When the next day had come, Roland early sought the emperor to take leave of him. He was armed and ready to depart, but before quitting he besought Charlemagne to have the grace to accord to Maugis and the four sons of Aymon the peace they had so long asked for, no matter what the issue of the coming combat might be, but Charlemagne, though depressed by sad reflections and by the thought of the evil consequences that had come from the bad advice he had received, made no reply. A little later, when Maugis arrived on the field, he found Roland already there. It was a superb day; the renown of the two knights, their bravery, and their skill with arms, made the outcome of the duel uncertain. A vast concourse of knights had assembled to witness the contest, and a deep hush of expectancy fell upon all when the two knights advanced toward each other on the field to begin the duel. “I am now here,” said Roland, addressing Maugis, “to lay you in the dust; you have thought yourself invincible long enough; but to-day you will find that I am your master.” “Be moderate, Roland,” replied Maugis; “one is never sure, even the bravest knight may be overcome by one weaker than himself.” “I will maintain my word, I think, Maugis,” shouted Roland; “defend yourself, for your last hour is come.” At these words they charged each other, lance at rest, with great fury. At the very first shock the lances were shattered, and their shields were broken. Roland wavered in his saddle, and with difficulty maintained himself erect, while Maugis, unhorsed, fell twenty steps behind Bayard; but he was on his feet like a flash, and he mounted his horse with incredible agility, and sweeping down upon Roland, gave him a terrible blow with his sword, which, landing on his helmet, completely stunned him. Maugis, however, withdrew, giving him time to recover, and then they rushed anew at each other. Now ensued a battle of giants, which no words can adequately describe; the spectators were appalled by its ferocity; the dreadful blows they dealt each other were slowly denuding them of their armor piece by piece; sparks flew like lightning from the terrible flashing of their swords; but furious as the combat was, so skillful were they each, that neither one could deal the other a fatal blow. It was a magnificent contest, evoking cries of admiration from all sides; there could be but one end to their terrible exertion; becoming fatigued, they seized each other body to body and tried to throw each the other from his horse. It was impossible; breathless and almost helpless with fatigue, mutually astonished that neither could conquer the other, they waited a few moments to regain breath, each so battered as to be almost unrecognizable, they having left only fragments of their arms and but a few pieces of their clothing.