1.

Solution Manual for CFIN 5th Edition by Besley and

Brigham ISBN 1305661656 9781305661653
Full download link at:
Test bank: https://testbankpack.com/p/test-bank-for-cfin-5th-edition-by-besley-and-brigham-isbn-
1305661656-9781305661653/
Solution manual: https://testbankpack.com/p/solution-manual-for-cfin-5th-edition-by-besley-and-
brigham-isbn-1305661656-9781305661653/ Chapter 05 The cost of money
Interest Rates

TRUEFALSE

1. Firms with the most profitable investment opportunities are willing and able to pay the most for
capital, so they tend to attract it away from less efficient firms or from those whose products are not
in demand.

(A) True (B)

False

Answer : (A)

2. The higher the perceived risk, the higher the required rate of return.

(A) True

(B) False

Answer : (A)

3. Inflation leads to increase in purchasing power of investors.

(A) True

(B) False

Answer : (B)

4. Bonds with higher liquidity have to offer higher interest rates in the market since they can be
easily converted into cash on short notice at or near the fair market value for that bond.

(A) True (B)

False

Answer : (B)

5. The real rate of interest is composed of a risk-free rate of interest plus the default premium and
liquidity premium that reflects the riskiness of the security
(A) True (B)

False

Answer : (B)
6. The expectations theory postulates that the term structure of interest rates is based on
expectations regarding future inflation rates.

(A) True (B)

False

Answer : (A)

7. The yield curve is downward sloping, or inverted, if the inflation rates are expected to increase.

(A) True

(B) False

Answer : (B)

8. If the Federal Reserve tightens the money supply, other things held constant, short-term interest
rates will be pushed upward, and this increase will probably be greater than the increase in rates in
the long-term market.

(A) True (B)

False

Answer : (A)

9. During or near peaks of business activity, yield curves that are flat or downward sloping (possibly
with humps) are prevalent.

(A) True (B)

False

Answer : (B)

10. If you have information that a recession is ending, and the economy is about to enter a boom,
and your firm needs to borrow money, it should probably issue long-term rather than short-term
debt.

(A) True (B)

False

Answer : (A)

11. As a country increases its borrowing to finance its foreign trade deficit, interest rates are driven
up.
(A) True (B)

False

Answer : (A)

12. Deficit trade balance hinders the Federal Reserve's ability to combat a recession by lowering
interest rates.

(A) True (B)

False

Answer : (A)

13. The value of an asset is the future value of the future cash flows that the asset is expected to
generate during its life.

(A) True (B)

False

Answer : (B)

14. In general, when rates in the financial markets increase, the prices (values) of financial assets
decrease.

(A) True (B)

False

Answer : (A)

MULTICHOICE

15. Investors with a will demand a higher rate of return.

(A) higher time preference for consumption

(B) lower exposure to economic risks

(C) lower access to production opportunities

(D) higher financial creditworthiness

(E) lower default premium

Answer : (A)
16. Production opportunity is one of the four fundamental factors that affect the:

(A) creditworthiness of investors.

(B) cost of money.

(C) liquidity of securities. (D)

inflation of an economy. (E)

maturity of an investment.

Answer : (B)

17. is the tendency of prices to increase over time.

(A) Maturity

(B) Recession

(C) Inflation

(D) Risk

(E) Liquidity

Answer : (C)

18. is the chance that a financial asset will not earn the return promised.

(A) Maturity

(B) Production opportunity

(C) Time preference for consumption

(D) Risk

(E) Inflation

Answer : (D)

19. can be negative if the value of the investment decreases during the period it is held.

(A) Risk

(B) Dividends

(C) Maturity

(D) Interests
(E) Capital gains

Answer : (E)

20. A bond purchased for $950 was sold for $980 after one year. The interest received during the
year is $25. The bond's yield is:

(A) 2.23%

(B) 5.79%

(C) 8.12%

(D) 5.25%

(E) 9.36%

Answer : (B)

21. Andrew purchased a stock for $175 and sold it for $250. If he earned a dividend income of $30,
the stock's yield is:

(A) 45%

(B) 53%

(C) 81%

(D) 60%

(E) 72%

Answer : (D)

22. The change in the market value of an asset over some time period is called the .

(A) yield

(B) maturity

(C) capital gain

(D) interest income

(E) dividend income

Answer : (C)

23. The higher the expected rate of inflation:

(A) the lower is the loss in purchasing power of investors.

(B) the higher is the required rate of return on investment.

(C) the lower is the maturity premium required by the investors.

(D) the higher is the money supply in the economy.

(E) the lower is the tax rate in the economy.

Answer : (B)

24. Which of the following indicates that the cost of money will increase?

(A) Increase in inflation of an economy

(B) Increase in liquidity of an asset

(C) Decrease in federal deficit of a country

(D) Increase in money supply in the market

(E) Decrease in tax rates for corporates

Answer : (A)

25. Your uncle would like to restrict his interest rate risk and his default risk, but he would still like
to invest in corporate bonds. Which of the possible bonds listed below best satisfies your uncle's
criteria?

(A) An AAA bond with 10 years to maturity.

(B) A BBB perpetual bond.

(C) A BBB bond with 10 years to maturity.

(D) A AAA bond with 5 years to maturity.

(E) A BBB bond with 5 years to maturity.

Answer : (D)

26. Which of the following statements is correct?

(A) The probability of default is higher on short -term bonds than on long-term bonds.

(B) Reinvestment rate risk is lower, other things held constant, on long-term than on short-term
bonds.

(C) According to the market segmentation theory, the yield curve is expected to slope downward.

(D) Borrowers prefer to borrow on a short-term basis, as a result, the yield curve is downward
sloping.
(E) If the inflation was expected to decrease in the future, then the yield curve would have an
upward slope.

Answer : (B)

27. Treasury securities that mature in 6 years currently have an interest rate of 8.5%. Inflation is
expected to be 5% in each of the next three years and 6% each year after the third year. The
maturity risk premium is estimated to be 0.1% × (t - 1), where t is equal to the maturity of the bond
(i.e., the maturity risk premium of a one-year bond is zero). The real risk-free rate is assumed to be
constant over time. What is the real risk-free rate of interest?

(A) 0.25%

(B) 0.50%

(C) 1.00%

(D) 1.75%

(E) 2.50%

Answer : (E)

28. You read in The Wall Street Journal that 30-day T-bills are currently yielding 8 percent. Your
brother-in-law, a broker at Kyoto Securities, has given you the following estimates of current
interest rate premiums:

Inflation premium 5%
Liquidity premium 1%
Maturity risk premium 2%
Default risk premium 2%
Based on these data, the real risk-free rate of return is:

(A) 0%.

(B) 1%.

(C) 2%.

(D) 3%.

(E) 4%.

Answer : (D)

29. Assume that the expected rates of inflation over the next 5 years are 4 percent, 7 percent, 10
percent, 8 percent, and 6 percent, respectively. What is the average expected inflation rate over this
5-year period?
(A) 6.5%

(B) 7.5%

(C) 8.0%

(D) 6.0% (E)

7.0%

Answer : (E)

30. Assume that the real risk-free rate, r*, is 4 percent, and that inflation is expected to be 9% in
Year 1, 6% in Year 2, and 4% thereafter. Also, assume that all Treasury bonds are highly liquid and
free of default risk. If 2-year and 5-year Treasury bonds both yield 12%, what is the difference in the
maturity risk premiums (MRPs) on the two bonds, i.e., what is MRP5 - MRP2?

(A) 2.1%

(B) 1.8%

(C) 5.0%

(D) 3.0%

(E) 2.5%

Answer : (A)

31. Assume that a 3-year Treasury note has no maturity premium, and that the real, risk-free rate of
interest is 3 percent. If the T-note carries a yield to maturity of 13 percent, and if the expected
average inflation rate over the next 2 years is 11 percent, what is the implied expected inflation rate
during Year 3?

(A) 7%

(B) 8%

(C) 9%

(D) 17%

(E) 18%

Answer : (B)

32. Assume that real risk-free rate (r*) = 1.0%; the maturity risk premium is found as MRP = 0.2% ×
(t - 1) where t = years to maturity; the default risk premium for AT&T bonds is found as DRP =
0.07% × (t - 1); the liquidity premium is 0.50% for AT&T bonds but zero for Treasury bonds; and
inflation is expected to be 7%, 6%, and 5% during the next three years and then 4% thereafter. What
is the difference in interest rates between 10-year AT&T bonds and 10-year Treasury bonds?
(A) 0.25%

(B) 0.50%

(C) 0.63%

(D) 1.00%

(E) 1.13%

Answer : (E)

33. You are given the following data:

r* = real risk-free rate 4%

Constant inflation premium (IP) 7%
Maturity risk premium (MRP) 1%
Default risk premium for AAA bonds 3%
(DRP)
Liquidity premium for long-term T-bonds 2%
(LP)

Assume that a highly liquid market does not exist for long-term T-bonds, and the expected rate of
inflation is a constant. Given these conditions, the rate on long-term Treasury bonds is .

(A) 23%

(B) 11%

(C) 14%

(D) 19%

(E) 27%

Answer : (C)

34. A corporate bond that yields 12% includes a risk-free rate of 7% and a default premium of 3%.
The bond's maturity risk premium is .

(A) 1%

(B) 10%

(C) 4%

(D) 2%

(E) 6%
Answer : (D)

35. Which of the following is the yield of a bond that offers a risk-free rate of 4% and a risk premium
of 2%?

(A) 2%

(B) 8%

(C) 12%

(D) 6%

(E) 9%

Answer : (D)

36. Which of the following statements is true?

(A) Treasury bonds have zero default risk.

(B) The longer the maturity of a bond, the less risky it is.

(C) The real risk-free rate incorporates inflation premium.

(D) Liquidity premium is included only for highly liquid securities.

(E) The default risk is high for AAA rated corporate bonds.

Answer : (A)

37. Which of the following bonds have the highest default risk for a given return?

(A) A U.S Treasury bond with a 2-year maturity.

(B) An AAA corporate bond with a 7-year maturity.

(C) A BBB corporate bond with a 3-year maturity.

(D) A CCC corporate bond with a 10-year maturity.

(E) An AAA corporate bond with a 3-year maturity.

Answer : (D)

38. Which of the following rates indicate the rate that will exist in an inflation-free world?

(A) Maturity risk-free rate

(B) Real risk-free rate

(C) Default risk-free rate

(D) Liquidity risk-free rate

(E) Target risk-free rate

Answer : (B)

39. Government securities that can be easily converted to cash in the market will have a:

(A) low liquidity premium.

(B) high maturity risk premium.

(C) high inflation premium.

(D) low budget risk premium.

(E) high real risk premium.

Answer : (A)

40. Other things held constant,:

(A) the "liquidity preference theory" would generally lead to an upward sloping yield curve.

(B) the "market segmentation theory" would generally lead to an upward sloping yield curve.

(C) the "expectations theory" would generally lead to an upward sloping yield curve.

(D) the yield curve under "normal" conditions would be horizontal (i.e., flat).

(E) a downward sloping yield curve would suggest that investors expect interest rates to increase in
the future.

Answer : (A)

41. If the expectations theory of the term structure of interest rates is correct, and if the other term
structure theories are invalid, and we observe a downward sloping yield curve, which of the
following is a true statement?

(A) Investors expect interest rates to be constant over time.

(B) Investors expect interest rates to increase in the future.

(C) Investors expect interest rates to decrease in the future.

(D) Investors require a positive maturity risk premium.

(E) The maturity risk premium must be positive.

Answer : (C)
42. Assume that the current interest rate on a 1-year bond is 8 percent, the current rate on a 2-year
bond is 10 percent, and the current rate on a 3-year bond is 12 percent. If the expectations theory of
the term structure is correct, what is the 1-year interest rate expected during Year 3? (Base your
answer on an arithmetic rather than geometric average.)

(A) 12.0%

(B) 16.0%

(C) 13.5%

(D) 10.5%

(E) 14.0%

Answer : (B)

43. If the yield curve is downward sloping, what is the yield to maturity on a 10-year Treasury
coupon bond, relative to that on a 1-year T-bond?

(A) The yield on the 10-year bond is less than the yield on a 1-year bond.

(B) The yield on a 10-year bond will always be higher than the yield on a 1-year bond because of
maturity premiums.

(C) It is impossible to tell without knowing the coupon rates of the bonds.

(D) The yields on the two bonds are equal.

(E) It is impossible to tell without knowing the relative risks of the two bonds.

Answer : (A)

44. Assume that the current yield curve is upward sloping or normal. This implies that

(A) short-term interest rates are more volatile than long-term rates.

(B) inflation is expected to subside in the future.

(C) the economy is at the trough of a business cycle.

(D) long-term bonds are less attractive to investors than short-term bonds.

(E) short-term interest rates are lower than the long-term interest rates.

Answer : (E)

45. A normal yield curve that is upward sloping implies that:

(A) the returns on short-term securities are higher than the returns on long-term securities of similar
risk.
(B) the returns on long-term securities are equal to the returns on short-term securities of similar
risk.

(C) the returns on short-term securities are lower than the returns on long-term securities of similar
risk.

(D) the returns on bonds with higher maturity risks are lower than the returns on bonds with lower
maturity risks.

(E) the returns on bonds with a lower default risks are higher than the returns on bonds with higher
default risks.

Answer : (C)

46. Interest rates on 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year Treasury bills are 5%, 6%, and 7% respectively.
Assume that the pure expectations theory holds and that the market is in equilibrium. Which of the
following statements is correct?

(A) The maturity risk premium is positive.

(B) Interest rates are expected to fall over the next two years.

(C) The market expects one-year rates to be 7% one year from today.

(D) The default risk premium is highest for Year 2.

(E) The liquidity risk premium is highest for Year 1.

Answer : (C)

47. Assume that the expectations theory holds, and that liquidity and maturity risk premiums are
zero. If the annual rate of interest on a 2-year Treasury bond is 10.5 percent and the rate on a 1-year
Treasury bond is 12 percent, what rate of interest should you expect on a 1-year Treasury bond one
year from now?

(A) 9.0%

(B) 9.5%

(C) 10.0%

(D) 10.5%

(E) 11.0%

Answer : (A)

48. The existence of an upward sloping yield curve proves that the is correct, because an
upward sloping curve necessarily implies that lenders will lend short-term funds at lower rates than
they lend long-term funds.
(A) liquidity preference theory

(B) expectations theory

(C) market segmentation theory

(D) open market theory

(E) reinvestment theory

Answer : (A)

49. If the Federal Reserve sells $50 billion of short-term U.S. Treasury securities to the public, other
things held constant, what will this tend to do to short-term security prices and interest rates?

(A) Prices and interest rates will both rise.

(B) Prices will rise and interest rates will decline.

(C) Prices and interest rates will both decline.

(D) Prices will decline and interest rates will rise.

(E) There will be no changes in either prices or interest rates.

Answer : (D)

50. During periods of , the general tendency is toward higher interest rates.

(A) inflation

(B) recession (C)

contraction (D)

fiscal surplus (E)

securitization

Answer : (A)

51. During , both the demand for money and the rate of inflation tend to fall, which prompts the
Fed to increase the money supply, and as a result, interest rates decline.

(A) expansions

(B) a fiscal deficit

(C) recessions

(D) economic booms

Another random document with
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the individual who is translated and handed over to their care.
Nevertheless, the raw material counts for a good deal—as you
express it in one of your homely English proverbs: 'One cannot make
a silk purse out of a sow's ear'; and on the same analogy even our
skilful ministers of state would be unable to construct the true
substance of a Child of the Sun-god out of an inferior Herthian
mortal. The nicest caution has therefore to be observed in the work
of selection. For nearly three years now I have been busily seeking,
and can at last congratulate myself on having obtained the requisite
material, the potential dross that will later be converted into pure
gold. For some time past I have been on your track without arousing
the smallest suspicion in your mind, and now at length I have
grasped the favourable, the critical, the final moment in which I claim
you for this most exalted, and indeed most sacred office....
"You are thoroughly out of touch with your own age and with your
own country in a special degree, and for my purpose your deep-
rooted dissatisfaction causes in me on the contrary the most intense
satisfaction. You have grown disgusted with the decadence of your
Royal House; you are sick of the greed and frivolity of your
aristocracy; you abhor the mischievous methods and aims of your
unscrupulous demagogues in power; you shrink from the violence
and brutishness of your all-powerful mob; you lament the utter
incapacity of the few serious and honest politicians who yet survive.
You mourn over the industrial devastation and the uglifying of your
once-beautiful world; you turn with horror from the blatant arrogance
of the ruling gang of financiers, who with the besotted populace
mean to involve the whole world in a final sordid struggle for
mastery. On all sides you see nothing but rapid change upon
change, all for the worse; the rooting-out of all that is good, artistic
and ennobling, and the substitution of all that is vile and
mercenary....
"You are obsessed with the same hatred of this evil transformation
as are we ourselves, the ruling body in Meleager, who utilise your
planet now, not as in the past for purposes of imitation and guidance,
but for serious warnings as to what to avoid in our own future course
of polity. For in Meleager we still set before us as our main striving-
point Universal Content, not so-called industrial and educational
Progress and the mere amassing of wealth. The happiness of all is,
and always has been, the sole aim of our statesmen, and we firmly
hold that the various theories of equality that are so advertised and
belauded on your Earth are in reality most deadly poisons that are
being injected into the corporate mass of humanity. One of the
leading saints of your Christian Church has wisely said that in every
house are to be found vessels alike formed to honour and to
dishonour, yet that, as they are all equally necessary, so viewed in
that reasonable light are they all equally honourable. Thus in our
government of Meleager do we recognise the clear necessity of the
various grades of society which form the total fabric of every healthy
and happy state; whilst we reject with scorn and loathing the
specious notions that, under the guise of an equality that has no real
existence, endeavour to weld all society into one drab dismal
detestable whole....
"Nowadays everything that is ordered or orderly you worldlings have
set out to destroy. Your barbarian hordes broke up the stable Roman
Empire; your fanatical reformers and greedy monarchs destroyed the
consolidating features of the Middle Ages, which though very far
from being perfect yet presented many illuminating features which
we deemed expedient to copy in Meleager. In recent years your
death-dealing guns and your proselytising emissaries have
destroyed wantonly the vast matured civilisations of China and
Japan and Burmah, which are now rapidly casting out all their
antique virtues and are fast absorbing all the vice and vulgarity of the
West. Every community, howsoever poor or insignificant, yet content
to work out its own salvation and be governed by its own ancient
laws and customs, and consequently happy and healthy according to
its own lights, you have disturbed and dismembered....
"Everywhere and every day the beautiful is retreating before the
utilitarian; smoke and noise pollute the greenest and loveliest valleys
of Europe and America; dirt and disease increase in spite of your
undoubted advances in medical science, whose services are given
over to the individual who will pay for them rather than to the
community at large. One sees the feeble and the cretinous of your
world breeding like flies, whilst those of a better condition and in
sound health are found too selfish and too tenacious of their ease to
undertake the trouble or expense connected with the rearing of a
family. Epidemics continue, and in the form of a gift of Western
civilisation are allowed to sweep away whole tribes and nations of
wholesome primitive peoples; your most loathsome and yet
preventable diseases of contagion still hold sway, either by reason of
your own indifference or from false ideals of a prudery that, I
confess, wholly passes my own comprehension. Over all your Earth
the universal craving for wealth at any cost of morals or self-respect
has settled like a blight. All pleasures of the intellect are rapidly
ceasing to attract, and the extravagance and debauchery of the
ostentatious rich are announced by your odious vassal Press as the
sole objects worthy of attainment or imitation to-day....
"You slaughter and exterminate your rare animals and your beautiful
birds in order that your women may adorn themselves with their pelts
and plumage, and even now in this cold weather I have watched
your fine ladies daily walking in your noisy, crowded streets of
London, half-naked yet wholly unashamed, with their limbs and
bosoms exposed equally to the bitter wind and the lascivious eye of
the stranger, whilst masses of costly furs, the spoils of innocent and
peaceful animals, are heaped upon their pampered bodies....
"Whither are you being driven in this mad stampede after so-called
progress and knowledge? In what morass will this mocking will-o'-
the-wisp ultimately entice and overwhelm you?... I see chicanery and
disbelief possess your churches and their priests; a clinging to
stipends and a craving for personal leadership seem to me to have
become the sole guides of such as are themselves supposed to
guide their flocks. Everywhere change, restlessness, cynicism,
vulgarity, extravagance, crime, hypocrisy, covetousness, greed,
cringing, selfishness in every form are rampant; what sensitive mind
would not instinctively recoil from contact with such a changing
world? Can a nature such as your own endure to be associated with
such a mass of passive squalor and of active evil? Are you not more
than ready to welcome some chance of escape from such an
uncongenial environment?...
"As you confess in your heart the utter collapse of your early aims
here on Earth—so must you recognise your unique chance to attain
to something higher than even you dreamed of in your youthful
moods of hope and ambition. You will be reincarnated as the Child of
the Sun, after you are once translated to Meleager. That is a part,
but a part only, of The Secret, which perhaps already you are
inclined to regard as The Fraud. And yet, if fraud it be, its ultimate
aim is a beneficent and unselfish one, for it has been practised in
order to keep a whole population happy and content...."

"And herewith I think I had now better give you some instructions, or
rather hints, as to your new position and as to your proper attitude
towards the governing caste of Meleager on your arrival there. As
King, the Child of the Sun is invested with a species of sovereignty
that has no exact counter-part on your Earth. Your high office in
Meleager partakes in some respects of the nature of a King of
England, of a Pope of Rome, of an old-time Sultan of Baghdad, of a
modern colonial governor; yet it is itself no one of these things. To
sustain your part you will be reincarnated after your long sleep, and
you will awake to find yourself endued with a fresh supply of youth
and energy, whilst all your acquired learning and ripe experience of a
lifetime already more than half consumed will abide in your brain.
There now remains for you the final stage of all on Earth, that of
putting yourself and your future unreservedly and confidently in my
hands...."
There followed an abrupt spell of silence in which d'Aragno
scrutinised me closely. I knew not why, but I had begun to
experience a sort of repulsion against his arrogance in thus
presuming obedience on my part before ever I had signified my
assent. I felt in some wise bound to protest against this assumption
of my readiness to obey, and accordingly I made a protest rather out
of personal vanity than from any depth of rebellious feeling.
"And suppose, sir, I decide not to accept your proposal? Suppose I
refuse absolutely and doggedly to accede to your demand, whatever
the consequence to myself? What then?"
D'Aragno rose from his chair, thrust both hands into the pockets of
his dress jacket, and took up a position on the hearth-rug before the
dying embers of the fire. A curious expression, which I quite failed to
analyse, spread over his features, as he regarded me sternly for
some moments in silence. At length he spoke:
"Your objection I do not regard as sincere. It is idle, and has been
prompted, I am convinced, by a vague sense of wounded dignity on
your part. Perhaps I have been not sufficiently considerate to your
proper pride. You are anxious to 'save your face,' as you express it in
your English idiom. I therefore refuse to take your question seriously.
You have, I know, in your heart the fullest intention of complying with
my arrangements." A pause ensued, and he added with indifference:
"In any case, do you suppose for an instant that I have thus spoken
to you openly of The Secret with the smallest possibility of my
sharing it with any living mortal on your Earth? In reality you have no
choice left you. Whether you follow or refuse to follow my lead, your
connection with your own world is already severed. Need I make the
case any clearer to an intelligence such as yours?"
Again a spell of silence, which was ended by the harsh five strokes
of the Westminster clock resounding through the heavy air. With the
final reverberation I bowed my head, and simply said: "I am ready."
It may have been only my fancy, but I thought I detected a shade of
relief pass over that now sinister face; at any rate, the pleasant
earnest look had returned when d'Aragno muttered quietly as though
to himself: "I never felt a moment's doubt!"
Again I essayed a question, this time, one that was really agitating
my mind: "As I am unalterably and inevitably destined to fill the
throne of your kingdom in Meleager, surely I may be permitted to ask
you for how long a period I am to enjoy the position that has been
thus allotted to me? How many years can I expect to rule in this
realm whence there is obviously no return? Is my reign to continue
till the end of my natural mortal life, or is it to be prolonged
indefinitely by mysterious measures, such as you have already
hinted at?"
D'Aragno stroked his chin meditatively for some minutes and then
replied in a placid voice: "That at least is a reasonable and proper
question, though I have not the knowledge to answer it as you could
wish or might reasonably expect. I was an infant when our late king
came to be crowned, and he has ceased to rule since my sojourn on
the Earth—that is to say, his tenure of office must have lasted some
forty years. Thus for three years or more our realm has been without
a monarch, so that the whole community in all its classes has begun
to clamour vigorously for a successor, and hence the task of
selection wherewith I have been entrusted, and which I am now
bringing to a close. Our late king was, I fear, unfortunate in his
relations with our priestly or governing class, and by his own folly
rendered his office a source of real danger to our whole system of
administration. I have every reason to believe no such catastrophe is
likely to occur in your case. Your native endowments of head and
heart, combined with the additional advantages of youth and wisdom
that you will obtain on your arrival in Meleager, will protect you
sufficiently from such an untimely ending. Yet I warn you, you will
require all your faculties, especially those of self-restraint and
discretion, if you are to win and retain the good will and co-operation
of that all-powerful hierarchy which is actually not only your master
but in a certain sense also your creator. It used to be said in ancient
Rome that two augurs could never pass in the public streets without
smiling—well, you must first of all learn to repress that classical
grimace, and be content to abide ever with a solemn countenance in
an atmosphere of make-believe. Moreover, the desirability of such
an attitude ought not to irritate a person who like yourself is filled with
a divine discontent. You will be the glorious and adored figure-head
of a community wherein the maximum of human happiness and
content has been already attained. But I shall not pursue this
dissertation further. With my warning voice ever whispering in your
ears, and with your natural tact and intelligence to guide you, I am
sure you will not fail. As to the length of your reign, I cannot tell you
what I myself do not know. But this much I can honestly say, and that
is, its duration will wholly depend on your own action, and on your
relations with the senators, who alone possess the sources of power
that are essential to your continued maintenance in office. For aught
I know to the contrary, our priests, by means of their marvellous
recipes and contrivances, may be able to prolong your life, and even
your youth, indefinitely for centuries. But I do not speak with
authority; I can only repeat that the extent of your reign depends very
largely on your own behaviour."
"On one other matter I should also like to be informed," interposed I,
"and I trust you will not condemn this question as superfluous. Tell
me, why out of all the inhabitants of the Earth have I, a bankrupt in
worldly glory and success, a person of mediocre attainments and the
owner of no special gifts of beauty or rank, thus been chosen to fill
so exalted a position? I ask from sheer curiosity, and from no subtle
desire to plead my unfitness as an excuse to decline your proffered,
and indeed accepted, honour."
My companion seemed to approve my question. A humorous look
flitted over his features as he dryly answered: "You are fully justified
in your inquiry; but you must recall that I have already mentioned
that, though your world is large, my own field of choice is very
limited. Our King, as I have already said, must be naturally a true
Child of the Sun; in other words, he must be tall, fair, blue-eyed. This
is essential, and such restrictions practically limit my search to your
northern races, and mainly to such as are of Teutonic stock.
Secondly, our King elect must be of middle age, for past experience
and a ripe intelligence are also necessary to our plans. Thirdly, he
must be either a bachelor or a widower, and preferably a misogynist
at heart. He must not quit the Earth homesick; he must not be a
natural prey to the influence of women, so far as it is possible to
guard against this danger, the mainspring of all our fears in
Meleager. For the sheer possibility of the founding of a royal race
springing from the union of the Child of the Sun with a maiden of
Meleager is a constant cause of alarm and watchfulness on the part
of our hierarchy. Not to mention the mischief resulting from any such
intrigue to our body politic, the possible birth of a Prince, a
connecting link between the Divine and the Human, might in a few
days, nay, in a few hours, shatter in pieces the whole edifice of the
present system of government that it has taken so many centuries of
unremitting wisdom and state craft to erect. Surely I need not dwell
on this all-important phase? Last of all, we must have a comely
personality and gentle birth combined with high intellectual gifts and
training. This combination of qualities is not so easy to discover as it
ought to be on your Earth. Your handsome nobles are either illiterate
or debauched, and are often both simultaneously; or else they are
slaves to family ties or to female influence in some form; whilst those
who are both noble by birth and breeding and also highly cultivated
are usually undesirable for our high purpose owing to their physical
defects. In spite of all this, there are doubtless many hundreds of
persons living who would be eligible and would answer to all our
requirements as well as or even better than yourself; nevertheless,
after much reflection I have good reason to suppose that the
hierarchy of Meleager, whose envoy and servant I am, will find no
cause of quarrel with my choice."
Six o'clock struck out on the foggy morning air, as d'Aragno finished
speaking thus, and I grew aware of the renewed vitality pulsing once
more in the surrounding London streets. "One more matter, however,
I must speak of," suddenly ejaculated my host, "before we can freely
discuss the final arrangements. I do not aspire to know what
difference, if any, your impending transit to another planet will entail
in regard to your chances of existence in the Hereafter. On your
Earth, I understand, men hold the most varied and contradictory
opinions and theories on this subject; and even in your Christian
section of humanity I gather there is no real unanimity on this point.
We in Meleager have our own ideals and beliefs in the Hereafter, but
these are purely speculative, for none has ever returned to us from
the domain beyond the grave to tell us the true details, and none
other can supply them; we accordingly let the great question rest
without laying down dogmas of necessary belief. But whether in the
Other Life you will be judged or treated as a denizen of the Earth or
of Meleager, I cannot imagine. I think it my duty however to remind
you of this anomaly in case it may have escaped your notice, for I
am well aware what strong hopes of endless happiness many
members of your Christian churches build on the shadowy world
yonder. From my own observations I know you yourself are fairly
punctual in your religious prayers and duties, and I have always
welcomed such an attitude as edifying on your part; but as to what
are your real views and beliefs on the question of the Other Life I
have naturally no clue. On this one matter therefore I admit you run a
certain problematical risk in your translation to our star; but at the
same time I cannot conceive that your future interest in an unseen,
unknown, undescribed and unsubstantial world could be of sufficient
import or strength to compel you to struggle against your natural
desire to rule as a king in another sphere, perhaps for a stretch of
time that would be out of all proportion to your earthly span of life."
He ceased suddenly, and kneeling at my feet said slowly in a suave
voice that was not wholly free from irony: "And now let me tender my
most respectful homage to the King elect of the planet of Meleager!"
D'Aragno then rose, and for the next hour discussed with me the
necessary steps to be taken before the consummation of his mission
on our Earth.
III
It was long after seven o'clock when I found myself walking home in
the grey drizzle of the early morning. As was my custom when in
town during the last few years I rented a bedroom at my club in St
James's, and the apparition of myself in evening dress at the club
doorway at that unusual hour of return evoked a momentary look of
surprise on the face of the well-trained porter who was then
sweeping the hall in his shirt-sleeves. Making my way up to my bed-
chamber, I proceeded to carry out the first portion of my late
instructions from d'Aragno. This consisted in swallowing a tumblerful
of cold water in which I had previously dissolved the contents of a
small packet he had given me before leaving the hotel. After that I
undressed and crept into bed. On arising again I felt light as air, with
the additional sensation of being several inches taller than my actual
stature. My mind too had become singularly clear and active, so that
I was enabled to carry out all my intended preparations with ease.
First of all I placed my valuables in my trunk, which I locked; then I
dressed myself in a tweed suit, and made my way downstairs to the
club smoking-room, where I quietly undertook the final details I
considered necessary before my departure from this world. I had no
parents living; my brothers and sisters were all married and had their
own homes; I had no debts, and my few outstanding bills could be
easily settled by my executors, for some few years before I had
signed a will that I deemed fair and adequate. There was nobody to
lose in any material sense by my sudden demise; on the contrary,
my brothers would obtain possession of my property, for I was the
owner of a small landed estate and of a meagre income that was the
source of secret but intense bitterness to me under this present
oppression of plutocracy. I had therefore no more arduous task
before me than to compose a letter to my favourite brother, so that
he could easily infer from its contents that I had decided to make
away with my life. This might have proved an unpleasant theme for
composition under different circumstances, but on this occasion I
experienced no difficulty in expressing myself to my own satisfaction.
This last matter accomplished, and one or two cheques to
tradesmen signed and posted, I put on my overcoat and hat, and
sallied out of the club towards noon. A feeling of lightness of body
combined with a sense of calm exaltation of mind assisted me, as I
walked slowly through the muddy streets towards the National
Gallery, one of my most frequent haunts in London. Here I spent
about an hour in sauntering through the huge rooms hung with the
glowing works of the Old Masters, stopping occasionally to admire
some special favourite, and even studying with interest a recent
addition to the collection that hung on a solitary screen. Quitting the
gallery, I crossed Trafalgar Square, the while sensing the gush of its
fountains and gazing at Landseer's stolid lions; thence I strolled
down the length of Whitehall as far as Westminster with its majestic
group of Gothic towers, and after filling my eyes with its bristling
outlines against the murky winter's sky, I entered the north portal of
the Abbey. Here again I wandered in an erratic but pleasurable
frame of mind that I vainly tried to analyse to myself, and after many
pacings to and fro in the ancient cloisters, that held so many
memories for me, I left the Abbey to proceed very slowly towards
Charing Cross by way of the Embankment. According to our
prearranged plan, I boarded a certain train that same afternoon for
Dover. The journey seemed to me interminable, and as I lay back on
the cushions at times I fitfully hoped for some collision that might
prove fatal to me; whilst at other moments I grew morbidly nervous
lest by some unforeseen accident I might be prevented from
reaching my destination in good time.
I alighted at Dover about five o'clock on a raw, cold, windy, showery
evening. From the station I passed into the street, and thence, in
pursuance of my instructions, I followed a road leading westward.
Ere long I had left behind me the suburbs of the town and was now
tramping a dreary exposed thoroughfare that ran between market
gardens. As I walked ahead slowly and deliberately, I suddenly saw
emerge from a mean inn beside the road a short, thick-set man in
seafaring dress and bearing a bundle on his shoulder. I knew him to
be d'Aragno, and I continued to follow in his track. He proceeded for
some distance along the high road, and then striking abruptly into a
by-path amongst the dismal vegetable plots led towards the sea. The
lights of Dover were now far behind me, and I realised sharply the
fact that I was saying farewell to the kindly and accustomed world of
men for ever and aye, and was advancing towards a doom whose
nature I only dimly understood. Like Rabelais, I was stepping into the
Great Perhaps; I was about to take a plunge into the ocean of the
Vast Unknown.
There was no human being in sight save the mariner, and he took no
notice of my presence. We began to descend the steep and slippery
path towards the beach in the teeth of a tearing gale from the west.
The rain was drenching me to the skin; the darkness had increased;
once or twice I stumbled heavily. Suddenly my guide turned round
and, noting my difficulties, halted to assist me but never spoke a
word. With a firm hand he led me down the slope, and shortly we
were walking on level ground beside the sea, whose angry waves I
could hear close at hand, and could even distinguish the white foam
on their crests as they broke on the shingle. After some minutes of
skirting the fore-shore my companion stopped, and, waiting for me to
approach, for a second time he seized my hand and thus helped me
to climb a small crag that jutted out into the raging surf. Together we
reached its summit, where we rested for a moment. Then d'Aragno
in a sonorous whisper bade me remove my clothes, and one by one
I stripped myself of every sodden garment in the midst of the pitiless
gale laden with rain and spray. When I was naked as ever I was
born, my companion signed to me to lie down on the flat surface of
the rock. I obeyed, and he next produced a small phial which he
gave me to drink. Strangely enough in this brief space as I lay
numbed and bruised on the sharp clammy bed, buffeted by the wind
and stung by the lashing of the rain-drops, two lines from an old
Moravian hymn kept buzzing in my brain;
"Oh, what is Death?—'Tis Life's last shore
Where vanities are vain no more."
But it could have been only for a minute or so, for d'Aragno was
already forcing the phial to my lips, and at the same time helping me
to raise my aching head, the better to obey his command. A burning-
hot sweetish liquid now raced down my throat; an indescribable
sense of warmth and repose began to trickle through every portion of
my body; wondrous waves of violet and vermilion were floating
before my eyes or in my brain; in a shorter space than it takes me to
write this single sentence I became insensible.

Hours, days, weeks, even months may have elapsed before I

happened on my next moment of consciousness. A dim sensation
first of floating, and then of being swayed or rocked, filled the vacant
interval between my lying on the spray-wetted rock at Dover and my
awaking amid unfamiliar surroundings. At the first quiver of sentient
life I could see practically nothing; I could only feel that I lay in semi-
darkness with my whole frame stretched out vigorously but without
pain on a couch which contained a system of pulleys at its head and
foot. I was faintly aware of the pressure of this innocuous species of
rack, and was trying to open my eyes wider, when an approaching
figure waved a censer before my face, and the thick narcotic smoke
issuing thence promptly forced my half-awakened mind back into
slumber. My next impression was more definite. The chamber
wherein I reposed gradually took shape, as it were in patches, such
as occurs in cases of recovery from the effects of chloroform after a
severe surgical operation. I was no longer extended by pulleys, but
rested supine on the couch, whilst three or four persons were busily
engaged in kneading and pinching every muscle in my body. My
mouth too felt very sore, and by exploring with my tongue I was
astonished to find that several new teeth, evidently drawn from
strange mouths, had been recently inserted with exquisite skill in my
own gums, for what with the blight of middle age and the inattention
of youth my back teeth were by no means numerous at the date of
my recent withdrawal from Earth. Whoever my dental surgeon might
have been, there could be no two opinions as to his skilful
performance on my jaws, for he had not only removed such molars
as were decayed or broken, but had planted and made grow freshly
plucked substitutes with their bleeding roots. The whole operation
was complete, and its completeness has led me to believe that a
considerable period must have intervened since my arrival in
Meleager, where presumably I was now lying. I noticed that the
figures around me were clothed in flowing white robes, and I was
beginning to satisfy my curiosity still further when again someone
approached with a censer, which he deftly swung so close to my
face that once more I was compelled to swallow that thick stupefying
incense whose fumes speedily plunged me in oblivion for a second
time.
On the third occasion of my awaking, the obscure chamber was still
occupied by white-robed figures, but the manipulation of my body
had evidently ceased. Among those present I noticed an old man
with a white beard, and some inches taller than his colleagues, who
paid him special deference. I rightly conjectured this venerable
person to be the Arch-priest, of whom d'Aragno had spoken, both
from his evident superiority of rank and his more elaborate garments.
I was still feeling very weak and languid, but after staring around me
for some minutes with an effort I managed to raise my arm. The
action was immediately noticed, whereupon the individual with the
censer once more prepared to advance, but was checked by an
imperious gesture from the Arch-priest. The latter now approached,
and after peering long and steadfastly into my face he made a sign
to the others present, and all but two left the room. He then signalled
to me to rise, but though I attempted to do so, my physical weakness
forbade me, and I sank back exhausted. The two junior priests
thereupon firmly raised me in their arms, and half-walking, half-
supported I was led out of the chamber to a further and a much
larger room, in the centre of which I perceived a wide circular hollow
space with steps descending, such as one sees in ancient Italian
baptisteries. From this hollow there issued a great sound of gurgling
and roaring, as well as a most horrible stench of chemicals, and as I
was dragged none too willingly towards the edge I saw below me a
pool of dark, sinister-looking, stinking water that was rising and
falling in a constant state of ebullition. I made a feeble attempt to
struggle, but the Arch-priest laid a firm grip upon my nerveless arm,
whilst the two attendant priests hastily proceeded to hook a couple of
chains to two stout rings inserted in the farther wall of the chamber.
To these chains was attached a pair of strong leathern slings, which
were now skilfully fastened beneath my arm-pits. Thus provided, I
was pushed rather than persuaded to descend to the lowest step of
the awesome basin, and was then unceremoniously thrust into its
bubbling and hissing depths. Down, down, down I went into the icy
surge, whose suction I could feel dragging me as violently as though
a pair of giant hands beneath the water had hold of both my ankles.
Then suddenly gasping and spluttering I was pulled up to the
surface, only in spite of my protests to be once again lowered into
that awful gelid fountain, whence again after a fearful interval of
choking and shivering my body was withdrawn. On the third
occasion, however, the two priests drew me towards the steps, and
their master signed to me to quit the pool. I exerted myself only too
eagerly, and with a nimbleness that amazed me I hastened up the
steps towards the Arch-priest, who had been watching the whole
gruesome rite with the most solemn air.
No doubt it was as the result of certain rare properties in this ice-cold
liquid that I now experienced a rapid transformation from a state of
mind and body that was the limit of feebleness to one of almost
superhuman strength and capability. Even before the two priests had
armed themselves with masses of warm soft towels to dry me I felt
myself glowing with health and youth. My brain seemed to clear and
expand in some unaccountable way; I could feel every artery and
muscle in my body thrill in joyous unison; to move my limbs was
sheer delight. I realised too that my normal height had been
increased by some inches, evidently due to the recent painless
racking that had caused me to awake prematurely. "This must be the
Fountain of Rejuvenation of which d'Aragno spoke," thought I. "I
wonder he has never tried a bathe himself in these waters!"
I found an exuberant joy even as I stood thus being rubbed and dried
by the priests in the new appearance of myself; I thought of the
justice of Vergil's comparison of the glittering young Neoptolemus at
the fall of Troy with a snake that has just sloughed his scurfy skin in
the warm spring sunshine. I positively quivered with my new-found
pride of life. I had cast aside all care and terror; and as to the
reflection of having lost the world of my birth, what fresh worlds of
adventure were there not ahead of me to conquer or to enjoy in
return for the mean, squalid, ungrateful Earth that I had deserted for
ever and ever! Had I now been on the Earth itself and not on the
planet of Meleager, I felt no doubt but that in a month or so I should
be competent to lead an army to victory, or to astonish the House of
Commons with a speech whose memory would outlive a generation,
or to write a poem or a novel that would last whilst the English
tongue endured, or to paint a picture or to mould a statue that would
cause Raphael and Michelangelo to turn in their graves with envy.
As Plato once held that the sum of all human knowledge is innate in
every man, so I knew at last that the old Greek's axiom was
fundamentally correct, but that I alone possessed the hidden key to
unlock that chamber of the human brain wherein this mental wealth
lies safely stored. I was the Semi-divine; I was the Super-man; I was
the new Napoleon alike of the arts of war and peace; I was the latter-
day Euphorion, child of beauty, strength and culture.
With this strange new sensation of power pulsing within me, I was
suddenly seized with a hot qualm of indignation against those white-
robed priests, who had so lately been subjecting my sacred person
to a series of manipulations and tortures, and had even more than
once dared to thrust my awakening dignity back to the dull chambers
of sleep. I quite forgot (though of a truth only for one brief instant)
that after all I in my newly acquired pride of strength and intellect
was but the creature of these flamens, a mere Frankenstein evoked
from a semi-defunct, middle-aged, useless inhabitant of the Earth,
who in his agony of failure had voluntarily committed an act of self-
effacement. Nevertheless, I turned almost fiercely on my
companions, and with an angry wave of my hand bade them turn
aside their prying eyes, whilst I completed the act of drying my skin.
They obeyed without protest, and a few minutes later one of the
priests, still keeping his face averted, handed me a curious garment
which it took me some little time to adjust to my person. It was a thin
white woollen article of undress, which completely covered my body,
inclusive of arms and legs, like the chiton of the ancient Greeks. Its
feet moreover were distinguished by a contrivance for keeping the
great toes free, in the event of wearing sandals, so I presumed.
When I had at length fitted my form into this enveloping garment,
whose texture felt deliciously light and warm, the priests once more
turned towards me and helped me to don the remaining portions of
my attire. These consisted of a pair of buskins of soft dark blue
leather that reached half-way to the knee, a tunic of blue cloth with a
golden belt, and a flowing cloak of the same rich shade of blue, lined
with pale blue silk, that was fastened over the breast with a golden
clasp set with a splendid sapphire. Finally I was invited to seat
myself in a low chair, whereupon one of the priests proceeded to
comb out my hair with a large golden comb. From a burnished metal
mirror that was held before me I now realised, to my astonishment,
that my hair was of such an inordinate length that some weeks must
have elapsed for its growth; it had moreover been bleached, for it
was of a pale yellow shade and had a strange silky texture. On the
other hand, I may state here that all the hair on the lower portion of
my face had been eradicated, nor have I yet had any occasion to
use a razor. As a finishing touch, a fillet of blue and gold was bound
round my luxuriant locks, much in the manner one sees depicted on
the royal heads of antiquity in coins and medals.
With this last addition my toilet was now complete, and I was bidden
to rise. The Arch-priest led the way, and I followed with the two junior
priests, one of whom upheld my flowing mantle, whilst the other bore
over my head an open state umbrella of blue silk, heavily fringed
with gold, and closely resembling the same emblem of state that is
used to shelter the Host in processions of the Roman Church. We
then traversed several broad gloomy corridors before entering a
chamber of considerable size that was lit by flambeaux as well as by
lamps of classical form. Here were assembled about a score of
young men whose dress closely resembled my own except that its
dominant colour was crimson instead of blue. On my appearance all
these persons threw themselves prostrate on the floor and remained
thus motionless. At this juncture the Arch-priest for the first time
addressed me, and his spoken words were in the ancient Latin
language. Now I had always possessed an affection and capacity for
this tongue, which I have all my life defended from the baseless
charge of its being a dead language that is constantly levelled at it by
ignorant or prejudiced critics. My proficiency in Latin both at school
and at college had been noteworthy, and now, thanks to the reviving
effects of my late immersion in those medicated waters, all my
former acquaintance with the Roman tongue was suddenly restored
to me. I was thus able to grasp the gist of the Arch-priest's remarks,
and my replies through the same medium were more than tolerable,
a circumstance that evidently afforded great satisfaction to the old
man. I gathered then that this group of youths kneeling before me
was composed of the flower of the nobility of Meleager, from whose
ranks I was bidden to choose a tutor and two equerries suited to my
needs. The Arch-priest further stated that he deemed it preferable for
myself to make my own selection in this important matter, for which
reason he had devised this plan.
I was quick to perceive that such a privilege must be carefully
exercised, so I reflected for a few moments before deciding. I have
often flattered myself on being a good judge of human character
from the face, and in our world I often fell to speculate on the internal
qualities of persons in every station of life that I chanced to meet.
Bearing my past observations in mind, I gave a sign for the band
before me to arise, and on a word from the Arch-priest the whole line
leaped up and stood to attention. Beckoning to one of the priests to
hand me a torch, I carefully scrutinised the row of candidates for my
favour. Now the youth who stood seventh from the first at once
challenged my attention; his countenance showed me that he
possessed, consciously or unconsciously, the special qualities I
demanded—fidelity and discretion. Thrice with calm deliberation did I
pace up and down that comely company, and on each occasion I felt
myself confirmed in my original judgment. I nodded to the Arch-
priest, who now handed me a golden rod with which I lightly touched
the shoulder of Number Seven. The young man immediately fell at
my feet, which he embraced, the while murmuring some words of
gratitude in the language of the Meleagrians which of course I did
not at that time comprehend. He then rose, and was about to take up
a position behind me, when his fellows at once advanced and loaded
him with their congratulations on the exceptional mark of honour he
had just received. Some of his more intimate friends threw their arms
around him, others shook him by the hands, and others again spoke
words of encouragement. So far as I could observe, the spirit of
jealousy seemed wholly absent. The Arch-priest, who appeared to
approve my choice, patted the young man's cheek in a friendly
manner, as he told me I had chosen well in Hiridia, for such was his
name. Nor have I ever had reason to repent of my selection, for
Hiridia has always proved a most faithful friend, and also a well-
meaning guide according to his Meleagrian lights, during the whole
period of my reign, as I shall relate in due course.
As to the two equerries, whose office would not entail such intimacy,
I did not deem it necessary to discriminate so closely amongst this
band of noble applicants, all of whom were doubtless adequate for
the purpose. So I simply touched the first and the last of the row
standing before me, and these fell out of the line and made me
obeisance. This matter concluded, the Arch-priest signified to the
remainder to retire, whilst the chosen three tarried behind.
By this time I was beginning to feel the pangs of hunger most
acutely, and recollections of my last meal partaken on Earth in the
London hotel rose greedily to my mind, as I began to guess how
many weeks must have passed since I had eaten. "Your King is
hungry and faint for need of food," I remarked in my best Ciceronian
Latin to the Arch-priest, who, so I had observed, was now treating
me with a degree of deference and even of obsequiousness that he
had not shown in the chamber of the fountain. The old man bowed
low and long, gave some instructions to Hiridia, whereupon he and I,
followed by the two equerries, proceeded to leave the room. Before
departing however, the Arch-priest hung a heavy chain of gold round
Hiridia's neck, and presented similar chains, but of silver, to his two
companions. One of these latter now bore the umbrella of state over
my head and the other upheld the cloak, as with Hiridia beside me I
prepared to quit the chamber, after I had returned with as much
dignity as I could muster the sweeping obeisances of the three
priests, who did not offer to accompany us. More corridors were
traversed thus, before we finally entered a lofty pillared hall, which I
at once rightly conjectured to be the banqueting chamber of the
palace. Here were gathered many men, both young and middle-
aged, all wearing clothes similar to those of my three companions,
as also a considerable crowd of individuals dressed in short blue
tunics and obviously of an inferior social caste. The first were, of
course, the members of my Court, all eagerly expecting their new
sovereign, whilst the latter were the servants of the household. On
my appearance there were deep bows and genuflexions from the
nobles assembled, and still lower bows from the menials, the latter
raising their left arms to cover their faces, as though the sight of
myself were almost too precious or sacred for humbler eyes such as
theirs to dwell upon.
I seated myself at a solitary table on a dais, slightly raised above the
pavement. The board before me was covered with a coarse linen
cloth heavily fringed with blue, whilst the viands were served in a
number of glazed white earthenware platters of elegant form, the
appointments in general reminding me of meals eaten years ago in
old-fashioned hostelries of the Romagna. Of the dinner itself I need
not say more than that the meats, though unfamiliar, were quite
palatable, as was also the rough red wine which was served
abundantly throughout the meal. To my relief I found that knives,
spoons and forks were in use, and that the drinking vessels and
some of the dishes were of glass. After a dessert of strange but
delicious fruits, and many species of nuts, a crystal goblet of the
most elaborate workmanship was set before me and filled with a
rather thick sweet red wine, apparently a kind of muscadel. I had sat
down ravenous, and in due course I rose from table satisfied, at
which movement on my part every person in the room likewise stood
erect and remained so standing till I had passed through the
doorway.
From the banqueting hall, guided by Hiridia, I proceeded to my
sleeping apartment, wherein I found a low square bed of some richly
carved dark-coloured wood. A long open gallery occupied one side
of this room, and thither I hastened to obtain a glimpse of the outer
world. It was a lovely warm starry night, but without moonlight, so
that I could only discern my surroundings very dimly. I was able,
however, to perceive that this gallery was situated at a considerable
height above the sea, whose expanse I could just distinguish in the
far distance, and that below me and around me there lay a large city
built on steep hillsides descending to the shore. Falling waters made
a pleasant murmur in my ears; a faint hum of human activity arose
from the city beneath; the shrill cries and chirrups of insects and
night birds were clearly audible at intervals. There was nothing
unearthly in these darkened surroundings, and yet I knew I stood
alone in a fresh world of mystery and wonder, and how vehemently I
longed, as I paced that colonnade, for the sun to rise so as to make
manifest the scene that was now all but hidden from my impatient
gaze! Hiridia stood beside me, and I think he tried to participate in
and sympathise with the thoughts that were agitating my mind, for he
often pointed into the gloom and made remarks which were of
course, as yet, unintelligible to me. Long did I continue thus to stare
and speculate, and indeed it was only out of consideration for poor
Hiridia's many yawns and signs of weariness, vainly suppressed,
that I finally turned with reluctance from the balcony and prepared for
a night's sleep.
IV
I slept soundly, and was only awakened on hearing, as one does
whilst wandering in the misty caverns of dreamland, a strange
prolonged noise of peculiar timbre, the last reverberation of which
had scarcely died away by the time I was fully conscious and had
raised myself in bed. The room was filled with the early light of dawn,
and from my pillow I could see beyond the open gallery the splendid
disk of the sun's majesty emerge from the distant watery horizon.
Hiridia was on his knees muttering prayers with arms extended and
face turned towards the sunrise, whilst a servant of the palace,
wearing the short blue tunic and blue trousers and blue scarf that