Everybody Is Glad To Do This, And
Thus The King Gets All Into His Own Hands, Giving Every Man His Price.
Furthermore, this King hath some five hundred wives, for whenever he hears
of a beautiful damsel he takes her to wife.
Indeed he did a very sorry
deed as I shall tell you. For seeing that his brother had a handsome wife,
he took her by force and kept her for himself. His brother, being a
discreet man, took the thing quietly and made no noise about it. The King
hath many children.
And there are about the King a number of Barons in attendance upon him.
These ride with him, and keep always near him, and have great authority in
the kingdom; they are called the King's Trusty Lieges. And you must know
that when the King dies, and they put him on the fire to burn him, these
Lieges cast themselves into the fire round about his body, and suffer
themselves to be burnt along with him. For they say they have been his
comrades in this world, and that they ought also to keep him company in
the other world.[NOTE 5]
When the King dies none of his children dares to touch his treasure. For
they say, "as our father did gather together all this treasure, so we
ought to accumulate as much in our turn." And in this way it comes to pass
that there is an immensity of treasure accumulated in this kingdom.[NOTE 6]
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