WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:03.960 The Young King by Oscar Wilde. It was the night 2 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:06.639 before the day fixed for his coronation, and the young 3 00:00:06.759 --> 00:00:10.599 King was sitting alone in his beautiful chamber. His courtiers 4 00:00:10.599 --> 00:00:13.400 had all taken their leave of him, bowing their heads 5 00:00:13.439 --> 00:00:16.640 to the ground according to the ceremonious usage of the day, 6 00:00:17.320 --> 00:00:19.800 and had retired to the Great Hall of the Palace 7 00:00:20.079 --> 00:00:23.480 to receive a few last lessons from the Professor of Etiquette, 8 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:27.199 there being some of them who had still quite natural manners, 9 00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:31.239 which in a courtiers I need hardly say a very 10 00:00:31.359 --> 00:00:35.880 grave offense. The lad, for he was only a lad, 11 00:00:36.119 --> 00:00:39.079 being but sixteen years of age, was not sorry at 12 00:00:39.119 --> 00:00:42.399 their departure, and had flung himself back with a deep 13 00:00:42.640 --> 00:00:45.880 sigh of relief, on the soft cushions of his embroidered couch, 14 00:00:46.600 --> 00:00:50.439 lying there, wild eyed and open mouthed, like a brown 15 00:00:50.600 --> 00:00:54.359 woodland fawn, or some young animal of the forest newly 16 00:00:54.399 --> 00:00:59.920 snared by hunters. And indeed it was the hunters who 17 00:01:00.039 --> 00:01:03.399 had found him, coming upon him almost by chance, as 18 00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:06.280 bare limbed and pipe in hand, he was following the 19 00:01:06.280 --> 00:01:08.840 flock of the poor goatherd who had brought him up, 20 00:01:09.159 --> 00:01:12.239 and whose son he had always fancied himself to be 21 00:01:13.200 --> 00:01:15.680 the child of the old king's only daughter by a 22 00:01:15.680 --> 00:01:19.760 secret marriage with one much beneath her in station, a stranger, 23 00:01:19.879 --> 00:01:23.719 some said, who, by the wonderful magic of his lute plane, 24 00:01:24.400 --> 00:01:27.519 had made the young princess love him, while others spoke 25 00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:31.200 of an artist from Ramini, to whom the princess had 26 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:34.799 shown much, perhaps too much, honor, and who had suddenly 27 00:01:34.840 --> 00:01:38.760 disappeared from the city, leaving his work in the cathedral unfinished. 28 00:01:39.400 --> 00:01:42.599 He had been, when but a week old, stolen away 29 00:01:42.599 --> 00:01:45.920 from his mother's side as she slept, and given into 30 00:01:45.959 --> 00:01:48.840 the charge of a common peasant and his wife, who 31 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:51.719 were without children of their own, and lived in a 32 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:54.599 remote part of the forest, more than a day's ride 33 00:01:54.719 --> 00:01:58.680 from the town. Grief or the plague, as the court 34 00:01:58.719 --> 00:02:03.439 physician stated, or as some suggested, a swift Italian poison 35 00:02:03.799 --> 00:02:07.480 administered in a cup of spiced wine, slew within an 36 00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:10.479 hour of her wakening the white girl who had given 37 00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:13.520 him birth, and as the trusty messenger, who bare the 38 00:02:13.639 --> 00:02:16.960 child across his saddle bow, stooped from his wary horse 39 00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:19.719 and knocked at the rude door of the goatherd's hut, 40 00:02:20.439 --> 00:02:23.080 the body of the princess was being lowered into an 41 00:02:23.080 --> 00:02:26.680 open grave that had been dug in a deserted churchyard 42 00:02:26.919 --> 00:02:30.120 beyond the city gates, a grave where it was said 43 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:33.400 that another body was also lying, that of a young 44 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:37.840 man of marvelous and foreign beauty, whose hands were tied 45 00:02:37.879 --> 00:02:41.120 behind him with a knotted cord, and whose breast was 46 00:02:41.199 --> 00:02:46.319 stabbed with many red wounds. Such, at least was the 47 00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:49.599 story that men whispered to each other. Certain it was 48 00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:52.520 the old King, when on his death bed, whether moved 49 00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:55.520 by remorse for his great sin or merely desiring that 50 00:02:55.560 --> 00:02:58.280 the kingdom should not pass away from his line, had 51 00:02:58.280 --> 00:03:01.080 had the lad sent for, and in the presence of 52 00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:05.879 the council, had acknowledged him as his heir. And it 53 00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:08.879 seemed that from the very first moment of his recognition 54 00:03:09.240 --> 00:03:12.400 he had shown signs of that strange passion for beauty 55 00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:15.479 that was destined to have so great an influence over 56 00:03:15.520 --> 00:03:18.919 his life. Those who accompanied him to the suite of 57 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:22.280 rooms set apart for his service often spoke of the 58 00:03:22.360 --> 00:03:25.000 cry of pleasure that broke from his lips when he 59 00:03:25.039 --> 00:03:28.400 saw the delicate raiment and rich jewels that had been 60 00:03:28.439 --> 00:03:31.560 prepared for him, and of the almost fierce joy with 61 00:03:31.599 --> 00:03:35.240 which he flung aside his rough leathern tunic and coarse 62 00:03:35.319 --> 00:03:40.599 sheepskin cloak. He missed, indeed, at times, the fine freedom 63 00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:44.199 of his forest life, and was always apt to chafe 64 00:03:44.280 --> 00:03:47.560 at the tedious court ceremonies that occupied so much of 65 00:03:47.560 --> 00:03:52.120 each day. But the wonderful palace Joyeurs, as they called it, 66 00:03:52.840 --> 00:03:55.960 of which he now found himself lord, seemed to him 67 00:03:56.039 --> 00:03:58.960 to be a new world, fresh fashioned for his delight, 68 00:03:59.759 --> 00:04:02.080 And as soon as he could escape from the council 69 00:04:02.120 --> 00:04:05.599 board or audience chamber, he would run down a great 70 00:04:05.639 --> 00:04:09.319 staircase with its lions of gilt bronze and its steps 71 00:04:09.319 --> 00:04:13.319 of bright porphyry, and wander from room to room and 72 00:04:13.400 --> 00:04:16.560 from corridor to corridor, like one who was seeking to 73 00:04:16.600 --> 00:04:20.279 find in beauty and anodyne from pain, a sort of 74 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:26.160 restoration from sickness. Upon these journeys of discovery, as he 75 00:04:26.199 --> 00:04:29.480 would call them, and indeed they were to him real 76 00:04:29.560 --> 00:04:33.399 voyages through a marvelous land. He would sometimes be accompanied 77 00:04:33.480 --> 00:04:36.959 by the slim, fair haired court pages with their floating 78 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:41.399 mantles and gay, fluttering ryebands, but more often he would 79 00:04:41.399 --> 00:04:45.240 be alone, feeling through a certain quick instinct which was 80 00:04:45.319 --> 00:04:48.839 almost a divination, that the secrets of art are best 81 00:04:48.920 --> 00:04:54.000 learned in secret, and that beauty, like wisdom, loves the 82 00:04:54.079 --> 00:04:58.519 lonely worshiper. Many curious stories were related about him at 83 00:04:58.519 --> 00:05:02.920 this period. It was that a stout burgomaster, who had 84 00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:06.639 come to deliver a florid oratorical address on behalf of 85 00:05:06.680 --> 00:05:09.519 the citizens of the town, had caught sight of him 86 00:05:09.759 --> 00:05:13.360 kneeling in real adoration before a great picture that had 87 00:05:13.399 --> 00:05:16.639 just been brought from Venice, and that seemed to herald 88 00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:20.399 the worship of some new gods. On another occasion, he 89 00:05:20.480 --> 00:05:23.480 had been missed for several hours, and after a lengthen 90 00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:26.399 search had been discovered in a little chamber in one 91 00:05:26.439 --> 00:05:30.120 of the northern turrets of the palace, gazing as one 92 00:05:30.120 --> 00:05:33.399 in a trance as a Greek gem carved with the 93 00:05:33.399 --> 00:05:38.240 figure of Adonis. He had been seen, so the tail ran, 94 00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:41.399 pressing his warm lips to the marble brow of an 95 00:05:41.399 --> 00:05:44.600 antique statue that had been discovered in the bed of 96 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:47.040 a river on the occasion of the building of the 97 00:05:47.079 --> 00:05:51.199 stone Bridge, and was inscribed with the name of Bithynian, 98 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:54.920 slave of Hadrian. He had passed a whole night in 99 00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:58.160 noting the effect of the moonlight on a silver image 100 00:05:58.319 --> 00:06:03.040 of Endymion. All rare and costly materials had certainly a 101 00:06:03.079 --> 00:06:07.040 great fascination for him, and in his eagerness to procure them, 102 00:06:07.279 --> 00:06:10.439 he sent away many merchants, some to traffic for amber 103 00:06:10.600 --> 00:06:13.800 with the rough fisherfolk of the North Seas, some to 104 00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:17.480 Egypt to look for that curious green turquoise which is 105 00:06:17.480 --> 00:06:20.319 found only in the tombs of kings and is said 106 00:06:20.360 --> 00:06:25.279 to possess magical properties. Some to Persia for silken carpets 107 00:06:25.319 --> 00:06:29.439 and painted pottery, and others to India to buy gauze 108 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:34.240 and stained ivory moonstones, and bracelets of jade, sandal wood 109 00:06:34.360 --> 00:06:38.120 and blue enamel, and shawls of fine wool. But what 110 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:41.000 had occupied him most was the robe he was to 111 00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:44.879 wear at his coronation, the robe of tissued gold, and 112 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:48.120 the ruby studded crown, and the scepter of its rose, 113 00:06:48.199 --> 00:06:52.319 and rings of pearls. Indeed, it was of this that 114 00:06:52.439 --> 00:06:55.319 he was thinking to night, as he lay back on 115 00:06:55.439 --> 00:06:59.600 his luxurious couch, watching the great pinewood log that was 116 00:06:59.639 --> 00:07:04.959 burning itself out on the open half. The designs which 117 00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:07.519 were from the hands of the most famous artists of 118 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:11.360 the time had been submitted to him many months before, 119 00:07:11.480 --> 00:07:14.920 and he had given orders that the artificers were to 120 00:07:14.920 --> 00:07:17.800 toil night and day to carry them out, and that 121 00:07:17.879 --> 00:07:20.639 the whole world was to be searched for jewels that 122 00:07:20.720 --> 00:07:24.560 would be worthy of their work. He saw himself in fancy, 123 00:07:24.959 --> 00:07:27.600 standing at the high altar of the cathedral in the 124 00:07:27.680 --> 00:07:31.600 fair raiment of a king, and a smile played and 125 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:35.000 lingered about his boyish lips, and lit up with a 126 00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:40.319 bright luster in his dark woodland eyes. After some time, 127 00:07:40.600 --> 00:07:43.480 he rose from his seat, and, leaning against the carved 128 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:46.959 penthouse of the chimney, looked round at the dimly lit room. 129 00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:52.040 The walls were hung with rich tapestries representing the triumph 130 00:07:52.120 --> 00:07:56.920 of beauty. A large press inlaid with agate and lapis 131 00:07:56.959 --> 00:08:00.519 la zuli, filled one corner, and facing the window stood 132 00:08:00.519 --> 00:08:04.800 a curiously wrought cabinet with lacquer panels of powdered and 133 00:08:04.920 --> 00:08:09.040 mosaicd gold, on which they were placed some delicate goblets 134 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:12.920 of Venetian glass and a cup of dark veined onyx. 135 00:08:13.519 --> 00:08:16.639 Pale poppies were broidered on the silk coverlet of the bed, 136 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:20.240 as though they had fallen from the tired hands. Of sleep, 137 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:24.600 and tall reeds of fluted ivory bare up the velvet canopy, 138 00:08:25.199 --> 00:08:29.759 from which great tufts of ostrich plumes sprang like white foam, 139 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:33.519 to the pallid silver of the fretted ceiling. A laughing 140 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:37.600 narcissus in green bronze held a polished mirror above its head. 141 00:08:38.639 --> 00:08:43.200 On the table stood a flat bowl of amephyst Outside 142 00:08:43.279 --> 00:08:46.320 he could see a huge dome of the cathedral looming 143 00:08:46.399 --> 00:08:49.399 like a bubble over the shadowy houses, and the weary 144 00:08:49.480 --> 00:08:52.639 sentinels pacing up and down on the misty terrace by 145 00:08:52.679 --> 00:08:57.639 the river. Far away, in an orchard, a nightingale was singing. 146 00:08:58.360 --> 00:09:01.799 A faint perfume of jasmine came through the open window. 147 00:09:02.360 --> 00:09:05.480 He brushed his brown curls back from his forehead, and, 148 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:08.960 taking up a lute, let his fingers stray across the cords. 149 00:09:10.200 --> 00:09:13.879 His heavy eyelids drooped, and a strange languor came over him. 150 00:09:14.879 --> 00:09:17.960 Never before had he felt so keenly or with such 151 00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:23.480 exquisite joy the magic and the mystery of beautiful things. 152 00:09:24.279 --> 00:09:27.240 When midnight sounded from the clock tower, he touched a bell, 153 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:30.960 and his pages entered and disrobed him with much ceremony. 154 00:09:31.240 --> 00:09:34.639 Pouring rose water over his hands and strewing flowers on 155 00:09:34.759 --> 00:09:38.799 his pillow. A few moments after that they had left 156 00:09:38.799 --> 00:09:43.399 the room. He fell asleep, and as he slept he 157 00:09:43.519 --> 00:09:48.279 dreamed the dream. And this was his dream. He thought 158 00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:51.919 that he was standing in a long, low attic amidst 159 00:09:51.919 --> 00:09:55.720 the whir and clatter of many looms. The meager daylight 160 00:09:55.919 --> 00:09:58.720 peered in through the grated windows and showed him the 161 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:03.039 gaunt figures of the wheel bending over their cases. Pale, 162 00:10:03.080 --> 00:10:06.480 sickly looking children were crouched on the huge cross beams. 163 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:09.879 As the shuttles dashed through the warp, they lifted up 164 00:10:09.960 --> 00:10:13.159 the heavy battons, and when the shuttles stopped, they let 165 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:17.320 the battons fall and pressed the threads together. Their faces 166 00:10:17.399 --> 00:10:21.759 were pinched with famine, and their thin hands shook and trembled. 167 00:10:22.759 --> 00:10:26.720 Some haggard women were seated at a table sewing. A 168 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:31.000 horrible odor filled the place. The air was foul and heavy, 169 00:10:31.559 --> 00:10:36.200 and the walls dripped and streamed with damp. The young 170 00:10:36.279 --> 00:10:38.840 king went over to one of the weavers and stood 171 00:10:38.879 --> 00:10:42.320 by him and watched him. And the weaver looked at 172 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:46.399 him angrily and said, why art thou watching me? Art? 173 00:10:46.440 --> 00:10:50.240 Thou a spy set on us by his master. Who 174 00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:54.240 is thy master? Asked the young king. Oh master, cried 175 00:10:54.279 --> 00:10:57.919 the weaver bitterly. He is a man like myself. Indeed, 176 00:10:57.960 --> 00:11:00.960 there is but this difference between us, that he wears 177 00:11:01.000 --> 00:11:04.039 fine clothes while I go in rags, and that while 178 00:11:04.039 --> 00:11:06.720 I am weak from hunger, he suffers not a little 179 00:11:06.759 --> 00:11:10.679 from over feeding. The land is free, said the young king, 180 00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:15.480 And thou art no man's slave. In war, answered the weaver. 181 00:11:15.799 --> 00:11:18.960 The strong make slaves of the weak, and in peace 182 00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:21.799 the rich make slaves of the poor. We must work 183 00:11:21.879 --> 00:11:24.639 to live, and they give us such mean wages that 184 00:11:24.759 --> 00:11:28.360 we die. We toil for them all day long, and 185 00:11:28.440 --> 00:11:31.519 they heap up gold in their coffers, And our children 186 00:11:31.600 --> 00:11:35.080 fade away before their time, and the faces of those 187 00:11:35.080 --> 00:11:39.240 we love become hard and evil. We tread out the grapes, 188 00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:42.519 and another drinks the wine we sow. The corn on 189 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:46.279 our own board is empty. We have chains, though no 190 00:11:46.399 --> 00:11:50.720 eye beholds them, and our slaves, though men call us free. 191 00:11:51.759 --> 00:11:54.799 Is it so with all? He asked? It is so 192 00:11:55.000 --> 00:11:58.720 with all, answered the weaver, with the young as well 193 00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:03.039 as with the old, with the women as well as 194 00:12:03.039 --> 00:12:05.960 with the men. With the little children, as well as 195 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:09.519 with those who are stricken in years. The merchants grind 196 00:12:09.559 --> 00:12:13.200 us down, and we must needs do their bidding. The 197 00:12:13.320 --> 00:12:17.480 priest's rides by and tells his beads, and no man 198 00:12:17.600 --> 00:12:21.159 has care of us. Through our sunless lanes. Creeps poverty 199 00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:25.039 with her hungry eyes, and sin, with his sodden face, 200 00:12:25.320 --> 00:12:28.879 follows close behind her. Misery wakes us in the morning, 201 00:12:29.320 --> 00:12:33.039 and shame sits with us at night. But what are 202 00:12:33.080 --> 00:12:35.840 these things to thee Thou art not one of us. 203 00:12:36.200 --> 00:12:40.879 Thy face is too happy. And he turned away, scowling, 204 00:12:41.320 --> 00:12:44.039 and threw the shuttle across the loom. And the young 205 00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:46.799 king saw that it was threaded with a thread of gold, 206 00:12:47.799 --> 00:12:50.799 and a great terror seized upon him, and he said 207 00:12:50.840 --> 00:12:54.519 to the weaver, what robe is this that thou art weaving? 208 00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:57.840 It is the robe for the coronation of the young king? 209 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:03.200 He answered, what is? And the young king gave a 210 00:13:03.240 --> 00:13:07.320 loud cry and awoke. And lo he was in his 211 00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:10.320 own chamber, and through the window he saw the great 212 00:13:10.600 --> 00:13:16.080 honey colored moon hanging in the dusky air. And he 213 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:20.240 fell asleep agan and dreamed, And this was his dream. 214 00:13:21.320 --> 00:13:23.840 He thought that he was lying on the deck of 215 00:13:23.879 --> 00:13:27.360 a huge galley that was being rowed by a hundred slaves. 216 00:13:28.440 --> 00:13:30.879 On a carpet by his side. The master of the 217 00:13:30.919 --> 00:13:34.120 galley was seated. He was black as ebony, and his 218 00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:37.720 turban was of crimson silk. Great ear rings of silver 219 00:13:38.159 --> 00:13:40.960 dragged down the thick lobes of his ears, and in 220 00:13:41.080 --> 00:13:44.399 his hands he had a pair of ivory scales. The 221 00:13:44.519 --> 00:13:48.000 slaves were naked but for a ragged loincloth, and each 222 00:13:48.080 --> 00:13:51.879 man was chained to his neighbor. The hot sun beat 223 00:13:51.919 --> 00:13:55.080 brightly upon them, and the negroes ran up and down 224 00:13:55.159 --> 00:13:58.879 the gangway and lashed them with whips of hide. They 225 00:13:58.919 --> 00:14:02.360 stretched out their lean arms and pulled the heavy oars 226 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:05.759 through the water. The salt spray flew from the blades. 227 00:14:07.960 --> 00:14:11.200 At last they reached a little bay and began to 228 00:14:11.240 --> 00:14:15.200 take soundings. A light wind blew from the shore and 229 00:14:15.320 --> 00:14:17.919 covered the deck and a great latin sail with a 230 00:14:17.960 --> 00:14:22.919 fine red dust. Three arabs mounted on wild asses rode 231 00:14:22.960 --> 00:14:26.039 out and threw spears at them. The master of the 232 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:29.200 galley took a painted bow in his hand and shot 233 00:14:29.279 --> 00:14:32.600 one of them in the throat. He fell heavily into 234 00:14:32.600 --> 00:14:37.480 the surf, and his companions galloped away. A woman wrapped 235 00:14:37.480 --> 00:14:40.879 in a yellow veil followed slowly on a camel, looking 236 00:14:40.960 --> 00:14:45.039 back now and then at the dead body. As soon 237 00:14:45.080 --> 00:14:48.080 as they had cast anchor and hauled down the sail, 238 00:14:48.720 --> 00:14:51.720 the negroes went into the hold and brought up a 239 00:14:51.759 --> 00:14:56.240 long rope ladder heavily weighted with lead. The master of 240 00:14:56.279 --> 00:14:59.399 the galley threw it over the side, making the ends 241 00:14:59.399 --> 00:15:03.559 fast to t two iron stanchions. Then the negroes seized 242 00:15:03.559 --> 00:15:06.440 the youngest of the slaves and knocked his guives off, 243 00:15:06.840 --> 00:15:10.559 and filled his nostrils and his ears with wax, and 244 00:15:10.679 --> 00:15:14.080 tied a big stone round his waist. He crept wearily 245 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:18.759 down the ladder and disappeared into the sea. A few 246 00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:22.120 bubbles rose where he sank. Some of the other slaves 247 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:25.320 peered curiously over the side. At the prow of the 248 00:15:25.360 --> 00:15:29.559 galley sat a shark charmer beating monotonously upon a drum. 249 00:15:30.679 --> 00:15:33.399 After some time, the diver rose up out of the 250 00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:37.120 water and clung panting to the ladder, with a pearl 251 00:15:37.200 --> 00:15:40.600 in his right hand. The negroes seized it from him 252 00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:44.639 and thrust him back. The slaves fell asleep over their oars. 253 00:15:45.720 --> 00:15:48.919 Again and again he came up, and each time that 254 00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:52.000 he did so, he brought with him a beautiful pearl. 255 00:15:52.600 --> 00:15:55.320 The master of the galley weighed them and put them 256 00:15:55.360 --> 00:15:58.360 in a little bag of green leather. The young king 257 00:15:58.559 --> 00:16:01.759 tried to speak, but his tongue seemed to cleave to 258 00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:05.240 the roof of his mouth, and his lips refused to move. 259 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:09.360 The negroes chattered to each other and began to quarrel 260 00:16:09.639 --> 00:16:13.320 over a string of bright beads. Two cranes flew round 261 00:16:13.399 --> 00:16:17.639 and round the vessel. Then the diver came up for 262 00:16:17.679 --> 00:16:20.360 the last time, and the pearl that he brought with 263 00:16:20.440 --> 00:16:24.120 him was fairer than all the pearls of Ormus, for 264 00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:27.200 it was shaped like the full moon, and whiter than 265 00:16:27.240 --> 00:16:32.679 the morning star. But his face was strangely pale, and 266 00:16:32.759 --> 00:16:35.519 as he fell upon the deck, the blood gushed from 267 00:16:35.559 --> 00:16:39.600 his ears and nostrils. He quivered for a little, and 268 00:16:39.720 --> 00:16:44.440 then he was still. The negroes shrugged their shoulders and 269 00:16:44.519 --> 00:16:48.919 threw the body overboard, and the master of the galley laughed, 270 00:16:49.320 --> 00:16:52.240 and reaching out, he took the pearl, and when he 271 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:55.519 saw it, he pressed it to his forehead and bowed. 272 00:16:56.759 --> 00:17:00.039 It shall be, he said, for the scepter of the 273 00:17:00.120 --> 00:17:03.639 young king, and he made a sign to the negroes 274 00:17:03.720 --> 00:17:07.039 to draw up the anchor. And when the young king 275 00:17:07.160 --> 00:17:10.960 heard this, he gave a great cry and woke, and 276 00:17:11.079 --> 00:17:13.960 through the window he saw the long gray fingers of 277 00:17:14.079 --> 00:17:18.559 the dawn clutching at the fading stars. And he fell 278 00:17:18.599 --> 00:17:23.839 asleep again and dreamed. And this was his dream. He 279 00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:26.960 thought that he was wandering through a dim wood, hung 280 00:17:27.119 --> 00:17:31.559 with strange fruits and with beautiful poisonous flowers. The adders 281 00:17:31.599 --> 00:17:33.839 hissed at him as he went by, and the bright 282 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:39.480 parrots flew screaming from branch to branch. Huge tortoises lay 283 00:17:39.519 --> 00:17:42.400 asleep upon the hot mud. The trees were full of 284 00:17:42.440 --> 00:17:46.559 apes and peacocks. On and on he went till he 285 00:17:46.640 --> 00:17:49.480 reached the outskirts of the wood, and there he saw 286 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:53.000 an immense multitude of men toiling in the bed of 287 00:17:53.039 --> 00:17:56.799 a dried up river. They swarmed up the crag like ants. 288 00:17:57.440 --> 00:18:00.000 They dug deep pits in the ground and went down 289 00:18:00.200 --> 00:18:04.599 into them. Some of them cleft the rocks with great axes. 290 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:08.839 Others grabbed in the sand. They tore up the cactus 291 00:18:08.839 --> 00:18:12.400 by its roots and trampled on the scarlet blossoms. They 292 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:16.000 hurried about, calling to each other, and no man was idle. 293 00:18:17.559 --> 00:18:21.240 From the darkness of a cavern, Death and Avarice watched them, 294 00:18:21.559 --> 00:18:25.240 and Death said, I am weary. Give me a third 295 00:18:25.279 --> 00:18:28.720 of them and let me go. But Avarice shook her head. 296 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:32.519 They are my servants, she answered, And Death said to her, 297 00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:36.559 what hast thou in thy hand? I have three grains 298 00:18:36.559 --> 00:18:40.559 of corn? She answered, what is that? To thee? Give 299 00:18:40.680 --> 00:18:44.119 me one of them, cried Death, to plant in my garden, 300 00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:48.599 only one of them, and I will go away. I 301 00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:52.039 will not give THEE anything, said Avarice, as she hid 302 00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:55.480 her hand in the fold of her raiment. And Death 303 00:18:55.640 --> 00:18:58.359 laughed and took a cup and dipped it into a 304 00:18:58.400 --> 00:19:01.559 pool of water, and out of the cup rose agu 305 00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:04.960 She passed through the great multitude, and a third of 306 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:08.240 them lay dead. A cold mist followed her, and the 307 00:19:08.319 --> 00:19:12.960 water snakes ran by her side. And when Avarice saw 308 00:19:13.119 --> 00:19:15.960 that a third of the multitude was dead, she beat 309 00:19:16.039 --> 00:19:19.720 her breast and wept. She beat her barren bosom and 310 00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:24.240 cried aloud, thou hast slain a third of my servants, 311 00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:28.079 She cried, Get THEE gone. There is war in the 312 00:19:28.119 --> 00:19:30.920 mountains of Tartary, and the kings of each side are 313 00:19:31.039 --> 00:19:34.359 calling to thee that Afghans have slain the black Ox 314 00:19:34.599 --> 00:19:37.599 and are marching to battle. They have beaten upon their 315 00:19:37.640 --> 00:19:40.839 shields with their spears, and have put on their helmets 316 00:19:40.839 --> 00:19:44.359 of iron. What is my valley to thee, that thou 317 00:19:44.559 --> 00:19:47.319 shouldst tarry in it? Get thee gone and come here 318 00:19:47.400 --> 00:19:52.400 no more? Nay, answered Death. But till thou hast given 319 00:19:52.440 --> 00:19:55.799 me a grain of corn, I will not go. But 320 00:19:55.960 --> 00:19:59.880 Avarice shut her hand and clenched her teeth. I will 321 00:20:00.039 --> 00:20:04.559 not give thee anything, she muttered, and Death laughed and 322 00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:07.640 took up a black stone and threw it into the forest, 323 00:20:08.079 --> 00:20:11.160 and out of a thicket of wild hemlock came fever. 324 00:20:11.400 --> 00:20:14.559 In a robe of flame, she passed through the multitude 325 00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:18.279 and touched them, and each man that she touched died. 326 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:22.519 The grass withered beneath her feet as she walked, and 327 00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:27.200 Avarice shuddered and put ashes on her head. Thou art cruel, 328 00:20:27.559 --> 00:20:31.240 she cried, Thou art cruel. There is famine in the 329 00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:34.839 walled cities of India, and the cisterns of Samacan have 330 00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:38.519 run dry. There is famine in the walled cities of Egypt, 331 00:20:38.759 --> 00:20:41.279 and the locusts have come up from the desert. The 332 00:20:41.400 --> 00:20:44.440 nile has not overflowed its banks, and the priests have 333 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:48.119 cursed Isis and a ciris. Get thee gone to those 334 00:20:48.119 --> 00:20:54.200 who need thee, and leave me my servants. Nay, answered Death. 335 00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:57.000 But till thou hast given me a grain of corn, 336 00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:01.160 I will not go. I will not give thee anything, 337 00:21:01.640 --> 00:21:06.720 said Avarice. And Death laughed again, and he whistled through 338 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:09.839 his fingers, and a woman came flying through the air. 339 00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:13.200 Plague was written upon her forehead, and a crowd of 340 00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:16.960 lean vultures wheeled round her. She covered the valley with 341 00:21:17.079 --> 00:21:21.000 her wings, and no man was left alive. And Avarice 342 00:21:21.039 --> 00:21:25.160 fled shrieking through the forest, and Death leaped upon his 343 00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:29.079 red horse and galloped away. And his galloping was faster 344 00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:31.960 than the wind, and out of the slime. At the 345 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:36.279 bottom of the valley crept dragons and horrible things with scales, 346 00:21:36.559 --> 00:21:39.920 and the jackals came trotting along the sand, stiffing up 347 00:21:39.920 --> 00:21:43.839 the air with their nostrils. And the young king wept 348 00:21:43.920 --> 00:21:47.279 and said, who are these men? And for what were 349 00:21:47.319 --> 00:21:52.640 they seeking? For rubies for a king's crown, answered one 350 00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:56.319 who stood beside him, and the young king started, and 351 00:21:56.599 --> 00:21:59.799 turning round, he saw a man habited as a pilgrim, 352 00:22:00.039 --> 00:22:03.319 and holding in his hand a mirror of silver. And 353 00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:07.079 he grew pale and said, for what King, And the 354 00:22:07.119 --> 00:22:11.319 pilgrim answered, look in this mirror, and thou shalt see him. 355 00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:16.240 And he looked in the mirror, and seeing his own face, 356 00:22:16.720 --> 00:22:19.440 he gave a great cry and woke. And the bright 357 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:23.359 sunlight was streaming into the room, and from the trees 358 00:22:23.400 --> 00:22:27.160 of the garden and pleasants the birds were singing. And 359 00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:30.920 the chamberlain and the high officers of state came in 360 00:22:31.079 --> 00:22:34.200 and made obeisance to him, and the pages brought him 361 00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:37.440 the robe of tissued gold, and set the crown and 362 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:41.680 the scepter before him. And the young king looked at them, 363 00:22:41.920 --> 00:22:45.519 and they were beautiful, More beautiful were they than aught 364 00:22:45.559 --> 00:22:48.920 he had ever seen. But he remembered his dreams, and 365 00:22:49.000 --> 00:22:52.119 he said to his lords, take these things away, for 366 00:22:52.200 --> 00:22:55.599 I will not wear them. And the courtiers were amazed, 367 00:22:55.880 --> 00:22:58.519 and some of them laughed, for they thought he was jesting. 368 00:22:59.119 --> 00:23:01.960 But he spake still to them again and said, take 369 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:04.839 these things away and hide them from me, though it 370 00:23:04.920 --> 00:23:07.680 be the day of my coronation. I will not wear them, 371 00:23:07.960 --> 00:23:10.279 for on the loom of sorrow, and by the white 372 00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:14.200 hands of pain has this my robe been woven. There 373 00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:16.759 is blood in the heart of the ruby, and death 374 00:23:16.839 --> 00:23:19.400 in the heart of the pearl. And he told them 375 00:23:19.480 --> 00:23:23.759 his free dreams. And when the courtiers heard them, they 376 00:23:23.799 --> 00:23:28.279 looked at each other and whispered, saying, surely he is mad. 377 00:23:28.640 --> 00:23:30.319 For what is a dream but a dream? And a 378 00:23:30.400 --> 00:23:33.400 vision but a vision? They are not real things that 379 00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:35.799 one should heed them? And what have we to do 380 00:23:35.880 --> 00:23:38.519 with the lives of those who toil for us? Shall 381 00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:41.000 a man not eat bread till he has seen the sower, 382 00:23:41.599 --> 00:23:44.680 nor drink wine till he has talked with the vine dresser. 383 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:48.559 And the chamberlain spake to the young King and said, 384 00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:52.000 my lord, I pray ye set aside these black forts 385 00:23:52.039 --> 00:23:54.960 of thine, and put on this fair robe, and set 386 00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:58.440 this crown upon thy head. For how shall people know 387 00:23:58.640 --> 00:24:01.480 that thou art a king that has not a king's raiment? 388 00:24:02.880 --> 00:24:06.440 And the young king looked at him. Is it so? Indeed? 389 00:24:06.960 --> 00:24:10.640 He questioned, will they not know me for a king? 390 00:24:10.920 --> 00:24:14.400 If I have not a king's raiment, they will not 391 00:24:14.640 --> 00:24:18.599 know thee my lord cried the chamberlain. I had fought 392 00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:21.799 that there had been men who are king like, he answered, 393 00:24:22.039 --> 00:24:24.599 But it may be as thou sayest, And yet I 394 00:24:24.599 --> 00:24:27.279 will not wear this robe, nor will I be crowned 395 00:24:27.319 --> 00:24:30.319 with this crown. But even as I came to the palace, 396 00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:33.680 so will I go forth from it. And he bade 397 00:24:33.720 --> 00:24:36.680 them all leave him, save one page, whom he kept 398 00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:40.599 as his companion, a lad a year younger than himself. 399 00:24:41.359 --> 00:24:44.359 Him he kept for his service. And when he had 400 00:24:44.359 --> 00:24:48.240 bathed himself in clear water, he opened a great painted chest, 401 00:24:48.640 --> 00:24:51.200