CHAPTER XIV.
The next morning Alf returned from a visit to the royal orator Rothman, with whom, to make an end at once of all apprehensions, he had arranged that his baptism and his marriage with both of the sisters should take place that afternoon. As he approached Trutlinger's house he was not a little astonished to find some of the yeomen of the guard, in the green and ash-colored livery, before the house door, holding some saddle horses. A milk white palfrey with costly trimmings and a purple gold-embroidered covering, particularly attracted his attention. Anxious to learn what it all meant, he walked into the parlor, where he encountered Tuiskoshirer and the lord steward Dilbek, in their court dresses.
'Hail, hail! prosperity has befallen thee, my brother!' cried the little prophet, ardently embracing him. 'Even as Abraham was accounted worthy of being commanded to offer to the Lord the most beloved object which he possessed upon earth, so likewise art thou also elected and favored among thousands; not merely to present, but really and truly to offer up, thy heart upon the altar of duty to thy king and lord.'
'Madness seems to catch early in the morning,' sighed Alf peevishly, 'and I cannot understand a word of all this. Both of you being gentlemen, you have nothing to neglect, and have leisure to spend the day as you please. I, however, am a handicraftsman, who must labor for my livelihood; therefore tell me in short plain words what you want of me, so that I may give you a proper answer and then go to my workshop.'
'Thy answer, my good fellow, is of very little consequence,' replied Tuiskoshirer with a malicious laugh. 'We await our answer from the worthy maiden Eliza, to whom we are sent by our all-merciful king to request her to become his third wife and queen of Zion.'
'My God!' stammered Alf, becoming deathly pale and leaning against the wall for support.
'It cannot be helped now, my friend,' whispered the lord steward to him; 'therefore submit with a good grace to what must at any rate happen; so that you may hereafter be able to claim a recompense for your ready acquiescence.'
'Has Eliza already consented?' asked Alf, with tremulous lips.
'She has retired to her chamber,' answered Tuiskoshirer, 'to take counsel of the Spirit. As soon as she comes forth we shall all be enlightened as to her decision.'
'No, no!' cried Alf, wringing his hands, 'nature and love have bound us too closely; she cannot leave me.'
Meanwhile the chamber door flew open and the beautiful Eliza appeared. At the first glance she was not recognized by Alf. A dress embroidered with silver and fastened with a jewelled girdle, rustled about her slender and fascinating figure; her bosom and arms sparkled with the richest gems, and from her dark locks arose, meteor-like, a radiant diadem.
'Hail to our queen Eliza!' cried Tuiskoshirer and Dilbek, sinking upon their knees before her majestic form.
'The Spirit has decided,' said Eliza, giving them her hand to kiss. 'I have listened to its voice. Conduct me to my king and husband.'
'Eliza!' cried Alf, in boundless sorrow, stepping before the false fair one.
'Thou here, Alf?' said she, with some slight agitation. 'I would willingly have spared thee the pain of this parting.'
'Thou art my promised bride, my wife in the sight of God!' shrieked he, despairingly. 'Thou canst not, thou darest not leave me!'
'Before the great affairs of the world, the little interests of private and humble life must yield,' answered Eliza pathetically. 'The king of Zion needs me, that my kiss may sweeten the wearisomeness of governing. How then can I be so selfish as to regard the bands which previously connected me with thee? The people of Israel have a claim upon me paramount to thine, and joyfully I go to fulfil my exalted duties in obedience to the voice of the Spirit.'
'No, thou hast never loved me!' exclaimed Alf.
'I was always well disposed towards thee,' stammered the new queen, affected by sudden emotion. Soon however recovering herself, she said to him in the tone of a mistress, 'when I am seated upon Zion's throne you may safely rely upon my favor.'
She now quickly took Dilbek's proffered arm and hastened forth with him, without giving a single glance backward. Tuiskoshirer, however, stopped long enough to ask the astonished and bewildered Alf, 'dost thou not now repent, my brother, that thou rejectedst my proposition?'--and then followed the pair.
'Woman's love and woman's truth!' indignantly, exclaimed the unhappy youth, seizing his dark brown locks with powerless rage.