offending against their majesties, and against my vow as a loyal and true knight. "The king on hearing this was greatly disturbed; he sent for me and told me what Lisomir had said; I declared my innocence, and to prove it, and clear the honour of Eusebia, and also as the most suitable way in which to give my enemy the lie, I referred the proof to single combat. The king would not allow any spot of ground to be selected in his kingdom for our purpose, because it was forbidden by the Catholic law, but he allowed us to take one of the free cities of Germany as the scene of our encounter. "The appointed day for the combat arrived; I appeared on the spot, with the weapons that had been determined upon, which were a sword and a shield. The judges and the seconds arranged the ceremonial according to the usual custom in such cases. The ground was measured, and they left us. Knowing that I had the right on my side, I entered the lists, confident and in good heart; my adversary, I well know, met me more full of pride and arrogance than of a good conscience. But O ye inscrutable ways of Providence; I did my utmost; I put my hope and trust in God, and in the innocence of my cause, I was neither overcome by fear, nor was my arm weak, nor were its motions irregular; yet how it was I know not; I suddenly found myself on the ground, with my enemy's sword threatening me with instant death. 'Strike,' I exclaimed, 'O thou who hast conquered more by luck than valour, and let loose the soul that has so ill defended the body in which it dwells; but hope not that I am subdued, or that I shall confess a crime I have never committed. Many are the sins for which I deserve punishment, but I will not add to them by bearing false witness against myself; better far, death with honour, than to live dishonoured.' "'If thou dost not yield, Renato,' answered my enemy, 'this sword shall pierce thy brain, and with thy blood I will make thee confess my truth and thy guilt.' "But here the judges interfered, and supposing me dead, they declared my adversary conqueror. He was borne by his friends in triumph from the field, and I was left alone with my shame and my sorrow; more grief than wounds, and yet not grief enough, since it was insufficient to destroy the life my enemy's sword had spared.