e, soon recovered for her father all the
lost provinces, and insured future tranquillity by the capture of his
enemy; but scarcely was the war concluded, when the knight received an
embassy from his former master, whose ingratitude had been punished by
the loss of half his kingdom, and the jeopardy of the rest, adjuring him
to come with all speed to the rescue of a country which was now purged
of the monsters whose false accusations had occasioned his exile. Such
an embassy, a few months sooner would have been most welcome, but to
part with Guilliadun now appeared the heaviest of misfortunes. He felt,
however, that duty called him away, and determined to obey the summons.
He went to the king; read the letters he had received; and earnestly
requested leave to depart, though his stipulated term of service was not
expired; observing, at the same time, that the state of his majesty's
affairs no longer required his attendance; and, promising at the first
appearance of difficulty, he would return with a powerful body of
knights. The king, after making the most splendid offers to detain him,
unwillingly yielded; but to obtain the consent of Guilliadun was far
more difficult. Trusting that she possessed the whole heart of her
lover, and perfectly unconscious that his hand had been previously given
to another, she insisted on accompanying him, and threatened to destroy
herself in case of his refusal. His remonstrances were accompanied by
fainting fits, which terrified Eliduc into a solemn promise of
unqualified submission to her will; but he represented, that having
sworn fealty to her father, she could not now go with him, without a
breach of his oath; whereas, after the expiration of his term of
service, he could, without disgrace, comply with her wishes; and he
promised, on the honour of a knight, that if she would fix a day, he
would return and carry her off. With this promise she was satisfied, and
after many tears, and a mutual exchange of rings, ultimately permitted
him to depart. The return of Eliduc gave infinite pleasure to his
friends, to the king his master, and above all, to his excellent wife,
who now hoped she should be indemnified, by his beloved society, for her
long and dreary hours of widowhood. But she beheld, with surprise and
consternation that he harboured some secret grief, and anxiously
enquired if any thing in her conduct had given him displeasure. Eliduc
assured her of the contrary, but told her, in appa