ly enquired after the maid he so much adored, when, turning round, he beheld a rough-hewn stone, raised above the sod, bearing the inscription, "A tribute of gratitude to the memory of Elfrida." Adelfred gazed upon it with delirious eye. "Merciful God!" he exclaimed; and uttering a faint scream, sunk breathless upon the turf.

The old man was distracted; he put his hand upon his heart to see if it beat, and perceiving some signs of life, entreated the assistance of Ali Sheing, to bear the fainting Adelfred to his cottage, which stood at the extremity of the valley, upon the borders of a stream. The unhappy youth was borne, in a state of insensibility, to the habitation of Ruthwold, and every means used to restore him to life. He soon revived: and the venerable cottager, when his guest was able to hear what had transpired at the castle of Llanbedder, in his absence, related to him the unhappy change which time had made.

*

Caradoc the Brave, as he was called, was in his time a powerful cheiftain, the Lord of Llanbedder castle, the friend and favourite of his prince; he wived with a Saxon princess of extraordinary beauty, who died in giving birth to her first and only child, who surviving, was christened Adelfred. For a long time

was the wretched father inconsolable for the loss of his beloved Ethela, until time, which dissipates grief, and the infantine prattle of his darling son, who now began to lisp, removed the weight of anguish from his heart. At this time, too, his country was engaged in a fresh war, after a short slumber of two years, and the assistance of Caradoc was required by the reigning prince, to expel the turbulent enemy, who were marching with rapid strides to the centre of his kingdom. The gallant chieftain collected together his vassals, and proceeded at their head, in conjunction with other patriotic lords, to the expulsion of the foe. Many battles were fought-many victories obtained-and Saxon blood

clogged the soil of Wales. At length, the day arrived that was to, either see crushed the aspiring foe, or the native liberty of Cambria expire. The morning sun smiled upon the plain devoted to the sanguinary contest; and both armies, with floating banners, came marching to the field. Caradoc, in a bold and energetic speech, urged his men to act like lions in the broil.

"Be not daunted," he cried, "by the glittering of their shield; remember, you fight for your native country, your native liberty-they for extended glory. What are our motives, but to defend our rights? What theirs, but to subju. gate and oppress ?-They fight for rapine-we for our homes, our nátive land, and liberty. My brave companions, do not shrink from the sanguinary sword of the foe, but boldly front it: and those whose fate it is to fall, let their example inspire the survivors with the rage and fury of lions, to destroy; but, when mercy is demanded, be merciful, for the Lord God is so."

The voice of Caradoc called slumbering valour to the bosoms of the daunted; and now the loud-mouthed trumpet proclaimed to arms the steady-rolling drum filled the echoes-and soon the martial clash of swords battering shields was heard. The Britons pressed hard upon the foe: Caradoc was seen in the throat of war: blood crowned his sabre's point-and the groans of the dying issued at his feet.

Leofred, a valiant Saxon leader, performed prodigies with his single sword; the Britons were forced to give back wherever he appeared; and him the furious Caradac was in search of. He cut his way through a defile of soldiery, and snatching a banner from the grasp of a young ensign, defied the haughty chief; who now, disengaging himself from another part of the field, came, bursting with anger and revenge, to the defiance of Caradoc. The Saxon banner was to be the victor's prize; and the strife commenced. The well-tempered steel of Leofred crushed the helm of Carodoc,

and mingled blood and sweat trickled from the seams of the armour of either: now they roll, entwined in each other's grasp, upon the ground—and now, disengaged, they are up again and steel clashes against steel each sword emits angry sparks of fire: but Leofred was weak, and his enemy taking this advantage, thrust his well-aimed sabre in the breast of the reeling chief, who dropped his weapon, and fell exhausted and bleeding beneath the arm of his adversary; the last breath issued from his lips-a frown of disappointed vengeance distorted his agonized brow, while he rendered up his soul, that flew in a groan from his gaping bosom.

The Saxons were now put to the rout; no longer able to maintain the field, they fled, in wild disorder, with precipitancy, and great loss: many a valiant heart lay bleeding upon the field of slaughter-many a noble soul fled its clayey mansion: the shafts of death were hurled at random, without respect to age or dignity.

The noble Caradoc was severely wounded: faint with loss of blood, he rested upon his sword, and a deadly paleness sat upon his cheek. An arrow, shot from the bow of the flying enemy, pierced his manly breast; the cruel weapon, with fortitude, he plucked aside, and endeavoured to stop the effusion of blood that followed, by applying a bandage to the wound; but still he became more faint his feeble limbs refused to bear him to the Saxon camp, that was now occupied by his brave countrymen; and, no longer able to sustain him, he sunk upon a pale, mangled corse, that had long since parted with its soul, while a deadly drowsiness overpowered his eyes. The fogs of evening now began gradually to descend upon the earth, and enlivening dews occupied the bosom of the plant, where late the warm rays of the fecundating sun had rested; the combatants were all retired from the field-the loud-mouthed trumpet, sounding the glad tidings of victory, had ceased-and each retired army was

counting over its loss, when, disturbing the stillness that surrounded, the screams of an infant child were heard by Caradoc, who, arouzed by the cries of distress, and animated with a new life, arose upon his weak limbs, and flew to relieve the suffering object, exposed to a miserable, relentless death. He soon reached the spot from whence the shrieks proceeded, and discovered an infant crying with terror, clasped in the arms of its deceased mother. Caradoc was petrified at the sight. A dead soldier lay extended upon the plain: dry were all his veins-the. pulsation of his heart was long since gone; upon his bosom rested a woman, his wife, as it should seem, who, wild with grief, had shared his fate, regardless of her duty to her tender offspring, whose cries were heart-piercing, and whose little hands were stained with its parents' blood.

Caradoc, unmanned by the sight, and yet invigorated with the hope of giving relief, eagerly seized the defenceless object, and flew with it in his arms, in hopes of gaining the camp, but each step he became more faint: still he pressed forward, till at length, with a groan, he relinquished the path, and, unable to proceed, awaited with resignation the interposition of Heaven in his favour. A short interim had elapsed, during which the child's cries continued, when footsteps were heard at some distance, and a number of torches were seen flaring in the hands of a small group. Caradoc, now summoning all his voice, hallooed loudly for assistance. The halloo was instantly returned-Caradoc joyfully repeated the cry-and the footsteps were heard approaching nearer. Their voices were now distinguished: again Caradoc repeated the cryand instantly the men surrounded him.

The Cambrian chiefs sat in council, and, on missing the brave Lord of Llanbedder, instantly dispatched scouts over the field to bring news of him; these were a party whom Caradoc hailed, and he was immediately borne to the tent of the assembled chieftains. The surgeons

declared his wounds not dangerous that he was only faint for loss of blood. Healing ointments were instantly applied, and he was conveyed to a couch, where sleep refreshed him, and recruited strength to his enfeebled body. Equal care was taken of the helpless infant, committed to the protection of a humane villager, the mother of a new-born babe. Each day brought with it strength to Caradoc; and, in a short time, he was thoroughly recovered.

The Saxons, disgraced by this recent defeat, and feeling the severity of their loss in the death of their leader, the intrepid Leofred, evacuated Wales, and left it to enjoy a temporary peace. The British chieftains now retired with their vassals to their castles again, to indulge in hospitality, and add a lustre to their names, by extending their munificence, undiminished, to their dependents, and the defenceless. Never was pilgrim known to depart dissatisfied from the castle of Llanbedder-nor ever did tongue reproach the bounteous Caradoc: his return from the war was hailed with unfeigned transports, and the praises due to him were lavished with truth and freedom. The good Lord sheltered in the castle the orphan whom he had rescued from a pitiless fate that awaited it, and brought it up as his own; the child was christened Elfrida, and, soon as she could speak, equally profitted with the young Adelfred, by the paternal instruction of the virtuous chieftain. The children grew beneath his eye, lovely and amiable-they regarded each other as brother and sister, and both called Caradoc father: their minds were formed by the most virtuous of men; and, with the shoots of reason, every virtue dawned; the impression was made upon their hearts-it was the love of doing good, which carries with itself so grateful a pleasure, that the mind never ceases its labour, to crown the heart with bliss.

Adelfred was now ten years old, and Elfrida just entered her ninth, when a brother of the amiable chieftain dying,

bequeathed to his care his only son, Owain, a youth just then in his fifteenth year; he had no estates to leave him, being deprived of them in the Saxon wars, but recommended him to the protection of the virtuous Caradoc, who received him at Llanbedder, and treated him as his own son. Owain was several years their elder, and the children looked upon him as their superior in knowledge, and in every thing, saving their father's love, which they both felt they enjoyed in its fullest proportion.

One day, when their studies were over, Adelfred tempted Elfrida to take a walk in the garden of the castle, where they were accustomed to spend a leasure hour or two, in some childish amusements. The day was rather sultry, and the venerable Caradoc had sought a shady recess there, where, free from observation, he might enjoy a tranquil moment in reflection, and out of the heat of the sun. He had not lain long in an obscure corner of the garden, when the following conversation caught his ear. He listened with attention, that he might catch the sounds more perfectly. It began with Adelfred.

"Look, sister Elfrida," he cried, "this violet will look most beautiful in the nosegay; and the smell is so sweet, you will be charmed with it."

"Is it for me, Adelfred ?" asked the litle maid.

"Most assuredly," returned he ; "to place in your bosom."

"But will they not very soon fade?" "Not if you breathe upon them, pretty Elfrida; your breath will revive them, when they droop."

"But is it not a pity, brother," rejoined she, "to rob ourselves of the pleasure of beholding those flowers daily, for the gratification of possessing

them?"

"Then I have offended you," added Adelfred mournfully, dropping the nosegay from his hand, and running towards her.

At this moment, Owain approached them; he was thoughtful and gloomy.

In short, he disliked the love which Adelfred and Elfrida felt for each other. He viewed them as objects thwarting the ambitious hope he entertained of being one day the undisputed Lord of Llanbedder, and a deadly hatred of them rankled in his bosom, which he dared not avow.

"No, indeed, indeed, brother, I am not offended," replied Elfrida, not noticing the approach of Owain, "but rather pleased with you." Adelfred kissed her; and Owain broke in upon their discourse.

"You are mistaken, Elfrida," he cried, with a malicious smile, seating himself beside her. "My cousin Adelfred is not your brother; you are not the daughter of Caradoc, but an orphan protected by his bounty. No one knows who or what you are."

"I have been told as much," rejoined she, her eyes half filled with tears; "but he has taught me to call him father, and Adelfred brother, and my own heart prompts me to it."

"Then he has taught you presumption; and it is requisite the seed should expire, ere it bear you beyond yourself. You are the orphan of a common soldier, who died in the field of battle."

"But that soldier was a man," cried Adelfred, his eyes sparkling with fire; "for my father has often told me, that virtue makes the man, and not rank or quality."

"He died fighting, but honour was never attached to his name; he was one of those who, dying, is not missed, or ever heard of more," added Owain, with a sarcastic grin.

"He died for his king and country," returned Adelfred, nettled; "he died in honour the death of a brave man is ever to be lamented and he is a despicable wretch, who will not shed a tear for the brave warrior who fell in the discharge of his duty."

"Cousin, you espouse the cause of the orphan too warmly. Recollect—” Elfrida burst into tears. "Sir," cried Caradoc, much anger

ed, and bursting from his concealment, "the cause of the distressed orphan cannot be espoused with too much warmth. Humanity should teach us to feel for their sufferings, and not to aggravate them.-Recollect yourself, Sir; what are you, but a dependant on my bounty ? You have forced me to remind you, that you are equally a dependant: and, for the future, take care I do not withdraw my countenance from you."

Owain fell upon his knees; and Elfrida, drying her eyes, flew to obtain for him a pardon, that was ere long pronounced. The good old chieftain pressed the angelic maid to his bosom, and added, "In future, take example by this peerless girl, so very far above you. Model your heart from her's, and then will you be as dear to me." Owain promised, and the offence was forgotten.

Envy, and the bitterest hatred, from this moment, occupied his breast. Ambition began her spreading circle in his bosom, that now only brooded mischief, subtlety, and cunning. He concealed, with a good face, his views and sentiments from the chieftain; and by fallacious smiles, regained the favour of his unsuspecting friends.

Adelfred now attained his eighteenth year, and a mutual passion glowed in the bosom of him and Elfrida. With transport Caradoc witnessed their love, and firmly resolved upon their union.

At this time, Richard Cœur de Lion ascended the throne of England, and invited the Welch barons to join with him in the crusade. The vassals of Llanbedder, fired with a religious enthusiasm, eagerly embraced the cause, and their proffered services were accepted by the gallant Richard. Years had turned to grey the locks of Caradoc; feeble were his limbs; the sword he had once wielded with gigantic strength, was now too heavy for his grasp; and he was compelled to decline the command of his brave clan. Adelfred was elected their chief, and the young hero prepared for the expedition to Palestine, under the command of the English king,