would have gone hard with the king had not his followers instantly
closed round him and separated the combatants.

Rinaldo thus found himself, almost without his own choice,
enlisted on the side of the enemies of Angelica, which gave him no
concern, so completely had his draught from the fountain of hate
steeled his mind against her.

For several successive days the struggle continued, without any
important results, Rinaldo meeting the bravest knights of
Angelica's party, and defeating them one after the other. At
length he encountered Orlando, and the two knights bitterly
reproached one another for the cause they had each adopted, and
engaged in a furious combat. Orlando was mounted upon Bayard,
Rinaldo's horse, which Agrican had by chance become possessed of,
and Orlando had taken from him as the prize of victory. Bayard
would not fight against his master, and Orlando was getting the
worse of the encounter, when suddenly Rinaldo, seeing Astolpho,
who for love of him had arrayed himself on his side, hard beset by
numbers, left Orlando to rush to the defence of his friend. Night
prevented the combat from being renewed; but a challenge was given
and accepted for their next meeting.

But Angelica, sighing in her heart for Rinaldo, was not willing
that he should be again exposed to so terrible a venture. She
begged a boon of Orlando, promising she would be his if he would
do her bidding. On receiving his promise, she enjoined him to set
out without delay to destroy the garden of the enchantress
Falerina, in which many valiant knights had been entrapped, and
were imprisoned.