21
broke into words, and while the Prince stood speechless before him, his head bowed down and with drops of anguish upon his brow, he loaded him with a volume of abuse which did not spare even the Queen's unblemished reputation. 'Woe to thee,' he cried, 'baseborn child of iniquity and deceit! Is it thus that a King is to be answered in the presence of his people? Is it thus that a son nurtured in the tenderest affection casts insult on the head of his father. Had such language been uttered by one of the common people, it had been less disgraceful and more pardonable than coming from thee.'
Then he commanded the memlooks to take him away and imprison him in the deepest dungeon of the castle, which had long stood neglected and empty.
Servants of the Prince hearing of that order went in haste and prepared the chamber for his reception; they swept the walls of its cobwebs,
