We have enjoyed his bounteous5 hospitality, and often he has traveled in our boat, conversing6 with Ferratoni, who has translated to us. I have made no previous record, as I desired first to get some definite impression of this new-found country and its people. What their impression of us has been it would not be easy to say.
I am not surprised that we have awakened7 in them a vague wonder and uneasiness rather than admiration8. 236At least Ferratoni says that this is the case. Our boat with its propeller9 has been examined with what seemed to me a mingling10 of mild curiosity and respect, and I think with very little idea of adopting its plans or processes. Its unbeautiful lines and the jar of its propeller would not accord with their placid11 and graceful12 lives. Our various instruments and our watches they regard with something akin13 to fear. Perhaps like our ancestors they consider them the result of witchery. When our balloon bag which preceded us was explained to them, as well as our adventures since leaving the Billowcrest, they showed little interest, and certainly found no pleasure in any episode of this somewhat turbulent period. The picture of Chauncey Gale14 being jerked and battered15 through a snowdrift did not, as to us, give joy, now that it was all over, and Gale’s neck and limbs still properly adjusted. To them it was a distressing16, because unbeautiful, incident. Something to be deplored17 quietly and forgotten quickly.
For the people of this secluded18 land, if we may judge by those we have seen, are all grace, all repose19, all serenity20 of demeanor21. Ambition and achievement—of such kind at least as we know and prize—seem foreign to their lives. They do not venture—or very rarely—beyond the violet boundaries, even during the long summer day. The region 237without—the Land of the Silent Cold—is to them the country of the dead.
Any lingering doubt I may have cherished that my lost uncle had found harbor here has been destroyed by the fact that they have no knowledge of the world without. Something of its existence seems to have been dimly known to them by tradition, and perhaps through vague mental impressions, but heretofore no word from those beyond the great outer barrier has ever come to them. They have speculated very dreamily upon the matter—even more so than we have upon the inhabitants of other planets—and have made as little attempt to reach them. When we came nearer to their zone of vibration22 the Prince and his sister, who it seems are the high priests of this peculiar23 development, were able to establish some sort of communication with Ferratoni, whose mental adjustment is less foreign to them than ours. But it was an imperfect chord—a poor connection as we would say—and not until the Prince and Ferratoni were face to face and palm to palm was the result definite and tangible24.
Their progress, such as it is, has been along lines totally different from those of our people. They resemble the Orientals in some respects—or at least the idea we have of the Orientals of a long ago time. From what I have seen I judge that their mechanical 238appliances are as those of a far antiquity25. Beautiful, indeed, but to a people like us valuable only as curios. To this, however, there appears to be one exception. The Prince has to-day explained to Ferratoni a new process, invented by himself and his serene sister, the Princess of the Lilied Hills, for dispelling26 darkness. It seems to be a large plate of metal (probably a sort of yellow aluminum27, which we at first took for gold and is the only metal we have seen thus far), and this is arranged to receive, by induction28, electric waves from the Aurora29 Australis, radiating them again in the form of a continuous glow. At least, it is expected to do so—we do not understand that it has been perfected as yet, and as we are to see it later it is more than likely that Ferratoni and Gale will be able to improve it greatly. It appears to be the one real mechanical attempt of this languid race—the child of their one great necessity—and the Prince believes that when perfected it will strengthen their people and give them longer life.
As it is, they are enervated30 by the long summer day, and depleted31 still further by the long night that follows. When the first vigor32 of youth wanes33, and often before, they pass quickly out of life, and usually, the Prince tells us, without pain. They regard Gale as old—and Mr. Sturritt as a veritable patriarch.
The contrast between them and us is very great. 239Between Chauncey Gale and the Prince it is worth going far to see. The one, all languorous34 grace and spiritual repose; the other, all nerve force and vigor, all action and muscle and overflowing35 energy.
At least, the latter applied36 to Gale a few days ago. The spell of quiet content that lies upon this land has possessed37 him now, somewhat, as it has the others. Like us, he is willing to rest after our hard battle with the snowdrifts—to sail without question, almost without comment along these peaceful shores.
“They don’t seem to need homes and firesides, nor Johnnie’s missionary38 work in this country,” he remarked to-day, after a long silence. Then we both grew sad, remembering that we had received no word from the vessel39 for so long. The bell of the telephone rang a little yesterday, and we thought there was a sound of mingled40 words in the receiver, but nothing intelligible41. The Prince, when the nature and use of the invention was explained to him, regarded us with what seemed a mild added wonder, as well as pity, that we should need such an affair when we already have, each within his head, a far better means of communication if we would but develop it.
There are trees along the banks now—curious semi-tropical trees, most of them—and the violets have been replaced here by a multitude of more gorgeous 240blossoms. Dwellings42 and people we saw to-day for the first time. The people congregate43 it would seem—the result of the long night—and there are no dwellers44 of the fields, save in midsummer. Then they inhabit tents until the harvests, which the warm, untilled earth bountifully provides for them, are gathered. Such as we have seen were collected along the shore to see us pass. There was no eager curiosity or excitement. Some, indeed, slowly waved their arms or banners as we approached, but this I take it was more as a tribute to the Prince than a greeting to the strangers.
Their houses, like everything else of this unvexed land, appear to have grown, rather than to have been built, and are essentially45 a part of the landscape. Whatever the contour of the location the house conforms to it. Many are against hillsides, and are built in terrace form, with flowers at the top of each story, forming, as it were, a garden for the next. They are for the most part laid up of unhewn stone, logs, limbs, and even interwoven brush. Frequently some surface of the living rock, or a huge bowlder, or a growing tree may become a part of, and blend into, the habitation. It is not always easy to tell where nature ends and artifice46 begins, or even to distinguish some of the humbler dwellings at first glance.
The terrace form prevails more than any other it 241seems; so much so that Gale has conferred on this race the name of “Terrace Dwellers,” which effort we regard as more of a success than some of his former attempts at nomenclature. Even when the home is built upon a level spot the lower story usually extends and forms a floral garden for the one above.
Flowers there are, everywhere—many that we seem to recognize, but many more that we have not seen. From what the Prince tells Ferratoni, I gather that while they last, every ceremonial of whatever sort, is a great feast of flowers.
The fact that my camera was not on board when we took our premature47 flight into the unknown is a matter of deep regret to me, for I would fain preserve some more permanent impressions of these placid and beautiful shores.
But we have reached the Prince’s palace. It is a succession of wonderful terraces, beginning at the river front, and extending back to the hills behind it. Each terrace is supported by a row of slender columns, and on the outer edge of each a carved railing leads to a graceful outside stairway that ascends48 from one step of flowers to the next. At the summit, on a level with the hills, the last step forms a round colonnaded49 eyrie, on the top of which the sun still lingers. Along the terraces are groups of waiting people who, as we approach, wave tranquilly50 242their white arms to the Prince. Their dress and attitudes suggest some dim, forgotten land of the East. Us they regard with placid curiosity, yet with a gentle friendliness51 evident in their faces.
Now, from the wide portal of the lower story, come many down the broad, white steps to greet us. Young are they all, and beautiful—creatures of an unknown world, while from either side troop bare-armed boys and girls, chanting a low, rhythmic52 melody of welcome.
So are we come at last to the land of my fancy. And a land of fancy indeed it seems to us. A harbor for vanished argosies and forgotten dreams. A port for lost rhymes and strayed melodies—for discarded magic and alchemies long dead. And it is in this enchanted53 vale that we find once more the shelter of human habitation.
We shall rest to-night with the Prince of the Purple Fields.
The Palace of the Prince.
“A harbor for vanished argosies and forgotten dreams.”—Page 242.
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1
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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emulate
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| v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿 | |
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serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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bounteous
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| adj.丰富的 | |
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conversing
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 ) | |
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7
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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propeller
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| n.螺旋桨，推进器 | |
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mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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distressing
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| a.使人痛苦的 | |
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deplored
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| v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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18
secluded
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| adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词) | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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demeanor
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| n.行为；风度 | |
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vibration
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| n.颤动，振动；摆动 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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tangible
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| adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的 | |
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antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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dispelling
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| v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的现在分词 ) | |
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aluminum
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| n.(aluminium)铝 | |
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induction
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| n.感应，感应现象 | |
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aurora
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| n.极光 | |
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30
enervated
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| adj.衰弱的，无力的v.使衰弱，使失去活力( enervate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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31
depleted
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| adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词 | |
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vigor
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| n.活力，精力，元气 | |
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wanes
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| v.衰落( wane的第三人称单数 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡 | |
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34
languorous
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| adj.怠惰的，没精打采的 | |
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35
overflowing
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| n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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40
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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intelligible
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| adj.可理解的，明白易懂的，清楚的 | |
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42
dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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43
congregate
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| v.(使)集合，聚集 | |
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dwellers
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| n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 ) | |
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45
essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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artifice
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| n.妙计，高明的手段；狡诈，诡计 | |
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47
premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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48
ascends
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的第三人称单数 ) | |
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49
colonnaded
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| adj.有列柱的，有柱廊的 | |
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50
tranquilly
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| adv. 宁静地 | |
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51
friendliness
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| n.友谊，亲切，亲密 | |
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52
rhythmic
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| adj.有节奏的，有韵律的 | |
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53
enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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