on--let them be kept in the
archives--and let it be written above: 'This was the bell and the seal
of Benfalva, in which village everybody to the last man is dead'!" At
this Beldi let his hand fall from his sword hilt in dismay and freed
himself from the embrace of his daughter who was still clinging to
him.

"Go home to your mother at Bodola, and learn to bear your fate nobly."

He then took the seal out of the hand of the death-stricken old man
and hurried back into the hall just as Toekoeli had finished his speech,
causing a terrible effect on the entire assembly. The French
ambassador pressed his hand. Beldi took his place at the Szeklers'
table and laid down the seal. He was universally respected and when
they saw that he was ready to speak there was perfect silence.

"See," he said in excited tones; "a desolated village sends here to
the country its official seal by its last inhabitant, and he too is at
the point of death. . . . Of such villages there are already enough in
Transylvania and in time there may be still more. Famine and war have
laid waste the most beautiful portions of our country. . . . This
seal, my lords, you must not forget to place among the symbols of your
victories."

These last words Beldi uttered hardly above a whisper yet they were
heard in every corner of the hall, so deep a silence reigned. A tremor
passed over the faces of the men.

"Outside the door I hear some one weeping," Beldi went on with
quivering lips. "It is my own daughter, the wife of Paul Wesselenyi,
who has been driven from her country and who has thrown herself
sobbing at my feet that I in revenge for her wrongs may allow
retaliation to prevail. . . . And I say to you, let my child weep, let
her perish, let me--and if necessary my entire family, be set apart
for destruction, but let nobody in Transylvania suffer on account of
my sorrow--even if every one of you has agreed to the war--I am
against it--My lords--do not forget, I pray you, to lay among your
trophies this seal, and soon the rest too."

When he had spoken, Beldi took his place again. Long after his words
were ended the silence of the grave reigned throughout the hall.
Teleki, ascribing this silence to disapproval rose, sure of his
position, and made the states give their votes. But this one time he
had not taken the public pulse correctly, for the majority of the
states, affected by the previous scene voted for peace, so great was
the influence of Beldi