I was interrupted in the midst of my many interesting discoveries and observations by the sudden entrance of one of my equerries, who was followed by the Arch-priest demanding an audience. Left alone together, I instinctively put myself on my guard, assuming as well as I could an air of naive simplicity. Despite his deferential words and attitude, I could not fail to detect the deep-set twinkle in his eye as he proceeded to inform me of the object of his mission. At the same time, however, I felt certain that I must have produced a favourable impression on the previous day, and from my deportment both now and in the future I warmly hoped to be able to hold the old man's approval, for something in my inner consciousness, a species of sixth sense, assured me he was ready to show himself my friend, though doubtless a friend within certain limits that I had yet to learn. The Arch-priest opened our talk with an apology for thus invading the privacy of my apartments without previous warning, excusing himself for his intrusion by the urgent necessity of the occasion. He then informed me that on the next day the ceremony of my coronation was fixed to take place in the temple, which he pointed out to me from the balcony. "You are in the eyes of your subjects, as you know, the Child of the Sun, whom alone we worship in Meleager, and who sends you as a king to rule over his favoured people. You will therefore be presented in public by myself and my colleagues of the Sacred College to the populace; you will be robed and crowned; you will extend your formal blessing to them; you will offer incense at the crystal altar of your Father the Sun, in the great courtyard of the temple; and after that you will mount the sacred white horse so as to ride in full majesty through the streets of the city in the presence of your subjects. It will be a long and tedious series of ceremonies, yet I flatter myself that each one of these rites will not be without interest to you, seeing the lengthy spell of authority amongst us that lies ahead of you. I myself shall be at your side throughout, and you may rely with safety on my tutelage in any event."
Other advice and suggestions the Arch-priest likewise imparted to me, amongst the rest that Hiridia would in course of time teach me the spoken language of Meleager. "Ever since your immersion in the mystical well," so my companion proceeded, "you will experience an acceleration of all the faculties, which in your case were already highly developed when on Earth. Moreover, the tongue of the Meleagrians, which under Hiridia's teaching you will soon acquire, is not a written language, and none outside our hierarchy of the Temple of the Sun can read or write at all. Indeed, our only archives are in Latin, since for reasons which it is not expedient for me to mention at this point we have always vigorously opposed the casting of the popular speech into a literary form." This last statement the old man made in a very solemn manner, looking me full in the face as though to catch any motion or expression of surprise or disapproval. But I had set my countenance unflinchingly, and received his confidences with perfect outward composure, whereupon the Arch-priest leaned back in his chair with a faint sigh of relief which by no means escaped my watchful notice. Having received this minor secret of Meleagrian state craft so calmly and suitably, I was hoping to glean yet more information on the traditional polity of the governing cabal of my kingdom, but on this occasion I was doomed to be disappointed. For the Arch-priest arose abruptly, and leading me to the balustrade of the gallery began to point out and explain to me the various buildings and salient features that were discernible from this spot. In most cases I found I had already guessed correctly, my intelligence and perspicacity evidently serving to strengthen the favourable impression I had already created. The Arch-priest then led me to the other side of the building and introduced me to the private gardens of the palace, a delightful pleasance, full of subtropical verdure and flowers and overshadowed by tall palms and cypresses. Fountains with marble basins were frequent, and their constant plashing made an agreeable sound in the intense quiet of this retreat. I noted too that every fountain was circular in shape, and that everywhere were to be seen endless representations of the sun, whilst the many lackeys or slaves attached to the royal service bore the same design woven in gold and blue on their breasts. Returning to the gallery overlooking the town and harbour, my companion bade me listen to the hum of voices and the din of traffic that rose from below into the warm air, striking on my ears with the mingled sounds of a teeming city.
"Tamarida is filled to overflowing with your loyal subjects," commented the Arch-priest; "who are all agog to behold to-morrow's function; and even now the town is hourly receiving innumerable visitors from the country districts and from your Majesty's second city of Zapyro, which is ever jealous of the capital for its possession of the person of the Child of the Sun." He paused for a moment to give me another of those arch glances from his kindly, humorous old eyes; but I only nodded and smiled amiably. "Thousands of faithful citizens too from your Majesty's colonies on the wild rocky coasts of Barbaria yonder to the north (and he waved his arm to indicate some distant land beyond the enclosing hills) are hastening hither to behold the reincarnation of the Child of the Sun, concerning whom their parents have doubtless told them wonderful tales. See those boats with bellying sails that are even now entering the harbour's mouth; they are all freighted with excited pilgrims, men, women and children, drawn hither to assist at a spectacle of outward splendour and interior sanctity that your Earth, notwithstanding its illimitable wealth and its superior population, cannot produce. They tell me (and here the old man's eyes again twinkled mischievously) that one of your own many religious cults is ruled by a priest who claims and receives divine honours. He is said to be elected by a college of saintly and venerable brother priests, and to be borne aloft with pomp and acclamation on the shoulders of men of noble birth. I have, of course, never seen the ceremonies of modern Rome (which city I hold in especial esteem as having been in ancient times the origin of our official written language), but in this one crucial instance this consecration of an earthly high priest must yield to ours. For there is (so I am informed) no unanimity of opinion, no universal acceptance of the chosen pontiff; whilst here the King who is provided by our hierarchy is acknowledged by all without hesitation or limit as the connecting link between the divine and the human, whose presence is absolutely essential to the welfare of his subjects. Our King is the peculiar guerdon of our sole Deity the Sun to his favoured people, on whom from time to time he deigns to bestow a member of his own family for guidance and example."
At length the Arch-priest took his departure, and I spent the remainder of the day agreeably enough in the society of Hiridia, whom I set to teach me the names of every object in sight. I had already requested the Arch-priest for pen and ink and paper, and after a visible tendency to demur he had yielded to my demand, a plentiful supply of beautifully prepared rolls of vellum, an ink-horn and some quill pens being brought me. I now wrote down phonetically the name of each thing supplied me by Hiridia, placing its English equivalent opposite. I was quite astonished at my progress in the course of a few hours' application of this nature, and the sun was low in the western sky when my patient tutor made respectful signs to me to rise and follow him. I soon grasped his intention, for he led me through the gardens to an open court where two young nobles were playing at some sort of hand-ball. A slave now removed my mantle and tunic, to exchange them for a short linen garment, whilst a pair of hard leather gloves were likewise supplied me. We four now fell to play with zest a game that was so reminiscent of the hand-fives of my school-days that I learned the science, the rules and the method of scoring in a very short space. I thoroughly enjoyed the healthy exercise, which in due course produced a copious perspiration, and thus we amused ourselves till the final sinking of the sun brought our game to a close for lack of light. At this moment I heard the prolonged blare of a distant trumpet, and straightway perceived my three companions sink to their knees for a short but silent prayer. Then they rose and led me to the thermal baths attached to the palace, where I indulged in a further bout of sweating followed by a plunge in cool water. After resting I dressed myself again, and with an excellent appetite made my way to the banqueting hall, where I partook of the last meal of the day. On this occasion a band of professional players with unfamiliar instruments provided us with music, which I found neither better nor worse than many of the concerts I had been obliged to attend at various times upon Earth. Pleasantly fatigued, at last I sought my bed-chamber to ponder over my late experiences of the first twenty-four conscious hours I had spent on the planet of Meleager.
Early on the following morning there were abundant signs to warn me of the great impending event. All was bustle and animation within the palace, and at an early hour the Arch-priest himself was announced to give me some final instructions. Soon afterwards a litter was brought, borne by a number of servants dressed in what was evidently their gala livery, and in this equipage I was placed, behind carefully closed curtains, and was thus conveyed up many long flights of steps to the precincts of the temple above. Here on my arrival I found the Arch-priest and several members of the hierarchy awaiting me, and was informed that first of all it was necessary for me to hold a levée of the whole of the ruling Council of the Seventy. I cannot say that this prospect afforded me any pleasure; still, I prepared to comport myself with the necessary amount of calm dignity I deemed fitting for the occasion. I was next ushered into a large hall, where in a semicircle were seated a large number of these all-powerful patriarchs clad in their robes of flowing white. I was directed to a throne opposite them, and at once began to hold my formal reception, each member of the Council being presented to me in turn by the Arch-priest. In every case, mindful of our royal Court procedure on Earth, I proffered my right hand for a kiss of salutation, and at the same time set my face to exhibit no sign of anxiety or self-consciousness, for I realised that I was amongst the keenest and most critical intellects of the kingdom, who regarded me not in the light of a true monarch, but rather as their own creature, a thing raised by their choice and efforts from mere nothingness to a position of extreme though false magnificence. Nevertheless, I was not so much preoccupied with the mastery of my feelings that I failed to note carefully the face and expression of each individual member as the councillors filed before me in a long moving stream that seemed to flow interminably past the throne, so prolix and lengthy was the Arch-priest in his style of presentation. Vainly did I look for the appearance of my Herthian friend Signor Arrigo d'Aragno amongst their number, but either he was absent or else was so skilfully disguised that I failed to detect his presence. One little circumstance I observed was that whereas all the Meleagrian men I had hitherto seen wore moustaches, these grandees of the governing caste were all either clean-shaven or else owned beards of an imposing length. Nearly two hours were consumed in this fatiguing occupation, and thankful I was when the last sharp-eyed senator had returned to his seat.
I now arose of my own motion, and expressed a desire to quit the chamber of the councillors, whose atmosphere somehow oppressed and irritated me. The Arch-priest accordingly led me into a closet adjoining, where I sat down on the pretence of fatigue. Ere long however to my relief I saw Hiridia approach, followed by my two equerries and by some servants of the palace bearing large bundles, which I perceived contained the regal robes of state. A priest certainly stood beside me, but he made no attempt to interfere with Hiridia's arrangements. First of all, I was stripped to my inner vesture, after which gorgeous blue leather buskins with heavy gold tassels and laces were fitted to my feet. Next a tunic far more elaborate than my usual one was donned; then a mantle of an appalling weight but of a surpassing splendour was hung from my yielding shoulders. On the mantle itself was embroidered a device of the blazing sun in heavy gold thread, whilst the rest of the surface of the cloak was thickly patined with golden stars. The mantle was fastened by a clasp composed of a huge cabochon sapphire of perfect water set in a circle of flashing diamonds. At this moment the Arch-priest returned, resplendent in festal robes of white silk fringed with gold and with a tall golden mitre on his head. Thus habited, he appeared a striking and venerable figure, for his superior height, his flowing white beard, his pleasant brown eyes and his delicate complexion all combined to make a most favourable impression on the beholder. On a cushion he carried the regal crown, of the type known to heraldry as "palisaded," and not unlike the diadem worn by the Medicean Grand Dukes of Tuscany, as shown in their pictures and effigies. My crown was all of gold with the exception of one large oval sapphire surrounded by brilliants for its central ornament. This object the Arch-priest now carefully placed on my head, not a little to my trepidation until I realised that, whether by accident or as the result of forethought, the heavy circle fitted my cranium to a nicety. The finishing touch consisted in fastening solid gold armillæ, or bracelets, set with sapphires on my wrists.
Thus gloriously apparelled, I must on standing up have presented a truly noble and imposing appearance, and I say so without shame of conceit or vanity. I was many inches taller than the tallest of my companions; thanks to my bath in the Fountain of Rejuvenation I had a clear white skin, a sparkling eye, and an elegance of carriage that have rarely been seen by mortal man; whilst the extreme fairness of my complexion and the sheen of my long locks in contrast with so many dusky skins and black heads of hair seemed to attract to themselves some kind of shadowy semi-divine aureole, such as Benvenuto Cellini describes as investing his person after his colloquy with the Blessed Virgin and St Peter in his cell of the castle of Sant'Angelo. I was well aware of the sensation I aroused in all present, even in the Arch-priest; and a thrill of elation, of confidence in the future, possessed me through and through. Whether or no these saturnine priests of the Temple of the Sun chose to regard me as their puppet, their slave, what was that to me? I realised that my marvellous beauty at this moment was an asset whereof nothing they could say or do would lessen my influence in the eyes of the mass of the people I was about to face. All misgivings and tremors left me, as I prepared boldly to move forward and take my part in the coming pageant.
To a terrific blast of trumpets and to the explosions of some antiquated-looking mortars that stood on the temple parapet, our procession filed through a narrow doorway on to a broad marble platform. First emerged the nobles attached to the Court in their crimson gala robes, then the priests, a long sinuous line of snowy white; behind them walked the Arch-priest, whilst last of all appeared myself, a tall commanding majestic figure with my equerries to uphold my glittering mantle. My entry into sight of the vast multitude that thronged the courtyard below the platform on which we stood was first greeted by a spell of perfect silence, which in time changed to a long low murmur of approval and awe, and finally to a resounding roar of satisfied delight. Slowly did our long train of nobles, priests, choristers and attendants unwind and fall into proper groups in their assigned places, the whole scene reminding me of some wonderful ballet on an immense stage, with its blending and massing and dividing of the colours of white, red, gold and blue, like the intricate movements of some stately dance.
At last only the Arch-priest and myself remained standing in the central space of the platform, when the former, after an obeisance of a cringing humility of which I had hitherto deemed him incapable, conducted me to a throne beneath a canopy of blue and gold. From this point, during the performance of some singing, I was enabled surreptitiously to examine the component parts of the huge crowd beneath. Immediately under the dais were numbers of persons who were all characterised by wearing green in some form or other, either green tunics or mantles or scarves. As these seemed to occupy the better and reserved space in the courtyard I concluded (and rightly so) that they were members of the middle or mercantile class, who were given precedence over the general populace. The latter were farther away, and were consequently more difficult for me to distinguish. But it was a picturesque throng in any case, and brilliantly coloured, for the robes were mostly in tints of yellow, orange, violet, pink, cinnamon and other shades, though the four colours of blue, white, red and green were conspicuously absent. Men, women and children were visible in the crowd, all of them being small dark people of the type already exemplified in the few persons I had hitherto seen. Part of the court was enclosed by double colonnades that supported upper chambers screened by lattice-work from inquisitive eyes, like the discreet convent windows I used to observe in the highest storeys above the streets of Naples and Palermo. Behind these screens were evidently many spectators, and from the shrillness of the voices issuing hence and from other indications I gathered that the occupants of these galleries were mostly women. As a matter of fact, one side was reserved for the ladies and children of the nobility, and the other for the female inmates of the college of nuns or recluses attached to the Temple of the Sun, of whose duties I mean to speak later.