As the youth advanced into the arena he turned， as thecustom was， to bow to the king， but he did not think at all ofthat royal personage. His eyes were fixed upon the princess，who sat to the right of her father. Had it not been for themoiety of barbarism in her nature it is probable that lady wouldnot have been there， but her intense and fervid soul would notallow her to be absent on an occasion in which she was soterribly interested. From the moment that the decree had goneforth that her lover should decide his fate in the king’s arena，she had thought of nothing， night or day， but this great eventand the various subjects connected with it. Possessed of morepower， influence， and force of character than any one whohad ever before been interested in such a case， she had donewhat no other person had done，—she had possessed herself ofthe secret of the doors. She knew in which of the two rooms，that lay behind those doors， stood the cage of the tiger， withits open front， and in which waited the lady. Through thesethick doors， heavily curtained with skins on the inside， it wasimpossible that any noise or suggestion should come fromwithin to the person who should approach to raise the latch ofone of them. But gold， and the power of a woman’s will， hadbrought the secret to the princess. And not only did she knowin which room stood the lady ready to emerge， all blushing andradiant， should her door be opened， but she knew who the ladywas. It was one of the fairest and loveliest of the damsels ofthe court who had been selected as the reward of the accusedyouth， should he be proved innocent of the crime of aspiring toone so far above him； and the princess hated her. Often had sheseen， or imagined that she had seen， this fair creature throwingglances of admiration upon the person of her lover， andsometimes she thought these glances were perceived， and evenreturned. Now and then she had seen them talking together； itwas but for a moment or two， but much can be said in a briefspace； it may have been on most unimportant topics， but howcould she know that？ The girl was lovely， but she had dared toraise her eyes to the loved one of the princess； and， with all theintensity of the savage blood transmitted to her through longlines of wholly barbaric ancestors， she hated the woman whoblushed and trembled behind that silent door. When her loverturned and looked at her， and his eye met hers as she sat there，paler and whiter than any one in the vast ocean of anxiousfaces about her， he saw， by that power of quick perceptionwhich is given to those whose souls are one， that she knewbehind which door crouched the tiger， and behind which stoodthe lady. He had expected her to know it. He understood hernature， and his soul was assured that she would never rest untilshe had made plain to herself this thing， hidden to all otherlookers-on， even to the king. The only hope for the youth inwhich there was any element of certainty was based upon thesuccess of the princess in discovering this mystery； and themoment he looked upon her， he saw she had succeeded， as inhis soul he knew she would succeed.
Then it was that his quick and anxious glance asked thequestion： “Which？” It was as plain to her as if he shouted itfrom where he stood. There was not an instant to be lost. Thequestion was asked in a flash； it must be answered in another.
Her right arm lay on the cushioned parapet before her. Sheraised her hand， and made a slight， quick movement towardthe right. No one but her lover saw her. Every eye but his wasfixed on the man in the arena.
He turned， and with a firm and rapid step he walked acrossthe empty space. Every heart stopped beating， every breathwas held， every eye was fixed immovably upon that man.
Without the slightest hesitation， he went to the door on theright， and opened it.
Now， the point of the story is this： Did the tiger come out ofthat door， or did the lady ？
The more we reflect upon this question， the harder it is toanswer. It involves a study of the human heart which leads usthrough devious mazes of passion， out of which it is difficultto find our way. Think of it， fair reader， not as if the decisionof the question depended upon yourself， but upon that hotblooded，semi-barbaric princess， her soul at a white heatbeneath the combined fires of despair and jealousy. She hadlost him， but who should have him？
How often， in her waking hours and in her dreams， had shestarted in wild horror， and covered her face with her hands asshe thought of her lover opening the door on the other side ofwhich waited the cruel fangs of the tiger！
But how much oftener had she seen him at the other door！
How in her grievous reveries had she gnashed her teeth， andtorn her hair， when she saw his start of rapturous delight ashe opened the door of the lady！ How her soul had burned inagony when she had seen him rush to meet that woman， withher flushing cheek and sparkling eye of triumph； when she hadseen him lead her forth， his whole frame kindled with the joyof recovered life； when she had heard the glad shouts from themultitude， and the wild ringing of the happy bells； when shehad seen the priest， with his joyous followers， advance to thecouple， and make them man and wife before her very eyes； andwhen she had seen them walk away together upon their pathof flowers， followed by the tremendous shouts of the hilariousmultitude， in which her one despairing shriek was lost anddrowned！
Would it not be better for him to die at once， and go to waitfor her in the blessed regions of semi-barbaric futurity？
And yet， that awful tiger， those shrieks， that blood！
Her decision had been indicated in an instant， but it had beenmade after days and nights of anguished deliberation. She hadknown she would be asked， she had decided what she wouldanswer， and， without the slightest hesitation， she had movedher hand to the right.
The question of her decision is one not to be lightlyconsidered， and it is not for me to presume to set myself upas the one person able to answer it. And so I leave it with allof you： Which came out of the opened door，—the lady， or thetiger？
