Oldal 203 [203]
KING BIZARRE AND PRINCE CHARMING
week the search was abandoned. Rachimburg lost his
place as jailer, but as he possessed the royal secret, as he was
needed, and as he thirsted to avenge himself, he was made
the warden of the royal castle. Furious at his bad luck.
he exercised his supervision with such strictness that in
less than three days he arrested Wieduwillst himself half
a dozen times, and disarmed all suspicion.
At the end of a week some fishermen brought to the
court the robe and mantle of the queen. The waves had
cast on the shore these sad relics, covered with sand and
sea-foam. That the poor mad woman had drowned her¬
self no one doubted on seeing the grief of the king and the
tears of the countess. The council was assembled. It
decided with a unanimous voice that the queen was legally
dead and that the king was legally a widower, and for the
interest of the people entreated his majesty to abridge a
painful mourning and to marry again as soon as possible,
in order to strengthen the dynasty. This decision was
transmitted to the king by Wieduwillst, the chief physician
to the king and president of the royal council, who made
so touching a speech that the whole court burst into tears,
and Charming threw himself into the doctor’s arms, calling
him his cruel friend.
It is unnecessary to say that the funeral of a queen so much
lamented was magnificent. In the kingdom of Wild Oats
everything serves as a pretext for ceremony. The pageant
163