THE CHIEF EUNUCH.
About the middle of the seventeenth day we passed through a dark and
gloomy teak forest and came to a place where two stone towers stood, one
on either side of our road. Just behind these towers some fifty tents
were pitched, and a herd of elephants and horses were browsing near
them. The tents bore streamers with the Sacred Ape of Kai embroidered
upon them, and a throng of natives in gay costumes stood in a group
awaiting us.
“What’s up?” I called to Mai Lo, whose elephant was ambling close behind
our own.
“These pillars,” said he, “mark the boundary of Kwang-Kai-Nong. When we
pass them I shall be in my own territory.”
“Oh, and are these your people?” I inquired.
“Yes. I have sent messengers ahead to warn them of my coming. So they
are here to receive the body of their prince.”
As we continued to advance the group stood motionless, and I had leisure
to examine them. They were finely formed fellows, tall and athletic, and
many of them wore beards, some jet black, some gray, some snow white. It
was easy to see that this reception committee was composed of the best
element of the Kaitos, probably most of them nobles and holding
important offices in the principality.
The mahout in charge of the elephant which bore the casket of the Prince
now urged his beast slightly in advance of our party, and, as it passed
the gateway marked by the towering pillars, the members of the group
prostrated themselves and with loud wails and groans grabbed up the dust
from the road and scattered it over their bowed heads and bodies, until
they were a sight to behold. Then they raised themselves to their knees,
extended their arms skyward, and howled in concert like so many coyotes.
The din was ear-splitting, and while it continued Mai Lo descended from
his elephant and groveled with the others in the dust before the casket
of Prince Kai.
Then two aged Kaitos advanced and raised the governor, and escorted him
to a tent. The others continued their cries until the casket had been
lifted from the elephant and conveyed into another tent—the largest and
most decorated one of the encampment.
During this time we had remained unnoted observers of the scene; but
when the casket disappeared behind the walls of the tent the people,
having risen and dusted themselves, began to look upon us with
curiosity. Nux and Bryonia, who had dismounted with the casket and stood
like ebony statues beside the elephant, attracted most of the scrutiny,
but bore the ordeal with much dignity.
I was pleased to observe in these people a lack of that ferocious hatred
that had marked the countenances of most of the Chinese we had
encountered. These men seemed more curious than antagonistic. When we
boys dismounted and stood among them they all inclined their bodies in
more or less lowly obeisance.
Probably the messengers sent forward by Mai Lo had described us to these
people as the friends of the late Prince, for they seemed not surprised
to find us with the governor’s party.
The tent in which lay the casket of the Prince was at once surrounded by
a cordon of guards, armed with scimitars shaped like those of the
ancient Saracens. But no one entered the tent itself.
The principal members of the reception party followed Mai Lo into his
tent, while others ushered us into still another tent, in which we found
couches spread, and low tables before them bearing refreshments of tea
and cakes. Here we remained all the afternoon. Nux and Bryonia stood
guard outside the entrance, stolidly bearing the gaze of the natives.
When the sun went down there was another period of wailing throughout
the camp; but the noise soon ceased. Shortly afterward one of our
escort, who understood a few words of English, came to us with an
invitation to join “the noble governor and the great Wi-to” at the
evening banquet.
I inquired who the “great Wi-to” might be, and was told that he was the
Chief Eunuch and Supreme Ruler of the palace of Prince Kai, and the most
important personage, in short, in Kwang-Kai-Nong after the illustrious
governor.
When we entered the banquet tent we found about twenty of the most
important Kaitos assembled. A circle of low wicker tables stood in the
center of the tent, with rugs spread before them. At one side, in the
center of a small group, stood Mai Lo, arrayed in splendid costume, and
beside him stood a slender, stooping individual with a smooth shaven
face, whose magnificent robes caused even those of the governor to
appear plain. Around his neck was a chain of superb rubies. When Mai Lo,
in a pompous and somewhat haughty tone, presented us to Wi-to, the Chief
Eunuch gave us a whimsical look and raised a pair of bright, intelligent
eyes to meet our own.
“The strangers are welcome,” he said in a low, soft tone—the first
speech I had heard from a Chinaman that was not harsh and rasping since
my conversation with Prince Kai. His English was not so perfect as that
of the Prince, but much smoother than Mai Lo’s, and it gave me a sense
of relief to find another English-speaking personage in this far-off
country.
My notion of eunuchs had been that they were fierce creatures of
powerful build, usually Ethiopians, and greatly to be feared. I had
heard tales of their absolute power in the palaces of the nobles, and
that even the mighty Empress Tsi An had failed to curb the influence of
her palace eunuchs. So it pleased me to find Wi-to more agreeable in
manner and speech than the imperturbable governor, and I answered him as
pleasantly as I could, saying:
“We have come on a sad mission, your Highness; to escort the remains of
your master and our beloved friend to his old home. Had the Prince not
requested us to come here, we should not have ventured to intrude upon
you at this unhappy moment.”
I did not know whether it was proper to address the Chief Eunuch as
“your Highness” or not; but perhaps the compliment pleased him, for he
smiled, then screwed up his face into a semblance of grief, then smiled
again.
“We are deeply grieved and inconsolable,” said he, cheerfully. “The
illustrious and royal Prince Kai, whose memory I serve as faithfully as
I did his person, has lived at Kai-Nong but little since he was a boy,
and we had hoped that upon his return he would command the affairs of
his province and become a mighty Viceroy of the Celestial and August
Emperor. But he has passed on to a greater Empire.”
Mai Lo now summoned us to the feast in a voice that I thought a trifle
impatient; but the eunuch paid no attention. He was examining Archie as
he had me, and asked him how he liked China.
“I don’t want to be impolite,” said the bluff Archie, “and perhaps this
country is all right for the people who live here; but for my part I
prefer America.”
“That is natural,” returned Wi, laughing; “and curiously enough, Prince
Kai had the same idea, or rather he preferred any part of Europe to his
old home. Did my duties permit, I too would travel.”
Mai Lo called again, and the eunuch turned and nodded. Then he said to
Joe:
“I hope the journey has not tired the friend of my Prince?”
“I’m as fresh as a daisy,” said Joe. “But I can hardly call the Prince
my friend, although I knew and liked him. Sam, here, was the especial
friend of Prince Kai.”
That was what the shrewd eunuch had wanted to find out. He turned
good-naturedly toward the governor and asked his pardon for the delay,
in English.
When we seated ourselves upon the rugs, I found that I was at the right
hand of the Chief Eunuch and Joe at his left. Archie sat next me, and
far away on the other side squatted Mai Lo, with dignified Kaitos on
either side of him.
The meal was excellently prepared and served, though I had no idea of
what the dishes consisted. Wi-to plied me with questions concerning the
death of the Prince and the details of his accident. I gave him the
story as clearly as I could, and our conversation, held in low tones,
did not interrupt the chatter in Chinese going on around us. I asked
Wi-to where he learned to speak English, and he said that Prince Kai had
taught him.
“It is an excellent language to converse in, and easier than our own,”
said he, “for it is much more simple. And when my Prince and I talked
together no listeners could understand what he said. That is a great
convenience in palace life, I assure you.”
Two things of importance impressed themselves upon me during this
interview. One was the fact that the Chief Eunuch was not afraid of Mai
Lo, and was rather inclined to snub the governor, and the other that
Wi-to seemed disposed to be friendly toward us.
Joe observed another fact that escaped me, and that was the evident
disfavor with which all the nobles present regarded the eunuch. They
treated him with great respect, but shunned his society, and Joe
declared that we had forfeited the general regard by hobnobbing with
him.
This was disconcerting, at first, but when I came to think it over I
decided that it was best for us to be on a friendly footing with Wi-to,
whatever the others might think of us. For he was in command of the
palace, and the palace was to be the scene of our adventures. Mai Lo we
knew to be opposed to us, and therefore a friend such as the Chief
Eunuch was not to be despised.
After the feast, which lasted far into the night, we all went out and
joined the throng which had congregated before the tent where the
supposed body of Prince Kai lay in state. There an interesting ceremony
was performed. First there was much wailing, grief being expressed in
childish “boo-hoos” accompanied by the clang of cymbals and gongs. The
uproar was deafening for a time, but gradually subsided. Then the people
advanced one by one to the entrance of the tent and there burned papers
cut into queer shapes. These papers represented the things Prince Kai
might need while his spirit was wandering in the land of the Genii, and
consisted of chairs, tables, chests, wearing apparel, jewelry, nuts,
fruit and the like. Many sheets of gold and silver tinsel were likewise
burned, the idea being to supply the Prince with wealth to purchase
whatever he might need in the mysterious country to which he had gone.
The ceremony was interesting, as I said; but it grew tedious, and we
were glad when it was over and we were permitted to retire to our tent
for the night.