fear, much astonishment, but more
pleasure. The knight soon broke silence. He begged her not to be
alarmed; confessed his mode of visiting was new, and rather mysterious;
but that a falcon was a gentle and noble bird, whose figure ought not to
create suspicion. He was a neighbouring prince, who had long loved her,
and wished to dedicate the remainder of his days to her service. The
lady, gradually removing her veil, ingenuously told him, he was much
handsomer, and apparently more amiable, than any man she had ever seen;
and she should be happy to accept him as a lover, if such a connection
could be legitimate, and if he was orthodox. The prince entered at large
into the articles of his creed; and concluded by advising that she
should feign herself sick, send for his chaplain, and direct him to
bring the host; "when," said he, "I will assume your appearance, and
receive the Sacrament in your stead." The lady was satisfied with this
proposal; and, when the old woman came in, and summoned her to rise, she
professed to be at the point of death, and entreated the immediate
assistance of the chaplain. Such a request, in the absence of her lord,
could not be regularly granted; but a few screams, and a fainting fit,
removed the old lady's doubts, and she hobbled off in search of the
chaplain, who immediately brought the host; and Muldumaric (the
falcon-prince) assuming the appearance of his mistress, went through the
sacred ceremony with becoming devotion, which they both considered as a
marriage contract. The lady's supposed illness enabled the prince to
protract his visit; but at length the moment of separation came, and she
expressed her wish for the frequent repetition of their
interviews.--"Nothing is so easy," said Muldumaric; "whenever you
express an ardent wish to see me, I will instantly come. But beware of
that old woman: she will probably discover our secret, and betray it to
her brother; and I announce to you, the moment of discovery will be that
of my death." With these words he flew off. His mistress, with all her
caution, was unable to conceal entirely the complete change in her
sensations. Her solitude, formerly so irksome, became the source of her
greatest delight; her person, so long neglected, again was an object of
solicitude; and her artful and jealous husband, on his return from the
chase, often discovered in her features the traces of a satisfaction his
conscience told him he was not the author of. His vag