ghter, go his
thoughts, and he still paces up and down wearily, stopping now and then
to gaze intently on things which he has seen a hundred times; and the
night has altogether come on.

At last the blast of a horn from outside, challenge and
counter-challenge, and the wicket to the court-yard is swung open; for
this house, being in a part of the city where the walls are somewhat
weak, is a little fortress in itself, and is very carefully guarded. The
old man's face brightened at the sound of the new comers, and he went
toward the entrance of the house where he was met by two young knights
fully armed, and a maiden. 'Thank God you are come,' he says; but stops
when he sees her face, which is quite pale, almost wild with some sorrow.
'The saints! Cissela, what is it?' he says. 'Father, Eric will tell
you.' Then suddenly a clang, for Eric has thrown on the ground a richly-
jewelled sword, sheathed, and sets his foot on it, crunching the pearls
on the sheath; then says, flinging up his head,--'There, father, the
enemy is in the land; may that happen to every one of them! but for my
part I have accounted for two already.' 'Son Eric, son Eric, you talk
for ever about yourself; quick, tell me about Cissela instead: if you go
on boasting and talking always about yourself, you will come to no good
end, son, after all.' But as he says this, he smiles nevertheless, and
his eye glistens.

'Well, father, listen--such a strange thing she tells us, not to be
believed, if she did not tell us herself; the enemy has suddenly got
generous, one of them at least, which is something of a disappointment to
me--ah! pardon, about my self again; and that is about myself too. Well,
father, what am I to do?--But Cissela, she wandered some way from her
maidens, when--ah! but I never could tell a story properly, let her tell
it herself; here, Cissela!--well, well, I see she is better employed,
talking namely, how should I know what! with Siur in the window-seat
yonder--but she told us that, as she wandered almost by herself, she
presently heard shouts and saw many of the enemy's knights riding quickly
towards her; whereat she knelt only and prayed to God, who was very
gracious to her; for when, as she thought, something dreadful was about
to happen, the chief of the knights (a very noble-looking man, she said)
rescued her, and, after he had gazed earnestly into her face, told her
she might go back again to her own home, and her maids with