te
of his royal consort; "and implore the queen, thy mistress, to taste of
the sweet mead, and, for the happiness of those around her, to subdue
her sorrow."

The queen, after some persuasion, took the wine-cup, and raised it with
a reluctant hand; but, ere the sparkling liquor reached her lips, she
perceived the ring at the bottom of the goblet, and hastily pouring the
mead upon the ground, seized the precious token, and holding it up,
with a cry of joy, exclaimed, "My son! my son!"

Bladud sprang forward, and bowed his knee to the earth before her.
"Hast thou forgotten me, oh! my mother?" he exclaimed, in a faltering
voice; for the queen, accustomed to see her princely son attired in
robes befitting his royal birth, looked with a doubtful eye on the
ragged garb of abject indigence in which the youth was arrayed.
Moreover, he was sun-burnt and weather-beaten; had grown tall and
robust; and was, withal, attended by his strange friend, the pig, who,
in the untaught warmth of his affection, had intruded himself into the
presence of royalty, in the train of his master.

A second glance convinced the queen, the king, and the delightful
Hetha, that it was indeed the long-lost Bladud upon whom they looked;
and it scarcely required the testimony of the old herdsman, his master,
and that of his friend Math, the shepherd, to certify the fact, and
bear witness to the truth of his simple tale.

Touching was the scene when the king, recovering from the surprise into
which the first shock of recognition had plunged him, rushed forward
and clasped his long-lost son to his bosom. The big tear-drops rolled
down his manly cheeks, and, relaxing the dignity of the king, and the
sternness of the warrior, all the energies of his nature were embodied
in the one single feeling, that he was a happy and a beloved father!

The news of the return of their prince spread throughout the assembled
multitudes, on wings of joy. Loud and long were the shouts and
acclamations which burst forth in every direction, as the distant
groups became apprised of the event. The Druids and the Minstrels
formed themselves into processions, in which the people joined; and the
harpers, sounding their loudest strains, struck up their songs of joy
and triumph. The oxen, loosened from the wains, and decked with
garlands of flowers, were led forward in the train; and the dancers and
revelers followed, performing with energy and delight their rude sports
and past