| There was no announcement of her arrival, and yet the moment she entered the hall, first a quiver and then a swift contagious tension surged through the packed hall. Her loyalists stood up and clapped with raised hands and cheered as she moved quickly down the narrow aisle towards the dais. Those in the audience of a bearded persuasion sat as if riveted to their chairs, unmoved by the clamour swirling around them, while those who had come to see whether they could resist being conquered viewed the scene with skepticism, their arms folded defensively. |
| She is tallish person and therefore the first sight one has of her over the heads of her acolytes is of her veil, peaked on this occasion to a pointed cone. She moved as briskly as the crowd would allow and took her place unhesitatingly in the central chair, for she had no doubt who was the centre of attention. [EXTRACT] |
[Published in THE NATION, 19 Nov. 1992, and reprinted in THE ARMLESS QUEEN (1994).] |
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