第85章 BOOK III.(25)
"We were born too soon,"he soliloquized;"for had Sylvia and Ibut lived in the spiritual age foretold by the bishop,we might have held communion,while now our spirits,no matter how much in love,are separated absolutely by a mere matter of distance.It is a mockery to see Sylvia's dwelling-place,and feel that she is beyond my vision.O that,in the absence of something better,my poor imperfect eyes could be transformed into those of an eagle,but with a million times the power!for though I know that with these senses I shall see the resurrection,and hear the last trump,that is but prospective,while now is the time I long for sight."On the plain he had left he saw his friends'camp-fire,while on the other side of his elevation was a valley in which the insects chirped sharply,and through which ran a stream.Feeling a desire for solitude and to be as far removed as possible,he arose and descended towards the water.Though the autumn,where they found themselves,was well advanced,this night was warm,and the rings formed a great arch above his head.Near the stream the frogs croaked happily,as if unmindful of the long very long Saturnian winter;for though they were removed but about ten degrees from the equator,the sun was so remote and the axis of the planet so inclined that it was unlikely these individual frogs would see another summer,though they might live again,in a sense,in their descendants.The insects also would soon be frozen and stiff,and the tall,graceful lilies that still clung to life would be withered and dead.The trees,as if weeping at the evanescence of the life around them,shed their leaves at the faintest breeze.These fluttered to the ground,or,falling into the tranquil stream,were carried away by it,and passed from sight.Ayrault stood musing and regretting the necessity of such general death."But,"he thought,"I would rather die than lose my love;for then I should have had the taste of bliss without its fulfilment,and should be worse off than dead.Love gilds the commonplace,and deifies all it touches.Love survives the winter,and in my present frame of mind I should prefer earth and cold with it to heaven and spring.
Oh,why is my soul so clogged by my body?"A pillar of stone standing near him was suddenly shattered,and the bishop stood where it had been.
"Because,"said the spirit,answering his thought,"it has not yet power to be free.""Can a man's soul not rise till his body is dead?asked Ayrault.
The spirit hesitated.
"Oh,tell me,"pleaded Ayrault."If I could see the girl to whom I am engaged,for but a moment,could be convinced that she loves me still,my mind would be at rest.Free my soul or spirit,or whatever it is,from this body,that I may traverse intervening space and be with her.""You will discover the way for yourself in time,"said the spirit.
"I know I shall at the last day,in the resurrection,when I am no longer in the flesh.Then I shall have no need of your aid;for we,know that in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage,but are like the angels of God in heaven.It is while I am mortal,and love as mortals do,that I wish to see my promised bride.A spirit may have other joys,and perhaps higher;but you who have lived in the world and loved,show me that which is now my heart's desire.You have shown us the tomb in which Cortlandt will lie buried;now help me to go to one who is still alive.""I pray that God will grant you this,"said the spirit,"and make me His instrument,for I see the depth of your distress."Saying which,he vanished,leaving no trace in his departure except that the pillar of stone returned to its place.
With this rather vague hope,Ayrault set off to rejoin his companions,for he felt the need of human sympathy.Saturn's rapid rotation had brought the earth almost to the zenith,the little point shining with the unmistakably steady ray of a planet.Huge bats fluttered about him,and the great cloud-masses swept across the sky,being part of Saturn's ceaseless whirl.He found he was in a hypnotic or spiritualistic state,for it was not necessary for him to have his eyes open to know where he was.In passing one of the pools they had noticed,he observed that the upper and previously invisible liquid had the bright colour of gold,and about it rested a group of figures enveloped in light.
"Why do you look so sad?"they asked."You are in that abode of departed spirits known as paradise,and should be happy.""I suppose I should be happy,were I here as you are,as the reward of merit,"he replied."But I am still in the flesh,and as such am subject to its cares.""You are about to have an experience,"said another speaker.
"This day your doubts will be at rest,for before another sunset you will know more of the woman you love."The intensity of the spiritualistic influence here somewhat weakened,for he partially lost sight of the luminous figures,and could no longer hear what they said.His heart was in his mouth as he walked,and he felt like a man about to set out on his honeymoon,or like a bride who knows not whether to laugh or to cry.An indescribable exhilaration was constantly present.
"I wonder,"thought he,"if a caterpillar has these sensations before becoming a butterfly?Though I return to the rock from which I sprang,I believe I shall be with Sylvia to-day."Footprints formed in the soft ground all around him,and the air was filled with spots of phosphorescent light that coincided with the relative positions of the brains,hearts,and eyes of human beings.These surrounded and often preceded him,as though leading him on,while the most heavenly anthems filled the air and the vault of the sky.
"I believe,"he thought,with bounding heart,"that I shall be initiated into the mysteries of space this night."At times he could hear even the words of the choruses ringing in his ears,though at others he thought the effect was altogether in his mind.