sort and so secret that no servant of the house may perceive it. Then Thrasillus trusting to the false promises of the woman, and preferring his inordinate pleasure above all things in the world, was joyful in his heart and looked for night, when as he might have his purpose. But come thou about midnight (quoth Charites) disguised without company, and do but hiss at my chamber door, and my nurse shall attend and let thee in. This counsel pleased Thrasillus marvelously, who (suspecting no harm) did always look for night, and the hour assigned by Charites. The time was scarce come, when as (according to her commandment) he disguised himself, and went straight to the chamber, where he found the nurse attending for him, who (by the appointment of her mistress) fed him with flattering talk, and gave him mingled and doled drink in a cup, excusing the absence of her mistress Charites, by reason that she attended on her Father being sick, until such time, that with sweet talk and operation of the wine, he fell in a sound sleep: now when he lay prostrate on the ground ready to all adventure, Charites (being called for) came in, and with manly courage and bold force stood over the sleeping murderer, saying: Behold the faithful companion of my husband, behold this valiant hunter; behold me dear spouse, this is the hand which shed my blood, this is the heart which hath devised so many subtle means to work my destruction, these be the eyes whom I have ill pleased, behold now they foreshow their own destiny: sleep careless, dream that thou art in the hands of the merciful, for I will not hurt thee with thy sword or any other weapon: God forbid that I should slay thee as thou slewest my husband, but thy eyes shall fail thee, and thou shalt see no more, then that whereof thou dreamest: Thou shalt think the death of thine enemy more sweet than thy life: thou shalt see no light, thou shalt lack the aide of a leader, thou shalt not have me as thou hopest, thou shalt have no delight of my marriage, thou shalt not die, and yet living thou shalt have no joy, but wander between light and darkness as an unsure image: thou shalt seek for the hand that pricked out thine eyes, yet shalt thou not know of whom thou shouldest complain: I will make sacrifice with the blood of thine eyes upon the grave of my husband. But what gainest thou through my delay? Perhaps thou dreamest that thou embracest me in thy arms: leave off the darkness of sleep and awake thou to receive a penal deprivation of thy sight, lift up thy face, regard thy vengeance and evil fortune, reckon thy misery; so pleaseth thine eyes to a chaste woman, that thou shall have blindness to thy companion, and an everlasting remorse of thy miserable conscience. When she had spoken these words, she took a great needle from her head and pricked out both his eyes: which done, she by and by caught the naked sword which her husband Lepolemus accustomed to wear, and ran throughout all the city like a mad woman towards the sepulchre of her husband. Then all we of the house, with all the citizens, ran incontinently after her to take the sword out of her hand, but she clasping about the tomb of Lepolemus, kept us off with her naked weapon, and when she perceived that every one of us wept and lamented, she spake in this sort: I pray you my friends weep not, nor lament for me, for I have revenged the death of my husband, I have punished deservedly the wicked breaker of our marriage; now is it time to seek out my sweet Lepolemus, and presently with this sword to finish my life. And therewithal after she had made relation of the whole matter, declared the vision which she saw and told by what mean she deceived Thrasillus, thrusting her sword under her right breast, and wallowing in her own blood, at length with manly courage yielded up the ghost. Then immediately the friends of miserable Charites did bury her body within the same sepulchre. Thrasillus hearing all the matter, and knowing not by what means he might end his life, for he thought his sword was not sufficient to revenge so great a crime, at length went to the same sepulchre, and cried with a loud voice, saying: oh ye dead spirits whom I have so highly and greatly offended, vouchsafe to receive me, behold I make sacrifice unto you with my whole body: which said, he closed the sepulchre, purposing to famish himself, and to finish his life there in sorrow. These things the young man with pitiful sighs and tears, declared unto the cowherds and shepherds, which caused them all to weep: but they fearing to become subject unto new masters, prepared themselves to depart away.
XXXIII
How Apuleius was led away by the horsekeeper: and what danger he was in.
By and by the horsekeeper, to whom the charge of me was committed, brought forth all his substance, and laded me and other horses withal, and so departed thence: we bare women, children, pullets, sparrows, kids, whelps, and other things which were not able to keep pace with us, and that which I bare upon my back, although it was a mighty burden, yet seemed it very light because I was driven away from him that most terribly had appointed to kill me. When we had passed over a great mountain full of trees, and were come again into the open fields, behold we approached nigh to a fair and rich castle, where it was told unto us that we were not able to pass in our journey that night, by reason of the great number of terrible wolves which were in the country about, so fierce and
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