Once upon a time the Emperor of Rome had a beautiful daughter named
Constance. She was so fair to look on, that far and wide, she was
spoken of as "the beautiful princess." But, better than that, she was
so good and so saintly that everybody in her father's dominions loved
her, and often they forgot to call her "the beautiful princess," but
called her instead, "Constance the good."
All the merchants who came thither to buy and sell goods, carried away
to other countries accounts of Constance, her beauty, and her holiness.
One day there came to Rome some merchants from Syria, with shiploads of
cloths of gold, and satins rich in hue, and all kinds of spicery, which
they would sell in the Roman markets. While they abode here, the fame
of Constance came to their ears, and they sometimes saw her lovely face
as she went about the city among the poor and suffering, and were so
pleased with the sight that they could talk of nothing else when they
returned home; so that, after a while, their reports came to the ear of
the Soldan of Syria, their ruler, and he sent to the merchants to hear
from their lips all about the fair Roman maiden.
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