"King and people of Gathma," he commenced "my comrades and myself have listened in sorrow more than anger to the words of your learned councillor; and we fain would ask you, O King, in your royal wisdom, to set such bigoted utterances aside, and to decide our case on its simple merits. We came to your world as friends; but we are treated as the vilest of enemies, because we killed one who in another moment would have slain us. Your weapons are more deadly than our own, as we had ample testimony before we struck a blow; and this Osa treated us in no friendly spirit, giving us no opportunity of explaining ourselves to him. Right gladly would we have done so. That we killed him we do not deny, but to say that the deed was premeditated and done in malice, is to say that which is false. We did not seek to escape the consequences of our act, or we could readily have done so in the carriage that bore us hither. We came to this city at once, and yielded ourselves to your authority without resistance, as Kaosp, a worthy captain of your troops, can bear testimony. We are anxious to be friends, to knit together the peoples of Earth and Gathma in tranquil unity. We hold out the hand of brotherhood, the olive branch of peace, from our world to yours. Grasp it in the same spirit in which it is extended towards you, and let each race, strangers now no more, reap the rich harvest of mutual benefits my comrades and myself have dared and done so much to sow!"
Graham's words produced a marked impression in our favour with the King, which he was not unwilling to show; but before he uttered the words we could see he was about to speak, a Martial, dressed in the uniform of a prince or noble, rose to his feet and in a voice of thunder said:
"Enough! These men of Ramos have spoken well, and with an oily tongue, O King, but hearken to my tidings before thy Majesty decides their fate. One of them standing here before thee hath stained his hands with the innocent blood of thy subject, Osa; but what is Osa's blood compared with the dignity of a mighty monarch, and the honour of that monarch's daughter? The tallest of these men of Ramos here before thee, he who with his persuasive tongue addressed thee last, hath dared to hold private converse with thy daughter Volinè; to steal her heart, and to mantle her with shame! With mine own ears I heard the sweet yet poisoned words of yon seducer poured into thy innocent daughter's ears; with mine own eyes did I see them locked in tight embrace within an arbour in thy garden of Siccoth-trees, at an hour when no maiden should wander forth unattended! If my words are lies, why is not Volinè here by her father's side, as is her unvarying custom? why doth she shun our company? And why doth yonder stripling from Ramos carry the sacred ring of Echri upon his finger?--a gift from her! Why?"----