章节正文
basin, filled it from the trickling stream, bowed to us and
drank. But as she drank I noted with a thrill of joy that her
eyes were fixed on mine as though it were me she pledged and me
alone. Again she filled the cup with the sparkling water, for it
did sparkle, like that French liqueur in which are mingled little
flakes of gold, and handed it to me.
I bowed to her and drank. I suppose the fluid was water, but to
me it tasted more like strong champagne, dashed with Chateau
Yquem. It was delicious. More, its effects were distinctly
peculiar. Something quick and subtle ran through my veins;
something that for a few moments seemed to burn away the
obscureness which blurs our thought. I began to understand
several problems that had puzzled me, and then lost their
explanations in the midst of light, inner light, I mean.
Moreover, of a sudden it seemed to me as though a window had been
opened in the heart of that Glittering Lady who stood beside me.
At least I knew that it was full of wonderful knowledge,
wonderful memories and wonderful hopes, and that in the latter
two of these I had some part; what part I could not tell. Also I
knew that my heart was open to her and that she saw in it
something which caused her to marvel and to sigh.
In a few seconds, thirty perhaps, all this was gone. Nothing
remained except that I felt extremely strong and well, happier,
too, than I had been for years. Mutely I asked her for more of
the water, but she shook her head and, taking the cup from me,
filled it again and gave it to Bickley, who drank. He flushed,
seemed to lose the self-control which was his very strong
characteristic, and said in a rather thick voice:
"Curious! but I do not think at this moment there is any
operation that has ever been attempted which I could not tackle
single-handed and with success."
Then he was silent, and Bastin's turn came. He drank rather
noisily, after his fashion, and began:
"My dear young lady, I think the time has come when I should
expound to you--" Here he broke off and commenced singing very
badly, for his voice was somewhat raucous:
From Greenland's icy mountains,
From India's coral strand,
Where Afric's sunny fountains
Roll down their golden sand.
Ceasing from melody, he added:
"I determined that I would drink nothing intoxicating while I
was on this island that I might be a shining light in a dark
place, and now I fear that quite unwittingly I have broken what I
look upon as a promise."
Then he, too, grew silent.
"Come," said Yva, "my father, the Lord Oro, awaits you."
We crossed the court of the Water of Life and mounted steps
that led to a wide and impressive portico, Tommy frisking ahead
of us in a most excited way for a dog of his experience.
Evidently the water had produced its effect upon him as well as
upon his masters. This portico was in a solemn style of
architecture which I cannot describe, because it differed from
any other that I know. It was not Egyptian and not Greek,
although its solidity reminded me of the former, and the beauty
and grace of some of the columns, of the latter. The profuseness
and rather grotesquecharacter of the carvings suggested the
ruins of Mexico and Yucatan, and the enormous size of the blocks
of stone, those of Peru and Baalbec. In short, all the known
forms of ancient architecture might have found their inspiration
here, and the general effect was tremendous.
"The palace of the King," said Yva, "whereof we approach the
great hall."
We entered through mighty metal doors, one of which stood ajar,
into a vestibule which from certain indications I gathered had
once been a guard, or perhaps an assembly-room. It was about
forty feet deep by a hundred wide. Thence she led us through a
smaller door into the hall itself. It was a vast place without
columns, for there was no roof to support. The walls of marble or
limestone were sculptured like those of Egyptian temples,
apparently with battle scenes, though of this I am not sure for I
did not go near to them. Except for a broad avenue along the
middle, up which we walked, the area was filled with marble
benches that would, I presume, have accommodated several thousand
people. But they were empty--empty, and oh! the loneliness of it
all.
Far away at the head of the hall was a dais enclosed, and, as
it were, roofed in by a toweringstructure that mingled grace and
majesty to a wonderful degree. It was modelled on the pattern of
a huge shell. The base of the shell was the platform; behind were
the ribs, and above, the overhanging lip of the shell. On this
platform was a throne of silvery metal. It was supported on the
arched coils of snakes, whereof the tails formed the back and the
heads the arms of the throne.
On this throne, arrayed in gorgeous robes, sat the Lord Oro,
his white beard flowing over them, and a jewelled cap upon his
head. In front of him was a low table on which lay graven sheets
of metal, and among them a large ball of crystal.
There he sat, solemn and silent in the midst of this awful
solitude, looking in very truth like a god, as we conceive such a
being to appear. Small as he was in that huge expanse of
buildings, he seemed yet to dominate it, in a sense to fill the
emptiness which was accentuated by his presence. I know that the
sight of him filled me with true fear which it had never done in
the light of day, not even when he arose from his crystal coffin.
Now for the first time I felt as though I were really in the
presence of a Being Supernatural. Doubtless the surroundings
heightened this impression. What were these mighty edifices in
the bowels of the world? When came this wondrous, all-pervading
and translucent light, whereof we could see no origin? Whither
had vanished those who had reared and inhabited them? How did it
happen that of them all, this man, if he were a man; and this
lovely woman at my side, who, if I might trust my senses and
instincts, was certainly a woman, alone survived of their
departed multitudes?
The thing was crushing. I looked at Bickley for encouragement,
but got none, for he only shook his head. Even Bastin, now that
the first effects of the Life-water had departed, seemed
overwhelmed, and muttered something about the halls of Hades.
Only the little dog Tommy remained quite cheerful. He trotted
down the hall, jumped on to the dais and sat himself comfortably
at the feet of its occupant.
"I greet you," Oro said in his slow, resonant voice. "Daughter,
lead these strangers to me; I would speak with them."
Chapter XV
Oro in His House
We climbed on to the dais by some marble steps, and sat
ourselves down in four curious chairs of metal that were more or
less copied from that which served Oro as a throne; at least the
arms ended in graven heads of snakes. These chairs were so
comfortable that I concluded the seats were fixed on springs,
also we noticed that they were beautifully polished.
"I wonder how they keep everything so clean," said Bastin as we
mounted the dais. "In this big place it must take a lot of
housemaids, though I don't see any. But perhaps there is no dust
here."
I shrugged my shoulders while we seated ourselves, the Lady Yva
and I on Oro's right, Bickley and Bastin on his left, as he
indicated by pointing with his finger.
"What say you of this city?" Oro asked after a while of me.
"We do not know what to say," I replied. "It amazes us. In our
world there is nothing like to it."
"Perchance there will be in the future when the nations grow
more skilled in the arts of war," said Oro darkly.
"Be pleased, Lord Oro," I went on, "if it is your will, to tell
us why the people who built this place chose to live in the
bowels of the earth instead of upon its surface."
"They did not choose; it was forced upon them," was the answer.
"This is a city of refuge that they occupied in time of war, not
because they hated the sun. In time of peace and before the
Barbarians dared to attack them, they dwelt in the city Pani
which signifies Above. You may have noted some of its remaining
ruins on the mount and throughout the island. The rest of them
are now beneath the sea. But when trouble came and the foe rained
fire on them from the air, they retreated to this town, Nyo,
which signifies Beneath."
"And then?"
"And then they died. The Water of Life may prolong life, but it
cannot make women bear children. That they will only do beneath
the blue of heaven, not deep in the belly of the world where
Nature never designed that they should dwell. How would the
voices of children sound in such halls as these? Tell me, you,
Bickley, who are a physician."
"I cannot. I cannot imagine children in such a place, and if
born here they would die," said Bickley.
Oro nodded.
"They did die, and if they went above to Pani they were
murdered. So soon the habit of birth was lost and the Sons of
Wisdom perished one by one. Yes, they who ruled the world and by
tens of thousands of years of toil had gathered into their bosoms
all the secrets of the world, perished, till only a few, and
among them I and this daughter of mine, were left."
"And then?"
"Then, Humphrey, having power so to do, I did what long I had
threatened, and unchained the forces that work at the world's
heart, and destroyed them who were my enemies and evil, so that
they perished by millions, and with them all their works.
Afterwards we slept, leaving the others, our subjects who had not
the secret of this Sleep, to die, as doubtless they did in the
course of Nature or by the hand of the foe. The rest you know."
"Can such a thing happen again?" asked Bickley in a voice that
did not hide his disbelief.
"Why do you question me, Bickley, you who believe nothing of
what I tell you, and therefore make wrath? Still I will say this,
that what I caused to happen I can cause once more--only once, I
think--as perchance you shall learn before all is done. Now,
since you do not believe, I will tell you no more of our
mysteries, no, not whence this light comes nor what are the
properties of the Water of Life, both of which you long to know,
nor how to preserve the vital spark of Being in the grave of
dreamless sleep, like a live jewel in a casket of dead stone, nor
aught else. As to these matters, Daughter, I bid you also to be
silent, since Bickley mocks at us. Yes, with all this around him,
he who saw us rise from the coffins, still mocks at us in his
heart. Therefore let him, this little man of a little day, when
his few years are done go to the tomb in ignorance, and his
companions with him, they who might have been as wise as I am."
Thus Oro spoke in a voice of icy rage, his deep eyes glowing
like coals. Hearing him I cursed Bickley in my heart for I was
sure that once spoken, his decree was like to that of the Medes
and Persians and could not be altered. Bickley, however, was not
in the least dismayed. Indeed he argued the point. He told Oro
straight out that he would not believe in the impossible until it
had been shown to him to be possible, and that the law of Nature
never had been and never could be violated. It was no answer, he
said, to show him wonders without explaining their cause, since
all that he seemed to see might be but mentalillusions produced
he knew not how.
Oro listened patiently, then answered:
"Good. So be it, they are illusions. I am an illusion; those
savages who died upon the rock will tell you so. This fair woman
drank. But as she drank I noted with a thrill of joy that her
eyes were fixed on mine as though it were me she pledged and me
alone. Again she filled the cup with the sparkling water, for it
did sparkle, like that French liqueur in which are mingled little
flakes of gold, and handed it to me.
I bowed to her and drank. I suppose the fluid was water, but to
me it tasted more like strong champagne, dashed with Chateau
Yquem. It was delicious. More, its effects were distinctly
peculiar. Something quick and subtle ran through my veins;
something that for a few moments seemed to burn away the
obscureness which blurs our thought. I began to understand
several problems that had puzzled me, and then lost their
explanations in the midst of light, inner light, I mean.
Moreover, of a sudden it seemed to me as though a window had been
opened in the heart of that Glittering Lady who stood beside me.
At least I knew that it was full of wonderful knowledge,
wonderful memories and wonderful hopes, and that in the latter
two of these I had some part; what part I could not tell. Also I
knew that my heart was open to her and that she saw in it
something which caused her to marvel and to sigh.
In a few seconds, thirty perhaps, all this was gone. Nothing
remained except that I felt extremely strong and well, happier,
too, than I had been for years. Mutely I asked her for more of
the water, but she shook her head and, taking the cup from me,
filled it again and gave it to Bickley, who drank. He flushed,
seemed to lose the self-control which was his very strong
characteristic, and said in a rather thick voice:
"Curious! but I do not think at this moment there is any
operation that has ever been attempted which I could not tackle
single-handed and with success."
Then he was silent, and Bastin's turn came. He drank rather
noisily, after his fashion, and began:
"My dear young lady, I think the time has come when I should
expound to you--" Here he broke off and commenced singing very
badly, for his voice was somewhat raucous:
From Greenland's icy mountains,
From India's coral strand,
Where Afric's sunny fountains
Roll down their golden sand.
Ceasing from melody, he added:
"I determined that I would drink nothing intoxicating while I
was on this island that I might be a shining light in a dark
place, and now I fear that quite unwittingly I have broken what I
look upon as a promise."
Then he, too, grew silent.
"Come," said Yva, "my father, the Lord Oro, awaits you."
We crossed the court of the Water of Life and mounted steps
that led to a wide and impressive portico, Tommy frisking ahead
of us in a most excited way for a dog of his experience.
Evidently the water had produced its effect upon him as well as
upon his masters. This portico was in a solemn style of
architecture which I cannot describe, because it differed from
any other that I know. It was not Egyptian and not Greek,
although its solidity reminded me of the former, and the beauty
and grace of some of the columns, of the latter. The profuseness
and rather grotesquecharacter of the carvings suggested the
ruins of Mexico and Yucatan, and the enormous size of the blocks
of stone, those of Peru and Baalbec. In short, all the known
forms of ancient architecture might have found their inspiration
here, and the general effect was tremendous.
"The palace of the King," said Yva, "whereof we approach the
great hall."
We entered through mighty metal doors, one of which stood ajar,
into a vestibule which from certain indications I gathered had
once been a guard, or perhaps an assembly-room. It was about
forty feet deep by a hundred wide. Thence she led us through a
smaller door into the hall itself. It was a vast place without
columns, for there was no roof to support. The walls of marble or
limestone were sculptured like those of Egyptian temples,
apparently with battle scenes, though of this I am not sure for I
did not go near to them. Except for a broad avenue along the
middle, up which we walked, the area was filled with marble
benches that would, I presume, have accommodated several thousand
people. But they were empty--empty, and oh! the loneliness of it
all.
Far away at the head of the hall was a dais enclosed, and, as
it were, roofed in by a toweringstructure that mingled grace and
majesty to a wonderful degree. It was modelled on the pattern of
a huge shell. The base of the shell was the platform; behind were
the ribs, and above, the overhanging lip of the shell. On this
platform was a throne of silvery metal. It was supported on the
arched coils of snakes, whereof the tails formed the back and the
heads the arms of the throne.
On this throne, arrayed in gorgeous robes, sat the Lord Oro,
his white beard flowing over them, and a jewelled cap upon his
head. In front of him was a low table on which lay graven sheets
of metal, and among them a large ball of crystal.
There he sat, solemn and silent in the midst of this awful
solitude, looking in very truth like a god, as we conceive such a
being to appear. Small as he was in that huge expanse of
buildings, he seemed yet to dominate it, in a sense to fill the
emptiness which was accentuated by his presence. I know that the
sight of him filled me with true fear which it had never done in
the light of day, not even when he arose from his crystal coffin.
Now for the first time I felt as though I were really in the
presence of a Being Supernatural. Doubtless the surroundings
heightened this impression. What were these mighty edifices in
the bowels of the world? When came this wondrous, all-pervading
and translucent light, whereof we could see no origin? Whither
had vanished those who had reared and inhabited them? How did it
happen that of them all, this man, if he were a man; and this
lovely woman at my side, who, if I might trust my senses and
instincts, was certainly a woman, alone survived of their
departed multitudes?
The thing was crushing. I looked at Bickley for encouragement,
but got none, for he only shook his head. Even Bastin, now that
the first effects of the Life-water had departed, seemed
overwhelmed, and muttered something about the halls of Hades.
Only the little dog Tommy remained quite cheerful. He trotted
down the hall, jumped on to the dais and sat himself comfortably
at the feet of its occupant.
"I greet you," Oro said in his slow, resonant voice. "Daughter,
lead these strangers to me; I would speak with them."
Chapter XV
Oro in His House
We climbed on to the dais by some marble steps, and sat
ourselves down in four curious chairs of metal that were more or
less copied from that which served Oro as a throne; at least the
arms ended in graven heads of snakes. These chairs were so
comfortable that I concluded the seats were fixed on springs,
also we noticed that they were beautifully polished.
"I wonder how they keep everything so clean," said Bastin as we
mounted the dais. "In this big place it must take a lot of
housemaids, though I don't see any. But perhaps there is no dust
here."
I shrugged my shoulders while we seated ourselves, the Lady Yva
and I on Oro's right, Bickley and Bastin on his left, as he
indicated by pointing with his finger.
"What say you of this city?" Oro asked after a while of me.
"We do not know what to say," I replied. "It amazes us. In our
world there is nothing like to it."
"Perchance there will be in the future when the nations grow
more skilled in the arts of war," said Oro darkly.
"Be pleased, Lord Oro," I went on, "if it is your will, to tell
us why the people who built this place chose to live in the
bowels of the earth instead of upon its surface."
"They did not choose; it was forced upon them," was the answer.
"This is a city of refuge that they occupied in time of war, not
because they hated the sun. In time of peace and before the
Barbarians dared to attack them, they dwelt in the city Pani
which signifies Above. You may have noted some of its remaining
ruins on the mount and throughout the island. The rest of them
are now beneath the sea. But when trouble came and the foe rained
fire on them from the air, they retreated to this town, Nyo,
which signifies Beneath."
"And then?"
"And then they died. The Water of Life may prolong life, but it
cannot make women bear children. That they will only do beneath
the blue of heaven, not deep in the belly of the world where
Nature never designed that they should dwell. How would the
voices of children sound in such halls as these? Tell me, you,
Bickley, who are a physician."
"I cannot. I cannot imagine children in such a place, and if
born here they would die," said Bickley.
Oro nodded.
"They did die, and if they went above to Pani they were
murdered. So soon the habit of birth was lost and the Sons of
Wisdom perished one by one. Yes, they who ruled the world and by
tens of thousands of years of toil had gathered into their bosoms
all the secrets of the world, perished, till only a few, and
among them I and this daughter of mine, were left."
"And then?"
"Then, Humphrey, having power so to do, I did what long I had
threatened, and unchained the forces that work at the world's
heart, and destroyed them who were my enemies and evil, so that
they perished by millions, and with them all their works.
Afterwards we slept, leaving the others, our subjects who had not
the secret of this Sleep, to die, as doubtless they did in the
course of Nature or by the hand of the foe. The rest you know."
"Can such a thing happen again?" asked Bickley in a voice that
did not hide his disbelief.
"Why do you question me, Bickley, you who believe nothing of
what I tell you, and therefore make wrath? Still I will say this,
that what I caused to happen I can cause once more--only once, I
think--as perchance you shall learn before all is done. Now,
since you do not believe, I will tell you no more of our
mysteries, no, not whence this light comes nor what are the
properties of the Water of Life, both of which you long to know,
nor how to preserve the vital spark of Being in the grave of
dreamless sleep, like a live jewel in a casket of dead stone, nor
aught else. As to these matters, Daughter, I bid you also to be
silent, since Bickley mocks at us. Yes, with all this around him,
he who saw us rise from the coffins, still mocks at us in his
heart. Therefore let him, this little man of a little day, when
his few years are done go to the tomb in ignorance, and his
companions with him, they who might have been as wise as I am."
Thus Oro spoke in a voice of icy rage, his deep eyes glowing
like coals. Hearing him I cursed Bickley in my heart for I was
sure that once spoken, his decree was like to that of the Medes
and Persians and could not be altered. Bickley, however, was not
in the least dismayed. Indeed he argued the point. He told Oro
straight out that he would not believe in the impossible until it
had been shown to him to be possible, and that the law of Nature
never had been and never could be violated. It was no answer, he
said, to show him wonders without explaining their cause, since
all that he seemed to see might be but mentalillusions produced
he knew not how.
Oro listened patiently, then answered:
"Good. So be it, they are illusions. I am an illusion; those
savages who died upon the rock will tell you so. This fair woman
- stream [stri:m]
n.河 vi.流出；飘扬 (初中英语单词) - thrill [θril] v.震惊；激动；刺激 (初中英语单词)
- sparkle [´spɑ:kəl] vi.闪耀；焕发 n.火花 (初中英语单词)
- delicious [di´liʃəs] a.美味的，可口的 (初中英语单词)
- marvel [´mɑ:vəl] n.令人惊异的事；奇迹 (初中英语单词)
- extremely [ik´stri:mli] ad.极端地；非常地 (初中英语单词)
- solemn [´sɔləm] a.严肃的；隆重的 (初中英语单词)
- egyptian [i´dʒipʃən] n.埃及人a.埃及的 (初中英语单词)
- character [´kæriktə] n.特性；性质；人物；字 (初中英语单词)
- mexico [´meksikəu] n.墨西哥 (初中英语单词)
- enormous [i´nɔ:məs] a.巨大地，很，极 (初中英语单词)
- thence [ðens] ad.从那里；因此 (初中英语单词)
- marble [´mɑ:bəl] n.大理石 a.大理石的 (初中英语单词)
- structure [´strʌktʃə] n.结构，构造；组织 (初中英语单词)
- platform [´plætfɔ:m] n.(平)台；讲台；站台 (初中英语单词)
- conceive [kən´si:v] v.设想；表达；怀孕 (初中英语单词)
- crystal [´kristəl] n.水晶 a.水晶的 (初中英语单词)
- doubtless [´dautlis] ad.无疑地；大概，多半 (初中英语单词)
- impression [im´preʃən] n.印刷；印象；效果 (初中英语单词)
- origin [´ɔridʒin] n.起源；由来；出身 (初中英语单词)
- cheerful [´tʃiəful] a.快乐的；高兴的 (初中英语单词)
- refuge [´refju:dʒ] v.&n.避难(所)；庇护 (初中英语单词)
- therefore [´ðeəfɔ:] ad.&conj.因此；所以 (初中英语单词)
- preserve [pri´zə:v] v.保藏 n.保藏物 (初中英语单词)
- ignorance [´ignərəns] n.无知，愚昧 (初中英语单词)
- spoken [´spəukən] speak的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- decree [di´kri:] n.法令；公告；天命 (初中英语单词)
- mental [´mentl] a.精神的；心理的 (初中英语单词)
- melody [´melədi] n.悦耳的音调；乐曲 (高中英语单词)
- impressive [im´presiv] a.给人深刻印象的 (高中英语单词)
- architecture [´ɑ:kitektʃə] n.建筑术；建筑学 (高中英语单词)
- mighty [´maiti] a.强有力的 ad.很 (高中英语单词)
- presume [pri´zju:m] v.假定；推测；以为 (高中英语单词)
- loneliness [´ləunliniz] n.孤独，寂寞 (高中英语单词)
- throne [θrəun] n.宝座；王位 (高中英语单词)
- gorgeous [´gɔ:dʒəs] a.华丽的；宜人的 (高中英语单词)
- dominate [´dɔmineit] v.统治；控制；俯视 (高中英语单词)
- skilled [skild] a.有技能的，熟练的 (高中英语单词)
- prolong [prə´lɔŋ] vt.延长；拉长；拖延 (高中英语单词)
- hearing [´hiəriŋ] n.听力；听证会；审讯 (高中英语单词)
- patiently [´peiʃəntli] ad.有耐心地；坚韧地 (高中英语单词)
- illusion [i´lu:ʒən] n.幻觉；幻影；错觉 (高中英语单词)
- grotesque [grəu´tesk] a.奇异的，想象中的 (英语四级单词)
- towering [´tauəriŋ] a.高耸的；强烈的 (英语四级单词)
- silvery [´silvəri] a.银一般的 (英语四级单词)
- whereof [weər´ɔv] ad.关于什么；关于那事 (英语四级单词)
- wondrous [´wʌndrəs] a.极好的 ad.惊人地 (英语四级单词)
- beautifully [´bju:tifəli] ad.美丽地；优美地 (英语四级单词)
- perchance [pə´tʃɑ:ns] ad.偶然；可能 (英语四级单词)
- whence [wens] ad.从何处；从那里 (英语四级单词)
- casket [´kɑ:skit] n.(精美)匣子；首饰盒 (英语四级单词)
- champagne [ʃæm´pein] n.香槟酒；微黄色 (英语六级单词)
- taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)
- self-control [,self´kəntrəul] n.自我克制 (英语六级单词)
- expanse [ik´spæns] n.广阔；宽阔的区域 (英语六级单词)
- departed [di´pɑ:tid] a.已往的；已故的 (英语六级单词)
文章标签:名著
章节正文
京公网安备 11011202003401号
