JUSTICE. 
in the language of a gallant, bade her return and take her 
hulband out of prifon ; but, continued he, my fair one 
mult not he offended that I have taken care he Ihould not 
be an interruption to our future affignations. Thefe la ft 
words foreboded what (he found when (lie came to the 
gaol, her hulband executed by the order of Rynfault. 
It was remarkable, that the woman, who was full of 
tears and lamentations during the whole courfe of her af- 
•ftiftion, uttered neither-figh nor complaint, but food fixed 
with grief at this confummation of her misfortunes. She 
betook herfelf to her abode ; and, after having in folitude 
paid her devotion to Him who is the avenger of inno¬ 
cence, (lie repaired privately to court. Her perfon, and 
a certain grandeur of forrow negligent of forms, gained 
her paffage into the prefence of the duke her fovereign. 
As foon as file came into his pretence, (lie broke forth 
into the following words: “Behold, O mighty Charles, 
a wretch weary of life, though it has always been (pent 
with innocence and virtue. It is not in your power to 
redrefs my injuries, but it is to avenge them ; and, if the 
protection of the dillrelfed, and the puniftiment of op- 
prefl'ors, is a talk worthy of a prince, I bring the duke of 
Burgundy ample matter for doing honour to his own great 
name, and of wiping infamy off mine.” When (he had 
fpoken this, (lie delivered to the duke a paper reciting her 
ftory. He read it with all the emotion that indignation 
and pity could raife in a prince jealous of his honour in the 
behaviour of his officers and the profperity of his fubjefts. 
Upon an appointed day Rynfault was lent for to court, 
and in the prefence of a few of the council confronted by 
Sapphifa. The prince afking, “ Do you know that lady ?” 
Rynfault, as foon as he could recover his furprife, told the 
duke he would marry her, if his highnefs would pleafe 
to think that a reparation. The duke feemed contented 
with this anfwer, and (tood by during the immediate fo- 
lemnization of the ceremony. At the conclufion of it he 
told Rynfault, “Thus far you have done as conftrained 
by my authority: I (hall not be fatisfied of your kind 
ufage of her, unlefs you fign a gift of your whole ellate 
to her after your deceafe.” To the performance of this 
alfo the duke was a witnefs. When thefe two acts were 
executed, the duke, turning to the lady, told her, “ It 
now remains for me to put you in quiet poffeffion of what 
your hulband has fo bountifully bellowed on you 5” and 
ordered the immediate execution of Rynfault. 
5. In the Univerfal Hiftory we meet with the following 
remarkable inllance of a fcrupulous regard to juftice in a 
Perfian king named Noufchirvan. Having been out a-hunt- 
ing, and defirous of eating fome of the venifon in the 
field, feveral of his attendants went to a neighbouring vil¬ 
lage, and took away a quantity of fait to feafon it. The 
king, fufpefting how they had afted, ordered that they 
Ihould immediately go and pay for it. Then, turning to 
his attendants, he faid, “This is a fmall matter in itfelf, 
but a great one as it regards me: for a king ought ever 
to be juft, becaufe he is an example to his fubjefts; and, 
if he lwerves in trifles, they will become dilfolute. If I 
cannot make all my people juft in the fmalleft things, I 
can at lead (how them it is poffible to be fo.” 
6. Artabarzanes, an officer of Artaxerxes king of Per¬ 
sia, begged his majefty to confer a favour upon him ; which 
if complied with would be an aft of injuftice. The king, 
being informed that the promife of a confiderable fum of 
money was the only motive that induced the officer to 
make fo unreafonable a requell, ordered his treafurer to 
give him thirty thoufand dariufes, being a prefent of equal 
value with that which he was to have received. Giving 
him the order for the money, “ Here, take (fays the king) 
this token of my friendlhip for you ; a gift of this nature 
cannot make me poor; but complying with your requelt 
would make me poorindeed, for it would make me unjuft.” 
7 _. Cambyfes king of Perfia was remarkable for the fe- 
verity of his government, and his inexorable regard to juf¬ 
tice. The prince had a particular favourite whom he 
made a judge ; and this judge reckoned himfelf fo feeure 
Vol. XI. No. 776. 
557 
in the credit he had with his mailer, that without any 
more ado caufes were bought and fold in the courts of ju¬ 
dicature as openly as provifions iu the market. But, when 
Cambyfes was informed of thele proceedings, enraged to 
find his friendfhip fo ungratefully abufed, the honour of 
his government proftituted, and the liberty and property 
of his fubjefts facrific'ed to the avarice of his wretched mi¬ 
nion, he ordered him to be feized and publicly degraded ; 
after which he commanded his Ikin to be dripped over his 
ears, and the feat of judgment to be covered with it as a 
warning to others. At the fame time, to convince the 
world that this feverity proceeded only from the love of 
juftice, he permitted the fon to fucceed his father in the 
honours and office of prime minirter. 
8. One of the greatell of the Turkifti princes was Ma- 
mood, or Mahmud, the Gaznevide. His name is Hill ve¬ 
nerable in the eaft ; and of the noble parts.of his charac¬ 
ter, a regard to juftice was not the lealt. Of this the fol¬ 
lowing example is related by Mr. Gibbon in his Decline 
and Fall of the Roman Empire : As he fat in the divan, 
an unhappy fubjed bowed before the throne to accule the 
infolence of a Turkilh foldier who had driven him from 
his houfe and bed. “ Sufpend your clamours, (laid Mah¬ 
mud,) inform me of his next vilit, and ourfelf in perfon 
will judge and punilh the offender.” The fultan followed 
his guide ; invefted the houle with his guards ; and, extin- 
guilhing the torches, pronounced the death of the crimi¬ 
nal, who had been feized in the aft of rapine and adultery. 
After the execution of his lentence, the lights were rekin¬ 
dled, and Mahmud fell prollrate in prayer ; then, riling 
from the ground, he demanded fome homeiy fare, which 
he devoured with the voracioufnefs of hunger. The poor 
man, whofe injury he had avenged, was unable to fupprefs 
his aftonilhment and curiofiiy; and the courteous monarch 
condefcended to explain the motives of this Angular be¬ 
haviour. “ I had reafon to l'ufpeft that none except one 
of myfons could dare to perpetrate fuch an outrage; and 
I extinguilhed the lights, that my juftice might be blind 
and inexorable. My praying was a thanklgiving on the 
difcovery of the offender; and fo painful was my anxiety, 
that I had palled three days without food fince the firll mo¬ 
ment of your complaint.” 
9. In Gladwin's Hiftory of Hindooftan, a lingular faft is 
related of the emperor Jehangir, under whofe father Ak- 
ber the Mogul empire in Hindooftan firll obtained any re¬ 
gular form. Jehangir fucceeded him at Agra on the zzd 
of Oftober, 1605 ; and the firll order which lie ifl'ued on 
his acceffion to the throne was for the conftruftion of the 
golden chain of jujiice. It was made of pure gold, and mea- 
fured 30 yards, weighing 4. maunds of Hindooftan (about 
400 pounds avoirdupois). One end of this chain was fuf- 
pended from the royal ballion of the fortrefs of Agra, and 
the other faftened in the ground near the fide of the river. 
The intention of this extraordinary invention was, that 
if the officers of the courts of law were partial in their de- 
cilions, or dilatory in the adminiftration of juftice, the in¬ 
jured parties might come themfelves to this chain ; and, 
makinga noife by lhaking the links of it, give notice that 
they were waiting to reprefent their grievances to his ma- 
jefty.” 
10. In Bourgoanne’s Travels in Spam, vol. ii. p. 364, 
the following anecdote is given of Peter III. of Callile. 
A canon of the cathedral of Seville, affefted in his drefs, 
and particularly in his (hoes, could not find a workman 
to his liking. An unfortunate Ihoemaker, to whom he 
applied after quitting many others, having brought him 
a pair of (hoes not made to pleafe his talle, the canon be¬ 
came furious, and, feizing one of the tools of the flicema- 
ker, gave him with it fo many blows upon the head, as 
laid him dead upon the floor. The unhappy man left a 
widow, four daughters, and a fon thirteen years of age, 
the eldeft of the indigent family. They made their com¬ 
plaints to the chapter; the canon was profecuted, and con¬ 
demned not to appear in the choir for a year. The young 
Ihoemaker, having attained to man’s eltate, was fcarcely 
7 C able 
