THE KING'S NIGHT OF TERROR was a great multitude in the streets of Palermo, for not only was the morrow a feast day, but the king was pee ted to go by, on his way to church. Presently he came, the cold, handsome, haughty, and roystering King Robert f Sicily. Splendidly arrayed, he was surrounded on all sides by a glittering retinue well-nigh as splendid. The vening sun goldened his brown face and made specks of fire in his black beard. There was such a pride in his eye, such a majesty in the -c arriage of his he ad, such a masterfulness in his stride, that he seemed like a lord of the human race and m peror of all the world. The acclaiming shou t of the people drowned the ring of the purred " heels, the clatter of the , words, and the y laughter of h king and his urtiers. In the , quare before th church the 1 ud huzzas d row ned the music of the ran. The priests w re singing the autiful evenin hymn of the hurch, MagniTHERE
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THE JESTER
RUSHED
" W hat do th e La tin words mean ?" asked the king of a young clerk. " They mean, sire," came the answer, "H hath put down the . mighty from th ir seat, and hath exalted the humble nd meek." The king frowned. Then, with a bitter .1. u h he said, "Tis very like sedition. D 1t I tell you this--no person in heaven or n earth can rob me of my throne."
A little later, and the slumbrous words of prayer had sent the king asleep in the shadows of the carven stalls. He woke. There was darkness on every side. A vast silence held the church. He was there alone. With an oath, he started from his seat. His scabbarded sword and pointed spurs set strange echoes ringing as he strode down the dark aisle. His heart was on fire with rage and indignation. They had gone -his courtiers and those dogs of priests-and left him in the church alone. His great hand thur:dered on the door till the beams groaned and the iron rattled. The sexton came with the lantern. "Who is ther"e ? ,,"he cried. "The king!" Shaking his head and placing the key in the lock, the old man muttered to himself, "Some drunken beggar !" Then he opened the .door, prepared tospeak stern words. A man rushed by as if in madness, and vanished in the dark. :f(ing Robert sped through the darkness to his palace. He UP TO THE POPE gained the banquet hall, which was ablaze with light and cheerful with sounds of merriment. On the threshold he stopped dead, his cheeks blanched, his knees tottering. Another king-himself in face and form and raiment, yet glorious with some mystic holiness-occupied his throne. "Who art thou?" demanded this mysterious being, gravely regarding him. " I! I am the king!" cried Robert,
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