pleases thy heart!"




XXVII.


Then Abraham's queen became unkind, wrathful in 2260
heart towards her serving-maid, hard and cruel, spoke
bitter insults to the woman. Thereupon the latter fled
from threat and thraldom: she would not endure evil
and retribution for what she had formerly done to Sarra, 2265
but went forth on a journey to go into the wilderness.
There a servant of glory, an angel of the Lord, found her
sorrowing; he eagerly asked her:

"Whither do you intend to push your journey, my 2270
poor woman? Sarre owns thy service!"

She answered him at once:

"Deprived of every pleasure, jeered out of the house
by the hatred of my mistress, I have fled from woes,
afflictions, and injuries. Now with tear-stained cheek
must I await my fate[30] in the wilderness, [the time] 2275
when hunger or a wolf removes life and sorrow together
from my heart."

Then the angel answered her: