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"Alas!" said Athelwold, "it is all too true; but give up Elgiva now, and all will be well!" "It will be at least the beginning of reformation," said Odo.
Her beauty, which must have been marvellous in her younger days, had attracted the attention of a younger son of the reigning house, and they were married at an early age, secretly, without the sanction of the king. The fruit of their union was Elgiva, a name destined to fill a place in a sad and painful tragedy; but we are anticipating, and must crave the reader's pardon.
Elgiva, the daughter of destruction, who communeth with the spirits of the air, and defeateth armies by the waving of her wand, hath done this. She hath cast her enchantments over Agitha, the fairest of women the meekest among the daughters of princes." The bards raised songs of lamentation for her fate.
"I know it all, my Edwy; you cannot sacrifice your Elgiva, but she can sacrifice herself." "Elgiva! what do you mean?" "You have to choose between your country and your wife; she has made the choice for you." Here she strove violently to repress her emotion. "Elgiva! you shall never go never, never it will break my heart."
So he prayed earnestly every day for his brother, and many a supplication on his behalf arose from the altar of St. Wilfred. Time will show whether they were lost. Edwy, King of England, and Elgiva, his queen, gave a great feast at their royal palace in London, a month after the events recorded in our last chapter; and a numerous company had assembled to do honour to their hospitality.
At last the well-known step was heard approaching, and her heart beat violently. Edwy entered, his face bearing the traces of his mental struggle; he threw himself down upon a couch, and did not speak for some few moments. She arose and stood beside him. "Edwy, my lord, you are ill at ease." "I am indeed, Elgiva; oh! if you knew what I have had to endure this day!"
I was with him for three years, to his death, always at his back, whether hunting swamp wolves or drinking in the great hall where Elgiva, his young wife, often sat among her women. I was with Agard in south foray with his ships along what would be now the coast of France, and there I learned that still south were warmer seasons and softer climes and women.
No volunteers joined the little army, although a royal proclamation had promised lands from the territories of the rebels to each successful combatant in the cause of Edwy and Elgiva.
The owls clapped their wings and screamed; the ravens croaked, and the adders hissed. From the darkness of her cave the voice of the enchantress came forth it came forth as a voice from the grave, saying "Who amongst the children of mortals dareth to call upon the name of Elgiva? or, what deed of sin bringeth thee hither?"
The real fate of the unhappy Elgiva is not known, for the legend which represents her as suffering a violent death at the hands of the partisans of Edgar or Odo rests upon no solid foundation, but is repugnant to actual facts of history.
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