Wherein it is related who Periander and Auristella are.

Good and evil seem to be so inseparable, that like two lines which form an angle, although they spring from different beginnings, yet both end in the same point.

Periander lay beside the tranquil stream; the clear and beautiful night and the murmuring waters were soothing companions: the trees too were company to him, and a fresh and gentle breeze dried his tears. He forgot his woes for the moment, and Auristella and the hope of finding a remedy for his sorrows, he dismissed to the winds—when suddenly a sound reached his ears; it was of a strange voice, but it caught his attention, for he heard the well-known accents of his native language, without being able to distinguish whether it was muttering or singing.

Curiosity made him move nearer, and then he found that the voices proceeded from two persons, and that they were neither singing nor muttering, but engaged in deep conversation. What most surprised him was, that they talked in the Norwegian tongue at so great a distance from that country.

He concealed himself behind a tree in such a manner that the tree's shadow and his own were mingled in one. He collected his breath, and the first words that met his ears were, "You have not to tell me, sir, that the whole year in Norway is divided into two parts, for I have been there myself some time—where my misfortunes carried me—and I know that half the year it is night, and the other half day: I know that it is so; but why it is so, I am ignorant." To which the other answered, "If we reach Rome, I will point out to you upon a globe the cause of this wonderful fact, as natural in that country as it is in this, for day and night to be four-and-twenty hours long. I have also told you that near the most northern part of Norway, almost under the Arctic Pole, lies the island which is supposed to be the furthest end of the known world, at least of these northern parts. Its name was Tile (Note 12), or as it is called by Virgil Thulé, in those lines that you will find in the Georgics, Book I:—

Ac tua nautæ
Numina sola colant: tibi serviat ultima Thulé.

"For Tile in Greek is the same as Thulé in Latin. This island is nearly as large as England, rich and abundant in all things necessary for human life; still higher up is the island called Friseland, which was four hundred years undiscovered by any one. It is so large that it is called a kingdom, and not a very small one. The king of Tile is Maximin, son of Queen Eustochia, whose father died not many months ago, and left two sons, one of whom is this Maximin, of whom I spoke, the heir to his crown, and the other a noble youth, called Persiles, rich in the gifts of nature beyond all description, and beloved by his mother beyond all expression. How to praise the virtues of Persiles sufficiently I know not, and therefore I will not attempt it for fear my feeble efforts should impair their greatness; although the affection I have for him, having been his tutor from childhood, is such that I might rather be led to say too much, so it is best to be silent on that point."

Periander, who heard all this, immediately knew that he who praised him could be no other than Serafido, his tutor; and also in the other, who was listening to him, he recognized Rutilio by his voice, as he made answers from time to time. Whether or not he was astonished at this, I leave to your good consideration, and more still when Serafido (for he it was,) said,—

"Eusebia, the queen of Friseland, had two daughters of exceeding great beauty, particularly the eldest, whose name is Sigismunda (the youngest is called Eusebia, after her mother). Nature had bestowed beauty on them all. The queen, with what design I know not, taking the opportunity of a war with which she was threatened, sent Sigismunda to Tile, to the care of Eustochia, to be brought up at that court, safe from the dangers of war, she said; but I myself believe that this was not the chief reason for sending her away, but that the Prince Maximin might fall in love with her, and make her his wife, which it was natural to suppose might happen from her extreme beauty, enough to melt a heart of marble, at least, if this suspicion of mine was a right one, for I cannot affirm that it was from experience. I know that Prince Maximin is dying for Sigismunda, but he was not in the island at the time she arrived at Tile; his mother sent him the picture of the lady, and told him of the embassy of the queen of Friseland, and his answer was, that she should be very kindly treated, and that he would marry her. This answer was like an arrow shot through the heart of my son Persiles (for by thi............