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Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851

"The Headsman The Abbaye des Vignerons"

"
"If any could have died unwept in meeting such a fate, it must have been
one that, in common, awakes so little of human sympathy; and one too, who,
by dealing himself in the woes of others, has less claim to the compassion
that we yield to most of our species."
"Spare me--in mercy, Adelheid, spare me--thou speakest of my father!"


Chapter XI.

Fortune had smil'd upon Guelberto's birth.
The heir of Valdespesa's rich domain;
An only child, he grew in years and worth,
And well repaid a father's anxious pain.
Southey.

As Sigismund uttered this communication, so terrible to the ear of his
listener, he arose and fled from the room. The possession of a kingdom
would not have tempted him to remain and note troubled air and rapid
strides as he passed them, but, too simple to suspect more than the
ordinary impetuosity of youth, he succeeded in getting through the
inferior gate of the castle and into the fields, without attracting any
embarrassing attention to his movements. Here he began to breathe more
freely, and the load which had nearly choked his respiration became
lightened.


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