RETURN TO ENGLAND--JOHN'S MARRIAGE.
We were already near Parouba's house; and we supped there. John could
eat nothing. He sat apart in tears. His father went to console him.
"Ah!" said John, "I do not deserve such a father. I shall die of shame
for yielding to the fascination of that wicked Clive-Hart. I am the
cause of Miss Primerose's death; just now, when you talked of poison, I
shuddered; for I thought I saw Clive-Hart presenting the horrible
draught to Primerose. How could I have so far lost myself as to
accompany so vile a creature? I was blind. I did not discover my error
till she was taken by the savages. In a fit of rage she almost admitted
her guilt. From that moment, I have loathed her; and, for a punishment,
the form of Primerose is ever before me, and seems to say, 'I died
because I loved you.'" His father said a blameless life could alone
repair his past errors.
The next day we sailed for England, after giving presents to the
Paroubas. Tears mingled with our adieus; and Birton, who had been only
giddy, already seemed a reasonable person.
When we were out at sea, Freind said to John, in my presence: "Do you
still cherish the memory of the amiable Primerose?" These words so wrung
the heart of the young man, that I feared he would throw himself into
the sea.
"Console yourself, then," said Freind. "Miss Primerose is alive, and
loves you still."
Freind had received certain information on this subject from his
servant, who had written to him punctually by every ship. Mr. Mead, who
has since acquired so great a reputation by his skill in the
counteraction of poisons, had saved the young lady's life. In a moment,
John passed from despair to extreme joy. I will not attempt to describe
the change. It was the happiest moment of his life. Birton and his
friends shared his joy. What more shall I say? The worthy Freind was as
a father to all. The wedding was celebrated at Dr. Mead's. Birton, now
another man, also married; and he and John are now among the best people
in England.
Admit, that a wise man can instruct fools.
[Illustration: Epictetus, the slave. From a painting by Giuseppe
Rossi.--Marcus Aurelius, on the throne of Europe and two parts of our
hemisphere, did not think otherwise than the slave Epictetus.]
[Illustration: Grand entrance to palace. (From Layard's Discoveries
among the ruins of Nineveh and Babylon.)]
PRINCESS OF BABYLON
[Illustration: The Phœnix][1]
I.
ROYAL CONTEST FOR THE HAND OF FORMOSANTA.
The aged Belus, king of Babylon, thought himself the first man upon
earth; for all his courtiers told him so, and his historians proved it.
We know that his palace and his park, situated at a few parafangs from
Babylon, extended between the Euphrates and the Tigris, which washed
those enchanted banks. His vast house, three thousand feet in front,
almost reached the clouds. The platform was surrounded with a balustrade
of white marble, fifty feet high, which supported colossal statues of
all the kings and great men of the empire. This platform, composed of
two rows of bricks, covered with a thick surface of lead from one
extremity to the other, bore twelve feet of earth; and upon the earth
were raised groves of olive, orange, citron, palm, cocoa, and cinnamon
trees, and stock gillyflowers, which formed alleys that the rays of the
sun could not penetrate.
The waters of the Euphrates running, by the assistance of pumps, in a
hundred canals, formed cascades of six thousand feet in length in the
park, and a hundred thousand _jets d'eau_, whose height was scarce
perceptible. They afterward flowed into the Euphrates, from whence they
came. The gardens of Semiramis, which astonished Asia several ages
after, were only a feeble imitation of these ancient prodigies, for in
the time of Semiramis, every thing began to degenerate amongst men and
women.
But what was more admirable in Babylon, and eclipsed every thing else,
was the only daughter of the king, named Formosanta. It was from her
pictures and statues, that in succeeding times Praxiteles sculptured his
Aphrodita, and the Venus of Medicis. Heavens! what a difference between
the original and the copies! so that king Belus was prouder of his
daughter than of his kingdom. She was eighteen years old. It was
necessary she should have a husband worthy of her; but where was he to
be found? An ancient oracle had ordained, that Formosanta could not
belong to any but him who could bend the bow of Nimrod.
This Nimrod, "a mighty hunter before the Lord," (_Gen. x:9_), had left a
bow seventeen Babylonian feet in length, made of ebony, harder than the
iron of mount Caucasus, which is wrought in the forges of Derbent; and
no mortal since Nimrod could bend this astonishing bow.
It was again said, "that the arm which should bend this bow would kill
the most terrible and ferocious lion that should be let loose in the
Circus of Babylon." This was not all. The bender of the bow, and the
conquerer of the lion, should overthow all his rivals; but he was above
all things to be very sagacious, the most magnificent and most virtuous
of men, and possess the greatest curiosity in the whole universe.
Three kings appeared, who were bold enough to claim Formosanta. Pharaoh
of Egypt, the Shah of India, and the great Khan of the Scythians. Belus
appointed the day and place of combat, which was to be at the extremity
of his park, in the vast expanse surrounded by the joint waters of the
Euphrates and the Tigris. Round the lists a marble amphitheatre was
erected, which might contain five hundred thousand spectators. Opposite
the amphitheatre was placed the king's throne. He was to appear with
Formosanta, accompanied by the whole court; and on the right and left
between the throne and the amphitheatre, there were other thrones and
seats for the three kings, and for all the other sovereigns who were
desirous to be present at this august ceremony.
The king of Egypt arrived the first, mounted upon the bull Apis, and
holding in his hand the cithern of Isis. He was followed by two thousand
priests, clad in linen vestments whiter than snow, two thousand eunuchs,
two thousand magicians, and two thousand warriors.
The king of India came soon after in a car drawn by twelve elephants. He
had a train still more numerous and more brilliant than Pharaoh of
Egypt.
The last who appeared was the king of the Scythians. He had none with
him but chosen warriors, armed with bows and arrows. He was mounted upon
a superb tiger, which he had tamed, and which was as tall as any of the
finest Persian horses. The majestic and important mien of this king
effaced the appearance of his rivals; his naked arms, as nervous as they
were white, seemed already to bend the bow of Nimrod.
These three lovers immediately prostrated themselves before Belus and
Formosanta. The king of Egypt presented the princess with two of the
finest crocodiles of the Nile, two sea horses, two zebras, two Egyptian
rats, and two mummies, with the books of the great Hermes, which he
judged to be the scarcest things upon earth.
The king of India offered her a hundred elephants, each bearing a wooden
gilt tower, and laid at her feet the _vedam_, written by the hand of
Xaca himself.
The king of the Scythians, who could neither write nor read, presented a
hundred warlike horses with black fox skin housings.
The princess appeared with a downcast look before her lovers, and
reclined herself with such a grace as was at once modest and noble.
Belus ordered the kings to be conducted to the thrones that were
prepared for them. "Would I had three daughters," said he to them, "I
should make six people this day happy!" He then made the competitors
cast lots which should try Nimrod's bow first. Their names inscribed
were put into a golden casque. That of the Egyptian king came out first,
then the name of the King of India appeared. The king of Scythia,
viewing the bow and his rivals, did not complain at being the third.
Whilst these brilliant trials were preparing, twenty thousand pages and
twenty thousand youthful maidens distributed, without any disorder,
refreshments to the spectators between the rows of seats. Every one
acknowledged that the gods had instituted kings for no other cause than
every day to give festivals, upon condition they should be
diversified--that life is too short for any other purpose--that
lawsuits, intrigues, wars, the altercations of theologists, which
consume human life, are horrible and absurd--that man is born only for
happiness that he would not passionately and incessantly pursue
pleasure, were he not designed for it--that the essence of human nature
is to enjoy ourselves, and all the rest is folly. This excellent moral
was never controverted but by facts.
Whilst preparations were making for determining the fate of Formosanta,
a young stranger, mounted upon an unicorn, accompanied by his valet,
mounted on a like animal, and bearing upon his hand a large bird,
appeared at the barrier. The guards were surprised to observe in this
equipage, a figure that had an air of divinity. He had, as hath been
since related, the face of Adonis upon the body of Hercules; it was
majesty accompanied by the graces. His black eye-brows and flowing fair
tresses, wore a mixture of beauty unknown at Babylon, and charmed all
observers. The whole amphitheatre rose up, the better to view the
stranger. All the ladies of the court viewed him with looks of
astonishment. Formosanta herself, who had hitherto kept her eyes fixed
upon the ground, raised them and blushed. The three kings turned pale.
The spectators, in comparing Formosanta with the stranger, cried out,
"There is no other in the world, but this young man, who can be so
handsome as the princess."
The ushers, struck with astonishment, asked him if he was a king? The
stranger replied, that he had not that honor, but that he had come from
a distant country, excited by curiosity, to see if there were any king
worthy of Formosanta. He was introduced into the first row of the
amphitheatre, with his valet, his two unicorns, and his bird. He
saluted, with great respect, Belus, his daughter, the three kings, and
all the assembly. He then took his seat, not without blushing. His two
unicorns lay down at his feet; his bird perched upon his shoulder; and
his valet, who carried a little bag, placed himself by his side.
The trials began. The bow of Nimrod was taken out of its golden case.
The first master of the ceremonies, followed by fifty pages, and
preceded by twenty trumpets, presented it to the king of Egypt, who made
his priests bless it; and supporting it upon the head of the bull Apis,
he did not question his gaining this first victory. He dismounted, and
came into the middle of the circus. He tries, exerts all his strength,
and makes such ridiculous contortions, that the whole amphitheatre
re-echoes with laughter, and Formosanta herself could not help smiling.
His high almoner approached him:
"Let your majesty give up this idle honor, which depends entirely upon
the nerves and muscles. You will triumph in every thing else. You will
conquer the lion, as you are possessed of the favor of Osiris. The
Princess of Babylon is to belong to the prince who is most sagacious,
and you have solved enigmas. She is to wed the most virtuous: you are
such, as you have been educated by the priests of Egypt. The most
generous is to marry her, and you have presented her with two of the
handsomest crocodiles, and two of the finest rats in all the Delta. You
are possessed of the bull Apis, and the books of Hermes, which are the
scarcest things in the universe. No one can hope to dispute Formosanta
with you."
"You are in the right," said the King of Egypt, and resumed his throne.
The bow was then put in the hands of the king of India. It blistered his
hands for a fortnight; but he consoled himself in presuming that the
Scythian King would not be more fortunate than himself.
The Scythian handled the bow in his turn. He united skill with strength.
The bow seemed to have some elasticity in his hands. He bent it a
little, but he could not bring it near a curve. The spectators, who had
been prejudiced in his favor by his agreeable aspect, lamented his ill
success, and concluded that the beautiful princess would never be
married.
The unknown youth leaped into the arena and addressing himself to the
king of Scythia said:
"Your majesty need not be surprised at not having entirely succeeded.
These ebony bows are made in my country. There is a peculiar method in
using them. Your merit is greater in having bent it, than if I were to
curve it."
He then took an arrow and placing it upon the string, bent the bow of
Nimrod, and shot the arrow beyond the gates. A million hands at once
applauded the prodigy. Babylon re-echoed with acclamations; and all the
ladies agreed it was fortunate for so handsome a youth to be so strong.
He then took out of his pocket a small ivory tablet, wrote upon it with
a golden pencil, fixed the tablet to the bow, and then presented it to
the princess with such a grace as charmed every spectator. He then
modestly returned to his place between his bird and his valet. All
Babylon was in astonishment; the three kings were confounded, whilst the
stranger did not seem to pay the least attention to what had happened.
Formosanta was still more surprised to read upon the ivory tablet, tied
to the bow, these lines, written in the best Chaldean:
L'arc de Nembrod est celui de la guerre;
L'arc de l'amour est celui du bonheur;
Vous le portez. Par vous ce Dieu vainqueur
Est devenu le maitre de la terre.
Trois Rois puissants, trois rivaux aujourd'hui,
Osent pretendre a l'honneur de vous plaire.
Je ne sais pas qui votre cœur prefere,
Mais l'univers sera jaloux de lui.
[The bow of Nimrod is that of war;
The bow of love is that of happiness
Which you possess. Through you this conquering God
Has become master of the earth.
Three powerful kings,--three rivals now,
Dare aspire to the honor of pleasing you.
I know not whom your heart may prefer,
But the universe will be jealous of him.]
This little madrigal did not displease the princess; but it was
criticised by some of the lords of the ancient court, who said that, in
former times, Belus would have been compared to the sun, and Formosanta
to the moon; his neck to a tower, and her breast to a bushel of wheat.
They said the stranger had no sort of imagination, and that he had lost
sight of the rules of true poetry, but all the ladies thought the verses
very gallant. They were astonished that a man who handled a bow so well
should have so much wit. The lady of honor to the princess said to her:
"Madam, what great talents are here entirely lost? What benefit will
this young man derive from his wit, and his skill with Nimrod's bow?"
"Being admired!" said Formosanta.
"Ah!" said the lady, "one more madrigal, and he might well be beloved."
The king of Babylon, having consulted his sages, declared that though
none of these kings could bend the bow of Nimrod, yet, nevertheless, his
daughter was to be married, and that she should belong to him who could
conquer the great lion, which was purposely kept in training in his
great menagerie.
The king of Egypt, upon whose education all the wisdom of Egypt had been
exhausted, judged it very ridiculous to expose a king to the ferocity of
wild beasts in order to be married. He acknowledged that he considered
the possession of Formosanta of inestimable value; but he believed that
if the lion should strangle him, he could never wed this fair
Babylonian. The king of India held similar views to the king of Egypt.
They both concluded that the king of Babylon was laughing at them, and
that they should send for armies to punish him--that they had many
subjects who would think themselves highly honored to die in the service
of their masters, without it costing them a single hair of their sacred
heads,--that they could easily dethrone the king of Babylon, and then
they would draw lots for the fair Formosanta.
This agreement being made, the two kings sent each an express into his
respective country, with orders to assemble three hundred thousand men
to carry off Formosanta.
However, the king of Scythia descended alone into the arena, scimitar in
hand. He was not distractedly enamored with Formosanta's charms. Glory
till then had been his only passion, and it had led him to Babylon. He
was willing to show that if the kings of India and Egypt were so prudent
as not to tilt with lions, he was courageous enough not to decline the
combat, and he would repair the honor of diadems. His uncommon valor
would not even allow him to avail himself of the assistance of his
tiger. He advanced singly, slightly armed with a shell casque ornamented
with gold, and shaded with three horses' tails as white as snow.
One of the most enormous and ferocious lions that fed upon the
Antilibanian mountains was let loose upon him. His tremendous paws
appeared capable of tearing the three kings to pieces at once, and his
gullet to devour them. The two proud champions fled with the utmost
precipitancy and in the most rapid manner to each other. The courageous
Scythian plunged his sword into the lion's mouth; but the point meeting
with one of those thick teeth that nothing can penetrate, was broken;
and the monster of the woods, more furious from his wound, had already
impressed his fearful claws into the monarch's sides.
The unknown youth, touched with the peril of so brave a prince, leaped
into the arena swift as lightning, and cut off the lion's head with as
much dexterity as we have lately seen, in our carousals, youthful
knights knock off the heads of black images.
Then drawing out a small box, he presented it to the Scythian king,
saying to him.
"Your majesty will here find the genuine dittany, which grows in my
country. Your glorious wounds will be healed in a moment. Accident alone
prevented your triumph over the lion. Your valor is not the less to be
admired."
The Scythian king, animated more with gratitude than jealousy, thanked
his benefactor; and, after having tenderly embraced him, returned to his
seat to apply the dittany to his wounds.
The stranger gave the lion's head to his valet, who, having washed it at
the great fountain which was beneath the amphitheatre, and drained all
the blood, took an iron instrument out of his little bag, with which
having drawn the lion's forty teeth, he supplied their place with forty
diamonds of equal size.
His master, with his usual modesty, returned to his place; he gave the
lion's head to his bird:--"Beauteous bird," said he, "carry this small
homage, and lay it at the feet of Formosanta."
[Illustration: "The unknown youth, touched with the peril of so brave a
prince, leaped into the arena swift as lightning, and cut off the lion's
head."]
The bird winged its way with the dreadful triumph in one of its talons,
and presented it to the princess; bending with humility his neck, and
crouching before her. The sparkling diamonds dazzled the eyes of every
beholder. Such magnificence was unknown even in superb Babylon. The
emerald, the topaz, the sapphire, and the pyrope, were as yet considered
as the most precious ornaments. Belus and the whole court were struck
with admiration. The bird which presented this present surprised them
still more. It was of the size of an eagle, but its eyes were as soft
and tender as those of the eagle are fierce and threatening. Its bill
was rose color, and seemed somewhat to resemble Formosanta's handsome
mouth. Its neck represented all the colors of Iris, but still more
striking and brilliant. Gold, in a thousand shades, glittered upon its
plumage. Its feet resembled a mixture of silver and purple. And the
tails of those beautiful birds, which have since drawn Juno's car, did
not equal the splendor of this incomparable bird.
The attention, curiosity, astonishment, and ecstasy of the whole court
were divided between the jewels and the bird. It had perched upon the
balustrade between Belus and his daughter Formosanta. She petted it,
caressed it, and kissed it. It seemed to receive her attentions with a
mixture of pleasure and respect. When the princess gave the bird a kiss,
it returned the embrace, and then looked upon her with languishing eyes.
She gave it biscuits and pistachios, which it received in its
purple-silvered claw, and carried to its bill with inexpressible grace.
Belus, who had attentively considered the diamonds, concluded that
scarce any one of his provinces could repay so valuable a present. He
ordered that more magnificent gifts should be prepared for the stranger
than those destined for the three monarchs, "This young man," said he,
"is doubtless son to the emperor of China; or of that part of the world
called Europe, which I have heard spoken of; or of Africa, which is said
to be in the vicinity of the kingdom of Egypt."
He immediately sent his first equerry to compliment the stranger, and
ask him whether he was himself the sovereign, or son to the sovereign of
one of those empires; and why, being possessed of such surprising
treasures, he had come with nothing but his valet and a little bag?
Whilst the equerry advanced toward the amphitheatre to execute his
commission, another valet arrived upon an unicorn. This valet,
addressing himself to the young man, said. "Ormar, your father is
approaching the end of his life: I am come to acquaint you with it."
The stranger raised his eyes to heaven, whilst tears streamed from them,
and answered only by saying, "_Let us depart_."
The equerry, after having paid Belus's compliments to the conqueror of
the lion, to the giver of the forty diamonds, and to the master of the
beautiful bird, asked the valet, "Of what kingdom was the father of this
young hero sovereign?"
The valet replied:
"His father is an old shepherd, who is much beloved in his district."
During this conversation, the stranger had already mounted his unicorn.
He said to the equerry:
"My lord, vouchsafe to prostrate me at the feet of King Belus and his
daughter. I must entreat her to take particular care of the bird I leave
with her, as it is a nonpareil like herself."
In uttering these last words he set off, and flew like lightning. The
two valets followed him, and in an instant he was out of sight.
Formosanta could not refrain from shrieking. The bird, turning toward
the amphitheatre where his master had been seated, seemed greatly
afflicted to find him gone; then viewing steadfastly the princess, and
gently rubbing her beautiful hand with his bill, he seemed to devote
himself to her service.
Belus, more astonished than ever, hearing that this very extraordinary
young man was the son of a shepherd, could not believe it. He dispatched
messengers after him; but they soon returned with the information, that
the three unicorns, upon which these men were mounted, could not be
overtaken; and that, according to the rate they went, they must go a
hundred leagues a day.
Every one reasoned upon this strange adventure, and wearied themselves
with conjectures. How can the son of a shepherd make a present of forty
large diamonds? How comes it that he is mounted upon an unicorn? This
bewildered them, and Formosanta, whilst she caressed her bird, was sunk
into a profound reverie.
[1] The phœix--born of myth and fable--was supposed to have originated
in Arabia. In size it resembled an eagle, and was said to exist singly.
At the end of six hundred years, it built for itself a nest filled with
myrrh and the choicest spices. This was ignited by the ardent rays of
the sun, and in it the phœnix was consumed in flames of fragrance. It
was believed, however, that it soon rose again, from its own ashes, in
renewed youth, strength, and beauty; and therefore it was considered by
the ancients as symbolical of "the resurrection" and also of
immortality.--E.
II.
THE KING OF BABYLON CONVENES HIS COUNCIL, AND CONSULTS THE ORACLE.
Princess Aldea, Formosanta's cousin-german, who was very well shaped,
and almost as handsome as the King's daughter, said to her:
"Cousin, I know not whether this demi-god be the son of a shepherd, but
methinks he has fulfilled all the conditions stipulated for your
marriage. He has bent Nimrod's bow; he has conquered the lion; he has a
good share of sense, having written for you extempore a very pretty
madrigal. After having presented you with forty large diamonds, you
cannot deny that he is the most generous of men. In his bird he
possessed the most curious thing upon earth. His virtue cannot be
equaled, since he departed without hesitation as soon as he learned his
father was ill, though he might have remained and enjoyed the pleasure
of your society. The oracle is fulfilled in every particular, except
that wherein he is to overcome his rivals. But he has done more; he has
saved the life of the only competitor he had to fear; and when the
object is to surpass the other two, I believe you cannot doubt but that
he will easily succeed."
"All that you say is very true," replied Formosanta: "but is it possible
that the greatest of men, and perhaps the most amiable too, should be
the son of a shepherd?"
The lady of honor, joining in the conversation, said that the title of
shepherd was frequently given to kings--that they were called shepherds
because they attended very closely to their flocks--that this was
doubtless a piece of ill-timed pleasantry in his valet--that this young
hero had not come so badly equipped, but to show how much his personal
merit alone was above the fastidious parade of kings. The princess made
no answer, but in giving her bird a thousand tender kisses.
A great festival was nevertheless prepared for the three kings, and for
all the princes who had come to the feast. The king's daughter and niece
were to do the honors. The king distributed presents worthy the
magnificence of Babylon. Belus, during the time the repast was being
served, assembled his council to discuss the marriage of the beautiful
Formosanta, and this is the way he delivered himself as a great
politician:
"I am old: I know not what is best to do with my daughter, or upon whom
to bestow her. He who deserves her is nothing but a mean shepherd. The
kings of India and Egypt are cowards. The king of the Scythians would be
very agreeable to me, but he has not performed any one of the conditions
imposed. I will again consult the oracle. In the meantime, deliberate
among you, and we will conclude agreeably to what the oracle says; for a
king should follow nothing but the dictates of the immortal gods."
He then repaired to the temple: the oracle answered in few words
according to custom: _Thy daughter shall not be married until she hath
traversed the globe_. In astonishment, Belus returned to the council,
and related this answer.
All the ministers had a profound respect for oracles. They therefore all
agreed, or at least appeared to agree, that they were the foundation of
religion--that reason should be mute before them--that it was by their
means that kings reigned over their people--that without oracles there
would be neither virtue nor repose upon earth.
At length, after having testified the most profound veneration for them,
they almost all concluded that this oracle was impertinent, and should
not be obeyed--that nothing could be more indecent for a young woman,
and particularly the daughter of the great king of Babylon, than to run
about, without any particular destination--that this was the most
certain method to prevent her being married, or else engage her in a
clandestine, shameful, and ridiculous union that,--in a word, this
oracle had not common sense.
The youngest of the ministers, named Onadase, who had more sense than
the rest, said that the oracle doubtless meant some pilgrimage of
devotion, and offered to be the princess's guide. The council approved
of his opinion, but every one was for being her equerry. The king
determined that the princess might go three hundred parasangs upon the
road to Arabia, to the temple whose saint had the reputation of
procuring young women happy marriages, and that the dean of the council
should accompany her. After this determination they went to supper.
[Illustration: The Shrine at Bassora.--A devotee at the shrine imploring
the felicity of a happy marriage.]
III.
ROYAL FESTIVAL GIVEN IN HONOR OF THE KINGLY VISITORS. THE BIRD CONVERSES
ELOQUENTLY WITH FORMOSANTA.
In the centre of the gardens, between two cascades, an oval saloon,
three hundred feet in diameter was erected, whose azure roof,
intersected with golden stars, represented all the constellations and
planets, each in its proper station; and this ceiling turned about, as
well as the canopy, by machines as invisible as those which direct the
celestial spheres. A hundred thousand flambeaux, inclosed in rich
crystal cylinders, illuminated the gardens and the dining-hall. A
buffet, with steps, contained twenty thousand vases and golden dishes;
and opposite the buffet, upon other steps, were seated a great number of
musicians. Two other amphitheatres were decked out; the one with the
fruits of each season, the other with crystal decanters, that sparkled
with the choicest wines.
The guests took their seats round a table divided into compartments that
resembled flowers and fruits, all in precious stones. The beautiful
Formosanta was placed between the kings of India and Egypt--the amiable
Aldea next the king of Scythia. There were about thirty princes, and
each was seated next one of the handsomest ladies of the court. The king
of Babylon, who was in the middle, opposite his daughter, seemed divided
between the chagrin of being yet unable to effect her marriage, and the
pleasure of still beholding her. Formosanta asked leave to place her
bird upon the table next her; the king approved of it.
The music, which continued during the repast, furnished every prince
with an opportunity of conversing with his female neighbor. The festival
was as agreeable as it was magnificent. A ragout was served before
Formosanta, which her father was very fond of. The princess said it
should be carried to his majesty. The bird immediately took hold of it,
and carried it in a miraculous manner to the king. Never was any thing
more astonishing witnessed. Belus caressed it as much as his daughter
had done. The bird afterward took its flight to return to her. It
displayed, in flying, so fine a tail, and its extended wings set forth
such a variety of brilliant colors--the gold of its plumage made such a
dazzling eclat, that all eyes were fixed upon it. All the musicians were
struck motionless, and their instruments afforded harmony no longer.
None ate, no one spoke, nothing but a buzzing of admiration was to be
heard. The Princess of Babylon kissed it during the whole supper,
without considering whether there were any kings in the world. Those of
India and Egypt felt their spite and indignation rekindle with double
force, and they resolved speedily to set their three hundred thousand
men in motion to obtain revenge.
As for the king of Scythia, he was engaged in entertaining the beautiful
Aldea. His haughty soul despising, without malice, Formosanta's
inattention, had conceived for her more indifference than resentment.
"She is handsome," said he, "I acknowledge: but she appears to me one of
those women who are entirely taken up with their own beauty, and who
fancy that mankind are greatly obliged to them when they deign to appear
in public. I should prefer an ugly complaisant woman, that exhibited
some amiability, to that beautiful statue. You have, madam, as many
charms as she possesses, and you, at least, condescend to converse with
strangers. I acknowledge to you with the sincerity of a Scythian, that I
prefer you to your cousin."
He was, however, mistaken in regard to the character of Formosanta. She
was not so disdainful as she appeared. But his compliments were very
well received by the princess Aldea. Their conversation became very
interesting. They were well contented, and already certain of one
another before they left the table. After supper the guests walked in
the groves. The king of Scythia and Aldea did not fail to seek for a
place of retreat. Aldea, who was sincerity itself, thus declared herself
to the prince:
"I do not hate my cousin, though she be handsomer than myself, and is
destined for the throne of Babylon. The honor of pleasing you may very
well stand in the stead of charms. I prefer Scythia with you, to the
crown of Babylon without you. But this crown belongs to me by right, if
there be any right in the world; for I am of the elder branch of the
Nimrod family, and Formosanta is only of the younger. Her grandfather
dethroned mine, and put him to death."
"Such, then, are the rights of inheritance in the royal house of
Babylon!" said the Scythian. "What was your grandfather's name?"
"He was called Aldea, like me. My father bore the same name. He was
banished to the extremity of the empire with my mother; and Belus, after
their death, having nothing to fear from me, was willing to bring me up
with his daughter. But he has resolved that I shall never marry."
"I will avenge the cause of your grandfather--of your father and also
your own cause," said the king of Scythia. "I am responsible for your
being married. I will carry you off the day after to-morrow by
day-break--for we must dine to-morrow with the king of Babylon--and I
will return and support your rights with three hundred thousand men."
"I agree to it," said the beauteous Aldea: and, after having mutually
pledged their words of honor, they separated.
The incomparable Formosanta, before retiring to rest, had ordered a
small orange tree, in a silver case, to be placed by the side of her
bed, that her bird might perch upon it. Her curtains had long been
drawn, but she was not in the least disposed to sleep. Her heart was
agitated, and her imagination excited. The charming stranger was ever in
her thoughts. She fancied she saw him shooting an arrow with Nimrod's
bow. She contemplated him in the act of cutting off the lion's head. She
repeated his madrigal. At length, she saw him retiring from the crowd
upon his unicorn. Tears, sighs, and lamentations overwhelmed her at this
reflection. At intervals, she cried out: "Shall I then never see him
more? Will he never return?"
"He will surely return," replied the bird from the top of the orange
tree. "Can one have seen you once, and not desire to see you again?"
"Heavens! eternal powers! my bird speaks the purest Chaldean." In
uttering these words she drew back the curtain, put out her hand to him,
and knelt upon her bed, saying:
"Art thou a god descended upon earth? Art thou the great Oromasdes
concealed under this beautiful plumage? If thou art, restore me this
charming young man."
"I am nothing but a winged animal," replied the bird; "but I was born at
the time when all animals still spoke; when birds, serpents, asses,
horses, and griffins, conversed familiarly with man. I would not speak
before company, lest your ladies of honor should have taken me for a
sorcerer. I would not discover myself to any but you."
Formosanta was speechless, bewildered, and intoxicated with so many
wonders. Desirous of putting a hundred questions to him at once, she at
length asked him how old he was.
"Only twenty-seven thousand nine hundred years and six months. I date my
age from the little revolution of the equinoxes, and which is
accomplished in about twenty-eight thousand of your years. There are
revolutions of a much greater extent, so are there beings much older
than me. It is twenty-two thousand years since I learnt Chaldean in one
of my travels. I have always had a very great taste for the Chaldean
language, but my brethren, the other animals, have renounced speaking in
your climate."
"And why so, my divine bird?"
"Alas! because men have accustomed themselves to eat us, instead of
conversing and instructing themselves with us. Barbarians! should they
not have been convinced, that having the same organs with them, the same
sentiments, the same wants, the same desires, we have also what is
called a soul, the same as themselves;--that we are their brothers, and
that none should be dressed and eaten but the wicked? We are so far your
brothers, that the Supreme Being, the Omnipotent and Eternal Being,
having made a compact with men, expressly comprehended us in the treaty.
He forbade you to nourish yourselves with our blood, and we to suck
yours.
"The fables of your ancient Locman, translated into so many languages,
will be a testimony eternally subsisting of the happy commerce you
formerly carried on with us. They all begin with these words: 'In the
time when beasts spoke.' It is true, there are many families among you
who keep up an incessant conversation with their dogs; but the dogs have
resolved not to answer, since they have been compelled by whipping to go
a hunting, and become accomplices in the murder of our ancient and
common friends, stags, deers, hares, and partridges.
"You have still some ancient poems in which horses speak, and your
coachmen daily address them in words; but in so barbarous a manner, and
in uttering such infamous expressions, that horses, though formerly
entertaining so great a kindness for you, now detest you.
"The country which is the residence of your charming stranger, the most
perfect of men, is the only one in which your species has continued to
love ours, and to converse with us; and this is the only country in the
world where men are just."
"And where is the country of my dear incognito? What is the name of his
empire? For I will no more believe he is a shepherd than that you are a
bat."
"His country, is that of the Gangarids, a wise, virtuous, and invincible
people, who inhabit the eastern shore of the Ganges. The name of my
friend is Amazan. He is no king; and I know not whether he would so
humble himself as to be one. He has too great a love for his fellow
countrymen. He is a shepherd like them. But do not imagine that those
shepherds resemble yours; who, covered with rags and tatters, watch
their sheep, who are better clad than themselves; who groan under the
burden of poverty, and who pay to an extortioner half the miserable
stipend of wages which they receive from their masters. The Gangaridian
shepherds are all born equal, and own the innumerable herds which cover
their vast fields and subsist on the abundant verdure. These flocks are
never killed. It is a horrid crime, in that favored country, to kill and
eat a fellow creature. Their wool is finer and more brilliant than the
finest silk, and constitutes the greatest traffic of the East. Besides,
the land of the Gangarids produces all that can flatter the desires of
man. Those large diamonds that Amazan had the honor of presenting you
with, are from a mine that belongs to him. An unicorn, on which you saw
him mounted, is the usual animal the Gangarids ride upon. It is the
finest, the proudest, most terrible, and at the same time most gentle
animal that ornaments the earth. A hundred Gangarids, with as many
unicorns,[1] would be sufficient to disperse innumerable armies. Two
centuries ago, a king of India was mad enough to attempt to conquer
this nation. He appeared, followed by ten thousand elephants and a
million of warriors. The unicorns pierced the elephants, just as I have
seen upon your table beads pierced in golden brochets. The warriors fell
under the sabres of the Gangarids like crops of rice mowed by the people
of the East. The king was taken prisoner, with upwards of six thousand
men. He was bathed in the salutary water of the Ganges, and followed the
regimen of the country, which consists only of vegetables, of which
nature hath there been amazingly liberal to nourish every breathing
creature. Men who are fed with carnivorous aliments, and drenched with
spirituous liquors, have a sharp adust blood, which turns their brains a
hundred different ways. Their chief rage is a fury to spill their
brother's blood, and, laying waste fertile plains, to reign over
church-yards. Six full months were taken up in curing the king of India
of his disorder. When the physicians judged that his pulse had become
natural, they certified this to the council of the Gangarids. The
council then followed the advice of the unicorns and humanely sent back
the king of India, his silly court, and impotent warriors, to their own
country. This lesson made them wise, and from that time the Indians
respected the Gangarids, as ignorant men, willing to be instructed,
revere the philosophers they cannot equal.
"Apropos, my dear bird," said the princess to him, "do the Gangarids
profess any religion? have they one?"
"Yes, we meet to return thanks to God on the days of the full moon; the
men in a great temple made of cedar, and the women in another, to
prevent their devotion being diverted. All the birds assemble in a
grove, and the quadrupeds on a fine down. We thank God for all the
benefits he has bestowed upon us. We have in particular some parrots
_that preach wonderfully well_.
"Such is the country of my dear Amazan; there I reside. My friendship
for him is as great as the love with which he has inspired you. If you
will credit me, we will set out together, and you shall pay him a
visit."
"Really, my dear bird, this is a very pretty invitation of yours,"
replied the princess smiling, and who flamed with desire to undertake
the journey, but did not dare say so.
"I serve my friend," said the bird; "and, after the happiness of loving
you, the greatest pleasure is to assist you."
Formosanta was quite fascinated. She fancied herself transported from
earth. All she had seen that day, all she then saw, all she heard, and
particularly what she felt in her heart, so ravished her as far to
surpass what those fortunate Mussulmen now feel, who, disencumbered from
their terrestrial ties, find themselves in the ninth heaven in the arms
of their Houris, surrounded and penetrated with glory and celestial
felicity.
[1] Pliny, the Roman naturalist, describes the unicorn as "a very
ferocious beast, similar in the rest of its body to a horse, with the
head of a deer, the feet of an elephant, the tail of a boar, a deep
bellowing voice, and a single black horn, two cubits in length, standing
out in the middle of its forehead." A familiar representation of this
"ferocious beast" may be seen on the English coat of arms.--E.
IV.
THE BEAUTIFUL BIRD IS KILLED BY THE KING OF EGYPT. FORMOSANTA BEGINS A
JOURNEY. ALDEA ELOPES WITH THE KING OF SCYTHIA.
Formosanta passed the whole night in speaking of Amazan. She no longer
called him any thing but her shepherd; and from this time it was that
the names of shepherd and lover were indiscriminately used throughout
every nation.
Sometimes she asked the bird whether Amazan had had any other
mistresses. It answered, "No," and she was at the summit of felicity.
Sometimes she asked how he passed his life; and she, with transport,
learned, that it was employed in doing good; in cultivating arts, in
penetrating into the secrets of nature, and improving himself. She at
times wanted to know if the soul of her lover was of the same nature as
that of her bird; how it happened that it had lived twenty thousand
years, when her lover was not above eighteen or nineteen. She put a
hundred such questions, to which the bird replied with such discretion
as excited her curiosity. At length sleep closed their eyes, and yielded
up Formosanta to the sweet delusion of dreams sent by the gods, which
sometimes surpass reality itself, and which all the philosophy of the
Chaldeans can scarce explain.
Formosanta did not awaken till very late. The day was far advanced when
the king, her father, entered her chamber. The bird received his majesty
with respectful politeness, went before him, fluttered his wings,
stretched his neck, and then replaced himself upon his orange tree. The
king seated himself upon his daughter's bed, whose dreams had made her
still more beautiful. His large beard approached her lovely face, and
after having embraced her, he spoke to her in these words:
"My dear daughter, you could not yesterday find a husband agreeable to
my wishes; you nevertheless must marry; the prosperity of my empire
requires it. I have consulted the oracle, which you know never errs, and
which directs all my conduct. His commands are, that you should traverse
the globe. You must therefore begin your journey."
"Ah! doubtless to the Gangarids," said the princess; and in uttering
these words, which escaped her, she was sensible of her indiscretion.
The king, who was utterly ignorant of geography, asked her what she
meant by the Gangarids? She easily diverted the question. The king told
her she must go on a pilgrimage, that he had appointed the persons who
were to attend her--the dean of the counsellors of state, the high
almoner, a lady of honor, a physician, an apothecary, her bird, and all
necessary domestics.
Formosanta, who had never been out of her father's palace, and who, till
the arrival of the three kings and Amazan, had led a very insipid life,
according to the _etiquette_ of rank and the parade of pleasure, was
charmed at setting out upon a pilgrimage. "Who knows," said she,
whispering to her heart, "if the gods may not inspire Amazan with the
like desire of going to the same chapel, and I may have the happiness of
again seeing the pilgrim?" She affectionately thanked her father, saying
she had always entertained a secret devotion for the saint she was going
to visit.
Belus gave an excellent dinner to his guests, who were all men. They
formed a very ill assorted company--kings, ministers, princes,
pontiffs--all jealous of each other; all weighing their words, and
equally embarassed with their neighbors and themselves. The repast was
very gloomy, though they drank pretty freely. The princesses remained in
their apartments, each meditating upon her respective journey. They
dined at their little cover. Formosanta afterward walked in the gardens
with her dear bird, which, to amuse her, flew from tree to tree,
displaying his superb tail and divine plumage.
The king of Egypt, who was heated with wine, not to say drunk, asked one
of his pages for a bow and arrow. This prince was, in truth, the most
unskillful archer in his whole kingdom. When he shot at a mark, the
place of the greatest safety was generally the spot he aimed at. But the
beautiful bird, flying as swiftly as the arrow, seemed to court it, and
fell bleeding in the arms of Formosanta. The Egyptian, bursting into a
foolish laugh, retired to his place. The princess rent the skies with
her moans, melted into tears, tore her hair, and beat her breast. The
dying bird said to her, in a low voice:
"Burn me, and fail not to carry my ashes to the east of the ancient city
of Aden or Eden, and expose them to the sun upon a little pile of cloves
and cinnamon." After having uttered these words it expired. Formosanta
was for a long time in a swoon, and revived again only to burst into
sighs and groans. Her father, partaking of her grief, and imprecating
the king of Egypt, did not doubt but this accident foretold some fatal
event. He immediately went to consult the oracle, which replied: _A
mixture of everything--life and death, infidelity and constancy, loss
and gain, calamities and good fortune_. Neither he nor his council could
comprehend any meaning in this reply; but, at length, he was satisfied
with having fulfilled the duties of devotion.
His daughter was bathed in tears, whilst he consulted the oracle. She
paid the funeral obsequies to the bird, which it had directed, and
resolved to carry its remains into Arabia at the risk of her life. It
was burned in incombustible flax, with the orange-tree on which it used
to perch. She gathered up the ashes in a little golden vase, set with
rubies, and the diamonds taken from the lion's mouth. Oh! that she
could, instead of fulfilling this melancholy duty, have burned alive the
detestable king of Egypt! This was her sole wish. She, in spite, put to
death the two crocodiles, his two sea horses, his two zebras, his two
rats, and had his two mummies thrown into the Euphrates. Had she
possessed his bull Apis, she would not have spared him.
The king of Egypt, enraged at this affront, set out immediately to
forward his three hundred thousand men. The king of India, seeing his
ally depart, set off also on the same day, with a firm intention of
joining his three hundred thousand Indians to the Egyptian army, the
king of Scythia decamped in the night with the princess Aldea, fully
resolved to fight for her at the head of three hundred thousand
Scythians, and to restore to her the inheritance of Babylon, which was
her right, as she had descended from the elder branch of the Nimrod
family.
As for the beautiful Formosanta, she set out at three in the morning
with her caravan of pilgrims, flattering herself that she might go into
Arabia, and execute the last will of her bird; and that the justice of
the gods would restore her the dear Amazan, without whom life had become
insupportable.
When the king of Babylon awoke, he found all the company gone.
"How mighty festivals terminate," said he; "and what a surprising vacuum
they leave when the hurry is over."
But he was transported with a rage truly royal, when he found that the
princess Aldea had been carried off. He ordered all his ministers to be
called up, and the council to be convened. Whilst they were dressing, he
failed not to consult the oracle; but the only answer he could obtain
was in these words, so celebrated since throughout the universe: _When
girls are not provided for in marriage by their relatives, they marry
themselves_.
Orders were immediately issued to march three hundred thousand men
against the king of Scythia. Thus was the torch of a most dreadful war
lighted up, which was caused by the amusements of the finest festival
ever given upon earth. Asia was upon the point of being over-run by four
armies of three hundred thousand men each. It is plain that the war of
Troy, which astonished the world some ages after, was mere child's play
in comparison to this; but it should also be considered, that in the
Trojans quarrel, the object was nothing more than a very immoral old
woman, who had contrived to be twice run away with; whereas, in this
case, the cause was tripartite--two girls and a bird.
The king of India went to meet his army upon the large fine road which
then led straight to Babylon, at Cachemir. The king of Scythia flew with
Aldea by the fine road which led to Mount Imaus. Owing to bad
government, all these fine roads have disappeared in the lapse of time.
The king of Egypt had marched to the west, along the coast of the little
Mediterranean sea, which the ignorant Hebrews have since called the
Great Sea.
[Illustration: Consulting the Oracle.]
As to the charming Formosanta, she pursued the road to Bassora, planted
with lofty palm trees, which furnished a perpetual shade, and fruit at
all seasons. The temple in which she was to perform her devotions, was
in Bassora itself. The saint to whom this temple had been dedicated, was
somewhat in the style of him who was afterward adored at Lampsacus, and
was generally successful in procuring husbands for young ladies. Indeed,
he was the holiest saint in all Asia.
Formosanta had no sort of inclination for the saint of Bassora. She only
invoked her dear Gangaridian shepherd, her charming Amazan. She proposed
embarking at Bassora, and landing in Arabia Felix, to perform what her
deceased bird had commanded.
At the third stage, scarce had she entered into a fine inn, where her
harbingers had made all the necessary preparations for her, when she
learned that the king of Egypt had arrived there also. Informed by his
emissaries of the princess's route, he immediately altered his course,
followed by a numerous escort. Having alighted, he placed sentinels at
all the doors; then repaired to the beautiful Formosanta's apartment,
when he addressed her by saying:
"Miss, you are the lady I was in quest of. You paid me very little
attention when I was at Babylon. It is just to punish scornful
capricious women. You will, if you please, be kind enough to sup with me
to-night; and I shall behave to you according as I am satisfied with
you."
Formosanta saw very well that she was not the strongest. She judged that
good sense consisted in knowing how to conform to one's situation. She
resolved to get rid of the king of Egypt by an innocent stratagem. She
looked at him through the corners of her eyes, (which in after ages has
been called ogling,) and then she spoke to him, with a modesty, grace,
and sweetness, a confusion, and a thousand other charms, which would
have made the wisest man a fool, and deceived the most discerning:
"I acknowledge, sir, I always appeared with a downcast look, when you
did the king, my father, the honor of visiting him. I had some
apprehensions for my heart. I dreaded my too great simplicity. I
trembled lest my father and your rivals should observe the preference I
gave you, and which you so highly deserved. I can now declare my
sentiments. I swear by the bull Apis, which after you is the thing I
respect the most in the world, that your proposals have enchanted me. I
have already supped with you at my father's, and I will sup with you
again, without his being of the party. All that I request of you is,
that your high almoner should drink with us. He appeared to me at
Babylon to be an excellent guest. I have some Chiras wine remarkably
good. I will make you both taste it. I consider you as the greatest of
kings, and the most amiable of men."
This discourse turned the king of Egypt's head. He agreed to have the
almoner's company.
"I have another favor to ask of you," said the princess, "which is to
allow me to speak to my apothecary. Women have always some little ails
that require attention, such as vapors in the head, palpitations of the
heart, colics, and the like, which often require some assistance. In a
word, I at present stand in need of my apothecary, and I hope you will
not refuse me this slight testimony of confidence."
"Miss," replied the king of Egypt, "I know life too well to refuse you
so just a demand. I will order the apothecary to attend you whilst
supper is preparing. I imagine you must be somewhat fatigued by the
journey; you will also have occasion for a chambermaid; you may order
her you like best to attend you. I will afterward wait your commands and
convenience."
He then retired, and the apothecary and the chambermaid, named Irla,
entered. The princess had an entire confidence in her. She ordered her
to bring six bottles of Chiras wine for supper, and to make all the
sentinels, who had her officers under arrest, drink the same. Then she
recommended her apothecary to infuse in all the bottles certain
pharmaceutic drugs, which make those who take them sleep twenty-four
hours, and with which he was always provided. She was implicitly obeyed.
The king returned with his high almoner in about half an hour's time.
The conversation at supper was very gay. The king and the priest emptied
the six bottles, and acknowledged there was not such good wine in
Egypt. The chambermaid was attentive to make the servants in waiting
drink. As for the princess, she took great care not to drink any
herself, saying that she was ordered by her physician a particular
regimen. They were all presently asleep.
The king of Egypt's almoner had one of the finest beards that a man of
his rank could wear. Formosanta lopped it off very skillfully; then
sewing it to a ribbon, she put it on her own chin. She then dressed
herself in the priest's robes, and decked herself in all the marks of
his dignity, and her waiting maid clad herself like the sacristan of the
goddess Isis. At length, having furnished herself with his urn and
jewels, she set out from the inn amidst the sentinels, who were asleep
like their master. Her attendant had taken care to have two horses ready
at the door. The princess could not take with her any of the officers of
her train. They would have been stopped by the great guard.
Formosanta and Irla passed through several ranks of soldiers, who,
taking the princess for the high priest, called her, "My most Reverend
Father in God," and asked his blessing. The two fugitives arrived in
twenty-four hours at Bassora, before the king awoke. They then threw off
their disguise, which might have created some suspicion. They fitted out
with all possible expedition a ship, which carried them, by the Straits
of Ormus, to the beautiful banks of Eden in Arabia Felix. This was that
Eden, whose gardens were so famous, that they have since been the
residence of the best of mankind. They were the model of the Elysian
fields, the gardens of the Hesperides, and also those of the Fortunate
Islands. In those warm climates men imagined there could be no greater
felicity than shades and murmuring brooks. To live eternally in heaven
with the Supreme Being, or to walk in the garden of paradise, was the
same thing to those who incessantly spoke without understanding one
another, and who could scarce have any distinct ideas or just
expressions.
As soon as the princess found herself in this land, her first care was
to pay her dear bird the funeral obsequies he had required of her. Her
beautiful hands prepared a small quantity of cloves and cinnamon. What
was her surprise, when, having spread the ashes of the bird upon this
funeral pyre, she saw it blaze of itself! All was presently consumed.
In the place of the ashes there appeared nothing but a large egg, from
whence she saw her bird issue more brilliant than ever. This was one of
the most happy moments the princess had ever experienced in her whole
life. There was but another that could ever be dearer to her; it was the
object of her wishes, but almost beyond her hopes.
"I plainly see," said she, to the bird, "you are the phœnix which I
have heard so much spoken of. I am almost ready to expire with joy and
astonishment. I did not believe in your resurrection; but it is my good
fortune to be convinced of it."
"Resurrection, in fact," said the phœnix to her, "is one of the most
simple things in the world. There is nothing more in being born twice
than once. Every thing in this world is the effect of resurrection.
Caterpillars are regenerated into butterflies; a kernel put into the
earth is regenerated into a tree. All animals buried in the earth
regenerate into vegetation, herbs, and plants, and nourish other
animals, of which they speedily compose part of the substance. All
particles which compose bodies are transformed into different beings. It
is true, that I am the only one to whom Oromasdes[1] has granted the
favor of regenerating in my own form."
Formosanta, who from the moment she first saw Amazan and the phœnix,
had passed all her time in a round of astonishment, said to him:
"I can easily conceive that the Supreme Being may form out of your ashes
a phœnix nearly resembling yourself; but that you should be precisely
the same person, that you should have the same soul, is a thing, I
acknowledge, I cannot very clearly comprehend. What became of your soul
when I carried you in my pocket after your death?"
"Reflect one moment! Is it not as easy for the great Oromasdes to
continue action upon a single atom of my being, as to begin afresh this
action? He had before granted me sensation, memory, and thought. He
grants them to me again. Whether he united this favor to an atom of
elementary fire, latent within me, or to the assemblage of my organs,
is, in reality, of no consequence. Men, as well as phœnixes, are
entirely ignorant how things come to pass, but the greatest favor the
Supreme Being has bestowed upon me, is to regenerate me for you. Oh!
that I may pass the twenty-eight thousand years which I have still to
live before my next resurrection, with you and my dear Amazan."
"My dear phœnix, remember what you first told me at Babylon, which I
shall never forget, and which flattered me with the hope of again seeing
my dear shepherd, whom I idolize; 'we must absolutely pay the Gangarids
a visit together,' and I must carry Amazan back with me to Babylon."
"This is precisely my design," said the phœnix. "There is not a
moment to lose. We must go in search of Amazan by the shortest road,
that is, through the air. There are in Arabia Felix two griffins,[2] who
are my particular friends, and who live only a hundred and fifty
thousand leagues from here. I am going to write to them by the pigeon
post, and they will be here before night. We shall have time to make you
a convenient palankeen, with drawers, in which you may place your
provisions. You will be quite at your ease in this vehicle, with your
maid. These two griffins are the most vigorous of their kind. Each of
them will support one of the poles of the canopy between their claws.
But, once for all, time is very precious."
He instantly went with Formosanta to order the carriage at an
upholsterer's of his acquaintance. It was made complete in four hours.
In the drawers were placed small fine loaves, biscuits superior to those
of Babylon, large lemons, pine-apples, cocoa, and pistachio nuts, Eden
wine, which is as superior to that of Chiras, as Chiras is to that of
Surinam.
The two griffins arrived at Eden at the appointed time. The vehicle was
as light as it was commodious and solid, and Formosanta and Irla placed
themselves in it. The two griffins carried it off like a feather. The
phœnix sometimes flew after it, and sometimes perched upon its roof.
The two griffins winged their way toward the Ganges with the velocity of
an arrow which rends the air. They never stopped but a moment at night
for the travelers to take some refreshment, and the carriers to take a
draught of water.
They at length reached the country of the Gangarids. The princess's
heart palpitated with hope, love, and joy. The phœnix stopped the
vehicle before Amazan's house; but Amazan had been absent from home
three hours, without any one knowing whither he had gone.
There are no words, even in the Gangaridian language, that could express
Formosanta's extreme despair.
"Alas! this is what I dreaded," said the phœnix: "the three hours
which you passed at the inn, upon the road to Bassora, with that
wretched king of Egypt, have perhaps been at the price of the happiness
of your whole life. I very much fear we have lost Amazan, without the
possibility of recovering him."
He then asked the servants if he could salute the mother of Amazan? They
answered, that her husband had died only two days before, and she could
speak to no one. The phœnix, who was not without influence in the
house, introduced the princess of Babylon into a saloon, the walls of
which were covered with orange-tree wood inlaid with ivory. The inferior
shepherds and shepherdesses, who were dressed in long white garments,
with gold colored trimmings, served up, in a hundred plain porcelain
baskets, a hundred various delicacies, amongst which no disguised
carcasses were to be seen. They consisted of rice, sago, vermicelli,
macaroni, omelets, milk, eggs, cream, cheese, pastry of every kind,
vegetables, fruits, peculiarly fragrant and grateful to the taste, of
which no idea can be formed in other climates; and they were accompanied
with a profusion of refreshing liquors superior to the finest wine.
Whilst the princess regaled herself, seated upon a bed of roses, four
peacocks, who were luckily mute, fanned her with their brilliant wings;
two hundred birds, one hundred shepherds and shepherdesses, warbled a
concert in two different choirs; the nightingales, thistlefinches,
linnets, chaffinches, sung the higher notes with the shepherdesses, and
the shepherds sung the tenor and bass. The princess acknowledged, that
if there was more magnificence at Babylon, nature was infinitely more
agreeable among the Gangarids; but whilst this consolatory and
voluptuous music was playing, tears flowed from her eyes, whilst she
said to the damsel Irla:
"These shepherds and shepherdesses, these nightingales, these linnets,
are making love; and for my part, I am deprived of the company of the
Gangaridian hero, the worthy object of my most tender thoughts."
Whilst she was taking this collation, her tears and admiration kept pace
with each other, and the phœnix addressed himself to Amazan's mother,
saying:
"Madam, you cannot avoid seeing the princess of Babylon; you know--"
"I know every thing," said she, "even her adventure at the inn, upon the
road to Bassora. A blackbird related the whole to me this morning; and
this cruel blackbird is the cause of my son's going mad, and leaving his
paternal abode."
"You have not been informed, then, that the princess regenerated me?"
"No, my dear child, the blackbird told me you were dead, and this made
me inconsolable. I was so afflicted at this loss, the death of my
husband, and the precipitate flight of my son, that I ordered my door to
be shut to every one. But since the princess of Babylon has done me the
honor of paying me a visit, I beg she may be immediately introduced. I
have matters of great importance to acquaint her with, and I choose you
should be present."
She then went to meet the princess in another saloon. She could not walk
very well. This lady was about three hundred years old; but she had
still some agreeable vestiges of beauty. It might be conjectured, that
about her two hundred and fortieth, or two hundred and fiftieth year,
she must have been a most charming woman. She received Formosanta with a
respectful nobleness, blended with an air of interest and sorrow, which
made a very lively impression upon the princess.
Formosanta immediately paid her the compliments of condolence upon her
husband's death.
"Alas!" said the widow, "you have more reason to lament his death than
you imagine."
"I am, doubtless, greatly afflicted," said Formosanta; "he was father
to--." Here a flood of tears prevented her from going on. "For his sake
only I undertook this journey, in which I have so narrowly escaped many
dangers. For him I left my father, and the most splendid court in the
universe. I was detained by a King of Egypt, whom I detest. Having
escaped from this tyrant, I have traversed the air in search of the only
man I love. When I arrive, he flies from me!" Here sighs and tears
stopped her impassioned harangue.
His mother then said to her:
"When the king of Egypt made you his prisoner,--when you supped with him
at an inn upon the road to Bassora,--when your beautiful hands filled
him bumpers of Chiras wine, did you observe a blackbird that flew about
the room?"
"Yes, really," said the princess, "I now recollect there was such a
bird, though at that time I did not pay it the least attention. But in
collecting my ideas, I now remember well, that at the instant when the
king of Egypt rose from the table to give me a kiss, the blackbird flew
out at the window giving a loud cry, and never appeared after."
"Alas! madam," resumed Amazan's mother, "this is precisely the cause of
all our misfortunes; my son had dispatched this blackbird to gain
intelligence of your health, and all that passed at Babylon. He proposed
speedily to return, throw himself at your feet, and consecrate to you
the remainder of his life. You know not to what a pitch he adores you.
All the Gangarids are both loving and faithful; but my son is the most
passionate and constant of them all. The blackbird found you at an inn,
drinking very cheerfully with the king of Egypt and a vile priest; he
afterward saw you give this monarch who had killed the phœnix,--the
man my son holds in utter detestation,--a fond embrace. The blackbird,
at the sight of this, was seized with a just indignation. He flew away
imprecating your fatal error. He returned this day, and has related
every thing. But, just heaven, at what a juncture! At the very time that
my son was deploring with me the loss of his father and that of the wise
phœnix, the very instant I had informed him that he was your cousin
german--"
"Oh heavens! my cousin, madam, is it possible? How can this be? And am I
so happy as to be thus allied to him, and yet so miserable as to have
offended him?"
"My son is, I tell you," said the Gangaridian lady, "your cousin, and I
shall presently convince you of it; but in becoming my relation, you rob
me of my son. He cannot survive the grief that the embrace you gave to
the king of Egypt has occasioned him."
"Ah! my dear aunt," cried the beautiful Formosanta, "I swear by him and
the all-powerful Oromasdes, that this embrace, so far from being
criminal, was the strongest proof of love your son could receive from
me. I disobeyed my father for his sake. For him I went from the
Euphrates to the Ganges. Having fallen into the hands of the worthless
Pharaoh of Egypt, I could not escape his clutches but by artifice. I
call the ashes and soul of the phœnix, which were then in my pocket,
to witness. He can do me justice. But how can your son, born upon the
banks of the Ganges, be my cousin? I, whose family have reigned upon the
banks of the Euphrates for so many centuries?"
"You know," said the venerable Gangaridian lady to her, "that your grand
uncle, Aldea, was king of Babylon, and that he was dethroned by Belus's
father?"
"Yes, madam."
"You know that this Aldea had in marriage a daughter named Aldea,
brought up in your court? It was this prince, who, being persecuted by
your father, took refuge under another name in our happy country. He
married me, and is the father of the young prince Aldea Amazan, the most
beautiful, the most courageous, the strongest, and most virtuous of
mortals; and at this hour the most unhappy. He went to the Babylonian
festival upon the credit of your beauty; since that time he idolizes
you, and now grieves because he believes that you have proved unfaithful
to him. Perhaps I shall never again set eyes upon my dear son."
She then displayed to the princess all the titles of the house of Aldea.
Formosanta scarce deigned to look at them.
"Ah! madam, do we examine what is the object of our desire? My heart
sufficiently believes you. But where is Aldea Amazan? Where is my
kinsman, my lover, my king? Where is my life? What road has he taken? I
will seek for him in every sphere the Eternal Being hath framed, and of
which he is the greatest ornament. I will go into the star Canope, into
Sheath, into Aldebaran; I will go and tell him of my love and convince
him of my innocence."
The phœnix justified the princess with regard to the crime that was
imputed to her by the blackbird, of fondly embracing the king of Egypt;
but it was necessary to undeceive Amazan and recall him. Birds were
dispatched on every side. Unicorns sent forward in every direction. News
at length arrived that Amazan had taken the road toward China.
"Well, then," said the princess, "let us set out for China. I will seek
him in defiance of both difficulty and danger. The journey is not long,
and I hope I shall bring you back your son in a fortnight at farthest."
At these words tears of affection streamed from his mother's eyes and
also from those of the princess. They most tenderly embraced, in the
great sensibility of their hearts.
The phœnix immediately ordered a coach with six unicorns. Amazan's
mother furnished two thousand horsemen, and made the princess, her
niece, a present of some thousands of the finest diamonds of her
country. The phœnix, afflicted at the evil occasioned by the
blackbird's indiscretion, ordered all the blackbirds to quit the
country; and from that time none have been met with upon the banks of
the Ganges.
[1] The god Ormuzd, (called Oromasdes by the Greeks), was regarded by
the Magi as the source of all good. His followers were in reality
worshipers of nature, and used neither temples, altars, nor statues, but
performed their simple rites on mountain tops. They adored Oromasdes as
the source of all light and purity, and regarded the sun and fire as
symbols of the divinity. They were, in the language of Wadsworth:
"--zealous to reject
Altar and Image, and the inclusive walls
And roofs of temples built by human hands,--
The loftiest heights ascending,
Presented sacrifice to Moon and Stars
And to the Winds and mother Elements,
And the whole circle of the Heavens, for him
A sensitive existence and a God."
Byron, in Childe Harold, contrasts the "unwalled temples," of the
worshipers of Nature, with the "idol-dwellings," where images are
adored:
"Not vainly did the early Persian make
His altar the high places and the peak
Of earth-o'er-gazing mountains, and thus take
A fit and unwalled temple, there to seek
The Spirit, in whose honor shrines are weak,
Upreared of human hands. Come and compare
Columns and idol-dwellings, Goth or Greek,
With Nature's realms of worship, earth and air,
Nor fix on fond abodes to circumscribe thy prayer."
In Moore's Lalla Rookh will be found an exquisite sketch of the Magi, or
ancient Fire Worshipers,--
"Those slaves of Fire, that morn and even
Hal their creator's dwelling-place
Among the living lights of heaven."--E.
[2] On ancient coins and armorial bearings, the Griffin is represented
as having the head and wings of an eagle, joined to the body and paws of
a lion, thus representing strength and swiftness combined. It was
supposed to watch over mines of gold, and also whatever was secretly
hidden. It built its nest like a bird, using gold as the material, and
hence it was necessary to vigilantly guard its treasures from the
rapacity of mankind--who, says Milton, in _Paradise Lost_, "by stealth
purloined its guarded gold." The poets intimate that the chariot of
Apollo, the god of the sun, was drawn by griffins.--E.
V.
FORMOSANTA VISITS CHINA AND SCYTHIA IN SEARCH OF AMAZAN.
The unicorns, in less than eight days, carried Formosanta, Irla, and the
phœnix, to Cambalu, the capital of China. This city was larger than
that of Babylon, and in appearance quite different. These fresh objects,
these strange manners, would have amused Formosanta could any thing but
Amazan have engaged her attention.
As soon as the emperor of China learned that the princess of Babylon was
at the city gates, he dispatched four thousand Mandarins in ceremonial
robes to receive her. They all prostrated themselves before her, and
presented her with an address written in golden letters upon a sheet of
purple silk. Formosanta told them, that if she were possessed of four
thousand tongues, she would not omit replying immediately to every
Mandarin; but that having only one, she hoped they would be satisfied
with her general thanks. They conducted her, in a respectful manner, to
the emperor.
He was the wisest, most just and benevolent monarch upon earth. It was
he who first tilled a small field with his own imperial hands, to make
agriculture respectable to his people. Laws in all other countries were
shamefully confined to the punishment of crimes: he first allotted
premiums to virtue. This emperor had just banished from his dominions a
gang of foreign Bonzes, who had come from the extremities of the West,
with the frantic hope of compelling all China _to think like
themselves_; and who, under pretence of teaching truths, had already
acquired honors and riches. In expelling them, he delivered himself in
these words, which are recorded in the annals of the empire:
_"You may here do us much harm as you have elsewhere. You have come to
preach dogmas of intolerance, to the most tolerant nation upon earth. I
send you back, that I may never be compelled to punish you. You will be
honorably conducted to my frontiers. You will be furnished with every
thing necessary to return to the confines of the hemisphere from whence
you came. Depart in peace, if you can be at peace, and never return."_
The princess of Babylon heard with pleasure of this speech and
determination. She was the more certain of being well received at court,
as she was very far from entertaining any dogmas of intolerance. The
emperor of China, in dining with her _tête-à-tête_, had the politeness
to banish all disagreeable _etiquette_. She presented the phœnix to
him, who was gently caressed by the emperor, and who perched upon his
chair. Formosanta, toward the end of the repast, ingenuously acquainted
him with the cause of her journey, and entreated him to search for the
beautiful Amazan in the city of Cambalu; and in the meanwhile she
acquainted the emperor with her adventures, without concealing the fatal
passion with which her heart burned for this youthful hero.
"He did me the honor of coming to my court," said the emperor of China.
"I was enchanted with this amiable Amazan. It is true that he is deeply
afflicted; but his graces are thereby the more affecting. Not one of my
favorites has more wit. There is not a gown Mandarin who has more
knowledge,--not a military one who has a more martial or heroic air. His
extreme youth adds an additional value to all his talents. If I were so
unfortunate, so abandoned by the Tien and Changti, as to desire to be a
conqueror, I would wish Amazan to put himself at the head of my armies,
and I should be sure of conquering the whole universe. It is a great
pity that his melancholy sometimes disconcerts him."
"Ah! sir," said Formosanta, with much agitation and grief, blended with
an air of reproach, "why did you not request me to dine with him? This
is a cruel stroke you have given me. Send for him immediately, I entreat
you."
"He set out this very morning," replied the emperor, "without
acquainting me with his destination."
Formosanta, turning toward the phœnix, said to him:
"Did you ever know so unfortunate a damsel as myself?" Then resuming the
conversation, she said:
"Sir, how came he to quit in so abrupt a manner, so polite a court, in
which, methinks, one might pass one's life?"
"The case was as follows," said he. "One of the most amiable of the
princesses of the blood, falling desperately in love with him, desired
to meet him at noon. He set out at day-break, leaving this billet for
my kinswoman, whom it hath cost a deluge of tears:
"Beautiful princess of the mongolian race. You are deserving of a
heart that was never offered up at any other altar. I have sworn to
the immortal gods never to love any other than Formosanta, princess
of Babylon, and to teach her how to conquer one's desires in
traveling. She has had the misfortune to yield to a worthless king
of Egypt. I am the most unfortunate of men; having lost my father,
the phœnix, and the hope of being loved by Formosanta. I left my
mother in affliction, forsook my home and country, being unable to
live a moment in the place where I learned that Formosanta loved
another than me. I swore to traverse the earth, and be faithful.
You would despise me, and the gods punish me, if I violated my
oath. Choose another lover, madam, and be as faithful as I am."
"Ah! give me that miraculous letter," said the beautiful Formosanta; "it
will afford me some consolation. I am happy in the midst of my
misfortunes. Amazan loves me! Amazan, for me, renounces the society of
the princesses of China. There is no one upon earth but himself endowed
with so much fortitude. He sets me a most brilliant example. The
phœnix knows I did not stand in need of it. How cruel it is to be
deprived of one's lover for the most innocent embrace given through pure
fidelity. But, tell me, whither has he gone? What road has he taken?
Deign to inform me, and I will immediately set out."
The emperor of China told her, that, according to the reports he had
received, her lover had taken the road toward Scythia. The unicorns were
immediately harnessed, and the princess, after the most tender
compliments, took leave of the emperor, and resumed her journey with the
phœnix, her chambermaid Irla, and all her train.
As soon as she arrived in Scythia, she was more convinced than ever how
much men and governments differed, and would continue to differ, until
noble and enlightened minds should by degrees remove that cloud of
darkness which has covered the earth for so many ages; and until there
should be found in barbarous climes, heroic souls, who would have
strength and perseverance enough to transform brutes into men. There are
no cities in Scythia, consequently no agreeable arts. Nothing was to be
seen but extensive fields, and whole tribes whose sole habitations were
tents and chars. Such an appearance struck her with terror. Formosanta
enquired in what tent or char the king was lodged? She was informed that
he had set out eight days before with three hundred thousand cavalry to
attack the king of Babylon, whose niece, the beautiful princess Aldea,
he had carried off.
"What! did he run away with my cousin?" cried Formosanta. "I could not
have imagined such an incident. What! has my cousin, who was too happy
in paying her court to me, become a queen, and I am not yet married?"
She was immediately conducted, by her desire, to the queen's tent.
Their unexpected meeting in such distant climes--the uncommon
occurrences they mutually had to impart to each other, gave such charms
to this interview, as made them forget they never loved one another.
They saw each other with transport; and a soft illusion supplied the
place of real tenderness. They embraced with tears, and there was a
cordiality and frankness on each side that could not have taken place in
a palace.
Aldea remembered the phœnix and the waiting maid Irla. She presented
her cousin with zibelin skins, who in return gave her diamonds. The war
between the two kings was spoken of. They deplored the fate of soldiers
who were forced into battle, the victims of the caprice of princes, when
two honest men might, perhaps, settle the dispute in less than an hour,
without a single throat being cut. But the principal topic was the
handsome stranger, who had conquered lions, given the largest diamonds
in the universe, written madrigals, and had now become the most
miserable of men from believing the statements of a blackbird.
"He is my dear brother," said Aldea. "He is my lover," cried Formosanta.
"You have, doubtless, seen him. Is he still here? for, cousin, as he
knows he is your brother, he cannot have left you so abruptly as he did
the king of China.
"Have I seen him? good heavens! yes. He passed four whole days with me.
Ah! cousin, how much my brother is to blame. A false report has
absolutely turned his brain. He roams about the world, without knowing
whither he is destined. Imagine to yourself his distraction of mind,
which is so great, that he has refused to meet the handsomest lady in
all Scythia. He set out yesterday, after writing her a letter which has
thrown her into despair. As for him, he has gone to visit the
Cimmerians."
"God be thanked!" cried Formosanta, "another refusal in my favor. My
good fortune is beyond my hopes, as my misfortunes surpass my greatest
apprehensions. Procure me this charming letter, that I may set out and
follow him, loaded with his sacrifices. Farewell, cousin. Amazan is
among the Cimmerians, and I fly to meet him."
Aldea judged that the princess, her cousin, was still more frantic than
her brother Amazan. Hut as she had herself been sensible of the effects
of this epidemic contagion, having given up the delights and
magnificence of Babylon for a king of Scythia; and as the women always
excuse those follies that are the effects of love, she felt for
Formosanta's affliction, wished her a happy journey, and promised to be
her advocate with her brother, if ever she was so fortunate as to see
him again.
VI.
THE PRINCESS CONTINUES HER JOURNEY.
From Scythia the princess of Babylon, with her phœnix, soon arrived
at the empire of the Cimmerians, now called Russia; a country indeed
much less populous than Scythia, but of far greater extent.
After a few days' journey, she entered a very large city, which has of
late been greatly improved by the reigning sovereign. The empress,
however, was not there at that time, but was making a journey through
her dominions, on the frontiers of Europe and Asia, in order to judge of
their state and condition with her own eyes,--to enquire into their
grievances, and to provide the proper remedies for them.
The principal magistrate of that ancient capital, as soon as he was
informed of the arrival of the Babylonian lady and the phœnix, lost
no time in paying her all the honors of his country; being certain that
his mistress, the most polite and generous empress in the world, would
be extremely well pleased to find that he had received so illustrious a
lady with all that respect which she herself, if on the spot, would have
shown her.
The princess was lodged in the palace, and entertained with great
splendor and elegance. The Cimmerian lord, who was an excellent natural
philosopher, diverted himself in conversing with the phœnix, at such
times as the princess chose to retire to her own apartment. The
phœnix told him, that he had formerly traveled among the Cimmerians,
but that he should not have known the country again.
"How comes it," said he, "that such prodigious changes have been brought
about in so short a time? Formerly, when I was here, about three hundred
years ago, I saw nothing but savage nature in all her horrors. At
present, I perceive industry, arts, splendor, and politeness."
"This mighty revolution," replied the Cimmerian, "was begun by one man,
and is now carried to perfection by one woman;--a woman who is a greater
legislator than the Isis of the Egyptians, or the Ceres of the Greeks.
Most law-givers have been, unhappily, of a narrow genius and an
arbitrary disposition, which conned their views to the countries they
governed. Each of them looked upon his own race as the only people
existing upon the earth, or as if they ought to be at enmity with all
the rest. They formed institutions, introduced customs, and established
religions exclusively for themselves. Thus the Egyptians, so famous for
those heaps of stones called pyramids, have dishonored themselves with
their barbarous superstitions. They despise all other nations as
profane; refuse all manner of intercourse with them; and, excepting
those conversant in the court, who now and then rise above the
prejudices of the vulgar, there is not an Egyptian who will eat off a
plate that has ever been used by a stranger. Their priests are equally
cruel and absurd. It were better to have no laws at all, and to follow
those notions of right and wrong engraven on our hearts by nature, than
to subject society to institutions so inhospitable.
"Our empress has adopted quite a different system. She considers her
vast dominions, under which all the meridians on the globe are united,
as under an obligation of correspondence with all the nations dwelling
under those meridians. The first and most fundamental of her laws, is an
universal toleration of all religions, and an unbounded compassion for
every error. Her penetrating genius perceives, that though the modes of
religious worship differ, yet morality is every where the same. By this
principle, she has united her people to all the nations on earth, and
the Cimmerians will soon consider the Scandinavians and the Chinese as
their brethren. Not satisfied with this, she has resolved to establish
this invaluable toleration, the strongest link of society, among her
neighbors. By these means, she obtained the title of the parent of her
country; and, if she persevere, will acquire that of the benefactress of
mankind.
"Before her time, the men, who were unhappily possessed of power, sent
out legions of murderers to ravage unknown countries, and to water with
the blood of the children the inheritance of their fathers. Those
assassins were called heroes, and their robberies accounted glorious
achievements. But our sovereign courts another sort of glory. She has
sent forth her armies to be the messengers of peace; not only to prevent
men from being the destroyers, but to oblige them to be the benefactors
of one another. Her standards are the ensigns of public tranquillity."
The phœnix was quite charmed with what he heard from this nobleman.
He told him, that though he had lived twenty-seven thousand nine hundred
years and seven months in this world, he had never seen any thing like
it. He then enquired after his friend Amazan. The Cimmerian gave the
same account of him that the princess had already heard from the Chinese
and the Scythians. It was Amazan's constant practice to run away from
all the courts he visited, the instant any lady noticed him in
particular and seemed anxious to make his acquaintance. The phœnix
soon acquainted Formosanta with this fresh instance of Amazan's
fidelity--a fidelity so much the more surprising, since he could not
imagine his princess would ever hear of it.
Amazan had set out for Scandinavia, where he was entertained with sights
still more surprising. In this place, he beheld monarchy and liberty
subsisting together in a manner thought incompatible in other states;
the laborers of the ground shared in the legislature with the grandees
of the realm. In another place he saw what was still more extraordinary;
a prince equally remarkable for his extreme youth and uprightness, who
possessed a sovereign authority over his country, acquired by a solemn
contract with his people.
Amazan beheld a philosopher on the throne of Sarmatia, who might be
called a king of anarchy; for he was the chief of a hundred thousand
petty kings, one of whom with his single voice could render ineffectual
the resolution of all the rest. Eolus had not more difficulty to keep
the warring winds within their proper bounds, than this monarch to
reconcile the tumultuous discordant spirits of his subjects. He was the
master of a ship surrounded with eternal storms. But the vessel did not
founder, for he was an excellent pilot.
In traversing those various countries, so different from his own, Amazan
persevered in rejecting all the advances made to him by the ladies,
though incessantly distracted with the embrace given by Formosanta to
the king of Egypt, being resolved to set Formosanta an amazing example
of an unshaken and unparalleled fidelity.
The princess of Babylon was constantly close at his heels, and scarcely
ever missed of him but by a day or two; without the one being tired of
roaming, or the other losing a moment in pursuing him.
Thus he traversed the immense continent of Germany, where he beheld with
wonder the progress which reason and philosophy had made in the north.
Even their princes were enlightened, and had become the patrons of
freedom of thought. Their education had not been trusted to men who had
an interest in deceiving them, or who were themselves deceived. They
were brought up in the knowledge of universal morality, and in the
contempt of superstition.
They had banished from all their estates a senseless custom which had
enervated and depopulated the southern countries. This was to bury alive
in immense dungeons, infinite numbers of both sexes who were eternally
separated from one another, and sworn to have no communication together.
This madness had contributed more than the most cruel wars to lay waste
and depopulate the earth.
In opposing these barbarous institutions, so inimical to the laws of
nature and the best interests of society, the princes of the north had
become the benefactors of their race. They had likewise exploded other
errors equally absurd and pernicious. In short, men had at last
ventured to make use of their reason in those immense regions; whereas
it was still believed almost every where else, that they could not be
governed but in proportion to their ignorance.
VII.
AMAZAN VISITS ALBION.
From Germany, Amazan arrived at Batavia; where his perpetual chagrin was
in a good measure alleviated, by perceiving among the inhabitants a
faint resemblance to his happy countrymen, the Gangarids. There he saw
liberty, security, and equality,--with toleration in religion; but the
ladies were so indifferent, that none made him any advances; an
experience he had not met with before. It is true, however, that had he
been inclined to address them, they would not have been offended;
though, at the same time, not one would have been the least in love; but
he was far from any thoughts of making conquests.
Formosanta had nearly caught him in this insipid nation. He had set out
but a moment before her arrival.
Amazan had heard so much among the Batavians in praise of a certain
island called Albion, that he was led by curiosity to embark with his
unicorns on board a ship, which, with a favorable easterly wind, carried
him in a few hours to that celebrated country, more famous than Tyre, or
Atlantis.
The beautiful Formosanta, who had followed him, as it were on the scent,
to the banks of the Volga, the Vistula, the Elbe, and the Weser, and had
never been above a day or two behind him, arrived soon after at the
mouth of the Rhine, where it disembogues its waters into the German
Ocean.
Here she learned that her beloved Amazan had just set sail for Albion.
She thought she saw the vessel on board of which he was, and could not
help crying out for joy; at which the Batavian ladies were greatly
surprised, not imagining that a young man could possibly occasion so
violent a transport. They took, indeed, but little notice of the
phœnix, as they reckoned his feathers would not fetch near so good a
price as those of their own ducks, and other water fowl. The princess
of Babylon hired two vessels to carry herself and her retinue to that
happy island, which was soon to possess the only object of her desires,
the soul of her life, and the god of her idolatry.
An unpropitious wind from the west suddenly arose, just as the faithful
and unhappy Amazan landed on Albion's sea-girt shore, and detained the
ships of the Babylonian princess just as they were on the point of
sailing. Seized with a deep melancholy, she went to her room, determined
to remain there till the wind should change; but it blew for the space
of eight days, with an unremitting violence. The princess, during this
tedious period, employed her maid of honor, Irla, in reading romances;
which were not indeed written by the Batavians; but as they are the
factors of the universe, they traffic in the wit as well as commodities
of other nations. The princess purchased of Mark Michael Rey, the
bookseller, all the novels which had been written by the Ausonians and
the Welch, the sale of which had been wisely prohibited among those
nations to enrich their neighbors, the Batavians. She expected to find
in those histories some adventure similar to her own, which might
alleviate her grief. The maid of honor read, the phœnix made
comments, and the princess, finding nothing in the _Fortunate Country
Maid_, in _Tansai_, or in the _Sopha_, that had the least resemblance to
her own affairs, interrupted the reader every moment, by asking how the
wind stood.
VIII.
AMAZAN LEAVES ALBION TO VISIT THE LAND OF SATURN.
In the mean time Amazan was on the road to the capital of Albion, in his
coach and six unicorns, all his thoughts employed on his dear princess.
At a small distance he perceived a carriage overturned in a ditch. The
servants had gone in different directions in quest of assistance, but
the owner kept his seat, smoking his pipe with great tranquillity,
without manifesting the smallest impatience. His name was my lord
What-then, in the language from which I translate these memoirs.
Amazan made all the haste possible to help him, and without assistance
set the carriage to rights, so much was his strength superior to that of
other men. My lord What-then took no other notice of him, than saying,
"a stout fellow, by Jove!" In the meantime the neighboring people,
having arrived, flew into a great passion at being called out to no
purpose, and fell upon the stranger. They abused him, called him an
outlandish dog, and challenged him to strip and box.
Amazan seized a brace of them in each hand, and threw them twenty paces
from him; the rest seeing this, pulled off their hats, and bowing with
great respect, asked his honor for something to drink. His honor gave
them more money than they had ever seen in their lives before. My lord
What-then now expressed great esteem for him, and asked him to dinner at
his country house, about three miles off. His invitation being accepted,
he went into Amazan's coach, his own being out of order from the
accident.
After a quarter of an hour's silence, my lord What-then, looking upon
Amazan for a moment, said. "How d'ye do?" which, by the way, is a phrase
without any meaning, adding, "You have got six fine unicorns there."
After which he continued smoking as usual.
The traveler told him his unicorns were at his service, and that he had
brought them from the country of the Gangarids. From thence he took
occasion to inform him of his affair with the princess of Babylon, and
the unlucky kiss she had given the king of Egypt; to which the other
made no reply, being very indifferent whether there were any such people
in the world, as a king of Egypt, or a princess of Babylon.
He remained dumb for another quarter of an hour; after which he asked
his companion a second time how he did, and whether they had any good
roast beef among the Gangarids.
Amazan answered with his wonted politeness, "that they did not eat their
brethren on the banks of the Ganges." He then explained to him that
system which many ages afterward was surnamed the Pythagorean
philosophy. But my lord fell asleep in the meantime, and made but one
nap of it till he came to his own house.
He was married to a young and charming woman, on whom nature had
bestowed a soul as lively and sensible as that of her husband was dull
and stupid. A few gentlemen of Albion had that day come to dine with
her; among whom there were characters of all sorts; for that country
having been almost always under the government of foreigners, the
families that had come over with these princes had imported their
different manners. There were in this company some persons of an amiable
disposition, others of superior genius, and a few of profound learning.
The mistress of the house had none of that awkward stiffness, that false
modesty, with which the young ladies of Albion were then reproached. She
did not conceal by a scornful look and an affected taciturnity, her
deficiency of ideas: and the embarrassing humility of having nothing to
say. Never was a woman more engaging. She received Amazan with a grace
and politeness that were quite natural to her. The extreme beauty of
this young stranger, and the involuntary comparison she could not help
making between him and her prosaic husband, did not increase her
happiness or content.
Dinner being served, she placed Amazan at her side, and helped him to a
variety of puddings, he having informed her that the Gangarids never
dined upon any thing which had received from the gods the celestial gift
of life. The events of his early life, the manners of the Gangarids, the
progress of arts, religion, and government, were the subjects of a
conversation equally agreeable and instructive all the time of the
entertainment, which lasted till night: during which my lord What-then
did nothing but push the bottle about, and call for the toast.
After dinner, while my lady was pouring out the tea, still feeding her
eyes on the young stranger, he entered into a long conversation with a
member of parliament; for every one knows that there was, even then, a
parliament called Wittenagemot, or the assembly of wise men. Amazan
enquired into the constitution, laws, manners, customs, forces, and
arts, which made this country so respectable; and the member answered
him in the following manner.
"For a long time we went stark naked, though our climate is none of the
hottest. We were likewise for a long time enslaved by a people who came
from the ancient country of Saturn, watered by the Tiber. But the
mischief we have done one another has greatly exceeded all that we
ever suffered from our first conquerors. One of our princes carried his
superstition to such a pitch, as to declare himself the subject of a
priest, who dwells also on the banks of the Tiber, and is called the Old
Man of the Seven Mountains. It has been the fate of the seven mountains
to domineer over the greatest part of Europe, then inhabited by brutes
in human shape.
[Illustration: Religious wars in Albion.]
"To those times of infamy and debasement, succeeded the ages of
barbarity and confusion. Our country, more tempestuous than the
surrounding ocean, has been ravaged and drenched in blood by our civil
discords. Many of our crowned heads have perished by a violent death.
Above a hundred princes of the royal blood have ended their days on the
scaffold, whilst the hearts of their adherents have been torn from their
breasts, and thrown in their faces. In short, it is the province of the
hangman to write the history of our island, seeing that this personage
has finally determined all our affairs of moment.
"But to crown these horrors, it is not very long since some fellows
wearing black mantles, and others who cast white shirts over their
jackets, having become aggressive and intolerent, succeeded in
communicating their madness to the whole nation. Our country was then
divided into two parties, the murderers and the murdered, the
executioners and the sufferers, plunderers and slaves; and all in the
name of God, and whilst they were seeking the Lord.
"Who would have imagined, that from this horrible abyss, this chaos of
dissension, cruelty, ignorance, and fanaticism, a government should at
last spring up, the most perfect, it may be said, now in the world; yet
such has been the event. A prince, honored and wealthy, all-powerful to
do good, but without power to do evil, is at the head of a free,
warlike, commercial, and enlightened nation. The nobles on one hand, and
the representatives of the people on the other, share the legislature
with the monarch.
"We have seen, by a singular fatality of events, disorder, civil wars,
anarchy and wretchedness, lay waste the country, when our kings aimed at
arbitrary power: whereas tranquillity, riches, and universal happiness,
have only reigned among us, when the prince has remained satisfied with
a limited authority. All order had been subverted whilst we were
disputing about mysteries, but was re-established the moment we grew
wise enough to despise them. Our victorious fleets carry our flag on
every ocean; our laws place our lives and fortunes in security; no judge
can explain them in an arbitrary manner, and no decision is ever given
without the reasons assigned for it. We should punish a judge as an
assassin, who should condemn a citizen to death without declaring the
evidence which accused him, and the law upon which he was convicted.
"It is true, there are always two parties among us, who are continually
writing and intriguing against each other, but they constantly re-unite,
whenever it is needful to arm in defence of liberty and our country.
These two parties watch over one another, and mutually prevent the
violation of the sacred _deposit_ of the laws. They hate one another,
but they love the state. They are like those jealous lovers, who pay
court to the same mistress, with a spirit of emulation.
"From the same fund of genius by which we discovered and supported the
natural rights of mankind, we have carried the sciences to the highest
pitch to which they can attain among men. Your Egyptians, who pass for
such great mechanics--your Indians, who are believed to be such great
philosophers--your Babylonians, who boast of having observed the stars
for the course of four hundred and thirty thousand years--the Greeks,
who have written so much, and said so little, know in reality nothing in
comparison to our inferior scholars, who have studied the discoveries of
Our great masters. We have ravished more secrets from nature in the
space of an hundred years, that the human species had been able to
discover in as many ages.
"This is a true account of our present state. I have concealed from you
neither the good nor the bad; neither our shame nor our glory; and I
have exaggerated nothing."
At this discourse Amazan felt a strong desire to be instructed in those
sublime sciences his friend had spoken of; and if his passion for the
princess of Babylon, his filial duty to his mother whom he had quitted,
and his love for his native country, had not made strong remonstrances
to his distempered heart, he would willingly have spent the remainder of
his life in Albion. But that unfortunate kiss his princess had given
the king of Egypt, did not leave his mind at sufficient ease to study
the abstruse sciences.
"I confess," said he, "having made a solemn vow to roam about the world,
and to escape from myself. I have a curiosity to see that ancient land
of Saturn--that people of the Tiber and of the Seven Mountains, who have
been heretofore your masters. They must undoubtedly be the first people
on earth."
"I advise you by all means," answered the member, "to take that journey,
if you have the smallest taste for music or painting. Even we ourselves
frequently carry our spleen and melancholy to the Seven Mountains. But
you will be greatly surprised when you see the descendants of our
conquerors."
This was a long conversation, and Amazan had spoken in so agreeable a
manner; his voice was so charming; his whole behavior so noble and
engaging, that the mistress of the house could not resist the pleasure
of having a little private chat with him in her turn. She accordingly
sent him a little billet-doux intimating her wishes in the most
agreeable language. Amazan had once more the courage to resist the
fascination of female society, and, according to custom, wrote the lady
an answer full of respect,--representing to her the sacredness of his
oath, and the strict obligation he was under to teach the princess of
Babylon to conquer her passions by his example; after which he harnessed
his unicorns and departed for Batavia, leaving all the company in deep
admiration of him, and the lady in profound astonishment. In her
confusion she dropped Amazan's letter. My lord What-then read it next
morning:
"D--n it," said he, shrugging up his shoulders, "what stuff and nonsense
have we got here?" and then rode out a fox hunting with some of his
drunken neighbors.
Amazan was already sailing upon the sea, possessed of a geographical
chart, with which he had been presented by the learned Albion he had
conversed with at lord What-then's. He was extremely astonished to find
the greatest part of the earth upon a single sheet of paper.
His eyes and imagination wandered over this little space; he observed
the Rhine, the Danube, the Alps of Tyrol, there specified under their
different names, and all the countries through which he was to pass
before he arrived at the city of the Seven Mountains. But he more
particularly fixed his eyes upon the country of the Gangarids, upon
Babylon, where he had seen his dear princess, and upon the country of
Bassora, where she had given a fatal kiss to the king of Egypt. He
sighed, and tears streamed from his eyes at the unhappy remembrance. He
agreed with the Albion who had presented him with the universe in
epitome, when he averred that the inhabitants of the banks of the Thames
were a thousand times better instructed than those upon the banks of the
Nile, the Euphrates, and the Ganges.
As he returned into Batavia, Formosanta proceeded toward Albion with her
two ships at full sail. Amazan's ship and the princess's crossed one
another and almost touched; the two lovers were close to each other,
without being conscious of the fact. Ah! had they but known it! But this
great consolation tyrannic destiny would not allow.
IX.
AMAZAN VISITS ROME.
No sooner had Amazan landed on the flat muddy shore of Batavia, than he
immediately set out toward the city of the Seven Mountains. He was
obliged to traverse the southern part of Germany. At every four miles he
met with a prince and princess, maids of honor, and beggars. He was
greatly astonished every where at the coquetries of these ladies and
maids of honor, in which they indulged with German good faith. After
having cleared the Alps he embarked upon the sea of Dalmatia, and landed
in a city that had no resemblance to any thing he had heretofore seen.
The sea formed the streets, and the houses were erected in the water.
The few public places, with which this city was ornamented, were filled
with men and women with double faces--that which nature had bestowed on
them, and a pasteboard one, ill painted, with which they covered their
natural visage; so that this people seemed composed of spectres. Upon
the arrival of strangers in this country, they immediately purchase
these visages, in the same manner as people elsewhere furnish themselves
with hats and shoes. Amazan despised a fashion so contrary to nature. He
appeared just as he was.
Many ladies were introduced, and interested themselves in the handsome
Amazan. But he fled with the utmost precipitancy, uttering the name of
the incomparable princess of Babylon, and swearing by the immortal gods,
that she was far handsomer than the Venetian girls.
"Sublime traitoress," he cried, in his transports, "I will teach you to
be faithful!"
Now the yellow surges of the Tiber, pestiferous fens, a few pale
emaciated inhabitants clothed in tatters which displayed their dry
tanned hides, appeared to his sight, and bespoke his arrival at the gate
of the city of the Seven Mountains,--that city of heroes and legislators
who conquered and polished a great part of the globe.
He expected to have seen at the triumphal gate, five hundred battalions
commanded by heroes, and in the senate an assembly of demi-gods giving
laws to the earth. But the only army he found consisted of about thirty
tatterdemalions, mounting guard with umbrellas for fear of the sun.
Having arrived at a temple which appeared to him very fine, but not so
magnificent as that of Babylon, he was greatly astonished to hear a
concert performed by men with female voices.
"This," said he, "is a mighty pleasant country, which was formerly the
land of Saturn. I have been in a city where no one showed his own face;
here is another where men have neither their own voices nor beards."
He was told that these eunuchs had been trained from childhood, that
they might sing the more agreeably the praises of a great number of
persons of merit. Amazan could not comprehend the meaning of this.
They then explained to him very pleasantly, and with many
gesticulations, according to the custom of their country, the point in
question. Amazan was quite confounded.
"I have traveled a great way," said he, "but I never before heard such a
whim."
After they had sung a good while, the Old Man of the Seven Mountains
went with great ceremony to the gate of the temple. He cut the air in
four parts with his thumb raised, two fingers extended and two bent, in
uttering these words in a language no longer spoken: "_To the city and
to the universe_." Amazan could not see how two fingers could extend so
far.
He presently saw the whole court of the master of the world file off.
This court consisted of grave personages, some in scarlet, and others in
violet robes. They almost all eyed the handsome Amazan with a tender
look; and bowed to him, while commenting upon his personal appearance.
The zealots whose vocation was to show the curiosities of the city to
strangers, very eagerly offered to conduct him to several ruins, in
which a muleteer would not choose to pass a night, but which were
formerly worthy monuments of the grandeur of a royal people. He moreover
saw pictures of two hundred years standing, and statues that had
remained twenty ages, which appeared to him masterpieces of their kind.
"Can you still produce such work?" said Amazan.
"No, your excellency," replied one of the zealots; "but we despise the
rest of the earth, because we preserve these rarities. We are a kind of
old clothes men, who derive our glory from the cast-off garbs in our
warehouses."
Amazan was willing to see the prince's palace, and he was accordingly
conducted thither. He saw men dressed in violet colored robes, who were
reckoning the money of the revenues of the domains of lands, some
situated upon the Danube, some upon the Loire, others upon the
Guadalquivir, or the Vistula.
"Oh! Oh!" said Amazan, having consulted his geographical map, "your
master, then, possesses all Europe, like those ancient heroes of the
Seven Mountains?"
"He should possess the whole universe by divine right," replied a
violet-livery man; "and there was even a time when his predecessors
nearly compassed universal monarchy, but their successors are so good as
to content themselves at present with some monies which the kings, their
subjects, pay to them in the form of a tribute."
"Your master is then, in fact, the king of kings. Is that his title?"
said Amazan.
[Illustration: The Old Man of The Seven Mountains.--"The Old Man of the
Seven Mountains went with great ceremony to the gate of the temple. He
cut the air in four parts with his thumb raised, two fingers extended
and two bent, in uttering these words in a language no longer spoken:
'To the city and to the universe.'"]