Esyllt and Sabrina part 6

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Such as Corineus was, such were his followers; shaggy-browed, iron-sinewed, ample in stature, resolute in purpose, and ruthless in action, they waited but a sign from their chief to dash like wolves upon the homesteads of the peaceful subjects of the King, or to tear him to pieces in his own halls. Then Locrinus sadly gave way, priests whom Corineus had brought with him performed the rites that united a frowning bride to a bridegroom in a mourning habit, and the haughty Guendolen sat in the place of Esyllt. Little love was there between Locrinus and his new queen, as you may well guess; for the daughter of Corineus was not one to win love; but the more she saw that the heart of her husband was turned away from her, the more did she exult in the submission that her father had forced upon him, and triumph in the power that her high place gave her.

Immeasurable waters

Esyllt, meanwhile, tarried sadly in the shepherd `s cottage, wearying for the coming of her lord; the daily pain of his absence left her little thought for her changed fortunes, or for the lost throne; if she could only see him she thought she could be content to die, and day by day she sat upon the lonely shore looking out on the immeasurable waters, or climbed to the trackless downs, if perchance he might be coming by sea or by land; and when she came back weary and faint to the cottage, she could find little comfort in the talk of the shepherd and his wife, who told such tales of the wrath and of the strength of the great Prince Corineus, that the poor lady trembled to think of her dear lord, and lay awake half the night weeping and praying to the gods to protect him. At length, however, King Locrinus, on pretense of hunting, contrived to steal away from Guendolen, and to visit the lonely Esyllt, and the hearts of both were refreshed, and the spark of life which was dying out in Esyllt `s bosom shot up again into a bright flame, like a waning lamp newly fed with oil ;f and they dared even to think of a time when their troubles might be at an end, and the gods, to whom all things are possible, might give them back something of their old happiness.

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