the single arm of Richard, left the field with the highest sense of satisfaction, and the ready wit of their champion, pointed the sallies and directed the mirth of the banquet, which followed, and continued long into the night. CHAPTER III. "Beshrew your eyes, They have o'erlooked me, and divided me; One half of me is yours, the other half yours, And so all yours." In the general excitement attendant upon the discovery of Richard and the breaking up of the tournament, Berengaria had remarked the agitation of Elsiebede, and seized an early opportunity to learn the cause. "Where hast thou known Count Richard?" said she in a tone of feigned indifference. "I have never seen him till to-day," replied the attendant. "But thou didst start and turn pale when the White Knight disclosed the features of Plantagenet?" "Aye, because I saw my lady bring a curse upon his head." "A curse upon him? How meanest thou, silly child?" replied the princess, growing pale in her turn. "Pardon, my dear mistress," continued Elsiebede, falling upon her knees, "I should have told you, the ring bestowed upon a knight, is a fatal gift." "And why fatal?" inquired Berengaria, somewhat relieved that she had no greater cause for disquiet. "I know not why. The jewel of the ring has been in the possession of my mother's tribe for many generations, and whenever man has called it his own, sorrow and distress have followed, till this tradition has become a proverb. "'Twill thwart his wish, and break his troth, Betray him to his direst foe, And drown him in the sea."