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Page 47
And, trembling, pale, and gasping for breath, he pointed to
the gibbet at the other side of the yard, with the cynical
inscription surmounting it.
Gryphus broke out into a laugh.
"Eh! eh!" he answered, "so, you have read it. Well, my good
sir, that's what people will get for corresponding with the
enemies of his Highness the Prince of Orange."
"The brothers De Witt are murdered!" Cornelius muttered,
with the cold sweat on his brow, and sank on his bed, his
arms hanging by his side, and his eyes closed.
"The brothers De Witt have been judged by the people," said
Gryphus; "you call that murdered, do you? well, I call it
executed."
And seeing that the prisoner was not only quiet, but
entirely prostrate and senseless, he rushed from the cell,
violently slamming the door, and noisily drawing the bolts.
Recovering his consciousness, Cornelius found himself alone,
and recognised the room where he was, -- "the family cell,"
as Gryphus had called it, -- as the fatal passage leading to
ignominious death.
And as he was a philosopher, and, more than that, as he was
a Christian, he began to pray for the soul of his godfather,
then for that of the Grand Pensionary, and at last submitted
with resignation to all the sufferings which God might
ordain for him.
Then turning again to the concerns of earth, and having
satisfied himself that he was alone in his dungeon, he drew
from his breast the three bulbs of the black tulip, and
concealed them behind a block of stone, on which the
traditional water-jug of the prison was standing, in the
darkest corner of his cell.
Useless labour of so many years! such sweet hopes crushed;
his discovery was, after all, to lead to naught, just as his
own career was to be cut short. Here, in his prison, there
was not a trace of vegetation, not an atom of soil, not a
ray of sunshine.
At this thought Cornelius fell into a gloomy despair, from
which he was only aroused by an extraordinary circumstance.
What was this circumstance?
We shall inform the reader in our next chapter.
Chapter 10
The Jailer's Daughter
On the same evening Gryphus, as he brought the prisoner his
mess, slipped on the damp flags whilst opening the door of
the cell, and fell, in the attempt to steady himself, on his
hand; but as it was turned the wrong way, he broke his arm
just above the wrist.
Cornelius rushed forward towards the jailer, but Gryphus,
who was not yet aware of the serious nature of his injury,
called out to him, --
"It is nothing: don't you stir."
He then tried to support himself on his arm, but the bone
gave way; then only he felt the pain, and uttered a cry.
When he became aware that his arm was broken, this man, so
harsh to others, fell swooning on the threshold, where he
remained motionless and cold, as if dead.
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