CHAPTER XIII

‘The providence that’s in a watchful stateKnows almost every grain of Pluto’s gold;Finds bottom in the uncomprehensive deeps;Keeps pace with thought, and almost like the Gods,Does thoughts unveil in their dumb cradles.’Troilus and Cressida.

‘The providence that’s in a watchful state

Knows almost every grain of Pluto’s gold;

Finds bottom in the uncomprehensive deeps;

Keeps pace with thought, and almost like the Gods,

Does thoughts unveil in their dumb cradles.’

Troilus and Cressida.

As soon as the trial was concluded,—if the series of extraordinary scenes that took place in the court, could be so designated—the reporters rushed outen masseto send their respective phonographs to the editors of the various journals they represented.

Never before had they such a titbit to offer their employers as was now their good luck to possess. A love scene between their Emperor and his astronomer, delivered in a dialogue wherein the actual voices were reproduced was a treat not to be met with every day.

At least a hundred delicate voice-recorders had caught the sound-waves from Sadbag’sphonograph, and borrowing the tones of Felicitas and Mercia in their never-to-be-forgotten colloquy, gave them a value unprecedented in all time. As soon as it got abroad that their proprietors were in possession of these treasures, hundreds of speculators offered enormous prices for their purchase, with a view of reeling out their contents to admiring and appreciative audiences throughout the globe.

These offers proved, indeed, too tempting to be resisted, so that in the course of a week or two, India, together with many distant parts, was in the enjoyment of the actual love scene that took place at Greenwich Observatory, the most unlikely of all places for such an incident to happen in.

The Great Test Tournament had been fought and won by the Easterners. Their freedom now achieved, there remained only the nomination and coronation of a Supreme Ruler to go through, the responsibility of which weighed heavily upon the mind of the Indian Parliamentarians.

It was ultimately decided however, that their first Monarch should be elected by thevote of the whole nation, independently of all claims of royal descent made by members of the native aristocracy.

The interesting news of Felicitas’ unsuccessful love suit having been brought to the ears of the people so graphically through the medium of the voice-recorders, created an intense excitement in their mind, at all times so sensitive to every emotion.

It brought out Mercia’s character in such vivid colours that she appeared to them mentally projected on a living reflector. In their intense imagination, they saw her before them uttering in her melodious dream-like voice her now famous rhapsody; the tenderness of which appealing to their hearts, stirred up their deepest emotions.

But when they arrived at her indignant refusal of the Emperor’s offer to put away his wife, and give her the crown of his Consort, the climax was reached, and the enthusiasm of the people found vent in loud cries of—‘Mercia for ever! Long live Mercia, our Empress!’

And so the cry spreading itself through every quarter of that vast Empire was caughtup in wild delight—Long live Mercia, our Empress, being echoed from every part, by people of every caste and every creed. But when the intelligence reached this impressionable people that Mercia, the greatest Astronomer, and noblest woman the world had ever seen, was about to enter into a matrimonial alliance with Dayanand Swami, the actual lineal descendant of The Great Mogul Dynasty, which governed India from the early centuries downwards, that settled the question.

In the course of the discussion upon the subject, which took place in the House of Parliament at Calcutta, Sir John Punjaub their well-beloved minister said—‘Now is this matter settled to our utmost satisfaction and content. In Dayanand Swami we have the direct descendant of India’s greatest, wisest, and most beneficent Ruler, the renowned Abkar, who was the son of Humayun, who was the son of Baber, the founder of the Great Royal Dynasty in the fifteenth century.

‘In Dayanand we shall have a second Abkar, for the mantle of his great Ancestorhath fallen on him. In him the people of this great Empire will have a kind Father, a wise Teacher, a just Ruler, and a lover and promoter of learning.

‘By the union of Mercia and Dayanand we shall have restored to us the lost Royal Line: in beauteous Mercia, perfect in face, and form, in soul and mind, we have found the true representative of what a monarch ought to be.

‘Herein is crystallised the talent, wisdom, and virtue of all generations. In her person we shall have the embodiment of our country’s dignity and honour. She shall become the Great Mother of India. The Founder of our Royal Line, and her name shall shine as the stars for ever and ever.’

In the presence of the greatest and most brilliant assemblage India had ever seen since the days of her ancient splendour; consisting of Princes and Potentates richly attired in court dress and coronet, representative of their respective positions of Peishwar, Raja and Maharajah the coronation took place a month later.

By dint of working day and night the preparationsfor the grand Imperial Procession to be followed by the Crowning Function, were completed in that period.

One thousand elephants, richly caparisoned in cloth of gold and various embroideries; their heads ornamented with fine filagree work in gold or silver, interspersed with gems, according to the wealth of their respective owners, carried the howdahs containing the wives and daughters of the dignitaries of the Realm. For Mercia had issued a mandate beforehand that the ladies of the Chiefs of the Empire would be expected to take part in the Function, veiled, or unveiled, according to their respective ideas of propriety. In obedience to which every Ameer, Maharajah, Rajah, Nawab, Sirdar, Dewan, and Nazim had the ladies of his family carried in howdahs, where they enjoyed a splendid view of the situation, owing to their elevated position, and at the same time added an Eastern air of gorgeousness to the procession, most impressive to the eye of the beholder.

The Princes, and native dignitaries themselves followed in carriages drawn by horses,in the order of their rank the splendidly-appointed Imperial Chariot, containing ‘Mercia, The Peerless,’ as she was now named, and by her side was seated her Imperial Consort, ‘Dayanand, The Wise.’

Long lines of body-guards composed of the finest physiqued men in the realms, attired in a rich uniform of pale blue and gold bearing silver lances, and mounted on high-mettled steeds, preceded and followed the royal chariot, the sight of which drew forth the wildest acclamations of joy from the people.

The ceremony took place neither in Christian nor Hindu temple, but in the great hall of their Parliament House, the most stately building in Calcutta.

As soon as the Coronation Oath was taken by Mercia, in accordance with the custom of their most remote ancestry, she was sprinkled with water from the Ganges, which was contained in a golden bowl glittering with precious jewels. After which, the grand Imperial Crown was placed upon her head by the venerable Prime Minister, who officiated as high priest of the ceremony.

‘Now,’ said the old man, ‘I will finish by quoting a counsel from a part of the most ancient of India’s literature,—the Dasakumaracharita, or ‘Stories of Ten Princes.’

‘Government is an arduous matter; it has three principles; Council, Authority, and Activity. These mutually assisting each other dispatch all affairs. Council determines objects, Authority commences, and Activity effects their attainment. Policy is a tree of which Council is the root, Authority the stem, and Activity the main branch. The seventy-two Prakritis are the leaves; the six qualities of Royalty the blossoms; power and success the flowers and the fruit. Let this shade protect our Gracious Empress for ever.

‘And as at the birth of the Great Abkar, which happened at a time when his father’s fortunes were fallen so low that he possessed neither crown, nor kingdom, nor even the wherewithal to make the necessary gifts to his friends and followers when a son was born unto him, he took a musk-pod, and breaking it divided it amongst them, uttering the wish that proved a prophecy; so may thy name, most noble Mercia, and thy virtues spread inwaves of perfume throughout thy wide domains, making glad the hearts of thy faithful subjects, and filling them with joy, and peace and love.

‘May the blessing of the Eternal Father rest upon thee and thine for ever and for ever.’

THE ENDPRINTED BYSPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARELONDON

THE END

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SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE

LONDON

IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS.By A. GARLAND MEARS.Portrait. Superfine paper. Cloth, gold lettered. Price 6s.

IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS.

By A. GARLAND MEARS.

Portrait. Superfine paper. Cloth, gold lettered. Price 6s.

NEWCASTLE CHRONICLE.—‘As an Alpine traveller might pluck the eidelweiss in some unexpected cranny, so we open the pages of a volume ofIdylls, Legends, and Lyrics. It is the work of a poet of Nature.... Mrs. Mears strikes her harp with power and grace, and breathes life and poetry into the dry bones of history. Interest will be aroused in them, not only by their poetic treatment, but also by the erudition displayed by the author.

‘The legends of her volume are enhanced by notes betraying considerable research.... Mrs. Mears may be indeed described as the poet of love.... She is a close observer of human passion. Never before have we seen such a complete analysis of the tender passion as that given in the series of eighteen sonnets under the title ofHonoria’s Love....Idylls, Legends, and Lyricsgo into the world with the stamp of approval, and, in winning credit for their author, they reflect honour upon the town that saw their birth.’

MANCHESTER COURIER.—‘Considerable variety of style and sentiment are illustrated in these interesting verses. The dramatic IdyllIlamea;Honoria’s Love, and other Sonnets;Edain, an Ancient Legend of Ireland;Poems in Blank Verse;Cædmon, an Early English Idyll, together withSongsandLyrical Poems, are all samples of composition which indicate that the author is no novice in such work. InHonoria’s Loveare depicted the several emotions of the mind when under the influence of love, each sonnet expressing a separate phase of that passion which is admitted to be the strongest of all human passions. Owing to the form of the verse these eighteen sonnets are less a love story, perhaps, than an exposition of the emotions. Thefollowing is a specimen of them.... With one other quotation we will close this admirable book.

‘LOVE, THE UNIVERSAL LAW.‘As atom unto atom firmly liesObeying blindly that great law which makesSubservient even lifeless matter; wakesAn energy, a force whose hidden tiesBind animate, or inanimate in wiseTrue order. See, the silver cloudlet breaks,With others interweaves; thus changed forsakesAn individual existence, dies.‘Wave follows wave in rhythmic lines, and oneBy one they lose themselves in close embrace;Thus are we twain commingled: our lives runIn closest sympathy; we interlaceOur mind’s emotions: now, there hath begunCreation new, to which past life gives place.’

‘LOVE, THE UNIVERSAL LAW.

‘As atom unto atom firmly liesObeying blindly that great law which makesSubservient even lifeless matter; wakesAn energy, a force whose hidden tiesBind animate, or inanimate in wiseTrue order. See, the silver cloudlet breaks,With others interweaves; thus changed forsakesAn individual existence, dies.

‘As atom unto atom firmly lies

Obeying blindly that great law which makes

Subservient even lifeless matter; wakes

An energy, a force whose hidden ties

Bind animate, or inanimate in wise

True order. See, the silver cloudlet breaks,

With others interweaves; thus changed forsakes

An individual existence, dies.

‘Wave follows wave in rhythmic lines, and oneBy one they lose themselves in close embrace;Thus are we twain commingled: our lives runIn closest sympathy; we interlaceOur mind’s emotions: now, there hath begunCreation new, to which past life gives place.’

‘Wave follows wave in rhythmic lines, and one

By one they lose themselves in close embrace;

Thus are we twain commingled: our lives run

In closest sympathy; we interlace

Our mind’s emotions: now, there hath begun

Creation new, to which past life gives place.’

OXFORD CHRONICLE.—‘This is an 8vo. volume, printed in clear type, on thick paper; cloth, gilt lettered. Its pages are laden with the music of the love song and old-time love story. The aim of the author, not only to reach the reasoning faculties, but to appeal to the imagination and emotions; and to yield that pleasure to the mind which is the design of poetry as of music, has been gained. True poetry, it has been said, portrays, with terrible energy, the excesses of the passions; but they are passions which show a mighty nature; which are full of power; which command awe, and excite a deep though shuddering sympathy. Its great tendency and power is to carry the mind above and beyond the beaten, dusty, and weary walks of ordinary life: to lift it into a purer element, and to breathe into it a more profound and generous emotion. This consummation has been obtained by the dramatic IdyllIlamea, with which Part I. opens. Its sublimity and elegance of style entitle it to rank as one of the finest classics ever written on love.’

NORTHERN ECHO.—‘Idylls, Legends, and Lyricsbespeak the true poetic vein; the light phantasy of romantic thought; and the faculty of expressing all in rhythmic verse. A Dramatic Idyll,Ilamea, is, perhaps, the happiest in the volume. It dwells, asreally does the whole book, on the immortal theme of love; and an argumentative colloquy between two persons, the Count and Ilamea, reveals a flow of language and beautifully balanced metre that make it a pleasure to read or recite.’

DAILY TELEGRAPH.—‘This work is principally composed of old-time love stories in verse, which the author claims have never before formed subject of treatment by the poet. They present a picture, though only a legendary one, of the days of our ancestors, and are interesting on that account. A bouquet of love sonnets are treated with no little skill and originality. An ancient legend of Ireland is very cleverly and sympathetically rendered inEdain;Cædmon, an Early English Idyll, is also noteworthy. It is something to be reminded of the “peasant poet who, a thousand years before Milton, sang the epic of the Creation; vividly depicting the War in Heaven, the Fall of Satan, and his Counsellings in Hell.” The author has produced a collection of poems which exhibit true poetic instinct; and the work makes a goodly and acceptable volume.’

THE GRAPHIC.—‘The love song and love story form the staple of Mrs. Garland Mears’Idylls, Legends, and Lyrics. She possesses much fluency of expression, and is not troubled in her theme by any melancholy transcendentalism. In her view the object of poetry is to yield pleasure to the mind, and it should appeal either to the imagination or to the emotions. “Its true object,” she observes, “is not obtained when it becomes chiefly the vehicle for philosophical or metaphysical instruction reaching only the reasoning faculties.” Some of the poems have a simple love tale for their basis, as inIlamea,Cædmon, andThe Love of Uther, the British King, for Igerna, with the resultant birth of Arthur. InHonoria’s Lovewe have a series of eighteen sonnets; from the first of these we quote the eight opening lines dealing with “Love’s Entrance.”

‘“Oh, kingly Love, when first thou didst enthralMy soul in thy sweet bonds I hardly knewThy presence: filled with joy, what could I doBut gaze upon thy face, and at thy callGive willing ear? Then straight before thee fall,In meekness yielding loving homage, true.What sum of bliss wrapped up in moments few;Life’s sweetest mystery is made my all!”’

‘“Oh, kingly Love, when first thou didst enthral

My soul in thy sweet bonds I hardly knew

Thy presence: filled with joy, what could I do

But gaze upon thy face, and at thy call

Give willing ear? Then straight before thee fall,

In meekness yielding loving homage, true.

What sum of bliss wrapped up in moments few;

Life’s sweetest mystery is made my all!”’

Extracts from Letters containing Criticisms by the Chairmen and Secretaries of Public Libraries:—

‘The librarian has handed to me the volume ofIdylls, Legends, and Lyrics. I have had time to read the dramatic IdyllIlamea, and am greatly pleased with its sweetness and high-souled tone.

‘It makes one feel better and stronger for its impressive lesson, so vividly, and pathetically, and sympathetically told.Ilameais worth the price of the whole volume.

‘I will devote the earliest opportunity to go through its pages, feeling sure that they will add much pleasure to my life, as well as intensify my attachment to poetry. The work is placed in the library of this borough.

‘B. P. WRIGHT, J.P.,Chairman of Committee, Free PublicLibrary, Stafford.’

‘B. P. WRIGHT, J.P.,

Chairman of Committee, Free Public

Library, Stafford.’

‘TheMayor of Sligohas requested that a second copy ofIdylls, Legends, and Lyricsbe purchased. The verses are very sweet. They do not stir the spirit like the strong lines of Byron: but they come over us with a bewitching softness that in certain moods is still more delightful, and soothe the troubled spirits with a refreshing sense of truth, purity, and elegance.

‘They are pensive rather than passionate, and more full of wisdom and tenderness than flights of fancy, or overwhelming bursts of emotion; while they are moulded into grace, at least as much by the effect of the moral beauties they disclose as by the taste and judgment with which they are constructed.

‘DAVID SAULTRY,Chief Librarian, Free Public Library,Sligo, Ireland.’

‘DAVID SAULTRY,

Chief Librarian, Free Public Library,

Sligo, Ireland.’

‘I have read the first poem,Ilamea, in this interesting volume of verse, and can bear my testimony as to its beauty of conception and true poetic merit. I like the poetry exceedingly, and feel quite confident that the work only requires to be better known to secure it a very wide circulation.

‘ALFRED LANCASTER,Chief Librarian, Free Public Library,St. Helens.’

‘ALFRED LANCASTER,

Chief Librarian, Free Public Library,

St. Helens.’

‘I am very glad to see inIdylls, Legends, and Lyricsa poem on Cædmon. I am particularly interested in old-time literature myself, and am giving special attention to such subjects as “Cædmon” and “Beowulf.”

‘I shall be very glad to have another copy, as it is the first work I have seen for a long time which is so exactly suited to my taste.

‘FRED TURNER,Free Public Library, Brentford.’

‘FRED TURNER,

Free Public Library, Brentford.’

‘This work is an exceptionally good one, and I thank you for calling my attention to a volume of poems of such merit as these possess.

‘I have told my committee that, as far as I am a judge of poetry, I considered that this work was entitled to a place on our shelves.

‘Our public here are quick to form fairly accurate opinions as to the value of works of this class. I shall be only too glad to find my own judgment endorsed by that large body I have the pleasure to serve.

‘WILLIAM MAY,Chief Librarian, Free Public Library,Birkenhead.’

‘WILLIAM MAY,

Chief Librarian, Free Public Library,

Birkenhead.’

THE STORY OF A TRUST.By the same Author.PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE.Crown 8vo. 300 pp. cloth, gilt lettered, price 2s.6d.

THE STORY OF A TRUST.

By the same Author.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE.

Crown 8vo. 300 pp. cloth, gilt lettered, price 2s.6d.

OXFORD CHRONICLE.—‘The authoress has been designated “the Poet of Love, and Nature,” one who deserves the thanks of every student of early English literature for reviving one’s interest in old-time literature. Her claim to the eulogy is fully justified ... this latest production of her pen is thoroughly realistic, and contains word-pictures graphically descriptive of English country life.... Margaret is a gem, a perfect type of womanhood, calling forth love and admiration. The chapter containing the tragedy is ably written, and will commend itself to the approval of lovers of the dramatic; while the chapter on “Sorrow” appeals powerfully to the emotions.’

NEWCASTLE CHRONICLE.—‘Deserves a hearty welcome at the hands of the general public, and especially of North-country people.... Mrs. Garland Mears’ style is fluent and forcible; she avoids all prevalent errors of latter-day writers, and depending entirely on her own thoughts, which she expresses in good English.’

SHEFFIELD DAILY TELEGRAPH.—‘The tale is most interesting and graphically written.... Mrs. Garland Mears has creditably added both in prose and poetry to the literature of the period.’

BRADFORD MERCURY.—‘The narrative is vividly told, and is interspersed with many historical references to Bradford. Mrs. Mears is a charming writer, and all her tales are graphically written.’

BRADFORD OBSERVER.—‘Considerable dramatic interest in the stories, and their relation to the West Riding of Yorkshire, will give them special interest in this neighbourhood.’

MANCHESTER EXAMINER.—‘The book is interesting throughout. The historical chapters dealing with York City and Hartlepool are admirable.’

YORKSHIRE POST.—‘The tone of the book is always admirable.’

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTESSilently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in spelling.Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

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