a singular adventure that befell in the snowy isle.
whilst they were considering about this, afar off they discovered a ship, the sight of which revived their hopes; she came near, her sails were furled, her anchors lowered, and speedily a small boat appeared, making for the bay where the mournful little party were in the act of embarking in the skiff. auristella advised that they should delay awhile, in order to learn who these people might be. the boat approached, and ran in upon the frozen snow. two fine strong-looking young men sprang out, seemingly of brisk and gay temperament; they lifted from the boat the fainting and nearly exhausted form of a young woman, who looked as if she could hardly live to reach the shore.
they called aloud to the party who were already in the skiff, and desired that they would stop to witness an event that was about to take place.
maurice answered, that they had no oars to manage their boat with, unless they could lend them some of theirs. the sailors, who belonged to the newly-arrived boat, brought them some, and then returned to trample the snow. then the two young men, each being armed with a wooden buckler to protect his breast, and each with a short sword in his hand, again leaped on shore. auristella, full of terror with the foreboding of some new misfortune, hastened to assist the fainting damsel, and the others followed her. the two young men exclaimed, "stay one moment, ladies and gentlemen, and hear what we have to say." "this gentleman and myself," said one of the two, "are engaged to fight for the possession of yonder weak damsel who lies there; the death of one of us can alone decide the question of which is to have her, since we have no other means of settling our dispute, unless she herself would choose which of us she would prefer for a husband, in which case we would sheathe our swords, and calm our spirits. what we ask of you is, that you do not in any way interrupt our quarrel, which we shall carry to extremity without fear of hindrance, unless it should be from you; as you may perceive in these deserts there is nothing we can obtain wherewith to restore the life of this damsel, who is about to cost one of us our own. we are too much hurried to find time to ask you who you are, or how you came to be in this desert island, without even oars to guide your boat, so that you cannot depart from a place which seems uninhabited even by animals."
maurice replied that they would do as they desired in all respects; and immediately the two drew their swords, and without waiting for the damsel to pronounce her decision, began the combat; thus rather wishing to let their quarrel be determined by the chance of arms than the inclination of the lady.
the two combatants fought without observing rules; after a few passes the sword of one entered his opponent's body, and pierced his heart through and through, whilst the stroke of the other cleft his rival's head. he had just life enough left to approach the damsel, and lay his face near her's; saying, i have conquered, lady, mine thou art, and although i have but one brief moment, wherein to call thee so, i yet consider myself the most fortunate of men. the blood of the wounded man bathed the face of the lady, but she was senseless, and returned no answer. the two sailors who had rowed the boat to land, now hastened to assist the wounded man. he who had been run through the body, was quite dead; the other, whose head was cut across, joined his lips to those of the bride he had so dearly bought, and breathed his last sigh.
auristella, who had been observing all this attentively, but who had not yet seen closely the face of the lady, now drew near, and wiping away the blood which had flowed from the wounds of the man now lying dead by her side, she recognized in the damsel her own maid taurisa, who was with her when she was in the hands of the prince arnoldo; and he had told her that he had committed her to the care of two gentlemen, who would convey her safely to ireland. auristella stood looking upon her, astonished and wondering, and sadder than sadness itself; yet her sorrow increased, when it became manifest that taurisa was no more. "alas! alas!" she cried, "how does heaven continue to mark my unfortunate existence with the most extraordinary events: if it were pleased now to finish my misfortunes by ending my life, i should be happy; for the sorrows which find an end in the grave can then trouble one no more, and death may be considered as a boon. what is this net with which my sad destiny obstructs every path that leads to peace and rest? what improbable adventures are these i meet with at every turn? but tears and grief are useless now, and lamentations are of small avail; let us devote the time we have to spare in giving burial to the dead, and let me not afflict the living." then she entreated maurice to ask the sailors who belonged to the ship, to return thither, and bring proper implements for making a grave. maurice did as she requested, and went with them to the ship, in order to make some arrangements with the captain, or persons in command, that they might receive the party on board, and take them to whatever place they might be bound to.
meantime, auristella and transila prepared the corpse of the ill-fated taurisa for burial. their christian piety and decorum would not allow of her being undrest. maurice returned with the necessary implements, having also made his arrangements for their departure with the ship. they performed the ceremony of interment for taurisa, but the mariners refused, as good catholics, to pay the like respect to the bodies of the two young men, who had died in mortal combat.
