crying out, "What are the emperor's engagements to me?" +he rushed with his sword against Argalia, who, being forced to defend +himself, dismounted and drew his sword, but got so much the worse of +the fight that he made a signal of surrender, and, after some words, +listened to a proposal of marriage from Ferrau to his sister. The +beauty, however, feeling no inclination to match with such a rough and +savage-looking person, was so dismayed at the offer, that, hastily +bidding her brother to meet her in the forest of Arden, she vanished +from the sight of both by means of the enchanted ring. Argalia, seeing +this, took to his horse of swiftness, and dashed away in the same +direction. Ferrau pursued him, and Astolpho, thus left to himself, took +possession of the enchanted lance in place of his own, which was +broken, not knowing the treasure he possessed in it, and returned to +the tournament. Charlemagne, finding the lady and her brother gone, +ordered the jousting to proceed as at first intended, in which +Astolpho, by aid of the enchanted lance, unhorsed all comers against +him, equally to their astonishment and his own. +</P> + +<P> +The paladin Rinaldo, on learning the issue of the combat of Ferrau and +the stranger, galloped after the fair fugitive in an agony of love and +impatience. Orlando, perceiving his disappearance, pushed forth in like +manner; and, at length, all three are in the forest of Arden, hunting +about for her who is invisible. +</P> + +<P> +Now in this forest there were two fountains, the one constructed by the +sage Merlin, who designed it for Tristram and the fair Isoude; +[Footnote: See their story in "King Arthur and His Knights."] for such +was the virtue of this fountain, that a draught of its waters produced +on oblivion of the love which the drinker might feel, and even produced +aversion for the object formerly beloved. The other fountain was +endowed with exactly opposite qualities, and a draught of it inspired +love for the first living object that was seen after tasting it. +Rinaldo happened to come to the first mentioned fountain, and, being +flushed with heat, dismounted, and quenched in one draught both his +thirst and his passion. So far from loving Angelica as before he hated +her from the bottom of his heart, became disgusted with the search he +was upon, and, feeling fatigued with his ride, finding a sheltered and +flowery nook, laid himself down and fell asleep. +</P> + +<P> +Shortly after came Angelica, but, approaching in a different direction, +she espied the other fountain, and there quenched her thirst. Then +resuming her way, she came upon the sleeping Rinaldo. Love instantly +seized her, and she stood rooted to the spot. +</P> + +<P> +The meadow round was all full of lilies of the valley and wild roses. +Angelica, not knowing what to do, at length plucked a handful of these, +and dropped them, one by one, on the face of the sleeper. He woke up, +and, seeing who it was, received her salutations with averted +countenance, remounted his horse, and galloped away. In vain the +beautiful creature followed and called after him, in vain asked him +what she had done to be so despised. Rinaldo disappeared, leaving her +in despair, and she returned in tears to the spot where she had found +him sleeping. There, in her turn, she herself lay down, pressing the +spot of earth on which he had lain, and, out of fatigue and sorrow, +fell asleep. +</P> + +<P> +As Angelica thus lay, fortune conducted Orlando to the same place. The +attitude in which she was sleeping was so lovely that it is not to be +conceived, much less expressed. Orlando stood gazing like a man who had +been transported to another sphere. "Am I on earth," he exclaimed, "or +am I in Paradise? Surely it is I that sleep, and this is my dream." +</P> + +<P> +But his dream was proved to be none in a manner which he little +desired. Ferrau, who had slain Argalia, came up, raging with jealousy, +and a combat ensued which awoke the sleeper. +</P> + +<P> +Terrified at what she beheld, she rushed to her palfrey, and, while the +fighters were occupied with one another, fled away through the forest. +The champions continued their fight till they were interrupted by a +messenger, who brought word to Ferrau that king Marsilius, his +sovereign, was in pressing need of his assistance, and conjured him to +return to Spain. Ferrau, upon this, proposed to suspend the combat, to +which Orlando, eager to pursue Angelica, agreed. Ferrau, on the other +hand, departed with the messenger to Spain. +</P> + +<P> +Orlando's quest for the fair fugitive was all in vain. Aided by the +powers of magic, she made a speedy return to her own country. +</P> + +<P> +But the thought of Rinaldo could not be banished from her mind, and she +determined to set Malagigi at liberty, and to employ him to win +Rinaldo, if possible, to make her a return of affection. She +accordingly freed him from his dungeon, unlocking his fetters with her +own hands, and restored him his book, promising him ample honors and +rewards on condition of his bringing Rinaldo to her feet. +</P> + +<P> +Malagigi accordingly, with the aid of his book, called up a demon, +mounted him, and departed. Arrived at his destination, he inveigled +Rinaldo into an enchanted bark, which conveyed him, without any visible +pilot, to an island where stood an edifice called Joyous Castle. The +whole island was a garden. On the western side, close to the sea, was +the palace, built of marble, so clear and polished that it reflected +the landscape about it. Rinaldo leapt ashore, and soon met a lady, who +invited him to enter. The house was as beautiful within as without, +full of rooms adorned with azure and gold, and with noble paintings. +The lady led the knight into an apartment painted with stories, and +opening to the garden, through pillars of crystal, with golden +capitals. Here he found a bevy of ladies, three of whom were singing in +concert, while another played on an instrument of exquisite accord, and +the rest danced round about them. When the ladies beheld him coming +they turned the dance into a circuit round him, and then one of them, +in the sweetest manner, said, "Sir knight, the tables are set, and the +hour for the banquet is come;" and, with these words, still dancing, +they drew him across the lawn in front of the apartment, to a table +that was spread with cloth of gold and fine linen, under a bower of +damask roses by the side of a fountain. +</P> + +<P> +Four ladies were already seated there, who rose, and placed Rinaldo at +their head, in a chair set with pearls. And truly indeed was he +astonished. A repast ensued, consisting of viands the most delicate, +and wines as fragrant as they were fine, drunk out of jewelled cups; +and, when it drew towards its conclusion, harps and lutes were heard in +the distance, and one of the ladies said in the knight's ear: "This +house and all that you see in it are yours; for you alone was it built, +and the builder is a queen. Happy indeed must you think yourself, for +she loves you, and she is the greatest beauty in the world! Her name is +Angelica." +</P> + +<P> +The moment Rinaldo heard the name he so detested he started up, with a +changed countenance, and, in spite of all that the lady could say, +broke off across the garden, and never ceased hastening till he reached +the place where he landed. The bark was still on the shore. He sprang +into it, and pushed off, though he saw nobody in it but himself. It was +in vain for him to try to control its movements, for it dashed on as if +in fury, till it reached a distant shore covered with a gloomy forest. +Here Rinaldo, surrounded by enchantments of a very different sort from +those which he had lately resisted, was entrapped into a pit. +</P> + +<P> +The pit belonged to a castle called Altaripa, which was hung with human +heads, and painted red with blood. As the paladin was viewing the scene +with amazement a hideous old woman made her appearance at the edge of +the pit, and told him that he was destined to be thrown to a monster, +who was only kept from devastating the whole country by being supplied +with living human flesh. Rinaldo said, "Be it so; let me but remain +armed as I am, and I fear nothing." The old woman laughed in derision. +Rinaldo remained in the pit all night, and the next morning was taken +to the place where the monster had his den. It was a court surrounded +by a high wall. Rinaldo was shut in with the beast, and a terrible +combat ensued. Rinaldo was unable to make any impression on the scales +of the monster, while he, on the contrary, with his dreadful claws, +tore away plate and mail from the paladin. Rinaldo began to think his +last hour was come, and cast his eyes around and above to see if there +was any means of escape. He perceived a beam projecting from the wall +at the height of some ten feet, and, taking a leap almost miraculous, +he succeeded in reaching it, and in flinging himself up across it. Here +he sat for hours, the hideous brute continually trying to reach him. +All at once he heard the sound of something coming through the air like +a bird, and suddenly Angelica herself alighted on the end of the beam. +She held something in her hand towards him, and spoke to him in a +loving voice. But the moment Rinaldo saw her he commanded her to go +away, refused all her offers of assistance, and at length declared +that, if she did not leave him, he would cast himself down to the +monster, and meet his fate. +</P> + +<P> +Angelica, saying she would lose her life rather than displease him, +departed; but first she threw to the monster a cake of wax she had +prepared, and spread around him a rope knotted with nooses. The beast +took the bait, and, finding his teeth glued together by the wax, vented +his fury in bounds and leaps, and, soon getting entangled in the +nooses, drew them tight by his struggles, so that he could scarcely +move a limb. +</P> + +<P> +Rinaldo, watching his chance, leapt down upon his back, seized him +round the neck, and throttled him, not relaxing his gripe till the +beast fell dead. +</P> + +<P> +Another difficulty remained to be overcome. The walls were of immense +height, and the only opening in them was a grated window of such +strength that he could not break the bars. In his distress Rinaldo +found a file, which Angelica had left on the ground, and, with the help +of this, effected his deliverance. +</P> + +<P> +What further adventures he met with will be told in another chapter. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="siege"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE SIEGE OF ALBRACCA +</H3> + +<P> +At the very time when Charlemagne was holding his plenary court and his +great tournament his kingdom was invaded by a mighty monarch, who was +moreover so valiant and strong in battle that no one could stand +against him. He was named Gradasso, and his kingdom was called +Sericane. Now, as it often happens to the greatest and the richest to +long for what they cannot have, and thus to lose what they already +possess, this king could not rest content without Durindana, the sword +of Orlando, and Bayard, the horse of Rinaldo. To obtain these he +determined to war upon France, and for this purpose put in array a +mighty army. +</P> + +<P> +He took his way through Spain, and, after defeating Marsilius, the king +of that country, in several battles, was rapidly advancing on France. +Charlemagne, though Marsilius was a Saracen, and had been his enemy, +yet felt it needful to succor him in this extremity from a +consideration of common danger, and, with the consent of his peers, +despatched Rinaldo with a strong body of soldiers against Gradasso. +</P> + +<P> +There was much fighting, with doubtful results, and Gradasso was +steadily advancing into France. But, impatient to achieve his objects, +he challenged Rinaldo to single combat, to be fought on foot, and upon +these conditions: If Rinaldo conquered, Gradasso agreed to give up all +his prisoners and return to his own country; but if Gradasso won the +day, he was to have Bayard. +</P> + +<P> +The challenge was accepted, and would have been fought had it not been +for the arts of Malagigi, who just then returned from Angelica's +kingdom with set purpose to win Rinaldo to look with favor upon the +fair princess who was dying for love of him. Malagigi drew Rinaldo away +from the army by putting on the semblance of Gradasso, and, after a +short contest, pretending to fly before him, by which means Rinaldo was +induced to follow him into a boat, in which he was borne away, and +entangled in various adventures, as we have already related. +</P> + +<P> +The army, left under the command of Ricciardetto, Rinaldo's brother, +was soon joined by Charlemagne and all his peerage, but experienced a +disastrous rout, and the Emperor and many of his paladins were taken +prisoners. Gradasso, however, did not abuse his victory; he took +Charles by the hand, seated him by his side, and told him he warred +only for honor. He renounced all conquests, on condition that the +Emperor should deliver to him Bayard and Durindana, both of them the +property of his vassals, the former of which, as he maintained, was +already forfeited to him by Rinaldo's failure to meet him as agreed. To +these terms Charlemagne readily acceded. +</P> + +<P> +Bayard, after the departure of his master, had been taken in charge by +Ricciardetto, and sent back to Paris, where Astolpho was in command, in +the absence of Charlemagne. Astolpho received with great indignation +the message despatched for Bayard, and replied by a herald that "he +would not surrender the horse of his kinsman Rinaldo without a contest. +If Gradasso wanted the steed he might come and take him, and that he, +Astolpho, was ready to meet him in the field." +</P> + +<P> +Gradasso was only amused at this answer, for Astolpho's fame as a +successful warrior was not high, and Gradasso willingly renewed with +him the bargain which he had made with Rinaldo. On these conditions the +battle was fought. The enchanted lance, in the hands of Astolpho, +performed a new wonder; and Gradasso, the terrible Gradasso, was +unhorsed. +</P> + +<P> +He kept his word, set free his prisoners, and put his army on the march +to return to his own country, renewing his oath, however, not to rest +till he had taken from Rinaldo his horse, and from Orlando his sword, +or lost his life in the attempt. +</P> + +<P> +Charlemagne, full of gratitude to Astolpho, would have kept him near +his person and loaded him with honors, but Astolpho preferred to seek +Rinaldo, with the view of restoring to him his horse, and departed from +Paris with that design. +</P> + +<P> +Our story now returns to Orlando, whom we left fascinated with the +sight of the sleeping beauty, who, however, escaped him while engaged +in the combat with Ferrau. Having long sought her in vain through the +recesses of the wood, he resolved to follow her to her father's court. +Leaving, therefore, the camp of Charlemagne, he travelled long in the +direction of the East, making inquiry everywhere, if, perchance, he +might get tidings of the fugitive. After many adventures, he arrived +one day at a place where many roads crossed, and meeting there a +courier, he asked him for news. The courier replied that he had been +despatched by Angelica to solicit the aid of Sacripant, king of +Circassia, in favor of her father Galafron, who was besieged in his +city, Albracca, by Agrican, king of Tartary. This Agrican had been an +unsuccessful suitor to the damsel, whom he now pursued with arms. +Orlando thus learned that he was within a day's journey of Albracca; +and, feeling now secure of Angelica, he proceeded with all speed to her +city. +</P> + +<P> +Thus journeying he arrived at a bridge, under which flowed a foaming +river. Here a damsel met him with a goblet, and informed him that it +was the usage of this bridge to present the traveller with a cup. +Orlando accepted the offered cup and drank its contents. He had no +sooner done so than his brain reeled, and he became unconscious of the +object of his journey, and of everything else. Under the influence of +this fascination he followed the damsel into a magnificent and +marvellous palace. Here he found himself in company with many knights, +unknown to him and to each other, though if it had not been for the Cup +of Oblivion of which they all had partaken they would have found +themselves brothers in arms. +</P> + +<P> +Astolpho, proceeding on his way to seek Rinaldo, splendidly dressed and +equipped, as was his wont, arrived in Circassia, and found there a +great army encamped under the command of Sacripant, the king of that +country, who was leading it to the defence of Galafron, the father of +Angelica. Sacripant, much struck by the appearance of Astolpho and his +horse, accosted him courteously, and tried to enlist him in his +service; but Astolpho, proud of his late victories, scornfully declined +his offers, and pursued his way. King Sacripant was too much attracted +by his appearance to part with him so easily, and having laid aside his +kingly ornaments, set out in pursuit of him. +</P> + +<P> +Astolpho next day encountered on his way a stranger knight, named Sir +Florismart, Lord of the Sylvan Tower, one of the bravest and best of +knights, having as his guide a damsel, young, fair, and virtuous, to +whom he was tenderly attached, whose name was Flordelis. Astolpho, as +he approached, defied the knight, bidding him yield the lady, or +prepare to maintain his right by arms. Florismart accepted the contest, +and the knights encountered. Florismart was unhorsed and his steed fell +dead, while Bayard sustained no injury by the shock. +</P> + +<P> +Florismart was so overwhelmed with despair at his own disgrace and the +sight of the damsel's distress, that he drew his sword, and was about +to plunge it into his own bosom. But Astolpho held his hand, told him +that he contended only for glory, and was contented to leave him the +lady. +</P> + +<P> +While Florismart and Flordelis were vowing eternal gratitude King +Sacripant arrived, and coveting the damsel of the one champion as much +as the horse and arms of the other, defied them to the joust. Astolpho +met the challenger, whom he instantly overthrew, and presented his +courser to Florismart, leaving the king to return to his army on foot. +</P> + +<P> +The friends pursued their route, and ere long Flordelis discovered, by +signs which were known to her, that they were approaching the waters of +Oblivion, and advised them to turn back, or to change their course. +This the knights would not hear of, and, continuing their march, they +soon arrived at the bridge where Orlando had been taken prisoner. +</P> + +<P> +The damsel of the bridge appeared as before with the enchanted cup, but +Astolpho, forewarned, rejected it with scorn. She dashed it to the +ground, and a fire blazed up which rendered the bridge unapproachable. +At the same moment the two knights were assailed by sundry warriors, +known and unknown, who, having no recollection of anything, joined +blindly in defence of their prison-house. Among these was Orlando, at +sight of whom Astolpho, with all his confidence not daring to encounter +him, turned and fled, owing his escape to the strength and fleetness of +Bayard. +</P> + +<P> +Florismart, meanwhile, overlaid by fearful odds, was compelled to yield +to necessity, and comply with the usage of the fairy. He drank of the +cup and remained prisoner with the rest. Flordelis, deprived of her two +friends, retired from the scene, and devoted herself to untiring +efforts to effect her lover's deliverance. Astolpho pursued his way to +Albracca, which Agrican was about to besiege. He was kindly welcomed by +Angelica, and enrolled among her defenders. Impatient to distinguish +himself, he one night sallied forth alone, arrived in Agrican's camp, +and unhorsed his warriors right and left by means of the enchanted +lance. But he was soon surrounded and overmatched, and made prisoner to +Agrican. +</P> + +<P> +Relief was, however, at hand; for as the citizens and soldiers were one +day leaning over their walls they descried a cloud of dust, from which +horsemen were seen to prick forth, as it rolled on towards the camp of +the besiegers. This turned out to be the army of Sacripant, which +immediately attacked that of Agrican, with the view of cutting a +passage through his camp to the besieged city. But Agrican, mounted +upon Bayard, taken from Astolpho, but not armed with the lance of gold, +the virtues of which were unknown to him, performed wonders, and +rallied his scattered troops, which had given way to the sudden and +unexpected assault. Sacripant, on the other hand, encouraged his men by +the most desperate acts of valor, having as an additional incentive to +his courage the sight of Angelica, who showed herself upon the city +walls. +</P> + +<P> +There she witnessed a single combat between the two leaders, Agrican +and Sacripant. In this, at length, her defender appeared to be +overmatched, when the Circassians broke the ring, and separated the +combatants, who were borne asunder in the rush. Sacripant, severely +wounded, profited by the confusion, and escaped into Albracca, where he +was kindly received and carefully tended by Angelica. +</P> + +<P> +The battle continuing, the Circassians were at last put to flight, and, +being intercepted between the enemy's lines and the town, sought for +refuge under the walls. Angelica ordered the drawbridge to be let down, +and the gates thrown open to the fugitives. With these Agrican, not +distinguished in the crowd, entered the place, driving both Circassians +and Cathayans before him, and the portcullis being dropped, he was shut +in. +</P> + +<P> +For a time the terror which he inspired put to flight all opposers, but +when at last it came to be known that few or none of his followers had +effected an entrance with him, the fugitives rallied and surrounded him +on all sides. While he was thus apparently reduced to the last +extremities, he was saved by the very circumstance which threatened him +with destruction. The soldiers of Angelica, closing upon him from all +sides, deserted their defences; and his own besieging army entered the +city in a part where the wall was broken down. +</P> + +<P> +In this way was Agrican rescued, the city taken, and the inhabitants +put to the sword. Angelica, however, with some of the knights who were +her defenders, among whom was Sacripant, saved herself in the citadel, +which was planted upon a rock. +</P> + +<P> +The fortress was impregnable, but it was scantily victualled, and ill +provided with other necessaries. Under these circumstances Angelica +announced to those blockaded with her in the citadel her intention to +go in quest of assistance, and, having plighted her promise of a speedy +return, she set out, with the enchanted ring upon her finger. Mounted +upon her palfrey, the damsel passed through the enemy's lines, and by +sunrise was many miles clear of their encampment. +</P> + +<P> +It so happened that her road led her near the fatal bridge of Oblivion, +and as she approached it she met a damsel weeping bitterly. It was +Flordelis, whose lover, Florismart, as we have related, had met the +fate of Orlando and many more, and fallen a victim to the enchantress +of the cup. She related her adventures to Angelica, and conjured her to +lend what aid she might to rescue her lord and his companions. +Angelica, accordingly, watching her opportunity and aided by her ring, +slipped into the castle unseen, when the door was opened to admit a new +victim. Here she speedily disenchanted Orlando and the rest by a touch +of her talisman. But Florismart was not there. He had been given up to +Falerina, a more powerful enchantress, and was still in durance. +Angelica conjured the rescued captives to assist her in the recovery of +her kingdom, and all departed together for Albracca. +</P> + +<P> +The arrival of Orlando, with his companions, nine in all, and among the +bravest knights of France, changed at once the fortunes of the war. +Wherever the great paladin came, pennon and standard fell before him. +Agrican in vain attempted to rally his troops. Orlando kept constantly +in his front, forcing him to attend to nobody else. The Tartar king at +length bethought him of a stratagem. He turned his horse, and made a +show of flying in despair. Orlando dashed after him as he desired, and +Agrican fled till he reached a green place in a wood, where there was a +fountain. +</P> + +<P> +The place was beautiful, and the Tartar dismounted to refresh himself +at the fountain, but without taking off his helmet, or laying aside any +of his armor. Orlando was quickly at his back, crying out, "So bold, +and yet a fugitive! How could you fly from a single arm and think to +escape?" +</P> + +<P> +The Tartar king had leaped on his saddle the moment he saw his enemy, +and when the paladin had done speaking, he said in a mild voice, +"Without doubt you are the best knight I ever encountered, and fain +would I leave you untouched for your own sake, if you would cease to +hinder me from rallying my people. I pretended to fly, in order to +bring you out of the field. If you insist upon fighting I must needs +fight and slay you, but I call the sun in the heavens to witness I +would rather not. I should be very sorry for your death." +</P> + +<P> +The Count Orlando felt pity for so much gallantry, and he said, "The +nobler you show yourself the more it grieves me to think that in dying +without a knowledge of the true faith you will be lost in the other +world. Let me advise you to save body and soul at once. Receive +baptism, and go your way in peace." +</P> + +<P> +Agrican replied: "I suspect you to be the paladin Orlando. If you are I +would not lose this opportunity of fighting with you to be king of +Paradise. Talk to me no more about your things of another world, for +you will preach in vain. Each of us for himself, and let the sword be +umpire." +</P> + +<P> +The Saracen drew his sword, boldly advancing upon Orlando, and a combat +began, so obstinate and so long, each warrior being a miracle of +prowess, that the story says it lasted from noon till night. Orlando +then seeing the stars come out was the first to propose a respite. +</P> + +<P> +"What are we to do," said he, "now that daylight has left us?" +</P> + +<P> +Agrican answered readily enough, "Let us repose in this meadow, and +renew the combat at dawn." +</P> + +<P> +The repose was taken accordingly. Each tied up his horse, and reclined +himself on the grass, not far from the other, just as if they had been +friends, Orlando by the fountain, Agrican beneath a pine. It was a +beautiful clear night, and, as they talked together before addressing +themselves to sleep, the champion of Christendom, looking up at the +firmament, said, "That is a fine piece of workmanship, that starry +spectacle; God made it all, that moon of silver, and those stars of +gold, and the light of day, and the sun,--all for the sake of human +kind." +</P> + +<P> +"You wish, I see, to talk of matters of faith," said the Tartar. "Now I +may as well tell you at once that I have no sort of skill in such +matters, nor learning of any kind. I never could learn anything when I +was a boy. I hated it so that I broke the man's head who was +commissioned to teach me; and it produced such an effect on others that +nobody ever afterwards dared so much as show me a book. My boyhood was +therefore passed, as it should be, in horsemanship and hunting, and +learning to fight. What is the good of a gentleman's poring all day +over a book? Prowess to the knight, and preaching to the clergyman, +that is my motto." +</P> + +<P> +"I acknowledge," returned Orlando, "that arms are the first +consideration of a gentleman; but not at all that he does himself +dishonor by knowledge. On the contrary, knowledge is as great an +embellishment of the rest of his attainments, as the flowers are to the +meadow before us; and as to the knowledge of his Maker, the man that is +without it is no better than a stock or a stone or a brute beast. +Neither without study can he reach anything of a due sense of the depth +and divineness of the contemplation." +</P> + +<P> +"Learned or not learned," said Agrican, "you might show yourself better +bred than by endeavoring to make me talk on a subject on which you have +me at a disadvantage. If you choose to sleep I wish you good night; but +if you prefer talking I recommend you to talk of fighting or of fair +ladies. And, by the way, pray tell me, are you not that Orlando who +makes such a noise in the world? And what is it, pray, that brings you +into these parts? Were you ever in love? I suppose you must have been; +for to be a knight, and never to have been in love, would be like being +a man without a heart in his breast." +</P> + +<P> +The count replied: "Orlando I am, and in love I am. Love has made me +abandon everything, and brought me into these distant regions, and, to +tell you all in one word, my heart is in the hands of the daughter of +King Galafron. You have come against him with fire and sword, to get +possession of his castles and his dominions; and I have come to help +him, for no object in the world but to please his daughter and win her +beautiful hand. I care for nothing else in existence." +</P> + +<P> +Now when the Tartar king, Agrican, heard his antagonist speak in this +manner, and knew him to be indeed Orlando, and to be in love with +Angelica, his face changed color for grief and jealousy, though it +could not be seen for the darkness. His heart began beating with such +violence that he felt as if he should have died. "Well," said he to +Orlando, "we are to fight when it is daylight, and one or other is to +be left here, dead on the ground. I have a proposal to make to +you--nay, an entreaty. My love is so excessive for the same lady that I +beg you to leave her to me. I will owe you my thanks, and give up the +siege and put an end to the war. I cannot bear that any one should love +her, and that I should live to see it. Why, therefore, should either of +us perish? Give her up. Not a soul shall know it." +</P> + +<P> +"I never yet," answered Orlando, "made a promise which I did not keep, +and nevertheless I own to you that, were I to make a promise like that, +and even swear to keep it, I should not. You might as well ask me to +tear away the limbs from my body, and the eyes out of my head. I could +as well live without breath itself as cease loving Angelica." +</P> + +<P> +Agrican had hardly patience to let him finish speaking, ere he leapt +furiously on horseback, though it was midnight. "Quit her," said he, +"or die!" +</P> + +<P> +Orlando seeing the infidel getting up, and not being sure that he would +not add treachery to fierceness, had been hardly less quick in mounting +for the combat. "Never," exclaimed he; "I never could have quitted her +if I would, and now I would not if I could. You must seek her by other +means than these." +</P> + +<P> +Fiercely dashed their horses together, in the nighttime, on the green +mead. Despiteful and terrible were the blows they gave and took by the +moonlight. Agrican fought in a rage, Orlando was cooler. And now the +struggle had lasted more than five hours, and day began to dawn, when +the Tartar king, furious to find so much trouble given him, dealt his +enemy a blow sharp and violent beyond conception. It cut the shield in +two as if it had been made of wood, and, though blood could not be +drawn from Orlando, because he was fated, it shook and bruised him as +if it had started every joint in his body. +</P> + +<P> +His body only, however, not a particle of his soul. So dreadful was the +blow which the paladin gave in return, that not only shield, but every +bit of mail on the body of Agrican was broken in pieces, and three of +his ribs cut asunder. +</P> + +<P> +The Tartar, roaring like a lion, raised his sword with still greater +vehemence than before, and dealt a blow on the paladin's helmet, such +as he had never yet received from mortal man. For a moment it took away +his senses. His sight failed, his ears tingled, his frightened horse +turned about to fly; and he was falling from the saddle, when the very +action of falling threw his head upwards, and thus recalled his +recollection. +</P> + +<P> +"What a shame is this!" thought he; "how shall I ever again dare to +face Angelica! I have been fighting hour after hour with this man, and +he is but one, and I call myself Orlando! If the combat last any longer +I will bury myself in a monastery, and never look on sword again." +</P> + +<P> +Orlando muttered with his lips closed and his teeth ground together; +and you might have thought that fire instead of breath came out of his +nose and mouth. He raised his sword Durindana with both his hands, and +sent it down so tremendously on Agrican's shoulder that it cut through +breastplate down to the very haunch, nay, crushed the saddle-bow, +though it was made of bone and iron, and felled man and horse to the +earth. Agrican turned as white as ashes, and felt death upon him. He +called Orlando to come close to him, with a gentle voice, and said, as +well as he could: "I believe on Him who died on the cross. Baptize me, +I pray thee, with the fountain, before my senses are gone. I have lived +an evil life, but need not be rebellious to God in death also. May He +who came to save all the rest of the world save me!" And he shed tears, +that great king, though he had been so lofty and fierce. +</P> + +<P> +Orlando dismounted quickly, with his own face in tears. He gathered the +king tenderly in his arms, and took and laid him by the fountain, on a +marble rim that it had, and then he wept in concert with him heartily, +and asked his pardon, and so baptized him in the water of the fountain, +and knelt and prayed to God for him with joined hands. +</P> + +<P> +He then paused and looked at him; and when he perceived his countenance +changed, and that his whole person was cold, he left him there on the +marble rim of the fountain, all armed as he was, with the sword by his +side, and the crown upon his head. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="adventures"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ADVENTURES OF RINALDO AND ORLANDO +</H3> + +<P> +We left Rinaldo when, having overcome the monster, he quitted the +castle of Altaripa, and pursued his way on foot. He soon met with a +weeping damsel, who, being questioned as to the cause of her sorrow, +told him she was in search of one to do battle to rescue her lover, who +had been made prisoner by a vile enchantress, together with Orlando and +many more. The damsel was Flordelis, the lady-love of Florismart, and +Rinaldo promised his assistance, trusting to accomplish the adventure +either by valor or skill. Flordelis insisted upon Rinaldo's taking her +horse, which he consented to do, on condition of her mounting behind +him. +</P> + +<P> +As they rode on through a wood, they heard strange noises, and Rinaldo, +reassuring the damsel, pressed forward towards the quarter from which +they proceeded. He soon perceived a giant standing under a vaulted +cavern, with a huge club in his hand, and of an appearance to strike +the boldest spirit with dread. By the side of the cavern was chained a +griffin, which, together with the giant, was stationed there to guard a +wonderful horse, the same which was once Argalia's. This horse was a +creature of enchantment, matchless in vigor, speed, and form, which +disdained to share the diet of his fellow-steeds,--corn or grass,--and +fed only on air. His name was Rabican. +</P> + +<P> +This marvellous horse, after his master Argalia had been slain by +Ferrau, finding himself at liberty, returned to his native cavern, and +was here stabled under the protection of the giant and the griffin. As +Rinaldo approached, the giant assailed him with his club. Rinaldo +defended himself from the giant's blows, and gave him one in return, +which, if his skin had not been of the toughest, would have finished +the combat. But the giant, though wounded, escaped, and let loose the +griffin. This monstrous bird towered in air, and thence pounced down +upon Rinaldo, who, watching his opportunity, dealt her a desperate +wound. She had, however, strength for another flight, and kept +repeating her attacks, which Rinaldo parried as he could, while the +damsel stood trembling by, witnessing the contest. +</P> + +<P> +The battle continued, rendered more terrible by the approach of night, +when Rinaldo determined upon a desperate expedient to bring it to a +conclusion. He fell, as if fainting from his wounds, and, on the close +approach of the griffin, dealt her a blow which sheared away one of her +wings. The beast, though sinking, griped him fast with her talons, +digging through plate and mail; but Rinaldo plied his sword in utter +desperation, and at last accomplished her destruction. +</P> + +<P> +Rinaldo then entered the cavern, and found there the wonderful horse, +all caparisoned. He was coal-black, except for a star of white on his +forehead, and one white foot behind. For speed he was unrivalled, +though in strength he yielded to Bayard. Rinaldo mounted upon Rabican, +and issued from the cavern. +</P> + +<P> +As he pursued his way he met a fugitive from Agrican's army, who gave +such an account of the prowess of a champion who fought on the side of +Angelica, that Rinaldo was persuaded this must be Orlando, though at a +loss to imagine how he could have been freed from captivity. He +determined to repair to the scene of the contest to satisfy his +curiosity, and Flordelis, hoping to find Florismart with Orlando, +consented to accompany him. +</P> + +<P> +While these things were doing, all was rout and dismay in the Tartarian +army, from the death of Agrican. King Galafron, arriving at this +juncture with an army for the relief of his capital, Albracca, +assaulted the enemy's camp, and carried all before him. Rinaldo had now +reached the scene of action, and was looking on as an unconcerned +spectator, when he was espied by Galafron. The king instantly +recognized the horse Rabican, which he had given to Argalia when he +sent him forth on his ill-omened mission to Paris. Possessed with the +idea that the rider of the horse was the murderer of Argalia, Galafron +rode at Rinaldo, and smote him with all his force. Rinaldo was not slow +to avenge the blow, and it would have gone hard with the king had not +his followers instantly closed round him and separated the combatants. +</P> + +<P> +Rinaldo thus found himself, almost without his own choice, enlisted on +the side of the enemies of Angelica, which gave him no concern, so +completely had his draught from the fountain of hate steeled his mind +against her. +</P> + +<P> +For several successive days the struggle continued, without any +important results, Rinaldo meeting the bravest knights of Angelica's +party, and defeating them one after the other. At length he encountered +Orlando, and the two knights bitterly reproached one another for the +cause they had each adopted, and engaged in a furious combat. Orlando +was mounted upon Bayard, Rinaldo's horse, which Agrican had by chance +become possessed of, and Orlando had taken from him as the prize of +victory. Bayard would not fight against his master, and Orlando was +getting the worse of the encounter, when suddenly Rinaldo, seeing +Astolpho, who for love of him had arrayed himself on his side, hard +beset by numbers, left Orlando to rush to the defence of his friend. +Night prevented the combat from being renewed; but a challenge was +given and accepted for their next meeting. +</P> + +<P> +But Angelica, sighing in her heart for Rinaldo, was not willing that he +should be again exposed to so terrible a venture. She begged a boon of +Orlando, promising she would be his if he would do her bidding. On +receiving his promise, she enjoined him to set out without delay to +destroy the garden of the enchantress Falerina, in which many valiant +knights had been entrapped, and were imprisoned. +</P> + +<P> +Orlando departed on his horse Brigliadoro, leaving Bayard in disgrace +for his bad deportment the day before. Angelica, to conciliate Rinaldo, +sent Bayard to him; but Rinaldo remained unmoved by this as by all her +former acts of kindness. +</P> + +<P> +When Rinaldo learned Orlando's departure, he yielded to the entreaties +of the lady of Florismart, and prepared to fulfil his promise, and +rescue her lover from the power of the enchantress. Thus both Rinaldo +and Orlando were bound upon the same adventure, but unknown to one +another. +</P> + +<P> +The castle of Falerina was protected by a river, which was crossed by a +bridge, kept by a ruffian, who challenged all comers to the combat; and +such was his strength that he had thus far prevailed in every +encounter, as appeared by the arms of various knights which he had +taken from them, and piled up as a trophy on the shore. Rinaldo +attacked him, but with as bad success as the rest, for the bridge-ward +struck him so violent a blow with an iron mace that he fell to the +ground. But when the villain approached to strip him of his armor, +Rinaldo seized him, and the bridge-ward, being unable to free himself, +leapt with Rinaldo into the lake, where they both disappeared. +</P> + +<P> +Orlando, meanwhile, in discharge of his promise to Angelica, pursued +his way in quest of the same adventure. In passing through a wood he +saw a cavalier armed at all points, and mounted, keeping guard over a +lady who was bound to a tree, weeping bitterly. Orlando hastened to her +relief, but was exhorted by the knight not to interfere, for she had +deserved her fate by her wickedness. In proof of which he made certain +charges against her. The lady denied them all, and Orlando believed +her, defied the knight, overthrew him, and, releasing the lady, +departed with her seated on his horse's croup. +</P> + +<P> +While they rode another damsel approached on a white palfrey, who +warned Orlando of impending danger, and informed him that he was near +the garden of the enchantress. Orlando was delighted with the +intelligence, and entreated her to inform him how he was to gain +admittance. She replied that the garden could only be entered at +sunrise and gave him such instructions as would enable him to gain +admittance. She gave him also a book in which was painted the garden +and all that it contained, together with the palace of the false +enchantress, where she had secluded herself for the purpose of +executing a magic work in which she was engaged. This was the +manufacture of a sword capable of cutting even through enchanted +substances. The object of this labor, the damsel told him, was the +destruction of a knight of the west, by name Orlando, who she had read +in the book of Fate was coming to demolish her garden. Having thus +instructed him, the damsel departed. +</P> + +<P> +Orlando, finding he must delay his enterprise till the next morning, +now lay down and was soon asleep. Seeing this, the base woman whom he +had rescued, and who was intent on making her escape to rejoin her +paramour, mounted Brigliadoro, and rode off, carrying away Durindana. +</P> + +<P> +When Orlando awoke, his indignation, as may be supposed, was great on +the discovery of the theft; but, like a good knight and true, he was +not to be diverted from his enterprise. He tore off a huge branch of an +elm to supply the place of his sword; and, as the sun rose, took his +way towards the gate of the garden, where a dragon was on his watch. +This he slew by repeated blows, and entered the garden, the gate of +which closed behind him, barring retreat. Looking round him, he saw a +fair fountain, which overflowed into a river, and in the centre of the +fountain a figure, on whose forehead was written: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "The stream which waters violet and rose,<BR> + From hence to the enchanted palace goes."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +Following the banks of this flowing stream, and rapt in the delights of +the charming garden, Orlando arrived at the palace, and entering it, +found the mistress, clad in white, with a crown of gold upon her head, +in the act of viewing herself in the surface of the magic sword. +Orlando surprised her before she could escape, deprived her of the +weapon, and holding her fast by her long hair, which floated behind, +threatened her with immediate death if she did not yield up her +prisoners, and afford him the means of egress. She, however, was firm +of purpose, making no reply, and Orlando, unable to move her either by +threats or entreaties, was under the necessity of binding her to a +beech, and pursuing his quest as he best might. +</P> + +<P> +He then bethought him of his book, and, consulting it, found that there +was an outlet to the south, but that to reach it a lake was to be +passed, inhabited by a siren, whose song was so entrancing as to be +quite irresistible to whoever heard it; but his book instructed him how +to protect himself against this danger. According to its directions, +while pursuing his path, he gathered abundance of flowers, which sprung +all around, and filled his helmet and his ears with them; then listened +if he heard the birds sing. Finding that, though he saw the gaping +beak, the swelling throat, and ruffled plumes, he could not catch a +note, he felt satisfied with his defence, and advanced toward the lake. +It was small but deep, and so clear and tranquil that the eye could +penetrate to the bottom. +</P> + +<P> +He had no, sooner arrived upon the banks than the waters were seen to +gurgle, and the siren, rising midway out of the pool, sung so sweetly +that birds and beasts came trooping to the water-side to listen. Of +this Orlando heard nothing, but, feigning to yield to the charm, sank +down upon the bank. The siren issued from the water with the intent to +accomplish his destruction. Orlando seized her by the hair, and while +she sang yet louder (song being her only defence) cut off her head. +Then, following the directions of the book, he stained himself all over +with her blood. +</P> + +<P> +Guarded by this talisman, he met successively all the monsters set for +defence of the enchantress and her garden, and at length found himself +again at the spot where he had made captive the enchantress, who still +continued fastened to the beech. But the scene was changed. The garden +had disappeared, and Falerina, before so haughty, now begged for mercy, +assuring him that many lives depended upon the preservation of hers. +Orlando promised her life upon her pledging herself for the deliverance +of her captives. +</P> + +<P> +This, however, was no easy task. They were not in her possession, but +in that of a much more powerful enchantress, Morgana, the Lady of the +Lake, the very idea of opposing whom made Falerina turn pale with fear. +Representing to him the hazards of the enterprise, she led him towards +the dwelling of Morgana. To approach it he had to encounter the same +uncourteous bridge-ward who had already defeated and made captive so +many knights, and last of all, Rinaldo. He was a churl of the most +ferocious character, named Arridano. Morgana had provided him with +impenetrable armor, and endowed him in such a manner that his strength +always increased in proportion to that of the adversary with whom he +was matched. No one had ever yet escaped from the contest, since, such +was his power of endurance, he could breathe freely under water. Hence, +having grappled with a knight, and sunk with him to the bottom of the +lake, he returned, bearing his enemy's arms in triumph to the surface. +</P> + +<P> +While Falerina was repeating her cautions and her counsels Orlando saw +Rinaldo's arms erected in form of a trophy, among other spoils made by +the villain, and, forgetting their late quarrel, determined upon +revenging his friend. Arriving at the pass, the churl presuming to bar +the way, a desperate contest ensued, during which Falerina escaped. The +churl finding himself overmatched at a contest of arms, resorted to his +peculiar art, grappled his antagonist, and plunged with him into the +lake. When he reached the bottom Orlando found himself in another +world, upon a dry meadow, with the lake overhead, through which shone +the beams of our sun, while the water stood on all sides like a crystal +wall. Here the battle was renewed, and Orlando had in his magic sword +an advantage which none had hitherto possessed. It had been tempered by +Falerina so that no spells could avail against it. Thus armed, and +countervailing the strength of his adversary by his superior skill and +activity, it was not long before he laid him dead upon the field. +</P> + +<P> +Orlando then made all haste to return to the upper air, and, passing +through the water, which opened a way before him (such was the power of +the magic sword), he soon regained the shore, and found himself in a +field as thickly covered with precious stones as the sky is with stars. +</P> + +<P> +Orlando crossed the field, not tempted to delay his enterprise by +gathering any of the brilliant gems spread all around him. He next +passed into a flowery meadow planted with trees, covered with fruit and +flowers, and full of all imaginable delights. +</P> + +<P> +In the middle of this meadow was a fountain, and fast by it lay Morgana +asleep; a lady of a lovely aspect, dressed in white and vermilion +garments, her forehead well furnished with hair, while she had scarcely +any behind. +</P> + +<P> +While Orlando stood in silence contemplating her beauty he heard a +voice exclaim: "Seize the fairy by the forelock, if thou hopest fair +success." But his attention was arrested by another object, and he +heeded not the warning. He saw on a sudden an array of towers, +pinnacles and columns, palaces with balconies and windows, extended +alleys with trees, in short a scene of architectural magnificence +surpassing all he had ever beheld. While he stood gazing in silent +astonishment the scene slowly melted away and disappeared. [Footnote: +This is a poetical description of a phenomenon which is said to be +really exhibited in the strait of Messina, between Sicily and Calabria. +It is called Fata Morgana, or Mirage.] +</P> + +<P> +When he had recovered from his amazement he looked again toward the +fountain. The fairy had awaked and risen, and was dancing round its +border with the lightness of a leaf, timing her footsteps to this song: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "Who in this world would wealth and treasure share,<BR> + Honor, delight, and state, and what is best,<BR> + Quick let him catch me by the lock of hair<BR> + Which flutters from my forehead; and be blest.<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "But let him not the proffered good forbear,<BR> + Nor till he seize the fleeting blessing rest;<BR> + For present loss is sought in vain to-morrow,<BR> + And the deluded wretch is left in sorrow."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +The fairy, having sung thus, bounded off, and fled from the flowery +meadow over a high and inaccessible mountain. Orlando pursued her +through thorns and rocks, while the sky gradually became overcast, and +at last he was assailed by tempest, lightning, and hail. +</P> + +<P> +While he thus pursued, a pale and meagre woman issued from a cave, +armed with a whip, and, treading close upon his steps, scourged him +with vigorous strokes. Her name was Repentance, and she told him it was +her office to punish those who neglected to obey the voice of Prudence, +and seize the fairy Fortune when he might. +</P> + +<P> +Orlando, furious at this chastisement, turned upon his tormentor, but +might as well have stricken the wind. Finding it useless to resist, he +resumed his chase of the fairy, gained upon her, and made frequent +snatches at her white and vermilion garments, which still eluded his +grasp. At last, on her turning her head for an instant, he profited by +the chance, and seized her by the forelock. In an instant the tempest +ceased, the sky became serene, and Repentance retreated to her cave. +</P> + +<P> +Orlando now demanded of Morgana the keys of her prison, and the fairy, +feigning a complacent aspect, delivered up a key of silver, bidding him +to be cautious in the use of it, since to break the lock would be to +involve himself and all in inevitable destruction; a caution which gave +the Count room for long meditation, and led him to consider +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + How few amid the suitors who importune<BR> + The dame, know how to turn the keys of Fortune.<BR> +</P> + +<P> +Keeping the fairy still fast by the forelock, Orlando proceeded toward +the prison, turned the key, without occasioning the mischiefs +apprehended, and delivered the prisoners. +</P> + +<P> +Among these were Florismart, Rinaldo, and many others of the bravest +knights of France. Morgana had disappeared, and the knights, under the +guidance of Orlando, retraced the path by which he had come. They soon +reached the field of treasure. Rinaldo, finding himself amidst this +mass of wealth, remembered his needy garrison of Montalban, and could +not resist the temptation of seizing part of the booty. In particular a +golden chain, studded with diamonds, was too much for his self-denial, +and he took it and was bearing it off, notwithstanding the +remonstrances of Orlando, when a violent wind caught him and whirled +him back, as he approached the gate. This happened a second and a third +time, and Rinaldo at length yielded to necessity, rather than to the +entreaties of his friends, and cast away his prize. +</P> + +<P> +They soon reached the bridge and passed over without hindrance to the +other side, where they found the trophy decorated with their arms. Here +each knight resumed his own, and all, except the paladins and their +friends, separated as their inclinations or duty prompted. Dudon, the +Dane, one of the rescued knights, informed the cousins that he had been +made prisoner by Morgana while in the discharge of an embassy to them +from Charlemagne, who called upon them to return to the defence of +Christendom. Orlando was too much fascinated by Angelica to obey this +summons, and, followed by the faithful Florismart, who would not leave +him, returned towards Albracca. Rinaldo, Dudon, Iroldo, Prasildo, and +the others took their way toward the west. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="france1"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE INVASION OF FRANCE +</H3> + +<P> +Agramant, King of Africa, convoked the kings, his vassals, to +deliberate in council. He reminded them of the injuries he had +sustained from France, that his father had fallen in battle with +Charlemagne, and that his early years had hitherto not allowed him to +wipe out the stain of former defeats. He now proposed to them to carry +war into France. +</P> + +<P> +Sobrino, his wisest councillor, opposed the project, representing the +rashness of it; but Rodomont, the young and fiery king of Algiers, +denounced Sobrino's counsel as base and cowardly, declaring himself +impatient for the enterprise. The king of the Garamantes, venerable for +his age and renowned for his prophetic lore, interposed, and assured +the King that such an attempt would be sure to fail, unless he could +first get on his side a youth marked out by destiny as the fitting +compeer of the most puissant knights of France, the young Rogero, +descended in direct line from Hector of Troy. This prince was now a +dweller upon the mountain Carena, where Atlantes, his foster-father, a +powerful magician, kept him in retirement, having discovered by his art +that his pupil would be lost to him if allowed to mingle with the +world. To break the spells of Atlantes, and draw Rogero from his +retirement, one only means was to be found. It was a ring possessed by +Angelica, Princess of Cathay, which was a talisman against all +enchantments. If this ring could be procured all would go well; without +it the enterprise was desperate. +</P> + +<P> +Rodomont treated this declaration of the old prophet with scorn, and it +would probably have been held of little weight by the council, had not +the aged king, oppressed by the weight of years, expired in the very +act of reaffirming his prediction. This made so deep an impression on +the council that it was unanimously resolved to postpone the war until +an effort should be made to win Rogero to the camp. +</P> + +<P> +King Agramant thereupon proclaimed that the sovereignty of a kingdom +should be the reward of whoever should succeed in obtaining the ring of +Angelica. Brunello the dwarf, the subtlest thief in all Africa, +undertook to procure it. +</P> + +<P> +In prosecution of this design, he made the best of his way to +Angelica's kingdom, and arrived beneath the walls of Albracca while the +besieging army was encamped before the fortress. While the attention of +the garrison was absorbed by the battle that raged below he scaled the +walls, approached the Princess unnoticed, slipped the ring from her +finger, and escaped unobserved. He hastened to the seaside, and, +finding a vessel ready to sail, embarked, and arrived at Biserta, in +Africa. Here he found Agramant impatient for the talisman which was to +foil the enchantments of Atlantes and to put Rogero into his hands. The +dwarf, kneeling before the king, presented him with the ring, and +Agramant, delighted at the success of his mission, crowned him in +recompense King of Tingitana. +</P> + +<P> +All were now anxious to go in quest of Rogero. The cavalcade +accordingly departed, and in due time arrived at the mountain of Carena. +</P> + +<P> +At the bottom of this was a fruitful and well-wooded plain, watered by +a large river, and from this plain was descried a beautiful garden on +the mountain-top, which contained the mansion of Atlantes; but the +ring, which discovered what was before invisible, could not, though it +revealed this paradise, enable Agramant or his followers to enter it. +So steep and smooth was the rock by nature, that even Brunello failed +in every attempt to scale it. He did not, for this, despair of +accomplishing the object; but, having obtained Agramant's consent, +caused the assembled courtiers and knights to celebrate a tournament +upon the plain below. This was done with the view of seducing Rogero +from his fastness, and the stratagem was attended with success. +</P> + +<P> +Rogero joined the tourney, and was presented by Agramant with a +splendid horse, Frontino, and a magnificent sword. Having learned from +Agramant his intended invasion of France, he gladly consented to join +the expedition. +</P> + +<P> +Rodomont, meanwhile, was too impatient to wait for Agramant's +arrangements, and embarked with all the forces he could raise, made +good his landing on the coast of France, and routed the Christians in +several encounters. Previously to this, however, Gano, or Ganelon (as +he is sometimes called), the traitor, enemy of Orlando and the other +nephews of Charlemagne, had entered into a traitorous correspondence +with Marsilius, the Saracen king of Spain, whom he invited into France. +Marsilius, thus encouraged, led an army across the frontiers, and +joined Rodomont. This was the situation of things when Rinaldo and the +other knights who had obeyed the summons of Dudon set forward on their +return to France. +</P> + +<P> +When they arrived at Buda in Hungary they found the king of that +country about despatching his son, Ottachiero, with an army to the +succor of Charlemagne. Delighted with the arrival of Rinaldo, he placed +his son and troops under his command. In due time the army arrived on +the frontiers of France, and, united with the troops of Desiderius, +king of Lombardy, poured down into Provence. The confederate armies had +not marched many days through this gay tract before they heard a crash +of drums and trumpets behind the hills, which spoke the conflict +between the paynims, led by Rodomont, and the Christian forces. +Rinaldo, witnessing from a mountain the prowess of Rodomont, left his +troops in charge of his friends, and galloped towards him with his +lance in rest. The impulse was irresistible, and Rodomont was unhorsed. +But Rinaldo, unwilling to avail himself of his advantage, galloped back +to the hill, and having secured Bayard among the baggage, returned to +finish the combat on foot. +</P> + +<P> +During this interval the battle had become general, the Hungarians were +routed, and Rinaldo, on his return, had the mortification to find that +Ottachiero was wounded, and Dudon taken prisoner. While he sought +Rodomont in order to renew the combat a new sound of drums and trumpets +was heard, and Charlemagne, with the main body of his army, was +descried advancing in battle array. +</P> + +<P> +Rodomont, seeing this, mounted the horse of Dudon, left Rinaldo, who +was on foot, and galloped off to encounter this new enemy. +</P> + +<P> +Agramant, accompanied by Rogero, had by this time made good his +landing, and joined Rodomont with all his forces. Rogero eagerly +embraced this first opportunity of distinguishing himself, and spread +terror wherever he went, encountering in turn and overthrowing many of +the bravest knights of France. At length he found himself opposite to +Rinaldo, who, being interrupted, as we have said, in his combat with +Rodomont, and unable to follow him, being on foot, was shouting to his +late foe to return and finish their combat. Rogero also was on foot, +and seeing the Christian knight so eager for a contest, proffered +himself to supply the place of his late antagonist. Rinaldo saw at a +glance that the Moorish prince was a champion worthy of his arm, and +gladly accepted the defiance. The combat was stoutly maintained for a +time; but now fortune declared decisively in favor of the infidel army, +and Charlemagne's forces gave way at all points in irreparable +confusion. The two combatants were separated by the crowd of fugitives +and pursuers, and Rinaldo hastened to recover possession of his horse. +But Bayard, in the confusion, had got loose, and Rinaldo followed him +into a thick wood, thus becoming effectually separated from Rogero. +</P> + +<P> +Rogero, also seeking his horse in the medley, came where two warriors +were engaged in mortal combat. Though he knew not who they were, he +could distinguish that one was a paynim and the other a Christian; and +moved by the spirit of courtesy he approached them and exclaimed, "Let +him of the two who worships Christ pause, and hear what I have to say. +The army of Charles is routed and in flight, so that if he wishes to +follow his leader he has no time for delay." The Christian knight, who +was none other than Bradamante, a female warrior, in prowess equal to +the best of knights, was thunderstruck with the tidings, and would +gladly leave the contest undecided, and retire from the field; but +Rodomont, her antagonist, would by no means consent. Rogero, indignant +at his discourtesy, insisted upon her departure, while he took up her +quarrel with Rodomont. +</P> + +<P> +The combat, obstinately maintained on both sides, was interrupted by +the return of Bradamante. Finding herself unable to overtake the +fugitives, and reluctant to leave to another the burden and risk of a +contest which belonged to herself, she had returned to reclaim the +combat. She arrived, however, when her champion had dealt his enemy +such a blow as obliged him to drop both his sword and bridle. Rogero, +disdaining to profit by his adversary's defenceless situation, sat +apart upon his horse, while that of Rodomont bore his rider, stunned +and stupefied, about the field. +</P> + +<P> +Bradamante approached Rogero, conceiving a yet higher opinion of his +valor on beholding such an instance of forbearance. She addressed him, +excusing herself for leaving him exposed to an enemy from his +interference in her cause; pleading her duty to her sovereign as the +motive. While she spoke Rodomont, recovered from his confusion, rode up +to them. His bearing was, however, changed; and he disclaimed all +thoughts of further contest with one who, he said, "had already +conquered him by his courtesy." So saying, he quitted his antagonist, +picked up his sword, and spurred out of sight. +</P> + +<P> +Bradamante was now again desirous of retiring from the field, and +Rogero insisted on accompanying her, though yet unaware of her sex. +</P> + +<P> +As they pursued their way, she inquired the name and quality of her new +associate; and Rogero informed her of his nation and family. He told +her that Astyanax, the son of Hector of Troy, established the kingdom +of Messina in Sicily. From him were derived two branches, which gave +origin to two families of renown. From one sprang the royal race of +Pepin and Charlemagne, and from the other, that of Reggio, in Italy. +"From that of Reggio am I derived," he continued. "My mother, driven +from her home by the chance of war, died in giving me life, and I was +taken in charge by a sage enchanter, who trained me to feats of arms +amidst the dangers of the desert and the chase." +</P> + +<P> +Having thus ended his tale, Rogero entreated a similar return of +courtesy from his companion, who replied, without disguise, that she +was of the race of Clermont, and sister to Rinaldo, whose fame was +perhaps known to him. Rogero, much moved by this intelligence, +entreated her to take off her helmet, and at the discovery of her face +remained transported with delight. +</P> + +<P> +While absorbed in this contemplation, an unexpected danger assailed +them. A party which was placed in a wood, in order to intercept the +retreating Christians, broke from its ambush upon the pair, and +Bradamante, who was uncasqued, was wounded in the head. Rogero was in a +fury at this attack; and Bradamante, replacing her helmet, joined him +in taking speedy vengeance on their enemies. They cleared the field of +them, but became separated in the pursuit, and Rogero, quitting the +chase, wandered by hill and vale in search of her whom he had no sooner +found than lost. +</P> + +<P> +While pursuing this quest he fell in with two knights, whom he joined, +and engaged them to assist him in the search of his companion, +describing her arms, but concealing, from a certain feeling of +jealousy, her quality and sex. +</P> + +<P> +It was evening when they joined company, and having ridden together +through the night the morning was beginning to break, when one of the +strangers, fixing his eyes upon Rogero's shield, demanded of him by +what right he bore the Trojan arms. Rogero declared his origin and +race, and then, in his turn, interrogated the inquirer as to his +pretensions to the cognizance of Hector, which he bore. The stranger +replied, "My name is Mandricardo, son of Agrican, the Tartar king, whom +Orlando treacherously slew. I say treacherously, for in fair fight he +could not have done it. It is in search of him that I have come to +France, to take vengeance for my father, and to wrest from him +Durindana, that famous sword, which belongs to me, and not to him." +When the knights demanded to know by what right he claimed Durindana, +Mandricardo thus related his history: +</P> + +<P> +"I had been, before the death of my father, a wild and reckless youth. +That event awakened my energies, and drove me forth to seek for +vengeance. Determined to owe success to nothing but my own exertions, I +departed without attendants or horse or arms. Travelling thus alone, +and on foot, I espied one day a pavilion, pitched near a fountain, and +entered it, intent on adventure. I found therein a damsel of gracious +aspect, who replied to my inquiries that the fountain was the work of a +fairy, whose castle stood beyond a neighboring hill, where she kept +watch over a treasure which many knights had tried to win, but +fruitlessly, having lost their life or liberty in the attempt. This +treasure was the armor of Hector, prince of Troy, whom Achilles +treacherously slew. Nothing was wanting but his sword, Durindana, and +this had fallen into the possession of a queen named Penthesilea, from +whom it passed through her descendants to Almontes, whom Orlando slew, +and thus became possessed of the sword. The rest of Hector's arms were +saved and carried off by Aeneas, from whom this fairy received them in +recompense of service rendered. 'If you have the courage to attempt +their acquisition,' said the damsel, 'I will be your guide.'" +</P> + +<P> +Mandricardo went on to say that he eagerly embraced the proposal, and +being provided with horse and armor by the damsel, set forth on his +enterprise, the lady accompanying him. +</P> + +<P> +As they rode she explained the dangers of the quest. The armor was +defended by a champion, one of the numerous unsuccessful adventurers +for the prize, all of whom had been made prisoners by the fairy, and +compelled to take their turn, day by day, in defending the arms against +all comers. Thus speaking they arrived at the castle, which was of +alabaster, overlaid with gold. Before it, on a lawn, sat an armed +knight on horseback, who was none other than Gradasso, king of +Sericane, who, in his return home from his unsuccessful inroad into +France, had fallen into the power of the fairy, and was held to do her +bidding. Mandricardo, upon seeing him, dropt his visor, and laid his +lance in rest. The champion of the castle was equally ready, and each +spurred towards his opponent. They met one another with equal force, +splintered their spears, and, returning to the charge, encountered with +their swords. The contest was long and doubtful, when Mandricardo, +determined to bring it to an end, threw his arms about Gradasso, +grappled with him, and both fell to the ground. Mandricardo, however, +fell uppermost, and, preserving his advantage, compelled Gradasso to +yield himself conquered. The damsel now interfered, congratulating the +victor, and consoling the vanquished as well as she might. +</P> + +<P> +Mandricardo and the damsel proceeded to the gate of the castle, which +they found undefended. As they entered they beheld a shield suspended +from a pilaster of gold. The device was a white eagle on an azure +field, in memory of the bird of Jove, which bore away Ganymede, the +flower of the Phrygian race. Beneath was engraved the following couplet: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "Let none with hand profane my buckler wrong<BR> + Unless he be himself as Hector strong."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +The damsel, alighting from her palfrey, made obeisance to the arms, +bending herself to the ground. The Tartar king bowed his head with +equal reverence; then advancing towards the shield, touched it with his +sword. Thereupon an earthquake shook the ground, and the way by which +he had entered closed. Another and an opposite gate opened, and +displayed a field bristling with stalks and grain of gold. The damsel, +upon this, told him that he had no means of retreat but by cutting down +the harvest which was before him, and by uprooting a tree which grew in +the middle of the field. Mandricardo, without replying, began to mow +the harvest with his sword, but had scarce smitten thrice when he +perceived that every stalk that fell was instantly transformed into +some poisonous or ravenous animal, which prepared to assail him. +Instructed by the damsel, he snatched up a stone and cast it among the +pack. A strange wonder followed; for no sooner had the stone fallen +among the beasts, than they turned their rage against one another, and +rent each other to pieces. Mandricardo did not stop to marvel at the +miracle, but proceeded to fulfil his task, and uproot the tree. He +clasped it round the trunk, and made vigorous efforts to tear it up by +the roots. At each effort fell a shower of leaves, that were instantly +changed into birds of prey, which attacked the knight, flapping their +wings in his face, with horrid screeching. But undismayed by this new +annoyance, he continued to tug at the trunk till it yielded to his +efforts. A burst of wind and thunder followed, and the hawks and +vultures flew screaming away. +</P> + +<P> +But these only gave place to a new foe; for from the hole made by +tearing up the tree issued a furious serpent, and, darting at +Mandricardo, wound herself about his limbs with a strain that almost +crushed him. Fortune, however, again stood his friend, for, writhing +under the folds of the monster, he fell backwards into the hole, and +his enemy was crushed beneath his weight. +</P> + +<P> +Mandricardo, when he was somewhat recovered, and assured himself of the +destruction of the serpent, began to contemplate the place into which +he had fallen, and saw that he was in a vault, incrusted with costly +metals, and illuminated by a live coal. In the middle was a sort of +ivory bier, and upon this was extended what appeared to be a knight in +armor, but was in truth an empty trophy, composed of the rich and +precious arms once Hector's, to which nothing was wanting but the +sword. While Mandricardo stood contemplating the prize a door opened +behind him, and a bevy of fair damsels entered, dancing, who, taking up +the armor piece by piece, led him away to the place where the shield +was suspended; where he found the fairy of the castle seated in state. +By her he was invested with the arms he had won, first pledging his +solemn oath to wear no other blade but Durindana, which he was to wrest +from Orlando, and thus complete the conquest of Hector's arms. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="france2"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE INVASION OF FRANCE (Continued) +</H3> + +<P> +Mandricardo, having completed his story, now turned to Rogero, and +proposed that arms should decide which of the two was most worthy to +bear the symbol of the Trojan knight. +</P> + +<P> +Rogero felt no other objection to this proposal than the scruple which +arose on observing that his antagonist was without a sword. Mandricardo +insisted that this need be no impediment, since his oath prevented him +from using a sword until he should have achieved the conquest of +Durindana. +</P> + +<P> +This was no sooner said than a new antagonist started up in Gradasso, +who now accompanied Mandricardo. Gradasso vindicated his prior right to +Durindana, to obtain which he had embarked (as was related in the +beginning) in that bold inroad upon France. A quarrel was thus kindled +between the kings of Tartary and Sericane. While the dispute was raging +a knight arrived upon the ground, accompanied by a damsel, to whom +Rogero related the cause of the strife. The knight was Florismart, and +his companion Flordelis. Florismart succeeded in bringing the two +champions to accord, by informing them that he could bring them to the +presence of Orlando, the master of Durindana. +</P> + +<P> +Gradasso and Mandricardo readily made truce, in order to accompany +Florismart, nor would Rogero be left behind. +</P> + +<P> +As they proceeded on their quest they were met by a dwarf, who +entreated their assistance in behalf of his lady, who had been carried +off by an enchanter, mounted on a winged horse. However unwilling to +leave the question of the sword undecided, it was not possible for the +knights to resist this appeal. Two of their number, Gradasso and +Rogero, therefore accompanied the dwarf. Mandricardo persisted in his +search for Orlando, and Florismart, with Flordelis, pursued their way +to the camp of Charlemagne. +</P> + +<P> +Atlantes, the enchanter, who had brought up Rogero, and cherished for +him the warmest affection, knew by his art that his pupil was destined +to be severed from him, and converted to the Christian faith through +the influence of Bradamante, that royal maiden with whom chance had +brought him acquainted. Thinking to thwart the will of Heaven in this +respect, he now put forth all his arts to entrap Rogero into his power. +By the aid of his subservient demons he reared a castle on an +inaccessible height, in the Pyrenean mountains, and to make it a +pleasant abode to his pupil, contrived to entrap and convey thither +knights and damsels many a one, whom chance had brought into the +vicinity of his castle. Here, in a sort of sensual paradise, they were +but too willing to forget glory and duty, and to pass their time in +indolent enjoyment. +</P> + +<P> +It was by the enchanter that the dwarf had now been sent to tempt the +knights into his power. +</P> + +<P> +But we must now return to Rinaldo, whom we left interrupted in his +combat with Rodomont. In search of his late antagonist and intent on +bringing their combat to a decision he entered the forest of Arden, +whither he suspected Rodomont had gone. While engaged on this quest he +was surprised by the vision of a beautiful child dancing naked, with +three damsels as beautiful as himself. While he was lost in admiration +at the sight the child approached him, and, throwing at him handfuls of +roses and lilies, struck him from his horse. He was no sooner down than +he was seized by the dancers, by whom he was dragged about and scourged +with flowers till he fell into a swoon. When he began to revive one of +the group approached him, and told him that his punishment was the +consequence of his rebellion against that power before whom all things +bend; that there was but one remedy to heal the wounds that had been +inflicted, and that was to drink of the waters of Love. Then they left +him. +</P> + +<P> +Rinaldo, sore and faint, dragged himself toward a fountain which flowed +near by, and, being parched with thirst, drank greedily and almost +unconsciously of the water, which was sweet to the taste, but bitter to +the heart. After repeated draughts he recovered his strength and +recollection, and found himself in the same place where Angelica had +formerly awakened him with a rain of flowers, and whence he had fled in +contempt of her courtesy. +</P> + +<P> +This remembrance of the scene was followed by the recognition of his +crime; and, repenting bitterly his ingratitude, he leaped upon Bayard, +with the intention of hastening to Angelica's country, and soliciting +his pardon at her feet. +</P> + +<P> +Let us now retrace our steps, and revert to the time when the paladins +having learned from Dudon the summons of Charlemagne to return to +France to repel the invaders, had all obeyed the command with the +exception of Orlando, whose passion for Angelica still held him in +attendance on her. Orlando, arriving before Albracca, found it closely +beleaguered. He, however, made his way into the citadel, and related +his adventures to Angelica, from the time of his departure up to his +separation from Rinaldo and the rest, when they departed to the +assistance of Charlemagne. Angelica, in return, described the +distresses of the garrison, and the force of the besiegers; and in +conclusion prayed Orlando to favor her escape from the pressing danger, +and escort her into France. Orlando, who did not suspect that love for +Rinaldo was her secret motive, joyfully agreed to the proposal, and the +sally was resolved upon. +</P> + +<P> +Leaving lights burning in the fortress, they departed at nightfall, and +passed in safety through the enemy's camp. After encountering numerous +adventures they reached the sea-side, and embarked on board a pinnace +for France. The vessel arrived safely, and the travellers, disembarking +in Provence, pursued their way by land. One day, heated and weary, they +sought shelter from the sun in the forest of Arden, and chance directed +Angelica to the fountain of Disdain, of whose waters she eagerly drank. +</P> + +<P> +Issuing thence, the Count and damsel encountered a stranger-knight. It +was no other than Rinaldo, who was just on the point of setting off on +a pilgrimage in search of Angelica, to implore her pardon for his +insensibility, and urge his new found passion. Surprise and delight at +first deprived him of utterance, but soon recovering himself, he +joyfully saluted her, claiming her as his, and exhorting her to put +herself under his protection. His presumption was repelled by Angelica +with disdain, and Orlando, enraged at the invasion of his rights, +challenged him to decide their claims by arms. +</P> + +<P> +Terrified at the combat which ensued, Angelica fled amain through the +forest, and came out upon a plain covered with tents. This was the camp +of Charlemagne, who led the army of reserve destined to support the +troops which had advanced to oppose Marsilius. Charles having heard the +damsel's tale, with difficulty separated the two cousins, and then +consigned Angelica, as the cause of quarrel, to the care of Namo, Duke +of Bavaria, promising that she should be his who should best deserve +her in the impending battle. +</P> + +<P> +But these plans and hopes were frustrated. The Christian army, beaten +at all points, fled from the Saracens; and Angelica, indifferent to +both her lovers, mounted a swift palfrey and plunged into the forest, +rejoicing, in spite of her terror, at having regained her liberty. She +stopped at last in a tufted grove, where a gentle zephyr blew, and +whose young trees were watered by two clear runnels, which came and +mingled their waters, making a pleasing murmur. Believing herself far +from Rinaldo, and overcome by fatigue and the summer heat, she saw with +delight a bank covered with flowers so thick that they almost hid the +green turf, inviting her to alight and rest. She dismounted from her +palfrey, and turned him loose to recruit his strength with the tender +grass which bordered the streamlets. Then, in a sheltered nook +tapestried with moss and fenced in with roses and hawthorn-flowers, she +yielded herself to grateful repose. +</P> + +<P> +She had not slept long when she was awakened by the noise made by the +approach of a horse. Starting up, she saw an armed knight who had +arrived at the bank of the stream. Not knowing whether he was to be +feared or not, her heart beat with anxiety. She pressed aside the +leaves to allow her to see who it was, but scarce dared to breathe for +fear of betraying herself. Soon the knight threw himself on the flowery +bank, and leaning his head on his hand fell into a profound reverie. +Then arousing himself from his silence he began to pour forth +complaints, mingled with deep sighs. Rivers of tears flowed down his +cheeks, and his breast seemed to labor with a hidden flame. "Ah, vain +regrets!" he exclaimed; "cruel fortune! others triumph, while I endure +hopeless misery! Better a thousand times to lose life, than wear a +chain so disgraceful and so oppressive!" +</P> + +<P> +Angelica by this time had recognized the stranger, and perceived that +it was Sacripant, king of Circassia, one of the worthiest of her +suitors. This prince had followed Angelica from his country, at the +very gates of the day, to France, where he heard with dismay that she +was under the guardianship of the Paladin Orlando, and that the Emperor +had announced his decree to award her as the prize of valor to that one +of his nephews who should best deserve her. +</P> + +<P> +As Sacripant continued to lament, Angelica, who had always opposed the +hardness of marble to his sighs, thought with herself that nothing +forbade her employing his good offices in this unhappy crisis. Though +firmly resolved never to accept him as a spouse, she yet felt the +necessity of giving him a gleam of hope in reward for the service she +required of him. All at once, like Diana, she stepped forth from the +arbor. "May the gods preserve thee," she said, "and put far from thee +all hard thoughts of me!" Then she told him all that had befallen her +since she parted with him at her father's court, and how she had +availed herself of Orlando's protection to escape from the beleaguered +city. At that moment the noise of horse and armor was heard as of one +approaching; and Sacripant, furious at the interruption, resumed his +helmet, mounted his horse, and placed his lance in rest. He saw a +knight advancing, with scarf and plume of snowy whiteness. Sacripant +regarded him with angry eyes, and, while he was yet some distance off, +defied him to the combat. The other, not moved by his angry tone to +make reply, put himself on his defence. Their horses, struck at the +same moment with the spur, rushed upon one another with the impetuosity +of a tempest. Their shields were pierced each with the other's lance, +and only the temper of their breastplates saved their lives. Both the +horses recoiled with the violence of the shock; but the unknown +knight's recovered itself at the touch of the spur; the Saracen king's +fell dead, and bore down his master with him. The white knight, seeing +his enemy in this condition, cared not to renew the combat, but, +thinking he had done enough for glory, pursued his way through the +forest, and was a mile off before Sacripant had got free from his horse. +</P> + +<P> +As a ploughman, stunned by a thunder-clap which has stricken dead the +oxen at his plough, stands motionless, sadly contemplating his loss, so +Sacripant stood confounded and overwhelmed with mortification at having +Angelica a witness of his defeat. He groaned, he sighed, less from the +pain of his bruises than for the shame of being reduced to such a state +before her. The princess took pity on him, and consoled him as well as +she could. "Banish your regrets, my lord," she said, "this accident has +happened solely in consequence of the feebleness of your horse, which +had more need of rest and food than of such an encounter as this. Nor +can your adversary gain any credit by it, since he has hurried away, +not venturing a second trial." While she thus consoled Sacripant they +perceived a person approach, who seemed a courier, with bag and horn. +As soon as he came up, he accosted Sacripant, and inquired if he had +seen a knight pass that way, bearing a white shield and with a white +plume to his helmet. "I have, indeed, seen too much of him," said +Sacripant, "it is he who has brought me to the ground; but at least I +hope to learn from you who that knight is." "That I can easily inform +you," said the man; "know then that, if you have been overthrown, you +owe your fate to the high prowess of a lady as beautiful as she is +brave. It is the fair and illustrious Bradamante who has won from you +the honors of victory." +</P> + +<P> +At these words the courier rode on his way, leaving Sacripant more +confounded and mortified than ever. In silence he mounted the horse of +Angelica, taking the lady behind him on the croup, and rode away in +search of a more secure asylum. Hardly had they ridden two miles when a +new sound was heard in the forest, and they perceived a gallant and +powerful horse, which, leaping the ravines and dashing aside the +branches that opposed his passage, appeared before them, accoutred with +a rich harness adorned with gold. +</P> + +<P> +"If I may believe my eyes, which penetrate with difficulty the +underwood," said Angelica, "that horse that dashes so stoutly through +the bushes is Bayard, and I marvel how he seems to know the need we +have of him, mounted as we are both on one feeble animal." Sacripant, +dismounting from the palfrey, approached the fiery courser, and +attempted to seize his bridle, but the disdainful animal, turning from +him, launched at him a volley of kicks enough to have shattered a wall +of marble. Bayard then approached Angelica with an air as gentle and +loving as a faithful dog could his master after a long separation. For +he remembered how she had caressed him, and even fed him, in Albracca. +She took his bridle in her left hand, while with her right she patted +his neck. The beautiful animal, gifted with wonderful intelligence, +seemed to submit entirely. Sacripant, seizing the moment to vault upon +him, controlled his curvetings, and Angelica, quitting the croup of the +palfrey, regained her seat. +</P> + +<P> +But, turning his eyes toward a place where was heard a noise of arms, +Sacripant beheld Rinaldo. That hero now loves Angelica more than his +life, and she flies him as the timid crane the falcon. +</P> + +<P> +The fountain of which Angelica had drunk produced such an effect on the +beautiful queen that, with distressed countenance and trembling voice, +she conjured Sacripant not to wait the approach of Rinaldo, but to join +her in flight. +</P> + +<P> +"Am I, then," said Sacripant, "of so little esteem with you that you +doubt my power to defend you? Do you forget the battle of Albracca, and +how, in your defence, I fought single-handed against Agrican and all +his knights?" +</P> + +<P> +Angelica made no reply, uncertain what to do; but already Rinaldo was +too near to be escaped. He advanced menacingly to the Circassian king, +for he recognized his horse. +</P> + +<P> +"Vile thief," he cried, "dismount from that horse, and prevent the +punishment that is your due for daring to rob me of my property. Leave, +also, the princess in my hands; for it would indeed be a sin to suffer +so charming a lady and so gallant a charger to remain in such keeping." +</P> + +<P> +The king of Circassia, furious at being thus insulted, cried out, "Thou +liest, villain, in giving me the name of thief, which better belongs to +thyself than to me. It is true, the beauty of this lady and the +perfection of this horse are unequalled; come on, then, and let us try +which of us is most worthy to possess them." +</P> + +<P> +At these words the king of Circassia and Rinaldo attacked one another +with all their force, one fighting on foot, the other on horseback. You +need not, however, suppose that the Saracen king found any advantage in +this; for a young page, unused to horsemanship, could not have failed +more completely to manage Bayard than did this accomplished knight. The +faithful animal loved his master too well to injure him, and refused +his aid as well as his obedience to the hand of Sacripant, who could +strike but ineffectual blows, the horse backing when he wished him to +go forward, and dropping his head and arching his back, throwing out +with his legs, so as almost to shake the knight out of the saddle. +Sacripant, seeing that he could not manage him, watched his +opportunity, rose on his saddle, and leapt lightly to the earth; then, +relieved from the embarrassment of the horse, renewed the combat on +more equal terms. Their skill to thrust and parry were equal; one +rises, the other stoops; with one foot set firm they turn and wind, to +lay on strokes or to dodge them. At last Rinaldo, throwing himself on +the Circassian, dealt him a blow so terrible that Fusberta, his good +sword, cut in two the buckler of Sacripant, although it was made of +bone, and covered with a thick plate of steel well tempered. The arm of +the Saracen was deprived of its defence, and almost palsied with the +stroke. Angelica, perceiving how victory was likely to incline, and +shuddering at the thought of becoming the prize of Rinaldo, hesitated +no longer. Turning her horse's head, she fled with the utmost speed; +and, in spite of the round pebbles which covered a steep descent, she +plunged into a deep valley, trembling with the fear that Rinaldo was in +pursuit. At the bottom of this valley she encountered an aged hermit, +whose white beard flowed to his middle, and whose venerable appearance +seemed to assure his piety. +</P> + +<P> +This hermit, who appeared shrunk by age and fasting, travelled slowly, +mounted upon a wretched ass. The princess, overcome with fear, conjured +him to save her life; and to conduct her to some port of the sea, +whence she might embark and quit France, never more to hear the odious +name of Rinaldo. +</P> + +<P> +The old hermit was something of a wizard. He comforted Angelica, and +promised to protect her from all peril. Then he opened his scrip, and +took from thence a book, and had read but a single page when a goblin, +obedient to his incantations, appeared, under the form of a laboring +man, and demanded his orders. He received them, transported himself to +the place where the knights still maintained their conflict, and boldly +stepped between the two. +</P> + +<P> +"Tell me, I pray you," he said, "what benefit will accrue to him who +shall get the better in this contest? The object you are contending for +is already disposed of; for the Paladin Orlando, without effort and +without opposition, is now carrying away the princess Angelica to +Paris. You had better pursue them promptly; for if they reach Paris you +will never see her again." +</P> + +<P> +At these words you might have seen those rival warriors confounded, +stupefied, silently agreeing that they were affording their rival a +fair opportunity to triumph over them. Rinaldo, approaching Bayard, +breathes a sigh of shame and rage, and swears a terrible oath that, if +he overtakes Orlando, he will tear his heart out. Then mounting Bayard +and pressing his flanks with his spurs, he leaves the king of Circassia +on foot in the forest. +</P> + +<P> +Let it not appear strange that Rinaldo found Bayard obedient at last, +after having so long prevented any one from even touching his bridle; +for that fine animal had an intelligence almost human; he had fled from +his master only to draw him on the track of Angelica, and enable him to +recover her. He saw when the princess fled from the battle, and Rinaldo +being then engaged in a fight on foot, Bayard found himself free to +follow the traces of Angelica. Thus he had drawn his master after him, +not permitting him to approach, and had brought him to the sight of the +princess. But Bayard now, deceived like his master with the false +intelligence of the goblin, submits to be mounted and to serve his +master as usual, and Rinaldo, animated with rage, makes him fly toward +Paris, more slowly than his wishes, though the speed of Bayard +outstripped the winds. Full of impatience to encounter Orlando, he gave +but a few hours that night to sleep. Early the next day he saw before +him the great city, under the walls of which the Emperor Charles had +collected the scattered remains of his army. Foreseeing that he would +soon be attacked on all sides, the Emperor had caused the ancient +fortifications to be repaired, and new ones to be built, surrounded by +wide and deep ditches. The desire to hold the field against the enemy +made him seize every means of procuring new allies. He hoped to receive +from England aid sufficient to enable him to form a new camp, and as +soon as Rinaldo rejoined him he selected him to go as his ambassador +into England, to plead for auxiliaries. Rinaldo was far from pleased +with his commission, but he obeyed the Emperor's commands, without +giving himself time to devote a single day to the object nearest his +heart. He hastened to Calais, and lost not a moment in embarking for +England, ardently desiring a hasty despatch of his commission, and a +speedy return to France. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="bradamante"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +BRADAMANTE AND ROGERO +</H3> + +<P> +Bradamante, the knight of the white plume and shield, whose sudden +appearance and encounter with Sacripant we have already told, was in +quest of Rogero, from whom chance had separated her, almost at the +beginning of their acquaintance. After her encounter with Sacripant +Bradamante pursued her way through the forest, in hopes of rejoining +Rogero, and arrived at last on the brink of a fair fountain. +</P> + +<P> +This fountain flowed through a broad meadow. Ancient trees overshadowed +it, and travellers, attracted by the sweet murmur of its waters, +stopped there to cool themselves. Bradamante, casting her eyes on all +sides to enjoy the beauties of the spot, perceived, under the shade of +a tree, a knight reclining, who seemed to be oppressed with the deepest +grief. +</P> + +<P> +Bradamante accosted him, and asked to be informed of the cause of his +distress. "Alas! my lord," said he, "I lament a young and charming +friend, my affianced wife, who has been torn from me by a villain,--let +me rather call him a demon,--who, on a winged horse, descended from the +air, seized her, and bore her screaming to his den. I have pursued them +over rocks and through ravines till my horse is no longer able to bear +me, and I now wait only for death." He added that already a vain +attempt on his behalf had been made by two knights, whom chance had +brought to the spot. Their names were Gradasso, king of Sericane, and +Rogero, the Moor. Both had been overcome by the wiles of the enchanter, +and were added to the number of the captives, whom he held in an +impregnable castle, situated on the height of the mountain. At the +mention of Rogero's name Bradamante started with delight, which was +soon changed to an opposite sentiment when she heard that her lover was +a prisoner in the toils of the enchanter. "Sir Knight," she said, "do +not surrender yourself to despair; this day may be more happy for you +than you think, if you will only lead me to the castle which enfolds +her whom you deplore." +</P> + +<P> +The knight responded, "After having lost all that made life dear to me +I have no motive to avoid the dangers of the enterprise, and I will do +as you request; but I forewarn you of the perils you will have to +encounter. If you fall impute it not to me." +</P> + +<P> +Having thus spoken, they took their way to the castle, but were +overtaken by a messenger from the camp, who had been sent in quest of +Bradamante to summon her back to the army, where her presence was +needed to reassure her disheartened forces, and withstand the advance +of the Moors. +</P> + +<P> +The mournful knight, whose name was Pinabel, thus became aware that +Bradamante was a scion of the house of Clermont, between which and his +own of Mayence there existed an ancient feud. From this moment the +traitor sought only how he might be rid of the company of Bradamante, +from whom he feared no good would come to him, but rather mortal +injury, if his name and lineage became known to her. For he judged her +by his own base model, and, knowing his ill deserts, he feared to +receive his due. +</P> + +<P> +Bradamante, in spite of the summons to return to the army, could not +resolve to leave her lover in captivity, and determined first to finish +the adventure on which she was engaged. Pinabel leading the way, they +at length arrived at a wood, in the centre of which rose a steep, rocky +mountain. Pinabel, who now thought of nothing else but how he might +escape from Bradamante, proposed to ascend the mountain to extend his +view, in order to discover a shelter for the night, if any there might +be within sight. Under this pretence he left Bradamante, and advanced +up the side of the mountain till he came to a cleft in the rock, down +which he looked, and perceived that it widened below into a spacious +cavern. Meanwhile Bradamante, fearful of losing her guide, had followed +close on his footsteps, and rejoined him at the mouth of the cavern. +Then the traitor, seeing the impossibility of escaping her, conceived +another design. He told her that before her approach he had seen in the +cavern a young and beautiful damsel, whose rich dress announced her +high birth, who with tears and lamentations implored assistance; that +before he could descend to relieve her a ruffian had seized her, and +hurried her away into the recesses of the cavern. +</P> + +<P> +Bradamante, full of truth and courage, readily believed this lie of the +Mayencian traitor. Eager to succor the damsel, she looked round for the +means of facilitating the descent, and seeing a large elm with +spreading branches she lopped off with her sword one of the largest, +and thrust it into the opening. She told Pinabel to hold fast to the +larger end, while, grasping the branches with her hands, she let +herself down into the cavern. +</P> + +<P> +The traitor smiled at seeing her thus suspended, and, asking her in +mockery, "Are you a good leaper?" he let go the branch with perfidious +glee, and saw Bradamante precipitated to the bottom of the cave. "I +wish your whole race were there with you," he muttered, "that you might +all perish together." +</P> + +<P> +But Pinabel's atrocious design was not accomplished. The twigs and +foliage of the branch broke its descent, and Bradamante, not seriously +injured, though stunned with her fall, was reserved for other +adventures. +</P> + +<P> +As soon as she recovered from the shock Bradamante cast her eyes around +and perceived a door, through which she passed into a second cavern, +larger and loftier than the first. It had the appearance of a +subterranean temple. Columns of the purest alabaster adorned it, and +supported the roof; a simple altar rose in the middle; a lamp, whose +radiance was reflected by the alabaster walls, cast a mild light around. +</P> + +<P> +Bradamante, inspired by a sense of religious awe, approached the altar, +and, falling on her knees, poured forth her prayers and thanks to the +Preserver of her life, invoking the protection of his power. At that +moment a small door opened, and a female issued from it with naked +feet, and flowing robe and hair, who called her by her name, and thus +addressed her: "Brave and generous Bradamante, know that it is a power +from above that has brought you hither. The spirit of Merlin, whose +last earthly abode was in this place, has warned me of your arrival, +and of the fate that awaits you. This famous grotto," she continued, +"was the work of the enchanter Merlin; here his ashes repose. You have +no doubt heard how this sage and virtuous enchanter ceased to be. +Victim of the artful fairy of the lake, Merlin, by a fatal compliance +with her request, laid himself down living in his tomb, without power +to resist the spell laid upon him by that ingrate, who retained him +there as long as he lived. His spirit hovers about this spot, and will +not leave it, until the last trumpet shall summon the dead to judgment. +He answers the questions of those who approach his tomb, where perhaps +you may be privileged to hear his voice." +</P> + +<P> +Bradamante, astonished at these words, and the objects which met her +view, knew not whether she was awake or asleep. Confused, but modest, +she cast down her eyes, and a blush overspread her face. "Ah, what am +I," said she, "that so great a prophet should deign to speak to me!" +Still, with a secret satisfaction, she followed the priestess, who led +her to the tomb of Merlin. This tomb was constructed of a species of +stone hard and resplendent like fire. The rays which beamed from the +stone sufficed to light up that terrible place, where the sun's rays +never penetrated; but I know not whether that light was the effect of a +certain phosphorescence of the stone itself, or of the many talismans +and charms with which it was wrought over. +</P> + +<P> +Bradamante had hardly passed the threshold of this sacred place when +the spirit of the enchanter saluted her with a voice firm and distinct: +"May thy designs be prosperous, O chaste and noble maiden, the future +mother of heroes, the glory of Italy, and destined to fill the whole +world with their fame. Great captains, renowned knights, shall be +numbered among your descendants, who shall defend the Church and +restore their country to its ancient splendor. Princes, wise as +Augustus and the sage Numa, shall bring back the age of gold. +[Footnote: This prophecy is introduced by Ariosto in this place to +compliment the noble house of Este, the princes of his native state, +the dukedom of Ferrara.] To accomplish these grand destinies it is +ordained that you shall wed the illustrious Rogero. Fly then to his +deliverance, and lay prostrate in the dust the traitor who has snatched +him from you, and now holds him in chains!" +</P> + +<P> +Merlin ceased with these words, and left to Melissa, the priestess, the +charge of more fully instructing the maiden in her future course. +"To-morrow," said she, "I will conduct you to the castle on the rock +where Rogero is held captive. I will not leave you till I have guided +you through this wild wood, and I will direct you on your way so that +you shall be in no danger of mistaking it." +</P> + +<P> +The next morning Melissa conducted Bradamante between rocks and +precipices, crossing rapid torrents, and traversing intricate passes, +employing the time in imparting to her such information as was +necessary to enable her to bring her design to a successful issue. +</P> + +<P> +"Not only would the castle, impenetrable by force, and that winged +horse of his baffle your efforts, but know that he possesses also a +buckler whence flashes a light so brilliant that the eyes of all who +look upon it are blinded. Think not to avoid it by shutting your eyes, +for how then will you be able to avoid his blows, and make him feel +your own? But I will teach you the proper course to pursue. +</P> + +<P> +"Agramant, the Moorish prince, possesses a ring stolen from a queen of +India, which has power to render of no avail all enchantments. +Agramant, knowing that Rogero is of more importance to him than any one +of his warriors, is desirous of rescuing him from the power of the +enchanter, and has sent for that purpose Brunello, the most crafty and +sagacious of his servants, provided with his wonderful ring, and he is +even now at hand, bent on this enterprise. But, beautiful Bradamante, +as I desire that no one but yourself shall have the glory of delivering +from thraldom your future spouse, listen while I disclose the means of +success. Following this path which leads by the seashore, you will come +ere long to a hostelry, where the Saracen Brunello will arrive shortly +before you. You will readily know him by his stature, under four feet, +his great disproportioned head, his squint eyes, his livid hue, his +thick eyebrows joining his tufted beard. His dress, moreover, that of a +courier, will point him out to you. +</P> + +<P> +"It will be easy for you to enter into conversation with him, +announcing yourself as a knight seeking combat with the enchanter, but +let not the knave suspect that you know anything about the ring. I +doubt not that he will be your guide to the castle of the enchanter. +Accept his offer, but take care to keep behind him till you come in +sight of the brilliant dome of the castle. Then hesitate not to strike +him dead, for the wretch deserves no pity, and take from him the ring. +But let him not suspect your intention, for by putting the ring into +his mouth he will instantly become invisible, and disappear from your +eyes." +</P> + +<P> +Saying thus, the sage Melissa and the fair Bradamante arrived near the +city of Bordeaux, where the rich and wide river Garonne pours the +tribute of its waves into the sea. They parted with tender embraces. +Bradamante, intent wholly on her purpose, hastened to arrive at the +hostelry, where Brunello had preceded her a few moments only. The young +heroine knew him without difficulty. She accosted him, and put to him +some slight questions, to which he replied with adroit falsehoods. +Bradamante, on her part, concealed from him her sex, her religion, her +country, and the blood from whence she sprung. While they talk +together, sudden cries are heard from all parts of the hostelry. "O +queen of heaven!" exclaimed Bradamante, "what can be the cause of this +sudden alarm?" She soon learned the cause. Host, children, domestics, +all, with upturned eyes, as if they saw a comet or a great eclipse, +were gazing on a prodigy which seemed to pass the bounds of +possibility. She beheld distinctly a winged horse, mounted with a +cavalier in rich armor, cleaving the air with rapid flight. The wings +of this strange courser were wide extended, and covered with feathers +of various colors. The polished armor of the knight made them shine +with rainbow tints. In a short time the horse and rider disappeared +behind the summits of the mountains. +</P> + +<P> +"It is an enchanter," said the host, "a magician who often is seen +traversing the air in that way. Sometimes he flies aloft as if among +the stars, and at others skims along the land. He possesses a wonderful +castle on the top of the Pyrenees. Many knights have shown their +courage by going to attack him, but none have ever returned, from which +it is to be feared they have lost either their life or their liberty." +</P> + +<P> +Bradamante, addressing the host, said, "Could you furnish me a guide to +conduct me to the castle of this enchanter?" "By my faith," said +Brunello, interrupting, "that you shall not seek in vain; I have it all +in writing, and I will myself conduct you." Bradamante, with thanks, +accepted him for her guide. +</P> + +<P> +The host had a tolerable horse to dispose of, which Bradamante +bargained for, and the next day, at the first dawn of morning, she took +her route by a narrow valley, taking care to have the Saracen Brunello +lead the way. +</P> + +<P> +They reached the summit of the Pyrenees, whence one may look down on +France, Spain, and the two seas. From this height they descended again +by a fatiguing road into a deep valley. From the middle of this valley +an isolated mountain rose, composed of rough and perpendicular rock, on +whose summit was the castle, surrounded with a wall of brass. Brunello +said, "Yonder is the stronghold where the enchanter keeps his +prisoners; one must have wings to mount thither; it is easy to see that +the aid of a flying horse must be necessary for the master of this +castle, which he uses for his prison and for his abode." +</P> + +<P> +Bradamante, sufficiently instructed, saw that the time had now come to +possess herself of the ring; but she could not resolve to slay a +defenceless man. She seized Brunello before he was aware, bound him to +a tree, and took from him the ring which he wore on one of his fingers. +The cries and entreaties of the perfidious Saracen moved her not. She +advanced to the foot of the rock whereon the castle stood, and, to draw +the magician to the combat, sounded her horn, adding to it cries of +defiance. +</P> + +<P> +The enchanter delayed not to present himself, mounted on his winged +horse. Bradamante was struck with surprise mixed with joy when she saw +that this person, described as so formidable, bore no lance nor club, +nor any other deadly weapon. He had only on his arm a buckler, covered +with a cloth, and in his hand an open book. As to the winged horse, +there was no enchantment about him. He was a natural animal, of a +species which exists in the Riphaean mountains. Like a griffin, he had +the head of an eagle, claws armed with talons, and wings covered with +feathers, the rest of his body being that of a horse. This strange +animal is called a Hippogriff. +</P> + +<P> +The heroine attacked the enchanter on his approach, striking on this +side and on that, with all the energy of a violent combat, but wounding +only the wind; and after this pretended attack had lasted some time +dismounted from her horse, as if hoping to do battle more effectually +on foot. The enchanter now prepares to employ his sole weapon, by +uncovering the magic buckler which never failed to subdue an enemy by +depriving him of his senses. Bradamante, confiding in her ring, +observed all the motions of her adversary, and, at the unveiling of the +shield, cast herself on the ground, pretending that the splendor of the +shield had overcome her, but in reality to induce the enchanter to +dismount and approach her. +</P> + +<P> +It happened according to her wish. When the enchanter saw her prostrate +he made his horse alight on the ground, and, dismounting, fixed the +shield on the pommel of his saddle, and approached in order to secure +the fallen warrior. Bradamante, who watched him intently, as soon as +she saw him near at hand, sprang up, seized him vigorously, threw him +down, and, with the same chain which the enchanter had prepared for +herself, bound him fast, without his being able to make any effectual +resistance. +</P> + +<P> +The enchanter, with the accents of despair, exclaimed, "Take my life, +young man!" but Bradamante was far from complying with such a wish. +Desirous of knowing the name of the enchanter, and for what purpose he +had formed with so much art this impregnable fortress, she commanded +him to inform her. +</P> + +<P> +"Alas!" replied the magician, while tears flowed down his cheeks, "it +is not to conceal booty, nor for any culpable design that I have built +this castle; it was only to guard the life of a young knight, the +object of my tenderest affection, my art having taught me that he is +destined to become a Christian, and to perish, shortly after, by the +blackest of treasons. +</P> + +<P> +"This youth, named Rogero, is the most beautiful and most accomplished +of knights. It is I, the unhappy Atlantes, who have reared him from his +childhood. The call of honor and the desire of glory led him from me to +follow Agramant, his prince, in his invasion of France, and I, more +devoted to Rogero than the tenderest of parents, have sought the means +of bringing him back to this abode, in the hope of saving him from the +cruel fate that menaces him. +</P> + +<P> +"For this purpose I have got him in my possession by the same means as +I attempted to employ against you; and by which I have succeeded in +collecting a great many knights and ladies in my castle. My purpose was +to render my beloved pupil's captivity light, by affording him society +to amuse him, and keep his thoughts from running on subjects of war and +glory. Alas! my cares have been in vain! Yet, take, I beseech you, +whatever else I have, but spare me my beloved pupil. Take this shield, +take this winged courser, deliver such of your friends as you may find +among my prisoners, deliver them all if you will, but leave me my +beloved Rogero; or if you will snatch him too from me, take also my +life, which will cease then to be to me worth preserving." +</P> + +<P> +Bradamante replied: "Old man, hope not to move me by your vain +entreaties. It is precisely the liberty of Rogero that I require. You +would keep him here in bondage and in slothful pleasure, to save him +from a fate which you foresee. Vain old man! how can you foresee his +fate when you could not foresee your own? You desire me to take your +life. No, my aim and my soul refuse the request." This said, she +required the magician to go before, and guide her to the castle. The +prisoners were set at liberty, though some, in their secret hearts, +regretted the voluptuous life which was thus brought to an end. +Bradamante and Rogero met one another with transports of joy. +</P> + +<P> +They descended from the mountain to the spot where the encounter had +taken place. There they found the Hippogriff, with the magic buckler in +its wrapper, hanging to his saddle-bow. Bradamante advanced to seize +the bridle; the Hippogriff seemed to wait her approach, but before she +reached him he spread his wings and flew away to a neighboring hill, +and in the same manner, a second time, eluded her efforts. Rogero and +the other liberated knights dispersed over the plain and hilltops to +secure him, and at last the animal allowed Rogero to seize his rein. +The fearless Rogero hesitated not to vault upon his back, and let him +feel his spurs, which so roused his mettle that, after galloping a +short distance, he suddenly spread his wings, and soared into the air. +Bradamante had the grief to see her lover snatched away from her at the +very moment of reunion. Rogero, who knew not the art of directing the +horse, was unable to control his flight. He found himself carried over +the tops of the mountains, so far above them that he could hardly +distinguish what was land and what water. The Hippogriff directed his +flight to the west, and cleaved the air as swiftly as a new-rigged +vessel cuts the waves, impelled by the freshest and most favorable +gales. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="astolpho"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ASTOLPHO AND THE ENCHANTRESS +</H3> + +<P> +In the long flight which Rogero took on the back of the Hippogriff he +was carried over land and sea, unknowing whither. As soon as he had +gained some control over the animal he made him alight on the nearest +land. When he came near enough to earth Rogero leapt lightly from his +back, and tied the animal to a myrtle-tree. Near the spot flowed the +pure waters of a fountain, surrounded by cedars and palm-trees. Rogero +laid aside his shield, and, removing his helmet, breathed with delight +the fresh air, and cooled his lips with the waters of the fountain. For +we cannot wonder that he was excessively fatigued, considering the ride +he had taken. He was preparing to taste the sweets of repose when he +perceived that the Hippogriff, which he had tied by the bridle to a +myrtle-tree, frightened at something, was making violent efforts to +disengage himself. His struggle shook the myrtle-tree so that many of +its beautiful leaves were torn off, and strewed the ground. +</P> + +<P> +A sound like that which issues from burning wood seemed to come from +the myrtle-tree, at first faint and indistinct, but growing stronger by +degrees, and at length was audible as a voice which spoke in this +manner: "O knight, if the tenderness of your heart corresponds to the +beauty of your person, relieve me, I pray you, from this tormenting +animal. I suffer enough inwardly without having outward evils added to +my lot." +</P> + +<P> +Rogero, at the first accents of this voice, turned his eyes promptly on +the myrtle, hastened to it, and stood fixed in astonishment when he +perceived that the voice issued from the tree itself. He immediately +untied his horse, and, flushed with surprise and regret, exclaimed, +"Whoever thou art, whether mortal or the goddess of these woods, +forgive me, I beseech you, my involuntary fault. Had I imagined that +this hard bark covered a being possessed of feeling, could I have +exposed such a beautiful myrtle to the insults of this steed? May the +sweet influences of the sky and air speedily repair the injury I have +done! For my part, I promise by the sovereign lady of my heart to do +everything you wish in order to merit your forgiveness." +</P> + +<P> +At these words the myrtle seemed to tremble from root to stem, and +Rogero remarked that a moisture as of tears trickled down its bark, +like that which exudes from a log placed on the fire. It then spoke: +</P> + +<P> +"The kindness which inspires your words compels me to disclose to you +who I once was, and by what fatality I have been changed into this +shape. My name was Astolpho, cousin of Orlando and Rinaldo, whose fame +has filled the earth. I was myself reckoned among the bravest paladins +of France, and was by birth entitled to reign over England, after Otho, +my father. Returning from the distant East, with Rinaldo and many other +brave knights, called home to aid with our arms the great Emperor of +France, we reached a spot where the powerful enchantress Alcina +possessed a castle on the borders of the sea. She had gone to the +water-side to amuse herself with fishing, and we paused to see how, by +her art, without hook or line, she drew from the water whatever she +would. +</P> + +<P> +"Not far from the shore an enormous whale showed a back so broad and +motionless that it looked like an island. Alcina had fixed her eyes on +me, and planned to get me into her power. Addressing us, she said: +'This is the hour when the prettiest mermaid in the sea comes regularly +every day to the shore of yonder island. She sings so sweetly that the +very waves flow smoother at the sound. If you wish to hear her come +with me to her resort.' So saying, Alcina pointed to the fish, which we +all supposed to be an island. I, who was rash, did not hesitate to +follow her; but swam my horse over, and mounted on the back of the +fish. In vain Rinaldo and Dudon made signs to me to beware; Alcina, +smiling, took me in charge, and led the way. No sooner were we mounted +upon him than the whale moved off, spreading his great fins, and cleft +rapidly the waters. I then saw my folly, but it was too late to repent. +Alcina soothed my anger, and professed that what she had done was for +love of me. Ere long we arrived at this island, where at first +everything was done to reconcile me to my lot, and to make my days pass +happily away. But soon Alcina, sated with her conquest, grew +indifferent, then weary of me, and at last, to get rid of me, changed +me into this form, as she had done to many lovers before me, making +some of them olives, some palms, some cedars, changing others into +fountains, rocks, or even into wild beasts. And thou, courteous knight, +whom accident has brought to this enchanted isle, beware that she get +not the power over thee, or thou shalt haply be made like us, a tree, a +fountain, or a rock." +</P> + +<P> +Rogero expressed his astonishment at this recital. Astolpho added that +the island was in great part subject to the sway of Alcina. By the aid +of her sister Morgana, she had succeeded in dispossessing a third +sister, Logestilla, of nearly the whole of her patrimony, for the whole +isle was hers originally by her father's bequest. But Logestilla was +temperate and sage, while the other sisters were false and voluptuous. +Her empire was divided from theirs by a gulf and chain of mountains, +which alone had thus far prevented her sister from usurping it. +</P> + +<P> +Astolpho here ended his tale, and Rogero, who knew that he was the +cousin of Bradamante, would gladly have devised some way for his +relief; but, as that was out of his power, he consoled him as well as +he could, and then begged to be told the way to the palace of +Logestilla, and how to avoid that of Alcina. Astolpho directed him to +take the road to the left, though rough and full of rocks. He warned +him that this road would present serious obstacles; that troops of +monsters would oppose his passage, employed by the art of Alcina to +prevent her subjects from escaping from her dominion. Rogero thanked +the myrtle, and prepared to set out on his way. +</P> + +<P> +He at first thought he would mount the winged horse, and scale the +mountain on his back; but he was too uncertain of his power to control +him to wish to encounter the hazard of another flight through the air, +besides that he was almost famished for the want of food. So he led the +horse after him, and took the road on foot, which for some distance led +equally to the dominions of both the sisters. +</P> + +<P> +He had not advanced more than two miles when he saw before him the +superb city of Alcina. It was surrounded with a wall of gold, which +seemed to reach the skies. I know that some think that this wall was +not of real gold, but only the work of alchemy; it matters not; I +prefer to think it gold, for it certainly shone like gold. +</P> + +<P> +A broad and level road led to the gates of the city, and from this +another branched off, narrow and rough, which led to the mountain +region. Rogero took without hesitation the narrow road; but he had no +sooner entered upon it than he was assailed by a numerous troop which +opposed his passage. +</P> + +<P> +You never have seen anything so ridiculous, so extraordinary, as this +host of hobgoblins were. Some of them bore the human form from the neck +to the feet, but had the head of a monkey or a cat; others had the legs +and the ears of a horse; old men and women, bald and hideous, ran +hither and thither as if out of their senses, half clad in the shaggy +skins of beasts; one rode full speed on a horse without a bridle, +another jogged along mounted on an ass or a cow; others, full of +agility, skipped about, and clung to the tails and manes of the animals +which their companions rode. Some blew horns, others brandished +drinking-cups; some were armed with spits, and some with pitchforks. +One, who appeared to be the captain, had an enormous belly and a gross +fat head; he was mounted on a tortoise, that waddled, now this way, now +that, without keeping any one direction. +</P> + +<P> +One of these monsters, who had something approaching the human form, +though he had the neck, ears, and muzzle of a dog, set himself to bark +furiously at Rogero, to make him turn off to the right, and reenter +upon the road to the gay city; but the brave chevalier exclaimed, "That +will I not, so long as I can use this sword,"--and he thrust the point +directly at his face. The monster tried to strike him with a lance, but +Rogero was too quick for him, and thrust his sword through his body, so +that it appeared a hand's breadth behind his back. The paladin, now +giving full vent to his rage, laid about him vigorously among the +rabble, cleaving one to the teeth, another to the girdle; but the troop +were so numerous, and in spite of his blows pressed around him so +close, that, to clear his way, he must have had as many arms as +Briareus. +</P> + +<P> +If Rogero had uncovered the shield of the enchanter, which hung at his +saddle-bow, he might easily have vanquished this monstrous rout; but +perhaps he did not think of it, and perhaps he preferred to seek his +defence nowhere but in his good sword. At that moment, when his +perplexity was at its height, he saw issue from the city gate two young +beauties, whose air and dress proclaimed their rank and gentle nurture. +Each of them was mounted on a unicorn, whose whiteness surpassed that +of ermine. They advanced to the meadow where Rogero was contending so +valiantly against the hobgoblins, who all retired at their approach. +They drew near, they extended their hands to the young warrior, whose +cheeks glowed with the flush of exercise and modesty. Grateful for +their assistance, he expressed his thanks, and, having no heart to +refuse them, followed their guidance to the gate of the city. +</P> + +<P> +This grand and beautiful entrance was adorned by a portico of four vast +columns, all of diamond. Whether they were real diamond or artificial I +cannot say. What matter is it, so long as they appeared to the eye like +diamond, and nothing could be more gay and splendid. +</P> + +<P> +On the threshold, and between the columns, was seen a bevy of charming +young women, who played and frolicked together. They all ran to receive +Rogero, and conducted him into the palace, which appeared like a +paradise. +</P> + +<P> +We might well call by that name this abode, where the hours flew by, +without account, in ever-new delights. The bare idea of satiety, want, +and, above all, of age, never entered the minds of the inhabitants. +They experienced no sensations except those of luxury and gayety; the +cup of happiness seemed for them ever-flowing and exhaustless. The two +young damsels to whom Rogero owed his deliverance from the hobgoblins +conducted him to the apartment of their mistress. The beautiful Alcina +advanced, and greeted him with an air at once dignified and courteous. +All her court surrounded the paladin, and rendered him the most +flattering attentions. The castle was less admirable for its +magnificence than for the charms of those who inhabited it. They were +of either sex, well matched in beauty, youth, and grace; but among this +charming group the brilliant Alcina shone, as the sun outshines the +stars. The young warrior was fascinated. All that he had heard from the +myrtle-tree appeared to him but a vile calumny. How could he suspect +that falsehood and treason veiled themselves under smiles and the +ingenuous air of truth? He doubted not that Astolpho had deserved his +fate, and perhaps a punishment more severe; he regarded all his stories +as dictated by a disappointed spirit, and a thirst for revenge. But we +must not condemn Rogero too harshly, for he was the victim of magic +power. +</P> + +<P> +They seated themselves at table, and immediately harmonious lyres and +harps waked the air with the most ravishing notes. The charms of poetry +were added in entertaining recitals; the magnificence of the feast +would have done credit to a royal board. The traitress forgot nothing +which might charm the paladin, and attach him to the spot, meaning, +when she should grow tired of him, to metamorphose him as she had done +others. In the same manner passed each succeeding day. Games of +pleasant exercise, the chase, the dance, or rural sports, made the +hours pass quickly; while they gave zest to the refreshment of the +bath, or sleep. +</P> + +<P> +Thus Rogero led a life of ease and luxury, while Charlemagne and +Agramant were struggling for empire. But I cannot linger with him while +the amiable and courageous Bradamante is night and day directing her +uncertain steps to every spot where the slightest chance invites her, +in the hope of recovering Rogero. +</P> + +<P> +I will therefore say that, having sought him in vain in fields and in +cities, she knew not whither next to direct her steps. She did not +apprehend the death of Rogero. The fall of such a hero would have +reechoed from the Hydaspes to the farthest river of the West; but, not +knowing whether he was on the earth or in the air, she concluded, as a +last resource, to return to the cavern which contained the tomb of +Merlin, to ask of him some sure direction to the object of her search. +</P> + +<P> +While this thought occupied her mind, Melissa, the sage enchantress, +suddenly appeared before her. This virtuous and beneficent magician had +discovered by her spells that Rogero was passing his time in pleasure +and idleness, forgetful of his honor and his sovereign. Not able to +endure the thought that one who was born to be a hero should waste his +years in base repose, and leave a sullied reputation in the memory of +survivors, she saw that vigorous measures must be employed to draw him +forth into the paths of virtue. Melissa was not blinded by her +affection for the amiable paladin, like Atlantes, who, intent only on +preserving Rogero's life, cared nothing for his fame. It was that old +enchanter whose arts had guided the Hippogriff to the isle of the too +charming Alcina, where he hoped his favorite would learn to forget +honor, and lose the love of glory. +</P> + +<P> +At the sight of Melissa joy lighted up the countenance of Bradamante, +and hope animated her breast. Melissa concealed nothing from her, but +told her how Rogero was in the toils of Alcina. Bradamante was plunged +in grief and terror; but the kind enchantress calmed her, dispelled her +fears, and promised that before many days she would lead back the +paladin to her feet. +</P> + +<P> +"My daughter," she said, "give me the ring which you wear, and which +possesses the power to overcome enchantments. By means of it I doubt +not but that I may enter the stronghold where the false Alcina holds +Rogero in durance, and may succeed in vanquishing her and liberating +him." Bradamante unhesitatingly delivered her the ring, recommending +Rogero to her best efforts. Melissa then summoned by her art a huge +palfrey, black as jet, excepting one foot, which was bay. Mounted upon +this animal, she rode with such speed that by the next morning she had +reached the abode of Alcina. +</P> + +<P> +She here transformed herself into the perfect resemblance of the old +magician Atlantes, adding a palm-breadth to her height, and enlarging +her whole figure. Her chin she covered with a long beard, and seamed +her whole visage well with wrinkles. She assumed also his voice and +manner, and watched her chance to find Rogero alone. At last she found +him, dressed in a rich tunic of silk and gold, a collar of precious +stones about his neck, and his arms, once so rough with exercise, +decorated with bracelets. His air and his every motion indicated +effeminacy, and he seemed to retain nothing of Rogero but the name; +such power had the enchantress obtained over him. +</P> + +<P> +Melissa, under the form of his old instructor, presented herself before +him, wearing a stern and serious visage. "Is this, then," she said, +"the fruit of all my labors? Is it for this that I fed you on the +marrow of bears and lions, that I taught you to subdue dragons, and, +like Hercules, strangle serpents in your youthful grasp, only to make +you, by all my cares, a feeble Adonis? My nightly watchings of the +stars, of the yet warm fibres of animals, the lots I have cast, the +points of nativity that I have calculated, have they all falsely +indicated that you were born for greatness? Who could have believed +that you would become the slave of a base enchantress? O Rogero, learn +to know this Alcina, learn to understand her arts and to countervail +them. Take this ring, place it on your finger, return to her presence, +and see for yourself what are her real charms." +</P> + +<P> +At these words, Rogero, confused, abashed, cast his eyes upon the +ground, and knew not what to answer. Melissa seized the moment, slipped +the ring on his finger, and the paladin was himself again. What a +thunderclap to him! Overcome by shame, he dared not to encounter the +looks of his instructor. When at last he raised his eyes he beheld not +that venerable form, but the priestess Melissa, who in virtue of the +ring now appeared in her true person. She told him of the motives which +had led her to come to his rescue, of the griefs and regrets of +Bradamante, and of her unwearied search for him. "That charming +Amazon," she said, "sends you this ring, which is a sovereign antidote +to all enchantments. She would have sent you her heart in my hands, if +it would have had greater power to serve you." +</P> + +<P> +It was needless for Melissa to say more. Rogero's love for Alcina, +being but the work of enchantment, vanished as soon as the enchantment +was withdrawn, and he now hated her with an equal intensity, seeing no +longer anything in her but her vices, and feeling only resentment for +the shame that she had put upon him. +</P> + +<P> +His surprise when he again beheld Alcina was no less than his +indignation. Fortified by his ring from her enchantments, he saw her as +she was, a monster of ugliness. All her charms were artificial, and, +truly viewed, were rather deformities. She was, in fact, older than +Hecuba or the Sibyl of Cumae; but an art, which it is to be regretted +our times have lost, enabled her to appear charming, and to clothe +herself in all the attractions of youth. Rogero now saw all this, but, +governed by the counsels of Melissa, he concealed his surprise, assumed +under some pretext his armor, long neglected, and bound to his side +Belisarda, his trusty sword, taking also the buckler of Atlantes, +covered with its veil. +</P> + +<P> +He then selected a horse from the stables of Alcina, without exciting +her suspicions; but he left the Hippogriff, by the advice of Melissa, +who promised to take him in charge, and train him to a more manageable +state. The horse he took was Rabican, which belonged to Astolpho. He +restored the ring to Melissa. +</P> + +<P> +Rogero had not ridden far when he met one of the huntsmen of Alcina, +bearing a falcon on his wrist, and followed by a dog. The huntsman was +mounted on a powerful horse, and came boldly up to the paladin, +demanding, in a somewhat imperious manner, whither he was going so +rapidly. Rogero disdained to stop or to reply; whereupon the huntsman, +not doubting that he was about making his escape, said, "What if I, +with my falcon, stop your ride?" So saying, he threw off the bird, +which even Rabican could not equal in speed. The huntsman then leapt +from his horse, and the animal, open-mouthed, darted after Rogero with +the swiftness of an arrow. The huntsman also ran as if the wind or fire +bore him, and the dog was equal to Rabican in swiftness. Rogero, +finding flight impossible, stopped and faced his pursuers; but his +sword was useless against such foes. The insolent huntsman assailed him +with words, and struck him with his whip, the only weapon he had; the +dog bit his feet, and the horse drove at him with his hoofs. At the +same time the falcon flew over his head and over Rabican's and attacked +them with claws and wings, so that the horse in his fright began to be +unmanageable. At that moment the sound of trumpets and cymbals was +heard in the valley, and it was evident that Alcina had ordered out all +her array to go in pursuit. Rogero felt that there was no time to be +lost, and luckily remembered the shield of Atlantes, which he bore +suspended from his neck. He unveiled it, and the charm worked +wonderfully. The huntsman, the dog, the horse, fell flat; the trembling +wings of the falcon could no longer sustain her, and she fell senseless +to the ground. Rogero, rid of their annoyances, left them in their +trance, and rode away. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile Alcina, with all the force she could muster, sallied forth +from her palace in pursuit. Melissa, left behind, took advantage of the +opportunity to ransack all the rooms, protected by the ring. She undid +one by one all the talismans and spells which she found, broke the +seals, burned the images, and untied the hagknots. Thence, hurrying +through the fields, she disenchanted the victims changed into trees, +fountains, stones, or brutes; all of whom recovered their liberty, and +vowed eternal gratitude to their deliverer. They made their escape, +with all possible despatch, to the realms of the good Logestilla, +whence they departed to their several homes. +</P> + +<P> +Astolpho was the first whom Melissa liberated, for Rogero had +particularly recommended him to her care. She aided him to recover his +arms, and particularly that precious golden-headed lance which once was +Argalia's. The enchantress mounted with him upon the winged horse, and +in a short time arrived through the air at the castle of Logestilla, +where Rogero joined them soon after. +</P> + +<P> +In this abode the friends passed a short period of delightful and +improving intercourse with the sage Logestilla and her virtuous court; +and then each departed, Rogero with the Hippogriff, ring, and buckler; +Astolpho with his golden lance, and mounted on Rabican, the fleetest of +steeds. To Rogero Logestilla gave a bit and bridle suited to govern the +Hippogriff; and to Astolpho a horn of marvellous powers, to be sounded +only when all other weapons were unavailing. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="orc"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE ORC +</H3> + +<P> +We left the charming Angelica at the moment when, in her flight from +her contending lovers, Sacripant and Rinaldo, she met an aged hermit. +We have seen that her request to the hermit was to furnish her the +means of gaining the sea-coast, eager to avoid Rinaldo, whom she hated, +by leaving France and Europe itself. The pretended hermit, who was no +other than a vile magician, knowing well that it would not be agreeable +to his false gods to aid Angelica in this undertaking, feigned to +comply with her desire. He supplied her a horse, into which he had by +his arts caused a subtle devil to enter, and, having mounted Angelica +on the animal, directed her what course to take to reach the sea. +</P> + +<P> +Angelica rode on her way without suspicion, but when arrived at the +shore, the demon urged the animal headlong into the water. Angelica in +vain attempted to turn him back to the land; he continued his course +till, as night approached, he landed with his burden on a sandy +headland. +</P> + +<P> +Angelica, finding herself alone, abandoned in this frightful solitude, +remained without movement, as if stupefied, with hands joined and eyes +turned towards heaven, till at last, pouring forth a torrent of tears, +she exclaimed: "Cruel fortune, have you not yet exhausted your rage +against me? To what new miseries do you doom me? Alas! then finish your +work! Deliver me a prey to some ferocious beast, or by whatever fate +you choose bring me to an end. I will be thankful to you for +terminating my life and my misery." At last, exhausted by her sorrows, +she fell asleep, and sunk prostrate on the sand. +</P> + +<P> +Before recounting what next befell, we must declare what place it was +upon which the unhappy lady was now thrown. In the sea that washes the +coast of Ireland there is an island called Ebuda, whose inhabitants, +once numerous, had been wasted by the anger of Proteus till there were +now but few left. This deity was incensed by some neglect of the usual +honors which he had in old times received from the inhabitants of the +land, and, to execute his vengeance, had sent a horrid sea-monster, +called an Orc, to devour them. Such were the terrors of his ravages +that the whole people of the isle had shut themselves up in the +principal town, and relied on their walls alone to protect them. In +this distress they applied to the Oracle for advice, and were directed +to appease the wrath of the sea-monster by offering to him the fairest +virgin that the country could produce. +</P> + +<P> +Now it so happened that the very day when this dreadful oracle was +announced, and when the fatal mandate had gone forth to seek among the +fairest maidens of the land one to be offered to the monster, some +sailors, landing on the beach where Angelica was, beheld that beauty as +she lay asleep. +</P> + +<P> +O blind Chance! whose power in human affairs is but too great, canst +thou then abandon to the teeth of a horrible monster those charms which +different sovereigns took arms against one another to possess? Alas! +the lovely Angelica is destined to be the victim of those cruel +islanders. +</P> + +<P> +Still asleep, she was bound by the Ebudians, and it was not until she +was carried on board the vessel that she came to a knowledge of her +situation. The wind filled the sails and wafted the ship swiftly to the +port, where all that beheld her agreed that she was unquestionably the +victim selected by Proteus himself to be his prey. Who can tell the +screams, the mortal anguish of this unhappy maiden, the reproaches she +addressed even to the heavens themselves, when the dreadful information +of her cruel fate was made known to her? I cannot; let me rather turn +to a happier part of my story. +</P> + +<P> +Rogero left the palace of Logestilla, careering on his flying courser +far above the tops of the mountains, and borne westward by the +Hippogriff, which he guided with ease, by means of the bridle that +Melissa had given him. Anxious as he was to recover Bradamante, he +could not fail to be delighted at the view his rapid flight presented +of so many vast regions and populous countries as he passed over in his +career. At last he approached the shores of England, and perceived an +immense army in all the splendor of military pomp, as if about to go +forth flushed with hopes of victory. He caused the Hippogriff to alight +not far from the scene, and found himself immediately surrounded by +admiring spectators, knights and soldiers, who could not enough indulge +their curiosity and wonder. Rogero learned, in reply to his questions, +that the fine array of troops before him was the army destined to go to +the aid of the French Emperor, in compliance with the request presented +by the illustrious Rinaldo, as ambassador of King Charles, his uncle. +</P> + +<P> +By this time the curiosity of the English chevaliers was partly +gratified in beholding the Hippogriff at rest, and Rogero, to renew +their surprise and delight, remounted the animal, and, slapping spurs +to his sides, made him launch into the air with the rapidity of a +meteor, and directed his flight still westwardly, till he came within +sight of the coasts of Ireland. Here he descried what seemed to be a +fair damsel, alone, fast chained to a rock which projected into the +sea. What was his astonishment when, drawing nigh, he beheld the +beautiful princess Angelica! That day she had been led forth and bound +to the rock, there to wait till the sea-monster should come to devour +her. Rogero exclaimed as he came near, "What cruel hands, what +barbarous soul, what fatal chance can have loaded thee with those +chains?" Angelica replied by a torrent of tears, at first her only +response; then, in a trembling voice, she disclosed to him the horrible +destiny for which she was there exposed. While she spoke, a terrible +roaring was heard far off on the sea. The huge monster soon came in +sight, part of his body appearing above the waves and part concealed. +Angelica, half dead with fear, abandoned herself to despair. +</P> + +<P> +Rogero, lance in rest, spurred his Hippogriff toward the Orc, and gave +him a thrust. The horrible monster was like nothing that nature +produces. It was but one mass of tossing and twisting body, with +nothing of the animal but head, eyes, and mouth, the last furnished +with tusks like those of the wild boar. Rogero's lance had struck him +between the eyes; but rock and iron are not more impenetrable than were +his scales. The knight, seeing the fruitlessness of the first blow, +prepared to give a second. The animal, beholding upon the water the +shadow of the great wings of the Hippogriff, abandoned his prey, and +turned to seize what seemed nearer. Rogero took the opportunity, and +dealt him furious blows on various parts of his body, taking care to +keep clear of his murderous teeth; but the scales resisted every +attack. The Orc beat the water with his tail till he raised a foam +which enveloped Rogero and his steed, so that the knight hardly knew +whether he was in the water or the air. He began to fear that the wings +of the Hippogriff would be so drenched with water that they would cease +to sustain him. At that moment Rogero bethought him of the magic shield +which hung at his saddle-bow; but the fear that Angelica would also be +blinded by its glare discouraged him from employing it. Then he +remembered the ring which Melissa had given him, the power of which he +had so lately proved. He hastened to Angelica and placed it on her +finger. Then, uncovering the buckler, he turned its bright disk full in +the face of the detestable Orc. The effect was instantaneous. The +monster, deprived of sense and motion, rolled over on the sea, and lay +floating on his back. Rogero would fain have tried the effect of his +lance on the now exposed parts, but Angelica implored him to lose no +time in delivering her from her chains before the monster should +revive. Rogero, moved with her entreaties, hastened to do so, and, +having unbound her, made her mount behind him on the Hippogriff. The +animal, spurning the earth, shot up into the air, and rapidly sped his +way through it. Rogero, to give time to the princess to rest after her +cruel agitations, soon sought the earth again, alighting on the shore +of Brittany. Near the shore a thick wood presented itself, which +resounded with the songs of birds. In the midst, a fountain of +transparent water bathed the turf of a little meadow. A gentle hill +rose near by. Rogero, making the Hippogriff alight in the meadow, +dismounted, and took Angelica from the horse. +</P> + +<P> +When the first tumults of emotion had subsided Angelica, casting her +eyes downward, beheld the precious ring upon her finger, whose virtues +she was well acquainted with, for it was the very ring which the +Saracen Brunello had robbed her of. She drew it from her finger and +placed it in her mouth, and, quicker than we can tell it, disappeared +from the sight of the paladin. +</P> + +<P> +Rogero looked around him on all sides, like one frantic, but soon +remembered the ring which he had so lately placed on her finger. Struck +with the ingratitude which could thus recompense his services, he +exclaimed: "Thankless beauty, is this then the reward you make me? Do +you prefer to rob me of my ring rather than receive it as a gift? +Willingly would I have given it to you, had you but asked it." Thus he +said, searching on all sides with arms extended like a blind man, +hoping to recover by the touch what was lost to sight; but he sought in +vain. The cruel beauty was already far away. +</P> + +<P> +Though sensible of her obligations to her deliverer, her first +necessity was for clothing, food, and repose. She soon reached a +shepherd's hut, where, entering unseen, she found what sufficed for her +present relief. An old herdsman inhabited the hut, whose charges +consisted of a drove of mares. When recruited by repose Angelica +selected one of the mares from the flock, and, mounting the animal, +felt the desire revive in her mind of returning to her home in the +East, and for that purpose would gladly have accepted the protection of +Orlando or of Sacripant across those wide regions which divided her +from her own country. In hopes of meeting with one or the other of them +she pursued her way. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile Rogero, despairing of seeing Angelica again, returned to the +tree where he had left his winged horse, but had the mortification to +find that the animal had broken his bridle and escaped. This loss, +added to his previous disappointment, overwhelmed him with vexation. +Sadly he gathered up his arms, threw his buckler over his shoulders, +and, taking the first path that offered, soon found himself within the +verge of a dense and widespread forest. +</P> + +<P> +He had proceeded for some distance when he heard a noise on his right, +and, listening attentively, distinguished the clash of arms. He made +his way toward the place whence the sound proceeded, and found two +warriors engaged in mortal combat. One of them was a knight of a noble +and manly bearing, the other a fierce giant. The knight appeared to +exert consummate address in defending herself against the massive club +of the giant, evading his strokes, or parrying them with sword or +shield. Rogero stood spectator of the combat, for he did not allow +himself to interfere in it, though a secret sentiment inclined him +strongly to take part with the knight. At length he saw with grief the +massive club fall directly on the head of the knight, who yielded to +the blow, and fell prostrate. The giant sprang forward to despatch him, +and for that purpose unlaced his helmet, when Rogero, with dismay, +recognized the face of Bradamante. He cried aloud, "Hold, miscreant!" +and sprang forward with drawn sword. Whereupon the giant, as if he +cared not to enter upon another combat, lifted Bradamante on his +shoulders, and ran with her into the forest. +</P> + +<P> +Rogero plunged after him, but the long legs of the giant carried him +forward so fast that the paladin could hardly keep him in sight. At +length they issued from the wood, and Rogero perceived before him a +rich palace, built of marble, and adorned with sculptures executed by a +master hand. Into this edifice, through a golden door, the giant +passed, and Rogero followed; but, on looking round, saw nowhere either +the giant or Bradamante. He ran from room to room, calling aloud on his +cowardly foe to turn and meet him; but got no response, nor caught +another glimpse of the giant or his prey. In his vain pursuit he met, +without knowing them, Ferrau, Florismart, King Gradasso, Orlando, and +many others, all of whom had been entrapped like himself into this +enchanted castle. It was a new stratagem of the magician Atlantes to +draw Rogero into his power, and to secure also those who might by any +chance endanger his safety. What Rogero had taken for Bradamante was a +mere phantom. That charming lady was far away, full of anxiety for her +Rogero, whose coming she had long expected. +</P> + +<P> +The Emperor had committed to her charge the city and garrison of +Marseilles, and she held the post against the infidels with valor and +discretion. One day Melissa suddenly presented herself before her. +Anticipating her questions, she said, "Fear not for Rogero; he lives, +and is as ever true to you; but he has lost his liberty. The fell +enchanter has again succeeded in making him a prisoner. If you would +deliver him, mount your horse and follow me." She told her in what +manner Atlantes had deceived Rogero, in deluding his eyes with the +phantom of herself in peril. "Such," she continued, "will be his arts +in your own case, if you penetrate the forest and approach that castle. +You will think you behold Rogero, when, in fact, you see only the +enchanter himself. Be not deceived, plunge your sword into his body, +and trust me when I tell you that, in slaying him, you will restore not +only Rogero, but with him many of the bravest knights of France, whom +the wizard's arts have withdrawn from the camp of their sovereign." +</P> + +<P> +Bradamante promptly armed herself, and mounted her horse. Melissa led +her by forced journeys, by field and forest, beguiling the way with +conversation on the theme which interested her hearer most. When at +last they reached the forest, she repeated once more her instructions, +and then took her leave, for fear the enchanter might espy her, and be +put on his guard. +</P> + +<P> +Bradamante rode on about two miles when suddenly she beheld Rogero, as +it appeared to her, hard pressed by two fierce giants. While she +hesitated she heard his voice calling on her for help. At once the +cautions of Melissa lost their weight. A sudden doubt of the faith and +truth of her kind monitress flashed across her mind. "Shall I not +believe my own eyes and ears?" she said, and rushed forward to his +defence. Rogero fled, pursued by the giants, and Bradamante followed, +passing with them through the castle gate. When there, Bradamante was +undeceived, for neither giant nor knight was to be seen. She found +herself a prisoner, but had not the consolation of knowing that she +shared the imprisonment of her beloved. She saw various forms of men +and women, but could recognize none of them; and their lot was the same +with respect to her. Each viewed the others under some illusion of the +fancy, wearing the semblance of giants, dwarfs, or even four-footed +animals, so that there was no companionship or communication between +them. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="isabella"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ASTOLPHO'S ADVENTURES CONTINUED, AND ISABELLA'S BEGUN +</H3> + +<P> +When Astolpho escaped from the cruel Alcina, after a short abode in the +realm of the virtuous Logestilla, he desired to return to his native +country. Logestilla lent him the best vessel of her fleet to convey him +to the mainland. She gave him at parting a wonderful book, which taught +the secret of overcoming all manners of enchantments, and begged him to +carry it always with him, out of regard for her. She also gave him +another gift, which surpassed everything of the kind that mortal +workmanship can frame; yet it was nothing in appearance but a simple +horn. +</P> + +<P> +Astolpho, protected by these gifts, thanked the good fairy, took leave +of her, and set out on his return to France. His voyage was prosperous, +and on reaching the desired port he took leave of the faithful +mariners, and continued his journey by land. As he proceeded over +mountains and through valleys he often met with bands of robbers, wild +beasts, and venomous serpents, but he had only to sound his horn to put +them all to flight. +</P> + +<P> +Having landed in France, and traversed many provinces on his way to the +army, he one day, in crossing a forest, arrived beside a fountain, and +alighted to drink. While he stooped at the fountain a young rustic +sprang from the copse, mounted Rabican, and rode away. It was a new +trick of the enchanter Atlantes. Astolpho, hearing the noise, turned +his head just in time to see his loss; and, starting up, pursued the +thief, who, on his part, did not press the horse to his full speed, but +just kept in sight of his pursuer till they both issued from the +forest; and then Rabican and his rider took shelter in a castle which +stood near. Astolpho followed, and penetrated without difficulty within +the court-yard of the castle, where he looked around for the rider and +his horse, but could see no trace of either, nor any person of whom he +could make inquiry. Suspecting that enchantment was employed to +embarrass him, he bethought him of his book, and on consulting it +discovered that his suspicions were well founded. He also learned what +course to pursue. He was directed to raise the stone which served as a +threshold, under which a spirit lay pent, who would willingly escape, +and leave the castle free of access. Astolpho applied his strength to +lift aside the stone. Thereupon the magician put his arts in force. The +castle was full of prisoners, and the magician caused that to all of +them Astolpho should appear in some false guise--to some a wild beast, +to others a giant, to others a bird of prey. Thus all assailed him, and +would quickly have made an end of him, if he had not bethought him of +his horn. No sooner had he blown a blast than, at the horrid larum, +fled the cavaliers and the necromancer with them, like a flock of +pigeons at the sound of the fowler's gun. Astolpho then renewed his +efforts on the stone, and turned it over. The under face was all +inscribed with magical characters, which the knight defaced, as +directed by his book; and no sooner had he done so, than the castle, +with its walls and turrets, vanished into smoke. +</P> + +<P> +The knights and ladies set at liberty were, besides Rogero and +Bradamante, Orlando, Gradasso, Florismart, and many more. At the sound +of the horn they fled, one and all, men and steeds, except Rabican, +which Astolpho secured, in spite of his terror. As soon as the sound +had ceased Rogero recognized Bradamante, whom he had daily met during +their imprisonment, but had been prevented from knowing by the +enchanter's arts. No words can tell the delight with which they +recognized each other, and recounted mutually all that had happened to +each since they were parted. Rogero took advantage of the opportunity +to press his suit, and found Bradamante as propitious as he could wish, +were it not for a single obstacle, the difference of their faiths. "If +he would obtain her in marriage," she said, "he must in due form demand +her of her father, Duke Aymon, and must abandon his false prophet, and +become a Christian." The latter step was one which Rogero had for some +time intended taking, for reasons of his own. He therefore gladly +accepted the terms, and proposed that they should at once repair to the +abbey of Vallombrosa, whose towers were visible at no great distance. +Thither they turned their horses' heads, and we will leave them to find +their way without our company. +</P> + +<P> +I know not if my readers recollect that at the moment when Rogero had +just delivered Angelica from the voracious Orc that scornful beauty +placed her ring in her mouth, and vanished out of sight. At the same +time the Hippogriff shook off his bridle, soared away, and flew to +rejoin his former master, very naturally returning to his accustomed +stable. Here Astolpho found him, to his very great delight. He knew the +animal's powers, having seen Rogero ride him, and he longed to fly +abroad over all the earth, and see various nations and peoples from his +airy course. He had heard Logestilla's directions how to guide the +animal, and saw her fit a bridle to his head. He therefore was able, +out of all the bridles he found in the stable, to select one suitable, +and, placing Rabican's saddle on the Hippogriff's back, nothing seemed +to prevent his immediate departure. Yet before he went he bethought him +of placing Rabican in hands where he would be safe, and whence he might +recover him in time of need. While he stood deliberating where he +should find a messenger, he saw Bradamante approach. That fair warrior +had been parted from Rogero on their way to the abbey of Vallombrosa, +by an inopportune adventure which had called the knight away. She was +now returning to Montalban, having arranged with Rogero to join her +there. To Bradamante, therefore, his fair cousin, Astolpho committed +Rabican, and also the lance of gold, which would only be an incumbrance +in his aerial excursion. Bradamante took charge of both; and Astolpho, +bidding her farewell, soared in air. +</P> + +<P> +Among those delivered by Astolpho from the magician's castle was +Orlando. Following the guide of chance, the paladin found himself at +the close of day in a forest, and stopped at the foot of a mountain. +Surprised to discern a light which came from a cleft in the rock, he +approached, guided by the ray, and discovered a narrow passage in the +mountain-side, which led into a deep grotto. +</P> + +<P> +Orlando fastened his horse, and then, putting aside the bushes that +resisted his passage, stepped down from rock to rock till he reached a +sort of cavern. Entering it, he perceived a lady, young and handsome, +as well as he could discover through the signs of distress which +agitated her countenance. Her only companion was an old woman, who +seemed to be regarded by her young partner with terror and indignation. +The courteous paladin saluted the women respectfully, and begged to +know by whose barbarity they had been subjected to such imprisonment. +</P> + +<P> +The younger lady replied, in a voice often broken with sobs: +</P> + +<P> +"Though I know well that my recital will subject me to worse treatment +by the barbarous man who keeps me here, to whom this woman will not +fail to report it, yet I will not hide from you the facts. Ah! why +should I fear his rage? If he should take my life, I know not what +better boon than death I can ask. +</P> + +<P> +"My name is Isabella. I am the daughter of the king of Galicia, or +rather I should say misfortune and grief are my parents. Young, rich, +modest, and of tranquil temper, all things appeared to combine to +render my lot happy. Alas! I see myself to-day poor, humbled, +miserable, and destined perhaps to yet further afflictions. It is a +year since, my father having given notice that he would open the lists +for a tournament at Bayonne, a great number of chevaliers from all +quarters came together at our court. Among these Zerbino, son of the +king of Scotland, victorious in all combats, eclipsed by his beauty and +his valor all the rest. Before departing from the court of Galicia he +testified the wish to espouse me, and I consented that he should demand +my hand of the king, my father. But I was a Mahometan, and Zerbino a +Christian, and my father refused his consent. The prince, called home +by his father to take command of the forces destined to the assistance +of the French Emperor, prevailed on me to be married to him secretly, +and to follow him to Scotland. He caused a galley to be prepared to +receive me, and placed in command of it the chevalier Oderic, a +Biscayan, famous for his exploits both by land and sea. On the day +appointed, Oderic brought his vessel to a seaside resort of my +father's, where I embarked. Some of my domestics accompanied me, and +thus I departed from my native land. +</P> + +<P> +"Sailing with a fair wind, after some hours we were assailed by a +violent tempest. It was to no purpose that we took in all sail; we were +driven before the wind directly upon the rocky shore. Seeing no other +hopes of safety, Oderic placed me in a boat, followed himself with a +few of his men, and made for land. We reached it through infinite +peril, and I no sooner felt the firm land beneath my feet, than I knelt +down and poured out heartfelt thanks to the Providence that had +preserved me. +</P> + +<P> +"The shore where we landed appeared to be uninhabited. We saw no +dwelling to shelter us, no road to lead us to a more hospitable spot. A +high mountain rose before us, whose base stretched into the sea. It was +here the infamous Oderic, in spite of my tears and entreaties, sold me +to a band of pirates, who fancied I might be an acceptable present to +their prince, the Sultan of Morocco. This cavern is their den, and here +they keep me under the guard of this woman, until it shall suit their +convenience to carry me away." +</P> + +<P> +Isabella had hardly finished her recital when a troop of armed men +began to enter the cavern. Seeing the prince Orlando, one said to the +rest, "What bird is this we have caught, without even setting a snare +for him?" Then addressing Orlando, "It was truly civil in you, friend, +to come hither with that handsome coat of armor and vest, the very +things I want." "You shall pay for them, then," said Orlando; and +seizing a half-burnt brand from the fire, he hurled it at him, striking +his head, and stretching him lifeless on the floor. +</P> + +<P> +There was a massy table in the middle of the cavern, used for the +pirates' repasts. Orlando lifted it and hurled it at the robbers as +they stood clustered in a group toward the entrance. Half the gang were +laid prostrate, with broken heads and limbs; the rest got away as +nimbly as they could. +</P> + +<P> +Leaving the den and its inmates to their fate, Orlando, taking Isabella +under his protection, pursued his way for some days, without meeting +with any adventure. +</P> + +<P> +One day they saw a band of men advancing, who seemed to be guarding a +prisoner, bound hand and foot, as if being carried to execution. The +prisoner was a youthful cavalier, of a noble and ingenuous appearance. +The band bore the ensigns of Count Anselm, head of the treacherous +house of Maganza. Orlando desired Isabella to wait, while he rode +forward to inquire the meaning of this array. Approaching, he demanded +of the leader who his prisoner was, and of what crime he had been +guilty. The man replied that the prisoner was a murderer, by whose hand +Pinabel, the son of Count Anselm, had been treacherously slain. At +these words the prisoner exclaimed, "I am no murderer, nor have I been +in any way the cause of the young man's death." Orlando, knowing the +cruel and ferocious character of the chiefs of the house of Maganza, +needed no more to satisfy him that the youth was the victim of +injustice. He commanded the leader of the troop to release his victim, +and, receiving an insolent reply, dashed him to the earth with a stroke +of his lance; then by a few vigorous blows dispersed the band, leaving +deadly marks on those who were slowest to quit the field. +</P> + +<P> +Orlando then hastened to unbind the prisoner, and to assist him to +reclothe himself in his armor, which the false Magencian had dared to +assume. He then led him to Isabella, who now approached the scene of +action. How can we picture the joy, the astonishment, with which +Isabella recognized in him Zerbino, her husband, and the prince +discovered her whom he had believed overwhelmed in the waves! They +embraced one another, and wept for joy. Orlando, sharing in their +happiness, congratulated himself in having been the instrument of it. +The princess recounted to Zerbino what the illustrious paladin had done +for her, and the prince threw himself at Orlando's feet, and thanked +him as having twice preserved his life. +</P> + +<P> +While these exchanges of congratulation and thankfulness were going on, +a sound in the underwood attracted their attention, and caused the two +knights to brace their helmets and stand on their guard. What the cause +of the interruption was we shall record in another chapter. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="medoro"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +MEDORO +</H3> + +<P> +France was at this time the theatre of dreadful events. The Saracens +and the Christians, in numerous encounters, slew one another. On one +occasion Rinaldo led an attack on the infidel columns, broke and +scattered them, till he found himself opposite to a knight whose armor +(whether by accident or by choice, it matters not) bore the blazon of +Orlando. It was Dardinel, the young and brave prince of Zumara, and +Rinaldo remarked him by the slaughter he spread all around. "Ah," said +he to himself, "let us pluck up this dangerous plant before it has +grown to its full height." +</P> + +<P> +As Rinaldo advanced, the crowd opened before him, the Christians to let +his sword have free course, the Pagans to escape its sweep. Dardinel +and he stood face to face. Rinaldo exclaimed, fiercely, "Young man, +whoever gave you that noble buckler to bear made you a dangerous gift; +I should like to see how you are able to defend those quarterings, red +and white. If you cannot defend them against me, how pray will you do +so when Orlando challenges them?" Dardinel replied: "Thou shalt learn +that I can defend the arms I bear, and shed new glory upon them. No one +shall rend them from me but with life." Saying these words, Dardinel +rushed upon Rinaldo with sword uplifted. The chill of mortal terror +filled the souls of the Saracens when they beheld Rinaldo advance to +attack the prince, like a lion against a young bull. The first blow +came from the hand of Dardinel, and the weapon rebounded from +Mambrino's helmet without effect. Rinaldo smiled, and said, "I will now +show you if my strokes are more effectual." At these words he thrust +the unfortunate Dardinel in the middle of his breast. The blow was so +violent that the cruel weapon pierced the body, and came out a +palm-breadth behind his back. Through this wound the life of Dardinel +issued with his blood, and his body fell helpless to the ground. +</P> + +<P> +As a flower which the passing plough has uprooted languishes, and +droops its head, so Dardinel, his visage covered with the paleness of +death, expires, and the hopes of an illustrious race perish with him. +</P> + +<P> +Like waters kept back by a dike, which, when the dike is broken, spread +abroad through all the country, so the Moors, no longer kept in column +by the example of Dardinel, fled in all directions. Rinaldo despised +too much such easy victories to pursue them; he wished for no combats +but with brave men. At the same time, the other paladins made terrible +slaughter of the Moors. Charles himself, Oliver, Guido, and Ogier the +Dane, carried death into their ranks on all sides. +</P> + +<P> +The infidels seemed doomed to perish to a man on that dreadful day; but +the wise king, Marsilius, at last put some slight degree of method into +the general rout. He collected the remnant of the troops, formed them +into a battalion, and retreated in tolerable order to his camp. That +camp was well fortified by intrenchments and a broad ditch. Thither the +fugitives hastened, and by degrees all that remained of the Moorish +army was brought together there. +</P> + +<P> +The Emperor might perhaps that night have crushed his enemy entirely; +but not thinking it prudent to expose his troops, fatigued as they +were, to an attack upon a camp so well fortified, he contented himself +with encompassing the enemy with his troops, prepared to make a regular +siege. During the night the Moors had time to see the extent of their +loss. Their tents resounded with lamentations. This warrior had to +mourn a brother, that a friend; many suffered with grievous wounds, all +trembled at the fate in store for them. +</P> + +<P> +There were two young Moors, both of humble rank, who gave proof at that +time of attachment and fidelity rare in the history of man. Cloridan +and Medoro had followed their prince, Dardinel, to the wars of France. +Cloridan, a bold huntsman, combined strength with activity. Medoro was +a mere youth, his cheeks yet fair and blooming. Of all the Saracens, no +one united so much grace and beauty. His light hair was set off by his +black and sparkling eyes. The two friends were together on guard at the +rampart. About midnight they gazed on the scene in deep dejection. +Medoro, with tears in his eyes, spoke of the good prince Dardinel, and +could not endure the thought that his body should be cast out on the +plain, deprived of funeral honors. "O my friend," said he, "must then +the body of our prince be the prey of wolves and ravens? Alas! when I +remember how he loved me, I feel that if I should sacrifice my life to +do him honor, I should not do more than my duty. I wish, dear friend, +to seek out his body on the battlefield, and give it burial, and I hope +to be able to pass through King Charles's camp without discovery, as +they are probably all asleep. You, Cloridan, will be able to say for +me, if I should die in the adventure, that gratitude and fidelity to my +prince were my inducements." +</P> + +<P> +Cloridan was both surprised and touched with this proof of the young +man's devotion. He loved him tenderly, and tried for a long time every +effort to dissuade him from his design; but he found Medoro determined +to accomplish his object or die in the endeavor. +</P> + +<P> +Cloridan, unable to change his purpose, said, "I will go with you, +Medoro, and help you in this generous enterprise. I value not life +compared with honor, and if I did, do you suppose, dear friend, that I +could live without you? I would rather fall by the arms of our enemies +than die of grief for the loss of you." +</P> + +<P> +When the two friends were relieved from their guard duty they went +without any followers into the camp of the Christians. All there was +still; the fires were dying out; there was no fear of any attempt on +the part of the Saracens, and the soldiers, overcome by fatigue or +wine, slept secure, lying upon the ground in the midst of their arms +and equipage. Cloridan stopped, and said, "Medoro, I am not going to +quit this camp without taking vengeance for the death of our prince. +Keep watch, be on your guard that no one shall surprise us; I mean to +mark a road with my sword through the ranks of our enemies." So saying, +he entered the tent where Alpheus slept, who a year before had joined +the camp of Charles, and pretended to be a great physician and +astrologer. But his science had deceived him, if it gave him hope of +dying peacefully in his bed at a good old age; his lot was to die with +little warning. Cloridan ran his sword through his heart. A Greek and a +German followed, who had been playing late at dice: fortunate if they +had continued their game a little longer; but they never reckoned a +throw like this among their chances. Cloridan next came to the unlucky +Grillon, whose head lay softly on his pillow. He dreamed probably of +the feast from which he had but just retired; for when Cloridan cut off +his head wine flowed forth with the blood. +</P> + +<P> +The two young Moors might have penetrated even to the tent of +Charlemagne; but knowing that the paladins encamped around him kept +watch by turns, and judging that it was impossible they should all be +asleep, they were afraid to go too near. They might also have obtained +rich booty; but, intent only on their object, they crossed the camp, +and arrived at length at the bloody field, where bucklers, lances, and +swords lay scattered in the midst of corpses of poor and rich, common +soldier and prince, horses and pools of blood. This terrible scene of +carnage would have destroyed all hope of finding what they were in +search of until dawn of day, were it not that the moon lent the aid of +her uncertain rays. +</P> + +<P> +Medoro raised his eyes to the planet, and exclaimed, "O holy goddess, +whom our fathers have adored under three different forms,--thou who +displayest thy power in heaven, on earth, and in the underworld,--thou +who art seen foremost among the nymphs chasing the beasts of the +forest,--cause me to see, I implore thee, the spot where my dear master +lies, and make me all my life long follow the example which thou dost +exhibit of works of charity and love." +</P> + +<P> +Either by accident, or that the moon was sensible of the prayer of +Medoro, the cloud broke away, and the moonlight burst forth as bright +as day. The rays seemed especially to gild the spot where lay the body +of Prince Dardinel; and Medoro, bathed in tears and with bleeding +heart, recognized him by the quarterings of red and white on his shield. +</P> + +<P> +With groans stifled by his tears, and lamentations in accents +suppressed, not from any fear for himself, for he cared not for life, +but lest any one should be roused to interrupt their pious duty while +yet incomplete, he proposed to his companion that they should together +bear Dardinel on their shoulders, sharing the burden of the beloved +remains. +</P> + +<P> +Marching with rapid strides under their precious load, they perceived +that the stars began to grow pale, and that the shades of night would +soon be dispersed by the dawn. Just then Zerbino, whose extreme valor +had urged him far from the camp in pursuit of the fugitives, returning, +entered the wood in which they were. Some knights in his train +perceived at a distance the two brothers-in-arms. Cloridan saw the +troop, and, observing that they dispersed themselves over the plain as +if in search of booty, told Medoro to lay down the body, and let each +save himself by flight. He dropped his part, thinking that Medoro would +do the same; but the good youth loved his prince too well to abandon +him, and continued to carry his load singly as well as he might, while +Cloridan made his escape. Near by there was a part of the wood tufted +as if nothing but wild animals had ever penetrated it. The unfortunate +youth, loaded with the weight of his dead master, plunged into its +recesses. +</P> + +<P> +Cloridan, when he perceived that he had evaded his foes, discovered +that Medoro was not with him. "Ah!" exclaimed he, "how could I, dear +Medoro, so forget myself as to consult my own safety without heeding +yours?" So saying, he retraced the tangled passes of the wood toward +the place from whence he had fled. As he approached he heard the noise +of horses, and the menacing voices of armed men. Soon he perceived +Medoro, on foot, with the cavaliers surrounding him. Zerbino, their +commander, bade them seize him. The unhappy Medoro turned now this way, +now that, trying to conceal himself behind an oak or a rock, still +bearing the body, which he would by no means leave. Cloridan not +knowing how to help him, but resolved to perish with him, if he must +perish, takes an arrow, fits it to his bow, discharges it, and pierces +the breast of a Christian knight, who falls helpless from his horse. +The others look this way and that, to discover whence the fatal bolt +was sped. One, while demanding of his comrades in what direction the +arrow came, received a second in his throat, which stopped his words, +and soon closed his eyes to the scene. +</P> + +<P> +Zerbino, furious at the death of his two comrades, ran upon Medoro, +seized his golden hair, and dragged him forward to slay him. But the +sight of so much youth and beauty commanded pity. He stayed his arm. +The young man spoke in suppliant tones. "Ah! signor," said he, "I +conjure you by the God whom you serve, deprive me not of life until I +shall have buried the body of the prince, my master. Fear not that I +will ask you any other favor; life is not dear to me; I desire death as +soon as I shall have performed this sacred duty. Do with me then as you +please. Give my limbs a prey to the birds and beasts; only let me first +bury my prince." Medoro pronounced these words with an air so sweet and +tender that a heart of stone would have been moved by them. Zerbino was +so to the bottom of his soul. He was on the point of uttering words of +mercy, when a cruel subaltern, forgetting all respect to his commander, +plunged his lance into the breast of the young Moor. Zerbino, enraged +at his brutality, turned upon the wretch to take vengeance, but he +saved himself by a precipitate flight. +</P> + +<P> +Cloridan, who saw Medoro fall, could contain himself no longer. He +rushed from his concealment, threw down his bow, and, sword in hand, +seemed only desirous of vengeance for Medoro, and to die with him. In a +moment, pierced through and through with many wounds, he exerts the +last remnant of his strength in dragging himself to Medoro, to die +embracing him. The cavaliers left them thus to rejoin Zerbino, whose +rage against the murderer of Medoro had drawn him away from the spot. +</P> + +<P> +Cloridan died; and Medoro, bleeding copiously, was drawing near his end +when help arrived. +</P> + +<P> +A young maiden approached the fallen knights at this critical moment. +Her dress was that of a peasant-girl, but her air was noble, and her +beauty celestial; sweetness and goodness reigned in her lovely +countenance. It was no other than Angelica, the Princess of Cathay. +</P> + +<P> +When she had recovered that precious ring, as we have before related, +Angelica, knowing its value, felt proud in the power it conferred, +travelled alone without fear, not without a secret shame that she had +ever been obliged to seek protection in her wanderings of the Count +Orlando and of Sacripant. She reproached herself too as with a weakness +that she had ever thought of marrying Rinaldo; in fine, her pride grew +so high as to persuade her that no man living was worthy to aspire to +her hand. +</P> + +<P> +Moved with pity at the sight of the young man wounded, and melted to +tears at hearing the cause, she quickly recalled to remembrance the +knowledge she had acquired in India, where the virtues of plants and +the art of healing formed part of the education even of princesses. The +beautiful queen ran into the adjoining meadow to gather plants of +virtue to staunch the flow of blood. Meeting on her way a countryman on +horseback seeking a strayed heifer, she begged him to come to her +assistance, and endeavor to remove the wounded man to a more secure +asylum. +</P> + +<P> +Angelica, having prepared the plants by bruising them between two +stones, laid them with her fair hand on Medoro's wound. The remedy soon +restored in some degree the strength of the wounded man, who, before he +would quit the spot, made them cover with earth and turf the bodies of +his friend and of the prince. Then surrendering himself to the pity of +his deliverers, he allowed them to place him on the horse of the +shepherd, and conduct him to his cottage. It was a pleasant farmhouse +on the borders of the wood, bearing marks of comfort and competency. +There the shepherd lived with his wife and children. There Angelica +tended Medoro, and there, by the devoted care of the beautiful queen, +his sad wound closed over, and he recovered his perfect health. +</P> + +<P> +O Count Rinaldo, O King Sacripant! what availed it you to possess so +many virtues and such fame? What advantage have you derived from all +your high deserts? O hapless king, great Agrican! if you could return +to life, how would you endure to see yourself rejected by one who will +bow to the yoke of Hymen in favor of a young soldier of humble birth? +And thou, Ferrau, and ye numerous others who a hundred times have put +your lives at hazard for this cruel beauty, how bitter will it be to +you to see her sacrifice you all to the claims of the humble Medoro! +</P> + +<P> +There, under the low roof of a shepherd, the flame of Hymen was lighted +for this haughty queen. She takes the shepherd's wife to serve in place +of mother, the shepherd and his children for witnesses, and marries the +happy Medoro. +</P> + +<P> +Angelica, after her marriage, wishing to endow Medoro with the +sovereignty of the countries which yet remained to her, took with him +the road to the East. She had preserved through all her adventures a +bracelet of gold enriched with precious stones, the present of the +Count Orlando. Having nothing else wherewith to reward the good +shepherd and his wife, who had served her with so much care and +fidelity, she took the bracelet from her arm and gave it to them, and +then the newly-married couple directed their steps toward those +mountains which separate France and Spain, intending to wait at +Barcelona a vessel which should take them on their way to the East. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="orlando"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ORLANDO MAD +</H3> + +<P> +Orlando, on the loss of Angelica, laid aside his crest and arms, and +arrayed himself in a suit of black armor expressive of his despair. In +this guise he carried such slaughter among the ranks of the infidels +that both armies were astonished at the achievements of the stranger +knight. Mandricardo, who had been absent from the battle, heard the +report of these achievements and determined to test for himself the +valor of the knight so extolled. He it was who broke in upon the +conference of Zerbino and Isabella, and their benefactor Orlando, as +they stood occupied in mutual felicitations, after the happy reunion of +the lovers by the prowess of the paladin. +</P> + +<P> +Mandricardo, after contemplating the group for a moment, addressed +himself to Orlando in these words: "Thou must be the man I seek. For +ten days and more I have been on thy track. The fame of thy exploits +has brought me hither, that I may measure my strength with thine. Thy +crest and shield prove thee the same who spread such slaughter among +our troops. But these marks are superfluous, and if I saw thee among a +hundred I should know thee by thy martial bearing to be the man I seek." +</P> + +<P> +"I respect thy courage," said Orlando; "such a design could not have +sprung up in any but a brave and generous soul. If the desire to see me +has brought thee hither, I would, if it were possible, show thee my +inmost soul. I will remove my visor, that you may satisfy your +curiosity; but when you have done so I hope that you will also try and +see if my valor corresponds to my appearance." "Come on," said the +Saracen, "my first wish was to see and know thee; I will not gratify my +second." +</P> + +<P> +Orlando, observing Mandricardo was surprised to see no sword at his +side, nor mace at his saddle-bow. "And what weapon hast thou," said he, +"if thy lance fail thee?" +</P> + +<P> +"Do not concern yourself about that," said Mandricardo; "I have made +many good knights give ground with no other weapon than you see. Know +that I have sworn an oath never to bear a sword until I win back that +famous Durindana that Orlando, the paladin, carries. That sword belongs +to the suit of armor which I wear; that only is wanting. Without doubt +it was stolen, but how it got into the hands of Orlando I know not. But +I will make him pay dearly for it when I find him I seek him the more +anxiously that I may avenge with his blood the death of King Agrican, +my father, whom he treacherously slew. I am sure he must have done it +by treachery, for it was not in his power to subdue in fair fight such +a warrior as my father." +</P> + +<P> +"Thou liest," cried Orlando; "and all who say so lie. I am Orlando, +whom you seek; yes, I am he who slew your father honorably. Hold, here +is the sword: you shall have it if your courage avails to merit it. +Though it belongs to me by right, I will not use it in this dispute. +See, I hang it on this tree; you shall be master of it, if you bereave +me of life; not else." +</P> + +<P> +At these words Orlando drew Durindana, and hung it on one of the +branches of a tree near by. +</P> + +<P> +Both knights, boiling with equal ardor, rode off in a semicircle; then +rushed together with reins thrown loose, and struck one another with +their lances. Both kept their seats, immovable. The splinters of their +lances flew into the air, and no weapon remained for either but the +fragment which he held in his hand. Then those two knights, covered +with iron mail, were reduced to the necessity of fighting with staves, +in the manner of two rustics, who dispute the boundary of a meadow, or +the possession of a spring. +</P> + +<P> +These clubs could not long keep whole in the hands of such sturdy +smiters, who were soon reduced to fight with naked fists. Such warfare +was more painful to him that gave than to him that received the blows. +They next clasped, and strained each his adversary, as Hercules did +Antaeus. Mandricardo, more enraged than Orlando, made violent efforts +to unseat the paladin, and dropped the rein of his horse. Orlando, more +calm, perceived it. With one hand he resisted Mandricardo, with the +other he twitched the horse's bridle over the ears of the animal. The +Saracen dragged Orlando with all his might, but Orlando's thighs held +the saddle like a vise. At last the efforts of the Saracen broke the +girths of Orlando's horse; the saddle slipped; the knight, firm in his +stirrups, slipped with it, and came to the ground hardly conscious of +his fall. The noise of his armor in falling startled Mandricardo's +horse, now without a bridle. He started off in full career, heeding +neither trees nor rocks nor broken ground. Urged by fright, he ran with +furious speed, carrying his master, who, almost distracted with rage, +shouted and beat the animal with his fists, and thereby impelled his +flight. After running thus three miles or more, a deep ditch opposed +their progress. The horse and rider fell headlong into it, and did not +find the bottom covered with feather-beds or roses. They got sadly +bruised; but were lucky enough to escape without any broken limbs. +</P> + +<P> +Mandricardo, as soon as he gained his feet, seized the horse by his +mane with fury; but, having no bridle, could not hold him. He looked +round in hopes of finding something that would do for a rein. Just then +fortune, who seemed willing to help him at last, brought that way a +peasant with a bridle in his hand, who was in search of his farm horse +that had strayed away. +</P> + +<P> +Orlando, having speedily repaired his horse's girths, remounted, and +waited a good hour for the Saracen to return. Not seeing him, he +concluded to go in search of him. He took an affectionate leave of +Zerbino and Isabella, who would willingly have followed him; but this +the brave paladin would by no means permit. He held it unknightly to go +in search of an enemy accompanied by a friend, who might act as a +defender. Therefore, desiring them to say to Mandricardo, if they +should meet him, that his purpose was to tarry in the neighborhood +three days, and then repair to the camp of Charlemagne, he took down +Durindana from the tree, and proceeded in the direction which the +Saracen's horse had taken. But the animal, having no guide but its +terror, had so doubled and confused its traces that Orlando, after two +days spent in the search, gave up the attempt. +</P> + +<P> +It was about the middle of the third day when the paladin arrived on +the pleasant bank of a stream which wound through a meadow enamelled +with flowers. High trees, whose tops met and formed an arbor, +over-shadowed the fountain; and the breeze which blew through their +foliage tempered the heat. Hither the shepherds used to resort to +quench their thirst, and to enjoy the shelter from the midday sun. The +air, perfumed with the flowers, seemed to breathe fresh strength into +their veins. Orlando felt the influence, though covered with his armor. +He stopped in this delicious arbor, where everything seemed to invite +to repose. But he could not have chosen a more fatal asylum. He there +spent the most miserable moments of his life. +</P> + +<P> +He looked around, and noted with pleasure all the charms of the spot. +He saw that some of the trees were carved with inscriptions--he drew +near, and read them, and what was his surprise to find that they +composed the name of Angelica! Farther on he found the name of Medoro +mixed with hers. The paladin thought he dreamed. He stood like one +amazed--like a bird that, rising to fly, finds its feet caught in a net. +</P> + +<P> +Orlando followed the course of the stream, and came to one of its turns +where the rocks of the mountain bent in such a way as to form a sort of +grotto. The twisted stems of ivy and the wild vine draped the entrance +of this recess, scooped by the hand of nature. +</P> + +<P> +The unhappy paladin, on entering the grotto, saw letters which appeared +to have been lately carved. They were verses which Medoro had written +in honor of his happy nuptials with the beautiful queen. Orlando tried +to persuade himself it must be some other Angelica whom those verses +celebrated, and as for Medoro, he had never heard his name. The sun was +now declining, and Orlando remounted his horse, and went on his way. He +soon saw the roof of a cottage whence the smoke ascended; he heard the +barking of dogs and the lowing of cattle, and arrived at a humble +dwelling which seemed to offer an asylum for the night. The inmates, as +soon as they saw him, hastened to tender him service. One took his +horse, another his shield and cuirass, another his golden spurs. This +cottage was the very same where Medoro had been carried, deeply +wounded,--where Angelica had tended him, and afterwards married him. +The shepherd who lived in it loved to tell everybody the story of this +marriage, and soon related it, with all its details, to the miserable +Orlando. +</P> + +<P> +Having finished it, he went away, and returned with the precious +bracelet which Angelica, grateful for his services, had given him as a +memorial. It was the one which Orlando had himself given her. +</P> + +<P> +This last touch was the finishing stroke to the excited paladin. +Frantic, exasperated, he exclaimed against the ungrateful and cruel +princess who had disdained him, the most renowned, the most indomitable +of all the paladins of France,--him, who had rescued her from the most +alarming perils,--him, who had fought the most terrible battles for her +sake,--she to prefer to him a young Saracen! The pride of the noble +Count was deeply wounded. Indignant, frantic, a victim to ungovernable +rage, he rushed into the forest, uttering the most frightful shrieks. +</P> + +<P> +"No, no!" cried he, "I am not the man they take me for! Orlando is +dead! I am only the wandering ghost of that unhappy Count, who is now +suffering the torments of hell!" +</P> + +<P> +Orlando wandered all night, as chance directed, through the wood, and +at sunrise his destiny led him to the fountain where Medoro had +engraved the fatal inscription. The frantic paladin saw it a second +time with fury, drew his sword, and hacked it from the rock. +</P> + +<P> +Unlucky grotto! you shall no more attract by your shade and coolness, +you shall no more shelter with your arch either shepherd or flock. And +you, fresh and pure fountain, you may not escape the rage of the +furious Orlando! He cast into the fountain branches, trunks of trees +which he tore up, pieces of rocks which he broke off, plants uprooted, +with the earth adhering, and turf and brushes, so as to choke the +fountain, and destroy the purity of its waters. At length, exhausted by +his violent exertions, bathed in sweat, breathless, Orlando sunk +panting upon the earth, and lay there insensible three days and three +nights. +</P> + +<P> +The fourth day he started up and seized his arms. His helmet, his +buckler, he cast far from him; his hauberk and his clothes he rent +asunder; the fragments were scattered through the wood. In fine, he +became a furious madman. His insanity was such that he cared not to +retain even his sword. But he had no need of Durindana, nor of other +arms, to do wonderful things. His prodigious strength sufficed. At the +first wrench of his mighty arm he tore up a pine-tree by the roots. +Oaks, beeches, maples, whatever he met in his path, yielded in like +manner. The ancient forest soon became as bare as the borders of a +morass, where the fowler has cleared away the bushes to spread his +nets. The shepherds, hearing the horrible crashing in the forest, +abandoned their flocks to run and see the cause of this unwonted +uproar. By their evil star, or for their sins, they were led thither. +When they saw the furious state the Count was in, and his incredible +force, they would fain have fled out of his reach, but in their fears +lost their presence of mind. The madman pursued them, seized one and +rent him limb from limb, as easily as one would pull ripe apples from a +tree. He took another by the feet, and used him as a club to knock down +a third. The shepherds fled; but it would have been hard for any to +escape, if he had not at that moment left them to throw himself with +the same fury upon their flocks. The peasants, abandoning their ploughs +and harrows, mounted on the roofs of buildings and pinnacles of the +rocks, afraid to trust themselves even to the oaks and pines. From such +heights they looked on, trembling at the raging fury of the unhappy +Orlando. His fists, his teeth, his nails, his feet, seize, break, and +tear cattle, sheep, and swine; the most swift in flight alone being +able to escape him. +</P> + +<P> +When at last terror had scattered everything before him, he entered a +cottage which was abandoned by its inhabitants, and there found that +which served for food. His long fast had caused him to feel the most +ravenous hunger. Seizing whatever he found that was eatable, whether +roots, acorns, or bread, raw meat or cooked, he gorged it +indiscriminately. +</P> + +<P> +Issuing thence again, the frantic Orlando gave chase to whatever living +thing he saw, whether men or animals. Sometimes he pursued the deer and +hind, sometimes he attacked bears and wolves, and with his naked hands +killed and tore them, and devoured their flesh. +</P> + +<P> +Thus he wandered, from place to place, through France, imperilling his +life a thousand ways, yet always preserved by some mysterious +providence from a fatal result. But here we leave Orlando for a time, +that we may record what befell Zerbino and Isabella after their parting +with him. +</P> + +<P> +The prince and his fair bride waited, by Orlando's request, near the +scene of the battle for three days, that, if Mandricardo should return, +they might inform him where Orlando would give him another meeting. At +the end of that time their anxiety to know the issue led them to follow +Orlando's traces, which led them at last to the wood where the trees +were inscribed with the names of Angelica and Medoro. They remarked how +all these inscriptions were defaced, and how the grotto was disordered, +and the fountain clogged with rubbish. But that which surprised them +and distressed them most of all was to find on the grass the cuirass of +Orlando, and not far from it his helmet, the same which the renowned +Almontes once wore. +</P> + +<P> +Hearing a horse neigh in the forest, Zerbino turned his eyes in that +direction, and saw Brigliadoro, with the bridle yet hanging at the +saddle-bow. He looked round for Durindana, and found that famous sword, +without the scabbard, lying on the grass. He saw also the fragments of +Orlando's other arms and clothing scattered on all sides over the plain. +</P> + +<P> +Zerbino and Isabella stood in astonishment and grief, not knowing what +to think, but little imagining the true cause. If they had found any +marks of blood on the arms or on the fragments of the clothing, they +would have supposed him slain, but there were none. While they were in +this painful uncertainty they saw a young peasant approach. He, not yet +recovered from the terror of the scene, which he had witnessed from the +top of a rock, told them the whole of the sad events. +</P> + +<P> +Zerbino, with his eyes full of tears, carefully collected all the +scattered arms. Isabella also dismounted to aid him in the sad duty. +When they had collected all the pieces of that rich armor they hung +them like a trophy on a pine; and to prevent their being violated by +any passers-by, Zerbino inscribed on the bark this caution: "These are +the arms of the Paladin Orlando." +</P> + +<P> +Having finished this pious work, he remounted his horse, and just then +a knight rode up, and requested Zerbino to tell him the meaning of the +trophy. The prince related the facts as they had happened; and +Mandricardo, for it was that Saracen knight, full of joy, rushed +forward, and seized the sword, saying, "No one can censure me for what +I do; this sword is mine; I can take my own wherever I find it. It is +plain that Orlando, not daring to defend it against me, has +counterfeited madness to excuse him in surrendering it." +</P> + +<P> +Zerbino vehemently exclaimed, "Touch not that sword. Think not to +possess it without a contest. If it be true that the arms you wear are +those of Hector, you must have got them by theft, and not by prowess." +</P> + +<P> +Immediately they attacked one another with the utmost fury. The air +resounded with thick-falling blows. Zerbino, skilful and alert, evaded +for a time with good success the strokes of Durindana; but at length a +terrible blow struck him on the neck. He fell from his horse, and the +Tartar king, possessed of the spoils of his victory, rode away. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="zerbino"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ZERBINO AND ISABELLA +</H3> + +<P> +Zerbino's pain at seeing the Tartar prince go off with the sword +surpassed the anguish of his wound; but now the loss of blood so +reduced his strength that he could not move from where he fell. +Isabella, not knowing whither to resort for help, could only bemoan +him, and chide her cruel fate. Zerbino said, "If I could but leave +thee, my best beloved, in some secure abode, it would not distress me +to die; but to abandon thee so, without protection, is sad indeed." She +replied, "Think not to leave me, dearest; our souls shall not be +parted; this sword will give me the means to follow thee." Zerbino's +last words implored her to banish such a thought, but live, and be true +to his memory. Isabella promised, with many tears, to be faithful to +him so long as life should last. +</P> + +<P> +When he ceased to breathe, Isabella's cries resounded through the +forest, and reached the ears of a reverend hermit, who hastened to the +spot. He soothed and calmed her, urging those consolations which the +word of God supplies; and at last brought her to wish for nothing else +but to devote herself for the rest of life wholly to religion. +</P> + +<P> +As she could not bear the thoughts of leaving her dead lord abandoned, +the body was, by the good hermit's aid, placed upon the horse, and +taken to the nearest inhabited place, where a chest was made for it, +suitable to be carried with them on their way. The hermit's plan was to +escort his charge to a monastery, not many days' journey distant, where +Isabella resolved to spend the remainder of her days. Thus they +travelled day after day, choosing the most retired ways, for the +country was full of armed men. One day a cavalier met them, and barred +their way. It was no other than Rodomont, king of Algiers, who had just +left the camp of Agramant, full of indignation at the treatment he had +received from Doralice. At sight of the lovely lady and her reverend +attendant, with their horse laden with a burden draped with black, he +asked the meaning of their journey. Isabella told him her affliction, +and her resolution to renounce the world and devote herself to +religion, and to the memory of the friend she had lost. Rodomont +laughed scornfully at this, and told her that her project was absurd; +that charms like hers were meant to be enjoyed, not buried, and that he +himself would more than make amends for her dead lover. The monk, who +promptly interposed to rebuke this impious talk, was commanded to hold +his peace; and still persisting was seized by the knight and hurled +over the edge of the cliff, where he fell into the sea, and was drowned. +</P> + +<P> +Rodomont, when he had got rid of the hermit, again applied to the sad +lady, heartless with affright, and, in the language used by lovers, +said, "she was his very heart, his life, his light." Having laid aside +all violence, he humbly sued that she would accompany him to his +retreat, near by. It was a ruined chapel from which the monks had been +driven by the disorders of the time, and which Rodomont had taken +possession of. Isabella, who had no choice but to obey, followed him, +meditating as she went what resource she could find to escape out of +his power, and keep her vow to her dead husband, to be faithful to his +memory as long as life should last. At length she said, "If, my lord, +you will let me go and fulfil my vow, and my intention, as I have +already declared it, I will bestow upon you what will be to you of more +value than a hundred women's hearts. I know an herb, and I have seen it +on our way, which, rightly prepared, affords a juice of such power, +that the flesh, if laved with it, becomes impenetrable to sword or +fire. This liquor I can make, and will, to-day, if you will accept my +offer; and when you have seen its virtue you will value it more than if +all Europe were made your own." +</P> + +<P> +Rodomont, at hearing this, readily promised all that was asked, so +eager was he to learn a secret that would make him as Achilles was of +yore. Isabella, having collected such herbs as she thought proper, and +boiled them, with certain mysterious signs and words, at length +declared her labor done, and, as a test, offered to try its virtue on +herself. She bathed her neck and bosom with the liquor, and then called +on Rodomont to smite with all his force, and see whether his sword had +power to harm. The pagan, who during the preparations had taken +frequent draughts of wine, and scarce knew what he did, drew his sword +at the word, and struck across her neck with all his might, and the +fair head leapt sundered from the snowy neck and breast. +</P> + +<P> +Rude and unfeeling as he was, the pagan knight lamented bitterly this +sad result. To honor her memory he resolved to do a work as +unparalleled as her devotion. From all parts round he caused laborers +to be brought, and had a tower built to enclose the chapel, within +which the remains of Zerbino and Isabella were entombed. Across the +stream which flowed near by he built a bridge, scarce two yards wide, +and added neither parapet nor rail. On the top of the tower a sentry +was placed, who, when any traveller approached the bridge, gave notice +to his master. Rodomont thereupon sallied out, and defied the +approaching knight to fight him upon the bridge, where any chance step +a little aside would plunge the rider headlong in the stream. This +bridge he vowed to keep until a thousand suits of armor should be won +from conquered knights, wherewith to build a trophy to his victim and +her lord. +</P> + +<P> +Within ten days the bridge was built, and the tower was in progress. In +a short time many knights, either seeking the shortest route, or +tempted by a desire of adventure, had made the attempt to pass the +bridge. All, without exception, had lost either arms or life, or both; +some falling before Rodomont's lance, others precipitated into the +river. One day, as Rodomont stood urging his workmen, it chanced that +Orlando in his furious mood came thither, and approached the bridge. +Rodomont halloed to him, "Halt, churl; presume not to set foot upon +that bridge; it was not made for such as you!" Orlando took no notice, +but pressed on. Just then a gentle damsel rode up. It was Flordelis, +who was seeking her Florismart. She saw Orlando, and, in spite of his +strange appearance, recognized him. Rodomont, not used to have his +commands disobeyed, laid hands on the madman, and would have thrown him +into the river, but to his astonishment found himself in the gripe of +one not so easily disposed of. "How can a fool have such strength?" he +growled between his teeth. Flordelis stopped to see the issue, where +each of these two puissant warriors strove to throw the other from the +bridge. Orlando at last had strength enough to lift his foe with all +his armor, and fling him over the side, but had not wit to clear +himself from him, so both fell together. High flashed the wave as they +together smote its surface. Here Orlando had the advantage; he was +naked, and could swim like a fish. He soon reached the bank, and, +careless of praise or blame, stopped not to see what came of the +adventure. Rodomont, entangled with his armor, escaped with difficulty +to the bank. Meantime, Flordelis passed the bridge unchallenged. +</P> + +<P> +After long wandering without success she returned to Paris, and there +found the object of her search; for Florismart, after the fall of +Albracca, had repaired thither. The joy of meeting was clouded to +Florismart by the news which Flordelis brought of Orlando's wretched +plight. The last she had seen of him was when he fell with Rodomont +into the stream. Florismart, who loved Orlando like a brother, resolved +to set out immediately, under the guidance of the lady, to find him, +and bring him where he might receive the treatment suited to his case. +A few days brought them to the place where they found the Tartar king +still guarding the bridge. The usual challenge and defiance was made, +and the knights rode to encounter one another on the bridge. At the +first encounter both horses were overthrown; and, having no space to +regain their footing, fell with their riders into the water. Rodomont, +who knew the soundings of the stream, soon recovered the land; but +Florismart was carried downward by the current, and landed at last on a +bank of mud where his horse could hardly find footing. Flordelis, who +watched the battle from the bridge, seeing her lover in this piteous +case, exclaimed aloud, "Ah! Rodomont, for love of her whom dead you +honor, have pity on me, who love this knight, and slay him not. Let it +suffice he yields his armor to the pile, and none more glorious will it +bear than his." Her prayer, so well directed, touched the pagan's +heart, though hard to move, and he lent his aid to help the knight to +land. He kept him a prisoner, however, and added his armor to the pile. +Flordelis, with a heavy heart, went her way. +</P> + +<P> +We must now return to Rogero, who, when we parted with him, was engaged +in an adventure which arrested his progress to the monastery whither he +was bound with the intention of receiving baptism, and thus qualifying +himself to demand Bradamante as his bride. On his way he met with +Mandricardo, and the quarrel was revived respecting the right to wear +the badge of Hector. After a warm discussion both parties agreed to +submit the question to King Agramant, and for that purpose took their +way to the Saracen camp. Here they met Gradasso, who had his +controversy also with Mandricardo. This warrior claimed the sword of +Orlando, denying the right of Mandricardo to possess it in virtue of +his having found it abandoned by its owner. King Agramant strove in +vain to reconcile these quarrels, and was forced at last to consent +that the points in dispute should be settled by one combat, in which +Mandricardo should meet one of the other champions, to whom should be +committed the cause of both. Rogero was chosen by lot to maintain +Gradasso's cause and his own. Great preparations were made for this +signal contest. On the appointed day it was fought in the presence of +Agramant, and of the whole army. Rogero won it; and Mandricardo, the +conqueror of Hector's arms, the challenger of Orlando, and the slayer +of Zerbino, lost his life. Gradasso received Durindana as his prize, +which lost half its value in his eyes, since it was won by another's +prowess, not his own. +</P> + +<P> +Rogero, though victorious, was severely wounded, and lay helpless many +weeks in the camp of Agramant, while Bradamante, ignorant of the cause +of his delay, expected him at Montalban. Thither he had promised to +repair in fifteen days, or twenty at furthest, hoping to have obtained +by that time an honorable discharge from his obligations to the Saracen +commander. The twenty days were passed, and a month more, and still +Rogero came not, nor did any tidings reach Bradamante accounting for +his absence. At the end of that time, a wandering knight brought news +of the famous combat, and of Rogero's wound. He added, what alarmed +Bradamante still more, that Marphisa, a female warrior, young and fair, +was in attendance on the wounded knight. He added that the whole army +expected that, as soon as Rogero's wounds were healed, the pair would +be united in marriage. +</P> + +<P> +Bradamante, distressed by this news, though she believed it but in +part, resolved to go immediately and see for herself. She mounted +Rabican, the horse of Astolpho, which he had committed to her care, and +took with her the lance of gold, though unaware of its wonderful +powers. Thus accoutred, she left the castle, and took the road toward +Paris and the camp of the Saracens. +</P> + +<P> +Marphisa, whose devotion to Rogero in his illness had so excited the +jealousy of Bradamante, was the twin sister of Rogero. She, with him, +had been taken in charge when an infant by Atlantes, the magician, but +while yet a child she had been stolen away by an Arab tribe. Adopted by +their chief, she had early learned horsemanship and skill in arms, and +at this time had come to the camp of Agramant with no other view than +to see and test for herself the prowess of the warriors of either camp, +whose fame rang through the world. Arriving at the very moment of the +late encounter, the name of Rogero, and some few facts of his story +which she learned, were enough to suggest the idea that it was her +brother whom she saw victorious in the single combat. Inquiry satisfied +the two of their near kindred, and from that moment Marphisa devoted +herself to the care of her new-found and much-loved brother. +</P> + +<P> +In those moments of seclusion Rogero informed his sister of what he had +learned of their parentage from old Atlantes. Rogero, their father, a +Christian knight, had won the heart of Galaciella, daughter of the +Sultan of Africa, and sister of King Agramant, converted her to the +Christian faith, and secretly married her. The Sultan, enraged at his +daughter's marriage, drove her husband into exile, and caused her with +her infant children, Rogero and Marphisa, to be placed in a boat and +committed to the winds and waves, to perish; from which fate they were +saved by Atlantes. On hearing this, Marphisa exclaimed, "How can you, +brother, leave our parents unavenged so long, and even submit to serve +the son of the tyrant who so wronged them?" Rogero replied that it was +but lately he had learned the full truth; that when he learned it he +was already embarked with Agramant, from whom he had received +knighthood, and that he only waited for a suitable opportunity when he +might with honor desert his standard, and at the same time return to +the faith of his fathers. Marphisa hailed this resolution with joy, and +declared her intention to join with him in embracing the Christian +faith. +</P> + +<P> +We left Bradamante when, mounted on Rabican and armed with Astolpho's +lance, she rode forth, determined to learn the cause of Rogero's long +absence. One day, as she rode, she met a damsel, of visage and of +manners fair, but overcome with grief. It was Flordelis, who was +seeking far and near a champion capable of liberating and avenging her +lord. Flordelis marked the approaching warrior, and, judging from +appearances, thought she had found the champion she sought. "Are you, +Sir Knight," she said, "so daring and so kind as to take up my cause +against a fierce and cruel warrior who has made prisoner of my lord, +and forced me thus to be a wanderer and a suppliant?" Then she related +the events which had happened at the bridge. Bradamante, to whom noble +enterprises were always welcome, readily embraced this, and the rather +as in her gloomy forebodings she felt as if Rogero was forever lost to +her. +</P> + +<P> +Next day the two arrived at the bridge. The sentry descried them +approaching, and gave notice to his lord, who thereupon donned his +armor and went forth to meet them. Here, as usual, he called on the +advancing warrior to yield his horse and arms an oblation to the tomb. +Bradamante replied, asking by what right he called on the innocent to +do penance for his crime. "Your life and your armor," she added, "are +the fittest offering to her tomb, and I, a woman, the fittest champion +to take them." With that she couched her spear, spurred her horse, and +ran to the encounter. King Rodomont came on with speed. The trampling +sounded on the bridge like thunder. It took but a moment to decide the +contest. The golden lance did its office, and that fierce Moor, so +renowned in tourney, lay extended on the bridge. "Who is the loser +now?" said Bradamante; but Rodomont, amazed that a woman's hand should +have laid him low, could not or would not answer. Silent and sad, he +raised himself, unbound his helm and mail, and flung them against the +tomb; then, sullen and on foot, left the ground; but first gave orders +to one of his squires to release all his prisoners. They had been sent +off to Africa. Besides Florismart, there were Sansonnet and Oliver, who +had ridden that way in quest of Orlando, and had both in turn been +overthrown in the encounter. +</P> + +<P> +Bradamante after her victory resumed her route, and in due time reached +the Christian camp, where she readily learned an explanation of the +mystery which had caused her so much anxiety. Rogero and his fair and +brave sister, Marphisa, were too illustrious by their station and +exploits not to be the frequent topic of discourse even among their +adversaries, and all that Bradamante was anxious to know reached her +ear, almost without inquiry. +</P> + +<P> +We now return to Gradasso, who by Rogero's victory had been made +possessor of Durindana. There now only remained to him to seek the +horse of Rinaldo; and the challenge, given and accepted, was yet to be +fought with that warrior, for it had been interrupted by the arts of +Malagigi. Gradasso now sought another meeting with Rinaldo, and met +with no reluctance on his part. As the combat was for the possession of +Bayard, the knights dismounted and fought on foot. Long time the battle +lasted. Rinaldo, knowing well the deadly stroke of Durindana, used all +his art to parry or avoid its blow. Gradasso struck with might and +main, but wellnigh all his strokes were spent in air, or if they smote +they fell obliquely and did little harm. +</P> + +<P> +Thus had they fought long, glancing at one another's eyes, and seeing +naught else, when their attention was arrested perforce by a strange +noise. They turned, and beheld the good Bayard attacked by a monstrous +bird. Perhaps it was a bird, for such it seemed; but when or where such +a bird was ever seen I have nowhere read, except in Turpin; and I am +inclined to believe that it was not a bird, but a fiend, evoked from +underground by Malagigi, and thither sent on purpose to interrupt the +fight. Whether a fiend or a fowl, the monster flew right at Bayard, and +clapped his wings in his face. Thereat the steed broke loose, and ran +madly across the plain, pursued by the bird, till Bayard plunged into +the wood, and was lost to sight. +</P> + +<P> +Rinaldo and Gradasso, seeing Bayard's escape, agreed to suspend their +battle till they could recover the horse, the object of contention. +Gradasso mounted his steed, and followed the foot-marks of Bayard into +the forest. Rinaldo, never more vexed in spirit, remained at the spot, +Gradasso having promised to return thither with the horse, if he found +him. He did find him, after long search, for he had the good fortune to +hear him neigh. Thus he became possessed of both the objects for which +he had led an army from his own country, and invaded France. He did not +forget his promise to bring Bayard back to the place where he had left +Rinaldo, but only muttering, "Now I have got him, he little knows me +who expects me to give him up; if Rinaldo wants the horse let him seek +him in India, as I have sought him in France,"--he made the best of his +way to Arles, where his vessels lay; and in possession of the two +objects of his ambition, the horse and the sword, sailed away to his +own country. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="abyssinia"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ASTOLPHO IN ABYSSINIA +</H3> + +<P> +When we last parted with the adventurous paladin Astolpho, he was just +commencing that flight over the countries of the world from which he +promised himself so much gratification. Our readers are aware that the +eagle and the falcon have not so swift a flight as the Hippogriff on +which Astolpho rode. It was not long, therefore, before the paladin, +directing his course toward the southeast, arrived over that part of +Africa where the great river Nile has its source. Here he alighted, and +found himself in the neighborhood of the capital of Abyssinia, ruled by +Senapus, whose riches and power were immense. His palace was of +surpassing splendor; the bars of the gates, the hinges and locks, were +all of pure gold; in fact, this metal, in that country, is put to all +those uses for which we employ iron. It is so common that they prefer +for ornamental purposes rock crystal, of which all the columns were +made. Precious stones of different kinds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, +and topazes were set in ornamental designs, and the walls and ceilings +were adorned with pearls. +</P> + +<P> +It is in this country those famous balms grow of which there are some +few plants in that part of Judaea called Gilead. Musk, ambergris, and +numerous gums, so precious in Europe, are here in their native climate. +It is said the Sultan of Egypt pays a vast tribute to the monarch of +this country to hire him not to cut off the source of the Nile, which +he might easily do, and cause the river to flow in some other +direction, thus depriving Egypt of the source of its fertility. +</P> + +<P> +At the time of Astolpho's arrival in his dominions, this monarch was in +great affliction. In spite of his riches and the precious productions +of his country, he was in danger of dying of hunger. He was a prey to a +flock of obscene birds called Harpies, which attacked him whenever he +sat at meat, and with their claws snatched, tore, and scattered +everything, overturning the vessels, devouring the food, and infecting +what they left with their filthy touch. It was said this punishment was +inflicted upon the king because when young, and filled with pride and +presumption, he had attempted to invade with an army the terrestrial +paradise, which is situated on the top of a mountain whence the Nile +draws its source. Nor was this his only punishment. He was struck blind. +</P> + +<P> +Astolpho, on arriving in the dominions of this monarch, hastened to pay +him his respects. King Senapus received him graciously, and ordered a +splendid repast to be prepared in honor of his arrival. While the +guests were seated at table, Astolpho filling the place of dignity at +the king's right hand, the horrid scream of the Harpies was heard in +the air, and soon they approached, hovering over the tables, seizing +the food from the dishes, and overturning everything with the flapping +of their broad wings. In vain the guests struck at them with knives and +any weapons which they had, and Astolpho drew his sword and gave them +repeated blows, which seemed to have no more effect upon them than if +their bodies had been made of tow. +</P> + +<P> +At last Astolpho thought of his horn. He first gave warning to the king +and his guests to stop their ears; then blew a blast. The Harpies, +terrified at the sound, flew away as fast as their wings could carry +them. The paladin mounted his Hippogriff, and pursued them, blowing his +horn as often as he came near them. They stretched their flight towards +the great mountain, at the foot of which there is a cavern, which is +thought to be the mouth of the infernal abodes. Hither those horrid +birds flew, as if to their home. Having seen them all disappear in the +recess, Astolpho cared not to pursue them farther, but alighting, +rolled huge stones into the mouth of the cave, and piled branches of +trees therein, so that he effectually barred their passage out, and we +have no evidence of their ever having been seen since in the outer air. +</P> + +<P> +After this labor Astolpho refreshed himself by bathing in a fountain +whose pure waters bubbled from a cleft of the rock. Having rested +awhile, an earnest desire seized him of ascending the mountain which +towered above him. The Hippogriff bore him swiftly upwards, and landed +him on the top of the mountain, which he found to be an extensive plain. +</P> + +<P> +A splendid palace rose in the middle of this plain, whose walls shone +with such brilliancy that mortal eyes could hardly bear the sight. +Astolpho guided the winged horse towards this edifice, and made him +poise himself in the air while he took a leisurely survey of this +favored spot and its environs. It seemed as if nature and art had +striven with one another to see which could do the most for its +embellishment. +</P> + +<P> +Astolpho, on approaching the edifice, saw a venerable man advance to +meet him. This personage was clothed in a long vesture as white as +snow, while a mantle of purple covered his shoulders, and hung down to +the ground. A white beard descended to his middle, and his hair, of the +same color, overshadowed his shoulders. His eyes were so brilliant that +Astolpho felt persuaded that he was a blessed inhabitant of the +heavenly mansions. +</P> + +<P> +The sage, smiling benignantly upon the paladin, who from respect had +dismounted from his horse, said to him: "Noble chevalier, know that it +is by the Divine will you have been brought to the terrestrial +paradise. Your mortal nature could not have borne to scale these +heights and reach these seats of bliss if it were not the will of +Heaven that you should be instructed in the means to succor Charles, +and to sustain the glory of our holy faith. I am prepared to impart the +needed counsels; but before I begin let me welcome you to our sojourn. +I doubt not your long fast and distant journey have given you a good +appetite." +</P> + +<P> +The aspect of the venerable man filled the prince with admiration; but +his surprise ceased when he learned from him that he was that one of +the Apostles of our Lord to whom he said, "I will that thou tarry till +I come." +</P> + +<P> +St. John, conducting Astolpho, rejoined his companions. These were the +patriarch Enoch and the prophet Elijah; neither of whom had yet seen +his dying day, but, taken from our lower world, were dwelling in a +region of peace and joy, in a climate of eternal spring, till the last +trumpet shall sound. +</P> + +<P> +The three holy inhabitants of the terrestrial paradise received +Astolpho with the greatest kindness, carried him to a pleasant +apartment, and took great care of the Hippogriff, to whom they gave +such food as suited him, while to the prince they presented fruits so +delicious that he felt inclined to excuse our first parents for their +sin in eating them without permission. +</P> + +<P> +Astolpho, having recruited his strength, not only by these excellent +fruits, but also by sweet sleep, roused himself at the first blush of +dawn, and as soon as he left his chamber met the beloved Apostle coming +to seek him. St. John took him by the hand, and told him many things +relating to the past and the future. Among others, he said, "Son, let +me tell you what is now going on in France. Orlando, the illustrious +prince who received at his birth the endowment of strength and courage +more than mortal, raised up as was Samson of old to be the champion of +the true faith, has been guilty of the basest ingratitude in leaving +the Christian camp when it most needed the support of his arm, to run +after a Saracen princess, whom he would fain marry, though she scorns +him. To punish him his reason has been taken away, so that he runs +naked through the land, over mountains and through valleys, without a +ray of intelligence. The duration of his punishment has been fixed at +three months, and that time having nearly expired, you have been +brought hither to learn from us the means by which the reason of +Orlando may be restored. True, you will be obliged to make a journey +with me, and we must even leave the earth, and ascend to the moon, for +it is in that planet we are to seek the remedy for the madness of the +paladin. I propose to make our journey this evening, as soon as the +moon appears over our head." +</P> + +<P> +As soon as the sun sunk beneath the seas, and the moon presented its +luminous disk, the holy man had the chariot brought out in which he was +accustomed to make excursions among the stars, the same which was +employed long ago to convey Elijah up from earth. The saint made +Astolpho seat himself beside him, took the reins, and giving the word +to the coursers, they bore them upward with astonishing celerity. +</P> + +<P> +At length they reached the great continent of the Moon. Its surface +appeared to be of polished steel, with here and there a spot which, +like rust, obscured its brightness. The paladin was astonished to see +that the earth, with all its seas and rivers, seemed but an +insignificant spot in the distance. +</P> + +<P> +The prince discovered in this region so new to him rivers, lakes, +plains, hills, and valleys. Many beautiful cities and castles enriched +the landscape. He saw also vast forests, and heard in them the sound of +horns and the barking of dogs, which led him to conclude that the +nymphs were following the chase. +</P> + +<P> +The knight, filled with wonder at all he saw, was conducted by the +saint to a valley, where he stood amazed at the riches strewed all +around him. Well he might be so, for that valley was the receptacle of +things lost on earth, either by men's fault, or by the effect of time +and chance. Let no one suppose we speak here of kingdoms or of +treasures; they are the toys of Fortune, which she dispenses in turning +her wheel; we speak of things which she can neither give nor take away. +Such are reputations, which appear at one time so brilliant, and a +short time after are heard of no more. Here, also, are countless vows +and prayers for unattainable objects, lovers' sighs and tears, time +spent in gaming, dressing, and doing nothing, the leisure of the dull +and the intentions of the lazy, baseless projects, intrigues, and +plots; these and such like things fill all the valley. +</P> + +<P> +Astolpho had a great desire to understand all that he saw, and which +appeared to him so extraordinary. Among the rest, he observed a great +mountain of blown bladders, from which issued indistinct noises. The +saint told him these were the dynasties of Assyrian and Persian kings, +once the wonder of the earth, of which now scarce the name remains. +</P> + +<P> +Astolpho could not help laughing when the saint said to him, "All these +hooks of silver and gold that you see are the gifts of courtiers to +princes, made in the hope of getting something better in return." He +also showed him garlands of flowers in which snares were concealed; +these were flatteries and adulations, meant to deceive. But nothing was +so comical as the sight of numerous grasshoppers which had burst their +lungs with chirping. These, he told him, were sonnets, odes, and +dedications, addressed by venal poets to great people. +</P> + +<P> +The paladin beheld with wonder what seemed a lake of spilled milk. "It +is," said the saint, "the charity done by frightened misers on their +death-beds." It would take too long to tell all that the valley +contained: meanness, affectations, pretended virtues, and concealed +vices were there in abundance. +</P> + +<P> +Among the rest Astolpho perceived many days of his own lost, and many +imprudent sallies which he had made, and would have been glad not to +have been reminded of. But he also saw among so many lost things a +great abundance of one thing which men are apt to think they all +possess, and do not think it necessary to pray for,--good sense. This +commodity appeared under the form of a liquor, most light and apt to +evaporate. It was therefore kept in vials, firmly sealed. One of these +was labelled, "The sense of the Paladin Orlando." +</P> + +<P> +All the bottles were ticketed, and the sage placed one in Astolpho's +hand, which he found was his own. It was more than half full. He was +surprised to find there many other vials which contained almost the +whole of the wits of many persons who passed among men for wise. Ah, +how easy it is to lose one's reason! Some lose theirs by yielding to +the sway of the passions; some in braving tempests and shoals in search +of wealth; some by trusting too much to the promises of the great; some +by setting their hearts on trifles. As might have been expected, the +bottles which held the wits of astrologers, inventors, metaphysicians, +and above all, of poets, were in general the best filled of all. +</P> + +<P> +Astolpho took his bottle, put it to his nose, and inhaled it all; and +Turpin assures us that he was for a long time afterwards as sage as one +could wish; but the Archbishop adds that there was reason to fear that +some of the precious fluid afterwards found its way back into the +bottle. The paladin took also the bottle which belonged to Orlando. It +was a large one, and quite full. +</P> + +<P> +Before quitting the planetary region Astolpho was conducted to an +edifice on the borders of a river. He was shown an immense hall full of +bundles of silk, linen, cotton, and wool. A thousand different colors, +brilliant or dull, some quite black, were among these skeins. In one +part of the hall an old woman was busy winding off yarns from all these +different bundles. When she had finished a skein another ancient dame +took it and placed it with others; a third selected from the fleeces +spun, and mingled them in due proportions. The paladin inquired what +all this might be. "These old women," said the saint, "are the Fates, +who spin, measure, and terminate the lives of mortals. As long as the +thread stretches in one of those skeins, so long does the mortal enjoy +the light of day; but nature and death are on the alert to shut the +eyes of those whose thread is spun." +</P> + +<P> +Each one of the skeins had a label of gold, silver, or iron, bearing +the name of the individual to whom it belonged. An old man, who, in +spite of the burden of years, seemed brisk and active, ran without +ceasing to fill his apron with these labels, and carried them away to +throw them into the river, whose name was Lethe. When he reached the +shore of the river the old man shook out his apron, and the labels sunk +to the bottom. A small number only floated for a time, hardly one in a +thousand. Numberless birds, hawks, crows, and vultures hovered over the +stream, with clamorous cries, and strove to snatch from the water some +of these names; but they were too heavy for them, and after a while the +birds were forced to let them drop into the river of oblivion. But two +beautiful swans, of snowy whiteness, gathered some few of the names, +and returned with them to the shore, where a lovely nymph received them +from their beaks, and carried them to a temple placed upon a hill, and +suspended them for all time upon a sacred column, on which stood the +statue of Immortality. +</P> + +<P> +Astolpho was amazed at all this, and asked his guide to explain it. He +replied, "The old man is Time. All the names upon the tickets would be +immortal if the old man did not plunge them into the river of oblivion. +Those clamorous birds which make vain efforts to save certain of the +names are flatterers, pensioners, venal rhymesters, who do their best +to rescue from oblivion the unworthy names of their patrons; but all in +vain; they may keep them from their fate a little while, but ere long +the river of oblivion must swallow them all. +</P> + +<P> +"The swans, that with harmonious strains carry certain names to the +temple of Eternal Memory, are the great poets, who save from oblivion +worse than death the names of those they judge worthy of immortality. +Swans of this kind are rare. Let monarchs know the true breed, and fail +not to nourish with care such as may chance to appear in their time." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="war"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE WAR IN AFRICA +</H3> + +<P> +When Astolpho had descended to the earth with the precious phial, St. +John showed him a plant of marvellous virtues, with which he told him +he had only to touch the eyes of the king of Abyssinia to restore him +to sight. "That important service," said the saint, "added to your +having delivered him from the Harpies, will induce him to give you an +army wherewith to attack the Africans in their rear, and force them to +return from France to defend their own country." The saint also +instructed him how to lead his troops in safety across the great +deserts, where caravans are often overwhelmed with moving columns of +sand. Astolpho, fortified with ample instructions, remounted the +Hippogriff, thanked the saint, received his blessing, and took his +flight down to the level country. +</P> + +<P> +Keeping the course of the river Nile, he soon arrived at the capital of +Abyssinia, and rejoined Senapus. The joy of the king was great when he +heard again the voice of the hero who had delivered him from the +Harpies. Astolpho touched his eyes with the plant which he had brought +from the terrestrial paradise, and restored their sight. The king's +gratitude was unbounded. He begged him to name a reward, promising to +grant it, whatever it might be. Astolpho asked an army to go to the +assistance of Charlemagne, and the king not only granted him a hundred +thousand men, but offered to lead them himself. +</P> + +<P> +The night before the day appointed for the departure of the troops +Astolpho mounted his winged horse, and directed his flight towards a +mountain, whence the fierce South-wind issues, whose blast raises the +sands of the Nubian desert, and whirls them onward in overwhelming +clouds. The paladin, by the advice of St. John, had prepared himself +with a leather bag, which he placed adroitly, with its mouth open, over +the vent whence issues this terrible wind. At the first dawn of morning +the wind rushed from its cavern to resume its daily course, and was +caught in the bag, and securely tied up. Astolpho, delighted with his +prize, returned to his army, placed himself at their head, and +commenced his march. The Abyssinians traversed without danger or +difficulty those vast fields of sand which separate their country from +the kingdoms of Northern Africa, for the terrible South-wind, taken +completely captive, had not force enough left to blow out a candle. +</P> + +<P> +Senapus was distressed that he could not furnish any cavalry, for his +country, rich in camels and elephants, was destitute of horses. This +difficulty the saint had foreseen, and had taught Astolpho the means of +remedying. He now put those means in operation. Having reached a place +whence he beheld a vast plain and the sea, he chose from his troops +those who appeared to be the best made and the most intelligent. These +he caused to be arranged in squadrons at the foot of a lofty mountain +which bordered the plain, and he himself mounted to the summit to carry +into effect his great design. Here he found vast quantities of +fragments of rock and pebbles. These he set rolling down the mountain's +side, and, wonderful to relate, as they rolled they grew in size, made +themselves bodies, legs, necks, and long faces. Next they began to +neigh, to curvet, to scamper on all sides over the plain. Some were +bay, some roan, some dapple, some chestnut. The troops at the foot of +the mountain exerted themselves to catch these new-created horses, +which they easily did, for the miracle had been so considerate as to +provide all the horses with bridles and saddles. Astolpho thus suddenly +found himself supplied with an excellent corps of cavalry, not fewer +(as Archbishop Turpin asserts) than eighty thousand strong. With these +troops Astolpho reduced all the country to subjection, and at last +arrived before the walls of Agramant's capital city, Biserta, to which +he laid siege. +</P> + +<P> +We must now return to the camp of the Christians, which lay before +Arles, to which city the Saracens had retired after being defeated in a +night attack led on by Rinaldo. Agramant here received the tidings of +the invasion of his country by a fresh enemy, the Abyssinians, and +learned that Biserta was in danger of falling into their hands. He took +counsel of his officers, and decided to send an embassy to Charles, +proposing that the whole quarrel should be submitted to the combat of +two warriors, one from each side, according to the issue of which it +should be decided which party should pay tribute to the other, and the +war should cease. Charlemagne, who had not heard of the favorable turn +which affairs had taken in Africa, readily agreed to this proposal, and +Rinaldo was selected on the part of the Christians to sustain the +combat. +</P> + +<P> +The Saracens selected Rogero for their champion. Rogero was still in +the Saracen camp, kept there by honor alone, for his mind had been +opened to the truth of the Christian faith by the arguments of +Bradamante, and he had resolved to leave the party of the infidels on +the first favorable opportunity, and to join the Christian side. But +his honor forbade him to do this while his former friends were in +distress; and thus he waited for what time might bring forth, when he +was startled by the announcement that he had been selected to uphold +the cause of the Saracens against the Christians, and that his foe was +to be Rinaldo, the brother of Bradamante. +</P> + +<P> +While Rogero was overwhelmed with this intelligence Bradamante on her +side felt the deepest distress at hearing of the proposed combat. If +Rogero should fall she felt that no other man living was worthy of her +love; and if, on the other hand, Heaven should resolve to punish France +by the death of her chosen champion, Bradamante would have to deplore +her brother, so dear to her, and be no less completely severed from the +object of her affections. +</P> + +<P> +While the fair lady gave herself up to these sad thoughts, the sage +enchantress, Melissa, suddenly appeared before her. "Fear not, my +daughter," said she, "I shall find a way to interrupt this combat which +so distresses you." +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile Rinaldo and Rogero prepared their weapons for the conflict. +Rinaldo had the choice, and decided that it should be on foot, and with +no weapons but the battle-axe and poniard. The place assigned was a +plain between the camp of Charlemagne and the walls of Arles. +</P> + +<P> +Hardly had the dawn announced the day appointed for this memorable +combat, when heralds proceeded from both sides to mark the lists. +Erelong the African troops were seen to advance from the city, Agramant +at their head; his brilliant arms adorned in the Moorish fashion, his +horse a bay, with a white star on his forehead. Rogero marched at his +side, and some of the greatest warriors of the Saracen camp attended +him, bearing the various parts of his armor and weapons. Charlemagne, +on his part, proceeded from his intrenchments, ranged his troops in +semicircle, and stood surrounded by his peers and paladins. Some of +them bore portions of the armor of Rinaldo, the celebrated Ogier, the +Dane, bearing the helmet which Rinaldo took from Mambrino. Duke Namo of +Bavaria and Salomon of Bretagne bore two axes, of equal weight, +prepared for the occasion. +</P> + +<P> +The terms of the combat were then sworn to with the utmost solemnity by +all parties. It was agreed that if from either part any attempt was +made to interrupt the battle both combatants should turn their arms +against the party which should be guilty of the interruption; and both +monarchs assented to the condition that in such case the champion of +the offending party should be discharged from his allegiance, and at +liberty to transfer his arms to the other side. +</P> + +<P> +When all the preparations were concluded the monarchs and their +attendants retired each to his own side, and the champions were left +alone. The two warriors advanced with measured steps towards each +other, and met in the middle of the space. They attacked one another at +the same moment, and the air resounded with the blows they gave. Sparks +flew from their battle-axes, while the velocity with which they managed +their weapons astonished the beholders. Rogero, always remembering that +his antagonist was the brother of his betrothed, could not aim a deadly +wound; he strove only to ward off those levelled against himself. +Rinaldo, on the other hand, much as he esteemed Rogero, spared not his +blows, for he eagerly desired victory for his own sake, and for the +sake of his country and his faith. +</P> + +<P> +The Saracens soon perceived that their champion fought feebly, and gave +not to Rinaldo such blows as he received from him. His disadvantage was +so marked that anxiety and shame were manifest on the countenance of +Agramant. Melissa, one of the most acute enchantresses that ever lived, +seized this moment to disguise herself under the form of Rodomont, that +rude and impetuous warrior, who had now for some time been absent from +the Saracen camp. Approaching Agramant, she said, "How could you, my +lord, have the imprudence of selecting a young man without experience +to oppose the most redoubtable warrior of France? Surely you must have +been regardless of the honor of your arms, and of the fate of your +empire! But it is not too late. Break without delay the agreement which +is sure to result in your ruin." So saying, she addressed the troops +who stood near, "Friends," said she, "follow me; under my guidance +every one of you will be a match for a score of those feeble +Christians." Agramant, delighted at seeing Rodomont once more at his +side, gave his consent, and the Saracens, at the instant, couched their +lances, set spurs to their steeds, and swept down upon the French. +Melissa, when she saw her work successful, disappeared. +</P> + +<P> +Rinaldo and Rogero, seeing the truce broken, and the two armies engaged +in general conflict, stopped their battle; their martial fury ceased at +once, they joined hands, and resolved to act no more on either side +until it should be clearly ascertained which party had failed to +observe its oath. Both renewed their promise to abandon forever the +party which had been thus false and perjured. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile, the Christians, after the first moment of surprise, met the +Saracens with courage redoubled by rage at the treachery of their foes. +Guido the Wild, brother and rival of Rinaldo, Griffon and Aquilant, +sons of Oliver, and numerous others whose names have already been +celebrated in our recitals, beat back the assailants, and at last, +after prodigious slaughter, forced them to take shelter within the +walls of Arles. +</P> + +<P> +We will now return to Orlando, whom we last heard of as furiously mad, +and doing a thousand acts of violence in his senseless rage. One day he +came to the borders of a stream which intercepted his course. He swam +across it, for he could swim like an otter, and on the other side saw a +peasant watering his horse. He seized the animal, in spite of the +resistance of the peasant, and rode it with furious speed till he +arrived at the sea-coast, where Spain is divided from Africa by only a +narrow strait. At the moment of his arrival a vessel had just put off +to cross the strait. She was full of people who, with glass in hand, +seemed to be taking a merry farewell of the land, wafted by a favorable +breeze. +</P> + +<P> +The frantic Orlando cried out to them to stop and take him in; but +they, having no desire to admit a madman to their company, paid him no +attention. The paladin thought this behavior very uncivil; and by force +of blows made his horse carry him into the water in pursuit of the +ship. The wretched animal soon had only his head above water; but as +Orlando urged him forward, nothing was left for the poor beast but +either to die or swim over to Africa. +</P> + +<P> +Already Orlando had lost sight of the bark; distance and the swell of +the sea completely hid it from his sight. He continued to press his +horse forward, till at last it could struggle no more, and sunk beneath +him. Orlando, nowise concerned, stretched out his nervous arms, puffing +the salt water from before his mouth, and carried his head above the +waves. Fortunately they were not rough, scarce a breath of wind +agitated the surface; otherwise, the invincible Orlando would then have +met his death. But fortune, which it is said favors fools, delivered +him from this danger, and landed him safe on the shore of Ceuta. Here +he rambled along the shore till he came to where the black army of +Astolpho held its camp. +</P> + +<P> +Now it happened, just before this time, that a vessel filled with +prisoners which Rodomont had taken at the bridge had arrived, and, not +knowing of the presence of the Abyssinian army, had sailed right into +port, where of course the prisoners and their captors changed places, +the former being set at liberty and received with all joy, the latter +sent to serve in the galleys. Astolpho thus found himself surrounded +with Christian knights, and he and his friends were exchanging +greetings and felicitations, when a noise was heard in the camp, and +seemed to increase every moment. +</P> + +<P> +Astolpho and his friends seized their weapons, mounted their horses, +and rode to the quarter whence the noise proceeded. Imagine their +astonishment when they saw that the tumult was caused by a single man, +perfectly naked, and browned with dirt and exposure, but of a force and +fury so terrible that he overturned all that offered to lay hands on +him. +</P> + +<P> +Astolpho, Dudon, Oliver, and Florimart gazed at him with amazement. It +was with difficulty they knew him. Astolpho, who had been warned of his +condition by his holy monitor, was the first to recognize him. As the +paladins closed round Orlando, the madman dealt one and another a blow +of his fist, which, if they had not been in armor, or he had had any +weapon, would probably have despatched them; as it was, Dudon and +Astolpho measured their length on the sand. But Florimart seized him +from behind, Sansonnet and another grasped his legs, and at last they +succeeded in securing him with ropes. They took him to the water-side +and washed him well, and then Astolpho, having first bandaged his mouth +so that he could not breathe except through his nose, brought the +precious phial, uncorked it, and placed it adroitly under his nostrils, +when the good Orlando took it all up in one breath. O marvellous +prodigy! The paladin recovered in an instant all his intelligence. He +felt like one who had awakened from a painful dream, in which he had +believed that monsters were about to tear him to pieces. He seemed +prostrated, silent, and abashed. Florismart, Oliver, and Astolpho stood +gazing upon him, while he turned his eyes around and on himself. He +seemed surprised to find himself naked, bound, and stretched on the +sea-shore. After a few moments he recognized his friends, and spoke to +them in a tone so tender that they hastened to unbind him, and to +supply him with garments. Then they exerted themselves to console him, +to diminish the weight with which his spirits were oppressed, and to +make him forget the wretched condition into which he had been sunk. +</P> + +<P> +Orlando, in recovering his reason, found himself also delivered from +his insane attachment to the queen of Cathay. His heart felt now no +further influenced by the recollection of her than to be moved with an +ardent desire to retrieve his fame by some distinguished exploit. +Astolpho would gladly have yielded to him the chief command of the +army, but Orlando would not take from the friend to whom he owed so +much the glory of the campaign; but in everything the two paladins +acted in concert, and united their counsels. They proposed to make a +general assault on the city of Biserta, and were only waiting a +favorable moment, when their plan was interrupted by new events. +</P> + +<P> +Agramant, after the bloody battle which followed the infraction of the +truce, found himself so weak that he saw it was in vain to attempt to +remain in France. So, in concert with Sobrino, the bravest and most +trusted of his chiefs, he embarked to return to his own country, having +previously sent off his few remaining troops in the same direction. The +vessel which carried Agramant and Sobrino approached the shore where +the army of Astolpho lay encamped before Biserta, and having discovered +this fact before it was too late, the king commanded the pilot to steer +eastward, with a view to seek protection of the King of Egypt. But the +weather becoming rough, he consented to the advice of his companions, +and sought harbor in an island which lies between Sicily and Africa. +There he found Gradasso, the warlike king of Sericane, who had come to +France to possess himself of the horse Bayard and the sword Durindana; +and having procured both these prizes was returning to his own country. +</P> + +<P> +The two kings, who had been companions in arms under the walls of +Paris, embraced one another affectionately. Gradasso learned with +regret the reverses of Agramant, and offered him his troops and his +person. He strongly deprecated resorting to Egypt for aid. "Remember +the great Pompey," said he, "and shun that fatal shore. My plan," he +continued, "is this: I mean to challenge Orlando to single combat. +Possessed of such a sword and steed as mine, if he were made of steel +or bronze, he could not escape me. He being removed, there will be no +difficulty in driving back the Abyssinians. We will rouse against them +the Moslem nations from the other side of the Nile, the Arabians, +Persians, and Chaldeans, who will soon make Senapus recall his army to +defend his own territories." +</P> + +<P> +Agramant approved this advice except in one particular. "It is for me," +said he, "to combat Orlando; I cannot with honor devolve that duty on +another." +</P> + +<P> +"Let us adopt a third course," said the aged warrior Sobrino. "I would +not willingly remain a simple spectator of such a contest. Let us send +three squires to the shore of Africa to challenge Orlando and any two +of his companions in arms to meet us three in this island of Lampedusa." +</P> + +<P> +This counsel was adopted; the three squires sped on their way; and now +presented themselves, and rehearsed their message to the Christian +knights. +</P> + +<P> +Orlando was delighted, and rewarded the squires with rich gifts. He had +already resolved to seek Gradasso and compel him to restore Durindana, +which he had learned was in his possession. For his two companions the +Count chose his faithful friend Florismart and his cousin Oliver. +</P> + +<P> +The three warriors embarked, and sailing with a favorable wind, the +second morning showed them, on their right, the island where this +important battle was to be fought. Orlando and his two companions, +having landed, pitched their tent. Agramant had placed his opposite. +</P> + +<P> +Next morning, as soon as Aurora brightened the edges of the horizon, +the warriors of both parties armed themselves and mounted their horses. +They took their positions, face to face, lowered their lances, placed +them in rest, clapped spurs to their horses, and flew to the charge. +Orlando met the charge of Gradasso. The paladin was unmoved, but his +horse could not sustain the terrible shock of Bayard. He recoiled, +staggered, and fell some paces behind. Orlando tried to raise him, but, +finding his efforts unavailing, seized his shield, and drew his famous +Balisardo. Meanwhile Agramant and the brave Oliver gained no advantage, +one or the other; but Florismart unhorsed the King Sobrino. Having +brought his foe to the ground, he would not pursue his victory, but +hastened to attack Gradasso, who had overthrown Orlando. Seeing him +thus engaged, Orlando would not interfere, but ran with sword upraised +upon Sobrino, and with one blow deprived him of sense and motion. +Believing him dead, he next turned to aid his beloved Florismart. That +brave paladin, neither in horse nor arms equal to his antagonist, could +but parry and evade the blows of the terrible Durindana. Orlando, eager +to succor him, was delayed for a moment in securing and mounting the +horse of the King Sobrino. It was but an instant, and with sword +upraised, he rushed upon Gradasso who, noways disconcerted at the onset +of this second foe, shouted his defiance, and thrust at him with his +sword, but, having miscalculated the distance, scarcely reached him, +and failed to pierce his mail. Orlando, in return, dealt him a blow +with Balisardo, which wounded as it fell face, breast, and thigh, and, +if he had been a little nearer, would have cleft him in twain. Sobrino, +by this time recovered from his swoon, though severely wounded, raised +himself on his legs, and looked to see how he might aid his friends. +Observing Agramant hard pressed by Oliver, he thrust his sword into the +bowels of the latter's horse, which fell, and bore down his master, +entangling his leg as he fell, so that Oliver could not extricate +himself. Florismart saw the danger of his friend, and ran upon Sobrino +with his horse, overthrew him, and then turned to defend himself from +Agramant. They were not unequally matched, for though Agramant, mounted +on Brigliadoro, had an advantage over Florismart, whose horse was but +indifferent, yet Agramant had received a serious wound in his encounter +with Oliver. +</P> + +<P> +Nothing could exceed the fury of the encounter between Orlando and +Gradasso. Durindana, in the hands of Gradasso, clove asunder whatever +it struck; but such was the skill of Orlando, who perfectly knew the +danger to which he was exposed from a stroke of that weapon, it had not +yet struck him in such a way as to inflict a wound. Meanwhile, Gradasso +was bleeding from many wounds, and his rage and incaution increased +every moment. In his desperation he lifted Durindana with both hands, +and struck so terrible a blow full on the helmet of Orlando, that for a +moment it stunned the paladin. He dropped the reins, and his frightened +horse scoured with him over the plain. Gradasso turned to pursue him, +but at that moment saw Florismart in the very act of striking a fatal +blow at Agramant, whom he had unhorsed. While Florismart was wholly +intent upon completing his victory, Gradasso plunged his sword into his +side. Florismart fell from his horse, and bathed the plain with his +blood. +</P> + +<P> +Orlando recovered himself just in time to see the deed. Whether rage or +grief predominated in his breast, I cannot tell; but, seizing Balisardo +with fury, his first blow fell upon Agramant, who was nearest to him, +and smote his head from his shoulders. At this sight Gradasso for the +first time felt his courage sink, and a dark presentiment of death came +over him. He hardly stood on his defence when Orlando cast himself upon +him, and gave him a fatal thrust. The sword penetrated his ribs, and +came out a palm's breadth on the other side of his body. +</P> + +<P> +Thus fell beneath the sword of the most illustrious paladin of France +the bravest warrior of the Saracen host. Orlando then, as if despising +his victory, leaped lightly to the ground, and ran to his dear friend +Florismart, embraced him, and bathed him with his tears. Florismart +still breathed. He could even command his voice to utter a few parting +words: "Dear friend, do not forget me,--give me your prayers,--and oh! +be a brother to Flordelis." He died in uttering her name. +</P> + +<P> +After a few moments given to grief Orlando turned to look for his other +companion and his late foes. Oliver lay oppressed with the weight of +his horse, from which he had in vain struggled to liberate himself. +Orlando extricated him with difficulty; he then raised Sobrino from the +earth, and committed him to his squire, treating him as gently as if he +had been his own brother. For this terrible warrior was the most +generous of men to a fallen foe. He took Bayard and Brigliadoro, with +the arms of the conquered knights; their bodies and their other spoils +he remitted to their attendants. +</P> + +<P> +But who can tell the grief of Flordelis when she saw the warriors +return, and found not Florismart as usual after absence hasten to her +side. She knew by the aspect of the others that her lord was slain. At +the thought, and before the question could pass her lips, she fell +senseless upon the ground. When life returned, and she learned the +truth of her worst fears, she bitterly upbraided herself that she had +let him depart without her. "I might have saved him by a single cry +when his enemy dealt him that treacherous blow, or I might have thrown +myself between and given my worthless life for his. Or if no more, I +might have heard his last words, I might have given him a last kiss." +So she lamented, and could not be comforted. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="rogero"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ROGERO AND BRADAMANTE +</H3> + +<P> +After the interruption of the combat with Rinaldo, as we have related, +Rogero was perplexed with doubts what course to take. The terms of the +treaty required him to abandon Agramant, who had broken it, and to +transfer his allegiance to Charlemagne; and his love for Bradamante +called him in the same direction; but unwillingness to desert his +prince and leader in the hour of distress forbade this course. +Embarking, therefore, for Africa, he took his way to rejoin the Saracen +army; but was arrested midway by a storm which drove the vessel on a +rock. The crew took to their boat, but that was quickly swamped in the +waves, and Rogero with the rest were compelled to swim for their lives. +Then while buffeting the waves Rogero bethought him of his sin in so +long delaying his Christian profession, and vowed in his heart that, if +he should live to reach the land, he would no longer delay to be +baptized. His vows were heard and answered; he succeeded in reaching +the shore, and was aided and relieved on landing by a pious hermit, +whose cell overlooked the sea. From him he received baptism, having +first passed some days with him, partaking his humble fare, and +receiving instruction in the doctrines of the Christian faith. +</P> + +<P> +While these things were going on, Rinaldo, who had set out on his way +to seek Gradasso and recover Bayard from him, hearing on his way of the +great things which were doing in Africa, repaired thither to bear his +part in them. He arrived too late to do more than join his friends in +lamenting the loss of Florismart, and to rejoice with them in their +victory over the Pagan knights. On the death of their king the Africans +gave up the contest, Biserta submitted, and the Christian knights had +only to dismiss their forces, and return home. Astolpho took leave of +his Abyssinian army, and sent them back laden with spoil to their own +country, not forgetting to intrust to them the bag which held the +winds, by means of which they were enabled to cross the sandy desert +again without danger, and did not untie it till they reached their own +country. +</P> + +<P> +Orlando now, with Oliver, who much needed the surgeon's care, and +Sobrino, to whom equal attention was shown, sailed in a swift vessel to +Sicily, bearing with him the body of Florismart, to be laid in +Christian earth. Rinaldo accompanied them, as did Sansonnet and the +other Christian leaders. Arrived at Sicily, the funeral was solemnized +with all the rites of religion, and with the profound grief of those +who had known Florismart, or had heard of his fame. Then they resumed +their course, steering for Marseilles. But Oliver's wound grew worse +instead of better, and his sufferings so distressed his friends that +they conferred together, not knowing what to do. Then said the pilot, +"We are not far from an isle where a holy hermit dwells alone in the +midst of the sea. It is said none seek his counsel or his aid in vain. +He hath wrought marvellous cures, and if you resort to that holy man +without doubt he can heal the knight." Orlando bade him steer thither, +and soon the bark was laid safely beside the lonely rock; the wounded +man was lowered into their boat, and carried by the crew to the +hermit's cell. It was the same hermit with whom Rogero had taken refuge +after his shipwreck, by whom he had been baptized, and with whom he was +now staying, absorbed in sacred studies and meditations. +</P> + +<P> +The holy man received Orlando and the rest with kindness, and inquired +their errand; and being told that they had come for help for one who, +warring for the Christian faith, was brought to perilous pass by a sad +wound, he straightway undertook the cure. His applications were simple, +but they were seconded by his prayers. The paladin was soon relieved +from pain, and in a few days his foot was perfectly restored to +soundness. Sobrino, as soon as he perceived the holy monk perform that +wonder, cast aside his false prophet, and with contrite heart owned the +true God, and demanded baptism at his hands. The hermit granted his +request, and also by his prayers restored him to health, while all the +Christian knights rejoiced in his conversion almost as much as at the +restoration of Oliver. More than all Rogero felt joy and gratitude, and +daily grew in grace and faith. +</P> + +<P> +Rogero was known by fame to all the Christian knights, but not even +Rinaldo knew him by sight, though he had proved his prowess in combat. +Sobrino made him known to them, and great was the joy of all when they +found one whose valor and courtesy were renowned through the world no +longer an enemy and unbeliever, but a convert and champion of the true +faith. All press about the knight; one grasps his hand, another locks +him fast in his embrace; but more than all the rest, Rinaldo cherished +him, for he more than any knew his worth. +</P> + +<P> +It was not long before Rogero confided to his friend the hopes he +entertained of a union with his sister, and Rinaldo frankly gave his +sanction to the proposal. But causes unknown to the paladin were at +that very time interposing obstacles to its success. +</P> + +<P> +The fame of the beauty and worth of Bradamante had reached the ears of +the Grecian Emperor, Constantine, and he had sent to Charlemagne to +demand the hand of his niece for Leo, his son, and the heir to his +dominions. Duke Aymon, her father, had only reserved his consent until +he should first have spoken with his son Rinaldo, now absent. +</P> + +<P> +The warriors now prepared to resume their voyage. Rogero took a tender +farewell of the good hermit who had taught him the true faith. Orlando +restored to him the horse and arms which were rightly his, not even +asserting his claim to Balisarda, that sword which he himself had won +from the enchantress. +</P> + +<P> +The hermit gave his blessing to the band, and they reembarked. The +passage was speedy, and very soon they arrived in the harbor of +Marseilles. +</P> + +<P> +Astolpho, when he had dismissed his troops, mounted the Hippogriff, and +at one flight shot over to Sardinia, thence to Corsica, thence, turning +slightly to the left, hovered over Provence, and alighted in the +neighborhood of Marseilles. There he did what he had been commanded to +do by the holy saint; he unbridled the Hippogriff, and turned him loose +to seek his own retreats, never more to be galled with saddle or bit. +The horn had lost its marvellous power ever since the visit to the moon. +</P> + +<P> +Astolpho reached Marseilles the very day when Orlando, Rinaldo, Oliver, +Sobrino, and Rogero arrived there. Charles had already heard the news +of the defeat of the Saracen kings, and all the accompanying events. On +learning the approach of the gallant knights, he sent forward some of +his most illustrious nobles to receive them, and himself, with the rest +of his court, kings, dukes, and peers, the queen, and a fair and +gorgeous band of ladies, set forward from Arles to meet them. +</P> + +<P> +No sooner were the mutual greetings interchanged, than Orlando and his +friends led forward Rogero, and presented him to the Emperor. They +vouch him son of Rogero, Duke of Risa, one of the most renowned of +Christian warriors, by adverse fortune stolen in his infancy, and +brought up by Saracens in the false faith, now by a kind Providence +converted, and restored to fill the place his father once held among +the foremost champions of the throne and Church. +</P> + +<P> +Rogero had alighted from his horse, and stood respectfully before the +Emperor. Charlemagne bade him remount and ride beside him; and omitted +nothing which might do him honor in sight of his martial train. With +pomp triumphal and with festive cheer the troop returned to the city; +the streets were decorated with garlands, the houses hung with rich +tapestry, and flowers fell like rain upon the conquering host from the +hands of fair dames and damsels, from every balcony and window. So +welcomed, the mighty Emperor passed on till he reached the royal +palace, where many days he feasted, high in hall, with his lords, amid +tourney, revel, dance, and song. +</P> + +<P> +When Rinaldo told his father, Duke Aymon, how he had promised his +sister to Rogero, his father heard him with indignation, having set his +heart on seeing her united to the Grecian Emperor's son. The Lady +Beatrice, her mother, also appealed to Bradamante herself to reject a +knight who had neither title nor lands, and give the preference to one +who would make her Empress of the wide Levant. But Bradamante, though +respect forbade her to refuse her mother's entreaty, would not promise +to do what her heart repelled, and answered only with a sigh, until she +was alone, and then gave a loose to tears. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile Rogero, indignant that a stranger should presume to rob him +of his bride, determined to seek the Prince of Greece, and defy him to +mortal combat. With this design he donned his armor, but exchanged his +crest and emblazonment, and bore instead a white unicorn upon a crimson +field. He chose a trusty squire, and, commanding him not to address him +as Rogero, rode on his quest. Having crossed the Rhine and the Austrian +countries into Hungary, he followed the course of the Danube till he +reached Belgrade. There he saw the imperial ensigns spread, and white +pavilions, thronged with troops, before the town. For the Emperor +Constantine was laying siege to the city to recover it from the +Bulgarians, who had taken it from him not long before. +</P> + +<P> +A river flowed between the camp of the Emperor and the Bulgarians, and +at the moment when Rogero approached, a skirmish had begun between the +parties from either camp, who had approached the stream for the purpose +of watering. The Greeks in that affray were four to one, and drove back +the Bulgarians in precipitate rout. Rogero, seeing this, and animated +only by his hatred of the Grecian prince, dashed into the middle of the +flying mass, calling aloud on the fugitives to turn. He encountered +first a leader of the Grecian host in splendid armor, a nephew of the +Emperor, as dear to him as a son. Rogero's lance pierced shield and +armor, and stretched the warrior breathless on the plain. Another and +another fell before him, and astonishment and terror arrested the +advance of the Greeks, while the Bulgarians, catching courage from the +cavalier, rally, change front, and chase the Grecian troops, who fly in +their turn. Leo, the prince, was at a distance when this sudden +skirmish rose, but not so far but that he could see distinctly, from an +elevated position which he held, how the changed battle was all the +work of one man, and could not choose but admire the bravery and +prowess with which it was done. He knew by the blazonry displayed that +the champion was not of the Bulgarian army, though he furnished aid to +them. Although he suffered by his valor, the prince could not wish him +ill, for his admiration surpassed his resentment. By this time the +Greeks had regained the river, and crossing it by fording or swimming, +some made their escape, leaving many more prisoners in the hands of the +Bulgarians. Rogero, learning from some of the captives that Leo was at +a point some distance down the river, rode thither with a view to meet +him, but arrived not before the Greek prince had retired beyond the +stream, and broken up the bridge. Day was spent, and Rogero, wearied, +looked round for a shelter for the night. He found it in a cottage, +where he soon yielded himself to repose. It so happened, a knight who +had narrowly escaped Rogero's sword in the late battle also found +shelter in the same cottage, and, recognizing the armor of the unknown +knight, easily found means of securing him as he slept, and next +morning carried him in chains and delivered him to the Emperor. By him +he was in turn delivered to his sister Theodora, mother of the young +knight, the first victim of Rogero's spear. By her he was cast into a +dungeon, till her ingenuity could devise a death sufficiently painful +to satiate her revenge. +</P> + +<P> +Bradamante, meanwhile, to escape her father's and mother's importunity, +had begged a boon of Charlemagne, which the monarch pledged his royal +word to grant; it was that she should not be compelled to marry any one +unless he should first vanquish her in single combat. The Emperor +therefore proclaimed a tournament in these words: "He that would wed +Duke Aymon's daughter must contend with the sword against that dame, +from the sun's rise to his setting; and if, in that time, he is not +overcome the lady shall be his." +</P> + +<P> +Duke Aymon and the Lady Beatrice, though much incensed at the course +things had taken, brought their daughter to court, to await the day +appointed for the tournament. Bradamante, not finding there him whom +her heart required, distressed herself with doubts what could be the +cause of his absence. Of all fancies, the most painful one was that he +had gone away to learn to forget her, knowing her father's and her +mother's opposition to their union, and despairing to contend against +them. But oh, how much worse would be the maiden's woe, if it were +known to her what her betrothed was then enduring! +</P> + +<P> +He was plunged in a dungeon where no ray of daylight ever penetrated, +loaded with chains, and scantily supplied with the coarsest food. No +wonder despair took possession of his heart, and he longed for death as +a relief, when one night (or one day, for both were equally dark to +him) he was roused with the glare of a torch and saw two men enter his +cell. It was the Prince Leo, with an attendant, who had come as soon as +he had learned the wretched fate of the brave knight whose valor he had +seen and admired on the field of battle. "Cavalier," said he, "I am one +whom thy valor hath so bound to thee, that I willingly peril my own +safety to lend thee aid." "Infinite thanks I owe you," replied Rogero, +"and the life you give me I promise faithfully to render back upon your +call, and promptly to stake it at all times for your service." The +prince then told Rogero his name and rank, at hearing which a tide of +contending emotions almost overwhelmed Rogero. He was set at liberty, +and had his horse and arms restored to him. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile, tidings arrived of King Charles' decree that whoever aspired +to the hand of Bradamante must first encounter her with sword and +lance. This news made the Grecian prince turn pale, for he knew he was +no match for her in fight. Communing with himself, he sees how he may +make his wit supply the place of valor, and employ the French knight, +whose name was still unknown to him, to fight the battle for him. +Rogero heard the proposal with extreme distress; yet it seemed worse +than death to deny the first request of one to whom he owed his life. +Hastily he gave his assent "to do in all things that which Leo should +command." Afterward, bitter repentance came over him; yet, rather than +confess his change of mind, death itself would be welcome. Death seems +his only remedy; but how to die? Sometimes he thinks to make none but a +feigned resistance, and allow her sword a ready access, for never can +death come more happily than if her hand guide the weapon. Yet this +will not avail, for, unless he wins the maid for the Greek prince, his +debt remains unpaid. He had promised to maintain a real, not a feigned +encounter. He will then keep his word, and banish every thought from +his bosom except that which moved him to maintain his truth. +</P> + +<P> +The young prince, richly attended, set out, and with him Rogero. They +arrived at Paris, but Leo preferred not to enter the city, and pitched +his tents without the walls, making known his arrival to Charlemagne by +an embassy. The monarch was pleased, and testified his courtesy by +visits and gifts. The prince set forth the purpose of his coming, and +prayed the Emperor to dispatch his suit--"to send forth the damsel who +refused ever to take in wedlock any lord inferior to herself in fight; +for she should be his bride, or he would perish beneath her sword." +</P> + +<P> +Rogero passed the night before the day assigned for the battle like +that which the felon spends, condemned to pay the forfeit of his life +on the ensuing day. He chose to fight with sword only, and on foot, for +he would not let her see Frontino, knowing that she would recognize the +steed. Nor would he use Balisarda, for against that enchanted blade all +armor would be of no avail, and the sword that he did take he hammered +well upon the edge to abate its sharpness. He wore the surcoat of +Prince Leo, and his shield, emblazoned with a golden, double-headed +eagle. The prince took care to let himself be seen by none. +</P> + +<P> +Bradamante, meanwhile, prepared herself for the combat far differently. +Instead of blunting the edge of her falchion she whets the steel, and +would fain infuse into it her own acerbity. As the moment approached +she seemed to have fire within her veins, and waited impatiently for +the trumpet's sound. At the signal she drew her sword, and fell with +fury upon her Rogero. But as a well-built wall or aged rock stands +unmoved the fury of the storm, so Rogero, clad in those arms which +Trojan Hector once wore, withstood the strokes which stormed about his +head and breast and flank. Sparks flew from his shield, his helm, his +cuirass; from direct and back strokes, aimed now high, now low, falling +thick and fast, like hailstones on a cottage roof; but Rogero, with +skilful ward, turns them aside, or receives them where his armor is a +sure protection, careful only to protect himself, and with no thought +of striking in return. Thus the hours passed away, and, as the sun +approached the west, the damsel began to despair. But so much the more +her anger increases, and she redoubles her efforts, like the craftsman +who sees his work unfinished while the day is wellnigh spent. O +miserable damsel! didst thou know whom thou wouldst kill,--if, in that +cavalier matched against thee thou didst but know Rogero, on whom thy +very life-threads hang, rather than kill him thou wouldst kill thyself, +for he is dearer to thee than life. +</P> + +<P> +King Charles and the peers, who thought the cavalier to be the Grecian +prince, viewing such force and skill exhibited, and how without +assaulting her the knight defended himself, were filled with +admiration, and declared the champions well matched, and worthy of each +other. +</P> + +<P> +When the sun was set Charlemagne gave the signal for terminating the +contest, and Bradamante was awarded to Prince Leo as a bride. Rogero, +in deep distress, returned to his tent. There Leo unlaced his helmet, +and kissed him on both cheeks. "Henceforth," said he, "do with me as +you please, for you cannot exhaust my gratitude." Rogero replied +little, laid aside the ensigns he had worn, and resumed the unicorn, +then hasted to withdraw himself from all eyes. When it was midnight he +rose, saddled Frontino, and sallied from his tent, taking that +direction which pleased his steed. All night he rode absorbed in bitter +woe, and called on Death as alone capable of relieving his sufferings. +At last he entered a forest, and penetrated into its deepest recesses. +There he unharnessed Frontino, and suffered him to wander where he +would. Then he threw himself down on the ground, and poured forth such +bitter wailings that the birds and beasts, for none else heard him, +were moved to pity with his cries. +</P> + +<P> +Not less was the distress of the lady Bradamante, who, rather than wed +any one but Rogero, resolved to break her word, and defy kindred, +court, and Charlemagne himself; and, if nothing else would do, to die. +But relief came from an unexpected quarter. Marphisa, sister of Rogero, +was a heroine of warlike prowess equal to Bradamante. She had been the +confidante of their loves, and felt hardly less distress than +themselves at seeing the perils which threatened their union. "They are +already united by mutual vows," she said, "and in the sight of Heaven +what more is necessary?" Full of this thought she presented herself +before Charlemagne, and declared that she herself was witness that the +maiden had spoken to Rogero those words which they who marry swear; and +that the compact was so sealed between the pair that they were no +longer free, nor could forsake the one the other to take another +spouse. This her assertion she offered to prove, in single combat, +against Prince Leo, or any one else. +</P> + +<P> +Charlemagne, sadly perplexed at this, commanded Bradamante to be +called, and told her what the bold Marphisa had declared. Bradamante +neither denied nor confirmed the statement, but hung her head, and kept +silence. Duke Aymon was enraged, and would fain have set aside the +pretended contract on the ground that, if made at all, it must have +been made before Rogero was baptized, and therefore void. But not so +thought Rinaldo, nor the good Orlando, and Charlemagne knew not which +way to decide, when Marphisa spoke thus: +</P> + +<P> +"Since no one else can marry the maiden while my brother lives, let the +prince meet Rogero in mortal combat, and let him who survives take her +for his bride." +</P> + +<P> +This saying pleased the Emperor, and was accepted by the prince, for he +thought that, by the aid of his unknown champion, he should surely +triumph in the fight. Proclamation was therefore made for Rogero to +appear and defend his suit; and Leo, on his part, caused search to be +made on all sides for the knight of the Unicorn. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile Rogero, overwhelmed with despair, lay stretched on the ground +in the forest night and day without food, courting death. Here he was +discovered by one of Leo's people, who, finding him resist all attempts +to remove him, hastened to his master, who was not far off, and brought +him to the spot. As he approached he heard words which convinced him +that love was the cause of the knight's despair; but no clew was given +to guide him to the object of that love. Stooping down, the prince +embraced the weeping warrior, and, in the tenderest accents, said: +"Spare not, I entreat you, to disclose the cause of your distress, for +few such desperate evils betide mankind as are wholly past cure. It +grieves me much that you would hide your grief from me, for I am bound +to you by ties that nothing can undo. Tell me, then, your grief, and +leave me to try if wealth, art, cunning, force, or persuasion cannot +relieve you. If not, it will be time enough after all has been tried in +vain to die." +</P> + +<P> +He spoke in such moving accents that Rogero could not choose but yield. +It was some time before he could command utterance; at last he said, +"My lord, when you shall know me for what I am, I doubt not you, like +myself, will be content that I should die. Know, then, I am that Rogero +whom you have so much cause to hate, and who so hated you that, intent +on putting you to death, he went to seek you at your father's court. +This I did because I could not submit to see my promised bride borne +off by you. But, as man proposes and God disposes, your great courtesy, +well tried in time of sore need, so moved my fixed resolve, that I not +only laid aside the hate I bore, but purposed to be your friend +forever. You then asked of me to win for you the lady Bradamante, which +was all one as to demand of me my heart and soul. You know whether I +served you faithfully or not. Yours is the lady; possess her in peace; +but ask me not to live to see it. Be content rather that I die; for +vows have passed between myself and her which forbid that while I live +she can lawfully wive with another." +</P> + +<P> +So filled was gentle Leo with astonishment at these words that for a +while he stood silent, with lips unmoved and steadfast gaze, like a +statue. And the discovery that the stranger was Rogero not only abated +not the good will he bore him, but increased it, so that his distress +for what Rogero suffered seemed equal to his own. For this, and because +he would appear deservedly an Emperor's son, and, though in other +things outdone, would not be surpassed in courtesy, he says: "Rogero, +had I known that day when your matchless valor routed my troops that +you were Rogero, your virtue would have made me your own, as then it +made me while I knew not my foe, and I should have no less gladly +rescued you from Theodora's dungeon. And if I would willingly have done +so then, how much more gladly will I now restore the gift of which you +would rob yourself to confer it upon me. The damsel is more due to you +than to me, and though I know her worth, I would forego not only her, +but life itself, rather than distress a knight like you." +</P> + +<P> +This and much more he said to the same intent; till at last Rogero +replied, "I yield, and am content to live, and thus a second time owe +my life to you." +</P> + +<P> +But several days elapsed before Rogero was so far restored as to return +to the royal residence, where an embassy had arrived from the Bulgarian +princes to seek the knight of the unicorn, and tender to him the crown +of that country, in place of their king, fallen in battle. +</P> + +<P> +Thus were things situated when Prince Leo, leading by the hand Rogero, +clad in the battered armor in which he had sustained the conflict with +Bradamante, presented himself before the king. "Behold," he said "the +champion who maintained from dawn to setting sun the arduous contest; +he comes to claim the guerdon of the fight." King Charlemagne, with all +his peerage, stood amazed; for all believed that the Grecian prince +himself had fought with Bradamante. Then stepped forth Marphisa, and +said, "Since Rogero is not here to assert his rights, I, his sister, +undertake his cause, and will maintain it against whoever shall dare +dispute his claim." She said this with so much anger and disdain that +the prince deemed it no longer wise to feign, and withdrew Rogero's +helmet from his brow, saying, "Behold him here!" Who can describe the +astonishment and joy of Marphisa! She ran and threw her arms about her +brother's neck, nor would give way to let Charlemagne and Rinaldo, +Orlando, Dudon, and the rest, who crowded round, embrace him, and press +friendly kisses on his brow. The joyful tidings flew fast by many a +messenger to Bradamante, who in her secret chamber lay lamenting. The +blood that stagnated about her heart flowed at that notice so fast, +that she had wellnigh died for joy. Duke Aymon and the Lady Beatrice no +longer withheld their consent, and pledged their daughter to the brave +Rogero before all that gallant company. +</P> + +<P> +Now came the Bulgarian ambassadors, and, kneeling at the feet of +Rogero, besought him to return with them to their country, where, in +Adrianople, the crown and sceptre were awaiting his acceptance. Prince +Leo united his persuasions to theirs, and promised, in his royal +father's name, that peace should be restored on their part. Rogero gave +his consent, and it was surmised that none of the virtues which shone +so conspicuously in him so availed to recommend Rogero to the Lady +Beatrice as the hearing her future son-in-law saluted as a sovereign +prince. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="roncesvalles"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE BATTLE OF RONCESVALLES +</H3> + +<P> +After the expulsion of the Saracens from France Charlemagne led his +army into Spain, to punish Marsilius, the king of that country, for +having sided with the African Saracens in the late war. Charlemagne +succeeded in all his attempts, and compelled Marsilius to submit, and +pay tribute to France. Our readers will remember Gano, otherwise called +Gan, or Ganelon, whom we mentioned in one of our early chapters as an +old courtier of Charlemagne, and a deadly enemy of Orlando, Rinaldo, +and all their friends. He had great influence over Charles, from +equality of age and long intimacy; and he was not without good +qualities: he was brave and sagacious, but envious, false, and +treacherous. Gan prevailed on Charles to send him as ambassador to +Marsilius, to arrange the tribute. He embraced Orlando over and over +again at taking leave, using such pains to seem loving and sincere, +that his hypocrisy was manifest to every one but the old monarch. He +fastened with equal tenderness on Oliver, who smiled contemptuously in +his face, and thought to himself, "You may make as many fair speeches +as you choose, but you lie." All the other paladins who were present +thought the same, and they said as much to the Emperor, adding that Gan +should on no account be sent ambassador to the Spaniards. But Charles +was infatuated. +</P> + +<P> +Gan was received with great honor by Marsilius. The king, attended by +his lords, came fifteen miles out of Saragossa to meet him, and then +conducted him into the city with acclamations. There was nothing for +several days but balls, games, and exhibitions of chivalry, the ladies +throwing flowers on the heads of the French knights, and the people +shouting, "France! Mountjoy and St. Denis!" +</P> + +<P> +After the ceremonies of the first reception the king and the ambassador +began to understand one another. One day they sat together in a garden +on the border of a fountain. The water was so clear and smooth it +reflected every object around, and the spot was encircled with +fruit-trees which quivered with the fresh air. As they sat and talked, +as if without restraint, Gan, without looking the king in the face, was +enabled to see the expression of his countenance in the water, and +governed his speech accordingly. Marsilius was equally adroit, and +watched the face of Gan while he addressed him. Marsilius began by +lamenting, not as to the ambassador, but as to the friend, the injuries +which Charles had done him by invading his dominions, charging him with +wishing to take his kingdom from him and give it to Orlando; till at +length he plainly uttered his belief that if that ambitious paladin +were but dead good men would get their rights. +</P> + +<P> +Gan heaved a sigh, as if he was unwillingly compelled to allow the +force of what the king said; but unable to contain himself long he +lifted up his face, radiant with triumphant wickedness, and exclaimed: +"Every word you utter is truth; die he must, and die also must Oliver, +who struck me that foul blow at court. Is it treachery to punish +affronts like these? I have planned everything,--I have settled +everything already with their besotted master. Orlando will come to +your borders--to Roncesvalles--for the purpose of receiving the +tribute. Charles will await him at the foot of the mountains. Orlando +will bring but a small band with him: you, when you meet him, will have +secretly your whole army at your back. You surround him, and who +receives tribute then?" +</P> + +<P> +The new Judas had scarcely uttered these words when his exultation was +interrupted by a change in the face of nature. The sky was suddenly +overcast, there was thunder and lightning, a laurel was split in two +from head to foot, and the Carob-tree under which Gan was sitting, +which is said to be the species of tree on which Judas Iscariot hung +himself, dropped one of its pods on his head. +</P> + +<P> +Marsilius, as well as Gan, was appalled at this omen; but on assembling +his soothsayers they came to the conclusion that the laurel-tree turned +the omen against the Emperor, the successor of the Caesars, though one +of them renewed the consternation of Gan by saying that he did not +understand the meaning of the tree of Judas, and intimating that +perhaps the ambassador could explain it. Gan relieved his vexation by +anger; the habit of wickedness prevailed over all other considerations; +and the king prepared to march to Roncesvalles at the head of all his +forces. +</P> + +<P> +Gan wrote to Charlemagne to say how humbly and submissively Marsilius +was coming to pay the tribute into the hands of Orlando, and how +handsome it would be of the Emperor to meet him half-way, and so be +ready to receive him after the payment at his camp. He added a +brilliant account of the tribute, and the accompanying presents. The +good Emperor wrote in turn to say how pleased he was with the +ambassador's diligence, and that matters were arranged precisely as he +wished. His court, however, had its suspicion still, though they little +thought Gan's object in bringing Charles into the neighborhood of +Roncesvalles was to deliver him into the hands of Marsilius, after +Orlando should have been destroyed by him. +</P> + +<P> +Orlando, however, did as his lord and sovereign desired. He went to +Roncesvalles, accompanied by a moderate train of warriors, not dreaming +of the atrocity that awaited him. Gan, meanwhile, had hastened back to +France, in order to show himself free and easy in the presence of +Charles, and secure the success of his plot; while Marsilius, to make +assurance doubly sure, brought into the passes of Roncesvalles no less +than three armies, which were successively to fall on the paladin in +case of the worst, and so extinguish him with numbers. He had also, by +Gan's advice, brought heaps of wine and good cheer to be set before his +victims in the first instance; "for that," said the traitor, "will +render the onset the more effective, the feasters being unarmed. One +thing, however, I must not forget," added he; "my son Baldwin is sure +to be with Orlando; you must take care of his life for my sake." +</P> + +<P> +"I give him this vesture off my own body," said the king; "let him wear +it in the battle, and have no fear. My soldiers shall be directed not +to touch him." +</P> + +<P> +Gan went away rejoicing to France. He embraced the sovereign and the +court all round with the air of a man who had brought them nothing but +blessings, and the old king wept for very tenderness and delight. +</P> + +<P> +"Something is going on wrong, and looks very black," thought Malagigi, +the good wizard; "Rinaldo is not here, and it is indispensably +necessary that he should be. I must find out where he is, and +Ricciardetto too, and send for them with all speed." +</P> + +<P> +Malagigi called up by his art a wise, terrible, and cruel spirit, named +Ashtaroth. "Tell me, and tell me truly, of Rinaldo," said Malagigi to +the spirit. The demon looked hard at the paladin, and said nothing. His +aspect was clouded and violent. +</P> + +<P> +The enchanter, with an aspect still cloudier, bade Ashtaroth lay down +that look, and made signs as if he would resort to angrier compulsion; +and the devil, alarmed, loosened his tongue, and said, "You have not +told me what you desire to know of Rinaldo." +</P> + +<P> +"I desire to know what he has been doing, and where he is." +</P> + +<P> +"He has been conquering and baptizing the world, east and west," said +the demon, "and is now in Egypt with Ricciardetto." +</P> + +<P> +"And what has Gan been plotting with Marsilius?" inquired Malagigi; +"and what is to come of it?" +</P> + +<P> +"I know not," said the devil. "I was not attending to Gan at the time, +and we fallen spirits know not the future. All I discern is that by the +signs and comets in the heavens something dreadful is about to +happen--something very strange, treacherous, and bloody; and that Gan +has a seat ready prepared for him in hell." +</P> + +<P> +"Within three days," cried the enchanter, loudly, "bring Rinaldo and +Ricciardetto into the pass of Ronces-Valles. Do it, and I hereby +undertake to summon thee no more." +</P> + +<P> +"Suppose they will not trust themselves with me?" said the spirit. +</P> + +<P> +"Enter Rinaldo's horse, and bring him, whether he trust thee or not." +</P> + +<P> +"It shall be done," returned the demon. +</P> + +<P> +There was an earthquake, and Ashtaroth disappeared. +</P> + +<P> +Marsilius now made his first movement towards the destruction of +Orlando, by sending before him his vassal, King Blanchardin, with his +presents of wines and other luxuries. The temperate but courteous hero +took them in good part, and distributed them as the traitor wished; and +then Blanchardin, on pretence of going forward to salute Charlemagne, +returned, and put himself at the head of the second army, which was the +post assigned him by his liege-lord. King Falseron, whose son Orlando +had slain in battle, headed the first army, and King Balugante the +third. Marsilius made a speech to them, in which he let them into his +design, and concluded by recommending to their good will the son of his +friend Gan, whom they would know by the vest he had sent him, and who +was the only soul amongst the Christian they were to spare. +</P> + +<P> +This son of Gan, meanwhile, and several of the paladins, who distrusted +the misbelievers, and were anxious at all events to be with Orlando, +had joined the hero in the fatal valley; so that the little Christian +host, considering the tremendous valor of their lord and his friends, +were not to be sold for nothing. Rinaldo, alas! the second thunderbolt +of Christendom, was destined not to be there in time to meet the issue. +The paladins in vain begged Orlando to be on his guard against +treachery, and send for a more numerous body of men. The great heart of +the Champion of the Faith was unwilling to harbor suspicion as long as +he could help it. He refused to summon aid which might be superfluous; +neither would he do anything but what his liege-lord had directed. And +yet he could not wholly repress a misgiving. A shadow had fallen on his +heart, great and cheerful as it was. The anticipations of his friends +disturbed him, in spite of the face with which he met them. Perhaps by +a certain foresight he felt his death approaching; but he felt bound +not to encourage the impression. Besides, time pressed; the moment of +the looked-for tribute was at hand, and little combinations of +circumstances determine often the greatest events. +</P> + +<P> +King Marsilius was to arrive early next day with the tribute, and +Oliver, with the morning sun, rode forth to reconnoitre, and see if he +could discover the peaceful pomp of the Spanish court in the distance. +He rode up the nearest height, and from the top of it beheld the first +army of Marsilius already forming in the passes. "O devil Gan," he +exclaimed, "this then is the consummation of thy labors!" Oliver put +spurs to his horse, and galloped back down the mountain to Orlando. +</P> + +<P> +"Well," cried the hero, "what news?" +</P> + +<P> +"Bad news," said his cousin, "such as you would not hear of yesterday. +Marsilius is here in arms, and all the world is with him." +</P> + +<P> +The paladins pressed round Orlando, and entreated him to sound his +horn, in token that he needed help. His only answer was to mount his +horse, and ride up the mountain with Sansonetto. +</P> + +<P> +As soon, however, as he cast forth his eyes, and beheld what was round +about him, he turned in sorrow, and looked down into Roncesvalles, and +said, "O miserable valley! the blood shed in thee this day will color +thy name forever." +</P> + +<P> +Orlando's little camp were furious against the Saracens. They armed +themselves with the greatest impatience. There was nothing but lacing +of helmets and mounting of horses, while good Archbishop Turpin went +from rank to rank exhorting and encouraging the warriors of Christ. +Orlando and his captains withdrew for a moment to consultation. He +fairly groaned for sorrow, and at first had not a word to say, so +wretched he felt at having brought his people to die in Roncesvalles. +Then he said: "If it had entered into my heart to conceive the king of +Spain to be such a villain never would you have seen this day. He has +exchanged with me a thousand courtesies and good words; and I thought +that the worse enemies we had been before, the better friends we had +become now. I fancied every human being capable of this kind of virtue +on a good opportunity, saving, indeed, such base-hearted wretches as +can never forgive their very forgivers; and of these I did not suppose +him to be one. Let us die, if die we must, like honest and gallant men, +so that it shall be said of us it was only our bodies that died. The +reason why I did not sound the horn was partly because I thought it did +not become us, and partly because our liege lord could hardly save us, +even if he heard it." And with these words Orlando sprang to his horse, +crying, "Aways against the Saracens!" But he had no sooner turned his +face than he wept bitterly, and said, "O Holy Virgin, think not of me, +the sinner Orlando, but have pity on these thy servants!" +</P> + +<P> +And now with a mighty dust, and an infinite sound of horns and +tambours, which came filling the valley, the first army of the infidels +made its appearance, horses neighing, and a thousand pennons flying in +the air. King Falseron led them on, saying to his officers: "Let nobody +dare to lay a finger on Orlando. He belongs to myself. The revenge of +my son's death is mine. I will cut the man down that comes between us." +"Now, friends," said Orlando, "every man for himself, and St. Michael +for us all! There is not one here that is not a perfect knight." And he +might well say it, for the flower of all France was there, except +Rinaldo and Ricciardetto--every man a picked man, all friends and +constant companions of Orlando. +</P> + +<P> +So the captains of the little troop and of the great army sat looking +at one another, and singling one another out as the latter came on, and +then the knights put spear in rest, and ran for a while two and two in +succession, one against the other. +</P> + +<P> +Astolpho was the first to move. He ran against Arlotto of Sorio, and +thrust his antagonist's body out of the saddle, and his soul into the +other world. Oliver encountered Malprimo, and, though he received a +thrust which hurt him, sent his lance right through the heart of +Malprimo. +</P> + +<P> +Falseron was daunted at this blow. "Truly," thought he, "this is a +marvel." Oliver did not press on among the Saracens, his wound was too +painful; but Orlando now put himself and his whole band in motion, and +you may guess what an uproar ensued. The sound of the rattling of blows +and helmets was as if the forge of Vulcan had been thrown open. +Falseron beheld Orlando coming so furiously, that he thought him a +Lucifer who had burst his chain, and was quite of another mind than +when he purposed to have him all to himself. On the contrary, he +recommended himself to his gods, and turned away, meaning to wait for a +more auspicious season of revenge. But Orlando hailed him with a +terrible voice, saying, "O thou traitor! was this the end to which old +quarrels were made up?" Then he dashed at Falseron with a fury so +swift, and at the same time with a mastery of his lance so marvellous, +that, though he plunged it in the man's body so as instantly to kill +him, and then withdrew it, the body did not move in the saddle. The +hero himself, as he rushed onwards, was fain to see the end of a stroke +so perfect, and turning his horse back, touched the carcass with his +sword, and it fell on the instant! +</P> + +<P> +When the infidels beheld their leader dead such fear fell upon them +that they were for leaving the field to the paladins, but they were +unable. Marsilius had drawn the rest of his forces round the valley +like a net, so that their shoulders were turned in vain. Orlando rode +into the thick of them, and wherever he went thunderbolts fell upon +helmets. Oliver was again in the fray, with Walter and Baldwin, Avino +and Avolio, while Arch-bishop Turpin had changed his crosier for a +lance, and chased a new flock before him to the mountains. +</P> + +<P> +Yet what could be done against foes without number? Marsilius +constantly pours them in. The paladins are as units to thousands. Why +tarry the horses of Rinaldo and Ricciardetto? +</P> + +<P> +The horses did not tarry, but fate had been quicker than enchantment. +Ashtaroth had presented himself to Rinaldo in Egypt, and, after telling +his errand, he and Foul-mouth, his servant, entered the horses of +Rinaldo and Ricciardetto, which began to neigh, and snort, and leap +with the fiends within them, till off they flew through the air over +the pyramids and across the desert, and reached Spain and the scene of +action just as Marsilius brought up his third army. The two paladins on +their horses dropped right into the midst of the Saracens, and began +making such havoc among them that Marsilius, who overlooked the fight +from a mountain, thought his soldiers had turned against one another. +Orlando beheld it, and guessed it could be no other but his cousins, +and pressed to meet them. Oliver coming up at the same moment, the +rapture of the whole party is not to be expressed. After a few hasty +words of explanation they were forced to turn again upon the enemy, +whose numbers seemed perfectly without limit. +</P> + +<P> +Orlando, making a bloody passage towards Marsilius, struck a youth on +the head, whose helmet was so strong as to resist the blow, but at the +same time flew off, Orlando prepared to strike a second blow, when the +youth exclaimed, "Hold! you loved my father; I am Bujaforte!" The +paladin had never seen Bujaforte, but he saw the likeness to the good +old man, his father, and he dropped his sword. "O Bujaforte," said he, +"I loved him indeed; but what does his son do here fighting against his +friends?" +</P> + +<P> +Bujaforte could not at once speak for weeping. At length he said: "I am +forced to be here by my lord and master, Marsilius; and I have made a +show of fighting, but have not hurt a single Christian. Treachery is on +every side of you. Baldwin himself has a vest given him by Marsilius, +that everybody may know the son of his friend Gan, and do him no harm." +</P> + +<P> +"Put your helmet on again," said Orlando, "and behave just as you have +done. Never will your father's friend be an enemy to the son." +</P> + +<P> +The hero then turned in fury to look for Baldwin, who was hastening +towards him at that moment, with friendliness in his looks. +</P> + +<P> +"'Tis strange," said Baldwin, "I have done my duty as well as I could, +yet nobody will come against me. I have slain right and left, and +cannot comprehend what it is that makes the stoutest infidels avoid me." +</P> + +<P> +"Take off your vest," said Orlando, contemptuously, "and you will soon +discover the secret, if you wish to know it. Your father has sold us to +Marsilius, all but his honorable son." +</P> + +<P> +"If my father," said Baldwin, impetuously tearing off the vest, "has +been such a villain, and I escape dying, I will plunge this sword +through his heart. But I am no traitor, Orlando, and you do me wrong to +say it. Think not I can live with dishonor." +</P> + +<P> +Baldwin spurred off into the fight, not waiting to hear another word +from Orlando, who was very sorry for what he had said, for he perceived +that the youth was in despair. +</P> + +<P> +And now the fight raged beyond all it had done before; twenty pagans +went down for one paladin, but still the paladins fell. Sansonetto was +beaten to earth by the club of Grandonio, Walter d'Amulion had his +shoulder broken, Berlinghieri and Ottone were slain, and at last +Astolpho fell, in revenge of whose death Orlando turned the spot where +he died into a lake of Saracen blood. The luckless Bujaforte met +Rinaldo, and before he could explain how he seemed to be fighting on +the Saracen side received such a blow upon the head that he fell, +unable to utter a word. Orlando, cutting his way to a spot where there +was a great struggle and uproar, found the poor youth Baldwin, the son +of Gan, with two spears in his breast. "I am no traitor now," said +Baldwin, and those were the last words he said. Orlando was bitterly +sorry to have been the cause of his death, and tears streamed from his +eyes. At length down went Oliver himself. He had become blinded with +his own blood, and smitten Orlando without knowing him. "How now, +cousin," cried Orlando, "have you too gone over to the enemy?" "O my +lord and master," cried the other, "I ask your pardon. I can see +nothing; I am dying. Some traitor has stabbed me in the back. If you +love me, lead my horse into the thick of them, so that I may not die +unavenged." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall die myself before long," said Orlando, "out of very toil and +grief; so we will go together." +</P> + +<P> +Orlando led his cousin's horse where the press was thickest, and +dreadful was the strength of the dying man and his tired companion. +They made a street through which they passed out of the battle, and +Orlando led his cousin away to his tent, and said, "Wait a little till +I return, for I will go and sound the horn on the hill yonder." +</P> + +<P> +"'Tis of no use," said Oliver, "my spirit is fast going and desires to +be with its Lord and Saviour." +</P> + +<P> +He would have said more, but his words came from him imperfectly, like +those of a man in a dream, and so he expired. +</P> + +<P> +When Orlando saw him dead he felt as if he was alone on the earth, and +he was quite willing to leave it, only he wished that King Charles, at +the foot of the mountains, should know how the case stood before he +went. So he took up the horn and blew it three times, with such force +that the blood burst out of his nose and mouth. Turpin says that at the +third blast the horn broke in two. +</P> + +<P> +In spite of all the noise of the battle, the sound of the horn broke +over it like a voice out of the other world. They say that birds fell +dead at it, and that the whole Saracen army drew back in terror. +Charlemagne was sitting in the midst of his court when the sound +reached him, and Gan was there. The Emperor was the first to hear it. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you hear that?" said he to his nobles. "Did you hear the horn as I +heard it?" +</P> + +<P> +Upon this they all listened, and Gan felt his heart misgive him. The +horn sounded a second time. +</P> + +<P> +"What is the meaning of this?" said Charles. +</P> + +<P> +"Orlando is hunting," observed Gan, "and the stag is killed." +</P> + +<P> +But when the horn sounded yet a third time, and the blast was one of so +dreadful a vehemence, everybody looked at the other, and then they all +looked at Gan in a fury. Charles rose from his seat. +</P> + +<P> +"This is no hunting of the stag," said he. "The sound goes to my very +heart. O Gan! O Gan! Not for thee do I blush, but for myself. O foul +and monstrous villain! Take him, gentleman, and keep him in close +prison. Would to God I had not lived to see this day!" +</P> + +<P> +But it was no time for words. They put the traitor in prison and then +Charles, with all his court, took his way to Roncesvalles, grieving and +praying. +</P> + +<P> +It was afternoon when the horn sounded, and half an hour after it when +the Emperor set out; and meantime Orlando had returned to the fight +that he might do his duty, however hopeless, as long as he could sit +his horse. At length he found his end approaching, for toil and fever, +and rode all alone to a fountain where he had before quenched his +thirst. His horse was wearier than he, and no sooner had his master +alighted than the beast, kneeling down as if to take leave, and to say, +"I have brought you to a place of rest," fell dead at his feet. Orlando +cast water on him from the fountain, not wishing to believe him dead; +but when he found it to no purpose, he grieved for him as if he had +been a human being, and addressed him by name with tears, and asked +forgiveness if he had ever done him wrong. They say that the horse, at +these words, opened his eyes a little, and looked kindly at his master, +and then stirred never more. They say also that Orlando then summoning +all his strength, smote a rock near him with his beautiful sword +Durindana, thinking to shiver the steel in pieces, and so prevent its +falling into the hands of the enemy, but though the rock split like a +slate, and a great cleft remained ever after to astonish the eyes of +pilgrims, the sword remained uninjured. +</P> + +<P> +And now Rinaldo and Ricciardetto came up, with Turpin, having driven +back the Saracens, and told Orlando that the battle was won. Then +Orlando knelt before Turpin and begged remission of his sins, and +Turpin gave him absolution. Orlando fixed his eyes on the hilt of his +sword as on a crucifix, and embraced it, and he raised his eyes and +appeared like a creature seraphical and transfigured, and bowing his +head, he breathed out his pure soul. +</P> + +<P> +And now King Charles and his nobles came up. The Emperor, at sight of +the dead Orlando, threw himself, as if he had been a reckless youth, +from his horse, and embraced and kissed the body, and said: "I bless +thee, Orlando; I bless thy whole life, and all that thou wast, and all +that thou ever didst, and the father that begat thee; and I ask pardon +of thee for believing those who brought thee to thine end. They shall +have their reward, O thou beloved one! But indeed it is thou that +livest, and I who am worse than dead." +</P> + +<P> +Horrible to the Emperor's eyes was the sight of the field of +Roncesvalles. The Saracens indeed had fled, conquered; but all his +paladins but two were left on it dead, and the whole valley looked like +a great slaughter-house, trampled into blood and dirt, and reeking to +the heat. Charles trembled to his heart's core for wonder and agony. +After gazing dumbly on the place he cursed it with a solemn curse, and +wished that never grass might grow in it again, nor seed of any kind, +neither within it nor on any of its mountains around, but the anger of +Heaven abide over it forever. +</P> + +<P> +Charles and his warriors went after the Saracens into Spain. They took +and fired Saragossa, and Marsilius was hung to the carob-tree under +which he had planned his villainy with Gan; and Gan was hung and drawn +and quartered in Roncesvalles, amidst the execrations of the country. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="rinaldo"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +RINALDO AND BAYARD +</H3> + +<P> +CHARLEMAGNE was overwhelmed with grief at the loss of so many of his +bravest warriors at the disaster of Roncesvalles, and bitterly +reproached himself for his credulity in resigning himself so completely +to the counsels of the treacherous Count Gan. Yet he soon fell into a +similar snare when he suffered his unworthy son, Charlot, to acquire +such an influence over him, that he constantly led him into acts of +cruelty and injustice that in his right mind he would have scorned to +commit. Rinaldo and his brothers, for some slight offence to the +imperious young prince, were forced to fly from Paris, and to take +shelter in their castle of Montalban; for Charles had publicly said, if +he could take them he would hang them all. He sent numbers of his +bravest knights to arrest them, but all without success. Either Rinaldo +foiled their efforts and sent them back, stripped of their armor and of +their glory, or, after meeting and conferring with him, they came back +and told the king they could not be his instruments for such a work. +</P> + +<P> +At last Charles himself raised a great army, and went in person to +compel the paladin to submit. He ravaged all the country round about +Montalban, so that supplies of food should be cut off, and he +threatened death to any who should attempt to issue forth, hoping to +compel the garrison to submit for want of food. +</P> + +<P> +Rinaldo's resources had been brought so low that it seemed useless to +contend any longer. His brothers had been taken prisoners in a +skirmish, and his only hope of saving their lives was in making terms +with the king. +</P> + +<P> +So he sent a messenger, offering to yield himself and his castle if the +king would spare his and his brothers' lives. While the messenger was +gone Rinaldo, impatient to learn what tidings he might bring, rode out +to meet him. When he had ridden as far as he thought prudent he stopped +in a wood, and alighting, tied Bayard to a tree. Then he sat down, and, +as he waited, he fell asleep. Bayard meanwhile got loose, and strayed +away where the grass tempted him. Just then came along some country +people, who said to one another, "Look, is not that the great horse +Bayard that Rinaldo rides? Let us take him, and carry him to King +Charles, who will pay us well for our trouble." They did so, and the +king was delighted with his prize, and gave them a present that made +them rich to their dying day. +</P> + +<P> +When Rinaldo woke he looked round for his horse, and, finding him not, +he groaned, and said, "O unlucky hour that I was born! how fortune +persecutes me!" So desperate was he that he took off his armor and his +spurs, saying, "What need have I of these, since Bayard is lost?" While +he stood thus lamenting, a man came from the thicket, seemingly bent +with age. He had a long beard hanging over his breast, and eyebrows +that almost covered his eyes. He bade Rinaldo good day. Rinaldo thanked +him, and said, "A good day I have hardly had since I was born." Then +said the old man, "Signor Rinaldo, you must not despair, for God will +make all things turn to the best." Rinaldo answered, "My trouble is too +heavy for me to hope relief. The king has taken my brothers, and means +to put them to death. I thought to rescue them by means of my horse +Bayard, but while I slept some thief has stolen him." The old man +replied, "I will remember you and your brothers in my prayers. I am a +poor man, have you not something to give me?" Rinaldo said, "I have +nothing to give," but then he recollected his spurs. He gave them to +the beggar, and said, "Here, take my spurs. They are the first present +my mother gave me when my father, Count Aymon, dubbed me knight. They +ought to bring you ten pounds." +</P> + +<P> +The old man took the spurs, and put them into his sack, and said, +"Noble sir, have you nothing else you can give me?" Rinaldo replied, +"Are you making sport of me? I tell you truly if it were not for shame +to beat one so helpless, I would teach you better manners." The old man +said, "Of a truth, sir, if you did so you would do a great sin. If all +had beaten me of whom I have begged I should have been killed long ago, +for I ask alms in churches and convents, and wherever I can." "You say +true," replied Rinaldo, "if you did not ask, none would relieve you." +The old man said, "True, noble sir, therefore I pray if you have +anything more to spare, give it me." Rinaldo gave him his mantle, and +said, "Take it, pilgrim. I give it you for the love of Christ, that God +would save my brothers from a shameful death, and help me to escape out +of King Charles's power." +</P> + +<P> +The pilgrim took the mantle, folded it up, and put it into his bag. +Then a third time he said to Rinaldo, "Sir, have you nothing left to +give me that I may remember you in my prayers?" "Wretch!" exclaimed +Rinaldo, "do you make me your sport?" and he drew his sword, and struck +at him; but the old man warded off the blow with his staff, and said, +"Rinaldo, would you slay your cousin, Malagigi?" When Rinaldo heard +that he stayed his hand, and gazed doubtingly on the old man, who now +threw aside his disguise, and appeared to be indeed Malagigi. "Dear +cousin," said Rinaldo, "pray forgive me. I did not know you. Next to +God, my trust is in you. Help my brothers to escape out of prison, I +entreat you. I have lost my horse, and therefore cannot render them any +assistance." Malagigi answered, "Cousin Rinaldo, I will enable you to +recover your horse. Meanwhile, you must do as I say." +</P> + +<P> +Then Malagigi took from his sack a gown, and gave it to Rinaldo to put +on over his armor, and a hat that was full of holes, and an old pair of +shoes to put on. They looked like two pilgrims, very old and poor. Then +they went forth from the wood, and after a little while saw four monks +riding along the road. Malagigi said to Rinaldo, "I will go meet the +monks, and see what news I can learn." +</P> + +<P> +Malagigi learned from the monks that on the approaching festival there +would be a great crowd of people at court, for the prince was going to +show the ladies the famous horse Bayard that used to belong to Rinaldo. +"What!" said the pilgrim; "is Bayard there?" "Yes," answered the monks; +"the king has given him to Charlot, and, after the prince has ridden +him the king means to pass sentence on the brothers of Rinaldo, and +have them hanged." Then Malagigi asked alms of the monks, but they +would give him none, till he threw aside his pilgrim garb, and let them +see his armor, when, partly for charity and partly for terror, they +gave him a golden cup, adorned with precious stones that sparkled in +the sunshine. +</P> + +<P> +Malagigi then hastened back to Rinaldo, and told him what he had +learned. +</P> + +<P> +The morning of the feast-day Rinaldo and Malagigi came to the place +where the sports were to be held. Malagigi gave Rinaldo his spurs back +again, and said, "Cousin, put on your spurs, for you will need them." +"How shall I need them," said Rinaldo, "since I have lost my horse?" +Yet he did as Malagigi directed him. +</P> + +<P> +When the two had taken their stand on the border of the field among the +crowd the princes and ladies of the court began to assemble. When they +were all assembled the king came also, and Charlot with him, near whom +the horse Bayard was led, in the charge of grooms, who were expressly +enjoined to guard him safely. The king, looking round on the circle of +spectators, saw Malagigi and Rinaldo, and observed the splendid cup +that they had, and said to Charlot, "See, my son, what a brilliant cup +those two pilgrims have got. It seems to be worth a hundred ducats." +"That is true," said Charlot; "Let us go and ask where they got it." So +they rode to the place where the pilgrims stood, and Charlot stopped +Bayard close to them. +</P> + +<P> +The horse snuffed at the pilgrims, knew Rinaldo, and caressed his +master. The king said to Malagigi, "Friend, where did you get that +beautiful cup?" Malagigi replied, "Honorable sir, I paid for it all the +money I have saved from eleven years' begging in churches and convents. +The Pope himself has blessed it, and given it the power that whosoever +eats or drinks out of it shall be pardoned of all his sins." Then said +the king to Charlot, "My son, these are right holy men; see how the +dumb beast worships them." +</P> + +<P> +Then the king said to Malagigi, "Give me a morsel from your cup, that I +may be cleared of my sins." Malagigi answered, "Illustrious lord, I +dare not do it, unless you will forgive all who have at any time +offended you. You know that Christ forgave all those who had betrayed +and crucified him." The king replied, "Friend, that is true; but +Rinaldo has so grievously offended me, that I cannot forgive him, nor +that other man, Malagigi, the magician. These two shall never live in +my kingdom again. If I catch them I will certainly have them hanged. +But tell me, pilgrim, who is that man who stands beside you?" "He is +deaf, dumb, and blind," said Malagigi. Then the king said again, "Give +me to drink of your cup, to take away my sins." Malagigi answered, "My +lord king, here is my poor brother, who for fifty days has not heard, +spoken, nor seen. This misfortune befell him in a house where we found +shelter, and the day before yesterday we met with a wise woman, who +told him the only hope of a cure for him was to come to some place +where Bayard was to be ridden, and to mount and ride him; that would do +him more good than anything else." Then said the king, "Friend, you +have come to the right place, for Bayard is to be ridden here to-day. +Give me a draught from your cup, and your companion shall ride upon +Bayard." Malagigi, hearing these words, said, "Be it so." Then the +king, with great devotion, took a spoon, and dipped a portion from the +pilgrim's cup, believing that his sins should be thereby forgiven. +</P> + +<P> +When this was done, the king said to Charlot, "Son, I request that you +will let this sick pilgrim sit on your horse, and ride if he can, for +by so doing he will be healed of all his infirmities." Charlot replied, +"That will I gladly do." So saying, he dismounted, and the servants +took the pilgrim in their arms, and helped him on the horse. +</P> + +<P> +Wher Rinaldo was mounted, he put his feet in the stirrups, and said, "I +would like to ride a little." Malagigi, hearing him speak, seemed +delighted, and asked him whether he could see and hear also. "Yes," +said Rinaldo, "I am healed of all my infirmities." When the king heard +it he said to Bishop Turpin, "My lord bishop, we must celebrate this +with a procession, with crosses and banners, for it is a great miracle." +</P> + +<P> +When Rinaldo remarked that he was not carefully watched, he spoke to +the horse, and touched him with the spurs. Bayard knew that his master +was upon him, and he started off upon a rapid pace, and in a few +moments was a good way off. Malagigi pretended to be in great alarm. "O +noble king and master," he cried, "my poor companion is run away with; +he will fall and break his neck." The king ordered his knights to ride +after the pilgrim, and bring him back, or help him if need were. They +did so, but it was in vain. Rinaldo left them all behind him, and kept +on his way till he reached Montalban. Malagigi was suffered to depart, +unsuspected, and he went his way, making sad lamentation for the fate +of his comrade, who he pretended to think must surely be dashed to +pieces. +</P> + +<P> +Malagigi did not go far, but having changed his disguise, returned to +where the king was, and employed his best art in getting the brothers +of Rinaldo out of prison. He succeeded; and all three got safely to +Montalban, where Rinaldo's joy at the rescue of his brothers and the +recovery of Bayard was more than tongue can tell. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="death"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +DEATH OF RINALDO +</H3> + +<P> +THE distress in Rinaldo's castle for want of food grew more severe +every day, under the pressure of the siege. The garrison were forced to +kill their horses, both to save the provision they would consume, and +to make food of their flesh. At last all the horses were killed except +Bayard, and Rinaldo said to his brothers, "Bayard must die, for we have +nothing else to eat." So they went to the stable and brought out Bayard +to kill him. But Alardo said, "Brother, let Bayard live a little +longer; who knows what God may do for us?" +</P> + +<P> +Bayard heard these words, and understood them as if he was a man, and +fell on his knees, as if he would beg for mercy. When Rinaldo saw the +distress of his horse his heart failed him, and he let him live. +</P> + +<P> +Just at this time Aya, Rinaldo's mother, who was the sister of the +Emperor, came to the camp, attended by knights and ladies, to intercede +for her sons. She fell on her knees before the king, and besought him +that he would pardon Rinaldo and his brothers: and all the peers and +knights took her side, and entreated the king to grant her prayer. Then +said the king, "Dear sister, you act the part of a good mother, and I +respect your tender heart, and yield to your entreaties. I will spare +your sons their lives if they submit implicitly to my will." +</P> + +<P> +When Charlot heard this he approached the king and whispered in his +ear. And the king turned to his sister and said, "Charlot must have +Bayard, because I have given the horse to him. Now go, my sister, and +tell Rinaldo what I have said." +</P> + +<P> +When the Lady Aya heard these words she was delighted, thanked God in +her heart, and said, "Worthy king and brother, I will do as you bid +me." So she went into the castle, where her sons received her most +joyfully and affectionately, and she told them the king's offer. Then +Alardo said, "Brother, I would rather have the king's enmity than give +Bayard to Charlot, for I believe he will kill him." Likewise said all +the brothers. When Rinaldo heard them he said, "Dear brothers, if we +may win our forgiveness by giving up the horse, so be it. Let us make +our peace, for we cannot stand against the king's power." Then he went +to his mother, and told her they would give the horse to Charlot, and +more, too, if the king would pardon them, and forgive all that they had +done against his crown and dignity. The lady returned to Charles and +told him the answer of her sons. +</P> + +<P> +When the peace was thus made between the king and the sons of Aymon, +the brothers came forth from the castle, bringing Bayard with them, +and, falling at the king's feet, begged his forgiveness. The king bade +them rise, and received them into favor in the sight of all his noble +knights and counsellors, to the great joy of all, especially of the +Lady Aya, their mother. Then Rinaldo took the horse Bayard, gave him to +Charlot, and said, "My lord and prince, this horse I give to you; do +with him as to you seems good." Charlot took him, as had been agreed +on. Then he made the servants take him to the bridge, and throw him +into the water. Bayard sank to the bottom, but soon came to the surface +again and swam, saw Rinaldo looking at him, came to land, ran to his +old master, and stood by him as proudly as if he had understanding, and +would say, "Why did you treat me so?" When the prince saw that he said, +"Rinaldo, give me the horse again, for he must die." Rinaldo replied, +"My lord and prince, he is yours without dispute," and gave him to him. +The prince then had a millstone tied to each foot, and two to his neck, +and made them throw him again into the water. Bayard struggled in the +water, looked up to his master, threw off the stones, and came back to +Rinaldo. +</P> + +<P> +When Alardo saw that, he said, "Now must thou be disgraced forever, +brother, if thou give up the horse again." But Rinaldo answered, +"Brother, be still. Shall I for the horse's life provoke the anger of +the king again?" Then Alardo said, "Ah, Bayard! what a return do we +make for all thy true love and service!" Rinaldo gave the horse to the +prince again, and said, "My lord, if the horse comes out again I cannot +return him to you any more, for it wrings my heart too much." Then +Charlot had Bayard loaded with the stones as before, and thrown into +the water; and commanded Rinaldo that he should not stand where the +horse would see him. When Bayard rose to the surface he stretched his +neck out of the water and looked round for his master, but saw him not. +Then he sunk to the bottom. +</P> + +<P> +Rinaldo was so distressed for the loss of Bayard that he made a vow to +ride no horse again all his life long, nor to bind a sword to his side, +but to become a hermit. He resolved to betake himself to some wild +wood, but first to return to his castle, to see his children, and to +appoint to each his share of his estate. +</P> + +<P> +So he took leave of the king and of his brothers, and returned to +Montalban, and his brothers remained with the king. Rinaldo called his +children to him, and he made his eldest born, Aymeric, a knight, and +made him lord of his castle and of his land. He gave to the rest what +other goods he had, and kissed and embraced them all, commended them to +God, and then departed from them with a heavy heart. +</P> + +<P> +He had not travelled far when he entered a wood, and there met with a +hermit, who had long been retired from the world. Rinaldo greeted him, +and the hermit replied courteously, and asked him who he was and what +was his purpose. Rinaldo replied, "Sir, I have led a sinful life; many +deeds of violence have I done, and many men have I slain, not always in +a good cause, but often under the impulse of my own headstrong +passions. I have also been the cause of the death of many of my +friends, who took my part, not because they thought me in the right, +but only for love of me. And now I come to make confession of all my +sins, and to do penance for the rest of my life, if perhaps the mercy +of God will forgive me." The hermit said, "Friend, I perceive you have +fallen into great sins, and have broken the commandments of God, but +his mercy is greater than your sins; and if you repent from your heart, +and lead a new life, there is yet hope for you that he will forgive you +what is past." So Rinaldo was comforted, and said, "Master, I will stay +with you, and what you bid ane I will do." The hermit replied, "Roots +and vegetables will be your food; shirt or shoes you may not wear; your +lot must be poverty and want if you stay with me." Rinaldo replied, "I +will cheerfully bear all this, and more." So he remained three whole +years with the hermit, and after that his strength failed, and it +seemed as if he was like to die. +</P> + +<P> +One night the hermit had a dream, and heard a voice from heaven, which +commanded him to say to his companion that he must without delay go to +the Holy Land, and fight against the heathen. The hermit, when he heard +that voice, was glad, and calling Rinaldo, he said, "Friend, God's +angel has commanded me to say to you that you must without delay go to +Jerusalem, and help our fellow-Christians in their struggle with the +Infidels." Then said Rinaldo, "Ah! master, how can I do that? It is +over three years since I made a vow no more to ride a horse, nor take a +sword or spear in my hand." The hermit answered, "Dear friend, obey +God, and do what the angel commanded." "I will do so," said Rinaldo, +"and pray for me, my master, that God may guide me right." Then he +departed, and went to the seaside, and took ship and came to Tripoli in +Syria. +</P> + +<P> +And as he went on his way his strength returned to him, till it was +equal to what it was in his best days. And though he never mounted a +horse, nor took a sword in his hand, yet with his pilgrim's staff he +did good service in the armies of the Christians; and it pleased God +that he escaped unhurt, though he was present in many battles, and his +courage inspired the men with the same. At last a truce was made with +the Saracens, and Rinaldo, now old and infirm, wishing to see his +native land again before he died, took ship and sailed for France. When +he arrived he shunned to go to the resorts of the great, and preferred +to live among the humble folk, where he was unknown. He did country +work, and lived on milk and bread, drank water, and was therewith +content. While he so lived he heard that the city of Cologne was the +holiest and best of cities, on account of the relics and bodies of +saints who had there poured out their blood for the faith. This induced +him to betake himself thither. When the pious hero arrived at Cologne +he went to the monastery of St. Peter, and lived a holy life, occupied +night and day in devotion. It so happened that at that time in the next +town to Cologne there raged a dreadful pestilence. Many people came to +Rinaldo, to beg him to pray for them, that the plague might be stayed. +The holy man prayed fervently, and besought the Lord to take away the +plague from the people, and his prayer was heard. The stroke of the +pestilence was arrested, and all the people thanked the holy man and +praised God. +</P> + +<P> +Now there was at this time at Cologne a bishop, called Agilolphus, who +was a wise and understanding man, who led a pure and secluded life, and +set a good example to others. This bishop undertook to build the Church +of St. Peter, and gave notice to all stonemasons and other workmen +round about to come to Cologne, where they should find work and wages. +Among others came Rinaldo; and he worked among the laborers and did +more than four or five common workmen. When they went to dinner he +brought stone and mortar so that they had enough for the whole day. +When the others went to bed he stretched himself out on the stones. He +ate bread only, and drank nothing but water; and had for his wages but +a penny a day. The head workman asked him his name, and where he +belonged. He would not tell, but said nothing and pursued his work. +They called him St. Peter's workman, because he was so devoted to his +work. +</P> + +<P> +When the overseer saw the diligence of this holy man he chid the +laziness of the other workmen, and said, "You receive more pay than +this good man, but do not do half as much work." For this reason the +other workmen hated Rinaldo, and made a secret agreement to kill him. +They knew that he made it a practice to go every night to a certain +church to pray and give alms. So they agreed to lay wait for him, with +the purpose to kill him. When he came to the spot, they seized him, and +beat him over the head till he was dead. Then they put his body into a +sack, and stones with it, and cast it into the Rhine, in the hope the +sack would sink to the bottom, and be there concealed. But God willed +not that it should be so, but caused the sack to float on the surface, +and be thrown upon the bank. And the soul of the holy martyr was +carried by angels, with songs of praise, up to the heavens. +</P> + +<P> +Now at that time the people of Dortmund had become converted to the +Christian faith; and they sent to the Bishop of Cologne, and desired +him to give them some of the holy relics that are in such abundance in +that city. So the Bishop called together his clergy to deliberate what +answer they should give to this request. And it was determined to give +to the people of Dortmund the body of the holy man who had just +suffered martyrdom. +</P> + +<P> +When now the body with the coffin was put on the cart, the cart began +to move toward Dortmund without horses or help of men, and stopped not +till it reached the place where the church of St. Rinaldo now stands. +The Bishop and his clergy followed the holy man to do him honor, with +singing of hymns, for a space of three miles. And St. Rinaldo has ever +since been the patron of that place, and many wonderful works has God +done through him, as may be seen in the legends. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="huon1"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +HUON OF BORDEAUX +</H3> + +<P> +WHEN Charlemagne grew old he felt the burden of government become +heavier year by year, till at last he called together his high barons +and peers to propose to abdicate the empire and the throne of France in +favor of his sons, Charlot and Lewis. +</P> + +<P> +The Emperor was unreasonably partial to his eldest son; he would have +been glad to have had the barons and peers demand Charlot for their +only sovereign; but that prince was so infamous, for his falsehood and +cruelty, that the council strenuously opposed the Emperor's proposal of +abdicating, and implored him to continue to hold a sceptre which he +wielded with so much glory. +</P> + +<P> +Amaury of Hauteville, cousin of Ganelon, and now head of the wicked +branch of the house of Maganza, was the secret partisan of Charlot, +whom he resembled in his loose morals and bad dispositions. Amaury +nourished the most bitter resentment against the house of Guienne, of +which the former Duke, Sevinus, had often rebuked his misdeeds. He took +advantage of this occasion to do an injury to the two young children +whom the Duke Sevinus had left under the charge of the Duchess Alice, +their mother; and at the same time, to advance his interest with +Charlot by increasing his wealth and power. With this view he suggested +to the prince a new idea. +</P> + +<P> +He pretended to agree with the opinion of the barons; he said that it +would be best to try Charlot's capacity for government by giving him +some rich provinces before placing him upon the throne; and that the +Emperor, without depriving himself of any part of his realm, might give +Charlot the investiture of Guienne. For although seven years had passed +since the death of Sevinus, the young Duke, his son, had not yet +repaired to the court of Charlemagne to render the homage due to his +lawful sovereign. +</P> + +<P> +We have often had occasion to admire the justice and wisdom of the +advice which on all occasions the Duke Namo of Bavaria gave to +Charlemagne, and he now discountenanced, with indignation, the selfish +advice of Amaury. He represented to the Emperor the early age of the +children of Sevinus, and the useful and glorious services of their late +father, and proposed to Charlemagne to send two knights to the Duchess +at Bordeaux, to summon her two sons to the court of the Emperor, to pay +their respects and render homage. +</P> + +<P> +Charlemagne approved this advice, and sent two chevaliers to demand the +two young princes of their mother. No sooner had the Duchess learned +the approach of the two knights, than she sent distinguished persons to +receive them; and as soon as they entered the palace she presented +herself before them, with her elder and younger sons, Huon and Girard. +</P> + +<P> +The deputies, delighted with the honors and caresses they received, +accompanied with rich presents, left Bordeaux with regret and on their +return represented to Charlemagne that the young Duke Huon seemed born +to tread in the footsteps of his brave father, informing him that in +three months the young princes of Guienne would present themselves at +his court. +</P> + +<P> +The Duchess employed the short interval in giving her sons her last +instructions. Huon received them in his heart, and Girard gave as much +heed to them as could be expected from one so young. +</P> + +<P> +The preparations for their departure having been made, the Duchess +embraced them tenderly, commending them to the care of Heaven, and +charged them to call, on their way, at the celebrated monastery of +Cluny, to visit the Abbot, the brother of their father. This Abbot, +worthy of his high dignity, had never lost an opportunity of doing +good, setting an example of every excellence, and making virtue +attractive by his example. +</P> + +<P> +He received his nephews with the greatest magnificence; and, aware how +useful his presence might be to them with Charlemagne, whose valued +counsellor he was, he took with them the road to Paris. +</P> + +<P> +When Amaury learned what reception the two deputies of Charlemagne had +received at Bordeaux, and the arrangements made for the visit of the +young princes to the Emperor's court, he suggested to Charlot to give +him a troop of his guards, with which he proposed to lay wait for the +young men in the wood of Montlery, put them to death, and thereby give +the prince Charlot possession of the duchy of Guienne. +</P> + +<P> +A plan of treachery and violence agreed but too well with Charlot's +disposition. He not only adopted the suggestion of Amaury, but insisted +upon taking a part in it. They went out secretly, by night, followed by +a great number of attendants, all armed in black, to lie in ambuscade +in the wood where the brothers were to pass. +</P> + +<P> +Girard, the younger of the two, having amused himself as he rode by +flying his hawk at such game as presented itself, had ridden in advance +of his brother and the Abbot of Cluny. Charlot, who saw him coming, +alone and unarmed, went forth to meet him, sought a quarrel with him, +and threw him from his horse with a stroke of his lance. Girard uttered +a cry as he fell; Huon heard it, and flew to his defence, with no other +weapon than his sword. He came up with him, and saw the blood flowing +from his wound. "What has this child done to you, wretch!" he exclaimed +to Charlot. "How cowardly to attack him when unprepared to defend +himself!" "By my faith," said Charlot, "I mean to do the same by you. +Know that I am the son of Duke Thierry of Ardennes, from whom your +father, Sevinus, took three castles; I have sworn to avenge him, and I +defy you." "Coward," answered Huon, "I know well the baseness that +dwells in your race; worthy son of Thierry, use the advantage that your +armor gives you; but know that I fear you not." At these words Charlot +had the wickedness to put his lance in rest, and to run upon Huon, who +had barely time to wrap his arm in his mantle. With this feeble buckler +he received the thrust of the lance. It penetrated the mantle, but +missed his body. Then, rising upon his stirrups, Sir Huon struck +Charlot so terrible a blow with his sword that the helmet was cleft +asunder, and his head too. The dastardly prince fell dead upon the +ground. +</P> + +<P> +Huon now perceived that the wood was full of armed men. He called the +men of his suite, and they hastily put themselves in order, but nobody +issued from the wood to attack him. Amaury, who saw Charlot's fall, had +no desire to compromit himself; and, feeling sure that Charlemagne +would avenge the death of his son, he saw no occasion for his doing +anything more at present. He left Huon and the Abbot of Cluny to bind +up the wound of Girard, and, having seen them depart and resume their +way to Paris, he took up the body of Charlot, and, placing it across a +horse, had it carried to Paris, where he arrived four hours after Huon. +</P> + +<P> +The Abbot of Cluny presented his nephew to Charlemagne, but Huon +refrained from paying his obeisance, complaining grievously of the +ambush which had been set for him, which he said could not have been +without the Emperor's permission. Charlemagne, surprised at a charge +which his magnanimous soul was incapable of meriting, asked eagerly of +the Abbot what were the grounds of the complaints of his nephew. The +Abbot told him faithfully all that had happened, informing him that a +coward knight, who called himself the son of Thierry of Ardennes, had +wounded Girard, and run upon Huon, who was unarmed; but by his force +and valor he had overcome the traitor, and left him dead upon the plain. +</P> + +<P> +Charlemagne indignantly disavowed any connection with the action of the +infamous Thierry, congratulated the young Duke upon his victory, +himself conducted the two brothers to a rich apartment, stayed to see +the first dressing applied to the wound of Girard, and left the +brothers in charge of Duke Namo of Bavaria, who, having been a +companion in arms of the Duke Sevinus, regarded the young men almost as +if they were his own sons. +</P> + +<P> +Charlemagne had hardly quitted them when, returning to his chamber, he +heard cries, and saw through the window a party of armed men just +arrived. He recognized Amaury, who bore a dead knight stretched across +a horse; and the name of Charlot was heard among the exclamations of +the people assembled in the court-yard. +</P> + +<P> +Charles's partiality for this unworthy son was one of his weaknesses. +He descended in trepidation to the court-yard, ran to Amaury, and +uttered a cry of grief on recognizing Charlot. "It is Huon of +Bordeaux," said the traitor Amaury, "who has massacred your son before +it was in my power to defend him." Charlemagne, furious at these words, +seized a sword, and flew to the apartment of the two brothers to plunge +it into the heart of the murderer of his son. Duke Namo stopped his +hand for an instant, while Charles told him the crime of which Huon was +accused. "He is a peer of the realm," said Namo, "and if he is guilty, +is he not here in your power, and are not we peers the proper judges to +condemn him to death? Let not your hand be stained with his blood." The +Emperor, calmed by the wisdom of Duke Namo, summoned Amaury to his +presence. The peers assembled to hear his testimony, and the traitor +accused Huon of Bordeaux of having struck the fatal blow without +allowing Charlot an opportunity to defend himself, and though he knew +that his opponent was the Emperor's eldest son. +</P> + +<P> +The Abbot of Cluny, indignant at the false accusation of Amaury, +advanced, and said, "By Saint Benedict, sire, the traitor lies in his +throat. If my nephew has slain Charlot it was in his own defence, and +after having seen his brother wounded by him, and also in ignorance +that his adversary was the prince. Though I am a son of the Church," +added the good Abbot, "I forget not that I am a knight by birth. I +offer to prove with my body the lie upon Amaury, if he dares sustain +it, and I shall feel that I am doing a better work to punish a disloyal +traitor, than to sing lauds and matins." +</P> + +<P> +Huon to this time had kept silent, amazed at the black calumny of +Amaury; but now he stepped forth, and, addressing Amaury, said: +"Traitor! darest thou maintain in arms the lie thou hast uttered?" +Amaury, a knight of great prowess, despising the youth and slight +figure of Huon, hesitated not to offer his glove, which Huon seized; +then, turning again to the peers, he said: "I pray you let the combat +be allowed me, for never was there a more legitimate cause." The Duke +Namo and the rest, deciding that the question should be remitted to the +judgment of Heaven, the combat was ordained, to which Charlemagne +unwillingly consented. The young Duke was restored to the charge of +Duke Namo, who the next morning invested him with the honors of +knighthood, and gave him armor of proof, with a white shield. The Abbot +of Cluny, delighted to find in his nephew sentiments worthy of his +birth, embraced him, gave him his blessing, and hastened to the church +of St. Germains to pray for him, while the officers of the king +prepared the lists for the combat. +</P> + +<P> +The battle was long and obstinate. The address and agility of Huon +enabled him to avoid the terrible blows which the ferocious Amaury +aimed at him. But Huon had more than once drawn blood from his +antagonist. The effect began to be perceived in the failing strength of +the traitor; at last he threw himself from his horse, and kneeling, +begged for mercy. "Spare me," he said, "and I will confess all. Aid me +to rise, and lead me to Charlemagne." The brave and loyal Huon, at +these words, put his sword under his left arm, and stretched out his +right to raise the prostrate man, who seized the opportunity to give +him a thrust in the side. The hauberk of Huon resisted the blow, and he +was wounded but slightly. Transported with rage at this act of +baseness, he forgot how necessary for his complete acquittal the +confession of Amaury was, and without delay dealt him the fatal blow. +</P> + +<P> +Duke Namo and the other peers approached, had the body of Amaury +dragged forth from the lists, and conducted Huon to Charlemagne. The +Emperor, however, listening to nothing but his resentment and grief for +the death of his son, refused to be satisfied; and under the plea that +Huon had not succeeded in making his accuser retract his charge seemed +resolved to confiscate his estates and to banish him forever from +France. It was not till after long entreaties on the part of Duke Namo +and the rest that he consented to grant Huon his pardon, under +conditions which he should impose. +</P> + +<P> +Huon approached, and knelt before the Emperor, rendered his homage, and +cried him mercy for the involuntary killing of his son. Charlemagne +would not receive the hands of Huon in his own, but touched him with +his sceptre, saying, "I receive thy homage, and pardon thee the death +of my son, but only on one condition. You shall go immediately to the +court of the Sultan Gaudisso; you shall present yourself before him as +he sits at meat; you shall cut off the head of the most illustrious +guest whom you shall find sitting nearest to him; you shall kiss three +times on the mouth the fair princess, his daughter, and you shall +demand of the Sultan, as token of tribute to me, a handful of the white +hair of his beard, and four grinders from his mouth." +</P> + +<P> +These conditions caused a murmur from all the assembly. "What!" said +the Abbot of Cluny; "slaughter a Saracen prince without first offering +him baptism?" "The second condition is not so hard," said the young +peers, "but the demand that Huon is bound to make of the old Sultan is +very uncivil, and will be hard to obtain." +</P> + +<P> +The Emperor's obstinacy when he had once resolved upon a thing is well +known. To the courage of Huon nothing seemed impossible. "I accept the +conditions," said he, silencing the intercessions of the old Duke of +Bavaria; "my liege, I accept my pardon at this price. I go to execute +your commands, as your vassal and a peer of France." +</P> + +<P> +The Duke Namo and Abbot of Cluny, being unable to obtain any relaxation +of the sentence passed by Charlemagne, led forth the young Duke, who +determined to set out at once on his expedition. All that the good +Abbot could obtain of him was, that he should prepare for this perilous +undertaking by going first to Rome, to pay his homage to the Pope, who +was the brother of the Duchess Alice, Huon's mother, and from him +demand absolution and his blessing. Huon promised it, and forthwith set +out on his way to Rome. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="huon2"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +HUON OF BORDEAUX (Continued) +</H3> + +<P> +HUON, having traversed the Apennines and Italy, arrived at the environs +of Rome, where, laying aside his armor, he assumed the dress of a +pilgrim. In this attire he presented himself before the Pope, and not +till after he had made a full confession of his sins did he announce +himself as his nephew. "Ah! my dear nephew," exclaimed the Holy Father, +"what harder penance could I impose than the Emperor has already done? +Go in peace, my son," he added, absolving him, "I go to intercede for +you with the Most High." Then he led his nephew into his palace, and +introduced him to all the Cardinals and Princes of Rome as the Duke of +Guienne, son of the Duchess Alice, his sister. +</P> + +<P> +Huon, at setting out, had made a vow not to stop more than three days +in a place. The Holy Father took advantage of this time to inspire him +with zeal for the glory of Christianity, and with confidence in the +protection of the Most High. He advised him to embark for Palestine, to +visit the Holy Sepulchre, and to depart thence for the interior of Asia. +</P> + +<P> +Loaded with the blessings of the Holy Father, Huon, obeying his +counsels, embarked for Palestine, arrived, and visited with the +greatest reverence the holy places. He then departed, and took his way +toward the east. +</P> + +<P> +But, ignorant of the country and of the language, he lost himself in a +forest, and remained three days without seeing a human creature, living +on honey and wild fruits which he found on the trees. The third day, +seeking a passage through a rocky defile, he beheld a man in tattered +clothing, whose beard and hair covered his breast and shoulders. This +man stopped on seeing him, observed him, and recognized the arms and +bearing of a French knight. He immediately approached, and exclaimed, +in the language of the South of France, "God be praised! Do I indeed +behold a chevalier of my own country, after fifteen years passed in +this desert without seeing the face of a fellow-countryman?" +</P> + +<P> +Huon, to gratify him still more, unlaced his helmet, and came towards +him with a smiling countenance. The other regarded him with more +surprise than at first. "Good Heaven!" he exclaimed, "was there ever +such a resemblance? Ah, noble sir," he added, "tell me, I beseech you, +of what country and race you come?" "I require," replied Huon, "before +telling you mine, that you first reveal your own; let it suffice you at +present to know that I am a Christian, and that in Guienne I was born." +"Ah! Heaven grant that my eyes and my heart do not deceive me," +exclaimed the unknown; "my name is Sherasmin; I am brother to Guire, +the Mayor of Bordeaux. I was taken prisoner in the battle where my dear +and illustrious master, Sevinus, lost his life. For three years I +endured the miseries of slavery; at length I broke my chains and +escaped to this desert, where I have sustained myself in solitude ever +since. Your features recall to me my beloved sovereign, in whose +service I was from my infancy till his death." Huon made no reply but +by embracing the old man, with tears in his eyes. Then Sherasmin +learned that his arms enfolded the son of the Duke Sevinus. He led him +to his cabin, and spread before him the dry fruits and honey which +formed his only aliment. +</P> + +<P> +Huon recounted his adventures to Sherasmin, who was moved to tears at +the recital. He then consulted him on means of conducting his +enterprise. Sherasmin hesitated not to confess that success seemed +impossible; nevertheless he swore a solemn oath never to abandon him. +The Saracen language, which he was master of, would be serviceable to +them when they should leave the desert, and mingle with men. +</P> + +<P> +They took the route of the Red Sea, and entered Arabia. Their way lay +through a region which Sherasmin described as full of terrors. It was +inhabited by Oberon, King of the Fairies, who made captive such knights +as were rash enough to penetrate into it, and transformed them into +Hobgoblins. It was possible to avoid this district at the expense of +somewhat lengthening their route; but no dangers could deter Huon of +Bordeaux; and the brave Sherasmin, who had now resumed the armor of a +knight, reluctantly consented to share with him the dangers of the +shorter route. +</P> + +<P> +They entered a wood, and arrived at a spot whence alleys branched off +in various directions. One of them seemed to be terminated by a superb +palace, whose gilded roofs were adorned with brilliant weathercocks +covered with diamonds. A superb chariot issued from the gate of the +palace, and drove toward Huon and his companion, as if to meet them +half-way. The prince saw no one in the chariot but a child apparently +about five years old, very beautiful, and clad in a robe which +glittered with precious stones. At the sight of him, Sherasmin's terror +was extreme. He seized the reins of Huon's horse, and turned him about, +hurrying the prince away, and assuring him that they were lost if they +stopped to parley with the mischievous dwarf, who, though he appeared a +child, was full of years and of treachery. Huon was sorry to lose sight +of the beautiful dwarf, whose aspect had nothing in it to alarm; yet he +followed his friend, who urged on his horse with all possible speed. +Presently a storm began to roar through the forest, the daylight grew +dim, and they found their way with difficulty. From time to time they +seemed to hear an infantine voice, which said, "Stop, Duke Huon; listen +to me: it is in vain you fly me!" +</P> + +<P> +Sherasmin only fled the faster, and stopped not until he had reached +the gate of a monastery of monks and nuns, the two communities of which +were assembled at that time in a religious procession. Sherasmin, +feeling safe from the malice of the dwarf in the presence of so many +holy persons and the sacred banners, stopped to ask an asylum, and made +Huon dismount also. But at that moment they were joined by the dwarf, +who blew a blast upon an ivory horn which hung from his neck. +Immediately the good Sherasmin, in spite of himself, began to dance +like a young collegian, and seizing the hand of an aged nun, who felt +as if it would be her death, they footed it briskly over the grass, and +were imitated by all the other monks and nuns, mingled together, +forming the strangest dancing-party ever beheld. Huron alone felt no +disposition to dance; but he came near dying of laughter at seeing the +ridiculous postures and leaps of the others. +</P> + +<P> +The dwarf, approaching Huon, said, in a sweet voice, and in Huon's own +language, "Duke of Guienne, why do you shun me? I conjure you, in +Heaven's name, speak to me." Huon, hearing himself addressed in this +serious manner, and knowing that no evil spirit would dare to use the +holy name in aid of his schemes, replied, "Sir, whoever you are, I am +ready to hear and answer you." "Huon, my friend," continued the dwarf, +"I always loved your race, and you have been dear to me ever since your +birth. The gracious state of conscience in which you were when you +entered my wood has protected you from all enchantments, even if I had +intended to practise any upon you. If these monks, these nuns, and even +your friend Sherasmin, had had a conscience as pure as yours, my horn +would not have set them dancing; but where is the monk or the nun who +can always be deaf to the voice of the tempter, and Sherasmin in the +desert has often doubted the power of Providence." +</P> + +<P> +At these words Huon saw the dancers overcome with exertion. He begged +mercy for them, the dwarf granted it, and the effect of the horn ceased +at once; the nuns got rid of their partners, smoothed their dresses, +and hastened to resume their places in the procession. Sherasmin, +overcome with heat, panting, and unable to stand on his legs, threw +himself upon the grass, and began, "Did not I tell you"--He was going +on in an angry tone, but the dwarf, approaching, said, "Sherasmin, why +have you murmured against Providence? Why have you thought evil of me? +You deserved this light punishment; but I know you to be good and +loyal; I mean to show myself your friend, as you shall soon see." At +these words he presented him a rich goblet. "Make the sign of the cross +on this cup," said he, "and then believe that I hold my power from the +God you adore, whose faithful servant I am, as well as you." Sherasmin +obeyed, and on the instant the cup was filled with delicious wine, a +draught of which restored vigor to his limbs, and made him feel young +again. Overcome with gratitude, he threw himself on his knees, but the +dwarf raised him, and bade him sit beside him, and thus commenced his +history: +</P> + +<P> +"Julius Caesar, going by sea to join his army, was driven by a storm to +take shelter in the island of Celea, where dwelt the fairy Glorianda. +From this renowned pair I draw my birth. I am the inheritor of that +which was most admirable in each of my parents: my father's heroic +qualities, and my mother's beauty and magic art. But a malicious sister +of my mother's, in revenge for some slight offence, touched me with her +wand when I was only five years old, and forbade me to grow any bigger; +and my mother, with all her power, was unable to annul the sentence. I +have thus continued infantile in appearance, though full of years and +experience. The power which I derive from my mother I use sometimes for +my own diversion, but always to promote justice and to reward virtue. I +am able and willing to assist you, Duke of Guienne, for I know the +errand on which you come hither. I presage for you, if you follow my +counsels, complete success; and the beautiful Clarimunda for a wife." +</P> + +<P> +When he had thus spoken he presented to Huon the precious and useful +cup, which had the faculty of filling itself when a good man took it in +his hand. He gave him also his beautiful horn of ivory, saying to him, +"Huon, when you sound this gently, you will make the hearers dance, as +you have seen; but if you sound it forcibly, fear not that I shall hear +it, though at a hundred leagues' distance, and will fly to your relief; +but be careful not to sound it in that way, unless upon the most urgent +occasion." +</P> + +<P> +Oberon directed Huon what course he should take to reach the country of +the Sultan Gaudisso. "You will encounter great perils," said he, +"before arriving there, and I fear me," he added, with tears in his +eyes, "that you will not in everything obey my directions, and in that +case you will suffer much calamity." Then he embraced Huon and +Sherasmin, and left them. +</P> + +<P> +Huon and his follower travelled many days through the desert before +they reached any inhabited place, and all this while the wonderful cup +sustained them, furnishing them not only wine, but food also. At last +they came to a great city. As day was declining, they entered its +suburbs, and Sherasmin, who spoke the Saracen language perfectly, +inquired for an inn where they could pass the night. A person who +appeared to be one of the principal inhabitants, seeing two strangers +of respectable appearance making this inquiry, stepped forward and +begged them to accept the shelter of his mansion. They entered, and +their host did the honors of his abode with a politeness which they +were astonished to see in a Saracen. He had them served with coffee and +sherbet, and all was conducted with great decorum, till one of the +servants awkwardly overturned a cup of hot coffee on the host's legs, +when he started up, exclaiming in very good Gascon, "Blood and thunder! +you blockhead, you deserve to be thrown over the mosque!" +</P> + +<P> +Huon could not help laughing to see the vivacity and the language of +his country thus break out unawares. The host, who had no idea that his +guests understood his words, was astonished when Huon addressed him in +the dialect of his country. Immediately confidence was established +between them; especially when the domestics had retired. The host, +seeing that he was discovered, and that the two pretended Saracens were +from the borders of the Garonne, embraced them, and disclosed that he +was a Christian. Huon, who had learned prudence from the advice of +Oberon, to test his host's sincerity, drew from his robe the cup which +the Fairy-king had given him, and presented it empty to the host. "A +fair cup," said he, "but I should like it better if it was full." +Immediately it was so. The host, astonished, dared not put it to his +lips. "Drink boldly, my dear fellow-countryman," said Huon; "your truth +is proved by this cup, which only fills itself in the hands of an +honest man." The host did not hesitate longer; the cup passed freely +from hand to hand; their mutual cordiality increased as it passed, and +each recounted his adventures. Those of Huon redoubled his host's +respect; for he recognized in him his legitimate sovereign: while the +host's narrative was in these words: +</P> + +<P> +"My name is Floriac; this great and strong city, you will hear with +surprise and grief, is governed by a brother of Duke Sevinus, and your +uncle. You have no doubt heard that a young brother of the Duke of +Guienne was stolen away from the sea-shore, with his companions, by +some corsairs. I was then his page, and we were carried by those +corsairs to Barbary, where we were sold for slaves. The Barbary prince +sent us as part of the tribute which he yearly paid to his sovereign, +the Sultan Gaudisso. Your uncle, who had been somewhat puffed up by the +flattery of his attendants, thought to increase his importance with his +new master by telling him his rank. The Sultan, who, like a true +Mussulman, detested all Christian princes, exerted himself from that +moment to bring him over to the Saracen faith. He succeeded but too +well. Your uncle, seduced by the arts of the Santons, and by the +pleasures and indulgences which the Sultan allowed him, committed the +horrid crime of apostasy; he renounced his baptism, and embraced +Mahometanism. Gaudisso then loaded him with honors, made him espouse +one of his nieces, and sent him to reign over this city and adjoining +country. Your uncle preserved for me the same friendship which he had +had when a boy; but all his caresses and efforts could not make me +renounce my faith. Perhaps he respected me in his heart for my +resistance to his persuasions, perhaps he had hopes of inducing me in +time to imitate him. He made me accompany him to this city, of which he +was master, he gave me his confidence, and permits me to keep in my +service some Christians, whom I protect for the sake of their faith." +</P> + +<P> +"Ah!" exclaimed Huon, "take me to this guilty uncle. A prince of the +house of Guienne, must he not blush at the cowardly abandonment of the +faith of his fathers?" +</P> + +<P> +"Alas!" replied Floriac, "I fear he will neither be sensible of shame +at your reproaches, nor of pleasure at the sight of a nephew so worthy +of his lineage. Brutified by sensuality, jealous of his power, which he +often exercises with cruelty, he will more probably restrain you by +force or put you to death." +</P> + +<P> +"Be it so," said the brave and fervent Huon, "I could not die in a +better cause; and I demand of you to conduct me to him to-morrow, after +having told him of my arrival and my birth." Floriac still objected, +but Huon would take no denial, and he promised obedience. +</P> + +<P> +Next morning Floriac waited upon the Governor and told him of the +arrival of his nephew, Huon of Bordeaux; and of the intention of the +prince to present himself at his court that very day. The Governor, +surprised, did not immediately answer; though he at once made up his +mind what to do. He knew that Floriac loved Christians and the princes +of his native land too well to aid in any treason to one of them; he +therefore feigned great pleasure at hearing of the arrival of the +eldest born of his family at his court. He immediately sent Floriac to +find him; he caused his palace to be put in festal array, his divan to +be assembled, and after giving some secret orders, went himself to meet +his nephew, whom he introduced under his proper name and title to all +the great officers of his court. +</P> + +<P> +Huon burned with indignation at seeing his uncle with forehead +encircled with a rich turban, surmounted with a crescent of precious +stones. His natural candor made him receive with pain the embraces +which the treacherous Governor lavished upon him. Meanwhile the hope of +finding a suitable moment to reproach him for his apostasy made him +submit to those honors which his uncle caused to be rendered to him. +The Governor evaded with address the chance of being alone with Huon +and spent all the morning in taking him through his gardens and palace. +At last, when the hour of dinner approached, and the Governor took him +by the hand to lead him into the dining-hall, Huon seized the +opportunity and said to him in a low voice, "O my uncle! O Prince, +brother of the Duke Sevinus! in what condition have I the grief and +shame of seeing you!" The Governor pretended to be moved, pressed his +hand, and whispered in his ear, "Silence! my dear nephew; to-morrow +morning I will hear you fully." +</P> + +<P> +Huon, comforted a little by these words, took his seat at the table by +the side of the Governor. The Mufti, some Cadis, Agas, and Santons, +filled the other places. Sherasmin sat down with them; but Floriac, who +would not lose sight of his guests, remained standing, and passed in +and out to observe what was going on within the palace. He soon +perceived a number of armed men gliding through the passages and +antechambers connected with the dining-hall. He was about to enter to +give his guests notice of what he had seen when he heard a violent +noise and commotion in the hall. The cause was this. +</P> + +<P> +Huon and Sherasmin were well enough suited with the first course and +ate with good appetite; but the people of their country not being +accustomed to drink only water at their meals, Huon and Sherasmin +looked at one another, not very well pleased at such a regimen. Huon +laughed outright at the impatience of Sherasmin, but soon, experiencing +the same want himself, he drew forth Oberon's cup and made the sign of +the cross. The cup filled and he drank it off, and handed it to +Sherasmin, who followed his example. The Governor and his officers, +seeing this abhorred sign, contracted their brows and sat in silent +consternation. Huon pretended not to observe it, and having filled the +cup again handed it to his uncle, saying, "Pray, join us, dear uncle; +it is excellent Bordeaux wine, the drink that will be to you like +mother's milk." The Governor, who often drank in secret with his own +favorite Sultanas the wines of Greece and Shiraz, never in public drank +anything but water. He had not for a long time tasted the excellent +wines of his native land; he was sorely tempted to drink what was now +handed to him, it looked so bright in the cup, outshining the gold +itself. He stretched forth his hand, took the brimming goblet, and +raised it to his lips, when immediately it dried up and disappeared. +Huon and Sherasmin, like Gascons as they were, laughed at his +astonishment. "Christian dogs!" he exclaimed, "do you dare to insult me +at my own table? But I will soon be revenged." At these words he threw +the cup at the head of his nephew, who caught it with his left hand, +while with the other he snatched the turban, with its crescent, from +the Governor's head and threw it on the floor. All the Saracens started +up from table, with loud outcries, and prepared to avenge the insult. +Huon and Sherasmin put themselves on their defence, and met with their +swords the scimitars directed against them. At this moment the doors of +the hall opened and a crowd of soldiers and armed eunuchs rushed in, +who joined in the attack upon Huon and Sherasmin. The Prince and his +followers took refuge on a broad shelf or side-board, where they kept +at bay the crowd of assailants, making the most forward of them smart +for their audacity. But more troops came pressing in and the brave +Huon, inspired by the wine of Bordeaux, and not angry enough to lose +his relish for a joke, blew a gentle note on his horn, and no sooner +was it heard than it quelled the rage of the combatants and set them to +dancing. Huon and Sherasmin, no longer attacked, looked down from their +elevated position on a scene the most singular and amusing. Very soon +the Sultanas, hearing the sound of the dance and finding their guards +withdrawn, came into the hall and mixed with the dancers. The favorite +Sultana seized upon a young Santon, who performed jumps two feet high; +but soon the long dresses of this couple got intermingled and threw +them down. The Santon's beard was caught in the Sultana's necklace, and +they could not disentangle them. The Governor by no means approved this +familiarity, and took two steps forward to get at the Santon, but he +stumbled over a prostrate Dervise and measured his length on the floor. +The dancing continued till the strength of the performers was +exhausted, and they fell, one after the other, and lay helpless. The +Governor at length made signs to Huon that he would yield everything if +he would but allow him to rest. The bargain was ratified; the Governor +allowed Huon and Sherasmin to depart on their way, and even gave them a +ring which would procure them safe passage through his country and +access to the Sultan Gaudisso. The two friends hastened to avail +themselves of this favorable turn, and taking leave of Floriac, pursued +their journey. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="huon3"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +HUON OF BORDEAUX (Continued) +</H3> + +<P> +HUON had seen many beauties at his mother's court, but his heart had +never been touched with love. Honor had been his mistress, and in +pursuit of that he had never found time to give a thought to softer +cares. Strange that a heart so insensible should first be touched by +something so unsubstantial as a dream; but so it was. +</P> + +<P> +The day after the adventure with his uncle night overtook the +travellers as they passed through a forest. A grotto offered them +shelter from the night dews. The magic cup supplied their evening meal; +for such was its virtue that it afforded not only wine, but more solid +fare when desired. Fatigue soon threw them into profound repose. Lulled +by the murmur of the foliage, and breathing the fragrance of the +flowers, Huon dreamed that a lady more beautiful than he had ever +before seen hung over him and imprinted a kiss upon his lips. As he +stretched out his arms to embrace her a sudden gust of wind swept her +away. +</P> + +<P> +Huon awoke in an agony of regret. A few moments sufficed to afford some +consolation in showing him that what had passed was but a dream; but +his perplexity and sadness could not escape the notice of Sherasmin. +Huon hesitated not to inform his faithful follower of the reason of his +pensiveness; and got nothing in return but his rallyings for allowing +himself to be disturbed by such a cause. He recommended a draught from +the fairy goblet, and Huon tried it with good effect. +</P> + +<P> +At early dawn they resumed their way. They travelled till high noon, +but said little to one another. Huon was musing on his dream, and +Sherasmin's thoughts flew back to his early days on the banks of the +flowery Garonne. +</P> + +<P> +On a sudden they were startled by the cry of distress, and turning an +angle of the wood, came where a knight hard pressed was fighting with a +furious lion. The knight's horse lay dead, and it seemed as if another +moment would end the combat, for terror and fatigue had quite disabled +the knight for further resistance. He fell, and the lion's paw was +raised over him, when a blow from Huon's sword turned the monster's +rage upon a new enemy. His roar shook the forest, and he crouched in +act to spring, when, with the rapidity of lightning, Huon plunged his +sword into his side. He rolled over on the plain in the agonies of +death. +</P> + +<P> +They raised the knight from the ground, and Sherasmin hastened to offer +him a draught from the fairy cup. The wine sparkled to the brim, and +the warrior put forth his lips to quaff it, but it shrunk away, and did +not even wet his lips. He dashed the goblet angrily on the ground, with +an exclamation of resentment. This incident did not tend to make either +party more acceptable to the other; and what followed was worse. For +when Huon said, "Sir knight, thank God for your deliverance,"--"Thank +Mahomet, rather, yourself," said he, "for he has led you this day to +render service to no less a personage than the Prince of Hyrcania." +</P> + +<P> +At the sound of this blasphemy Huon drew his sword and turned upon the +miscreant, who, little disposed to encounter the prowess of which he +had so lately seen proof, betook himself to flight. He ran to Huon's +horse, and lightly vaulting on his back, clapped spurs to his side, and +galloped out of sight. +</P> + +<P> +The adventure was vexatious, yet there was no remedy. The prince and +Sherasmin continued their journey with the aid of the remaining horse +as they best might. At length, as evening set in, they descried the +pinnacles and towers of a great city full before them, which they knew +to be the famous city of Bagdad. +</P> + +<P> +They were well-nigh exhausted with fatigue when they arrived at its +precincts, and in the darkness, not knowing what course to take, were +glad to meet an aged woman, who, in reply to their inquiries, offered +them such accommodations as her cottage could supply. They thankfully +accepted the offer, and entered the low door. The good dame busily +prepared the best fare her stores supplied,--milk, figs, and +peaches,--deeply regretting that the bleak winds had nipped her +almond-trees. +</P> + +<P> +Sir Huon thought he had never in his life tasted any fare so good. The +old lady talked while her guests ate. She doubted not, she said, they +had come to be present at the great feast in honor of the marriage of +the Sultan's daughter, which was to take place on the morrow. They +asked who the bridegroom was to be, and the old lady answered, "The +Prince of Hyrcania," but added, "Our princess hates him, and would +rather wed a dragon than him." "How know you that?" asked Huon; and the +dame informed him that she had it from the princess herself, who was +her foster-child. Huon inquired the reason of the princess's aversion; +and the woman pleased to find her chat excite so much interest, replied +that it was all in consequence of a dream. "A dream!" exclaimed Huon. +"Yes! a dream. She dreamed that she was a hind, and that the Prince, as +a hunter, was pursuing her, and had almost overtaken her, when a +beautiful dwarf appeared in view, drawn in a golden car, having by his +side a young man of yellow hair and fair complexion, like one from a +foreign land. She dreamed that the car stopped where she stood, and +that, having resumed her own form, she was about to ascend it, when +suddenly it faded from her view, and with it the dwarf and the +fair-haired youth. But from her heart that vision did not fade, and +from that time her affianced bridegroom, the Hyrcanian prince, had +become odious to her sight. Yet the Sultan, her father, by no means +regarding such a cause as sufficient to prevent the marriage, had named +the morrow as the time when it should be solemnized, in presence of his +court and many princes of the neighboring countries, whom the fame of +the princess's beauty and the bridegroom's splendor had brought to the +scene." +</P> + +<P> +We may suppose this conversation woke a tumult of thoughts in the +breast of Huon. Was it not clear that Providence led him on, and +cleared the way for his happy success? Sleep did not early visit the +eyes of Huon that night; but, with the sanguine temper of youth, he +indulged his fancy in imagining the sequel of his strange experience. +</P> + +<P> +The next day, which he could not but regard as the decisive day of his +fate, he prepared to deliver the message of Charlemagne. Clad in his +armor, fortified with his ivory horn and his ring, he reached the +palace of Gaudisso when the guests were assembled at the banquet. As he +approached the gate a voice called on all true believers to enter; and +Huon, the brave and faithful Huon, in his impatience passed in under +that false pretention. He had no sooner passed the barrier than he felt +ashamed of his baseness, and was overwhelmed with regret. To make +amends for his fault he ran forward to the second gate, and cried to +the porter, "Dog of a misbeliever, I command you in the name of Him who +died on the cross, open to me!" The points of a hundred weapons +immediately opposed his passage. Huon then remembered for the first +time the ring he had received from his uncle, the Governor. He produced +it, and demanded to be led to the Sultan's presence. The officer of the +guard recognized the ring, made a respectful obeisance, and allowed him +free entrance. In the same way he passed the other doors to the rich +saloon where the great Sultan was at dinner with his tributary princes. +At sight of the ring the chief attendant led Huon to the head of the +hall, and introduced him to the Sultan and his princes as the +ambassador of Charlemagne. A seat was provided for him near the royal +party. +</P> + +<P> +The Prince of Hyrcania, the same whom Huon had rescued from the lion, +and who was the destined bridegroom of the beautiful Clarimunda, sat on +the Sultan's right hand, and the princess herself on his left. It +chanced that Huon found himself near the seat of the princess, and +hardly were the ceremonies of reception over before he made haste to +fulfill the commands of Charlemagne by imprinting a kiss upon her rosy +lips, and after that a second, not by command, but by good will. The +Prince of Hyrcania cried out, "Audacious infidel! take the reward of +thy insolence!" and aimed a blow at Huon, which, if it had reached him, +would have brought his embassy to a speedy termination. But the ingrate +failed of his aim, and Huon punished his blasphemy and ingratitude at +once by a blow which severed his head from his body. +</P> + +<P> +So suddenly had all this happened that no hand had been raised to +arrest it; but now Gaudisso cried out, "Seize the murderer!" Huon was +hemmed in on all sides, but his redoubtable sword kept the crowd of +courtiers at bay. But he saw new combatants enter, and could not hope +to maintain his ground against so many. He recollected his horn, and +raising it to his lips, blew a blast almost as loud as that of Roland +at Roncesvalles. It was in vain. Oberon heard it; but the sin of which +Huon had been guilty in bearing, though but for a moment, the character +of a believer in the false prophet, had put it out of Oberon's power to +help him. Huon, finding himself deserted, and conscious of the cause, +lost his strength and energy, was seized, loaded with chains, and +plunged into a dungeon. +</P> + +<P> +His life was spared for the time, merely that he might be reserved for +a more painful death. The Sultan meant that, after being made to feel +all the torments of hunger and despair, he should be flayed alive. +</P> + +<P> +But an enchanter more ancient and more powerful than Oberon himself +interested himself for the brave Huon. The enchanter was Love. The +Princess Clarimunda learned with horror the fate to which the young +prince was destined. By the aid of her governante she gained over the +keeper of the prison, and went herself to lighten the chains of her +beloved. It was her hand that removed his fetters, from her he received +supplies of food to sustain a life which he devoted from thenceforth +wholly to her. After the most tender explanations the princess +departed, promising to repeat her visit on the morrow. +</P> + +<P> +The next day she came according to promise, and again brought supplies +of food. These visits were continued during a whole month. Huon was too +good a son of the Church to forget that the amiable princess was a +Saracen, and he availed himself of these interviews to instruct her in +the true faith. How easy it is to believe the truth when uttered by the +lips of those we love! Clarimunda ere long professed her entire belief +in the Christian doctrines, and desired to be baptized. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile the Sultan had repeatedly inquired of the jailer how his +prisoner bore the pains of famine, and learned to his surprise that he +was not yet much reduced thereby. On his repeating the inquiry, after a +short interval, the keeper replied that the prisoner had died suddenly, +and had been buried in the cavern. The Sultan could only regret that he +had not sooner ordered the execution of the sentence. +</P> + +<P> +While these things were going on the faithful Sherasmin, who had not +accompanied Huon in his last adventure, but had learned by common rumor +the result of it, came to the court in hopes of doing something for the +rescue of his master. He presented himself to the Sultan as Solario, +his nephew. Guadisso received him with kindness, and all the courtiers +loaded him with attentions. He soon found means to inform himself how +the Princess regarded the brave but unfortunate Huon, and having made +himself known to her, confidence was soon established between them. +Clarimunda readily consented to assist in the escape of Huon, and to +quit with him her father's court to repair to that of Charlemagne. +Their united efforts had nearly perfected their arrangement, a vessel +was secretly prepared, and all things in forwardness for the flight, +when an unlooked-for obstacle presented itself. Huon himself positively +refused to go leaving the orders of Charlemagne unexecuted. +</P> + +<P> +Sherasmin was in despair. Bitterly he complained of the fickleness and +cruelty of Oberon in withdrawing his aid at the very crisis when it was +most necessary. Earnestly he urged every argument to satisfy the prince +that he had done enough for honor, and could not be held bound to +achieve impossibilities. But all was of no avail, and he knew not which +way to turn, when one of those events occurred which are so frequent +under Turkish despotisms. A courier arrived at the court of the Sultan, +bearing the ring of his sovereign, the mighty Agrapard, Caliph of +Arabia, and bringing the bow-string for the neck of Gaudisso. No reason +was assigned; none but the pleasure of the Caliph is ever required in +such cases; but it was suspected that the bearer of the bow-string had +persuaded the Caliph that Gaudisso, whose rapacity was well known, had +accumulated immense treasures, which he had not duly shared with his +sovereign, and thus had obtained an order to supersede him in his +Emirship. +</P> + +<P> +The body of Gaudisso would have been cast out a prey to dogs and +vultures, had not Sherasmin, under the character of nephew of the +deceased, been permitted to receive it, and give it decent burial, +which he did, but not till he had taken possession of the beard and +grinders, agreeably to the orders of Charlemagne. +</P> + +<P> +No obstacle now stood in the way of the lovers and their faithful +follower in returning to France. They sailed, taking Rome in their way, +where the Holy Father himself blessed the union of his nephew, Duke +Huon of Bordeaux, with the Princess Clarimunda. +</P> + +<P> +Soon afterward they arrived in France, where Huon laid his trophies at +the feet of Charlemagne, and, being restored to the favor of the +Emperor, hastened to present himself and his bride to the Duchess, his +mother, and to the faithful liegemen of his province of Guienne and his +city of Bordeaux, where the pair were received with transports of joy. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="ogier1"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +OGIER, THE DANE +</H3> + +<P> +OGIER, the Dane, was the son of Geoffrey, who wrested Denmark from the +Pagans, and reigned the first Christian king of that country. When +Ogier was born, and before he was baptized, six ladies of ravishing +beauty appeared all at once in the chamber of the infant. They +encircled him, and she who appeared the eldest took him in her arms, +kissed him, and laid her hand upon his heart. "I give you," said she, +"to be the bravest warrior of your times." She delivered the infant to +her sister, who said, "I give you abundant opportunities to display +your valor." "Sister," said the third lady, "you have given him a +dangerous boon; I give him that he shall never be vanquished." The +fourth sister added, as she laid her hand upon his eyes and his mouth, +"I give you the gift of pleasing." The fifth said, "Lest all these +gifts serve only to betray, I give you sensibility to return the love +you inspire." Then spoke Morgana, the youngest and handsomest of the +group. "Charming creature, I claim you for my own; and I give you not +to die till you shall have come to pay me a visit in my isle of +Avalon." Then she kissed the child and departed with her sisters. +</P> + +<P> +After this the king had the child carried to the font and baptized with +the name of Ogier. +</P> + +<P> +In his education nothing was neglected to elevate him to the standard +of a perfect knight, and render him accomplished in all the arts +necessary to make him a hero. +</P> + +<P> +He had hardly reached the age of sixteen years when Charlemagne, whose +power was established over all the sovereigns of his time, recollected +that Geoffroy, Ogier's father, had omitted to render the homage due to +him as Emperor, and sovereign lord of Denmark, one of the grand fiefs +of the empire. He accordingly sent an embassy to demand of the king of +Denmark this homage, and on receiving a refusal, couched in haughty +terms, sent an army to enforce the demand. Geoffroy, after an +unsuccessful resistance, was forced to comply, and as a pledge of his +sincerity delivered Ogier, his eldest son, a hostage to Charles, to be +brought up at his court. He was placed in charge of the Duke Namo of +Bavaria, the friend of his father, who treated him like his own son. +</P> + +<P> +Ogier grew up more and more handsome and amiable every day. He +surpassed in form, strength, and address all the noble youths his +companions; he failed not to be present at all tourneys; he was +attentive to the elder knights, and burned with impatience to imitate +them. Yet his heart rose sometimes in secret against his condition as a +hostage, and as one apparently forgotten by his father. +</P> + +<P> +The King of Denmark, in fact, was at this time occupied with new loves. +Ogier's mother having died, he had married a second wife, and had a son +named Guyon. The new queen had absolute power over her husband, and +fearing that, if he should see Ogier again, he would give him the +preference over Guyon, she had adroitly persuaded him to delay +rendering his homage to Charlemagne, till now four years had passed +away since the last renewal of that ceremony. Charlemagne, irritated at +this delinquency, drew closer the bonds of Ogier's captivity until he +should receive a response from the king of Denmark to a fresh summons +which he caused to be sent to him. +</P> + +<P> +The answer of Geoffroy was insulting and defiant, and the rage of +Charlemagne was roused in the highest degree. He was at first disposed +to wreak his vengeance upon Ogier, his hostage; but at the entreaties +of Duke Namo, who felt towards his pupil like a father, consented to +spare his life, if Ogier would swear fidelity to him as his liege-lord, +and promise not to quit his court without his permission. Ogier +accepted these terms, and was allowed to retain all the freedom he had +before enjoyed. +</P> + +<P> +The Emperor would have immediately taken arms to reduce his disobedient +vassal, if he had not been called off in another direction by a message +from Pope Leo, imploring his assistance. The Saracens had landed in the +neighborhood of Rome, occupied Mount Janiculum, and prepared to pass +the Tiber and carry fire and sword to the capital of the Christian +world. Charlemagne hesitated not to yield to the entreaties of the +Pope. He speedily assembled an army, crossed the Alps, traversed Italy, +and arrived at Spoleto, a strong place to which the Pope had retired. +Leo, at the head of his Cardinals, advanced to meet him, and rendered +him homage, as to the son of Pepin, the illustrious protector of the +Holy See, coming, as his father had done, to defend it in the hour of +need. +</P> + +<P> +Charlemagne stopped but two days at Spoleto, and learning that the +Infidels, having rendered themselves masters of Rome, were besieging +the Capitol, which could not long hold out against them, marched +promptly to attack them. +</P> + +<P> +The advanced posts of the army were commanded by Duke Namo, on whom +Ogier waited as his squire. He did not yet bear arms, not having +received the order of knighthood. The Oriflamme, the royal standard, +was borne by a knight named Alory, who showed himself unworthy of the +honor. +</P> + +<P> +Duke Namo, seeing a strong body of the Infidels advancing to attack +him, gave the word to charge them. Ogier remained in the rear, with the +other youths, grieving much that he was not permitted to fight. Very +soon he saw Alory lower the Oriflamme, and turn his horse in flight. +Ogier pointed him out to the young men, and seizing a club, rushed upon +Alory and struck him from his horse. Then, with his companions, he +disarmed him, clothed himself in his armor, raised the Oriflamme, and +mounting the horse of the unworthy knight, flew to the front rank, +where he joined Duke Namo, drove back the Infidels, and carried the +Oriflamme quite through their broken ranks. The Duke, thinking it was +Alory, whom he had not held in high esteem, was astonished at his +strength and valor. Ogier's young companions imitated him, supplying +themselves with armor from the bodies of the slain; they followed Ogier +and carried death into the ranks of the Saracens, who fell back in +confusion upon their main body. +</P> + +<P> +Duke Namo now ordered a retreat, and Ogier obeyed with reluctance, when +they perceived Charlemagne advancing to their assistance. The combat +now became general, and was more terrible than ever. Charlemagne had +overthrown Corsuble, the commander of the Saracens, and had drawn his +famous sword, Joyeuse, to cut off his head, when two Saracen knights +set upon him at once, one of whom slew his horse, and the other +overthrew the Emperor on the sand. Perceiving by the eagle on his +casque who he was, they dismounted in haste to give him his deathblow. +Never was the life of the Emperor in such peril. But Ogier, who saw him +fall, flew to his rescue. Though embarrassed with the Oriflamme, he +pushed his horse against one of the Saracens and knocked him down; and +with his sword dealt the other so vigorous a blow that he fell stunned +to the earth. Then helping the Emperor to rise, he remounted him on the +horse of one of the fallen knights. "Brave and generous Alory!" Charles +exclaimed, "I owe to you my honor and my life!" Ogier made no answer; +but, leaving Charlemagne surrounded by a great many of the knights who +had flown to his succor, he plunged into the thickest ranks of the +enemy, and carried the Oriflamme, followed by a gallant train of +youthful warriors, till the standard of Mahomet turned in retreat, and +the Infidels sought safety in their intrenchments. +</P> + +<P> +Then the good Archbishop Turpin laid aside his helmet and his bloody +sword (for he always felt that he was clearly in the line of his duty +while slaying Infidels), took his mitre and his crosier, and intoned Te +Deum. +</P> + +<P> +At this moment Ogier, covered with blood and dust, came to lay the +Oriflamme at the feet of the Emperor. He was followed by a train of +warriors of short stature, who walked ill at ease loaded with armor too +heavy for them. Ogier knelt at the feet of Charlemagne, who embraced +him, calling him Alory, while Turpin from the height of the altar, +blessed him with all his might. Then young Orlando, son of the Count +Milone, and nephew of Charlemagne, no longer able to endure this +misapprehension, threw down his helmet, and ran to unlace Ogier's, +while the other young men laid aside theirs. Our author says he cannot +express the surprise, the admiration, and the tenderness of the Emperor +and his peers. Charles folded Ogier in his arms, and the happy fathers +of those brave youths embraced them with tears of joy. The good Duke +Namo stepped forward, and Charlemagne yielded Ogier to his embrace. +"How much do I owe you," he said, "good and wise friend, for having +restrained my anger! My dear Ogier! I owe you my life! My sword leaps +to touch your shoulder, yours and those of your brave young friends." +At these words he drew that famous sword, Joyeuse, and while Ogier and +the rest knelt before him, gave them the accolade conferring on them +the order of knighthood. The young Orlando and his cousin Oliver could +not refrain, even in the presence of the Emperor, from falling upon +Ogier's neck, and pledging with him that brotherhood in arms, so dear +and so sacred to the knights of old times; but Charlot, the Emperor's +son, at the sight of the glory with which Ogier had covered himself, +conceived the blackest jealousy and hate. +</P> + +<P> +The rest of the day and the next were spent in the rejoicings of the +army. Turpin in a solemn service implored the favor of Heaven upon the +youthful knights, and blessed the white armor which was prepared for +them. Duke Namo presented them with golden spurs, Charles himself +girded on their swords. But what was his astonishment when he examined +that intended for Ogier! The loving Fairy, Morgana, had had the art to +change it, and to substitute one of her own procuring, and when Charles +drew it out of the scabbard, these words appeared written on the steel: +"My name is Cortana, of the same steel and temper as Joyeuse and +Durindana." Charles saw that a superior power watched over the +destinies of Ogier; he vowed to love him as a father would, and Ogier +promised him the devotion of a son. Happy had it been for both if they +had always continued mindful of their promises. +</P> + +<P> +The Saracen army had hardly recovered from its dismay when Carahue, +King of Mauritania, who was one of the knights overthrown by Ogier at +the time of the rescue of Charlemagne, determined to challenge him to +single combat. With that view he assumed the dress of a herald, +resolved to carry his own message. The French knights admired his air, +and said to one another that he seemed more fit to be a knight than a +bearer of messages. +</P> + +<P> +Carahue began by passing the warmest eulogium upon the knight who bore +the Oriflamme on the day of the battle, and concluded by saying that +Carahue, King of Mauritania, respected that knight so much that he +challenged him to the combat. +</P> + +<P> +Ogier had risen to reply, when he was interrupted by Charlot, who said +that the gage of the King of Mauritania could not fitly be received by +a vassal, living in captivity; by which he meant Ogier, who was at that +time serving as hostage for his father. Fire flashed from the eyes of +Ogier, but the presence of the Emperor restrained his speech, and he +was calmed by the kind looks of Charlemagne, who said, with an angry +voice, "Silence, Charlot! By the life of Bertha, my queen, he who has +saved my life is as dear to me as yourself. Ogier," he continued, "you +are no longer a hostage. Herald! report my answer to your master, that +never does knight of my court refuse a challenge on equal terms. Ogier, +the Dane, accepts of his, and I myself am his security." +</P> + +<P> +Carahue, profoundly bowing, replied, "My lord, I was sure that the +sentiments of so great a sovereign as yourself would be worthy of your +high and brilliant fame; I shall report your answer to my master, who I +know admires you, and unwillingly takes arms against you." Then, +turning to Charlot, whom he did not know as the son of the Emperor, he +continued, "As for you, Sir Knight, if the desire of battle inflames +you, I have it in charge from Sadon, cousin of the King of Mauritania, +to give the like defiance to any French knights who will grant him the +honor of the combat." +</P> + +<P> +Charlot, inflamed with rage and vexation at the public reproof which he +had just received, hesitated not to deliver his gage. Carahue received +it with Ogier's, and it was agreed that the combat should be on the +next day in a meadow environed by woods and equally distant from both +armies. +</P> + +<P> +The perfidious Charlot meditated the blackest treason. During the night +he collected some knights unworthy of the name, and like himself in +their ferocious manners; he made them swear to avenge his injuries, +armed them in black armor, and sent them to lie in ambush in the wood, +with orders to make a pretended attack upon the whole party, but in +fact, to lay heavy hands upon Ogier and the two Saracens. +</P> + +<P> +At the dawn of day Sadon and Carahue, attended only by two pages to +carry their spears, took their way to the appointed meadow; and Charlot +and Ogier repaired thither also, but by different paths. Ogier advanced +with a calm air, saluted courteously the two Saracen knights, and +joined them in arranging the terms of combat. +</P> + +<P> +While this was going on the perfidious Charlot remained behind and gave +his men the signal to advance. That cowardly troop issued from the wood +and encompassed the three knights. All three were equally surprised at +the attack, but neither of them suspected the other to have any hand in +the treason. Seeing the attack made equally upon them all, they united +their efforts to resist it, and made the most forward of the assailants +bite the dust. Cortana fell on no one without inflicting a mortal +wound, but the sword of Carahue was not of equal temper and broke in +his hands. At the same instant his horse was slain, and Carahue fell, +without a weapon, and entangled with his prostrate horse. Ogier, who +saw it, ran to his defence, and leaping to the ground covered the +prince with his shield, supplied him with the sword of one of the +fallen ruffians, and would have him mount his own horse. At that moment +Charlot, inflamed with rage, pushed his horse upon Ogier, knocked him +down, and would have run him through with his lance if Sadon, who saw +the treason, had not sprung upon him and thrust him back. Carahue leapt +lightly upon the horse which Ogier presented him, and had time only to +exclaim, "Brave Ogier, I am no longer your enemy, I pledge to you an +eternal friendship," when numerous Saracen knights were seen +approaching, having discovered the treachery, and Charlot with his +followers took refuge in the wood. +</P> + +<P> +The troop which advanced was commanded by Dannemont, the exiled king of +Denmark, whom Geoffroy, Ogier's father, had driven from his throne and +compelled to take refuge with the Saracens. Learning who Ogier was, he +instantly declared him his prisoner, in spite of the urgent +remonstrances and even threats of Carahue and Sadon, and carried him +under a strong guard to the Saracen camp. Here he was at first +subjected to the most rigorous captivity, but Carahue and Sadon +insisted so vehemently on his release, threatening to turn their arms +against their own party if it was not granted, while Dannemont as +eagerly opposed the measure, that Corsuble, the Saracen commander, +consented to a middle course, and allowed Ogier the freedom of his +camp, upon his promise not to leave it without permission. +</P> + +<P> +Carahue was not satisfied with this partial concession. He left the +city next morning, proceeded to the camp of Charlemagne, and demanded +to be led to the Emperor. When he reached his presence he dismounted +from his horse, took off his helmet, drew his sword, and holding it by +the blade presented it to Charlemagne as he knelt before him. +</P> + +<P> +"Illustrious prince," he said, "behold before you the herald who +brought the challenge to your knights from the King of Mauritania. The +cowardly old King Dannemont has made the brave Ogier prisoner, and has +prevailed on our general to refuse to give him up. I come to make +amends for this ungenerous conduct by yielding myself, Carahue, King of +Mauritania, your prisoner." +</P> + +<P> +Charlemagne, with all his peers, admired the magnanimity of Carahue; he +raised him, embraced him, and restored to him his sword. "Prince," said +he, "your presence and the bright example you afford my knights +consoles me for the loss of Ogier. Would to God you might receive our +holy faith, and be wholly united with us." All the lords of the court, +led by Duke Namo, paid their respects to the King of Mauritania. +Charlot only failed to appear, fearing to be recognized as a traitor; +but the heart of Carahue was too noble to pierce that of Charlemagne by +telling him the treachery of his son. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile the Saracen army was rent by discord. The troops of Carahue +clamored against the commander-in-chief because their king was left in +captivity. They even threatened to desert the cause and turn their arms +against their allies. Charlemagne pressed the siege vigorously, till at +length the Saracen leaders found themselves compelled to abandon the +city and betake themselves to their ships. A truce was made; Ogier was +exchanged for Carahue, and the two friends embraced one another with +vows of perpetual brotherhood. The Pope was reestablished in his +dominions, and Italy being tranquil, Charlemagne returned with his +peers and their followers to France. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="ogier2"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +OGIER, THE DANE (Continued) +</H3> + +<P> +CHARLEMAGNE had not forgotten the offence of Geoffroy, the King of +Denmark, in withholding homage, and now prepared to enforce submission. +But at this crisis he was waited upon by an embassy from Geoffroy, +acknowledging his fault, and craving assistance against an army of +invaders who had attacked his states with a force which he was unable +to repel. The soul of Charlemagne was too great to be implacable, and +he took this opportunity to test that of Ogier, who had felt acutely +the unkindness of his father, in leaving him, without regard or notice, +fifteen years in captivity. Charles asked Ogier whether, in spite of +his father's neglect, he was disposed to lead an army to his +assistance. He replied, "A son can never be excused from helping his +father by any cause short of death." Charlemagne placed an army of a +thousand knights under the command of Ogier, and great numbers more +volunteered to march under so distinguished a leader. He flew to the +succor of his father, repelled the invaders, and drove them in +confusion to their vessels. Ogier then hastened to the capital, but as +he drew near the city he heard all the bells sounding a knell. He soon +learned the cause; it was the obsequies of Geoffroy, the King. Ogier +felt keenly the grief of not having been permitted to embrace his +father once more, and to learn his latest commands; but he found that +his father had declared him heir to his throne. He hastened to the +church where the body lay; he knelt and bathed the lifeless form with +his tears. At that moment a celestial light beamed all around, and a +voice of an angel said, "Ogier, leave thy crown to Guyon, thy brother, +and bear no other title than that of 'The Dane.' Thy destiny is +glorious, and other kingdoms are reserved for thee." Ogier obeyed the +divine behest. He saluted his stepmother respectfully, and embracing +his brother, told him that he was content with his lot in being +reckoned among the paladins of Charlemagne, and resigned all claims to +the crown of Denmark. +</P> + +<P> +Ogier returned covered with glory to the court of Charlemagne, and the +Emperor, touched with this proof of his attachment, loaded him with +caresses, and treated him almost as an equal. +</P> + +<P> +We pass in silence the adventures of Ogier for several ensuing years, +in which the fairy-gifts of his infancy showed their force in making +him successful in all enterprises, both of love and war. He married the +charming Belicene, and became the father of young Baldwin, a youth who +seemed to inherit in full measure the strength and courage of his +father and the beauty of his mother. When the lad was old enough to be +separated from his mother, Ogier took him to court and presented him to +Charlemagne, who embraced him and took him into his service. It seemed +to Duke Namo, and all the elder knights, as if they saw in him Ogier +himself, as he was when a youth; and this resemblance won for the lad +their kind regards. Even Charlot at first seemed to be fond of him, +though after a while the resemblance to Ogier which he noticed had the +effect to excite his hatred. +</P> + +<P> +Baldwin was attentive to Charlot, and lost no occasion to be +serviceable. The Prince loved to play chess, and Baldwin, who played +well, often made a party with him. +</P> + +<P> +One day Charlot was nettled at losing two pieces in succession; he +thought he could, by taking a piece from Baldwin, get some amends for +his loss; but Baldwin, seeing him fall into a trap which he had set for +him, could not help a slight laugh, as he said, "Check-mate." Charlot +rose in a fury, seized the rich and heavy chess-board, and dashed it +with all his strength on the head of Baldwin, who fell, and died where +he fell. +</P> + +<P> +Frightened at his own crime, and fearing the vengeance of the terrible +Ogier, Charlot concealed himself in the interior of the palace. A young +companion of Baldwin hastened and informed Ogier of the event. He ran +to the chamber, and beheld the body of his child bathed in blood, and +it could not be concealed from him that Charlot gave the blow. +Transported with rage, Ogier sought Charlot through the palace, and +Charlot, feeling safe nowhere else, took refuge in the hall of +Charlemagne, where he seated himself at table with Duke Namo and +Salomon, Duke of Brittany. Ogier, with sword drawn, followed him to the +very table of the Emperor. When a cupbearer attempted to bar his way he +struck the cup from his hand and dashed the contents in the Emperor's +face. Charles rose in a passion, seized a knife, and would have plunged +it into his breast, had not Salomon and another baron thrown themselves +between, while Namo, who had retained his ancient influence over Ogier, +drew him out of the room. Foreseeing the consequence of this violence, +pitying Ogier, and in his heart excusing him, Namo hurried him away +before the guards of the palace could arrest him, made him mount his +horse, and leave Paris. +</P> + +<P> +Charlemagne called together his peers, and made them take an oath to do +all in their power to arrest Ogier, and bring him to condign +punishment. Ogier on his part sent messages to the Emperor, offering to +give himself up on condition that Charlot should be punished for his +atrocious crime. The Emperor would listen to no conditions, and went in +pursuit of Ogier at the head of a large body of soldiers. Ogier, on the +other hand, was warmly supported by many knights, who pledged +themselves in his defence. The contest raged long, with no decisive +results. Ogier more than once had the Emperor in his power, but +declined to avail himself of his advantage, and released him without +conditions. He even implored pardon for himself, but demanded at the +same time the punishment of Charlot. But Charlemagne was too blindly +fond of his unworthy son to subject him to punishment for the sake of +conciliating one who had been so deeply injured. +</P> + +<P> +At length, distressed at the blood which his friends had lost in his +cause, Ogier dismissed his little army, and slipping away from those +who wished to attend him, took his course to rejoin the Duke Guyon, his +brother. On his way, having reached the forest of Ardennes, weary with +long travel, the freshness of a retired valley tempted him to lie down +to take some repose. He unsaddled Beiffror, relieved himself of his +helmet, lay down on the turf, rested his head on his shield, and slept. +</P> + +<P> +It so happened that Turpin, who occasionally recalled to mind that he +was Archbishop of Rheins, was at that time in the vicinity, making a +pastoral visit to the churches under his jurisdiction. But his dignity +of peer of France, and his martial spirit, which caused him to be +reckoned among the "preux chevaliers" of his time, forbade him to +travel without as large a retinue of knights as he had of clergymen. +One of these was thirsty, and knowing the fountain on the borders of +which Ogier was reposing, he rode to it, and was struck by the sight of +a knight stretched on the ground. He hastened back, and let the +Archbishop know, who approached the fountain, and recognized Ogier. +</P> + +<P> +The first impulse of the good and generous Turpin was to save his +friend, for whom he felt the warmest attachment; but his archdeacons +and knights, who also recognized Ogier, reminded the Archbishop of the +oath which the Emperor had exacted of them all. Turpin could not be +false to his oath; but it was not without a groan that he permitted his +followers to bind the sleeping knight. The Archbishop's attendants +secured the horse and arms of Ogier, and conducted their prisoner to +the Emperor at Soissons. +</P> + +<P> +The Emperor had become so much embittered by Ogier's obstinate +resistance, added to his original fault, that he was disposed to order +him to instant death. But Turpin, seconded by the good Dukes Namo and +Salomon, prayed so hard for him that Charlemagne consented to remit a +violent death, but sentenced him to close imprisonment, under the +charge of the Archbishop, strictly limiting his food to one quarter of +a loaf of bread per day, with one piece of meat, and a quarter of a cup +of wine. In this way he hoped to quickly put an end to his life without +bringing on himself the hostility of the King of Denmark, and other +powerful friends of Ogier. He exacted a new oath of Turpin to obey his +order strictly. +</P> + +<P> +The good Archbishop loved Ogier too well not to cast about for some +means of saving his life, which he foresaw he would soon lose if +subjected to such scanty fare, for Ogier was seven feet tall, and had +an appetite in proportion. Turpin remembered, moreover, that Ogier was +a true son of the Church, always zealous to propagate the faith and +subdue unbelievers; so he felt justified in practising on this occasion +what in later times has been entitled "mental reservation," without +swerving from the letter of the oath which he had taken. This is the +method he hit upon. +</P> + +<P> +Every morning he had his prisoner supplied with a quarter of a loaf of +bread, made of two bushels of flour, to this he added a quarter of a +sheep or a fat calf, and he had a cup made which held forty pints of +wine, and allowed Ogier a quarter of it daily. +</P> + +<P> +Ogier's imprisonment lasted long; Charlemagne was astonished to hear, +from time to time, that he still held out; and when he inquired more +particularly of Turpin, the good Archbishop, relying on his own +understanding of the words, did not hesitate to affirm positively that +he allowed his prisoner no more than the permitted ration. +</P> + +<P> +We forgot to say that, when Ogier was led prisoner to Soissons, the +Abbot of Saint Faron, observing the fine horse Beiffror, and not having +at the time any other favor to ask of Charlemagne, begged the Emperor +to give him the horse, and had him taken to his abbey. He was impatient +to try his new acquisition, and when he had arrived in his litter at +the foot of the mountain where the horse had been brought to meet him +mounted him and rode onward. The horse, accustomed to bear the enormous +weight of Ogier in his armor, when he perceived nothing on his back but +the light weight of the Abbot, whose long robes fluttered against his +sides, ran away, making prodigious leaps over the steep acclivities of +the mountain till he reached the convent of Jouaire, where, in sight of +the Abbess and her nuns, he threw the Abbot, already half dead with +fright, to the ground. The Abbot, bruised and mortified, revenged +himself on poor Beiffror, whom he condemned, in his wrath, to be given +to the workmen to drag stones for a chapel that he was building near +the abbey. Thus, ill-fed, hard-worked, and often beaten, the noble +horse Beiffror passed the time while his master's imprisonment lasted. +</P> + +<P> +That imprisonment would have been as long as his life if it had not +been for some important events which forced the Emperor to set Ogier at +liberty. +</P> + +<P> +The Emperor learned at the same time that Carahue, King of Mauritania, +was assembling an army to come and demand the liberation of Ogier; that +Guyon, King of Denmark, was prepared to second the enterprise with all +his forces; and, worse than all, that the Saracens, under Bruhier, +Sultan of Arabia, had landed in Gascony, taken Bordeaux, and were +marching with all speed for Paris. +</P> + +<P> +Charlemagne now felt how necessary the aid of Ogier was to him. But, in +spite of the representations of Turpin, Namo, and Salomon, he could not +bring himself to consent to surrender Charlot to such punishment as +Ogier should see fit to impose. Besides, he believed that Ogier was +without strength and vigor, weakened by imprisonment and long +abstinence. +</P> + +<P> +At this crisis he received a message from Bruhier, proposing to put the +issue upon the result of a combat between himself and the Emperor or +his champion; promising, if defeated, to withdraw his army. Charlemagne +would willingly have accepted the challenge, but his counsellors all +opposed it. The herald was therefore told that the Emperor would take +time to consider his proposition, and give his answer the next day. +</P> + +<P> +It was during this interval that the three Dukes succeeded in +prevailing upon Charlemagne to pardon Ogier, and to send for him to +combat the puissant enemy who now defied him; but it was no easy task +to persuade Ogier. The idea of his long imprisonment and the +recollection of his son, bleeding and dying in his arms by the blow of +the ferocious Charlot, made him long resist the urgency of his friends. +Though glory called him to encounter Bruhier, and the safety of +Christendom demanded the destruction of this proud enemy of the faith, +Ogier only yielded at last on condition that Charlot should be +delivered into his hands to be dealt with as he should see fit. +</P> + +<P> +The terms were hard, but the danger was pressing, and Charlemagne, with +a returning sense of justice, and a strong confidence in the generous +though passionate soul of Ogier, at last consented to them. +</P> + +<P> +Ogier was led into the presence of Charlemagne by the three peers. The +Emperor, faithful to his word, had caused Charlot to be brought into +the hall where the high barons were assembled, his hands tied, and his +head uncovered. When the Emperor saw Ogier approach he took Charlot by +the arm, led him towards Ogier, and said these words: "I surrender the +criminal; do with him as you think fit." Ogier, without replying, +seized Charlot by the hair, forced him on his knees, and lifted with +the other hand his irresistible sword. Charlemagne, who expected to see +the head of his son rolling at his feet, shut his eyes and uttered a +cry of horror. +</P> + +<P> +Ogier had done enough. The next moment he raised Charlot, cut his +bonds, kissed him on the mouth, and hastened to throw himself at the +feet of the Emperor. +</P> + +<P> +Nothing can exceed the surprise and joy of Charlemagne at seeing his +son unharmed and Ogier kneeling at his feet. He folded him in his arms, +bathed him with tears, and exclaimed to his barons, "I feel at this +moment that Ogier is greater than I." As for Charlot, his base soul +felt nothing but the joy of having escaped death; he remained such as +he had been, and it was not till some years afterwards he received the +punishment he deserved, from the hands of Huon of Bordeaux, as we have +seen in a former chapter. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="ogier3"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +OGIER, THE DANE (Continued) +</H3> + +<P> +WHEN Charlemagne had somewhat recovered his composure he was surprised +to observe that Ogier appeared in good case, and had a healthy color in +his cheeks. He turned to the Archbishop, who could not help blushing as +he met his eye. "By the head of Bertha, my queen," said Charlemagne, +"Ogier has had good quarters in your castle, my Lord Archbishop; but so +much the more am I indebted to you." All the barons laughed and jested +with Turpin, who only said, "Laugh as much as you please, my lords; but +for my part I am not sorry to see the arm in full vigor that is to +avenge us on the proud Saracen." +</P> + +<P> +Charlemagne immediately despatched his herald, accepting the challenge, +and appointing the next day but one for the encounter. The proud and +crafty Bruhier laughed scornfully when he heard the reply accepting his +challenge, for he had a reliance on certain resources besides his +natural strength and skill. However, he swore by Mahomet to observe the +conditions as proposed and agreed upon. +</P> + +<P> +Ogier now demanded his armor, and it was brought to him in excellent +condition, for the good Turpin had kept it faithfully; but it was not +easy to provide a horse for the occasion. Charlemagne had the best +horses of his stables brought out, except Blanchard, his own charger; +but all in vain, the weight of Ogier bent their backs to the ground. In +this embarrassment the Archbishop remembered that the Emperor had given +Beiffror to the Abbot of St. Faron, and sent off a courier in haste to +re-demand him. +</P> + +<P> +Monks are hard masters, and the one who directed the laborers at the +abbey had but too faithfully obeyed the orders of the Abbot. Poor +Beiffror was brought back, lean, spiritless, and chafed with the +harness of the vile cart that he had had to draw so long. He carried +his head down, and trod heavily before Charlemagne; but when he heard +the voice of Ogier he raised his head, he neighed, his eyes flashed, +his former ardor showed itself by the force with which he pawed the +ground. Ogier caressed him, and the good steed seemed to return his +caresses; Ogier mounted him, and Beiffror, proud of carrying his master +again, leapt and curvetted with all his youthful vigor. +</P> + +<P> +Nothing being now wanted, Charlemagne, at the head of his army, marched +forth from the city of Paris, and occupied the hill of Montmartre, +whence the view extended over the plain of St. Denis, where the battle +was to be fought. +</P> + +<P> +When the appointed day came the Dukes Namo and Salomon, as seconds of +Ogier, accompanied him to the place marked out for the lists, and +Bruhier, with two distinguished Emirs, presented himself on the other +side. +</P> + +<P> +Bruhier was in high spirits, and jested with his friends, as he +advanced, upon the appearance of Beiffror. "Is that the horse they +presume to match with Marchevallee, the best steed that ever fed in the +vales of Mount Atlas?" But now the combatants, having met and saluted +each other, ride apart to come together in full career. Beiffror flew +over the plain, and met the adversary more than half-way. The lances of +the two combatants were shivered at the shock, and Bruhier was +astonished to see almost at the same instant the sword of Ogier +gleaming above his head. He parried it with his buckler, and gave Ogier +a blow on his helmet, who returned it with another, better aimed or +better seconded by the temper of his blade, for it cut away part of +Bruhier's helmet, and with it his ear and part of his cheek. Ogier, +seeing the blood, did not immediately repeat his blow, and Bruhier +seized the moment to gallop off at one side. As he rode he took a vase +of gold which hung at his saddle-bow, and bathed with its contents the +wounded part. The blood instantly ceased to flow, the ear and the flesh +were restored quite whole, and the Dane was astonished to see his +antagonist return to the ground as sound as ever. +</P> + +<P> +Bruhier laughed at his amazement. "Know," said he, "that I possess the +precious balm that Joseph of Arimathea used upon the body of the +crucified one, whom you worship. If I should lose an arm I could +restore it with a few drops of this. It is useless for you to contend +with me. Yield yourself, and, as you appear to be a strong fellow, I +will make you first oarsman in one of my galleys." +</P> + +<P> +Ogier, though boiling with rage, forgot not to implore the assistance +of Heaven. "O Lord!" he exclaimed, "suffer not the enemy of thy name to +profit by the powerful help of that which owes all its virtue to thy +divine blood." At these words he attacked Bruhier again with more vigor +than ever; both struck terrible blows, and made grievous wounds; but +the blood flowed from those of Ogier, while Bruhier stanched his by the +application of his balm. Ogier, desperate at the unequal contest, +grasped Cortana with both hands, and struck his enemy such a blow that +it cleft his buckler, and cut off his arm with it; but Bruhier at the +same time launched one at Ogier, which, missing him, struck the head of +Beiffror, and the good horse fell, and drew down his master in his fall. +</P> + +<P> +Bruhier had time to leap to the ground, to pick up his arm and apply +his balsam; then, before Ogier had recovered his footing, he rushed +forward with sword uplifted to complete his destruction. +</P> + +<P> +Charlemagne, from the height of Montmartre, seeing the brave Ogier in +this situation, groaned, and was ready to murmur against Providence; +but the good Turpin, raising his arms, with a faith like that of Moses, +drew down upon the Christian warrior the favor of Heaven. +</P> + +<P> +Ogier, promptly disengaging himself, pressed Bruhier with so much +impetuosity that he drove him to a distance from his horse, to whose +saddle-bow the precious balm was suspended; and very soon Charlemagne +saw Ogier, now completely in the advantage, bring his enemy to his +knees, tear off his helmet, and, with a sweep of his sword, strike his +head from his body. +</P> + +<P> +After the victory, Ogier seized Marchevallee, leaped upon his back, and +became possessed of the precious flask, a few drops from which closed +his wounds and restored his strength. The French knights who had been +Bruhier's captives, now released, pressed round Ogier to thank him for +their deliverance. +</P> + +<P> +Charlemagne and his nobles, as soon as their attention was relieved +from the single combat, perceived from their elevated position an +unusual agitation in the enemy's camp. They attributed it at first to +the death of their general, but soon the noise of arms, the cries of +combatants, and new standards which advanced, disclosed to them the +fact that Bruhier's army was attacked by a new enemy. +</P> + +<P> +The Emperor was right; it was the brave Carahue of Mauritania, who, +with an army, had arrived in France, resolved to attempt the liberation +of Ogier, his brother in arms. Learning on his arrival the changed +aspect of affairs, he hesitated not to render a signal service to the +Emperor, by attacking the army of Bruhier in the midst of the +consternation occasioned by the loss of its commander. +</P> + +<P> +Ogier recognized the standard of his friend, and leaping upon +Marchevallee, flew to aid his attack. Charlemagne followed with his +army; and the Saracen host, after an obstinate conflict, was forced to +surrender unconditionally. +</P> + +<P> +The interview of Ogier and Carahue was such as might be anticipated of +two such attached friends and accomplished knights. Charlemagne went to +meet them, embraced them, and putting the King of Mauritania on his +right and Ogier on his left, returned with triumph to Paris. There the +Empress Bertha and the ladies of her court crowned them with laurels, +and the sage and gallant Eginhard, chamberlain and secretary of the +Emperor, wrote all these great events in his history. +</P> + +<P> +A few days after Guyon, King of Denmark, arrived in France with a +chosen band of knights, and sent an ambassador to Charlemagne, to say +that he came, not as an enemy, but to render homage to him as the best +knight of the time and the head of the Christian world. Charlemagne +gave the ambassador a cordial reception, and mounting his horse, rode +forward to meet the King of Denmark. +</P> + +<P> +These great princes, being assembled at the court of Charles, held +council together, and the ancient and sage barons were called to join +it. +</P> + +<P> +It was decided that the united Danish and Mauritanian armies should +cross the sea and carry the war to the country of the Saracens, and +that a thousand French knights should range themselves under the banner +of Ogier, the Dane, who, though not a king, should have equal rank with +the two others. +</P> + +<P> +We have not space to record all the illustrious actions performed by +Ogier and his allies in this war. Suffice it to say, they subdued the +Saracens of Ptolemais and Judaea, and, erecting those regions into a +kingdom, placed the crown upon the head of Ogier. Guyon and Carahue +then left him, to return to their respective dominions. Ogier adopted +Walter, the son of Guyon of Denmark, to be his successor in his +kingdom. He superintended his education, and saw the young prince grow +up worthy of his cares. But Ogier, in spite of all the honors of his +rank, often regretted the court of Charlemagne, the Duke Namo, and +Salomon of Brittany, for whom he had the respect and attachment of a +son. At last, finding Walter old enough to sustain the weight of +government, Ogier caused a vessel to be prepared secretly, and, +attended only by one squire, left his palace by night, and embarked to +return to France. +</P> + +<P> +The vessel, driven by a fair wind, cut the sea with the swiftness of a +bird; but on a sudden it deviated from its course, no longer obeyed the +helm, and sped fast towards a black promontory which stretched into the +sea. This was a mountain of loadstone, and, its attractive power +increasing as the distance diminished, the vessel at last flew with the +swiftness of an arrow towards it, and was dashed to pieces on its rocky +base. Ogier alone saved himself, and reached the shore on a fragment of +the wreck. +</P> + +<P> +Ogier advanced into the country, looking for some marks of inhabitancy, +but found none. On a sudden he encountered two monstrous animals, +covered with glittering scales, accompanied by a horse breathing fire. +Ogier drew his sword and prepared to defend himself; but the monsters, +terrific as they appeared, made no attempt to assail him, and the +horse, Papillon, knelt down, and appeared to court Ogier to mount upon +his back. Ogier hesitated not to see the adventure through; he mounted +Papillon, who ran with speed, and soon cleared the rocks and precipices +which hemmed in and concealed a beautiful landscape. He continued his +course till he reached a magnificent palace, and, without allowing +Ogier time to admire it, crossed a grand court-yard adorned with +colonnades, and entered a garden, where, making his way through alleys +of myrtle, he checked his course, and knelt down on the enamelled turf +of a fountain. +</P> + +<P> +Ogier dismounted and took some steps along the margin of the stream, +but was soon stopped by meeting a young beauty, such as they paint the +Graces, and almost as lightly attired as they. At the same moment, to +his amazement, his armor fell off of its own accord. The young beauty +advanced with a tender air, and placed upon his head a crown of +flowers. At that instant the Danish hero lost his memory; his combats, +his glory, Charlemagne and his court, all vanished from his mind; he +saw only Morgana, he desired nothing but to sigh forever at her feet. +</P> + +<P> +We abridge the narrative of all the delights which Ogier enjoyed for +more than a hundred years. Time flew by, leaving no impression of its +flight. Morgana's youthful charms did not decay, and Ogier had none of +those warnings of increasing years which less favored mortals never +fail to receive. There is no knowing how long this blissful state might +have lasted, if it had not been for an accident, by which Morgana one +day, in a sportive moment, snatched the crown from his head. That +moment Ogier regained his memory, and lost his contentment. The +recollection of Charlemagne, and of his own relatives and friends, +saddened the hours which he passed with Morgana. The fairy saw with +grief the changed looks of her lover. At last she drew from him the +acknowledgment that he wished to go, at least for a time, to revisit +Charles's court. She consented with reluctance, and with her own hands +helped to reinvest him with his armor. Papillon was led forth, Ogier +mounted him, and, taking a tender adieu of the tearful Morgana, crossed +at rapid speed the rocky belt which separated Morgana's palace from the +borders of the sea. The sea-goblins which had received him at his +coming awaited him on the shore. One of them took Ogier on his back, +and the other placing himself under Papillon, they spread their broad +fins, and in a short time traversed the wide space that separates the +isle of Avalon from France. They landed Ogier on the coast of +Languedoc, and then plunged into the sea and disappeared. +</P> + +<P> +Ogier remounted on Papillon, who carried him across the kingdom almost +as fast as he had passed the sea. He arrived under the walls of Paris, +which he would scarcely have recognized if the high towers of St. +Genevieve had not caught his eye. He went straight to the palace of +Charlemagne, which seemed to him to have been entirely rebuilt. His +surprise was extreme, and increased still more on finding that he +understood with difficulty the language of the guards and attendants in +replying to his questions; and seeing them smile as they tried to +explain to one another the language in which he addressed them. +Presently the attention of some of the barons who were going to court +was attracted to the scene, and Ogier, who recognized the badges of +their rank, addressed them, and inquired if the Dukes Namo and Salomon +were still residing at the Emperor's court. At this question the barons +looked at one another in amazement; and one of the eldest said to the +rest, "How much this knight resembles the portrait of my grand-uncle, +Ogier the Dane." "Ah! my dear nephew, I am Ogier the Dane," said he; +and he remembered that Morgana had told him that he was little aware of +the flight of time during his abode with her. +</P> + +<P> +The barons, more astonished than ever, concluded to conduct him to the +monarch who then reigned, the great Hugh Capet. +</P> + +<P> +The brave Ogier entered the palace without hesitation; but when, on +reaching the royal hall, the barons directed him to make his obeisance +to the King of France, he was astonished to see a man of short stature +and large head, whose air, nevertheless, was noble and martial, seated +upon the throne on which he had so often seen Charlemagne, the tallest +and handsomest sovereign of his time. +</P> + +<P> +Ogier recounted his adventures with simplicity and affectedness. Hugh +Capet was slow to believe him; but Ogier recalled so many proofs and +circumstances, that at last he was forced to recognize the aged warrior +to be the famous Ogier the Dane. +</P> + +<P> +The king informed Ogier of the events which had taken place during his +long absence; that the line of Charlemagne was extinct; that a new +dynasty had commenced; that the old enemies of the kingdom, the +Saracens, were still troublesome; and that at that very time an army of +those miscreants was besieging the city of Chartres, to which he was +about to repair in a few days to its relief. Ogier, always inflamed +with the love of glory, offered the service of his arm, which the +illustrious monarch accepted graciously, and conducted him to the +queen. The astonishment of Ogier was redoubled when he saw the new +ornaments and head-dresses of the ladies; still, the beautiful hair +which they built up on their foreheads, and the feathers interwoven, +which waved with so much grace, gave them a noble air that delighted +him. His admiration increased when, instead of the old Empress Bertha, +he saw a young queen who combined a majestic mien with the graces of +her time of life, and manners candid and charming, suited to attach all +hearts. Ogier saluted the youthful queen with a respect so profound +that many of the courtiers took him for a foreigner, or at least for +some nobleman brought up at a distance from Paris, who retained the +manners of what they called the old court. +</P> + +<P> +When the queen was informed by her husband that it was the celebrated +Ogier the Dane whom he presented to her, whose memorable exploits she +had often read in the chronicles of antiquity, her surprise was +extreme, which was increased when she remarked the dignity of his +address, the animation and even the youthfulness of his countenance. +This queen had too much intelligence to believe hastily; proof alone +could compel her assent; and she asked him many questions about the old +court of Charlemagne, and received such instructive and appropriate +answers as removed every doubt. It is to the corrections which Ogier +was at that time enabled to make to the popular narratives of his +exploits that we are indebted for the perfect accuracy and +trustworthiness of all the details of our own history. +</P> + +<P> +King Hugh Capet, having received that same evening couriers from the +inhabitants of Chartres, informing him that they were hard pressed by +the besiegers, resolved to hasten with Ogier to their relief. +</P> + +<P> +Ogier terminated this affair as expeditiously as he had so often done +others. The Saracens having dared to offer battle, he bore the +Oriflamme through the thickest of their ranks; Papillon, breathing fire +from his nostrils, threw them into disorder, and Cortana, wielded by +his invincible arm, soon finished their overthrow. +</P> + +<P> +The king, victorious over the Saracens, led back the Danish hero to +Paris, where the deliverer of France received the honors due to his +valor. Ogier continued some time at the court, detained by the favor of +the king and queen; but erelong he had the pain to witness the death of +the king. Then it was that, impressed with all the perfections which he +had discerned in the queen, he could not withhold the tender homage of +the offer of his hand. The queen would perhaps have accepted it, she +had even called a meeting of her great barons to deliberate on the +proposition, when, the day before the meeting was to be held, at the +moment when Ogier was kneeling at her feet, she perceived a crown of +gold which an invisible hand had placed on his brow, and in an instant +a cloud enveloped Ogier, and he disappeared forever from her sight. It +was Morgana, the fairy, whose jealousy was awakened at what she beheld, +who now resumed her power, and took him away to dwell with her in the +island of Avalon. There, in company with the great King Arthur of +Britain, he still lives, and when his illustrious friend shall return +to resume his ancient reign he will doubtless return with him, and +share his triumph. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="gloss"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +GLOSSARY +</H3> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Abdalrahman, founder of the independent Ommiad (Saracenic) power in +Spain, conquered at Tours by Charles Martel. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aberfraw, scene of nuptials of Branwen and Matholch. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Absyrtus, younger brother of Medea. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Abydos, a town on the Hellespont, nearly opposite to Sestos. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Abyla, Mount, or Columna, a mountain in Morocco, near Ceuta, now called +Jebel Musa or Ape's Hill, forming the Northwestern extremity of the +African coast opposite Gibraltar (See Pillars of Hercules). +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Acestes, son of a Trojan woman who was sent by her father to Sicily, +that she might not be devoured by the monsters which infested the +territory of Troy. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Acetes, Bacchanal captured by Pentheus. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Achates, faithful friend and companion of Aeneas. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Achelous, river-god of the largest river in Greece--his Horn of Plenty. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Achilles, the hero of the Iliad, son of Peleus and of the Nereid +Thetis, slain by Paris. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Acis, youth loved by Galatea and slain by Polyphemus. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Acontius, a beautiful youth, who fell in love with Cydippe, the +daughter of a noble Athenian. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Acrisius, son of Abas, king of Argos, grandson of Lynceus, the +great-grandson of Danaus. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Actaeon, a celebrated huntsman, son of Aristaeus and Autonoe, who, +having seen Diana bathing, was changed by her to a stag and killed by +his own dogs. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Admeta, daughter of Eurystheus, covets Hippolyta's girdle. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Admetus, king of Thessaly, saved from death by Alcestis. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Adonis, a youth beloved by Aphrodite (Venus), and Proserpine; killed by +a boar. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Adrastus, a king of Argos. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aeacus, son of Zeus (Jupiter) and Aegina, renowned in all Greece for +his justice and piety. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aeaea, Circe's island, visited by Ulysses. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aeetes, or Aeeta, son of Helios (the Sun) and Perseis, and father of +Medea and Absyrtus. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aegeus, king of Athens. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aegina, a rocky island in the middle of the Saronic gulf. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aegis, shield or breastplate of Jupiter and Minerva. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aegisthus, murderer of Agamemnon, slain by Orestes. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aeneas, Trojan hero, son of Anchises and Aphrodite (Venus), and born on +Mount Ida, reputed first settler of Rome. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aeneid, poem by Virgil, relating the wanderings of Aeneas from Troy to +Italy. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Ae'olus, son of Hellen and the nymph Orseis, represented in Homer as +the happy ruler of the Aeolian Islands, to whom Zeus had given dominion +over the winds. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aesculapius, god of the medical art. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aeson, father of Jason, made young again by Medea. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aethiopians, inhabitants of the country south of Egypt. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aethra, mother of Theseus by Aegeus. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aetna, volcano in Sicily. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Agamedes, brother of Trophonius, distinguished as an architect. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Agamemnon, son of Plisthenis and grandson of Atreus, king of Mycenae, +although the chief commander of the Greeks, is not the hero of the +Iliad, and in chivalrous spirit altogether inferior to Achilles. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Agave, daughter of Cadmus, wife of Echion, and mother of Pentheus. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Agenor, father of Europa, Cadmus, Cilix, and Phoenix. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aglaia, one of the Graces. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Agni, Hindu god of fire. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Agramant, a king in Africa. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Agrican, fabled king of Tartary, pursuing Angelica, finally killed by +Orlando. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Agrivain, one of Arthur's knights. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Ahriman, the Evil Spirit in the dual system of Zoroaster, See Ormuzd +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Ajax, son of Telamon, king of Salamis, and grandson of Aeacus, +represented in the Iliad as second only to Achilles in bravery. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Alba, the river where King Arthur fought the Romans. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Alba Longa, city in Italy founded by son of Aeneas. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Alberich, dwarf guardian of Rhine gold treasure of the Nibelungs +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Albracca, siege of. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Alcestis, wife of Admetus, offered hersell as sacrifice to spare her +husband, but rescued by Hercules. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Alcides (Hercules). +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Alcina, enchantress. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Alcinous, Phaeacian king. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Alcippe, daughter of Mars, carried off by Halirrhothrus. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Alcmena, wife of Jupiter, and mother of Hercules. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Alcuin, English prelate and scholar. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aldrovandus, dwarf guardian of treasure. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Alecto, one of the Furies. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia, conqueror of Greece, Egypt, +Persia, Babylonia, and India. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Alfadur, a name for Odin. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Alfheim, abode of the elves of light. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Alice, mother of Huon and Girard, sons of Duke Sevinus. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Alphenor, son of Niobe. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Alpheus, river god pursuing Arethusa, who escaped by being changed to a +fountain. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Althaea, mother of Meleager, whom she slew because he had in a quarrel +killed her brothers, thus disgracing "the house of Thestius," her +father. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Amalthea, nurse of the infant Jupiter in Crete. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Amata, wife of Latinus, driven mad by Alecto. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Amaury of Hauteville, false hearted Knight of Charlemagne. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Amazons, mythical race of warlike women. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Ambrosia, celestial food used by the gods. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Ammon, Egyptian god of life identified by Romans with phases of +Jupiter, the father of gods. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Amphiaraus, a great prophet and hero at Argos. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Amphion, a musician, son of Jupiter and Antiope (See Dirce). +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Amphitrite, wife of Neptune. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Amphyrsos, a small river in Thessaly. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Ampyx, assailant of Perseus, turned to stone by seeing Gorgon's head. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Amrita, nectar giving immortality. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Amun, See Ammon +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Amymone, one of the fifty daughters of Danaus, and mother by Poseidon +(Neptune) of Nauplius, the father of Palamedes. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Anaxarete, a maiden of Cyprus, who treated her lover Iphis with such +haughtiness that he hanged himself at her door. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Anbessa, Saracenic governor of Spain (725 AD). +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Anceus, one of the Argonauts. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Anchises, beloved by Aphrodite (Venus), by whom he became the father of +Aeneas. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Andraemon, husband of Dryope, saw her changed into a tree. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Andret, a cowardly knight, spy upon Tristram. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Andromache, wife of Hector +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Andromeda, daughter of King Cephas, delivered from monster by Perseus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aneurin, Welsh bard +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Angelica, Princess of Cathay +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Anemone, short lived wind flower, created by Venus from the blood of +the slain Adonis +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Angerbode, giant prophetess, mother of Fenris, Hela and the Midgard +Serpent +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Anglesey, a Northern British island, refuge of Druids fleeing from +Romans +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Antaeus, giant wrestler of Libya, killed by Hercules, who, finding him +stronger when thrown to the earth, lifted him into the air and +strangled him +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Antea, wife of jealous Proetus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Antenor, descendants of, in Italy +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Anteros, deity avenging unrequited love, brother of Eros (Cupid) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Anthor, a Greek +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Antigone, daughter of Aedipus, Greek ideal of filial and sisterly +fidelity +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Antilochus, son of Nestor +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Antiope, Amazonian queen. See Dirce +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Anubis, Egyptian god, conductor of the dead to judgment +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Apennines +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aphrodite See Venus, Dione, etc. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Apis, Egyptian bull god of Memphis +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Apollo, god of music and song +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Apollo Belvedere, famous antique statue in Vatican at Rome +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Apples of the Hesperides, wedding gifts to Juno, guarded by daughters +of Atlas and Hesperis, stolen by Atlas for Hercules. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aquilo, or Boreas, the North Wind. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aquitaine, ancient province of Southwestern France. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Arachne, a maiden skilled in weaving, changed to a spider by Minerva +for daring to compete with her. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Arcadia, a country in the middle of Peloponnesus, surrounded on all +sides by mountains. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Arcady, star of, the Pole star. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Arcas, son of Jupiter and Callisto. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Archer, constellation of the. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Areopagus, court of the, at Athens. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Ares, called Mars by the Romans, the Greek god of war, and one of the +great Olympian gods. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Arethusa, nymph of Diana, changed to a fountain. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Argius king of Ireland, father of Isoude the Fair. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Argo, builder of the vessel of Jason for the Argonautic expedition. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Argolis, city of the Nemean games. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Argonauts, Jason's crew seeking the Golden Fleece. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Argos, a kingdom in Greece. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Argus, of the hundred eyes, guardian of Io. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Ariadne, daughter of King Minos, who helped Theseus slay the Minotaur. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Arimanes SEE Ahriman. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Arimaspians, one-eyed people of Syria. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Arion, famous musician, whom sailors cast into the sea to rob him, but +whose lyric song charmed the dolphins, one of which bore him safely to +land. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aristaeus, the bee keeper, in love with Eurydice. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Armorica, another name for Britain. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Arridano, a magical ruffian, slain by Orlando. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Artemis SEE Diana +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Arthgallo, brother of Elidure, British king. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Arthur, king in Britain about the 6th century. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aruns, an Etruscan who killed Camilla. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Asgard, home of the Northern gods. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Ashtaroth, a cruel spirit, called by enchantment to bring Rinaldo to +death. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aske, the first man, made from an ash tree. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Astolpho of England, one of Charlemagne's knights. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Astraea, goddess of justice, daughter of Astraeus and Eos. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Astyages, an assailant of Perseus. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Astyanax, son of Hector of Troy, established kingdom of Messina in +Italy. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Asuias, opponents of the Braminical gods. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Atalanta, beautiful daughter of King of Icaria, loved and won in a foot +race by Hippomenes. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Ate, the goddess of infatuation, mischief and guilt. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Athamas, son of Aeolus and Enarete, and king of Orchomenus, in Boeotia, +SEE Ino +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Athene, tutelary goddess of Athens, the same as Minerva. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Athens, the capital of Attica, about four miles from the sea, between +the small rivers Cephissus and Ilissus. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Athor, Egyptian deity, progenitor of Isis and Osiris. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Athos, the mountainous peninsula, also called Acte, which projects from +Chalcidice in Macedonia. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Atlantes, foster father of Rogero, a powerful magician. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Atlantis, according to an ancient tradition, a great island west of the +Pillars of Hercules, in the ocean, opposite Mount Atlas. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Atlas, a Titan, who bore the heavens on his shoulders, as punishment +for opposing the gods, one of the sons of Iapetus. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Atlas, Mount, general name for range in northern Africa. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Atropos, one of the Fates +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Attica, a state in ancient Greece. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Audhumbla, the cow from which the giant Ymir was nursed. Her milk was +frost melted into raindrops. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Augean stables, cleansed by Hercules. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Augeas, king of Elis. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Augustan age, reign of Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar, famed for many +great authors. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Augustus, the first imperial Caesar, who ruled the Roman Empire 31 +BC--14 AD. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aulis, port in Boeotia, meeting place of Greek expedition against Troy. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aurora, identical with Eos, goddess of the dawn. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aurora Borealis, splendid nocturnal luminosity in northern sky, called +Northern Lights, probably electrical. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Autumn, attendant of Phoebus, the Sun. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Avalon, land of the Blessed, an earthly paradise in the Western Seas, +burial place of King Arthur. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Avatar, name for any of the earthly incarnations of Vishnu, the +Preserver (Hindu god). +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aventine, Mount, one of the Seven Hills of Rome. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Avernus, a miasmatic lake close to the promontory between Cumae and +Puteoli, filling the crater of an extinct volcano, by the ancients +thought to be the entrance to the infernal regions. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Avicenna, celebrated Arabian physician and philosopher. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aya, mother of Rinaldo. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Aymon, Duke, father of Rinaldo and Bradamante. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +B +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Baal, king of Tyre. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Babylonian River, dried up when Phaeton drove the sun chariot. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bacchanali a, a feast to Bacchus that was permitted to occur but once +in three years, attended by most shameless orgies. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bacchanals, devotees and festal dancers of Bacchus. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bacchus (Dionysus), god of wine and revelry. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Badon, battle of, Arthur's final victory over the Saxons. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bagdemagus, King, a knight of Arthur's time. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Baldur, son of Odin, and representing in Norse mythology the sun god. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Balisardo, Orlando's sword. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Ban, King of Brittany, ally of Arthur, father of Launcelot. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bards, minstrels of Welsh Druids. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Basilisk SEE Cockatrice +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Baucis, wife of Philemon, visited by Jupiter and Mercury. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bayard, wild horse subdued by Rinaldo. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Beal, Druids' god of life. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bedivere, Arthur's knight. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bedver, King Arthur's butler, made governor of Normandy. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bedwyr, knightly comrade of Geraint. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Belisarda, Rogero's sword. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bellerophon, demigod, conqueror of the Chimaera. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bellona, the Roman goddess of war, represented as the sister or wife of +Mars. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Beltane, Druidical fire festival. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Belus, son of Poseidon (Neptune) and Libya or Eurynome, twin brother of +Agenor. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bendigeid Vran, King of Britain. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Beowulf, hero and king of the Swedish Geats. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Beroe, nurse of Semele. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bertha, mother of Orlando. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bifrost, rainbow bridge between the earth and Asgard +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bladud, inventor, builder of the city of Bath. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Blamor, a knight of Arthur. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bleoberis, a knight of Arthur. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Boeotia, state in ancient Greece, capital city Thebes. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bohort, King, a knight of Arthur. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bona Dea, a Roman divinity of fertility. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bootes, also called Areas, son of Jupiter and Calisto, changed to +constellation of Ursa Major. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Boreas, North wind, son of Aeolus and Aurora. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bosporus (Bosphorus), the Cow-ford, named for Io, when as a heifer she +crossed that strait. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bradamante, sister to Rinaldo, a female warrior. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Brademagus, King, father of Sir Maleagans. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bragi, Norse god of poetry. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Brahma, the Creator, chief god of Hindu religion. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Branwen, daughter of Llyr, King of Britain, wife of Mathclch. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Breciliande, forest of, where Vivian enticed Merlin. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Brengwain, maid of Isoude the Fair +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Brennus, son of Molmutius, went to Gaul, became King of the Allobroges. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Breuse, the Pitiless, a caitiff knight. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Briareus, hundred armed giant. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Brice, Bishop, sustainer of Arthur when elected king. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Brigliadoro, Orlando's horse. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Briseis, captive maid belonging to Achilles. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Britto, reputed ancestor of British people. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bruhier, Sultan of Arabia. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Brunello, dwarf, thief, and king +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Brunhild, leader of the Valkyrie. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Brutus, great grandson of Aeneas, and founder of city of New Troy +(London), SEE Pandrasus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Bryan, Sir, a knight of Arthur. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Buddha, called The Enlightened, reformer of Brahmanism, deified teacher +of self abnegation, virtue, reincarnation, Karma (inevitable sequence +of every act), and Nirvana (beatific absorption into the Divine), lived +about +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Byblos, in Egypt. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Byrsa, original site of Carthage. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +C +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cacus, gigantic son of Vulcan, slain by Hercules, whose captured cattle +he stole. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cadmus, son of Agenor, king of Phoenicia, and of Telephassa, and +brother of Europa, who, seeking his sister, carried off by Jupiter, had +strange adventures--sowing in the ground teeth of a dragon he had +killed, which sprang up armed men who slew each other, all but five, +who helped Cadmus to found the city of Thebes. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Caduceus, Mercury's staff. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cadwallo, King of Venedotia (North Wales). +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Caerleon, traditional seat of Arthur's court. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Caesar, Julius, Roman lawyer, general, statesman and author, conquered +and consolidated Roman territory, making possible the Empire. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Caicus, a Greek river. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cairns, Druidical store piles. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Calais, French town facing England. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Calchas, wisest soothsayer among the Greeks at Troy. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Caliburn, a sword of Arthur. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Calliope, one of the nine Muses +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Callisto, an Arcadian nymph, mother of Arcas (SEE Bootes), changed by +Jupiter to constellation Ursa Minor. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Calpe, a mountain in the south of Spain, on the strait between the +Atlantic and Mediterranean, now Rock of Gibraltar. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Calydon, home of Meleager. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Calypso, queen of Island of Ogyia, where Ulysses was wrecked and held +seven years. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Camber, son of Brutus, governor of West Albion (Wales). +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Camelot, legendary place in England where Arthur's court and palace +were located. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Camenae, prophetic nymphs, belonging to the religion of ancient Italy. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Camilla, Volscian maiden, huntress and Amazonian warrior, favorite of +Diana. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Camlan, battle of, where Arthur was mortally wounded. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Canterbury, English city. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Capaneus, husband of Evadne, slain by Jupiter for disobedience. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Capet, Hugh, King of France (987-996 AD). +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Caradoc Briefbras, Sir, great nephew of King Arthur. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Carahue, King of Mauretania. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Carthage, African city, home of Dido +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cassandra, daughter of Priam and Hecuba, and twin sister of Helenus, a +prophetess, who foretold the coming of the Greeks but was not believed. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cassibellaunus, British chieftain, fought but not conquered by Caesar. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cassiopeia, mother of Andromeda. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Castalia, fountain of Parnassus, giving inspiration to Oracular +priestess named Pythia. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Castalian Cave, oracle of Apollo. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Castes (India). +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Castor and Pollux--the Dioscuri, sons of Jupiter and Leda,--Castor a +horseman, Pollux a boxer (SEE Gemini). +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Caucasus, Mount +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cavall, Arthur's favorite dog. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cayster, ancient river. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cebriones, Hector's charioteer. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cecrops, first king of Athens. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Celestials, gods of classic mythology. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Celeus, shepherd who sheltered Ceres, seeking Proserpine, and whose +infant son Triptolemus was in gratitude made great by Ceres. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cellini, Benvenuto, famous Italian sculptor and artificer in metals. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Celtic nations, ancient Gauls and Britons, modern Bretons, Welsh, Irish +and Gaelic Scotch. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Centaurs, originally an ancient race, inhabiting Mount Pelion in +Thessaly, in later accounts represented as half horses and half men, +and said to have been the offspring of Ixion and a cloud. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cephalus, husband of beautiful but jealous Procris. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cephe us, King of Ethiopians, father of Andromeda. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cephisus, a Grecian stream. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cerberus, three-headed dog that guarded the entrance to Hades, called a +son of Typhaon and Echidna +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +CERES (See Demeter) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +CESTUS, the girdle of Venus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +CEYX, King of Thessaly (See Halcyone) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +CHAOS, original Confusion, personified by Greeks as most ancient of the +gods +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +CHARLEMAGNE, king of the Franks and emperor of the Romans +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +CHARLES MARTEL', king of the Franks, grandfather of Charlemagne, called +Martel (the Hammer) from his defeat of the Saracens at Tours +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +CHARLOT, son of Charlemagne +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +CHARON, son of Erebos, conveyed in his boat the shades of the dead +across the rivers of the lower world +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +CHARYB'DIS, whirlpool near the coast of Sicily, See Scylla +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +CHIMAERA, a fire breathing monster, the fore part of whose body was +that of a lion, the hind part that of a dragon, and the middle that of +a goat, slain by Bellerophon +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +CHINA, Lamas (priests) of +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +CHOS, island in the Grecian archipelago +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +CHIRON, wisest of all the Centaurs, son of Cronos (Saturn) and Philyra, +lived on Mount Pelion, instructor of Grecian heroes +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +CHRYSEIS, Trojan maid, taken by Agamemnon +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +CHRYSES, priest of Apollo, father of Chryseis +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +CICONIANS, inhabitants of Ismarus, visited by Ulysses +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +CIMBRI, an ancient people of Central Europe +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cimmeria, a land of darkness +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cimon, Athenian general +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Circe, sorceress, sister of Aeetes +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cithaeron, Mount, scene of Bacchic worship +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Clarimunda, wife of Huon +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Clio, one of the Muses +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cloridan, a Moor +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Clotho, one of the Fates +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Clymene, an ocean nymph +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon, killed by Orestes +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Clytie, a water nymph, in love with Apollo +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cnidos, ancient city of Asia Minor, seat of worship of Aphrodite (Venus) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cockatrice (or Basilisk), called King of Serpents, supposed to kill +with its look +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cocytus, a river of Hades +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Colchis, a kingdom east of the Black Sea +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Colophon, one of the seven cities claiming the birth of Homer +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Columba, St, an Irish Christian missionary to Druidical parts of +Scotland +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Conan, Welsh king +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Constantine, Greek emperor +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cordeilla, daughter of the mythical King Leir +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Corineus, a Trojan warrior in Albion +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cornwall, southwest part of Britain +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cortana, Ogier's sword +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Corybantes, priests of Cybele, or Rhea, in Phrygia, who celebrated her +worship with dances, to the sound of the drum and the cymbal, 143 +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Crab, constellation +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cranes and their enemies, the Pygmies, of Ibycus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Creon, king of Thebes +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Crete, one of the largest islands of the Mediterranean Sea, lying south +of the Cyclades +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Creusa, daughter of Priam, wife of Aeneas +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Crocale, a nymph of Diana +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cromlech, Druidical altar +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cronos, See Saturn +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Crotona, city of Italy +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cuchulain, Irish hero, called the "Hound of Ireland," +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Culdees', followers of St. Columba, Cumaean Sibyl, seeress of Cumae, +consulted by Aeneas, sold Sibylline books to Tarquin +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cupid, child of Venus and god of love +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Curoi of Kerry, wise man +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cyane, river, opposed Pluto's passage to Hades +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cybele (Rhea) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cyclopes, creatures with circular eyes, of whom Homer speaks as a +gigantic and lawless race of shepherds in Sicily, who devoured human +beings, they helped Vulcan to forge the thunderbolts of Zeus under Aetna +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cymbeline, king of ancient Britain +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cynosure (Dog's tail), the Pole star, at tail of Constellation Ursa +Minor +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cynthian mountain top, birthplace of Artemis (Diana) and Apollo +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cyprus, island off the coast of Syria, sacred to Aphrodite +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Cyrene, a nymph, mother of Aristaeus +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +D +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Daedalus, architect of the Cretan Labyrinth, inventor of sails +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Daguenet, King Arthur's fool +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dalai Lama, chief pontiff of Thibet +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Danae, mother of Perseus by Jupiter +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Danaides, the fifty daughters of Danaus, king of Argos, who were +betrothed to the fifty sons of Aegyptus, but were commanded by their +father to slay each her own husband on the marriage night +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Danaus (See Danaides) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Daphne, maiden loved by Apollo, and changed into a laurel tree +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dardanelles, ancient Hellespont +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dardanus, progenitor of the Trojan kings +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dardinel, prince of Zumara +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dawn, See Aurora +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Day, an attendant on Phoebus, the Sun +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Day star (Hesperus) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Death, See Hela +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Deiphobus, son of Priam and Hecuba, the bravest brother of Paris +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dejanira, wife of Hercules +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Delos, floating island, birthplace of Apollo and Diana +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Delphi, shrine of Apollo, famed for its oracles +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Demeter, Greek goddess of marriage and human fertility, identified by +Romans with Ceres +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Demeha, South Wales +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Demodocus, bard of Alomous, king of the Phaeaeians +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Deucalion, king of Thessaly, who with his wife Pyrrha were the only +pair surviving a deluge sent by Zeus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dia, island of +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Diana (Artemis), goddess of the moon and of the chase, daughter of +Jupiter and Latona +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Diana of the Hind, antique sculpture in the Louvre, Paris +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Diana, temple of +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dictys, a sailor +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Didier, king of the Lombards +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dido, queen of Tyre and Carthage, entertained the shipwrecked Aeneas +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Diomede, Greek hero during Trojan War +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dione, female Titan, mother of Zeus, of Aphrodite (Venus) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dionysus See Bacchus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dioscuri, the Twins (See Castor and Pollux) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dirce, wife of Lycus, king of Thebes, who ordered Amphion and Zethus to +tie Antiope to a wild bull, but they, learning Antiope to be their +mother, so treated Dirce herself +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dis See Pluto +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Discord, apple of, See Eris. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Discordia, See Eris. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dodona, site of an oracle of Zeus (Jupiter) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dorceus, a dog of Diana +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Doris, wife of Nereus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dragon's teeth sown by Cadmus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Druids, ancient Celtic priests +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dryades (or Dryads), See Wood nymphs +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dryope, changed to a lotus plant, for plucking a lotus--enchanted form +of the nymph Lotis +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dubricius, bishop of Caerleon. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dudon, a knight, comrade of Astolpho. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dunwallo Molmu'tius, British king and lawgiver +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Durindana, sword of Orlando or Rinaldo +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Dwarfs in Wagner's Nibelungen Ring +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +E +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Earth (Gaea); goddess of the +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Ebudians, the +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Echo, nymph of Diana, shunned by Narcissus, faded to nothing but a voice +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Ecklenlied, the +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Eddas, Norse mythological records. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Ederyn, son of Nudd +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Egena, nymph of the Fountain +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Eisteddfod, session of Welsh bards and minstrels +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Electra, the lost one of the Pleiades, also, sister of Orestes +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Eleusian Mysteries, instituted by Ceres, and calculated to awaken +feelings of piety and a cheerful hope of better life in the future +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Eleusis, Grecian city +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Elgin Marbles, Greek sculptures from the Parthenon of Athens, now in +British Museum, London, placed there by Lord Elgin +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Eliaures, enchanter +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Elidure, a king of Britain +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Elis, ancient Greek city +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Elli, old age; the one successful wrestler against Thor +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Elphin, son of Gwyddiro +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Elves, spiritual beings, of many powers and dispositions--some evil, +some good +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Elvidnir, the ball of Hela +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Elysian Fields, the land of the blest +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Elysian Plain, whither the favored of the gods were taken without death +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Elysium, a happy land, where there is neither snow, nor cold, nor ram. +Hither favored heroes, like Menelaus, pass without dying, and live +happy under the rule of Rhadamanthus. In the Latin poets Elysium is +part of the lower world, and the residence of the shades of the blessed +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Embla, the first woman +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Enseladus, giant defeated by Jupiter +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Endymion, a beautiful youth beloved by Diana +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Enid, wife of Geraint +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Enna, vale of home of Proserpine +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Enoch, the patriarch +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Epidaurus, a town in Argolis, on the Saronic gulf, chief seat of the +worship of Aeculapius, whose temple was situated near the town +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Epimetheus, son of Iapetus, husband of Pandora, with his brother +Prometheus took part in creation of man +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Epirus, country to the west of Thessaly, lying along the Adriatic Sea +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Epopeus, a sailor +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Erato, one of the Muses +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Erbin of Cornwall, father of Geraint +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Erebus, son of Chaos, region of darkness, entrance to Hades +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Eridanus, river +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Erinys, one of the Furies +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Eriphyle, sister of Polynices, bribed to decide on war, in which her +husband was slain +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Eris (Discordia), goddess of discord. At the wedding of Peleus and +Thetis, Eris being uninvited threw into the gathering an apple "For the +Fairest," which was claimed by Hera (Juno), Aphrodite (Venus) and +Athena (Minerva) Paris, being called upon for judgment, awarded it to +Aphrodite +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Erisichthon, an unbeliever, punished by famine +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Eros See Cupid +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Erytheia, island +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Eryx, a mount, haunt of Venus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Esepus, river in Paphlagonia +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Estrildis, wife of Locrine, supplanting divorced Guendolen +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Eteocles, son of Oeipus and Jocasta +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Etruscans, ancient people of Italy. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Etzel, king of the Huns +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Euboic Sea, where Hercules threw Lichas, who brought him the poisoned +shirt of Nessus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Eude, king of Aquitaine, ally of Charles Martel +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Eumaeus, swineherd of Aeeas +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Eumenides, also called Erinnyes, and by the Romans Furiae or Diraae, +the Avenging Deities, See Furies +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Euphorbus, a Trojan, killed by Menelaus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Euphros'yne, one of the Graces +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Europa, daughter of the Phoenician king Agenor, by Zeus the mother of +Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Eurus, the East wind +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Euyalus, a gallant Trojan soldier, who with Nisus entered the Grecian +camp, both being slain. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Eurydice, wife of Orpheus, who, fleeing from an admirer, was killed by +a snake and borne to Tartarus, where Orpheus sought her and was +permitted to bring her to earth if he would not look back at her +following him, but he did, and she returned to the Shades. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Eurylochus, a companion of Ulysses. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Eurynome, female Titan, wife of Ophlon +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Eurystheus, taskmaster of Hercules. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Eurytion, a Centaur (See Hippodamia). +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Euterpe, Muse who presided over music. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Evadne, wife of Capaneus, who flung herself upon his funeral pile and +perished with him +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Evander, Arcadian chief, befriending Aeneas in Italy. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Evnissyen, quarrelsome brother of Branwen. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Excalibar, sword of King Arthur. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +F +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Fafner, a giant turned dragon, treasure stealer, by the Solar Theory +simply the Darkness who steals the day. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Falerina, an enchantress. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Fasolt, a giant, brother of Fafner, and killed by him. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +"Fasti," Ovid's, a mythological poetic calendar. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FATA MORGANA, a mirage +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FATES, the three, described as daughters of Night--to indicate the +darkness and obscurity of human destiny--or of Zeus and Themis, that +is, "daughters of the just heavens" they were Clo'tho, who spun the +thread of life, Lach'esis, who held the thread and fixed its length and +At'ropos, who cut it off +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FAUNS, cheerful sylvan deities, represented in human form, with small +horns, pointed ears, and sometimes goat's tail +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FAUNUS, son of Picus, grandson of Saturnus, and father of Latinus, +worshipped as the protecting deity of agriculture and of shepherds, and +also as a giver of oracles +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FAVONIUS, the West wind +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FEAR +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FENRIS, a wolf, the son of Loki the Evil Principle of Scandinavia, +supposed to have personated the element of fire, destructive except +when chained +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FENSALIR, Freya's palace, called the Hall of the Sea, where were +brought together lovers, husbands, and wives who had been separated by +death +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FERRAGUS, a giant, opponent of Orlando +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FERRAU, one of Charlemagne's knights +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FERREX. brother of Porrex, the two sons of Leir +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FIRE WORSHIPPERS, of ancient Persia, See Parsees FLOLLO, Roman tribune +in Gaul +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FLORA, Roman goddess of flowers and spring +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FLORDELIS, fair maiden beloved by Florismart +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FLORISMART, Sir, a brave knight. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FLOSSHILDA, one of the Rhine daughters +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FORTUNATE FIELDS +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FORTUNATE ISLANDS (See Elysian Plain) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FORUM, market place and open square for public meetings in Rome, +surrounded by court houses, palaces, temples, etc +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FRANCUS, son of Histion, grandson of Japhet, great grandson of Noah, +legendary ancestor of the Franks, or French +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FREKI, one of Odin's two wolves +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FREY, or Freyr, god of the sun +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FREYA, Norse goddess of music, spring, and flowers +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FRICKA, goddess of marriage +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FRIGGA, goddess who presided over smiling nature, sending sunshine, +rain, and harvest +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FROH, one of the Norse gods +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FRONTI'NO, Rogero's horse +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FURIES (Erinnyes), the three retributive spirits who punished crime, +represented as snaky haired old woman, named Alecto, Megaeira, and +Tisiphone +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +FUSBERTA, Rinaldo's sword +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +G +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GAEA, or Ge, called Tellus by the Romans, the personification of the +earth, described as the first being that sprang fiom Chaos, and gave +birth to Uranus (Heaven) and Pontus (Sea) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GAHARIET, knight of Arthur's court +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GAHERIS, knight +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GALAFRON, King of Cathay, father of Angelica +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GALAHAD, Sir, the pure knight of Arthur's Round Table, who safely took +the Siege Perilous (which See) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GALATEA, a Nereid or sea nymph +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GALATEA, statue carved and beloved by Pygmalion +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GALEN, Greek physician and philosophical writer +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GALLEHANT, King of the Marches +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GAMES, national athletic contests in Greece--Olympian, at Olympia, +Pythian, near Delphi, seat of Apollo's oracle, Isthmian, on the +Corinthian Isthmus, Nemean, at Nemea in Argolis +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GAN, treacherous Duke of Maganza +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GANELON of Mayence, one of Charlemagne's knights +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GANGES, river in India +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GANO, a peer of Charlemagne +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GANYMEDE, the most beautiful of all mortals, carried off to Olympus +that he might fill the cup of Zeus and live among the immortal gods +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GARETH, Arthur's knight +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GAUDISSO, Sultan +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GAUL, ancient France +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GAUTAMA, Prince, the Buddha +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GAWAIN, Arthur's knight +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GAWL, son of Clud, suitor for Rhiannon +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GEMINI (See Castor), constellation created by Jupiter from the twin +brothers after death, 158 +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GENGHIS Khan, Tartar conqueror +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GENIUS, in Roman belief, the protective Spirit of each individual man, +See Juno +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GEOFFREY OF MON'MOUTH, translator into Latin of the Welsh History of +the Kings of Britain (1150) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GERAINT, a knight of King Arthur +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GERDA, wife of Frey +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GERI, one of Odin's two wolves +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GERYON, a three bodied monster +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GESNES, navigator sent for Isoude the Fair +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GIALLAR HORN, the trumpet that Heimdal will blow at the judgment day +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GIANTS, beings of monstrous size and of fearful countenances, +represented as in constant opposition to the gods, in Wagner's +Nibelungen Ring +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GIBICHUNG RACE, ancestors of Alberich +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GIBRALTAR, great rock and town at southwest corner of Spain (See +Pillars of Hercules) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GILDAS, a scholar of Arthur's court +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GIRARD, son of Duke Sevinus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GLASTONBURY, where Arthur died +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GLAUCUS, a fisherman, loving Scylla +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GLEIPNIR, magical chain on the wolf Fenris +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GLEWLWYD, Arthur's porter +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GOLDEN FLEECE, of ram used for escape of children of Athamas, named +Helle and Phryxus (which See), after sacrifice of ram to Jupiter, +fleece was guarded by sleepless dragon and gained by Jason and +Argonauts (which See, also Helle) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GONERIL, daughter of Leir +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +GORDIAN KNOT, tying up in temple the wagon of Gordius, he who could +untie it being destined to be lord of Asia, it was cut by Alexander the +Great, 48 +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Gordius, a countryman who, arriving in Phrygia in a wagon, was made +king by the people, thus interpreting an oracle, 48 +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Gorgons, three monstrous females, with huge teeth, brazen claws and +snakes for hair, sight of whom turned beholders to stone, Medusa, the +most famous, slain by Perseus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Gorlois, Duke of Tintadel +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Gouvernail, squire of Isabella, queen of Lionesse, protector of her son +Tristram while young, and his squire in knighthood +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Graal, the Holy, cup from which the Saviour drank at Last Supper, taken +by Joseph of Arimathea to Europe, and lost, its recovery becoming a +sacred quest for Arthur's knights +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Graces, three goddesses who enhanced the enjoyments of life by +refinement and gentleness; they were Aglaia (brilliance), Euphrosyne +(joy), and Thalia (bloom) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Gradas'so, king of Sericane +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Graeae, three gray haired female watchers for the Gorgons, with one +movable eye and one tooth between the three +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Grand Lama, Buddhist pontiff in Thibet +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Grendel, monster slain by Beowulf +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Gryphon (griffin), a fabulous animal, with the body of a lion and the +head and wings of an eagle, dwelling in the Rhipaean mountains, between +the Hyperboreans and the one eyed Arimaspians, and guarding the gold of +the North. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Guebers, Persian fire worshippers. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Guendolen, wife of Locrine. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Guenevere, wife of King Arthur, beloved by Launcelot. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Guerin, lord of Vienne, father of Oliver. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Guiderius, son of Cymbeline. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Guillamurius, king in Ireland. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Guimier, betrothed of Caradoc. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Gullinbursti, the boar drawing Frey's car. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Gulltopp, Heimdell's horse. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Gunfasius, King of the Orkneys. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Ganther, Burgundian king, brother of Kriemhild. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Gutrune, half sister to Hagen. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Gwern son of Matholch and Branwen. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Gwernach the Giant. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Gwiffert Petit, ally of Geraint. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Gwyddno, Garanhir, King of Gwaelod. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Gwyr, judge in the court of Arthur. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Gyoll, river. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +H +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Hades, originally the god of the nether world--the name later used to +designate the gloomy subterranean land of the dead. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Haemon, son of Creon of Thebes, and lover of Antigone. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Haemonian city. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Haemus, Mount, northern boundary of Thrace. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Hagan, a principal character in the Nibelungen Lied, slayer of +Siegfried. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HALCYONE, daughter of Aeneas, and the beloved wife of Ceyx, who, when +he was drowned, flew to his floating body, and the pitying gods changed +them both to birds (kingfishers), who nest at sea during a certain calm +week in winter ("halcyon weather") +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HAMADRYADS, tree-nymphs or wood-nymphs, See Nymphs +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HARMONIA, daughter of Mars and Venus, wife of Cadmus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HAROUN AL RASCHID, Caliph of Arabia, contemporary of Charlemagne +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HARPIES, monsters, with head and bust of woman, but wings, legs and +tail of birds, seizing souls of the wicked, or punishing evildoers by +greedily snatching or defiling their food +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HARPOCRATES, Egyptian god, Horus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HEBE, daughter of Juno, cupbearer to the gods +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HEBRUS, ancient name of river Maritzka +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HECATE, a mighty and formidable divinity, supposed to send at night all +kinds of demons and terrible phantoms from the lower world +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HECTOR, son of Priam and champion of Troy +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HECTOR, one of Arthur's knights +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HECTOR DE MARYS', a knight +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HECUBA, wife of Priam, king of Troy, to whom she bore Hector, Paris, +and many other children +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HEGIRA, flight of Mahomet from Mecca to Medina (622 AD), era from which +Mahometans reckon time, as we do from the birth of Christ +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HEIDRUN, she goat, furnishing mead for slain heroes in Valhalla +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HEIMDALL, watchman of the gods +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HEL, the lower world of Scandinavia, to which were consigned those who +had not died in battle +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HELA (Death), the daughter of Loki and the mistress of the Scandinavian +Hel +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HELEN, daughter of Jupiter and Leda, wife of Menelaus, carried off by +Paris and cause of the Trojan War +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HELENUS, son of Priam and Hecuba, celebrated for his prophetic powers +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HELIADES, sisters of Phaeton +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HELICON, Mount, in Greece, residence of Apollo and the Muses, with +fountains of poetic inspiration, Aganippe and Hippocrene +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HELIOOPOLIS, city of the Sun, in Egypt +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HELLAS, Gieece +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HELLE, daughter of Thessalian King Athamas, who, escaping from cruel +father with her brother Phryxus, on ram with golden fleece, fell into +the sea strait since named for her (See Golden Fleece) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HELLESPONt, narrow strait between Europe and Asia Minor, named for Helle +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HENGIST, Saxon invader of Britain, 449 AD +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HEPHAESTOS, See VULCAN +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HERA, called Juno by the Romans, a daughter of Cronos (Saturn) and +Rhea, and sister and wife of Jupiter, See JUNO +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HERCULES, athletic hero, son of Jupiter and Alcmena, achieved twelve +vast labors and many famous deeds +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HEREWARD THE WAKE, hero of the Saxons +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HERMES (Mercury), messenger of the gods, deity of commerce, science, +eloquence, trickery, theft, and skill generally +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HERMIONE, daughter of Menelaus and Helen +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HERMOD, the nimble, son of Odin +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HERO, a priestess of Venus, beloved of Leander +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HERODOTUS, Greek historian +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HESIOD, Greek poet +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HESPERIA, ancient name for Italy +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HESPERIDES (See Apples of the Hesperides) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HESPERUS, the evening star (also called Day Star) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HESTIA, cilled Vesta by the Romans, the goddess of the hearth +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HILDEBRAND, German magician and champion +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HINDU TRIAD, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HIPPOCRENE (See Helicon) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HIPPODAMIA, wife of Pirithous, at whose wedding the Centaurs offered +violence to the bride, causing a great battle +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HIPPOGRIFF, winged horse, with eagle's head and claws +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HIPPOLYTA, Queen of the Amazons +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Hippolytus, son of Thesus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HIPPOMENES, who won Atalanta in foot race, beguiling her with golden +apples thrown for her to +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HISTION, son of Japhet +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HODUR, blind man, who, fooled by +Loki, threw a mistletoe twig at Baldur, killing him +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HOEL, king of Brittany +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HOMER, the blind poet of Greece, about 850 B C +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HOPE (See PANDORA) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HORAE See HOURS +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HORSA, with Hengist, invader of Britain +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HORUS, Egyptian god of the sun +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HOUDAIN, Tristram's dog +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HRINGHAM, Baldur's ship +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HROTHGAR, king of Denmark +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HUGI, who beat Thialfi in foot races +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HUGIN, one of Odin's two ravens +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HUNDING, husband of Sieglinda +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HUON, son of Duke Sevinus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HYACINTHUS, a youth beloved by Apollo, and accidentally killed by him, +changed in death to the flower, hyacinth +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HYADES, Nysaean nymphs, nurses of infant Bacchus, rewarded by being +placed as cluster of stars in the heavens +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HYALE, a nymph of Diana +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HYDRA, nine headed monster slain by Hercules +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HYGEIA, goddess of health, daughter of Aesculapius +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HYLAS, a youth detained by nymphs of spring where he sought water +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HYMEN, the god of marriage, imagined as a handsome youth and invoked in +bridal songs +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HYMETTUS, mountain in Attica, near Athens, celebrated for its marble +and its honey +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HYPERBOREANS, people of the far North +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +HYPERION, a Titan, son of Uranus and Ge, and father of Helios, Selene, +and Eos, cattle of. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Hyrcania, Prince of, betrothed to Clarimunda +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Hyrieus, king in Greece. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +I +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Iapetus, a Titan, son of Uranus and Ge, and father of Atlas, +Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Iasius, father of Atalanta +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Ibycus, a poet, story of, and the cranes +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Icaria, island of the Aegean Sea, one of the Sporades +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Icarius, Spartan prince, father of Penelope +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Icarus, son of Daedalus, he flew too near the sun with artificial +wings, and, the wax melting, he fell into the sea +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Icelos, attendant of Morpheus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Icolumkill SEE Iona +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Ida, Mount, a Trojan hill +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Idaeus, a Trojan herald +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Idas, son of Aphareus and Arene, and brother of Lynceus Idu'na, wife of +Bragi +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Igerne, wife of Gorlois, and mother, by Uther, of Arthur +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Iliad, epic poem of the Trojan War, by Homer +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Ilioheus, a son of Niobe +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Ilium SEE Troy +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Illyria, Adriatic countries north of Greece +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Imogen, daughter of Pandrasus, wife of Trojan Brutus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Inachus, son of Oceanus and Tethys, and father of Phoroneus and Io, +also first king of Argos, and said to have given his name to the river +Inachus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +INCUBUS, an evil spirit, supposed to lie upon persons in their sleep +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +INDRA, Hindu god of heaven, thunder, lightning, storm and rain +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +INO, wife of Athamas, fleeing from whom with infant son she sprang into +the sea and was changed to Leucothea +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +IO, changed to a heifer by Jupiter +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +IOBATES, King of Lycia +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +IOLAUS, servant of Hercules +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +IOLE, sister of Dryope +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +IONA, or Icolmkill, a small northern island near Scotland, where St +Columba founded a missionary monastery (563 AD) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +IONIA, coast of Asia Minor +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +IPHIGENIA, daughter of Agamemnon, offered as a sacrifice but carried +away by Diana +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +IPHIS, died for love of Anaxarete, 78 +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +IPHITAS, friend of Hercules, killed by him +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +IRIS, goddess of the rainbow, messenger of Juno and Zeus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +IRONSIDE, Arthur's knight +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ISABELLA, daughter of king of Galicia +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ISIS, wife of Osiris, described as the giver of death +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ISLES OF THE BLESSED +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ISMARUS, first stop of Ulysses, returning from Trojan War ISME'NOS, a +son of Niobe, slain by Apollo +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ISOLIER, friend of Rinaldo +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ISOUDE THE FAIR, beloved of Tristram +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ISOUDE OF THE WHITE HANDS, married to Tristram +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ISTHMIAN GAMES, See GAMES +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ITHACA, home of Ulysses and Penelope +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +IULUS, son of Aeneas +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +IVO, Saracen king, befriending Rinaldo +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +IXION, once a sovereign of Thessaly, sentenced in Tartarus to be lashed +with serpents to a wheel which a strong wind drove continually around +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +J +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +JANICULUM, Roman fortress on the Janiculus, a hill on the other side of +the Tiber +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +JANUS, a deity from the earliest times held in high estimation by the +Romans, temple of +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +JAPHET (Iapetus) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +JASON, leader of the Argonauts, seeking the Golden Fleece +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA, who bore the Holy Graal to Europe +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +JOTUNHEIM, home of the giants in Northern mythology +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +JOVE (Zeus), chief god of Roman and Grecian mythology, See JUPITER +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +JOYOUS GARDE, residence of Sir Launcelot of the Lake +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +JUGGERNAUT, Hindu deity +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +JUNO, the particular guardian spirit of each woman (See Genius) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +JUNO, wife of Jupiter, queen of the gods +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +JUPITER, JOVIS PATER, FATHER JOVE, JUPITER and JOVE used +interchangeably, at Dodona, statue of the Olympian +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +JUPITER AMMON (See Ammon) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +JUPITER CAPITOLINUS, temple of, preserving the Sibylline books +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +JUSTICE, See THEMIS +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +K +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +KADYRIATH, advises King Arthur +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +KAI, son of Kyner +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +KALKI, tenth avatar of Vishnu +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +KAY, Arthur's steward and a knight +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +KEDALION, guide of Orion +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +KERMAN, desert of +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +KICVA, daughter of Gwynn Gloy +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +KILWICH, son of Kilydd +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +KILYDD, son of Prince Kelyddon, of Wales +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +KNEPH, spirit or breath +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +KNIGHTS, training and life of +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +KRIEMHILD, wife of Siegfried +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +KRISHNA, eighth avatar of Vishnu, Hindu deity of fertility in nature +and mankind +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +KYNER, father of Kav +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +KYNON, son of Clydno +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +L +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LABYRINTH, the enclosed maze of passageways where roamed the Minotaur +of Crete, killed by Theseus with aid of Ariadne +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LACHESIS, one of the Fates (which See) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LADY OF THE FOUNTAIN, tale told by Kynon +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LAERTES, father of Ulysses +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LAESTRYGONIANS, savages attacking Ulysses +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LAIUS, King of Thebes +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LAMA, holy man of Thibet +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LAMPETIA, daughter of Hyperion LAOC'OON, a priest of Neptune, in Troy, +who warned the Trojans against the Wooden Horse (which See), but when +two serpents came out of the sea and strangled him and his two sons, +the people listened to the Greek spy Sinon, and brought the fatal Horse +into the town +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LAODAMIA, daughter of Acastus and wife of Protesilaus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LAODEGAN, King of Carmalide, helped by Arthur and Merlin +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LAOMEDON, King of Troy +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LAPITHAE, Thessalonians, whose king had invited the Centaurs to his +daughter's wedding but who attacked them for offering violence to the +bride +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LARES, household deities +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LARKSPUR, flower from the blood of Ajax +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LATINUS, ruler of Latium, where Aeneas landed in Italy +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LATMOS, Mount, where Diana fell in love with Endymion +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LATONA, mother of Apollo +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LAUNCELOT, the most famous knight of the Round Table +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LAUSUS, son of Mezentius, killed by Aeneas +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LAVINIA, daughter of Latinus and wife of Aeneas +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LAVINIUM, Italian city named for Lavinia +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LAW, See THEMIS +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LEANDER, a youth of Abydos, who, swimming the Hellespont to see Hero, +his love, was drowned +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LEBADEA, site of the oracle of Trophomus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LEBYNTHOS, Aegean island +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LEDA, Queen of Sparta, wooed by Jupiter in the form of a swan +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LEIR, mythical King of Britain, original of Shakespeare's Lear +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LELAPS, dog of Cephalus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LEMNOS, large island in the Aegean Sea, sacred to Vulcan +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LEMURES, the spectres or spirits of the dead +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LEO, Roman emperor, Greek prince +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LETHE, river of Hades, drinking whose water caused forgetfulness +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LEUCADIA, a promontory, whence Sappho, disappointed in love, was said +to have thrown herself into the sea +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LEUCOTHEA, a sea goddess, invoked by sailors for protection (See Ino) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LEWIS, son of Charlemagne +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LIBER, ancient god of fruitfulness +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LIBETHRA, burial place of Orpheus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LIBYA, Greek name for continent of Africa in general +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LIBYAN DESERT, in Africa +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LIBYAN OASIS +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LICHAS, who brought the shirt of Nessus to Hercules +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LIMOURS, Earl of +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LINUS, musical instructor of Hercules +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LIONEL, knight of the Round Table +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LLYR, King of Britain +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LOCRINE, son of Brutus in Albion, king of Central England +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LOEGRIA, kingdom of (England) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LOGESTILLA, a wise lady, who entertained Rogero and his friends +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LOGI, who vanquished Loki in an eating contest +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LOKI, the Satan of Norse mythology, son of the giant Farbanti +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LOT, King, a rebel chief, subdued by King Arthur, then a loyal knight +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LOTIS, a nymph, changed to a lotus-plant and in that form plucked by +Dryope +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LOTUS EATERS, soothed to indolence, companions of Ulysses landing among +them lost all memory of home and had to be dragged away before they +would continue their voyage +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LOVE (Eros) issued from egg of Night, and with arrows and torch +produced life and joy +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LUCAN, one of Arthur's knights +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Lucius Tiberius, Roman procurator in Britain demanding tribute from +Arthur +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LUD, British king, whose capital was called Lud's Town (London) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LUDGATE, city gate where Lud was buried, 387 +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LUNED, maiden who guided Owain to the Lady of the Fountain +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LYCAHAS, a turbulent sailor +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LYCAON, son of Priam +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LYCIA, a district in Southern Asia Minor +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LYCOMODES, king of the Dolopians, who treacherously slew Theseus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LYCUS, usurping King of Thebes +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +LYNCEUS, one of the sons of Aegyptus +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +M +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MABINOGEON, plural of Mabinogi, fairy tales and romances of the Welsh +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MABON, son of Modron +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MACHAON, son of Aesculapius +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MADAN, son of Guendolen +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MADOC, a forester of King Arthur +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MADOR, Scottish knight +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MAELGAN, king who imprisoned Elphin +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MAEONIA, ancient Lydia +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MAGI, Persian priests +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MAHADEVA, same as Siva +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MAHOMET, great prophet of Arabia, born in Mecca, 571 AD, proclaimed +worship of God instead of idols, spread his religion through disciples +and then by force till it prevailed, with Arabian dominion, over vast +regions in Asia, Africa, and Spain in Europe +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MAIA, daughter of Atlas and Pleione, eldest and most beautiful of the +Pleiades +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MALAGIGI the Enchanter, one of Charlemagne's knights +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MALEAGANS, false knight +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MALVASIUS, King of Iceland +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MAMBRINO, with invisible helmet +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MANAWYD DAN, brother of King Vran, of London +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MANDRICARDO, son of Agrican +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MANTUA, in Italy, birthplace of Virgil +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MANU, ancestor of mankind +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MARATHON, where Theseus and Pirithous met +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MARK, King of Cornwall, husband of Isoude the Fair +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MARO See VIRGIL +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MARPHISA, sister of Rogero +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MARSILIUS, Spanish king, treacherous foe of Charlemagne +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MARSYAS, inventor of the flute, who challenged Apollo to musical +competition, and, defeated, was flayed alive +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MATSYA, the Fish, first avatar of Vishnu +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MEANDER, Grecian river +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MEDE, A, princess and sorceress who aided Jason +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MEDORO, a young Moor, who wins Angelica +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MEDUSA, one of the Gorgons +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MEGAERA, one of the Furies +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MELAMPUS, a Spartan dog, the first mortal endowed with prophetic powers +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MELANTHUS, steersman for Bacchus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MELEAGER, one of the Argonauts (See Althaea) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MELIADUS, King of Lionesse, near Cornwall +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MELICERTES, infant son of Ino. changed to Palaemon (See Ino, Leucothea, +and Palasmon) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MELISSA, priestess at Merlin's tomb +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MELISSEUS, a Cretan king +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MELPOMENE, one of the Muses +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MEMNON, the beautiful son of Tithonus and Eos (Aurora), and king of the +Ethiopians, slain in Trojan War +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MEMPHIS, Egyptian city +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MENELAUS, son of King of Sparta, husband of Helen +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MENOECEUS, son of Creon, voluntary victim in war to gain success for +his father +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MENTOR, son of Alcimus and a faithful friend of Ulysses +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MERCURY (See HERMES) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MERLIN, enchanter +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MEROPE, daughter of King of Chios, beloved by Orion +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MESMERISM, likened to curative oracle of Aesculapius at Epidaurus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +METABUS, father of Camilla +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +METAMORPHOSES, Ovid's poetical legends of mythical transformations, a +large source of our knowledge of classic mythology +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +METANIRA, a mother, kind to Ceres seeking Proserpine +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +METEMPSYCHOSIS, transmigration of souls--rebirth of dying men and women +in forms of animals or human beings +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +METIS, Prudence, a spouse of Jupiter +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MEZENTIUS, a brave but cruel soldier, opposing Aeneas in Italy +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MIDAS +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MIDGARD, the middle world of the Norsemen +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MIDGARD SERPENT, a sea monster, child of Loki +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MILKY WAY, starred path across the sky, believed to be road to palace +of the gods +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MILO, a great athlete +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MLON, father of Orlando +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MILTON, John, great English poet, whose History of England is here +largely used +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MIME, one of the chief dwarfs of ancient German mythology +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MINERVA (Athene), daughter of Jupiter, patroness of health, learning, +and wisdom +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MINOS, King of Crete +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MINO TAUR, monster killed by Theseus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MISTLETOE, fatal to Baldur +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MNEMOSYNE, one of the Muses +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MODESTY, statue to +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MODRED, nephew of King Arthur +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MOLY, plant, powerful against sorcery +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MOMUS, a deity whose delight was to jeer bitterly at gods and men +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MONAD, the "unit" of Pythagoras +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MONSTERS, unnatural beings, evilly disposed to men +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MONTALBAN, Rinaldo's castle +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MONTH, the, attendant upon the Sun +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MOON, goddess of, see DIANA +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MORAUNT, knight, an Irish champion +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MORGANA, enchantress, the Lady of the Lake in "Orlando Furioso," same +as Morgane Le Fay in tales of Arthur +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MORGANE LE FAY, Queen of Norway, King Arthur's sister, an enchantress +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MORGAN TUD, Arthur's chief physician +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MORPHEUS, son of Sleep and god of dreams +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MORTE D'ARTHUr, romance, by Sir Thomas Mallory +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MULCIBER, Latin name of Vulcan +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MULL, Island of +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MUNIN, one of Odin's two ravens +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MUSAEUS, sacred poet, son of Orpheus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MUSES, The, nine goddesses presiding over poetry, etc--Calliope, epic +poetry, Clio, history, Erato, love poetry, Euterpe, lyric poetry; +Melpomene, tragedy, Polyhymnia, oratory and sacred song Terpsichore, +choral song and dance, Thalia, comedy and idyls, Urania, astronomy +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MUSPELHEIM, the fire world of the Norsemen +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MYCENAS, ancient Grecian city, of which Agamemnon was king +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MYRDDIN (Merlin) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MYRMIDONS, bold soldiers of Achilles +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MYSIA, Greek district on northwest coast of Asia Minor +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +MYTHOLOGY, origin of, collected myths, describing gods of early peoples +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +N +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NAIADS, water nymphs +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NAMO, Duke of Bavaria, one of Charlemagne's knights +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NANNA, wife of Baldur +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NANTERS, British king +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NANTES, site of Caradoc's castle +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NAPE, a dog of Diana +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NARCISSUS, who died of unsatisfied love for his own image in the water +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NAUSICAA, daughter of King Alcinous, who befriended Ulysses +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NAUSITHOUS, king of Phaeacians +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NAXOS, Island of +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NEGUS, King of Abyssinia +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NEMEA, forest devastated by a lion killed by Hercules +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NEMEAN GAMES, held in honor of Jupiter and Hercules +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NEMEAN LION, killed by Hercules +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NEMESIS, goddess of vengeance +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NENNIUS, British combatant of Caesar +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NEOPTOLEMUS, son of Achilles +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NEPENTHE, ancient drug to cause forgetfulness of pain or distress +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NEPHELE, mother of Phryxus and Helle +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NEPHTHYS, Egyptian goddess +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NEPTUNE, identical with Poseidon, god of the sea +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NEREIDS, sea nymphs, daughters of Nereus and Doris +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NEREUS, a sea god +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NESSUS, a centaur killed by Hercules, whose jealous wife sent him a +robe or shirt steeped in the blood of Nessus, which poisoned him +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NESTOR, king of Pylos, renowned for his wisdom, justice, and knowledge +of war +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NIBELUNGEN HOARD, treasure seized by Siegfried from the Nibelungs, +buried in the Rhine by Hagan after killing Siegfried, and lost when +Hagan was killed by Kriemhild, theme of Wagner's four music dramas, +"The Ring of the Nibelungen," +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NIBELUNGEN LIED, German epic, giving the same nature myth as the Norse +Volsunga Saga, concerning the Hoard +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NIBELUNGEN RING, Wagner's music dramas +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NIBELUNGS, the, a race of Northern dwarfs +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NIDHOGGE, a serpent in the lower world that lives on the dead +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NIFFLEHEIM, mist world of the Norsemen, the Hades of absent spirits +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NILE, Egyptian river +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NIOBE, daughter of Tantalus, proud Queen of Thebes, whose seven sons +and seven daughters were killed by Apollo and Diana, at which Amphion, +her husband, killed himself, and Niobe wept until she was turned to +stone +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NISUS, King of Megara +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NOAH, as legendary ancestor of French, Roman, German, and British +peoples +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NOMAN, name assumed by Ulysses +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NORNS, the three Scandinavian Fates, Urdur (the past), Verdandi (the +present), and Skuld (the future) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NOTHUNG, magic sword +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NOTUS, southwest wind +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NOX, daughter of Chaos and sister of Erebus, personification of night +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +Numa, second king of Rome +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +NYMPHS, beautiful maidens, lesser divinities of nature Dryads and +Hamadryads, tree nymphs, Naiads, spring, brook, and river nymphs, +Nereids, sea nymphs Oreads, mountain nymphs or hill nymphs +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +O +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OCEANUS, a Titan, ruling watery elements +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OCYROE, a prophetess, daughter of Chiron +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ODERIC +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ODIN, chief of the Norse gods +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ODYAR, famous Biscayan hero +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ODYSSEUS See ULYSSES +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ODYSSEY, Homer's poem, relating the wanderings of Odysseus (Ulysses) on +returning from Trojan War +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OEDIPUS, Theban hero, who guessed the riddle of the Sphinx (which See), +becoming King of Thebes +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OENEUS, King of Calydon +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OENONE, nymph, married by Paris in his youth, and abandoned for Helen +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OENOPION, King of Chios +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OETA, Mount, scene of Hercules' death +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OGIER, the Dane, one of the paladins of Charlemagne +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OLIVER, companion of Orlando +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OLWEN, wife of Kilwich +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OLYMPIA, a small plain in Elis, where the Olympic games were celebrated +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OLYMPIADS, periods between Olympic games (four years) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OLYMPIAN GAMES, See GAMES +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OLYMPUS, dwelling place of the dynasty of gods of which Zeus was the +head +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OMPHALE, queen of Lydia, daughter of Iardanus and wife of Tmolus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OPHION, king of the Titans, who ruled Olympus till dethroned by the +gods Saturn and Rhea +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OPS See RHEA +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ORACLES, answers from the gods to questions from seekers for knowledge +or advice for the future, usually in equivocal form, so as to fit any +event, also places where such answers were given forth usually by a +priest or priestess +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ORC, a sea monster, foiled by Rogero when about to devour Angelica +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OREADS, nymphs of mountains and hills +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ORESTES, son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, because of his crime in +killing his mother, he was pursued by the Furies until purified by +Minerva +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ORION, youthful giant, loved by Diana, Constellation +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ORITHYIA, a nymph, seized by Boreas +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ORLANDO, a famous knight and nephew of Charlemagne +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ORMUZD (Greek, Oromasdes), son of Supreme Being, source of good as his +brother Ahriman (Arimanes) was of evil, in Persian or Zoroastrian +religion +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ORPHEUS, musician, son of Apollo and Calliope, See EURYDICE +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OSIRIS, the most beneficent of the Egyptian gods +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OSSA, mountain of Thessaly +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OSSIAN, Celtic poet of the second or third century +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OVID, Latin poet (See Metamorphoses) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OWAIN, knight at King Arthur's court +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +OZANNA, a knight of Arthur +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +P +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PACTOLUS, river whose sands were changed to gold by Midas +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PAEON, a name for both Apollo and Aesculapius, gods of medicine. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PAGANS, heathen +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PALADINS or peers, knights errant +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PALAEMON, son of Athamas and Ino +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PALAMEDES, messenger sent to call Ulysses to the Trojan War +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PALAMEDES, Saracen prince at Arthur's court +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PALATINE, one of Rome's Seven Hills +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PALES, goddess presiding over cattle and pastures +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PALINURUS, faithful steersman of Aeeas +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PALLADIUM, properly any image of Pallas Athene, but specially applied +to an image at Troy, which was stolen by Ulysses and Diomedes +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PALLAS, son of Evander +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PALLAS A THE'NE (Minerva) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PAMPHA GUS, a dog of Diana +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PAN, god of nature and the universe +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PANATHENAEA, festival in honor of Pallas Athene (Minerva) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PANDEAN PIPES, musical instrument of reeds, made by Pan in memory of +Syrinx +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PANDORA (all gifted), first woman, dowered with gifts by every god, yet +entrusted with a box she was cautioned not to open, but, curious, she +opened it, and out flew all the ills of humanity, leaving behind only +Hope, which remained +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PANDRASUS, a king in Greece, who persecuted Trojan exiles under Brutus, +great grandson of Aeneas, until they fought, captured him, and, with +his daughter Imogen as Brutus' wife, emigrated to Albion (later called +Britain) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PANOPE, plain of +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PANTHUS, alleged earlier incarnation of Pythagoras +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PAPHLAGNIA, ancient country in Asia Minor, south of Black Sea +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PAPHOS, daughter of Pygmalion and Galatea (both of which, See) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PARCAE See FATES +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PARIAHS, lowest caste of Hindus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PARIS, son of Priam and Hecuba, who eloped with Helen (which. See) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PARNASSIAN LAUREl, wreath from Parnassus, crown awarded to successful +poets +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PARNASSUS, mountain near Delphi, sacred to Apollo and the Muses +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PARSEES, Persian fire worshippers (Zoroastrians), of whom there are +still thousands in Persia and India +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PARTHENON, the temple of Athene Parthenos ("the Virgin") on the +Acropolis of Athens +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PASSEBREUL, Tristram's horse +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PATROCLUS, friend of Achilles, killed by Hector +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PECHEUR, King, uncle of Perceval +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PEERS, the +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PEG A SUS, winged horse, born from the sea foam and the blood of Medusa +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PELEUS, king of the Myrmidons, father of Achilles by Thetis +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PELIAS, usurping uncle of Jason +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PELION, mountain +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PELLEAS, knight of Arthur +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PENATES, protective household deities of the Romans +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PENDRAGON, King of Britain, elder brother of Uther Pendragon, who +succeeded him +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PENELOPE, wife of Ulysses, who, waiting twenty years for his return +from the Trojan War, put off the suitors for her hand by promising to +choose one when her weaving was done, but unravelled at night what she +had woven by day +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PENEUS, river god, river +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PENTHESILEA, queen of Amazons +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PENTHEUS, king of Thebes, having resisted the introduction of the +worship of Bacchus into his kingdom, was driven mad by the god +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PENUS, Roman house pantry, giving name to the Penates +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PEPIN, father of Charlemagne +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PEPLUS, sacred robe of Minerva +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PERCEVAL, a great knight of Arthur +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PERDIX, inventor of saw and compasses +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PERIANDER, King of Corinuh, friend of Arion +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PERIPHETES, son of Vulcan, killed by Theseus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PERSEPHONE, goddess of vegetation, 8 See Pioserpine +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PERSEUS, son of Jupiter and Danae, slayer of the Gorgon Medusa, +deliverer of Andromeda from a sea monster, 116 122, 124, 202 +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PHAEACIANS, people who entertained Ulysses +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PHAEDRA, faithless and cruel wife of Theseus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PHAETHUSA, sister of Phaeton, 244 +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PHAETON, son of Phoebus, who dared attempt to drive his father's sun +chariot +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PHANTASOS, a son of Somnus, bringing strange images to sleeping men +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PHAON, beloved by Sappho +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PHELOT, knight of Wales +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PHEREDIN, friend of Tristram, unhappy lover of Isoude +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PHIDIAS, famous Greek sculptor +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PHILEMON, husband of Baucis +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PHILOCTETES, warrior who lighted the fatal pyre of Hercules +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PHILOE, burial place of Osiris +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PHINEUS, betrothed to Andromeda +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PHLEGETHON, fiery river of Hades +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PHOCIS +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PHOEBE, one of the sisters of Phaeton +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PHOEBUS (Apollo), god of music, prophecy, and archery, the sun god +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PHOENIX, a messenger to Achilles, also, a miraculous bird dying in fire +by its own act and springing up alive from its own ashes +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PHORBAS, a companion of Aeneas, whose form was assumed by Neptune in +luring Palinuras the helmsman from his roost +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PHRYXUS, brother of Helle +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PINABEL, knight +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PILLARS OF HERCULES, two mountains--Calpe, now the Rock of Gibraltar, +southwest corner of Spain in Europe, and Abyla, facing it in Africa +across the strait +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PINDAR, famous Greek poet +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PINDUS, Grecian mountain +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PIRENE, celebrated fountain at Corinth +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PIRITHOUS, king of the Lapithae in Thessaly, and friend of Theseus, +husband of Hippodamia +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PLEASURE, daughter of Cupid and Psyche +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PLEIADES, seven of Diana's nymphs, changed into stars, one being lost +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PLENTY, the Horn of +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PLEXIPPUS, brother of Althea +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PLINY, Roman naturalist +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PLUTO, the same as Hades, Dis, etc. god of the Infernal Regions +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PLUTUS, god of wealth +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PO, Italian river +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +POLE STAR +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +POLITES, youngest son of Priam of Troy +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +POLLUX, Castor and (Dioscuri, the Twins) (See Castor) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +POLYDECTES, king of Seriphus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +POLYDORE, slain kinsman of Aeneas, whose blood nourished a bush that +bled when broken +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +POLYHYMNIA, Muse of oratory and sacred song +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +POLYIDUS, soothsayer +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +POLYNICES, King of Thebes +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +POLYPHEMUS, giant son of Neptune +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +POLYXENA, daughter of King Priam of Troy +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +POMONA, goddess of fruit trees (See VERTUMNUS) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PORREX and FER'REX, sons of Leir, King of Britain +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PORTUNUS, Roman name for Palaemon +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +POSEIDON (Neptune), ruler of the ocean +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PRECIPICE, threshold of Helas hall +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PRESTER JOHN, a rumored priest or presbyter, a Christian pontiff in +Upper Asia, believed in but never found +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PRIAM, king of Troy +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PRIWEN, Arthur's shield +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PROCRIS, beloved but jealous wife of Cephalus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PROCRUSTES, who seized travellers and bound them on his iron bed, +stretching the short ones and cutting short the tall, thus also himself +served by Theseus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PROETUS, jealous of Bellerophon +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PROMETHEUS, creator of man, who stole fire from heaven for man's use +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PROSERPINE, the same as Persephone, goddess of all growing things, +daughter of Ceres, carried off by Pluto +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PROTESILAUS, slain by Hector the Trojan, allowed by the gods to return +for three hours' talk with his widow Laodomia +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PROTEUS, the old man of the sea +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PRUDENCE (Metis), spouse of Jupiter +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PRYDERI, son of Pwyll +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PSYCHE, a beautiful maiden, personification of the human soul, sought +by Cupid (Love), to whom she responded, lost him by curiosity to see +him (as he came to her only by night), but finally through his prayers +was made immortal and restored to him, a symbol of immortality +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PURANAS, Hindu Scriptures +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PWYLL, Prince of Dyved +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PYGMALION, sculptor in love with a statue he had made, brought to life +by Venus, brother of Queen Dido +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PYGMIES, nation of dwarfs, at war with the Cranes +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PYLADES, son of Straphius, friend of Orestes +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PYRAMUS, who loved Thisbe, next door neighbor, and, their parents +opposing, they talked through cracks in the house wall, agreeing to +meet in the near by woods, where Pyramus, finding a bloody veil and +thinking Thisbe slain, killed himself, and she, seeing his body, killed +herself (Burlesqued in Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream") +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PYRRHA, wife of Deucalion +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PYRRHUS (Neoptolemus), son of Achilles +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PYTHAGORAS, Greek philosopher (540 BC), who thought numbers to be the +essence and principle of all things, and taught transmigration of souls +of the dead into new life as human or animal beings +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PYTHIA, priestess of Apollo at Delphi +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PYTHIAN GAMES +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PYTHIAN ORACLE +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +PYTHON, serpent springing from Deluge slum, destroyed by Apollo +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +Q +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +QUIRINUS (from quiris, a lance or spear), a war god, said to be +Romulus, founder of Rome +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +R +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +RABICAN, noted horse +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +RAGNAROK, the twilight (or ending) of the gods +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +RAJPUTS, minor Hindu caste +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +REGAN, daughter of Leir +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +REGILLUS, lake in Latium, noted for battle fought near by between the +Romans and the Latins +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +REGGIO, family from which Rogero sprang +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +REMUS, brother of Romulus, founder of Rome +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +RHADAMANTHUS, son of Jupiter and Europa after his death one of the +judges in the lower world +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +RHAPSODIST, professional reciter of poems among the Greeks +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +RHEA, female Titan, wife of Saturn (Cronos), mother of the chief gods, +worshipped in Greece and Rome +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +RHINE, river +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +RHINE MAIDENS, OR DAUGHTERS, three water nymphs, Flosshilda, Woglinda, +and Wellgunda, set to guard the Nibelungen Hoard, buried in the Rhine +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +RHODES, one of the seven cities claiming to be Homer's birthplace +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +RHODOPE, mountain in Thrace +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +RHONGOMYANT, Arthur's lance +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +RHOECUS, a youth, beloved by a Dryad, but who brushed away a bee sent +by her to call him to her, and she punished him with blindness +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +RHIANNON, wife of Pwyll +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +RINALDO, one of the bravest knights of Charlemagne +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +RIVER OCEAN, flowing around the earth +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ROBERT DE BEAUVAIS', Norman poet (1257) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ROBIN HOOD, famous outlaw in English legend, about time of Richard +Coeur de Lion +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ROCKINGHAM, forest of +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +RODOMONT, king of Algiers +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ROGERO, noted Saracen knight +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ROLAND (Orlando), See Orlando +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ROMANCES +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ROMANUS, legendary great grandson of Noah +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ROME +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ROMULUS, founder of Rome +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +RON, Arthur's lance +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +RONCES VALLES', battle of +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ROUND TABLE King Arthur's instituted by Merlin the Sage for Pendragon, +Arthur's father, as a knightly order, continued and made famous by +Arthur and his knights +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +RUNIC CHARACTERS, or runes, alphabetic signs used by early Teutonic +peoples, written or graved on metal or stone +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +RUTULIANS, an ancient people in Italy, subdued at an early period by +the Romans +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +RYENCE, king in Ireland +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +S +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SABRA, maiden for whom Severn River was named, daughter of Locrine and +Estrildis thrown into river Severn by Locrine's wife, transformed to a +river nymph, poetically named Sabrina +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SACRIPANT, king of Circassia +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SAFFIRE, Sir, knight of Arthur +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SAGAS, Norse tales of heroism, composed by the Skalds +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SAGRAMOUR, knight of Arthur +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +St. MICHAEL'S MOUNT, precipitous pointed rock hill on the coast of +Brittany, opposite Cornwall +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SAKYASINHA, the Lion, epithet applied to Buddha +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SALAMANDER, a lizard like animal, fabled to be able to live in fire +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SALAMIS, Grecian city +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SALMONEUS, son of Aeolus and Enarete and brother of Sisyphus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SALOMON, king of Brittany, at Charlemagne's court +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SAMHIN, or "fire of peace," a Druidical festival +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SAMIAN SAGE (Pythagoras) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SAMOS, island in the Aegean Sea +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SAMOTHRACIAN GODS, a group of agricultural divinities, worshipped in +Samothrace +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SAMSON, Hebrew hero, thought by some to be original of Hercules +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SAN GREAL (See Graal, the Holy) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SAPPHO, Greek poetess, who leaped into the sea from promontory of +Leucadia in disappointed love for Phaon +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SARACENS, followers of Mahomet +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SARPEDON, son of Jupiter and Europa, killed by Patroclus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SATURN (Cronos) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SATURNALIA, a annual festival held by Romans in honor of Saturn +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SATURNIA, an ancient name of Italy +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SATYRS, male divinities of the forest, half man, half goat +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SCALIGER, famous German scholar of 16th century +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SCANDINAVIA, mythology of, giving account of Northern gods, heroes, etc +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SCHERIA, mythical island, abode of the Phaeacians +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SCHRIMNIR, the boar, cooked nightly for the heroes of Valhalla becoming +whole every morning +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SCIO, one of the island cities claiming to be Homer's birthplace +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SCOPAS, King of Thessaly +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SCORPION, constellation +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SCYLLA, sea nymph beloved by Glaucus, but changed by jealous Circe to a +monster and finally to a dangerous rock on the Sicilian coast, facing +the whirlpool Charybdis, many mariners being wrecked between the two, +also, daughter of King Nisus of Megara, who loved Minos, besieging her +father's city, but he disliked her disloyalty and drowned her, also, a +fair virgin of Sicily, friend of sea nymph Galatea +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SCYROS, where Theseus was slain +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SCYTHIA, country lying north of Euxine Sea +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SEMELE, daughter of Cadmus and, by Jupiter, mother of Bacchus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SEMIRAMIS, with Ninus the mythical founder of the Assyrian empire of +Nineveh +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SENAPUS, King of Abyssinia, who entertained Astolpho +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SERAPIS, or Hermes, Egyptian divinity of Tartarus and of medicine +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SERFS, slaves of the land +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SERIPHUS, island in the Aegean Sea, one of the Cyclades +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SERPENT (Northern constellation) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SESTOS, dwelling of Hero (which See also Leander) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +"SEVEN AGAINST THEBES," famous Greek expedition +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SEVERN RIVER, in England +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SEVINUS, Duke of Guienne +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SHALOTT, THE LADY OF +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SHATRIYA, Hindu warrior caste +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SHERASMIN, French chevalier +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SIBYL, prophetess of Cumae +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SICHAEUS, husband of Dido +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SEIGE PERILOUS, the chair of purity at Arthur's Round Table, fatal to +any but him who was destined to achieve the quest of the Sangreal (See +Galahad) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SIEGFRIED, young King of the Netherlands, husband of Kriemhild, she +boasted to Brunhild that Siegfried had aided Gunther to beat her in +athletic contests, thus winning her as wife, and Brunhild, in anger, +employed Hagan to murder Siegfried. As hero of Wagner's "Valkyrie," he +wins the Nibelungen treasure ring, loves and deserts Brunhild, and is +slain by Hagan +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SIEGLINDA, wife of Hunding, mother of Siegfried by Siegmund +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SIEGMUND, father of Siegfried +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SIGTRYG, Prince, betrothed of King Alef's daughter, aided by Hereward +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SIGUNA, wife of Loki +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SILENUS, a Satyr, school master of Bacchus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SILURES (South Wales) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SILVIA, daughter of Latin shepherd +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SILVIUS, grandson of Aeneas, accidentally killed in the chase by his +son Brutus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SIMONIDES, an early poet of Greece +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SINON, a Greek spy, who persuaded the Trojans to take the Wooden Horse +into their city +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SIRENS, sea nymphs, whose singing charmed mariners to leap into the +sea, passing their island, Ulysses stopped the ears of his sailors with +wax, and had himself bound to the mast so that he could hear but not +yield to their music +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SIRIUS, the dog of Orion, changed to the Dog star +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SISYPHUS, condemned in Tartarus to perpetually roll up hill a big rock +which, when the top was reached, rolled down again +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SIVA, the Destroyer, third person of the Hindu triad of gods +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SKALDS, Norse bards and poets +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SKIDBLADNIR, Freyr's ship +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SKIRNIR, Frey's messenger, who won the god's magic sword by getting him +Gerda for his wife +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SKRYMIR, a giant, Utgard Loki in disguise, who fooled Thor in athletic +feats +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SKULD, the Norn of the Future +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SLEEP, twin brother of Death +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SLEIPNIR, Odin's horse +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SOBRINO, councillor to Agramant +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SOMNUS, child of Nox, twin brother of Mors, god of sleep +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SOPHOCLES, Greek tragic dramatist +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SOUTH WIND See Notus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SPAR'TA, capital of Lacedaemon +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SPHINX, a monster, waylaying the road to Thebes and propounding riddles +to all passers, on pain of death, for wrong guessing, who killed +herself in rage when Aedipus guessed aright +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SPRING +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +STONEHENGE, circle of huge upright stones, fabled to be sepulchre of +Pendragon +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +STROPHIUS, father of Pylades +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +STYGIAN REALM, Hades +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +STYGIAN SLEEP, escaped from the beauty box sent from Hades to Venus by +hand of Psyche, who curiously opened the box and was plunged into +unconsciousness +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +STYX, river, bordering Hades, to be crossed by all the dead +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SUDRAS, Hindu laboring caste +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SURTUR, leader of giants against the gods in the day of their +destruction (Norse mythology) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SURYA, Hindu god of the sun, corresponding to the Greek Helios +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SUTRI, Orlando's birthplace +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SVADILFARI, giant's horse +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SWAN, LEDA AND +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SYBARIS, Greek city in Southern Italy, famed for luxury +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SYLVANUS, Latin divinity identified with Pan +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SYMPLEGADES, floating rocks passed by the Argonauts +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +SYRINX, nymph, pursued by Pan, but escaping by being changed to a bunch +of reeds (See Pandean pipes) +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +T +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TACITUS, Roman historian +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TAENARUS, Greek entrance to lower regions +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TAGUS, river in Spain and Portugal +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TALIESIN, Welsh bard +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TANAIS, ancient name of river Don +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TANTALUS, wicked king, punished in Hades by standing in water that +retired when he would drink, under fruit trees that withdrew when he +would eat +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TARCHON, Etruscan chief +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TARENTUM, Italian city +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TARPEIAN ROCK, in Rome, from which condemned criminals were hurled +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TARQUINS, a ruling family in early Roman legend +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TAURIS, Grecian city, site of temple of Diana (See Iphigenia) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TAURUS, a mountain +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TARTARUS, place of confinement of Titans, etc, originally a black abyss +below Hades later, represented as place where the wicked were punished, +and sometimes the name used as synonymous with Hades +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TEIRTU, the harp of +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TELAMON, Greek hero and adventurer, father of Ajax +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TELEMACHUS, son of Ulysses and Penelope +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TELLUS, another name for Rhea +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TENEDOS, an island in Aegean Sea +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TERMINUS, Roman divinity presiding over boundaries and frontiers +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TERPSICHORE, Muse of dancing +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TERRA, goddess of the earth +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TETHYS, goddess of the sea +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TEUCER, ancient king of the Trojans +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +THALIA, one of the three Graces +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +THAMYRIS, Thracian bard, who challenged the Muses to competition in +singing, and, defeated, was blinded +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +THAUKT, Loki disguised as a hag +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +THEBES, city founded by Cadmus and capital of Boeotia +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +THEMIS, female Titan, law counsellor of Jove +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +THEODORA, sister of Prince Leo +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +THERON, one of Diana's dogs +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +THERSITES, a brawler, killed by Achilles +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +THESCELUS, foe of Perseus, turned to stone by sight of Gorgon's head +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +THESEUM, Athenian temple in honor of Theseus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +THESEUS, son of Aegeus and Aethra, King of Athens, a great hero of many +adventures +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +THESSALY +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +THESTIUS, father of Althea +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +THETIS, mother of Achilles +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +THIALFI, Thor's servant +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +THIS'BE, Babylonian maiden beloved by Pyramus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +THOR, the thunderer, of Norse mythology, most popular of the gods +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +THRACE +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +THRINA'KIA, island pasturing Hyperion's cattle, where Ulysses landed, +but, his men killing some cattle for food, their ship was wrecked by +lightning +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +THRYM, giant, who buried Thor's hammer +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +THUCYDIDES, Greek historian +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TIBER, river flowing through Rome +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TIBER, FATHER, god of the river +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TIGRIS, river +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TINTADEL, castle of, residence of King Mark of Cornwall +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TIRESIAS, a Greek soothsayer +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TISIPHONE, one of the Furies +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TITANS, the sons and daughters of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaea (Earth), +enemies of the gods and overcome by them +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TITHONUS, Trojan prince +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TITYUS, giant in Tartarus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TMOLUS, a mountain god +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TORTOISE, second avatar of Vishnu +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TOURS, battle of (See Abdalrahman and Charles Martel) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TOXEUS, brother of Melauger's mother, who snatched from Atalanta her +hunting trophy, and was slain by Melauger, who had awarded it to her +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TRIAD, the Hindu +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TRIADS, Welsh poems +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TRIMURTI, Hindu Triad +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TRIPTOL'EMUS, son of Celeus , and who, made great by Ceres, founded her +worship in Eleusis +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TRISTRAM, one of Arthur's knights, husband of Isoude of the White +Hands, lover of Isoude the Fair. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TRITON, a demi god of the sea, son of Poseidon (Neptune) and Amphitrite +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TROEZEN, Greek city of Argolis +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TROJAN WAR +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TROJANOVA, New Troy, City founded in Britain (See Brutus, and Lud) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TROPHONIUS, oracle of, in Boeotia +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TROUBADOURS, poets and minstrels of Provence, in Southern France +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TROUVERS', poets and minstrels of Northern France +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TROY, city in Asia Minor, ruled by King Priam, whose son, Paris, stole +away Helen, wife of Menelaus the Greek, resulting in the Trojan War and +the destruction of Troy +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TROY, fall of +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TURNUS, chief of the Rutulianes in Italy, unsuccessful rival of Aeneas +for Lavinia +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TURPIN, Archbishop of Rheims +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TURQUINE, Sir, a great knight, foe of Arthur, slain by Sir Launcelot +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TYPHON, one of the giants who attacked the gods, were defeated, and +imprisoned under Mt. Aetna +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TYR, Norse god of battles +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TYRE, Phoenician city governed by Dido +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TYRIANS +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +TYRRHEUS, herdsman of King Turnus in Italy, the slaying of whose +daughter's stag aroused war upon Aeneas and his companions +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +U +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +UBERTO, son of Galafron +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ULYSSES (Greek, Odysseus), hero of the Odyssey +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +UNICORN, fabled animal with a single horn +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +URANIA, one of the Muses, a daughter of Zeus by Mnemosyne +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +URDUR, one of the Norns or Fates of Scandinavia, representing the Past +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +USK, British river +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +UTGARD, abode of the giant Utgard Loki +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +UTGARD LO'KI, King of the Giants (See Skrymir) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +UTHER (Uther Pendragon), king of Britain and father of Arthur. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +UWAINE, knight of Arthur's court +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +V +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VAISSYAS, Hindu caste of agriculturists and traders +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VALHALLA, hall of Odin, heavenly residence of slain heroes +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VALKYRIE, armed and mounted warlike virgins, daughters of the gods +(Norse), Odin's messengers, who select slain heroes for Valhalla and +serve them at their feasts +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VE, brother of Odin +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VEDAS, Hindu sacred Scriptures +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VENEDOTIA, ancient name for North Wales +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VENUS (Aphrodite), goddess of beauty +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VENUS DE MEDICI, famous antique statue in Uffizi Gallery, Florence, +Italy +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VERDANDI, the Present, one of the Norns +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VERTUMNUS, god of the changing seasons, whose varied appearances won +the love of Pomona +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VESTA, daughter of Cronos and Rhea, goddess of the homefire, or hearth +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VESTALS, virgin priestesses in temple of Vesta +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VESUVIUS, Mount, volcano near Naples +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VILLAINS, peasants in the feudal scheme +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VIGRID, final battle-field, with destruction of the gods ind their +enemies, the sun, the earth, and time itself +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VILI, brother of Odin and Ve +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VIRGIL, celebrated Latin poet (See Aeneid) +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VIRGO, constellation of the Virgin, representing Astraea, goddess of +innocence and purity +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VISHNU, the Preserver, second of the three chief Hindu gods +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VIVIANE, lady of magical powers, who allured the sage Merlin and +imprisoned him in an enchanted wood +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VOLSCENS, Rutulian troop leader who killed Nisus and Euryalus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VOLSUNG, A SAGA, an Icelandic poem, giving about the same legends as +the Nibelungen Lied +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VORTIGERN, usurping King of Britain, defeated by Pendragon 390, 397 +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VULCAN (Greek, Haephestus), god of fire and metal working, with forges +under Aetna, husband of Venus +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +VYA'SA, Hindu sage +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +W +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +WAIN, the, constellation +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +WELLGUNDA, one of the Rhine-daughters. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +WELSH LANGUAGE +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +WESTERN OCEAN +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +WINDS, THE +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +WINTER +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +WODEN, chief god in the Norse mythology, Anglo Saxon for Odin. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +WOGLINDA, one of the Rhine-daughters. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +WOMAN, creation of. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +WOODEN HORSE, the, filled with armed men, but left outside of Troy as a +pretended offering to Minerva when the Greeks feigned to sail away, +accepted by the Trojans (See Sinon, and Laocoon), brought into the +city, and at night emptied of the hidden Greek soldiers, who destroyed +the town. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +WOOD NYMPHS +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +WOTAN, Old High German form of Odin. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +X +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +XANTHUS, river of Asia Minor. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +Y +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +YAMA, Hindu god of the Infernal Regions. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +YEAR, THE +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +YGDRASIL, great ash-tree, supposed by Norse mythology to support the +universe. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +YMIR, giant, slain by Odin. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +YNYWL, Earl, host of Geraint, father of Enid. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +YORK, Britain. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +YSERONE, niece of Arthur, mother of Caradoc. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +YSPA DA DEN PEN'KAWR, father of Olwen. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> +Z +</H4> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ZENDAVESTA, Persian sacred Scriptures. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ZEPHYRUS, god of the South wind. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ZERBINO, a knight, son of the king of Scotland. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ZETES, winged warrior, companion of Theseus. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ZETHUS, son of Jupiter and Antiope, brother of Amphion. See Dirce. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ZEUS, See JUPITER. +</P> + +<P CLASS="glossary"> +ZOROASTER, founder of the Persian religion, which was dominant in +Western Asia from about 550 BC to about 650 AD, and is still held by +many thousands in Persia and in India +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Legends of Charlemagne, by Thomas Bulfinch + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE *** + +***** This file should be named 4927-h.htm or 4927-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/4/9/2/4927/ + +Produced by Robert Rowe, Charles Franks and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Legends of Charlemagne + +Author: Thomas Bulfinch + +Posting Date: January 18, 2010 [EBook #4927] +Release Date: January, 2004 +First Posted: March 27, 2002 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE *** + + + + +Produced by Robert Rowe, Charles Franks and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. HTML version by Al Haines. + + + + + + + + + + +BULFINCH'S MYTHOLOGY + + + THE AGE OF FABLE + THE AGE OF CHIVALRY + LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE + + +BY THOMAS BULFINCH + +COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME + + +[Editor's Note: The etext contains only LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE] + + + + +PUBLISHERS' PREFACE + + +No new edition of Bulfinch's classic work can be considered complete +without some notice of the American scholar to whose wide erudition and +painstaking care it stands as a perpetual monument. "The Age of Fable" +has come to be ranked with older books like "Pilgrim's Progress," +"Gulliver's Travels," "The Arabian Nights," "Robinson Crusoe," and five +or six other productions of world-wide renown as a work with which +every one must claim some acquaintance before his education can be +called really complete. Many readers of the present edition will +probably recall coming in contact with the work as children, and, it +may be added, will no doubt discover from a fresh perusal the source of +numerous bits of knowledge that have remained stored in their minds +since those early years. Yet to the majority of this great circle of +readers and students the name Bulfinch in itself has no significance. + +Thomas Bulfinch was a native of Boston, Mass., where he was born in +1796. His boyhood was spent in that city, and he prepared for college +in the Boston schools. He finished his scholastic training at Harvard +College, and after taking his degree was for a period a teacher in his +home city. For a long time later in life he was employed as an +accountant in the Boston Merchants' Bank. His leisure time he used for +further pursuit of the classical studies which he had begun at Harvard, +and his chief pleasure in life lay in writing out the results of his +reading, in simple, condensed form for young or busy readers. The plan +he followed in this work, to give it the greatest possible usefulness, +is set forth in the Author's Preface. + +"Age of Fable," First Edition, 1855; "The Age of Chivalry," 1858; "The +Boy Inventor," 1860; "Legends of Charlemagne, or Romance of the Middle +Ages," 1863; "Poetry of the Age of Fable," 1863; "Oregon and Eldorado, +or Romance of the Rivers," 1860. + +In this complete edition of his mythological and legendary lore "The +Age of Fable," "The Age of Chivalry," and "Legends of Charlemagne" are +included. Scrupulous care has been taken to follow the original text of +Bulfinch, but attention should be called to some additional sections +which have been inserted to add to the rounded completeness of the +work, and which the publishers believe would meet with the sanction of +the author himself, as in no way intruding upon his original plan but +simply carrying it out in more complete detail. The section on Northern +Mythology has been enlarged by a retelling of the epic of the +"Nibelungen Lied," together with a summary of Wagner's version of the +legend in his series of music-dramas. Under the head of "Hero Myths of +the British Race" have been included outlines of the stories of +Beowulf, Cuchulain, Hereward the Wake, and Robin Hood. Of the verse +extracts which occur throughout the text, thirty or more have been +added from literature which has appeared since Bulfinch's time, +extracts that he would have been likely to quote had he personally +supervised the new edition. + +Finally, the index has been thoroughly overhauled and, indeed, remade. +All the proper names in the work have been entered, with references to +the pages where they occur, and a concise explanation or definition of +each has been given. Thus what was a mere list of names in the original +has been enlarged into a small classical and mythological dictionary, +which it is hoped will prove valuable for reference purposes not +necessarily connected with "The Age of Fable." + +Acknowledgments are due the writings of Dr. Oliver Huckel for +information on the point of Wagner's rendering of the Nibelungen +legend, and M. I. Ebbutt's authoritative volume on "Hero Myths and +Legends of the British Race," from which much of the information +concerning the British heroes has been obtained. + + + + +AUTHOR'S PREFACE + + +If no other knowledge deserves to be called useful but that which helps +to enlarge our possessions or to raise our station in society, then +Mythology has no claim to the appellation. But if that which tends to +make us happier and better can be called useful, then we claim that +epithet for our subject. For Mythology is the handmaid of literature; +and literature is one of the best allies of virtue and promoters of +happiness. + +Without a knowledge of mythology much of the elegant literature of our +own language cannot be understood and appreciated. When Byron calls +Rome "the Niobe of nations," or says of Venice, "She looks a Sea-Cybele +fresh from ocean," he calls up to the mind of one familiar with our +subject, illustrations more vivid and striking than the pencil could +furnish, but which are lost to the reader ignorant of mythology. Milton +abounds in similar allusions. The short poem "Comus" contains more than +thirty such, and the ode "On the Morning of the Nativity" half as many. +Through "Paradise Lost" they are scattered profusely. This is one +reason why we often hear persons by no means illiterate say that they +cannot enjoy Milton. But were these persons to add to their more solid +acquirements the easy learning of this little volume, much of the +poetry of Milton which has appeared to them "harsh and crabbed" would +be found "musical as is Apollo's lute." Our citations, taken from more +than twenty-five poets, from Spenser to Longfellow, will show how +general has been the practice of borrowing illustrations from mythology. + +The prose writers also avail themselves of the same source of elegant +and suggestive illustration. One can hardly take up a number of the +"Edinburgh" or "Quarterly Review" without meeting with instances. In +Macaulay's article on Milton there are twenty such. + +But how is mythology to be taught to one who does not learn it through +the medium of the languages of Greece and Rome? To devote study to a +species of learning which relates wholly to false marvels and obsolete +faiths is not to be expected of the general reader in a practical age +like this. The time even of the young is claimed by so many sciences of +facts and things that little can be spared for set treatises on a +science of mere fancy. + +But may not the requisite knowledge of the subject be acquired by +reading the ancient poets in translations? We reply, the field is too +extensive for a preparatory course; and these very translations require +some previous knowledge of the subject to make them intelligible. Let +any one who doubts it read the first page of the "Aeneid," and see what +he can make of "the hatred of Juno," the "decree of the Parcae," the +"judgment of Paris," and the "honors of Ganymede," without this +knowledge. + +Shall we be told that answers to such queries may be found in notes, or +by a reference to the Classical Dictionary? We reply, the interruption +of one's reading by either process is so annoying that most readers +prefer to let an allusion pass unapprehended rather than submit to it. +Moreover, such sources give us only the dry facts without any of the +charm of the original narrative; and what is a poetical myth when +stripped of its poetry? The story of Ceyx and Halcyone, which fills a +chapter in our book, occupies but eight lines in the best (Smith's) +Classical Dictionary; and so of others. + +Our work is an attempt to solve this problem, by telling the stories of +mythology in such a manner as to make them a source of amusement. We +have endeavored to tell them correctly, according to the ancient +authorities, so that when the reader finds them referred to he may not +be at a loss to recognize the reference. Thus we hope to teach +mythology not as a study, but as a relaxation from study; to give our +work the charm of a story-book, yet by means of it to impart a +knowledge of an important branch of education. The index at the end +will adapt it to the purposes of reference, and make it a Classical +Dictionary for the parlor. + +Most of the classical legends in "Stories of Gods and Heroes" are +derived from Ovid and Virgil. They are not literally translated, for, +in the author's opinion, poetry translated into literal prose is very +unattractive reading. Neither are they in verse, as well for other +reasons as from a conviction that to translate faithfully under all the +embarrassments of rhyme and measure is impossible. The attempt has been +made to tell the stories in prose, preserving so much of the poetry as +resides in the thoughts and is separable from the language itself, and +omitting those amplifications which are not suited to the altered form. + +The Northern mythological stories are copied with some abridgment from +Mallet's "Northern Antiquities." These chapters, with those on Oriental +and Egyptian mythology, seemed necessary to complete the subject, +though it is believed these topics have not usually been presented in +the same volume with the classical fables. + +The poetical citations so freely introduced are expected to answer +several valuable purposes. They will tend to fix in memory the leading +fact of each story, they will help to the attainment of a correct +pronunciation of the proper names, and they will enrich the memory with +many gems of poetry, some of them such as are most frequently quoted or +alluded to in reading and conversation. + +Having chosen mythology as connected with literature for our province, +we have endeavored to omit nothing which the reader of elegant +literature is likely to find occasion for. Such stories and parts of +stories as are offensive to pure taste and good morals are not given. +But such stories are not often referred to, and if they occasionally +should be, the English reader need feel no mortification in confessing +his ignorance of them. + +Our work is not for the learned, nor for the theologian, nor for the +philosopher, but for the reader of English literature, of either sex, +who wishes to comprehend the allusions so frequently made by public +speakers, lecturers, essayists, and poets, and those which occur in +polite conversation. + +In the "Stories of Gods and Heroes" the compiler has endeavored to +impart the pleasures of classical learning to the English reader, by +presenting the stories of Pagan mythology in a form adapted to modern +taste. In "King Arthur and His Knights" and "The Mabinogeon" the +attempt has been made to treat in the same way the stories of the +second "age of fable," the age which witnessed the dawn of the several +states of Modern Europe. + +It is believed that this presentation of a literature which held +unrivalled sway over the imaginations of our ancestors, for many +centuries, will not be without benefit to the reader, in addition to +the amusement it may afford. The tales, though not to be trusted for +their facts, are worthy of all credit as pictures of manners; and it is +beginning to be held that the manners and modes of thinking of an age +are a more important part of its history than the conflicts of its +peoples, generally leading to no result. Besides this, the literature +of romance is a treasure-house of poetical material, to which modern +poets frequently resort. The Italian poets, Dante and Ariosto, the +English, Spenser, Scott, and Tennyson, and our own Longfellow and +Lowell, are examples of this. + +These legends are so connected with each other, so consistently adapted +to a group of characters strongly individualized in Arthur, Launcelot, +and their compeers, and so lighted up by the fires of imagination and +invention, that they seem as well adapted to the poet's purpose as the +legends of the Greek and Roman mythology. And if every well-educated +young person is expected to know the story of the Golden Fleece, why is +the quest of the Sangreal less worthy of his acquaintance? Or if an +allusion to the shield of Achilles ought not to pass unapprehended, why +should one to Excalibar, the famous sword of Arthur?-- + + "Of Arthur, who, to upper light restored, + With that terrific sword, + Which yet he brandishes for future war, + Shall lift his country's fame above the polar star." + +[Footnote: Wordsworth] + +It is an additional recommendation of our subject, that it tends to +cherish in our minds the idea of the source from which we sprung. We +are entitled to our full share in the glories and recollections of the +land of our forefathers, down to the time of colonization thence. The +associations which spring from this source must be fruitful of good +influences; among which not the least valuable is the increased +enjoyment which such associations afford to the American traveller when +he visits England, and sets his foot upon any of her renowned +localities. + +The legends of Charlemagne and his peers are necessary to complete the +subject. + +In an age when intellectual darkness enveloped Western Europe, a +constellation of brilliant writers arose in Italy. Of these, Pulci +(born in 1432), Boiardo (1434), and Ariosto (1474) took for their +subjects the romantic fables which had for many ages been transmitted +in the lays of bards and the legends of monkish chroniclers. These +fables they arranged in order, adorned with the embellishments of +fancy, amplified from their own invention, and stamped with +immortality. It may safely be asserted that as long as civilization +shall endure these productions will retain their place among the most +cherished creations of human genius. + +In "Stories of Gods and Heroes," "King Arthur and His Knights" and "The +Mabinogeon" the aim has been to supply to the modern reader such +knowledge of the fables of classical and mediaeval literature as is +needed to render intelligible the allusions which occur in reading and +conversation. The "Legends of Charlemagne" is intended to carry out the +same design. Like the earlier portions of the work, it aspires to a +higher character than that of a piece of mere amusement. It claims to +be useful, in acquainting its readers with the subjects of the +productions of the great poets of Italy. Some knowledge of these is +expected of every well-educated young person. + +In reading these romances, we cannot fail to observe how the primitive +inventions have been used, again and again, by successive generations +of fabulists. The Siren of Ulysses is the prototype of the Siren of +Orlando, and the character of Circe reappears in Alcina. The fountains +of Love and Hatred may be traced to the story of Cupid and Psyche; and +similar effects produced by a magic draught appear in the tale of +Tristram and Isoude, and, substituting a flower for the draught, in +Shakspeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream." There are many other instances +of the same kind which the reader will recognize without our assistance. + +The sources whence we derive these stories are, first, the Italian +poets named above; next, the "Romans de Chevalerie" of the Comte de +Tressan; lastly, certain German collections of popular tales. Some +chapters have been borrowed from Leigh Hunt's Translations from the +Italian Poets. It seemed unnecessary to do over again what he had +already done so well; yet, on the other hand, those stories could not +be omitted from the series without leaving it incomplete. + +THOMAS BULFINCH. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE + + + Introduction + The Peers, or Paladins + The Tournament + The Siege of Albracca + Adventures of Rinaldo and Orlando + The Invasion of France + The Invasion of France (Continued) + + Bradamante and Rogero + Astolpho and the Enchantress + The Orc + Astolpho's Adventures continued, and Isabella's begun. + Medoro + Orlando Mad + Zerbino and Isabella + Astolpho in Abyssinia + The War in Africa + Rogero and Bradamante + The Battle of Roncesvalles + Rinaldo and Bayard + Death of Rinaldo + Huon of Bordeaux + Huon of Bordeaux (Continued) + Huon of Bordeaux (Continued) + Ogier, the Dane + Ogier, the Dane (Continued) + Ogier, the Dane (Continued) + +GLOSSARY + + + + + +LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +Those who have investigated the origin of the romantic fables relating +to Charlemagne and his peers are of opinion that the deeds of Charles +Martel, and perhaps of other Charleses, have been blended in popular +tradition with those properly belonging to Charlemagne. It was indeed a +most momentous era; and if our readers will have patience, before +entering on the perusal of the fabulous annals which we are about to +lay before them, to take a rapid survey of the real history of the +times, they will find it hardly less romantic than the tales of the +poets. + +In the century beginning from the year 600, the countries bordering +upon the native land of our Saviour, to the east and south, had not yet +received his religion. Arabia was the seat of an idolatrous religion +resembling that of the ancient Persians, who worshipped the sun, moon, +and stars. In Mecca, in the year 571, Mahomet was born, and here, at +the age of forty, he proclaimed himself the prophet of God, in dignity +as superior to Christ as Christ had been to Moses. Having obtained by +slow degrees a considerable number of disciples, he resorted to arms to +diffuse his religion. The energy and zeal of his followers, aided by +the weakness of the neighboring nations, enabled him and his successors +to spread the sway of Arabia and the religion of Mahomet over the +countries to the east as far as the Indus, northward over Persia and +Asia Minor, westward over Egypt and the southern shores of the +Mediterranean, and thence over the principal portion of Spain. All this +was done within one hundred years from the Hegira, or flight of Mahomet +from Mecca to Medina, which happened in the year 622, and is the era +from which Mahometans reckon time, as we do from the birth of Christ. + +From Spain the way was open for the Saracens (so the followers of +Mahomet were called) into France, the conquest of which, if achieved, +would have been followed very probably by that of all the rest of +Europe, and would have resulted in the banishment of Christianity from +the earth. For Christianity was not at that day universally professed, +even by those nations which we now regard as foremost in civilization. +Great part of Germany, Britain, Denmark, and Russia were still pagan or +barbarous. + +At that time there ruled in France, though without the title of king, +the first of those illustrious Charleses of whom we have spoken, +Charles Martel, the grandfather of Charlemagne. The Saracens of Spain +had made incursions into France in 712 and 718, and had retired, +carrying with them a vast booty. In 725, Anbessa, who was then the +Saracen governor of Spain, crossed the Pyrenees with a numerous army, +and took by storm the strong town of Carcassone. So great was the +terror excited by this invasion, that the country for a wide extent +submitted to the conqueror, and a Mahometan governor for the province +was appointed and installed at Narbonne. Anbessa, however, received a +fatal wound in one of his engagements, and the Saracens, being thus +checked from further advance, retired to Narbonne. + +In 732 the Saracens again invaded France under Abdalrahman, advanced +rapidly to the banks of the Garonne, and laid siege to Bordeaux. The +city was taken by assault and delivered up to the soldiery. The +invaders still pressed forward, and spread over the territories of +Orleans, Auxerre and Sens. Their advanced parties were suddenly called +in by their chief, who had received information of the rich abbey of +St. Martin of Tours, and resolved to plunder and destroy it. + +Charles during all this time had done nothing to oppose the Saracens, +for the reason that the portion of France over which their incursions +had been made was not at that time under his dominion, but constituted +an independent kingdom, under the name of Aquitaine, of which Eude was +king. But now Charles became convinced of the danger, and prepared to +encounter it. Abdalrahman was advancing toward Tours, when intelligence +of the approach of Charles, at the head of an army of Franks, compelled +him to fall back upon Poitiers, in order to seize an advantageous field +of battle. + +Charles Martel had called together his warriors from every part of his +dominions, and, at the head of such an army as had hardly ever been +seen in France, crossed the Loire, probably at Orleans, and, being +joined by the remains of the army of Aquitaine, came in sight of the +Arabs in the month of October, 732. The Saracens seem to have been +aware of the terrible enemy they were now to encounter, and for the +first time these formidable conquerors hesitated. The two armies +remained in presence during seven days before either ventured to begin +the attack; but at length the signal for battle was given by +Abdalrahman, and the immense mass of the Saracen army rushed with fury +on the Franks. But the heavy line of the Northern warriors remained +like a rock, and the Saracens, during nearly the whole day, expended +their strength in vain attempts to make any impression upon them. At +length, about four o'clock in the afternoon, when Abdalrahman was +preparing for a new and desperate attempt to break the line of the +Franks, a terrible clamor was heard in the rear of the Saracens. It was +King Eude, who, with his Aquitanians, had attacked their camp, and a +great part of the Saracen army rushed tumultuously from the field to +protect their plunder. In this moment of confusion the line of the +Franks advanced, and, sweeping the field before it, carried fearful +slaughter amongst the enemy. Abdalrahman made desperate efforts to +rally his troops, but when he himself, with the bravest of his +officers, fell beneath the swords of the Christians, all order +disappeared, and the remains of his army sought refuge in their immense +camp, from which Eude and his Aquitanians had been repulsed. It was now +late, and Charles, unwilling to risk an attack on the camp in the dark, +withdrew his army, and passed the night in the plain, expecting to +renew the battle in the morning. + +Accordingly, when daylight came, the Franks drew up in order of battle, +but no enemy appeared; and when at last they ventured to approach the +Saracen camp they found it empty. The invaders had taken advantage of +the night to begin their retreat, and were already on their way back to +Spain, leaving their immense plunder behind to fall into the hands of +the Franks. + +This was the celebrated battle of Tours, in which vast numbers of the +Saracens were slain, and only fifteen hundred of the Franks. Charles +received the surname of Martel (the Hammer) in consequence of this +victory. + +The Saracens, notwithstanding this severe blow, continued to hold their +ground in the south of France; but Pepin, the son of Charles Martel, +who succeeded to his father's power, and assumed the title of king, +successively took from them the strong places they held; and in 759, by +the capture of Narbonne, their capital, extinguished the remains of +their power in France. + +Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, succeeded his father, Pepin, on the +throne in the year 768. This prince, though the hero of numerous +romantic legends, appears greater in history than in fiction. Whether +we regard him as a warrior or as a legislator, as a patron of learning +or as the civilizer of a barbarous nation, he is entitled to our +warmest admiration. Such he is in history; but the romancers represent +him as often weak and passionate, the victim of treacherous +counsellors, and at the mercy of turbulent barons, on whose prowess he +depends for the maintenance of his throne. The historical +representation is doubtless the true one, for it is handed down in +trustworthy records, and is confirmed by the events of the age. At the +height of his power, the French empire extended over what we now call +France, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, and great part of Italy. + +In the year 800 Charlemagne, being in Rome, whither he had gone with a +numerous army to protect the Pope, was crowned by the Pontiff Emperor +of the West. On Christmas day Charles entered the Church of St. Peter, +as if merely to take his part in the celebration of the mass with the +rest of the congregation. When he approached the altar and stooped in +the act of prayer the Pope stepped forward and placed a crown of gold +upon his head; and immediately the Roman people shouted, "Life and +victory to Charles the August, crowned by God the great and pacific +Emperor of the Romans." The Pope then prostrated himself before him, +and paid him reverence, according to the custom established in the +times of the ancient Emperors, and concluded the ceremony by anointing +him with consecrated oil. + +Charlemagne's wars were chiefly against the pagan and barbarous people, +who, under the name of Saxons, inhabited the countries now called +Hanover and Holland. He also led expeditions against the Saracens of +Spain; but his wars with the Saracens were not carried on, as the +romances assert, in France, but on the soil of Spain. He entered Spain +by the Eastern Pyrenees, and made an easy conquest of Barcelona and +Pampeluna. But Saragossa refused to open her gates to him, and Charles +ended by negotiating and accepting a vast sum of gold as the price of +his return over the Pyrenees. + +On his way back, he marched with his whole army through the gorges of +the mountains by way of the valleys of Engui, Eno, and Roncesvalles. +The chief of this region had waited upon Charlemagne, on his advance, +as a faithful vassal of the monarchy; but now, on the return of the +Franks, he had called together all the wild mountaineers who +acknowledged him as their chief, and they occupied the heights of the +mountains under which the army had to pass. The main body of the troops +met with no obstruction, and received no intimation of danger; but the +rear-guard, which was considerably behind, and encumbered with its +plunder, was overwhelmed by the mountaineers in the pass of +Roncesvalles, and slain to a man. Some of the bravest of the Frankish +chiefs perished on this occasion, among whom is mentioned Roland or +Orlando, governor of the marches or frontier of Brittany. His name +became famous in after times, and the disaster of Roncesvalles and +death of Roland became eventually the most celebrated episode in the +vast cycle of romance. + +Though after this there were hostile encounters between the armies of +Charlemagne and the Saracens, they were of small account, and generally +on the soil of Spain. Thus the historical foundation for the stories of +the romancers is but scanty, unless we suppose the events of an earlier +and of a later age to be incorporated with those of Charlemagne's own +time. + +There is, however, a pretended history, which for a long time was +admitted as authentic, and attributed to Turpin, Archbishop of Rheims, +a real personage of the time of Charlemagne. Its title is "History of +Charles the Great and Orlando." It is now unhesitatingly considered as +a collection of popular traditions, produced by some credulous and +unscrupulous monk, who thought to give dignity to his romance by +ascribing its authorship to a well-known and eminent individual. It +introduces its pretended author, Bishop Turpin, in this manner: + +"Turpin, Archbishop of Rheims, the friend and secretary of Charles the +Great, excellently skilled in sacred and profane literature, of a +genius equally adapted to prose and verse, the advocate of the poor, +beloved of God in his life and conversation, who often fought the +Saracens, hand to hand, by the Emperor's side, he relates the acts of +Charles the Great in one book, and flourished under Charles and his son +Louis, to the year of our Lord eight hundred and thirty." + +The titles of some of Archbishop Turpin's chapters will show the nature +of his history. They are these: "Of the Walls of Pampeluna, that fell +of themselves." "Of the War of the holy Facundus, where the Spears +grew." (Certain of the Christians fixed their spears in the evening, +erect in the ground, before the castle; and found them, in the morning, +covered with bark and branches.) "How the Sun stood still for Three +Days, and of the Slaughter of Four Thousand Saracens." + +Turpin's history has perhaps been the source of the marvellous +adventures which succeeding poets and romancers have accumulated around +the names of Charlemagne and his Paladins, or Peers. But Ariosto and +the other Italian poets have drawn from different sources, and +doubtless often from their own invention, numberless other stories +which they attribute to the same heroes, not hesitating to quote as +their authority "the good Turpin," though his history contains no trace +of them; and the more outrageous the improbability, or rather the +impossibility, of their narrations, the more attentive are they to cite +"the Archbishop," generally adding their testimonial to his +unquestionable veracity. + +The principal Italian poets who have sung the adventures of the peers +of Charlemagne are Pulci, Boiardo, and Ariosto. The characters of +Orlando, Rinaldo, Astolpho, Gano, and others, are the same in all, +though the adventures attributed to them are different. Boiardo tells +us of the loves of Orlando, Ariosto of his disappointment and +consequent madness, Pulci of his death. + +Ogier, the Dane, is a real personage. History agrees with romance in +representing him as a powerful lord who, originally from Denmark and a +Pagan, embraced Christianity, and took service under Charlemagne. He +revolted from the Emperor, and was driven into exile. He afterwards led +one of those bands of piratical Northmen which ravaged France under the +reigns of Charlemagne's degenerate successors. The description which an +ancient chronicler gives of Charlemagne, as described by Ogier, is so +picturesque, that we are tempted to transcribe it. Charlemagne was +advancing to the siege of Pavia. Didier, King of the Lombards, was in +the city with Ogier, to whom he had given refuge. When they learned +that the king was approaching they mounted a high tower, whence they +could see far and wide over the country. "They first saw advancing the +engines of war, fit for the armies of Darius or Julius Caesar. 'There +is Charlemagne,' said Didier. 'No,' said Ogier. The Lombard next saw a +vast body of soldiers, who filled all the plain. 'Certainly Charles +advanced with that host,' said the king. 'Not yet,' replied Ogier. +'What hope for us,' resumed the king, 'if he brings with him a greater +host than that?' At last Charles appeared, his head covered with an +iron helmet, his hands with iron gloves, his breast and shoulders with +a cuirass of iron, his left hand holding an iron lance, while his right +hand grasped his sword. Those who went before the monarch, those who +marched at his side, and those who followed him, all had similar arms. +Iron covered the fields and the roads; iron points reflected the rays +of the sun. This iron, so hard, was borne by a people whose hearts were +harder still. The blaze of the weapons flashed terror into the streets +of the city." + +This picture of Charlemagne in his military aspect would be incomplete +without a corresponding one of his "mood of peace." One of the greatest +of modern historians, M. Guizot, has compared the glory of Charlemagne +to a brilliant meteor, rising suddenly out of the darkness of barbarism +to disappear no less suddenly in the darkness of feudalism. But the +light of this meteor was not extinguished, and reviving civilization +owed much that was permanently beneficial to the great Emperor of the +Franks. His ruling hand is seen in the legislation of his time, as well +as in the administration of the laws. He encouraged learning; he upheld +the clergy, who were the only peaceful and intellectual class, against +the encroaching and turbulent barons; he was an affectionate father, +and watched carefully over the education of his children, both sons and +daughters. Of his encouragement of learning we will give some +particulars. + +He caused learned men to be brought from Italy and from other foreign +countries to revive the public schools of France, which had been +prostrated by the disorders of preceding times. He recompensed these +learned men liberally, and kept some of them near himself, honoring +them with his friendship. Of these the most celebrated is Alcuin, an +Englishman, whose writings still remain, and prove him to have been +both a learned and a wise man. With the assistance of Alcuin, and +others like him, he founded an academy or royal school, which should +have the direction of the studies of all the schools of the kingdom. +Charlemagne himself was a member of this academy on equal terms with +the rest. He attended its meetings, and fulfilled all the duties of an +academician. Each member took the name of some famous man of antiquity. +Alcuin called himself Horace, another took the name of Augustin, a +third of Pindar. Charlemagne, who knew the Psalms by heart, and who had +an ambition to be, according to his conception, A KING AFTER GOD'S OWN +HEART, received from his brother academicians the name of David. + +Of the respect entertained for him by foreign nations an interesting +proof is afforded in the embassy sent to him by the Caliph of the +Arabians, the celebrated Haroun al Raschid, a prince in character and +conduct not unlike to Charlemagne. The ambassadors brought with them, +besides other rich presents, a clock, the first that was seen in +Europe, which excited universal admiration. It had the form of a +twelve-sided edifice with twelve doors. These doors formed niches, in +each of which was a little statue representing one of the hours. At the +striking of the hour the doors, one for each stroke, was seen to open, +and from the doors to issue as many of the little statues, which, +following one another, marched gravely round the tower. The motion of +the clock was caused by water, and the striking was effected by balls +of brass equal to the number of the hours, which fell upon a cymbal of +the same metal, the number falling being determined by the discharge of +the water, which, as it sunk in the vessel, allowed their escape. + +Charlemagne was succeeded by his son Louis, a well-intentioned but +feeble prince, in whose reign the fabric reared by Charles began +rapidly to crumble. Louis was followed successively by two Charleses, +incapable princes, whose weak and often tyrannical conduct is no doubt +the source of incidents of that character ascribed in the romances to +Charlemagne. + +The lawless and disobedient deportment of Charles's paladins, instances +of which are so frequent in the romantic legends, was also a trait of +the declining empire, but not of that of Charlemagne. + + + +THE PEERS, OR PALADINS + +The twelve most illustrious knights of Charlemagne were called Peers, +for the equality that reigned among them; while the name of Paladins, +also conferred on them, implies that they were inmates of the palace +and companions of the king. Their names are always given alike by the +romancers, yet we may enumerate the most distinguished of them as +follows: Orlando or Roland (the former the Italian, the latter the +French form of the name), favorite nephew of Charlemagne; Rinaldo of +Montalban, cousin of Orlando; Namo, Duke of Bavaria; Salomon, king of +Brittany; Turpin, the Archbishop; Astolpho, of England; Ogier, the +Dane; Malagigi, the Enchanter; and Florismart, the friend of Orlando. +There were others who are sometimes named as paladins, and the number +cannot be strictly limited to twelve. Charlemagne himself must be +counted one, and Ganelon, or Gano, of Mayence, the treacherous enemy of +all the rest, was rated high on the list by his deluded sovereign, who +was completely the victim of his arts. + +We shall introduce more particularly to our readers a few of the +principal peers, leaving the others to make their own introduction as +they appear in the course of our narrative. We begin with Orlando. + + + +ORLANDO + +Milon, or Milone, a knight of great family, and distantly related to +Charlemagne, having secretly married Bertha, the Emperor's sister, was +banished from France, and excommunicated by the Pope. After a long and +miserable wandering on foot as mendicants Milon and his wife arrived at +Sutri, in Italy, where they took refuge in a cave, and in that cave +Orlando was born. There his mother continued, deriving a scanty support +from the compassion of the neighboring peasants; while Milon, in quest +of honor and fortune, went into foreign lands. Orlando grew up among +the children of the peasantry, surpassing them all in strength and +manly graces. Among his companions in age, though in station far more +elevated, was Oliver, son of the governor of the town. Between the two +boys a feud arose that led to a fight, in which Orlando thrashed his +rival; but this did not prevent a friendship springing up between the +two, which lasted through life. + +Orlando was so poor that he was sometimes half naked. As he was a +favorite of the boys, one day four of them brought some cloth to make +him clothes. Two brought white and two red; and from this circumstance +Orlando took his coat-of-arms, or quarterings. + +When Charlemagne was on his way to Rome to receive the imperial crown +he dined in public in Sutri. Orlando and his mother that day had +nothing to eat, and Orlando coming suddenly upon the royal party, and +seeing abundance of provisions, seized from the attendants as much as +he could carry off, and made good his retreat in spite of their +resistance. The Emperor, being told of this incident, was reminded of +an intimation he had received in a dream, and ordered the boy to be +followed. This was done by three of the knights, whom Orlando would +have encountered with a cudgel on their entering the grotto, had not +his mother restrained him. When they heard from her who she was they +threw themselves at her feet, and promised to obtain her pardon from +the Emperor. This was easily effected. Orlando was received into favor +by the Emperor, returned with him to France, and so distinguished +himself that he became the most powerful support of the throne and of +Christianity. [Footnote: It is plain that Shakspeare borrowed from this +source the similar incident in his "As you Like it." The names of +characters in the play, Orlando, Oliver, Rowland indicate the same +thing.] + + + +ROLAND AND FERRAGUS + +Orlando, or Roland, particularly distinguished himself by his combat +with Ferragus. Ferragus was a giant, and moreover his skin was of such +impenetrable stuff that no sword could make any impression upon it. The +giant's mode of fighting was to seize his adversary in his arms and +carry him off, in spite of all the struggles he could make. Roland's +utmost skill only availed to keep him out of the giant's clutches, but +all his efforts to wound him with the sword were useless. After long +fighting Ferragus was so weary that he proposed a truce, and when it +was agreed upon he lay down and immediately fell asleep. He slept in +perfect security, for it was against all the laws of chivalry to take +advantage of an adversary under such circumstances. But Ferragus lay so +uncomfortably for the want of a pillow that Orlando took pity upon him, +and brought a smooth stone and placed it under his head. When the giant +woke up, after a refreshing nap, and perceived what Orlando had done, +he seemed quite grateful, became sociable, and talked freely in the +usual boastful style of such characters. Among other things he told +Orlando that he need not attempt to kill him with a sword, for that +every part of his body was invulnerable, except this; and as he spoke, +he put his hand to the vital part, just in the middle of his breast. +Aided by this information Orlando succeeded, when the fight was +renewed, in piercing the giant in the very spot he had pointed out, and +giving him a death-wound. Great was the rejoicing in the Christian +camp, and many the praises showered upon the victorious paladin by the +Emperor and all his host. + +On another occasion Orlando encountered a puissant Saracen warrior, and +took from him, as the prize of victory, the sword Durindana. This +famous weapon had once belonged to the illustrious prince Hector of +Troy. It was of the finest workmanship, and of such strength and temper +that no armor in the world could stand against it. + + + +A ROLAND FOR AN OLIVER + +Guerin de Montglave held the lordship of Vienne, subject to +Charlemagne. He had quarrelled with his sovereign, and Charles laid +siege to his city, having ravaged the neighboring country. Guerin was +an aged warrior, but relied for his defence upon his four sons and two +grandsons, who were among the bravest knights of the age. After the +siege had continued two months Charlemagne received tidings that +Marsilius, king of Spain, had invaded France, and, finding himself +unopposed, was advancing rapidly in the Southern provinces. At this +intelligence Charles listened to the counsel of his peers, and +consented to put the quarrel with Guerin to the decision of Heaven, by +single combat between two knights, one of each party, selected by lot. +The proposal was acceptable to Guerin and his sons. The names of the +four, together with Guerin's own, who would not be excused, and of the +two grandsons, who claimed their lot, being put into a helmet, Oliver's +was drawn forth, and to him, the youngest of the grandsons, was +assigned the honor and the peril of the combat. He accepted the award +with delight, exulting in being thought worthy to maintain the cause of +his family. On Charlemagne's side Roland was the designated champion, +and neither he nor Oliver knew who his antagonist was to be. + +They met on an island in the Rhone, and the warriors of both camps were +ranged on either shore, spectators of the battle. At the first +encounter both lances were shivered, but both riders kept their seats, +immovable. They dismounted, and drew their swords. Then ensued a combat +which seemed so equal, that the spectators could not form an opinion as +to the probable issue. Two hours and more the knights continued to +strike and parry, to thrust and ward, neither showing any sign of +weariness, nor ever being taken at unawares. At length Orlando struck +furiously upon Oliver's shield, burying Durindana in its edge so deeply +that he could not draw it back, and Oliver, almost at the same moment, +thrust so vigorously upon Orlando's breastplate that his sword snapped +off at the handle. Thus were the two warriors left weaponless. Scarcely +pausing a moment, they rushed upon one another, each striving to throw +his adversary to the ground, and failing in that, each snatched at the +other's helmet to tear it away. Both succeeded, and at the same moment +they stood bare-headed face to face, and Roland recognized Oliver, and +Oliver Roland. For a moment they stood still; and the next, with open +arms, rushed into one another's embrace. "I am conquered," said +Orlando. "I yield me." said Oliver. + +The people on the shore knew not what to make of all this. Presently +they saw the two late antagonists standing hand in hand, and it was +evident the battle was at an end. The knights crowded round them, and +with one voice hailed them as equals in glory. If there were any who +felt disposed to murmur that the battle was left undecided they were +silenced by the voice of Ogier the Dane, who proclaimed aloud that all +had been done that honor required, and declared that he would maintain +that award against all gainsayers. + +The quarrel with Guerin and his sons being left undecided, a truce was +made for four days, and in that time, by the efforts of Duke Namo on +the one side, and of Oliver on the other, a reconciliation was +effected. Charlemagne, accompanied by Guerin and his valiant family, +marched to meet Marsilius, who hastened to retreat across the frontier. + + + +RINALDO + +Rinaldo was one of the four sons of Aymon, who married Aya, the sister +of Charlemagne. Thus Rinaldo was nephew to Charlemagne and cousin of +Orlando. + +When Rinaldo had grown old enough to assume arms Orlando had won for +himself an illustrious name by his exploits against the Saracens, whom +Charlemagne and his brave knights had driven out of France. Orlando's +fame excited a noble emulation in Rinaldo. Eager to go in pursuit of +glory, he wandered in the country near Paris, and one day saw at the +foot of a tree a superb horse, fully equipped and loaded with a +complete suit of armor. Rinaldo clothed himself in the armor and +mounted the horse, but took not the sword. On the day when, with his +brothers, he had received the honor of knighthood from the Emperor he +had sworn never to bind a sword to his side till he had wrested one +from some famous knight. + +Rinaldo took his way to the forest of Arden, celebrated for so many +adventures. Hardly had he entered it when he met an old man, bending +under the weight of years, and learned from him that the forest was +infested with a wild horse, untamable, that broke and overturned +everything that opposed his career. To attack him, he said, or even to +meet him, was certain death. Rinaldo, far from being alarmed, showed +the most eager desire to combat the animal. This was the horse Bayard, +afterward so famous. He had formerly belonged to Amadis of Gaul. After +the death of that hero he had been held under enchantment by the power +of a magician, who predicted that, when the time came to break the +spell, he should be subdued by a knight of the lineage of Amadis, and +not less brave than he. + +To win this wonderful horse it was necessary to conquer him by force or +skill; for from the moment when he should be thrown down he would +become docile and manageable. His habitual resort was a cave on the +borders of the forest; but woe be to any one who should approach him, +unless gifted with strength and courage more than mortal. Having told +this, the old man departed. He was not, in fact, an old man, but +Malagigi, the enchanter, cousin of Rinaldo, who, to favor the +enterprises of the young knight, had procured for him the horse and +armor which he so opportunely found, and now put him in the way to +acquire a horse unequalled in the world. + +Rinaldo plunged into the forest, and spent many days in seeking Bayard, +but found no traces of him. One day he encountered a Saracen knight, +with whom he made acquaintance, as often happened to knights, by first +meeting him in combat. This knight, whose name was Isolier, was also in +quest of Bayard. Rinaldo succeeded in the encounter, and so severe was +the shock that Isolier was a long time insensible. When he revived, and +was about to resume the contest, a peasant who passed by (it was +Malagigi) interrupted them with the news that the terrible horse was +near at hand, advising them to unite their powers to subdue him, for it +would require all their ability. + +Rinaldo and Isolier, now become friends, proceeded together to the +attack of the horse. They found Bayard, and stood a long time, +concealed by the wood, admiring his strength and beauty. + +A bright bay in color (whence he was called Bayard), with a silver star +in his forehead, and his hind feet white, his body slender, his head +delicate, his ample chest filled out with swelling muscles, his +shoulders broad and full, his legs straight and sinewy, his thick mane +falling over his arching neck,--he came rushing through the forest, +regardless of rocks, bushes, or trees, rending everything that opposed +his way, and neighing defiance. + +He first descried Isolier, and rushed upon him. The knight received him +with lance in rest, but the fierce animal broke the spear, and his +course was not delayed by it for an instant. The Spaniard adroitly +stepped aside, and gave way to the rushing tempest. Bayard checked his +career, and turned again upon the knight, who had already drawn his +sword. He drew his sword, for he had no hope of taming the horse; that, +he was satisfied, was impossible. + +Bayard rushed upon him; fiercely rearing, now on this side, now on +that. The knight struck him with his sword, where the white star +adorned his forehead, but struck in vain, and felt ashamed, thinking +that he had struck feebly, for he did not know that the skin of that +horse was so tough that the keenest sword could make no impression upon +it. + +Whistling fell the sword once more, and struck with greater force, and +the fierce horse felt it, and drooped his head under the blow, but the +next moment turned upon his foe with such a buffet that the Pagan fell +stunned and lifeless to the earth. + +Rinaldo, who saw Isolier fall, and thought that his life was reft, +darted towards the horse, and, with his fist gave him such a blow on +the jaws that the blood tinged his mouth with vermilion. Quicker than +an arrow leaves the bow the horse turned upon him, and tried to seize +his arm with his teeth. + +The knight stepped back, and then, repeating his blow, struck him on +the forehead. Bayard turned, and kicked with both his feet with a force +that would have shattered a mountain. Rinaldo was on his guard, and +evaded his attacks, whether made with head or heels. He kept at his +side avoiding both; but, making a false step, he at last received a +terrible blow from the horse's foot, and at the shock almost fainted +away. A second such blow would have killed him, but the horse kicked at +random, and a second blow did not reach Rinaldo, who in a moment +recovered himself. Thus the contest continued until by chance Bayard's +foot got caught between the branches of an oak. Rinaldo seized it and +putting forth all his strength and address, threw him on the ground. + +No sooner had Bayard touched the ground than all his rage subsided. No +longer an object of terror, he became gentle and quiet, yet with +dignity in his mildness. + +The paladin patted his neck, stroked his breast, and smoothed his mane, +while the animal neighed and showed delight to be caressed by his +master. Rinaldo, seeing him now completely subdued, took the saddle and +trappings from the other horse, and adorned Bayard with the spoils. + +Rinaldo became one of the most illustrious knights of Charlemagne's +court,--indeed, the most illustrious, if we except Orlando. Yet he was +not always so obedient to the Emperor's commands as he should have +been, and every fault he committed was sure to be aggravated by the +malice of Gan, Duke of Maganza, the treacherous enemy of Rinaldo and +all his house. + +At one time Rinaldo had incurred the severe displeasure of Charlemagne, +and been banished from court. Seeing no chance of being ever restored +to favor, he went to Spain, and entered into the service of the Saracen +king, Ivo. His brothers, Alardo, Ricardo, and Ricciardetto, accompanied +him, and all four served the king so faithfully that they rose to high +favor with him. The king gave them land in the mountains on the +frontiers of France and Spain, and subjected all the country round to +Rinaldo's authority. There was plenty of marble in the mountains, the +king furnished workmen, and they built a castle for Rinaldo, surrounded +with high walls, so as to be almost impregnable. Built of white stone, +and placed on the brow of a marble promontory, the castle shone like a +star, and Rinaldo gave it the name of Montalban. Here he assembled his +friends, many of whom were banished men like himself, and the country +people furnished them with provisions in return for the protection the +castle afforded. Yet some of Rinaldo's men were lawless, and sometimes +the supplies were not furnished in sufficient abundance, so that +Rinaldo and his garrison got a bad name for taking by force what they +could not obtain by gift; and we sometimes find Montalban spoken of as +a nest of freebooters, and its defenders called a beggarly garrison. + +Charlemagne's displeasure did not last long, and, at the time our +history commences, Rinaldo and his brothers were completely restored to +the favor of the Emperor, and none of his cavaliers served him with +greater zeal and fidelity than they, throughout all his wars with the +Saracens and Pagans. + + + +THE TOURNAMENT + +It was the month of May, and the feast of Pentecost. Charlemagne had +ordered magnificent festivities, and summoned to them, besides his +paladins and vassals of the crown, all strangers, Christian or Saracen, +then sojourning at Paris. Among the guests were King Grandonio, from +Spain; and Ferrau, the Saracen, with eyes like an eagle; Orlando and +Rinaldo, the Emperor's nephews; Duke Namo; Astolpho, of England, the +handsomest man living; Malagigi, the Enchanter; and Gano, of Maganza, +that wily traitor, who had the art to make the Emperor think he loved +him, while he plotted against him. + +High sat Charlemagne at the head of his vassals and his paladins, +rejoicing in the thought of their number and their might, while all +were sitting and hearing music, and feasting, when suddenly there came +into the hall four enormous giants, having between them a lady of +incomparable beauty, attended by a single knight. There were many +ladies present who had seemed beautiful till she made her appearance, +but after that they all seemed nothing. Every Christian knight turned +his eyes to her, and every Pagan crowded round her, while she, with a +sweetness that might have touched a heart of stone, thus addressed the +Emperor: + +"High-minded lord, the renown of your worthiness, and of the valor of +these your knights, which echoes from sea to sea, encourages me to hope +that two pilgrims, who have come from the ends of the world to behold +you, will not have encountered their fatigue in vain. And, before I +show the motive which has brought us hither, learn that this knight is +my brother Uberto, and that I am his sister Angelica. Fame has told us +of the jousting this day appointed, and so the prince my brother has +come to prove his valor, and to say that, if any of the knights here +assembled choose to meet him in the joust, he will encounter them, one +by one, at the stair of Merlin, by the Fountain of the Pine. And his +conditions are these: No knight who chances to be thrown shall be +allowed to renew the combat, but shall remain prisoner to my brother; +but if my brother be overthrown he shall depart out of the country, +leaving me as the prize of the conqueror." + +Now it must be stated that this Angelica and her brother, who called +himself Uberto, but whose real name was Argalia, were the children of +Galafron, king of Cathay, who had sent them to be the destruction of +the Christian host; for Argalia was armed with an enchanted lance, +which unfailingly overthrew everything it touched, and he was mounted +on a horse, a creature of magic, whose swiftness outstripped the wind. +Angelica possessed also a ring which was a defence against all +enchantments, and when put into the mouth rendered the bearer +invisible. Thus Argalia was expected to subdue and take prisoners +whatever knights should dare to encounter him; and the charms of +Angelica were relied on to entice the paladins to make the fatal +venture, while her ring would afford her easy means of escape. + +When Angelica ceased sneaking she knelt before the king and awaited his +answer, and everybody gazed on her with admiration. Orlando especially +felt irresistibly drawn towards her, so that he trembled and changed +countenance. Every knight in the hall was infected with the same +feeling, not excepting old white-headed Duke Namo and Charlemagne +himself. + +All stood for a while in silence, lost in the delight of looking at +her. The fiery youth Ferrau could hardly restrain himself from seizing +her from the giants and carrying her away; Rinaldo turned as red as +fire, while Malagigi, who had discovered by his art that the stranger +was not speaking truth, muttered softly, as he looked at her, +"Exquisite false creature! I will play thee such a trick for this, as +will leave thee no cause to boast of thy visit." + +Charlemagne, to detain her as long as possible before him, delayed his +assent till he had asked her a number of questions, all which she +answered discreetly, and then the challenge was accepted. + +As soon as she was gone Malagigi consulted his book, and found out the +whole plot of the vile, infidel king, Galafron, as we have explained +it, so he determined to seek the damsel and frustrate her designs. He +hastened to the appointed spot, and there found the prince and his +sister in a beautiful pavilion, where they lay asleep, while the four +giants kept watch. Malagigi took his book and cast a spell out of it, +and immediately the four giants fell into a deep sleep. Drawing his +sword (for he was a belted knight), he softly approached the young +lady, intending to despatch her at once; but, seeing her look so +lovely, he paused for a moment, thinking there was no need of hurry, as +he believed his spell was upon her, and she could not wake. But the +ring which she wore secured her from the effect of the spell, and some +slight noise, or whatever else it was, caused her at that moment to +awake. She uttered a great cry, and flew to her brother, and waked him. +By the help of her knowledge of enchantment, they took and bound fast +the magician, and, seizing his book, turned his arts against himself. +Then they summoned a crowd of demons, and bade them seize their +prisoner and bear him to King Galafron, at his great city of Albracca, +which they did, and, on his arrival, he was locked up in a rock under +the sea. + +While these things were going on all was uproar at Paris, since Orlando +insisted upon being the first to try the adventure at the stair of +Merlin. This was resented by the other pretenders to Angelica, and all +contested his right to the precedence. The tumult was stilled by the +usual expedient of drawing lots, and the first prize was drawn by +Astolpho. Ferrau, the Saracen, had the second, and Grandonio the third. +Next came Berlinghieri, and Otho; then Charles himself, and, as his +ill-fortune would have it, after thirty more, the indignant Orlando. + +Astolpho, who drew the first lot, was handsome, brave, and rich. But, +whether from heedlessness or want of skill, he was an unlucky jouster, +and very apt to be thrown, an accident which he bore with perfect +good-humor, always ready to mount again and try to mend his fortune, +generally with no better success. + +Astolpho went forth upon his adventure with great gayety of dress and +manner, encountered Argalia, and was immediately tilted out of the +saddle. He railed at fortune, to whom he laid all the fault; but his +painful feelings were somewhat relieved by the kindness of Angelica, +who, touched by his youth and good looks, granted him the liberty of +the pavilion, and caused him to be treated with all kindness and +respect. + +The violent Ferrau had the next chance in the encounter, and was thrown +no less speedily than Astolpho; but he did not so easily put up with +his mischance. Crying out, "What are the emperor's engagements to me?" +he rushed with his sword against Argalia, who, being forced to defend +himself, dismounted and drew his sword, but got so much the worse of +the fight that he made a signal of surrender, and, after some words, +listened to a proposal of marriage from Ferrau to his sister. The +beauty, however, feeling no inclination to match with such a rough and +savage-looking person, was so dismayed at the offer, that, hastily +bidding her brother to meet her in the forest of Arden, she vanished +from the sight of both by means of the enchanted ring. Argalia, seeing +this, took to his horse of swiftness, and dashed away in the same +direction. Ferrau pursued him, and Astolpho, thus left to himself, took +possession of the enchanted lance in place of his own, which was +broken, not knowing the treasure he possessed in it, and returned to +the tournament. Charlemagne, finding the lady and her brother gone, +ordered the jousting to proceed as at first intended, in which +Astolpho, by aid of the enchanted lance, unhorsed all comers against +him, equally to their astonishment and his own. + +The paladin Rinaldo, on learning the issue of the combat of Ferrau and +the stranger, galloped after the fair fugitive in an agony of love and +impatience. Orlando, perceiving his disappearance, pushed forth in like +manner; and, at length, all three are in the forest of Arden, hunting +about for her who is invisible. + +Now in this forest there were two fountains, the one constructed by the +sage Merlin, who designed it for Tristram and the fair Isoude; +[Footnote: See their story in "King Arthur and His Knights."] for such +was the virtue of this fountain, that a draught of its waters produced +on oblivion of the love which the drinker might feel, and even produced +aversion for the object formerly beloved. The other fountain was +endowed with exactly opposite qualities, and a draught of it inspired +love for the first living object that was seen after tasting it. +Rinaldo happened to come to the first mentioned fountain, and, being +flushed with heat, dismounted, and quenched in one draught both his +thirst and his passion. So far from loving Angelica as before he hated +her from the bottom of his heart, became disgusted with the search he +was upon, and, feeling fatigued with his ride, finding a sheltered and +flowery nook, laid himself down and fell asleep. + +Shortly after came Angelica, but, approaching in a different direction, +she espied the other fountain, and there quenched her thirst. Then +resuming her way, she came upon the sleeping Rinaldo. Love instantly +seized her, and she stood rooted to the spot. + +The meadow round was all full of lilies of the valley and wild roses. +Angelica, not knowing what to do, at length plucked a handful of these, +and dropped them, one by one, on the face of the sleeper. He woke up, +and, seeing who it was, received her salutations with averted +countenance, remounted his horse, and galloped away. In vain the +beautiful creature followed and called after him, in vain asked him +what she had done to be so despised. Rinaldo disappeared, leaving her +in despair, and she returned in tears to the spot where she had found +him sleeping. There, in her turn, she herself lay down, pressing the +spot of earth on which he had lain, and, out of fatigue and sorrow, +fell asleep. + +As Angelica thus lay, fortune conducted Orlando to the same place. The +attitude in which she was sleeping was so lovely that it is not to be +conceived, much less expressed. Orlando stood gazing like a man who had +been transported to another sphere. "Am I on earth," he exclaimed, "or +am I in Paradise? Surely it is I that sleep, and this is my dream." + +But his dream was proved to be none in a manner which he little +desired. Ferrau, who had slain Argalia, came up, raging with jealousy, +and a combat ensued which awoke the sleeper. + +Terrified at what she beheld, she rushed to her palfrey, and, while the +fighters were occupied with one another, fled away through the forest. +The champions continued their fight till they were interrupted by a +messenger, who brought word to Ferrau that king Marsilius, his +sovereign, was in pressing need of his assistance, and conjured him to +return to Spain. Ferrau, upon this, proposed to suspend the combat, to +which Orlando, eager to pursue Angelica, agreed. Ferrau, on the other +hand, departed with the messenger to Spain. + +Orlando's quest for the fair fugitive was all in vain. Aided by the +powers of magic, she made a speedy return to her own country. + +But the thought of Rinaldo could not be banished from her mind, and she +determined to set Malagigi at liberty, and to employ him to win +Rinaldo, if possible, to make her a return of affection. She +accordingly freed him from his dungeon, unlocking his fetters with her +own hands, and restored him his book, promising him ample honors and +rewards on condition of his bringing Rinaldo to her feet. + +Malagigi accordingly, with the aid of his book, called up a demon, +mounted him, and departed. Arrived at his destination, he inveigled +Rinaldo into an enchanted bark, which conveyed him, without any visible +pilot, to an island where stood an edifice called Joyous Castle. The +whole island was a garden. On the western side, close to the sea, was +the palace, built of marble, so clear and polished that it reflected +the landscape about it. Rinaldo leapt ashore, and soon met a lady, who +invited him to enter. The house was as beautiful within as without, +full of rooms adorned with azure and gold, and with noble paintings. +The lady led the knight into an apartment painted with stories, and +opening to the garden, through pillars of crystal, with golden +capitals. Here he found a bevy of ladies, three of whom were singing in +concert, while another played on an instrument of exquisite accord, and +the rest danced round about them. When the ladies beheld him coming +they turned the dance into a circuit round him, and then one of them, +in the sweetest manner, said, "Sir knight, the tables are set, and the +hour for the banquet is come;" and, with these words, still dancing, +they drew him across the lawn in front of the apartment, to a table +that was spread with cloth of gold and fine linen, under a bower of +damask roses by the side of a fountain. + +Four ladies were already seated there, who rose, and placed Rinaldo at +their head, in a chair set with pearls. And truly indeed was he +astonished. A repast ensued, consisting of viands the most delicate, +and wines as fragrant as they were fine, drunk out of jewelled cups; +and, when it drew towards its conclusion, harps and lutes were heard in +the distance, and one of the ladies said in the knight's ear: "This +house and all that you see in it are yours; for you alone was it built, +and the builder is a queen. Happy indeed must you think yourself, for +she loves you, and she is the greatest beauty in the world! Her name is +Angelica." + +The moment Rinaldo heard the name he so detested he started up, with a +changed countenance, and, in spite of all that the lady could say, +broke off across the garden, and never ceased hastening till he reached +the place where he landed. The bark was still on the shore. He sprang +into it, and pushed off, though he saw nobody in it but himself. It was +in vain for him to try to control its movements, for it dashed on as if +in fury, till it reached a distant shore covered with a gloomy forest. +Here Rinaldo, surrounded by enchantments of a very different sort from +those which he had lately resisted, was entrapped into a pit. + +The pit belonged to a castle called Altaripa, which was hung with human +heads, and painted red with blood. As the paladin was viewing the scene +with amazement a hideous old woman made her appearance at the edge of +the pit, and told him that he was destined to be thrown to a monster, +who was only kept from devastating the whole country by being supplied +with living human flesh. Rinaldo said, "Be it so; let me but remain +armed as I am, and I fear nothing." The old woman laughed in derision. +Rinaldo remained in the pit all night, and the next morning was taken +to the place where the monster had his den. It was a court surrounded +by a high wall. Rinaldo was shut in with the beast, and a terrible +combat ensued. Rinaldo was unable to make any impression on the scales +of the monster, while he, on the contrary, with his dreadful claws, +tore away plate and mail from the paladin. Rinaldo began to think his +last hour was come, and cast his eyes around and above to see if there +was any means of escape. He perceived a beam projecting from the wall +at the height of some ten feet, and, taking a leap almost miraculous, +he succeeded in reaching it, and in flinging himself up across it. Here +he sat for hours, the hideous brute continually trying to reach him. +All at once he heard the sound of something coming through the air like +a bird, and suddenly Angelica herself alighted on the end of the beam. +She held something in her hand towards him, and spoke to him in a +loving voice. But the moment Rinaldo saw her he commanded her to go +away, refused all her offers of assistance, and at length declared +that, if she did not leave him, he would cast himself down to the +monster, and meet his fate. + +Angelica, saying she would lose her life rather than displease him, +departed; but first she threw to the monster a cake of wax she had +prepared, and spread around him a rope knotted with nooses. The beast +took the bait, and, finding his teeth glued together by the wax, vented +his fury in bounds and leaps, and, soon getting entangled in the +nooses, drew them tight by his struggles, so that he could scarcely +move a limb. + +Rinaldo, watching his chance, leapt down upon his back, seized him +round the neck, and throttled him, not relaxing his gripe till the +beast fell dead. + +Another difficulty remained to be overcome. The walls were of immense +height, and the only opening in them was a grated window of such +strength that he could not break the bars. In his distress Rinaldo +found a file, which Angelica had left on the ground, and, with the help +of this, effected his deliverance. + +What further adventures he met with will be told in another chapter. + + + +THE SIEGE OF ALBRACCA + +At the very time when Charlemagne was holding his plenary court and his +great tournament his kingdom was invaded by a mighty monarch, who was +moreover so valiant and strong in battle that no one could stand +against him. He was named Gradasso, and his kingdom was called +Sericane. Now, as it often happens to the greatest and the richest to +long for what they cannot have, and thus to lose what they already +possess, this king could not rest content without Durindana, the sword +of Orlando, and Bayard, the horse of Rinaldo. To obtain these he +determined to war upon France, and for this purpose put in array a +mighty army. + +He took his way through Spain, and, after defeating Marsilius, the king +of that country, in several battles, was rapidly advancing on France. +Charlemagne, though Marsilius was a Saracen, and had been his enemy, +yet felt it needful to succor him in this extremity from a +consideration of common danger, and, with the consent of his peers, +despatched Rinaldo with a strong body of soldiers against Gradasso. + +There was much fighting, with doubtful results, and Gradasso was +steadily advancing into France. But, impatient to achieve his objects, +he challenged Rinaldo to single combat, to be fought on foot, and upon +these conditions: If Rinaldo conquered, Gradasso agreed to give up all +his prisoners and return to his own country; but if Gradasso won the +day, he was to have Bayard. + +The challenge was accepted, and would have been fought had it not been +for the arts of Malagigi, who just then returned from Angelica's +kingdom with set purpose to win Rinaldo to look with favor upon the +fair princess who was dying for love of him. Malagigi drew Rinaldo away +from the army by putting on the semblance of Gradasso, and, after a +short contest, pretending to fly before him, by which means Rinaldo was +induced to follow him into a boat, in which he was borne away, and +entangled in various adventures, as we have already related. + +The army, left under the command of Ricciardetto, Rinaldo's brother, +was soon joined by Charlemagne and all his peerage, but experienced a +disastrous rout, and the Emperor and many of his paladins were taken +prisoners. Gradasso, however, did not abuse his victory; he took +Charles by the hand, seated him by his side, and told him he warred +only for honor. He renounced all conquests, on condition that the +Emperor should deliver to him Bayard and Durindana, both of them the +property of his vassals, the former of which, as he maintained, was +already forfeited to him by Rinaldo's failure to meet him as agreed. To +these terms Charlemagne readily acceded. + +Bayard, after the departure of his master, had been taken in charge by +Ricciardetto, and sent back to Paris, where Astolpho was in command, in +the absence of Charlemagne. Astolpho received with great indignation +the message despatched for Bayard, and replied by a herald that "he +would not surrender the horse of his kinsman Rinaldo without a contest. +If Gradasso wanted the steed he might come and take him, and that he, +Astolpho, was ready to meet him in the field." + +Gradasso was only amused at this answer, for Astolpho's fame as a +successful warrior was not high, and Gradasso willingly renewed with +him the bargain which he had made with Rinaldo. On these conditions the +battle was fought. The enchanted lance, in the hands of Astolpho, +performed a new wonder; and Gradasso, the terrible Gradasso, was +unhorsed. + +He kept his word, set free his prisoners, and put his army on the march +to return to his own country, renewing his oath, however, not to rest +till he had taken from Rinaldo his horse, and from Orlando his sword, +or lost his life in the attempt. + +Charlemagne, full of gratitude to Astolpho, would have kept him near +his person and loaded him with honors, but Astolpho preferred to seek +Rinaldo, with the view of restoring to him his horse, and departed from +Paris with that design. + +Our story now returns to Orlando, whom we left fascinated with the +sight of the sleeping beauty, who, however, escaped him while engaged +in the combat with Ferrau. Having long sought her in vain through the +recesses of the wood, he resolved to follow her to her father's court. +Leaving, therefore, the camp of Charlemagne, he travelled long in the +direction of the East, making inquiry everywhere, if, perchance, he +might get tidings of the fugitive. After many adventures, he arrived +one day at a place where many roads crossed, and meeting there a +courier, he asked him for news. The courier replied that he had been +despatched by Angelica to solicit the aid of Sacripant, king of +Circassia, in favor of her father Galafron, who was besieged in his +city, Albracca, by Agrican, king of Tartary. This Agrican had been an +unsuccessful suitor to the damsel, whom he now pursued with arms. +Orlando thus learned that he was within a day's journey of Albracca; +and, feeling now secure of Angelica, he proceeded with all speed to her +city. + +Thus journeying he arrived at a bridge, under which flowed a foaming +river. Here a damsel met him with a goblet, and informed him that it +was the usage of this bridge to present the traveller with a cup. +Orlando accepted the offered cup and drank its contents. He had no +sooner done so than his brain reeled, and he became unconscious of the +object of his journey, and of everything else. Under the influence of +this fascination he followed the damsel into a magnificent and +marvellous palace. Here he found himself in company with many knights, +unknown to him and to each other, though if it had not been for the Cup +of Oblivion of which they all had partaken they would have found +themselves brothers in arms. + +Astolpho, proceeding on his way to seek Rinaldo, splendidly dressed and +equipped, as was his wont, arrived in Circassia, and found there a +great army encamped under the command of Sacripant, the king of that +country, who was leading it to the defence of Galafron, the father of +Angelica. Sacripant, much struck by the appearance of Astolpho and his +horse, accosted him courteously, and tried to enlist him in his +service; but Astolpho, proud of his late victories, scornfully declined +his offers, and pursued his way. King Sacripant was too much attracted +by his appearance to part with him so easily, and having laid aside his +kingly ornaments, set out in pursuit of him. + +Astolpho next day encountered on his way a stranger knight, named Sir +Florismart, Lord of the Sylvan Tower, one of the bravest and best of +knights, having as his guide a damsel, young, fair, and virtuous, to +whom he was tenderly attached, whose name was Flordelis. Astolpho, as +he approached, defied the knight, bidding him yield the lady, or +prepare to maintain his right by arms. Florismart accepted the contest, +and the knights encountered. Florismart was unhorsed and his steed fell +dead, while Bayard sustained no injury by the shock. + +Florismart was so overwhelmed with despair at his own disgrace and the +sight of the damsel's distress, that he drew his sword, and was about +to plunge it into his own bosom. But Astolpho held his hand, told him +that he contended only for glory, and was contented to leave him the +lady. + +While Florismart and Flordelis were vowing eternal gratitude King +Sacripant arrived, and coveting the damsel of the one champion as much +as the horse and arms of the other, defied them to the joust. Astolpho +met the challenger, whom he instantly overthrew, and presented his +courser to Florismart, leaving the king to return to his army on foot. + +The friends pursued their route, and ere long Flordelis discovered, by +signs which were known to her, that they were approaching the waters of +Oblivion, and advised them to turn back, or to change their course. +This the knights would not hear of, and, continuing their march, they +soon arrived at the bridge where Orlando had been taken prisoner. + +The damsel of the bridge appeared as before with the enchanted cup, but +Astolpho, forewarned, rejected it with scorn. She dashed it to the +ground, and a fire blazed up which rendered the bridge unapproachable. +At the same moment the two knights were assailed by sundry warriors, +known and unknown, who, having no recollection of anything, joined +blindly in defence of their prison-house. Among these was Orlando, at +sight of whom Astolpho, with all his confidence not daring to encounter +him, turned and fled, owing his escape to the strength and fleetness of +Bayard. + +Florismart, meanwhile, overlaid by fearful odds, was compelled to yield +to necessity, and comply with the usage of the fairy. He drank of the +cup and remained prisoner with the rest. Flordelis, deprived of her two +friends, retired from the scene, and devoted herself to untiring +efforts to effect her lover's deliverance. Astolpho pursued his way to +Albracca, which Agrican was about to besiege. He was kindly welcomed by +Angelica, and enrolled among her defenders. Impatient to distinguish +himself, he one night sallied forth alone, arrived in Agrican's camp, +and unhorsed his warriors right and left by means of the enchanted +lance. But he was soon surrounded and overmatched, and made prisoner to +Agrican. + +Relief was, however, at hand; for as the citizens and soldiers were one +day leaning over their walls they descried a cloud of dust, from which +horsemen were seen to prick forth, as it rolled on towards the camp of +the besiegers. This turned out to be the army of Sacripant, which +immediately attacked that of Agrican, with the view of cutting a +passage through his camp to the besieged city. But Agrican, mounted +upon Bayard, taken from Astolpho, but not armed with the lance of gold, +the virtues of which were unknown to him, performed wonders, and +rallied his scattered troops, which had given way to the sudden and +unexpected assault. Sacripant, on the other hand, encouraged his men by +the most desperate acts of valor, having as an additional incentive to +his courage the sight of Angelica, who showed herself upon the city +walls. + +There she witnessed a single combat between the two leaders, Agrican +and Sacripant. In this, at length, her defender appeared to be +overmatched, when the Circassians broke the ring, and separated the +combatants, who were borne asunder in the rush. Sacripant, severely +wounded, profited by the confusion, and escaped into Albracca, where he +was kindly received and carefully tended by Angelica. + +The battle continuing, the Circassians were at last put to flight, and, +being intercepted between the enemy's lines and the town, sought for +refuge under the walls. Angelica ordered the drawbridge to be let down, +and the gates thrown open to the fugitives. With these Agrican, not +distinguished in the crowd, entered the place, driving both Circassians +and Cathayans before him, and the portcullis being dropped, he was shut +in. + +For a time the terror which he inspired put to flight all opposers, but +when at last it came to be known that few or none of his followers had +effected an entrance with him, the fugitives rallied and surrounded him +on all sides. While he was thus apparently reduced to the last +extremities, he was saved by the very circumstance which threatened him +with destruction. The soldiers of Angelica, closing upon him from all +sides, deserted their defences; and his own besieging army entered the +city in a part where the wall was broken down. + +In this way was Agrican rescued, the city taken, and the inhabitants +put to the sword. Angelica, however, with some of the knights who were +her defenders, among whom was Sacripant, saved herself in the citadel, +which was planted upon a rock. + +The fortress was impregnable, but it was scantily victualled, and ill +provided with other necessaries. Under these circumstances Angelica +announced to those blockaded with her in the citadel her intention to +go in quest of assistance, and, having plighted her promise of a speedy +return, she set out, with the enchanted ring upon her finger. Mounted +upon her palfrey, the damsel passed through the enemy's lines, and by +sunrise was many miles clear of their encampment. + +It so happened that her road led her near the fatal bridge of Oblivion, +and as she approached it she met a damsel weeping bitterly. It was +Flordelis, whose lover, Florismart, as we have related, had met the +fate of Orlando and many more, and fallen a victim to the enchantress +of the cup. She related her adventures to Angelica, and conjured her to +lend what aid she might to rescue her lord and his companions. +Angelica, accordingly, watching her opportunity and aided by her ring, +slipped into the castle unseen, when the door was opened to admit a new +victim. Here she speedily disenchanted Orlando and the rest by a touch +of her talisman. But Florismart was not there. He had been given up to +Falerina, a more powerful enchantress, and was still in durance. +Angelica conjured the rescued captives to assist her in the recovery of +her kingdom, and all departed together for Albracca. + +The arrival of Orlando, with his companions, nine in all, and among the +bravest knights of France, changed at once the fortunes of the war. +Wherever the great paladin came, pennon and standard fell before him. +Agrican in vain attempted to rally his troops. Orlando kept constantly +in his front, forcing him to attend to nobody else. The Tartar king at +length bethought him of a stratagem. He turned his horse, and made a +show of flying in despair. Orlando dashed after him as he desired, and +Agrican fled till he reached a green place in a wood, where there was a +fountain. + +The place was beautiful, and the Tartar dismounted to refresh himself +at the fountain, but without taking off his helmet, or laying aside any +of his armor. Orlando was quickly at his back, crying out, "So bold, +and yet a fugitive! How could you fly from a single arm and think to +escape?" + +The Tartar king had leaped on his saddle the moment he saw his enemy, +and when the paladin had done speaking, he said in a mild voice, +"Without doubt you are the best knight I ever encountered, and fain +would I leave you untouched for your own sake, if you would cease to +hinder me from rallying my people. I pretended to fly, in order to +bring you out of the field. If you insist upon fighting I must needs +fight and slay you, but I call the sun in the heavens to witness I +would rather not. I should be very sorry for your death." + +The Count Orlando felt pity for so much gallantry, and he said, "The +nobler you show yourself the more it grieves me to think that in dying +without a knowledge of the true faith you will be lost in the other +world. Let me advise you to save body and soul at once. Receive +baptism, and go your way in peace." + +Agrican replied: "I suspect you to be the paladin Orlando. If you are I +would not lose this opportunity of fighting with you to be king of +Paradise. Talk to me no more about your things of another world, for +you will preach in vain. Each of us for himself, and let the sword be +umpire." + +The Saracen drew his sword, boldly advancing upon Orlando, and a combat +began, so obstinate and so long, each warrior being a miracle of +prowess, that the story says it lasted from noon till night. Orlando +then seeing the stars come out was the first to propose a respite. + +"What are we to do," said he, "now that daylight has left us?" + +Agrican answered readily enough, "Let us repose in this meadow, and +renew the combat at dawn." + +The repose was taken accordingly. Each tied up his horse, and reclined +himself on the grass, not far from the other, just as if they had been +friends, Orlando by the fountain, Agrican beneath a pine. It was a +beautiful clear night, and, as they talked together before addressing +themselves to sleep, the champion of Christendom, looking up at the +firmament, said, "That is a fine piece of workmanship, that starry +spectacle; God made it all, that moon of silver, and those stars of +gold, and the light of day, and the sun,--all for the sake of human +kind." + +"You wish, I see, to talk of matters of faith," said the Tartar. "Now I +may as well tell you at once that I have no sort of skill in such +matters, nor learning of any kind. I never could learn anything when I +was a boy. I hated it so that I broke the man's head who was +commissioned to teach me; and it produced such an effect on others that +nobody ever afterwards dared so much as show me a book. My boyhood was +therefore passed, as it should be, in horsemanship and hunting, and +learning to fight. What is the good of a gentleman's poring all day +over a book? Prowess to the knight, and preaching to the clergyman, +that is my motto." + +"I acknowledge," returned Orlando, "that arms are the first +consideration of a gentleman; but not at all that he does himself +dishonor by knowledge. On the contrary, knowledge is as great an +embellishment of the rest of his attainments, as the flowers are to the +meadow before us; and as to the knowledge of his Maker, the man that is +without it is no better than a stock or a stone or a brute beast. +Neither without study can he reach anything of a due sense of the depth +and divineness of the contemplation." + +"Learned or not learned," said Agrican, "you might show yourself better +bred than by endeavoring to make me talk on a subject on which you have +me at a disadvantage. If you choose to sleep I wish you good night; but +if you prefer talking I recommend you to talk of fighting or of fair +ladies. And, by the way, pray tell me, are you not that Orlando who +makes such a noise in the world? And what is it, pray, that brings you +into these parts? Were you ever in love? I suppose you must have been; +for to be a knight, and never to have been in love, would be like being +a man without a heart in his breast." + +The count replied: "Orlando I am, and in love I am. Love has made me +abandon everything, and brought me into these distant regions, and, to +tell you all in one word, my heart is in the hands of the daughter of +King Galafron. You have come against him with fire and sword, to get +possession of his castles and his dominions; and I have come to help +him, for no object in the world but to please his daughter and win her +beautiful hand. I care for nothing else in existence." + +Now when the Tartar king, Agrican, heard his antagonist speak in this +manner, and knew him to be indeed Orlando, and to be in love with +Angelica, his face changed color for grief and jealousy, though it +could not be seen for the darkness. His heart began beating with such +violence that he felt as if he should have died. "Well," said he to +Orlando, "we are to fight when it is daylight, and one or other is to +be left here, dead on the ground. I have a proposal to make to +you--nay, an entreaty. My love is so excessive for the same lady that I +beg you to leave her to me. I will owe you my thanks, and give up the +siege and put an end to the war. I cannot bear that any one should love +her, and that I should live to see it. Why, therefore, should either of +us perish? Give her up. Not a soul shall know it." + +"I never yet," answered Orlando, "made a promise which I did not keep, +and nevertheless I own to you that, were I to make a promise like that, +and even swear to keep it, I should not. You might as well ask me to +tear away the limbs from my body, and the eyes out of my head. I could +as well live without breath itself as cease loving Angelica." + +Agrican had hardly patience to let him finish speaking, ere he leapt +furiously on horseback, though it was midnight. "Quit her," said he, +"or die!" + +Orlando seeing the infidel getting up, and not being sure that he would +not add treachery to fierceness, had been hardly less quick in mounting +for the combat. "Never," exclaimed he; "I never could have quitted her +if I would, and now I would not if I could. You must seek her by other +means than these." + +Fiercely dashed their horses together, in the nighttime, on the green +mead. Despiteful and terrible were the blows they gave and took by the +moonlight. Agrican fought in a rage, Orlando was cooler. And now the +struggle had lasted more than five hours, and day began to dawn, when +the Tartar king, furious to find so much trouble given him, dealt his +enemy a blow sharp and violent beyond conception. It cut the shield in +two as if it had been made of wood, and, though blood could not be +drawn from Orlando, because he was fated, it shook and bruised him as +if it had started every joint in his body. + +His body only, however, not a particle of his soul. So dreadful was the +blow which the paladin gave in return, that not only shield, but every +bit of mail on the body of Agrican was broken in pieces, and three of +his ribs cut asunder. + +The Tartar, roaring like a lion, raised his sword with still greater +vehemence than before, and dealt a blow on the paladin's helmet, such +as he had never yet received from mortal man. For a moment it took away +his senses. His sight failed, his ears tingled, his frightened horse +turned about to fly; and he was falling from the saddle, when the very +action of falling threw his head upwards, and thus recalled his +recollection. + +"What a shame is this!" thought he; "how shall I ever again dare to +face Angelica! I have been fighting hour after hour with this man, and +he is but one, and I call myself Orlando! If the combat last any longer +I will bury myself in a monastery, and never look on sword again." + +Orlando muttered with his lips closed and his teeth ground together; +and you might have thought that fire instead of breath came out of his +nose and mouth. He raised his sword Durindana with both his hands, and +sent it down so tremendously on Agrican's shoulder that it cut through +breastplate down to the very haunch, nay, crushed the saddle-bow, +though it was made of bone and iron, and felled man and horse to the +earth. Agrican turned as white as ashes, and felt death upon him. He +called Orlando to come close to him, with a gentle voice, and said, as +well as he could: "I believe on Him who died on the cross. Baptize me, +I pray thee, with the fountain, before my senses are gone. I have lived +an evil life, but need not be rebellious to God in death also. May He +who came to save all the rest of the world save me!" And he shed tears, +that great king, though he had been so lofty and fierce. + +Orlando dismounted quickly, with his own face in tears. He gathered the +king tenderly in his arms, and took and laid him by the fountain, on a +marble rim that it had, and then he wept in concert with him heartily, +and asked his pardon, and so baptized him in the water of the fountain, +and knelt and prayed to God for him with joined hands. + +He then paused and looked at him; and when he perceived his countenance +changed, and that his whole person was cold, he left him there on the +marble rim of the fountain, all armed as he was, with the sword by his +side, and the crown upon his head. + + + +ADVENTURES OF RINALDO AND ORLANDO + +We left Rinaldo when, having overcome the monster, he quitted the +castle of Altaripa, and pursued his way on foot. He soon met with a +weeping damsel, who, being questioned as to the cause of her sorrow, +told him she was in search of one to do battle to rescue her lover, who +had been made prisoner by a vile enchantress, together with Orlando and +many more. The damsel was Flordelis, the lady-love of Florismart, and +Rinaldo promised his assistance, trusting to accomplish the adventure +either by valor or skill. Flordelis insisted upon Rinaldo's taking her +horse, which he consented to do, on condition of her mounting behind +him. + +As they rode on through a wood, they heard strange noises, and Rinaldo, +reassuring the damsel, pressed forward towards the quarter from which +they proceeded. He soon perceived a giant standing under a vaulted +cavern, with a huge club in his hand, and of an appearance to strike +the boldest spirit with dread. By the side of the cavern was chained a +griffin, which, together with the giant, was stationed there to guard a +wonderful horse, the same which was once Argalia's. This horse was a +creature of enchantment, matchless in vigor, speed, and form, which +disdained to share the diet of his fellow-steeds,--corn or grass,--and +fed only on air. His name was Rabican. + +This marvellous horse, after his master Argalia had been slain by +Ferrau, finding himself at liberty, returned to his native cavern, and +was here stabled under the protection of the giant and the griffin. As +Rinaldo approached, the giant assailed him with his club. Rinaldo +defended himself from the giant's blows, and gave him one in return, +which, if his skin had not been of the toughest, would have finished +the combat. But the giant, though wounded, escaped, and let loose the +griffin. This monstrous bird towered in air, and thence pounced down +upon Rinaldo, who, watching his opportunity, dealt her a desperate +wound. She had, however, strength for another flight, and kept +repeating her attacks, which Rinaldo parried as he could, while the +damsel stood trembling by, witnessing the contest. + +The battle continued, rendered more terrible by the approach of night, +when Rinaldo determined upon a desperate expedient to bring it to a +conclusion. He fell, as if fainting from his wounds, and, on the close +approach of the griffin, dealt her a blow which sheared away one of her +wings. The beast, though sinking, griped him fast with her talons, +digging through plate and mail; but Rinaldo plied his sword in utter +desperation, and at last accomplished her destruction. + +Rinaldo then entered the cavern, and found there the wonderful horse, +all caparisoned. He was coal-black, except for a star of white on his +forehead, and one white foot behind. For speed he was unrivalled, +though in strength he yielded to Bayard. Rinaldo mounted upon Rabican, +and issued from the cavern. + +As he pursued his way he met a fugitive from Agrican's army, who gave +such an account of the prowess of a champion who fought on the side of +Angelica, that Rinaldo was persuaded this must be Orlando, though at a +loss to imagine how he could have been freed from captivity. He +determined to repair to the scene of the contest to satisfy his +curiosity, and Flordelis, hoping to find Florismart with Orlando, +consented to accompany him. + +While these things were doing, all was rout and dismay in the Tartarian +army, from the death of Agrican. King Galafron, arriving at this +juncture with an army for the relief of his capital, Albracca, +assaulted the enemy's camp, and carried all before him. Rinaldo had now +reached the scene of action, and was looking on as an unconcerned +spectator, when he was espied by Galafron. The king instantly +recognized the horse Rabican, which he had given to Argalia when he +sent him forth on his ill-omened mission to Paris. Possessed with the +idea that the rider of the horse was the murderer of Argalia, Galafron +rode at Rinaldo, and smote him with all his force. Rinaldo was not slow +to avenge the blow, and it would have gone hard with the king had not +his followers instantly closed round him and separated the combatants. + +Rinaldo thus found himself, almost without his own choice, enlisted on +the side of the enemies of Angelica, which gave him no concern, so +completely had his draught from the fountain of hate steeled his mind +against her. + +For several successive days the struggle continued, without any +important results, Rinaldo meeting the bravest knights of Angelica's +party, and defeating them one after the other. At length he encountered +Orlando, and the two knights bitterly reproached one another for the +cause they had each adopted, and engaged in a furious combat. Orlando +was mounted upon Bayard, Rinaldo's horse, which Agrican had by chance +become possessed of, and Orlando had taken from him as the prize of +victory. Bayard would not fight against his master, and Orlando was +getting the worse of the encounter, when suddenly Rinaldo, seeing +Astolpho, who for love of him had arrayed himself on his side, hard +beset by numbers, left Orlando to rush to the defence of his friend. +Night prevented the combat from being renewed; but a challenge was +given and accepted for their next meeting. + +But Angelica, sighing in her heart for Rinaldo, was not willing that he +should be again exposed to so terrible a venture. She begged a boon of +Orlando, promising she would be his if he would do her bidding. On +receiving his promise, she enjoined him to set out without delay to +destroy the garden of the enchantress Falerina, in which many valiant +knights had been entrapped, and were imprisoned. + +Orlando departed on his horse Brigliadoro, leaving Bayard in disgrace +for his bad deportment the day before. Angelica, to conciliate Rinaldo, +sent Bayard to him; but Rinaldo remained unmoved by this as by all her +former acts of kindness. + +When Rinaldo learned Orlando's departure, he yielded to the entreaties +of the lady of Florismart, and prepared to fulfil his promise, and +rescue her lover from the power of the enchantress. Thus both Rinaldo +and Orlando were bound upon the same adventure, but unknown to one +another. + +The castle of Falerina was protected by a river, which was crossed by a +bridge, kept by a ruffian, who challenged all comers to the combat; and +such was his strength that he had thus far prevailed in every +encounter, as appeared by the arms of various knights which he had +taken from them, and piled up as a trophy on the shore. Rinaldo +attacked him, but with as bad success as the rest, for the bridge-ward +struck him so violent a blow with an iron mace that he fell to the +ground. But when the villain approached to strip him of his armor, +Rinaldo seized him, and the bridge-ward, being unable to free himself, +leapt with Rinaldo into the lake, where they both disappeared. + +Orlando, meanwhile, in discharge of his promise to Angelica, pursued +his way in quest of the same adventure. In passing through a wood he +saw a cavalier armed at all points, and mounted, keeping guard over a +lady who was bound to a tree, weeping bitterly. Orlando hastened to her +relief, but was exhorted by the knight not to interfere, for she had +deserved her fate by her wickedness. In proof of which he made certain +charges against her. The lady denied them all, and Orlando believed +her, defied the knight, overthrew him, and, releasing the lady, +departed with her seated on his horse's croup. + +While they rode another damsel approached on a white palfrey, who +warned Orlando of impending danger, and informed him that he was near +the garden of the enchantress. Orlando was delighted with the +intelligence, and entreated her to inform him how he was to gain +admittance. She replied that the garden could only be entered at +sunrise and gave him such instructions as would enable him to gain +admittance. She gave him also a book in which was painted the garden +and all that it contained, together with the palace of the false +enchantress, where she had secluded herself for the purpose of +executing a magic work in which she was engaged. This was the +manufacture of a sword capable of cutting even through enchanted +substances. The object of this labor, the damsel told him, was the +destruction of a knight of the west, by name Orlando, who she had read +in the book of Fate was coming to demolish her garden. Having thus +instructed him, the damsel departed. + +Orlando, finding he must delay his enterprise till the next morning, +now lay down and was soon asleep. Seeing this, the base woman whom he +had rescued, and who was intent on making her escape to rejoin her +paramour, mounted Brigliadoro, and rode off, carrying away Durindana. + +When Orlando awoke, his indignation, as may be supposed, was great on +the discovery of the theft; but, like a good knight and true, he was +not to be diverted from his enterprise. He tore off a huge branch of an +elm to supply the place of his sword; and, as the sun rose, took his +way towards the gate of the garden, where a dragon was on his watch. +This he slew by repeated blows, and entered the garden, the gate of +which closed behind him, barring retreat. Looking round him, he saw a +fair fountain, which overflowed into a river, and in the centre of the +fountain a figure, on whose forehead was written: + + "The stream which waters violet and rose, + From hence to the enchanted palace goes." + +Following the banks of this flowing stream, and rapt in the delights of +the charming garden, Orlando arrived at the palace, and entering it, +found the mistress, clad in white, with a crown of gold upon her head, +in the act of viewing herself in the surface of the magic sword. +Orlando surprised her before she could escape, deprived her of the +weapon, and holding her fast by her long hair, which floated behind, +threatened her with immediate death if she did not yield up her +prisoners, and afford him the means of egress. She, however, was firm +of purpose, making no reply, and Orlando, unable to move her either by +threats or entreaties, was under the necessity of binding her to a +beech, and pursuing his quest as he best might. + +He then bethought him of his book, and, consulting it, found that there +was an outlet to the south, but that to reach it a lake was to be +passed, inhabited by a siren, whose song was so entrancing as to be +quite irresistible to whoever heard it; but his book instructed him how +to protect himself against this danger. According to its directions, +while pursuing his path, he gathered abundance of flowers, which sprung +all around, and filled his helmet and his ears with them; then listened +if he heard the birds sing. Finding that, though he saw the gaping +beak, the swelling throat, and ruffled plumes, he could not catch a +note, he felt satisfied with his defence, and advanced toward the lake. +It was small but deep, and so clear and tranquil that the eye could +penetrate to the bottom. + +He had no, sooner arrived upon the banks than the waters were seen to +gurgle, and the siren, rising midway out of the pool, sung so sweetly +that birds and beasts came trooping to the water-side to listen. Of +this Orlando heard nothing, but, feigning to yield to the charm, sank +down upon the bank. The siren issued from the water with the intent to +accomplish his destruction. Orlando seized her by the hair, and while +she sang yet louder (song being her only defence) cut off her head. +Then, following the directions of the book, he stained himself all over +with her blood. + +Guarded by this talisman, he met successively all the monsters set for +defence of the enchantress and her garden, and at length found himself +again at the spot where he had made captive the enchantress, who still +continued fastened to the beech. But the scene was changed. The garden +had disappeared, and Falerina, before so haughty, now begged for mercy, +assuring him that many lives depended upon the preservation of hers. +Orlando promised her life upon her pledging herself for the deliverance +of her captives. + +This, however, was no easy task. They were not in her possession, but +in that of a much more powerful enchantress, Morgana, the Lady of the +Lake, the very idea of opposing whom made Falerina turn pale with fear. +Representing to him the hazards of the enterprise, she led him towards +the dwelling of Morgana. To approach it he had to encounter the same +uncourteous bridge-ward who had already defeated and made captive so +many knights, and last of all, Rinaldo. He was a churl of the most +ferocious character, named Arridano. Morgana had provided him with +impenetrable armor, and endowed him in such a manner that his strength +always increased in proportion to that of the adversary with whom he +was matched. No one had ever yet escaped from the contest, since, such +was his power of endurance, he could breathe freely under water. Hence, +having grappled with a knight, and sunk with him to the bottom of the +lake, he returned, bearing his enemy's arms in triumph to the surface. + +While Falerina was repeating her cautions and her counsels Orlando saw +Rinaldo's arms erected in form of a trophy, among other spoils made by +the villain, and, forgetting their late quarrel, determined upon +revenging his friend. Arriving at the pass, the churl presuming to bar +the way, a desperate contest ensued, during which Falerina escaped. The +churl finding himself overmatched at a contest of arms, resorted to his +peculiar art, grappled his antagonist, and plunged with him into the +lake. When he reached the bottom Orlando found himself in another +world, upon a dry meadow, with the lake overhead, through which shone +the beams of our sun, while the water stood on all sides like a crystal +wall. Here the battle was renewed, and Orlando had in his magic sword +an advantage which none had hitherto possessed. It had been tempered by +Falerina so that no spells could avail against it. Thus armed, and +countervailing the strength of his adversary by his superior skill and +activity, it was not long before he laid him dead upon the field. + +Orlando then made all haste to return to the upper air, and, passing +through the water, which opened a way before him (such was the power of +the magic sword), he soon regained the shore, and found himself in a +field as thickly covered with precious stones as the sky is with stars. + +Orlando crossed the field, not tempted to delay his enterprise by +gathering any of the brilliant gems spread all around him. He next +passed into a flowery meadow planted with trees, covered with fruit and +flowers, and full of all imaginable delights. + +In the middle of this meadow was a fountain, and fast by it lay Morgana +asleep; a lady of a lovely aspect, dressed in white and vermilion +garments, her forehead well furnished with hair, while she had scarcely +any behind. + +While Orlando stood in silence contemplating her beauty he heard a +voice exclaim: "Seize the fairy by the forelock, if thou hopest fair +success." But his attention was arrested by another object, and he +heeded not the warning. He saw on a sudden an array of towers, +pinnacles and columns, palaces with balconies and windows, extended +alleys with trees, in short a scene of architectural magnificence +surpassing all he had ever beheld. While he stood gazing in silent +astonishment the scene slowly melted away and disappeared. [Footnote: +This is a poetical description of a phenomenon which is said to be +really exhibited in the strait of Messina, between Sicily and Calabria. +It is called Fata Morgana, or Mirage.] + +When he had recovered from his amazement he looked again toward the +fountain. The fairy had awaked and risen, and was dancing round its +border with the lightness of a leaf, timing her footsteps to this song: + + "Who in this world would wealth and treasure share, + Honor, delight, and state, and what is best, + Quick let him catch me by the lock of hair + Which flutters from my forehead; and be blest. + + "But let him not the proffered good forbear, + Nor till he seize the fleeting blessing rest; + For present loss is sought in vain to-morrow, + And the deluded wretch is left in sorrow." + +The fairy, having sung thus, bounded off, and fled from the flowery +meadow over a high and inaccessible mountain. Orlando pursued her +through thorns and rocks, while the sky gradually became overcast, and +at last he was assailed by tempest, lightning, and hail. + +While he thus pursued, a pale and meagre woman issued from a cave, +armed with a whip, and, treading close upon his steps, scourged him +with vigorous strokes. Her name was Repentance, and she told him it was +her office to punish those who neglected to obey the voice of Prudence, +and seize the fairy Fortune when he might. + +Orlando, furious at this chastisement, turned upon his tormentor, but +might as well have stricken the wind. Finding it useless to resist, he +resumed his chase of the fairy, gained upon her, and made frequent +snatches at her white and vermilion garments, which still eluded his +grasp. At last, on her turning her head for an instant, he profited by +the chance, and seized her by the forelock. In an instant the tempest +ceased, the sky became serene, and Repentance retreated to her cave. + +Orlando now demanded of Morgana the keys of her prison, and the fairy, +feigning a complacent aspect, delivered up a key of silver, bidding him +to be cautious in the use of it, since to break the lock would be to +involve himself and all in inevitable destruction; a caution which gave +the Count room for long meditation, and led him to consider + + How few amid the suitors who importune + The dame, know how to turn the keys of Fortune. + +Keeping the fairy still fast by the forelock, Orlando proceeded toward +the prison, turned the key, without occasioning the mischiefs +apprehended, and delivered the prisoners. + +Among these were Florismart, Rinaldo, and many others of the bravest +knights of France. Morgana had disappeared, and the knights, under the +guidance of Orlando, retraced the path by which he had come. They soon +reached the field of treasure. Rinaldo, finding himself amidst this +mass of wealth, remembered his needy garrison of Montalban, and could +not resist the temptation of seizing part of the booty. In particular a +golden chain, studded with diamonds, was too much for his self-denial, +and he took it and was bearing it off, notwithstanding the +remonstrances of Orlando, when a violent wind caught him and whirled +him back, as he approached the gate. This happened a second and a third +time, and Rinaldo at length yielded to necessity, rather than to the +entreaties of his friends, and cast away his prize. + +They soon reached the bridge and passed over without hindrance to the +other side, where they found the trophy decorated with their arms. Here +each knight resumed his own, and all, except the paladins and their +friends, separated as their inclinations or duty prompted. Dudon, the +Dane, one of the rescued knights, informed the cousins that he had been +made prisoner by Morgana while in the discharge of an embassy to them +from Charlemagne, who called upon them to return to the defence of +Christendom. Orlando was too much fascinated by Angelica to obey this +summons, and, followed by the faithful Florismart, who would not leave +him, returned towards Albracca. Rinaldo, Dudon, Iroldo, Prasildo, and +the others took their way toward the west. + + + +THE INVASION OF FRANCE + +Agramant, King of Africa, convoked the kings, his vassals, to +deliberate in council. He reminded them of the injuries he had +sustained from France, that his father had fallen in battle with +Charlemagne, and that his early years had hitherto not allowed him to +wipe out the stain of former defeats. He now proposed to them to carry +war into France. + +Sobrino, his wisest councillor, opposed the project, representing the +rashness of it; but Rodomont, the young and fiery king of Algiers, +denounced Sobrino's counsel as base and cowardly, declaring himself +impatient for the enterprise. The king of the Garamantes, venerable for +his age and renowned for his prophetic lore, interposed, and assured +the King that such an attempt would be sure to fail, unless he could +first get on his side a youth marked out by destiny as the fitting +compeer of the most puissant knights of France, the young Rogero, +descended in direct line from Hector of Troy. This prince was now a +dweller upon the mountain Carena, where Atlantes, his foster-father, a +powerful magician, kept him in retirement, having discovered by his art +that his pupil would be lost to him if allowed to mingle with the +world. To break the spells of Atlantes, and draw Rogero from his +retirement, one only means was to be found. It was a ring possessed by +Angelica, Princess of Cathay, which was a talisman against all +enchantments. If this ring could be procured all would go well; without +it the enterprise was desperate. + +Rodomont treated this declaration of the old prophet with scorn, and it +would probably have been held of little weight by the council, had not +the aged king, oppressed by the weight of years, expired in the very +act of reaffirming his prediction. This made so deep an impression on +the council that it was unanimously resolved to postpone the war until +an effort should be made to win Rogero to the camp. + +King Agramant thereupon proclaimed that the sovereignty of a kingdom +should be the reward of whoever should succeed in obtaining the ring of +Angelica. Brunello the dwarf, the subtlest thief in all Africa, +undertook to procure it. + +In prosecution of this design, he made the best of his way to +Angelica's kingdom, and arrived beneath the walls of Albracca while the +besieging army was encamped before the fortress. While the attention of +the garrison was absorbed by the battle that raged below he scaled the +walls, approached the Princess unnoticed, slipped the ring from her +finger, and escaped unobserved. He hastened to the seaside, and, +finding a vessel ready to sail, embarked, and arrived at Biserta, in +Africa. Here he found Agramant impatient for the talisman which was to +foil the enchantments of Atlantes and to put Rogero into his hands. The +dwarf, kneeling before the king, presented him with the ring, and +Agramant, delighted at the success of his mission, crowned him in +recompense King of Tingitana. + +All were now anxious to go in quest of Rogero. The cavalcade +accordingly departed, and in due time arrived at the mountain of Carena. + +At the bottom of this was a fruitful and well-wooded plain, watered by +a large river, and from this plain was descried a beautiful garden on +the mountain-top, which contained the mansion of Atlantes; but the +ring, which discovered what was before invisible, could not, though it +revealed this paradise, enable Agramant or his followers to enter it. +So steep and smooth was the rock by nature, that even Brunello failed +in every attempt to scale it. He did not, for this, despair of +accomplishing the object; but, having obtained Agramant's consent, +caused the assembled courtiers and knights to celebrate a tournament +upon the plain below. This was done with the view of seducing Rogero +from his fastness, and the stratagem was attended with success. + +Rogero joined the tourney, and was presented by Agramant with a +splendid horse, Frontino, and a magnificent sword. Having learned from +Agramant his intended invasion of France, he gladly consented to join +the expedition. + +Rodomont, meanwhile, was too impatient to wait for Agramant's +arrangements, and embarked with all the forces he could raise, made +good his landing on the coast of France, and routed the Christians in +several encounters. Previously to this, however, Gano, or Ganelon (as +he is sometimes called), the traitor, enemy of Orlando and the other +nephews of Charlemagne, had entered into a traitorous correspondence +with Marsilius, the Saracen king of Spain, whom he invited into France. +Marsilius, thus encouraged, led an army across the frontiers, and +joined Rodomont. This was the situation of things when Rinaldo and the +other knights who had obeyed the summons of Dudon set forward on their +return to France. + +When they arrived at Buda in Hungary they found the king of that +country about despatching his son, Ottachiero, with an army to the +succor of Charlemagne. Delighted with the arrival of Rinaldo, he placed +his son and troops under his command. In due time the army arrived on +the frontiers of France, and, united with the troops of Desiderius, +king of Lombardy, poured down into Provence. The confederate armies had +not marched many days through this gay tract before they heard a crash +of drums and trumpets behind the hills, which spoke the conflict +between the paynims, led by Rodomont, and the Christian forces. +Rinaldo, witnessing from a mountain the prowess of Rodomont, left his +troops in charge of his friends, and galloped towards him with his +lance in rest. The impulse was irresistible, and Rodomont was unhorsed. +But Rinaldo, unwilling to avail himself of his advantage, galloped back +to the hill, and having secured Bayard among the baggage, returned to +finish the combat on foot. + +During this interval the battle had become general, the Hungarians were +routed, and Rinaldo, on his return, had the mortification to find that +Ottachiero was wounded, and Dudon taken prisoner. While he sought +Rodomont in order to renew the combat a new sound of drums and trumpets +was heard, and Charlemagne, with the main body of his army, was +descried advancing in battle array. + +Rodomont, seeing this, mounted the horse of Dudon, left Rinaldo, who +was on foot, and galloped off to encounter this new enemy. + +Agramant, accompanied by Rogero, had by this time made good his +landing, and joined Rodomont with all his forces. Rogero eagerly +embraced this first opportunity of distinguishing himself, and spread +terror wherever he went, encountering in turn and overthrowing many of +the bravest knights of France. At length he found himself opposite to +Rinaldo, who, being interrupted, as we have said, in his combat with +Rodomont, and unable to follow him, being on foot, was shouting to his +late foe to return and finish their combat. Rogero also was on foot, +and seeing the Christian knight so eager for a contest, proffered +himself to supply the place of his late antagonist. Rinaldo saw at a +glance that the Moorish prince was a champion worthy of his arm, and +gladly accepted the defiance. The combat was stoutly maintained for a +time; but now fortune declared decisively in favor of the infidel army, +and Charlemagne's forces gave way at all points in irreparable +confusion. The two combatants were separated by the crowd of fugitives +and pursuers, and Rinaldo hastened to recover possession of his horse. +But Bayard, in the confusion, had got loose, and Rinaldo followed him +into a thick wood, thus becoming effectually separated from Rogero. + +Rogero, also seeking his horse in the medley, came where two warriors +were engaged in mortal combat. Though he knew not who they were, he +could distinguish that one was a paynim and the other a Christian; and +moved by the spirit of courtesy he approached them and exclaimed, "Let +him of the two who worships Christ pause, and hear what I have to say. +The army of Charles is routed and in flight, so that if he wishes to +follow his leader he has no time for delay." The Christian knight, who +was none other than Bradamante, a female warrior, in prowess equal to +the best of knights, was thunderstruck with the tidings, and would +gladly leave the contest undecided, and retire from the field; but +Rodomont, her antagonist, would by no means consent. Rogero, indignant +at his discourtesy, insisted upon her departure, while he took up her +quarrel with Rodomont. + +The combat, obstinately maintained on both sides, was interrupted by +the return of Bradamante. Finding herself unable to overtake the +fugitives, and reluctant to leave to another the burden and risk of a +contest which belonged to herself, she had returned to reclaim the +combat. She arrived, however, when her champion had dealt his enemy +such a blow as obliged him to drop both his sword and bridle. Rogero, +disdaining to profit by his adversary's defenceless situation, sat +apart upon his horse, while that of Rodomont bore his rider, stunned +and stupefied, about the field. + +Bradamante approached Rogero, conceiving a yet higher opinion of his +valor on beholding such an instance of forbearance. She addressed him, +excusing herself for leaving him exposed to an enemy from his +interference in her cause; pleading her duty to her sovereign as the +motive. While she spoke Rodomont, recovered from his confusion, rode up +to them. His bearing was, however, changed; and he disclaimed all +thoughts of further contest with one who, he said, "had already +conquered him by his courtesy." So saying, he quitted his antagonist, +picked up his sword, and spurred out of sight. + +Bradamante was now again desirous of retiring from the field, and +Rogero insisted on accompanying her, though yet unaware of her sex. + +As they pursued their way, she inquired the name and quality of her new +associate; and Rogero informed her of his nation and family. He told +her that Astyanax, the son of Hector of Troy, established the kingdom +of Messina in Sicily. From him were derived two branches, which gave +origin to two families of renown. From one sprang the royal race of +Pepin and Charlemagne, and from the other, that of Reggio, in Italy. +"From that of Reggio am I derived," he continued. "My mother, driven +from her home by the chance of war, died in giving me life, and I was +taken in charge by a sage enchanter, who trained me to feats of arms +amidst the dangers of the desert and the chase." + +Having thus ended his tale, Rogero entreated a similar return of +courtesy from his companion, who replied, without disguise, that she +was of the race of Clermont, and sister to Rinaldo, whose fame was +perhaps known to him. Rogero, much moved by this intelligence, +entreated her to take off her helmet, and at the discovery of her face +remained transported with delight. + +While absorbed in this contemplation, an unexpected danger assailed +them. A party which was placed in a wood, in order to intercept the +retreating Christians, broke from its ambush upon the pair, and +Bradamante, who was uncasqued, was wounded in the head. Rogero was in a +fury at this attack; and Bradamante, replacing her helmet, joined him +in taking speedy vengeance on their enemies. They cleared the field of +them, but became separated in the pursuit, and Rogero, quitting the +chase, wandered by hill and vale in search of her whom he had no sooner +found than lost. + +While pursuing this quest he fell in with two knights, whom he joined, +and engaged them to assist him in the search of his companion, +describing her arms, but concealing, from a certain feeling of +jealousy, her quality and sex. + +It was evening when they joined company, and having ridden together +through the night the morning was beginning to break, when one of the +strangers, fixing his eyes upon Rogero's shield, demanded of him by +what right he bore the Trojan arms. Rogero declared his origin and +race, and then, in his turn, interrogated the inquirer as to his +pretensions to the cognizance of Hector, which he bore. The stranger +replied, "My name is Mandricardo, son of Agrican, the Tartar king, whom +Orlando treacherously slew. I say treacherously, for in fair fight he +could not have done it. It is in search of him that I have come to +France, to take vengeance for my father, and to wrest from him +Durindana, that famous sword, which belongs to me, and not to him." +When the knights demanded to know by what right he claimed Durindana, +Mandricardo thus related his history: + +"I had been, before the death of my father, a wild and reckless youth. +That event awakened my energies, and drove me forth to seek for +vengeance. Determined to owe success to nothing but my own exertions, I +departed without attendants or horse or arms. Travelling thus alone, +and on foot, I espied one day a pavilion, pitched near a fountain, and +entered it, intent on adventure. I found therein a damsel of gracious +aspect, who replied to my inquiries that the fountain was the work of a +fairy, whose castle stood beyond a neighboring hill, where she kept +watch over a treasure which many knights had tried to win, but +fruitlessly, having lost their life or liberty in the attempt. This +treasure was the armor of Hector, prince of Troy, whom Achilles +treacherously slew. Nothing was wanting but his sword, Durindana, and +this had fallen into the possession of a queen named Penthesilea, from +whom it passed through her descendants to Almontes, whom Orlando slew, +and thus became possessed of the sword. The rest of Hector's arms were +saved and carried off by Aeneas, from whom this fairy received them in +recompense of service rendered. 'If you have the courage to attempt +their acquisition,' said the damsel, 'I will be your guide.'" + +Mandricardo went on to say that he eagerly embraced the proposal, and +being provided with horse and armor by the damsel, set forth on his +enterprise, the lady accompanying him. + +As they rode she explained the dangers of the quest. The armor was +defended by a champion, one of the numerous unsuccessful adventurers +for the prize, all of whom had been made prisoners by the fairy, and +compelled to take their turn, day by day, in defending the arms against +all comers. Thus speaking they arrived at the castle, which was of +alabaster, overlaid with gold. Before it, on a lawn, sat an armed +knight on horseback, who was none other than Gradasso, king of +Sericane, who, in his return home from his unsuccessful inroad into +France, had fallen into the power of the fairy, and was held to do her +bidding. Mandricardo, upon seeing him, dropt his visor, and laid his +lance in rest. The champion of the castle was equally ready, and each +spurred towards his opponent. They met one another with equal force, +splintered their spears, and, returning to the charge, encountered with +their swords. The contest was long and doubtful, when Mandricardo, +determined to bring it to an end, threw his arms about Gradasso, +grappled with him, and both fell to the ground. Mandricardo, however, +fell uppermost, and, preserving his advantage, compelled Gradasso to +yield himself conquered. The damsel now interfered, congratulating the +victor, and consoling the vanquished as well as she might. + +Mandricardo and the damsel proceeded to the gate of the castle, which +they found undefended. As they entered they beheld a shield suspended +from a pilaster of gold. The device was a white eagle on an azure +field, in memory of the bird of Jove, which bore away Ganymede, the +flower of the Phrygian race. Beneath was engraved the following couplet: + + "Let none with hand profane my buckler wrong + Unless he be himself as Hector strong." + +The damsel, alighting from her palfrey, made obeisance to the arms, +bending herself to the ground. The Tartar king bowed his head with +equal reverence; then advancing towards the shield, touched it with his +sword. Thereupon an earthquake shook the ground, and the way by which +he had entered closed. Another and an opposite gate opened, and +displayed a field bristling with stalks and grain of gold. The damsel, +upon this, told him that he had no means of retreat but by cutting down +the harvest which was before him, and by uprooting a tree which grew in +the middle of the field. Mandricardo, without replying, began to mow +the harvest with his sword, but had scarce smitten thrice when he +perceived that every stalk that fell was instantly transformed into +some poisonous or ravenous animal, which prepared to assail him. +Instructed by the damsel, he snatched up a stone and cast it among the +pack. A strange wonder followed; for no sooner had the stone fallen +among the beasts, than they turned their rage against one another, and +rent each other to pieces. Mandricardo did not stop to marvel at the +miracle, but proceeded to fulfil his task, and uproot the tree. He +clasped it round the trunk, and made vigorous efforts to tear it up by +the roots. At each effort fell a shower of leaves, that were instantly +changed into birds of prey, which attacked the knight, flapping their +wings in his face, with horrid screeching. But undismayed by this new +annoyance, he continued to tug at the trunk till it yielded to his +efforts. A burst of wind and thunder followed, and the hawks and +vultures flew screaming away. + +But these only gave place to a new foe; for from the hole made by +tearing up the tree issued a furious serpent, and, darting at +Mandricardo, wound herself about his limbs with a strain that almost +crushed him. Fortune, however, again stood his friend, for, writhing +under the folds of the monster, he fell backwards into the hole, and +his enemy was crushed beneath his weight. + +Mandricardo, when he was somewhat recovered, and assured himself of the +destruction of the serpent, began to contemplate the place into which +he had fallen, and saw that he was in a vault, incrusted with costly +metals, and illuminated by a live coal. In the middle was a sort of +ivory bier, and upon this was extended what appeared to be a knight in +armor, but was in truth an empty trophy, composed of the rich and +precious arms once Hector's, to which nothing was wanting but the +sword. While Mandricardo stood contemplating the prize a door opened +behind him, and a bevy of fair damsels entered, dancing, who, taking up +the armor piece by piece, led him away to the place where the shield +was suspended; where he found the fairy of the castle seated in state. +By her he was invested with the arms he had won, first pledging his +solemn oath to wear no other blade but Durindana, which he was to wrest +from Orlando, and thus complete the conquest of Hector's arms. + + + +THE INVASION OF FRANCE (Continued) + +Mandricardo, having completed his story, now turned to Rogero, and +proposed that arms should decide which of the two was most worthy to +bear the symbol of the Trojan knight. + +Rogero felt no other objection to this proposal than the scruple which +arose on observing that his antagonist was without a sword. Mandricardo +insisted that this need be no impediment, since his oath prevented him +from using a sword until he should have achieved the conquest of +Durindana. + +This was no sooner said than a new antagonist started up in Gradasso, +who now accompanied Mandricardo. Gradasso vindicated his prior right to +Durindana, to obtain which he had embarked (as was related in the +beginning) in that bold inroad upon France. A quarrel was thus kindled +between the kings of Tartary and Sericane. While the dispute was raging +a knight arrived upon the ground, accompanied by a damsel, to whom +Rogero related the cause of the strife. The knight was Florismart, and +his companion Flordelis. Florismart succeeded in bringing the two +champions to accord, by informing them that he could bring them to the +presence of Orlando, the master of Durindana. + +Gradasso and Mandricardo readily made truce, in order to accompany +Florismart, nor would Rogero be left behind. + +As they proceeded on their quest they were met by a dwarf, who +entreated their assistance in behalf of his lady, who had been carried +off by an enchanter, mounted on a winged horse. However unwilling to +leave the question of the sword undecided, it was not possible for the +knights to resist this appeal. Two of their number, Gradasso and +Rogero, therefore accompanied the dwarf. Mandricardo persisted in his +search for Orlando, and Florismart, with Flordelis, pursued their way +to the camp of Charlemagne. + +Atlantes, the enchanter, who had brought up Rogero, and cherished for +him the warmest affection, knew by his art that his pupil was destined +to be severed from him, and converted to the Christian faith through +the influence of Bradamante, that royal maiden with whom chance had +brought him acquainted. Thinking to thwart the will of Heaven in this +respect, he now put forth all his arts to entrap Rogero into his power. +By the aid of his subservient demons he reared a castle on an +inaccessible height, in the Pyrenean mountains, and to make it a +pleasant abode to his pupil, contrived to entrap and convey thither +knights and damsels many a one, whom chance had brought into the +vicinity of his castle. Here, in a sort of sensual paradise, they were +but too willing to forget glory and duty, and to pass their time in +indolent enjoyment. + +It was by the enchanter that the dwarf had now been sent to tempt the +knights into his power. + +But we must now return to Rinaldo, whom we left interrupted in his +combat with Rodomont. In search of his late antagonist and intent on +bringing their combat to a decision he entered the forest of Arden, +whither he suspected Rodomont had gone. While engaged on this quest he +was surprised by the vision of a beautiful child dancing naked, with +three damsels as beautiful as himself. While he was lost in admiration +at the sight the child approached him, and, throwing at him handfuls of +roses and lilies, struck him from his horse. He was no sooner down than +he was seized by the dancers, by whom he was dragged about and scourged +with flowers till he fell into a swoon. When he began to revive one of +the group approached him, and told him that his punishment was the +consequence of his rebellion against that power before whom all things +bend; that there was but one remedy to heal the wounds that had been +inflicted, and that was to drink of the waters of Love. Then they left +him. + +Rinaldo, sore and faint, dragged himself toward a fountain which flowed +near by, and, being parched with thirst, drank greedily and almost +unconsciously of the water, which was sweet to the taste, but bitter to +the heart. After repeated draughts he recovered his strength and +recollection, and found himself in the same place where Angelica had +formerly awakened him with a rain of flowers, and whence he had fled in +contempt of her courtesy. + +This remembrance of the scene was followed by the recognition of his +crime; and, repenting bitterly his ingratitude, he leaped upon Bayard, +with the intention of hastening to Angelica's country, and soliciting +his pardon at her feet. + +Let us now retrace our steps, and revert to the time when the paladins +having learned from Dudon the summons of Charlemagne to return to +France to repel the invaders, had all obeyed the command with the +exception of Orlando, whose passion for Angelica still held him in +attendance on her. Orlando, arriving before Albracca, found it closely +beleaguered. He, however, made his way into the citadel, and related +his adventures to Angelica, from the time of his departure up to his +separation from Rinaldo and the rest, when they departed to the +assistance of Charlemagne. Angelica, in return, described the +distresses of the garrison, and the force of the besiegers; and in +conclusion prayed Orlando to favor her escape from the pressing danger, +and escort her into France. Orlando, who did not suspect that love for +Rinaldo was her secret motive, joyfully agreed to the proposal, and the +sally was resolved upon. + +Leaving lights burning in the fortress, they departed at nightfall, and +passed in safety through the enemy's camp. After encountering numerous +adventures they reached the sea-side, and embarked on board a pinnace +for France. The vessel arrived safely, and the travellers, disembarking +in Provence, pursued their way by land. One day, heated and weary, they +sought shelter from the sun in the forest of Arden, and chance directed +Angelica to the fountain of Disdain, of whose waters she eagerly drank. + +Issuing thence, the Count and damsel encountered a stranger-knight. It +was no other than Rinaldo, who was just on the point of setting off on +a pilgrimage in search of Angelica, to implore her pardon for his +insensibility, and urge his new found passion. Surprise and delight at +first deprived him of utterance, but soon recovering himself, he +joyfully saluted her, claiming her as his, and exhorting her to put +herself under his protection. His presumption was repelled by Angelica +with disdain, and Orlando, enraged at the invasion of his rights, +challenged him to decide their claims by arms. + +Terrified at the combat which ensued, Angelica fled amain through the +forest, and came out upon a plain covered with tents. This was the camp +of Charlemagne, who led the army of reserve destined to support the +troops which had advanced to oppose Marsilius. Charles having heard the +damsel's tale, with difficulty separated the two cousins, and then +consigned Angelica, as the cause of quarrel, to the care of Namo, Duke +of Bavaria, promising that she should be his who should best deserve +her in the impending battle. + +But these plans and hopes were frustrated. The Christian army, beaten +at all points, fled from the Saracens; and Angelica, indifferent to +both her lovers, mounted a swift palfrey and plunged into the forest, +rejoicing, in spite of her terror, at having regained her liberty. She +stopped at last in a tufted grove, where a gentle zephyr blew, and +whose young trees were watered by two clear runnels, which came and +mingled their waters, making a pleasing murmur. Believing herself far +from Rinaldo, and overcome by fatigue and the summer heat, she saw with +delight a bank covered with flowers so thick that they almost hid the +green turf, inviting her to alight and rest. She dismounted from her +palfrey, and turned him loose to recruit his strength with the tender +grass which bordered the streamlets. Then, in a sheltered nook +tapestried with moss and fenced in with roses and hawthorn-flowers, she +yielded herself to grateful repose. + +She had not slept long when she was awakened by the noise made by the +approach of a horse. Starting up, she saw an armed knight who had +arrived at the bank of the stream. Not knowing whether he was to be +feared or not, her heart beat with anxiety. She pressed aside the +leaves to allow her to see who it was, but scarce dared to breathe for +fear of betraying herself. Soon the knight threw himself on the flowery +bank, and leaning his head on his hand fell into a profound reverie. +Then arousing himself from his silence he began to pour forth +complaints, mingled with deep sighs. Rivers of tears flowed down his +cheeks, and his breast seemed to labor with a hidden flame. "Ah, vain +regrets!" he exclaimed; "cruel fortune! others triumph, while I endure +hopeless misery! Better a thousand times to lose life, than wear a +chain so disgraceful and so oppressive!" + +Angelica by this time had recognized the stranger, and perceived that +it was Sacripant, king of Circassia, one of the worthiest of her +suitors. This prince had followed Angelica from his country, at the +very gates of the day, to France, where he heard with dismay that she +was under the guardianship of the Paladin Orlando, and that the Emperor +had announced his decree to award her as the prize of valor to that one +of his nephews who should best deserve her. + +As Sacripant continued to lament, Angelica, who had always opposed the +hardness of marble to his sighs, thought with herself that nothing +forbade her employing his good offices in this unhappy crisis. Though +firmly resolved never to accept him as a spouse, she yet felt the +necessity of giving him a gleam of hope in reward for the service she +required of him. All at once, like Diana, she stepped forth from the +arbor. "May the gods preserve thee," she said, "and put far from thee +all hard thoughts of me!" Then she told him all that had befallen her +since she parted with him at her father's court, and how she had +availed herself of Orlando's protection to escape from the beleaguered +city. At that moment the noise of horse and armor was heard as of one +approaching; and Sacripant, furious at the interruption, resumed his +helmet, mounted his horse, and placed his lance in rest. He saw a +knight advancing, with scarf and plume of snowy whiteness. Sacripant +regarded him with angry eyes, and, while he was yet some distance off, +defied him to the combat. The other, not moved by his angry tone to +make reply, put himself on his defence. Their horses, struck at the +same moment with the spur, rushed upon one another with the impetuosity +of a tempest. Their shields were pierced each with the other's lance, +and only the temper of their breastplates saved their lives. Both the +horses recoiled with the violence of the shock; but the unknown +knight's recovered itself at the touch of the spur; the Saracen king's +fell dead, and bore down his master with him. The white knight, seeing +his enemy in this condition, cared not to renew the combat, but, +thinking he had done enough for glory, pursued his way through the +forest, and was a mile off before Sacripant had got free from his horse. + +As a ploughman, stunned by a thunder-clap which has stricken dead the +oxen at his plough, stands motionless, sadly contemplating his loss, so +Sacripant stood confounded and overwhelmed with mortification at having +Angelica a witness of his defeat. He groaned, he sighed, less from the +pain of his bruises than for the shame of being reduced to such a state +before her. The princess took pity on him, and consoled him as well as +she could. "Banish your regrets, my lord," she said, "this accident has +happened solely in consequence of the feebleness of your horse, which +had more need of rest and food than of such an encounter as this. Nor +can your adversary gain any credit by it, since he has hurried away, +not venturing a second trial." While she thus consoled Sacripant they +perceived a person approach, who seemed a courier, with bag and horn. +As soon as he came up, he accosted Sacripant, and inquired if he had +seen a knight pass that way, bearing a white shield and with a white +plume to his helmet. "I have, indeed, seen too much of him," said +Sacripant, "it is he who has brought me to the ground; but at least I +hope to learn from you who that knight is." "That I can easily inform +you," said the man; "know then that, if you have been overthrown, you +owe your fate to the high prowess of a lady as beautiful as she is +brave. It is the fair and illustrious Bradamante who has won from you +the honors of victory." + +At these words the courier rode on his way, leaving Sacripant more +confounded and mortified than ever. In silence he mounted the horse of +Angelica, taking the lady behind him on the croup, and rode away in +search of a more secure asylum. Hardly had they ridden two miles when a +new sound was heard in the forest, and they perceived a gallant and +powerful horse, which, leaping the ravines and dashing aside the +branches that opposed his passage, appeared before them, accoutred with +a rich harness adorned with gold. + +"If I may believe my eyes, which penetrate with difficulty the +underwood," said Angelica, "that horse that dashes so stoutly through +the bushes is Bayard, and I marvel how he seems to know the need we +have of him, mounted as we are both on one feeble animal." Sacripant, +dismounting from the palfrey, approached the fiery courser, and +attempted to seize his bridle, but the disdainful animal, turning from +him, launched at him a volley of kicks enough to have shattered a wall +of marble. Bayard then approached Angelica with an air as gentle and +loving as a faithful dog could his master after a long separation. For +he remembered how she had caressed him, and even fed him, in Albracca. +She took his bridle in her left hand, while with her right she patted +his neck. The beautiful animal, gifted with wonderful intelligence, +seemed to submit entirely. Sacripant, seizing the moment to vault upon +him, controlled his curvetings, and Angelica, quitting the croup of the +palfrey, regained her seat. + +But, turning his eyes toward a place where was heard a noise of arms, +Sacripant beheld Rinaldo. That hero now loves Angelica more than his +life, and she flies him as the timid crane the falcon. + +The fountain of which Angelica had drunk produced such an effect on the +beautiful queen that, with distressed countenance and trembling voice, +she conjured Sacripant not to wait the approach of Rinaldo, but to join +her in flight. + +"Am I, then," said Sacripant, "of so little esteem with you that you +doubt my power to defend you? Do you forget the battle of Albracca, and +how, in your defence, I fought single-handed against Agrican and all +his knights?" + +Angelica made no reply, uncertain what to do; but already Rinaldo was +too near to be escaped. He advanced menacingly to the Circassian king, +for he recognized his horse. + +"Vile thief," he cried, "dismount from that horse, and prevent the +punishment that is your due for daring to rob me of my property. Leave, +also, the princess in my hands; for it would indeed be a sin to suffer +so charming a lady and so gallant a charger to remain in such keeping." + +The king of Circassia, furious at being thus insulted, cried out, "Thou +liest, villain, in giving me the name of thief, which better belongs to +thyself than to me. It is true, the beauty of this lady and the +perfection of this horse are unequalled; come on, then, and let us try +which of us is most worthy to possess them." + +At these words the king of Circassia and Rinaldo attacked one another +with all their force, one fighting on foot, the other on horseback. You +need not, however, suppose that the Saracen king found any advantage in +this; for a young page, unused to horsemanship, could not have failed +more completely to manage Bayard than did this accomplished knight. The +faithful animal loved his master too well to injure him, and refused +his aid as well as his obedience to the hand of Sacripant, who could +strike but ineffectual blows, the horse backing when he wished him to +go forward, and dropping his head and arching his back, throwing out +with his legs, so as almost to shake the knight out of the saddle. +Sacripant, seeing that he could not manage him, watched his +opportunity, rose on his saddle, and leapt lightly to the earth; then, +relieved from the embarrassment of the horse, renewed the combat on +more equal terms. Their skill to thrust and parry were equal; one +rises, the other stoops; with one foot set firm they turn and wind, to +lay on strokes or to dodge them. At last Rinaldo, throwing himself on +the Circassian, dealt him a blow so terrible that Fusberta, his good +sword, cut in two the buckler of Sacripant, although it was made of +bone, and covered with a thick plate of steel well tempered. The arm of +the Saracen was deprived of its defence, and almost palsied with the +stroke. Angelica, perceiving how victory was likely to incline, and +shuddering at the thought of becoming the prize of Rinaldo, hesitated +no longer. Turning her horse's head, she fled with the utmost speed; +and, in spite of the round pebbles which covered a steep descent, she +plunged into a deep valley, trembling with the fear that Rinaldo was in +pursuit. At the bottom of this valley she encountered an aged hermit, +whose white beard flowed to his middle, and whose venerable appearance +seemed to assure his piety. + +This hermit, who appeared shrunk by age and fasting, travelled slowly, +mounted upon a wretched ass. The princess, overcome with fear, conjured +him to save her life; and to conduct her to some port of the sea, +whence she might embark and quit France, never more to hear the odious +name of Rinaldo. + +The old hermit was something of a wizard. He comforted Angelica, and +promised to protect her from all peril. Then he opened his scrip, and +took from thence a book, and had read but a single page when a goblin, +obedient to his incantations, appeared, under the form of a laboring +man, and demanded his orders. He received them, transported himself to +the place where the knights still maintained their conflict, and boldly +stepped between the two. + +"Tell me, I pray you," he said, "what benefit will accrue to him who +shall get the better in this contest? The object you are contending for +is already disposed of; for the Paladin Orlando, without effort and +without opposition, is now carrying away the princess Angelica to +Paris. You had better pursue them promptly; for if they reach Paris you +will never see her again." + +At these words you might have seen those rival warriors confounded, +stupefied, silently agreeing that they were affording their rival a +fair opportunity to triumph over them. Rinaldo, approaching Bayard, +breathes a sigh of shame and rage, and swears a terrible oath that, if +he overtakes Orlando, he will tear his heart out. Then mounting Bayard +and pressing his flanks with his spurs, he leaves the king of Circassia +on foot in the forest. + +Let it not appear strange that Rinaldo found Bayard obedient at last, +after having so long prevented any one from even touching his bridle; +for that fine animal had an intelligence almost human; he had fled from +his master only to draw him on the track of Angelica, and enable him to +recover her. He saw when the princess fled from the battle, and Rinaldo +being then engaged in a fight on foot, Bayard found himself free to +follow the traces of Angelica. Thus he had drawn his master after him, +not permitting him to approach, and had brought him to the sight of the +princess. But Bayard now, deceived like his master with the false +intelligence of the goblin, submits to be mounted and to serve his +master as usual, and Rinaldo, animated with rage, makes him fly toward +Paris, more slowly than his wishes, though the speed of Bayard +outstripped the winds. Full of impatience to encounter Orlando, he gave +but a few hours that night to sleep. Early the next day he saw before +him the great city, under the walls of which the Emperor Charles had +collected the scattered remains of his army. Foreseeing that he would +soon be attacked on all sides, the Emperor had caused the ancient +fortifications to be repaired, and new ones to be built, surrounded by +wide and deep ditches. The desire to hold the field against the enemy +made him seize every means of procuring new allies. He hoped to receive +from England aid sufficient to enable him to form a new camp, and as +soon as Rinaldo rejoined him he selected him to go as his ambassador +into England, to plead for auxiliaries. Rinaldo was far from pleased +with his commission, but he obeyed the Emperor's commands, without +giving himself time to devote a single day to the object nearest his +heart. He hastened to Calais, and lost not a moment in embarking for +England, ardently desiring a hasty despatch of his commission, and a +speedy return to France. + + + +BRADAMANTE AND ROGERO + +Bradamante, the knight of the white plume and shield, whose sudden +appearance and encounter with Sacripant we have already told, was in +quest of Rogero, from whom chance had separated her, almost at the +beginning of their acquaintance. After her encounter with Sacripant +Bradamante pursued her way through the forest, in hopes of rejoining +Rogero, and arrived at last on the brink of a fair fountain. + +This fountain flowed through a broad meadow. Ancient trees overshadowed +it, and travellers, attracted by the sweet murmur of its waters, +stopped there to cool themselves. Bradamante, casting her eyes on all +sides to enjoy the beauties of the spot, perceived, under the shade of +a tree, a knight reclining, who seemed to be oppressed with the deepest +grief. + +Bradamante accosted him, and asked to be informed of the cause of his +distress. "Alas! my lord," said he, "I lament a young and charming +friend, my affianced wife, who has been torn from me by a villain,--let +me rather call him a demon,--who, on a winged horse, descended from the +air, seized her, and bore her screaming to his den. I have pursued them +over rocks and through ravines till my horse is no longer able to bear +me, and I now wait only for death." He added that already a vain +attempt on his behalf had been made by two knights, whom chance had +brought to the spot. Their names were Gradasso, king of Sericane, and +Rogero, the Moor. Both had been overcome by the wiles of the enchanter, +and were added to the number of the captives, whom he held in an +impregnable castle, situated on the height of the mountain. At the +mention of Rogero's name Bradamante started with delight, which was +soon changed to an opposite sentiment when she heard that her lover was +a prisoner in the toils of the enchanter. "Sir Knight," she said, "do +not surrender yourself to despair; this day may be more happy for you +than you think, if you will only lead me to the castle which enfolds +her whom you deplore." + +The knight responded, "After having lost all that made life dear to me +I have no motive to avoid the dangers of the enterprise, and I will do +as you request; but I forewarn you of the perils you will have to +encounter. If you fall impute it not to me." + +Having thus spoken, they took their way to the castle, but were +overtaken by a messenger from the camp, who had been sent in quest of +Bradamante to summon her back to the army, where her presence was +needed to reassure her disheartened forces, and withstand the advance +of the Moors. + +The mournful knight, whose name was Pinabel, thus became aware that +Bradamante was a scion of the house of Clermont, between which and his +own of Mayence there existed an ancient feud. From this moment the +traitor sought only how he might be rid of the company of Bradamante, +from whom he feared no good would come to him, but rather mortal +injury, if his name and lineage became known to her. For he judged her +by his own base model, and, knowing his ill deserts, he feared to +receive his due. + +Bradamante, in spite of the summons to return to the army, could not +resolve to leave her lover in captivity, and determined first to finish +the adventure on which she was engaged. Pinabel leading the way, they +at length arrived at a wood, in the centre of which rose a steep, rocky +mountain. Pinabel, who now thought of nothing else but how he might +escape from Bradamante, proposed to ascend the mountain to extend his +view, in order to discover a shelter for the night, if any there might +be within sight. Under this pretence he left Bradamante, and advanced +up the side of the mountain till he came to a cleft in the rock, down +which he looked, and perceived that it widened below into a spacious +cavern. Meanwhile Bradamante, fearful of losing her guide, had followed +close on his footsteps, and rejoined him at the mouth of the cavern. +Then the traitor, seeing the impossibility of escaping her, conceived +another design. He told her that before her approach he had seen in the +cavern a young and beautiful damsel, whose rich dress announced her +high birth, who with tears and lamentations implored assistance; that +before he could descend to relieve her a ruffian had seized her, and +hurried her away into the recesses of the cavern. + +Bradamante, full of truth and courage, readily believed this lie of the +Mayencian traitor. Eager to succor the damsel, she looked round for the +means of facilitating the descent, and seeing a large elm with +spreading branches she lopped off with her sword one of the largest, +and thrust it into the opening. She told Pinabel to hold fast to the +larger end, while, grasping the branches with her hands, she let +herself down into the cavern. + +The traitor smiled at seeing her thus suspended, and, asking her in +mockery, "Are you a good leaper?" he let go the branch with perfidious +glee, and saw Bradamante precipitated to the bottom of the cave. "I +wish your whole race were there with you," he muttered, "that you might +all perish together." + +But Pinabel's atrocious design was not accomplished. The twigs and +foliage of the branch broke its descent, and Bradamante, not seriously +injured, though stunned with her fall, was reserved for other +adventures. + +As soon as she recovered from the shock Bradamante cast her eyes around +and perceived a door, through which she passed into a second cavern, +larger and loftier than the first. It had the appearance of a +subterranean temple. Columns of the purest alabaster adorned it, and +supported the roof; a simple altar rose in the middle; a lamp, whose +radiance was reflected by the alabaster walls, cast a mild light around. + +Bradamante, inspired by a sense of religious awe, approached the altar, +and, falling on her knees, poured forth her prayers and thanks to the +Preserver of her life, invoking the protection of his power. At that +moment a small door opened, and a female issued from it with naked +feet, and flowing robe and hair, who called her by her name, and thus +addressed her: "Brave and generous Bradamante, know that it is a power +from above that has brought you hither. The spirit of Merlin, whose +last earthly abode was in this place, has warned me of your arrival, +and of the fate that awaits you. This famous grotto," she continued, +"was the work of the enchanter Merlin; here his ashes repose. You have +no doubt heard how this sage and virtuous enchanter ceased to be. +Victim of the artful fairy of the lake, Merlin, by a fatal compliance +with her request, laid himself down living in his tomb, without power +to resist the spell laid upon him by that ingrate, who retained him +there as long as he lived. His spirit hovers about this spot, and will +not leave it, until the last trumpet shall summon the dead to judgment. +He answers the questions of those who approach his tomb, where perhaps +you may be privileged to hear his voice." + +Bradamante, astonished at these words, and the objects which met her +view, knew not whether she was awake or asleep. Confused, but modest, +she cast down her eyes, and a blush overspread her face. "Ah, what am +I," said she, "that so great a prophet should deign to speak to me!" +Still, with a secret satisfaction, she followed the priestess, who led +her to the tomb of Merlin. This tomb was constructed of a species of +stone hard and resplendent like fire. The rays which beamed from the +stone sufficed to light up that terrible place, where the sun's rays +never penetrated; but I know not whether that light was the effect of a +certain phosphorescence of the stone itself, or of the many talismans +and charms with which it was wrought over. + +Bradamante had hardly passed the threshold of this sacred place when +the spirit of the enchanter saluted her with a voice firm and distinct: +"May thy designs be prosperous, O chaste and noble maiden, the future +mother of heroes, the glory of Italy, and destined to fill the whole +world with their fame. Great captains, renowned knights, shall be +numbered among your descendants, who shall defend the Church and +restore their country to its ancient splendor. Princes, wise as +Augustus and the sage Numa, shall bring back the age of gold. +[Footnote: This prophecy is introduced by Ariosto in this place to +compliment the noble house of Este, the princes of his native state, +the dukedom of Ferrara.] To accomplish these grand destinies it is +ordained that you shall wed the illustrious Rogero. Fly then to his +deliverance, and lay prostrate in the dust the traitor who has snatched +him from you, and now holds him in chains!" + +Merlin ceased with these words, and left to Melissa, the priestess, the +charge of more fully instructing the maiden in her future course. +"To-morrow," said she, "I will conduct you to the castle on the rock +where Rogero is held captive. I will not leave you till I have guided +you through this wild wood, and I will direct you on your way so that +you shall be in no danger of mistaking it." + +The next morning Melissa conducted Bradamante between rocks and +precipices, crossing rapid torrents, and traversing intricate passes, +employing the time in imparting to her such information as was +necessary to enable her to bring her design to a successful issue. + +"Not only would the castle, impenetrable by force, and that winged +horse of his baffle your efforts, but know that he possesses also a +buckler whence flashes a light so brilliant that the eyes of all who +look upon it are blinded. Think not to avoid it by shutting your eyes, +for how then will you be able to avoid his blows, and make him feel +your own? But I will teach you the proper course to pursue. + +"Agramant, the Moorish prince, possesses a ring stolen from a queen of +India, which has power to render of no avail all enchantments. +Agramant, knowing that Rogero is of more importance to him than any one +of his warriors, is desirous of rescuing him from the power of the +enchanter, and has sent for that purpose Brunello, the most crafty and +sagacious of his servants, provided with his wonderful ring, and he is +even now at hand, bent on this enterprise. But, beautiful Bradamante, +as I desire that no one but yourself shall have the glory of delivering +from thraldom your future spouse, listen while I disclose the means of +success. Following this path which leads by the seashore, you will come +ere long to a hostelry, where the Saracen Brunello will arrive shortly +before you. You will readily know him by his stature, under four feet, +his great disproportioned head, his squint eyes, his livid hue, his +thick eyebrows joining his tufted beard. His dress, moreover, that of a +courier, will point him out to you. + +"It will be easy for you to enter into conversation with him, +announcing yourself as a knight seeking combat with the enchanter, but +let not the knave suspect that you know anything about the ring. I +doubt not that he will be your guide to the castle of the enchanter. +Accept his offer, but take care to keep behind him till you come in +sight of the brilliant dome of the castle. Then hesitate not to strike +him dead, for the wretch deserves no pity, and take from him the ring. +But let him not suspect your intention, for by putting the ring into +his mouth he will instantly become invisible, and disappear from your +eyes." + +Saying thus, the sage Melissa and the fair Bradamante arrived near the +city of Bordeaux, where the rich and wide river Garonne pours the +tribute of its waves into the sea. They parted with tender embraces. +Bradamante, intent wholly on her purpose, hastened to arrive at the +hostelry, where Brunello had preceded her a few moments only. The young +heroine knew him without difficulty. She accosted him, and put to him +some slight questions, to which he replied with adroit falsehoods. +Bradamante, on her part, concealed from him her sex, her religion, her +country, and the blood from whence she sprung. While they talk +together, sudden cries are heard from all parts of the hostelry. "O +queen of heaven!" exclaimed Bradamante, "what can be the cause of this +sudden alarm?" She soon learned the cause. Host, children, domestics, +all, with upturned eyes, as if they saw a comet or a great eclipse, +were gazing on a prodigy which seemed to pass the bounds of +possibility. She beheld distinctly a winged horse, mounted with a +cavalier in rich armor, cleaving the air with rapid flight. The wings +of this strange courser were wide extended, and covered with feathers +of various colors. The polished armor of the knight made them shine +with rainbow tints. In a short time the horse and rider disappeared +behind the summits of the mountains. + +"It is an enchanter," said the host, "a magician who often is seen +traversing the air in that way. Sometimes he flies aloft as if among +the stars, and at others skims along the land. He possesses a wonderful +castle on the top of the Pyrenees. Many knights have shown their +courage by going to attack him, but none have ever returned, from which +it is to be feared they have lost either their life or their liberty." + +Bradamante, addressing the host, said, "Could you furnish me a guide to +conduct me to the castle of this enchanter?" "By my faith," said +Brunello, interrupting, "that you shall not seek in vain; I have it all +in writing, and I will myself conduct you." Bradamante, with thanks, +accepted him for her guide. + +The host had a tolerable horse to dispose of, which Bradamante +bargained for, and the next day, at the first dawn of morning, she took +her route by a narrow valley, taking care to have the Saracen Brunello +lead the way. + +They reached the summit of the Pyrenees, whence one may look down on +France, Spain, and the two seas. From this height they descended again +by a fatiguing road into a deep valley. From the middle of this valley +an isolated mountain rose, composed of rough and perpendicular rock, on +whose summit was the castle, surrounded with a wall of brass. Brunello +said, "Yonder is the stronghold where the enchanter keeps his +prisoners; one must have wings to mount thither; it is easy to see that +the aid of a flying horse must be necessary for the master of this +castle, which he uses for his prison and for his abode." + +Bradamante, sufficiently instructed, saw that the time had now come to +possess herself of the ring; but she could not resolve to slay a +defenceless man. She seized Brunello before he was aware, bound him to +a tree, and took from him the ring which he wore on one of his fingers. +The cries and entreaties of the perfidious Saracen moved her not. She +advanced to the foot of the rock whereon the castle stood, and, to draw +the magician to the combat, sounded her horn, adding to it cries of +defiance. + +The enchanter delayed not to present himself, mounted on his winged +horse. Bradamante was struck with surprise mixed with joy when she saw +that this person, described as so formidable, bore no lance nor club, +nor any other deadly weapon. He had only on his arm a buckler, covered +with a cloth, and in his hand an open book. As to the winged horse, +there was no enchantment about him. He was a natural animal, of a +species which exists in the Riphaean mountains. Like a griffin, he had +the head of an eagle, claws armed with talons, and wings covered with +feathers, the rest of his body being that of a horse. This strange +animal is called a Hippogriff. + +The heroine attacked the enchanter on his approach, striking on this +side and on that, with all the energy of a violent combat, but wounding +only the wind; and after this pretended attack had lasted some time +dismounted from her horse, as if hoping to do battle more effectually +on foot. The enchanter now prepares to employ his sole weapon, by +uncovering the magic buckler which never failed to subdue an enemy by +depriving him of his senses. Bradamante, confiding in her ring, +observed all the motions of her adversary, and, at the unveiling of the +shield, cast herself on the ground, pretending that the splendor of the +shield had overcome her, but in reality to induce the enchanter to +dismount and approach her. + +It happened according to her wish. When the enchanter saw her prostrate +he made his horse alight on the ground, and, dismounting, fixed the +shield on the pommel of his saddle, and approached in order to secure +the fallen warrior. Bradamante, who watched him intently, as soon as +she saw him near at hand, sprang up, seized him vigorously, threw him +down, and, with the same chain which the enchanter had prepared for +herself, bound him fast, without his being able to make any effectual +resistance. + +The enchanter, with the accents of despair, exclaimed, "Take my life, +young man!" but Bradamante was far from complying with such a wish. +Desirous of knowing the name of the enchanter, and for what purpose he +had formed with so much art this impregnable fortress, she commanded +him to inform her. + +"Alas!" replied the magician, while tears flowed down his cheeks, "it +is not to conceal booty, nor for any culpable design that I have built +this castle; it was only to guard the life of a young knight, the +object of my tenderest affection, my art having taught me that he is +destined to become a Christian, and to perish, shortly after, by the +blackest of treasons. + +"This youth, named Rogero, is the most beautiful and most accomplished +of knights. It is I, the unhappy Atlantes, who have reared him from his +childhood. The call of honor and the desire of glory led him from me to +follow Agramant, his prince, in his invasion of France, and I, more +devoted to Rogero than the tenderest of parents, have sought the means +of bringing him back to this abode, in the hope of saving him from the +cruel fate that menaces him. + +"For this purpose I have got him in my possession by the same means as +I attempted to employ against you; and by which I have succeeded in +collecting a great many knights and ladies in my castle. My purpose was +to render my beloved pupil's captivity light, by affording him society +to amuse him, and keep his thoughts from running on subjects of war and +glory. Alas! my cares have been in vain! Yet, take, I beseech you, +whatever else I have, but spare me my beloved pupil. Take this shield, +take this winged courser, deliver such of your friends as you may find +among my prisoners, deliver them all if you will, but leave me my +beloved Rogero; or if you will snatch him too from me, take also my +life, which will cease then to be to me worth preserving." + +Bradamante replied: "Old man, hope not to move me by your vain +entreaties. It is precisely the liberty of Rogero that I require. You +would keep him here in bondage and in slothful pleasure, to save him +from a fate which you foresee. Vain old man! how can you foresee his +fate when you could not foresee your own? You desire me to take your +life. No, my aim and my soul refuse the request." This said, she +required the magician to go before, and guide her to the castle. The +prisoners were set at liberty, though some, in their secret hearts, +regretted the voluptuous life which was thus brought to an end. +Bradamante and Rogero met one another with transports of joy. + +They descended from the mountain to the spot where the encounter had +taken place. There they found the Hippogriff, with the magic buckler in +its wrapper, hanging to his saddle-bow. Bradamante advanced to seize +the bridle; the Hippogriff seemed to wait her approach, but before she +reached him he spread his wings and flew away to a neighboring hill, +and in the same manner, a second time, eluded her efforts. Rogero and +the other liberated knights dispersed over the plain and hilltops to +secure him, and at last the animal allowed Rogero to seize his rein. +The fearless Rogero hesitated not to vault upon his back, and let him +feel his spurs, which so roused his mettle that, after galloping a +short distance, he suddenly spread his wings, and soared into the air. +Bradamante had the grief to see her lover snatched away from her at the +very moment of reunion. Rogero, who knew not the art of directing the +horse, was unable to control his flight. He found himself carried over +the tops of the mountains, so far above them that he could hardly +distinguish what was land and what water. The Hippogriff directed his +flight to the west, and cleaved the air as swiftly as a new-rigged +vessel cuts the waves, impelled by the freshest and most favorable +gales. + + + +ASTOLPHO AND THE ENCHANTRESS + +In the long flight which Rogero took on the back of the Hippogriff he +was carried over land and sea, unknowing whither. As soon as he had +gained some control over the animal he made him alight on the nearest +land. When he came near enough to earth Rogero leapt lightly from his +back, and tied the animal to a myrtle-tree. Near the spot flowed the +pure waters of a fountain, surrounded by cedars and palm-trees. Rogero +laid aside his shield, and, removing his helmet, breathed with delight +the fresh air, and cooled his lips with the waters of the fountain. For +we cannot wonder that he was excessively fatigued, considering the ride +he had taken. He was preparing to taste the sweets of repose when he +perceived that the Hippogriff, which he had tied by the bridle to a +myrtle-tree, frightened at something, was making violent efforts to +disengage himself. His struggle shook the myrtle-tree so that many of +its beautiful leaves were torn off, and strewed the ground. + +A sound like that which issues from burning wood seemed to come from +the myrtle-tree, at first faint and indistinct, but growing stronger by +degrees, and at length was audible as a voice which spoke in this +manner: "O knight, if the tenderness of your heart corresponds to the +beauty of your person, relieve me, I pray you, from this tormenting +animal. I suffer enough inwardly without having outward evils added to +my lot." + +Rogero, at the first accents of this voice, turned his eyes promptly on +the myrtle, hastened to it, and stood fixed in astonishment when he +perceived that the voice issued from the tree itself. He immediately +untied his horse, and, flushed with surprise and regret, exclaimed, +"Whoever thou art, whether mortal or the goddess of these woods, +forgive me, I beseech you, my involuntary fault. Had I imagined that +this hard bark covered a being possessed of feeling, could I have +exposed such a beautiful myrtle to the insults of this steed? May the +sweet influences of the sky and air speedily repair the injury I have +done! For my part, I promise by the sovereign lady of my heart to do +everything you wish in order to merit your forgiveness." + +At these words the myrtle seemed to tremble from root to stem, and +Rogero remarked that a moisture as of tears trickled down its bark, +like that which exudes from a log placed on the fire. It then spoke: + +"The kindness which inspires your words compels me to disclose to you +who I once was, and by what fatality I have been changed into this +shape. My name was Astolpho, cousin of Orlando and Rinaldo, whose fame +has filled the earth. I was myself reckoned among the bravest paladins +of France, and was by birth entitled to reign over England, after Otho, +my father. Returning from the distant East, with Rinaldo and many other +brave knights, called home to aid with our arms the great Emperor of +France, we reached a spot where the powerful enchantress Alcina +possessed a castle on the borders of the sea. She had gone to the +water-side to amuse herself with fishing, and we paused to see how, by +her art, without hook or line, she drew from the water whatever she +would. + +"Not far from the shore an enormous whale showed a back so broad and +motionless that it looked like an island. Alcina had fixed her eyes on +me, and planned to get me into her power. Addressing us, she said: +'This is the hour when the prettiest mermaid in the sea comes regularly +every day to the shore of yonder island. She sings so sweetly that the +very waves flow smoother at the sound. If you wish to hear her come +with me to her resort.' So saying, Alcina pointed to the fish, which we +all supposed to be an island. I, who was rash, did not hesitate to +follow her; but swam my horse over, and mounted on the back of the +fish. In vain Rinaldo and Dudon made signs to me to beware; Alcina, +smiling, took me in charge, and led the way. No sooner were we mounted +upon him than the whale moved off, spreading his great fins, and cleft +rapidly the waters. I then saw my folly, but it was too late to repent. +Alcina soothed my anger, and professed that what she had done was for +love of me. Ere long we arrived at this island, where at first +everything was done to reconcile me to my lot, and to make my days pass +happily away. But soon Alcina, sated with her conquest, grew +indifferent, then weary of me, and at last, to get rid of me, changed +me into this form, as she had done to many lovers before me, making +some of them olives, some palms, some cedars, changing others into +fountains, rocks, or even into wild beasts. And thou, courteous knight, +whom accident has brought to this enchanted isle, beware that she get +not the power over thee, or thou shalt haply be made like us, a tree, a +fountain, or a rock." + +Rogero expressed his astonishment at this recital. Astolpho added that +the island was in great part subject to the sway of Alcina. By the aid +of her sister Morgana, she had succeeded in dispossessing a third +sister, Logestilla, of nearly the whole of her patrimony, for the whole +isle was hers originally by her father's bequest. But Logestilla was +temperate and sage, while the other sisters were false and voluptuous. +Her empire was divided from theirs by a gulf and chain of mountains, +which alone had thus far prevented her sister from usurping it. + +Astolpho here ended his tale, and Rogero, who knew that he was the +cousin of Bradamante, would gladly have devised some way for his +relief; but, as that was out of his power, he consoled him as well as +he could, and then begged to be told the way to the palace of +Logestilla, and how to avoid that of Alcina. Astolpho directed him to +take the road to the left, though rough and full of rocks. He warned +him that this road would present serious obstacles; that troops of +monsters would oppose his passage, employed by the art of Alcina to +prevent her subjects from escaping from her dominion. Rogero thanked +the myrtle, and prepared to set out on his way. + +He at first thought he would mount the winged horse, and scale the +mountain on his back; but he was too uncertain of his power to control +him to wish to encounter the hazard of another flight through the air, +besides that he was almost famished for the want of food. So he led the +horse after him, and took the road on foot, which for some distance led +equally to the dominions of both the sisters. + +He had not advanced more than two miles when he saw before him the +superb city of Alcina. It was surrounded with a wall of gold, which +seemed to reach the skies. I know that some think that this wall was +not of real gold, but only the work of alchemy; it matters not; I +prefer to think it gold, for it certainly shone like gold. + +A broad and level road led to the gates of the city, and from this +another branched off, narrow and rough, which led to the mountain +region. Rogero took without hesitation the narrow road; but he had no +sooner entered upon it than he was assailed by a numerous troop which +opposed his passage. + +You never have seen anything so ridiculous, so extraordinary, as this +host of hobgoblins were. Some of them bore the human form from the neck +to the feet, but had the head of a monkey or a cat; others had the legs +and the ears of a horse; old men and women, bald and hideous, ran +hither and thither as if out of their senses, half clad in the shaggy +skins of beasts; one rode full speed on a horse without a bridle, +another jogged along mounted on an ass or a cow; others, full of +agility, skipped about, and clung to the tails and manes of the animals +which their companions rode. Some blew horns, others brandished +drinking-cups; some were armed with spits, and some with pitchforks. +One, who appeared to be the captain, had an enormous belly and a gross +fat head; he was mounted on a tortoise, that waddled, now this way, now +that, without keeping any one direction. + +One of these monsters, who had something approaching the human form, +though he had the neck, ears, and muzzle of a dog, set himself to bark +furiously at Rogero, to make him turn off to the right, and reenter +upon the road to the gay city; but the brave chevalier exclaimed, "That +will I not, so long as I can use this sword,"--and he thrust the point +directly at his face. The monster tried to strike him with a lance, but +Rogero was too quick for him, and thrust his sword through his body, so +that it appeared a hand's breadth behind his back. The paladin, now +giving full vent to his rage, laid about him vigorously among the +rabble, cleaving one to the teeth, another to the girdle; but the troop +were so numerous, and in spite of his blows pressed around him so +close, that, to clear his way, he must have had as many arms as +Briareus. + +If Rogero had uncovered the shield of the enchanter, which hung at his +saddle-bow, he might easily have vanquished this monstrous rout; but +perhaps he did not think of it, and perhaps he preferred to seek his +defence nowhere but in his good sword. At that moment, when his +perplexity was at its height, he saw issue from the city gate two young +beauties, whose air and dress proclaimed their rank and gentle nurture. +Each of them was mounted on a unicorn, whose whiteness surpassed that +of ermine. They advanced to the meadow where Rogero was contending so +valiantly against the hobgoblins, who all retired at their approach. +They drew near, they extended their hands to the young warrior, whose +cheeks glowed with the flush of exercise and modesty. Grateful for +their assistance, he expressed his thanks, and, having no heart to +refuse them, followed their guidance to the gate of the city. + +This grand and beautiful entrance was adorned by a portico of four vast +columns, all of diamond. Whether they were real diamond or artificial I +cannot say. What matter is it, so long as they appeared to the eye like +diamond, and nothing could be more gay and splendid. + +On the threshold, and between the columns, was seen a bevy of charming +young women, who played and frolicked together. They all ran to receive +Rogero, and conducted him into the palace, which appeared like a +paradise. + +We might well call by that name this abode, where the hours flew by, +without account, in ever-new delights. The bare idea of satiety, want, +and, above all, of age, never entered the minds of the inhabitants. +They experienced no sensations except those of luxury and gayety; the +cup of happiness seemed for them ever-flowing and exhaustless. The two +young damsels to whom Rogero owed his deliverance from the hobgoblins +conducted him to the apartment of their mistress. The beautiful Alcina +advanced, and greeted him with an air at once dignified and courteous. +All her court surrounded the paladin, and rendered him the most +flattering attentions. The castle was less admirable for its +magnificence than for the charms of those who inhabited it. They were +of either sex, well matched in beauty, youth, and grace; but among this +charming group the brilliant Alcina shone, as the sun outshines the +stars. The young warrior was fascinated. All that he had heard from the +myrtle-tree appeared to him but a vile calumny. How could he suspect +that falsehood and treason veiled themselves under smiles and the +ingenuous air of truth? He doubted not that Astolpho had deserved his +fate, and perhaps a punishment more severe; he regarded all his stories +as dictated by a disappointed spirit, and a thirst for revenge. But we +must not condemn Rogero too harshly, for he was the victim of magic +power. + +They seated themselves at table, and immediately harmonious lyres and +harps waked the air with the most ravishing notes. The charms of poetry +were added in entertaining recitals; the magnificence of the feast +would have done credit to a royal board. The traitress forgot nothing +which might charm the paladin, and attach him to the spot, meaning, +when she should grow tired of him, to metamorphose him as she had done +others. In the same manner passed each succeeding day. Games of +pleasant exercise, the chase, the dance, or rural sports, made the +hours pass quickly; while they gave zest to the refreshment of the +bath, or sleep. + +Thus Rogero led a life of ease and luxury, while Charlemagne and +Agramant were struggling for empire. But I cannot linger with him while +the amiable and courageous Bradamante is night and day directing her +uncertain steps to every spot where the slightest chance invites her, +in the hope of recovering Rogero. + +I will therefore say that, having sought him in vain in fields and in +cities, she knew not whither next to direct her steps. She did not +apprehend the death of Rogero. The fall of such a hero would have +reechoed from the Hydaspes to the farthest river of the West; but, not +knowing whether he was on the earth or in the air, she concluded, as a +last resource, to return to the cavern which contained the tomb of +Merlin, to ask of him some sure direction to the object of her search. + +While this thought occupied her mind, Melissa, the sage enchantress, +suddenly appeared before her. This virtuous and beneficent magician had +discovered by her spells that Rogero was passing his time in pleasure +and idleness, forgetful of his honor and his sovereign. Not able to +endure the thought that one who was born to be a hero should waste his +years in base repose, and leave a sullied reputation in the memory of +survivors, she saw that vigorous measures must be employed to draw him +forth into the paths of virtue. Melissa was not blinded by her +affection for the amiable paladin, like Atlantes, who, intent only on +preserving Rogero's life, cared nothing for his fame. It was that old +enchanter whose arts had guided the Hippogriff to the isle of the too +charming Alcina, where he hoped his favorite would learn to forget +honor, and lose the love of glory. + +At the sight of Melissa joy lighted up the countenance of Bradamante, +and hope animated her breast. Melissa concealed nothing from her, but +told her how Rogero was in the toils of Alcina. Bradamante was plunged +in grief and terror; but the kind enchantress calmed her, dispelled her +fears, and promised that before many days she would lead back the +paladin to her feet. + +"My daughter," she said, "give me the ring which you wear, and which +possesses the power to overcome enchantments. By means of it I doubt +not but that I may enter the stronghold where the false Alcina holds +Rogero in durance, and may succeed in vanquishing her and liberating +him." Bradamante unhesitatingly delivered her the ring, recommending +Rogero to her best efforts. Melissa then summoned by her art a huge +palfrey, black as jet, excepting one foot, which was bay. Mounted upon +this animal, she rode with such speed that by the next morning she had +reached the abode of Alcina. + +She here transformed herself into the perfect resemblance of the old +magician Atlantes, adding a palm-breadth to her height, and enlarging +her whole figure. Her chin she covered with a long beard, and seamed +her whole visage well with wrinkles. She assumed also his voice and +manner, and watched her chance to find Rogero alone. At last she found +him, dressed in a rich tunic of silk and gold, a collar of precious +stones about his neck, and his arms, once so rough with exercise, +decorated with bracelets. His air and his every motion indicated +effeminacy, and he seemed to retain nothing of Rogero but the name; +such power had the enchantress obtained over him. + +Melissa, under the form of his old instructor, presented herself before +him, wearing a stern and serious visage. "Is this, then," she said, +"the fruit of all my labors? Is it for this that I fed you on the +marrow of bears and lions, that I taught you to subdue dragons, and, +like Hercules, strangle serpents in your youthful grasp, only to make +you, by all my cares, a feeble Adonis? My nightly watchings of the +stars, of the yet warm fibres of animals, the lots I have cast, the +points of nativity that I have calculated, have they all falsely +indicated that you were born for greatness? Who could have believed +that you would become the slave of a base enchantress? O Rogero, learn +to know this Alcina, learn to understand her arts and to countervail +them. Take this ring, place it on your finger, return to her presence, +and see for yourself what are her real charms." + +At these words, Rogero, confused, abashed, cast his eyes upon the +ground, and knew not what to answer. Melissa seized the moment, slipped +the ring on his finger, and the paladin was himself again. What a +thunderclap to him! Overcome by shame, he dared not to encounter the +looks of his instructor. When at last he raised his eyes he beheld not +that venerable form, but the priestess Melissa, who in virtue of the +ring now appeared in her true person. She told him of the motives which +had led her to come to his rescue, of the griefs and regrets of +Bradamante, and of her unwearied search for him. "That charming +Amazon," she said, "sends you this ring, which is a sovereign antidote +to all enchantments. She would have sent you her heart in my hands, if +it would have had greater power to serve you." + +It was needless for Melissa to say more. Rogero's love for Alcina, +being but the work of enchantment, vanished as soon as the enchantment +was withdrawn, and he now hated her with an equal intensity, seeing no +longer anything in her but her vices, and feeling only resentment for +the shame that she had put upon him. + +His surprise when he again beheld Alcina was no less than his +indignation. Fortified by his ring from her enchantments, he saw her as +she was, a monster of ugliness. All her charms were artificial, and, +truly viewed, were rather deformities. She was, in fact, older than +Hecuba or the Sibyl of Cumae; but an art, which it is to be regretted +our times have lost, enabled her to appear charming, and to clothe +herself in all the attractions of youth. Rogero now saw all this, but, +governed by the counsels of Melissa, he concealed his surprise, assumed +under some pretext his armor, long neglected, and bound to his side +Belisarda, his trusty sword, taking also the buckler of Atlantes, +covered with its veil. + +He then selected a horse from the stables of Alcina, without exciting +her suspicions; but he left the Hippogriff, by the advice of Melissa, +who promised to take him in charge, and train him to a more manageable +state. The horse he took was Rabican, which belonged to Astolpho. He +restored the ring to Melissa. + +Rogero had not ridden far when he met one of the huntsmen of Alcina, +bearing a falcon on his wrist, and followed by a dog. The huntsman was +mounted on a powerful horse, and came boldly up to the paladin, +demanding, in a somewhat imperious manner, whither he was going so +rapidly. Rogero disdained to stop or to reply; whereupon the huntsman, +not doubting that he was about making his escape, said, "What if I, +with my falcon, stop your ride?" So saying, he threw off the bird, +which even Rabican could not equal in speed. The huntsman then leapt +from his horse, and the animal, open-mouthed, darted after Rogero with +the swiftness of an arrow. The huntsman also ran as if the wind or fire +bore him, and the dog was equal to Rabican in swiftness. Rogero, +finding flight impossible, stopped and faced his pursuers; but his +sword was useless against such foes. The insolent huntsman assailed him +with words, and struck him with his whip, the only weapon he had; the +dog bit his feet, and the horse drove at him with his hoofs. At the +same time the falcon flew over his head and over Rabican's and attacked +them with claws and wings, so that the horse in his fright began to be +unmanageable. At that moment the sound of trumpets and cymbals was +heard in the valley, and it was evident that Alcina had ordered out all +her array to go in pursuit. Rogero felt that there was no time to be +lost, and luckily remembered the shield of Atlantes, which he bore +suspended from his neck. He unveiled it, and the charm worked +wonderfully. The huntsman, the dog, the horse, fell flat; the trembling +wings of the falcon could no longer sustain her, and she fell senseless +to the ground. Rogero, rid of their annoyances, left them in their +trance, and rode away. + +Meanwhile Alcina, with all the force she could muster, sallied forth +from her palace in pursuit. Melissa, left behind, took advantage of the +opportunity to ransack all the rooms, protected by the ring. She undid +one by one all the talismans and spells which she found, broke the +seals, burned the images, and untied the hagknots. Thence, hurrying +through the fields, she disenchanted the victims changed into trees, +fountains, stones, or brutes; all of whom recovered their liberty, and +vowed eternal gratitude to their deliverer. They made their escape, +with all possible despatch, to the realms of the good Logestilla, +whence they departed to their several homes. + +Astolpho was the first whom Melissa liberated, for Rogero had +particularly recommended him to her care. She aided him to recover his +arms, and particularly that precious golden-headed lance which once was +Argalia's. The enchantress mounted with him upon the winged horse, and +in a short time arrived through the air at the castle of Logestilla, +where Rogero joined them soon after. + +In this abode the friends passed a short period of delightful and +improving intercourse with the sage Logestilla and her virtuous court; +and then each departed, Rogero with the Hippogriff, ring, and buckler; +Astolpho with his golden lance, and mounted on Rabican, the fleetest of +steeds. To Rogero Logestilla gave a bit and bridle suited to govern the +Hippogriff; and to Astolpho a horn of marvellous powers, to be sounded +only when all other weapons were unavailing. + + + +THE ORC + +We left the charming Angelica at the moment when, in her flight from +her contending lovers, Sacripant and Rinaldo, she met an aged hermit. +We have seen that her request to the hermit was to furnish her the +means of gaining the sea-coast, eager to avoid Rinaldo, whom she hated, +by leaving France and Europe itself. The pretended hermit, who was no +other than a vile magician, knowing well that it would not be agreeable +to his false gods to aid Angelica in this undertaking, feigned to +comply with her desire. He supplied her a horse, into which he had by +his arts caused a subtle devil to enter, and, having mounted Angelica +on the animal, directed her what course to take to reach the sea. + +Angelica rode on her way without suspicion, but when arrived at the +shore, the demon urged the animal headlong into the water. Angelica in +vain attempted to turn him back to the land; he continued his course +till, as night approached, he landed with his burden on a sandy +headland. + +Angelica, finding herself alone, abandoned in this frightful solitude, +remained without movement, as if stupefied, with hands joined and eyes +turned towards heaven, till at last, pouring forth a torrent of tears, +she exclaimed: "Cruel fortune, have you not yet exhausted your rage +against me? To what new miseries do you doom me? Alas! then finish your +work! Deliver me a prey to some ferocious beast, or by whatever fate +you choose bring me to an end. I will be thankful to you for +terminating my life and my misery." At last, exhausted by her sorrows, +she fell asleep, and sunk prostrate on the sand. + +Before recounting what next befell, we must declare what place it was +upon which the unhappy lady was now thrown. In the sea that washes the +coast of Ireland there is an island called Ebuda, whose inhabitants, +once numerous, had been wasted by the anger of Proteus till there were +now but few left. This deity was incensed by some neglect of the usual +honors which he had in old times received from the inhabitants of the +land, and, to execute his vengeance, had sent a horrid sea-monster, +called an Orc, to devour them. Such were the terrors of his ravages +that the whole people of the isle had shut themselves up in the +principal town, and relied on their walls alone to protect them. In +this distress they applied to the Oracle for advice, and were directed +to appease the wrath of the sea-monster by offering to him the fairest +virgin that the country could produce. + +Now it so happened that the very day when this dreadful oracle was +announced, and when the fatal mandate had gone forth to seek among the +fairest maidens of the land one to be offered to the monster, some +sailors, landing on the beach where Angelica was, beheld that beauty as +she lay asleep. + +O blind Chance! whose power in human affairs is but too great, canst +thou then abandon to the teeth of a horrible monster those charms which +different sovereigns took arms against one another to possess? Alas! +the lovely Angelica is destined to be the victim of those cruel +islanders. + +Still asleep, she was bound by the Ebudians, and it was not until she +was carried on board the vessel that she came to a knowledge of her +situation. The wind filled the sails and wafted the ship swiftly to the +port, where all that beheld her agreed that she was unquestionably the +victim selected by Proteus himself to be his prey. Who can tell the +screams, the mortal anguish of this unhappy maiden, the reproaches she +addressed even to the heavens themselves, when the dreadful information +of her cruel fate was made known to her? I cannot; let me rather turn +to a happier part of my story. + +Rogero left the palace of Logestilla, careering on his flying courser +far above the tops of the mountains, and borne westward by the +Hippogriff, which he guided with ease, by means of the bridle that +Melissa had given him. Anxious as he was to recover Bradamante, he +could not fail to be delighted at the view his rapid flight presented +of so many vast regions and populous countries as he passed over in his +career. At last he approached the shores of England, and perceived an +immense army in all the splendor of military pomp, as if about to go +forth flushed with hopes of victory. He caused the Hippogriff to alight +not far from the scene, and found himself immediately surrounded by +admiring spectators, knights and soldiers, who could not enough indulge +their curiosity and wonder. Rogero learned, in reply to his questions, +that the fine array of troops before him was the army destined to go to +the aid of the French Emperor, in compliance with the request presented +by the illustrious Rinaldo, as ambassador of King Charles, his uncle. + +By this time the curiosity of the English chevaliers was partly +gratified in beholding the Hippogriff at rest, and Rogero, to renew +their surprise and delight, remounted the animal, and, slapping spurs +to his sides, made him launch into the air with the rapidity of a +meteor, and directed his flight still westwardly, till he came within +sight of the coasts of Ireland. Here he descried what seemed to be a +fair damsel, alone, fast chained to a rock which projected into the +sea. What was his astonishment when, drawing nigh, he beheld the +beautiful princess Angelica! That day she had been led forth and bound +to the rock, there to wait till the sea-monster should come to devour +her. Rogero exclaimed as he came near, "What cruel hands, what +barbarous soul, what fatal chance can have loaded thee with those +chains?" Angelica replied by a torrent of tears, at first her only +response; then, in a trembling voice, she disclosed to him the horrible +destiny for which she was there exposed. While she spoke, a terrible +roaring was heard far off on the sea. The huge monster soon came in +sight, part of his body appearing above the waves and part concealed. +Angelica, half dead with fear, abandoned herself to despair. + +Rogero, lance in rest, spurred his Hippogriff toward the Orc, and gave +him a thrust. The horrible monster was like nothing that nature +produces. It was but one mass of tossing and twisting body, with +nothing of the animal but head, eyes, and mouth, the last furnished +with tusks like those of the wild boar. Rogero's lance had struck him +between the eyes; but rock and iron are not more impenetrable than were +his scales. The knight, seeing the fruitlessness of the first blow, +prepared to give a second. The animal, beholding upon the water the +shadow of the great wings of the Hippogriff, abandoned his prey, and +turned to seize what seemed nearer. Rogero took the opportunity, and +dealt him furious blows on various parts of his body, taking care to +keep clear of his murderous teeth; but the scales resisted every +attack. The Orc beat the water with his tail till he raised a foam +which enveloped Rogero and his steed, so that the knight hardly knew +whether he was in the water or the air. He began to fear that the wings +of the Hippogriff would be so drenched with water that they would cease +to sustain him. At that moment Rogero bethought him of the magic shield +which hung at his saddle-bow; but the fear that Angelica would also be +blinded by its glare discouraged him from employing it. Then he +remembered the ring which Melissa had given him, the power of which he +had so lately proved. He hastened to Angelica and placed it on her +finger. Then, uncovering the buckler, he turned its bright disk full in +the face of the detestable Orc. The effect was instantaneous. The +monster, deprived of sense and motion, rolled over on the sea, and lay +floating on his back. Rogero would fain have tried the effect of his +lance on the now exposed parts, but Angelica implored him to lose no +time in delivering her from her chains before the monster should +revive. Rogero, moved with her entreaties, hastened to do so, and, +having unbound her, made her mount behind him on the Hippogriff. The +animal, spurning the earth, shot up into the air, and rapidly sped his +way through it. Rogero, to give time to the princess to rest after her +cruel agitations, soon sought the earth again, alighting on the shore +of Brittany. Near the shore a thick wood presented itself, which +resounded with the songs of birds. In the midst, a fountain of +transparent water bathed the turf of a little meadow. A gentle hill +rose near by. Rogero, making the Hippogriff alight in the meadow, +dismounted, and took Angelica from the horse. + +When the first tumults of emotion had subsided Angelica, casting her +eyes downward, beheld the precious ring upon her finger, whose virtues +she was well acquainted with, for it was the very ring which the +Saracen Brunello had robbed her of. She drew it from her finger and +placed it in her mouth, and, quicker than we can tell it, disappeared +from the sight of the paladin. + +Rogero looked around him on all sides, like one frantic, but soon +remembered the ring which he had so lately placed on her finger. Struck +with the ingratitude which could thus recompense his services, he +exclaimed: "Thankless beauty, is this then the reward you make me? Do +you prefer to rob me of my ring rather than receive it as a gift? +Willingly would I have given it to you, had you but asked it." Thus he +said, searching on all sides with arms extended like a blind man, +hoping to recover by the touch what was lost to sight; but he sought in +vain. The cruel beauty was already far away. + +Though sensible of her obligations to her deliverer, her first +necessity was for clothing, food, and repose. She soon reached a +shepherd's hut, where, entering unseen, she found what sufficed for her +present relief. An old herdsman inhabited the hut, whose charges +consisted of a drove of mares. When recruited by repose Angelica +selected one of the mares from the flock, and, mounting the animal, +felt the desire revive in her mind of returning to her home in the +East, and for that purpose would gladly have accepted the protection of +Orlando or of Sacripant across those wide regions which divided her +from her own country. In hopes of meeting with one or the other of them +she pursued her way. + +Meanwhile Rogero, despairing of seeing Angelica again, returned to the +tree where he had left his winged horse, but had the mortification to +find that the animal had broken his bridle and escaped. This loss, +added to his previous disappointment, overwhelmed him with vexation. +Sadly he gathered up his arms, threw his buckler over his shoulders, +and, taking the first path that offered, soon found himself within the +verge of a dense and widespread forest. + +He had proceeded for some distance when he heard a noise on his right, +and, listening attentively, distinguished the clash of arms. He made +his way toward the place whence the sound proceeded, and found two +warriors engaged in mortal combat. One of them was a knight of a noble +and manly bearing, the other a fierce giant. The knight appeared to +exert consummate address in defending herself against the massive club +of the giant, evading his strokes, or parrying them with sword or +shield. Rogero stood spectator of the combat, for he did not allow +himself to interfere in it, though a secret sentiment inclined him +strongly to take part with the knight. At length he saw with grief the +massive club fall directly on the head of the knight, who yielded to +the blow, and fell prostrate. The giant sprang forward to despatch him, +and for that purpose unlaced his helmet, when Rogero, with dismay, +recognized the face of Bradamante. He cried aloud, "Hold, miscreant!" +and sprang forward with drawn sword. Whereupon the giant, as if he +cared not to enter upon another combat, lifted Bradamante on his +shoulders, and ran with her into the forest. + +Rogero plunged after him, but the long legs of the giant carried him +forward so fast that the paladin could hardly keep him in sight. At +length they issued from the wood, and Rogero perceived before him a +rich palace, built of marble, and adorned with sculptures executed by a +master hand. Into this edifice, through a golden door, the giant +passed, and Rogero followed; but, on looking round, saw nowhere either +the giant or Bradamante. He ran from room to room, calling aloud on his +cowardly foe to turn and meet him; but got no response, nor caught +another glimpse of the giant or his prey. In his vain pursuit he met, +without knowing them, Ferrau, Florismart, King Gradasso, Orlando, and +many others, all of whom had been entrapped like himself into this +enchanted castle. It was a new stratagem of the magician Atlantes to +draw Rogero into his power, and to secure also those who might by any +chance endanger his safety. What Rogero had taken for Bradamante was a +mere phantom. That charming lady was far away, full of anxiety for her +Rogero, whose coming she had long expected. + +The Emperor had committed to her charge the city and garrison of +Marseilles, and she held the post against the infidels with valor and +discretion. One day Melissa suddenly presented herself before her. +Anticipating her questions, she said, "Fear not for Rogero; he lives, +and is as ever true to you; but he has lost his liberty. The fell +enchanter has again succeeded in making him a prisoner. If you would +deliver him, mount your horse and follow me." She told her in what +manner Atlantes had deceived Rogero, in deluding his eyes with the +phantom of herself in peril. "Such," she continued, "will be his arts +in your own case, if you penetrate the forest and approach that castle. +You will think you behold Rogero, when, in fact, you see only the +enchanter himself. Be not deceived, plunge your sword into his body, +and trust me when I tell you that, in slaying him, you will restore not +only Rogero, but with him many of the bravest knights of France, whom +the wizard's arts have withdrawn from the camp of their sovereign." + +Bradamante promptly armed herself, and mounted her horse. Melissa led +her by forced journeys, by field and forest, beguiling the way with +conversation on the theme which interested her hearer most. When at +last they reached the forest, she repeated once more her instructions, +and then took her leave, for fear the enchanter might espy her, and be +put on his guard. + +Bradamante rode on about two miles when suddenly she beheld Rogero, as +it appeared to her, hard pressed by two fierce giants. While she +hesitated she heard his voice calling on her for help. At once the +cautions of Melissa lost their weight. A sudden doubt of the faith and +truth of her kind monitress flashed across her mind. "Shall I not +believe my own eyes and ears?" she said, and rushed forward to his +defence. Rogero fled, pursued by the giants, and Bradamante followed, +passing with them through the castle gate. When there, Bradamante was +undeceived, for neither giant nor knight was to be seen. She found +herself a prisoner, but had not the consolation of knowing that she +shared the imprisonment of her beloved. She saw various forms of men +and women, but could recognize none of them; and their lot was the same +with respect to her. Each viewed the others under some illusion of the +fancy, wearing the semblance of giants, dwarfs, or even four-footed +animals, so that there was no companionship or communication between +them. + + + +ASTOLPHO'S ADVENTURES CONTINUED, AND ISABELLA'S BEGUN + +When Astolpho escaped from the cruel Alcina, after a short abode in the +realm of the virtuous Logestilla, he desired to return to his native +country. Logestilla lent him the best vessel of her fleet to convey him +to the mainland. She gave him at parting a wonderful book, which taught +the secret of overcoming all manners of enchantments, and begged him to +carry it always with him, out of regard for her. She also gave him +another gift, which surpassed everything of the kind that mortal +workmanship can frame; yet it was nothing in appearance but a simple +horn. + +Astolpho, protected by these gifts, thanked the good fairy, took leave +of her, and set out on his return to France. His voyage was prosperous, +and on reaching the desired port he took leave of the faithful +mariners, and continued his journey by land. As he proceeded over +mountains and through valleys he often met with bands of robbers, wild +beasts, and venomous serpents, but he had only to sound his horn to put +them all to flight. + +Having landed in France, and traversed many provinces on his way to the +army, he one day, in crossing a forest, arrived beside a fountain, and +alighted to drink. While he stooped at the fountain a young rustic +sprang from the copse, mounted Rabican, and rode away. It was a new +trick of the enchanter Atlantes. Astolpho, hearing the noise, turned +his head just in time to see his loss; and, starting up, pursued the +thief, who, on his part, did not press the horse to his full speed, but +just kept in sight of his pursuer till they both issued from the +forest; and then Rabican and his rider took shelter in a castle which +stood near. Astolpho followed, and penetrated without difficulty within +the court-yard of the castle, where he looked around for the rider and +his horse, but could see no trace of either, nor any person of whom he +could make inquiry. Suspecting that enchantment was employed to +embarrass him, he bethought him of his book, and on consulting it +discovered that his suspicions were well founded. He also learned what +course to pursue. He was directed to raise the stone which served as a +threshold, under which a spirit lay pent, who would willingly escape, +and leave the castle free of access. Astolpho applied his strength to +lift aside the stone. Thereupon the magician put his arts in force. The +castle was full of prisoners, and the magician caused that to all of +them Astolpho should appear in some false guise--to some a wild beast, +to others a giant, to others a bird of prey. Thus all assailed him, and +would quickly have made an end of him, if he had not bethought him of +his horn. No sooner had he blown a blast than, at the horrid larum, +fled the cavaliers and the necromancer with them, like a flock of +pigeons at the sound of the fowler's gun. Astolpho then renewed his +efforts on the stone, and turned it over. The under face was all +inscribed with magical characters, which the knight defaced, as +directed by his book; and no sooner had he done so, than the castle, +with its walls and turrets, vanished into smoke. + +The knights and ladies set at liberty were, besides Rogero and +Bradamante, Orlando, Gradasso, Florismart, and many more. At the sound +of the horn they fled, one and all, men and steeds, except Rabican, +which Astolpho secured, in spite of his terror. As soon as the sound +had ceased Rogero recognized Bradamante, whom he had daily met during +their imprisonment, but had been prevented from knowing by the +enchanter's arts. No words can tell the delight with which they +recognized each other, and recounted mutually all that had happened to +each since they were parted. Rogero took advantage of the opportunity +to press his suit, and found Bradamante as propitious as he could wish, +were it not for a single obstacle, the difference of their faiths. "If +he would obtain her in marriage," she said, "he must in due form demand +her of her father, Duke Aymon, and must abandon his false prophet, and +become a Christian." The latter step was one which Rogero had for some +time intended taking, for reasons of his own. He therefore gladly +accepted the terms, and proposed that they should at once repair to the +abbey of Vallombrosa, whose towers were visible at no great distance. +Thither they turned their horses' heads, and we will leave them to find +their way without our company. + +I know not if my readers recollect that at the moment when Rogero had +just delivered Angelica from the voracious Orc that scornful beauty +placed her ring in her mouth, and vanished out of sight. At the same +time the Hippogriff shook off his bridle, soared away, and flew to +rejoin his former master, very naturally returning to his accustomed +stable. Here Astolpho found him, to his very great delight. He knew the +animal's powers, having seen Rogero ride him, and he longed to fly +abroad over all the earth, and see various nations and peoples from his +airy course. He had heard Logestilla's directions how to guide the +animal, and saw her fit a bridle to his head. He therefore was able, +out of all the bridles he found in the stable, to select one suitable, +and, placing Rabican's saddle on the Hippogriff's back, nothing seemed +to prevent his immediate departure. Yet before he went he bethought him +of placing Rabican in hands where he would be safe, and whence he might +recover him in time of need. While he stood deliberating where he +should find a messenger, he saw Bradamante approach. That fair warrior +had been parted from Rogero on their way to the abbey of Vallombrosa, +by an inopportune adventure which had called the knight away. She was +now returning to Montalban, having arranged with Rogero to join her +there. To Bradamante, therefore, his fair cousin, Astolpho committed +Rabican, and also the lance of gold, which would only be an incumbrance +in his aerial excursion. Bradamante took charge of both; and Astolpho, +bidding her farewell, soared in air. + +Among those delivered by Astolpho from the magician's castle was +Orlando. Following the guide of chance, the paladin found himself at +the close of day in a forest, and stopped at the foot of a mountain. +Surprised to discern a light which came from a cleft in the rock, he +approached, guided by the ray, and discovered a narrow passage in the +mountain-side, which led into a deep grotto. + +Orlando fastened his horse, and then, putting aside the bushes that +resisted his passage, stepped down from rock to rock till he reached a +sort of cavern. Entering it, he perceived a lady, young and handsome, +as well as he could discover through the signs of distress which +agitated her countenance. Her only companion was an old woman, who +seemed to be regarded by her young partner with terror and indignation. +The courteous paladin saluted the women respectfully, and begged to +know by whose barbarity they had been subjected to such imprisonment. + +The younger lady replied, in a voice often broken with sobs: + +"Though I know well that my recital will subject me to worse treatment +by the barbarous man who keeps me here, to whom this woman will not +fail to report it, yet I will not hide from you the facts. Ah! why +should I fear his rage? If he should take my life, I know not what +better boon than death I can ask. + +"My name is Isabella. I am the daughter of the king of Galicia, or +rather I should say misfortune and grief are my parents. Young, rich, +modest, and of tranquil temper, all things appeared to combine to +render my lot happy. Alas! I see myself to-day poor, humbled, +miserable, and destined perhaps to yet further afflictions. It is a +year since, my father having given notice that he would open the lists +for a tournament at Bayonne, a great number of chevaliers from all +quarters came together at our court. Among these Zerbino, son of the +king of Scotland, victorious in all combats, eclipsed by his beauty and +his valor all the rest. Before departing from the court of Galicia he +testified the wish to espouse me, and I consented that he should demand +my hand of the king, my father. But I was a Mahometan, and Zerbino a +Christian, and my father refused his consent. The prince, called home +by his father to take command of the forces destined to the assistance +of the French Emperor, prevailed on me to be married to him secretly, +and to follow him to Scotland. He caused a galley to be prepared to +receive me, and placed in command of it the chevalier Oderic, a +Biscayan, famous for his exploits both by land and sea. On the day +appointed, Oderic brought his vessel to a seaside resort of my +father's, where I embarked. Some of my domestics accompanied me, and +thus I departed from my native land. + +"Sailing with a fair wind, after some hours we were assailed by a +violent tempest. It was to no purpose that we took in all sail; we were +driven before the wind directly upon the rocky shore. Seeing no other +hopes of safety, Oderic placed me in a boat, followed himself with a +few of his men, and made for land. We reached it through infinite +peril, and I no sooner felt the firm land beneath my feet, than I knelt +down and poured out heartfelt thanks to the Providence that had +preserved me. + +"The shore where we landed appeared to be uninhabited. We saw no +dwelling to shelter us, no road to lead us to a more hospitable spot. A +high mountain rose before us, whose base stretched into the sea. It was +here the infamous Oderic, in spite of my tears and entreaties, sold me +to a band of pirates, who fancied I might be an acceptable present to +their prince, the Sultan of Morocco. This cavern is their den, and here +they keep me under the guard of this woman, until it shall suit their +convenience to carry me away." + +Isabella had hardly finished her recital when a troop of armed men +began to enter the cavern. Seeing the prince Orlando, one said to the +rest, "What bird is this we have caught, without even setting a snare +for him?" Then addressing Orlando, "It was truly civil in you, friend, +to come hither with that handsome coat of armor and vest, the very +things I want." "You shall pay for them, then," said Orlando; and +seizing a half-burnt brand from the fire, he hurled it at him, striking +his head, and stretching him lifeless on the floor. + +There was a massy table in the middle of the cavern, used for the +pirates' repasts. Orlando lifted it and hurled it at the robbers as +they stood clustered in a group toward the entrance. Half the gang were +laid prostrate, with broken heads and limbs; the rest got away as +nimbly as they could. + +Leaving the den and its inmates to their fate, Orlando, taking Isabella +under his protection, pursued his way for some days, without meeting +with any adventure. + +One day they saw a band of men advancing, who seemed to be guarding a +prisoner, bound hand and foot, as if being carried to execution. The +prisoner was a youthful cavalier, of a noble and ingenuous appearance. +The band bore the ensigns of Count Anselm, head of the treacherous +house of Maganza. Orlando desired Isabella to wait, while he rode +forward to inquire the meaning of this array. Approaching, he demanded +of the leader who his prisoner was, and of what crime he had been +guilty. The man replied that the prisoner was a murderer, by whose hand +Pinabel, the son of Count Anselm, had been treacherously slain. At +these words the prisoner exclaimed, "I am no murderer, nor have I been +in any way the cause of the young man's death." Orlando, knowing the +cruel and ferocious character of the chiefs of the house of Maganza, +needed no more to satisfy him that the youth was the victim of +injustice. He commanded the leader of the troop to release his victim, +and, receiving an insolent reply, dashed him to the earth with a stroke +of his lance; then by a few vigorous blows dispersed the band, leaving +deadly marks on those who were slowest to quit the field. + +Orlando then hastened to unbind the prisoner, and to assist him to +reclothe himself in his armor, which the false Magencian had dared to +assume. He then led him to Isabella, who now approached the scene of +action. How can we picture the joy, the astonishment, with which +Isabella recognized in him Zerbino, her husband, and the prince +discovered her whom he had believed overwhelmed in the waves! They +embraced one another, and wept for joy. Orlando, sharing in their +happiness, congratulated himself in having been the instrument of it. +The princess recounted to Zerbino what the illustrious paladin had done +for her, and the prince threw himself at Orlando's feet, and thanked +him as having twice preserved his life. + +While these exchanges of congratulation and thankfulness were going on, +a sound in the underwood attracted their attention, and caused the two +knights to brace their helmets and stand on their guard. What the cause +of the interruption was we shall record in another chapter. + + + +MEDORO + +France was at this time the theatre of dreadful events. The Saracens +and the Christians, in numerous encounters, slew one another. On one +occasion Rinaldo led an attack on the infidel columns, broke and +scattered them, till he found himself opposite to a knight whose armor +(whether by accident or by choice, it matters not) bore the blazon of +Orlando. It was Dardinel, the young and brave prince of Zumara, and +Rinaldo remarked him by the slaughter he spread all around. "Ah," said +he to himself, "let us pluck up this dangerous plant before it has +grown to its full height." + +As Rinaldo advanced, the crowd opened before him, the Christians to let +his sword have free course, the Pagans to escape its sweep. Dardinel +and he stood face to face. Rinaldo exclaimed, fiercely, "Young man, +whoever gave you that noble buckler to bear made you a dangerous gift; +I should like to see how you are able to defend those quarterings, red +and white. If you cannot defend them against me, how pray will you do +so when Orlando challenges them?" Dardinel replied: "Thou shalt learn +that I can defend the arms I bear, and shed new glory upon them. No one +shall rend them from me but with life." Saying these words, Dardinel +rushed upon Rinaldo with sword uplifted. The chill of mortal terror +filled the souls of the Saracens when they beheld Rinaldo advance to +attack the prince, like a lion against a young bull. The first blow +came from the hand of Dardinel, and the weapon rebounded from +Mambrino's helmet without effect. Rinaldo smiled, and said, "I will now +show you if my strokes are more effectual." At these words he thrust +the unfortunate Dardinel in the middle of his breast. The blow was so +violent that the cruel weapon pierced the body, and came out a +palm-breadth behind his back. Through this wound the life of Dardinel +issued with his blood, and his body fell helpless to the ground. + +As a flower which the passing plough has uprooted languishes, and +droops its head, so Dardinel, his visage covered with the paleness of +death, expires, and the hopes of an illustrious race perish with him. + +Like waters kept back by a dike, which, when the dike is broken, spread +abroad through all the country, so the Moors, no longer kept in column +by the example of Dardinel, fled in all directions. Rinaldo despised +too much such easy victories to pursue them; he wished for no combats +but with brave men. At the same time, the other paladins made terrible +slaughter of the Moors. Charles himself, Oliver, Guido, and Ogier the +Dane, carried death into their ranks on all sides. + +The infidels seemed doomed to perish to a man on that dreadful day; but +the wise king, Marsilius, at last put some slight degree of method into +the general rout. He collected the remnant of the troops, formed them +into a battalion, and retreated in tolerable order to his camp. That +camp was well fortified by intrenchments and a broad ditch. Thither the +fugitives hastened, and by degrees all that remained of the Moorish +army was brought together there. + +The Emperor might perhaps that night have crushed his enemy entirely; +but not thinking it prudent to expose his troops, fatigued as they +were, to an attack upon a camp so well fortified, he contented himself +with encompassing the enemy with his troops, prepared to make a regular +siege. During the night the Moors had time to see the extent of their +loss. Their tents resounded with lamentations. This warrior had to +mourn a brother, that a friend; many suffered with grievous wounds, all +trembled at the fate in store for them. + +There were two young Moors, both of humble rank, who gave proof at that +time of attachment and fidelity rare in the history of man. Cloridan +and Medoro had followed their prince, Dardinel, to the wars of France. +Cloridan, a bold huntsman, combined strength with activity. Medoro was +a mere youth, his cheeks yet fair and blooming. Of all the Saracens, no +one united so much grace and beauty. His light hair was set off by his +black and sparkling eyes. The two friends were together on guard at the +rampart. About midnight they gazed on the scene in deep dejection. +Medoro, with tears in his eyes, spoke of the good prince Dardinel, and +could not endure the thought that his body should be cast out on the +plain, deprived of funeral honors. "O my friend," said he, "must then +the body of our prince be the prey of wolves and ravens? Alas! when I +remember how he loved me, I feel that if I should sacrifice my life to +do him honor, I should not do more than my duty. I wish, dear friend, +to seek out his body on the battlefield, and give it burial, and I hope +to be able to pass through King Charles's camp without discovery, as +they are probably all asleep. You, Cloridan, will be able to say for +me, if I should die in the adventure, that gratitude and fidelity to my +prince were my inducements." + +Cloridan was both surprised and touched with this proof of the young +man's devotion. He loved him tenderly, and tried for a long time every +effort to dissuade him from his design; but he found Medoro determined +to accomplish his object or die in the endeavor. + +Cloridan, unable to change his purpose, said, "I will go with you, +Medoro, and help you in this generous enterprise. I value not life +compared with honor, and if I did, do you suppose, dear friend, that I +could live without you? I would rather fall by the arms of our enemies +than die of grief for the loss of you." + +When the two friends were relieved from their guard duty they went +without any followers into the camp of the Christians. All there was +still; the fires were dying out; there was no fear of any attempt on +the part of the Saracens, and the soldiers, overcome by fatigue or +wine, slept secure, lying upon the ground in the midst of their arms +and equipage. Cloridan stopped, and said, "Medoro, I am not going to +quit this camp without taking vengeance for the death of our prince. +Keep watch, be on your guard that no one shall surprise us; I mean to +mark a road with my sword through the ranks of our enemies." So saying, +he entered the tent where Alpheus slept, who a year before had joined +the camp of Charles, and pretended to be a great physician and +astrologer. But his science had deceived him, if it gave him hope of +dying peacefully in his bed at a good old age; his lot was to die with +little warning. Cloridan ran his sword through his heart. A Greek and a +German followed, who had been playing late at dice: fortunate if they +had continued their game a little longer; but they never reckoned a +throw like this among their chances. Cloridan next came to the unlucky +Grillon, whose head lay softly on his pillow. He dreamed probably of +the feast from which he had but just retired; for when Cloridan cut off +his head wine flowed forth with the blood. + +The two young Moors might have penetrated even to the tent of +Charlemagne; but knowing that the paladins encamped around him kept +watch by turns, and judging that it was impossible they should all be +asleep, they were afraid to go too near. They might also have obtained +rich booty; but, intent only on their object, they crossed the camp, +and arrived at length at the bloody field, where bucklers, lances, and +swords lay scattered in the midst of corpses of poor and rich, common +soldier and prince, horses and pools of blood. This terrible scene of +carnage would have destroyed all hope of finding what they were in +search of until dawn of day, were it not that the moon lent the aid of +her uncertain rays. + +Medoro raised his eyes to the planet, and exclaimed, "O holy goddess, +whom our fathers have adored under three different forms,--thou who +displayest thy power in heaven, on earth, and in the underworld,--thou +who art seen foremost among the nymphs chasing the beasts of the +forest,--cause me to see, I implore thee, the spot where my dear master +lies, and make me all my life long follow the example which thou dost +exhibit of works of charity and love." + +Either by accident, or that the moon was sensible of the prayer of +Medoro, the cloud broke away, and the moonlight burst forth as bright +as day. The rays seemed especially to gild the spot where lay the body +of Prince Dardinel; and Medoro, bathed in tears and with bleeding +heart, recognized him by the quarterings of red and white on his shield. + +With groans stifled by his tears, and lamentations in accents +suppressed, not from any fear for himself, for he cared not for life, +but lest any one should be roused to interrupt their pious duty while +yet incomplete, he proposed to his companion that they should together +bear Dardinel on their shoulders, sharing the burden of the beloved +remains. + +Marching with rapid strides under their precious load, they perceived +that the stars began to grow pale, and that the shades of night would +soon be dispersed by the dawn. Just then Zerbino, whose extreme valor +had urged him far from the camp in pursuit of the fugitives, returning, +entered the wood in which they were. Some knights in his train +perceived at a distance the two brothers-in-arms. Cloridan saw the +troop, and, observing that they dispersed themselves over the plain as +if in search of booty, told Medoro to lay down the body, and let each +save himself by flight. He dropped his part, thinking that Medoro would +do the same; but the good youth loved his prince too well to abandon +him, and continued to carry his load singly as well as he might, while +Cloridan made his escape. Near by there was a part of the wood tufted +as if nothing but wild animals had ever penetrated it. The unfortunate +youth, loaded with the weight of his dead master, plunged into its +recesses. + +Cloridan, when he perceived that he had evaded his foes, discovered +that Medoro was not with him. "Ah!" exclaimed he, "how could I, dear +Medoro, so forget myself as to consult my own safety without heeding +yours?" So saying, he retraced the tangled passes of the wood toward +the place from whence he had fled. As he approached he heard the noise +of horses, and the menacing voices of armed men. Soon he perceived +Medoro, on foot, with the cavaliers surrounding him. Zerbino, their +commander, bade them seize him. The unhappy Medoro turned now this way, +now that, trying to conceal himself behind an oak or a rock, still +bearing the body, which he would by no means leave. Cloridan not +knowing how to help him, but resolved to perish with him, if he must +perish, takes an arrow, fits it to his bow, discharges it, and pierces +the breast of a Christian knight, who falls helpless from his horse. +The others look this way and that, to discover whence the fatal bolt +was sped. One, while demanding of his comrades in what direction the +arrow came, received a second in his throat, which stopped his words, +and soon closed his eyes to the scene. + +Zerbino, furious at the death of his two comrades, ran upon Medoro, +seized his golden hair, and dragged him forward to slay him. But the +sight of so much youth and beauty commanded pity. He stayed his arm. +The young man spoke in suppliant tones. "Ah! signor," said he, "I +conjure you by the God whom you serve, deprive me not of life until I +shall have buried the body of the prince, my master. Fear not that I +will ask you any other favor; life is not dear to me; I desire death as +soon as I shall have performed this sacred duty. Do with me then as you +please. Give my limbs a prey to the birds and beasts; only let me first +bury my prince." Medoro pronounced these words with an air so sweet and +tender that a heart of stone would have been moved by them. Zerbino was +so to the bottom of his soul. He was on the point of uttering words of +mercy, when a cruel subaltern, forgetting all respect to his commander, +plunged his lance into the breast of the young Moor. Zerbino, enraged +at his brutality, turned upon the wretch to take vengeance, but he +saved himself by a precipitate flight. + +Cloridan, who saw Medoro fall, could contain himself no longer. He +rushed from his concealment, threw down his bow, and, sword in hand, +seemed only desirous of vengeance for Medoro, and to die with him. In a +moment, pierced through and through with many wounds, he exerts the +last remnant of his strength in dragging himself to Medoro, to die +embracing him. The cavaliers left them thus to rejoin Zerbino, whose +rage against the murderer of Medoro had drawn him away from the spot. + +Cloridan died; and Medoro, bleeding copiously, was drawing near his end +when help arrived. + +A young maiden approached the fallen knights at this critical moment. +Her dress was that of a peasant-girl, but her air was noble, and her +beauty celestial; sweetness and goodness reigned in her lovely +countenance. It was no other than Angelica, the Princess of Cathay. + +When she had recovered that precious ring, as we have before related, +Angelica, knowing its value, felt proud in the power it conferred, +travelled alone without fear, not without a secret shame that she had +ever been obliged to seek protection in her wanderings of the Count +Orlando and of Sacripant. She reproached herself too as with a weakness +that she had ever thought of marrying Rinaldo; in fine, her pride grew +so high as to persuade her that no man living was worthy to aspire to +her hand. + +Moved with pity at the sight of the young man wounded, and melted to +tears at hearing the cause, she quickly recalled to remembrance the +knowledge she had acquired in India, where the virtues of plants and +the art of healing formed part of the education even of princesses. The +beautiful queen ran into the adjoining meadow to gather plants of +virtue to staunch the flow of blood. Meeting on her way a countryman on +horseback seeking a strayed heifer, she begged him to come to her +assistance, and endeavor to remove the wounded man to a more secure +asylum. + +Angelica, having prepared the plants by bruising them between two +stones, laid them with her fair hand on Medoro's wound. The remedy soon +restored in some degree the strength of the wounded man, who, before he +would quit the spot, made them cover with earth and turf the bodies of +his friend and of the prince. Then surrendering himself to the pity of +his deliverers, he allowed them to place him on the horse of the +shepherd, and conduct him to his cottage. It was a pleasant farmhouse +on the borders of the wood, bearing marks of comfort and competency. +There the shepherd lived with his wife and children. There Angelica +tended Medoro, and there, by the devoted care of the beautiful queen, +his sad wound closed over, and he recovered his perfect health. + +O Count Rinaldo, O King Sacripant! what availed it you to possess so +many virtues and such fame? What advantage have you derived from all +your high deserts? O hapless king, great Agrican! if you could return +to life, how would you endure to see yourself rejected by one who will +bow to the yoke of Hymen in favor of a young soldier of humble birth? +And thou, Ferrau, and ye numerous others who a hundred times have put +your lives at hazard for this cruel beauty, how bitter will it be to +you to see her sacrifice you all to the claims of the humble Medoro! + +There, under the low roof of a shepherd, the flame of Hymen was lighted +for this haughty queen. She takes the shepherd's wife to serve in place +of mother, the shepherd and his children for witnesses, and marries the +happy Medoro. + +Angelica, after her marriage, wishing to endow Medoro with the +sovereignty of the countries which yet remained to her, took with him +the road to the East. She had preserved through all her adventures a +bracelet of gold enriched with precious stones, the present of the +Count Orlando. Having nothing else wherewith to reward the good +shepherd and his wife, who had served her with so much care and +fidelity, she took the bracelet from her arm and gave it to them, and +then the newly-married couple directed their steps toward those +mountains which separate France and Spain, intending to wait at +Barcelona a vessel which should take them on their way to the East. + + + +ORLANDO MAD + +Orlando, on the loss of Angelica, laid aside his crest and arms, and +arrayed himself in a suit of black armor expressive of his despair. In +this guise he carried such slaughter among the ranks of the infidels +that both armies were astonished at the achievements of the stranger +knight. Mandricardo, who had been absent from the battle, heard the +report of these achievements and determined to test for himself the +valor of the knight so extolled. He it was who broke in upon the +conference of Zerbino and Isabella, and their benefactor Orlando, as +they stood occupied in mutual felicitations, after the happy reunion of +the lovers by the prowess of the paladin. + +Mandricardo, after contemplating the group for a moment, addressed +himself to Orlando in these words: "Thou must be the man I seek. For +ten days and more I have been on thy track. The fame of thy exploits +has brought me hither, that I may measure my strength with thine. Thy +crest and shield prove thee the same who spread such slaughter among +our troops. But these marks are superfluous, and if I saw thee among a +hundred I should know thee by thy martial bearing to be the man I seek." + +"I respect thy courage," said Orlando; "such a design could not have +sprung up in any but a brave and generous soul. If the desire to see me +has brought thee hither, I would, if it were possible, show thee my +inmost soul. I will remove my visor, that you may satisfy your +curiosity; but when you have done so I hope that you will also try and +see if my valor corresponds to my appearance." "Come on," said the +Saracen, "my first wish was to see and know thee; I will not gratify my +second." + +Orlando, observing Mandricardo was surprised to see no sword at his +side, nor mace at his saddle-bow. "And what weapon hast thou," said he, +"if thy lance fail thee?" + +"Do not concern yourself about that," said Mandricardo; "I have made +many good knights give ground with no other weapon than you see. Know +that I have sworn an oath never to bear a sword until I win back that +famous Durindana that Orlando, the paladin, carries. That sword belongs +to the suit of armor which I wear; that only is wanting. Without doubt +it was stolen, but how it got into the hands of Orlando I know not. But +I will make him pay dearly for it when I find him I seek him the more +anxiously that I may avenge with his blood the death of King Agrican, +my father, whom he treacherously slew. I am sure he must have done it +by treachery, for it was not in his power to subdue in fair fight such +a warrior as my father." + +"Thou liest," cried Orlando; "and all who say so lie. I am Orlando, +whom you seek; yes, I am he who slew your father honorably. Hold, here +is the sword: you shall have it if your courage avails to merit it. +Though it belongs to me by right, I will not use it in this dispute. +See, I hang it on this tree; you shall be master of it, if you bereave +me of life; not else." + +At these words Orlando drew Durindana, and hung it on one of the +branches of a tree near by. + +Both knights, boiling with equal ardor, rode off in a semicircle; then +rushed together with reins thrown loose, and struck one another with +their lances. Both kept their seats, immovable. The splinters of their +lances flew into the air, and no weapon remained for either but the +fragment which he held in his hand. Then those two knights, covered +with iron mail, were reduced to the necessity of fighting with staves, +in the manner of two rustics, who dispute the boundary of a meadow, or +the possession of a spring. + +These clubs could not long keep whole in the hands of such sturdy +smiters, who were soon reduced to fight with naked fists. Such warfare +was more painful to him that gave than to him that received the blows. +They next clasped, and strained each his adversary, as Hercules did +Antaeus. Mandricardo, more enraged than Orlando, made violent efforts +to unseat the paladin, and dropped the rein of his horse. Orlando, more +calm, perceived it. With one hand he resisted Mandricardo, with the +other he twitched the horse's bridle over the ears of the animal. The +Saracen dragged Orlando with all his might, but Orlando's thighs held +the saddle like a vise. At last the efforts of the Saracen broke the +girths of Orlando's horse; the saddle slipped; the knight, firm in his +stirrups, slipped with it, and came to the ground hardly conscious of +his fall. The noise of his armor in falling startled Mandricardo's +horse, now without a bridle. He started off in full career, heeding +neither trees nor rocks nor broken ground. Urged by fright, he ran with +furious speed, carrying his master, who, almost distracted with rage, +shouted and beat the animal with his fists, and thereby impelled his +flight. After running thus three miles or more, a deep ditch opposed +their progress. The horse and rider fell headlong into it, and did not +find the bottom covered with feather-beds or roses. They got sadly +bruised; but were lucky enough to escape without any broken limbs. + +Mandricardo, as soon as he gained his feet, seized the horse by his +mane with fury; but, having no bridle, could not hold him. He looked +round in hopes of finding something that would do for a rein. Just then +fortune, who seemed willing to help him at last, brought that way a +peasant with a bridle in his hand, who was in search of his farm horse +that had strayed away. + +Orlando, having speedily repaired his horse's girths, remounted, and +waited a good hour for the Saracen to return. Not seeing him, he +concluded to go in search of him. He took an affectionate leave of +Zerbino and Isabella, who would willingly have followed him; but this +the brave paladin would by no means permit. He held it unknightly to go +in search of an enemy accompanied by a friend, who might act as a +defender. Therefore, desiring them to say to Mandricardo, if they +should meet him, that his purpose was to tarry in the neighborhood +three days, and then repair to the camp of Charlemagne, he took down +Durindana from the tree, and proceeded in the direction which the +Saracen's horse had taken. But the animal, having no guide but its +terror, had so doubled and confused its traces that Orlando, after two +days spent in the search, gave up the attempt. + +It was about the middle of the third day when the paladin arrived on +the pleasant bank of a stream which wound through a meadow enamelled +with flowers. High trees, whose tops met and formed an arbor, +over-shadowed the fountain; and the breeze which blew through their +foliage tempered the heat. Hither the shepherds used to resort to +quench their thirst, and to enjoy the shelter from the midday sun. The +air, perfumed with the flowers, seemed to breathe fresh strength into +their veins. Orlando felt the influence, though covered with his armor. +He stopped in this delicious arbor, where everything seemed to invite +to repose. But he could not have chosen a more fatal asylum. He there +spent the most miserable moments of his life. + +He looked around, and noted with pleasure all the charms of the spot. +He saw that some of the trees were carved with inscriptions--he drew +near, and read them, and what was his surprise to find that they +composed the name of Angelica! Farther on he found the name of Medoro +mixed with hers. The paladin thought he dreamed. He stood like one +amazed--like a bird that, rising to fly, finds its feet caught in a net. + +Orlando followed the course of the stream, and came to one of its turns +where the rocks of the mountain bent in such a way as to form a sort of +grotto. The twisted stems of ivy and the wild vine draped the entrance +of this recess, scooped by the hand of nature. + +The unhappy paladin, on entering the grotto, saw letters which appeared +to have been lately carved. They were verses which Medoro had written +in honor of his happy nuptials with the beautiful queen. Orlando tried +to persuade himself it must be some other Angelica whom those verses +celebrated, and as for Medoro, he had never heard his name. The sun was +now declining, and Orlando remounted his horse, and went on his way. He +soon saw the roof of a cottage whence the smoke ascended; he heard the +barking of dogs and the lowing of cattle, and arrived at a humble +dwelling which seemed to offer an asylum for the night. The inmates, as +soon as they saw him, hastened to tender him service. One took his +horse, another his shield and cuirass, another his golden spurs. This +cottage was the very same where Medoro had been carried, deeply +wounded,--where Angelica had tended him, and afterwards married him. +The shepherd who lived in it loved to tell everybody the story of this +marriage, and soon related it, with all its details, to the miserable +Orlando. + +Having finished it, he went away, and returned with the precious +bracelet which Angelica, grateful for his services, had given him as a +memorial. It was the one which Orlando had himself given her. + +This last touch was the finishing stroke to the excited paladin. +Frantic, exasperated, he exclaimed against the ungrateful and cruel +princess who had disdained him, the most renowned, the most indomitable +of all the paladins of France,--him, who had rescued her from the most +alarming perils,--him, who had fought the most terrible battles for her +sake,--she to prefer to him a young Saracen! The pride of the noble +Count was deeply wounded. Indignant, frantic, a victim to ungovernable +rage, he rushed into the forest, uttering the most frightful shrieks. + +"No, no!" cried he, "I am not the man they take me for! Orlando is +dead! I am only the wandering ghost of that unhappy Count, who is now +suffering the torments of hell!" + +Orlando wandered all night, as chance directed, through the wood, and +at sunrise his destiny led him to the fountain where Medoro had +engraved the fatal inscription. The frantic paladin saw it a second +time with fury, drew his sword, and hacked it from the rock. + +Unlucky grotto! you shall no more attract by your shade and coolness, +you shall no more shelter with your arch either shepherd or flock. And +you, fresh and pure fountain, you may not escape the rage of the +furious Orlando! He cast into the fountain branches, trunks of trees +which he tore up, pieces of rocks which he broke off, plants uprooted, +with the earth adhering, and turf and brushes, so as to choke the +fountain, and destroy the purity of its waters. At length, exhausted by +his violent exertions, bathed in sweat, breathless, Orlando sunk +panting upon the earth, and lay there insensible three days and three +nights. + +The fourth day he started up and seized his arms. His helmet, his +buckler, he cast far from him; his hauberk and his clothes he rent +asunder; the fragments were scattered through the wood. In fine, he +became a furious madman. His insanity was such that he cared not to +retain even his sword. But he had no need of Durindana, nor of other +arms, to do wonderful things. His prodigious strength sufficed. At the +first wrench of his mighty arm he tore up a pine-tree by the roots. +Oaks, beeches, maples, whatever he met in his path, yielded in like +manner. The ancient forest soon became as bare as the borders of a +morass, where the fowler has cleared away the bushes to spread his +nets. The shepherds, hearing the horrible crashing in the forest, +abandoned their flocks to run and see the cause of this unwonted +uproar. By their evil star, or for their sins, they were led thither. +When they saw the furious state the Count was in, and his incredible +force, they would fain have fled out of his reach, but in their fears +lost their presence of mind. The madman pursued them, seized one and +rent him limb from limb, as easily as one would pull ripe apples from a +tree. He took another by the feet, and used him as a club to knock down +a third. The shepherds fled; but it would have been hard for any to +escape, if he had not at that moment left them to throw himself with +the same fury upon their flocks. The peasants, abandoning their ploughs +and harrows, mounted on the roofs of buildings and pinnacles of the +rocks, afraid to trust themselves even to the oaks and pines. From such +heights they looked on, trembling at the raging fury of the unhappy +Orlando. His fists, his teeth, his nails, his feet, seize, break, and +tear cattle, sheep, and swine; the most swift in flight alone being +able to escape him. + +When at last terror had scattered everything before him, he entered a +cottage which was abandoned by its inhabitants, and there found that +which served for food. His long fast had caused him to feel the most +ravenous hunger. Seizing whatever he found that was eatable, whether +roots, acorns, or bread, raw meat or cooked, he gorged it +indiscriminately. + +Issuing thence again, the frantic Orlando gave chase to whatever living +thing he saw, whether men or animals. Sometimes he pursued the deer and +hind, sometimes he attacked bears and wolves, and with his naked hands +killed and tore them, and devoured their flesh. + +Thus he wandered, from place to place, through France, imperilling his +life a thousand ways, yet always preserved by some mysterious +providence from a fatal result. But here we leave Orlando for a time, +that we may record what befell Zerbino and Isabella after their parting +with him. + +The prince and his fair bride waited, by Orlando's request, near the +scene of the battle for three days, that, if Mandricardo should return, +they might inform him where Orlando would give him another meeting. At +the end of that time their anxiety to know the issue led them to follow +Orlando's traces, which led them at last to the wood where the trees +were inscribed with the names of Angelica and Medoro. They remarked how +all these inscriptions were defaced, and how the grotto was disordered, +and the fountain clogged with rubbish. But that which surprised them +and distressed them most of all was to find on the grass the cuirass of +Orlando, and not far from it his helmet, the same which the renowned +Almontes once wore. + +Hearing a horse neigh in the forest, Zerbino turned his eyes in that +direction, and saw Brigliadoro, with the bridle yet hanging at the +saddle-bow. He looked round for Durindana, and found that famous sword, +without the scabbard, lying on the grass. He saw also the fragments of +Orlando's other arms and clothing scattered on all sides over the plain. + +Zerbino and Isabella stood in astonishment and grief, not knowing what +to think, but little imagining the true cause. If they had found any +marks of blood on the arms or on the fragments of the clothing, they +would have supposed him slain, but there were none. While they were in +this painful uncertainty they saw a young peasant approach. He, not yet +recovered from the terror of the scene, which he had witnessed from the +top of a rock, told them the whole of the sad events. + +Zerbino, with his eyes full of tears, carefully collected all the +scattered arms. Isabella also dismounted to aid him in the sad duty. +When they had collected all the pieces of that rich armor they hung +them like a trophy on a pine; and to prevent their being violated by +any passers-by, Zerbino inscribed on the bark this caution: "These are +the arms of the Paladin Orlando." + +Having finished this pious work, he remounted his horse, and just then +a knight rode up, and requested Zerbino to tell him the meaning of the +trophy. The prince related the facts as they had happened; and +Mandricardo, for it was that Saracen knight, full of joy, rushed +forward, and seized the sword, saying, "No one can censure me for what +I do; this sword is mine; I can take my own wherever I find it. It is +plain that Orlando, not daring to defend it against me, has +counterfeited madness to excuse him in surrendering it." + +Zerbino vehemently exclaimed, "Touch not that sword. Think not to +possess it without a contest. If it be true that the arms you wear are +those of Hector, you must have got them by theft, and not by prowess." + +Immediately they attacked one another with the utmost fury. The air +resounded with thick-falling blows. Zerbino, skilful and alert, evaded +for a time with good success the strokes of Durindana; but at length a +terrible blow struck him on the neck. He fell from his horse, and the +Tartar king, possessed of the spoils of his victory, rode away. + + + +ZERBINO AND ISABELLA + +Zerbino's pain at seeing the Tartar prince go off with the sword +surpassed the anguish of his wound; but now the loss of blood so +reduced his strength that he could not move from where he fell. +Isabella, not knowing whither to resort for help, could only bemoan +him, and chide her cruel fate. Zerbino said, "If I could but leave +thee, my best beloved, in some secure abode, it would not distress me +to die; but to abandon thee so, without protection, is sad indeed." She +replied, "Think not to leave me, dearest; our souls shall not be +parted; this sword will give me the means to follow thee." Zerbino's +last words implored her to banish such a thought, but live, and be true +to his memory. Isabella promised, with many tears, to be faithful to +him so long as life should last. + +When he ceased to breathe, Isabella's cries resounded through the +forest, and reached the ears of a reverend hermit, who hastened to the +spot. He soothed and calmed her, urging those consolations which the +word of God supplies; and at last brought her to wish for nothing else +but to devote herself for the rest of life wholly to religion. + +As she could not bear the thoughts of leaving her dead lord abandoned, +the body was, by the good hermit's aid, placed upon the horse, and +taken to the nearest inhabited place, where a chest was made for it, +suitable to be carried with them on their way. The hermit's plan was to +escort his charge to a monastery, not many days' journey distant, where +Isabella resolved to spend the remainder of her days. Thus they +travelled day after day, choosing the most retired ways, for the +country was full of armed men. One day a cavalier met them, and barred +their way. It was no other than Rodomont, king of Algiers, who had just +left the camp of Agramant, full of indignation at the treatment he had +received from Doralice. At sight of the lovely lady and her reverend +attendant, with their horse laden with a burden draped with black, he +asked the meaning of their journey. Isabella told him her affliction, +and her resolution to renounce the world and devote herself to +religion, and to the memory of the friend she had lost. Rodomont +laughed scornfully at this, and told her that her project was absurd; +that charms like hers were meant to be enjoyed, not buried, and that he +himself would more than make amends for her dead lover. The monk, who +promptly interposed to rebuke this impious talk, was commanded to hold +his peace; and still persisting was seized by the knight and hurled +over the edge of the cliff, where he fell into the sea, and was drowned. + +Rodomont, when he had got rid of the hermit, again applied to the sad +lady, heartless with affright, and, in the language used by lovers, +said, "she was his very heart, his life, his light." Having laid aside +all violence, he humbly sued that she would accompany him to his +retreat, near by. It was a ruined chapel from which the monks had been +driven by the disorders of the time, and which Rodomont had taken +possession of. Isabella, who had no choice but to obey, followed him, +meditating as she went what resource she could find to escape out of +his power, and keep her vow to her dead husband, to be faithful to his +memory as long as life should last. At length she said, "If, my lord, +you will let me go and fulfil my vow, and my intention, as I have +already declared it, I will bestow upon you what will be to you of more +value than a hundred women's hearts. I know an herb, and I have seen it +on our way, which, rightly prepared, affords a juice of such power, +that the flesh, if laved with it, becomes impenetrable to sword or +fire. This liquor I can make, and will, to-day, if you will accept my +offer; and when you have seen its virtue you will value it more than if +all Europe were made your own." + +Rodomont, at hearing this, readily promised all that was asked, so +eager was he to learn a secret that would make him as Achilles was of +yore. Isabella, having collected such herbs as she thought proper, and +boiled them, with certain mysterious signs and words, at length +declared her labor done, and, as a test, offered to try its virtue on +herself. She bathed her neck and bosom with the liquor, and then called +on Rodomont to smite with all his force, and see whether his sword had +power to harm. The pagan, who during the preparations had taken +frequent draughts of wine, and scarce knew what he did, drew his sword +at the word, and struck across her neck with all his might, and the +fair head leapt sundered from the snowy neck and breast. + +Rude and unfeeling as he was, the pagan knight lamented bitterly this +sad result. To honor her memory he resolved to do a work as +unparalleled as her devotion. From all parts round he caused laborers +to be brought, and had a tower built to enclose the chapel, within +which the remains of Zerbino and Isabella were entombed. Across the +stream which flowed near by he built a bridge, scarce two yards wide, +and added neither parapet nor rail. On the top of the tower a sentry +was placed, who, when any traveller approached the bridge, gave notice +to his master. Rodomont thereupon sallied out, and defied the +approaching knight to fight him upon the bridge, where any chance step +a little aside would plunge the rider headlong in the stream. This +bridge he vowed to keep until a thousand suits of armor should be won +from conquered knights, wherewith to build a trophy to his victim and +her lord. + +Within ten days the bridge was built, and the tower was in progress. In +a short time many knights, either seeking the shortest route, or +tempted by a desire of adventure, had made the attempt to pass the +bridge. All, without exception, had lost either arms or life, or both; +some falling before Rodomont's lance, others precipitated into the +river. One day, as Rodomont stood urging his workmen, it chanced that +Orlando in his furious mood came thither, and approached the bridge. +Rodomont halloed to him, "Halt, churl; presume not to set foot upon +that bridge; it was not made for such as you!" Orlando took no notice, +but pressed on. Just then a gentle damsel rode up. It was Flordelis, +who was seeking her Florismart. She saw Orlando, and, in spite of his +strange appearance, recognized him. Rodomont, not used to have his +commands disobeyed, laid hands on the madman, and would have thrown him +into the river, but to his astonishment found himself in the gripe of +one not so easily disposed of. "How can a fool have such strength?" he +growled between his teeth. Flordelis stopped to see the issue, where +each of these two puissant warriors strove to throw the other from the +bridge. Orlando at last had strength enough to lift his foe with all +his armor, and fling him over the side, but had not wit to clear +himself from him, so both fell together. High flashed the wave as they +together smote its surface. Here Orlando had the advantage; he was +naked, and could swim like a fish. He soon reached the bank, and, +careless of praise or blame, stopped not to see what came of the +adventure. Rodomont, entangled with his armor, escaped with difficulty +to the bank. Meantime, Flordelis passed the bridge unchallenged. + +After long wandering without success she returned to Paris, and there +found the object of her search; for Florismart, after the fall of +Albracca, had repaired thither. The joy of meeting was clouded to +Florismart by the news which Flordelis brought of Orlando's wretched +plight. The last she had seen of him was when he fell with Rodomont +into the stream. Florismart, who loved Orlando like a brother, resolved +to set out immediately, under the guidance of the lady, to find him, +and bring him where he might receive the treatment suited to his case. +A few days brought them to the place where they found the Tartar king +still guarding the bridge. The usual challenge and defiance was made, +and the knights rode to encounter one another on the bridge. At the +first encounter both horses were overthrown; and, having no space to +regain their footing, fell with their riders into the water. Rodomont, +who knew the soundings of the stream, soon recovered the land; but +Florismart was carried downward by the current, and landed at last on a +bank of mud where his horse could hardly find footing. Flordelis, who +watched the battle from the bridge, seeing her lover in this piteous +case, exclaimed aloud, "Ah! Rodomont, for love of her whom dead you +honor, have pity on me, who love this knight, and slay him not. Let it +suffice he yields his armor to the pile, and none more glorious will it +bear than his." Her prayer, so well directed, touched the pagan's +heart, though hard to move, and he lent his aid to help the knight to +land. He kept him a prisoner, however, and added his armor to the pile. +Flordelis, with a heavy heart, went her way. + +We must now return to Rogero, who, when we parted with him, was engaged +in an adventure which arrested his progress to the monastery whither he +was bound with the intention of receiving baptism, and thus qualifying +himself to demand Bradamante as his bride. On his way he met with +Mandricardo, and the quarrel was revived respecting the right to wear +the badge of Hector. After a warm discussion both parties agreed to +submit the question to King Agramant, and for that purpose took their +way to the Saracen camp. Here they met Gradasso, who had his +controversy also with Mandricardo. This warrior claimed the sword of +Orlando, denying the right of Mandricardo to possess it in virtue of +his having found it abandoned by its owner. King Agramant strove in +vain to reconcile these quarrels, and was forced at last to consent +that the points in dispute should be settled by one combat, in which +Mandricardo should meet one of the other champions, to whom should be +committed the cause of both. Rogero was chosen by lot to maintain +Gradasso's cause and his own. Great preparations were made for this +signal contest. On the appointed day it was fought in the presence of +Agramant, and of the whole army. Rogero won it; and Mandricardo, the +conqueror of Hector's arms, the challenger of Orlando, and the slayer +of Zerbino, lost his life. Gradasso received Durindana as his prize, +which lost half its value in his eyes, since it was won by another's +prowess, not his own. + +Rogero, though victorious, was severely wounded, and lay helpless many +weeks in the camp of Agramant, while Bradamante, ignorant of the cause +of his delay, expected him at Montalban. Thither he had promised to +repair in fifteen days, or twenty at furthest, hoping to have obtained +by that time an honorable discharge from his obligations to the Saracen +commander. The twenty days were passed, and a month more, and still +Rogero came not, nor did any tidings reach Bradamante accounting for +his absence. At the end of that time, a wandering knight brought news +of the famous combat, and of Rogero's wound. He added, what alarmed +Bradamante still more, that Marphisa, a female warrior, young and fair, +was in attendance on the wounded knight. He added that the whole army +expected that, as soon as Rogero's wounds were healed, the pair would +be united in marriage. + +Bradamante, distressed by this news, though she believed it but in +part, resolved to go immediately and see for herself. She mounted +Rabican, the horse of Astolpho, which he had committed to her care, and +took with her the lance of gold, though unaware of its wonderful +powers. Thus accoutred, she left the castle, and took the road toward +Paris and the camp of the Saracens. + +Marphisa, whose devotion to Rogero in his illness had so excited the +jealousy of Bradamante, was the twin sister of Rogero. She, with him, +had been taken in charge when an infant by Atlantes, the magician, but +while yet a child she had been stolen away by an Arab tribe. Adopted by +their chief, she had early learned horsemanship and skill in arms, and +at this time had come to the camp of Agramant with no other view than +to see and test for herself the prowess of the warriors of either camp, +whose fame rang through the world. Arriving at the very moment of the +late encounter, the name of Rogero, and some few facts of his story +which she learned, were enough to suggest the idea that it was her +brother whom she saw victorious in the single combat. Inquiry satisfied +the two of their near kindred, and from that moment Marphisa devoted +herself to the care of her new-found and much-loved brother. + +In those moments of seclusion Rogero informed his sister of what he had +learned of their parentage from old Atlantes. Rogero, their father, a +Christian knight, had won the heart of Galaciella, daughter of the +Sultan of Africa, and sister of King Agramant, converted her to the +Christian faith, and secretly married her. The Sultan, enraged at his +daughter's marriage, drove her husband into exile, and caused her with +her infant children, Rogero and Marphisa, to be placed in a boat and +committed to the winds and waves, to perish; from which fate they were +saved by Atlantes. On hearing this, Marphisa exclaimed, "How can you, +brother, leave our parents unavenged so long, and even submit to serve +the son of the tyrant who so wronged them?" Rogero replied that it was +but lately he had learned the full truth; that when he learned it he +was already embarked with Agramant, from whom he had received +knighthood, and that he only waited for a suitable opportunity when he +might with honor desert his standard, and at the same time return to +the faith of his fathers. Marphisa hailed this resolution with joy, and +declared her intention to join with him in embracing the Christian +faith. + +We left Bradamante when, mounted on Rabican and armed with Astolpho's +lance, she rode forth, determined to learn the cause of Rogero's long +absence. One day, as she rode, she met a damsel, of visage and of +manners fair, but overcome with grief. It was Flordelis, who was +seeking far and near a champion capable of liberating and avenging her +lord. Flordelis marked the approaching warrior, and, judging from +appearances, thought she had found the champion she sought. "Are you, +Sir Knight," she said, "so daring and so kind as to take up my cause +against a fierce and cruel warrior who has made prisoner of my lord, +and forced me thus to be a wanderer and a suppliant?" Then she related +the events which had happened at the bridge. Bradamante, to whom noble +enterprises were always welcome, readily embraced this, and the rather +as in her gloomy forebodings she felt as if Rogero was forever lost to +her. + +Next day the two arrived at the bridge. The sentry descried them +approaching, and gave notice to his lord, who thereupon donned his +armor and went forth to meet them. Here, as usual, he called on the +advancing warrior to yield his horse and arms an oblation to the tomb. +Bradamante replied, asking by what right he called on the innocent to +do penance for his crime. "Your life and your armor," she added, "are +the fittest offering to her tomb, and I, a woman, the fittest champion +to take them." With that she couched her spear, spurred her horse, and +ran to the encounter. King Rodomont came on with speed. The trampling +sounded on the bridge like thunder. It took but a moment to decide the +contest. The golden lance did its office, and that fierce Moor, so +renowned in tourney, lay extended on the bridge. "Who is the loser +now?" said Bradamante; but Rodomont, amazed that a woman's hand should +have laid him low, could not or would not answer. Silent and sad, he +raised himself, unbound his helm and mail, and flung them against the +tomb; then, sullen and on foot, left the ground; but first gave orders +to one of his squires to release all his prisoners. They had been sent +off to Africa. Besides Florismart, there were Sansonnet and Oliver, who +had ridden that way in quest of Orlando, and had both in turn been +overthrown in the encounter. + +Bradamante after her victory resumed her route, and in due time reached +the Christian camp, where she readily learned an explanation of the +mystery which had caused her so much anxiety. Rogero and his fair and +brave sister, Marphisa, were too illustrious by their station and +exploits not to be the frequent topic of discourse even among their +adversaries, and all that Bradamante was anxious to know reached her +ear, almost without inquiry. + +We now return to Gradasso, who by Rogero's victory had been made +possessor of Durindana. There now only remained to him to seek the +horse of Rinaldo; and the challenge, given and accepted, was yet to be +fought with that warrior, for it had been interrupted by the arts of +Malagigi. Gradasso now sought another meeting with Rinaldo, and met +with no reluctance on his part. As the combat was for the possession of +Bayard, the knights dismounted and fought on foot. Long time the battle +lasted. Rinaldo, knowing well the deadly stroke of Durindana, used all +his art to parry or avoid its blow. Gradasso struck with might and +main, but wellnigh all his strokes were spent in air, or if they smote +they fell obliquely and did little harm. + +Thus had they fought long, glancing at one another's eyes, and seeing +naught else, when their attention was arrested perforce by a strange +noise. They turned, and beheld the good Bayard attacked by a monstrous +bird. Perhaps it was a bird, for such it seemed; but when or where such +a bird was ever seen I have nowhere read, except in Turpin; and I am +inclined to believe that it was not a bird, but a fiend, evoked from +underground by Malagigi, and thither sent on purpose to interrupt the +fight. Whether a fiend or a fowl, the monster flew right at Bayard, and +clapped his wings in his face. Thereat the steed broke loose, and ran +madly across the plain, pursued by the bird, till Bayard plunged into +the wood, and was lost to sight. + +Rinaldo and Gradasso, seeing Bayard's escape, agreed to suspend their +battle till they could recover the horse, the object of contention. +Gradasso mounted his steed, and followed the foot-marks of Bayard into +the forest. Rinaldo, never more vexed in spirit, remained at the spot, +Gradasso having promised to return thither with the horse, if he found +him. He did find him, after long search, for he had the good fortune to +hear him neigh. Thus he became possessed of both the objects for which +he had led an army from his own country, and invaded France. He did not +forget his promise to bring Bayard back to the place where he had left +Rinaldo, but only muttering, "Now I have got him, he little knows me +who expects me to give him up; if Rinaldo wants the horse let him seek +him in India, as I have sought him in France,"--he made the best of his +way to Arles, where his vessels lay; and in possession of the two +objects of his ambition, the horse and the sword, sailed away to his +own country. + + + +ASTOLPHO IN ABYSSINIA + +When we last parted with the adventurous paladin Astolpho, he was just +commencing that flight over the countries of the world from which he +promised himself so much gratification. Our readers are aware that the +eagle and the falcon have not so swift a flight as the Hippogriff on +which Astolpho rode. It was not long, therefore, before the paladin, +directing his course toward the southeast, arrived over that part of +Africa where the great river Nile has its source. Here he alighted, and +found himself in the neighborhood of the capital of Abyssinia, ruled by +Senapus, whose riches and power were immense. His palace was of +surpassing splendor; the bars of the gates, the hinges and locks, were +all of pure gold; in fact, this metal, in that country, is put to all +those uses for which we employ iron. It is so common that they prefer +for ornamental purposes rock crystal, of which all the columns were +made. Precious stones of different kinds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, +and topazes were set in ornamental designs, and the walls and ceilings +were adorned with pearls. + +It is in this country those famous balms grow of which there are some +few plants in that part of Judaea called Gilead. Musk, ambergris, and +numerous gums, so precious in Europe, are here in their native climate. +It is said the Sultan of Egypt pays a vast tribute to the monarch of +this country to hire him not to cut off the source of the Nile, which +he might easily do, and cause the river to flow in some other +direction, thus depriving Egypt of the source of its fertility. + +At the time of Astolpho's arrival in his dominions, this monarch was in +great affliction. In spite of his riches and the precious productions +of his country, he was in danger of dying of hunger. He was a prey to a +flock of obscene birds called Harpies, which attacked him whenever he +sat at meat, and with their claws snatched, tore, and scattered +everything, overturning the vessels, devouring the food, and infecting +what they left with their filthy touch. It was said this punishment was +inflicted upon the king because when young, and filled with pride and +presumption, he had attempted to invade with an army the terrestrial +paradise, which is situated on the top of a mountain whence the Nile +draws its source. Nor was this his only punishment. He was struck blind. + +Astolpho, on arriving in the dominions of this monarch, hastened to pay +him his respects. King Senapus received him graciously, and ordered a +splendid repast to be prepared in honor of his arrival. While the +guests were seated at table, Astolpho filling the place of dignity at +the king's right hand, the horrid scream of the Harpies was heard in +the air, and soon they approached, hovering over the tables, seizing +the food from the dishes, and overturning everything with the flapping +of their broad wings. In vain the guests struck at them with knives and +any weapons which they had, and Astolpho drew his sword and gave them +repeated blows, which seemed to have no more effect upon them than if +their bodies had been made of tow. + +At last Astolpho thought of his horn. He first gave warning to the king +and his guests to stop their ears; then blew a blast. The Harpies, +terrified at the sound, flew away as fast as their wings could carry +them. The paladin mounted his Hippogriff, and pursued them, blowing his +horn as often as he came near them. They stretched their flight towards +the great mountain, at the foot of which there is a cavern, which is +thought to be the mouth of the infernal abodes. Hither those horrid +birds flew, as if to their home. Having seen them all disappear in the +recess, Astolpho cared not to pursue them farther, but alighting, +rolled huge stones into the mouth of the cave, and piled branches of +trees therein, so that he effectually barred their passage out, and we +have no evidence of their ever having been seen since in the outer air. + +After this labor Astolpho refreshed himself by bathing in a fountain +whose pure waters bubbled from a cleft of the rock. Having rested +awhile, an earnest desire seized him of ascending the mountain which +towered above him. The Hippogriff bore him swiftly upwards, and landed +him on the top of the mountain, which he found to be an extensive plain. + +A splendid palace rose in the middle of this plain, whose walls shone +with such brilliancy that mortal eyes could hardly bear the sight. +Astolpho guided the winged horse towards this edifice, and made him +poise himself in the air while he took a leisurely survey of this +favored spot and its environs. It seemed as if nature and art had +striven with one another to see which could do the most for its +embellishment. + +Astolpho, on approaching the edifice, saw a venerable man advance to +meet him. This personage was clothed in a long vesture as white as +snow, while a mantle of purple covered his shoulders, and hung down to +the ground. A white beard descended to his middle, and his hair, of the +same color, overshadowed his shoulders. His eyes were so brilliant that +Astolpho felt persuaded that he was a blessed inhabitant of the +heavenly mansions. + +The sage, smiling benignantly upon the paladin, who from respect had +dismounted from his horse, said to him: "Noble chevalier, know that it +is by the Divine will you have been brought to the terrestrial +paradise. Your mortal nature could not have borne to scale these +heights and reach these seats of bliss if it were not the will of +Heaven that you should be instructed in the means to succor Charles, +and to sustain the glory of our holy faith. I am prepared to impart the +needed counsels; but before I begin let me welcome you to our sojourn. +I doubt not your long fast and distant journey have given you a good +appetite." + +The aspect of the venerable man filled the prince with admiration; but +his surprise ceased when he learned from him that he was that one of +the Apostles of our Lord to whom he said, "I will that thou tarry till +I come." + +St. John, conducting Astolpho, rejoined his companions. These were the +patriarch Enoch and the prophet Elijah; neither of whom had yet seen +his dying day, but, taken from our lower world, were dwelling in a +region of peace and joy, in a climate of eternal spring, till the last +trumpet shall sound. + +The three holy inhabitants of the terrestrial paradise received +Astolpho with the greatest kindness, carried him to a pleasant +apartment, and took great care of the Hippogriff, to whom they gave +such food as suited him, while to the prince they presented fruits so +delicious that he felt inclined to excuse our first parents for their +sin in eating them without permission. + +Astolpho, having recruited his strength, not only by these excellent +fruits, but also by sweet sleep, roused himself at the first blush of +dawn, and as soon as he left his chamber met the beloved Apostle coming +to seek him. St. John took him by the hand, and told him many things +relating to the past and the future. Among others, he said, "Son, let +me tell you what is now going on in France. Orlando, the illustrious +prince who received at his birth the endowment of strength and courage +more than mortal, raised up as was Samson of old to be the champion of +the true faith, has been guilty of the basest ingratitude in leaving +the Christian camp when it most needed the support of his arm, to run +after a Saracen princess, whom he would fain marry, though she scorns +him. To punish him his reason has been taken away, so that he runs +naked through the land, over mountains and through valleys, without a +ray of intelligence. The duration of his punishment has been fixed at +three months, and that time having nearly expired, you have been +brought hither to learn from us the means by which the reason of +Orlando may be restored. True, you will be obliged to make a journey +with me, and we must even leave the earth, and ascend to the moon, for +it is in that planet we are to seek the remedy for the madness of the +paladin. I propose to make our journey this evening, as soon as the +moon appears over our head." + +As soon as the sun sunk beneath the seas, and the moon presented its +luminous disk, the holy man had the chariot brought out in which he was +accustomed to make excursions among the stars, the same which was +employed long ago to convey Elijah up from earth. The saint made +Astolpho seat himself beside him, took the reins, and giving the word +to the coursers, they bore them upward with astonishing celerity. + +At length they reached the great continent of the Moon. Its surface +appeared to be of polished steel, with here and there a spot which, +like rust, obscured its brightness. The paladin was astonished to see +that the earth, with all its seas and rivers, seemed but an +insignificant spot in the distance. + +The prince discovered in this region so new to him rivers, lakes, +plains, hills, and valleys. Many beautiful cities and castles enriched +the landscape. He saw also vast forests, and heard in them the sound of +horns and the barking of dogs, which led him to conclude that the +nymphs were following the chase. + +The knight, filled with wonder at all he saw, was conducted by the +saint to a valley, where he stood amazed at the riches strewed all +around him. Well he might be so, for that valley was the receptacle of +things lost on earth, either by men's fault, or by the effect of time +and chance. Let no one suppose we speak here of kingdoms or of +treasures; they are the toys of Fortune, which she dispenses in turning +her wheel; we speak of things which she can neither give nor take away. +Such are reputations, which appear at one time so brilliant, and a +short time after are heard of no more. Here, also, are countless vows +and prayers for unattainable objects, lovers' sighs and tears, time +spent in gaming, dressing, and doing nothing, the leisure of the dull +and the intentions of the lazy, baseless projects, intrigues, and +plots; these and such like things fill all the valley. + +Astolpho had a great desire to understand all that he saw, and which +appeared to him so extraordinary. Among the rest, he observed a great +mountain of blown bladders, from which issued indistinct noises. The +saint told him these were the dynasties of Assyrian and Persian kings, +once the wonder of the earth, of which now scarce the name remains. + +Astolpho could not help laughing when the saint said to him, "All these +hooks of silver and gold that you see are the gifts of courtiers to +princes, made in the hope of getting something better in return." He +also showed him garlands of flowers in which snares were concealed; +these were flatteries and adulations, meant to deceive. But nothing was +so comical as the sight of numerous grasshoppers which had burst their +lungs with chirping. These, he told him, were sonnets, odes, and +dedications, addressed by venal poets to great people. + +The paladin beheld with wonder what seemed a lake of spilled milk. "It +is," said the saint, "the charity done by frightened misers on their +death-beds." It would take too long to tell all that the valley +contained: meanness, affectations, pretended virtues, and concealed +vices were there in abundance. + +Among the rest Astolpho perceived many days of his own lost, and many +imprudent sallies which he had made, and would have been glad not to +have been reminded of. But he also saw among so many lost things a +great abundance of one thing which men are apt to think they all +possess, and do not think it necessary to pray for,--good sense. This +commodity appeared under the form of a liquor, most light and apt to +evaporate. It was therefore kept in vials, firmly sealed. One of these +was labelled, "The sense of the Paladin Orlando." + +All the bottles were ticketed, and the sage placed one in Astolpho's +hand, which he found was his own. It was more than half full. He was +surprised to find there many other vials which contained almost the +whole of the wits of many persons who passed among men for wise. Ah, +how easy it is to lose one's reason! Some lose theirs by yielding to +the sway of the passions; some in braving tempests and shoals in search +of wealth; some by trusting too much to the promises of the great; some +by setting their hearts on trifles. As might have been expected, the +bottles which held the wits of astrologers, inventors, metaphysicians, +and above all, of poets, were in general the best filled of all. + +Astolpho took his bottle, put it to his nose, and inhaled it all; and +Turpin assures us that he was for a long time afterwards as sage as one +could wish; but the Archbishop adds that there was reason to fear that +some of the precious fluid afterwards found its way back into the +bottle. The paladin took also the bottle which belonged to Orlando. It +was a large one, and quite full. + +Before quitting the planetary region Astolpho was conducted to an +edifice on the borders of a river. He was shown an immense hall full of +bundles of silk, linen, cotton, and wool. A thousand different colors, +brilliant or dull, some quite black, were among these skeins. In one +part of the hall an old woman was busy winding off yarns from all these +different bundles. When she had finished a skein another ancient dame +took it and placed it with others; a third selected from the fleeces +spun, and mingled them in due proportions. The paladin inquired what +all this might be. "These old women," said the saint, "are the Fates, +who spin, measure, and terminate the lives of mortals. As long as the +thread stretches in one of those skeins, so long does the mortal enjoy +the light of day; but nature and death are on the alert to shut the +eyes of those whose thread is spun." + +Each one of the skeins had a label of gold, silver, or iron, bearing +the name of the individual to whom it belonged. An old man, who, in +spite of the burden of years, seemed brisk and active, ran without +ceasing to fill his apron with these labels, and carried them away to +throw them into the river, whose name was Lethe. When he reached the +shore of the river the old man shook out his apron, and the labels sunk +to the bottom. A small number only floated for a time, hardly one in a +thousand. Numberless birds, hawks, crows, and vultures hovered over the +stream, with clamorous cries, and strove to snatch from the water some +of these names; but they were too heavy for them, and after a while the +birds were forced to let them drop into the river of oblivion. But two +beautiful swans, of snowy whiteness, gathered some few of the names, +and returned with them to the shore, where a lovely nymph received them +from their beaks, and carried them to a temple placed upon a hill, and +suspended them for all time upon a sacred column, on which stood the +statue of Immortality. + +Astolpho was amazed at all this, and asked his guide to explain it. He +replied, "The old man is Time. All the names upon the tickets would be +immortal if the old man did not plunge them into the river of oblivion. +Those clamorous birds which make vain efforts to save certain of the +names are flatterers, pensioners, venal rhymesters, who do their best +to rescue from oblivion the unworthy names of their patrons; but all in +vain; they may keep them from their fate a little while, but ere long +the river of oblivion must swallow them all. + +"The swans, that with harmonious strains carry certain names to the +temple of Eternal Memory, are the great poets, who save from oblivion +worse than death the names of those they judge worthy of immortality. +Swans of this kind are rare. Let monarchs know the true breed, and fail +not to nourish with care such as may chance to appear in their time." + + + +THE WAR IN AFRICA + +When Astolpho had descended to the earth with the precious phial, St. +John showed him a plant of marvellous virtues, with which he told him +he had only to touch the eyes of the king of Abyssinia to restore him +to sight. "That important service," said the saint, "added to your +having delivered him from the Harpies, will induce him to give you an +army wherewith to attack the Africans in their rear, and force them to +return from France to defend their own country." The saint also +instructed him how to lead his troops in safety across the great +deserts, where caravans are often overwhelmed with moving columns of +sand. Astolpho, fortified with ample instructions, remounted the +Hippogriff, thanked the saint, received his blessing, and took his +flight down to the level country. + +Keeping the course of the river Nile, he soon arrived at the capital of +Abyssinia, and rejoined Senapus. The joy of the king was great when he +heard again the voice of the hero who had delivered him from the +Harpies. Astolpho touched his eyes with the plant which he had brought +from the terrestrial paradise, and restored their sight. The king's +gratitude was unbounded. He begged him to name a reward, promising to +grant it, whatever it might be. Astolpho asked an army to go to the +assistance of Charlemagne, and the king not only granted him a hundred +thousand men, but offered to lead them himself. + +The night before the day appointed for the departure of the troops +Astolpho mounted his winged horse, and directed his flight towards a +mountain, whence the fierce South-wind issues, whose blast raises the +sands of the Nubian desert, and whirls them onward in overwhelming +clouds. The paladin, by the advice of St. John, had prepared himself +with a leather bag, which he placed adroitly, with its mouth open, over +the vent whence issues this terrible wind. At the first dawn of morning +the wind rushed from its cavern to resume its daily course, and was +caught in the bag, and securely tied up. Astolpho, delighted with his +prize, returned to his army, placed himself at their head, and +commenced his march. The Abyssinians traversed without danger or +difficulty those vast fields of sand which separate their country from +the kingdoms of Northern Africa, for the terrible South-wind, taken +completely captive, had not force enough left to blow out a candle. + +Senapus was distressed that he could not furnish any cavalry, for his +country, rich in camels and elephants, was destitute of horses. This +difficulty the saint had foreseen, and had taught Astolpho the means of +remedying. He now put those means in operation. Having reached a place +whence he beheld a vast plain and the sea, he chose from his troops +those who appeared to be the best made and the most intelligent. These +he caused to be arranged in squadrons at the foot of a lofty mountain +which bordered the plain, and he himself mounted to the summit to carry +into effect his great design. Here he found vast quantities of +fragments of rock and pebbles. These he set rolling down the mountain's +side, and, wonderful to relate, as they rolled they grew in size, made +themselves bodies, legs, necks, and long faces. Next they began to +neigh, to curvet, to scamper on all sides over the plain. Some were +bay, some roan, some dapple, some chestnut. The troops at the foot of +the mountain exerted themselves to catch these new-created horses, +which they easily did, for the miracle had been so considerate as to +provide all the horses with bridles and saddles. Astolpho thus suddenly +found himself supplied with an excellent corps of cavalry, not fewer +(as Archbishop Turpin asserts) than eighty thousand strong. With these +troops Astolpho reduced all the country to subjection, and at last +arrived before the walls of Agramant's capital city, Biserta, to which +he laid siege. + +We must now return to the camp of the Christians, which lay before +Arles, to which city the Saracens had retired after being defeated in a +night attack led on by Rinaldo. Agramant here received the tidings of +the invasion of his country by a fresh enemy, the Abyssinians, and +learned that Biserta was in danger of falling into their hands. He took +counsel of his officers, and decided to send an embassy to Charles, +proposing that the whole quarrel should be submitted to the combat of +two warriors, one from each side, according to the issue of which it +should be decided which party should pay tribute to the other, and the +war should cease. Charlemagne, who had not heard of the favorable turn +which affairs had taken in Africa, readily agreed to this proposal, and +Rinaldo was selected on the part of the Christians to sustain the +combat. + +The Saracens selected Rogero for their champion. Rogero was still in +the Saracen camp, kept there by honor alone, for his mind had been +opened to the truth of the Christian faith by the arguments of +Bradamante, and he had resolved to leave the party of the infidels on +the first favorable opportunity, and to join the Christian side. But +his honor forbade him to do this while his former friends were in +distress; and thus he waited for what time might bring forth, when he +was startled by the announcement that he had been selected to uphold +the cause of the Saracens against the Christians, and that his foe was +to be Rinaldo, the brother of Bradamante. + +While Rogero was overwhelmed with this intelligence Bradamante on her +side felt the deepest distress at hearing of the proposed combat. If +Rogero should fall she felt that no other man living was worthy of her +love; and if, on the other hand, Heaven should resolve to punish France +by the death of her chosen champion, Bradamante would have to deplore +her brother, so dear to her, and be no less completely severed from the +object of her affections. + +While the fair lady gave herself up to these sad thoughts, the sage +enchantress, Melissa, suddenly appeared before her. "Fear not, my +daughter," said she, "I shall find a way to interrupt this combat which +so distresses you." + +Meanwhile Rinaldo and Rogero prepared their weapons for the conflict. +Rinaldo had the choice, and decided that it should be on foot, and with +no weapons but the battle-axe and poniard. The place assigned was a +plain between the camp of Charlemagne and the walls of Arles. + +Hardly had the dawn announced the day appointed for this memorable +combat, when heralds proceeded from both sides to mark the lists. +Erelong the African troops were seen to advance from the city, Agramant +at their head; his brilliant arms adorned in the Moorish fashion, his +horse a bay, with a white star on his forehead. Rogero marched at his +side, and some of the greatest warriors of the Saracen camp attended +him, bearing the various parts of his armor and weapons. Charlemagne, +on his part, proceeded from his intrenchments, ranged his troops in +semicircle, and stood surrounded by his peers and paladins. Some of +them bore portions of the armor of Rinaldo, the celebrated Ogier, the +Dane, bearing the helmet which Rinaldo took from Mambrino. Duke Namo of +Bavaria and Salomon of Bretagne bore two axes, of equal weight, +prepared for the occasion. + +The terms of the combat were then sworn to with the utmost solemnity by +all parties. It was agreed that if from either part any attempt was +made to interrupt the battle both combatants should turn their arms +against the party which should be guilty of the interruption; and both +monarchs assented to the condition that in such case the champion of +the offending party should be discharged from his allegiance, and at +liberty to transfer his arms to the other side. + +When all the preparations were concluded the monarchs and their +attendants retired each to his own side, and the champions were left +alone. The two warriors advanced with measured steps towards each +other, and met in the middle of the space. They attacked one another at +the same moment, and the air resounded with the blows they gave. Sparks +flew from their battle-axes, while the velocity with which they managed +their weapons astonished the beholders. Rogero, always remembering that +his antagonist was the brother of his betrothed, could not aim a deadly +wound; he strove only to ward off those levelled against himself. +Rinaldo, on the other hand, much as he esteemed Rogero, spared not his +blows, for he eagerly desired victory for his own sake, and for the +sake of his country and his faith. + +The Saracens soon perceived that their champion fought feebly, and gave +not to Rinaldo such blows as he received from him. His disadvantage was +so marked that anxiety and shame were manifest on the countenance of +Agramant. Melissa, one of the most acute enchantresses that ever lived, +seized this moment to disguise herself under the form of Rodomont, that +rude and impetuous warrior, who had now for some time been absent from +the Saracen camp. Approaching Agramant, she said, "How could you, my +lord, have the imprudence of selecting a young man without experience +to oppose the most redoubtable warrior of France? Surely you must have +been regardless of the honor of your arms, and of the fate of your +empire! But it is not too late. Break without delay the agreement which +is sure to result in your ruin." So saying, she addressed the troops +who stood near, "Friends," said she, "follow me; under my guidance +every one of you will be a match for a score of those feeble +Christians." Agramant, delighted at seeing Rodomont once more at his +side, gave his consent, and the Saracens, at the instant, couched their +lances, set spurs to their steeds, and swept down upon the French. +Melissa, when she saw her work successful, disappeared. + +Rinaldo and Rogero, seeing the truce broken, and the two armies engaged +in general conflict, stopped their battle; their martial fury ceased at +once, they joined hands, and resolved to act no more on either side +until it should be clearly ascertained which party had failed to +observe its oath. Both renewed their promise to abandon forever the +party which had been thus false and perjured. + +Meanwhile, the Christians, after the first moment of surprise, met the +Saracens with courage redoubled by rage at the treachery of their foes. +Guido the Wild, brother and rival of Rinaldo, Griffon and Aquilant, +sons of Oliver, and numerous others whose names have already been +celebrated in our recitals, beat back the assailants, and at last, +after prodigious slaughter, forced them to take shelter within the +walls of Arles. + +We will now return to Orlando, whom we last heard of as furiously mad, +and doing a thousand acts of violence in his senseless rage. One day he +came to the borders of a stream which intercepted his course. He swam +across it, for he could swim like an otter, and on the other side saw a +peasant watering his horse. He seized the animal, in spite of the +resistance of the peasant, and rode it with furious speed till he +arrived at the sea-coast, where Spain is divided from Africa by only a +narrow strait. At the moment of his arrival a vessel had just put off +to cross the strait. She was full of people who, with glass in hand, +seemed to be taking a merry farewell of the land, wafted by a favorable +breeze. + +The frantic Orlando cried out to them to stop and take him in; but +they, having no desire to admit a madman to their company, paid him no +attention. The paladin thought this behavior very uncivil; and by force +of blows made his horse carry him into the water in pursuit of the +ship. The wretched animal soon had only his head above water; but as +Orlando urged him forward, nothing was left for the poor beast but +either to die or swim over to Africa. + +Already Orlando had lost sight of the bark; distance and the swell of +the sea completely hid it from his sight. He continued to press his +horse forward, till at last it could struggle no more, and sunk beneath +him. Orlando, nowise concerned, stretched out his nervous arms, puffing +the salt water from before his mouth, and carried his head above the +waves. Fortunately they were not rough, scarce a breath of wind +agitated the surface; otherwise, the invincible Orlando would then have +met his death. But fortune, which it is said favors fools, delivered +him from this danger, and landed him safe on the shore of Ceuta. Here +he rambled along the shore till he came to where the black army of +Astolpho held its camp. + +Now it happened, just before this time, that a vessel filled with +prisoners which Rodomont had taken at the bridge had arrived, and, not +knowing of the presence of the Abyssinian army, had sailed right into +port, where of course the prisoners and their captors changed places, +the former being set at liberty and received with all joy, the latter +sent to serve in the galleys. Astolpho thus found himself surrounded +with Christian knights, and he and his friends were exchanging +greetings and felicitations, when a noise was heard in the camp, and +seemed to increase every moment. + +Astolpho and his friends seized their weapons, mounted their horses, +and rode to the quarter whence the noise proceeded. Imagine their +astonishment when they saw that the tumult was caused by a single man, +perfectly naked, and browned with dirt and exposure, but of a force and +fury so terrible that he overturned all that offered to lay hands on +him. + +Astolpho, Dudon, Oliver, and Florimart gazed at him with amazement. It +was with difficulty they knew him. Astolpho, who had been warned of his +condition by his holy monitor, was the first to recognize him. As the +paladins closed round Orlando, the madman dealt one and another a blow +of his fist, which, if they had not been in armor, or he had had any +weapon, would probably have despatched them; as it was, Dudon and +Astolpho measured their length on the sand. But Florimart seized him +from behind, Sansonnet and another grasped his legs, and at last they +succeeded in securing him with ropes. They took him to the water-side +and washed him well, and then Astolpho, having first bandaged his mouth +so that he could not breathe except through his nose, brought the +precious phial, uncorked it, and placed it adroitly under his nostrils, +when the good Orlando took it all up in one breath. O marvellous +prodigy! The paladin recovered in an instant all his intelligence. He +felt like one who had awakened from a painful dream, in which he had +believed that monsters were about to tear him to pieces. He seemed +prostrated, silent, and abashed. Florismart, Oliver, and Astolpho stood +gazing upon him, while he turned his eyes around and on himself. He +seemed surprised to find himself naked, bound, and stretched on the +sea-shore. After a few moments he recognized his friends, and spoke to +them in a tone so tender that they hastened to unbind him, and to +supply him with garments. Then they exerted themselves to console him, +to diminish the weight with which his spirits were oppressed, and to +make him forget the wretched condition into which he had been sunk. + +Orlando, in recovering his reason, found himself also delivered from +his insane attachment to the queen of Cathay. His heart felt now no +further influenced by the recollection of her than to be moved with an +ardent desire to retrieve his fame by some distinguished exploit. +Astolpho would gladly have yielded to him the chief command of the +army, but Orlando would not take from the friend to whom he owed so +much the glory of the campaign; but in everything the two paladins +acted in concert, and united their counsels. They proposed to make a +general assault on the city of Biserta, and were only waiting a +favorable moment, when their plan was interrupted by new events. + +Agramant, after the bloody battle which followed the infraction of the +truce, found himself so weak that he saw it was in vain to attempt to +remain in France. So, in concert with Sobrino, the bravest and most +trusted of his chiefs, he embarked to return to his own country, having +previously sent off his few remaining troops in the same direction. The +vessel which carried Agramant and Sobrino approached the shore where +the army of Astolpho lay encamped before Biserta, and having discovered +this fact before it was too late, the king commanded the pilot to steer +eastward, with a view to seek protection of the King of Egypt. But the +weather becoming rough, he consented to the advice of his companions, +and sought harbor in an island which lies between Sicily and Africa. +There he found Gradasso, the warlike king of Sericane, who had come to +France to possess himself of the horse Bayard and the sword Durindana; +and having procured both these prizes was returning to his own country. + +The two kings, who had been companions in arms under the walls of +Paris, embraced one another affectionately. Gradasso learned with +regret the reverses of Agramant, and offered him his troops and his +person. He strongly deprecated resorting to Egypt for aid. "Remember +the great Pompey," said he, "and shun that fatal shore. My plan," he +continued, "is this: I mean to challenge Orlando to single combat. +Possessed of such a sword and steed as mine, if he were made of steel +or bronze, he could not escape me. He being removed, there will be no +difficulty in driving back the Abyssinians. We will rouse against them +the Moslem nations from the other side of the Nile, the Arabians, +Persians, and Chaldeans, who will soon make Senapus recall his army to +defend his own territories." + +Agramant approved this advice except in one particular. "It is for me," +said he, "to combat Orlando; I cannot with honor devolve that duty on +another." + +"Let us adopt a third course," said the aged warrior Sobrino. "I would +not willingly remain a simple spectator of such a contest. Let us send +three squires to the shore of Africa to challenge Orlando and any two +of his companions in arms to meet us three in this island of Lampedusa." + +This counsel was adopted; the three squires sped on their way; and now +presented themselves, and rehearsed their message to the Christian +knights. + +Orlando was delighted, and rewarded the squires with rich gifts. He had +already resolved to seek Gradasso and compel him to restore Durindana, +which he had learned was in his possession. For his two companions the +Count chose his faithful friend Florismart and his cousin Oliver. + +The three warriors embarked, and sailing with a favorable wind, the +second morning showed them, on their right, the island where this +important battle was to be fought. Orlando and his two companions, +having landed, pitched their tent. Agramant had placed his opposite. + +Next morning, as soon as Aurora brightened the edges of the horizon, +the warriors of both parties armed themselves and mounted their horses. +They took their positions, face to face, lowered their lances, placed +them in rest, clapped spurs to their horses, and flew to the charge. +Orlando met the charge of Gradasso. The paladin was unmoved, but his +horse could not sustain the terrible shock of Bayard. He recoiled, +staggered, and fell some paces behind. Orlando tried to raise him, but, +finding his efforts unavailing, seized his shield, and drew his famous +Balisardo. Meanwhile Agramant and the brave Oliver gained no advantage, +one or the other; but Florismart unhorsed the King Sobrino. Having +brought his foe to the ground, he would not pursue his victory, but +hastened to attack Gradasso, who had overthrown Orlando. Seeing him +thus engaged, Orlando would not interfere, but ran with sword upraised +upon Sobrino, and with one blow deprived him of sense and motion. +Believing him dead, he next turned to aid his beloved Florismart. That +brave paladin, neither in horse nor arms equal to his antagonist, could +but parry and evade the blows of the terrible Durindana. Orlando, eager +to succor him, was delayed for a moment in securing and mounting the +horse of the King Sobrino. It was but an instant, and with sword +upraised, he rushed upon Gradasso who, noways disconcerted at the onset +of this second foe, shouted his defiance, and thrust at him with his +sword, but, having miscalculated the distance, scarcely reached him, +and failed to pierce his mail. Orlando, in return, dealt him a blow +with Balisardo, which wounded as it fell face, breast, and thigh, and, +if he had been a little nearer, would have cleft him in twain. Sobrino, +by this time recovered from his swoon, though severely wounded, raised +himself on his legs, and looked to see how he might aid his friends. +Observing Agramant hard pressed by Oliver, he thrust his sword into the +bowels of the latter's horse, which fell, and bore down his master, +entangling his leg as he fell, so that Oliver could not extricate +himself. Florismart saw the danger of his friend, and ran upon Sobrino +with his horse, overthrew him, and then turned to defend himself from +Agramant. They were not unequally matched, for though Agramant, mounted +on Brigliadoro, had an advantage over Florismart, whose horse was but +indifferent, yet Agramant had received a serious wound in his encounter +with Oliver. + +Nothing could exceed the fury of the encounter between Orlando and +Gradasso. Durindana, in the hands of Gradasso, clove asunder whatever +it struck; but such was the skill of Orlando, who perfectly knew the +danger to which he was exposed from a stroke of that weapon, it had not +yet struck him in such a way as to inflict a wound. Meanwhile, Gradasso +was bleeding from many wounds, and his rage and incaution increased +every moment. In his desperation he lifted Durindana with both hands, +and struck so terrible a blow full on the helmet of Orlando, that for a +moment it stunned the paladin. He dropped the reins, and his frightened +horse scoured with him over the plain. Gradasso turned to pursue him, +but at that moment saw Florismart in the very act of striking a fatal +blow at Agramant, whom he had unhorsed. While Florismart was wholly +intent upon completing his victory, Gradasso plunged his sword into his +side. Florismart fell from his horse, and bathed the plain with his +blood. + +Orlando recovered himself just in time to see the deed. Whether rage or +grief predominated in his breast, I cannot tell; but, seizing Balisardo +with fury, his first blow fell upon Agramant, who was nearest to him, +and smote his head from his shoulders. At this sight Gradasso for the +first time felt his courage sink, and a dark presentiment of death came +over him. He hardly stood on his defence when Orlando cast himself upon +him, and gave him a fatal thrust. The sword penetrated his ribs, and +came out a palm's breadth on the other side of his body. + +Thus fell beneath the sword of the most illustrious paladin of France +the bravest warrior of the Saracen host. Orlando then, as if despising +his victory, leaped lightly to the ground, and ran to his dear friend +Florismart, embraced him, and bathed him with his tears. Florismart +still breathed. He could even command his voice to utter a few parting +words: "Dear friend, do not forget me,--give me your prayers,--and oh! +be a brother to Flordelis." He died in uttering her name. + +After a few moments given to grief Orlando turned to look for his other +companion and his late foes. Oliver lay oppressed with the weight of +his horse, from which he had in vain struggled to liberate himself. +Orlando extricated him with difficulty; he then raised Sobrino from the +earth, and committed him to his squire, treating him as gently as if he +had been his own brother. For this terrible warrior was the most +generous of men to a fallen foe. He took Bayard and Brigliadoro, with +the arms of the conquered knights; their bodies and their other spoils +he remitted to their attendants. + +But who can tell the grief of Flordelis when she saw the warriors +return, and found not Florismart as usual after absence hasten to her +side. She knew by the aspect of the others that her lord was slain. At +the thought, and before the question could pass her lips, she fell +senseless upon the ground. When life returned, and she learned the +truth of her worst fears, she bitterly upbraided herself that she had +let him depart without her. "I might have saved him by a single cry +when his enemy dealt him that treacherous blow, or I might have thrown +myself between and given my worthless life for his. Or if no more, I +might have heard his last words, I might have given him a last kiss." +So she lamented, and could not be comforted. + + + +ROGERO AND BRADAMANTE + +After the interruption of the combat with Rinaldo, as we have related, +Rogero was perplexed with doubts what course to take. The terms of the +treaty required him to abandon Agramant, who had broken it, and to +transfer his allegiance to Charlemagne; and his love for Bradamante +called him in the same direction; but unwillingness to desert his +prince and leader in the hour of distress forbade this course. +Embarking, therefore, for Africa, he took his way to rejoin the Saracen +army; but was arrested midway by a storm which drove the vessel on a +rock. The crew took to their boat, but that was quickly swamped in the +waves, and Rogero with the rest were compelled to swim for their lives. +Then while buffeting the waves Rogero bethought him of his sin in so +long delaying his Christian profession, and vowed in his heart that, if +he should live to reach the land, he would no longer delay to be +baptized. His vows were heard and answered; he succeeded in reaching +the shore, and was aided and relieved on landing by a pious hermit, +whose cell overlooked the sea. From him he received baptism, having +first passed some days with him, partaking his humble fare, and +receiving instruction in the doctrines of the Christian faith. + +While these things were going on, Rinaldo, who had set out on his way +to seek Gradasso and recover Bayard from him, hearing on his way of the +great things which were doing in Africa, repaired thither to bear his +part in them. He arrived too late to do more than join his friends in +lamenting the loss of Florismart, and to rejoice with them in their +victory over the Pagan knights. On the death of their king the Africans +gave up the contest, Biserta submitted, and the Christian knights had +only to dismiss their forces, and return home. Astolpho took leave of +his Abyssinian army, and sent them back laden with spoil to their own +country, not forgetting to intrust to them the bag which held the +winds, by means of which they were enabled to cross the sandy desert +again without danger, and did not untie it till they reached their own +country. + +Orlando now, with Oliver, who much needed the surgeon's care, and +Sobrino, to whom equal attention was shown, sailed in a swift vessel to +Sicily, bearing with him the body of Florismart, to be laid in +Christian earth. Rinaldo accompanied them, as did Sansonnet and the +other Christian leaders. Arrived at Sicily, the funeral was solemnized +with all the rites of religion, and with the profound grief of those +who had known Florismart, or had heard of his fame. Then they resumed +their course, steering for Marseilles. But Oliver's wound grew worse +instead of better, and his sufferings so distressed his friends that +they conferred together, not knowing what to do. Then said the pilot, +"We are not far from an isle where a holy hermit dwells alone in the +midst of the sea. It is said none seek his counsel or his aid in vain. +He hath wrought marvellous cures, and if you resort to that holy man +without doubt he can heal the knight." Orlando bade him steer thither, +and soon the bark was laid safely beside the lonely rock; the wounded +man was lowered into their boat, and carried by the crew to the +hermit's cell. It was the same hermit with whom Rogero had taken refuge +after his shipwreck, by whom he had been baptized, and with whom he was +now staying, absorbed in sacred studies and meditations. + +The holy man received Orlando and the rest with kindness, and inquired +their errand; and being told that they had come for help for one who, +warring for the Christian faith, was brought to perilous pass by a sad +wound, he straightway undertook the cure. His applications were simple, +but they were seconded by his prayers. The paladin was soon relieved +from pain, and in a few days his foot was perfectly restored to +soundness. Sobrino, as soon as he perceived the holy monk perform that +wonder, cast aside his false prophet, and with contrite heart owned the +true God, and demanded baptism at his hands. The hermit granted his +request, and also by his prayers restored him to health, while all the +Christian knights rejoiced in his conversion almost as much as at the +restoration of Oliver. More than all Rogero felt joy and gratitude, and +daily grew in grace and faith. + +Rogero was known by fame to all the Christian knights, but not even +Rinaldo knew him by sight, though he had proved his prowess in combat. +Sobrino made him known to them, and great was the joy of all when they +found one whose valor and courtesy were renowned through the world no +longer an enemy and unbeliever, but a convert and champion of the true +faith. All press about the knight; one grasps his hand, another locks +him fast in his embrace; but more than all the rest, Rinaldo cherished +him, for he more than any knew his worth. + +It was not long before Rogero confided to his friend the hopes he +entertained of a union with his sister, and Rinaldo frankly gave his +sanction to the proposal. But causes unknown to the paladin were at +that very time interposing obstacles to its success. + +The fame of the beauty and worth of Bradamante had reached the ears of +the Grecian Emperor, Constantine, and he had sent to Charlemagne to +demand the hand of his niece for Leo, his son, and the heir to his +dominions. Duke Aymon, her father, had only reserved his consent until +he should first have spoken with his son Rinaldo, now absent. + +The warriors now prepared to resume their voyage. Rogero took a tender +farewell of the good hermit who had taught him the true faith. Orlando +restored to him the horse and arms which were rightly his, not even +asserting his claim to Balisarda, that sword which he himself had won +from the enchantress. + +The hermit gave his blessing to the band, and they reembarked. The +passage was speedy, and very soon they arrived in the harbor of +Marseilles. + +Astolpho, when he had dismissed his troops, mounted the Hippogriff, and +at one flight shot over to Sardinia, thence to Corsica, thence, turning +slightly to the left, hovered over Provence, and alighted in the +neighborhood of Marseilles. There he did what he had been commanded to +do by the holy saint; he unbridled the Hippogriff, and turned him loose +to seek his own retreats, never more to be galled with saddle or bit. +The horn had lost its marvellous power ever since the visit to the moon. + +Astolpho reached Marseilles the very day when Orlando, Rinaldo, Oliver, +Sobrino, and Rogero arrived there. Charles had already heard the news +of the defeat of the Saracen kings, and all the accompanying events. On +learning the approach of the gallant knights, he sent forward some of +his most illustrious nobles to receive them, and himself, with the rest +of his court, kings, dukes, and peers, the queen, and a fair and +gorgeous band of ladies, set forward from Arles to meet them. + +No sooner were the mutual greetings interchanged, than Orlando and his +friends led forward Rogero, and presented him to the Emperor. They +vouch him son of Rogero, Duke of Risa, one of the most renowned of +Christian warriors, by adverse fortune stolen in his infancy, and +brought up by Saracens in the false faith, now by a kind Providence +converted, and restored to fill the place his father once held among +the foremost champions of the throne and Church. + +Rogero had alighted from his horse, and stood respectfully before the +Emperor. Charlemagne bade him remount and ride beside him; and omitted +nothing which might do him honor in sight of his martial train. With +pomp triumphal and with festive cheer the troop returned to the city; +the streets were decorated with garlands, the houses hung with rich +tapestry, and flowers fell like rain upon the conquering host from the +hands of fair dames and damsels, from every balcony and window. So +welcomed, the mighty Emperor passed on till he reached the royal +palace, where many days he feasted, high in hall, with his lords, amid +tourney, revel, dance, and song. + +When Rinaldo told his father, Duke Aymon, how he had promised his +sister to Rogero, his father heard him with indignation, having set his +heart on seeing her united to the Grecian Emperor's son. The Lady +Beatrice, her mother, also appealed to Bradamante herself to reject a +knight who had neither title nor lands, and give the preference to one +who would make her Empress of the wide Levant. But Bradamante, though +respect forbade her to refuse her mother's entreaty, would not promise +to do what her heart repelled, and answered only with a sigh, until she +was alone, and then gave a loose to tears. + +Meanwhile Rogero, indignant that a stranger should presume to rob him +of his bride, determined to seek the Prince of Greece, and defy him to +mortal combat. With this design he donned his armor, but exchanged his +crest and emblazonment, and bore instead a white unicorn upon a crimson +field. He chose a trusty squire, and, commanding him not to address him +as Rogero, rode on his quest. Having crossed the Rhine and the Austrian +countries into Hungary, he followed the course of the Danube till he +reached Belgrade. There he saw the imperial ensigns spread, and white +pavilions, thronged with troops, before the town. For the Emperor +Constantine was laying siege to the city to recover it from the +Bulgarians, who had taken it from him not long before. + +A river flowed between the camp of the Emperor and the Bulgarians, and +at the moment when Rogero approached, a skirmish had begun between the +parties from either camp, who had approached the stream for the purpose +of watering. The Greeks in that affray were four to one, and drove back +the Bulgarians in precipitate rout. Rogero, seeing this, and animated +only by his hatred of the Grecian prince, dashed into the middle of the +flying mass, calling aloud on the fugitives to turn. He encountered +first a leader of the Grecian host in splendid armor, a nephew of the +Emperor, as dear to him as a son. Rogero's lance pierced shield and +armor, and stretched the warrior breathless on the plain. Another and +another fell before him, and astonishment and terror arrested the +advance of the Greeks, while the Bulgarians, catching courage from the +cavalier, rally, change front, and chase the Grecian troops, who fly in +their turn. Leo, the prince, was at a distance when this sudden +skirmish rose, but not so far but that he could see distinctly, from an +elevated position which he held, how the changed battle was all the +work of one man, and could not choose but admire the bravery and +prowess with which it was done. He knew by the blazonry displayed that +the champion was not of the Bulgarian army, though he furnished aid to +them. Although he suffered by his valor, the prince could not wish him +ill, for his admiration surpassed his resentment. By this time the +Greeks had regained the river, and crossing it by fording or swimming, +some made their escape, leaving many more prisoners in the hands of the +Bulgarians. Rogero, learning from some of the captives that Leo was at +a point some distance down the river, rode thither with a view to meet +him, but arrived not before the Greek prince had retired beyond the +stream, and broken up the bridge. Day was spent, and Rogero, wearied, +looked round for a shelter for the night. He found it in a cottage, +where he soon yielded himself to repose. It so happened, a knight who +had narrowly escaped Rogero's sword in the late battle also found +shelter in the same cottage, and, recognizing the armor of the unknown +knight, easily found means of securing him as he slept, and next +morning carried him in chains and delivered him to the Emperor. By him +he was in turn delivered to his sister Theodora, mother of the young +knight, the first victim of Rogero's spear. By her he was cast into a +dungeon, till her ingenuity could devise a death sufficiently painful +to satiate her revenge. + +Bradamante, meanwhile, to escape her father's and mother's importunity, +had begged a boon of Charlemagne, which the monarch pledged his royal +word to grant; it was that she should not be compelled to marry any one +unless he should first vanquish her in single combat. The Emperor +therefore proclaimed a tournament in these words: "He that would wed +Duke Aymon's daughter must contend with the sword against that dame, +from the sun's rise to his setting; and if, in that time, he is not +overcome the lady shall be his." + +Duke Aymon and the Lady Beatrice, though much incensed at the course +things had taken, brought their daughter to court, to await the day +appointed for the tournament. Bradamante, not finding there him whom +her heart required, distressed herself with doubts what could be the +cause of his absence. Of all fancies, the most painful one was that he +had gone away to learn to forget her, knowing her father's and her +mother's opposition to their union, and despairing to contend against +them. But oh, how much worse would be the maiden's woe, if it were +known to her what her betrothed was then enduring! + +He was plunged in a dungeon where no ray of daylight ever penetrated, +loaded with chains, and scantily supplied with the coarsest food. No +wonder despair took possession of his heart, and he longed for death as +a relief, when one night (or one day, for both were equally dark to +him) he was roused with the glare of a torch and saw two men enter his +cell. It was the Prince Leo, with an attendant, who had come as soon as +he had learned the wretched fate of the brave knight whose valor he had +seen and admired on the field of battle. "Cavalier," said he, "I am one +whom thy valor hath so bound to thee, that I willingly peril my own +safety to lend thee aid." "Infinite thanks I owe you," replied Rogero, +"and the life you give me I promise faithfully to render back upon your +call, and promptly to stake it at all times for your service." The +prince then told Rogero his name and rank, at hearing which a tide of +contending emotions almost overwhelmed Rogero. He was set at liberty, +and had his horse and arms restored to him. + +Meanwhile, tidings arrived of King Charles' decree that whoever aspired +to the hand of Bradamante must first encounter her with sword and +lance. This news made the Grecian prince turn pale, for he knew he was +no match for her in fight. Communing with himself, he sees how he may +make his wit supply the place of valor, and employ the French knight, +whose name was still unknown to him, to fight the battle for him. +Rogero heard the proposal with extreme distress; yet it seemed worse +than death to deny the first request of one to whom he owed his life. +Hastily he gave his assent "to do in all things that which Leo should +command." Afterward, bitter repentance came over him; yet, rather than +confess his change of mind, death itself would be welcome. Death seems +his only remedy; but how to die? Sometimes he thinks to make none but a +feigned resistance, and allow her sword a ready access, for never can +death come more happily than if her hand guide the weapon. Yet this +will not avail, for, unless he wins the maid for the Greek prince, his +debt remains unpaid. He had promised to maintain a real, not a feigned +encounter. He will then keep his word, and banish every thought from +his bosom except that which moved him to maintain his truth. + +The young prince, richly attended, set out, and with him Rogero. They +arrived at Paris, but Leo preferred not to enter the city, and pitched +his tents without the walls, making known his arrival to Charlemagne by +an embassy. The monarch was pleased, and testified his courtesy by +visits and gifts. The prince set forth the purpose of his coming, and +prayed the Emperor to dispatch his suit--"to send forth the damsel who +refused ever to take in wedlock any lord inferior to herself in fight; +for she should be his bride, or he would perish beneath her sword." + +Rogero passed the night before the day assigned for the battle like +that which the felon spends, condemned to pay the forfeit of his life +on the ensuing day. He chose to fight with sword only, and on foot, for +he would not let her see Frontino, knowing that she would recognize the +steed. Nor would he use Balisarda, for against that enchanted blade all +armor would be of no avail, and the sword that he did take he hammered +well upon the edge to abate its sharpness. He wore the surcoat of +Prince Leo, and his shield, emblazoned with a golden, double-headed +eagle. The prince took care to let himself be seen by none. + +Bradamante, meanwhile, prepared herself for the combat far differently. +Instead of blunting the edge of her falchion she whets the steel, and +would fain infuse into it her own acerbity. As the moment approached +she seemed to have fire within her veins, and waited impatiently for +the trumpet's sound. At the signal she drew her sword, and fell with +fury upon her Rogero. But as a well-built wall or aged rock stands +unmoved the fury of the storm, so Rogero, clad in those arms which +Trojan Hector once wore, withstood the strokes which stormed about his +head and breast and flank. Sparks flew from his shield, his helm, his +cuirass; from direct and back strokes, aimed now high, now low, falling +thick and fast, like hailstones on a cottage roof; but Rogero, with +skilful ward, turns them aside, or receives them where his armor is a +sure protection, careful only to protect himself, and with no thought +of striking in return. Thus the hours passed away, and, as the sun +approached the west, the damsel began to despair. But so much the more +her anger increases, and she redoubles her efforts, like the craftsman +who sees his work unfinished while the day is wellnigh spent. O +miserable damsel! didst thou know whom thou wouldst kill,--if, in that +cavalier matched against thee thou didst but know Rogero, on whom thy +very life-threads hang, rather than kill him thou wouldst kill thyself, +for he is dearer to thee than life. + +King Charles and the peers, who thought the cavalier to be the Grecian +prince, viewing such force and skill exhibited, and how without +assaulting her the knight defended himself, were filled with +admiration, and declared the champions well matched, and worthy of each +other. + +When the sun was set Charlemagne gave the signal for terminating the +contest, and Bradamante was awarded to Prince Leo as a bride. Rogero, +in deep distress, returned to his tent. There Leo unlaced his helmet, +and kissed him on both cheeks. "Henceforth," said he, "do with me as +you please, for you cannot exhaust my gratitude." Rogero replied +little, laid aside the ensigns he had worn, and resumed the unicorn, +then hasted to withdraw himself from all eyes. When it was midnight he +rose, saddled Frontino, and sallied from his tent, taking that +direction which pleased his steed. All night he rode absorbed in bitter +woe, and called on Death as alone capable of relieving his sufferings. +At last he entered a forest, and penetrated into its deepest recesses. +There he unharnessed Frontino, and suffered him to wander where he +would. Then he threw himself down on the ground, and poured forth such +bitter wailings that the birds and beasts, for none else heard him, +were moved to pity with his cries. + +Not less was the distress of the lady Bradamante, who, rather than wed +any one but Rogero, resolved to break her word, and defy kindred, +court, and Charlemagne himself; and, if nothing else would do, to die. +But relief came from an unexpected quarter. Marphisa, sister of Rogero, +was a heroine of warlike prowess equal to Bradamante. She had been the +confidante of their loves, and felt hardly less distress than +themselves at seeing the perils which threatened their union. "They are +already united by mutual vows," she said, "and in the sight of Heaven +what more is necessary?" Full of this thought she presented herself +before Charlemagne, and declared that she herself was witness that the +maiden had spoken to Rogero those words which they who marry swear; and +that the compact was so sealed between the pair that they were no +longer free, nor could forsake the one the other to take another +spouse. This her assertion she offered to prove, in single combat, +against Prince Leo, or any one else. + +Charlemagne, sadly perplexed at this, commanded Bradamante to be +called, and told her what the bold Marphisa had declared. Bradamante +neither denied nor confirmed the statement, but hung her head, and kept +silence. Duke Aymon was enraged, and would fain have set aside the +pretended contract on the ground that, if made at all, it must have +been made before Rogero was baptized, and therefore void. But not so +thought Rinaldo, nor the good Orlando, and Charlemagne knew not which +way to decide, when Marphisa spoke thus: + +"Since no one else can marry the maiden while my brother lives, let the +prince meet Rogero in mortal combat, and let him who survives take her +for his bride." + +This saying pleased the Emperor, and was accepted by the prince, for he +thought that, by the aid of his unknown champion, he should surely +triumph in the fight. Proclamation was therefore made for Rogero to +appear and defend his suit; and Leo, on his part, caused search to be +made on all sides for the knight of the Unicorn. + +Meanwhile Rogero, overwhelmed with despair, lay stretched on the ground +in the forest night and day without food, courting death. Here he was +discovered by one of Leo's people, who, finding him resist all attempts +to remove him, hastened to his master, who was not far off, and brought +him to the spot. As he approached he heard words which convinced him +that love was the cause of the knight's despair; but no clew was given +to guide him to the object of that love. Stooping down, the prince +embraced the weeping warrior, and, in the tenderest accents, said: +"Spare not, I entreat you, to disclose the cause of your distress, for +few such desperate evils betide mankind as are wholly past cure. It +grieves me much that you would hide your grief from me, for I am bound +to you by ties that nothing can undo. Tell me, then, your grief, and +leave me to try if wealth, art, cunning, force, or persuasion cannot +relieve you. If not, it will be time enough after all has been tried in +vain to die." + +He spoke in such moving accents that Rogero could not choose but yield. +It was some time before he could command utterance; at last he said, +"My lord, when you shall know me for what I am, I doubt not you, like +myself, will be content that I should die. Know, then, I am that Rogero +whom you have so much cause to hate, and who so hated you that, intent +on putting you to death, he went to seek you at your father's court. +This I did because I could not submit to see my promised bride borne +off by you. But, as man proposes and God disposes, your great courtesy, +well tried in time of sore need, so moved my fixed resolve, that I not +only laid aside the hate I bore, but purposed to be your friend +forever. You then asked of me to win for you the lady Bradamante, which +was all one as to demand of me my heart and soul. You know whether I +served you faithfully or not. Yours is the lady; possess her in peace; +but ask me not to live to see it. Be content rather that I die; for +vows have passed between myself and her which forbid that while I live +she can lawfully wive with another." + +So filled was gentle Leo with astonishment at these words that for a +while he stood silent, with lips unmoved and steadfast gaze, like a +statue. And the discovery that the stranger was Rogero not only abated +not the good will he bore him, but increased it, so that his distress +for what Rogero suffered seemed equal to his own. For this, and because +he would appear deservedly an Emperor's son, and, though in other +things outdone, would not be surpassed in courtesy, he says: "Rogero, +had I known that day when your matchless valor routed my troops that +you were Rogero, your virtue would have made me your own, as then it +made me while I knew not my foe, and I should have no less gladly +rescued you from Theodora's dungeon. And if I would willingly have done +so then, how much more gladly will I now restore the gift of which you +would rob yourself to confer it upon me. The damsel is more due to you +than to me, and though I know her worth, I would forego not only her, +but life itself, rather than distress a knight like you." + +This and much more he said to the same intent; till at last Rogero +replied, "I yield, and am content to live, and thus a second time owe +my life to you." + +But several days elapsed before Rogero was so far restored as to return +to the royal residence, where an embassy had arrived from the Bulgarian +princes to seek the knight of the unicorn, and tender to him the crown +of that country, in place of their king, fallen in battle. + +Thus were things situated when Prince Leo, leading by the hand Rogero, +clad in the battered armor in which he had sustained the conflict with +Bradamante, presented himself before the king. "Behold," he said "the +champion who maintained from dawn to setting sun the arduous contest; +he comes to claim the guerdon of the fight." King Charlemagne, with all +his peerage, stood amazed; for all believed that the Grecian prince +himself had fought with Bradamante. Then stepped forth Marphisa, and +said, "Since Rogero is not here to assert his rights, I, his sister, +undertake his cause, and will maintain it against whoever shall dare +dispute his claim." She said this with so much anger and disdain that +the prince deemed it no longer wise to feign, and withdrew Rogero's +helmet from his brow, saying, "Behold him here!" Who can describe the +astonishment and joy of Marphisa! She ran and threw her arms about her +brother's neck, nor would give way to let Charlemagne and Rinaldo, +Orlando, Dudon, and the rest, who crowded round, embrace him, and press +friendly kisses on his brow. The joyful tidings flew fast by many a +messenger to Bradamante, who in her secret chamber lay lamenting. The +blood that stagnated about her heart flowed at that notice so fast, +that she had wellnigh died for joy. Duke Aymon and the Lady Beatrice no +longer withheld their consent, and pledged their daughter to the brave +Rogero before all that gallant company. + +Now came the Bulgarian ambassadors, and, kneeling at the feet of +Rogero, besought him to return with them to their country, where, in +Adrianople, the crown and sceptre were awaiting his acceptance. Prince +Leo united his persuasions to theirs, and promised, in his royal +father's name, that peace should be restored on their part. Rogero gave +his consent, and it was surmised that none of the virtues which shone +so conspicuously in him so availed to recommend Rogero to the Lady +Beatrice as the hearing her future son-in-law saluted as a sovereign +prince. + + + +THE BATTLE OF RONCESVALLES + +After the expulsion of the Saracens from France Charlemagne led his +army into Spain, to punish Marsilius, the king of that country, for +having sided with the African Saracens in the late war. Charlemagne +succeeded in all his attempts, and compelled Marsilius to submit, and +pay tribute to France. Our readers will remember Gano, otherwise called +Gan, or Ganelon, whom we mentioned in one of our early chapters as an +old courtier of Charlemagne, and a deadly enemy of Orlando, Rinaldo, +and all their friends. He had great influence over Charles, from +equality of age and long intimacy; and he was not without good +qualities: he was brave and sagacious, but envious, false, and +treacherous. Gan prevailed on Charles to send him as ambassador to +Marsilius, to arrange the tribute. He embraced Orlando over and over +again at taking leave, using such pains to seem loving and sincere, +that his hypocrisy was manifest to every one but the old monarch. He +fastened with equal tenderness on Oliver, who smiled contemptuously in +his face, and thought to himself, "You may make as many fair speeches +as you choose, but you lie." All the other paladins who were present +thought the same, and they said as much to the Emperor, adding that Gan +should on no account be sent ambassador to the Spaniards. But Charles +was infatuated. + +Gan was received with great honor by Marsilius. The king, attended by +his lords, came fifteen miles out of Saragossa to meet him, and then +conducted him into the city with acclamations. There was nothing for +several days but balls, games, and exhibitions of chivalry, the ladies +throwing flowers on the heads of the French knights, and the people +shouting, "France! Mountjoy and St. Denis!" + +After the ceremonies of the first reception the king and the ambassador +began to understand one another. One day they sat together in a garden +on the border of a fountain. The water was so clear and smooth it +reflected every object around, and the spot was encircled with +fruit-trees which quivered with the fresh air. As they sat and talked, +as if without restraint, Gan, without looking the king in the face, was +enabled to see the expression of his countenance in the water, and +governed his speech accordingly. Marsilius was equally adroit, and +watched the face of Gan while he addressed him. Marsilius began by +lamenting, not as to the ambassador, but as to the friend, the injuries +which Charles had done him by invading his dominions, charging him with +wishing to take his kingdom from him and give it to Orlando; till at +length he plainly uttered his belief that if that ambitious paladin +were but dead good men would get their rights. + +Gan heaved a sigh, as if he was unwillingly compelled to allow the +force of what the king said; but unable to contain himself long he +lifted up his face, radiant with triumphant wickedness, and exclaimed: +"Every word you utter is truth; die he must, and die also must Oliver, +who struck me that foul blow at court. Is it treachery to punish +affronts like these? I have planned everything,--I have settled +everything already with their besotted master. Orlando will come to +your borders--to Roncesvalles--for the purpose of receiving the +tribute. Charles will await him at the foot of the mountains. Orlando +will bring but a small band with him: you, when you meet him, will have +secretly your whole army at your back. You surround him, and who +receives tribute then?" + +The new Judas had scarcely uttered these words when his exultation was +interrupted by a change in the face of nature. The sky was suddenly +overcast, there was thunder and lightning, a laurel was split in two +from head to foot, and the Carob-tree under which Gan was sitting, +which is said to be the species of tree on which Judas Iscariot hung +himself, dropped one of its pods on his head. + +Marsilius, as well as Gan, was appalled at this omen; but on assembling +his soothsayers they came to the conclusion that the laurel-tree turned +the omen against the Emperor, the successor of the Caesars, though one +of them renewed the consternation of Gan by saying that he did not +understand the meaning of the tree of Judas, and intimating that +perhaps the ambassador could explain it. Gan relieved his vexation by +anger; the habit of wickedness prevailed over all other considerations; +and the king prepared to march to Roncesvalles at the head of all his +forces. + +Gan wrote to Charlemagne to say how humbly and submissively Marsilius +was coming to pay the tribute into the hands of Orlando, and how +handsome it would be of the Emperor to meet him half-way, and so be +ready to receive him after the payment at his camp. He added a +brilliant account of the tribute, and the accompanying presents. The +good Emperor wrote in turn to say how pleased he was with the +ambassador's diligence, and that matters were arranged precisely as he +wished. His court, however, had its suspicion still, though they little +thought Gan's object in bringing Charles into the neighborhood of +Roncesvalles was to deliver him into the hands of Marsilius, after +Orlando should have been destroyed by him. + +Orlando, however, did as his lord and sovereign desired. He went to +Roncesvalles, accompanied by a moderate train of warriors, not dreaming +of the atrocity that awaited him. Gan, meanwhile, had hastened back to +France, in order to show himself free and easy in the presence of +Charles, and secure the success of his plot; while Marsilius, to make +assurance doubly sure, brought into the passes of Roncesvalles no less +than three armies, which were successively to fall on the paladin in +case of the worst, and so extinguish him with numbers. He had also, by +Gan's advice, brought heaps of wine and good cheer to be set before his +victims in the first instance; "for that," said the traitor, "will +render the onset the more effective, the feasters being unarmed. One +thing, however, I must not forget," added he; "my son Baldwin is sure +to be with Orlando; you must take care of his life for my sake." + +"I give him this vesture off my own body," said the king; "let him wear +it in the battle, and have no fear. My soldiers shall be directed not +to touch him." + +Gan went away rejoicing to France. He embraced the sovereign and the +court all round with the air of a man who had brought them nothing but +blessings, and the old king wept for very tenderness and delight. + +"Something is going on wrong, and looks very black," thought Malagigi, +the good wizard; "Rinaldo is not here, and it is indispensably +necessary that he should be. I must find out where he is, and +Ricciardetto too, and send for them with all speed." + +Malagigi called up by his art a wise, terrible, and cruel spirit, named +Ashtaroth. "Tell me, and tell me truly, of Rinaldo," said Malagigi to +the spirit. The demon looked hard at the paladin, and said nothing. His +aspect was clouded and violent. + +The enchanter, with an aspect still cloudier, bade Ashtaroth lay down +that look, and made signs as if he would resort to angrier compulsion; +and the devil, alarmed, loosened his tongue, and said, "You have not +told me what you desire to know of Rinaldo." + +"I desire to know what he has been doing, and where he is." + +"He has been conquering and baptizing the world, east and west," said +the demon, "and is now in Egypt with Ricciardetto." + +"And what has Gan been plotting with Marsilius?" inquired Malagigi; +"and what is to come of it?" + +"I know not," said the devil. "I was not attending to Gan at the time, +and we fallen spirits know not the future. All I discern is that by the +signs and comets in the heavens something dreadful is about to +happen--something very strange, treacherous, and bloody; and that Gan +has a seat ready prepared for him in hell." + +"Within three days," cried the enchanter, loudly, "bring Rinaldo and +Ricciardetto into the pass of Ronces-Valles. Do it, and I hereby +undertake to summon thee no more." + +"Suppose they will not trust themselves with me?" said the spirit. + +"Enter Rinaldo's horse, and bring him, whether he trust thee or not." + +"It shall be done," returned the demon. + +There was an earthquake, and Ashtaroth disappeared. + +Marsilius now made his first movement towards the destruction of +Orlando, by sending before him his vassal, King Blanchardin, with his +presents of wines and other luxuries. The temperate but courteous hero +took them in good part, and distributed them as the traitor wished; and +then Blanchardin, on pretence of going forward to salute Charlemagne, +returned, and put himself at the head of the second army, which was the +post assigned him by his liege-lord. King Falseron, whose son Orlando +had slain in battle, headed the first army, and King Balugante the +third. Marsilius made a speech to them, in which he let them into his +design, and concluded by recommending to their good will the son of his +friend Gan, whom they would know by the vest he had sent him, and who +was the only soul amongst the Christian they were to spare. + +This son of Gan, meanwhile, and several of the paladins, who distrusted +the misbelievers, and were anxious at all events to be with Orlando, +had joined the hero in the fatal valley; so that the little Christian +host, considering the tremendous valor of their lord and his friends, +were not to be sold for nothing. Rinaldo, alas! the second thunderbolt +of Christendom, was destined not to be there in time to meet the issue. +The paladins in vain begged Orlando to be on his guard against +treachery, and send for a more numerous body of men. The great heart of +the Champion of the Faith was unwilling to harbor suspicion as long as +he could help it. He refused to summon aid which might be superfluous; +neither would he do anything but what his liege-lord had directed. And +yet he could not wholly repress a misgiving. A shadow had fallen on his +heart, great and cheerful as it was. The anticipations of his friends +disturbed him, in spite of the face with which he met them. Perhaps by +a certain foresight he felt his death approaching; but he felt bound +not to encourage the impression. Besides, time pressed; the moment of +the looked-for tribute was at hand, and little combinations of +circumstances determine often the greatest events. + +King Marsilius was to arrive early next day with the tribute, and +Oliver, with the morning sun, rode forth to reconnoitre, and see if he +could discover the peaceful pomp of the Spanish court in the distance. +He rode up the nearest height, and from the top of it beheld the first +army of Marsilius already forming in the passes. "O devil Gan," he +exclaimed, "this then is the consummation of thy labors!" Oliver put +spurs to his horse, and galloped back down the mountain to Orlando. + +"Well," cried the hero, "what news?" + +"Bad news," said his cousin, "such as you would not hear of yesterday. +Marsilius is here in arms, and all the world is with him." + +The paladins pressed round Orlando, and entreated him to sound his +horn, in token that he needed help. His only answer was to mount his +horse, and ride up the mountain with Sansonetto. + +As soon, however, as he cast forth his eyes, and beheld what was round +about him, he turned in sorrow, and looked down into Roncesvalles, and +said, "O miserable valley! the blood shed in thee this day will color +thy name forever." + +Orlando's little camp were furious against the Saracens. They armed +themselves with the greatest impatience. There was nothing but lacing +of helmets and mounting of horses, while good Archbishop Turpin went +from rank to rank exhorting and encouraging the warriors of Christ. +Orlando and his captains withdrew for a moment to consultation. He +fairly groaned for sorrow, and at first had not a word to say, so +wretched he felt at having brought his people to die in Roncesvalles. +Then he said: "If it had entered into my heart to conceive the king of +Spain to be such a villain never would you have seen this day. He has +exchanged with me a thousand courtesies and good words; and I thought +that the worse enemies we had been before, the better friends we had +become now. I fancied every human being capable of this kind of virtue +on a good opportunity, saving, indeed, such base-hearted wretches as +can never forgive their very forgivers; and of these I did not suppose +him to be one. Let us die, if die we must, like honest and gallant men, +so that it shall be said of us it was only our bodies that died. The +reason why I did not sound the horn was partly because I thought it did +not become us, and partly because our liege lord could hardly save us, +even if he heard it." And with these words Orlando sprang to his horse, +crying, "Aways against the Saracens!" But he had no sooner turned his +face than he wept bitterly, and said, "O Holy Virgin, think not of me, +the sinner Orlando, but have pity on these thy servants!" + +And now with a mighty dust, and an infinite sound of horns and +tambours, which came filling the valley, the first army of the infidels +made its appearance, horses neighing, and a thousand pennons flying in +the air. King Falseron led them on, saying to his officers: "Let nobody +dare to lay a finger on Orlando. He belongs to myself. The revenge of +my son's death is mine. I will cut the man down that comes between us." +"Now, friends," said Orlando, "every man for himself, and St. Michael +for us all! There is not one here that is not a perfect knight." And he +might well say it, for the flower of all France was there, except +Rinaldo and Ricciardetto--every man a picked man, all friends and +constant companions of Orlando. + +So the captains of the little troop and of the great army sat looking +at one another, and singling one another out as the latter came on, and +then the knights put spear in rest, and ran for a while two and two in +succession, one against the other. + +Astolpho was the first to move. He ran against Arlotto of Sorio, and +thrust his antagonist's body out of the saddle, and his soul into the +other world. Oliver encountered Malprimo, and, though he received a +thrust which hurt him, sent his lance right through the heart of +Malprimo. + +Falseron was daunted at this blow. "Truly," thought he, "this is a +marvel." Oliver did not press on among the Saracens, his wound was too +painful; but Orlando now put himself and his whole band in motion, and +you may guess what an uproar ensued. The sound of the rattling of blows +and helmets was as if the forge of Vulcan had been thrown open. +Falseron beheld Orlando coming so furiously, that he thought him a +Lucifer who had burst his chain, and was quite of another mind than +when he purposed to have him all to himself. On the contrary, he +recommended himself to his gods, and turned away, meaning to wait for a +more auspicious season of revenge. But Orlando hailed him with a +terrible voice, saying, "O thou traitor! was this the end to which old +quarrels were made up?" Then he dashed at Falseron with a fury so +swift, and at the same time with a mastery of his lance so marvellous, +that, though he plunged it in the man's body so as instantly to kill +him, and then withdrew it, the body did not move in the saddle. The +hero himself, as he rushed onwards, was fain to see the end of a stroke +so perfect, and turning his horse back, touched the carcass with his +sword, and it fell on the instant! + +When the infidels beheld their leader dead such fear fell upon them +that they were for leaving the field to the paladins, but they were +unable. Marsilius had drawn the rest of his forces round the valley +like a net, so that their shoulders were turned in vain. Orlando rode +into the thick of them, and wherever he went thunderbolts fell upon +helmets. Oliver was again in the fray, with Walter and Baldwin, Avino +and Avolio, while Arch-bishop Turpin had changed his crosier for a +lance, and chased a new flock before him to the mountains. + +Yet what could be done against foes without number? Marsilius +constantly pours them in. The paladins are as units to thousands. Why +tarry the horses of Rinaldo and Ricciardetto? + +The horses did not tarry, but fate had been quicker than enchantment. +Ashtaroth had presented himself to Rinaldo in Egypt, and, after telling +his errand, he and Foul-mouth, his servant, entered the horses of +Rinaldo and Ricciardetto, which began to neigh, and snort, and leap +with the fiends within them, till off they flew through the air over +the pyramids and across the desert, and reached Spain and the scene of +action just as Marsilius brought up his third army. The two paladins on +their horses dropped right into the midst of the Saracens, and began +making such havoc among them that Marsilius, who overlooked the fight +from a mountain, thought his soldiers had turned against one another. +Orlando beheld it, and guessed it could be no other but his cousins, +and pressed to meet them. Oliver coming up at the same moment, the +rapture of the whole party is not to be expressed. After a few hasty +words of explanation they were forced to turn again upon the enemy, +whose numbers seemed perfectly without limit. + +Orlando, making a bloody passage towards Marsilius, struck a youth on +the head, whose helmet was so strong as to resist the blow, but at the +same time flew off, Orlando prepared to strike a second blow, when the +youth exclaimed, "Hold! you loved my father; I am Bujaforte!" The +paladin had never seen Bujaforte, but he saw the likeness to the good +old man, his father, and he dropped his sword. "O Bujaforte," said he, +"I loved him indeed; but what does his son do here fighting against his +friends?" + +Bujaforte could not at once speak for weeping. At length he said: "I am +forced to be here by my lord and master, Marsilius; and I have made a +show of fighting, but have not hurt a single Christian. Treachery is on +every side of you. Baldwin himself has a vest given him by Marsilius, +that everybody may know the son of his friend Gan, and do him no harm." + +"Put your helmet on again," said Orlando, "and behave just as you have +done. Never will your father's friend be an enemy to the son." + +The hero then turned in fury to look for Baldwin, who was hastening +towards him at that moment, with friendliness in his looks. + +"'Tis strange," said Baldwin, "I have done my duty as well as I could, +yet nobody will come against me. I have slain right and left, and +cannot comprehend what it is that makes the stoutest infidels avoid me." + +"Take off your vest," said Orlando, contemptuously, "and you will soon +discover the secret, if you wish to know it. Your father has sold us to +Marsilius, all but his honorable son." + +"If my father," said Baldwin, impetuously tearing off the vest, "has +been such a villain, and I escape dying, I will plunge this sword +through his heart. But I am no traitor, Orlando, and you do me wrong to +say it. Think not I can live with dishonor." + +Baldwin spurred off into the fight, not waiting to hear another word +from Orlando, who was very sorry for what he had said, for he perceived +that the youth was in despair. + +And now the fight raged beyond all it had done before; twenty pagans +went down for one paladin, but still the paladins fell. Sansonetto was +beaten to earth by the club of Grandonio, Walter d'Amulion had his +shoulder broken, Berlinghieri and Ottone were slain, and at last +Astolpho fell, in revenge of whose death Orlando turned the spot where +he died into a lake of Saracen blood. The luckless Bujaforte met +Rinaldo, and before he could explain how he seemed to be fighting on +the Saracen side received such a blow upon the head that he fell, +unable to utter a word. Orlando, cutting his way to a spot where there +was a great struggle and uproar, found the poor youth Baldwin, the son +of Gan, with two spears in his breast. "I am no traitor now," said +Baldwin, and those were the last words he said. Orlando was bitterly +sorry to have been the cause of his death, and tears streamed from his +eyes. At length down went Oliver himself. He had become blinded with +his own blood, and smitten Orlando without knowing him. "How now, +cousin," cried Orlando, "have you too gone over to the enemy?" "O my +lord and master," cried the other, "I ask your pardon. I can see +nothing; I am dying. Some traitor has stabbed me in the back. If you +love me, lead my horse into the thick of them, so that I may not die +unavenged." + +"I shall die myself before long," said Orlando, "out of very toil and +grief; so we will go together." + +Orlando led his cousin's horse where the press was thickest, and +dreadful was the strength of the dying man and his tired companion. +They made a street through which they passed out of the battle, and +Orlando led his cousin away to his tent, and said, "Wait a little till +I return, for I will go and sound the horn on the hill yonder." + +"'Tis of no use," said Oliver, "my spirit is fast going and desires to +be with its Lord and Saviour." + +He would have said more, but his words came from him imperfectly, like +those of a man in a dream, and so he expired. + +When Orlando saw him dead he felt as if he was alone on the earth, and +he was quite willing to leave it, only he wished that King Charles, at +the foot of the mountains, should know how the case stood before he +went. So he took up the horn and blew it three times, with such force +that the blood burst out of his nose and mouth. Turpin says that at the +third blast the horn broke in two. + +In spite of all the noise of the battle, the sound of the horn broke +over it like a voice out of the other world. They say that birds fell +dead at it, and that the whole Saracen army drew back in terror. +Charlemagne was sitting in the midst of his court when the sound +reached him, and Gan was there. The Emperor was the first to hear it. + +"Do you hear that?" said he to his nobles. "Did you hear the horn as I +heard it?" + +Upon this they all listened, and Gan felt his heart misgive him. The +horn sounded a second time. + +"What is the meaning of this?" said Charles. + +"Orlando is hunting," observed Gan, "and the stag is killed." + +But when the horn sounded yet a third time, and the blast was one of so +dreadful a vehemence, everybody looked at the other, and then they all +looked at Gan in a fury. Charles rose from his seat. + +"This is no hunting of the stag," said he. "The sound goes to my very +heart. O Gan! O Gan! Not for thee do I blush, but for myself. O foul +and monstrous villain! Take him, gentleman, and keep him in close +prison. Would to God I had not lived to see this day!" + +But it was no time for words. They put the traitor in prison and then +Charles, with all his court, took his way to Roncesvalles, grieving and +praying. + +It was afternoon when the horn sounded, and half an hour after it when +the Emperor set out; and meantime Orlando had returned to the fight +that he might do his duty, however hopeless, as long as he could sit +his horse. At length he found his end approaching, for toil and fever, +and rode all alone to a fountain where he had before quenched his +thirst. His horse was wearier than he, and no sooner had his master +alighted than the beast, kneeling down as if to take leave, and to say, +"I have brought you to a place of rest," fell dead at his feet. Orlando +cast water on him from the fountain, not wishing to believe him dead; +but when he found it to no purpose, he grieved for him as if he had +been a human being, and addressed him by name with tears, and asked +forgiveness if he had ever done him wrong. They say that the horse, at +these words, opened his eyes a little, and looked kindly at his master, +and then stirred never more. They say also that Orlando then summoning +all his strength, smote a rock near him with his beautiful sword +Durindana, thinking to shiver the steel in pieces, and so prevent its +falling into the hands of the enemy, but though the rock split like a +slate, and a great cleft remained ever after to astonish the eyes of +pilgrims, the sword remained uninjured. + +And now Rinaldo and Ricciardetto came up, with Turpin, having driven +back the Saracens, and told Orlando that the battle was won. Then +Orlando knelt before Turpin and begged remission of his sins, and +Turpin gave him absolution. Orlando fixed his eyes on the hilt of his +sword as on a crucifix, and embraced it, and he raised his eyes and +appeared like a creature seraphical and transfigured, and bowing his +head, he breathed out his pure soul. + +And now King Charles and his nobles came up. The Emperor, at sight of +the dead Orlando, threw himself, as if he had been a reckless youth, +from his horse, and embraced and kissed the body, and said: "I bless +thee, Orlando; I bless thy whole life, and all that thou wast, and all +that thou ever didst, and the father that begat thee; and I ask pardon +of thee for believing those who brought thee to thine end. They shall +have their reward, O thou beloved one! But indeed it is thou that +livest, and I who am worse than dead." + +Horrible to the Emperor's eyes was the sight of the field of +Roncesvalles. The Saracens indeed had fled, conquered; but all his +paladins but two were left on it dead, and the whole valley looked like +a great slaughter-house, trampled into blood and dirt, and reeking to +the heat. Charles trembled to his heart's core for wonder and agony. +After gazing dumbly on the place he cursed it with a solemn curse, and +wished that never grass might grow in it again, nor seed of any kind, +neither within it nor on any of its mountains around, but the anger of +Heaven abide over it forever. + +Charles and his warriors went after the Saracens into Spain. They took +and fired Saragossa, and Marsilius was hung to the carob-tree under +which he had planned his villainy with Gan; and Gan was hung and drawn +and quartered in Roncesvalles, amidst the execrations of the country. + + + +RINALDO AND BAYARD + +CHARLEMAGNE was overwhelmed with grief at the loss of so many of his +bravest warriors at the disaster of Roncesvalles, and bitterly +reproached himself for his credulity in resigning himself so completely +to the counsels of the treacherous Count Gan. Yet he soon fell into a +similar snare when he suffered his unworthy son, Charlot, to acquire +such an influence over him, that he constantly led him into acts of +cruelty and injustice that in his right mind he would have scorned to +commit. Rinaldo and his brothers, for some slight offence to the +imperious young prince, were forced to fly from Paris, and to take +shelter in their castle of Montalban; for Charles had publicly said, if +he could take them he would hang them all. He sent numbers of his +bravest knights to arrest them, but all without success. Either Rinaldo +foiled their efforts and sent them back, stripped of their armor and of +their glory, or, after meeting and conferring with him, they came back +and told the king they could not be his instruments for such a work. + +At last Charles himself raised a great army, and went in person to +compel the paladin to submit. He ravaged all the country round about +Montalban, so that supplies of food should be cut off, and he +threatened death to any who should attempt to issue forth, hoping to +compel the garrison to submit for want of food. + +Rinaldo's resources had been brought so low that it seemed useless to +contend any longer. His brothers had been taken prisoners in a +skirmish, and his only hope of saving their lives was in making terms +with the king. + +So he sent a messenger, offering to yield himself and his castle if the +king would spare his and his brothers' lives. While the messenger was +gone Rinaldo, impatient to learn what tidings he might bring, rode out +to meet him. When he had ridden as far as he thought prudent he stopped +in a wood, and alighting, tied Bayard to a tree. Then he sat down, and, +as he waited, he fell asleep. Bayard meanwhile got loose, and strayed +away where the grass tempted him. Just then came along some country +people, who said to one another, "Look, is not that the great horse +Bayard that Rinaldo rides? Let us take him, and carry him to King +Charles, who will pay us well for our trouble." They did so, and the +king was delighted with his prize, and gave them a present that made +them rich to their dying day. + +When Rinaldo woke he looked round for his horse, and, finding him not, +he groaned, and said, "O unlucky hour that I was born! how fortune +persecutes me!" So desperate was he that he took off his armor and his +spurs, saying, "What need have I of these, since Bayard is lost?" While +he stood thus lamenting, a man came from the thicket, seemingly bent +with age. He had a long beard hanging over his breast, and eyebrows +that almost covered his eyes. He bade Rinaldo good day. Rinaldo thanked +him, and said, "A good day I have hardly had since I was born." Then +said the old man, "Signor Rinaldo, you must not despair, for God will +make all things turn to the best." Rinaldo answered, "My trouble is too +heavy for me to hope relief. The king has taken my brothers, and means +to put them to death. I thought to rescue them by means of my horse +Bayard, but while I slept some thief has stolen him." The old man +replied, "I will remember you and your brothers in my prayers. I am a +poor man, have you not something to give me?" Rinaldo said, "I have +nothing to give," but then he recollected his spurs. He gave them to +the beggar, and said, "Here, take my spurs. They are the first present +my mother gave me when my father, Count Aymon, dubbed me knight. They +ought to bring you ten pounds." + +The old man took the spurs, and put them into his sack, and said, +"Noble sir, have you nothing else you can give me?" Rinaldo replied, +"Are you making sport of me? I tell you truly if it were not for shame +to beat one so helpless, I would teach you better manners." The old man +said, "Of a truth, sir, if you did so you would do a great sin. If all +had beaten me of whom I have begged I should have been killed long ago, +for I ask alms in churches and convents, and wherever I can." "You say +true," replied Rinaldo, "if you did not ask, none would relieve you." +The old man said, "True, noble sir, therefore I pray if you have +anything more to spare, give it me." Rinaldo gave him his mantle, and +said, "Take it, pilgrim. I give it you for the love of Christ, that God +would save my brothers from a shameful death, and help me to escape out +of King Charles's power." + +The pilgrim took the mantle, folded it up, and put it into his bag. +Then a third time he said to Rinaldo, "Sir, have you nothing left to +give me that I may remember you in my prayers?" "Wretch!" exclaimed +Rinaldo, "do you make me your sport?" and he drew his sword, and struck +at him; but the old man warded off the blow with his staff, and said, +"Rinaldo, would you slay your cousin, Malagigi?" When Rinaldo heard +that he stayed his hand, and gazed doubtingly on the old man, who now +threw aside his disguise, and appeared to be indeed Malagigi. "Dear +cousin," said Rinaldo, "pray forgive me. I did not know you. Next to +God, my trust is in you. Help my brothers to escape out of prison, I +entreat you. I have lost my horse, and therefore cannot render them any +assistance." Malagigi answered, "Cousin Rinaldo, I will enable you to +recover your horse. Meanwhile, you must do as I say." + +Then Malagigi took from his sack a gown, and gave it to Rinaldo to put +on over his armor, and a hat that was full of holes, and an old pair of +shoes to put on. They looked like two pilgrims, very old and poor. Then +they went forth from the wood, and after a little while saw four monks +riding along the road. Malagigi said to Rinaldo, "I will go meet the +monks, and see what news I can learn." + +Malagigi learned from the monks that on the approaching festival there +would be a great crowd of people at court, for the prince was going to +show the ladies the famous horse Bayard that used to belong to Rinaldo. +"What!" said the pilgrim; "is Bayard there?" "Yes," answered the monks; +"the king has given him to Charlot, and, after the prince has ridden +him the king means to pass sentence on the brothers of Rinaldo, and +have them hanged." Then Malagigi asked alms of the monks, but they +would give him none, till he threw aside his pilgrim garb, and let them +see his armor, when, partly for charity and partly for terror, they +gave him a golden cup, adorned with precious stones that sparkled in +the sunshine. + +Malagigi then hastened back to Rinaldo, and told him what he had +learned. + +The morning of the feast-day Rinaldo and Malagigi came to the place +where the sports were to be held. Malagigi gave Rinaldo his spurs back +again, and said, "Cousin, put on your spurs, for you will need them." +"How shall I need them," said Rinaldo, "since I have lost my horse?" +Yet he did as Malagigi directed him. + +When the two had taken their stand on the border of the field among the +crowd the princes and ladies of the court began to assemble. When they +were all assembled the king came also, and Charlot with him, near whom +the horse Bayard was led, in the charge of grooms, who were expressly +enjoined to guard him safely. The king, looking round on the circle of +spectators, saw Malagigi and Rinaldo, and observed the splendid cup +that they had, and said to Charlot, "See, my son, what a brilliant cup +those two pilgrims have got. It seems to be worth a hundred ducats." +"That is true," said Charlot; "Let us go and ask where they got it." So +they rode to the place where the pilgrims stood, and Charlot stopped +Bayard close to them. + +The horse snuffed at the pilgrims, knew Rinaldo, and caressed his +master. The king said to Malagigi, "Friend, where did you get that +beautiful cup?" Malagigi replied, "Honorable sir, I paid for it all the +money I have saved from eleven years' begging in churches and convents. +The Pope himself has blessed it, and given it the power that whosoever +eats or drinks out of it shall be pardoned of all his sins." Then said +the king to Charlot, "My son, these are right holy men; see how the +dumb beast worships them." + +Then the king said to Malagigi, "Give me a morsel from your cup, that I +may be cleared of my sins." Malagigi answered, "Illustrious lord, I +dare not do it, unless you will forgive all who have at any time +offended you. You know that Christ forgave all those who had betrayed +and crucified him." The king replied, "Friend, that is true; but +Rinaldo has so grievously offended me, that I cannot forgive him, nor +that other man, Malagigi, the magician. These two shall never live in +my kingdom again. If I catch them I will certainly have them hanged. +But tell me, pilgrim, who is that man who stands beside you?" "He is +deaf, dumb, and blind," said Malagigi. Then the king said again, "Give +me to drink of your cup, to take away my sins." Malagigi answered, "My +lord king, here is my poor brother, who for fifty days has not heard, +spoken, nor seen. This misfortune befell him in a house where we found +shelter, and the day before yesterday we met with a wise woman, who +told him the only hope of a cure for him was to come to some place +where Bayard was to be ridden, and to mount and ride him; that would do +him more good than anything else." Then said the king, "Friend, you +have come to the right place, for Bayard is to be ridden here to-day. +Give me a draught from your cup, and your companion shall ride upon +Bayard." Malagigi, hearing these words, said, "Be it so." Then the +king, with great devotion, took a spoon, and dipped a portion from the +pilgrim's cup, believing that his sins should be thereby forgiven. + +When this was done, the king said to Charlot, "Son, I request that you +will let this sick pilgrim sit on your horse, and ride if he can, for +by so doing he will be healed of all his infirmities." Charlot replied, +"That will I gladly do." So saying, he dismounted, and the servants +took the pilgrim in their arms, and helped him on the horse. + +Wher Rinaldo was mounted, he put his feet in the stirrups, and said, "I +would like to ride a little." Malagigi, hearing him speak, seemed +delighted, and asked him whether he could see and hear also. "Yes," +said Rinaldo, "I am healed of all my infirmities." When the king heard +it he said to Bishop Turpin, "My lord bishop, we must celebrate this +with a procession, with crosses and banners, for it is a great miracle." + +When Rinaldo remarked that he was not carefully watched, he spoke to +the horse, and touched him with the spurs. Bayard knew that his master +was upon him, and he started off upon a rapid pace, and in a few +moments was a good way off. Malagigi pretended to be in great alarm. "O +noble king and master," he cried, "my poor companion is run away with; +he will fall and break his neck." The king ordered his knights to ride +after the pilgrim, and bring him back, or help him if need were. They +did so, but it was in vain. Rinaldo left them all behind him, and kept +on his way till he reached Montalban. Malagigi was suffered to depart, +unsuspected, and he went his way, making sad lamentation for the fate +of his comrade, who he pretended to think must surely be dashed to +pieces. + +Malagigi did not go far, but having changed his disguise, returned to +where the king was, and employed his best art in getting the brothers +of Rinaldo out of prison. He succeeded; and all three got safely to +Montalban, where Rinaldo's joy at the rescue of his brothers and the +recovery of Bayard was more than tongue can tell. + + + +DEATH OF RINALDO + +THE distress in Rinaldo's castle for want of food grew more severe +every day, under the pressure of the siege. The garrison were forced to +kill their horses, both to save the provision they would consume, and +to make food of their flesh. At last all the horses were killed except +Bayard, and Rinaldo said to his brothers, "Bayard must die, for we have +nothing else to eat." So they went to the stable and brought out Bayard +to kill him. But Alardo said, "Brother, let Bayard live a little +longer; who knows what God may do for us?" + +Bayard heard these words, and understood them as if he was a man, and +fell on his knees, as if he would beg for mercy. When Rinaldo saw the +distress of his horse his heart failed him, and he let him live. + +Just at this time Aya, Rinaldo's mother, who was the sister of the +Emperor, came to the camp, attended by knights and ladies, to intercede +for her sons. She fell on her knees before the king, and besought him +that he would pardon Rinaldo and his brothers: and all the peers and +knights took her side, and entreated the king to grant her prayer. Then +said the king, "Dear sister, you act the part of a good mother, and I +respect your tender heart, and yield to your entreaties. I will spare +your sons their lives if they submit implicitly to my will." + +When Charlot heard this he approached the king and whispered in his +ear. And the king turned to his sister and said, "Charlot must have +Bayard, because I have given the horse to him. Now go, my sister, and +tell Rinaldo what I have said." + +When the Lady Aya heard these words she was delighted, thanked God in +her heart, and said, "Worthy king and brother, I will do as you bid +me." So she went into the castle, where her sons received her most +joyfully and affectionately, and she told them the king's offer. Then +Alardo said, "Brother, I would rather have the king's enmity than give +Bayard to Charlot, for I believe he will kill him." Likewise said all +the brothers. When Rinaldo heard them he said, "Dear brothers, if we +may win our forgiveness by giving up the horse, so be it. Let us make +our peace, for we cannot stand against the king's power." Then he went +to his mother, and told her they would give the horse to Charlot, and +more, too, if the king would pardon them, and forgive all that they had +done against his crown and dignity. The lady returned to Charles and +told him the answer of her sons. + +When the peace was thus made between the king and the sons of Aymon, +the brothers came forth from the castle, bringing Bayard with them, +and, falling at the king's feet, begged his forgiveness. The king bade +them rise, and received them into favor in the sight of all his noble +knights and counsellors, to the great joy of all, especially of the +Lady Aya, their mother. Then Rinaldo took the horse Bayard, gave him to +Charlot, and said, "My lord and prince, this horse I give to you; do +with him as to you seems good." Charlot took him, as had been agreed +on. Then he made the servants take him to the bridge, and throw him +into the water. Bayard sank to the bottom, but soon came to the surface +again and swam, saw Rinaldo looking at him, came to land, ran to his +old master, and stood by him as proudly as if he had understanding, and +would say, "Why did you treat me so?" When the prince saw that he said, +"Rinaldo, give me the horse again, for he must die." Rinaldo replied, +"My lord and prince, he is yours without dispute," and gave him to him. +The prince then had a millstone tied to each foot, and two to his neck, +and made them throw him again into the water. Bayard struggled in the +water, looked up to his master, threw off the stones, and came back to +Rinaldo. + +When Alardo saw that, he said, "Now must thou be disgraced forever, +brother, if thou give up the horse again." But Rinaldo answered, +"Brother, be still. Shall I for the horse's life provoke the anger of +the king again?" Then Alardo said, "Ah, Bayard! what a return do we +make for all thy true love and service!" Rinaldo gave the horse to the +prince again, and said, "My lord, if the horse comes out again I cannot +return him to you any more, for it wrings my heart too much." Then +Charlot had Bayard loaded with the stones as before, and thrown into +the water; and commanded Rinaldo that he should not stand where the +horse would see him. When Bayard rose to the surface he stretched his +neck out of the water and looked round for his master, but saw him not. +Then he sunk to the bottom. + +Rinaldo was so distressed for the loss of Bayard that he made a vow to +ride no horse again all his life long, nor to bind a sword to his side, +but to become a hermit. He resolved to betake himself to some wild +wood, but first to return to his castle, to see his children, and to +appoint to each his share of his estate. + +So he took leave of the king and of his brothers, and returned to +Montalban, and his brothers remained with the king. Rinaldo called his +children to him, and he made his eldest born, Aymeric, a knight, and +made him lord of his castle and of his land. He gave to the rest what +other goods he had, and kissed and embraced them all, commended them to +God, and then departed from them with a heavy heart. + +He had not travelled far when he entered a wood, and there met with a +hermit, who had long been retired from the world. Rinaldo greeted him, +and the hermit replied courteously, and asked him who he was and what +was his purpose. Rinaldo replied, "Sir, I have led a sinful life; many +deeds of violence have I done, and many men have I slain, not always in +a good cause, but often under the impulse of my own headstrong +passions. I have also been the cause of the death of many of my +friends, who took my part, not because they thought me in the right, +but only for love of me. And now I come to make confession of all my +sins, and to do penance for the rest of my life, if perhaps the mercy +of God will forgive me." The hermit said, "Friend, I perceive you have +fallen into great sins, and have broken the commandments of God, but +his mercy is greater than your sins; and if you repent from your heart, +and lead a new life, there is yet hope for you that he will forgive you +what is past." So Rinaldo was comforted, and said, "Master, I will stay +with you, and what you bid ane I will do." The hermit replied, "Roots +and vegetables will be your food; shirt or shoes you may not wear; your +lot must be poverty and want if you stay with me." Rinaldo replied, "I +will cheerfully bear all this, and more." So he remained three whole +years with the hermit, and after that his strength failed, and it +seemed as if he was like to die. + +One night the hermit had a dream, and heard a voice from heaven, which +commanded him to say to his companion that he must without delay go to +the Holy Land, and fight against the heathen. The hermit, when he heard +that voice, was glad, and calling Rinaldo, he said, "Friend, God's +angel has commanded me to say to you that you must without delay go to +Jerusalem, and help our fellow-Christians in their struggle with the +Infidels." Then said Rinaldo, "Ah! master, how can I do that? It is +over three years since I made a vow no more to ride a horse, nor take a +sword or spear in my hand." The hermit answered, "Dear friend, obey +God, and do what the angel commanded." "I will do so," said Rinaldo, +"and pray for me, my master, that God may guide me right." Then he +departed, and went to the seaside, and took ship and came to Tripoli in +Syria. + +And as he went on his way his strength returned to him, till it was +equal to what it was in his best days. And though he never mounted a +horse, nor took a sword in his hand, yet with his pilgrim's staff he +did good service in the armies of the Christians; and it pleased God +that he escaped unhurt, though he was present in many battles, and his +courage inspired the men with the same. At last a truce was made with +the Saracens, and Rinaldo, now old and infirm, wishing to see his +native land again before he died, took ship and sailed for France. When +he arrived he shunned to go to the resorts of the great, and preferred +to live among the humble folk, where he was unknown. He did country +work, and lived on milk and bread, drank water, and was therewith +content. While he so lived he heard that the city of Cologne was the +holiest and best of cities, on account of the relics and bodies of +saints who had there poured out their blood for the faith. This induced +him to betake himself thither. When the pious hero arrived at Cologne +he went to the monastery of St. Peter, and lived a holy life, occupied +night and day in devotion. It so happened that at that time in the next +town to Cologne there raged a dreadful pestilence. Many people came to +Rinaldo, to beg him to pray for them, that the plague might be stayed. +The holy man prayed fervently, and besought the Lord to take away the +plague from the people, and his prayer was heard. The stroke of the +pestilence was arrested, and all the people thanked the holy man and +praised God. + +Now there was at this time at Cologne a bishop, called Agilolphus, who +was a wise and understanding man, who led a pure and secluded life, and +set a good example to others. This bishop undertook to build the Church +of St. Peter, and gave notice to all stonemasons and other workmen +round about to come to Cologne, where they should find work and wages. +Among others came Rinaldo; and he worked among the laborers and did +more than four or five common workmen. When they went to dinner he +brought stone and mortar so that they had enough for the whole day. +When the others went to bed he stretched himself out on the stones. He +ate bread only, and drank nothing but water; and had for his wages but +a penny a day. The head workman asked him his name, and where he +belonged. He would not tell, but said nothing and pursued his work. +They called him St. Peter's workman, because he was so devoted to his +work. + +When the overseer saw the diligence of this holy man he chid the +laziness of the other workmen, and said, "You receive more pay than +this good man, but do not do half as much work." For this reason the +other workmen hated Rinaldo, and made a secret agreement to kill him. +They knew that he made it a practice to go every night to a certain +church to pray and give alms. So they agreed to lay wait for him, with +the purpose to kill him. When he came to the spot, they seized him, and +beat him over the head till he was dead. Then they put his body into a +sack, and stones with it, and cast it into the Rhine, in the hope the +sack would sink to the bottom, and be there concealed. But God willed +not that it should be so, but caused the sack to float on the surface, +and be thrown upon the bank. And the soul of the holy martyr was +carried by angels, with songs of praise, up to the heavens. + +Now at that time the people of Dortmund had become converted to the +Christian faith; and they sent to the Bishop of Cologne, and desired +him to give them some of the holy relics that are in such abundance in +that city. So the Bishop called together his clergy to deliberate what +answer they should give to this request. And it was determined to give +to the people of Dortmund the body of the holy man who had just +suffered martyrdom. + +When now the body with the coffin was put on the cart, the cart began +to move toward Dortmund without horses or help of men, and stopped not +till it reached the place where the church of St. Rinaldo now stands. +The Bishop and his clergy followed the holy man to do him honor, with +singing of hymns, for a space of three miles. And St. Rinaldo has ever +since been the patron of that place, and many wonderful works has God +done through him, as may be seen in the legends. + + + +HUON OF BORDEAUX + +WHEN Charlemagne grew old he felt the burden of government become +heavier year by year, till at last he called together his high barons +and peers to propose to abdicate the empire and the throne of France in +favor of his sons, Charlot and Lewis. + +The Emperor was unreasonably partial to his eldest son; he would have +been glad to have had the barons and peers demand Charlot for their +only sovereign; but that prince was so infamous, for his falsehood and +cruelty, that the council strenuously opposed the Emperor's proposal of +abdicating, and implored him to continue to hold a sceptre which he +wielded with so much glory. + +Amaury of Hauteville, cousin of Ganelon, and now head of the wicked +branch of the house of Maganza, was the secret partisan of Charlot, +whom he resembled in his loose morals and bad dispositions. Amaury +nourished the most bitter resentment against the house of Guienne, of +which the former Duke, Sevinus, had often rebuked his misdeeds. He took +advantage of this occasion to do an injury to the two young children +whom the Duke Sevinus had left under the charge of the Duchess Alice, +their mother; and at the same time, to advance his interest with +Charlot by increasing his wealth and power. With this view he suggested +to the prince a new idea. + +He pretended to agree with the opinion of the barons; he said that it +would be best to try Charlot's capacity for government by giving him +some rich provinces before placing him upon the throne; and that the +Emperor, without depriving himself of any part of his realm, might give +Charlot the investiture of Guienne. For although seven years had passed +since the death of Sevinus, the young Duke, his son, had not yet +repaired to the court of Charlemagne to render the homage due to his +lawful sovereign. + +We have often had occasion to admire the justice and wisdom of the +advice which on all occasions the Duke Namo of Bavaria gave to +Charlemagne, and he now discountenanced, with indignation, the selfish +advice of Amaury. He represented to the Emperor the early age of the +children of Sevinus, and the useful and glorious services of their late +father, and proposed to Charlemagne to send two knights to the Duchess +at Bordeaux, to summon her two sons to the court of the Emperor, to pay +their respects and render homage. + +Charlemagne approved this advice, and sent two chevaliers to demand the +two young princes of their mother. No sooner had the Duchess learned +the approach of the two knights, than she sent distinguished persons to +receive them; and as soon as they entered the palace she presented +herself before them, with her elder and younger sons, Huon and Girard. + +The deputies, delighted with the honors and caresses they received, +accompanied with rich presents, left Bordeaux with regret and on their +return represented to Charlemagne that the young Duke Huon seemed born +to tread in the footsteps of his brave father, informing him that in +three months the young princes of Guienne would present themselves at +his court. + +The Duchess employed the short interval in giving her sons her last +instructions. Huon received them in his heart, and Girard gave as much +heed to them as could be expected from one so young. + +The preparations for their departure having been made, the Duchess +embraced them tenderly, commending them to the care of Heaven, and +charged them to call, on their way, at the celebrated monastery of +Cluny, to visit the Abbot, the brother of their father. This Abbot, +worthy of his high dignity, had never lost an opportunity of doing +good, setting an example of every excellence, and making virtue +attractive by his example. + +He received his nephews with the greatest magnificence; and, aware how +useful his presence might be to them with Charlemagne, whose valued +counsellor he was, he took with them the road to Paris. + +When Amaury learned what reception the two deputies of Charlemagne had +received at Bordeaux, and the arrangements made for the visit of the +young princes to the Emperor's court, he suggested to Charlot to give +him a troop of his guards, with which he proposed to lay wait for the +young men in the wood of Montlery, put them to death, and thereby give +the prince Charlot possession of the duchy of Guienne. + +A plan of treachery and violence agreed but too well with Charlot's +disposition. He not only adopted the suggestion of Amaury, but insisted +upon taking a part in it. They went out secretly, by night, followed by +a great number of attendants, all armed in black, to lie in ambuscade +in the wood where the brothers were to pass. + +Girard, the younger of the two, having amused himself as he rode by +flying his hawk at such game as presented itself, had ridden in advance +of his brother and the Abbot of Cluny. Charlot, who saw him coming, +alone and unarmed, went forth to meet him, sought a quarrel with him, +and threw him from his horse with a stroke of his lance. Girard uttered +a cry as he fell; Huon heard it, and flew to his defence, with no other +weapon than his sword. He came up with him, and saw the blood flowing +from his wound. "What has this child done to you, wretch!" he exclaimed +to Charlot. "How cowardly to attack him when unprepared to defend +himself!" "By my faith," said Charlot, "I mean to do the same by you. +Know that I am the son of Duke Thierry of Ardennes, from whom your +father, Sevinus, took three castles; I have sworn to avenge him, and I +defy you." "Coward," answered Huon, "I know well the baseness that +dwells in your race; worthy son of Thierry, use the advantage that your +armor gives you; but know that I fear you not." At these words Charlot +had the wickedness to put his lance in rest, and to run upon Huon, who +had barely time to wrap his arm in his mantle. With this feeble buckler +he received the thrust of the lance. It penetrated the mantle, but +missed his body. Then, rising upon his stirrups, Sir Huon struck +Charlot so terrible a blow with his sword that the helmet was cleft +asunder, and his head too. The dastardly prince fell dead upon the +ground. + +Huon now perceived that the wood was full of armed men. He called the +men of his suite, and they hastily put themselves in order, but nobody +issued from the wood to attack him. Amaury, who saw Charlot's fall, had +no desire to compromit himself; and, feeling sure that Charlemagne +would avenge the death of his son, he saw no occasion for his doing +anything more at present. He left Huon and the Abbot of Cluny to bind +up the wound of Girard, and, having seen them depart and resume their +way to Paris, he took up the body of Charlot, and, placing it across a +horse, had it carried to Paris, where he arrived four hours after Huon. + +The Abbot of Cluny presented his nephew to Charlemagne, but Huon +refrained from paying his obeisance, complaining grievously of the +ambush which had been set for him, which he said could not have been +without the Emperor's permission. Charlemagne, surprised at a charge +which his magnanimous soul was incapable of meriting, asked eagerly of +the Abbot what were the grounds of the complaints of his nephew. The +Abbot told him faithfully all that had happened, informing him that a +coward knight, who called himself the son of Thierry of Ardennes, had +wounded Girard, and run upon Huon, who was unarmed; but by his force +and valor he had overcome the traitor, and left him dead upon the plain. + +Charlemagne indignantly disavowed any connection with the action of the +infamous Thierry, congratulated the young Duke upon his victory, +himself conducted the two brothers to a rich apartment, stayed to see +the first dressing applied to the wound of Girard, and left the +brothers in charge of Duke Namo of Bavaria, who, having been a +companion in arms of the Duke Sevinus, regarded the young men almost as +if they were his own sons. + +Charlemagne had hardly quitted them when, returning to his chamber, he +heard cries, and saw through the window a party of armed men just +arrived. He recognized Amaury, who bore a dead knight stretched across +a horse; and the name of Charlot was heard among the exclamations of +the people assembled in the court-yard. + +Charles's partiality for this unworthy son was one of his weaknesses. +He descended in trepidation to the court-yard, ran to Amaury, and +uttered a cry of grief on recognizing Charlot. "It is Huon of +Bordeaux," said the traitor Amaury, "who has massacred your son before +it was in my power to defend him." Charlemagne, furious at these words, +seized a sword, and flew to the apartment of the two brothers to plunge +it into the heart of the murderer of his son. Duke Namo stopped his +hand for an instant, while Charles told him the crime of which Huon was +accused. "He is a peer of the realm," said Namo, "and if he is guilty, +is he not here in your power, and are not we peers the proper judges to +condemn him to death? Let not your hand be stained with his blood." The +Emperor, calmed by the wisdom of Duke Namo, summoned Amaury to his +presence. The peers assembled to hear his testimony, and the traitor +accused Huon of Bordeaux of having struck the fatal blow without +allowing Charlot an opportunity to defend himself, and though he knew +that his opponent was the Emperor's eldest son. + +The Abbot of Cluny, indignant at the false accusation of Amaury, +advanced, and said, "By Saint Benedict, sire, the traitor lies in his +throat. If my nephew has slain Charlot it was in his own defence, and +after having seen his brother wounded by him, and also in ignorance +that his adversary was the prince. Though I am a son of the Church," +added the good Abbot, "I forget not that I am a knight by birth. I +offer to prove with my body the lie upon Amaury, if he dares sustain +it, and I shall feel that I am doing a better work to punish a disloyal +traitor, than to sing lauds and matins." + +Huon to this time had kept silent, amazed at the black calumny of +Amaury; but now he stepped forth, and, addressing Amaury, said: +"Traitor! darest thou maintain in arms the lie thou hast uttered?" +Amaury, a knight of great prowess, despising the youth and slight +figure of Huon, hesitated not to offer his glove, which Huon seized; +then, turning again to the peers, he said: "I pray you let the combat +be allowed me, for never was there a more legitimate cause." The Duke +Namo and the rest, deciding that the question should be remitted to the +judgment of Heaven, the combat was ordained, to which Charlemagne +unwillingly consented. The young Duke was restored to the charge of +Duke Namo, who the next morning invested him with the honors of +knighthood, and gave him armor of proof, with a white shield. The Abbot +of Cluny, delighted to find in his nephew sentiments worthy of his +birth, embraced him, gave him his blessing, and hastened to the church +of St. Germains to pray for him, while the officers of the king +prepared the lists for the combat. + +The battle was long and obstinate. The address and agility of Huon +enabled him to avoid the terrible blows which the ferocious Amaury +aimed at him. But Huon had more than once drawn blood from his +antagonist. The effect began to be perceived in the failing strength of +the traitor; at last he threw himself from his horse, and kneeling, +begged for mercy. "Spare me," he said, "and I will confess all. Aid me +to rise, and lead me to Charlemagne." The brave and loyal Huon, at +these words, put his sword under his left arm, and stretched out his +right to raise the prostrate man, who seized the opportunity to give +him a thrust in the side. The hauberk of Huon resisted the blow, and he +was wounded but slightly. Transported with rage at this act of +baseness, he forgot how necessary for his complete acquittal the +confession of Amaury was, and without delay dealt him the fatal blow. + +Duke Namo and the other peers approached, had the body of Amaury +dragged forth from the lists, and conducted Huon to Charlemagne. The +Emperor, however, listening to nothing but his resentment and grief for +the death of his son, refused to be satisfied; and under the plea that +Huon had not succeeded in making his accuser retract his charge seemed +resolved to confiscate his estates and to banish him forever from +France. It was not till after long entreaties on the part of Duke Namo +and the rest that he consented to grant Huon his pardon, under +conditions which he should impose. + +Huon approached, and knelt before the Emperor, rendered his homage, and +cried him mercy for the involuntary killing of his son. Charlemagne +would not receive the hands of Huon in his own, but touched him with +his sceptre, saying, "I receive thy homage, and pardon thee the death +of my son, but only on one condition. You shall go immediately to the +court of the Sultan Gaudisso; you shall present yourself before him as +he sits at meat; you shall cut off the head of the most illustrious +guest whom you shall find sitting nearest to him; you shall kiss three +times on the mouth the fair princess, his daughter, and you shall +demand of the Sultan, as token of tribute to me, a handful of the white +hair of his beard, and four grinders from his mouth." + +These conditions caused a murmur from all the assembly. "What!" said +the Abbot of Cluny; "slaughter a Saracen prince without first offering +him baptism?" "The second condition is not so hard," said the young +peers, "but the demand that Huon is bound to make of the old Sultan is +very uncivil, and will be hard to obtain." + +The Emperor's obstinacy when he had once resolved upon a thing is well +known. To the courage of Huon nothing seemed impossible. "I accept the +conditions," said he, silencing the intercessions of the old Duke of +Bavaria; "my liege, I accept my pardon at this price. I go to execute +your commands, as your vassal and a peer of France." + +The Duke Namo and Abbot of Cluny, being unable to obtain any relaxation +of the sentence passed by Charlemagne, led forth the young Duke, who +determined to set out at once on his expedition. All that the good +Abbot could obtain of him was, that he should prepare for this perilous +undertaking by going first to Rome, to pay his homage to the Pope, who +was the brother of the Duchess Alice, Huon's mother, and from him +demand absolution and his blessing. Huon promised it, and forthwith set +out on his way to Rome. + + + +HUON OF BORDEAUX (Continued) + +HUON, having traversed the Apennines and Italy, arrived at the environs +of Rome, where, laying aside his armor, he assumed the dress of a +pilgrim. In this attire he presented himself before the Pope, and not +till after he had made a full confession of his sins did he announce +himself as his nephew. "Ah! my dear nephew," exclaimed the Holy Father, +"what harder penance could I impose than the Emperor has already done? +Go in peace, my son," he added, absolving him, "I go to intercede for +you with the Most High." Then he led his nephew into his palace, and +introduced him to all the Cardinals and Princes of Rome as the Duke of +Guienne, son of the Duchess Alice, his sister. + +Huon, at setting out, had made a vow not to stop more than three days +in a place. The Holy Father took advantage of this time to inspire him +with zeal for the glory of Christianity, and with confidence in the +protection of the Most High. He advised him to embark for Palestine, to +visit the Holy Sepulchre, and to depart thence for the interior of Asia. + +Loaded with the blessings of the Holy Father, Huon, obeying his +counsels, embarked for Palestine, arrived, and visited with the +greatest reverence the holy places. He then departed, and took his way +toward the east. + +But, ignorant of the country and of the language, he lost himself in a +forest, and remained three days without seeing a human creature, living +on honey and wild fruits which he found on the trees. The third day, +seeking a passage through a rocky defile, he beheld a man in tattered +clothing, whose beard and hair covered his breast and shoulders. This +man stopped on seeing him, observed him, and recognized the arms and +bearing of a French knight. He immediately approached, and exclaimed, +in the language of the South of France, "God be praised! Do I indeed +behold a chevalier of my own country, after fifteen years passed in +this desert without seeing the face of a fellow-countryman?" + +Huon, to gratify him still more, unlaced his helmet, and came towards +him with a smiling countenance. The other regarded him with more +surprise than at first. "Good Heaven!" he exclaimed, "was there ever +such a resemblance? Ah, noble sir," he added, "tell me, I beseech you, +of what country and race you come?" "I require," replied Huon, "before +telling you mine, that you first reveal your own; let it suffice you at +present to know that I am a Christian, and that in Guienne I was born." +"Ah! Heaven grant that my eyes and my heart do not deceive me," +exclaimed the unknown; "my name is Sherasmin; I am brother to Guire, +the Mayor of Bordeaux. I was taken prisoner in the battle where my dear +and illustrious master, Sevinus, lost his life. For three years I +endured the miseries of slavery; at length I broke my chains and +escaped to this desert, where I have sustained myself in solitude ever +since. Your features recall to me my beloved sovereign, in whose +service I was from my infancy till his death." Huon made no reply but +by embracing the old man, with tears in his eyes. Then Sherasmin +learned that his arms enfolded the son of the Duke Sevinus. He led him +to his cabin, and spread before him the dry fruits and honey which +formed his only aliment. + +Huon recounted his adventures to Sherasmin, who was moved to tears at +the recital. He then consulted him on means of conducting his +enterprise. Sherasmin hesitated not to confess that success seemed +impossible; nevertheless he swore a solemn oath never to abandon him. +The Saracen language, which he was master of, would be serviceable to +them when they should leave the desert, and mingle with men. + +They took the route of the Red Sea, and entered Arabia. Their way lay +through a region which Sherasmin described as full of terrors. It was +inhabited by Oberon, King of the Fairies, who made captive such knights +as were rash enough to penetrate into it, and transformed them into +Hobgoblins. It was possible to avoid this district at the expense of +somewhat lengthening their route; but no dangers could deter Huon of +Bordeaux; and the brave Sherasmin, who had now resumed the armor of a +knight, reluctantly consented to share with him the dangers of the +shorter route. + +They entered a wood, and arrived at a spot whence alleys branched off +in various directions. One of them seemed to be terminated by a superb +palace, whose gilded roofs were adorned with brilliant weathercocks +covered with diamonds. A superb chariot issued from the gate of the +palace, and drove toward Huon and his companion, as if to meet them +half-way. The prince saw no one in the chariot but a child apparently +about five years old, very beautiful, and clad in a robe which +glittered with precious stones. At the sight of him, Sherasmin's terror +was extreme. He seized the reins of Huon's horse, and turned him about, +hurrying the prince away, and assuring him that they were lost if they +stopped to parley with the mischievous dwarf, who, though he appeared a +child, was full of years and of treachery. Huon was sorry to lose sight +of the beautiful dwarf, whose aspect had nothing in it to alarm; yet he +followed his friend, who urged on his horse with all possible speed. +Presently a storm began to roar through the forest, the daylight grew +dim, and they found their way with difficulty. From time to time they +seemed to hear an infantine voice, which said, "Stop, Duke Huon; listen +to me: it is in vain you fly me!" + +Sherasmin only fled the faster, and stopped not until he had reached +the gate of a monastery of monks and nuns, the two communities of which +were assembled at that time in a religious procession. Sherasmin, +feeling safe from the malice of the dwarf in the presence of so many +holy persons and the sacred banners, stopped to ask an asylum, and made +Huon dismount also. But at that moment they were joined by the dwarf, +who blew a blast upon an ivory horn which hung from his neck. +Immediately the good Sherasmin, in spite of himself, began to dance +like a young collegian, and seizing the hand of an aged nun, who felt +as if it would be her death, they footed it briskly over the grass, and +were imitated by all the other monks and nuns, mingled together, +forming the strangest dancing-party ever beheld. Huron alone felt no +disposition to dance; but he came near dying of laughter at seeing the +ridiculous postures and leaps of the others. + +The dwarf, approaching Huon, said, in a sweet voice, and in Huon's own +language, "Duke of Guienne, why do you shun me? I conjure you, in +Heaven's name, speak to me." Huon, hearing himself addressed in this +serious manner, and knowing that no evil spirit would dare to use the +holy name in aid of his schemes, replied, "Sir, whoever you are, I am +ready to hear and answer you." "Huon, my friend," continued the dwarf, +"I always loved your race, and you have been dear to me ever since your +birth. The gracious state of conscience in which you were when you +entered my wood has protected you from all enchantments, even if I had +intended to practise any upon you. If these monks, these nuns, and even +your friend Sherasmin, had had a conscience as pure as yours, my horn +would not have set them dancing; but where is the monk or the nun who +can always be deaf to the voice of the tempter, and Sherasmin in the +desert has often doubted the power of Providence." + +At these words Huon saw the dancers overcome with exertion. He begged +mercy for them, the dwarf granted it, and the effect of the horn ceased +at once; the nuns got rid of their partners, smoothed their dresses, +and hastened to resume their places in the procession. Sherasmin, +overcome with heat, panting, and unable to stand on his legs, threw +himself upon the grass, and began, "Did not I tell you"--He was going +on in an angry tone, but the dwarf, approaching, said, "Sherasmin, why +have you murmured against Providence? Why have you thought evil of me? +You deserved this light punishment; but I know you to be good and +loyal; I mean to show myself your friend, as you shall soon see." At +these words he presented him a rich goblet. "Make the sign of the cross +on this cup," said he, "and then believe that I hold my power from the +God you adore, whose faithful servant I am, as well as you." Sherasmin +obeyed, and on the instant the cup was filled with delicious wine, a +draught of which restored vigor to his limbs, and made him feel young +again. Overcome with gratitude, he threw himself on his knees, but the +dwarf raised him, and bade him sit beside him, and thus commenced his +history: + +"Julius Caesar, going by sea to join his army, was driven by a storm to +take shelter in the island of Celea, where dwelt the fairy Glorianda. +From this renowned pair I draw my birth. I am the inheritor of that +which was most admirable in each of my parents: my father's heroic +qualities, and my mother's beauty and magic art. But a malicious sister +of my mother's, in revenge for some slight offence, touched me with her +wand when I was only five years old, and forbade me to grow any bigger; +and my mother, with all her power, was unable to annul the sentence. I +have thus continued infantile in appearance, though full of years and +experience. The power which I derive from my mother I use sometimes for +my own diversion, but always to promote justice and to reward virtue. I +am able and willing to assist you, Duke of Guienne, for I know the +errand on which you come hither. I presage for you, if you follow my +counsels, complete success; and the beautiful Clarimunda for a wife." + +When he had thus spoken he presented to Huon the precious and useful +cup, which had the faculty of filling itself when a good man took it in +his hand. He gave him also his beautiful horn of ivory, saying to him, +"Huon, when you sound this gently, you will make the hearers dance, as +you have seen; but if you sound it forcibly, fear not that I shall hear +it, though at a hundred leagues' distance, and will fly to your relief; +but be careful not to sound it in that way, unless upon the most urgent +occasion." + +Oberon directed Huon what course he should take to reach the country of +the Sultan Gaudisso. "You will encounter great perils," said he, +"before arriving there, and I fear me," he added, with tears in his +eyes, "that you will not in everything obey my directions, and in that +case you will suffer much calamity." Then he embraced Huon and +Sherasmin, and left them. + +Huon and his follower travelled many days through the desert before +they reached any inhabited place, and all this while the wonderful cup +sustained them, furnishing them not only wine, but food also. At last +they came to a great city. As day was declining, they entered its +suburbs, and Sherasmin, who spoke the Saracen language perfectly, +inquired for an inn where they could pass the night. A person who +appeared to be one of the principal inhabitants, seeing two strangers +of respectable appearance making this inquiry, stepped forward and +begged them to accept the shelter of his mansion. They entered, and +their host did the honors of his abode with a politeness which they +were astonished to see in a Saracen. He had them served with coffee and +sherbet, and all was conducted with great decorum, till one of the +servants awkwardly overturned a cup of hot coffee on the host's legs, +when he started up, exclaiming in very good Gascon, "Blood and thunder! +you blockhead, you deserve to be thrown over the mosque!" + +Huon could not help laughing to see the vivacity and the language of +his country thus break out unawares. The host, who had no idea that his +guests understood his words, was astonished when Huon addressed him in +the dialect of his country. Immediately confidence was established +between them; especially when the domestics had retired. The host, +seeing that he was discovered, and that the two pretended Saracens were +from the borders of the Garonne, embraced them, and disclosed that he +was a Christian. Huon, who had learned prudence from the advice of +Oberon, to test his host's sincerity, drew from his robe the cup which +the Fairy-king had given him, and presented it empty to the host. "A +fair cup," said he, "but I should like it better if it was full." +Immediately it was so. The host, astonished, dared not put it to his +lips. "Drink boldly, my dear fellow-countryman," said Huon; "your truth +is proved by this cup, which only fills itself in the hands of an +honest man." The host did not hesitate longer; the cup passed freely +from hand to hand; their mutual cordiality increased as it passed, and +each recounted his adventures. Those of Huon redoubled his host's +respect; for he recognized in him his legitimate sovereign: while the +host's narrative was in these words: + +"My name is Floriac; this great and strong city, you will hear with +surprise and grief, is governed by a brother of Duke Sevinus, and your +uncle. You have no doubt heard that a young brother of the Duke of +Guienne was stolen away from the sea-shore, with his companions, by +some corsairs. I was then his page, and we were carried by those +corsairs to Barbary, where we were sold for slaves. The Barbary prince +sent us as part of the tribute which he yearly paid to his sovereign, +the Sultan Gaudisso. Your uncle, who had been somewhat puffed up by the +flattery of his attendants, thought to increase his importance with his +new master by telling him his rank. The Sultan, who, like a true +Mussulman, detested all Christian princes, exerted himself from that +moment to bring him over to the Saracen faith. He succeeded but too +well. Your uncle, seduced by the arts of the Santons, and by the +pleasures and indulgences which the Sultan allowed him, committed the +horrid crime of apostasy; he renounced his baptism, and embraced +Mahometanism. Gaudisso then loaded him with honors, made him espouse +one of his nieces, and sent him to reign over this city and adjoining +country. Your uncle preserved for me the same friendship which he had +had when a boy; but all his caresses and efforts could not make me +renounce my faith. Perhaps he respected me in his heart for my +resistance to his persuasions, perhaps he had hopes of inducing me in +time to imitate him. He made me accompany him to this city, of which he +was master, he gave me his confidence, and permits me to keep in my +service some Christians, whom I protect for the sake of their faith." + +"Ah!" exclaimed Huon, "take me to this guilty uncle. A prince of the +house of Guienne, must he not blush at the cowardly abandonment of the +faith of his fathers?" + +"Alas!" replied Floriac, "I fear he will neither be sensible of shame +at your reproaches, nor of pleasure at the sight of a nephew so worthy +of his lineage. Brutified by sensuality, jealous of his power, which he +often exercises with cruelty, he will more probably restrain you by +force or put you to death." + +"Be it so," said the brave and fervent Huon, "I could not die in a +better cause; and I demand of you to conduct me to him to-morrow, after +having told him of my arrival and my birth." Floriac still objected, +but Huon would take no denial, and he promised obedience. + +Next morning Floriac waited upon the Governor and told him of the +arrival of his nephew, Huon of Bordeaux; and of the intention of the +prince to present himself at his court that very day. The Governor, +surprised, did not immediately answer; though he at once made up his +mind what to do. He knew that Floriac loved Christians and the princes +of his native land too well to aid in any treason to one of them; he +therefore feigned great pleasure at hearing of the arrival of the +eldest born of his family at his court. He immediately sent Floriac to +find him; he caused his palace to be put in festal array, his divan to +be assembled, and after giving some secret orders, went himself to meet +his nephew, whom he introduced under his proper name and title to all +the great officers of his court. + +Huon burned with indignation at seeing his uncle with forehead +encircled with a rich turban, surmounted with a crescent of precious +stones. His natural candor made him receive with pain the embraces +which the treacherous Governor lavished upon him. Meanwhile the hope of +finding a suitable moment to reproach him for his apostasy made him +submit to those honors which his uncle caused to be rendered to him. +The Governor evaded with address the chance of being alone with Huon +and spent all the morning in taking him through his gardens and palace. +At last, when the hour of dinner approached, and the Governor took him +by the hand to lead him into the dining-hall, Huon seized the +opportunity and said to him in a low voice, "O my uncle! O Prince, +brother of the Duke Sevinus! in what condition have I the grief and +shame of seeing you!" The Governor pretended to be moved, pressed his +hand, and whispered in his ear, "Silence! my dear nephew; to-morrow +morning I will hear you fully." + +Huon, comforted a little by these words, took his seat at the table by +the side of the Governor. The Mufti, some Cadis, Agas, and Santons, +filled the other places. Sherasmin sat down with them; but Floriac, who +would not lose sight of his guests, remained standing, and passed in +and out to observe what was going on within the palace. He soon +perceived a number of armed men gliding through the passages and +antechambers connected with the dining-hall. He was about to enter to +give his guests notice of what he had seen when he heard a violent +noise and commotion in the hall. The cause was this. + +Huon and Sherasmin were well enough suited with the first course and +ate with good appetite; but the people of their country not being +accustomed to drink only water at their meals, Huon and Sherasmin +looked at one another, not very well pleased at such a regimen. Huon +laughed outright at the impatience of Sherasmin, but soon, experiencing +the same want himself, he drew forth Oberon's cup and made the sign of +the cross. The cup filled and he drank it off, and handed it to +Sherasmin, who followed his example. The Governor and his officers, +seeing this abhorred sign, contracted their brows and sat in silent +consternation. Huon pretended not to observe it, and having filled the +cup again handed it to his uncle, saying, "Pray, join us, dear uncle; +it is excellent Bordeaux wine, the drink that will be to you like +mother's milk." The Governor, who often drank in secret with his own +favorite Sultanas the wines of Greece and Shiraz, never in public drank +anything but water. He had not for a long time tasted the excellent +wines of his native land; he was sorely tempted to drink what was now +handed to him, it looked so bright in the cup, outshining the gold +itself. He stretched forth his hand, took the brimming goblet, and +raised it to his lips, when immediately it dried up and disappeared. +Huon and Sherasmin, like Gascons as they were, laughed at his +astonishment. "Christian dogs!" he exclaimed, "do you dare to insult me +at my own table? But I will soon be revenged." At these words he threw +the cup at the head of his nephew, who caught it with his left hand, +while with the other he snatched the turban, with its crescent, from +the Governor's head and threw it on the floor. All the Saracens started +up from table, with loud outcries, and prepared to avenge the insult. +Huon and Sherasmin put themselves on their defence, and met with their +swords the scimitars directed against them. At this moment the doors of +the hall opened and a crowd of soldiers and armed eunuchs rushed in, +who joined in the attack upon Huon and Sherasmin. The Prince and his +followers took refuge on a broad shelf or side-board, where they kept +at bay the crowd of assailants, making the most forward of them smart +for their audacity. But more troops came pressing in and the brave +Huon, inspired by the wine of Bordeaux, and not angry enough to lose +his relish for a joke, blew a gentle note on his horn, and no sooner +was it heard than it quelled the rage of the combatants and set them to +dancing. Huon and Sherasmin, no longer attacked, looked down from their +elevated position on a scene the most singular and amusing. Very soon +the Sultanas, hearing the sound of the dance and finding their guards +withdrawn, came into the hall and mixed with the dancers. The favorite +Sultana seized upon a young Santon, who performed jumps two feet high; +but soon the long dresses of this couple got intermingled and threw +them down. The Santon's beard was caught in the Sultana's necklace, and +they could not disentangle them. The Governor by no means approved this +familiarity, and took two steps forward to get at the Santon, but he +stumbled over a prostrate Dervise and measured his length on the floor. +The dancing continued till the strength of the performers was +exhausted, and they fell, one after the other, and lay helpless. The +Governor at length made signs to Huon that he would yield everything if +he would but allow him to rest. The bargain was ratified; the Governor +allowed Huon and Sherasmin to depart on their way, and even gave them a +ring which would procure them safe passage through his country and +access to the Sultan Gaudisso. The two friends hastened to avail +themselves of this favorable turn, and taking leave of Floriac, pursued +their journey. + + + +HUON OF BORDEAUX (Continued) + +HUON had seen many beauties at his mother's court, but his heart had +never been touched with love. Honor had been his mistress, and in +pursuit of that he had never found time to give a thought to softer +cares. Strange that a heart so insensible should first be touched by +something so unsubstantial as a dream; but so it was. + +The day after the adventure with his uncle night overtook the +travellers as they passed through a forest. A grotto offered them +shelter from the night dews. The magic cup supplied their evening meal; +for such was its virtue that it afforded not only wine, but more solid +fare when desired. Fatigue soon threw them into profound repose. Lulled +by the murmur of the foliage, and breathing the fragrance of the +flowers, Huon dreamed that a lady more beautiful than he had ever +before seen hung over him and imprinted a kiss upon his lips. As he +stretched out his arms to embrace her a sudden gust of wind swept her +away. + +Huon awoke in an agony of regret. A few moments sufficed to afford some +consolation in showing him that what had passed was but a dream; but +his perplexity and sadness could not escape the notice of Sherasmin. +Huon hesitated not to inform his faithful follower of the reason of his +pensiveness; and got nothing in return but his rallyings for allowing +himself to be disturbed by such a cause. He recommended a draught from +the fairy goblet, and Huon tried it with good effect. + +At early dawn they resumed their way. They travelled till high noon, +but said little to one another. Huon was musing on his dream, and +Sherasmin's thoughts flew back to his early days on the banks of the +flowery Garonne. + +On a sudden they were startled by the cry of distress, and turning an +angle of the wood, came where a knight hard pressed was fighting with a +furious lion. The knight's horse lay dead, and it seemed as if another +moment would end the combat, for terror and fatigue had quite disabled +the knight for further resistance. He fell, and the lion's paw was +raised over him, when a blow from Huon's sword turned the monster's +rage upon a new enemy. His roar shook the forest, and he crouched in +act to spring, when, with the rapidity of lightning, Huon plunged his +sword into his side. He rolled over on the plain in the agonies of +death. + +They raised the knight from the ground, and Sherasmin hastened to offer +him a draught from the fairy cup. The wine sparkled to the brim, and +the warrior put forth his lips to quaff it, but it shrunk away, and did +not even wet his lips. He dashed the goblet angrily on the ground, with +an exclamation of resentment. This incident did not tend to make either +party more acceptable to the other; and what followed was worse. For +when Huon said, "Sir knight, thank God for your deliverance,"--"Thank +Mahomet, rather, yourself," said he, "for he has led you this day to +render service to no less a personage than the Prince of Hyrcania." + +At the sound of this blasphemy Huon drew his sword and turned upon the +miscreant, who, little disposed to encounter the prowess of which he +had so lately seen proof, betook himself to flight. He ran to Huon's +horse, and lightly vaulting on his back, clapped spurs to his side, and +galloped out of sight. + +The adventure was vexatious, yet there was no remedy. The prince and +Sherasmin continued their journey with the aid of the remaining horse +as they best might. At length, as evening set in, they descried the +pinnacles and towers of a great city full before them, which they knew +to be the famous city of Bagdad. + +They were well-nigh exhausted with fatigue when they arrived at its +precincts, and in the darkness, not knowing what course to take, were +glad to meet an aged woman, who, in reply to their inquiries, offered +them such accommodations as her cottage could supply. They thankfully +accepted the offer, and entered the low door. The good dame busily +prepared the best fare her stores supplied,--milk, figs, and +peaches,--deeply regretting that the bleak winds had nipped her +almond-trees. + +Sir Huon thought he had never in his life tasted any fare so good. The +old lady talked while her guests ate. She doubted not, she said, they +had come to be present at the great feast in honor of the marriage of +the Sultan's daughter, which was to take place on the morrow. They +asked who the bridegroom was to be, and the old lady answered, "The +Prince of Hyrcania," but added, "Our princess hates him, and would +rather wed a dragon than him." "How know you that?" asked Huon; and the +dame informed him that she had it from the princess herself, who was +her foster-child. Huon inquired the reason of the princess's aversion; +and the woman pleased to find her chat excite so much interest, replied +that it was all in consequence of a dream. "A dream!" exclaimed Huon. +"Yes! a dream. She dreamed that she was a hind, and that the Prince, as +a hunter, was pursuing her, and had almost overtaken her, when a +beautiful dwarf appeared in view, drawn in a golden car, having by his +side a young man of yellow hair and fair complexion, like one from a +foreign land. She dreamed that the car stopped where she stood, and +that, having resumed her own form, she was about to ascend it, when +suddenly it faded from her view, and with it the dwarf and the +fair-haired youth. But from her heart that vision did not fade, and +from that time her affianced bridegroom, the Hyrcanian prince, had +become odious to her sight. Yet the Sultan, her father, by no means +regarding such a cause as sufficient to prevent the marriage, had named +the morrow as the time when it should be solemnized, in presence of his +court and many princes of the neighboring countries, whom the fame of +the princess's beauty and the bridegroom's splendor had brought to the +scene." + +We may suppose this conversation woke a tumult of thoughts in the +breast of Huon. Was it not clear that Providence led him on, and +cleared the way for his happy success? Sleep did not early visit the +eyes of Huon that night; but, with the sanguine temper of youth, he +indulged his fancy in imagining the sequel of his strange experience. + +The next day, which he could not but regard as the decisive day of his +fate, he prepared to deliver the message of Charlemagne. Clad in his +armor, fortified with his ivory horn and his ring, he reached the +palace of Gaudisso when the guests were assembled at the banquet. As he +approached the gate a voice called on all true believers to enter; and +Huon, the brave and faithful Huon, in his impatience passed in under +that false pretention. He had no sooner passed the barrier than he felt +ashamed of his baseness, and was overwhelmed with regret. To make +amends for his fault he ran forward to the second gate, and cried to +the porter, "Dog of a misbeliever, I command you in the name of Him who +died on the cross, open to me!" The points of a hundred weapons +immediately opposed his passage. Huon then remembered for the first +time the ring he had received from his uncle, the Governor. He produced +it, and demanded to be led to the Sultan's presence. The officer of the +guard recognized the ring, made a respectful obeisance, and allowed him +free entrance. In the same way he passed the other doors to the rich +saloon where the great Sultan was at dinner with his tributary princes. +At sight of the ring the chief attendant led Huon to the head of the +hall, and introduced him to the Sultan and his princes as the +ambassador of Charlemagne. A seat was provided for him near the royal +party. + +The Prince of Hyrcania, the same whom Huon had rescued from the lion, +and who was the destined bridegroom of the beautiful Clarimunda, sat on +the Sultan's right hand, and the princess herself on his left. It +chanced that Huon found himself near the seat of the princess, and +hardly were the ceremonies of reception over before he made haste to +fulfill the commands of Charlemagne by imprinting a kiss upon her rosy +lips, and after that a second, not by command, but by good will. The +Prince of Hyrcania cried out, "Audacious infidel! take the reward of +thy insolence!" and aimed a blow at Huon, which, if it had reached him, +would have brought his embassy to a speedy termination. But the ingrate +failed of his aim, and Huon punished his blasphemy and ingratitude at +once by a blow which severed his head from his body. + +So suddenly had all this happened that no hand had been raised to +arrest it; but now Gaudisso cried out, "Seize the murderer!" Huon was +hemmed in on all sides, but his redoubtable sword kept the crowd of +courtiers at bay. But he saw new combatants enter, and could not hope +to maintain his ground against so many. He recollected his horn, and +raising it to his lips, blew a blast almost as loud as that of Roland +at Roncesvalles. It was in vain. Oberon heard it; but the sin of which +Huon had been guilty in bearing, though but for a moment, the character +of a believer in the false prophet, had put it out of Oberon's power to +help him. Huon, finding himself deserted, and conscious of the cause, +lost his strength and energy, was seized, loaded with chains, and +plunged into a dungeon. + +His life was spared for the time, merely that he might be reserved for +a more painful death. The Sultan meant that, after being made to feel +all the torments of hunger and despair, he should be flayed alive. + +But an enchanter more ancient and more powerful than Oberon himself +interested himself for the brave Huon. The enchanter was Love. The +Princess Clarimunda learned with horror the fate to which the young +prince was destined. By the aid of her governante she gained over the +keeper of the prison, and went herself to lighten the chains of her +beloved. It was her hand that removed his fetters, from her he received +supplies of food to sustain a life which he devoted from thenceforth +wholly to her. After the most tender explanations the princess +departed, promising to repeat her visit on the morrow. + +The next day she came according to promise, and again brought supplies +of food. These visits were continued during a whole month. Huon was too +good a son of the Church to forget that the amiable princess was a +Saracen, and he availed himself of these interviews to instruct her in +the true faith. How easy it is to believe the truth when uttered by the +lips of those we love! Clarimunda ere long professed her entire belief +in the Christian doctrines, and desired to be baptized. + +Meanwhile the Sultan had repeatedly inquired of the jailer how his +prisoner bore the pains of famine, and learned to his surprise that he +was not yet much reduced thereby. On his repeating the inquiry, after a +short interval, the keeper replied that the prisoner had died suddenly, +and had been buried in the cavern. The Sultan could only regret that he +had not sooner ordered the execution of the sentence. + +While these things were going on the faithful Sherasmin, who had not +accompanied Huon in his last adventure, but had learned by common rumor +the result of it, came to the court in hopes of doing something for the +rescue of his master. He presented himself to the Sultan as Solario, +his nephew. Guadisso received him with kindness, and all the courtiers +loaded him with attentions. He soon found means to inform himself how +the Princess regarded the brave but unfortunate Huon, and having made +himself known to her, confidence was soon established between them. +Clarimunda readily consented to assist in the escape of Huon, and to +quit with him her father's court to repair to that of Charlemagne. +Their united efforts had nearly perfected their arrangement, a vessel +was secretly prepared, and all things in forwardness for the flight, +when an unlooked-for obstacle presented itself. Huon himself positively +refused to go leaving the orders of Charlemagne unexecuted. + +Sherasmin was in despair. Bitterly he complained of the fickleness and +cruelty of Oberon in withdrawing his aid at the very crisis when it was +most necessary. Earnestly he urged every argument to satisfy the prince +that he had done enough for honor, and could not be held bound to +achieve impossibilities. But all was of no avail, and he knew not which +way to turn, when one of those events occurred which are so frequent +under Turkish despotisms. A courier arrived at the court of the Sultan, +bearing the ring of his sovereign, the mighty Agrapard, Caliph of +Arabia, and bringing the bow-string for the neck of Gaudisso. No reason +was assigned; none but the pleasure of the Caliph is ever required in +such cases; but it was suspected that the bearer of the bow-string had +persuaded the Caliph that Gaudisso, whose rapacity was well known, had +accumulated immense treasures, which he had not duly shared with his +sovereign, and thus had obtained an order to supersede him in his +Emirship. + +The body of Gaudisso would have been cast out a prey to dogs and +vultures, had not Sherasmin, under the character of nephew of the +deceased, been permitted to receive it, and give it decent burial, +which he did, but not till he had taken possession of the beard and +grinders, agreeably to the orders of Charlemagne. + +No obstacle now stood in the way of the lovers and their faithful +follower in returning to France. They sailed, taking Rome in their way, +where the Holy Father himself blessed the union of his nephew, Duke +Huon of Bordeaux, with the Princess Clarimunda. + +Soon afterward they arrived in France, where Huon laid his trophies at +the feet of Charlemagne, and, being restored to the favor of the +Emperor, hastened to present himself and his bride to the Duchess, his +mother, and to the faithful liegemen of his province of Guienne and his +city of Bordeaux, where the pair were received with transports of joy. + + + +OGIER, THE DANE + +OGIER, the Dane, was the son of Geoffrey, who wrested Denmark from the +Pagans, and reigned the first Christian king of that country. When +Ogier was born, and before he was baptized, six ladies of ravishing +beauty appeared all at once in the chamber of the infant. They +encircled him, and she who appeared the eldest took him in her arms, +kissed him, and laid her hand upon his heart. "I give you," said she, +"to be the bravest warrior of your times." She delivered the infant to +her sister, who said, "I give you abundant opportunities to display +your valor." "Sister," said the third lady, "you have given him a +dangerous boon; I give him that he shall never be vanquished." The +fourth sister added, as she laid her hand upon his eyes and his mouth, +"I give you the gift of pleasing." The fifth said, "Lest all these +gifts serve only to betray, I give you sensibility to return the love +you inspire." Then spoke Morgana, the youngest and handsomest of the +group. "Charming creature, I claim you for my own; and I give you not +to die till you shall have come to pay me a visit in my isle of +Avalon." Then she kissed the child and departed with her sisters. + +After this the king had the child carried to the font and baptized with +the name of Ogier. + +In his education nothing was neglected to elevate him to the standard +of a perfect knight, and render him accomplished in all the arts +necessary to make him a hero. + +He had hardly reached the age of sixteen years when Charlemagne, whose +power was established over all the sovereigns of his time, recollected +that Geoffroy, Ogier's father, had omitted to render the homage due to +him as Emperor, and sovereign lord of Denmark, one of the grand fiefs +of the empire. He accordingly sent an embassy to demand of the king of +Denmark this homage, and on receiving a refusal, couched in haughty +terms, sent an army to enforce the demand. Geoffroy, after an +unsuccessful resistance, was forced to comply, and as a pledge of his +sincerity delivered Ogier, his eldest son, a hostage to Charles, to be +brought up at his court. He was placed in charge of the Duke Namo of +Bavaria, the friend of his father, who treated him like his own son. + +Ogier grew up more and more handsome and amiable every day. He +surpassed in form, strength, and address all the noble youths his +companions; he failed not to be present at all tourneys; he was +attentive to the elder knights, and burned with impatience to imitate +them. Yet his heart rose sometimes in secret against his condition as a +hostage, and as one apparently forgotten by his father. + +The King of Denmark, in fact, was at this time occupied with new loves. +Ogier's mother having died, he had married a second wife, and had a son +named Guyon. The new queen had absolute power over her husband, and +fearing that, if he should see Ogier again, he would give him the +preference over Guyon, she had adroitly persuaded him to delay +rendering his homage to Charlemagne, till now four years had passed +away since the last renewal of that ceremony. Charlemagne, irritated at +this delinquency, drew closer the bonds of Ogier's captivity until he +should receive a response from the king of Denmark to a fresh summons +which he caused to be sent to him. + +The answer of Geoffroy was insulting and defiant, and the rage of +Charlemagne was roused in the highest degree. He was at first disposed +to wreak his vengeance upon Ogier, his hostage; but at the entreaties +of Duke Namo, who felt towards his pupil like a father, consented to +spare his life, if Ogier would swear fidelity to him as his liege-lord, +and promise not to quit his court without his permission. Ogier +accepted these terms, and was allowed to retain all the freedom he had +before enjoyed. + +The Emperor would have immediately taken arms to reduce his disobedient +vassal, if he had not been called off in another direction by a message +from Pope Leo, imploring his assistance. The Saracens had landed in the +neighborhood of Rome, occupied Mount Janiculum, and prepared to pass +the Tiber and carry fire and sword to the capital of the Christian +world. Charlemagne hesitated not to yield to the entreaties of the +Pope. He speedily assembled an army, crossed the Alps, traversed Italy, +and arrived at Spoleto, a strong place to which the Pope had retired. +Leo, at the head of his Cardinals, advanced to meet him, and rendered +him homage, as to the son of Pepin, the illustrious protector of the +Holy See, coming, as his father had done, to defend it in the hour of +need. + +Charlemagne stopped but two days at Spoleto, and learning that the +Infidels, having rendered themselves masters of Rome, were besieging +the Capitol, which could not long hold out against them, marched +promptly to attack them. + +The advanced posts of the army were commanded by Duke Namo, on whom +Ogier waited as his squire. He did not yet bear arms, not having +received the order of knighthood. The Oriflamme, the royal standard, +was borne by a knight named Alory, who showed himself unworthy of the +honor. + +Duke Namo, seeing a strong body of the Infidels advancing to attack +him, gave the word to charge them. Ogier remained in the rear, with the +other youths, grieving much that he was not permitted to fight. Very +soon he saw Alory lower the Oriflamme, and turn his horse in flight. +Ogier pointed him out to the young men, and seizing a club, rushed upon +Alory and struck him from his horse. Then, with his companions, he +disarmed him, clothed himself in his armor, raised the Oriflamme, and +mounting the horse of the unworthy knight, flew to the front rank, +where he joined Duke Namo, drove back the Infidels, and carried the +Oriflamme quite through their broken ranks. The Duke, thinking it was +Alory, whom he had not held in high esteem, was astonished at his +strength and valor. Ogier's young companions imitated him, supplying +themselves with armor from the bodies of the slain; they followed Ogier +and carried death into the ranks of the Saracens, who fell back in +confusion upon their main body. + +Duke Namo now ordered a retreat, and Ogier obeyed with reluctance, when +they perceived Charlemagne advancing to their assistance. The combat +now became general, and was more terrible than ever. Charlemagne had +overthrown Corsuble, the commander of the Saracens, and had drawn his +famous sword, Joyeuse, to cut off his head, when two Saracen knights +set upon him at once, one of whom slew his horse, and the other +overthrew the Emperor on the sand. Perceiving by the eagle on his +casque who he was, they dismounted in haste to give him his deathblow. +Never was the life of the Emperor in such peril. But Ogier, who saw him +fall, flew to his rescue. Though embarrassed with the Oriflamme, he +pushed his horse against one of the Saracens and knocked him down; and +with his sword dealt the other so vigorous a blow that he fell stunned +to the earth. Then helping the Emperor to rise, he remounted him on the +horse of one of the fallen knights. "Brave and generous Alory!" Charles +exclaimed, "I owe to you my honor and my life!" Ogier made no answer; +but, leaving Charlemagne surrounded by a great many of the knights who +had flown to his succor, he plunged into the thickest ranks of the +enemy, and carried the Oriflamme, followed by a gallant train of +youthful warriors, till the standard of Mahomet turned in retreat, and +the Infidels sought safety in their intrenchments. + +Then the good Archbishop Turpin laid aside his helmet and his bloody +sword (for he always felt that he was clearly in the line of his duty +while slaying Infidels), took his mitre and his crosier, and intoned Te +Deum. + +At this moment Ogier, covered with blood and dust, came to lay the +Oriflamme at the feet of the Emperor. He was followed by a train of +warriors of short stature, who walked ill at ease loaded with armor too +heavy for them. Ogier knelt at the feet of Charlemagne, who embraced +him, calling him Alory, while Turpin from the height of the altar, +blessed him with all his might. Then young Orlando, son of the Count +Milone, and nephew of Charlemagne, no longer able to endure this +misapprehension, threw down his helmet, and ran to unlace Ogier's, +while the other young men laid aside theirs. Our author says he cannot +express the surprise, the admiration, and the tenderness of the Emperor +and his peers. Charles folded Ogier in his arms, and the happy fathers +of those brave youths embraced them with tears of joy. The good Duke +Namo stepped forward, and Charlemagne yielded Ogier to his embrace. +"How much do I owe you," he said, "good and wise friend, for having +restrained my anger! My dear Ogier! I owe you my life! My sword leaps +to touch your shoulder, yours and those of your brave young friends." +At these words he drew that famous sword, Joyeuse, and while Ogier and +the rest knelt before him, gave them the accolade conferring on them +the order of knighthood. The young Orlando and his cousin Oliver could +not refrain, even in the presence of the Emperor, from falling upon +Ogier's neck, and pledging with him that brotherhood in arms, so dear +and so sacred to the knights of old times; but Charlot, the Emperor's +son, at the sight of the glory with which Ogier had covered himself, +conceived the blackest jealousy and hate. + +The rest of the day and the next were spent in the rejoicings of the +army. Turpin in a solemn service implored the favor of Heaven upon the +youthful knights, and blessed the white armor which was prepared for +them. Duke Namo presented them with golden spurs, Charles himself +girded on their swords. But what was his astonishment when he examined +that intended for Ogier! The loving Fairy, Morgana, had had the art to +change it, and to substitute one of her own procuring, and when Charles +drew it out of the scabbard, these words appeared written on the steel: +"My name is Cortana, of the same steel and temper as Joyeuse and +Durindana." Charles saw that a superior power watched over the +destinies of Ogier; he vowed to love him as a father would, and Ogier +promised him the devotion of a son. Happy had it been for both if they +had always continued mindful of their promises. + +The Saracen army had hardly recovered from its dismay when Carahue, +King of Mauritania, who was one of the knights overthrown by Ogier at +the time of the rescue of Charlemagne, determined to challenge him to +single combat. With that view he assumed the dress of a herald, +resolved to carry his own message. The French knights admired his air, +and said to one another that he seemed more fit to be a knight than a +bearer of messages. + +Carahue began by passing the warmest eulogium upon the knight who bore +the Oriflamme on the day of the battle, and concluded by saying that +Carahue, King of Mauritania, respected that knight so much that he +challenged him to the combat. + +Ogier had risen to reply, when he was interrupted by Charlot, who said +that the gage of the King of Mauritania could not fitly be received by +a vassal, living in captivity; by which he meant Ogier, who was at that +time serving as hostage for his father. Fire flashed from the eyes of +Ogier, but the presence of the Emperor restrained his speech, and he +was calmed by the kind looks of Charlemagne, who said, with an angry +voice, "Silence, Charlot! By the life of Bertha, my queen, he who has +saved my life is as dear to me as yourself. Ogier," he continued, "you +are no longer a hostage. Herald! report my answer to your master, that +never does knight of my court refuse a challenge on equal terms. Ogier, +the Dane, accepts of his, and I myself am his security." + +Carahue, profoundly bowing, replied, "My lord, I was sure that the +sentiments of so great a sovereign as yourself would be worthy of your +high and brilliant fame; I shall report your answer to my master, who I +know admires you, and unwillingly takes arms against you." Then, +turning to Charlot, whom he did not know as the son of the Emperor, he +continued, "As for you, Sir Knight, if the desire of battle inflames +you, I have it in charge from Sadon, cousin of the King of Mauritania, +to give the like defiance to any French knights who will grant him the +honor of the combat." + +Charlot, inflamed with rage and vexation at the public reproof which he +had just received, hesitated not to deliver his gage. Carahue received +it with Ogier's, and it was agreed that the combat should be on the +next day in a meadow environed by woods and equally distant from both +armies. + +The perfidious Charlot meditated the blackest treason. During the night +he collected some knights unworthy of the name, and like himself in +their ferocious manners; he made them swear to avenge his injuries, +armed them in black armor, and sent them to lie in ambush in the wood, +with orders to make a pretended attack upon the whole party, but in +fact, to lay heavy hands upon Ogier and the two Saracens. + +At the dawn of day Sadon and Carahue, attended only by two pages to +carry their spears, took their way to the appointed meadow; and Charlot +and Ogier repaired thither also, but by different paths. Ogier advanced +with a calm air, saluted courteously the two Saracen knights, and +joined them in arranging the terms of combat. + +While this was going on the perfidious Charlot remained behind and gave +his men the signal to advance. That cowardly troop issued from the wood +and encompassed the three knights. All three were equally surprised at +the attack, but neither of them suspected the other to have any hand in +the treason. Seeing the attack made equally upon them all, they united +their efforts to resist it, and made the most forward of the assailants +bite the dust. Cortana fell on no one without inflicting a mortal +wound, but the sword of Carahue was not of equal temper and broke in +his hands. At the same instant his horse was slain, and Carahue fell, +without a weapon, and entangled with his prostrate horse. Ogier, who +saw it, ran to his defence, and leaping to the ground covered the +prince with his shield, supplied him with the sword of one of the +fallen ruffians, and would have him mount his own horse. At that moment +Charlot, inflamed with rage, pushed his horse upon Ogier, knocked him +down, and would have run him through with his lance if Sadon, who saw +the treason, had not sprung upon him and thrust him back. Carahue leapt +lightly upon the horse which Ogier presented him, and had time only to +exclaim, "Brave Ogier, I am no longer your enemy, I pledge to you an +eternal friendship," when numerous Saracen knights were seen +approaching, having discovered the treachery, and Charlot with his +followers took refuge in the wood. + +The troop which advanced was commanded by Dannemont, the exiled king of +Denmark, whom Geoffroy, Ogier's father, had driven from his throne and +compelled to take refuge with the Saracens. Learning who Ogier was, he +instantly declared him his prisoner, in spite of the urgent +remonstrances and even threats of Carahue and Sadon, and carried him +under a strong guard to the Saracen camp. Here he was at first +subjected to the most rigorous captivity, but Carahue and Sadon +insisted so vehemently on his release, threatening to turn their arms +against their own party if it was not granted, while Dannemont as +eagerly opposed the measure, that Corsuble, the Saracen commander, +consented to a middle course, and allowed Ogier the freedom of his +camp, upon his promise not to leave it without permission. + +Carahue was not satisfied with this partial concession. He left the +city next morning, proceeded to the camp of Charlemagne, and demanded +to be led to the Emperor. When he reached his presence he dismounted +from his horse, took off his helmet, drew his sword, and holding it by +the blade presented it to Charlemagne as he knelt before him. + +"Illustrious prince," he said, "behold before you the herald who +brought the challenge to your knights from the King of Mauritania. The +cowardly old King Dannemont has made the brave Ogier prisoner, and has +prevailed on our general to refuse to give him up. I come to make +amends for this ungenerous conduct by yielding myself, Carahue, King of +Mauritania, your prisoner." + +Charlemagne, with all his peers, admired the magnanimity of Carahue; he +raised him, embraced him, and restored to him his sword. "Prince," said +he, "your presence and the bright example you afford my knights +consoles me for the loss of Ogier. Would to God you might receive our +holy faith, and be wholly united with us." All the lords of the court, +led by Duke Namo, paid their respects to the King of Mauritania. +Charlot only failed to appear, fearing to be recognized as a traitor; +but the heart of Carahue was too noble to pierce that of Charlemagne by +telling him the treachery of his son. + +Meanwhile the Saracen army was rent by discord. The troops of Carahue +clamored against the commander-in-chief because their king was left in +captivity. They even threatened to desert the cause and turn their arms +against their allies. Charlemagne pressed the siege vigorously, till at +length the Saracen leaders found themselves compelled to abandon the +city and betake themselves to their ships. A truce was made; Ogier was +exchanged for Carahue, and the two friends embraced one another with +vows of perpetual brotherhood. The Pope was reestablished in his +dominions, and Italy being tranquil, Charlemagne returned with his +peers and their followers to France. + + + +OGIER, THE DANE (Continued) + +CHARLEMAGNE had not forgotten the offence of Geoffroy, the King of +Denmark, in withholding homage, and now prepared to enforce submission. +But at this crisis he was waited upon by an embassy from Geoffroy, +acknowledging his fault, and craving assistance against an army of +invaders who had attacked his states with a force which he was unable +to repel. The soul of Charlemagne was too great to be implacable, and +he took this opportunity to test that of Ogier, who had felt acutely +the unkindness of his father, in leaving him, without regard or notice, +fifteen years in captivity. Charles asked Ogier whether, in spite of +his father's neglect, he was disposed to lead an army to his +assistance. He replied, "A son can never be excused from helping his +father by any cause short of death." Charlemagne placed an army of a +thousand knights under the command of Ogier, and great numbers more +volunteered to march under so distinguished a leader. He flew to the +succor of his father, repelled the invaders, and drove them in +confusion to their vessels. Ogier then hastened to the capital, but as +he drew near the city he heard all the bells sounding a knell. He soon +learned the cause; it was the obsequies of Geoffroy, the King. Ogier +felt keenly the grief of not having been permitted to embrace his +father once more, and to learn his latest commands; but he found that +his father had declared him heir to his throne. He hastened to the +church where the body lay; he knelt and bathed the lifeless form with +his tears. At that moment a celestial light beamed all around, and a +voice of an angel said, "Ogier, leave thy crown to Guyon, thy brother, +and bear no other title than that of 'The Dane.' Thy destiny is +glorious, and other kingdoms are reserved for thee." Ogier obeyed the +divine behest. He saluted his stepmother respectfully, and embracing +his brother, told him that he was content with his lot in being +reckoned among the paladins of Charlemagne, and resigned all claims to +the crown of Denmark. + +Ogier returned covered with glory to the court of Charlemagne, and the +Emperor, touched with this proof of his attachment, loaded him with +caresses, and treated him almost as an equal. + +We pass in silence the adventures of Ogier for several ensuing years, +in which the fairy-gifts of his infancy showed their force in making +him successful in all enterprises, both of love and war. He married the +charming Belicene, and became the father of young Baldwin, a youth who +seemed to inherit in full measure the strength and courage of his +father and the beauty of his mother. When the lad was old enough to be +separated from his mother, Ogier took him to court and presented him to +Charlemagne, who embraced him and took him into his service. It seemed +to Duke Namo, and all the elder knights, as if they saw in him Ogier +himself, as he was when a youth; and this resemblance won for the lad +their kind regards. Even Charlot at first seemed to be fond of him, +though after a while the resemblance to Ogier which he noticed had the +effect to excite his hatred. + +Baldwin was attentive to Charlot, and lost no occasion to be +serviceable. The Prince loved to play chess, and Baldwin, who played +well, often made a party with him. + +One day Charlot was nettled at losing two pieces in succession; he +thought he could, by taking a piece from Baldwin, get some amends for +his loss; but Baldwin, seeing him fall into a trap which he had set for +him, could not help a slight laugh, as he said, "Check-mate." Charlot +rose in a fury, seized the rich and heavy chess-board, and dashed it +with all his strength on the head of Baldwin, who fell, and died where +he fell. + +Frightened at his own crime, and fearing the vengeance of the terrible +Ogier, Charlot concealed himself in the interior of the palace. A young +companion of Baldwin hastened and informed Ogier of the event. He ran +to the chamber, and beheld the body of his child bathed in blood, and +it could not be concealed from him that Charlot gave the blow. +Transported with rage, Ogier sought Charlot through the palace, and +Charlot, feeling safe nowhere else, took refuge in the hall of +Charlemagne, where he seated himself at table with Duke Namo and +Salomon, Duke of Brittany. Ogier, with sword drawn, followed him to the +very table of the Emperor. When a cupbearer attempted to bar his way he +struck the cup from his hand and dashed the contents in the Emperor's +face. Charles rose in a passion, seized a knife, and would have plunged +it into his breast, had not Salomon and another baron thrown themselves +between, while Namo, who had retained his ancient influence over Ogier, +drew him out of the room. Foreseeing the consequence of this violence, +pitying Ogier, and in his heart excusing him, Namo hurried him away +before the guards of the palace could arrest him, made him mount his +horse, and leave Paris. + +Charlemagne called together his peers, and made them take an oath to do +all in their power to arrest Ogier, and bring him to condign +punishment. Ogier on his part sent messages to the Emperor, offering to +give himself up on condition that Charlot should be punished for his +atrocious crime. The Emperor would listen to no conditions, and went in +pursuit of Ogier at the head of a large body of soldiers. Ogier, on the +other hand, was warmly supported by many knights, who pledged +themselves in his defence. The contest raged long, with no decisive +results. Ogier more than once had the Emperor in his power, but +declined to avail himself of his advantage, and released him without +conditions. He even implored pardon for himself, but demanded at the +same time the punishment of Charlot. But Charlemagne was too blindly +fond of his unworthy son to subject him to punishment for the sake of +conciliating one who had been so deeply injured. + +At length, distressed at the blood which his friends had lost in his +cause, Ogier dismissed his little army, and slipping away from those +who wished to attend him, took his course to rejoin the Duke Guyon, his +brother. On his way, having reached the forest of Ardennes, weary with +long travel, the freshness of a retired valley tempted him to lie down +to take some repose. He unsaddled Beiffror, relieved himself of his +helmet, lay down on the turf, rested his head on his shield, and slept. + +It so happened that Turpin, who occasionally recalled to mind that he +was Archbishop of Rheins, was at that time in the vicinity, making a +pastoral visit to the churches under his jurisdiction. But his dignity +of peer of France, and his martial spirit, which caused him to be +reckoned among the "preux chevaliers" of his time, forbade him to +travel without as large a retinue of knights as he had of clergymen. +One of these was thirsty, and knowing the fountain on the borders of +which Ogier was reposing, he rode to it, and was struck by the sight of +a knight stretched on the ground. He hastened back, and let the +Archbishop know, who approached the fountain, and recognized Ogier. + +The first impulse of the good and generous Turpin was to save his +friend, for whom he felt the warmest attachment; but his archdeacons +and knights, who also recognized Ogier, reminded the Archbishop of the +oath which the Emperor had exacted of them all. Turpin could not be +false to his oath; but it was not without a groan that he permitted his +followers to bind the sleeping knight. The Archbishop's attendants +secured the horse and arms of Ogier, and conducted their prisoner to +the Emperor at Soissons. + +The Emperor had become so much embittered by Ogier's obstinate +resistance, added to his original fault, that he was disposed to order +him to instant death. But Turpin, seconded by the good Dukes Namo and +Salomon, prayed so hard for him that Charlemagne consented to remit a +violent death, but sentenced him to close imprisonment, under the +charge of the Archbishop, strictly limiting his food to one quarter of +a loaf of bread per day, with one piece of meat, and a quarter of a cup +of wine. In this way he hoped to quickly put an end to his life without +bringing on himself the hostility of the King of Denmark, and other +powerful friends of Ogier. He exacted a new oath of Turpin to obey his +order strictly. + +The good Archbishop loved Ogier too well not to cast about for some +means of saving his life, which he foresaw he would soon lose if +subjected to such scanty fare, for Ogier was seven feet tall, and had +an appetite in proportion. Turpin remembered, moreover, that Ogier was +a true son of the Church, always zealous to propagate the faith and +subdue unbelievers; so he felt justified in practising on this occasion +what in later times has been entitled "mental reservation," without +swerving from the letter of the oath which he had taken. This is the +method he hit upon. + +Every morning he had his prisoner supplied with a quarter of a loaf of +bread, made of two bushels of flour, to this he added a quarter of a +sheep or a fat calf, and he had a cup made which held forty pints of +wine, and allowed Ogier a quarter of it daily. + +Ogier's imprisonment lasted long; Charlemagne was astonished to hear, +from time to time, that he still held out; and when he inquired more +particularly of Turpin, the good Archbishop, relying on his own +understanding of the words, did not hesitate to affirm positively that +he allowed his prisoner no more than the permitted ration. + +We forgot to say that, when Ogier was led prisoner to Soissons, the +Abbot of Saint Faron, observing the fine horse Beiffror, and not having +at the time any other favor to ask of Charlemagne, begged the Emperor +to give him the horse, and had him taken to his abbey. He was impatient +to try his new acquisition, and when he had arrived in his litter at +the foot of the mountain where the horse had been brought to meet him +mounted him and rode onward. The horse, accustomed to bear the enormous +weight of Ogier in his armor, when he perceived nothing on his back but +the light weight of the Abbot, whose long robes fluttered against his +sides, ran away, making prodigious leaps over the steep acclivities of +the mountain till he reached the convent of Jouaire, where, in sight of +the Abbess and her nuns, he threw the Abbot, already half dead with +fright, to the ground. The Abbot, bruised and mortified, revenged +himself on poor Beiffror, whom he condemned, in his wrath, to be given +to the workmen to drag stones for a chapel that he was building near +the abbey. Thus, ill-fed, hard-worked, and often beaten, the noble +horse Beiffror passed the time while his master's imprisonment lasted. + +That imprisonment would have been as long as his life if it had not +been for some important events which forced the Emperor to set Ogier at +liberty. + +The Emperor learned at the same time that Carahue, King of Mauritania, +was assembling an army to come and demand the liberation of Ogier; that +Guyon, King of Denmark, was prepared to second the enterprise with all +his forces; and, worse than all, that the Saracens, under Bruhier, +Sultan of Arabia, had landed in Gascony, taken Bordeaux, and were +marching with all speed for Paris. + +Charlemagne now felt how necessary the aid of Ogier was to him. But, in +spite of the representations of Turpin, Namo, and Salomon, he could not +bring himself to consent to surrender Charlot to such punishment as +Ogier should see fit to impose. Besides, he believed that Ogier was +without strength and vigor, weakened by imprisonment and long +abstinence. + +At this crisis he received a message from Bruhier, proposing to put the +issue upon the result of a combat between himself and the Emperor or +his champion; promising, if defeated, to withdraw his army. Charlemagne +would willingly have accepted the challenge, but his counsellors all +opposed it. The herald was therefore told that the Emperor would take +time to consider his proposition, and give his answer the next day. + +It was during this interval that the three Dukes succeeded in +prevailing upon Charlemagne to pardon Ogier, and to send for him to +combat the puissant enemy who now defied him; but it was no easy task +to persuade Ogier. The idea of his long imprisonment and the +recollection of his son, bleeding and dying in his arms by the blow of +the ferocious Charlot, made him long resist the urgency of his friends. +Though glory called him to encounter Bruhier, and the safety of +Christendom demanded the destruction of this proud enemy of the faith, +Ogier only yielded at last on condition that Charlot should be +delivered into his hands to be dealt with as he should see fit. + +The terms were hard, but the danger was pressing, and Charlemagne, with +a returning sense of justice, and a strong confidence in the generous +though passionate soul of Ogier, at last consented to them. + +Ogier was led into the presence of Charlemagne by the three peers. The +Emperor, faithful to his word, had caused Charlot to be brought into +the hall where the high barons were assembled, his hands tied, and his +head uncovered. When the Emperor saw Ogier approach he took Charlot by +the arm, led him towards Ogier, and said these words: "I surrender the +criminal; do with him as you think fit." Ogier, without replying, +seized Charlot by the hair, forced him on his knees, and lifted with +the other hand his irresistible sword. Charlemagne, who expected to see +the head of his son rolling at his feet, shut his eyes and uttered a +cry of horror. + +Ogier had done enough. The next moment he raised Charlot, cut his +bonds, kissed him on the mouth, and hastened to throw himself at the +feet of the Emperor. + +Nothing can exceed the surprise and joy of Charlemagne at seeing his +son unharmed and Ogier kneeling at his feet. He folded him in his arms, +bathed him with tears, and exclaimed to his barons, "I feel at this +moment that Ogier is greater than I." As for Charlot, his base soul +felt nothing but the joy of having escaped death; he remained such as +he had been, and it was not till some years afterwards he received the +punishment he deserved, from the hands of Huon of Bordeaux, as we have +seen in a former chapter. + + + +OGIER, THE DANE (Continued) + +WHEN Charlemagne had somewhat recovered his composure he was surprised +to observe that Ogier appeared in good case, and had a healthy color in +his cheeks. He turned to the Archbishop, who could not help blushing as +he met his eye. "By the head of Bertha, my queen," said Charlemagne, +"Ogier has had good quarters in your castle, my Lord Archbishop; but so +much the more am I indebted to you." All the barons laughed and jested +with Turpin, who only said, "Laugh as much as you please, my lords; but +for my part I am not sorry to see the arm in full vigor that is to +avenge us on the proud Saracen." + +Charlemagne immediately despatched his herald, accepting the challenge, +and appointing the next day but one for the encounter. The proud and +crafty Bruhier laughed scornfully when he heard the reply accepting his +challenge, for he had a reliance on certain resources besides his +natural strength and skill. However, he swore by Mahomet to observe the +conditions as proposed and agreed upon. + +Ogier now demanded his armor, and it was brought to him in excellent +condition, for the good Turpin had kept it faithfully; but it was not +easy to provide a horse for the occasion. Charlemagne had the best +horses of his stables brought out, except Blanchard, his own charger; +but all in vain, the weight of Ogier bent their backs to the ground. In +this embarrassment the Archbishop remembered that the Emperor had given +Beiffror to the Abbot of St. Faron, and sent off a courier in haste to +re-demand him. + +Monks are hard masters, and the one who directed the laborers at the +abbey had but too faithfully obeyed the orders of the Abbot. Poor +Beiffror was brought back, lean, spiritless, and chafed with the +harness of the vile cart that he had had to draw so long. He carried +his head down, and trod heavily before Charlemagne; but when he heard +the voice of Ogier he raised his head, he neighed, his eyes flashed, +his former ardor showed itself by the force with which he pawed the +ground. Ogier caressed him, and the good steed seemed to return his +caresses; Ogier mounted him, and Beiffror, proud of carrying his master +again, leapt and curvetted with all his youthful vigor. + +Nothing being now wanted, Charlemagne, at the head of his army, marched +forth from the city of Paris, and occupied the hill of Montmartre, +whence the view extended over the plain of St. Denis, where the battle +was to be fought. + +When the appointed day came the Dukes Namo and Salomon, as seconds of +Ogier, accompanied him to the place marked out for the lists, and +Bruhier, with two distinguished Emirs, presented himself on the other +side. + +Bruhier was in high spirits, and jested with his friends, as he +advanced, upon the appearance of Beiffror. "Is that the horse they +presume to match with Marchevallee, the best steed that ever fed in the +vales of Mount Atlas?" But now the combatants, having met and saluted +each other, ride apart to come together in full career. Beiffror flew +over the plain, and met the adversary more than half-way. The lances of +the two combatants were shivered at the shock, and Bruhier was +astonished to see almost at the same instant the sword of Ogier +gleaming above his head. He parried it with his buckler, and gave Ogier +a blow on his helmet, who returned it with another, better aimed or +better seconded by the temper of his blade, for it cut away part of +Bruhier's helmet, and with it his ear and part of his cheek. Ogier, +seeing the blood, did not immediately repeat his blow, and Bruhier +seized the moment to gallop off at one side. As he rode he took a vase +of gold which hung at his saddle-bow, and bathed with its contents the +wounded part. The blood instantly ceased to flow, the ear and the flesh +were restored quite whole, and the Dane was astonished to see his +antagonist return to the ground as sound as ever. + +Bruhier laughed at his amazement. "Know," said he, "that I possess the +precious balm that Joseph of Arimathea used upon the body of the +crucified one, whom you worship. If I should lose an arm I could +restore it with a few drops of this. It is useless for you to contend +with me. Yield yourself, and, as you appear to be a strong fellow, I +will make you first oarsman in one of my galleys." + +Ogier, though boiling with rage, forgot not to implore the assistance +of Heaven. "O Lord!" he exclaimed, "suffer not the enemy of thy name to +profit by the powerful help of that which owes all its virtue to thy +divine blood." At these words he attacked Bruhier again with more vigor +than ever; both struck terrible blows, and made grievous wounds; but +the blood flowed from those of Ogier, while Bruhier stanched his by the +application of his balm. Ogier, desperate at the unequal contest, +grasped Cortana with both hands, and struck his enemy such a blow that +it cleft his buckler, and cut off his arm with it; but Bruhier at the +same time launched one at Ogier, which, missing him, struck the head of +Beiffror, and the good horse fell, and drew down his master in his fall. + +Bruhier had time to leap to the ground, to pick up his arm and apply +his balsam; then, before Ogier had recovered his footing, he rushed +forward with sword uplifted to complete his destruction. + +Charlemagne, from the height of Montmartre, seeing the brave Ogier in +this situation, groaned, and was ready to murmur against Providence; +but the good Turpin, raising his arms, with a faith like that of Moses, +drew down upon the Christian warrior the favor of Heaven. + +Ogier, promptly disengaging himself, pressed Bruhier with so much +impetuosity that he drove him to a distance from his horse, to whose +saddle-bow the precious balm was suspended; and very soon Charlemagne +saw Ogier, now completely in the advantage, bring his enemy to his +knees, tear off his helmet, and, with a sweep of his sword, strike his +head from his body. + +After the victory, Ogier seized Marchevallee, leaped upon his back, and +became possessed of the precious flask, a few drops from which closed +his wounds and restored his strength. The French knights who had been +Bruhier's captives, now released, pressed round Ogier to thank him for +their deliverance. + +Charlemagne and his nobles, as soon as their attention was relieved +from the single combat, perceived from their elevated position an +unusual agitation in the enemy's camp. They attributed it at first to +the death of their general, but soon the noise of arms, the cries of +combatants, and new standards which advanced, disclosed to them the +fact that Bruhier's army was attacked by a new enemy. + +The Emperor was right; it was the brave Carahue of Mauritania, who, +with an army, had arrived in France, resolved to attempt the liberation +of Ogier, his brother in arms. Learning on his arrival the changed +aspect of affairs, he hesitated not to render a signal service to the +Emperor, by attacking the army of Bruhier in the midst of the +consternation occasioned by the loss of its commander. + +Ogier recognized the standard of his friend, and leaping upon +Marchevallee, flew to aid his attack. Charlemagne followed with his +army; and the Saracen host, after an obstinate conflict, was forced to +surrender unconditionally. + +The interview of Ogier and Carahue was such as might be anticipated of +two such attached friends and accomplished knights. Charlemagne went to +meet them, embraced them, and putting the King of Mauritania on his +right and Ogier on his left, returned with triumph to Paris. There the +Empress Bertha and the ladies of her court crowned them with laurels, +and the sage and gallant Eginhard, chamberlain and secretary of the +Emperor, wrote all these great events in his history. + +A few days after Guyon, King of Denmark, arrived in France with a +chosen band of knights, and sent an ambassador to Charlemagne, to say +that he came, not as an enemy, but to render homage to him as the best +knight of the time and the head of the Christian world. Charlemagne +gave the ambassador a cordial reception, and mounting his horse, rode +forward to meet the King of Denmark. + +These great princes, being assembled at the court of Charles, held +council together, and the ancient and sage barons were called to join +it. + +It was decided that the united Danish and Mauritanian armies should +cross the sea and carry the war to the country of the Saracens, and +that a thousand French knights should range themselves under the banner +of Ogier, the Dane, who, though not a king, should have equal rank with +the two others. + +We have not space to record all the illustrious actions performed by +Ogier and his allies in this war. Suffice it to say, they subdued the +Saracens of Ptolemais and Judaea, and, erecting those regions into a +kingdom, placed the crown upon the head of Ogier. Guyon and Carahue +then left him, to return to their respective dominions. Ogier adopted +Walter, the son of Guyon of Denmark, to be his successor in his +kingdom. He superintended his education, and saw the young prince grow +up worthy of his cares. But Ogier, in spite of all the honors of his +rank, often regretted the court of Charlemagne, the Duke Namo, and +Salomon of Brittany, for whom he had the respect and attachment of a +son. At last, finding Walter old enough to sustain the weight of +government, Ogier caused a vessel to be prepared secretly, and, +attended only by one squire, left his palace by night, and embarked to +return to France. + +The vessel, driven by a fair wind, cut the sea with the swiftness of a +bird; but on a sudden it deviated from its course, no longer obeyed the +helm, and sped fast towards a black promontory which stretched into the +sea. This was a mountain of loadstone, and, its attractive power +increasing as the distance diminished, the vessel at last flew with the +swiftness of an arrow towards it, and was dashed to pieces on its rocky +base. Ogier alone saved himself, and reached the shore on a fragment of +the wreck. + +Ogier advanced into the country, looking for some marks of inhabitancy, +but found none. On a sudden he encountered two monstrous animals, +covered with glittering scales, accompanied by a horse breathing fire. +Ogier drew his sword and prepared to defend himself; but the monsters, +terrific as they appeared, made no attempt to assail him, and the +horse, Papillon, knelt down, and appeared to court Ogier to mount upon +his back. Ogier hesitated not to see the adventure through; he mounted +Papillon, who ran with speed, and soon cleared the rocks and precipices +which hemmed in and concealed a beautiful landscape. He continued his +course till he reached a magnificent palace, and, without allowing +Ogier time to admire it, crossed a grand court-yard adorned with +colonnades, and entered a garden, where, making his way through alleys +of myrtle, he checked his course, and knelt down on the enamelled turf +of a fountain. + +Ogier dismounted and took some steps along the margin of the stream, +but was soon stopped by meeting a young beauty, such as they paint the +Graces, and almost as lightly attired as they. At the same moment, to +his amazement, his armor fell off of its own accord. The young beauty +advanced with a tender air, and placed upon his head a crown of +flowers. At that instant the Danish hero lost his memory; his combats, +his glory, Charlemagne and his court, all vanished from his mind; he +saw only Morgana, he desired nothing but to sigh forever at her feet. + +We abridge the narrative of all the delights which Ogier enjoyed for +more than a hundred years. Time flew by, leaving no impression of its +flight. Morgana's youthful charms did not decay, and Ogier had none of +those warnings of increasing years which less favored mortals never +fail to receive. There is no knowing how long this blissful state might +have lasted, if it had not been for an accident, by which Morgana one +day, in a sportive moment, snatched the crown from his head. That +moment Ogier regained his memory, and lost his contentment. The +recollection of Charlemagne, and of his own relatives and friends, +saddened the hours which he passed with Morgana. The fairy saw with +grief the changed looks of her lover. At last she drew from him the +acknowledgment that he wished to go, at least for a time, to revisit +Charles's court. She consented with reluctance, and with her own hands +helped to reinvest him with his armor. Papillon was led forth, Ogier +mounted him, and, taking a tender adieu of the tearful Morgana, crossed +at rapid speed the rocky belt which separated Morgana's palace from the +borders of the sea. The sea-goblins which had received him at his +coming awaited him on the shore. One of them took Ogier on his back, +and the other placing himself under Papillon, they spread their broad +fins, and in a short time traversed the wide space that separates the +isle of Avalon from France. They landed Ogier on the coast of +Languedoc, and then plunged into the sea and disappeared. + +Ogier remounted on Papillon, who carried him across the kingdom almost +as fast as he had passed the sea. He arrived under the walls of Paris, +which he would scarcely have recognized if the high towers of St. +Genevieve had not caught his eye. He went straight to the palace of +Charlemagne, which seemed to him to have been entirely rebuilt. His +surprise was extreme, and increased still more on finding that he +understood with difficulty the language of the guards and attendants in +replying to his questions; and seeing them smile as they tried to +explain to one another the language in which he addressed them. +Presently the attention of some of the barons who were going to court +was attracted to the scene, and Ogier, who recognized the badges of +their rank, addressed them, and inquired if the Dukes Namo and Salomon +were still residing at the Emperor's court. At this question the barons +looked at one another in amazement; and one of the eldest said to the +rest, "How much this knight resembles the portrait of my grand-uncle, +Ogier the Dane." "Ah! my dear nephew, I am Ogier the Dane," said he; +and he remembered that Morgana had told him that he was little aware of +the flight of time during his abode with her. + +The barons, more astonished than ever, concluded to conduct him to the +monarch who then reigned, the great Hugh Capet. + +The brave Ogier entered the palace without hesitation; but when, on +reaching the royal hall, the barons directed him to make his obeisance +to the King of France, he was astonished to see a man of short stature +and large head, whose air, nevertheless, was noble and martial, seated +upon the throne on which he had so often seen Charlemagne, the tallest +and handsomest sovereign of his time. + +Ogier recounted his adventures with simplicity and affectedness. Hugh +Capet was slow to believe him; but Ogier recalled so many proofs and +circumstances, that at last he was forced to recognize the aged warrior +to be the famous Ogier the Dane. + +The king informed Ogier of the events which had taken place during his +long absence; that the line of Charlemagne was extinct; that a new +dynasty had commenced; that the old enemies of the kingdom, the +Saracens, were still troublesome; and that at that very time an army of +those miscreants was besieging the city of Chartres, to which he was +about to repair in a few days to its relief. Ogier, always inflamed +with the love of glory, offered the service of his arm, which the +illustrious monarch accepted graciously, and conducted him to the +queen. The astonishment of Ogier was redoubled when he saw the new +ornaments and head-dresses of the ladies; still, the beautiful hair +which they built up on their foreheads, and the feathers interwoven, +which waved with so much grace, gave them a noble air that delighted +him. His admiration increased when, instead of the old Empress Bertha, +he saw a young queen who combined a majestic mien with the graces of +her time of life, and manners candid and charming, suited to attach all +hearts. Ogier saluted the youthful queen with a respect so profound +that many of the courtiers took him for a foreigner, or at least for +some nobleman brought up at a distance from Paris, who retained the +manners of what they called the old court. + +When the queen was informed by her husband that it was the celebrated +Ogier the Dane whom he presented to her, whose memorable exploits she +had often read in the chronicles of antiquity, her surprise was +extreme, which was increased when she remarked the dignity of his +address, the animation and even the youthfulness of his countenance. +This queen had too much intelligence to believe hastily; proof alone +could compel her assent; and she asked him many questions about the old +court of Charlemagne, and received such instructive and appropriate +answers as removed every doubt. It is to the corrections which Ogier +was at that time enabled to make to the popular narratives of his +exploits that we are indebted for the perfect accuracy and +trustworthiness of all the details of our own history. + +King Hugh Capet, having received that same evening couriers from the +inhabitants of Chartres, informing him that they were hard pressed by +the besiegers, resolved to hasten with Ogier to their relief. + +Ogier terminated this affair as expeditiously as he had so often done +others. The Saracens having dared to offer battle, he bore the +Oriflamme through the thickest of their ranks; Papillon, breathing fire +from his nostrils, threw them into disorder, and Cortana, wielded by +his invincible arm, soon finished their overthrow. + +The king, victorious over the Saracens, led back the Danish hero to +Paris, where the deliverer of France received the honors due to his +valor. Ogier continued some time at the court, detained by the favor of +the king and queen; but erelong he had the pain to witness the death of +the king. Then it was that, impressed with all the perfections which he +had discerned in the queen, he could not withhold the tender homage of +the offer of his hand. The queen would perhaps have accepted it, she +had even called a meeting of her great barons to deliberate on the +proposition, when, the day before the meeting was to be held, at the +moment when Ogier was kneeling at her feet, she perceived a crown of +gold which an invisible hand had placed on his brow, and in an instant +a cloud enveloped Ogier, and he disappeared forever from her sight. It +was Morgana, the fairy, whose jealousy was awakened at what she beheld, +who now resumed her power, and took him away to dwell with her in the +island of Avalon. There, in company with the great King Arthur of +Britain, he still lives, and when his illustrious friend shall return +to resume his ancient reign he will doubtless return with him, and +share his triumph. + + + + +GLOSSARY + + +Abdalrahman, founder of the independent Ommiad (Saracenic) power in +Spain, conquered at Tours by Charles Martel. + +Aberfraw, scene of nuptials of Branwen and Matholch. + +Absyrtus, younger brother of Medea. + +Abydos, a town on the Hellespont, nearly opposite to Sestos. + +Abyla, Mount, or Columna, a mountain in Morocco, near Ceuta, now called +Jebel Musa or Ape's Hill, forming the Northwestern extremity of the +African coast opposite Gibraltar (See Pillars of Hercules). + +Acestes, son of a Trojan woman who was sent by her father to Sicily, +that she might not be devoured by the monsters which infested the +territory of Troy. + +Acetes, Bacchanal captured by Pentheus. + +Achates, faithful friend and companion of Aeneas. + +Achelous, river-god of the largest river in Greece--his Horn of Plenty. + +Achilles, the hero of the Iliad, son of Peleus and of the Nereid +Thetis, slain by Paris. + +Acis, youth loved by Galatea and slain by Polyphemus. + +Acontius, a beautiful youth, who fell in love with Cydippe, the +daughter of a noble Athenian. + +Acrisius, son of Abas, king of Argos, grandson of Lynceus, the +great-grandson of Danaus. + +Actaeon, a celebrated huntsman, son of Aristaeus and Autonoe, who, +having seen Diana bathing, was changed by her to a stag and killed by +his own dogs. + +Admeta, daughter of Eurystheus, covets Hippolyta's girdle. + +Admetus, king of Thessaly, saved from death by Alcestis. + +Adonis, a youth beloved by Aphrodite (Venus), and Proserpine; killed by +a boar. + +Adrastus, a king of Argos. + +Aeacus, son of Zeus (Jupiter) and Aegina, renowned in all Greece for +his justice and piety. + +Aeaea, Circe's island, visited by Ulysses. + +Aeetes, or Aeeta, son of Helios (the Sun) and Perseis, and father of +Medea and Absyrtus. + +Aegeus, king of Athens. + +Aegina, a rocky island in the middle of the Saronic gulf. + +Aegis, shield or breastplate of Jupiter and Minerva. + +Aegisthus, murderer of Agamemnon, slain by Orestes. + +Aeneas, Trojan hero, son of Anchises and Aphrodite (Venus), and born on +Mount Ida, reputed first settler of Rome. + +Aeneid, poem by Virgil, relating the wanderings of Aeneas from Troy to +Italy. + +Ae'olus, son of Hellen and the nymph Orseis, represented in Homer as +the happy ruler of the Aeolian Islands, to whom Zeus had given dominion +over the winds. + +Aesculapius, god of the medical art. + +Aeson, father of Jason, made young again by Medea. + +Aethiopians, inhabitants of the country south of Egypt. + +Aethra, mother of Theseus by Aegeus. + +Aetna, volcano in Sicily. + +Agamedes, brother of Trophonius, distinguished as an architect. + +Agamemnon, son of Plisthenis and grandson of Atreus, king of Mycenae, +although the chief commander of the Greeks, is not the hero of the +Iliad, and in chivalrous spirit altogether inferior to Achilles. + +Agave, daughter of Cadmus, wife of Echion, and mother of Pentheus. + +Agenor, father of Europa, Cadmus, Cilix, and Phoenix. + +Aglaia, one of the Graces. + +Agni, Hindu god of fire. + +Agramant, a king in Africa. + +Agrican, fabled king of Tartary, pursuing Angelica, finally killed by +Orlando. + +Agrivain, one of Arthur's knights. + +Ahriman, the Evil Spirit in the dual system of Zoroaster, See Ormuzd + +Ajax, son of Telamon, king of Salamis, and grandson of Aeacus, +represented in the Iliad as second only to Achilles in bravery. + +Alba, the river where King Arthur fought the Romans. + +Alba Longa, city in Italy founded by son of Aeneas. + +Alberich, dwarf guardian of Rhine gold treasure of the Nibelungs + +Albracca, siege of. + +Alcestis, wife of Admetus, offered hersell as sacrifice to spare her +husband, but rescued by Hercules. + +Alcides (Hercules). + +Alcina, enchantress. + +Alcinous, Phaeacian king. + +Alcippe, daughter of Mars, carried off by Halirrhothrus. + +Alcmena, wife of Jupiter, and mother of Hercules. + +Alcuin, English prelate and scholar. + +Aldrovandus, dwarf guardian of treasure. + +Alecto, one of the Furies. + +Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia, conqueror of Greece, Egypt, +Persia, Babylonia, and India. + +Alfadur, a name for Odin. + +Alfheim, abode of the elves of light. + +Alice, mother of Huon and Girard, sons of Duke Sevinus. + +Alphenor, son of Niobe. + +Alpheus, river god pursuing Arethusa, who escaped by being changed to a +fountain. + +Althaea, mother of Meleager, whom she slew because he had in a quarrel +killed her brothers, thus disgracing "the house of Thestius," her +father. + +Amalthea, nurse of the infant Jupiter in Crete. + +Amata, wife of Latinus, driven mad by Alecto. + +Amaury of Hauteville, false hearted Knight of Charlemagne. + +Amazons, mythical race of warlike women. + +Ambrosia, celestial food used by the gods. + +Ammon, Egyptian god of life identified by Romans with phases of +Jupiter, the father of gods. + +Amphiaraus, a great prophet and hero at Argos. + +Amphion, a musician, son of Jupiter and Antiope (See Dirce). + +Amphitrite, wife of Neptune. + +Amphyrsos, a small river in Thessaly. + +Ampyx, assailant of Perseus, turned to stone by seeing Gorgon's head. + +Amrita, nectar giving immortality. + +Amun, See Ammon + +Amymone, one of the fifty daughters of Danaus, and mother by Poseidon +(Neptune) of Nauplius, the father of Palamedes. + +Anaxarete, a maiden of Cyprus, who treated her lover Iphis with such +haughtiness that he hanged himself at her door. + +Anbessa, Saracenic governor of Spain (725 AD). + +Anceus, one of the Argonauts. + +Anchises, beloved by Aphrodite (Venus), by whom he became the father of +Aeneas. + +Andraemon, husband of Dryope, saw her changed into a tree. + +Andret, a cowardly knight, spy upon Tristram. + +Andromache, wife of Hector + +Andromeda, daughter of King Cephas, delivered from monster by Perseus + +Aneurin, Welsh bard + +Angelica, Princess of Cathay + +Anemone, short lived wind flower, created by Venus from the blood of +the slain Adonis + +Angerbode, giant prophetess, mother of Fenris, Hela and the Midgard +Serpent + +Anglesey, a Northern British island, refuge of Druids fleeing from +Romans + +Antaeus, giant wrestler of Libya, killed by Hercules, who, finding him +stronger when thrown to the earth, lifted him into the air and +strangled him + +Antea, wife of jealous Proetus + +Antenor, descendants of, in Italy + +Anteros, deity avenging unrequited love, brother of Eros (Cupid) + +Anthor, a Greek + +Antigone, daughter of Aedipus, Greek ideal of filial and sisterly +fidelity + +Antilochus, son of Nestor + +Antiope, Amazonian queen. See Dirce + +Anubis, Egyptian god, conductor of the dead to judgment + +Apennines + +Aphrodite See Venus, Dione, etc. + +Apis, Egyptian bull god of Memphis + +Apollo, god of music and song + +Apollo Belvedere, famous antique statue in Vatican at Rome + +Apples of the Hesperides, wedding gifts to Juno, guarded by daughters +of Atlas and Hesperis, stolen by Atlas for Hercules. + +Aquilo, or Boreas, the North Wind. + +Aquitaine, ancient province of Southwestern France. + +Arachne, a maiden skilled in weaving, changed to a spider by Minerva +for daring to compete with her. + +Arcadia, a country in the middle of Peloponnesus, surrounded on all +sides by mountains. + +Arcady, star of, the Pole star. + +Arcas, son of Jupiter and Callisto. + +Archer, constellation of the. + +Areopagus, court of the, at Athens. + +Ares, called Mars by the Romans, the Greek god of war, and one of the +great Olympian gods. + +Arethusa, nymph of Diana, changed to a fountain. + +Argius king of Ireland, father of Isoude the Fair. + +Argo, builder of the vessel of Jason for the Argonautic expedition. + +Argolis, city of the Nemean games. + +Argonauts, Jason's crew seeking the Golden Fleece. + +Argos, a kingdom in Greece. + +Argus, of the hundred eyes, guardian of Io. + +Ariadne, daughter of King Minos, who helped Theseus slay the Minotaur. + +Arimanes SEE Ahriman. + +Arimaspians, one-eyed people of Syria. + +Arion, famous musician, whom sailors cast into the sea to rob him, but +whose lyric song charmed the dolphins, one of which bore him safely to +land. + +Aristaeus, the bee keeper, in love with Eurydice. + +Armorica, another name for Britain. + +Arridano, a magical ruffian, slain by Orlando. + +Artemis SEE Diana + +Arthgallo, brother of Elidure, British king. + +Arthur, king in Britain about the 6th century. + +Aruns, an Etruscan who killed Camilla. + +Asgard, home of the Northern gods. + +Ashtaroth, a cruel spirit, called by enchantment to bring Rinaldo to +death. + +Aske, the first man, made from an ash tree. + +Astolpho of England, one of Charlemagne's knights. + +Astraea, goddess of justice, daughter of Astraeus and Eos. + +Astyages, an assailant of Perseus. + +Astyanax, son of Hector of Troy, established kingdom of Messina in +Italy. + +Asuias, opponents of the Braminical gods. + +Atalanta, beautiful daughter of King of Icaria, loved and won in a foot +race by Hippomenes. + +Ate, the goddess of infatuation, mischief and guilt. + +Athamas, son of Aeolus and Enarete, and king of Orchomenus, in Boeotia, +SEE Ino + +Athene, tutelary goddess of Athens, the same as Minerva. + +Athens, the capital of Attica, about four miles from the sea, between +the small rivers Cephissus and Ilissus. + +Athor, Egyptian deity, progenitor of Isis and Osiris. + +Athos, the mountainous peninsula, also called Acte, which projects from +Chalcidice in Macedonia. + +Atlantes, foster father of Rogero, a powerful magician. + +Atlantis, according to an ancient tradition, a great island west of the +Pillars of Hercules, in the ocean, opposite Mount Atlas. + +Atlas, a Titan, who bore the heavens on his shoulders, as punishment +for opposing the gods, one of the sons of Iapetus. + +Atlas, Mount, general name for range in northern Africa. + +Atropos, one of the Fates + +Attica, a state in ancient Greece. + +Audhumbla, the cow from which the giant Ymir was nursed. Her milk was +frost melted into raindrops. + +Augean stables, cleansed by Hercules. + +Augeas, king of Elis. + +Augustan age, reign of Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar, famed for many +great authors. + +Augustus, the first imperial Caesar, who ruled the Roman Empire 31 +BC--14 AD. + +Aulis, port in Boeotia, meeting place of Greek expedition against Troy. + +Aurora, identical with Eos, goddess of the dawn. + +Aurora Borealis, splendid nocturnal luminosity in northern sky, called +Northern Lights, probably electrical. + +Autumn, attendant of Phoebus, the Sun. + +Avalon, land of the Blessed, an earthly paradise in the Western Seas, +burial place of King Arthur. + +Avatar, name for any of the earthly incarnations of Vishnu, the +Preserver (Hindu god). + +Aventine, Mount, one of the Seven Hills of Rome. + +Avernus, a miasmatic lake close to the promontory between Cumae and +Puteoli, filling the crater of an extinct volcano, by the ancients +thought to be the entrance to the infernal regions. + +Avicenna, celebrated Arabian physician and philosopher. + +Aya, mother of Rinaldo. + +Aymon, Duke, father of Rinaldo and Bradamante. + + +B + +Baal, king of Tyre. + +Babylonian River, dried up when Phaeton drove the sun chariot. + +Bacchanali a, a feast to Bacchus that was permitted to occur but once +in three years, attended by most shameless orgies. + +Bacchanals, devotees and festal dancers of Bacchus. + +Bacchus (Dionysus), god of wine and revelry. + +Badon, battle of, Arthur's final victory over the Saxons. + +Bagdemagus, King, a knight of Arthur's time. + +Baldur, son of Odin, and representing in Norse mythology the sun god. + +Balisardo, Orlando's sword. + +Ban, King of Brittany, ally of Arthur, father of Launcelot. + +Bards, minstrels of Welsh Druids. + +Basilisk SEE Cockatrice + +Baucis, wife of Philemon, visited by Jupiter and Mercury. + +Bayard, wild horse subdued by Rinaldo. + +Beal, Druids' god of life. + +Bedivere, Arthur's knight. + +Bedver, King Arthur's butler, made governor of Normandy. + +Bedwyr, knightly comrade of Geraint. + +Belisarda, Rogero's sword. + +Bellerophon, demigod, conqueror of the Chimaera. + +Bellona, the Roman goddess of war, represented as the sister or wife of +Mars. + +Beltane, Druidical fire festival. + +Belus, son of Poseidon (Neptune) and Libya or Eurynome, twin brother of +Agenor. + +Bendigeid Vran, King of Britain. + +Beowulf, hero and king of the Swedish Geats. + +Beroe, nurse of Semele. + +Bertha, mother of Orlando. + +Bifrost, rainbow bridge between the earth and Asgard + +Bladud, inventor, builder of the city of Bath. + +Blamor, a knight of Arthur. + +Bleoberis, a knight of Arthur. + +Boeotia, state in ancient Greece, capital city Thebes. + +Bohort, King, a knight of Arthur. + +Bona Dea, a Roman divinity of fertility. + +Bootes, also called Areas, son of Jupiter and Calisto, changed to +constellation of Ursa Major. + +Boreas, North wind, son of Aeolus and Aurora. + +Bosporus (Bosphorus), the Cow-ford, named for Io, when as a heifer she +crossed that strait. + +Bradamante, sister to Rinaldo, a female warrior. + +Brademagus, King, father of Sir Maleagans. + +Bragi, Norse god of poetry. + +Brahma, the Creator, chief god of Hindu religion. + +Branwen, daughter of Llyr, King of Britain, wife of Mathclch. + +Breciliande, forest of, where Vivian enticed Merlin. + +Brengwain, maid of Isoude the Fair + +Brennus, son of Molmutius, went to Gaul, became King of the Allobroges. + +Breuse, the Pitiless, a caitiff knight. + +Briareus, hundred armed giant. + +Brice, Bishop, sustainer of Arthur when elected king. + +Brigliadoro, Orlando's horse. + +Briseis, captive maid belonging to Achilles. + +Britto, reputed ancestor of British people. + +Bruhier, Sultan of Arabia. + +Brunello, dwarf, thief, and king + +Brunhild, leader of the Valkyrie. + +Brutus, great grandson of Aeneas, and founder of city of New Troy +(London), SEE Pandrasus + +Bryan, Sir, a knight of Arthur. + +Buddha, called The Enlightened, reformer of Brahmanism, deified teacher +of self abnegation, virtue, reincarnation, Karma (inevitable sequence +of every act), and Nirvana (beatific absorption into the Divine), lived +about + +Byblos, in Egypt. + +Byrsa, original site of Carthage. + + +C + +Cacus, gigantic son of Vulcan, slain by Hercules, whose captured cattle +he stole. + +Cadmus, son of Agenor, king of Phoenicia, and of Telephassa, and +brother of Europa, who, seeking his sister, carried off by Jupiter, had +strange adventures--sowing in the ground teeth of a dragon he had +killed, which sprang up armed men who slew each other, all but five, +who helped Cadmus to found the city of Thebes. + +Caduceus, Mercury's staff. + +Cadwallo, King of Venedotia (North Wales). + +Caerleon, traditional seat of Arthur's court. + +Caesar, Julius, Roman lawyer, general, statesman and author, conquered +and consolidated Roman territory, making possible the Empire. + +Caicus, a Greek river. + +Cairns, Druidical store piles. + +Calais, French town facing England. + +Calchas, wisest soothsayer among the Greeks at Troy. + +Caliburn, a sword of Arthur. + +Calliope, one of the nine Muses + +Callisto, an Arcadian nymph, mother of Arcas (SEE Bootes), changed by +Jupiter to constellation Ursa Minor. + +Calpe, a mountain in the south of Spain, on the strait between the +Atlantic and Mediterranean, now Rock of Gibraltar. + +Calydon, home of Meleager. + +Calypso, queen of Island of Ogyia, where Ulysses was wrecked and held +seven years. + +Camber, son of Brutus, governor of West Albion (Wales). + +Camelot, legendary place in England where Arthur's court and palace +were located. + +Camenae, prophetic nymphs, belonging to the religion of ancient Italy. + +Camilla, Volscian maiden, huntress and Amazonian warrior, favorite of +Diana. + +Camlan, battle of, where Arthur was mortally wounded. + +Canterbury, English city. + +Capaneus, husband of Evadne, slain by Jupiter for disobedience. + +Capet, Hugh, King of France (987-996 AD). + +Caradoc Briefbras, Sir, great nephew of King Arthur. + +Carahue, King of Mauretania. + +Carthage, African city, home of Dido + +Cassandra, daughter of Priam and Hecuba, and twin sister of Helenus, a +prophetess, who foretold the coming of the Greeks but was not believed. + +Cassibellaunus, British chieftain, fought but not conquered by Caesar. + +Cassiopeia, mother of Andromeda. + +Castalia, fountain of Parnassus, giving inspiration to Oracular +priestess named Pythia. + +Castalian Cave, oracle of Apollo. + +Castes (India). + +Castor and Pollux--the Dioscuri, sons of Jupiter and Leda,--Castor a +horseman, Pollux a boxer (SEE Gemini). + +Caucasus, Mount + +Cavall, Arthur's favorite dog. + +Cayster, ancient river. + +Cebriones, Hector's charioteer. + +Cecrops, first king of Athens. + +Celestials, gods of classic mythology. + +Celeus, shepherd who sheltered Ceres, seeking Proserpine, and whose +infant son Triptolemus was in gratitude made great by Ceres. + +Cellini, Benvenuto, famous Italian sculptor and artificer in metals. + +Celtic nations, ancient Gauls and Britons, modern Bretons, Welsh, Irish +and Gaelic Scotch. + +Centaurs, originally an ancient race, inhabiting Mount Pelion in +Thessaly, in later accounts represented as half horses and half men, +and said to have been the offspring of Ixion and a cloud. + +Cephalus, husband of beautiful but jealous Procris. + +Cephe us, King of Ethiopians, father of Andromeda. + +Cephisus, a Grecian stream. + +Cerberus, three-headed dog that guarded the entrance to Hades, called a +son of Typhaon and Echidna + +CERES (See Demeter) + +CESTUS, the girdle of Venus + +CEYX, King of Thessaly (See Halcyone) + +CHAOS, original Confusion, personified by Greeks as most ancient of the +gods + +CHARLEMAGNE, king of the Franks and emperor of the Romans + +CHARLES MARTEL', king of the Franks, grandfather of Charlemagne, called +Martel (the Hammer) from his defeat of the Saracens at Tours + +CHARLOT, son of Charlemagne + +CHARON, son of Erebos, conveyed in his boat the shades of the dead +across the rivers of the lower world + +CHARYB'DIS, whirlpool near the coast of Sicily, See Scylla + +CHIMAERA, a fire breathing monster, the fore part of whose body was +that of a lion, the hind part that of a dragon, and the middle that of +a goat, slain by Bellerophon + +CHINA, Lamas (priests) of + +CHOS, island in the Grecian archipelago + +CHIRON, wisest of all the Centaurs, son of Cronos (Saturn) and Philyra, +lived on Mount Pelion, instructor of Grecian heroes + +CHRYSEIS, Trojan maid, taken by Agamemnon + +CHRYSES, priest of Apollo, father of Chryseis + +CICONIANS, inhabitants of Ismarus, visited by Ulysses + +CIMBRI, an ancient people of Central Europe + +Cimmeria, a land of darkness + +Cimon, Athenian general + +Circe, sorceress, sister of Aeetes + +Cithaeron, Mount, scene of Bacchic worship + +Clarimunda, wife of Huon + +Clio, one of the Muses + +Cloridan, a Moor + +Clotho, one of the Fates + +Clymene, an ocean nymph + +Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon, killed by Orestes + +Clytie, a water nymph, in love with Apollo + +Cnidos, ancient city of Asia Minor, seat of worship of Aphrodite (Venus) + +Cockatrice (or Basilisk), called King of Serpents, supposed to kill +with its look + +Cocytus, a river of Hades + +Colchis, a kingdom east of the Black Sea + +Colophon, one of the seven cities claiming the birth of Homer + +Columba, St, an Irish Christian missionary to Druidical parts of +Scotland + +Conan, Welsh king + +Constantine, Greek emperor + +Cordeilla, daughter of the mythical King Leir + +Corineus, a Trojan warrior in Albion + +Cornwall, southwest part of Britain + +Cortana, Ogier's sword + +Corybantes, priests of Cybele, or Rhea, in Phrygia, who celebrated her +worship with dances, to the sound of the drum and the cymbal, 143 + +Crab, constellation + +Cranes and their enemies, the Pygmies, of Ibycus + +Creon, king of Thebes + +Crete, one of the largest islands of the Mediterranean Sea, lying south +of the Cyclades + +Creusa, daughter of Priam, wife of Aeneas + +Crocale, a nymph of Diana + +Cromlech, Druidical altar + +Cronos, See Saturn + +Crotona, city of Italy + +Cuchulain, Irish hero, called the "Hound of Ireland," + +Culdees', followers of St. Columba, Cumaean Sibyl, seeress of Cumae, +consulted by Aeneas, sold Sibylline books to Tarquin + +Cupid, child of Venus and god of love + +Curoi of Kerry, wise man + +Cyane, river, opposed Pluto's passage to Hades + +Cybele (Rhea) + +Cyclopes, creatures with circular eyes, of whom Homer speaks as a +gigantic and lawless race of shepherds in Sicily, who devoured human +beings, they helped Vulcan to forge the thunderbolts of Zeus under Aetna + +Cymbeline, king of ancient Britain + +Cynosure (Dog's tail), the Pole star, at tail of Constellation Ursa +Minor + +Cynthian mountain top, birthplace of Artemis (Diana) and Apollo + +Cyprus, island off the coast of Syria, sacred to Aphrodite + +Cyrene, a nymph, mother of Aristaeus + + +D + +Daedalus, architect of the Cretan Labyrinth, inventor of sails + +Daguenet, King Arthur's fool + +Dalai Lama, chief pontiff of Thibet + +Danae, mother of Perseus by Jupiter + +Danaides, the fifty daughters of Danaus, king of Argos, who were +betrothed to the fifty sons of Aegyptus, but were commanded by their +father to slay each her own husband on the marriage night + +Danaus (See Danaides) + +Daphne, maiden loved by Apollo, and changed into a laurel tree + +Dardanelles, ancient Hellespont + +Dardanus, progenitor of the Trojan kings + +Dardinel, prince of Zumara + +Dawn, See Aurora + +Day, an attendant on Phoebus, the Sun + +Day star (Hesperus) + +Death, See Hela + +Deiphobus, son of Priam and Hecuba, the bravest brother of Paris + +Dejanira, wife of Hercules + +Delos, floating island, birthplace of Apollo and Diana + +Delphi, shrine of Apollo, famed for its oracles + +Demeter, Greek goddess of marriage and human fertility, identified by +Romans with Ceres + +Demeha, South Wales + +Demodocus, bard of Alomous, king of the Phaeaeians + +Deucalion, king of Thessaly, who with his wife Pyrrha were the only +pair surviving a deluge sent by Zeus + +Dia, island of + +Diana (Artemis), goddess of the moon and of the chase, daughter of +Jupiter and Latona + +Diana of the Hind, antique sculpture in the Louvre, Paris + +Diana, temple of + +Dictys, a sailor + +Didier, king of the Lombards + +Dido, queen of Tyre and Carthage, entertained the shipwrecked Aeneas + +Diomede, Greek hero during Trojan War + +Dione, female Titan, mother of Zeus, of Aphrodite (Venus) + +Dionysus See Bacchus + +Dioscuri, the Twins (See Castor and Pollux) + +Dirce, wife of Lycus, king of Thebes, who ordered Amphion and Zethus to +tie Antiope to a wild bull, but they, learning Antiope to be their +mother, so treated Dirce herself + +Dis See Pluto + +Discord, apple of, See Eris. + +Discordia, See Eris. + +Dodona, site of an oracle of Zeus (Jupiter) + +Dorceus, a dog of Diana + +Doris, wife of Nereus + +Dragon's teeth sown by Cadmus + +Druids, ancient Celtic priests + +Dryades (or Dryads), See Wood nymphs + +Dryope, changed to a lotus plant, for plucking a lotus--enchanted form +of the nymph Lotis + +Dubricius, bishop of Caerleon. + +Dudon, a knight, comrade of Astolpho. + +Dunwallo Molmu'tius, British king and lawgiver + +Durindana, sword of Orlando or Rinaldo + +Dwarfs in Wagner's Nibelungen Ring + + +E + +Earth (Gaea); goddess of the + +Ebudians, the + +Echo, nymph of Diana, shunned by Narcissus, faded to nothing but a voice + +Ecklenlied, the + +Eddas, Norse mythological records. + +Ederyn, son of Nudd + +Egena, nymph of the Fountain + +Eisteddfod, session of Welsh bards and minstrels + +Electra, the lost one of the Pleiades, also, sister of Orestes + +Eleusian Mysteries, instituted by Ceres, and calculated to awaken +feelings of piety and a cheerful hope of better life in the future + +Eleusis, Grecian city + +Elgin Marbles, Greek sculptures from the Parthenon of Athens, now in +British Museum, London, placed there by Lord Elgin + +Eliaures, enchanter + +Elidure, a king of Britain + +Elis, ancient Greek city + +Elli, old age; the one successful wrestler against Thor + +Elphin, son of Gwyddiro + +Elves, spiritual beings, of many powers and dispositions--some evil, +some good + +Elvidnir, the ball of Hela + +Elysian Fields, the land of the blest + +Elysian Plain, whither the favored of the gods were taken without death + +Elysium, a happy land, where there is neither snow, nor cold, nor ram. +Hither favored heroes, like Menelaus, pass without dying, and live +happy under the rule of Rhadamanthus. In the Latin poets Elysium is +part of the lower world, and the residence of the shades of the blessed + +Embla, the first woman + +Enseladus, giant defeated by Jupiter + +Endymion, a beautiful youth beloved by Diana + +Enid, wife of Geraint + +Enna, vale of home of Proserpine + +Enoch, the patriarch + +Epidaurus, a town in Argolis, on the Saronic gulf, chief seat of the +worship of Aeculapius, whose temple was situated near the town + +Epimetheus, son of Iapetus, husband of Pandora, with his brother +Prometheus took part in creation of man + +Epirus, country to the west of Thessaly, lying along the Adriatic Sea + +Epopeus, a sailor + +Erato, one of the Muses + +Erbin of Cornwall, father of Geraint + +Erebus, son of Chaos, region of darkness, entrance to Hades + +Eridanus, river + +Erinys, one of the Furies + +Eriphyle, sister of Polynices, bribed to decide on war, in which her +husband was slain + +Eris (Discordia), goddess of discord. At the wedding of Peleus and +Thetis, Eris being uninvited threw into the gathering an apple "For the +Fairest," which was claimed by Hera (Juno), Aphrodite (Venus) and +Athena (Minerva) Paris, being called upon for judgment, awarded it to +Aphrodite + +Erisichthon, an unbeliever, punished by famine + +Eros See Cupid + +Erytheia, island + +Eryx, a mount, haunt of Venus + +Esepus, river in Paphlagonia + +Estrildis, wife of Locrine, supplanting divorced Guendolen + +Eteocles, son of Oeipus and Jocasta + +Etruscans, ancient people of Italy. + +Etzel, king of the Huns + +Euboic Sea, where Hercules threw Lichas, who brought him the poisoned +shirt of Nessus + +Eude, king of Aquitaine, ally of Charles Martel + +Eumaeus, swineherd of Aeeas + +Eumenides, also called Erinnyes, and by the Romans Furiae or Diraae, +the Avenging Deities, See Furies + +Euphorbus, a Trojan, killed by Menelaus + +Euphros'yne, one of the Graces + +Europa, daughter of the Phoenician king Agenor, by Zeus the mother of +Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon + +Eurus, the East wind + +Euyalus, a gallant Trojan soldier, who with Nisus entered the Grecian +camp, both being slain. + +Eurydice, wife of Orpheus, who, fleeing from an admirer, was killed by +a snake and borne to Tartarus, where Orpheus sought her and was +permitted to bring her to earth if he would not look back at her +following him, but he did, and she returned to the Shades. + +Eurylochus, a companion of Ulysses. + +Eurynome, female Titan, wife of Ophlon + +Eurystheus, taskmaster of Hercules. + +Eurytion, a Centaur (See Hippodamia). + +Euterpe, Muse who presided over music. + +Evadne, wife of Capaneus, who flung herself upon his funeral pile and +perished with him + +Evander, Arcadian chief, befriending Aeneas in Italy. + +Evnissyen, quarrelsome brother of Branwen. + +Excalibar, sword of King Arthur. + + +F + +Fafner, a giant turned dragon, treasure stealer, by the Solar Theory +simply the Darkness who steals the day. + +Falerina, an enchantress. + +Fasolt, a giant, brother of Fafner, and killed by him. + +"Fasti," Ovid's, a mythological poetic calendar. + +FATA MORGANA, a mirage + +FATES, the three, described as daughters of Night--to indicate the +darkness and obscurity of human destiny--or of Zeus and Themis, that +is, "daughters of the just heavens" they were Clo'tho, who spun the +thread of life, Lach'esis, who held the thread and fixed its length and +At'ropos, who cut it off + +FAUNS, cheerful sylvan deities, represented in human form, with small +horns, pointed ears, and sometimes goat's tail + +FAUNUS, son of Picus, grandson of Saturnus, and father of Latinus, +worshipped as the protecting deity of agriculture and of shepherds, and +also as a giver of oracles + +FAVONIUS, the West wind + +FEAR + +FENRIS, a wolf, the son of Loki the Evil Principle of Scandinavia, +supposed to have personated the element of fire, destructive except +when chained + +FENSALIR, Freya's palace, called the Hall of the Sea, where were +brought together lovers, husbands, and wives who had been separated by +death + +FERRAGUS, a giant, opponent of Orlando + +FERRAU, one of Charlemagne's knights + +FERREX. brother of Porrex, the two sons of Leir + +FIRE WORSHIPPERS, of ancient Persia, See Parsees FLOLLO, Roman tribune +in Gaul + +FLORA, Roman goddess of flowers and spring + +FLORDELIS, fair maiden beloved by Florismart + +FLORISMART, Sir, a brave knight. + +FLOSSHILDA, one of the Rhine daughters + +FORTUNATE FIELDS + +FORTUNATE ISLANDS (See Elysian Plain) + +FORUM, market place and open square for public meetings in Rome, +surrounded by court houses, palaces, temples, etc + +FRANCUS, son of Histion, grandson of Japhet, great grandson of Noah, +legendary ancestor of the Franks, or French + +FREKI, one of Odin's two wolves + +FREY, or Freyr, god of the sun + +FREYA, Norse goddess of music, spring, and flowers + +FRICKA, goddess of marriage + +FRIGGA, goddess who presided over smiling nature, sending sunshine, +rain, and harvest + +FROH, one of the Norse gods + +FRONTI'NO, Rogero's horse + +FURIES (Erinnyes), the three retributive spirits who punished crime, +represented as snaky haired old woman, named Alecto, Megaeira, and +Tisiphone + +FUSBERTA, Rinaldo's sword + + +G + +GAEA, or Ge, called Tellus by the Romans, the personification of the +earth, described as the first being that sprang fiom Chaos, and gave +birth to Uranus (Heaven) and Pontus (Sea) + +GAHARIET, knight of Arthur's court + +GAHERIS, knight + +GALAFRON, King of Cathay, father of Angelica + +GALAHAD, Sir, the pure knight of Arthur's Round Table, who safely took +the Siege Perilous (which See) + +GALATEA, a Nereid or sea nymph + +GALATEA, statue carved and beloved by Pygmalion + +GALEN, Greek physician and philosophical writer + +GALLEHANT, King of the Marches + +GAMES, national athletic contests in Greece--Olympian, at Olympia, +Pythian, near Delphi, seat of Apollo's oracle, Isthmian, on the +Corinthian Isthmus, Nemean, at Nemea in Argolis + +GAN, treacherous Duke of Maganza + +GANELON of Mayence, one of Charlemagne's knights + +GANGES, river in India + +GANO, a peer of Charlemagne + +GANYMEDE, the most beautiful of all mortals, carried off to Olympus +that he might fill the cup of Zeus and live among the immortal gods + +GARETH, Arthur's knight + +GAUDISSO, Sultan + +GAUL, ancient France + +GAUTAMA, Prince, the Buddha + +GAWAIN, Arthur's knight + +GAWL, son of Clud, suitor for Rhiannon + +GEMINI (See Castor), constellation created by Jupiter from the twin +brothers after death, 158 + +GENGHIS Khan, Tartar conqueror + +GENIUS, in Roman belief, the protective Spirit of each individual man, +See Juno + +GEOFFREY OF MON'MOUTH, translator into Latin of the Welsh History of +the Kings of Britain (1150) + +GERAINT, a knight of King Arthur + +GERDA, wife of Frey + +GERI, one of Odin's two wolves + +GERYON, a three bodied monster + +GESNES, navigator sent for Isoude the Fair + +GIALLAR HORN, the trumpet that Heimdal will blow at the judgment day + +GIANTS, beings of monstrous size and of fearful countenances, +represented as in constant opposition to the gods, in Wagner's +Nibelungen Ring + +GIBICHUNG RACE, ancestors of Alberich + +GIBRALTAR, great rock and town at southwest corner of Spain (See +Pillars of Hercules) + +GILDAS, a scholar of Arthur's court + +GIRARD, son of Duke Sevinus + +GLASTONBURY, where Arthur died + +GLAUCUS, a fisherman, loving Scylla + +GLEIPNIR, magical chain on the wolf Fenris + +GLEWLWYD, Arthur's porter + +GOLDEN FLEECE, of ram used for escape of children of Athamas, named +Helle and Phryxus (which See), after sacrifice of ram to Jupiter, +fleece was guarded by sleepless dragon and gained by Jason and +Argonauts (which See, also Helle) + +GONERIL, daughter of Leir + +GORDIAN KNOT, tying up in temple the wagon of Gordius, he who could +untie it being destined to be lord of Asia, it was cut by Alexander the +Great, 48 + +Gordius, a countryman who, arriving in Phrygia in a wagon, was made +king by the people, thus interpreting an oracle, 48 + +Gorgons, three monstrous females, with huge teeth, brazen claws and +snakes for hair, sight of whom turned beholders to stone, Medusa, the +most famous, slain by Perseus + +Gorlois, Duke of Tintadel + +Gouvernail, squire of Isabella, queen of Lionesse, protector of her son +Tristram while young, and his squire in knighthood + +Graal, the Holy, cup from which the Saviour drank at Last Supper, taken +by Joseph of Arimathea to Europe, and lost, its recovery becoming a +sacred quest for Arthur's knights + +Graces, three goddesses who enhanced the enjoyments of life by +refinement and gentleness; they were Aglaia (brilliance), Euphrosyne +(joy), and Thalia (bloom) + +Gradas'so, king of Sericane + +Graeae, three gray haired female watchers for the Gorgons, with one +movable eye and one tooth between the three + +Grand Lama, Buddhist pontiff in Thibet + +Grendel, monster slain by Beowulf + +Gryphon (griffin), a fabulous animal, with the body of a lion and the +head and wings of an eagle, dwelling in the Rhipaean mountains, between +the Hyperboreans and the one eyed Arimaspians, and guarding the gold of +the North. + +Guebers, Persian fire worshippers. + +Guendolen, wife of Locrine. + +Guenevere, wife of King Arthur, beloved by Launcelot. + +Guerin, lord of Vienne, father of Oliver. + +Guiderius, son of Cymbeline. + +Guillamurius, king in Ireland. + +Guimier, betrothed of Caradoc. + +Gullinbursti, the boar drawing Frey's car. + +Gulltopp, Heimdell's horse. + +Gunfasius, King of the Orkneys. + +Ganther, Burgundian king, brother of Kriemhild. + +Gutrune, half sister to Hagen. + +Gwern son of Matholch and Branwen. + +Gwernach the Giant. + +Gwiffert Petit, ally of Geraint. + +Gwyddno, Garanhir, King of Gwaelod. + +Gwyr, judge in the court of Arthur. + +Gyoll, river. + + +H + +Hades, originally the god of the nether world--the name later used to +designate the gloomy subterranean land of the dead. + +Haemon, son of Creon of Thebes, and lover of Antigone. + +Haemonian city. + +Haemus, Mount, northern boundary of Thrace. + +Hagan, a principal character in the Nibelungen Lied, slayer of +Siegfried. + +HALCYONE, daughter of Aeneas, and the beloved wife of Ceyx, who, when +he was drowned, flew to his floating body, and the pitying gods changed +them both to birds (kingfishers), who nest at sea during a certain calm +week in winter ("halcyon weather") + +HAMADRYADS, tree-nymphs or wood-nymphs, See Nymphs + +HARMONIA, daughter of Mars and Venus, wife of Cadmus + +HAROUN AL RASCHID, Caliph of Arabia, contemporary of Charlemagne + +HARPIES, monsters, with head and bust of woman, but wings, legs and +tail of birds, seizing souls of the wicked, or punishing evildoers by +greedily snatching or defiling their food + +HARPOCRATES, Egyptian god, Horus + +HEBE, daughter of Juno, cupbearer to the gods + +HEBRUS, ancient name of river Maritzka + +HECATE, a mighty and formidable divinity, supposed to send at night all +kinds of demons and terrible phantoms from the lower world + +HECTOR, son of Priam and champion of Troy + +HECTOR, one of Arthur's knights + +HECTOR DE MARYS', a knight + +HECUBA, wife of Priam, king of Troy, to whom she bore Hector, Paris, +and many other children + +HEGIRA, flight of Mahomet from Mecca to Medina (622 AD), era from which +Mahometans reckon time, as we do from the birth of Christ + +HEIDRUN, she goat, furnishing mead for slain heroes in Valhalla + +HEIMDALL, watchman of the gods + +HEL, the lower world of Scandinavia, to which were consigned those who +had not died in battle + +HELA (Death), the daughter of Loki and the mistress of the Scandinavian +Hel + +HELEN, daughter of Jupiter and Leda, wife of Menelaus, carried off by +Paris and cause of the Trojan War + +HELENUS, son of Priam and Hecuba, celebrated for his prophetic powers + +HELIADES, sisters of Phaeton + +HELICON, Mount, in Greece, residence of Apollo and the Muses, with +fountains of poetic inspiration, Aganippe and Hippocrene + +HELIOOPOLIS, city of the Sun, in Egypt + +HELLAS, Gieece + +HELLE, daughter of Thessalian King Athamas, who, escaping from cruel +father with her brother Phryxus, on ram with golden fleece, fell into +the sea strait since named for her (See Golden Fleece) + +HELLESPONt, narrow strait between Europe and Asia Minor, named for Helle + +HENGIST, Saxon invader of Britain, 449 AD + +HEPHAESTOS, See VULCAN + +HERA, called Juno by the Romans, a daughter of Cronos (Saturn) and +Rhea, and sister and wife of Jupiter, See JUNO + +HERCULES, athletic hero, son of Jupiter and Alcmena, achieved twelve +vast labors and many famous deeds + +HEREWARD THE WAKE, hero of the Saxons + +HERMES (Mercury), messenger of the gods, deity of commerce, science, +eloquence, trickery, theft, and skill generally + +HERMIONE, daughter of Menelaus and Helen + +HERMOD, the nimble, son of Odin + +HERO, a priestess of Venus, beloved of Leander + +HERODOTUS, Greek historian + +HESIOD, Greek poet + +HESPERIA, ancient name for Italy + +HESPERIDES (See Apples of the Hesperides) + +HESPERUS, the evening star (also called Day Star) + +HESTIA, cilled Vesta by the Romans, the goddess of the hearth + +HILDEBRAND, German magician and champion + +HINDU TRIAD, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva + +HIPPOCRENE (See Helicon) + +HIPPODAMIA, wife of Pirithous, at whose wedding the Centaurs offered +violence to the bride, causing a great battle + +HIPPOGRIFF, winged horse, with eagle's head and claws + +HIPPOLYTA, Queen of the Amazons + +Hippolytus, son of Thesus + +HIPPOMENES, who won Atalanta in foot race, beguiling her with golden +apples thrown for her to + +HISTION, son of Japhet + +HODUR, blind man, who, fooled by Loki, threw a mistletoe twig at +Baldur, killing him + +HOEL, king of Brittany + +HOMER, the blind poet of Greece, about 850 B C + +HOPE (See PANDORA) + +HORAE See HOURS + +HORSA, with Hengist, invader of Britain + +HORUS, Egyptian god of the sun + +HOUDAIN, Tristram's dog + +HRINGHAM, Baldur's ship + +HROTHGAR, king of Denmark + +HUGI, who beat Thialfi in foot races + +HUGIN, one of Odin's two ravens + +HUNDING, husband of Sieglinda + +HUON, son of Duke Sevinus + +HYACINTHUS, a youth beloved by Apollo, and accidentally killed by him, +changed in death to the flower, hyacinth + +HYADES, Nysaean nymphs, nurses of infant Bacchus, rewarded by being +placed as cluster of stars in the heavens + +HYALE, a nymph of Diana + +HYDRA, nine headed monster slain by Hercules + +HYGEIA, goddess of health, daughter of Aesculapius + +HYLAS, a youth detained by nymphs of spring where he sought water + +HYMEN, the god of marriage, imagined as a handsome youth and invoked in +bridal songs + +HYMETTUS, mountain in Attica, near Athens, celebrated for its marble +and its honey + +HYPERBOREANS, people of the far North + +HYPERION, a Titan, son of Uranus and Ge, and father of Helios, Selene, +and Eos, cattle of. + +Hyrcania, Prince of, betrothed to Clarimunda + +Hyrieus, king in Greece. + + +I + +Iapetus, a Titan, son of Uranus and Ge, and father of Atlas, +Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius. + +Iasius, father of Atalanta + +Ibycus, a poet, story of, and the cranes + +Icaria, island of the Aegean Sea, one of the Sporades + +Icarius, Spartan prince, father of Penelope + +Icarus, son of Daedalus, he flew too near the sun with artificial +wings, and, the wax melting, he fell into the sea + +Icelos, attendant of Morpheus + +Icolumkill SEE Iona + +Ida, Mount, a Trojan hill + +Idaeus, a Trojan herald + +Idas, son of Aphareus and Arene, and brother of Lynceus Idu'na, wife of +Bragi + +Igerne, wife of Gorlois, and mother, by Uther, of Arthur + +Iliad, epic poem of the Trojan War, by Homer + +Ilioheus, a son of Niobe + +Ilium SEE Troy + +Illyria, Adriatic countries north of Greece + +Imogen, daughter of Pandrasus, wife of Trojan Brutus + +Inachus, son of Oceanus and Tethys, and father of Phoroneus and Io, +also first king of Argos, and said to have given his name to the river +Inachus + +INCUBUS, an evil spirit, supposed to lie upon persons in their sleep + +INDRA, Hindu god of heaven, thunder, lightning, storm and rain + +INO, wife of Athamas, fleeing from whom with infant son she sprang into +the sea and was changed to Leucothea + +IO, changed to a heifer by Jupiter + +IOBATES, King of Lycia + +IOLAUS, servant of Hercules + +IOLE, sister of Dryope + +IONA, or Icolmkill, a small northern island near Scotland, where St +Columba founded a missionary monastery (563 AD) + +IONIA, coast of Asia Minor + +IPHIGENIA, daughter of Agamemnon, offered as a sacrifice but carried +away by Diana + +IPHIS, died for love of Anaxarete, 78 + +IPHITAS, friend of Hercules, killed by him + +IRIS, goddess of the rainbow, messenger of Juno and Zeus + +IRONSIDE, Arthur's knight + +ISABELLA, daughter of king of Galicia + +ISIS, wife of Osiris, described as the giver of death + +ISLES OF THE BLESSED + +ISMARUS, first stop of Ulysses, returning from Trojan War ISME'NOS, a +son of Niobe, slain by Apollo + +ISOLIER, friend of Rinaldo + +ISOUDE THE FAIR, beloved of Tristram + +ISOUDE OF THE WHITE HANDS, married to Tristram + +ISTHMIAN GAMES, See GAMES + +ITHACA, home of Ulysses and Penelope + +IULUS, son of Aeneas + +IVO, Saracen king, befriending Rinaldo + +IXION, once a sovereign of Thessaly, sentenced in Tartarus to be lashed +with serpents to a wheel which a strong wind drove continually around + + +J + +JANICULUM, Roman fortress on the Janiculus, a hill on the other side of +the Tiber + +JANUS, a deity from the earliest times held in high estimation by the +Romans, temple of + +JAPHET (Iapetus) + +JASON, leader of the Argonauts, seeking the Golden Fleece + +JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA, who bore the Holy Graal to Europe + +JOTUNHEIM, home of the giants in Northern mythology + +JOVE (Zeus), chief god of Roman and Grecian mythology, See JUPITER + +JOYOUS GARDE, residence of Sir Launcelot of the Lake + +JUGGERNAUT, Hindu deity + +JUNO, the particular guardian spirit of each woman (See Genius) + +JUNO, wife of Jupiter, queen of the gods + +JUPITER, JOVIS PATER, FATHER JOVE, JUPITER and JOVE used +interchangeably, at Dodona, statue of the Olympian + +JUPITER AMMON (See Ammon) + +JUPITER CAPITOLINUS, temple of, preserving the Sibylline books + +JUSTICE, See THEMIS + + +K + +KADYRIATH, advises King Arthur + +KAI, son of Kyner + +KALKI, tenth avatar of Vishnu + +KAY, Arthur's steward and a knight + +KEDALION, guide of Orion + +KERMAN, desert of + +KICVA, daughter of Gwynn Gloy + +KILWICH, son of Kilydd + +KILYDD, son of Prince Kelyddon, of Wales + +KNEPH, spirit or breath + +KNIGHTS, training and life of + +KRIEMHILD, wife of Siegfried + +KRISHNA, eighth avatar of Vishnu, Hindu deity of fertility in nature +and mankind + +KYNER, father of Kav + +KYNON, son of Clydno + + +L + +LABYRINTH, the enclosed maze of passageways where roamed the Minotaur +of Crete, killed by Theseus with aid of Ariadne + +LACHESIS, one of the Fates (which See) + +LADY OF THE FOUNTAIN, tale told by Kynon + +LAERTES, father of Ulysses + +LAESTRYGONIANS, savages attacking Ulysses + +LAIUS, King of Thebes + +LAMA, holy man of Thibet + +LAMPETIA, daughter of Hyperion LAOC'OON, a priest of Neptune, in Troy, +who warned the Trojans against the Wooden Horse (which See), but when +two serpents came out of the sea and strangled him and his two sons, +the people listened to the Greek spy Sinon, and brought the fatal Horse +into the town + +LAODAMIA, daughter of Acastus and wife of Protesilaus + +LAODEGAN, King of Carmalide, helped by Arthur and Merlin + +LAOMEDON, King of Troy + +LAPITHAE, Thessalonians, whose king had invited the Centaurs to his +daughter's wedding but who attacked them for offering violence to the +bride + +LARES, household deities + +LARKSPUR, flower from the blood of Ajax + +LATINUS, ruler of Latium, where Aeneas landed in Italy + +LATMOS, Mount, where Diana fell in love with Endymion + +LATONA, mother of Apollo + +LAUNCELOT, the most famous knight of the Round Table + +LAUSUS, son of Mezentius, killed by Aeneas + +LAVINIA, daughter of Latinus and wife of Aeneas + +LAVINIUM, Italian city named for Lavinia + +LAW, See THEMIS + +LEANDER, a youth of Abydos, who, swimming the Hellespont to see Hero, +his love, was drowned + +LEBADEA, site of the oracle of Trophomus + +LEBYNTHOS, Aegean island + +LEDA, Queen of Sparta, wooed by Jupiter in the form of a swan + +LEIR, mythical King of Britain, original of Shakespeare's Lear + +LELAPS, dog of Cephalus + +LEMNOS, large island in the Aegean Sea, sacred to Vulcan + +LEMURES, the spectres or spirits of the dead + +LEO, Roman emperor, Greek prince + +LETHE, river of Hades, drinking whose water caused forgetfulness + +LEUCADIA, a promontory, whence Sappho, disappointed in love, was said +to have thrown herself into the sea + +LEUCOTHEA, a sea goddess, invoked by sailors for protection (See Ino) + +LEWIS, son of Charlemagne + +LIBER, ancient god of fruitfulness + +LIBETHRA, burial place of Orpheus + +LIBYA, Greek name for continent of Africa in general + +LIBYAN DESERT, in Africa + +LIBYAN OASIS + +LICHAS, who brought the shirt of Nessus to Hercules + +LIMOURS, Earl of + +LINUS, musical instructor of Hercules + +LIONEL, knight of the Round Table + +LLYR, King of Britain + +LOCRINE, son of Brutus in Albion, king of Central England + +LOEGRIA, kingdom of (England) + +LOGESTILLA, a wise lady, who entertained Rogero and his friends + +LOGI, who vanquished Loki in an eating contest + +LOKI, the Satan of Norse mythology, son of the giant Farbanti + +LOT, King, a rebel chief, subdued by King Arthur, then a loyal knight + +LOTIS, a nymph, changed to a lotus-plant and in that form plucked by +Dryope + +LOTUS EATERS, soothed to indolence, companions of Ulysses landing among +them lost all memory of home and had to be dragged away before they +would continue their voyage + +LOVE (Eros) issued from egg of Night, and with arrows and torch +produced life and joy + +LUCAN, one of Arthur's knights + +Lucius Tiberius, Roman procurator in Britain demanding tribute from +Arthur + +LUD, British king, whose capital was called Lud's Town (London) + +LUDGATE, city gate where Lud was buried, 387 + +LUNED, maiden who guided Owain to the Lady of the Fountain + +LYCAHAS, a turbulent sailor + +LYCAON, son of Priam + +LYCIA, a district in Southern Asia Minor + +LYCOMODES, king of the Dolopians, who treacherously slew Theseus + +LYCUS, usurping King of Thebes + +LYNCEUS, one of the sons of Aegyptus + + +M + +MABINOGEON, plural of Mabinogi, fairy tales and romances of the Welsh + +MABON, son of Modron + +MACHAON, son of Aesculapius + +MADAN, son of Guendolen + +MADOC, a forester of King Arthur + +MADOR, Scottish knight + +MAELGAN, king who imprisoned Elphin + +MAEONIA, ancient Lydia + +MAGI, Persian priests + +MAHADEVA, same as Siva + +MAHOMET, great prophet of Arabia, born in Mecca, 571 AD, proclaimed +worship of God instead of idols, spread his religion through disciples +and then by force till it prevailed, with Arabian dominion, over vast +regions in Asia, Africa, and Spain in Europe + +MAIA, daughter of Atlas and Pleione, eldest and most beautiful of the +Pleiades + +MALAGIGI the Enchanter, one of Charlemagne's knights + +MALEAGANS, false knight + +MALVASIUS, King of Iceland + +MAMBRINO, with invisible helmet + +MANAWYD DAN, brother of King Vran, of London + +MANDRICARDO, son of Agrican + +MANTUA, in Italy, birthplace of Virgil + +MANU, ancestor of mankind + +MARATHON, where Theseus and Pirithous met + +MARK, King of Cornwall, husband of Isoude the Fair + +MARO See VIRGIL + +MARPHISA, sister of Rogero + +MARSILIUS, Spanish king, treacherous foe of Charlemagne + +MARSYAS, inventor of the flute, who challenged Apollo to musical +competition, and, defeated, was flayed alive + +MATSYA, the Fish, first avatar of Vishnu + +MEANDER, Grecian river + +MEDE, A, princess and sorceress who aided Jason + +MEDORO, a young Moor, who wins Angelica + +MEDUSA, one of the Gorgons + +MEGAERA, one of the Furies + +MELAMPUS, a Spartan dog, the first mortal endowed with prophetic powers + +MELANTHUS, steersman for Bacchus + +MELEAGER, one of the Argonauts (See Althaea) + +MELIADUS, King of Lionesse, near Cornwall + +MELICERTES, infant son of Ino. changed to Palaemon (See Ino, Leucothea, +and Palasmon) + +MELISSA, priestess at Merlin's tomb + +MELISSEUS, a Cretan king + +MELPOMENE, one of the Muses + +MEMNON, the beautiful son of Tithonus and Eos (Aurora), and king of the +Ethiopians, slain in Trojan War + +MEMPHIS, Egyptian city + +MENELAUS, son of King of Sparta, husband of Helen + +MENOECEUS, son of Creon, voluntary victim in war to gain success for +his father + +MENTOR, son of Alcimus and a faithful friend of Ulysses + +MERCURY (See HERMES) + +MERLIN, enchanter + +MEROPE, daughter of King of Chios, beloved by Orion + +MESMERISM, likened to curative oracle of Aesculapius at Epidaurus + +METABUS, father of Camilla + +METAMORPHOSES, Ovid's poetical legends of mythical transformations, a +large source of our knowledge of classic mythology + +METANIRA, a mother, kind to Ceres seeking Proserpine + +METEMPSYCHOSIS, transmigration of souls--rebirth of dying men and women +in forms of animals or human beings + +METIS, Prudence, a spouse of Jupiter + +MEZENTIUS, a brave but cruel soldier, opposing Aeneas in Italy + +MIDAS + +MIDGARD, the middle world of the Norsemen + +MIDGARD SERPENT, a sea monster, child of Loki + +MILKY WAY, starred path across the sky, believed to be road to palace +of the gods + +MILO, a great athlete + +MLON, father of Orlando + +MILTON, John, great English poet, whose History of England is here +largely used + +MIME, one of the chief dwarfs of ancient German mythology + +MINERVA (Athene), daughter of Jupiter, patroness of health, learning, +and wisdom + +MINOS, King of Crete + +MINO TAUR, monster killed by Theseus + +MISTLETOE, fatal to Baldur + +MNEMOSYNE, one of the Muses + +MODESTY, statue to + +MODRED, nephew of King Arthur + +MOLY, plant, powerful against sorcery + +MOMUS, a deity whose delight was to jeer bitterly at gods and men + +MONAD, the "unit" of Pythagoras + +MONSTERS, unnatural beings, evilly disposed to men + +MONTALBAN, Rinaldo's castle + +MONTH, the, attendant upon the Sun + +MOON, goddess of, see DIANA + +MORAUNT, knight, an Irish champion + +MORGANA, enchantress, the Lady of the Lake in "Orlando Furioso," same +as Morgane Le Fay in tales of Arthur + +MORGANE LE FAY, Queen of Norway, King Arthur's sister, an enchantress + +MORGAN TUD, Arthur's chief physician + +MORPHEUS, son of Sleep and god of dreams + +MORTE D'ARTHUr, romance, by Sir Thomas Mallory + +MULCIBER, Latin name of Vulcan + +MULL, Island of + +MUNIN, one of Odin's two ravens + +MUSAEUS, sacred poet, son of Orpheus + +MUSES, The, nine goddesses presiding over poetry, etc--Calliope, epic +poetry, Clio, history, Erato, love poetry, Euterpe, lyric poetry; +Melpomene, tragedy, Polyhymnia, oratory and sacred song Terpsichore, +choral song and dance, Thalia, comedy and idyls, Urania, astronomy + +MUSPELHEIM, the fire world of the Norsemen + +MYCENAS, ancient Grecian city, of which Agamemnon was king + +MYRDDIN (Merlin) + +MYRMIDONS, bold soldiers of Achilles + +MYSIA, Greek district on northwest coast of Asia Minor + +MYTHOLOGY, origin of, collected myths, describing gods of early peoples + + +N + +NAIADS, water nymphs + +NAMO, Duke of Bavaria, one of Charlemagne's knights + +NANNA, wife of Baldur + +NANTERS, British king + +NANTES, site of Caradoc's castle + +NAPE, a dog of Diana + +NARCISSUS, who died of unsatisfied love for his own image in the water + +NAUSICAA, daughter of King Alcinous, who befriended Ulysses + +NAUSITHOUS, king of Phaeacians + +NAXOS, Island of + +NEGUS, King of Abyssinia + +NEMEA, forest devastated by a lion killed by Hercules + +NEMEAN GAMES, held in honor of Jupiter and Hercules + +NEMEAN LION, killed by Hercules + +NEMESIS, goddess of vengeance + +NENNIUS, British combatant of Caesar + +NEOPTOLEMUS, son of Achilles + +NEPENTHE, ancient drug to cause forgetfulness of pain or distress + +NEPHELE, mother of Phryxus and Helle + +NEPHTHYS, Egyptian goddess + +NEPTUNE, identical with Poseidon, god of the sea + +NEREIDS, sea nymphs, daughters of Nereus and Doris + +NEREUS, a sea god + +NESSUS, a centaur killed by Hercules, whose jealous wife sent him a +robe or shirt steeped in the blood of Nessus, which poisoned him + +NESTOR, king of Pylos, renowned for his wisdom, justice, and knowledge +of war + +NIBELUNGEN HOARD, treasure seized by Siegfried from the Nibelungs, +buried in the Rhine by Hagan after killing Siegfried, and lost when +Hagan was killed by Kriemhild, theme of Wagner's four music dramas, +"The Ring of the Nibelungen," + +NIBELUNGEN LIED, German epic, giving the same nature myth as the Norse +Volsunga Saga, concerning the Hoard + +NIBELUNGEN RING, Wagner's music dramas + +NIBELUNGS, the, a race of Northern dwarfs + +NIDHOGGE, a serpent in the lower world that lives on the dead + +NIFFLEHEIM, mist world of the Norsemen, the Hades of absent spirits + +NILE, Egyptian river + +NIOBE, daughter of Tantalus, proud Queen of Thebes, whose seven sons +and seven daughters were killed by Apollo and Diana, at which Amphion, +her husband, killed himself, and Niobe wept until she was turned to +stone + +NISUS, King of Megara + +NOAH, as legendary ancestor of French, Roman, German, and British +peoples + +NOMAN, name assumed by Ulysses + +NORNS, the three Scandinavian Fates, Urdur (the past), Verdandi (the +present), and Skuld (the future) + +NOTHUNG, magic sword + +NOTUS, southwest wind + +NOX, daughter of Chaos and sister of Erebus, personification of night + +Numa, second king of Rome + +NYMPHS, beautiful maidens, lesser divinities of nature Dryads and +Hamadryads, tree nymphs, Naiads, spring, brook, and river nymphs, +Nereids, sea nymphs Oreads, mountain nymphs or hill nymphs + + +O + +OCEANUS, a Titan, ruling watery elements + +OCYROE, a prophetess, daughter of Chiron + +ODERIC + +ODIN, chief of the Norse gods + +ODYAR, famous Biscayan hero + +ODYSSEUS See ULYSSES + +ODYSSEY, Homer's poem, relating the wanderings of Odysseus (Ulysses) on +returning from Trojan War + +OEDIPUS, Theban hero, who guessed the riddle of the Sphinx (which See), +becoming King of Thebes + +OENEUS, King of Calydon + +OENONE, nymph, married by Paris in his youth, and abandoned for Helen + +OENOPION, King of Chios + +OETA, Mount, scene of Hercules' death + +OGIER, the Dane, one of the paladins of Charlemagne + +OLIVER, companion of Orlando + +OLWEN, wife of Kilwich + +OLYMPIA, a small plain in Elis, where the Olympic games were celebrated + +OLYMPIADS, periods between Olympic games (four years) + +OLYMPIAN GAMES, See GAMES + +OLYMPUS, dwelling place of the dynasty of gods of which Zeus was the +head + +OMPHALE, queen of Lydia, daughter of Iardanus and wife of Tmolus + +OPHION, king of the Titans, who ruled Olympus till dethroned by the +gods Saturn and Rhea + +OPS See RHEA + +ORACLES, answers from the gods to questions from seekers for knowledge +or advice for the future, usually in equivocal form, so as to fit any +event, also places where such answers were given forth usually by a +priest or priestess + +ORC, a sea monster, foiled by Rogero when about to devour Angelica + +OREADS, nymphs of mountains and hills + +ORESTES, son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, because of his crime in +killing his mother, he was pursued by the Furies until purified by +Minerva + +ORION, youthful giant, loved by Diana, Constellation + +ORITHYIA, a nymph, seized by Boreas + +ORLANDO, a famous knight and nephew of Charlemagne + +ORMUZD (Greek, Oromasdes), son of Supreme Being, source of good as his +brother Ahriman (Arimanes) was of evil, in Persian or Zoroastrian +religion + +ORPHEUS, musician, son of Apollo and Calliope, See EURYDICE + +OSIRIS, the most beneficent of the Egyptian gods + +OSSA, mountain of Thessaly + +OSSIAN, Celtic poet of the second or third century + +OVID, Latin poet (See Metamorphoses) + +OWAIN, knight at King Arthur's court + +OZANNA, a knight of Arthur + + +P + +PACTOLUS, river whose sands were changed to gold by Midas + +PAEON, a name for both Apollo and Aesculapius, gods of medicine. + +PAGANS, heathen + +PALADINS or peers, knights errant + +PALAEMON, son of Athamas and Ino + +PALAMEDES, messenger sent to call Ulysses to the Trojan War + +PALAMEDES, Saracen prince at Arthur's court + +PALATINE, one of Rome's Seven Hills + +PALES, goddess presiding over cattle and pastures + +PALINURUS, faithful steersman of Aeeas + +PALLADIUM, properly any image of Pallas Athene, but specially applied +to an image at Troy, which was stolen by Ulysses and Diomedes + +PALLAS, son of Evander + +PALLAS A THE'NE (Minerva) + +PAMPHA GUS, a dog of Diana + +PAN, god of nature and the universe + +PANATHENAEA, festival in honor of Pallas Athene (Minerva) + +PANDEAN PIPES, musical instrument of reeds, made by Pan in memory of +Syrinx + +PANDORA (all gifted), first woman, dowered with gifts by every god, yet +entrusted with a box she was cautioned not to open, but, curious, she +opened it, and out flew all the ills of humanity, leaving behind only +Hope, which remained + +PANDRASUS, a king in Greece, who persecuted Trojan exiles under Brutus, +great grandson of Aeneas, until they fought, captured him, and, with +his daughter Imogen as Brutus' wife, emigrated to Albion (later called +Britain) + +PANOPE, plain of + +PANTHUS, alleged earlier incarnation of Pythagoras + +PAPHLAGNIA, ancient country in Asia Minor, south of Black Sea + +PAPHOS, daughter of Pygmalion and Galatea (both of which, See) + +PARCAE See FATES + +PARIAHS, lowest caste of Hindus + +PARIS, son of Priam and Hecuba, who eloped with Helen (which. See) + +PARNASSIAN LAUREl, wreath from Parnassus, crown awarded to successful +poets + +PARNASSUS, mountain near Delphi, sacred to Apollo and the Muses + +PARSEES, Persian fire worshippers (Zoroastrians), of whom there are +still thousands in Persia and India + +PARTHENON, the temple of Athene Parthenos ("the Virgin") on the +Acropolis of Athens + +PASSEBREUL, Tristram's horse + +PATROCLUS, friend of Achilles, killed by Hector + +PECHEUR, King, uncle of Perceval + +PEERS, the + +PEG A SUS, winged horse, born from the sea foam and the blood of Medusa + +PELEUS, king of the Myrmidons, father of Achilles by Thetis + +PELIAS, usurping uncle of Jason + +PELION, mountain + +PELLEAS, knight of Arthur + +PENATES, protective household deities of the Romans + +PENDRAGON, King of Britain, elder brother of Uther Pendragon, who +succeeded him + +PENELOPE, wife of Ulysses, who, waiting twenty years for his return +from the Trojan War, put off the suitors for her hand by promising to +choose one when her weaving was done, but unravelled at night what she +had woven by day + +PENEUS, river god, river + +PENTHESILEA, queen of Amazons + +PENTHEUS, king of Thebes, having resisted the introduction of the +worship of Bacchus into his kingdom, was driven mad by the god + +PENUS, Roman house pantry, giving name to the Penates + +PEPIN, father of Charlemagne + +PEPLUS, sacred robe of Minerva + +PERCEVAL, a great knight of Arthur + +PERDIX, inventor of saw and compasses + +PERIANDER, King of Corinuh, friend of Arion + +PERIPHETES, son of Vulcan, killed by Theseus + +PERSEPHONE, goddess of vegetation, 8 See Pioserpine + +PERSEUS, son of Jupiter and Danae, slayer of the Gorgon Medusa, +deliverer of Andromeda from a sea monster, 116 122, 124, 202 + +PHAEACIANS, people who entertained Ulysses + +PHAEDRA, faithless and cruel wife of Theseus + +PHAETHUSA, sister of Phaeton, 244 + +PHAETON, son of Phoebus, who dared attempt to drive his father's sun +chariot + +PHANTASOS, a son of Somnus, bringing strange images to sleeping men + +PHAON, beloved by Sappho + +PHELOT, knight of Wales + +PHEREDIN, friend of Tristram, unhappy lover of Isoude + +PHIDIAS, famous Greek sculptor + +PHILEMON, husband of Baucis + +PHILOCTETES, warrior who lighted the fatal pyre of Hercules + +PHILOE, burial place of Osiris + +PHINEUS, betrothed to Andromeda + +PHLEGETHON, fiery river of Hades + +PHOCIS + +PHOEBE, one of the sisters of Phaeton + +PHOEBUS (Apollo), god of music, prophecy, and archery, the sun god + +PHOENIX, a messenger to Achilles, also, a miraculous bird dying in fire +by its own act and springing up alive from its own ashes + +PHORBAS, a companion of Aeneas, whose form was assumed by Neptune in +luring Palinuras the helmsman from his roost + +PHRYXUS, brother of Helle + +PINABEL, knight + +PILLARS OF HERCULES, two mountains--Calpe, now the Rock of Gibraltar, +southwest corner of Spain in Europe, and Abyla, facing it in Africa +across the strait + +PINDAR, famous Greek poet + +PINDUS, Grecian mountain + +PIRENE, celebrated fountain at Corinth + +PIRITHOUS, king of the Lapithae in Thessaly, and friend of Theseus, +husband of Hippodamia + +PLEASURE, daughter of Cupid and Psyche + +PLEIADES, seven of Diana's nymphs, changed into stars, one being lost + +PLENTY, the Horn of + +PLEXIPPUS, brother of Althea + +PLINY, Roman naturalist + +PLUTO, the same as Hades, Dis, etc. god of the Infernal Regions + +PLUTUS, god of wealth + +PO, Italian river + +POLE STAR + +POLITES, youngest son of Priam of Troy + +POLLUX, Castor and (Dioscuri, the Twins) (See Castor) + +POLYDECTES, king of Seriphus + +POLYDORE, slain kinsman of Aeneas, whose blood nourished a bush that +bled when broken + +POLYHYMNIA, Muse of oratory and sacred song + +POLYIDUS, soothsayer + +POLYNICES, King of Thebes + +POLYPHEMUS, giant son of Neptune + +POLYXENA, daughter of King Priam of Troy + +POMONA, goddess of fruit trees (See VERTUMNUS) + +PORREX and FER'REX, sons of Leir, King of Britain + +PORTUNUS, Roman name for Palaemon + +POSEIDON (Neptune), ruler of the ocean + +PRECIPICE, threshold of Helas hall + +PRESTER JOHN, a rumored priest or presbyter, a Christian pontiff in +Upper Asia, believed in but never found + +PRIAM, king of Troy + +PRIWEN, Arthur's shield + +PROCRIS, beloved but jealous wife of Cephalus + +PROCRUSTES, who seized travellers and bound them on his iron bed, +stretching the short ones and cutting short the tall, thus also himself +served by Theseus + +PROETUS, jealous of Bellerophon + +PROMETHEUS, creator of man, who stole fire from heaven for man's use + +PROSERPINE, the same as Persephone, goddess of all growing things, +daughter of Ceres, carried off by Pluto + +PROTESILAUS, slain by Hector the Trojan, allowed by the gods to return +for three hours' talk with his widow Laodomia + +PROTEUS, the old man of the sea + +PRUDENCE (Metis), spouse of Jupiter + +PRYDERI, son of Pwyll + +PSYCHE, a beautiful maiden, personification of the human soul, sought +by Cupid (Love), to whom she responded, lost him by curiosity to see +him (as he came to her only by night), but finally through his prayers +was made immortal and restored to him, a symbol of immortality + +PURANAS, Hindu Scriptures + +PWYLL, Prince of Dyved + +PYGMALION, sculptor in love with a statue he had made, brought to life +by Venus, brother of Queen Dido + +PYGMIES, nation of dwarfs, at war with the Cranes + +PYLADES, son of Straphius, friend of Orestes + +PYRAMUS, who loved Thisbe, next door neighbor, and, their parents +opposing, they talked through cracks in the house wall, agreeing to +meet in the near by woods, where Pyramus, finding a bloody veil and +thinking Thisbe slain, killed himself, and she, seeing his body, killed +herself (Burlesqued in Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream") + +PYRRHA, wife of Deucalion + +PYRRHUS (Neoptolemus), son of Achilles + +PYTHAGORAS, Greek philosopher (540 BC), who thought numbers to be the +essence and principle of all things, and taught transmigration of souls +of the dead into new life as human or animal beings + +PYTHIA, priestess of Apollo at Delphi + +PYTHIAN GAMES + +PYTHIAN ORACLE + +PYTHON, serpent springing from Deluge slum, destroyed by Apollo + + +Q + +QUIRINUS (from quiris, a lance or spear), a war god, said to be +Romulus, founder of Rome + + +R + +RABICAN, noted horse + +RAGNAROK, the twilight (or ending) of the gods + +RAJPUTS, minor Hindu caste + +REGAN, daughter of Leir + +REGILLUS, lake in Latium, noted for battle fought near by between the +Romans and the Latins + +REGGIO, family from which Rogero sprang + +REMUS, brother of Romulus, founder of Rome + +RHADAMANTHUS, son of Jupiter and Europa after his death one of the +judges in the lower world + +RHAPSODIST, professional reciter of poems among the Greeks + +RHEA, female Titan, wife of Saturn (Cronos), mother of the chief gods, +worshipped in Greece and Rome + +RHINE, river + +RHINE MAIDENS, OR DAUGHTERS, three water nymphs, Flosshilda, Woglinda, +and Wellgunda, set to guard the Nibelungen Hoard, buried in the Rhine + +RHODES, one of the seven cities claiming to be Homer's birthplace + +RHODOPE, mountain in Thrace + +RHONGOMYANT, Arthur's lance + +RHOECUS, a youth, beloved by a Dryad, but who brushed away a bee sent +by her to call him to her, and she punished him with blindness + +RHIANNON, wife of Pwyll + +RINALDO, one of the bravest knights of Charlemagne + +RIVER OCEAN, flowing around the earth + +ROBERT DE BEAUVAIS', Norman poet (1257) + +ROBIN HOOD, famous outlaw in English legend, about time of Richard +Coeur de Lion + +ROCKINGHAM, forest of + +RODOMONT, king of Algiers + +ROGERO, noted Saracen knight + +ROLAND (Orlando), See Orlando + +ROMANCES + +ROMANUS, legendary great grandson of Noah + +ROME + +ROMULUS, founder of Rome + +RON, Arthur's lance + +RONCES VALLES', battle of + +ROUND TABLE King Arthur's instituted by Merlin the Sage for Pendragon, +Arthur's father, as a knightly order, continued and made famous by +Arthur and his knights + +RUNIC CHARACTERS, or runes, alphabetic signs used by early Teutonic +peoples, written or graved on metal or stone + +RUTULIANS, an ancient people in Italy, subdued at an early period by +the Romans + +RYENCE, king in Ireland + + +S + +SABRA, maiden for whom Severn River was named, daughter of Locrine and +Estrildis thrown into river Severn by Locrine's wife, transformed to a +river nymph, poetically named Sabrina + +SACRIPANT, king of Circassia + +SAFFIRE, Sir, knight of Arthur + +SAGAS, Norse tales of heroism, composed by the Skalds + +SAGRAMOUR, knight of Arthur + +St. MICHAEL'S MOUNT, precipitous pointed rock hill on the coast of +Brittany, opposite Cornwall + +SAKYASINHA, the Lion, epithet applied to Buddha + +SALAMANDER, a lizard like animal, fabled to be able to live in fire + +SALAMIS, Grecian city + +SALMONEUS, son of Aeolus and Enarete and brother of Sisyphus + +SALOMON, king of Brittany, at Charlemagne's court + +SAMHIN, or "fire of peace," a Druidical festival + +SAMIAN SAGE (Pythagoras) + +SAMOS, island in the Aegean Sea + +SAMOTHRACIAN GODS, a group of agricultural divinities, worshipped in +Samothrace + +SAMSON, Hebrew hero, thought by some to be original of Hercules + +SAN GREAL (See Graal, the Holy) + +SAPPHO, Greek poetess, who leaped into the sea from promontory of +Leucadia in disappointed love for Phaon + +SARACENS, followers of Mahomet + +SARPEDON, son of Jupiter and Europa, killed by Patroclus + +SATURN (Cronos) + +SATURNALIA, a annual festival held by Romans in honor of Saturn + +SATURNIA, an ancient name of Italy + +SATYRS, male divinities of the forest, half man, half goat + +SCALIGER, famous German scholar of 16th century + +SCANDINAVIA, mythology of, giving account of Northern gods, heroes, etc + +SCHERIA, mythical island, abode of the Phaeacians + +SCHRIMNIR, the boar, cooked nightly for the heroes of Valhalla becoming +whole every morning + +SCIO, one of the island cities claiming to be Homer's birthplace + +SCOPAS, King of Thessaly + +SCORPION, constellation + +SCYLLA, sea nymph beloved by Glaucus, but changed by jealous Circe to a +monster and finally to a dangerous rock on the Sicilian coast, facing +the whirlpool Charybdis, many mariners being wrecked between the two, +also, daughter of King Nisus of Megara, who loved Minos, besieging her +father's city, but he disliked her disloyalty and drowned her, also, a +fair virgin of Sicily, friend of sea nymph Galatea + +SCYROS, where Theseus was slain + +SCYTHIA, country lying north of Euxine Sea + +SEMELE, daughter of Cadmus and, by Jupiter, mother of Bacchus + +SEMIRAMIS, with Ninus the mythical founder of the Assyrian empire of +Nineveh + +SENAPUS, King of Abyssinia, who entertained Astolpho + +SERAPIS, or Hermes, Egyptian divinity of Tartarus and of medicine + +SERFS, slaves of the land + +SERIPHUS, island in the Aegean Sea, one of the Cyclades + +SERPENT (Northern constellation) + +SESTOS, dwelling of Hero (which See also Leander) + +"SEVEN AGAINST THEBES," famous Greek expedition + +SEVERN RIVER, in England + +SEVINUS, Duke of Guienne + +SHALOTT, THE LADY OF + +SHATRIYA, Hindu warrior caste + +SHERASMIN, French chevalier + +SIBYL, prophetess of Cumae + +SICHAEUS, husband of Dido + +SEIGE PERILOUS, the chair of purity at Arthur's Round Table, fatal to +any but him who was destined to achieve the quest of the Sangreal (See +Galahad) + +SIEGFRIED, young King of the Netherlands, husband of Kriemhild, she +boasted to Brunhild that Siegfried had aided Gunther to beat her in +athletic contests, thus winning her as wife, and Brunhild, in anger, +employed Hagan to murder Siegfried. As hero of Wagner's "Valkyrie," he +wins the Nibelungen treasure ring, loves and deserts Brunhild, and is +slain by Hagan + +SIEGLINDA, wife of Hunding, mother of Siegfried by Siegmund + +SIEGMUND, father of Siegfried + +SIGTRYG, Prince, betrothed of King Alef's daughter, aided by Hereward + +SIGUNA, wife of Loki + +SILENUS, a Satyr, school master of Bacchus + +SILURES (South Wales) + +SILVIA, daughter of Latin shepherd + +SILVIUS, grandson of Aeneas, accidentally killed in the chase by his +son Brutus + +SIMONIDES, an early poet of Greece + +SINON, a Greek spy, who persuaded the Trojans to take the Wooden Horse +into their city + +SIRENS, sea nymphs, whose singing charmed mariners to leap into the +sea, passing their island, Ulysses stopped the ears of his sailors with +wax, and had himself bound to the mast so that he could hear but not +yield to their music + +SIRIUS, the dog of Orion, changed to the Dog star + +SISYPHUS, condemned in Tartarus to perpetually roll up hill a big rock +which, when the top was reached, rolled down again + +SIVA, the Destroyer, third person of the Hindu triad of gods + +SKALDS, Norse bards and poets + +SKIDBLADNIR, Freyr's ship + +SKIRNIR, Frey's messenger, who won the god's magic sword by getting him +Gerda for his wife + +SKRYMIR, a giant, Utgard Loki in disguise, who fooled Thor in athletic +feats + +SKULD, the Norn of the Future + +SLEEP, twin brother of Death + +SLEIPNIR, Odin's horse + +SOBRINO, councillor to Agramant + +SOMNUS, child of Nox, twin brother of Mors, god of sleep + +SOPHOCLES, Greek tragic dramatist + +SOUTH WIND See Notus + +SPAR'TA, capital of Lacedaemon + +SPHINX, a monster, waylaying the road to Thebes and propounding riddles +to all passers, on pain of death, for wrong guessing, who killed +herself in rage when Aedipus guessed aright + +SPRING + +STONEHENGE, circle of huge upright stones, fabled to be sepulchre of +Pendragon + +STROPHIUS, father of Pylades + +STYGIAN REALM, Hades + +STYGIAN SLEEP, escaped from the beauty box sent from Hades to Venus by +hand of Psyche, who curiously opened the box and was plunged into +unconsciousness + +STYX, river, bordering Hades, to be crossed by all the dead + +SUDRAS, Hindu laboring caste + +SURTUR, leader of giants against the gods in the day of their +destruction (Norse mythology) + +SURYA, Hindu god of the sun, corresponding to the Greek Helios + +SUTRI, Orlando's birthplace + +SVADILFARI, giant's horse + +SWAN, LEDA AND + +SYBARIS, Greek city in Southern Italy, famed for luxury + +SYLVANUS, Latin divinity identified with Pan + +SYMPLEGADES, floating rocks passed by the Argonauts + +SYRINX, nymph, pursued by Pan, but escaping by being changed to a bunch +of reeds (See Pandean pipes) + + +T + +TACITUS, Roman historian + +TAENARUS, Greek entrance to lower regions + +TAGUS, river in Spain and Portugal + +TALIESIN, Welsh bard + +TANAIS, ancient name of river Don + +TANTALUS, wicked king, punished in Hades by standing in water that +retired when he would drink, under fruit trees that withdrew when he +would eat + +TARCHON, Etruscan chief + +TARENTUM, Italian city + +TARPEIAN ROCK, in Rome, from which condemned criminals were hurled + +TARQUINS, a ruling family in early Roman legend + +TAURIS, Grecian city, site of temple of Diana (See Iphigenia) + +TAURUS, a mountain + +TARTARUS, place of confinement of Titans, etc, originally a black abyss +below Hades later, represented as place where the wicked were punished, +and sometimes the name used as synonymous with Hades + +TEIRTU, the harp of + +TELAMON, Greek hero and adventurer, father of Ajax + +TELEMACHUS, son of Ulysses and Penelope + +TELLUS, another name for Rhea + +TENEDOS, an island in Aegean Sea + +TERMINUS, Roman divinity presiding over boundaries and frontiers + +TERPSICHORE, Muse of dancing + +TERRA, goddess of the earth + +TETHYS, goddess of the sea + +TEUCER, ancient king of the Trojans + +THALIA, one of the three Graces + +THAMYRIS, Thracian bard, who challenged the Muses to competition in +singing, and, defeated, was blinded + +THAUKT, Loki disguised as a hag + +THEBES, city founded by Cadmus and capital of Boeotia + +THEMIS, female Titan, law counsellor of Jove + +THEODORA, sister of Prince Leo + +THERON, one of Diana's dogs + +THERSITES, a brawler, killed by Achilles + +THESCELUS, foe of Perseus, turned to stone by sight of Gorgon's head + +THESEUM, Athenian temple in honor of Theseus + +THESEUS, son of Aegeus and Aethra, King of Athens, a great hero of many +adventures + +THESSALY + +THESTIUS, father of Althea + +THETIS, mother of Achilles + +THIALFI, Thor's servant + +THIS'BE, Babylonian maiden beloved by Pyramus + +THOR, the thunderer, of Norse mythology, most popular of the gods + +THRACE + +THRINA'KIA, island pasturing Hyperion's cattle, where Ulysses landed, +but, his men killing some cattle for food, their ship was wrecked by +lightning + +THRYM, giant, who buried Thor's hammer + +THUCYDIDES, Greek historian + +TIBER, river flowing through Rome + +TIBER, FATHER, god of the river + +TIGRIS, river + +TINTADEL, castle of, residence of King Mark of Cornwall + +TIRESIAS, a Greek soothsayer + +TISIPHONE, one of the Furies + +TITANS, the sons and daughters of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaea (Earth), +enemies of the gods and overcome by them + +TITHONUS, Trojan prince + +TITYUS, giant in Tartarus + +TMOLUS, a mountain god + +TORTOISE, second avatar of Vishnu + +TOURS, battle of (See Abdalrahman and Charles Martel) + +TOXEUS, brother of Melauger's mother, who snatched from Atalanta her +hunting trophy, and was slain by Melauger, who had awarded it to her + +TRIAD, the Hindu + +TRIADS, Welsh poems + +TRIMURTI, Hindu Triad + +TRIPTOL'EMUS, son of Celeus , and who, made great by Ceres, founded her +worship in Eleusis + +TRISTRAM, one of Arthur's knights, husband of Isoude of the White +Hands, lover of Isoude the Fair. + +TRITON, a demi god of the sea, son of Poseidon (Neptune) and Amphitrite + +TROEZEN, Greek city of Argolis + +TROJAN WAR + +TROJANOVA, New Troy, City founded in Britain (See Brutus, and Lud) + +TROPHONIUS, oracle of, in Boeotia + +TROUBADOURS, poets and minstrels of Provence, in Southern France + +TROUVERS', poets and minstrels of Northern France + +TROY, city in Asia Minor, ruled by King Priam, whose son, Paris, stole +away Helen, wife of Menelaus the Greek, resulting in the Trojan War and +the destruction of Troy + +TROY, fall of + +TURNUS, chief of the Rutulianes in Italy, unsuccessful rival of Aeneas +for Lavinia + +TURPIN, Archbishop of Rheims + +TURQUINE, Sir, a great knight, foe of Arthur, slain by Sir Launcelot + +TYPHON, one of the giants who attacked the gods, were defeated, and +imprisoned under Mt. Aetna + +TYR, Norse god of battles + +TYRE, Phoenician city governed by Dido + +TYRIANS + +TYRRHEUS, herdsman of King Turnus in Italy, the slaying of whose +daughter's stag aroused war upon Aeneas and his companions + + +U + +UBERTO, son of Galafron + +ULYSSES (Greek, Odysseus), hero of the Odyssey + +UNICORN, fabled animal with a single horn + +URANIA, one of the Muses, a daughter of Zeus by Mnemosyne + +URDUR, one of the Norns or Fates of Scandinavia, representing the Past + +USK, British river + +UTGARD, abode of the giant Utgard Loki + +UTGARD LO'KI, King of the Giants (See Skrymir) + +UTHER (Uther Pendragon), king of Britain and father of Arthur. + +UWAINE, knight of Arthur's court + + +V + +VAISSYAS, Hindu caste of agriculturists and traders + +VALHALLA, hall of Odin, heavenly residence of slain heroes + +VALKYRIE, armed and mounted warlike virgins, daughters of the gods +(Norse), Odin's messengers, who select slain heroes for Valhalla and +serve them at their feasts + +VE, brother of Odin + +VEDAS, Hindu sacred Scriptures + +VENEDOTIA, ancient name for North Wales + +VENUS (Aphrodite), goddess of beauty + +VENUS DE MEDICI, famous antique statue in Uffizi Gallery, Florence, +Italy + +VERDANDI, the Present, one of the Norns + +VERTUMNUS, god of the changing seasons, whose varied appearances won +the love of Pomona + +VESTA, daughter of Cronos and Rhea, goddess of the homefire, or hearth + +VESTALS, virgin priestesses in temple of Vesta + +VESUVIUS, Mount, volcano near Naples + +VILLAINS, peasants in the feudal scheme + +VIGRID, final battle-field, with destruction of the gods ind their +enemies, the sun, the earth, and time itself + +VILI, brother of Odin and Ve + +VIRGIL, celebrated Latin poet (See Aeneid) + +VIRGO, constellation of the Virgin, representing Astraea, goddess of +innocence and purity + +VISHNU, the Preserver, second of the three chief Hindu gods + +VIVIANE, lady of magical powers, who allured the sage Merlin and +imprisoned him in an enchanted wood + +VOLSCENS, Rutulian troop leader who killed Nisus and Euryalus + +VOLSUNG, A SAGA, an Icelandic poem, giving about the same legends as +the Nibelungen Lied + +VORTIGERN, usurping King of Britain, defeated by Pendragon 390, 397 + +VULCAN (Greek, Haephestus), god of fire and metal working, with forges +under Aetna, husband of Venus + +VYA'SA, Hindu sage + + +W + +WAIN, the, constellation + +WELLGUNDA, one of the Rhine-daughters. + +WELSH LANGUAGE + +WESTERN OCEAN + +WINDS, THE + +WINTER + +WODEN, chief god in the Norse mythology, Anglo Saxon for Odin. + +WOGLINDA, one of the Rhine-daughters. + +WOMAN, creation of. + +WOODEN HORSE, the, filled with armed men, but left outside of Troy as a +pretended offering to Minerva when the Greeks feigned to sail away, +accepted by the Trojans (See Sinon, and Laocoon), brought into the +city, and at night emptied of the hidden Greek soldiers, who destroyed +the town. + +WOOD NYMPHS + +WOTAN, Old High German form of Odin. + + +X + +XANTHUS, river of Asia Minor. + + +Y + +YAMA, Hindu god of the Infernal Regions. + +YEAR, THE + +YGDRASIL, great ash-tree, supposed by Norse mythology to support the +universe. + +YMIR, giant, slain by Odin. + +YNYWL, Earl, host of Geraint, father of Enid. + +YORK, Britain. + +YSERONE, niece of Arthur, mother of Caradoc. + +YSPA DA DEN PEN'KAWR, father of Olwen. + + +Z + +ZENDAVESTA, Persian sacred Scriptures. + +ZEPHYRUS, god of the South wind. + +ZERBINO, a knight, son of the king of Scotland. + +ZETES, winged warrior, companion of Theseus. + +ZETHUS, son of Jupiter and Antiope, brother of Amphion. See Dirce. + +ZEUS, See JUPITER. + +ZOROASTER, founder of the Persian religion, which was dominant in +Western Asia from about 550 BC to about 650 AD, and is still held by +many thousands in Persia and in India + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Legends of Charlemagne, by Thomas Bulfinch + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE *** + +***** This file should be named 4927.txt or 4927.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/4/9/2/4927/ + +Produced by Robert Rowe, Charles Franks and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. 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Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Legends of Charlemagne + +Author: Thomas Bulfinch + +Release Date: January, 2004 [EBook #4927] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on March 27, 2002] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE *** + + + + +Robert Rowe, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + +BULFINCH'S MYTHOLOGY + +THE AGE OF FABLE + +THE AGE OF CHIVALRY + +LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE + +BY THOMAS BULFINCH + +COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME + + +[Editor's Note: The etext contains only LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE] + + + + +PUBLISHERS' PREFACE + + +No new edition of Bulfinch's classic work can be considered +complete without some notice of the American scholar to whose wide +erudition and painstaking care it stands as a perpetual monument. +"The Age of Fable" has come to be ranked with older books like +"Pilgrim's Progress," "Gulliver's Travels," "The Arabian Nights," +"Robinson Crusoe," and five or six other productions of world-wide +renown as a work with which every one must claim some acquaintance +before his education can be called really complete. Many readers +of the present edition will probably recall coming in contact with +the work as children, and, it may be added, will no doubt discover +from a fresh perusal the source of numerous bits of knowledge that +have remained stored in their minds since those early years. Yet +to the majority of this great circle of readers and students the +name Bulfinch in itself has no significance. + +Thomas Bulfinch was a native of Boston, Mass., where he was born +in 1796. His boyhood was spent in that city, and he prepared for +college in the Boston schools. He finished his scholastic training +at Harvard College, and after taking his degree was for a period a +teacher in his home city. For a long time later in life he was +employed as an accountant in the Boston Merchants' Bank. His +leisure time he used for further pursuit of the classical studies +which he had begun at Harvard, and his chief pleasure in life lay +in writing out the results of his reading, in simple, condensed +form for young or busy readers. The plan he followed in this work, +to give it the greatest possible usefulness, is set forth in the +Author's Preface. + +"Age of Fable," First Edition, 1855; "The Age of Chivalry," 1858; +"The Boy Inventor," 1860; "Legends of Charlemagne, or Romance of +the Middle Ages," 1863; "Poetry of the Age of Fable," 1863; +"Oregon and Eldorado, or Romance of the Rivers,"1860. + +In this complete edition of his mythological and legendary lore +"The Age of Fable," "The Age of Chivalry," and "Legends of +Charlemagne" are included. Scrupulous care has been taken to +follow the original text of Bulfinch, but attention should be +called to some additional sections which have been inserted to add +to the rounded completeness of the work, and which the publishers +believe would meet with the sanction of the author himself, as in +no way intruding upon his original plan but simply carrying it out +in more complete detail. The section on Northern Mythology has +been enlarged by a retelling of the epic of the "Nibelungen Lied," +together with a summary of Wagner's version of the legend in his +series of music-dramas. Under the head of "Hero Myths of the +British Race" have been included outlines of the stories of +Beowulf, Cuchulain, Hereward the Wake, and Robin Hood. Of the +verse extracts which occur throughout the text, thirty or more +have been added from literature which has appeared since +Bulfinch's time, extracts that he would have been likely to quote +had he personally supervised the new edition. + +Finally, the index has been thoroughly overhauled and, indeed, +remade. All the proper names in the work have been entered, with +references to the pages where they occur, and a concise +explanation or definition of each has been given. Thus what was a +mere list of names in the original has been enlarged into a small +classical and mythological dictionary, which it is hoped will +prove valuable for reference purposes not necessarily connected +with "The Age of Fable." + +Acknowledgments are due the writings of Dr. Oliver Huckel for +information on the point of Wagner's rendering of the Nibelungen +legend, and M. I. Ebbutt's authoritative volume on "Hero Myths and +Legends of the British Race," from which much of the information +concerning the British heroes has been obtained + + + + + +AUTHOR'S PREFACE + + +If no other knowledge deserves to be called useful but that which +helps to enlarge our possessions or to raise our station in +society, then Mythology has no claim to the appellation. But if +that which tends to make us happier and better can be called +useful, then we claim that epithet for our subject. For Mythology +is the handmaid of literature; and literature is one of the best +allies of virtue and promoters of happiness. + +Without a knowledge of mythology much of the elegant literature of +our own language cannot be understood and appreciated. When Byron +calls Rome "the Niobe of nations," or says of Venice, "She looks a +Sea-Cybele fresh from ocean," he calls up to the mind of one +familiar with our subject, illustrations more vivid and striking +than the pencil could furnish, but which are lost to the reader +ignorant of mythology. Milton abounds in similar allusions. The +short poem "Comus" contains more than thirty such, and the ode "On +the Morning of the Nativity" half as many. Through "Paradise Lost" +they are scattered profusely. This is one reason why we often hear +persons by no means illiterate say that they cannot enjoy Milton. +But were these persons to add to their more solid acquirements the +easy learning of this little volume, much of the poetry of Milton +which has appeared to them "harsh and crabbed" would be found +"musical as is Apollo's lute." Our citations, taken from more than +twenty-five poets, from Spenser to Longfellow, will show how +general has been the practice of borrowing illustrations from +mythology. + +The prose writers also avail themselves of the same source of +elegant and suggestive illustration. One can hardly take up a +number of the "Edinburgh" or "Quarterly Review" without meeting +with instances. In Macaulay's article on Milton there are twenty +such. + +But how is mythology to be taught to one who does not learn it +through the medium of the languages of Greece and Rome? To devote +study to a species of learning which relates wholly to false +marvels and obsolete faiths is not to be expected of the general +reader in a practical age like this. The time even of the young is +claimed by so many sciences of facts and things that little can be +spared for set treatises on a science of mere fancy. + +But may not the requisite knowledge of the subject be acquired by +reading the ancient poets in translations? We reply, the field is +too extensive for a preparatory course; and these very +translations require some previous knowledge of the subject to +make them intelligible. Let any one who doubts it read the first +page of the "Aeneid," and see what he can make of "the hatred of +Juno," the "decree of the Parcae," the "judgment of Paris," and +the "honors of Ganymede," without this knowledge. + +Shall we be told that answers to such queries may be found in +notes, or by a reference to the Classical Dictionary? We reply, +the interruption of one's reading by either process is so annoying +that most readers prefer to let an allusion pass unapprehended +rather than submit to it. Moreover, such sources give us only the +dry facts without any of the charm of the original narrative; and +what is a poetical myth when stripped of its poetry? The story of +Ceyx and Halcyone, which fills a chapter in our book, occupies but +eight lines in the best (Smith's) Classical Dictionary; and so of +others. + +Our work is an attempt to solve this problem, by telling the +stories of mythology in such a manner as to make them a source of +amusement. We have endeavored to tell them correctly, according to +the ancient authorities, so that when the reader finds them +referred to he may not be at a loss to recognize the reference. +Thus we hope to teach mythology not as a study, but as a +relaxation from study; to give our work the charm of a story-book, +yet by means of it to impart a knowledge of an important branch of +education. The index at the end will adapt it to the purposes of +reference, and make it a Classical Dictionary for the parlor. + +Most of the classical legends in "Stories of Gods and Heroes" are +derived from Ovid and Virgil. They are not literally translated, +for, in the author's opinion, poetry translated into literal prose +is very unattractive reading. Neither are they in verse, as well +for other reasons as from a conviction that to translate +faithfully under all the embarrassments of rhyme and measure is +impossible. The attempt has been made to tell the stories in +prose, preserving so much of the poetry as resides in the thoughts +and is separable from the language itself, and omitting those +amplifications which are not suited to the altered form. + +The Northern mythological stories are copied with some abridgment +from Mallet's "Northern Antiquities." These chapters, with those +on Oriental and Egyptian mythology, seemed necessary to complete +the subject, though it is believed these topics have not usually +been presented in the same volume with the classical fables. + +The poetical citations so freely introduced are expected to answer +several valuable purposes. They will tend to fix in memory the +leading fact of each story, they will help to the attainment of a +correct pronunciation of the proper names, and they will enrich +the memory with many gems of poetry, some of them such as are most +frequently quoted or alluded to in reading and conversation. + +Having chosen mythology as connected with literature for our +province, we have endeavored to omit nothing which the reader of +elegant literature is likely to find occasion for. Such stories +and parts of stories as are offensive to pure taste and good +morals are not given. But such stories are not often referred to, +and if they occasionally should be, the English reader need feel +no mortification in confessing his ignorance of them. + +Our work is not for the learned, nor for the theologian, nor for +the philosopher, but for the reader of English literature, of +either sex, who wishes to comprehend the allusions so frequently +made by public speakers, lecturers, essayists, and poets, and +those which occur in polite conversation. + +In the "Stories of Gods and Heroes" the compiler has endeavored to +impart the pleasures of classical learning to the English reader, +by presenting the stories of Pagan mythology in a form adapted to +modern taste. In "King Arthur and His Knights" and "The +Mabinogeon" the attempt has been made to treat in the same way the +stories of the second "age of fable," the age which witnessed the +dawn of the several states of Modern Europe. + +It is believed that this presentation of a literature which held +unrivalled sway over the imaginations of our ancestors, for many +centuries, will not be without benefit to the reader, in addition +to the amusement it may afford. The tales, though not to be +trusted for their facts, are worthy of all credit as pictures of +manners; and it is beginning to be held that the manners and modes +of thinking of an age are a more important part of its history +than the conflicts of its peoples, generally leading to no result. +Besides this, the literature of romance is a treasure-house of +poetical material, to which modern poets frequently resort. The +Italian poets, Dante and Ariosto, the English, Spenser, Scott, and +Tennyson, and our own Longfellow and Lowell, are examples of this. + +These legends are so connected with each other, so consistently +adapted to a group of characters strongly individualized in +Arthur, Launcelot, and their compeers, and so lighted up by the +fires of imagination and invention, that they seem as well adapted +to the poet's purpose as the legends of the Greek and Roman +mythology. And if every well-educated young person is expected to +know the story of the Golden Fleece, why is the quest of the +Sangreal less worthy of his acquaintance? Or if an allusion to the +shield of Achilles ought not to pass unapprehended, why should one +to Excalibar, the famous sword of Arthur?-- + + "Of Arthur, who, to upper light restored, + With that terrific sword, + Which yet he brandishes for future war, + Shall lift his country's fame above the polar star." + +[Footnote: Wordsworth] + +It is an additional recommendation of our subject, that it tends +to cherish in our minds the idea of the source from which we +sprung. We are entitled to our full share in the glories and +recollections of the land of our forefathers, down to the time of +colonization thence. The associations which spring from this +source must be fruitful of good influences; among which not the +least valuable is the increased enjoyment which such associations +afford to the American traveller when he visits England, and sets +his foot upon any of her renowned localities. + +The legends of Charlemagne and his peers are necessary to complete +the subject. + +In an age when intellectual darkness enveloped Western Europe, a +constellation of brilliant writers arose in Italy. Of these, Pulci +(born in 1432), Boiardo (1434), and Ariosto (1474) took for their +subjects the romantic fables which had for many ages been +transmitted in the lays of bards and the legends of monkish +chroniclers. These fables they arranged in order, adorned with the +embellishments of fancy, amplified from their own invention, and +stamped with immortality. It may safely be asserted that as long +as civilization shall endure these productions will retain their +place among the most cherished creations of human genius. + +In "Stories of Gods and Heroes," "King Arthur and His Knights" and +"The Mabinogeon" the aim has been to supply to the modern reader +such knowledge of the fables of classical and mediaeval literature +as is needed to render intelligible the allusions which occur in +reading and conversation. The "Legends of Charlemagne" is intended +to carry out the same design. Like the earlier portions of the +work, it aspires to a higher character than that of a piece of +mere amusement. It claims to be useful, in acquainting its readers +with the subjects of the productions of the great poets of Italy. +Some knowledge of these is expected of every well-educated young +person. + +In reading these romances, we cannot fail to observe how the +primitive inventions have been used, again and again, by +successive generations of fabulists. The Siren of Ulysses is the +prototype of the Siren of Orlando, and the character of Circe +reappears in Alcina. The fountains of Love and Hatred may be +traced to the story of Cupid and Psyche; and similar effects +produced by a magic draught appear in the tale of Tristram and +Isoude, and, substituting a flower for the draught, in +Shakspeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream." There are many other +instances of the same kind which the reader will recognize without +our assistance. + +The sources whence we derive these stories are, first, the Italian +poets named above; next, the "Romans de Chevalerie" of the Comte +de Tressan; lastly, certain German collections of popular tales. +Some chapters have been borrowed from Leigh Hunt's Translations +from the Italian Poets. It seemed unnecessary to do over again +what he had already done so well; yet, on the other hand, those +stories could not be omitted from the series without leaving it +incomplete. + +THOMAS BULFINCH. + + + + + +CONTENTS + + +LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE + + +Introduction +The Peers, or Paladins +The Tournament +The Siege of Albracca +Adventures of Rinaldo and Orlando +The Invasion of France +The Invasion of France (Continued) + +Bradamante and Rogero +Astolpho and the Enchantress +The Orc +Astolpho's Adventures continued, and Isabella's begun. +Medoro +Orlando Mad +Zerbino and Isabella +Astolpho in Abyssinia +The War in Africa +Rogero and Bradamante +The Battle of Roncesvalles +Rinaldo and Bayard +Death of Rinaldo +Huon of Bordeaux +Huon of Bordeaux (Continued) +Huon of Bordeaux (Continued) +Ogier, the Dane +Ogier, the Dane (Continued) +Ogier, the Dane (Continued) + +GLOSSARY + + + + + +LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE + + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +Those who have investigated the origin of the romantic fables +relating to Charlemagne and his peers are of opinion that the +deeds of Charles Martel, and perhaps of other Charleses, have been +blended in popular tradition with those properly belonging to +Charlemagne. It was indeed a most momentous era; and if our +readers will have patience, before entering on the perusal of the +fabulous annals which we are about to lay before them, to take a +rapid survey of the real history of the times, they will find it +hardly less romantic than the tales of the poets. + +In the century beginning from the year 600, the countries +bordering upon the native land of our Saviour, to the east and +south, had not yet received his religion. Arabia was the seat of +an idolatrous religion resembling that of the ancient Persians, +who worshipped the sun, moon, and stars. In Mecca, in the year +571, Mahomet was born, and here, at the age of forty, he +proclaimed himself the prophet of God, in dignity as superior to +Christ as Christ had been to Moses. Having obtained by slow +degrees a considerable number of disciples, he resorted to arms to +diffuse his religion. The energy and zeal of his followers, aided +by the weakness of the neighboring nations, enabled him and his +successors to spread the sway of Arabia and the religion of +Mahomet over the countries to the east as far as the Indus, +northward over Persia and Asia Minor, westward over Egypt and the +southern shores of the Mediterranean, and thence over the +principal portion of Spain. All this was done within one hundred +years from the Hegira, or flight of Mahomet from Mecca to Medina, +which happened in the year 622, and is the era from which +Mahometans reckon time, as we do from the birth of Christ. + +From Spain the way was open for the Saracens (so the followers of +Mahomet were called) into France, the conquest of which, if +achieved, would have been followed very probably by that of all +the rest of Europe, and would have resulted in the banishment of +Christianity from the earth. For Christianity was not at that day +universally professed, even by those nations which we now regard +as foremost in civilization. Great part of Germany, Britain, +Denmark, and Russia were still pagan or barbarous. + +At that time there ruled in France, though without the title of +king, the first of those illustrious Charleses of whom we have +spoken, Charles Martel, the grandfather of Charlemagne. The +Saracens of Spain had made incursions into France in 712 and 718, +and had retired, carrying with them a vast booty. In 725, Anbessa, +who was then the Saracen governor of Spain, crossed the Pyrenees +with a numerous army, and took by storm the strong town of +Carcassone. So great was the terror excited by this invasion, that +the country for a wide extent submitted to the conqueror, and a +Mahometan governor for the province was appointed and installed at +Narbonne. Anbessa, however, received a fatal wound in one of his +engagements, and the Saracens, being thus checked from further +advance, retired to Narbonne. + +In 732 the Saracens again invaded France under Abdalrahman, +advanced rapidly to the banks of the Garonne, and laid siege to +Bordeaux. The city was taken by assault and delivered up to the +soldiery. The invaders still pressed forward, and spread over the +territories of Orleans, Auxerre and Sens. Their advanced parties +were suddenly called in by their chief, who had received +information of the rich abbey of St. Martin of Tours, and resolved +to plunder and destroy it. + +Charles during all this time had done nothing to oppose the +Saracens, for the reason that the portion of France over which +their incursions had been made was not at that time under his +dominion, but constituted an independent kingdom, under the name +of Aquitaine, of which Eude was king. But now Charles became +convinced of the danger, and prepared to encounter it. Abdalrahman +was advancing toward Tours, when intelligence of the approach of +Charles, at the head of an army of Franks, compelled him to fall +back upon Poitiers, in order to seize an advantageous field of +battle. + +Charles Martel had called together his warriors from every part of +his dominions, and, at the head of such an army as had hardly ever +been seen in France, crossed the Loire, probably at Orleans, and, +being joined by the remains of the army of Aquitaine, came in +sight of the Arabs in the month of October, 732. The Saracens seem +to have been aware of the terrible enemy they were now to +encounter, and for the first time these formidable conquerors +hesitated. The two armies remained in presence during seven days +before either ventured to begin the attack; but at length the +signal for battle was given by Abdalrahman, and the immense mass +of the Saracen army rushed with fury on the Franks. But the heavy +line of the Northern warriors remained like a rock, and the +Saracens, during nearly the whole day, expended their strength in +vain attempts to make any impression upon them. At length, about +four o'clock in the afternoon, when Abdalrahman was preparing for +a new and desperate attempt to break the line of the Franks, a +terrible clamor was heard in the rear of the Saracens. It was King +Eude, who, with his Aquitanians, had attacked their camp, and a +great part of the Saracen army rushed tumultuously from the field +to protect their plunder. In this moment of confusion the line of +the Franks advanced, and, sweeping the field before it, carried +fearful slaughter amongst the enemy. Abdalrahman made desperate +efforts to rally his troops, but when he himself, with the bravest +of his officers, fell beneath the swords of the Christians, all +order disappeared, and the remains of his army sought refuge in +their immense camp, from which Eude and his Aquitanians had been +repulsed. It was now late, and Charles, unwilling to risk an +attack on the camp in the dark, withdrew his army, and passed the +night in the plain, expecting to renew the battle in the morning. + +Accordingly, when daylight came, the Franks drew up in order of +battle, but no enemy appeared; and when at last they ventured to +approach the Saracen camp they found it empty. The invaders had +taken advantage of the night to begin their retreat, and were +already on their way back to Spain, leaving their immense plunder +behind to fall into the hands of the Franks. + +This was the celebrated battle of Tours, in which vast numbers of +the Saracens were slain, and only fifteen hundred of the Franks. +Charles received the surname of Martel (the Hammer) in consequence +of this victory. + +The Saracens, notwithstanding this severe blow, continued to hold +their ground in the south of France; but Pepin, the son of Charles +Martel, who succeeded to his father's power, and assumed the title +of king, successively took from them the strong places they held; +and in 759, by the capture of Narbonne, their capital, +extinguished the remains of their power in France. + +Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, succeeded his father, Pepin, on +the throne in the year 768. This prince, though the hero of +numerous romantic legends, appears greater in history than in +fiction. Whether we regard him as a warrior or as a legislator, as +a patron of learning or as the civilizer of a barbarous nation, he +is entitled to our warmest admiration. Such he is in history; but +the romancers represent him as often weak and passionate, the +victim of treacherous counsellors, and at the mercy of turbulent +barons, on whose prowess he depends for the maintenance of his +throne. The historical representation is doubtless the true one, +for it is handed down in trustworthy records, and is confirmed by +the events of the age. At the height of his power, the French +empire extended over what we now call France, Germany, +Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, and great part of Italy. + +In the year 800 Charlemagne, being in Rome, whither he had gone +with a numerous army to protect the Pope, was crowned by the +Pontiff Emperor of the West. On Christmas day Charles entered the +Church of St. Peter, as if merely to take his part in the +celebration of the mass with the rest of the congregation. When he +approached the altar and stooped in the act of prayer the Pope +stepped forward and placed a crown of gold upon his head; and +immediately the Roman people shouted, "Life and victory to Charles +the August, crowned by God the great and pacific Emperor of the +Romans." The Pope then prostrated himself before him, and paid him +reverence, according to the custom established in the times of the +ancient Emperors, and concluded the ceremony by anointing him with +consecrated oil. + +Charlemagne's wars were chiefly against the pagan and barbarous +people, who, under the name of Saxons, inhabited the countries now +called Hanover and Holland. He also led expeditions against the +Saracens of Spain; but his wars with the Saracens were not carried +on, as the romances assert, in France, but on the soil of Spain. +He entered Spain by the Eastern Pyrenees, and made an easy +conquest of Barcelona and Pampeluna. But Saragossa refused to open +her gates to him, and Charles ended by negotiating and accepting a +vast sum of gold as the price of his return over the Pyrenees. + +On his way back, he marched with his whole army through the gorges +of the mountains by way of the valleys of Engui, Eno, and +Roncesvalles. The chief of this region had waited upon +Charlemagne, on his advance, as a faithful vassal of the monarchy; +but now, on the return of the Franks, he had called together all +the wild mountaineers who acknowledged him as their chief, and +they occupied the heights of the mountains under which the army +had to pass. The main body of the troops met with no obstruction, +and received no intimation of danger; but the rear-guard, which +was considerably behind, and encumbered with its plunder, was +overwhelmed by the mountaineers in the pass of Roncesvalles, and +slain to a man. Some of the bravest of the Prankish chiefs +perished on this occasion, among whom is mentioned Roland or +Orlando, governor of the marches or frontier of Brittany. His name +became famous in after times, and the disaster of Roncesvalles and +death of Roland became eventually the most celebrated episode in +the vast cycle of romance. + +Though after this there were hostile encounters between the armies +of Charlemagne and the Saracens, they were of small account, and +generally on the soil of Spain. Thus the historical foundation for +the stories of the romancers is but scanty, unless we suppose the +events of an earlier and of a later age to be incorporated with +those of Charlemagne's own time. + +There is, however, a pretended history, which for a long time was +admitted as authentic, and attributed to Turpin, Archbishop of +Rheims, a real personage of the time of Charlemagne. Its title is +"History of Charles the Great and Orlando." It is now +unhesitatingly considered as a collection of popular traditions, +produced by some credulous and unscrupulous monk, who thought to +give dignity to his romance by ascribing its authorship to a well- +known and eminent individual. It introduces its pretended author, +Bishop Turpin, in this manner: + +"Turpin, Archbishop of Rheims, the friend and secretary of Charles +the Great, excellently skilled in sacred and profane literature, +of a genius equally adapted to prose and verse, the advocate of +the poor, beloved of God in his life and conversation, who often +fought the Saracens, hand to hand, by the Emperor's side, he +relates the acts of Charles the Great in one book, and flourished +under Charles and his son Louis, to the year of our Lord eight +hundred and thirty." + +The titles of some of Archbishop Turpin's chapters will show the +nature of his history. They are these: "Of the Walls of Pampeluna, +that fell of themselves." "Of the War of the holy Facundus, where +the Spears grew." (Certain of the Christians fixed their spears in +the evening, erect in the ground, before the castle; and found +them, in the morning, covered with bark and branches.) "How the +Sun stood still for Three Days, and of the Slaughter of Four +Thousand Saracens." + +Turpin's history has perhaps been the source of the marvellous +adventures which succeeding poets and romancers have accumulated +around the names of Charlemagne and his Paladins, or Peers. But +Ariosto and the other Italian poets have drawn from different +sources, and doubtless often from their own invention, numberless +other stories which they attribute to the same heroes, not +hesitating to quote as their authority "the good Turpin," though +his history contains no trace of them; and the more outrageous the +improbability, or rather the impossibility, of their narrations, +the more attentive are they to cite "the Archbishop," generally +adding their testimonial to his unquestionable veracity. + +The principal Italian poets who have sung the adventures of the +peers of Charlemagne are Pulci, Boiardo, and Ariosto. The +characters of Orlando, Rinaldo, Astolpho, Gano, and others, are +the same in all, though the adventures attributed to them are +different. Boiardo tells us of the loves of Orlando, Ariosto of +his disappointment and consequent madness, Pulci of his death. + +Ogier, the Dane, is a real personage. History agrees with romance +in representing him as a powerful lord who, originally from +Denmark and a Pagan, embraced Christianity, and took service under +Charlemagne. He revolted from the Emperor, and was driven into +exile. He afterwards led one of those bands of piratical Northmen +which ravaged France under the reigns of Charlemagne's degenerate +successors. The description which an ancient chronicler gives of +Charlemagne, as described by Ogier, is so picturesque, that we are +tempted to transcribe it. Charlemagne was advancing to the siege +of Pavia. Didier, King of the Lombards, was in the city with +Ogier, to whom he had given refuge. When they learned that the +king was approaching they mounted a high tower, whence they could +see far and wide over the country. "They first saw advancing the +engines of war, fit for the armies of Darius or Julius Caesar. +'There is Charlemagne,' said Didier. 'No,' said Ogier. The Lombard +next saw a vast body of soldiers, who filled all the plain. +'Certainly Charles advanced with that host,' said the king. 'Not +yet,' replied Ogier. 'What hope for us,' resumed the king, 'if he +brings with him a greater host than that?' At last Charles +appeared, his head covered with an iron helmet, his hands with +iron gloves, his breast and shoulders with a cuirass of iron, his +left hand holding an iron lance, while his right hand grasped his +sword. Those who went before the monarch, those who marched at his +side, and those who followed him, all had similar arms. Iron +covered the fields and the roads; iron points reflected the rays +of the sun. This iron, so hard, was borne by a people whose hearts +were harder still. The blaze of the weapons flashed terror into +the streets of the city." + +This picture of Charlemagne in his military aspect would be +incomplete without a corresponding one of his "mood of peace." One +of the greatest of modern historians, M. Guizot, has compared the +glory of Charlemagne to a brilliant meteor, rising suddenly out of +the darkness of barbarism to disappear no less suddenly in the +darkness of feudalism. But the light of this meteor was not +extinguished, and reviving civilization owed much that was +permanently beneficial to the great Emperor of the Franks. His +ruling hand is seen in the legislation of his time, as well as in +the administration of the laws. He encouraged learning; he upheld +the clergy, who were the only peaceful and intellectual class, +against the encroaching and turbulent barons; he was an +affectionate father, and watched carefully over the education of +his children, both sons and daughters. Of his encouragement of +learning we will give some particulars. + +He caused learned men to be brought from Italy and from other +foreign countries to revive the public schools of France, which +had been prostrated by the disorders of preceding times. He +recompensed these learned men liberally, and kept some of them +near himself, honoring them with his friendship. Of these the most +celebrated is Alcuin, an Englishman, whose writings still remain, +and prove him to have been both a learned and a wise man. With the +assistance of Alcuin, and others like him, he founded an academy +or royal school, which should have the direction of the studies of +all the schools of the kingdom. Charlemagne himself was a member +of this academy on equal terms with the rest. He attended its +meetings, and fulfilled all the duties of an academician. Each +member took the name of some famous man of antiquity. Alcuin +called himself Horace, another took the name of Augustin, a third +of Pindar. Charlemagne, who knew the Psalms by heart, and who had +an ambition to be, according to his conception, A KING AFTER GOD'S +OWN HEART, received from his brother academicians the name of +David. + +Of the respect entertained for him by foreign nations an +interesting proof is afforded in the embassy sent to him by the +Caliph of the Arabians, the celebrated Haroun al Raschid, a prince +in character and conduct not unlike to Charlemagne. The +ambassadors brought with them, besides other rich presents, a +clock, the first that was seen in Europe, which excited universal +admiration. It had the form of a twelve-sided edifice with twelve +doors. These doors formed niches, in each of which was a little +statue representing one of the hours. At the striking of the hour +the doors, one for each stroke, was seen to open, and from the +doors to issue as many of the little statues, which, following one +another, marched gravely round the tower. The motion of the clock +was caused by water, and the striking was effected by balls of +brass equal to the number of the hours, which fell upon a cymbal +of the same metal, the number falling being determined by the +discharge of the water, which, as it sunk in the vessel, allowed +their escape. + +Charlemagne was succeeded by his son Louis, a well-intentioned but +feeble prince, in whose reign the fabric reared by Charles began +rapidly to crumble. Louis was followed successively by two +Charleses, incapable princes, whose weak and often tyrannical +conduct is no doubt the source of incidents of that character +ascribed in the romances to Charlemagne. + +The lawless and disobedient deportment of Charles's paladins, +instances of which are so frequent in the romantic legends, was +also a trait of the declining empire, but not of that of +Charlemagne. + +THE PEERS, OR PALADINS + +The twelve most illustrious knights of Charlemagne were called +Peers, for the equality that reigned among them; while the name of +Paladins, also conferred on them, implies that they were inmates +of the palace and companions of the king. Their names are always +given alike by the romancers, yet we may enumerate the most +distinguished of them as follows: Orlando or Roland (the former +the Italian, the latter the French form of the name), favorite +nephew of Charlemagne; Rinaldo of Montalban, cousin of Orlando; +Namo, Duke of Bavaria; Salomon, king of Brittany; Turpin, the +Archbishop; Astolpho, of England; Ogier, the Dane; Malagigi, the +Enchanter; and Florismart, the friend of Orlando. There were +others who are sometimes named as paladins, and the number cannot +be strictly limited to twelve. Charlemagne himself must be counted +one, and Ganelon, or Gano, of Mayence, the treacherous enemy of +all the rest, was rated high on the list by his deluded sovereign, +who was completely the victim of his arts. + +We shall introduce more particularly to our readers a few of the +principal peers, leaving the others to make their own introduction +as they appear in the course of our narrative. We begin with +Orlando. + +ORLANDO + +Milon, or Milone, a knight of great family, and distantly related +to Charlemagne, having secretly married Bertha, the Emperor's +sister, was banished from France, and excommunicated by the Pope. +After a long and miserable wandering on foot as mendicants Milon +and his wife arrived at Sutri, in Italy, where they took refuge in +a cave, and in that cave Orlando was born. There his mother +continued, deriving a scanty support from the compassion of the +neighboring peasants; while Milon, in quest of honor and fortune, +went into foreign lands. Orlando grew up among the children of the +peasantry, surpassing them all in strength and manly graces. Among +his companions in age, though in station far more elevated, was +Oliver, son of the governor of the town. Between the two boys a +feud arose that led to a fight, in which Orlando thrashed his +rival; but this did not prevent a friendship springing up between +the two, which lasted through life. + +Orlando was so poor that he was sometimes half naked. As he was a +favorite of the boys, one day four of them brought some cloth to +make him clothes. Two brought white and two red; and from this +circumstance Orlando took his coat-of-arms, or quarterings. + +When Charlemagne was on his way to Rome to receive the imperial +crown he dined in public in Sutri. Orlando and his mother that day +had nothing to eat, and Orlando coming suddenly upon the royal +party, and seeing abundance of provisions, seized from the +attendants as much as he could carry off, and made good his +retreat in spite of their resistance. The Emperor, being told of +this incident, was reminded of an intimation he had received in a +dream, and ordered the boy to be followed. This was done by three +of the knights, whom Orlando would have encountered with a cudgel +on their entering the grotto, had not his mother restrained him. +When they heard from her who she was they threw themselves at her +feet, and promised to obtain her pardon from the Emperor. This was +easily effected. Orlando was received into favor by the Emperor, +returned with him to France, and so distinguished himself that he +became the most powerful support of the throne and of +Christianity. [Footnote: It is plain that Shakspeare borrowed from +this source the similar incident in his "As you Like it." The +names of characters in the play, Orlando, Oliver, Rowland indicate +the same thing.] + +ROLAND AND FERRAGUS + +Orlando, or Roland, particularly distinguished himself by his +combat with Ferragus. Ferragus was a giant, and moreover his skin +was of such impenetrable stuff that no sword could make any +impression upon it. The giant's mode of fighting was to seize his +adversary in his arms and carry him off, in spite of all the +struggles he could make. Roland's utmost skill only availed to +keep him out of the giant's clutches, but all his efforts to wound +him with the sword were useless. After long fighting Ferragus was +so weary that he proposed a truce, and when it was agreed upon he +lay down and immediately fell asleep. He slept in perfect +security, for it was against all the laws of chivalry to take +advantage of an adversary under such circumstances. But Ferragus +lay so uncomfortably for the want of a pillow that Orlando took +pity upon him, and brought a smooth stone and placed it under his +head. When the giant woke up, after a refreshing nap, and +perceived what Orlando had done, he seemed quite grateful, became +sociable, and talked freely in the usual boastful style of such +characters. Among other things he told Orlando that he need not +attempt to kill him with a sword, for that every part of his body +was invulnerable, except this; and as he spoke, he put his hand to +the vital part, just in the middle of his breast. Aided by this +information Orlando succeeded, when the fight was renewed, in +piercing the giant in the very spot he had pointed out, and giving +him a death-wound. Great was the rejoicing in the Christian camp, +and many the praises showered upon the victorious paladin by the +Emperor and all his host. + +On another occasion Orlando encountered a puissant Saracen +warrior, and took from him, as the prize of victory, the sword +Durindana. This famous weapon had once belonged to the illustrious +prince Hector of Troy. It was of the finest workmanship, and of +such strength and temper that no armor in the world could stand +against it. + +A ROLAND FOR AN OLIVER + +Guerin de Montglave held the lordship of Vienne, subject to +Charlemagne. He had quarrelled with his sovereign, and Charles +laid siege to his city, having ravaged the neighboring country. +Guerin was an aged warrior, but relied for his defence upon his +four sons and two grandsons, who were among the bravest knights of +the age. After the siege had continued two months Charlemagne +received tidings that Marsilius, king of Spain, had invaded +France, and, finding himself unopposed, was advancing rapidly in +the Southern provinces. At this intelligence Charles listened to +the counsel of his peers, and consented to put the quarrel with +Guerin to the decision of Heaven, by single combat between two +knights, one of each party, selected by lot. The proposal was +acceptable to Guerin and his sons. The names of the four, together +with Guerin's own, who would not be excused, and of the two +grandsons, who claimed their lot, being put into a helmet, +Oliver's was drawn forth, and to him, the youngest of the +grandsons, was assigned the honor and the peril of the combat. He +accepted the award with delight, exulting in being thought worthy +to maintain the cause of his family. On Charlemagne's side Roland +was the designated champion, and neither he nor Oliver knew who +his antagonist was to be. + +They met on an island in the Rhone, and the warriors of both camps +were ranged on either shore, spectators of the battle. At the +first encounter both lances were shivered, but both riders kept +their seats, immovable. They dismounted, and drew their swords. +Then ensued a combat which seemed so equal, that the spectators +could not form an opinion as to the probable issue. Two hours and +more the knights continued to strike and parry, to thrust and +ward, neither showing any sign of weariness, nor ever being taken +at unawares. At length Orlando struck furiously upon Oliver's +shield, burying Durindana in its edge so deeply that he could not +draw it back, and Oliver, almost at the same moment, thrust so +vigorously upon Orlando's breastplate that his sword snapped off +at the handle. Thus were the two warriors left weaponless. +Scarcely pausing a moment, they rushed upon one another, each +striving to throw his adversary to the ground, and failing in +that, each snatched at the other's helmet to tear it away. Both +succeeded, and at the same moment they stood bare-headed face to +face, and Roland recognized Oliver, and Oliver Roland. For a +moment they stood still; and the next, with open arms, rushed into +one another's embrace. "I am conquered," said Orlando. "I yield +me." said Oliver. + +The people on the shore knew not what to make of all this. +Presently they saw the two late antagonists standing hand in hand, +and it was evident the battle was at an end. The knights crowded +round them, and with one voice hailed them as equals in glory. If +there were any who felt disposed to murmur that the battle was +left undecided they were silenced by the voice of Ogier the Dane, +who proclaimed aloud that all had been done that honor required, +and declared that he would maintain that award against all +gainsayers. + +The quarrel with Guerin and his sons being left undecided, a truce +was made for four days, and in that time, by the efforts of Duke +Namo on the one side, and of Oliver on the other, a reconciliation +was effected. Charlemagne, accompanied by Guerin and his valiant +family, marched to meet Marsilius, who hastened to retreat across +the frontier. + +RINALDO + +Rinaldo was one of the four sons of Aymon, who married Aya, the +sister of Charlemagne. Thus Rinaldo was nephew to Charlemagne and +cousin of Orlando. + +When Rinaldo had grown old enough to assume arms Orlando had won +for himself an illustrious name by his exploits against the +Saracens, whom Charlemagne and his brave knights had driven out of +France. Orlando's fame excited a noble emulation in Rinaldo. Eager +to go in pursuit of glory, he wandered in the country near Paris, +and one day saw at the foot of a tree a superb horse, fully +equipped and loaded with a complete suit of armor. Rinaldo clothed +himself in the armor and mounted the horse, but took not the +sword. On the day when, with his brothers, he had received the +honor of knighthood from the Emperor he had sworn never to bind a +sword to his side till he had wrested one from some famous knight. + +Rinaldo took his way to the forest of Arden, celebrated for so +many adventures. Hardly had he entered it when he met an old man, +bending under the weight of years, and learned from him that the +forest was infested with a wild horse, untamable, that broke and +overturned everything that opposed his career. To attack him, he +said, or even to meet him, was certain death. Rinaldo, far from +being alarmed, showed the most eager desire to combat the animal. +This was the horse Bayard, afterward so famous. He had formerly +belonged to Amadis of Gaul. After the death of that hero he had +been held under enchantment by the power of a magician, who +predicted that, when the time came to break the spell, he should +be subdued by a knight of the lineage of Amadis, and not less +brave than he. + +To win this wonderful horse it was necessary to conquer him by +force or skill; for from the moment when he should be thrown down +he would become docile and manageable. His habitual resort was a +cave on the borders of the forest; but woe be to any one who +should approach him, unless gifted with strength and courage more +than mortal. Having told this, the old man departed. He was not, +in fact, an old man, but Malagigi, the enchanter, cousin of +Rinaldo, who, to favor the enterprises of the young knight, had +procured for him the horse and armor which he so opportunely +found, and now put him in the way to acquire a horse unequalled in +the world. + +Rinaldo plunged into the forest, and spent many days in seeking +Bayard, but found no traces of him. One day he encountered a +Saracen knight, with whom he made acquaintance, as often happened +to knights, by first meeting him in combat. This knight, whose +name was Isolier, was also in quest of Bayard. Rinaldo succeeded +in the encounter, and so severe was the shock that Isolier was a +long time insensible. When he revived, and was about to resume the +contest, a peasant who passed by (it was Malagigi) interrupted +them with the news that the terrible horse was near at hand, +advising them to unite their powers to subdue him, for it would +require all their ability. + +Rinaldo and Isolier, now become friends, proceeded together to the +attack of the horse. They found Bayard, and stood a long time, +concealed by the wood, admiring his strength and beauty. + +A bright bay in color (whence he was called Bayard), with a silver +star in his forehead, and his hind feet white, his body slender, +his head delicate, his ample chest filled out with swelling +muscles, his shoulders broad and full, his legs straight and +sinewy, his thick mane falling over his arching neck,--he came +rushing through the forest, regardless of rocks, bushes, or trees, +rending everything that opposed his way, and neighing defiance. + +He first descried Isolier, and rushed upon him. The knight +received him with lance in rest, but the fierce animal broke the +spear, and his course was not delayed by it for an instant. The +Spaniard adroitly stepped aside, and gave way to the rushing +tempest. Bayard checked his career, and turned again upon the +knight, who had already drawn his sword. He drew his sword, for he +had no hope of taming the horse; that, he was satisfied, was +impossible. + +Bayard rushed upon him; fiercely rearing, now on this side, now on +that. The knight struck him with his sword, where the white star +adorned his forehead, but struck in vain, and felt ashamed, +thinking that he had struck feebly, for he did not know that the +skin of that horse was so tough that the keenest sword could make +no impression upon it. + +Whistling fell the sword once more, and struck with greater force, +and the fierce horse felt it, and drooped his head under the blow, +but the next moment turned upon his foe with such a buffet that +the Pagan fell stunned and lifeless to the earth. + +Rinaldo, who saw Isolier fall, and thought that his life was reft, +darted towards the horse, and, with his fist gave him such a blow +on the jaws that the blood tinged his mouth with vermilion. +Quicker than an arrow leaves the bow the horse turned upon him, +and tried to seize his arm with his teeth. + +The knight stepped back, and then, repeating his blow, struck him +on the forehead. Bayard turned, and kicked with both his feet with +a force that would have shattered a mountain. Rinaldo was on his +guard, and evaded his attacks, whether made with head or heels. He +kept at his side avoiding both; but, making a false step, he at +last received a terrible blow from the horse's foot, and at the +shock almost fainted away. A second such blow would have killed +him, but the horse kicked at random, and a second blow did not +reach Rinaldo, who in a moment recovered himself. Thus the contest +continued until by chance Bayard's foot got caught between the +branches of an oak. Rinaldo seized it and putting forth all his +strength and address, threw him on the ground. + +No sooner had Bayard touched the ground than all his rage +subsided. No longer an object of terror, he became gentle and +quiet, yet with dignity in his mildness. + +The paladin patted his neck, stroked his breast, and smoothed his +mane, while the animal neighed and showed delight to be caressed +by his master. Rinaldo, seeing him now completely subdued, took +the saddle and trappings from the other horse, and adorned Bayard +with the spoils. + +Rinaldo became one of the most illustrious knights of +Charlemagne's court,--indeed, the most illustrious, if we except +Orlando. Yet he was not always so obedient to the Emperor's +commands as he should have been, and every fault he committed was +sure to be aggravated by the malice of Gan, Duke of Maganza, the +treacherous enemy of Rinaldo and all his house. + +At one time Rinaldo had incurred the severe displeasure of +Charlemagne, and been banished from court. Seeing no chance of +being ever restored to favor, he went to Spain, and entered into +the service of the Saracen king, Ivo. His brothers, Alardo, +Ricardo, and Ricciardetto, accompanied him, and all four served +the king so faithfully that they rose to high favor with him. The +king gave them land in the mountains on the frontiers of France +and Spain, and subjected all the country round to Rinaldo's +authority. There was plenty of marble in the mountains, the king +furnished workmen, and they built a castle for Rinaldo, surrounded +with high walls, so as to be almost impregnable. Built of white +stone, and placed on the brow of a marble promontory, the castle +shone like a star, and Rinaldo gave it the name of Montalban. Here +he assembled his friends, many of whom were banished men like +himself, and the country people furnished them with provisions in +return for the protection the castle afforded. Yet some of +Rinaldo's men were lawless, and sometimes the supplies were not +furnished in sufficient abundance, so that Rinaldo and his +garrison got a bad name for taking by force what they could not +obtain by gift; and we sometimes find Montalban spoken of as a +nest of freebooters, and its defenders called a beggarly garrison. + +Charlemagne's displeasure did not last long, and, at the time our +history commences, Rinaldo and his brothers were completely +restored to the favor of the Emperor, and none of his cavaliers +served him with greater zeal and fidelity than they, throughout +all his wars with the Saracens and Pagans. + +THE TOURNAMENT + +It was the month of May, and the feast of Pentecost. Charlemagne +had ordered magnificent festivities, and summoned to them, besides +his paladins and vassals of the crown, all strangers, Christian or +Saracen, then sojourning at Paris. Among the guests were King +Grandonio, from Spain; and Ferrau, the Saracen, with eyes like an +eagle; Orlando and Rinaldo, the Emperor's nephews; Duke Namo; +Astolpho, of England, the handsomest man living; Malagigi, the +Enchanter; and Gano, of Maganza, that wily traitor, who had the +art to make the Emperor think he loved him, while he plotted +against him. + +High sat Charlemagne at the head of his vassals and his paladins, +rejoicing in the thought of their number and their might, while +all were sitting and hearing music, and feasting, when suddenly +there came into the hall four enormous giants, having between them +a lady of incomparable beauty, attended by a single knight. There +were many ladies present who had seemed beautiful till she made +her appearance, but after that they all seemed nothing. Every +Christian knight turned his eyes to her, and every Pagan crowded +round her, while she, with a sweetness that might have touched a +heart of stone, thus addressed the Emperor: + +"High-minded lord, the renown of your worthiness, and of the valor +of these your knights, which echoes from sea to sea, encourages me +to hope that two pilgrims, who have come from the ends of the +world to behold you, will not have encountered their fatigue in +vain. And, before I show the motive which has brought us hither, +learn that this knight is my brother Uberto, and that I am his +sister Angelica. Fame has told us of the jousting this day +appointed, and so the prince my brother has come to prove his +valor, and to say that, if any of the knights here assembled +choose to meet him in the joust, he will encounter them, one by +one, at the stair of Merlin, by the Fountain of the Pine. And his +conditions are these: No knight who chances to be thrown shall be +allowed to renew the combat, but shall remain prisoner to my +brother; but if my brother be overthrown he shall depart out of +the country, leaving me as the prize of the conqueror." + +Now it must be stated that this Angelica and her brother, who +called himself Uberto, but whose real name was Argalia, were the +children of Galafron, king of Cathay, who had sent them to be the +destruction of the Christian host; for Argalia was armed with an +enchanted lance, which unfailingly overthrew everything it +touched, and he was mounted on a horse, a creature of magic, whose +swiftness outstripped the wind. Angelica possessed also a ring +which was a defence against all enchantments, and when put into +the mouth rendered the bearer invisible. Thus Argalia was expected +to subdue and take prisoners whatever knights should dare to +encounter him; and the charms of Angelica were relied on to entice +the paladins to make the fatal venture, while her ring would +afford her easy means of escape. + +When Angelica ceased sneaking she knelt before the king and +awaited his answer, and everybody gazed on her with admiration. +Orlando especially felt irresistibly drawn towards her, so that he +trembled and changed countenance. Every knight in the hall was +infected with the same feeling, not excepting old white-headed +Duke Namo and Charlemagne himself. + +All stood for a while in silence, lost in the delight of looking +at her. The fiery youth Ferrau could hardly restrain himself from +seizing her from the giants and carrying her away; Rinaldo turned +as red as fire, while Malagigi, who had discovered by his art that +the stranger was not speaking truth, muttered softly, as he looked +at her, "Exquisite false creature! I will play thee such a trick +for this, as will leave thee no cause to boast of thy visit." + +Charlemagne, to detain her as long as possible before him, delayed +his assent till he had asked her a number of questions, all which +she answered discreetly, and then the challenge was accepted. + +As soon as she was gone Malagigi consulted his book, and found out +the whole plot of the vile, infidel king, Galafron, as we have +explained it, so he determined to seek the damsel and frustrate +her designs. He hastened to the appointed spot, and there found +the prince and his sister in a beautiful pavilion, where they lay +asleep, while the four giants kept watch. Malagigi took his book +and cast a spell out of it, and immediately the four giants fell +into a deep sleep. Drawing his sword (for he was a belted knight), +he softly approached the young lady, intending to despatch her at +once; but, seeing her look so lovely, he paused for a moment, +thinking there was no need of hurry, as he believed his spell was +upon her, and she could not wake. But the ring which she wore +secured her from the effect of the spell, and some slight noise, +or whatever else it was, caused her at that moment to awake. She +uttered a great cry, and flew to her brother, and waked him. By +the help of her knowledge of enchantment, they took and bound fast +the magician, and, seizing his book, turned his arts against +himself. Then they summoned a crowd of demons, and bade them seize +their prisoner and bear him to King Galafron, at his great city of +Albracca, which they did, and, on his arrival, he was locked up in +a rock under the sea. + +While these things were going on all was uproar at Paris, since +Orlando insisted upon being the first to try the adventure at the +stair of Merlin. This was resented by the other pretenders to +Angelica, and all contested his right to the precedence. The +tumult was stilled by the usual expedient of drawing lots, and the +first prize was drawn by Astolpho. Ferrau, the Saracen, had the +second, and Grandonio the third. Next came Berlinghieri, and Otho; +then Charles himself, and, as his ill-fortune would have it, after +thirty more, the indignant Orlando. + +Astolpho, who drew the first lot, was handsome, brave, and rich. +But, whether from heedlessness or want of skill, he was an unlucky +jouster, and very apt to be thrown, an accident which he bore with +perfect good-humor, always ready to mount again and try to mend +his fortune, generally with no better success. + +Astolpho went forth upon his adventure with great gayety of dress +and manner, encountered Argalia, and was immediately tilted out of +the saddle. He railed at fortune, to whom he laid all the fault; +but his painful feelings were somewhat relieved by the kindness of +Angelica, who, touched by his youth and good looks, granted him +the liberty of the pavilion, and caused him to be treated with all +kindness and respect. + +The violent Ferrau had the next chance in the encounter, and was +thrown no less speedily than Astolpho; but he did not so easily +put up with his mischance. Crying out, "What are the emperor's +engagements to me?" he rushed with his sword against Argalia, who, +being forced to defend himself, dismounted and drew his sword, but +got so much the worse of the fight that he made a signal of +surrender, and, after some words, listened to a proposal of +marriage from Ferrau to his sister. The beauty, however, feeling +no inclination to match with such a rough and savage-looking +person, was so dismayed at the offer, that, hastily bidding her +brother to meet her in the forest of Arden, she vanished from the +sight of both by means of the enchanted ring. Argalia, seeing +this, took to his horse of swiftness, and dashed away in the same +direction. Ferrau pursued him, and Astolpho, thus left to himself, +took possession of the enchanted lance in place of his own, which +was broken, not knowing the treasure he possessed in it, and +returned to the tournament. Charlemagne, finding the lady and her +brother gone, ordered the jousting to proceed as at first +intended, in which Astolpho, by aid of the enchanted lance, +unhorsed all comers against him, equally to their astonishment and +his own. + +The paladin Rinaldo, on learning the issue of the combat of Ferrau +and the stranger, galloped after the fair fugitive in an agony of +love and impatience. Orlando, perceiving his disappearance, pushed +forth in like manner; and, at length, all three are in the forest +of Arden, hunting about for her who is invisible. + +Now in this forest there were two fountains, the one constructed +by the sage Merlin, who designed it for Tristram and the fair +Isoude; [Footnote: See their story in "King Arthur and His +Knights."] for such was the virtue of this fountain, that a +draught of its waters produced on oblivion of the love which the +drinker might feel, and even produced aversion for the object +formerly beloved. The other fountain was endowed with exactly +opposite qualities, and a draught of it inspired love for the +first living object that was seen after tasting it. Rinaldo +happened to come to the first mentioned fountain, and, being +flushed with heat, dismounted, and quenched in one draught both +his thirst and his passion. So far from loving Angelica as before +he hated her from the bottom of his heart, became disgusted with +the search he was upon, and, feeling fatigued with his ride, +finding a sheltered and flowery nook, laid himself down and fell +asleep. + +Shortly after came Angelica, but, approaching in a different +direction, she espied the other fountain, and there quenched her +thirst. Then resuming her way, she came upon the sleeping Rinaldo. +Love instantly seized her, and she stood rooted to the spot. + +The meadow round was all full of lilies of the valley and wild +roses. Angelica, not knowing what to do, at length plucked a +handful of these, and dropped them, one by one, on the face of the +sleeper. He woke up, and, seeing who it was, received her +salutations with averted countenance, remounted his horse, and +galloped away. In vain the beautiful creature followed and called +after him, in vain asked him what she had done to be so despised. +Rinaldo disappeared, leaving her in despair, and she returned in +tears to the spot where she had found him sleeping. There, in her +turn, she herself lay down, pressing the spot of earth on which he +had lain, and, out of fatigue and sorrow, fell asleep. + +As Angelica thus lay, fortune conducted Orlando to the same place. +The attitude in which she was sleeping was so lovely that it is +not to be conceived, much less expressed. Orlando stood gazing +like a man who had been transported to another sphere. "Am I on +earth," he exclaimed, "or am I in Paradise? Surely it is I that +sleep, and this is my dream." + +But his dream was proved to be none in a manner which he little +desired. Ferrau, who had slain Argalia, came up, raging with +jealousy, and a combat ensued which awoke the sleeper. + +Terrified at what she beheld, she rushed to her palfrey, and, +while the fighters were occupied with one another, fled away +through the forest. The champions continued their fight till they +were interrupted by a messenger, who brought word to Ferrau that +king Marsilius, his sovereign, was in pressing need of his +assistance, and conjured him to return to Spain. Ferrau, upon +this, proposed to suspend the combat, to which Orlando, eager to +pursue Angelica, agreed. Ferrau, on the other hand, departed with +the messenger to Spain. + +Orlando's quest for the fair fugitive was all in vain. Aided by +the powers of magic, she made a speedy return to her own country. + +But the thought of Rinaldo could not be banished from her mind, +and she determined to set Malagigi at liberty, and to employ him +to win Rinaldo, if possible, to make her a return of affection. +She accordingly freed him from his dungeon, unlocking his fetters +with her own hands, and restored him his book, promising him ample +honors and rewards on condition of his bringing Rinaldo to her +feet. + +Malagigi accordingly, with the aid of his book, called up a demon, +mounted him, and departed. Arrived at his destination, he +inveigled Rinaldo into an enchanted bark, which conveyed him, +without any visible pilot, to an island where stood an edifice +called Joyous Castle. The whole island was a garden. On the +western side, close to the sea, was the palace, built of marble, +so clear and polished that it reflected the landscape about it. +Rinaldo leapt ashore, and soon met a lady, who invited him to +enter. The house was as beautiful within as without, full of rooms +adorned with azure and gold, and with noble paintings. The lady +led the knight into an apartment painted with stories, and opening +to the garden, through pillars of crystal, with golden capitals. +Here he found a bevy of ladies, three of whom were singing in +concert, while another played on an instrument of exquisite +accord, and the rest danced round about them. When the ladies +beheld him coming they turned the dance into a circuit round him, +and then one of them, in the sweetest manner, said, "Sir knight, +the tables are set, and the hour for the banquet is come;" and, +with these words, still dancing, they drew him across the lawn in +front of the apartment, to a table that was spread with cloth of +gold and fine linen, under a bower of damask roses by the side of +a fountain. + +Four ladies were already seated there, who rose, and placed +Rinaldo at their head, in a chair set with pearls. And truly +indeed was he astonished. A repast ensued, consisting of viands +the most delicate, and wines as fragrant as they were fine, drunk +out of jewelled cups; and, when it drew towards its conclusion, +harps and lutes were heard in the distance, and one of the ladies +said in the knight's ear: "This house and all that you see in it +are yours; for you alone was it built, and the builder is a queen. +Happy indeed must you think yourself, for she loves you, and she +is the greatest beauty in the world! Her name is Angelica." + +The moment Rinaldo heard the name he so detested he started up, +with a changed countenance, and, in spite of all that the lady +could say, broke off across the garden, and never ceased hastening +till he reached the place where he landed. The bark was still on +the shore. He sprang into it, and pushed off, though he saw nobody +in it but himself. It was in vain for him to try to control its +movements, for it dashed on as if in fury, till it reached a +distant shore covered with a gloomy forest. Here Rinaldo, +surrounded by enchantments of a very different sort from those +which he had lately resisted, was entrapped into a pit. + +The pit belonged to a castle called Altaripa, which was hung with +human heads, and painted red with blood. As the paladin was +viewing the scene with amazement a hideous old woman made her +appearance at the edge of the pit, and told him that he was +destined to be thrown to a monster, who was only kept from +devastating the whole country by being supplied with living human +flesh. Rinaldo said, "Be it so; let me but remain armed as I am, +and I fear nothing." The old woman laughed in derision. Rinaldo +remained in the pit all night, and the next morning was taken to +the place where the monster had his den. It was a court surrounded +by a high wall. Rinaldo was shut in with the beast, and a terrible +combat ensued. Rinaldo was unable to make any impression on the +scales of the monster, while he, on the contrary, with his +dreadful claws, tore away plate and mail from the paladin. Rinaldo +began to think his last hour was come, and cast his eyes around +and above to see if there was any means of escape. He perceived a +beam projecting from the wall at the height of some ten feet, and, +taking a leap almost miraculous, he succeeded in reaching it, and +in flinging himself up across it. Here he sat for hours, the +hideous brute continually trying to reach him. All at once he +heard the sound of something coming through the air like a bird, +and suddenly Angelica herself alighted on the end of the beam. She +held something in her hand towards him, and spoke to him in a +loving voice. But the moment Rinaldo saw her he commanded her to +go away, refused all her offers of assistance, and at length +declared that, if she did not leave him, he would cast himself +down to the monster, and meet his fate. + +Angelica, saying she would lose her life rather than displease +him, departed; but first she threw to the monster a cake of wax +she had prepared, and spread around him a rope knotted with +nooses. The beast took the bait, and, finding his teeth glued +together by the wax, vented his fury in bounds and leaps, and, +soon getting entangled in the nooses, drew them tight by his +struggles, so that he could scarcely move a limb. + +Rinaldo, watching his chance, leapt down upon his back, seized him +round the neck, and throttled him, not relaxing his gripe till the +beast fell dead. + +Another difficulty remained to be overcome. The walls were of +immense height, and the only opening in them was a grated window +of such strength that he could not break the bars. In his distress +Rinaldo found a file, which Angelica had left on the ground, and, +with the help of this, effected his deliverance. + +What further adventures he met with will be told in another +chapter. + +THE SIEGE OF ALBRACCA + +At the very time when Charlemagne was holding his plenary court +and his great tournament his kingdom was invaded by a mighty +monarch, who was moreover so valiant and strong in battle that no +one could stand against him. He was named Gradasso, and his +kingdom was called Sericane. Now, as it often happens to the +greatest and the richest to long for what they cannot have, and +thus to lose what they already possess, this king could not rest +content without Durindana, the sword of Orlando, and Bayard, the +horse of Rinaldo. To obtain these he determined to war upon +France, and for this purpose put in array a mighty army. + +He took his way through Spain, and, after defeating Marsilius, the +king of that country, in several battles, was rapidly advancing on +France. Charlemagne, though Marsilius was a Saracen, and had been +his enemy, yet felt it needful to succor him in this extremity +from a consideration of common danger, and, with the consent of +his peers, despatched Rinaldo with a strong body of soldiers +against Gradasso. + +There was much fighting, with doubtful results, and Gradasso was +steadily advancing into France. But, impatient to achieve his +objects, he challenged Rinaldo to single combat, to be fought on +foot, and upon these conditions: If Rinaldo conquered, Gradasso +agreed to give up all his prisoners and return to his own country; +but if Gradasso won the day, he was to have Bayard. + +The challenge was accepted, and would have been fought had it not +been for the arts of Malagigi, who just then returned from +Angelica's kingdom with set purpose to win Rinaldo to look with +favor upon the fair princess who was dying for love of him. +Malagigi drew Rinaldo away from the army by putting on the +semblance of Gradasso, and, after a short contest, pretending to +fly before him, by which means Rinaldo was induced to follow him +into a boat, in which he was borne away, and entangled in various +adventures, as we have already related. + +The army, left under the command of Ricciardetto, Rinaldo's +brother, was soon joined by Charlemagne and all his peerage, but +experienced a disastrous rout, and the Emperor and many of his +paladins were taken prisoners. Gradasso, however, did not abuse +his victory; he took Charles by the hand, seated him by his side, +and told him he warred only for honor. He renounced all conquests, +on condition that the Emperor should deliver to him Bayard and +Durindana, both of them the property of his vassals, the former of +which, as he maintained, was already forfeited to him by Rinaldo's +failure to meet him as agreed. To these terms Charlemagne readily +acceded. + +Bayard, after the departure of his master, had been taken in +charge by Ricciardetto, and sent back to Paris, where Astolpho was +in command, in the absence of Charlemagne. Astolpho received with +great indignation the message despatched for Bayard, and replied +by a herald that "he would not surrender the horse of his kinsman +Rinaldo without a contest. If Gradasso wanted the steed he might +come and take him, and that he, Astolpho, was ready to meet him in +the field." + +Gradasso was only amused at this answer, for Astolpho's fame as a +successful warrior was not high, and Gradasso willingly renewed +with him the bargain which he had made with Rinaldo. On these +conditions the battle was fought. The enchanted lance, in the +hands of Astolpho, performed a new wonder; and Gradasso, the +terrible Gradasso, was unhorsed. + +He kept his word, set free his prisoners, and put his army on the +march to return to his own country, renewing his oath, however, +not to rest till he had taken from Rinaldo his horse, and from +Orlando his sword, or lost his life in the attempt. + +Charlemagne, full of gratitude to Astolpho, would have kept him +near his person and loaded him with honors, but Astolpho preferred +to seek Rinaldo, with the view of restoring to him his horse, and +departed from Paris with that design. + +Our story now returns to Orlando, whom we left fascinated with +the sight of the sleeping beauty, who, however, escaped him while +engaged in the combat with Ferrau. Having long sought her in vain +through the recesses of the wood, he resolved to follow her to her +father's court. Leaving, therefore, the camp of Charlemagne, he +travelled long in the direction of the East, making inquiry +everywhere, if, perchance, he might get tidings of the fugitive. +After many adventures, he arrived one day at a place where many +roads crossed, and meeting there a courier, he asked him for news. +The courier replied that he had been despatched by Angelica to +solicit the aid of Sacripant, king of Circassia, in favor of her +father Galafron, who was besieged in his city, Albracca, by +Agrican, king of Tartary. This Agrican had been an unsuccessful +suitor to the damsel, whom he now pursued with arms. Orlando thus +learned that he was within a day's journey of Albracca; and, +feeling now secure of Angelica, he proceeded with all speed to her +city. + +Thus journeying he arrived at a bridge, under which flowed a +foaming river. Here a damsel met him with a goblet, and informed +him that it was the usage of this bridge to present the traveller +with a cup. Orlando accepted the offered cup and drank its +contents. He had no sooner done so than his brain reeled, and he +became unconscious of the object of his journey, and of everything +else. Under the influence of this fascination he followed the +damsel into a magnificent and marvellous palace. Here he found +himself in company with many knights, unknown to him and to each +other, though if it had not been for the Cup of Oblivion of which +they all had partaken they would have found themselves brothers in +arms. + +Astolpho, proceeding on his way to seek Rinaldo, splendidly +dressed and equipped, as was his wont, arrived in Circassia, and +found there a great army encamped under the command of Sacripant, +the king of that country, who was leading it to the defence of +Galafron, the father of Angelica. Sacripant, much struck by the +appearance of Astolpho and his horse, accosted him courteously, +and tried to enlist him in his service; but Astolpho, proud of his +late victories, scornfully declined his offers, and pursued his +way. King Sacripant was too much attracted by his appearance to +part with him so easily, and having laid aside his kingly +ornaments, set out in pursuit of him. + +Astolpho next day encountered on his way a stranger knight, named +Sir Florismart, Lord of the Sylvan Tower, one of the bravest and +best of knights, having as his guide a damsel, young, fair, and +virtuous, to whom he was tenderly attached, whose name was +Flordelis. Astolpho, as he approached, defied the knight, bidding +him yield the lady, or prepare to maintain his right by arms. +Florismart accepted the contest, and the knights encountered. +Florismart was unhorsed and his steed fell dead, while Bayard +sustained no injury by the shock. + +Florismart was so overwhelmed with despair at his own disgrace and +the sight of the damsel's distress, that he drew his sword, and +was about to plunge it into his own bosom. But Astolpho held his +hand, told him that he contended only for glory, and was contented +to leave him the lady. + +While Florismart and Flordelis were vowing eternal gratitude King +Sacripant arrived, and coveting the damsel of the one champion as +much as the horse and arms of the other, defied them to the joust. +Astolpho met the challenger, whom he instantly overthrew, and +presented his courser to Florismart, leaving the king to return to +his army on foot. + +The friends pursued their route, and ere long Flordelis +discovered, by signs which were known to her, that they were +approaching the waters of Oblivion, and advised them to turn back, +or to change their course. This the knights would not hear of, +and, continuing their march, they soon arrived at the bridge where +Orlando had been taken prisoner. + +The damsel of the bridge appeared as before with the enchanted +cup, but Astolpho, forewarned, rejected it with scorn. She dashed +it to the ground, and a fire blazed up which rendered the bridge +unapproachable. At the same moment the two knights were assailed +by sundry warriors, known and unknown, who, having no recollection +of anything, joined blindly in defence of their prison-house. +Among these was Orlando, at sight of whom Astolpho, with all his +confidence not daring to encounter him, turned and fled, owing his +escape to the strength and fleetness of Bayard. + +Florismart, meanwhile, overlaid by fearful odds, was compelled to +yield to necessity, and comply with the usage of the fairy. He +drank of the cup and remained prisoner with the rest. Flordelis, +deprived of her two friends, retired from the scene, and devoted +herself to untiring efforts to effect her lover's deliverance. +Astolpho pursued his way to Albracca, which Agrican was about to +besiege. He was kindly welcomed by Angelica, and enrolled among +her defenders. Impatient to distinguish himself, he one night +sallied forth alone, arrived in Agrican's camp, and unhorsed his +warriors right and left by means of the enchanted lance. But he +was soon surrounded and overmatched, and made prisoner to Agrican. + +Relief was, however, at hand; for as the citizens and soldiers +were one day leaning over their walls they descried a cloud of +dust, from which horsemen were seen to prick forth, as it rolled +on towards the camp of the besiegers. This turned out to be the +army of Sacripant, which immediately attacked that of Agrican, +with the view of cutting a passage through his camp to the +besieged city. But Agrican, mounted upon Bayard, taken from +Astolpho, but not armed with the lance of gold, the virtues of +which were unknown to him, performed wonders, and rallied his +scattered troops, which had given way to the sudden and unexpected +assault. Sacripant, on the other hand, encouraged his men by the +most desperate acts of valor, having as an additional incentive to +his courage the sight of Angelica, who showed herself upon the +city walls. + +There she witnessed a single combat between the two leaders, +Agrican and Sacripant. In this, at length, her defender appeared +to be overmatched, when the Circassians broke the ring, and +separated the combatants, who were borne asunder in the rush. +Sacripant, severely wounded, profited by the confusion, and +escaped into Albracca, where he was kindly received and carefully +tended by Angelica. + +The battle continuing, the Circassians were at last put to flight, +and, being intercepted between the enemy's lines and the town, +sought for refuge under the walls. Angelica ordered the drawbridge +to be let down, and the gates thrown open to the fugitives. With +these Agrican, not distinguished in the crowd, entered the place, +driving both Circassians and Cathayans before him, and the +portcullis being dropped, he was shut in. + +For a time the terror which he inspired put to flight all +opposers, but when at last it came to be known that few or none of +his followers had effected an entrance with him, the fugitives +rallied and surrounded him on all sides. While he was thus +apparently reduced to the last extremities, he was saved by the +very circumstance which threatened him with destruction. The +soldiers of Angelica, closing upon him from all sides, deserted +their defences; and his own besieging army entered the city in a +part where the wall was broken down. + +In this way was Agrican rescued, the city taken, and the +inhabitants put to the sword. Angelica, however, with some of the +knights who were her defenders, among whom was Sacripant, saved +herself in the citadel, which was planted upon a rock. + +The fortress was impregnable, but it was scantily victualled, and +ill provided with other necessaries. Under these circumstances +Angelica announced to those blockaded with her in the citadel her +intention to go in quest of assistance, and, having plighted her +promise of a speedy return, she set out, with the enchanted ring +upon her finger. Mounted upon her palfrey, the damsel passed +through the enemy's lines, and by sunrise was many miles clear of +their encampment. + +It so happened that her road led her near the fatal bridge of +Oblivion, and as she approached it she met a damsel weeping +bitterly. It was Flordelis, whose lover, Florismart, as we have +related, had met the fate of Orlando and many more, and fallen a +victim to the enchantress of the cup. She related her adventures +to Angelica, and conjured her to lend what aid she might to rescue +her lord and his companions. Angelica, accordingly, watching her +opportunity and aided by her ring, slipped into the castle unseen, +when the door was opened to admit a new victim. Here she speedily +disenchanted Orlando and the rest by a touch of her talisman. But +Florismart was not there. He had been given up to Falerina, a more +powerful enchantress, and was still in durance. Angelica conjured +the rescued captives to assist her in the recovery of her kingdom, +and all departed together for Albracca. + +The arrival of Orlando, with his companions, nine in all, and +among the bravest knights of France, changed at once the fortunes +of the war. Wherever the great paladin came, pennon and standard +fell before him. Agrican in vain attempted to rally his troops. +Orlando kept constantly in his front, forcing him to attend to +nobody else. The Tartar king at length bethought him of a +stratagem. He turned his horse, and made a show of flying in +despair. Orlando dashed after him as he desired, and Agrican fled +till he reached a green place in a wood, where there was a +fountain. + +The place was beautiful, and the Tartar dismounted to refresh +himself at the fountain, but without taking off his helmet, or +laying aside any of his armor. Orlando was quickly at his back, +crying out, "So bold, and yet a fugitive! How could you fly from a +single arm and think to escape?" + +The Tartar king had leaped on his saddle the moment he saw his +enemy, and when the paladin had done speaking, he said in a mild +voice, "Without doubt you are the best knight I ever encountered, +and fain would I leave you untouched for your own sake, if you +would cease to hinder me from rallying my people. I pretended to +fly, in order to bring you out of the field. If you insist upon +fighting I must needs fight and slay you, but I call the sun in +the heavens to witness I would rather not. I should be very sorry +for your death." + +The Count Orlando felt pity for so much gallantry, and he said, +"The nobler you show yourself the more it grieves me to think that +in dying without a knowledge of the true faith you will be lost in +the other world. Let me advise you to save body and soul at once. +Receive baptism, and go your way in peace." + +Agrican replied: "I suspect you to be the paladin Orlando. If you +are I would not lose this opportunity of fighting with you to be +king of Paradise. Talk to me no more about your things of another +world, for you will preach in vain. Each of us for himself, and +let the sword be umpire." + +The Saracen drew his sword, boldly advancing upon Orlando, and a +combat began, so obstinate and so long, each warrior being a +miracle of prowess, that the story says it lasted from noon till +night. Orlando then seeing the stars come out was the first to +propose a respite. + +"What are we to do," said he, "now that daylight has left us?" + +Agrican answered readily enough, "Let us repose in this meadow, +and renew the combat at dawn." + +The repose was taken accordingly. Each tied up his horse, and +reclined himself on the grass, not far from the other, just as if +they had been friends, Orlando by the fountain, Agrican beneath a +pine. It was a beautiful clear night, and, as they talked together +before addressing themselves to sleep, the champion of +Christendom, looking up at the firmament, said, "That is a fine +piece of workmanship, that starry spectacle; God made it all, that +moon of silver, and those stars of gold, and the light of day, and +the sun,--all for the sake of human kind." + +"You wish, I see, to talk of matters of faith," said the Tartar. +"Now I may as well tell you at once that I have no sort of skill +in such matters, nor learning of any kind. I never could learn +anything when I was a boy. I hated it so that I broke the man's +head who was commissioned to teach me; and it produced such an +effect on others that nobody ever afterwards dared so much as show +me a book. My boyhood was therefore passed, as it should be, in +horsemanship and hunting, and learning to fight. What is the good +of a gentleman's poring all day over a book? Prowess to the +knight, and preaching to the clergyman, that is my motto." + +"I acknowledge," returned Orlando, "that arms are the first +consideration of a gentleman; but not at all that he does himself +dishonor by knowledge. On the contrary, knowledge is as great an +embellishment of the rest of his attainments, as the flowers are +to the meadow before us; and as to the knowledge of his Maker, the +man that is without it is no better than a stock or a stone or a +brute beast. Neither without study can he reach anything of a due +sense of the depth and divineness of the contemplation." + +"Learned or not learned," said Agrican, "you might show yourself +better bred than by endeavoring to make me talk on a subject on +which you have me at a disadvantage. If you choose to sleep I wish +you good night; but if you prefer talking I recommend you to talk +of fighting or of fair ladies. And, by the way, pray tell me, are +you not that Orlando who makes such a noise in the world? And what +is it, pray, that brings you into these parts? Were you ever in +love? I suppose you must have been; for to be a knight, and never +to have been in love, would be like being a man without a heart in +his breast." + +The count replied: "Orlando I am, and in love I am. Love has made +me abandon everything, and brought me into these distant regions, +and, to tell you all in one word, my heart is in the hands of the +daughter of King Galafron. You have come against him with fire and +sword, to get possession of his castles and his dominions; and I +have come to help him, for no object in the world but to please +his daughter and win her beautiful hand. I care for nothing else +in existence." + +Now when the Tartar king, Agrican, heard his antagonist speak in +this manner, and knew him to be indeed Orlando, and to be in love +with Angelica, his face changed color for grief and jealousy, +though it could not be seen for the darkness. His heart began +beating with such violence that he felt as if he should have died. +"Well," said he to Orlando, "we are to fight when it is daylight, +and one or other is to be left here, dead on the ground. I have a +proposal to make to you--nay, an entreaty. My love is so +excessive for the same lady that I beg you to leave her to me. I +will owe you my thanks, and give up the siege and put an end to +the war. I cannot bear that any one should love her, and that I +should live to see it. Why, therefore, should either of us perish? +Give her up. Not a soul shall know it." + +"I never yet," answered Orlando, "made a promise which I did not +keep, and nevertheless I own to you that, were I to make a promise +like that, and even swear to keep it, I should not. You might as +well ask me to tear away the limbs from my body, and the eyes out +of my head. I could as well live without breath itself as cease +loving Angelica." + +Agrican had hardly patience to let him finish speaking, ere he +leapt furiously on horseback, though it was midnight. "Quit her," +said he, "or die!" + +Orlando seeing the infidel getting up, and not being sure that he +would not add treachery to fierceness, had been hardly less quick +in mounting for the combat. "Never," exclaimed he; "I never could +have quitted her if I would, and now I would not if I could. You +must seek her by other means than these." + +Fiercely dashed their horses together, in the nighttime, on the +green mead. Despiteful and terrible were the blows they gave and +took by the moonlight. Agrican fought in a rage, Orlando was +cooler. And now the struggle had lasted more than five hours, and +day began to dawn, when the Tartar king, furious to find so much +trouble given him, dealt his enemy a blow sharp and violent beyond +conception. It cut the shield in two as if it had been made of +wood, and, though blood could not be drawn from Orlando, because +he was fated, it shook and bruised him as if it had started every +joint in his body. + +His body only, however, not a particle of his soul. So dreadful +was the blow which the paladin gave in return, that not only +shield, but every bit of mail on the body of Agrican was broken in +pieces, and three of his ribs cut asunder. + +The Tartar, roaring like a lion, raised his sword with still +greater vehemence than before, and dealt a blow on the paladin's +helmet, such as he had never yet received from mortal man. For a +moment it took away his senses. His sight failed, his ears +tingled, his frightened horse turned about to fly; and he was +falling from the saddle, when the very action of falling threw his +head upwards, and thus recalled his recollection. + +"What a shame is this!" thought he; "how shall I ever again dare +to face Angelica! I have been fighting hour after hour with this +man, and he is but one, and I call myself Orlando! If the combat +last any longer I will bury myself in a monastery, and never look +on sword again." + +Orlando muttered with his lips closed and his teeth ground +together; and you might have thought that fire instead of breath +came out of his nose and mouth. He raised his sword Durindana with +both his hands, and sent it down so tremendously on Agrican's +shoulder that it cut through breastplate down to the very haunch, +nay, crushed the saddle-bow, though it was made of bone and iron, +and felled man and horse to the earth. Agrican turned as white as +ashes, and felt death upon him. He called Orlando to come close to +him, with a gentle voice, and said, as well as he could: "I +believe on Him who died on the cross. Baptize me, I pray thee, +with the fountain, before my senses are gone. I have lived an evil +life, but need not be rebellious to God in death also. May He who +came to save all the rest of the world save me!" And he shed +tears, that great king, though he had been so lofty and fierce. + +Orlando dismounted quickly, with his own face in tears. He +gathered the king tenderly in his arms, and took and laid him by +the fountain, on a marble rim that it had, and then he wept in +concert with him heartily, and asked his pardon, and so baptized +him in the water of the fountain, and knelt and prayed to God for +him with joined hands. + +He then paused and looked at him; and when he perceived his +countenance changed, and that his whole person was cold, he left +him there on the marble rim of the fountain, all armed as he was, +with the sword by his side, and the crown upon his head. + +ADVENTURES OF RINALDO AND ORLANDO + +We left Rinaldo when, having overcome the monster, he quitted the +castle of Altaripa, and pursued his way on foot. He soon met with +a weeping damsel, who, being questioned as to the cause of her +sorrow, told him she was in search of one to do battle to rescue +her lover, who had been made prisoner by a vile enchantress, +together with Orlando and many more. The damsel was Flordelis, the +lady-love of Florismart, and Rinaldo promised his assistance, +trusting to accomplish the adventure either by valor or skill. +Flordelis insisted upon Rinaldo's taking her horse, which he +consented to do, on condition of her mounting behind him. + +As they rode on through a wood, they heard strange noises, and +Rinaldo, reassuring the damsel, pressed forward towards the +quarter from which they proceeded. He soon perceived a giant +standing under a vaulted cavern, with a huge club in his hand, and +of an appearance to strike the boldest spirit with dread. By the +side of the cavern was chained a griffin, which, together with the +giant, was stationed there to guard a wonderful horse, the same +which was once Argalia's. This horse was a creature of +enchantment, matchless in vigor, speed, and form, which disdained +to share the diet of his fellow-steeds,--corn or grass,--and fed +only on air. His name was Rabican. + +This marvellous horse, after his master Argalia had been slain by +Ferrau, finding himself at liberty, returned to his native cavern, +and was here stabled under the protection of the giant and the +griffin. As Rinaldo approached, the giant assailed him with his +club. Rinaldo defended himself from the giant's blows, and gave +him one in return, which, if his skin had not been of the +toughest, would have finished the combat. But the giant, though +wounded, escaped, and let loose the griffin. This monstrous bird +towered in air, and thence pounced down upon Rinaldo, who, +watching his opportunity, dealt her a desperate wound. She had, +however, strength for another flight, and kept repeating her +attacks, which Rinaldo parried as he could, while the damsel stood +trembling by, witnessing the contest. + +The battle continued, rendered more terrible by the approach of +night, when Rinaldo determined upon a desperate expedient to bring +it to a conclusion. He fell, as if fainting from his wounds, and, +on the close approach of the griffin, dealt her a blow which +sheared away one of her wings. The beast, though sinking, griped +him fast with her talons, digging through plate and mail; but +Rinaldo plied his sword in utter desperation, and at last +accomplished her destruction. + +Rinaldo then entered the cavern, and found there the wonderful +horse, all caparisoned. He was coal-black, except for a star of +white on his forehead, and one white foot behind. For speed he was +unrivalled, though in strength he yielded to Bayard. Rinaldo +mounted upon Rabican, and issued from the cavern. + +As he pursued his way he met a fugitive from Agrican's army, who +gave such an account of the prowess of a champion who fought on +the side of Angelica, that Rinaldo was persuaded this must be +Orlando, though at a loss to imagine how he could have been freed +from captivity. He determined to repair to the scene of the +contest to satisfy his curiosity, and Flordelis, hoping to find +Florismart with Orlando, consented to accompany him. + +While these things were doing, all was rout and dismay in the +Tartarian army, from the death of Agrican. King Galafron, arriving +at this juncture with an army for the relief of his capital, +Albracca, assaulted the enemy's camp, and carried all before him. +Rinaldo had now reached the scene of action, and was looking on as +an unconcerned spectator, when he was espied by Galafron. The king +instantly recognized the horse Rabican, which he had given to +Argalia when he sent him forth on his ill-omened mission to Paris. +Possessed with the idea that the rider of the horse was the +murderer of Argalia, Galafron rode at Rinaldo, and smote him with +all his force. Rinaldo was not slow to avenge the blow, and it +would have gone hard with the king had not his followers instantly +closed round him and separated the combatants. + +Rinaldo thus found himself, almost without his own choice, +enlisted on the side of the enemies of Angelica, which gave him no +concern, so completely had his draught from the fountain of hate +steeled his mind against her. + +For several successive days the struggle continued, without any +important results, Rinaldo meeting the bravest knights of +Angelica's party, and defeating them one after the other. At +length he encountered Orlando, and the two knights bitterly +reproached one another for the cause they had each adopted, and +engaged in a furious combat. Orlando was mounted upon Bayard, +Rinaldo's horse, which Agrican had by chance become possessed of, +and Orlando had taken from him as the prize of victory. Bayard +would not fight against his master, and Orlando was getting the +worse of the encounter, when suddenly Rinaldo, seeing Astolpho, +who for love of him had arrayed himself on his side, hard beset by +numbers, left Orlando to rush to the defence of his friend. Night +prevented the combat from being renewed; but a challenge was given +and accepted for their next meeting. + +But Angelica, sighing in her heart for Rinaldo, was not willing +that he should be again exposed to so terrible a venture. She +begged a boon of Orlando, promising she would be his if he would +do her bidding. On receiving his promise, she enjoined him to set +out without delay to destroy the garden of the enchantress +Falerina, in which many valiant knights had been entrapped, and +were imprisoned. + +Orlando departed on his horse Brigliadoro, leaving Bayard in +disgrace for his bad deportment the day before. Angelica, to +conciliate Rinaldo, sent Bayard to him; but Rinaldo remained +unmoved by this as by all her former acts of kindness. + +When Rinaldo learned Orlando's departure, he yielded to the +entreaties of the lady of Florismart, and prepared to fulfil his +promise, and rescue her lover from the power of the enchantress. +Thus both Rinaldo and Orlando were bound upon the same adventure, +but unknown to one another. + +The castle of Falerina was protected by a river, which was crossed +by a bridge, kept by a ruffian, who challenged all comers to the +combat; and such was his strength that he had thus far prevailed +in every encounter, as appeared by the arms of various knights +which he had taken from them, and piled up as a trophy on the +shore. Rinaldo attacked him, but with as bad success as the rest, +for the bridge-ward struck him so violent a blow with an iron mace +that he fell to the ground. But when the villain approached to +strip him of his armor, Rinaldo seized him, and the bridge-ward, +being unable to free himself, leapt with Rinaldo into the lake, +where they both disappeared. + +Orlando, meanwhile, in discharge of his promise to Angelica, +pursued his way in quest of the same adventure. In passing through +a wood he saw a cavalier armed at all points, and mounted, keeping +guard over a lady who was bound to a tree, weeping bitterly. +Orlando hastened to her relief, but was exhorted by the knight not +to interfere, for she had deserved her fate by her wickedness. In +proof of which he made certain charges against her. The lady +denied them all, and Orlando believed her, defied the knight, +overthrew him, and, releasing the lady, departed with her seated +on his horse's croup. + +While they rode another damsel approached on a white palfrey, who +warned Orlando of impending danger, and informed him that he was +near the garden of the enchantress. Orlando was delighted with the +intelligence, and entreated her to inform him how he was to gain +admittance. She replied that the garden could only be entered at +sunrise and gave him such instructions as would enable him to gain +admittance. She gave him also a book in which was painted the +garden and all that it contained, together with the palace of the +false enchantress, where she had secluded herself for the purpose +of executing a magic work in which she was engaged. This was the +manufacture of a sword capable of cutting even through enchanted +substances The object of this labor, the damsel told him, was the +destruction of a knight of the west, by name Orlando, who she had +read in the book of Fate was coming to demolish her garden. Having +thus instructed him, the damsel departed. + +Orlando, finding he must delay his enterprise till the next +morning, now lay down and was soon asleep. Seeing this, the base +woman whom he had rescued, and who was intent on making her escape +to rejoin her paramour, mounted Brigliadoro, and rode off, +carrying away Durindana. + +When Orlando awoke, his indignation, as may be supposed, was great +on the discovery of the theft; but, like a good knight and true, +he was not to be diverted from his enterprise. He tore off a huge +branch of an elm to supply the place of his sword; and, as the sun +rose, took his way towards the gate of the garden, where a dragon +was on his watch. This he slew by repeated blows, and entered the +garden, the gate of which closed behind him, barring retreat. +Looking round him, he saw a fair fountain, which overflowed into a +river, and in the centre of the fountain a figure, on whose +forehead was written: + + "The stream which waters violet and rose, + From hence to the enchanted palace goes." + +Following the banks of this flowing stream, and rapt in the +delights of the charming garden, Orlando arrived at the palace, +and entering it, found the mistress, clad in white, with a crown +of gold upon her head, in the act of viewing herself in the +surface of the magic sword. Orlando surprised her before she could +escape, deprived her of the weapon, and holding her fast by her +long hair, which floated behind, threatened her with immediate +death if she did not yield up her prisoners, and afford him the +means of egress. She, however, was firm of purpose, making no +reply, and Orlando, unable to move her either by threats or +entreaties, was under the necessity of binding her to a beech, and +pursuing his quest as he best might. + +He then bethought him of his book, and, consulting it, found that +there was an outlet to the south, but that to reach it a lake was +to be passed, inhabited by a siren, whose song was so entrancing +as to be quite irresistible to whoever heard it; but his book +instructed him how to protect himself against this danger. +According to its directions, while pursuing his path, he gathered +abundance of flowers, which sprung all around, and filled his +helmet and his ears with them; then listened if he heard the birds +sing. Finding that, though he saw the gaping beak, the swelling +throat, and ruffled plumes, he could not catch a note, he felt +satisfied with his defence, and advanced toward the lake. It was +small but deep, and so clear and tranquil that the eye could +penetrate to the bottom. + +He had no, sooner arrived upon the banks than the waters were seen +to gurgle, and the siren, rising midway out of the pool, sung so +sweetly that birds and beasts came trooping to the water-side to +listen. Of this Orlando heard nothing, but, feigning to yield to +the charm, sank down upon the bank. The siren issued from the +water with the intent to accomplish his destruction. Orlando +seized her by the hair, and while she sang yet louder (song being +her only defence) cut off her head. Then, following the directions +of the book, he stained himself all over with her blood. + +Guarded by this talisman, he met successively all the monsters set +for defence of the enchantress and her garden, and at length found +himself again at the spot where he had made captive the +enchantress, who still continued fastened to the beech. But the +scene was changed. The garden had disappeared, and Falerina, +before so haughty, now begged for mercy, assuring him that many +lives depended upon the preservation of hers. Orlando promised her +life upon her pledging herself for the deliverance of her +captives. + +This, however, was no easy task. They were not in her possession, +but in that of a much more powerful enchantress, Morgana, the Lady +of the Lake, the very idea of opposing whom made Falerina turn +pale with fear. Representing to him the hazards of the enterprise, +she led him towards the dwelling of Morgana. To approach it he had +to encounter the same uncourteous bridge-ward who had already +defeated and made captive so many knights, and last of all, +Rinaldo. He was a churl of the most ferocious character, named +Arridano. Morgana had provided him with impenetrable armor, and +endowed him in such a manner that his strength always increased in +proportion to that of the adversary with whom he was matched. No +one had ever yet escaped from the contest, since, such was his +power of endurance, he could breathe freely under water. Hence, +having grappled with a knight, and sunk with him to the bottom of +the lake, he returned, bearing his enemy's arms in triumph to the +surface. + +While Falerina was repeating her cautions and her counsels Orlando +saw Rinaldo's arms erected in form of a trophy, among other spoils +made by the villain, and, forgetting their late quarrel, +determined upon revenging his friend. Arriving at the pass, the +churl presuming to bar the way, a desperate contest ensued, during +which Falerina escaped. The churl finding himself overmatched at a +contest of arms, resorted to his peculiar art, grappled his +antagonist, and plunged with him into the lake. When he reached +the bottom Orlando found himself in another world, upon a dry +meadow, with the lake overhead, through which shone the beams of +our sun, while the water stood on all sides like a crystal wall. +Here the battle was renewed, and Orlando had in his magic sword an +advantage which none had hitherto possessed. It had been tempered +by Falerina so that no spells could avail against it. Thus armed, +and countervailing the strength of his adversary by his superior +skill and activity, it was not long before he laid him dead upon +the field. + +Orlando then made all haste to return to the upper air, and, +passing through the water, which opened a way before him (such was +the power of the magic sword), he soon regained the shore, and +found himself in a field as thickly covered with precious stones +as the sky is with stars. + +Orlando crossed the field, not tempted to delay his enterprise by +gathering any of the brilliant gems spread all around him. He next +passed into a flowery meadow planted with trees, covered with +fruit and flowers, and full of all imaginable delights. + +In the middle of this meadow was a fountain, and fast by it lay +Morgana asleep; a lady of a lovely aspect, dressed in white and +vermilion garments, her forehead well furnished with hair, while +she had scarcely any behind. + +While Orlando stood in silence contemplating her beauty he heard a +voice exclaim: "Seize the fairy by the forelock, if thou hopest +fair success." But his attention was arrested by another object, +and he heeded not the warning. He saw on a sudden an array of +towers, pinnacles and columns, palaces with balconies and windows, +extended alleys with trees, in short a scene of architectural +magnificence surpassing all he had ever beheld. While he stood +gazing in silent astonishment the scene slowly melted away and +disappeared. [Footnote: This is a poetical description of a +phenomenon which is said to be really exhibited in the strait of +Messina, between Sicily and Calabria. It is called Fata Morgana, +or Mirage.] + +When he had recovered from his amazement he looked again toward +the fountain. The fairy had awaked and risen, and was dancing +round its border with the lightness of a leaf, timing her +footsteps to this song: + + "Who in this world would wealth and treasure share, + Honor, delight, and state, and what is best, + Quick let him catch me by the lock of hair + Which flutters from my forehead; and be blest. + + "But let him not the proffered good forbear, + Nor till he seize the fleeting blessing rest; + For present loss is sought in vain to-morrow, + And the deluded wretch is left in sorrow." + +The fairy, having sung thus, bounded off, and fled from the +flowery meadow over a high and inaccessible mountain. Orlando +pursued her through thorns and rocks, while the sky gradually +became overcast, and at last he was assailed by tempest, +lightning, and hail. + +While he thus pursued, a pale and meagre woman issued from a cave, +armed with a whip, and, treading close upon his steps, scourged +him with vigorous strokes. Her name was Repentance, and she told +him it was her office to punish those who neglected to obey the +voice of Prudence, and seize the fairy Fortune when he might. + +Orlando, furious at this chastisement, turned upon his tormentor, +but might as well have stricken the wind. Finding it useless to +resist, he resumed his chase of the fairy, gained upon her, and +made frequent snatches at her white and vermilion garments, which +still eluded his grasp. At last, on her turning her head for an +instant, he profited by the chance, and seized her by the +forelock. In an instant the tempest ceased, the sky became serene, +and Repentance retreated to her cave. + +Orlando now demanded of Morgana the keys of her prison, and the +fairy, feigning a complacent aspect, delivered up a key of silver, +bidding him to be cautious in the use of it, since to break the +lock would be to involve himself and all in inevitable +destruction; a caution which gave the Count room for long +meditation, and led him to consider + + How few amid the suitors who importune + The dame, know how to turn the keys of Fortune. + +Keeping the fairy still fast by the forelock, Orlando proceeded +toward the prison, turned the key, without occasioning the +mischiefs apprehended, and delivered the prisoners. + +Among these were Florismart, Rinaldo, and many others of the +bravest knights of France. Morgana had disappeared, and the +knights, under the guidance of Orlando, retraced the path by which +he had come. They soon reached the field of treasure. Rinaldo, +finding himself amidst this mass of wealth, remembered his needy +garrison of Montalban, and could not resist the temptation of +seizing part of the booty. In particular a golden chain, studded +with diamonds, was too much for his self-denial, and he took it +and was bearing it off, notwithstanding the remonstrances of +Orlando, when a violent wind caught him and whirled him back, as +he approached the gate. This happened a second and a third time, +and Rinaldo at length yielded to necessity, rather than to the +entreaties of his friends, and cast away his prize. + +They soon reached the bridge and passed over without hindrance to +the other side, where they found the trophy decorated with their +arms. Here each knight resumed his own, and all, except the +paladins and their friends, separated as their inclinations or +duty prompted. Dudon, the Dane, one of the rescued knights, +informed the cousins that he had been made prisoner by Morgana +while in the discharge of an embassy to them from Charlemagne, who +called upon them to return to the defence of Christendom. Orlando +was too much fascinated by Angelica to obey this summons, and, +followed by the faithful Florismart, who would not leave him, +returned towards Albracca. Rinaldo, Dudon, Iroldo, Prasildo, and +the others took their way toward the west. + +THE INVASION OF FRANCE + +Agramant, King of Africa, convoked the kings, his vassals, to +deliberate in council. He reminded them of the injuries he had +sustained from France, that his father had fallen in battle with +Charlemagne, and that his early years had hitherto not allowed him +to wipe out the stain of former defeats. He now proposed to them +to carry war into France. + +Sobrino, his wisest councillor, opposed the project, representing +the rashness of it; but Rodomont, the young and fiery king of +Algiers, denounced Sobrino's counsel as base and cowardly, +declaring himself impatient for the enterprise. The king of the +Garamantes, venerable for his age and renowned for his prophetic +lore, interposed, and assured the King that such an attempt would +be sure to fail, unless he could first get on his side a youth +marked out by destiny as the fitting compeer of the most puissant +knights of France, the young Rogero, descended in direct line from +Hector of Troy. This prince was now a dweller upon the mountain +Carena, where Atlantes, his foster-father, a powerful magician, +kept him in retirement, having discovered by his art that his +pupil would be lost to him if allowed to mingle with the world. To +break the spells of Atlantes, and draw Rogero from his retirement, +one only means was to be found. It was a ring possessed by +Angelica, Princess of Cathay, which was a talisman against all +enchantments. If this ring could be procured all would go well; +without it the enterprise was desperate. + +Rodomont treated this declaration of the old prophet with scorn, +and it would probably have been held of little weight by the +council, had not the aged king, oppressed by the weight of years, +expired in the very act of reaffirming his prediction. This made +so deep an impression on the council that it was unanimously +resolved to postpone the war until an effort should be made to win +Rogero to the camp. + +King Agramant thereupon proclaimed that the sovereignty of a +kingdom should be the reward of whoever should succeed in +obtaining the ring of Angelica. Brunello the dwarf, the subtlest +thief in all Africa, undertook to procure it. + +In prosecution of this design, he made the best of his way to +Angelica's kingdom, and arrived beneath the walls of Albracca +while the besieging army was encamped before the fortress. While +the attention of the garrison was absorbed by the battle that +raged below he scaled the walls, approached the Princess +unnoticed, slipped the ring from her finger, and escaped +unobserved. He hastened to the seaside, and, finding a vessel +ready to sail, embarked, and arrived at Biserta, in Africa. Here +he found Agramant impatient for the talisman which was to foil the +enchantments of Atlantes and to put Rogero into his hands. The +dwarf, kneeling before the king, presented him with the ring, and +Agramant, delighted at the success of his mission, crowned him in +recompense King of Tingitana. + +All were now anxious to go in quest of Rogero. The cavalcade +accordingly departed, and in due time arrived at the mountain of +Carena. + +At the bottom of this was a fruitful and well-wooded plain, +watered by a large river, and from this plain was descried a +beautiful garden on the mountain-top, which contained the mansion +of Atlantes; but the ring, which discovered what was before +invisible, could not, though it revealed this paradise, enable +Agramant or his followers to enter it. So steep and smooth was the +rock by nature, that even Brunello failed in every attempt to +scale it. He did not, for this, despair of accomplishing the +object; but, having obtained Agramant's consent, caused the +assembled courtiers and knights to celebrate a tournament upon the +plain below. This was done with the view of seducing Rogero from +his fastness, and the stratagem was attended with success. + +Rogero joined the tourney, and was presented by Agramant with a +splendid horse, Frontino, and a magnificent sword. Having learned +from Agramant his intended invasion of France, he gladly consented +to join the expedition. + +Rodomont, meanwhile, was too impatient to wait for Agramant's +arrangements, and embarked with all the forces he could raise, +made good his landing on the coast of France, and routed the +Christians in several encounters. Previously to this, however, +Gano, or Ganelon (as he is sometimes called), the traitor, enemy +of Orlando and the other nephews of Charlemagne, had entered into +a traitorous correspondence with Marsilius, the Saracen king of +Spain, whom he invited into France. Marsilius, thus encouraged, +led an army across the frontiers, and joined Rodomont. This was +the situation of things when Rinaldo and the other knights who had +obeyed the summons of Dudon set forward on their return to France. + +When they arrived at Buda in Hungary they found the king of that +country about despatching his son, Ottachiero, with an army to the +succor of Charlemagne. Delighted with the arrival of Rinaldo, he +placed his son and troops under his command. In due time the army +arrived on the frontiers of France, and, united with the troops of +Desiderius, king of Lombardy, poured down into Provence. The +confederate armies had not marched many days through this gay +tract before they heard a crash of drums and trumpets behind the +hills, which spoke the conflict between the paynims, led by +Rodomont, and the Christian forces. Rinaldo, witnessing from a +mountain the prowess of Rodomont, left his troops in charge of his +friends, and galloped towards him with his lance in rest. The +impulse was irresistible, and Rodomont was unhorsed. But Rinaldo, +unwilling to avail himself of his advantage, galloped back to the +hill, and having secured Bayard among the baggage, returned to +finish the combat on foot. + +During this interval the battle had become general, the Hungarians +were routed, and Rinaldo, on his return, had the mortification to +find that Ottachiero was wounded, and Dudon taken prisoner. While +he sought Rodomont in order to renew the combat a new sound of +drums and trumpets was heard, and Charlemagne, with the main body +of his army, was descried advancing in battle array. + +Rodomont, seeing this, mounted the horse of Dudon, left Rinaldo, +who was on foot, and galloped off to encounter this new enemy. + +Agramant, accompanied by Rogero, had by this time made good his +landing, and joined Rodomont with all his forces. Rogero eagerly +embraced this first opportunity of distinguishing himself, and +spread terror wherever he went, encountering in turn and +overthrowing many of the bravest knights of France. At length he +found himself opposite to Rinaldo, who, being interrupted, as we +have said, in his combat with Rodomont, and unable to follow him, +being on foot, was shouting to his late foe to return and finish +their combat. Rogero also was on foot, and seeing the Christian +knight so eager for a contest, proffered himself to supply the +place of his late antagonist. Rinaldo saw at a glance that the +Moorish prince was a champion worthy of his arm, and gladly +accepted the defiance. The combat was stoutly maintained for a +time; but now fortune declared decisively in favor of the infidel +army, and Charlemagne's forces gave way at all points in +irreparable confusion. The two combatants were separated by the +crowd of fugitives and pursuers, and Rinaldo hastened to recover +possession of his horse. But Bayard, in the confusion, had got +loose, and Rinaldo followed him into a thick wood, thus becoming +effectually separated from Rogero. + +Rogero, also seeking his horse in the medley, came where two +warriors were engaged in mortal combat. Though he knew not who +they were, he could distinguish that one was a paynim and the +other a Christian; and moved by the spirit of courtesy he +approached them and exclaimed, "Let him of the two who worships +Christ pause, and hear what I have to say. The army of Charles is +routed and in flight, so that if he wishes to follow his leader he +has no time for delay." The Christian knight, who was none other +than Bradamante, a female warrior, in prowess equal to the best of +knights, was thunderstruck with the tidings, and would gladly +leave the contest undecided, and retire from the field; but +Rodomont, her antagonist, would by no means consent. Rogero, +indignant at his discourtesy, insisted upon her departure, while +he took up her quarrel with Rodomont. + +The combat, obstinately maintained on both sides, was interrupted +by the return of Bradamante. Finding herself unable to overtake +the fugitives, and reluctant to leave to another the burden and +risk of a contest which belonged to herself, she had returned to +reclaim the combat. She arrived, however, when her champion had +dealt his enemy such a blow as obliged him to drop both his sword +and bridle. Rogero, disdaining to profit by his adversary's +defenceless situation, sat apart upon his horse, while that of +Rodomont bore his rider, stunned and stupefied, about the field. + +Bradamante approached Rogero, conceiving a yet higher opinion of +his valor on beholding such an instance of forbearance. She +addressed him, excusing herself for leaving him exposed to an +enemy from his interference in her cause; pleading her duty to her +sovereign as the motive. While she spoke Rodomont, recovered from +his confusion, rode up to them. His bearing was, however, changed; +and he disclaimed all thoughts of further contest with one who, he +said, "had already conquered him by his courtesy." So saying, he +quitted his antagonist, picked up his sword, and spurred out of +sight. + +Bradamante was now again desirous of retiring from the field, and +Rogero insisted on accompanying her, though yet unaware of her +sex. + +As they pursued their way, she inquired the name and quality of +her new associate; and Rogero informed her of his nation and +family. He told her that Astyanax, the son of Hector of Troy, +established the kingdom of Messina in Sicily. From him were +derived two branches, which gave origin to two families of renown. +From one sprang the royal race of Pepin and Charlemagne, and from +the other, that of Reggio, in Italy. "From that of Reggio am I +derived," he continued. "My mother, driven from her home by the +chance of war, died in giving me life, and I was taken in charge +by a sage enchanter, who trained me to feats of arms amidst the +dangers of the desert and the chase." + +Having thus ended his tale, Rogero entreated a similar return of +courtesy from his companion, who replied, without disguise, that +she was of the race of Clermont, and sister to Rinaldo, whose fame +was perhaps known to him. Rogero, much moved by this intelligence, +entreated her to take off her helmet, and at the discovery of her +face remained transported with delight. + +While absorbed in this contemplation, an unexpected danger +assailed them. A party which was placed in a wood, in order to +intercept the retreating Christians, broke from its ambush upon +the pair, and Bradamante, who was uncasqued, was wounded in the +head. Rogero was in a fury at this attack; and Bradamante, +replacing her helmet, joined him in taking speedy vengeance on +their enemies. They cleared the field of them, but became +separated in the pursuit, and Rogero, quitting the chase, wandered +by hill and vale in search of her whom he had no sooner found than +lost. + +While pursuing this quest he fell in with two knights, whom he +joined, and engaged them to assist him in the search of his +companion, describing her arms, but concealing, from a certain +feeling of jealousy, her quality and sex. + +It was evening when they joined company, and having ridden +together through the night the morning was beginning to break, +when one of the strangers, fixing his eyes upon Rogero's shield, +demanded of him by what right he bore the Trojan arms. Rogero +declared his origin and race, and then, in his turn, interrogated +the inquirer as to his pretensions to the cognizance of Hector, +which he bore. The stranger replied, "My name is Mandricardo, son +of Agrican, the Tartar king, whom Orlando treacherously slew. I +say treacherously, for in fair fight he could not have done it. It +is in search of him that I have come to France, to take vengeance +for my father, and to wrest from him Durindana, that famous sword, +which belongs to me, and not to him." When the knights demanded to +know by what right he claimed Durindana, Mandricardo thus related +his history: + +"I had been, before the death of my father, a wild and reckless +youth. That event awakened my energies, and drove me forth to seek +for vengeance. Determined to owe success to nothing but my own +exertions, I departed without attendants or horse or arms. +Travelling thus alone, and on foot, I espied one day a pavilion, +pitched near a fountain, and entered it, intent on adventure. I +found therein a damsel of gracious aspect, who replied to my +inquiries that the fountain was the work of a fairy, whose castle +stood beyond a neighboring hill, where she kept watch over a +treasure which many knights had tried to win, but fruitlessly, +having lost their life or liberty in the attempt. This treasure +was the armor of Hector, prince of Troy, whom Achilles +treacherously slew. Nothing was wanting but his sword, Durindana, +and this had fallen into the possession of a queen named +Penthesilea, from whom it passed through her descendants to +Almontes, whom Orlando slew, and thus became possessed of the +sword. The rest of Hector's arms were saved and carried off by +Aeneas, from whom this fairy received them in recompense of +service rendered. 'If you have the courage to attempt their +acquisition,' said the damsel, 'I will be your guide.'" + +Mandricardo went on to say that he eagerly embraced the proposal, +and being provided with horse and armor by the damsel, set forth +on his enterprise, the lady accompanying him. + +As they rode she explained the dangers of the quest. The armor was +defended by a champion, one of the numerous unsuccessful +adventurers for the prize, all of whom had been made prisoners by +the fairy, and compelled to take their turn, day by day, in +defending the arms against all comers. Thus speaking they arrived +at the castle, which was of alabaster, overlaid with gold. Before +it, on a lawn, sat an armed knight on horseback, who was none +other than Gradasso, king of Sericane, who, in his return home +from his unsuccessful inroad into France, had fallen into the +power of the fairy, and was held to do her bidding. Mandricardo, +upon seeing him, dropt his visor, and laid his lance in rest. The +champion of the castle was equally ready, and each spurred towards +his opponent. They met one another with equal force, splintered +their spears, and, returning to the charge, encountered with their +swords. The contest was long and doubtful, when Mandricardo, +determined to bring it to an end, threw his arms about Gradasso, +grappled with him, and both fell to the ground. Mandricardo, +however, fell uppermost, and, preserving his advantage, compelled +Gradasso to yield himself conquered. The damsel now interfered, +congratulating the victor, and consoling the vanquished as well as +she might. + +Mandricardo and the damsel proceeded to the gate of the castle, +which they found undefended. As they entered they beheld a shield +suspended from a pilaster of gold. The device was a white eagle on +an azure field, in memory of the bird of Jove, which bore away +Ganymede, the flower of the Phrygian race. Beneath was engraved +the following couplet: + + "Let none with hand profane my buckler wrong + Unless he be himself as Hector strong." + +The damsel, alighting from her palfrey, made obeisance to the +arms, bending herself to the ground. The Tartar king bowed his +head with equal reverence; then advancing towards the shield, +touched it with his sword. Thereupon an earthquake shook the +ground, and the way by which he had entered closed. Another and an +opposite gate opened, and displayed a field bristling with stalks +and grain of gold. The damsel, upon this, told him that he had no +means of retreat but by cutting down the harvest which was before +him, and by uprooting a tree which grew in the middle of the +field. Mandricardo, without replying, began to mow the harvest +with his sword, but had scarce smitten thrice when he perceived +that every stalk that fell was instantly transformed into some +poisonous or ravenous animal, which prepared to assail him. +Instructed by the damsel, he snatched up a stone and cast it among +the pack. A strange wonder followed; for no sooner had the stone +fallen among the beasts, than they turned their rage against one +another, and rent each other to pieces. Mandricardo did not stop +to marvel at the miracle, but proceeded to fulfil his task, and +uproot the tree. He clasped it round the trunk, and made vigorous +efforts to tear it up by the roots. At each effort fell a shower +of leaves, that were instantly changed into birds of prey, which +attacked the knight, flapping their wings in his face, with horrid +screeching. But undismayed by this new annoyance, he continued to +tug at the trunk till it yielded to his efforts. A burst of wind +and thunder followed, and the hawks and vultures flew screaming +away. + +But these only gave place to a new foe; for from the hole made by +tearing up the tree issued a furious serpent, and, darting at +Mandricardo, wound herself about his limbs with a strain that +almost crushed him. Fortune, however, again stood his friend, for, +writhing under the folds of the monster, he fell backwards into +the hole, and his enemy was crushed beneath his weight. + +Mandricardo, when he was somewhat recovered, and assured himself +of the destruction of the serpent, began to contemplate the place +into which he had fallen, and saw that he was in a vault, +incrusted with costly metals, and illuminated by a live coal. In +the middle was a sort of ivory bier, and upon this was extended +what appeared to be a knight in armor, but was in truth an empty +trophy, composed of the rich and precious arms once Hector's, to +which nothing was wanting but the sword. While Mandricardo stood +contemplating the prize a door opened behind him, and a bevy of +fair damsels entered, dancing, who, taking up the armor piece by +piece, led him away to the place where the shield was suspended; +where he found the fairy of the castle seated in state. By her he +was invested with the arms he had won, first pledging his solemn +oath to wear no other blade but Durindana, which he was to wrest +from Orlando, and thus complete the conquest of Hector's arms. + +THE INVASION OF FRANCE (Continued) + +Mandricardo, having completed his story, now turned to Rogero, and +proposed that arms should decide which of the two was most worthy +to bear the symbol of the Trojan knight. + +Rogero felt no other objection to this proposal than the scruple +which arose on observing that his antagonist was without a sword. +Mandricardo insisted that this need be no impediment, since his +oath prevented him from using a sword until he should have +achieved the conquest of Durindana. + +This was no sooner said than a new antagonist started up in +Gradasso, who now accompanied Mandricardo. Gradasso vindicated his +prior right to Durindana, to obtain which he had embarked (as was +related in the beginning) in that bold inroad upon France. A +quarrel was thus kindled between the kings of Tartary and +Sericane. While the dispute was raging a knight arrived upon the +ground, accompanied by a damsel, to whom Rogero related the cause +of the strife. The knight was Florismart, and his companion +Flordelis. Florismart succeeded in bringing the two champions to +accord, by informing them that he could bring them to the presence +of Orlando, the master of Durindana. + +Gradasso and Mandricardo readily made truce, in order to accompany +Florismart, nor would Rogero be left behind. + +As they proceeded on their quest they were met by a dwarf, who +entreated their assistance in behalf of his lady, who had been +carried off by an enchanter, mounted on a winged horse. However +unwilling to leave the question of the sword undecided, it was not +possible for the knights to resist this appeal. Two of their +number, Gradasso and Rogero, therefore accompanied the dwarf. +Mandricardo persisted in his search for Orlando, and Florismart, +with Flordelis, pursued their way to the camp of Charlemagne. + +Atlantes, the enchanter, who had brought up Rogero, and cherished +for him the warmest affection, knew by his art that his pupil was +destined to be severed from him, and converted to the Christian +faith through the influence of Bradamante, that royal maiden with +whom chance had brought him acquainted. Thinking to thwart the +will of Heaven in this respect, he now put forth all his arts to +entrap Rogero into his power. By the aid of his subservient demons +he reared a castle on an inaccessible height, in the Pyrenean +mountains, and to make it a pleasant abode to his pupil, contrived +to entrap and convey thither knights and damsels many a one, whom +chance had brought into the vicinity of his castle. Here, in a +sort of sensual paradise, they were but too willing to forget +glory and duty, and to pass their time in indolent enjoyment + +It was by the enchanter that the dwarf had now been sent to tempt +the knights into his power. + +But we must now return to Rinaldo, whom we left interrupted in his +combat with Rodomont. In search of his late antagonist and intent +on bringing their combat to a decision he entered the forest of +Arden, whither he suspected Rodomont had gone. While engaged on +this quest he was surprised by the vision of a beautiful child +dancing naked, with three damsels as beautiful as himself. While +he was lost in admiration at the sight the child approached him, +and, throwing at him handfuls of roses and lilies, struck him from +his horse. He was no sooner down than he was seized by the +dancers, by whom he was dragged about and scourged with flowers +till he fell into a swoon. When he began to revive one of the +group approached him, and told him that his punishment was the +consequence of his rebellion against that power before whom all +things bend; that there was but one remedy to heal the wounds that +had been inflicted, and that was to drink of the waters of Love. +Then they left him. + +Rinaldo, sore and faint, dragged himself toward a fountain which +flowed near by, and, being parched with thirst, drank greedily and +almost unconsciously of the water, which was sweet to the taste, +but bitter to the heart. After repeated draughts he recovered his +strength and recollection, and found himself in the same place +where Angelica had formerly awakened him with a rain of flowers, +and whence he had fled in contempt of her courtesy. + +This remembrance of the scene was followed by the recognition of +his crime; and, repenting bitterly his ingratitude, he leaped upon +Bayard, with the intention of hastening to Angelica's country, and +soliciting his pardon at her feet. + +Let us now retrace our steps, and revert to the time when the +paladins having learned from Dudon the summons of Charlemagne to +return to France to repel the invaders, had all obeyed the command +with the exception of Orlando, whose passion for Angelica still +held him in attendance on her. Orlando, arriving before Albracca, +found it closely beleaguered. He, however, made his way into the +citadel, and related his adventures to Angelica, from the time of +his departure up to his separation from Rinaldo and the rest, when +they departed to the assistance of Charlemagne. Angelica, in +return, described the distresses of the garrison, and the force of +the besiegers; and in conclusion prayed Orlando to favor her +escape from the pressing danger, and escort her into France. +Orlando, who did not suspect that love for Rinaldo was her secret +motive, joyfully agreed to the proposal, and the sally was +resolved upon. + +Leaving lights burning in the fortress, they departed at +nightfall, and passed in safety through the enemy's camp. After +encountering numerous adventures they reached the sea-side, and +embarked on board a pinnace for France. The vessel arrived safely, +and the travellers, disembarking in Provence, pursued their way by +land. One day, heated and weary, they sought shelter from the sun +in the forest of Arden, and chance directed Angelica to the +fountain of Disdain, of whose waters she eagerly drank. + +Issuing thence, the Count and damsel encountered a stranger- +knight. It was no other than Rinaldo, who was just on the point of +setting off on a pilgrimage in search of Angelica, to implore her +pardon for his insensibility, and urge his new found passion. +Surprise and delight at first deprived him of utterance, but soon +recovering himself, he joyfully saluted her, claiming her as his, +and exhorting her to put herself under his protection. His +presumption was repelled by Angelica with disdain, and Orlando, +enraged at the invasion of his rights, challenged him to decide +their claims by arms. + +Terrified at the combat which ensued, Angelica fled amain through +the forest, and came out upon a plain covered with tents. This was +the camp of Charlemagne, who led the army of reserve destined to +support the troops which had advanced to oppose Marsilius. Charles +having heard the damsel's tale, with difficulty separated the two +cousins, and then consigned Angelica, as the cause of quarrel, to +the care of Namo, Duke of Bavaria, promising that she should be +his who should best deserve her in the impending battle. + +But these plans and hopes were frustrated. The Christian army, +beaten at all points, fled from the Saracens; and Angelica, +indifferent to both her lovers, mounted a swift palfrey and +plunged into the forest, rejoicing, in spite of her terror, at +having regained her liberty. She stopped at last in a tufted +grove, where a gentle zephyr blew, and whose young trees were +watered by two clear runnels, which came and mingled their waters, +making a pleasing murmur. Believing herself far from Rinaldo, and +overcome by fatigue and the summer heat, she saw with delight a +bank covered with flowers so thick that they almost hid the green +turf, inviting her to alight and rest. She dismounted from her +palfrey, and turned him loose to recruit his strength with the +tender grass which bordered the streamlets. Then, in a sheltered +nook tapestried with moss and fenced in with roses and hawthorn- +flowers, she yielded herself to grateful repose. + +She had not slept long when she was awakened by the noise made by +the approach of a horse. Starting up, she saw an armed knight who +had arrived at the bank of the stream. Not knowing whether he was +to be feared or not, her heart beat with anxiety. She pressed +aside the leaves to allow her to see who it was, but scarce dared +to breathe for fear of betraying herself. Soon the knight threw +himself on the flowery bank, and leaning his head on his hand fell +into a profound reverie. Then arousing himself from his silence he +began to pour forth complaints, mingled with deep sighs. Rivers of +tears flowed down his cheeks, and his breast seemed to labor with +a hidden flame. "Ah, vain regrets!" he exclaimed; "cruel fortune! +others triumph, while I endure hopeless misery! Better a thousand +times to lose life, than wear a chain so disgraceful and so +oppressive!" + +Angelica by this time had recognized the stranger, and perceived +that it was Sacripant, king of Circassia, one of the worthiest of +her suitors. This prince had followed Angelica from his country, +at the very gates of the day, to France, where he heard with +dismay that she was under the guardianship of the Paladin Orlando, +and that the Emperor had announced his decree to award her as the +prize of valor to that one of his nephews who should best deserve +her. + +As Sacripant continued to lament, Angelica, who had always opposed +the hardness of marble to his sighs, thought with herself that +nothing forbade her employing his good offices in this unhappy +crisis. Though firmly resolved never to accept him as a spouse, +she yet felt the necessity of giving him a gleam of hope in reward +for the service she required of him. All at once, like Diana, she +stepped forth from the arbor. "May the gods preserve thee," she +said, "and put far from thee all hard thoughts of me!" Then she +told him all that had befallen her since she parted with him at +her father's court, and how she had availed herself of Orlando's +protection to escape from the beleaguered city. At that moment the +noise of horse and armor was heard as of one approaching; and +Sacripant, furious at the interruption, resumed his helmet, +mounted his horse, and placed his lance in rest. He saw a knight +advancing, with scarf and plume of snowy whiteness. Sacripant +regarded him with angry eyes, and, while he was yet some distance +off, defied him to the combat. The other, not moved by his angry +tone to make reply, put himself on his defence. Their horses, +struck at the same moment with the spur, rushed upon one another +with the impetuosity of a tempest. Their shields were pierced each +with the other's lance, and only the temper of their breastplates +saved their lives. Both the horses recoiled with the violence of +the shock; but the unknown knight's recovered itself at the touch +of the spur; the Saracen king's fell dead, and bore down his +master with him. The white knight, seeing his enemy in this +condition, cared not to renew the combat, but, thinking he had +done enough for glory, pursued his way through the forest, and was +a mile off before Sacripant had got free from his horse. + +As a ploughman, stunned by a thunder-clap which has stricken dead +the oxen at his plough, stands motionless, sadly contemplating his +loss, so Sacripant stood confounded and overwhelmed with +mortification at having Angelica a witness of his defeat. He +groaned, he sighed, less from the pain of his bruises than for the +shame of being reduced to such a state before her. The princess +took pity on him, and consoled him as well as she could. "Banish +your regrets, my lord," she said, "this accident has happened +solely in consequence of the feebleness of your horse, which had +more need of rest and food than of such an encounter as this. Nor +can your adversary gain any credit by it, since he has hurried +away, not venturing a second trial." While she thus consoled +Sacripant they perceived a person approach, who seemed a courier, +with bag and horn. As soon as he came up, he accosted Sacripant, +and inquired if he had seen a knight pass that way, bearing a +white shield and with a white plume to his helmet. "I have, +indeed, seen too much of him," said Sacripant, "it is he who has +brought me to the ground; but at least I hope to learn from you +who that knight is." "That I can easily inform you," said the man; +"know then that, if you have been overthrown, you owe your fate to +the high prowess of a lady as beautiful as she is brave. It is the +fair and illustrious Bradamante who has won from you the honors of +victory." + +At these words the courier rode on his way, leaving Sacripant more +confounded and mortified than ever. In silence he mounted the +horse of Angelica, taking the lady behind him on the croup, and +rode away in search of a more secure asylum. Hardly had they +ridden two miles when a new sound was heard in the forest, and +they perceived a gallant and powerful horse, which, leaping the +ravines and dashing aside the branches that opposed his passage, +appeared before them, accoutred with a rich harness adorned with +gold. + +"If I may believe my eyes, which penetrate with difficulty the +underwood," said Angelica, "that horse that dashes so stoutly +through the bushes is Bayard, and I marvel how he seems to know +the need we have of him, mounted as we are both on one feeble +animal." Sacripant, dismounting from the palfrey, approached the +fiery courser, and attempted to seize his bridle, but the +disdainful animal, turning from him, launched at him a volley of +kicks enough to have shattered a wall of marble. Bayard then +approached Angelica with an air as gentle and loving as a faithful +dog could his master after a long separation. For he remembered +how she had caressed him, and even fed him, in Albracca. She took +his bridle in her left hand, while with her right she patted his +neck. The beautiful animal, gifted with wonderful intelligence, +seemed to submit entirely. Sacripant, seizing the moment to vault +upon him, controlled his curvetings, and Angelica, quitting the +croup of the palfrey, regained her seat. + +But, turning his eyes toward a place where was heard a noise of +arms, Sacripant beheld Rinaldo. That hero now loves Angelica more +than his life, and she flies him as the timid crane the falcon. + +The fountain of which Angelica had drunk produced such an effect +on the beautiful queen that, with distressed countenance and +trembling voice, she conjured Sacripant not to wait the approach +of Rinaldo, but to join her in flight. + +"Am I, then," said Sacripant, "of so little esteem with you that +you doubt my power to defend you? Do you forget the battle of +Albracca, and how, in your defence, I fought single-handed against +Agrican and all his knights?" + +Angelica made no reply, uncertain what to do; but already Rinaldo +was too near to be escaped. He advanced menacingly to the +Circassian king, for he recognized his horse. + +"Vile thief," he cried, "dismount from that horse, and prevent the +punishment that is your due for daring to rob me of my property. +Leave, also, the princess in my hands; for it would indeed be a +sin to suffer so charming a lady and so gallant a charger to +remain in such keeping." + +The king of Circassia, furious at being thus insulted, cried out, +"Thou liest, villain, in giving me the name of thief, which better +belongs to thyself than to me. It is true, the beauty of this lady +and the perfection of this horse are unequalled; come on, then, +and let us try which of us is most worthy to possess them." + +At these words the king of Circassia and Rinaldo attacked one +another with all their force, one fighting on foot, the other on +horseback. You need not, however, suppose that the Saracen king +found any advantage in this; for a young page, unused to +horsemanship, could not have failed more completely to manage +Bayard than did this accomplished knight. The faithful animal +loved his master too well to injure him, and refused his aid as +well as his obedience to the hand of Sacripant, who could strike +but ineffectual blows, the horse backing when he wished him to go +forward, and dropping his head and arching his back, throwing out +with his legs, so as almost to shake the knight out of the saddle. +Sacripant, seeing that he could not manage him, watched his +opportunity, rose on his saddle, and leapt lightly to the earth; +then, relieved from the embarrassment of the horse, renewed the +combat on more equal terms. Their skill to thrust and parry were +equal; one rises, the other stoops; with one foot set firm they +turn and wind, to lay on strokes or to dodge them. At last +Rinaldo, throwing himself on the Circassian, dealt him a blow so +terrible that Fusberta, his good sword, cut in two the buckler of +Sacripant, although it was made of bone, and covered with a thick +plate of steel well tempered. The arm of the Saracen was deprived +of its defence, and almost palsied with the stroke. Angelica, +perceiving how victory was likely to incline, and shuddering at +the thought of becoming the prize of Rinaldo, hesitated no longer. +Turning her horse's head, she fled with the utmost speed; and, in +spite of the round pebbles which covered a steep descent, she +plunged into a deep valley, trembling with the fear that Rinaldo +was in pursuit. At the bottom of this valley she encountered an +aged hermit, whose white beard flowed to his middle, and whose +venerable appearance seemed to assure his piety. + +This hermit, who appeared shrunk by age and fasting, travelled +slowly, mounted upon a wretched ass. The princess, overcome with +fear, conjured him to save her life; and to conduct her to some +port of the sea, whence she might embark and quit France, never +more to hear the odious name of Rinaldo. + +The old hermit was something of a wizard. He comforted Angelica, +and promised to protect her from all peril. Then he opened his +scrip, and took from thence a book, and had read but a single page +when a goblin, obedient to his incantations, appeared, under the +form of a laboring man, and demanded his orders. He received them, +transported himself to the place where the knights still +maintained their conflict, and boldly stepped between the two. + +"Tell me, I pray you," he said, "what benefit will accrue to him +who shall get the better in this contest? The object you are +contending for is already disposed of; for the Paladin Orlando, +without effort and without opposition, is now carrying away the +princess Angelica to Paris. You had better pursue them promptly; +for if they reach Paris you will never see her again." + +At these words you might have seen those rival warriors +confounded, stupefied, silently agreeing that they were affording +their rival a fair opportunity to triumph over them. Rinaldo, +approaching Bayard, breathes a sigh of shame and rage, and swears +a terrible oath that, if he overtakes Orlando, he will tear his +heart out. Then mounting Bayard and pressing his flanks with his +spurs, he leaves the king of Circassia on foot in the forest. + +Let it not appear strange that Rinaldo found Bayard obedient at +last, after having so long prevented any one from even touching +his bridle; for that fine animal had an intelligence almost human; +he had fled from his master only to draw him on the track of +Angelica, and enable him to recover her. He saw when the princess +fled from the battle, and Rinaldo being then engaged in a fight on +foot, Bayard found himself free to follow the traces of Angelica. +Thus he had drawn his master after him, not permitting him to +approach, and had brought him to the sight of the princess. But +Bayard now, deceived like his master with the false intelligence +of the goblin, submits to be mounted and to serve his master as +usual, and Rinaldo, animated with rage, makes him fly toward +Paris, more slowly than his wishes, though the speed of Bayard +outstripped the winds. Full of impatience to encounter Orlando, he +gave but a few hours that night to sleep. Early the next day he +saw before him the great city, under the walls of which the +Emperor Charles had collected the scattered remains of his army. +Foreseeing that he would soon be attacked on all sides, the +Emperor had caused the ancient fortifications to be repaired, and +new ones to be built, surrounded by wide and deep ditches. The +desire to hold the field against the enemy made him seize every +means of procuring new allies. He hoped to receive from England +aid sufficient to enable him to form a new camp, and as soon as +Rinaldo rejoined him he selected him to go as his ambassador into +England, to plead for auxiliaries. Rinaldo was far from pleased +with his commission, but he obeyed the Emperor's commands, without +giving himself time to devote a single day to the object nearest +his heart. He hastened to Calais, and lost not a moment in +embarking for England, ardently desiring a hasty despatch of his +commission, and a speedy return to France. + +BRADAMANTE AND ROGERO + +Bradamante, the knight of the white plume and shield, whose +sudden appearance and encounter with Sacripant we have already +told, was in quest of Rogero, from whom chance had separated her, +almost at the beginning of their acquaintance. After her encounter +with Sacripant Bradamante pursued her way through the forest, in +hopes of rejoining Rogero, and arrived at last on the brink of a +fair fountain. + +This fountain flowed through a broad meadow. Ancient trees +overshadowed it, and travellers, attracted by the sweet murmur of +its waters, stopped there to cool themselves. Bradamante, casting +her eyes on all sides to enjoy the beauties of the spot, +perceived, under the shade of a tree, a knight reclining, who +seemed to be oppressed with the deepest grief + +Bradamante accosted him, and asked to be informed of the cause of +his distress. "Alas! my lord," said he, "I lament a young and +charming friend, my affianced wife, who has been torn from me by a +villain,--let me rather call him a demon,--who, on a winged horse, +descended from the air, seized her, and bore her screaming to his +den. I have pursued them over rocks and through ravines till my +horse is no longer able to bear me, and I now wait only for +death." He added that already a vain attempt on his behalf had +been made by two knights, whom chance had brought to the spot. +Their names were Gradasso, king of Sericane, and Rogero, the Moor. +Both had been overcome by the wiles of the enchanter, and were +added to the number of the captives, whom he held in an +impregnable castle, situated on the height of the mountain. At the +mention of Rogero's name Bradamante started with delight, which +was soon changed to an opposite sentiment when she heard that her +lover was a prisoner in the toils of the enchanter. "Sir Knight," +she said, "do not surrender yourself to despair; this day may be +more happy for you than you think, if you will only lead me to the +castle which enfolds her whom you deplore." + +The knight responded, "After having lost all that made life dear +to me I have no motive to avoid the dangers of the enterprise, and +I will do as you request; but I forewarn you of the perils you +will have to encounter. If you fall impute it not to me." + +Having thus spoken, they took their way to the castle, but were +overtaken by a messenger from the camp, who had been sent in quest +of Bradamante to summon her back to the army, where her presence +was needed to reassure her disheartened forces, and withstand the +advance of the Moors. + +The mournful knight, whose name was Pinabel, thus became aware +that Bradamante was a scion of the house of Clermont, between +which and his own of Mayence there existed an ancient feud. From +this moment the traitor sought only how he might be rid of the +company of Bradamante, from whom he feared no good would come to +him, but rather mortal injury, if his name and lineage became +known to her. For he judged her by his own base model, and, +knowing his ill deserts, he feared to receive his due. + +Bradamante, in spite of the summons to return to the army, could +not resolve to leave her lover in captivity, and determined first +to finish the adventure on which she was engaged. Pinabel leading +the way, they at length arrived at a wood, in the centre of which +rose a steep, rocky mountain. Pinabel, who now thought of nothing +else but how he might escape from Bradamante, proposed to ascend +the mountain to extend his view, in order to discover a shelter +for the night, if any there might be within sight. Under this +pretence he left Bradamante, and advanced up the side of the +mountain till he came to a cleft in the rock, down which he +looked, and perceived that it widened below into a spacious +cavern. Meanwhile Bradamante, fearful of losing her guide, had +followed close on his footsteps, and rejoined him at the mouth of +the cavern. Then the traitor, seeing the impossibility of escaping +her, conceived another design. He told her that before her +approach he had seen in the cavern a young and beautiful damsel, +whose rich dress announced her high birth, who with tears and +lamentations implored assistance; that before he could descend to +relieve her a ruffian had seized her, and hurried her away into +the recesses of the cavern. + +Bradamante, full of truth and courage, readily believed this lie +of the Mayencian traitor. Eager to succor the damsel, she looked +round for the means of facilitating the descent, and seeing a +large elm with spreading branches she lopped off with her sword +one of the largest, and thrust it into the opening. She told +Pinabel to hold fast to the larger end, while, grasping the +branches with her hands, she let herself down into the cavern. + +The traitor smiled at seeing her thus suspended, and, asking her +in mockery, "Are you a good leaper?" he let go the branch with +perfidious glee, and saw Bradamante precipitated to the bottom of +the cave. "I wish your whole race were there with you," he +muttered, "that you might all perish together." + +But Pinabel's atrocious design was not accomplished. The twigs and +foliage of the branch broke its descent, and Bradamante, not +seriously injured, though stunned with her fall, was reserved for +other adventures. + +As soon as she recovered from the shock Bradamante cast her eyes +around and perceived a door, through which she passed into a +second cavern, larger and loftier than the first. It had the +appearance of a subterranean temple. Columns of the purest +alabaster adorned it, and supported the roof; a simple altar rose +in the middle; a lamp, whose radiance was reflected by the +alabaster walls, cast a mild light around. + +Bradamante, inspired by a sense of religious awe, approached the +altar, and, falling on her knees, poured forth her prayers and +thanks to the Preserver of her life, invoking the protection of +his power. At that moment a small door opened, and a female issued +from it with naked feet, and flowing robe and hair, who called her +by her name, and thus addressed her: "Brave and generous +Bradamante, know that it is a power from above that has brought +you hither. The spirit of Merlin, whose last earthly abode was in +this place, has warned me of your arrival, and of the fate that +awaits you. This famous grotto," she continued, "was the work of +the enchanter Merlin; here his ashes repose. You have no doubt +heard how this sage and virtuous enchanter ceased to be. Victim of +the artful fairy of the lake, Merlin, by a fatal compliance with +her request, laid himself down living in his tomb, without power +to resist the spell laid upon him by that ingrate, who retained +him there as long as he lived. His spirit hovers about this spot, +and will not leave it, until the last trumpet shall summon the +dead to judgment. He answers the questions of those who approach +his tomb, where perhaps you may be privileged to hear his voice." + +Bradamante, astonished at these words, and the objects which met +her view, knew not whether she was awake or asleep. Confused, but +modest, she cast down her eyes, and a blush overspread her face. +"Ah, what am I," said she, "that so great a prophet should deign +to speak to me!" Still, with a secret satisfaction, she followed +the priestess, who led her to the tomb of Merlin. This tomb was +constructed of a species of stone hard and resplendent like fire. +The rays which beamed from the stone sufficed to light up that +terrible place, where the sun's rays never penetrated; but I know +not whether that light was the effect of a certain phosphorescence +of the stone itself, or of the many talismans and charms with +which it was wrought over. + +Bradamante had hardly passed the threshold of this sacred place +when the spirit of the enchanter saluted her with a voice firm and +distinct: "May thy designs be prosperous, O chaste and noble +maiden, the future mother of heroes, the glory of Italy, and +destined to fill the whole world with their fame. Great captains, +renowned knights, shall be numbered among your descendants, who +shall defend the Church and restore their country to its ancient +splendor. Princes, wise as Augustus and the sage Numa, shall bring +back the age of gold. [Footnote: This prophecy is introduced by +Ariosto in this place to compliment the noble house of Este, the +princes of his native state, the dukedom of Ferrara.] To +accomplish these grand destinies it is ordained that you shall wed +the illustrious Rogero. Fly then to his deliverance, and lay +prostrate in the dust the traitor who has snatched him from you, +and now holds him in chains!" + +Merlin ceased with these words, and left to Melissa, the +priestess, the charge of more fully instructing the maiden in her +future course. "To-morrow," said she, "I will conduct you to the +castle on the rock where Rogero is held captive. I will not leave +you till I have guided you through this wild wood, and I will +direct you on your way so that you shall be in no danger of +mistaking it." + +The next morning Melissa conducted Bradamante between rocks and +precipices, crossing rapid torrents, and traversing intricate +passes, employing the time in imparting to her such information as +was necessary to enable her to bring her design to a successful +issue. + +"Not only would the castle, impenetrable by force, and that winged +horse of his baffle your efforts, but know that he possesses also +a buckler whence flashes a light so brilliant that the eyes of all +who look upon it are blinded. Think not to avoid it by shutting +your eyes, for how then will you be able to avoid his blows, and +make him feel your own? But I will teach you the proper course to +pursue. + +"Agramant, the Moorish prince, possesses a ring stolen from a +queen of India, which has power to render of no avail all +enchantments. Agramant, knowing that Rogero is of more importance +to him than any one of his warriors, is desirous of rescuing him +from the power of the enchanter, and has sent for that purpose +Brunello, the most crafty and sagacious of his servants, provided +with his wonderful ring, and he is even now at hand, bent on this +enterprise. But, beautiful Bradamante, as I desire that no one but +yourself shall have the glory of delivering from thraldom your +future spouse, listen while I disclose the means of success. +Following this path which leads by the seashore, you will come ere +long to a hostelry, where the Saracen Brunello will arrive shortly +before you. You will readily know him by his stature, under four +feet, his great disproportioned head, his squint eyes, his livid +hue, his thick eyebrows joining his tufted beard. His dress, +moreover, that of a courier, will point him out to you. + +"It will be easy for you to enter into conversation with him, +announcing yourself as a knight seeking combat with the enchanter, +but let not the knave suspect that you know anything about the +ring. I doubt not that he will be your guide to the castle of the +enchanter. Accept his offer, but take care to keep behind him till +you come in sight of the brilliant dome of the castle. Then +hesitate not to strike him dead, for the wretch deserves no pity, +and take from him the ring. But let him not suspect your +intention, for by putting the ring into his mouth he will +instantly become invisible, and disappear from your eyes." + +Saying thus, the sage Melissa and the fair Bradamante arrived near +the city of Bordeaux, where the rich and wide river Garonne pours +the tribute of its waves into the sea. They parted with tender +embraces. Bradamante, intent wholly on her purpose, hastened to +arrive at the hostelry, where Brunello had preceded her a few +moments only. The young heroine knew him without difficulty. She +accosted him, and put to him some slight questions, to which he +replied with adroit falsehoods. Bradamante, on her part, concealed +from him her sex, her religion, her country, and the blood from +whence she sprung. While they talk together, sudden cries are +heard from all parts of the hostelry. "O queen of heaven!" +exclaimed Bradamante, "what can be the cause of this sudden +alarm?" She soon learned the cause. Host, children, domestics, +all, with upturned eyes, as if they saw a comet or a great +eclipse, were gazing on a prodigy which seemed to pass the bounds +of possibility. She beheld distinctly a winged horse, mounted with +a cavalier in rich armor, cleaving the air with rapid flight. The +wings of this strange courser were wide extended, and covered with +feathers of various colors. The polished armor of the knight made +them shine with rainbow tints. In a short time the horse and rider +disappeared behind the summits of the mountains. + +"It is an enchanter," said the host, "a magician who often is seen +traversing the air in that way. Sometimes he flies aloft as if +among the stars, and at others skims along the land. He possesses +a wonderful castle on the top of the Pyrenees. Many knights have +shown their courage by going to attack him, but none have ever +returned, from which it is to be feared they have lost either +their life or their liberty." + +Bradamante, addressing the host, said, "Could you furnish me a +guide to conduct me to the castle of this enchanter?" "By my +faith," said Brunello, interrupting, "that you shall not seek in +vain; I have it all in writing, and I will myself conduct you." +Bradamante, with thanks, accepted him for her guide. + +The host had a tolerable horse to dispose of, which Bradamante +bargained for, and the next day, at the first dawn of morning, she +took her route by a narrow valley, taking care to have the Saracen +Brunello lead the way. + +They reached the summit of the Pyrenees, whence one may look down +on France, Spain, and the two seas. From this height they +descended again by a fatiguing road into a deep valley. From the +middle of this valley an isolated mountain rose, composed of rough +and perpendicular rock, on whose summit was the castle, surrounded +with a wall of brass. Brunello said, "Yonder is the stronghold +where the enchanter keeps his prisoners; one must have wings to +mount thither; it is easy to see that the aid of a flying horse +must be necessary for the master of this castle, which he uses for +his prison and for his abode." + +Bradamante, sufficiently instructed, saw that the time had now +come to possess herself of the ring; but she could not resolve to +slay a defenceless man. She seized Brunello before he was aware, +bound him to a tree, and took from him the ring which he wore on +one of his fingers. The cries and entreaties of the perfidious +Saracen moved her not. She advanced to the foot of the rock +whereon the castle stood, and, to draw the magician to the combat, +sounded her horn, adding to it cries of defiance. + +The enchanter delayed not to present himself, mounted on his +winged horse. Bradamante was struck with surprise mixed with joy +when she saw that this person, described as so formidable, bore no +lance nor club, nor any other deadly weapon. He had only on his +arm a buckler, covered with a cloth, and in his hand an open book. +As to the winged horse, there was no enchantment about him. He was +a natural animal, of a species which exists in the Riphaean +mountains. Like a griffin, he had the head of an eagle, claws +armed with talons, and wings covered with feathers, the rest of +his body being that of a horse. This strange animal is called a +Hippogriff. + +The heroine attacked the enchanter on his approach, striking on +this side and on that, with all the energy of a violent combat, +but wounding only the wind; and after this pretended attack had +lasted some time dismounted from her horse, as if hoping to do +battle more effectually on foot. The enchanter now prepares to +employ his sole weapon, by uncovering the magic buckler which +never failed to subdue an enemy by depriving him of his senses. +Bradamante, confiding in her ring, observed all the motions of her +adversary, and, at the unveiling of the shield, cast herself on +the ground, pretending that the splendor of the shield had +overcome her, but in reality to induce the enchanter to dismount +and approach her. + +It happened according to her wish. When the enchanter saw her +prostrate he made his horse alight on the ground, and, +dismounting, fixed the shield on the pommel of his saddle, and +approached in order to secure the fallen warrior. Bradamante, who +watched him intently, as soon as she saw him near at hand, sprang +up, seized him vigorously, threw him down, and, with the same +chain which the enchanter had prepared for herself, bound him +fast, without his being able to make any effectual resistance. + +The enchanter, with the accents of despair, exclaimed, "Take my +life, young man!" but Bradamante was far from complying with such +a wish. Desirous of knowing the name of the enchanter, and for +what purpose he had formed with so much art this impregnable +fortress, she commanded him to inform her. + +"Alas!" replied the magician, while tears flowed down his cheeks, +"it is not to conceal booty, nor for any culpable design that I +have built this castle; it was only to guard the life of a young +knight, the object of my tenderest affection, my art having taught +me that he is destined to become a Christian, and to perish, +shortly after, by the blackest of treasons. + +"This youth, named Rogero, is the most beautiful and most +accomplished of knights. It is I, the unhappy Atlantes, who have +reared him from his childhood. The call of honor and the desire of +glory led him from me to follow Agramant, his prince, in his +invasion of France, and I, more devoted to Rogero than the +tenderest of parents, have sought the means of bringing him back +to this abode, in the hope of saving him from the cruel fate that +menaces him. + +"For this purpose I have got him in my possession by the same +means as I attempted to employ against you; and by which I have +succeeded in collecting a great many knights and ladies in my +castle. My purpose was to render my beloved pupil's captivity +light, by affording him society to amuse him, and keep his +thoughts from running on subjects of war and glory. Alas! my cares +have been in vain! Yet, take, I beseech you, whatever else I have, +but spare me my beloved pupil. Take this shield, take this winged +courser, deliver such of your friends as you may find among my +prisoners, deliver them all if you will, but leave me my beloved +Rogero; or if you will snatch him too from me, take also my life, +which will cease then to be to me worth preserving." + +Bradamante replied: "Old man, hope not to move me by your vain +entreaties. It is precisely the liberty of Rogero that I require. +You would keep him here in bondage and in slothful pleasure, to +save him from a fate which you foresee. Vain old man! how can you +foresee his fate when you could not foresee your own? You desire +me to take your life. No, my aim and my soul refuse the request." +This said, she required the magician to go before, and guide her +to the castle. The prisoners were set at liberty, though some, in +their secret hearts, regretted the voluptuous life which was thus +brought to an end. Bradamante and Rogero met one another with +transports of joy. + +They descended from the mountain to the spot where the encounter +had taken place. There they found the Hippogriff, with the magic +buckler in its wrapper, hanging to his saddle-bow. Bradamante +advanced to seize the bridle; the Hippogriff seemed to wait her +approach, but before she reached him he spread his wings and flew +away to a neighboring hill, and in the same manner, a second time, +eluded her efforts. Rogero and the other liberated knights +dispersed over the plain and hilltops to secure him, and at last +the animal allowed Rogero to seize his rein. The fearless Rogero +hesitated not to vault upon his back, and let him feel his spurs, +which so roused his mettle that, after galloping a short distance, +he suddenly spread his wings, and soared into the air. Bradamante +had the grief to see her lover snatched away from her at the very +moment of reunion. Rogero, who knew not the art of directing the +horse, was unable to control his flight. He found himself carried +over the tops of the mountains, so far above them that he could +hardly distinguish what was land and what water. The Hippogriff +directed his flight to the west, and cleaved the air as swiftly as +a new-rigged vessel cuts the waves, impelled by the freshest and +most favorable gales. + +ASTOLPHO AND THE ENCHANTRESS + +In the long flight which Rogero took on the back of the Hippogriff +he was carried over land and sea, unknowing whither. As soon as he +had gained some control over the animal he made him alight on the +nearest land. When he came near enough to earth Rogero leapt +lightly from his back, and tied the animal to a myrtle-tree. Near +the spot flowed the pure waters of a fountain, surrounded by +cedars and palm-trees. Rogero laid aside his shield, and, removing +his helmet, breathed with delight the fresh air, and cooled his +lips with the waters of the fountain. For we cannot wonder that he +was excessively fatigued, considering the ride he had taken. He +was preparing to taste the sweets of repose when he perceived that +the Hippogriff, which he had tied by the bridle to a myrtle-tree, +frightened at something, was making violent efforts to disengage +himself. His struggle shook the myrtle-tree so that many of its +beautiful leaves were torn off, and strewed the ground. + +A sound like that which issues from burning wood seemed to come +from the myrtle-tree, at first faint and indistinct, but growing +stronger by degrees, and at length was audible as a voice which +spoke in this manner: "O knight, if the tenderness of your heart +corresponds to the beauty of your person, relieve me, I pray you, +from this tormenting animal. I suffer enough inwardly without +having outward evils added to my lot." + +Rogero, at the first accents of this voice, turned his eyes +promptly on the myrtle, hastened to it, and stood fixed in +astonishment when he perceived that the voice issued from the tree +itself. He immediately untied his horse, and, flushed with +surprise and regret, exclaimed, "Whoever thou art, whether mortal +or the goddess of these woods, forgive me, I beseech you, my +involuntary fault. Had I imagined that this hard bark covered a +being possessed of feeling, could I have exposed such a beautiful +myrtle to the insults of this steed? May the sweet influences of +the sky and air speedily repair the injury I have done! For my +part, I promise by the sovereign lady of my heart to do everything +you wish in order to merit your forgiveness." + +At these words the myrtle seemed to tremble from root to stem, and +Rogero remarked that a moisture as of tears trickled down its +bark, like that which exudes from a log placed on the fire. It +then spoke: + +"The kindness which inspires your words compels me to disclose to +you who I once was, and by what fatality I have been changed into +this shape. My name was Astolpho, cousin of Orlando and Rinaldo, +whose fame has filled the earth. I was myself reckoned among the +bravest paladins of France, and was by birth entitled to reign +over England, after Otho, my father. Returning from the distant +East, with Rinaldo and many other brave knights, called home to +aid with our arms the great Emperor of France, we reached a spot +where the powerful enchantress Alcina possessed a castle on the +borders of the sea. She had gone to the water-side to amuse +herself with fishing, and we paused to see how, by her art, +without hook or line, she drew from the water whatever she would. + +"Not far from the shore an enormous whale showed a back so broad +and motionless that it looked like an island. Alcina had fixed her +eyes on me, and planned to get me into her power. Addressing us, +she said: 'This is the hour when the prettiest mermaid in the sea +comes regularly every day to the shore of yonder island. She sings +so sweetly that the very waves flow smoother at the sound. If you +wish to hear her come with me to her resort.' So saying, Alcina +pointed to the fish, which we all supposed to be an island. I, who +was rash, did not hesitate to follow her; but swam my horse over, +and mounted on the back of the fish. In vain Rinaldo and Dudon +made signs to me to beware; Alcina, smiling, took me in charge, +and led the way. No sooner were we mounted upon him than the whale +moved off, spreading his great fins, and cleft rapidly the waters. +I then saw my folly, but it was too late to repent. Alcina soothed +my anger, and professed that what she had done was for love of me. +Ere long we arrived at this island, where at first everything was +done to reconcile me to my lot, and to make my days pass happily +away. But soon Alcina, sated with her conquest, grew indifferent, +then weary of me, and at last, to get rid of me, changed me into +this form, as she had done to many lovers before me, making some +of them olives, some palms, some cedars, changing others into +fountains, rocks, or even into wild beasts. And thou, courteous +knight, whom accident has brought to this enchanted isle, beware +that she get not the power over thee, or thou shalt haply be made +like us, a tree, a fountain, or a rock." + +Rogero expressed his astonishment at this recital. Astolpho added +that the island was in great part subject to the sway of Alcina. +By the aid of her sister Morgana, she had succeeded in +dispossessing a third sister, Logestilla, of nearly the whole of +her patrimony, for the whole isle was hers originally by her +father's bequest. But Logestilla was temperate and sage, while the +other sisters were false and voluptuous. Her empire was divided +from theirs by a gulf and chain of mountains, which alone had thus +far prevented her sister from usurping it. + +Astolpho here ended his tale, and Rogero, who knew that he was the +cousin of Bradamante, would gladly have devised some way for his +relief; but, as that was out of his power, he consoled him as well +as he could, and then begged to be told the way to the palace of +Logestilla, and how to avoid that of Alcina. Astolpho directed him +to take the road to the left, though rough and full of rocks. He +warned him that this road would present serious obstacles; that +troops of monsters would oppose his passage, employed by the art +of Alcina to prevent her subjects from escaping from her dominion. +Rogero thanked the myrtle, and prepared to set out on his way. + +He at first thought he would mount the winged horse, and scale the +mountain on his back; but he was too uncertain of his power to +control him to wish to encounter the hazard of another flight +through the air, besides that he was almost famished for the want +of food. So he led the horse after him, and took the road on foot, +which for some distance led equally to the dominions of both the +sisters. + +He had not advanced more than two miles when he saw before him the +superb city of Alcina. It was surrounded with a wall of gold, +which seemed to reach the skies. I know that some think that this +wall was not of real gold, but only the work of alchemy; it +matters not; I prefer to think it gold, for it certainly shone +like gold. + +A broad and level road led to the gates of the city, and from this +another branched off, narrow and rough, which led to the mountain +region. Rogero took without hesitation the narrow road; but he had +no sooner entered upon it than he was assailed by a numerous troop +which opposed his passage. + +You never have seen anything so ridiculous, so extraordinary, as +this host of hobgoblins were. Some of them bore the human form +from the neck to the feet, but had the head of a monkey or a cat; +others had the legs and the ears of a horse; old men and women, +bald and hideous, ran hither and thither as if out of their +senses, half clad in the shaggy skins of beasts; one rode full +speed on a horse without a bridle, another jogged along mounted on +an ass or a cow; others, full of agility, skipped about, and clung +to the tails and manes of the animals which their companions rode. +Some blew horns, others brandished drinking-cups; some were armed +with spits, and some with pitchforks. One, who appeared to be the +captain, had an enormous belly and a gross fat head; he was +mounted on a tortoise, that waddled, now this way, now that, +without keeping any one direction. + +One of these monsters, who had something approaching the human +form, though he had the neck, ears, and muzzle of a dog, set +himself to bark furiously at Rogero, to make him turn off to the +right, and reenter upon the road to the gay city; but the brave +chevalier exclaimed, "That will I not, so long as I can use this +sword,"--and he thrust the point directly at his face. The monster +tried to strike him with a lance, but Rogero was too quick for +him, and thrust his sword through his body, so that it appeared a +hand's breadth behind his back. The paladin, now giving full vent +to his rage, laid about him vigorously among the rabble, cleaving +one to the teeth, another to the girdle; but the troop were so +numerous, and in spite of his blows pressed around him so close, +that, to clear his way, he must have had as many arms as Briareus. + +If Rogero had uncovered the shield of the enchanter, which hung at +his saddle-bow, he might easily have vanquished this monstrous +rout; but perhaps he did not think of it, and perhaps he preferred +to seek his defence nowhere but in his good sword. At that moment, +when his perplexity was at its height, he saw issue from the city +gate two young beauties, whose air and dress proclaimed their rank +and gentle nurture. Each of them was mounted on a unicorn, whose +whiteness surpassed that of ermine. They advanced to the meadow +where Rogero was contending so valiantly against the hobgoblins, +who all retired at their approach. They drew near, they extended +their hands to the young warrior, whose cheeks glowed with the +flush of exercise and modesty. Grateful for their assistance, he +expressed his thanks, and, having no heart to refuse them, +followed their guidance to the gate of the city. + +This grand and beautiful entrance was adorned by a portico of four +vast columns, all of diamond. Whether they were real diamond or +artificial I cannot say. What matter is it, so long as they +appeared to the eye like diamond, and nothing could be more gay +and splendid. + +On the threshold, and between the columns, was seen a bevy of +charming young women, who played and frolicked together. They all +ran to receive Rogero, and conducted him into the palace, which +appeared like a paradise. + +We might well call by that name this abode, where the hours flew +by, without account, in ever-new delights. The bare idea of +satiety, want, and, above all, of age, never entered the minds of +the inhabitants. They experienced no sensations except those of +luxury and gayety; the cup of happiness seemed for them ever- +flowing and exhaustless. The two young damsels to whom Rogero owed +his deliverance from the hobgoblins conducted him to the apartment +of their mistress. The beautiful Alcina advanced, and greeted him +with an air at once dignified and courteous. All her court +surrounded the paladin, and rendered him the most flattering +attentions. The castle was less admirable for its magnificence +than for the charms of those who inhabited it. They were of either +sex, well matched in beauty, youth, and grace; but among this +charming group the brilliant Alcina shone, as the sun outshines +the stars. The young warrior was fascinated. All that he had heard +from the myrtle-tree appeared to him but a vile calumny. How could +he suspect that falsehood and treason veiled themselves under +smiles and the ingenuous air of truth? He doubted not that +Astolpho had deserved his fate, and perhaps a punishment more +severe; he regarded all his stories as dictated by a disappointed +spirit, and a thirst for revenge. But we must not condemn Rogero +too harshly, for he was the victim of magic power. + +They seated themselves at table, and immediately harmonious lyres +and harps waked the air with the most ravishing notes. The charms +of poetry were added in entertaining recitals; the magnificence of +the feast would have done credit to a royal board. The traitress +forgot nothing which might charm the paladin, and attach him to +the spot, meaning, when she should grow tired of him, to +metamorphose him as she had done others. In the same manner passed +each succeeding day. Games of pleasant exercise, the chase, the +dance, or rural sports, made the hours pass quickly; while they +gave zest to the refreshment of the bath, or sleep. + +Thus Rogero led a life of ease and luxury, while Charlemagne and +Agramant were struggling for empire. But I cannot linger with him +while the amiable and courageous Bradamante is night and day +directing her uncertain steps to every spot where the slightest +chance invites her, in the hope of recovering Rogero. + +I will therefore say that, having sought him in vain in fields and +in cities, she knew not whither next to direct her steps. She did +not apprehend the death of Rogero. The fall of such a hero would +have reechoed from the Hydaspes to the farthest river of the West; +but, not knowing whether he was on the earth or in the air, she +concluded, as a last resource, to return to the cavern which +contained the tomb of Merlin, to ask of him some sure direction to +the object of her search. + +While this thought occupied her mind, Melissa, the sage +enchantress, suddenly appeared before her. This virtuous and +beneficent magician had discovered by her spells that Rogero was +passing his time in pleasure and idleness, forgetful of his honor +and his sovereign. Not able to endure the thought that one who was +born to be a hero should waste his years in base repose, and leave +a sullied reputation in the memory of survivors, she saw that +vigorous measures must be employed to draw him forth into the +paths of virtue. Melissa was not blinded by her affection for the +amiable paladin, like Atlantes, who, intent only on preserving +Rogero's life, cared nothing for his fame. It was that old +enchanter whose arts had guided the Hippogriff to the isle of the +too charming Alcina, where he hoped his favorite would learn to +forget honor, and lose the love of glory. + +At the sight of Melissa joy lighted up the countenance of +Bradamante, and hope animated her breast. Melissa concealed +nothing from her, but told her how Rogero was in the toils of +Alcina. Bradamante was plunged in grief and terror; but the kind +enchantress calmed her, dispelled her fears, and promised that +before many days she would lead back the paladin to her feet. + +"My daughter," she said, "give me the ring which you wear, and +which possesses the power to overcome enchantments. By means of it +I doubt not but that I may enter the stronghold where the false +Alcina holds Rogero in durance, and may succeed in vanquishing her +and liberating him." Bradamante unhesitatingly delivered her the +ring, recommending Rogero to her best efforts. Melissa then +summoned by her art a huge palfrey, black as jet, excepting one +foot, which was bay. Mounted upon this animal, she rode with such +speed that by the next morning she had reached the abode of +Alcina. + +She here transformed herself into the perfect resemblance of the +old magician Atlantes, adding a palm-breadth to her height, and +enlarging her whole figure. Her chin she covered with a long +beard, and seamed her whole visage well with wrinkles. She assumed +also his voice and manner, and watched her chance to find Rogero +alone. At last she found him, dressed in a rich tunic of silk and +gold, a collar of precious stones about his neck, and his arms, +once so rough with exercise, decorated with bracelets. His air and +his every motion indicated effeminacy, and he seemed to retain +nothing of Rogero but the name; such power had the enchantress +obtained over him. + +Melissa, under the form of his old instructor, presented herself +before him, wearing a stern and serious visage. "Is this, then," +she said, "the fruit of all my labors? Is it for this that I fed +you on the marrow of bears and lions, that I taught you to subdue +dragons, and, like Hercules, strangle serpents in your youthful +grasp, only to make you, by all my cares, a feeble Adonis? My +nightly watchings of the stars, of the yet warm fibres of animals, +the lots I have cast, the points of nativity that I have +calculated, have they all falsely indicated that you were born for +greatness? Who could have believed that you would become the slave +of a base enchantress? O Rogero, learn to know this Alcina, learn +to understand her arts and to countervail them. Take this ring, +place it on your finger, return to her presence, and see for +yourself what are her real charms." + +At these words, Rogero, confused, abashed, cast his eyes upon the +ground, and knew not what to answer. Melissa seized the moment, +slipped the ring on his finger, and the paladin was himself again. +What a thunderclap to him! Overcome by shame, he dared not to +encounter the looks of his instructor. When at last he raised his +eyes he beheld not that venerable form, but the priestess Melissa, +who in virtue of the ring now appeared in her true person. She +told him of the motives which had led her to come to his rescue, +of the griefs and regrets of Bradamante, and of her unwearied +search for him. "That charming Amazon," she said, "sends you this +ring, which is a sovereign antidote to all enchantments. She would +have sent you her heart in my hands, if it would have had greater +power to serve you." + +It was needless for Melissa to say more. Rogero's love for Alcina, +being but the work of enchantment, vanished as soon as the +enchantment was withdrawn, and he now hated her with an equal +intensity, seeing no longer anything in her but her vices, and +feeling only resentment for the shame that she had put upon him. + +His surprise when he again beheld Alcina was no less than his +indignation. Fortified by his ring from her enchantments, he saw +her as she was, a monster of ugliness. All her charms were +artificial, and, truly viewed, were rather deformities. She was, +in fact, older than Hecuba or the Sibyl of Cumae; but an art, +which it is to be regretted our times have lost, enabled her to +appear charming, and to clothe herself in all the attractions of +youth. Rogero now saw all this, but, governed by the counsels of +Melissa, he concealed his surprise, assumed under some pretext his +armor, long neglected, and bound to his side Belisarda, his trusty +sword, taking also the buckler of Atlantes, covered with its veil. + +He then selected a horse from the stables of Alcina, without +exciting her suspicions; but he left the Hippogriff, by the advice +of Melissa, who promised to take him in charge, and train him to a +more manageable state. The horse he took was Rabican, which +belonged to Astolpho. He restored the ring to Melissa. + +Rogero had not ridden far when he met one of the huntsmen of +Alcina, bearing a falcon on his wrist, and followed by a dog. The +huntsman was mounted on a powerful horse, and came boldly up to +the paladin, demanding, in a somewhat imperious manner, whither he +was going so rapidly. Rogero disdained to stop or to reply; +whereupon the huntsman, not doubting that he was about making his +escape, said, "What if I, with my falcon, stop your ride?" So +saying, he threw off the bird, which even Rabican could not equal +in speed. The huntsman then leapt from his horse, and the animal, +open-mouthed, darted after Rogero with the swiftness of an arrow. +The huntsman also ran as if the wind or fire bore him, and the dog +was equal to Rabican in swiftness. Rogero, finding flight +impossible, stopped and faced his pursuers; but his sword was +useless against such foes. The insolent huntsman assailed him with +words, and struck him with his whip, the only weapon he had; the +dog bit his feet, and the horse drove at him with his hoofs. At +the same time the falcon flew over his head and over Rabican's and +attacked them with claws and wings, so that the horse in his +fright began to be unmanageable. At that moment the sound of +trumpets and cymbals was heard in the valley, and it was evident +that Alcina had ordered out all her array to go in pursuit. Rogero +felt that there was no time to be lost, and luckily remembered the +shield of Atlantes, which he bore suspended from his neck. He +unveiled it, and the charm worked wonderfully. The huntsman, the +dog, the horse, fell flat; the trembling wings of the falcon could +no longer sustain her, and she fell senseless to the ground. +Rogero, rid of their annoyances, left them in their trance, and +rode away. + +Meanwhile Alcina, with all the force she could muster, sallied +forth from her palace in pursuit. Melissa, left behind, took +advantage of the opportunity to ransack all the rooms, protected +by the ring. She undid one by one all the talismans and spells +which she found, broke the seals, burned the images, and untied +the hagknots. Thence, hurrying through the fields, she +disenchanted the victims changed into trees, fountains, stones, or +brutes; all of whom recovered their liberty, and vowed eternal +gratitude to their deliverer. They made their escape, with all +possible despatch, to the realms of the good Logestilla, whence +they departed to their several homes. + +Astolpho was the first whom Melissa liberated, for Rogero had +particularly recommended him to her care. She aided him to recover +his arms, and particularly that precious golden-headed lance which +once was Argalia's. The enchantress mounted with him upon the +winged horse, and in a short time arrived through the air at the +castle of Logestilla, where Rogero joined them soon after. + +In this abode the friends passed a short period of delightful and +improving intercourse with the sage Logestilla and her virtuous +court; and then each departed, Rogero with the Hippogriff, ring, +and buckler; Astolpho with his golden lance, and mounted on +Rabican, the fleetest of steeds. To Rogero Logestilla gave a bit +and bridle suited to govern the Hippogriff; and to Astolpho a horn +of marvellous powers, to be sounded only when all other weapons +were unavailing. + +THE ORC + +We left the charming Angelica at the moment when, in her flight +from her contending lovers, Sacripant and Rinaldo, she met an aged +hermit. We have seen that her request to the hermit was to furnish +her the means of gaining the sea-coast, eager to avoid Rinaldo, +whom she hated, by leaving France and Europe itself. The pretended +hermit, who was no other than a vile magician, knowing well that +it would not be agreeable to his false gods to aid Angelica in +this undertaking, feigned to comply with her desire. He supplied +her a horse, into which he had by his arts caused a subtle devil +to enter, and, having mounted Angelica on the animal, directed her +what course to take to reach the sea. + +Angelica rode on her way without suspicion, but when arrived at +the shore, the demon urged the animal headlong into the water. +Angelica in vain attempted to turn him back to the land; he +continued his course till, as night approached, he landed with his +burden on a sandy headland. + +Angelica, finding herself alone, abandoned in this frightful +solitude, remained without movement, as if stupefied, with hands +joined and eyes turned towards heaven, till at last, pouring forth +a torrent of tears, she exclaimed: "Cruel fortune, have you not +yet exhausted your rage against me? To what new miseries do you +doom me? Alas! then finish your work! Deliver me a prey to some +ferocious beast, or by whatever fate you choose bring me to an +end. I will be thankful to you for terminating my life and my +misery." At last, exhausted by her sorrows, she fell asleep, and +sunk prostrate on the sand. + +Before recounting what next befell, we must declare what place it +was upon which the unhappy lady was now thrown. In the sea that +washes the coast of Ireland there is an island called Ebuda, whose +inhabitants, once numerous, had been wasted by the anger of +Proteus till there were now but few left. This deity was incensed +by some neglect of the usual honors which he had in old times +received from the inhabitants of the land, and, to execute his +vengeance, had sent a horrid sea-monster, called an Orc, to devour +them. Such were the terrors of his ravages that the whole people +of the isle had shut themselves up in the principal town, and +relied on their walls alone to protect them. In this distress they +applied to the Oracle for advice, and were directed to appease the +wrath of the sea-monster by offering to him the fairest virgin +that the country could produce. + +Now it so happened that the very day when this dreadful oracle was +announced, and when the fatal mandate had gone forth to seek among +the fairest maidens of the land one to be offered to the monster, +some sailors, landing on the beach where Angelica was, beheld that +beauty as she lay asleep. + +O blind Chance! whose power in human affairs is but too great, +canst thou then abandon to the teeth of a horrible monster those +charms which different sovereigns took arms against one another to +possess? Alas! the lovely Angelica is destined to be the victim of +those cruel islanders. + +Still asleep, she was bound by the Ebudians, and it was not until +she was carried on board the vessel that she came to a knowledge +of her situation. The wind filled the sails and wafted the ship +swiftly to the port, where all that beheld her agreed that she was +unquestionably the victim selected by Proteus himself to be his +prey. Who can tell the screams, the mortal anguish of this unhappy +maiden, the reproaches she addressed even to the heavens +themselves, when the dreadful information of her cruel fate was +made known to her? I cannot; let me rather turn to a happier part +of my story. + +Rogero left the palace of Logestilla, careering on his flying +courser far above the tops of the mountains, and borne westward by +the Hippogriff, which he guided with ease, by means of the bridle +that Melissa had given him. Anxious as he was to recover +Bradamante, he could not fail to be delighted at the view his +rapid flight presented of so many vast regions and populous +countries as he passed over in his career. At last he approached +the shores of England, and perceived an immense army in all the +splendor of military pomp, as if about to go forth flushed with +hopes of victory. He caused the Hippogriff to alight not far from +the scene, and found himself immediately surrounded by admiring +spectators, knights and soldiers, who could not enough indulge +their curiosity and wonder. Rogero learned, in reply to his +questions, that the fine array of troops before him was the army +destined to go to the aid of the French Emperor, in compliance +with the request presented by the illustrious Rinaldo, as +ambassador of King Charles, his uncle. + +By this time the curiosity of the English chevaliers was partly +gratified in beholding the Hippogriff at rest, and Rogero, to +renew their surprise and delight, remounted the animal, and, +slapping spurs to his sides, made him launch into the air with the +rapidity of a meteor, and directed his flight still westwardly, +till he came within sight of the coasts of Ireland. Here he +descried what seemed to be a fair damsel, alone, fast chained to a +rock which projected into the sea. What was his astonishment when, +drawing nigh, he beheld the beautiful princess Angelica! That day +she had been led forth and bound to the rock, there to wait till +the sea-monster should come to devour her. Rogero exclaimed as he +came near, "What cruel hands, what barbarous soul, what fatal +chance can have loaded thee with those chains?" Angelica replied +by a torrent of tears, at first her only response; then, in a +trembling voice, she disclosed to him the horrible destiny for +which she was there exposed. While she spoke, a terrible roaring +was heard far off on the sea. The huge monster soon came in sight, +part of his body appearing above the waves and part concealed. +Angelica, half dead with fear, abandoned herself to despair. + +Rogero, lance in rest, spurred his Hippogriff toward the Orc, and +gave him a thrust. The horrible monster was like nothing that +nature produces. It was but one mass of tossing and twisting body, +with nothing of the animal but head, eyes, and mouth, the last +furnished with tusks like those of the wild boar. Rogero's lance +had struck him between the eyes; but rock and iron are not more +impenetrable than were his scales. The knight, seeing the +fruitlessness of the first blow, prepared to give a second. The +animal, beholding upon the water the shadow of the great wings of +the Hippogriff, abandoned his prey, and turned to seize what +seemed nearer. Rogero took the opportunity, and dealt him furious +blows on various parts of his body, taking care to keep clear of +his murderous teeth; but the scales resisted every attack. The Orc +beat the water with his tail till he raised a foam which enveloped +Rogero and his steed, so that the knight hardly knew whether he +was in the water or the air. He began to fear that the wings of +the Hippogriff would be so drenched with water that they would +cease to sustain him. At that moment Rogero bethought him of the +magic shield which hung at his saddle-bow; but the fear that +Angelica would also be blinded by its glare discouraged him from +employing it. Then he remembered the ring which Melissa had given +him, the power of which he had so lately proved. He hastened to +Angelica and placed it on her finger. Then, uncovering the +buckler, he turned its bright disk full in the face of the +detestable Orc. The effect was instantaneous. The monster, +deprived of sense and motion, rolled over on the sea, and lay +floating on his back. Rogero would fain have tried the effect of +his lance on the now exposed parts, but Angelica implored him to +lose no time in delivering her from her chains before the monster +should revive. Rogero, moved with her entreaties, hastened to do +so, and, having unbound her, made her mount behind him on the +Hippogriff. The animal, spurning the earth, shot up into the air, +and rapidly sped his way through it. Rogero, to give time to the +princess to rest after her cruel agitations, soon sought the earth +again, alighting on the shore of Brittany. Near the shore a thick +wood presented itself, which resounded with the songs of birds. In +the midst, a fountain of transparent water bathed the turf of a +little meadow. A gentle hill rose near by. Rogero, making the +Hippogriff alight in the meadow, dismounted, and took Angelica +from the horse. + +When the first tumults of emotion had subsided Angelica, casting +her eyes downward, beheld the precious ring upon her finger, whose +virtues she was well acquainted with, for it was the very ring +which the Saracen Brunello had robbed her of. She drew it from her +finger and placed it in her mouth, and, quicker than we can tell +it, disappeared from the sight of the paladin. + +Rogero looked around him on all sides, like one frantic, but soon +remembered the ring which he had so lately placed on her finger. +Struck with the ingratitude which could thus recompense his +services, he exclaimed: "Thankless beauty, is this then the reward +you make me? Do you prefer to rob me of my ring rather than +receive it as a gift? Willingly would I have given it to you, had +you but asked it." Thus he said, searching on all sides with arms +extended like a blind man, hoping to recover by the touch what was +lost to sight; but he sought in vain. The cruel beauty was already +far away. + +Though sensible of her obligations to her deliverer, her first +necessity was for clothing, food, and repose. She soon reached a +shepherd's hut, where, entering unseen, she found what sufficed +for her present relief. An old herdsman inhabited the hut, whose +charges consisted of a drove of mares. When recruited by repose +Angelica selected one of the mares from the flock, and, mounting +the animal, felt the desire revive in her mind of returning to her +home in the East, and for that purpose would gladly have accepted +the protection of Orlando or of Sacripant across those wide +regions which divided her from her own country. In hopes of +meeting with one or the other of them she pursued her way. + +Meanwhile Rogero, despairing of seeing Angelica again, returned to +the tree where he had left his winged horse, but had the +mortification to find that the animal had broken his bridle and +escaped. This loss, added to his previous disappointment, +overwhelmed him with vexation. Sadly he gathered up his arms, +threw his buckler over his shoulders, and, taking the first path +that offered, soon found himself within the verge of a dense and +widespread forest. + +He had proceeded for some distance when he heard a noise on his +right, and, listening attentively, distinguished the clash of +arms. He made his way toward the place whence the sound proceeded, +and found two warriors engaged in mortal combat. One of them was a +knight of a noble and manly bearing, the other a fierce giant. The +knight appeared to exert consummate address in defending herself +against the massive club of the giant, evading his strokes, or +parrying them with sword or shield. Rogero stood spectator of the +combat, for he did not allow himself to interfere in it, though a +secret sentiment inclined him strongly to take part with the +knight. At length he saw with grief the massive club fall directly +on the head of the knight, who yielded to the blow, and fell +prostrate. The giant sprang forward to despatch him, and for that +purpose unlaced his helmet, when Rogero, with dismay, recognized +the face of Bradamante. He cried aloud, "Hold, miscreant!" and +sprang forward with drawn sword. Whereupon the giant, as if he +cared not to enter upon another combat, lifted Bradamante on his +shoulders, and ran with her into the forest. + +Rogero plunged after him, but the long legs of the giant carried +him forward so fast that the paladin could hardly keep him in +sight. At length they issued from the wood, and Rogero perceived +before him a rich palace, built of marble, and adorned with +sculptures executed by a master hand. Into this edifice, through a +golden door, the giant passed, and Rogero followed; but, on +looking round, saw nowhere either the giant or Bradamante. He ran +from room to room, calling aloud on his cowardly foe to turn and +meet him; but got no response, nor caught another glimpse of the +giant or his prey. In his vain pursuit he met, without knowing +them, Ferrau, Florismart, King Gradasso, Orlando, and many others, +all of whom had been entrapped like himself into this enchanted +castle. It was a new stratagem of the magician Atlantes to draw +Rogero into his power, and to secure also those who might by any +chance endanger his safety. What Rogero had taken for Bradamante +was a mere phantom. That charming lady was far away, full of +anxiety for her Rogero, whose coming she had long expected. + +The Emperor had committed to her charge the city and garrison of +Marseilles, and she held the post against the infidels with valor +and discretion. One day Melissa suddenly presented herself before +her. Anticipating her questions, she said, "Fear not for Rogero; +he lives, and is as ever true to you; but he has lost his liberty. +The fell enchanter has again succeeded in making him a prisoner. +If you would deliver him, mount your horse and follow me." She +told her in what manner Atlantes had deceived Rogero, in deluding +his eyes with the phantom of herself in peril. "Such," she +continued, "will be his arts in your own case, if you penetrate +the forest and approach that castle. You will think you behold +Rogero, when, in fact, you see only the enchanter himself. Be not +deceived, plunge your sword into his body, and trust me when I +tell you that, in slaying him, you will restore not only Rogero, +but with him many of the bravest knights of France, whom the +wizard's arts have withdrawn from the camp of their sovereign." + +Bradamante promptly armed herself, and mounted her horse. Melissa +led her by forced journeys, by field and forest, beguiling the way +with conversation on the theme which interested her hearer most. +When at last they reached the forest, she repeated once more her +instructions, and then took her leave, for fear the enchanter +might espy her, and be put on his guard. + +Bradamante rode on about two miles when suddenly she beheld +Rogero, as it appeared to her, hard pressed by two fierce giants. +While she hesitated she heard his voice calling on her for help. +At once the cautions of Melissa lost their weight. A sudden doubt +of the faith and truth of her kind monitress flashed across her +mind. "Shall I not believe my own eyes and ears?" she said, and +rushed forward to his defence. Rogero fled, pursued by the giants, +and Bradamante followed, passing with them through the castle +gate. When there, Bradamante was undeceived, for neither giant nor +knight was to be seen. She found herself a prisoner, but had not +the consolation of knowing that she shared the imprisonment of her +beloved. She saw various forms of men and women, but could +recognize none of them; and their lot was the same with respect to +her. Each viewed the others under some illusion of the fancy, +wearing the semblance of giants, dwarfs, or even four-footed +animals, so that there was no companionship or communication +between them. + +ASTOLPHO'S ADVENTURES CONTINUED, AND ISABELLA'S BEGUN + +When Astolpho escaped from the cruel Alcina, after a short abode +in the realm of the virtuous Logestilla, he desired to return to +his native country. Logestilla lent him the best vessel of her +fleet to convey him to the mainland. She gave him at parting a +wonderful book, which taught the secret of overcoming all manners +of enchantments, and begged him to carry it always with him, out +of regard for her. She also gave him another gift, which surpassed +everything of the kind that mortal workmanship can frame; yet it +was nothing in appearance but a simple horn. + +Astolpho, protected by these gifts, thanked the good fairy, took +leave of her, and set out on his return to France. His voyage was +prosperous, and on reaching the desired port he took leave of the +faithful mariners, and continued his journey by land. As he +proceeded over mountains and through valleys he often met with +bands of robbers, wild beasts, and venomous serpents, but he had +only to sound his horn to put them all to flight. + +Having landed in France, and traversed many provinces on his way +to the army, he one day, in crossing a forest, arrived beside a +fountain, and alighted to drink. While he stooped at the fountain +a young rustic sprang from the copse, mounted Rabican, and rode +away. It was a new trick of the enchanter Atlantes. Astolpho, +hearing the noise, turned his head just in time to see his loss; +and, starting up, pursued the thief, who, on his part, did not +press the horse to his full speed, but just kept in sight of his +pursuer till they both issued from the forest; and then Rabican +and his rider took shelter in a castle which stood near. Astolpho +followed, and penetrated without difficulty within the court-yard +of the castle, where he looked around for the rider and his horse, +but could see no trace of either, nor any person of whom he could +make inquiry. Suspecting that enchantment was employed to +embarrass him, he bethought him of his book, and on consulting it +discovered that his suspicions were well founded. He also learned +what course to pursue. He was directed to raise the stone which +served as a threshold, under which a spirit lay pent, who would +willingly escape, and leave the castle free of access. Astolpho +applied his strength to lift aside the stone. Thereupon the +magician put his arts in force. The castle was full of prisoners, +and the magician caused that to all of them Astolpho should appear +in some false guise--to some a wild beast, to others a giant, to +others a bird of prey. Thus all assailed him, and would quickly +have made an end of him, if he had not bethought him of his horn. +No sooner had he blown a blast than, at the horrid larum, fled the +cavaliers and the necromancer with them, like a flock of pigeons +at the sound of the fowler's gun. Astolpho then renewed his +efforts on the stone, and turned it over. The under face was all +inscribed with magical characters, which the knight defaced, as +directed by his book; and no sooner had he done so, than the +castle, with its walls and turrets, vanished into smoke. + +The knights and ladies set at liberty were, besides Rogero and +Bradamante, Orlando, Gradasso, Florismart, and many more. At the +sound of the horn they fled, one and all, men and steeds, except +Rabican, which Astolpho secured, in spite of his terror. As soon +as the sound had ceased Rogero recognized Bradamante, whom he had +daily met during their imprisonment, but had been prevented from +knowing by the enchanter's arts. No words can tell the delight +with which they recognized each other, and recounted mutually all +that had happened to each since they were parted. Rogero took +advantage of the opportunity to press his suit, and found +Bradamante as propitious as he could wish, were it not for a +single obstacle, the difference of their faiths. "If he would +obtain her in marriage," she said, "he must in due form demand her +of her father, Duke Aymon, and must abandon his false prophet, and +become a Christian." The latter step was one which Rogero had for +some time intended taking, for reasons of his own. He therefore +gladly accepted the terms, and proposed that they should at once +repair to the abbey of Vallombrosa, whose towers were visible at +no great distance. Thither they turned their horses' heads, and we +will leave them to find their way without our company. + +I know not if my readers recollect that at the moment when Rogero +had just delivered Angelica from the voracious Orc that scornful +beauty placed her ring in her mouth, and vanished out of sight. At +the same time the Hippogriff shook off his bridle, soared away, +and flew to rejoin his former master, very naturally returning to +his accustomed stable. Here Astolpho found him, to his very great +delight. He knew the animal's powers, having seen Rogero ride him, +and he longed to fly abroad over all the earth, and see various +nations and peoples from his airy course. He had heard +Logestilla's directions how to guide the animal, and saw her fit a +bridle to his head. He therefore was able, out of all the bridles +he found in the stable, to select one suitable, and, placing +Rabican's saddle on the Hippogriff's back, nothing seemed to +prevent his immediate departure. Yet before he went he bethought +him of placing Rabican in hands where he would be safe, and whence +he might recover him in time of need. While he stood deliberating +where he should find a messenger, he saw Bradamante approach. That +fair warrior had been parted from Rogero on their way to the abbey +of Vallombrosa, by an inopportune adventure which had called the +knight away. She was now returning to Montalban, having arranged +with Rogero to join her there. To Bradamante, therefore, his fair +cousin, Astolpho committed Rabican, and also the lance of gold, +which would only be an incumbrance in his aerial excursion. +Bradamante took charge of both; and Astolpho, bidding her +farewell, soared in air. + +Among those delivered by Astolpho from the magician's castle was +Orlando. Following the guide of chance, the paladin found himself +at the close of day in a forest, and stopped at the foot of a +mountain. Surprised to discern a light which came from a cleft in +the rock, he approached, guided by the ray, and discovered a +narrow passage in the mountain-side, which led into a deep grotto. + +Orlando fastened his horse, and then, putting aside the bushes +that resisted his passage, stepped down from rock to rock till he +reached a sort of cavern. Entering it, he perceived a lady, young +and handsome, as well as he could discover through the signs of +distress which agitated her countenance. Her only companion was an +old woman, who seemed to be regarded by her young partner with +terror and indignation. The courteous paladin saluted the women +respectfully, and begged to know by whose barbarity they had been +subjected to such imprisonment. + +The younger lady replied, in a voice often broken with sobs: + +"Though I know well that my recital will subject me to worse +treatment by the barbarous man who keeps me here, to whom this +woman will not fail to report it, yet I will not hide from you the +facts. Ah! why should I fear his rage? If he should take my life, +I know not what better boon than death I can ask. + +"My name is Isabella. I am the daughter of the king of Galicia, or +rather I should say misfortune and grief are my parents. Young, +rich, modest, and of tranquil temper, all things appeared to +combine to render my lot happy. Alas! I see myself to-day poor, +humbled, miserable, and destined perhaps to yet further +afflictions. It is a year since, my father having given notice +that he would open the lists for a tournament at Bayonne, a great +number of chevaliers from all quarters came together at our court. +Among these Zerbino, son of the king of Scotland, victorious in +all combats, eclipsed by his beauty and his valor all the rest. +Before departing from the court of Galicia he testified the wish +to espouse me, and I consented that he should demand my hand of +the king, my father. But I was a Mahometan, and Zerbino a +Christian, and my father refused his consent. The prince, called +home by his father to take command of the forces destined to the +assistance of the French Emperor, prevailed on me to be married to +him secretly, and to follow him to Scotland. He caused a galley to +be prepared to receive me, and placed in command of it the +chevalier Oderic, a Biscayan, famous for his exploits both by land +and sea. On the day appointed, Oderic brought his vessel to a +seaside resort of my father's, where I embarked. Some of my +domestics accompanied me, and thus I departed from my native land. + +"Sailing with a fair wind, after some hours we were assailed by a +violent tempest. It was to no purpose that we took in all sail; we +were driven before the wind directly upon the rocky shore. Seeing +no other hopes of safety, Oderic placed me in a boat, followed +himself with a few of his men, and made for land. We reached it +through infinite peril, and I no sooner felt the firm land beneath +my feet, than I knelt down and poured out heartfelt thanks to the +Providence that had preserved me. + +"The shore where we landed appeared to be uninhabited. We saw no +dwelling to shelter us, no road to lead us to a more hospitable +spot. A high mountain rose before us, whose base stretched into +the sea. It was here the infamous Oderic, in spite of my tears and +entreaties, sold me to a band of pirates, who fancied I might be +an acceptable present to their prince, the Sultan of Morocco. This +cavern is their den, and here they keep me under the guard of this +woman, until it shall suit their convenience to carry me away." + +Isabella had hardly finished her recital when a troop of armed men +began to enter the cavern. Seeing the prince Orlando, one said to +the rest, "What bird is this we have caught, without even setting +a snare for him?" Then addressing Orlando, "It was truly civil in +you, friend, to come hither with that handsome coat of armor and +vest, the very things I want." "You shall pay for them, then," +said Orlando; and seizing a half-burnt brand from the fire, he +hurled it at him, striking his head, and stretching him lifeless +on the floor. + +There was a massy table in the middle of the cavern, used for the +pirates' repasts. Orlando lifted it and hurled it at the robbers +as they stood clustered in a group toward the entrance. Half the +gang were laid prostrate, with broken heads and limbs; the rest +got away as nimbly as they could. + +Leaving the den and its inmates to their fate, Orlando, taking +Isabella under his protection, pursued his way for some days, +without meeting with any adventure. + +One day they saw a band of men advancing, who seemed to be +guarding a prisoner, bound hand and foot, as if being carried to +execution. The prisoner was a youthful cavalier, of a noble and +ingenuous appearance. The band bore the ensigns of Count Anselm, +head of the treacherous house of Maganza. Orlando desired Isabella +to wait, while he rode forward to inquire the meaning of this +array. Approaching, he demanded of the leader who his prisoner +was, and of what crime he had been guilty. The man replied that +the prisoner was a murderer, by whose hand Pinabel, the son of +Count Anselm, had been treacherously slain. At these words the +prisoner exclaimed, "I am no murderer, nor have I been in any way +the cause of the young man's death." Orlando, knowing the cruel +and ferocious character of the chiefs of the house of Maganza, +needed no more to satisfy him that the youth was the victim of +injustice. He commanded the leader of the troop to release his +victim, and, receiving an insolent reply, dashed him to the earth +with a stroke of his lance; then by a few vigorous blows dispersed +the band, leaving deadly marks on those who were slowest to quit +the field. + +Orlando then hastened to unbind the prisoner, and to assist him to +reclothe himself in his armor, which the false Magencian had dared +to assume. He then led him to Isabella, who now approached the +scene of action. How can we picture the joy, the astonishment, +with which Isabella recognized in him Zerbino, her husband, and +the prince discovered her whom he had believed overwhelmed in the +waves! They embraced one another, and wept for joy. Orlando, +sharing in their happiness, congratulated himself in having been +the instrument of it. The princess recounted to Zerbino what the +illustrious paladin had done for her, and the prince threw himself +at Orlando's feet, and thanked him as having twice preserved his +life. + +While these exchanges of congratulation and thankfulness were +going on, a sound in the underwood attracted their attention, and +caused the two knights to brace their helmets and stand on their +guard. What the cause of the interruption was we shall record in +another chapter. + +MEDORO + +France was at this time the theatre of dreadful events. The +Saracens and the Christians, in numerous encounters, slew one +another. On one occasion Rinaldo led an attack on the infidel +columns, broke and scattered them, till he found himself opposite +to a knight whose armor (whether by accident or by choice, it +matters not) bore the blazon of Orlando. It was Dardinel, the +young and brave prince of Zumara, and Rinaldo remarked him by the +slaughter he spread all around. "Ah," said he to himself, "let us +pluck up this dangerous plant before it has grown to its full +height." + +As Rinaldo advanced, the crowd opened before him, the Christians +to let his sword have free course, the Pagans to escape its sweep. +Dardinel and he stood face to face. Rinaldo exclaimed, fiercely, +"Young man, whoever gave you that noble buckler to bear made you a +dangerous gift; I should like to see how you are able to defend +those quarterings, red and white. If you cannot defend them +against me, how pray will you do so when Orlando challenges them?" +Dardinel replied: "Thou shalt learn that I can defend the arms I +bear, and shed new glory upon them. No one shall rend them from me +but with life." Saying these words, Dardinel rushed upon Rinaldo +with sword uplifted. The chill of mortal terror filled the souls +of the Saracens when they beheld Rinaldo advance to attack the +prince, like a lion against a young bull. The first blow came from +the hand of Dardinel, and the weapon rebounded from Mambrino's +helmet without effect. Rinaldo smiled, and said, "I will now show +you if my strokes are more effectual." At these words he thrust +the unfortunate Dardinel in the middle of his breast. The blow was +so violent that the cruel weapon pierced the body, and came out a +palm-breadth behind his back. Through this wound the life of +Dardinel issued with his blood, and his body fell helpless to the +ground. + +As a flower which the passing plough has uprooted languishes, and +droops its head, so Dardinel, his visage covered with the paleness +of death, expires, and the hopes of an illustrious race perish +with him. + +Like waters kept back by a dike, which, when the dike is broken, +spread abroad through all the country, so the Moors, no longer +kept in column by the example of Dardinel, fled in all directions. +Rinaldo despised too much such easy victories to pursue them; he +wished for no combats but with brave men. At the same time, the +other paladins made terrible slaughter of the Moors. Charles +himself, Oliver, Guido, and Ogier the Dane, carried death into +their ranks on all sides. + +The infidels seemed doomed to perish to a man on that dreadful +day; but the wise king, Marsilius, at last put some slight degree +of method into the general rout. He collected the remnant of the +troops, formed them into a battalion, and retreated in tolerable +order to his camp. That camp was well fortified by intrenchments +and a broad ditch. Thither the fugitives hastened, and by degrees +all that remained of the Moorish army was brought together there. + +The Emperor might perhaps that night have crushed his enemy +entirely; but not thinking it prudent to expose his troops, +fatigued as they were, to an attack upon a camp so well fortified, +he contented himself with encompassing the enemy with his troops, +prepared to make a regular siege. During the night the Moors had +time to see the extent of their loss. Their tents resounded with +lamentations. This warrior had to mourn a brother, that a friend; +many suffered with grievous wounds, all trembled at the fate in +store for them. + +There were two young Moors, both of humble rank, who gave proof at +that time of attachment and fidelity rare in the history of man. +Cloridan and Medoro had followed their prince, Dardinel, to the +wars of France. Cloridan, a bold huntsman, combined strength with +activity. Medoro was a mere youth, his cheeks yet fair and +blooming. Of all the Saracens, no one united so much grace and +beauty. His light hair was set off by his black and sparkling +eyes. The two friends were together on guard at the rampart. About +midnight they gazed on the scene in deep dejection. Medoro, with +tears in his eyes, spoke of the good prince Dardinel, and could +not endure the thought that his body should be cast out on the +plain, deprived of funeral honors. "O my friend," said he, "must +then the body of our prince be the prey of wolves and ravens? +Alas! when I remember how he loved me, I feel that if I should +sacrifice my life to do him honor, I should not do more than my +duty. I wish, dear friend, to seek out his body on the +battlefield, and give it burial, and I hope to be able to pass +through King Charles's camp without discovery, as they are +probably all asleep. You, Cloridan, will be able to say for me, if +I should die in the adventure, that gratitude and fidelity to my +prince were my inducements." + +Cloridan was both surprised and touched with this proof of the +young man's devotion. He loved him tenderly, and tried for a long +time every effort to dissuade him from his design; but he found +Medoro determined to accomplish his object or die in the endeavor. + +Cloridan, unable to change his purpose, said, "I will go with you, +Medoro, and help you in this generous enterprise. I value not life +compared with honor, and if I did, do you suppose, dear friend, +that I could live without you? I would rather fall by the arms of +our enemies than die of grief for the loss of you." + +When the two friends were relieved from their guard duty they went +without any followers into the camp of the Christians. All there +was still; the fires were dying out; there was no fear of any +attempt on the part of the Saracens, and the soldiers, overcome by +fatigue or wine, slept secure, lying upon the ground in the midst +of their arms and equipage. Cloridan stopped, and said, "Medoro, I +am not going to quit this camp without taking vengeance for the +death of our prince. Keep watch, be on your guard that no one +shall surprise us; I mean to mark a road with my sword through the +ranks of our enemies." So saying, he entered the tent where +Alpheus slept, who a year before had joined the camp of Charles, +and pretended to be a great physician and astrologer. But his +science had deceived him, if it gave him hope of dying peacefully +in his bed at a good old age; his lot was to die with little +warning. Cloridan ran his sword through his heart. A Greek and a +German followed, who had been playing late at dice: fortunate if +they had continued their game a little longer; but they never +reckoned a throw like this among their chances. Cloridan next came +to the unlucky Grillon, whose head lay softly on his pillow. He +dreamed probably of the feast from which he had but just retired; +for when Cloridan cut off his head wine flowed forth with the +blood. + +The two young Moors might have penetrated even to the tent of +Charlemagne; but knowing that the paladins encamped around him +kept watch by turns, and judging that it was impossible they +should all be asleep, they were afraid to go too near. They might +also have obtained rich booty; but, intent only on their object, +they crossed the camp, and arrived at length at the bloody field, +where bucklers, lances, and swords lay scattered in the midst of +corpses of poor and rich, common soldier and prince, horses and +pools of blood. This terrible scene of carnage would have +destroyed all hope of finding what they were in search of until +dawn of day, were it not that the moon lent the aid of her +uncertain rays. + +Medoro raised his eyes to the planet, and exclaimed, "O holy +goddess, whom our fathers have adored under three different +forms,--thou who displayest thy power in heaven, on earth, and in +the underworld,--thou who art seen foremost among the nymphs +chasing the beasts of the forest,--cause me to see, I implore +thee, the spot where my dear master lies, and make me all my life +long follow the example which thou dost exhibit of works of +charity and love." + +Either by accident, or that the moon was sensible of the prayer of +Medoro, the cloud broke away, and the moonlight burst forth as +bright as day. The rays seemed especially to gild the spot where +lay the body of Prince Dardinel; and Medoro, bathed in tears and +with bleeding heart, recognized him by the quarterings of red and +white on his shield. + +With groans stifled by his tears, and lamentations in accents +suppressed, not from any fear for himself, for he cared not for +life, but lest any one should be roused to interrupt their pious +duty while yet incomplete, he proposed to his companion that they +should together bear Dardinel on their shoulders, sharing the +burden of the beloved remains. + +Marching with rapid strides under their precious load, they +perceived that the stars began to grow pale, and that the shades +of night would soon be dispersed by the dawn. Just then Zerbino, +whose extreme valor had urged him far from the camp in pursuit of +the fugitives, returning, entered the wood in which they were. +Some knights in his train perceived at a distance the two +brothers-in-arms. Cloridan saw the troop, and, observing that they +dispersed themselves over the plain as if in search of booty, told +Medoro to lay down the body, and let each save himself by flight. +He dropped his part, thinking that Medoro would do the same; but +the good youth loved his prince too well to abandon him, and +continued to carry his load singly as well as he might, while +Cloridan made his escape. Near by there was a part of the wood +tufted as if nothing but wild animals had ever penetrated it. The +unfortunate youth, loaded with the weight of his dead master, +plunged into its recesses. + +Cloridan, when he perceived that he had evaded his foes, +discovered that Medoro was not with him. "Ah!" exclaimed he, "how +could I, dear Medoro, so forget myself as to consult my own safety +without heeding yours?" So saying, he retraced the tangled passes +of the wood toward the place from whence he had fled. As he +approached he heard the noise of horses, and the menacing voices +of armed men. Soon he perceived Medoro, on foot, with the +cavaliers surrounding him. Zerbino, their commander, bade them +seize him. The unhappy Medoro turned now this way, now that, +trying to conceal himself behind an oak or a rock, still bearing +the body, which he would by no means leave. Cloridan not knowing +how to help him, but resolved to perish with him, if he must +perish, takes an arrow, fits it to his bow, discharges it, and +pierces the breast of a Christian knight, who falls helpless from +his horse. The others look this way and that, to discover whence +the fatal bolt was sped. One, while demanding of his comrades in +what direction the arrow came, received a second in his throat, +which stopped his words, and soon closed his eyes to the scene. + +Zerbino, furious at the death of his two comrades, ran upon +Medoro, seized his golden hair, and dragged him forward to slay +him. But the sight of so much youth and beauty commanded pity. He +stayed his arm. The young man spoke in suppliant tones. "Ah! +signor," said he, "I conjure you by the God whom you serve, +deprive me not of life until I shall have buried the body of the +prince, my master. Fear not that I will ask you any other favor; +life is not dear to me; I desire death as soon as I shall have +performed this sacred duty. Do with me then as you please. Give my +limbs a prey to the birds and beasts; only let me first bury my +prince." Medoro pronounced these words with an air so sweet and +tender that a heart of stone would have been moved by them. +Zerbino was so to the bottom of his soul. He was on the point of +uttering words of mercy, when a cruel subaltern, forgetting all +respect to his commander, plunged his lance into the breast of the +young Moor. Zerbino, enraged at his brutality, turned upon the +wretch to take vengeance, but he saved himself by a precipitate +flight. + +Cloridan, who saw Medoro fall, could contain himself no longer. He +rushed from his concealment, threw down his bow, and, sword in +hand, seemed only desirous of vengeance for Medoro, and to die +with him. In a moment, pierced through and through with many +wounds, he exerts the last remnant of his strength in dragging +himself to Medoro, to die embracing him. The cavaliers left them +thus to rejoin Zerbino, whose rage against the murderer of Medoro +had drawn him away from the spot. + +Cloridan died; and Medoro, bleeding copiously, was drawing near +his end when help arrived. + +A young maiden approached the fallen knights at this critical +moment. Her dress was that of a peasant-girl, but her air was +noble, and her beauty celestial; sweetness and goodness reigned in +her lovely countenance. It was no other than Angelica, the +Princess of Cathay. + +When she had recovered that precious ring, as we have before +related, Angelica, knowing its value, felt proud in the power it +conferred, travelled alone without fear, not without a secret +shame that she had ever been obliged to seek protection in her +wanderings of the Count Orlando and of Sacripant. She reproached +herself too as with a weakness that she had ever thought of +marrying Rinaldo; in fine, her pride grew so high as to persuade +her that no man living was worthy to aspire to her hand. + +Moved with pity at the sight of the young man wounded, and melted +to tears at hearing the cause, she quickly recalled to remembrance +the knowledge she had acquired in India, where the virtues of +plants and the art of healing formed part of the education even of +princesses. The beautiful queen ran into the adjoining meadow to +gather plants of virtue to staunch the flow of blood. Meeting on +her way a countryman on horseback seeking a strayed heifer, she +begged him to come to her assistance, and endeavor to remove the +wounded man to a more secure asylum. + +Angelica, having prepared the plants by bruising them between two +stones, laid them with her fair hand on Medoro's wound. The remedy +soon restored in some degree the strength of the wounded man, who, +before he would quit the spot, made them cover with earth and turf +the bodies of his friend and of the prince. Then surrendering +himself to the pity of his deliverers, he allowed them to place +him on the horse of the shepherd, and conduct him to his cottage. +It was a pleasant farmhouse on the borders of the wood, bearing +marks of comfort and competency. There the shepherd lived with his +wife and children. There Angelica tended Medoro, and there, by the +devoted care of the beautiful queen, his sad wound closed over, +and he recovered his perfect health. + +O Count Rinaldo, O King Sacripant! what availed it you to possess +so many virtues and such fame? What advantage have you derived +from all your high deserts? O hapless king, great Agrican! if you +could return to life, how would you endure to see yourself +rejected by one who will bow to the yoke of Hymen in favor of a +young soldier of humble birth? And thou, Ferrau, and ye numerous +others who a hundred times have put your lives at hazard for this +cruel beauty, how bitter will it be to you to see her sacrifice +you all to the claims of the humble Medoro! + +There, under the low roof of a shepherd, the flame of Hymen was +lighted for this haughty queen. She takes the shepherd's wife to +serve in place of mother, the shepherd and his children for +witnesses, and marries the happy Medoro. + +Angelica, after her marriage, wishing to endow Medoro with the +sovereignty of the countries which yet remained to her, took with +him the road to the East. She had preserved through all her +adventures a bracelet of gold enriched with precious stones, the +present of the Count Orlando. Having nothing else wherewith to +reward the good shepherd and his wife, who had served her with so +much care and fidelity, she took the bracelet from her arm and +gave it to them, and then the newly-married couple directed their +steps toward those mountains which separate France and Spain, +intending to wait at Barcelona a vessel which should take them on +their way to the East. + +ORLANDO MAD + +Orlando, on the loss of Angelica, laid aside his crest and arms, +and arrayed himself in a suit of black armor expressive of his +despair. In this guise he carried such slaughter among the ranks +of the infidels that both armies were astonished at the +achievements of the stranger knight. Mandricardo, who had been +absent from the battle, heard the report of these achievements and +determined to test for himself the valor of the knight so +extolled. He it was who broke in upon the conference of Zerbino +and Isabella, and their benefactor Orlando, as they stood occupied +in mutual felicitations, after the happy reunion of the lovers by +the prowess of the paladin. + +Mandricardo, after contemplating the group for a moment, addressed +himself to Orlando in these words: "Thou must be the man I seek. +For ten days and more I have been on thy track. The fame of thy +exploits has brought me hither, that I may measure my strength +with thine. Thy crest and shield prove thee the same who spread +such slaughter among our troops. But these marks are superfluous, +and if I saw thee among a hundred I should know thee by thy +martial bearing to be the man I seek." + +"I respect thy courage," said Orlando; "such a design could not +have sprung up in any but a brave and generous soul. If the desire +to see me has brought thee hither, I would, if it were possible, +show thee my inmost soul. I will remove my visor, that you may +satisfy your curiosity; but when you have done so I hope that you +will also try and see if my valor corresponds to my appearance." +"Come on," said the Saracen, "my first wish was to see and know +thee; I will not gratify my second." + +Orlando, observing Mandricardo was surprised to see no sword at +his side, nor mace at his saddle-bow. "And what weapon hast thou," +said he, "if thy lance fail thee?" + +"Do not concern yourself about that," said Mandricardo; "I have +made many good knights give ground with no other weapon than you +see. Know that I have sworn an oath never to bear a sword until I +win back that famous Durindana that Orlando, the paladin, carries. +That sword belongs to the suit of armor which I wear; that only is +wanting. Without doubt it was stolen, but how it got into the +hands of Orlando I know not. But I will make him pay dearly for it +when I find him I seek him the more anxiously that I may avenge +with his blood the death of King Agrican, my father, whom he +treacherously slew. I am sure he must have done it by treachery, +for it was not in his power to subdue in fair fight such a warrior +as my father." + +"Thou liest," cried Orlando; "and all who say so lie. I am +Orlando, whom you seek; yes, I am he who slew your father +honorably. Hold, here is the sword: you shall have it if your +courage avails to merit it. Though it belongs to me by right, I +will not use it in this dispute. See, I hang it on this tree; you +shall be master of it, if you bereave me of life; not else." + +At these words Orlando drew Durindana, and hung it on one of the +branches of a tree near by. + +Both knights, boiling with equal ardor, rode off in a semicircle; +then rushed together with reins thrown loose, and struck one +another with their lances. Both kept their seats, immovable. The +splinters of their lances flew into the air, and no weapon +remained for either but the fragment which he held in his hand. +Then those two knights, covered with iron mail, were reduced to +the necessity of fighting with staves, in the manner of two +rustics, who dispute the boundary of a meadow, or the possession +of a spring. + +These clubs could not long keep whole in the hands of such sturdy +smiters, who were soon reduced to fight with naked fists. Such +warfare was more painful to him that gave than to him that +received the blows. They next clasped, and strained each his +adversary, as Hercules did Antaeus. Mandricardo, more enraged than +Orlando, made violent efforts to unseat the paladin, and dropped +the rein of his horse. Orlando, more calm, perceived it. With one +hand he resisted Mandricardo, with the other he twitched the +horse's bridle over the ears of the animal. The Saracen dragged +Orlando with all his might, but Orlando's thighs held the saddle +like a vise. At last the efforts of the Saracen broke the girths +of Orlando's horse; the saddle slipped; the knight, firm in his +stirrups, slipped with it, and came to the ground hardly conscious +of his fall. The noise of his armor in falling startled +Mandricardo's horse, now without a bridle. He started off in full +career, heeding neither trees nor rocks nor broken ground. Urged +by fright, he ran with furious speed, carrying his master, who, +almost distracted with rage, shouted and beat the animal with his +fists, and thereby impelled his flight. After running thus three +miles or more, a deep ditch opposed their progress. The horse and +rider fell headlong into it, and did not find the bottom covered +with feather-beds or roses. They got sadly bruised; but were lucky +enough to escape without any broken limbs. + +Mandricardo, as soon as he gained his feet, seized the horse by +his mane with fury; but, having no bridle, could not hold him. He +looked round in hopes of finding something that would do for a +rein. Just then fortune, who seemed willing to help him at last, +brought that way a peasant with a bridle in his hand, who was in +search of his farm horse that had strayed away. + +Orlando, having speedily repaired his horse's girths, remounted, +and waited a good hour for the Saracen to return. Not seeing him, +he concluded to go in search of him. He took an affectionate leave +of Zerbino and Isabella, who would willingly have followed him; +but this the brave paladin would by no means permit. He held it +unknightly to go in search of an enemy accompanied by a friend, +who might act as a defender. Therefore, desiring them to say to +Mandricardo, if they should meet him, that his purpose was to +tarry in the neighborhood three days, and then repair to the camp +of Charlemagne, he took down Durindana from the tree, and +proceeded in the direction which the Saracen's horse had taken. +But the animal, having no guide but its terror, had so doubled and +confused its traces that Orlando, after two days spent in the +search, gave up the attempt. + +It was about the middle of the third day when the paladin arrived +on the pleasant bank of a stream which wound through a meadow +enamelled with flowers. High trees, whose tops met and formed an +arbor, over-shadowed the fountain; and the breeze which blew +through their foliage tempered the heat. Hither the shepherds used +to resort to quench their thirst, and to enjoy the shelter from +the midday sun. The air, perfumed with the flowers, seemed to +breathe fresh strength into their veins. Orlando felt the +influence, though covered with his armor. He stopped in this +delicious arbor, where everything seemed to invite to repose. But +he could not have chosen a more fatal asylum. He there spent the +most miserable moments of his life. + +He looked around, and noted with pleasure all the charms of the +spot. He saw that some of the trees were carved with inscriptions +--he drew near, and read them, and what was his surprise to find +that they composed the name of Angelica! Farther on he found the +name of Medoro mixed with hers. The paladin thought he dreamed. He +stood like one amazed--like a bird that, rising to fly, finds its +feet caught in a net. + +Orlando followed the course of the stream, and came to one of its +turns where the rocks of the mountain bent in such a way as to +form a sort of grotto. The twisted stems of ivy and the wild vine +draped the entrance of this recess, scooped by the hand of nature. + +The unhappy paladin, on entering the grotto, saw letters which +appeared to have been lately carved. They were verses which Medoro +had written in honor of his happy nuptials with the beautiful +queen. Orlando tried to persuade himself it must be some other +Angelica whom those verses celebrated, and as for Medoro, he had +never heard his name. The sun was now declining, and Orlando +remounted his horse, and went on his way. He soon saw the roof of +a cottage whence the smoke ascended; he heard the barking of dogs +and the lowing of cattle, and arrived at a humble dwelling which +seemed to offer an asylum for the night. The inmates, as soon as +they saw him, hastened to tender him service. One took his horse, +another his shield and cuirass, another his golden spurs. This +cottage was the very same where Medoro had been carried, deeply +wounded,--where Angelica had tended him, and afterwards married +him. The shepherd who lived in it loved to tell everybody the +story of this marriage, and soon related it, with all its details, +to the miserable Orlando. + +Having finished it, he went away, and returned with the precious +bracelet which Angelica, grateful for his services, had given him +as a memorial. It was the one which Orlando had himself given her. + +This last touch was the finishing stroke to the excited paladin. +Frantic, exasperated, he exclaimed against the ungrateful and +cruel princess who had disdained him, the most renowned, the most +indomitable of all the paladins of France,--him, who had rescued +her from the most alarming perils,--him, who had fought the most +terrible battles for her sake,--she to prefer to him a young +Saracen! The pride of the noble Count was deeply wounded. +Indignant, frantic, a victim to ungovernable rage, he rushed into +the forest, uttering the most frightful shrieks. + +"No, no!" cried he, "I am not the man they take me for! Orlando is +dead! I am only the wandering ghost of that unhappy Count, who is +now suffering the torments of hell!" + +Orlando wandered all night, as chance directed, through the wood, +and at sunrise his destiny led him to the fountain where Medoro +had engraved the fatal inscription. The frantic paladin saw it a +second time with fury, drew his sword, and hacked it from the +rock. + +Unlucky grotto! you shall no more attract by your shade and +coolness, you shall no more shelter with your arch either shepherd +or flock. And you, fresh and pure fountain, you may not escape the +rage of the furious Orlando! He cast into the fountain branches, +trunks of trees which he tore up, pieces of rocks which he broke +off, plants uprooted, with the earth adhering, and turf and +brushes, so as to choke the fountain, and destroy the purity of +its waters. At length, exhausted by his violent exertions, bathed +in sweat, breathless, Orlando sunk panting upon the earth, and lay +there insensible three days and three nights. + +The fourth day he started up and seized his arms. His helmet, his +buckler, he cast far from him; his hauberk and his clothes he rent +asunder; the fragments were scattered through the wood. In fine, +he became a furious madman. His insanity was such that he cared +not to retain even his sword. But he had no need of Durindana, nor +of other arms, to do wonderful things. His prodigious strength +sufficed. At the first wrench of his mighty arm he tore up a pine- +tree by the roots. Oaks, beeches, maples, whatever he met in his +path, yielded in like manner. The ancient forest soon became as +bare as the borders of a morass, where the fowler has cleared away +the bushes to spread his nets. The shepherds, hearing the horrible +crashing in the forest, abandoned their flocks to run and see the +cause of this unwonted uproar. By their evil star, or for their +sins, they were led thither. When they saw the furious state the +Count was in, and his incredible force, they would fain have fled +out of his reach, but in their fears lost their presence of mind. +The madman pursued them, seized one and rent him limb from limb, +as easily as one would pull ripe apples from a tree. He took +another by the feet, and used him as a club to knock down a third. +The shepherds fled; but it would have been hard for any to escape, +if he had not at that moment left them to throw himself with the +same fury upon their flocks. The peasants, abandoning their +ploughs and harrows, mounted on the roofs of buildings and +pinnacles of the rocks, afraid to trust themselves even to the +oaks and pines. From such heights they looked on, trembling at the +raging fury of the unhappy Orlando. His fists, his teeth, his +nails, his feet, seize, break, and tear cattle, sheep, and swine; +the most swift in flight alone being able to escape him. + +When at last terror had scattered everything before him, he +entered a cottage which was abandoned by its inhabitants, and +there found that which served for food. His long fast had caused +him to feel the most ravenous hunger. Seizing whatever he found +that was eatable, whether roots, acorns, or bread, raw meat or +cooked, he gorged it indiscriminately. + +Issuing thence again, the frantic Orlando gave chase to whatever +living thing he saw, whether men or animals. Sometimes he pursued +the deer and hind, sometimes he attacked bears and wolves, and +with his naked hands killed and tore them, and devoured their +flesh. + +Thus he wandered, from place to place, through France, imperilling +his life a thousand ways, yet always preserved by some mysterious +providence from a fatal result. But here we leave Orlando for a +time, that we may record what befell Zerbino and Isabella after +their parting with him. + +The prince and his fair bride waited, by Orlando's request, near +the scene of the battle for three days, that, if Mandricardo +should return, they might inform him where Orlando would give him +another meeting. At the end of that time their anxiety to know the +issue led them to follow Orlando's traces, which led them at last +to the wood where the trees were inscribed with the names of +Angelica and Medoro. They remarked how all these inscriptions were +defaced, and how the grotto was disordered, and the fountain +clogged with rubbish. But that which surprised them and distressed +them most of all was to find on the grass the cuirass of Orlando, +and not far from it his helmet, the same which the renowned +Almontes once wore. + +Hearing a horse neigh in the forest, Zerbino turned his eyes in +that direction, and saw Brigliadoro, with the bridle yet hanging +at the saddle-bow. He looked round for Durindana, and found that +famous sword, without the scabbard, lying on the grass. He saw +also the fragments of Orlando's other arms and clothing scattered +on all sides over the plain. + +Zerbino and Isabella stood in astonishment and grief, not knowing +what to think, but little imagining the true cause. If they had +found any marks of blood on the arms or on the fragments of the +clothing, they would have supposed him slain, but there were none. +While they were in this painful uncertainty they saw a young +peasant approach. He, not yet recovered from the terror of the +scene, which he had witnessed from the top of a rock, told them +the whole of the sad events. + +Zerbino, with his eyes full of tears, carefully collected all the +scattered arms. Isabella also dismounted to aid him in the sad +duty. When they had collected all the pieces of that rich armor +they hung them like a trophy on a pine; and to prevent their being +violated by any passers-by, Zerbino inscribed on the bark this +caution: "These are the arms of the Paladin Orlando." + +Having finished this pious work, he remounted his horse, and just +then a knight rode up, and requested Zerbino to tell him the +meaning of the trophy. The prince related the facts as they had +happened; and Mandricardo, for it was that Saracen knight, full of +joy, rushed forward, and seized the sword, saying, "No one can +censure me for what I do; this sword is mine; I can take my own +wherever I find it. It is plain that Orlando, not daring to defend +it against me, has counterfeited madness to excuse him in +surrendering it." + +Zerbino vehemently exclaimed, "Touch not that sword. Think not to +possess it without a contest. If it be true that the arms you wear +are those of Hector, you must have got them by theft, and not by +prowess." + +Immediately they attacked one another with the utmost fury. The +air resounded with thick-falling blows. Zerbino, skilful and +alert, evaded for a time with good success the strokes of +Durindana; but at length a terrible blow struck him on the neck. +He fell from his horse, and the Tartar king, possessed of the +spoils of his victory, rode away. + +ZERBINO AND ISABELLA + +Zerbino's pain at seeing the Tartar prince go off with the sword +surpassed the anguish of his wound; but now the loss of blood so +reduced his strength that he could not move from where he fell. +Isabella, not knowing whither to resort for help, could only +bemoan him, and chide her cruel fate. Zerbino said, "If I could +but leave thee, my best beloved, in some secure abode, it would +not distress me to die; but to abandon thee so, without +protection, is sad indeed." She replied, "Think not to leave me, +dearest; our souls shall not be parted; this sword will give me +the means to follow thee." Zerbino's last words implored her to +banish such a thought, but live, and be true to his memory. +Isabella promised, with many tears, to be faithful to him so long +as life should last. + +When he ceased to breathe, Isabella's cries resounded through the +forest, and reached the ears of a reverend hermit, who hastened to +the spot. He soothed and calmed her, urging those consolations +which the word of God supplies; and at last brought her to wish +for nothing else but to devote herself for the rest of life wholly +to religion. + +As she could not bear the thoughts of leaving her dead lord +abandoned, the body was, by the good hermit's aid, placed upon the +horse, and taken to the nearest inhabited place, where a chest was +made for it, suitable to be carried with them on their way. The +hermit's plan was to escort his charge to a monastery, not many +days' journey distant, where Isabella resolved to spend the +remainder of her days. Thus they travelled day after day, choosing +the most retired ways, for the country was full of armed men. One +day a cavalier met them, and barred their way. It was no other +than Rodomont, king of Algiers, who had just left the camp of +Agramant, full of indignation at the treatment he had received +from Doralice. At sight of the lovely lady and her reverend +attendant, with their horse laden with a burden draped with black, +he asked the meaning of their journey. Isabella told him her +affliction, and her resolution to renounce the world and devote +herself to religion, and to the memory of the friend she had lost. +Rodomont laughed scornfully at this, and told her that her project +was absurd; that charms like hers were meant to be enjoyed, not +buried, and that he himself would more than make amends for her +dead lover. The monk, who promptly interposed to rebuke this +impious talk, was commanded to hold his peace; and still +persisting was seized by the knight and hurled over the edge of +the cliff, where he fell into the sea, and was drowned. + +Rodomont, when he had got rid of the hermit, again applied to the +sad lady, heartless with affright, and, in the language used by +lovers, said, "she was his very heart, his life, his light." +Having laid aside all violence, he humbly sued that she would +accompany him to his retreat, near by. It was a ruined chapel from +which the monks had been driven by the disorders of the time, and +which Rodomont had taken possession of. Isabella, who had no +choice but to obey, followed him, meditating as she went what +resource she could find to escape out of his power, and keep her +vow to her dead husband, to be faithful to his memory as long as +life should last. At length she said, "If, my lord, you will let +me go and fulfil my vow, and my intention, as I have already +declared it, I will bestow upon you what will be to you of more +value than a hundred women's hearts. I know an herb, and I have +seen it on our way, which, rightly prepared, affords a juice of +such power, that the flesh, if laved with it, becomes impenetrable +to sword or fire. This liquor I can make, and will, to-day, if you +will accept my offer; and when you have seen its virtue you will +value it more than if all Europe were made your own." + +Rodomont, at hearing this, readily promised all that was asked, so +eager was he to learn a secret that would make him as Achilles was +of yore. Isabella, having collected such herbs as she thought +proper, and boiled them, with certain mysterious signs and words, +at length declared her labor done, and, as a test, offered to try +its virtue on herself. She bathed her neck and bosom with the +liquor, and then called on Rodomont to smite with all his force, +and see whether his sword had power to harm. The pagan, who during +the preparations had taken frequent draughts of wine, and scarce +knew what he did, drew his sword at the word, and struck across +her neck with all his might, and the fair head leapt sundered from +the snowy neck and breast. + +Rude and unfeeling as he was, the pagan knight lamented bitterly +this sad result. To honor her memory he resolved to do a work as +unparalleled as her devotion. From all parts round he caused +laborers to be brought, and had a tower built to enclose the +chapel, within which the remains of Zerbino and Isabella were +entombed. Across the stream which flowed near by he built a +bridge, scarce two yards wide, and added neither parapet nor rail. +On the top of the tower a sentry was placed, who, when any +traveller approached the bridge, gave notice to his master. +Rodomont thereupon sallied out, and defied the approaching knight +to fight him upon the bridge, where any chance step a little aside +would plunge the rider headlong in the stream. This bridge he +vowed to keep until a thousand suits of armor should be won from +conquered knights, wherewith to build a trophy to his victim and +her lord. + +Within ten days the bridge was built, and the tower was in +progress. In a short time many knights, either seeking the +shortest route, or tempted by a desire of adventure, had made the +attempt to pass the bridge. All, without exception, had lost +either arms or life, or both; some falling before Rodomont's +lance, others precipitated into the river. One day, as Rodomont +stood urging his workmen, it chanced that Orlando in his furious +mood came thither, and approached the bridge. Rodomont halloed to +him, "Halt, churl; presume not to set foot upon that bridge; it +was not made for such as you!" Orlando took no notice, but pressed +on. Just then a gentle damsel rode up. It was Flordelis, who was +seeking her Florismart. She saw Orlando, and, in spite of his +strange appearance, recognized him. Rodomont, not used to have his +commands disobeyed, laid hands on the madman, and would have +thrown him into the river, but to his astonishment found himself +in the gripe of one not so easily disposed of. "How can a fool +have such strength?" he growled between his teeth. Flordelis +stopped to see the issue, where each of these two puissant +warriors strove to throw the other from the bridge. Orlando at +last had strength enough to lift his foe with all his armor, and +fling him over the side, but had not wit to clear himself from +him, so both fell together. High flashed the wave as they together +smote its surface. Here Orlando had the advantage; he was naked, +and could swim like a fish. He soon reached the bank, and, +careless of praise or blame, stopped not to see what came of the +adventure. Rodomont, entangled with his armor, escaped with +difficulty to the bank. Meantime, Flordelis passed the bridge +unchallenged. + +After long wandering without success she returned to Paris, and +there found the object of her search; for Florismart, after the +fall of Albracca, had repaired thither. The joy of meeting was +clouded to Florismart by the news which Flordelis brought of +Orlando's wretched plight. The last she had seen of him was when +he fell with Rodomont into the stream. Florismart, who loved +Orlando like a brother, resolved to set out immediately, under the +guidance of the lady, to find him, and bring him where he might +receive the treatment suited to his case. A few days brought them +to the place where they found the Tartar king still guarding the +bridge. The usual challenge and defiance was made, and the knights +rode to encounter one another on the bridge. At the first +encounter both horses were overthrown; and, having no space to +regain their footing, fell with their riders into the water. +Rodomont, who knew the soundings of the stream, soon recovered the +land; but Florismart was carried downward by the current, and +landed at last on a bank of mud where his horse could hardly find +footing. Flordelis, who watched the battle from the bridge, seeing +her lover in this piteous case, exclaimed aloud, "Ah! Rodomont, +for love of her whom dead you honor, have pity on me, who love +this knight, and slay him not. Let it suffice he yields his armor +to the pile, and none more glorious will it bear than his." Her +prayer, so well directed, touched the pagan's heart, though hard +to move, and he lent his aid to help the knight to land. He kept +him a prisoner, however, and added his armor to the pile. +Flordelis, with a heavy heart, went her way. + +We must now return to Rogero, who, when we parted with him, was +engaged in an adventure which arrested his progress to the +monastery whither he was bound with the intention of receiving +baptism, and thus qualifying himself to demand Bradamante as his +bride. On his way he met with Mandricardo, and the quarrel was +revived respecting the right to wear the badge of Hector. After a +warm discussion both parties agreed to submit the question to King +Agramant, and for that purpose took their way to the Saracen camp. +Here they met Gradasso, who had his controversy also with +Mandricardo. This warrior claimed the sword of Orlando, denying +the right of Mandricardo to possess it in virtue of his having +found it abandoned by its owner. King Agramant strove in vain to +reconcile these quarrels, and was forced at last to consent that +the points in dispute should be settled by one combat, in which +Mandricardo should meet one of the other champions, to whom should +be committed the cause of both. Rogero was chosen by lot to +maintain Gradasso's cause and his own. Great preparations were +made for this signal contest. On the appointed day it was fought +in the presence of Agramant, and of the whole army. Rogero won it; +and Mandricardo, the conqueror of Hector's arms, the challenger of +Orlando, and the slayer of Zerbino, lost his life. Gradasso +received Durindana as his prize, which lost half its value in his +eyes, since it was won by another's prowess, not his own. + +Rogero, though victorious, was severely wounded, and lay helpless +many weeks in the camp of Agramant, while Bradamante, ignorant of +the cause of his delay, expected him at Montalban. Thither he had +promised to repair in fifteen days, or twenty at furthest, hoping +to have obtained by that time an honorable discharge from his +obligations to the Saracen commander. The twenty days were passed, +and a month more, and still Rogero came not, nor did any tidings +reach Bradamante accounting for his absence. At the end of that +time, a wandering knight brought news of the famous combat, and of +Rogero's wound. He added, what alarmed Bradamante still more, that +Marphisa, a female warrior, young and fair, was in attendance on +the wounded knight. He added that the whole army expected that, as +soon as Rogero's wounds were healed, the pair would be united in +marriage. + +Bradamante, distressed by this news, though she believed it but in +part, resolved to go immediately and see for herself. She mounted +Rabican, the horse of Astolpho, which he had committed to her +care, and took with her the lance of gold, though unaware of its +wonderful powers. Thus accoutred, she left the castle, and took +the road toward Paris and the camp of the Saracens. + +Marphisa, whose devotion to Rogero in his illness had so excited +the jealousy of Bradamante, was the twin sister of Rogero. She, +with him, had been taken in charge when an infant by Atlantes, the +magician, but while yet a child she had been stolen away by an +Arab tribe. Adopted by their chief, she had early learned +horsemanship and skill in arms, and at this time had come to the +camp of Agramant with no other view than to see and test for +herself the prowess of the warriors of either camp, whose fame +rang through the world. Arriving at the very moment of the late +encounter, the name of Rogero, and some few facts of his story +which she learned, were enough to suggest the idea that it was her +brother whom she saw victorious in the single combat. Inquiry +satisfied the two of their near kindred, and from that moment +Marphisa devoted herself to the care of her new-found and much- +loved brother. + +In those moments of seclusion Rogero informed his sister of what +he had learned of their parentage from old Atlantes. Rogero, their +father, a Christian knight, had won the heart of Galaciella, +daughter of the Sultan of Africa, and sister of King Agramant, +converted her to the Christian faith, and secretly married her. +The Sultan, enraged at his daughter's marriage, drove her husband +into exile, and caused her with her infant children, Rogero and +Marphisa, to be placed in a boat and committed to the winds and +waves, to perish; from which fate they were saved by Atlantes. On +hearing this, Marphisa exclaimed, "How can you, brother, leave our +parents unavenged so long, and even submit to serve the son of the +tyrant who so wronged them?" Rogero replied that it was but lately +he had learned the full truth; that when he learned it he was +already embarked with Agramant, from whom he had received +knighthood, and that he only waited for a suitable opportunity +when he might with honor desert his standard, and at the same time +return to the faith of his fathers. Marphisa hailed this +resolution with joy, and declared her intention to join with him +in embracing the Christian faith. + +We left Bradamante when, mounted on Rabican and armed with +Astolpho's lance, she rode forth, determined to learn the cause of +Rogero's long absence. One day, as she rode, she met a damsel, of +visage and of manners fair, but overcome with grief. It was +Flordelis, who was seeking far and near a champion capable of +liberating and avenging her lord. Flordelis marked the approaching +warrior, and, judging from appearances, thought she had found the +champion she sought. "Are you, Sir Knight," she said, "so daring +and so kind as to take up my cause against a fierce and cruel +warrior who has made prisoner of my lord, and forced me thus to be +a wanderer and a suppliant?" Then she related the events which had +happened at the bridge. Bradamante, to whom noble enterprises were +always welcome, readily embraced this, and the rather as in her +gloomy forebodings she felt as if Rogero was forever lost to her. + +Next day the two arrived at the bridge. The sentry descried them +approaching, and gave notice to his lord, who thereupon donned his +armor and went forth to meet them. Here, as usual, he called on +the advancing warrior to yield his horse and arms an oblation to +the tomb. Bradamante replied, asking by what right he called on +the innocent to do penance for his crime. "Your life and your +armor," she added, "are the fittest offering to her tomb, and I, a +woman, the fittest champion to take them." With that she couched +her spear, spurred her horse, and ran to the encounter. King +Rodomont came on with speed. The trampling sounded on the bridge +like thunder. It took but a moment to decide the contest. The +golden lance did its office, and that fierce Moor, so renowned in +tourney, lay extended on the bridge. "Who is the loser now?" said +Bradamante; but Rodomont, amazed that a woman's hand should have +laid him low, could not or would not answer. Silent and sad, he +raised himself, unbound his helm and mail, and flung them against +the tomb; then, sullen and on foot, left the ground; but first +gave orders to one of his squires to release all his prisoners. +They had been sent off to Africa. Besides Florismart, there were +Sansonnet and Oliver, who had ridden that way in quest of Orlando, +and had both in turn been overthrown in the encounter. + +Bradamante after her victory resumed her route, and in due time +reached the Christian camp, where she readily learned an +explanation of the mystery which had caused her so much anxiety. +Rogero and his fair and brave sister, Marphisa, were too +illustrious by their station and exploits not to be the frequent +topic of discourse even among their adversaries, and all that +Bradamante was anxious to know reached her ear, almost without +inquiry. + +We now return to Gradasso, who by Rogero's victory had been made +possessor of Durindana. There now only remained to him to seek the +horse of Rinaldo; and the challenge, given and accepted, was yet +to be fought with that warrior, for it had been interrupted by the +arts of Malagigi. Gradasso now sought another meeting with +Rinaldo, and met with no reluctance on his part. As the combat was +for the possession of Bayard, the knights dismounted and fought on +foot. Long time the battle lasted. Rinaldo, knowing well the +deadly stroke of Durindana, used all his art to parry or avoid its +blow. Gradasso struck with might and main, but wellnigh all his +strokes were spent in air, or if they smote they fell obliquely +and did little harm. + +Thus had they fought long, glancing at one another's eyes, and +seeing naught else, when their attention was arrested perforce by +a strange noise. They turned, and beheld the good Bayard attacked +by a monstrous bird. Perhaps it was a bird, for such it seemed; +but when or where such a bird was ever seen I have nowhere read, +except in Turpin; and I am inclined to believe that it was not a +bird, but a fiend, evoked from underground by Malagigi, and +thither sent on purpose to interrupt the fight. Whether a fiend or +a fowl, the monster flew right at Bayard, and clapped his wings in +his face. Thereat the steed broke loose, and ran madly across the +plain, pursued by the bird, till Bayard plunged into the wood, and +was lost to sight. + +Rinaldo and Gradasso, seeing Bayard's escape, agreed to suspend +their battle till they could recover the horse, the object of +contention. Gradasso mounted his steed, and followed the foot- +marks of Bayard into the forest. Rinaldo, never more vexed in +spirit, remained at the spot, Gradasso having promised to return +thither with the horse, if he found him. He did find him, after +long search, for he had the good fortune to hear him neigh. Thus +he became possessed of both the objects for which he had led an +army from his own country, and invaded France. He did not forget +his promise to bring Bayard back to the place where he had left +Rinaldo, but only muttering, "Now I have got him, he little knows +me who expects me to give him up; if Rinaldo wants the horse let +him seek him in India, as I have sought him in France,"--he made +the best of his way to Arles, where his vessels lay; and in +possession of the two objects of his ambition, the horse and the +sword, sailed away to his own country. + +ASTOLPHO IN ABYSSINIA + +When we last parted with the adventurous paladin Astolpho, he was +just commencing that flight over the countries of the world from +which he promised himself so much gratification. Our readers are +aware that the eagle and the falcon have not so swift a flight as +the Hippogriff on which Astolpho rode. It was not long, therefore, +before the paladin, directing his course toward the southeast, +arrived over that part of Africa where the great river Nile has +its source. Here he alighted, and found himself in the +neighborhood of the capital of Abyssinia, ruled by Senapus, whose +riches and power were immense. His palace was of surpassing +splendor; the bars of the gates, the hinges and locks, were all of +pure gold; in fact, this metal, in that country, is put to all +those uses for which we employ iron. It is so common that they +prefer for ornamental purposes rock crystal, of which all the +columns were made. Precious stones of different kinds, rubies, +emeralds, sapphires, and topazes were set in ornamental designs, +and the walls and ceilings were adorned with pearls. + +It is in this country those famous balms grow of which there are +some few plants in that part of Judaea called Gilead. Musk, +ambergris, and numerous gums, so precious in Europe, are here in +their native climate. It is said the Sultan of Egypt pays a vast +tribute to the monarch of this country to hire him not to cut off +the source of the Nile, which he might easily do, and cause the +river to flow in some other direction, thus depriving Egypt of the +source of its fertility. + +At the time of Astolpho's arrival in his dominions, this monarch +was in great affliction. In spite of his riches and the precious +productions of his country, he was in danger of dying of hunger. +He was a prey to a flock of obscene birds called Harpies, which +attacked him whenever he sat at meat, and with their claws +snatched, tore, and scattered everything, overturning the vessels, +devouring the food, and infecting what they left with their filthy +touch. It was said this punishment was inflicted upon the king +because when young, and filled with pride and presumption, he had +attempted to invade with an army the terrestrial paradise, which +is situated on the top of a mountain whence the Nile draws its +source. Nor was this his only punishment. He was struck blind. + +Astolpho, on arriving in the dominions of this monarch, hastened +to pay him his respects. King Senapus received him graciously, and +ordered a splendid repast to be prepared in honor of his arrival. +While the guests were seated at table, Astolpho filling the place +of dignity at the king's right hand, the horrid scream of the +Harpies was heard in the air, and soon they approached, hovering +over the tables, seizing the food from the dishes, and overturning +everything with the flapping of their broad wings. In vain the +guests struck at them with knives and any weapons which they had, +and Astolpho drew his sword and gave them repeated blows, which +seemed to have no more effect upon them than if their bodies had +been made of tow. + +At last Astolpho thought of his horn. He first gave warning to the +king and his guests to stop their ears; then blew a blast. The +Harpies, terrified at the sound, flew away as fast as their wings +could carry them. The paladin mounted his Hippogriff, and pursued +them, blowing his horn as often as he came near them. They +stretched their flight towards the great mountain, at the foot of +which there is a cavern, which is thought to be the mouth of the +infernal abodes. Hither those horrid birds flew, as if to their +home. Having seen them all disappear in the recess, Astolpho cared +not to pursue them farther, but alighting, rolled huge stones into +the mouth of the cave, and piled branches of trees therein, so +that he effectually barred their passage out, and we have no +evidence of their ever having been seen since in the outer air. + +After this labor Astolpho refreshed himself by bathing in a +fountain whose pure waters bubbled from a cleft of the rock. +Having rested awhile, an earnest desire seized him of ascending +the mountain which towered above him. The Hippogriff bore him +swiftly upwards, and landed him on the top of the mountain, which +he found to be an extensive plain. + +A splendid palace rose in the middle of this plain, whose walls +shone with such brilliancy that mortal eyes could hardly bear the +sight. Astolpho guided the winged horse towards this edifice, and +made him poise himself in the air while he took a leisurely survey +of this favored spot and its environs. It seemed as if nature and +art had striven with one another to see which could do the most +for its embellishment. + +Astolpho, on approaching the edifice, saw a venerable man advance +to meet him. This personage was clothed in a long vesture as white +as snow, while a mantle of purple covered his shoulders, and hung +down to the ground. A white beard descended to his middle, and his +hair, of the same color, overshadowed his shoulders. His eyes were +so brilliant that Astolpho felt persuaded that he was a blessed +inhabitant of the heavenly mansions. + +The sage, smiling benignantly upon the paladin, who from respect +had dismounted from his horse, said to him: "Noble chevalier, know +that it is by the Divine will you have been brought to the +terrestrial paradise. Your mortal nature could not have borne to +scale these heights and reach these seats of bliss if it were not +the will of Heaven that you should be instructed in the means to +succor Charles, and to sustain the glory of our holy faith. I am +prepared to impart the needed counsels; but before I begin let me +welcome you to our sojourn. I doubt not your long fast and distant +journey have given you a good appetite." + +The aspect of the venerable man filled the prince with admiration; +but his surprise ceased when he learned from him that he was that +one of the Apostles of our Lord to whom he said, "I will that thou +tarry till I come." + +St. John, conducting Astolpho, rejoined his companions. These were +the patriarch Enoch and the prophet Elijah; neither of whom had +yet seen his dying day, but, taken from our lower world, were +dwelling in a region of peace and joy, in a climate of eternal +spring, till the last trumpet shall sound. + +The three holy inhabitants of the terrestrial paradise received +Astolpho with the greatest kindness, carried him to a pleasant +apartment, and took great care of the Hippogriff, to whom they +gave such food as suited him, while to the prince they presented +fruits so delicious that he felt inclined to excuse our first +parents for their sin in eating them without permission. + +Astolpho, having recruited his strength, not only by these +excellent fruits, but also by sweet sleep, roused himself at the +first blush of dawn, and as soon as he left his chamber met the +beloved Apostle coming to seek him. St. John took him by the hand, +and told him many things relating to the past and the future. +Among others, he said, "Son, let me tell you what is now going on +in France. Orlando, the illustrious prince who received at his +birth the endowment of strength and courage more than mortal, +raised up as was Samson of old to be the champion of the true +faith, has been guilty of the basest ingratitude in leaving the +Christian camp when it most needed the support of his arm, to run +after a Saracen princess, whom he would fain marry, though she +scorns him. To punish him his reason has been taken away, so that +he runs naked through the land, over mountains and through +valleys, without a ray of intelligence. The duration of his +punishment has been fixed at three months, and that time having +nearly expired, you have been brought hither to learn from us the +means by which the reason of Orlando may be restored. True, you +will be obliged to make a journey with me, and we must even leave +the earth, and ascend to the moon, for it is in that planet we are +to seek the remedy for the madness of the paladin. I propose to +make our journey this evening, as soon as the moon appears over +our head." + +As soon as the sun sunk beneath the seas, and the moon presented +its luminous disk, the holy man had the chariot brought out in +which he was accustomed to make excursions among the stars, the +same which was employed long ago to convey Elijah up from earth. +The saint made Astolpho seat himself beside him, took the reins, +and giving the word to the coursers, they bore them upward with +astonishing celerity. + +At length they reached the great continent of the Moon. Its +surface appeared to be of polished steel, with here and there a +spot which, like rust, obscured its brightness. The paladin was +astonished to see that the earth, with all its seas and rivers, +seemed but an insignificant spot in the distance. + +The prince discovered in this region so new to him rivers, lakes, +plains, hills, and valleys. Many beautiful cities and castles +enriched the landscape. He saw also vast forests, and heard in +them the sound of horns and the barking of dogs, which led him to +conclude that the nymphs were following the chase. + +The knight, filled with wonder at all he saw, was conducted by the +saint to a valley, where he stood amazed at the riches strewed all +around him. Well he might be so, for that valley was the +receptacle of things lost on earth, either by men's fault, or by +the effect of time and chance. Let no one suppose we speak here of +kingdoms or of treasures; they are the toys of Fortune, which she +dispenses in turning her wheel; we speak of things which she can +neither give nor take away. Such are reputations, which appear at +one time so brilliant, and a short time after are heard of no +more. Here, also, are countless vows and prayers for unattainable +objects, lovers' sighs and tears, time spent in gaming, dressing, +and doing nothing, the leisure of the dull and the intentions of +the lazy, baseless projects, intrigues, and plots; these and such +like things fill all the valley. + +Astolpho had a great desire to understand all that he saw, and +which appeared to him so extraordinary. Among the rest, he +observed a great mountain of blown bladders, from which issued +indistinct noises. The saint told him these were the dynasties of +Assyrian and Persian kings, once the wonder of the earth, of which +now scarce the name remains. + +Astolpho could not help laughing when the saint said to him, "All +these hooks of silver and gold that you see are the gifts of +courtiers to princes, made in the hope of getting something better +in return." He also showed him garlands of flowers in which snares +were concealed; these were flatteries and adulations, meant to +deceive. But nothing was so comical as the sight of numerous +grasshoppers which had burst their lungs with chirping. These, he +told him, were sonnets, odes, and dedications, addressed by venal +poets to great people. + +The paladin beheld with wonder what seemed a lake of spilled milk. +"It is," said the saint, "the charity done by frightened misers on +their death-beds." It would take too long to tell all that the +valley contained: meanness, affectations, pretended virtues, and +concealed vices were there in abundance. + +Among the rest Astolpho perceived many days of his own lost, and +many imprudent sallies which he had made, and would have been glad +not to have been reminded of. But he also saw among so many lost +things a great abundance of one thing which men are apt to think +they all possess, and do not think it necessary to pray for,-- +good sense. This commodity appeared under the form of a liquor, +most light and apt to evaporate. It was therefore kept in vials, +firmly sealed. One of these was labelled, "The sense of the +Paladin Orlando." + +All the bottles were ticketed, and the sage placed one in +Astolpho's hand, which he found was his own. It was more than half +full. He was surprised to find there many other vials which +contained almost the whole of the wits of many persons who passed +among men for wise. Ah, how easy it is to lose one's reason! Some +lose theirs by yielding to the sway of the passions; some in +braving tempests and shoals in search of wealth; some by trusting +too much to the promises of the great; some by setting their +hearts on trifles. As might have been expected, the bottles which +held the wits of astrologers, inventors, metaphysicians, and above +all, of poets, were in general the best filled of all. + +Astolpho took his bottle, put it to his nose, and inhaled it all; +and Turpin assures us that he was for a long time afterwards as +sage as one could wish; but the Archbishop adds that there was +reason to fear that some of the precious fluid afterwards found +its way back into the bottle. The paladin took also the bottle +which belonged to Orlando. It was a large one, and quite full. + +Before quitting the planetary region Astolpho was conducted to an +edifice on the borders of a river. He was shown an immense hall +full of bundles of silk, linen, cotton, and wool. A thousand +different colors, brilliant or dull, some quite black, were among +these skeins. In one part of the hall an old woman was busy +winding off yarns from all these different bundles. When she had +finished a skein another ancient dame took it and placed it with +others; a third selected from the fleeces spun, and mingled them +in due proportions. The paladin inquired what all this might be. +"These old women," said the saint, "are the Fates, who spin, +measure, and terminate the lives of mortals. As long as the thread +stretches in one of those skeins, so long does the mortal enjoy +the light of day; but nature and death are on the alert to shut +the eyes of those whose thread is spun." + +Each one of the skeins had a label of gold, silver, or iron, +bearing the name of the individual to whom it belonged. An old +man, who, in spite of the burden of years, seemed brisk and +active, ran without ceasing to fill his apron with these labels, +and carried them away to throw them into the river, whose name was +Lethe. When he reached the shore of the river the old man shook +out his apron, and the labels sunk to the bottom. A small number +only floated for a time, hardly one in a thousand. Numberless +birds, hawks, crows, and vultures hovered over the stream, with +clamorous cries, and strove to snatch from the water some of these +names; but they were too heavy for them, and after a while the +birds were forced to let them drop into the river of oblivion. But +two beautiful swans, of snowy whiteness, gathered some few of the +names, and returned with them to the shore, where a lovely nymph +received them from their beaks, and carried them to a temple +placed upon a hill, and suspended them for all time upon a sacred +column, on which stood the statue of Immortality. + +Astolpho was amazed at all this, and asked his guide to explain +it. He replied, "The old man is Time. All the names upon the +tickets would be immortal if the old man did not plunge them into +the river of oblivion. Those clamorous birds which make vain +efforts to save certain of the names are flatterers, pensioners, +venal rhymesters, who do their best to rescue from oblivion the +unworthy names of their patrons; but all in vain; they may keep +them from their fate a little while, but ere long the river of +oblivion must swallow them all. + +"The swans, that with harmonious strains carry certain names to +the temple of Eternal Memory, are the great poets, who save from +oblivion worse than death the names of those they judge worthy of +immortality. Swans of this kind are rare. Let monarchs know the +true breed, and fail not to nourish with care such as may chance +to appear in their time." + +THE WAR IN AFRICA + +When Astolpho had descended to the earth with the precious phial, +St. John showed him a plant of marvellous virtues, with which he +told him he had only to touch the eyes of the king of Abyssinia to +restore him to sight. "That important service," said the saint, +"added to your having delivered him from the Harpies, will induce +him to give you an army wherewith to attack the Africans in their +rear, and force them to return from France to defend their own +country." The saint also instructed him how to lead his troops in +safety across the great deserts, where caravans are often +overwhelmed with moving columns of sand. Astolpho, fortified with +ample instructions, remounted the Hippogriff, thanked the saint, +received his blessing, and took his flight down to the level +country. + +Keeping the course of the river Nile, he soon arrived at the +capital of Abyssinia, and rejoined Senapus. The joy of the king +was great when he heard again the voice of the hero who had +delivered him from the Harpies. Astolpho touched his eyes with the +plant which he had brought from the terrestrial paradise, and +restored their sight. The king's gratitude was unbounded. He +begged him to name a reward, promising to grant it, whatever it +might be. Astolpho asked an army to go to the assistance of +Charlemagne, and the king not only granted him a hundred thousand +men, but offered to lead them himself. + +The night before the day appointed for the departure of the troops +Astolpho mounted his winged horse, and directed his flight towards +a mountain, whence the fierce South-wind issues, whose blast +raises the sands of the Nubian desert, and whirls them onward in +overwhelming clouds. The paladin, by the advice of St. John, had +prepared himself with a leather bag, which he placed adroitly, +with its mouth open, over the vent whence issues this terrible +wind. At the first dawn of morning the wind rushed from its cavern +to resume its daily course, and was caught in the bag, and +securely tied up. Astolpho, delighted with his prize, returned to +his army, placed himself at their head, and commenced his march. +The Abyssinians traversed without danger or difficulty those vast +fields of sand which separate their country from the kingdoms of +Northern Africa, for the terrible South-wind, taken completely +captive, had not force enough left to blow out a candle. + +Senapus was distressed that he could not furnish any cavalry, for +his country, rich in camels and elephants, was destitute of +horses. This difficulty the saint had foreseen, and had taught +Astolpho the means of remedying. He now put those means in +operation. Having reached a place whence he beheld a vast plain +and the sea, he chose from his troops those who appeared to be the +best made and the most intelligent. These he caused to be arranged +in squadrons at the foot of a lofty mountain which bordered the +plain, and he himself mounted to the summit to carry into effect +his great design. Here he found vast quantities of fragments of +rock and pebbles. These he set rolling down the mountain's side, +and, wonderful to relate, as they rolled they grew in size, made +themselves bodies, legs, necks, and long faces. Next they began to +neigh, to curvet, to scamper on all sides over the plain. Some +were bay, some roan, some dapple, some chestnut. The troops at the +foot of the mountain exerted themselves to catch these new-created +horses, which they easily did, for the miracle had been so +considerate as to provide all the horses with bridles and saddles. +Astolpho thus suddenly found himself supplied with an excellent +corps of cavalry, not fewer (as Archbishop Turpin asserts) than +eighty thousand strong. With these troops Astolpho reduced all the +country to subjection, and at last arrived before the walls of +Agramant's capital city, Biserta, to which he laid siege. + +We must now return to the camp of the Christians, which lay before +Arles, to which city the Saracens had retired after being defeated +in a night attack led on by Rinaldo. Agramant here received the +tidings of the invasion of his country by a fresh enemy, the +Abyssinians, and learned that Biserta was in danger of falling +into their hands. He took counsel of his officers, and decided to +send an embassy to Charles, proposing that the whole quarrel +should be submitted to the combat of two warriors, one from each +side, according to the issue of which it should be decided which +party should pay tribute to the other, and the war should cease. +Charlemagne, who had not heard of the favorable turn which affairs +had taken in Africa, readily agreed to this proposal, and Rinaldo +was selected on the part of the Christians to sustain the combat. + +The Saracens selected Rogero for their champion. Rogero was still +in the Saracen camp, kept there by honor alone, for his mind had +been opened to the truth of the Christian faith by the arguments +of Bradamante, and he had resolved to leave the party of the +infidels on the first favorable opportunity, and to join the +Christian side. But his honor forbade him to do this while his +former friends were in distress; and thus he waited for what time +might bring forth, when he was startled by the announcement that +he had been selected to uphold the cause of the Saracens against +the Christians, and that his foe was to be Rinaldo, the brother of +Bradamante. + +While Rogero was overwhelmed with this intelligence Bradamante on +her side felt the deepest distress at hearing of the proposed +combat. If Rogero should fall she felt that no other man living +was worthy of her love; and if, on the other hand, Heaven should +resolve to punish France by the death of her chosen champion, +Bradamante would have to deplore her brother, so dear to her, and +be no less completely severed from the object of her affections. + +While the fair lady gave herself up to these sad thoughts, the +sage enchantress, Melissa, suddenly appeared before her. "Fear +not, my daughter," said she, "I shall find a way to interrupt this +combat which so distresses you." + +Meanwhile Rinaldo and Rogero prepared their weapons for the +conflict. Rinaldo had the choice, and decided that it should be on +foot, and with no weapons but the battle-axe and poniard. The +place assigned was a plain between the camp of Charlemagne and the +walls of Arles. + +Hardly had the dawn announced the day appointed for this memorable +combat, when heralds proceeded from both sides to mark the lists. +Erelong the African troops were seen to advance from the city, +Agramant at their head; his brilliant arms adorned in the Moorish +fashion, his horse a bay, with a white star on his forehead. +Rogero marched at his side, and some of the greatest warriors of +the Saracen camp attended him, bearing the various parts of his +armor and weapons. Charlemagne, on his part, proceeded from his +intrenchments, ranged his troops in semicircle, and stood +surrounded by his peers and paladins. Some of them bore portions +of the armor of Rinaldo, the celebrated Ogier, the Dane, bearing +the helmet which Rinaldo took from Mambrino. Duke Namo of Bavaria +and Salomon of Bretagne bore two axes, of equal weight, prepared +for the occasion. + +The terms of the combat were then sworn to with the utmost +solemnity by all parties. It was agreed that if from either part +any attempt was made to interrupt the battle both combatants +should turn their arms against the party which should be guilty of +the interruption; and both monarchs assented to the condition that +in such case the champion of the offending party should be +discharged from his allegiance, and at liberty to transfer his +arms to the other side. + +When all the preparations were concluded the monarchs and their +attendants retired each to his own side, and the champions were +left alone. The two warriors advanced with measured steps towards +each other, and met in the middle of the space. They attacked one +another at the same moment, and the air resounded with the blows +they gave. Sparks flew from their battle-axes, while the velocity +with which they managed their weapons astonished the beholders. +Rogero, always remembering that his antagonist was the brother of +his betrothed, could not aim a deadly wound; he strove only to +ward off those levelled against himself. Rinaldo, on the other +hand, much as he esteemed Rogero, spared not his blows, for he +eagerly desired victory for his own sake, and for the sake of his +country and his faith. + +The Saracens soon perceived that their champion fought feebly, and +gave not to Rinaldo such blows as he received from him. His +disadvantage was so marked that anxiety and shame were manifest on +the countenance of Agramant. Melissa, one of the most acute +enchantresses that ever lived, seized this moment to disguise +herself under the form of Rodomont, that rude and impetuous +warrior, who had now for some time been absent from the Saracen +camp. Approaching Agramant, she said, "How could you, my lord, +have the imprudence of selecting a young man without experience to +oppose the most redoubtable warrior of France? Surely you must +have been regardless of the honor of your arms, and of the fate of +your empire! But it is not too late. Break without delay the +agreement which is sure to result in your ruin." So saying, she +addressed the troops who stood near, "Friends," said she, "follow +me; under my guidance every one of you will be a match for a score +of those feeble Christians." Agramant, delighted at seeing +Rodomont once more at his side, gave his consent, and the +Saracens, at the instant, couched their lances, set spurs to their +steeds, and swept down upon the French. Melissa, when she saw her +work successful, disappeared. + +Rinaldo and Rogero, seeing the truce broken, and the two armies +engaged in general conflict, stopped their battle; their martial +fury ceased at once, they joined hands, and resolved to act no +more on either side until it should be clearly ascertained which +party had failed to observe its oath. Both renewed their promise +to abandon forever the party which had been thus false and +perjured. + +Meanwhile, the Christians, after the first moment of surprise, met +the Saracens with courage redoubled by rage at the treachery of +their foes. Guido the Wild, brother and rival of Rinaldo, Griffon +and Aquilant, sons of Oliver, and numerous others whose names have +already been celebrated in our recitals, beat back the assailants, +and at last, after prodigious slaughter, forced them to take +shelter within the walls of Arles. + +We will now return to Orlando, whom we last heard of as furiously +mad, and doing a thousand acts of violence in his senseless rage. +One day he came to the borders of a stream which intercepted his +course. He swam across it, for he could swim like an otter, and on +the other side saw a peasant watering his horse. He seized the +animal, in spite of the resistance of the peasant, and rode it +with furious speed till he arrived at the sea-coast, where Spain +is divided from Africa by only a narrow strait. At the moment of +his arrival a vessel had just put off to cross the strait. She was +full of people who, with glass in hand, seemed to be taking a +merry farewell of the land, wafted by a favorable breeze. + +The frantic Orlando cried out to them to stop and take him in; but +they, having no desire to admit a madman to their company, paid +him no attention. The paladin thought this behavior very uncivil; +and by force of blows made his horse carry him into the water in +pursuit of the ship. The wretched animal soon had only his head +above water; but as Orlando urged him forward, nothing was left +for the poor beast but either to die or swim over to Africa. + +Already Orlando had lost sight of the bark; distance and the swell +of the sea completely hid it from his sight. He continued to press +his horse forward, till at last it could struggle no more, and +sunk beneath him. Orlando, nowise concerned, stretched out his +nervous arms, puffing the salt water from before his mouth, and +carried his head above the waves. Fortunately they were not rough, +scarce a breath of wind agitated the surface; otherwise, the +invincible Orlando would then have met his death. But fortune, +which it is said favors fools, delivered him from this danger, and +landed him safe on the shore of Ceuta. Here he rambled along the +shore till he came to where the black army of Astolpho held its +camp. + +Now it happened, just before this time, that a vessel filled with +prisoners which Rodomont had taken at the bridge had arrived, and, +not knowing of the presence of the Abyssinian army, had sailed +right into port, where of course the prisoners and their captors +changed places, the former being set at liberty and received with +all joy, the latter sent to serve in the galleys. Astolpho thus +found himself surrounded with Christian knights, and he and his +friends were exchanging greetings and felicitations, when a noise +was heard in the camp, and seemed to increase every moment. + +Astolpho and his friends seized their weapons, mounted their +horses, and rode to the quarter whence the noise proceeded. +Imagine their astonishment when they saw that the tumult was +caused by a single man, perfectly naked, and browned with dirt and +exposure, but of a force and fury so terrible that he overturned +all that offered to lay hands on him. + +Astolpho, Dudon, Oliver, and Florimart gazed at him with +amazement. It was with difficulty they knew him. Astolpho, who had +been warned of his condition by his holy monitor, was the first to +recognize him. As the paladins closed round Orlando, the madman +dealt one and another a blow of his fist, which, if they had not +been in armor, or he had had any weapon, would probably have +despatched them; as it was, Dudon and Astolpho measured their +length on the sand. But Florimart seized him from behind, +Sansonnet and another grasped his legs, and at last they succeeded +in securing him with ropes. They took him to the water-side and +washed him well, and then Astolpho, having first bandaged his +mouth so that he could not breathe except through his nose, +brought the precious phial, uncorked it, and placed it adroitly +under his nostrils, when the good Orlando took it all up in one +breath. O marvellous prodigy! The paladin recovered in an instant +all his intelligence. He felt like one who had awakened from a +painful dream, in which he had believed that monsters were about +to tear him to pieces. He seemed prostrated, silent, and abashed. +Florismart, Oliver, and Astolpho stood gazing upon him, while he +turned his eyes around and on himself. He seemed surprised to find +himself naked, bound, and stretched on the sea-shore. After a few +moments he recognized his friends, and spoke to them in a tone so +tender that they hastened to unbind him, and to supply him with +garments. Then they exerted themselves to console him, to diminish +the weight with which his spirits were oppressed, and to make him +forget the wretched condition into which he had been sunk. + +Orlando, in recovering his reason, found himself also delivered +from his insane attachment to the queen of Cathay. His heart felt +now no further influenced by the recollection of her than to be +moved with an ardent desire to retrieve his fame by some +distinguished exploit. Astolpho would gladly have yielded to him +the chief command of the army, but Orlando would not take from the +friend to whom he owed so much the glory of the campaign; but in +everything the two paladins acted in concert, and united their +counsels. They proposed to make a general assault on the city of +Biserta, and were only waiting a favorable moment, when their plan +was interrupted by new events. + +Agramant, after the bloody battle which followed the infraction of +the truce, found himself so weak that he saw it was in vain to +attempt to remain in France. So, in concert with Sobrino, the +bravest and most trusted of his chiefs, he embarked to return to +his own country, having previously sent off his few remaining +troops in the same direction. The vessel which carried Agramant +and Sobrino approached the shore where the army of Astolpho lay +encamped before Biserta, and having discovered this fact before it +was too late, the king commanded the pilot to steer eastward, with +a view to seek protection of the King of Egypt. But the weather +becoming rough, he consented to the advice of his companions, and +sought harbor in an island which lies between Sicily and Africa. +There he found Gradasso, the warlike king of Sericane, who had +come to France to possess himself of the horse Bayard and the +sword Durindana; and having procured both these prizes was +returning to his own country. + +The two kings, who had been companions in arms under the walls of +Paris, embraced one another affectionately. Gradasso learned with +regret the reverses of Agramant, and offered him his troops and +his person. He strongly deprecated resorting to Egypt for aid. +"Remember the great Pompey," said he, "and shun that fatal shore. +My plan," he continued, "is this: I mean to challenge Orlando to +single combat. Possessed of such a sword and steed as mine, if he +were made of steel or bronze, he could not escape me. He being +removed, there will be no difficulty in driving back the +Abyssinians. We will rouse against them the Moslem nations from +the other side of the Nile, the Arabians, Persians, and Chaldeans, +who will soon make Senapus recall his army to defend his own +territories." + +Agramant approved this advice except in one particular. "It is for +me," said he, "to combat Orlando; I cannot with honor devolve that +duty on another." + +"Let us adopt a third course," said the aged warrior Sobrino. "I +would not willingly remain a simple spectator of such a contest. +Let us send three squires to the shore of Africa to challenge +Orlando and any two of his companions in arms to meet us three in +this island of Lampedusa." + +This counsel was adopted; the three squires sped on their way; and +now presented themselves, and rehearsed their message to the +Christian knights. + +Orlando was delighted, and rewarded the squires with rich gifts. +He had already resolved to seek Gradasso and compel him to restore +Durindana, which he had learned was in his possession. For his two +companions the Count chose his faithful friend Florismart and his +cousin Oliver. + +The three warriors embarked, and sailing with a favorable wind, +the second morning showed them, on their right, the island where +this important battle was to be fought. Orlando and his two +companions, having landed, pitched their tent. Agramant had placed +his opposite. + +Next morning, as soon as Aurora brightened the edges of the +horizon, the warriors of both parties armed themselves and mounted +their horses. They took their positions, face to face, lowered +their lances, placed them in rest, clapped spurs to their horses, +and flew to the charge. Orlando met the charge of Gradasso. The +paladin was unmoved, but his horse could not sustain the terrible +shock of Bayard. He recoiled, staggered, and fell some paces +behind. Orlando tried to raise him, but, finding his efforts +unavailing, seized his shield, and drew his famous Balisardo. +Meanwhile Agramant and the brave Oliver gained no advantage, one +or the other; but Florismart unhorsed the King Sobrino. Having +brought his foe to the ground, he would not pursue his victory, +but hastened to attack Gradasso, who had overthrown Orlando. +Seeing him thus engaged, Orlando would not interfere, but ran with +sword upraised upon Sobrino, and with one blow deprived him of +sense and motion. Believing him dead, he next turned to aid his +beloved Florismart. That brave paladin, neither in horse nor arms +equal to his antagonist, could but parry and evade the blows of +the terrible Durindana. Orlando, eager to succor him, was delayed +for a moment in securing and mounting the horse of the King +Sobrino. It was but an instant, and with sword upraised, he rushed +upon Gradasso who, noways disconcerted at the onset of this second +foe, shouted his defiance, and thrust at him with his sword, but, +having miscalculated the distance, scarcely reached him, and +failed to pierce his mail. Orlando, in return, dealt him a blow +with Balisardo, which wounded as it fell face, breast, and thigh, +and, if he had been a little nearer, would have cleft him in +twain. Sobrino, by this time recovered from his swoon, though +severely wounded, raised himself on his legs, and looked to see +how he might aid his friends. Observing Agramant hard pressed by +Oliver, he thrust his sword into the bowels of the latter's horse, +which fell, and bore down his master, entangling his leg as he +fell, so that Oliver could not extricate himself. Florismart saw +the danger of his friend, and ran upon Sobrino with his horse, +overthrew him, and then turned to defend himself from Agramant. +They were not unequally matched, for though Agramant, mounted on +Brigliadoro, had an advantage over Florismart, whose horse was but +indifferent, yet Agramant had received a serious wound in his +encounter with Oliver. + +Nothing could exceed the fury of the encounter between Orlando and +Gradasso. Durindana, in the hands of Gradasso, clove asunder +whatever it struck; but such was the skill of Orlando, who +perfectly knew the danger to which he was exposed from a stroke of +that weapon, it had not yet struck him in such a way as to inflict +a wound. Meanwhile, Gradasso was bleeding from many wounds, and +his rage and incaution increased every moment. In his desperation +he lifted Durindana with both hands, and struck so terrible a blow +full on the helmet of Orlando, that for a moment it stunned the +paladin. He dropped the reins, and his frightened horse scoured +with him over the plain. Gradasso turned to pursue him, but at +that moment saw Florismart in the very act of striking a fatal +blow at Agramant, whom he had unhorsed. While Florismart was +wholly intent upon completing his victory, Gradasso plunged his +sword into his side. Florismart fell from his horse, and bathed +the plain with his blood. + +Orlando recovered himself just in time to see the deed. Whether +rage or grief predominated in his breast, I cannot tell; but, +seizing Balisardo with fury, his first blow fell upon Agramant, +who was nearest to him, and smote his head from his shoulders. At +this sight Gradasso for the first time felt his courage sink, and +a dark presentiment of death came over him. He hardly stood on his +defence when Orlando cast himself upon him, and gave him a fatal +thrust. The sword penetrated his ribs, and came out a palm's +breadth on the other side of his body. + +Thus fell beneath the sword of the most illustrious paladin of +France the bravest warrior of the Saracen host. Orlando then, as +if despising his victory, leaped lightly to the ground, and ran to +his dear friend Florismart, embraced him, and bathed him with his +tears. Florismart still breathed. He could even command his voice +to utter a few parting words: "Dear friend, do not forget me,-- +give me your prayers,--and oh! be a brother to Flordelis." He died +in uttering her name. + +After a few moments given to grief Orlando turned to look for his +other companion and his late foes. Oliver lay oppressed with the +weight of his horse, from which he had in vain struggled to +liberate himself. Orlando extricated him with difficulty; he then +raised Sobrino from the earth, and committed him to his squire, +treating him as gently as if he had been his own brother. For this +terrible warrior was the most generous of men to a fallen foe. He +took Bayard and Brigliadoro, with the arms of the conquered +knights; their bodies and their other spoils he remitted to their +attendants. + +But who can tell the grief of Flordelis when she saw the warriors +return, and found not Florismart as usual after absence hasten to +her side. She knew by the aspect of the others that her lord was +slain. At the thought, and before the question could pass her +lips, she fell senseless upon the ground. When life returned, and +she learned the truth of her worst fears, she bitterly upbraided +herself that she had let him depart without her. "I might have +saved him by a single cry when his enemy dealt him that +treacherous blow, or I might have thrown myself between and given +my worthless life for his. Or if no more, I might have heard his +last words, I might have given him a last kiss." So she lamented, +and could not be comforted. + +ROGERO AND BRADAMANTE + +After the interruption of the combat with Rinaldo, as we have +related, Rogero was perplexed with doubts what course to take. The +terms of the treaty required him to abandon Agramant, who had +broken it, and to transfer his allegiance to Charlemagne; and his +love for Bradamante called him in the same direction; but +unwillingness to desert his prince and leader in the hour of +distress forbade this course. Embarking, therefore, for Africa, he +took his way to rejoin the Saracen army; but was arrested midway +by a storm which drove the vessel on a rock. The crew took to +their boat, but that was quickly swamped in the waves, and Rogero +with the rest were compelled to swim for their lives. Then while +buffeting the waves Rogero bethought him of his sin in so long +delaying his Christian profession, and vowed in his heart that, if +he should live to reach the land, he would no longer delay to be +baptized. His vows were heard and answered; he succeeded in +reaching the shore, and was aided and relieved on landing by a +pious hermit, whose cell overlooked the sea. From him he received +baptism, having first passed some days with him, partaking his +humble fare, and receiving instruction in the doctrines of the +Christian faith. + +While these things were going on, Rinaldo, who had set out on his +way to seek Gradasso and recover Bayard from him, hearing on his +way of the great things which were doing in Africa, repaired +thither to bear his part in them. He arrived too late to do more +than join his friends in lamenting the loss of Florismart, and to +rejoice with them in their victory over the Pagan knights. On the +death of their king the Africans gave up the contest, Biserta +submitted, and the Christian knights had only to dismiss their +forces, and return home. Astolpho took leave of his Abyssinian +army, and sent them back laden with spoil to their own country, +not forgetting to intrust to them the bag which held the winds, by +means of which they were enabled to cross the sandy desert again +without danger, and did not untie it till they reached their own +country. + +Orlando now, with Oliver, who much needed the surgeon's care, and +Sobrino, to whom equal attention was shown, sailed in a swift +vessel to Sicily, bearing with him the body of Florismart, to be +laid in Christian earth. Rinaldo accompanied them, as did +Sansonnet and the other Christian leaders. Arrived at Sicily, the +funeral was solemnized with all the rites of religion, and with +the profound grief of those who had known Florismart, or had heard +of his fame. Then they resumed their course, steering for +Marseilles. But Oliver's wound grew worse instead of better, and +his sufferings so distressed his friends that they conferred +together, not knowing what to do. Then said the pilot, "We are not +far from an isle where a holy hermit dwells alone in the midst of +the sea. It is said none seek his counsel or his aid in vain. He +hath wrought marvellous cures, and if you resort to that holy man +without doubt he can heal the knight." Orlando bade him steer +thither, and soon the bark was laid safely beside the lonely rock; +the wounded man was lowered into their boat, and carried by the +crew to the hermit's cell. It was the same hermit with whom Rogero +had taken refuge after his shipwreck, by whom he had been +baptized, and with whom he was now staying, absorbed in sacred +studies and meditations. + +The holy man received Orlando and the rest with kindness, and +inquired their errand; and being told that they had come for help +for one who, warring for the Christian faith, was brought to +perilous pass by a sad wound, he straightway undertook the cure. +His applications were simple, but they were seconded by his +prayers. The paladin was soon relieved from pain, and in a few +days his foot was perfectly restored to soundness. Sobrino, as +soon as he perceived the holy monk perform that wonder, cast aside +his false prophet, and with contrite heart owned the true God, and +demanded baptism at his hands. The hermit granted his request, and +also by his prayers restored him to health, while all the +Christian knights rejoiced in his conversion almost as much as at +the restoration of Oliver. More than all Rogero felt joy and +gratitude, and daily grew in grace and faith. + +Rogero was known by fame to all the Christian knights, but not +even Rinaldo knew him by sight, though he had proved his prowess +in combat. Sobrino made him known to them, and great was the joy +of all when they found one whose valor and courtesy were renowned +through the world no longer an enemy and unbeliever, but a convert +and champion of the true faith. All press about the knight; one +grasps his hand, another locks him fast in his embrace; but more +than all the rest, Rinaldo cherished him, for he more than any +knew his worth. + +It was not long before Rogero confided to his friend the hopes he +entertained of a union with his sister, and Rinaldo frankly gave +his sanction to the proposal. But causes unknown to the paladin +were at that very time interposing obstacles to its success. + +The fame of the beauty and worth of Bradamante had reached the +ears of the Grecian Emperor, Constantine, and he had sent to +Charlemagne to demand the hand of his niece for Leo, his son, and +the heir to his dominions. Duke Aymon, her father, had only +reserved his consent until he should first have spoken with his +son Rinaldo, now absent. + +The warriors now prepared to resume their voyage. Rogero took a +tender farewell of the good hermit who had taught him the true +faith. Orlando restored to him the horse and arms which were +rightly his, not even asserting his claim to Balisarda, that sword +which he himself had won from the enchantress. + +The hermit gave his blessing to the band, and they reembarked. The +passage was speedy, and very soon they arrived in the harbor of +Marseilles. + +Astolpho, when he had dismissed his troops, mounted the +Hippogriff, and at one flight shot over to Sardinia, thence to +Corsica, thence, turning slightly to the left, hovered over +Provence, and alighted in the neighborhood of Marseilles. There he +did what he had been commanded to do by the holy saint; he +unbridled the Hippogriff, and turned him loose to seek his own +retreats, never more to be galled with saddle or bit. The horn had +lost its marvellous power ever since the visit to the moon. + +Astolpho reached Marseilles the very day when Orlando, Rinaldo, +Oliver, Sobrino, and Rogero arrived there. Charles had already +heard the news of the defeat of the Saracen kings, and all the +accompanying events. On learning the approach of the gallant +knights, he sent forward some of his most illustrious nobles to +receive them, and himself, with the rest of his court, kings, +dukes, and peers, the queen, and a fair and gorgeous band of +ladies, set forward from Arles to meet them. + +No sooner were the mutual greetings interchanged, than Orlando and +his friends led forward Rogero, and presented him to the Emperor. +They vouch him son of Rogero, Duke of Risa, one of the most +renowned of Christian warriors, by adverse fortune stolen in his +infancy, and brought up by Saracens in the false faith, now by a +kind Providence converted, and restored to fill the place his +father once held among the foremost champions of the throne and +Church. + +Rogero had alighted from his horse, and stood respectfully before +the Emperor. Charlemagne bade him remount and ride beside him; and +omitted nothing which might do him honor in sight of his martial +train. With pomp triumphal and with festive cheer the troop +returned to the city; the streets were decorated with garlands, +the houses hung with rich tapestry, and flowers fell like rain +upon the conquering host from the hands of fair dames and damsels, +from every balcony and window. So welcomed, the mighty Emperor +passed on till he reached the royal palace, where many days he +feasted, high in hall, with his lords, amid tourney, revel, dance, +and song. + +When Rinaldo told his father, Duke Aymon, how he had promised his +sister to Rogero, his father heard him with indignation, having +set his heart on seeing her united to the Grecian Emperor's son. +The Lady Beatrice, her mother, also appealed to Bradamante herself +to reject a knight who had neither title nor lands, and give the +preference to one who would make her Empress of the wide Levant. +But Bradamante, though respect forbade her to refuse her mother's +entreaty, would not promise to do what her heart repelled, and +answered only with a sigh, until she was alone, and then gave a +loose to tears. + +Meanwhile Rogero, indignant that a stranger should presume to rob +him of his bride, determined to seek the Prince of Greece, and +defy him to mortal combat. With this design he donned his armor, +but exchanged his crest and emblazonment, and bore instead a white +unicorn upon a crimson field. He chose a trusty squire, and, +commanding him not to address him as Rogero, rode on his quest. +Having crossed the Rhine and the Austrian countries into Hungary, +he followed the course of the Danube till he reached Belgrade. +There he saw the imperial ensigns spread, and white pavilions, +thronged with troops, before the town. For the Emperor Constantine +was laying siege to the city to recover it from the Bulgarians, +who had taken it from him not long before. + +A river flowed between the camp of the Emperor and the Bulgarians, +and at the moment when Rogero approached, a skirmish had begun +between the parties from either camp, who had approached the +stream for the purpose of watering. The Greeks in that affray were +four to one, and drove back the Bulgarians in precipitate rout. +Rogero, seeing this, and animated only by his hatred of the +Grecian prince, dashed into the middle of the flying mass, calling +aloud on the fugitives to turn. He encountered first a leader of +the Grecian host in splendid armor, a nephew of the Emperor, as +dear to him as a son. Rogero's lance pierced shield and armor, and +stretched the warrior breathless on the plain. Another and another +fell before him, and astonishment and terror arrested the advance +of the Greeks, while the Bulgarians, catching courage from the +cavalier, rally, change front, and chase the Grecian troops, who +fly in their turn. Leo, the prince, was at a distance when this +sudden skirmish rose, but not so far but that he could see +distinctly, from an elevated position which he held, how the +changed battle was all the work of one man, and could not choose +but admire the bravery and prowess with which it was done. He knew +by the blazonry displayed that the champion was not of the +Bulgarian army, though he furnished aid to them. Although he +suffered by his valor, the prince could not wish him ill, for his +admiration surpassed his resentment. By this time the Greeks had +regained the river, and crossing it by fording or swimming, some +made their escape, leaving many more prisoners in the hands of the +Bulgarians. Rogero, learning from some of the captives that Leo +was at a point some distance down the river, rode thither with a +view to meet him, but arrived not before the Greek prince had +retired beyond the stream, and broken up the bridge. Day was +spent, and Rogero, wearied, looked round for a shelter for the +night. He found it in a cottage, where he soon yielded himself to +repose. It so happened, a knight who had narrowly escaped Rogero's +sword in the late battle also found shelter in the same cottage, +and, recognizing the armor of the unknown knight, easily found +means of securing him as he slept, and next morning carried him in +chains and delivered him to the Emperor. By him he was in turn +delivered to his sister Theodora, mother of the young knight, the +first victim of Rogero's spear. By her he was cast into a dungeon, +till her ingenuity could devise a death sufficiently painful to +satiate her revenge. + +Bradamante, meanwhile, to escape her father's and mother's +importunity, had begged a boon of Charlemagne, which the monarch +pledged his royal word to grant; it was that she should not be +compelled to marry any one unless he should first vanquish her in +single combat. The Emperor therefore proclaimed a tournament in +these words: "He that would wed Duke Aymon's daughter must contend +with the sword against that dame, from the sun's rise to his +setting; and if, in that time, he is not overcome the lady shall +be his." + +Duke Aymon and the Lady Beatrice, though much incensed at the +course things had taken, brought their daughter to court, to await +the day appointed for the tournament. Bradamante, not finding +there him whom her heart required, distressed herself with doubts +what could be the cause of his absence. Of all fancies, the most +painful one was that he had gone away to learn to forget her, +knowing her father's and her mother's opposition to their union, +and despairing to contend against them. But oh, how much worse +would be the maiden's woe, if it were known to her what her +betrothed was then enduring! + +He was plunged in a dungeon where no ray of daylight ever +penetrated, loaded with chains, and scantily supplied with the +coarsest food. No wonder despair took possession of his heart, and +he longed for death as a relief, when one night (or one day, for +both were equally dark to him) he was roused with the glare of a +torch and saw two men enter his cell. It was the Prince Leo, with +an attendant, who had come as soon as he had learned the wretched +fate of the brave knight whose valor he had seen and admired on +the field of battle. "Cavalier," said he, "I am one whom thy valor +hath so bound to thee, that I willingly peril my own safety to +lend thee aid." "Infinite thanks I owe you," replied Rogero, "and +the life you give me I promise faithfully to render back upon your +call, and promptly to stake it at all times for your service." The +prince then told Rogero his name and rank, at hearing which a tide +of contending emotions almost overwhelmed Rogero. He was set at +liberty, and had his horse and arms restored to him. + +Meanwhile, tidings arrived of King Charles' decree that whoever +aspired to the hand of Bradamante must first encounter her with +sword and lance. This news made the Grecian prince turn pale, for +he knew he was no match for her in fight. Communing with himself, +he sees how he may make his wit supply the place of valor, and +employ the French knight, whose name was still unknown to him, to +fight the battle for him. Rogero heard the proposal with extreme +distress; yet it seemed worse than death to deny the first request +of one to whom he owed his life. Hastily he gave his assent "to do +in all things that which Leo should command." Afterward, bitter +repentance came over him; yet, rather than confess his change of +mind, death itself would be welcome. Death seems his only remedy; +but how to die? Sometimes he thinks to make none but a feigned +resistance, and allow her sword a ready access, for never can +death come more happily than if her hand guide the weapon. Yet +this will not avail, for, unless he wins the maid for the Greek +prince, his debt remains unpaid. He had promised to maintain a +real, not a feigned encounter. He will then keep his word, and +banish every thought from his bosom except that which moved him to +maintain his truth. + +The young prince, richly attended, set out, and with him Rogero. +They arrived at Paris, but Leo preferred not to enter the city, +and pitched his tents without the walls, making known his arrival +to Charlemagne by an embassy. The monarch was pleased, and +testified his courtesy by visits and gifts. The prince set forth +the purpose of his coming, and prayed the Emperor to dispatch his +suit--"to send forth the damsel who refused ever to take in +wedlock any lord inferior to herself in fight; for she should be +his bride, or he would perish beneath her sword." + +Rogero passed the night before the day assigned for the battle +like that which the felon spends, condemned to pay the forfeit of +his life on the ensuing day. He chose to fight with sword only, +and on foot, for he would not let her see Frontino, knowing that +she would recognize the steed. Nor would he use Balisarda, for +against that enchanted blade all armor would be of no avail, and +the sword that he did take he hammered well upon the edge to abate +its sharpness. He wore the surcoat of Prince Leo, and his shield, +emblazoned with a golden, double-headed eagle. The prince took +care to let himself be seen by none. + +Bradamante, meanwhile, prepared herself for the combat far +differently. Instead of blunting the edge of her falchion she +whets the steel, and would fain infuse into it her own acerbity. +As the moment approached she seemed to have fire within her veins, +and waited impatiently for the trumpet's sound. At the signal she +drew her sword, and fell with fury upon her Rogero. But as a well- +built wall or aged rock stands unmoved the fury of the storm, so +Rogero, clad in those arms which Trojan Hector once wore, +withstood the strokes which stormed about his head and breast and +flank. Sparks flew from his shield, his helm, his cuirass; from +direct and back strokes, aimed now high, now low, falling thick +and fast, like hailstones on a cottage roof; but Rogero, with +skilful ward, turns them aside, or receives them where his armor +is a sure protection, careful only to protect himself, and with no +thought of striking in return. Thus the hours passed away, and, as +the sun approached the west, the damsel began to despair. But so +much the more her anger increases, and she redoubles her efforts, +like the craftsman who sees his work unfinished while the day is +wellnigh spent. O miserable damsel! didst thou know whom thou +wouldst kill,--if, in that cavalier matched against thee thou +didst but know Rogero, on whom thy very life-threads hang, rather +than kill him thou wouldst kill thyself, for he is dearer to thee +than life. + +King Charles and the peers, who thought the cavalier to be the +Grecian prince, viewing such force and skill exhibited, and how +without assaulting her the knight defended himself, were filled +with admiration, and declared the champions well matched, and +worthy of each other. + +When the sun was set Charlemagne gave the signal for terminating +the contest, and Bradamante was awarded to Prince Leo as a bride. +Rogero, in deep distress, returned to his tent. There Leo unlaced +his helmet, and kissed him on both cheeks. "Henceforth," said he, +"do with me as you please, for you cannot exhaust my gratitude." +Rogero replied little, laid aside the ensigns he had worn, and +resumed the unicorn, then hasted to withdraw himself from all +eyes. When it was midnight he rose, saddled Frontino, and sallied +from his tent, taking that direction which pleased his steed. All +night he rode absorbed in bitter woe, and called on Death as alone +capable of relieving his sufferings. At last he entered a forest, +and penetrated into its deepest recesses. There he unharnessed +Frontino, and suffered him to wander where he would. Then he threw +himself down on the ground, and poured forth such bitter wailings +that the birds and beasts, for none else heard him, were moved to +pity with his cries. + +Not less was the distress of the lady Bradamante, who, rather than +wed any one but Rogero, resolved to break her word, and defy +kindred, court, and Charlemagne himself; and, if nothing else +would do, to die. But relief came from an unexpected quarter. +Marphisa, sister of Rogero, was a heroine of warlike prowess equal +to Bradamante. She had been the confidante of their loves, and +felt hardly less distress than themselves at seeing the perils +which threatened their union. "They are already united by mutual +vows," she said, "and in the sight of Heaven what more is +necessary?" Full of this thought she presented herself before +Charlemagne, and declared that she herself was witness that the +maiden had spoken to Rogero those words which they who marry +swear; and that the compact was so sealed between the pair that +they were no longer free, nor could forsake the one the other to +take another spouse. This her assertion she offered to prove, in +single combat, against Prince Leo, or any one else. + +Charlemagne, sadly perplexed at this, commanded Bradamante to be +called, and told her what the bold Marphisa had declared. +Bradamante neither denied nor confirmed the statement, but hung +her head, and kept silence. Duke Aymon was enraged, and would fain +have set aside the pretended contract on the ground that, if made +at all, it must have been made before Rogero was baptized, and +therefore void. But not so thought Rinaldo, nor the good Orlando, +and Charlemagne knew not which way to decide, when Marphisa spoke +thus: + +"Since no one else can marry the maiden while my brother lives, +let the prince meet Rogero in mortal combat, and let him who +survives take her for his bride." + +This saying pleased the Emperor, and was accepted by the prince, +for he thought that, by the aid of his unknown champion, he should +surely triumph in the fight. Proclamation was therefore made for +Rogero to appear and defend his suit; and Leo, on his part, caused +search to be made on all sides for the knight of the Unicorn. + +Meanwhile Rogero, overwhelmed with despair, lay stretched on the +ground in the forest night and day without food, courting death. +Here he was discovered by one of Leo's people, who, finding him +resist all attempts to remove him, hastened to his master, who was +not far off, and brought him to the spot. As he approached he +heard words which convinced him that love was the cause of the +knight's despair; but no clew was given to guide him to the object +of that love. Stooping down, the prince embraced the weeping +warrior, and, in the tenderest accents, said: "Spare not, I +entreat you, to disclose the cause of your distress, for few such +desperate evils betide mankind as are wholly past cure. It grieves +me much that you would hide your grief from me, for I am bound to +you by ties that nothing can undo. Tell me, then, your grief, and +leave me to try if wealth, art, cunning, force, or persuasion +cannot relieve you. If not, it will be time enough after all has +been tried in vain to die." + +He spoke in such moving accents that Rogero could not choose but +yield. It was some time before he could command utterance; at last +he said, "My lord, when you shall know me for what I am, I doubt +not you, like myself, will be content that I should die. Know, +then, I am that Rogero whom you have so much cause to hate, and +who so hated you that, intent on putting you to death, he went to +seek you at your father's court. This I did because I could not +submit to see my promised bride borne off by you. But, as man +proposes and God disposes, your great courtesy, well tried in time +of sore need, so moved my fixed resolve, that I not only laid +aside the hate I bore, but purposed to be your friend forever. You +then asked of me to win for you the lady Bradamante, which was all +one as to demand of me my heart and soul. You know whether I +served you faithfully or not. Yours is the lady; possess her in +peace; but ask me not to live to see it. Be content rather that I +die; for vows have passed between myself and her which forbid that +while I live she can lawfully wive with another." + +So filled was gentle Leo with astonishment at these words that for +a while he stood silent, with lips unmoved and steadfast gaze, +like a statue. And the discovery that the stranger was Rogero not +only abated not the good will he bore him, but increased it, so +that his distress for what Rogero suffered seemed equal to his +own. For this, and because he would appear deservedly an Emperor's +son, and, though in other things outdone, would not be surpassed +in courtesy, he says: "Rogero, had I known that day when your +matchless valor routed my troops that you were Rogero, your virtue +would have made me your own, as then it made me while I knew not +my foe, and I should have no less gladly rescued you from +Theodora's dungeon. And if I would willingly have done so then, +how much more gladly will I now restore the gift of which you +would rob yourself to confer it upon me. The damsel is more due to +you than to me, and though I know her worth, I would forego not +only her, but life itself, rather than distress a knight like +you." + +This and much more he said to the same intent; till at last Rogero +replied, "I yield, and am content to live, and thus a second time +owe my life to you." + +But several days elapsed before Rogero was so far restored as to +return to the royal residence, where an embassy had arrived from +the Bulgarian princes to seek the knight of the unicorn, and +tender to him the crown of that country, in place of their king, +fallen in battle. + +Thus were things situated when Prince Leo, leading by the hand +Rogero, clad in the battered armor in which he had sustained the +conflict with Bradamante, presented himself before the king. +"Behold," he said "the champion who maintained from dawn to +setting sun the arduous contest; he comes to claim the guerdon of +the fight." King Charlemagne, with all his peerage, stood amazed; +for all believed that the Grecian prince himself had fought with +Bradamante. Then stepped forth Marphisa, and said, "Since Rogero +is not here to assert his rights, I, his sister, undertake his +cause, and will maintain it against whoever shall dare dispute his +claim." She said this with so much anger and disdain that the +prince deemed it no longer wise to feign, and withdrew Rogero's +helmet from his brow, saying, "Behold him here!" Who can describe +the astonishment and joy of Marphisa! She ran and threw her arms +about her brother's neck, nor would give way to let Charlemagne +and Rinaldo, Orlando, Dudon, and the rest, who crowded round, +embrace him, and press friendly kisses on his brow. The joyful +tidings flew fast by many a messenger to Bradamante, who in her +secret chamber lay lamenting. The blood that stagnated about her +heart flowed at that notice so fast, that she had wellnigh died +for joy. Duke Aymon and the Lady Beatrice no longer withheld their +consent, and pledged their daughter to the brave Rogero before all +that gallant company. + +Now came the Bulgarian ambassadors, and, kneeling at the feet of +Rogero, besought him to return with them to their country, where, +in Adrianople, the crown and sceptre were awaiting his acceptance. +Prince Leo united his persuasions to theirs, and promised, in his +royal father's name, that peace should be restored on their part. +Rogero gave his consent, and it was surmised that none of the +virtues which shone so conspicuously in him so availed to +recommend Rogero to the Lady Beatrice as the hearing her future +son-in-law saluted as a sovereign prince. + +THE BATTLE OF RONCESVALLES + +After the expulsion of the Saracens from France Charlemagne led +his army into Spain, to punish Marsilius, the king of that +country, for having sided with the African Saracens in the late +war. Charlemagne succeeded in all his attempts, and compelled +Marsilius to submit, and pay tribute to France. Our readers will +remember Gano, otherwise called Gan, or Ganelon, whom we mentioned +in one of our early chapters as an old courtier of Charlemagne, +and a deadly enemy of Orlando, Rinaldo, and all their friends. He +had great influence over Charles, from equality of age and long +intimacy; and he was not without good qualities: he was brave and +sagacious, but envious, false, and treacherous. Gan prevailed on +Charles to send him as ambassador to Marsilius, to arrange the +tribute. He embraced Orlando over and over again at taking leave, +using such pains to seem loving and sincere, that his hypocrisy +was manifest to every one but the old monarch. He fastened with +equal tenderness on Oliver, who smiled contemptuously in his face, +and thought to himself, "You may make as many fair speeches as you +choose, but you lie." All the other paladins who were present +thought the same, and they said as much to the Emperor, adding +that Gan should on no account be sent ambassador to the Spaniards. +But Charles was infatuated. + +Gan was received with great honor by Marsilius. The king, attended +by his lords, came fifteen miles out of Saragossa to meet him, and +then conducted him into the city with acclamations. There was +nothing for several days but balls, games, and exhibitions of +chivalry, the ladies throwing flowers on the heads of the French +knights, and the people shouting, "France! Mountjoy and St. +Denis!" + +After the ceremonies of the first reception the king and the +ambassador began to understand one another. One day they sat +together in a garden on the border of a fountain. The water was so +clear and smooth it reflected every object around, and the spot +was encircled with fruit-trees which quivered with the fresh air. +As they sat and talked, as if without restraint, Gan, without +looking the king in the face, was enabled to see the expression of +his countenance in the water, and governed his speech accordingly. +Marsilius was equally adroit, and watched the face of Gan while he +addressed him. Marsilius began by lamenting, not as to the +ambassador, but as to the friend, the injuries which Charles had +done him by invading his dominions, charging him with wishing to +take his kingdom from him and give it to Orlando; till at length +he plainly uttered his belief that if that ambitious paladin were +but dead good men would get their rights. + +Gan heaved a sigh, as if he was unwillingly compelled to allow the +force of what the king said; but unable to contain himself long he +lifted up his face, radiant with triumphant wickedness, and +exclaimed: "Every word you utter is truth; die he must, and die +also must Oliver, who struck me that foul blow at court. Is it +treachery to punish affronts like these? I have planned +everything,--I have settled everything already with their +besotted master. Orlando will come to your borders--to +Roncesvalles--for the purpose of receiving the tribute. Charles +will await him at the foot of the mountains. Orlando will bring +but a small band with him: you, when you meet him, will have +secretly your whole army at your back. You surround him, and who +receives tribute then?" + +The new Judas had scarcely uttered these words when his exultation +was interrupted by a change in the face of nature. The sky was +suddenly overcast, there was thunder and lightning, a laurel was +split in two from head to foot, and the Carob-tree under which Gan +was sitting, which is said to be the species of tree on which +Judas Iscariot hung himself, dropped one of its pods on his head. + +Marsilius, as well as Gan, was appalled at this omen; but on +assembling his soothsayers they came to the conclusion that the +laurel-tree turned the omen against the Emperor, the successor of +the Caesars, though one of them renewed the consternation of Gan +by saying that he did not understand the meaning of the tree of +Judas, and intimating that perhaps the ambassador could explain +it. Gan relieved his vexation by anger; the habit of wickedness +prevailed over all other considerations; and the king prepared to +march to Roncesvalles at the head of all his forces. + +Gan wrote to Charlemagne to say how humbly and submissively +Marsilius was coming to pay the tribute into the hands of Orlando, +and how handsome it would be of the Emperor to meet him half-way, +and so be ready to receive him after the payment at his camp. He +added a brilliant account of the tribute, and the accompanying +presents. The good Emperor wrote in turn to say how pleased he was +with the ambassador's diligence, and that matters were arranged +precisely as he wished. His court, however, had its suspicion +still, though they little thought Gan's object in bringing Charles +into the neighborhood of Roncesvalles was to deliver him into the +hands of Marsilius, after Orlando should have been destroyed by +him. + +Orlando, however, did as his lord and sovereign desired. He went +to Roncesvalles, accompanied by a moderate train of warriors, not +dreaming of the atrocity that awaited him. Gan, meanwhile, had +hastened back to France, in order to show himself free and easy in +the presence of Charles, and secure the success of his plot; while +Marsilius, to make assurance doubly sure, brought into the passes +of Roncesvalles no less than three armies, which were successively +to fall on the paladin in case of the worst, and so extinguish him +with numbers. He had also, by Gan's advice, brought heaps of wine +and good cheer to be set before his victims in the first instance; +"for that," said the traitor, "will render the onset the more +effective, the feasters being unarmed. One thing, however, I must +not forget," added he; "my son Baldwin is sure to be with Orlando; +you must take care of his life for my sake." + +"I give him this vesture off my own body," said the king; "let him +wear it in the battle, and have no fear. My soldiers shall be +directed not to touch him." + +Gan went away rejoicing to France. He embraced the sovereign and +the court all round with the air of a man who had brought them +nothing but blessings, and the old king wept for very tenderness +and delight. + +"Something is going on wrong, and looks very black," thought +Malagigi, the good wizard; "Rinaldo is not here, and it is +indispensably necessary that he should be. I must find out where +he is, and Ricciardetto too, and send for them with all speed." + +Malagigi called up by his art a wise, terrible, and cruel spirit, +named Ashtaroth. "Tell me, and tell me truly, of Rinaldo," said +Malagigi to the spirit. The demon looked hard at the paladin, and +said nothing. His aspect was clouded and violent. + +The enchanter, with an aspect still cloudier, bade Ashtaroth lay +down that look, and made signs as if he would resort to angrier +compulsion; and the devil, alarmed, loosened his tongue, and said, +"You have not told me what you desire to know of Rinaldo." + +"I desire to know what he has been doing, and where he is." + +"He has been conquering and baptizing the world, east and west," +said the demon, "and is now in Egypt with Ricciardetto." + +"And what has Gan been plotting with Marsilius?" inquired +Malagigi; "and what is to come of it?" + +"I know not," said the devil. "I was not attending to Gan at the +time, and we fallen spirits know not the future. All I discern is +that by the signs and comets in the heavens something dreadful is +about to happen--something very strange, treacherous, and bloody; +and that Gan has a seat ready prepared for him in hell." + +"Within three days," cried the enchanter, loudly, "bring Rinaldo +and Ricciardetto into the pass of Ronces-Valles. Do it, and I +hereby undertake to summon thee no more." + +"Suppose they will not trust themselves with me?" said the spirit. + +"Enter Rinaldo's horse, and bring him, whether he trust thee or +not." + +"It shall be done," returned the demon. + +There was an earthquake, and Ashtaroth disappeared. + +Marsilius now made his first movement towards the destruction of +Orlando, by sending before him his vassal, King Blanchardin, with +his presents of wines and other luxuries. The temperate but +courteous hero took them in good part, and distributed them as the +traitor wished; and then Blanchardin, on pretence of going forward +to salute Charlemagne, returned, and put himself at the head of +the second army, which was the post assigned him by his liege- +lord. King Falseron, whose son Orlando had slain in battle, headed +the first army, and King Balugante the third. Marsilius made a +speech to them, in which he let them into his design, and +concluded by recommending to their good will the son of his friend +Gan, whom they would know by the vest he had sent him, and who was +the only soul amongst the Christian they were to spare. + +This son of Gan, meanwhile, and several of the paladins, who +distrusted the misbelievers, and were anxious at all events to be +with Orlando, had joined the hero in the fatal valley; so that the +little Christian host, considering the tremendous valor of their +lord and his friends, were not to be sold for nothing. Rinaldo, +alas! the second thunderbolt of Christendom, was destined not to +be there in time to meet the issue. The paladins in vain begged +Orlando to be on his guard against treachery, and send for a more +numerous body of men. The great heart of the Champion of the Faith +was unwilling to harbor suspicion as long as he could help it. He +refused to summon aid which might be superfluous; neither would he +do anything but what his liege-lord had directed. And yet he could +not wholly repress a misgiving. A shadow had fallen on his heart, +great and cheerful as it was. The anticipations of his friends +disturbed him, in spite of the face with which he met them. +Perhaps by a certain foresight he felt his death approaching; but +he felt bound not to encourage the impression. Besides, time +pressed; the moment of the looked-for tribute was at hand, and +little combinations of circumstances determine often the greatest +events. + +King Marsilius was to arrive early next day with the tribute, and +Oliver, with the morning sun, rode forth to reconnoitre, and see +if he could discover the peaceful pomp of the Spanish court in the +distance. He rode up the nearest height, and from the top of it +beheld the first army of Marsilius already forming in the passes. +"O devil Gan," he exclaimed, "this then is the consummation of thy +labors!" Oliver put spurs to his horse, and galloped back down the +mountain to Orlando. + +"Well," cried the hero, "what news?" + +"Bad news," said his cousin, "such as you would not hear of +yesterday. Marsilius is here in arms, and all the world is with +him." + +The paladins pressed round Orlando, and entreated him to sound his +horn, in token that he needed help. His only answer was to mount +his horse, and ride up the mountain with Sansonetto. + +As soon, however, as he cast forth his eyes, and beheld what was +round about him, he turned in sorrow, and looked down into +Roncesvalles, and said, "O miserable valley! the blood shed in +thee this day will color thy name forever." + +Orlando's little camp were furious against the Saracens. They +armed themselves with the greatest impatience. There was nothing +but lacing of helmets and mounting of horses, while good +Archbishop Turpin went from rank to rank exhorting and encouraging +the warriors of Christ. Orlando and his captains withdrew for a +moment to consultation. He fairly groaned for sorrow, and at first +had not a word to say, so wretched he felt at having brought his +people to die in Roncesvalles. Then he said: "If it had entered +into my heart to conceive the king of Spain to be such a villain +never would you have seen this day. He has exchanged with me a +thousand courtesies and good words; and I thought that the worse +enemies we had been before, the better friends we had become now. +I fancied every human being capable of this kind of virtue on a +good opportunity, saving, indeed, such base-hearted wretches as +can never forgive their very forgivers; and of these I did not +suppose him to be one. Let us die, if die we must, like honest and +gallant men, so that it shall be said of us it was only our bodies +that died. The reason why I did not sound the horn was partly +because I thought it did not become us, and partly because our +liege lord could hardly save us, even if he heard it." And with +these words Orlando sprang to his horse, crying, "Aways against +the Saracens!" But he had no sooner turned his face than he wept +bitterly, and said, "O Holy Virgin, think not of me, the sinner +Orlando, but have pity on these thy servants!" + +And now with a mighty dust, and an infinite sound of horns and +tambours, which came filling the valley, the first army of the +infidels made its appearance, horses neighing, and a thousand +pennons flying in the air. King Falseron led them on, saying to +his officers: "Let nobody dare to lay a finger on Orlando. He +belongs to myself. The revenge of my son's death is mine. I will +cut the man down that comes between us." "Now, friends," said +Orlando, "every man for himself, and St. Michael for us all! There +is not one here that is not a perfect knight." And he might well +say it, for the flower of all France was there, except Rinaldo and +Ricciardetto--every man a picked man, all friends and constant +companions of Orlando. + +So the captains of the little troop and of the great army sat +looking at one another, and singling one another out as the latter +came on, and then the knights put spear in rest, and ran for a +while two and two in succession, one against the other. + +Astolpho was the first to move. He ran against Arlotto of Sorio, +and thrust his antagonist's body out of the saddle, and his soul +into the other world. Oliver encountered Malprimo, and, though he +received a thrust which hurt him, sent his lance right through the +heart of Malprimo. + +Falseron was daunted at this blow. "Truly," thought he, "this is a +marvel." Oliver did not press on among the Saracens, his wound was +too painful; but Orlando now put himself and his whole band in +motion, and you may guess what an uproar ensued. The sound of the +rattling of blows and helmets was as if the forge of Vulcan had +been thrown open. Falseron beheld Orlando coming so furiously, +that he thought him a Lucifer who had burst his chain, and was +quite of another mind than when he purposed to have him all to +himself. On the contrary, he recommended himself to his gods, and +turned away, meaning to wait for a more auspicious season of +revenge. But Orlando hailed him with a terrible voice, saying, "O +thou traitor! was this the end to which old quarrels were made +up?" Then he dashed at Falseron with a fury so swift, and at the +same time with a mastery of his lance so marvellous, that, though +he plunged it in the man's body so as instantly to kill him, and +then withdrew it, the body did not move in the saddle. The hero +himself, as he rushed onwards, was fain to see the end of a stroke +so perfect, and turning his horse back, touched the carcass with +his sword, and it fell on the instant! + +When the infidels beheld their leader dead such fear fell upon +them that they were for leaving the field to the paladins, but +they were unable. Marsilius had drawn the rest of his forces round +the valley like a net, so that their shoulders were turned in +vain. Orlando rode into the thick of them, and wherever he went +thunderbolts fell upon helmets. Oliver was again in the fray, with +Walter and Baldwin, Avino and Avolio, while Arch-bishop Turpin +had changed his crosier for a lance, and chased a new flock before +him to the mountains. + +Yet what could be done against foes without number? Marsilius +constantly pours them in. The paladins are as units to thousands. +Why tarry the horses of Rinaldo and Ricciardetto? + +The horses did not tarry, but fate had been quicker than +enchantment. Ashtaroth had presented himself to Rinaldo in Egypt, +and, after telling his errand, he and Foul-mouth, his servant, +entered the horses of Rinaldo and Ricciardetto, which began to +neigh, and snort, and leap with the fiends within them, till off +they flew through the air over the pyramids and across the desert, +and reached Spain and the scene of action just as Marsilius +brought up his third army. The two paladins on their horses +dropped right into the midst of the Saracens, and began making +such havoc among them that Marsilius, who overlooked the fight +from a mountain, thought his soldiers had turned against one +another. Orlando beheld it, and guessed it could be no other but +his cousins, and pressed to meet them. Oliver coming up at the +same moment, the rapture of the whole party is not to be +expressed. After a few hasty words of explanation they were forced +to turn again upon the enemy, whose numbers seemed perfectly +without limit. + +Orlando, making a bloody passage towards Marsilius, struck a youth +on the head, whose helmet was so strong as to resist the blow, but +at the same time flew off, Orlando prepared to strike a second +blow, when the youth exclaimed, "Hold! you loved my father; I am +Bujaforte!" The paladin had never seen Bujaforte, but he saw the +likeness to the good old man, his father, and he dropped his +sword. "O Bujaforte," said he, "I loved him indeed; but what does +his son do here fighting against his friends?" + +Bujaforte could not at once speak for weeping. At length he said: +"I am forced to be here by my lord and master, Marsilius; and I +have made a show of fighting, but have not hurt a single +Christian. Treachery is on every side of you. Baldwin himself has +a vest given him by Marsilius, that everybody may know the son of +his friend Gan, and do him no harm." + +"Put your helmet on again," said Orlando, "and behave just as you +have done. Never will your father's friend be an enemy to the +son." + +The hero then turned in fury to look for Baldwin, who was +hastening towards him at that moment, with friendliness in his +looks. + +"'Tis strange," said Baldwin, "I have done my duty as well as I +could, yet nobody will come against me. I have slain right and +left, and cannot comprehend what it is that makes the stoutest +infidels avoid me." + +"Take off your vest," said Orlando, contemptuously, "and you will +soon discover the secret, if you wish to know it. Your father has +sold us to Marsilius, all but his honorable son." + +"If my father," said Baldwin, impetuously tearing off the vest, +"has been such a villain, and I escape dying, I will plunge this +sword through his heart. But I am no traitor, Orlando, and you do +me wrong to say it. Think not I can live with dishonor." + +Baldwin spurred off into the fight, not waiting to hear another +word from Orlando, who was very sorry for what he had said, for he +perceived that the youth was in despair. + +And now the fight raged beyond all it had done before; twenty +pagans went down for one paladin, but still the paladins fell. +Sansonetto was beaten to earth by the club of Grandonio, Walter +d'Amulion had his shoulder broken, Berlinghieri and Ottone were +slain, and at last Astolpho fell, in revenge of whose death +Orlando turned the spot where he died into a lake of Saracen +blood. The luckless Bujaforte met Rinaldo, and before he could +explain how he seemed to be fighting on the Saracen side received +such a blow upon the head that he fell, unable to utter a word. +Orlando, cutting his way to a spot where there was a great +struggle and uproar, found the poor youth Baldwin, the son of Gan, +with two spears in his breast. "I am no traitor now," said +Baldwin, and those were the last words he said. Orlando was +bitterly sorry to have been the cause of his death, and tears +streamed from his eyes. At length down went Oliver himself. He had +become blinded with his own blood, and smitten Orlando without +knowing him. "How now, cousin," cried Orlando, "have you too gone +over to the enemy?" "O my lord and master," cried the other, "I +ask your pardon. I can see nothing; I am dying. Some traitor has +stabbed me in the back. If you love me, lead my horse into the +thick of them, so that I may not die unavenged." + +"I shall die myself before long," said Orlando, "out of very toil +and grief; so we will go together." + +Orlando led his cousin's horse where the press was thickest, and +dreadful was the strength of the dying man and his tired +companion. They made a street through which they passed out of the +battle, and Orlando led his cousin away to his tent, and said, +"Wait a little till I return, for I will go and sound the horn on +the hill yonder." + +"'Tis of no use," said Oliver, "my spirit is fast going and +desires to be with its Lord and Saviour." + +He would have said more, but his words came from him imperfectly, +like those of a man in a dream, and so he expired. + +When Orlando saw him dead he felt as if he was alone on the earth, +and he was quite willing to leave it, only he wished that King +Charles, at the foot of the mountains, should know how the case +stood before he went. So he took up the horn and blew it three +times, with such force that the blood burst out of his nose and +mouth. Turpin says that at the third blast the horn broke in two. + +In spite of all the noise of the battle, the sound of the horn +broke over it like a voice out of the other world. They say that +birds fell dead at it, and that the whole Saracen army drew back +in terror. Charlemagne was sitting in the midst of his court when +the sound reached him, and Gan was there. The Emperor was the +first to hear it. + +"Do you hear that?" said he to his nobles. "Did you hear the horn +as I heard it?" + +Upon this they all listened, and Gan felt his heart misgive him. +The horn sounded a second time. + +"What is the meaning of this?" said Charles. + +"Orlando is hunting," observed Gan, "and the stag is killed." + +But when the horn sounded yet a third time, and the blast was one +of so dreadful a vehemence, everybody looked at the other, and +then they all looked at Gan in a fury. Charles rose from his seat. + +"This is no hunting of the stag," said he. "The sound goes to my +very heart. O Gan! O Gan! Not for thee do I blush, but for myself. +O foul and monstrous villain! Take him, gentleman, and keep him in +close prison. Would to God I had not lived to see this day!" + +But it was no time for words. They put the traitor in prison and +then Charles, with all his court, took his way to Roncesvalles, +grieving and praying. + +It was afternoon when the horn sounded, and half an hour after it +when the Emperor set out; and meantime Orlando had returned to the +fight that he might do his duty, however hopeless, as long as he +could sit his horse. At length he found his end approaching, for +toil and fever, and rode all alone to a fountain where he had +before quenched his thirst. His horse was wearier than he, and no +sooner had his master alighted than the beast, kneeling down as if +to take leave, and to say, "I have brought you to a place of +rest," fell dead at his feet. Orlando cast water on him from the +fountain, not wishing to believe him dead; but when he found it to +no purpose, he grieved for him as if he had been a human being, +and addressed him by name with tears, and asked forgiveness if he +had ever done him wrong. They say that the horse, at these words, +opened his eyes a little, and looked kindly at his master, and +then stirred never more. They say also that Orlando then summoning +all his strength, smote a rock near him with his beautiful sword +Durindana, thinking to shiver the steel in pieces, and so prevent +its falling into the hands of the enemy, but though the rock split +like a slate, and a great cleft remained ever after to astonish +the eyes of pilgrims, the sword remained uninjured. + +And now Rinaldo and Ricciardetto came up, with Turpin, having +driven back the Saracens, and told Orlando that the battle was +won. Then Orlando knelt before Turpin and begged remission of his +sins, and Turpin gave him absolution. Orlando fixed his eyes on +the hilt of his sword as on a crucifix, and embraced it, and he +raised his eyes and appeared like a creature seraphical and +transfigured, and bowing his head, he breathed out his pure soul. + +And now King Charles and his nobles came up. The Emperor, at sight +of the dead Orlando, threw himself, as if he had been a reckless +youth, from his horse, and embraced and kissed the body, and said: +"I bless thee, Orlando; I bless thy whole life, and all that thou +wast, and all that thou ever didst, and the father that begat +thee; and I ask pardon of thee for believing those who brought +thee to thine end. They shall have their reward, O thou beloved +one! But indeed it is thou that livest, and I who am worse than +dead." + +Horrible to the Emperor's eyes was the sight of the field of +Roncesvalles. The Saracens indeed had fled, conquered; but all his +paladins but two were left on it dead, and the whole valley looked +like a great slaughter-house, trampled into blood and dirt, and +reeking to the heat. Charles trembled to his heart's core for +wonder and agony. After gazing dumbly on the place he cursed it +with a solemn curse, and wished that never grass might grow in it +again, nor seed of any kind, neither within it nor on any of its +mountains around, but the anger of Heaven abide over it forever. + +Charles and his warriors went after the Saracens into Spain. They +took and fired Saragossa, and Marsilius was hung to the carob-tree +under which he had planned his villainy with Gan; and Gan was hung +and drawn and quartered in Roncesvalles, amidst the execrations of +the country. + +RINALDO AND BAYARD + +CHARLEMAGNE was overwhelmed with grief at the loss of so many of +his bravest warriors at the disaster of Roncesvalles, and bitterly +reproached himself for his credulity in resigning himself so +completely to the counsels of the treacherous Count Gan. Yet he +soon fell into a similar snare when he suffered his unworthy son, +Charlot, to acquire such an influence over him, that he constantly +led him into acts of cruelty and injustice that in his right mind +he would have scorned to commit. Rinaldo and his brothers, for +some slight offence to the imperious young prince, were forced to +fly from Paris, and to take shelter in their castle of Montalban; +for Charles had publicly said, if he could take them he would hang +them all. He sent numbers of his bravest knights to arrest them, +but all without success. Either Rinaldo foiled their efforts and +sent them back, stripped of their armor and of their glory, or, +after meeting and conferring with him, they came back and told the +king they could not be his instruments for such a work. + +At last Charles himself raised a great army, and went in person to +compel the paladin to submit. He ravaged all the country round +about Montalban, so that supplies of food should be cut off, and +he threatened death to any who should attempt to issue forth, +hoping to compel the garrison to submit for want of food. + +Rinaldo's resources had been brought so low that it seemed useless +to contend any longer. His brothers had been taken prisoners in a +skirmish, and his only hope of saving their lives was in making +terms with the king. + +So he sent a messenger, offering to yield himself and his castle +if the king would spare his and his brothers' lives. While the +messenger was gone Rinaldo, impatient to learn what tidings he +might bring, rode out to meet him. When he had ridden as far as he +thought prudent he stopped in a wood, and alighting, tied Bayard +to a tree. Then he sat down, and, as he waited, he fell asleep. +Bayard meanwhile got loose, and strayed away where the grass +tempted him. Just then came along some country people, who said to +one another, "Look, is not that the great horse Bayard that +Rinaldo rides? Let us take him, and carry him to King Charles, who +will pay us well for our trouble." They did so, and the king was +delighted with his prize, and gave them a present that made them +rich to their dying day. + +When Rinaldo woke he looked round for his horse, and, finding him +not, he groaned, and said, "O unlucky hour that I was born! how +fortune persecutes me!" So desperate was he that he took off his +armor and his spurs, saying, "What need have I of these, since +Bayard is lost?" While he stood thus lamenting, a man came from +the thicket, seemingly bent with age. He had a long beard hanging +over his breast, and eyebrows that almost covered his eyes. He +bade Rinaldo good day. Rinaldo thanked him, and said, "A good day +I have hardly had since I was born." Then said the old man, +"Signor Rinaldo, you must not despair, for God will make all +things turn to the best." Rinaldo answered, "My trouble is too +heavy for me to hope relief. The king has taken my brothers, and +means to put them to death. I thought to rescue them by means of +my horse Bayard, but while I slept some thief has stolen him." The +old man replied, "I will remember you and your brothers in my +prayers. I am a poor man, have you not something to give me?" +Rinaldo said, "I have nothing to give," but then he recollected +his spurs. He gave them to the beggar, and said, "Here, take my +spurs. They are the first present my mother gave me when my +father, Count Aymon, dubbed me knight. They ought to bring you ten +pounds." + +The old man took the spurs, and put them into his sack, and said, +"Noble sir, have you nothing else you can give me?" Rinaldo +replied, "Are you making sport of me? I tell you truly if it were +not for shame to beat one so helpless, I would teach you better +manners." The old man said, "Of a truth, sir, if you did so you +would do a great sin. If all had beaten me of whom I have begged I +should have been killed long ago, for I ask alms in churches and +convents, and wherever I can." "You say true," replied Rinaldo, +"if you did not ask, none would relieve you." The old man said, +"True, noble sir, therefore I pray if you have anything more to +spare, give it me." Rinaldo gave him his mantle, and said, "Take +it, pilgrim. I give it you for the love of Christ, that God would +save my brothers from a shameful death, and help me to escape out +of King Charles's power." + +The pilgrim took the mantle, folded it up, and put it into his +bag. Then a third time he said to Rinaldo, "Sir, have you nothing +left to give me that I may remember you in my prayers?" "Wretch!" +exclaimed Rinaldo, "do you make me your sport?" and he drew his +sword, and struck at him; but the old man warded off the blow with +his staff, and said, "Rinaldo, would you slay your cousin, +Malagigi?" When Rinaldo heard that he stayed his hand, and gazed +doubtingly on the old man, who now threw aside his disguise, and +appeared to be indeed Malagigi. "Dear cousin," said Rinaldo, "pray +forgive me. I did not know you. Next to God, my trust is in you. +Help my brothers to escape out of prison, I entreat you. I have +lost my horse, and therefore cannot render them any assistance." +Malagigi answered, "Cousin Rinaldo, I will enable you to recover +your horse. Meanwhile, you must do as I say." + +Then Malagigi took from his sack a gown, and gave it to Rinaldo to +put on over his armor, and a hat that was full of holes, and an +old pair of shoes to put on. They looked like two pilgrims, very +old and poor. Then they went forth from the wood, and after a +little while saw four monks riding along the road. Malagigi said +to Rinaldo, "I will go meet the monks, and see what news I can +learn." + +Malagigi learned from the monks that on the approaching festival +there would be a great crowd of people at court, for the prince +was going to show the ladies the famous horse Bayard that used to +belong to Rinaldo. "What!" said the pilgrim; "is Bayard there?" +"Yes," answered the monks; "the king has given him to Charlot, +and, after the prince has ridden him the king means to pass +sentence on the brothers of Rinaldo, and have them hanged." Then +Malagigi asked alms of the monks, but they would give him none, +till he threw aside his pilgrim garb, and let them see his armor, +when, partly for charity and partly for terror, they gave him a +golden cup, adorned with precious stones that sparkled in the +sunshine. + +Malagigi then hastened back to Rinaldo, and told him what he had +learned. + +The morning of the feast-day Rinaldo and Malagigi came to the +place where the sports were to be held. Malagigi gave Rinaldo his +spurs back again, and said, "Cousin, put on your spurs, for you +will need them." "How shall I need them," said Rinaldo, "since I +have lost my horse?" Yet he did as Malagigi directed him. + +When the two had taken their stand on the border of the field +among the crowd the princes and ladies of the court began to +assemble. When they were all assembled the king came also, and +Charlot with him, near whom the horse Bayard was led, in the +charge of grooms, who were expressly enjoined to guard him safely. +The king, looking round on the circle of spectators, saw Malagigi +and Rinaldo, and observed the splendid cup that they had, and said +to Charlot, "See, my son, what a brilliant cup those two pilgrims +have got. It seems to be worth a hundred ducats." "That is true," +said Charlot; "Let us go and ask where they got it." So they rode +to the place where the pilgrims stood, and Charlot stopped Bayard +close to them. + +The horse snuffed at the pilgrims, knew Rinaldo, and caressed his +master. The king said to Malagigi, "Friend, where did you get that +beautiful cup?" Malagigi replied, "Honorable sir, I paid for it +all the money I have saved from eleven years' begging in churches +and convents. The Pope himself has blessed it, and given it the +power that whosoever eats or drinks out of it shall be pardoned of +all his sins." Then said the king to Charlot, "My son, these are +right holy men; see how the dumb beast worships them." + +Then the king said to Malagigi, "Give me a morsel from your cup, +that I may be cleared of my sins." Malagigi answered, "Illustrious +lord, I dare not do it, unless you will forgive all who have at +any time offended you. You know that Christ forgave all those who +had betrayed and crucified him." The king replied, "Friend, that +is true; but Rinaldo has so grievously offended me, that I cannot +forgive him, nor that other man, Malagigi, the magician. These two +shall never live in my kingdom again. If I catch them I will +certainly have them hanged. But tell me, pilgrim, who is that man +who stands beside you?" "He is deaf, dumb, and blind," said +Malagigi. Then the king said again, "Give me to drink of your cup, +to take away my sins." Malagigi answered, "My lord king, here is +my poor brother, who for fifty days has not heard, spoken, nor +seen. This misfortune befell him in a house where we found +shelter, and the day before yesterday we met with a wise woman, +who told him the only hope of a cure for him was to come to some +place where Bayard was to be ridden, and to mount and ride him; +that would do him more good than anything else." Then said the +king, "Friend, you have come to the right place, for Bayard is to +be ridden here to-day. Give me a draught from your cup, and your +companion shall ride upon Bayard." Malagigi, hearing these words, +said, "Be it so." Then the king, with great devotion, took a +spoon, and dipped a portion from the pilgrim's cup, believing that +his sins should be thereby forgiven. + +When this was done, the king said to Charlot, "Son, I request that +you will let this sick pilgrim sit on your horse, and ride if he +can, for by so doing he will be healed of all his infirmities." +Charlot replied, "That will I gladly do." So saying, he +dismounted, and the servants took the pilgrim in their arms, and +helped him on the horse. + +Wher Rinaldo was mounted, he put his feet in the stirrups, and +said, "I would like to ride a little." Malagigi, hearing him +speak, seemed delighted, and asked him whether he could see and +hear also. "Yes," said Rinaldo, "I am healed of all my +infirmities." When the king heard it he said to Bishop Turpin, "My +lord bishop, we must celebrate this with a procession, with +crosses and banners, for it is a great miracle." + +When Rinaldo remarked that he was not carefully watched, he spoke +to the horse, and touched him with the spurs. Bayard knew that his +master was upon him, and he started off upon a rapid pace, and in +a few moments was a good way off. Malagigi pretended to be in +great alarm. "O noble king and master," he cried, "my poor +companion is run away with; he will fall and break his neck." The +king ordered his knights to ride after the pilgrim, and bring him +back, or help him if need were. They did so, but it was in vain. +Rinaldo left them all behind him, and kept on his way till he +reached Montalban. Malagigi was suffered to depart, unsuspected, +and he went his way, making sad lamentation for the fate of his +comrade, who he pretended to think must surely be dashed to +pieces. + +Malagigi did not go far, but having changed his disguise, returned +to where the king was, and employed his best art in getting the +brothers of Rinaldo out of prison. He succeeded; and all three got +safely to Montalban, where Rinaldo's joy at the rescue of his +brothers and the recovery of Bayard was more than tongue can tell. + +DEATH OF RINALDO + +THE distress in Rinaldo's castle for want of food grew more severe +every day, under the pressure of the siege. The garrison were +forced to kill their horses, both to save the provision they would +consume, and to make food of their flesh. At last all the horses +were killed except Bayard, and Rinaldo said to his brothers, +"Bayard must die, for we have nothing else to eat." So they went +to the stable and brought out Bayard to kill him. But Alardo said, +"Brother, let Bayard live a little longer; who knows what God may +do for us?" + +Bayard heard these words, and understood them as if he was a man, +and fell on his knees, as if he would beg for mercy. When Rinaldo +saw the distress of his horse his heart failed him, and he let him +live. + +Just at this time Aya, Rinaldo's mother, who was the sister of the +Emperor, came to the camp, attended by knights and ladies, to +intercede for her sons. She fell on her knees before the king, and +besought him that he would pardon Rinaldo and his brothers: and +all the peers and knights took her side, and entreated the king to +grant her prayer. Then said the king, "Dear sister, you act the +part of a good mother, and I respect your tender heart, and yield +to your entreaties. I will spare your sons their lives if they +submit implicitly to my will." + +When Charlot heard this he approached the king and whispered in +his ear. And the king turned to his sister and said, "Charlot must +have Bayard, because I have given the horse to him. Now go, my +sister, and tell Rinaldo what I have said." + +When the Lady Aya heard these words she was delighted, thanked God +in her heart, and said, "Worthy king and brother, I will do as you +bid me." So she went into the castle, where her sons received her +most joyfully and affectionately, and she told them the king's +offer. Then Alardo said, "Brother, I would rather have the king's +enmity than give Bayard to Charlot, for I believe he will kill +him." Likewise said all the brothers. When Rinaldo heard them he +said, "Dear brothers, if we may win our forgiveness by giving up +the horse, so be it. Let us make our peace, for we cannot stand +against the king's power." Then he went to his mother, and told +her they would give the horse to Charlot, and more, too, if the +king would pardon them, and forgive all that they had done against +his crown and dignity. The lady returned to Charles and told him +the answer of her sons. + +When the peace was thus made between the king and the sons of +Aymon, the brothers came forth from the castle, bringing Bayard +with them, and, falling at the king's feet, begged his +forgiveness. The king bade them rise, and received them into favor +in the sight of all his noble knights and counsellors, to the +great joy of all, especially of the Lady Aya, their mother. Then +Rinaldo took the horse Bayard, gave him to Charlot, and said, "My +lord and prince, this horse I give to you; do with him as to you +seems good." Charlot took him, as had been agreed on. Then he made +the servants take him to the bridge, and throw him into the water. +Bayard sank to the bottom, but soon came to the surface again and +swam, saw Rinaldo looking at him, came to land, ran to his old +master, and stood by him as proudly as if he had understanding, +and would say, "Why did you treat me so?" When the prince saw that +he said, "Rinaldo, give me the horse again, for he must die." +Rinaldo replied, "My lord and prince, he is yours without +dispute," and gave him to him. The prince then had a millstone +tied to each foot, and two to his neck, and made them throw him +again into the water. Bayard struggled in the water, looked up to +his master, threw off the stones, and came back to Rinaldo. + +When Alardo saw that, he said, "Now must thou be disgraced +forever, brother, if thou give up the horse again." But Rinaldo +answered, "Brother, be still. Shall I for the horse's life provoke +the anger of the king again?" Then Alardo said, "Ah, Bayard! what +a return do we make for all thy true love and service!" Rinaldo +gave the horse to the prince again, and said, "My lord, if the +horse comes out again I cannot return him to you any more, for it +wrings my heart too much." Then Chariot had Bayard loaded with the +stones as before, and thrown into the water; and commanded Rinaldo +that he should not stand where the horse would see him. When +Bayard rose to the surface he stretched his neck out of the water +and looked round for his master, but saw him not. Then he sunk to +the bottom. + +Rinaldo was so distressed for the loss of Bayard that he made a +vow to ride no horse again all his life long, nor to bind a sword +to his side, but to become a hermit. He resolved to betake himself +to some wild wood, but first to return to his castle, to see his +children, and to appoint to each his share of his estate. + +So he took leave of the king and of his brothers, and returned to +Montalban, and his brothers remained with the king. Rinaldo called +his children to him, and he made his eldest born, Aymeric, a +knight, and made him lord of his castle and of his land. He gave +to the rest what other goods he had, and kissed and embraced them +all, commended them to God, and then departed from them with a +heavy heart. + +He had not travelled far when he entered a wood, and there met +with a hermit, who had long been retired from the world. Rinaldo +greeted him, and the hermit replied courteously, and asked him who +he was and what was his purpose. Rinaldo replied, "Sir, I have led +a sinful life; many deeds of violence have I done, and many men +have I slain, not always in a good cause, but often under the +impulse of my own headstrong passions. I have also been the cause +of the death of many of my friends, who took my part, not because +they thought me in the right, but only for love of me. And now I +come to make confession of all my sins, and to do penance for the +rest of my life, if perhaps the mercy of God will forgive me." The +hermit said, "Friend, I perceive you have fallen into great sins, +and have broken the commandments of God, but his mercy is greater +than your sins; and if you repent from your heart, and lead a new +life, there is yet hope for you that he will forgive you what is +past." So Rinaldo was comforted, and said, "Master, I will stay +with you, and what you bid ane I will do." The hermit replied, +"Roots and vegetables will be your food; shirt or shoes you may +not wear; your lot must be poverty and want if you stay with me." +Rinaldo replied, "I will cheerfully bear all this, and more." So +he remained three whole years with the hermit, and after that his +strength failed, and it seemed as if he was like to die. + +One night the hermit had a dream, and heard a voice from heaven, +which commanded him to say to his companion that he must without +delay go to the Holy Land, and fight against the heathen. The +hermit, when he heard that voice, was glad, and calling Rinaldo, +he said, "Friend, God's angel has commanded me to say to you that +you must without delay go to Jerusalem, and help our fellow- +Christians in their struggle with the Infidels." Then said +Rinaldo, "Ah! master, how can I do that? It is over three years +since I made a vow no more to ride a horse, nor take a sword or +spear in my hand." The hermit answered, "Dear friend, obey God, +and do what the angel commanded." "I will do so," said Rinaldo, +"and pray for me, my master, that God may guide me right." Then he +departed, and went to the seaside, and took ship and came to +Tripoli in Syria. + +And as he went on his way his strength returned to him, till it +was equal to what it was in his best days. And though he never +mounted a horse, nor took a sword in his hand, yet with his +pilgrim's staff he did good service in the armies of the +Christians; and it pleased God that he escaped unhurt, though he +was present in many battles, and his courage inspired the men with +the same. At last a truce was made with the Saracens, and Rinaldo, +now old and infirm, wishing to see his native land again before he +died, took ship and sailed for France. When he arrived he shunned +to go to the resorts of the great, and preferred to live among the +humble folk, where he was unknown. He did country work, and lived +on milk and bread, drank water, and was therewith content. While +he so lived he heard that the city of Cologne was the holiest and +best of cities, on account of the relics and bodies of saints who +had there poured out their blood for the faith. This induced him +to betake himself thither. When the pious hero arrived at Cologne +he went to the monastery of St. Peter, and lived a holy life, +occupied night and day in devotion. It so happened that at that +time in the next town to Cologne there raged a dreadful +pestilence. Many people came to Rinaldo, to beg him to pray for +them, that the plague might be stayed. The holy man prayed +fervently, and besought the Lord to take away the plague from the +people, and his prayer was heard. The stroke of the pestilence was +arrested, and all the people thanked the holy man and praised God. + +Now there was at this time at Cologne a bishop, called Agilolphus, +who was a wise and understanding man, who led a pure and secluded +life, and set a good example to others. This bishop undertook to +build the Church of St. Peter, and gave notice to all stonemasons +and other workmen round about to come to Cologne, where they +should find work and wages. Among others came Rinaldo; and he +worked among the laborers and did more than four or five common +workmen. When they went to dinner he brought stone and mortar so +that they had enough for the whole day. When the others went to +bed he stretched himself out on the stones. He ate bread only, and +drank nothing but water; and had for his wages but a penny a day. +The head workman asked him his name, and where he belonged. He +would not tell, but said nothing and pursued his work. They called +him St. Peter's workman, because he was so devoted to his work. + +When the overseer saw the diligence of this holy man he chid the +laziness of the other workmen, and said, "You receive more pay +than this good man, but do not do half as much work." For this +reason the other workmen hated Rinaldo, and made a secret +agreement to kill him. They knew that he made it a practice to go +every night to a certain church to pray and give alms. So they +agreed to lay wait for him, with the purpose to kill him. When he +came to the spot, they seized him, and beat him over the head till +he was dead. Then they put his body into a sack, and stones with +it, and cast it into the Rhine, in the hope the sack would sink to +the bottom, and be there concealed. But God willed not that it +should be so, but caused the sack to float on the surface, and be +thrown upon the bank. And the soul of the holy martyr was carried +by angels, with songs of praise, up to the heavens. + +Now at that time the people of Dortmund had become converted to +the Christian faith; and they sent to the Bishop of Cologne, and +desired him to give them some of the holy relics that are in such +abundance in that city. So the Bishop called together his clergy +to deliberate what answer they should give to this request. And it +was determined to give to the people of Dortmund the body of the +holy man who had just suffered martyrdom. + +When now the body with the coffin was put on the cart, the cart +began to move toward Dortmund without horses or help of men, and +stopped not till it reached the place where the church of St. +Rinaldo now stands. The Bishop and his clergy followed the holy +man to do him honor, with singing of hymns, for a space of three +miles. And St. Rinaldo has ever since been the patron of that +place, and many wonderful works has God done through him, as may +be seen in the legends. + +HUON OF BORDEAUX + +WHEN Charlemagne grew old he felt the burden of government become +heavier year by year, till at last he called together his high +barons and peers to propose to abdicate the empire and the throne +of France in favor of his sons, Charlot and Lewis. + +The Emperor was unreasonably partial to his eldest son; he would +have been glad to have had the barons and peers demand Charlot for +their only sovereign; but that prince was so infamous, for his +falsehood and cruelty, that the council strenuously opposed the +Emperor's proposal of abdicating, and implored him to continue to +hold a sceptre which he wielded with so much glory. + +Amaury of Hauteville, cousin of Ganelon, and now head of the +wicked branch of the house of Maganza, was the secret partisan of +Charlot, whom he resembled in his loose morals and bad +dispositions. Amaury nourished the most bitter resentment against +the house of Guienne, of which the former Duke, Sevinus, had often +rebuked his misdeeds. He took advantage of this occasion to do an +injury to the two young children whom the Duke Sevinus had left +under the charge of the Duchess Alice, their mother; and at the +same time, to advance his interest with Charlot by increasing his +wealth and power. With this view he suggested to the prince a new +idea. + +He pretended to agree with the opinion of the barons; he said that +it would be best to try Charlot's capacity for government by +giving him some rich provinces before placing him upon the throne; +and that the Emperor, without depriving himself of any part of his +realm, might give Charlot the investiture of Guienne. For although +seven years had passed since the death of Sevinus, the young Duke, +his son, had not yet repaired to the court of Charlemagne to +render the homage due to his lawful sovereign. + +We have often had occasion to admire the justice and wisdom of the +advice which on all occasions the Duke Namo of Bavaria gave to +Charlemagne, and he now discountenanced, with indignation, the +selfish advice of Amaury. He represented to the Emperor the early +age of the children of Sevinus, and the useful and glorious +services of their late father, and proposed to Charlemagne to send +two knights to the Duchess at Bordeaux, to summon her two sons to +the court of the Emperor, to pay their respects and render homage. + +Charlemagne approved this advice, and sent two chevaliers to +demand the two young princes of their mother. No sooner had the +Duchess learned the approach of the two knights, than she sent +distinguished persons to receive them; and as soon as they entered +the palace she presented herself before them, with her elder and +younger sons, Huon and Girard. + +The deputies, delighted with the honors and caresses they +received, accompanied with rich presents, left Bordeaux with +regret and on their return represented to Charlemagne that the +young Duke Huon seemed born to tread in the footsteps of his brave +father, informing him that in three months the young princes of +Guienne would present themselves at his court. + +The Duchess employed the short interval in giving her sons her +last instructions. Huon received them in his heart, and Girard +gave as much heed to them as could be expected from one so young. + +The preparations for their departure having been made, the Duchess +embraced them tenderly, commending them to the care of Heaven, and +charged them to call, on their way, at the celebrated monastery of +Cluny, to visit the Abbot, the brother of their father. This +Abbot, worthy of his high dignity, had never lost an opportunity +of doing good, setting an example of every excellence, and making +virtue attractive by his example. + +He received his nephews with the greatest magnificence; and, aware +how useful his presence might be to them with Charlemagne, whose +valued counsellor he was, he took with them the road to Paris. + +When Amaury learned what reception the two deputies of Charlemagne +had received at Bordeaux, and the arrangements made for the visit +of the young princes to the Emperor's court, he suggested to +Charlot to give him a troop of his guards, with which he proposed +to lay wait for the young men in the wood of Montlery, put them to +death, and thereby give the prince Charlot possession of the duchy +of Guienne. + +A plan of treachery and violence agreed but too well with +Charlot's disposition. He not only adopted the suggestion of +Amaury, but insisted upon taking a part in it. They went out +secretly, by night, followed by a great number of attendants, all +armed in black, to lie in ambuscade in the wood where the brothers +were to pass. + +Girard, the younger of the two, having amused himself as he rode +by flying his hawk at such game as presented itself, had ridden in +advance of his brother and the Abbot of Cluny. Charlot, who saw +him coming, alone and unarmed, went forth to meet him, sought a +quarrel with him, and threw him from his horse with a stroke of +his lance. Girard uttered a cry as he fell; Huon heard it, and +flew to his defence, with no other weapon than his sword. He came +up with him, and saw the blood flowing from his wound. "What has +this child done to you, wretch!" he exclaimed to Charlot. "How +cowardly to attack him when unprepared to defend himself!" "By my +faith," said Charlot, "I mean to do the same by you. Know that I +am the son of Duke Thierry of Ardennes, from whom your father, +Sevinus, took three castles; I have sworn to avenge him, and I +defy you." "Coward," answered Huon, "I know well the baseness that +dwells in your race; worthy son of Thierry, use the advantage that +your armor gives you; but know that I fear you not." At these +words Charlot had the wickedness to put his lance in rest, and to +run upon Huon, who had barely time to wrap his arm in his mantle. +With this feeble buckler he received the thrust of the lance. It +penetrated the mantle, but missed his body. Then, rising upon his +stirrups, Sir Huon struck Charlot so terrible a blow with his +sword that the helmet was cleft asunder, and his head too. The +dastardly prince fell dead upon the ground. + +Huon now perceived that the wood was full of armed men. He called +the men of his suite, and they hastily put themselves in order, +but nobody issued from the wood to attack him. Amaury, who saw +Charlot's fall, had no desire to compromit himself; and, feeling +sure that Charlemagne would avenge the death of his son, he saw no +occasion for his doing anything more at present. He left Huon and +the Abbot of Cluny to bind up the wound of Girard, and, having +seen them depart and resume their way to Paris, he took up the +body of Charlot, and, placing it across a horse, had it carried to +Paris, where he arrived four hours after Huon. + +The Abbot of Cluny presented his nephew to Charlemagne, but Huon +refrained from paying his obeisance, complaining grievously of the +ambush which had been set for him, which he said could not have +been without the Emperor's permission. Charlemagne, surprised at a +charge which his magnanimous soul was incapable of meriting, asked +eagerly of the Abbot what were the grounds of the complaints of +his nephew. The Abbot told him faithfully all that had happened, +informing him that a coward knight, who called himself the son of +Thierry of Ardennes, had wounded Girard, and run upon Huon, who +was unarmed; but by his force and valor he had overcome the +traitor, and left him dead upon the plain. + +Charlemagne indignantly disavowed any connection with the action +of the infamous Thierry, congratulated the young Duke upon his +victory, himself conducted the two brothers to a rich apartment, +stayed to see the first dressing applied to the wound of Girard, +and left the brothers in charge of Duke Namo of Bavaria, who, +having been a companion in arms of the Duke Sevinus, regarded the +young men almost as if they were his own sons. + +Charlemagne had hardly quitted them when, returning to his +chamber, he heard cries, and saw through the window a party of +armed men just arrived. He recognized Amaury, who bore a dead +knight stretched across a horse; and the name of Charlot was heard +among the exclamations of the people assembled in the court-yard. + +Charles's partiality for this unworthy son was one of his +weaknesses. He descended in trepidation to the court-yard, ran to +Amaury, and uttered a cry of grief on recognizing Charlot. "It is +Huon of Bordeaux," said the traitor Amaury, "who has massacred +your son before it was in my power to defend him." Charlemagne, +furious at these words, seized a sword, and flew to the apartment +of the two brothers to plunge it into the heart of the murderer of +his son. Duke Namo stopped his hand for an instant, while Charles +told him the crime of which Huon was accused. "He is a peer of the +realm," said Namo, "and if he is guilty, is he not here in your +power, and are not we peers the proper judges to condemn him to +death? Let not your hand be stained with his blood." The Emperor, +calmed by the wisdom of Duke Namo, summoned Amaury to his +presence. The peers assembled to hear his testimony, and the +traitor accused Huon of Bordeaux of having struck the fatal blow +without allowing Charlot an opportunity to defend himself, and +though he knew that his opponent was the Emperor's eldest son. + +The Abbot of Cluny, indignant at the false accusation of Amaury, +advanced, and said, "By Saint Benedict, sire, the traitor lies in +his throat. If my nephew has slain Charlot it was in his own +defence, and after having seen his brother wounded by him, and +also in ignorance that his adversary was the prince. Though I am a +son of the Church," added the good Abbot, "I forget not that I am +a knight by birth. I offer to prove with my body the lie upon +Amaury, if he dares sustain it, and I shall feel that I am doing a +better work to punish a disloyal traitor, than to sing lauds and +matins." + +Huon to this time had kept silent, amazed at the black calumny of +Amaury; but now he stepped forth, and, addressing Amaury, said: +"Traitor! darest thou maintain in arms the lie thou hast uttered?" +Amaury, a knight of great prowess, despising the youth and slight +figure of Huon, hesitated not to offer his glove, which Huon +seized; then, turning again to the peers, he said: "I pray you let +the combat be allowed me, for never was there a more legitimate +cause." The Duke Namo and the rest, deciding that the question +should be remitted to the judgment of Heaven, the combat was +ordained, to which Charlemagne unwillingly consented. The young +Duke was restored to the charge of Duke Namo, who the next morning +invested him with the honors of knighthood, and gave him armor of +proof, with a white shield. The Abbot of Cluny, delighted to find +in his nephew sentiments worthy of his birth, embraced him, gave +him his blessing, and hastened to the church of St. Germains to +pray for him, while the officers of the king prepared the lists +for the combat. + +The battle was long and obstinate. The address and agility of Huon +enabled him to avoid the terrible blows which the ferocious Amaury +aimed at him. But Huon had more than once drawn blood from his +antagonist. The effect began to be perceived in the failing +strength of the traitor; at last he threw himself from his horse, +and kneeling, begged for mercy. "Spare me," he said, "and I will +confess all. Aid me to rise, and lead me to Charlemagne." The +brave and loyal Huon, at these words, put his sword under his left +arm, and stretched out his right to raise the prostrate man, who +seized the opportunity to give him a thrust in the side. The +hauberk of Huon resisted the blow, and he was wounded but +slightly. Transported with rage at this act of baseness, he forgot +how necessary for his complete acquittal the confession of Amaury +was, and without delay dealt him the fatal blow. + +Duke Namo and the other peers approached, had the body of Amaury +dragged forth from the lists, and conducted Huon to Charlemagne. +The Emperor, however, listening to nothing but his resentment and +grief for the death of his son, refused to be satisfied; and under +the plea that Huon had not succeeded in making his accuser retract +his charge seemed resolved to confiscate his estates and to banish +him forever from France. It was not till after long entreaties on +the part of Duke Namo and the rest that he consented to grant Huon +his pardon, under conditions which he should impose. + +Huon approached, and knelt before the Emperor, rendered his +homage, and cried him mercy for the involuntary killing of his +son. Charlemagne would not receive the hands of Huon in his own, +but touched him with his sceptre, saying, "I receive thy homage, +and pardon thee the death of my son, but only on one condition. +You shall go immediately to the court of the Sultan Gaudisso; you +shall present yourself before him as he sits at meat; you shall +cut off the head of the most illustrious guest whom you shall find +sitting nearest to him; you shall kiss three times on the mouth +the fair princess, his daughter, and you shall demand of the +Sultan, as token of tribute to me, a handful of the white hair of +his beard, and four grinders from his mouth." + +These conditions caused a murmur from all the assembly. "What!" +said the Abbot of Cluny; "slaughter a Saracen prince without first +offering him baptism?" "The second condition is not so hard," said +the young peers, "but the demand that Huon is bound to make of the +old Sultan is very uncivil, and will be hard to obtain." + +The Emperor's obstinacy when he had once resolved upon a thing is +well known. To the courage of Huon nothing seemed impossible. "I +accept the conditions," said he, silencing the intercessions of +the old Duke of Bavaria; "my liege, I accept my pardon at this +price. I go to execute your commands, as your vassal and a peer of +France." + +The Duke Namo and Abbot of Cluny, being unable to obtain any +relaxation of the sentence passed by Charlemagne, led forth the +young Duke, who determined to set out at once on his expedition. +All that the good Abbot could obtain of him was, that he should +prepare for this perilous undertaking by going first to Rome, to +pay his homage to the Pope, who was the brother of the Duchess +Alice, Huon's mother, and from him demand absolution and his +blessing. Huon promised it, and forthwith set out on his way to +Rome. + +HUON OF BORDEAUX (Continued) + +HUON, having traversed the Apennines and Italy, arrived at the +environs of Rome, where, laying aside his armor, he assumed the +dress of a pilgrim. In this attire he presented himself before the +Pope, and not till after he had made a full confession of his sins +did he announce himself as his nephew. "Ah! my dear nephew," +exclaimed the Holy Father, "what harder penance could I impose +than the Emperor has already done? Go in peace, my son," he added, +absolving him, "I go to intercede for you with the Most High." +Then he led his nephew into his palace, and introduced him to all +the Cardinals and Princes of Rome as the Duke of Guienne, son of +the Duchess Alice, his sister. + +Huon, at setting out, had made a vow not to stop more than three +days in a place. The Holy Father took advantage of this time to +inspire him with zeal for the glory of Christianity, and with +confidence in the protection of the Most High. He advised him to +embark for Palestine, to visit the Holy Sepulchre, and to depart +thence for the interior of Asia. + +Loaded with the blessings of the Holy Father, Huon, obeying his +counsels, embarked for Palestine, arrived, and visited with the +greatest reverence the holy places. He then departed, and took his +way toward the east. + +But, ignorant of the country and of the language, he lost himself +in a forest, and remained three days without seeing a human +creature, living on honey and wild fruits which he found on the +trees. The third day, seeking a passage through a rocky defile, he +beheld a man in tattered clothing, whose beard and hair covered +his breast and shoulders. This man stopped on seeing him, observed +him, and recognized the arms and bearing of a French knight. He +immediately approached, and exclaimed, in the language of the +South of France, "God be praised! Do I indeed behold a chevalier +of my own country, after fifteen years passed in this desert +without seeing the face of a fellow-countryman?" + +Huon, to gratify him still more, unlaced his helmet, and came +towards him with a smiling countenance. The other regarded him +with more surprise than at first. "Good Heaven!" he exclaimed, +"was there ever such a resemblance? Ah, noble sir," he added, +"tell me, I beseech you, of what country and race you come?" "I +require," replied Huon, "before telling you mine, that you first +reveal your own; let it suffice you at present to know that I am a +Christian, and that in Guienne I was born." "Ah! Heaven grant that +my eyes and my heart do not deceive me," exclaimed the unknown; +"my name is Sherasmin; I am brother to Guire, the Mayor of +Bordeaux. I was taken prisoner in the battle where my dear and +illustrious master, Sevinus, lost his life. For three years I +endured the miseries of slavery; at length I broke my chains and +escaped to this desert, where I have sustained myself in solitude +ever since. Your features recall to me my beloved sovereign, in +whose service I was from my infancy till his death." Huon made no +reply but by embracing the old man, with tears in his eyes. Then +Sherasmin learned that his arms enfolded the son of the Duke +Sevinus. He led him to his cabin, and spread before him the dry +fruits and honey which formed his only aliment. + +Huon recounted his adventures to Sherasmin, who was moved to tears +at the recital. He then consulted him on means of conducting his +enterprise. Sherasmin hesitated not to confess that success seemed +impossible; nevertheless he swore a solemn oath never to abandon +him. The Saracen language, which he was master of, would be +serviceable to them when they should leave the desert, and mingle +with men. + +They took the route of the Red Sea, and entered Arabia. Their way +lay through a region which Sherasmin described as full of terrors. +It was inhabited by Oberon, King of the Fairies, who made captive +such knights as were rash enough to penetrate into it, and +transformed them into Hobgoblins. It was possible to avoid this +district at the expense of somewhat lengthening their route; but +no dangers could deter Huon of Bordeaux; and the brave Sherasmin, +who had now resumed the armor of a knight, reluctantly consented +to share with him the dangers of the shorter route. + +They entered a wood, and arrived at a spot whence alleys branched +off in various directions. One of them seemed to be terminated by +a superb palace, whose gilded roofs were adorned with brilliant +weathercocks covered with diamonds. A superb chariot issued from +the gate of the palace, and drove toward Huon and his companion, +as if to meet them half-way. The prince saw no one in the chariot +but a child apparently about five years old, very beautiful, and +clad in a robe which glittered with precious stones. At the sight +of him, Sherasmin's terror was extreme. He seized the reins of +Huon's horse, and turned him about, hurrying the prince away, and +assuring him that they were lost if they stopped to parley with +the mischievous dwarf, who, though he appeared a child, was full +of years and of treachery. Huon was sorry to lose sight of the +beautiful dwarf, whose aspect had nothing in it to alarm; yet he +followed his friend, who urged on his horse with all possible +speed. Presently a storm began to roar through the forest, the +daylight grew dim, and they found their way with difficulty. From +time to time they seemed to hear an infantine voice, which said, +"Stop, Duke Huon; listen to me: it is in vain you fly me!" + +Sherasmin only fled the faster, and stopped not until he had +reached the gate of a monastery of monks and nuns, the two +communities of which were assembled at that time in a religious +procession. Sherasmin, feeling safe from the malice of the dwarf +in the presence of so many holy persons and the sacred banners, +stopped to ask an asylum, and made Huon dismount also. But at that +moment they were joined by the dwarf, who blew a blast upon an +ivory horn which hung from his neck. Immediately the good +Sherasmin, in spite of himself, began to dance like a young +collegian, and seizing the hand of an aged nun, who felt as if it +would be her death, they footed it briskly over the grass, and +were imitated by all the other monks and nuns, mingled together, +forming the strangest dancing-party ever beheld. Huron alone felt +no disposition to dance; but he came near dying of laughter at +seeing the ridiculous postures and leaps of the others. + +The dwarf, approaching Huon, said, in a sweet voice, and in Huon's +own language, "Duke of Guienne, why do you shun me? I conjure you, +in Heaven's name, speak to me." Huon, hearing himself addressed in +this serious manner, and knowing that no evil spirit would dare to +use the holy name in aid of his schemes, replied, "Sir, whoever +you are, I am ready to hear and answer you." "Huon, my friend," +continued the dwarf, "I always loved your race, and you have been +dear to me ever since your birth. The gracious state of conscience +in which you were when you entered my wood has protected you from +all enchantments, even if I had intended to practise any upon you. +If these monks, these nuns, and even your friend Sherasmin, had +had a conscience as pure as yours, my horn would not have set them +dancing; but where is the monk or the nun who can always be deaf +to the voice of the tempter, and Sherasmin in the desert has often +doubted the power of Providence." + +At these words Huon saw the dancers overcome with exertion. He +begged mercy for them, the dwarf granted it, and the effect of the +horn ceased at once; the nuns got rid of their partners, smoothed +their dresses, and hastened to resume their places in the +procession. Sherasmin, overcome with heat, panting, and unable to +stand on his legs, threw himself upon the grass, and began, "Did +not I tell you"--He was going on in an angry tone, but the dwarf, +approaching, said, "Sherasmin, why have you murmured against +Providence? Why have you thought evil of me? You deserved this +light punishment; but I know you to be good and loyal; I mean to +show myself your friend, as you shall soon see." At these words he +presented him a rich goblet. "Make the sign of the cross on this +cup," said he, "and then believe that I hold my power from the God +you adore, whose faithful servant I am, as well as you." Sherasmin +obeyed, and on the instant the cup was filled with delicious wine, +a draught of which restored vigor to his limbs, and made him feel +young again. Overcome with gratitude, he threw himself on his +knees, but the dwarf raised him, and bade him sit beside him, and +thus commenced his history: + +"Julius Caesar, going by sea to join his army, was driven by a +storm to take shelter in the island of Celea, where dwelt the +fairy Glorianda. From this renowned pair I draw my birth. I am the +inheritor of that which was most admirable in each of my parents: +my father's heroic qualities, and my mother's beauty and magic +art. But a malicious sister of my mother's, in revenge for some +slight offence, touched me with her wand when I was only five +years old, and forbade me to grow any bigger; and my mother, with +all her power, was unable to annul the sentence. I have thus +continued infantile in appearance, though full of years and +experience. The power which I derive from my mother I use +sometimes for my own diversion, but always to promote justice and +to reward virtue. I am able and willing to assist you, Duke of +Guienne, for I know the errand on which you come hither. I presage +for you, if you follow my counsels, complete success; and the +beautiful Clarimunda for a wife." + +When he had thus spoken he presented to Huon the precious and +useful cup, which had the faculty of filling itself when a good +man took it in his hand. He gave him also his beautiful horn of +ivory, saying to him, "Huon, when you sound this gently, you will +make the hearers dance, as you have seen; but if you sound it +forcibly, fear not that I shall hear it, though at a hundred +leagues' distance, and will fly to your relief; but be careful not +to sound it in that way, unless upon the most urgent occasion." + +Oberon directed Huon what course he should take to reach the +country of the Sultan Gaudisso. "You will encounter great perils," +said he, "before arriving there, and I fear me," he added, with +tears in his eyes, "that you will not in everything obey my +directions, and in that case you will suffer much calamity." Then +he embraced Huon and Sherasmin, and left them. + +Huon and his follower travelled many days through the desert +before they reached any inhabited place, and all this while the +wonderful cup sustained them, furnishing them not only wine, but +food also. At last they came to a great city. As day was +declining, they entered its suburbs, and Sherasmin, who spoke the +Saracen language perfectly, inquired for an inn where they could +pass the night. A person who appeared to be one of the principal +inhabitants, seeing two strangers of respectable appearance making +this inquiry, stepped forward and begged them to accept the +shelter of his mansion. They entered, and their host did the +honors of his abode with a politeness which they were astonished +to see in a Saracen. He had them served with coffee and sherbet, +and all was conducted with great decorum, till one of the servants +awkwardly overturned a cup of hot coffee on the host's legs, when +he started up, exclaiming in very good Gascon, "Blood and thunder! +you blockhead, you deserve to be thrown over the mosque!" + +Huon could not help laughing to see the vivacity and the language +of his country thus break out unawares. The host, who had no idea +that his guests understood his words, was astonished when Huon +addressed him in the dialect of his country. Immediately +confidence was established between them; especially when the +domestics had retired. The host, seeing that he was discovered, +and that the two pretended Saracens were from the borders of the +Garonne, embraced them, and disclosed that he was a Christian. +Huon, who had learned prudence from the advice of Oberon, to test +his host's sincerity, drew from his robe the cup which the Fairy- +king had given him, and presented it empty to the host. "A fair +cup," said he, "but I should like it better if it was full." +Immediately it was so. The host, astonished, dared not put it to +his lips. "Drink boldly, my dear fellow-countryman," said Huon; +"your truth is proved by this cup, which only fills itself in the +hands of an honest man." The host did not hesitate longer; the cup +passed freely from hand to hand; their mutual cordiality increased +as it passed, and each recounted his adventures. Those of Huon +redoubled his host's respect; for he recognized in him his +legitimate sovereign: while the host's narrative was in these +words: + +"My name is Floriac; this great and strong city, you will hear +with surprise and grief, is governed by a brother of Duke Sevinus, +and your uncle. You have no doubt heard that a young brother of +the Duke of Guienne was stolen away from the sea-shore, with his +companions, by some corsairs. I was then his page, and we were +carried by those corsairs to Barbary, where we were sold for +slaves. The Barbary prince sent us as part of the tribute which he +yearly paid to his sovereign, the Sultan Gaudisso. Your uncle, who +had been somewhat puffed up by the flattery of his attendants, +thought to increase his importance with his new master by telling +him his rank. The Sultan, who, like a true Mussulman, detested all +Christian princes, exerted himself from that moment to bring him +over to the Saracen faith. He succeeded but too well. Your uncle, +seduced by the arts of the Santons, and by the pleasures and +indulgences which the Sultan allowed him, committed the horrid +crime of apostasy; he renounced his baptism, and embraced +Mahometanism. Gaudisso then loaded him with honors, made him +espouse one of his nieces, and sent him to reign over this city +and adjoining country. Your uncle preserved for me the same +friendship which he had had when a boy; but all his caresses and +efforts could not make me renounce my faith. Perhaps he respected +me in his heart for my resistance to his persuasions, perhaps he +had hopes of inducing me in time to imitate him. He made me +accompany him to this city, of which he was master, he gave me his +confidence, and permits me to keep in my service some Christians, +whom I protect for the sake of their faith." + +"Ah!" exclaimed Huon, "take me to this guilty uncle. A prince of +the house of Guienne, must he not blush at the cowardly +abandonment of the faith of his fathers?" + +"Alas!" replied Floriac, "I fear he will neither be sensible of +shame at your reproaches, nor of pleasure at the sight of a nephew +so worthy of his lineage. Brutified by sensuality, jealous of his +power, which he often exercises with cruelty, he will more +probably restrain you by force or put you to death." + +"Be it so," said the brave and fervent Huon, "I could not die in a +better cause; and I demand of you to conduct me to him to-morrow, +after having told him of my arrival and my birth." Floriac still +objected, but Huon would take no denial, and he promised +obedience. + +Next morning Floriac waited upon the Governor and told him of the +arrival of his nephew, Huon of Bordeaux; and of the intention of +the prince to present himself at his court that very day. The +Governor, surprised, did not immediately answer; though he at once +made up his mind what to do. He knew that Floriac loved Christians +and the princes of his native land too well to aid in any treason +to one of them; he therefore feigned great pleasure at hearing of +the arrival of the eldest born of his family at his court. He +immediately sent Floriac to find him; he caused his palace to be +put in festal array, his divan to be assembled, and after giving +some secret orders, went himself to meet his nephew, whom he +introduced under his proper name and title to all the great +officers of his court. + +Huon burned with indignation at seeing his uncle with forehead +encircled with a rich turban, surmounted with a crescent of +precious stones. His natural candor made him receive with pain the +embraces which the treacherous Governor lavished upon him. +Meanwhile the hope of finding a suitable moment to reproach him +for his apostasy made him submit to those honors which his uncle +caused to be rendered to him. The Governor evaded with address the +chance of being alone with Huon and spent all the morning in +taking him through his gardens and palace. At last, when the hour +of dinner approached, and the Governor took him by the hand to +lead him into the dining-hall, Huon seized the opportunity and +said to him in a low voice, "O my uncle! O Prince, brother of the +Duke Sevinus! in what condition have I the grief and shame of +seeing you!" The Governor pretended to be moved, pressed his hand, +and whispered in his ear, "Silence! my dear nephew; to-morrow +morning I will hear you fully." + +Huon, comforted a little by these words, took his seat at the +table by the side of the Governor. The Mufti, some Cadis, Agas, +and Santons, filled the other places. Sherasmin sat down with +them; but Floriac, who would not lose sight of his guests, +remained standing, and passed in and out to observe what was going +on within the palace. He soon perceived a number of armed men +gliding through the passages and antechambers connected with the +dining-hall. He was about to enter to give his guests notice of +what he had seen when he heard a violent noise and commotion in +the hall. The cause was this. + +Huon and Sherasmin were well enough suited with the first course +and ate with good appetite; but the people of their country not +being accustomed to drink only water at their meals, Huon and +Sherasmin looked at one another, not very well pleased at such a +regimen. Huon laughed outright at the impatience of Sherasmin, but +soon, experiencing the same want himself, he drew forth Oberon's +cup and made the sign of the cross. The cup filled and he drank it +off, and handed it to Sherasmin, who followed his example. The +Governor and his officers, seeing this abhorred sign, contracted +their brows and sat in silent consternation. Huon pretended not to +observe it, and having filled the cup again handed it to his +uncle, saying, "Pray, join us, dear uncle; it is excellent +Bordeaux wine, the drink that will be to you like mother's milk." +The Governor, who often drank in secret with his own favorite +Sultanas the wines of Greece and Shiraz, never in public drank +anything but water. He had not for a long time tasted the +excellent wines of his native land; he was sorely tempted to drink +what was now handed to him, it looked so bright in the cup, +outshining the gold itself. He stretched forth his hand, took the +brimming goblet, and raised it to his lips, when immediately it +dried up and disappeared. Huon and Sherasmin, like Gascons as they +were, laughed at his astonishment. "Christian dogs!" he exclaimed, +"do you dare to insult me at my own table? But I will soon be +revenged." At these words he threw the cup at the head of his +nephew, who caught it with his left hand, while with the other he +snatched the turban, with its crescent, from the Governor's head +and threw it on the floor. All the Saracens started up from table, +with loud outcries, and prepared to avenge the insult. Huon and +Sherasmin put themselves on their defence, and met with their +swords the scimitars directed against them. At this moment the +doors of the hall opened and a crowd of soldiers and armed eunuchs +rushed in, who joined in the attack upon Huon and Sherasmin. The +Prince and his followers took refuge on a broad shelf or side- +board, where they kept at bay the crowd of assailants, making the +most forward of them smart for their audacity. But more troops +came pressing in and the brave Huon, inspired by the wine of +Bordeaux, and not angry enough to lose his relish for a joke, blew +a gentle note on his horn, and no sooner was it heard than it +quelled the rage of the combatants and set them to dancing. Huon +and Sherasmin, no longer attacked, looked down from their elevated +position on a scene the most singular and amusing. Very soon the +Sultanas, hearing the sound of the dance and finding their guards +withdrawn, came into the hall and mixed with the dancers. The +favorite Sultana seized upon a young Santon, who performed jumps +two feet high; but soon the long dresses of this couple got +intermingled and threw them down. The Santon's beard was caught in +the Sultana's necklace, and they could not disentangle them. The +Governor by no means approved this familiarity, and took two steps +forward to get at the Santon, but he stumbled over a prostrate +Dervise and measured his length on the floor. The dancing +continued till the strength of the performers was exhausted, and +they fell, one after the other, and lay helpless. The Governor at +length made signs to Huon that he would yield everything if he +would but allow him to rest. The bargain was ratified; the +Governor allowed Huon and Sherasmin to depart on their way, and +even gave them a ring which would procure them safe passage +through his country and access to the Sultan Gaudisso. The two +friends hastened to avail themselves of this favorable turn, and +taking leave of Floriac, pursued their journey. + +HUON OF BORDEAUX (Continued) + +HUON had seen many beauties at his mother's court, but his heart +had never been touched with love. Honor had been his mistress, and +in pursuit of that he had never found time to give a thought to +softer cares. Strange that a heart so insensible should first be +touched by something so unsubstantial as a dream; but so it was. + +The day after the adventure with his uncle night overtook the +travellers as they passed through a forest. A grotto offered them +shelter from the night dews. The magic cup supplied their evening +meal; for such was its virtue that it afforded not only wine, but +more solid fare when desired. Fatigue soon threw them into +profound repose. Lulled by the murmur of the foliage, and +breathing the fragrance of the flowers, Huon dreamed that a lady +more beautiful than he had ever before seen hung over him and +imprinted a kiss upon his lips. As he stretched out his arms to +embrace her a sudden gust of wind swept her away. + +Huon awoke in an agony of regret. A few moments sufficed to afford +some consolation in showing him that what had passed was but a +dream; but his perplexity and sadness could not escape the notice +of Sherasmin. Huon hesitated not to inform his faithful follower +of the reason of his pensiveness; and got nothing in return but +his rallyings for allowing himself to be disturbed by such a +cause. He recommended a draught from the fairy goblet, and Huon +tried it with good effect. + +At early dawn they resumed their way. They travelled till high +noon, but said little to one another. Huon was musing on his +dream, and Sherasmin's thoughts flew back to his early days on the +banks of the flowery Garonne. + +On a sudden they were startled by the cry of distress, and turning +an angle of the wood, came where a knight hard pressed was +fighting with a furious lion. The knight's horse lay dead, and it +seemed as if another moment would end the combat, for terror and +fatigue had quite disabled the knight for further resistance. He +fell, and the lion's paw was raised over him, when a blow from +Huon's sword turned the monster's rage upon a new enemy. His roar +shook the forest, and he crouched in act to spring, when, with the +rapidity of lightning, Huon plunged his sword into his side. He +rolled over on the plain in the agonies of death. + +They raised the knight from the ground, and Sherasmin hastened to +offer him a draught from the fairy cup. The wine sparkled to the +brim, and the warrior put forth his lips to quaff it, but it +shrunk away, and did not even wet his lips. He dashed the goblet +angrily on the ground, with an exclamation of resentment. This +incident did not tend to make either party more acceptable to the +other; and what followed was worse. For when Huon said, "Sir +knight, thank God for your deliverance,"--"Thank Mahomet, rather, +yourself," said he, "for he has led you this day to render service +to no less a personage than the Prince of Hyrcania." + +At the sound of this blasphemy Huon drew his sword and turned upon +the miscreant, who, little disposed to encounter the prowess of +which he had so lately seen proof, betook himself to flight. He +ran to Huon's horse, and lightly vaulting on his back, clapped +spurs to his side, and galloped out of sight. + +The adventure was vexatious, yet there was no remedy. The prince +and Sherasmin continued their journey with the aid of the +remaining horse as they best might. At length, as evening set in, +they descried the pinnacles and towers of a great city full before +them, which they knew to be the famous city of Bagdad. + +They were well-nigh exhausted with fatigue when they arrived at +its precincts, and in the darkness, not knowing what course to +take, were glad to meet an aged woman, who, in reply to their +inquiries, offered them such accommodations as her cottage could +supply. They thankfully accepted the offer, and entered the low +door. The good dame busily prepared the best fare her stores +supplied,--milk, figs, and peaches,--deeply regretting that the +bleak winds had nipped her almond-trees. + +Sir Huon thought he had never in his life tasted any fare so good. +The old lady talked while her guests ate. She doubted not, she +said, they had come to be present at the great feast in honor of +the marriage of the Sultan's daughter, which was to take place on +the morrow. They asked who the bridegroom was to be, and the old +lady answered, "The Prince of Hyrcania," but added, "Our princess +hates him, and would rather wed a dragon than him." "How know you +that?" asked Huon; and the dame informed him that she had it from +the princess herself, who was her foster-child. Huon inquired the +reason of the princess's aversion; and the woman pleased to find +her chat excite so much interest, replied that it was all in +consequence of a dream. "A dream!" exclaimed Huon. "Yes! a dream. +She dreamed that she was a hind, and that the Prince, as a hunter, +was pursuing her, and had almost overtaken her, when a beautiful +dwarf appeared in view, drawn in a golden car, having by his side +a young man of yellow hair and fair complexion, like one from a +foreign land. She dreamed that the car stopped where she stood, +and that, having resumed her own form, she was about to ascend it, +when suddenly it faded from her view, and with it the dwarf and +the fair-haired youth. But from her heart that vision did not +fade, and from that time her affianced bridegroom, the Hyrcanian +prince, had become odious to her sight. Yet the Sultan, her +father, by no means regarding such a cause as sufficient to +prevent the marriage, had named the morrow as the time when it +should be solemnized, in presence of his court and many princes of +the neighboring countries, whom the fame of the princess's beauty +and the bridegroom's splendor had brought to the scene." + +We may suppose this conversation woke a tumult of thoughts in the +breast of Huon. Was it not clear that Providence led him on, and +cleared the way for his happy success? Sleep did not early visit +the eyes of Huon that night; but, with the sanguine temper of +youth, he indulged his fancy in imagining the sequel of his +strange experience. + +The next day, which he could not but regard as the decisive day of +his fate, he prepared to deliver the message of Charlemagne. Clad +in his armor, fortified with his ivory horn and his ring, he +reached the palace of Gaudisso when the guests were assembled at +the banquet. As he approached the gate a voice called on all true +believers to enter; and Huon, the brave and faithful Huon, in his +impatience passed in under that false pretention. He had no sooner +passed the barrier than he felt ashamed of his baseness, and was +overwhelmed with regret. To make amends for his fault he ran +forward to the second gate, and cried to the porter, "Dog of a +misbeliever, I command you in the name of Him who died on the +cross, open to me!" The points of a hundred weapons immediately +opposed his passage. Huon then remembered for the first time the +ring he had received from his uncle, the Governor. He produced it, +and demanded to be led to the Sultan's presence. The officer of +the guard recognized the ring, made a respectful obeisance, and +allowed him free entrance. In the same way he passed the other +doors to the rich saloon where the great Sultan was at dinner with +his tributary princes. At sight of the ring the chief attendant +led Huon to the head of the hall, and introduced him to the Sultan +and his princes as the ambassador of Charlemagne. A seat was +provided for him near the royal party. + +The Prince of Hyrcania, the same whom Huon had rescued from the +lion, and who was the destined bridegroom of the beautiful +Clarimunda, sat on the Sultan's right hand, and the princess +herself on his left. It chanced that Huon found himself near the +seat of the princess, and hardly were the ceremonies of reception +over before he made haste to fulfill the commands of Charlemagne +by imprinting a kiss upon her rosy lips, and after that a second, +not by command, but by good will. The Prince of Hyrcania cried +out, "Audacious infidel! take the reward of thy insolence!" and +aimed a blow at Huon, which, if it had reached him, would have +brought his embassy to a speedy termination. But the ingrate +failed of his aim, and Huon punished his blasphemy and ingratitude +at once by a blow which severed his head from his body. + +So suddenly had all this happened that no hand had been raised to +arrest it; but now Gaudisso cried out, "Seize the murderer!" Huon +was hemmed in on all sides, but his redoubtable sword kept the +crowd of courtiers at bay. But he saw new combatants enter, and +could not hope to maintain his ground against so many. He +recollected his horn, and raising it to his lips, blew a blast +almost as loud as that of Roland at Roncesvalles. It was in vain. +Oberon heard it; but the sin of which Huon had been guilty in +bearing, though but for a moment, the character of a believer in +the false prophet, had put it out of Oberon's power to help him. +Huon, finding himself deserted, and conscious of the cause, lost +his strength and energy, was seized, loaded with chains, and +plunged into a dungeon. + +His life was spared for the time, merely that he might be reserved +for a more painful death. The Sultan meant that, after being made +to feel all the torments of hunger and despair, he should be +flayed alive. + +But an enchanter more ancient and more powerful than Oberon +himself interested himself for the brave Huon. The enchanter was +Love. The Princess Clarimunda learned with horror the fate to +which the young prince was destined. By the aid of her governante +she gained over the keeper of the prison, and went herself to +lighten the chains of her beloved. It was her hand that removed +his fetters, from her he received supplies of food to sustain a +life which he devoted from thenceforth wholly to her. After the +most tender explanations the princess departed, promising to +repeat her visit on the morrow. + +The next day she came according to promise, and again brought +supplies of food. These visits were continued during a whole +month. Huon was too good a son of the Church to forget that the +amiable princess was a Saracen, and he availed himself of these +interviews to instruct her in the true faith. How easy it is to +believe the truth when uttered by the lips of those we love! +Clarimunda ere long professed her entire belief in the Christian +doctrines, and desired to be baptized. + +Meanwhile the Sultan had repeatedly inquired of the jailer how his +prisoner bore the pains of famine, and learned to his surprise +that he was not yet much reduced thereby. On his repeating the +inquiry, after a short interval, the keeper replied that the +prisoner had died suddenly, and had been buried in the cavern. The +Sultan could only regret that he had not sooner ordered the +execution of the sentence. + +While these things were going on the faithful Sherasmin, who had +not accompanied Huon in his last adventure, but had learned by +common rumor the result of it, came to the court in hopes of doing +something for the rescue of his master. He presented himself to +the Sultan as Solario, his nephew. Guadisso received him with +kindness, and all the courtiers loaded him with attentions. He +soon found means to inform himself how the Princess regarded the +brave but unfortunate Huon, and having made himself known to her, +confidence was soon established between them. Clarimunda readily +consented to assist in the escape of Huon, and to quit with him +her father's court to repair to that of Charlemagne. Their united +efforts had nearly perfected their arrangement, a vessel was +secretly prepared, and all things in forwardness for the flight, +when an unlooked-for obstacle presented itself. Huon himself +positively refused to go leaving the orders of Charlemagne +unexecuted. + +Sherasmin was in despair. Bitterly he complained of the fickleness +and cruelty of Oberon in withdrawing his aid at the very crisis +when it was most necessary. Earnestly he urged every argument to +satisfy the prince that he had done enough for honor, and could +not be held bound to achieve impossibilities. But all was of no +avail, and he knew not which way to turn, when one of those events +occurred which are so frequent under Turkish despotisms. A courier +arrived at the court of the Sultan, bearing the ring of his +sovereign, the mighty Agrapard, Caliph of Arabia, and bringing the +bow-string for the neck of Gaudisso. No reason was assigned; none +but the pleasure of the Caliph is ever required in such cases; but +it was suspected that the bearer of the bow-string had persuaded +the Caliph that Gaudisso, whose rapacity was well known, had +accumulated immense treasures, which he had not duly shared with +his sovereign, and thus had obtained an order to supersede him in +his Emirship. + +The body of Gaudisso would have been cast out a prey to dogs and +vultures, had not Sherasmin, under the character of nephew of the +deceased, been permitted to receive it, and give it decent burial, +which he did, but not till he had taken possession of the beard +and grinders, agreeably to the orders of Charlemagne. + +No obstacle now stood in the way of the lovers and their faithful +follower in returning to France. They sailed, taking Rome in their +way, where the Holy Father himself blessed the union of his +nephew, Duke Huon of Bordeaux, with the Princess Clarimunda. + +Soon afterward they arrived in France, where Huon laid his +trophies at the feet of Charlemagne, and, being restored to the +favor of the Emperor, hastened to present himself and his bride to +the Duchess, his mother, and to the faithful liegemen of his +province of Guienne and his city of Bordeaux, where the pair were +received with transports of joy. + +OGIER, THE DANE + +OGIER, the Dane, was the son of Geoffrey, who wrested Denmark from +the Pagans, and reigned the first Christian king of that country. +When Ogier was born, and before he was baptized, six ladies of +ravishing beauty appeared all at once in the chamber of the +infant. They encircled him, and she who appeared the eldest took +him in her arms, kissed him, and laid her hand upon his heart. "I +give you," said she, "to be the bravest warrior of your times." +She delivered the infant to her sister, who said, "I give you +abundant opportunities to display your valor." "Sister," said the +third lady, "you have given him a dangerous boon; I give him that +he shall never be vanquished." The fourth sister added, as she +laid her hand upon his eyes and his mouth, "I give you the gift of +pleasing." The fifth said, "Lest all these gifts serve only to +betray, I give you sensibility to return the love you inspire." +Then spoke Morgana, the youngest and handsomest of the group. +"Charming creature, I claim you for my own; and I give you not to +die till you shall have come to pay me a visit in my isle of +Avalon." Then she kissed the child and departed with her sisters. + +After this the king had the child carried to the font and baptized +with the name of Ogier. + +In his education nothing was neglected to elevate him to the +standard of a perfect knight, and render him accomplished in all +the arts necessary to make him a hero. + +He had hardly reached the age of sixteen years when Charlemagne, +whose power was established over all the sovereigns of his time, +recollected that Geoffroy, Ogier's father, had omitted to render +the homage due to him as Emperor, and sovereign lord of Denmark, +one of the grand fiefs of the empire. He accordingly sent an +embassy to demand of the king of Denmark this homage, and on +receiving a refusal, couched in haughty terms, sent an army to +enforce the demand. Geoffroy, after an unsuccessful resistance, +was forced to comply, and as a pledge of his sincerity delivered +Ogier, his eldest son, a hostage to Charles, to be brought up at +his court. He was placed in charge of the Duke Namo of Bavaria, +the friend of his father, who treated him like his own son. + +Ogier grew up more and more handsome and amiable every day. He +surpassed in form, strength, and address all the noble youths his +companions; he failed not to be present at all tourneys; he was +attentive to the elder knights, and burned with impatience to +imitate them. Yet his heart rose sometimes in secret against his +condition as a hostage, and as one apparently forgotten by his +father. + +The King of Denmark, in fact, was at this time occupied with new +loves. Ogier's mother having died, he had married a second wife, +and had a son named Guyon. The new queen had absolute power over +her husband, and fearing that, if he should see Ogier again, he +would give him the preference over Guyon, she had adroitly +persuaded him to delay rendering his homage to Charlemagne, till +now four years had passed away since the last renewal of that +ceremony. Charlemagne, irritated at this delinquency, drew closer +the bonds of Ogier's captivity until he should receive a response +from the king of Denmark to a fresh summons which he caused to be +sent to him. + +The answer of Geoffroy was insulting and defiant, and the rage of +Charlemagne was roused in the highest degree. He was at first +disposed to wreak his vengeance upon Ogier, his hostage; but at +the entreaties of Duke Namo, who felt towards his pupil like a +father, consented to spare his life, if Ogier would swear fidelity +to him as his liege-lord, and promise not to quit his court +without his permission. Ogier accepted these terms, and was +allowed to retain all the freedom he had before enjoyed. + +The Emperor would have immediately taken arms to reduce his +disobedient vassal, if he had not been called off in another +direction by a message from Pope Leo, imploring his assistance. +The Saracens had landed in the neighborhood of Rome, occupied +Mount Janiculum, and prepared to pass the Tiber and carry fire and +sword to the capital of the Christian world. Charlemagne hesitated +not to yield to the entreaties of the Pope. He speedily assembled +an army, crossed the Alps, traversed Italy, and arrived at +Spoleto, a strong place to which the Pope had retired. Leo, at the +head of his Cardinals, advanced to meet him, and rendered him +homage, as to the son of Pepin, the illustrious protector of the +Holy See, coming, as his father had done, to defend it in the hour +of need. + +Charlemagne stopped but two days at Spoleto, and learning that the +Infidels, having rendered themselves masters of Rome, were +besieging the Capitol, which could not long hold out against them, +marched promptly to attack them. + +The advanced posts of the army were commanded by Duke Namo, on +whom Ogier waited as his squire. He did not yet bear arms, not +having received the order of knighthood. The Oriflamme, the royal +standard, was borne by a knight named Alory, who showed himself +unworthy of the honor. + +Duke Namo, seeing a strong body of the Infidels advancing to +attack him, gave the word to charge them. Ogier remained in the +rear, with the other youths, grieving much that he was not +permitted to fight. Very soon he saw Alory lower the Oriflamme, +and turn his horse in flight. Ogier pointed him out to the young +men, and seizing a club, rushed upon Alory and struck him from his +horse. Then, with his companions, he disarmed him, clothed himself +in his armor, raised the Oriflamme, and mounting the horse of the +unworthy knight, flew to the front rank, where he joined Duke +Namo, drove back the Infidels, and carried the Oriflamme quite +through their broken ranks. The Duke, thinking it was Alory, whom +he had not held in high esteem, was astonished at his strength and +valor. Ogier's young companions imitated him, supplying themselves +with armor from the bodies of the slain; they followed Ogier and +carried death into the ranks of the Saracens, who fell back in +confusion upon their main body. + +Duke Namo now ordered a retreat, and Ogier obeyed with reluctance, +when they perceived Charlemagne advancing to their assistance. The +combat now became general, and was more terrible than ever. +Charlemagne had overthrown Corsuble, the commander of the +Saracens, and had drawn his famous sword, Joyeuse, to cut off his +head, when two Saracen knights set upon him at once, one of whom +slew his horse, and the other overthrew the Emperor on the sand. +Perceiving by the eagle on his casque who he was, they dismounted +in haste to give him his deathblow. Never was the life of the +Emperor in such peril. But Ogier, who saw him fall, flew to his +rescue. Though embarrassed with the Oriflamme, he pushed his horse +against one of the Saracens and knocked him down; and with his +sword dealt the other so vigorous a blow that he fell stunned to +the earth. Then helping the Emperor to rise, he remounted him on +the horse of one of the fallen knights. "Brave and generous +Alory!" Charles exclaimed, "I owe to you my honor and my life!" +Ogier made no answer; but, leaving Charlemagne surrounded by a +great many of the knights who had flown to his succor, he plunged +into the thickest ranks of the enemy, and carried the Oriflamme, +followed by a gallant train of youthful warriors, till the +standard of Mahomet turned in retreat, and the Infidels sought +safety in their intrenchments. + +Then the good Archbishop Turpin laid aside his helmet and his +bloody sword (for he always felt that he was clearly in the line +of his duty while slaying Infidels), took his mitre and his +crosier, and intoned Te Deum. + +At this moment Ogier, covered with blood and dust, came to lay the +Oriflamme at the feet of the Emperor. He was followed by a train +of warriors of short stature, who walked ill at ease loaded with +armor too heavy for them. Ogier knelt at the feet of Charlemagne, +who embraced him, calling him Alory, while Turpin from the height +of the altar, blessed him with all his might. Then young Orlando, +son of the Count Milone, and nephew of Charlemagne, no longer able +to endure this misapprehension, threw down his helmet, and ran to +unlace Ogier's, while the other young men laid aside theirs. Our +author says he cannot express the surprise, the admiration, and +the tenderness of the Emperor and his peers. Charles folded Ogier +in his arms, and the happy fathers of those brave youths embraced +them with tears of joy. The good Duke Namo stepped forward, and +Charlemagne yielded Ogier to his embrace. "How much do I owe you," +he said, "good and wise friend, for having restrained my anger! My +dear Ogier! I owe you my life! My sword leaps to touch your +shoulder, yours and those of your brave young friends." At these +words he drew that famous sword, Joyeuse, and while Ogier and the +rest knelt before him, gave them the accolade conferring on them +the order of knighthood. The young Orlando and his cousin Oliver +could not refrain, even in the presence of the Emperor, from +falling upon Ogier's neck, and pledging with him that brotherhood +in arms, so dear and so sacred to the knights of old times; but +Charlot, the Emperor's son, at the sight of the glory with which +Ogier had covered himself, conceived the blackest jealousy and +hate. + +The rest of the day and the next were spent in the rejoicings of +the army. Turpin in a solemn service implored the favor of Heaven +upon the youthful knights, and blessed the white armor which was +prepared for them. Duke Namo presented them with golden spurs, +Charles himself girded on their swords. But what was his +astonishment when he examined that intended for Ogier! The loving +Fairy, Morgana, had had the art to change it, and to substitute +one of her own procuring, and when Charles drew it out of the +scabbard, these words appeared written on the steel: "My name is +Cortana, of the same steel and temper as Joyeuse and Durindana." +Charles saw that a superior power watched over the destinies of +Ogier; he vowed to love him as a father would, and Ogier promised +him the devotion of a son. Happy had it been for both if they had +always continued mindful of their promises. + +The Saracen army had hardly recovered from its dismay when +Carahue, King of Mauritania, who was one of the knights overthrown +by Ogier at the time of the rescue of Charlemagne, determined to +challenge him to single combat. With that view he assumed the +dress of a herald, resolved to carry his own message. The French +knights admired his air, and said to one another that he seemed +more fit to be a knight than a bearer of messages. + +Carahue began by passing the warmest eulogium upon the knight who +bore the Oriflamme on the day of the battle, and concluded by +saying that Carahue, King of Mauritania, respected that knight so +much that he challenged him to the combat. + +Ogier had risen to reply, when he was interrupted by Charlot, who +said that the gage of the King of Mauritania could not fitly be +received by a vassal, living in captivity; by which he meant +Ogier, who was at that time serving as hostage for his father. +Fire flashed from the eyes of Ogier, but the presence of the +Emperor restrained his speech, and he was calmed by the kind looks +of Charlemagne, who said, with an angry voice, "Silence, Charlot! +By the life of Bertha, my queen, he who has saved my life is as +dear to me as yourself. Ogier," he continued, "you are no longer a +hostage. Herald! report my answer to your master, that never does +knight of my court refuse a challenge on equal terms. Ogier, the +Dane, accepts of his, and I myself am his security." + +Carahue, profoundly bowing, replied, "My lord, I was sure that the +sentiments of so great a sovereign as yourself would be worthy of +your high and brilliant fame; I shall report your answer to my +master, who I know admires you, and unwillingly takes arms against +you." Then, turning to Charlot, whom he did not know as the son of +the Emperor, he continued, "As for you, Sir Knight, if the desire +of battle inflames you, I have it in charge from Sadon, cousin of +the King of Mauritania, to give the like defiance to any French +knights who will grant him the honor of the combat." + +Charlot, inflamed with rage and vexation at the public reproof +which he had just received, hesitated not to deliver his gage. +Carahue received it with Ogier's, and it was agreed that the +combat should be on the next day in a meadow environed by woods +and equally distant from both armies. + +The perfidious Charlot meditated the blackest treason. During the +night he collected some knights unworthy of the name, and like +himself in their ferocious manners; he made them swear to avenge +his injuries, armed them in black armor, and sent them to lie in +ambush in the wood, with orders to make a pretended attack upon +the whole party, but in fact, to lay heavy hands upon Ogier and +the two Saracens. + +At the dawn of day Sadon and Carahue, attended tonly by two pages +to carry their spears, took their way to the appointed meadow; and +Charlot and Ogier repaired thither also, but by different paths. +Ogier advanced with a calm air, saluted courteously the two +Saracen knights, and joined them in arranging the terms of combat. + +While this was going on the perfidious Charlot remained behind and +gave his men the signal to advance. That cowardly troop issued +from the wood and encompassed the three knights. All three were +equally surprised at the attack, but neither of them suspected the +other to have any hand in the treason. Seeing the attack made +equally upon them all, they united their efforts to resist it, and +made the most forward of the assailants bite the dust. Cortana +fell on no one without inflicting a mortal wound, but the sword of +Carahue was not of equal temper and broke in his hands. At the +same instant his horse was slain, and Carahue fell, without a +weapon, and entangled with his prostrate horse. Ogier, who saw it, +ran to his defence, and leaping to the ground covered the prince +with his shield, supplied him with the sword of one of the fallen +ruffians, and would have him mount his own horse. At that moment +Charlot, inflamed with rage, pushed his horse upon Ogier, knocked +him down, and would have run him through with his lance if Sadon, +who saw the treason, had not sprung upon him and thrust him back. +Carahue leapt lightly upon the horse which Ogier presented him, +and had time only to exclaim, "Brave Ogier, I am no longer your +enemy, I pledge to you an eternal friendship," when numerous +Saracen knights were seen approaching, having discovered the +treachery, and Charlot with his followers took refuge in the wood. + +The troop which advanced was commanded by Dannemont, the exiled +king of Denmark, whom Geoffroy, Ogier's father, had driven from +his throne and compelled to take refuge with the Saracens. +Learning who Ogier was, he instantly declared him his prisoner, in +spite of the urgent remonstrances and even threats of Carahue and +Sadon, and carried him under a strong guard to the Saracen camp. +Here he was at first subjected to the most rigorous captivity, but +Carahue and Sadon insisted so vehemently on his release, +threatening to turn their arms against their own party if it was +not granted, while Dannemont as eagerly opposed the measure, that +Corsuble, the Saracen commander, consented to a middle course, and +allowed Ogier the freedom of his camp, upon his promise not to +leave it without permission. + +Carahue was not satisfied with this partial concession. He left +the city next morning, proceeded to the camp of Charlemagne, and +demanded to be led to the Emperor. When he reached his presence he +dismounted from his horse, took off his helmet, drew his sword, +and holding it by the blade presented it to Charlemagne as he +knelt before him. + +"Illustrious prince," he said, "behold before you the herald who +brought the challenge to your knights from the King of Mauritania. +The cowardly old King Dannemont has made the brave Ogier prisoner, +and has prevailed on our general to refuse to give him up. I come +to make amends for this ungenerous conduct by yielding myself, +Carahue, King of Mauritania, your prisoner." + +Charlemagne, with all his peers, admired the magnanimity of +Carahue; he raised him, embraced him, and restored to him his +sword. "Prince," said he, "your presence and the bright example +you afford my knights consoles me for the loss of Ogier. Would to +God you might receive our holy faith, and be wholly united with +us." All the lords of the court, led by Duke Namo, paid their +respects to the King of Mauritania. Charlot only failed to appear, +fearing to be recognized as a traitor; but the heart of Carahue +was too noble to pierce that of Charlemagne by telling him the +treachery of his son. + +Meanwhile the Saracen army was rent by discord. The troops of +Carahue clamored against the commander-in-chief because their king +was left in captivity. They even threatened to desert the cause +and turn their arms against their allies. Charlemagne pressed the +siege vigorously, till at length the Saracen leaders found +themselves compelled to abandon the city and betake themselves to +their ships. A truce was made; Ogier was exchanged for Carahue, +and the two friends embraced one another with vows of perpetual +brotherhood. The Pope was reestablished in his dominions, and +Italy being tranquil, Charlemagne returned with his peers and +their followers to France. + +OGIER, THE DANE (Continued) + +CHARLEMAGNE had not forgotten the offence of Geoffroy, the King of +Denmark, in withholding homage, and now prepared to enforce +submission. But at this crisis he was waited upon by an embassy +from Geoffroy, acknowledging his fault, and craving assistance +against an army of invaders who had attacked his states with a +force which he was unable to repel. The soul of Charlemagne was +too great to be implacable, and he took this opportunity to test +that of Ogier, who had felt acutely the unkindness of his father, +in leaving him, without regard or notice, fifteen years in +captivity. Charles asked Ogier whether, in spite of his father's +neglect, he was disposed to lead an army to his assistance. He +replied, "A son can never be excused from helping his father by +any cause short of death." Charlemagne placed an army of a +thousand knights under the command of Ogier, and great numbers +more volunteered to march under so distinguished a leader. He flew +to the succor of his father, repelled the invaders, and drove them +in confusion to their vessels. Ogier then hastened to the capital, +but as he drew near the city he heard all the bells sounding a +knell. He soon learned the cause; it was the obsequies of +Geoffroy, the King. Ogier felt keenly the grief of not having been +permitted to embrace his father once more, and to learn his latest +commands; but he found that his father had declared him heir to +his throne. He hastened to the church where the body lay; he knelt +and bathed the lifeless form with his tears. At that moment a +celestial light beamed all around, and a voice of an angel said, +"Ogier, leave thy crown to Guyon, thy brother, and bear no other +title than that of 'The Dane.' Thy destiny is glorious, and other +kingdoms are reserved for thee." Ogier obeyed the divine behest. +He saluted his stepmother respectfully, and embracing his brother, +told him that he was content with his lot in being reckoned among +the paladins of Charlemagne, and resigned all claims to the crown +of Denmark. + +Ogier returned covered with glory to the court of Charlemagne, and +the Emperor, touched with this proof of his attachment, loaded him +with caresses, and treated him almost as an equal. + +We pass in silence the adventures of Ogier for several ensuing +years, in which the fairy-gifts of his infancy showed their force +in making him successful in all enterprises, both of love and war. +He married the charming Belicene, and became the father of young +Baldwin, a youth who seemed to inherit in full measure the +strength and courage of his father and the beauty of his mother. +When the lad was old enough to be separated from his mother, Ogier +took him to court and presented him to Charlemagne, who embraced +him and took him into his service. It seemed to Duke Namo, and all +the elder knights, as if they saw in him Ogier himself, as he was +when a youth; and this resemblance won for the lad their kind +regards. Even Charlot at first seemed to be fond of him, though +after a while the resemblance to Ogier which he noticed had the +effect to excite his hatred. + +Baldwin was attentive to Charlot, and lost no occasion to be +serviceable. The Prince loved to play chess, and Baldwin, who +played well, often made a party with him. + +One day Charlot was nettled at losing two pieces in succession; he +thought he could, by taking a piece from Baldwin, get some amends +for his loss; but Baldwin, seeing him fall into a trap which he +had set for him, could not help a slight laugh, as he said, +"Check-mate." Chariot rose in a fury, seized the rich and heavy +chess-board, and dashed it with all his strength on the head of +Baldwin, who fell, and died where he fell. + +Frightened at his own crime, and fearing the vengeance of the +terrible Ogier, Charlot concealed himself in the interior of the +palace. A young companion of Baldwin hastened and informed Ogier +of the event. He ran to the chamber, and beheld the body of his +child bathed in blood, and it could not be concealed from him that +Charlot gave the blow. Transported with rage, Ogier sought Charlot +through the palace, and Charlot, feeling safe nowhere else, took +refuge in the hall of Charlemagne, where he seated himself at +table with Duke Namo and Salomon, Duke of Brittany. Ogier, with +sword drawn, followed him to the very table of the Emperor. When a +cupbearer attempted to bar his way he struck the cup from his hand +and dashed the contents in the Emperor's face. Charles rose in a +passion, seized a knife, and would have plunged it into his +breast, had not Salomon and another baron thrown themselves +between, while Namo, who had retained his ancient influence over +Ogier, drew him out of the room. Foreseeing the consequence of +this violence, pitying Ogier, and in his heart excusing him, Namo +hurried him away before the guards of the palace could arrest him, +made him mount his horse, and leave Paris. + +Charlemagne called together his peers, and made them take an oath +to do all in their power to arrest Ogier, and bring him to condign +punishment. Ogier on his part sent messages to the Emperor, +offering to give himself up on condition that Charlot should be +punished for his atrocious crime. The Emperor would listen to no +conditions, and went in pursuit of Ogier at the head of a large +body of soldiers. Ogier, on the other hand, was warmly supported +by many knights, who pledged themselves in his defence. The +contest raged long, with no decisive results. Ogier more than once +had the Emperor in his power, but declined to avail himself of his +advantage, and released him without conditions. He even implored +pardon for himself, but demanded at the same time the punishment +of Charlot. But Charlemagne was too blindly fond of his unworthy +son to subject him to punishment for the sake of conciliating one +who had been so deeply injured. + +At length, distressed at the blood which his friends had lost in +his cause, Ogier dismissed his little army, and slipping away from +those who wished to attend him, took his course to rejoin the Duke +Guyon, his brother. On his way, having reached the forest of +Ardennes, weary with long travel, the freshness of a retired +valley tempted him to lie down to take some repose. He unsaddled +Beiffror, relieved himself of his helmet, lay down on the turf, +rested his head on his shield, and slept. + +It so happened that Turpin, who occasionally recalled to mind that +he was Archbishop of Rheins, was at that time in the vicinity, +making a pastoral visit to the churches under his jurisdiction. +But his dignity of peer of France, and his martial spirit, which +caused him to be reckoned among the "preux chevaliers" of his +time, forbade him to travel without as large a retinue of knights +as he had of clergymen. One of these was thirsty, and knowing the +fountain on the borders of which Ogier was reposing, he rode to +it, and was struck by the sight of a knight stretched on the +ground. He hastened back, and let the Archbishop know, who +approached the fountain, and recognized Ogier. + +The first impulse of the good and generous Turpin was to save his +friend, for whom he felt the warmest attachment; but his +archdeacons and knights, who also recognized Ogier, reminded the +Archbishop of the oath which the Emperor had exacted of them all. +Turpin could not be false to his oath; but it was not without a +groan that he permitted his followers to bind the sleeping knight. +The Archbishop's attendants secured the horse and arms of Ogier, +and conducted their prisoner to the Emperor at Soissons. + +The Emperor had become so much embittered by Ogier's obstinate +resistance, added to his original fault, that he was disposed to +order him to instant death. But Turpin, seconded by the good Dukes +Namo and Salomon, prayed so hard for him that Charlemagne +consented to remit a violent death, but sentenced him to close +imprisonment, under the charge of the Archbishop, strictly +limiting his food to one quarter of a loaf of bread per day, with +one piece of meat, and a quarter of a cup of wine. In this way he +hoped to quickly put an end to his life without bringing on +himself the hostility of the King of Denmark, and other powerful +friends of Ogier. He exacted a new oath of Turpin to obey his +order strictly. + +The good Archbishop loved Ogier too well not to cast about for +some means of saving his life, which he foresaw he would soon lose +if subjected to such scanty fare, for Ogier was seven feet tall, +and had an appetite in proportion. Turpin remembered, moreover, +that Ogier was a true son of the Church, always zealous to +propagate the faith and subdue unbelievers; so he felt justified +in practising on this occasion what in later times has been +entitled "mental reservation," without swerving from the letter of +the oath which he had taken. This is the method he hit upon. + +Every morning he had his prisoner supplied with a quarter of a +loaf of bread, made of two bushels of flour, to this he added a +quarter of a sheep or a fat calf, and he had a cup made which held +forty pints of wine, and allowed Ogier a quarter of it daily. + +Ogier's imprisonment lasted long; Charlemagne was astonished to +hear, from time to time, that he still held out; and when he +inquired more particularly of Turpin, the good Archbishop, relying +on his own understanding of the words, did not hesitate to affirm +positively that he allowed his prisoner no more than the permitted +ration. + +We forgot to say that, when Ogier was led prisoner to Soissons, +the Abbot of Saint Faron, observing the fine horse Beiffror, and +not having at the time any other favor to ask of Charlemagne, +begged the Emperor to give him the horse, and had him taken to his +abbey. He was impatient to try his new acquisition, and when he +had arrived in his litter at the foot of the mountain where the +horse had been brought to meet him mounted him and rode onward. +The horse, accustomed to bear the enormous weight of Ogier in his +armor, when he perceived nothing on his back but the light weight +of the Abbot, whose long robes fluttered against his sides, ran +away, making prodigious leaps over the steep acclivities of the +mountain till he reached the convent of Jouaire, where, in sight +of the Abbess and her nuns, he threw the Abbot, already half dead +with fright, to the ground. The Abbot, bruised and mortified, +revenged himself on poor Beiffror, whom he condemned, in his +wrath, to be given to the workmen to drag stones for a chapel that +he was building near the abbey. Thus, ill-fed, hard-worked, and +often beaten, the noble horse Beiffror passed the time while his +master's imprisonment lasted. + +That imprisonment would have been as long as his life if it had +not been for some important events which forced the Emperor to set +Ogier at liberty. + +The Emperor learned at the same time that Carahue, King of +Mauritania, was assembling an army to come and demand the +liberation of Ogier; that Guyon, King of Denmark, was prepared to +second the enterprise with all his forces; and, worse than all, +that the Saracens, under Bruhier, Sultan of Arabia, had landed in +Gascony, taken Bordeaux, and were marching with all speed for +Paris. + +Charlemagne now felt how necessary the aid of Ogier was to him. +But, in spite of the representations of Turpin, Namo, and Salomon, +he could not bring himself to consent to surrender Charlot to such +punishment as Ogier should see fit to impose. Besides, he believed +that Ogier was without strength and vigor, weakened by +imprisonment and long abstinence. + +At this crisis he received a message from Bruhier, proposing to +put the issue upon the result of a combat between himself and the +Emperor or his champion; promising, if defeated, to withdraw his +army. Charlemagne would willingly have accepted the challenge, but +his counsellors all opposed it. The herald was therefore told that +the Emperor would take time to consider his proposition, and give +his answer the next day. + +It was during this interval that the three Dukes succeeded in +prevailing upon Charlemagne to pardon Ogier, and to send for him +to combat the puissant enemy who now defied him; but it was no +easy task to persuade Ogier. The idea of his long imprisonment and +the recollection of his son, bleeding and dying in his arms by the +blow of the ferocious Charlot, made him long resist the urgency of +his friends. Though glory called him to encounter Bruhier, and the +safety of Christendom demanded the destruction of this proud enemy +of the faith, Ogier only yielded at last on condition that Charlot +should be delivered into his hands to be dealt with as he should +see fit. + +The terms were hard, but the danger was pressing, and Charlemagne, +with a returning sense of justice, and a strong confidence in the +generous though passionate soul of Ogier, at last consented to +them. + +Ogier was led into the presence of Charlemagne by the three peers. +The Emperor, faithful to his word, had caused Charlot to be +brought into the hall where the high barons were assembled, his +hands tied, and his head uncovered. When the Emperor saw Ogier +approach he took Charlot by the arm, led him towards Ogier, and +said these words: "I surrender the criminal; do with him as you +think fit." Ogier, without replying, seized Charlot by the hair, +forced him on his knees, and lifted with the other hand his +irresistible sword. Charlemagne, who expected to see the head of +his son rolling at his feet, shut his eyes and uttered a cry of +horror. + +Ogier had done enough. The next moment he raised Charlot, cut his +bonds, kissed him on the mouth, and hastened to throw himself at +the feet of the Emperor. + +Nothing can exceed the surprise and joy of Charlemagne at seeing +his son unharmed and Ogier kneeling at his feet. He folded him in +his arms, bathed him with tears, and exclaimed to his barons, "I +feel at this moment that Ogier is greater than I." As for Charlot, +his base soul felt nothing but the joy of having escaped death; he +remained such as he had been, and it was not till some years +afterwards he received the punishment he deserved, from the hands +of Huon of Bordeaux, as we have seen in a former chapter. + +OGIER, THE DANE (Continued) + +WHEN Charlemagne had somewhat recovered his composure he was +surprised to observe that Ogier appeared in good case, and had a +healthy color in his cheeks. He turned to the Archbishop, who +could not help blushing as he met his eye. "By the head of Bertha, +my queen," said Charlemagne, "Ogier has had good quarters in your +castle, my Lord Archbishop; but so much the more am I indebted to +you." All the barons laughed and jested with Turpin, who only +said, "Laugh as much as you please, my lords; but for my part I am +not sorry to see the arm in full vigor that is to avenge us on the +proud Saracen." + +Charlemagne immediately despatched his herald, accepting the +challenge, and appointing the next day but one for the encounter. +The proud and crafty Bruhier laughed scornfully when he heard the +reply accepting his challenge, for he had a reliance on certain +resources besides his natural strength and skill. However, he +swore by Mahomet to observe the conditions as proposed and agreed +upon. + +Ogier now demanded his armor, and it was brought to him in +excellent condition, for the good Turpin had kept it faithfully; +but it was not easy to provide a horse for the occasion. +Charlemagne had the best horses of his stables brought out, except +Blanchard, his own charger; but all in vain, the weight of Ogier +bent their backs to the ground. In this embarrassment the +Archbishop remembered that the Emperor had given Beiffror to the +Abbot of St. Faron, and sent off a courier in haste to re-demand +him. + +Monks are hard masters, and the one who directed the laborers at +the abbey had but too faithfully obeyed the orders of the Abbot. +Poor Beiffror was brought back, lean, spiritless, and chafed with +the harness of the vile cart that he had had to draw so long. He +carried his head down, and trod heavily before Charlemagne; but +when he heard the voice of Ogier he raised his head, he neighed, +his eyes flashed, his former ardor showed itself by the force with +which he pawed the ground. Ogier caressed him, and the good steed +seemed to return his caresses; Ogier mounted him, and Beiffror, +proud of carrying his master again, leapt and curvetted with all +his youthful vigor. + +Nothing being now wanted, Charlemagne, at the head of his army, +marched forth from the city of Paris, and occupied the hill of +Montmartre, whence the view extended over the plain of St. Denis, +where the battle was to be fought. + +When the appointed day came the Dukes Namo and Salomon, as seconds +of Ogier, accompanied him to the place marked out for the lists, +and Bruhier, with two distinguished Emirs, presented himself on +the other side. + +Bruhier was in high spirits, and jested with his friends, as he +advanced, upon the appearance of Beiffror. "Is that the horse they +presume to match with Marchevallee, the best steed that ever fed +in the vales of Mount Atlas?" But now the combatants, having met +and saluted each other, ride apart to come together in full +career. Beiffror flew over the plain, and met the adversary more +than half-way. The lances of the two combatants were shivered at +the shock, and Bruhier was astonished to see almost at the same +instant the sword of Ogier gleaming above his head. He parried it +with his buckler, and gave Ogier a blow on his helmet, who +returned it with another, better aimed or better seconded by the +temper of his blade, for it cut away part of Bruhier's helmet, and +with it his ear and part of his cheek. Ogier, seeing the blood, +did not immediately repeat his blow, and Bruhier seized the moment +to gallop off at one side. As he rode he took a vase of gold which +hung at his saddle-bow, and bathed with its contents the wounded +part. The blood instantly ceased to flow, the ear and the flesh +were restored quite whole, and the Dane was astonished to see his +antagonist return to the ground as sound as ever. + +Bruhier laughed at his amazement. "Know," said he, "that I possess +the precious balm that Joseph of Arimathea used upon the body of +the crucified one, whom you worship. If I should lose an arm I +could restore it with a few drops of this. It is useless for you +to contend with me. Yield yourself, and, as you appear to be a +strong fellow, I will make you first oarsman in one of my +galleys." + +Ogier, though boiling with rage, forgot not to implore the +assistance of Heaven. "O Lord!" he exclaimed, "suffer not the +enemy of thy name to profit by the powerful help of that which +owes all its virtue to thy divine blood." At these words he +attacked Bruhier again with more vigor than ever; both struck +terrible blows, and made grievous wounds; but the blood flowed +from those of Ogier, while Bruhier stanched his by the application +of his balm. Ogier, desperate at the unequal contest, grasped +Cortana with both hands, and struck his enemy such a blow that it +cleft his buckler, and cut off his arm with it; but Bruhier at the +same time launched one at Ogier, which, missing him, struck the +head of Beiffror, and the good horse fell, and drew down his +master in his fall. + +Bruhier had time to leap to the ground, to pick up his arm and +apply his balsam; then, before Ogier had recovered his footing, he +rushed forward with sword uplifted to complete his destruction. + +Charlemagne, from the height of Montmartre, seeing the brave Ogier +in this situation, groaned, and was ready to murmur against +Providence; but the good Turpin, raising his arms, with a faith +like that of Moses, drew down upon the Christian warrior the favor +of Heaven. + +Ogier, promptly disengaging himself, pressed Bruhier with so much +impetuosity that he drove him to a distance from his horse, to +whose saddle-bow the precious balm was suspended; and very soon +Charlemagne saw Ogier, now completely in the advantage, bring his +enemy to his knees, tear off his helmet, and, with a sweep of his +sword, strike his head from his body. + +After the victory, Ogier seized Marchevallee, leaped upon his +back, and became possessed of the precious flask, a few drops from +which closed his wounds and restored his strength. The French +knights who had been Bruhier's captives, now released, pressed +round Ogier to thank him for their deliverance. + +Charlemagne and his nobles, as soon as their attention was +relieved from the single combat, perceived from their elevated +position an unusual agitation in the enemy's camp. They attributed +it at first to the death of their general, but soon the noise of +arms, the cries of combatants, and new standards which advanced, +disclosed to them the fact that Bruhier's army was attacked by a +new enemy. + +The Emperor was right; it was the brave Carahue of Mauritania, +who, with an army, had arrived in France, resolved to attempt the +liberation of Ogier, his brother in arms. Learning on his arrival +the changed aspect of affairs, he hesitated not to render a signal +service to the Emperor, by attacking the army of Bruhier in the +midst of the consternation occasioned by the loss of its +commander. + +Ogier recognized the standard of his friend, and leaping upon +Marchevallee, flew to aid his attack. Charlemagne followed with +his army; and the Saracen host, after an obstinate conflict, was +forced to surrender unconditionally. + +The interview of Ogier and Carahue was such as might be +anticipated of two such attached friends and accomplished knights. +Charlemagne went to meet them, embraced them, and putting the King +of Mauritania on his right and Ogier on his left, returned with +triumph to Paris. There the Empress Bertha and the ladies of her +court crowned them with laurels, and the sage and gallant +Eginhard, chamberlain and secretary of the Emperor, wrote all +these great events in his history. + +A few days after Guyon, King of Denmark, arrived in France with a +chosen band of knights, and sent an ambassador to Charlemagne, to +say that he came, not as an enemy, but to render homage to him as +the best knight of the time and the head of the Christian world. +Charlemagne gave the ambassador a cordial reception, and mounting +his horse, rode forward to meet the King of Denmark. + +These great princes, being assembled at the court of Charles, held +council together, and the ancient and sage barons were called to +join it. + +It was decided that the united Danish and Mauritanian armies +should cross the sea and carry the war to the country of the +Saracens, and that a thousand French knights should range +themselves under the banner of Ogier, the Dane, who, though not a +king, should have equal rank with the two others. + +We have not space to record all the illustrious actions performed +by Ogier and his allies in this war. Suffice it to say, they +subdued the Saracens of Ptolemais and Judaea, and, erecting those +regions into a kingdom, placed the crown upon the head of Ogier. +Guyon and Carahue then left him, to return to their respective +dominions. Ogier adopted Walter, the son of Guyon of Denmark, to +be his successor in his kingdom. He superintended his education, +and saw the young prince grow up worthy of his cares. But Ogier, +in spite of all the honors of his rank, often regretted the court +of Charlemagne, the Duke Namo, and Salomon of Brittany, for whom +he had the respect and attachment of a son. At last, finding +Walter old enough to sustain the weight of government, Ogier +caused a vessel to be prepared secretly, and, attended only by one +squire, left his palace by night, and embarked to return to +France. + +The vessel, driven by a fair wind, cut the sea with the swiftness +of a bird; but on a sudden it deviated from its course, no longer +obeyed the helm, and sped fast towards a black promontory which +stretched into the sea. This was a mountain of loadstone, and, its +attractive power increasing as the distance diminished, the vessel +at last flew with the swiftness of an arrow towards it, and was +dashed to pieces on its rocky base. Ogier alone saved himself, and +reached the shore on a fragment of the wreck. + +Ogier advanced into the country, looking for some marks of +inhabitancy, but found none. On a sudden he encountered two +monstrous animals, covered with glittering scales, accompanied by +a horse breathing fire. Ogier drew his sword and prepared to +defend himself; but the monsters, terrific as they appeared, made +no attempt to assail him, and the horse, Papillon, knelt down, and +appeared to court Ogier to mount upon his back. Ogier hesitated +not to see the adventure through; he mounted Papillon, who ran +with speed, and soon cleared the rocks and precipices which hemmed +in and concealed a beautiful landscape. He continued his course +till he reached a magnificent palace, and, without allowing Ogier +time to admire it, crossed a grand court-yard adorned with +colonnades, and entered a garden, where, making his way through +alleys of myrtle, he checked his course, and knelt down on the +enamelled turf of a fountain. + +Ogier dismounted and took some steps along the margin of the +stream, but was soon stopped by meeting a young beauty, such as +they paint the Graces, and almost as lightly attired as they. At +the same moment, to his amazement, his armor fell off of its own +accord. The young beauty advanced with a tender air, and placed +upon his head a crown of flowers. At that instant the Danish hero +lost his memory; his combats, his glory, Charlemagne and his +court, all vanished from his mind; he saw only Morgana, he desired +nothing but to sigh forever at her feet. + +We abridge the narrative of all the delights which Ogier enjoyed +for more than a hundred years. Time flew by, leaving no impression +of its flight. Morgana's youthful charms did not decay, and Ogier +had none of those warnings of increasing years which less favored +mortals never fail to receive. There is no knowing how long this +blissful state might have lasted, if it had not been for an +accident, by which Morgana one day, in a sportive moment, snatched +the crown from his head. That moment Ogier regained his memory, +and lost his contentment. The recollection of Charlemagne, and of +his own relatives and friends, saddened the hours which he passed +with Morgana. The fairy saw with grief the changed looks of her +lover. At last she drew from him the acknowledgment that he wished +to go, at least for a time, to revisit Charles's court. She +consented with reluctance, and with her own hands helped to +reinvest him with his armor. Papillon was led forth, Ogier mounted +him, and, taking a tender adieu of the tearful Morgana, crossed at +rapid speed the rocky belt which separated Morgana's palace from +the borders of the sea. The sea-goblins which had received him at +his coming awaited him on the shore. One of them took Ogier on his +back, and the other placing himself under Papillon, they spread +their broad fins, and in a short time traversed the wide space +that separates the isle of Avalon from France. They landed Ogier +on the coast of Languedoc, and then plunged into the sea and +disappeared. + +Ogier remounted on Papillon, who carried him across the kingdom +almost as fast as he had passed the sea. He arrived under the +walls of Paris, which he would scarcely have recognized if the +high towers of St. Genevieve had not caught his eye. He went +straight to the palace of Charlemagne, which seemed to him to have +been entirely rebuilt. His surprise was extreme, and increased +still more on finding that he understood with difficulty the +language of the guards and attendants in replying to his +questions; and seeing them smile as they tried to explain to one +another the language in which he addressed them. Presently the +attention of some of the barons who were going to court was +attracted to the scene, and Ogier, who recognized the badges of +their rank, addressed them, and inquired if the Dukes Namo and +Salomon were still residing at the Emperor's court. At this +question the barons looked at one another in amazement; and one of +the eldest said to the rest, "How much this knight resembles the +portrait of my grand-uncle, Ogier the Dane." "Ah! my dear nephew, +I am Ogier the Dane," said he; and he remembered that Morgana had +told him that he was little aware of the flight of time during his +abode with her. + +The barons, more astonished than ever, concluded to conduct him to +the monarch who then reigned, the great Hugh Capet. + +The brave Ogier entered the palace without hesitation; but when, +on reaching the royal hall, the barons directed him to make his +obeisance to the King of France, he was astonished to see a man of +short stature and large head, whose air, nevertheless, was noble +and martial, seated upon the throne on which he had so often seen +Charlemagne, the tallest and handsomest sovereign of his time. + +Ogier recounted his adventures with simplicity and affectedness. +Hugh Capet was slow to believe him; but Ogier recalled so many +proofs and circumstances, that at last he was forced to recognize +the aged warrior to be the famous Ogier the Dane. + +The king informed Ogier of the events which had taken place during +his long absence; that the line of Charlemagne was extinct; that a +new dynasty had commenced; that the old enemies of the kingdom, +the Saracens, were still troublesome; and that at that very time +an army of those miscreants was besieging the city of Chartres, to +which he was about to repair in a few days to its relief. Ogier, +always inflamed with the love of glory, offered the service of his +arm, which the illustrious monarch accepted graciously, and +conducted him to the queen. The astonishment of Ogier was +redoubled when he saw the new ornaments and head-dresses of the +ladies; still, the beautiful hair which they built up on their +foreheads, and the feathers interwoven, which waved with so much +grace, gave them a noble air that delighted him. His admiration +increased when, instead of the old Empress Bertha, he saw a young +queen who combined a majestic mien with the graces of her time of +life, and manners candid and charming, suited to attach all +hearts. Ogier saluted the youthful queen with a respect so +profound that many of the courtiers took him for a foreigner, or +at least for some nobleman brought up at a distance from Paris, +who retained the manners of what they called the old court. + +When the queen was informed by her husband that it was the +celebrated Ogier the Dane whom he presented to her, whose +memorable exploits she had often read in the chronicles of +antiquity, her surprise was extreme, which was increased when she +remarked the dignity of his address, the animation and even the +youthfulness of his countenance. This queen had too much +intelligence to believe hastily; proof alone could compel her +assent; and she asked him many questions about the old court of +Charlemagne, and received such instructive and appropriate answers +as removed every doubt. It is to the corrections which Ogier was +at that time enabled to make to the popular narratives of his +exploits that we are indebted for the perfect accuracy and +trustworthiness of all the details of our own history. + +King Hugh Capet, having received that same evening couriers from +the inhabitants of Chartres, informing him that they were hard +pressed by the besiegers, resolved to hasten with Ogier to their +relief. + +Ogier terminated this affair as expeditiously as he had so often +done others. The Saracens having dared to offer battle, he bore +the Oriflamme through the thickest of their ranks; Papillon, +breathing fire from his nostrils, threw them into disorder, and +Cortana, wielded by his invincible arm, soon finished their +overthrow. + +The king, victorious over the Saracens, led back the Danish hero +to Paris, where the deliverer of France received the honors due to +his valor. Ogier continued some time at the court, detained by the +favor of the king and queen; but erelong he had the pain to +witness the death of the king. Then it was that, impressed with +all the perfections which he had discerned in the queen, he could +not withhold the tender homage of the offer of his hand. The queen +would perhaps have accepted it, she had even called a meeting of +her great barons to deliberate on the proposition, when, the day +before the meeting was to be held, at the moment when Ogier was +kneeling at her feet, she perceived a crown of gold which an +invisible hand had placed on his brow, and in an instant a cloud +enveloped Ogier, and he disappeared forever from her sight. It was +Morgana, the fairy, whose jealousy was awakened at what she +beheld, who now resumed her power, and took him away to dwell with +her in the island of Avalon. There, in company with the great King +Arthur of Britain, he still lives, and when his illustrious friend +shall return to resume his ancient reign he will doubtless return +with him, and share his triumph. + + + + + +GLOSSARY + + +Abdalrahman, founder of the independent Ommiad (Saracenic) power +in Spain, conquered at Tours by Charles Martel + +Aberfraw, scene of nuptials of Branwen and Matholch + +Absyrtus, younger brother of Medea + +Abydos, a town on the Hellespont, nearly opposite to Sestos + +Abyla, Mount, or Columna, a mountain in Morocco, near Ceuta, now +called Jebel Musa or Ape's Hill, forming the Northwestern +extremity of the African coast opposite Gibraltar (See Pillars of +Hercules) + +Acestes, son of a Trojan woman who was sent by her father to +Sicily, that she might not be devoured by the monsters which +infested the territory of Troy + +Acetes, Bacchanal captured by Pentheus + +Achates, faithful friend and companion of Aeneas + +Achelous, river-god of the largest river in Greece--his Horn of +Plenty + +Achilles, the hero of the Iliad, son of Peleus and of the Nereid +Thetis, slain by Paris + +Acis, youth loved by Galatea and slain by Polyphemus + +Acontius, a beautiful youth, who fell in love with Cydippe, the +daughter of a noble Athenian. + +Acrisius, son of Abas, king of Argos, grandson of Lynceus, the +great-grandson of Danaus. + +Actaeon, a celebrated huntsman, son of Aristaeus and Autonoe, who, +having seen Diana bathing, was changed by her to a stag and killed +by his own dogs. + +Admeta, daughter of Eurystheus, covets Hippolyta's girdle. + +Admetus, king of Thessaly, saved from death by Alcestis + +Adonis, a youth beloved by Aphrodite (Venus), and Proserpine; +killed by a boar. + +Adrastus, a king of Argos. + +Aeacus, son of Zeus (Jupiter) and Aegina, renowned in all Greece +for his justice and piety. + +Aeaea, Circe's island, visited by Ulysses. + +Aeetes, or Aeeta, son of Helios (the Sun) and Perseis, and father +of Medea and Absyrtus. + +Aegeus, king of Athens. + +Aegina, a rocky island in the middle of the Saronic gulf. + +Aegis, shield or breastplate of Jupiter and Minerva. + +Aegisthus, murderer of Agamemnon, slain by Orestes. + +Aeneas, Trojan hero, son of Anchises and Aphrodite (Venus), and +born on Mount Ida, reputed first settler of Rome, + +Aeneid, poem by Virgil, relating the wanderings of Aeneas from +Troy to Italy, + +Ae'olus, son of Hellen and the nymph Orseis, represented in Homer +as the happy ruler of the Aeolian Islands, to whom Zeus had given +dominion over the winds, + +Aesculapius, god of the medical art, + +Aeson, father of Jason, made young again by Medea, + +Aethiopians, inhabitants of the country south of Egypt, + +Aethra, mother of Theseus by Aegeus, + +Aetna, volcano in Sicily, + +Agamedes, brother of Trophonius, distinguished as an architect, + +Agamemnon, son of Plisthenis and grandson of Atreus, king of +Mycenae, although the chief commander of the Greeks, is not the +hero of the Iliad, and in chivalrous spirit altogether inferior to +Achilles, + +Agave, daughter of Cadmus, wife of Echion, and mother of Pentheus, + +Agenor, father of Europa, Cadmus, Cilix, and Phoenix, + +Aglaia, one of the Graces, + +Agni, Hindu god of fire, + +Agramant, a king in Africa, + +Agrican, fabled king of Tartary, pursuing Angelica, finally killed +by Orlando, + +Agrivain, one of Arthur's knights, + +Ahriman, the Evil Spirit in the dual system of Zoroaster, See +Ormuzd + +Ajax, son of Telamon, king of Salamis, and grandson of Aeacus, +represented in the Iliad as second only to Achilles in bravery, + +Alba, the river where King Arthur fought the Romans, + +Alba Longa, city in Italy founded by son of Aeneas, + +Alberich, dwarf guardian of Rhine gold treasure of the Nibelungs + +Albracca, siege of, + +Alcestis, wife of Admetus, offered hersell as sacrifice to spare +her husband, but rescued by Hercules, + +Alcides (Hercules), + +Alcina, enchantress, + +Alcinous, Phaeacian king, + +Alcippe, daughter of Mars, carried off by Halirrhothrus, + +Alcmena, wife of Jupiter, and mother of Hercules, + +Alcuin, English prelate and scholar, + +Aldrovandus, dwarf guardian of treasure, + +Alecto, one of the Furies, + +Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia, conqueror of Greece, +Egypt, Persia, Babylonia, and India, + +Alfadur, a name for Odin, + +Alfheim, abode of the elves of light, + +Alice, mother of Huon and Girard, sons of Duke Sevinus, + +Alphenor, son of Niobe, + +Alpheus, river god pursuing Arethusa, who escaped by being changed +to a fountain, + +Althaea, mother of Meleager, whom she slew because he had in a +quarrel killed her brothers, thus disgracing "the house of +Thestius," her father, + +Amalthea, nurse of the infant Jupiter in Crete, + +Amata, wife of Latinus, driven mad by Alecto, + +Amaury of Hauteville, false hearted Knight of Charlemagne, + +Amazons, mythical race of warlike women, + +Ambrosia, celestial food used by the gods, + +Ammon, Egyptian god of life identified by Romans with phases of +Jupiter, the father of gods, + +Amphiaraus, a great prophet and hero at Argos, + +Amphion, a musician, son of Jupiter and Antiope (See Dirce), + +Amphitrite, wife of Neptune, + +Amphyrsos, a small river in Thessaly, + +Ampyx, assailant of Perseus, turned to stone by seeing Gorgon's +head, + +Amrita, nectar giving immortality, + +Amun, See Ammon + +Amymone, one of the fifty daughters of Danaus, and mother by +Poseidon (Neptune) of Nauplius, the father of Palamedes, + +Anaxarete, a maiden of Cyprus, who treated her lover Iphis with +such haughtiness that he hanged himself at her door, + +Anbessa, Saracenic governor of Spain (725 AD), + +Anceus, one of the Argonauts, + +Anchises, beloved by Aphrodite (Venus), by whom he became the +father of Aeneas, + +Andraemon, husband of Dryope, saw her changed into a tree, + +Andret, a cowardly knight, spy upon Tristram, + +Andromache, wife of Hector + +Andromeda, daughter of King Cephas, delivered from monster by +Perseus + +Aneurin, Welsh bard + +Angelica, Princess of Cathay + +Anemone, short lived wind flower, created by Venus from the blood +of the slain Adonis + +Angerbode, giant prophetess, mother of Fenris, Hela and the +Midgard Serpent + +Anglesey, a Northern British island, refuge of Druids fleeing from +Romans + +Antaeus, giant wrestler of Libya, killed by Hercules, who, finding +him stronger when thrown to the earth, lifted him into the air and +strangled him + +Antea, wife of jealous Proetus + +Antenor, descendants of, in Italy + +Anteros, deity avenging unrequited love, brother of Eros (Cupid) + +Anthor, a Greek + +Antigone, daughter of Aedipus, Greek ideal of filial and sisterly +fidelity + +Antilochus, son of Nestor + +Antiope, Amazonian queen. See Dirce + +Anubis, Egyptian god, conductor of the dead to judgment + +Apennines + +Aphrodite See Venus, Dione, etc. + +Apis, Egyptian bull god of Memphis + +Apollo, god of music and song + +Apollo Belvedere, famous antique statue in Vatican at Rome + +Apples of the Hesperides, wedding gifts to Juno, guarded by +daughters of Atlas and Hesperis, stolen by Atlas for Hercules, + +Aquilo, or Boreas, the North Wind, + +Aquitaine, ancient province of Southwestern France, + +Arachne, a maiden skilled in weaving, changed to a spider by +Minerva for daring to compete with her, + +Arcadia, a country in the middle of Peloponnesus, surrounded on +all sides by mountains, + +Arcady, star of, the Pole star, + +Arcas, son of Jupiter and Callisto, + +Archer, constellation of the, + +Areopagus, court of the, at Athens, + +Ares, called Mars by the Romans, the Greek god of war, and one of +the great Olympian gods, + +Arethusa, nymph of Diana, changed to a fountain, + +Argius king of Ireland, father of Isoude the Fair, + +Argo, builder of the vessel of Jason for the Argonautic +expedition, + +Argolis, city of the Nemean games, + +Argonauts, Jason's crew seeking the Golden Fleece, + +Argos, a kingdom in Greece, + +Argus, of the hundred eyes, guardian of Io, + +Ariadne, daughter of King Minos, who helped Theseus slay the +Minotaur, + +Arimanes SEE Ahriman. + +Arimaspians, one-eyed people of Syria, + +Arion, famous musician, whom sailors cast into the sea to rob him, +but whose lyric song charmed the dolphins, one of which bore him +safely to land, + +Aristaeus, the bee keeper, in love with Eurydice, + +Armorica, another name for Britain, + +Arridano, a magical ruffian, slain by Orlando, + +Artemis SEE Diana + +Arthgallo, brother of Elidure, British king, + +Arthur, king in Britain about the 6th century, + +Aruns, an Etruscan who killed Camilla, + +Asgard, home of the Northern gods, + +Ashtaroth, a cruel spirit, called by enchantment to bring Rinaldo +to death, + +Aske, the first man, made from an ash tree, + +Astolpho of England, one of Charlemagne's knights, + +Astraea, goddess of justice, daughter of Astraeus and Eos, + +Astyages, an assailant of Perseus, + +Astyanax, son of Hector of Troy, established kingdom of Messina in +Italy, + +Asuias, opponents of the Braminical gods, + +Atalanta, beautiful daughter of King of Icaria, loved and won in a +foot race by Hippomenes, + +Ate, the goddess of infatuation, mischief and guilt, + +Athamas, son of Aeolus and Enarete, and king of Orchomenus, in +Boeotia, SEE Ino + +Athene, tutelary goddess of Athens, the same as Minerva, + +Athens, the capital of Attica, about four miles from the sea, +between the small rivers Cephissus and Ilissus, + +Athor, Egyptian deity, progenitor of Isis and Osiris, + +Athos, the mountainous peninsula, also called Acte, which projects +from Chalcidice in Macedonia, + +Atlantes, foster father of Rogero, a powerful magician, + +Atlantis, according to an ancient tradition, a great island west +of the Pillars of Hercules, in the ocean, opposite Mount Atlas, + +Atlas, a Titan, who bore the heavens on his shoulders, as +punishment for opposing the gods, one of the sons of Iapetus, + +Atlas, Mount, general name for range in northern Africa, + +Atropos, one of the Fates + +Attica, a state in ancient Greece, + +Audhumbla, the cow from which the giant Ymir was nursed. Her milk +was frost melted into raindrops, + +Augean stables, cleansed by Hercules, + +Augeas, king of Elis, + +Augustan age, reign of Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar, famed for +many great authors, + +Augustus, the first imperial Caesar, who ruled the Roman Empire 31 +BC--14 AD, + +Aulis, port in Boeotia, meeting place of Greek expedition against +Troy, + +Aurora, identical with Eos, goddess of the dawn, + +Aurora Borealis, splendid nocturnal luminosity in northern sky, +called Northern Lights, probably electrical, + +Autumn, attendant of Phoebus, the Sun, + +Avalon, land of the Blessed, an earthly paradise in the Western +Seas, burial place of King Arthur, + +Avatar, name for any of the earthly incarnations of Vishnu, the +Preserver (Hindu god), + +Aventine, Mount, one of the Seven Hills of Rome, + +Avernus, a miasmatic lake close to the promontory between Cumae +and Puteoli, filling the crater of an extinct volcano, by the +ancients thought to be the entrance to the infernal regions, + +Avicenna, celebrated Arabian physician and philosopher, + +Aya, mother of Rinaldo, + +Aymon, Duke, father of Rinaldo and Bradamante, + +B + +Baal, king of Tyre, + +Babylonian River, dried up when Phaeton drove the sun chariot, + +Bacchanali a, a feast to Bacchus that was permitted to occur but +once in three years, attended by most shameless orgies, + +Bacchanals, devotees and festal dancers of Bacchus, + +Bacchus (Dionysus), god of wine and revelry, + +Badon, battle of, Arthur's final victory over the Saxons, + +Bagdemagus, King, a knight of Arthur's time, + +Baldur, son of Odin, and representing in Norse mythology the sun +god, + +Balisardo, Orlando's sword, + +Ban, King of Brittany, ally of Arthur, father of Launcelot, + +Bards, minstrels of Welsh Druids, + +Basilisk SEE Cockatrice + +Baucis, wife of Philemon, visited by Jupiter and Mercury, + +Bayard, wild horse subdued by Rinaldo, + +Beal, Druids' god of life, + +Bedivere, Arthur's knight, + +Bedver, King Arthur's butler, made governor of Normandy, + +Bedwyr, knightly comrade of Geraint, + +Belisarda, Rogero's sword, + +Bellerophon, demigod, conqueror of the Chimaera, + +Bellona, the Roman goddess of war, represented as the sister or +wife of Mars, + +Beltane, Druidical fire festival, + +Belus, son of Poseidon (Neptune) and Libya or Eurynome, twin +brother of Agenor, + +Bendigeid Vran, King of Britain, + +Beowulf, hero and king of the Swedish Geats, + +Beroe, nurse of Semele, + +Bertha, mother of Orlando, + +Bifrost, rainbow bridge between the earth and Asgard + +Bladud, inventor, builder of the city of Bath, + +Blamor, a knight of Arthur, + +Bleoberis, a knight of Arthur, + +Boeotia, state in ancient Greece, capital city Thebes, + +Bohort, King, a knight of Arthur, + +Bona Dea, a Roman divinity of fertility, + +Bootes, also called Areas, son of Jupiter and Calisto, changed to +constellation of Ursa Major, + +Boreas, North wind, son of Aeolus and Aurora, + +Bosporus (Bosphorus), the Cow-ford, named for Io, when as a heifer +she crossed that strait, + +Bradamante, sister to Rinaldo, a female warrior, + +Brademagus, King, father of Sir Maleagans, + +Bragi, Norse god of poetry, + +Brahma, the Creator, chief god of Hindu religion, + +Branwen, daughter of Llyr, King of Britain, wife of Mathclch, + +Breciliande, forest of, where Vivian enticed Merlin, + +Brengwain, maid of Isoude the Fair + +Brennus, son of Molmutius, went to Gaul, became King of the +Allobroges, + +Breuse, the Pitiless, a caitiff knight, + +Briareus, hundred armed giant, + +Brice, Bishop, sustainer of Arthur when elected king, + +Brigliadoro, Orlando's horse, + +Briseis, captive maid belonging to Achilles, + +Britto, reputed ancestor of British people, + +Bruhier, Sultan of Arabia, + +Brunello, dwarf, thief, and king + +Brunhild, leader of the Valkyrie, + +Brutus, great grandson of Aeneas, and founder of city of New Troy +(London), SEE Pandrasus + +Bryan, Sir, a knight of Arthur, + +Buddha, called The Enlightened, reformer of Brahmanism, deified +teacher of self abnegation, virtue, reincarnation, Karma +(inevitable sequence of every act), and Nirvana (beatific +absorption into the Divine), lived about + +Byblos, in Egypt, + +Byrsa, original site of Carthage, + +C + +Cacus, gigantic son of Vulcan, slain by Hercules, whose captured +cattle he stole, + +Cadmus, son of Agenor, king of Phoenicia, and of Telephassa, and +brother of Europa, who, seeking his sister, carried off by +Jupiter, had strange adventures--sowing in the ground teeth of a +dragon he had killed, which sprang up armed men who slew each +other, all but five, who helped Cadmus to found the city of +Thebes, + +Caduceus, Mercury's staff, + +Cadwallo, King of Venedotia (North Wales), + +Caerleon, traditional seat of Arthur's court, + +Caesar, Julius, Roman lawyer, general, statesman and author, +conquered and consolidated Roman territory, making possible the +Empire, + +Caicus, a Greek river, + +Cairns, Druidical store piles, + +Calais, French town facing England, + +Calchas, wisest soothsayer among the Greeks at Troy, + +Caliburn, a sword of Arthur, + +Calliope, one of the nine Muses + +Callisto, an Arcadian nymph, mother of Arcas (SEE Bootes), changed +by Jupiter to constellation Ursa Minor, + +Calpe, a mountain in the south of Spain, on the strait between the +Atlantic and Mediterranean, now Rock of Gibraltar, + +Calydon, home of Meleager, + +Calypso, queen of Island of Ogyia, where Ulysses was wrecked and +held seven years, + +Camber, son of Brutus, governor of West Albion (Wales), + +Camelot, legendary place in England where Arthur's court and +palace were located, + +Camenae, prophetic nymphs, belonging to the religion of ancient +Italy, + +Camilla, Volscian maiden, huntress and Amazonian warrior, favorite +of Diana, + +Camlan, battle of, where Arthur was mortally wounded, + +Canterbury, English city, + +Capaneus, husband of Evadne, slain by Jupiter for disobedience, + +Capet, Hugh, King of France (987-996 AD), + +Caradoc Briefbras, Sir, great nephew of King Arthur, + +Carahue, King of Mauretania, + +Carthage, African city, home of Dido + +Cassandra, daughter of Priam and Hecuba, and twin sister of +Helenus, a prophetess, who foretold the coming of the Greeks but +was not believed, + +Cassibellaunus, British chieftain, fought but not conquered by +Caesar, + +Cassiopeia, mother of Andromeda, + +Castalia, fountain of Parnassus, giving inspiration to Oracular +priestess named Pythia, + +Castalian Cave, oracle of Apollo, + +Castes (India), + +Castor and Pollux--the Dioscuri, sons of Jupiter and Leda,-- +Castor a horseman, Pollux a boxer (SEE Gemini), + +Caucasus, Mount + +Cavall, Arthur's favorite dog, + +Cayster, ancient river, + +Cebriones, Hector's charioteer, + +Cecrops, first king of Athens, + +Celestials, gods of classic mythology, + +Celeus, shepherd who sheltered Ceres, seeking Proserpine, and +whose infant son Triptolemus was in gratitude made great by Ceres, + +Cellini, Benvenuto, famous Italian sculptor and artificer in +metals, + +Celtic nations, ancient Gauls and Britons, modern Bretons, Welsh, +Irish and Gaelic Scotch, + +Centaurs, originally an ancient race, inhabiting Mount Pelion in +Thessaly, in later accounts represented as half horses and half +men, and said to have been the offspring of Ixion and a cloud, + +Cephalus, husband of beautiful but jealous Procris, + +Cephe us, King of Ethiopians, father of Andromeda, + +Cephisus, a Grecian stream, + +Cerberus, three-headed dog that guarded the entrance to Hades, +called a son of Typhaon and Echidna + +CERES (See Demeter) + +CESTUS, the girdle of Venus + +CEYX, King of Thessaly (See Halcyone) + +CHAOS, original Confusion, personified by Greeks as most ancient +of the gods + +CHARLEMAGNE, king of the Franks and emperor of the Romans + +CHARLES MARTEL', king of the Franks, grandfather of Charlemagne, +called Martel (the Hammer) from his defeat of the Saracens at +Tours + +CHARLOT, son of Charlemagne + +CHARON, son of Erebos, conveyed in his boat the shades of the dead +across the rivers of the lower world + +CHARYB'DIS, whirlpool near the coast of Sicily, See Scylla + +CHIMAERA, a fire breathing monster, the fore part of whose body +was that of a lion, the hind part that of a dragon, and the middle +that of a goat, slain by Bellerophon + +CHINA, Lamas (priests) of + +CHOS, island in the Grecian archipelago + +CHIRON, wisest of all the Centaurs, son of Cronos (Saturn) and +Philyra, lived on Mount Pelion, instructor of Grecian heroes + +CHRYSEIS, Trojan maid, taken by Agamemnon + +CHRYSES, priest of Apollo, father of Chryseis + +CICONIANS, inhabitants of Ismarus, visited by Ulysses + +CIMBRI, an ancient people of Central Europe + +Cimmeria, a land of darkness + +Cimon, Athenian general + +Circe, sorceress, sister of Aeetes + +Cithaeron, Mount, scene of Bacchic worship + +Clarimunda, wife of Huon + +Clio, one of the Muses + +Cloridan, a Moor + +Clotho, one of the Fates + +Clymene, an ocean nymph + +Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon, killed by Orestes + +Clytie, a water nymph, in love with Apollo + +Cnidos, ancient city of Asia Minor, seat of worship of Aphrodite +(Venus) + +Cockatrice (or Basilisk), called King of Serpents, supposed to +kill with its look + +Cocytus, a river of Hades + +Colchis, a kingdom east of the Black Sea + +Colophon, one of the seven cities claiming the birth of Homer + +Columba, St, an Irish Christian missionary to Druidical parts of +Scotland + +Conan, Welsh king + +Constantine, Greek emperor + +Cordeilla, daughter of the mythical King Leir + +Corineus, a Trojan warrior in Albion + +Cornwall, southwest part of Britain + +Cortana, Ogier's sword + +Corybantes, priests of Cybele, or Rhea, in Phrygia, who +celebrated her worship with dances, to the sound of the drum and +the cymbal, 143 + +Crab, constellation + +Cranes and their enemies, the Pygmies, of Ibycus + +Creon, king of Thebes + +Crete, one of the largest islands of the Mediterranean Sea, lying +south of the Cyclades + +Creusa, daughter of Priam, wife of Aeneas + +Crocale, a nymph of Diana + +Cromlech, Druidical altar + +Cronos, See Saturn + +Crotona, city of Italy + +Cuchulain, Irish hero, called the "Hound of Ireland," + +Culdees', followers of St. Columba, Cumaean Sibyl, seeress +of Cumae, consulted by Aeneas, sold Sibylline books to Tarquin + +Cupid, child of Venus and god of love + +Curoi of Kerry, wise man + +Cyane, river, opposed Pluto's passage to Hades + +Cybele (Rhea) + +Cyclopes, creatures with circular eyes, of whom Homer speaks as a +gigantic and lawless race of shepherds in Sicily, who devoured +human beings, they helped Vulcan to forge the thunderbolts of Zeus +under Aetna + +Cymbeline, king of ancient Britain + +Cynosure (Dog's tail), the Pole star, at tail of Constellation +Ursa Minor + +Cynthian mountain top, birthplace of Artemis (Diana) and Apollo + +Cyprus, island off the coast of Syria, sacred to Aphrodite + +Cyrene, a nymph, mother of Aristaeus + +Daedalus, architect of the Cretan Labyrinth, inventor of sails + +Daguenet, King Arthur's fool + +Dalai Lama, chief pontiff of Thibet + +Danae, mother of Perseus by Jupiter + +Danaides, the fifty daughters of Danaus, king of Argos, who were +betrothed to the fifty sons of Aegyptus, but were commanded by +their father to slay each her own husband on the marriage night + +Danaus (See Danaides) + +Daphne, maiden loved by Apollo, and changed into a laurel tree + +Dardanelles, ancient Hellespont + +Dardanus, progenitor of the Trojan kings + +Dardinel, prince of Zumara + +Dawn, See Aurora + +Day, an attendant on Phoebus, the Sun + +Day star (Hesperus) + +Death, See Hela + +Deiphobus, son of Priam and Hecuba, the bravest brother of Paris + +Dejanira, wife of Hercules + +Delos, floating island, birthplace of Apollo and Diana + +Delphi, shrine of Apollo, famed for its oracles + +Demeter, Greek goddess of marriage and human fertility, identified +by Romans with Ceres + +Demeha, South Wales + +Demodocus, bard of Alomous, king of the Phaeaeians + +Deucalion, king of Thessaly, who with his wife Pyrrha were the +only pair surviving a deluge sent by Zeus + +Dia, island of + +Diana (Artemis), goddess of the moon and of the chase, daughter of +Jupiter and Latona + +Diana of the Hind, antique sculpture in the Louvre, Paris + +Diana, temple of + +Dictys, a sailor + +Didier, king of the Lombards + +Dido, queen of Tyre and Carthage, entertained the shipwrecked +Aeneas + +Diomede, Greek hero during Trojan War + +Dione, female Titan, mother of Zeus, of Aphrodite (Venus) + +Dionysus See Bacchus + +Dioscuri, the Twins (See Castor and Pollux) + +Dirce, wife of Lycus, king of Thebes, who ordered Amphion and +Zethus to tie Antiope to a wild bull, but they, learning Antiope +to be their mother, so treated Dirce herself + +Dis See Pluto + +Discord, apple of, See Eris. + +Discordia, See Eris. + +Dodona, site of an oracle of Zeus (Jupiter) + +Dorceus, a dog of Diana + +Doris, wife of Nereus + +Dragon's teeth sown by Cadmus + +Druids, ancient Celtic priests + +Dryades (or Dryads), See Wood nymphs + +Dryope, changed to a lotus plant, for plucking a lotus--enchanted +form of the nymph Lotis + +Dubricius, bishop of Caerleon, + +Dudon, a knight, comrade of Astolpho, + +Dunwallo Molmu'tius, British king and lawgiver + +Durindana, sword of Orlando or Rinaldo + +Dwarfs in Wagner's Nibelungen Ring + +E + +Earth (Gaea); goddess of the + +Ebudians, the + +Echo, nymph of Diana, shunned by Narcissus, faded to nothing but a +voice + +Ecklenlied, the + +Eddas, Norse mythological records, + +Ederyn, son of Nudd + +Egena, nymph of the Fountain + +Eisteddfod, session of Welsh bards and minstrels + +Electra, the lost one of the Pleiades, also, sister of Orestes + +Eleusian Mysteries, instituted by Ceres, and calculated to awaken +feelings of piety and a cheerful hope of better life in the future + +Eleusis, Grecian city + +Elgin Marbles, Greek sculptures from the Parthenon of Athens, now +in British Museum, London, placed there by Lord Elgin + +Eliaures, enchanter + +Elidure, a king of Britain + +Elis, ancient Greek city + +Elli, old age; the one successful wrestler against Thor + +Elphin, son of Gwyddiro + +Elves, spiritual beings, of many powers and dispositions--some +evil, some good + +Elvidnir, the ball of Hela + +Elysian Fields, the land of the blest + +Elysian Plain, whither the favored of the gods were taken without +death + +Elysium, a happy land, where there is neither snow, nor cold, nor +ram. Hither favored heroes, like Menelaus, pass without dying, and +live happy under the rule of Rhadamanthus. In the Latin poets +Elysium is part of the lower world, and the residence of the +shades of the blessed + +Embla, the first woman + +Enseladus, giant defeated by Jupiter + +Endymion, a beautiful youth beloved by Diana + +Enid, wife of Geraint + +Enna, vale of home of Proserpine + +Enoch, the patriarch + +Epidaurus, a town in Argolis, on the Saronic gulf, chief seat of +the worship of Aeculapius, whose temple was situated near the town + +Epimetheus, son of Iapetus, husband of Pandora, with his brother +Prometheus took part in creation of man + +Epirus, country to the west of Thessaly, lying along the Adriatic +Sea + +Epopeus, a sailor + +Erato, one of the Muses + +Erbin of Cornwall, father of Geraint + +Erebus, son of Chaos, region of darkness, entrance to Hades + +Eridanus, river + +Erinys, one of the Furies + +Eriphyle, sister of Polynices, bribed to decide on war, in which +her husband was slain + +Eris (Discordia), goddess of discord. At the wedding of Peleus and +Thetis, Eris being uninvited threw into the gathering an apple +"For the Fairest," which was claimed by Hera (Juno), Aphrodite +(Venus) and Athena (Minerva) Paris, being called upon for +judgment, awarded it to Aphrodite + +Erisichthon, an unbeliever, punished by famine + +Eros See Cupid + +Erytheia, island + +Eryx, a mount, haunt of Venus + +Esepus, river in Paphlagonia + +Estrildis, wife of Locrine, supplanting divorced Guendolen + +Eteocles, son of Oeipus and Jocasta + +Etruscans, ancient people of Italy, + +Etzel, king of the Huns + +Euboic Sea, where Hercules threw Lichas, who brought him the +poisoned shirt of Nessus + +Eude, king of Aquitaine, ally of Charles Martel + +Eumaeus, swineherd of Aeeas + +Eumenides, also called Erinnyes, and by the Romans Furiae or +Diraae, the Avenging Deities, See Furies + +Euphorbus, a Trojan, killed by Menelaus + +Euphros'yne, one of the Graces + +Europa, daughter of the Phoenician king Agenor, by Zeus the mother +of Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon + +Eurus, the East wind + +Euyalus, a gallant Trojan soldier, who with Nisus entered the +Grecian camp, both being slain, + +Eurydice, wife of Orpheus, who, fleeing from an admirer, was +killed by a snake and borne to Tartarus, where Orpheus sought her +and was permitted to bring her to earth if he would not look back +at her following him, but he did, and she returned to the Shades, + +Eurylochus, a companion of Ulysses, + +Eurynome, female Titan, wife of Ophlon + +Eurystheus, taskmaster of Hercules, + +Eurytion, a Centaur (See Hippodamia), + +Euterpe, Muse who presided over music, + +Evadne, wife of Capaneus, who flung herself upon his funeral pile +and perished with him + +Evander, Arcadian chief, befriending Aeneas in Italy, + +Evnissyen, quarrelsome brother of Branwen, + +Excalibar, sword of King Arthur, + +F + +Fafner, a giant turned dragon, treasure stealer, by the Solar +Theory simply the Darkness who steals the day, + +Falerina, an enchantress, + +Fasolt, a giant, brother of Fafner, and killed by him, + +"Fasti," Ovid's, a mythological poetic calendar, + +FATA MORGANA, a mirage + +FATES, the three, described as daughters of Night--to indicate the +darkness and obscurity of human destiny--or of Zeus and Themis, +that is, "daughters of the just heavens" they were Clo'tho, who +spun the thread of life, Lach'esis, who held the thread and fixed +its length and At'ropos, who cut it off + +FAUNS, cheerful sylvan deities, represented in human form, with +small horns, pointed ears, and sometimes goat's tail + +FAUNUS, son of Picus, grandson of Saturnus, and father of Latinus, +worshipped as the protecting deity of agriculture and of +shepherds, and also as a giver of oracles + +FAVONIUS, the West wind + +FEAR + +FENRIS, a wolf, the son of Loki the Evil Principle of Scandinavia, +supposed to have personated the element of fire, destructive +except when chained + +FENSALIR, Freya's palace, called the Hall of the Sea, where were +brought together lovers, husbands, and wives who had been +separated by death + +FERRAGUS, a giant, opponent of Orlando + +FERRAU, one of Charlemagne's knights + +FERREX. brother of Porrex, the two sons of Leir + +FIRE WORSHIPPERS, of ancient Persia, See Parsees FLOLLO, Roman +tribune in Gaul + +FLORA, Roman goddess of flowers and spring + +FLORDELIS, fair maiden beloved by Florismart + +FLORISMART, Sir, a brave knight, + +FLOSSHILDA, one of the Rhine daughters + +FORTUNATE FIELDS + +FORTUNATE ISLANDS (See Elysian Plain) + +FORUM, market place and open square for public meetings in Rome, +surrounded by court houses, palaces, temples, etc + +FRANCUS, son of Histion, grandson of Japhet, great grandson of +Noah, legendary ancestor of the Franks, or French + +FREKI, one of Odin's two wolves + +FREY, or Freyr, god of the sun + +FREYA, Norse goddess of music, spring, and flowers + +FRICKA, goddess of marriage + +FRIGGA, goddess who presided over smiling nature, sending +sunshine, rain, and harvest + +FROH, one of the Norse gods + +FRONTI'NO, Rogero's horse + +FURIES (Erinnyes), the three retributive spirits who punished +crime, represented as snaky haired old woman, named Alecto, +Megaeira, and Tisiphone + +FUSBERTA, Rinaldo's sword + +G + +GAEA, or Ge, called Tellus by the Romans, the personification of +the earth, described as the first being that sprang fiom Chaos, +and gave birth to Uranus (Heaven) and Pontus (Sea) + +GAHARIET, knight of Arthur's court + +GAHERIS, knight + +GALAFRON, King of Cathay, father of Angelica + +GALAHAD, Sir, the pure knight of Arthur's Round Table, who safely +took the Siege Perilous (which See) + +GALATEA, a Nereid or sea nymph + +GALATEA, statue carved and beloved by Pygmalion + +GALEN, Greek physician and philosophical writer + +GALLEHANT, King of the Marches + +GAMES, national athletic contests in Greece--Olympian, at Olympia, +Pythian, near Delphi, seat of Apollo's oracle, Isthmian, on the +Corinthian Isthmus, Nemean, at Nemea in Argolis + +GAN, treacherous Duke of Maganza + +GANELON of Mayence, one of Charlemagne's knights + +GANGES, river in India + +GANO, a peer of Charlemagne + +GANYMEDE, the most beautiful of all mortals, carried off to +Olympus that he might fill the cup of Zeus and live among the +immortal gods + +GARETH, Arthur's knight + +GAUDISSO, Sultan + +GAUL, ancient France + +GAUTAMA, Prince, the Buddha + +GAWAIN, Arthur's knight + +GAWL, son of Clud, suitor for Rhiannon + +GEMINI (See Castor), constellation created by Jupiter from the +twin brothers after death, 158 + +GENGHIS Khan, Tartar conqueror + +GENIUS, in Roman belief, the protective Spirit of each individual +man, See Juno + +GEOFFREY OF MON'MOUTH, translator into Latin of the Welsh History +of the Kings of Britain (1150) + +GERAINT, a knight of King Arthur + +GERDA, wife of Frey + +GERI, one of Odin's two wolves + +GERYON, a three bodied monster + +GESNES, navigator sent for Isoude the Fair + +GIALLAR HORN, the trumpet that Heimdal will blow at the judgment +day + +GIANTS, beings of monstrous size and of fearful countenances, +represented as in constant opposition to the gods, in Wagner's +Nibelungen Ring + +GIBICHUNG RACE, ancestors of Alberich + +GIBRALTAR, great rock and town at southwest corner of Spain (See +Pillars of Hercules) + +GILDAS, a scholar of Arthur's court + +GIRARD, son of Duke Sevinus + +GLASTONBURY, where Arthur died + +GLAUCUS, a fisherman, loving Scylla + +GLEIPNIR, magical chain on the wolf Fenris + +GLEWLWYD, Arthur's porter + +GOLDEN FLEECE, of ram used for escape of children of Athamas, +named Helle and Phryxus (which See), after sacrifice of ram to +Jupiter, fleece was guarded by sleepless dragon and gained by +Jason and Argonauts (which See, also Helle) + +GONERIL, daughter of Leir + +GORDIAN KNOT, tying up in temple the wagon of Gordius, he who +could untie it being destined to be lord of Asia, it was cut by +Alexander the Great, 48 + +Gordius, a countryman who, arriving in Phrygia in a wagon, was +made king by the people, thus interpreting an oracle, 48 + +Gorgons, three monstrous females, with huge teeth, brazen claws +and snakes for hair, sight of whom turned beholders to stone, +Medusa, the most famous, slain by Perseus + +Gorlois, Duke of Tintadel + +Gouvernail, squire of Isabella, queen of Lionesse, protector of +her son Tristram while young, and his squire in knighthood + +Graal, the Holy, cup from which the Saviour drank at Last Supper, +taken by Joseph of Arimathea to Europe, and lost, its recovery +becoming a sacred quest for Arthur's knights + +Graces, three goddesses who enhanced the enjoyments of life by +refinement and gentleness; they were Aglaia (brilliance), +Euphrosyne (joy), and Thalia (bloom) + +Gradas'so, king of Sericane + +Graeae, three gray haired female watchers for the Gorgons, with +one movable eye and one tooth between the three + +Grand Lama, Buddhist pontiff in Thibet + +Grendel, monster slain by Beowulf + +Gryphon (griffin), a fabulous animal, with the body of a lion and +the head and wings of an eagle, dwelling in the Rhipaean +mountains, between the Hyperboreans and the one eyed Arimaspians, +and guarding the gold of the North, + +Guebers, Persian fire worshippers, + +Guendolen, wife of Locrine, + +Guenevere, wife of King Arthur, beloved by Launcelot, + +Guerin, lord of Vienne, father of Oliver, + +Guiderius, son of Cymbeline, + +Guillamurius, king in Ireland, + +Guimier, betrothed of Caradoc, + +Gullinbursti, the boar drawing Frey's car, + +Gulltopp, Heimdell's horse, + +Gunfasius, King of the Orkneys, + +Ganther, Burgundian king, brother of Kriemhild, + +Gutrune, half sister to Hagen, + +Gwern son of Matholch and Branwen, + +Gwernach the Giant, + +Gwiffert Petit, ally of Geraint, + +Gwyddno, Garanhir, King of Gwaelod, + +Gwyr, judge in the court of Arthur, + +Gyoll, river, + +H + +Hades, originally the god of the nether world--the name later +used to designate the gloomy subterranean land of the dead, + +Haemon, son of Creon of Thebes, and lover of Antigone, + +Haemonian city, + +Haemus, Mount, northern boundary of Thrace, + +Hagan, a principal character in the Nibelungen Lied, slayer of +Siegfried, + +HALCYONE, daughter of Aeneas, and the beloved wife of Ceyx, who, +when he was drowned, flew to his floating body, and the pitying +gods changed them both to birds (kingfishers), who nest at sea +during a certain calm week in winter ("halcyon weather") + +HAMADRYADS, tree-nymphs or wood-nymphs, See Nymphs + +HARMONIA, daughter of Mars and Venus, wife of Cadmus + +HAROUN AL RASCHID, Caliph of Arabia, contemporary of Charlemagne + +HARPIES, monsters, with head and bust of woman, but wings, legs +and tail of birds, seizing souls of the wicked, or punishing +evildoers by greedily snatching or defiling their food + +HARPOCRATES, Egyptian god, Horus + +HEBE, daughter of Juno, cupbearer to the gods + +HEBRUS, ancient name of river Maritzka + +HECATE, a mighty and formidable divinity, supposed to send at +night all kinds of demons and terrible phantoms from the lower +world + +HECTOR, son of Priam and champion of Troy + +HECTOR, one of Arthur's knights + +HECTOR DE MARYS', a knight + +HECUBA, wife of Priam, king of Troy, to whom she bore Hector, +Paris, and many other children + +HEGIRA, flight of Mahomet from Mecca to Medina (622 AD), era from +which Mahometans reckon time, as we do from the birth of Christ + +HEIDRUN, she goat, furnishing mead for slain heroes in Valhalla + +HEIMDALL, watchman of the gods + +HEL, the lower world of Scandinavia, to which were consigned those +who had not died in battle + +HELA (Death), the daughter of Loki and the mistress of the +Scandinavian Hel + +HELEN, daughter of Jupiter and Leda, wife of Menelaus, carried +off by Paris and cause of the Trojan War + +HELENUS, son of Priam and Hecuba, celebrated for his prophetic +powers + +HELIADES, sisters of Phaeton + +HELICON, Mount, in Greece, residence of Apollo and the Muses, +with fountains of poetic inspiration, Aganippe and Hippocrene + +HELIOOPOLIS, city of the Sun, in Egypt + +HELLAS, Gieece + +HELLE, daughter of Thessalian King Athamas, who, escaping from +cruel father with her brother Phryxus, on ram with golden fleece, +fell into the sea strait since named for her (See Golden Fleece) + +HELLESPONt, narrow strait between Europe and Asia Minor, named for +Helle + +HENGIST, Saxon invader of Britain, 449 AD + +HEPHAESTOS, See VULCAN + +HERA, called Juno by the Romans, a daughter of Cronos (Saturn) +and Rhea, and sister and wife of Jupiter, See JUNO + +HERCULES, athletic hero, son of Jupiter and Alcmena, achieved +twelve vast labors and many famous deeds + +HEREWARD THE WAKE, hero of the Saxons + +HERMES (Mercury), messenger of the gods, deity of commerce, +science, eloquence, trickery, theft, and skill generally + +HERMIONE, daughter of Menelaus and Helen + +HERMOD, the nimble, son of Odin + +HERO, a priestess of Venus, beloved of Leander + +HERODOTUS, Greek historian + +HESIOD, Greek poet + +HESPERIA, ancient name for Italy + +HESPERIDES (See Apples of the Hesperides) + +HESPERUS, the evening star (also called Day Star) + +HESTIA, cilled Vesta by the Romans, the goddess of the hearth + +HILDEBRAND, German magician and champion + +HINDU TRIAD, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva + +HIPPOCRENE (See Helicon) + +HIPPODAMIA, wife of Pirithous, at whose wedding the Centaurs +offered violence to the bride, causing a great battle + +HIPPOGRIFF, winged horse, with eagle's head and claws + +HIPPOLYTA, Queen of the Amazons + +Hippolytus, son of Thesus + +HIPPOMENES, who won Atalanta in foot race, beguiling her with +golden apples thrown for her to + +HISTION, son of Japhet + +HODUR, blind man, who, fooled by + +Loki, threw a mistletoe twig at Baldur, killing him + +HOEL, king of Brittany + +HOMER, the blind poet of Greece, about 850 B C + +HOPE (See PANDORA) + +HORAE See HOURS + +HORSA, with Hengist, invader of Britain + +HORUS, Egyptian god of the sun + +HOUDAIN, Tristram's dog + +HRINGHAM, Baldur's ship + +HROTHGAR, king of Denmark + +HUGI, who beat Thialfi in foot races + +HUGIN, one of Odin's two ravens + +HUNDING, husband of Sieglinda + +HUON, son of Duke Sevinus + +HYACINTHUS, a youth beloved by Apollo, and accidentally killed by +him, changed in death to the flower, hyacinth + +HYADES, Nysaean nymphs, nurses of infant Bacchus, rewarded by +being placed as cluster of stars in the heavens + +HYALE, a nymph of Diana + +HYDRA, nine headed monster slain by Hercules + +HYGEIA, goddess of health, daughter of Aesculapius + +HYLAS, a youth detained by nymphs of spring where he sought water + +HYMEN, the god of marriage, imagined as a handsome youth and +invoked in bridal songs + +HYMETTUS, mountain in Attica, near Athens, celebrated for its +marble and its honey + +HYPERBOREANS, people of the far North + +HYPERION, a Titan, son of Uranus and Ge, and father of Helios, +Selene, and Eos, cattle of, + +Hyrcania, Prince of, betrothed to Clarimunda + +Hyrieus, king in Greece, + +I + +Iapetus, a Titan, son of Uranus and Ge, and father of Atlas, +Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius, + +Iasius, father of Atalanta + +Ibycus, a poet, story of, and the cranes + +Icaria, island of the Aegean Sea, one of the Sporades + +Icarius, Spartan prince, father of Penelope + +Icarus, son of Daedalus, he flew too near the sun with artificial +wings, and, the wax melting, he fell into the sea + +Icelos, attendant of Morpheus + +Icolumkill SEE Iona + +Ida, Mount, a Trojan hill + +Idaeus, a Trojan herald + +Idas, son of Aphareus and Arene, and brother of Lynceus Idu'na, +wife of Bragi + +Igerne, wife of Gorlois, and mother, by Uther, of Arthur + +Iliad, epic poem of the Trojan War, by Homer + +Ilioheus, a son of Niobe + +Ilium SEE Troy + +Illyria, Adriatic countries north of Greece + +Imogen, daughter of Pandrasus, wife of Trojan Brutus + +Inachus, son of Oceanus and Tethys, and father of Phoroneus and +Io, also first king of Argos, and said to have given his name to +the river Inachus + +INCUBUS, an evil spirit, supposed to lie upon persons in their +sleep + +INDRA, Hindu god of heaven, thunder, lightning, storm and rain + +INO, wife of Athamas, fleeing from whom with infant son she sprang +into the sea and was changed to Leucothea + +IO, changed to a heifer by Jupiter + +IOBATES, King of Lycia + +IOLAUS, servant of Hercules + +IOLE, sister of Dryope + +IONA, or Icolmkill, a small northern island near Scotland, where +St Columba founded a missionary monastery (563 AD) + +IONIA, coast of Asia Minor + +IPHIGENIA, daughter of Agamemnon, offered as a sacrifice but +carried away by Diana + +IPHIS, died for love of Anaxarete, 78 + +IPHITAS, friend of Hercules, killed by him + +IRIS, goddess of the rainbow, messenger of Juno and Zeus + +IRONSIDE, Arthur's knight + +ISABELLA, daughter of king of Galicia + +ISIS, wife of Osiris, described as the giver of death + +ISLES OF THE BLESSED + +ISMARUS, first stop of Ulysses, returning from Trojan War +ISME'NOS, a son of Niobe, slain by Apollo + +ISOLIER, friend of Rinaldo + +ISOUDE THE FAIR, beloved of Tristram + +ISOUDE OF THE WHITE HANDS, married to Tristram + +ISTHMIAN GAMES, See GAMES + +ITHACA, home of Ulysses and Penelope + +IULUS, son of Aeneas + +IVO, Saracen king, befriending Rinaldo + +IXION, once a sovereign of Thessaly, sentenced in Tartarus to be +lashed with serpents to a wheel which a strong wind drove +continually around + +J + +JANICULUM, Roman fortress on the Janiculus, a hill on the other +side of the Tiber + +JANUS, a deity from the earliest times held in high estimation by +the Romans, temple of + +JAPHET (Iapetus) + +JASON, leader of the Argonauts, seeking the Golden Fleece + +JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA, who bore the Holy Graal to Europe + +JOTUNHEIM, home of the giants in Northern mythology + +JOVE (Zeus), chief god of Roman and Grecian mythology, See JUPITER + +JOYOUS GARDE, residence of Sir Launcelot of the Lake + +JUGGERNAUT, Hindu deity + +JUNO, the particular guardian spirit of each woman (See Genius) + +JUNO, wife of Jupiter, queen of the gods + +JUPITER, JOVIS PATER, FATHER JOVE, JUPITER and JOVE used +interchangeably, at Dodona, statue of the Olympian + +JUPITER AMMON (See Ammon) + +JUPITER CAPITOLINUS, temple of, preserving the Sibylline books + +JUSTICE, See THEMIS + +K + +KADYRIATH, advises King Arthur + +KAI, son of Kyner + +KALKI, tenth avatar of Vishnu + +KAY, Arthur's steward and a knight + +KEDALION, guide of Orion + +KERMAN, desert of + +KICVA, daughter of Gwynn Gloy + +KILWICH, son of Kilydd + +KILYDD, son of Prince Kelyddon, of Wales + +KNEPH, spirit or breath + +KNIGHTS, training and life of + +KRIEMHILD, wife of Siegfried + +KRISHNA, eighth avatar of Vishnu, Hindu deity of fertility in +nature and mankind + +KYNER, father of Kav + +KYNON, son of Clydno + +L + +LABYRINTH, the enclosed maze of passageways where roamed the +Minotaur of Crete, killed by Theseus with aid of Ariadne + +LACHESIS, one of the Fates (which See) + +LADY OF THE FOUNTAIN, tale told by Kynon + +LAERTES, father of Ulysses + +LAESTRYGONIANS, savages attacking Ulysses + +LAIUS, King of Thebes + +LAMA, holy man of Thibet + +LAMPETIA, daughter of Hyperion LAOC'OON, a priest of Neptune, in +Troy, who warned the Trojans against the Wooden Horse (which See), +but when two serpents came out of the sea and strangled him and +his two sons, the people listened to the Greek spy Sinon, and +brought the fatal Horse into the town + +LAODAMIA, daughter of Acastus and wife of Protesilaus + +LAODEGAN, King of Carmalide, helped by Arthur and Merlin + +LAOMEDON, King of Troy + +LAPITHAE, Thessalonians, whose king had invited the Centaurs to +his daughter's wedding but who attacked them for offering violence +to the bride + +LARES, household deities + +LARKSPUR, flower from the blood of Ajax + +LATINUS, ruler of Latium, where Aeneas landed in Italy + +LATMOS, Mount, where Diana fell in love with Endymion + +LATONA, mother of Apollo + +LAUNCELOT, the most famous knight of the Round Table + +LAUSUS, son of Mezentius, killed by Aeneas + +LAVINIA, daughter of Latinus and wife of Aeneas + +LAVINIUM, Italian city named for Lavinia + +LAW, See THEMIS + +LEANDER, a youth of Abydos, who, swimming the Hellespont to see +Hero, his love, was drowned + +LEBADEA, site of the oracle of Trophomus + +LEBYNTHOS, Aegean island + +LEDA, Queen of Sparta, wooed by Jupiter in the form of a swan + +LEIR, mythical King of Britain, original of Shakespeare's Lear + +LELAPS, dog of Cephalus + +LEMNOS, large island in the Aegean Sea, sacred to Vulcan + +LEMURES, the spectres or spirits of the dead + +LEO, Roman emperor, Greek prince + +LETHE, river of Hades, drinking whose water caused forgetfulness + +LEUCADIA, a promontory, whence Sappho, disappointed in love, was +said to have thrown herself into the sea + +LEUCOTHEA, a sea goddess, invoked by sailors for protection (See +Ino) + +LEWIS, son of Charlemagne + +LIBER, ancient god of fruitfulness + +LIBETHRA, burial place of Orpheus + +LIBYA, Greek name for continent of Africa in general + +LIBYAN DESERT, in Africa + +LIBYAN OASIS + +LICHAS, who brought the shirt of Nessus to Hercules + +LIMOURS, Earl of + +LINUS, musical instructor of Hercules + +LIONEL, knight of the Round Table + +LLYR, King of Britain + +LOCRINE, son of Brutus in Albion, king of Central England + +LOEGRIA, kingdom of (England) + +LOGESTILLA, a wise lady, who entertained Rogero and his friends + +LOGI, who vanquished Loki in an eating contest + +LOKI, the Satan of Norse mythology, son of the giant Farbanti + +LOT, King, a rebel chief, subdued by King Arthur, then a loyal +knight + +LOTIS, a nymph, changed to a lotus-plant and in that form plucked +by Dryope + +LOTUS EATERS, soothed to indolence, companions of Ulysses landing +among them lost all memory of home and had to be dragged away +before they would continue their voyage + +LOVE (Eros) issued from egg of Night, and with arrows and torch +produced life and joy + +LUCAN, one of Arthur's knights + +Lucius Tiberius, Roman procurator in Britain demanding tribute +from Arthur + +LUD, British king, whose capital was called Lud's Town (London) + +LUDGATE, city gate where Lud was buried, 387 + +LUNED, maiden who guided Owain to the Lady of the Fountain + +LYCAHAS, a turbulent sailor + +LYCAON, son of Priam + +LYCIA, a district in Southern Asia Minor + +LYCOMODES, king of the Dolopians, who treacherously slew Theseus + +LYCUS, usurping King of Thebes + +LYNCEUS, one of the sons of Aegyptus + +M + +MABINOGEON, plural of Mabinogi, fairy tales and romances of the +Welsh + +MABON, son of Modron + +MACHAON, son of Aesculapius + +MADAN, son of Guendolen + +MADOC, a forester of King Arthur + +MADOR, Scottish knight + +MAELGAN, king who imprisoned Elphin + +MAEONIA, ancient Lydia + +MAGI, Persian priests + +MAHADEVA, same as Siva + +MAHOMET, great prophet of Arabia, born in Mecca, 571 AD, +proclaimed worship of God instead of idols, spread his religion +through disciples and then by force till it prevailed, with +Arabian dominion, over vast regions in Asia, Africa, and Spain in +Europe + +MAIA, daughter of Atlas and Pleione, eldest and most beautiful of +the Pleiades + +MALAGIGI the Enchanter, one of Charlemagne's knights + +MALEAGANS, false knight + +MALVASIUS, King of Iceland + +MAMBRINO, with invisible helmet + +MANAWYD DAN, brother of King Vran, of London + +MANDRICARDO, son of Agrican + +MANTUA, in Italy, birthplace of Virgil + +MANU, ancestor of mankind + +MARATHON, where Theseus and Pirithous met + +MARK, King of Cornwall, husband of Isoude the Fair + +MARO See VIRGIL + +MARPHISA, sister of Rogero + +MARSILIUS, Spanish king, treacherous foe of Charlemagne + +MARSYAS, inventor of the flute, who challenged Apollo to musical +competition, and, defeated, was flayed alive + +MATSYA, the Fish, first avatar of Vishnu + +MEANDER, Grecian river + +MEDE, A, princess and sorceress who aided Jason + +MEDORO, a young Moor, who wins Angelica + +MEDUSA, one of the Gorgons + +MEGAERA, one of the Furies + +MELAMPUS, a Spartan dog, the first mortal endowed with prophetic +powers + +MELANTHUS, steersman for Bacchus + +MELEAGER, one of the Argonauts (See Althaea) + +MELIADUS, King of Lionesse, near Cornwall + +MELICERTES, infant son of Ino. changed to Palaemon (See Ino, +Leucothea, and Palasmon) + +MELISSA, priestess at Merlin's tomb + +MELISSEUS, a Cretan king + +MELPOMENE, one of the Muses + +MEMNON, the beautiful son of Tithonus and Eos (Aurora), and king +of the Ethiopians, slain in Trojan War + +MEMPHIS, Egyptian city + +MENELAUS, son of King of Sparta, husband of Helen + +MENOECEUS, son of Creon, voluntary victim in war to gain success +for his father + +MENTOR, son of Alcimus and a faithful friend of Ulysses + +MERCURY (See HERMES) + +MERLIN, enchanter + +MEROPE, daughter of King of Chios, beloved by Orion + +MESMERISM, likened to curative oracle of Aesculapius at Epidaurus + +METABUS, father of Camilla + +METAMORPHOSES, Ovid's poetical legends of mythical +transformations, a large source of our knowledge of classic +mythology + +METANIRA, a mother, kind to Ceres seeking Proserpine + +METEMPSYCHOSIS, transmigration of souls--rebirth of dying men +and women in forms of animals or human beings + +METIS, Prudence, a spouse of Jupiter + +MEZENTIUS, a brave but cruel soldier, opposing Aeneas in Italy + +MIDAS + +MIDGARD, the middle world of the Norsemen + +MIDGARD SERPENT, a sea monster, child of Loki + +MILKY WAY, starred path across the sky, believed to be road to +palace of the gods + +MILO, a great athlete + +MLON, father of Orlando + +MILTON, John, great English poet, whose History of England is here +largely used + +MIME, one of the chief dwarfs of ancient German mythology + +MINERVA (Athene), daughter of Jupiter, patroness of health, +learning, and wisdom + +MINOS, King of Crete + +MINO TAUR, monster killed by Theseus + +MISTLETOE, fatal to Baldur + +MNEMOSYNE, one of the Muses + +MODESTY, statue to + +MODRED, nephew of King Arthur + +MOLY, plant, powerful against sorcery + +MOMUS, a deity whose delight was to jeer bitterly at gods and men + +MONAD, the "unit" of Pythagoras + +MONSTERS, unnatural beings, evilly disposed to men + +MONTALBAN, Rinaldo's castle + +MONTH, the, attendant upon the Sun + +MOON, goddess of, see DIANA + +MORAUNT, knight, an Irish champion + +MORGANA, enchantress, the Lady of the Lake in "Orlando Furioso," +same as Morgane Le Fay in tales of Arthur + +MORGANE LE FAY, Queen of Norway, King Arthur's sister, an +enchantress + +MORGAN TUD, Arthur's chief physician + +MORPHEUS, son of Sleep and god of dreams + +MORTE D'ARTHUr, romance, by Sir Thomas Mallory + +MULCIBER, Latin name of Vulcan + +MULL, Island of + +MUNIN, one of Odin's two ravens + +MUSAEUS, sacred poet, son of Orpheus + +MUSES, The, nine goddesses presiding over poetry, etc--Calliope, +epic poetry, Clio, history, Erato, love poetry, Euterpe, lyric +poetry; Melpomene, tragedy, Polyhymnia, oratory and sacred song +Terpsichore, choral song and dance, Thalia, comedy and idyls, +Urania, astronomy + +MUSPELHEIM, the fire world of the Norsemen + +MYCENAS, ancient Grecian city, of which Agamemnon was king + +MYRDDIN (Merlin) + +MYRMIDONS, bold soldiers of Achilles + +MYSIA, Greek district on northwest coast of Asia Minor + +MYTHOLOGY, origin of, collected myths, describing gods of early +peoples + +N + +NAIADS, water nymphs + +NAMO, Duke of Bavaria, one of Charlemagne's knights + +NANNA, wife of Baldur + +NANTERS, British king + +NANTES, site of Caradoc's castle + +NAPE, a dog of Diana + +NARCISSUS, who died of unsatisfied love for his own image in the +water + +NAUSICAA, daughter of King Alcinous, who befriended Ulysses + +NAUSITHOUS, king of Phaeacians + +NAXOS, Island of + +NEGUS, King of Abyssinia + +NEMEA, forest devastated by a lion killed by Hercules + +NEMEAN GAMES, held in honor of Jupiter and Hercules + +NEMEAN LION, killed by Hercules + +NEMESIS, goddess of vengeance + +NENNIUS, British combatant of Caesar + +NEOPTOLEMUS, son of Achilles + +NEPENTHE, ancient drug to cause forgetfulness of pain or distress + +NEPHELE, mother of Phryxus and Helle + +NEPHTHYS, Egyptian goddess + +NEPTUNE, identical with Poseidon, god of the sea + +NEREIDS, sea nymphs, daughters of Nereus and Doris + +NEREUS, a sea god + +NESSUS, a centaur killed by Hercules, whose jealous wife sent him +a robe or shirt steeped in the blood of Nessus, which poisoned him + +NESTOR, king of Pylos, renowned for his wisdom, justice, and +knowledge of war + +NIBELUNGEN HOARD, treasure seized by Siegfried from the +Nibelungs, buried in the Rhine by Hagan after killing Siegfried, +and lost when Hagan was killed by Kriemhild, theme of Wagner's +four music dramas, "The Ring of the Nibelungen," + +NIBELUNGEN LIED, German epic, giving the same nature myth as the +Norse Volsunga Saga, concerning the Hoard + +NIBELUNGEN RING, Wagner's music dramas + +NIBELUNGS, the, a race of Northern dwarfs + +NIDHOGGE, a serpent in the lower world that lives on the dead + +NIFFLEHEIM, mist world of the Norsemen, the Hades of absent +spirits + +NILE, Egyptian river + +NIOBE, daughter of Tantalus, proud Queen of Thebes, whose seven +sons and seven daughters were killed by Apollo and Diana, at which +Amphion, her husband, killed himself, and Niobe wept until she was +turned to stone + +NISUS, King of Megara + +NOAH, as legendary ancestor of French, Roman, German, and British +peoples + +NOMAN, name assumed by Ulysses + +NORNS, the three Scandinavian Fates, Urdur (the past), Verdandi +(the present), and Skuld (the future) + +NOTHUNG, magic sword + +NOTUS, southwest wind + +NOX, daughter of Chaos and sister of Erebus, personification of +night + +Numa, second king of Rome + +NYMPHS, beautiful maidens, lesser divinities of nature Dryads and +Hamadryads, tree nymphs, Naiads, spring, brook, and river nymphs, +Nereids, sea nymphs Oreads, mountain nymphs or hill nymphs + +O + +OCEANUS, a Titan, ruling watery elements + +OCYROE, a prophetess, daughter of Chiron + +ODERIC + +ODIN, chief of the Norse gods + +ODYAR, famous Biscayan hero + +ODYSSEUS See ULYSSES + +ODYSSEY, Homer's poem, relating the wanderings of Odysseus +(Ulysses) on returning from Trojan War + +OEDIPUS, Theban hero, who guessed the riddle of the Sphinx (which +See), becoming King of Thebes + +OENEUS, King of Calydon + +OENONE, nymph, married by Paris in his youth, and abandoned for +Helen + +OENOPION, King of Chios + +OETA, Mount, scene of Hercules' death + +OGIER, the Dane, one of the paladins of Charlemagne + +OLIVER, companion of Orlando + +OLWEN, wife of Kilwich + +OLYMPIA, a small plain in Elis, where the Olympic games were +celebrated + +OLYMPIADS, periods between Olympic games (four years) + +OLYMPIAN GAMES, See GAMES + +OLYMPUS, dwelling place of the dynasty of gods of which Zeus was +the head + +OMPHALE, queen of Lydia, daughter of Iardanus and wife of Tmolus + +OPHION, king of the Titans, who ruled Olympus till dethroned by +the gods Saturn and Rhea + +OPS See RHEA + +ORACLES, answers from the gods to questions from seekers for +knowledge or advice for the future, usually in equivocal form, so +as to fit any event, also places where such answers were given +forth usually by a priest or priestess + +ORC, a sea monster, foiled by Rogero when about to devour Angelica + +OREADS, nymphs of mountains and hills + +ORESTES, son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, because of his crime +in killing his mother, he was pursued by the Furies until purified +by Minerva + +ORION, youthful giant, loved by Diana, Constellation + +ORITHYIA, a nymph, seized by Boreas + +ORLANDO, a famous knight and nephew of Charlemagne + +ORMUZD (Greek, Oromasdes), son of Supreme Being, source of good +as his brother Ahriman (Arimanes) was of evil, in Persian or +Zoroastrian religion + +ORPHEUS, musician, son of Apollo and Calliope, See EURYDICE + +OSIRIS, the most beneficent of the Egyptian gods + +OSSA, mountain of Thessaly + +OSSIAN, Celtic poet of the second or third century + +OVID, Latin poet (See Metamorphoses) + +OWAIN, knight at King Arthur's court + +OZANNA, a knight of Arthur + +P + +PACTOLUS, river whose sands were changed to gold by Midas + +PAEON, a name for both Apollo and Aesculapius, gods of medicine, + +PAGANS, heathen + +PALADINS or peers, knights errant + +PALAEMON, son of Athamas and Ino + +PALAMEDES, messenger sent to call Ulysses to the Trojan War + +PALAMEDES, Saracen prince at Arthur's court + +PALATINE, one of Rome's Seven Hills + +PALES, goddess presiding over cattle and pastures + +PALINURUS, faithful steersman of Aeeas + +PALLADIUM, properly any image of Pallas Athene, but specially +applied to an image at Troy, which was stolen by Ulysses and +Diomedes + +PALLAS, son of Evander + +PALLAS A THE'NE (Minerva) + +PAMPHA GUS, a dog of Diana + +PAN, god of nature and the universe + +PANATHENAEA, festival in honor of Pallas Athene (Minerva) + +PANDEAN PIPES, musical instrument of reeds, made by Pan in +memory of Syrinx + +PANDORA (all gifted), first woman, dowered with gifts by every +god, yet entrusted with a box she was cautioned not to open, but, +curious, she opened it, and out flew all the ills of humanity, +leaving behind only Hope, which remained + +PANDRASUS, a king in Greece, who persecuted Trojan exiles under +Brutus, great grandson of Aeneas, until they fought, captured him, +and, with his daughter Imogen as Brutus' wife, emigrated to Albion +(later called Britain) + +PANOPE, plain of + +PANTHUS, alleged earlier incarnation of Pythagoras + +PAPHLAGNIA, ancient country in Asia Minor, south of Black Sea + +PAPHOS, daughter of Pygmalion and Galatea (both of which, See) + +PARCAE See FATES + +PARIAHS, lowest caste of Hindus + +PARIS, son of Priam and Hecuba, who eloped with Helen (which. +See) + +PARNASSIAN LAUREl, wreath from Parnassus, crown awarded to +successful poets + +PARNASSUS, mountain near Delphi, sacred to Apollo and the Muses + +PARSEES, Persian fire worshippers (Zoroastrians), of whom there +are still thousands in Persia and India + +PARTHENON, the temple of Athene Parthenos ("the Virgin") on the +Acropolis of Athens + +PASSEBREUL, Tristram's horse + +PATROCLUS, friend of Achilles, killed by Hector + +PECHEUR, King, uncle of Perceval + +PEERS, the + +PEG A SUS, winged horse, born from the sea foam and the blood of +Medusa + +PELEUS, king of the Myrmidons, father of Achilles by Thetis + +PELIAS, usurping uncle of Jason + +PELION, mountain + +PELLEAS, knight of Arthur + +PENATES, protective household deities of the Romans + +PENDRAGON, King of Britain, elder brother of Uther Pendragon, +who succeeded him + +PENELOPE, wife of Ulysses, who, waiting twenty years for his +return from the Trojan War, put off the suitors for her hand by +promising to choose one when her weaving was done, but unravelled +at night what she had woven by day + +PENEUS, river god, river + +PENTHESILEA, queen of Amazons + +PENTHEUS, king of Thebes, having resisted the introduction of +the worship of Bacchus into his kingdom, was driven mad by the god + +PENUS, Roman house pantry, giving name to the Penates + +PEPIN, father of Charlemagne + +PEPLUS, sacred robe of Minerva + +PERCEVAL, a great knight of Arthur + +PERDIX, inventor of saw and compasses + +PERIANDER, King of Corinuh, friend of Arion + +PERIPHETES, son of Vulcan, killed by Theseus + +PERSEPHONE, goddess of vegetation, 8 See Pioserpine + +PERSEUS, son of Jupiter and Danae, slayer of the Gorgon Medusa, +deliverer of Andromeda from a sea monster, 116 122, 124, 202 + +PHAEACIANS, people who entertained Ulysses + +PHAEDRA, faithless and cruel wife of Theseus + +PHAETHUSA, sister of Phaeton, 244 + +PHAETON, son of Phoebus, who dared attempt to drive his father's +sun chariot + +PHANTASOS, a son of Somnus, bringing strange images to sleeping +men + +PHAON, beloved by Sappho + +PHELOT, knight of Wales + +PHEREDIN, friend of Tristram, unhappy lover of Isoude + +PHIDIAS, famous Greek sculptor + +PHILEMON, husband of Baucis + +PHILOCTETES, warrior who lighted the fatal pyre of Hercules + +PHILOE, burial place of Osiris + +PHINEUS, betrothed to Andromeda + +PHLEGETHON, fiery river of Hades + +PHOCIS + +PHOEBE, one of the sisters of Phaeton + +PHOEBUS (Apollo), god of music, prophecy, and archery, the sun +god + +PHOENIX, a messenger to Achilles, also, a miraculous bird dying +in fire by its own act and springing up alive from its own ashes + +PHORBAS, a companion of Aeneas, whose form was assumed by Neptune +in luring Palinuras the helmsman from his roost + +PHRYXUS, brother of Helle + +PINABEL, knight + +PILLARS OF HERCULES, two mountains--Calpe, now the Rock of +Gibraltar, southwest corner of Spain in Europe, and Abyla, facing +it in Africa across the strait + +PINDAR, famous Greek poet + +PINDUS, Grecian mountain + +PIRENE, celebrated fountain at Corinth + +PIRITHOUS, king of the Lapithae in Thessaly, and friend of +Theseus, husband of Hippodamia + +PLEASURE, daughter of Cupid and Psyche + +PLEIADES, seven of Diana's nymphs, changed into stars, one being +lost + +PLENTY, the Horn of + +PLEXIPPUS, brother of Althea + +PLINY, Roman naturalist + +PLUTO, the same as Hades, Dis, etc. god of the Infernal Regions + +PLUTUS, god of wealth + +PO, Italian river + +POLE STAR + +POLITES, youngest son of Priam of Troy + +POLLUX, Castor and (Dioscuri, the Twins) (See Castor) + +POLYDECTES, king of Seriphus + +POLYDORE, slain kinsman of Aeneas, whose blood nourished a bush +that bled when broken + +POLYHYMNIA, Muse of oratory and sacred song + +POLYIDUS, soothsayer + +POLYNICES, King of Thebes + +POLYPHEMUS, giant son of Neptune + +POLYXENA, daughter of King Priam of Troy + +POMONA, goddess of fruit trees (See VERTUMNUS) + +PORREX and FER'REX, sons of Leir, King of Britain + +PORTUNUS, Roman name for Palaemon + +POSEIDON (Neptune), ruler of the ocean + +PRECIPICE, threshold of Helas hall + +PRESTER JOHN, a rumored priest or presbyter, a Christian pontiff +in Upper Asia, believed in but never found + +PRIAM, king of Troy + +PRIWEN, Arthur's shield + +PROCRIS, beloved but jealous wife of Cephalus + +PROCRUSTES, who seized travellers and bound them on his iron bed, +stretching the short ones and cutting short the tall, thus also +himself served by Theseus + +PROETUS, jealous of Bellerophon + +PROMETHEUS, creator of man, who stole fire from heaven for man's +use + +PROSERPINE, the same as Persephone, goddess of all growing +things, daughter of Ceres, carried off by Pluto + +PROTESILAUS, slain by Hector the Trojan, allowed by the gods to +return for three hours' talk with his widow Laodomia + +PROTEUS, the old man of the sea + +PRUDENCE (Metis), spouse of Jupiter + +PRYDERI, son of Pwyll + +PSYCHE, a beautiful maiden, personification of the human soul, +sought by Cupid (Love), to whom she responded, lost him by +curiosity to see him (as he came to her only by night), but +finally through his prayers was made immortal and restored to him, +a symbol of immortality + +PURANAS, Hindu Scriptures + +PWYLL, Prince of Dyved + +PYGMALION, sculptor in love with a statue he had made, brought to +life by Venus, brother of Queen Dido + +PYGMIES, nation of dwarfs, at war with the Cranes + +PYLADES, son of Straphius, friend of Orestes + +PYRAMUS, who loved Thisbe, next door neighbor, and, their parents +opposing, they talked through cracks in the house wall, agreeing +to meet in the near by woods, where Pyramus, finding a bloody veil +and thinking Thisbe slain, killed himself, and she, seeing his +body, killed herself (Burlesqued in Shakespeare's "Midsummer +Night's Dream") + +PYRRHA, wife of Deucalion + +PYRRHUS (Neoptolemus), son of Achilles + +PYTHAGORAS, Greek philosopher (540 BC), who thought numbers to be +the essence and principle of all things, and taught transmigration +of souls of the dead into new life as human or animal beings + +PYTHIA, priestess of Apollo at Delphi + +PYTHIAN GAMES + +PYTHIAN ORACLE + +PYTHON, serpent springing from Deluge slum, destroyed by Apollo + +Q + +QUIRINUS (from quiris, a lance or spear), a war god, said to be +Romulus, founder of Rome + +R + +RABICAN, noted horse + +RAGNAROK, the twilight (or ending) of the gods + +RAJPUTS, minor Hindu caste + +REGAN, daughter of Leir + +REGILLUS, lake in Latium, noted for battle fought near by +between the Romans and the Latins + +REGGIO, family from which Rogero sprang + +REMUS, brother of Romulus, founder of Rome + +RHADAMANTHUS, son of Jupiter and Europa after his death one of +the judges in the lower world + +RHAPSODIST, professional reciter of poems among the Greeks + +RHEA, female Titan, wife of Saturn (Cronos), mother of the chief +gods, worshipped in Greece and Rome + +RHINE, river + +RHINE MAIDENS, OR DAUGHTERS, three water nymphs, Flosshilda, +Woglinda, and Wellgunda, set to guard the Nibelungen Hoard, buried +in the Rhine + +RHODES, one of the seven cities claiming to be Homer's birthplace + +RHODOPE, mountain in Thrace + +RHONGOMYANT, Arthur's lance + +RHOECUS, a youth, beloved by a Dryad, but who brushed away a bee +sent by her to call him to her, and she punished him with +blindness + +RHIANNON, wife of Pwyll + +RINALDO, one of the bravest knights of Charlemagne + +RIVER OCEAN, flowing around the earth + +ROBERT DE BEAUVAIS', Norman poet (1257) + +ROBIN HOOD, famous outlaw in English legend, about time of Richard +Coeur de Lion + +ROCKINGHAM, forest of + +RODOMONT, king of Algiers + +ROGERO, noted Saracen knight + +ROLAND (Orlando), See Orlando + +ROMANCES + +ROMANUS, legendary great grandson of Noah + +ROME + +ROMULUS, founder of Rome + +RON, Arthur's lance + +RONCES VALLES', battle of + +ROUND TABLE King Arthur's instituted by Merlin the Sage for +Pendragon, Arthur's father, as a knightly order, continued and +made famous by Arthur and his knights + +RUNIC CHARACTERS, or runes, alphabetic signs used by early +Teutonic peoples, written or graved on metal or stone + +RUTULIANS, an ancient people in Italy, subdued at an early period +by the Romans + +RYENCE, king in Ireland + +S + +SABRA, maiden for whom Severn River was named, daughter of Locrine +and Estrildis thrown into river Severn by Locrine's wife, +transformed to a river nymph, poetically named Sabrina + +SACRIPANT, king of Circassia + +SAFFIRE, Sir, knight of Arthur + +SAGAS, Norse tales of heroism, composed by the Skalds + +SAGRAMOUR, knight of Arthur + +St. MICHAEL'S MOUNT, precipitous pointed rock hill on the coast of +Brittany, opposite Cornwall + +SAKYASINHA, the Lion, epithet applied to Buddha + +SALAMANDER, a lizard like animal, fabled to be able to live in +fire + +SALAMIS, Grecian city + +SALMONEUS, son of Aeolus and Enarete and brother of Sisyphus + +SALOMON, king of Brittany, at Charlemagne's court + +SAMHIN, or "fire of peace," a Druidical festival + +SAMIAN SAGE (Pythagoras) + +SAMOS, island in the Aegean Sea + +SAMOTHRACIAN GODS, a group of agricultural divinities, worshipped +in Samothrace + +SAMSON, Hebrew hero, thought by some to be original of Hercules + +SAN GREAL (See Graal, the Holy) + +SAPPHO, Greek poetess, who leaped into the sea from promontory of +Leucadia in disappointed love for Phaon + +SARACENS, followers of Mahomet + +SARPEDON, son of Jupiter and Europa, killed by Patroclus + +SATURN (Cronos) + +SATURNALIA, a annual festival held by Romans in honor of Saturn + +SATURNIA, an ancient name of Italy + +SATYRS, male divinities of the forest, half man, half goat + +SCALIGER, famous German scholar of 16th century + +SCANDINAVIA, mythology of, giving account of Northern gods, +heroes, etc + +SCHERIA, mythical island, abode of the Phaeacians + +SCHRIMNIR, the boar, cooked nightly for the heroes of Valhalla +becoming whole every morning + +SCIO, one of the island cities claiming to be Homer's birthplace + +SCOPAS, King of Thessaly + +SCORPION, constellation + +SCYLLA, sea nymph beloved by Glaucus, but changed by jealous Circe +to a monster and finally to a dangerous rock on the Sicilian +coast, facing the whirlpool Charybdis, many mariners being wrecked +between the two, also, daughter of King Nisus of Megara, who loved +Minos, besieging her father's city, but he disliked her disloyalty +and drowned her, also, a fair virgin of Sicily, friend of sea +nymph Galatea + +SCYROS, where Theseus was slain + +SCYTHIA, country lying north of Euxine Sea + +SEMELE, daughter of Cadmus and, by Jupiter, mother of Bacchus + +SEMIRAMIS, with Ninus the mythical founder of the Assyrian empire +of Nineveh + +SENAPUS, King of Abyssinia, who entertained Astolpho + +SERAPIS, or Hermes, Egyptian divinity of Tartarus and of +medicine + +SERFS, slaves of the land + +SERIPHUS, island in the Aegean Sea, one of the Cyclades + +SERPENT (Northern constellation) + +SESTOS, dwelling of Hero (which See also Leander) + +"SEVEN AGAINST THEBES," famous Greek expedition + +SEVERN RIVER, in England + +SEVINUS, Duke of Guienne + +SHALOTT, THE LADY OF + +SHATRIYA, Hindu warrior caste + +SHERASMIN, French chevalier + +SIBYL, prophetess of Cumae + +SICHAEUS, husband of Dido + +SEIGE PERILOUS, the chair of purity at Arthur's Round Table, fatal +to any but him who was destined to achieve the quest of the +Sangreal (See Galahad) + +SIEGFRIED, young King of the Netherlands, husband of Kriemhild, +she boasted to Brunhild that Siegfried had aided Gunther to beat +her in athletic contests, thus winning her as wife, and Brunhild, +in anger, employed Hagan to murder Siegfried. As hero of Wagner's +"Valkyrie," he wins the Nibelungen treasure ring, loves and +deserts Brunhild, and is slain by Hagan + +SIEGLINDA, wife of Hunding, mother of Siegfried by Siegmund + +SIEGMUND, father of Siegfried + +SIGTRYG, Prince, betrothed of King Alef's daughter, aided by +Hereward + +SIGUNA, wife of Loki + +SILENUS, a Satyr, school master of Bacchus + +SILURES (South Wales) + +SILVIA, daughter of Latin shepherd + +SILVIUS, grandson of Aeneas, accidentally killed in the chase by +his son Brutus + +SIMONIDES, an early poet of Greece + +SINON, a Greek spy, who persuaded the Trojans to take the Wooden +Horse into their city + +SIRENS, sea nymphs, whose singing charmed mariners to leap into +the sea, passing their island, Ulysses stopped the ears of his +sailors with wax, and had himself bound to the mast so that he +could hear but not yield to their music + +SIRIUS, the dog of Orion, changed to the Dog star + +SISYPHUS, condemned in Tartarus to perpetually roll up hill a big +rock which, when the top was reached, rolled down again + +SIVA, the Destroyer, third person of the Hindu triad of gods + +SKALDS, Norse bards and poets + +SKIDBLADNIR, Freyr's ship + +SKIRNIR, Frey's messenger, who won the god's magic sword by +getting him Gerda for his wife + +SKRYMIR, a giant, Utgard Loki in disguise, who fooled Thor in +athletic feats + +SKULD, the Norn of the Future + +SLEEP, twin brother of Death + +SLEIPNIR, Odin's horse + +SOBRINO, councillor to Agramant + +SOMNUS, child of Nox, twin brother of Mors, god of sleep + +SOPHOCLES, Greek tragic dramatist + +SOUTH WIND See Notus + +SPAR'TA, capital of Lacedaemon + +SPHINX, a monster, waylaying the road to Thebes and propounding +riddles to all passers, on pain of death, for wrong guessing, who +killed herself in rage when Aedipus guessed aright + +SPRING + +STONEHENGE, circle of huge upright stones, fabled to be sepulchre +of Pendragon + +STROPHIUS, father of Pylades + +STYGIAN REALM, Hades + +STYGIAN SLEEP, escaped from the beauty box sent from Hades to +Venus by hand of Psyche, who curiously opened the box and was +plunged into unconsciousness + +STYX, river, bordering Hades, to be crossed by all the dead + +SUDRAS, Hindu laboring caste + +SURTUR, leader of giants against the gods in the day of their +destruction (Norse mythology) + +SURYA, Hindu god of the sun, corresponding to the Greek Helios + +SUTRI, Orlando's birthplace + +SVADILFARI, giant's horse + +SWAN, LEDA AND + +SYBARIS, Greek city in Southern Italy, famed for luxury + +SYLVANUS, Latin divinity identified with Pan + +SYMPLEGADES, floating rocks passed by the Argonauts + +SYRINX, nymph, pursued by Pan, but escaping by being changed to a +bunch of reeds (See Pandean pipes) + +T + +TACITUS, Roman historian + +TAENARUS, Greek entrance to lower regions + +TAGUS, river in Spain and Portugal + +TALIESIN, Welsh bard + +TANAIS, ancient name of river Don + +TANTALUS, wicked king, punished in Hades by standing in water +that retired when he would drink, under fruit trees that withdrew +when he would eat + +TARCHON, Etruscan chief + +TARENTUM, Italian city + +TARPEIAN ROCK, in Rome, from which condemned criminals were +hurled + +TARQUINS, a ruling family in early Roman legend + +TAURIS, Grecian city, site of temple of Diana (See Iphigenia) + +TAURUS, a mountain + +TARTARUS, place of confinement of Titans, etc, originally a black +abyss below Hades later, represented as place where the wicked +were punished, and sometimes the name used as synonymous with +Hades + +TEIRTU, the harp of + +TELAMON, Greek hero and adventurer, father of Ajax + +TELEMACHUS, son of Ulysses and Penelope + +TELLUS, another name for Rhea + +TENEDOS, an island in Aegean Sea + +TERMINUS, Roman divinity presiding over boundaries and frontiers + +TERPSICHORE, Muse of dancing + +TERRA, goddess of the earth + +TETHYS, goddess of the sea + +TEUCER, ancient king of the Trojans + +THALIA, one of the three Graces + +THAMYRIS, Thracian bard, who challenged the Muses to competition +in singing, and, defeated, was blinded + +THAUKT, Loki disguised as a hag + +THEBES, city founded by Cadmus and capital of Boeotia + +THEMIS, female Titan, law counsellor of Jove + +THEODORA, sister of Prince Leo + +THERON, one of Diana's dogs + +THERSITES, a brawler, killed by Achilles + +THESCELUS, foe of Perseus, turned to stone by sight of Gorgon's +head + +THESEUM, Athenian temple in honor of Theseus + +THESEUS, son of Aegeus and Aethra, King of Athens, a great hero of +many adventures + +THESSALY + +THESTIUS, father of Althea + +THETIS, mother of Achilles + +THIALFI, Thor's servant + +THIS'BE, Babylonian maiden beloved by Pyramus + +THOR, the thunderer, of Norse mythology, most popular of the gods + +THRACE + +THRINA'KIA, island pasturing Hyperion's cattle, where Ulysses +landed, but, his men killing some cattle for food, their ship was +wrecked by lightning + +THRYM, giant, who buried Thor's hammer + +THUCYDIDES, Greek historian + +TIBER, river flowing through Rome + +TIBER, FATHER, god of the river + +TIGRIS, river + +TINTADEL, castle of, residence of King Mark of Cornwall + +TIRESIAS, a Greek soothsayer + +TISIPHONE, one of the Furies + +TITANS, the sons and daughters of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaea +(Earth), enemies of the gods and overcome by them + +TITHONUS, Trojan prince + +TITYUS, giant in Tartarus + +TMOLUS, a mountain god + +TORTOISE, second avatar of Vishnu + +TOURS, battle of (See Abdalrahman and Charles Martel) + +TOXEUS, brother of Melauger's mother, who snatched from Atalanta +her hunting trophy, and was slain by Melauger, who had awarded it +to her + +TRIAD, the Hindu + +TRIADS, Welsh poems + +TRIMURTI, Hindu Triad + +TRIPTOL'EMUS, son of Celeus , and who, made great by +Ceres, founded her worship in Eleusis + +TRISTRAM, one of Arthur's knights, husband of Isoude of the White +Hands, lover of Isoude the Fair, + +TRITON, a demi god of the sea, son of Poseidon (Neptune) and +Amphitrite + +TROEZEN, Greek city of Argolis + +TROJAN WAR + +TROJANOVA, New Troy, City founded in Britain (See Brutus, and +Lud) + +TROPHONIUS, oracle of, in Boeotia + +TROUBADOURS, poets and minstrels of Provence, in Southern France + +TROUVERS', poets and minstrels of Northern France + +TROY, city in Asia Minor, ruled by King Priam, whose son, Paris, +stole away Helen, wife of Menelaus the Greek, resulting in the +Trojan War and the destruction of Troy + +TROY, fall of + +TURNUS, chief of the Rutulianes in Italy, unsuccessful rival of +Aeneas for Lavinia + +TURPIN, Archbishop of Rheims + +TURQUINE, Sir, a great knight, foe of Arthur, slain by Sir +Launcelot + +TYPHON, one of the giants who attacked the gods, were defeated, +and imprisoned under Mt. Aetna + +TYR, Norse god of battles + +TYRE, Phoenician city governed by Dido + +TYRIANS + +TYRRHEUS, herdsman of King Turnus in Italy, the slaying of whose +daughter's stag aroused war upon Aeneas and his companions + +U + +UBERTO, son of Galafron + +ULYSSES (Greek, Odysseus), hero of the Odyssey + +UNICORN, fabled animal with a single horn + +URANIA, one of the Muses, a daughter of Zeus by Mnemosyne + +URDUR, one of the Norns or Fates of Scandinavia, representing the +Past + +USK, British river + +UTGARD, abode of the giant Utgard Loki + +UTGARD LO'KI, King of the Giants (See Skrymir) + +UTHER (Uther Pendragon), king of Britain and father of Arthur, + +UWAINE, knight of Arthur's court + +V + +VAISSYAS, Hindu caste of agriculturists and traders + +VALHALLA, hall of Odin, heavenly residence of slain heroes + +VALKYRIE, armed and mounted warlike virgins, daughters of the gods +(Norse), Odin's messengers, who select slain heroes for Valhalla +and serve them at their feasts + +VE, brother of Odin + +VEDAS, Hindu sacred Scriptures + +VENEDOTIA, ancient name for North Wales + +VENUS (Aphrodite), goddess of beauty + +VENUS DE MEDICI, famous antique statue in Uffizi Gallery, +Florence, Italy + +VERDANDI, the Present, one of the Norns + +VERTUMNUS, god of the changing seasons, whose varied appearances +won the love of Pomona + +VESTA, daughter of Cronos and Rhea, goddess of the homefire, or +hearth + +VESTALS, virgin priestesses in temple of Vesta + +VESUVIUS, Mount, volcano near Naples + +VILLAINS, peasants in the feudal scheme + +VIGRID, final battle-field, with destruction of the gods ind +their enemies, the sun, the earth, and time itself + +VILI, brother of Odin and Ve + +VIRGIL, celebrated Latin poet (See Aeneid) + +VIRGO, constellation of the Virgin, representing Astraea, goddess +of innocence and purity + +VISHNU, the Preserver, second of the three chief Hindu gods + +VIVIANE, lady of magical powers, who allured the sage Merlin and +imprisoned him in an enchanted wood + +VOLSCENS, Rutulian troop leader who killed Nisus and Euryalus + +VOLSUNG, A SAGA, an Icelandic poem, giving about the same legends +as the Nibelungen Lied + +VORTIGERN, usurping King of Britain, defeated by Pendragon 390, +397 + +VULCAN (Greek, Haephestus), god of fire and metal working, with +forges under Aetna, husband of Venus + +VYA'SA, Hindu sage + +W + +WAIN, the, constellation + +WELLGUNDA, one of the Rhine-daughters + +WELSH LANGUAGE + +WESTERN OCEAN + +WINDS, THE + +WINTER + +WODEN, chief god in the Norse mythology, Anglo Saxon for Odin + +WOGLINDA, one of the Rhine-daughters + +WOMAN, creation of + +WOODEN HORSE, the, filled with armed men, but left outside of Troy +as a pretended offering to Minerva when the Greeks feigned to sail +away, accepted by the Trojans (See Sinon, and Laocoon), brought +into the city, and at night emptied of the hidden Greek soldiers, +who destroyed the town + +WOOD NYMPHS + +WOTAN, Old High German form of Odin + +X + +XANTHUS, river of Asia Minor + +Y + +YAMA, Hindu god of the Infernal Regions + +YEAR, THE + +YGDRASIL, great ash-tree, supposed by Norse mythology to support +the universe + +YMIR, giant, slain by Odin + +YNYWL, Earl, host of Geraint, father of Enid + +YORK, Britain + +YSERONE, niece of Arthur, mother of Caradoc + +YSPA DA DEN PEN'KAWR, father of Olwen + +Z + +ZENDAVESTA, Persian sacred Scriptures + +ZEPHYRUS, god of the South wind, + +ZERBINO, a knight, son of the king of Scotland + +ZETES, winged warrior, companion of Theseus + +ZETHUS, son of Jupiter and Antiope, brother of Amphion. See Dirce + +ZEUS, See JUPITER + +ZOROASTER, founder of the Persian religion, which was dominant in +Western Asia from about 550 BC to about 650 AD, and is still held +by many thousands in Persia and in India + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE *** + +This file should be named lgnds10.txt or lgnds10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, lgnds11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, lgnds10a.txt + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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