m who seemed the King; only his
eyes, terribly bright, were fixed on Robert's eyes and seemed to flood
them with light. Robert turned to the platform and mounted the steps.
Perpetua gave a cry and would have fallen but that Theron caught her in
his arms. Hieronymus held out his crucifix to the doomed man. One of the
executioners, who had a torch in readiness, stooped and applied its
flame to the piled-up faggots. Red tongues of fire licked at the dry
wood.

Even then it seemed to Robert as if again the great darkness came over
the world, a darkness in which nothing was visible save the shining
shape of an angel. And the angel spoke and the voice was the voice that
had spoken the words of doom on the mountain summit.

"Robert of Sicily, purified as by fire, be once again a king, be now and
ever a loyal soldier of the living God. It was Heaven's will that I
should do the wicked deeds you dreamed of. But Heaven now annuls them
and they are as if they had not been."

The darkness vanished, and Robert found himself standing in the arena,
and he knew that he was his old self again, clad in the garments of a
king. At his feet the fool Diogenes knelt a suppliant; the royal throne
was vacant. All in the great amphitheatre were cheering, for they
believed that they had seen the King descend from his throne, enter the
arena, and order the liberation of Diogenes. And that belief they
cherished to the end. But Robert looked into Perpetua's eyes and read
there that she knew better. He caught her hands.

"The hunter wooed you, the King wronged you, the fool served you, the
man loves you. Queen of the world, make me indeed a king."

And Perpetua answered him.

"I love the man."

This is how Perpetua became Queen of Sicily, and how Robert in his long
and happy reign won and wore the title of Robert the Righteous.

THE END

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:

Minor changes have been made to correct typesetters' errors in the
original book; otherwise, every effort has been made to be faithful to
the author's words and intent.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Proud Prince, by Justin Huntly McCarthy

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PROUD PRINCE ***

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