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_ One person, however, did not succeed in getting out in time
before the gates were shut, and that was the High Priest Agon,
who, as we had every reason to believe, was Sorais' great ally,
and the heart and soul of her party. This cunning and ferocious
old man had not forgiven us for those hippopotami, or rather that
was what he said. What he meant was that he would never brook
the introduction of our wider ways of thought and foreign
learning and influence while there was a possibility of stamping
us out. Also he knew that we possessed a different system of
religion, and no doubt was in daily terror of our attempting to
introduce it into Zu-Vendis. One day he asked me if we had any
religion in our country, and I told him that so far as I could
remember we had ninety-five different ones. You might have
knocked him down with a feather, and really it is difficult not
to pity a high priest of a well-established cult who is haunted
by the possible approach of one or all of ninety-five new
religions.
When we knew that Agon was caught, Nyleptha, Sir Henry, and I
discussed what was to be done with him. I was for closely
incarcerating him, but Nyleptha shook her head, saying that it
would produce a disastrous effect throughout the country. 'Ah!'
she added, with a stamp of her foot, 'if I win and am once really
Queen, I will break the power of those priests, with their rites
and revels and dark secret ways.' I only wished that old Agon
could have heard her, it would have frightened him.
'Well,' said Sir Henry, 'if we are not to imprison him, I suppose
that we may as well let him go. He is of no use here.'
Nyleptha looked at him in a curious sort of way, and said in a
dry little voice, 'Thinkest thou so, my lord?'
'Eh?' said Curtis. 'No, I do not see what is the use of keeping
him.'
She said nothing, but continued looking at him in a way that was
as shy as it was sweet.
Then at last he understood.
'Forgive me, Nyleptha,' he said, rather tremulously. 'Dost thou
mean that thou wilt marry me, even now?'
'Nay, I know not; let my lord say,' was her rapid answer; 'but if
my lord wills, the priest is there and the altar is
there'--pointing to the entrance to a private chapel--'and am I
not ready to do the will of my lord? Listen, oh my lord! In
eight days or less thou must leave me and go down to war, for
thou shalt lead my armies, and in war--men sometimes fall, and so
I would for a little space have had thee all my own, if only for
memory's sake;' and the tears overflowed her lovely eyes and
rolled down her face like heavy drops of dew down the red heart
of a rose.
'Mayhap, too,' she went on, 'I shall lose my crown, and with my
crown my life and thine also. Sorais is very strong and very
bitter, and if she prevails she will not spare. Who can read the
future? Happiness is the world's White Bird, that alights
seldom, and flies fast and far till one day he is lost in the
clouds. Therefore should we hold him fast if by any chance he
rests for a little space upon our hand. It is not wise to
neglect the present for the future, for who knows what the future
will be, Incubu? Let us pluck our flowers while the dew is on
them, for when the sun is up they wither and on the morrow will
others bloom that we shall never see.' And she lifted her sweet
face to him and smiled into his eyes, and once more I felt a
curious pang of jealousy and turned and went away. They never
took much notice of whether I was there or not, thinking, I
suppose, that I was an old fool, and that it did not matter one
way or the other, and really I believe that they were right.
So I went back to our quarters and ruminated over things in
general, and watched old Umslopogaas whetting his axe outside the
window as a vulture whets his beak beside a dying ox.
And in about an hour's time Sir Henry came tearing over, looking
very radiant and wildly excited, and found Good and myself and
even Umslopogaas, and asked us if we should like to assist at a
real wedding. Of course we said yes, and off we went to the
chapel, where we found Agon looking as sulky as any High Priest
possibly could, and no wonder. It appeared that he and Nyleptha
had a slight difference of opinion about the coming ceremony. He
had flatly refused to celebrate it, or to allow any of his
priests to do so, whereupon Nyleptha became very angry and told
him that she, as Queen, was head of the Church, and meant to be
obeyed. Indeed, she played the part of a Zu-Vendi Henry the
Eighth to perfection, and insisted that, if she wanted to be
married, she would be married, and that he should marry her. *{In
Zu-Vendis members of the Royal House can only be married by the
High Priest or a formally appointed deputy. --A. Q.}
He still refused to go through the ceremony, so she clinched her
argument thus--
'Well, I cannot execute a High Priest, because there is an absurd
prejudice against it, and I cannot imprison him because all his
subordinates would raise a crying that would bring the stars down
on Zu-Vendis and crush it; but I CAN leave him to contemplate the
altar of the Sun without anything to eat, because that is his
natural vocation, and if thou wilt not marry me, O Agon! thou
shalt be placed before the altar yonder with nought but a little
water till such time as thou hast reconsidered the matter.'
Now, as it happened, Agon had been hurried away that morning
without his breakfast, and was already exceedingly hungry, so he
presently modified his views and consented to marry them, saying
at the same time that he washed his hands of all responsibility
in the matter.
So it chanced that presently, attended only by two of her
favourite maidens, came the Queen Nyleptha, with happy blushing
face and downcast eyes, dressed in pure white, without embroidery
of any sort, as seems to be the fashion on these occasions in
most countries of the world. She did not wear a single ornament,
even her gold circlets were removed, and I thought that if
possible she looked more lovely than ever without them, as really
superbly beautiful women do.
She came, curtseyed low to Sir Henry, and then took his hand and
led him up before the altar, and after a little pause, in a slow,
clear voice uttered the following words, which are customary in
Zu-Vendis if the bride desires and the man consents: --
'Thou dost swear by the Sun that thou wilt take no other woman to
wife unless I lay my hand upon her and bid her come?'
'I swear it,' answered Sir Henry; adding in English, 'One is
quite enough for me.'
Then Agon, who had been sulking in a corner near the altar, came
forward and gabbled off something into his beard at such a rate
that I could not follow it, but it appeared to be an invocation
to the Sun to bless the union and make it fruitful. I observed
that Nyleptha listened very closely to every word, and afterwards
discovered that she was afraid lest Agon should play her a trick,
and by going through the invocations backwards divorce them
instead of marry them. At the end of the invocations they were
asked, as in our service, if they took each other for husband and
wife, and on their assenting they kissed each other before the
altar, and the service was over, so far as their rites were
concerned. But it seemed to me that there was yet something
wanting, and so I produced a Prayer-Book, which has, together
which the 'Ingoldsby Legends', that I often read when I lie awake
at night, accompanied me in all my later wanderings. I gave it
to my poor boy Harry years ago, and after his death I found it
among his things and took it back again.
'Curtis,' I said, 'I am not a clergyman, and I do not know if
what I am going to propose is allowable--I know it is not
legal--but if you and the Queen have no objection I should like
to read the English marriage service over you. It is a solemn
step which you are taking, and I think that you ought, so far as
circumstances will allow, to give it the sanction of your own
religion.'
'I have thought of that,' he said, 'and I wish you would. I do
not feel half married yet.'
Nyleptha raised no objection, fully understanding that her
husband wished to celebrate the marriage according to the rites
prevailing in his own country, and so I set to work and read the
service, from 'Dearly beloved' to 'amazement', as well as I
could; and when I came to 'I, Henry, take thee, Nyleptha,' I
translated, and also 'I, Nyleptha, take thee, Henry,' which she
repeated after me very well. Then Sir Henry took a plain gold
ring from his little finger and placed it on hers, and so on to
the end. The ring had been Curtis' mother's wedding-ring, and I
could not help thinking how astonished the dear old Yorkshire
lady would have been if she could have foreseen that her
wedding-ring was to serve a similar purpose for Nyleptha, a Queen
of the Zu-Vendi.
As for Agon, he was with difficulty kept calm while this second
ceremony was going on, for he at once understood that it was
religious in its nature, and doubtless bethought him of the
ninety-five new faiths which loomed so ominously in his eyes.
Indeed, he at once set me down as a rival High Priest, and hated
me accordingly. However, in the end off he went, positively
bristling with indignation, and I knew that we might look out for
danger from his direction.
And off went Good and I, and old Umslopogaas also, leaving the
happy pair to themselves, and very low we all felt. Marriages
are supposed to be cheerful things, but my experience is that
they are very much the reverse to everybody, except perhaps the
two people chiefly interested. They mean the breaking-up of so
many old ties as well as the undertaking of so many new ones, and
there is always something sad about the passing away of the old
order. Now to take this case for instance: Sir Henry Curtis is
the best and kindest fellow and friend in the world, but he has
never been quite the same since that little scene in the chapel.
It is always Nyleptha this and Nyleptha that--Nyleptha, in short,
from morning till night in one way or another, either expressed
or understood. And as for the old friends--well, of course they
have taken the place that old friends ought to take, and which
ladies are as a rule very careful to see they do take when a man
marries, and that is, the second place. Yes, he would be angry
if anybody said so, but it is a fact for all that. He is not
quite the same, and Nyleptha is very sweet and very charming, but
I think that she likes him to understand that she has married
HIM, and not Quatermain, Good, and Co. But there! what is the
use of grumbling? It is all very right and proper, as any
married lady would have no difficulty in explaining, and I am a
selfish, jealous old man, though I hope I never show it.
So Good and I went and ate in silence and then indulged in an
extra fine flagon of old Zu-Vendian to keep our spirits up, and
presently one of our attendants came and told a story that gave
us something to think about.
It may, perhaps, be remembered that, after his quarrel with
Umslopogaas, Alphonse had gone off in an exceedingly ill temper
to sulk over his scratches. Well, it appears that he walked
right past the Temple to the Sun, down the wide road on the
further side of the slope it crowns, and thence on into the
beautiful park, or pleasure gardens, which are laid out just
beyond the outer wall. After wandering about there for a little
he started to return, but was met near the outer gate by Sorais'
train of chariots, which were galloping furiously along the great
northern road. When she caught sight of Alphonse, Sorais halted
her train and called to him. On approaching he was instantly
seized and dragged into one of the chariots and carried off,
'crying out loudly', as our informant said, and as from my
general knowledge of him I can well believe.
At first I was much puzzled to know what object Sorais could have
had in carrying off the poor little Frenchman. She could hardly
stoop so low as to try to wreak her fury on one whom she knew was
only a servant. At last, however, an idea occurred to me. We
three were, as I think I have said, much revered by the people of
Zu-Vendis at large, both because we were the first strangers they
had ever seen, and because we were supposed to be the possessors
of almost supernatural wisdom. Indeed, though Sorais' cry
against the 'foreign wolves'--or, to translate it more
accurately, 'foreign hyenas'--was sure to go down very well with
the nobles and the priests, it was not as we learnt, likely to be
particularly effectual amongst the bulk of the population. The
Zu-Vendi people, like the Athenians of old, are ever seeking for
some new thing, and just because we were so new our presence was
on the whole acceptable to them. Again, Sir Henry's magnificent
personal appearance made a deep impression upon a race who
possess a greater love of beauty than any other I have ever been
acquainted with. Beauty may be prized in other countries, but in
Zu-Vendis it is almost worshipped, as indeed the national love of
statuary shows. The people said openly in the market-places that
there was not a man in the country to touch Curtis in personal
appearance, as with the exception of Sorais there was no woman
who could compete with Nyleptha, and that therefore it was meet
that they should marry; and that he had been sent by the Sun as a
husband for their Queen. Now, from all this it will be seen that
the outcry against us was to a considerable extent fictitious,
and nobody knew it better than Sorais herself. Consequently it
struck me that it might have occurred to her that down in the
country and among the country people, it would be better to place
the reason of her conflict with her sister upon other and more
general grounds than Nyleptha's marriage with the stranger. It
would be easy in a land where there had been so many civil wars
to rake out some old cry that would stir up the recollection of
buried feuds, and, indeed, she soon found an effectual one. This
being so, it was of great importance to her to have one of the
strangers with her whom she could show to the common people as a
great Outlander, who had been so struck by the justice of her
cause that he had elected to leave his companions and follow her
standard.
This, no doubt, was the cause of her anxiety to get a hold of
Good, whom she would have used till he ceased to be of service
and then cast off. But Good having drawn back she grasped at the
opportunity of securing Alphonse, who was not unlike him in
personal appearance though smaller, no doubt with the object of
showing him off in the cities and country as the great Bougwan
himself. I told Good that I thought that that was her plan, and
his face was a sight to see--he was so horrified at the idea.
'What,' he said, 'dress up that little wretch to represent me?
Why, I shall have to get out of the country! My reputation will
be ruined for ever.'
I consoled him as well as I could, but it is not pleasant to be
personated all over a strange country by an arrant little coward,
and I can quite sympathize with his vexation.
Well, that night Good and I messed as I have said in solitary
grandeur, feeling very much as though we had just returned from
burying a friend instead of marrying one, and next morning the
work began in good earnest. The messages and orders which had
been despatched by Nyleptha two days before now began to take
effect, and multitudes of armed men came pouring into the city.
We saw, as may be imagined, but very little of Nyleptha and not
too much of Curtis during those next few days, but Good and I sat
daily with the council of generals and loyal lords, drawing up
plans of action, arranging commissariat matters, the distribution
of commands, and a hundred and one other things. Men came in
freely, and all the day long the great roads leading to Milosis
were spotted with the banners of lords arriving from their
distant places to rally round Nyleptha.
After the first few days it became clear that we should be able
to take the field with about forty thousand infantry and twenty
thousand cavalry, a very respectable force considering how short
was the time we had to collect it, and that about half the
regular army had elected to follow Sorais.
But if our force was large, Sorais' was, according to the reports
brought in day by day by our spies, much larger. She had taken
up her headquarters at a very strong town called M'Arstuna,
situated, as I have said, to the north of Milosis, and all the
countryside was flocking to her standard. Nasta had poured down
from his highlands and was on his way to join her with no less
than twenty-five thousand of his mountaineers, the most terrible
soldiers to face in all Zu-Vendis. Another mighty lord, named
Belusha, who lived in the great horse-breeding district, had come
in with twelve thousand cavalry, and so on. Indeed, what between
one thing and another, it seemed certain that she would gather a
fully armed host of nearly one hundred thousand men.
And then came news that Sorais was proposing to break up her camp
and march on the Frowning City itself, desolating the country as
she came. Thereon arose the question whether it would be best to
meet her at Milosis or to go out and give her battle. When our
opinion was asked upon the subject, Good and I unhesitatingly
gave it in favour of an advance. If we were to shut ourselves up
in the city and wait to be attacked, it seemed to us that our
inaction would be set down to fear. It is so important,
especially on an occasion of this sort, when a very little will
suffice to turn men's opinions one way or the other, to be up and
doing something. Ardour for a cause will soon evaporate if the
cause does not move but sits down to conquer. Therefore we cast
our vote for moving out and giving battle in the open, instead of
waiting till we were drawn from our walls like a badger from a
hole.
Sir Henry's opinion coincided with ours, and so, needless to say,
did that of Nyleptha, who, like a flint, was always ready to
flash out fire. A great map of the country was brought and
spread out before her. About thirty miles this side of
M'Arstuna, where Sorais lay, and ninety odd miles from Milosis,
the road ran over a neck of land some two and a half miles in
width, and flanked on either side by forest-clad hills which,
without being lofty, would, if the road were blocked, be quite
impracticable for a great baggage-laden army to cross. She
looked earnestly at the map, and then, with a quickness of
perception that in some women amounts almost to an instinct, she
laid her finger upon this neck of rising ground, and turning to
her husband, said, with a proud air of confidence and a toss of
the golden head--
'Here shalt thou meet Sorais' armies. I know the spot, here
shalt thou meet them, and drive them before thee like dust before
the storm.'
But Curtis looked grave and said nothing. _
Read next: CHAPTER XX - THE BATTLE OF THE PASS
Read previous: CHAPTER XVIII - WAR! RED WAR!
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