"But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod.
"Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.
"And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, 'Give me here John Baptist's head on a charger.'"
The priestly stole, the Duchess's Christmas-gift to Ekkehard, lay beside it. Its golden fringes were hanging over the little bottle with the water from the Jordan, which the blind Thieto had given him.
Praxedis pushed back the other things, placing Gunzo's libel on the table. When she had arranged everything, she felt sorry. Just about to go, she turned back once more, opened the window, and gathering a branch of the luxuriant ivy which was winding its garlands round the tower, she threw it over the parchment-leaves.
Ekkehard came home very late. He had been nursing the wounded Cappan, but had found it far harder work, to comfort his tall spouse. After the first wailing was over and her tears had been dried, her speech until sunset had been nothing but one great curse against the convent-farmer; and when she raised her strong arms and spoke of scratching his eyes out, of pouring henbane into his ears, and breaking his teeth, whilst her long brown tresses threateningly fluttered in the air, it needed a great effort to quiet her.
Yet he had succeeded at last.
In the silence of night, Ekkehard read the leaves which the Greek maid had put on his table. His hand played with a wild rose, which he had culled in the fir-wood when riding home, whilst his eyes took in the spiteful attacks of the Italian scholar.
"How is it," thought he, inhaling the soft fragrance of the flower, "that so much that is written with ink, cannot deny its origin? All ink is made of the gall-nut, and all gall-nuts spring from the poisonous sting of the wasp." ...
With a serene countenance he finally laid aside the yellow parchment-leaves. "A good work! an industrious good work!--well, the peewit is also an important personage amongst the feathered tribe, but the nightingale does not heed its singing." ... He slept very well after he had read it.