Young Kid

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Young King by Oscar Wilde. It was the night
before the day fixed for his coronation, and the young
King was sitting alone in his beautiful chamber. His courtiers
had all taken their leave of him, bowing their heads
to the ground according to the ceremonious usage of the day,
and had retired to the Great Hall of the Palace
to receive a few last lessons from the Professor of Etiquette,

(00:24):
there being some of them who had still quite natural manners,
which in a courtiers I need hardly say a very
grave offense. The lad, for he was only a lad,
being but sixteen years of age, was not sorry at
their departure, and had flung himself back with a deep
sigh of relief, on the soft cushions of his embroidered couch,

(00:46):
lying there, wild eyed and open mouthed, like a brown
woodland fawn, or some young animal of the forest newly
snared by hunters. And indeed it was the hunters who
had found him, coming upon him almost by chance, as
bare limbed and pipe in hand, he was following the
flock of the poor goatherd who had brought him up,

(01:09):
and whose son he had always fancied himself to be
the child of the old king's only daughter by a
secret marriage with one much beneath her in station, a stranger,
some said, who, by the wonderful magic of his lute plane,
had made the young princess love him, while others spoke
of an artist from Ramini, to whom the princess had

(01:31):
shown much, perhaps too much, honor, and who had suddenly
disappeared from the city, leaving his work in the cathedral unfinished.
He had been, when but a week old, stolen away
from his mother's side as she slept, and given into
the charge of a common peasant and his wife, who
were without children of their own, and lived in a

(01:51):
remote part of the forest, more than a day's ride
from the town. Grief or the plague, as the court
physician stated, or as some suggested, a swift Italian poison
administered in a cup of spiced wine, slew within an
hour of her wakening the white girl who had given
him birth, and as the trusty messenger, who bare the

(02:13):
child across his saddle bow, stooped from his wary horse
and knocked at the rude door of the goatherd's hut,
the body of the princess was being lowered into an
open grave that had been dug in a deserted churchyard
beyond the city gates, a grave where it was said
that another body was also lying, that of a young
man of marvelous and foreign beauty, whose hands were tied

(02:37):
behind him with a knotted cord, and whose breast was
stabbed with many red wounds. Such, at least was the
story that men whispered to each other. Certain it was
the old King, when on his death bed, whether moved
by remorse for his great sin or merely desiring that
the kingdom should not pass away from his line, had

(02:58):
had the lad sent for, and in the presence of
the council, had acknowledged him as his heir. And it
seemed that from the very first moment of his recognition
he had shown signs of that strange passion for beauty
that was destined to have so great an influence over
his life. Those who accompanied him to the suite of

(03:19):
rooms set apart for his service often spoke of the
cry of pleasure that broke from his lips when he
saw the delicate raiment and rich jewels that had been
prepared for him, and of the almost fierce joy with
which he flung aside his rough leathern tunic and coarse
sheepskin cloak. He missed, indeed, at times, the fine freedom

(03:40):
of his forest life, and was always apt to chafe
at the tedious court ceremonies that occupied so much of
each day. But the wonderful palace Joyeurs, as they called it,
of which he now found himself lord, seemed to him
to be a new world, fresh fashioned for his delight,
And as soon as he could escape from the council

(04:02):
board or audience chamber, he would run down a great
staircase with its lions of gilt bronze and its steps
of bright porphyry, and wander from room to room and
from corridor to corridor, like one who was seeking to
find in beauty and anodyne from pain, a sort of
restoration from sickness. Upon these journeys of discovery, as he

(04:26):
would call them, and indeed they were to him real
voyages through a marvelous land. He would sometimes be accompanied
by the slim, fair haired court pages with their floating
mantles and gay, fluttering ryebands, but more often he would
be alone, feeling through a certain quick instinct which was
almost a divination, that the secrets of art are best

(04:48):
learned in secret, and that beauty, like wisdom, loves the
lonely worshiper. Many curious stories were related about him at
this period. It was that a stout burgomaster, who had
come to deliver a florid oratorical address on behalf of
the citizens of the town, had caught sight of him

(05:09):
kneeling in real adoration before a great picture that had
just been brought from Venice, and that seemed to herald
the worship of some new gods. On another occasion, he
had been missed for several hours, and after a lengthen
search had been discovered in a little chamber in one
of the northern turrets of the palace, gazing as one

(05:30):
in a trance as a Greek gem carved with the
figure of Adonis. He had been seen, so the tail ran,
pressing his warm lips to the marble brow of an
antique statue that had been discovered in the bed of
a river on the occasion of the building of the
stone Bridge, and was inscribed with the name of Bithynian,

(05:51):
slave of Hadrian. He had passed a whole night in
noting the effect of the moonlight on a silver image
of Endymion. All rare and costly materials had certainly a
great fascination for him, and in his eagerness to procure them,
he sent away many merchants, some to traffic for amber
with the rough fisherfolk of the North Seas, some to

(06:13):
Egypt to look for that curious green turquoise which is
found only in the tombs of kings and is said
to possess magical properties. Some to Persia for silken carpets
and painted pottery, and others to India to buy gauze
and stained ivory moonstones, and bracelets of jade, sandal wood

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and blue enamel, and shawls of fine wool. But what
had occupied him most was the robe he was to
wear at his coronation, the robe of tissued gold, and
the ruby studded crown, and the scepter of its rose,
and rings of pearls. Indeed, it was of this that
he was thinking to night, as he lay back on

(06:55):
his luxurious couch, watching the great pinewood log that was
burning itself out on the open half. The designs which
were from the hands of the most famous artists of
the time had been submitted to him many months before,
and he had given orders that the artificers were to
toil night and day to carry them out, and that

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the whole world was to be searched for jewels that
would be worthy of their work. He saw himself in fancy,
standing at the high altar of the cathedral in the
fair raiment of a king, and a smile played and
lingered about his boyish lips, and lit up with a
bright luster in his dark woodland eyes. After some time,

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he rose from his seat, and, leaning against the carved
penthouse of the chimney, looked round at the dimly lit room.
The walls were hung with rich tapestries representing the triumph
of beauty. A large press inlaid with agate and lapis
la zuli, filled one corner, and facing the window stood
a curiously wrought cabinet with lacquer panels of powdered and

(08:04):
mosaicd gold, on which they were placed some delicate goblets
of Venetian glass and a cup of dark veined onyx.
Pale poppies were broidered on the silk coverlet of the bed,
as though they had fallen from the tired hands. Of sleep,
and tall reeds of fluted ivory bare up the velvet canopy,

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from which great tufts of ostrich plumes sprang like white foam,
to the pallid silver of the fretted ceiling. A laughing
narcissus in green bronze held a polished mirror above its head.
On the table stood a flat bowl of amephyst Outside
he could see a huge dome of the cathedral looming

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like a bubble over the shadowy houses, and the weary
sentinels pacing up and down on the misty terrace by
the river. Far away, in an orchard, a nightingale was singing.
A faint perfume of jasmine came through the open window.
He brushed his brown curls back from his forehead, and,
taking up a lute, let his fingers stray across the cords.

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His heavy eyelids drooped, and a strange languor came over him.
Never before had he felt so keenly or with such
exquisite joy the magic and the mystery of beautiful things.
When midnight sounded from the clock tower, he touched a bell,
and his pages entered and disrobed him with much ceremony.

(09:31):
Pouring rose water over his hands and strewing flowers on
his pillow. A few moments after that they had left
the room. He fell asleep, and as he slept he
dreamed the dream. And this was his dream. He thought
that he was standing in a long, low attic amidst

(09:51):
the whir and clatter of many looms. The meager daylight
peered in through the grated windows and showed him the
gaunt figures of the wheel bending over their cases. Pale,
sickly looking children were crouched on the huge cross beams.
As the shuttles dashed through the warp, they lifted up
the heavy battons, and when the shuttles stopped, they let

(10:13):
the battons fall and pressed the threads together. Their faces
were pinched with famine, and their thin hands shook and trembled.
Some haggard women were seated at a table sewing. A
horrible odor filled the place. The air was foul and heavy,
and the walls dripped and streamed with damp. The young

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king went over to one of the weavers and stood
by him and watched him. And the weaver looked at
him angrily and said, why art thou watching me? Art?
Thou a spy set on us by his master. Who
is thy master? Asked the young king. Oh master, cried
the weaver bitterly. He is a man like myself. Indeed,

(10:57):
there is but this difference between us, that he wears
fine clothes while I go in rags, and that while
I am weak from hunger, he suffers not a little
from over feeding. The land is free, said the young king,
And thou art no man's slave. In war, answered the weaver.
The strong make slaves of the weak, and in peace

(11:19):
the rich make slaves of the poor. We must work
to live, and they give us such mean wages that
we die. We toil for them all day long, and
they heap up gold in their coffers, And our children
fade away before their time, and the faces of those
we love become hard and evil. We tread out the grapes,

(11:39):
and another drinks the wine we sow. The corn on
our own board is empty. We have chains, though no
eye beholds them, and our slaves, though men call us free.
Is it so with all? He asked? It is so
with all, answered the weaver, with the young as well
as with the old, with the women as well as

(12:03):
with the men. With the little children, as well as
with those who are stricken in years. The merchants grind
us down, and we must needs do their bidding. The
priest's rides by and tells his beads, and no man
has care of us. Through our sunless lanes. Creeps poverty
with her hungry eyes, and sin, with his sodden face,

(12:25):
follows close behind her. Misery wakes us in the morning,
and shame sits with us at night. But what are
these things to thee Thou art not one of us.
Thy face is too happy. And he turned away, scowling,
and threw the shuttle across the loom. And the young
king saw that it was threaded with a thread of gold,

(12:47):
and a great terror seized upon him, and he said
to the weaver, what robe is this that thou art weaving?
It is the robe for the coronation of the young king?
He answered, what is? And the young king gave a
loud cry and awoke. And lo he was in his
own chamber, and through the window he saw the great

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honey colored moon hanging in the dusky air. And he
fell asleep agan and dreamed, And this was his dream.
He thought that he was lying on the deck of
a huge galley that was being rowed by a hundred slaves.
On a carpet by his side. The master of the

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galley was seated. He was black as ebony, and his
turban was of crimson silk. Great ear rings of silver
dragged down the thick lobes of his ears, and in
his hands he had a pair of ivory scales. The
slaves were naked but for a ragged loincloth, and each
man was chained to his neighbor. The hot sun beat

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brightly upon them, and the negroes ran up and down
the gangway and lashed them with whips of hide. They
stretched out their lean arms and pulled the heavy oars
through the water. The salt spray flew from the blades.
At last they reached a little bay and began to
take soundings. A light wind blew from the shore and

(14:15):
covered the deck and a great latin sail with a
fine red dust. Three arabs mounted on wild asses rode
out and threw spears at them. The master of the
galley took a painted bow in his hand and shot
one of them in the throat. He fell heavily into
the surf, and his companions galloped away. A woman wrapped

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in a yellow veil followed slowly on a camel, looking
back now and then at the dead body. As soon
as they had cast anchor and hauled down the sail,
the negroes went into the hold and brought up a
long rope ladder heavily weighted with lead. The master of
the galley threw it over the side, making the ends

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fast to t two iron stanchions. Then the negroes seized
the youngest of the slaves and knocked his guives off,
and filled his nostrils and his ears with wax, and
tied a big stone round his waist. He crept wearily
down the ladder and disappeared into the sea. A few
bubbles rose where he sank. Some of the other slaves

(15:22):
peered curiously over the side. At the prow of the
galley sat a shark charmer beating monotonously upon a drum.
After some time, the diver rose up out of the
water and clung panting to the ladder, with a pearl
in his right hand. The negroes seized it from him
and thrust him back. The slaves fell asleep over their oars.

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Again and again he came up, and each time that
he did so, he brought with him a beautiful pearl.
The master of the galley weighed them and put them
in a little bag of green leather. The young king
tried to speak, but his tongue seemed to cleave to
the roof of his mouth, and his lips refused to move.

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The negroes chattered to each other and began to quarrel
over a string of bright beads. Two cranes flew round
and round the vessel. Then the diver came up for
the last time, and the pearl that he brought with
him was fairer than all the pearls of Ormus, for
it was shaped like the full moon, and whiter than

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the morning star. But his face was strangely pale, and
as he fell upon the deck, the blood gushed from
his ears and nostrils. He quivered for a little, and
then he was still. The negroes shrugged their shoulders and
threw the body overboard, and the master of the galley laughed,

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and reaching out, he took the pearl, and when he
saw it, he pressed it to his forehead and bowed.
It shall be, he said, for the scepter of the
young king, and he made a sign to the negroes
to draw up the anchor. And when the young king
heard this, he gave a great cry and woke, and

(17:11):
through the window he saw the long gray fingers of
the dawn clutching at the fading stars. And he fell
asleep again and dreamed. And this was his dream. He
thought that he was wandering through a dim wood, hung
with strange fruits and with beautiful poisonous flowers. The adders

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hissed at him as he went by, and the bright
parrots flew screaming from branch to branch. Huge tortoises lay
asleep upon the hot mud. The trees were full of
apes and peacocks. On and on he went till he
reached the outskirts of the wood, and there he saw
an immense multitude of men toiling in the bed of

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a dried up river. They swarmed up the crag like ants.
They dug deep pits in the ground and went down
into them. Some of them cleft the rocks with great axes.
Others grabbed in the sand. They tore up the cactus
by its roots and trampled on the scarlet blossoms. They
hurried about, calling to each other, and no man was idle.

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From the darkness of a cavern, Death and Avarice watched them,
and Death said, I am weary. Give me a third
of them and let me go. But Avarice shook her head.
They are my servants, she answered, And Death said to her,
what hast thou in thy hand? I have three grains
of corn? She answered, what is that? To thee? Give

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me one of them, cried Death, to plant in my garden,
only one of them, and I will go away. I
will not give THEE anything, said Avarice, as she hid
her hand in the fold of her raiment. And Death
laughed and took a cup and dipped it into a
pool of water, and out of the cup rose agu

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She passed through the great multitude, and a third of
them lay dead. A cold mist followed her, and the
water snakes ran by her side. And when Avarice saw
that a third of the multitude was dead, she beat
her breast and wept. She beat her barren bosom and
cried aloud, thou hast slain a third of my servants,

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She cried, Get THEE gone. There is war in the
mountains of Tartary, and the kings of each side are
calling to thee that Afghans have slain the black Ox
and are marching to battle. They have beaten upon their
shields with their spears, and have put on their helmets
of iron. What is my valley to thee, that thou
shouldst tarry in it? Get thee gone and come here

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no more? Nay, answered Death. But till thou hast given
me a grain of corn, I will not go. But
Avarice shut her hand and clenched her teeth. I will
not give thee anything, she muttered, and Death laughed and
took up a black stone and threw it into the forest,

(20:08):
and out of a thicket of wild hemlock came fever.
In a robe of flame, she passed through the multitude
and touched them, and each man that she touched died.
The grass withered beneath her feet as she walked, and
Avarice shuddered and put ashes on her head. Thou art cruel,
she cried, Thou art cruel. There is famine in the

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walled cities of India, and the cisterns of Samacan have
run dry. There is famine in the walled cities of Egypt,
and the locusts have come up from the desert. The
nile has not overflowed its banks, and the priests have
cursed Isis and a ciris. Get thee gone to those
who need thee, and leave me my servants. Nay, answered Death.

(20:54):
But till thou hast given me a grain of corn,
I will not go. I will not give thee anything,
said Avarice. And Death laughed again, and he whistled through
his fingers, and a woman came flying through the air.
Plague was written upon her forehead, and a crowd of
lean vultures wheeled round her. She covered the valley with

(21:17):
her wings, and no man was left alive. And Avarice
fled shrieking through the forest, and Death leaped upon his
red horse and galloped away. And his galloping was faster
than the wind, and out of the slime. At the
bottom of the valley crept dragons and horrible things with scales,
and the jackals came trotting along the sand, stiffing up

(21:39):
the air with their nostrils. And the young king wept
and said, who are these men? And for what were
they seeking? For rubies for a king's crown, answered one
who stood beside him, and the young king started, and
turning round, he saw a man habited as a pilgrim,

(22:00):
and holding in his hand a mirror of silver. And
he grew pale and said, for what King, And the
pilgrim answered, look in this mirror, and thou shalt see him.
And he looked in the mirror, and seeing his own face,
he gave a great cry and woke. And the bright
sunlight was streaming into the room, and from the trees

(22:23):
of the garden and pleasants the birds were singing. And
the chamberlain and the high officers of state came in
and made obeisance to him, and the pages brought him
the robe of tissued gold, and set the crown and
the scepter before him. And the young king looked at them,
and they were beautiful, More beautiful were they than aught

(22:45):
he had ever seen. But he remembered his dreams, and
he said to his lords, take these things away, for
I will not wear them. And the courtiers were amazed,
and some of them laughed, for they thought he was jesting.
But he spake still to them again and said, take
these things away and hide them from me, though it
be the day of my coronation. I will not wear them,

(23:07):
for on the loom of sorrow, and by the white
hands of pain has this my robe been woven. There
is blood in the heart of the ruby, and death
in the heart of the pearl. And he told them
his free dreams. And when the courtiers heard them, they
looked at each other and whispered, saying, surely he is mad.

(23:28):
For what is a dream but a dream? And a
vision but a vision? They are not real things that
one should heed them? And what have we to do
with the lives of those who toil for us? Shall
a man not eat bread till he has seen the sower,
nor drink wine till he has talked with the vine dresser.
And the chamberlain spake to the young King and said,

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my lord, I pray ye set aside these black forts
of thine, and put on this fair robe, and set
this crown upon thy head. For how shall people know
that thou art a king that has not a king's raiment?
And the young king looked at him. Is it so? Indeed?
He questioned, will they not know me for a king?

(24:10):
If I have not a king's raiment, they will not
know thee my lord cried the chamberlain. I had fought
that there had been men who are king like, he answered,
But it may be as thou sayest, And yet I
will not wear this robe, nor will I be crowned
with this crown. But even as I came to the palace,
so will I go forth from it. And he bade

(24:33):
them all leave him, save one page, whom he kept
as his companion, a lad a year younger than himself.
Him he kept for his service. And when he had
bathed himself in clear water, he opened a great painted chest,
and from it he took the leaven tunic and rough
sheepskin cloak that he had worn when he had watched

(24:53):
on the hillside the shaggy goats of the goatherd. These
he put on, and in his hand he took his
rude shepherd's staff. And the little page opened his big
blue eyes in wonder, and said, smiling to him, my Lord,
I see thy robe, and I scepter, But where is
thy crown? And the young king plucked a spray of

(25:16):
wild briar that was climbing over the balcony, and bent
it and made a circlet of it, and set it
on his own head. This shall be my crown, he answered,
And thus attired, he passed out of his chamber into
the great Hall, where the nobles were waiting for him,
and the nobles made merry, and some of them cried

(25:37):
out to him, my lord, the people wait for their king,
and thou ShoWest them a beggar. And others were rough
and said, he brings shame upon our state, and is
unworthy to be our master. But he answered them not
a word, but passed on and went down the bright
puffery staircase and out through the gates of bronze, and

(25:59):
mounted upon his horse, and rode towards the cathedral, the
little page running beside him, and the people laughed and said,
it is the king's fool who is riding by, And
they mocked him, and he drew rein and said, nay,
but I am the king. And he told them his
free dreams. And the man came out of the crowd

(26:21):
and spake bitterly to him, and said, sir, knowest thou
not that out of luxury of the rich cometh the
life of the poor. By our pomp we are nurtured,
and your vices give us bread to toil. For a
hard master is bitter but to have no master to
toil for is more bitter. Still, thinkest thou that the
ravens will feed us? And what cure hast thou for

(26:44):
these things? Wilt thou say to the buyer thou shalt
buy for so much? And to the seller thou shalt
sell at this price? I trow not. Therefore, go back
to thy palace and put on thy purple and fine linen.
What hast thou do with us? And what we suffer?
Are not the rich and the poor brothers? Asked the

(27:06):
young king? Ay, answered the man, And the name of
the rich brother is Cain. And the young King's eyes
filled with tears, and he rode on through the murmurs
of the people, and the little page grew afraid and
left him. And when he reached the great portal of
the cathedral, the soldiers thrust their halberts out and said,

(27:29):
what dost thou seek here? None enters by this door
but the king, and his face flushed with anger, and
he said to them I am the King, and waved
their halberts aside, and passed in. And when the old
bishop saw him coming in his goatherd's dress, he rose
up in wonder from his throne and went to meet him,

(27:50):
and said to him, my son, is that a king's apparel?
And with what crown shall I crown thee? And what
scepter shall I place in thy hand? And surely this
should be to thee a day of joy, and not
a day of a basement. Shall joy wear what grief
has fashioned, said the young king. And he told them

(28:11):
his free dreams. And when the bishop had heard them,
he net his brows and said, my son, I am
an old man, and in the winter of my days,
and I know that many evil things are done in
the wide world. The fierce robbers come down from the
mountains and carry off the little children, and seldom to

(28:31):
the moors. The lions lie in wait for the caravans
and leap upon the camels. The wild boar roots up
the corn in the valley, and the foxes gnaw the
vines upon the hill. The pirates lay waste the sea coast,
and burn the ships of the fishermen, and take their
nets from them. In the salt marshes live the lepers.

(28:53):
They have houses of wattled reeds, and none may come
nigh them. The beggars wan of through the city and
eat their food with the dogs. Canst thou make these
things not to be Wilt thou take the leper for
thy bedfellow, and set the beggar at thy board. Shalt
lion do thy bidding, and the wild boar obey THEE.

(29:15):
Is not he who made misery wiser than thou art.
Wherefore I praise THEE, not for this that thou hast done.
But I bid THEE ride back to the palace, and
make thy face glad, and put on the raiment that
beseemeth a king. And with the crown of gold, I
will crown THEE. And the scepter of pearl will thy

(29:36):
place in thy hand. And as for thy dreams, think
no more of them. The burden of this world is
too great for one man to bear, and the world's
sorrow too heavy for one heart to suffer. Sayest thou
that in this house, said the young King. And he
strode past the bishop, and climbed up the steps of

(29:57):
the altar, and stood before the image of Christ. He
stood before the image of Christ, and on his right
hand and on his left were the marvelous vessels of gold,
the chalice with the yellow wine, and the vial with
the holy oil. He knelt before the image of Christ,
and the great candles burned brightly by the jeweled shrine,

(30:19):
and the smoke of the incense curled in thin blue
reefs through the dome. He bowed his head in prayer,
and the priests, in their stiff copes, crept away from
the altar. And suddenly a wild tumult came from the
street outside, and in entered the nobles with drawn swords
and nodding plumes and shields of polished steel. Where is

(30:43):
this dreamer of dreams? They cried? Where is this king
who is apparreled like a beggar, this boy who brings
shame upon our state. Surely we will slay him, for
he is unworthy to rule over us. And the young
king bowed his head again and prayed, And when he
had finished his prayer, he rose up, and, turning round,

(31:05):
he looked at them sadly, and lo through the painted
windows came the sunlight streaming upon him, and the sunbeams
wove round him a tissued robe that was fairer than
the robe that had been fashioned for his pleasure. The
dead staff blossomed, and bare lilies that were whiter than pearls,
the dry fawn blossomed and bare roses that were redder

(31:27):
than rubies. Whiter and fine pearls were the lilies, and
their stems were of bright silver. Redder than male rubies
were their roses, and their leaves were of beaten gold.
He stood there in the raiment of a king, and
the gates of the jeweled shrine flew open, and from
the crystal of the many rayed monstrance shone a marvelous

(31:51):
and mystical light. He stood there in a king's raiment,
and the glory of God filled the place, and the saints,
in their carven niches seemed to move in the fair
raiment of a king. He stood before them, and the
organ pealed out its music, and the trumpeters blew upon
their trumpets, and the singing boys sang, and the people

(32:15):
fell upon their knees in awe, and the nobles sheathed
their swords and did homage, and the bishop's face grew pale,
and his hands trembled at greater air than I have
crowned thee. He cried and knelt before him, and the
young king came down from the high altar and passed
home through the midst of the people. But no man

(32:38):
dared look upon his face, for it was like the
face of an angel. End of the Young King by
Oscar Wilde