When the door closed, I noticed that Ergimo had left us, and the officers indicated by gesture rather than by words that they were to lead me immediately into the presence. I had considered with some care how I was, on so critical an occasion, to conduct myself, and had resolved that the most politic33 course would probably be an assumption of courteous34 but absolute independence; to treat the Autocrat35 of this planet much as an English envoy36 would treat an Indian Prince. It was in accordance with this intention that I had assumed a dress somewhat more elaborate than is usually worn here, a white suit of a substance resembling velvet37 in texture38, and moire in lustre, with collar and belt of silver. On my breast I wore my order of [illegible], and in my belt my one cherished Terrestrial possession—the sword, reputed the best in Asia, that had twice driven its point home within a finger's breadth of my life; and that clove39 the turban on my brow but a minute before it was surrendered—just in time to save its gallant40 owner and his score of surviving comrades. In its hilt I had set the emerald with which alone the Commander of the Faithful rewarded my services. The turban is not so unlike the masculine head-dress of Mars as to attract any special attention. Re-entering the hall, I was conducted along a gallery and through another crystal door into the immediate32 presence of the Autocrat. The audience chamber41 was of no extraordinary size, perhaps one-quarter as large as the peristyle of Esmo's dwelling42. Along the emerald walls ran a series of friezes43 wrought in gold, representing various scenes of peace and war, agricultural, judicial44, and political; as well as incidents which, I afterwards learnt, preserved the memory of the long struggles wherein the Communists were finally overthrown45. The lower half of the room was empty, the upper was occupied by a semicircle of seats forming part of the building itself and directly facing the entrance. These took up about one-third of the space, the central floor being divided from the upper portion of the room by a low wall of metal surmounted46 by arches supporting the roof and hung with drapery, which might be so lowered as to conceal47 the whole occupied part of the chamber. The seats rose in five tiers, one above the other. The semicircle, however, was broken exactly in the middle, that is, at the point farthest from the entrance, by a broad flight of steps, at the summit of which, and raised a very little above the seats of the highest tier, was the throne, supported by two of the royal brutes48 whose attack had been so nearly fatal to myself, wrought in silver, their erect49 heads forming the arms and front. About fifty persons were present, occupying only the seats nearest to the throne. On the upper tier were nine or ten who wore a scarlet50 sash, among whom I recognised a face I had not seen since the day of my memorable51 visit to the Astronaut; not precisely52 the face of a friend—Endo Zampta. Behind the throne were ranged a dozen guards, armed with the spear and with the lightning gun used in hunting. That a single Martial battalion53 with its appropriate artillery54 could annihilate13 the best army of the Earth I could not but be aware; yet the first thought that occurred to me, as I looked on these formidably armed but diminutive55 soldiers, was that a score of my Arab horsemen would have cut a regiment56 of them to pieces. But by the time I had reached the foot of the steps my attention was concentrated on a single figure and face—the form and countenance57 of the Prince, who rose from his throne as I approached. Those who remember that Louis XIV., a prince reputed to have possessed58 the most majestic59 and awe-inspiring presence of his age, was actually beneath the ordinary height of Frenchmen, may be able to believe me when I say that the Autocrat of Mars, though scarcely five feet tall, was in outward appearance and bearing the most truly royal and imposing60 prince I have ever seen. His stature61, rising nearly two inches over the tallest of those around him, perhaps added to the effect of a mien62 remarkable63 for dignity, composure, and self-confidence. The predominant and most immediately observable expression of his face was one of serene64 calm and command. A closer inspection65 and a longer experience explained why, notwithstanding, my first conception of his character (and it was a true one) ascribed to him quite as much of fire and spirit as of impassive grandeur66. His voice, though its tone was gentle and almost strikingly quiet, had in it something of the ring peculiar67 to those which have sent the word of command along a line of battle. I felt as I heard it more impressed with the personal greatness, and even with the rank and power, of the Prince before me, than when I knelt to kiss the hand of the Most Christian68 King, or stood barefooted before the greatest modern successor of the conqueror69 of Stamboul.
"I am glad to receive you," he said. "It will be among the most memorable incidents of my reign27 that I welcome to my Court the first visitor from another world, or," he added, after a sudden pause, and with an inflection of unmistakable irony70 in his tone, "the first who has descended71 to our world from a height to which no balloon could reach and at which no balloonist could live."
"I am honoured, Prince," I replied, "in the notice of a greater potentate72 than the greatest of my own world."
These compliments exchanged, the Prince at once proceeded to more practical matters, aptly, however, connecting his next sentence with the formal phrases preceding it.
"Nevertheless, you have not shown excessive respect for my power in the person of one of my greatest officers. If you treated the princes of Earth as unceremoniously as the Regent of Elcavoo, I can understand that you found it convenient to place yourself beyond their reach."
I thought that this speech afforded me an opportunity of repairing my offence with the least possible loss of dignity.
"The proudest of Earthly princes," I replied, "would, I think, have pardoned the roughness which forgot the duty of a subject in the first obligations of humanity. No Sovereign whom I have served, but would have forgiven me more readily for rough words spoken at such a moment, than for any delay or slackness in saving the life of a woman in danger under his own eyes. Permit me to take this opportunity of apologizing to the Regent in your presence, and assuring him that I was influenced by no disrespect to him, but only by overpowering terror for another."
"The lives of a dozen women," said the Campta, still with that covert73 irony or sarcasm74 in his tone, "would seem of less moment than threats and actual violence offered to the ruler of our largest and wealthiest dominion75. The excuse which Endo Zampta must accept" (with a slight but perceptible emphasis on the imperative) "is the utter difference between our laws and ideas and your own."
The Regent, at this speech from his Sovereign, rose and made the usual gesture of assent76, inclining his head and lifting his left hand to his mouth. But the look on his face as he turned it on me, thus partly concealing77 it from the campta, boded78 no good should I ever fall into his power. The Prince then desired me to give an account of the motives79 which had induced my voyage and the adventures I had encountered. In reply, I gave him, as briefly80 and clearly as I could, a summary of all that is recorded in the earlier part of this narrative81, carefully forbearing to afford any explanation of the manner in which the apergic force was generated. This omission82 the Prince noticed at once with remarkable quickness.
"You do not choose," he said, "to tell us your secret, and of course it is your property. Hereafter, however, I shall hope to purchase it from you."
"Prince," I answered, "if one of your subjects-found himself in the power of a race capable of conquering this world and destroying its inhabitants, would you forgive him if he furnished them with the means of reaching you?"
"I think," he replied, "my forgiveness would be of little consequence in that case. But go on with your story."
I finished my narration83 among looks of surprise and incredulity from no inconsiderable part of the audience, which, however, I noticed the less because the Prince himself listened with profound interest; putting in now and then a question which indicated his perfect comprehension of my account, of the conditions of such a journey and of the means I had employed to meet them.
"Before you were admitted," he said, "Endo Zampta had read to us his report upon your vessel84 and her machinery85, an account which in every respect consists with and supports the truth of your relation. Indeed, were your story untrue, you have run a greater risk in telling it here than in the most daring adventure I have ever known or imagined. The Court is dismissed. Reclamomorta will please me by remaining with me for the present."
When the assembly dispersed86, I followed their Autocrat at his desire into his private apartments, where, resting among a pile of cushions and motioning me to take a place in immediate proximity87 to himself, he continued the conversation in a tone and manner so exactly the same as that he had employed in public as to show that the latter was not assumed for purposes of monarchical88 stage-play, but was the natural expression of his own character as developed under the influence of unlimited89 and uncontradicted power. He only exchanged, for unaffected interest and implied confidence, the tone of ironical91 doubt by which he had rendered it out of the question for his courtiers to charge him with a belief in that which public opinion might pronounce impossible, while making it apparent to me that he regarded the bigotry92 of scepticism with scarcely veiled contempt.
"I wish," he said, "I had half-a-dozen subjects capable of imagining such an enterprise and hardy93 enough to undertake it. But though we all profess94 to consider knowledge, and especially scientific knowledge, the one object for which it is worth while to live, none of us would risk his life in such an adventure for all the rewards that science and fame could give."
"I think, Prince," I replied, "that I am in presence of one inhabitant of this planet who would have dared at least as much as I have done."
"Possibly," he said. "Because, weary as most of us profess to be of existence, the weariest life in this world is that of him who rules it; living for ever under the silent criticism which he cannot answer, and bound to devote his time and thoughts to the welfare of a race whose utter extermination95 would be, on their own showing, the greatest boon96 he could confer upon them. Certainly I would rather be the discoverer of a world than its Sovereign."
He asked me numerous questions about the Earth, the races that inhabit it, their several systems of government, and their relations to one another; manifesting a keener interest, I thought, in the great wars which ended while I was yet a youth, than in any other subject. At last he permitted me to take leave. "You are," he said, "the most welcome guest I ever have or could have received; a guest distinguished97 above all others by a power independent of my own. But what honour I can pay to courage and enterprise, what welcome I can give such a guest, shall not be unworthy of him or of myself. Retire now to the home you will find prepared for you. I will only ask you to remember that I have chosen one near my own in order that I may see you often, and learn in private all that you can tell me."
At the entrance of the apartment I was met by the officer who had introduced me into the presence, and conducted at once to a door opening on the interior court or peristyle of the central portion of the Palace. This was itself a garden, but, unlike those of private houses, a garden open to the sky and traversed by roads in lieu of mere98 paths; not serving, as in private dwellings99, the purposes of a common living room. Here a carriage awaited us, and my escort requested me to mount. I had some misgivings100 on Eveena's account, but felt it necessary to imitate the reserve and affected90 indifference101 on such subjects of those among whom I had been thrown, at least until I somewhat better understood their ways, and had established my own position. Traversing a vaulted passage underneath102 the rearward portion of the Palace, we emerged into the outer garden, and through this into a road lighted with a brilliancy almost equal to that of day. Our journey occupied nearly half an hour, when we entered an enclosure apparently103 of great size, the avenue of which was so wide that, without dismounting, our carriage passed directly up to the door of a larger house than I had yet seen.
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1
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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sentries
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| 哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 ) | |
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shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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triangular
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| adj.三角（形）的，三者间的 | |
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asphyxiator
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| n.碳酸气灭火器，动物窒息器 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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12
annihilated
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| v.（彻底）消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 )；使无效；废止；彻底击溃 | |
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annihilate
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| v.使无效；毁灭；取消 | |
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insurgents
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| n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 ) | |
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saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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vaulted
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| adj.拱状的 | |
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lustre
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| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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rendering
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| n.表现，描写 | |
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ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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refreshments
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| n.点心,便餐;(会议后的)简单茶点招 待 | |
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derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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embroidery
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| n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品 | |
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reigning
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| adj.统治的，起支配作用的 | |
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entrust
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| v.信赖，信托，交托 | |
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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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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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politic
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| adj.有智虑的；精明的；v.从政 | |
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courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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autocrat
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| n.独裁者；专横的人 | |
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envoy
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| n.使节，使者，代表，公使 | |
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velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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texture
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| n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理 | |
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clove
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| n.丁香味 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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friezes
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| n.（柱顶过梁和挑檐间的）雕带，（墙顶的）饰带( frieze的名词复数 ) | |
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judicial
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| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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overthrown
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| adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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46
surmounted
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| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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49
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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50
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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51
memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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52
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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53
battalion
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| n.营；部队；大队(的人) | |
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54
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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diminutive
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| adj.小巧可爱的，小的 | |
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56
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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57
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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58
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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59
majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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61
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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mien
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| n.风采；态度 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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65
inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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66
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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69
conqueror
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| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
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70
irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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71
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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potentate
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| n.统治者；君主 | |
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covert
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| adj.隐藏的；暗地里的 | |
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sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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78
boded
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| v.预示，预告，预言( bode的过去式和过去分词 )；等待，停留( bide的过去分词 )；居住；（过去式用bided）等待 | |
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79
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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80
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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81
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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82
omission
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| n.省略，删节；遗漏或省略的事物，冗长 | |
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83
narration
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| n.讲述，叙述；故事；记叙体 | |
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84
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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85
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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86
dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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87
proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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88
monarchical
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| adj. 国王的，帝王的，君主的，拥护君主制的 =monarchic | |
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89
unlimited
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| adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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91
ironical
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| adj.讽刺的，冷嘲的 | |
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92
bigotry
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| n.偏见，偏执，持偏见的行为[态度]等 | |
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93
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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94
profess
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| v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰 | |
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95
extermination
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| n.消灭，根绝 | |
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96
boon
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| n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠 | |
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97
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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98
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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99
dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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100
misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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101
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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102
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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103
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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