had never come hither,” said she to the king, “had it not been for Avenant, who, to serve me, has conquered impossibilities; you are infinitely obliged to him; he procured me the water of beauty and health; by which I shall never grow old, and shall always preserve my health and beauty.”  The enviers of Avenant’s happiness, who heard the queen’s words, said to the king, “Were your majesty inclined to be jealous, you have reason enough to be so, for the queen is desperately in love with Avenant.”  “Indeed,” said the king, “I am sensible of the truth of what you tell me; let him be put in the great tower, with fetters upon his feet and hands.”  Avenant was immediately seized.  However, his little dog Cabriole never forsook him, but cheered him the best he could, and brought him all the news of the court.  When the Fair One with Locks of Gold was informed of his misfortunes, she threw herself at the king’s feet, and all in tears besought him to release Avenant out of prison.  But the more she besought him the more he was incensed, believing it was her affection that made her so zealous a suppliant in his behalf.  Finding she could not prevail, she said no more to him, but grew very pensive and melancholy.

The king took it into his head that she did not think him handsome enough; so he resolved to wash his face with the water of beauty, in hopes that the queen would then conceive a greater affection for him than she had.  This water stood in a phial upon a table in the queen’s chamber, where she had put it, that it might not be out of her sight.  But one of the chambermaids going to kill a spider with her besom, by accident threw down the phial, and broke it, so that the water was lost.  She dried it up with all the speed she could, and not knowing what to do, she bethought herself that she had seen a phial of clear water in the king’s cabinet very like that she had broken.  Without any more ado, therefore, she went and fetched that phial, and set it upon the table in place of the other.  This water which was in the king’s cabinet, was a certain water which he made use of to poison the great lords and princes of his court when they were convicted of any great crime; to which purpose, instead of cutting off their heads, or hanging them, he caused their faces to be rubbed with this water, which cast them into so profound a sleep that they never waked again.  Now the king one evening took this phial, and rubbed his face well with the water, after which he fell asleep and died.  Cabriole was one of the first that came to a knowledge of this accident, and immediately ran to inform Avenant of it who bid him go to the Fair One with Locks of Gold, and remind her of the poor prisoner.  Cabriole slipped unperceived through the crowd, for there was a great noise and hurry at court upon the king’s death; and getting to the queen, “Madam,” said he, “remember poor Avenant.”  She presently called to mind the afflictions he had suffered for her sake, and his fidelity.  Without speaking a word, she