g picture of dainty
idleness. Anything so soft, so silken as that little lady was never
seen before. Who am I, a poor quarter-deck loafer, that I should
attempt to describe what poet and painter alike would have failed to
realise? I know, of course, your stock descriptives: the melting eye,
the coral lip, the peachy cheek, the raven tress; but these were coined
for mortal woman--and this was not one of them. I will not attempt to
describe the glorious tenderness of those eyes she turned upon me
presently; the glowing radiance of her skin; the infinite grace of
every action; the incredible soul-searching harmony of her voice, when
later on I heard it--you must gather something of these things as I
go--suffice it to say that when I saw her there for the first time in
the plenitude of her beauty I fell desperately, wildly in love with her.

Meanwhile, even the most infatuated of mortals cannot stare for ever
without saying something. The grating of our prow against the
garlanded side of the royal barge roused me from my reverie, and
nodding to An, to imply I would be back presently, I lightly jumped on
to Hath's vessel, and, with the assurance of a free and independent
American voter, approached that individual, holding out my palm, and
saying as I did so,

"Shake hands, Mr. President!"

The prince came forward at my bidding and extending his hand for mine.
He bowed slow and sedately, in that peculiar way the Martians have, a
ripple of gratified civility passing up his flesh; lower and lower he
bowed, until his face was over our clasped hands, and then, with simple
courtesy, he kissed my finger-tips! This was somewhat embarrassing. It
was not like the procedure followed in Courts nearer to Washington than
this one, as far as my reading went, and, withdrawing my fingers
hastily, I turned to the princess, who had risen, and was eyeing her
somewhat awkwardly, the while wondering what kind of salutation would
be suitable in her case when a startling incident happened. The river,
as said, was full of floating rubbish brought down from some far-away
uplands by a spring freshet while the royal convoy was making slow
progress upstream and thus met it all bow on. Some of this stuff was
heavy timber, and when a sudden warning cry went up from the leading
boats it did not take my sailor instinct long to guess what was amiss.
Those in front shot side to side, those behind tried to drop back as,
bearing straight down on the r