"And what of that?" said Aucassin. "Who is it that win to heaven? Old
priests, and cripples that grovel and pray at altars, and tattered
beggars that die of cold and hunger. These only go to heaven, and I do
not want their company. So I will go to hell. For there go all good
scholars and the brave knights that died in wars, and sweet ladies that
had many lovers, and harpers, and minstrels, and great kings. Give me
but my Nicolette, and gladly I will keep them company."


_II.--Love's Song in a Dungeon_


Aucassin returned very sorrowfully to the castle, and there his father
put him into a dungeon.

Aucassin is cast and bound
In a dungeon underground;
Never does the sunlight fall
Shining on his prison wall;
Only one faint ray of it
Glimmers down a narrow slit.
But does Aucassin forget
His sweet lady, Nicolette?
Listen! He is singing there,
And his song is all of her:
"Though for love of thee I die
In this dungeon where I lie,
Wonder of the world, I will
Worship thee and praise thee still!