“Let this outlaw live,” cried the lady, starting from the chair, and clasping her husband’s hands. “Shed no blood that may cry from the ground against us. Vengeance is the prerogative of Heaven alone. We who are in the midst of sorrow, who have no prospects but dark ones, we should excel in deeds of mercy. Let him live, keep him captive all his days, but shed no blood. I implore his life, husband; I implore it from the bottom of my heart.”
The knight beheld her with amazement.
“Alice,” he said calmly, “your feelings overpower you. This outlaw must suffer. I am here in the stead of the minister of Justice, who shall perform my duty.”
[Chapter X.]
But young Beichan was a Christian born,
And still a Christian was he,
Which made them put him in prison strang,