spells of sleep as I snatched only reflected the dour images that were
passing through my brain. Mechanically I undertook my usual duties in
the morning, and later in the day I was sitting beside a solitary and
untasted meal in my balcony, moodily staring with fixed unseeing eyes
at the beautiful prospect sweltering in the noontide sunshine, when
Hiridia suddenly entered to announce that a litter was being borne up
the palace steps. A moment later appeared a messenger with the request
for an audience of the Arch-priest, who was too feeble to approach on
foot. With my black despair of a moment past converted into temporary
relief, I signed my assent, and all expectation I watched the palanquin
being carried through the ante-chamber and finally set down on the
pavement of the balcony. With my own hand I assisted its venerable
occupant to alight and to install himself with some degree of comfort
in a large chair. It was distressing to mark the changes that the past
few days had wrought in my beloved friend, whom I had always regarded
as a sublime picture of hale and hearty age, sound alike in body and
intellect. Now the skin drawn taut over the face appeared like yellow
parchment; the hands were dry and osseous; the gait was languid and
hesitating; verily, the seal of impending death was firmly set alike
on limb and lineament. So soon as we were left alone, the Arch-priest,
gazing at me steadfastly with an expression in which were blended at
once pity, affection and grave concern, held out his poor trembling
arms towards me, whereupon I sank to the floor so as to lay my head
on the thick white folds of the robe that covered his emaciated form.
Long time he continued to stroke my hair or gently trace my features
with his dry, feverish hands, much as a blind man might seek to feel
or sense some precious object, the while I wept unrestrained tears,
whose bitter flow seemed to relieve my heart of some of its accumulated
anguish. Thus we remained, age comforting and supporting youth, and
both finding mutual consolation in this belated concession and yielding
to an open affection from which we had so long been debarred. At length
a warning voice in gentle, feeble tones bade me dry my eyes and rise to
my feet.
"My son," began the old man, "my son, for in my heart I have long
adopted you as such, your image and your fate have been troubling me in
dreams upon my bed. Be strong. Be prepared for evil tidings. My life is
ebbing fast, as you may see, but there are matters I must announce to
you before my small stock of vitality is exhausted. Seat yourself in
that chair facing me, and give me your hand to clasp, whilst I tell you
what I specially desire to impart....
"I am a very old man, and though I have retained my powers of mind and
body in a degree that is unusual in Meleager, whose denizens fade as
they mature earlier than do those of the Earth, the inevitable call has
sounded at last, and in my case more swiftly and suddenly than I could
have wished. For many months past I have been deeply distressed on
your behalf, my son. I have been rent and vexed by the rival claims of
duty towards my office and of my pity and affection towards yourself.
Or rather, I have been speculating with ceaseless anxiety as to where
my real duty lay. As a councillor of the hierarchy of Meleager and a
keeper of The Secret I am impelled to abandon you to your fate, be
what it may; yet as one who is about to say farewell to all things in
this existence, I feel I cannot, I must not depart thus without lifting
from you the cloud of subtlety and intrigue wherewith your young life
is overshadowed. I have endured hideous visions upon my bed; I have
heard your voice of reproach and pictured your final struggle; I have
communed with my own soul in perfect frankness; and as the result of
this spiritual conflict, involving so many diverse arguments, I am here
to-day to warn you."
Again the old man extended his wasted arms towards me and embraced me
with a renewed burst of tenderness. Then he motioned to me to resume my
seat.
"I must hasten to divulge what is lying like a load upon my heart, for
my span of life can now but be reckoned by hours, not days. In the
first place you have been grievously, wilfully deceived by our envoy on
Earth and also by myself (though herein I have been merely following
the normal trend of our polity) in one most important matter. For
you have been permitted, even encouraged, to believe that your reign
here in Meleager can be indefinitely prolonged, provided you do not
set yourself to withstand or embarrass the ruling hierarchy of this
planet. Only theoretically is this true. It is a fact, I admit, that
our kings can be rejuvenated over and over again, and by this means be
enabled to survive generation after generation of Meleagrians--but
this never happens in reality. Not a few monarchs have these aged eyes
of mine witnessed in Meleager, and I have heard tell of others, but
not one of these has attained to so much as two lustres of regnant
power in the star to which they had been translated under circumstances
similar to your own. It is true our kings have often brought premature
and well-deserved disaster on their own heads, but of such I am not
now thinking. I am speaking of our hierarchy who are by no means
immaculate, and whose intrigues and jealousy will not permit any
monarch to escape his predetermined end, no matter how conspicuous
his merits. Not that all our members are tainted with this disease of
treachery, that is far from being the case; but in every executive
body so strong is the spirit of self-interest that no scruples will
stand in the way of preserving power, from whatsoever cause it is
once threatened. Men are mostly evil, as your great Italian thinker,
Nicholas Machiavelli, was bold enough to proclaim, and their guides or
politicians are crafty animals who suck advantage from every weakness
of humanity. Such being the inevitable state of things politic, our
poor monarchs are placed in a hopeless dilemma, whereby they are doomed
to failure, and for the following reasons. If they avoid the snare of
politics, they grow vicious or oppressive of the populace, so that
they lose the general esteem, and the watching hierarchy is swift
to annex this alienated favour and to transfer it to its own body
by ridding Meleager of an obnoxious semi-divine King. Again, it has
happened on not a few occasions that the King has set to combine with
the subservient populace against the real ruling caste. I myself have
seen these palace courts and halls slippery with the blood of slaves
and soldiers who have sought at the royal bidding to overthrow the
executive council, and have themselves been overwhelmed and massacred
in the attempt. Or else, commonest and most dreaded event of all that
we prepare to circumvent, our monarch will seek to found a dynasty.
This is a danger we are compelled to nip in the bud by eliminating
the erring sovereign rather than by destroying the victim or tool
of his designs. But you yourself belong to none of these categories
of undesirable rulers--the ambitious, the despotic, the brutal, the
licentious, the knavish; and it is for this very distinction that I now
have come hither to inform you of certain things.
"You alone of all the earth-rapt monarchs of Meleager that ever I
have known or heard of have pursued an even tenor of deportment,
holding yourself strictly aloof from the besetting snares of popular
adulation and of selfish indolence. You have never strained to encroach
on the prerogative of the hierarchy, yet you have openly and boldly
clung to such shreds of power as our constitution legally permits you
to exercise. You have never stooped to flatter the priestly caste;
although you have given proof again and again that you clearly
understand and appreciate the intertwining nature of the bonds that
unite the offices of King and council. You have shown yourself affable
and gracious to our nobility; kindly and sympathetic to the people
without any ulterior object in your behaviour. You have forborne to
break our laws with regard to dalliance with women, for in your case
no spy has as yet reported any such dereliction on your part. You
have worked well, within the limits assigned to you, to assist the
well-being of the community; and it is also evident that you are a
cordial upholder of our fundamental theory that human happiness rather
than human progress offers the truest mark for statesmanship, and that
those who enjoy the sweets of office and power must alone taste of the
bitter punishment entailed by their own failure or disloyalty. In my
eyes, therefore, you are the ideal King; and yet, and yet, you will
not survive to behold the complement of the half score of years of
sovereignty, which has only once been attained hitherto in the whole
course of Meleagrian annals. Your very virtues of self-restraint and
implicit honour have only contrived to arouse in its direst shape that
spectre of suspicion which is the guiding genius of our state craft.
In other words, even a good King of Meleager is likewise foredoomed,
whatever struggles and sacrifices he may make to gain and hold the
approval of his virtual masters.
"To divert my warning now from the general to the particular, I must
tell you that on my departure hence to the Hereafter, every signal
points clearly to the approaching cessation of your reign. Unless I am
gravely mistaken, the councillor who is marked out to succeed me as
Arch-priest leads our most truculent faction, and under his auspices no
long period will elapse before the order will go forth for a change of
monarch. Doubtless not a few voices will be raised in your behalf, for
you have grown dear to many of us; but I feel convinced such pleading
will not prevail. By this time you must, with your acquisitive mind,
have guessed at the fate which awaits yourself, the fate that has
engulfed so many of your predecessors, the Fountain of Rejuvenation.
The sustaining ropes will be cut during your plunge therein, so that
the fierce undercurrent may draw you into the bowels of the underworld.
Thus will you cease to reign, as we phrase it with euphemistic
delicacy. Should you perchance be cunning enough to elude this mode
of execution, rest assured there are other means in plenty equally
awful and drastic, once the fiat of your removal has been definitely
pronounced. My son, you must prepare to meet your fate, for though I
still hope some unexpected turn of Fortune's wheel may yet operate for
your preservation, in my opinion your doom is already imminent. But one
ray of comfort, or rather one spell of delay, I am able to promise you.
By our immutable laws the newly elected Arch-priest, who guards the
rites and mysteries of that dreadful fountain, is compelled to retain
in office the two attendant councillors who assist in carrying out the
process of the lustration. Thus on the first occasion of this ceremony
under my successor you will be absolutely safe, for I have obtained
the most solemn assurances to this effect from the two colleagues who
have lately served me in this capacity. But this arrangement will
only affect the next ceremony, for thenceforth the new Arch-priest is
empowered to select assistants of his own, and naturally he will choose
his own creatures for the required purpose. Still, such a respite will
afford you some breathing-space for preparation and self-communing, as
it will prolong your existence for the space of a further half-year.
Perhaps fresh developments may arise within that span of time--who
knows?
"One thing I implore of you, and I know I do not ask in vain. Do not
stir up strife in our planet, as other kings have done before you. Your
chance of success is almost hopeless, as no doubt you already realise,
knowing the intensity of the suspicion wherewith every movement on your
part is regarded and provided for. Because you are destined to die,
die alone, and forbear to drag a number of innocent persons along with
you to your doom. You have performed your manifest duty for the past
seven years with a steadfast beneficence that is worthy of your alleged
father, the Sun; and remember, it is the fulfilment of duty alone
that counts in the future life of the Hereafter, whose prospective
blessings will eventually be yours."
I cannot describe the tender and earnest manner of the dying man's
discourse, terrible though its disclosures were to myself. Even the
final piece of advice, platitude of every creed and clime though
it was, seemed to come as a help and a spur to me at this critical
juncture. After all, what is a platitude but the untimely expression of
some great basic truth? And here, from the venerable hierophant, who
from a strict sense of duty had left his sick-bed to come hither and
instruct me, the words seemed to possess a peculiar meaning and value;
his simple appeal to my own sense of rectitude had all the force of a
profound thought extracted from a world of thinking. I could only press
the hot, dry, bony hand, as I shrouded my head in the folds of my royal
mantle in a vain endeavour to subdue a fresh bout of weeping.
"And now," continued my companion, making an effort to rise, "I must
depart with my blessing upon you. Long may you be spared to rule in
Meleager; and if not so, then we shall meet in due sequence within that
narthex of silence and shadows which forms the vestibule to the temple
of the Hereafter."
Once more he embraced me long and lovingly, after which he bade me
strike the bell reposing on the table. At his request too I passed
to the farthest end of the balcony, so as to keep my face averted
from the little group of attendants who now assisted the dying man
to his litter. I could hear the shuffling of feet and whispering of
voices involved in the task of transporting my old friend, whilst with
swimming eyes I gazed blankly at the white cheerful city, the cool
greenery of the palace gardens and the flashing liquid mirror of the
haven of Tamarida. Nor did I budge from my stiff, comfortless pose till
at length I felt a light touch on the shoulder, the respectful touch of
a privileged dependent. On turning my eyes, still red and swollen with
my lately shed tears, they met the honest, inquiring face of Hiridia,
who was regarding me reproachfully, as though rebuking me in silence
for such an unseemly lack of control. I made the necessary attempt in
the form of a wan smile and a request for a cup of wine; for a true
public ruler must exhibit no private sorrow. Was it not the magnificent
Giovanni dei Medici, Pope Leo the Tenth, who was reprimanded by his
punctilious chamberlain for falling to tears openly on the news of the
death of his favourite brother, "seeing that the Roman pontiff was a
demi-god and not a man, and must therefore display a serene and smiling
countenance on all occasions to the people"? It was in this spirit then
that I accepted Hiridia's tacit reproof; sometimes the will of man
imposes itself on the weakness of the gods.
II
Three days later I was informed of the passing of Anzoni, Arch-priest
of Meleager, and of the election of Marzona as his successor. For the
former part of this intelligence I was, of course, fully prepared, but
the latter intimation aroused my worst apprehensions and depressed
my spirits to their lowest depth. For I understood only too well the
hard, intractable, suspicious nature of the councillor who had just
been chosen--by what means or on what system I knew not--to fill the
vacant office of my dear old friend. All I could do was to conceal with
equal adroitness both my sorrow for the first calamity and my anxiety
over the second, and to pursue my normal course of life with all the
composure at my disposal. Nevertheless, my first formal interview with
the new potentate only served to strengthen every foreboding on my
part. Marzona always treated me, I admit, with a courteous demeanour
whether in public or private; but I was only too conscious on every
occasion of our meeting that I was in the presence of a crafty,
unrelenting foe, whom it would be useless to attempt to placate. As
for Marzona's prior career, I had gathered some time ago that he was
by birth a plebeian "intellectual," who had risen by his talents
(in the manner already described by me in my former letter) to the
order of the nobility, and from the ranks of the nobles had contrived
to pass through the school of the neophytes and the college of the
probationers, and thence into the coveted oligarchy beyond. For private
reasons he had always aimed at the office of Arch-priest, sedulously
declining, with this particular objective in view, to undertake the
voyage to the Earth, with the result that now at last he had attained
to that eminence on which for years he had concentrated his hopes, his
desires and all his immense capacity of intrigue. In appearance Marzona
was not unprepossessing, and his face, which showed of a somewhat
lighter tint than is usual in Meleager, would have been accounted
handsome, were it not for the dull hazel eyes, which, however,
constantly emitted from their recesses a ruddy gleam, reminding me of
the hidden tongue of flame that lurks in the so-called black opals of
Queensland. To a nature so sensitive as mine, the very approach of this
personage caused an involuntary tremor of repulsion, and in my heart I
always quailed when those expressionless, opalescent orbs were directed
at me.
In estimating our misfortunes and brooding over them, we are
unwittingly given to exaggerate, so forcibly works within us the
irrepressible spirit of egoism. We oftentimes hold ourselves to be the
absolute sport of some malign fury, whereas, did we but know it, we
have in reality but commenced to drink of that bitter cup which we
imagine we have almost drained to the dregs. So it was in my own case
of despondency. I could not figure to myself a worse disaster than what
had just befallen me in the double blow caused by my old protector's
death and the election of his odious supplanter; and accordingly I
set to lament my grievances as though they were incapable of further
extension. My mental blindness on this point was however swiftly and
suddenly illumined by means of a recurring stroke of evil that was
dealt me within three weeks of the election of the new Arch-priest.
On awaking one morning I missed Hiridia's customary entrance into my
chamber, an omission of duty that had never occurred previously except
with my consent and knowledge. The day passed slowly without any
sign of my chamberlain, so that I grew angered, puzzled and finally
alarmed. Still, some inner shrinking urged me to restrain my natural
annoyance and curiosity as to this mysterious lapse, and it was not
till nightfall that I summoned Zulàr, my senior equerry, and questioned
him with such nonchalance as I could assume concerning the cause of
Hiridia's abstention. Zulàr, who seemed terribly nervous, at first
sought to evade my inquiries; but on my growing stern and insistent, he
admitted to me what I realised at once to be the truth, or at least a
portion of the truth; Hiridia had entered the school of neophytes the
preceding night, having lately developed a vocation for the hierarchy,
for which his age now rendered him eligible. So far, this was strictly
accurate, for I knew that the graceful stripling of some seven years
ago had quite recently attained the prescribed age, being indeed a
youth no longer; also I was convinced he really was interned within the
walls of the seminary. On the other hand, it was inconceivable that
Hiridia should have deserted his master in so abrupt and so insolent
a fashion, even supposing he had honestly wished to graduate for the
hierarchy, of which intention on his part I had never observed the
least indication. His loyalty and devotion to myself and my interests
were beyond question, and I had the anguish to realise that my poor
favourite had been treacherously kidnapped and was now a veritable
prisoner within the walls of that hierarchical castle.
Fortunately indignation rather than grief was the predominating emotion
of the moment, so that I at once dispatched the affrighted Zulàr to
bear a message from me to the Arch-priest, bidding him attend with all
speed at the palace. For hours I waited in wakeful fury the arrival
of Marzona, who on some pretext contrived to delay his coming until
the following morning was well advanced. Perhaps this slighting of my
command was not wholly without benefit to myself, for by the time of
his belated appearance my mood had grown calmer and I was disposed
to regard the situation with some degree of diplomatic restraint.
Without, therefore, directly assuming his influence in the matter,
I bade Marzona explain to me this sudden resolve on Hiridia's part,
whereby I had been unexpectedly deprived of an official whose services
I valued so highly. I also laid stress on the erratic and disrespectful
manner of his withdrawal from my Court. Coldly and steadily those
dull, jade-coloured eyes scanned my face, as I expatiated on my
wrongs, so that I could easily gather there was no help forthcoming
from this quarter whence doubtless had emanated this cunning stroke of
malevolence. When I had made an end, the Arch-priest began in suave
tones of pseudo-sympathy to express his regret for my loss, whose
extent he did not seek to minimise. At the same time, so he explained
to me, the laws of Meleager with regard to postulants for the hierarchy
were fundamental in their scope, and consequently utterly beyond the
control or interference of the Arch-priest. Hiridia had exceeded his
thirtieth year, and was therefore free to choose and inaugurate such a
career at any moment; at the same time he agreed with me in thinking
that Hiridia's conduct in so quitting my service snowed a lamentable
lack of gratitude and consideration to a most indulgent patron.
And he again offered me his condolences for my loss and resulting
inconvenience.
No Medicean Secretary of State could have exhibited greater reserve
and finesse in argument and deportment than did the new Arch-priest
of Meleager in this interview with myself. Had it not all been so
tragical and alarming, I could almost have been won to admiration of
the easy duplicity of Marzona, who parried my questions and pretended
to soothe my complaints of ill-treatment, the while wholly indifferent
to the patent fact that I was clearly reading his black hostile heart.
The moral prototype of this man must have flourished centuries ago
at the venal courts of Rome and Ferrara; had the state craft of the
petty Italian despots of the Renaissance been transplanted into the
fertile soil of Meleagrian hearts, here in the twentieth century of our
Herthian Christian era? Disgusted and wearied at last from this verbal
fencing with an invulnerable antagonist, I nodded my head in token that
the interview was at an end and the incident closed, my sole ray of
consolation being that Marzona did not perhaps truly appraise the full
extent of the injury he had dealt me by his recent seizure of Hiridia's
person. Possibly he may have relied on my being goaded thereby into
indiscreet abuse, and if such were his main object, in this design he
had at least been foiled. Verily, this reflection was a sorry crumb of
compensation for the blighting loss I had sustained; still, it offered
some moral support in itself to think that I had successfully curbed
my natural fury. At the same time I did not wholly veil my attitude
of intense displeasure, for I argued it might possibly excite fresh
suspicion in another guise were I to bear my late discomfiture too
lightly in outward appearance. With my heart therefore secretly wrung
and tortured and with my brain afire from impotent indignation, I
sought to swallow my late indignities with as good a grace as I could
muster.