Adela lamented, wept, entreated; in vain ſhe threw herſelf at her father's feet, and tore her diſhevelled treſſes, and in anguiſh ſmote her breaſt. Her oppoſition, inſtead of mitigating, his rigour, augmented his reſentment, and confirmed him in his ungenerous purpoſe. He mingled menaces and unkind reproach with his perſuaſions. “By the holy rood,” ſaid he, with a faſtidious and wrathful aſpect, “the honour of my houſe ſhall not be ſtained by the pretenſions of a low-born boy. Degenerated as thou art, the meanneſs of thy ſentiments ſhall not ſully the ſplendour of thine anceſtry, nor load my reſpected age with diſhonour. Receive the addreſſes of Edgar with ſuitable regard, and the deference due to my commands. Mean time preparations ſhall be made for the bridal ſolemnity, in a manner becoming the dignity of this alliance.”
Adela, after remonſtrating in vain againſt the ſeverity of his commands, intreated, with an humble and dejected air, that the marriage ceremony might be delayed. “Can Edgar,” ſaid ſhe, “prize the cold and conſtrained embraces of a heart that throbs for another? Will the ſighing and anguiſh of a broken ſpirit accord with the fond careſſes of a bridegroom? To Edwin my faith was plighted, and on him my imagination hath dwelt. Give me time, therefore, to divert the current of an affection too violent to be ſuddenly oppoſed; to diſcourage the reveries of fancy, animated by a legal and habituated paſſion; and to reconcile myſelf to the addreſſes of Edgar.” As her reaſoning was plauſible, the nuptial ſolemnity was deferred. But, as ſoon as ſhe had retired from her father’s prefence, ſhe ſummoned a page in whom ſhe confided, and ſpoke to him in the following manner: “Prepare thee for a long journey: ſaddle the fleeteſt of my father’s ſteeds, and during the obſcurity of the night depart. Hie thee to the banks of the Ebro; find Edwin; tell him of the perils that beſet me; tell him that a wealthy and powerful rival, with coſtly parade, and glittering ſhow of blazonry, hath impoſed on my father, and inſinuated
