Produced by Steven desJardins and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net [Illustration: KING MATTHIAS AND THE BEGGAR BOY] KING MATTHIAS AND THE BEGGAR BOY. [Illustration: "Come here, gossip Jew; there is nothing to fear." Page 66.] [Illustration: KING MATTHIAS AND THE BEGGAR BOY. T. Nelson & Sons] KING MATTHIAS AND THE BEGGAR BOY ADAPTED FROM THE HUNGARIAN OF BARON NICHOLAS JÓSIKA BY SELINA GAYE Author of "Ilka: The Captive Maiden," "Dickie Winton," &c. &c. [Illustration] T. NELSON AND SONS London, Edinburgh, and New York 1902 CONTENTS. I. MR. SAMSON'S CASTLE, 9 II. MISKA THE BEGGAR BOY, 21 III. "TOUCH ME AT YOUR PERIL!" 32 IV. IN THE ROBBER'S NEST, 42 V. CAUGHT, 53 VI. I AM THE KING'S PAGE! 68 VII. SENT TO PRISON, 80 VIII. THE BEGGAR BOY'S SONG, 94 IX. THE KING'S WHIM, 109 KING MATTHIAS AND THE BEGGAR BOY. CHAPTER I. MR. SAMSON'S CASTLE. Towards the close of a gloomy day in autumn, a very dusty traveller was riding quietly up to a castle which stood perched on a height in one of the northern counties of Hungary. A very extraordinary-looking castle it was, if it was a castle at all, which one might be inclined to doubt; for it looked more like a square block hewn by giants out of the ribs of the mountain, and left to itself for centuries, until its walls had become mouldy and moss-grown. One thing which gave it an odd appearance was that, as far as could be seen, it had no roof; the fact being that it was built round a quadrangle, and that the roof, or rather half-roof, sloped downwards and inwards from the top of the outer walls. But what was even more remarkable still was that the building had neither door nor window in any one of its four sides; so that how the inhabitants, if there were any, ever went in or out, was quite a mystery. People had had a good deal to say about the owner of this extraordinary stronghold for many a year past, and all sorts of wild stories were told of him. But no one but his own hired servants and men-at-arms had ever set eyes upon him--so far as they knew, that is to say. Neither he nor his servants were ever to be seen coming or going, and how they managed was quite unknown; but for all that they made their presence felt, and very unpleasantly felt too. The man on horseback had drawn nearer by this time, and was gazing up at the huge pile, scanning it carefully, but quite unable to discover so much as a chink or cranny in the grey, weather-beaten walls. At last he shook his head and said with a smile, "Why, the castle is in such a strong position and so well fortified that it must be almost impregnable! But of course it is inhabited, and the inhabitants are human beings, not demons; and wherever human beings can dwell, human beings must also be able to enter.