“ O God, O God!” and he wept and sobbed in a heart-breaking manner.
“It is certainly the voice of a man for all that,” said Massaccio.
“Oh, if you are still there,” said Vitalis, “in the name of all that is dear to you, save me, that I may die at least at home, and not in this horrible pit. I can say no more; my voice is exhausted. Shall I give you my palace at Venice, my possessions, my honors? I give them all; and may I die if I forfeit my word. Life, life only; save only my life.” ”

“ It happened one morning after he had thus said unto himself, that the emperor arose, and summoning his huntsmen and his friends, hastened to chase the wild deer of the forest. The chase was long and swift, and the sun was high in the heavens, when Jovinian reined up his horse on the bank of a clear bright stream that ran through the fertile country on which his palace stood. Allured by the refreshing appearance of the stream, he bade his attendants abide still, whilst he sought a secluded pool beneath some willows, where he might bathe unseen. ”

“ Then said the angel: “Why weepest thou, Sir Guido? arise, put on thy arms, and fight for the holy cross.”
“Verily, Lord,” replied Sir Guido, “much and often have I fought.”
“Yes,” replied the angel, “much, often, and valiantly hast thou fought for the love of woman; now fight for the love of God, the glory of the holy cross. Contend against God’s enemies, as thou hast against those of men.”
With these words the vision faded away, and Sir Guido knew that he was called to battle in the Holy Land against the infidels. ”

“ With these words, the men seized Malitius, and hurried with him in their arms to the mouth of the kiln.
“Mercy, mercy, good sirs,” cried the steward, “it is Fulgentius you should burn; not me.”
“Ha! ha!” laughed the lime-burners; “we know neither thee nor Fulgentius; thou art the first man that has come here this day and asked us: ‘Whether we have done the emperor’s will’; so peace, man, peace. Ha! ha! his will is done.” ”

“ When their meal was finished, and they were once more mounted, the knight said:
“O king, why didst not thou bring with thee thy father and thy mother?”
“My father, Sir Knight, is dead, and my mother is old and cannot travel; how then could I bring them? Verily, thou art the most foolish man that I did ever meet with.”
54“That is as it may be,” said the knight with a smile, “every thing is judged by its end. Now, O king, farewell! I may not ride with thee to the emperor’s palace, thither lies thy road, farewell.”
“But stay, Sir Knight,” said the king, “whither ridest thou then?” ”

“ With sorrowful hearts the two knights returned towards the woodman’s cottage. The babe was nestled in its mother’s breast, and smiled on them as they seized it. Vain was the resistance of its mother, for she was alone; Leopold had gone into the wood, to his daily labor.
“I cannot strike the poor babe,” said one knight to the other, as they left the hut in the forest, “do you play the butcher.”
“Not I,” replied the other; “I can strike down my adversary in fair fight, but not this poor babe.” ”

“ The deposed emperor desired death. “Why,” said he to himself, “should I now live? my friends, my dependents, yea, even the partner of my bed shuns me, and I am desolate among those whom my bounties have raised. Come, I will seek the good priest, to whom I so often have laid open my most secret faults: of a surety, he will remember me.”
Now the good priest lived in a small cell, nigh to a chapel about a stone’s-cast from the palace gate; and when Jovinian knocked, the priest, being engaged in reading, answered from within: “Who is there? why troublest thou me?” ”

“ The two beasts that warmed him, are the good and the great of our empire, who will give of their substance to sustain and cherish their prince. And whilst the other nations, mighty and strong, shall bow down before him, as the beasts did in the vision, so shall our people rejoice and sing with exceeding joy, as the birds sang sweetly and pleasantly in thy dream. ”

“ And the empress answered: “Let me, as in duty bound, speak first. Heaven be my witness, I know not which is my lord and husband.”
And all the nobles said the same.
Thereupon the feigned Jovinian rose and spake: “Nobles and friends, hearken! that man is your emperor and your master; hear ye him; know that he did exalt himself above that which was right, and make himself equal unto God. ”

“ Immediately the narrow window of the cell was opened, and the priest, looking out, saw no one save the poor half-clothed Jovinian. “Depart from me, thou accursed thing!” cried the priest; “thou art not our good lord the emperor, but the foul fiend himself, the great tempter.”
“Alas, alas!” cried Jovinian, “to what fate am I reserved, that even my own good priest despises me! Ah me, I bethink me—in the arrogance of my heart, I called myself a god: 25the weight of my sin is grievous unto me. Father, good father, hear the sins of a miserable penitent.” ”

“ Jovinian knocked at the gate of the duke’s palace, and the porter opened the wicket, and seeing a half-naked man, asked him why he knocked, and who he was.
“Friend,” replied the emperor, “I am Jovinian. I have been robbed of my clothes whilst bathing, and am now with no apparel, save this ragged cloak, and no horse; so tell the duke the emperor is here.”
The porter, more and more astonished at the emperor’s words, sought his master, and delivered Jovinian’s message to him.
“Bring in the poor man,” said the duke; “peradventure he is mad.” ”

“ Rewards and thanks followed his successes; the king regarded him as the preserver of his throne, and considered no rewards too great or too good for the Christian warrior. The rewards of the good are ever sources of envy to the wicked. So was it at the court of the Dacian king. The prosperity of Sir Tyrius was gall and wormwood to a knight of Dacia, Sir Plebeus, who, until the coming of this stranger, had been looked upon as the greatest warrior of the Dacian people. To envy succeeded hatred, to hatred falsehood. ”

“ On this the usurper turned to the empress of Jovinian—“Tell me,” said he, “on thy true faith, knowest thou this man who calls himself emperor of this realm?”
And the empress answered: “Good my lord, have not thirty years passed since I first knew thee, and became the mother of our children? Why askest thou me of this fellow? and yet it doth surprise me how he should know what none save you and I can know?”
Then the usurper turned to Jovinian, and with a harsh countenance rebuked his presumption, and ordered the executioners to drag him by the feet by horses until he died. ”

“ On the appointed day, the soldier entered the court of the palace accompanied by one attendant, who led an extremely fiery horse by the bridle. The king descended to the gate of the inner court-yard, and demanded the soldier’s wishes.
“I come, my lord, to win thy daughter, by rightly answering her three questions; I pray thee propose them to me.”
“Right willingly,” rejoined the emperor. “If thou succeedest, my daughter and the succession to my throne are thine; but mark me, if thou failest, a sound whipping awaits thee as an impudent adventurer. Shall I propose the questions?” ”

“ I must know all if thou wouldst have it kept a secret.”
Subtilia at length elicited the secret from her lover. The source of his power once known to her, the next object of her plans was to obtain that power for herself.
“Thou art very wrong, Jonathan,” said she, looking up into his face, with her dark black eyes; “surely thou art wrong to wear so precious a jewel on thy finger; some day, in the hurry of your occupation, you will lose the ring, and then your power is gone.” ”

“ The good knight is the soul of man, and his wicked wife the flesh of his body. The pilgrimage represents our good deeds. The wise magician, a prudent priest. Maleficus stands as the representative of the Devil, and the image is human pride and vanity; add to these the bath of confession, and the mirror of the sacred writings, by which the arrows of sin are warded off, and the allegory is complete. ”

“ The emperor is our Saviour; the daughter, the human soul. Measuring the elements, is typical of subduing the lust of the flesh. The fiery horse is a sinner changed by repentance; and the small bright stone, that conquers the power of fire, is a true and lively faith in our Saviour, utterly subjugating the fire of pride, luxury, and avarice.”
“What is the tale of the marriage by racing?” asked Thompson. ”

“ The first knight whose castle he visited was True Wisdom, ever disdainful of the pomps and vanities of the world. 28The next knight was Conscience. The dog that turned against his old master, was the lusts of the flesh, our own evil desires, which will ever in the end turn against those who have pampered them. The falcon is God’s grace; the empress, man’s soul; and the clothes in which the good priest clothed the half-frozen emperor, are those kingly virtues which he had thrown off, when he gave loose rein to the vanities of the world. ”

“ Then I said to myself: ‘Conciliation and kindness would go far to convert enemies into friends.’”
40Now it turned out as Guido hoped; for ere the feast was ended, the king and his enemies were reconciled to each other, and became friends even unto the end of their days. So the emperor called Guido, and said: “With God’s blessing, thy design has prospered. Come, now, make for my reconciled enemies and me a fire that shall burn without smoke.”
And Guido answered: “It shall be done as thou hast required, O king.” ”

“ There was a merry feast in the palace of Philonimus, the emperor of Rome, and his fair child, the maiden Aglae, sat by his side, whilst a brave knight, that loved the maiden dearly, sat on the other hand of the emperor. For the knight was bound for Palestine, to aid in rescuing the holy city from the power of the infidels and the emperor held a high festival in honor of that knight.
The feast was over in the hall, and the knight led the maiden from beside her father’s throne to the floor of the hall, and danced with her, whilst the king’s minstrels played a measure. ”

“ As soon as Eustace returned the soldiers examined his head, and finding the wished-for mark, embraced their old general; the neighbors, too, came in, and the exploits of Eustace were soon in the mouths of the villagers.
For fifteen days they journeyed towards Rome, Eustace and his two guides; as they neared the imperial capital, the emperor came out to meet his old commander. Eustace would have fallen at his master’s feet, but Trajan forbade him; and side by side, amid the congratulations and applauses of the people, the emperor and his long-lost servant entered Rome. ”

“ The emperor is God. The three images the three sorts of mankind in whom God takes delight. The first image, with its extended hand and proffered gift, is no bad symbol of the poor and simple of this world, who prevail little among the great and powerful unless their gift is ready in the extended hand.”
“Why fleecest thou the poor?” asks conscience. ”

“ He brought this unstable and transitory life to a good end, and passed from that which is corruptible to inherit incorruption.
“There is but one fiction,” said Herbert, “in this legend which requires further explanation; why the stream of the fountain of life is made to flow through the rank jaws of a putrid dog rather than that of any other animal.”
“The incident is intentional,” rejoined Lathom; “an old couplet ascribes to the dog four special qualities: a healing tongue, a distinguishing sense of smell, a perfect love, and unremitting watchfulness.” ”

“ Guido is a poor Christian, by baptism made his servant. His first service is to serve his God, and to prepare the heart for virtue. His second duty is to watch; ‘for he knoweth not the day nor the hour when the Son of Man cometh.’ His third task is to taste of repentance, which was good to the saints who are departed, is good to such of us as it brings to salvation, and will be good to all in the last day. ”

“ The porter, greatly enraged, went and told his lord how that a naked fellow stood at the gate, calling himself the emperor, and demanding clothes and a good steed.
“Bring the fellow in,” said the knight.
So they brought in Jovinian, and he stood before the lord of the castle, and again declared himself to be the emperor Jovinian. Loud laughed the knight to the emperor.
“What, thou my lord the emperor! art mad, good fellow? Come, give him my old cloak; it will keep him from the flies.” ”

“ Subtilia was hardly seated on the carpet, ere Jonathan wished that they were in a desert place, far, far from the abode of man. His wish was hardly complete before they were both in a drear solitude, many hundreds of miles from a human abode, and where wild beasts and deadly serpents abounded.
“Subtilia!” exclaimed Jonathan, “thou art now in my power: restore the ring and the necklace, or die by the mouths of beasts, or the slow torture of famine; no human footstep ever treads these solitudes.” ”

“ The translator in Blackwood seems not to have been aware of its existence in the Gesta Romanorum, content to translate it from the later version of Massenius, a German Jesuit, who lived at Cologne in 1657.”
“Few subjects,” said Herbert, “seem more involved than the history of didactic fiction. The more mysterious an investigation bids fair to be, the less we have to depend on fact, and the more we are at the mercy of conjecture, so much the more does the mind love to grasp at the mystery, and delight in the dim perspective and intricacies of the way. ”

“ But, O my dear uncle, how couldst thou contrive such a death for thy poor nephew?” and he wept bitterly.
Then did they each declare to the other the deceits of the wicked steward; and the emperor raised up the youth, and acknowledged him before all his people as his very true and good nephew, his heir and successor to the throne; rendering thanks to God who had preserved the uncle from so deadly a sin against his relative, and the nephew from so horrible a death.
“The German poet has been equally successful in his amendments with Parnell,” said Herbert. ”

“ But I pray you to bear in mind that few qualities are more dependent on time, than probability and improbability. When you read these tales, you must, for the time, retrace your steps to the age in which they were written; and though the tale may seem absurd to us of this day, yet if it was calculated to impress the ivminds of those for whom it was invented, and to whom it was told, its merit was great, and therefore deserving of due praise. A giant or a magician was as probable to the people of the middle ages, as electricity to us. ”