Away from me, apt son of a tyrant, lest I tear you in
piecemeal!"
"By the heroic spirit of him whom this outrage on me dishonors, hear my
answer, Bruce! And, if not on this spot, let me then exculpate myself
by the side of his body, yet uninvaded by a sacrilegious touch."
"How?" interrupted Bruce. Gloucester continued:
"All that was mortal in our friend now lies in a distant chamber of
this quadrangle. When I could not prevail on Edward, either by
entreaty or reproaches, to remit the last gloomy vengeance of tyrants,
I determined to wrest its object from his hands. A notorious murderer
died yesterday under the torture. After the inanimate corpse of our
friend was brought into this house, to be conveyed to the scene of its
last horrors, by the assistance of the warden the malefactor's body was
conveyed here also, and placed on the traitor's sledge, in the stead of
his who was no traitor, and on that murderer most justly fell the rigor
of so dreadful a sentence."
The whole aspect of Bruce changed during this explanation, which was
followed by a brief account from Gloucester of their friend's heroic
suffering and death.
"Can you pardon my reproaches to you?" cried the prince, stretching out
his hand.
Pages:
1200
1201
1202
1203
1204
1205
1206
1207
1208
1209
1210
1211
1212
1213
1214
1215
1216
1217
1218
1219
1220
1221
1222
1223
1224