the defile, aided by his squires, indignantly, but carefully, indued the
rest of his armour, and saw, himself, to the girths, stirrup-leathers,
and various buckles in the caparison of his noble charger, Montreal in
great glee kissed his lady, who, though too soft to be angry, was deeply
vexed, (and yet her vexation half forgotten in fear for his safety,)
snatched up her scarf of blue, which he threw over his breastplate, and
completed his array with the indifference of a man certain of victory.
He was destined, however, to one disadvantage, and that the greatest;
his armour and lance had been brought from the castle--not his warhorse.
His palfrey was too slight to bear the great weight of his armour, nor
amongst his troop was there one horse that for power and bone could
match with Adrian's. He chose, however, the strongest that was at hand,
and a loud shout from his wild followers testified their admiration when
he sprung unaided from the ground into the saddle--a rare and difficult
feat of agility in a man completely arrayed in the ponderous armour
which issued at that day from the forges of Milan, and was worn far more
weighty in Italy than any other part of Europe. While both companies
grouped slowly, and mingled in a kind of circle round the green turf,
and the Roman heralds, with bustling importance, attempted to marshal
the spectators into order, Montreal rode his charger round the sward,
forcing it into various caracoles, and exhibiting, with the vanity that
belonged to him, his exquisite and practised horsemanship.

At length, Adrian, his visor down, rode slowly into the green space,
amidst the cheers of his party. The two Knights, at either end, gravely
fronted each other; they made the courtesies with their lances, which,
in friendly and sportive encounters, were customary; and, as they thus
paused for the signal of encounter, the Italians trembled for the honour
of their chief: Montreal's stately height and girth of chest forming a
strong contrast, even in armour, to the form of his opponent, which was