THE KING'S MIRROR 307 



laid the writings which favored him who had brought 

 the suit into one scale and the writing in his behalf 

 who was to reply in the other; but it looked as if the 

 scales would never balance. Then the king's son thought 

 he saw that certain documents were brought out in 

 which the decisions and formal verdicts were drawn 

 up, just as he had intended to render judgment and 

 all the wise men had advised. But even after these 

 writings had been laid in the scales, they were as far 

 from balancing as before. When the king's son saw 

 these things, he looked to see what the third young 

 man was doing, and saw that he stood near with a 

 drawn sword as if ready to strike. The sword was keen- 

 edged and terrible, and the edges looked to him as if 

 they were both on fire. Then he saw clearly that, if he 

 passed judgment before the scales balanced, the sword 

 of the young man would immediately smite his neck. 

 Just then he glanced down before his feet, and there 

 he saw the earth open downwards; underneath he saw 

 the gaping jaws of hell, as if waiting for him to come 

 there. But when he saw these things, he ceased speak- 

 ing and rendering judgments. When the wise men re- 

 minded him that there were suits to be settled, he called 

 them to him, and everyone who came saw all these 

 things that we have now described. After that none 

 dared to pronounce judgment, for the scales of the 

 young man never balanced, and no suit was settled on 

 that day ./But thereafter no man thought it strange if 

 the king was slow in pronouncing his decisions. I 



Another and similar example is found in wEatl told 

 you earlier in our conversation, when we spoke about 



