Don Alfonso, unwilling to hear her, commanded her to retire; and turning to García,-" Wretch," said he, "leave me instantly! fly! and never show yourself in my presence more."

García, judging that, under such circumstances, it would be useless, and even dangerous, to attempt his defence, obeyed submissively, and retired, his heart plunged into an abyss of pain and confusion.

It appeared that King Alfonso, reflecting upon the events of that day, and on the danger he had passed, had determined, before he retired to rest to offer to the Omnipotent the tribute of his gratitude; with which object he had gone to the chapel, where he entered just as the scene was passing which we have been describing.

García had hardly entered his chamber, when Alvar Fañez appeared, commanding him, in the name of the king, to depart immediately, and leave the kingdom of Leon. This blow, although it wounded, did not surprise García; it seemed to him a natural consequence of what had passed, and although the order was rigorous, he wished not to defer its fulfilment an instant. He therefore put on his armour, mounted his good steed, and, wounded as he was, alone, and without knowing whither to direct his steps, set out to seek his fortune in other parts, leaving in the hands of God and the nun the justification of his inno

cenco.

CHAPTER VII.

THE smiling dawn had not yet opened to the luminary of day the portals of the east, and nature remained enveloped in the shades of night, when García found himself at a considerable distance from the monastery. Absorbed in his reflections, he let his horse go his own pace, and rode on ruminating upon the events of his life, and the instability of his fortune. But yesterday the favourite of a prince, the envy of a court; all the enchantments of military glory presented themselves to his view, and the sweet hope of obtaining at some future day, by his merits, the reward of a love deeply rooted in his breast, animated and cheered him; to-day he saw himself alone, without support, without protection, stopped short in the midst of his career, and prevented a circumstance which he felt more than all the restfrom aspiring to the hand of the object of his love, which was the end of his hopes, and the aim of his most ardent desires.

In this condition, what part must he take? Would it be best to return to the presence of Don Alfonso, to defend his right, and to vindicate his

honour? To this he inclined the more as the explanation of the late affair at the monastery must follow as a necessary consequence; but the respect due to the mandates of his sovereign presented an insuperable obstacle. Should he go to offer his services to any foreign prince, as the King of Navarre, or the imperial Charlemagne ? The love of his country and the recollection of Edelfrida, joined with the hope of a change of fortune, opposed this design. Then what should he do? In the midst of these doubts, he recollected the charge his father had given him when he left Miduerna,-if at any time he found himself in any difficulty, to return to him, with the assurance that he should find in him a remedy for his evils, and a way to resist the caprices of forThis way seemed to be the most advisable, and determining to follow it, he hastened to return to his native valley, which road his horse had taken by a natural instinct.

tune.

He journeyed on till he came to the fertile banks of the Esla, where its waters enter the valley of Miduerna. He continued his course along the valley, towards the mountain on whose side was the humble dwelling of the old Ruy Velasco, and as he passed along, many wellknown scenes met his view, those mountains and meadows which in his boyish days had been the theatre of his exercises and sports. Here he remembered to have fought with a bear, there he

had put to death a wolf, and farther on he discovered the very spot where his valour had saved the king from the fury of a wild boar. He passed on, and soon his father's cottage presented itself to his view, and the gray rock that rose above it, and the old oak which overshadowed it. He arrives, sees his father, and throws himself into the arms of the old man, who embraces him with tears of joy.

After lavishing upon each other those expressions of friendship and affection which the pleasure of meeting again called forth, the young Velasco went on to inform his father of the reasons of his return, and related to him all that had happened from the time of his departure till the affair which took place in the monastery. When he came to this part of his narration, the old man interrupted him with marks of astonishment, and being to all appearance deeply moved. "What do you say !" he exclaimed; "has a nun in the monastery of the Sierra discovered and recognised the mark that nature has placed on your arm?"

"It is the truth,” replied his son.

"And she changed countenance at seeing the portrait that I gave you ?"

"Extremely."

"And her name, you say, was Doña Jimena ?"
"The king addressed her by that name."
"What unexpected happiness!? added the eld

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man; "what a fortunate encounter! At length a happy chance has effected what I, in so many years, could not find means to bring about." Then turning to García, who was listening to him with astonishment, he said to him, "The hour has now arrived for me to break the silence I have hitherto preserved upon matters of the greatest interest to you, and such as you ought not to be ignorant of. You preserve, perhaps, some recollection of a time anterior to your coming to these parts? I do not know, however, for then you were a child hardly five years old."

"I do so," replied his hearer; "but it is so confused that it seems to me a dream."

"Hear, then," said the old man, "the history of your birth, and the strange chances which brought you to be an inhabitant of these mountains, when your dwelling ought to be a palace." "I am listening,” said García; and the old labourer went on in the following words:

"About twenty years have elapsed since I came to establish myself in this retirement with the little that remained to me of the riches of former times. The king Don Alfonso, the same who now governs the kingdom of Leon and Asturias, had at that period a sister, beautiful as it is possible to conceive, and endowed with as many virtues as Heaven could combine in one person. He had also a vassal, whose valour was the defence of the country, and his sword the