of England. Farewell. "When I come again I hope to pre-sent thee my lovely bride." " Heaven speed thy purpose," said the countess, fer-vently, and thus they parted. —• CHAPTER XII. "I rather tell thee what is to be feared, Than what I fear." THE administration of the affairs of her domains, render-ed it difficult for the Countess of Blois, in the absence of the most vigorous part of the population, to provide for the nu-merous families, left dependent by the wars ; and the in-creasing helplessness of her idiot son, added greatly to the burden of her cares. 'Twas Christmas morning, the anni-versary of her betrothal. A crowd had assembled in the grand cathedral of Chartres, to unite in the sacred solem-nities of the day, and to witness the christening of Lucy, the infant countess. So occupied was Adela with^the im-pressive scene, that she did not observe thé entrance of several knights, on whose noble forms and toil-worn habili-ments, the eyes of the multitude were riveted with the most intense curiosity ; nor did she notice, while the bishop sprinkled the babe with the holy-water, and consecrated it to God, that their leader had advanced to the altar and knelt beside her at the font : but when the warrior stretch-ed out his arm to receive the white-robed cherub from the hands of the priest, she turned to see her husband gazing with unutterable tenderness upon his infant daughter, whom he now beheld for the first time. The unexpected return of their lord gave an additional impulse to the festivities of the day among the numerous retainers of the count. "When the joyous greetings and congratulations were 98 HEROINES QF THE CRUSADES.