Fierce and savage men always respect bravery in others. There was
something so courageous and heroic in the act of that single
priest in thus facing a ferocious and determined band, in defence
of a little girl,--for girls were but slightingly regarded in
those far-off days,--that it caught the savage fancy of the cruel
king. And this, joined with his respect for the Church's right of
sanctuary, and with the lessening of his thirst for blood, now
that he had satisfied his first desire for revenge. led him to
desist.
"So be it then," he said, lowering his threatening sword. "I
yield her to thee, Sir Priest. Look to her welfare and thine own.
Surely a girl can do no harm."
But King Gundebald and his house lived to learn how far wrong was
that unguarded statement. For the very lowering of the murderous
sword that thus brought life to the little Princess Clotilda
meant the downfall of the kingdom of Burgundy and the rise of the
great and victorious nation of France. The memories of even a
little maid of ten are not easily blotted out.
Her sister, Sedelenda, had found refuge and safety in the convent
of Ainay, near at hand, and there, too, Clotilda would have gone,
but her uncle, the new king, said: "No, the maidens must be
forever separated.
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