Journey to the Isles of Atlantis and Other Fanciful Excursions
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He therefore sought a means of getting rid of that dangerous rival. Vatenlair had already been in the palace or two months, and was not talking about departing. In any case, he thought, how could he leave? His flying machine no longer contained any gas, and there was no means of making any in the kingdom, so he was constrained to remain in perpetuity. What it was necessary to find was a means of putting him in disgrace. Far from the palace, he would no longer be inconvenient, and he, Remplume, would become indispensable again.
He was rolling those thoughts around his head every day without being able to find a solution when the king himself, unwittingly, furnished him with a means of exercising his knavery.
On the evening of the excursion in Betaville, King Beta summoned him. “Remplume,” he said, “marvelous things are going to happen here; I regret that it won’t be you who accomplishes them, but you’re undoubtedly not as knowledgeable as the stranger to whom I’m giving hospitality. My entire capital is going to be illuminated by gas.”
“By gas!”
“Yes, the same gas that the balloon contained.”
Irreverently, Remplume burst out laughing. “Oh, Sire! How can you believe that pleasantry? First of all, we don’t have any gas here.”
“Well, we’ll make some.”
“You’ll make gas? With what?”
“With charcoal.”
Remplume was no longer laughing. He thought that the king had gone mad.
“That astonishes you? It’s quite simple, though. Vatenlair has explained to me how it’s done. One burns charcoal and one collects the gas that escapes from it, and then one directs it through subterranean pipes that end in orifices where one sets fire to it. It’s no more difficult than that. We’re going to be illuminated without oil and without wicks.”
“My word, Sire, excuse my frankness, but I’ll believe that when I see it.”
“And that will be soon. I order you to put at Vatenlair’s disposal all the money that he asks for. Then you’ll give me the pleasure of hiring two or three hundred workmen that he needs, and you’ll give the order in my name to surrender to him the uncultivated land at the far end of my park and confined in the outlying districts of my capital.”
Remplume inclined sadly. “May you not by the victim of your credulity, Sire.”
“My credulity!” cried the king. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, and I dare say it, out of affection for you, that the stranger wants to put one over on you. In fact, if he wants to make gas, assuming that he can, it’s for no other motive than to reinflate his flying machine and quit you as rapidly as he arrived; but I don’t believe that he’ll achieve his objective. What is more serious is the personnel that you’re putting at his orders: three hundred workmen constitute a small army, of which he’ll be the leader. He’s ambitious; he might make use of it, and you’ll have introduced the enemy into the place.”
That shrewd idea had an impact on the king, who was very jealous of his power; he became anxious and began to reflect.
During that conversation, night had fallen and they had not seen Vatenlair come into the room.
“Light the lamps,” said the king. “I don’t like to stay in the dark.”
“I’ll go fetch my flint, Sire.”
“There’s no need,” said Vatenlair, coming forward. “This will replace it.” And, taking a box of matches out of his pocket, he struck one, which immediately caught fire.
As soon as the lamps were lit, to the great satisfaction of the king and the astrologer, the latter said: “Is it still necessary to carry out Your Majesty’s orders?”
“Do as I told you!” replied the king.
The instantaneous lighting of the match, as yet unknown in his realm, had made such an impression on the king that he had returned to his first opinion regarding Vatenlair, and, considering him from then on to be an enchanter, he was afraid of irritating him by not keeping the promises that he had made to him.
IV. In which we make the acquaintance of Prince Omega and the engineer fascinates Princess Betinette
The work on the gas factory progressed rapidly, thanks to the numerous workmen placed at Vatenlair’s disposal. The king came to visit them from time to time, and his presence encouraged the workmen. Remplume also came occasionally to cast an envious eye over it, but he dared not make any observation on what he called squandering, although he desired that the factory be constructed promptly in order to see it functioning, for he still believed that the engineer would not obtain any result and that his defeat would be the signal for his disgrace.
In the meantime, King Beta was informed that his nephew Omega was on his way to pay him a visit. That news filled him with joy, for he had not despaired of persuading his daughter to marry him.
He’s young and he’s handsome, he said to himself. When she’s seen him, she won’t be able to help loving him.
He therefore announced that visit to Vatenlair, and begged him to hasten the work so that they would be concluded in a month, in time for his nephew’s arrival.
Although the deadline was short, Vatenlair promised him that in a month, the royal palace, at the very least, would be completely illuminated by gas—which caused the sovereign to rejoice.
We have not described the palace, because it was not worth the trouble; it was a vast building devoid of architecture, flanked by two large square towers that were set back from the lawn of the gardens. Vatenlair was lodged in one, on the second floor, and Princess Betinette’s apartments were in the other. Often, when he opened his window in the morning, he exchanged a salute with the princess, who always got up early herself, liking to respire the fresh air embalmed by the gardens. After that respectful salute, they had the custom of withdrawing discreetly, and he cursed fate for having caused him to be born in a humble condition that did not permit him to aspire to the hand of a princess. For her part, she said to herself that it was a great pity that a man she had remarked as much for his face as for his intelligence was not a prince, and, inconsequence, could not cast his eyes upon her, which was the greatest desire of her heart.
One day, however, as they were both at their windows, the engineer, delighted to see her, forgot to withdraw, and gazed at her fixedly. During that ecstasy, he took himself back to the day when, quitting his balloon, he had seen her for the first time, and he reminded himself that he had often visited that spot in the park, as if he might encounter her there, and that he would be glad if he could suggest to her that she go there.
Before that persistent gaze, the princess went pale and quit the window, but he soon saw her crossing the lawn and drawing away into the gardens. Vatenlair immediately had the idea that she had obeyed his suggestion; desirous of making sure of it, he went down in his turn and plunged into the park.
When he reached the place designated by his thought, he found the princess waiting for him.
“You wanted me to come here,” she said. “Here I am.”
Glad of the power that he had over her, Vatenlair did not think of abusing it; the experiment had succeeded, that was sufficient. Everything that he had wished and might say to her during her magnetic sleep would have been forgotten when she woke up, so there was no point in showing her the state of his heart. With a gesture, he obliged her to return to her apartment, and continued his walk, thinking about the discovery that he had just made and the results to which it might lead. That the princess loved him he had no doubt, but her quality as a medium had been revealed to him, and that might be a great help in that land of superstition.
When he saw the princess again at the morning lesson, she had her usual grace and amiability; she did not remember anything.
Meanwhile the factory was constructed; the work of canalization in the palace was concluded, and the trials were about to begin.
When the gas was lit for the first time, King Beta was stunned by admiration; he never ceased gazing at the flame, blue at first, then sparkling, and saying that Vatenlair was a genius. The genius of Fire!
Two days later, Prince Omega made his entrance into King Beta’s capital. All morning, Princess Betinette had been in a bad mood, which caused chagrin to her father, and especially her mother, who wanted to have Prince Omega as a son-in-law.
Vatenlair, to whom the queen revealed her discontentment, reassured her. “It’s a young woman’s caprice,” he said, “which won’t last. You’ll see that when she’s seen the prince, she’ll find him charming.”
“Oh, as for that, no!” said Betinette, who had overheard the engineer’s reply. “My cousin is an imbecile and a fop, and I’ll never love such a man. So don’t ask me to put on a good face...”
But, Vatenlair having employed his suggestive power on her, she added: “…unless he’s changed a great deal and I discover qualities in him.”
Prince Omega was a lady-killer, twenty-six years old. He was tall and strong; his regular face was insignificant, but he had a conceited and disdainful expression. His blond hair was curly, his long moustaches were turned up at the ends and waxed; he wore a monocle in his eye constantly, and swung his hips as he walked with a supreme impertinence.
He arrived on horseback, for he was a very good rider, followed by a group of squires clad in magnificent costumes. A guard of honor came next, and the cortege was terminated by numerous servants leading the gifts destined for King Beta, which were animals of all sorts: enchained lions, tigers, elephants, giraffes, monkeys, parrots, and even eagles and falcons in immense cages.
All that filed past the perron of the royal castle, where King Beta has had his throne set up between the seats of Queen Betasse and Princess Betinette.
After having made his horse prance, Prince Omega dismounted and bent his knee before the king, after which he kissed the hands of Queen Betasse and Princess Betinette. At that moment, as the princess frowned, Vatenlair suggested that she smile prettily at the prince, who dropped his monocle in satisfaction.
V. In which King Beta gives a grand ball and the engineer is the target of Remplume’s malevolence
That evening, in order to honor his nephew and also to inaugurate the new lighting, King Beta gave a great ball. All the nobility of the country was invited; even the bourgeoisie was authorized to visit the gardens, which were, of course, illumined.
The dancing commenced at about ten o’clock in the evening. Prince Omega opened the ball with Princess Betinette. He was wearing a crimson velvet doublet with white satin slashes in the sleeves; on his blond hair, curlier than ever, stood a toque ornamented with ostrich plumes, retained by a clasp of diamonds and rubies; his stockings were pearl gray and his sharply pointed deerskin shoes were glittering with golden buckles studded with precious stones. A little dagger was attached to his belt, which was fine gold. He would have looked very good if he had not been wearing his inseparable monocle, which rendered him ridiculous.
Princes Betinette was no less richly clad. Her dress was made of woven silver thread and embroidered with scarabs; her hair was powdered with diamond dust, and a necklace of seven rows of the finest pearls was around her neck. She was ravishing thus.
The king’s costume was all in gold. He was wearing his ceremonial crown, the diamonds and precious stones of which were sparkling, and, although it inconvenienced him greatly, he had not wanted to separate it from his solid gold scepter, which was very heavy. His royal mantle, of white satin lined with ermine, hung over his shoulders, under which he was stifling.
Queen Betasse was wearing a violet satin dress embroidered with all sorts of flowers; she too was wearing a golden crown, on which a bird of paradise was balanced.
Vatenlair, who had been obliged to adopt the costume of the land, had a doublet and footwear of black velvet, with a small toque in the same fabric and the same color, surmounted by a flame-colored plume. One might have thought: Mephistopheles.
Princess Betinette looked at him incessantly, and paid no attention to Prince Omega.
As for Remplume, he had put on the uniform of his employment, which is to say, a long black robe on which the constellations, the Moon and the Sun were embroidered, and coiffed in a pointed hat in the form of a long cone. He did not have his usual surly expression; on the contrary, his face seemed radiant, Vatenlair only remarked that he praised the illumination in an immoderate fashion. That enthusiasm seemed so suspect to him that he left the hall briefly in order to visit the meter and the switches of the canalization, but everything seemed to be in order and he hastened to return, for fear that the king might have had need of him during his absence.
In the ball, Princess Betinette won the admiration of everyone; her grace was well known, but her intelligence less so, for she did not like to talk much; so, when the great dignitaries were admitted to pay their respects to her and she replied to their compliments, they were delighted with her slightest remarks, with they found full of tact, good taste and even malice, for she was not embarrassed to make a few quips about Prince Omega and about Remplume, whom no one liked. On the other hand, she never ceased to heap praise on Vatenlair, whom she called a superior intelligence.
When she danced the minuet with Prince Omega, the latter tried to pay her a few insipid compliments.
“There is no fay comparable to you, beautiful princess,” he said, “and I would be the most fortunate of mortals if I were able to touch your heart.”
“I don’t believe a word of it,” she replied, “and I’m sure that you wouldn’t make the slightest sacrifice for me.”
“Speak, Princess! I’m in haste to know what you desire. Is it necessary to fight monsters? To lift mountains? Dry up seas? Say the words and I will…”
The princess interrupted him, laughing. “Oh, I don’t ask so much. Merely remove your eyeglass!”
Prince Omega could see that she was making fun of him, but he allowed his monocle to slip from his eye. As he was genuinely myopic, however, when he bent his leg making reverences, he tripped over the princess’s train and fell full length on the floor.
That unexpected fall put the princess in such a good humor that she was gripped by mad laughter, immediately imitated by all the courtiers eager to share the joy of the king’s daughter.
Prince Omega was furious at his clumsiness; he excused himself as best he could and, after the dance, withdrew to one side. Remplume hastened to join him, and murmured to him: “Don’t despair, Prince; that fall is a good augury for you; he who falls will rise again.”
That little incident had no consequence. The dancing resumed, more ardently; refreshments circulated and the joy was at its peak.
Suddenly, at the very moment when midnight chimed on the great clock of the royal palace, the gas went out abruptly and the gardens and the ballroom were plunged into the profoundest obscurity.
Then there were cries of fright and an incredible confusion. Everyone wanted to get out the same time. Some people opened windows and, as the ballroom was on the ground floor, hoisted themselves up and jumped down into the gardens.
Princess Betinette had fainted, but Vatenlair, who had not lost sight of her, was able to reach her and lavish cares upon her. For his part, the king hastened to the queen, who had an attack of nerves, Prince Omega, who, on the advice of Remplume, had taken up a position near one of the exit doors a few minutes before, had run out first, without worrying about anyone else.
Only Remplume, calm, and smiling, strove to retain the guests, saying that he had ordered lamps and that there was no need to be afraid.
In fact, a host of servants was soon seen, car
rying lamps, entering the ballroom and repairing the inconceivable accident as much as possible. The light immediately calmed the frightened crowd, the ladies adjusted their crumpled dresses, the cavaliers hastened around them, and the fête recommenced, but without enthusiasm.
On hearing Vatenlair’s voice, Princess Betinette had immediately come round; they both profited from the obscurity to exchange a few words. Vatenlair explained to her that it was not an accident, but a criminal action committed by one of his enemies; the next day, he would visit the factory and discover what had occurred.
The king, having calmed the queen down, had her taken back to her apartments and, as befitted a sovereign, manifested the greatest self-control. He announced that the queen, slightly upset, had retired, but that he would remain in the midst of his faithful subjects and, in spite of his great age, would even dance a gavotte. At the same moment he went to take the hand of Duchess Potron-Minette, who almost died of joy at such an honor.
In the gardens, the bourgeois crowd was less surprised; its members thought that the illuminations had been due to finish at that moment, and returned tranquilly to Betaville, delighted by the evening.
But the king’s efforts were in vain; the shock had been too great. The ball dragged on, but people no longer had any desire to amuse themselves, and when the time came for supper, many people had departed and those who remained were only nibbling.
When there was no one left, the king approached Vatenlair and said to him, in a severe tone: “Until tomorrow, Monsieur Engineer!”