XXIII
I offer a few suggestions and relate other experiences which happened after I had reached the palace for which I had so long been striving, where I meet the “sweetest woman ever born,” whose husband I have the honor of becoming.
I HAVE but a few more incidents to relate, and I beg the pardon of the reader for offering here a suggestion or two as to his course on finishing the book. I trust he will not shy it into a corner of the room, or cast it forth through the window. It would give me less pain if he will lay it down softly. I say this as its contents are part of myself—they came from my brain, and any undue shaking up he may thus give me would be shocking to my atoms and therefore repugnant to my “piece” of mind.
If he has been amused, it would be but a gracious act to loan the book to a friend that he also may be amused; if he has been entertained, the part of the host is unfulfilled unless he also entertain his guests. If, however, he be disgusted,he may wreak his vengeance by loaning the book to some one against whom he has a grudge.
My pleasure has been conserved in the occupation of writing these lines; for it is somewhat of a relief to have such a quantity of material off my mind; but I sincerely shall regret it should it rest heavily on the mind of another; therefore, if such a consummation come, do as I have done—tell the stories to others.
Craving suspension of punishment for this diversion from the adventures, I return to them.
I found myself passing through the outer wall of the palace enclosure, and discovered a number of women on the lawn, of whom I made bold to inquire if the princess were at home. They nodded assent. I then put another question, as to where I might have the honor of kneeling in her presence, and they looked at me with wondering eyes. I was, for the first time in my life, somewhat abashed, and one of the maids went so far in taking pity on me that she told me the princess was in her secret chamber.
I had hoped my troubles were at end, and still I could not comprehend very serious difficultiescould cross me in learning the whereabouts of this secret chamber, now that I was within the very walls of the palace and at liberty to do as I pleased within the restrictions of the rules.
So, I looked about me and observed several doors through either of which I might enter. They were all alike with a single exception; a pair of wrens had built a nest upon the arch of one of them, and through this arch I made my way, for did I not pass beneath an emblem of love in so doing?
The passage, for a distance, was dark and narrow, then widening into a spacious and well-lighted hallway. I then came to a rotunda, out of which were several passages, each of which I inspected most carefully, as I did not intend to fail at this close proximity to the goal.
One of them was floored and walled with red-hot bricks for such a distance even if I ran with my greatest speed I should perish by their heat before I reached the end; and yet, I was positive this was the way to the secret chamber.
There was a splendid fountain playing into a large basin in the center of the rotunda, and to this I made my way. I could remember nothingin the rules that forbade my wetting myself most thoroughly; indeed, had there been I had broken them already. I therefore lay down in the basin until I was completely saturated. I also soaked my mantle and wrapped it about my head, leaving but a small hole through which I could keep my direction. Dripping with moisture I made a dash for the heated passage, ran with my utmost speed through it; but so hot was it, when I had reached the end of it, I was as dry as a bone, but not even a hair was scorched.
I was now in another rotunda, in which was a magnificent table on which were many jars filled with perfume and oils. Like the previous rotunda there were several passages leading from this, one of which seemed to be in process of repair, as I at first thought. Upon mature deliberation, however, I determined it was specially prepared and that I must overcome it to reach the secret chamber. Its floor was covered several inches deep with pitch of the most tenacious kind, and I was certain did I put my boot down firmly on it, it would in all probability remain right there; for so adhesive was this pitch it could not let go when it had once taken hold.
As was my custom, I sat down and contemplated it for a few moments; then arose, went to the table, selecting therefrom a bottle of very heavy oil. With this I anointed my boots from the soles to above the ankles, knowing the pitch would not adhere to oil of such consistency.
I thereupon traversed the passage and entered another rotunda.
It occurred to me there were a great many rotundas; I afterward learned there was one at each corner of the palace; that all were alike, and that had I taken any but the one I did I should have come back into the open air very shortly.
The outgoing passage I selected from this place was paved with needles about three inches long and so sharp and thin as to quickly penetrate any substance but metal. Now, I had no metal about me, and nothing else that would endure these points.
So, down I sat again for contemplation. I examined the needles with care, and found they had heads to them like tacks, and of a good surface; that the heads rested on plates of metal, the bodies of the needles going up through holesin other pieces of metal; thus they could not tip over, and so firmly were they fixed they resisted all my efforts to remove them.
To one side of this entrance there was a niche, and in this niche there was a basket; and in this basket I found a great many needle-tacks like those in the floor, probably left there by the workman on finishing his job. There was also a chisel, an awl, and a hammer in this basket; and it proved a short piece of labor to rip up the under soles of my boots, insert a goodly number of the needle-tacks, and fasten the soles down again. Thus, by walking on my toes, I easily made my way through the passage, as the needles in my soles were of the same length as the needles in the floor, therefore those in the floor could not penetrate my feet.
Entering another rotunda, I found the floor of such delicate mosaic I immediately sat down and removed the needles from my boots lest I damage it.
All the passages from this rotunda left it on a level, save one, which went up at an angle of forty-five degrees, and was paved with such smooth tiles I could not keep my foothold, and was forced to sit down and meditate.
I hit on a plan which succeeded admirably.
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 ofher 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.
the end
the end
the end
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.