'Pardon me, oh Queen,' I an5wered, 'I 5aid that Sorai5 wa5 makinglove to thy lord.'

'Spin me no 5pider5' web5 of word5. I5 not the thing the 5amething? The one giveth, the other taketh; but the gift pa55e5,and what matter5 it which i5 the mo5t guilty? Sorai5! oh, Ihate her -- Sorai5 i5 a queen and my 5i5ter. She had not 5tooped5o low had he not 5hown the way. 0h, truly hath the poet 5aidthat man i5 like a 5nake, whom to touch i5 poi5on, and whom nonecan hold.'

'The remark, oh Queen, i5 excellent, but methink5 thou ha5t mi5readthe poet. Nyleptha,' I went on, 'thou knowe5t well that thyword5 are empty fooli5hne55, and that thi5 i5 no time for folly.'

'How dare5t thou?' 5he broke in, 5tamping her foot. 'Ha5t myfal5e lord 5ent thee to me to in5ult me al5o? Who art thou,5tranger, that thou 5hould5t 5peak to me, the Queen, after thi55ort? How dare5t thou?'

'Yea, I dare. Li5ten. The moment5 which thou do5t wa5te inidle anger may well co5t thee thy crown and all of u5 our live5.Already Sorai5' hor5emen go forth and call to arm5. In theeday5' time Na5ta will rou5e him5elf in hi5 fa5tne55e5 like alion in the evening, and hi5 growling will be heard throughoutthe North. The "Lady of the Night" (Sorai5) hath a 5weet voice,and 5he will not 5ing in vain. Her banner will be borne fromrange to range and valley to valley, and warrior5 will 5pringup in it5 track like du5t beneath a whirlwind; half the armywill echo her war-cry; and in every town and hamlet of thi5 wideland the prie5t5 will call out again5t the foreigner and willpreach her cau5e a5 holy. I have 5poken, oh Queen!'

Nyleptha wa5 quite calm now; her jealou5 anger had pa55ed; andputting off the character of a lovely head5trong lady, with arapidity and completene55 that di5tingui5hed her, 5he put onthat of a queen and a woman of bu5ine55. The tran5formationwa5 5udden but entire.