All rare and costly1 materials had certainly a great fascination2 for him, and in his eagerness to procure3 them he had sent away many merchants, some to traffic for amber4 with the rough fisher-folk of the north seas, some to Egypt to look for that curious green turquoise5（绿松石） which is found only in the tombs of kings, and is said to possess magical properties, some to Persia for silken carpets and painted pottery6, and others to India to buy gauze and stained ivory, moonstones and bracelets7 of jade8, sandalwood and blue enamel（搪瓷） and shawls of fine wool.
But what had occupied him most was the robe he was to wear at his coronation（加冕礼） , the robe of tissued gold, and the ruby-studded crown, and the sceptre with its rows and rings of pearls. Indeed, it was of this that he was thinking to-night, as he lay back on his luxurious10 couch, watching the great pinewood log that was burning itself out on the open hearth11. 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 toil12 night and day to carry them out, and that the whole world was to be searched for jewels that would be worthy13 of their work. He saw himself in fancy standing14 at the high altar of the cathedral in the fair raiment（衣服） of a King, and a smile played and lingered about his boyish lips, and lit up with a bright lustre15（光泽） his dark woodland eyes.
After some time he rose from his seat, and leaning against the carved penthouse（阁楼） of the chimney, looked round at the dimly-lit room. The walls were hung with rich tapestries16 representing the Triumph of Beauty. A large press, inlaid with agate17（玛瑙） and lapis-lazuli, filled one corner, and facing the window stood a curiously18 wrought19 cabinet with lacquer panels of powdered and mosaiced gold, on which were placed some delicate goblets20 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 fluted21 ivory bare up the velvet23 canopy24, from which great tufts of ostrich25 plumes26 sprang, like white foam27, to the pallid28 silver of the fretted29 ceiling. A laughing Narcissus in green bronze held a polished mirror above its head. On the table stood a flat bowl of amethyst30（紫水晶） .
Outside he could see the huge dome31 of the cathedral, looming32 like a bubble over the shadowy houses, and the weary（疲倦的，厌烦的） sentinels（哨兵） pacing up and down on the misty33 terrace（平台，梯田） by the river. Far away, in an orchard34, 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 lute22, let his fingers stray across the cords. His heavy eyelids35 drooped36, and a strange languor37 came over him. Never before had he felt so keenly, or with such exquisite38 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, pouring rose-water over his hands, and strewing39（散播） flowers on his pillow. A few moments after that they had left the room, he fell asleep.
And as he slept he dreamed a dream, and this was his dream. He thought that he was standing in a long, low attic40, amidst the whirr and clatter41 of many looms42. The meagre daylight peered in through the grated windows, and showed him the gaunt figures of the weavers44 bending over their cases. Pale, sickly-looking children were crouched45 on the huge cross-beams. As the shuttles dashed through the warp46 they lifted up the heavy battens, and when the shuttles stopped they let the battens（帆骨，压条） 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（缝纫） . A horrible odour filled the place. The air was foul47 and heavy, and the walls dripped and streamed with damp.
The young King went over to one of the weavers, and stood by him and watched him.
And the weaver43 looked at him angrily, and said, 'Why art thou watching me? Art thou a spy set on us by our master?'
'Who is thy master?' asked the young King.
'Our master!' cried the weaver, bitterly. 'He is a man like myself. Indeed, '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 overfeeding.'
'The land is free,' said the young King, 'and thou art no man's slave.'
