"Prince," she cried, "be calm! Such a favor is, I know, enough to cause your emotion: but are you not used to all honors?" "Impossible!" muttered Nagato, in a voice which was scarcely audible; "I cannot appear before her." "What!" said Iza-Farou, "would you disobey her command?" "I am not in court-dress," said the Prince. "She will dispense with ceremony for this time only, the reception being secret. Do not keep her waiting longer." "So be it; lead the way!" suddenly exclaimed Nagato, who had now apparently conquered his emotion. "These two pages will conduct you," said Iza-Farou. Nagato left the room rapidly, preceded by the Kisaki's two servitors; but not so rapidly that he did not hear a stifled cry which broke from the lips of Fatkoura. After walking for some time, and passing through the various galleries and halls of the palace without paying the slightest heed to them, Nagato came to a great curtain of white satin, embroidered in gold, whose broad folds, silvery in the light, leaden-hued in the shade, lay in ample heaps upon the ground. The pages drew aside this drapery; the Prince advanced, and the quivering waves of satin fell together again behind him. The walls of the hall which he entered glittered faintly in the dim light; they gave out flashes of gold, the whiteness of pearls and purple reflections, while an exquisite perfume floated in the air. At the end of the room, beneath curtains fastened back by golden cords, sat the radiant sovereign in the midst of the silken billows of her scarlet robes; the triple plate of gold, insignia of omnipotence, rose above her brow. The Prince grasped the vision with one involuntary look; then, dropping his eyes as if he had gazed upon the sun at noon, he advanced to the centre of the room and fell upon his knees; then slowly his face sank to the ground. "Iwakura," said the Kisaki, after a long pause, "what you ask of me is serious. I desire certain explanations from your own lips before I prefer your request to the sublime master of the world, the son of the gods, my spouse." The Prince half rose, and strove to speak, but could not; he felt as if his bosom would burst with the frantic throbbing of his heart. The words died on his lips, and he remained with downcast eyes, pale as death. "Is it because you think me angry with you that you are so much alarmed?" said the Queen, looking at the Prince for an instant with surprise. "I can forgive you, for your crime is but slight. You love one of my maidens, that is all." "Nay, I do not love her!" cried Nagato, who, as if he had lost his senses, raised his eyes to his sovereign. "What matters it to me?" said the Kisaki abruptly. For one second their gaze met; but Nagato closed his guilty eyes, and trembling at his own audacity, awaited its punishment. But after a pause the Kisaki went on in a quiet voice: "Your letter reveals to me a terrible secret; and if what you imagine is true, the peace of the kingdom may be deeply affected."