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Meanwhile Zadig spoke thus to Ogul: "My lord, my basilisk is not to be eaten; all its virtues must enter through thy pores. I have inclosed it in a little ball, blown up and covered with a fine skin. Thou must strike this ball with all thy might and I must strike it back for a considerable time; and by observing this regimen for a few days thou wilt see the effects of my art."
Such a prodigy was not likely to be passed over in the legends of the saints. Accordingly we find it recorded that a certain holy man, going to a fountain in the desert, suddenly beheld a basilisk. He immediately raised his eyes to heaven, and with a pious appeal to the Deity laid the monster dead at his feet.
"You have said that it is false that the basilisk is the king of serpents, under the name of cockatrice." "Very reverend sir," said Ursus, "so little did I desire to insult the basilisk that I have given out as certain that it has a man's head." "Be it so," replied Minos severely; "but you added that Poerius had seen one with the head of a falcon. Can you prove it?" "Not easily," said Ursus.
He is a perilous man with women, for the Devil hath given him such a tongue and such an eye that he charms them even as the basilisk. Marriage may be in their mind, but never in his, so that I could count a dozen and more whom he has led to their undoing. It is his pride and his boast over the whole countryside." "Well, well, and what is this to me or mine?"
He saw his lovely bride sound asleep, and being unable to wake her he put the cap in his pocket, took her in his arms, and, mounting his steed, set off to return to the Monster with the Basilisk Eyes. The giant swallowed the dwarf at one mouthful, and the prince cut the monster's head up into a thousand pieces, which he scattered all over the plain.
The image of the Virgin on the altar was uncovered. The tall candles flickered, Enrica and Nobili knelt side by side the man who had ceased to love, and the woman who still loved, but who dared not confess her love! As Fra Pacifico proceeded, Count Nobili's face hardened. Was not the basilisk eye of the marchesa upon him? Her lawyer, too, taking notes of every look and gesture?
"While they are searching for their basilisk," said the fair Astarte, "I will inform thee of all I have suffered, for which Heaven has sufficiently recompensed me by restoring thee to my sight. Thou knowest that the king, my husband, was vexed to see thee the most amiable of mankind; and that for this reason he one night resolved to strangle thee and poison me.
One day he was talking to me about the view, and enjoying himself so much he really was a most affable old man when she happened to come up and overhear him say something about the `Hopen haspect! She shrugged her shoulders and smiled at me, and I turned a basilisk countenance upon her and glared, lit-er-ally gl-ared with anger."
Again the doctor eyed me, basilisk fashion, across the bacon and eggs of our belated morning meal, as he continued: "He very properly reminded the Emperor that upon a vessel in the high seas, a pilot acknowledges no superior this side of Eternity. In matters of health I take the bridge. You obey." "But " I weakly insisted.
But it would never do to think of going back, so we crawled into the wood. Our land pilot informed us that the bank of the river, from whence we should find a clear passage across, was about two miles distant. I never remember seeing or feeling anything to be compared with the darkness of that pine wood, but our guide seemed to have the eyes of a basilisk.
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