est to the throne. Take heed to
yourself, therefore, Kate, take heed to yourself. You behold in me the
avenger of God, and the judge of men. The king wears the crimson, not
because it is beautiful and glossy, but because it is red like blood,
and because it is the king's highest prerogative to shed the blood of
his delinquent subjects, and thereby expiate human crime. Thus only do
I conceive of royalty, and thus only will I carry it out till the end
of my days. Not the right to pardon, but the right to punish, is that
whereby the ruler manifests himself before the lower classes of mankind.
God's thunder should be on his lips, and the king's wrath should descend
like lightning on the head of the guilty."

"But God is not only wrathful, but also merciful and forgiving," said
Catharine, as she lightly and shyly leaned her head on the king's
shoulder.

"Just that is the prerogative of God above kings; that He can, as it
pleases Him, show mercy and grace, where we can only condemn and punish.
There must be something in which God is superior to kings, and greater
than they. But how, Kate, you tremble, and the lovely smile has vanished
from your countenance! Be not afraid of me, Kate! Be always frank with
me, and without deceit; then I shall always love you, and iniquity will
then have no power over you. And now, Kate, tell me, and explain to me.
You do not know that you love me?"

"No, I do not know, your majesty. And how should I be able to recognize,
and know, and designate by name what is strange to me, and what I have
never before felt?"

"How, you have never loved, Kate?" asked the king with a joyful
expression.

"Never. My father maltreated me, so that I could feel for him nothing
but dread and terror."

"And your husband, child? That man who was my predecessor in the
possession of you. Did you not love your husband either?"

"My husband?" asked she abstractedly. "It is true, my father sold me to
Lord Neville, and as the priest had joined our hands, men called him
my husband. But he very well knew that I did not love him, nor did he
require my love. He needed a nurse, not a wife. He had given me his name
as a father gives his to a daughter; and I was his daughter, a true,
faithful, and obedient daughter, who joyfully fulfilled her duty and
tended him till his death."

"And after his death, child? Years have elapsed since then, Kate. Tell
me, and I conjure you, tell me the truth, the simple, plain truth! After