He thought for to devise
How he might have her companye,
That so did 'maze2 his eyes."
The next morning Turbo appeared at his usual hour. He was quite calm. So was the King. They greeted each other with cold civility, and Kophetua at once put his formal question, as to what business there was to be done.
"There is business," said Turbo, "which perhaps will not be so painful to your majesty3 as it is to me!"
"Yes?" replied the King unfeelingly.
"Yesterday," the Chancellor4 continued, "a scene took place between your majesty and myself which cannot but interrupt the cordial relations that have hitherto existed between us. I regret and am heartily5 ashamed of the part I permitted to myself, and after what has occurred I feel my only course is to tender to your majesty my resignation."
"Permit me to say, Chancellor," the King replied, for he was touched by this strong[Pg 121] man's dignified6 humility7 and self-control, "permit me to say that your conduct appears to me entirely8 worthy9 of the high place you have won in your sovereign's estimation. You will understand that I desire no unwilling10 service, but, at the same time, I feel it is impossible to meet your magnanimity otherwise than by a request that you will reconsider your determination."
"Sire, I fear it is useless," answered Turbo. "Your majesty can hardly appreciate the extent of the breach11 between us."
"I appreciate it," said the King, "but I do not exaggerate it. We have differed on a private matter of absurd triviality. I recall nothing which an apology cannot heal, and that you have already amply given. Of course," he added, with some nervousness, "it is unnecessary to observe that I am assuming the abandonment of the intentions you expressed yesterday."
"Perfectly12 unnecessary," said the Chancellor gravely.
"You will see," went on Kophetua, almost apologetically, "I am compelled to insist on this. My royal word is passed. It is impossible not to feel a strong interest in a person whom one has saved from a horrible death."
"I understand perfectly, sire," replied Turbo, interrupting the King, who was about to explain the circumstances which compelled him to take Penelophon under his care. "It[Pg 122] is precisely13 that feeling which carried me into such excesses yesterday when this person was referred to, and which now prompts me to embrace cordially the offer of forgiveness and reconciliation14 which your majesty so magnanimously offers."
"I hardly comprehend," said the King. "You have not saved my life or Pen—— or that of this young person."
"I would crave15 your majesty's permission to pursue this subject no further," said Turbo.
"Nay16, I insist on knowing what you mean," answered the King.
"Then I am forced to tell your majesty," said the Chancellor, with slow and distinct utterance17, "that I was present at the Court of St. Lazarus during the whole of the ghastly tragedy at which your majesty assisted. I went thither18 in order to rescue, if possible, this unhappy young person from what I knew must be the result of the mistaken generosity19 with which your majesty had treated her. I found, with my crippled frame, I could do nothing. I witnessed your majesty's heroic intervention20 at the last moment, and saw at once a possibility of escape. Unseen by any one I forced pebbles21 into the lock which had turned upon you, and having thus secured the necessary delay, I was able to fetch two of my own servants with the simple means of effecting your majesty's escape through the prison window."
[Pg 123]
"But why did you not tell me this?" asked the King, overwhelmed with surprise. "Why did you run away?"
"I thought it would be only consistent with your majesty's wishes," said Turbo, "that no one should be, or even appear to be, cognisant of your adventure."
For a moment Kophetua was overcome with annoyance22 and humiliation23 to think how, all through the piece of knight-errantry on which he had prided himself so much, Turbo had been watching over and humouring him as though he were a child. But his better feelings took possession of him directly.
"Turbo, my dear Turbo," he said with effusion, as he advanced to the Chancellor and took his hand, "why could you not have told me this before, and saved me the injustice24 I have done you? How shall I ever be able to return your devotion?"
"I beg your majesty will forget the whole affair," answered Turbo. "No one can know better than yourself how unpleasant is the exposure of the good we do by stealth."
"My dear Turbo," said the King, "I can never forget it."
So King and Chancellor were at one again, and Penelophon remained in peace under the protection of Mlle de Tricotrin, happy in the occasional glimpses she had of Trecenito, and happy in the affection which her mistress lavished25 upon her. For Mlle de[Pg 124] Tricotrin had taken a real liking26 to her gentle handmaid. She had gone through life with hardly a single friend of her own sex, and Penelophon's simple devotion touched her not a little. For, to the beggar-maid, her delivery from the squalor, misery27, and cruelty in which she had been brought up was like being lifted out of hell into heaven; and she adored her beautiful mistress almost as much as she did her deliverer. So the days went by in supreme28 happiness for those two women, and their serenity29 was in strange contrast to the storm which was brewing30 around them. The political barometer31 was beginning to show signs of considerable agitation32, and it was clear to the experienced observer that these two women were forming the centre of an important disturbance33, which bade fair to develop a dangerous energy.
As has been previously34 explained, a storm in the troubled waters of politics was a normal event in Oneiria during crises like the present; but never before had there been one which seemed to promise such violence. The cause was not far to seek. The Marquis de Tricotrin had been to England. His stay had not been a short one, and he was not a man to throw away his opportunities. He liked the country and appreciated its peculiar35 blessings36. It was not long before his sagacity detected the secret of our amazing political success, and he determined37 to[Pg 125] lose no time in studying the palladium he had discovered. Fortunately, during the period of his observations the palladium exhibited itself in violent action; it therefore seems almost superfluous38 to add that the Marquis left the country with quite an uncommon39 mastery of party tactics and something approaching to genius in the manufacture and manipulation of majorities.
All he required was a field. It is said he attempted something during his sojourn40 in the Canaries, but his praiseworthy endeavours were disliked and at once suppressed by the Spanish governor. It was then, thirsting for an opportunity for the display of his talents, that the Marquis arrived in Oneiria. Not a day had passed before he recognised the excellence41 of his fortune. He found himself in the midst of three strongly divided parties, practically without experience of modern methods, and himself and his daughter the bone of contention42 between them. It was a moment of pardonable enthusiasm. With a hastiness excusable in a foreigner he hurried to the conclusion that as there were three parties there must be three policies, and, what is more, in three days he was persuaded that he clearly understood what they were. Neither conviction was entirely justified43, but of this the Marquis was naturally unaware44.
To a man of his experience the whole matter was comparatively simple, and, with[Pg 126] a decision which would not have disgraced the oldest parliamentary hand, he adopted a plan of campaign. There were three parties, each requiring a policy. All he had to do, then, was to make each party adopt his daughter as its particular programme. That was the obvious objective, and the lines of strategy towards it were no less plain to his penetration45. One of the first things he had learned in England was that simple rule which reiterated46 success has hallowed into a dogma: "When it is impossible to find fault with your adversaries47' policy, it is lawful48 to steal it."
As a policy his daughter was irreproachable49. He felt therefore that little more than a mere50 suggestion of the stratagem51 to the party leaders was necessary in order to ensure its adoption52. The conquest which Mlle de Tricotrin had already made of the Queen was enough to secure the Agathist party, even had it not been that they had already accepted the nomination53. As for the Kallikagathists, he felt they were at least half won by the impression his daughter's beauty had made on the soft heart of their gallant54 leader. In fact, it is not too much to say that General Dolabella was quite unhinged. It was a long time since his admiration55 for a woman had got so beyond his control as to lead him into melancholy56. But this was certainly his case now, and the Marquis saw it. As we have said, he was a man of [Pg 127]decisive action who did not lose opportunities, and he determined to occupy the position which the General's weakness exposed to him before that gallant officer could recover himself.
The Marquis found it a more difficult task than he had expected. The General, he confessed, was very stupid, and offered all kinds of objections. He even went so far as to say that he doubted whether the suggested stratagem was quite soldierly, but he was at once pooh-poohed into recantation by the Marquis's English precedents57. Still he held out with confused obstinacy58, which the Marquis put down to the General's denseness59, but which was, in fact, due to his own mistaken estimate of the situation. His hasty and erroneous conclusions as to the real relations between the respective parties had caused him, as has been already hinted, to entirely misunderstand Dolabella's position, and he was adopting a false method of attack.
"But pardon me for saying," said the General, retreating to this point for the tenth time, "that I cannot see what I or my party is to gain by adopting the course you propose." The General always distinguished60 between himself and his party. It was no doubt entirely due to that unique and complex condition of Oneirian politics, which was the precise element in the question, that the Marquis in his haste had failed to grasp.[Pg 128] The shrewd Frenchman began to perceive he was at fault somewhere, and determined to fathom61 the mystery.
"I perceive," said he, "that you have more than once spoken of yourself as something distinct from the party you lead. May I venture to ask whether the usual procedure in this country is to deal with the two things separately?"
"God forbid!" cried the General in alarm. "To hint of such a thing would smell of disloyalty in any but a foreigner who does not understand us."
"Forgive my ignorance, General," said the Marquis, "and show your pity for it so far as to explain your unintelligible62 position."
"With great pleasure, my dear Marquis," answered the General, with a look of painful worry at the almost impossible feat63 demanded of him. "It is a little complicated, but I think I can show you how things lie. You see, although I lead the Kallikagathist party, it does not follow me."
"That is a little difficult," answered the Marquis gravely. "You mean that I should arrange with your party which way it means to go, that you may be in a position to know how to lead it?"
"Not at all," said the General. "We are entirely at one. Our lines of thought are identical. It is only in our lines of action that we differ."
[Pg 129]
"Which is, of course," replied the Marquis, "a mere detail."
"Precisely," said Dolabella, in a somewhat relieved tone. "You see, my practical policy is to elect the Queen, theirs to elect the Speaker, but both elections are governed by the same principles."
"Your explanation is really masterly," said the Marquis. "I wonder I was so stupid; I see your point now quite clearly. You mean that you cannot make your party responsible for a policy which will not tend to improve the chances of their candidate for the chair."
"Yes," said the General, a little doubtfully, "that does seem to be what I mean."
"Very well," continued De Tricotrin; "then if I could ensure them the support of the Agathist party for their candidate, they would be prepared to accept my daughter at your nomination?"
"But, unfortunately," objected the General, "we have no candidate of sufficient weight to bring about such a coalition65."
"Then why don't you stand yourself?" said the Marquis.
"My dear Marquis!" cried the General, completely taken aback. "Such a thing was never heard of."
"So much the better," replied the tempter. "The more unexpected our moves, the better chance we have of success. The idea seems to me to meet every difficulty. What you[Pg 130] yourself gain it would not become me to point out. I need only remark that your election would be highly pleasing to my daughter. It is no breach of confidence to say that the poor girl has been more than touched by the chivalrous66 admiration of a distinguished officer and statesman like yourself. The speakership in this country is an office which bears a peculiar and delicate relation to the Queen. It would be a source of greater pleasure to my daughter than perhaps I ought to reveal, to know that you were to occupy the chair at her coronation, and I am sure that her influence with the Queen-mother and the leaders of the Agathist party is sufficient to ensure their adhesion to her favoured candidate. At the last moment the nominal67 candidate of their party shall be withdrawn68 and the coast left clear for your certain return. Say now, my dear General, will you give my daughter this one last satisfaction before her marriage?"
During the beginning of this speech the General had been staring at the Frenchman, with eyes wide with amazement69, but as he proceeded, the blissful picture which was artfully called up before him was too much for his susceptible70 nature. To kiss those lovely lips, and embrace that bewitching form! It was a rapture71 of which he had not dared to dream. He closed his eyes as he listened, and a foolish smile of complacent72 and inexpressible satisfaction overspread his rouged[Pg 131] and powdered face. When the Marquis ceased he collected himself with a sudden effort to a more dignified expression. He rose with the air of a statesman who is resolved to pursue a policy worthy of his magnanimity, and took the Marquis solemnly by the hand.
"Marquis!" said he, "you are a great man. Your generalship will ensure the election of this lady, whose beauty, virtue73, and intelligence make it the duty of every loyal subject of the King's to espouse74 her cause. Your admirably conceived plan demands of me and my party a sacrifice. Monsieur le Marquis, we will make that sacrifice!"
Thereupon Monsieur de Tricotrin embraced the gallant martyr75, told him he had a noble heart, and assured him with effusion that courage, devotion, intelligence, and sensibility would be carved in highest relief upon the imperishable fabric76 of his memory. And so he took his departure, leaving the General to wonder whether Madame Dolabella would view his conduct in the same light.
The Agathist and Kallikagathist parties were practically won. There remained still the most difficult task. The Marquis was perfectly aware of the King's antipathy77 to matrimony, and was fully64 convinced that there was still a great chance of failure, unless Turbo's support could be gained. To achieve this he felt was a task of the greatest delicacy78 and difficulty, and one worthy of his skill as a[Pg 132] politician. There was clearly but one way in which it could be done. To approach the Chancellor directly was out of the question. Pressure must be put on him through his party.
With a light heart, which confidence in his abilities can alone give a man, the Marquis set about his task, little imagining the extraordinary result his ingenious man?uvres were to have.
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1
musing
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| n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式 | |
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2
maze
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| n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑 | |
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3
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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chancellor
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| n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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6
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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7
humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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8
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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9
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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10
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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11
breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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12
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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13
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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14
reconciliation
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| n.和解，和谐，一致 | |
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15
crave
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| vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求 | |
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16
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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17
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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18
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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19
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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20
intervention
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| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
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21
pebbles
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| [复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
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22
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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23
humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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24
injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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25
lavished
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| v.过分给予，滥施( lavish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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26
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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27
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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28
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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29
serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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30
brewing
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| n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式 | |
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31
barometer
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| n.气压表，睛雨表，反应指标 | |
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32
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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33
disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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34
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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35
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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36
blessings
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| n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福 | |
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37
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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38
superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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39
uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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40
sojourn
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| v./n.旅居，寄居；逗留 | |
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41
excellence
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| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
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42
contention
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| n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张 | |
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43
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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44
unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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45
penetration
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| n.穿透，穿人，渗透 | |
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46
reiterated
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| 反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47
adversaries
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| n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 ) | |
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48
lawful
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| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
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49
irreproachable
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| adj.不可指责的，无过失的 | |
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50
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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51
stratagem
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| n.诡计，计谋 | |
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52
adoption
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| n.采用，采纳，通过；收养 | |
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53
nomination
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| n.提名，任命，提名权 | |
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54
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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55
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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56
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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57
precedents
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| 引用单元； 范例( precedent的名词复数 )； 先前出现的事例； 前例； 先例 | |
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58
obstinacy
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| n.顽固；（病痛等）难治 | |
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59
denseness
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| 稠密，密集，浓厚； 稠度 | |
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60
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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61
fathom
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| v.领悟，彻底了解 | |
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62
unintelligible
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| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
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63
feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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64
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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65
coalition
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| n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合 | |
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66
chivalrous
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| adj.武士精神的；对女人彬彬有礼的 | |
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67
nominal
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| adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的 | |
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68
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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69
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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70
susceptible
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| adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的 | |
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71
rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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72
complacent
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| adj.自满的；自鸣得意的 | |
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73
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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74
espouse
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| v.支持，赞成，嫁娶 | |
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martyr
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| n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲 | |
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76
fabric
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| n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织 | |
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antipathy
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| n.憎恶；反感，引起反感的人或事物 | |
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delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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