hite marble and in
front of it a great courtyard upon which the sun beat vividly. At the
foot of the steps of the palace, beneath a silken awning, sat a king
enthroned, a crown upon his head and wearing glorious robes. In his hand
was a jewelled sceptre. He was a noble-looking man of middle age and
about him were gathered the glittering officers of his court. Fair women
fanned him and to right and left, but a little behind, sat other fair
and jewelled women who, I suppose, were his wives or daughters.

"One of the Kings of the Children of Wisdom new-crowned, receives the
homage of the world," said Yva.

As she spoke there appeared, walking in front of the throne one by one,
other kings, for all were crowned and bore sceptres. At the foot of the
throne each of them kneeled and kissed the foot of him who sat thereon,
as he did so laying down his sceptre which at a sign he lifted again and
passed away. Of these kings there must have been quite fifty, men of all
colours and of various types, white men, black men, yellow men, red men.

Then came their ministers bearing gifts, apparently of gold and jewels,
which were piled on trays in front of the throne. I remember noting an
incident. An old fellow with a lame leg stumbled and upset his tray,
so that the contents rolled hither and thither. His attempts to recover
them were ludicrous and caused the monarch on the throne to relax from
his dignity and smile. I mention this to show that what we witnessed was
no set scene but apparently a living piece of the past. Had it been so
the absurdity of the bedizened old man tumbling down in the midst of the
gorgeous pageant would certainly have been omitted.

No, it must be life, real life, something that had happened, and the
same may be said of what followed. For instance, there was what we call
a review. Infantry marched, some of them armed with swords and spears,
though these I took to be an ornamental bodyguard, and others with tubes
like savage blowpipes of which I could not guess the use. There were no
cannon, but carriages came by loaded with bags that had spouts to
them. Probably these were charged with poisonous gases. There were some
cavalry also, mounted on a different stamp of horse from ours, thicker
set and nearer the ground, but with arched necks and fiery eyes and, I
should say, very strong. These again, I take it, were ornamental. Then
came other men upon a long machine, slung in pairs in armoured sacks,
out of whi