"And thou wouldst rather kneel upon the cold stone floor, and scourge thy tender flesh with knotted cords, than live almost a princess in thy merrie England!" said Adela, with unaffected surprise. "Nay, rather would I work a weary pilgrimage to Palestine, and dwell an eremite in the lonely caves of Engaddi, had choice been left with me," answered Maude. "A pilgrimage were not so sad a fate," said Adela; "the marvellous tales with which thou didst beguile my childhood hours, so wrought upon my fancy, that even to this day the very name of Jerusalem calls up visions bright as the bowers of Eden. Never have I wondered that pilgrims flocked to the Holy Land when they deemed the thousand years of prophecy accomplished, and expected to witness the azure gates unfolding above the holy sepulchre, and the Saviour descending upon the Mount of Olives amid all the terrific splendor of the final judgment." "Scarce a century since," sighed Maude, "men looked for this heavenly kingdom, and verily believed they found in prophecy the confirmation of their hopes. My grandsire died upon the banks of the Jordan earnestly expecting the coming of his Lord." "There is a flash of spears in the moonbeams," interrupted Adela, gazing from the arrow-slit of the turret. "Seest thou not a troop of horse, winding along the brow of the hill? Eye and heart alike deceive me if that be not Count Stephen's plume. Methought, ere this, he had reached the borders of Maine. And there is Robert by his side. Our lady grant their coming bode no ill." "They pass beneath the shadow of the castle," said Maude. "They are not all mounted. Those men on foot, in the garb of friars, how wearily they follow, leaning upon their long staves." "They are pilgrims!" exclaimed the maidens with one voice. "Let us descend to welcome them." Prince Henry met them in the corridor. "Count Stephen has returned," said he, "and awaits my sister in the tapestry chamber." "Come with me, Beauclerk," said Maude, leading away the young prince. "Thou shalt conduct me to these holy pilgrims." "Adela," said Stephen, kissing the hand of his affianced as she entered, "thou art surprised, but I hope not ill-pleased at this unlooked-for return." "I feared me some mischance had occasioned it," said Adela, "but seeing thee well, I am happy--yet wherefore art thou come?" "Thy brother, Robert," replied Stephen, "vouchsafed to escort me with twenty lances to the town of mantes--but when we reached the banks of Eure, we found the bridges swept away, and the fords rendered impassable by the swollen waters. A band of pilgrims were encamped upon the other side, and at the sight of the Norman pennon, they sent forth a piteous cry for aid. We swam our steeds across the turgid stream, and each horseman mounting a palmer behind him, we brought them safely over. And what was my joy to find I had thus rendered some slight service to Ingulfus, the early tutor of my loved Adela."