Chapter V.
A voice accosted me--a very quiet and very musical key of voice--in alanguage of which I could not understand a word, but it served todispel my fear. I uncovered my face and looked up. The stranger (I couldscarcely bring myself to call him man) surveyed me with an eye thatseemed to read to the very depths of my heart. He then placed his lefthand on my forehead, and with the staff in his right, gently touched myshoulder. The effect of this double contact was magical. In place of myformer terror there passed into me a sense of contentment, of joy, ofconfidence in myself and in the being before me. I rose and spoke inmy own language. He listened to me with apparent attention, but with aslight surprise in his looks; and shook his head, as if to signify thatI was not understood. He then took me by the hand and led me in silenceto the building. The entrance was open--indeed there was no door to it.We entered an immense hall, lighted by the same kind of lustre as in thescene without, but diffusing a fragrant odour. The floor was in largetesselated blocks of precious metals, and partly covered with a sort ofmatlike carpeting. A strain of low music, above and around, undulated asif from invisible instruments, seeming to belong naturally to the place,just as the sound of murmuring waters belongs to a rocky landscape, orthe warble of birds to vernal groves.
A figure in a simpler garb than that of my guide, but of similarfashion, was standing motionless near the threshold. My guide touchedit twice with his staff, and it put itself into a rapid and glidingmovement, skimming noiselessly over the floor. Gazing on it, I then sawthat it was no living form, but a mechanical automaton. It might be twominutes after it vanished through a doorless opening, half screened bycurtains at the other end of the hall, when through the same openingadvanced a boy of about twelve years old, with features closelyresembling those of my guide, so that they seemed to me evidently sonand father. On seeing me the child uttered a cry, and lifted a stafflike that borne by my guide, as if in menace. At a word from the elderhe dropped it. The two then conversed for some moments, examining mewhile they spoke. The child touched my garments, and stroked my facewith evident curiosity, uttering a sound like a laugh, but with anhilarity more subdued that the mirth of our laughter. Presently the roofof the hall opened, and a platform descended, seemingly constructedon the same principle as the 'lifts' used in hotels and warehouses formounting from one story to another.
The stranger placed himself and the child on the platform, and motionedto me to do the same, which I did. We ascended quickly and safely, andalighted in the midst of a corridor with doorways on either side.
Through one of these doorways I was conducted into a chamber fitted upwith an oriental splendour; the walls were tesselated with spars, andmetals, and uncut jewels; cushions and divans abounded; apertures as forwindows but unglazed, were made in the chamber opening to the floor;and as I passed along I observed that these openings led into spaciousbalconies, and commanded views of the illumined landscape without. Incages suspended from the ceiling there were birds of strange form andbright plumage, which at our entrance set up a chorus of song, modulatedinto tune as is that of our piping bullfinches. A delicious fragrance,from censers of gold elaborately sculptured, filled the air. Severalautomata, like the one I had seen, stood dumb and motionless by thewalls. The stranger placed me beside him on a divan and again spoketo me, and again I spoke, but without the least advance towardsunderstanding each other.
But now I began to feel the effects of the blow I had received from thesplinters of the falling rock more acutely that I had done at first.
There came over me a sense of sickly faintness, accompanied with acute,lancinating pains in the head and neck. I sank back on the seat andstrove in vain to stifle a groan. On this the child, who had hithertoseemed to eye me with distrust or dislike, knelt by my side to supportme; taking one of my hands in both his own, he approached his lips tomy forehead, breathing on it softly. In a few moments my pain ceased; adrowsy, heavy calm crept over me; I fell asleep.
How long I remained in this state I know not, but when I woke I feltperfectly restored. My eyes opened upon a group of silent forms, seatedaround me in the gravity and quietude of Orientals--all more or lesslike the first stranger; the same mantling wings, the same fashion ofgarment, the same sphinx-like faces, with the deep dark eyes and redman's colour; above all, the same type of race--race akin to man's, butinfinitely stronger of form and grandeur of aspect--and inspiring thesame unutterable feeling of dread. Yet each countenance was mild andtranquil, and even kindly in expression. And, strangely enough, itseemed to me that in this very calm and benignity consisted the secretof the dread which the countenances inspired. They seemed as void of thelines and shadows which care and sorrow, and passion and sin, leave uponthe faces of men, as are the faces of sculptured gods, or as, in theeyes of Christian mourners, seem the peaceful brows of the dead.
I felt a warm hand on my shoulder; it was the child's. In his eyes therewas a sort of lofty pity and tenderness, such as that with which we maygaze on some suffering bird or butterfly. I shrank from that touch--Ishrank from that eye. I was vaguely impressed with a belief that, had heso pleased, that child could have killed me as easily as a man can killa bird or a butterfly. The child seemed pained at my repugnance, quittedme, and placed himself beside one of the windows. The others continuedto converse with each other in a low tone, and by their glances towardsme I could perceive that I was the object of their conversation. Onein especial seemed to be urging some proposal affecting me on the beingwhom I had first met, and this last by his gesture seemed about toassent to it, when the child suddenly quitted his post by the window,placed himself between me and the other forms, as if in protection, andspoke quickly and eagerly. By some intuition or instinct I felt thatthe child I had before so dreaded was pleading in my behalf. Ere he hadceased another stranger entered the room. He appeared older than therest, though not old; his countenance less smoothly serene than theirs,though equally regular in its features, seemed to me to have more thetouch of a humanity akin to my own. He listened quietly to the wordsaddressed to him, first by my guide, next by two others of the group,and lastly by the child; then turned towards myself, and addressedme, not by words, but by signs and gestures. These I fancied that Iperfectly understood, and I was not mistaken. I comprehended that heinquired whence I came. I extended my arm, and pointed towards the roadwhich had led me from the chasm in the rock; then an idea seized me.I drew forth my pocket-book, and sketched on one of its blank leaves arough design of the ledge of the rock, the rope, myself clinging to it;then of the cavernous rock below, the head of the reptile, the lifelessform of my friend. I gave this primitive kind of hieroglyph to myinterrogator, who, after inspecting it gravely, handed it to his nextneighbour, and it thus passed round the group. The being I had at firstencountered then said a few words, and the child, who approached andlooked at my drawing, nodded as if he comprehended its purport, and,returning to the window, expanded the wings attached to his form, shookthem once or twice, and then launched himself into space without. Istarted up in amaze and hastened to the window. The child was already inthe air, buoyed on his wings, which he did not flap to and fro as abird does, but which were elevated over his head, and seemed to bear himsteadily aloft without effort of his own. His flight seemed as swiftas an eagle's; and I observed that it was towards the rock whence Ihad descended, of which the outline loomed visible in the brilliantatmosphere. In a very few minutes he returned, skimming through theopening from which he had gone, and dropping on the floor the rope andgrappling-hooks I had left at the descent from the chasm. Some words ina low tone passed between the being present; one of the group touched anautomaton, which started forward and glided from the room; then the lastcomer, who had addressed me by gestures, rose, took me by the hand,and led me into the corridor. There the platform by which I had mountedawaited us; we placed ourselves on it and were lowered into the hallbelow. My new companion, still holding me by the hand, conducted me fromthe building into a street (so to speak) that stretched beyond it, withbuildings o
n either side, separated from each other by gardens brightwith rich-coloured vegetation and strange flowers. Interspersed amidstthese gardens, which were divided from each other by low walls, orwalking slowly along the road, were many forms similar to those I hadalready seen. Some of the passers-by, on observing me, approached myguide, evidently by their tones, looks, and gestures addressing to himinquiries about myself. In a few moments a crowd collected around us,examining me with great interest, as if I were some rare wild animal.Yet even in gratifying their curiosity they preserved a grave andcourteous demeanour; and after a few words from my guide, who seemed tome to deprecate obstruction in our road, they fell back with astately inclination of head, and resumed their own way with tranquilindifference. Midway in this thoroughfare we stopped at a building thatdiffered from those we had hitherto passed, inasmuch as it formed threesides of a vast court, at the angles of which were lofty pyramidaltowers; in the open space between the sides was a circular fountain ofcolossal dimensions, and throwing up a dazzling spray of what seemed tome fire. We entered the building through an open doorway and cameinto an enormous hall, in which were several groups of children, allapparently employed in work as at some great factory. There was a hugeengine in the wall which was in full play, with wheels and cylindersresembling our own steam-engines, except that it was richly ornamentedwith precious stones and metals, and appeared to emanate a palephosphorescent atmosphere of shifting light. Many of the children wereat some mysterious work on this machinery, others were seated beforetables. I was not allowed to linger long enough to examine into thenature of their employment. Not one young voice was heard--not one youngface turned to gaze on us. They were all still and indifferent as maybe ghosts, through the midst of which pass unnoticed the forms of theliving.
Quitting this hall, my guide led me through a gallery richly paintedin compartments, with a barbaric mixture of gold in the colours,like pictures by Louis Cranach. The subjects described on these wallsappeared to my glance as intended to illustrate events in the history ofthe race amidst which I was admitted. In all there were figures, mostof them like the manlike creatures I had seen, but not all in the samefashion of garb, nor all with wings. There were also the effigiesof various animals and birds, wholly strange to me, with backgroundsdepicting landscapes or buildings. So far as my imperfect knowledge ofthe pictorial art would allow me to form an opinion, these paintingsseemed very accurate in design and very rich in colouring, showinga perfect knowledge of perspective, but their details notarranged according to the rules of composition acknowledged by ourartists--wanting, as it were, a centre; so that the effect was vague,scattered, confused, bewildering--they were like heterogeneous fragmentsof a dream of art.
We now came into a room of moderate size, in which was assembled what Iafterwards knew to be the family of my guide, seated at a table spreadas for repast. The forms thus grouped were those of my guide's wife, hisdaughter, and two sons. I recognised at once the difference betweenthe two sexes, though the two females were of taller stature and amplerproportions than the males; and their countenances, if still moresymmetrical in outline and contour, were devoid of the softness andtimidity of expression which give charm to the face of woman as seen onthe earth above. The wife wore no wings, the daughter wore wings longerthan those of the males.
My guide uttered a few words, on which all the persons seated rose,and with that peculiar mildness of look and manner which I have beforenoticed, and which is, in truth, the common attribute of this formidablerace, they saluted me according to their fashion, which consists inlaying the right hand very gently on the head and uttering a softsibilant monosyllable--S.Si, equivalent to "Welcome."
The mistress of the house then seated me beside her, and heaped a goldenplatter before me from one of the dishes.
While I ate (and though the viands were new to me, I marvelled moreat the delicacy than the strangeness of their flavour), my companionsconversed quietly, and, so far as I could detect, with polite avoidanceof any direct reference to myself, or any obtrusive scrutiny of myappearance. Yet I was the first creature of that variety of the humanrace to which I belong that they had ever beheld, and was consequentlyregarded by them as a most curious and abnormal phenomenon. But allrudeness is unknown to this people, and the youngest child is taught todespise any vehement emotional demonstration. When the meal was ended,my guide again took me by the hand, and, re-entering the gallery,touched a metallic plate inscribed with strange figures, and which Irightly conjectured to be of the nature of our telegraphs. A platformdescended, but this time we mounted to a much greater height than in theformer building, and found ourselves in a room of moderate dimensions,and which in its general character had much that might be familiar tothe associations of a visitor from the upper world. There were shelveson the wall containing what appeared to be books, and indeed were so;mostly very small, like our diamond duodecimos, shaped in the fashionof our volumes, and bound in sheets of fine metal. There were severalcurious-looking pieces of mechanism scattered about, apparently models,such as might be seen in the study of any professional mechanician. Fourautomata (mechanical contrivances which, with these people, answer theordinary purposes of domestic service) stood phantom-like at each anglein the wall. In a recess was a low couch, or bed with pillows. A window,with curtains of some fibrous material drawn aside, opened upon a largebalcony. My host stepped out into the balcony; I followed him. We wereon the uppermost story of one of the angular pyramids; the view beyondwas of a wild and solemn beauty impossible to describe:--the vastranges of precipitous rock which formed the distant background, theintermediate valleys of mystic many-coloured herbiage, the flash ofwaters, many of them like streams of roseate flame, the serene lustrediffused over all by myriads of lamps, combined to form a whole of whichno words of mine can convey adequate description; so splendid was it,yet so sombre; so lovely, yet so awful.
But my attention was soon diverted from these nether landscapes.Suddenly there arose, as from the streets below, a burst of joyousmusic; then a winged form soared into the space; another as if in chaseof the first, another and another; others after others, till the crowdgrew thick and the number countless. But how describe the fantasticgrace of these forms in their undulating movements! They appearedengaged in some sport or amusement; now forming into opposite squadrons;now scattering; now each group threading the other, soaring, descending,interweaving, severing; all in measured time to the music below, as ifin the dance of the fabled Peri.
I turned my gaze on my host in a feverish wonder. I ventured to place myhand on the large wings that lay folded on his breast, and in doing so aslight shock as of electricity passed through me. I recoiled in fear;my host smiled, and as if courteously to gratify my curiosity, slowlyexpanded his pinions. I observed that his garment beneath them becamedilated as a bladder that fills with air. The arms seemed to slideinto the wings, and in another moment he had launched himself into theluminous atmosphere, and hovered there, still, and with outspread wings,as an eagle that basks in the sun. Then, rapidly as an eagle swoops, herushed downwards into the midst of one of the groups, skimming throughthe midst, and as suddenly again soaring aloft. Thereon, three forms,in one of which I thought to recognise my host's daughter, detachedthemselves from the rest, and followed him as a bird sportively followsa bird. My eyes, dazzled with the lights and bewildered by the throngs,ceased to distinguish the gyrations and evolutions of these wingedplaymates, till presently my host re-emerged from the crowd and alightedat my side.
The strangeness of all I had seen began now to operate fast on mysenses; my mind itself began to wander. Though not inclined to besuperstitious, nor hitherto believing that man could be brought intobodily communication with demons, I felt the terror and the wildexcitement with which, in the Gothic ages, a traveller might havepersuaded himself that he witnessed a 'sabbat' of fiends and witches.I have a vague recollection of having attempted with vehementgesticulation, and forms of exorcism, and loud incoherent words, torepel my courteous and indulgent host; of his mi
ld endeavors to calm andsoothe me; of his intelligent conjecture that my fright and bewildermentwere occasioned by the difference of form and movement between us whichthe wings that had excited my marvelling curiosity had, in exercise,made still more strongly perceptible; of the gentle smile with which hehad sought to dispel my alarm by dropping the wings to the ground andendeavouring to show me that they were but a mechanical contrivance.That sudden transformation did but increase my horror, and as extremefright often shows itself by extreme daring, I sprang at his throat likea wild beast. On an instant I was felled to the ground as by an electricshock, and the last confused images floating before my sight ere Ibecame wholly insensible, were the form of my host kneeling besideme with one hand on my forehead, and the beautiful calm face of hisdaughter, with large, deep, inscrutable eyes intently fixed upon my own.