At last I
see him whom I have so long pursued, and whose trace I have long
followed. But if I pursue and nothing gain, what will it profit
me to come up with him? Little or nothing, upon my word. If he
does not join in my enterprise, I have wasted all my pains."
Thus saying, she pressed on so fast that her palfrey was all in a
sweat; but she caught up with him and saluted him. He thus at
once replied to her: "God save you, fair one, and deliver you
from grief and woe." "The same to you, sire, who, I hope, will
soon be able to deliver me." Then she draws nearer to him, and
says: "Sire, I have long searched for you. The great fame of
your merit has made me traverse many a county in my weary search
for you. But I continued my quest so long, thank God, that at
last I have found you here. And if I brought any anxiety with
me, I am no longer concerned about it, nor do I complain or
remember it now. I am entirely relieved; my worry has taken
flight the moment I met with you. Moreover, the affair is none
of mine: I come to you from one that is better than I, a woman
who is more noble and excellent. But if she be disappointed in
her hopes of you, then she has been betrayed by your fair renown,
for she has no expectation of other aid. My damsel, who is
deprived of her inheritance by a sister, expects with your help
to win her suit; she will have none but you defend her cause.
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