it was all of gold, embroidered with stones of great
value. They brought out an animal which she rode, the strangest that
ever was seen. It had ears as large as two shields; a broad forehead
which had but one eye, like a mirror; the openings of its nostrils were
very large, but its nose was short and blunt. From its mouth turned up
two tusks, each of them two palms long. Its color was yellow, and it had
many violet spots upon its skin, like an ounce. It was larger than a
dromedary, had its feet cleft like those of an ox, and ran as swiftly as
the wind, and skipped over the rocks as lightly, and held itself erect
on any part of them, as do the mountain-goats. Its food was dates and
figs and peas, and nothing else. Its flank and haunches and breast were
very beautiful. On this animal, of which you have thus heard, mounted
this beautiful Queen, and there rode behind her two thousand women of
her train, dressed in the very richest clothes. There brought up the
rear twenty damsels clothed in uniform, the trains of whose dresses
extended so far, that, falling from each beast, they dragged four
fathoms on the ground.

"With this equipment and ornament the Queen proceeded to the Emperor's
camp, where she saw all the Kings, who had come out upon the plain. They
had seated themselves on very rich chairs, upon cloth of gold, and they
themselves were armed, because they had not much confidence in the
promises of the Pagans. So they sallied out to receive her at the door
of the tent, where she was dismounted into the arms of Don
Quadragante;[4] and the two Kings, Lisuarte and Perion, took her by the
hands, and placed her between them in a chair. When she was seated,
looking from one side to the other, she saw Esplandian next to King
Lisuarte, who held him by the hand; and from the superiority of his
beauty to that of all the others, she knew at once who he was, and said
to herself, 'Oh, my Gods! what is this? I declare to you, I have never
seen any one who can be compared to him, nor shall I ever see any one.'
And he turning his beautiful eyes upon her beautiful face, she perceived
that the rays which leaped out from his resplendent beauty, entering in
at her eyes, penetrated to her heart in such a way, that, if she were
not conquered yet by the great force of arms, or by the great attacks of
her enemies, she was softened and broken by that sight and by her
amorous passion, as if she had passed between mallets of iron. And as
she s