was meet that they
should marry; and that he had been sent by the Sun as a husband
for their Queen. Now, from all this it will be seen that the
outcry against us was to a considerable extent fictitious, and
nobody knew it better than Sorais herself. Consequently it struck
me that it might have occurred to her that down in the country
and among the country people, it would be better to place the
reason of her conflict with her sister upon other and more general
grounds than Nyleptha's marriage with the stranger. It would
be easy in a land where there had been so many civil wars to
rake out some old cry that would stir up the recollection of
buried feuds, and, indeed, she soon found an effectual one.
This being so, it was of great importance to her to have one
of the strangers with her whom she could show to the common people
as a great Outlander, who had been so struck by the justice of
her cause that he had elected to leave his companions and follow
her standard.

This, no doubt, was the cause of her anxiety to get a hold of
Good, whom she would have used till he ceased to be of service
and then cast off. But Good having drawn back she grasped at
the opportunity of securing Alphonse, who was not unlike him
in personal appearance though smaller, no doubt with the object
of showing him off in the cities and country as the great Bougwan
himself. I told Good that I thought that that was her plan,
and his face was a sight to see -- he was so horrified at the
idea.

'What,' he said, 'dress up that little wretch to represent me?
Why, I shall have to get out of the country! My reputation
will be ruined for ever.'

I consoled him as well as I could, but it is not pleasant to
be personated all over a strange country by an arrant little
coward, and I can quite sympathize with his vexation.

Well, that night Good and I messed as I have said in solitary
grandeur, feeling very much as though we had just returned from
burying a friend instead of marrying one, and next morning the
work began in good earnest. The messages and orders which had
been despatched by Nyleptha two days before now began to take
effect, and multitudes of armed men came pouring into the city.
We saw, as may be imagined, but very little of Nyleptha and
not too much of Curtis during those next few days, but Good and
I sat daily with the council of generals and loyal lords, drawing
up plans of action, arranging commissariat matters, the distribution