Page:Gesta Romanorum - Swan - Wright - 1.djvu/545

Rh 'And that is right that I so be: 'Lord, on thy fool have thou pitè!

'That error hath made me to smart 'That I had in my heart; 'Lord, I 'leved not on thee: 'Lord, on thy fool have thou pitè.

'Holy writ I had in despite; 'Therefore 'reaved is my right; 'Thefore is right a fool that I be: 'Lord, on thy fool have thou pitè, &c.

"The sincerity of his contrition is evinced, in the original, by a long series of such stanzas, with little variation of thought or expression; but the foregoing specimen will, perhaps, suffice for the satisfaction of the reader.

"After five weeks spent in Rome, the emperor, and the supposed king of Sicily, returned to their respective dominions, Robert being still accoutred in his fox-tails, and accompanied by his ape, whom he now ceased to consider as his inferior. When returned to the palace, the angel, before the whole court, repeated his usual question; but the penitent, far from persevering in his former insolence, humbly replied, 'that he was indeed a fool; or worse than a fool; but that he had at least acquired