Page:The venture; an annual of art and literature.djvu/101

 beautiful, and said to her husband, "Mark, Sir, this is the crown of the reward which thou hast merited for ransoming those relics and this damsel; for the Lord who would give us but one son, now gives us a daughter, and I love her as my own." And thus she received her into her house; and seeing by her speech that she did not know our language, she instructed her, and kept her as her own daughter, and taught her all civility, which she learned as though she were to the manner born. She learned to work embroidery which none could match; she embroidered any stuff in gold and silk, and it was a marvel to see the perfection of her handiwork; she knew right well how to draw, and was the best needlewoman in the land, and took pleasure in embroidering linen with letters, and would join two pieces together, so that the same letters might be read on each side, and they were so elegant that it was a delight to see them. But they were in the language of her own country, and she would never tell whence she came, or who she was, or how she had fallen into captivity. And thus she continued in this dwelling for three years, in which she never saw or was seen by any but the people of the house, and she learned our language as well as if she had been born here by hearing the discourse of others. And by reason of her obligation to him who had brought her out of captivity, she was as kindly affectioned to the youth as though they had been brother and sister. But the father could not suffer this, and if he saw them together even though they were saying nothing, he took it amiss, so jealous was he