"The Governor looked pleased with Henri; and giving his orders to his
soldiers, they took up a lamp, and led the poor Marquis to the room
where he was to be shut up for the remainder of his life. They led him
through many large rooms, and up several flights of stone steps, till
they came to the door of a gallery, at which a sentinel stood; the
sentinel opened the door, and the Marquis was led along the gallery to
a second door, which was barred with iron bars. Whilst the soldiers
were unbarring this door, the Marquis groaned, and wished he had never
been born; and the poor Marchioness was obliged to lean upon Henri, or
she would have fallen to the ground. When the iron-barred door was
opened, the guard told the Marquis and his family to walk forward: 'For
this,' said they, 'is your room.' Accordingly, the Marquis and his wife
and Henri went on into the room, whilst the guard shut and barred the
door behind them. One little lamp, hanging from the top of the room,
but high above their reach (for the rooms in those old castles are in
general very lofty), was all the light they had: by this light they
could just distinguish a large grated window, a fireplace, a table,
some chairs, and two beds placed in different corners of the room.
However, the unhappy family offered not to go near the beds; but the
Marquis and Marchioness, throwing themselves on the ground, began to
rail at each other and at the King. Poor Henri endeavoured to soothe
and comfort them; but they pushed him from them, like people in a
frenzy, saying, 'Go, go! Would to God you were in your grave with your
brother Theodore!' Henri withdrew to a distance, and, kneeling down in
a dark part of the room, he began to pray; till, being quite weary, he
fell fast asleep on the floor.
"When Henri awoke, he was surprised to find it was daylight; he sat up
and looked around him on the prison-room; it was a large and airy room,
receiving light from a window strongly grated with iron. In two corners
of the room were two old-fashioned but clean and comfortable-looking
beds; opposite the beds were a chimney-piece and hearth for burning
wood; and several old-fashioned chairs and a table stood against the
wall; there were also in the room two doors, which led into small
closets.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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