used them?'

'Yes, sire, he had arms; he always carries a dagger in his belt.
But when he saw the blood pouring from his face, he went to a
corner of the court and began to cry, which was the strangest
thing of all.'

On hearing this the king walked to the window and stood for a few
minutes with his back to the room, where the company of young men
remained silent. Then he came back, his face white and stern.

'I tell you,' he said, 'and it is the solemn truth, that I would
rather you had told me that the prince was dead, though he is my
only son, than know that he would suffer such an injury without
attempting to avenge it. As for the gentleman who struck him, he
will be brought before my judges, and will plead his own cause,
but I hardly think he can escape death, after having assaulted
the heir to the crown.'

The young man raised his head as if to reply, but the king would
not listen, and commanded his guards to put him under arrest,
adding, however, that if the prisoner wished to visit any part of
the city, he was at liberty to do so properly guarded, and in
fifteen days he would be brought to trial before the highest
judges in the land.

The young man left the king's presence, surrounded by soldiers,
and accompanied by many of his friends, for he was a great
favourite. By their advice he spent the fourteen days that
remained to him going about to seek counsel from wise men of all