me, oh man, who
hath wandered here from far to steal my heart and make me all
thine own. I put my hand upon thy hand thus, and thus I, whose
lips have never kissed before, do kiss thee on the brow; and
now by my hand and by that first and holy kiss, ay, by my people's
weal and by my throne that like enough I shall lose for thee
-- by the name of my high House, by the sacred Stone and by the
eternal majesty of the Sun, I swear that for thee will I live
and die. And I swear that I will love thee and thee only till
death, ay, and beyond, if as thou sayest there be a beyond, and
that thy will shall be my will, and thy ways my ways.

'Oh see, see, my lord! thou knowest not how humble is she who
loves; I, who am a Queen, I kneel before thee, even at thy feet
I do my homage;' and the lovely impassioned creature flung herself
down on her knees on the cold marble before him. And after that
I really do not know, for I could stand it no longer, and cleared
off to refresh myself with a little of old Umslopogaas' society,
leaving them to settle it their own way, and a very long time
they were about it.

I found the old warrior leaning on Inkosi-kaas as usual, and
surveying the scene in the patch of moonlight with a grim smile
of amusement.

'Ah, Macumazahn,' he said, 'I suppose it is because I am getting
old, but I don't think that I shall ever learn to understand
the ways of you white people. Look there now, I pray thee, they
are a pretty pair of doves, but what is all the fuss about, Macumazahn?
He wants a wife, and she wants a husband, then why does he not
pay his cows down {Endnote 17} like a man and have done with
it? It would save a deal of trouble, and we should have had
our night's sleep. But there they go, talk, talk, talk, and
kiss, kiss, kiss, like mad things. Eugh!'

Some three-quarters of an hour afterwards the 'pair of doves'
came strolling towards us, Curtis looking slightly silly, and
Nyleptha remarking calmly that the moonlight made very pretty
effects on the marble. Then, for she was in a most gracious
mood, she took my hand and said that I was 'her Lord's' dear
friend, and therefore most dear to her -- not a word for my own
sake, you see. Next she lifted Umslopogaas' axe, and examined
it curiously, saying significantly as she did so that he might
soon have cause to use it in defence of her.

After that she nodded prettily to us all, and casting a
tender glance at her lover, glided off into the d