CHAPTER X
THE ARABIAN STORY-TELLER
The reader will doubtless refer the circumstance to the jealousy whichis supposed to prompt the Faithful where women are required to passbefore men; yet the best evidence of the Governor's thoughtfulness forhis female guests met them at their approach to the Castle. There wasnot a man visible except a sentinel on the battlement above the gate,and he stood faced inwardly, making it impossible for him to see themwhen they drew near.
"Where are the horsemen of whom you spoke? And the garrison, where arethey?" Sergius asked the Prince.
The latter shrugged his shoulders, as he answered:
"They will return presently."
Further proof of the same thoughtfulness was presented when the twochairs were set down in the broad stone-paved passage receiving fromthe front door. The sole occupant there was a man, tall as the monk,but unnaturally slender; indeed, his legs resembled those of a layfigure, so thin were they, while the residue of his person, althoughclad in a burnoose gorgeously embroidered, would have reminded a modernof the skeletons surgeons keep for office furniture. Besides blacknessdeep as the unlighted corner of a cellar, he had no beard. The Princeof India recognized him as one of the indispensables of an Easternharem, and made ready to obey him without dissent--only theextravagance of the broidery on the burnoose confirmed him in theopinion that the chief just arrived outranked the Governor. "This isthe Kislar Aga of a Prince," he said to himself.
The eunuch, like one accustomed to the duty, superintended theplacement of the chairs; then, resting the point of a very brightcrescent-shaped sword on the floor, he said, in a voice more incisivethan the ordinary feminine tenor:
"I will now conduct the ladies, and guard them. No one will presume tofollow."
The Prince replied: "It is well; but they will be comforted ifpermitted to abide together."
He spoke with deference, and the black responded:
"This is a fort, not a palace. There is but one chamber for the two."
"And if I wish to communicate with them or they with me?"
"_Bismillah!_" the eunuch replied. "They are not prisoners. I willdeliver what thou hast for them or they for thee."
Thereupon the Princess and Lael stepped from the chairs, and went withtheir guide. When they were gone, word sped through the Castle, andwith clamor and clangor, doors opened, and men poured forth incompanies. And again the Prince reflected: "Such discipline pertains toprinces only."
Now the office of eunuch was by no means an exclusive paganinstitution; time out of mind it had been a feature of Byzantinecourts; and Constantine Dragases, the last, and probably the mostChristian of Greek emperors, not only tolerated, but recognized it ashonorable. With this explanation the reader ought not to be surprisedif the Princess Irene accepted the guidance offered her without fear oreven hesitation. Doubtless she had been in similar keeping many times.
Climbing a number of stairways, the eunuch brought his fair chargesinto a part of the Castle where there were signs of refinement. Thefloors were swept; the doors garnished with rugs; a delicate incenselingered in the air; and to rescue the tenants, whoever they might be,from darkness, lighted lamps swung from the ceiling, and were affixedto the walls. Stopping finally before a portiere, he held it asidewhile saying:
"Enter here, and be at home. Upon the table yonder there is a littlebell; ring, and I will answer."
And seeing Lael clinging closely to the Princess, he added: "Be notafraid. Know ye rather that my master, when a child, heard the story ofHatim, a warrior and poet of the Arabs, and ever since he has livedbelieving hospitality a virtue without which there can be no godliness.Do not forget the bell."
They entered and were alone.
To their amazement the room was more than comfortably furnished. Whatmay be termed a chandelier swung from the ceiling with many lamps readyfor lighting; under it there was a circular divan; then along the foursides a divan extended continuously, with pillows at the corners inheaps. Matting covered the floor, and here and there rugs of gay dyesoffered noticeable degrees of warmth and coloring. Large trays filledthe deep recesses of the windows, and though the smell of muskoverpowered the sweet outgivings of the roses blooming in them, theysufficed to rouge the daylight somewhat scantily admitted. Theroughness and chill of the walls were provided against by woollendrapery answering for arras.
They went first to one of the windows, and peered out. Below them theworld was being deluged with fiercely driven rain. There was theBosphorus lashed into waves already whitened with foam. The Europeanshore was utterly curtained from sight. Gust after gust raved aroundthe Castle, whistling and moaning; and as she beheld the dangerescaped, the Princess thought of the saying of the Prince of India andrepeated it in a spirit of thanksgiving: "By the will of God thou arthere."
The reflection reconciled her to the situation, and led on tillpresently the face and martial figure of the Governor reproducedthemselves to her fancy. How handsome he appeared--how courteous--howyoung!--scarcely older than herself! How readily she had yielded to hisinvitation! She blushed at the thought.
Lael interrupted the revery, which was not without charm, and for thatreason would likely return, by bringing her a child's slipper foundnear the central divan; and while examining the embroidery ofmany-colored beads adorning it, she divined the truth.
Isolated as the Castle was on a frontier of the Islamic world, andcrowded with men and material of war, yet the Governor was permittedhis harem, and this was its room in common. Here his wives, many orfew, for the time banished to some other quarters, were in the habit ofmeeting for the enjoyment of the scant pleasantries afforded by lifelike theirs.
Again she was interrupted. The arras over one of the walls was pushedaside, and two women came in with refreshments. A third followed with asmall table of Turkish pattern which she placed on the floor. Theviands, very light and simple, were set upon the table; then a fourthone came bringing an armful of shawls and wraps. The last was a Greek,and she explained that the Lord of the Castle, her master, was pleasedto make his guests comfortable. In the evening later a more substantialrepast would be served. Meantime she was appointed to wait on them.
The guests, assured by the presence of other women in the Castle,partook of the refection; after which the table was removed, and theattendants for the present dismissed. Wrapping themselves then inshawls, for they had not altogether escaped the rain, and werebeginning to feel the mists stealing into the chamber through theunglazed windows, they took to the divan, piling the cushions aboutthem defensively.
In this condition, comfortable, cosey, perfectly at rest, and with thefull enjoyment of the sensations common to every one in the midst of anovel adventure, the Princess proceeded to draw from Lael an account ofherself; and the ingenuousness of the girl proved very charming,coupled as it was with a most unexpected intelligence. The case was thenot unusual one of education wholly unsupported by experience. The realmarvel to the inquisitor was that she should have made discovery of twosuch instances the same day, and been thrown into curious relation withthem. And as women always run parallels between persons who interestthem, the Princess was struck with the similarities between Sergius andLael. They were both young, both handsome, both unusually well informedand at the same time singularly unsophisticated. In the old paganstyle, what did Fate mean by thus bringing them together? Shedetermined to keep watch of the event.
And when, in course of her account, Lael spoke of the Prince of India,Irene awoke at once to a mystery connected with him. Lacking the fullstory, the narrator could give just enough of it to stimulate wonder.Who was he? Where was Cipango? He was rich--learned--knew all thesciences, all the languages--he had visited countries everywhere, eventhe inhabited islands. To be sure, he had not appeared remarkable;indeed, she gave him small attention when he was before her; sherecalled him chiefly by his eyes and velvet pelisse. While she wasmentally resolving to make better study of him, the eunuch appearedunder the portiere, and, coming forward, said
, with a half salaam tothe Princess:
"My master does not wish his guests to think themselves forgotten. Thekinswoman of the most august Emperor Constantine, he remembers, iswithout employment to lighten the passage of a time which must beirksome to her. He humbly prays her to accept his sympathy, and sendsme to say that a famous story-teller, going to the court of the Sultanat Adrianople, arrived at the Castle to-day. Would the Princess bepleased to hear him?"
"In what tongue does he recite?" she asked.
"Arabic, Turkish, Greek, Latin, Hebrew," was the reply.
"Oh, a most wise man!"
Irene consulted Lael, and thinking to offer her amusement, assented tothe suggestion, with thanks to the Governor.
"Have the veils ready," the eunuch said, as he retreated backward tothe door. "The story-teller is a man, and he will come directly."
The story-teller was ushered in. He walked to the divan where hisauditors sat, slowly, as if he knew himself under close observation,and courted it.
Now caravans were daily shows in Constantinople. The little bell of thedonkey leading its string of laden camels through the narrow streetsmight be heard any hour, and the Shaykh in charge was almost invariablyan Arab. So the Princess had seen many of the desert-born, and wasfamiliar with their peculiarities; never, however, had chance brought anobler specimen of the race before her. As he approached, stepping asmodern stage heroes are wont, she saw the red slippers, the white shirtfalling to the ankles and girdled at the waist, its bosom a capaciouspocket, the white and red striped cloak over the shoulders. She markedthe material of which they were made, the shirt of selected Angorawool, the cloak of camel's hair, in its fineness iridescent and soft asvelvet. She saw in the girdle an empty scabbard for a yataganelaborately covered with brilliants. She saw on the head a kerchief ofmixed silk and cotton, tasselled, heavily striated red and yellow, andsecured by the usual cord; but she scarcely more than noticed them--theair of the man, high, stately, king-like, was a superior attraction,and she gazed at his face unconscious that her own was uncovered.
The features were regular, the complexion sunburned to the hue ofreddish copper, the beard thin, the nose sharp, the cheeks hollow, theeyes, through the double shade of brows and kerchief, glittered likeballs of polished black amber. His hands were crossed above the girdleafter the manner of Eastern servants before acknowledged superiors; hissalutation was expressive of most abject homage; yet when he raisedhimself, and met the glance of the Princess, his eyes lingered, andbrightened, and directly he cast off or forgot his humility, and lookedlordlier than an Emir boasting of his thousand tents, with ten spearsto each, and a score of camels to the spear. She endured the gazeawhile; for it seemed she had seen the face before--where, she couldnot tell; and when, as presently happened, she began to feel thebrightness of the eyes intenser growing, the sensation reminded her ofthe Governor at the landing. Could this be he? No, the countenance herewas of a man already advanced in life. And why should the Governorresort to disguise? The end, nevertheless, was the same as on thelanding--she drew down the veil. Then he became humble again, andspoke, his eyes downcast, his hands crossed:
"This faithful servant"--he pointed to the eunuch "my friend"--theeunuch crossed his hands, and assumed an attitude of pleasedattention--"brought me from his master--may the most Merciful andCompassionate continue a pillow to the good man here and to his soulhereafter!--how a kinswoman of the Emperor whose capital is to theearth a star, and he as the brightness thereof, had taken refuge withhim from the storm, and was now his guest, and languishing for want ofamusement. Would I tell her a story? I have a horde of parables, tales,and traditions, and many nations have contributed to it; but, alas, OPrincess! they are simple, and such as beguile tentmen and tentwomenshut in by the desert, their fancies tender as children's. I fear yourlaughter. But here I am; and as the night bird sings when the moon isrisen, because the moon is beautiful and must be saluted, even so I amobedient. Command me."
The speech was in Greek, with the slightest imperfection of accent; atthe conclusion the Princess was silent.
"Knowest thou"--she at length said--"knowest thou of one Hatim,renowned as a warrior and poet of the Arabs?"
The eunuch saw the reference, and smiled. Asking of Hatim now was onlyanother form of inquiry after his master; not merely had the latterbeen in her mind; she wished to know more about him. On his part, thestory-teller arose from his servile posture, and asked with theanimation of one to whom a favorite theme is presented:
"Noble lady, know you aught of the desert?"
"I have never been there," the Princess answered.
"Though not beautiful, it is the home of mysteries," he said, withgrowing enthusiasm. "When he whom in the same breath you worship as Godand the Son of God--an opposition beyond the depth of our simplefaith--made ready to proclaim himself, he went for a time into theWilderness, and dwelt there. So likewise our Prophet, seeing the dawnof his day, betook himself to Hiva, a rock, bleak, barren, waterless.Why, O Princess, if not for purification, and because God of preferencehas founded his dwelling there, wasting it indeed the better to nursehis goodness in a perfected solitude? Granting this, why may I notassert without shocking you that the sons of the desert are the noblestof men?--
"Such was Hatim!
"In the Hijaz and the Nejd, they tell of him thus:
"In the day the Compassionate set about world-making, which is but apastime with him, nor nearly so much as nest-building to a mother-dove,he rested. The mountains and rivers and seas were in their beds, andthe land was variegated to please him, here a forest, there a grassyplain; nothing remained unfinished except the sand oceans, and theyonly wanted water. He rested.
"Now, if, with their sky, a sun-field in the day, a gallery of stars atnight, and their winds, flying from sea to sea, but gathering no taint,the deserts are treeless, and unknowing the sweetness of gardens andthe glory of grass, it was not by accident or forgetfulness; for withhim, the Compassionate, the Merciful, there are no accidents or lapsesof any kind. He is all attention and ever present. Thus the Throneverse--'Drowsiness overcomes him not nor sleep.... His firmament spansthe Heaven and the Earth, and the care of them does not distress him.'
"Why then the yellowness and the burning, the sameness and solitude,and the earth intolerant of rain and running stream, and of roads andpaths--why, if there was neither accident nor forgetfulness?
"He is the High and the Great! Accuse him not!
"In that moment of rest, not from weariness or overburden, but toapprove the work done, and record the approval as a judgment, he said,speaking to his Almightiness as to a familiar: 'As it is it shall stay.A time will come when with men I, and the very name of me, shall go oututterly like the green of last year's leaf. He who walks in a gardenthinks of it only; but he who abides in a desert, wanting to see thebeautiful, must look into the sky, and looking there he shall bereminded of me, and say aloud and as a lover, 'There is no God but him,the Compassionate, the Merciful.... The eyes see him not, but he seeththe eyes; and He is the Gracious, the Knowing'.... So also comes a timewhen religion shall be without heart, dead, and the quickening ofworship lost in idolatry; when men shall cry, God, my God, to stonesand graven images, and sing to hear their singing, and the loud musicit goes with. And that time shall be first in lands of growth andfreshness, in cities where comforts and luxuries are as honey in hivesafter the flowering of palms. Wherefore--Lo, the need of deserts. ThereI shall never be forgotten. And out of them, out of their hardness andheat, out of their yellow distances and drouth, religion shall ariseagain, and go forth purified unto universality; for I shall be alwayspresent there, a life-giver. And against those days of evil, I shallkeep men there, the best of their kind, and their good qualities shallnot rust; they shall be brave, for I may want swords; they shall keepthe given word, for as I am the Truth, so shall my chosen be; thereshall be no end to charity among them, for in such lands charity islife, and must take every form, friendship, love of one another, loveof giving, and hospita
lity, unto which are riches and plenty. And intheir worship, I shall be first, and honor next. And as Truth is theSoul of the World, it being but another of my names, for its salvationthey shall speak with tongues of fire, this one an orator, that one apoet; and living in the midst of death, they shall fear me not at all,but dishonor more. Mine are the Sons of the Desert--theWord-Keepers!--the Unconquered and Conquerless! For my name's sake, Inominate them Mine, and I alone am the High and the Great.... And thereshall be amongst them exemplars of this virtue and that one singly; andat intervals through the centuries standards for emulation among themany, a few, in whom all the excellences shall be blent in indivisiblecomeliness.'
"So came Hatim, of the Bene-Tayyi, lustrous as the moon of Ramazan toeager watchers on high hilltops, and better than other men, even as allthe virtues together are better than any one of them, excepting charityand love of God.
"Now Hatim's mother was a widow, poor, and without relations, butbeloved by the Compassionate, and always in his care, because she waswise beyond the men of her time, and kept his laws, as they were known,and taught them to her son. One day a great cry arose in the village.Everybody rushed to see the cause, and then joined in the clamor.
"Up in the north there was an appearance the like of which had neverbeen beheld, nor were there any to tell what it was from hearsay. Somepooh-poohed, saying, contemptuously:
"'Tis only a cloud.'
"Others, observing how rapidly it came, in movement like a bird sailingon outspread motionless wings, said:
"'A roc! A roc!'
"When the object was nearer, a few of the villagers, in alarm, ran totheir houses, shrieking:
"'Israfil, Israfil! He is bringing the end of time!'
"Soon the sight was nearly overhead; then it was going by, its edgeoverhead, the rest of it extending eastwardly; and it was long andbroad as a pasture for ten thousand camels, and horses ten thousand. Ithad no likeness earthly except a carpet of green silk; nor could thosestanding under describe what bore it along. They thought they heard thesound of a strong wind, but as the air above far and near was full ofbirds great and small, birds of the water as well as the land, allflying evenly with the carpet, and making a canopy of their wings, andshade deeper than a cloud's, the beholders were uncertain whether thebirds or the wind served it. In passing, it dipped gently, giving thema view of what it carried--a throne of pearl and rainbow, and a crownedKing sitting in majesty; at his left hand, an army of spirits, at hisright, an army of men in martial sheen.
"While the prodigy was before them, the spectators stirred not; nor wasthere one brave enough to speak; most of them with their eyes devouredit all, King and throne, birds, men and spirits; though afterwardsthere was asking:
"'Did you see the birds?'
"'No.'
"'The spirits?'
"'No.'
"'The men?'
"'I saw only the King upon His throne.'
"In the passing, also, a man, in splendor of apparel, stood on thecarpet's edge and shouted:
"'God is great! I bear witness there is no God but God.'
"The same instant something fell from his hand. When the marvel was outof sight in the south, some bethought them, and went to see what it waswhich fell. They came back laughing, 'It was only a gourd, and as wehave much better on our camel-saddles, we threw it away.'
"But the mother of Hatim, listening to the report, was not content. Inher childhood she heard what was tradition then; how Solomon, at thecompletion of his temple in Jerusalem, journeyed to Mecca upon a carpetof silk wafted by the wind, with men, spirits, and birds. Wherefore,saying to herself, 'It was Solomon going to Mecca. Not for nothingthrew he the gourd,' she went alone, and brought it in, and opened it,finding three seeds--one red, like a ruby; a second blue, like asapphire; the third green, like an emerald.
"Now she might have sold the seeds, for they were beautiful as gems cutfor a crown, and enriched herself; but Hatim was all the world to her.They were for him, she said, and getting a brown nut such as washes upfrom vines in the sea, she cut it, put the treasures into it, sealedthem there, and tied them around the boy's neck.
"'Thanks, O Solomon,' she said. 'There is no God but God; and I shallteach the lesson to my Hatim in the morning, when _al hudhud_ flies forwater; at noon, when it whistles to itself in the shade; and at night,when it draws a wing over its head to darken the darkness, and sleep.'
"And from that day through all his days Hatim wore the brown nut withthe three seeds in it; nor was there ever such an amulet before orsince; for, besides being defended by the genii who are Solomon'sservants, he grew one of the exemplars promised by God, having inhimself every virtue. No one braver than he; none so charitable; noneso generous and merciful; none so eloquent; none on whose lips poetrywas such sweet speech for the exalting of souls; above all, never hadthere been such a keeper of his word of promise.
"And of this judge you by some of the many things they tell of him.
"A famine fell upon the land. It was when Hatim had become Sheik of histribe. The women and children were perishing. The men could no morethan witness their suffering. They knew not whom to accuse; they knewno one to receive a prayer. The time predicted was come--the name ofGod had gone out utterly, like the green of last year's leaf. In theSheik's tent even, as with the poorest, hunger could not beallayed--there was nothing to eat. The last camel had beendevoured--one horse remained. More than once the good man went out tokill him, but the animal was so beautiful--so affectionate--so fleet!And the desert was not wide enough to hold his fame! How much easier tosay, 'Another day--to-morrow it may rain.'
"He sat in his tent telling his wife and children stories, for he wasnot merely the best warrior of his day; he was the most renowned poetand storyteller. Riding into battle, his men would say, 'Sing to us, OHatim--sing, and we will fight.' And they he loved best, listening tohim, had nigh forgot their misery, when the curtain of the tent wasraised.
"'Who is there?' he asked.
"'Thy neighbor,' and the voice was a woman's. 'My children areanhungred and crying, and I have nothing for them. Help, O Sheik, helpor they die.'
"'Bring them here,' he said, rising.
"'She is not worse off than we,' said his wife, 'nor are her childrenmore hungry than ours. What will you do?'
"'The appeal was to me,' he answered.
"And passing out, he slew the horse, and kindled a fire; then, whilethe stranger and her children were sharing piece by piece with his own,'Shame, shame!' he said, 'that ye alone should eat;' and going throughthe dowar, he brought the neighbors together, and he only went hungry.There was no more of the meat left. Was ever one merciful like Hatim?In combat, he gave lives, but took none. Once an antagonist under hisfoot, called to him: 'Give me thy spear, Hatim,' and he gave it.
"'Foolish man!' his brethren exclaimed.
"'What else was there?' he answered. 'Did not the poor man ask a giftof me?'
"Never a captive besought his help vainly. On a journey once, aprisoner begged him to buy his liberty; but he was without the moneyrequired, and on that account he was sorely distressed. To hisentreaties, the strangers listened hard-heartedly; at last he said tothem:
"Am not I--Hatim--good as he? Let him go, and take me.'
"And knocking the chains from the unfortunate, he had them put onhimself, and wore them until the ransom came.
"In his eyes a poet was greater than a king, and than singing a songwell the only thing better was being the subject of a song.Perpetuation by tombs he thought vulgar; so the glory unremembered inverse deserved oblivion. Was it wonderful he gave and kept giving tostory-tellers, careless often if what he thus disposed of was another's?
"Once in his youth--and at hearing this, O Princess, the brown-facedsons of the desert, old and young, laugh, and clap their hands--he gaveof his grandfather's store until the prudent old man, intending to curehim of his extravagance, sent him to tend his herds in the country.Alas!
"Across the plain Hatim one day beheld a caravan
, and finding itescorting three poets to the court of the King of El-Herah, he invitedthem to stop with him, and while he killed a camel for each of them,they recited songs in his praise, and that of his kin. When they wishedto resume the journey, he detained them.
"'There is no gift like the gift of song,' he said. 'I will do betterby you than will he, the King to whom you are going. Stay with me, andfor every verse you write I will give you a camel. Behold the herd!'
"And at departing, they had each a hundred camels, and he three hundredverses.
"'Where is the herd?' the grandfather asked, when next he came to thepasture.
"'See thou. Here are songs in honor of our house,' Hatim answered,proudly--'songs by great poets; and they will be repeated until allArabia is filled with our glory.'
"'Alas! Thou hast ruined me!' the elder cried, beating his breast.
"'What!' said Hatim, indignantly. 'Carest thou more for the dirtybrutes than for the crown of honor I bought with them?'"
Here the Arab paused. The recitation, it is to be remarked, had beenwithout action, or facial assistance--a wholly unornate delivery; andnow he kept stately silence. His eyes, intensely bright in the shadowof the _kufiyeh,_ may have produced the spell which held the Princessthroughout; or it may have been the eyes and voice; or, quite aslikely, the character of Hatim touched a responsive chord in her breast.
"I thank you," she said, adding presently: "In saying I regret thestory ended so soon, I pray you receive my opinion of its telling. Idoubt if Hatim himself could have rendered it better."
The Arab recognized the compliment with the faintest of bows, but madeno reply in words. Irene then raised her veil, and spoke again.
"Thy Hatim, O eloquent Arab, was warrior and poet, and, as thou hastshown him to me, he was also a philosopher. In what age did he live?"
"He was a shining light in the darkness preceding the appearance of theProphet. That period is dateless with us."
"It is of little consequence," she continued. "Had he lived in our day,he would have been more than poet, warrior and philosopher--he would bea Christian. His charity and love of others, his denial of self, soundlike the Christ. Doubtless he could have died for his fellow-men. Hastthou not more of him? Surely he lived long and happily."
"Yes," said the Arab, with a flash of the eyes to denote hisappreciation of the circumstance. "He is reported to have been the mostwretched of men. His wife--I pray you will observe I am speaking by thetradition--his wife had the power, so dreadful to husbands, of raisingIblis at pleasure. It delighted her to beat him and chase him from histent; at last she abandoned him."
"Ah!" the Princess exclaimed. "His charities were not admirable in hereyes."
"The better explanation, Princess, may be found in a saying we have inthe desert--'A tall man may wed a small woman, but a great soul shallnot enter into bonds with a common one.'"
There was silence then, and as the gaze of the story-teller was againfinding a fascination in her face, Irene took refuge behind her veil,but said, presently:
"With permission, I will take the story of Hatim for mine; but here ismy friend--what hast thou for her?"
The story-teller turned to Lael.
"Her pleasure shall be mine," he said.
"I should like something Indian," the girl answered, timidly, for theeyes oppressed her also.
"Alas! India has no tales of love. Her poetry is about gods andabstract religions. Wherefore, if I may choose, I will a tale fromPersia next. In that country there was a verse-maker called Firdousi,and he wrote a great poem, _The Shah Nameh_, with a warrior for hero.This is how Rustem, in single combat, killed Sohrab, not knowing theyouth was his son until after the awful deed was done."
The tale was full of melancholy interest, and told with singular grace;but it continued until after nightfall; of which the party wasadmonished by the attendants coming to light the lamps. At theconclusion, the Arab courteously apologized for the time he had wrestedfrom them.
"In dealing with us, O Princess," he said, "patience is full as lovelyas charity."
Lifting the veil again, she extended her hand to him, saying, "Theobligation is with us. I thank you for making light and pleasant anafternoon which else had been tedious."
He kissed her hand, and followed the eunuch to the door. Then thesupper was announced.