Принц и нищий / The Prince and the Pauper
Шрифт:
“It saddens me, my lord the King, to bear bad news; but the prince’s illness prevents him from remembering the Seal.”
The King groaned—
“Trouble him no more, poor child.”
He closed his eyes, and became silent. After a time he opened his eyes again, and looked vacantly around until his saw kneeling Lord Chancellor. Instantly he became angry—
“You’re still here! By the glory of God, get on with that traitor’s business or I shall have your head!”
The trembling Chancellor answered—
“Your Majesty, I ask for mercy! I was waiting for the Seal.”
“Man, have you lost your mind? The small Seal lies in my treasury. And, since the Great Seal can’t be found, is it not enough? Begone! And don’t come back until you bring his head.”
The poor Chancellor went away to appoint the beheading of the luckless Duke of Norfolk for tomorrow.
At nine in the evening Tom and two little ladies were received with due ceremony by the Lord Mayor and the Fathers of the City at Guildhall, and conducted to a great table. The lords and ladies who were to attend on Tom and his two friends took their places behind their chairs. At a lower table the Court nobles sat, with the magnates of the city.
Tom (as he was instructed) rose—and everyone rose with him—and drank from a big golden cup with Princess Elizabeth; from her it passed to Lady Jane, and then to all in the hall. So the banquet began. The guests were entertained by actors, singers, and dancers.
Suddenly, the sound of the bugle broke into the noise of the banquet. There was silence, and everybody heard the voice of a messenger from the palace. He read a proclamation, and the closing words were—
“The King is dead!”
Poor Tom looked around him. A sudden purpose dawned in his face. He said, in a low tone, to Lord Hertford’s—
“Answer me truly, on your faith and honour! If I were to say a command, would you obey it? Would none rise up to say no?”
“None. You are now the king—your word is the law.”
Tom responded, in a strong voice—
“Then shall the king’s law be law of mercy from this day, and never more be law of blood! The King decrees the Duke of Norfolk shall not die!”
The words were carried eagerly from lip to lip far and over the hall, and then changed to new words:
“The reign of blood is ended! Long live Edward, King of England!”
7
We left John Canty dragging the prince into Offal Court. The Prince continued to struggle for freedom, until John Canty raised his stick in a sudden fury over the Prince’s head. A man ran up to them and tried to stop the man’s arm, and the blow fell on his head: there was a groan, and the man fell.
Presently the Prince found himself in John Canty’s room. Two ragged girls and a woman sat near the wall in one corner. From another corner came an old woman with malignant eyes. John Canty said to her—
“He is saying funny things! Beat them out of him, and let your hand be as heavy as you wish. Now, boy, say that again. What is your name? Who are you?”
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.