Yet he seemed to be both handsome
and young: his garments had been magnificent, but he had torn them all
to tatters. The prince, moved with compassion, made towards him, and
mildly accosted him: "Sir," said he, "your condition appears so
deplorable, that I must ask the cause of your sorrow, assuring you of
every assistance in my power."
"Oh, sir," answered the young man, "nothing can cure my grief; this
day my dear mistress is to be sacrificed to a rich old ruffian of a
husband who will make her miserable."
"Does she love you then?" asked Leander.
"I flatter myself so," answered the young man.
"Where is she?" continued Leander.
"In a castle at the end of this forest," replied the lover.
"Very well," said Leander; "stay you here till I come again, and in a
little while I will bring you good news."
He then put on his little red cap, and wished himself in the castle.
He had hardly got thither before he heard all sorts of music; he
entered into a great room, where the friends and kindred of the old
man and the young lady were assembled. No one could look more amiable
than she; but the paleness of her complexion, the melancholy that
appeared in her countenance, and the tears that now and then dropped,
as it were by stealth, from her eyes, betrayed the trouble of her
mind.
Leander now became invisible, and placed himself in a corner of the
room.
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