Heroines of the CrusadesBloss, C. A. (Celestia Angenette)
History
Heroines of the Crusades
Bloss, C. A. (Celestia Angenette)
Crusades; Crusades -- Biography; Women -- Biography
father, and the tears of the daughter, that he was chiding her as the
cause of his misfortune. At length overcome by his upbraiding, Elsiebede
drew from her bosom a silken purse, and taking thence a jewel kissed it
fervently, and like one resigning her last treasure at the call of duty,
put it into his extended hand. The black meanwhile had prepared a cordial,
which he intimated would soon give her father rest. The alchemist eagerly
swallowed the draught, and soon sank into a heavy sleep.
Berengaria, whose impatience had scarcely brooked the delay necessary for
this happy consummation, hurried the reluctant Elsiebede away. "I knew
not, Elsie," said she, when they were at a safe distance from the ruin,
"that thy father dwelt in Pampeluna. I thought thou wert an orphan, when
my father moved by thy beauty and distress purchased thee of the rude
Castilian. Tell me thine history."
"My father," replied Elsiebede, "was when young the physician of the
Moorish prince, and occupied himself in separating the hidden virtues of
nature from the impurities with which they are combined. When walking
abroad to gather plants for the prosecution of his inquiries, he met every
day a young flower girl, carrying her fragrant wares to the palace of the
Alhambra. Attracted by her beauty, he purchased her flowers, and
interested himself in her history. He learned that she belonged to a band
of Saracens or Gyptianos, that had recently settled in Grenada. He loved
her and she became his wife.
"I was their only child. My youth was spent in listening to the wondrous
tales of the East, with which my mother delighted me, or in acquiring the
elements of science with my father. The sudden illness and death of my
mother destroyed all my happiness. My father betook himself again to the
most abstruse studies, spent whole nights in watching the stars, practised
incantations to the spirits of the air, and pondering continually upon the
mystery of death, commenced the search for that mighty principle which is
said to prolong human existence. Many wonderful secrets of nature were in
this process revealed to his sight; but he became so sad and gloomy, and
his eyes beamed on me with such an unwonted fire, that I feared lest grief
should dethrone the angel of reason. To divert his mind, I began to lead
him forth in his accustomed walks. One day when we had lingered rather
later than usual beyond the walls of Grenada, a band of armed Castilians
fell upon us, and carried us away captives. The noble Sancho found me
singing songs for my cruel master, and redeemed me from my fate."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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