else,
told for the mere pleasure of romancing?

The immortal Rezu, for instance, who had drunk of the Cup of Life or
some such rubbish, now turned out to be nothing but a brawny savage
descended from generations of chiefs also called Rezu. Moreover the
immemorial Ayesha, who also had drunk of Cups of Life, and according
to her first story, had lived in this place for thousands of years, had
come here with a mother, who filled the same mystic role before her for
the benefit of an extremely gloomy and disagreeable tribe of Semitic
savages. Yet she was cross with me because I had not swallowed her crude
and indigestible mixture of fable and philosophy without a moment's
question.

At least I supposed that this was the reason, though another possible
explanation did come into my mind. I had refused to be duly overcome
by her charms, not because I was unimpressed, for who could be, having
looked upon that blinding beauty even for a moment? but rather because,
after sundry experiences, I had at last attained to some power of
judgment and learned what it is best to leave alone. Perhaps this had
annoyed her, especially as no white man seemed to have come her way for
a long while and the fabulous Kallikrates had not put in his promised
appearance.

Also it was unfortunate that in one way or another--how did she do it, I
wondered--she had interpreted Umslopogaas' question to me about marrying
her, and my compromising reply. Not that for one moment, as I saw very
clearly, did she wish to marry me. But that fact, intuition suggested to
my mind, did not the least prevent her from being angry because I shared
her views upon this important subject.

Oh! the whole thing was a bore and the sooner I saw the last of that
veiled lady and the interesting but wearisome ruins in which she
dwelt, the better I should be pleased, although apparently I must trek
homewards with a poor young woman who was out of her mind, leaving
the bones of her unfortunate father behind me. I admitted to myself,
however, that there were consolations in the fact that Providence
had thus decreed, for Robertson since he gave up drink had not been a
cheerful companion, and two mad people would really have been more than
I could manage.

To return, for these reasons I examined the two wounded Zulus with
considerable anxiety, only to discover another instance of the chicanery
which it amused this Ayesha to play off upon me. For what did I find?
That they were pr