Chapter 48

Receive at a sister's hand a small gift, revered prince, a gift embroidered by her own hand; the bridle of thy champing steed is of gold, his headharness studded with jewels; use now this strap to pass beneath his belly. Whether his home was the grassy plain of Armenia, or by the Halys, swollen with the melted snows of Mount Argaeus wherein he was wont to bathe, he well deserves an emeraldencrusted bit to champ in his blood-flecked mouth and cloth of Tyrian purple to adorn his back. How conscious he is of his own beauty as he steps high and shakes his flowing mane over his proud neck! The slight nature of the present is dignified by the affection of Serena who for her brothers decks even their swift steeds.