"Unarm him, my mistresses," said the King, whose delight was in
the execution of such chivalrous usages; "let Beauty honour
Chivalry! Undo his spurs, Berengaria; Queen though thou be, thou
owest him what marks of favour thou canst give.--Unlace his
helmet, Edith;--by this hand thou shalt, wert thou the proudest
Plantagenet of the line, and he the poorest knight on earth!"
Both ladies obeyed the royal commands--Berengaria with bustling
assiduity, as anxious to gratify her husband's humour, and Edith
blushing and growing pale alternately, as, slowly and awkwardly,
she undid, with Longsword's assistance, the fastenings which
secured the helmet to the gorget.
"And what expect you from beneath this iron shell?" said
Richard, as the removal of the casque gave to view the noble
countenance of Sir Kenneth, his face glowing with recent
exertion, and not less so with present emotion. "What think ye
of him, gallants and beauties?" said Richard. "Doth he resemble
an Ethiopian slave, or doth he present the face of an obscure and
nameless adventurer? No, by my good sword! Here terminate his
various disguises.
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