So the Queen entered the palace.
All the great halls were silent, and empty of people, and she passed
through one after the other, shivering a little at their vastness.
At last she came before the curtain that separated her from the Throne
Hall. It was large enough to contain the whole nation.
She pushed the curtain aside and found herself standing behind the great
throne. Through the interstices of the carved back she could see
everything that was going on. The Great Hall was thronged full of
people from end to end. On the throne platform the Regent was waiting,
evidently about to begin a speech.
The Queen stopped and peeped; there was a great flourish of trumpets
that echoed and echoed along the hall, and the Regent began.
"Ladies noble, my lords, dames commoner, and gentlemen!" His great
voice sounded clearly through the silence. "As you are well aware, our
gracious and high mighty sovereign, the Queen Eldrida, has deigned to
favour my unworthy self with the priceless honour of her hand, and that
on this auspicious day. Her hand and seal affixed to the weighty
document you have seen in the market-place."
The Queen walked round the opposite side of the throne into the view of
the people, who set up a tumultuous cheer. The Regent, however, thought
they were cheering him, and went on with his speech.
"I had also announced that it was her Majesty's royal pleasure to reveal
herself to her loyal people's eyes on this day."
The Queen slowly ascended the steps of the throne and seated herself
thereon. The great gold crown--it was six feet high, and so heavy that
no head could bear its weight--hung above her head by a great gold
chain.
The people cheered again, and still the Regent, whose back was to the
throne, deemed that they were applauding his speech. He ran his fingers
through his black beard and continued--
"It is, however, my painful duty to apprise you that her Majesty has
been pleased to alter her design. We shall, therefore, be married in
private in the Queen's apartments. The Queen's maiden modesty will not
allow her to reveal her charms to the vulgar multitude."
He paused and watched the effect of his speech, nervously fingering his
beard and blinking with his little eyes. The people whispered among
themselves, evidently unable to understand what it meant.
Suddenly the Queen's voice rang through the hall.
"My people," she said, "it is an infamous lie! I am here."
The Regent started and turned round; his face grew as pale as death.
But from the people a great shout went up at the discomfiture of the
hated Regent. It echoed and reverberated through the great hall, and
then silence fell again.
The Regent fell on his knees. "Oh, your Majesty," he said, "marry me!
marry me! marry me! I adore you! oh, only marry me!"
But the Queen was very pale and stern. "This man," she said to the
people, "has concealed my absence, has forged my name, has slandered me.
I unmake him; I degrade him; and I banish him the land!"
Once again the people cheered to see the Regent led off by the guards.
Then one of the nobles spoke, "Your Majesty," he said, "it is for the
good of the nation that you should marry. The late Regent was a tyrant,
and, as such, unfitted for the inestimable honour; but I am the first
noble in the realm. I am beloved by the people; therefore, your
Majesty, adding to it the fact that I respectfully adore your Majesty, I
beg your Majesty to let these things weigh down the balance of your
mind, and marry me."
But hardly were the words out of his mouth when a tumult arose, the like
of which was never heard in any land, for every man of the nation was
shouting, "Marry me! marry me!" till the whole building quivered.
The Queen held up her hand for silence. "Listen!" she said. "I shall
marry no one of you; and I will not even remain your Queen. For I am
quite unfitted for a ruler, and I don't in the least want to be one.
Therefore, choose a ruler for yourselves."