Chapter CXCVIII

Said Clarien:--"Lady, speak not thus--Behold,
Messengers we, from Baligant, who swears
To free Marsile, and to him sends his glove
And staff as tokens--on the Ebro float
Four thousand galleys, skiffs and swiftest boats;
More sails than can be numbered! Rich and great
The Emir.--Carle, pursued to France, shall be
Per force, or still, or dead, or penitent."
Said Bramimunde:--"Yea, greater ills will come.
To meet the Franks you need not go so far;
Carle seven years in Spain has tarried. Brave
Is he in battle, and a Baron true;
Ready to die ere he will quit the field;
No king on earth but is to him a child.
Carle's spirit yields before no living man."
Aoi.