Page:Stories from Old English Poetry-1899.djvu/92

70 On this, Cymoent had reared her boy in extremest hate of all womankind. She taught him to despise all their charms and to distrust all their words. So that hitherto he had hardly allowed himself speech with any woman or even looked twice into a female face.

Alas that all women were not as hard-hearted as the sea-prince! The lovely Florimel, sweetest and most innocent of maidens, the goddaughter of Venus, who had been reared by the Graces and Muses on Mount Helicon, had beheld the handsome Marinell from the windows of the castle not far distant from the sea, where she now had her dwelling-place. Often, with her attendant maidens, had she ridden near the beach, and often had dismounted to gather pebbles and sea-weed which the waves washed far in to shore. Again and again she had watched the scornful prince, who would not even glance at her, and like a tame white dove, which will fly as soon into the bosom of its enemy as into a hand ready to protect and cherish, so her heart had flown into the keeping of the black-browed prince. But when she had found that he would not notice or look on her, she was filled with shame and disappointment, and sought only to go away and hide herself from all eyes.

Angry at the indignity put upon all women