diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 3 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 873-0.txt | 3729 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 873-0.zip | bin | 0 -> 71806 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 873-h.zip | bin | 0 -> 303621 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 873-h/873-h.htm | 3870 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 873-h/images/coverb.jpg | bin | 0 -> 200630 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 873-h/images/covers.jpg | bin | 0 -> 33472 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/hpomg10.txt | 3869 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/hpomg10.zip | bin | 0 -> 70764 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/hpomg10h.htm | 3260 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/hpomg10h.zip | bin | 0 -> 71547 bytes |
13 files changed, 14744 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/873-0.txt b/873-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..79b696f --- /dev/null +++ b/873-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3729 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, A House of Pomegranates, by Oscar Wilde + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most +other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of +the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at +www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have +to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. + + + + +Title: A House of Pomegranates + + +Author: Oscar Wilde + + + +Release Date: October 26, 2014 [eBook #873] +[This file was first posted on April 8, 1997] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A HOUSE OF POMEGRANATES*** + + +Transcribed from the 1915 Methuen and Co. edition by David Price, email +ccx074@pglaf.org + + [Picture: Book cover] + + * * * * * + + TO + CONSTANCE MARY WILDE + + * * * * * + + + + + + A HOUSE + OF POMEGRANATES + + + BY + OSCAR WILDE + + * * * * * + + METHUEN & CO. LTD. + 36 ESSEX STREET W.C. + LONDON + + _Seventh Edition_ + +_First Published_ 1891 +_First Issued by Methuen and Co._ (_Limited Editions on 1908 +Handmade Paper and Japanese Vellum_) +_Third Edition_ (_F’cap._ 8_vo_) 1909 +_Fourth Edition_ ( ,, ) 1911 +_Fifth Edition_ ( ,, ) 1913 +_Sixth Edition_ (_Crown_ 4_to_, _Illustrated by Jessie 1915 +King_) +_Seventh Edition_ (_F’cap._ 8_vo_) 1915 + +CONTENTS + + PAGE +THE YOUNG KING 1 +THE BIRTHDAY OF THE INFANTA 31 +THE FISHERMAN AND HIS SOUL 73 +THE STAR-CHILD 147 + + + + +THE YOUNG KING + + + TO + MARGARET LADY BROOKE + [THE RANEE OF SARAWAK] + +IT was the night before the day fixed for his coronation, and the young +King was sitting alone in his beautiful chamber. His courtiers had all +taken their leave of him, bowing their heads to the ground, according to +the ceremonious usage of the day, and had retired to the Great Hall of +the Palace, to receive a few last lessons from the Professor of +Etiquette; there being some of them who had still quite natural manners, +which in a courtier is, I need hardly say, a very grave offence. + +The lad—for he was only a lad, being but sixteen years of age—was not +sorry at their departure, and had flung himself back with a deep sigh of +relief on the soft cushions of his embroidered couch, lying there, +wild-eyed and open-mouthed, like a brown woodland Faun, or some young +animal of the forest newly snared by the hunters. + +And, indeed, it was the hunters who had found him, coming upon him almost +by chance as, bare-limbed and pipe in hand, he was following the flock of +the poor goatherd who had brought him up, and whose son he had always +fancied himself to be. The child of the old King’s only daughter by a +secret marriage with one much beneath her in station—a stranger, some +said, who, by the wonderful magic of his lute-playing, had made the young +Princess love him; while others spoke of an artist from Rimini, to whom +the Princess had shown much, perhaps too much honour, and who had +suddenly disappeared from the city, leaving his work in the Cathedral +unfinished—he had been, when but a week old, stolen away from his +mother’s side, as she slept, and given into the charge of a common +peasant and his wife, who were without children of their own, and lived +in a remote part of the forest, more than a day’s ride from the town. +Grief, or the plague, as the court physician stated, or, as some +suggested, a swift Italian poison administered in a cup of spiced wine, +slew, within an hour of her wakening, the white girl who had given him +birth, and as the trusty messenger who bare the child across his +saddle-bow stooped from his weary horse and knocked at the rude door of +the goatherd’s hut, the body of the Princess was being lowered into an +open grave that had been dug in a deserted churchyard, beyond the city +gates, a grave where it was said that another body was also lying, that +of a young man of marvellous and foreign beauty, whose hands were tied +behind him with a knotted cord, and whose breast was stabbed with many +red wounds. + +Such, at least, was the story that men whispered to each other. Certain +it was that the old King, when on his deathbed, whether moved by remorse +for his great sin, or merely desiring that the kingdom should not pass +away from his line, had had the lad sent for, and, in the presence of the +Council, had acknowledged him as his heir. + +And it seems that from the very first moment of his recognition he had +shown signs of that strange passion for beauty that was destined to have +so great an influence over his life. Those who accompanied him to the +suite of rooms set apart for his service, often spoke of the cry of +pleasure that broke from his lips when he saw the delicate raiment and +rich jewels that had been prepared for him, and of the almost fierce joy +with which he flung aside his rough leathern tunic and coarse sheepskin +cloak. He missed, indeed, at times the fine freedom of his forest life, +and was always apt to chafe at the tedious Court ceremonies that occupied +so much of each day, but the wonderful palace—_Joyeuse_, as they called +it—of which he now found himself lord, seemed to him to be a new world +fresh-fashioned for his delight; and as soon as he could escape from the +council-board or audience-chamber, he would run down the great staircase, +with its lions of gilt bronze and its steps of bright porphyry, and +wander from room to room, and from corridor to corridor, like one who was +seeking to find in beauty an anodyne from pain, a sort of restoration +from sickness. + +Upon these journeys of discovery, as he would call them—and, indeed, they +were to him real voyages through a marvellous land, he would sometimes be +accompanied by the slim, fair-haired Court pages, with their floating +mantles, and gay fluttering ribands; but more often he would be alone, +feeling through a certain quick instinct, which was almost a divination, +that the secrets of art are best learned in secret, and that Beauty, like +Wisdom, loves the lonely worshipper. + + * * * * * + +Many curious stories were related about him at this period. It was said +that a stout Burgo-master, who had come to deliver a florid oratorical +address on behalf of the citizens of the town, had caught sight of him +kneeling in real adoration before a great picture that had just been +brought from Venice, and that seemed to herald the worship of some new +gods. On another occasion he had been missed for several hours, and +after a lengthened search had been discovered in a little chamber in one +of the northern turrets of the palace gazing, as one in a trance, at a +Greek gem carved with the figure of Adonis. He had been seen, so the +tale ran, pressing his warm lips to the marble brow of an antique statue +that had been discovered in the bed of the river on the occasion of the +building of the stone bridge, and was inscribed with the name of the +Bithynian slave of Hadrian. He had passed a whole night in noting the +effect of the moonlight on a silver image of Endymion. + +All rare and costly materials had certainly a great fascination for him, +and in his eagerness to procure them he had sent away many merchants, +some to traffic for amber with the rough fisher-folk of the north seas, +some to Egypt to look for that curious green turquoise which is found +only in the tombs of kings, and is said to possess magical properties, +some to Persia for silken carpets and painted pottery, and others to +India to buy gauze and stained ivory, moonstones and bracelets of jade, +sandal-wood and blue enamel and shawls of fine wool. + +But what had occupied him most was the robe he was to wear at his +coronation, the robe of tissued gold, and the ruby-studded crown, and the +sceptre with its rows and rings of pearls. Indeed, it was of this that +he was thinking to-night, as he lay back on his luxurious couch, watching +the great pinewood log that was burning itself out on the open hearth. +The designs, which were from the hands of the most famous artists of the +time, had been submitted to him many months before, and he had given +orders that the artificers were to toil night and day to carry them out, +and that the whole world was to be searched for jewels that would be +worthy of their work. He saw himself in fancy standing at the high altar +of the cathedral in the fair raiment of a King, and a smile played and +lingered about his boyish lips, and lit up with a bright lustre his dark +woodland eyes. + +After some time he rose from his seat, and leaning against the carved +penthouse of the chimney, looked round at the dimly-lit room. The walls +were hung with rich tapestries representing the Triumph of Beauty. A +large press, inlaid with agate and lapis-lazuli, filled one corner, and +facing the window stood a curiously wrought cabinet with lacquer panels +of powdered and mosaiced gold, on which were placed some delicate goblets +of Venetian glass, and a cup of dark-veined onyx. Pale poppies were +broidered on the silk coverlet of the bed, as though they had fallen from +the tired hands of sleep, and tall reeds of fluted ivory bare up the +velvet canopy, from which great tufts of ostrich plumes sprang, like +white foam, to the pallid silver of the fretted ceiling. A laughing +Narcissus in green bronze held a polished mirror above its head. On the +table stood a flat bowl of amethyst. + +Outside he could see the huge dome of the cathedral, looming like a +bubble over the shadowy houses, and the weary sentinels pacing up and +down on the misty terrace by the river. Far away, in an orchard, a +nightingale was singing. A faint perfume of jasmine came through the +open window. He brushed his brown curls back from his forehead, and +taking up a lute, let his fingers stray across the cords. His heavy +eyelids drooped, and a strange languor came over him. Never before had +he felt so keenly, or with such exquisite joy, the magic and the mystery +of beautiful things. + +When midnight sounded from the clock-tower he touched a bell, and his +pages entered and disrobed him with much ceremony, pouring rose-water +over his hands, and strewing flowers on his pillow. A few moments after +that they had left the room, he fell asleep. + + * * * * * + +And as he slept he dreamed a dream, and this was his dream. + +He thought that he was standing in a long, low attic, amidst the whir and +clatter of many looms. The meagre daylight peered in through the grated +windows, and showed him the gaunt figures of the weavers bending over +their cases. Pale, sickly-looking children were crouched on the huge +crossbeams. As the shuttles dashed through the warp they lifted up the +heavy battens, and when the shuttles stopped they let the battens fall +and pressed the threads together. Their faces were pinched with famine, +and their thin hands shook and trembled. Some haggard women were seated +at a table sewing. A horrible odour filled the place. The air was foul +and heavy, and the walls dripped and streamed with damp. + +The young King went over to one of the weavers, and stood by him and +watched him. + +And the weaver looked at him angrily, and said, ‘Why art thou watching +me? Art thou a spy set on us by our master?’ + +‘Who is thy master?’ asked the young King. + +‘Our master!’ cried the weaver, bitterly. ‘He is a man like myself. +Indeed, there is but this difference between us—that he wears fine +clothes while I go in rags, and that while I am weak from hunger he +suffers not a little from overfeeding.’ + +‘The land is free,’ said the young King, ‘and thou art no man’s slave.’ + +‘In war,’ answered the weaver, ‘the strong make slaves of the weak, and +in peace the rich make slaves of the poor. We must work to live, and +they give us such mean wages that we die. We toil for them all day long, +and they heap up gold in their coffers, and our children fade away before +their time, and the faces of those we love become hard and evil. We +tread out the grapes, and another drinks the wine. We sow the corn, and +our own board is empty. We have chains, though no eye beholds them; and +are slaves, though men call us free.’ + +‘Is it so with all?’ he asked, + +‘It is so with all,’ answered the weaver, ‘with the young as well as with +the old, with the women as well as with the men, with the little children +as well as with those who are stricken in years. The merchants grind us +down, and we must needs do their bidding. The priest rides by and tells +his beads, and no man has care of us. Through our sunless lanes creeps +Poverty with her hungry eyes, and Sin with his sodden face follows close +behind her. Misery wakes us in the morning, and Shame sits with us at +night. But what are these things to thee? Thou art not one of us. Thy +face is too happy.’ And he turned away scowling, and threw the shuttle +across the loom, and the young King saw that it was threaded with a +thread of gold. + +And a great terror seized upon him, and he said to the weaver, ‘What robe +is this that thou art weaving?’ + +‘It is the robe for the coronation of the young King,’ he answered; ‘what +is that to thee?’ + +And the young King gave a loud cry and woke, and lo! he was in his own +chamber, and through the window he saw the great honey-coloured moon +hanging in the dusky air. + + * * * * * + +And he fell asleep again and dreamed, and this was his dream. + +He thought that he was lying on the deck of a huge galley that was being +rowed by a hundred slaves. On a carpet by his side the master of the +galley was seated. He was black as ebony, and his turban was of crimson +silk. Great earrings of silver dragged down the thick lobes of his ears, +and in his hands he had a pair of ivory scales. + +The slaves were naked, but for a ragged loin-cloth, and each man was +chained to his neighbour. The hot sun beat brightly upon them, and the +negroes ran up and down the gangway and lashed them with whips of hide. +They stretched out their lean arms and pulled the heavy oars through the +water. The salt spray flew from the blades. + +At last they reached a little bay, and began to take soundings. A light +wind blew from the shore, and covered the deck and the great lateen sail +with a fine red dust. Three Arabs mounted on wild asses rode out and +threw spears at them. The master of the galley took a painted bow in his +hand and shot one of them in the throat. He fell heavily into the surf, +and his companions galloped away. A woman wrapped in a yellow veil +followed slowly on a camel, looking back now and then at the dead body. + +As soon as they had cast anchor and hauled down the sail, the negroes +went into the hold and brought up a long rope-ladder, heavily weighted +with lead. The master of the galley threw it over the side, making the +ends fast to two iron stanchions. Then the negroes seized the youngest +of the slaves and knocked his gyves off, and filled his nostrils and his +ears with wax, and tied a big stone round his waist. He crept wearily +down the ladder, and disappeared into the sea. A few bubbles rose where +he sank. Some of the other slaves peered curiously over the side. At +the prow of the galley sat a shark-charmer, beating monotonously upon a +drum. + +After some time the diver rose up out of the water, and clung panting to +the ladder with a pearl in his right hand. The negroes seized it from +him, and thrust him back. The slaves fell asleep over their oars. + +Again and again he came up, and each time that he did so he brought with +him a beautiful pearl. The master of the galley weighed them, and put +them into a little bag of green leather. + +The young King tried to speak, but his tongue seemed to cleave to the +roof of his mouth, and his lips refused to move. The negroes chattered +to each other, and began to quarrel over a string of bright beads. Two +cranes flew round and round the vessel. + +Then the diver came up for the last time, and the pearl that he brought +with him was fairer than all the pearls of Ormuz, for it was shaped like +the full moon, and whiter than the morning star. But his face was +strangely pale, and as he fell upon the deck the blood gushed from his +ears and nostrils. He quivered for a little, and then he was still. The +negroes shrugged their shoulders, and threw the body overboard. + +And the master of the galley laughed, and, reaching out, he took the +pearl, and when he saw it he pressed it to his forehead and bowed. ‘It +shall be,’ he said, ‘for the sceptre of the young King,’ and he made a +sign to the negroes to draw up the anchor. + +And when the young King heard this he gave a great cry, and woke, and +through the window he saw the long grey fingers of the dawn clutching at +the fading stars. + + * * * * * + +And he fell asleep again, and dreamed, and this was his dream. + +He thought that he was wandering through a dim wood, hung with strange +fruits and with beautiful poisonous flowers. The adders hissed at him as +he went by, and the bright parrots flew screaming from branch to branch. +Huge tortoises lay asleep upon the hot mud. The trees were full of apes +and peacocks. + +On and on he went, till he reached the outskirts of the wood, and there +he saw an immense multitude of men toiling in the bed of a dried-up +river. They swarmed up the crag like ants. They dug deep pits in the +ground and went down into them. Some of them cleft the rocks with great +axes; others grabbled in the sand. + +They tore up the cactus by its roots, and trampled on the scarlet +blossoms. They hurried about, calling to each other, and no man was +idle. + +From the darkness of a cavern Death and Avarice watched them, and Death +said, ‘I am weary; give me a third of them and let me go.’ But Avarice +shook her head. ‘They are my servants,’ she answered. + +And Death said to her, ‘What hast thou in thy hand?’ + +‘I have three grains of corn,’ she answered; ‘what is that to thee?’ + +‘Give me one of them,’ cried Death, ‘to plant in my garden; only one of +them, and I will go away.’ + +‘I will not give thee anything,’ said Avarice, and she hid her hand in +the fold of her raiment. + +And Death laughed, and took a cup, and dipped it into a pool of water, +and out of the cup rose Ague. She passed through the great multitude, +and a third of them lay dead. A cold mist followed her, and the +water-snakes ran by her side. + +And when Avarice saw that a third of the multitude was dead she beat her +breast and wept. She beat her barren bosom, and cried aloud. ‘Thou hast +slain a third of my servants,’ she cried, ‘get thee gone. There is war +in the mountains of Tartary, and the kings of each side are calling to +thee. The Afghans have slain the black ox, and are marching to battle. +They have beaten upon their shields with their spears, and have put on +their helmets of iron. What is my valley to thee, that thou shouldst +tarry in it? Get thee gone, and come here no more.’ + +‘Nay,’ answered Death, ‘but till thou hast given me a grain of corn I +will not go.’ + +But Avarice shut her hand, and clenched her teeth. ‘I will not give thee +anything,’ she muttered. + +And Death laughed, and took up a black stone, and threw it into the +forest, and out of a thicket of wild hemlock came Fever in a robe of +flame. She passed through the multitude, and touched them, and each man +that she touched died. The grass withered beneath her feet as she +walked. + +And Avarice shuddered, and put ashes on her head. ‘Thou art cruel,’ she +cried; ‘thou art cruel. There is famine in the walled cities of India, +and the cisterns of Samarcand have run dry. There is famine in the +walled cities of Egypt, and the locusts have come up from the desert. +The Nile has not overflowed its banks, and the priests have cursed Isis +and Osiris. Get thee gone to those who need thee, and leave me my +servants.’ + +‘Nay,’ answered Death, ‘but till thou hast given me a grain of corn I +will not go.’ + +‘I will not give thee anything,’ said Avarice. + +And Death laughed again, and he whistled through his fingers, and a woman +came flying through the air. Plague was written upon her forehead, and a +crowd of lean vultures wheeled round her. She covered the valley with +her wings, and no man was left alive. + +And Avarice fled shrieking through the forest, and Death leaped upon his +red horse and galloped away, and his galloping was faster than the wind. + +And out of the slime at the bottom of the valley crept dragons and +horrible things with scales, and the jackals came trotting along the +sand, sniffing up the air with their nostrils. + +And the young King wept, and said: ‘Who were these men, and for what were +they seeking?’ + +‘For rubies for a king’s crown,’ answered one who stood behind him. + +And the young King started, and, turning round, he saw a man habited as a +pilgrim and holding in his hand a mirror of silver. + +And he grew pale, and said: ‘For what king?’ + +And the pilgrim answered: ‘Look in this mirror, and thou shalt see him.’ + +And he looked in the mirror, and, seeing his own face, he gave a great +cry and woke, and the bright sunlight was streaming into the room, and +from the trees of the garden and pleasaunce the birds were singing. + + * * * * * + +And the Chamberlain and the high officers of State came in and made +obeisance to him, and the pages brought him the robe of tissued gold, and +set the crown and the sceptre before him. + +And the young King looked at them, and they were beautiful. More +beautiful were they than aught that he had ever seen. But he remembered +his dreams, and he said to his lords: ‘Take these things away, for I will +not wear them.’ + +And the courtiers were amazed, and some of them laughed, for they thought +that he was jesting. + +But he spake sternly to them again, and said: ‘Take these things away, +and hide them from me. Though it be the day of my coronation, I will not +wear them. For on the loom of Sorrow, and by the white hands of Pain, +has this my robe been woven. There is Blood in the heart of the ruby, +and Death in the heart of the pearl.’ And he told them his three dreams. + +And when the courtiers heard them they looked at each other and +whispered, saying: ‘Surely he is mad; for what is a dream but a dream, +and a vision but a vision? They are not real things that one should heed +them. And what have we to do with the lives of those who toil for us? +Shall a man not eat bread till he has seen the sower, nor drink wine till +he has talked with the vinedresser?’ + +And the Chamberlain spake to the young King, and said, ‘My lord, I pray +thee set aside these black thoughts of thine, and put on this fair robe, +and set this crown upon thy head. For how shall the people know that +thou art a king, if thou hast not a king’s raiment?’ + +And the young King looked at him. ‘Is it so, indeed?’ he questioned. +‘Will they not know me for a king if I have not a king’s raiment?’ + +‘They will not know thee, my lord,’ cried the Chamberlain. + +‘I had thought that there had been men who were kinglike,’ he answered, +‘but it may be as thou sayest. And yet I will not wear this robe, nor +will I be crowned with this crown, but even as I came to the palace so +will I go forth from it.’ + +And he bade them all leave him, save one page whom he kept as his +companion, a lad a year younger than himself. Him he kept for his +service, and when he had bathed himself in clear water, he opened a great +painted chest, and from it he took the leathern tunic and rough sheepskin +cloak that he had worn when he had watched on the hillside the shaggy +goats of the goatherd. These he put on, and in his hand he took his rude +shepherd’s staff. + +And the little page opened his big blue eyes in wonder, and said smiling +to him, ‘My lord, I see thy robe and thy sceptre, but where is thy +crown?’ + +And the young King plucked a spray of wild briar that was climbing over +the balcony, and bent it, and made a circlet of it, and set it on his own +head. + +‘This shall he my crown,’ he answered. + +And thus attired he passed out of his chamber into the Great Hall, where +the nobles were waiting for him. + +And the nobles made merry, and some of them cried out to him, ‘My lord, +the people wait for their king, and thou showest them a beggar,’ and +others were wroth and said, ‘He brings shame upon our state, and is +unworthy to be our master.’ But he answered them not a word, but passed +on, and went down the bright porphyry staircase, and out through the +gates of bronze, and mounted upon his horse, and rode towards the +cathedral, the little page running beside him. + +And the people laughed and said, ‘It is the King’s fool who is riding +by,’ and they mocked him. + +And he drew rein and said, ‘Nay, but I am the King.’ And he told them +his three dreams. + +And a man came out of the crowd and spake bitterly to him, and said, +‘Sir, knowest thou not that out of the luxury of the rich cometh the life +of the poor? By your pomp we are nurtured, and your vices give us bread. +To toil for a hard master is bitter, but to have no master to toil for is +more bitter still. Thinkest thou that the ravens will feed us? And what +cure hast thou for these things? Wilt thou say to the buyer, “Thou shalt +buy for so much,” and to the seller, “Thou shalt sell at this price”? I +trow not. Therefore go back to thy Palace and put on thy purple and fine +linen. What hast thou to do with us, and what we suffer?’ + +‘Are not the rich and the poor brothers?’ asked the young King. + +‘Ay,’ answered the man, ‘and the name of the rich brother is Cain.’ + +And the young King’s eyes filled with tears, and he rode on through the +murmurs of the people, and the little page grew afraid and left him. + +And when he reached the great portal of the cathedral, the soldiers +thrust their halberts out and said, ‘What dost thou seek here? None +enters by this door but the King.’ + +And his face flushed with anger, and he said to them, ‘I am the King,’ +and waved their halberts aside and passed in. + +And when the old Bishop saw him coming in his goatherd’s dress, he rose +up in wonder from his throne, and went to meet him, and said to him, ‘My +son, is this a king’s apparel? And with what crown shall I crown thee, +and what sceptre shall I place in thy hand? Surely this should be to +thee a day of joy, and not a day of abasement.’ + +‘Shall Joy wear what Grief has fashioned?’ said the young King. And he +told him his three dreams. + +And when the Bishop had heard them he knit his brows, and said, ‘My son, +I am an old man, and in the winter of my days, and I know that many evil +things are done in the wide world. The fierce robbers come down from the +mountains, and carry off the little children, and sell them to the Moors. +The lions lie in wait for the caravans, and leap upon the camels. The +wild boar roots up the corn in the valley, and the foxes gnaw the vines +upon the hill. The pirates lay waste the sea-coast and burn the ships of +the fishermen, and take their nets from them. In the salt-marshes live +the lepers; they have houses of wattled reeds, and none may come nigh +them. The beggars wander through the cities, and eat their food with the +dogs. Canst thou make these things not to be? Wilt thou take the leper +for thy bedfellow, and set the beggar at thy board? Shall the lion do +thy bidding, and the wild boar obey thee? Is not He who made misery +wiser than thou art? Wherefore I praise thee not for this that thou hast +done, but I bid thee ride back to the Palace and make thy face glad, and +put on the raiment that beseemeth a king, and with the crown of gold I +will crown thee, and the sceptre of pearl will I place in thy hand. And +as for thy dreams, think no more of them. The burden of this world is +too great for one man to bear, and the world’s sorrow too heavy for one +heart to suffer.’ + +‘Sayest thou that in this house?’ said the young King, and he strode past +the Bishop, and climbed up the steps of the altar, and stood before the +image of Christ. + +He stood before the image of Christ, and on his right hand and on his +left were the marvellous vessels of gold, the chalice with the yellow +wine, and the vial with the holy oil. He knelt before the image of +Christ, and the great candles burned brightly by the jewelled shrine, and +the smoke of the incense curled in thin blue wreaths through the dome. +He bowed his head in prayer, and the priests in their stiff copes crept +away from the altar. + +And suddenly a wild tumult came from the street outside, and in entered +the nobles with drawn swords and nodding plumes, and shields of polished +steel. ‘Where is this dreamer of dreams?’ they cried. ‘Where is this +King who is apparelled like a beggar—this boy who brings shame upon our +state? Surely we will slay him, for he is unworthy to rule over us.’ + +And the young King bowed his head again, and prayed, and when he had +finished his prayer he rose up, and turning round he looked at them +sadly. + +And lo! through the painted windows came the sunlight streaming upon him, +and the sun-beams wove round him a tissued robe that was fairer than the +robe that had been fashioned for his pleasure. The dead staff blossomed, +and bare lilies that were whiter than pearls. The dry thorn blossomed, +and bare roses that were redder than rubies. Whiter than fine pearls +were the lilies, and their stems were of bright silver. Redder than male +rubies were the roses, and their leaves were of beaten gold. + +He stood there in the raiment of a king, and the gates of the jewelled +shrine flew open, and from the crystal of the many-rayed monstrance shone +a marvellous and mystical light. He stood there in a king’s raiment, and +the Glory of God filled the place, and the saints in their carven niches +seemed to move. In the fair raiment of a king he stood before them, and +the organ pealed out its music, and the trumpeters blew upon their +trumpets, and the singing boys sang. + +And the people fell upon their knees in awe, and the nobles sheathed +their swords and did homage, and the Bishop’s face grew pale, and his +hands trembled. ‘A greater than I hath crowned thee,’ he cried, and he +knelt before him. + +And the young King came down from the high altar, and passed home through +the midst of the people. But no man dared look upon his face, for it was +like the face of an angel. + + + + +THE BIRTHDAY OF THE INFANTA + + + TO + MRS. WILLIAM H. GRENFELL + OF TAPLOW COURT + [LADY DESBOROUGH] + +IT was the birthday of the Infanta. She was just twelve years of age, +and the sun was shining brightly in the gardens of the palace. + +Although she was a real Princess and the Infanta of Spain, she had only +one birthday every year, just like the children of quite poor people, so +it was naturally a matter of great importance to the whole country that +she should have a really fine day for the occasion. And a really fine +day it certainly was. The tall striped tulips stood straight up upon +their stalks, like long rows of soldiers, and looked defiantly across the +grass at the roses, and said: ‘We are quite as splendid as you are now.’ +The purple butterflies fluttered about with gold dust on their wings, +visiting each flower in turn; the little lizards crept out of the +crevices of the wall, and lay basking in the white glare; and the +pomegranates split and cracked with the heat, and showed their bleeding +red hearts. Even the pale yellow lemons, that hung in such profusion +from the mouldering trellis and along the dim arcades, seemed to have +caught a richer colour from the wonderful sunlight, and the magnolia +trees opened their great globe-like blossoms of folded ivory, and filled +the air with a sweet heavy perfume. + +The little Princess herself walked up and down the terrace with her +companions, and played at hide and seek round the stone vases and the old +moss-grown statues. On ordinary days she was only allowed to play with +children of her own rank, so she had always to play alone, but her +birthday was an exception, and the King had given orders that she was to +invite any of her young friends whom she liked to come and amuse +themselves with her. There was a stately grace about these slim Spanish +children as they glided about, the boys with their large-plumed hats and +short fluttering cloaks, the girls holding up the trains of their long +brocaded gowns, and shielding the sun from their eyes with huge fans of +black and silver. But the Infanta was the most graceful of all, and the +most tastefully attired, after the somewhat cumbrous fashion of the day. +Her robe was of grey satin, the skirt and the wide puffed sleeves heavily +embroidered with silver, and the stiff corset studded with rows of fine +pearls. Two tiny slippers with big pink rosettes peeped out beneath her +dress as she walked. Pink and pearl was her great gauze fan, and in her +hair, which like an aureole of faded gold stood out stiffly round her +pale little face, she had a beautiful white rose. + +From a window in the palace the sad melancholy King watched them. Behind +him stood his brother, Don Pedro of Aragon, whom he hated, and his +confessor, the Grand Inquisitor of Granada, sat by his side. Sadder even +than usual was the King, for as he looked at the Infanta bowing with +childish gravity to the assembling counters, or laughing behind her fan +at the grim Duchess of Albuquerque who always accompanied her, he thought +of the young Queen, her mother, who but a short time before—so it seemed +to him—had come from the gay country of France, and had withered away in +the sombre splendour of the Spanish court, dying just six months after +the birth of her child, and before she had seen the almonds blossom twice +in the orchard, or plucked the second year’s fruit from the old gnarled +fig-tree that stood in the centre of the now grass-grown courtyard. So +great had been his love for her that he had not suffered even the grave +to hide her from him. She had been embalmed by a Moorish physician, who +in return for this service had been granted his life, which for heresy +and suspicion of magical practices had been already forfeited, men said, +to the Holy Office, and her body was still lying on its tapestried bier +in the black marble chapel of the Palace, just as the monks had borne her +in on that windy March day nearly twelve years before. Once every month +the King, wrapped in a dark cloak and with a muffled lantern in his hand, +went in and knelt by her side calling out, ‘_Mi reina_! _Mi reina_!’ and +sometimes breaking through the formal etiquette that in Spain governs +every separate action of life, and sets limits even to the sorrow of a +King, he would clutch at the pale jewelled hands in a wild agony of +grief, and try to wake by his mad kisses the cold painted face. + +To-day he seemed to see her again, as he had seen her first at the Castle +of Fontainebleau, when he was but fifteen years of age, and she still +younger. They had been formally betrothed on that occasion by the Papal +Nuncio in the presence of the French King and all the Court, and he had +returned to the Escurial bearing with him a little ringlet of yellow +hair, and the memory of two childish lips bending down to kiss his hand +as he stepped into his carriage. Later on had followed the marriage, +hastily performed at Burgos, a small town on the frontier between the two +countries, and the grand public entry into Madrid with the customary +celebration of high mass at the Church of La Atocha, and a more than +usually solemn _auto-da-fé_, in which nearly three hundred heretics, +amongst whom were many Englishmen, had been delivered over to the secular +arm to be burned. + +Certainly he had loved her madly, and to the ruin, many thought, of his +country, then at war with England for the possession of the empire of the +New World. He had hardly ever permitted her to be out of his sight; for +her, he had forgotten, or seemed to have forgotten, all grave affairs of +State; and, with that terrible blindness that passion brings upon its +servants, he had failed to notice that the elaborate ceremonies by which +he sought to please her did but aggravate the strange malady from which +she suffered. When she died he was, for a time, like one bereft of +reason. Indeed, there is no doubt but that he would have formally +abdicated and retired to the great Trappist monastery at Granada, of +which he was already titular Prior, had he not been afraid to leave the +little Infanta at the mercy of his brother, whose cruelty, even in Spain, +was notorious, and who was suspected by many of having caused the Queen’s +death by means of a pair of poisoned gloves that he had presented to her +on the occasion of her visiting his castle in Aragon. Even after the +expiration of the three years of public mourning that he had ordained +throughout his whole dominions by royal edict, he would never suffer his +ministers to speak about any new alliance, and when the Emperor himself +sent to him, and offered him the hand of the lovely Archduchess of +Bohemia, his niece, in marriage, he bade the ambassadors tell their +master that the King of Spain was already wedded to Sorrow, and that +though she was but a barren bride he loved her better than Beauty; an +answer that cost his crown the rich provinces of the Netherlands, which +soon after, at the Emperor’s instigation, revolted against him under the +leadership of some fanatics of the Reformed Church. + +His whole married life, with its fierce, fiery-coloured joys and the +terrible agony of its sudden ending, seemed to come back to him to-day as +he watched the Infanta playing on the terrace. She had all the Queen’s +pretty petulance of manner, the same wilful way of tossing her head, the +same proud curved beautiful mouth, the same wonderful smile—_vrai sourire +de France_ indeed—as she glanced up now and then at the window, or +stretched out her little hand for the stately Spanish gentlemen to kiss. +But the shrill laughter of the children grated on his ears, and the +bright pitiless sunlight mocked his sorrow, and a dull odour of strange +spices, spices such as embalmers use, seemed to taint—or was it +fancy?—the clear morning air. He buried his face in his hands, and when +the Infanta looked up again the curtains had been drawn, and the King had +retired. + +She made a little _moue_ of disappointment, and shrugged her shoulders. +Surely he might have stayed with her on her birthday. What did the +stupid State-affairs matter? Or had he gone to that gloomy chapel, where +the candles were always burning, and where she was never allowed to +enter? How silly of him, when the sun was shining so brightly, and +everybody was so happy! Besides, he would miss the sham bull-fight for +which the trumpet was already sounding, to say nothing of the puppet-show +and the other wonderful things. Her uncle and the Grand Inquisitor were +much more sensible. They had come out on the terrace, and paid her nice +compliments. So she tossed her pretty head, and taking Don Pedro by the +hand, she walked slowly down the steps towards a long pavilion of purple +silk that had been erected at the end of the garden, the other children +following in strict order of precedence, those who had the longest names +going first. + + * * * * * + +A procession of noble boys, fantastically dressed as _toreadors_, came +out to meet her, and the young Count of Tierra-Nueva, a wonderfully +handsome lad of about fourteen years of age, uncovering his head with all +the grace of a born hidalgo and grandee of Spain, led her solemnly in to +a little gilt and ivory chair that was placed on a raised dais above the +arena. The children grouped themselves all round, fluttering their big +fans and whispering to each other, and Don Pedro and the Grand Inquisitor +stood laughing at the entrance. Even the Duchess—the Camerera-Mayor as +she was called—a thin, hard-featured woman with a yellow ruff, did not +look quite so bad-tempered as usual, and something like a chill smile +flitted across her wrinkled face and twitched her thin bloodless lips. + +It certainly was a marvellous bull-fight, and much nicer, the Infanta +thought, than the real bull-fight that she had been brought to see at +Seville, on the occasion of the visit of the Duke of Parma to her father. +Some of the boys pranced about on richly-caparisoned hobby-horses +brandishing long javelins with gay streamers of bright ribands attached +to them; others went on foot waving their scarlet cloaks before the bull, +and vaulting lightly over the barrier when he charged them; and as for +the bull himself, he was just like a live bull, though he was only made +of wicker-work and stretched hide, and sometimes insisted on running +round the arena on his hind legs, which no live bull ever dreams of +doing. He made a splendid fight of it too, and the children got so +excited that they stood up upon the benches, and waved their lace +handkerchiefs and cried out: _Bravo toro_! _Bravo toro_! just as +sensibly as if they had been grown-up people. At last, however, after a +prolonged combat, during which several of the hobby-horses were gored +through and through, and, their riders dismounted, the young Count of +Tierra-Nueva brought the bull to his knees, and having obtained +permission from the Infanta to give the _coup de grâce_, he plunged his +wooden sword into the neck of the animal with such violence that the head +came right off, and disclosed the laughing face of little Monsieur de +Lorraine, the son of the French Ambassador at Madrid. + +The arena was then cleared amidst much applause, and the dead +hobby-horses dragged solemnly away by two Moorish pages in yellow and +black liveries, and after a short interlude, during which a French +posture-master performed upon the tightrope, some Italian puppets +appeared in the semi-classical tragedy of _Sophonisba_ on the stage of a +small theatre that had been built up for the purpose. They acted so +well, and their gestures were so extremely natural, that at the close of +the play the eyes of the Infanta were quite dim with tears. Indeed some +of the children really cried, and had to be comforted with sweetmeats, +and the Grand Inquisitor himself was so affected that he could not help +saying to Don Pedro that it seemed to him intolerable that things made +simply out of wood and coloured wax, and worked mechanically by wires, +should be so unhappy and meet with such terrible misfortunes. + +An African juggler followed, who brought in a large flat basket covered +with a red cloth, and having placed it in the centre of the arena, he +took from his turban a curious reed pipe, and blew through it. In a few +moments the cloth began to move, and as the pipe grew shriller and +shriller two green and gold snakes put out their strange wedge-shaped +heads and rose slowly up, swaying to and fro with the music as a plant +sways in the water. The children, however, were rather frightened at +their spotted hoods and quick darting tongues, and were much more pleased +when the juggler made a tiny orange-tree grow out of the sand and bear +pretty white blossoms and clusters of real fruit; and when he took the +fan of the little daughter of the Marquess de Las-Torres, and changed it +into a blue bird that flew all round the pavilion and sang, their delight +and amazement knew no bounds. The solemn minuet, too, performed by the +dancing boys from the church of Nuestra Senora Del Pilar, was charming. +The Infanta had never before seen this wonderful ceremony which takes +place every year at Maytime in front of the high altar of the Virgin, and +in her honour; and indeed none of the royal family of Spain had entered +the great cathedral of Saragossa since a mad priest, supposed by many to +have been in the pay of Elizabeth of England, had tried to administer a +poisoned wafer to the Prince of the Asturias. So she had known only by +hearsay of ‘Our Lady’s Dance,’ as it was called, and it certainly was a +beautiful sight. The boys wore old-fashioned court dresses of white +velvet, and their curious three-cornered hats were fringed with silver +and surmounted with huge plumes of ostrich feathers, the dazzling +whiteness of their costumes, as they moved about in the sunlight, being +still more accentuated by their swarthy faces and long black hair. +Everybody was fascinated by the grave dignity with which they moved +through the intricate figures of the dance, and by the elaborate grace of +their slow gestures, and stately bows, and when they had finished their +performance and doffed their great plumed hats to the Infanta, she +acknowledged their reverence with much courtesy, and made a vow that she +would send a large wax candle to the shrine of Our Lady of Pilar in +return for the pleasure that she had given her. + +A troop of handsome Egyptians—as the gipsies were termed in those +days—then advanced into the arena, and sitting down cross-legs, in a +circle, began to play softly upon their zithers, moving their bodies to +the tune, and humming, almost below their breath, a low dreamy air. When +they caught sight of Don Pedro they scowled at him, and some of them +looked terrified, for only a few weeks before he had had two of their +tribe hanged for sorcery in the market-place at Seville, but the pretty +Infanta charmed them as she leaned back peeping over her fan with her +great blue eyes, and they felt sure that one so lovely as she was could +never be cruel to anybody. So they played on very gently and just +touching the cords of the zithers with their long pointed nails, and +their heads began to nod as though they were falling asleep. Suddenly, +with a cry so shrill that all the children were startled and Don Pedro’s +hand clutched at the agate pommel of his dagger, they leapt to their feet +and whirled madly round the enclosure beating their tambourines, and +chaunting some wild love-song in their strange guttural language. Then +at another signal they all flung themselves again to the ground and lay +there quite still, the dull strumming of the zithers being the only sound +that broke the silence. After that they had done this several times, +they disappeared for a moment and came back leading a brown shaggy bear +by a chain, and carrying on their shoulders some little Barbary apes. +The bear stood upon his head with the utmost gravity, and the wizened +apes played all kinds of amusing tricks with two gipsy boys who seemed to +be their masters, and fought with tiny swords, and fired off guns, and +went through a regular soldier’s drill just like the King’s own +bodyguard. In fact the gipsies were a great success. + +But the funniest part of the whole morning’s entertainment, was +undoubtedly the dancing of the little Dwarf. When he stumbled into the +arena, waddling on his crooked legs and wagging his huge misshapen head +from side to side, the children went off into a loud shout of delight, +and the Infanta herself laughed so much that the Camerera was obliged to +remind her that although there were many precedents in Spain for a King’s +daughter weeping before her equals, there were none for a Princess of the +blood royal making so merry before those who were her inferiors in birth. +The Dwarf, however, was really quite irresistible, and even at the +Spanish Court, always noted for its cultivated passion for the horrible, +so fantastic a little monster had never been seen. It was his first +appearance, too. He had been discovered only the day before, running +wild through the forest, by two of the nobles who happened to have been +hunting in a remote part of the great cork-wood that surrounded the town, +and had been carried off by them to the Palace as a surprise for the +Infanta; his father, who was a poor charcoal-burner, being but too well +pleased to get rid of so ugly and useless a child. Perhaps the most +amusing thing about him was his complete unconsciousness of his own +grotesque appearance. Indeed he seemed quite happy and full of the +highest spirits. When the children laughed, he laughed as freely and as +joyously as any of them, and at the close of each dance he made them each +the funniest of bows, smiling and nodding at them just as if he was +really one of themselves, and not a little misshapen thing that Nature, +in some humourous mood, had fashioned for others to mock at. As for the +Infanta, she absolutely fascinated him. He could not keep his eyes off +her, and seemed to dance for her alone, and when at the close of the +performance, remembering how she had seen the great ladies of the Court +throw bouquets to Caffarelli, the famous Italian treble, whom the Pope +had sent from his own chapel to Madrid that he might cure the King’s +melancholy by the sweetness of his voice, she took out of her hair the +beautiful white rose, and partly for a jest and partly to tease the +Camerera, threw it to him across the arena with her sweetest smile, he +took the whole matter quite seriously, and pressing the flower to his +rough coarse lips he put his hand upon his heart, and sank on one knee +before her, grinning from ear to ear, and with his little bright eyes +sparkling with pleasure. + +This so upset the gravity of the Infanta that she kept on laughing long +after the little Dwarf had ran out of the arena, and expressed a desire +to her uncle that the dance should be immediately repeated. The +Camerera, however, on the plea that the sun was too hot, decided that it +would be better that her Highness should return without delay to the +Palace, where a wonderful feast had been already prepared for her, +including a real birthday cake with her own initials worked all over it +in painted sugar and a lovely silver flag waving from the top. The +Infanta accordingly rose up with much dignity, and having given orders +that the little dwarf was to dance again for her after the hour of +siesta, and conveyed her thanks to the young Count of Tierra-Nueva for +his charming reception, she went back to her apartments, the children +following in the same order in which they had entered. + + * * * * * + +Now when the little Dwarf heard that he was to dance a second time before +the Infanta, and by her own express command, he was so proud that he ran +out into the garden, kissing the white rose in an absurd ecstasy of +pleasure, and making the most uncouth and clumsy gestures of delight. + +The Flowers were quite indignant at his daring to intrude into their +beautiful home, and when they saw him capering up and down the walks, and +waving his arms above his head in such a ridiculous manner, they could +not restrain their feelings any longer. + +‘He is really far too ugly to be allowed to play in any place where we +are,’ cried the Tulips. + +‘He should drink poppy-juice, and go to sleep for a thousand years,’ said +the great scarlet Lilies, and they grew quite hot and angry. + +‘He is a perfect horror!’ screamed the Cactus. ‘Why, he is twisted and +stumpy, and his head is completely out of proportion with his legs. +Really he makes me feel prickly all over, and if he comes near me I will +sting him with my thorns.’ + +‘And he has actually got one of my best blooms,’ exclaimed the White +Rose-Tree. ‘I gave it to the Infanta this morning myself, as a birthday +present, and he has stolen it from her.’ And she called out: ‘Thief, +thief, thief!’ at the top of her voice. + +Even the red Geraniums, who did not usually give themselves airs, and +were known to have a great many poor relations themselves, curled up in +disgust when they saw him, and when the Violets meekly remarked that +though he was certainly extremely plain, still he could not help it, they +retorted with a good deal of justice that that was his chief defect, and +that there was no reason why one should admire a person because he was +incurable; and, indeed, some of the Violets themselves felt that the +ugliness of the little Dwarf was almost ostentatious, and that he would +have shown much better taste if he had looked sad, or at least pensive, +instead of jumping about merrily, and throwing himself into such +grotesque and silly attitudes. + +As for the old Sundial, who was an extremely remarkable individual, and +had once told the time of day to no less a person than the Emperor +Charles V. himself, he was so taken aback by the little Dwarf’s +appearance, that he almost forgot to mark two whole minutes with his long +shadowy finger, and could not help saying to the great milk-white +Peacock, who was sunning herself on the balustrade, that every one knew +that the children of Kings were Kings, and that the children of +charcoal-burners were charcoal-burners, and that it was absurd to pretend +that it wasn’t so; a statement with which the Peacock entirely agreed, +and indeed screamed out, ‘Certainly, certainly,’ in such a loud, harsh +voice, that the gold-fish who lived in the basin of the cool splashing +fountain put their heads out of the water, and asked the huge stone +Tritons what on earth was the matter. + +But somehow the Birds liked him. They had seen him often in the forest, +dancing about like an elf after the eddying leaves, or crouched up in the +hollow of some old oak-tree, sharing his nuts with the squirrels. They +did not mind his being ugly, a bit. Why, even the nightingale herself, +who sang so sweetly in the orange groves at night that sometimes the Moon +leaned down to listen, was not much to look at after all; and, besides, +he had been kind to them, and during that terribly bitter winter, when +there were no berries on the trees, and the ground was as hard as iron, +and the wolves had come down to the very gates of the city to look for +food, he had never once forgotten them, but had always given them crumbs +out of his little hunch of black bread, and divided with them whatever +poor breakfast he had. + +So they flew round and round him, just touching his cheek with their +wings as they passed, and chattered to each other, and the little Dwarf +was so pleased that he could not help showing them the beautiful white +rose, and telling them that the Infanta herself had given it to him +because she loved him. + +They did not understand a single word of what he was saying, but that +made no matter, for they put their heads on one side, and looked wise, +which is quite as good as understanding a thing, and very much easier. + +The Lizards also took an immense fancy to him, and when he grew tired of +running about and flung himself down on the grass to rest, they played +and romped all over him, and tried to amuse him in the best way they +could. ‘Every one cannot be as beautiful as a lizard,’ they cried; ‘that +would be too much to expect. And, though it sounds absurd to say so, he +is really not so ugly after all, provided, of course, that one shuts +one’s eyes, and does not look at him.’ The Lizards were extremely +philosophical by nature, and often sat thinking for hours and hours +together, when there was nothing else to do, or when the weather was too +rainy for them to go out. + +The Flowers, however, were excessively annoyed at their behaviour, and at +the behaviour of the birds. ‘It only shows,’ they said, ‘what a +vulgarising effect this incessant rushing and flying about has. +Well-bred people always stay exactly in the same place, as we do. No one +ever saw us hopping up and down the walks, or galloping madly through the +grass after dragon-flies. When we do want change of air, we send for the +gardener, and he carries us to another bed. This is dignified, and as it +should be. But birds and lizards have no sense of repose, and indeed +birds have not even a permanent address. They are mere vagrants like the +gipsies, and should be treated in exactly the same manner.’ So they put +their noses in the air, and looked very haughty, and were quite delighted +when after some time they saw the little Dwarf scramble up from the +grass, and make his way across the terrace to the palace. + +‘He should certainly be kept indoors for the rest of his natural life,’ +they said. ‘Look at his hunched back, and his crooked legs,’ and they +began to titter. + +But the little Dwarf knew nothing of all this. He liked the birds and +the lizards immensely, and thought that the flowers were the most +marvellous things in the whole world, except of course the Infanta, but +then she had given him the beautiful white rose, and she loved him, and +that made a great difference. How he wished that he had gone back with +her! She would have put him on her right hand, and smiled at him, and he +would have never left her side, but would have made her his playmate, and +taught her all kinds of delightful tricks. For though he had never been +in a palace before, he knew a great many wonderful things. He could make +little cages out of rushes for the grasshoppers to sing in, and fashion +the long jointed bamboo into the pipe that Pan loves to hear. He knew +the cry of every bird, and could call the starlings from the tree-top, or +the heron from the mere. He knew the trail of every animal, and could +track the hare by its delicate footprints, and the boar by the trampled +leaves. All the wild-dances he knew, the mad dance in red raiment with +the autumn, the light dance in blue sandals over the corn, the dance with +white snow-wreaths in winter, and the blossom-dance through the orchards +in spring. He knew where the wood-pigeons built their nests, and once +when a fowler had snared the parent birds, he had brought up the young +ones himself, and had built a little dovecot for them in the cleft of a +pollard elm. They were quite tame, and used to feed out of his hands +every morning. She would like them, and the rabbits that scurried about +in the long fern, and the jays with their steely feathers and black +bills, and the hedgehogs that could curl themselves up into prickly +balls, and the great wise tortoises that crawled slowly about, shaking +their heads and nibbling at the young leaves. Yes, she must certainly +come to the forest and play with him. He would give her his own little +bed, and would watch outside the window till dawn, to see that the wild +horned cattle did not harm her, nor the gaunt wolves creep too near the +hut. And at dawn he would tap at the shutters and wake her, and they +would go out and dance together all the day long. It was really not a +bit lonely in the forest. Sometimes a Bishop rode through on his white +mule, reading out of a painted book. Sometimes in their green velvet +caps, and their jerkins of tanned deerskin, the falconers passed by, with +hooded hawks on their wrists. At vintage-time came the grape-treaders, +with purple hands and feet, wreathed with glossy ivy and carrying +dripping skins of wine; and the charcoal-burners sat round their huge +braziers at night, watching the dry logs charring slowly in the fire, and +roasting chestnuts in the ashes, and the robbers came out of their caves +and made merry with them. Once, too, he had seen a beautiful procession +winding up the long dusty road to Toledo. The monks went in front +singing sweetly, and carrying bright banners and crosses of gold, and +then, in silver armour, with matchlocks and pikes, came the soldiers, and +in their midst walked three barefooted men, in strange yellow dresses +painted all over with wonderful figures, and carrying lighted candles in +their hands. Certainly there was a great deal to look at in the forest, +and when she was tired he would find a soft bank of moss for her, or +carry her in his arms, for he was very strong, though he knew that he was +not tall. He would make her a necklace of red bryony berries, that would +be quite as pretty as the white berries that she wore on her dress, and +when she was tired of them, she could throw them away, and he would find +her others. He would bring her acorn-cups and dew-drenched anemones, and +tiny glow-worms to be stars in the pale gold of her hair. + +But where was she? He asked the white rose, and it made him no answer. +The whole palace seemed asleep, and even where the shutters had not been +closed, heavy curtains had been drawn across the windows to keep out the +glare. He wandered all round looking for some place through which he +might gain an entrance, and at last he caught sight of a little private +door that was lying open. He slipped through, and found himself in a +splendid hall, far more splendid, he feared, than the forest, there was +so much more gilding everywhere, and even the floor was made of great +coloured stones, fitted together into a sort of geometrical pattern. But +the little Infanta was not there, only some wonderful white statues that +looked down on him from their jasper pedestals, with sad blank eyes and +strangely smiling lips. + +At the end of the hall hung a richly embroidered curtain of black velvet, +powdered with suns and stars, the King’s favourite devices, and broidered +on the colour he loved best. Perhaps she was hiding behind that? He +would try at any rate. + +So he stole quietly across, and drew it aside. No; there was only +another room, though a prettier room, he thought, than the one he had +just left. The walls were hung with a many-figured green arras of +needle-wrought tapestry representing a hunt, the work of some Flemish +artists who had spent more than seven years in its composition. It had +once been the chamber of _Jean le Fou_, as he was called, that mad King +who was so enamoured of the chase, that he had often tried in his +delirium to mount the huge rearing horses, and to drag down the stag on +which the great hounds were leaping, sounding his hunting horn, and +stabbing with his dagger at the pale flying deer. It was now used as the +council-room, and on the centre table were lying the red portfolios of +the ministers, stamped with the gold tulips of Spain, and with the arms +and emblems of the house of Hapsburg. + +The little Dwarf looked in wonder all round him, and was half-afraid to +go on. The strange silent horsemen that galloped so swiftly through the +long glades without making any noise, seemed to him like those terrible +phantoms of whom he had heard the charcoal-burners speaking—the +Comprachos, who hunt only at night, and if they meet a man, turn him into +a hind, and chase him. But he thought of the pretty Infanta, and took +courage. He wanted to find her alone, and to tell her that he too loved +her. Perhaps she was in the room beyond. + +He ran across the soft Moorish carpets, and opened the door. No! She +was not here either. The room was quite empty. + +It was a throne-room, used for the reception of foreign ambassadors, when +the King, which of late had not been often, consented to give them a +personal audience; the same room in which, many years before, envoys had +appeared from England to make arrangements for the marriage of their +Queen, then one of the Catholic sovereigns of Europe, with the Emperor’s +eldest son. The hangings were of gilt Cordovan leather, and a heavy gilt +chandelier with branches for three hundred wax lights hung down from the +black and white ceiling. Underneath a great canopy of gold cloth, on +which the lions and towers of Castile were broidered in seed pearls, +stood the throne itself, covered with a rich pall of black velvet studded +with silver tulips and elaborately fringed with silver and pearls. On +the second step of the throne was placed the kneeling-stool of the +Infanta, with its cushion of cloth of silver tissue, and below that +again, and beyond the limit of the canopy, stood the chair for the Papal +Nuncio, who alone had the right to be seated in the King’s presence on +the occasion of any public ceremonial, and whose Cardinal’s hat, with its +tangled scarlet tassels, lay on a purple _tabouret_ in front. On the +wall, facing the throne, hung a life-sized portrait of Charles V. in +hunting dress, with a great mastiff by his side, and a picture of Philip +II. receiving the homage of the Netherlands occupied the centre of the +other wall. Between the windows stood a black ebony cabinet, inlaid with +plates of ivory, on which the figures from Holbein’s Dance of Death had +been graved—by the hand, some said, of that famous master himself. + +But the little Dwarf cared nothing for all this magnificence. He would +not have given his rose for all the pearls on the canopy, nor one white +petal of his rose for the throne itself. What he wanted was to see the +Infanta before she went down to the pavilion, and to ask her to come away +with him when he had finished his dance. Here, in the Palace, the air +was close and heavy, but in the forest the wind blew free, and the +sunlight with wandering hands of gold moved the tremulous leaves aside. +There were flowers, too, in the forest, not so splendid, perhaps, as the +flowers in the garden, but more sweetly scented for all that; hyacinths +in early spring that flooded with waving purple the cool glens, and +grassy knolls; yellow primroses that nestled in little clumps round the +gnarled roots of the oak-trees; bright celandine, and blue speedwell, and +irises lilac and gold. There were grey catkins on the hazels, and the +foxgloves drooped with the weight of their dappled bee-haunted cells. +The chestnut had its spires of white stars, and the hawthorn its pallid +moons of beauty. Yes: surely she would come if he could only find her! +She would come with him to the fair forest, and all day long he would +dance for her delight. A smile lit up his eyes at the thought, and he +passed into the next room. + +Of all the rooms this was the brightest and the most beautiful. The +walls were covered with a pink-flowered Lucca damask, patterned with +birds and dotted with dainty blossoms of silver; the furniture was of +massive silver, festooned with florid wreaths, and swinging Cupids; in +front of the two large fire-places stood great screens broidered with +parrots and peacocks, and the floor, which was of sea-green onyx, seemed +to stretch far away into the distance. Nor was he alone. Standing under +the shadow of the doorway, at the extreme end of the room, he saw a +little figure watching him. His heart trembled, a cry of joy broke from +his lips, and he moved out into the sunlight. As he did so, the figure +moved out also, and he saw it plainly. + +The Infanta! It was a monster, the most grotesque monster he had ever +beheld. Not properly shaped, as all other people were, but hunchbacked, +and crooked-limbed, with huge lolling head and mane of black hair. The +little Dwarf frowned, and the monster frowned also. He laughed, and it +laughed with him, and held its hands to its sides, just as he himself was +doing. He made it a mocking bow, and it returned him a low reverence. +He went towards it, and it came to meet him, copying each step that he +made, and stopping when he stopped himself. He shouted with amusement, +and ran forward, and reached out his hand, and the hand of the monster +touched his, and it was as cold as ice. He grew afraid, and moved his +hand across, and the monster’s hand followed it quickly. He tried to +press on, but something smooth and hard stopped him. The face of the +monster was now close to his own, and seemed full of terror. He brushed +his hair off his eyes. It imitated him. He struck at it, and it +returned blow for blow. He loathed it, and it made hideous faces at him. +He drew back, and it retreated. + +What is it? He thought for a moment, and looked round at the rest of the +room. It was strange, but everything seemed to have its double in this +invisible wall of clear water. Yes, picture for picture was repeated, +and couch for couch. The sleeping Faun that lay in the alcove by the +doorway had its twin brother that slumbered, and the silver Venus that +stood in the sunlight held out her arms to a Venus as lovely as herself. + +Was it Echo? He had called to her once in the valley, and she had +answered him word for word. Could she mock the eye, as she mocked the +voice? Could she make a mimic world just like the real world? Could the +shadows of things have colour and life and movement? Could it be that—? + +He started, and taking from his breast the beautiful white rose, he +turned round, and kissed it. The monster had a rose of its own, petal +for petal the same! It kissed it with like kisses, and pressed it to its +heart with horrible gestures. + +When the truth dawned upon him, he gave a wild cry of despair, and fell +sobbing to the ground. So it was he who was misshapen and hunchbacked, +foul to look at and grotesque. He himself was the monster, and it was at +him that all the children had been laughing, and the little Princess who +he had thought loved him—she too had been merely mocking at his ugliness, +and making merry over his twisted limbs. Why had they not left him in +the forest, where there was no mirror to tell him how loathsome he was? +Why had his father not killed him, rather than sell him to his shame? +The hot tears poured down his cheeks, and he tore the white rose to +pieces. The sprawling monster did the same, and scattered the faint +petals in the air. It grovelled on the ground, and, when he looked at +it, it watched him with a face drawn with pain. He crept away, lest he +should see it, and covered his eyes with his hands. He crawled, like +some wounded thing, into the shadow, and lay there moaning. + +And at that moment the Infanta herself came in with her companions +through the open window, and when they saw the ugly little dwarf lying on +the ground and beating the floor with his clenched hands, in the most +fantastic and exaggerated manner, they went off into shouts of happy +laughter, and stood all round him and watched him. + +‘His dancing was funny,’ said the Infanta; ‘but his acting is funnier +still. Indeed he is almost as good as the puppets, only of course not +quite so natural.’ And she fluttered her big fan, and applauded. + +But the little Dwarf never looked up, and his sobs grew fainter and +fainter, and suddenly he gave a curious gasp, and clutched his side. And +then he fell back again, and lay quite still. + +‘That is capital,’ said the Infanta, after a pause; ‘but now you must +dance for me.’ + +‘Yes,’ cried all the children, ‘you must get up and dance, for you are as +clever as the Barbary apes, and much more ridiculous.’ But the little +Dwarf made no answer. + +And the Infanta stamped her foot, and called out to her uncle, who was +walking on the terrace with the Chamberlain, reading some despatches that +had just arrived from Mexico, where the Holy Office had recently been +established. ‘My funny little dwarf is sulking,’ she cried, ‘you must +wake him up, and tell him to dance for me.’ + +They smiled at each other, and sauntered in, and Don Pedro stooped down, +and slapped the Dwarf on the cheek with his embroidered glove. ‘You must +dance,’ he said, ‘_petit monsire_. You must dance. The Infanta of Spain +and the Indies wishes to be amused.’ + +But the little Dwarf never moved. + +‘A whipping master should be sent for,’ said Don Pedro wearily, and he +went back to the terrace. But the Chamberlain looked grave, and he knelt +beside the little dwarf, and put his hand upon his heart. And after a +few moments he shrugged his shoulders, and rose up, and having made a low +bow to the Infanta, he said— + +‘_Mi bella Princesa_, your funny little dwarf will never dance again. It +is a pity, for he is so ugly that he might have made the King smile.’ + +‘But why will he not dance again?’ asked the Infanta, laughing. + +‘Because his heart is broken,’ answered the Chamberlain. + +And the Infanta frowned, and her dainty rose-leaf lips curled in pretty +disdain. ‘For the future let those who come to play with me have no +hearts,’ she cried, and she ran out into the garden. + + + + +THE FISHERMAN AND HIS SOUL + + + TO H.S.H. + ALICE, PRINCESS + OF MONACO + +EVERY evening the young Fisherman went out upon the sea, and threw his +nets into the water. + +When the wind blew from the land he caught nothing, or but little at +best, for it was a bitter and black-winged wind, and rough waves rose up +to meet it. But when the wind blew to the shore, the fish came in from +the deep, and swam into the meshes of his nets, and he took them to the +market-place and sold them. + +Every evening he went out upon the sea, and one evening the net was so +heavy that hardly could he draw it into the boat. And he laughed, and +said to himself, ‘Surely I have caught all the fish that swim, or snared +some dull monster that will be a marvel to men, or some thing of horror +that the great Queen will desire,’ and putting forth all his strength, he +tugged at the coarse ropes till, like lines of blue enamel round a vase +of bronze, the long veins rose up on his arms. He tugged at the thin +ropes, and nearer and nearer came the circle of flat corks, and the net +rose at last to the top of the water. + +But no fish at all was in it, nor any monster or thing of horror, but +only a little Mermaid lying fast asleep. + +Her hair was as a wet fleece of gold, and each separate hair as a thread +of fine gold in a cup of glass. Her body was as white ivory, and her +tail was of silver and pearl. Silver and pearl was her tail, and the +green weeds of the sea coiled round it; and like sea-shells were her +ears, and her lips were like sea-coral. The cold waves dashed over her +cold breasts, and the salt glistened upon her eyelids. + +So beautiful was she that when the young Fisherman saw her he was filled +with wonder, and he put out his hand and drew the net close to him, and +leaning over the side he clasped her in his arms. And when he touched +her, she gave a cry like a startled sea-gull, and woke, and looked at him +in terror with her mauve-amethyst eyes, and struggled that she might +escape. But he held her tightly to him, and would not suffer her to +depart. + +And when she saw that she could in no way escape from him, she began to +weep, and said, ‘I pray thee let me go, for I am the only daughter of a +King, and my father is aged and alone.’ + +But the young Fisherman answered, ‘I will not let thee go save thou +makest me a promise that whenever I call thee, thou wilt come and sing to +me, for the fish delight to listen to the song of the Sea-folk, and so +shall my nets be full.’ + +‘Wilt thou in very truth let me go, if I promise thee this?’ cried the +Mermaid. + +‘In very truth I will let thee go,’ said the young Fisherman. + +So she made him the promise he desired, and sware it by the oath of the +Sea-folk. And he loosened his arms from about her, and she sank down +into the water, trembling with a strange fear. + + * * * * * + +Every evening the young Fisherman went out upon the sea, and called to +the Mermaid, and she rose out of the water and sang to him. Round and +round her swam the dolphins, and the wild gulls wheeled above her head. + +And she sang a marvellous song. For she sang of the Sea-folk who drive +their flocks from cave to cave, and carry the little calves on their +shoulders; of the Tritons who have long green beards, and hairy breasts, +and blow through twisted conchs when the King passes by; of the palace of +the King which is all of amber, with a roof of clear emerald, and a +pavement of bright pearl; and of the gardens of the sea where the great +filigrane fans of coral wave all day long, and the fish dart about like +silver birds, and the anemones cling to the rocks, and the pinks bourgeon +in the ribbed yellow sand. She sang of the big whales that come down +from the north seas and have sharp icicles hanging to their fins; of the +Sirens who tell of such wonderful things that the merchants have to stop +their ears with wax lest they should hear them, and leap into the water +and be drowned; of the sunken galleys with their tall masts, and the +frozen sailors clinging to the rigging, and the mackerel swimming in and +out of the open portholes; of the little barnacles who are great +travellers, and cling to the keels of the ships and go round and round +the world; and of the cuttlefish who live in the sides of the cliffs and +stretch out their long black arms, and can make night come when they will +it. She sang of the nautilus who has a boat of her own that is carved +out of an opal and steered with a silken sail; of the happy Mermen who +play upon harps and can charm the great Kraken to sleep; of the little +children who catch hold of the slippery porpoises and ride laughing upon +their backs; of the Mermaids who lie in the white foam and hold out their +arms to the mariners; and of the sea-lions with their curved tusks, and +the sea-horses with their floating manes. + +And as she sang, all the tunny-fish came in from the deep to listen to +her, and the young Fisherman threw his nets round them and caught them, +and others he took with a spear. And when his boat was well-laden, the +Mermaid would sink down into the sea, smiling at him. + +Yet would she never come near him that he might touch her. Oftentimes he +called to her and prayed of her, but she would not; and when he sought to +seize her she dived into the water as a seal might dive, nor did he see +her again that day. And each day the sound of her voice became sweeter +to his ears. So sweet was her voice that he forgot his nets and his +cunning, and had no care of his craft. Vermilion-finned and with eyes of +bossy gold, the tunnies went by in shoals, but he heeded them not. His +spear lay by his side unused, and his baskets of plaited osier were +empty. With lips parted, and eyes dim with wonder, he sat idle in his +boat and listened, listening till the sea-mists crept round him, and the +wandering moon stained his brown limbs with silver. + +And one evening he called to her, and said: ‘Little Mermaid, little +Mermaid, I love thee. Take me for thy bridegroom, for I love thee.’ + +But the Mermaid shook her head. ‘Thou hast a human soul,’ she answered. +‘If only thou wouldst send away thy soul, then could I love thee.’ + +And the young Fisherman said to himself, ‘Of what use is my soul to me? +I cannot see it. I may not touch it. I do not know it. Surely I will +send it away from me, and much gladness shall be mine.’ And a cry of joy +broke from his lips, and standing up in the painted boat, he held out his +arms to the Mermaid. ‘I will send my soul away,’ he cried, ‘and you +shall be my bride, and I will be thy bridegroom, and in the depth of the +sea we will dwell together, and all that thou hast sung of thou shalt +show me, and all that thou desirest I will do, nor shall our lives be +divided.’ + +And the little Mermaid laughed for pleasure and hid her face in her +hands. + +‘But how shall I send my soul from me?’ cried the young Fisherman. ‘Tell +me how I may do it, and lo! it shall be done.’ + +‘Alas! I know not,’ said the little Mermaid: ‘the Sea-folk have no +souls.’ And she sank down into the deep, looking wistfully at him. + + * * * * * + +Now early on the next morning, before the sun was the span of a man’s +hand above the hill, the young Fisherman went to the house of the Priest +and knocked three times at the door. + +The novice looked out through the wicket, and when he saw who it was, he +drew back the latch and said to him, ‘Enter.’ + +And the young Fisherman passed in, and knelt down on the sweet-smelling +rushes of the floor, and cried to the Priest who was reading out of the +Holy Book and said to him, ‘Father, I am in love with one of the +Sea-folk, and my soul hindereth me from having my desire. Tell me how I +can send my soul away from me, for in truth I have no need of it. Of +what value is my soul to me? I cannot see it. I may not touch it. I do +not know it.’ + +And the Priest beat his breast, and answered, ‘Alack, alack, thou art +mad, or hast eaten of some poisonous herb, for the soul is the noblest +part of man, and was given to us by God that we should nobly use it. +There is no thing more precious than a human soul, nor any earthly thing +that can be weighed with it. It is worth all the gold that is in the +world, and is more precious than the rubies of the kings. Therefore, my +son, think not any more of this matter, for it is a sin that may not be +forgiven. And as for the Sea-folk, they are lost, and they who would +traffic with them are lost also. They are as the beasts of the field +that know not good from evil, and for them the Lord has not died.’ + +The young Fisherman’s eyes filled with tears when he heard the bitter +words of the Priest, and he rose up from his knees and said to him, +‘Father, the Fauns live in the forest and are glad, and on the rocks sit +the Mermen with their harps of red gold. Let me be as they are, I +beseech thee, for their days are as the days of flowers. And as for my +soul, what doth my soul profit me, if it stand between me and the thing +that I love?’ + +‘The love of the body is vile,’ cried the Priest, knitting his brows, +‘and vile and evil are the pagan things God suffers to wander through His +world. Accursed be the Fauns of the woodland, and accursed be the +singers of the sea! I have heard them at night-time, and they have +sought to lure me from my beads. They tap at the window, and laugh. +They whisper into my ears the tale of their perilous joys. They tempt me +with temptations, and when I would pray they make mouths at me. They are +lost, I tell thee, they are lost. For them there is no heaven nor hell, +and in neither shall they praise God’s name.’ + +‘Father,’ cried the young Fisherman, ‘thou knowest not what thou sayest. +Once in my net I snared the daughter of a King. She is fairer than the +morning star, and whiter than the moon. For her body I would give my +soul, and for her love I would surrender heaven. Tell me what I ask of +thee, and let me go in peace.’ + +‘Away! Away!’ cried the Priest: ‘thy leman is lost, and thou shalt be +lost with her.’ + +And he gave him no blessing, but drove him from his door. + +And the young Fisherman went down into the market-place, and he walked +slowly, and with bowed head, as one who is in sorrow. + +And when the merchants saw him coming, they began to whisper to each +other, and one of them came forth to meet him, and called him by name, +and said to him, ‘What hast thou to sell?’ + +‘I will sell thee my soul,’ he answered. ‘I pray thee buy it of me, for +I am weary of it. Of what use is my soul to me? I cannot see it. I may +not touch it. I do not know it.’ + +But the merchants mocked at him, and said, ‘Of what use is a man’s soul +to us? It is not worth a clipped piece of silver. Sell us thy body for +a slave, and we will clothe thee in sea-purple, and put a ring upon thy +finger, and make thee the minion of the great Queen. But talk not of the +soul, for to us it is nought, nor has it any value for our service.’ + +And the young Fisherman said to himself: ‘How strange a thing this is! +The Priest telleth me that the soul is worth all the gold in the world, +and the merchants say that it is not worth a clipped piece of silver.’ +And he passed out of the market-place, and went down to the shore of the +sea, and began to ponder on what he should do. + + * * * * * + +And at noon he remembered how one of his companions, who was a gatherer +of samphire, had told him of a certain young Witch who dwelt in a cave at +the head of the bay and was very cunning in her witcheries. And he set +to and ran, so eager was he to get rid of his soul, and a cloud of dust +followed him as he sped round the sand of the shore. By the itching of +her palm the young Witch knew his coming, and she laughed and let down +her red hair. With her red hair falling around her, she stood at the +opening of the cave, and in her hand she had a spray of wild hemlock that +was blossoming. + +‘What d’ye lack? What d’ye lack?’ she cried, as he came panting up the +steep, and bent down before her. ‘Fish for thy net, when the wind is +foul? I have a little reed-pipe, and when I blow on it the mullet come +sailing into the bay. But it has a price, pretty boy, it has a price. +What d’ye lack? What d’ye lack? A storm to wreck the ships, and wash +the chests of rich treasure ashore? I have more storms than the wind +has, for I serve one who is stronger than the wind, and with a sieve and +a pail of water I can send the great galleys to the bottom of the sea. +But I have a price, pretty boy, I have a price. What d’ye lack? What +d’ye lack? I know a flower that grows in the valley, none knows it but +I. It has purple leaves, and a star in its heart, and its juice is as +white as milk. Shouldst thou touch with this flower the hard lips of the +Queen, she would follow thee all over the world. Out of the bed of the +King she would rise, and over the whole world she would follow thee. And +it has a price, pretty boy, it has a price. What d’ye lack? What d’ye +lack? I can pound a toad in a mortar, and make broth of it, and stir the +broth with a dead man’s hand. Sprinkle it on thine enemy while he +sleeps, and he will turn into a black viper, and his own mother will slay +him. With a wheel I can draw the Moon from heaven, and in a crystal I +can show thee Death. What d’ye lack? What d’ye lack? Tell me thy +desire, and I will give it thee, and thou shalt pay me a price, pretty +boy, thou shalt pay me a price.’ + +‘My desire is but for a little thing,’ said the young Fisherman, ‘yet +hath the Priest been wroth with me, and driven me forth. It is but for a +little thing, and the merchants have mocked at me, and denied me. +Therefore am I come to thee, though men call thee evil, and whatever be +thy price I shall pay it.’ + +‘What wouldst thou?’ asked the Witch, coming near to him. + +‘I would send my soul away from me,’ answered the young Fisherman. + +The Witch grew pale, and shuddered, and hid her face in her blue mantle. +‘Pretty boy, pretty boy,’ she muttered, ‘that is a terrible thing to do.’ + +He tossed his brown curls and laughed. ‘My soul is nought to me,’ he +answered. ‘I cannot see it. I may not touch it. I do not know it.’ + +‘What wilt thou give me if I tell thee?’ asked the Witch, looking down at +him with her beautiful eyes. + +‘Five pieces of gold,’ he said, ‘and my nets, and the wattled house where +I live, and the painted boat in which I sail. Only tell me how to get +rid of my soul, and I will give thee all that I possess.’ + +She laughed mockingly at him, and struck him with the spray of hemlock. +‘I can turn the autumn leaves into gold,’ she answered, ‘and I can weave +the pale moonbeams into silver if I will it. He whom I serve is richer +than all the kings of this world, and has their dominions.’ + +‘What then shall I give thee,’ he cried, ‘if thy price be neither gold +nor silver?’ + +The Witch stroked his hair with her thin white hand. ‘Thou must dance +with me, pretty boy,’ she murmured, and she smiled at him as she spoke. + +‘Nought but that?’ cried the young Fisherman in wonder and he rose to his +feet. + +‘Nought but that,’ she answered, and she smiled at him again. + +‘Then at sunset in some secret place we shall dance together,’ he said, +‘and after that we have danced thou shalt tell me the thing which I +desire to know.’ + +She shook her head. ‘When the moon is full, when the moon is full,’ she +muttered. Then she peered all round, and listened. A blue bird rose +screaming from its nest and circled over the dunes, and three spotted +birds rustled through the coarse grey grass and whistled to each other. +There was no other sound save the sound of a wave fretting the smooth +pebbles below. So she reached out her hand, and drew him near to her and +put her dry lips close to his ear. + +‘To-night thou must come to the top of the mountain,’ she whispered. ‘It +is a Sabbath, and He will be there.’ + +The young Fisherman started and looked at her, and she showed her white +teeth and laughed. ‘Who is He of whom thou speakest?’ he asked. + +‘It matters not,’ she answered. ‘Go thou to-night, and stand under the +branches of the hornbeam, and wait for my coming. If a black dog run +towards thee, strike it with a rod of willow, and it will go away. If an +owl speak to thee, make it no answer. When the moon is full I shall be +with thee, and we will dance together on the grass.’ + +‘But wilt thou swear to me to tell me how I may send my soul from me?’ he +made question. + +She moved out into the sunlight, and through her red hair rippled the +wind. ‘By the hoofs of the goat I swear it,’ she made answer. + +‘Thou art the best of the witches,’ cried the young Fisherman, ‘and I +will surely dance with thee to-night on the top of the mountain. I would +indeed that thou hadst asked of me either gold or silver. But such as +thy price is thou shalt have it, for it is but a little thing.’ And he +doffed his cap to her, and bent his head low, and ran back to the town +filled with a great joy. + +And the Witch watched him as he went, and when he had passed from her +sight she entered her cave, and having taken a mirror from a box of +carved cedarwood, she set it up on a frame, and burned vervain on lighted +charcoal before it, and peered through the coils of the smoke. And after +a time she clenched her hands in anger. ‘He should have been mine,’ she +muttered, ‘I am as fair as she is.’ + + * * * * * + +And that evening, when the moon had risen, the young Fisherman climbed up +to the top of the mountain, and stood under the branches of the hornbeam. +Like a targe of polished metal the round sea lay at his feet, and the +shadows of the fishing-boats moved in the little bay. A great owl, with +yellow sulphurous eyes, called to him by his name, but he made it no +answer. A black dog ran towards him and snarled. He struck it with a +rod of willow, and it went away whining. + +At midnight the witches came flying through the air like bats. ‘Phew!’ +they cried, as they lit upon the ground, ‘there is some one here we know +not!’ and they sniffed about, and chattered to each other, and made +signs. Last of all came the young Witch, with her red hair streaming in +the wind. She wore a dress of gold tissue embroidered with peacocks’ +eyes, and a little cap of green velvet was on her head. + +‘Where is he, where is he?’ shrieked the witches when they saw her, but +she only laughed, and ran to the hornbeam, and taking the Fisherman by +the hand she led him out into the moonlight and began to dance. + +Round and round they whirled, and the young Witch jumped so high that he +could see the scarlet heels of her shoes. Then right across the dancers +came the sound of the galloping of a horse, but no horse was to be seen, +and he felt afraid. + +‘Faster,’ cried the Witch, and she threw her arms about his neck, and her +breath was hot upon his face. ‘Faster, faster!’ she cried, and the earth +seemed to spin beneath his feet, and his brain grew troubled, and a great +terror fell on him, as of some evil thing that was watching him, and at +last he became aware that under the shadow of a rock there was a figure +that had not been there before. + +It was a man dressed in a suit of black velvet, cut in the Spanish +fashion. His face was strangely pale, but his lips were like a proud red +flower. He seemed weary, and was leaning back toying in a listless +manner with the pommel of his dagger. On the grass beside him lay a +plumed hat, and a pair of riding-gloves gauntleted with gilt lace, and +sewn with seed-pearls wrought into a curious device. A short cloak lined +with sables hang from his shoulder, and his delicate white hands were +gemmed with rings. Heavy eyelids drooped over his eyes. + +The young Fisherman watched him, as one snared in a spell. At last their +eyes met, and wherever he danced it seemed to him that the eyes of the +man were upon him. He heard the Witch laugh, and caught her by the +waist, and whirled her madly round and round. + +Suddenly a dog bayed in the wood, and the dancers stopped, and going up +two by two, knelt down, and kissed the man’s hands. As they did so, a +little smile touched his proud lips, as a bird’s wing touches the water +and makes it laugh. But there was disdain in it. He kept looking at the +young Fisherman. + +‘Come! let us worship,’ whispered the Witch, and she led him up, and a +great desire to do as she besought him seized on him, and he followed +her. But when he came close, and without knowing why he did it, he made +on his breast the sign of the Cross, and called upon the holy name. + +No sooner had he done so than the witches screamed like hawks and flew +away, and the pallid face that had been watching him twitched with a +spasm of pain. The man went over to a little wood, and whistled. A +jennet with silver trappings came running to meet him. As he leapt upon +the saddle he turned round, and looked at the young Fisherman sadly. + +And the Witch with the red hair tried to fly away also, but the Fisherman +caught her by her wrists, and held her fast. + +‘Loose me,’ she cried, ‘and let me go. For thou hast named what should +not be named, and shown the sign that may not be looked at.’ + +‘Nay,’ he answered, ‘but I will not let thee go till thou hast told me +the secret.’ + +‘What secret?’ said the Witch, wrestling with him like a wild cat, and +biting her foam-flecked lips. + +‘Thou knowest,’ he made answer. + +Her grass-green eyes grew dim with tears, and she said to the Fisherman, +‘Ask me anything but that!’ + +He laughed, and held her all the more tightly. + +And when she saw that she could not free herself, she whispered to him, +‘Surely I am as fair as the daughters of the sea, and as comely as those +that dwell in the blue waters,’ and she fawned on him and put her face +close to his. + +But he thrust her back frowning, and said to her, ‘If thou keepest not +the promise that thou madest to me I will slay thee for a false witch.’ + +She grew grey as a blossom of the Judas tree, and shuddered. ‘Be it so,’ +she muttered. ‘It is thy soul and not mine. Do with it as thou wilt.’ +And she took from her girdle a little knife that had a handle of green +viper’s skin, and gave it to him. + +‘What shall this serve me?’ he asked of her, wondering. + +She was silent for a few moments, and a look of terror came over her +face. Then she brushed her hair back from her forehead, and smiling +strangely she said to him, ‘What men call the shadow of the body is not +the shadow of the body, but is the body of the soul. Stand on the +sea-shore with thy back to the moon, and cut away from around thy feet +thy shadow, which is thy soul’s body, and bid thy soul leave thee, and it +will do so.’ + +The young Fisherman trembled. ‘Is this true?’ he murmured. + +‘It is true, and I would that I had not told thee of it,’ she cried, and +she clung to his knees weeping. + +He put her from him and left her in the rank grass, and going to the edge +of the mountain he placed the knife in his belt and began to climb down. + +And his Soul that was within him called out to him and said, ‘Lo! I have +dwelt with thee for all these years, and have been thy servant. Send me +not away from thee now, for what evil have I done thee?’ + +And the young Fisherman laughed. ‘Thou hast done me no evil, but I have +no need of thee,’ he answered. ‘The world is wide, and there is Heaven +also, and Hell, and that dim twilight house that lies between. Go +wherever thou wilt, but trouble me not, for my love is calling to me.’ + +And his Soul besought him piteously, but he heeded it not, but leapt from +crag to crag, being sure-footed as a wild goat, and at last he reached +the level ground and the yellow shore of the sea. + +Bronze-limbed and well-knit, like a statue wrought by a Grecian, he stood +on the sand with his back to the moon, and out of the foam came white +arms that beckoned to him, and out of the waves rose dim forms that did +him homage. Before him lay his shadow, which was the body of his soul, +and behind him hung the moon in the honey-coloured air. + +And his Soul said to him, ‘If indeed thou must drive me from thee, send +me not forth without a heart. The world is cruel, give me thy heart to +take with me.’ + +He tossed his head and smiled. ‘With what should I love my love if I +gave thee my heart?’ he cried. + +‘Nay, but be merciful,’ said his Soul: ‘give me thy heart, for the world +is very cruel, and I am afraid.’ + +‘My heart is my love’s,’ he answered, ‘therefore tarry not, but get thee +gone.’ + +‘Should I not love also?’ asked his Soul. + +‘Get thee gone, for I have no need of thee,’ cried the young Fisherman, +and he took the little knife with its handle of green viper’s skin, and +cut away his shadow from around his feet, and it rose up and stood before +him, and looked at him, and it was even as himself. + +He crept back, and thrust the knife into his belt, and a feeling of awe +came over him. ‘Get thee gone,’ he murmured, ‘and let me see thy face no +more.’ + +‘Nay, but we must meet again,’ said the Soul. Its voice was low and +flute-like, and its lips hardly moved while it spake. + +‘How shall we meet?’ cried the young Fisherman. ‘Thou wilt not follow me +into the depths of the sea?’ + +‘Once every year I will come to this place, and call to thee,’ said the +Soul. ‘It may be that thou wilt have need of me.’ + +‘What need should I have of thee?’ cried the young Fisherman, ‘but be it +as thou wilt,’ and he plunged into the waters and the Tritons blew their +horns and the little Mermaid rose up to meet him, and put her arms around +his neck and kissed him on the mouth. + +And the Soul stood on the lonely beach and watched them. And when they +had sunk down into the sea, it went weeping away over the marshes. + + * * * * * + +And after a year was over the Soul came down to the shore of the sea and +called to the young Fisherman, and he rose out of the deep, and said, +‘Why dost thou call to me?’ + +And the Soul answered, ‘Come nearer, that I may speak with thee, for I +have seen marvellous things.’ + +So he came nearer, and couched in the shallow water, and leaned his head +upon his hand and listened. + + * * * * * + +And the Soul said to him, ‘When I left thee I turned my face to the East +and journeyed. From the East cometh everything that is wise. Six days I +journeyed, and on the morning of the seventh day I came to a hill that is +in the country of the Tartars. I sat down under the shade of a tamarisk +tree to shelter myself from the sun. The land was dry and burnt up with +the heat. The people went to and fro over the plain like flies crawling +upon a disk of polished copper. + +‘When it was noon a cloud of red dust rose up from the flat rim of the +land. When the Tartars saw it, they strung their painted bows, and +having leapt upon their little horses they galloped to meet it. The +women fled screaming to the waggons, and hid themselves behind the felt +curtains. + +‘At twilight the Tartars returned, but five of them were missing, and of +those that came back not a few had been wounded. They harnessed their +horses to the waggons and drove hastily away. Three jackals came out of +a cave and peered after them. Then they sniffed up the air with their +nostrils, and trotted off in the opposite direction. + +‘When the moon rose I saw a camp-fire burning on the plain, and went +towards it. A company of merchants were seated round it on carpets. +Their camels were picketed behind them, and the negroes who were their +servants were pitching tents of tanned skin upon the sand, and making a +high wall of the prickly pear. + +‘As I came near them, the chief of the merchants rose up and drew his +sword, and asked me my business. + +‘I answered that I was a Prince in my own land, and that I had escaped +from the Tartars, who had sought to make me their slave. The chief +smiled, and showed me five heads fixed upon long reeds of bamboo. + +‘Then he asked me who was the prophet of God, and I answered him +Mohammed. + +‘When he heard the name of the false prophet, he bowed and took me by the +hand, and placed me by his side. A negro brought me some mare’s milk in +a wooden dish, and a piece of lamb’s flesh roasted. + +‘At daybreak we started on our journey. I rode on a red-haired camel by +the side of the chief, and a runner ran before us carrying a spear. The +men of war were on either hand, and the mules followed with the +merchandise. There were forty camels in the caravan, and the mules were +twice forty in number. + +‘We went from the country of the Tartars into the country of those who +curse the Moon. We saw the Gryphons guarding their gold on the white +rocks, and the scaled Dragons sleeping in their caves. As we passed over +the mountains we held our breath lest the snows might fall on us, and +each man tied a veil of gauze before his eyes. As we passed through the +valleys the Pygmies shot arrows at us from the hollows of the trees, and +at night-time we heard the wild men beating on their drums. When we came +to the Tower of Apes we set fruits before them, and they did not harm us. +When we came to the Tower of Serpents we gave them warm milk in howls of +brass, and they let us go by. Three times in our journey we came to the +banks of the Oxus. We crossed it on rafts of wood with great bladders of +blown hide. The river-horses raged against us and sought to slay us. +When the camels saw them they trembled. + +‘The kings of each city levied tolls on us, but would not suffer us to +enter their gates. They threw us bread over the walls, little +maize-cakes baked in honey and cakes of fine flour filled with dates. +For every hundred baskets we gave them a bead of amber. + +‘When the dwellers in the villages saw us coming, they poisoned the wells +and fled to the hill-summits. We fought with the Magadae who are born +old, and grow younger and younger every year, and die when they are +little children; and with the Laktroi who say that they are the sons of +tigers, and paint themselves yellow and black; and with the Aurantes who +bury their dead on the tops of trees, and themselves live in dark caverns +lest the Sun, who is their god, should slay them; and with the Krimnians +who worship a crocodile, and give it earrings of green glass, and feed it +with butter and fresh fowls; and with the Agazonbae, who are dog-faced; +and with the Sibans, who have horses’ feet, and run more swiftly than +horses. A third of our company died in battle, and a third died of want. +The rest murmured against me, and said that I had brought them an evil +fortune. I took a horned adder from beneath a stone and let it sting me. +When they saw that I did not sicken they grew afraid. + +‘In the fourth month we reached the city of Illel. It was night-time +when we came to the grove that is outside the walls, and the air was +sultry, for the Moon was travelling in Scorpion. We took the ripe +pomegranates from the trees, and brake them, and drank their sweet +juices. Then we lay down on our carpets, and waited for the dawn. + +‘And at dawn we rose and knocked at the gate of the city. It was wrought +out of red bronze, and carved with sea-dragons and dragons that have +wings. The guards looked down from the battlements and asked us our +business. The interpreter of the caravan answered that we had come from +the island of Syria with much merchandise. They took hostages, and told +us that they would open the gate to us at noon, and bade us tarry till +then. + +‘When it was noon they opened the gate, and as we entered in the people +came crowding out of the houses to look at us, and a crier went round the +city crying through a shell. We stood in the market-place, and the +negroes uncorded the bales of figured cloths and opened the carved chests +of sycamore. And when they had ended their task, the merchants set forth +their strange wares, the waxed linen from Egypt and the painted linen +from the country of the Ethiops, the purple sponges from Tyre and the +blue hangings from Sidon, the cups of cold amber and the fine vessels of +glass and the curious vessels of burnt clay. From the roof of a house a +company of women watched us. One of them wore a mask of gilded leather. + +‘And on the first day the priests came and bartered with us, and on the +second day came the nobles, and on the third day came the craftsmen and +the slaves. And this is their custom with all merchants as long as they +tarry in the city. + +‘And we tarried for a moon, and when the moon was waning, I wearied and +wandered away through the streets of the city and came to the garden of +its god. The priests in their yellow robes moved silently through the +green trees, and on a pavement of black marble stood the rose-red house +in which the god had his dwelling. Its doors were of powdered lacquer, +and bulls and peacocks were wrought on them in raised and polished gold. +The tilted roof was of sea-green porcelain, and the jutting eaves were +festooned with little bells. When the white doves flew past, they struck +the bells with their wings and made them tinkle. + +‘In front of the temple was a pool of clear water paved with veined onyx. +I lay down beside it, and with my pale fingers I touched the broad +leaves. One of the priests came towards me and stood behind me. He had +sandals on his feet, one of soft serpent-skin and the other of birds’ +plumage. On his head was a mitre of black felt decorated with silver +crescents. Seven yellows were woven into his robe, and his frizzed hair +was stained with antimony. + +‘After a little while he spake to me, and asked me my desire. + +‘I told him that my desire was to see the god. + +‘“The god is hunting,” said the priest, looking strangely at me with his +small slanting eyes. + +‘“Tell me in what forest, and I will ride with him,” I answered. + +‘He combed out the soft fringes of his tunic with his long pointed nails. +“The god is asleep,” he murmured. + +‘“Tell me on what couch, and I will watch by him,” I answered. + +‘“The god is at the feast,” he cried. + +‘“If the wine be sweet I will drink it with him, and if it be bitter I +will drink it with him also,” was my answer. + +‘He bowed his head in wonder, and, taking me by the hand, he raised me +up, and led me into the temple. + +‘And in the first chamber I saw an idol seated on a throne of jasper +bordered with great orient pearls. It was carved out of ebony, and in +stature was of the stature of a man. On its forehead was a ruby, and +thick oil dripped from its hair on to its thighs. Its feet were red with +the blood of a newly-slain kid, and its loins girt with a copper belt +that was studded with seven beryls. + +‘And I said to the priest, “Is this the god?” And he answered me, “This +is the god.” + +‘“Show me the god,” I cried, “or I will surely slay thee.” And I touched +his hand, and it became withered. + +‘And the priest besought me, saying, “Let my lord heal his servant, and I +will show him the god.” + +‘So I breathed with my breath upon his hand, and it became whole again, +and he trembled and led me into the second chamber, and I saw an idol +standing on a lotus of jade hung with great emeralds. It was carved out +of ivory, and in stature was twice the stature of a man. On its forehead +was a chrysolite, and its breasts were smeared with myrrh and cinnamon. +In one hand it held a crooked sceptre of jade, and in the other a round +crystal. It ware buskins of brass, and its thick neck was circled with a +circle of selenites. + +‘And I said to the priest, “Is this the god?” + +‘And he answered me, “This is the god.” + +‘“Show me the god,” I cried, “or I will surely slay thee.” And I touched +his eyes, and they became blind. + +‘And the priest besought me, saying, “Let my lord heal his servant, and I +will show him the god.” + +‘So I breathed with my breath upon his eyes, and the sight came back to +them, and he trembled again, and led me into the third chamber, and lo! +there was no idol in it, nor image of any kind, but only a mirror of +round metal set on an altar of stone. + +‘And I said to the priest, “Where is the god?” + +‘And he answered me: “There is no god but this mirror that thou seest, +for this is the Mirror of Wisdom. And it reflecteth all things that are +in heaven and on earth, save only the face of him who looketh into it. +This it reflecteth not, so that he who looketh into it may be wise. Many +other mirrors are there, but they are mirrors of Opinion. This only is +the Mirror of Wisdom. And they who possess this mirror know everything, +nor is there anything hidden from them. And they who possess it not have +not Wisdom. Therefore is it the god, and we worship it.” And I looked +into the mirror, and it was even as he had said to me. + +‘And I did a strange thing, but what I did matters not, for in a valley +that is but a day’s journey from this place have I hidden the Mirror of +Wisdom. Do but suffer me to enter into thee again and be thy servant, +and thou shalt be wiser than all the wise men, and Wisdom shall be thine. +Suffer me to enter into thee, and none will be as wise as thou.’ + +But the young Fisherman laughed. ‘Love is better than Wisdom,’ he cried, +‘and the little Mermaid loves me.’ + +‘Nay, but there is nothing better than Wisdom,’ said the Soul. + +‘Love is better,’ answered the young Fisherman, and he plunged into the +deep, and the Soul went weeping away over the marshes. + + * * * * * + +And after the second year was over, the Soul came down to the shore of +the sea, and called to the young Fisherman, and he rose out of the deep +and said, ‘Why dost thou call to me?’ + +And the Soul answered, ‘Come nearer, that I may speak with thee, for I +have seen marvellous things.’ + +So he came nearer, and couched in the shallow water, and leaned his head +upon his hand and listened. + +And the Soul said to him, ‘When I left thee, I turned my face to the +South and journeyed. From the South cometh everything that is precious. +Six days I journeyed along the highways that lead to the city of Ashter, +along the dusty red-dyed highways by which the pilgrims are wont to go +did I journey, and on the morning of the seventh day I lifted up my eyes, +and lo! the city lay at my feet, for it is in a valley. + +‘There are nine gates to this city, and in front of each gate stands a +bronze horse that neighs when the Bedouins come down from the mountains. +The walls are cased with copper, and the watch-towers on the walls are +roofed with brass. In every tower stands an archer with a bow in his +hand. At sunrise he strikes with an arrow on a gong, and at sunset he +blows through a horn of horn. + +‘When I sought to enter, the guards stopped me and asked of me who I was. +I made answer that I was a Dervish and on my way to the city of Mecca, +where there was a green veil on which the Koran was embroidered in silver +letters by the hands of the angels. They were filled with wonder, and +entreated me to pass in. + +‘Inside it is even as a bazaar. Surely thou shouldst have been with me. +Across the narrow streets the gay lanterns of paper flutter like large +butterflies. When the wind blows over the roofs they rise and fall as +painted bubbles do. In front of their booths sit the merchants on silken +carpets. They have straight black beards, and their turbans are covered +with golden sequins, and long strings of amber and carved peach-stones +glide through their cool fingers. Some of them sell galbanum and nard, +and curious perfumes from the islands of the Indian Sea, and the thick +oil of red roses, and myrrh and little nail-shaped cloves. When one +stops to speak to them, they throw pinches of frankincense upon a +charcoal brazier and make the air sweet. I saw a Syrian who held in his +hands a thin rod like a reed. Grey threads of smoke came from it, and +its odour as it burned was as the odour of the pink almond in spring. +Others sell silver bracelets embossed all over with creamy blue turquoise +stones, and anklets of brass wire fringed with little pearls, and tigers’ +claws set in gold, and the claws of that gilt cat, the leopard, set in +gold also, and earrings of pierced emerald, and finger-rings of hollowed +jade. From the tea-houses comes the sound of the guitar, and the +opium-smokers with their white smiling faces look out at the passers-by. + +‘Of a truth thou shouldst have been with me. The wine-sellers elbow +their way through the crowd with great black skins on their shoulders. +Most of them sell the wine of Schiraz, which is as sweet as honey. They +serve it in little metal cups and strew rose leaves upon it. In the +market-place stand the fruitsellers, who sell all kinds of fruit: ripe +figs, with their bruised purple flesh, melons, smelling of musk and +yellow as topazes, citrons and rose-apples and clusters of white grapes, +round red-gold oranges, and oval lemons of green gold. Once I saw an +elephant go by. Its trunk was painted with vermilion and turmeric, and +over its ears it had a net of crimson silk cord. It stopped opposite one +of the booths and began eating the oranges, and the man only laughed. +Thou canst not think how strange a people they are. When they are glad +they go to the bird-sellers and buy of them a caged bird, and set it free +that their joy may be greater, and when they are sad they scourge +themselves with thorns that their sorrow may not grow less. + +‘One evening I met some negroes carrying a heavy palanquin through the +bazaar. It was made of gilded bamboo, and the poles were of vermilion +lacquer studded with brass peacocks. Across the windows hung thin +curtains of muslin embroidered with beetles’ wings and with tiny +seed-pearls, and as it passed by a pale-faced Circassian looked out and +smiled at me. I followed behind, and the negroes hurried their steps and +scowled. But I did not care. I felt a great curiosity come over me. + +‘At last they stopped at a square white house. There were no windows to +it, only a little door like the door of a tomb. They set down the +palanquin and knocked three times with a copper hammer. An Armenian in a +caftan of green leather peered through the wicket, and when he saw them +he opened, and spread a carpet on the ground, and the woman stepped out. +As she went in, she turned round and smiled at me again. I had never +seen any one so pale. + +‘When the moon rose I returned to the same place and sought for the +house, but it was no longer there. When I saw that, I knew who the woman +was, and wherefore she had smiled at me. + +‘Certainly thou shouldst have been with me. On the feast of the New Moon +the young Emperor came forth from his palace and went into the mosque to +pray. His hair and beard were dyed with rose-leaves, and his cheeks were +powdered with a fine gold dust. The palms of his feet and hands were +yellow with saffron. + +‘At sunrise he went forth from his palace in a robe of silver, and at +sunset he returned to it again in a robe of gold. The people flung +themselves on the ground and hid their faces, but I would not do so. I +stood by the stall of a seller of dates and waited. When the Emperor saw +me, he raised his painted eyebrows and stopped. I stood quite still, and +made him no obeisance. The people marvelled at my boldness, and +counselled me to flee from the city. I paid no heed to them, but went +and sat with the sellers of strange gods, who by reason of their craft +are abominated. When I told them what I had done, each of them gave me a +god and prayed me to leave them. + +‘That night, as I lay on a cushion in the tea-house that is in the Street +of Pomegranates, the guards of the Emperor entered and led me to the +palace. As I went in they closed each door behind me, and put a chain +across it. Inside was a great court with an arcade running all round. +The walls were of white alabaster, set here and there with blue and green +tiles. The pillars were of green marble, and the pavement of a kind of +peach-blossom marble. I had never seen anything like it before. + +‘As I passed across the court two veiled women looked down from a balcony +and cursed me. The guards hastened on, and the butts of the lances rang +upon the polished floor. They opened a gate of wrought ivory, and I +found myself in a watered garden of seven terraces. It was planted with +tulip-cups and moonflowers, and silver-studded aloes. Like a slim reed +of crystal a fountain hung in the dusky air. The cypress-trees were like +burnt-out torches. From one of them a nightingale was singing. + +‘At the end of the garden stood a little pavilion. As we approached it +two eunuchs came out to meet us. Their fat bodies swayed as they walked, +and they glanced curiously at me with their yellow-lidded eyes. One of +them drew aside the captain of the guard, and in a low voice whispered to +him. The other kept munching scented pastilles, which he took with an +affected gesture out of an oval box of lilac enamel. + +‘After a few moments the captain of the guard dismissed the soldiers. +They went back to the palace, the eunuchs following slowly behind and +plucking the sweet mulberries from the trees as they passed. Once the +elder of the two turned round, and smiled at me with an evil smile. + +‘Then the captain of the guard motioned me towards the entrance of the +pavilion. I walked on without trembling, and drawing the heavy curtain +aside I entered in. + +‘The young Emperor was stretched on a couch of dyed lion skins, and a +gerfalcon perched upon his wrist. Behind him stood a brass-turbaned +Nubian, naked down to the waist, and with heavy earrings in his split +ears. On a table by the side of the couch lay a mighty scimitar of +steel. + +‘When the Emperor saw me he frowned, and said to me, “What is thy name? +Knowest thou not that I am Emperor of this city?” But I made him no +answer. + +‘He pointed with his finger at the scimitar, and the Nubian seized it, +and rushing forward struck at me with great violence. The blade whizzed +through me, and did me no hurt. The man fell sprawling on the floor, and +when he rose up his teeth chattered with terror and he hid himself behind +the couch. + +‘The Emperor leapt to his feet, and taking a lance from a stand of arms, +he threw it at me. I caught it in its flight, and brake the shaft into +two pieces. He shot at me with an arrow, but I held up my hands and it +stopped in mid-air. Then he drew a dagger from a belt of white leather, +and stabbed the Nubian in the throat lest the slave should tell of his +dishonour. The man writhed like a trampled snake, and a red foam bubbled +from his lips. + +‘As soon as he was dead the Emperor turned to me, and when he had wiped +away the bright sweat from his brow with a little napkin of purfled and +purple silk, he said to me, “Art thou a prophet, that I may not harm +thee, or the son of a prophet, that I can do thee no hurt? I pray thee +leave my city to-night, for while thou art in it I am no longer its +lord.” + +‘And I answered him, “I will go for half of thy treasure. Give me half +of thy treasure, and I will go away.” + +‘He took me by the hand, and led me out into the garden. When the +captain of the guard saw me, he wondered. When the eunuchs saw me, their +knees shook and they fell upon the ground in fear. + +‘There is a chamber in the palace that has eight walls of red porphyry, +and a brass-sealed ceiling hung with lamps. The Emperor touched one of +the walls and it opened, and we passed down a corridor that was lit with +many torches. In niches upon each side stood great wine-jars filled to +the brim with silver pieces. When we reached the centre of the corridor +the Emperor spake the word that may not be spoken, and a granite door +swung back on a secret spring, and he put his hands before his face lest +his eyes should be dazzled. + +‘Thou couldst not believe how marvellous a place it was. There were huge +tortoise-shells full of pearls, and hollowed moonstones of great size +piled up with red rubies. The gold was stored in coffers of +elephant-hide, and the gold-dust in leather bottles. There were opals +and sapphires, the former in cups of crystal, and the latter in cups of +jade. Round green emeralds were ranged in order upon thin plates of +ivory, and in one corner were silk bags filled, some with +turquoise-stones, and others with beryls. The ivory horns were heaped +with purple amethysts, and the horns of brass with chalcedonies and +sards. The pillars, which were of cedar, were hung with strings of +yellow lynx-stones. In the flat oval shields there were carbuncles, both +wine-coloured and coloured like grass. And yet I have told thee but a +tithe of what was there. + +‘And when the Emperor had taken away his hands from before his face he +said to me: “This is my house of treasure, and half that is in it is +thine, even as I promised to thee. And I will give thee camels and camel +drivers, and they shall do thy bidding and take thy share of the treasure +to whatever part of the world thou desirest to go. And the thing shall +be done to-night, for I would not that the Sun, who is my father, should +see that there is in my city a man whom I cannot slay.” + +‘But I answered him, “The gold that is here is thine, and the silver also +is thine, and thine are the precious jewels and the things of price. As +for me, I have no need of these. Nor shall I take aught from thee but +that little ring that thou wearest on the finger of thy hand.” + +‘And the Emperor frowned. “It is but a ring of lead,” he cried, “nor has +it any value. Therefore take thy half of the treasure and go from my +city.” + +‘“Nay,” I answered, “but I will take nought but that leaden ring, for I +know what is written within it, and for what purpose.” + +‘And the Emperor trembled, and besought me and said, “Take all the +treasure and go from my city. The half that is mine shall be thine +also.” + +‘And I did a strange thing, but what I did matters not, for in a cave +that is but a day’s journey from this place have, I hidden the Ring of +Riches. It is but a day’s journey from this place, and it waits for thy +coming. He who has this Ring is richer than all the kings of the world. +Come therefore and take it, and the world’s riches shall be thine.’ + +But the young Fisherman laughed. ‘Love is better than Riches,’ he cried, +‘and the little Mermaid loves me.’ + +‘Nay, but there is nothing better than Riches,’ said the Soul. + +‘Love is better,’ answered the young Fisherman, and he plunged into the +deep, and the Soul went weeping away over the marshes. + + * * * * * + +And after the third year was over, the Soul came down to the shore of the +sea, and called to the young Fisherman, and he rose out of the deep and +said, ‘Why dost thou call to me?’ + +And the Soul answered, ‘Come nearer, that I may speak with thee, for I +have seen marvellous things.’ + +So he came nearer, and couched in the shallow water, and leaned his head +upon his hand and listened. + +And the Soul said to him, ‘In a city that I know of there is an inn that +standeth by a river. I sat there with sailors who drank of two +different-coloured wines, and ate bread made of barley, and little salt +fish served in bay leaves with vinegar. And as we sat and made merry, +there entered to us an old man bearing a leathern carpet and a lute that +had two horns of amber. And when he had laid out the carpet on the +floor, he struck with a quill on the wire strings of his lute, and a girl +whose face was veiled ran in and began to dance before us. Her face was +veiled with a veil of gauze, but her feet were naked. Naked were her +feet, and they moved over the carpet like little white pigeons. Never +have I seen anything so marvellous; and the city in which she dances is +but a day’s journey from this place.’ + +Now when the young Fisherman heard the words of his Soul, he remembered +that the little Mermaid had no feet and could not dance. And a great +desire came over him, and he said to himself, ‘It is but a day’s journey, +and I can return to my love,’ and he laughed, and stood up in the shallow +water, and strode towards the shore. + +And when he had reached the dry shore he laughed again, and held out his +arms to his Soul. And his Soul gave a great cry of joy and ran to meet +him, and entered into him, and the young Fisherman saw stretched before +him upon the sand that shadow of the body that is the body of the Soul. + +And his Soul said to him, ‘Let us not tarry, but get hence at once, for +the Sea-gods are jealous, and have monsters that do their bidding.’ + + * * * * * + +So they made haste, and all that night they journeyed beneath the moon, +and all the next day they journeyed beneath the sun, and on the evening +of the day they came to a city. + +And the young Fisherman said to his Soul, ‘Is this the city in which she +dances of whom thou didst speak to me?’ + +And his Soul answered him, ‘It is not this city, but another. +Nevertheless let us enter in.’ So they entered in and passed through the +streets, and as they passed through the Street of the Jewellers the young +Fisherman saw a fair silver cup set forth in a booth. And his Soul said +to him, ‘Take that silver cup and hide it.’ + +So he took the cup and hid it in the fold of his tunic, and they went +hurriedly out of the city. + +And after that they had gone a league from the city, the young Fisherman +frowned, and flung the cup away, and said to his Soul, ‘Why didst thou +tell me to take this cup and hide it, for it was an evil thing to do?’ + +But his Soul answered him, ‘Be at peace, be at peace.’ + +And on the evening of the second day they came to a city, and the young +Fisherman said to his Soul, ‘Is this the city in which she dances of whom +thou didst speak to me?’ + +And his Soul answered him, ‘It is not this city, but another. +Nevertheless let us enter in.’ So they entered in and passed through the +streets, and as they passed through the Street of the Sellers of Sandals, +the young Fisherman saw a child standing by a jar of water. And his Soul +said to him, ‘Smite that child.’ So he smote the child till it wept, and +when he had done this they went hurriedly out of the city. + +And after that they had gone a league from the city the young Fisherman +grew wroth, and said to his Soul, ‘Why didst thou tell me to smite the +child, for it was an evil thing to do?’ + +But his Soul answered him, ‘Be at peace, be at peace.’ + +And on the evening of the third day they came to a city, and the young +Fisherman said to his Soul, ‘Is this the city in which she dances of whom +thou didst speak to me?’ + +And his Soul answered him, ‘It may be that it is in this city, therefore +let us enter in.’ + +So they entered in and passed through the streets, but nowhere could the +young Fisherman find the river or the inn that stood by its side. And +the people of the city looked curiously at him, and he grew afraid and +said to his Soul, ‘Let us go hence, for she who dances with white feet is +not here.’ + +But his Soul answered, ‘Nay, but let us tarry, for the night is dark and +there will be robbers on the way.’ + +So he sat him down in the market-place and rested, and after a time there +went by a hooded merchant who had a cloak of cloth of Tartary, and bare a +lantern of pierced horn at the end of a jointed reed. And the merchant +said to him, ‘Why dost thou sit in the market-place, seeing that the +booths are closed and the bales corded?’ + +And the young Fisherman answered him, ‘I can find no inn in this city, +nor have I any kinsman who might give me shelter.’ + +‘Are we not all kinsmen?’ said the merchant. ‘And did not one God make +us? Therefore come with me, for I have a guest-chamber.’ + +So the young Fisherman rose up and followed the merchant to his house. +And when he had passed through a garden of pomegranates and entered into +the house, the merchant brought him rose-water in a copper dish that he +might wash his hands, and ripe melons that he might quench his thirst, +and set a bowl of rice and a piece of roasted kid before him. + +And after that he had finished, the merchant led him to the +guest-chamber, and bade him sleep and be at rest. And the young +Fisherman gave him thanks, and kissed the ring that was on his hand, and +flung himself down on the carpets of dyed goat’s-hair. And when he had +covered himself with a covering of black lamb’s-wool he fell asleep. + +And three hours before dawn, and while it was still night, his Soul waked +him and said to him, ‘Rise up and go to the room of the merchant, even to +the room in which he sleepeth, and slay him, and take from him his gold, +for we have need of it.’ + +And the young Fisherman rose up and crept towards the room of the +merchant, and over the feet of the merchant there was lying a curved +sword, and the tray by the side of the merchant held nine purses of gold. +And he reached out his hand and touched the sword, and when he touched it +the merchant started and awoke, and leaping up seized himself the sword +and cried to the young Fisherman, ‘Dost thou return evil for good, and +pay with the shedding of blood for the kindness that I have shown thee?’ + +And his Soul said to the young Fisherman, ‘Strike him,’ and he struck him +so that he swooned and he seized then the nine purses of gold, and fled +hastily through the garden of pomegranates, and set his face to the star +that is the star of morning. + +And when they had gone a league from the city, the young Fisherman beat +his breast, and said to his Soul, ‘Why didst thou bid me slay the +merchant and take his gold? Surely thou art evil.’ + +But his Soul answered him, ‘Be at peace, be at peace.’ + +‘Nay,’ cried the young Fisherman, ‘I may not be at peace, for all that +thou hast made me to do I hate. Thee also I hate, and I bid thee tell me +wherefore thou hast wrought with me in this wise.’ + +And his Soul answered him, ‘When thou didst send me forth into the world +thou gavest me no heart, so I learned to do all these things and love +them.’ + +‘What sayest thou?’ murmured the young Fisherman. + +‘Thou knowest,’ answered his Soul, ‘thou knowest it well. Hast thou +forgotten that thou gavest me no heart? I trow not. And so trouble not +thyself nor me, but be at peace, for there is no pain that thou shalt not +give away, nor any pleasure that thou shalt not receive.’ + +And when the young Fisherman heard these words he trembled and said to +his Soul, ‘Nay, but thou art evil, and hast made me forget my love, and +hast tempted me with temptations, and hast set my feet in the ways of +sin.’ + +And his Soul answered him, ‘Thou hast not forgotten that when thou didst +send me forth into the world thou gavest me no heart. Come, let us go to +another city, and make merry, for we have nine purses of gold.’ + +But the young Fisherman took the nine purses of gold, and flung them +down, and trampled on them. + +‘Nay,’ he cried, ‘but I will have nought to do with thee, nor will I +journey with thee anywhere, but even as I sent thee away before, so will +I send thee away now, for thou hast wrought me no good.’ And he turned +his back to the moon, and with the little knife that had the handle of +green viper’s skin he strove to cut from his feet that shadow of the body +which is the body of the Soul. + +Yet his Soul stirred not from him, nor paid heed to his command, but said +to him, ‘The spell that the Witch told thee avails thee no more, for I +may not leave thee, nor mayest thou drive me forth. Once in his life may +a man send his Soul away, but he who receiveth back his Soul must keep it +with him for ever, and this is his punishment and his reward.’ + +And the young Fisherman grew pale and clenched his hands and cried, ‘She +was a false Witch in that she told me not that.’ + +‘Nay,’ answered his Soul, ‘but she was true to Him she worships, and +whose servant she will be ever.’ + +And when the young Fisherman knew that he could no longer get rid of his +Soul, and that it was an evil Soul and would abide with him always, he +fell upon the ground weeping bitterly. + + * * * * * + +And when it was day the young Fisherman rose up and said to his Soul, ‘I +will bind my hands that I may not do thy bidding, and close my lips that +I may not speak thy words, and I will return to the place where she whom +I love has her dwelling. Even to the sea will I return, and to the +little bay where she is wont to sing, and I will call to her and tell her +the evil I have done and the evil thou hast wrought on me.’ + +And his Soul tempted him and said, ‘Who is thy love, that thou shouldst +return to her? The world has many fairer than she is. There are the +dancing-girls of Samaris who dance in the manner of all kinds of birds +and beasts. Their feet are painted with henna, and in their hands they +have little copper bells. They laugh while they dance, and their +laughter is as clear as the laughter of water. Come with me and I will +show them to thee. For what is this trouble of thine about the things of +sin? Is that which is pleasant to eat not made for the eater? Is there +poison in that which is sweet to drink? Trouble not thyself, but come +with me to another city. There is a little city hard by in which there +is a garden of tulip-trees. And there dwell in this comely garden white +peacocks and peacocks that have blue breasts. Their tails when they +spread them to the sun are like disks of ivory and like gilt disks. And +she who feeds them dances for their pleasure, and sometimes she dances on +her hands and at other times she dances with her feet. Her eyes are +coloured with stibium, and her nostrils are shaped like the wings of a +swallow. From a hook in one of her nostrils hangs a flower that is +carved out of a pearl. She laughs while she dances, and the silver rings +that are about her ankles tinkle like bells of silver. And so trouble +not thyself any more, but come with me to this city.’ + +But the young Fisherman answered not his Soul, but closed his lips with +the seal of silence and with a tight cord bound his hands, and journeyed +back to the place from which he had come, even to the little bay where +his love had been wont to sing. And ever did his Soul tempt him by the +way, but he made it no answer, nor would he do any of the wickedness that +it sought to make him to do, so great was the power of the love that was +within him. + +And when he had reached the shore of the sea, he loosed the cord from his +hands, and took the seal of silence from his lips, and called to the +little Mermaid. But she came not to his call, though he called to her +all day long and besought her. + +And his Soul mocked him and said, ‘Surely thou hast but little joy out of +thy love. Thou art as one who in time of death pours water into a broken +vessel. Thou givest away what thou hast, and nought is given to thee in +return. It were better for thee to come with me, for I know where the +Valley of Pleasure lies, and what things are wrought there.’ + +But the young Fisherman answered not his Soul, but in a cleft of the rock +he built himself a house of wattles, and abode there for the space of a +year. And every morning he called to the Mermaid, and every noon he +called to her again, and at night-time he spake her name. Yet never did +she rise out of the sea to meet him, nor in any place of the sea could he +find her though he sought for her in the caves and in the green water, in +the pools of the tide and in the wells that are at the bottom of the +deep. + +And ever did his Soul tempt him with evil, and whisper of terrible +things. Yet did it not prevail against him, so great was the power of +his love. + +And after the year was over, the Soul thought within himself, ‘I have +tempted my master with evil, and his love is stronger than I am. I will +tempt him now with good, and it may be that he will come with me.’ + +So he spake to the young Fisherman and said, ‘I have told thee of the joy +of the world, and thou hast turned a deaf ear to me. Suffer me now to +tell thee of the world’s pain, and it may be that thou wilt hearken. For +of a truth pain is the Lord of this world, nor is there any one who +escapes from its net. There be some who lack raiment, and others who +lack bread. There be widows who sit in purple, and widows who sit in +rags. To and fro over the fens go the lepers, and they are cruel to each +other. The beggars go up and down on the highways, and their wallets are +empty. Through the streets of the cities walks Famine, and the Plague +sits at their gates. Come, let us go forth and mend these things, and +make them not to be. Wherefore shouldst thou tarry here calling to thy +love, seeing she comes not to thy call? And what is love, that thou +shouldst set this high store upon it?’ + +But the young Fisherman answered it nought, so great was the power of his +love. And every morning he called to the Mermaid, and every noon he +called to her again, and at night-time he spake her name. Yet never did +she rise out of the sea to meet him, nor in any place of the sea could he +find her, though he sought for her in the rivers of the sea, and in the +valleys that are under the waves, in the sea that the night makes purple, +and in the sea that the dawn leaves grey. + +And after the second year was over, the Soul said to the young Fisherman +at night-time, and as he sat in the wattled house alone, ‘Lo! now I have +tempted thee with evil, and I have tempted thee with good, and thy love +is stronger than I am. Wherefore will I tempt thee no longer, but I pray +thee to suffer me to enter thy heart, that I may be one with thee even as +before.’ + +‘Surely thou mayest enter,’ said the young Fisherman, ‘for in the days +when with no heart thou didst go through the world thou must have much +suffered.’ + +‘Alas!’ cried his Soul, ‘I can find no place of entrance, so compassed +about with love is this heart of thine.’ + +‘Yet I would that I could help thee,’ said the young Fisherman. + +And as he spake there came a great cry of mourning from the sea, even the +cry that men hear when one of the Sea-folk is dead. And the young +Fisherman leapt up, and left his wattled house, and ran down to the +shore. And the black waves came hurrying to the shore, bearing with them +a burden that was whiter than silver. White as the surf it was, and like +a flower it tossed on the waves. And the surf took it from the waves, +and the foam took it from the surf, and the shore received it, and lying +at his feet the young Fisherman saw the body of the little Mermaid. Dead +at his feet it was lying. + +Weeping as one smitten with pain he flung himself down beside it, and he +kissed the cold red of the mouth, and toyed with the wet amber of the +hair. He flung himself down beside it on the sand, weeping as one +trembling with joy, and in his brown arms he held it to his breast. Cold +were the lips, yet he kissed them. Salt was the honey of the hair, yet +he tasted it with a bitter joy. He kissed the closed eyelids, and the +wild spray that lay upon their cups was less salt than his tears. + +And to the dead thing he made confession. Into the shells of its ears he +poured the harsh wine of his tale. He put the little hands round his +neck, and with his fingers he touched the thin reed of the throat. +Bitter, bitter was his joy, and full of strange gladness was his pain. + +The black sea came nearer, and the white foam moaned like a leper. With +white claws of foam the sea grabbled at the shore. From the palace of +the Sea-King came the cry of mourning again, and far out upon the sea the +great Tritons blew hoarsely upon their horns. + +‘Flee away,’ said his Soul, ‘for ever doth the sea come nigher, and if +thou tarriest it will slay thee. Flee away, for I am afraid, seeing that +thy heart is closed against me by reason of the greatness of thy love. +Flee away to a place of safety. Surely thou wilt not send me without a +heart into another world?’ + +But the young Fisherman listened not to his Soul, but called on the +little Mermaid and said, ‘Love is better than wisdom, and more precious +than riches, and fairer than the feet of the daughters of men. The fires +cannot destroy it, nor can the waters quench it. I called on thee at +dawn, and thou didst not come to my call. The moon heard thy name, yet +hadst thou no heed of me. For evilly had I left thee, and to my own hurt +had I wandered away. Yet ever did thy love abide with me, and ever was +it strong, nor did aught prevail against it, though I have looked upon +evil and looked upon good. And now that thou art dead, surely I will die +with thee also.’ + +And his Soul besought him to depart, but he would not, so great was his +love. And the sea came nearer, and sought to cover him with its waves, +and when he knew that the end was at hand he kissed with mad lips the +cold lips of the Mermaid, and the heart that was within him brake. And +as through the fulness of his love his heart did break, the Soul found an +entrance and entered in, and was one with him even as before. And the +sea covered the young Fisherman with its waves. + + * * * * * + +And in the morning the Priest went forth to bless the sea, for it had +been troubled. And with him went the monks and the musicians, and the +candle-bearers, and the swingers of censers, and a great company. + +And when the Priest reached the shore he saw the young Fisherman lying +drowned in the surf, and clasped in his arms was the body of the little +Mermaid. And he drew back frowning, and having made the sign of the +cross, he cried aloud and said, ‘I will not bless the sea nor anything +that is in it. Accursed be the Sea-folk, and accursed be all they who +traffic with them. And as for him who for love’s sake forsook God, and +so lieth here with his leman slain by God’s judgment, take up his body +and the body of his leman, and bury them in the corner of the Field of +the Fullers, and set no mark above them, nor sign of any kind, that none +may know the place of their resting. For accursed were they in their +lives, and accursed shall they be in their deaths also.’ + +And the people did as he commanded them, and in the corner of the Field +of the Fullers, where no sweet herbs grew, they dug a deep pit, and laid +the dead things within it. + +And when the third year was over, and on a day that was a holy day, the +Priest went up to the chapel, that he might show to the people the wounds +of the Lord, and speak to them about the wrath of God. + +And when he had robed himself with his robes, and entered in and bowed +himself before the altar, he saw that the altar was covered with strange +flowers that never had been seen before. Strange were they to look at, +and of curious beauty, and their beauty troubled him, and their odour was +sweet in his nostrils. And he felt glad, and understood not why he was +glad. + +And after that he had opened the tabernacle, and incensed the monstrance +that was in it, and shown the fair wafer to the people, and hid it again +behind the veil of veils, he began to speak to the people, desiring to +speak to them of the wrath of God. But the beauty of the white flowers +troubled him, and their odour was sweet in his nostrils, and there came +another word into his lips, and he spake not of the wrath of God, but of +the God whose name is Love. And why he so spake, he knew not. + +And when he had finished his word the people wept, and the Priest went +back to the sacristy, and his eyes were full of tears. And the deacons +came in and began to unrobe him, and took from him the alb and the +girdle, the maniple and the stole. And he stood as one in a dream. + +And after that they had unrobed him, he looked at them and said, ‘What +are the flowers that stand on the altar, and whence do they come?’ + +And they answered him, ‘What flowers they are we cannot tell, but they +come from the corner of the Fullers’ Field.’ And the Priest trembled, +and returned to his own house and prayed. + +And in the morning, while it was still dawn, he went forth with the monks +and the musicians, and the candle-bearers and the swingers of censers, +and a great company, and came to the shore of the sea, and blessed the +sea, and all the wild things that are in it. The Fauns also he blessed, +and the little things that dance in the woodland, and the bright-eyed +things that peer through the leaves. All the things in God’s world he +blessed, and the people were filled with joy and wonder. Yet never again +in the corner of the Fullers’ Field grew flowers of any kind, but the +field remained barren even as before. Nor came the Sea-folk into the bay +as they had been wont to do, for they went to another part of the sea. + + + + +THE STAR-CHILD + + + TO + MISS MARGOT TENNANT + [MRS. ASQUITH] + +ONCE upon a time two poor Woodcutters were making their way home through +a great pine-forest. It was winter, and a night of bitter cold. The +snow lay thick upon the ground, and upon the branches of the trees: the +frost kept snapping the little twigs on either side of them, as they +passed: and when they came to the Mountain-Torrent she was hanging +motionless in air, for the Ice-King had kissed her. + +So cold was it that even the animals and the birds did not know what to +make of it. + +‘Ugh!’ snarled the Wolf, as he limped through the brushwood with his tail +between his legs, ‘this is perfectly monstrous weather. Why doesn’t the +Government look to it?’ + +‘Weet! weet! weet!’ twittered the green Linnets, ‘the old Earth is dead +and they have laid her out in her white shroud.’ + +‘The Earth is going to be married, and this is her bridal dress,’ +whispered the Turtle-doves to each other. Their little pink feet were +quite frost-bitten, but they felt that it was their duty to take a +romantic view of the situation. + +‘Nonsense!’ growled the Wolf. ‘I tell you that it is all the fault of +the Government, and if you don’t believe me I shall eat you.’ The Wolf +had a thoroughly practical mind, and was never at a loss for a good +argument. + +‘Well, for my own part,’ said the Woodpecker, who was a born philosopher, +‘I don’t care an atomic theory for explanations. If a thing is so, it is +so, and at present it is terribly cold.’ + +Terribly cold it certainly was. The little Squirrels, who lived inside +the tall fir-tree, kept rubbing each other’s noses to keep themselves +warm, and the Rabbits curled themselves up in their holes, and did not +venture even to look out of doors. The only people who seemed to enjoy +it were the great horned Owls. Their feathers were quite stiff with +rime, but they did not mind, and they rolled their large yellow eyes, and +called out to each other across the forest, ‘Tu-whit! Tu-whoo! Tu-whit! +Tu-whoo! what delightful weather we are having!’ + +On and on went the two Woodcutters, blowing lustily upon their fingers, +and stamping with their huge iron-shod boots upon the caked snow. Once +they sank into a deep drift, and came out as white as millers are, when +the stones are grinding; and once they slipped on the hard smooth ice +where the marsh-water was frozen, and their faggots fell out of their +bundles, and they had to pick them up and bind them together again; and +once they thought that they had lost their way, and a great terror seized +on them, for they knew that the Snow is cruel to those who sleep in her +arms. But they put their trust in the good Saint Martin, who watches +over all travellers, and retraced their steps, and went warily, and at +last they reached the outskirts of the forest, and saw, far down in the +valley beneath them, the lights of the village in which they dwelt. + +So overjoyed were they at their deliverance that they laughed aloud, and +the Earth seemed to them like a flower of silver, and the Moon like a +flower of gold. + +Yet, after that they had laughed they became sad, for they remembered +their poverty, and one of them said to the other, ‘Why did we make merry, +seeing that life is for the rich, and not for such as we are? Better +that we had died of cold in the forest, or that some wild beast had +fallen upon us and slain us.’ + +‘Truly,’ answered his companion, ‘much is given to some, and little is +given to others. Injustice has parcelled out the world, nor is there +equal division of aught save of sorrow.’ + +But as they were bewailing their misery to each other this strange thing +happened. There fell from heaven a very bright and beautiful star. It +slipped down the side of the sky, passing by the other stars in its +course, and, as they watched it wondering, it seemed to them to sink +behind a clump of willow-trees that stood hard by a little sheepfold no +more than a stone’s-throw away. + +‘Why! there is a crook of gold for whoever finds it,’ they cried, and +they set to and ran, so eager were they for the gold. + +And one of them ran faster than his mate, and outstripped him, and forced +his way through the willows, and came out on the other side, and lo! +there was indeed a thing of gold lying on the white snow. So he hastened +towards it, and stooping down placed his hands upon it, and it was a +cloak of golden tissue, curiously wrought with stars, and wrapped in many +folds. And he cried out to his comrade that he had found the treasure +that had fallen from the sky, and when his comrade had come up, they sat +them down in the snow, and loosened the folds of the cloak that they +might divide the pieces of gold. But, alas! no gold was in it, nor +silver, nor, indeed, treasure of any kind, but only a little child who +was asleep. + +And one of them said to the other: ‘This is a bitter ending to our hope, +nor have we any good fortune, for what doth a child profit to a man? Let +us leave it here, and go our way, seeing that we are poor men, and have +children of our own whose bread we may not give to another.’ + +But his companion answered him: ‘Nay, but it were an evil thing to leave +the child to perish here in the snow, and though I am as poor as thou +art, and have many mouths to feed, and but little in the pot, yet will I +bring it home with me, and my wife shall have care of it.’ + +So very tenderly he took up the child, and wrapped the cloak around it to +shield it from the harsh cold, and made his way down the hill to the +village, his comrade marvelling much at his foolishness and softness of +heart. + +And when they came to the village, his comrade said to him, ‘Thou hast +the child, therefore give me the cloak, for it is meet that we should +share.’ + +But he answered him: ‘Nay, for the cloak is neither mine nor thine, but +the child’s only,’ and he bade him Godspeed, and went to his own house +and knocked. + +And when his wife opened the door and saw that her husband had returned +safe to her, she put her arms round his neck and kissed him, and took +from his back the bundle of faggots, and brushed the snow off his boots, +and bade him come in. + +But he said to her, ‘I have found something in the forest, and I have +brought it to thee to have care of it,’ and he stirred not from the +threshold. + +‘What is it?’ she cried. ‘Show it to me, for the house is bare, and we +have need of many things.’ And he drew the cloak back, and showed her +the sleeping child. + +‘Alack, goodman!’ she murmured, ‘have we not children of our own, that +thou must needs bring a changeling to sit by the hearth? And who knows +if it will not bring us bad fortune? And how shall we tend it?’ And she +was wroth against him. + +‘Nay, but it is a Star-Child,’ he answered; and he told her the strange +manner of the finding of it. + +But she would not be appeased, but mocked at him, and spoke angrily, and +cried: ‘Our children lack bread, and shall we feed the child of another? +Who is there who careth for us? And who giveth us food?’ + +‘Nay, but God careth for the sparrows even, and feedeth them,’ he +answered. + +‘Do not the sparrows die of hunger in the winter?’ she asked. ‘And is it +not winter now?’ + +And the man answered nothing, but stirred not from the threshold. + +And a bitter wind from the forest came in through the open door, and made +her tremble, and she shivered, and said to him: ‘Wilt thou not close the +door? There cometh a bitter wind into the house, and I am cold.’ + +‘Into a house where a heart is hard cometh there not always a bitter +wind?’ he asked. And the woman answered him nothing, but crept closer to +the fire. + +And after a time she turned round and looked at him, and her eyes were +full of tears. And he came in swiftly, and placed the child in her arms, +and she kissed it, and laid it in a little bed where the youngest of +their own children was lying. And on the morrow the Woodcutter took the +curious cloak of gold and placed it in a great chest, and a chain of +amber that was round the child’s neck his wife took and set it in the +chest also. + + * * * * * + +So the Star-Child was brought up with the children of the Woodcutter, and +sat at the same board with them, and was their playmate. And every year +he became more beautiful to look at, so that all those who dwelt in the +village were filled with wonder, for, while they were swarthy and +black-haired, he was white and delicate as sawn ivory, and his curls were +like the rings of the daffodil. His lips, also, were like the petals of +a red flower, and his eyes were like violets by a river of pure water, +and his body like the narcissus of a field where the mower comes not. + +Yet did his beauty work him evil. For he grew proud, and cruel, and +selfish. The children of the Woodcutter, and the other children of the +village, he despised, saying that they were of mean parentage, while he +was noble, being sprang from a Star, and he made himself master over +them, and called them his servants. No pity had he for the poor, or for +those who were blind or maimed or in any way afflicted, but would cast +stones at them and drive them forth on to the highway, and bid them beg +their bread elsewhere, so that none save the outlaws came twice to that +village to ask for alms. Indeed, he was as one enamoured of beauty, and +would mock at the weakly and ill-favoured, and make jest of them; and +himself he loved, and in summer, when the winds were still, he would lie +by the well in the priest’s orchard and look down at the marvel of his +own face, and laugh for the pleasure he had in his fairness. + +Often did the Woodcutter and his wife chide him, and say: ‘We did not +deal with thee as thou dealest with those who are left desolate, and have +none to succour them. Wherefore art thou so cruel to all who need pity?’ + +Often did the old priest send for him, and seek to teach him the love of +living things, saying to him: ‘The fly is thy brother. Do it no harm. +The wild birds that roam through the forest have their freedom. Snare +them not for thy pleasure. God made the blind-worm and the mole, and +each has its place. Who art thou to bring pain into God’s world? Even +the cattle of the field praise Him.’ + +But the Star-Child heeded not their words, but would frown and flout, and +go back to his companions, and lead them. And his companions followed +him, for he was fair, and fleet of foot, and could dance, and pipe, and +make music. And wherever the Star-Child led them they followed, and +whatever the Star-Child bade them do, that did they. And when he pierced +with a sharp reed the dim eyes of the mole, they laughed, and when he +cast stones at the leper they laughed also. And in all things he ruled +them, and they became hard of heart even as he was. + + * * * * * + +Now there passed one day through the village a poor beggar-woman. Her +garments were torn and ragged, and her feet were bleeding from the rough +road on which she had travelled, and she was in very evil plight. And +being weary she sat her down under a chestnut-tree to rest. + +But when the Star-Child saw her, he said to his companions, ‘See! There +sitteth a foul beggar-woman under that fair and green-leaved tree. Come, +let us drive her hence, for she is ugly and ill-favoured.’ + +So he came near and threw stones at her, and mocked her, and she looked +at him with terror in her eyes, nor did she move her gaze from him. And +when the Woodcutter, who was cleaving logs in a haggard hard by, saw what +the Star-Child was doing, he ran up and rebuked him, and said to him: +‘Surely thou art hard of heart and knowest not mercy, for what evil has +this poor woman done to thee that thou shouldst treat her in this wise?’ + +And the Star-Child grew red with anger, and stamped his foot upon the +ground, and said, ‘Who art thou to question me what I do? I am no son of +thine to do thy bidding.’ + +‘Thou speakest truly,’ answered the Woodcutter, ‘yet did I show thee pity +when I found thee in the forest.’ + +And when the woman heard these words she gave a loud cry, and fell into a +swoon. And the Woodcutter carried her to his own house, and his wife had +care of her, and when she rose up from the swoon into which she had +fallen, they set meat and drink before her, and bade her have comfort. + +But she would neither eat nor drink, but said to the Woodcutter, ‘Didst +thou not say that the child was found in the forest? And was it not ten +years from this day?’ + +And the Woodcutter answered, ‘Yea, it was in the forest that I found him, +and it is ten years from this day.’ + +‘And what signs didst thou find with him?’ she cried. ‘Bare he not upon +his neck a chain of amber? Was not round him a cloak of gold tissue +broidered with stars?’ + +‘Truly,’ answered the Woodcutter, ‘it was even as thou sayest.’ And he +took the cloak and the amber chain from the chest where they lay, and +showed them to her. + +And when she saw them she wept for joy, and said, ‘He is my little son +whom I lost in the forest. I pray thee send for him quickly, for in +search of him have I wandered over the whole world.’ + +So the Woodcutter and his wife went out and called to the Star-Child, and +said to him, ‘Go into the house, and there shalt thou find thy mother, +who is waiting for thee.’ + +So he ran in, filled with wonder and great gladness. But when he saw her +who was waiting there, he laughed scornfully and said, ‘Why, where is my +mother? For I see none here but this vile beggar-woman.’ + +And the woman answered him, ‘I am thy mother.’ + +‘Thou art mad to say so,’ cried the Star-Child angrily. ‘I am no son of +thine, for thou art a beggar, and ugly, and in rags. Therefore get thee +hence, and let me see thy foul face no more.’ + +‘Nay, but thou art indeed my little son, whom I bare in the forest,’ she +cried, and she fell on her knees, and held out her arms to him. ‘The +robbers stole thee from me, and left thee to die,’ she murmured, ‘but I +recognised thee when I saw thee, and the signs also have I recognised, +the cloak of golden tissue and the amber chain. Therefore I pray thee +come with me, for over the whole world have I wandered in search of thee. +Come with me, my son, for I have need of thy love.’ + +But the Star-Child stirred not from his place, but shut the doors of his +heart against her, nor was there any sound heard save the sound of the +woman weeping for pain. + +And at last he spoke to her, and his voice was hard and bitter. ‘If in +very truth thou art my mother,’ he said, ‘it had been better hadst thou +stayed away, and not come here to bring me to shame, seeing that I +thought I was the child of some Star, and not a beggar’s child, as thou +tellest me that I am. Therefore get thee hence, and let me see thee no +more.’ + +‘Alas! my son,’ she cried, ‘wilt thou not kiss me before I go? For I +have suffered much to find thee.’ + +‘Nay,’ said the Star-Child, ‘but thou art too foul to look at, and rather +would I kiss the adder or the toad than thee.’ + +So the woman rose up, and went away into the forest weeping bitterly, and +when the Star-Child saw that she had gone, he was glad, and ran back to +his playmates that he might play with them. + +But when they beheld him coming, they mocked him and said, ‘Why, thou art +as foul as the toad, and as loathsome as the adder. Get thee hence, for +we will not suffer thee to play with us,’ and they drave him out of the +garden. + +And the Star-Child frowned and said to himself, ‘What is this that they +say to me? I will go to the well of water and look into it, and it shall +tell me of my beauty.’ + +So he went to the well of water and looked into it, and lo! his face was +as the face of a toad, and his body was sealed like an adder. And he +flung himself down on the grass and wept, and said to himself, ‘Surely +this has come upon me by reason of my sin. For I have denied my mother, +and driven her away, and been proud, and cruel to her. Wherefore I will +go and seek her through the whole world, nor will I rest till I have +found her.’ + +And there came to him the little daughter of the Woodcutter, and she put +her hand upon his shoulder and said, ‘What doth it matter if thou hast +lost thy comeliness? Stay with us, and I will not mock at thee.’ + +And he said to her, ‘Nay, but I have been cruel to my mother, and as a +punishment has this evil been sent to me. Wherefore I must go hence, and +wander through the world till I find her, and she give me her +forgiveness.’ + +So he ran away into the forest and called out to his mother to come to +him, but there was no answer. All day long he called to her, and, when +the sun set he lay down to sleep on a bed of leaves, and the birds and +the animals fled from him, for they remembered his cruelty, and he was +alone save for the toad that watched him, and the slow adder that crawled +past. + +And in the morning he rose up, and plucked some bitter berries from the +trees and ate them, and took his way through the great wood, weeping +sorely. And of everything that he met he made inquiry if perchance they +had seen his mother. + +He said to the Mole, ‘Thou canst go beneath the earth. Tell me, is my +mother there?’ + +And the Mole answered, ‘Thou hast blinded mine eyes. How should I know?’ + +He said to the Linnet, ‘Thou canst fly over the tops of the tall trees, +and canst see the whole world. Tell me, canst thou see my mother?’ + +And the Linnet answered, ‘Thou hast clipt my wings for thy pleasure. How +should I fly?’ + +And to the little Squirrel who lived in the fir-tree, and was lonely, he +said, ‘Where is my mother?’ + +And the Squirrel answered, ‘Thou hast slain mine. Dost thou seek to slay +thine also?’ + +And the Star-Child wept and bowed his head, and prayed forgiveness of +God’s things, and went on through the forest, seeking for the +beggar-woman. And on the third day he came to the other side of the +forest and went down into the plain. + +And when he passed through the villages the children mocked him, and +threw stones at him, and the carlots would not suffer him even to sleep +in the byres lest he might bring mildew on the stored corn, so foul was +he to look at, and their hired men drave him away, and there was none who +had pity on him. Nor could he hear anywhere of the beggar-woman who was +his mother, though for the space of three years he wandered over the +world, and often seemed to see her on the road in front of him, and would +call to her, and run after her till the sharp flints made his feet to +bleed. But overtake her he could not, and those who dwelt by the way did +ever deny that they had seen her, or any like to her, and they made sport +of his sorrow. + +For the space of three years he wandered over the world, and in the world +there was neither love nor loving-kindness nor charity for him, but it +was even such a world as he had made for himself in the days of his great +pride. + + * * * * * + +And one evening he came to the gate of a strong-walled city that stood by +a river, and, weary and footsore though he was, he made to enter in. But +the soldiers who stood on guard dropped their halberts across the +entrance, and said roughly to him, ‘What is thy business in the city?’ + +‘I am seeking for my mother,’ he answered, ‘and I pray ye to suffer me to +pass, for it may be that she is in this city.’ + +But they mocked at him, and one of them wagged a black beard, and set +down his shield and cried, ‘Of a truth, thy mother will not be merry when +she sees thee, for thou art more ill-favoured than the toad of the marsh, +or the adder that crawls in the fen. Get thee gone. Get thee gone. Thy +mother dwells not in this city.’ + +And another, who held a yellow banner in his hand, said to him, ‘Who is +thy mother, and wherefore art thou seeking for her?’ + +And he answered, ‘My mother is a beggar even as I am, and I have treated +her evilly, and I pray ye to suffer me to pass that she may give me her +forgiveness, if it be that she tarrieth in this city.’ But they would +not, and pricked him with their spears. + +And, as he turned away weeping, one whose armour was inlaid with gilt +flowers, and on whose helmet couched a lion that had wings, came up and +made inquiry of the soldiers who it was who had sought entrance. And +they said to him, ‘It is a beggar and the child of a beggar, and we have +driven him away.’ + +‘Nay,’ he cried, laughing, ‘but we will sell the foul thing for a slave, +and his price shall be the price of a bowl of sweet wine.’ + +And an old and evil-visaged man who was passing by called out, and said, +‘I will buy him for that price,’ and, when he had paid the price, he took +the Star-Child by the hand and led him into the city. + +And after that they had gone through many streets they came to a little +door that was set in a wall that was covered with a pomegranate tree. +And the old man touched the door with a ring of graved jasper and it +opened, and they went down five steps of brass into a garden filled with +black poppies and green jars of burnt clay. And the old man took then +from his turban a scarf of figured silk, and bound with it the eyes of +the Star-Child, and drave him in front of him. And when the scarf was +taken off his eyes, the Star-Child found himself in a dungeon, that was +lit by a lantern of horn. + +And the old man set before him some mouldy bread on a trencher and said, +‘Eat,’ and some brackish water in a cup and said, ‘Drink,’ and when he +had eaten and drunk, the old man went out, locking the door behind him +and fastening it with an iron chain. + + * * * * * + +And on the morrow the old man, who was indeed the subtlest of the +magicians of Libya and had learned his art from one who dwelt in the +tombs of the Nile, came in to him and frowned at him, and said, ‘In a +wood that is nigh to the gate of this city of Giaours there are three +pieces of gold. One is of white gold, and another is of yellow gold, and +the gold of the third one is red. To-day thou shalt bring me the piece +of white gold, and if thou bringest it not back, I will beat thee with a +hundred stripes. Get thee away quickly, and at sunset I will be waiting +for thee at the door of the garden. See that thou bringest the white +gold, or it shall go ill with thee, for thou art my slave, and I have +bought thee for the price of a bowl of sweet wine.’ And he bound the +eyes of the Star-Child with the scarf of figured silk, and led him +through the house, and through the garden of poppies, and up the five +steps of brass. And having opened the little door with his ring he set +him in the street. + + * * * * * + +And the Star-Child went out of the gate of the city, and came to the wood +of which the Magician had spoken to him. + +Now this wood was very fair to look at from without, and seemed full of +singing birds and of sweet-scented flowers, and the Star-Child entered it +gladly. Yet did its beauty profit him little, for wherever he went harsh +briars and thorns shot up from the ground and encompassed him, and evil +nettles stung him, and the thistle pierced him with her daggers, so that +he was in sore distress. Nor could he anywhere find the piece of white +gold of which the Magician had spoken, though he sought for it from morn +to noon, and from noon to sunset. And at sunset he set his face towards +home, weeping bitterly, for he knew what fate was in store for him. + +But when he had reached the outskirts of the wood, he heard from a +thicket a cry as of some one in pain. And forgetting his own sorrow he +ran back to the place, and saw there a little Hare caught in a trap that +some hunter had set for it. + +And the Star-Child had pity on it, and released it, and said to it, ‘I am +myself but a slave, yet may I give thee thy freedom.’ + +And the Hare answered him, and said: ‘Surely thou hast given me freedom, +and what shall I give thee in return?’ + +And the Star-Child said to it, ‘I am seeking for a piece of white gold, +nor can I anywhere find it, and if I bring it not to my master he will +beat me.’ + +‘Come thou with me,’ said the Hare, ‘and I will lead thee to it, for I +know where it is hidden, and for what purpose.’ + +So the Star-Child went with the Hare, and lo! in the cleft of a great +oak-tree he saw the piece of white gold that he was seeking. And he was +filled with joy, and seized it, and said to the Hare, ‘The service that I +did to thee thou hast rendered back again many times over, and the +kindness that I showed thee thou hast repaid a hundred-fold.’ + +‘Nay,’ answered the Hare, ‘but as thou dealt with me, so I did deal with +thee,’ and it ran away swiftly, and the Star-Child went towards the city. + +Now at the gate of the city there was seated one who was a leper. Over +his face hung a cowl of grey linen, and through the eyelets his eyes +gleamed like red coals. And when he saw the Star-Child coming, he struck +upon a wooden bowl, and clattered his bell, and called out to him, and +said, ‘Give me a piece of money, or I must die of hunger. For they have +thrust me out of the city, and there is no one who has pity on me.’ + +‘Alas!’ cried the Star-Child, ‘I have but one piece of money in my +wallet, and if I bring it not to my master he will beat me, for I am his +slave.’ + +But the leper entreated him, and prayed of him, till the Star-Child had +pity, and gave him the piece of white gold. + + * * * * * + +And when he came to the Magician’s house, the Magician opened to him, and +brought him in, and said to him, ‘Hast thou the piece of white gold?’ +And the Star-Child answered, ‘I have it not.’ So the Magician fell upon +him, and beat him, and set before him an empty trencher, and said, ‘Eat,’ +and an empty cup, and said, ‘Drink,’ and flung him again into the +dungeon. + +And on the morrow the Magician came to him, and said, ‘If to-day thou +bringest me not the piece of yellow gold, I will surely keep thee as my +slave, and give thee three hundred stripes.’ + +So the Star-Child went to the wood, and all day long he searched for the +piece of yellow gold, but nowhere could he find it. And at sunset he sat +him down and began to weep, and as he was weeping there came to him the +little Hare that he had rescued from the trap. + +And the Hare said to him, ‘Why art thou weeping? And what dost thou seek +in the wood?’ + +And the Star-Child answered, ‘I am seeking for a piece of yellow gold +that is hidden here, and if I find it not my master will beat me, and +keep me as a slave.’ + +‘Follow me,’ cried the Hare, and it ran through the wood till it came to +a pool of water. And at the bottom of the pool the piece of yellow gold +was lying. + +‘How shall I thank thee?’ said the Star-Child, ‘for lo! this is the +second time that you have succoured me.’ + +‘Nay, but thou hadst pity on me first,’ said the Hare, and it ran away +swiftly. + +And the Star-Child took the piece of yellow gold, and put it in his +wallet, and hurried to the city. But the leper saw him coming, and ran +to meet him, and knelt down and cried, ‘Give me a piece of money or I +shall die of hunger.’ + +And the Star-Child said to him, ‘I have in my wallet but one piece of +yellow gold, and if I bring it not to my master he will beat me and keep +me as his slave.’ + +But the leper entreated him sore, so that the Star-Child had pity on him, +and gave him the piece of yellow gold. + +And when he came to the Magician’s house, the Magician opened to him, and +brought him in, and said to him, ‘Hast thou the piece of yellow gold?’ +And the Star-Child said to him, ‘I have it not.’ So the Magician fell +upon him, and beat him, and loaded him with chains, and cast him again +into the dungeon. + +And on the morrow the Magician came to him, and said, ‘If to-day thou +bringest me the piece of red gold I will set thee free, but if thou +bringest it not I will surely slay thee.’ + +So the Star-Child went to the wood, and all day long he searched for the +piece of red gold, but nowhere could he find it. And at evening he sat +him down and wept, and as he was weeping there came to him the little +Hare. + +And the Hare said to him, ‘The piece of red gold that thou seekest is in +the cavern that is behind thee. Therefore weep no more but be glad.’ + +‘How shall I reward thee?’ cried the Star-Child, ‘for lo! this is the +third time thou hast succoured me.’ + +‘Nay, but thou hadst pity on me first,’ said the Hare, and it ran away +swiftly. + +And the Star-Child entered the cavern, and in its farthest corner he +found the piece of red gold. So he put it in his wallet, and hurried to +the city. And the leper seeing him coming, stood in the centre of the +road, and cried out, and said to him, ‘Give me the piece of red money, or +I must die,’ and the Star-Child had pity on him again, and gave him the +piece of red gold, saying, ‘Thy need is greater than mine.’ Yet was his +heart heavy, for he knew what evil fate awaited him. + + * * * * * + +But lo! as he passed through the gate of the city, the guards bowed down +and made obeisance to him, saying, ‘How beautiful is our lord!’ and a +crowd of citizens followed him, and cried out, ‘Surely there is none so +beautiful in the whole world!’ so that the Star-Child wept, and said to +himself, ‘They are mocking me, and making light of my misery.’ And so +large was the concourse of the people, that he lost the threads of his +way, and found himself at last in a great square, in which there was a +palace of a King. + +And the gate of the palace opened, and the priests and the high officers +of the city ran forth to meet him, and they abased themselves before him, +and said, ‘Thou art our lord for whom we have been waiting, and the son +of our King.’ + +And the Star-Child answered them and said, ‘I am no king’s son, but the +child of a poor beggar-woman. And how say ye that I am beautiful, for I +know that I am evil to look at?’ + +Then he, whose armour was inlaid with gilt flowers, and on whose helmet +crouched a lion that had wings, held up a shield, and cried, ‘How saith +my lord that he is not beautiful?’ + +And the Star-Child looked, and lo! his face was even as it had been, and +his comeliness had come back to him, and he saw that in his eyes which he +had not seen there before. + +And the priests and the high officers knelt down and said to him, ‘It was +prophesied of old that on this day should come he who was to rule over +us. Therefore, let our lord take this crown and this sceptre, and be in +his justice and mercy our King over us.’ + +But he said to them, ‘I am not worthy, for I have denied the mother who +bare me, nor may I rest till I have found her, and known her forgiveness. +Therefore, let me go, for I must wander again over the world, and may not +tarry here, though ye bring me the crown and the sceptre.’ And as he +spake he turned his face from them towards the street that led to the +gate of the city, and lo! amongst the crowd that pressed round the +soldiers, he saw the beggar-woman who was his mother, and at her side +stood the leper, who had sat by the road. + +And a cry of joy broke from his lips, and he ran over, and kneeling down +he kissed the wounds on his mother’s feet, and wet them with his tears. +He bowed his head in the dust, and sobbing, as one whose heart might +break, he said to her: ‘Mother, I denied thee in the hour of my pride. +Accept me in the hour of my humility. Mother, I gave thee hatred. Do +thou give me love. Mother, I rejected thee. Receive thy child now.’ +But the beggar-woman answered him not a word. + +And he reached out his hands, and clasped the white feet of the leper, +and said to him: ‘Thrice did I give thee of my mercy. Bid my mother +speak to me once.’ But the leper answered him not a word. + +And he sobbed again and said: ‘Mother, my suffering is greater than I can +bear. Give me thy forgiveness, and let me go back to the forest.’ And +the beggar-woman put her hand on his head, and said to him, ‘Rise,’ and +the leper put his hand on his head, and said to him, ‘Rise,’ also. + +And he rose up from his feet, and looked at them, and lo! they were a +King and a Queen. + +And the Queen said to him, ‘This is thy father whom thou hast succoured.’ + +And the King said, ‘This is thy mother whose feet thou hast washed with +thy tears.’ And they fell on his neck and kissed him, and brought him +into the palace and clothed him in fair raiment, and set the crown upon +his head, and the sceptre in his hand, and over the city that stood by +the river he ruled, and was its lord. Much justice and mercy did he show +to all, and the evil Magician he banished, and to the Woodcutter and his +wife he sent many rich gifts, and to their children he gave high honour. +Nor would he suffer any to be cruel to bird or beast, but taught love and +loving-kindness and charity, and to the poor he gave bread, and to the +naked he gave raiment, and there was peace and plenty in the land. + +Yet ruled he not long, so great had been his suffering, and so bitter the +fire of his testing, for after the space of three years he died. And he +who came after him ruled evilly. + + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A HOUSE OF POMEGRANATES*** + + +******* This file should be named 873-0.txt or 873-0.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/8/7/873 + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will +be renamed. + +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United +States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part +of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm +concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, +and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive +specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this +eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook +for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, +performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given +away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks +not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the +trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. + +START: FULL LICENSE + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full +Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at +www.gutenberg.org/license. + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or +destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your +possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a +Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound +by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the +person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph +1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this +agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the +Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection +of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual +works in the collection are in the public domain in the United +States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the +United States and you are located in the United States, we do not +claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, +displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as +all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope +that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting +free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm +works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the +Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily +comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the +same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when +you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are +in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, +check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this +agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, +distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any +other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no +representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any +country outside the United States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other +immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear +prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work +on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, +performed, viewed, copied or distributed: + + This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and + most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no + restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it + under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this + eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the + United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you + are located before using this ebook. + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is +derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not +contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the +copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in +the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are +redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply +either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or +obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm +trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any +additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms +will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works +posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the +beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including +any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access +to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format +other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official +version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site +(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense +to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means +of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain +Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the +full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +provided that + +* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed + to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has + agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project + Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid + within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are + legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty + payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project + Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in + Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg + Literary Archive Foundation." + +* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all + copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue + all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm + works. + +* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of + any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of + receipt of the work. + +* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than +are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing +from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The +Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm +trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project +Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may +contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate +or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other +intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or +other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or +cannot be read by your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium +with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you +with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in +lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person +or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second +opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If +the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing +without further opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO +OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT +LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of +damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement +violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the +agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or +limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or +unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the +remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in +accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the +production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, +including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of +the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this +or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or +additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any +Defect you cause. + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of +computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It +exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations +from people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future +generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see +Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at +www.gutenberg.org + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by +U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the +mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its +volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous +locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt +Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to +date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and +official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact + +For additional contact information: + + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND +DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular +state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To +donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project +Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be +freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and +distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of +volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in +the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not +necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper +edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search +facility: www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + diff --git a/873-0.zip b/873-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5afaba6 --- /dev/null +++ b/873-0.zip diff --git a/873-h.zip b/873-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3f0f166 --- /dev/null +++ b/873-h.zip diff --git a/873-h/873-h.htm b/873-h/873-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cb39ebb --- /dev/null +++ b/873-h/873-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,3870 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII" /> +<title>A House of Pomegranates, by Oscar Wilde</title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + P { margin-top: .75em; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + P.gutsumm { margin-left: 5%;} + P.poetry {margin-left: 3%; } + .GutSmall { font-size: 0.7em; } + H1, H2 { + text-align: center; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + } + H3, H4, H5 { + text-align: center; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + } + BODY{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + table { border-collapse: collapse; } +table {margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;} + td { vertical-align: top; border: 1px solid black;} + td p { margin: 0.2em; } + .blkquot {margin-left: 4em; margin-right: 4em;} /* block indent */ + + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + + .pagenum {position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: small; + text-align: right; + font-weight: normal; + color: gray; + } + img { border: none; } + img.dc { float: left; width: 50px; height: 50px; } + p.gutindent { margin-left: 2em; } + div.gapspace { height: 0.8em; } + div.gapline { height: 0.8em; width: 100%; border-top: 1px solid;} + div.gapmediumline { height: 0.3em; width: 40%; margin-left:30%; + border-top: 1px solid; } + div.gapmediumdoubleline { height: 0.3em; width: 40%; margin-left:30%; + border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} + div.gapshortdoubleline { height: 0.3em; width: 20%; + margin-left: 40%; border-top: 1px solid; + border-bottom: 1px solid; } + div.gapdoubleline { height: 0.3em; width: 50%; + margin-left: 25%; border-top: 1px solid; + border-bottom: 1px solid;} + div.gapshortline { height: 0.3em; width: 20%; margin-left:40%; + border-top: 1px solid; } + .citation {vertical-align: super; + font-size: .8em; + text-decoration: none;} + img.floatleft { float: left; + margin-right: 1em; + margin-top: 0.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; } + img.floatright { float: right; + margin-left: 1em; margin-top: 0.5em; + margin-bottom: 0.5em; } + img.clearcenter {display: block; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0.5em; + margin-bottom: 0.5em} + --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> +</head> +<body> +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg eBook, A House of Pomegranates, by Oscar Wilde + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most +other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of +the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at +www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have +to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. + + + + +Title: A House of Pomegranates + + +Author: Oscar Wilde + + + +Release Date: October 26, 2014 [eBook #873] +[This file was first posted on April 8, 1997] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A HOUSE OF POMEGRANATES*** +</pre> +<p>Transcribed from the 1915 Methuen and Co. edition by David +Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org</p> +<p style="text-align: center"> +<a href="images/coverb.jpg"> +<img alt= +"Book cover" +title= +"Book cover" + src="images/covers.jpg" /> +</a></p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p style="text-align: center">TO<br /> +CONSTANCE MARY WILDE</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<h1>A HOUSE<br /> +OF POMEGRANATES</h1> +<p style="text-align: center"><span class="GutSmall">BY</span><br +/> +OSCAR WILDE</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p style="text-align: center">METHUEN & CO. LTD.<br /> +36 ESSEX STREET W.C.<br /> +LONDON</p> +<p style="text-align: center"><span class="GutSmall"><i>Seventh +Edition</i></span></p> +<table> +<tr> +<td><p><i>First Published</i></p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: right">1891</p> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><p><i>First Issued by Methuen and Co.</i> (<i>Limited +Editions on Handmade Paper and Japanese Vellum</i>)</p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: right">1908</p> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><p><i>Third Edition</i> (<i>F’cap.</i> 8<i>vo</i>)</p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: right">1909</p> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><p><i>Fourth Edition</i> ( ,, )</p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: right">1911</p> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><p><i>Fifth Edition</i> ( ,, )</p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: right">1913</p> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><p><i>Sixth Edition</i> (<i>Crown</i> 4<i>to</i>, +<i>Illustrated by Jessie King</i>)</p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: right">1915</p> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><p><i>Seventh Edition</i> (<i>F’cap.</i> +8<i>vo</i>)</p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: right">1915</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> +<table> +<tr> +<td><p> </p> +</td> +<td><p><span class="GutSmall">PAGE</span></p> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><p><span class="smcap">The Young King</span></p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a +href="#page1">1</a></span></p> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><p><span class="smcap">The Birthday of the Infanta</span></p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a +href="#page31">31</a></span></p> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><p><span class="smcap">The Fisherman and his Soul</span></p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a +href="#page73">73</a></span></p> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><p><span class="smcap">The Star-child</span></p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a +href="#page147">147</a></span></p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +<h2><a name="page1"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1</span>THE +YOUNG KING</h2> +<p style="text-align: center">TO<br /> +MARGARET LADY BROOKE<br /> +<span class="GutSmall">[THE RANEE OF SARAWAK]</span></p> +<p><span class="smcap">It</span> was the night before the day +fixed for his coronation, and the young King was sitting alone in +his beautiful chamber. His courtiers had all taken their +leave of him, bowing their heads to the ground, according to the +ceremonious usage of the day, and had retired to the Great Hall +of the Palace, to receive a few last lessons from the Professor +of Etiquette; there being some of them who had still quite +natural manners, which in a courtier is, I need hardly say, a +very grave offence.</p> +<p>The lad—for he was only a lad, being but sixteen years +of age—was not sorry at their departure, and had flung +himself back with a deep sigh of relief on the soft cushions of +his embroidered couch, lying there, wild-eyed and open-mouthed, +like a brown woodland Faun, or some young animal of the forest +newly snared by the hunters.</p> +<p>And, indeed, it was the hunters who had found him, coming upon +him almost by chance as, bare-limbed and pipe in hand, he was +following the flock of the poor goatherd who had brought him up, +and whose son he had always fancied himself to be. The +child of the old King’s only daughter by a secret marriage +with one much beneath her in station—a stranger, some said, +who, by the wonderful magic of his lute-playing, had made the +young Princess love him; while others spoke of an artist from +Rimini, to whom the Princess had shown much, perhaps too much +honour, and who had suddenly disappeared from the city, leaving +his work in the Cathedral unfinished—he had been, when but +a week old, stolen away from his mother’s side, as she +slept, and given into the charge of a common peasant and his +wife, who were without children of their own, and lived in a +remote part of the forest, more than a day’s ride from the +town. Grief, or the plague, as the court physician stated, +or, as some suggested, a swift Italian poison administered in a +cup of spiced wine, slew, within an hour of her wakening, the +white girl who had given him birth, and as the trusty messenger +who bare the child across his saddle-bow stooped from his weary +horse and knocked at the rude door of the goatherd’s hut, +the body of the Princess was being lowered into an open grave +that had been dug in a deserted churchyard, beyond the city +gates, a grave where it was said that another body was also +lying, that of a young man of marvellous and foreign beauty, +whose hands were tied behind him with a knotted cord, and whose +breast was stabbed with many red wounds.</p> +<p>Such, at least, was the story that men whispered to each +other. Certain it was that the old King, when on his +deathbed, whether moved by remorse for his great sin, or merely +desiring that the kingdom should not pass away from his line, had +had the lad sent for, and, in the presence of the Council, had +acknowledged him as his heir.</p> +<p>And it seems that from the very first moment of his +recognition he had shown signs of that strange passion for beauty +that was destined to have so great an influence over his +life. Those who accompanied him to the suite of rooms set +apart for his service, often spoke of the cry of pleasure that +broke from his lips when he saw the delicate raiment and rich +jewels that had been prepared for him, and of the almost fierce +joy with which he flung aside his rough leathern tunic and coarse +sheepskin cloak. He missed, indeed, at times the fine +freedom of his forest life, and was always apt to chafe at the +tedious Court ceremonies that occupied so much of each day, but +the wonderful palace—<i>Joyeuse</i>, as they called +it—of which he now found himself lord, seemed to him to be +a new world fresh-fashioned for his delight; and as soon as he +could escape from the council-board or audience-chamber, he would +run down the great staircase, with its lions of gilt bronze and +its steps of bright porphyry, and wander from room to room, and +from corridor to corridor, like one who was seeking to find in +beauty an anodyne from pain, a sort of restoration from +sickness.</p> +<p>Upon these journeys of discovery, as he would call +them—and, indeed, they were to him real voyages through a +marvellous land, he would sometimes be accompanied by the slim, +fair-haired Court pages, with their floating mantles, and gay +fluttering ribands; but more often he would be alone, feeling +through a certain quick instinct, which was almost a divination, +that the secrets of art are best learned in secret, and that +Beauty, like Wisdom, loves the lonely worshipper.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>Many curious stories were related about him at this +period. It was said that a stout Burgo-master, who had come +to deliver a florid oratorical address on behalf of the citizens +of the town, had caught sight of him kneeling in real adoration +before a great picture that had just been brought from Venice, +and that seemed to herald the worship of some new gods. On +another occasion he had been missed for several hours, and after +a lengthened search had been discovered in a little chamber in +one of the northern turrets of the palace gazing, as one in a +trance, at a Greek gem carved with the figure of Adonis. He +had been seen, so the tale ran, pressing his warm lips to the +marble brow of an antique statue that had been discovered in the +bed of the river on the occasion of the building of the stone +bridge, and was inscribed with the name of the Bithynian slave of +Hadrian. He had passed a whole night in noting the effect +of the moonlight on a silver image of Endymion.</p> +<p>All rare and costly materials had certainly a great +fascination for him, and in his eagerness to procure them he had +sent away many merchants, some to traffic for amber with the +rough fisher-folk of the north seas, some to Egypt to look for +that curious green turquoise which is found only in the tombs of +kings, and is said to possess magical properties, some to Persia +for silken carpets and painted pottery, and others to India to +buy gauze and stained ivory, moonstones and bracelets of jade, +sandal-wood and blue enamel and shawls of fine wool.</p> +<p>But what had occupied him most was the robe he was to wear at +his coronation, the robe of tissued gold, and the ruby-studded +crown, and the sceptre with its rows and rings of pearls. +Indeed, it was of this that he was thinking to-night, as he lay +back on his luxurious couch, watching the great pinewood log that +was burning itself out on the open hearth. The designs, +which were from the hands of the most famous artists of the time, +had been submitted to him many months before, and he had given +orders that the artificers were to toil night and day to carry +them out, and that the whole world was to be searched for jewels +that would be worthy of their work. He saw himself in fancy +standing at the high altar of the cathedral in the fair raiment +of a King, and a smile played and lingered about his boyish lips, +and lit up with a bright lustre his dark woodland eyes.</p> +<p>After some time he rose from his seat, and leaning against the +carved penthouse of the chimney, looked round at the dimly-lit +room. The walls were hung with rich tapestries representing +the Triumph of Beauty. A large press, inlaid with agate and +lapis-lazuli, filled one corner, and facing the window stood a +curiously wrought cabinet with lacquer panels of powdered and +mosaiced gold, on which were placed some delicate goblets of +Venetian glass, and a cup of dark-veined onyx. Pale poppies +were broidered on the silk coverlet of the bed, as though they +had fallen from the tired hands of sleep, and tall reeds of +fluted ivory bare up the velvet canopy, from which great tufts of +ostrich plumes sprang, like white foam, to the pallid silver of +the fretted ceiling. A laughing Narcissus in green bronze +held a polished mirror above its head. On the table stood a +flat bowl of amethyst.</p> +<p>Outside he could see the huge dome of the cathedral, looming +like a bubble over the shadowy houses, and the weary sentinels +pacing up and down on the misty terrace by the river. Far +away, in an orchard, a nightingale was singing. A faint +perfume of jasmine came through the open window. He brushed +his brown curls back from his forehead, and taking up a lute, let +his fingers stray across the cords. His heavy eyelids +drooped, and a strange languor came over him. Never before +had he felt so keenly, or with such exquisite joy, the magic and +the mystery of beautiful things.</p> +<p>When midnight sounded from the clock-tower he touched a bell, +and his pages entered and disrobed him with much ceremony, +pouring rose-water over his hands, and strewing flowers on his +pillow. A few moments after that they had left the room, he +fell asleep.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>And as he slept he dreamed a dream, and this was his +dream.</p> +<p>He thought that he was standing in a long, low attic, amidst +the whir and clatter of many looms. The meagre daylight +peered in through the grated windows, and showed him the gaunt +figures of the weavers bending over their cases. Pale, +sickly-looking children were crouched on the huge +crossbeams. As the shuttles dashed through the warp they +lifted up the heavy battens, and when the shuttles stopped they +let the battens fall and pressed the threads together. +Their faces were pinched with famine, and their thin hands shook +and trembled. Some haggard women were seated at a table +sewing. A horrible odour filled the place. The air +was foul and heavy, and the walls dripped and streamed with +damp.</p> +<p>The young King went over to one of the weavers, and stood by +him and watched him.</p> +<p>And the weaver looked at him angrily, and said, ‘Why art +thou watching me? Art thou a spy set on us by our +master?’</p> +<p>‘Who is thy master?’ asked the young King.</p> +<p>‘Our master!’ cried the weaver, bitterly. +‘He is a man like myself. Indeed, there is but this +difference between us—that he wears fine clothes while I go +in rags, and that while I am weak from hunger he suffers not a +little from overfeeding.’</p> +<p>‘The land is free,’ said the young King, +‘and thou art no man’s slave.’</p> +<p>‘In war,’ answered the weaver, ‘the strong +make slaves of the weak, and in peace the rich make slaves of the +poor. We must work to live, and they give us such mean +wages that we die. We toil for them all day long, and they +heap up gold in their coffers, and our children fade away before +their time, and the faces of those we love become hard and +evil. We tread out the grapes, and another drinks the +wine. We sow the corn, and our own board is empty. We +have chains, though no eye beholds them; and are slaves, though +men call us free.’</p> +<p>‘Is it so with all?’ he asked,</p> +<p>‘It is so with all,’ answered the weaver, +‘with the young as well as with the old, with the women as +well as with the men, with the little children as well as with +those who are stricken in years. The merchants grind us +down, and we must needs do their bidding. The priest rides +by and tells his beads, and no man has care of us. Through +our sunless lanes creeps Poverty with her hungry eyes, and Sin +with his sodden face follows close behind her. Misery wakes +us in the morning, and Shame sits with us at night. But +what are these things to thee? Thou art not one of +us. Thy face is too happy.’ And he turned away +scowling, and threw the shuttle across the loom, and the young +King saw that it was threaded with a thread of gold.</p> +<p>And a great terror seized upon him, and he said to the weaver, +‘What robe is this that thou art weaving?’</p> +<p>‘It is the robe for the coronation of the young +King,’ he answered; ‘what is that to thee?’</p> +<p>And the young King gave a loud cry and woke, and lo! he was in +his own chamber, and through the window he saw the great +honey-coloured moon hanging in the dusky air.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>And he fell asleep again and dreamed, and this was his +dream.</p> +<p>He thought that he was lying on the deck of a huge galley that +was being rowed by a hundred slaves. On a carpet by his +side the master of the galley was seated. He was black as +ebony, and his turban was of crimson silk. Great earrings +of silver dragged down the thick lobes of his ears, and in his +hands he had a pair of ivory scales.</p> +<p>The slaves were naked, but for a ragged loin-cloth, and each +man was chained to his neighbour. The hot sun beat brightly +upon them, and the negroes ran up and down the gangway and lashed +them with whips of hide. They stretched out their lean arms +and pulled the heavy oars through the water. The salt spray +flew from the blades.</p> +<p>At last they reached a little bay, and began to take +soundings. A light wind blew from the shore, and covered +the deck and the great lateen sail with a fine red dust. +Three Arabs mounted on wild asses rode out and threw spears at +them. The master of the galley took a painted bow in his +hand and shot one of them in the throat. He fell heavily +into the surf, and his companions galloped away. A woman +wrapped in a yellow veil followed slowly on a camel, looking back +now and then at the dead body.</p> +<p>As soon as they had cast anchor and hauled down the sail, the +negroes went into the hold and brought up a long rope-ladder, +heavily weighted with lead. The master of the galley threw +it over the side, making the ends fast to two iron +stanchions. Then the negroes seized the youngest of the +slaves and knocked his gyves off, and filled his nostrils and his +ears with wax, and tied a big stone round his waist. He +crept wearily down the ladder, and disappeared into the +sea. A few bubbles rose where he sank. Some of the +other slaves peered curiously over the side. At the prow of +the galley sat a shark-charmer, beating monotonously upon a +drum.</p> +<p>After some time the diver rose up out of the water, and clung +panting to the ladder with a pearl in his right hand. The +negroes seized it from him, and thrust him back. The slaves +fell asleep over their oars.</p> +<p>Again and again he came up, and each time that he did so he +brought with him a beautiful pearl. The master of the +galley weighed them, and put them into a little bag of green +leather.</p> +<p>The young King tried to speak, but his tongue seemed to cleave +to the roof of his mouth, and his lips refused to move. The +negroes chattered to each other, and began to quarrel over a +string of bright beads. Two cranes flew round and round the +vessel.</p> +<p>Then the diver came up for the last time, and the pearl that +he brought with him was fairer than all the pearls of Ormuz, for +it was shaped like the full moon, and whiter than the morning +star. But his face was strangely pale, and as he fell upon +the deck the blood gushed from his ears and nostrils. He +quivered for a little, and then he was still. The negroes +shrugged their shoulders, and threw the body overboard.</p> +<p>And the master of the galley laughed, and, reaching out, he +took the pearl, and when he saw it he pressed it to his forehead +and bowed. ‘It shall be,’ he said, ‘for +the sceptre of the young King,’ and he made a sign to the +negroes to draw up the anchor.</p> +<p>And when the young King heard this he gave a great cry, and +woke, and through the window he saw the long grey fingers of the +dawn clutching at the fading stars.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>And he fell asleep again, and dreamed, and this was his +dream.</p> +<p>He thought that he was wandering through a dim wood, hung with +strange fruits and with beautiful poisonous flowers. The +adders hissed at him as he went by, and the bright parrots flew +screaming from branch to branch. Huge tortoises lay asleep +upon the hot mud. The trees were full of apes and +peacocks.</p> +<p>On and on he went, till he reached the outskirts of the wood, +and there he saw an immense multitude of men toiling in the bed +of a dried-up river. They swarmed up the crag like +ants. They dug deep pits in the ground and went down into +them. Some of them cleft the rocks with great axes; others +grabbled in the sand.</p> +<p>They tore up the cactus by its roots, and trampled on the +scarlet blossoms. They hurried about, calling to each +other, and no man was idle.</p> +<p>From the darkness of a cavern Death and Avarice watched them, +and Death said, ‘I am weary; give me a third of them and +let me go.’ But Avarice shook her head. +‘They are my servants,’ she answered.</p> +<p>And Death said to her, ‘What hast thou in thy +hand?’</p> +<p>‘I have three grains of corn,’ she answered; +‘what is that to thee?’</p> +<p>‘Give me one of them,’ cried Death, ‘to +plant in my garden; only one of them, and I will go +away.’</p> +<p>‘I will not give thee anything,’ said Avarice, and +she hid her hand in the fold of her raiment.</p> +<p>And Death laughed, and took a cup, and dipped it into a pool +of water, and out of the cup rose Ague. She passed through +the great multitude, and a third of them lay dead. A cold +mist followed her, and the water-snakes ran by her side.</p> +<p>And when Avarice saw that a third of the multitude was dead +she beat her breast and wept. She beat her barren bosom, +and cried aloud. ‘Thou hast slain a third of my +servants,’ she cried, ‘get thee gone. There is +war in the mountains of Tartary, and the kings of each side are +calling to thee. The Afghans have slain the black ox, and +are marching to battle. They have beaten upon their shields +with their spears, and have put on their helmets of iron. +What is my valley to thee, that thou shouldst tarry in it? +Get thee gone, and come here no more.’</p> +<p>‘Nay,’ answered Death, ‘but till thou hast +given me a grain of corn I will not go.’</p> +<p>But Avarice shut her hand, and clenched her teeth. +‘I will not give thee anything,’ she muttered.</p> +<p>And Death laughed, and took up a black stone, and threw it +into the forest, and out of a thicket of wild hemlock came Fever +in a robe of flame. She passed through the multitude, and +touched them, and each man that she touched died. The grass +withered beneath her feet as she walked.</p> +<p>And Avarice shuddered, and put ashes on her head. +‘Thou art cruel,’ she cried; ‘thou art +cruel. There is famine in the walled cities of India, and +the cisterns of Samarcand have run dry. There is famine in +the walled cities of Egypt, and the locusts have come up from the +desert. The Nile has not overflowed its banks, and the +priests have cursed Isis and Osiris. Get thee gone to those +who need thee, and leave me my servants.’</p> +<p>‘Nay,’ answered Death, ‘but till thou hast +given me a grain of corn I will not go.’</p> +<p>‘I will not give thee anything,’ said Avarice.</p> +<p>And Death laughed again, and he whistled through his fingers, +and a woman came flying through the air. Plague was written +upon her forehead, and a crowd of lean vultures wheeled round +her. She covered the valley with her wings, and no man was +left alive.</p> +<p>And Avarice fled shrieking through the forest, and Death +leaped upon his red horse and galloped away, and his galloping +was faster than the wind.</p> +<p>And out of the slime at the bottom of the valley crept dragons +and horrible things with scales, and the jackals came trotting +along the sand, sniffing up the air with their nostrils.</p> +<p>And the young King wept, and said: ‘Who were these men, +and for what were they seeking?’</p> +<p>‘For rubies for a king’s crown,’ answered +one who stood behind him.</p> +<p>And the young King started, and, turning round, he saw a man +habited as a pilgrim and holding in his hand a mirror of +silver.</p> +<p>And he grew pale, and said: ‘For what king?’</p> +<p>And the pilgrim answered: ‘Look in this mirror, and thou +shalt see him.’</p> +<p>And he looked in the mirror, and, seeing his own face, he gave +a great cry and woke, and the bright sunlight was streaming into +the room, and from the trees of the garden and pleasaunce the +birds were singing.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>And the Chamberlain and the high officers of State came in and +made obeisance to him, and the pages brought him the robe of +tissued gold, and set the crown and the sceptre before him.</p> +<p>And the young King looked at them, and they were +beautiful. More beautiful were they than aught that he had +ever seen. But he remembered his dreams, and he said to his +lords: ‘Take these things away, for I will not wear +them.’</p> +<p>And the courtiers were amazed, and some of them laughed, for +they thought that he was jesting.</p> +<p>But he spake sternly to them again, and said: ‘Take +these things away, and hide them from me. Though it be the +day of my coronation, I will not wear them. For on the loom +of Sorrow, and by the white hands of Pain, has this my robe been +woven. There is Blood in the heart of the ruby, and Death +in the heart of the pearl.’ And he told them his +three dreams.</p> +<p>And when the courtiers heard them they looked at each other +and whispered, saying: ‘Surely he is mad; for what is a +dream but a dream, and a vision but a vision? They are not +real things that one should heed them. And what have we to +do with the lives of those who toil for us? Shall a man not +eat bread till he has seen the sower, nor drink wine till he has +talked with the vinedresser?’</p> +<p>And the Chamberlain spake to the young King, and said, +‘My lord, I pray thee set aside these black thoughts of +thine, and put on this fair robe, and set this crown upon thy +head. For how shall the people know that thou art a king, +if thou hast not a king’s raiment?’</p> +<p>And the young King looked at him. ‘Is it so, +indeed?’ he questioned. ‘Will they not know me +for a king if I have not a king’s raiment?’</p> +<p>‘They will not know thee, my lord,’ cried the +Chamberlain.</p> +<p>‘I had thought that there had been men who were +kinglike,’ he answered, ‘but it may be as thou +sayest. And yet I will not wear this robe, nor will I be +crowned with this crown, but even as I came to the palace so will +I go forth from it.’</p> +<p>And he bade them all leave him, save one page whom he kept as +his companion, a lad a year younger than himself. Him he +kept for his service, and when he had bathed himself in clear +water, he opened a great painted chest, and from it he took the +leathern tunic and rough sheepskin cloak that he had worn when he +had watched on the hillside the shaggy goats of the +goatherd. These he put on, and in his hand he took his rude +shepherd’s staff.</p> +<p>And the little page opened his big blue eyes in wonder, and +said smiling to him, ‘My lord, I see thy robe and thy +sceptre, but where is thy crown?’</p> +<p>And the young King plucked a spray of wild briar that was +climbing over the balcony, and bent it, and made a circlet of it, +and set it on his own head.</p> +<p>‘This shall he my crown,’ he answered.</p> +<p>And thus attired he passed out of his chamber into the Great +Hall, where the nobles were waiting for him.</p> +<p>And the nobles made merry, and some of them cried out to him, +‘My lord, the people wait for their king, and thou showest +them a beggar,’ and others were wroth and said, ‘He +brings shame upon our state, and is unworthy to be our +master.’ But he answered them not a word, but passed +on, and went down the bright porphyry staircase, and out through +the gates of bronze, and mounted upon his horse, and rode towards +the cathedral, the little page running beside him.</p> +<p>And the people laughed and said, ‘It is the King’s +fool who is riding by,’ and they mocked him.</p> +<p>And he drew rein and said, ‘Nay, but I am the +King.’ And he told them his three dreams.</p> +<p>And a man came out of the crowd and spake bitterly to him, and +said, ‘Sir, knowest thou not that out of the luxury of the +rich cometh the life of the poor? By your pomp we are +nurtured, and your vices give us bread. To toil for a hard +master is bitter, but to have no master to toil for is more +bitter still. Thinkest thou that the ravens will feed +us? And what cure hast thou for these things? Wilt +thou say to the buyer, “Thou shalt buy for so much,” +and to the seller, “Thou shalt sell at this +price”? I trow not. Therefore go back to thy +Palace and put on thy purple and fine linen. What hast thou +to do with us, and what we suffer?’</p> +<p>‘Are not the rich and the poor brothers?’ asked +the young King.</p> +<p>‘Ay,’ answered the man, ‘and the name of the +rich brother is Cain.’</p> +<p>And the young King’s eyes filled with tears, and he rode +on through the murmurs of the people, and the little page grew +afraid and left him.</p> +<p>And when he reached the great portal of the cathedral, the +soldiers thrust their halberts out and said, ‘What dost +thou seek here? None enters by this door but the +King.’</p> +<p>And his face flushed with anger, and he said to them, ‘I +am the King,’ and waved their halberts aside and passed +in.</p> +<p>And when the old Bishop saw him coming in his goatherd’s +dress, he rose up in wonder from his throne, and went to meet +him, and said to him, ‘My son, is this a king’s +apparel? And with what crown shall I crown thee, and what +sceptre shall I place in thy hand? Surely this should be to +thee a day of joy, and not a day of abasement.’</p> +<p>‘Shall Joy wear what Grief has fashioned?’ said +the young King. And he told him his three dreams.</p> +<p>And when the Bishop had heard them he knit his brows, and +said, ‘My son, I am an old man, and in the winter of my +days, and I know that many evil things are done in the wide +world. The fierce robbers come down from the mountains, and +carry off the little children, and sell them to the Moors. +The lions lie in wait for the caravans, and leap upon the +camels. The wild boar roots up the corn in the valley, and +the foxes gnaw the vines upon the hill. The pirates lay +waste the sea-coast and burn the ships of the fishermen, and take +their nets from them. In the salt-marshes live the lepers; +they have houses of wattled reeds, and none may come nigh +them. The beggars wander through the cities, and eat their +food with the dogs. Canst thou make these things not to +be? Wilt thou take the leper for thy bedfellow, and set the +beggar at thy board? Shall the lion do thy bidding, and the +wild boar obey thee? Is not He who made misery wiser than +thou art? Wherefore I praise thee not for this that thou +hast done, but I bid thee ride back to the Palace and make thy +face glad, and put on the raiment that beseemeth a king, and with +the crown of gold I will crown thee, and the sceptre of pearl +will I place in thy hand. And as for thy dreams, think no +more of them. The burden of this world is too great for one +man to bear, and the world’s sorrow too heavy for one heart +to suffer.’</p> +<p>‘Sayest thou that in this house?’ said the young +King, and he strode past the Bishop, and climbed up the steps of +the altar, and stood before the image of Christ.</p> +<p>He stood before the image of Christ, and on his right hand and +on his left were the marvellous vessels of gold, the chalice with +the yellow wine, and the vial with the holy oil. He knelt +before the image of Christ, and the great candles burned brightly +by the jewelled shrine, and the smoke of the incense curled in +thin blue wreaths through the dome. He bowed his head in +prayer, and the priests in their stiff copes crept away from the +altar.</p> +<p>And suddenly a wild tumult came from the street outside, and +in entered the nobles with drawn swords and nodding plumes, and +shields of polished steel. ‘Where is this dreamer of +dreams?’ they cried. ‘Where is this King who is +apparelled like a beggar—this boy who brings shame upon our +state? Surely we will slay him, for he is unworthy to rule +over us.’</p> +<p>And the young King bowed his head again, and prayed, and when +he had finished his prayer he rose up, and turning round he +looked at them sadly.</p> +<p>And lo! through the painted windows came the sunlight +streaming upon him, and the sun-beams wove round him a tissued +robe that was fairer than the robe that had been fashioned for +his pleasure. The dead staff blossomed, and bare lilies +that were whiter than pearls. The dry thorn blossomed, and +bare roses that were redder than rubies. Whiter than fine +pearls were the lilies, and their stems were of bright +silver. Redder than male rubies were the roses, and their +leaves were of beaten gold.</p> +<p>He stood there in the raiment of a king, and the gates of the +jewelled shrine flew open, and from the crystal of the many-rayed +monstrance shone a marvellous and mystical light. He stood +there in a king’s raiment, and the Glory of God filled the +place, and the saints in their carven niches seemed to +move. In the fair raiment of a king he stood before them, +and the organ pealed out its music, and the trumpeters blew upon +their trumpets, and the singing boys sang.</p> +<p>And the people fell upon their knees in awe, and the nobles +sheathed their swords and did homage, and the Bishop’s face +grew pale, and his hands trembled. ‘A greater than I +hath crowned thee,’ he cried, and he knelt before him.</p> +<p>And the young King came down from the high altar, and passed +home through the midst of the people. But no man dared look +upon his face, for it was like the face of an angel.</p> +<h2><a name="page31"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 31</span>THE +BIRTHDAY OF THE INFANTA</h2> +<p style="text-align: center">TO<br /> +MRS. WILLIAM H. GRENFELL<br /> +OF TAPLOW COURT<br /> +<span class="GutSmall">[LADY DESBOROUGH]</span></p> +<p><span class="smcap">It</span> was the birthday of the +Infanta. She was just twelve years of age, and the sun was +shining brightly in the gardens of the palace.</p> +<p>Although she was a real Princess and the Infanta of Spain, she +had only one birthday every year, just like the children of quite +poor people, so it was naturally a matter of great importance to +the whole country that she should have a really fine day for the +occasion. And a really fine day it certainly was. The +tall striped tulips stood straight up upon their stalks, like +long rows of soldiers, and looked defiantly across the grass at +the roses, and said: ‘We are quite as splendid as you are +now.’ The purple butterflies fluttered about with +gold dust on their wings, visiting each flower in turn; the +little lizards crept out of the crevices of the wall, and lay +basking in the white glare; and the pomegranates split and +cracked with the heat, and showed their bleeding red +hearts. Even the pale yellow lemons, that hung in such +profusion from the mouldering trellis and along the dim arcades, +seemed to have caught a richer colour from the wonderful +sunlight, and the magnolia trees opened their great globe-like +blossoms of folded ivory, and filled the air with a sweet heavy +perfume.</p> +<p>The little Princess herself walked up and down the terrace +with her companions, and played at hide and seek round the stone +vases and the old moss-grown statues. On ordinary days she +was only allowed to play with children of her own rank, so she +had always to play alone, but her birthday was an exception, and +the King had given orders that she was to invite any of her young +friends whom she liked to come and amuse themselves with +her. There was a stately grace about these slim Spanish +children as they glided about, the boys with their large-plumed +hats and short fluttering cloaks, the girls holding up the trains +of their long brocaded gowns, and shielding the sun from their +eyes with huge fans of black and silver. But the Infanta +was the most graceful of all, and the most tastefully attired, +after the somewhat cumbrous fashion of the day. Her robe +was of grey satin, the skirt and the wide puffed sleeves heavily +embroidered with silver, and the stiff corset studded with rows +of fine pearls. Two tiny slippers with big pink rosettes +peeped out beneath her dress as she walked. Pink and pearl +was her great gauze fan, and in her hair, which like an aureole +of faded gold stood out stiffly round her pale little face, she +had a beautiful white rose.</p> +<p>From a window in the palace the sad melancholy King watched +them. Behind him stood his brother, Don Pedro of Aragon, +whom he hated, and his confessor, the Grand Inquisitor of +Granada, sat by his side. Sadder even than usual was the +King, for as he looked at the Infanta bowing with childish +gravity to the assembling counters, or laughing behind her fan at +the grim Duchess of Albuquerque who always accompanied her, he +thought of the young Queen, her mother, who but a short time +before—so it seemed to him—had come from the gay +country of France, and had withered away in the sombre splendour +of the Spanish court, dying just six months after the birth of +her child, and before she had seen the almonds blossom twice in +the orchard, or plucked the second year’s fruit from the +old gnarled fig-tree that stood in the centre of the now +grass-grown courtyard. So great had been his love for her +that he had not suffered even the grave to hide her from +him. She had been embalmed by a Moorish physician, who in +return for this service had been granted his life, which for +heresy and suspicion of magical practices had been already +forfeited, men said, to the Holy Office, and her body was still +lying on its tapestried bier in the black marble chapel of the +Palace, just as the monks had borne her in on that windy March +day nearly twelve years before. Once every month the King, +wrapped in a dark cloak and with a muffled lantern in his hand, +went in and knelt by her side calling out, ‘<i>Mi +reina</i>! <i>Mi reina</i>!’ and sometimes breaking +through the formal etiquette that in Spain governs every separate +action of life, and sets limits even to the sorrow of a King, he +would clutch at the pale jewelled hands in a wild agony of grief, +and try to wake by his mad kisses the cold painted face.</p> +<p>To-day he seemed to see her again, as he had seen her first at +the Castle of Fontainebleau, when he was but fifteen years of +age, and she still younger. They had been formally +betrothed on that occasion by the Papal Nuncio in the presence of +the French King and all the Court, and he had returned to the +Escurial bearing with him a little ringlet of yellow hair, and +the memory of two childish lips bending down to kiss his hand as +he stepped into his carriage. Later on had followed the +marriage, hastily performed at Burgos, a small town on the +frontier between the two countries, and the grand public entry +into Madrid with the customary celebration of high mass at the +Church of La Atocha, and a more than usually solemn +<i>auto-da-fé</i>, in which nearly three hundred heretics, +amongst whom were many Englishmen, had been delivered over to the +secular arm to be burned.</p> +<p>Certainly he had loved her madly, and to the ruin, many +thought, of his country, then at war with England for the +possession of the empire of the New World. He had hardly +ever permitted her to be out of his sight; for her, he had +forgotten, or seemed to have forgotten, all grave affairs of +State; and, with that terrible blindness that passion brings upon +its servants, he had failed to notice that the elaborate +ceremonies by which he sought to please her did but aggravate the +strange malady from which she suffered. When she died he +was, for a time, like one bereft of reason. Indeed, there +is no doubt but that he would have formally abdicated and retired +to the great Trappist monastery at Granada, of which he was +already titular Prior, had he not been afraid to leave the little +Infanta at the mercy of his brother, whose cruelty, even in +Spain, was notorious, and who was suspected by many of having +caused the Queen’s death by means of a pair of poisoned +gloves that he had presented to her on the occasion of her +visiting his castle in Aragon. Even after the expiration of +the three years of public mourning that he had ordained +throughout his whole dominions by royal edict, he would never +suffer his ministers to speak about any new alliance, and when +the Emperor himself sent to him, and offered him the hand of the +lovely Archduchess of Bohemia, his niece, in marriage, he bade +the ambassadors tell their master that the King of Spain was +already wedded to Sorrow, and that though she was but a barren +bride he loved her better than Beauty; an answer that cost his +crown the rich provinces of the Netherlands, which soon after, at +the Emperor’s instigation, revolted against him under the +leadership of some fanatics of the Reformed Church.</p> +<p>His whole married life, with its fierce, fiery-coloured joys +and the terrible agony of its sudden ending, seemed to come back +to him to-day as he watched the Infanta playing on the +terrace. She had all the Queen’s pretty petulance of +manner, the same wilful way of tossing her head, the same proud +curved beautiful mouth, the same wonderful smile—<i>vrai +sourire de France</i> indeed—as she glanced up now and then +at the window, or stretched out her little hand for the stately +Spanish gentlemen to kiss. But the shrill laughter of the +children grated on his ears, and the bright pitiless sunlight +mocked his sorrow, and a dull odour of strange spices, spices +such as embalmers use, seemed to taint—or was it +fancy?—the clear morning air. He buried his face in +his hands, and when the Infanta looked up again the curtains had +been drawn, and the King had retired.</p> +<p>She made a little <i>moue</i> of disappointment, and shrugged +her shoulders. Surely he might have stayed with her on her +birthday. What did the stupid State-affairs matter? +Or had he gone to that gloomy chapel, where the candles were +always burning, and where she was never allowed to enter? +How silly of him, when the sun was shining so brightly, and +everybody was so happy! Besides, he would miss the sham +bull-fight for which the trumpet was already sounding, to say +nothing of the puppet-show and the other wonderful things. +Her uncle and the Grand Inquisitor were much more sensible. +They had come out on the terrace, and paid her nice +compliments. So she tossed her pretty head, and taking Don +Pedro by the hand, she walked slowly down the steps towards a +long pavilion of purple silk that had been erected at the end of +the garden, the other children following in strict order of +precedence, those who had the longest names going first.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>A procession of noble boys, fantastically dressed as +<i>toreadors</i>, came out to meet her, and the young Count of +Tierra-Nueva, a wonderfully handsome lad of about fourteen years +of age, uncovering his head with all the grace of a born hidalgo +and grandee of Spain, led her solemnly in to a little gilt and +ivory chair that was placed on a raised dais above the +arena. The children grouped themselves all round, +fluttering their big fans and whispering to each other, and Don +Pedro and the Grand Inquisitor stood laughing at the +entrance. Even the Duchess—the Camerera-Mayor as she +was called—a thin, hard-featured woman with a yellow ruff, +did not look quite so bad-tempered as usual, and something like a +chill smile flitted across her wrinkled face and twitched her +thin bloodless lips.</p> +<p>It certainly was a marvellous bull-fight, and much nicer, the +Infanta thought, than the real bull-fight that she had been +brought to see at Seville, on the occasion of the visit of the +Duke of Parma to her father. Some of the boys pranced about +on richly-caparisoned hobby-horses brandishing long javelins with +gay streamers of bright ribands attached to them; others went on +foot waving their scarlet cloaks before the bull, and vaulting +lightly over the barrier when he charged them; and as for the +bull himself, he was just like a live bull, though he was only +made of wicker-work and stretched hide, and sometimes insisted on +running round the arena on his hind legs, which no live bull ever +dreams of doing. He made a splendid fight of it too, and +the children got so excited that they stood up upon the benches, +and waved their lace handkerchiefs and cried out: <i>Bravo +toro</i>! <i>Bravo toro</i>! just as sensibly as if they +had been grown-up people. At last, however, after a +prolonged combat, during which several of the hobby-horses were +gored through and through, and, their riders dismounted, the +young Count of Tierra-Nueva brought the bull to his knees, and +having obtained permission from the Infanta to give the <i>coup +de grâce</i>, he plunged his wooden sword into the neck of +the animal with such violence that the head came right off, and +disclosed the laughing face of little Monsieur de Lorraine, the +son of the French Ambassador at Madrid.</p> +<p>The arena was then cleared amidst much applause, and the dead +hobby-horses dragged solemnly away by two Moorish pages in yellow +and black liveries, and after a short interlude, during which a +French posture-master performed upon the tightrope, some Italian +puppets appeared in the semi-classical tragedy of +<i>Sophonisba</i> on the stage of a small theatre that had been +built up for the purpose. They acted so well, and their +gestures were so extremely natural, that at the close of the play +the eyes of the Infanta were quite dim with tears. Indeed +some of the children really cried, and had to be comforted with +sweetmeats, and the Grand Inquisitor himself was so affected that +he could not help saying to Don Pedro that it seemed to him +intolerable that things made simply out of wood and coloured wax, +and worked mechanically by wires, should be so unhappy and meet +with such terrible misfortunes.</p> +<p>An African juggler followed, who brought in a large flat +basket covered with a red cloth, and having placed it in the +centre of the arena, he took from his turban a curious reed pipe, +and blew through it. In a few moments the cloth began to +move, and as the pipe grew shriller and shriller two green and +gold snakes put out their strange wedge-shaped heads and rose +slowly up, swaying to and fro with the music as a plant sways in +the water. The children, however, were rather frightened at +their spotted hoods and quick darting tongues, and were much more +pleased when the juggler made a tiny orange-tree grow out of the +sand and bear pretty white blossoms and clusters of real fruit; +and when he took the fan of the little daughter of the Marquess +de Las-Torres, and changed it into a blue bird that flew all +round the pavilion and sang, their delight and amazement knew no +bounds. The solemn minuet, too, performed by the dancing +boys from the church of Nuestra Senora Del Pilar, was +charming. The Infanta had never before seen this wonderful +ceremony which takes place every year at Maytime in front of the +high altar of the Virgin, and in her honour; and indeed none of +the royal family of Spain had entered the great cathedral of +Saragossa since a mad priest, supposed by many to have been in +the pay of Elizabeth of England, had tried to administer a +poisoned wafer to the Prince of the Asturias. So she had +known only by hearsay of ‘Our Lady’s Dance,’ as +it was called, and it certainly was a beautiful sight. The +boys wore old-fashioned court dresses of white velvet, and their +curious three-cornered hats were fringed with silver and +surmounted with huge plumes of ostrich feathers, the dazzling +whiteness of their costumes, as they moved about in the sunlight, +being still more accentuated by their swarthy faces and long +black hair. Everybody was fascinated by the grave dignity +with which they moved through the intricate figures of the dance, +and by the elaborate grace of their slow gestures, and stately +bows, and when they had finished their performance and doffed +their great plumed hats to the Infanta, she acknowledged their +reverence with much courtesy, and made a vow that she would send +a large wax candle to the shrine of Our Lady of Pilar in return +for the pleasure that she had given her.</p> +<p>A troop of handsome Egyptians—as the gipsies were termed +in those days—then advanced into the arena, and sitting +down cross-legs, in a circle, began to play softly upon their +zithers, moving their bodies to the tune, and humming, almost +below their breath, a low dreamy air. When they caught +sight of Don Pedro they scowled at him, and some of them looked +terrified, for only a few weeks before he had had two of their +tribe hanged for sorcery in the market-place at Seville, but the +pretty Infanta charmed them as she leaned back peeping over her +fan with her great blue eyes, and they felt sure that one so +lovely as she was could never be cruel to anybody. So they +played on very gently and just touching the cords of the zithers +with their long pointed nails, and their heads began to nod as +though they were falling asleep. Suddenly, with a cry so +shrill that all the children were startled and Don Pedro’s +hand clutched at the agate pommel of his dagger, they leapt to +their feet and whirled madly round the enclosure beating their +tambourines, and chaunting some wild love-song in their strange +guttural language. Then at another signal they all flung +themselves again to the ground and lay there quite still, the +dull strumming of the zithers being the only sound that broke the +silence. After that they had done this several times, they +disappeared for a moment and came back leading a brown shaggy +bear by a chain, and carrying on their shoulders some little +Barbary apes. The bear stood upon his head with the utmost +gravity, and the wizened apes played all kinds of amusing tricks +with two gipsy boys who seemed to be their masters, and fought +with tiny swords, and fired off guns, and went through a regular +soldier’s drill just like the King’s own +bodyguard. In fact the gipsies were a great success.</p> +<p>But the funniest part of the whole morning’s +entertainment, was undoubtedly the dancing of the little +Dwarf. When he stumbled into the arena, waddling on his +crooked legs and wagging his huge misshapen head from side to +side, the children went off into a loud shout of delight, and the +Infanta herself laughed so much that the Camerera was obliged to +remind her that although there were many precedents in Spain for +a King’s daughter weeping before her equals, there were +none for a Princess of the blood royal making so merry before +those who were her inferiors in birth. The Dwarf, however, +was really quite irresistible, and even at the Spanish Court, +always noted for its cultivated passion for the horrible, so +fantastic a little monster had never been seen. It was his +first appearance, too. He had been discovered only the day +before, running wild through the forest, by two of the nobles who +happened to have been hunting in a remote part of the great +cork-wood that surrounded the town, and had been carried off by +them to the Palace as a surprise for the Infanta; his father, who +was a poor charcoal-burner, being but too well pleased to get rid +of so ugly and useless a child. Perhaps the most amusing +thing about him was his complete unconsciousness of his own +grotesque appearance. Indeed he seemed quite happy and full +of the highest spirits. When the children laughed, he +laughed as freely and as joyously as any of them, and at the +close of each dance he made them each the funniest of bows, +smiling and nodding at them just as if he was really one of +themselves, and not a little misshapen thing that Nature, in some +humourous mood, had fashioned for others to mock at. As for +the Infanta, she absolutely fascinated him. He could not +keep his eyes off her, and seemed to dance for her alone, and +when at the close of the performance, remembering how she had +seen the great ladies of the Court throw bouquets to Caffarelli, +the famous Italian treble, whom the Pope had sent from his own +chapel to Madrid that he might cure the King’s melancholy +by the sweetness of his voice, she took out of her hair the +beautiful white rose, and partly for a jest and partly to tease +the Camerera, threw it to him across the arena with her sweetest +smile, he took the whole matter quite seriously, and pressing the +flower to his rough coarse lips he put his hand upon his heart, +and sank on one knee before her, grinning from ear to ear, and +with his little bright eyes sparkling with pleasure.</p> +<p>This so upset the gravity of the Infanta that she kept on +laughing long after the little Dwarf had ran out of the arena, +and expressed a desire to her uncle that the dance should be +immediately repeated. The Camerera, however, on the plea +that the sun was too hot, decided that it would be better that +her Highness should return without delay to the Palace, where a +wonderful feast had been already prepared for her, including a +real birthday cake with her own initials worked all over it in +painted sugar and a lovely silver flag waving from the top. +The Infanta accordingly rose up with much dignity, and having +given orders that the little dwarf was to dance again for her +after the hour of siesta, and conveyed her thanks to the young +Count of Tierra-Nueva for his charming reception, she went back +to her apartments, the children following in the same order in +which they had entered.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>Now when the little Dwarf heard that he was to dance a second +time before the Infanta, and by her own express command, he was +so proud that he ran out into the garden, kissing the white rose +in an absurd ecstasy of pleasure, and making the most uncouth and +clumsy gestures of delight.</p> +<p>The Flowers were quite indignant at his daring to intrude into +their beautiful home, and when they saw him capering up and down +the walks, and waving his arms above his head in such a +ridiculous manner, they could not restrain their feelings any +longer.</p> +<p>‘He is really far too ugly to be allowed to play in any +place where we are,’ cried the Tulips.</p> +<p>‘He should drink poppy-juice, and go to sleep for a +thousand years,’ said the great scarlet Lilies, and they +grew quite hot and angry.</p> +<p>‘He is a perfect horror!’ screamed the +Cactus. ‘Why, he is twisted and stumpy, and his head +is completely out of proportion with his legs. Really he +makes me feel prickly all over, and if he comes near me I will +sting him with my thorns.’</p> +<p>‘And he has actually got one of my best blooms,’ +exclaimed the White Rose-Tree. ‘I gave it to the +Infanta this morning myself, as a birthday present, and he has +stolen it from her.’ And she called out: +‘Thief, thief, thief!’ at the top of her voice.</p> +<p>Even the red Geraniums, who did not usually give themselves +airs, and were known to have a great many poor relations +themselves, curled up in disgust when they saw him, and when the +Violets meekly remarked that though he was certainly extremely +plain, still he could not help it, they retorted with a good deal +of justice that that was his chief defect, and that there was no +reason why one should admire a person because he was incurable; +and, indeed, some of the Violets themselves felt that the +ugliness of the little Dwarf was almost ostentatious, and that he +would have shown much better taste if he had looked sad, or at +least pensive, instead of jumping about merrily, and throwing +himself into such grotesque and silly attitudes.</p> +<p>As for the old Sundial, who was an extremely remarkable +individual, and had once told the time of day to no less a person +than the Emperor Charles V. himself, he was so taken aback by the +little Dwarf’s appearance, that he almost forgot to mark +two whole minutes with his long shadowy finger, and could not +help saying to the great milk-white Peacock, who was sunning +herself on the balustrade, that every one knew that the children +of Kings were Kings, and that the children of charcoal-burners +were charcoal-burners, and that it was absurd to pretend that it +wasn’t so; a statement with which the Peacock entirely +agreed, and indeed screamed out, ‘Certainly, +certainly,’ in such a loud, harsh voice, that the gold-fish +who lived in the basin of the cool splashing fountain put their +heads out of the water, and asked the huge stone Tritons what on +earth was the matter.</p> +<p>But somehow the Birds liked him. They had seen him often +in the forest, dancing about like an elf after the eddying +leaves, or crouched up in the hollow of some old oak-tree, +sharing his nuts with the squirrels. They did not mind his +being ugly, a bit. Why, even the nightingale herself, who +sang so sweetly in the orange groves at night that sometimes the +Moon leaned down to listen, was not much to look at after all; +and, besides, he had been kind to them, and during that terribly +bitter winter, when there were no berries on the trees, and the +ground was as hard as iron, and the wolves had come down to the +very gates of the city to look for food, he had never once +forgotten them, but had always given them crumbs out of his +little hunch of black bread, and divided with them whatever poor +breakfast he had.</p> +<p>So they flew round and round him, just touching his cheek with +their wings as they passed, and chattered to each other, and the +little Dwarf was so pleased that he could not help showing them +the beautiful white rose, and telling them that the Infanta +herself had given it to him because she loved him.</p> +<p>They did not understand a single word of what he was saying, +but that made no matter, for they put their heads on one side, +and looked wise, which is quite as good as understanding a thing, +and very much easier.</p> +<p>The Lizards also took an immense fancy to him, and when he +grew tired of running about and flung himself down on the grass +to rest, they played and romped all over him, and tried to amuse +him in the best way they could. ‘Every one cannot be +as beautiful as a lizard,’ they cried; ‘that would be +too much to expect. And, though it sounds absurd to say so, +he is really not so ugly after all, provided, of course, that one +shuts one’s eyes, and does not look at him.’ +The Lizards were extremely philosophical by nature, and often sat +thinking for hours and hours together, when there was nothing +else to do, or when the weather was too rainy for them to go +out.</p> +<p>The Flowers, however, were excessively annoyed at their +behaviour, and at the behaviour of the birds. ‘It +only shows,’ they said, ‘what a vulgarising effect +this incessant rushing and flying about has. Well-bred +people always stay exactly in the same place, as we do. No +one ever saw us hopping up and down the walks, or galloping madly +through the grass after dragon-flies. When we do want +change of air, we send for the gardener, and he carries us to +another bed. This is dignified, and as it should be. +But birds and lizards have no sense of repose, and indeed birds +have not even a permanent address. They are mere vagrants +like the gipsies, and should be treated in exactly the same +manner.’ So they put their noses in the air, and +looked very haughty, and were quite delighted when after some +time they saw the little Dwarf scramble up from the grass, and +make his way across the terrace to the palace.</p> +<p>‘He should certainly be kept indoors for the rest of his +natural life,’ they said. ‘Look at his hunched +back, and his crooked legs,’ and they began to titter.</p> +<p>But the little Dwarf knew nothing of all this. He liked +the birds and the lizards immensely, and thought that the flowers +were the most marvellous things in the whole world, except of +course the Infanta, but then she had given him the beautiful +white rose, and she loved him, and that made a great +difference. How he wished that he had gone back with +her! She would have put him on her right hand, and smiled +at him, and he would have never left her side, but would have +made her his playmate, and taught her all kinds of delightful +tricks. For though he had never been in a palace before, he +knew a great many wonderful things. He could make little +cages out of rushes for the grasshoppers to sing in, and fashion +the long jointed bamboo into the pipe that Pan loves to +hear. He knew the cry of every bird, and could call the +starlings from the tree-top, or the heron from the mere. He +knew the trail of every animal, and could track the hare by its +delicate footprints, and the boar by the trampled leaves. +All the wild-dances he knew, the mad dance in red raiment with +the autumn, the light dance in blue sandals over the corn, the +dance with white snow-wreaths in winter, and the blossom-dance +through the orchards in spring. He knew where the +wood-pigeons built their nests, and once when a fowler had snared +the parent birds, he had brought up the young ones himself, and +had built a little dovecot for them in the cleft of a pollard +elm. They were quite tame, and used to feed out of his +hands every morning. She would like them, and the rabbits +that scurried about in the long fern, and the jays with their +steely feathers and black bills, and the hedgehogs that could +curl themselves up into prickly balls, and the great wise +tortoises that crawled slowly about, shaking their heads and +nibbling at the young leaves. Yes, she must certainly come +to the forest and play with him. He would give her his own +little bed, and would watch outside the window till dawn, to see +that the wild horned cattle did not harm her, nor the gaunt +wolves creep too near the hut. And at dawn he would tap at +the shutters and wake her, and they would go out and dance +together all the day long. It was really not a bit lonely +in the forest. Sometimes a Bishop rode through on his white +mule, reading out of a painted book. Sometimes in their +green velvet caps, and their jerkins of tanned deerskin, the +falconers passed by, with hooded hawks on their wrists. At +vintage-time came the grape-treaders, with purple hands and feet, +wreathed with glossy ivy and carrying dripping skins of wine; and +the charcoal-burners sat round their huge braziers at night, +watching the dry logs charring slowly in the fire, and roasting +chestnuts in the ashes, and the robbers came out of their caves +and made merry with them. Once, too, he had seen a +beautiful procession winding up the long dusty road to +Toledo. The monks went in front singing sweetly, and +carrying bright banners and crosses of gold, and then, in silver +armour, with matchlocks and pikes, came the soldiers, and in +their midst walked three barefooted men, in strange yellow +dresses painted all over with wonderful figures, and carrying +lighted candles in their hands. Certainly there was a great +deal to look at in the forest, and when she was tired he would +find a soft bank of moss for her, or carry her in his arms, for +he was very strong, though he knew that he was not tall. He +would make her a necklace of red bryony berries, that would be +quite as pretty as the white berries that she wore on her dress, +and when she was tired of them, she could throw them away, and he +would find her others. He would bring her acorn-cups and +dew-drenched anemones, and tiny glow-worms to be stars in the +pale gold of her hair.</p> +<p>But where was she? He asked the white rose, and it made +him no answer. The whole palace seemed asleep, and even +where the shutters had not been closed, heavy curtains had been +drawn across the windows to keep out the glare. He wandered +all round looking for some place through which he might gain an +entrance, and at last he caught sight of a little private door +that was lying open. He slipped through, and found himself +in a splendid hall, far more splendid, he feared, than the +forest, there was so much more gilding everywhere, and even the +floor was made of great coloured stones, fitted together into a +sort of geometrical pattern. But the little Infanta was not +there, only some wonderful white statues that looked down on him +from their jasper pedestals, with sad blank eyes and strangely +smiling lips.</p> +<p>At the end of the hall hung a richly embroidered curtain of +black velvet, powdered with suns and stars, the King’s +favourite devices, and broidered on the colour he loved +best. Perhaps she was hiding behind that? He would +try at any rate.</p> +<p>So he stole quietly across, and drew it aside. No; there +was only another room, though a prettier room, he thought, than +the one he had just left. The walls were hung with a +many-figured green arras of needle-wrought tapestry representing +a hunt, the work of some Flemish artists who had spent more than +seven years in its composition. It had once been the +chamber of <i>Jean le Fou</i>, as he was called, that mad King +who was so enamoured of the chase, that he had often tried in his +delirium to mount the huge rearing horses, and to drag down the +stag on which the great hounds were leaping, sounding his hunting +horn, and stabbing with his dagger at the pale flying deer. +It was now used as the council-room, and on the centre table were +lying the red portfolios of the ministers, stamped with the gold +tulips of Spain, and with the arms and emblems of the house of +Hapsburg.</p> +<p>The little Dwarf looked in wonder all round him, and was +half-afraid to go on. The strange silent horsemen that +galloped so swiftly through the long glades without making any +noise, seemed to him like those terrible phantoms of whom he had +heard the charcoal-burners speaking—the Comprachos, who +hunt only at night, and if they meet a man, turn him into a hind, +and chase him. But he thought of the pretty Infanta, and +took courage. He wanted to find her alone, and to tell her +that he too loved her. Perhaps she was in the room +beyond.</p> +<p>He ran across the soft Moorish carpets, and opened the +door. No! She was not here either. The room was +quite empty.</p> +<p>It was a throne-room, used for the reception of foreign +ambassadors, when the King, which of late had not been often, +consented to give them a personal audience; the same room in +which, many years before, envoys had appeared from England to +make arrangements for the marriage of their Queen, then one of +the Catholic sovereigns of Europe, with the Emperor’s +eldest son. The hangings were of gilt Cordovan leather, and +a heavy gilt chandelier with branches for three hundred wax +lights hung down from the black and white ceiling. +Underneath a great canopy of gold cloth, on which the lions and +towers of Castile were broidered in seed pearls, stood the throne +itself, covered with a rich pall of black velvet studded with +silver tulips and elaborately fringed with silver and +pearls. On the second step of the throne was placed the +kneeling-stool of the Infanta, with its cushion of cloth of +silver tissue, and below that again, and beyond the limit of the +canopy, stood the chair for the Papal Nuncio, who alone had the +right to be seated in the King’s presence on the occasion +of any public ceremonial, and whose Cardinal’s hat, with +its tangled scarlet tassels, lay on a purple <i>tabouret</i> in +front. On the wall, facing the throne, hung a life-sized +portrait of Charles V. in hunting dress, with a great mastiff by +his side, and a picture of Philip II. receiving the homage of the +Netherlands occupied the centre of the other wall. Between +the windows stood a black ebony cabinet, inlaid with plates of +ivory, on which the figures from Holbein’s Dance of Death +had been graved—by the hand, some said, of that famous +master himself.</p> +<p>But the little Dwarf cared nothing for all this +magnificence. He would not have given his rose for all the +pearls on the canopy, nor one white petal of his rose for the +throne itself. What he wanted was to see the Infanta before +she went down to the pavilion, and to ask her to come away with +him when he had finished his dance. Here, in the Palace, +the air was close and heavy, but in the forest the wind blew +free, and the sunlight with wandering hands of gold moved the +tremulous leaves aside. There were flowers, too, in the +forest, not so splendid, perhaps, as the flowers in the garden, +but more sweetly scented for all that; hyacinths in early spring +that flooded with waving purple the cool glens, and grassy +knolls; yellow primroses that nestled in little clumps round the +gnarled roots of the oak-trees; bright celandine, and blue +speedwell, and irises lilac and gold. There were grey +catkins on the hazels, and the foxgloves drooped with the weight +of their dappled bee-haunted cells. The chestnut had its +spires of white stars, and the hawthorn its pallid moons of +beauty. Yes: surely she would come if he could only find +her! She would come with him to the fair forest, and all +day long he would dance for her delight. A smile lit up his +eyes at the thought, and he passed into the next room.</p> +<p>Of all the rooms this was the brightest and the most +beautiful. The walls were covered with a pink-flowered +Lucca damask, patterned with birds and dotted with dainty +blossoms of silver; the furniture was of massive silver, +festooned with florid wreaths, and swinging Cupids; in front of +the two large fire-places stood great screens broidered with +parrots and peacocks, and the floor, which was of sea-green onyx, +seemed to stretch far away into the distance. Nor was he +alone. Standing under the shadow of the doorway, at the +extreme end of the room, he saw a little figure watching +him. His heart trembled, a cry of joy broke from his lips, +and he moved out into the sunlight. As he did so, the +figure moved out also, and he saw it plainly.</p> +<p>The Infanta! It was a monster, the most grotesque +monster he had ever beheld. Not properly shaped, as all +other people were, but hunchbacked, and crooked-limbed, with huge +lolling head and mane of black hair. The little Dwarf +frowned, and the monster frowned also. He laughed, and it +laughed with him, and held its hands to its sides, just as he +himself was doing. He made it a mocking bow, and it +returned him a low reverence. He went towards it, and it +came to meet him, copying each step that he made, and stopping +when he stopped himself. He shouted with amusement, and ran +forward, and reached out his hand, and the hand of the monster +touched his, and it was as cold as ice. He grew afraid, and +moved his hand across, and the monster’s hand followed it +quickly. He tried to press on, but something smooth and +hard stopped him. The face of the monster was now close to +his own, and seemed full of terror. He brushed his hair off +his eyes. It imitated him. He struck at it, and it +returned blow for blow. He loathed it, and it made hideous +faces at him. He drew back, and it retreated.</p> +<p>What is it? He thought for a moment, and looked round at +the rest of the room. It was strange, but everything seemed +to have its double in this invisible wall of clear water. +Yes, picture for picture was repeated, and couch for couch. +The sleeping Faun that lay in the alcove by the doorway had its +twin brother that slumbered, and the silver Venus that stood in +the sunlight held out her arms to a Venus as lovely as +herself.</p> +<p>Was it Echo? He had called to her once in the valley, +and she had answered him word for word. Could she mock the +eye, as she mocked the voice? Could she make a mimic world +just like the real world? Could the shadows of things have +colour and life and movement? Could it be that—?</p> +<p>He started, and taking from his breast the beautiful white +rose, he turned round, and kissed it. The monster had a +rose of its own, petal for petal the same! It kissed it +with like kisses, and pressed it to its heart with horrible +gestures.</p> +<p>When the truth dawned upon him, he gave a wild cry of despair, +and fell sobbing to the ground. So it was he who was +misshapen and hunchbacked, foul to look at and grotesque. +He himself was the monster, and it was at him that all the +children had been laughing, and the little Princess who he had +thought loved him—she too had been merely mocking at his +ugliness, and making merry over his twisted limbs. Why had +they not left him in the forest, where there was no mirror to +tell him how loathsome he was? Why had his father not +killed him, rather than sell him to his shame? The hot +tears poured down his cheeks, and he tore the white rose to +pieces. The sprawling monster did the same, and scattered +the faint petals in the air. It grovelled on the ground, +and, when he looked at it, it watched him with a face drawn with +pain. He crept away, lest he should see it, and covered his +eyes with his hands. He crawled, like some wounded thing, +into the shadow, and lay there moaning.</p> +<p>And at that moment the Infanta herself came in with her +companions through the open window, and when they saw the ugly +little dwarf lying on the ground and beating the floor with his +clenched hands, in the most fantastic and exaggerated manner, +they went off into shouts of happy laughter, and stood all round +him and watched him.</p> +<p>‘His dancing was funny,’ said the Infanta; +‘but his acting is funnier still. Indeed he is almost +as good as the puppets, only of course not quite so +natural.’ And she fluttered her big fan, and +applauded.</p> +<p>But the little Dwarf never looked up, and his sobs grew +fainter and fainter, and suddenly he gave a curious gasp, and +clutched his side. And then he fell back again, and lay +quite still.</p> +<p>‘That is capital,’ said the Infanta, after a +pause; ‘but now you must dance for me.’</p> +<p>‘Yes,’ cried all the children, ‘you must get +up and dance, for you are as clever as the Barbary apes, and much +more ridiculous.’ But the little Dwarf made no +answer.</p> +<p>And the Infanta stamped her foot, and called out to her uncle, +who was walking on the terrace with the Chamberlain, reading some +despatches that had just arrived from Mexico, where the Holy +Office had recently been established. ‘My funny +little dwarf is sulking,’ she cried, ‘you must wake +him up, and tell him to dance for me.’</p> +<p>They smiled at each other, and sauntered in, and Don Pedro +stooped down, and slapped the Dwarf on the cheek with his +embroidered glove. ‘You must dance,’ he said, +‘<i>petit monsire</i>. You must dance. The +Infanta of Spain and the Indies wishes to be amused.’</p> +<p>But the little Dwarf never moved.</p> +<p>‘A whipping master should be sent for,’ said Don +Pedro wearily, and he went back to the terrace. But the +Chamberlain looked grave, and he knelt beside the little dwarf, +and put his hand upon his heart. And after a few moments he +shrugged his shoulders, and rose up, and having made a low bow to +the Infanta, he said—</p> +<p>‘<i>Mi bella Princesa</i>, your funny little dwarf will +never dance again. It is a pity, for he is so ugly that he +might have made the King smile.’</p> +<p>‘But why will he not dance again?’ asked the +Infanta, laughing.</p> +<p>‘Because his heart is broken,’ answered the +Chamberlain.</p> +<p>And the Infanta frowned, and her dainty rose-leaf lips curled +in pretty disdain. ‘For the future let those who come +to play with me have no hearts,’ she cried, and she ran out +into the garden.</p> +<h2><a name="page73"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 73</span>THE +FISHERMAN AND HIS SOUL</h2> +<p style="text-align: center">TO H.S.H.<br /> +ALICE, PRINCESS<br /> +OF MONACO</p> +<p><span class="smcap">Every</span> evening the young Fisherman +went out upon the sea, and threw his nets into the water.</p> +<p>When the wind blew from the land he caught nothing, or but +little at best, for it was a bitter and black-winged wind, and +rough waves rose up to meet it. But when the wind blew to +the shore, the fish came in from the deep, and swam into the +meshes of his nets, and he took them to the market-place and sold +them.</p> +<p>Every evening he went out upon the sea, and one evening the +net was so heavy that hardly could he draw it into the +boat. And he laughed, and said to himself, ‘Surely I +have caught all the fish that swim, or snared some dull monster +that will be a marvel to men, or some thing of horror that the +great Queen will desire,’ and putting forth all his +strength, he tugged at the coarse ropes till, like lines of blue +enamel round a vase of bronze, the long veins rose up on his +arms. He tugged at the thin ropes, and nearer and nearer +came the circle of flat corks, and the net rose at last to the +top of the water.</p> +<p>But no fish at all was in it, nor any monster or thing of +horror, but only a little Mermaid lying fast asleep.</p> +<p>Her hair was as a wet fleece of gold, and each separate hair +as a thread of fine gold in a cup of glass. Her body was as +white ivory, and her tail was of silver and pearl. Silver +and pearl was her tail, and the green weeds of the sea coiled +round it; and like sea-shells were her ears, and her lips were +like sea-coral. The cold waves dashed over her cold +breasts, and the salt glistened upon her eyelids.</p> +<p>So beautiful was she that when the young Fisherman saw her he +was filled with wonder, and he put out his hand and drew the net +close to him, and leaning over the side he clasped her in his +arms. And when he touched her, she gave a cry like a +startled sea-gull, and woke, and looked at him in terror with her +mauve-amethyst eyes, and struggled that she might escape. +But he held her tightly to him, and would not suffer her to +depart.</p> +<p>And when she saw that she could in no way escape from him, she +began to weep, and said, ‘I pray thee let me go, for I am +the only daughter of a King, and my father is aged and +alone.’</p> +<p>But the young Fisherman answered, ‘I will not let thee +go save thou makest me a promise that whenever I call thee, thou +wilt come and sing to me, for the fish delight to listen to the +song of the Sea-folk, and so shall my nets be full.’</p> +<p>‘Wilt thou in very truth let me go, if I promise thee +this?’ cried the Mermaid.</p> +<p>‘In very truth I will let thee go,’ said the young +Fisherman.</p> +<p>So she made him the promise he desired, and sware it by the +oath of the Sea-folk. And he loosened his arms from about +her, and she sank down into the water, trembling with a strange +fear.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>Every evening the young Fisherman went out upon the sea, and +called to the Mermaid, and she rose out of the water and sang to +him. Round and round her swam the dolphins, and the wild +gulls wheeled above her head.</p> +<p>And she sang a marvellous song. For she sang of the +Sea-folk who drive their flocks from cave to cave, and carry the +little calves on their shoulders; of the Tritons who have long +green beards, and hairy breasts, and blow through twisted conchs +when the King passes by; of the palace of the King which is all +of amber, with a roof of clear emerald, and a pavement of bright +pearl; and of the gardens of the sea where the great filigrane +fans of coral wave all day long, and the fish dart about like +silver birds, and the anemones cling to the rocks, and the pinks +bourgeon in the ribbed yellow sand. She sang of the big +whales that come down from the north seas and have sharp icicles +hanging to their fins; of the Sirens who tell of such wonderful +things that the merchants have to stop their ears with wax lest +they should hear them, and leap into the water and be drowned; of +the sunken galleys with their tall masts, and the frozen sailors +clinging to the rigging, and the mackerel swimming in and out of +the open portholes; of the little barnacles who are great +travellers, and cling to the keels of the ships and go round and +round the world; and of the cuttlefish who live in the sides of +the cliffs and stretch out their long black arms, and can make +night come when they will it. She sang of the nautilus who +has a boat of her own that is carved out of an opal and steered +with a silken sail; of the happy Mermen who play upon harps and +can charm the great Kraken to sleep; of the little children who +catch hold of the slippery porpoises and ride laughing upon their +backs; of the Mermaids who lie in the white foam and hold out +their arms to the mariners; and of the sea-lions with their +curved tusks, and the sea-horses with their floating manes.</p> +<p>And as she sang, all the tunny-fish came in from the deep to +listen to her, and the young Fisherman threw his nets round them +and caught them, and others he took with a spear. And when +his boat was well-laden, the Mermaid would sink down into the +sea, smiling at him.</p> +<p>Yet would she never come near him that he might touch +her. Oftentimes he called to her and prayed of her, but she +would not; and when he sought to seize her she dived into the +water as a seal might dive, nor did he see her again that +day. And each day the sound of her voice became sweeter to +his ears. So sweet was her voice that he forgot his nets +and his cunning, and had no care of his craft. +Vermilion-finned and with eyes of bossy gold, the tunnies went by +in shoals, but he heeded them not. His spear lay by his +side unused, and his baskets of plaited osier were empty. +With lips parted, and eyes dim with wonder, he sat idle in his +boat and listened, listening till the sea-mists crept round him, +and the wandering moon stained his brown limbs with silver.</p> +<p>And one evening he called to her, and said: ‘Little +Mermaid, little Mermaid, I love thee. Take me for thy +bridegroom, for I love thee.’</p> +<p>But the Mermaid shook her head. ‘Thou hast a human +soul,’ she answered. ‘If only thou wouldst send +away thy soul, then could I love thee.’</p> +<p>And the young Fisherman said to himself, ‘Of what use is +my soul to me? I cannot see it. I may not touch +it. I do not know it. Surely I will send it away from +me, and much gladness shall be mine.’ And a cry of +joy broke from his lips, and standing up in the painted boat, he +held out his arms to the Mermaid. ‘I will send my +soul away,’ he cried, ‘and you shall be my bride, and +I will be thy bridegroom, and in the depth of the sea we will +dwell together, and all that thou hast sung of thou shalt show +me, and all that thou desirest I will do, nor shall our lives be +divided.’</p> +<p>And the little Mermaid laughed for pleasure and hid her face +in her hands.</p> +<p>‘But how shall I send my soul from me?’ cried the +young Fisherman. ‘Tell me how I may do it, and lo! it +shall be done.’</p> +<p>‘Alas! I know not,’ said the little Mermaid: +‘the Sea-folk have no souls.’ And she sank down +into the deep, looking wistfully at him.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>Now early on the next morning, before the sun was the span of +a man’s hand above the hill, the young Fisherman went to +the house of the Priest and knocked three times at the door.</p> +<p>The novice looked out through the wicket, and when he saw who +it was, he drew back the latch and said to him, +‘Enter.’</p> +<p>And the young Fisherman passed in, and knelt down on the +sweet-smelling rushes of the floor, and cried to the Priest who +was reading out of the Holy Book and said to him, ‘Father, +I am in love with one of the Sea-folk, and my soul hindereth me +from having my desire. Tell me how I can send my soul away +from me, for in truth I have no need of it. Of what value +is my soul to me? I cannot see it. I may not touch +it. I do not know it.’</p> +<p>And the Priest beat his breast, and answered, ‘Alack, +alack, thou art mad, or hast eaten of some poisonous herb, for +the soul is the noblest part of man, and was given to us by God +that we should nobly use it. There is no thing more +precious than a human soul, nor any earthly thing that can be +weighed with it. It is worth all the gold that is in the +world, and is more precious than the rubies of the kings. +Therefore, my son, think not any more of this matter, for it is a +sin that may not be forgiven. And as for the Sea-folk, they +are lost, and they who would traffic with them are lost +also. They are as the beasts of the field that know not +good from evil, and for them the Lord has not died.’</p> +<p>The young Fisherman’s eyes filled with tears when he +heard the bitter words of the Priest, and he rose up from his +knees and said to him, ‘Father, the Fauns live in the +forest and are glad, and on the rocks sit the Mermen with their +harps of red gold. Let me be as they are, I beseech thee, +for their days are as the days of flowers. And as for my +soul, what doth my soul profit me, if it stand between me and the +thing that I love?’</p> +<p>‘The love of the body is vile,’ cried the Priest, +knitting his brows, ‘and vile and evil are the pagan things +God suffers to wander through His world. Accursed be the +Fauns of the woodland, and accursed be the singers of the +sea! I have heard them at night-time, and they have sought +to lure me from my beads. They tap at the window, and +laugh. They whisper into my ears the tale of their perilous +joys. They tempt me with temptations, and when I would pray +they make mouths at me. They are lost, I tell thee, they +are lost. For them there is no heaven nor hell, and in +neither shall they praise God’s name.’</p> +<p>‘Father,’ cried the young Fisherman, ‘thou +knowest not what thou sayest. Once in my net I snared the +daughter of a King. She is fairer than the morning star, +and whiter than the moon. For her body I would give my +soul, and for her love I would surrender heaven. Tell me +what I ask of thee, and let me go in peace.’</p> +<p>‘Away! Away!’ cried the Priest: ‘thy +leman is lost, and thou shalt be lost with her.’</p> +<p>And he gave him no blessing, but drove him from his door.</p> +<p>And the young Fisherman went down into the market-place, and +he walked slowly, and with bowed head, as one who is in +sorrow.</p> +<p>And when the merchants saw him coming, they began to whisper +to each other, and one of them came forth to meet him, and called +him by name, and said to him, ‘What hast thou to +sell?’</p> +<p>‘I will sell thee my soul,’ he answered. +‘I pray thee buy it of me, for I am weary of it. Of +what use is my soul to me? I cannot see it. I may not +touch it. I do not know it.’</p> +<p>But the merchants mocked at him, and said, ‘Of what use +is a man’s soul to us? It is not worth a clipped +piece of silver. Sell us thy body for a slave, and we will +clothe thee in sea-purple, and put a ring upon thy finger, and +make thee the minion of the great Queen. But talk not of +the soul, for to us it is nought, nor has it any value for our +service.’</p> +<p>And the young Fisherman said to himself: ‘How strange a +thing this is! The Priest telleth me that the soul is worth +all the gold in the world, and the merchants say that it is not +worth a clipped piece of silver.’ And he passed out +of the market-place, and went down to the shore of the sea, and +began to ponder on what he should do.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>And at noon he remembered how one of his companions, who was a +gatherer of samphire, had told him of a certain young Witch who +dwelt in a cave at the head of the bay and was very cunning in +her witcheries. And he set to and ran, so eager was he to +get rid of his soul, and a cloud of dust followed him as he sped +round the sand of the shore. By the itching of her palm the +young Witch knew his coming, and she laughed and let down her red +hair. With her red hair falling around her, she stood at +the opening of the cave, and in her hand she had a spray of wild +hemlock that was blossoming.</p> +<p>‘What d’ye lack? What d’ye +lack?’ she cried, as he came panting up the steep, and bent +down before her. ‘Fish for thy net, when the wind is +foul? I have a little reed-pipe, and when I blow on it the +mullet come sailing into the bay. But it has a price, +pretty boy, it has a price. What d’ye lack? +What d’ye lack? A storm to wreck the ships, and wash +the chests of rich treasure ashore? I have more storms than +the wind has, for I serve one who is stronger than the wind, and +with a sieve and a pail of water I can send the great galleys to +the bottom of the sea. But I have a price, pretty boy, I +have a price. What d’ye lack? What d’ye +lack? I know a flower that grows in the valley, none knows +it but I. It has purple leaves, and a star in its heart, +and its juice is as white as milk. Shouldst thou touch with +this flower the hard lips of the Queen, she would follow thee all +over the world. Out of the bed of the King she would rise, +and over the whole world she would follow thee. And it has +a price, pretty boy, it has a price. What d’ye +lack? What d’ye lack? I can pound a toad in a +mortar, and make broth of it, and stir the broth with a dead +man’s hand. Sprinkle it on thine enemy while he +sleeps, and he will turn into a black viper, and his own mother +will slay him. With a wheel I can draw the Moon from +heaven, and in a crystal I can show thee Death. What +d’ye lack? What d’ye lack? Tell me thy +desire, and I will give it thee, and thou shalt pay me a price, +pretty boy, thou shalt pay me a price.’</p> +<p>‘My desire is but for a little thing,’ said the +young Fisherman, ‘yet hath the Priest been wroth with me, +and driven me forth. It is but for a little thing, and the +merchants have mocked at me, and denied me. Therefore am I +come to thee, though men call thee evil, and whatever be thy +price I shall pay it.’</p> +<p>‘What wouldst thou?’ asked the Witch, coming near +to him.</p> +<p>‘I would send my soul away from me,’ answered the +young Fisherman.</p> +<p>The Witch grew pale, and shuddered, and hid her face in her +blue mantle. ‘Pretty boy, pretty boy,’ she +muttered, ‘that is a terrible thing to do.’</p> +<p>He tossed his brown curls and laughed. ‘My soul is +nought to me,’ he answered. ‘I cannot see +it. I may not touch it. I do not know it.’</p> +<p>‘What wilt thou give me if I tell thee?’ asked the +Witch, looking down at him with her beautiful eyes.</p> +<p>‘Five pieces of gold,’ he said, ‘and my +nets, and the wattled house where I live, and the painted boat in +which I sail. Only tell me how to get rid of my soul, and I +will give thee all that I possess.’</p> +<p>She laughed mockingly at him, and struck him with the spray of +hemlock. ‘I can turn the autumn leaves into +gold,’ she answered, ‘and I can weave the pale +moonbeams into silver if I will it. He whom I serve is +richer than all the kings of this world, and has their +dominions.’</p> +<p>‘What then shall I give thee,’ he cried, ‘if +thy price be neither gold nor silver?’</p> +<p>The Witch stroked his hair with her thin white hand. +‘Thou must dance with me, pretty boy,’ she murmured, +and she smiled at him as she spoke.</p> +<p>‘Nought but that?’ cried the young Fisherman in +wonder and he rose to his feet.</p> +<p>‘Nought but that,’ she answered, and she smiled at +him again.</p> +<p>‘Then at sunset in some secret place we shall dance +together,’ he said, ‘and after that we have danced +thou shalt tell me the thing which I desire to know.’</p> +<p>She shook her head. ‘When the moon is full, when +the moon is full,’ she muttered. Then she peered all +round, and listened. A blue bird rose screaming from its +nest and circled over the dunes, and three spotted birds rustled +through the coarse grey grass and whistled to each other. +There was no other sound save the sound of a wave fretting the +smooth pebbles below. So she reached out her hand, and drew +him near to her and put her dry lips close to his ear.</p> +<p>‘To-night thou must come to the top of the +mountain,’ she whispered. ‘It is a Sabbath, and +He will be there.’</p> +<p>The young Fisherman started and looked at her, and she showed +her white teeth and laughed. ‘Who is He of whom thou +speakest?’ he asked.</p> +<p>‘It matters not,’ she answered. ‘Go +thou to-night, and stand under the branches of the hornbeam, and +wait for my coming. If a black dog run towards thee, strike +it with a rod of willow, and it will go away. If an owl +speak to thee, make it no answer. When the moon is full I +shall be with thee, and we will dance together on the +grass.’</p> +<p>‘But wilt thou swear to me to tell me how I may send my +soul from me?’ he made question.</p> +<p>She moved out into the sunlight, and through her red hair +rippled the wind. ‘By the hoofs of the goat I swear +it,’ she made answer.</p> +<p>‘Thou art the best of the witches,’ cried the +young Fisherman, ‘and I will surely dance with thee +to-night on the top of the mountain. I would indeed that +thou hadst asked of me either gold or silver. But such as +thy price is thou shalt have it, for it is but a little +thing.’ And he doffed his cap to her, and bent his +head low, and ran back to the town filled with a great joy.</p> +<p>And the Witch watched him as he went, and when he had passed +from her sight she entered her cave, and having taken a mirror +from a box of carved cedarwood, she set it up on a frame, and +burned vervain on lighted charcoal before it, and peered through +the coils of the smoke. And after a time she clenched her +hands in anger. ‘He should have been mine,’ she +muttered, ‘I am as fair as she is.’</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>And that evening, when the moon had risen, the young Fisherman +climbed up to the top of the mountain, and stood under the +branches of the hornbeam. Like a targe of polished metal +the round sea lay at his feet, and the shadows of the +fishing-boats moved in the little bay. A great owl, with +yellow sulphurous eyes, called to him by his name, but he made it +no answer. A black dog ran towards him and snarled. +He struck it with a rod of willow, and it went away whining.</p> +<p>At midnight the witches came flying through the air like +bats. ‘Phew!’ they cried, as they lit upon the +ground, ‘there is some one here we know not!’ and +they sniffed about, and chattered to each other, and made +signs. Last of all came the young Witch, with her red hair +streaming in the wind. She wore a dress of gold tissue +embroidered with peacocks’ eyes, and a little cap of green +velvet was on her head.</p> +<p>‘Where is he, where is he?’ shrieked the witches +when they saw her, but she only laughed, and ran to the hornbeam, +and taking the Fisherman by the hand she led him out into the +moonlight and began to dance.</p> +<p>Round and round they whirled, and the young Witch jumped so +high that he could see the scarlet heels of her shoes. Then +right across the dancers came the sound of the galloping of a +horse, but no horse was to be seen, and he felt afraid.</p> +<p>‘Faster,’ cried the Witch, and she threw her arms +about his neck, and her breath was hot upon his face. +‘Faster, faster!’ she cried, and the earth seemed to +spin beneath his feet, and his brain grew troubled, and a great +terror fell on him, as of some evil thing that was watching him, +and at last he became aware that under the shadow of a rock there +was a figure that had not been there before.</p> +<p>It was a man dressed in a suit of black velvet, cut in the +Spanish fashion. His face was strangely pale, but his lips +were like a proud red flower. He seemed weary, and was +leaning back toying in a listless manner with the pommel of his +dagger. On the grass beside him lay a plumed hat, and a +pair of riding-gloves gauntleted with gilt lace, and sewn with +seed-pearls wrought into a curious device. A short cloak +lined with sables hang from his shoulder, and his delicate white +hands were gemmed with rings. Heavy eyelids drooped over +his eyes.</p> +<p>The young Fisherman watched him, as one snared in a +spell. At last their eyes met, and wherever he danced it +seemed to him that the eyes of the man were upon him. He +heard the Witch laugh, and caught her by the waist, and whirled +her madly round and round.</p> +<p>Suddenly a dog bayed in the wood, and the dancers stopped, and +going up two by two, knelt down, and kissed the man’s +hands. As they did so, a little smile touched his proud +lips, as a bird’s wing touches the water and makes it +laugh. But there was disdain in it. He kept looking +at the young Fisherman.</p> +<p>‘Come! let us worship,’ whispered the Witch, and +she led him up, and a great desire to do as she besought him +seized on him, and he followed her. But when he came close, +and without knowing why he did it, he made on his breast the sign +of the Cross, and called upon the holy name.</p> +<p>No sooner had he done so than the witches screamed like hawks +and flew away, and the pallid face that had been watching him +twitched with a spasm of pain. The man went over to a +little wood, and whistled. A jennet with silver trappings +came running to meet him. As he leapt upon the saddle he +turned round, and looked at the young Fisherman sadly.</p> +<p>And the Witch with the red hair tried to fly away also, but +the Fisherman caught her by her wrists, and held her fast.</p> +<p>‘Loose me,’ she cried, ‘and let me go. +For thou hast named what should not be named, and shown the sign +that may not be looked at.’</p> +<p>‘Nay,’ he answered, ‘but I will not let thee +go till thou hast told me the secret.’</p> +<p>‘What secret?’ said the Witch, wrestling with him +like a wild cat, and biting her foam-flecked lips.</p> +<p>‘Thou knowest,’ he made answer.</p> +<p>Her grass-green eyes grew dim with tears, and she said to the +Fisherman, ‘Ask me anything but that!’</p> +<p>He laughed, and held her all the more tightly.</p> +<p>And when she saw that she could not free herself, she +whispered to him, ‘Surely I am as fair as the daughters of +the sea, and as comely as those that dwell in the blue +waters,’ and she fawned on him and put her face close to +his.</p> +<p>But he thrust her back frowning, and said to her, ‘If +thou keepest not the promise that thou madest to me I will slay +thee for a false witch.’</p> +<p>She grew grey as a blossom of the Judas tree, and +shuddered. ‘Be it so,’ she muttered. +‘It is thy soul and not mine. Do with it as thou +wilt.’ And she took from her girdle a little knife +that had a handle of green viper’s skin, and gave it to +him.</p> +<p>‘What shall this serve me?’ he asked of her, +wondering.</p> +<p>She was silent for a few moments, and a look of terror came +over her face. Then she brushed her hair back from her +forehead, and smiling strangely she said to him, ‘What men +call the shadow of the body is not the shadow of the body, but is +the body of the soul. Stand on the sea-shore with thy back +to the moon, and cut away from around thy feet thy shadow, which +is thy soul’s body, and bid thy soul leave thee, and it +will do so.’</p> +<p>The young Fisherman trembled. ‘Is this +true?’ he murmured.</p> +<p>‘It is true, and I would that I had not told thee of +it,’ she cried, and she clung to his knees weeping.</p> +<p>He put her from him and left her in the rank grass, and going +to the edge of the mountain he placed the knife in his belt and +began to climb down.</p> +<p>And his Soul that was within him called out to him and said, +‘Lo! I have dwelt with thee for all these years, and +have been thy servant. Send me not away from thee now, for +what evil have I done thee?’</p> +<p>And the young Fisherman laughed. ‘Thou hast done +me no evil, but I have no need of thee,’ he answered. +‘The world is wide, and there is Heaven also, and Hell, and +that dim twilight house that lies between. Go wherever thou +wilt, but trouble me not, for my love is calling to +me.’</p> +<p>And his Soul besought him piteously, but he heeded it not, but +leapt from crag to crag, being sure-footed as a wild goat, and at +last he reached the level ground and the yellow shore of the +sea.</p> +<p>Bronze-limbed and well-knit, like a statue wrought by a +Grecian, he stood on the sand with his back to the moon, and out +of the foam came white arms that beckoned to him, and out of the +waves rose dim forms that did him homage. Before him lay +his shadow, which was the body of his soul, and behind him hung +the moon in the honey-coloured air.</p> +<p>And his Soul said to him, ‘If indeed thou must drive me +from thee, send me not forth without a heart. The world is +cruel, give me thy heart to take with me.’</p> +<p>He tossed his head and smiled. ‘With what should I +love my love if I gave thee my heart?’ he cried.</p> +<p>‘Nay, but be merciful,’ said his Soul: ‘give +me thy heart, for the world is very cruel, and I am +afraid.’</p> +<p>‘My heart is my love’s,’ he answered, +‘therefore tarry not, but get thee gone.’</p> +<p>‘Should I not love also?’ asked his Soul.</p> +<p>‘Get thee gone, for I have no need of thee,’ cried +the young Fisherman, and he took the little knife with its handle +of green viper’s skin, and cut away his shadow from around +his feet, and it rose up and stood before him, and looked at him, +and it was even as himself.</p> +<p>He crept back, and thrust the knife into his belt, and a +feeling of awe came over him. ‘Get thee gone,’ +he murmured, ‘and let me see thy face no more.’</p> +<p>‘Nay, but we must meet again,’ said the +Soul. Its voice was low and flute-like, and its lips hardly +moved while it spake.</p> +<p>‘How shall we meet?’ cried the young +Fisherman. ‘Thou wilt not follow me into the depths +of the sea?’</p> +<p>‘Once every year I will come to this place, and call to +thee,’ said the Soul. ‘It may be that thou wilt +have need of me.’</p> +<p>‘What need should I have of thee?’ cried the young +Fisherman, ‘but be it as thou wilt,’ and he plunged +into the waters and the Tritons blew their horns and the little +Mermaid rose up to meet him, and put her arms around his neck and +kissed him on the mouth.</p> +<p>And the Soul stood on the lonely beach and watched them. +And when they had sunk down into the sea, it went weeping away +over the marshes.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>And after a year was over the Soul came down to the shore of +the sea and called to the young Fisherman, and he rose out of the +deep, and said, ‘Why dost thou call to me?’</p> +<p>And the Soul answered, ‘Come nearer, that I may speak +with thee, for I have seen marvellous things.’</p> +<p>So he came nearer, and couched in the shallow water, and +leaned his head upon his hand and listened.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>And the Soul said to him, ‘When I left thee I turned my +face to the East and journeyed. From the East cometh +everything that is wise. Six days I journeyed, and on the +morning of the seventh day I came to a hill that is in the +country of the Tartars. I sat down under the shade of a +tamarisk tree to shelter myself from the sun. The land was +dry and burnt up with the heat. The people went to and fro +over the plain like flies crawling upon a disk of polished +copper.</p> +<p>‘When it was noon a cloud of red dust rose up from the +flat rim of the land. When the Tartars saw it, they strung +their painted bows, and having leapt upon their little horses +they galloped to meet it. The women fled screaming to the +waggons, and hid themselves behind the felt curtains.</p> +<p>‘At twilight the Tartars returned, but five of them were +missing, and of those that came back not a few had been +wounded. They harnessed their horses to the waggons and +drove hastily away. Three jackals came out of a cave and +peered after them. Then they sniffed up the air with their +nostrils, and trotted off in the opposite direction.</p> +<p>‘When the moon rose I saw a camp-fire burning on the +plain, and went towards it. A company of merchants were +seated round it on carpets. Their camels were picketed +behind them, and the negroes who were their servants were +pitching tents of tanned skin upon the sand, and making a high +wall of the prickly pear.</p> +<p>‘As I came near them, the chief of the merchants rose up +and drew his sword, and asked me my business.</p> +<p>‘I answered that I was a Prince in my own land, and that +I had escaped from the Tartars, who had sought to make me their +slave. The chief smiled, and showed me five heads fixed +upon long reeds of bamboo.</p> +<p>‘Then he asked me who was the prophet of God, and I +answered him Mohammed.</p> +<p>‘When he heard the name of the false prophet, he bowed +and took me by the hand, and placed me by his side. A negro +brought me some mare’s milk in a wooden dish, and a piece +of lamb’s flesh roasted.</p> +<p>‘At daybreak we started on our journey. I rode on +a red-haired camel by the side of the chief, and a runner ran +before us carrying a spear. The men of war were on either +hand, and the mules followed with the merchandise. There +were forty camels in the caravan, and the mules were twice forty +in number.</p> +<p>‘We went from the country of the Tartars into the +country of those who curse the Moon. We saw the Gryphons +guarding their gold on the white rocks, and the scaled Dragons +sleeping in their caves. As we passed over the mountains we +held our breath lest the snows might fall on us, and each man +tied a veil of gauze before his eyes. As we passed through +the valleys the Pygmies shot arrows at us from the hollows of the +trees, and at night-time we heard the wild men beating on their +drums. When we came to the Tower of Apes we set fruits +before them, and they did not harm us. When we came to the +Tower of Serpents we gave them warm milk in howls of brass, and +they let us go by. Three times in our journey we came to +the banks of the Oxus. We crossed it on rafts of wood with +great bladders of blown hide. The river-horses raged +against us and sought to slay us. When the camels saw them +they trembled.</p> +<p>‘The kings of each city levied tolls on us, but would +not suffer us to enter their gates. They threw us bread +over the walls, little maize-cakes baked in honey and cakes of +fine flour filled with dates. For every hundred baskets we +gave them a bead of amber.</p> +<p>‘When the dwellers in the villages saw us coming, they +poisoned the wells and fled to the hill-summits. We fought +with the Magadae who are born old, and grow younger and younger +every year, and die when they are little children; and with the +Laktroi who say that they are the sons of tigers, and paint +themselves yellow and black; and with the Aurantes who bury their +dead on the tops of trees, and themselves live in dark caverns +lest the Sun, who is their god, should slay them; and with the +Krimnians who worship a crocodile, and give it earrings of green +glass, and feed it with butter and fresh fowls; and with the +Agazonbae, who are dog-faced; and with the Sibans, who have +horses’ feet, and run more swiftly than horses. A +third of our company died in battle, and a third died of +want. The rest murmured against me, and said that I had +brought them an evil fortune. I took a horned adder from +beneath a stone and let it sting me. When they saw that I +did not sicken they grew afraid.</p> +<p>‘In the fourth month we reached the city of Illel. +It was night-time when we came to the grove that is outside the +walls, and the air was sultry, for the Moon was travelling in +Scorpion. We took the ripe pomegranates from the trees, and +brake them, and drank their sweet juices. Then we lay down +on our carpets, and waited for the dawn.</p> +<p>‘And at dawn we rose and knocked at the gate of the +city. It was wrought out of red bronze, and carved with +sea-dragons and dragons that have wings. The guards looked +down from the battlements and asked us our business. The +interpreter of the caravan answered that we had come from the +island of Syria with much merchandise. They took hostages, +and told us that they would open the gate to us at noon, and bade +us tarry till then.</p> +<p>‘When it was noon they opened the gate, and as we +entered in the people came crowding out of the houses to look at +us, and a crier went round the city crying through a shell. +We stood in the market-place, and the negroes uncorded the bales +of figured cloths and opened the carved chests of sycamore. +And when they had ended their task, the merchants set forth their +strange wares, the waxed linen from Egypt and the painted linen +from the country of the Ethiops, the purple sponges from Tyre and +the blue hangings from Sidon, the cups of cold amber and the fine +vessels of glass and the curious vessels of burnt clay. +From the roof of a house a company of women watched us. One +of them wore a mask of gilded leather.</p> +<p>‘And on the first day the priests came and bartered with +us, and on the second day came the nobles, and on the third day +came the craftsmen and the slaves. And this is their custom +with all merchants as long as they tarry in the city.</p> +<p>‘And we tarried for a moon, and when the moon was +waning, I wearied and wandered away through the streets of the +city and came to the garden of its god. The priests in +their yellow robes moved silently through the green trees, and on +a pavement of black marble stood the rose-red house in which the +god had his dwelling. Its doors were of powdered lacquer, +and bulls and peacocks were wrought on them in raised and +polished gold. The tilted roof was of sea-green porcelain, +and the jutting eaves were festooned with little bells. +When the white doves flew past, they struck the bells with their +wings and made them tinkle.</p> +<p>‘In front of the temple was a pool of clear water paved +with veined onyx. I lay down beside it, and with my pale +fingers I touched the broad leaves. One of the priests came +towards me and stood behind me. He had sandals on his feet, +one of soft serpent-skin and the other of birds’ +plumage. On his head was a mitre of black felt decorated +with silver crescents. Seven yellows were woven into his +robe, and his frizzed hair was stained with antimony.</p> +<p>‘After a little while he spake to me, and asked me my +desire.</p> +<p>‘I told him that my desire was to see the god.</p> +<p>‘“The god is hunting,” said the priest, +looking strangely at me with his small slanting eyes.</p> +<p>‘“Tell me in what forest, and I will ride with +him,” I answered.</p> +<p>‘He combed out the soft fringes of his tunic with his +long pointed nails. “The god is asleep,” he +murmured.</p> +<p>‘“Tell me on what couch, and I will watch by +him,” I answered.</p> +<p>‘“The god is at the feast,” he cried.</p> +<p>‘“If the wine be sweet I will drink it with him, +and if it be bitter I will drink it with him also,” was my +answer.</p> +<p>‘He bowed his head in wonder, and, taking me by the +hand, he raised me up, and led me into the temple.</p> +<p>‘And in the first chamber I saw an idol seated on a +throne of jasper bordered with great orient pearls. It was +carved out of ebony, and in stature was of the stature of a +man. On its forehead was a ruby, and thick oil dripped from +its hair on to its thighs. Its feet were red with the blood +of a newly-slain kid, and its loins girt with a copper belt that +was studded with seven beryls.</p> +<p>‘And I said to the priest, “Is this the +god?” And he answered me, “This is the +god.”</p> +<p>‘“Show me the god,” I cried, “or I +will surely slay thee.” And I touched his hand, and +it became withered.</p> +<p>‘And the priest besought me, saying, “Let my lord +heal his servant, and I will show him the god.”</p> +<p>‘So I breathed with my breath upon his hand, and it +became whole again, and he trembled and led me into the second +chamber, and I saw an idol standing on a lotus of jade hung with +great emeralds. It was carved out of ivory, and in stature +was twice the stature of a man. On its forehead was a +chrysolite, and its breasts were smeared with myrrh and +cinnamon. In one hand it held a crooked sceptre of jade, +and in the other a round crystal. It ware buskins of brass, +and its thick neck was circled with a circle of selenites.</p> +<p>‘And I said to the priest, “Is this the +god?”</p> +<p>‘And he answered me, “This is the god.”</p> +<p>‘“Show me the god,” I cried, “or I +will surely slay thee.” And I touched his eyes, and +they became blind.</p> +<p>‘And the priest besought me, saying, “Let my lord +heal his servant, and I will show him the god.”</p> +<p>‘So I breathed with my breath upon his eyes, and the +sight came back to them, and he trembled again, and led me into +the third chamber, and lo! there was no idol in it, nor image of +any kind, but only a mirror of round metal set on an altar of +stone.</p> +<p>‘And I said to the priest, “Where is the +god?”</p> +<p>‘And he answered me: “There is no god but this +mirror that thou seest, for this is the Mirror of Wisdom. +And it reflecteth all things that are in heaven and on earth, +save only the face of him who looketh into it. This it +reflecteth not, so that he who looketh into it may be wise. +Many other mirrors are there, but they are mirrors of +Opinion. This only is the Mirror of Wisdom. And they +who possess this mirror know everything, nor is there anything +hidden from them. And they who possess it not have not +Wisdom. Therefore is it the god, and we worship +it.” And I looked into the mirror, and it was even as +he had said to me.</p> +<p>‘And I did a strange thing, but what I did matters not, +for in a valley that is but a day’s journey from this place +have I hidden the Mirror of Wisdom. Do but suffer me to +enter into thee again and be thy servant, and thou shalt be wiser +than all the wise men, and Wisdom shall be thine. Suffer me +to enter into thee, and none will be as wise as thou.’</p> +<p>But the young Fisherman laughed. ‘Love is better +than Wisdom,’ he cried, ‘and the little Mermaid loves +me.’</p> +<p>‘Nay, but there is nothing better than Wisdom,’ +said the Soul.</p> +<p>‘Love is better,’ answered the young Fisherman, +and he plunged into the deep, and the Soul went weeping away over +the marshes.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>And after the second year was over, the Soul came down to the +shore of the sea, and called to the young Fisherman, and he rose +out of the deep and said, ‘Why dost thou call to +me?’</p> +<p>And the Soul answered, ‘Come nearer, that I may speak +with thee, for I have seen marvellous things.’</p> +<p>So he came nearer, and couched in the shallow water, and +leaned his head upon his hand and listened.</p> +<p>And the Soul said to him, ‘When I left thee, I turned my +face to the South and journeyed. From the South cometh +everything that is precious. Six days I journeyed along the +highways that lead to the city of Ashter, along the dusty +red-dyed highways by which the pilgrims are wont to go did I +journey, and on the morning of the seventh day I lifted up my +eyes, and lo! the city lay at my feet, for it is in a valley.</p> +<p>‘There are nine gates to this city, and in front of each +gate stands a bronze horse that neighs when the Bedouins come +down from the mountains. The walls are cased with copper, +and the watch-towers on the walls are roofed with brass. In +every tower stands an archer with a bow in his hand. At +sunrise he strikes with an arrow on a gong, and at sunset he +blows through a horn of horn.</p> +<p>‘When I sought to enter, the guards stopped me and asked +of me who I was. I made answer that I was a Dervish and on +my way to the city of Mecca, where there was a green veil on +which the Koran was embroidered in silver letters by the hands of +the angels. They were filled with wonder, and entreated me +to pass in.</p> +<p>‘Inside it is even as a bazaar. Surely thou +shouldst have been with me. Across the narrow streets the +gay lanterns of paper flutter like large butterflies. When +the wind blows over the roofs they rise and fall as painted +bubbles do. In front of their booths sit the merchants on +silken carpets. They have straight black beards, and their +turbans are covered with golden sequins, and long strings of +amber and carved peach-stones glide through their cool +fingers. Some of them sell galbanum and nard, and curious +perfumes from the islands of the Indian Sea, and the thick oil of +red roses, and myrrh and little nail-shaped cloves. When +one stops to speak to them, they throw pinches of frankincense +upon a charcoal brazier and make the air sweet. I saw a +Syrian who held in his hands a thin rod like a reed. Grey +threads of smoke came from it, and its odour as it burned was as +the odour of the pink almond in spring. Others sell silver +bracelets embossed all over with creamy blue turquoise stones, +and anklets of brass wire fringed with little pearls, and +tigers’ claws set in gold, and the claws of that gilt cat, +the leopard, set in gold also, and earrings of pierced emerald, +and finger-rings of hollowed jade. From the tea-houses +comes the sound of the guitar, and the opium-smokers with their +white smiling faces look out at the passers-by.</p> +<p>‘Of a truth thou shouldst have been with me. The +wine-sellers elbow their way through the crowd with great black +skins on their shoulders. Most of them sell the wine of +Schiraz, which is as sweet as honey. They serve it in +little metal cups and strew rose leaves upon it. In the +market-place stand the fruitsellers, who sell all kinds of fruit: +ripe figs, with their bruised purple flesh, melons, smelling of +musk and yellow as topazes, citrons and rose-apples and clusters +of white grapes, round red-gold oranges, and oval lemons of green +gold. Once I saw an elephant go by. Its trunk was +painted with vermilion and turmeric, and over its ears it had a +net of crimson silk cord. It stopped opposite one of the +booths and began eating the oranges, and the man only +laughed. Thou canst not think how strange a people they +are. When they are glad they go to the bird-sellers and buy +of them a caged bird, and set it free that their joy may be +greater, and when they are sad they scourge themselves with +thorns that their sorrow may not grow less.</p> +<p>‘One evening I met some negroes carrying a heavy +palanquin through the bazaar. It was made of gilded bamboo, +and the poles were of vermilion lacquer studded with brass +peacocks. Across the windows hung thin curtains of muslin +embroidered with beetles’ wings and with tiny seed-pearls, +and as it passed by a pale-faced Circassian looked out and smiled +at me. I followed behind, and the negroes hurried their +steps and scowled. But I did not care. I felt a great +curiosity come over me.</p> +<p>‘At last they stopped at a square white house. +There were no windows to it, only a little door like the door of +a tomb. They set down the palanquin and knocked three times +with a copper hammer. An Armenian in a caftan of green +leather peered through the wicket, and when he saw them he +opened, and spread a carpet on the ground, and the woman stepped +out. As she went in, she turned round and smiled at me +again. I had never seen any one so pale.</p> +<p>‘When the moon rose I returned to the same place and +sought for the house, but it was no longer there. When I +saw that, I knew who the woman was, and wherefore she had smiled +at me.</p> +<p>‘Certainly thou shouldst have been with me. On the +feast of the New Moon the young Emperor came forth from his +palace and went into the mosque to pray. His hair and beard +were dyed with rose-leaves, and his cheeks were powdered with a +fine gold dust. The palms of his feet and hands were yellow +with saffron.</p> +<p>‘At sunrise he went forth from his palace in a robe of +silver, and at sunset he returned to it again in a robe of +gold. The people flung themselves on the ground and hid +their faces, but I would not do so. I stood by the stall of +a seller of dates and waited. When the Emperor saw me, he +raised his painted eyebrows and stopped. I stood quite +still, and made him no obeisance. The people marvelled at +my boldness, and counselled me to flee from the city. I +paid no heed to them, but went and sat with the sellers of +strange gods, who by reason of their craft are abominated. +When I told them what I had done, each of them gave me a god and +prayed me to leave them.</p> +<p>‘That night, as I lay on a cushion in the tea-house that +is in the Street of Pomegranates, the guards of the Emperor +entered and led me to the palace. As I went in they closed +each door behind me, and put a chain across it. Inside was +a great court with an arcade running all round. The walls +were of white alabaster, set here and there with blue and green +tiles. The pillars were of green marble, and the pavement +of a kind of peach-blossom marble. I had never seen +anything like it before.</p> +<p>‘As I passed across the court two veiled women looked +down from a balcony and cursed me. The guards hastened on, +and the butts of the lances rang upon the polished floor. +They opened a gate of wrought ivory, and I found myself in a +watered garden of seven terraces. It was planted with +tulip-cups and moonflowers, and silver-studded aloes. Like +a slim reed of crystal a fountain hung in the dusky air. +The cypress-trees were like burnt-out torches. From one of +them a nightingale was singing.</p> +<p>‘At the end of the garden stood a little pavilion. +As we approached it two eunuchs came out to meet us. Their +fat bodies swayed as they walked, and they glanced curiously at +me with their yellow-lidded eyes. One of them drew aside +the captain of the guard, and in a low voice whispered to +him. The other kept munching scented pastilles, which he +took with an affected gesture out of an oval box of lilac +enamel.</p> +<p>‘After a few moments the captain of the guard dismissed +the soldiers. They went back to the palace, the eunuchs +following slowly behind and plucking the sweet mulberries from +the trees as they passed. Once the elder of the two turned +round, and smiled at me with an evil smile.</p> +<p>‘Then the captain of the guard motioned me towards the +entrance of the pavilion. I walked on without trembling, +and drawing the heavy curtain aside I entered in.</p> +<p>‘The young Emperor was stretched on a couch of dyed lion +skins, and a gerfalcon perched upon his wrist. Behind him +stood a brass-turbaned Nubian, naked down to the waist, and with +heavy earrings in his split ears. On a table by the side of +the couch lay a mighty scimitar of steel.</p> +<p>‘When the Emperor saw me he frowned, and said to me, +“What is thy name? Knowest thou not that I am Emperor +of this city?” But I made him no answer.</p> +<p>‘He pointed with his finger at the scimitar, and the +Nubian seized it, and rushing forward struck at me with great +violence. The blade whizzed through me, and did me no +hurt. The man fell sprawling on the floor, and when he rose +up his teeth chattered with terror and he hid himself behind the +couch.</p> +<p>‘The Emperor leapt to his feet, and taking a lance from +a stand of arms, he threw it at me. I caught it in its +flight, and brake the shaft into two pieces. He shot at me +with an arrow, but I held up my hands and it stopped in +mid-air. Then he drew a dagger from a belt of white +leather, and stabbed the Nubian in the throat lest the slave +should tell of his dishonour. The man writhed like a +trampled snake, and a red foam bubbled from his lips.</p> +<p>‘As soon as he was dead the Emperor turned to me, and +when he had wiped away the bright sweat from his brow with a +little napkin of purfled and purple silk, he said to me, +“Art thou a prophet, that I may not harm thee, or the son +of a prophet, that I can do thee no hurt? I pray thee leave +my city to-night, for while thou art in it I am no longer its +lord.”</p> +<p>‘And I answered him, “I will go for half of thy +treasure. Give me half of thy treasure, and I will go +away.”</p> +<p>‘He took me by the hand, and led me out into the +garden. When the captain of the guard saw me, he +wondered. When the eunuchs saw me, their knees shook and +they fell upon the ground in fear.</p> +<p>‘There is a chamber in the palace that has eight walls +of red porphyry, and a brass-sealed ceiling hung with +lamps. The Emperor touched one of the walls and it opened, +and we passed down a corridor that was lit with many +torches. In niches upon each side stood great wine-jars +filled to the brim with silver pieces. When we reached the +centre of the corridor the Emperor spake the word that may not be +spoken, and a granite door swung back on a secret spring, and he +put his hands before his face lest his eyes should be +dazzled.</p> +<p>‘Thou couldst not believe how marvellous a place it +was. There were huge tortoise-shells full of pearls, and +hollowed moonstones of great size piled up with red rubies. +The gold was stored in coffers of elephant-hide, and the +gold-dust in leather bottles. There were opals and +sapphires, the former in cups of crystal, and the latter in cups +of jade. Round green emeralds were ranged in order upon +thin plates of ivory, and in one corner were silk bags filled, +some with turquoise-stones, and others with beryls. The +ivory horns were heaped with purple amethysts, and the horns of +brass with chalcedonies and sards. The pillars, which were +of cedar, were hung with strings of yellow lynx-stones. In +the flat oval shields there were carbuncles, both wine-coloured +and coloured like grass. And yet I have told thee but a +tithe of what was there.</p> +<p>‘And when the Emperor had taken away his hands from +before his face he said to me: “This is my house of +treasure, and half that is in it is thine, even as I promised to +thee. And I will give thee camels and camel drivers, and +they shall do thy bidding and take thy share of the treasure to +whatever part of the world thou desirest to go. And the +thing shall be done to-night, for I would not that the Sun, who +is my father, should see that there is in my city a man whom I +cannot slay.”</p> +<p>‘But I answered him, “The gold that is here is +thine, and the silver also is thine, and thine are the precious +jewels and the things of price. As for me, I have no need +of these. Nor shall I take aught from thee but that little +ring that thou wearest on the finger of thy hand.”</p> +<p>‘And the Emperor frowned. “It is but a ring +of lead,” he cried, “nor has it any value. +Therefore take thy half of the treasure and go from my +city.”</p> +<p>‘“Nay,” I answered, “but I will take +nought but that leaden ring, for I know what is written within +it, and for what purpose.”</p> +<p>‘And the Emperor trembled, and besought me and said, +“Take all the treasure and go from my city. The half +that is mine shall be thine also.”</p> +<p>‘And I did a strange thing, but what I did matters not, +for in a cave that is but a day’s journey from this place +have, I hidden the Ring of Riches. It is but a day’s +journey from this place, and it waits for thy coming. He +who has this Ring is richer than all the kings of the +world. Come therefore and take it, and the world’s +riches shall be thine.’</p> +<p>But the young Fisherman laughed. ‘Love is better +than Riches,’ he cried, ‘and the little Mermaid loves +me.’</p> +<p>‘Nay, but there is nothing better than Riches,’ +said the Soul.</p> +<p>‘Love is better,’ answered the young Fisherman, +and he plunged into the deep, and the Soul went weeping away over +the marshes.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>And after the third year was over, the Soul came down to the +shore of the sea, and called to the young Fisherman, and he rose +out of the deep and said, ‘Why dost thou call to +me?’</p> +<p>And the Soul answered, ‘Come nearer, that I may speak +with thee, for I have seen marvellous things.’</p> +<p>So he came nearer, and couched in the shallow water, and +leaned his head upon his hand and listened.</p> +<p>And the Soul said to him, ‘In a city that I know of +there is an inn that standeth by a river. I sat there with +sailors who drank of two different-coloured wines, and ate bread +made of barley, and little salt fish served in bay leaves with +vinegar. And as we sat and made merry, there entered to us +an old man bearing a leathern carpet and a lute that had two +horns of amber. And when he had laid out the carpet on the +floor, he struck with a quill on the wire strings of his lute, +and a girl whose face was veiled ran in and began to dance before +us. Her face was veiled with a veil of gauze, but her feet +were naked. Naked were her feet, and they moved over the +carpet like little white pigeons. Never have I seen +anything so marvellous; and the city in which she dances is but a +day’s journey from this place.’</p> +<p>Now when the young Fisherman heard the words of his Soul, he +remembered that the little Mermaid had no feet and could not +dance. And a great desire came over him, and he said to +himself, ‘It is but a day’s journey, and I can return +to my love,’ and he laughed, and stood up in the shallow +water, and strode towards the shore.</p> +<p>And when he had reached the dry shore he laughed again, and +held out his arms to his Soul. And his Soul gave a great +cry of joy and ran to meet him, and entered into him, and the +young Fisherman saw stretched before him upon the sand that +shadow of the body that is the body of the Soul.</p> +<p>And his Soul said to him, ‘Let us not tarry, but get +hence at once, for the Sea-gods are jealous, and have monsters +that do their bidding.’</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>So they made haste, and all that night they journeyed beneath +the moon, and all the next day they journeyed beneath the sun, +and on the evening of the day they came to a city.</p> +<p>And the young Fisherman said to his Soul, ‘Is this the +city in which she dances of whom thou didst speak to +me?’</p> +<p>And his Soul answered him, ‘It is not this city, but +another. Nevertheless let us enter in.’ So they +entered in and passed through the streets, and as they passed +through the Street of the Jewellers the young Fisherman saw a +fair silver cup set forth in a booth. And his Soul said to +him, ‘Take that silver cup and hide it.’</p> +<p>So he took the cup and hid it in the fold of his tunic, and +they went hurriedly out of the city.</p> +<p>And after that they had gone a league from the city, the young +Fisherman frowned, and flung the cup away, and said to his Soul, +‘Why didst thou tell me to take this cup and hide it, for +it was an evil thing to do?’</p> +<p>But his Soul answered him, ‘Be at peace, be at +peace.’</p> +<p>And on the evening of the second day they came to a city, and +the young Fisherman said to his Soul, ‘Is this the city in +which she dances of whom thou didst speak to me?’</p> +<p>And his Soul answered him, ‘It is not this city, but +another. Nevertheless let us enter in.’ So they +entered in and passed through the streets, and as they passed +through the Street of the Sellers of Sandals, the young Fisherman +saw a child standing by a jar of water. And his Soul said +to him, ‘Smite that child.’ So he smote the +child till it wept, and when he had done this they went hurriedly +out of the city.</p> +<p>And after that they had gone a league from the city the young +Fisherman grew wroth, and said to his Soul, ‘Why didst thou +tell me to smite the child, for it was an evil thing to +do?’</p> +<p>But his Soul answered him, ‘Be at peace, be at +peace.’</p> +<p>And on the evening of the third day they came to a city, and +the young Fisherman said to his Soul, ‘Is this the city in +which she dances of whom thou didst speak to me?’</p> +<p>And his Soul answered him, ‘It may be that it is in this +city, therefore let us enter in.’</p> +<p>So they entered in and passed through the streets, but nowhere +could the young Fisherman find the river or the inn that stood by +its side. And the people of the city looked curiously at +him, and he grew afraid and said to his Soul, ‘Let us go +hence, for she who dances with white feet is not here.’</p> +<p>But his Soul answered, ‘Nay, but let us tarry, for the +night is dark and there will be robbers on the way.’</p> +<p>So he sat him down in the market-place and rested, and after a +time there went by a hooded merchant who had a cloak of cloth of +Tartary, and bare a lantern of pierced horn at the end of a +jointed reed. And the merchant said to him, ‘Why dost +thou sit in the market-place, seeing that the booths are closed +and the bales corded?’</p> +<p>And the young Fisherman answered him, ‘I can find no inn +in this city, nor have I any kinsman who might give me +shelter.’</p> +<p>‘Are we not all kinsmen?’ said the merchant. +‘And did not one God make us? Therefore come with me, +for I have a guest-chamber.’</p> +<p>So the young Fisherman rose up and followed the merchant to +his house. And when he had passed through a garden of +pomegranates and entered into the house, the merchant brought him +rose-water in a copper dish that he might wash his hands, and +ripe melons that he might quench his thirst, and set a bowl of +rice and a piece of roasted kid before him.</p> +<p>And after that he had finished, the merchant led him to the +guest-chamber, and bade him sleep and be at rest. And the +young Fisherman gave him thanks, and kissed the ring that was on +his hand, and flung himself down on the carpets of dyed +goat’s-hair. And when he had covered himself with a +covering of black lamb’s-wool he fell asleep.</p> +<p>And three hours before dawn, and while it was still night, his +Soul waked him and said to him, ‘Rise up and go to the room +of the merchant, even to the room in which he sleepeth, and slay +him, and take from him his gold, for we have need of +it.’</p> +<p>And the young Fisherman rose up and crept towards the room of +the merchant, and over the feet of the merchant there was lying a +curved sword, and the tray by the side of the merchant held nine +purses of gold. And he reached out his hand and touched the +sword, and when he touched it the merchant started and awoke, and +leaping up seized himself the sword and cried to the young +Fisherman, ‘Dost thou return evil for good, and pay with +the shedding of blood for the kindness that I have shown +thee?’</p> +<p>And his Soul said to the young Fisherman, ‘Strike +him,’ and he struck him so that he swooned and he seized +then the nine purses of gold, and fled hastily through the garden +of pomegranates, and set his face to the star that is the star of +morning.</p> +<p>And when they had gone a league from the city, the young +Fisherman beat his breast, and said to his Soul, ‘Why didst +thou bid me slay the merchant and take his gold? Surely +thou art evil.’</p> +<p>But his Soul answered him, ‘Be at peace, be at +peace.’</p> +<p>‘Nay,’ cried the young Fisherman, ‘I may not +be at peace, for all that thou hast made me to do I hate. +Thee also I hate, and I bid thee tell me wherefore thou hast +wrought with me in this wise.’</p> +<p>And his Soul answered him, ‘When thou didst send me +forth into the world thou gavest me no heart, so I learned to do +all these things and love them.’</p> +<p>‘What sayest thou?’ murmured the young +Fisherman.</p> +<p>‘Thou knowest,’ answered his Soul, ‘thou +knowest it well. Hast thou forgotten that thou gavest me no +heart? I trow not. And so trouble not thyself nor me, +but be at peace, for there is no pain that thou shalt not give +away, nor any pleasure that thou shalt not receive.’</p> +<p>And when the young Fisherman heard these words he trembled and +said to his Soul, ‘Nay, but thou art evil, and hast made me +forget my love, and hast tempted me with temptations, and hast +set my feet in the ways of sin.’</p> +<p>And his Soul answered him, ‘Thou hast not forgotten that +when thou didst send me forth into the world thou gavest me no +heart. Come, let us go to another city, and make merry, for +we have nine purses of gold.’</p> +<p>But the young Fisherman took the nine purses of gold, and +flung them down, and trampled on them.</p> +<p>‘Nay,’ he cried, ‘but I will have nought to +do with thee, nor will I journey with thee anywhere, but even as +I sent thee away before, so will I send thee away now, for thou +hast wrought me no good.’ And he turned his back to +the moon, and with the little knife that had the handle of green +viper’s skin he strove to cut from his feet that shadow of +the body which is the body of the Soul.</p> +<p>Yet his Soul stirred not from him, nor paid heed to his +command, but said to him, ‘The spell that the Witch told +thee avails thee no more, for I may not leave thee, nor mayest +thou drive me forth. Once in his life may a man send his +Soul away, but he who receiveth back his Soul must keep it with +him for ever, and this is his punishment and his +reward.’</p> +<p>And the young Fisherman grew pale and clenched his hands and +cried, ‘She was a false Witch in that she told me not +that.’</p> +<p>‘Nay,’ answered his Soul, ‘but she was true +to Him she worships, and whose servant she will be +ever.’</p> +<p>And when the young Fisherman knew that he could no longer get +rid of his Soul, and that it was an evil Soul and would abide +with him always, he fell upon the ground weeping bitterly.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>And when it was day the young Fisherman rose up and said to +his Soul, ‘I will bind my hands that I may not do thy +bidding, and close my lips that I may not speak thy words, and I +will return to the place where she whom I love has her +dwelling. Even to the sea will I return, and to the little +bay where she is wont to sing, and I will call to her and tell +her the evil I have done and the evil thou hast wrought on +me.’</p> +<p>And his Soul tempted him and said, ‘Who is thy love, +that thou shouldst return to her? The world has many fairer +than she is. There are the dancing-girls of Samaris who +dance in the manner of all kinds of birds and beasts. Their +feet are painted with henna, and in their hands they have little +copper bells. They laugh while they dance, and their +laughter is as clear as the laughter of water. Come with me +and I will show them to thee. For what is this trouble of +thine about the things of sin? Is that which is pleasant to +eat not made for the eater? Is there poison in that which +is sweet to drink? Trouble not thyself, but come with me to +another city. There is a little city hard by in which there +is a garden of tulip-trees. And there dwell in this comely +garden white peacocks and peacocks that have blue breasts. +Their tails when they spread them to the sun are like disks of +ivory and like gilt disks. And she who feeds them dances +for their pleasure, and sometimes she dances on her hands and at +other times she dances with her feet. Her eyes are coloured +with stibium, and her nostrils are shaped like the wings of a +swallow. From a hook in one of her nostrils hangs a flower +that is carved out of a pearl. She laughs while she dances, +and the silver rings that are about her ankles tinkle like bells +of silver. And so trouble not thyself any more, but come +with me to this city.’</p> +<p>But the young Fisherman answered not his Soul, but closed his +lips with the seal of silence and with a tight cord bound his +hands, and journeyed back to the place from which he had come, +even to the little bay where his love had been wont to +sing. And ever did his Soul tempt him by the way, but he +made it no answer, nor would he do any of the wickedness that it +sought to make him to do, so great was the power of the love that +was within him.</p> +<p>And when he had reached the shore of the sea, he loosed the +cord from his hands, and took the seal of silence from his lips, +and called to the little Mermaid. But she came not to his +call, though he called to her all day long and besought her.</p> +<p>And his Soul mocked him and said, ‘Surely thou hast but +little joy out of thy love. Thou art as one who in time of +death pours water into a broken vessel. Thou givest away +what thou hast, and nought is given to thee in return. It +were better for thee to come with me, for I know where the Valley +of Pleasure lies, and what things are wrought there.’</p> +<p>But the young Fisherman answered not his Soul, but in a cleft +of the rock he built himself a house of wattles, and abode there +for the space of a year. And every morning he called to the +Mermaid, and every noon he called to her again, and at night-time +he spake her name. Yet never did she rise out of the sea to +meet him, nor in any place of the sea could he find her though he +sought for her in the caves and in the green water, in the pools +of the tide and in the wells that are at the bottom of the +deep.</p> +<p>And ever did his Soul tempt him with evil, and whisper of +terrible things. Yet did it not prevail against him, so +great was the power of his love.</p> +<p>And after the year was over, the Soul thought within himself, +‘I have tempted my master with evil, and his love is +stronger than I am. I will tempt him now with good, and it +may be that he will come with me.’</p> +<p>So he spake to the young Fisherman and said, ‘I have +told thee of the joy of the world, and thou hast turned a deaf +ear to me. Suffer me now to tell thee of the world’s +pain, and it may be that thou wilt hearken. For of a truth +pain is the Lord of this world, nor is there any one who escapes +from its net. There be some who lack raiment, and others +who lack bread. There be widows who sit in purple, and +widows who sit in rags. To and fro over the fens go the +lepers, and they are cruel to each other. The beggars go up +and down on the highways, and their wallets are empty. +Through the streets of the cities walks Famine, and the Plague +sits at their gates. Come, let us go forth and mend these +things, and make them not to be. Wherefore shouldst thou +tarry here calling to thy love, seeing she comes not to thy +call? And what is love, that thou shouldst set this high +store upon it?’</p> +<p>But the young Fisherman answered it nought, so great was the +power of his love. And every morning he called to the +Mermaid, and every noon he called to her again, and at night-time +he spake her name. Yet never did she rise out of the sea to +meet him, nor in any place of the sea could he find her, though +he sought for her in the rivers of the sea, and in the valleys +that are under the waves, in the sea that the night makes purple, +and in the sea that the dawn leaves grey.</p> +<p>And after the second year was over, the Soul said to the young +Fisherman at night-time, and as he sat in the wattled house +alone, ‘Lo! now I have tempted thee with evil, and I have +tempted thee with good, and thy love is stronger than I am. +Wherefore will I tempt thee no longer, but I pray thee to suffer +me to enter thy heart, that I may be one with thee even as +before.’</p> +<p>‘Surely thou mayest enter,’ said the young +Fisherman, ‘for in the days when with no heart thou didst +go through the world thou must have much suffered.’</p> +<p>‘Alas!’ cried his Soul, ‘I can find no place +of entrance, so compassed about with love is this heart of +thine.’</p> +<p>‘Yet I would that I could help thee,’ said the +young Fisherman.</p> +<p>And as he spake there came a great cry of mourning from the +sea, even the cry that men hear when one of the Sea-folk is +dead. And the young Fisherman leapt up, and left his +wattled house, and ran down to the shore. And the black +waves came hurrying to the shore, bearing with them a burden that +was whiter than silver. White as the surf it was, and like +a flower it tossed on the waves. And the surf took it from +the waves, and the foam took it from the surf, and the shore +received it, and lying at his feet the young Fisherman saw the +body of the little Mermaid. Dead at his feet it was +lying.</p> +<p>Weeping as one smitten with pain he flung himself down beside +it, and he kissed the cold red of the mouth, and toyed with the +wet amber of the hair. He flung himself down beside it on +the sand, weeping as one trembling with joy, and in his brown +arms he held it to his breast. Cold were the lips, yet he +kissed them. Salt was the honey of the hair, yet he tasted +it with a bitter joy. He kissed the closed eyelids, and the +wild spray that lay upon their cups was less salt than his +tears.</p> +<p>And to the dead thing he made confession. Into the +shells of its ears he poured the harsh wine of his tale. He +put the little hands round his neck, and with his fingers he +touched the thin reed of the throat. Bitter, bitter was his +joy, and full of strange gladness was his pain.</p> +<p>The black sea came nearer, and the white foam moaned like a +leper. With white claws of foam the sea grabbled at the +shore. From the palace of the Sea-King came the cry of +mourning again, and far out upon the sea the great Tritons blew +hoarsely upon their horns.</p> +<p>‘Flee away,’ said his Soul, ‘for ever doth +the sea come nigher, and if thou tarriest it will slay +thee. Flee away, for I am afraid, seeing that thy heart is +closed against me by reason of the greatness of thy love. +Flee away to a place of safety. Surely thou wilt not send +me without a heart into another world?’</p> +<p>But the young Fisherman listened not to his Soul, but called +on the little Mermaid and said, ‘Love is better than +wisdom, and more precious than riches, and fairer than the feet +of the daughters of men. The fires cannot destroy it, nor +can the waters quench it. I called on thee at dawn, and +thou didst not come to my call. The moon heard thy name, +yet hadst thou no heed of me. For evilly had I left thee, +and to my own hurt had I wandered away. Yet ever did thy +love abide with me, and ever was it strong, nor did aught prevail +against it, though I have looked upon evil and looked upon +good. And now that thou art dead, surely I will die with +thee also.’</p> +<p>And his Soul besought him to depart, but he would not, so +great was his love. And the sea came nearer, and sought to +cover him with its waves, and when he knew that the end was at +hand he kissed with mad lips the cold lips of the Mermaid, and +the heart that was within him brake. And as through the +fulness of his love his heart did break, the Soul found an +entrance and entered in, and was one with him even as +before. And the sea covered the young Fisherman with its +waves.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>And in the morning the Priest went forth to bless the sea, for +it had been troubled. And with him went the monks and the +musicians, and the candle-bearers, and the swingers of censers, +and a great company.</p> +<p>And when the Priest reached the shore he saw the young +Fisherman lying drowned in the surf, and clasped in his arms was +the body of the little Mermaid. And he drew back frowning, +and having made the sign of the cross, he cried aloud and said, +‘I will not bless the sea nor anything that is in it. +Accursed be the Sea-folk, and accursed be all they who traffic +with them. And as for him who for love’s sake forsook +God, and so lieth here with his leman slain by God’s +judgment, take up his body and the body of his leman, and bury +them in the corner of the Field of the Fullers, and set no mark +above them, nor sign of any kind, that none may know the place of +their resting. For accursed were they in their lives, and +accursed shall they be in their deaths also.’</p> +<p>And the people did as he commanded them, and in the corner of +the Field of the Fullers, where no sweet herbs grew, they dug a +deep pit, and laid the dead things within it.</p> +<p>And when the third year was over, and on a day that was a holy +day, the Priest went up to the chapel, that he might show to the +people the wounds of the Lord, and speak to them about the wrath +of God.</p> +<p>And when he had robed himself with his robes, and entered in +and bowed himself before the altar, he saw that the altar was +covered with strange flowers that never had been seen +before. Strange were they to look at, and of curious +beauty, and their beauty troubled him, and their odour was sweet +in his nostrils. And he felt glad, and understood not why +he was glad.</p> +<p>And after that he had opened the tabernacle, and incensed the +monstrance that was in it, and shown the fair wafer to the +people, and hid it again behind the veil of veils, he began to +speak to the people, desiring to speak to them of the wrath of +God. But the beauty of the white flowers troubled him, and +their odour was sweet in his nostrils, and there came another +word into his lips, and he spake not of the wrath of God, but of +the God whose name is Love. And why he so spake, he knew +not.</p> +<p>And when he had finished his word the people wept, and the +Priest went back to the sacristy, and his eyes were full of +tears. And the deacons came in and began to unrobe him, and +took from him the alb and the girdle, the maniple and the +stole. And he stood as one in a dream.</p> +<p>And after that they had unrobed him, he looked at them and +said, ‘What are the flowers that stand on the altar, and +whence do they come?’</p> +<p>And they answered him, ‘What flowers they are we cannot +tell, but they come from the corner of the Fullers’ +Field.’ And the Priest trembled, and returned to his +own house and prayed.</p> +<p>And in the morning, while it was still dawn, he went forth +with the monks and the musicians, and the candle-bearers and the +swingers of censers, and a great company, and came to the shore +of the sea, and blessed the sea, and all the wild things that are +in it. The Fauns also he blessed, and the little things +that dance in the woodland, and the bright-eyed things that peer +through the leaves. All the things in God’s world he +blessed, and the people were filled with joy and wonder. +Yet never again in the corner of the Fullers’ Field grew +flowers of any kind, but the field remained barren even as +before. Nor came the Sea-folk into the bay as they had been +wont to do, for they went to another part of the sea.</p> +<h2><a name="page147"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 147</span>THE +STAR-CHILD</h2> +<p style="text-align: center">TO<br /> +MISS MARGOT TENNANT<br /> +<span class="GutSmall">[MRS. ASQUITH]</span></p> +<p><span class="smcap">Once</span> upon a time two poor +Woodcutters were making their way home through a great +pine-forest. It was winter, and a night of bitter +cold. The snow lay thick upon the ground, and upon the +branches of the trees: the frost kept snapping the little twigs +on either side of them, as they passed: and when they came to the +Mountain-Torrent she was hanging motionless in air, for the +Ice-King had kissed her.</p> +<p>So cold was it that even the animals and the birds did not +know what to make of it.</p> +<p>‘Ugh!’ snarled the Wolf, as he limped through the +brushwood with his tail between his legs, ‘this is +perfectly monstrous weather. Why doesn’t the +Government look to it?’</p> +<p>‘Weet! weet! weet!’ twittered the green Linnets, +‘the old Earth is dead and they have laid her out in her +white shroud.’</p> +<p>‘The Earth is going to be married, and this is her +bridal dress,’ whispered the Turtle-doves to each +other. Their little pink feet were quite frost-bitten, but +they felt that it was their duty to take a romantic view of the +situation.</p> +<p>‘Nonsense!’ growled the Wolf. ‘I tell +you that it is all the fault of the Government, and if you +don’t believe me I shall eat you.’ The Wolf had +a thoroughly practical mind, and was never at a loss for a good +argument.</p> +<p>‘Well, for my own part,’ said the Woodpecker, who +was a born philosopher, ‘I don’t care an atomic +theory for explanations. If a thing is so, it is so, and at +present it is terribly cold.’</p> +<p>Terribly cold it certainly was. The little Squirrels, +who lived inside the tall fir-tree, kept rubbing each +other’s noses to keep themselves warm, and the Rabbits +curled themselves up in their holes, and did not venture even to +look out of doors. The only people who seemed to enjoy it +were the great horned Owls. Their feathers were quite stiff +with rime, but they did not mind, and they rolled their large +yellow eyes, and called out to each other across the forest, +‘Tu-whit! Tu-whoo! Tu-whit! Tu-whoo! what +delightful weather we are having!’</p> +<p>On and on went the two Woodcutters, blowing lustily upon their +fingers, and stamping with their huge iron-shod boots upon the +caked snow. Once they sank into a deep drift, and came out +as white as millers are, when the stones are grinding; and once +they slipped on the hard smooth ice where the marsh-water was +frozen, and their faggots fell out of their bundles, and they had +to pick them up and bind them together again; and once they +thought that they had lost their way, and a great terror seized +on them, for they knew that the Snow is cruel to those who sleep +in her arms. But they put their trust in the good Saint +Martin, who watches over all travellers, and retraced their +steps, and went warily, and at last they reached the outskirts of +the forest, and saw, far down in the valley beneath them, the +lights of the village in which they dwelt.</p> +<p>So overjoyed were they at their deliverance that they laughed +aloud, and the Earth seemed to them like a flower of silver, and +the Moon like a flower of gold.</p> +<p>Yet, after that they had laughed they became sad, for they +remembered their poverty, and one of them said to the other, +‘Why did we make merry, seeing that life is for the rich, +and not for such as we are? Better that we had died of cold +in the forest, or that some wild beast had fallen upon us and +slain us.’</p> +<p>‘Truly,’ answered his companion, ‘much is +given to some, and little is given to others. Injustice has +parcelled out the world, nor is there equal division of aught +save of sorrow.’</p> +<p>But as they were bewailing their misery to each other this +strange thing happened. There fell from heaven a very +bright and beautiful star. It slipped down the side of the +sky, passing by the other stars in its course, and, as they +watched it wondering, it seemed to them to sink behind a clump of +willow-trees that stood hard by a little sheepfold no more than a +stone’s-throw away.</p> +<p>‘Why! there is a crook of gold for whoever finds +it,’ they cried, and they set to and ran, so eager were +they for the gold.</p> +<p>And one of them ran faster than his mate, and outstripped him, +and forced his way through the willows, and came out on the other +side, and lo! there was indeed a thing of gold lying on the white +snow. So he hastened towards it, and stooping down placed +his hands upon it, and it was a cloak of golden tissue, curiously +wrought with stars, and wrapped in many folds. And he cried +out to his comrade that he had found the treasure that had fallen +from the sky, and when his comrade had come up, they sat them +down in the snow, and loosened the folds of the cloak that they +might divide the pieces of gold. But, alas! no gold was in +it, nor silver, nor, indeed, treasure of any kind, but only a +little child who was asleep.</p> +<p>And one of them said to the other: ‘This is a bitter +ending to our hope, nor have we any good fortune, for what doth a +child profit to a man? Let us leave it here, and go our +way, seeing that we are poor men, and have children of our own +whose bread we may not give to another.’</p> +<p>But his companion answered him: ‘Nay, but it were an +evil thing to leave the child to perish here in the snow, and +though I am as poor as thou art, and have many mouths to feed, +and but little in the pot, yet will I bring it home with me, and +my wife shall have care of it.’</p> +<p>So very tenderly he took up the child, and wrapped the cloak +around it to shield it from the harsh cold, and made his way down +the hill to the village, his comrade marvelling much at his +foolishness and softness of heart.</p> +<p>And when they came to the village, his comrade said to him, +‘Thou hast the child, therefore give me the cloak, for it +is meet that we should share.’</p> +<p>But he answered him: ‘Nay, for the cloak is neither mine +nor thine, but the child’s only,’ and he bade him +Godspeed, and went to his own house and knocked.</p> +<p>And when his wife opened the door and saw that her husband had +returned safe to her, she put her arms round his neck and kissed +him, and took from his back the bundle of faggots, and brushed +the snow off his boots, and bade him come in.</p> +<p>But he said to her, ‘I have found something in the +forest, and I have brought it to thee to have care of it,’ +and he stirred not from the threshold.</p> +<p>‘What is it?’ she cried. ‘Show it to +me, for the house is bare, and we have need of many +things.’ And he drew the cloak back, and showed her +the sleeping child.</p> +<p>‘Alack, goodman!’ she murmured, ‘have we not +children of our own, that thou must needs bring a changeling to +sit by the hearth? And who knows if it will not bring us +bad fortune? And how shall we tend it?’ And she +was wroth against him.</p> +<p>‘Nay, but it is a Star-Child,’ he answered; and he +told her the strange manner of the finding of it.</p> +<p>But she would not be appeased, but mocked at him, and spoke +angrily, and cried: ‘Our children lack bread, and shall we +feed the child of another? Who is there who careth for +us? And who giveth us food?’</p> +<p>‘Nay, but God careth for the sparrows even, and feedeth +them,’ he answered.</p> +<p>‘Do not the sparrows die of hunger in the winter?’ +she asked. ‘And is it not winter now?’</p> +<p>And the man answered nothing, but stirred not from the +threshold.</p> +<p>And a bitter wind from the forest came in through the open +door, and made her tremble, and she shivered, and said to him: +‘Wilt thou not close the door? There cometh a bitter +wind into the house, and I am cold.’</p> +<p>‘Into a house where a heart is hard cometh there not +always a bitter wind?’ he asked. And the woman +answered him nothing, but crept closer to the fire.</p> +<p>And after a time she turned round and looked at him, and her +eyes were full of tears. And he came in swiftly, and placed +the child in her arms, and she kissed it, and laid it in a little +bed where the youngest of their own children was lying. And +on the morrow the Woodcutter took the curious cloak of gold and +placed it in a great chest, and a chain of amber that was round +the child’s neck his wife took and set it in the chest +also.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>So the Star-Child was brought up with the children of the +Woodcutter, and sat at the same board with them, and was their +playmate. And every year he became more beautiful to look +at, so that all those who dwelt in the village were filled with +wonder, for, while they were swarthy and black-haired, he was +white and delicate as sawn ivory, and his curls were like the +rings of the daffodil. His lips, also, were like the petals +of a red flower, and his eyes were like violets by a river of +pure water, and his body like the narcissus of a field where the +mower comes not.</p> +<p>Yet did his beauty work him evil. For he grew proud, and +cruel, and selfish. The children of the Woodcutter, and the +other children of the village, he despised, saying that they were +of mean parentage, while he was noble, being sprang from a Star, +and he made himself master over them, and called them his +servants. No pity had he for the poor, or for those who +were blind or maimed or in any way afflicted, but would cast +stones at them and drive them forth on to the highway, and bid +them beg their bread elsewhere, so that none save the outlaws +came twice to that village to ask for alms. Indeed, he was +as one enamoured of beauty, and would mock at the weakly and +ill-favoured, and make jest of them; and himself he loved, and in +summer, when the winds were still, he would lie by the well in +the priest’s orchard and look down at the marvel of his own +face, and laugh for the pleasure he had in his fairness.</p> +<p>Often did the Woodcutter and his wife chide him, and say: +‘We did not deal with thee as thou dealest with those who +are left desolate, and have none to succour them. Wherefore +art thou so cruel to all who need pity?’</p> +<p>Often did the old priest send for him, and seek to teach him +the love of living things, saying to him: ‘The fly is thy +brother. Do it no harm. The wild birds that roam +through the forest have their freedom. Snare them not for +thy pleasure. God made the blind-worm and the mole, and +each has its place. Who art thou to bring pain into +God’s world? Even the cattle of the field praise +Him.’</p> +<p>But the Star-Child heeded not their words, but would frown and +flout, and go back to his companions, and lead them. And +his companions followed him, for he was fair, and fleet of foot, +and could dance, and pipe, and make music. And wherever the +Star-Child led them they followed, and whatever the Star-Child +bade them do, that did they. And when he pierced with a +sharp reed the dim eyes of the mole, they laughed, and when he +cast stones at the leper they laughed also. And in all +things he ruled them, and they became hard of heart even as he +was.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>Now there passed one day through the village a poor +beggar-woman. Her garments were torn and ragged, and her +feet were bleeding from the rough road on which she had +travelled, and she was in very evil plight. And being weary +she sat her down under a chestnut-tree to rest.</p> +<p>But when the Star-Child saw her, he said to his companions, +‘See! There sitteth a foul beggar-woman under that +fair and green-leaved tree. Come, let us drive her hence, +for she is ugly and ill-favoured.’</p> +<p>So he came near and threw stones at her, and mocked her, and +she looked at him with terror in her eyes, nor did she move her +gaze from him. And when the Woodcutter, who was cleaving +logs in a haggard hard by, saw what the Star-Child was doing, he +ran up and rebuked him, and said to him: ‘Surely thou art +hard of heart and knowest not mercy, for what evil has this poor +woman done to thee that thou shouldst treat her in this +wise?’</p> +<p>And the Star-Child grew red with anger, and stamped his foot +upon the ground, and said, ‘Who art thou to question me +what I do? I am no son of thine to do thy +bidding.’</p> +<p>‘Thou speakest truly,’ answered the Woodcutter, +‘yet did I show thee pity when I found thee in the +forest.’</p> +<p>And when the woman heard these words she gave a loud cry, and +fell into a swoon. And the Woodcutter carried her to his +own house, and his wife had care of her, and when she rose up +from the swoon into which she had fallen, they set meat and drink +before her, and bade her have comfort.</p> +<p>But she would neither eat nor drink, but said to the +Woodcutter, ‘Didst thou not say that the child was found in +the forest? And was it not ten years from this +day?’</p> +<p>And the Woodcutter answered, ‘Yea, it was in the forest +that I found him, and it is ten years from this day.’</p> +<p>‘And what signs didst thou find with him?’ she +cried. ‘Bare he not upon his neck a chain of +amber? Was not round him a cloak of gold tissue broidered +with stars?’</p> +<p>‘Truly,’ answered the Woodcutter, ‘it was +even as thou sayest.’ And he took the cloak and the +amber chain from the chest where they lay, and showed them to +her.</p> +<p>And when she saw them she wept for joy, and said, ‘He is +my little son whom I lost in the forest. I pray thee send +for him quickly, for in search of him have I wandered over the +whole world.’</p> +<p>So the Woodcutter and his wife went out and called to the +Star-Child, and said to him, ‘Go into the house, and there +shalt thou find thy mother, who is waiting for thee.’</p> +<p>So he ran in, filled with wonder and great gladness. But +when he saw her who was waiting there, he laughed scornfully and +said, ‘Why, where is my mother? For I see none here +but this vile beggar-woman.’</p> +<p>And the woman answered him, ‘I am thy mother.’</p> +<p>‘Thou art mad to say so,’ cried the Star-Child +angrily. ‘I am no son of thine, for thou art a +beggar, and ugly, and in rags. Therefore get thee hence, +and let me see thy foul face no more.’</p> +<p>‘Nay, but thou art indeed my little son, whom I bare in +the forest,’ she cried, and she fell on her knees, and held +out her arms to him. ‘The robbers stole thee from me, +and left thee to die,’ she murmured, ‘but I +recognised thee when I saw thee, and the signs also have I +recognised, the cloak of golden tissue and the amber chain. +Therefore I pray thee come with me, for over the whole world have +I wandered in search of thee. Come with me, my son, for I +have need of thy love.’</p> +<p>But the Star-Child stirred not from his place, but shut the +doors of his heart against her, nor was there any sound heard +save the sound of the woman weeping for pain.</p> +<p>And at last he spoke to her, and his voice was hard and +bitter. ‘If in very truth thou art my mother,’ +he said, ‘it had been better hadst thou stayed away, and +not come here to bring me to shame, seeing that I thought I was +the child of some Star, and not a beggar’s child, as thou +tellest me that I am. Therefore get thee hence, and let me +see thee no more.’</p> +<p>‘Alas! my son,’ she cried, ‘wilt thou not +kiss me before I go? For I have suffered much to find +thee.’</p> +<p>‘Nay,’ said the Star-Child, ‘but thou art +too foul to look at, and rather would I kiss the adder or the +toad than thee.’</p> +<p>So the woman rose up, and went away into the forest weeping +bitterly, and when the Star-Child saw that she had gone, he was +glad, and ran back to his playmates that he might play with +them.</p> +<p>But when they beheld him coming, they mocked him and said, +‘Why, thou art as foul as the toad, and as loathsome as the +adder. Get thee hence, for we will not suffer thee to play +with us,’ and they drave him out of the garden.</p> +<p>And the Star-Child frowned and said to himself, ‘What is +this that they say to me? I will go to the well of water +and look into it, and it shall tell me of my beauty.’</p> +<p>So he went to the well of water and looked into it, and lo! +his face was as the face of a toad, and his body was sealed like +an adder. And he flung himself down on the grass and wept, +and said to himself, ‘Surely this has come upon me by +reason of my sin. For I have denied my mother, and driven +her away, and been proud, and cruel to her. Wherefore I +will go and seek her through the whole world, nor will I rest +till I have found her.’</p> +<p>And there came to him the little daughter of the Woodcutter, +and she put her hand upon his shoulder and said, ‘What doth +it matter if thou hast lost thy comeliness? Stay with us, +and I will not mock at thee.’</p> +<p>And he said to her, ‘Nay, but I have been cruel to my +mother, and as a punishment has this evil been sent to me. +Wherefore I must go hence, and wander through the world till I +find her, and she give me her forgiveness.’</p> +<p>So he ran away into the forest and called out to his mother to +come to him, but there was no answer. All day long he +called to her, and, when the sun set he lay down to sleep on a +bed of leaves, and the birds and the animals fled from him, for +they remembered his cruelty, and he was alone save for the toad +that watched him, and the slow adder that crawled past.</p> +<p>And in the morning he rose up, and plucked some bitter berries +from the trees and ate them, and took his way through the great +wood, weeping sorely. And of everything that he met he made +inquiry if perchance they had seen his mother.</p> +<p>He said to the Mole, ‘Thou canst go beneath the +earth. Tell me, is my mother there?’</p> +<p>And the Mole answered, ‘Thou hast blinded mine +eyes. How should I know?’</p> +<p>He said to the Linnet, ‘Thou canst fly over the tops of +the tall trees, and canst see the whole world. Tell me, +canst thou see my mother?’</p> +<p>And the Linnet answered, ‘Thou hast clipt my wings for +thy pleasure. How should I fly?’</p> +<p>And to the little Squirrel who lived in the fir-tree, and was +lonely, he said, ‘Where is my mother?’</p> +<p>And the Squirrel answered, ‘Thou hast slain mine. +Dost thou seek to slay thine also?’</p> +<p>And the Star-Child wept and bowed his head, and prayed +forgiveness of God’s things, and went on through the +forest, seeking for the beggar-woman. And on the third day +he came to the other side of the forest and went down into the +plain.</p> +<p>And when he passed through the villages the children mocked +him, and threw stones at him, and the carlots would not suffer +him even to sleep in the byres lest he might bring mildew on the +stored corn, so foul was he to look at, and their hired men drave +him away, and there was none who had pity on him. Nor could +he hear anywhere of the beggar-woman who was his mother, though +for the space of three years he wandered over the world, and +often seemed to see her on the road in front of him, and would +call to her, and run after her till the sharp flints made his +feet to bleed. But overtake her he could not, and those who +dwelt by the way did ever deny that they had seen her, or any +like to her, and they made sport of his sorrow.</p> +<p>For the space of three years he wandered over the world, and +in the world there was neither love nor loving-kindness nor +charity for him, but it was even such a world as he had made for +himself in the days of his great pride.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>And one evening he came to the gate of a strong-walled city +that stood by a river, and, weary and footsore though he was, he +made to enter in. But the soldiers who stood on guard +dropped their halberts across the entrance, and said roughly to +him, ‘What is thy business in the city?’</p> +<p>‘I am seeking for my mother,’ he answered, +‘and I pray ye to suffer me to pass, for it may be that she +is in this city.’</p> +<p>But they mocked at him, and one of them wagged a black beard, +and set down his shield and cried, ‘Of a truth, thy mother +will not be merry when she sees thee, for thou art more +ill-favoured than the toad of the marsh, or the adder that crawls +in the fen. Get thee gone. Get thee gone. Thy +mother dwells not in this city.’</p> +<p>And another, who held a yellow banner in his hand, said to +him, ‘Who is thy mother, and wherefore art thou seeking for +her?’</p> +<p>And he answered, ‘My mother is a beggar even as I am, +and I have treated her evilly, and I pray ye to suffer me to pass +that she may give me her forgiveness, if it be that she tarrieth +in this city.’ But they would not, and pricked him +with their spears.</p> +<p>And, as he turned away weeping, one whose armour was inlaid +with gilt flowers, and on whose helmet couched a lion that had +wings, came up and made inquiry of the soldiers who it was who +had sought entrance. And they said to him, ‘It is a +beggar and the child of a beggar, and we have driven him +away.’</p> +<p>‘Nay,’ he cried, laughing, ‘but we will sell +the foul thing for a slave, and his price shall be the price of a +bowl of sweet wine.’</p> +<p>And an old and evil-visaged man who was passing by called out, +and said, ‘I will buy him for that price,’ and, when +he had paid the price, he took the Star-Child by the hand and led +him into the city.</p> +<p>And after that they had gone through many streets they came to +a little door that was set in a wall that was covered with a +pomegranate tree. And the old man touched the door with a +ring of graved jasper and it opened, and they went down five +steps of brass into a garden filled with black poppies and green +jars of burnt clay. And the old man took then from his +turban a scarf of figured silk, and bound with it the eyes of the +Star-Child, and drave him in front of him. And when the +scarf was taken off his eyes, the Star-Child found himself in a +dungeon, that was lit by a lantern of horn.</p> +<p>And the old man set before him some mouldy bread on a trencher +and said, ‘Eat,’ and some brackish water in a cup and +said, ‘Drink,’ and when he had eaten and drunk, the +old man went out, locking the door behind him and fastening it +with an iron chain.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>And on the morrow the old man, who was indeed the subtlest of +the magicians of Libya and had learned his art from one who dwelt +in the tombs of the Nile, came in to him and frowned at him, and +said, ‘In a wood that is nigh to the gate of this city of +Giaours there are three pieces of gold. One is of white +gold, and another is of yellow gold, and the gold of the third +one is red. To-day thou shalt bring me the piece of white +gold, and if thou bringest it not back, I will beat thee with a +hundred stripes. Get thee away quickly, and at sunset I +will be waiting for thee at the door of the garden. See +that thou bringest the white gold, or it shall go ill with thee, +for thou art my slave, and I have bought thee for the price of a +bowl of sweet wine.’ And he bound the eyes of the +Star-Child with the scarf of figured silk, and led him through +the house, and through the garden of poppies, and up the five +steps of brass. And having opened the little door with his +ring he set him in the street.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>And the Star-Child went out of the gate of the city, and came +to the wood of which the Magician had spoken to him.</p> +<p>Now this wood was very fair to look at from without, and +seemed full of singing birds and of sweet-scented flowers, and +the Star-Child entered it gladly. Yet did its beauty profit +him little, for wherever he went harsh briars and thorns shot up +from the ground and encompassed him, and evil nettles stung him, +and the thistle pierced him with her daggers, so that he was in +sore distress. Nor could he anywhere find the piece of +white gold of which the Magician had spoken, though he sought for +it from morn to noon, and from noon to sunset. And at +sunset he set his face towards home, weeping bitterly, for he +knew what fate was in store for him.</p> +<p>But when he had reached the outskirts of the wood, he heard +from a thicket a cry as of some one in pain. And forgetting +his own sorrow he ran back to the place, and saw there a little +Hare caught in a trap that some hunter had set for it.</p> +<p>And the Star-Child had pity on it, and released it, and said +to it, ‘I am myself but a slave, yet may I give thee thy +freedom.’</p> +<p>And the Hare answered him, and said: ‘Surely thou hast +given me freedom, and what shall I give thee in +return?’</p> +<p>And the Star-Child said to it, ‘I am seeking for a piece +of white gold, nor can I anywhere find it, and if I bring it not +to my master he will beat me.’</p> +<p>‘Come thou with me,’ said the Hare, ‘and I +will lead thee to it, for I know where it is hidden, and for what +purpose.’</p> +<p>So the Star-Child went with the Hare, and lo! in the cleft of +a great oak-tree he saw the piece of white gold that he was +seeking. And he was filled with joy, and seized it, and +said to the Hare, ‘The service that I did to thee thou hast +rendered back again many times over, and the kindness that I +showed thee thou hast repaid a hundred-fold.’</p> +<p>‘Nay,’ answered the Hare, ‘but as thou dealt +with me, so I did deal with thee,’ and it ran away swiftly, +and the Star-Child went towards the city.</p> +<p>Now at the gate of the city there was seated one who was a +leper. Over his face hung a cowl of grey linen, and through +the eyelets his eyes gleamed like red coals. And when he +saw the Star-Child coming, he struck upon a wooden bowl, and +clattered his bell, and called out to him, and said, ‘Give +me a piece of money, or I must die of hunger. For they have +thrust me out of the city, and there is no one who has pity on +me.’</p> +<p>‘Alas!’ cried the Star-Child, ‘I have but +one piece of money in my wallet, and if I bring it not to my +master he will beat me, for I am his slave.’</p> +<p>But the leper entreated him, and prayed of him, till the +Star-Child had pity, and gave him the piece of white gold.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>And when he came to the Magician’s house, the Magician +opened to him, and brought him in, and said to him, ‘Hast +thou the piece of white gold?’ And the Star-Child +answered, ‘I have it not.’ So the Magician fell +upon him, and beat him, and set before him an empty trencher, and +said, ‘Eat,’ and an empty cup, and said, +‘Drink,’ and flung him again into the dungeon.</p> +<p>And on the morrow the Magician came to him, and said, +‘If to-day thou bringest me not the piece of yellow gold, I +will surely keep thee as my slave, and give thee three hundred +stripes.’</p> +<p>So the Star-Child went to the wood, and all day long he +searched for the piece of yellow gold, but nowhere could he find +it. And at sunset he sat him down and began to weep, and as +he was weeping there came to him the little Hare that he had +rescued from the trap.</p> +<p>And the Hare said to him, ‘Why art thou weeping? +And what dost thou seek in the wood?’</p> +<p>And the Star-Child answered, ‘I am seeking for a piece +of yellow gold that is hidden here, and if I find it not my +master will beat me, and keep me as a slave.’</p> +<p>‘Follow me,’ cried the Hare, and it ran through +the wood till it came to a pool of water. And at the bottom +of the pool the piece of yellow gold was lying.</p> +<p>‘How shall I thank thee?’ said the Star-Child, +‘for lo! this is the second time that you have succoured +me.’</p> +<p>‘Nay, but thou hadst pity on me first,’ said the +Hare, and it ran away swiftly.</p> +<p>And the Star-Child took the piece of yellow gold, and put it +in his wallet, and hurried to the city. But the leper saw +him coming, and ran to meet him, and knelt down and cried, +‘Give me a piece of money or I shall die of +hunger.’</p> +<p>And the Star-Child said to him, ‘I have in my wallet but +one piece of yellow gold, and if I bring it not to my master he +will beat me and keep me as his slave.’</p> +<p>But the leper entreated him sore, so that the Star-Child had +pity on him, and gave him the piece of yellow gold.</p> +<p>And when he came to the Magician’s house, the Magician +opened to him, and brought him in, and said to him, ‘Hast +thou the piece of yellow gold?’ And the Star-Child +said to him, ‘I have it not.’ So the Magician +fell upon him, and beat him, and loaded him with chains, and cast +him again into the dungeon.</p> +<p>And on the morrow the Magician came to him, and said, +‘If to-day thou bringest me the piece of red gold I will +set thee free, but if thou bringest it not I will surely slay +thee.’</p> +<p>So the Star-Child went to the wood, and all day long he +searched for the piece of red gold, but nowhere could he find +it. And at evening he sat him down and wept, and as he was +weeping there came to him the little Hare.</p> +<p>And the Hare said to him, ‘The piece of red gold that +thou seekest is in the cavern that is behind thee. +Therefore weep no more but be glad.’</p> +<p>‘How shall I reward thee?’ cried the Star-Child, +‘for lo! this is the third time thou hast succoured +me.’</p> +<p>‘Nay, but thou hadst pity on me first,’ said the +Hare, and it ran away swiftly.</p> +<p>And the Star-Child entered the cavern, and in its farthest +corner he found the piece of red gold. So he put it in his +wallet, and hurried to the city. And the leper seeing him +coming, stood in the centre of the road, and cried out, and said +to him, ‘Give me the piece of red money, or I must +die,’ and the Star-Child had pity on him again, and gave +him the piece of red gold, saying, ‘Thy need is greater +than mine.’ Yet was his heart heavy, for he knew what +evil fate awaited him.</p> + +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>But lo! as he passed through the gate of the city, the guards +bowed down and made obeisance to him, saying, ‘How +beautiful is our lord!’ and a crowd of citizens followed +him, and cried out, ‘Surely there is none so beautiful in +the whole world!’ so that the Star-Child wept, and said to +himself, ‘They are mocking me, and making light of my +misery.’ And so large was the concourse of the +people, that he lost the threads of his way, and found himself at +last in a great square, in which there was a palace of a +King.</p> +<p>And the gate of the palace opened, and the priests and the +high officers of the city ran forth to meet him, and they abased +themselves before him, and said, ‘Thou art our lord for +whom we have been waiting, and the son of our King.’</p> +<p>And the Star-Child answered them and said, ‘I am no +king’s son, but the child of a poor beggar-woman. And +how say ye that I am beautiful, for I know that I am evil to look +at?’</p> +<p>Then he, whose armour was inlaid with gilt flowers, and on +whose helmet crouched a lion that had wings, held up a shield, +and cried, ‘How saith my lord that he is not +beautiful?’</p> +<p>And the Star-Child looked, and lo! his face was even as it had +been, and his comeliness had come back to him, and he saw that in +his eyes which he had not seen there before.</p> +<p>And the priests and the high officers knelt down and said to +him, ‘It was prophesied of old that on this day should come +he who was to rule over us. Therefore, let our lord take +this crown and this sceptre, and be in his justice and mercy our +King over us.’</p> +<p>But he said to them, ‘I am not worthy, for I have denied +the mother who bare me, nor may I rest till I have found her, and +known her forgiveness. Therefore, let me go, for I must +wander again over the world, and may not tarry here, though ye +bring me the crown and the sceptre.’ And as he spake +he turned his face from them towards the street that led to the +gate of the city, and lo! amongst the crowd that pressed round +the soldiers, he saw the beggar-woman who was his mother, and at +her side stood the leper, who had sat by the road.</p> +<p>And a cry of joy broke from his lips, and he ran over, and +kneeling down he kissed the wounds on his mother’s feet, +and wet them with his tears. He bowed his head in the dust, +and sobbing, as one whose heart might break, he said to her: +‘Mother, I denied thee in the hour of my pride. +Accept me in the hour of my humility. Mother, I gave thee +hatred. Do thou give me love. Mother, I rejected +thee. Receive thy child now.’ But the +beggar-woman answered him not a word.</p> +<p>And he reached out his hands, and clasped the white feet of +the leper, and said to him: ‘Thrice did I give thee of my +mercy. Bid my mother speak to me once.’ But the +leper answered him not a word.</p> +<p>And he sobbed again and said: ‘Mother, my suffering is +greater than I can bear. Give me thy forgiveness, and let +me go back to the forest.’ And the beggar-woman put +her hand on his head, and said to him, ‘Rise,’ and +the leper put his hand on his head, and said to him, +‘Rise,’ also.</p> +<p>And he rose up from his feet, and looked at them, and lo! they +were a King and a Queen.</p> +<p>And the Queen said to him, ‘This is thy father whom thou +hast succoured.’</p> +<p>And the King said, ‘This is thy mother whose feet thou +hast washed with thy tears.’ And they fell on his +neck and kissed him, and brought him into the palace and clothed +him in fair raiment, and set the crown upon his head, and the +sceptre in his hand, and over the city that stood by the river he +ruled, and was its lord. Much justice and mercy did he show +to all, and the evil Magician he banished, and to the Woodcutter +and his wife he sent many rich gifts, and to their children he +gave high honour. Nor would he suffer any to be cruel to +bird or beast, but taught love and loving-kindness and charity, +and to the poor he gave bread, and to the naked he gave raiment, +and there was peace and plenty in the land.</p> +<p>Yet ruled he not long, so great had been his suffering, and so +bitter the fire of his testing, for after the space of three +years he died. And he who came after him ruled evilly.</p> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A HOUSE OF POMEGRANATES***</p> +<pre> + + +***** This file should be named 873-h.htm or 873-h.zip****** + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/8/7/873 + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will +be renamed. + +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United +States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part +of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm +concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, +and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive +specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this +eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook +for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, +performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given +away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks +not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the +trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. + +START: FULL LICENSE + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full +Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at +www.gutenberg.org/license. + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or +destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your +possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a +Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound +by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the +person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph +1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this +agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the +Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection +of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual +works in the collection are in the public domain in the United +States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the +United States and you are located in the United States, we do not +claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, +displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as +all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope +that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting +free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm +works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the +Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily +comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the +same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when +you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are +in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, +check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this +agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, +distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any +other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no +representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any +country outside the United States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other +immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear +prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work +on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, +performed, viewed, copied or distributed: + + This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and + most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no + restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it + under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this + eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the + United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you + are located before using this ebook. + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is +derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not +contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the +copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in +the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are +redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply +either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or +obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm +trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any +additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms +will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works +posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the +beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including +any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access +to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format +other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official +version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site +(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense +to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means +of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain +Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the +full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +provided that + +* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed + to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has + agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project + Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid + within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are + legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty + payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project + Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in + Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg + Literary Archive Foundation." + +* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all + copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue + all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm + works. + +* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of + any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of + receipt of the work. + +* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than +are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing +from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The +Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm +trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project +Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may +contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate +or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other +intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or +other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or +cannot be read by your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium +with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you +with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in +lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person +or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second +opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If +the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing +without further opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO +OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT +LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of +damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement +violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the +agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or +limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or +unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the +remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in +accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the +production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, +including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of +the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this +or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or +additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any +Defect you cause. + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of +computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It +exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations +from people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future +generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see +Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at +www.gutenberg.org + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by +U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the +mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its +volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous +locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt +Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to +date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and +official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact + +For additional contact information: + + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND +DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular +state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To +donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project +Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be +freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and +distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of +volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in +the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not +necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper +edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search +facility: www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + +</pre></body> +</html> diff --git a/873-h/images/coverb.jpg b/873-h/images/coverb.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..b5a2086 --- /dev/null +++ b/873-h/images/coverb.jpg diff --git a/873-h/images/covers.jpg b/873-h/images/covers.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..93bfc64 --- /dev/null +++ b/873-h/images/covers.jpg diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c9418d6 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #873 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/873) diff --git a/old/hpomg10.txt b/old/hpomg10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4b06702 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/hpomg10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3869 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of A House of Pomegranates, by Oscar Wilde +(#8 in our series by Oscar Wilde) + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: A House of Pomegranates + +Author: Oscar Wilde + +Release Date: April, 1997 [EBook #873] +[This file was first posted on April 8, 1997] +[Most recently updated: September 25, 2002] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, A HOUSE OF POMEGRANATES *** + + + + +Transcribed from the 1915 Methuen and Co. edition by David Price, +email ccx074@coventry.ac.uk + + + + +A HOUSE OF POMEGRANATES + + + + +Contents: + +The Young King +The Birthday of the Infanta +The Fisherman and his Soul +The Star-child + + + + +THE YOUNG KING + + + + +[TO MARGARET LADY BROOKE--THE RANEE OF SARAWAK] + + +It was the night before the day fixed for his coronation, and the +young King was sitting alone in his beautiful chamber. His +courtiers had all taken their leave of him, bowing their heads to +the ground, according to the ceremonious usage of the day, and had +retired to the Great Hall of the Palace, to receive a few last +lessons from the Professor of Etiquette; there being some of them +who had still quite natural manners, which in a courtier is, I need +hardly say, a very grave offence. + +The lad--for he was only a lad, being but sixteen years of age--was +not sorry at their departure, and had flung himself back with a +deep sigh of relief on the soft cushions of his embroidered couch, +lying there, wild-eyed and open-mouthed, like a brown woodland +Faun, or some young animal of the forest newly snared by the +hunters. + +And, indeed, it was the hunters who had found him, coming upon him +almost by chance as, bare-limbed and pipe in hand, he was following +the flock of the poor goatherd who had brought him up, and whose +son he had always fancied himself to be. The child of the old +King's only daughter by a secret marriage with one much beneath her +in station--a stranger, some said, who, by the wonderful magic of +his lute-playing, had made the young Princess love him; while +others spoke of an artist from Rimini, to whom the Princess had +shown much, perhaps too much honour, and who had suddenly +disappeared from the city, leaving his work in the Cathedral +unfinished--he had been, when but a week old, stolen away from his +mother's side, as she slept, and given into the charge of a common +peasant and his wife, who were without children of their own, and +lived in a remote part of the forest, more than a day's ride from +the town. Grief, or the plague, as the court physician stated, or, +as some suggested, a swift Italian poison administered in a cup of +spiced wine, slew, within an hour of her wakening, the white girl +who had given him birth, and as the trusty messenger who bare the +child across his saddle-bow stooped from his weary horse and +knocked at the rude door of the goatherd's hut, the body of the +Princess was being lowered into an open grave that had been dug in +a deserted churchyard, beyond the city gates, a grave where it was +said that another body was also lying, that of a young man of +marvellous and foreign beauty, whose hands were tied behind him +with a knotted cord, and whose breast was stabbed with many red +wounds. + +Such, at least, was the story that men whispered to each other. +Certain it was that the old King, when on his deathbed, whether +moved by remorse for his great sin, or merely desiring that the +kingdom should not pass away from his line, had had the lad sent +for, and, in the presence of the Council, had acknowledged him as +his heir. + +And it seems that from the very first moment of his recognition he +had shown signs of that strange passion for beauty that was +destined to have so great an influence over his life. Those who +accompanied him to the suite of rooms set apart for his service, +often spoke of the cry of pleasure that broke from his lips when he +saw the delicate raiment and rich jewels that had been prepared for +him, and of the almost fierce joy with which he flung aside his +rough leathern tunic and coarse sheepskin cloak. He missed, +indeed, at times the fine freedom of his forest life, and was +always apt to chafe at the tedious Court ceremonies that occupied +so much of each day, but the wonderful palace--Joyeuse, as they +called it--of which he now found himself lord, seemed to him to be +a new world fresh-fashioned for his delight; and as soon as he +could escape from the council-board or audience-chamber, he would +run down the great staircase, with its lions of gilt bronze and its +steps of bright porphyry, and wander from room to room, and from +corridor to corridor, like one who was seeking to find in beauty an +anodyne from pain, a sort of restoration from sickness. + +Upon these journeys of discovery, as he would call them--and, +indeed, they were to him real voyages through a marvellous land, he +would sometimes be accompanied by the slim, fair-haired Court +pages, with their floating mantles, and gay fluttering ribands; but +more often he would be alone, feeling through a certain quick +instinct, which was almost a divination, that the secrets of art +are best learned in secret, and that Beauty, like Wisdom, loves the +lonely worshipper. + + +Many curious stories were related about him at this period. It was +said that a stout Burgo-master, who had come to deliver a florid +oratorical address on behalf of the citizens of the town, had +caught sight of him kneeling in real adoration before a great +picture that had just been brought from Venice, and that seemed to +herald the worship of some new gods. On another occasion he had +been missed for several hours, and after a lengthened search had +been discovered in a little chamber in one of the northern turrets +of the palace gazing, as one in a trance, at a Greek gem carved +with the figure of Adonis. He had been seen, so the tale ran, +pressing his warm lips to the marble brow of an antique statue that +had been discovered in the bed of the river on the occasion of the +building of the stone bridge, and was inscribed with the name of +the Bithynian slave of Hadrian. He had passed a whole night in +noting the effect of the moonlight on a silver image of Endymion. + +All rare and costly materials had certainly a great fascination for +him, and in his eagerness to procure them he had sent away many +merchants, some to traffic for amber with the rough fisher-folk of +the north seas, some to Egypt to look for that curious green +turquoise which is found only in the tombs of kings, and is said to +possess magical properties, some to Persia for silken carpets and +painted pottery, and others to India to buy gauze and stained +ivory, moonstones and bracelets of jade, sandal-wood and blue +enamel and shawls of fine wool. + +But what had occupied him most was the robe he was to wear at his +coronation, the robe of tissued gold, and the ruby-studded crown, +and the sceptre with its rows and rings of pearls. Indeed, it was +of this that he was thinking to-night, as he lay back on his +luxurious couch, watching the great pinewood log that was burning +itself out on the open hearth. The designs, which were from the +hands of the most famous artists of the time, had been submitted to +him many months before, and he had given orders that the artificers +were to toil night and day to carry them out, and that the whole +world was to be searched for jewels that would be worthy of their +work. He saw himself in fancy standing at the high altar of the +cathedral in the fair raiment of a King, and a smile played and +lingered about his boyish lips, and lit up with a bright lustre his +dark woodland eyes. + +After some time he rose from his seat, and leaning against the +carved penthouse of the chimney, looked round at the dimly-lit +room. The walls were hung with rich tapestries representing the +Triumph of Beauty. A large press, inlaid with agate and lapis- +lazuli, filled one corner, and facing the window stood a curiously +wrought cabinet with lacquer panels of powdered and mosaiced gold, +on which were placed some delicate goblets of Venetian glass, and a +cup of dark-veined onyx. Pale poppies were broidered on the silk +coverlet of the bed, as though they had fallen from the tired hands +of sleep, and tall reeds of fluted ivory bare up the velvet canopy, +from which great tufts of ostrich plumes sprang, like white foam, +to the pallid silver of the fretted ceiling. A laughing Narcissus +in green bronze held a polished mirror above its head. On the +table stood a flat bowl of amethyst. + +Outside he could see the huge dome of the cathedral, looming like a +bubble over the shadowy houses, and the weary sentinels pacing up +and down on the misty terrace by the river. Far away, in an +orchard, a nightingale was singing. A faint perfume of jasmine +came through the open window. He brushed his brown curls back from +his forehead, and taking up a lute, let his fingers stray across +the cords. His heavy eyelids drooped, and a strange languor came +over him. Never before had he felt so keenly, or with such +exquisite joy, the magic and the mystery of beautiful things. + +When midnight sounded from the clock-tower he touched a bell, and +his pages entered and disrobed him with much ceremony, pouring +rose-water over his hands, and strewing flowers on his pillow. A +few moments after that they had left the room, he fell asleep. + + +And as he slept he dreamed a dream, and this was his dream. + +He thought that he was standing in a long, low attic, amidst the +whir and clatter of many looms. The meagre daylight peered in +through the grated windows, and showed him the gaunt figures of the +weavers bending over their cases. Pale, sickly-looking children +were crouched on the huge crossbeams. As the shuttles dashed +through the warp they lifted up the heavy battens, and when the +shuttles stopped they let the battens fall and pressed the threads +together. Their faces were pinched with famine, and their thin +hands shook and trembled. Some haggard women were seated at a +table sewing. A horrible odour filled the place. The air was foul +and heavy, and the walls dripped and streamed with damp. + +The young King went over to one of the weavers, and stood by him +and watched him. + +And the weaver looked at him angrily, and said, 'Why art thou +watching me? Art thou a spy set on us by our master?' + +'Who is thy master?' asked the young King. + +'Our master!' cried the weaver, bitterly. 'He is a man like +myself. Indeed, there is but this difference between us--that he +wears fine clothes while I go in rags, and that while I am weak +from hunger he suffers not a little from overfeeding.' + +'The land is free,' said the young King, 'and thou art no man's +slave.' + +'In war,' answered the weaver, 'the strong make slaves of the weak, +and in peace the rich make slaves of the poor. We must work to +live, and they give us such mean wages that we die. We toil for +them all day long, and they heap up gold in their coffers, and our +children fade away before their time, and the faces of those we +love become hard and evil. We tread out the grapes, and another +drinks the wine. We sow the corn, and our own board is empty. We +have chains, though no eye beholds them; and are slaves, though men +call us free.' + +'Is it so with all?' he asked, + +'It is so with all,' answered the weaver, 'with the young as well +as with the old, with the women as well as with the men, with the +little children as well as with those who are stricken in years. +The merchants grind us down, and we must needs do their bidding. +The priest rides by and tells his beads, and no man has care of us. +Through our sunless lanes creeps Poverty with her hungry eyes, and +Sin with his sodden face follows close behind her. Misery wakes us +in the morning, and Shame sits with us at night. But what are +these things to thee? Thou art not one of us. Thy face is too +happy.' And he turned away scowling, and threw the shuttle across +the loom, and the young King saw that it was threaded with a thread +of gold. + +And a great terror seized upon him, and he said to the weaver, +'What robe is this that thou art weaving?' + +'It is the robe for the coronation of the young King,' he answered; +'what is that to thee?' + +And the young King gave a loud cry and woke, and lo! he was in his +own chamber, and through the window he saw the great honey-coloured +moon hanging in the dusky air. + + +And he fell asleep again and dreamed, and this was his dream. + +He thought that he was lying on the deck of a huge galley that was +being rowed by a hundred slaves. On a carpet by his side the +master of the galley was seated. He was black as ebony, and his +turban was of crimson silk. Great earrings of silver dragged down +the thick lobes of his ears, and in his hands he had a pair of +ivory scales. + +The slaves were naked, but for a ragged loin-cloth, and each man +was chained to his neighbour. The hot sun beat brightly upon them, +and the negroes ran up and down the gangway and lashed them with +whips of hide. They stretched out their lean arms and pulled the +heavy oars through the water. The salt spray flew from the blades. + +At last they reached a little bay, and began to take soundings. A +light wind blew from the shore, and covered the deck and the great +lateen sail with a fine red dust. Three Arabs mounted on wild +asses rode out and threw spears at them. The master of the galley +took a painted bow in his hand and shot one of them in the throat. +He fell heavily into the surf, and his companions galloped away. A +woman wrapped in a yellow veil followed slowly on a camel, looking +back now and then at the dead body. + +As soon as they had cast anchor and hauled down the sail, the +negroes went into the hold and brought up a long rope-ladder, +heavily weighted with lead. The master of the galley threw it over +the side, making the ends fast to two iron stanchions. Then the +negroes seized the youngest of the slaves and knocked his gyves +off, and filled his nostrils and his ears with wax, and tied a big +stone round his waist. He crept wearily down the ladder, and +disappeared into the sea. A few bubbles rose where he sank. Some +of the other slaves peered curiously over the side. At the prow of +the galley sat a shark-charmer, beating monotonously upon a drum. + +After some time the diver rose up out of the water, and clung +panting to the ladder with a pearl in his right hand. The negroes +seized it from him, and thrust him back. The slaves fell asleep +over their oars. + +Again and again he came up, and each time that he did so he brought +with him a beautiful pearl. The master of the galley weighed them, +and put them into a little bag of green leather. + +The young King tried to speak, but his tongue seemed to cleave to +the roof of his mouth, and his lips refused to move. The negroes +chattered to each other, and began to quarrel over a string of +bright beads. Two cranes flew round and round the vessel. + +Then the diver came up for the last time, and the pearl that he +brought with him was fairer than all the pearls of Ormuz, for it +was shaped like the full moon, and whiter than the morning star. +But his face was strangely pale, and as he fell upon the deck the +blood gushed from his ears and nostrils. He quivered for a little, +and then he was still. The negroes shrugged their shoulders, and +threw the body overboard. + +And the master of the galley laughed, and, reaching out, he took +the pearl, and when he saw it he pressed it to his forehead and +bowed. 'It shall be,' he said, 'for the sceptre of the young +King,' and he made a sign to the negroes to draw up the anchor. + +And when the young King heard this he gave a great cry, and woke, +and through the window he saw the long grey fingers of the dawn +clutching at the fading stars. + + +And he fell asleep again, and dreamed, and this was his dream. + +He thought that he was wandering through a dim wood, hung with +strange fruits and with beautiful poisonous flowers. The adders +hissed at him as he went by, and the bright parrots flew screaming +from branch to branch. Huge tortoises lay asleep upon the hot mud. +The trees were full of apes and peacocks. + +On and on he went, till he reached the outskirts of the wood, and +there he saw an immense multitude of men toiling in the bed of a +dried-up river. They swarmed up the crag like ants. They dug deep +pits in the ground and went down into them. Some of them cleft the +rocks with great axes; others grabbled in the sand. + +They tore up the cactus by its roots, and trampled on the scarlet +blossoms. They hurried about, calling to each other, and no man +was idle. + +From the darkness of a cavern Death and Avarice watched them, and +Death said, 'I am weary; give me a third of them and let me go.' +But Avarice shook her head. 'They are my servants,' she answered. + +And Death said to her, 'What hast thou in thy hand?' + +'I have three grains of corn,' she answered; 'what is that to +thee?' + +'Give me one of them,' cried Death, 'to plant in my garden; only +one of them, and I will go away.' + +'I will not give thee anything,' said Avarice, and she hid her hand +in the fold of her raiment. + +And Death laughed, and took a cup, and dipped it into a pool of +water, and out of the cup rose Ague. She passed through the great +multitude, and a third of them lay dead. A cold mist followed her, +and the water-snakes ran by her side. + +And when Avarice saw that a third of the multitude was dead she +beat her breast and wept. She beat her barren bosom, and cried +aloud. 'Thou hast slain a third of my servants,' she cried, 'get +thee gone. There is war in the mountains of Tartary, and the kings +of each side are calling to thee. The Afghans have slain the black +ox, and are marching to battle. They have beaten upon their +shields with their spears, and have put on their helmets of iron. +What is my valley to thee, that thou shouldst tarry in it? Get +thee gone, and come here no more.' + +'Nay,' answered Death, 'but till thou hast given me a grain of corn +I will not go.' + +But Avarice shut her hand, and clenched her teeth. 'I will not +give thee anything,' she muttered. + +And Death laughed, and took up a black stone, and threw it into the +forest, and out of a thicket of wild hemlock came Fever in a robe +of flame. She passed through the multitude, and touched them, and +each man that she touched died. The grass withered beneath her +feet as she walked. + +And Avarice shuddered, and put ashes on her head. 'Thou art +cruel,' she cried; 'thou art cruel. There is famine in the walled +cities of India, and the cisterns of Samarcand have run dry. There +is famine in the walled cities of Egypt, and the locusts have come +up from the desert. The Nile has not overflowed its banks, and the +priests have cursed Isis and Osiris. Get thee gone to those who +need thee, and leave me my servants.' + +'Nay,' answered Death, 'but till thou hast given me a grain of corn +I will not go.' + +'I will not give thee anything,' said Avarice. + +And Death laughed again, and he whistled through his fingers, and a +woman came flying through the air. Plague was written upon her +forehead, and a crowd of lean vultures wheeled round her. She +covered the valley with her wings, and no man was left alive. + +And Avarice fled shrieking through the forest, and Death leaped +upon his red horse and galloped away, and his galloping was faster +than the wind. + +And out of the slime at the bottom of the valley crept dragons and +horrible things with scales, and the jackals came trotting along +the sand, sniffing up the air with their nostrils. + +And the young King wept, and said: 'Who were these men, and for +what were they seeking?' + +'For rubies for a king's crown,' answered one who stood behind him. + +And the young King started, and, turning round, he saw a man +habited as a pilgrim and holding in his hand a mirror of silver. + +And he grew pale, and said: 'For what king?' + +And the pilgrim answered: 'Look in this mirror, and thou shalt see +him.' + +And he looked in the mirror, and, seeing his own face, he gave a +great cry and woke, and the bright sunlight was streaming into the +room, and from the trees of the garden and pleasaunce the birds +were singing. + + +And the Chamberlain and the high officers of State came in and made +obeisance to him, and the pages brought him the robe of tissued +gold, and set the crown and the sceptre before him. + +And the young King looked at them, and they were beautiful. More +beautiful were they than aught that he had ever seen. But he +remembered his dreams, and he said to his lords: 'Take these +things away, for I will not wear them.' + +And the courtiers were amazed, and some of them laughed, for they +thought that he was jesting. + +But he spake sternly to them again, and said: 'Take these things +away, and hide them from me. Though it be the day of my +coronation, I will not wear them. For on the loom of Sorrow, and +by the white hands of Pain, has this my robe been woven. There is +Blood in the heart of the ruby, and Death in the heart of the +pearl.' And he told them his three dreams. + +And when the courtiers heard them they looked at each other and +whispered, saying: 'Surely he is mad; for what is a dream but a +dream, and a vision but a vision? They are not real things that +one should heed them. And what have we to do with the lives of +those who toil for us? Shall a man not eat bread till he has seen +the sower, nor drink wine till he has talked with the vinedresser?' + +And the Chamberlain spake to the young King, and said, 'My lord, I +pray thee set aside these black thoughts of thine, and put on this +fair robe, and set this crown upon thy head. For how shall the +people know that thou art a king, if thou hast not a king's +raiment?' + +And the young King looked at him. 'Is it so, indeed?' he +questioned. 'Will they not know me for a king if I have not a +king's raiment?' + +'They will not know thee, my lord,' cried the Chamberlain. + +'I had thought that there had been men who were kinglike,' he +answered, 'but it may be as thou sayest. And yet I will not wear +this robe, nor will I be crowned with this crown, but even as I +came to the palace so will I go forth from it.' + +And he bade them all leave him, save one page whom he kept as his +companion, a lad a year younger than himself. Him he kept for his +service, and when he had bathed himself in clear water, he opened a +great painted chest, and from it he took the leathern tunic and +rough sheepskin cloak that he had worn when he had watched on the +hillside the shaggy goats of the goatherd. These he put on, and in +his hand he took his rude shepherd's staff. + +And the little page opened his big blue eyes in wonder, and said +smiling to him, 'My lord, I see thy robe and thy sceptre, but where +is thy crown?' + +And the young King plucked a spray of wild briar that was climbing +over the balcony, and bent it, and made a circlet of it, and set it +on his own head. + +'This shall he my crown,' he answered. + +And thus attired he passed out of his chamber into the Great Hall, +where the nobles were waiting for him. + +And the nobles made merry, and some of them cried out to him, 'My +lord, the people wait for their king, and thou showest them a +beggar,' and others were wroth and said, 'He brings shame upon our +state, and is unworthy to be our master.' But he answered them not +a word, but passed on, and went down the bright porphyry staircase, +and out through the gates of bronze, and mounted upon his horse, +and rode towards the cathedral, the little page running beside him. + +And the people laughed and said, 'It is the King's fool who is +riding by,' and they mocked him. + +And he drew rein and said, 'Nay, but I am the King.' And he told +them his three dreams. + +And a man came out of the crowd and spake bitterly to him, and +said, 'Sir, knowest thou not that out of the luxury of the rich +cometh the life of the poor? By your pomp we are nurtured, and +your vices give us bread. To toil for a hard master is bitter, but +to have no master to toil for is more bitter still. Thinkest thou +that the ravens will feed us? And what cure hast thou for these +things? Wilt thou say to the buyer, "Thou shalt buy for so much," +and to the seller, "Thou shalt sell at this price"? I trow not. +Therefore go back to thy Palace and put on thy purple and fine +linen. What hast thou to do with us, and what we suffer?' + +'Are not the rich and the poor brothers?' asked the young King. + +'Ay,' answered the man, 'and the name of the rich brother is Cain.' + +And the young King's eyes filled with tears, and he rode on through +the murmurs of the people, and the little page grew afraid and left +him. + +And when he reached the great portal of the cathedral, the soldiers +thrust their halberts out and said, 'What dost thou seek here? +None enters by this door but the King.' + +And his face flushed with anger, and he said to them, 'I am the +King,' and waved their halberts aside and passed in. + +And when the old Bishop saw him coming in his goatherd's dress, he +rose up in wonder from his throne, and went to meet him, and said +to him, 'My son, is this a king's apparel? And with what crown +shall I crown thee, and what sceptre shall I place in thy hand? +Surely this should be to thee a day of joy, and not a day of +abasement.' + +'Shall Joy wear what Grief has fashioned?' said the young King. +And he told him his three dreams. + +And when the Bishop had heard them he knit his brows, and said, 'My +son, I am an old man, and in the winter of my days, and I know that +many evil things are done in the wide world. The fierce robbers +come down from the mountains, and carry off the little children, +and sell them to the Moors. The lions lie in wait for the +caravans, and leap upon the camels. The wild boar roots up the +corn in the valley, and the foxes gnaw the vines upon the hill. +The pirates lay waste the sea-coast and burn the ships of the +fishermen, and take their nets from them. In the salt-marshes live +the lepers; they have houses of wattled reeds, and none may come +nigh them. The beggars wander through the cities, and eat their +food with the dogs. Canst thou make these things not to be? Wilt +thou take the leper for thy bedfellow, and set the beggar at thy +board? Shall the lion do thy bidding, and the wild boar obey thee? +Is not He who made misery wiser than thou art? Wherefore I praise +thee not for this that thou hast done, but I bid thee ride back to +the Palace and make thy face glad, and put on the raiment that +beseemeth a king, and with the crown of gold I will crown thee, and +the sceptre of pearl will I place in thy hand. And as for thy +dreams, think no more of them. The burden of this world is too +great for one man to bear, and the world's sorrow too heavy for one +heart to suffer.' + +'Sayest thou that in this house?' said the young King, and he +strode past the Bishop, and climbed up the steps of the altar, and +stood before the image of Christ. + +He stood before the image of Christ, and on his right hand and on +his left were the marvellous vessels of gold, the chalice with the +yellow wine, and the vial with the holy oil. He knelt before the +image of Christ, and the great candles burned brightly by the +jewelled shrine, and the smoke of the incense curled in thin blue +wreaths through the dome. He bowed his head in prayer, and the +priests in their stiff copes crept away from the altar. + +And suddenly a wild tumult came from the street outside, and in +entered the nobles with drawn swords and nodding plumes, and +shields of polished steel. 'Where is this dreamer of dreams?' they +cried. 'Where is this King who is apparelled like a beggar--this +boy who brings shame upon our state? Surely we will slay him, for +he is unworthy to rule over us.' + +And the young King bowed his head again, and prayed, and when he +had finished his prayer he rose up, and turning round he looked at +them sadly. + +And lo! through the painted windows came the sunlight streaming +upon him, and the sun-beams wove round him a tissued robe that was +fairer than the robe that had been fashioned for his pleasure. The +dead staff blossomed, and bare lilies that were whiter than pearls. +The dry thorn blossomed, and bare roses that were redder than +rubies. Whiter than fine pearls were the lilies, and their stems +were of bright silver. Redder than male rubies were the roses, and +their leaves were of beaten gold. + +He stood there in the raiment of a king, and the gates of the +jewelled shrine flew open, and from the crystal of the many-rayed +monstrance shone a marvellous and mystical light. He stood there +in a king's raiment, and the Glory of God filled the place, and the +saints in their carven niches seemed to move. In the fair raiment +of a king he stood before them, and the organ pealed out its music, +and the trumpeters blew upon their trumpets, and the singing boys +sang. + +And the people fell upon their knees in awe, and the nobles +sheathed their swords and did homage, and the Bishop's face grew +pale, and his hands trembled. 'A greater than I hath crowned +thee,' he cried, and he knelt before him. + +And the young King came down from the high altar, and passed home +through the midst of the people. But no man dared look upon his +face, for it was like the face of an angel. + + + + +THE BIRTHDAY OF THE INFANTA + + + + +[TO MRS. WILLIAM H. GRENFELL OF TAPLOW COURT--LADY DESBOROUGH] + + +It was the birthday of the Infanta. She was just twelve years of +age, and the sun was shining brightly in the gardens of the palace. + +Although she was a real Princess and the Infanta of Spain, she had +only one birthday every year, just like the children of quite poor +people, so it was naturally a matter of great importance to the +whole country that she should have a really fine day for the +occasion. And a really fine day it certainly was. The tall +striped tulips stood straight up upon their stalks, like long rows +of soldiers, and looked defiantly across the grass at the roses, +and said: 'We are quite as splendid as you are now.' The purple +butterflies fluttered about with gold dust on their wings, visiting +each flower in turn; the little lizards crept out of the crevices +of the wall, and lay basking in the white glare; and the +pomegranates split and cracked with the heat, and showed their +bleeding red hearts. Even the pale yellow lemons, that hung in +such profusion from the mouldering trellis and along the dim +arcades, seemed to have caught a richer colour from the wonderful +sunlight, and the magnolia trees opened their great globe-like +blossoms of folded ivory, and filled the air with a sweet heavy +perfume. + +The little Princess herself walked up and down the terrace with her +companions, and played at hide and seek round the stone vases and +the old moss-grown statues. On ordinary days she was only allowed +to play with children of her own rank, so she had always to play +alone, but her birthday was an exception, and the King had given +orders that she was to invite any of her young friends whom she +liked to come and amuse themselves with her. There was a stately +grace about these slim Spanish children as they glided about, the +boys with their large-plumed hats and short fluttering cloaks, the +girls holding up the trains of their long brocaded gowns, and +shielding the sun from their eyes with huge fans of black and +silver. But the Infanta was the most graceful of all, and the most +tastefully attired, after the somewhat cumbrous fashion of the day. +Her robe was of grey satin, the skirt and the wide puffed sleeves +heavily embroidered with silver, and the stiff corset studded with +rows of fine pearls. Two tiny slippers with big pink rosettes +peeped out beneath her dress as she walked. Pink and pearl was her +great gauze fan, and in her hair, which like an aureole of faded +gold stood out stiffly round her pale little face, she had a +beautiful white rose. + +From a window in the palace the sad melancholy King watched them. +Behind him stood his brother, Don Pedro of Aragon, whom he hated, +and his confessor, the Grand Inquisitor of Granada, sat by his +side. Sadder even than usual was the King, for as he looked at the +Infanta bowing with childish gravity to the assembling counters, or +laughing behind her fan at the grim Duchess of Albuquerque who +always accompanied her, he thought of the young Queen, her mother, +who but a short time before--so it seemed to him--had come from the +gay country of France, and had withered away in the sombre +splendour of the Spanish court, dying just six months after the +birth of her child, and before she had seen the almonds blossom +twice in the orchard, or plucked the second year's fruit from the +old gnarled fig-tree that stood in the centre of the now grass- +grown courtyard. So great had been his love for her that he had +not suffered even the grave to hide her from him. She had been +embalmed by a Moorish physician, who in return for this service had +been granted his life, which for heresy and suspicion of magical +practices had been already forfeited, men said, to the Holy Office, +and her body was still lying on its tapestried bier in the black +marble chapel of the Palace, just as the monks had borne her in on +that windy March day nearly twelve years before. Once every month +the King, wrapped in a dark cloak and with a muffled lantern in his +hand, went in and knelt by her side calling out, 'Mi reina! Mi +reina!' and sometimes breaking through the formal etiquette that in +Spain governs every separate action of life, and sets limits even +to the sorrow of a King, he would clutch at the pale jewelled hands +in a wild agony of grief, and try to wake by his mad kisses the +cold painted face. + +To-day he seemed to see her again, as he had seen her first at the +Castle of Fontainebleau, when he was but fifteen years of age, and +she still younger. They had been formally betrothed on that +occasion by the Papal Nuncio in the presence of the French King and +all the Court, and he had returned to the Escurial bearing with him +a little ringlet of yellow hair, and the memory of two childish +lips bending down to kiss his hand as he stepped into his carriage. +Later on had followed the marriage, hastily performed at Burgos, a +small town on the frontier between the two countries, and the grand +public entry into Madrid with the customary celebration of high +mass at the Church of La Atocha, and a more than usually solemn +auto-da-fe, in which nearly three hundred heretics, amongst whom +were many Englishmen, had been delivered over to the secular arm to +be burned. + +Certainly he had loved her madly, and to the ruin, many thought, of +his country, then at war with England for the possession of the +empire of the New World. He had hardly ever permitted her to be +out of his sight; for her, he had forgotten, or seemed to have +forgotten, all grave affairs of State; and, with that terrible +blindness that passion brings upon its servants, he had failed to +notice that the elaborate ceremonies by which he sought to please +her did but aggravate the strange malady from which she suffered. +When she died he was, for a time, like one bereft of reason. +Indeed, there is no doubt but that he would have formally abdicated +and retired to the great Trappist monastery at Granada, of which he +was already titular Prior, had he not been afraid to leave the +little Infanta at the mercy of his brother, whose cruelty, even in +Spain, was notorious, and who was suspected by many of having +caused the Queen's death by means of a pair of poisoned gloves that +he had presented to her on the occasion of her visiting his castle +in Aragon. Even after the expiration of the three years of public +mourning that he had ordained throughout his whole dominions by +royal edict, he would never suffer his ministers to speak about any +new alliance, and when the Emperor himself sent to him, and offered +him the hand of the lovely Archduchess of Bohemia, his niece, in +marriage, he bade the ambassadors tell their master that the King +of Spain was already wedded to Sorrow, and that though she was but +a barren bride he loved her better than Beauty; an answer that cost +his crown the rich provinces of the Netherlands, which soon after, +at the Emperor's instigation, revolted against him under the +leadership of some fanatics of the Reformed Church. + +His whole married life, with its fierce, fiery-coloured joys and +the terrible agony of its sudden ending, seemed to come back to him +to-day as he watched the Infanta playing on the terrace. She had +all the Queen's pretty petulance of manner, the same wilful way of +tossing her head, the same proud curved beautiful mouth, the same +wonderful smile--vrai sourire de France indeed--as she glanced up +now and then at the window, or stretched out her little hand for +the stately Spanish gentlemen to kiss. But the shrill laughter of +the children grated on his ears, and the bright pitiless sunlight +mocked his sorrow, and a dull odour of strange spices, spices such +as embalmers use, seemed to taint--or was it fancy?--the clear +morning air. He buried his face in his hands, and when the Infanta +looked up again the curtains had been drawn, and the King had +retired. + +She made a little moue of disappointment, and shrugged her +shoulders. Surely he might have stayed with her on her birthday. +What did the stupid State-affairs matter? Or had he gone to that +gloomy chapel, where the candles were always burning, and where she +was never allowed to enter? How silly of him, when the sun was +shining so brightly, and everybody was so happy! Besides, he would +miss the sham bull-fight for which the trumpet was already +sounding, to say nothing of the puppet-show and the other wonderful +things. Her uncle and the Grand Inquisitor were much more +sensible. They had come out on the terrace, and paid her nice +compliments. So she tossed her pretty head, and taking Don Pedro +by the hand, she walked slowly down the steps towards a long +pavilion of purple silk that had been erected at the end of the +garden, the other children following in strict order of precedence, +those who had the longest names going first. + + +A procession of noble boys, fantastically dressed as toreadors, +came out to meet her, and the young Count of Tierra-Nueva, a +wonderfully handsome lad of about fourteen years of age, uncovering +his head with all the grace of a born hidalgo and grandee of Spain, +led her solemnly in to a little gilt and ivory chair that was +placed on a raised dais above the arena. The children grouped +themselves all round, fluttering their big fans and whispering to +each other, and Don Pedro and the Grand Inquisitor stood laughing +at the entrance. Even the Duchess--the Camerera-Mayor as she was +called--a thin, hard-featured woman with a yellow ruff, did not +look quite so bad-tempered as usual, and something like a chill +smile flitted across her wrinkled face and twitched her thin +bloodless lips. + +It certainly was a marvellous bull-fight, and much nicer, the +Infanta thought, than the real bull-fight that she had been brought +to see at Seville, on the occasion of the visit of the Duke of +Parma to her father. Some of the boys pranced about on richly- +caparisoned hobby-horses brandishing long javelins with gay +streamers of bright ribands attached to them; others went on foot +waving their scarlet cloaks before the bull, and vaulting lightly +over the barrier when he charged them; and as for the bull himself, +he was just like a live bull, though he was only made of wicker- +work and stretched hide, and sometimes insisted on running round +the arena on his hind legs, which no live bull ever dreams of +doing. He made a splendid fight of it too, and the children got so +excited that they stood up upon the benches, and waved their lace +handkerchiefs and cried out: Bravo toro! Bravo toro! just as +sensibly as if they had been grown-up people. At last, however, +after a prolonged combat, during which several of the hobby-horses +were gored through and through, and, their riders dismounted, the +young Count of Tierra-Nueva brought the bull to his knees, and +having obtained permission from the Infanta to give the coup de +grace, he plunged his wooden sword into the neck of the animal with +such violence that the head came right off, and disclosed the +laughing face of little Monsieur de Lorraine, the son of the French +Ambassador at Madrid. + +The arena was then cleared amidst much applause, and the dead +hobbyhorses dragged solemnly away by two Moorish pages in yellow +and black liveries, and after a short interlude, during which a +French posture-master performed upon the tightrope, some Italian +puppets appeared in the semi-classical tragedy of Sophonisba on the +stage of a small theatre that had been built up for the purpose. +They acted so well, and their gestures were so extremely natural, +that at the close of the play the eyes of the Infanta were quite +dim with tears. Indeed some of the children really cried, and had +to be comforted with sweetmeats, and the Grand Inquisitor himself +was so affected that he could not help saying to Don Pedro that it +seemed to him intolerable that things made simply out of wood and +coloured wax, and worked mechanically by wires, should be so +unhappy and meet with such terrible misfortunes. + +An African juggler followed, who brought in a large flat basket +covered with a red cloth, and having placed it in the centre of the +arena, he took from his turban a curious reed pipe, and blew +through it. In a few moments the cloth began to move, and as the +pipe grew shriller and shriller two green and gold snakes put out +their strange wedge-shaped heads and rose slowly up, swaying to and +fro with the music as a plant sways in the water. The children, +however, were rather frightened at their spotted hoods and quick +darting tongues, and were much more pleased when the juggler made a +tiny orange-tree grow out of the sand and bear pretty white +blossoms and clusters of real fruit; and when he took the fan of +the little daughter of the Marquess de Las-Torres, and changed it +into a blue bird that flew all round the pavilion and sang, their +delight and amazement knew no bounds. The solemn minuet, too, +performed by the dancing boys from the church of Nuestra Senora Del +Pilar, was charming. The Infanta had never before seen this +wonderful ceremony which takes place every year at Maytime in front +of the high altar of the Virgin, and in her honour; and indeed none +of the royal family of Spain had entered the great cathedral of +Saragossa since a mad priest, supposed by many to have been in the +pay of Elizabeth of England, had tried to administer a poisoned +wafer to the Prince of the Asturias. So she had known only by +hearsay of 'Our Lady's Dance,' as it was called, and it certainly +was a beautiful sight. The boys wore old-fashioned court dresses +of white velvet, and their curious three-cornered hats were fringed +with silver and surmounted with huge plumes of ostrich feathers, +the dazzling whiteness of their costumes, as they moved about in +the sunlight, being still more accentuated by their swarthy faces +and long black hair. Everybody was fascinated by the grave dignity +with which they moved through the intricate figures of the dance, +and by the elaborate grace of their slow gestures, and stately +bows, and when they had finished their performance and doffed their +great plumed hats to the Infanta, she acknowledged their reverence +with much courtesy, and made a vow that she would send a large wax +candle to the shrine of Our Lady of Pilar in return for the +pleasure that she had given her. + +A troop of handsome Egyptians--as the gipsies were termed in those +days--then advanced into the arena, and sitting down cross-legs, in +a circle, began to play softly upon their zithers, moving their +bodies to the tune, and humming, almost below their breath, a low +dreamy air. When they caught sight of Don Pedro they scowled at +him, and some of them looked terrified, for only a few weeks before +he had had two of their tribe hanged for sorcery in the market- +place at Seville, but the pretty Infanta charmed them as she leaned +back peeping over her fan with her great blue eyes, and they felt +sure that one so lovely as she was could never be cruel to anybody. +So they played on very gently and just touching the cords of the +zithers with their long pointed nails, and their heads began to nod +as though they were falling asleep. Suddenly, with a cry so shrill +that all the children were startled and Don Pedro's hand clutched +at the agate pommel of his dagger, they leapt to their feet and +whirled madly round the enclosure beating their tambourines, and +chaunting some wild love-song in their strange guttural language. +Then at another signal they all flung themselves again to the +ground and lay there quite still, the dull strumming of the zithers +being the only sound that broke the silence. After that they had +done this several times, they disappeared for a moment and came +back leading a brown shaggy bear by a chain, and carrying on their +shoulders some little Barbary apes. The bear stood upon his head +with the utmost gravity, and the wizened apes played all kinds of +amusing tricks with two gipsy boys who seemed to be their masters, +and fought with tiny swords, and fired off guns, and went through a +regular soldier's drill just like the King's own bodyguard. In +fact the gipsies were a great success. + +But the funniest part of the whole morning's entertainment, was +undoubtedly the dancing of the little Dwarf. When he stumbled into +the arena, waddling on his crooked legs and wagging his huge +misshapen head from side to side, the children went off into a loud +shout of delight, and the Infanta herself laughed so much that the +Camerera was obliged to remind her that although there were many +precedents in Spain for a King's daughter weeping before her +equals, there were none for a Princess of the blood royal making so +merry before those who were her inferiors in birth. The Dwarf, +however, was really quite irresistible, and even at the Spanish +Court, always noted for its cultivated passion for the horrible, so +fantastic a little monster had never been seen. It was his first +appearance, too. He had been discovered only the day before, +running wild through the forest, by two of the nobles who happened +to have been hunting in a remote part of the great cork-wood that +surrounded the town, and had been carried off by them to the Palace +as a surprise for the Infanta; his father, who was a poor charcoal- +burner, being but too well pleased to get rid of so ugly and +useless a child. Perhaps the most amusing thing about him was his +complete unconsciousness of his own grotesque appearance. Indeed +he seemed quite happy and full of the highest spirits. When the +children laughed, he laughed as freely and as joyously as any of +them, and at the close of each dance he made them each the funniest +of bows, smiling and nodding at them just as if he was really one +of themselves, and not a little misshapen thing that Nature, in +some humourous mood, had fashioned for others to mock at. As for +the Infanta, she absolutely fascinated him. He could not keep his +eyes off her, and seemed to dance for her alone, and when at the +close of the performance, remembering how she had seen the great +ladies of the Court throw bouquets to Caffarelli, the famous +Italian treble, whom the Pope had sent from his own chapel to +Madrid that he might cure the King's melancholy by the sweetness of +his voice, she took out of her hair the beautiful white rose, and +partly for a jest and partly to tease the Camerera, threw it to him +across the arena with her sweetest smile, he took the whole matter +quite seriously, and pressing the flower to his rough coarse lips +he put his hand upon his heart, and sank on one knee before her, +grinning from ear to ear, and with his little bright eyes sparkling +with pleasure. + +This so upset the gravity of the Infanta that she kept on laughing +long after the little Dwarf had ran out of the arena, and expressed +a desire to her uncle that the dance should be immediately +repeated. The Camerera, however, on the plea that the sun was too +hot, decided that it would be better that her Highness should +return without delay to the Palace, where a wonderful feast had +been already prepared for her, including a real birthday cake with +her own initials worked all over it in painted sugar and a lovely +silver flag waving from the top. The Infanta accordingly rose up +with much dignity, and having given orders that the little dwarf +was to dance again for her after the hour of siesta, and conveyed +her thanks to the young Count of Tierra-Nueva for his charming +reception, she went back to her apartments, the children following +in the same order in which they had entered. + + +Now when the little Dwarf heard that he was to dance a second time +before the Infanta, and by her own express command, he was so proud +that he ran out into the garden, kissing the white rose in an +absurd ecstasy of pleasure, and making the most uncouth and clumsy +gestures of delight. + +The Flowers were quite indignant at his daring to intrude into +their beautiful home, and when they saw him capering up and down +the walks, and waving his arms above his head in such a ridiculous +manner, they could not restrain their feelings any longer. + +'He is really far too ugly to be allowed to play in any place where +we are,' cried the Tulips. + +'He should drink poppy-juice, and go to sleep for a thousand +years,' said the great scarlet Lilies, and they grew quite hot and +angry. + +'He is a perfect horror!' screamed the Cactus. 'Why, he is twisted +and stumpy, and his head is completely out of proportion with his +legs. Really he makes me feel prickly all over, and if he comes +near me I will sting him with my thorns.' + +'And he has actually got one of my best blooms,' exclaimed the +White Rose-Tree. 'I gave it to the Infanta this morning myself, as +a birthday present, and he has stolen it from her.' And she called +out: 'Thief, thief, thief!' at the top of her voice. + +Even the red Geraniums, who did not usually give themselves airs, +and were known to have a great many poor relations themselves, +curled up in disgust when they saw him, and when the Violets meekly +remarked that though he was certainly extremely plain, still he +could not help it, they retorted with a good deal of justice that +that was his chief defect, and that there was no reason why one +should admire a person because he was incurable; and, indeed, some +of the Violets themselves felt that the ugliness of the little +Dwarf was almost ostentatious, and that he would have shown much +better taste if he had looked sad, or at least pensive, instead of +jumping about merrily, and throwing himself into such grotesque and +silly attitudes. + +As for the old Sundial, who was an extremely remarkable individual, +and had once told the time of day to no less a person than the +Emperor Charles V. himself, he was so taken aback by the little +Dwarf's appearance, that he almost forgot to mark two whole minutes +with his long shadowy finger, and could not help saying to the +great milk-white Peacock, who was sunning herself on the +balustrade, that every one knew that the children of Kings were +Kings, and that the children of charcoal-burners were charcoal- +burners, and that it was absurd to pretend that it wasn't so; a +statement with which the Peacock entirely agreed, and indeed +screamed out, 'Certainly, certainly,' in such a loud, harsh voice, +that the gold-fish who lived in the basin of the cool splashing +fountain put their heads out of the water, and asked the huge stone +Tritons what on earth was the matter. + +But somehow the Birds liked him. They had seen him often in the +forest, dancing about like an elf after the eddying leaves, or +crouched up in the hollow of some old oak-tree, sharing his nuts +with the squirrels. They did not mind his being ugly, a bit. Why, +even the nightingale herself, who sang so sweetly in the orange +groves at night that sometimes the Moon leaned down to listen, was +not much to look at after all; and, besides, he had been kind to +them, and during that terribly bitter winter, when there were no +berries on the trees, and the ground was as hard as iron, and the +wolves had come down to the very gates of the city to look for +food, he had never once forgotten them, but had always given them +crumbs out of his little hunch of black bread, and divided with +them whatever poor breakfast he had. + +So they flew round and round him, just touching his cheek with +their wings as they passed, and chattered to each other, and the +little Dwarf was so pleased that he could not help showing them the +beautiful white rose, and telling them that the Infanta herself had +given it to him because she loved him. + +They did not understand a single word of what he was saying, but +that made no matter, for they put their heads on one side, and +looked wise, which is quite as good as understanding a thing, and +very much easier. + +The Lizards also took an immense fancy to him, and when he grew +tired of running about and flung himself down on the grass to rest, +they played and romped all over him, and tried to amuse him in the +best way they could. 'Every one cannot be as beautiful as a +lizard,' they cried; 'that would be too much to expect. And, +though it sounds absurd to say so, he is really not so ugly after +all, provided, of course, that one shuts one's eyes, and does not +look at him.' The Lizards were extremely philosophical by nature, +and often sat thinking for hours and hours together, when there was +nothing else to do, or when the weather was too rainy for them to +go out. + +The Flowers, however, were excessively annoyed at their behaviour, +and at the behaviour of the birds. 'It only shows,' they said, +'what a vulgarising effect this incessant rushing and flying about +has. Well-bred people always stay exactly in the same place, as we +do. No one ever saw us hopping up and down the walks, or galloping +madly through the grass after dragon-flies. When we do want change +of air, we send for the gardener, and he carries us to another bed. +This is dignified, and as it should be. But birds and lizards have +no sense of repose, and indeed birds have not even a permanent +address. They are mere vagrants like the gipsies, and should be +treated in exactly the same manner.' So they put their noses in +the air, and looked very haughty, and were quite delighted when +after some time they saw the little Dwarf scramble up from the +grass, and make his way across the terrace to the palace. + +'He should certainly be kept indoors for the rest of his natural +life,' they said. 'Look at his hunched back, and his crooked +legs,' and they began to titter. + +But the little Dwarf knew nothing of all this. He liked the birds +and the lizards immensely, and thought that the flowers were the +most marvellous things in the whole world, except of course the +Infanta, but then she had given him the beautiful white rose, and +she loved him, and that made a great difference. How he wished +that he had gone back with her! She would have put him on her +right hand, and smiled at him, and he would have never left her +side, but would have made her his playmate, and taught her all +kinds of delightful tricks. For though he had never been in a +palace before, he knew a great many wonderful things. He could +make little cages out of rushes for the grasshoppers to sing in, +and fashion the long jointed bamboo into the pipe that Pan loves to +hear. He knew the cry of every bird, and could call the starlings +from the tree-top, or the heron from the mere. He knew the trail +of every animal, and could track the hare by its delicate +footprints, and the boar by the trampled leaves. All the wild- +dances he knew, the mad dance in red raiment with the autumn, the +light dance in blue sandals over the corn, the dance with white +snow-wreaths in winter, and the blossom-dance through the orchards +in spring. He knew where the wood-pigeons built their nests, and +once when a fowler had snared the parent birds, he had brought up +the young ones himself, and had built a little dovecot for them in +the cleft of a pollard elm. They were quite tame, and used to feed +out of his hands every morning. She would like them, and the +rabbits that scurried about in the long fern, and the jays with +their steely feathers and black bills, and the hedgehogs that could +curl themselves up into prickly balls, and the great wise tortoises +that crawled slowly about, shaking their heads and nibbling at the +young leaves. Yes, she must certainly come to the forest and play +with him. He would give her his own little bed, and would watch +outside the window till dawn, to see that the wild horned cattle +did not harm her, nor the gaunt wolves creep too near the hut. And +at dawn he would tap at the shutters and wake her, and they would +go out and dance together all the day long. It was really not a +bit lonely in the forest. Sometimes a Bishop rode through on his +white mule, reading out of a painted book. Sometimes in their +green velvet caps, and their jerkins of tanned deerskin, the +falconers passed by, with hooded hawks on their wrists. At +vintage-time came the grape-treaders, with purple hands and feet, +wreathed with glossy ivy and carrying dripping skins of wine; and +the charcoal-burners sat round their huge braziers at night, +watching the dry logs charring slowly in the fire, and roasting +chestnuts in the ashes, and the robbers came out of their caves and +made merry with them. Once, too, he had seen a beautiful +procession winding up the long dusty road to Toledo. The monks +went in front singing sweetly, and carrying bright banners and +crosses of gold, and then, in silver armour, with matchlocks and +pikes, came the soldiers, and in their midst walked three +barefooted men, in strange yellow dresses painted all over with +wonderful figures, and carrying lighted candles in their hands. +Certainly there was a great deal to look at in the forest, and when +she was tired he would find a soft bank of moss for her, or carry +her in his arms, for he was very strong, though he knew that he was +not tall. He would make her a necklace of red bryony berries, that +would be quite as pretty as the white berries that she wore on her +dress, and when she was tired of them, she could throw them away, +and he would find her others. He would bring her acorn-cups and +dew-drenched anemones, and tiny glow-worms to be stars in the pale +gold of her hair. + +But where was she? He asked the white rose, and it made him no +answer. The whole palace seemed asleep, and even where the +shutters had not been closed, heavy curtains had been drawn across +the windows to keep out the glare. He wandered all round looking +for some place through which he might gain an entrance, and at last +he caught sight of a little private door that was lying open. He +slipped through, and found himself in a splendid hall, far more +splendid, he feared, than the forest, there was so much more +gilding everywhere, and even the floor was made of great coloured +stones, fitted together into a sort of geometrical pattern. But +the little Infanta was not there, only some wonderful white statues +that looked down on him from their jasper pedestals, with sad blank +eyes and strangely smiling lips. + +At the end of the hall hung a richly embroidered curtain of black +velvet, powdered with suns and stars, the King's favourite devices, +and broidered on the colour he loved best. Perhaps she was hiding +behind that? He would try at any rate. + +So he stole quietly across, and drew it aside. No; there was only +another room, though a prettier room, he thought, than the one he +had just left. The walls were hung with a many-figured green arras +of needle-wrought tapestry representing a hunt, the work of some +Flemish artists who had spent more than seven years in its +composition. It had once been the chamber of Jean le Fou, as he +was called, that mad King who was so enamoured of the chase, that +he had often tried in his delirium to mount the huge rearing +horses, and to drag down the stag on which the great hounds were +leaping, sounding his hunting horn, and stabbing with his dagger at +the pale flying deer. It was now used as the council-room, and on +the centre table were lying the red portfolios of the ministers, +stamped with the gold tulips of Spain, and with the arms and +emblems of the house of Hapsburg. + +The little Dwarf looked in wonder all round him, and was half- +afraid to go on. The strange silent horsemen that galloped so +swiftly through the long glades without making any noise, seemed to +him like those terrible phantoms of whom he had heard the charcoal- +burners speaking--the Comprachos, who hunt only at night, and if +they meet a man, turn him into a hind, and chase him. But he +thought of the pretty Infanta, and took courage. He wanted to find +her alone, and to tell her that he too loved her. Perhaps she was +in the room beyond. + +He ran across the soft Moorish carpets, and opened the door. No! +She was not here either. The room was quite empty. + +It was a throne-room, used for the reception of foreign +ambassadors, when the King, which of late had not been often, +consented to give them a personal audience; the same room in which, +many years before, envoys had appeared from England to make +arrangements for the marriage of their Queen, then one of the +Catholic sovereigns of Europe, with the Emperor's eldest son. The +hangings were of gilt Cordovan leather, and a heavy gilt chandelier +with branches for three hundred wax lights hung down from the black +and white ceiling. Underneath a great canopy of gold cloth, on +which the lions and towers of Castile were broidered in seed +pearls, stood the throne itself, covered with a rich pall of black +velvet studded with silver tulips and elaborately fringed with +silver and pearls. On the second step of the throne was placed the +kneeling-stool of the Infanta, with its cushion of cloth of silver +tissue, and below that again, and beyond the limit of the canopy, +stood the chair for the Papal Nuncio, who alone had the right to be +seated in the King's presence on the occasion of any public +ceremonial, and whose Cardinal's hat, with its tangled scarlet +tassels, lay on a purple tabouret in front. On the wall, facing +the throne, hung a life-sized portrait of Charles V. in hunting +dress, with a great mastiff by his side, and a picture of Philip +II. receiving the homage of the Netherlands occupied the centre of +the other wall. Between the windows stood a black ebony cabinet, +inlaid with plates of ivory, on which the figures from Holbein's +Dance of Death had been graved--by the hand, some said, of that +famous master himself. + +But the little Dwarf cared nothing for all this magnificence. He +would not have given his rose for all the pearls on the canopy, nor +one white petal of his rose for the throne itself. What he wanted +was to see the Infanta before she went down to the pavilion, and to +ask her to come away with him when he had finished his dance. +Here, in the Palace, the air was close and heavy, but in the forest +the wind blew free, and the sunlight with wandering hands of gold +moved the tremulous leaves aside. There were flowers, too, in the +forest, not so splendid, perhaps, as the flowers in the garden, but +more sweetly scented for all that; hyacinths in early spring that +flooded with waving purple the cool glens, and grassy knolls; +yellow primroses that nestled in little clumps round the gnarled +roots of the oak-trees; bright celandine, and blue speedwell, and +irises lilac and gold. There were grey catkins on the hazels, and +the foxgloves drooped with the weight of their dappled bee-haunted +cells. The chestnut had its spires of white stars, and the +hawthorn its pallid moons of beauty. Yes: surely she would come +if he could only find her! She would come with him to the fair +forest, and all day long he would dance for her delight. A smile +lit up his eyes at the thought, and he passed into the next room. + +Of all the rooms this was the brightest and the most beautiful. +The walls were covered with a pink-flowered Lucca damask, patterned +with birds and dotted with dainty blossoms of silver; the furniture +was of massive silver, festooned with florid wreaths, and swinging +Cupids; in front of the two large fire-places stood great screens +broidered with parrots and peacocks, and the floor, which was of +sea-green onyx, seemed to stretch far away into the distance. Nor +was he alone. Standing under the shadow of the doorway, at the +extreme end of the room, he saw a little figure watching him. His +heart trembled, a cry of joy broke from his lips, and he moved out +into the sunlight. As he did so, the figure moved out also, and he +saw it plainly. + +The Infanta! It was a monster, the most grotesque monster he had +ever beheld. Not properly shaped, as all other people were, but +hunchbacked, and crooked-limbed, with huge lolling head and mane of +black hair. The little Dwarf frowned, and the monster frowned +also. He laughed, and it laughed with him, and held its hands to +its sides, just as he himself was doing. He made it a mocking bow, +and it returned him a low reverence. He went towards it, and it +came to meet him, copying each step that he made, and stopping when +he stopped himself. He shouted with amusement, and ran forward, +and reached out his hand, and the hand of the monster touched his, +and it was as cold as ice. He grew afraid, and moved his hand +across, and the monster's hand followed it quickly. He tried to +press on, but something smooth and hard stopped him. The face of +the monster was now close to his own, and seemed full of terror. +He brushed his hair off his eyes. It imitated him. He struck at +it, and it returned blow for blow. He loathed it, and it made +hideous faces at him. He drew back, and it retreated. + +What is it? He thought for a moment, and looked round at the rest +of the room. It was strange, but everything seemed to have its +double in this invisible wall of clear water. Yes, picture for +picture was repeated, and couch for couch. The sleeping Faun that +lay in the alcove by the doorway had its twin brother that +slumbered, and the silver Venus that stood in the sunlight held out +her arms to a Venus as lovely as herself. + +Was it Echo? He had called to her once in the valley, and she had +answered him word for word. Could she mock the eye, as she mocked +the voice? Could she make a mimic world just like the real world? +Could the shadows of things have colour and life and movement? +Could it be that--? + +He started, and taking from his breast the beautiful white rose, he +turned round, and kissed it. The monster had a rose of its own, +petal for petal the same! It kissed it with like kisses, and +pressed it to its heart with horrible gestures. + +When the truth dawned upon him, he gave a wild cry of despair, and +fell sobbing to the ground. So it was he who was misshapen and +hunchbacked, foul to look at and grotesque. He himself was the +monster, and it was at him that all the children had been laughing, +and the little Princess who he had thought loved him--she too had +been merely mocking at his ugliness, and making merry over his +twisted limbs. Why had they not left him in the forest, where +there was no mirror to tell him how loathsome he was? Why had his +father not killed him, rather than sell him to his shame? The hot +tears poured down his cheeks, and he tore the white rose to pieces. +The sprawling monster did the same, and scattered the faint petals +in the air. It grovelled on the ground, and, when he looked at it, +it watched him with a face drawn with pain. He crept away, lest he +should see it, and covered his eyes with his hands. He crawled, +like some wounded thing, into the shadow, and lay there moaning. + +And at that moment the Infanta herself came in with her companions +through the open window, and when they saw the ugly little dwarf +lying on the ground and beating the floor with his clenched hands, +in the most fantastic and exaggerated manner, they went off into +shouts of happy laughter, and stood all round him and watched him. + +'His dancing was funny,' said the Infanta; 'but his acting is +funnier still. Indeed he is almost as good as the puppets, only of +course not quite so natural.' And she fluttered her big fan, and +applauded. + +But the little Dwarf never looked up, and his sobs grew fainter and +fainter, and suddenly he gave a curious gasp, and clutched his +side. And then he fell back again, and lay quite still. + +'That is capital,' said the Infanta, after a pause; 'but now you +must dance for me.' + +'Yes,' cried all the children, 'you must get up and dance, for you +are as clever as the Barbary apes, and much more ridiculous.' But +the little Dwarf made no answer. + +And the Infanta stamped her foot, and called out to her uncle, who +was walking on the terrace with the Chamberlain, reading some +despatches that had just arrived from Mexico, where the Holy Office +had recently been established. 'My funny little dwarf is sulking,' +she cried, 'you must wake him up, and tell him to dance for me.' + +They smiled at each other, and sauntered in, and Don Pedro stooped +down, and slapped the Dwarf on the cheek with his embroidered +glove. 'You must dance,' he said, 'petit monsire. You must dance. +The Infanta of Spain and the Indies wishes to be amused.' + +But the little Dwarf never moved. + +'A whipping master should be sent for,' said Don Pedro wearily, and +he went back to the terrace. But the Chamberlain looked grave, and +he knelt beside the little dwarf, and put his hand upon his heart. +And after a few moments he shrugged his shoulders, and rose up, and +having made a low bow to the Infanta, he said - + +'Mi bella Princesa, your funny little dwarf will never dance again. +It is a pity, for he is so ugly that he might have made the King +smile.' + +'But why will he not dance again?' asked the Infanta, laughing. + +'Because his heart is broken,' answered the Chamberlain. + +And the Infanta frowned, and her dainty rose-leaf lips curled in +pretty disdain. 'For the future let those who come to play with me +have no hearts,' she cried, and she ran out into the garden. + + + + +THE FISHERMAN AND HIS SOUL + + + + +[TO H.S.H. ALICE, PRINCESS OF MONACO] + + +Every evening the young Fisherman went out upon the sea, and threw +his nets into the water. + +When the wind blew from the land he caught nothing, or but little +at best, for it was a bitter and black-winged wind, and rough waves +rose up to meet it. But when the wind blew to the shore, the fish +came in from the deep, and swam into the meshes of his nets, and he +took them to the market-place and sold them. + +Every evening he went out upon the sea, and one evening the net was +so heavy that hardly could he draw it into the boat. And he +laughed, and said to himself, 'Surely I have caught all the fish +that swim, or snared some dull monster that will be a marvel to +men, or some thing of horror that the great Queen will desire,' and +putting forth all his strength, he tugged at the coarse ropes till, +like lines of blue enamel round a vase of bronze, the long veins +rose up on his arms. He tugged at the thin ropes, and nearer and +nearer came the circle of flat corks, and the net rose at last to +the top of the water. + +But no fish at all was in it, nor any monster or thing of horror, +but only a little Mermaid lying fast asleep. + +Her hair was as a wet fleece of gold, and each separate hair as a +thread of fine gold in a cup of glass. Her body was as white +ivory, and her tail was of silver and pearl. Silver and pearl was +her tail, and the green weeds of the sea coiled round it; and like +sea-shells were her ears, and her lips were like sea-coral. The +cold waves dashed over her cold breasts, and the salt glistened +upon her eyelids. + +So beautiful was she that when the young Fisherman saw her he was +filled with wonder, and he put out his hand and drew the net close +to him, and leaning over the side he clasped her in his arms. And +when he touched her, she gave a cry like a startled sea-gull, and +woke, and looked at him in terror with her mauve-amethyst eyes, and +struggled that she might escape. But he held her tightly to him, +and would not suffer her to depart. + +And when she saw that she could in no way escape from him, she +began to weep, and said, 'I pray thee let me go, for I am the only +daughter of a King, and my father is aged and alone.' + +But the young Fisherman answered, 'I will not let thee go save thou +makest me a promise that whenever I call thee, thou wilt come and +sing to me, for the fish delight to listen to the song of the Sea- +folk, and so shall my nets be full.' + +'Wilt thou in very truth let me go, if I promise thee this?' cried +the Mermaid. + +'In very truth I will let thee go,' said the young Fisherman. + +So she made him the promise he desired, and sware it by the oath of +the Sea-folk. And he loosened his arms from about her, and she +sank down into the water, trembling with a strange fear. + + +Every evening the young Fisherman went out upon the sea, and called +to the Mermaid, and she rose out of the water and sang to him. +Round and round her swam the dolphins, and the wild gulls wheeled +above her head. + +And she sang a marvellous song. For she sang of the Sea-folk who +drive their flocks from cave to cave, and carry the little calves +on their shoulders; of the Tritons who have long green beards, and +hairy breasts, and blow through twisted conchs when the King passes +by; of the palace of the King which is all of amber, with a roof of +clear emerald, and a pavement of bright pearl; and of the gardens +of the sea where the great filigrane fans of coral wave all day +long, and the fish dart about like silver birds, and the anemones +cling to the rocks, and the pinks bourgeon in the ribbed yellow +sand. She sang of the big whales that come down from the north +seas and have sharp icicles hanging to their fins; of the Sirens +who tell of such wonderful things that the merchants have to stop +their ears with wax lest they should hear them, and leap into the +water and be drowned; of the sunken galleys with their tall masts, +and the frozen sailors clinging to the rigging, and the mackerel +swimming in and out of the open portholes; of the little barnacles +who are great travellers, and cling to the keels of the ships and +go round and round the world; and of the cuttlefish who live in the +sides of the cliffs and stretch out their long black arms, and can +make night come when they will it. She sang of the nautilus who +has a boat of her own that is carved out of an opal and steered +with a silken sail; of the happy Mermen who play upon harps and can +charm the great Kraken to sleep; of the little children who catch +hold of the slippery porpoises and ride laughing upon their backs; +of the Mermaids who lie in the white foam and hold out their arms +to the mariners; and of the sea-lions with their curved tusks, and +the sea-horses with their floating manes. + +And as she sang, all the tunny-fish came in from the deep to listen +to her, and the young Fisherman threw his nets round them and +caught them, and others he took with a spear. And when his boat +was well-laden, the Mermaid would sink down into the sea, smiling +at him. + +Yet would she never come near him that he might touch her. +Oftentimes he called to her and prayed of her, but she would not; +and when he sought to seize her she dived into the water as a seal +might dive, nor did he see her again that day. And each day the +sound of her voice became sweeter to his ears. So sweet was her +voice that he forgot his nets and his cunning, and had no care of +his craft. Vermilion-finned and with eyes of bossy gold, the +tunnies went by in shoals, but he heeded them not. His spear lay +by his side unused, and his baskets of plaited osier were empty. +With lips parted, and eyes dim with wonder, he sat idle in his boat +and listened, listening till the sea-mists crept round him, and the +wandering moon stained his brown limbs with silver. + +And one evening he called to her, and said: 'Little Mermaid, +little Mermaid, I love thee. Take me for thy bridegroom, for I +love thee.' + +But the Mermaid shook her head. 'Thou hast a human soul,' she +answered. 'If only thou wouldst send away thy soul, then could I +love thee.' + +And the young Fisherman said to himself, 'Of what use is my soul to +me? I cannot see it. I may not touch it. I do not know it. +Surely I will send it away from me, and much gladness shall be +mine.' And a cry of joy broke from his lips, and standing up in +the painted boat, he held out his arms to the Mermaid. 'I will +send my soul away,' he cried, 'and you shall be my bride, and I +will be thy bridegroom, and in the depth of the sea we will dwell +together, and all that thou hast sung of thou shalt show me, and +all that thou desirest I will do, nor shall our lives be divided.' + +And the little Mermaid laughed for pleasure and hid her face in her +hands. + +'But how shall I send my soul from me?' cried the young Fisherman. +'Tell me how I may do it, and lo! it shall be done.' + +'Alas! I know not,' said the little Mermaid: 'the Sea-folk have +no souls.' And she sank down into the deep, looking wistfully at +him. + + +Now early on the next morning, before the sun was the span of a +man's hand above the hill, the young Fisherman went to the house of +the Priest and knocked three times at the door. + +The novice looked out through the wicket, and when he saw who it +was, he drew back the latch and said to him, 'Enter.' + +And the young Fisherman passed in, and knelt down on the sweet- +smelling rushes of the floor, and cried to the Priest who was +reading out of the Holy Book and said to him, 'Father, I am in love +with one of the Sea-folk, and my soul hindereth me from having my +desire. Tell me how I can send my soul away from me, for in truth +I have no need of it. Of what value is my soul to me? I cannot +see it. I may not touch it. I do not know it.' + +And the Priest beat his breast, and answered, 'Alack, alack, thou +art mad, or hast eaten of some poisonous herb, for the soul is the +noblest part of man, and was given to us by God that we should +nobly use it. There is no thing more precious than a human soul, +nor any earthly thing that can be weighed with it. It is worth all +the gold that is in the world, and is more precious than the rubies +of the kings. Therefore, my son, think not any more of this +matter, for it is a sin that may not be forgiven. And as for the +Sea-folk, they are lost, and they who would traffic with them are +lost also. They are as the beasts of the field that know not good +from evil, and for them the Lord has not died.' + +The young Fisherman's eyes filled with tears when he heard the +bitter words of the Priest, and he rose up from his knees and said +to him, 'Father, the Fauns live in the forest and are glad, and on +the rocks sit the Mermen with their harps of red gold. Let me be +as they are, I beseech thee, for their days are as the days of +flowers. And as for my soul, what doth my soul profit me, if it +stand between me and the thing that I love?' + +'The love of the body is vile,' cried the Priest, knitting his +brows, 'and vile and evil are the pagan things God suffers to +wander through His world. Accursed be the Fauns of the woodland, +and accursed be the singers of the sea! I have heard them at +night-time, and they have sought to lure me from my beads. They +tap at the window, and laugh. They whisper into my ears the tale +of their perilous joys. They tempt me with temptations, and when I +would pray they make mouths at me. They are lost, I tell thee, +they are lost. For them there is no heaven nor hell, and in +neither shall they praise God's name.' + +'Father,' cried the young Fisherman, 'thou knowest not what thou +sayest. Once in my net I snared the daughter of a King. She is +fairer than the morning star, and whiter than the moon. For her +body I would give my soul, and for her love I would surrender +heaven. Tell me what I ask of thee, and let me go in peace.' + +'Away! Away!' cried the Priest: 'thy leman is lost, and thou +shalt be lost with her.' + +And he gave him no blessing, but drove him from his door. + +And the young Fisherman went down into the market-place, and he +walked slowly, and with bowed head, as one who is in sorrow. + +And when the merchants saw him coming, they began to whisper to +each other, and one of them came forth to meet him, and called him +by name, and said to him, 'What hast thou to sell?' + +'I will sell thee my soul,' he answered. 'I pray thee buy it of +me, for I am weary of it. Of what use is my soul to me? I cannot +see it. I may not touch it. I do not know it.' + +But the merchants mocked at him, and said, 'Of what use is a man's +soul to us? It is not worth a clipped piece of silver. Sell us +thy body for a slave, and we will clothe thee in sea-purple, and +put a ring upon thy finger, and make thee the minion of the great +Queen. But talk not of the soul, for to us it is nought, nor has +it any value for our service.' + +And the young Fisherman said to himself: 'How strange a thing this +is! The Priest telleth me that the soul is worth all the gold in +the world, and the merchants say that it is not worth a clipped +piece of silver.' And he passed out of the market-place, and went +down to the shore of the sea, and began to ponder on what he should +do. + + +And at noon he remembered how one of his companions, who was a +gatherer of samphire, had told him of a certain young Witch who +dwelt in a cave at the head of the bay and was very cunning in her +witcheries. And he set to and ran, so eager was he to get rid of +his soul, and a cloud of dust followed him as he sped round the +sand of the shore. By the itching of her palm the young Witch knew +his coming, and she laughed and let down her red hair. With her +red hair falling around her, she stood at the opening of the cave, +and in her hand she had a spray of wild hemlock that was +blossoming. + +'What d'ye lack? What d'ye lack?' she cried, as he came panting up +the steep, and bent down before her. 'Fish for thy net, when the +wind is foul? I have a little reed-pipe, and when I blow on it the +mullet come sailing into the bay. But it has a price, pretty boy, +it has a price. What d'ye lack? What d'ye lack? A storm to wreck +the ships, and wash the chests of rich treasure ashore? I have +more storms than the wind has, for I serve one who is stronger than +the wind, and with a sieve and a pail of water I can send the great +galleys to the bottom of the sea. But I have a price, pretty boy, +I have a price. What d'ye lack? What d'ye lack? I know a flower +that grows in the valley, none knows it but I. It has purple +leaves, and a star in its heart, and its juice is as white as milk. +Shouldst thou touch with this flower the hard lips of the Queen, +she would follow thee all over the world. Out of the bed of the +King she would rise, and over the whole world she would follow +thee. And it has a price, pretty boy, it has a price. What d'ye +lack? What d'ye lack? I can pound a toad in a mortar, and make +broth of it, and stir the broth with a dead man's hand. Sprinkle +it on thine enemy while he sleeps, and he will turn into a black +viper, and his own mother will slay him. With a wheel I can draw +the Moon from heaven, and in a crystal I can show thee Death. What +d'ye lack? What d'ye lack? Tell me thy desire, and I will give it +thee, and thou shalt pay me a price, pretty boy, thou shalt pay me +a price.' + +'My desire is but for a little thing,' said the young Fisherman, +'yet hath the Priest been wroth with me, and driven me forth. It +is but for a little thing, and the merchants have mocked at me, and +denied me. Therefore am I come to thee, though men call thee evil, +and whatever be thy price I shall pay it.' + +'What wouldst thou?' asked the Witch, coming near to him. + +'I would send my soul away from me,' answered the young Fisherman. + +The Witch grew pale, and shuddered, and hid her face in her blue +mantle. 'Pretty boy, pretty boy,' she muttered, 'that is a +terrible thing to do.' + +He tossed his brown curls and laughed. 'My soul is nought to me,' +he answered. 'I cannot see it. I may not touch it. I do not know +it.' + +'What wilt thou give me if I tell thee?' asked the Witch, looking +down at him with her beautiful eyes. + +'Five pieces of gold,' he said, 'and my nets, and the wattled house +where I live, and the painted boat in which I sail. Only tell me +how to get rid of my soul, and I will give thee all that I +possess.' + +She laughed mockingly at him, and struck him with the spray of +hemlock. 'I can turn the autumn leaves into gold,' she answered, +'and I can weave the pale moonbeams into silver if I will it. He +whom I serve is richer than all the kings of this world, and has +their dominions.' + +'What then shall I give thee,' he cried, 'if thy price be neither +gold nor silver?' + +The Witch stroked his hair with her thin white hand. 'Thou must +dance with me, pretty boy,' she murmured, and she smiled at him as +she spoke. + +'Nought but that?' cried the young Fisherman in wonder and he rose +to his feet. + +'Nought but that,' she answered, and she smiled at him again. + +'Then at sunset in some secret place we shall dance together,' he +said, 'and after that we have danced thou shalt tell me the thing +which I desire to know.' + +She shook her head. 'When the moon is full, when the moon is +full,' she muttered. Then she peered all round, and listened. A +blue bird rose screaming from its nest and circled over the dunes, +and three spotted birds rustled through the coarse grey grass and +whistled to each other. There was no other sound save the sound of +a wave fretting the smooth pebbles below. So she reached out her +hand, and drew him near to her and put her dry lips close to his +ear. + +'To-night thou must come to the top of the mountain,' she +whispered. 'It is a Sabbath, and He will be there.' + +The young Fisherman started and looked at her, and she showed her +white teeth and laughed. 'Who is He of whom thou speakest?' he +asked. + +'It matters not,' she answered. 'Go thou to-night, and stand under +the branches of the hornbeam, and wait for my coming. If a black +dog run towards thee, strike it with a rod of willow, and it will +go away. If an owl speak to thee, make it no answer. When the +moon is full I shall be with thee, and we will dance together on +the grass.' + +'But wilt thou swear to me to tell me how I may send my soul from +me?' he made question. + +She moved out into the sunlight, and through her red hair rippled +the wind. 'By the hoofs of the goat I swear it,' she made answer. + +'Thou art the best of the witches,' cried the young Fisherman, 'and +I will surely dance with thee to-night on the top of the mountain. +I would indeed that thou hadst asked of me either gold or silver. +But such as thy price is thou shalt have it, for it is but a little +thing.' And he doffed his cap to her, and bent his head low, and +ran back to the town filled with a great joy. + +And the Witch watched him as he went, and when he had passed from +her sight she entered her cave, and having taken a mirror from a +box of carved cedarwood, she set it up on a frame, and burned +vervain on lighted charcoal before it, and peered through the coils +of the smoke. And after a time she clenched her hands in anger. +'He should have been mine,' she muttered, 'I am as fair as she is.' + + +And that evening, when the moon had risen, the young Fisherman +climbed up to the top of the mountain, and stood under the branches +of the hornbeam. Like a targe of polished metal the round sea lay +at his feet, and the shadows of the fishing-boats moved in the +little bay. A great owl, with yellow sulphurous eyes, called to +him by his name, but he made it no answer. A black dog ran towards +him and snarled. He struck it with a rod of willow, and it went +away whining. + +At midnight the witches came flying through the air like bats. +'Phew!' they cried, as they lit upon the ground, 'there is some one +here we know not!' and they sniffed about, and chattered to each +other, and made signs. Last of all came the young Witch, with her +red hair streaming in the wind. She wore a dress of gold tissue +embroidered with peacocks' eyes, and a little cap of green velvet +was on her head. + +'Where is he, where is he?' shrieked the witches when they saw her, +but she only laughed, and ran to the hornbeam, and taking the +Fisherman by the hand she led him out into the moonlight and began +to dance. + +Round and round they whirled, and the young Witch jumped so high +that he could see the scarlet heels of her shoes. Then right +across the dancers came the sound of the galloping of a horse, but +no horse was to be seen, and he felt afraid. + +'Faster,' cried the Witch, and she threw her arms about his neck, +and her breath was hot upon his face. 'Faster, faster!' she cried, +and the earth seemed to spin beneath his feet, and his brain grew +troubled, and a great terror fell on him, as of some evil thing +that was watching him, and at last he became aware that under the +shadow of a rock there was a figure that had not been there before. + +It was a man dressed in a suit of black velvet, cut in the Spanish +fashion. His face was strangely pale, but his lips were like a +proud red flower. He seemed weary, and was leaning back toying in +a listless manner with the pommel of his dagger. On the grass +beside him lay a plumed hat, and a pair of riding-gloves gauntleted +with gilt lace, and sewn with seed-pearls wrought into a curious +device. A short cloak lined with sables hang from his shoulder, +and his delicate white hands were gemmed with rings. Heavy eyelids +drooped over his eyes. + +The young Fisherman watched him, as one snared in a spell. At last +their eyes met, and wherever he danced it seemed to him that the +eyes of the man were upon him. He heard the Witch laugh, and +caught her by the waist, and whirled her madly round and round. + +Suddenly a dog bayed in the wood, and the dancers stopped, and +going up two by two, knelt down, and kissed the man's hands. As +they did so, a little smile touched his proud lips, as a bird's +wing touches the water and makes it laugh. But there was disdain +in it. He kept looking at the young Fisherman. + +'Come! let us worship,' whispered the Witch, and she led him up, +and a great desire to do as she besought him seized on him, and he +followed her. But when he came close, and without knowing why he +did it, he made on his breast the sign of the Cross, and called +upon the holy name. + +No sooner had he done so than the witches screamed like hawks and +flew away, and the pallid face that had been watching him twitched +with a spasm of pain. The man went over to a little wood, and +whistled. A jennet with silver trappings came running to meet him. +As he leapt upon the saddle he turned round, and looked at the +young Fisherman sadly. + +And the Witch with the red hair tried to fly away also, but the +Fisherman caught her by her wrists, and held her fast. + +'Loose me,' she cried, 'and let me go. For thou hast named what +should not be named, and shown the sign that may not be looked at.' + +'Nay,' he answered, 'but I will not let thee go till thou hast told +me the secret.' + +'What secret?' said the Witch, wrestling with him like a wild cat, +and biting her foam-flecked lips. + +'Thou knowest,' he made answer. + +Her grass-green eyes grew dim with tears, and she said to the +Fisherman, 'Ask me anything but that!' + +He laughed, and held her all the more tightly. + +And when she saw that she could not free herself, she whispered to +him, 'Surely I am as fair as the daughters of the sea, and as +comely as those that dwell in the blue waters,' and she fawned on +him and put her face close to his. + +But he thrust her back frowning, and said to her, 'If thou keepest +not the promise that thou madest to me I will slay thee for a false +witch.' + + She grew grey as a blossom of the Judas tree, and shuddered. 'Be +it so,' she muttered. 'It is thy soul and not mine. Do with it as +thou wilt.' And she took from her girdle a little knife that had a +handle of green viper's skin, and gave it to him. + +'What shall this serve me?' he asked of her, wondering. + +She was silent for a few moments, and a look of terror came over +her face. Then she brushed her hair back from her forehead, and +smiling strangely she said to him, 'What men call the shadow of the +body is not the shadow of the body, but is the body of the soul. +Stand on the sea-shore with thy back to the moon, and cut away from +around thy feet thy shadow, which is thy soul's body, and bid thy +soul leave thee, and it will do so.' + +The young Fisherman trembled. 'Is this true?' he murmured. + +'It is true, and I would that I had not told thee of it,' she +cried, and she clung to his knees weeping. + +He put her from him and left her in the rank grass, and going to +the edge of the mountain he placed the knife in his belt and began +to climb down. + +And his Soul that was within him called out to him and said, 'Lo! +I have dwelt with thee for all these years, and have been thy +servant. Send me not away from thee now, for what evil have I done +thee?' + +And the young Fisherman laughed. 'Thou hast done me no evil, but I +have no need of thee,' he answered. 'The world is wide, and there +is Heaven also, and Hell, and that dim twilight house that lies +between. Go wherever thou wilt, but trouble me not, for my love is +calling to me.' + +And his Soul besought him piteously, but he heeded it not, but +leapt from crag to crag, being sure-footed as a wild goat, and at +last he reached the level ground and the yellow shore of the sea. + +Bronze-limbed and well-knit, like a statue wrought by a Grecian, he +stood on the sand with his back to the moon, and out of the foam +came white arms that beckoned to him, and out of the waves rose dim +forms that did him homage. Before him lay his shadow, which was +the body of his soul, and behind him hung the moon in the honey- +coloured air. + +And his Soul said to him, 'If indeed thou must drive me from thee, +send me not forth without a heart. The world is cruel, give me thy +heart to take with me.' + +He tossed his head and smiled. 'With what should I love my love if +I gave thee my heart?' he cried. + +'Nay, but be merciful,' said his Soul: 'give me thy heart, for the +world is very cruel, and I am afraid.' + +'My heart is my love's,' he answered, 'therefore tarry not, but get +thee gone.' + +'Should I not love also?' asked his Soul. + +'Get thee gone, for I have no need of thee,' cried the young +Fisherman, and he took the little knife with its handle of green +viper's skin, and cut away his shadow from around his feet, and it +rose up and stood before him, and looked at him, and it was even as +himself. + +He crept back, and thrust the knife into his belt, and a feeling of +awe came over him. 'Get thee gone,' he murmured, 'and let me see +thy face no more.' + +'Nay, but we must meet again,' said the Soul. Its voice was low +and flute-like, and its lips hardly moved while it spake. + +'How shall we meet?' cried the young Fisherman. 'Thou wilt not +follow me into the depths of the sea?' + +'Once every year I will come to this place, and call to thee,' said +the Soul. 'It may be that thou wilt have need of me.' + +'What need should I have of thee?' cried the young Fisherman, 'but +be it as thou wilt,' and he plunged into the waters and the Tritons +blew their horns and the little Mermaid rose up to meet him, and +put her arms around his neck and kissed him on the mouth. + +And the Soul stood on the lonely beach and watched them. And when +they had sunk down into the sea, it went weeping away over the +marshes. + + +And after a year was over the Soul came down to the shore of the +sea and called to the young Fisherman, and he rose out of the deep, +and said, 'Why dost thou call to me?' + +And the Soul answered, 'Come nearer, that I may speak with thee, +for I have seen marvellous things.' + +So he came nearer, and couched in the shallow water, and leaned his +head upon his hand and listened. + + +And the Soul said to him, 'When I left thee I turned my face to the +East and journeyed. From the East cometh everything that is wise. +Six days I journeyed, and on the morning of the seventh day I came +to a hill that is in the country of the Tartars. I sat down under +the shade of a tamarisk tree to shelter myself from the sun. The +land was dry and burnt up with the heat. The people went to and +fro over the plain like flies crawling upon a disk of polished +copper. + +'When it was noon a cloud of red dust rose up from the flat rim of +the land. When the Tartars saw it, they strung their painted bows, +and having leapt upon their little horses they galloped to meet it. +The women fled screaming to the waggons, and hid themselves behind +the felt curtains. + +'At twilight the Tartars returned, but five of them were missing, +and of those that came back not a few had been wounded. They +harnessed their horses to the waggons and drove hastily away. +Three jackals came out of a cave and peered after them. Then they +sniffed up the air with their nostrils, and trotted off in the +opposite direction. + +'When the moon rose I saw a camp-fire burning on the plain, and +went towards it. A company of merchants were seated round it on +carpets. Their camels were picketed behind them, and the negroes +who were their servants were pitching tents of tanned skin upon the +sand, and making a high wall of the prickly pear. + +'As I came near them, the chief of the merchants rose up and drew +his sword, and asked me my business. + +'I answered that I was a Prince in my own land, and that I had +escaped from the Tartars, who had sought to make me their slave. +The chief smiled, and showed me five heads fixed upon long reeds of +bamboo. + +'Then he asked me who was the prophet of God, and I answered him +Mohammed. + +'When he heard the name of the false prophet, he bowed and took me +by the hand, and placed me by his side. A negro brought me some +mare's milk in a wooden dish, and a piece of lamb's flesh roasted. + +'At daybreak we started on our journey. I rode on a red-haired +camel by the side of the chief, and a runner ran before us carrying +a spear. The men of war were on either hand, and the mules +followed with the merchandise. There were forty camels in the +caravan, and the mules were twice forty in number. + +'We went from the country of the Tartars into the country of those +who curse the Moon. We saw the Gryphons guarding their gold on the +white rocks, and the scaled Dragons sleeping in their caves. As we +passed over the mountains we held our breath lest the snows might +fall on us, and each man tied a veil of gauze before his eyes. As +we passed through the valleys the Pygmies shot arrows at us from +the hollows of the trees, and at night-time we heard the wild men +beating on their drums. When we came to the Tower of Apes we set +fruits before them, and they did not harm us. When we came to the +Tower of Serpents we gave them warm milk in howls of brass, and +they let us go by. Three times in our journey we came to the banks +of the Oxus. We crossed it on rafts of wood with great bladders of +blown hide. The river-horses raged against us and sought to slay +us. When the camels saw them they trembled. + +'The kings of each city levied tolls on us, but would not suffer us +to enter their gates. They threw us bread over the walls, little +maize-cakes baked in honey and cakes of fine flour filled with +dates. For every hundred baskets we gave them a bead of amber. + +'When the dwellers in the villages saw us coming, they poisoned the +wells and fled to the hill-summits. We fought with the Magadae who +are born old, and grow younger and younger every year, and die when +they are little children; and with the Laktroi who say that they +are the sons of tigers, and paint themselves yellow and black; and +with the Aurantes who bury their dead on the tops of trees, and +themselves live in dark caverns lest the Sun, who is their god, +should slay them; and with the Krimnians who worship a crocodile, +and give it earrings of green glass, and feed it with butter and +fresh fowls; and with the Agazonbae, who are dog-faced; and with +the Sibans, who have horses' feet, and run more swiftly than +horses. A third of our company died in battle, and a third died of +want. The rest murmured against me, and said that I had brought +them an evil fortune. I took a horned adder from beneath a stone +and let it sting me. When they saw that I did not sicken they grew +afraid. + +'In the fourth month we reached the city of Illel. It was night- +time when we came to the grove that is outside the walls, and the +air was sultry, for the Moon was travelling in Scorpion. We took +the ripe pomegranates from the trees, and brake them, and drank +their sweet juices. Then we lay down on our carpets, and waited +for the dawn. + +'And at dawn we rose and knocked at the gate of the city. It was +wrought out of red bronze, and carved with sea-dragons and dragons +that have wings. The guards looked down from the battlements and +asked us our business. The interpreter of the caravan answered +that we had come from the island of Syria with much merchandise. +They took hostages, and told us that they would open the gate to us +at noon, and bade us tarry till then. + +'When it was noon they opened the gate, and as we entered in the +people came crowding out of the houses to look at us, and a crier +went round the city crying through a shell. We stood in the +market-place, and the negroes uncorded the bales of figured cloths +and opened the carved chests of sycamore. And when they had ended +their task, the merchants set forth their strange wares, the waxed +linen from Egypt and the painted linen from the country of the +Ethiops, the purple sponges from Tyre and the blue hangings from +Sidon, the cups of cold amber and the fine vessels of glass and the +curious vessels of burnt clay. From the roof of a house a company +of women watched us. One of them wore a mask of gilded leather. + +'And on the first day the priests came and bartered with us, and on +the second day came the nobles, and on the third day came the +craftsmen and the slaves. And this is their custom with all +merchants as long as they tarry in the city. + +'And we tarried for a moon, and when the moon was waning, I wearied +and wandered away through the streets of the city and came to the +garden of its god. The priests in their yellow robes moved +silently through the green trees, and on a pavement of black marble +stood the rose-red house in which the god had his dwelling. Its +doors were of powdered lacquer, and bulls and peacocks were wrought +on them in raised and polished gold. The tilted roof was of sea- +green porcelain, and the jutting eaves were festooned with little +bells. When the white doves flew past, they struck the bells with +their wings and made them tinkle. + +'In front of the temple was a pool of clear water paved with veined +onyx. I lay down beside it, and with my pale fingers I touched the +broad leaves. One of the priests came towards me and stood behind +me. He had sandals on his feet, one of soft serpent-skin and the +other of birds' plumage. On his head was a mitre of black felt +decorated with silver crescents. Seven yellows were woven into his +robe, and his frizzed hair was stained with antimony. + +'After a little while he spake to me, and asked me my desire. + +'I told him that my desire was to see the god. + +'"The god is hunting," said the priest, looking strangely at me +with his small slanting eyes. + +'"Tell me in what forest, and I will ride with him," I answered. + +'He combed out the soft fringes of his tunic with his long pointed +nails. "The god is asleep," he murmured. + +'"Tell me on what couch, and I will watch by him," I answered. + +'"The god is at the feast," he cried. + +'"If the wine be sweet I will drink it with him, and if it be +bitter I will drink it with him also," was my answer. + +'He bowed his head in wonder, and, taking me by the hand, he raised +me up, and led me into the temple. + +'And in the first chamber I saw an idol seated on a throne of +jasper bordered with great orient pearls. It was carved out of +ebony, and in stature was of the stature of a man. On its forehead +was a ruby, and thick oil dripped from its hair on to its thighs. +Its feet were red with the blood of a newly-slain kid, and its +loins girt with a copper belt that was studded with seven beryls. + +'And I said to the priest, "Is this the god?" And he answered me, +"This is the god." + +'"Show me the god," I cried, "or I will surely slay thee." And I +touched his hand, and it became withered. + +'And the priest besought me, saying, "Let my lord heal his servant, +and I will show him the god." + +'So I breathed with my breath upon his hand, and it became whole +again, and he trembled and led me into the second chamber, and I +saw an idol standing on a lotus of jade hung with great emeralds. +It was carved out of ivory, and in stature was twice the stature of +a man. On its forehead was a chrysolite, and its breasts were +smeared with myrrh and cinnamon. In one hand it held a crooked +sceptre of jade, and in the other a round crystal. It ware buskins +of brass, and its thick neck was circled with a circle of +selenites. + +'And I said to the priest, "Is this the god?" + +'And he answered me, "This is the god." + +'"Show me the god," I cried, "or I will surely slay thee." And I +touched his eyes, and they became blind. + +'And the priest besought me, saying, "Let my lord heal his servant, +and I will show him the god." + +'So I breathed with my breath upon his eyes, and the sight came +back to them, and he trembled again, and led me into the third +chamber, and lo! there was no idol in it, nor image of any kind, +but only a mirror of round metal set on an altar of stone. + +'And I said to the priest, "Where is the god?" + +'And he answered me: "There is no god but this mirror that thou +seest, for this is the Mirror of Wisdom. And it reflecteth all +things that are in heaven and on earth, save only the face of him +who looketh into it. This it reflecteth not, so that he who +looketh into it may be wise. Many other mirrors are there, but +they are mirrors of Opinion. This only is the Mirror of Wisdom. +And they who possess this mirror know everything, nor is there +anything hidden from them. And they who possess it not have not +Wisdom. Therefore is it the god, and we worship it." And I looked +into the mirror, and it was even as he had said to me. + +'And I did a strange thing, but what I did matters not, for in a +valley that is but a day's journey from this place have I hidden +the Mirror of Wisdom. Do but suffer me to enter into thee again +and be thy servant, and thou shalt be wiser than all the wise men, +and Wisdom shall be thine. Suffer me to enter into thee, and none +will be as wise as thou.' + +But the young Fisherman laughed. 'Love is better than Wisdom,' he +cried, 'and the little Mermaid loves me.' + +'Nay, but there is nothing better than Wisdom,' said the Soul. + +'Love is better,' answered the young Fisherman, and he plunged into +the deep, and the Soul went weeping away over the marshes. + + +And after the second year was over, the Soul came down to the shore +of the sea, and called to the young Fisherman, and he rose out of +the deep and said, 'Why dost thou call to me?' + +And the Soul answered, 'Come nearer, that I may speak with thee, +for I have seen marvellous things.' + +So he came nearer, and couched in the shallow water, and leaned his +head upon his hand and listened. + +And the Soul said to him, 'When I left thee, I turned my face to +the South and journeyed. From the South cometh everything that is +precious. Six days I journeyed along the highways that lead to the +city of Ashter, along the dusty red-dyed highways by which the +pilgrims are wont to go did I journey, and on the morning of the +seventh day I lifted up my eyes, and lo! the city lay at my feet, +for it is in a valley. + +'There are nine gates to this city, and in front of each gate +stands a bronze horse that neighs when the Bedouins come down from +the mountains. The walls are cased with copper, and the watch- +towers on the walls are roofed with brass. In every tower stands +an archer with a bow in his hand. At sunrise he strikes with an +arrow on a gong, and at sunset he blows through a horn of horn. + +'When I sought to enter, the guards stopped me and asked of me who +I was. I made answer that I was a Dervish and on my way to the +city of Mecca, where there was a green veil on which the Koran was +embroidered in silver letters by the hands of the angels. They +were filled with wonder, and entreated me to pass in. + +'Inside it is even as a bazaar. Surely thou shouldst have been +with me. Across the narrow streets the gay lanterns of paper +flutter like large butterflies. When the wind blows over the roofs +they rise and fall as painted bubbles do. In front of their booths +sit the merchants on silken carpets. They have straight black +beards, and their turbans are covered with golden sequins, and long +strings of amber and carved peach-stones glide through their cool +fingers. Some of them sell galbanum and nard, and curious perfumes +from the islands of the Indian Sea, and the thick oil of red roses, +and myrrh and little nail-shaped cloves. When one stops to speak +to them, they throw pinches of frankincense upon a charcoal brazier +and make the air sweet. I saw a Syrian who held in his hands a +thin rod like a reed. Grey threads of smoke came from it, and its +odour as it burned was as the odour of the pink almond in spring. +Others sell silver bracelets embossed all over with creamy blue +turquoise stones, and anklets of brass wire fringed with little +pearls, and tigers' claws set in gold, and the claws of that gilt +cat, the leopard, set in gold also, and earrings of pierced +emerald, and finger-rings of hollowed jade. From the tea-houses +comes the sound of the guitar, and the opium-smokers with their +white smiling faces look out at the passers-by. + +'Of a truth thou shouldst have been with me. The wine-sellers +elbow their way through the crowd with great black skins on their +shoulders. Most of them sell the wine of Schiraz, which is as +sweet as honey. They serve it in little metal cups and strew rose +leaves upon it. In the market-place stand the fruitsellers, who +sell all kinds of fruit: ripe figs, with their bruised purple +flesh, melons, smelling of musk and yellow as topazes, citrons and +rose-apples and clusters of white grapes, round red-gold oranges, +and oval lemons of green gold. Once I saw an elephant go by. Its +trunk was painted with vermilion and turmeric, and over its ears it +had a net of crimson silk cord. It stopped opposite one of the +booths and began eating the oranges, and the man only laughed. +Thou canst not think how strange a people they are. When they are +glad they go to the bird-sellers and buy of them a caged bird, and +set it free that their joy may be greater, and when they are sad +they scourge themselves with thorns that their sorrow may not grow +less. + +'One evening I met some negroes carrying a heavy palanquin through +the bazaar. It was made of gilded bamboo, and the poles were of +vermilion lacquer studded with brass peacocks. Across the windows +hung thin curtains of muslin embroidered with beetles' wings and +with tiny seed-pearls, and as it passed by a pale-faced Circassian +looked out and smiled at me. I followed behind, and the negroes +hurried their steps and scowled. But I did not care. I felt a +great curiosity come over me. + +'At last they stopped at a square white house. There were no +windows to it, only a little door like the door of a tomb. They +set down the palanquin and knocked three times with a copper +hammer. An Armenian in a caftan of green leather peered through +the wicket, and when he saw them he opened, and spread a carpet on +the ground, and the woman stepped out. As she went in, she turned +round and smiled at me again. I had never seen any one so pale. + +'When the moon rose I returned to the same place and sought for the +house, but it was no longer there. When I saw that, I knew who the +woman was, and wherefore she had smiled at me. + +'Certainly thou shouldst have been with me. On the feast of the +New Moon the young Emperor came forth from his palace and went into +the mosque to pray. His hair and beard were dyed with rose-leaves, +and his cheeks were powdered with a fine gold dust. The palms of +his feet and hands were yellow with saffron. + +'At sunrise he went forth from his palace in a robe of silver, and +at sunset he returned to it again in a robe of gold. The people +flung themselves on the ground and hid their faces, but I would not +do so. I stood by the stall of a seller of dates and waited. When +the Emperor saw me, he raised his painted eyebrows and stopped. I +stood quite still, and made him no obeisance. The people marvelled +at my boldness, and counselled me to flee from the city. I paid no +heed to them, but went and sat with the sellers of strange gods, +who by reason of their craft are abominated. When I told them what +I had done, each of them gave me a god and prayed me to leave them. + +'That night, as I lay on a cushion in the tea-house that is in the +Street of Pomegranates, the guards of the Emperor entered and led +me to the palace. As I went in they closed each door behind me, +and put a chain across it. Inside was a great court with an arcade +running all round. The walls were of white alabaster, set here and +there with blue and green tiles. The pillars were of green marble, +and the pavement of a kind of peach-blossom marble. I had never +seen anything like it before. + +'As I passed across the court two veiled women looked down from a +balcony and cursed me. The guards hastened on, and the butts of +the lances rang upon the polished floor. They opened a gate of +wrought ivory, and I found myself in a watered garden of seven +terraces. It was planted with tulip-cups and moonflowers, and +silver-studded aloes. Like a slim reed of crystal a fountain hung +in the dusky air. The cypress-trees were like burnt-out torches. +From one of them a nightingale was singing. + +'At the end of the garden stood a little pavilion. As we +approached it two eunuchs came out to meet us. Their fat bodies +swayed as they walked, and they glanced curiously at me with their +yellow-lidded eyes. One of them drew aside the captain of the +guard, and in a low voice whispered to him. The other kept +munching scented pastilles, which he took with an affected gesture +out of an oval box of lilac enamel. + +'After a few moments the captain of the guard dismissed the +soldiers. They went back to the palace, the eunuchs following +slowly behind and plucking the sweet mulberries from the trees as +they passed. Once the elder of the two turned round, and smiled at +me with an evil smile. + +'Then the captain of the guard motioned me towards the entrance of +the pavilion. I walked on without trembling, and drawing the heavy +curtain aside I entered in. + +'The young Emperor was stretched on a couch of dyed lion skins, and +a gerfalcon perched upon his wrist. Behind him stood a brass- +turbaned Nubian, naked down to the waist, and with heavy earrings +in his split ears. On a table by the side of the couch lay a +mighty scimitar of steel. + +'When the Emperor saw me he frowned, and said to me, "What is thy +name? Knowest thou not that I am Emperor of this city?" But I +made him no answer. + +'He pointed with his finger at the scimitar, and the Nubian seized +it, and rushing forward struck at me with great violence. The +blade whizzed through me, and did me no hurt. The man fell +sprawling on the floor, and when he rose up his teeth chattered +with terror and he hid himself behind the couch. + +'The Emperor leapt to his feet, and taking a lance from a stand of +arms, he threw it at me. I caught it in its flight, and brake the +shaft into two pieces. He shot at me with an arrow, but I held up +my hands and it stopped in mid-air. Then he drew a dagger from a +belt of white leather, and stabbed the Nubian in the throat lest +the slave should tell of his dishonour. The man writhed like a +trampled snake, and a red foam bubbled from his lips. + +'As soon as he was dead the Emperor turned to me, and when he had +wiped away the bright sweat from his brow with a little napkin of +purfled and purple silk, he said to me, "Art thou a prophet, that I +may not harm thee, or the son of a prophet, that I can do thee no +hurt? I pray thee leave my city to-night, for while thou art in it +I am no longer its lord." + +'And I answered him, "I will go for half of thy treasure. Give me +half of thy treasure, and I will go away." + +'He took me by the hand, and led me out into the garden. When the +captain of the guard saw me, he wondered. When the eunuchs saw me, +their knees shook and they fell upon the ground in fear. + +'There is a chamber in the palace that has eight walls of red +porphyry, and a brass-sealed ceiling hung with lamps. The Emperor +touched one of the walls and it opened, and we passed down a +corridor that was lit with many torches. In niches upon each side +stood great wine-jars filled to the brim with silver pieces. When +we reached the centre of the corridor the Emperor spake the word +that may not be spoken, and a granite door swung back on a secret +spring, and he put his hands before his face lest his eyes should +be dazzled. + +'Thou couldst not believe how marvellous a place it was. There +were huge tortoise-shells full of pearls, and hollowed moonstones +of great size piled up with red rubies. The gold was stored in +coffers of elephant-hide, and the gold-dust in leather bottles. +There were opals and sapphires, the former in cups of crystal, and +the latter in cups of jade. Round green emeralds were ranged in +order upon thin plates of ivory, and in one corner were silk bags +filled, some with turquoise-stones, and others with beryls. The +ivory horns were heaped with purple amethysts, and the horns of +brass with chalcedonies and sards. The pillars, which were of +cedar, were hung with strings of yellow lynx-stones. In the flat +oval shields there were carbuncles, both wine-coloured and coloured +like grass. And yet I have told thee but a tithe of what was +there. + +'And when the Emperor had taken away his hands from before his face +he said to me: "This is my house of treasure, and half that is in +it is thine, even as I promised to thee. And I will give thee +camels and camel drivers, and they shall do thy bidding and take +thy share of the treasure to whatever part of the world thou +desirest to go. And the thing shall be done to-night, for I would +not that the Sun, who is my father, should see that there is in my +city a man whom I cannot slay." + +'But I answered him, "The gold that is here is thine, and the +silver also is thine, and thine are the precious jewels and the +things of price. As for me, I have no need of these. Nor shall I +take aught from thee but that little ring that thou wearest on the +finger of thy hand." + +'And the Emperor frowned. "It is but a ring of lead," he cried, +"nor has it any value. Therefore take thy half of the treasure and +go from my city." + +'"Nay," I answered, "but I will take nought but that leaden ring, +for I know what is written within it, and for what purpose." + +'And the Emperor trembled, and besought me and said, "Take all the +treasure and go from my city. The half that is mine shall be thine +also." + +'And I did a strange thing, but what I did matters not, for in a +cave that is but a day's journey from this place have, I hidden the +Ring of Riches. It is but a day's journey from this place, and it +waits for thy coming. He who has this Ring is richer than all the +kings of the world. Come therefore and take it, and the world's +riches shall be thine.' + +But the young Fisherman laughed. 'Love is better than Riches,' he +cried, 'and the little Mermaid loves me.' + +'Nay, but there is nothing better than Riches,' said the Soul. + +'Love is better,' answered the young Fisherman, and he plunged into +the deep, and the Soul went weeping away over the marshes. + + +And after the third year was over, the Soul came down to the shore +of the sea, and called to the young Fisherman, and he rose out of +the deep and said, 'Why dost thou call to me?' + +And the Soul answered, 'Come nearer, that I may speak with thee, +for I have seen marvellous things.' + +So he came nearer, and couched in the shallow water, and leaned his +head upon his hand and listened. + +And the Soul said to him, 'In a city that I know of there is an inn +that standeth by a river. I sat there with sailors who drank of +two different-coloured wines, and ate bread made of barley, and +little salt fish served in bay leaves with vinegar. And as we sat +and made merry, there entered to us an old man bearing a leathern +carpet and a lute that had two horns of amber. And when he had +laid out the carpet on the floor, he struck with a quill on the +wire strings of his lute, and a girl whose face was veiled ran in +and began to dance before us. Her face was veiled with a veil of +gauze, but her feet were naked. Naked were her feet, and they +moved over the carpet like little white pigeons. Never have I seen +anything so marvellous; and the city in which she dances is but a +day's journey from this place.' + +Now when the young Fisherman heard the words of his Soul, he +remembered that the little Mermaid had no feet and could not dance. +And a great desire came over him, and he said to himself, 'It is +but a day's journey, and I can return to my love,' and he laughed, +and stood up in the shallow water, and strode towards the shore. + +And when he had reached the dry shore he laughed again, and held +out his arms to his Soul. And his Soul gave a great cry of joy and +ran to meet him, and entered into him, and the young Fisherman saw +stretched before him upon the sand that shadow of the body that is +the body of the Soul. + +And his Soul said to him, 'Let us not tarry, but get hence at once, +for the Sea-gods are jealous, and have monsters that do their +bidding.' + + +So they made haste, and all that night they journeyed beneath the +moon, and all the next day they journeyed beneath the sun, and on +the evening of the day they came to a city. + +And the young Fisherman said to his Soul, 'Is this the city in +which she dances of whom thou didst speak to me?' + +And his Soul answered him, 'It is not this city, but another. +Nevertheless let us enter in.' So they entered in and passed +through the streets, and as they passed through the Street of the +Jewellers the young Fisherman saw a fair silver cup set forth in a +booth. And his Soul said to him, 'Take that silver cup and hide +it.' + +So he took the cup and hid it in the fold of his tunic, and they +went hurriedly out of the city. + +And after that they had gone a league from the city, the young +Fisherman frowned, and flung the cup away, and said to his Soul, +'Why didst thou tell me to take this cup and hide it, for it was an +evil thing to do?' + +But his Soul answered him, 'Be at peace, be at peace.' + +And on the evening of the second day they came to a city, and the +young Fisherman said to his Soul, 'Is this the city in which she +dances of whom thou didst speak to me?' + +And his Soul answered him, 'It is not this city, but another. +Nevertheless let us enter in.' So they entered in and passed +through the streets, and as they passed through the Street of the +Sellers of Sandals, the young Fisherman saw a child standing by a +jar of water. And his Soul said to him, 'Smite that child.' So he +smote the child till it wept, and when he had done this they went +hurriedly out of the city. + +And after that they had gone a league from the city the young +Fisherman grew wroth, and said to his Soul, 'Why didst thou tell me +to smite the child, for it was an evil thing to do?' + +But his Soul answered him, 'Be at peace, be at peace.' + +And on the evening of the third day they came to a city, and the +young Fisherman said to his Soul, 'Is this the city in which she +dances of whom thou didst speak to me?' + +And his Soul answered him, 'It may be that it is in this city, +therefore let us enter in.' + +So they entered in and passed through the streets, but nowhere +could the young Fisherman find the river or the inn that stood by +its side. And the people of the city looked curiously at him, and +he grew afraid and said to his Soul, 'Let us go hence, for she who +dances with white feet is not here.' + +But his Soul answered, 'Nay, but let us tarry, for the night is +dark and there will be robbers on the way.' + +So he sat him down in the market-place and rested, and after a time +there went by a hooded merchant who had a cloak of cloth of +Tartary, and bare a lantern of pierced horn at the end of a jointed +reed. And the merchant said to him, 'Why dost thou sit in the +market-place, seeing that the booths are closed and the bales +corded?' + +And the young Fisherman answered him, 'I can find no inn in this +city, nor have I any kinsman who might give me shelter.' + +'Are we not all kinsmen?' said the merchant. 'And did not one God +make us? Therefore come with me, for I have a guest-chamber.' + +So the young Fisherman rose up and followed the merchant to his +house. And when he had passed through a garden of pomegranates and +entered into the house, the merchant brought him rose-water in a +copper dish that he might wash his hands, and ripe melons that he +might quench his thirst, and set a bowl of rice and a piece of +roasted kid before him. + +And after that he had finished, the merchant led him to the guest- +chamber, and bade him sleep and be at rest. And the young +Fisherman gave him thanks, and kissed the ring that was on his +hand, and flung himself down on the carpets of dyed goat's-hair. +And when he had covered himself with a covering of black lamb's- +wool he fell asleep. + +And three hours before dawn, and while it was still night, his Soul +waked him and said to him, 'Rise up and go to the room of the +merchant, even to the room in which he sleepeth, and slay him, and +take from him his gold, for we have need of it.' + +And the young Fisherman rose up and crept towards the room of the +merchant, and over the feet of the merchant there was lying a +curved sword, and the tray by the side of the merchant held nine +purses of gold. And he reached out his hand and touched the sword, +and when he touched it the merchant started and awoke, and leaping +up seized himself the sword and cried to the young Fisherman, 'Dost +thou return evil for good, and pay with the shedding of blood for +the kindness that I have shown thee?' + +And his Soul said to the young Fisherman, 'Strike him,' and he +struck him so that he swooned and he seized then the nine purses of +gold, and fled hastily through the garden of pomegranates, and set +his face to the star that is the star of morning. + +And when they had gone a league from the city, the young Fisherman +beat his breast, and said to his Soul, 'Why didst thou bid me slay +the merchant and take his gold? Surely thou art evil.' + +But his Soul answered him, 'Be at peace, be at peace.' + +'Nay,' cried the young Fisherman, 'I may not be at peace, for all +that thou hast made me to do I hate. Thee also I hate, and I bid +thee tell me wherefore thou hast wrought with me in this wise.' + +And his Soul answered him, 'When thou didst send me forth into the +world thou gavest me no heart, so I learned to do all these things +and love them.' + +'What sayest thou?' murmured the young Fisherman. + +'Thou knowest,' answered his Soul, 'thou knowest it well. Hast +thou forgotten that thou gavest me no heart? I trow not. And so +trouble not thyself nor me, but be at peace, for there is no pain +that thou shalt not give away, nor any pleasure that thou shalt not +receive.' + +And when the young Fisherman heard these words he trembled and said +to his Soul, 'Nay, but thou art evil, and hast made me forget my +love, and hast tempted me with temptations, and hast set my feet in +the ways of sin.' + +And his Soul answered him, 'Thou hast not forgotten that when thou +didst send me forth into the world thou gavest me no heart. Come, +let us go to another city, and make merry, for we have nine purses +of gold.' + +But the young Fisherman took the nine purses of gold, and flung +them down, and trampled on them. + +'Nay,' he cried, 'but I will have nought to do with thee, nor will +I journey with thee anywhere, but even as I sent thee away before, +so will I send thee away now, for thou hast wrought me no good.' +And he turned his back to the moon, and with the little knife that +had the handle of green viper's skin he strove to cut from his feet +that shadow of the body which is the body of the Soul. + +Yet his Soul stirred not from him, nor paid heed to his command, +but said to him, 'The spell that the Witch told thee avails thee no +more, for I may not leave thee, nor mayest thou drive me forth. +Once in his life may a man send his Soul away, but he who receiveth +back his Soul must keep it with him for ever, and this is his +punishment and his reward.' + +And the young Fisherman grew pale and clenched his hands and cried, +'She was a false Witch in that she told me not that.' + +'Nay,' answered his Soul, 'but she was true to Him she worships, +and whose servant she will be ever.' + +And when the young Fisherman knew that he could no longer get rid +of his Soul, and that it was an evil Soul and would abide with him +always, he fell upon the ground weeping bitterly. + + +And when it was day the young Fisherman rose up and said to his +Soul, 'I will bind my hands that I may not do thy bidding, and +close my lips that I may not speak thy words, and I will return to +the place where she whom I love has her dwelling. Even to the sea +will I return, and to the little bay where she is wont to sing, and +I will call to her and tell her the evil I have done and the evil +thou hast wrought on me.' + +And his Soul tempted him and said, 'Who is thy love, that thou +shouldst return to her? The world has many fairer than she is. +There are the dancing-girls of Samaris who dance in the manner of +all kinds of birds and beasts. Their feet are painted with henna, +and in their hands they have little copper bells. They laugh while +they dance, and their laughter is as clear as the laughter of +water. Come with me and I will show them to thee. For what is +this trouble of thine about the things of sin? Is that which is +pleasant to eat not made for the eater? Is there poison in that +which is sweet to drink? Trouble not thyself, but come with me to +another city. There is a little city hard by in which there is a +garden of tulip-trees. And there dwell in this comely garden white +peacocks and peacocks that have blue breasts. Their tails when +they spread them to the sun are like disks of ivory and like gilt +disks. And she who feeds them dances for their pleasure, and +sometimes she dances on her hands and at other times she dances +with her feet. Her eyes are coloured with stibium, and her +nostrils are shaped like the wings of a swallow. From a hook in +one of her nostrils hangs a flower that is carved out of a pearl. +She laughs while she dances, and the silver rings that are about +her ankles tinkle like bells of silver. And so trouble not thyself +any more, but come with me to this city.' + +But the young Fisherman answered not his Soul, but closed his lips +with the seal of silence and with a tight cord bound his hands, and +journeyed back to the place from which he had come, even to the +little bay where his love had been wont to sing. And ever did his +Soul tempt him by the way, but he made it no answer, nor would he +do any of the wickedness that it sought to make him to do, so great +was the power of the love that was within him. + +And when he had reached the shore of the sea, he loosed the cord +from his hands, and took the seal of silence from his lips, and +called to the little Mermaid. But she came not to his call, though +he called to her all day long and besought her. + +And his Soul mocked him and said, 'Surely thou hast but little joy +out of thy love. Thou art as one who in time of death pours water +into a broken vessel. Thou givest away what thou hast, and nought +is given to thee in return. It were better for thee to come with +me, for I know where the Valley of Pleasure lies, and what things +are wrought there.' + +But the young Fisherman answered not his Soul, but in a cleft of +the rock he built himself a house of wattles, and abode there for +the space of a year. And every morning he called to the Mermaid, +and every noon he called to her again, and at night-time he spake +her name. Yet never did she rise out of the sea to meet him, nor +in any place of the sea could he find her though he sought for her +in the caves and in the green water, in the pools of the tide and +in the wells that are at the bottom of the deep. + +And ever did his Soul tempt him with evil, and whisper of terrible +things. Yet did it not prevail against him, so great was the power +of his love. + +And after the year was over, the Soul thought within himself, 'I +have tempted my master with evil, and his love is stronger than I +am. I will tempt him now with good, and it may be that he will +come with me.' + +So he spake to the young Fisherman and said, 'I have told thee of +the joy of the world, and thou hast turned a deaf ear to me. +Suffer me now to tell thee of the world's pain, and it may be that +thou wilt hearken. For of a truth pain is the Lord of this world, +nor is there any one who escapes from its net. There be some who +lack raiment, and others who lack bread. There be widows who sit +in purple, and widows who sit in rags. To and fro over the fens go +the lepers, and they are cruel to each other. The beggars go up +and down on the highways, and their wallets are empty. Through the +streets of the cities walks Famine, and the Plague sits at their +gates. Come, let us go forth and mend these things, and make them +not to be. Wherefore shouldst thou tarry here calling to thy love, +seeing she comes not to thy call? And what is love, that thou +shouldst set this high store upon it?' + +But the young Fisherman answered it nought, so great was the power +of his love. And every morning he called to the Mermaid, and every +noon he called to her again, and at night-time he spake her name. +Yet never did she rise out of the sea to meet him, nor in any place +of the sea could he find her, though he sought for her in the +rivers of the sea, and in the valleys that are under the waves, in +the sea that the night makes purple, and in the sea that the dawn +leaves grey. + +And after the second year was over, the Soul said to the young +Fisherman at night-time, and as he sat in the wattled house alone, +'Lo! now I have tempted thee with evil, and I have tempted thee +with good, and thy love is stronger than I am. Wherefore will I +tempt thee no longer, but I pray thee to suffer me to enter thy +heart, that I may be one with thee even as before.' + +'Surely thou mayest enter,' said the young Fisherman, 'for in the +days when with no heart thou didst go through the world thou must +have much suffered.' + +'Alas!' cried his Soul, 'I can find no place of entrance, so +compassed about with love is this heart of thine.' + +'Yet I would that I could help thee,' said the young Fisherman. + +And as he spake there came a great cry of mourning from the sea, +even the cry that men hear when one of the Sea-folk is dead. And +the young Fisherman leapt up, and left his wattled house, and ran +down to the shore. And the black waves came hurrying to the shore, +bearing with them a burden that was whiter than silver. White as +the surf it was, and like a flower it tossed on the waves. And the +surf took it from the waves, and the foam took it from the surf, +and the shore received it, and lying at his feet the young +Fisherman saw the body of the little Mermaid. Dead at his feet it +was lying. + +Weeping as one smitten with pain he flung himself down beside it, +and he kissed the cold red of the mouth, and toyed with the wet +amber of the hair. He flung himself down beside it on the sand, +weeping as one trembling with joy, and in his brown arms he held it +to his breast. Cold were the lips, yet he kissed them. Salt was +the honey of the hair, yet he tasted it with a bitter joy. He +kissed the closed eyelids, and the wild spray that lay upon their +cups was less salt than his tears. + +And to the dead thing he made confession. Into the shells of its +ears he poured the harsh wine of his tale. He put the little hands +round his neck, and with his fingers he touched the thin reed of +the throat. Bitter, bitter was his joy, and full of strange +gladness was his pain. + +The black sea came nearer, and the white foam moaned like a leper. +With white claws of foam the sea grabbled at the shore. From the +palace of the Sea-King came the cry of mourning again, and far out +upon the sea the great Tritons blew hoarsely upon their horns. + +'Flee away,' said his Soul, 'for ever doth the sea come nigher, and +if thou tarriest it will slay thee. Flee away, for I am afraid, +seeing that thy heart is closed against me by reason of the +greatness of thy love. Flee away to a place of safety. Surely +thou wilt not send me without a heart into another world?' + +But the young Fisherman listened not to his Soul, but called on the +little Mermaid and said, 'Love is better than wisdom, and more +precious than riches, and fairer than the feet of the daughters of +men. The fires cannot destroy it, nor can the waters quench it. I +called on thee at dawn, and thou didst not come to my call. The +moon heard thy name, yet hadst thou no heed of me. For evilly had +I left thee, and to my own hurt had I wandered away. Yet ever did +thy love abide with me, and ever was it strong, nor did aught +prevail against it, though I have looked upon evil and looked upon +good. And now that thou art dead, surely I will die with thee +also.' + +And his Soul besought him to depart, but he would not, so great was +his love. And the sea came nearer, and sought to cover him with +its waves, and when he knew that the end was at hand he kissed with +mad lips the cold lips of the Mermaid, and the heart that was +within him brake. And as through the fulness of his love his heart +did break, the Soul found an entrance and entered in, and was one +with him even as before. And the sea covered the young Fisherman +with its waves. + + +And in the morning the Priest went forth to bless the sea, for it +had been troubled. And with him went the monks and the musicians, +and the candle-bearers, and the swingers of censers, and a great +company. + +And when the Priest reached the shore he saw the young Fisherman +lying drowned in the surf, and clasped in his arms was the body of +the little Mermaid. And he drew back frowning, and having made the +sign of the cross, he cried aloud and said, 'I will not bless the +sea nor anything that is in it. Accursed be the Sea-folk, and +accursed be all they who traffic with them. And as for him who for +love's sake forsook God, and so lieth here with his leman slain by +God's judgment, take up his body and the body of his leman, and +bury them in the corner of the Field of the Fullers, and set no +mark above them, nor sign of any kind, that none may know the place +of their resting. For accursed were they in their lives, and +accursed shall they be in their deaths also.' + +And the people did as he commanded them, and in the corner of the +Field of the Fullers, where no sweet herbs grew, they dug a deep +pit, and laid the dead things within it. + +And when the third year was over, and on a day that was a holy day, +the Priest went up to the chapel, that he might show to the people +the wounds of the Lord, and speak to them about the wrath of God. + +And when he had robed himself with his robes, and entered in and +bowed himself before the altar, he saw that the altar was covered +with strange flowers that never had been seen before. Strange were +they to look at, and of curious beauty, and their beauty troubled +him, and their odour was sweet in his nostrils. And he felt glad, +and understood not why he was glad. + +And after that he had opened the tabernacle, and incensed the +monstrance that was in it, and shown the fair wafer to the people, +and hid it again behind the veil of veils, he began to speak to the +people, desiring to speak to them of the wrath of God. But the +beauty of the white flowers troubled him, and their odour was sweet +in his nostrils, and there came another word into his lips, and he +spake not of the wrath of God, but of the God whose name is Love. +And why he so spake, he knew not. + +And when he had finished his word the people wept, and the Priest +went back to the sacristy, and his eyes were full of tears. And +the deacons came in and began to unrobe him, and took from him the +alb and the girdle, the maniple and the stole. And he stood as one +in a dream. + +And after that they had unrobed him, he looked at them and said, +'What are the flowers that stand on the altar, and whence do they +come?' + +And they answered him, 'What flowers they are we cannot tell, but +they come from the corner of the Fullers' Field.' And the Priest +trembled, and returned to his own house and prayed. + +And in the morning, while it was still dawn, he went forth with the +monks and the musicians, and the candle-bearers and the swingers of +censers, and a great company, and came to the shore of the sea, and +blessed the sea, and all the wild things that are in it. The Fauns +also he blessed, and the little things that dance in the woodland, +and the bright-eyed things that peer through the leaves. All the +things in God's world he blessed, and the people were filled with +joy and wonder. Yet never again in the corner of the Fullers' +Field grew flowers of any kind, but the field remained barren even +as before. Nor came the Sea-folk into the bay as they had been +wont to do, for they went to another part of the sea. + + + + +THE STAR-CHILD + + + + +[TO MISS MARGOT TENNANT--MRS. ASQUITH] + + +Once upon a time two poor Woodcutters were making their way home +through a great pine-forest. It was winter, and a night of bitter +cold. The snow lay thick upon the ground, and upon the branches of +the trees: the frost kept snapping the little twigs on either side +of them, as they passed: and when they came to the Mountain- +Torrent she was hanging motionless in air, for the Ice-King had +kissed her. + +So cold was it that even the animals and the birds did not know +what to make of it. + +'Ugh!' snarled the Wolf, as he limped through the brushwood with +his tail between his legs, 'this is perfectly monstrous weather. +Why doesn't the Government look to it?' + +'Weet! weet! weet!' twittered the green Linnets, 'the old Earth is +dead and they have laid her out in her white shroud.' + +'The Earth is going to be married, and this is her bridal dress,' +whispered the Turtle-doves to each other. Their little pink feet +were quite frost-bitten, but they felt that it was their duty to +take a romantic view of the situation. + +'Nonsense!' growled the Wolf. 'I tell you that it is all the fault +of the Government, and if you don't believe me I shall eat you.' +The Wolf had a thoroughly practical mind, and was never at a loss +for a good argument. + +'Well, for my own part,' said the Woodpecker, who was a born +philosopher, 'I don't care an atomic theory for explanations. If a +thing is so, it is so, and at present it is terribly cold.' + +Terribly cold it certainly was. The little Squirrels, who lived +inside the tall fir-tree, kept rubbing each other's noses to keep +themselves warm, and the Rabbits curled themselves up in their +holes, and did not venture even to look out of doors. The only +people who seemed to enjoy it were the great horned Owls. Their +feathers were quite stiff with rime, but they did not mind, and +they rolled their large yellow eyes, and called out to each other +across the forest, 'Tu-whit! Tu-whoo! Tu-whit! Tu-whoo! what +delightful weather we are having!' + +On and on went the two Woodcutters, blowing lustily upon their +fingers, and stamping with their huge iron-shod boots upon the +caked snow. Once they sank into a deep drift, and came out as +white as millers are, when the stones are grinding; and once they +slipped on the hard smooth ice where the marsh-water was frozen, +and their faggots fell out of their bundles, and they had to pick +them up and bind them together again; and once they thought that +they had lost their way, and a great terror seized on them, for +they knew that the Snow is cruel to those who sleep in her arms. +But they put their trust in the good Saint Martin, who watches over +all travellers, and retraced their steps, and went warily, and at +last they reached the outskirts of the forest, and saw, far down in +the valley beneath them, the lights of the village in which they +dwelt. + +So overjoyed were they at their deliverance that they laughed +aloud, and the Earth seemed to them like a flower of silver, and +the Moon like a flower of gold. + +Yet, after that they had laughed they became sad, for they +remembered their poverty, and one of them said to the other, 'Why +did we make merry, seeing that life is for the rich, and not for +such as we are? Better that we had died of cold in the forest, or +that some wild beast had fallen upon us and slain us.' + +'Truly,' answered his companion, 'much is given to some, and little +is given to others. Injustice has parcelled out the world, nor is +there equal division of aught save of sorrow.' + +But as they were bewailing their misery to each other this strange +thing happened. There fell from heaven a very bright and beautiful +star. It slipped down the side of the sky, passing by the other +stars in its course, and, as they watched it wondering, it seemed +to them to sink behind a clump of willow-trees that stood hard by a +little sheepfold no more than a stone's-throw away. + +'Why! there is a crook of gold for whoever finds it,' they cried, +and they set to and ran, so eager were they for the gold. + +And one of them ran faster than his mate, and outstripped him, and +forced his way through the willows, and came out on the other side, +and lo! there was indeed a thing of gold lying on the white snow. +So he hastened towards it, and stooping down placed his hands upon +it, and it was a cloak of golden tissue, curiously wrought with +stars, and wrapped in many folds. And he cried out to his comrade +that he had found the treasure that had fallen from the sky, and +when his comrade had come up, they sat them down in the snow, and +loosened the folds of the cloak that they might divide the pieces +of gold. But, alas! no gold was in it, nor silver, nor, indeed, +treasure of any kind, but only a little child who was asleep. + +And one of them said to the other: 'This is a bitter ending to our +hope, nor have we any good fortune, for what doth a child profit to +a man? Let us leave it here, and go our way, seeing that we are +poor men, and have children of our own whose bread we may not give +to another.' + +But his companion answered him: 'Nay, but it were an evil thing to +leave the child to perish here in the snow, and though I am as poor +as thou art, and have many mouths to feed, and but little in the +pot, yet will I bring it home with me, and my wife shall have care +of it.' + +So very tenderly he took up the child, and wrapped the cloak around +it to shield it from the harsh cold, and made his way down the hill +to the village, his comrade marvelling much at his foolishness and +softness of heart. + +And when they came to the village, his comrade said to him, 'Thou +hast the child, therefore give me the cloak, for it is meet that we +should share.' + +But he answered him: 'Nay, for the cloak is neither mine nor +thine, but the child's only,' and he bade him Godspeed, and went to +his own house and knocked. + +And when his wife opened the door and saw that her husband had +returned safe to her, she put her arms round his neck and kissed +him, and took from his back the bundle of faggots, and brushed the +snow off his boots, and bade him come in. + +But he said to her, 'I have found something in the forest, and I +have brought it to thee to have care of it,' and he stirred not +from the threshold. + +'What is it?' she cried. 'Show it to me, for the house is bare, +and we have need of many things.' And he drew the cloak back, and +showed her the sleeping child. + +'Alack, goodman!' she murmured, 'have we not children of our own, +that thou must needs bring a changeling to sit by the hearth? And +who knows if it will not bring us bad fortune? And how shall we +tend it?' And she was wroth against him. + +'Nay, but it is a Star-Child,' he answered; and he told her the +strange manner of the finding of it. + +But she would not be appeased, but mocked at him, and spoke +angrily, and cried: 'Our children lack bread, and shall we feed +the child of another? Who is there who careth for us? And who +giveth us food?' + +'Nay, but God careth for the sparrows even, and feedeth them,' he +answered. + +'Do not the sparrows die of hunger in the winter?' she asked. 'And +is it not winter now?' + +And the man answered nothing, but stirred not from the threshold. + +And a bitter wind from the forest came in through the open door, +and made her tremble, and she shivered, and said to him: 'Wilt +thou not close the door? There cometh a bitter wind into the +house, and I am cold.' + +'Into a house where a heart is hard cometh there not always a +bitter wind?' he asked. And the woman answered him nothing, but +crept closer to the fire. + +And after a time she turned round and looked at him, and her eyes +were full of tears. And he came in swiftly, and placed the child +in her arms, and she kissed it, and laid it in a little bed where +the youngest of their own children was lying. And on the morrow +the Woodcutter took the curious cloak of gold and placed it in a +great chest, and a chain of amber that was round the child's neck +his wife took and set it in the chest also. + + +So the Star-Child was brought up with the children of the +Woodcutter, and sat at the same board with them, and was their +playmate. And every year he became more beautiful to look at, so +that all those who dwelt in the village were filled with wonder, +for, while they were swarthy and black-haired, he was white and +delicate as sawn ivory, and his curls were like the rings of the +daffodil. His lips, also, were like the petals of a red flower, +and his eyes were like violets by a river of pure water, and his +body like the narcissus of a field where the mower comes not. + +Yet did his beauty work him evil. For he grew proud, and cruel, +and selfish. The children of the Woodcutter, and the other +children of the village, he despised, saying that they were of mean +parentage, while he was noble, being sprang from a Star, and he +made himself master over them, and called them his servants. No +pity had he for the poor, or for those who were blind or maimed or +in any way afflicted, but would cast stones at them and drive them +forth on to the highway, and bid them beg their bread elsewhere, so +that none save the outlaws came twice to that village to ask for +alms. Indeed, he was as one enamoured of beauty, and would mock at +the weakly and ill-favoured, and make jest of them; and himself he +loved, and in summer, when the winds were still, he would lie by +the well in the priest's orchard and look down at the marvel of his +own face, and laugh for the pleasure he had in his fairness. + +Often did the Woodcutter and his wife chide him, and say: 'We did +not deal with thee as thou dealest with those who are left +desolate, and have none to succour them. Wherefore art thou so +cruel to all who need pity?' + +Often did the old priest send for him, and seek to teach him the +love of living things, saying to him: 'The fly is thy brother. Do +it no harm. The wild birds that roam through the forest have their +freedom. Snare them not for thy pleasure. God made the blind-worm +and the mole, and each has its place. Who art thou to bring pain +into God's world? Even the cattle of the field praise Him.' + +But the Star-Child heeded not their words, but would frown and +flout, and go back to his companions, and lead them. And his +companions followed him, for he was fair, and fleet of foot, and +could dance, and pipe, and make music. And wherever the Star-Child +led them they followed, and whatever the Star-Child bade them do, +that did they. And when he pierced with a sharp reed the dim eyes +of the mole, they laughed, and when he cast stones at the leper +they laughed also. And in all things he ruled them, and they +became hard of heart even as he was. + + +Now there passed one day through the village a poor beggar-woman. +Her garments were torn and ragged, and her feet were bleeding from +the rough road on which she had travelled, and she was in very evil +plight. And being weary she sat her down under a chestnut-tree to +rest. + +But when the Star-Child saw her, he said to his companions, 'See! +There sitteth a foul beggar-woman under that fair and green-leaved +tree. Come, let us drive her hence, for she is ugly and ill- +favoured.' + +So he came near and threw stones at her, and mocked her, and she +looked at him with terror in her eyes, nor did she move her gaze +from him. And when the Woodcutter, who was cleaving logs in a +haggard hard by, saw what the Star-Child was doing, he ran up and +rebuked him, and said to him: 'Surely thou art hard of heart and +knowest not mercy, for what evil has this poor woman done to thee +that thou shouldst treat her in this wise?' + +And the Star-Child grew red with anger, and stamped his foot upon +the ground, and said, 'Who art thou to question me what I do? I am +no son of thine to do thy bidding.' + +'Thou speakest truly,' answered the Woodcutter, 'yet did I show +thee pity when I found thee in the forest.' + +And when the woman heard these words she gave a loud cry, and fell +into a swoon. And the Woodcutter carried her to his own house, and +his wife had care of her, and when she rose up from the swoon into +which she had fallen, they set meat and drink before her, and bade +her have comfort. + +But she would neither eat nor drink, but said to the Woodcutter, +'Didst thou not say that the child was found in the forest? And +was it not ten years from this day?' + +And the Woodcutter answered, 'Yea, it was in the forest that I +found him, and it is ten years from this day.' + +'And what signs didst thou find with him?' she cried. 'Bare he not +upon his neck a chain of amber? Was not round him a cloak of gold +tissue broidered with stars?' + +'Truly,' answered the Woodcutter, 'it was even as thou sayest.' +And he took the cloak and the amber chain from the chest where they +lay, and showed them to her. + +And when she saw them she wept for joy, and said, 'He is my little +son whom I lost in the forest. I pray thee send for him quickly, +for in search of him have I wandered over the whole world.' + +So the Woodcutter and his wife went out and called to the Star- +Child, and said to him, 'Go into the house, and there shalt thou +find thy mother, who is waiting for thee.' + +So he ran in, filled with wonder and great gladness. But when he +saw her who was waiting there, he laughed scornfully and said, +'Why, where is my mother? For I see none here but this vile +beggar-woman.' + +And the woman answered him, 'I am thy mother.' + +'Thou art mad to say so,' cried the Star-Child angrily. 'I am no +son of thine, for thou art a beggar, and ugly, and in rags. +Therefore get thee hence, and let me see thy foul face no more.' + +'Nay, but thou art indeed my little son, whom I bare in the +forest,' she cried, and she fell on her knees, and held out her +arms to him. 'The robbers stole thee from me, and left thee to +die,' she murmured, 'but I recognised thee when I saw thee, and the +signs also have I recognised, the cloak of golden tissue and the +amber chain. Therefore I pray thee come with me, for over the +whole world have I wandered in search of thee. Come with me, my +son, for I have need of thy love.' + +But the Star-Child stirred not from his place, but shut the doors +of his heart against her, nor was there any sound heard save the +sound of the woman weeping for pain. + +And at last he spoke to her, and his voice was hard and bitter. +'If in very truth thou art my mother,' he said, 'it had been better +hadst thou stayed away, and not come here to bring me to shame, +seeing that I thought I was the child of some Star, and not a +beggar's child, as thou tellest me that I am. Therefore get thee +hence, and let me see thee no more.' + +'Alas! my son,' she cried, 'wilt thou not kiss me before I go? For +I have suffered much to find thee.' + +'Nay,' said the Star-Child, 'but thou art too foul to look at, and +rather would I kiss the adder or the toad than thee.' + +So the woman rose up, and went away into the forest weeping +bitterly, and when the Star-Child saw that she had gone, he was +glad, and ran back to his playmates that he might play with them. + +But when they beheld him coming, they mocked him and said, 'Why, +thou art as foul as the toad, and as loathsome as the adder. Get +thee hence, for we will not suffer thee to play with us,' and they +drave him out of the garden. + +And the Star-Child frowned and said to himself, 'What is this that +they say to me? I will go to the well of water and look into it, +and it shall tell me of my beauty.' + +So he went to the well of water and looked into it, and lo! his +face was as the face of a toad, and his body was sealed like an +adder. And he flung himself down on the grass and wept, and said +to himself, 'Surely this has come upon me by reason of my sin. For +I have denied my mother, and driven her away, and been proud, and +cruel to her. Wherefore I will go and seek her through the whole +world, nor will I rest till I have found her.' + +And there came to him the little daughter of the Woodcutter, and +she put her hand upon his shoulder and said, 'What doth it matter +if thou hast lost thy comeliness? Stay with us, and I will not +mock at thee.' + +And he said to her, 'Nay, but I have been cruel to my mother, and +as a punishment has this evil been sent to me. Wherefore I must go +hence, and wander through the world till I find her, and she give +me her forgiveness.' + +So he ran away into the forest and called out to his mother to come +to him, but there was no answer. All day long he called to her, +and, when the sun set he lay down to sleep on a bed of leaves, and +the birds and the animals fled from him, for they remembered his +cruelty, and he was alone save for the toad that watched him, and +the slow adder that crawled past. + +And in the morning he rose up, and plucked some bitter berries from +the trees and ate them, and took his way through the great wood, +weeping sorely. And of everything that he met he made inquiry if +perchance they had seen his mother. + +He said to the Mole, 'Thou canst go beneath the earth. Tell me, is +my mother there?' + +And the Mole answered, 'Thou hast blinded mine eyes. How should I +know?' + +He said to the Linnet, 'Thou canst fly over the tops of the tall +trees, and canst see the whole world. Tell me, canst thou see my +mother?' + +And the Linnet answered, 'Thou hast clipt my wings for thy +pleasure. How should I fly?' + +And to the little Squirrel who lived in the fir-tree, and was +lonely, he said, 'Where is my mother?' + +And the Squirrel answered, 'Thou hast slain mine. Dost thou seek +to slay thine also?' + +And the Star-Child wept and bowed his head, and prayed forgiveness +of God's things, and went on through the forest, seeking for the +beggar-woman. And on the third day he came to the other side of +the forest and went down into the plain. + +And when he passed through the villages the children mocked him, +and threw stones at him, and the carlots would not suffer him even +to sleep in the byres lest he might bring mildew on the stored +corn, so foul was he to look at, and their hired men drave him +away, and there was none who had pity on him. Nor could he hear +anywhere of the beggar-woman who was his mother, though for the +space of three years he wandered over the world, and often seemed +to see her on the road in front of him, and would call to her, and +run after her till the sharp flints made his feet to bleed. But +overtake her he could not, and those who dwelt by the way did ever +deny that they had seen her, or any like to her, and they made +sport of his sorrow. + +For the space of three years he wandered over the world, and in the +world there was neither love nor loving-kindness nor charity for +him, but it was even such a world as he had made for himself in the +days of his great pride. + + +And one evening he came to the gate of a strong-walled city that +stood by a river, and, weary and footsore though he was, he made to +enter in. But the soldiers who stood on guard dropped their +halberts across the entrance, and said roughly to him, 'What is thy +business in the city?' + +'I am seeking for my mother,' he answered, 'and I pray ye to suffer +me to pass, for it may be that she is in this city.' + +But they mocked at him, and one of them wagged a black beard, and +set down his shield and cried, 'Of a truth, thy mother will not be +merry when she sees thee, for thou art more ill-favoured than the +toad of the marsh, or the adder that crawls in the fen. Get thee +gone. Get thee gone. Thy mother dwells not in this city.' + +And another, who held a yellow banner in his hand, said to him, +'Who is thy mother, and wherefore art thou seeking for her?' + +And he answered, 'My mother is a beggar even as I am, and I have +treated her evilly, and I pray ye to suffer me to pass that she may +give me her forgiveness, if it be that she tarrieth in this city.' +But they would not, and pricked him with their spears. + +And, as he turned away weeping, one whose armour was inlaid with +gilt flowers, and on whose helmet couched a lion that had wings, +came up and made inquiry of the soldiers who it was who had sought +entrance. And they said to him, 'It is a beggar and the child of a +beggar, and we have driven him away.' + +'Nay,' he cried, laughing, 'but we will sell the foul thing for a +slave, and his price shall be the price of a bowl of sweet wine.' + +And an old and evil-visaged man who was passing by called out, and +said, 'I will buy him for that price,' and, when he had paid the +price, he took the Star-Child by the hand and led him into the +city. + +And after that they had gone through many streets they came to a +little door that was set in a wall that was covered with a +pomegranate tree. And the old man touched the door with a ring of +graved jasper and it opened, and they went down five steps of brass +into a garden filled with black poppies and green jars of burnt +clay. And the old man took then from his turban a scarf of figured +silk, and bound with it the eyes of the Star-Child, and drave him +in front of him. And when the scarf was taken off his eyes, the +Star-Child found himself in a dungeon, that was lit by a lantern of +horn. + +And the old man set before him some mouldy bread on a trencher and +said, 'Eat,' and some brackish water in a cup and said, 'Drink,' +and when he had eaten and drunk, the old man went out, locking the +door behind him and fastening it with an iron chain. + + +And on the morrow the old man, who was indeed the subtlest of the +magicians of Libya and had learned his art from one who dwelt in +the tombs of the Nile, came in to him and frowned at him, and said, +'In a wood that is nigh to the gate of this city of Giaours there +are three pieces of gold. One is of white gold, and another is of +yellow gold, and the gold of the third one is red. To-day thou +shalt bring me the piece of white gold, and if thou bringest it not +back, I will beat thee with a hundred stripes. Get thee away +quickly, and at sunset I will be waiting for thee at the door of +the garden. See that thou bringest the white gold, or it shall go +ill with thee, for thou art my slave, and I have bought thee for +the price of a bowl of sweet wine.' And he bound the eyes of the +Star-Child with the scarf of figured silk, and led him through the +house, and through the garden of poppies, and up the five steps of +brass. And having opened the little door with his ring he set him +in the street. + + +And the Star-Child went out of the gate of the city, and came to +the wood of which the Magician had spoken to him. + +Now this wood was very fair to look at from without, and seemed +full of singing birds and of sweet-scented flowers, and the Star- +Child entered it gladly. Yet did its beauty profit him little, for +wherever he went harsh briars and thorns shot up from the ground +and encompassed him, and evil nettles stung him, and the thistle +pierced him with her daggers, so that he was in sore distress. Nor +could he anywhere find the piece of white gold of which the +Magician had spoken, though he sought for it from morn to noon, and +from noon to sunset. And at sunset he set his face towards home, +weeping bitterly, for he knew what fate was in store for him. + +But when he had reached the outskirts of the wood, he heard from a +thicket a cry as of some one in pain. And forgetting his own +sorrow he ran back to the place, and saw there a little Hare caught +in a trap that some hunter had set for it. + +And the Star-Child had pity on it, and released it, and said to it, +'I am myself but a slave, yet may I give thee thy freedom.' + +And the Hare answered him, and said: 'Surely thou hast given me +freedom, and what shall I give thee in return?' + +And the Star-Child said to it, 'I am seeking for a piece of white +gold, nor can I anywhere find it, and if I bring it not to my +master he will beat me.' + +'Come thou with me,' said the Hare, 'and I will lead thee to it, +for I know where it is hidden, and for what purpose.' + +So the Star-Child went with the Hare, and lo! in the cleft of a +great oak-tree he saw the piece of white gold that he was seeking. +And he was filled with joy, and seized it, and said to the Hare, +'The service that I did to thee thou hast rendered back again many +times over, and the kindness that I showed thee thou hast repaid a +hundred-fold.' + +'Nay,' answered the Hare, 'but as thou dealt with me, so I did deal +with thee,' and it ran away swiftly, and the Star-Child went +towards the city. + +Now at the gate of the city there was seated one who was a leper. +Over his face hung a cowl of grey linen, and through the eyelets +his eyes gleamed like red coals. And when he saw the Star-Child +coming, he struck upon a wooden bowl, and clattered his bell, and +called out to him, and said, 'Give me a piece of money, or I must +die of hunger. For they have thrust me out of the city, and there +is no one who has pity on me.' + +'Alas!' cried the Star-Child, 'I have but one piece of money in my +wallet, and if I bring it not to my master he will beat me, for I +am his slave.' + +But the leper entreated him, and prayed of him, till the Star-Child +had pity, and gave him the piece of white gold. + + +And when he came to the Magician's house, the Magician opened to +him, and brought him in, and said to him, 'Hast thou the piece of +white gold?' And the Star-Child answered, 'I have it not.' So the +Magician fell upon him, and beat him, and set before him an empty +trencher, and said, 'Eat,' and an empty cup, and said, 'Drink,' and +flung him again into the dungeon. + +And on the morrow the Magician came to him, and said, 'If to-day +thou bringest me not the piece of yellow gold, I will surely keep +thee as my slave, and give thee three hundred stripes.' + +So the Star-Child went to the wood, and all day long he searched +for the piece of yellow gold, but nowhere could he find it. And at +sunset he sat him down and began to weep, and as he was weeping +there came to him the little Hare that he had rescued from the +trap, + +And the Hare said to him, 'Why art thou weeping? And what dost +thou seek in the wood?' + +And the Star-Child answered, 'I am seeking for a piece of yellow +gold that is hidden here, and if I find it not my master will beat +me, and keep me as a slave.' + +'Follow me,' cried the Hare, and it ran through the wood till it +came to a pool of water. And at the bottom of the pool the piece +of yellow gold was lying. + +'How shall I thank thee?' said the Star-Child, 'for lo! this is the +second time that you have succoured me.' + +'Nay, but thou hadst pity on me first,' said the Hare, and it ran +away swiftly. + +And the Star-Child took the piece of yellow gold, and put it in his +wallet, and hurried to the city. But the leper saw him coming, and +ran to meet him, and knelt down and cried, 'Give me a piece of +money or I shall die of hunger.' + +And the Star-Child said to him, 'I have in my wallet but one piece +of yellow gold, and if I bring it not to my master he will beat me +and keep me as his slave.' + +But the leper entreated him sore, so that the Star-Child had pity +on him, and gave him the piece of yellow gold. + +And when he came to the Magician's house, the Magician opened to +him, and brought him in, and said to him, 'Hast thou the piece of +yellow gold?' And the Star-Child said to him, 'I have it not.' So +the Magician fell upon him, and beat him, and loaded him with +chains, and cast him again into the dungeon. + +And on the morrow the Magician came to him, and said, 'If to-day +thou bringest me the piece of red gold I will set thee free, but if +thou bringest it not I will surely slay thee.' + +So the Star-Child went to the wood, and all day long he searched +for the piece of red gold, but nowhere could he find it. And at +evening he sat him down and wept, and as he was weeping there came +to him the little Hare. + +And the Hare said to him, 'The piece of red gold that thou seekest +is in the cavern that is behind thee. Therefore weep no more but +be glad.' + +'How shall I reward thee?' cried the Star-Child, 'for lo! this is +the third time thou hast succoured me.' + +'Nay, but thou hadst pity on me first,' said the Hare, and it ran +away swiftly. + +And the Star-Child entered the cavern, and in its farthest corner +he found the piece of red gold. So he put it in his wallet, and +hurried to the city. And the leper seeing him coming, stood in the +centre of the road, and cried out, and said to him, 'Give me the +piece of red money, or I must die,' and the Star-Child had pity on +him again, and gave him the piece of red gold, saying, 'Thy need is +greater than mine.' Yet was his heart heavy, for he knew what evil +fate awaited him. + + +But lo! as he passed through the gate of the city, the guards bowed +down and made obeisance to him, saying, 'How beautiful is our +lord!' and a crowd of citizens followed him, and cried out, 'Surely +there is none so beautiful in the whole world!' so that the Star- +Child wept, and said to himself, 'They are mocking me, and making +light of my misery.' And so large was the concourse of the people, +that he lost the threads of his way, and found himself at last in a +great square, in which there was a palace of a King. + +And the gate of the palace opened, and the priests and the high +officers of the city ran forth to meet him, and they abased +themselves before him, and said, 'Thou art our lord for whom we +have been waiting, and the son of our King.' + +And the Star-Child answered them and said, 'I am no king's son, but +the child of a poor beggar-woman. And how say ye that I am +beautiful, for I know that I am evil to look at?' + +Then he, whose armour was inlaid with gilt flowers, and on whose +helmet crouched a lion that had wings, held up a shield, and cried, +'How saith my lord that he is not beautiful?' + +And the Star-Child looked, and lo! his face was even as it had +been, and his comeliness had come back to him, and he saw that in +his eyes which he had not seen there before. + +And the priests and the high officers knelt down and said to him, +'It was prophesied of old that on this day should come he who was +to rule over us. Therefore, let our lord take this crown and this +sceptre, and be in his justice and mercy our King over us.' + +But he said to them, 'I am not worthy, for I have denied the mother +who bare me, nor may I rest till I have found her, and known her +forgiveness. Therefore, let me go, for I must wander again over +the world, and may not tarry here, though ye bring me the crown and +the sceptre.' And as he spake he turned his face from them towards +the street that led to the gate of the city, and lo! amongst the +crowd that pressed round the soldiers, he saw the beggar-woman who +was his mother, and at her side stood the leper, who had sat by the +road. + +And a cry of joy broke from his lips, and he ran over, and kneeling +down he kissed the wounds on his mother's feet, and wet them with +his tears. He bowed his head in the dust, and sobbing, as one +whose heart might break, he said to her: 'Mother, I denied thee in +the hour of my pride. Accept me in the hour of my humility. +Mother, I gave thee hatred. Do thou give me love. Mother, I +rejected thee. Receive thy child now.' But the beggar-woman +answered him not a word. + +And he reached out his hands, and clasped the white feet of the +leper, and said to him: 'Thrice did I give thee of my mercy. Bid +my mother speak to me once.' But the leper answered him not a +word. + +And he sobbed again and said: 'Mother, my suffering is greater +than I can bear. Give me thy forgiveness, and let me go back to +the forest.' And the beggar-woman put her hand on his head, and +said to him, 'Rise,' and the leper put his hand on his head, and +said to him, 'Rise,' also. + +And he rose up from his feet, and looked at them, and lo! they were +a King and a Queen. + +And the Queen said to him, 'This is thy father whom thou hast +succoured.' + +And the King said, 'This is thy mother whose feet thou hast washed +with thy tears.' And they fell on his neck and kissed him, and +brought him into the palace and clothed him in fair raiment, and +set the crown upon his head, and the sceptre in his hand, and over +the city that stood by the river he ruled, and was its lord. Much +justice and mercy did he show to all, and the evil Magician he +banished, and to the Woodcutter and his wife he sent many rich +gifts, and to their children he gave high honour. Nor would he +suffer any to be cruel to bird or beast, but taught love and +loving-kindness and charity, and to the poor he gave bread, and to +the naked he gave raiment, and there was peace and plenty in the +land. + +Yet ruled he not long, so great had been his suffering, and so +bitter the fire of his testing, for after the space of three years +he died. And he who came after him ruled evilly. + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, A HOUSE OF POMEGRANATES *** + +This file should be named hpomg10.txt or hpomg10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, hpomg11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, hpomg10a.txt + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we usually do not +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +We are now trying to release all our eBooks one year in advance +of the official release dates, leaving time for better editing. +Please be encouraged to tell us about any error or corrections, +even years after the official publication date. + +Please note neither this listing nor its contents are final til +midnight of the last day of the month of any such announcement. +The official release date of all Project Gutenberg eBooks is at +Midnight, Central Time, of the last day of the stated month. A +preliminary version may often be posted for suggestion, comment +and editing by those who wish to do so. + +Most people start at our Web sites at: +http://gutenberg.net or +http://promo.net/pg + +These Web sites include award-winning information about Project +Gutenberg, including how to donate, how to help produce our new +eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter (free!). + + +Those of you who want to download any eBook before announcement +can get to them as follows, and just download by date. This is +also a good way to get them instantly upon announcement, as the +indexes our cataloguers produce obviously take a while after an +announcement goes out in the Project Gutenberg Newsletter. + +http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/etext04 or +ftp://ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/docs/books/gutenberg/etext04 + +Or /etext03, 02, 01, 00, 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90 + +Just search by the first five letters of the filename you want, +as it appears in our Newsletters. + + +Information about Project Gutenberg (one page) + +We produce about two million dollars for each hour we work. The +time it takes us, a rather conservative estimate, is fifty hours +to get any eBook selected, entered, proofread, edited, copyright +searched and analyzed, the copyright letters written, etc. Our +projected audience is one hundred million readers. If the value +per text is nominally estimated at one dollar then we produce $2 +million dollars per hour in 2002 as we release over 100 new text +files per month: 1240 more eBooks in 2001 for a total of 4000+ +We are already on our way to trying for 2000 more eBooks in 2002 +If they reach just 1-2% of the world's population then the total +will reach over half a trillion eBooks given away by year's end. + +The Goal of Project Gutenberg is to Give Away 1 Trillion eBooks! +This is ten thousand titles each to one hundred million readers, +which is only about 4% of the present number of computer users. + +Here is the briefest record of our progress (* means estimated): + +eBooks Year Month + + 1 1971 July + 10 1991 January + 100 1994 January + 1000 1997 August + 1500 1998 October + 2000 1999 December + 2500 2000 December + 3000 2001 November + 4000 2001 October/November + 6000 2002 December* + 9000 2003 November* +10000 2004 January* + + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation has been created +to secure a future for Project Gutenberg into the next millennium. + +We need your donations more than ever! + +As of February, 2002, contributions are being solicited from people +and organizations in: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, +Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, +Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, +Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New +Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, +Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South +Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West +Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. + +We have filed in all 50 states now, but these are the only ones +that have responded. + +As the requirements for other states are met, additions to this list +will be made and fund raising will begin in the additional states. +Please feel free to ask to check the status of your state. + +In answer to various questions we have received on this: + +We are constantly working on finishing the paperwork to legally +request donations in all 50 states. If your state is not listed and +you would like to know if we have added it since the list you have, +just ask. + +While we cannot solicit donations from people in states where we are +not yet registered, we know of no prohibition against accepting +donations from donors in these states who approach us with an offer to +donate. + +International donations are accepted, but we don't know ANYTHING about +how to make them tax-deductible, or even if they CAN be made +deductible, and don't have the staff to handle it even if there are +ways. + +Donations by check or money order may be sent to: + +Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +PMB 113 +1739 University Ave. +Oxford, MS 38655-4109 + +Contact us if you want to arrange for a wire transfer or payment +method other than by check or money order. + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation has been approved by +the US Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) organization with EIN +[Employee Identification Number] 64-622154. Donations are +tax-deductible to the maximum extent permitted by law. As fund-raising +requirements for other states are met, additions to this list will be +made and fund-raising will begin in the additional states. + +We need your donations more than ever! + +You can get up to date donation information online at: + +http://www.gutenberg.net/donation.html + + +*** + +If you can't reach Project Gutenberg, +you can always email directly to: + +Michael S. Hart <hart@pobox.com> + +Prof. Hart will answer or forward your message. + +We would prefer to send you information by email. + + +**The Legal Small Print** + + +(Three Pages) + +***START**THE SMALL PRINT!**FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN EBOOKS**START*** +Why is this "Small Print!" statement here? You know: lawyers. +They tell us you might sue us if there is something wrong with +your copy of this eBook, even if you got it for free from +someone other than us, and even if what's wrong is not our +fault. So, among other things, this "Small Print!" statement +disclaims most of our liability to you. It also tells you how +you may distribute copies of this eBook if you want to. + +*BEFORE!* YOU USE OR READ THIS EBOOK +By using or reading any part of this PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm +eBook, you indicate that you understand, agree to and accept +this "Small Print!" statement. If you do not, you can receive +a refund of the money (if any) you paid for this eBook by +sending a request within 30 days of receiving it to the person +you got it from. If you received this eBook on a physical +medium (such as a disk), you must return it with your request. + +ABOUT PROJECT GUTENBERG-TM EBOOKS +This PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBook, like most PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBooks, +is a "public domain" work distributed by Professor Michael S. Hart +through the Project Gutenberg Association (the "Project"). +Among other things, this means that no one owns a United States copyright +on or for this work, so the Project (and you!) can copy and +distribute it in the United States without permission and +without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth +below, apply if you wish to copy and distribute this eBook +under the "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark. + +Please do not use the "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark to market +any commercial products without permission. + +To create these eBooks, the Project expends considerable +efforts to identify, transcribe and proofread public domain +works. Despite these efforts, the Project's eBooks and any +medium they may be on may contain "Defects". Among other +things, Defects may take the form of incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other +intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged +disk or other eBook medium, a computer virus, or computer +codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment. + +LIMITED WARRANTY; DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES +But for the "Right of Replacement or Refund" described below, +[1] Michael Hart and the Foundation (and any other party you may +receive this eBook from as a PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBook) disclaims +all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including +legal fees, and [2] YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE OR +UNDER STRICT LIABILITY, OR FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT, +INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE +OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE +POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. + +If you discover a Defect in this eBook within 90 days of +receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) +you paid for it by sending an explanatory note within that +time to the person you received it from. If you received it +on a physical medium, you must return it with your note, and +such person may choose to alternatively give you a replacement +copy. If you received it electronically, such person may +choose to alternatively give you a second opportunity to +receive it electronically. + +THIS EBOOK IS OTHERWISE PROVIDED TO YOU "AS-IS". NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE TO YOU AS +TO THE EBOOK OR ANY MEDIUM IT MAY BE ON, INCLUDING BUT NOT +LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A +PARTICULAR PURPOSE. + +Some states do not allow disclaimers of implied warranties or +the exclusion or limitation of consequential damages, so the +above disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you, and you +may have other legal rights. + +INDEMNITY +You will indemnify and hold Michael Hart, the Foundation, +and its trustees and agents, and any volunteers associated +with the production and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm +texts harmless, from all liability, cost and expense, including +legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the +following that you do or cause: [1] distribution of this eBook, +[2] alteration, modification, or addition to the eBook, +or [3] any Defect. + +DISTRIBUTION UNDER "PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm" +You may distribute copies of this eBook electronically, or by +disk, book or any other medium if you either delete this +"Small Print!" and all other references to Project Gutenberg, +or: + +[1] Only give exact copies of it. Among other things, this + requires that you do not remove, alter or modify the + eBook or this "small print!" statement. You may however, + if you wish, distribute this eBook in machine readable + binary, compressed, mark-up, or proprietary form, + including any form resulting from conversion by word + processing or hypertext software, but only so long as + *EITHER*: + + [*] The eBook, when displayed, is clearly readable, and + does *not* contain characters other than those + intended by the author of the work, although tilde + (~), asterisk (*) and underline (_) characters may + be used to convey punctuation intended by the + author, and additional characters may be used to + indicate hypertext links; OR + + [*] The eBook may be readily converted by the reader at + no expense into plain ASCII, EBCDIC or equivalent + form by the program that displays the eBook (as is + the case, for instance, with most word processors); + OR + + [*] You provide, or agree to also provide on request at + no additional cost, fee or expense, a copy of the + eBook in its original plain ASCII form (or in EBCDIC + or other equivalent proprietary form). + +[2] Honor the eBook refund and replacement provisions of this + "Small Print!" statement. + +[3] Pay a trademark license fee to the Foundation of 20% of the + gross profits you derive calculated using the method you + already use to calculate your applicable taxes. If you + don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are + payable to "Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation" + the 60 days following each date you prepare (or were + legally required to prepare) your annual (or equivalent + periodic) tax return. Please contact us beforehand to + let us know your plans and to work out the details. + +WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? +Project Gutenberg is dedicated to increasing the number of +public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed +in machine readable form. + +The Project gratefully accepts contributions of money, time, +public domain materials, or royalty free copyright licenses. +Money should be paid to the: +"Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +If you are interested in contributing scanning equipment or +software or other items, please contact Michael Hart at: +hart@pobox.com + +[Portions of this eBook's header and trailer may be reprinted only +when distributed free of all fees. Copyright (C) 2001, 2002 by +Michael S. Hart. Project Gutenberg is a TradeMark and may not be +used in any sales of Project Gutenberg eBooks or other materials be +they hardware or software or any other related product without +express permission.] + +*END THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN EBOOKS*Ver.02/11/02*END* + diff --git a/old/hpomg10.zip b/old/hpomg10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..31a4f84 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/hpomg10.zip diff --git a/old/hpomg10h.htm b/old/hpomg10h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ce0db14 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/hpomg10h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,3260 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII" /> +<title>A House of Pomegranates</title> +</head> +<body> +<h2> +<a href="#startoftext">A House of Pomegranates, by Oscar Wilde</a> +</h2> +<pre> +The Project Gutenberg EBook of A House of Pomegranates, by Oscar Wilde +(#8 in our series by Oscar Wilde) + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: A House of Pomegranates + +Author: Oscar Wilde + +Release Date: April, 1997 [EBook #873] +[This file was first posted on April 8, 1997] +[Most recently updated: September 25, 2002] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII +</pre> +<p><a name="startoftext"></a></p> +<p>Transcribed from the 1915 Methuen and Co. edition by David Price, +email ccx074@coventry.ac.uk</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines3"><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h1>A HOUSE OF POMEGRANATES</h1> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines3"><br /><br /><br /></div> +<p>Contents:</p> +<p>The Young King<br />The Birthday of the Infanta<br />The Fisherman +and his Soul<br />The Star-child</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines3"><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>THE YOUNG KING</h2> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines3"><br /><br /><br /></div> +<p>[TO MARGARET LADY BROOKE - THE RANEE OF SARAWAK]</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>It was the night before the day fixed for his coronation, and the +young King was sitting alone in his beautiful chamber. His courtiers +had all taken their leave of him, bowing their heads to the ground, +according to the ceremonious usage of the day, and had retired to the +Great Hall of the Palace, to receive a few last lessons from the Professor +of Etiquette; there being some of them who had still quite natural manners, +which in a courtier is, I need hardly say, a very grave offence.</p> +<p>The lad - for he was only a lad, being but sixteen years of age - +was not sorry at their departure, and had flung himself back with a +deep sigh of relief on the soft cushions of his embroidered couch, lying +there, wild-eyed and open-mouthed, like a brown woodland Faun, or some +young animal of the forest newly snared by the hunters.</p> +<p>And, indeed, it was the hunters who had found him, coming upon him +almost by chance as, bare-limbed and pipe in hand, he was following +the flock of the poor goatherd who had brought him up, and whose son +he had always fancied himself to be. The child of the old King’s +only daughter by a secret marriage with one much beneath her in station +- a stranger, some said, who, by the wonderful magic of his lute-playing, +had made the young Princess love him; while others spoke of an artist +from Rimini, to whom the Princess had shown much, perhaps too much honour, +and who had suddenly disappeared from the city, leaving his work in +the Cathedral unfinished - he had been, when but a week old, stolen +away from his mother’s side, as she slept, and given into the +charge of a common peasant and his wife, who were without children of +their own, and lived in a remote part of the forest, more than a day’s +ride from the town. Grief, or the plague, as the court physician +stated, or, as some suggested, a swift Italian poison administered in +a cup of spiced wine, slew, within an hour of her wakening, the white +girl who had given him birth, and as the trusty messenger who bare the +child across his saddle-bow stooped from his weary horse and knocked +at the rude door of the goatherd’s hut, the body of the Princess +was being lowered into an open grave that had been dug in a deserted +churchyard, beyond the city gates, a grave where it was said that another +body was also lying, that of a young man of marvellous and foreign beauty, +whose hands were tied behind him with a knotted cord, and whose breast +was stabbed with many red wounds.</p> +<p>Such, at least, was the story that men whispered to each other. +Certain it was that the old King, when on his deathbed, whether moved +by remorse for his great sin, or merely desiring that the kingdom should +not pass away from his line, had had the lad sent for, and, in the presence +of the Council, had acknowledged him as his heir.</p> +<p>And it seems that from the very first moment of his recognition he +had shown signs of that strange passion for beauty that was destined +to have so great an influence over his life. Those who accompanied +him to the suite of rooms set apart for his service, often spoke of +the cry of pleasure that broke from his lips when he saw the delicate +raiment and rich jewels that had been prepared for him, and of the almost +fierce joy with which he flung aside his rough leathern tunic and coarse +sheepskin cloak. He missed, indeed, at times the fine freedom +of his forest life, and was always apt to chafe at the tedious Court +ceremonies that occupied so much of each day, but the wonderful palace +- <i>Joyeuse</i>, as they called it - of which he now found himself +lord, seemed to him to be a new world fresh-fashioned for his delight; +and as soon as he could escape from the council-board or audience-chamber, +he would run down the great staircase, with its lions of gilt bronze +and its steps of bright porphyry, and wander from room to room, and +from corridor to corridor, like one who was seeking to find in beauty +an anodyne from pain, a sort of restoration from sickness.</p> +<p>Upon these journeys of discovery, as he would call them - and, indeed, +they were to him real voyages through a marvellous land, he would sometimes +be accompanied by the slim, fair-haired Court pages, with their floating +mantles, and gay fluttering ribands; but more often he would be alone, +feeling through a certain quick instinct, which was almost a divination, +that the secrets of art are best learned in secret, and that Beauty, +like Wisdom, loves the lonely worshipper.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>Many curious stories were related about him at this period. +It was said that a stout Burgo-master, who had come to deliver a florid +oratorical address on behalf of the citizens of the town, had caught +sight of him kneeling in real adoration before a great picture that +had just been brought from Venice, and that seemed to herald the worship +of some new gods. On another occasion he had been missed for several +hours, and after a lengthened search had been discovered in a little +chamber in one of the northern turrets of the palace gazing, as one +in a trance, at a Greek gem carved with the figure of Adonis. +He had been seen, so the tale ran, pressing his warm lips to the marble +brow of an antique statue that had been discovered in the bed of the +river on the occasion of the building of the stone bridge, and was inscribed +with the name of the Bithynian slave of Hadrian. He had passed +a whole night in noting the effect of the moonlight on a silver image +of Endymion.</p> +<p>All rare and costly materials had certainly a great fascination for +him, and in his eagerness to procure them he had sent away many merchants, +some to traffic for amber with the rough fisher-folk of the north seas, +some to Egypt to look for that curious green turquoise which is found +only in the tombs of kings, and is said to possess magical properties, +some to Persia for silken carpets and painted pottery, and others to +India to buy gauze and stained ivory, moonstones and bracelets of jade, +sandal-wood and blue enamel and shawls of fine wool.</p> +<p>But what had occupied him most was the robe he was to wear at his +coronation, the robe of tissued gold, and the ruby-studded crown, and +the sceptre with its rows and rings of pearls. Indeed, it was +of this that he was thinking to-night, as he lay back on his luxurious +couch, watching the great pinewood log that was burning itself out on +the open hearth. The designs, which were from the hands of the +most famous artists of the time, had been submitted to him many months +before, and he had given orders that the artificers were to toil night +and day to carry them out, and that the whole world was to be searched +for jewels that would be worthy of their work. He saw himself +in fancy standing at the high altar of the cathedral in the fair raiment +of a King, and a smile played and lingered about his boyish lips, and +lit up with a bright lustre his dark woodland eyes.</p> +<p>After some time he rose from his seat, and leaning against the carved +penthouse of the chimney, looked round at the dimly-lit room. +The walls were hung with rich tapestries representing the Triumph of +Beauty. A large press, inlaid with agate and lapis-lazuli, filled +one corner, and facing the window stood a curiously wrought cabinet +with lacquer panels of powdered and mosaiced gold, on which were placed +some delicate goblets of Venetian glass, and a cup of dark-veined onyx. +Pale poppies were broidered on the silk coverlet of the bed, as though +they had fallen from the tired hands of sleep, and tall reeds of fluted +ivory bare up the velvet canopy, from which great tufts of ostrich plumes +sprang, like white foam, to the pallid silver of the fretted ceiling. +A laughing Narcissus in green bronze held a polished mirror above its +head. On the table stood a flat bowl of amethyst.</p> +<p>Outside he could see the huge dome of the cathedral, looming like +a bubble over the shadowy houses, and the weary sentinels pacing up +and down on the misty terrace by the river. Far away, in an orchard, +a nightingale was singing. A faint perfume of jasmine came through +the open window. He brushed his brown curls back from his forehead, +and taking up a lute, let his fingers stray across the cords. +His heavy eyelids drooped, and a strange languor came over him. +Never before had he felt so keenly, or with such exquisite joy, the +magic and the mystery of beautiful things.</p> +<p>When midnight sounded from the clock-tower he touched a bell, and +his pages entered and disrobed him with much ceremony, pouring rose-water +over his hands, and strewing flowers on his pillow. A few moments +after that they had left the room, he fell asleep.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>And as he slept he dreamed a dream, and this was his dream.</p> +<p>He thought that he was standing in a long, low attic, amidst the +whir and clatter of many looms. The meagre daylight peered in +through the grated windows, and showed him the gaunt figures of the +weavers bending over their cases. Pale, sickly-looking children +were crouched on the huge crossbeams. As the shuttles dashed through +the warp they lifted up the heavy battens, and when the shuttles stopped +they let the battens fall and pressed the threads together. Their +faces were pinched with famine, and their thin hands shook and trembled. +Some haggard women were seated at a table sewing. A horrible odour +filled the place. The air was foul and heavy, and the walls dripped +and streamed with damp.</p> +<p>The young King went over to one of the weavers, and stood by him +and watched him.</p> +<p>And the weaver looked at him angrily, and said, ‘Why art thou +watching me? Art thou a spy set on us by our master?’</p> +<p>‘Who is thy master?’ asked the young King.</p> +<p>‘Our master!’ cried the weaver, bitterly. ‘He +is a man like myself. Indeed, there is but this difference between +us - that he wears fine clothes while I go in rags, and that while I +am weak from hunger he suffers not a little from overfeeding.’</p> +<p>‘The land is free,’ said the young King, ‘and thou +art no man’s slave.’</p> +<p>‘In war,’ answered the weaver, ‘the strong make +slaves of the weak, and in peace the rich make slaves of the poor. +We must work to live, and they give us such mean wages that we die. +We toil for them all day long, and they heap up gold in their coffers, +and our children fade away before their time, and the faces of those +we love become hard and evil. We tread out the grapes, and another +drinks the wine. We sow the corn, and our own board is empty. +We have chains, though no eye beholds them; and are slaves, though men +call us free.’</p> +<p>‘Is it so with all?’ he asked,</p> +<p>‘It is so with all,’ answered the weaver, ‘with +the young as well as with the old, with the women as well as with the +men, with the little children as well as with those who are stricken +in years. The merchants grind us down, and we must needs do their +bidding. The priest rides by and tells his beads, and no man has +care of us. Through our sunless lanes creeps Poverty with her +hungry eyes, and Sin with his sodden face follows close behind her. +Misery wakes us in the morning, and Shame sits with us at night. +But what are these things to thee? Thou art not one of us. +Thy face is too happy.’ And he turned away scowling, and +threw the shuttle across the loom, and the young King saw that it was +threaded with a thread of gold.</p> +<p>And a great terror seized upon him, and he said to the weaver, ‘What +robe is this that thou art weaving?’</p> +<p>‘It is the robe for the coronation of the young King,’ +he answered; ‘what is that to thee?’</p> +<p>And the young King gave a loud cry and woke, and lo! he was in his +own chamber, and through the window he saw the great honey-coloured +moon hanging in the dusky air.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>And he fell asleep again and dreamed, and this was his dream.</p> +<p>He thought that he was lying on the deck of a huge galley that was +being rowed by a hundred slaves. On a carpet by his side the master +of the galley was seated. He was black as ebony, and his turban +was of crimson silk. Great earrings of silver dragged down the +thick lobes of his ears, and in his hands he had a pair of ivory scales.</p> +<p>The slaves were naked, but for a ragged loin-cloth, and each man +was chained to his neighbour. The hot sun beat brightly upon them, +and the negroes ran up and down the gangway and lashed them with whips +of hide. They stretched out their lean arms and pulled the heavy +oars through the water. The salt spray flew from the blades.</p> +<p>At last they reached a little bay, and began to take soundings. +A light wind blew from the shore, and covered the deck and the great +lateen sail with a fine red dust. Three Arabs mounted on wild +asses rode out and threw spears at them. The master of the galley +took a painted bow in his hand and shot one of them in the throat. +He fell heavily into the surf, and his companions galloped away. +A woman wrapped in a yellow veil followed slowly on a camel, looking +back now and then at the dead body.</p> +<p>As soon as they had cast anchor and hauled down the sail, the negroes +went into the hold and brought up a long rope-ladder, heavily weighted +with lead. The master of the galley threw it over the side, making +the ends fast to two iron stanchions. Then the negroes seized +the youngest of the slaves and knocked his gyves off, and filled his +nostrils and his ears with wax, and tied a big stone round his waist. +He crept wearily down the ladder, and disappeared into the sea. +A few bubbles rose where he sank. Some of the other slaves peered +curiously over the side. At the prow of the galley sat a shark-charmer, +beating monotonously upon a drum.</p> +<p>After some time the diver rose up out of the water, and clung panting +to the ladder with a pearl in his right hand. The negroes seized +it from him, and thrust him back. The slaves fell asleep over +their oars.</p> +<p>Again and again he came up, and each time that he did so he brought +with him a beautiful pearl. The master of the galley weighed them, +and put them into a little bag of green leather.</p> +<p>The young King tried to speak, but his tongue seemed to cleave to +the roof of his mouth, and his lips refused to move. The negroes +chattered to each other, and began to quarrel over a string of bright +beads. Two cranes flew round and round the vessel.</p> +<p>Then the diver came up for the last time, and the pearl that he brought +with him was fairer than all the pearls of Ormuz, for it was shaped +like the full moon, and whiter than the morning star. But his +face was strangely pale, and as he fell upon the deck the blood gushed +from his ears and nostrils. He quivered for a little, and then +he was still. The negroes shrugged their shoulders, and threw +the body overboard.</p> +<p>And the master of the galley laughed, and, reaching out, he took +the pearl, and when he saw it he pressed it to his forehead and bowed. +‘It shall be,’ he said, ‘for the sceptre of the young +King,’ and he made a sign to the negroes to draw up the anchor.</p> +<p>And when the young King heard this he gave a great cry, and woke, +and through the window he saw the long grey fingers of the dawn clutching +at the fading stars.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>And he fell asleep again, and dreamed, and this was his dream.</p> +<p>He thought that he was wandering through a dim wood, hung with strange +fruits and with beautiful poisonous flowers. The adders hissed +at him as he went by, and the bright parrots flew screaming from branch +to branch. Huge tortoises lay asleep upon the hot mud. The +trees were full of apes and peacocks.</p> +<p>On and on he went, till he reached the outskirts of the wood, and +there he saw an immense multitude of men toiling in the bed of a dried-up +river. They swarmed up the crag like ants. They dug deep +pits in the ground and went down into them. Some of them cleft +the rocks with great axes; others grabbled in the sand.</p> +<p>They tore up the cactus by its roots, and trampled on the scarlet +blossoms. They hurried about, calling to each other, and no man +was idle.</p> +<p>From the darkness of a cavern Death and Avarice watched them, and +Death said, ‘I am weary; give me a third of them and let me go.’ +But Avarice shook her head. ‘They are my servants,’ +she answered.</p> +<p>And Death said to her, ‘What hast thou in thy hand?’</p> +<p>‘I have three grains of corn,’ she answered; ‘what +is that to thee?’</p> +<p>‘Give me one of them,’ cried Death, ‘to plant in +my garden; only one of them, and I will go away.’</p> +<p>‘I will not give thee anything,’ said Avarice, and she +hid her hand in the fold of her raiment.</p> +<p>And Death laughed, and took a cup, and dipped it into a pool of water, +and out of the cup rose Ague. She passed through the great multitude, +and a third of them lay dead. A cold mist followed her, and the +water-snakes ran by her side.</p> +<p>And when Avarice saw that a third of the multitude was dead she beat +her breast and wept. She beat her barren bosom, and cried aloud. +‘Thou hast slain a third of my servants,’ she cried, ‘get +thee gone. There is war in the mountains of Tartary, and the kings +of each side are calling to thee. The Afghans have slain the black +ox, and are marching to battle. They have beaten upon their shields +with their spears, and have put on their helmets of iron. What +is my valley to thee, that thou shouldst tarry in it? Get thee +gone, and come here no more.’</p> +<p>‘Nay,’ answered Death, ‘but till thou hast given +me a grain of corn I will not go.’</p> +<p>But Avarice shut her hand, and clenched her teeth. ‘I +will not give thee anything,’ she muttered.</p> +<p>And Death laughed, and took up a black stone, and threw it into the +forest, and out of a thicket of wild hemlock came Fever in a robe of +flame. She passed through the multitude, and touched them, and +each man that she touched died. The grass withered beneath her +feet as she walked.</p> +<p>And Avarice shuddered, and put ashes on her head. ‘Thou +art cruel,’ she cried; ‘thou art cruel. There is famine +in the walled cities of India, and the cisterns of Samarcand have run +dry. There is famine in the walled cities of Egypt, and the locusts +have come up from the desert. The Nile has not overflowed its +banks, and the priests have cursed Isis and Osiris. Get thee gone +to those who need thee, and leave me my servants.’</p> +<p>‘Nay,’ answered Death, ‘but till thou hast given +me a grain of corn I will not go.’</p> +<p>‘I will not give thee anything,’ said Avarice.</p> +<p>And Death laughed again, and he whistled through his fingers, and +a woman came flying through the air. Plague was written upon her +forehead, and a crowd of lean vultures wheeled round her. She +covered the valley with her wings, and no man was left alive.</p> +<p>And Avarice fled shrieking through the forest, and Death leaped upon +his red horse and galloped away, and his galloping was faster than the +wind.</p> +<p>And out of the slime at the bottom of the valley crept dragons and +horrible things with scales, and the jackals came trotting along the +sand, sniffing up the air with their nostrils.</p> +<p>And the young King wept, and said: ‘Who were these men, and +for what were they seeking?’</p> +<p>‘For rubies for a king’s crown,’ answered one who +stood behind him.</p> +<p>And the young King started, and, turning round, he saw a man habited +as a pilgrim and holding in his hand a mirror of silver.</p> +<p>And he grew pale, and said: ‘For what king?’</p> +<p>And the pilgrim answered: ‘Look in this mirror, and thou shalt +see him.’</p> +<p>And he looked in the mirror, and, seeing his own face, he gave a +great cry and woke, and the bright sunlight was streaming into the room, +and from the trees of the garden and pleasaunce the birds were singing.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>And the Chamberlain and the high officers of State came in and made +obeisance to him, and the pages brought him the robe of tissued gold, +and set the crown and the sceptre before him.</p> +<p>And the young King looked at them, and they were beautiful. +More beautiful were they than aught that he had ever seen. But +he remembered his dreams, and he said to his lords: ‘Take these +things away, for I will not wear them.’</p> +<p>And the courtiers were amazed, and some of them laughed, for they +thought that he was jesting.</p> +<p>But he spake sternly to them again, and said: ‘Take these things +away, and hide them from me. Though it be the day of my coronation, +I will not wear them. For on the loom of Sorrow, and by the white +hands of Pain, has this my robe been woven. There is Blood in +the heart of the ruby, and Death in the heart of the pearl.’ +And he told them his three dreams.</p> +<p>And when the courtiers heard them they looked at each other and whispered, +saying: ‘Surely he is mad; for what is a dream but a dream, and +a vision but a vision? They are not real things that one should +heed them. And what have we to do with the lives of those who +toil for us? Shall a man not eat bread till he has seen the sower, +nor drink wine till he has talked with the vinedresser?’</p> +<p>And the Chamberlain spake to the young King, and said, ‘My +lord, I pray thee set aside these black thoughts of thine, and put on +this fair robe, and set this crown upon thy head. For how shall +the people know that thou art a king, if thou hast not a king’s +raiment?’</p> +<p>And the young King looked at him. ‘Is it so, indeed?’ +he questioned. ‘Will they not know me for a king if I have +not a king’s raiment?’</p> +<p>‘They will not know thee, my lord,’ cried the Chamberlain.</p> +<p>‘I had thought that there had been men who were kinglike,’ +he answered, ‘but it may be as thou sayest. And yet I will +not wear this robe, nor will I be crowned with this crown, but even +as I came to the palace so will I go forth from it.’</p> +<p>And he bade them all leave him, save one page whom he kept as his +companion, a lad a year younger than himself. Him he kept for +his service, and when he had bathed himself in clear water, he opened +a great painted chest, and from it he took the leathern tunic and rough +sheepskin cloak that he had worn when he had watched on the hillside +the shaggy goats of the goatherd. These he put on, and in his +hand he took his rude shepherd’s staff.</p> +<p>And the little page opened his big blue eyes in wonder, and said +smiling to him, ‘My lord, I see thy robe and thy sceptre, but +where is thy crown?’</p> +<p>And the young King plucked a spray of wild briar that was climbing +over the balcony, and bent it, and made a circlet of it, and set it +on his own head.</p> +<p>‘This shall he my crown,’ he answered.</p> +<p>And thus attired he passed out of his chamber into the Great Hall, +where the nobles were waiting for him.</p> +<p>And the nobles made merry, and some of them cried out to him, ‘My +lord, the people wait for their king, and thou showest them a beggar,’ +and others were wroth and said, ‘He brings shame upon our state, +and is unworthy to be our master.’ But he answered them +not a word, but passed on, and went down the bright porphyry staircase, +and out through the gates of bronze, and mounted upon his horse, and +rode towards the cathedral, the little page running beside him.</p> +<p>And the people laughed and said, ‘It is the King’s fool +who is riding by,’ and they mocked him.</p> +<p>And he drew rein and said, ‘Nay, but I am the King.’ +And he told them his three dreams.</p> +<p>And a man came out of the crowd and spake bitterly to him, and said, +‘Sir, knowest thou not that out of the luxury of the rich cometh +the life of the poor? By your pomp we are nurtured, and your vices +give us bread. To toil for a hard master is bitter, but to have +no master to toil for is more bitter still. Thinkest thou that +the ravens will feed us? And what cure hast thou for these things? +Wilt thou say to the buyer, “Thou shalt buy for so much,” +and to the seller, “Thou shalt sell at this price”? +I trow not. Therefore go back to thy Palace and put on thy purple +and fine linen. What hast thou to do with us, and what we suffer?’</p> +<p>‘Are not the rich and the poor brothers?’ asked the young +King.</p> +<p>‘Ay,’ answered the man, ‘and the name of the rich +brother is Cain.’</p> +<p>And the young King’s eyes filled with tears, and he rode on +through the murmurs of the people, and the little page grew afraid and +left him.</p> +<p>And when he reached the great portal of the cathedral, the soldiers +thrust their halberts out and said, ‘What dost thou seek here? +None enters by this door but the King.’</p> +<p>And his face flushed with anger, and he said to them, ‘I am +the King,’ and waved their halberts aside and passed in.</p> +<p>And when the old Bishop saw him coming in his goatherd’s dress, +he rose up in wonder from his throne, and went to meet him, and said +to him, ‘My son, is this a king’s apparel? And with +what crown shall I crown thee, and what sceptre shall I place in thy +hand? Surely this should be to thee a day of joy, and not a day +of abasement.’</p> +<p>‘Shall Joy wear what Grief has fashioned?’ said the young +King. And he told him his three dreams.</p> +<p>And when the Bishop had heard them he knit his brows, and said, ‘My +son, I am an old man, and in the winter of my days, and I know that +many evil things are done in the wide world. The fierce robbers +come down from the mountains, and carry off the little children, and +sell them to the Moors. The lions lie in wait for the caravans, +and leap upon the camels. The wild boar roots up the corn in the +valley, and the foxes gnaw the vines upon the hill. The pirates +lay waste the sea-coast and burn the ships of the fishermen, and take +their nets from them. In the salt-marshes live the lepers; they +have houses of wattled reeds, and none may come nigh them. The +beggars wander through the cities, and eat their food with the dogs. +Canst thou make these things not to be? Wilt thou take the leper +for thy bedfellow, and set the beggar at thy board? Shall the +lion do thy bidding, and the wild boar obey thee? Is not He who +made misery wiser than thou art? Wherefore I praise thee not for +this that thou hast done, but I bid thee ride back to the Palace and +make thy face glad, and put on the raiment that beseemeth a king, and +with the crown of gold I will crown thee, and the sceptre of pearl will +I place in thy hand. And as for thy dreams, think no more of them. +The burden of this world is too great for one man to bear, and the world’s +sorrow too heavy for one heart to suffer.’</p> +<p>‘Sayest thou that in this house?’ said the young King, +and he strode past the Bishop, and climbed up the steps of the altar, +and stood before the image of Christ.</p> +<p>He stood before the image of Christ, and on his right hand and on +his left were the marvellous vessels of gold, the chalice with the yellow +wine, and the vial with the holy oil. He knelt before the image +of Christ, and the great candles burned brightly by the jewelled shrine, +and the smoke of the incense curled in thin blue wreaths through the +dome. He bowed his head in prayer, and the priests in their stiff +copes crept away from the altar.</p> +<p>And suddenly a wild tumult came from the street outside, and in entered +the nobles with drawn swords and nodding plumes, and shields of polished +steel. ‘Where is this dreamer of dreams?’ they cried. +‘Where is this King who is apparelled like a beggar - this boy +who brings shame upon our state? Surely we will slay him, for +he is unworthy to rule over us.’</p> +<p>And the young King bowed his head again, and prayed, and when he +had finished his prayer he rose up, and turning round he looked at them +sadly.</p> +<p>And lo! through the painted windows came the sunlight streaming upon +him, and the sun-beams wove round him a tissued robe that was fairer +than the robe that had been fashioned for his pleasure. The dead +staff blossomed, and bare lilies that were whiter than pearls. +The dry thorn blossomed, and bare roses that were redder than rubies. +Whiter than fine pearls were the lilies, and their stems were of bright +silver. Redder than male rubies were the roses, and their leaves +were of beaten gold.</p> +<p>He stood there in the raiment of a king, and the gates of the jewelled +shrine flew open, and from the crystal of the many-rayed monstrance +shone a marvellous and mystical light. He stood there in a king’s +raiment, and the Glory of God filled the place, and the saints in their +carven niches seemed to move. In the fair raiment of a king he +stood before them, and the organ pealed out its music, and the trumpeters +blew upon their trumpets, and the singing boys sang.</p> +<p>And the people fell upon their knees in awe, and the nobles sheathed +their swords and did homage, and the Bishop’s face grew pale, +and his hands trembled. ‘A greater than I hath crowned thee,’ +he cried, and he knelt before him.</p> +<p>And the young King came down from the high altar, and passed home +through the midst of the people. But no man dared look upon his +face, for it was like the face of an angel.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines3"><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>THE BIRTHDAY OF THE INFANTA</h2> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines3"><br /><br /><br /></div> +<p>[TO MRS. WILLIAM H. GRENFELL OF TAPLOW COURT - LADY DESBOROUGH]</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>It was the birthday of the Infanta. She was just twelve years +of age, and the sun was shining brightly in the gardens of the palace.</p> +<p>Although she was a real Princess and the Infanta of Spain, she had +only one birthday every year, just like the children of quite poor people, +so it was naturally a matter of great importance to the whole country +that she should have a really fine day for the occasion. And a +really fine day it certainly was. The tall striped tulips stood +straight up upon their stalks, like long rows of soldiers, and looked +defiantly across the grass at the roses, and said: ‘We are quite +as splendid as you are now.’ The purple butterflies fluttered +about with gold dust on their wings, visiting each flower in turn; the +little lizards crept out of the crevices of the wall, and lay basking +in the white glare; and the pomegranates split and cracked with the +heat, and showed their bleeding red hearts. Even the pale yellow +lemons, that hung in such profusion from the mouldering trellis and +along the dim arcades, seemed to have caught a richer colour from the +wonderful sunlight, and the magnolia trees opened their great globe-like +blossoms of folded ivory, and filled the air with a sweet heavy perfume.</p> +<p>The little Princess herself walked up and down the terrace with her +companions, and played at hide and seek round the stone vases and the +old moss-grown statues. On ordinary days she was only allowed +to play with children of her own rank, so she had always to play alone, +but her birthday was an exception, and the King had given orders that +she was to invite any of her young friends whom she liked to come and +amuse themselves with her. There was a stately grace about these +slim Spanish children as they glided about, the boys with their large-plumed +hats and short fluttering cloaks, the girls holding up the trains of +their long brocaded gowns, and shielding the sun from their eyes with +huge fans of black and silver. But the Infanta was the most graceful +of all, and the most tastefully attired, after the somewhat cumbrous +fashion of the day. Her robe was of grey satin, the skirt and +the wide puffed sleeves heavily embroidered with silver, and the stiff +corset studded with rows of fine pearls. Two tiny slippers with +big pink rosettes peeped out beneath her dress as she walked. +Pink and pearl was her great gauze fan, and in her hair, which like +an aureole of faded gold stood out stiffly round her pale little face, +she had a beautiful white rose.</p> +<p>From a window in the palace the sad melancholy King watched them. +Behind him stood his brother, Don Pedro of Aragon, whom he hated, and +his confessor, the Grand Inquisitor of Granada, sat by his side. +Sadder even than usual was the King, for as he looked at the Infanta +bowing with childish gravity to the assembling counters, or laughing +behind her fan at the grim Duchess of Albuquerque who always accompanied +her, he thought of the young Queen, her mother, who but a short time +before - so it seemed to him - had come from the gay country of France, +and had withered away in the sombre splendour of the Spanish court, +dying just six months after the birth of her child, and before she had +seen the almonds blossom twice in the orchard, or plucked the second +year’s fruit from the old gnarled fig-tree that stood in the centre +of the now grass-grown courtyard. So great had been his love for +her that he had not suffered even the grave to hide her from him. +She had been embalmed by a Moorish physician, who in return for this +service had been granted his life, which for heresy and suspicion of +magical practices had been already forfeited, men said, to the Holy +Office, and her body was still lying on its tapestried bier in the black +marble chapel of the Palace, just as the monks had borne her in on that +windy March day nearly twelve years before. Once every month the +King, wrapped in a dark cloak and with a muffled lantern in his hand, +went in and knelt by her side calling out, ‘<i>Mi reina</i>! +<i>Mi reina</i>!’ and sometimes breaking through the formal etiquette +that in Spain governs every separate action of life, and sets limits +even to the sorrow of a King, he would clutch at the pale jewelled hands +in a wild agony of grief, and try to wake by his mad kisses the cold +painted face.</p> +<p>To-day he seemed to see her again, as he had seen her first at the +Castle of Fontainebleau, when he was but fifteen years of age, and she +still younger. They had been formally betrothed on that occasion +by the Papal Nuncio in the presence of the French King and all the Court, +and he had returned to the Escurial bearing with him a little ringlet +of yellow hair, and the memory of two childish lips bending down to +kiss his hand as he stepped into his carriage. Later on had followed +the marriage, hastily performed at Burgos, a small town on the frontier +between the two countries, and the grand public entry into Madrid with +the customary celebration of high mass at the Church of La Atocha, and +a more than usually solemn <i>auto-da-fé</i>, in which nearly +three hundred heretics, amongst whom were many Englishmen, had been +delivered over to the secular arm to be burned.</p> +<p>Certainly he had loved her madly, and to the ruin, many thought, +of his country, then at war with England for the possession of the empire +of the New World. He had hardly ever permitted her to be out of +his sight; for her, he had forgotten, or seemed to have forgotten, all +grave affairs of State; and, with that terrible blindness that passion +brings upon its servants, he had failed to notice that the elaborate +ceremonies by which he sought to please her did but aggravate the strange +malady from which she suffered. When she died he was, for a time, +like one bereft of reason. Indeed, there is no doubt but that +he would have formally abdicated and retired to the great Trappist monastery +at Granada, of which he was already titular Prior, had he not been afraid +to leave the little Infanta at the mercy of his brother, whose cruelty, +even in Spain, was notorious, and who was suspected by many of having +caused the Queen’s death by means of a pair of poisoned gloves +that he had presented to her on the occasion of her visiting his castle +in Aragon. Even after the expiration of the three years of public +mourning that he had ordained throughout his whole dominions by royal +edict, he would never suffer his ministers to speak about any new alliance, +and when the Emperor himself sent to him, and offered him the hand of +the lovely Archduchess of Bohemia, his niece, in marriage, he bade the +ambassadors tell their master that the King of Spain was already wedded +to Sorrow, and that though she was but a barren bride he loved her better +than Beauty; an answer that cost his crown the rich provinces of the +Netherlands, which soon after, at the Emperor’s instigation, revolted +against him under the leadership of some fanatics of the Reformed Church.</p> +<p>His whole married life, with its fierce, fiery-coloured joys and +the terrible agony of its sudden ending, seemed to come back to him +to-day as he watched the Infanta playing on the terrace. She had +all the Queen’s pretty petulance of manner, the same wilful way +of tossing her head, the same proud curved beautiful mouth, the same +wonderful smile - <i>vrai sourire de France</i> indeed - as she glanced +up now and then at the window, or stretched out her little hand for +the stately Spanish gentlemen to kiss. But the shrill laughter +of the children grated on his ears, and the bright pitiless sunlight +mocked his sorrow, and a dull odour of strange spices, spices such as +embalmers use, seemed to taint - or was it fancy? - the clear morning +air. He buried his face in his hands, and when the Infanta looked +up again the curtains had been drawn, and the King had retired.</p> +<p>She made a little <i>moue</i> of disappointment, and shrugged her +shoulders. Surely he might have stayed with her on her birthday. +What did the stupid State-affairs matter? Or had he gone to that +gloomy chapel, where the candles were always burning, and where she +was never allowed to enter? How silly of him, when the sun was +shining so brightly, and everybody was so happy! Besides, he would +miss the sham bull-fight for which the trumpet was already sounding, +to say nothing of the puppet-show and the other wonderful things. +Her uncle and the Grand Inquisitor were much more sensible. They +had come out on the terrace, and paid her nice compliments. So +she tossed her pretty head, and taking Don Pedro by the hand, she walked +slowly down the steps towards a long pavilion of purple silk that had +been erected at the end of the garden, the other children following +in strict order of precedence, those who had the longest names going +first.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>A procession of noble boys, fantastically dressed as <i>toreadors</i>, +came out to meet her, and the young Count of Tierra-Nueva, a wonderfully +handsome lad of about fourteen years of age, uncovering his head with +all the grace of a born hidalgo and grandee of Spain, led her solemnly +in to a little gilt and ivory chair that was placed on a raised dais +above the arena. The children grouped themselves all round, fluttering +their big fans and whispering to each other, and Don Pedro and the Grand +Inquisitor stood laughing at the entrance. Even the Duchess - +the Camerera-Mayor as she was called - a thin, hard-featured woman with +a yellow ruff, did not look quite so bad-tempered as usual, and something +like a chill smile flitted across her wrinkled face and twitched her +thin bloodless lips.</p> +<p>It certainly was a marvellous bull-fight, and much nicer, the Infanta +thought, than the real bull-fight that she had been brought to see at +Seville, on the occasion of the visit of the Duke of Parma to her father. +Some of the boys pranced about on richly-caparisoned hobby-horses brandishing +long javelins with gay streamers of bright ribands attached to them; +others went on foot waving their scarlet cloaks before the bull, and +vaulting lightly over the barrier when he charged them; and as for the +bull himself, he was just like a live bull, though he was only made +of wicker-work and stretched hide, and sometimes insisted on running +round the arena on his hind legs, which no live bull ever dreams of +doing. He made a splendid fight of it too, and the children got +so excited that they stood up upon the benches, and waved their lace +handkerchiefs and cried out: <i>Bravo toro! Bravo</i> <i>toro</i>! +just as sensibly as if they had been grown-up people. At last, +however, after a prolonged combat, during which several of the hobby-horses +were gored through and through, and, their riders dismounted, the young +Count of Tierra-Nueva brought the bull to his knees, and having obtained +permission from the Infanta to give the <i>coup de grâce</i>, +he plunged his wooden sword into the neck of the animal with such violence +that the head came right off, and disclosed the laughing face of little +Monsieur de Lorraine, the son of the French Ambassador at Madrid.</p> +<p>The arena was then cleared amidst much applause, and the dead hobbyhorses +dragged solemnly away by two Moorish pages in yellow and black liveries, +and after a short interlude, during which a French posture-master performed +upon the tightrope, some Italian puppets appeared in the semi-classical +tragedy of <i>Sophonisba</i> on the stage of a small theatre that had +been built up for the purpose. They acted so well, and their gestures +were so extremely natural, that at the close of the play the eyes of +the Infanta were quite dim with tears. Indeed some of the children +really cried, and had to be comforted with sweetmeats, and the Grand +Inquisitor himself was so affected that he could not help saying to +Don Pedro that it seemed to him intolerable that things made simply +out of wood and coloured wax, and worked mechanically by wires, should +be so unhappy and meet with such terrible misfortunes.</p> +<p>An African juggler followed, who brought in a large flat basket covered +with a red cloth, and having placed it in the centre of the arena, he +took from his turban a curious reed pipe, and blew through it. +In a few moments the cloth began to move, and as the pipe grew shriller +and shriller two green and gold snakes put out their strange wedge-shaped +heads and rose slowly up, swaying to and fro with the music as a plant +sways in the water. The children, however, were rather frightened +at their spotted hoods and quick darting tongues, and were much more +pleased when the juggler made a tiny orange-tree grow out of the sand +and bear pretty white blossoms and clusters of real fruit; and when +he took the fan of the little daughter of the Marquess de Las-Torres, +and changed it into a blue bird that flew all round the pavilion and +sang, their delight and amazement knew no bounds. The solemn minuet, +too, performed by the dancing boys from the church of Nuestra Senora +Del Pilar, was charming. The Infanta had never before seen this +wonderful ceremony which takes place every year at Maytime in front +of the high altar of the Virgin, and in her honour; and indeed none +of the royal family of Spain had entered the great cathedral of Saragossa +since a mad priest, supposed by many to have been in the pay of Elizabeth +of England, had tried to administer a poisoned wafer to the Prince of +the Asturias. So she had known only by hearsay of ‘Our Lady’s +Dance,’ as it was called, and it certainly was a beautiful sight. +The boys wore old-fashioned court dresses of white velvet, and their +curious three-cornered hats were fringed with silver and surmounted +with huge plumes of ostrich feathers, the dazzling whiteness of their +costumes, as they moved about in the sunlight, being still more accentuated +by their swarthy faces and long black hair. Everybody was fascinated +by the grave dignity with which they moved through the intricate figures +of the dance, and by the elaborate grace of their slow gestures, and +stately bows, and when they had finished their performance and doffed +their great plumed hats to the Infanta, she acknowledged their reverence +with much courtesy, and made a vow that she would send a large wax candle +to the shrine of Our Lady of Pilar in return for the pleasure that she +had given her.</p> +<p>A troop of handsome Egyptians - as the gipsies were termed in those +days - then advanced into the arena, and sitting down cross-legs, in +a circle, began to play softly upon their zithers, moving their bodies +to the tune, and humming, almost below their breath, a low dreamy air. +When they caught sight of Don Pedro they scowled at him, and some of +them looked terrified, for only a few weeks before he had had two of +their tribe hanged for sorcery in the market-place at Seville, but the +pretty Infanta charmed them as she leaned back peeping over her fan +with her great blue eyes, and they felt sure that one so lovely as she +was could never be cruel to anybody. So they played on very gently +and just touching the cords of the zithers with their long pointed nails, +and their heads began to nod as though they were falling asleep. +Suddenly, with a cry so shrill that all the children were startled and +Don Pedro’s hand clutched at the agate pommel of his dagger, they +leapt to their feet and whirled madly round the enclosure beating their +tambourines, and chaunting some wild love-song in their strange guttural +language. Then at another signal they all flung themselves again +to the ground and lay there quite still, the dull strumming of the zithers +being the only sound that broke the silence. After that they had +done this several times, they disappeared for a moment and came back +leading a brown shaggy bear by a chain, and carrying on their shoulders +some little Barbary apes. The bear stood upon his head with the +utmost gravity, and the wizened apes played all kinds of amusing tricks +with two gipsy boys who seemed to be their masters, and fought with +tiny swords, and fired off guns, and went through a regular soldier’s +drill just like the King’s own bodyguard. In fact the gipsies +were a great success.</p> +<p>But the funniest part of the whole morning’s entertainment, +was undoubtedly the dancing of the little Dwarf. When he stumbled +into the arena, waddling on his crooked legs and wagging his huge misshapen +head from side to side, the children went off into a loud shout of delight, +and the Infanta herself laughed so much that the Camerera was obliged +to remind her that although there were many precedents in Spain for +a King’s daughter weeping before her equals, there were none for +a Princess of the blood royal making so merry before those who were +her inferiors in birth. The Dwarf, however, was really quite irresistible, +and even at the Spanish Court, always noted for its cultivated passion +for the horrible, so fantastic a little monster had never been seen. +It was his first appearance, too. He had been discovered only +the day before, running wild through the forest, by two of the nobles +who happened to have been hunting in a remote part of the great cork-wood +that surrounded the town, and had been carried off by them to the Palace +as a surprise for the Infanta; his father, who was a poor charcoal-burner, +being but too well pleased to get rid of so ugly and useless a child. +Perhaps the most amusing thing about him was his complete unconsciousness +of his own grotesque appearance. Indeed he seemed quite happy +and full of the highest spirits. When the children laughed, he +laughed as freely and as joyously as any of them, and at the close of +each dance he made them each the funniest of bows, smiling and nodding +at them just as if he was really one of themselves, and not a little +misshapen thing that Nature, in some humourous mood, had fashioned for +others to mock at. As for the Infanta, she absolutely fascinated +him. He could not keep his eyes off her, and seemed to dance for +her alone, and when at the close of the performance, remembering how +she had seen the great ladies of the Court throw bouquets to Caffarelli, +the famous Italian treble, whom the Pope had sent from his own chapel +to Madrid that he might cure the King’s melancholy by the sweetness +of his voice, she took out of her hair the beautiful white rose, and +partly for a jest and partly to tease the Camerera, threw it to him +across the arena with her sweetest smile, he took the whole matter quite +seriously, and pressing the flower to his rough coarse lips he put his +hand upon his heart, and sank on one knee before her, grinning from +ear to ear, and with his little bright eyes sparkling with pleasure.</p> +<p>This so upset the gravity of the Infanta that she kept on laughing +long after the little Dwarf had ran out of the arena, and expressed +a desire to her uncle that the dance should be immediately repeated. +The Camerera, however, on the plea that the sun was too hot, decided +that it would be better that her Highness should return without delay +to the Palace, where a wonderful feast had been already prepared for +her, including a real birthday cake with her own initials worked all +over it in painted sugar and a lovely silver flag waving from the top. +The Infanta accordingly rose up with much dignity, and having given +orders that the little dwarf was to dance again for her after the hour +of siesta, and conveyed her thanks to the young Count of Tierra-Nueva +for his charming reception, she went back to her apartments, the children +following in the same order in which they had entered.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>Now when the little Dwarf heard that he was to dance a second time +before the Infanta, and by her own express command, he was so proud +that he ran out into the garden, kissing the white rose in an absurd +ecstasy of pleasure, and making the most uncouth and clumsy gestures +of delight.</p> +<p>The Flowers were quite indignant at his daring to intrude into their +beautiful home, and when they saw him capering up and down the walks, +and waving his arms above his head in such a ridiculous manner, they +could not restrain their feelings any longer.</p> +<p>‘He is really far too ugly to be allowed to play in any place +where we are,’ cried the Tulips.</p> +<p>‘He should drink poppy-juice, and go to sleep for a thousand +years,’ said the great scarlet Lilies, and they grew quite hot +and angry.</p> +<p>‘He is a perfect horror!’ screamed the Cactus. +‘Why, he is twisted and stumpy, and his head is completely out +of proportion with his legs. Really he makes me feel prickly all +over, and if he comes near me I will sting him with my thorns.’</p> +<p>‘And he has actually got one of my best blooms,’ exclaimed +the White Rose-Tree. ‘I gave it to the Infanta this morning +myself, as a birthday present, and he has stolen it from her.’ +And she called out: ‘Thief, thief, thief!’ at the top of +her voice.</p> +<p>Even the red Geraniums, who did not usually give themselves airs, +and were known to have a great many poor relations themselves, curled +up in disgust when they saw him, and when the Violets meekly remarked +that though he was certainly extremely plain, still he could not help +it, they retorted with a good deal of justice that that was his chief +defect, and that there was no reason why one should admire a person +because he was incurable; and, indeed, some of the Violets themselves +felt that the ugliness of the little Dwarf was almost ostentatious, +and that he would have shown much better taste if he had looked sad, +or at least pensive, instead of jumping about merrily, and throwing +himself into such grotesque and silly attitudes.</p> +<p>As for the old Sundial, who was an extremely remarkable individual, +and had once told the time of day to no less a person than the Emperor +Charles V. himself, he was so taken aback by the little Dwarf’s +appearance, that he almost forgot to mark two whole minutes with his +long shadowy finger, and could not help saying to the great milk-white +Peacock, who was sunning herself on the balustrade, that every one knew +that the children of Kings were Kings, and that the children of charcoal-burners +were charcoal-burners, and that it was absurd to pretend that it wasn’t +so; a statement with which the Peacock entirely agreed, and indeed screamed +out, ‘Certainly, certainly,’ in such a loud, harsh voice, +that the gold-fish who lived in the basin of the cool splashing fountain +put their heads out of the water, and asked the huge stone Tritons what +on earth was the matter.</p> +<p>But somehow the Birds liked him. They had seen him often in +the forest, dancing about like an elf after the eddying leaves, or crouched +up in the hollow of some old oak-tree, sharing his nuts with the squirrels. +They did not mind his being ugly, a bit. Why, even the nightingale +herself, who sang so sweetly in the orange groves at night that sometimes +the Moon leaned down to listen, was not much to look at after all; and, +besides, he had been kind to them, and during that terribly bitter winter, +when there were no berries on the trees, and the ground was as hard +as iron, and the wolves had come down to the very gates of the city +to look for food, he had never once forgotten them, but had always given +them crumbs out of his little hunch of black bread, and divided with +them whatever poor breakfast he had.</p> +<p>So they flew round and round him, just touching his cheek with their +wings as they passed, and chattered to each other, and the little Dwarf +was so pleased that he could not help showing them the beautiful white +rose, and telling them that the Infanta herself had given it to him +because she loved him.</p> +<p>They did not understand a single word of what he was saying, but +that made no matter, for they put their heads on one side, and looked +wise, which is quite as good as understanding a thing, and very much +easier.</p> +<p>The Lizards also took an immense fancy to him, and when he grew tired +of running about and flung himself down on the grass to rest, they played +and romped all over him, and tried to amuse him in the best way they +could. ‘Every one cannot be as beautiful as a lizard,’ +they cried; ‘that would be too much to expect. And, though +it sounds absurd to say so, he is really not so ugly after all, provided, +of course, that one shuts one’s eyes, and does not look at him.’ +The Lizards were extremely philosophical by nature, and often sat thinking +for hours and hours together, when there was nothing else to do, or +when the weather was too rainy for them to go out.</p> +<p>The Flowers, however, were excessively annoyed at their behaviour, +and at the behaviour of the birds. ‘It only shows,’ +they said, ‘what a vulgarising effect this incessant rushing and +flying about has. Well-bred people always stay exactly in the +same place, as we do. No one ever saw us hopping up and down the +walks, or galloping madly through the grass after dragon-flies. +When we do want change of air, we send for the gardener, and he carries +us to another bed. This is dignified, and as it should be. +But birds and lizards have no sense of repose, and indeed birds have +not even a permanent address. They are mere vagrants like the +gipsies, and should be treated in exactly the same manner.’ +So they put their noses in the air, and looked very haughty, and were +quite delighted when after some time they saw the little Dwarf scramble +up from the grass, and make his way across the terrace to the palace.</p> +<p>‘He should certainly be kept indoors for the rest of his natural +life,’ they said. ‘Look at his hunched back, and his +crooked legs,’ and they began to titter.</p> +<p>But the little Dwarf knew nothing of all this. He liked the +birds and the lizards immensely, and thought that the flowers were the +most marvellous things in the whole world, except of course the Infanta, +but then she had given him the beautiful white rose, and she loved him, +and that made a great difference. How he wished that he had gone +back with her! She would have put him on her right hand, and smiled +at him, and he would have never left her side, but would have made her +his playmate, and taught her all kinds of delightful tricks. For +though he had never been in a palace before, he knew a great many wonderful +things. He could make little cages out of rushes for the grasshoppers +to sing in, and fashion the long jointed bamboo into the pipe that Pan +loves to hear. He knew the cry of every bird, and could call the +starlings from the tree-top, or the heron from the mere. He knew +the trail of every animal, and could track the hare by its delicate +footprints, and the boar by the trampled leaves. All the wild-dances +he knew, the mad dance in red raiment with the autumn, the light dance +in blue sandals over the corn, the dance with white snow-wreaths in +winter, and the blossom-dance through the orchards in spring. +He knew where the wood-pigeons built their nests, and once when a fowler +had snared the parent birds, he had brought up the young ones himself, +and had built a little dovecot for them in the cleft of a pollard elm. +They were quite tame, and used to feed out of his hands every morning. +She would like them, and the rabbits that scurried about in the long +fern, and the jays with their steely feathers and black bills, and the +hedgehogs that could curl themselves up into prickly balls, and the +great wise tortoises that crawled slowly about, shaking their heads +and nibbling at the young leaves. Yes, she must certainly come +to the forest and play with him. He would give her his own little +bed, and would watch outside the window till dawn, to see that the wild +horned cattle did not harm her, nor the gaunt wolves creep too near +the hut. And at dawn he would tap at the shutters and wake her, +and they would go out and dance together all the day long. It +was really not a bit lonely in the forest. Sometimes a Bishop +rode through on his white mule, reading out of a painted book. +Sometimes in their green velvet caps, and their jerkins of tanned deerskin, +the falconers passed by, with hooded hawks on their wrists. At +vintage-time came the grape-treaders, with purple hands and feet, wreathed +with glossy ivy and carrying dripping skins of wine; and the charcoal-burners +sat round their huge braziers at night, watching the dry logs charring +slowly in the fire, and roasting chestnuts in the ashes, and the robbers +came out of their caves and made merry with them. Once, too, he +had seen a beautiful procession winding up the long dusty road to Toledo. +The monks went in front singing sweetly, and carrying bright banners +and crosses of gold, and then, in silver armour, with matchlocks and +pikes, came the soldiers, and in their midst walked three barefooted +men, in strange yellow dresses painted all over with wonderful figures, +and carrying lighted candles in their hands. Certainly there was +a great deal to look at in the forest, and when she was tired he would +find a soft bank of moss for her, or carry her in his arms, for he was +very strong, though he knew that he was not tall. He would make +her a necklace of red bryony berries, that would be quite as pretty +as the white berries that she wore on her dress, and when she was tired +of them, she could throw them away, and he would find her others. +He would bring her acorn-cups and dew-drenched anemones, and tiny glow-worms +to be stars in the pale gold of her hair.</p> +<p>But where was she? He asked the white rose, and it made him +no answer. The whole palace seemed asleep, and even where the +shutters had not been closed, heavy curtains had been drawn across the +windows to keep out the glare. He wandered all round looking for +some place through which he might gain an entrance, and at last he caught +sight of a little private door that was lying open. He slipped +through, and found himself in a splendid hall, far more splendid, he +feared, than the forest, there was so much more gilding everywhere, +and even the floor was made of great coloured stones, fitted together +into a sort of geometrical pattern. But the little Infanta was +not there, only some wonderful white statues that looked down on him +from their jasper pedestals, with sad blank eyes and strangely smiling +lips.</p> +<p>At the end of the hall hung a richly embroidered curtain of black +velvet, powdered with suns and stars, the King’s favourite devices, +and broidered on the colour he loved best. Perhaps she was hiding +behind that? He would try at any rate.</p> +<p>So he stole quietly across, and drew it aside. No; there was +only another room, though a prettier room, he thought, than the one +he had just left. The walls were hung with a many-figured green +arras of needle-wrought tapestry representing a hunt, the work of some +Flemish artists who had spent more than seven years in its composition. +It had once been the chamber of <i>Jean le Fou</i>, as he was called, +that mad King who was so enamoured of the chase, that he had often tried +in his delirium to mount the huge rearing horses, and to drag down the +stag on which the great hounds were leaping, sounding his hunting horn, +and stabbing with his dagger at the pale flying deer. It was now +used as the council-room, and on the centre table were lying the red +portfolios of the ministers, stamped with the gold tulips of Spain, +and with the arms and emblems of the house of Hapsburg.</p> +<p>The little Dwarf looked in wonder all round him, and was half-afraid +to go on. The strange silent horsemen that galloped so swiftly +through the long glades without making any noise, seemed to him like +those terrible phantoms of whom he had heard the charcoal-burners speaking +- the Comprachos, who hunt only at night, and if they meet a man, turn +him into a hind, and chase him. But he thought of the pretty Infanta, +and took courage. He wanted to find her alone, and to tell her +that he too loved her. Perhaps she was in the room beyond.</p> +<p>He ran across the soft Moorish carpets, and opened the door. +No! She was not here either. The room was quite empty.</p> +<p>It was a throne-room, used for the reception of foreign ambassadors, +when the King, which of late had not been often, consented to give them +a personal audience; the same room in which, many years before, envoys +had appeared from England to make arrangements for the marriage of their +Queen, then one of the Catholic sovereigns of Europe, with the Emperor’s +eldest son. The hangings were of gilt Cordovan leather, and a +heavy gilt chandelier with branches for three hundred wax lights hung +down from the black and white ceiling. Underneath a great canopy +of gold cloth, on which the lions and towers of Castile were broidered +in seed pearls, stood the throne itself, covered with a rich pall of +black velvet studded with silver tulips and elaborately fringed with +silver and pearls. On the second step of the throne was placed +the kneeling-stool of the Infanta, with its cushion of cloth of silver +tissue, and below that again, and beyond the limit of the canopy, stood +the chair for the Papal Nuncio, who alone had the right to be seated +in the King’s presence on the occasion of any public ceremonial, +and whose Cardinal’s hat, with its tangled scarlet tassels, lay +on a purple <i>tabouret</i> in front. On the wall, facing the +throne, hung a life-sized portrait of Charles V. in hunting dress, with +a great mastiff by his side, and a picture of Philip II. receiving the +homage of the Netherlands occupied the centre of the other wall. +Between the windows stood a black ebony cabinet, inlaid with plates +of ivory, on which the figures from Holbein’s Dance of Death had +been graved - by the hand, some said, of that famous master himself.</p> +<p>But the little Dwarf cared nothing for all this magnificence. +He would not have given his rose for all the pearls on the canopy, nor +one white petal of his rose for the throne itself. What he wanted +was to see the Infanta before she went down to the pavilion, and to +ask her to come away with him when he had finished his dance. +Here, in the Palace, the air was close and heavy, but in the forest +the wind blew free, and the sunlight with wandering hands of gold moved +the tremulous leaves aside. There were flowers, too, in the forest, +not so splendid, perhaps, as the flowers in the garden, but more sweetly +scented for all that; hyacinths in early spring that flooded with waving +purple the cool glens, and grassy knolls; yellow primroses that nestled +in little clumps round the gnarled roots of the oak-trees; bright celandine, +and blue speedwell, and irises lilac and gold. There were grey +catkins on the hazels, and the foxgloves drooped with the weight of +their dappled bee-haunted cells. The chestnut had its spires of +white stars, and the hawthorn its pallid moons of beauty. Yes: +surely she would come if he could only find her! She would come +with him to the fair forest, and all day long he would dance for her +delight. A smile lit up his eyes at the thought, and he passed +into the next room.</p> +<p>Of all the rooms this was the brightest and the most beautiful. +The walls were covered with a pink-flowered Lucca damask, patterned +with birds and dotted with dainty blossoms of silver; the furniture +was of massive silver, festooned with florid wreaths, and swinging Cupids; +in front of the two large fire-places stood great screens broidered +with parrots and peacocks, and the floor, which was of sea-green onyx, +seemed to stretch far away into the distance. Nor was he alone. +Standing under the shadow of the doorway, at the extreme end of the +room, he saw a little figure watching him. His heart trembled, +a cry of joy broke from his lips, and he moved out into the sunlight. +As he did so, the figure moved out also, and he saw it plainly.</p> +<p>The Infanta! It was a monster, the most grotesque monster he +had ever beheld. Not properly shaped, as all other people were, +but hunchbacked, and crooked-limbed, with huge lolling head and mane +of black hair. The little Dwarf frowned, and the monster frowned +also. He laughed, and it laughed with him, and held its hands +to its sides, just as he himself was doing. He made it a mocking +bow, and it returned him a low reverence. He went towards it, +and it came to meet him, copying each step that he made, and stopping +when he stopped himself. He shouted with amusement, and ran forward, +and reached out his hand, and the hand of the monster touched his, and +it was as cold as ice. He grew afraid, and moved his hand across, +and the monster’s hand followed it quickly. He tried to +press on, but something smooth and hard stopped him. The face +of the monster was now close to his own, and seemed full of terror. +He brushed his hair off his eyes. It imitated him. He struck +at it, and it returned blow for blow. He loathed it, and it made +hideous faces at him. He drew back, and it retreated.</p> +<p>What is it? He thought for a moment, and looked round at the +rest of the room. It was strange, but everything seemed to have +its double in this invisible wall of clear water. Yes, picture +for picture was repeated, and couch for couch. The sleeping Faun +that lay in the alcove by the doorway had its twin brother that slumbered, +and the silver Venus that stood in the sunlight held out her arms to +a Venus as lovely as herself.</p> +<p>Was it Echo? He had called to her once in the valley, and she +had answered him word for word. Could she mock the eye, as she +mocked the voice? Could she make a mimic world just like the real +world? Could the shadows of things have colour and life and movement? +Could it be that - ?</p> +<p>He started, and taking from his breast the beautiful white rose, +he turned round, and kissed it. The monster had a rose of its +own, petal for petal the same! It kissed it with like kisses, +and pressed it to its heart with horrible gestures.</p> +<p>When the truth dawned upon him, he gave a wild cry of despair, and +fell sobbing to the ground. So it was he who was misshapen and +hunchbacked, foul to look at and grotesque. He himself was the +monster, and it was at him that all the children had been laughing, +and the little Princess who he had thought loved him - she too had been +merely mocking at his ugliness, and making merry over his twisted limbs. +Why had they not left him in the forest, where there was no mirror to +tell him how loathsome he was? Why had his father not killed him, +rather than sell him to his shame? The hot tears poured down his +cheeks, and he tore the white rose to pieces. The sprawling monster +did the same, and scattered the faint petals in the air. It grovelled +on the ground, and, when he looked at it, it watched him with a face +drawn with pain. He crept away, lest he should see it, and covered +his eyes with his hands. He crawled, like some wounded thing, +into the shadow, and lay there moaning.</p> +<p>And at that moment the Infanta herself came in with her companions +through the open window, and when they saw the ugly little dwarf lying +on the ground and beating the floor with his clenched hands, in the +most fantastic and exaggerated manner, they went off into shouts of +happy laughter, and stood all round him and watched him.</p> +<p>‘His dancing was funny,’ said the Infanta; ‘but +his acting is funnier still. Indeed he is almost as good as the +puppets, only of course not quite so natural.’ And she fluttered +her big fan, and applauded.</p> +<p>But the little Dwarf never looked up, and his sobs grew fainter and +fainter, and suddenly he gave a curious gasp, and clutched his side. +And then he fell back again, and lay quite still.</p> +<p>‘That is capital,’ said the Infanta, after a pause; ‘but +now you must dance for me.’</p> +<p>‘Yes,’ cried all the children, ‘you must get up +and dance, for you are as clever as the Barbary apes, and much more +ridiculous.’ But the little Dwarf made no answer.</p> +<p>And the Infanta stamped her foot, and called out to her uncle, who +was walking on the terrace with the Chamberlain, reading some despatches +that had just arrived from Mexico, where the Holy Office had recently +been established. ‘My funny little dwarf is sulking,’ +she cried, ‘you must wake him up, and tell him to dance for me.’</p> +<p>They smiled at each other, and sauntered in, and Don Pedro stooped +down, and slapped the Dwarf on the cheek with his embroidered glove. +‘You must dance,’ he said, <i>‘petit monsire</i>. +You must dance. The Infanta of Spain and the Indies wishes to +be amused.’</p> +<p>But the little Dwarf never moved.</p> +<p>‘A whipping master should be sent for,’ said Don Pedro +wearily, and he went back to the terrace. But the Chamberlain +looked grave, and he knelt beside the little dwarf, and put his hand +upon his heart. And after a few moments he shrugged his shoulders, +and rose up, and having made a low bow to the Infanta, he said -</p> +<p><i>‘Mi bella Princesa</i>, your funny little dwarf will never +dance again. It is a pity, for he is so ugly that he might have +made the King smile.’</p> +<p>‘But why will he not dance again?’ asked the Infanta, +laughing.</p> +<p>‘Because his heart is broken,’ answered the Chamberlain.</p> +<p>And the Infanta frowned, and her dainty rose-leaf lips curled in +pretty disdain. ‘For the future let those who come to play +with me have no hearts,’ she cried, and she ran out into the garden.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines3"><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>THE FISHERMAN AND HIS SOUL</h2> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines3"><br /><br /><br /></div> +<p>[TO H.S.H. ALICE, PRINCESS OF MONACO]</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>Every evening the young Fisherman went out upon the sea, and threw +his nets into the water.</p> +<p>When the wind blew from the land he caught nothing, or but little +at best, for it was a bitter and black-winged wind, and rough waves +rose up to meet it. But when the wind blew to the shore, the fish +came in from the deep, and swam into the meshes of his nets, and he +took them to the market-place and sold them.</p> +<p>Every evening he went out upon the sea, and one evening the net was +so heavy that hardly could he draw it into the boat. And he laughed, +and said to himself, ‘Surely I have caught all the fish that swim, +or snared some dull monster that will be a marvel to men, or some thing +of horror that the great Queen will desire,’ and putting forth +all his strength, he tugged at the coarse ropes till, like lines of +blue enamel round a vase of bronze, the long veins rose up on his arms. +He tugged at the thin ropes, and nearer and nearer came the circle of +flat corks, and the net rose at last to the top of the water.</p> +<p>But no fish at all was in it, nor any monster or thing of horror, +but only a little Mermaid lying fast asleep.</p> +<p>Her hair was as a wet fleece of gold, and each separate hair as a +thread of fine gold in a cup of glass. Her body was as white ivory, +and her tail was of silver and pearl. Silver and pearl was her +tail, and the green weeds of the sea coiled round it; and like sea-shells +were her ears, and her lips were like sea-coral. The cold waves +dashed over her cold breasts, and the salt glistened upon her eyelids.</p> +<p>So beautiful was she that when the young Fisherman saw her he was +filled with wonder, and he put out his hand and drew the net close to +him, and leaning over the side he clasped her in his arms. And +when he touched her, she gave a cry like a startled sea-gull, and woke, +and looked at him in terror with her mauve-amethyst eyes, and struggled +that she might escape. But he held her tightly to him, and would +not suffer her to depart.</p> +<p>And when she saw that she could in no way escape from him, she began +to weep, and said, ‘I pray thee let me go, for I am the only daughter +of a King, and my father is aged and alone.’</p> +<p>But the young Fisherman answered, ‘I will not let thee go save +thou makest me a promise that whenever I call thee, thou wilt come and +sing to me, for the fish delight to listen to the song of the Sea-folk, +and so shall my nets be full.’</p> +<p>‘Wilt thou in very truth let me go, if I promise thee this?’ +cried the Mermaid.</p> +<p>‘In very truth I will let thee go,’ said the young Fisherman.</p> +<p>So she made him the promise he desired, and sware it by the oath +of the Sea-folk. And he loosened his arms from about her, and +she sank down into the water, trembling with a strange fear.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>Every evening the young Fisherman went out upon the sea, and called +to the Mermaid, and she rose out of the water and sang to him. +Round and round her swam the dolphins, and the wild gulls wheeled above +her head.</p> +<p>And she sang a marvellous song. For she sang of the Sea-folk +who drive their flocks from cave to cave, and carry the little calves +on their shoulders; of the Tritons who have long green beards, and hairy +breasts, and blow through twisted conchs when the King passes by; of +the palace of the King which is all of amber, with a roof of clear emerald, +and a pavement of bright pearl; and of the gardens of the sea where +the great filigrane fans of coral wave all day long, and the fish dart +about like silver birds, and the anemones cling to the rocks, and the +pinks bourgeon in the ribbed yellow sand. She sang of the big +whales that come down from the north seas and have sharp icicles hanging +to their fins; of the Sirens who tell of such wonderful things that +the merchants have to stop their ears with wax lest they should hear +them, and leap into the water and be drowned; of the sunken galleys +with their tall masts, and the frozen sailors clinging to the rigging, +and the mackerel swimming in and out of the open portholes; of the little +barnacles who are great travellers, and cling to the keels of the ships +and go round and round the world; and of the cuttlefish who live in +the sides of the cliffs and stretch out their long black arms, and can +make night come when they will it. She sang of the nautilus who +has a boat of her own that is carved out of an opal and steered with +a silken sail; of the happy Mermen who play upon harps and can charm +the great Kraken to sleep; of the little children who catch hold of +the slippery porpoises and ride laughing upon their backs; of the Mermaids +who lie in the white foam and hold out their arms to the mariners; and +of the sea-lions with their curved tusks, and the sea-horses with their +floating manes.</p> +<p>And as she sang, all the tunny-fish came in from the deep to listen +to her, and the young Fisherman threw his nets round them and caught +them, and others he took with a spear. And when his boat was well-laden, +the Mermaid would sink down into the sea, smiling at him.</p> +<p>Yet would she never come near him that he might touch her. +Oftentimes he called to her and prayed of her, but she would not; and +when he sought to seize her she dived into the water as a seal might +dive, nor did he see her again that day. And each day the sound +of her voice became sweeter to his ears. So sweet was her voice +that he forgot his nets and his cunning, and had no care of his craft. +Vermilion-finned and with eyes of bossy gold, the tunnies went by in +shoals, but he heeded them not. His spear lay by his side unused, +and his baskets of plaited osier were empty. With lips parted, +and eyes dim with wonder, he sat idle in his boat and listened, listening +till the sea-mists crept round him, and the wandering moon stained his +brown limbs with silver.</p> +<p>And one evening he called to her, and said: ‘Little Mermaid, +little Mermaid, I love thee. Take me for thy bridegroom, for I +love thee.’</p> +<p>But the Mermaid shook her head. ‘Thou hast a human soul,’ +she answered. ‘If only thou wouldst send away thy soul, +then could I love thee.’</p> +<p>And the young Fisherman said to himself, ‘Of what use is my +soul to me? I cannot see it. I may not touch it. I +do not know it. Surely I will send it away from me, and much gladness +shall be mine.’ And a cry of joy broke from his lips, and +standing up in the painted boat, he held out his arms to the Mermaid. +‘I will send my soul away,’ he cried, ‘and you shall +be my bride, and I will be thy bridegroom, and in the depth of the sea +we will dwell together, and all that thou hast sung of thou shalt show +me, and all that thou desirest I will do, nor shall our lives be divided.’</p> +<p>And the little Mermaid laughed for pleasure and hid her face in her +hands.</p> +<p>‘But how shall I send my soul from me?’ cried the young +Fisherman. ‘Tell me how I may do it, and lo! it shall be +done.’</p> +<p>‘Alas! I know not,’ said the little Mermaid: ‘the +Sea-folk have no souls.’ And she sank down into the deep, +looking wistfully at him.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>Now early on the next morning, before the sun was the span of a man’s +hand above the hill, the young Fisherman went to the house of the Priest +and knocked three times at the door.</p> +<p>The novice looked out through the wicket, and when he saw who it +was, he drew back the latch and said to him, ‘Enter.’</p> +<p>And the young Fisherman passed in, and knelt down on the sweet-smelling +rushes of the floor, and cried to the Priest who was reading out of +the Holy Book and said to him, ‘Father, I am in love with one +of the Sea-folk, and my soul hindereth me from having my desire. +Tell me how I can send my soul away from me, for in truth I have no +need of it. Of what value is my soul to me? I cannot see +it. I may not touch it. I do not know it.’</p> +<p>And the Priest beat his breast, and answered, ‘Alack, alack, +thou art mad, or hast eaten of some poisonous herb, for the soul is +the noblest part of man, and was given to us by God that we should nobly +use it. There is no thing more precious than a human soul, nor +any earthly thing that can be weighed with it. It is worth all +the gold that is in the world, and is more precious than the rubies +of the kings. Therefore, my son, think not any more of this matter, +for it is a sin that may not be forgiven. And as for the Sea-folk, +they are lost, and they who would traffic with them are lost also. +They are as the beasts of the field that know not good from evil, and +for them the Lord has not died.’</p> +<p>The young Fisherman’s eyes filled with tears when he heard +the bitter words of the Priest, and he rose up from his knees and said +to him, ‘Father, the Fauns live in the forest and are glad, and +on the rocks sit the Mermen with their harps of red gold. Let +me be as they are, I beseech thee, for their days are as the days of +flowers. And as for my soul, what doth my soul profit me, if it +stand between me and the thing that I love?’</p> +<p>‘The love of the body is vile,’ cried the Priest, knitting +his brows, ‘and vile and evil are the pagan things God suffers +to wander through His world. Accursed be the Fauns of the woodland, +and accursed be the singers of the sea! I have heard them at night-time, +and they have sought to lure me from my beads. They tap at the +window, and laugh. They whisper into my ears the tale of their +perilous joys. They tempt me with temptations, and when I would +pray they make mouths at me. They are lost, I tell thee, they +are lost. For them there is no heaven nor hell, and in neither +shall they praise God’s name.’</p> +<p>‘Father,’ cried the young Fisherman, ‘thou knowest +not what thou sayest. Once in my net I snared the daughter of +a King. She is fairer than the morning star, and whiter than the +moon. For her body I would give my soul, and for her love I would +surrender heaven. Tell me what I ask of thee, and let me go in +peace.’</p> +<p>‘Away! Away!’ cried the Priest: ‘thy leman +is lost, and thou shalt be lost with her.’</p> +<p>And he gave him no blessing, but drove him from his door.</p> +<p>And the young Fisherman went down into the market-place, and he walked +slowly, and with bowed head, as one who is in sorrow.</p> +<p>And when the merchants saw him coming, they began to whisper to each +other, and one of them came forth to meet him, and called him by name, +and said to him, ‘What hast thou to sell?’</p> +<p>‘I will sell thee my soul,’ he answered. ‘I +pray thee buy it of me, for I am weary of it. Of what use is my +soul to me? I cannot see it. I may not touch it. I +do not know it.’</p> +<p>But the merchants mocked at him, and said, ‘Of what use is +a man’s soul to us? It is not worth a clipped piece of silver. +Sell us thy body for a slave, and we will clothe thee in sea-purple, +and put a ring upon thy finger, and make thee the minion of the great +Queen. But talk not of the soul, for to us it is nought, nor has +it any value for our service.’</p> +<p>And the young Fisherman said to himself: ‘How strange a thing +this is! The Priest telleth me that the soul is worth all the +gold in the world, and the merchants say that it is not worth a clipped +piece of silver.’ And he passed out of the market-place, +and went down to the shore of the sea, and began to ponder on what he +should do.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>And at noon he remembered how one of his companions, who was a gatherer +of samphire, had told him of a certain young Witch who dwelt in a cave +at the head of the bay and was very cunning in her witcheries. +And he set to and ran, so eager was he to get rid of his soul, and a +cloud of dust followed him as he sped round the sand of the shore. +By the itching of her palm the young Witch knew his coming, and she +laughed and let down her red hair. With her red hair falling around +her, she stood at the opening of the cave, and in her hand she had a +spray of wild hemlock that was blossoming.</p> +<p>‘What d’ye lack? What d’ye lack?’ she +cried, as he came panting up the steep, and bent down before her. +‘Fish for thy net, when the wind is foul? I have a little +reed-pipe, and when I blow on it the mullet come sailing into the bay. +But it has a price, pretty boy, it has a price. What d’ye +lack? What d’ye lack? A storm to wreck the ships, +and wash the chests of rich treasure ashore? I have more storms +than the wind has, for I serve one who is stronger than the wind, and +with a sieve and a pail of water I can send the great galleys to the +bottom of the sea. But I have a price, pretty boy, I have a price. +What d’ye lack? What d’ye lack? I know a flower +that grows in the valley, none knows it but I. It has purple leaves, +and a star in its heart, and its juice is as white as milk. Shouldst +thou touch with this flower the hard lips of the Queen, she would follow +thee all over the world. Out of the bed of the King she would +rise, and over the whole world she would follow thee. And it has +a price, pretty boy, it has a price. What d’ye lack? +What d’ye lack? I can pound a toad in a mortar, and make +broth of it, and stir the broth with a dead man’s hand. +Sprinkle it on thine enemy while he sleeps, and he will turn into a +black viper, and his own mother will slay him. With a wheel I +can draw the Moon from heaven, and in a crystal I can show thee Death. +What d’ye lack? What d’ye lack? Tell me thy +desire, and I will give it thee, and thou shalt pay me a price, pretty +boy, thou shalt pay me a price.’</p> +<p>‘My desire is but for a little thing,’ said the young +Fisherman, ‘yet hath the Priest been wroth with me, and driven +me forth. It is but for a little thing, and the merchants have +mocked at me, and denied me. Therefore am I come to thee, though +men call thee evil, and whatever be thy price I shall pay it.’</p> +<p>‘What wouldst thou?’ asked the Witch, coming near to +him.</p> +<p>‘I would send my soul away from me,’ answered the young +Fisherman.</p> +<p>The Witch grew pale, and shuddered, and hid her face in her blue +mantle. ‘Pretty boy, pretty boy,’ she muttered, ‘that +is a terrible thing to do.’</p> +<p>He tossed his brown curls and laughed. ‘My soul is nought +to me,’ he answered. ‘I cannot see it. I may +not touch it. I do not know it.’</p> +<p>‘What wilt thou give me if I tell thee?’ asked the Witch, +looking down at him with her beautiful eyes.</p> +<p>‘Five pieces of gold,’ he said, ‘and my nets, and +the wattled house where I live, and the painted boat in which I sail. +Only tell me how to get rid of my soul, and I will give thee all that +I possess.’</p> +<p>She laughed mockingly at him, and struck him with the spray of hemlock. +‘I can turn the autumn leaves into gold,’ she answered, +‘and I can weave the pale moonbeams into silver if I will it. +He whom I serve is richer than all the kings of this world, and has +their dominions.’</p> +<p>‘What then shall I give thee,’ he cried, ‘if thy +price be neither gold nor silver?’</p> +<p>The Witch stroked his hair with her thin white hand. ‘Thou +must dance with me, pretty boy,’ she murmured, and she smiled +at him as she spoke.</p> +<p>‘Nought but that?’ cried the young Fisherman in wonder +and he rose to his feet.</p> +<p>‘Nought but that,’ she answered, and she smiled at him +again.</p> +<p>‘Then at sunset in some secret place we shall dance together,’ +he said, ‘and after that we have danced thou shalt tell me the +thing which I desire to know.’</p> +<p>She shook her head. ‘When the moon is full, when the +moon is full,’ she muttered. Then she peered all round, +and listened. A blue bird rose screaming from its nest and circled +over the dunes, and three spotted birds rustled through the coarse grey +grass and whistled to each other. There was no other sound save +the sound of a wave fretting the smooth pebbles below. So she +reached out her hand, and drew him near to her and put her dry lips +close to his ear.</p> +<p>‘To-night thou must come to the top of the mountain,’ +she whispered. ‘It is a Sabbath, and He will be there.’</p> +<p>The young Fisherman started and looked at her, and she showed her +white teeth and laughed. ‘Who is He of whom thou speakest?’ +he asked.</p> +<p>‘It matters not,’ she answered. ‘Go thou +to-night, and stand under the branches of the hornbeam, and wait for +my coming. If a black dog run towards thee, strike it with a rod +of willow, and it will go away. If an owl speak to thee, make +it no answer. When the moon is full I shall be with thee, and +we will dance together on the grass.’</p> +<p>‘But wilt thou swear to me to tell me how I may send my soul +from me?’ he made question.</p> +<p>She moved out into the sunlight, and through her red hair rippled +the wind. ‘By the hoofs of the goat I swear it,’ she +made answer.</p> +<p>‘Thou art the best of the witches,’ cried the young Fisherman, +‘and I will surely dance with thee to-night on the top of the +mountain. I would indeed that thou hadst asked of me either gold +or silver. But such as thy price is thou shalt have it, for it +is but a little thing.’ And he doffed his cap to her, and +bent his head low, and ran back to the town filled with a great joy.</p> +<p>And the Witch watched him as he went, and when he had passed from +her sight she entered her cave, and having taken a mirror from a box +of carved cedarwood, she set it up on a frame, and burned vervain on +lighted charcoal before it, and peered through the coils of the smoke. +And after a time she clenched her hands in anger. ‘He should +have been mine,’ she muttered, ‘I am as fair as she is.’</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>And that evening, when the moon had risen, the young Fisherman climbed +up to the top of the mountain, and stood under the branches of the hornbeam. +Like a targe of polished metal the round sea lay at his feet, and the +shadows of the fishing-boats moved in the little bay. A great +owl, with yellow sulphurous eyes, called to him by his name, but he +made it no answer. A black dog ran towards him and snarled. +He struck it with a rod of willow, and it went away whining.</p> +<p>At midnight the witches came flying through the air like bats. +‘Phew!’ they cried, as they lit upon the ground, ‘there +is some one here we know not!’ and they sniffed about, and chattered +to each other, and made signs. Last of all came the young Witch, +with her red hair streaming in the wind. She wore a dress of gold +tissue embroidered with peacocks’ eyes, and a little cap of green +velvet was on her head.</p> +<p>‘Where is he, where is he?’ shrieked the witches when +they saw her, but she only laughed, and ran to the hornbeam, and taking +the Fisherman by the hand she led him out into the moonlight and began +to dance.</p> +<p>Round and round they whirled, and the young Witch jumped so high +that he could see the scarlet heels of her shoes. Then right across +the dancers came the sound of the galloping of a horse, but no horse +was to be seen, and he felt afraid.</p> +<p>‘Faster,’ cried the Witch, and she threw her arms about +his neck, and her breath was hot upon his face. ‘Faster, +faster!’ she cried, and the earth seemed to spin beneath his feet, +and his brain grew troubled, and a great terror fell on him, as of some +evil thing that was watching him, and at last he became aware that under +the shadow of a rock there was a figure that had not been there before.</p> +<p>It was a man dressed in a suit of black velvet, cut in the Spanish +fashion. His face was strangely pale, but his lips were like a +proud red flower. He seemed weary, and was leaning back toying +in a listless manner with the pommel of his dagger. On the grass +beside him lay a plumed hat, and a pair of riding-gloves gauntleted +with gilt lace, and sewn with seed-pearls wrought into a curious device. +A short cloak lined with sables hang from his shoulder, and his delicate +white hands were gemmed with rings. Heavy eyelids drooped over +his eyes.</p> +<p>The young Fisherman watched him, as one snared in a spell. +At last their eyes met, and wherever he danced it seemed to him that +the eyes of the man were upon him. He heard the Witch laugh, and +caught her by the waist, and whirled her madly round and round.</p> +<p>Suddenly a dog bayed in the wood, and the dancers stopped, and going +up two by two, knelt down, and kissed the man’s hands. As +they did so, a little smile touched his proud lips, as a bird’s +wing touches the water and makes it laugh. But there was disdain +in it. He kept looking at the young Fisherman.</p> +<p>‘Come! let us worship,’ whispered the Witch, and she +led him up, and a great desire to do as she besought him seized on him, +and he followed her. But when he came close, and without knowing +why he did it, he made on his breast the sign of the Cross, and called +upon the holy name.</p> +<p>No sooner had he done so than the witches screamed like hawks and +flew away, and the pallid face that had been watching him twitched with +a spasm of pain. The man went over to a little wood, and whistled. +A jennet with silver trappings came running to meet him. As he +leapt upon the saddle he turned round, and looked at the young Fisherman +sadly.</p> +<p>And the Witch with the red hair tried to fly away also, but the Fisherman +caught her by her wrists, and held her fast.</p> +<p>‘Loose me,’ she cried, ‘and let me go. For +thou hast named what should not be named, and shown the sign that may +not be looked at.’</p> +<p>‘Nay,’ he answered, ‘but I will not let thee go +till thou hast told me the secret.’</p> +<p>‘What secret?’ said the Witch, wrestling with him like +a wild cat, and biting her foam-flecked lips.</p> +<p>‘Thou knowest,’ he made answer.</p> +<p>Her grass-green eyes grew dim with tears, and she said to the Fisherman, +‘Ask me anything but that!’</p> +<p>He laughed, and held her all the more tightly.</p> +<p>And when she saw that she could not free herself, she whispered to +him, ‘Surely I am as fair as the daughters of the sea, and as +comely as those that dwell in the blue waters,’ and she fawned +on him and put her face close to his.</p> +<p>But he thrust her back frowning, and said to her, ‘If thou +keepest not the promise that thou madest to me I will slay thee for +a false witch.’</p> +<p> She grew grey as a blossom of the Judas tree, and shuddered. +‘Be it so,’ she muttered. ‘It is thy soul and +not mine. Do with it as thou wilt.’ And she took from +her girdle a little knife that had a handle of green viper’s skin, +and gave it to him.</p> +<p>‘What shall this serve me?’ he asked of her, wondering.</p> +<p>She was silent for a few moments, and a look of terror came over +her face. Then she brushed her hair back from her forehead, and +smiling strangely she said to him, ‘What men call the shadow of +the body is not the shadow of the body, but is the body of the soul. +Stand on the sea-shore with thy back to the moon, and cut away from +around thy feet thy shadow, which is thy soul’s body, and bid +thy soul leave thee, and it will do so.’</p> +<p>The young Fisherman trembled. ‘Is this true?’ he +murmured.</p> +<p>‘It is true, and I would that I had not told thee of it,’ +she cried, and she clung to his knees weeping.</p> +<p>He put her from him and left her in the rank grass, and going to +the edge of the mountain he placed the knife in his belt and began to +climb down.</p> +<p>And his Soul that was within him called out to him and said, ‘Lo! +I have dwelt with thee for all these years, and have been thy servant. +Send me not away from thee now, for what evil have I done thee?’</p> +<p>And the young Fisherman laughed. ‘Thou hast done me no +evil, but I have no need of thee,’ he answered. ‘The +world is wide, and there is Heaven also, and Hell, and that dim twilight +house that lies between. Go wherever thou wilt, but trouble me +not, for my love is calling to me.’</p> +<p>And his Soul besought him piteously, but he heeded it not, but leapt +from crag to crag, being sure-footed as a wild goat, and at last he +reached the level ground and the yellow shore of the sea.</p> +<p>Bronze-limbed and well-knit, like a statue wrought by a Grecian, +he stood on the sand with his back to the moon, and out of the foam +came white arms that beckoned to him, and out of the waves rose dim +forms that did him homage. Before him lay his shadow, which was +the body of his soul, and behind him hung the moon in the honey-coloured +air.</p> +<p>And his Soul said to him, ‘If indeed thou must drive me from +thee, send me not forth without a heart. The world is cruel, give +me thy heart to take with me.’</p> +<p>He tossed his head and smiled. ‘With what should I love +my love if I gave thee my heart?’ he cried.</p> +<p>‘Nay, but be merciful,’ said his Soul: ‘give me +thy heart, for the world is very cruel, and I am afraid.’</p> +<p>‘My heart is my love’s,’ he answered, ‘therefore +tarry not, but get thee gone.’</p> +<p>‘Should I not love also?’ asked his Soul.</p> +<p>‘Get thee gone, for I have no need of thee,’ cried the +young Fisherman, and he took the little knife with its handle of green +viper’s skin, and cut away his shadow from around his feet, and +it rose up and stood before him, and looked at him, and it was even +as himself.</p> +<p>He crept back, and thrust the knife into his belt, and a feeling +of awe came over him. ‘Get thee gone,’ he murmured, +‘and let me see thy face no more.’</p> +<p>‘Nay, but we must meet again,’ said the Soul. Its +voice was low and flute-like, and its lips hardly moved while it spake.</p> +<p>‘How shall we meet?’ cried the young Fisherman. +‘Thou wilt not follow me into the depths of the sea?’</p> +<p>‘Once every year I will come to this place, and call to thee,’ +said the Soul. ‘It may be that thou wilt have need of me.’</p> +<p>‘What need should I have of thee?’ cried the young Fisherman, +‘but be it as thou wilt,’ and he plunged into the waters +and the Tritons blew their horns and the little Mermaid rose up to meet +him, and put her arms around his neck and kissed him on the mouth.</p> +<p>And the Soul stood on the lonely beach and watched them. And +when they had sunk down into the sea, it went weeping away over the +marshes.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>And after a year was over the Soul came down to the shore of the +sea and called to the young Fisherman, and he rose out of the deep, +and said, ‘Why dost thou call to me?’</p> +<p>And the Soul answered, ‘Come nearer, that I may speak with +thee, for I have seen marvellous things.’</p> +<p>So he came nearer, and couched in the shallow water, and leaned his +head upon his hand and listened.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>And the Soul said to him, ‘When I left thee I turned my face +to the East and journeyed. From the East cometh everything that +is wise. Six days I journeyed, and on the morning of the seventh +day I came to a hill that is in the country of the Tartars. I +sat down under the shade of a tamarisk tree to shelter myself from the +sun. The land was dry and burnt up with the heat. The people +went to and fro over the plain like flies crawling upon a disk of polished +copper.</p> +<p>‘When it was noon a cloud of red dust rose up from the flat +rim of the land. When the Tartars saw it, they strung their painted +bows, and having leapt upon their little horses they galloped to meet +it. The women fled screaming to the waggons, and hid themselves +behind the felt curtains.</p> +<p>‘At twilight the Tartars returned, but five of them were missing, +and of those that came back not a few had been wounded. They harnessed +their horses to the waggons and drove hastily away. Three jackals +came out of a cave and peered after them. Then they sniffed up +the air with their nostrils, and trotted off in the opposite direction.</p> +<p>‘When the moon rose I saw a camp-fire burning on the plain, +and went towards it. A company of merchants were seated round +it on carpets. Their camels were picketed behind them, and the +negroes who were their servants were pitching tents of tanned skin upon +the sand, and making a high wall of the prickly pear.</p> +<p>‘As I came near them, the chief of the merchants rose up and +drew his sword, and asked me my business.</p> +<p>‘I answered that I was a Prince in my own land, and that I +had escaped from the Tartars, who had sought to make me their slave. +The chief smiled, and showed me five heads fixed upon long reeds of +bamboo.</p> +<p>‘Then he asked me who was the prophet of God, and I answered +him Mohammed.</p> +<p>‘When he heard the name of the false prophet, he bowed and +took me by the hand, and placed me by his side. A negro brought +me some mare’s milk in a wooden dish, and a piece of lamb’s +flesh roasted.</p> +<p>‘At daybreak we started on our journey. I rode on a red-haired +camel by the side of the chief, and a runner ran before us carrying +a spear. The men of war were on either hand, and the mules followed +with the merchandise. There were forty camels in the caravan, +and the mules were twice forty in number.</p> +<p>‘We went from the country of the Tartars into the country of +those who curse the Moon. We saw the Gryphons guarding their gold +on the white rocks, and the scaled Dragons sleeping in their caves. +As we passed over the mountains we held our breath lest the snows might +fall on us, and each man tied a veil of gauze before his eyes. +As we passed through the valleys the Pygmies shot arrows at us from +the hollows of the trees, and at night-time we heard the wild men beating +on their drums. When we came to the Tower of Apes we set fruits +before them, and they did not harm us. When we came to the Tower +of Serpents we gave them warm milk in howls of brass, and they let us +go by. Three times in our journey we came to the banks of the +Oxus. We crossed it on rafts of wood with great bladders of blown +hide. The river-horses raged against us and sought to slay us. +When the camels saw them they trembled.</p> +<p>‘The kings of each city levied tolls on us, but would not suffer +us to enter their gates. They threw us bread over the walls, little +maize-cakes baked in honey and cakes of fine flour filled with dates. +For every hundred baskets we gave them a bead of amber.</p> +<p>‘When the dwellers in the villages saw us coming, they poisoned +the wells and fled to the hill-summits. We fought with the Magadae +who are born old, and grow younger and younger every year, and die when +they are little children; and with the Laktroi who say that they are +the sons of tigers, and paint themselves yellow and black; and with +the Aurantes who bury their dead on the tops of trees, and themselves +live in dark caverns lest the Sun, who is their god, should slay them; +and with the Krimnians who worship a crocodile, and give it earrings +of green glass, and feed it with butter and fresh fowls; and with the +Agazonbae, who are dog-faced; and with the Sibans, who have horses’ +feet, and run more swiftly than horses. A third of our company +died in battle, and a third died of want. The rest murmured against +me, and said that I had brought them an evil fortune. I took a +horned adder from beneath a stone and let it sting me. When they +saw that I did not sicken they grew afraid.</p> +<p>‘In the fourth month we reached the city of Illel. It +was night-time when we came to the grove that is outside the walls, +and the air was sultry, for the Moon was travelling in Scorpion. +We took the ripe pomegranates from the trees, and brake them, and drank +their sweet juices. Then we lay down on our carpets, and waited +for the dawn.</p> +<p>‘And at dawn we rose and knocked at the gate of the city. +It was wrought out of red bronze, and carved with sea-dragons and dragons +that have wings. The guards looked down from the battlements and +asked us our business. The interpreter of the caravan answered +that we had come from the island of Syria with much merchandise. +They took hostages, and told us that they would open the gate to us +at noon, and bade us tarry till then.</p> +<p>‘When it was noon they opened the gate, and as we entered in +the people came crowding out of the houses to look at us, and a crier +went round the city crying through a shell. We stood in the market-place, +and the negroes uncorded the bales of figured cloths and opened the +carved chests of sycamore. And when they had ended their task, +the merchants set forth their strange wares, the waxed linen from Egypt +and the painted linen from the country of the Ethiops, the purple sponges +from Tyre and the blue hangings from Sidon, the cups of cold amber and +the fine vessels of glass and the curious vessels of burnt clay. +From the roof of a house a company of women watched us. One of +them wore a mask of gilded leather.</p> +<p>‘And on the first day the priests came and bartered with us, +and on the second day came the nobles, and on the third day came the +craftsmen and the slaves. And this is their custom with all merchants +as long as they tarry in the city.</p> +<p>‘And we tarried for a moon, and when the moon was waning, I +wearied and wandered away through the streets of the city and came to +the garden of its god. The priests in their yellow robes moved +silently through the green trees, and on a pavement of black marble +stood the rose-red house in which the god had his dwelling. Its +doors were of powdered lacquer, and bulls and peacocks were wrought +on them in raised and polished gold. The tilted roof was of sea-green +porcelain, and the jutting eaves were festooned with little bells. +When the white doves flew past, they struck the bells with their wings +and made them tinkle.</p> +<p>‘In front of the temple was a pool of clear water paved with +veined onyx. I lay down beside it, and with my pale fingers I +touched the broad leaves. One of the priests came towards me and +stood behind me. He had sandals on his feet, one of soft serpent-skin +and the other of birds’ plumage. On his head was a mitre +of black felt decorated with silver crescents. Seven yellows were +woven into his robe, and his frizzed hair was stained with antimony.</p> +<p>‘After a little while he spake to me, and asked me my desire.</p> +<p>‘I told him that my desire was to see the god.</p> +<p>‘“The god is hunting,” said the priest, looking +strangely at me with his small slanting eyes.</p> +<p>‘“Tell me in what forest, and I will ride with him,” +I answered.</p> +<p>‘He combed out the soft fringes of his tunic with his long +pointed nails. “The god is asleep,” he murmured.</p> +<p>‘“Tell me on what couch, and I will watch by him,” +I answered.</p> +<p>‘“The god is at the feast,” he cried.</p> +<p>‘“If the wine be sweet I will drink it with him, and +if it be bitter I will drink it with him also,” was my answer.</p> +<p>‘He bowed his head in wonder, and, taking me by the hand, he +raised me up, and led me into the temple.</p> +<p>‘And in the first chamber I saw an idol seated on a throne +of jasper bordered with great orient pearls. It was carved out +of ebony, and in stature was of the stature of a man. On its forehead +was a ruby, and thick oil dripped from its hair on to its thighs. +Its feet were red with the blood of a newly-slain kid, and its loins +girt with a copper belt that was studded with seven beryls.</p> +<p>‘And I said to the priest, “Is this the god?” +And he answered me, “This is the god.”</p> +<p>‘“Show me the god,” I cried, “or I will surely +slay thee.” And I touched his hand, and it became withered.</p> +<p>‘And the priest besought me, saying, “Let my lord heal +his servant, and I will show him the god.”</p> +<p>‘So I breathed with my breath upon his hand, and it became +whole again, and he trembled and led me into the second chamber, and +I saw an idol standing on a lotus of jade hung with great emeralds. +It was carved out of ivory, and in stature was twice the stature of +a man. On its forehead was a chrysolite, and its breasts were +smeared with myrrh and cinnamon. In one hand it held a crooked +sceptre of jade, and in the other a round crystal. It ware buskins +of brass, and its thick neck was circled with a circle of selenites.</p> +<p>‘And I said to the priest, “Is this the god?”</p> +<p>‘And he answered me, “This is the god.”</p> +<p>‘“Show me the god,” I cried, “or I will surely +slay thee.” And I touched his eyes, and they became blind.</p> +<p>‘And the priest besought me, saying, “Let my lord heal +his servant, and I will show him the god.”</p> +<p>‘So I breathed with my breath upon his eyes, and the sight +came back to them, and he trembled again, and led me into the third +chamber, and lo! there was no idol in it, nor image of any kind, but +only a mirror of round metal set on an altar of stone.</p> +<p>‘And I said to the priest, “Where is the god?”</p> +<p>‘And he answered me: “There is no god but this mirror +that thou seest, for this is the Mirror of Wisdom. And it reflecteth +all things that are in heaven and on earth, save only the face of him +who looketh into it. This it reflecteth not, so that he who looketh +into it may be wise. Many other mirrors are there, but they are +mirrors of Opinion. This only is the Mirror of Wisdom. And +they who possess this mirror know everything, nor is there anything +hidden from them. And they who possess it not have not Wisdom. +Therefore is it the god, and we worship it.” And I looked +into the mirror, and it was even as he had said to me.</p> +<p>‘And I did a strange thing, but what I did matters not, for +in a valley that is but a day’s journey from this place have I +hidden the Mirror of Wisdom. Do but suffer me to enter into thee +again and be thy servant, and thou shalt be wiser than all the wise +men, and Wisdom shall be thine. Suffer me to enter into thee, +and none will be as wise as thou.’</p> +<p>But the young Fisherman laughed. ‘Love is better than +Wisdom,’ he cried, ‘and the little Mermaid loves me.’</p> +<p><i>‘</i>Nay, but there is nothing better than Wisdom,’ +said the Soul.</p> +<p>‘Love is better,’ answered the young Fisherman, and he +plunged into the deep, and the Soul went weeping away over the marshes.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>And after the second year was over, the Soul came down to the shore +of the sea, and called to the young Fisherman, and he rose out of the +deep and said, ‘Why dost thou call to me?’</p> +<p>And the Soul answered, ‘Come nearer, that I may speak with +thee, for I have seen marvellous things.’</p> +<p>So he came nearer, and couched in the shallow water, and leaned his +head upon his hand and listened.</p> +<p>And the Soul said to him, ‘When I left thee, I turned my face +to the South and journeyed. From the South cometh everything that +is precious. Six days I journeyed along the highways that lead +to the city of Ashter, along the dusty red-dyed highways by which the +pilgrims are wont to go did I journey, and on the morning of the seventh +day I lifted up my eyes, and lo! the city lay at my feet, for it is +in a valley.</p> +<p>‘There are nine gates to this city, and in front of each gate +stands a bronze horse that neighs when the Bedouins come down from the +mountains. The walls are cased with copper, and the watch-towers +on the walls are roofed with brass. In every tower stands an archer +with a bow in his hand. At sunrise he strikes with an arrow on +a gong, and at sunset he blows through a horn of horn.</p> +<p>‘When I sought to enter, the guards stopped me and asked of +me who I was. I made answer that I was a Dervish and on my way +to the city of Mecca, where there was a green veil on which the Koran +was embroidered in silver letters by the hands of the angels. +They were filled with wonder, and entreated me to pass in.</p> +<p>‘Inside it is even as a bazaar. Surely thou shouldst +have been with me. Across the narrow streets the gay lanterns +of paper flutter like large butterflies. When the wind blows over +the roofs they rise and fall as painted bubbles do. In front of +their booths sit the merchants on silken carpets. They have straight +black beards, and their turbans are covered with golden sequins, and +long strings of amber and carved peach-stones glide through their cool +fingers. Some of them sell galbanum and nard, and curious perfumes +from the islands of the Indian Sea, and the thick oil of red roses, +and myrrh and little nail-shaped cloves. When one stops to speak +to them, they throw pinches of frankincense upon a charcoal brazier +and make the air sweet. I saw a Syrian who held in his hands a +thin rod like a reed. Grey threads of smoke came from it, and +its odour as it burned was as the odour of the pink almond in spring. +Others sell silver bracelets embossed all over with creamy blue turquoise +stones, and anklets of brass wire fringed with little pearls, and tigers’ +claws set in gold, and the claws of that gilt cat, the leopard, set +in gold also, and earrings of pierced emerald, and finger-rings of hollowed +jade. From the tea-houses comes the sound of the guitar, and the +opium-smokers with their white smiling faces look out at the passers-by.</p> +<p>‘Of a truth thou shouldst have been with me. The wine-sellers +elbow their way through the crowd with great black skins on their shoulders. +Most of them sell the wine of Schiraz, which is as sweet as honey. +They serve it in little metal cups and strew rose leaves upon it. +In the market-place stand the fruitsellers, who sell all kinds of fruit: +ripe figs, with their bruised purple flesh, melons, smelling of musk +and yellow as topazes, citrons and rose-apples and clusters of white +grapes, round red-gold oranges, and oval lemons of green gold. +Once I saw an elephant go by. Its trunk was painted with vermilion +and turmeric, and over its ears it had a net of crimson silk cord. +It stopped opposite one of the booths and began eating the oranges, +and the man only laughed. Thou canst not think how strange a people +they are. When they are glad they go to the bird-sellers and buy +of them a caged bird, and set it free that their joy may be greater, +and when they are sad they scourge themselves with thorns that their +sorrow may not grow less.</p> +<p>‘One evening I met some negroes carrying a heavy palanquin +through the bazaar. It was made of gilded bamboo, and the poles +were of vermilion lacquer studded with brass peacocks. Across +the windows hung thin curtains of muslin embroidered with beetles’ +wings and with tiny seed-pearls, and as it passed by a pale-faced Circassian +looked out and smiled at me. I followed behind, and the negroes +hurried their steps and scowled. But I did not care. I felt +a great curiosity come over me.</p> +<p>‘At last they stopped at a square white house. There +were no windows to it, only a little door like the door of a tomb. +They set down the palanquin and knocked three times with a copper hammer. +An Armenian in a caftan of green leather peered through the wicket, +and when he saw them he opened, and spread a carpet on the ground, and +the woman stepped out. As she went in, she turned round and smiled +at me again. I had never seen any one so pale.</p> +<p>‘When the moon rose I returned to the same place and sought +for the house, but it was no longer there. When I saw that, I +knew who the woman was, and wherefore she had smiled at me.</p> +<p>‘Certainly thou shouldst have been with me. On the feast +of the New Moon the young Emperor came forth from his palace and went +into the mosque to pray. His hair and beard were dyed with rose-leaves, +and his cheeks were powdered with a fine gold dust. The palms +of his feet and hands were yellow with saffron.</p> +<p>‘At sunrise he went forth from his palace in a robe of silver, +and at sunset he returned to it again in a robe of gold. The people +flung themselves on the ground and hid their faces, but I would not +do so. I stood by the stall of a seller of dates and waited. +When the Emperor saw me, he raised his painted eyebrows and stopped. +I stood quite still, and made him no obeisance. The people marvelled +at my boldness, and counselled me to flee from the city. I paid +no heed to them, but went and sat with the sellers of strange gods, +who by reason of their craft are abominated. When I told them +what I had done, each of them gave me a god and prayed me to leave them.</p> +<p>‘That night, as I lay on a cushion in the tea-house that is +in the Street of Pomegranates, the guards of the Emperor entered and +led me to the palace. As I went in they closed each door behind +me, and put a chain across it. Inside was a great court with an +arcade running all round. The walls were of white alabaster, set +here and there with blue and green tiles. The pillars were of +green marble, and the pavement of a kind of peach-blossom marble. +I had never seen anything like it before.</p> +<p>‘As I passed across the court two veiled women looked down +from a balcony and cursed me. The guards hastened on, and the +butts of the lances rang upon the polished floor. They opened +a gate of wrought ivory, and I found myself in a watered garden of seven +terraces. It was planted with tulip-cups and moonflowers, and +silver-studded aloes. Like a slim reed of crystal a fountain hung +in the dusky air. The cypress-trees were like burnt-out torches. +From one of them a nightingale was singing.</p> +<p>‘At the end of the garden stood a little pavilion. As +we approached it two eunuchs came out to meet us. Their fat bodies +swayed as they walked, and they glanced curiously at me with their yellow-lidded +eyes. One of them drew aside the captain of the guard, and in +a low voice whispered to him. The other kept munching scented +pastilles, which he took with an affected gesture out of an oval box +of lilac enamel.</p> +<p>‘After a few moments the captain of the guard dismissed the +soldiers. They went back to the palace, the eunuchs following +slowly behind and plucking the sweet mulberries from the trees as they +passed. Once the elder of the two turned round, and smiled at +me with an evil smile.</p> +<p>‘Then the captain of the guard motioned me towards the entrance +of the pavilion. I walked on without trembling, and drawing the +heavy curtain aside I entered in.</p> +<p>‘The young Emperor was stretched on a couch of dyed lion skins, +and a gerfalcon perched upon his wrist. Behind him stood a brass-turbaned +Nubian, naked down to the waist, and with heavy earrings in his split +ears. On a table by the side of the couch lay a mighty scimitar +of steel.</p> +<p>‘When the Emperor saw me he frowned, and said to me, “What +is thy name? Knowest thou not that I am Emperor of this city?” +But I made him no answer.</p> +<p>‘He pointed with his finger at the scimitar, and the Nubian +seized it, and rushing forward struck at me with great violence. +The blade whizzed through me, and did me no hurt. The man fell +sprawling on the floor, and when he rose up his teeth chattered with +terror and he hid himself behind the couch.</p> +<p>‘The Emperor leapt to his feet, and taking a lance from a stand +of arms, he threw it at me. I caught it in its flight, and brake +the shaft into two pieces. He shot at me with an arrow, but I +held up my hands and it stopped in mid-air. Then he drew a dagger +from a belt of white leather, and stabbed the Nubian in the throat lest +the slave should tell of his dishonour. The man writhed like a +trampled snake, and a red foam bubbled from his lips.</p> +<p>‘As soon as he was dead the Emperor turned to me, and when +he had wiped away the bright sweat from his brow with a little napkin +of purfled and purple silk, he said to me, “Art thou a prophet, +that I may not harm thee, or the son of a prophet, that I can do thee +no hurt? I pray thee leave my city to-night, for while thou art +in it I am no longer its lord.”</p> +<p>‘And I answered him, “I will go for half of thy treasure. +Give me half of thy treasure, and I will go away.”</p> +<p>‘He took me by the hand, and led me out into the garden. +When the captain of the guard saw me, he wondered. When the eunuchs +saw me, their knees shook and they fell upon the ground in fear.</p> +<p>‘There is a chamber in the palace that has eight walls of red +porphyry, and a brass-sealed ceiling hung with lamps. The Emperor +touched one of the walls and it opened, and we passed down a corridor +that was lit with many torches. In niches upon each side stood +great wine-jars filled to the brim with silver pieces. When we +reached the centre of the corridor the Emperor spake the word that may +not be spoken, and a granite door swung back on a secret spring, and +he put his hands before his face lest his eyes should be dazzled.</p> +<p>‘Thou couldst not believe how marvellous a place it was. +There were huge tortoise-shells full of pearls, and hollowed moonstones +of great size piled up with red rubies. The gold was stored in +coffers of elephant-hide, and the gold-dust in leather bottles. +There were opals and sapphires, the former in cups of crystal, and the +latter in cups of jade. Round green emeralds were ranged in order +upon thin plates of ivory, and in one corner were silk bags filled, +some with turquoise-stones, and others with beryls. The ivory +horns were heaped with purple amethysts, and the horns of brass with +chalcedonies and sards. The pillars, which were of cedar, were +hung with strings of yellow lynx-stones. In the flat oval shields +there were carbuncles, both wine-coloured and coloured like grass. +And yet I have told thee but a tithe of what was there.</p> +<p>‘And when the Emperor had taken away his hands from before +his face he said to me: “This is my house of treasure, and half +that is in it is thine, even as I promised to thee. And I will +give thee camels and camel drivers, and they shall do thy bidding and +take thy share of the treasure to whatever part of the world thou desirest +to go. And the thing shall be done to-night, for I would not that +the Sun, who is my father, should see that there is in my city a man +whom I cannot slay.”</p> +<p>‘But I answered him, “The gold that is here is thine, +and the silver also is thine, and thine are the precious jewels and +the things of price. As for me, I have no need of these. +Nor shall I take aught from thee but that little ring that thou wearest +on the finger of thy hand.”</p> +<p>‘And the Emperor frowned. “It is but a ring of +lead,” he cried, “nor has it any value. Therefore +take thy half of the treasure and go from my city.”</p> +<p>‘“Nay,” I answered, “but I will take nought +but that leaden ring, for I know what is written within it, and for +what purpose.”</p> +<p>‘And the Emperor trembled, and besought me and said, “Take +all the treasure and go from my city. The half that is mine shall +be thine also.”</p> +<p>‘And I did a strange thing, but what I did matters not, for +in a cave that is but a day’s journey from this place have, I +hidden the Ring of Riches. It is but a day’s journey from +this place, and it waits for thy coming. He who has this Ring +is richer than all the kings of the world. Come therefore and +take it, and the world’s riches shall be thine.’</p> +<p>But the young Fisherman laughed. ‘Love is better than +Riches,’ he cried, ‘and the little Mermaid loves me.’</p> +<p>‘Nay, but there is nothing better than Riches,’ said +the Soul.</p> +<p>‘Love is better,’ answered the young Fisherman, and he +plunged into the deep, and the Soul went weeping away over the marshes.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>And after the third year was over, the Soul came down to the shore +of the sea, and called to the young Fisherman, and he rose out of the +deep and said, ‘Why dost thou call to me?’</p> +<p>And the Soul answered, ‘Come nearer, that I may speak with +thee, for I have seen marvellous things.’</p> +<p>So he came nearer, and couched in the shallow water, and leaned his +head upon his hand and listened.</p> +<p>And the Soul said to him, ‘In a city that I know of there is +an inn that standeth by a river. I sat there with sailors who +drank of two different-coloured wines, and ate bread made of barley, +and little salt fish served in bay leaves with vinegar. And as +we sat and made merry, there entered to us an old man bearing a leathern +carpet and a lute that had two horns of amber. And when he had +laid out the carpet on the floor, he struck with a quill on the wire +strings of his lute, and a girl whose face was veiled ran in and began +to dance before us. Her face was veiled with a veil of gauze, +but her feet were naked. Naked were her feet, and they moved over +the carpet like little white pigeons. Never have I seen anything +so marvellous; and the city in which she dances is but a day’s +journey from this place.’</p> +<p>Now when the young Fisherman heard the words of his Soul, he remembered +that the little Mermaid had no feet and could not dance. And a +great desire came over him, and he said to himself, ‘It is but +a day’s journey, and I can return to my love,’ and he laughed, +and stood up in the shallow water, and strode towards the shore.</p> +<p>And when he had reached the dry shore he laughed again, and held +out his arms to his Soul. And his Soul gave a great cry of joy +and ran to meet him, and entered into him, and the young Fisherman saw +stretched before him upon the sand that shadow of the body that is the +body of the Soul.</p> +<p>And his Soul said to him, ‘Let us not tarry, but get hence +at once, for the Sea-gods are jealous, and have monsters that do their +bidding.’</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>So they made haste, and all that night they journeyed beneath the +moon, and all the next day they journeyed beneath the sun, and on the +evening of the day they came to a city.</p> +<p>And the young Fisherman said to his Soul, ‘Is this the city +in which she dances of whom thou didst speak to me?’</p> +<p>And his Soul answered him, ‘It is not this city, but another. +Nevertheless let us enter in.’ So they entered in and passed +through the streets, and as they passed through the Street of the Jewellers +the young Fisherman saw a fair silver cup set forth in a booth. +And his Soul said to him, ‘Take that silver cup and hide it.’</p> +<p>So he took the cup and hid it in the fold of his tunic, and they +went hurriedly out of the city.</p> +<p>And after that they had gone a league from the city, the young Fisherman +frowned, and flung the cup away, and said to his Soul, ‘Why didst +thou tell me to take this cup and hide it, for it was an evil thing +to do?’</p> +<p>But his Soul answered him, ‘Be at peace, be at peace.’</p> +<p>And on the evening of the second day they came to a city, and the +young Fisherman said to his Soul, ‘Is this the city in which she +dances of whom thou didst speak to me?’</p> +<p>And his Soul answered him, ‘It is not this city, but another. +Nevertheless let us enter in.’ So they entered in and passed +through the streets, and as they passed through the Street of the Sellers +of Sandals, the young Fisherman saw a child standing by a jar of water. +And his Soul said to him, ‘Smite that child.’ So he +smote the child till it wept, and when he had done this they went hurriedly +out of the city.</p> +<p>And after that they had gone a league from the city the young Fisherman +grew wroth, and said to his Soul, ‘Why didst thou tell me to smite +the child, for it was an evil thing to do?’</p> +<p>But his Soul answered him, ‘Be at peace, be at peace.’</p> +<p>And on the evening of the third day they came to a city, and the +young Fisherman said to his Soul, ‘Is this the city in which she +dances of whom thou didst speak to me?’</p> +<p>And his Soul answered him, ‘It may be that it is in this city, +therefore let us enter in.’</p> +<p>So they entered in and passed through the streets, but nowhere could +the young Fisherman find the river or the inn that stood by its side. +And the people of the city looked curiously at him, and he grew afraid +and said to his Soul, ‘Let us go hence, for she who dances with +white feet is not here.’</p> +<p>But his Soul answered, ‘Nay, but let us tarry, for the night +is dark and there will be robbers on the way.’</p> +<p>So he sat him down in the market-place and rested, and after a time +there went by a hooded merchant who had a cloak of cloth of Tartary, +and bare a lantern of pierced horn at the end of a jointed reed. +And the merchant said to him, ‘Why dost thou sit in the market-place, +seeing that the booths are closed and the bales corded?’</p> +<p>And the young Fisherman answered him, ‘I can find no inn in +this city, nor have I any kinsman who might give me shelter.’</p> +<p>‘Are we not all kinsmen?’ said the merchant. ‘And +did not one God make us? Therefore come with me, for I have a +guest-chamber.’</p> +<p>So the young Fisherman rose up and followed the merchant to his house. +And when he had passed through a garden of pomegranates and entered +into the house, the merchant brought him rose-water in a copper dish +that he might wash his hands, and ripe melons that he might quench his +thirst, and set a bowl of rice and a piece of roasted kid before him.</p> +<p>And after that he had finished, the merchant led him to the guest-chamber, +and bade him sleep and be at rest. And the young Fisherman gave +him thanks, and kissed the ring that was on his hand, and flung himself +down on the carpets of dyed goat’s-hair. And when he had +covered himself with a covering of black lamb’s-wool he fell asleep.</p> +<p>And three hours before dawn, and while it was still night, his Soul +waked him and said to him, ‘Rise up and go to the room of the +merchant, even to the room in which he sleepeth, and slay him, and take +from him his gold, for we have need of it.’</p> +<p>And the young Fisherman rose up and crept towards the room of the +merchant, and over the feet of the merchant there was lying a curved +sword, and the tray by the side of the merchant held nine purses of +gold. And he reached out his hand and touched the sword, and when +he touched it the merchant started and awoke, and leaping up seized +himself the sword and cried to the young Fisherman, ‘Dost thou +return evil for good, and pay with the shedding of blood for the kindness +that I have shown thee?’</p> +<p>And his Soul said to the young Fisherman, ‘Strike him,’ +and he struck him so that he swooned and he seized then the nine purses +of gold, and fled hastily through the garden of pomegranates, and set +his face to the star that is the star of morning.</p> +<p>And when they had gone a league from the city, the young Fisherman +beat his breast, and said to his Soul, ‘Why didst thou bid me +slay the merchant and take his gold? Surely thou art evil.’</p> +<p>But his Soul answered him, ‘Be at peace, be at peace.’</p> +<p>‘Nay,’ cried the young Fisherman, ‘I may not be +at peace, for all that thou hast made me to do I hate. Thee also +I hate, and I bid thee tell me wherefore thou hast wrought with me in +this wise.’</p> +<p>And his Soul answered him, ‘When thou didst send me forth into +the world thou gavest me no heart, so I learned to do all these things +and love them.’</p> +<p>‘What sayest thou?’ murmured the young Fisherman.</p> +<p>‘Thou knowest,’ answered his Soul, ‘thou knowest +it well. Hast thou forgotten that thou gavest me no heart? +I trow not. And so trouble not thyself nor me, but be at peace, +for there is no pain that thou shalt not give away, nor any pleasure +that thou shalt not receive.’</p> +<p>And when the young Fisherman heard these words he trembled and said +to his Soul, ‘Nay, but thou art evil, and hast made me forget +my love, and hast tempted me with temptations, and hast set my feet +in the ways of sin.’</p> +<p>And his Soul answered him, ‘Thou hast not forgotten that when +thou didst send me forth into the world thou gavest me no heart. +Come, let us go to another city, and make merry, for we have nine purses +of gold.’</p> +<p>But the young Fisherman took the nine purses of gold, and flung them +down, and trampled on them.</p> +<p>‘Nay,’ he cried, ‘but I will have nought to do +with thee, nor will I journey with thee anywhere, but even as I sent +thee away before, so will I send thee away now, for thou hast wrought +me no good.’ And he turned his back to the moon, and with +the little knife that had the handle of green viper’s skin he +strove to cut from his feet that shadow of the body which is the body +of the Soul.</p> +<p>Yet his Soul stirred not from him, nor paid heed to his command, +but said to him, ‘The spell that the Witch told thee avails thee +no more, for I may not leave thee, nor mayest thou drive me forth. +Once in his life may a man send his Soul away, but he who receiveth +back his Soul must keep it with him for ever, and this is his punishment +and his reward.’</p> +<p>And the young Fisherman grew pale and clenched his hands and cried, +‘She was a false Witch in that she told me not that.’</p> +<p>‘Nay,’ answered his Soul, ‘but she was true to +Him she worships, and whose servant she will be ever.’</p> +<p>And when the young Fisherman knew that he could no longer get rid +of his Soul, and that it was an evil Soul and would abide with him always, +he fell upon the ground weeping bitterly.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>And when it was day the young Fisherman rose up and said to his Soul, +‘I will bind my hands that I may not do thy bidding, and close +my lips that I may not speak thy words, and I will return to the place +where she whom I love has her dwelling. Even to the sea will I +return, and to the little bay where she is wont to sing, and I will +call to her and tell her the evil I have done and the evil thou hast +wrought on me.’</p> +<p>And his Soul tempted him and said, ‘Who is thy love, that thou +shouldst return to her? The world has many fairer than she is. +There are the dancing-girls of Samaris who dance in the manner of all +kinds of birds and beasts. Their feet are painted with henna, +and in their hands they have little copper bells. They laugh while +they dance, and their laughter is as clear as the laughter of water. +Come with me and I will show them to thee. For what is this trouble +of thine about the things of sin? Is that which is pleasant to +eat not made for the eater? Is there poison in that which is sweet +to drink? Trouble not thyself, but come with me to another city. +There is a little city hard by in which there is a garden of tulip-trees. +And there dwell in this comely garden white peacocks and peacocks that +have blue breasts. Their tails when they spread them to the sun +are like disks of ivory and like gilt disks. And she who feeds +them dances for their pleasure, and sometimes she dances on her hands +and at other times she dances with her feet. Her eyes are coloured +with stibium, and her nostrils are shaped like the wings of a swallow. +From a hook in one of her nostrils hangs a flower that is carved out +of a pearl. She laughs while she dances, and the silver rings +that are about her ankles tinkle like bells of silver. And so +trouble not thyself any more, but come with me to this city.’</p> +<p>But the young Fisherman answered not his Soul, but closed his lips +with the seal of silence and with a tight cord bound his hands, and +journeyed back to the place from which he had come, even to the little +bay where his love had been wont to sing. And ever did his Soul +tempt him by the way, but he made it no answer, nor would he do any +of the wickedness that it sought to make him to do, so great was the +power of the love that was within him.</p> +<p>And when he had reached the shore of the sea, he loosed the cord +from his hands, and took the seal of silence from his lips, and called +to the little Mermaid. But she came not to his call, though he +called to her all day long and besought her.</p> +<p>And his Soul mocked him and said, ‘Surely thou hast but little +joy out of thy love. Thou art as one who in time of death pours +water into a broken vessel. Thou givest away what thou hast, and +nought is given to thee in return. It were better for thee to +come with me, for I know where the Valley of Pleasure lies, and what +things are wrought there.’</p> +<p>But the young Fisherman answered not his Soul, but in a cleft of +the rock he built himself a house of wattles, and abode there for the +space of a year. And every morning he called to the Mermaid, and +every noon he called to her again, and at night-time he spake her name. +Yet never did she rise out of the sea to meet him, nor in any place +of the sea could he find her though he sought for her in the caves and +in the green water, in the pools of the tide and in the wells that are +at the bottom of the deep.</p> +<p>And ever did his Soul tempt him with evil, and whisper of terrible +things. Yet did it not prevail against him, so great was the power +of his love.</p> +<p>And after the year was over, the Soul thought within himself, ‘I +have tempted my master with evil, and his love is stronger than I am. +I will tempt him now with good, and it may be that he will come with +me.’</p> +<p>So he spake to the young Fisherman and said, ‘I have told thee +of the joy of the world, and thou hast turned a deaf ear to me. +Suffer me now to tell thee of the world’s pain, and it may be +that thou wilt hearken. For of a truth pain is the Lord of this +world, nor is there any one who escapes from its net. There be +some who lack raiment, and others who lack bread. There be widows +who sit in purple, and widows who sit in rags. To and fro over +the fens go the lepers, and they are cruel to each other. The +beggars go up and down on the highways, and their wallets are empty. +Through the streets of the cities walks Famine, and the Plague sits +at their gates. Come, let us go forth and mend these things, and +make them not to be. Wherefore shouldst thou tarry here calling +to thy love, seeing she comes not to thy call? And what is love, +that thou shouldst set this high store upon it?’</p> +<p>But the young Fisherman answered it nought, so great was the power +of his love. And every morning he called to the Mermaid, and every +noon he called to her again, and at night-time he spake her name. +Yet never did she rise out of the sea to meet him, nor in any place +of the sea could he find her, though he sought for her in the rivers +of the sea, and in the valleys that are under the waves, in the sea +that the night makes purple, and in the sea that the dawn leaves grey.</p> +<p>And after the second year was over, the Soul said to the young Fisherman +at night-time, and as he sat in the wattled house alone, ‘Lo! +now I have tempted thee with evil, and I have tempted thee with good, +and thy love is stronger than I am. Wherefore will I tempt thee +no longer, but I pray thee to suffer me to enter thy heart, that I may +be one with thee even as before.’</p> +<p>‘Surely thou mayest enter,’ said the young Fisherman, +‘for in the days when with no heart thou didst go through the +world thou must have much suffered.’</p> +<p>‘Alas!’ cried his Soul, ‘I can find no place of +entrance, so compassed about with love is this heart of thine.’</p> +<p>‘Yet I would that I could help thee,’ said the young +Fisherman.</p> +<p>And as he spake there came a great cry of mourning from the sea, +even the cry that men hear when one of the Sea-folk is dead. And +the young Fisherman leapt up, and left his wattled house, and ran down +to the shore. And the black waves came hurrying to the shore, +bearing with them a burden that was whiter than silver. White +as the surf it was, and like a flower it tossed on the waves. +And the surf took it from the waves, and the foam took it from the surf, +and the shore received it, and lying at his feet the young Fisherman +saw the body of the little Mermaid. Dead at his feet it was lying.</p> +<p>Weeping as one smitten with pain he flung himself down beside it, +and he kissed the cold red of the mouth, and toyed with the wet amber +of the hair. He flung himself down beside it on the sand, weeping +as one trembling with joy, and in his brown arms he held it to his breast. +Cold were the lips, yet he kissed them. Salt was the honey of +the hair, yet he tasted it with a bitter joy. He kissed the closed +eyelids, and the wild spray that lay upon their cups was less salt than +his tears.</p> +<p>And to the dead thing he made confession. Into the shells of +its ears he poured the harsh wine of his tale. He put the little +hands round his neck, and with his fingers he touched the thin reed +of the throat. Bitter, bitter was his joy, and full of strange +gladness was his pain.</p> +<p>The black sea came nearer, and the white foam moaned like a leper. +With white claws of foam the sea grabbled at the shore. From the +palace of the Sea-King came the cry of mourning again, and far out upon +the sea the great Tritons blew hoarsely upon their horns.</p> +<p>‘Flee away,’ said his Soul, ‘for ever doth the +sea come nigher, and if thou tarriest it will slay thee. Flee +away, for I am afraid, seeing that thy heart is closed against me by +reason of the greatness of thy love. Flee away to a place of safety. +Surely thou wilt not send me without a heart into another world?’</p> +<p>But the young Fisherman listened not to his Soul, but called on the +little Mermaid and said, ‘Love is better than wisdom, and more +precious than riches, and fairer than the feet of the daughters of men. +The fires cannot destroy it, nor can the waters quench it. I called +on thee at dawn, and thou didst not come to my call. The moon +heard thy name, yet hadst thou no heed of me. For evilly had I +left thee, and to my own hurt had I wandered away. Yet ever did +thy love abide with me, and ever was it strong, nor did aught prevail +against it, though I have looked upon evil and looked upon good. +And now that thou art dead, surely I will die with thee also.’</p> +<p>And his Soul besought him to depart, but he would not, so great was +his love. And the sea came nearer, and sought to cover him with +its waves, and when he knew that the end was at hand he kissed with +mad lips the cold lips of the Mermaid, and the heart that was within +him brake. And as through the fulness of his love his heart did +break, the Soul found an entrance and entered in, and was one with him +even as before. And the sea covered the young Fisherman with its +waves.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>And in the morning the Priest went forth to bless the sea, for it +had been troubled. And with him went the monks and the musicians, +and the candle-bearers, and the swingers of censers, and a great company.</p> +<p>And when the Priest reached the shore he saw the young Fisherman +lying drowned in the surf, and clasped in his arms was the body of the +little Mermaid. And he drew back frowning, and having made the +sign of the cross, he cried aloud and said, ‘I will not bless +the sea nor anything that is in it. Accursed be the Sea-folk, +and accursed be all they who traffic with them. And as for him +who for love’s sake forsook God, and so lieth here with his leman +slain by God’s judgment, take up his body and the body of his +leman, and bury them in the corner of the Field of the Fullers, and +set no mark above them, nor sign of any kind, that none may know the +place of their resting. For accursed were they in their lives, +and accursed shall they be in their deaths also.’</p> +<p>And the people did as he commanded them, and in the corner of the +Field of the Fullers, where no sweet herbs grew, they dug a deep pit, +and laid the dead things within it.</p> +<p>And when the third year was over, and on a day that was a holy day, +the Priest went up to the chapel, that he might show to the people the +wounds of the Lord, and speak to them about the wrath of God.</p> +<p>And when he had robed himself with his robes, and entered in and +bowed himself before the altar, he saw that the altar was covered with +strange flowers that never had been seen before. Strange were +they to look at, and of curious beauty, and their beauty troubled him, +and their odour was sweet in his nostrils. And he felt glad, and +understood not why he was glad.</p> +<p>And after that he had opened the tabernacle, and incensed the monstrance +that was in it, and shown the fair wafer to the people, and hid it again +behind the veil of veils, he began to speak to the people, desiring +to speak to them of the wrath of God. But the beauty of the white +flowers troubled him, and their odour was sweet in his nostrils, and +there came another word into his lips, and he spake not of the wrath +of God, but of the God whose name is Love. And why he so spake, +he knew not.</p> +<p>And when he had finished his word the people wept, and the Priest +went back to the sacristy, and his eyes were full of tears. And +the deacons came in and began to unrobe him, and took from him the alb +and the girdle, the maniple and the stole. And he stood as one +in a dream.</p> +<p>And after that they had unrobed him, he looked at them and said, +‘What are the flowers that stand on the altar, and whence do they +come?’</p> +<p>And they answered him, ‘What flowers they are we cannot tell, +but they come from the corner of the Fullers’ Field.’ +And the Priest trembled, and returned to his own house and prayed.</p> +<p>And in the morning, while it was still dawn, he went forth with the +monks and the musicians, and the candle-bearers and the swingers of +censers, and a great company, and came to the shore of the sea, and +blessed the sea, and all the wild things that are in it. The Fauns +also he blessed, and the little things that dance in the woodland, and +the bright-eyed things that peer through the leaves. All the things +in God’s world he blessed, and the people were filled with joy +and wonder. Yet never again in the corner of the Fullers’ +Field grew flowers of any kind, but the field remained barren even as +before. Nor came the Sea-folk into the bay as they had been wont +to do, for they went to another part of the sea.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines3"><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>THE STAR-CHILD</h2> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines3"><br /><br /><br /></div> +<p>[TO MISS MARGOT TENNANT - MRS. ASQUITH]</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>Once upon a time two poor Woodcutters were making their way home +through a great pine-forest. It was winter, and a night of bitter +cold. The snow lay thick upon the ground, and upon the branches +of the trees: the frost kept snapping the little twigs on either side +of them, as they passed: and when they came to the Mountain-Torrent +she was hanging motionless in air, for the Ice-King had kissed her.</p> +<p>So cold was it that even the animals and the birds did not know what +to make of it.</p> +<p>‘Ugh!’ snarled the Wolf, as he limped through the brushwood +with his tail between his legs, ‘this is perfectly monstrous weather. +Why doesn’t the Government look to it?’</p> +<p>‘Weet! weet! weet!’ twittered the green Linnets, ‘the +old Earth is dead and they have laid her out in her white shroud.’</p> +<p>‘The Earth is going to be married, and this is her bridal dress,’ +whispered the Turtle-doves to each other. Their little pink feet +were quite frost-bitten, but they felt that it was their duty to take +a romantic view of the situation.</p> +<p>‘Nonsense!’ growled the Wolf. ‘I tell you +that it is all the fault of the Government, and if you don’t believe +me I shall eat you.’ The Wolf had a thoroughly practical +mind, and was never at a loss for a good argument.</p> +<p>‘Well, for my own part,’ said the Woodpecker, who was +a born philosopher, ‘I don’t care an atomic theory for explanations. +If a thing is so, it is so, and at present it is terribly cold.’</p> +<p>Terribly cold it certainly was. The little Squirrels, who lived +inside the tall fir-tree, kept rubbing each other’s noses to keep +themselves warm, and the Rabbits curled themselves up in their holes, +and did not venture even to look out of doors. The only people +who seemed to enjoy it were the great horned Owls. Their feathers +were quite stiff with rime, but they did not mind, and they rolled their +large yellow eyes, and called out to each other across the forest, ‘Tu-whit! +Tu-whoo! Tu-whit! Tu-whoo! what delightful weather we are +having!’</p> +<p>On and on went the two Woodcutters, blowing lustily upon their fingers, +and stamping with their huge iron-shod boots upon the caked snow. +Once they sank into a deep drift, and came out as white as millers are, +when the stones are grinding; and once they slipped on the hard smooth +ice where the marsh-water was frozen, and their faggots fell out of +their bundles, and they had to pick them up and bind them together again; +and once they thought that they had lost their way, and a great terror +seized on them, for they knew that the Snow is cruel to those who sleep +in her arms. But they put their trust in the good Saint Martin, +who watches over all travellers, and retraced their steps, and went +warily, and at last they reached the outskirts of the forest, and saw, +far down in the valley beneath them, the lights of the village in which +they dwelt.</p> +<p>So overjoyed were they at their deliverance that they laughed aloud, +and the Earth seemed to them like a flower of silver, and the Moon like +a flower of gold.</p> +<p>Yet, after that they had laughed they became sad, for they remembered +their poverty, and one of them said to the other, ‘Why did we +make merry, seeing that life is for the rich, and not for such as we +are? Better that we had died of cold in the forest, or that some +wild beast had fallen upon us and slain us.’</p> +<p>‘Truly,’ answered his companion, ‘much is given +to some, and little is given to others. Injustice has parcelled +out the world, nor is there equal division of aught save of sorrow.’</p> +<p>But as they were bewailing their misery to each other this strange +thing happened. There fell from heaven a very bright and beautiful +star. It slipped down the side of the sky, passing by the other +stars in its course, and, as they watched it wondering, it seemed to +them to sink behind a clump of willow-trees that stood hard by a little +sheepfold no more than a stone’s-throw away.</p> +<p>‘Why! there is a crook of gold for whoever finds it,’ +they cried, and they set to and ran, so eager were they for the gold.</p> +<p>And one of them ran faster than his mate, and outstripped him, and +forced his way through the willows, and came out on the other side, +and lo! there was indeed a thing of gold lying on the white snow. +So he hastened towards it, and stooping down placed his hands upon it, +and it was a cloak of golden tissue, curiously wrought with stars, and +wrapped in many folds. And he cried out to his comrade that he +had found the treasure that had fallen from the sky, and when his comrade +had come up, they sat them down in the snow, and loosened the folds +of the cloak that they might divide the pieces of gold. But, alas! +no gold was in it, nor silver, nor, indeed, treasure of any kind, but +only a little child who was asleep.</p> +<p>And one of them said to the other: ‘This is a bitter ending +to our hope, nor have we any good fortune, for what doth a child profit +to a man? Let us leave it here, and go our way, seeing that we +are poor men, and have children of our own whose bread we may not give +to another.’</p> +<p>But his companion answered him: ‘Nay, but it were an evil thing +to leave the child to perish here in the snow, and though I am as poor +as thou art, and have many mouths to feed, and but little in the pot, +yet will I bring it home with me, and my wife shall have care of it.’</p> +<p>So very tenderly he took up the child, and wrapped the cloak around +it to shield it from the harsh cold, and made his way down the hill +to the village, his comrade marvelling much at his foolishness and softness +of heart.</p> +<p>And when they came to the village, his comrade said to him, ‘Thou +hast the child, therefore give me the cloak, for it is meet that we +should share.’</p> +<p>But he answered him: ‘Nay, for the cloak is neither mine nor +thine, but the child’s only,’ and he bade him Godspeed, +and went to his own house and knocked.</p> +<p>And when his wife opened the door and saw that her husband had returned +safe to her, she put her arms round his neck and kissed him, and took +from his back the bundle of faggots, and brushed the snow off his boots, +and bade him come in.</p> +<p>But he said to her, ‘I have found something in the forest, +and I have brought it to thee to have care of it,’ and he stirred +not from the threshold.</p> +<p>‘What is it?’ she cried. ‘Show it to me, +for the house is bare, and we have need of many things.’ +And he drew the cloak back, and showed her the sleeping child.</p> +<p>‘Alack, goodman!’ she murmured, ‘have we not children +of our own, that thou must needs bring a changeling to sit by the hearth? +And who knows if it will not bring us bad fortune? And how shall +we tend it?’ And she was wroth against him.</p> +<p>‘Nay, but it is a Star-Child,’ he answered; and he told +her the strange manner of the finding of it.</p> +<p>But she would not be appeased, but mocked at him, and spoke angrily, +and cried: ‘Our children lack bread, and shall we feed the child +of another? Who is there who careth for us? And who giveth +us food?’</p> +<p>‘Nay, but God careth for the sparrows even, and feedeth them,’ +he answered.</p> +<p>‘Do not the sparrows die of hunger in the winter?’ she +asked. ‘And is it not winter now?’</p> +<p>And the man answered nothing, but stirred not from the threshold.</p> +<p>And a bitter wind from the forest came in through the open door, +and made her tremble, and she shivered, and said to him: ‘Wilt +thou not close the door? There cometh a bitter wind into the house, +and I am cold.’</p> +<p>‘Into a house where a heart is hard cometh there not always +a bitter wind?’ he asked. And the woman answered him nothing, +but crept closer to the fire.</p> +<p>And after a time she turned round and looked at him, and her eyes +were full of tears. And he came in swiftly, and placed the child +in her arms, and she kissed it, and laid it in a little bed where the +youngest of their own children was lying. And on the morrow the +Woodcutter took the curious cloak of gold and placed it in a great chest, +and a chain of amber that was round the child’s neck his wife +took and set it in the chest also.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>So the Star-Child was brought up with the children of the Woodcutter, +and sat at the same board with them, and was their playmate. And +every year he became more beautiful to look at, so that all those who +dwelt in the village were filled with wonder, for, while they were swarthy +and black-haired, he was white and delicate as sawn ivory, and his curls +were like the rings of the daffodil. His lips, also, were like +the petals of a red flower, and his eyes were like violets by a river +of pure water, and his body like the narcissus of a field where the +mower comes not.</p> +<p>Yet did his beauty work him evil. For he grew proud, and cruel, +and selfish. The children of the Woodcutter, and the other children +of the village, he despised, saying that they were of mean parentage, +while he was noble, being sprang from a Star, and he made himself master +over them, and called them his servants. No pity had he for the +poor, or for those who were blind or maimed or in any way afflicted, +but would cast stones at them and drive them forth on to the highway, +and bid them beg their bread elsewhere, so that none save the outlaws +came twice to that village to ask for alms. Indeed, he was as +one enamoured of beauty, and would mock at the weakly and ill-favoured, +and make jest of them; and himself he loved, and in summer, when the +winds were still, he would lie by the well in the priest’s orchard +and look down at the marvel of his own face, and laugh for the pleasure +he had in his fairness.</p> +<p>Often did the Woodcutter and his wife chide him, and say: ‘We +did not deal with thee as thou dealest with those who are left desolate, +and have none to succour them. Wherefore art thou so cruel to +all who need pity?’</p> +<p>Often did the old priest send for him, and seek to teach him the +love of living things, saying to him: ‘The fly is thy brother. +Do it no harm. The wild birds that roam through the forest have +their freedom. Snare them not for thy pleasure. God made +the blind-worm and the mole, and each has its place. Who art thou +to bring pain into God’s world? Even the cattle of the field +praise Him.’</p> +<p>But the Star-Child heeded not their words, but would frown and flout, +and go back to his companions, and lead them. And his companions +followed him, for he was fair, and fleet of foot, and could dance, and +pipe, and make music. And wherever the Star-Child led them they +followed, and whatever the Star-Child bade them do, that did they. +And when he pierced with a sharp reed the dim eyes of the mole, they +laughed, and when he cast stones at the leper they laughed also. +And in all things he ruled them, and they became hard of heart even +as he was.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>Now there passed one day through the village a poor beggar-woman. +Her garments were torn and ragged, and her feet were bleeding from the +rough road on which she had travelled, and she was in very evil plight. +And being weary she sat her down under a chestnut-tree to rest.</p> +<p>But when the Star-Child saw her, he said to his companions, ‘See! +There sitteth a foul beggar-woman under that fair and green-leaved tree. +Come, let us drive her hence, for she is ugly and ill-favoured.’</p> +<p>So he came near and threw stones at her, and mocked her, and she +looked at him with terror in her eyes, nor did she move her gaze from +him. And when the Woodcutter, who was cleaving logs in a haggard +hard by, saw what the Star-Child was doing, he ran up and rebuked him, +and said to him: ‘Surely thou art hard of heart and knowest not +mercy, for what evil has this poor woman done to thee that thou shouldst +treat her in this wise?’</p> +<p>And the Star-Child grew red with anger, and stamped his foot upon +the ground, and said, ‘Who art thou to question me what I do? +I am no son of thine to do thy bidding.’</p> +<p>‘Thou speakest truly,’ answered the Woodcutter, ‘yet +did I show thee pity when I found thee in the forest.’</p> +<p>And when the woman heard these words she gave a loud cry, and fell +into a swoon. And the Woodcutter carried her to his own house, +and his wife had care of her, and when she rose up from the swoon into +which she had fallen, they set meat and drink before her, and bade her +have comfort.</p> +<p>But she would neither eat nor drink, but said to the Woodcutter, +‘Didst thou not say that the child was found in the forest? +And was it not ten years from this day?’</p> +<p>And the Woodcutter answered, ‘Yea, it was in the forest that +I found him, and it is ten years from this day.’</p> +<p>‘And what signs didst thou find with him?’ she cried. +‘Bare he not upon his neck a chain of amber? Was not round +him a cloak of gold tissue broidered with stars?’</p> +<p>‘Truly,’ answered the Woodcutter, ‘it was even +as thou sayest.’ And he took the cloak and the amber chain +from the chest where they lay, and showed them to her.</p> +<p>And when she saw them she wept for joy, and said, ‘He is my +little son whom I lost in the forest. I pray thee send for him +quickly, for in search of him have I wandered over the whole world.’</p> +<p>So the Woodcutter and his wife went out and called to the Star-Child, +and said to him, ‘Go into the house, and there shalt thou find +thy mother, who is waiting for thee.’</p> +<p>So he ran in, filled with wonder and great gladness. But when +he saw her who was waiting there, he laughed scornfully and said, ‘Why, +where is my mother? For I see none here but this vile beggar-woman.’</p> +<p>And the woman answered him, ‘I am thy mother.’</p> +<p>‘Thou art mad to say so,’ cried the Star-Child angrily. +‘I am no son of thine, for thou art a beggar, and ugly, and in +rags. Therefore get thee hence, and let me see thy foul face no +more.’</p> +<p>‘Nay, but thou art indeed my little son, whom I bare in the +forest,’ she cried, and she fell on her knees, and held out her +arms to him. ‘The robbers stole thee from me, and left thee +to die,’ she murmured, ‘but I recognised thee when I saw +thee, and the signs also have I recognised, the cloak of golden tissue +and the amber chain. Therefore I pray thee come with me, for over +the whole world have I wandered in search of thee. Come with me, +my son, for I have need of thy love.’</p> +<p>But the Star-Child stirred not from his place, but shut the doors +of his heart against her, nor was there any sound heard save the sound +of the woman weeping for pain.</p> +<p>And at last he spoke to her, and his voice was hard and bitter. +‘If in very truth thou art my mother,’ he said, ‘it +had been better hadst thou stayed away, and not come here to bring me +to shame, seeing that I thought I was the child of some Star, and not +a beggar’s child, as thou tellest me that I am. Therefore +get thee hence, and let me see thee no more.’</p> +<p>‘Alas! my son,’ she cried, ‘wilt thou not kiss +me before I go? For I have suffered much to find thee.’</p> +<p>‘Nay,’ said the Star-Child, ‘but thou art too foul +to look at, and rather would I kiss the adder or the toad than thee.’</p> +<p>So the woman rose up, and went away into the forest weeping bitterly, +and when the Star-Child saw that she had gone, he was glad, and ran +back to his playmates that he might play with them.</p> +<p>But when they beheld him coming, they mocked him and said, ‘Why, +thou art as foul as the toad, and as loathsome as the adder. Get +thee hence, for we will not suffer thee to play with us,’ and +they drave him out of the garden.</p> +<p>And the Star-Child frowned and said to himself, ‘What is this +that they say to me? I will go to the well of water and look into +it, and it shall tell me of my beauty.’</p> +<p>So he went to the well of water and looked into it, and lo! his face +was as the face of a toad, and his body was sealed like an adder. +And he flung himself down on the grass and wept, and said to himself, +‘Surely this has come upon me by reason of my sin. For I +have denied my mother, and driven her away, and been proud, and cruel +to her. Wherefore I will go and seek her through the whole world, +nor will I rest till I have found her.’</p> +<p>And there came to him the little daughter of the Woodcutter, and +she put her hand upon his shoulder and said, ‘What doth it matter +if thou hast lost thy comeliness? Stay with us, and I will not +mock at thee.’</p> +<p>And he said to her, ‘Nay, but I have been cruel to my mother, +and as a punishment has this evil been sent to me. Wherefore I +must go hence, and wander through the world till I find her, and she +give me her forgiveness.’</p> +<p>So he ran away into the forest and called out to his mother to come +to him, but there was no answer. All day long he called to her, +and, when the sun set he lay down to sleep on a bed of leaves, and the +birds and the animals fled from him, for they remembered his cruelty, +and he was alone save for the toad that watched him, and the slow adder +that crawled past.</p> +<p>And in the morning he rose up, and plucked some bitter berries from +the trees and ate them, and took his way through the great wood, weeping +sorely. And of everything that he met he made inquiry if perchance +they had seen his mother.</p> +<p>He said to the Mole, ‘Thou canst go beneath the earth. +Tell me, is my mother there?’</p> +<p>And the Mole answered, ‘Thou hast blinded mine eyes. +How should I know?’</p> +<p>He said to the Linnet, ‘Thou canst fly over the tops of the +tall trees, and canst see the whole world. Tell me, canst thou +see my mother?’</p> +<p>And the Linnet answered, ‘Thou hast clipt my wings for thy +pleasure. How should I fly?’</p> +<p>And to the little Squirrel who lived in the fir-tree, and was lonely, +he said, ‘Where is my mother?’</p> +<p>And the Squirrel answered, ‘Thou hast slain mine. Dost +thou seek to slay thine also?’</p> +<p>And the Star-Child wept and bowed his head, and prayed forgiveness +of God’s things, and went on through the forest, seeking for the +beggar-woman. And on the third day he came to the other side of +the forest and went down into the plain.</p> +<p>And when he passed through the villages the children mocked him, +and threw stones at him, and the carlots would not suffer him even to +sleep in the byres lest he might bring mildew on the stored corn, so +foul was he to look at, and their hired men drave him away, and there +was none who had pity on him. Nor could he hear anywhere of the +beggar-woman who was his mother, though for the space of three years +he wandered over the world, and often seemed to see her on the road +in front of him, and would call to her, and run after her till the sharp +flints made his feet to bleed. But overtake her he could not, +and those who dwelt by the way did ever deny that they had seen her, +or any like to her, and they made sport of his sorrow.</p> +<p>For the space of three years he wandered over the world, and in the +world there was neither love nor loving-kindness nor charity for him, +but it was even such a world as he had made for himself in the days +of his great pride.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>And one evening he came to the gate of a strong-walled city that +stood by a river, and, weary and footsore though he was, he made to +enter in. But the soldiers who stood on guard dropped their halberts +across the entrance, and said roughly to him, ‘What is thy business +in the city?’</p> +<p>‘I am seeking for my mother,’ he answered, ‘and +I pray ye to suffer me to pass, for it may be that she is in this city.’</p> +<p>But they mocked at him, and one of them wagged a black beard, and +set down his shield and cried, ‘Of a truth, thy mother will not +be merry when she sees thee, for thou art more ill-favoured than the +toad of the marsh, or the adder that crawls in the fen. Get thee +gone. Get thee gone. Thy mother dwells not in this city.’</p> +<p>And another, who held a yellow banner in his hand, said to him, ‘Who +is thy mother, and wherefore art thou seeking for her?’</p> +<p>And he answered, ‘My mother is a beggar even as I am, and I +have treated her evilly, and I pray ye to suffer me to pass that she +may give me her forgiveness, if it be that she tarrieth in this city.’ +But they would not, and pricked him with their spears.</p> +<p>And, as he turned away weeping, one whose armour was inlaid with +gilt flowers, and on whose helmet couched a lion that had wings, came +up and made inquiry of the soldiers who it was who had sought entrance. +And they said to him, ‘It is a beggar and the child of a beggar, +and we have driven him away.’</p> +<p>‘Nay,’ he cried, laughing, ‘but we will sell the +foul thing for a slave, and his price shall be the price of a bowl of +sweet wine.’</p> +<p>And an old and evil-visaged man who was passing by called out, and +said, ‘I will buy him for that price,’ and, when he had +paid the price, he took the Star-Child by the hand and led him into +the city.</p> +<p>And after that they had gone through many streets they came to a +little door that was set in a wall that was covered with a pomegranate +tree. And the old man touched the door with a ring of graved jasper +and it opened, and they went down five steps of brass into a garden +filled with black poppies and green jars of burnt clay. And the +old man took then from his turban a scarf of figured silk, and bound +with it the eyes of the Star-Child, and drave him in front of him. +And when the scarf was taken off his eyes, the Star-Child found himself +in a dungeon, that was lit by a lantern of horn.</p> +<p>And the old man set before him some mouldy bread on a trencher and +said, ‘Eat,’ and some brackish water in a cup and said, +‘Drink,’ and when he had eaten and drunk, the old man went +out, locking the door behind him and fastening it with an iron chain.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>And on the morrow the old man, who was indeed the subtlest of the +magicians of Libya and had learned his art from one who dwelt in the +tombs of the Nile, came in to him and frowned at him, and said, ‘In +a wood that is nigh to the gate of this city of Giaours there are three +pieces of gold. One is of white gold, and another is of yellow +gold, and the gold of the third one is red. To-day thou shalt +bring me the piece of white gold, and if thou bringest it not back, +I will beat thee with a hundred stripes. Get thee away quickly, +and at sunset I will be waiting for thee at the door of the garden. +See that thou bringest the white gold, or it shall go ill with thee, +for thou art my slave, and I have bought thee for the price of a bowl +of sweet wine.’ And he bound the eyes of the Star-Child +with the scarf of figured silk, and led him through the house, and through +the garden of poppies, and up the five steps of brass. And having +opened the little door with his ring he set him in the street.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>And the Star-Child went out of the gate of the city, and came to +the wood of which the Magician had spoken to him.</p> +<p>Now this wood was very fair to look at from without, and seemed full +of singing birds and of sweet-scented flowers, and the Star-Child entered +it gladly. Yet did its beauty profit him little, for wherever +he went harsh briars and thorns shot up from the ground and encompassed +him, and evil nettles stung him, and the thistle pierced him with her +daggers, so that he was in sore distress. Nor could he anywhere +find the piece of white gold of which the Magician had spoken, though +he sought for it from morn to noon, and from noon to sunset. And +at sunset he set his face towards home, weeping bitterly, for he knew +what fate was in store for him.</p> +<p>But when he had reached the outskirts of the wood, he heard from +a thicket a cry as of some one in pain. And forgetting his own +sorrow he ran back to the place, and saw there a little Hare caught +in a trap that some hunter had set for it.</p> +<p>And the Star-Child had pity on it, and released it, and said to it, +‘I am myself but a slave, yet may I give thee thy freedom.’</p> +<p>And the Hare answered him, and said: ‘Surely thou hast given +me freedom, and what shall I give thee in return?’</p> +<p>And the Star-Child said to it, ‘I am seeking for a piece of +white gold, nor can I anywhere find it, and if I bring it not to my +master he will beat me.’</p> +<p>‘Come thou with me,’ said the Hare, ‘and I will +lead thee to it, for I know where it is hidden, and for what purpose.’</p> +<p>So the Star-Child went with the Hare, and lo! in the cleft of a great +oak-tree he saw the piece of white gold that he was seeking. And +he was filled with joy, and seized it, and said to the Hare, ‘The +service that I did to thee thou hast rendered back again many times +over, and the kindness that I showed thee thou hast repaid a hundred-fold.’</p> +<p>‘Nay,’ answered the Hare, ‘but as thou dealt with +me, so I did deal with thee,’ and it ran away swiftly, and the +Star-Child went towards the city.</p> +<p>Now at the gate of the city there was seated one who was a leper. +Over his face hung a cowl of grey linen, and through the eyelets his +eyes gleamed like red coals. And when he saw the Star-Child coming, +he struck upon a wooden bowl, and clattered his bell, and called out +to him, and said, ‘Give me a piece of money, or I must die of +hunger. For they have thrust me out of the city, and there is +no one who has pity on me.’</p> +<p>‘Alas!’ cried the Star-Child, ‘I have but one piece +of money in my wallet, and if I bring it not to my master he will beat +me, for I am his slave.’</p> +<p>But the leper entreated him, and prayed of him, till the Star-Child +had pity, and gave him the piece of white gold.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>And when he came to the Magician’s house, the Magician opened +to him, and brought him in, and said to him, ‘Hast thou the piece +of white gold?’ And the Star-Child answered, ‘I have +it not.’ So the Magician fell upon him, and beat him, and +set before him an empty trencher, and said, ‘Eat,’ and an +empty cup, and said, ‘Drink,’ and flung him again into the +dungeon.</p> +<p>And on the morrow the Magician came to him, and said, ‘If to-day +thou bringest me not the piece of yellow gold, I will surely keep thee +as my slave, and give thee three hundred stripes.’</p> +<p>So the Star-Child went to the wood, and all day long he searched +for the piece of yellow gold, but nowhere could he find it. And +at sunset he sat him down and began to weep, and as he was weeping there +came to him the little Hare that he had rescued from the trap,</p> +<p>And the Hare said to him, ‘Why art thou weeping? And +what dost thou seek in the wood?’</p> +<p>And the Star-Child answered, ‘I am seeking for a piece of yellow +gold that is hidden here, and if I find it not my master will beat me, +and keep me as a slave.’</p> +<p>‘Follow me,’ cried the Hare, and it ran through the wood +till it came to a pool of water. And at the bottom of the pool +the piece of yellow gold was lying.</p> +<p>‘How shall I thank thee?’ said the Star-Child, ‘for +lo! this is the second time that you have succoured me.’</p> +<p>‘Nay, but thou hadst pity on me first,’ said the Hare, +and it ran away swiftly.</p> +<p>And the Star-Child took the piece of yellow gold, and put it in his +wallet, and hurried to the city. But the leper saw him coming, +and ran to meet him, and knelt down and cried, ‘Give me a piece +of money or I shall die of hunger.’</p> +<p>And the Star-Child said to him, ‘I have in my wallet but one +piece of yellow gold, and if I bring it not to my master he will beat +me and keep me as his slave.’</p> +<p>But the leper entreated him sore, so that the Star-Child had pity +on him, and gave him the piece of yellow gold.</p> +<p>And when he came to the Magician’s house, the Magician opened +to him, and brought him in, and said to him, ‘Hast thou the piece +of yellow gold?’ And the Star-Child said to him, ‘I +have it not.’ So the Magician fell upon him, and beat him, +and loaded him with chains, and cast him again into the dungeon.</p> +<p>And on the morrow the Magician came to him, and said, ‘If to-day +thou bringest me the piece of red gold I will set thee free, but if +thou bringest it not I will surely slay thee.’</p> +<p>So the Star-Child went to the wood, and all day long he searched +for the piece of red gold, but nowhere could he find it. And at +evening he sat him down and wept, and as he was weeping there came to +him the little Hare.</p> +<p>And the Hare said to him, ‘The piece of red gold that thou +seekest is in the cavern that is behind thee. Therefore weep no +more but be glad.’</p> +<p>‘How shall I reward thee?’ cried the Star-Child, ‘for +lo! this is the third time thou hast succoured me.’</p> +<p>‘Nay, but thou hadst pity on me first,’ said the Hare, +and it ran away swiftly.</p> +<p>And the Star-Child entered the cavern, and in its farthest corner +he found the piece of red gold. So he put it in his wallet, and +hurried to the city. And the leper seeing him coming, stood in +the centre of the road, and cried out, and said to him, ‘Give +me the piece of red money, or I must die,’ and the Star-Child +had pity on him again, and gave him the piece of red gold, saying, ‘Thy +need is greater than mine.’ Yet was his heart heavy, for +he knew what evil fate awaited him.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines1"><br /></div> +<p>But lo! as he passed through the gate of the city, the guards bowed +down and made obeisance to him, saying, ‘How beautiful is our +lord!’ and a crowd of citizens followed him, and cried out, ‘Surely +there is none so beautiful in the whole world!’ so that the Star-Child +wept, and said to himself, ‘They are mocking me, and making light +of my misery.’ And so large was the concourse of the people, +that he lost the threads of his way, and found himself at last in a +great square, in which there was a palace of a King.</p> +<p>And the gate of the palace opened, and the priests and the high officers +of the city ran forth to meet him, and they abased themselves before +him, and said, ‘Thou art our lord for whom we have been waiting, +and the son of our King.’</p> +<p>And the Star-Child answered them and said, ‘I am no king’s +son, but the child of a poor beggar-woman. And how say ye that +I am beautiful, for I know that I am evil to look at?’</p> +<p>Then he, whose armour was inlaid with gilt flowers, and on whose +helmet crouched a lion that had wings, held up a shield, and cried, +‘How saith my lord that he is not beautiful?’</p> +<p>And the Star-Child looked, and lo! his face was even as it had been, +and his comeliness had come back to him, and he saw that in his eyes +which he had not seen there before.</p> +<p>And the priests and the high officers knelt down and said to him, +‘It was prophesied of old that on this day should come he who +was to rule over us. Therefore, let our lord take this crown and +this sceptre, and be in his justice and mercy our King over us.’</p> +<p>But he said to them, ‘I am not worthy, for I have denied the +mother who bare me, nor may I rest till I have found her, and known +her forgiveness. Therefore, let me go, for I must wander again +over the world, and may not tarry here, though ye bring me the crown +and the sceptre.’ And as he spake he turned his face from +them towards the street that led to the gate of the city, and lo! amongst +the crowd that pressed round the soldiers, he saw the beggar-woman who +was his mother, and at her side stood the leper, who had sat by the +road.</p> +<p>And a cry of joy broke from his lips, and he ran over, and kneeling +down he kissed the wounds on his mother’s feet, and wet them with +his tears. He bowed his head in the dust, and sobbing, as one +whose heart might break, he said to her: ‘Mother, I denied thee +in the hour of my pride. Accept me in the hour of my humility. +Mother, I gave thee hatred. Do thou give me love. Mother, +I rejected thee. Receive thy child now.’ But the beggar-woman +answered him not a word.</p> +<p>And he reached out his hands, and clasped the white feet of the leper, +and said to him: ‘Thrice did I give thee of my mercy. Bid +my mother speak to me once.’ But the leper answered him +not a word.</p> +<p>And he sobbed again and said: ‘Mother, my suffering is greater +than I can bear. Give me thy forgiveness, and let me go back to +the forest.’ And the beggar-woman put her hand on his head, +and said to him, ‘Rise,’ and the leper put his hand on his +head, and said to him, ‘Rise,’ also.</p> +<p>And he rose up from his feet, and looked at them, and lo! they were +a King and a Queen.</p> +<p>And the Queen said to him, ‘This is thy father whom thou hast +succoured.’</p> +<p>And the King said, ‘This is thy mother whose feet thou hast +washed with thy tears.’ And they fell on his neck and kissed +him, and brought him into the palace and clothed him in fair raiment, +and set the crown upon his head, and the sceptre in his hand, and over +the city that stood by the river he ruled, and was its lord. Much +justice and mercy did he show to all, and the evil Magician he banished, +and to the Woodcutter and his wife he sent many rich gifts, and to their +children he gave high honour. Nor would he suffer any to be cruel +to bird or beast, but taught love and loving-kindness and charity, and +to the poor he gave bread, and to the naked he gave raiment, and there +was peace and plenty in the land.</p> +<p>Yet ruled he not long, so great had been his suffering, and so bitter +the fire of his testing, for after the space of three years he died. +And he who came after him ruled evilly.</p> +<div class="GutenbergBlankLines3"><br /><br /><br /></div> +<p>End of the Project Gutenberg eBook A House of Pomegranates</p> +<p>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, A HOUSE OF POMEGRANATES ***</p> +<pre> + +******This file should be named hpomg10h.htm or hpomg10h.zip****** +Corrected EDITIONS of our EBooks get a new NUMBER, hpomg11h.htm +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, hpomg10ah.htm + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we usually do not +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +We are now trying to release all our eBooks one year in advance +of the official release dates, leaving time for better editing. +Please be encouraged to tell us about any error or corrections, +even years after the official publication date. + +Please note neither this listing nor its contents are final til +midnight of the last day of the month of any such announcement. +The official release date of all Project Gutenberg eBooks is at +Midnight, Central Time, of the last day of the stated month. A +preliminary version may often be posted for suggestion, comment +and editing by those who wish to do so. + +Most people start at our Web sites at: +http://gutenberg.net or +http://promo.net/pg + +These Web sites include award-winning information about Project +Gutenberg, including how to donate, how to help produce our new +eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter (free!). + + +Those of you who want to download any eBook before announcement +can get to them as follows, and just download by date. This is +also a good way to get them instantly upon announcement, as the +indexes our cataloguers produce obviously take a while after an +announcement goes out in the Project Gutenberg Newsletter. + +http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/etext04 or +ftp://ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/docs/books/gutenberg/etext04 + +Or /etext03, 02, 01, 00, 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90 + +Just search by the first five letters of the filename you want, +as it appears in our Newsletters. + + +Information about Project Gutenberg (one page) + +We produce about two million dollars for each hour we work. The +time it takes us, a rather conservative estimate, is fifty hours +to get any eBook selected, entered, proofread, edited, copyright +searched and analyzed, the copyright letters written, etc. Our +projected audience is one hundred million readers. If the value +per text is nominally estimated at one dollar then we produce $2 +million dollars per hour in 2002 as we release over 100 new text +files per month: 1240 more eBooks in 2001 for a total of 4000+ +We are already on our way to trying for 2000 more eBooks in 2002 +If they reach just 1-2% of the world's population then the total +will reach over half a trillion eBooks given away by year's end. + +The Goal of Project Gutenberg is to Give Away 1 Trillion eBooks! +This is ten thousand titles each to one hundred million readers, +which is only about 4% of the present number of computer users. + +Here is the briefest record of our progress (* means estimated): + +eBooks Year Month + + 1 1971 July + 10 1991 January + 100 1994 January + 1000 1997 August + 1500 1998 October + 2000 1999 December + 2500 2000 December + 3000 2001 November + 4000 2001 October/November + 6000 2002 December* + 9000 2003 November* +10000 2004 January* + + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation has been created +to secure a future for Project Gutenberg into the next millennium. + +We need your donations more than ever! + +As of February, 2002, contributions are being solicited from people +and organizations in: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, +Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, +Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, +Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New +Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, +Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South +Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West +Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. + +We have filed in all 50 states now, but these are the only ones +that have responded. + +As the requirements for other states are met, additions to this list +will be made and fund raising will begin in the additional states. +Please feel free to ask to check the status of your state. + +In answer to various questions we have received on this: + +We are constantly working on finishing the paperwork to legally +request donations in all 50 states. If your state is not listed and +you would like to know if we have added it since the list you have, +just ask. + +While we cannot solicit donations from people in states where we are +not yet registered, we know of no prohibition against accepting +donations from donors in these states who approach us with an offer to +donate. + +International donations are accepted, but we don't know ANYTHING about +how to make them tax-deductible, or even if they CAN be made +deductible, and don't have the staff to handle it even if there are +ways. + +Donations by check or money order may be sent to: + +Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +PMB 113 +1739 University Ave. +Oxford, MS 38655-4109 + +Contact us if you want to arrange for a wire transfer or payment +method other than by check or money order. + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation has been approved by +the US Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) organization with EIN +[Employee Identification Number] 64-622154. Donations are +tax-deductible to the maximum extent permitted by law. As fund-raising +requirements for other states are met, additions to this list will be +made and fund-raising will begin in the additional states. + +We need your donations more than ever! + +You can get up to date donation information online at: + +http://www.gutenberg.net/donation.html + + +*** + +If you can't reach Project Gutenberg, +you can always email directly to: + +Michael S. Hart hart@pobox.com + +Prof. Hart will answer or forward your message. + +We would prefer to send you information by email. + + +**The Legal Small Print** + + +(Three Pages) + +***START**THE SMALL PRINT!**FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN EBOOKS**START*** +Why is this "Small Print!" statement here? You know: lawyers. +They tell us you might sue us if there is something wrong with +your copy of this eBook, even if you got it for free from +someone other than us, and even if what's wrong is not our +fault. So, among other things, this "Small Print!" statement +disclaims most of our liability to you. It also tells you how +you may distribute copies of this eBook if you want to. + +*BEFORE!* YOU USE OR READ THIS EBOOK +By using or reading any part of this PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm +eBook, you indicate that you understand, agree to and accept +this "Small Print!" statement. If you do not, you can receive +a refund of the money (if any) you paid for this eBook by +sending a request within 30 days of receiving it to the person +you got it from. If you received this eBook on a physical +medium (such as a disk), you must return it with your request. + +ABOUT PROJECT GUTENBERG-TM EBOOKS +This PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBook, like most PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBooks, +is a "public domain" work distributed by Professor Michael S. Hart +through the Project Gutenberg Association (the "Project"). +Among other things, this means that no one owns a United States copyright +on or for this work, so the Project (and you!) can copy and +distribute it in the United States without permission and +without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth +below, apply if you wish to copy and distribute this eBook +under the "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark. + +Please do not use the "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark to market +any commercial products without permission. + +To create these eBooks, the Project expends considerable +efforts to identify, transcribe and proofread public domain +works. Despite these efforts, the Project's eBooks and any +medium they may be on may contain "Defects". Among other +things, Defects may take the form of incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other +intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged +disk or other eBook medium, a computer virus, or computer +codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment. + +LIMITED WARRANTY; DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES +But for the "Right of Replacement or Refund" described below, +[1] Michael Hart and the Foundation (and any other party you may +receive this eBook from as a PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBook) disclaims +all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including +legal fees, and [2] YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE OR +UNDER STRICT LIABILITY, OR FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT, +INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE +OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE +POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. + +If you discover a Defect in this eBook within 90 days of +receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) +you paid for it by sending an explanatory note within that +time to the person you received it from. If you received it +on a physical medium, you must return it with your note, and +such person may choose to alternatively give you a replacement +copy. If you received it electronically, such person may +choose to alternatively give you a second opportunity to +receive it electronically. + +THIS EBOOK IS OTHERWISE PROVIDED TO YOU "AS-IS". NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE TO YOU AS +TO THE EBOOK OR ANY MEDIUM IT MAY BE ON, INCLUDING BUT NOT +LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A +PARTICULAR PURPOSE. + +Some states do not allow disclaimers of implied warranties or +the exclusion or limitation of consequential damages, so the +above disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you, and you +may have other legal rights. + +INDEMNITY +You will indemnify and hold Michael Hart, the Foundation, +and its trustees and agents, and any volunteers associated +with the production and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm +texts harmless, from all liability, cost and expense, including +legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the +following that you do or cause: [1] distribution of this eBook, +[2] alteration, modification, or addition to the eBook, +or [3] any Defect. + +DISTRIBUTION UNDER "PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm" +You may distribute copies of this eBook electronically, or by +disk, book or any other medium if you either delete this +"Small Print!" and all other references to Project Gutenberg, +or: + +[1] Only give exact copies of it. Among other things, this + requires that you do not remove, alter or modify the + eBook or this "small print!" statement. You may however, + if you wish, distribute this eBook in machine readable + binary, compressed, mark-up, or proprietary form, + including any form resulting from conversion by word + processing or hypertext software, but only so long as + *EITHER*: + + [*] The eBook, when displayed, is clearly readable, and + does *not* contain characters other than those + intended by the author of the work, although tilde + (~), asterisk (*) and underline (_) characters may + be used to convey punctuation intended by the + author, and additional characters may be used to + indicate hypertext links; OR + + [*] The eBook may be readily converted by the reader at + no expense into plain ASCII, EBCDIC or equivalent + form by the program that displays the eBook (as is + the case, for instance, with most word processors); + OR + + [*] You provide, or agree to also provide on request at + no additional cost, fee or expense, a copy of the + eBook in its original plain ASCII form (or in EBCDIC + or other equivalent proprietary form). + +[2] Honor the eBook refund and replacement provisions of this + "Small Print!" statement. + +[3] Pay a trademark license fee to the Foundation of 20% of the + gross profits you derive calculated using the method you + already use to calculate your applicable taxes. If you + don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are + payable to "Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation" + the 60 days following each date you prepare (or were + legally required to prepare) your annual (or equivalent + periodic) tax return. Please contact us beforehand to + let us know your plans and to work out the details. + +WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? +Project Gutenberg is dedicated to increasing the number of +public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed +in machine readable form. + +The Project gratefully accepts contributions of money, time, +public domain materials, or royalty free copyright licenses. +Money should be paid to the: +"Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +If you are interested in contributing scanning equipment or +software or other items, please contact Michael Hart at: +hart@pobox.com + +[Portions of this eBook's header and trailer may be reprinted only +when distributed free of all fees. Copyright (C) 2001, 2002 by +Michael S. Hart. Project Gutenberg is a TradeMark and may not be +used in any sales of Project Gutenberg eBooks or other materials be +they hardware or software or any other related product without +express permission.] + +*END THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN EBOOKS*Ver.02/11/02*END* +</pre></body> +</html> diff --git a/old/hpomg10h.zip b/old/hpomg10h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a47ebb9 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/hpomg10h.zip |
