This semi-barbaric king had a daughter as blooming as hismost florid fancies， and with a soul as fervent and imperious ashis own. As is usual in such cases， she was the apple of his eye，and was loved by him above all humanity. Among his courtierswas a young man of that fineness of blood and lowness ofstation common to the conventional heroes of romance wholove royal maidens. This royal maiden was well satisfiedwith her lover， for he was handsome and brave to a degreeunsurpassed in all this kingdom， and she loved him with anardor that had enough of barbarism in it to make it exceedinglywarm and strong. This love affair moved on happily formany months， until one day the king happened to discover itsexistence. He did not hesitate nor waver in regard to his dutyin the premises. The youth was immediately cast into prison，and a day was appointed for his trial in the king’s arena. This，of course， was an especially important occasion， and hismajesty， as well as all the people， was greatly interested inthe workings and development of this trial. Never before hadsuch a case occurred； never before had a subject dared to lovethe daughter of the king. In after years such things becamecommonplace enough， but then they were in no slight degreenovel and startling.
The tiger-cages of the kingdom were searched for the mostsavage and relentless beasts， from which the fiercest monstermight be selected for the arena； and the ranks of maiden youthand beauty throughout the land were carefully surveyed bycompetent judges in order that the young man might have afitting bride in case fate did not determine for him a differentdestiny. Of course， everybody knew that the deed with whichthe accused was charged had been done. He had loved theprincess， and neither he， she， nor any one else， thought ofdenying the fact； but the king would not think of allowing anyfact of this kind to interfere with the workings of the tribunal，in which he took such great delight and satisfaction. No matterhow the affair turned out， the youth would be disposed of，and the king would take an aesthetic pleasure in watching thecourse of events， which would determine whether or not theyoung man had done wrong in allowing himself to love theprincess.
The appointed day arrived. From far and near the peoplegathered， and thronged the great galleries of the arena， andcrowds， unable to gain admittance， massed themselves againstits outside walls. The king and his court were in their places，opposite the twin doors， those fateful portals， so terrible intheir similarity.
All was ready. The signal was given. A door beneath theroyal party opened， and the lover of the princess walked intothe arena. Tall， beautiful， fair， his appearance was greeted witha low hum of admiration and anxiety. Half the audience hadnot known so grand a youth had lived among them. No wonderthe princess loved him！ What a terrible thing for him to bethere！