"Had an angel from heaven bid him abandon his work, he would have
answered with a curse," says one writer.
"How pretty a child is mine, this child of but a year old!" said
Richard, gladly, as he saw the walls proudly rise.
[Illustration: STATUE OF RICHARD COEUR DE LION.]
He needed money to finish it. His kingdom had been drained to pay his
ransom. But a rumor reached him that a treasure had been found at
Limousin,--twelve knights of gold seated round a golden table, said the
story. Richard claimed it. The lord of Limoges refused to surrender it.
Richard assailed his castle. It was stubbornly defended. In savage wrath
he swore he would hang every soul within its walls.
There was an old song which said that an arrow would be made in Limoges
by which King Richard would die. The song proved a true prediction. One
night, as the king surveyed the walls, a young soldier, Bertrand de
Gourdon by name, drew an arrow to its head, and saying, "Now I pray God
speed thee well!" let fly.
The shaft struck the king in the left shoulder. The wound might have
been healed, but unskilful treatment made it mortal. The castle was
taken while Richard lay dying, and every soul in it hanged, as the king
had sworn, except Bertrand de Gourdon.
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