Page:The Enchanted Knights; or The Chronicle of the Three Sisters.djvu/93

Rh Waidewuth the Unknown offered his hand to Udo, saying in a compassionate tone:—“Your misfortune, noble prince, bends you down, yet, know that a persevering man ought not to give way beneath its heavy load; but exercise his last remaining strength to throw off its burden, and become himself again. Before you determine upon dying, at least confide the cause of your sufferings to the bosom of him whom you believed formerly worthy of your friendship, and deny not yourself the consolation of knowing that there is one who participates in them: for this is comfort to a sufferer.” “Alas!” replied the sorrowful prince, “why do you ask me to tell you my misfortune whose remembrance rends my heart in twain. A powerful prince has wrested from me my principality; I have lost a tender wife, and a beautiful child, the pledge of faithful love. Now, as you know all, I am sure you will agree with my resolution to lay down a life which seems to me far more horrible than death itself.” Waidewuth retorted:—“I was warned of all this when I consulted the stars, and it was this which made me melancholy when I left you; but the constellation is again favourable to you—do not therefore despair; it is in the power of destiny to recompense you for all your losses. You are