"The king raised and embraced him; asked his name, and he told him he was called Periander. Then the beautiful Sinforosa took a garland from her head, and placed it on that of the noble youth, and with sweet and modest grace, she said as she crowned him, 'When my father is so fortunate as to see you return, you will find that you do not come to serve him, but to be served, in every way that is in his power.'" [Illustration] CHAPTER XXIII. _How Auristella became a prey to jealousy when she found that it was her Periander who won all the Prizes at the Festival._ O mighty power of jealousy! O infirmity, that art so planted in the heart, that thou canst only be uprooted thence with life itself! Ah! beauteous Auristella, stay and reflect ere you allow yourself to become a prey to this cruel suffering! But who can restrain thought within bounds, which is so light and subtle, that bodyless it passes through stone walls, enters human bosoms, and penetrates the deepest recesses of the soul? I have said this, because, when Auristella heard the name of Periander pronounced, and having before heard the praises of Sinforosa, and now hearing of the favour she had shown to him by placing her garland on his head, suspicion entered her heart, her patience failed, and uttering a deep sigh, she embraced Transila, and said, "O dear friend, I pray to Heaven that thou hast not lost thy beloved Ladislaus, as I lose my brother Periander. Dost thou not hear from the lips of this worthy gentleman, that he is honoured as conqueror, crowned as the victor, and more attentive to win the favour of a fair lady, than to take the trouble of seeking after the wandering steps of his poor sister? He goes about seeking laurels and trophies in foreign lands, and leaves her among the wild rocks and mountains, and perils of the angry ocean, who by his advice and for his pleasure, am placed amid all these dangers." The captain of the ship listened to these words with great attention, and knew not what conclusion to draw from them. He was about to speak, but the words that were going to be uttered were arrested suddenly, for the wind rose all at once with such fury, that he was forced to leave Auristella without an answer, and call to his sailors to mind the sails, reef and secure them. All hands hastened to the work. The ship began to fly before the wind, over a tremendous sea; Maurice, with his companions, retired to their cabin, to leave the deck free for the mariners. There, Transila asked Auristella what meant the sudden alarm that had seized her, caused, as it seemed, by only hearing the name of her brother, Periander; and she could not conceive why the praises and successes of a brother should give her so much disquiet.