far-distant land, he said, lay before him, and much he wished
to celebrate the marriage of his friend before his departure.




CHAPTER VIII.



The torches were burning clear in the vaulted halls of the
castle, Hildegardis had just left the arm of her lover to
begin a stately dance of ceremony with the aged duke, when
Edwald beckoned to his companion, and they went forth together
into the moonlit gardens of the castle.

"Ah, Froda, my noble, lofty hero," exclaimed Edwald, after a
silence, "were you as happy as I am! But your eyes rest
gravely and thoughtfully on the ground, or kindle almost
impatiently heavenwards. It would be dreadful, indeed, had
the secret wish of your heart been to win Hildegardis--and I,
foolish boy, so strangely favoured, had stood in your way."

"Be at rest, Edchen," answered, the Danish hero, with a smile.
"On the word of a knight, my thoughts and yearnings concern
not your fair Hildegardis. Far brighter than ever does
Aslauga's radiant image shine into my heart: but now hear what
I am going to relate to you.

"At the very moment when we met together in the course--oh,