Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1869-03-18

man. At that moment hideous os.cry
was raised in the castle. The wfrd o.
alarm was heard passing from scntisel &c
sentinel. and torche. were seen apprssct,
ing in the direction of the prisoner ag6-
geon. -
"Shc's gone-,he's fled-!," exctvGea q
female voice, which was Immediately re-
cognized to be that of the Empress o.t1
found her chamber deserted. ak =
ladder of rope attached to the case
ment"
Peace :" said the Emperor ''let US
see if our prisoner is safe. Ha - he ad-
ded, as, With about dozen followers,
who brandshed their swords above their
heads, he came within view Of the subject
of his search .'behold the traitor, with
shat degraded minion in his arms Smite
him slay him ! the murderer Of your
Prince. and the betray~r of my daugh-
terl''
j The men were not slow in obeying the
commands of their master. and advanced
towarl the unarmed culprit. Marguer-
eta, who was lying in his arms in a
deathlike stupor, became suddenly
aroused, and exclaimed Save hun
spare him blackjack - as she rushed
betSe the intended victim and his as
sailants. aud received the weapon of the
foremost in her bosom 4 dreadful shrick
was uttered by everyone ; the uplifted
swor Is fell one and all to the groanl, and
Margueretta, bathed in blool, fell at the
feet of her father.
Her heart is pierced She's dead -
dead ~ shrieked the Empress
The Emperor stood for a moment mute;
his brow grew dark as night aud his lips
quivered with malignant smile as he
said, in low and stiffeG voice. "Is not
the den Of the NumIian lion situ eted op-
posite the dungeon of the prisoner p
1T is, my llege," answered an att:n-
dant
"Tnrust back the traitor to his cell
then" slil the + nperior, "and let loose
the beast upon him That princcly brute
shall b, my aveuger
! Richard retire to his dungeon The
door OF he lions den was Immediately
unbarred, and the furious beast sprang
forth The glare OF the torches arrested
his progress for moment, aud as he roll
lei his red eyes around upon the specta-
tors. they had an opportunity Of observ-
ug his dimensions He was indeed Il
Formidable b}aSt. H. uttered dreadful
70 II aud sprang toward Richard. He at
tempted to spriug upon him from above,
/ but the King, with his clenchcd fist,
smotc him such blow on the bre ,st that
lie rcelcd back i'll breathess state. A
murmur OF appreciation and applause
which was gathering from the assembled
sp 'ctators, was instantly hushod on be-
holding the still stern features of the L IL
prror. Again did the animal spring upon
kins Richard, and again did the latter,
with the sane herculcan strength, repcl
the attack. The animal now stood at the
door OF his den, as if wiling, yet fearful
to renew the assault He stamped vio-
cntly with his feet, beat his sides with
his tail, erected the h,ir of his heal and
name, and opening wide his mouth, dis
played his angry teeth. and again set up
a tremendous roar. The Emperor and
lis attendants shrank back appalled, but
what was their astonishment ut seeing the
King in his turn become the assailant
and, rushing from his cell, dart upon the
inccnsed animal, and thrust his arm down
his throat. For moment the lion strug-
ged with his audacious assailaat, roared
and plunged, and seemed even to shake
the strong foundations Of the castle with
his struggles. Then the death rattle was
heard in his throat, and his limbs, after
qujvoring for an instant, were stretched
rigid and motionless on the ground. The
Numidian lioa was dead.
According to the accounts given by th'
several witnesses of this extraordinary
encounter. Richard is reputed to have
displayed the heart of the lion, when hC
drew forth his arm from :he animal:
throat
The sequel of this history IS too vel
known to De here repeated. King Rich
ard WAS set at liberty, and, with his tw
complnions, who had acted the p,rt o
his fellow paimers, arrived safely in Eng
land on the 20tA Of Mtrch, 1874. He
was received by his subjects with Demon
strations of unooualed JOY. HIS exp otis
became familiar topics of conversation
among all ranks of society. from the
highest to tAc lowest and, above ali
his adventure vita the lion WAS made the
theme of wonder aud eulogy, and pro-
cured for him the popular surname oi
Cour de LaDn.