The King Orgulous 277

and wavered, and broke like smur blown
along a wooded hillside, and vanished from
his gaze.

“A little truer stroke,” said the Angel,
“ and thou hadst slain thyself, for of a truth
the man thou wast slaying was none other
than thyself; as it is, thou art hurt more than
need was” — for the shoulder of the Arch-
bishop was bare, and the blood streamed
from it.

Bewildered at these words, Desiderius
gazed about to see if the high hall and the
Avars were but the imagery of a dream.
But there in front of him stood the dwarfish
tribe, with naked brands and_battle-axes.
These, when they looked on his face, raised
a hoarse cry of terror, for they too had
beheld Talisso, how at a blow of the magic
sword he had fallen and perished even from
the vision of men, and now they saw that he
who had slain the King was himself the
King. Howling and clamouring, they broke
from the hall and fled into the street; and
there the men-at-arms did right willingly and
doughtily the work which thus came to their
hands. Of that fierce and uncouth robber
horde, which rode to Sarras two hundred