the guarding of this door to me."

Then he wrapped his cloak about his arm, took his drawn sword in his
hand, and opened the door so that he might have a closer view of
the swords that he had heard. When the door was opened, he saw two
serving-women, who, holding a sword in each hand, had raised this alarm.

"Sir," they said to him, "forgive us. We were commanded by our mistress
to act in this manner, but you shall be hindered by us no more."

Seeing that they were women, the gentleman could do no more than bid
them go to the devil, and shut the door in their faces. Then he got into
bed to the lady with all imaginable speed, his passion for her being in
no wise diminished by fear; and forgetting to inquire the reason of this
skirmish, he thought only of satisfying his desire.

But when daybreak was drawing nigh, he begged his mistress to tell him
why she had treated him so ill, both in making him wait so long, and in
having played this last trick upon him.

"My intention," she answered, laughing, "had been never to love again,
and I had observed it from the time I became a widow; but, after you
had spoken to me at the entertainment, your worth led me to change
my resolve, and to love you as much as you loved me. It is true that
honour, which had ever guided me, would not suffer me to be led by love
to do aught to the disparagement of my reputation. But as the poor hind
when wounded unto death thinks by change of place to change the pain it
carries with it, so did I go from church to church thinking to flee from
him whom I carried in my heart, and the proof of whose perfect devotion
has reconciled honour and love. However, that I might be the more
certain that I was giving my heart and love to a true man, I desired to
make this last proof by means of my serving-women. And I vow to you that
had I found you so timorous as to hide beneath my bed, either for fear
of your life or for any other reason, I was resolved to rise and go into
another room and never see you more. But since I have found that you are
possessed of more beauty, and grace, and virtue, and valour than rumour
had given you, and that fear has no power over your heart, nor can cool
one whit the love you bear me, I am resolved to cleave to you for the
remainder of my days. I feel sure that I could not place life and
honour in better hands than those of one whom I deem unmatched in every
virtue."

And, just as though the human will could be unchangeable, t