CHAPTER XIII.
THE MIKADO'S THIRTY-THREE DINNERS.
The sublime Son of the Gods was bored. He sat cross-legged on a raiseddais covered with mats, between curtains of gold brocade which hungfrom the ceiling and were drawn back in heavy folds on either side. Asuccession of rooms opened, one from another, before the monarch's gaze.
He thought that he was very majestic; then he yawned.
The one hundred and ninth Mikado, Go-Mitzou-No, although young, wasexcessively fat,--made so, no doubt, by the almost constant inaction ofhis life. His face was pale, no ray of sun ever resting on it; severalchins reposed upon his breast; his purple robes fell about him in amplefolds; the lofty plate of gold adorned his brow. At his right werearranged all the insignia of his omnipotence,--the sword, the mirror,and the iron tablet.
The Mikado found his existence monotonous. Every action of his life wasarranged in advance, and must be accomplished in accordance with themost minute etiquette. If he left the precincts of the palace, he wasshut up in a superb vehicle drawn by buffaloes; but he felt suffocatedin that close box, and preferred to remain on his throne. If he wishedto admire the flowers in his garden beds, he must go out in companywith a vast suite, and the annals of the kingdom made careful noteof the event. The greater part of his time was supposed to be passedin meditation: but to tell the truth, he meditated very little; hisintellect had become blunted. When he tried to think, the strangenessof the ideas that buzzed confusedly through his brain astonished him.Some of his fancies were criminal, some ludicrous. The latter amusedhim; but he dared not laugh, knowing that he was watched. He wouldthen strive to bring his mind back to celestial things; but it weariedhim, and he returned to his whimsical dreams. Sometimes he was seizedby an irresistible desire to move about, to run and jump and leap; butthat would ill comport with the silent immobility appropriate to thedescendant of the Gods. One day, however,--or rather one night, themysteriously achieved his desire. He slipped out of bed, and whileall around him slept, he performed a wild dance; no one ever knewit,--at least so he thought. As he never saw anything but the bentback of his subjects, he may really have supposed that he belonged toa superior race, and that the common herd of men walked on all fours.And yet he thought that they sometimes treated him like a child. Hisbow and arrows were taken away, because on one occasion, while abody of delegates from the Shogun lay prostrate before his throne,he let fly an arrow at the highest dignitary among them. In spite ofthe rage which sometimes boiled within him, he dared not rebel; hisinaction, the perpetual association with women, who alone could servehim, had weakened his courage. He felt that he was at the mercy of hisministers; he feared lest he should be assassinated.
And yet, at times, an immense pride took possession of him; he feltdivine blood course through his veins; he knew that the earth was notworthy to be trodden beneath his feet, that the race of men had noright to behold his face; and he dreamed of making thicker still theveils which separated him from the world. Then, the very next moment,he would fancy that perfect happiness lay in solitary rambles over themountains, in working in the open air, in being the lowliest of men;then he would be seized by a vague despair, he would groan and bewailhis fate. But he was soon persuaded that his grief was nothing but ahomesick longing for heaven, his native land.
Just now the Mikado was ready to receive the envoys from Fide-Yori.They had come to testify the latter's gratitude towards the supremeruler, who had conferred the title of Shogun upon him.
The curtains were drawn before the throne; then the princes wereushered in, falling at once upon their faces, with arms extended infront of them. After a long delay the curtain was drawn aside.
Profound silence reigned: the princes remained with their faces on thefloor, motionless.
The Mikado considered them from the height of his throne, and madesilent reflections upon the arrangement of the folds of their garments,on a sash end which had turned over and showed him the wrong side. Hethought that the crest of Satsuma, a cross within a circle, looked likea dormer window barred by two bamboo slats.
Then he wondered what they would all think if he were suddenly to utterfrantic yells! How he would like to see them jump up, with stupefiedfaces!
In a few moments the curtain was again let down; the princes withdrewbackwards. Not one word had been uttered.
After the audience the Mikado left the platform and was stripped of hisvery burdensome state dress. Robed once more in simpler garments, hebent his steps towards the apartments in which he took his meals.
Go-Mitzou-No regarded the dinner-hour as the most agreeable momentin the day; he prolonged it as much as he possibly could. The Mikadoliked good living; he had a decided preference for certain dishes.On account of these preferences a terrible difficulty had formerlyarisen. The Son of the Gods could not reasonably be expected to bendhis lofty mind to the details of the kitchen and decide upon the disheshe would eat; and yet no more could he submit to the caprices of hiscooks or his ministers. After prolonged reflection the Mikado found away to reconcile all parties. He ordered that thirty-three entirelydifferent dinners should be prepared for him every day, to be servedin thirty-three saloons. It then only remained for him to walk throughthose rooms, and choose the meal that pleased him best.
Sometimes it happened that after eating one dinner he would go intoanother hall and eat a second.
When he crossed the threshold of the first of the thirty-three rooms,twelve very noble and most beautiful damsels received him. They alonewere entitled to wait upon him. Their hair, in the presence of theirlord, must be undone, and hang dishevelled in the folds of theirtrailing garments.
The Mikado had seated himself on a mat before the dinner of his choice,and had begun to eat, when the Kisaki entered, unannounced. She, too,when appearing before the supreme master, was obliged to wear her hairflowing loosely. Her superb black tresses were therefore unconfined,and fell in waves to the very ground.
The Mikado raised his eyes to her in amazement, and hurriedly swallowedthe morsel that he had in his mouth.
"My beloved companion," said he, "I did not expect to see you!"
"My divine lord," she replied, "I have come to inform you that I shallvery soon lose one of my women; the fair Fatkoura is about to marry."
"Very good! very good!" said the Mikado; "and whom?"
"The Prince of Nagato."
"Ah-ha! I consent to the marriage."
"And what princess do you name to take the place of the one who is toleave me?"
"I will name any one whom you may select."
"I thank you, master," said the Kisaki; "and I depart from your divinepresence, imploring your pardon for having dared to interrupt yourrepast."
"Oh, it's no matter!" said Go-Mitzou-No, who hastened, as soon as hiswife had gone, to make up for lost time.