Speaker 1: The Young King by Oscar Wilde. It was the night
Speaker 1: before the day fixed for his coronation, and the young
Speaker 1: King was sitting alone in his beautiful chamber. His courtiers
Speaker 1: had all taken their leave of him, bowing their heads
Speaker 1: to the ground according to the ceremonious usage of the day,
Speaker 1: and had retired to the Great Hall of the Palace
Speaker 1: to receive a few last lessons from the Professor of Etiquette,
Speaker 1: there being some of them who had still quite natural manners,
Speaker 1: which in a courtiers I need hardly say a very
Speaker 1: grave offense. The lad, for he was only a lad,
Speaker 1: being but sixteen years of age, was not sorry at
Speaker 1: their departure, and had flung himself back with a deep
Speaker 1: sigh of relief, on the soft cushions of his embroidered couch,
Speaker 1: lying there, wild eyed and open mouthed, like a brown
Speaker 1: woodland fawn, or some young animal of the forest newly
Speaker 1: snared by hunters. And indeed it was the hunters who
Speaker 1: had found him, coming upon him almost by chance, as
Speaker 1: bare limbed and pipe in hand, he was following the
Speaker 1: flock of the poor goatherd who had brought him up,
Speaker 1: and whose son he had always fancied himself to be
Speaker 1: the child of the old king's only daughter by a
Speaker 1: secret marriage with one much beneath her in station, a stranger,
Speaker 1: some said, who, by the wonderful magic of his lute plane,
Speaker 1: had made the young princess love him, while others spoke
Speaker 1: of an artist from Ramini, to whom the princess had
Speaker 1: shown much, perhaps too much, honor, and who had suddenly
Speaker 1: disappeared from the city, leaving his work in the cathedral unfinished.
Speaker 1: He had been, when but a week old, stolen away
Speaker 1: from his mother's side as she slept, and given into
Speaker 1: the charge of a common peasant and his wife, who
Speaker 1: were without children of their own, and lived in a
Speaker 1: remote part of the forest, more than a day's ride
Speaker 1: from the town. Grief or the plague, as the court
Speaker 1: physician stated, or as some suggested, a swift Italian poison
Speaker 1: administered in a cup of spiced wine, slew within an
Speaker 1: hour of her wakening the white girl who had given
Speaker 1: him birth, and as the trusty messenger, who bare the
Speaker 1: child across his saddle bow, stooped from his wary horse
Speaker 1: and knocked at the rude door of the goatherd's hut,
Speaker 1: the body of the princess was being lowered into an
Speaker 1: open grave that had been dug in a deserted churchyard
Speaker 1: beyond the city gates, a grave where it was said
Speaker 1: that another body was also lying, that of a young
Speaker 1: man of marvelous and foreign beauty, whose hands were tied
Speaker 1: behind him with a knotted cord, and whose breast was
Speaker 1: stabbed with many red wounds. Such, at least was the
Speaker 1: story that men whispered to each other. Certain it was
Speaker 1: the old King, when on his death bed, whether moved
Speaker 1: by remorse for his great sin or merely desiring that
Speaker 1: the kingdom should not pass away from his line, had
Speaker 1: had the lad sent for, and in the presence of
Speaker 1: the council, had acknowledged him as his heir. And it
Speaker 1: seemed that from the very first moment of his recognition
Speaker 1: he had shown signs of that strange passion for beauty
Speaker 1: that was destined to have so great an influence over
Speaker 1: his life. Those who accompanied him to the suite of
Speaker 1: rooms set apart for his service often spoke of the
Speaker 1: cry of pleasure that broke from his lips when he
Speaker 1: saw the delicate raiment and rich jewels that had been
Speaker 1: prepared for him, and of the almost fierce joy with
Speaker 1: which he flung aside his rough leathern tunic and coarse
Speaker 1: sheepskin cloak. He missed, indeed, at times, the fine freedom
Speaker 1: of his forest life, and was always apt to chafe
Speaker 1: at the tedious court ceremonies that occupied so much of
Speaker 1: each day. But the wonderful palace Joyeurs, as they called it,
Speaker 1: of which he now found himself lord, seemed to him
Speaker 1: to be a new world, fresh fashioned for his delight,
Speaker 1: And as soon as he could escape from the council
Speaker 1: board or audience chamber, he would run down a great
Speaker 1: staircase with its lions of gilt bronze and its steps
Speaker 1: of bright porphyry, and wander from room to room and
Speaker 1: from corridor to corridor, like one who was seeking to
Speaker 1: find in beauty and anodyne from pain, a sort of
Speaker 1: restoration from sickness. Upon these journeys of discovery, as he
Speaker 1: would call them, and indeed they were to him real
Speaker 1: voyages through a marvelous land. He would sometimes be accompanied
Speaker 1: by the slim, fair haired court pages with their floating
Speaker 1: mantles and gay, fluttering ryebands, but more often he would
Speaker 1: be alone, feeling through a certain quick instinct which was
Speaker 1: almost a divination, that the secrets of art are best
Speaker 1: learned in secret, and that beauty, like wisdom, loves the
Speaker 1: lonely worshiper. Many curious stories were related about him at
Speaker 1: this period. It was that a stout burgomaster, who had
Speaker 1: come to deliver a florid oratorical address on behalf of
Speaker 1: the citizens of the town, had caught sight of him
Speaker 1: kneeling in real adoration before a great picture that had
Speaker 1: just been brought from Venice, and that seemed to herald
Speaker 1: the worship of some new gods. On another occasion, he
Speaker 1: had been missed for several hours, and after a lengthen
Speaker 1: search had been discovered in a little chamber in one
Speaker 1: of the northern turrets of the palace, gazing as one
Speaker 1: in a trance as a Greek gem carved with the
Speaker 1: figure of Adonis. He had been seen, so the tail ran,
Speaker 1: pressing his warm lips to the marble brow of an
Speaker 1: antique statue that had been discovered in the bed of
Speaker 1: a river on the occasion of the building of the
Speaker 1: stone Bridge, and was inscribed with the name of Bithynian,
Speaker 1: slave of Hadrian. He had passed a whole night in
Speaker 1: noting the effect of the moonlight on a silver image
Speaker 1: of Endymion. All rare and costly materials had certainly a
Speaker 1: great fascination for him, and in his eagerness to procure them,
Speaker 1: he sent away many merchants, some to traffic for amber
Speaker 1: with the rough fisherfolk of the North Seas, some to
Speaker 1: Egypt to look for that curious green turquoise which is
Speaker 1: found only in the tombs of kings and is said
Speaker 1: to possess magical properties. Some to Persia for silken carpets
Speaker 1: and painted pottery, and others to India to buy gauze
Speaker 1: and stained ivory moonstones, and bracelets of jade, sandal wood
Speaker 1: and blue enamel, and shawls of fine wool. But what
Speaker 1: had occupied him most was the robe he was to
Speaker 1: wear at his coronation, the robe of tissued gold, and
Speaker 1: the ruby studded crown, and the scepter of its rose,
Speaker 1: and rings of pearls. Indeed, it was of this that
Speaker 1: he was thinking to night, as he lay back on
Speaker 1: his luxurious couch, watching the great pinewood log that was
Speaker 1: burning itself out on the open half. The designs which
Speaker 1: were from the hands of the most famous artists of
Speaker 1: the time had been submitted to him many months before,
Speaker 1: and he had given orders that the artificers were to
Speaker 1: toil night and day to carry them out, and that
Speaker 1: the whole world was to be searched for jewels that
Speaker 1: would be worthy of their work. He saw himself in fancy,
Speaker 1: standing at the high altar of the cathedral in the
Speaker 1: fair raiment of a king, and a smile played and
Speaker 1: lingered about his boyish lips, and lit up with a
Speaker 1: bright luster in his dark woodland eyes. After some time,
Speaker 1: he rose from his seat, and, leaning against the carved
Speaker 1: penthouse of the chimney, looked round at the dimly lit room.
Speaker 1: The walls were hung with rich tapestries representing the triumph
Speaker 1: of beauty. A large press inlaid with agate and lapis
Speaker 1: la zuli, filled one corner, and facing the window stood
Speaker 1: a curiously wrought cabinet with lacquer panels of powdered and
Speaker 1: mosaicd gold, on which they were placed some delicate goblets
Speaker 1: of Venetian glass and a cup of dark veined onyx.
Speaker 1: Pale poppies were broidered on the silk coverlet of the bed,
Speaker 1: as though they had fallen from the tired hands. Of sleep,
Speaker 1: and tall reeds of fluted ivory bare up the velvet canopy,
Speaker 1: from which great tufts of ostrich plumes sprang like white foam,
Speaker 1: to the pallid silver of the fretted ceiling. A laughing
Speaker 1: narcissus in green bronze held a polished mirror above its head.
Speaker 1: On the table stood a flat bowl of amephyst Outside
Speaker 1: he could see a huge dome of the cathedral looming
Speaker 1: like a bubble over the shadowy houses, and the weary
Speaker 1: sentinels pacing up and down on the misty terrace by
Speaker 1: the river. Far away, in an orchard, a nightingale was singing.
Speaker 1: A faint perfume of jasmine came through the open window.
Speaker 1: He brushed his brown curls back from his forehead, and,
Speaker 1: taking up a lute, let his fingers stray across the cords.
Speaker 1: His heavy eyelids drooped, and a strange languor came over him.
Speaker 1: Never before had he felt so keenly or with such
Speaker 1: exquisite joy the magic and the mystery of beautiful things.
Speaker 1: When midnight sounded from the clock tower, he touched a bell,
Speaker 1: and his pages entered and disrobed him with much ceremony.
Speaker 1: Pouring rose water over his hands and strewing flowers on
Speaker 1: his pillow. A few moments after that they had left
Speaker 1: the room. He fell asleep, and as he slept he
Speaker 1: dreamed the dream. And this was his dream. He thought
Speaker 1: that he was standing in a long, low attic amidst
Speaker 1: the whir and clatter of many looms. The meager daylight
Speaker 1: peered in through the grated windows and showed him the
Speaker 1: gaunt figures of the wheel bending over their cases. Pale,
Speaker 1: sickly looking children were crouched on the huge cross beams.
Speaker 1: As the shuttles dashed through the warp, they lifted up
Speaker 1: the heavy battons, and when the shuttles stopped, they let
Speaker 1: the battons fall and pressed the threads together. Their faces
Speaker 1: were pinched with famine, and their thin hands shook and trembled.
Speaker 1: Some haggard women were seated at a table sewing. A
Speaker 1: horrible odor filled the place. The air was foul and heavy,
Speaker 1: and the walls dripped and streamed with damp. The young
Speaker 1: king went over to one of the weavers and stood
Speaker 1: by him and watched him. And the weaver looked at
Speaker 1: him angrily and said, why art thou watching me? Art?
Speaker 1: Thou a spy set on us by his master. Who
Speaker 1: is thy master? Asked the young king. Oh master, cried
Speaker 1: the weaver bitterly. He is a man like myself. Indeed,
Speaker 1: there is but this difference between us, that he wears
Speaker 1: fine clothes while I go in rags, and that while
Speaker 1: I am weak from hunger, he suffers not a little
Speaker 1: from over feeding. The land is free, said the young king,
Speaker 1: And thou art no man's slave. In war, answered the weaver.
Speaker 1: The strong make slaves of the weak, and in peace
Speaker 1: the rich make slaves of the poor. We must work
Speaker 1: to live, and they give us such mean wages that
Speaker 1: we die. We toil for them all day long, and
Speaker 1: they heap up gold in their coffers, And our children
Speaker 1: fade away before their time, and the faces of those
Speaker 1: we love become hard and evil. We tread out the grapes,
Speaker 1: and another drinks the wine we sow. The corn on
Speaker 1: our own board is empty. We have chains, though no
Speaker 1: eye beholds them, and our slaves, though men call us free.
Speaker 1: Is it so with all? He asked? It is so
Speaker 1: with all, answered the weaver, with the young as well
Speaker 1: as with the old, with the women as well as
Speaker 1: with the men. With the little children, as well as
Speaker 1: with those who are stricken in years. The merchants grind
Speaker 1: us down, and we must needs do their bidding. The
Speaker 1: priest's rides by and tells his beads, and no man
Speaker 1: has care of us. Through our sunless lanes. Creeps poverty
Speaker 1: with her hungry eyes, and sin, with his sodden face,
Speaker 1: follows close behind her. Misery wakes us in the morning,
Speaker 1: and shame sits with us at night. But what are
Speaker 1: these things to thee Thou art not one of us.
Speaker 1: Thy face is too happy. And he turned away, scowling,
Speaker 1: and threw the shuttle across the loom. And the young
Speaker 1: king saw that it was threaded with a thread of gold,
Speaker 1: and a great terror seized upon him, and he said
Speaker 1: to the weaver, what robe is this that thou art weaving?
Speaker 1: It is the robe for the coronation of the young king?
Speaker 1: He answered, what is? And the young king gave a
Speaker 1: loud cry and awoke. And lo he was in his
Speaker 1: own chamber, and through the window he saw the great
Speaker 1: honey colored moon hanging in the dusky air. And he
Speaker 1: fell asleep agan and dreamed, And this was his dream.
Speaker 1: He thought that he was lying on the deck of
Speaker 1: a huge galley that was being rowed by a hundred slaves.
Speaker 1: On a carpet by his side. The master of the
Speaker 1: galley was seated. He was black as ebony, and his
Speaker 1: turban was of crimson silk. Great ear rings of silver
Speaker 1: dragged down the thick lobes of his ears, and in
Speaker 1: his hands he had a pair of ivory scales. The
Speaker 1: slaves were naked but for a ragged loincloth, and each
Speaker 1: man was chained to his neighbor. The hot sun beat
Speaker 1: brightly upon them, and the negroes ran up and down
Speaker 1: the gangway and lashed them with whips of hide. They
Speaker 1: stretched out their lean arms and pulled the heavy oars
Speaker 1: through the water. The salt spray flew from the blades.
Speaker 1: At last they reached a little bay and began to
Speaker 1: take soundings. A light wind blew from the shore and
Speaker 1: covered the deck and a great latin sail with a
Speaker 1: fine red dust. Three arabs mounted on wild asses rode
Speaker 1: out and threw spears at them. The master of the
Speaker 1: galley took a painted bow in his hand and shot
Speaker 1: one of them in the throat. He fell heavily into
Speaker 1: the surf, and his companions galloped away. A woman wrapped
Speaker 1: in a yellow veil followed slowly on a camel, looking
Speaker 1: back now and then at the dead body. As soon
Speaker 1: as they had cast anchor and hauled down the sail,
Speaker 1: the negroes went into the hold and brought up a
Speaker 1: long rope ladder heavily weighted with lead. The master of
Speaker 1: the galley threw it over the side, making the ends
Speaker 1: fast to t two iron stanchions. Then the negroes seized
Speaker 1: the youngest of the slaves and knocked his guives off,
Speaker 1: and filled his nostrils and his ears with wax, and
Speaker 1: tied a big stone round his waist. He crept wearily
Speaker 1: down the ladder and disappeared into the sea. A few
Speaker 1: bubbles rose where he sank. Some of the other slaves
Speaker 1: peered curiously over the side. At the prow of the
Speaker 1: galley sat a shark charmer beating monotonously upon a drum.
Speaker 1: After some time, the diver rose up out of the
Speaker 1: water and clung panting to the ladder, with a pearl
Speaker 1: in his right hand. The negroes seized it from him
Speaker 1: and thrust him back. The slaves fell asleep over their oars.
Speaker 1: Again and again he came up, and each time that
Speaker 1: he did so, he brought with him a beautiful pearl.
Speaker 1: The master of the galley weighed them and put them
Speaker 1: in a little bag of green leather. The young king
Speaker 1: tried to speak, but his tongue seemed to cleave to
Speaker 1: the roof of his mouth, and his lips refused to move.
Speaker 1: The negroes chattered to each other and began to quarrel
Speaker 1: over a string of bright beads. Two cranes flew round
Speaker 1: and round the vessel. Then the diver came up for
Speaker 1: the last time, and the pearl that he brought with
Speaker 1: him was fairer than all the pearls of Ormus, for
Speaker 1: it was shaped like the full moon, and whiter than
Speaker 1: the morning star. But his face was strangely pale, and
Speaker 1: as he fell upon the deck, the blood gushed from
Speaker 1: his ears and nostrils. He quivered for a little, and
Speaker 1: then he was still. The negroes shrugged their shoulders and
Speaker 1: threw the body overboard, and the master of the galley laughed,
Speaker 1: and reaching out, he took the pearl, and when he
Speaker 1: saw it, he pressed it to his forehead and bowed.
Speaker 1: It shall be, he said, for the scepter of the
Speaker 1: young king, and he made a sign to the negroes
Speaker 1: to draw up the anchor. And when the young king
Speaker 1: heard this, he gave a great cry and woke, and
Speaker 1: through the window he saw the long gray fingers of
Speaker 1: the dawn clutching at the fading stars. And he fell
Speaker 1: asleep again and dreamed. And this was his dream. He
Speaker 1: thought that he was wandering through a dim wood, hung
Speaker 1: with strange fruits and with beautiful poisonous flowers. The adders
Speaker 1: hissed at him as he went by, and the bright
Speaker 1: parrots flew screaming from branch to branch. Huge tortoises lay
Speaker 1: asleep upon the hot mud. The trees were full of
Speaker 1: apes and peacocks. On and on he went till he
Speaker 1: reached the outskirts of the wood, and there he saw
Speaker 1: an immense multitude of men toiling in the bed of
Speaker 1: a dried up river. They swarmed up the crag like ants.
Speaker 1: They dug deep pits in the ground and went down
Speaker 1: into them. Some of them cleft the rocks with great axes.
Speaker 1: Others grabbed in the sand. They tore up the cactus
Speaker 1: by its roots and trampled on the scarlet blossoms. They
Speaker 1: hurried about, calling to each other, and no man was idle.
Speaker 1: From the darkness of a cavern, Death and Avarice watched them,
Speaker 1: and Death said, I am weary. Give me a third
Speaker 1: of them and let me go. But Avarice shook her head.
Speaker 1: They are my servants, she answered, And Death said to her,
Speaker 1: what hast thou in thy hand? I have three grains
Speaker 1: of corn? She answered, what is that? To thee? Give
Speaker 1: me one of them, cried Death, to plant in my garden,
Speaker 1: only one of them, and I will go away. I
Speaker 1: will not give THEE anything, said Avarice, as she hid
Speaker 1: her hand in the fold of her raiment. And Death
Speaker 1: laughed and took a cup and dipped it into a
Speaker 1: pool of water, and out of the cup rose agu
Speaker 1: She passed through the great multitude, and a third of
Speaker 1: them lay dead. A cold mist followed her, and the
Speaker 1: water snakes ran by her side. And when Avarice saw
Speaker 1: that a third of the multitude was dead, she beat
Speaker 1: her breast and wept. She beat her barren bosom and
Speaker 1: cried aloud, thou hast slain a third of my servants,
Speaker 1: She cried, Get THEE gone. There is war in the
Speaker 1: mountains of Tartary, and the kings of each side are
Speaker 1: calling to thee that Afghans have slain the black Ox
Speaker 1: and are marching to battle. They have beaten upon their
Speaker 1: shields with their spears, and have put on their helmets
Speaker 1: of iron. What is my valley to thee, that thou
Speaker 1: shouldst tarry in it? Get thee gone and come here
Speaker 1: no more? Nay, answered Death. But till thou hast given
Speaker 1: me a grain of corn, I will not go. But
Speaker 1: Avarice shut her hand and clenched her teeth. I will
Speaker 1: not give thee anything, she muttered, and Death laughed and
Speaker 1: took up a black stone and threw it into the forest,
Speaker 1: and out of a thicket of wild hemlock came fever.
Speaker 1: In a robe of flame, she passed through the multitude
Speaker 1: and touched them, and each man that she touched died.
Speaker 1: The grass withered beneath her feet as she walked, and
Speaker 1: Avarice shuddered and put ashes on her head. Thou art cruel,
Speaker 1: she cried, Thou art cruel. There is famine in the
Speaker 1: walled cities of India, and the cisterns of Samacan have
Speaker 1: run dry. There is famine in the walled cities of Egypt,
Speaker 1: and the locusts have come up from the desert. The
Speaker 1: nile has not overflowed its banks, and the priests have
Speaker 1: cursed Isis and a ciris. Get thee gone to those
Speaker 1: who need thee, and leave me my servants. Nay, answered Death.
Speaker 1: But till thou hast given me a grain of corn,
Speaker 1: I will not go. I will not give thee anything,
Speaker 1: said Avarice. And Death laughed again, and he whistled through
Speaker 1: his fingers, and a woman came flying through the air.
Speaker 1: Plague was written upon her forehead, and a crowd of
Speaker 1: lean vultures wheeled round her. She covered the valley with
Speaker 1: her wings, and no man was left alive. And Avarice
Speaker 1: fled shrieking through the forest, and Death leaped upon his
Speaker 1: red horse and galloped away. And his galloping was faster
Speaker 1: than the wind, and out of the slime. At the
Speaker 1: bottom of the valley crept dragons and horrible things with scales,
Speaker 1: and the jackals came trotting along the sand, stiffing up
Speaker 1: the air with their nostrils. And the young king wept
Speaker 1: and said, who are these men? And for what were
Speaker 1: they seeking? For rubies for a king's crown, answered one
Speaker 1: who stood beside him, and the young king started, and
Speaker 1: turning round, he saw a man habited as a pilgrim,
Speaker 1: and holding in his hand a mirror of silver. And
Speaker 1: he grew pale and said, for what King, And the
Speaker 1: pilgrim answered, look in this mirror, and thou shalt see him.
Speaker 1: And he looked in the mirror, and seeing his own face,
Speaker 1: he gave a great cry and woke. And the bright
Speaker 1: sunlight was streaming into the room, and from the trees
Speaker 1: of the garden and pleasants the birds were singing. And
Speaker 1: the chamberlain and the high officers of state came in
Speaker 1: and made obeisance to him, and the pages brought him
Speaker 1: the robe of tissued gold, and set the crown and
Speaker 1: the scepter before him. And the young king looked at them,
Speaker 1: and they were beautiful, More beautiful were they than aught
Speaker 1: he had ever seen. But he remembered his dreams, and
Speaker 1: he said to his lords, take these things away, for
Speaker 1: I will not wear them. And the courtiers were amazed,
Speaker 1: and some of them laughed, for they thought he was jesting.
Speaker 1: But he spake still to them again and said, take
Speaker 1: these things away and hide them from me, though it
Speaker 1: be the day of my coronation. I will not wear them,
Speaker 1: for on the loom of sorrow, and by the white
Speaker 1: hands of pain has this my robe been woven. There
Speaker 1: is blood in the heart of the ruby, and death
Speaker 1: in the heart of the pearl. And he told them
Speaker 1: his free dreams. And when the courtiers heard them, they
Speaker 1: looked at each other and whispered, saying, surely he is mad.
Speaker 1: For what is a dream but a dream? And a
Speaker 1: vision but a vision? They are not real things that
Speaker 1: one should heed them? And what have we to do
Speaker 1: with the lives of those who toil for us? Shall
Speaker 1: a man not eat bread till he has seen the sower,
Speaker 1: nor drink wine till he has talked with the vine dresser.
Speaker 1: And the chamberlain spake to the young King and said,
Speaker 1: my lord, I pray ye set aside these black forts
Speaker 1: of thine, and put on this fair robe, and set
Speaker 1: this crown upon thy head. For how shall people know
Speaker 1: that thou art a king that has not a king's raiment?
Speaker 1: And the young king looked at him. Is it so? Indeed?
Speaker 1: He questioned, will they not know me for a king?
Speaker 1: If I have not a king's raiment, they will not
Speaker 1: know thee my lord cried the chamberlain. I had fought
Speaker 1: that there had been men who are king like, he answered,
Speaker 1: But it may be as thou sayest, And yet I
Speaker 1: will not wear this robe, nor will I be crowned
Speaker 1: with this crown. But even as I came to the palace,
Speaker 1: so will I go forth from it. And he bade
Speaker 1: them all leave him, save one page, whom he kept
Speaker 1: as his companion, a lad a year younger than himself.
Speaker 1: Him he kept for his service. And when he had
Speaker 1: bathed himself in clear water, he opened a great painted chest,
Speaker 1: and from it he took the leaven tunic and rough
Speaker 1: sheepskin cloak that he had worn when he had watched
Speaker 1: on the hillside the shaggy goats of the goatherd. These
Speaker 1: he put on, and in his hand he took his
Speaker 1: rude shepherd's staff. And the little page opened his big
Speaker 1: blue eyes in wonder, and said, smiling to him, my Lord,
Speaker 1: I see thy robe, and I scepter, But where is
Speaker 1: thy crown? And the young king plucked a spray of
Speaker 1: wild briar that was climbing over the balcony, and bent
Speaker 1: it and made a circlet of it, and set it
Speaker 1: on his own head. This shall be my crown, he answered,
Speaker 1: And thus attired, he passed out of his chamber into
Speaker 1: the great Hall, where the nobles were waiting for him,
Speaker 1: and the nobles made merry, and some of them cried
Speaker 1: out to him, my lord, the people wait for their king,
Speaker 1: and thou ShoWest them a beggar. And others were rough
Speaker 1: and said, he brings shame upon our state, and is
Speaker 1: unworthy to be our master. But he answered them not
Speaker 1: a word, but passed on and went down the bright
Speaker 1: puffery staircase and out through the gates of bronze, and
Speaker 1: mounted upon his horse, and rode towards the cathedral, the
Speaker 1: little page running beside him, and the people laughed and said,
Speaker 1: it is the king's fool who is riding by, And
Speaker 1: they mocked him, and he drew rein and said, nay,
Speaker 1: but I am the king. And he told them his
Speaker 1: free dreams. And the man came out of the crowd
Speaker 1: and spake bitterly to him, and said, sir, knowest thou
Speaker 1: not that out of luxury of the rich cometh the
Speaker 1: life of the poor. By our pomp we are nurtured,
Speaker 1: and your vices give us bread to toil. For a
Speaker 1: hard master is bitter but to have no master to
Speaker 1: toil for is more bitter. Still, thinkest thou that the
Speaker 1: ravens will feed us? And what cure hast thou for
Speaker 1: these things? Wilt thou say to the buyer thou shalt
Speaker 1: buy for so much? And to the seller thou shalt
Speaker 1: sell at this price? I trow not. Therefore, go back
Speaker 1: to thy palace and put on thy purple and fine linen.
Speaker 1: What hast thou do with us? And what we suffer?
Speaker 1: Are not the rich and the poor brothers? Asked the
Speaker 1: young king? Ay, answered the man, And the name of
Speaker 1: the rich brother is Cain. And the young King's eyes
Speaker 1: filled with tears, and he rode on through the murmurs
Speaker 1: of the people, and the little page grew afraid and
Speaker 1: left him. And when he reached the great portal of
Speaker 1: the cathedral, the soldiers thrust their halberts out and said,
Speaker 1: what dost thou seek here? None enters by this door
Speaker 1: but the king, and his face flushed with anger, and
Speaker 1: he said to them I am the King, and waved
Speaker 1: their halberts aside, and passed in. And when the old
Speaker 1: bishop saw him coming in his goatherd's dress, he rose
Speaker 1: up in wonder from his throne and went to meet him,
Speaker 1: and said to him, my son, is that a king's apparel?
Speaker 1: And with what crown shall I crown thee? And what
Speaker 1: scepter shall I place in thy hand? And surely this
Speaker 1: should be to thee a day of joy, and not
Speaker 1: a day of a basement. Shall joy wear what grief
Speaker 1: has fashioned, said the young king. And he told them
Speaker 1: his free dreams. And when the bishop had heard them,
Speaker 1: he net his brows and said, my son, I am
Speaker 1: an old man, and in the winter of my days,
Speaker 1: and I know that many evil things are done in
Speaker 1: the wide world. The fierce robbers come down from the
Speaker 1: mountains and carry off the little children, and seldom to
Speaker 1: the moors. The lions lie in wait for the caravans
Speaker 1: and leap upon the camels. The wild boar roots up
Speaker 1: the corn in the valley, and the foxes gnaw the
Speaker 1: vines upon the hill. The pirates lay waste the sea coast,
Speaker 1: and burn the ships of the fishermen, and take their
Speaker 1: nets from them. In the salt marshes live the lepers.
Speaker 1: They have houses of wattled reeds, and none may come
Speaker 1: nigh them. The beggars wan of through the city and
Speaker 1: eat their food with the dogs. Canst thou make these
Speaker 1: things not to be Wilt thou take the leper for
Speaker 1: thy bedfellow, and set the beggar at thy board. Shalt
Speaker 1: lion do thy bidding, and the wild boar obey THEE.
Speaker 1: Is not he who made misery wiser than thou art.
Speaker 1: Wherefore I praise THEE, not for this that thou hast done.
Speaker 1: But I bid THEE ride back to the palace, and
Speaker 1: make thy face glad, and put on the raiment that
Speaker 1: beseemeth a king. And with the crown of gold, I
Speaker 1: will crown THEE. And the scepter of pearl will thy
Speaker 1: place in thy hand. And as for thy dreams, think
Speaker 1: no more of them. The burden of this world is
Speaker 1: too great for one man to bear, and the world's
Speaker 1: sorrow too heavy for one heart to suffer. Sayest thou
Speaker 1: that in this house, said the young King. And he
Speaker 1: strode past the bishop, and climbed up the steps of
Speaker 1: the altar, and stood before the image of Christ. He
Speaker 1: stood before the image of Christ, and on his right
Speaker 1: hand and on his left were the marvelous vessels of gold,
Speaker 1: the chalice with the yellow wine, and the vial with
Speaker 1: the holy oil. He knelt before the image of Christ,
Speaker 1: and the great candles burned brightly by the jeweled shrine,
Speaker 1: and the smoke of the incense curled in thin blue
Speaker 1: reefs through the dome. He bowed his head in prayer,
Speaker 1: and the priests, in their stiff copes, crept away from
Speaker 1: the altar. And suddenly a wild tumult came from the
Speaker 1: street outside, and in entered the nobles with drawn swords
Speaker 1: and nodding plumes and shields of polished steel. Where is
Speaker 1: this dreamer of dreams? They cried? Where is this king
Speaker 1: who is apparreled like a beggar, this boy who brings
Speaker 1: shame upon our state. Surely we will slay him, for
Speaker 1: he is unworthy to rule over us. And the young
Speaker 1: king bowed his head again and prayed, And when he
Speaker 1: had finished his prayer, he rose up, and, turning round,
Speaker 1: he looked at them sadly, and lo through the painted
Speaker 1: windows came the sunlight streaming upon him, and the sunbeams
Speaker 1: wove round him a tissued robe that was fairer than
Speaker 1: the robe that had been fashioned for his pleasure. The
Speaker 1: dead staff blossomed, and bare lilies that were whiter than pearls,
Speaker 1: the dry fawn blossomed and bare roses that were redder
Speaker 1: than rubies. Whiter and fine pearls were the lilies, and
Speaker 1: their stems were of bright silver. Redder than male rubies
Speaker 1: were their roses, and their leaves were of beaten gold.
Speaker 1: He stood there in the raiment of a king, and
Speaker 1: the gates of the jeweled shrine flew open, and from
Speaker 1: the crystal of the many rayed monstrance shone a marvelous
Speaker 1: and mystical light. He stood there in a king's raiment,
Speaker 1: and the glory of God filled the place, and the saints,
Speaker 1: in their carven niches seemed to move in the fair
Speaker 1: raiment of a king. He stood before them, and the
Speaker 1: organ pealed out its music, and the trumpeters blew upon
Speaker 1: their trumpets, and the singing boys sang, and the people
Speaker 1: fell upon their knees in awe, and the nobles sheathed
Speaker 1: their swords and did homage, and the bishop's face grew pale,
Speaker 1: and his hands trembled at greater air than I have
Speaker 1: crowned thee. He cried and knelt before him, and the
Speaker 1: young king came down from the high altar and passed
Speaker 1: home through the midst of the people. But no man
Speaker 1: dared look upon his face, for it was like the
Speaker 1: face of an angel. End of the Young King by
Speaker 1: Oscar Wilde