ng happiness, as the beneficent night
sprinkles dew-drops from her lap. From these day-dreams, the play of an
active mind which had not yet found its true place in the universe, she
would rouse herself to some deed of kindness, which others were too much
immersed in pleasure to fulfil. If one of her maidens was ill, it was
she who watched untiringly by her pillow, administering the medicines
and the cooling draught. And it was she who rose by daybreak, while most
of the menials of the palace were yet sleeping, and gave the daily
portion of alms to the poor who waited at the gate--making the brown
bread sweet by the gentle tones and kind words of sympathy. It is not
strange, therefore, that Edith was beloved by all the children of
affliction, and that she became universally known to the common people
as "the good princess."

In honor of Clotilda's birthday, a tournament was proclaimed, to which
princes and knights from all the neighboring countries were invited. The
anxiously-expected day at length arrived: the sky was cloudless, and all
nature appeared to smile upon the festival. Every thing was there
united that could please and dazzle the eye. There were satins and
damasks, cloth of gold and velvet; flowers, and cheeks more rosy; gems,
and eyes more brilliant. At one end of the lists, upon his throne of
gold and ivory, sat the Emperor, blazing with jewels. Near him stood his
ministers of state, in their official robes, bearing aloft the insignia
of royalty; and around him were his faithful guards, in complete armor,
with drawn swords. Opposite sat his queenly daughter, the beautiful
Clotilda, the cynosure of all admiring eyes. She was magnificently
arrayed, and surrounded by a bevy of fair damsels, who shone like stars,
eclipsed by the superior brightness of the moon. Seated a little apart,
attired in simple white with a sash of blue, and wearing no ornament
save her favorite flowers, the wood-violet and the lily of the valley,
was Edith, gazing with unusual interest on that lively, gorgeous scene.
And truly, the amphitheatre crowded with spectators, themselves a show,
and the lists filled with gallant knights, whose pawing steeds seemed
impatient for the combat to begin, might excite the imagination of the
dullest, and was well calculated to fire her ardent spirit.

Unusual splendor marked this tournament, in honor of certain
distinguished guests who had arrived, candidates for the hand of the
Princess Clotilda. The