The King of Apemama: The Palace of Many Women
THE palace, or rather the ground which it includes, is several acres in extent. A terrace encloses it toward the lagoon1; on the side of the land, a palisade with several gates. These are scarce intended for defence; a man, if he were strong, might easily pluck down the palisade; he need not be specially2 active to leap from the beach upon the terrace. There is no parade of guards, soldiers, or weapons; the armoury is under lock and key; and the only sentinels are certain inconspicuous old women lurking3 day and night before the gates. By day, these crones were often engaged in boiling syrup4 or the like household occupation; by night, they lay ambushed5 in the shadow or crouched6 along the palisade, filling the office of eunuchs to this harem, sole guards upon a tyrant7 life.
Female wardens8 made a fit outpost for this palace of many women. Of the number of the king’s wives I have no guess; and but a loose idea of their function. He himself displayed embarrassment9 when they were referred to as his wives, called them himself ‘my pamily,’ and explained they were his ‘cutcheons’ — cousins. We distinguished10 four of the crowd: the king’s mother; his sister, a grave, trenchant11 woman, with much of her brother’s intelligence; the queen proper, to whom (and to whom alone) my wife was formally presented; and the favourite of the hour, a pretty, graceful12 girl, who sat with the king daily, and once (when he shed tears) consoled him with caresses13. I am assured that even with her his relations are platonic14. In the background figured a multitude of ladies, the lean, the plump, and the elephantine, some in sacque frocks, some in the hairbreadth RIDI; high-born and low, slave and mistress; from the queen to the scullion, from the favourite to the scraggy sentries15 at the palisade. Not all of these of course are of ‘my pamily,’ — many are mere16 attendants; yet a surprising number shared the responsibility of the king’s trust. These were key-bearers, treasurers17, wardens of the armoury, the napery, and the stores. Each knew and did her part to admiration18. Should anything be required — a particular gun, perhaps, or a particular bolt of stuff, — the right queen was summoned; she came bringing the right chest, opened it in the king’s presence, and displayed her charge in perfect preservation19 — the gun cleaned and oiled, the goods duly folded. Without delay or haste, and with the minimum of speech, the whole great establishment turned on wheels like a machine. Nowhere have I seen order more complete and pervasive20. And yet I was always reminded of Norse tales of trolls and ogres who kept their hearts buried in the ground for the mere safety, and must confide21 the secret to their wives. For these weapons are the life of Tembinok’. He does not aim at popularity; but drives and braves his subjects, with a simplicity22 of domination which it is impossible not to admire, hard not to sympathise with. Should one out of so many prove faithless, should the armoury be secretly unlocked, should the crones have dozed23 by the palisade and the weapons find their way unseen into the village, revolution would be nearly certain, death the most probable result, and the spirit of the tyrant of Apemama flit to rejoin his predecessors24 of Mariki and Tapituea. Yet those whom he so trusts are all women, and all rivals.
There is indeed a ministry25 and staff of males: cook, steward26, carpenter, and supercargoes: the hierarchy27 of a schooner28. The spies, ‘his majesty29’s daily papers,’ as we called them, come every morning to report, and go again. The cook and steward are concerned with the table only. The supercargoes, whose business it is to keep tally30 of the copra at three pounds a month and a percentage, are rarely in the palace; and two at least are in the other islands. The carpenter, indeed, shrewd and jolly old Rubam — query31, Reuben? — promoted on my last visit to the greater dignity of governor, is daily present, altering, extending, embellishing32, pursuing the endless series of the king’s inventions; and his majesty will sometimes pass an afternoon watching and talking with Rubam at his work. But the males are still outsiders; none seems to be armed, none is entrusted33 with a key; by dusk they are all usually departed from the palace; and the weight of the monarchy34 and of the monarch’s life reposes35 unshared on the women.
Here is a household unlike, indeed, to one of ours; more unlike still to the Oriental harem: that of an elderly childless man, his days menaced, dwelling36 alone amid a bevy37 of women of all ages, ranks, and relationships, — the mother, the sister, the cousin, the legitimate38 wife, the concubine, the favourite, the eldest39 born, and she of yesterday; he, in their midst, the only master, the only male, the sole dispenser of honours, clothes, and luxuries, the sole mark of multitudinous ambitions and desires. I doubt if you could find a man in Europe so bold as to attempt this piece of tact40 and government. And seemingly Tembinok’ himself had trouble in the beginning. I hear of him shooting at a wife for some levity41 on board a schooner. Another, on some more serious offence, he slew42 outright43; he exposed her body in an open box, and (to make the warning more memorable) suffered it to putrefy before the palace gate. Doubtless his growing years have come to his assistance; for upon so large a scale it is more easy to play the father than the husband. And to-day, at least to the eye of a stranger, all seems to go smoothly44, and the wives to be proud of their trust, proud of their rank, and proud of their cunning lord.
I conceived they made rather a hero of the man. A popular master in a girls’ school might, perhaps, offer a figure of his preponderating45 station. But then the master does not eat, sleep, live, and wash his dirty linen46 in the midst of his admirers; he escapes, he has a room of his own, he leads a private life; if he had nothing else, he has the holidays, and the more unhappy Tembinok’ is always on the stage and on the stretch.
In all my coming and going, I never heard him speak harshly or express the least displeasure. An extreme, rather heavy, benignity47 — the benignity of one sure to be obeyed — marked his demeanour; so that I was at times reminded of Samual Richardson in his circle of admiring women. The wives spoke48 up and seemed to volunteer opinions, like our wives at home — or, say, like doting49 but respectable aunts. Altogether, I conclude that he rules his seraglio much more by art than terror; and those who give a different account (and who have none of them enjoyed my opportunities of observation) perhaps failed to distinguish between degrees of rank, between ‘my pamily’ and the hangers-on, laundresses, and prostitutes.
A notable feature is the evening game of cards when lamps are set forth50 upon the terrace, and ‘I and my pamily’ play for tobacco by the hour. It is highly characteristic of Tembinok’ that he must invent a game for himself; highly characteristic of his worshipping household that they should swear by the absurd invention. It is founded on poker51, played with the honours out of many packs, and inconceivably dreary52. But I have a passion for all games, studied it, and am supposed to be the only white who ever fairly grasped its principle: a fact for which the wives (with whom I was not otherwise popular) admired me with acclamation. It was impossible to be deceived; this was a genuine feeling: they were proud of their private game, had been cut to the quick by the want of interest shown in it by others, and expanded under the flattery of my attention. Tembinok’ puts up a double stake, and receives in return two hands to choose from: a shallow artifice53 which the wives (in all these years) have not yet fathomed54. He himself, when talking with me privately55, made not the least secret that he was secure of winning; and it was thus he explained his recent liberality on board the EQUATOR. He let the wives buy their own tobacco, which pleased them at the moment. He won it back at cards, which made him once more, and without fresh expense, that which he ought to be, — the sole fount of all indulgences. And he summed the matter up in that phrase with which he almost always concludes any account of his policy: ‘Mo’ betta.’
The palace compound is laid with broken coral, excruciating to the eyes and the bare feet, but exquisitely56 raked and weeded. A score or more of buildings lie in a sort of street along the palisade and scattered57 on the margin58 of the terrace; dwelling-houses for the wives and the attendants, storehouses for the king’s curios and treasures, spacious59 maniap’s for feast or council, some on pillars of wood, some on piers60 of masonry61. One was still in hand, a new invention, the king’s latest born: a European frame-house built for coolness inside a lofty maniap’: its roof planked like a ship’s deck to be a raised, shady, and yet private promenade62. It was here the king spent hours with Rubam; here I would sometimes join them; the place had a most singular appearance; and I must say I was greatly taken with the fancy, and joined with relish63 in the counsels of the architects.
Suppose we had business with his majesty by day: we strolled over the sand and by the dwarfish64 palms, exchanged a ‘KONAMAORI’ with the crone on duty, and entered the compound. The wide sheet of coral glared before us deserted65; all having stowed themselves in dark canvas from the excess of room. I have gone to and fro in that labyrinth66 of a place, seeking the king; and the only breathing creature I could find was when I peered under the eaves of a maniap’, and saw the brawny67 body of one of the wives stretched on the floor, a naked Amazon plunged68 in noiseless slumber69. If it were still the hour of the ‘morning papers’ the quest would be more easy, the half-dozen obsequious70, sly dogs squatting71 on the ground outside a house, crammed72 as far as possible in its narrow shadow, and turning to the king a row of leering faces. Tembinok’ would be within, the flaps of the cabin raised, the trade blowing through, hearing their report. Like journalists nearer home, when the day’s news were scanty73, these would make the more of it in words; and I have known one to fill up a barren morning with an imaginary conversation of two dogs. Sometimes the king deigns74 to laugh, sometimes to question or jest with them, his voice sounding shrilly75 from the cabin. By his side he may have the heir-apparent, Paul, his nephew and adopted son, six years old, stark76 naked, and a model of young human beauty. And there will always be the favourite and perhaps two other wives awake; four more lying supine under mats and whelmed in slumber. Or perhaps we came later, fell on a more private hour, and found Tembinok’ retired77 in the house with the favourite, an earthenware78 spittoon, a leaden inkpot, and a commercial ledger79. In the last, lying on his belly80, he writes from day to day the uneventful history of his reign81; and when thus employed he betrayed a touch of fretfulness on interruption with which I was well able to sympathise. The royal annalist once read me a page or so, translating as he went; but the passage being genealogical, and the author boggling extremely in his version, I own I have been sometimes better entertained. Nor does he confine himself to prose, but touches the lyre, too, in his leisure moments, and passes for the chief bard82 of his kingdom, as he is its sole public character, leading architect, and only merchant.
His competence83, however, does not reach to music; and his verses, when they are ready, are taught to a professional musician, who sets them and instructs the chorus. Asked what his songs were about, Tembinok’ replied, ‘Sweethearts and trees and the sea. Not all the same true, all the same lie.’ For a condensed view of lyrical poetry (except that he seems to have forgot the stars and flowers) this would be hard to mend. These multifarious occupations bespeak84 (in a native and an absolute prince) unusual activity of mind.
The palace court at noon is a spot to be remembered with awe85, the visitor scrambling86 there, on the loose stones, through a splendid nightmare of light and heat; but the sweep of the wind delivers it from flies and mosquitoes; and with the set of sun it became heavenly. I remember it best on moonless nights. The air was like a bath of milk. Countless87 shining stars were over-head, the lagoon paved with them. Herds88 of wives squatted89 by companies on the gravel90, softly chatting. Tembinok’ would doff91 his jacket, and sit bare and silent, perhaps meditating92 songs; the favourite usually by him, silent also. Meanwhile in the midst of the court, the palace lanterns were being lit and marshalled in rank upon the ground — six or eight square yards of them; a sight that gave one strange ideas of the number of ‘my pamily’: such a sight as may be seen about dusk in a corner of some great terminus at home. Presently these fared off into all corners of the precinct, lighting93 the last labours of the day, lighting one after another to their rest that prodigious94 company of women. A few lingered in the middle of the court for the card-party, and saw the honours shuffled95 and dealt, and Tembinok’ deliberating between his two; hands, and the queens losing their tobacco. Then these also were scattered and extinguished; and their place was taken by a great bonfire, the night-light of the palace. When this was no more, smaller fires burned likewise at the gates. These were tended by the crones, unseen, unsleeping — not always unheard. Should any approach in the dark hours, a guarded alert made the circuit of the palisade; each sentry96 signalled her neighbour with a stone; the rattle97 of falling pebbles98 passed and died away; and the wardens of Tembinok’ crouched in their places silent as before.
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lagoon
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| n.泻湖，咸水湖 | |
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specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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syrup
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| n.糖浆，糖水 | |
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ambushed
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| v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着 | |
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crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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wardens
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| n.看守人( warden的名词复数 )；管理员；监察员；监察官 | |
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embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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trenchant
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| adj.尖刻的，清晰的 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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caresses
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| 爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 ) | |
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platonic
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| adj.精神的；柏拉图（哲学）的 | |
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sentries
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| 哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 ) | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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treasurers
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| （团体等的）司库，财务主管( treasurer的名词复数 ) | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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preservation
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| n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持 | |
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pervasive
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| adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的 | |
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confide
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| v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
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simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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dozed
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| v.打盹儿，打瞌睡( doze的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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predecessors
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| n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身 | |
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ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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hierarchy
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| n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层 | |
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schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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tally
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| n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致 | |
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query
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| n.疑问，问号，质问；vt.询问，表示怀疑 | |
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embellishing
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| v.美化( embellish的现在分词 )；装饰；修饰；润色 | |
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entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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monarchy
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| n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国 | |
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reposes
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的第三人称单数 ) | |
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dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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bevy
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| n.一群 | |
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legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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levity
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| n.轻率，轻浮，不稳定，多变 | |
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slew
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| v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多 | |
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outright
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| adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的 | |
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smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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preponderating
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| v.超过，胜过( preponderate的现在分词 ) | |
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linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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benignity
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| n.仁慈 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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doting
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| adj.溺爱的，宠爱的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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poker
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| n.扑克；vt.烙制 | |
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dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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artifice
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| n.妙计，高明的手段；狡诈，诡计 | |
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fathomed
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| 理解…的真意( fathom的过去式和过去分词 )； 彻底了解； 弄清真相 | |
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privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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exquisitely
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| adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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piers
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| n.水上平台( pier的名词复数 )；（常设有娱乐场所的）突堤；柱子；墙墩 | |
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masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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promenade
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| n./v.散步 | |
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relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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dwarfish
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| a.像侏儒的，矮小的 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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labyrinth
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| n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路 | |
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brawny
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| adj.强壮的 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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obsequious
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| adj.谄媚的，奉承的，顺从的 | |
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squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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crammed
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| adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
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scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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deigns
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| v.屈尊，俯就( deign的第三人称单数 ) | |
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shrilly
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| 尖声的； 光亮的，耀眼的 | |
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stark
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| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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earthenware
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| n.土器，陶器 | |
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ledger
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| n.总帐，分类帐；帐簿 | |
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belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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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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bard
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| n.吟游诗人 | |
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competence
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| n.能力，胜任，称职 | |
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bespeak
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| v.预定；预先请求 | |
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awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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doff
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| v.脱，丢弃，废除 | |
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meditating
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| a.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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shuffled
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| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
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sentry
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| n.哨兵，警卫 | |
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rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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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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