It was the light touch of the boy An upon my shoulder which rousedme. He was bending down, his pretty face full of concernful sympathy,and in a minute said--know- ing nothing of my thoughts, of course,"It is the wine, stranger, the pink oblivion, it sometimes makes one feellike that until enough is taken; you stopped just short of what you shouldhave had, and the next cup would have been delight--I should have toldyou.""Ay," I answered, glad he should think so, "it was the wine, no doubt;your quaint drink, sir, tangled up my senses for the moment, but they areclearer now, and I am eager past expression to learn a little more of thisstrange country I have wandered into.""I would rather," said the boy, relapsing again into his state of kindlylethargy, "that you learnt things as you went, for talking is work, and workwe hate, but today we are all new and fresh, and if ever you are to askquestions now is certainly the time. Come with me to the city yonder,and as we go I will answer the things you wish to know;" and I went withhim, for I was humble and amazed, and, in truth, at that moment, had not aword to say for myself.

　　All the way from the plain where I had awoke to the walls of the citystood booths, drinking-places, and gardens divided by labyrinths of canals,and embowered in shrub- beries that seemed coming into leaf and floweras we looked, so swift was the process of their growth. These waterwayswere covered with skiffs being pushed and rowed in every direction; thecheerful rowers calling to each other through the leafy screens separatingone lane from another till the place was full of their happy chirruping.

　　Every booth and way-side halting-place was thronged with these delicateand sprightly people, so friendly, so gracious, and withal so pur- poseless.

　　I began to think we should never reach the town itself, for first myguide would sit down on a green stream-bank, his feet a-dangle in theclear water, and bandy wit with a passing boat as though there werenothing else in the world to think of. And when I dragged him out of that,whisper- ing in his ear, "The town, my dear boy! the town! I am all  agape to see it," he would saunter reluctantly to a booth a hundred yardsfurther on and fall to eating strange con- fections or sipping colouredwines with chance acquaintances, till again I plucked him by the sleeveand said: "Seth, good comrade--was it not so you called your city justnow?--take me to the gates, and I will be grateful to you," then on againdown a flowery lane, aimless and happy, wasting my time and his, withplacid civility I was led by that simple guide.

　　Wherever we went the people stared at me, as well they might, as Iwalked through them overtopping the tallest by a head or more. Thedrinking-cups paused half-way to their mouths; the jests died away upontheir lips; and the blinking eyes of the drinkers shone with a momentarysparkle of wonder as their minds reeled down those many- tinted floods tothe realms of oblivion they loved.

　　I heard men whisper one to another, "Who is he?"; "Whence does hecome?"; "Is he a tribute-taker?" as I strolled amongst them, my mind stillso thrilled with doubt and wonder that to me they seemed hardly morethan painted puppets, the vistas of their lovely glades and the ivory townbeyond only the fancy of a dream, and their talk as incontinent as thebabble of a stream.

　　Then happily, as I walked along with bent head brood- ing over theincredible thing that had happened, my com- panion's shapely legs gaveout, and with a sigh of fatigue he suggested we should take a skiffamongst the many ly- ing about upon the margins and sail towards thetown, "For," said he, "the breeze blows thitherward, and 'tis a shame to useone's limbs when Nature will carry us for nothing!""But have you a boat of your own hereabouts?" I queried; "for to tellthe truth I came from home myself somewhat poorly provided with meansto buy or barter, and if your purse be not heavier than mine we must stilldo as poor men do.""Oh!" said An, "there is no need to think of that, no one here to hire orhire of; we will just take the first skiff we see that suits us.""And what if the owner should come along and find his boat gone?""Why, what should he do but take the next along the bank, and themaster of that the next again--how else could it be?" said the Martian, and  shrugging my shoulders, for I was in no great mood to argue, we wentdown to the waterway, through a thicket of budding trees underlaid with acarpet of small red flowers filling the air with a scent of honey, and soonfound a diminutive craft pulled up on the bank. There were some daintycloaks and wraps in it which An took out and laid under a tree. But firsthe felt in the pouch of one for a sweetmeat which his fine nostrils, acute asa squirrel's, told him was there, and taking the lump out bit a piece from it,afterwards replacing it in the owner's pocket with the frankest simplicity.

　　Then we pushed off, hoisted the slender mast, set the smallest lug-sailthat ever a sailor smiled at, and, myself at the helm, and that golden youthamidships, away we drifted under thickets of drooping canes tasselledwith yel- low catkin-flowers, up the blue alley of the water into thebroader open river beyond with its rapid flow and crowd- ing boats, thewhite city front now towering clear before us.

　　The air was full of sunshine and merry voices; birds were singing,trees were budding; only my heart was heavy, my mind confused. Yetwhy should I be sad, I said to myself presently? Life beat in my pulses;what had I to fear? This world I had tumbled into was new and strange, nodoubt, but tomorrow it would be old and familiar; it dis- credited mymanhood to sit brow-bent like that, so with an effort I roused myself.

　　"Old chap!" I said to my companion, as he sat astride of a thwartslowly chewing something sticky and eyeing me out of the corner of hiseyes with vapid wonder, "tell me something of this land of yours, orsomething about yourself--which reminds me I have a question to ask. Itis a bit delicate, but you look a sensible sort of fellow, and will take nooffence. The fact is, I have noticed as we came along half yourpopulation dresses in all the colours of the rainbow--'fancy suitings' ourtailors could call it at home--and this half of the census are undoubtedlymen and women. The rub is that the other half, to which you be- long,all dress alike in YELLOW, and I will be fired from the biggest gun on theCarolina's main deck if I can tell what sex you belong to! I took you fora boy in the begin- ning, and the way you closed with the idea of having adrink with me seemed to show I was dead on the right course. Then alittle later on I heard you and a friend abusing our sex from an outside  point of view in a way which was very disconcerting. This, and someother things, have set me all abroad again, and as fate seems determined tomake us chums for this voyage--why--well, frankly, I should be glad toknow if you be boy or girl? If you are as I am, no more nor less then--forI like you--there's my hand in comradeship. If you are otherwise, asthose sleek outlines seem to promise--why, here's my hand again! Butman or woman you must be--come, which is it?"If I had been perplexed before, to watch that boy now was morecurious than ever. He drew back from me with a show of woundeddignity, then bit his lips, and sighed, and stared, and frowned. "Come," Isaid laughingly, "speak! it engenders ambiguity to be so ambiguous ofgender! 'Tis no great matter, yes or no, a plain answer will set us fairly inour friendship; if it is comrade, then comrade let it be; if maid, why, I shallnot quarrel with that, though it cost me a likely messmate.""You mock me.""Not I, I never mocked any one.""And does my robe tell you nothing?""Nothing so much; a yellow tunic and becoming enough, but nothingabout it to hang a deduction on. Come! Are you a girl, after all?""I do not count myself a girl.""Why, then, you are the most blooming boy that ever eyes were setupon; and though 'tis with some tinge of regret, yet cheerfully I welcomeyou into the ranks of man- hood.""I hate your manhood, send it after the maidhood; it fits me just asbadly.""But An, be reasonable; man or maid you must be.""Must be; why?""Why?" Was ever such a question put to a sane mortal before? Istared at that ambiguous thing before me, and then, a little wroth to beplayed with, growled out some- thing about Martians being all drunk ormad.

　　"'Tis you yourself are one or other," said that individual, by this timepink with anger, "and if you think because I am what I am you can safelytaunt me, you are wrong. See! I have a sting," and like a thwarted child  my com- panion half drew from the folds of the yellow tunic-dress thedaintiest, most harmless-looking little dagger that was ever seen.

　　"Oh, if it comes to that," I answered, touching the Navy scabbard stillat my hip, and regaining my temper at the sight of hers, "why, I have asting also--and twice as long as yours! But in truth, An, let us not talk ofthese things; if something in what I have said has offended nice Martianscruples I am sorry, and will question no more, leaving my wonder fortime to settle.""No," said the other, "it was my fault to be hasty of offence; I am notso angered once a year. But in truth your question moves us yellowrobes deeply. Did you not really know that we who wear this saffrontunic are slaves,-- a race apart, despised by all.""'Slaves,' no; how should I know it?""I thought you must understand a thing so fundamental, and it was thatthought which made your questions seem unkind. But if indeed you havecome so far as not to under- stand even this, then let me tell you once weof this garb were women--priestesses of the immaculate conceptions ofhumanity; guardians of those great hopes and longings which die so easily.

　　And because we forgot our high station and took to aping another sex thegods deserted and men despised us, giving us, in the fierceness of theircontempt, what we asked for. We are the slave ants of the nest, the work-bees of the hive, come, in truth, of those here who still be men and womenof a sort, but toilers only; un- known in love, unregretted in death--thosewho dangle all children but their own--slaves cursed with the accomplishment of their own ambition."There was no doubt poor An believed what she said, for her attitudewas one of extreme dejection while she spoke, and to cheer her I laughed.

　　"Oh! come, it can't be as bad as that. Surely sometimes some of youwin back to womanhood? You yourself do not look so far gone but whatsome deed of abnegation, some strong love if you could but conceive itwould set you right again. Surely you of the primrose robes cansometimes love?"Whereat unwittingly I troubled the waters in the placid soul of thatoutcast Martian! I cannot exactly describe how it was, but she bent her  head silently for a moment or two, and then, with a sigh, lifting her eyessuddenly to mine, said quietly, "Yes, sometimes; sometimes--but very seldom," while for an instant across her face there flashed the summerlightning of a new hope, a single transient glance of wistful, timid entreaty;of wonder and delight that dared not even yet acknowledge itself.

　　Then it was my turn to sit silent, and the pause was so awkward that ina minute, to break it, I exclaimed-"Let's drop personalities, old chap--I mean my dear Miss An. Tell mesomething about your people, and let us begin properly at the top: haveyou got a king, for instance?"To this the girl, pulling herself out of the pleasant slough of herlistlessness, and falling into my vein, answered-"Both yes and no, sir traveller from afar--no chiefly, and yet perhapsyes. If it were no then it were so, and if yes then Hath were our king.""A mild king I should judge by your uncertainty. In the place where Icame from kings press their individualities somewhat more clearly on theirsubjects' minds. Is Hath here in the city? Does he come to your feaststoday?"An nodded. Hath was on the river, he had been to see the sunrise;even now she thought the laughter and singing down behind the bendmight be the king's barge coming up citywards. "He will not be late,"said my companion, "because the marriage-feast is set for tomorrow in thepalace."I became interested. Kings, palaces, marriage-feasts--why, here wassomething substantial to go upon; after all these gauzy folk might turn outgood fellows, jolly com- rades to sojourn amongst--and marriage-feastsreminded me again I was hungry.

　　"Who is it," I asked, with more interest in my tone, "who getsmarried?--is it your ambiguous king himself?"Whereat An's purple eyes broadened with wonder: then as though shewould not be uncivil she checked herself, and answered with smotheredpity for my ignorance, "Not only Hath himself, but every one, stranger,they are all married tomorrow; you would not have them married one at atime, would you?"--this with inexpressible derision.

　　I said, with humility, something like that happened in the place I camefrom, asking her how it chanced the convenience of so many came to oneclimax at the same mo- ment. "Surely, An, this is a marvel ofarrangement. Where I dwelt wooings would sometimes be long orsometimes short, and all maids were not complacent by such universalagree- ment."The girl was clearly perplexed. She stared at me a space, then said,"What have wooings long or short to do with weddings? You talk as ifyou did your wooing first and then came to marriage--we get married firstand woo after- wards!""'Tis not a bad idea, and I can see it might lend an ease and certainty tothe pastime which our method lacks. But if the woman is got first and suedsubsequently, who brings you together? Who sees to the essentialpreliminaries of assortment?"An, looking at my shoes as though she speculated on the remoteness ofthe journey I had come if it were measured by my ignorance, replied, "Theurn, stranger, the urn does that--what else? How it may be in that out-fashioned region you have come from I cannot tell, but here--'tis socommonplace I should have thought you must have known it--we put eachnew year the names of all womenkind into an urn and the men draw forthem, each town, each village by itself, and those they draw are theirs; is itconceivable your race has other methods?"I told her it was so--we picked and chose for ourselves, beseeching thedamsels, fighting for them, and holding the sun of romance was at itssetting just where the Martians held it to rise. Whereat An burst outlaughing--a clear, ringing laugh that set all the light-hearted folk in thenearest boats laughing in sympathy. But when the grotesqueness of theidea had somewhat worn off, she turned grave and asked me if such afancy did not lead to spite, envy, and bickerings. "Why, it seems to me,"she said, shaking her curly head, "such a plan might fire cities, desolateplains, and empty palaces--""Such things have been.""Ah! our way is much the better. See!" quoth that gentle philosopher.

　　"'Here,' one of our women would say, 'am I to-day, unwed, as free of  thought as yonder bird chasing the catkin down; tomorrow I shall bemarried, with a whole summer to make love in, relieved at one bound ofall those uncertainties you acknowledge to, with nothing to do but lieabout on sunny banks with him whom chance sends me, come to the goalof love without any travelling to get there.' Why, you must acknowledgethis is the per- fection of ease.""But supposing," I said, "chance dealt unkindly to you from yournuptial urn, supposing the man was not to your liking, or another covetedhim?" To which An answered, with some shrewdness-"In the first case we should do what we might, being no worse off thanthose in your land who had played ill providence to themselves. In thesecond, no maid would covet him whom fate had given to another, it weretoo fatiguing, or if such a thing DID happen, then one of them wouldwaive his claims, for no man or woman ever born was worth a wrangle,and it is allowed us to barter and change a little."All this was strange enough. I could not but laugh, while An laughedat the lightest invitation, and thus chatting and deriding each other's socialarrangements we floated idly townwards and presently came out into themain waterway perhaps a mile wide and flowing rapidly, as streams willon the threshold of the spring, with brash or waste of distant beachesriding down it, and every now and then a broken branch or tree-stemglancing through waves whose crests a fresh wind lifted and sowed ingolden showers in the inter- vening furrows. The Martians seemedexpert upon the water, steering nimbly between these floating dangerswhen they met them, but for the most part hugging the shore where a moreplacid stream better suited their fancies, and for a time all went well.

　　An, as we went along, was telling me more of her strange country,pointing out birds or flowers and naming them to me. "Now that," shesaid, pointing to a small grey owl who sat reflective on a floating log wewere approaching-- "that is a bird of omen; cover your face and look away,for it is not well to watch it."Whereat I laughed. "Oh!" I answered, "so those ancient follies havecome as far as this, have they? But it is no bird grey or black or whitethat can frighten folk where I come from; see, I will ruffle his philosophy  for him," and suiting the action to the words I lifted a pebble thathappened to lie at the bottom of the boat and flung it at that creature withthe melancholy eyes. Away went the owl, dipping his wings into thewater at every stroke, and as he went wailing out a ghostly cry, which evenamongst sunshine and glitter made one's flesh creep.

　　An shook her head. "You should not have done that," she said; "ourdead whom we send down over the falls come back in the body of yonderlittle bird. But he has gone now," she added, with relief; "see, he settlesfar up stream upon the point of yonder rotten bough; I would not disturbhim again if I were you--"Whatever more An would have said was lost, for amidst a sound offlutes and singing round the bend of the river below came a crowd of boatsdecked with flowers and gar- lands, all clustering round a barge barelyable to move, so thick those lesser skiffs pressed upon it. So close thosewherries hung about that the garlanded rowers who sat at the oars couldscarcely pull, but, here as everywhere, it was the same good temper, thesame carelessness of order, as like a flowery island in the dancing bluewater the motley fleet came up.

　　I steered our skiff a space out from the bank to get a better view, whileAn clapped her hands together and laughed. "It is Hath--he himself andthose of the palace with him. Steer a little nearer still, friend--so!

　　between yon floating rubbish flats, for those with Hath are good to lookat."Nothing loth I made out into mid-stream to see that strange prince goby, little thinking in a few minutes I should be shaking hands with him, awet and dripping hero. The crowd came up, and having the advantage ofthe wind, it did not take me long to get a front place in the ruck, whence Iset to work, with republican interest in royalty, to stare at the man who Ansaid was the head of Martian society. He did not make me desire torenounce my demo- cratic principles. The royal fellow was sitting in thecentre of the barge under a canopy and on a throne which was a mass offlowers, not bunched together as they would have been with us, but socunningly arranged that they rose from the footstool to the pinnacle in arhythm of colour, a poem in bud and petals the like of which for  harmonious beauty I could not have imagined possible. And in this fairyden was a thin, gaunt young man, dressed in some sort of black stuff sonondescript that it amounted to little more than a shadow. I took it forgranted that a substance of bone and muscle was covered by that gloomysuit, but it was the face above that alone riveted my gaze and made mereturn the stare he gave me as we came up with re- doubled interest. Itwas not an unhandsome face, but ashy grey in colour and amongst theinsipid countenances of the Martians about him marvellously thoughtful.

　　I do not know whether those who had killed themselves by learn- ing everleave ghosts behind, but if so this was the very ideal for such a one. Athis feet I noticed, when I un- hooked my eyes from his at last, sat a girl ina loose coral pink gown who was his very antipode. Princess Heru, forso she was called, was resting one arm upon his knee at our approach andpulling a blue convolvulus bud to pieces--a charming picture of daintyidleness. Anything so soft, so silken as that little lady was never seenbefore. Who am I, a poor quarter-deck loafer, that I should attempt todescribe what poet and painter alike would have failed to realise? I know,of course, your stock descriptives: the melting eye, the coral lip, thepeachy cheek, the raven tress; but these were coined for mortal woman-and this was not one of them. I will not attempt to describe the glorioustenderness of those eyes she turned upon me presently; the glowingradiance of her skin; the infinite grace of every action; the incredible soul-searching harmony of her voice, when later on I heard it--you must gathersomething of these things as I go--suffice it to say that when I saw herthere for the first time in the plenitude of her beauty I fell desperately,wildly in love with her.

　　Meanwhile, even the most infatuated of mortals cannot stare for everwithout saying something. The grating of our prow against the garlandedside of the royal barge roused me from my reverie, and nodding to An, toimply I would be back presently, I lightly jumped on to Hath's vessel, and,with the assurance of a free and independent American voter, approachedthat individual, holding out my palm, and saying as I did so,"Shake hands, Mr. President!"The prince came forward at my bidding and extending his hand for  mine. He bowed slow and sedately, in that peculiar way the Martianshave, a ripple of gratified civility passing up his flesh; lower and lower hebowed, until his face was over our clasped hands, and then, with simplecourtesy, he kissed my finger-tips! This was somewhat em- barrassing.

　　It was not like the procedure followed in Courts nearer to Washington thanthis one, as far as my reading went, and, withdrawing my fingers hastily, Iturned to the princess, who had risen, and was eyeing her somewhatawkwardly, the while wondering what kind of salutation would be suitablein her case when a startling incident happened. The river, as said, wasfull of floating rubbish brought down from some far-away uplands by aspring freshet while the royal convoy was making slow progress upstreamand thus met it all bow on. Some of this stuff was heavy timber, andwhen a sudden warning cry went up from the leading boats it did not takemy sailor instinct long to guess what was amiss. Those in front shot sideto side, those be- hind tried to drop back as, bearing straight down on theroyal barge, there came a log of black wood twenty feet long and as thickas the mainmast of an old three-decker.

　　Hath's boat could no more escape than if it had been planted on arocky pedestal, garlands and curtains trailing in the water hung so heavyon it. The gilded paddles of the slender rowers were so feeble--they hadbut made a half- turn from that great javelin's road when down it cameupon them, knocking the first few pretty oarsmen head over heels andcrackling through their oars like a bull through dry maize stalks. I sprangforward, and snatching a pole from a half-hearted slave, jammed the endinto the head of the log and bore with all my weight upon it, diverting it alittle, and thereby perhaps saving the ship herself, but not enough. As itflashed by a branch caught upon the trailing tapestry, hurling me to thedeck, ,and tearing away with it all that finery. Then the great spar,tossing half its dripping length into the air, went plunging downstreamwith shreds of silk and flowers trailing from it, and white water bubblingin its rear.

　　When I scrambled to my feet all was ludicrous confusion on board.

　　Hath still stood by his throne--an island in a sea of disorder--staring at me;all else was chaos. The rowers and courtiers were kicking and wallowing  in the "waist" of the ship like fish newly shot out of a trawl net, but theprincess was gone. Where was she? I brushed the spray from my eyes,and stared overboard. She was not in the bub- bling blue water alongside.

　　Then I glanced aft to where the log, now fifteen yards away, was splashingthrough the sun- shine, and, as I looked, a fair arm came up fromunderneath and white fingers clutched convulsively at the sky. Whatman could need more? Down the barge I rushed, and drop- ping only myswordbelt, leapt in to her rescue. The gentle Martians were too numb toraise a hand in help; but it was not necessary. I had the tide with me, andgained at every stroke. Meanwhile that accursed tree, with poor Heru'sskirts caught on a branch, was drowning her at its leisure; lifting her up asit rose upon the crests, a fair, helpless bundle, and then sousing her in itsfall into the nether water, where I could see her gleam now and again likepink coral.

　　I redoubled my efforts and got alongside, clutching the rind of that oldstump, and swimming and scrambling, at last was within reach of theprincess. Thereon the log lifted her playfully to my arms, and when I hadlaid hold came down, a crushing weight, and forced us far into the clammybosom of Martian sea. Again we came up, coughing and choking--Itugging furiously at that tangled raiment, and the lady, a mere lump ofsweetness in my other arm-- then down again with that log upon me andall the noises of Eblis in my ears. Up and down we went, over and over,till strength was spent and my ribs seemed breaking; then, with a lastdesperate effort, I got a knee against the stem, and by sheer strength freedmy princess--the spiteful timber made a last ugly thrust at us as it rolledaway--and we were free!

　　I turned upon my back, and, sure of rescue now, took the lady's headupon my chest, holding her sweet, white fists in mine the while, and,floating, waited for help.

　　It came only too quickly. The gallant Martians, when they saw theprincess saved, came swiftly down upon us. Over the lapping of the waterin my ears I heard their sigh- like cries of admiration and surprise, therattle of spray on the canoe sides mingled with the splash of oars, theflitting shadows of their prows were all about us, and in less time than it  takes to write we were hauled aboard, revived, and taken to Hath's barge.

　　Again the prince's lips were on my fingertips; again the flutes and musicstruck up; and as I squeezed the water out of my hair, and tried to keep myeyes off the outline of Heru, whose loveliness shone through her damp,clinging, pink robe, as if that robe were but a gauzy fancy, I vaguely heardHath saying wondrous things of my gallantry, and, what was more to thepurpose, asking me to come with him and stay that night at the palace.