Lisuarte, meanwhile, was delivered in charge to the king of the Giant's Isle, whose daughter Gradaffile fell in love with the prisoner, procured his escape, and followed him to Constantinople. There Lisuarte performed many feats of valour in combating the pagan enemies by whom the city was now besieged, and was soon assisted in the defence by Perion, who arrived in Greece after having accomplished the enterprise in which he had been so long engaged. At length Lisuarte having obtained possession of the fatal sword, Amadis de Gaul, Esplandian, and the Grecian princes burst the enchantment into which they had been lulled by Urganda, in the Firm Island. The city being relieved by the arrival of these potent and refreshed auxiliaries, Lisuarte sets out for Trebizond, but, on his way thither, met with various adventures which detained him. Perion arrived before him, but left Trebizond for a time, at the request of the duchess of Austria, whom he restored to her dominions, and received from her the highest reward she could bestow. In this romance Lisuarte is the Amadis, or constant lover, Perion, the Galaor, or general lover. Perion, however, differs from his prototype in this, that Galaor was altogether undistinguishing in his amours, and had no preference for any mistress; whereas Perion, though guilty of

occasional infidelities, still retains the first place in his affections for the princess of Trebizond.

At length Perion and Lisuarte meet at the palace of their mistresses, who, as usual, admit their lovers to the privileges, before they have possessed the characters, of husbands. It afterwards occurred to them to send ambassadors to Esplandian and Amadis de Gaul, to talk of their nuptials: but, meanwhile, the emperor of Trebizond and Perion were carried off by pagan wiles, during a hunting match; and Lisuarte having gone in quest of them, came to the spot where they were detained, and was imprisoned in the same confinement.

While her lover Lisuarte thus remained in durance, the princess of Trebizond gave birth to a son, afterwards known by the name of

AMADIS OF GREECE,'

whose adventures, blended with those of his sempiternal ancestry, form the seventh and eighth books of the family history.

The imprudent anticipation of Onoloria rendered concealment necessary, and, during the bap tism of her infant, which was performed at a reti

1 Amadis de Grecia Hijo de Don Lisuarte. Burgos, 1535.

red fountain, he was carried off by corsairs, and sold by them to the Moorish king of Saba. It has been remarked, that the lineage of Amadis generally had from their infancy some striking personal peculiarity, which, in the untoward circumstances of their birth and childhood, was essential to a future acknowledgment by their parents. Amadis of Greece was distinguishable by the representation of a sword on his breast. Hence, when at the age of fourteen, he obtained some order of chivalry from the king of Saba, he assumed the name of the Knight of the Flaming Sword. A black courtier being jealous of the favour which He of the flaming sword enjoyed with the king, accused him to his master of a criminal intrigue with the queen. Amadis was obliged privately to escape from the wrath of the incensed monarch, and thus at an early age enters on the career of adventure.

The exploits in this romance commence, as they did in that of Esplandian, at the Forbidden Mountain. Amadis, who was yet an obdurate heathen, defeated and expelled the Christian possessors who held it for the Greeks, and afterwards defend. ed it in single combat against the Emperor Esplan dian himself, who came in person to recover this important citadel. After this he fell in with the king of Sicily; their acquaintance commenced

with a combat, but Amadis subsequently aided him in various enterprises, to which he was stimulated by the passion he had conceived for this monarch's daughter.

In the course of his navigation to Sicily, Amadis arrived at an island where he disenchanted the emperor of Trebizond, Lisuarte, Perion, and Gradaffile. These princes, as was mentioned in the end of the last romance, had been carried off by pagan stratagems, and were lying in the dormant state into which they had been lulled by the sorcery of a pagan princess, in the same manner, though with different views, that their ancestors had been put to rest by Urganda. When these heroes are completely roused, Amadis de Gaul having set out in quest of adventures, met with the queen of Saba, who was scouring the seas in search of a champion to defend her against the false accusation of infidelity. Amadis espoused her quarrel, and having arrived in Saba, overthrew her accuser, and established to the satisfaction of the king the innocence of his wife, and his Eleve of the flaming sword.

After the account of this exploit, a considerable portion of the romance is occupied with the unremitting pursuit by Amadis of Greece, of a knight he erroneously imagined to be in love with the

princess of Sicily, because he overheard him reciting amorous verses. He long pursued him with unabating animosity, and met with many adventures during his chase; but was at length undeceived at a personal interview, at which he seems to have learned, for the first time, that there could be other subjects of amatory verses besides the princess of Sicily.

While Amadis was thus occupied, his father Lisuarte had returned to Trebizond, and had for mally requested the hand of Onoloria. Unfortunately for his pretensions, Zaire, sultan of Babylon, had become enamoured of this princess in a dream, and had arrived at Trebizond, accompanied by his sister Abra, to demand her in marriage. His propositions were much relished by the emperor, but, being of course opposed by Lisuarte, the sultan resorted to warlike measures to obtain possession of Onoloria; he accordingly besieged Trebizond, but the champions he selected to decide his pretensions, were defeated by Gradaffile, who appeared in the disguise of a knight. The sultan afterwards forcibly carried off the object of his passion, but his fleet was met by Amadis de Gaul, who was sailing to the relief of Trebizond. Onoloria was rescued, and the sultan himself was slain.