per Van Baerle had so hastily put
round the bulbs on his flight. "Take it, my lord," she said, handing it
to the prince. And then, glancing at the paper for the first time, she
added, "Oh, my lord, read this!"

William passed the third bulb to the president, and read the paper
carefully. It was Cornelius de Witt's letter to his godson, exhorting
him to burn the packet without opening it. It was the proof of Van
Baerle's innocence and of his ownership of the bulbs.

"Go, Mynheer Boxtel; you shall have justice. And you, Mynheer van
Systens, take care of this maiden and of the tulip," said the prince.

That same evening the prince summoned Rosa to the town hall, and talked
to her. Rosa did not deny her love for Cornelius.

"But what is the good of loving a man condemned to live and die in
prison?" the prince asked.

"I can help him to live and die," came the answer.

The prince sealed a letter, and sent it off to Loewenstein by Colonel
van Deken. Then he turned to Rosa, and said, "The day after to-morrow is
Sunday, and it will be the festival of the tulip. Take these 500
guilders, and dress yourself in the costume of a Friesland bride, for I
want it to be a grand festival for you."

Sunday came, May 15, 1673, and all Haarlem gathered to do honour to the
black tulip. Boxtel was in the crowd, feasting his eyes on the sacred
flower, which was born aloft in a litter. The procession stopped, and
the flower was placed on a pedestal, while the people cheered with wild
enthusiasm. At the solemn moment when the Prince of Orange was to
acclaim the triumphant owner of the black tulip and present the prize of
100,000 guilders, the coach with the unhappy prisoner Cornelius van
Baerle drew up in the market-place.

Cornelius, hearing that the celebration of the black tulip was actually
proceeding, besought his guard to let him have one glimpse of the
flower; and the petition was granted by the Prince of Orange.

From a distance of six paces Van Baerle gazed at the black tulip, and
then he, with the multitude, turned his eyes towards the prince. In dead
silence the prince declared the occasion of the festival, the discovery
of the wonderful black tulip, and concluded, "Let the owner of the black
tulip approach."

Cornelius made an involuntary movement. Boxtel and Rosa rushed forward
from the crowd.

The prince turned to Rosa. "This tulip is yours, is it not?" he said.

"Yes, my lord," she answered softly. And general applaus