one by me whisper in a frightened tone, "The envoys from over seas."

"Oh," I thought sleepily to myself, "so these are the ape-men of the
western woods, are they? Those who long ago vanquished my white-skinned
friends and yearly come to claim their tribute. Jove, what hay they must
have made of them! How those peach-skinned girls must have screamed and
the downy striplings by them felt their dimpled knees knock together,
as the mad flood of barbarians came pouring over from the forest, and
long ago stormed their citadels like a stream of red lava, as deadly,
as irresistible, as remorseless!" And I lay asprawl upon my arms on
the table watching them with the stupid indifference I thought I could
so well afford.

Meanwhile Hath was on foot, pale and obsequious like others in the
presence of those dread ambassadors, but more collected, I thought.
With the deepest bows he welcomed them, handing them drink in a golden
State cup, and when they had drunk (I heard the liquor running down their
great throats, in the frightened hush, like water in a runnel on a wet
day), they wiped their fierce lips upon their furry sleeves, and the
leader began reciting the tribute for the year. So much corn, so much
wine--and very much it was--so many thousands ells of cloth and webbing,
and so much hammered gold, and sinah and lar, precious metal of which I
knew nothing as yet; and ever as he went growling through the list in
his harsh animal voice, he refreshed his memory with a coloured stick
whereon a notch was made for every item, the woodmen not having come
as yet, apparently, to the gentler art of written signs and symbols.
Longer and longer that caravan of unearned wealth stretched out before
my fancy, but at last it was done, or all but done, and the head envoy,
passing the painted stick to a man behind, folded his bare, sinewy arms,
upon which the red fell bristles as it does upon a gorilla's, across his