The New Moon, page 26
After having given my orders, I went to visit the governor. As soon as I came in he said: “You’ve arrived at a good time. Here is a package that King instructed me to hand to you personally. I’m glad for you, for it must be something very important. Read the message, and you’ll be as impatient as I am to know what it contains.
I opened the package, which contained two documents. One was a handwritten letter from the King, which complimented me on the success of my operations and expressed his satisfaction with them; the other was a kind of parchment, at the head of which was written:
Title of nobility and property given by us, Mirabilo Premiero, King of the Isle of Marvels, to out Director General of Works in Mirabilis, whom we name Duke of Maraviglia and owner of the land that we establish as his Duchy.
Made at our palace in Mirabilis, on the, etc.
The governor congratulated me on my success and I left him in order to go to my post. I saw with pleasure that all my orders were being executed perfectly, and testified my satisfaction to the engineers, whose zeal was augmented to such a degree that, on that same day, everything was ready for the streets to be traced, along with the squares, public gardens, fountains, columns and so on.
On the twelfth day, the tracing of the streets, squares and gardens was executed, and the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth days were employed in placing the houses along the lines.
The sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth days were employed in preparing and surrounding with temporary wooden fences the public gardens, squares and areas that were to be occupied by the fountains.
I went to see the King to tell him that we were approaching the end of the essential work, and that His Majesty could visit the new city the following day if he so desired.
“It’s my most ardent desire,” the King said to me. “I’ll go to admire your work tomorrow.”
“However, Sire, it’s not yet perfected; the essential work is done, but I’ll need a few more days to complete the embellishment of Mirabilis. I shall have the honor of acquainting Your Majesty with all the ornaments with which I have the intention of decorating his capital.”
“In that regard, my good friend, as in everything that I judge you capable of doing, I leave you complete liberty.”
“Thank you, Sire. Your Majesty will be satisfied.”
“The following day, the twentieth, the King and the Queen, carried in a litter by two horses, came to visit the new Mirabilis, which they entered by the Royal Road that terminated in front of the royal palace. Their Majesties were followed by a numerous cavalcade composed of dignitaries and the King’s guards. Their Majesties were received by the inhabitants with shouts of “Long live the King!” and “Long live the Queen!” The long Royal Road resounded with the acclamations of the multitude.
Their Majesties seemed happy and manifested their joy by means of gracious salutes, which they addressed to the people, to the engineers, to the artisans and to the laborers, among which cries of “Long live the Director General!” were uttered. When Their Majesties arrived at the locations destined for the gardens, squares, fountains, etc., they could not dissimulate their joy and admiration in imagining what they would look like when they were finished.
The King and the Queen, wanting to testify their satisfaction with my endeavors immediately, summoned me; I was not far away, for I was desirous of judging for myself the effect that the execution of my plan produced on Their Majesties. I was easily found and I went to them.
On seeing me, the King said: “Come my good friend, come and enjoy the pleasure that you are procuring us by the admirable success of your operations. Come to dine with us today, and explain to us your intentions for the perfection and embellishment of the locations that you have prepared.
At dinner time I went to the royal palace. The usher announced me, presumably in accordance with the King’s order, under the title of “His Lordship, the Duke of Maraviglia, Director General of Works in Mirabilis.” Those titles did not appear to cause any surprise to the people present, because they had been witnesses to the success of my operations and shared the general enthusiasm.
After dinner, I made the King and Queen party to the embellishments that I intended to execute on the plans that I had prepared, and on which I would established gardens, squares and fountains, explaining that the wooden fences, being only temporary, would be replaced by others in iron; that I was about to occupy myself with the ornaments and designs, and that everything would be finished in eight or ten days.
The King and Queen were delighted, and manifested their happiness in their gazes and affectionate words.
The next day, I designed my fountains and their ornaments, which I had already composed, as well as those of the fences.
On the twenty-second day I had the gardens and squares traced out, in the middle of which I traced the plans for the fountains.
I charged an engineer with having the stone carved for the fountains in accordance with the drawings and sections that I gave him, and also for the bases that were to support the iron railings. I indicated the places where the gates were to be placed, and provided the design of the railings, each of which would be surmounted by a gilded spike; the metal was not very rare on the Isle of Marvels, but its use in gilding was unknown. I instructed artisans in gold-beating and the technique of applying it to the objects to be gilded. The engineers seconded me so well that a week later, the fountains were constructed and the railings placed.
I had the gardens and squares dug, and the paths traced in accordance with the designs that I gave the engineers, whose zeal and activity rivaled that of the artisans and laborers.
On the twenty-third day, I had the trees, ornamental bushes and clumps of flowers brought; they were planted in the placed I had marked, while the gilders applied their gold leaf to the spikes of the railings. I had had two large temporary reservoirs set up near the fountains, and had them filled with water, in order that they would be able to flow at the moment when the King and Queen came to visit my works the following day. Then I went to see the King in order to announce to him that my works were concluded and that Their Majesties would do me the greatest honor by visiting them.
“We cannot render you too much honor, my dear Duke. Come to lunch with us tomorrow, and then we shall go to admire your new works.”
After that lunch, I went in all haste to the square that I had completed in order to make sure that everything was in order for the arrival of the august visitors. Everything was as I had instructed. I placed a man next to each reservoir with orders to open the taps when the King and Queen arrived. Everyone was at his post, and I waited impatiently for the royal cortege.
Soon, the acclamations of the multitude announced it, and I saw Their Majesties’ litter coming into the square. They made a tour of it. I was in the garden, near one of the gates, from where I was able to judge the effect that my work produced on the King and Queen. They seemed surprised, astonished and wonderstruck by all that they saw.
The King perceived me, stopped his litter and beckoned to me. I opened the gate near which I was standing and approached Their Majesties.
“Enjoy your work, my good friend,” said the King. “You are making our tears flow, but they are tears of joy and happiness. I am too emotional to express to you all that I am experiencing; I will do that later; give me the pleasure for the moment, of accepting this slight testimony of my gratitude and the title of Excellency, Minister of Public Works.”
With those words, he detached his gold chain, which he placed around my neck, and the Queen offered me her hand to kiss.
At that moment, applause burst forth from all the windows of the beautiful houses with which I had had the square surrounded. Women waved their handkerchiefs and the men cried: “Long live the King! Long live the Queen!”
“You hear that,” said the King. “Vox populi. They are sharing all the happiness that you have given us.”
I could not find words to reply to the King; the emotion I was experiencing had taken away the faculty of speech. The King perceived that and held out his hand; a silence followed, and the King and Queen invited me to dine with them.
At that royal banquet, I found a gathering of all the high dignitaries of the State, of which I was now a part. All those gentlemen gave me a very gracious welcome. Was it sincere or was it simulated? That did not worry me very much. I possessed the amity of the King; that was all I desired.
The next day, I went to visit the King, who received me with open arms.
“I’m delighted to see you, my good friend, for I have to renew my thanks for the happiness I’m achieving. I’ve never been as happy as I am now; that’s why I have the intention of establishing an annual celebration of the re-edification of Mirabilis.”
“To that effect, Sire, I also have another project.”
“What is it, my friend? It must be good.”
“It would be, Sire to erect a column in the square at the end of the Royal Road; it would be an agreeable viewpoint, and a beautiful perspective, seen from the royal palace, of the long convergent lines.”
“Your idea is superb, my friend.”
“But sire, the column would be a rather long endeavor, because of the ornaments with which I want to decorate it, the principal one of which can perhaps only be sculpted by me. It would eternalize Your Majesty’s reign, and the epoch of the re-edification of Mirabilis, which its inhabitants, and those of the Isle of Marvels, owe to you.”
“And also to you, my dear friend,” said the King, swiftly. “But tell me, my friend, what will be the ornaments of this column? Excuse my curiosity, but I can’t resist.”
“The shaft of the column will be placed on a pedestal whose four sides will be ornamented with sculptures related to the subject, and the summit of the column will be crowned with a statue of Your Majesty.”
“What!” said the King, trembling with emotion. “We can accomplish such a fine project?”
“Yes, Sire, and tomorrow I hope to be able to give you designs of the column and its ornaments. If our Majesty approves of them, I shall have the stones carved, as well as the cladding of white marble, which I shall sculpt. For the statue of Your Majesty, I shall have a block of white marble taken from a quarry, which I shall also sculpt myself, and I shall execute that work in Maraviglia, because it will not be seen by anyone before being placed on the column. Your Majesty alone shall see it in my studio; he will be able to judge better than anyone else the difference that exists when it is put in the place that it is to occupy. When I have deposited by block of marble, Your Majesty might be kind enough to come to Maraviglia to grant me the sittings that I shall need to make his resemblance—or, in order not to disturb him, I shall model the head in Mirabilis in clay, which I shall copy in the marble.”
“I will do as you wish, my good friend; dispose of me in complete liberty.”
“Thank you, Sire, for this final work will complete the beauty of the splendid Mirabilis.”
“Oh, my good friend, you will put the crown on my happiness!”
The King shook my hands, and tears of joy inundated his noble face.
Shortly afterwards, I took my leave of His Majesty in order to go and sketch my column, so that I would be able to present a final version to him the following day. My project was so well imprinted in my imagination that it was terminated the following morning. I went to take it to the King, who thought it marvelous, and asked the Queen to come to his study in order to show it to her. The Queen was delighted on examining my project, which she thought admirable. I took my leave of Their Majesties, and announced to the King that I would leave the following day for Maraviglia in order to prepare all the marbles of which I had need.
VI
I therefore left for Maraviglia the following day, with three domestics. It was a charming property, which was unfamiliar to me, but of which I took possession with great pleasure.
The building comprised a principal residential block, with two wings in the form of pavilions. Behind were the supplementary buildings: garage, stables, poultry-yard, etc. I was astonished to see that these constructions were not sustained by the air, like those in Mirabilis, and was content with that—but that contentment did not last long.
The next morning, when I woke up, I went to open the window of my room, and I saw that all the buildings had risen into the air to a height of ten or twelve feet, which annoyed me a great deal. A short time afterwards, however, I noticed that they were drawing closer to the ground. That observation caused me to reflect, and I thought that the Sun, which illuminated and warmed the underside of the islands, must produce vapors that elevated the houses, and that when those vapors expanded in the air, the houses descended toward the ground again.
I had remarked from my window a hillock that I wanted to visit. Desiring to get to know my property, I descended to the ground and set forth into my terrain. I arrived at the foot of the hillock, which I climbed. It was covered in ash and bituminous volcanic material, lava, pumice stone, etc.
I arrived at the summit of the hillock; the ground was dry and hard; it seemed to me that I could hear it resonating beneath my feet. I stamped my foot hard, and there was a frightful cracking sound; that was the dry cap of the hillock splitting, cracks running in all directions. The crust gave way at the place where I was standing and I fell into the precipice that it was covering.
My fall was not rapid; it seemed to me that I was sustained by an invisible force. A voice said to me: “Have no fear; I’m watching over you.”
It was the voice of my sylphide, Zica.
I descended thus to the bottom of the precipice, where I was greeted by my sylph, Zico, who said to me: “You’ve fallen here into the midst of our enemies, the gnomes, who want to dispute with us the treasures that this precipice contains, and which belong to us. Look at everything and have no fear. Your good genius Za has confided you to my protection and has given me the power to defend you—power and orders that he has received from Zadir, the chief of us all. So, act without any dread.”
Then I got up from the stone on which I was sitting in order to explore the subterrain, where I received no other light that what reached me through the hole into which I had fallen. That light was very faint and diminished as I advanced into the subterrain. Eventually, it suddenly disappeared. I found myself in obscurity.
I was continuing to march when my eyes were struck by a dazzling light coming from a large fissure. I was approaching it in order to go into it when the passage was disputed by a monstrous animal. It was an enormous dragon, whose eyes were like two carbuncles, and whose frightful mouth was vomiting flames.
I was trying to continue going forward when the furious animal launched itself upon me to devour me; even more promptly, however, I drew my stiletto and drove it forcefully into its skull. It collapsed, uttering a long roar, which, repeated by all the echoes of the subterrain, resembled a rumble of thunder. It deployed the long coils of its tail, which was terminated by two darts, in order to pierce me, but the blow that I had struck was mortal; it fell in convulsions, executing frightful somersaults, but I was still on my guard.
Finally, exhausted by that terrible agony, it died, vomiting thick black blood with a fetid odor, which spread through the subterrain.
Meanwhile, I entered resolutely into the grotto that had suddenly illuminated with bright light. I was dazzled by the glare of the radiance that was departing from all the sides of the grotto, which was filled with precious stones and numerous vases in gold or silver, of incalculable value.
I summoned Zico, who arrived immediately, and said to me, in a soft voice: “I congratulate you on your victory, and you’ve now become the richest man in the universe.”
“No,” I replied, “this treasure belongs to the corps of good genii, and I’m glad to be able to return it to its legitimate owners.”
“Very good, my friend. Za and Zadir will be informed of your brave and noble conduct.”
With those words, he left me, but a short while afterwards I received a visit from Zica, who appeared to me as she had done on the Isle of Fictions.
“I’ve been sent to you by my brother,” she said, “in order to get you out of this precipice, so that you can return home and devote yourself to your affairs.”
She remained with me for some time, and in spite of the pleasure that her presence gave me, I was unable to resist an imperious need for sleep, which she had doubtless provoked—for when I awoke, I found myself transported on to the hillock, from which I perceived my house. I immediately returned to it, and was astonished to see it decorated with a staircase in order to go up and down when the house was sustained and supported in mid-air.
My domestics had been worried by my long absence, and had searched for me in vain; they testified their joy on seeing me again.
I went up to my apartment, and was very surprised to find it richly decorated and filled with magnificent furniture of a refined taste. I understood that my good genius Za was the author of the metamorphosis, and was glad.
I then started work on the Column of Mirabilis. I summoned the owners of marble quarries from the small town of which I was the seigneur, and they furnished me with the marbles I needed. I designated the most suitable of the outbuildings to be converted into a studio. Fortunately, those buildings remained on the ground and were not, like the others, lifted up into the air during the night. That made it much easier for the miners to bring in the marbles and stones that I needed in order to sculpt them. Afterwards, I sent for a locksmith, to make me tools of which I provided him with models, and a carpenter to build me a scaffold, a step-ladder, a stool and a pedestal.
