I was six feet and over tall, and could reach a good eighteen inches
above my head. Now, the passage was but seven feet wide. So I lay down
across it, and by pressing against the sides with my feet and hands, I
rolled myself to the top of the incline.
I had no more than raised myself to my feet when the sweetest ripple of
laughter I had ever heard greeted my ears, and there came toward me with
outstretched hands the most radiant creature I ever beheld. Such superb
carriage; such a graceful form; such delicious lips, between which
showed such pearly teeth; such a sweet, sweet face; such glorious hair;
and such dear eyes. I would have folded her at once to my bosom, but she
seemed too pure and precious for mortal hands.
But she would not we should be strangers longer; nor were we.
She caused a great banquet to be given, and I was surprised to find
among the guests so many men of renown; even the hermit was there. But
my princess made it all dear when they were all assembled, by saying:
“Gentlemen: I desire to express to you my profoundest respect. You have
one and all striven earnestly for my hand; but some obstacle in the way
of each proved insurmountable, save in one instance.
“One of my rules said instant death would be meted out to any who
disobeyed them. This was prescribed that your utmost exertion might be
put forth, and for that alone, for you observe that not one of you has
met death. When one of you fell by the way, he was immediately taken in
charge, and has fared as handsomely since as it has been in my power to
permit him to do.
“There is one among you who has not failed in a single instance, nor has
he faltered on the way, as you all know, for since your own failed, each
of you has witnessed the efforts of all later ones.
“And it is this one who is now to be given the opportunity of accepting
or rejecting my hand. I know I can not only trust myself but my kingdom
in his hands, for no circumstance can be so difficult he will not
understand and triumph over it.
“I now have the pleasure of offering my hand, my throne, and my fortune
to Monk Chawson, and I leave the matter with him.”
Such a deafening applause as rent the air when she resumed her throne
was there as to set my nerves vibrating uncomfortably. My words would
not come to utterance. I therefore arose from my place at the farther
end of the table and went to where she sat.
There I knelt at her feet. Then, and only then, could I speak. I said
something to this effect:
“Dear Princess: Man may not know such honor but once. No man can hope to
have beside him forever another being equal to thyself. It can be the
joy of but one man to have such a companion; for there is but one. To
such a woman a man may ever be a lover; for his life must be all
sunshine and delight.
“If then you will accept me as thy constant companion through this life,
receive my promise to guard you and protect you in any and all
emergencies.”
She stepped down from her throne and knelt beside me. A holy monk came
forward and performed the ceremony which made my life overflowing with
happiness.
Though years have passed since that eventful day, her beauty has not
dimmed; the luster of her eyes is still powerful; the sweetness of her
disposition has grown in grandeur.
As we gaze on the children at play, we clasp each other’s hands in that
sweet rapture only known to those who truly love and are as truly loved.
May your lot be as pleasant as mine, dear reader!
I must add that every one of the knights and gentlemen who made the
attempt to find the secret chamber found within the household of my
princess some beautiful woman who reciprocated his affections. So that
our palace contains a retinue unequaled for valor and renown, and there
is growing up around us an army of robust children whose merry laughter
and pretty pranks fill us all with continual joy.
Success nearly always crowns the efforts of the venturesome. The failure
of an adventure is always chronicled with glaring head-lines, thus
proving the above assertion. At all events, I was certainly for pushing
into anything mysterious, with the result of final triumph.
My dear reader, may your adventures end as fortunately as have mine.
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[Illustration:
the end
]
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● Transcriber’s Notes:
○ Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.
○ Typographical errors were silently corrected.
○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only
when a predominant form was found in this book.
○ Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).