The
whole affair, in fact, was the work of the wonderful enchanter Atlas,
who was still persuaded that great dangers awaited his beloved Prince in
the land of France, and determined to use all his cunning to remove him
to a place of safety. With this design he had watched the noble lovers
from his hiding place, and guided every movement of the Hippogrif by the
mere muttering of spells; and by the same means he still steered the
creature's course through the air, for he was so powerful an enchanter
that he could make his purpose take effect from one end of the earth to
the other. In the old days of fairy lore, enchanters were very numerous,
and always found plenty to do.
Roger had a firm seat and a heart that knew no fear, and at any other
time would have enjoyed nothing better than such an exciting adventure;
but now he was terribly vexed at being separated again from his beloved
Bradamante, and at being carried away from the land where Agramant his
King and the Emperor Charlemagne were mustering all their forces for the
great struggle. However, there was no help for it, for the Hippogrif
flew through the air at such a pace that he soon left the realms of
Europe far behind him, and after a flight of a few hours he had carried
the Prince half round the globe. Roger in fact found himself hovering
over the Fortunate Islands, which lie in the far Eastern seas beyond the
shores of India. Here he checked his course, and descended in wide
circles to the earth, and at length alighted on the largest and most
beautiful island of all the group.
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