Page:Peregrinaggio di tre giovani figliuoli del re di Serendippo.djvu/30

 "And, added the second brother, after I had eaten a few bites of the lamb and had a taste of salt and stuffed foam in my mouth, I realized that this lamb had only been fed with milk of a bitch.

"And because Sire, the third brother followed, I realized that you also greatly desired to hear from me, how I could have noticed the thoughts of your counselor, which are full of bad hatred against your Imperial person. You have to know that, reasoning with you the day before yesterday about the punishment of the wicked, when we were before you, I saw your counselor's face change color. Looking at you maliciously, being thirsty, he asked for a drink of water which usually refreshes the liver. And therefore, I concluded that the had received no lesser offense from you than that you put his son to death.

The Emperor, who found that in each case the young men had spoken the truth, was greatly disturbed by this, and replied: "I am absolutely certain, that the facts are exactly as you have told me, and that my counselor, other than in his mind, does not reveal how he can kill me, to take revenge on his son, who I rightly condemned to death because of his misdeeds. But how can I force him to confess this thing to me from his mouth? Therefore, I think, that because of the great torment I may bring upon him, he will never say a word to me. Thus, since I do not have the confession from his own mouth, I will not be able to convict him.