The Princess Tourandot regained her palace, followed by two young slaves who were in her con­fidence. As soon as she reached her apartment she removed her veil, and throwing herself on the sofa she gave free vent to the affliction which agitated her. Shame and grief were seen depicted on her countenance; her eyes, already bathed in tears, shed tears afresh; she tore out the flowers which adorned her head, and disordered her beau­tiful hair. When her two favourite slaves wished to console her, she said to them: ‘Leave me both of you; cease to pay superfluous attentions to me, I listen to nothing but my despair, I wish to weep and grieve. Ah! what will be my confusion to-morrow, when in the midst of the council, before the greatest doctors of China, I have to admit that I cannot answer the proposed question. “Is that,” they will say, “the brilliant princess who prides herself on knowing everything, and to whom the guessing of the most difficult enigma is as nothing!” Alas!’ she continued, ‘they are all on the side of the young prince. I saw them become pale, alarmed, when he appeared embarrassed, and full of joy when he unravelled the meaning of my questions. I shall have the cruel mortification to see them rejoice again in my trouble when I confess myself conquered. What pleasure will not this shameful avowal cause them, and what torture for me to be reduced to to make it!’

‘My princess,’ said one of the slaves to her, ‘instead of grieving beforehand, instead of repre­senting to yourself the shame you must experience to-morrow, would it not be better to think of avoiding it? Is what he has asked you so difficult that you cannot answer it? With your genius and penetration, will you not be able to achieve it?’

‘No,’ replied Tourandot, ‘it is impossible. He asks me what the name is of the prince who, after having suffered endless fatigue, and begged his bread, is at this moment crowned with joy and glory? I know well that he is himself this prince, but, not knowing him, I cannot say his name.’

‘However, madam,’ replied the same slave, ‘you have promised to name this prince to-morrow at the divan. When you made this promise, you doubtless hoped to keep it?’

‘I hoped nothing,’ replied the princess, ‘and I only asked for time in order to let myself die of grief before being obliged to admit my shame and marry the prince.’

‘What a violent resolution!’ then said the other favourite slave. ‘I know well, madam, no man is worthy of you, but it must be admitted that this one is of singular merit; his beauty, his good appearance, and his intelligence, ought to speak to you in his favour.’

‘I do him justice,’ interrupted the princess; ‘if there be in the world a prince who deserves that I should look upon him with a favourable eye, it is he. Just now even, I confess, before interrogating him, I pitied him, I sighed on seeing him, and, as has never happened to me before, I almost hoped he might reply correctly to my questions. It is true that at the moment I blushed at my weak­ness, but my pride surmounted it, and the correct replies he made me ended by revolting me against him; the applause of the doctors mortified me so much that I felt and still feel only hatred for him. O unhappy Tourandot! die at once of regret and rage at having found a young man who has been able to cover you with shame, and to force you to become his wife.’

At these words her tears fell afresh, and in the violence of her grief she spared neither her hair nor her clothes. More than once she even put her hands to her cheeks, to tear them and punish them as the first indicators of her confusion, but her slaves, who watched over her, saved her counte­nance. But it was in vain they tried to succour her, they could not calm her agitation. Whilst she was in this frightful state, the Prince of the Nogaïs, charmed at the result of the divan, was overcome with joy, and indulged the hope of winning his love the following day.

The king having returned from the council chamber to his apartment, sent for Calaf to talk in private over what had taken place at the divan. The prince immediately obeyed the summons of the monarch, who said to him, after having embraced him with much tenderness: ‘Ah, my son, come and relieve me from the uneasiness I am in. I fear lest my daughter may reply to the question you have put to her. Why have you run the risk of losing the object of your love?’

‘My lord,’ replied Calaf, ‘let not your majesty be apprehensive. It is impossible for the princess to tell me who is the prince whose name I asked her, since I am that prince, and no one at your court knows me.’

‘You have reassured me,’ cried the delighted king. ‘I was alarmed, I admit. Tourandot is very penetrating, the subtlety of her mind made me tremble for you, but, Heaven be thanked, you have quieted me. Whatever facility she may have in detecting the meaning of enigmas, she cannot guess your name. I do not accuse you any longer of being a bold man, and I perceive that what appeared to me a defect of prudence is an ingenious trick which you have made use of, to remove all pretext from my daughter for refusing herself to you.’

Altoun-Khan, after having laughed with Calaf over the question put to the princess, prepared to amuse himself with hunting. He put on a light and narrow caftan, and enclosed his beard in a black satin bag. He ordered the mandarins to hold themselves in readiness to accompany him, and had hunting clothes given to the Prince of the Nogaïs. They hastily ate some morsels of food, then left the palace. The mandarins, in ivory chairs enriched with gold, and uncovered, were at the head. Each one had six men who carried him, two who walked before him with whips of cord, and two others who followed him with silver tablets, on which were written in large characters all his qualities.

The king and Calaf appeared after the man­darins, borne by twenty military officers in a litter of red sandal wood, also uncovered, on which the first letter of the monarch’s name and several figures of animals were painted in silver characters. Two generals of the armies of Altoun-Khan each held by the side of the litter a large fan, to pre­serve them from the heat, and three thousand eunuchs who marched behind ended the procession.

When they had arrived at the place where the officers of the hunt awaited the king with falcons, a quail hunt was begun which lasted till sunset. Then the prince and the persons of his suite returned to the palace in the same order as they started. They found in a courtyard, under several pavilions of different coloured taffetas, a quantity of little tables, highly varnished and covered with all sorts of meats. Calaf and the mandarins seated themselves, after the example of the king, each at a little separate table, near which was another which served as a buffet. They began by drinking several draughts of rice wine before touching the meats; then they only ate without drinking.

The repast over, Altoun-Khan conducted the Prince of the Nogaïs into a great hall brilliantly lit, and full of chairs arranged as for a spectacle, and they were followed by all the mandarins. The king arranged the audience and made Calaf seat himself beside him on a great ebony throne ornamented with gold filigree.

As soon as everybody had taken his seat, singers and musicians entered, who began a very pleasant concert. Altoun-Khan was charmed with it. Very fond of Chinese music, he asked the son of Timurtasch from time to time what he thought of it, and the young prince, from complaisance, estimated it above all other music in the world.

The concert over, the singers and players retired to make room for an artificial elephant, which, advancing by means of a spring into the middle of the hall, threw out six acrobats, who indulged in many perilous feats. They were almost naked; they wore only sandals, breeches of Indian cloth, and caps of brocade. After they had shown their suppleness and agility by a thousand surpris­ing tricks, they re-entered the elephant, which went out as it had entered. Then appeared comedians, who represented an impromptu piece, the subject of which was suggested to them by the king.

When all these amusements were over, the night being far advanced, Altoun-Khan and Calaf rose to retire to rest in their apartments and all the mandarins retired.

The young Prince of the Nogaïs, conducted by eunuchs who bore tapers in golden torches, was preparing to taste the sweets of sleep so far as the impatience to return to the divan permitted him, when, on entering his apartment, he found there a young lady clothed in a very full robe of red brocade with silver flowers, over another narrower one of white satin, all embroidered in gold and scattered with rubies and emeralds.

She wore on her head a cap of rose-coloured taffetas, trimmed with pearls and light silver embroidery, which only covered the top of the head, and displayed very beautiful curly hair in which were some artificial flowers. As regards her figure and face, nothing more beautiful nor more perfect, after the Princess of China, could be seen.