And now at the supper board of King Manus those who were eating, or
drinking, or whispering to each other as the youth began his story,
became silent and eager when he spoke of Babylon and the Tower of
Babylon. The King himself was fain to hear about that city that was the
greatest in the world, and about the King who was the mightiest of all
Kings, and he commanded the attendants to cease going here and there.
So the servers and chamberlains and stewards, with the dishes, and
napkins, and rods of office in their hands, stood still behind those
who were seated at the table. The lords leaned forward with their eyes
upon the youth who sat in the story-teller’s place, and the King made a
sign for him to tell on. But the youth Eean was speechless for a while.
Such was the memory of the high Tower of Babylon upon him that had he
been standing he would have fallen down. His head sank on the arm rest
of the chair, and those near him who touched his hand felt it chilled.
Then King Manus signed for a chamberlain to go to him, and he went and
wiped Eean’s brow with a napkin, and then brought him a goblet of the
richest wine. He raised up his head and drank, and looked down the
table, and saw the high candles that burned brightly, and saw the face
of the King and the faces of the lords who sat with the King. But for a
while his look was the look of a man whose spirit is in another place.
He heard the words that were spoken around him--words that were about
the King of Babylon, and the King of Babylon’s palace. The youth caught
at these words, and went on to speak of what befell him.
* * * * *
The walls of the King’s palace (said Eean, The Boy Apprenticed to an
Enchanter) make seven circles, one wall rising higher than the other,
and each wall having a different color. The first wall is white, the
second wall is black, and the third wall is scarlet; the fourth wall is
blue, the fifth wall is orange, the sixth wall is plated with silver,
and the seventh wall is plated with gold. I was filled with wonder when
I looked on the walls of the King’s palace.
The Enchanter that day had put on the dress of a merchant, but under
it he had left his own garb--the straight dress that had the curious
figures upon it. He took into his hand the staff that was made of two
serpents twisting together, and he told me that the time had come to go
to the palace and speak with the King.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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