"At length the prince came forward among the crowd, and, approaching his father, said, 'Here am I, sire; send me.'
"The compassionate heart of the sovereign yearned after his guilty subjects. He longed to rescue them, and restore them to favor. Withdrawing with the prince from the crowd, he cried, 'Go, my son, and my love and blessing shall follow you. Go and tell the poor guilty creatures, I offer them free pardon if they will return to their allegiance, and become dutiful subjects.'
"From his previous knowledge of their character, and of the agencies to be exerted on them, he then told his son who would accept this pardon and be induced to return with him, and, having embraced and blessed him, followed him to the life-boat.
"He then hastened back to the tower, where his eagle eye watched the bark as it floated over the seething, crested waves. Suddenly he cried out in the anguish of his soul. A great wave had struck the frail boat, and it was ingulfed in the angry waters.
"But no; there presently appeared a little speck in the distance. With what intense, breathless anxiety he watched the scene!
"Wiping his dim eyes, he at length perceived that his son had buffeted the waves, and was clinging to the bottom of the boat. But he had hardly begun to breathe more freely, before the same thing occurred again and again. So that when the prince reached the wrecked vessel, he was scarcely able to mount the deck, to which the boat was made fast by means of a long rope.
"The prince made his way along the deck, which was covered with broken pieces of timber, and made known his errand. With the earnest love which had led him to encounter so much danger for their sakes, he now besought them to leave their wrecked and ruined brig, and accept his father's offers of mercy. Those whom the king had mentioned to his son, threw themselves, without reserve, into his arms, surrendering themselves, and all they had, to his will. But the others refused to comply, even preferring to remain on board their craft, which was fast going to pieces. Every tender persuasion was of no avail; and at length, with the chosen few, the prince sadly entered the life-boat to return to the shore.
"But before cutting the line which would destroy the last hope of the poor outlaws, he stretched out his arms toward them, beseeching them, as they valued their own lives, and the sacrifice he had made for them, to lay down their arms in token of their submission to his authority, that he might have the unspeakable pleasure of presenting them all to his father as the fruits of his suffering.
"But all these tender entreaties only made the wrath of the guilty pirates more terrible. With loud cries they bade him begone, hurling their weapons in defiance at the boat, and refusing longer even to listen to his words of love.
"Those who were accompanying the prince, being made willing to accept his mediation with the king, bowed their heads in shame at the insolent conduct of their late companions; scalding tears of anguish and remorse ran down their cheeks as they remembered how recently they had joined in this wicked rebellion. The language of their hearts was, 'O, with what a wonderful love hath he drawn our guilty hearts to himself! What boundless goodness that we are not only saved alive, but pardoned and restored to all the privileges of the kingdom!'