l him in
all things, and in a few months some of Ogier's strength and wisdom had
passed into the people.

Now night and day Ogier wore the ring which Morgane le Fay had placed on
his finger, and as long as it was there no youth about the court was
fairer and more splendid than he. The gift with which he had been
endowed in his cradle had lost none of its power, and as he passed
through the crowd, towering full a head over other men, the hearts of
the ladies went out towards him. _He_ could not help it, and _they_
could not help it. It had been so ordained by the fairy. Even age could
not preserve them; nay, it seemed to render them an easier prey.

Amongst the noble ladies whose pulses beat faster at the sight of
Ogier's golden hair was the Countess of Senlis. Old was she, and
withered of face, but she had never ceased to think that she was young,
and she mistook the kindliness and courtesy of Ogier's manner for the
love that man bears to woman.

One morning, in crossing the garden to attend upon her mistress the
queen, the countess came upon Ogier lying asleep under the trees. She
stopped and looked upon him tenderly; then her eyes fell upon the ring
on his finger, whose stone, of a strange green hue, was graven with
devices.

'If I could see them close, perchance I might guess who he is and whence
he came,' said she to herself, and, stooping, she drew lightly the ring
from his hand, not knowing that the queen had crept up and stood behind
her. But what an awful change came over him all at once! His limbs grew
shrivelled, his hair white, his eyes so shrunken that they seemed hardly
more than points; but when the queen turned with horror to ask her lady
what it meant, the change in her was hardly less wondrous, for, though
the old countess was ignorant of it, fifty years had been swept from
her, and she was straight and winsome as of yore.

They were still standing, dumb with surprise, when Ogier awoke and
glanced about him with feeble, uncertain gaze. Catching sight of the
ring, which the countess was still holding, he stretched his shaking
hand towards it. The action was more than the queen could bear.

'Give it back to him,' she said; and, unwilling though she was to part
with such a treasure, the countess was forced to obey.

Tremblingly Ogier restored the ring to its place, and in an instant his
youth and beauty returned to him.

Soon after this the king of France died, and when the time of mourning
was o