r due for daring to rob me of my property. Leave,
also, the princess in my hands; for it would indeed be a sin to suffer
so charming a lady and so gallant a charger to remain in such keeping."

The king of Circassia, furious at being thus insulted, cried out, "Thou
liest, villain, in giving me the name of thief, which better belongs to
thyself than to me. It is true, the beauty of this lady and the
perfection of this horse are unequalled; come on, then, and let us try
which of us is most worthy to possess them."

At these words the king of Circassia and Rinaldo attacked one another
with all their force, one fighting on foot, the other on horseback. You
need not, however, suppose that the Saracen king found any advantage in
this; for a young page, unused to horsemanship, could not have failed
more completely to manage Bayard than did this accomplished knight. The
faithful animal loved his master too well to injure him, and refused
his aid as well as his obedience to the hand of Sacripant, who could
strike but ineffectual blows, the horse backing when he wished him to
go forward, and dropping his head and arching his back, throwing out
with his legs, so as almost to shake the knight out of the saddle.
Sacripant, seeing that he could not manage him, watched his
opportunity, rose on his saddle, and leapt lightly to the earth; then,
relieved from the embarrassment of the horse, renewed the combat on
more equal terms. Their skill to thrust and parry were equal; one
rises, the other stoops; with one foot set firm they turn and wind, to
lay on strokes or to dodge them. At last Rinaldo, throwing himself on
the Circassian, dealt him a blow so terrible that Fusberta, his good
sword, cut in two the buckler of Sacripant, although it was made of
bone, and covered with a thick plate of steel well tempered. The arm of
the Saracen was deprived of its defence, and almost palsied with the
stroke. Angelica, perceiving how victory was likely to incline, and
shuddering at the thought of becoming the prize of Rinaldo, hesitated
no longer. Turning her horse's head, she fled with the utmost speed;
and, in spite of the round pebbles which covered a steep descent, she
plunged into a deep valley, trembling with the fear that Rinaldo was in
pursuit. At the bottom of this valley she encountered an aged hermit,
whose white beard flowed to his middle, and whose venerable appearance
seemed to assure his piety.

This hermit, who appeared shrunk by age