Tom turned to the Earl of Hertford, and said —
“My lord, is it believable that there was warrant for this man’s ferocious doom?”
“It is the law, your Grace — for poisoners.
In Germany coiners be boiled to death in oil — not cast in of a sudden, but by a rope let down into the oil by degrees, and slowly; first the feet, then the legs, then — ”
“O prithee no more, my lord, I cannot bear it!” cried Tom, covering his eyes with his hands to shut out the picture. “I beseech your good lordship that order be taken to change this law — oh, let no more poor creatures be visited with its tortures.”
The Earl’s face showed profound gratification, for he was a man of merciful and generous impulses —