no pain nor torment, and all the day hurled through the forest in
this fashion nor heard no word of her. And when he saw Vespers draw
nigh, he began to weep for that he found her not. All down an old road,
and grassgrown he fared, when anon, looking along the way before him, he
saw such an one as I shall tell you. Tall was he, and great of growth,
laidly and marvellous to look upon: his head huge, and black as charcoal,
and more than the breadth of a hand between his two eyes, and great
cheeks, and a big nose and broad, big nostrils and ugly, and thick lips
redder than a collop, and great teeth yellow and ugly, and he was shod
with hosen and shoon of bull's hide, bound with cords of bark over the
knee, and all about him a great cloak twy-fold, and he leaned on a
grievous cudgel, and Aucassin came unto him, and was afraid when he
beheld him.

"Fair brother, God aid thee."

"God bless you," quoth he.

"As God he helpeth thee, what makest thou here?"

"What is that to thee?"

"Nay, naught, naught," saith Aucassin, "I ask but out of courtesy."

"But for whom weepest thou," quoth he, "and makest such heavy lament?
Certes, were I as rich a man as thou, the whole world should not make me
weep."

"Ha! know ye me?" saith Aucassin.

"Yea, I know well that ye be Aucassin, the son of the Count, and if ye
tell me for why ye weep, then will I tell you what I make here."

"Certes," quoth Aucassin, "I will tell you right gladly. Hither came I
this morning to hunt in this forest; and with me a white hound, the
fairest in the world; him have I lost, and for him I weep."

"By the Heart our Lord bare in his breast," quoth he, "are ye weeping for
a stinking hound? Foul fall him that holds thee high henceforth! for
there is no such rich man in the land, but if thy father asked it of him,
he would give thee ten, or fifteen, or twenty, and be the gladder for it.
But I have cause to weep and make dole."

"Wherefore so, brother?"

"Sir, I will tell thee. I was hireling to a rich vilain, and drove his
plough; four oxen had he. But three days since came on me great
misadventure, whereby I lost the best of mine oxen, Roger, the best of my
team. Him go I seeking, and have neither eaten nor drunken these three
days, nor may I go to the town, lest they cast me into prison, seeing
that I have not wherewithal to pay. Out of all the wealth of the world
have I no more than ye see on my body. A poor mother bare me, that had
no mor