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the black tulip-第42章

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bursting into tears; and throwing herself at the feet of the 

Stadtholder; who; although thinking her guilty; felt pity 

for her dreadful agony。 



〃You have done very wrong; my child;〃 he said; 〃and your 

lover shall be punished for having thus badly advised you。 

For you are so young; and have such an honest look; that I 

am inclined to believe the mischief to have been his doing; 

and not yours。〃 



〃Monseigneur! Monseigneur!〃 cried Rosa; 〃Cornelius is not 

guilty。〃 



William started。 



〃Not guilty of having advised you? that's what you want to 

say; is it not?〃 



〃What I wish to say; your Highness; is that Cornelius is as 

little guilty of the second crime imputed to him as he was 

of the first。〃 



〃Of the first? And do you know what was his first crime? Do 

you know of what he was accused and convicted? Of having; as 

an accomplice of Cornelius de Witt; concealed the 

correspondence of the Grand Pensionary and the Marquis de 

Louvois。〃 



〃Well; sir; he was ignorant of this correspondence being 

deposited with him; completely ignorant。 I am as certain as 

of my life; that; if it were not so; he would have told me; 

for how could that pure mind have harboured a secret without 

revealing it to me? No; no; your Highness; I repeat it; and 

even at the risk of incurring your displeasure; Cornelius is 

no more guilty of the first crime than of the second; and of 

the second no more than of the first。 Oh; would to Heaven 

that you knew my Cornelius; Monseigneur!〃 



〃He is a De Witt!〃 cried Boxtel。 〃His Highness knows only 

too much of him; having once granted him his life。〃 



〃Silence!〃 said the Prince; 〃all these affairs of state; as 

I have already said; are completely out of the province of 

the Horticultural Society of Haarlem。〃 



Then; knitting his brow; he added;  



〃As to the tulip; make yourself easy; Master Boxtel; you 

shall have justice done to you。〃 



Boxtel bowed with a heart full of joy; and received the 

congratulations of the President。 



〃You; my child;〃 William of Orange continued; 〃you were 

going to commit a crime。 I will not punish you; but the real 

evil…doer shall pay the penalty for both。 A man of his name 

may be a conspirator; and even a traitor; but he ought not 

to be a thief。〃 



〃A thief!〃 cried Rosa。 〃Cornelius a thief? Pray; your 

Highness; do not say such a word; it would kill him; if he 

knew it。 If theft there has been; I swear to you; Sir; no 

one else but this man has committed it。〃 



〃Prove it;〃 Boxtel coolly remarked。 



〃I shall prove it。 With God's help I shall。〃 



Then; turning towards Boxtel; she asked;  



〃The tulip is yours?〃 



〃It is。〃 



〃How many bulbs were there of it?〃 



Boxtel hesitated for a moment; but after a short 

consideration he came to the conclusion that she would not 

ask this question if there were none besides the two bulbs 

of which he had known already。 He therefore answered;  



〃Three。〃 



〃What has become of these bulbs?〃 



〃Oh! what has become of them? Well; one has failed; the 

second has produced the black tulip。〃 



〃And the third? 



〃The third!〃 



〃The third;  where is it?〃 



〃I have it at home;〃 said Boxtel; quite confused。 



〃At home? Where? At Loewestein; or at Dort?〃 



〃At Dort;〃 said Boxtel。 



〃You lie!〃 cried Rosa。 〃Monseigneur;〃 she continued; whilst 

turning round to the Prince; 〃I will tell you the true story 

of these three bulbs。 The first was crushed by my father in 

the prisoner's cell; and this man is quite aware of it; for 

he himself wanted to get hold of it; and; being balked in 

his hope; he very nearly fell out with my father; who had 

been the cause of his disappointment。 The second bulb; 

planted by me; has produced the black tulip; and the third 

and last〃  saying this; she drew it from her bosom  

〃here it is; in the very same paper in which it was wrapped 

up together with the two others。 When about to be led to the 

scaffold; Cornelius van Baerle gave me all the three。 Take 

it; Monseigneur; take it。〃 



And Rosa; unfolding the paper; offered the bulb to the 

Prince; who took it from her hands and examined it。 



〃But; Monseigneur; this young woman may have stolen the 

bulb; as she did the tulip;〃 Boxtel said; with a faltering 

voice; and evidently alarmed at the attention with which the 

Prince examined the bulb; and even more at the movements of 

Rosa; who was reading some lines written on the paper which 

remained in her hands。 



Her eyes suddenly lighted up; she read; with breathless 

anxiety; the mysterious paper over and over again; and at 

last; uttering a cry; held it out to the Prince and said; 

〃Read; Monseigneur; for Heaven's sake; read!〃 



William handed the third bulb to Van Systens; took the 

paper; and read。 



No sooner had he looked at it than he began to stagger; his 

hand trembled; and very nearly let the paper fall to the 

ground; and the expression of pain and compassion in his 

features was really frightful to see。 



It was that fly…leaf; taken from the Bible; which Cornelius 

de Witt had sent to Dort by Craeke; the servant of his 

brother John; to request Van Baerle to burn the 

correspondence of the Grand Pensionary with the Marquis de 

Louvois。 



This request; as the reader may remember; was couched in the 

following terms:  



〃My Dear Godson;  



〃Burn the parcel which I have intrusted to you。 Burn it 

without looking at it; and without opening it; so that its 

contents may for ever remain unknown to yourself。 Secrets of 

this description are death to those with whom they are 

deposited。 Burn it; and you will have saved John and 

Cornelius de Witt。 



〃Farewell; and love me。 



Cornelius de Witt。 



〃August 20; 1672。〃 



This slip of paper offered the proofs both of Van Baerle's 

innocence and of his claim to the property of the tulip。 



Rosa and the Stadtholder exchanged one look only。 



That of Rosa was meant to express; 〃Here; you see yourself。〃 



That of the Stadtholder signified; 〃Be quiet; and wait。〃 



The Prince wiped the cold sweat from his forehead; and 

slowly folded up the paper; whilst his thoughts were 

wandering in that labyrinth without a goal and without a 

guide; which is called remorse and shame for the past。 



Soon; however; raising his head with an effort; he said; in 

his usual voice;  



〃Go; Mr。 Boxtel; justice shall be done; I promise you。〃 



Then; turning to the President; he added;  



〃You; my dear Mynheer van Systens; take charge of this young 

woman and of the tulip。 Good…bye。〃 



All bowed; and the Prince left; among the deafening cheers 

of the crowd outside。 



Boxtel returned to his inn; rather puzzled and uneasy; 

tormented by misgivings about that paper which William had 

received from the hand of Rosa; and which his Highness had 

read; folded up; and so carefully put in his pocket。 What 

was the meaning of all this? 



Rosa went up to the tulip; tenderly kissed its leaves and; 

with a heart full of happiness and confidence in the ways of 

God; broke out in the words;  



〃Thou knowest best for what end Thou madest my good 

Cornelius teach me to read。〃 









Chapter 28



The Hymn of the Flowers





Whilst the events we have described in our last chapter were 

taking place; the unfortunate Van Baerle; forgotten in his 

cell in the fortress of Loewestein; suffered at the hands of 

Gryphus all that a prisoner can suffer when his jailer has 

formed the determination of playing the part of hangman。 



Gryphus; not having received any tidings of Rosa or of 

Jacob; persuaded himself that all that had happened was the 

devil's work; and that Dr。 Cornelius van Baerle had been 

sent on earth by Satan。 



The result of it was; that; one fine morning; the third 

after the disappearance of Jacob and Rosa; he went up to the 

cell of Cornelius in even a greater rage than usual。 



The latter; leaning with his elbows on the window…sill and 

supporting his head with his two hands; whilst his eyes 

wandered over the distant hazy horizon where the windmills 

of Dort were turning their sails; was breathing the fresh 

air; in order to be able to keep down his tears and to 

fortify himself in his philosophy。 



The pigeons were still there; but hope was not there; there 

was no future to look forward to。 



Alas! Rosa; being watched; was no longer able to come。 Could 

she not write? and if so; could she convey her letters to 

him? 



No; no。 He had seen during the two preceding days too much 

fury and malignity in the eyes of old Gryphus to expect that 

his vigilance would relax; even for one moment。 Moreover; 

had not she to suffer even worse torments than those of 

seclusion and separation? Did this brutal; blaspheming; 
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