they would hate us
at once for our arrogance; whereas, if we keep apart to ourselves a
few mere personal decorations, these become just objects to admire and
pleasantly envy."

"You show me that there is more in the office of a ruler than meets the
eye."

"And yet they tell me, and indeed show me, that you have ruled with some
success."

"I employed the older method. It requires a Phorenice to invent these
nicer flights."

"Flatterer!" said she, and smote me playfully with the back of her
little fingers on my arm. "You are becoming as great a courtier as any
of them. You make me blush with your fine pleasantries, Deucalion, and
there is no fan-girl here to-night to cool my cheek. I must choose me
another fan-girl. But it shall not be Ylga. Ylga seems to have more of a
kindness for you than I like, and if she is wise she will go live in her
palace at the other side of the city, and there occupy herself with the
ordering of her slaves, and the makings of embroideries. I shall not
be hard on Ylga unless she forces me, but I will have no woman in this
kingdom treat you with undue civility."

"And how am I to act," said I, falling in with her mood, "when I see and
hear all the men of Atlantis making their protestations before you? By
your own confession they all love you as ardently as they seem to have
loved you hopelessly."

"Ah, now," she said, "you must not ask me to do impossibilities. I am
powerful if you will. But I have no force which will govern the hearts
of these poor fellows on matters such as that. But if you choose, you
make proclamation that I am given now body and inwards to you, and if
they continue to offend your pride in this matter, you may take your
culprits, and give them over to the tormentors. Indeed, Deucalion, I
think it would be a pretty attention to me if you did arrange some such
ceremony. It seems to me a present," she added with a frown, "that the
jealousy is too much on one side."

"You must not expect that a man who has been divorced from love for all
of a busy life can learn all its niceties in an instant. Myself, I was
feeling proud of my progress. With any other schoolmistress than you,
Phorenice, I should not be near so forward. In fact (if one may judge by
my past record), I should not have begun to learn at all."

"I suppose you think I should be satisfied with that? Well, I am not. I
can be finely greedy over some matters."

The banquet this night did not extend to inordin