"Halfred, Halfred, my father, forgive, forgive me!--I am the murderer-- and thy son--"
Now ye who shall one day unroll this parchment--pause at this place, and look upwards to the sun, if it is day, and to the stars, if it is night, and ask with Halfred--"Are there Gods?"
For I, I, who secretly and in dread write these pages during the night hours, I am the shepherd boy, Halfred's son, who have slain him.
And the Gods, or the Christian God, have allowed it to come to pass that the son has blinded and murdered the father.
I wept hot tears upon my dear father's pale forehead. But he turned his head, as though he would see me, and said--
"It is hard that the curse must be so wholly fulfilled upon me, that I must be entirely blinded before death.
"Fain would I have looked closely into thy face, my dear son.
"Now I know not if the golden cloud I saw spread about thy head was thy hair or the sun rays.
"Thou seemedst to me fair to look upon, my boy.
"But tell me, how do they call thee?