Behind the throne were ranged a
dozen guards, armed with the spear and with the lightning gun used in
hunting. That a single Martial battalion with its appropriate
artillery could annihilate the best army of the Earth I could not but
be aware; yet the first thought that occurred to me, as I looked on
these formidably armed but diminutive soldiers, was that a score of my
Arab horsemen would have cut a regiment of them to pieces. But by the
time I had reached the foot of the steps my attention was concentrated
on a single figure and face--the form and countenance of the Prince,
who rose from his throne as I approached. Those who remember that
Louis XIV., a prince reputed to have possessed the most majestic and
awe-inspiring presence of his age, was actually beneath the ordinary
height of Frenchmen, may be able to believe me when I say that the
Autocrat of Mars, though scarcely five feet tall, was in outward
appearance and bearing the most truly royal and imposing prince I have
ever seen. His stature, rising nearly two inches over the tallest of
those around him, perhaps added to the effect of a mien remarkable for
dignity, composure, and self-confidence.
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