I wedded her in goddis lay
To hold her to my ending day,
Both for weal and wo.’”
“A decided refusal to complete the bargain,” said Thompson.
“Yet not so taken by the sultan; the money is counted into the knight’s cloak, the lady taken forcible possession of, and Sir Isumbras and his child carried on shore, and beat until hardly able to move, but here we must stop with the early English romance, having already gone beyond its similarity to the old monk’s story. And now I must break off for to-night; I know it is but a short allowance, and shall be compensated for when we next meet.”
CHAPTER XI.
Another Chat about Witches and Witchcraft—Late Period of the Existence of Belief in Witches—Queen Semiramis—Elfin Armorers—The Sword of the Scandinavian King—Mystical Meaning of Tales of Magic—Anglo-Saxon Enigmas—Celestinus and the Miller’s Horse—The Emperor Conrad and the Count’s Son—Legend of “The Giant with the Golden Hairs.”
“Your stories about sorcerers and sorcery, Lathom,” said Herbert, “have made me consider a little as to the amount of truth on which such fictions may have been founded.”
“Perhaps you believe in witches, magicians, and all that tribe, that gather deadly herbs by moonlight, and ride through the air on broomsticks,” said Thompson, with a smile.