My faith, but it was a joyous sight!
There on the highest step stood my Lord and beside him my mistress Eleonore. My Lord was smiling at her, and well he might, she stood beside him so straight and tall. She was in a gown of green, made of Florence cloth, and on her head was a cap bound with many chains of gold, which, she telleth me later, came from the same far-away country as the mirror,—Venice. In their midst was set a stone big as a throstle’s egg and blue as the sky. On her hips hung a girdle of gold set close with little stones of this same sky-blue.
All this I saw as I walked from the court’s end. Coming up the steps, said I in my bravest fashion,—
“Mistress Eleonore, here is the hawk I trained for thee; and I set the Barberry bird upon her wrist.
“Now, Jehan, I forgive thee,” saith she, “and trust thou’lt bear in mind that I be twelve years, not eleven. My Lord and cousin hath a gift for thee also, and telleth me to give it thee now.”
With that she hands me out a sword,—a brave, bright sword!
And my Lord says kindly,—
“Have it ever ready in her service, Jehan; she is a lonely maid.”
I bent and kissed my Lady’s hand, and saith with my heart in my mouth,
“My Lord, I’ll e’en follow her to the world’s end.”