“Nor will I,” cried the king, hastily.

“Then suffer the petition I now make to you to prevail,” cried Leonard, falling on his knees.  “Be not influenced by the opinion of the lord mayor and his brethren, whose own interests may lead them to oppose the plan; but, if you think well of it, instantly adopt it.”

Charles looked irresolute, but might have yielded, if the Duke of York had not stepped forward.  “Your majesty had better not act too precipitately,” said the duke.  “Listen to the counsels of your prudent advisers.  A false step in such a case will be irretrievable.”

“Nay, brother,” rejoined the king, “I see no particular risk in it, after all, and I incline towards the young man’s opinion.”

“At least, hear what they have got to say,” rejoined the duke.  “And here they come.  They have not been long in deliberation.”

“The result of it may be easily predicted,” said Leonard, rising.

As Leonard had foreseen, the civic authorities were adverse to the plan.  The lord mayor in the name of himself and his brethren, earnestly solicited the king to postpone the execution of his order till all other means of checking the progress of the conflagration had been tried, and till such time, at least, as the property of the owners of the houses to be destroyed could be removed.  He further added, that it was the unanimous opinion of himself and his brethren, that the plan was fraught with great peril to the safety of the citizens, and that they could not bring themselves to assent to it.  If, therefore, his majesty chose to adopt it, they must leave the responsibility with him.

“I told your majesty how it would be,” observed the Duke of York, triumphantly.

“I am sorry to find you are right, brother,” replied the king, frowning.  “We are overruled, you see, friend,” he added to Leonard.

“Your majesty has signed the doom of your city,” rejoined Leonard, mournfully.

“I trust not—­I trust not,” replied Charles, hastily, and with an uneasy shrug of the shoulder.  “Fail not to remind me when all is over of the obligation I am under to you.”

“Your majesty has refused the sole boon I desired to have granted,” rejoined Leonard.

“And do you not see the reason, friend?” returned the king.  “These worthy and wealthy citizens desire to remove their property.  Their arguments are unanswerable.  I must give them time to do it.  But we waste time here,” he added, rising.  “Remember,” to Leonard, “my debt is not discharged.  And I command you, on pain of my sovereign displeasure, not to omit to claim its payment.”

“I will enter it in my memorandum-book, and will put your majesty in mind of it at the fitting season,” observed Chiffinch, who had taken a great fancy to Leonard.