AN AUDIENCE WITH THE SUPREME GODDESS.
The palace of Tanje, situated about fifty miles from Calnogor, was the
metropolitan palace of the supreme goddess. It was sculptured out of a
hill of white marble, as were also its walls, enclosing a garden a
square mile in extent.
In conformity with the programme prepared by his majesty, King
Aldemegry Bhoolmakar, we were to be received by her holiness Lyone in
her palace at Tanje. The thought of meeting the adorable figure that
crowned the throne of the gods filled me with keenest delight.
I seemed about to visit, not a human being like myself, but a
veritable deity. What honor, what pleasure, it would be to speak to
her face to face, heart to heart. Disguise it as I might, a feeling
for the goddess was being awakened in my soul. Was it the adoration of
the worshipper, or was it the dawn of a sacrilegious passion?
It seemed a monstrous idea for any one to love in the ordinary meaning
of the term a being so high and holy. I could only worship her afar
off, like any adoring citizen of Atvatabar.
His majesty the king, together with Chief Minister Koshnili,
Commander-in-Chief Coltonobory, Admiral Jolar and other dignitaries of
the kingdom, did us the honor to escort us to Tanje.
The method of travel between Calnogor and Tanje was by means of the
pneumatic tube, also a deity of invention. This consisted of a smooth
tube six feet in diameter that curved over the country in a sinuous
line, being supported on pillars at a height of twenty feet above the
ground. A decorative car of gold ornamented in enamelled colors rode
the crest of the tube, being connected with the piston inside. The car
was steadied between rails on either side and swept over the earth
with inconceivable rapidity. The distance from Calnogor to Tanje was
traversed in thirty minutes.
A feeling of awe overcame the sailors as we approached the abode of
the living symbol of the Holy Soul.
The palace was a noble pile of masonry as it glittered in the
perpendicular sunlight. It stood two stories in height and was
surmounted by a flattened central dome of colored glass, the ribs of
the dome being of solid gold. The lower story was surrounded by a
colonnade of pillars carved in the most grotesque shapes imaginable.
The grand entrance on the north side was constructed of alternating
pillars of platinum and gold, all three feet in thickness. From the
towers brilliant banners, emblazoned with the figure of the throne of
the gods, floated on the wind.
The apartments of the grand chamberlain were on the north side of the
palace, where the pneumatic car was provided with a depot for the use
of travellers.
Cleperelyum, the grand chamberlain, clad in white robes like an Arab
chief, received us in the name of the goddess with marked deference
and courtesy.
A guard of honor consisting of a thousand wayleals was drawn up around
the palace. The audience chamber was a rectangular court in the centre
of the building, whose ceiling was the roof of the palace itself,
surmounted by the dome peculiar to the palaces of Atvatabar.
The hall leading to the presence chamber was lined with the priests
and priestesses from Egyplosis in attendance on the goddess.
Led by the grand chamberlain, we arrived at the golden doors of the
audience chamber, which were opened by the servitors of the palace.
With trembling exultation I saw at the further end of the spacious
apartment a royal seat of violet velvet whereon sat Lyone, the supreme
goddess of Atvatabar.
As my eyes rested upon the goddess she appeared still more divine than
before. It seemed an unhallowed act that rough sailors should venture
into such spiritual precincts. We were awe-struck with the presence
before us. As the grand chamberlain called out our names, we bowed low
to that majestic spirit that seemed much more a deity than human
flesh.
[Illustration: HER HOLINESS OFFERED BOTH HIS MAJESTY THE KING AND
MYSELF HER HAND TO KISS.]
Her holiness greeted us with marked favor and offered both his majesty
the king and myself her hand to kiss. The high officials and my
officers and sailors were obliged to remain standing during the
audience, according to the etiquette of the holy palace. His majesty
the king and myself were allowed to seat ourselves on an elevated dais
before the goddess. When thus seated, I had leisure to observe that
she was arrayed in a single garment of quivering pale green silk, that
caressed every curve of her matchless figure and spread in myriad
folds about her limbs and feet. On her head she wore a model of the
jarcal, or bird of yearning, fashioned in precious terrelium. She wore
also a jewelled belt of gold. The breast was embroidered with a golden
emblem of the throne of the gods, the sacred ensign of Atvatabar. On
her neck were circles of rich rose pearls whose light gleamed soft on
the green lustre of her attire. On her head was the tiara of the
goddess, the triple crown of Harikar.
Her holiness had an air of girlish frankness combined with royal
dignity. She was so youthful that she could not have been more than
twenty years old. She possessed a charming presence and a clear and
musical voice. Her eyes were large and blue, and her finely-formed
lips, like blood-red anemones, contrasted finely with the pale golden
hue of her complexion.
Her features combined the witchery of a houri with the strength of
intellect. They were sculptured and illuminated by a grandly-developed
soul.
The odor of a high and steadfast virtue surrounded her. It was not the
virtue of the ascetic, but rather that strength of soul that could
triumph over temptation, that loved fair lights, fine raiment, sweet
colors, and all the gladness and beauty of life.
In her soft right hand she bore a rod of divination, the spiritual
sceptre of Atvatabar. On either side of her stood a twin soul in fond
embrace as a guard of love.
The audience chamber was in itself a dream of grandeur and beauty.
From the rose-tinted glass of the dome overhead a light soft and warm
bathed all beneath with a peculiar sweetness. The lower part of the
walls resembled the cloisters of a mosque. Behind pillars of solid
silver a corridor ran all around the chamber. Here an artistic group
of singers, clad in classic robes in soft colors, perambulated,
singing as they went a refrain of penetrating sweetness. The audience
listened with the deepest respect to the singing and to our
conversation with the goddess. In the assembly were all the notables
of the kingdom, poets, artists, musicians, inventors, sculptors, etc.,
as well as royal and sacerdotal officers.
The singing of the choir, that moved like an apparition of spirits in
the dim cloisters, seemed to embody our thoughts and feelings. For
myself the divine song was a draught of joy. It was a breath of
verdure, of flowers and fruits, of a warm and serene atmosphere made
perfect by the presence of a peerless incarnation of man's universal
soul.