132 HUNGARIAN LITERATURE had a hand in Otto's crime. But Bánk now saw all men turn from him as from a murderer. He heard, stirred to th e depths of his souJ, Petur, even when dying, cry out, " Lo ng live the king. " And at last Bánk learned that he was deceived after all. The queen, though formerly indulgent to Otto in his illicit courtship, was entirely innocent of the crime itself, Otto having given her an opiate to get her out of the way. So aU Bánk's fictitious notions caneern ing a just punishment were exploded. He, the highest judge in the land, a cowardly m urde rer l The king's representative a traitor to his king l He, the blameless knight, the destroyer of an unprotected woman l He was crushed to the earth. But one more blow fell on bim. The dead body of Melinda, slain by th e hired assassins of Otto, who had chosen this means of ave nging Bánk's deeds, was carried in. Bánk cried out, " My punishment is utter annihilation. In the wh ole universe is no loss but mine, no orph an but mine own child." At first the king contem piated punisbing Bánk, but the others looked with pity on the crushed and broken man, and said, " O King l Punish ment would be bnt mercy to him." The king recognised that a mightier J u dge had taken the rod from his hand, and felt that he would not have dared to punisb like this. He became' reconciled with the nation an d declared, 44 Better that the queen sh ould have fallen , if she were guilty, than that the country should." Th e only mercy which Bánk eraved was permission to bury his unhappy wife.
