ened back to the palace
hall, and found that the exhausted caliph had sunk upon a divan. With the
prescribed ceremonies, our hero politely craved a lock of his beard and
four of his teeth as a present for Charlemagne. This impudent request so
incensed the caliph that he vociferated orders to his guards to slay the
stranger. Huon was now forced to defend himself with a curtain pole and a
golden bowl, until, needing aid, he suddenly blew a resounding peal upon
his magic horn. The earth shook, the palace rocked, Oberon appeared in the
midst of rolling thunder and flashing lightning, and with a wave of his
lily wand plunged caliph and people into a deep sleep. Then he placed his
silver car at Huon's disposal, to bear him and his bride and attendants to
Ascalon, where a ship was waiting to take them back to France.

"'So haste, thou matchless pair!
On wings of love, my car, that cuts the air,
Shall waft you high above terrestrial sight,
And place, ere morning melt the shades of night,
On Askalon's far shore, beneath my guardian care.'"
WIELAND, _Oberon_ (Sotheby's tr.).

[Sidenote: Oberon's warning.] When Huon and Rezia were about to embark at
Ascalon, Oberon appeared. He claimed his chariot, which had brought them
thither, and gave the knight a golden and jeweled casket, which contained
the teeth of the caliph and a lock of his beard. One last test of Huon's
loyalty was required, however; for Oberon, at parting, warned him to make
no attempt to claim Rezia as his wife until their union had been blessed at
Rome by the Pope.

"'And deep, O Huon! grave it in your brain!
Till good Sylvester, pious father, sheds
Heaven's holy consecration on your heads,
As brother and as sister chaste remain!
Oh, may ye not, with inauspicious haste,
The fruit forbidden prematurely taste!
Know, if ye rashly venture ere the time,
That Oberon, in vengeance of your crime,
Leaves you, without a friend, on life's deserted waste!'"
WIELAND, _Oberon_ (Sotheby's tr.).

The first part of the journey was safely accomplished; but when they
stopped at Lepanto, on the way, Huon insisted upon his mentor, Sherasmin,
taking passage on another vessel, which sailed direct to France, that he
might hasten ahead, lay the golden casket at Charlemagne's feet, and
announce Huon's coming with his Oriental bride.

[Illustration: HUON AND A