s.

To no audience-hall were we sea-cunies led, but, as we took it, to a
feasting-hall. The feasting was at its end, and all the throng was in a
merry mood. And such a throng! High dignitaries, princes of the blood,
sworded nobles, pale priests, weather-tanned officers of high command,
court ladies with faces exposed, painted _ki-sang_ or dancing girls who
rested from entertaining, and duennas, waiting women, eunuchs, lackeys,
and palace slaves a myriad of them.

All fell away from us, however, when the Emperor, with a following of
intimates, advanced to look us over. He was a merry monarch, especially
so for an Asiatic. Not more than forty, with a clear, pallid skin that
had never known the sun, he was paunched and weak-legged. Yet he had
once been a fine man. The noble forehead attested that. But the eyes
were bleared and weak-lidded, the lips twitching and trembling from the
various excesses in which he indulged, which excesses, as I was to learn,
were largely devised and pandered by Yunsan, the Buddhist priest, of whom
more anon.

In our sea-garments we mariners were a motley crew, and motley was the
cue of our reception. Exclamations of wonder at our strangeness gave way
to laughter. The _ki-sang_ invaded us, dragging us about, making
prisoners of us, two or three of them to one of us, leading us about like
go many dancing boars and putting us through our antics. It was
offensive, true, but what could poor sea-cunies do? What could old
Johannes Maartens do, with a bevy of laughing girls about him, tweaking
his nose, pinching his arms, tickling his ribs till he pranced? To
escape such torment Hans Amden cleared a space and gave a clumsy-footed
Hollandish breakdown till all the Court roared its laughter.

It was offensive to me who had been equal and boon companion of Kim for
many days. I resisted the laughing _ki-sang_. I braced my legs and
stood upright with folded arms; nor could pinch or tickle bring a quiver
from me. Thus they abandoned me for easier prey.

"For God's sake, man, make an impression," Hendrik Hamel, who had
struggled to me with three _ki-sang_ dragging behind, mumbled.

Well might he mumble, for whenever he opened his mouth to speak they
crammed it with sweets.

"Save us from this folly," he persisted, ducking his head about to avoid
their sweet-filled palms. "We must have dignity, understand, dignity.
This will ruin us. They are making tame animals of us, playthings. Whe