feasts today?"

An nodded. Hath was on the river, he had been to see the sunrise; even
now she thought the laughter and singing down behind the bend might be
the king's barge coming up citywards. "He will not be late," said my
companion, "because the marriage-feast is set for tomorrow in the palace."

I became interested. Kings, palaces, marriage-feasts--why, here was
something substantial to go upon; after all these gauzy folk might turn
out good fellows, jolly comrades to sojourn amongst--and marriage-feasts
reminded me again I was hungry.

"Who is it," I asked, with more interest in my tone, "who gets
married?--is it your ambiguous king himself?"

Whereat An's purple eyes broadened with wonder: then as though she would
not be uncivil she checked herself, and answered with smothered pity
for my ignorance, "Not only Hath himself, but every one, stranger, they
are all married tomorrow; you would not have them married one at a time,
would you?"--this with inexpressible derision.

I said, with humility, something like that happened in the place I came
from, asking her how it chanced the convenience of so many came to one
climax at the same moment. "Surely, An, this is a marvel of arrangement.
Where I dwelt wooings would sometimes be long or sometimes short, and
all maids were not complacent by such universal agreement."

The girl was clearly perplexed. She stared at me a space, then said,
"What have wooings long or short to do with weddings? You talk as if
you did your wooing first and then came to marriage--we get married