Such a wonder
was never seen, nor such injustice, as Thou dost to me in not
allowing me even to see the man who must be so close to me. When
I cannot see him, I may well say that some demon or spirit has
interposed himself between us, so that I am under a spell. Or
else he is a coward and is afraid of me: he must be a craven to
stand in awe of me, and it is an act of cowardice not to show
himself before me. Ah, thou spirit, craven thing! Why art thou
so in fear of me, when before my lord thou weft so brave? O
empty and elusive thing, why cannot I have thee in my power? Why
cannot I lay hands upon thee now? But how could it ever come
about that thou didst kill my lord, unless it was done by
treachery? Surely my lord would never have met defeat at thy
hands had he seen thee face to face. For neither God nor man
ever knew of his like, nor is there any like him now. Surely,
hadst thou been a mortal man, thou wouldst never have dared to
withstand my lord, for no one could compare with him." Thus the
lady struggles with herself, and thus she contends and exhausts
herself. And her people with her, for their part, show the
greatest possible grief as they carry off the body to burial.
After their long efforts and search they are completely exhausted
by the quest, and give it up from weariness, inasmuch as they can
find no one who is in any way guilty.
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