the vase on her desk, thegold pen, vellum sheets of paper bound in brocade, her intelligence, passion, imagination, craft. She wondered what it was going to be like as a famous lady novelist. Then she would go back to her writing. Scratch, scratch, scratch.
11.
Naomi Ruth, like most normal persons, slept, and when she slept, she had a dream. Itâs possible, therefore, that one would wonder about Naomi Ruthâs dream. What can be the dream of a queen ? one would humbly, especially if one were a man, wonder.
12.
She rang for the wine steward, and rang, and rang, and rang.
3
1.
While making his morning toilet, Egress the Hearty thought aloud (so as to better remember his thought): Reality unperceived is form without content ⦠and thus the hedonist becomes metaphysician, the mere student of consciousness becomes epistemologist, whilst the phenomenologist ends divided against himself, a self-willed irrelevance for a state of mindâ¦
His broad face covered with a thin film of sweat, the king lapsed momentarily into a deep and intense silence. Then he finished his toilet, washed his hands carefully, and strolled downstairs to the veranda for breakfast with the queen.
2.
Egress the Hearty (sometimes the Bluff), Duke of Sunder: son of Donald the Flailer, son of Jack the Boor, son of Moran the Tick-minded, son of Orgone the Tree, son of Hannigan the Pus-filled, son of Bob the Boy-killer, son of Vlad the Sad, son of Roger the Lodger, son of Sigmund the Camera, son of Sabu the Dwarf, son of Egress the Obvious, son of Dread the Courteous, son of Norman the Shopper, son of Grendel the Theorist, son of Warren the Fist-faced, son of Arthur of the Direct Vision, son of Ray the Innovative, son of Ralph the Meatpacker, son of Williamthe Roadbreaker, son of Harry the Hat ⦠and so on ⦠to the beginning, the word.
3.
In any Kingdom, the most important person is the king. Period. Everyone should know that, but if someone does not, it doesnât matter. Thatâs how true it is.
4.
In a hurry, the king took a shortcut to the office, crossing the great yard to a cut stone walkway that bordered the head-high hedge that surrounded the queenâs own knot garden. The hedge had been shaped by gardeners, sculptors, actually, into the form of a mountain range, and as he walked hurriedly along the side of the range, he suddenly stopped, for, from the far side of the mountains, he heard the queen weeping. He listened for a moment, and then he thought: The worst thing about being a king is that youâre still a man, goddamnit. And a man has feelings !
He thumped himself on his broad and thick chest and walked swiftly on, and quoting to himself a poem by Robert Frost, he sang,â⦠and miles to go before I weep, miles to go before I weep⦠O!
5.
As soon as he reached the carpeted, air-conditioned privacy of his inner office, the king picked up his telephone and, bypassing his secretary, personally put through a call to the Loon.
K ING:   Loon? This is Egressâ¦
L OON: Oh. What do you want? More?
K ING:   No, no, no! I⦠I was just ⦠thinking about you, and ⦠just wanted to hear your voice, I guess. Thatâs allâ¦
L OON: Well ⦠youâve heard it.
K ING: Â Â Yes, I have. So, how are you, Loon? Well, I hope?
L OON: Yes. Iâm well.
K ING:   Good, good, good. And ⦠soâm I. Well.
L OON: Oh.
K ING:   I know I wasnât going to call you anymore, but ⦠as I said, I was thinking about you and just wanted to hear your voice. Actually, I had a very vivid dream last night, a dream in which you figured rather prominently ⦠and you know how it is. I had this tremendous urge to hear your voiceâ¦
L OON: Okay.
K ING: Â Yes. Well, good-bye, Lon. Loon.
6.
When a king is ashamed of his weakness, to whom can he speak of it? Any mention would precipitate a political crisis. Egress kept silent, except when he could be
11.
Naomi Ruth, like most normal persons, slept, and when she slept, she had a dream. Itâs possible, therefore, that one would wonder about Naomi Ruthâs dream. What can be the dream of a queen ? one would humbly, especially if one were a man, wonder.
12.
She rang for the wine steward, and rang, and rang, and rang.
3
1.
While making his morning toilet, Egress the Hearty thought aloud (so as to better remember his thought): Reality unperceived is form without content ⦠and thus the hedonist becomes metaphysician, the mere student of consciousness becomes epistemologist, whilst the phenomenologist ends divided against himself, a self-willed irrelevance for a state of mindâ¦
His broad face covered with a thin film of sweat, the king lapsed momentarily into a deep and intense silence. Then he finished his toilet, washed his hands carefully, and strolled downstairs to the veranda for breakfast with the queen.
2.
Egress the Hearty (sometimes the Bluff), Duke of Sunder: son of Donald the Flailer, son of Jack the Boor, son of Moran the Tick-minded, son of Orgone the Tree, son of Hannigan the Pus-filled, son of Bob the Boy-killer, son of Vlad the Sad, son of Roger the Lodger, son of Sigmund the Camera, son of Sabu the Dwarf, son of Egress the Obvious, son of Dread the Courteous, son of Norman the Shopper, son of Grendel the Theorist, son of Warren the Fist-faced, son of Arthur of the Direct Vision, son of Ray the Innovative, son of Ralph the Meatpacker, son of Williamthe Roadbreaker, son of Harry the Hat ⦠and so on ⦠to the beginning, the word.
3.
In any Kingdom, the most important person is the king. Period. Everyone should know that, but if someone does not, it doesnât matter. Thatâs how true it is.
4.
In a hurry, the king took a shortcut to the office, crossing the great yard to a cut stone walkway that bordered the head-high hedge that surrounded the queenâs own knot garden. The hedge had been shaped by gardeners, sculptors, actually, into the form of a mountain range, and as he walked hurriedly along the side of the range, he suddenly stopped, for, from the far side of the mountains, he heard the queen weeping. He listened for a moment, and then he thought: The worst thing about being a king is that youâre still a man, goddamnit. And a man has feelings !
He thumped himself on his broad and thick chest and walked swiftly on, and quoting to himself a poem by Robert Frost, he sang,â⦠and miles to go before I weep, miles to go before I weep⦠O!
5.
As soon as he reached the carpeted, air-conditioned privacy of his inner office, the king picked up his telephone and, bypassing his secretary, personally put through a call to the Loon.
K ING:   Loon? This is Egressâ¦
L OON: Oh. What do you want? More?
K ING:   No, no, no! I⦠I was just ⦠thinking about you, and ⦠just wanted to hear your voice, I guess. Thatâs allâ¦
L OON: Well ⦠youâve heard it.
K ING: Â Â Yes, I have. So, how are you, Loon? Well, I hope?
L OON: Yes. Iâm well.
K ING:   Good, good, good. And ⦠soâm I. Well.
L OON: Oh.
K ING:   I know I wasnât going to call you anymore, but ⦠as I said, I was thinking about you and just wanted to hear your voice. Actually, I had a very vivid dream last night, a dream in which you figured rather prominently ⦠and you know how it is. I had this tremendous urge to hear your voiceâ¦
L OON: Okay.
K ING: Â Yes. Well, good-bye, Lon. Loon.
6.
When a king is ashamed of his weakness, to whom can he speak of it? Any mention would precipitate a political crisis. Egress kept silent, except when he could be
Similar Books
A Different Sky
Meira Chand
The Moon by Night
Gilbert Morris, Lynn Morris
Bilingual Being
Kathleen Saint-Onge
All of You
Jenni Wilder
The Confessions of X
Suzanne M. Wolfe
Take Another Look
Rosalind Noonan
Blue Lightning
Ann Cleeves
Charmed
Barbara Bretton