the first occasion when he can show his prowess
upon the infidels. Bring him to me to-morrow, when the princess will be
here with the Queen of Navarre at a banquet. I would fain thank him
before her; and, although I have agreed--at the princess's earnest
solicitation--to take no further notice of the matter, and to allow it
to pass as if it had not been, yet I cannot forgive the treachery which
has been used, and, without letting all know exactly what has occurred,
would fain by my reception of your page, let men see that something of
great import has happened, of the nature of which I doubt not that
rumour will give some notion."

Upon the following day, therefore, Cuthbert to his confusion found
himself the centre of the royal circle. The king expressed himself to him
in the most gracious manner, patting him on the shoulder, and said that
he would be one day one of the best and bravest of his knights. The
princess and the Queen of Navarre gave him their hands to kiss; and
somewhat overwhelmed, he withdrew from the royal presence, the centre of
attention, and, in some minds, of envy.

Cnut too did not pass unrewarded.

His Majesty, finding that Cnut was of gentle Saxon blood, gave him a gold
chain in token of his favour, and distributed a heavy purse among the men
who had followed him.

When the British fleet, numbering 200 ships, set sail from Sicily, it was
a grand and martial sight. From the masts were the colours of England and
those of the nobles who commanded; while the pennons of the knights, the
bright plumes and mantles, the flash of armour and arms, made the decks
alive with light and colour.

The king's ship advanced in the van, and round him were the vessels
containing his principal followers. The Queen of Navarre and the
Princess Berengaria were with the fleet. Strains of music rose from the
waters, and never were the circumstances of war exhibited in a more
picturesque form.

For two days the expedition sailed on, and then a change of a sudden and
disastrous kind took place.

"What is all this bustle about?" Cuthbert said to Cnut. "The sailors are
running up the ladders, and all seems confusion."

"Methinks," said Cnut, "that we are about to have a storm. A few minutes
ago scarce a cloud was to be seen; now that bank over there has risen
half-way up the sky. The sailors are accustomed to these treacherous
seas, and the warnings which we have not noticed have no doubt been clear
enough to them."