The blood and bones of murdered Knights They found where’er they came; At length within a lonely cell They saw a mournful dame.
Her gentle eyes were dimmed with tears; Her cheeks were pale with woe; And long Sir Valentine besought Her doleful tale to know.
“Alas! young Knight,” she weeping said, “Condole my wretched fate; A childless mother here you see; A wife without a mate.
“These twenty winters here forlorn I’ve drawn my hated breath; Sole witness of a monster’s crimes, And wishing aye for death.
“Know, I am sister of a King, And in my early years Was married to a mighty Prince, The fairest of his peers.
“With him I sweetly lived in love A twelvemonth and a day; When, lo! a foul and treacherous priest Y-wrought our loves’ decay.
“With treason, villainy, and wrong, My goodness he repayed; With jealous doubts he filled my Lord, And me to woe betrayed;
“But, ’cause I then was ill, my Lord At length my life he spared; But bade me instant quit the realm, One trusty Knight my guard.
“Forth on my journey I depart, Oppressed with grief and woe, And tow’rds my brother’s distant Court, With breaking heart, I go.
“Long time thro’ sundry foreign lands We slowly pace forlorn, At length within a forest wild, I had two babies born.
“The eldest fair and smooth, as snow That tips the mountain hoar; The younger’s little body rough With hairs was covered o’er.
“But here afresh begin my woes: While tender care I took To shield my eldest from the cold, And wrap him in my cloak,
“A prowling bear burst from the wood, And seized my younger son; Affection lent my weakness wings And after them I run.
“But all forewearied, weak and spent, I quickly swooned away; And there beneath the greenwood shade Long time I lifeless lay.
“At length the Knight brought me relief, And raised me from the ground; But neither of my pretty babes Could ever more be found.
“And, while in search we wandered far, We met that Giant grim, Who ruthless slew my trusty Knight, And bare me off with him.
“But charmed by Heaven, or else my griefs, He offered me no wrong; Save that within these lonely walls I’ve been immured so long.”
“Now, surely,” said the youthful Knight, “You are Lady Bellisance, Wife to the Grecian Emperor; Your brother’s King of France.