The King's Talisman — page 120: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE KINGS TALISMAN. 111 and while a shade of scsi anguish passed over his Fiat es, he continued: “‘Oh, if I had known this, perhaps the heavy blow that has fallen upon me might have been averted—my soul might have yet dwelt in the light of its earthly heaven. But it is past now. My own weakness brought it upon me, and I must suffer its sting.” ‘‘ Do not fail in your heart yet, Al-Bassa, for the Khai- barite king may yet be brought upon his knees. You see, I know all about your trouble, but though I can give you no assurance of hope for your child, yet I can advise thee to rest as much as possible upon the future.” Al-Bassa fastened a keen, searching glance upon the cen- sor as he spoke, and though in his manner he could per- celve more meaning than was uttered in his words, yet he dared not ask a question for fear of betraying emotions which he cared not should be seen, for as he stood now be- fore the two censors he felt himself to be humbled and de- graded. Never before had he realized to what an extent he had been guilty in his submission to the baseness of the king, nor had he ever before felt the depth of degradation to which he had lowered himself, for now he fully realized what a hypocritical tyrant he had bent before. Then, too, the thought insinuated itself upon his mind, that, had he at first rejected the proposal of the king with regard to his daughter, and, as was his moral duty, appealed to the peo- ple against the wrong, all might have been well with him. But his cowardly fear of the threats of a still more cowardly king had crushed him down, and his thoughts upon neg- lected duties only made him more miserable; so he tried to banish them, and looking up into the censors’ faces, he said: ‘©What you have told me is indeed strange. When I came, I had thought myself the possessor of secrets which I feared to tell thee, but I find that I must learn of you. Gomicbooks (Ee)