And when they were
alone together the king looked into Robert's
eyes, as he had done before, and said,
softly, "Who art thou?"
Robert of Sicily bowed his head. "Thou
knowest best," he said, "I only know that
I have sinned."
As he spoke, he heard the voices of the
monks singing, "He hath put down the
mighty from their seat,"--and his head
sank lower. But suddenly the music
seemed to change; a wonderful light shone
all about. As Robert raised his eyes, he
saw the face of the king smiling at him
with a radiance like nothing on earth,
and as he sank to his knees before the glory
of that smile, a voice sounded with the
music, like a melody throbbing on a single
string:--
"I am an angel, and thou art the king!"
Then Robert of Sicily was alone. His
royal robes were upon him once more;
he wore his crown and his royal ring. He
was king. And when the courtiers came
back they found their king kneeling by
his throne, absorbed in silent prayer.
THE JEALOUS COURTIERS[1]
[1] Adapted from the facts given in the German of H. A. Guerber's
Marchen und Erzahlungen (D. C. Heath & Co.).
I wonder if you have ever heard the
anecdote about the artist of Dusseldorf and
the jealous courtiers. This is it. It seems
there was once a very famous artist who
lived in the little town of Dusseldorf.
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