"Dubois does as he is told, then dresses his master in a robe of
crimson velvet, wraps a golden cloak about him, girds on his sword,
places the globe and sceptre in his hands, and on his head the
crown. Thus arrayed, His Sacred Majesty goes forth from the Park
House, riding on a little mule and followed by King Philip and many
notables. Presently they arrive at a large building called the Palace,
and they come to a room wherein is a tall thin man, most richly
dressed. He is the Prince of Orange, William, surnamed the Silent.
"'Do I look well, Cousin William?' His Sacred Majesty inquires.
"But the man makes no answer, till at length His Sacred Majesty speaks
again, half mused, half angry.
"'Still silent, cousin? Still without a word?--even when you have
the chance of telling the truth to a grey-beard! Come now, shall I
abdicate or stay upon my throne, O silent one?'
"'Most Sacred Majesty,' replies the thin man, 'at the approach of
winter even the strongest oaks let fall their leaves.'
"Three o'clock strikes.
"'Lend me your shoulder, silent one, that I may lean upon it.'
"And, so saying, His Most Sacred Majesty leads the way into a great
room wherein is a canopy, and under the canopy a dais covered with
a carpet of crimson silk. On the dais are three chairs. His Sacred
Majesty seats himself on the mid-most one, which is more ornamented
than the others and surmounted by the imperial crown. King Philip takes
the second chair, and the third is occupied by a woman, who is no doubt
the Queen. On either side are long benches covered with tapestry, and
sitting upon them are men dressed in red robes and wearing round their
necks the image of a golden sheep. Behind stand various personages who
would seem to be princes and lords. Opposite these, and at the bottom
of the dais, there is a row of bare benches which are occupied by men
dressed in plain cloth. I hear it said that these men are clothed and
seated so modestly because it is themselves that have to pay all the
costs. At the entrance of His Sacred Majesty these people all stand
up, but when he has sat down he makes a sign and they sit also.
"Now a very aged man is talking of his gout interminably. After which
the woman, who seems to be a Queen, presents a roll of parchment to
His Majesty. His Sacred Majesty reads what is written thereon in a low
voice, coughing all the time, and then he begins to speak for himself.
"'Many and long are the journeys that I have made through Spain and
Italy and the Netherlands, through England and through Africa, all for
God's glory, for the renown of my arms, and the good of my peoples.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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