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12 - Baron Trump's Marvellous Underground Journey - Ingersoll Lockwood · Classic Science Fiction Books

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  Speaker 1: Chapter twelve, The sad, sad Tale of the Sorrowing Princess
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  Speaker 1: with a speck in her heart, and what all happened
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  Speaker 1: when she had ended it, which the reader must read
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  Speaker 1: for himself. Little Baron and dear Lord Bulgar began the
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  Speaker 1: crystal eyed Damosel, after she had eased her soul of
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  Speaker 1: its load of woe by three long and deep, deep sighs.
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  Speaker 1: Know then, that I am not that Damosel Glowstone, but
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  Speaker 1: none other than the Royal Princess Cristelina herself. That she
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  Speaker 1: whose hair I comb should comb, mine, that she whom
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  Speaker 1: I have served for ten long years, should have served me.
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  Speaker 1: And to think, o, Princess, I burst out joyfully, that
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  Speaker 1: my beloved Bulgar should have been the first to discover
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  Speaker 1: that she, who was seated on the steps of the
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  Speaker 1: crystal throne, was not entitled to the seat. To think
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  Speaker 1: that his subtle intellect should have been the first to
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  Speaker 1: scent out the wrong that had been done, thee his
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  Speaker 1: keen eye, the first to go to the bottom of
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  Speaker 1: the truth. Well, but, fair Princess, I am bursting with
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  Speaker 1: impatience to know how thou thyself did ever discover the
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  Speaker 1: wrong that has been done thee that thou shalt speedily know,
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  Speaker 1: little Baron, answered Cristelina, And that thou mayest know all
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  Speaker 1: that I know. I'll begin at the very beginning. The
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  Speaker 1: day I was born. There was great rejoicing in the
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  Speaker 1: land of the Micamenkes, and the people gathered in front
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  Speaker 1: of the royal palace and laughed and cried by turns.
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  Speaker 1: So happy were they to think they were to be
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  Speaker 1: governed by another princess, after Queen Galaxi's heart should run down.
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  Speaker 1: For many years ago, a bad king had made them
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  Speaker 1: very unhappy, and they had hoped and prayed that no
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  Speaker 1: more such would come to reign over them. And pretty
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  Speaker 1: soon one of them began to tell the others what
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  Speaker 1: he thought the little princess would be like. She will
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  Speaker 1: be the fairest that ever sat upon the crystal throne.
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  Speaker 1: Her hands and feet will be like pearls tipped with coral,
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  Speaker 1: her hair whiter than the river's foam. And from her
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  Speaker 1: beautiful eyes will burst the radiance of her pure soul.
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  Speaker 1: And her heart, Oh, her heart will be like a
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  Speaker 1: little lump of frozen water, So clear and so transparent.
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  Speaker 1: Will it be so like a bit of purest crystal,
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  Speaker 1: bright and flawless as a diamond of the first water.
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  Speaker 1: And therefore let her be called the Princess Cristellina, or
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  Speaker 1: the maid with the crystal heart. Forthwith the cry went up,
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  Speaker 1: I let her be called Cristellina, or the Maid with
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  Speaker 1: the crystal heart. And Queen Galaxa heard the cry of
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  Speaker 1: her people and sent them word that it should be
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  Speaker 1: as they wished, that I should be the Princess Cristallina,
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  Speaker 1: but ah me that I should have lived to tell it.
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  Speaker 1: After a few days, the nurse came to my royal mother,
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  Speaker 1: wringing her hands and pouring down a flood of tears.
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  Speaker 1: Throwing herself on her knee, she whispered to the Queen
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  Speaker 1: Royal Mistress, bid me die rather than tell thee what
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  Speaker 1: I know. Being ordered to speak, the nurse informed Queen
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  Speaker 1: Galaxa that she had that day, for the first time,
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  Speaker 1: held me up to the light, and had discovered that
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  Speaker 1: there was a spet in my heart. The Queen uttered
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  Speaker 1: a cry of horror and swoon. When she came to herself.
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  Speaker 1: She directed that I should be brought to her and
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  Speaker 1: held up to the light, so that she might see
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  Speaker 1: for herself. Alas too true. There was a speck in
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  Speaker 1: my heart. Sure enough I was not worthy of the
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  Speaker 1: sweet name which her loving people had bestowed upon me.
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  Speaker 1: They would turn from me with horror. They would never
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  Speaker 1: consent to have me for their queen when the truth
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  Speaker 1: should become known. They would not be moved by a
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  Speaker 1: mother's prayers. They would turn a deaf ear to every
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  Speaker 1: one who should be bold enough to advise them to
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  Speaker 1: accept a princess with a speck in her heart when
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  Speaker 1: they had thought they were getting one well deserving of
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  Speaker 1: the title they had bestowed upon her. Queen Glaxa knew
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  Speaker 1: that something must be done at once, that it would
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  Speaker 1: be time and labor lost to attempt to reason with
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  Speaker 1: the disappointed people, So she said to work thinking up
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  Speaker 1: some way out of her trouble. Now, it so happened
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  Speaker 1: little Baron that the very day I had come into
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  Speaker 1: the world, a babe had been born to one of
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  Speaker 1: Queen Galax's serving women, And so hastily summing the woman,
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  Speaker 1: she ordered her to bring her babe into the royal
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  Speaker 1: bedchamber and leave it there, promising that it should be
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  Speaker 1: brought up as my foster sister. But no sooner had
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  Speaker 1: the serving woman gone her way, rejoicing, than the nurse
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  Speaker 1: was ordered to change the children in the cradle, and
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  Speaker 1: in a few moments Glowstone was wrapped in my richly
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  Speaker 1: embroidered blanket, and eyes swathed up in her plain coverlets.
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  Speaker 1: How things went for several years I know not, But
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  Speaker 1: one day a how well I recollect it, my little
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  Speaker 1: mind was puzzled by hearing Cristelina cry out, nay, nay,
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  Speaker 1: der Mamma, tis not fair. I like it not each
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  Speaker 1: day when thou comest to us, thou givest clothes on
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  Speaker 1: ten kisses and me but sing. Then would Queen Galaxa
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  Speaker 1: smile a sad smile, and bestow some bubble upon Christelina
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  Speaker 1: to coax her back to contentment again. And so we
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  Speaker 1: went on, Cristelina and I, from one year to another,
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  Speaker 1: until we were little maids well grown, and she sat
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  Speaker 1: on the throne and wore royal purple stitched with gold,
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  Speaker 1: and I plain white. But still most of the kisses
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  Speaker 1: fell to my share, and I marveled not a little
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  Speaker 1: at it, but dared not ask why it was. However,
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  Speaker 1: once when I was alone with Queen Galaxa, seated on
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  Speaker 1: my cushion, in the corner, plying my needle and thinking
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  Speaker 1: of the sail we were to have on the river
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  Speaker 1: that day. Suddenly I was startled to see the Queen
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  Speaker 1: throw herself on her knees in front of me, and
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  Speaker 1: to feel her clasp me in her arms and cover
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  Speaker 1: my face and head with tears and kisses, as she
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  Speaker 1: sobbed and moaned, Oh, my babe, my lost babe, my
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  Speaker 1: blessing and my joy wilt never never never come back
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  Speaker 1: to me, art gone forever? Must I give THEE up?
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  Speaker 1: Or must I nay? Royal Lady? I stammered in my
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  Speaker 1: more than wonder at her words and actions. Thou art
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  Speaker 1: in a dream? Awake, and see clearly I am not crystalline.
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  Speaker 1: I am glosstone, thy foster child. I'll hie me straight
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  Speaker 1: and bring my royal sister to THEE. But she would
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  Speaker 1: not let me loose, and for all answer showered more
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  Speaker 1: kisses on me till I was well nigh smothered, so
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  Speaker 1: tight she held me pressed against her bosom, while around
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  Speaker 1: and o'er me, her long thick tresses fell like a
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  Speaker 1: woven mantle. And then she told me all all that
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  Speaker 1: I have told THEE little Marin, and charged me never
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  Speaker 1: to impart it unto any soul in Goggleland. And I
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  Speaker 1: made a solemn promise unto her that I never would,
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  Speaker 1: And thou hast kept thy word like a true princess,
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  Speaker 1: as thou art said I cheerily, for I am not
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  Speaker 1: of thy world, Fair Cristellina. Now that I have told
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  Speaker 1: these a sad tale of the sorrowing princess with a
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  Speaker 1: speck in her heart, little Perrin, murmured Cristelina, fixing her
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  Speaker 1: large and radiant eyes upon me. There is but one
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  Speaker 1: thing more for me to do, and it is to
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  Speaker 1: let thee look through me, so that thou mayest know
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  Speaker 1: exactly what counsel to give. And so saying, the fair
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  Speaker 1: princess rose from her seat, and, having placed herself in
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  Speaker 1: front of me, with a flood of white light falling
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  Speaker 1: full upon her back, she lowered her black fan and
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  Speaker 1: bade me gaze upon the heavy heart which she had
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  Speaker 1: carried about with her all those years, and tell her
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  Speaker 1: exactly how large the speck was, and where it lay,
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  Speaker 1: and what color it was. I was overjoyed to get
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  Speaker 1: an opportunity at last to look through one of the
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  Speaker 1: Micaminky's and my own heart bounded with satisfaction as I
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  Speaker 1: looked and looked upon that mysterious little thing, nay, rather
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  Speaker 1: a tiny bean, live breathing, palpitating within her breast, now
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  Speaker 1: slow and measured as she dwelt in thought upon her
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  Speaker 1: sad fate, now beating faster and faster, as the hope
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  Speaker 1: bubbled up in her mind, that possibly I might be
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  Speaker 1: able to counsel her so wisely that an end would
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  Speaker 1: come to all her sorrow. Well, wise, little Baron, she murmured, anxiously,
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  Speaker 1: what seest thou? Is it very large? In what part
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  Speaker 1: is it? Is it black as night? Or some color
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  Speaker 1: less fatal Take courage, fair, Princess, said I, it is
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  Speaker 1: very small, and lies just beneath the bow on the
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  Speaker 1: left side. Nor is it black but reddish? Rather, And
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  Speaker 1: if a single drop of blood from the veins of
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  Speaker 1: thy far distant ancestors had outlived them these thousands of
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  Speaker 1: years and hardened there to tell whence thy people came,
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  Speaker 1: the princess wept tears of joy upon hearing these comforting words.
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  Speaker 1: If it had been black, she whispered, I would have
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  Speaker 1: laid me down in this bed of violets and never
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  Speaker 1: risen more. Till my people had come to bear me
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  Speaker 1: to my grave in the silent burial chamber, unvisited by
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  Speaker 1: the river of light. At this sad outbreak, Bulgar whined
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  Speaker 1: piteously and licked the Princess's hands as he looked up
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  Speaker 1: at her with his dark eyes radiant with sympathy. She
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  Speaker 1: was greatly cheered by this message of comfort, and it
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  Speaker 1: moved me too by its heartiness. List fair Princess, said
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  Speaker 1: I gravely, I own the task is not a little one,
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  Speaker 1: but hope for the best. I would that we had
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  Speaker 1: more time, But as thou knowest, Queen Galaxi's heart will
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  Speaker 1: soon run down. Therefore must we act with despatch as
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  Speaker 1: well as wisdom. But first of all, must I speak
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  Speaker 1: with the Queen and gain her consent to act for
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  Speaker 1: THEE in this matter that I fear she will never grant,
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  Speaker 1: moaned Cristelina. However, thou art so much wiser than I do,
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  Speaker 1: as best seems to THEE. The next thing to be done,
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  Speaker 1: fair Princess, I added, solemnly, is to show thy heart
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  Speaker 1: boldly and fearlessly to thy people. Nay, little baron, she exclaimed,
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  Speaker 1: rising to your feet, that may not be, that may
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  Speaker 1: not be for know that our law doth make it
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  Speaker 1: trees in itself for one of our people to look
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  Speaker 1: through a person of royal blood. Oh no, oh, no,
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  Speaker 1: little baron, that may never be. Stay, sweet Princess, I
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  Speaker 1: urged in gentlest tones. Not so fast thou dost not
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  Speaker 1: know what I mean by showing the heart boldly to
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  Speaker 1: thy people. Never fear, I will not break the law
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  Speaker 1: of the land. And yet they shall look upon the
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  Speaker 1: speck within thy heart and see how small it is,
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  Speaker 1: and hear what I have to say about it, and
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  Speaker 1: thou shalt not even be visible to them, Oh, little baron,
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  Speaker 1: murmured Cristelina. If this may only be, I feel they
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  Speaker 1: will forgive me. Thou art so wise, and thy words
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  Speaker 1: carry such strong hope to my poor heavy heart, that
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  Speaker 1: I almost nay, Fair Princess, I interrupted hope for the best.
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  Speaker 1: No more. I am not wise enough to read the future,
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  Speaker 1: and from what I know of thy people they seem
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  Speaker 1: but little different from mine own. Perchance I may be
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  Speaker 1: able to sway them towards by views and make them
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  Speaker 1: cry long Live Princess Cristallina. But I can only promise
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  Speaker 1: THEE to do my best. Betake THEE now to the palace,
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  Speaker 1: and scorn not for yet a day or so to
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  Speaker 1: take up the golden comb and play the damosel glowstone
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  Speaker 1: in all humility. End of Chapter twelve.