The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 3: Books for ChildrenLamb, Charles
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The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 3: Books for Children
Lamb, Charles
Children's poetry; Children's stories
The king was still in perfect health, and his gratitude to her who had
been the means of his recovery was so lively in his mind, that the
moment he saw the countess of Rossilion, he began to talk of Helena,
calling her a precious jewel that was lost by the folly of her son;
but seeing the subject distressed the countess, who sincerely lamented
the death of Helena, he said, "My good lady, I have forgiven and
forgotten all." But the good-natured old Lafeu, who was present, and
could not bear that the memory of his favourite Helena should be so
lightly passed over, said, "This I must say, the young lord did great
offence to his majesty, his mother, and his lady; but to himself he
did the greatest wrong of all, for he has lost a wife whose beauty
astonished all eyes, whose words took all ears captive, whose deep
perfection made all hearts wish to serve her." The king said,
"Praising what is lost makes the remembrance dear. Well--call him
hither;" meaning Bertram, who now presented himself before the king:
and, on his expressing deep sorrow for the injuries he had done to
Helena, the king, for his dead father's and his admirable mother's
sake, pardoned him, and restored him once more to his favour. But the
gracious countenance of the king was soon changed towards him, for he
perceived that Bertram wore the very ring upon his finger which he had
given to Helena; and he well remembered that Helena had called all
the saints in heaven to witness she would never part with that ring,
unless she sent it to the king himself upon some great disaster
befalling her; and Bertram, on the king's questioning him how he came
by the ring, told an improbable story of a lady throwing it to him out
of a window, and denied ever having seen Helena since the day of their
marriage. The king, knowing Bertram's dislike to his wife, feared he
had destroyed her; and he ordered his guards to seize Bertram, saying,
"I am wrapt in dismal thinking, for I fear the life of Helena was
foully snatched." At this moment Diana and her mother entered, and
presented a petition to the king, wherein they begged his majesty to
exert his royal power to compel Bertram to marry Diana, he having made
her a solemn promise of marriage. Bertram, fearing the king's anger,
denied he had made any such promise, and then Diana produced the ring
(which Helena had put into her hands) to confirm the truth of her
words; and she said that she had given Bertram the ring he then wore,
in exchange for that, at the time he vowed to marry her. On hearing
this, the king ordered the guards to seize her also; and her account
of the ring differing from Bertram's, the king's suspicions were
confirmed; and he said, if they did not confess how they came by this
ring of Helena's, they should be both put to death. Diana requested
her mother might be permitted to fetch the jeweller of whom she bought
the ring, which being granted, the widow went out, and presently
returned leading in Helena herself.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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