LXVI.
“Thy race, which shall all else in this excel,
“In the rare fortune of its women thrives;
“Nor of its daughters’ honour more I tell
“Than of the lofty virtue of its wives:
“And that thou may’st take note of this as well,
“Which Merlin said of thy descendants’ lives,
“(Haply that I the story might narrate)
“This I no little covet to relate.
LXVII.
“Of good Richarda first shall be my strain[14],
“Mirror of chastity and fortitude,
“Who, young, remains a widow, in disdain
“Of fortune: (that which oft awaits the good)
“Exiles, and cheated of their father’s reign,
“She shall behold the children of her blood
“Wandering into the clutches of their foe;
“Yet find at last a quittance for her woe.
LXVIII.
“Nor sprung from the ancient root of Aragon,
“I of the gorgeous queen will silent be;
“Than whom more prudent or more chaste is none,
“Renowned in Greek or Latin history;
“Nor who so fortunate a course will run,
“After that, by divine election, she
“Shall with the goodly race of princes swell,
“Alphonso, Hyppolite, and Isabel.
