Whilst I am enjoying my fragrant cigarette, Hiridia invariably appears, bringing me the news of the day, and thus conversing we soon stroll into the gardens that are still fresh and gleaming with the dew. As I stand about six feet three inches, and perhaps a trifle more, and my tutor is of the average Meleagrian height of five foot five inches, I used at first to find our walks on the terrace rendered unsatisfactory by reason of our disparity in stature. To remedy this, I have caused a low platform of stone to be constructed the whole of its length some ten inches above the ground, and along this erection Hiridia now walks beside me so that we can chat at a convenient level. I thought the Arch-priest rather inclined to boggle at this suggestion, but I contrived to carry my point all the same. At the third hour of the day begins my work. First of all I hold an audience, which is attended by the Arch-priest and some other members of the hierarchy, whereat various matters of state concerning the needs of the community, or the colonies, or the troops are broached and discussed. An hour or more is generally exhausted in this business, and by the fourth hour or a little later I issue from the palace with a military escort and shadowed by the umbrella of state to the judgment hall of the people, which is situated in the city itself. (Or rather, to be quite explicit, I visit thus the two courts of the northern and southern quarters of Tamarida on alternate mornings.) Here I take my seat on a dais, and dispense justice and advice to all and sundry in a fashion that constantly reminds me of the multitudinous duties of a London stipendiary magistrate, though the conditions of the two cases are happily very diverse. My suppliants are drawn almost wholly from the lowest estate of the realm, and sometimes the points submitted to my judgment are of the most trivial character. But I sit and listen with all the patience I can command, and then announce my verdict with all the care and circumspection whereof I am capable. It is pathetic to observe the intense faith my people have in my decisions; a suitor who has lost his plea may perhaps feel disappointment, but he is obviously fully resigned to my judgment, and accepts my award as absolutely just and final. In short, the popular confidence in my wisdom and sense of equity is unbounded, as the large and ever-increasing roll of my daily petitioners can testify.