what is best,
Quick let him catch me by the lock of hair
Which flutters from my forehead; and be blest.

"But let him not the proffered good forbear,
Nor till he seize the fleeting blessing rest;
For present loss is sought in vain to-morrow,
And the deluded wretch is left in sorrow."

The fairy, having sung thus, bounded off, and fled from the flowery
meadow over a high and inaccessible mountain. Orlando pursued her
through thorns and rocks, while the sky gradually became overcast, and
at last he was assailed by tempest, lightning, and hail.

While he thus pursued, a pale and meagre woman issued from a cave,
armed with a whip, and, treading close upon his steps, scourged him
with vigorous strokes. Her name was Repentance, and she told him it was
her office to punish those who neglected to obey the voice of Prudence,
and seize the fairy Fortune when he might.

Orlando, furious at this chastisement, turned upon his tormentor, but
might as well have stricken the wind. Finding it useless to resist, he
resumed his chase of the fairy, gained upon her, and made frequent
snatches at her white and vermilion garments, which still eluded his
grasp. At last, on her turning her head for an instant, he profited by
the chance, and seized her by the forelock. In an instant the tempest
ceased, the sky became serene, and Repentance retreated to her cave.

Orlando now demanded of Morgana the keys of her prison, and the fairy,
feigning a complacent aspect, delivered up a key of silver, bidding him
to be cautious in the use of it, since to break the lock would be to
involve himself and all in inevitable destruction; a caution which gave
the Count room for long meditation, and led him to consider

How few amid the suitors who importune
The dame, know how to turn the keys of Fortune.

Keeping the fairy still fast by the forelock, Orlando proceeded toward
the prison, turned the key, without occasioning the mischiefs
apprehended, and delivered the prisoners.

Among these were Florismart, Rinaldo, and many others of the bravest
knights of France. Morgana had disappeared, and the knights, under the
guidance of Orlando, retraced the path by which he had come. They soon
reached the field of treasure. Rinaldo, finding himself amidst this
mass of wealth, remembered his needy garrison of Montalban, and could
not resist the temptation of seizing part of the booty. In particular a
golden chain, studded with