the hunt, a young girl barely covered in
rags, but of remarkable beauty. A much younger child of about ten or
eleven years held her by the hand. A poor old woman, as wretchedly clad
as the girl, was in the company of the two. The Emperor of the Franks,
whose large eyes glistened like carbuncles with the fire of lust,
repeated, addressing Amael:

"By the cape of St. Martin! The girl is beautiful. Is it that your
hundred years on your back render you insensible to the sight of such
rare beauty, seigneur Breton? What a beautiful girl!"

"Charles, the misery of that creature strikes me more strongly than her
beauty."

"You are very commiserate, seigneur Breton--so am I. Linen and silk
should clothe so charming a figure. No doubt she is the daughter of some
woodman slave. I can tell you, one runs at times across wonderfully
beautiful girls in the forest. More than once I have dropped the chase
in the middle of the heat to pursue another scent. But in honor to
truth, I have never seen such a charmer before. It must be her good star
that brought her across the path of Charles." Without removing his eyes
from the young girl, Charles called to one of the seigneurs in his
suite: "Eh! Burchard. Come here; I have orders for you."

The seigneur Burchard quickly alighted from his horse and hastened to
obey the call of the Emperor. The latter, moving a few steps away from
Amael, whispered a few words in the ear of the seigneur, who, showing
himself greatly honored with the mission given him by his master, bowed
respectfully, and, leading his horse by the bridle, approached the old
woman and the two younger girls who stood by her, motioned to them to
follow him, and vanished with his charge behind the group of hunters. A
deep flush colored the cheeks of Amael; he puckered his brows, and his
features became expressive of as much indignation as disgust. At that
same instant Amael noticed that the Emperor was looking about him with a
certain degree of uneasiness and calling out aloud:

"Where are my little girls? Can they have lost track of the hunt?"

"August Emperor," said one of the officers, "Richulff, who accompanied
your august daughters, told me that when the rain began to fall some of
them concluded to return to Aix-la-Chapelle, while the others decided to
seek the shelter of the pavilion, where you ordered supper to be held
ready."

"Think of the timorous bodies! I wager that my little Thetralde is not
among the Amazons w