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"You, too!" exclaimed the king; "the child of Rosamond, to rebel against me!"

"Not so," continued the young man ; "I would recall you to your better nature, father. Remember that for years you kept from your son his inheritance-Aquitaine !"

"True!"
"Guienne!"

"True!"

"And even contemplated transferring from his head to his brother's the crown of England!"

"True, once more," replied the dying monarch.

"And his bride, the Princess Alice!" continued the young man ; "how have you not wronged him there, where the heart most feels injury! Father," he said, "recall your curse! It is not to the king that I appeal, but to the man--the thing of dust and clay who soon must stand before the Judge of all! Recall it, father!"

It was evident that the words of the speaker made a powerful impression upon the heart of Henry, for he writhed and groaned beneath the sting of his awakened conscience; perhaps, too, he thought of his victim-the royal infant committed to his care, in trust for his son-dishonored, blighted by his evil passions. "I have sinned !" he cried.

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“And sin, even in this world, meets its punishment," observed the young man. Perhaps heaven has tried you, sire, by making your children take up arms against you!"

"I can understand why Richard should have done so," said Henry, passionately, "but not my favorite-John!"

"Was he not the son of Eleanora ?"

"Granted."

"Did he not feel her injuries ?"

"He !" repeated the king; "the ingrate! he never felt love, affection, or gratitude in his selfish heart! Often has he urged me to invest him with his mother's duchy of Aquitaine !" "Is it possible?"

"As well as the crown of England, which he sighs for. Yes ---yes!" added the dying prince, "Richard may have cause of

complaint against me, for he dearly loves his mother, and passionately has avenged her wrongs! I have withheld from him his betrothed bride, too. Well-well, that is past now. I have wronged Richard, and I forgive him his revolt against me!"

“Thank heaven !" sighed the son of Rosamond.

"But John-whom I so loved-for whom I would have disinherited my eldest son-I have done him no wrong! On the contrary, I lavished on him all that a father's tenderness could bestow. He has no excuse for his unnatural depravity of heart— his rebellion against his too indulgent father; therefore I leave him my curse!"

Excited by the recapitulation of the wrongs he had received, the dying king would have pronounced a malediction upon his younger son, had not his monitor prevented him.

"Therefore, father," he said, "you will pardon him. Remember that we must all offer atonement for our sins; that, in the sight of heaven, the king and the vilest serf are equal. Forgive John for the sake of your wrongs towards his brother, and close your eyes in peace!"

Henry remained silent. It was evident that a fearful struggle was taking place in his breast; but the better impulse vanquished at last. Drawing from his finger a ring of immense value, he placed it upon that of the son of Rosamond-the love of his youth, ere his heart had been corrupted by the lust of power.

"Take it," he said; "my sons will recognize it!"

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"Bear to them the forgiveness of their father."

Satisfied with the result of his endeavor, the young man raised the precious gem to his lips, and kissed it passionately.

"Father," he said, "you have struggled with the evil principle of your nature, and overcome it: heaven will reward the sacrifice! Have you any further commands for me?"

The king murmured something about Eleanora.

"One more act of justice, and your triumph will be complete." "Name it!"

"The queen."

"Curse her!" exclaimed the prince, with fury-“ curse her! She has been the bane of my existence !”

"Still you have wronged her.”

"How ?"

Stooping to his ear, the young man whispered the name of Alice, the wife of his son.

At that word, Henry, whose spirit had been exhausted by the struggles, both bodily and mental, which he had undergone, started as though a serpent had stung him. The wrongs of the fair girl who had been confided an infant to his charge, weighed heavily upon him. Her probable fate, should Richard mount the throne, appalled him. He was suddenly seized with convulsions, in the midst of which he expired, alternately raving about Becket, Alice, Eleanora, and his rebellious sons.

CHAPTER XIII.

He sleeps; but not that calm and sunny sleep
Which on the brow of peaceful virtue lies.

HEMANS.

On hearing of the death of his father, and his own accession to the crown of England, Richard was seized with pangs of regret. Despite the wildness of his life, and the passionate nature which this prince inherited with the blood of his mother, he seems to have had a generous heart, proud-revengeful, perchance-but affectionate.

Immediately on hearing of the event, he dispatched a letter to England, commanding the release of his mother, whom he tenderly loved, and that her jailer-who was also the keeper of the late king's treasures—should be thrown into a dungeon, and loaded with chains. Both of his commands were punctually executed.

He next proceeded, attended by a numerous train, to Fontevraud, where, according to his last will, Henry was to be buried.

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