Now whilst all this was going on, the young Princess in that castle,
seeing that one of the King of England's sons had been there by the
changing of the watch and other things, got herself ready with a large
army, and sailed off for England. She left her army a little out of the
town, and she went with her guards straight up to the palace to see the
King, and also demanded to see his sons. They had a long conversation
together about different things. At last she demands one of the sons to
come before her; and the oldest comes, when she asks him, "Have you ever
been at the Castle of Melvales?" and he answers, "Yes." She throws down
a pocket handkerchief and bids him to walk over it without stumbling. He
goes to walk over it, and no sooner did he put his foot on it, than he
fell down and broke his leg. He was taken off immediately and made a
prisoner of by her own guards. The other was called upon, and was asked
the same questions, and I had to go through the same performance, and he
also was made a prisoner of. Now she says, "Have you not another son?"
when the King began so to shiver and shake and knock his two knees
together that he could scarcely stand upon his legs, and did not know
what to say to her, he was so much frightened. At last a thought came to
him to send for his headsman, and inquire of him particularly, Did he
behead his son, or was he alive?
"He is saved, O King."
"Then bring him here immediately, or else I shall be done for."
Two of the fastest horses they had were put in the carriage, to go and
look for the poor Prince; and when they got to the very spot where they
left him, it was the time when the Prince was up the tree, getting his
watch down, and poor Jubal standing a distance off. They cried out to
him, Had he seen another young man in this wood? Jubal, seeing such a
nice carriage, thought something, and did not like to say No, and said
Yes, and pointed up the tree; and they told him to come down
immediately, as there was a young lady in search of him.
"Ha! ha! ha! Jubal, did you ever hear such a thing in all your life, my
brother?"
"Do you call him your brother?"
"Well, he has been better to me than my brothers."
"Well, for his kindness he shall accompany you to the palace, and see
how things turn out."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account