They tried to change the topic, but his fears were aroused, and he pursued it —

“Will they scourge thee? No, no, they would not be so cruel! Say they would not. Come, they will not, will they?”

The women betrayed confusion and distress, but there was no avoiding an answer, so one of them said, in a voice choked with emotion —

“Oh, thou’lt break our hearts, thou gentle spirit! — God will help us to bear our — ”

“It is a confession!” the King broke in. “Then they will scourge thee, the stony-hearted wretches! But oh, thou must not weep, I cannot bear it.

Keep up thy courage — I shall come to my own in time to save thee from this bitter thing, and I will do it!”