Once Manuel went with Freydis into a dark place where some of these magic-workers were at labor1. By the light of a charcoal2 fire, clay images were ruddily discernible; before these the enchanters moved unhumanly clad, and doing things which, mercifully perhaps, were veiled from Manuel by the peculiarly perfumed obscurity.
As Manuel entered the gallery one of the magic-workers was chaunting shrilly3 in the darkness below. "It is the unfinished Rune of the Blackbirds," says Freydis, in a whisper.
"—Crammed and squeezed, so entombed (on some wager5 I hazard), in spite of scared squawking and mutter, after the fashion that lean-faced Rajah dealt with trapped heroes, once, in Calcutta. Dared you break the crust and bullyrag 'em—hot, fierce and angry, what wide beaks6 buzz plain Saxon as ever spoke7 Witenagemot! Yet, singing, they sing as no white bird does (where none rears phoenix) as near perfection as nature gets, or, if scowls8 bar platitude9, notes for which there is no rejection10 in banks whose coinage—oh, neat!—is gratitude11."
Said, in the darkness, another enchanter:
"But far from their choiring the high King sat, in a gold-faced vest and a gold-laced hat, counting heaped monies, and dreaming of more francs and sequins and Louis d'or. Meanwhile the Queen on that fateful night, though avowing12 her lack of all appetite, was still at table, where, rumor13 said, she was smearing14 her seventh slice of bread (thus each turgescible rumor thrives at court) with gold from the royal hives. Through the slumberous15 pare, under arching trees, to her labors16 went singing the maid Dénise—"
A third broke in here, saying:
"And she sang of how subtle and bitter and bright was a beast brought forth17, that was clad with the splendor18 and light of the cold fair ends of the north, like a fleshly blossom more white than augmenting19 tempests that go, with thunder for weapon, to ravage20 the strait waste fastness of snow. She sang how that all men on earth said, whether its mistress at morn went forth or waited till night,—whether she strove through the foam21 and wreckage22 of shallow and firth, or couched in glad fields of corn, or fled from all human delight,—that thither23 it likewise would roam."
Now a fourth began:
"Thus sang Dénise, what while the siccant sheets and coverlets that pillowed kingly dreams, with curious undergarbs of royalty24, she neatly25 ranged: and dreamed not of that doom26 which waited, yet unborn, to strike men dumb with perfect awe27. As when the seventh wave poises28, and sunlight cleaves29 it through and through with gold, as though to gild30 oncoming death for him that sees foredoomed—and, gasping31, sees death high and splendid!—while the tall wave bears down, and its shattering makes an end of him: thus poised32 the sable33 bird while one might count one, two, and three, and four, and five, and six, but hardly seven—"
So they continued; but Manuel listened to no more. "What is the meaning of all this?" he asked, of Freydis.
"It is an experimental incantation," she replied, "in that it is a bit of unfinished magic for which the proper words have not yet been found: but between now and a while they will be stumbled on, and then this rune will live perpetually, surviving all those rhymes that are infected with thought and intelligent meanings such as are repugnant to human nature."
"Are words, then, so important and enduring?"
"Why, Manuel, I am surprised at you! In what else, pray, does man differ from the other animals except in that he is used by words?"
"Now I would have said that words are used by men."
"There is give and take, of course, but in the main man is more subservient34 to words than they are to him. Why, do you but think of such terrible words as religion and duty and love, and patriotism35 and art, and honor and common-sense, and of what these tyrannizing words do to and make of people!"
"No, that is chop-logic: for words are only transitory noises, whereas man is the child of God, and has an immortal36 spirit."
"Yes, yes, my dearest, I know you believe that, and I think it is delightfully37 quaint38 and sweet of you. But, as I was saying, a man has only the body of an animal to get experiences in, and the brain of an animal to think them over with, so that the thoughts and opinions of the poor dear must remain always those of a more or less intelligent animal. But his words are very often magic, as you will comprehend by and by when I have made you the greatest of image-makers39."
"Well, well, but we can let that wait a bit," said Manuel.
And thereafter Manuel talked with Freydis, confessing that the appearance of these magic-workers troubled Manuel. He had thought it, he said, an admirable thing to make images that lived, until he saw and considered the appearance of these habitual40 makers of images. They were an ugly and rickety, short-tempered tribe, said Manuel: they were shiftless, spiteful, untruthful, and in everyday affairs not far from imbecile: they plainly despised all persons who could not make images, and they apparently41 detested42 all those who could. With Manuel they were particularly high and mighty43, assuring him that he was only a prosperous and affected44 pseudo-magician, and that the harm done by the self-styled thaumaturgist was apt to be very great indeed. What sort of models, then, were these insane, mud-moulding solitary45 wasps46 for a tall lad to follow after? And if Manuel acquired their arts (he asked in conclusion), would he acquire their traits?
"The answer is perhaps no, and not impossibly yes," replied Freydis. "For by the ancient Tuyla mystery they extract that which is best in them to inform their images, and this is apt to leave them empty of virtue47. But I would have you consider that their best endures, whereas that which is best in other persons is obliterated48 on some battle-field or mattress49 or gallows50 That is why I have been thinking that this afternoon—"
"No, we will let that wait a bit, for I must turn this over in my mind," said Manuel, "and my mature opinion about this matter must be expressed later."
But while his thoughts were on the affair his fingers made him droll51 small images of ten of the image-makers, which he set aside unquickened. Freydis smiled at these caricatures, and asked when Manuel would give them life.
"Oh, in due time," he said, "and then their antics may be diverting. But I perceive that this old Tuyla magic is practised at great price and danger, so that I am in no hurry to practise any more of it. I prefer to enjoy that which is dearer and better."
"And what can be dearer and better?"
"Youth," Manuel answered, "and you."
Queen Freydis was now a human woman in all things, so this reply delighted her hearing if not her reason. "Do these two possessions content you, king of my heart?" she asked him very fondly.
"No," Manuel said, gazing out across Morven at the cloud-dappled ridges52 of the Taunenfels, "nor do I look ever to be contented53 in this world of men."
"Indeed the run of men are poor thin-minded creatures, Manuel—"
"But I cannot put aside the thought that these men ought to be my fellows and my intimates. Instead, I who am a famed champion go daily in distrust, almost in fear, of these incomprehensible and shatter-pated beings. To every side there is a feeble madness over-busy about long-faced nonsense from which I recoil55, who must conceal56 this shrinking always. There is no hour in my life but I go armored in reserve and in small lies, and in my armor I am lonely. Freydis, you protest deep love for this well-armored Manuel, but what wisdom will reveal to you, or to me either, just what is Manuel? Oh, but I am puzzled by the impermanence and the loneliness and the impotence of this Manuel! Dear Freydis, do not love my body nor my manner of speaking, nor any of the ways that I have in the flesh, for all these transiencies are mortgaged to the worms. And that thought also is a grief—"
"Let us not speak of these things! Let us not think of anything that is horrid57, but only of each other!"
"But I cannot put aside the thought that I, who for the while exist in this mortgaged body, cannot ever get out to you. Freydis, there is no way in which two persons may meet in this world of men: we can but exchange, from afar, despairing friendly signals, in the sure knowledge they will be misinterpreted. So do we pass, each coming out of a strange woman's womb, each parodied58 by the flesh of his parents, each passing futilely59, with incommunicative gestures, toward the womb of a strange grave: and in this jostling we find no comradeship. No soul may travel upon a bridge of words. Indeed there is no word for my foiled huge desire to love and to be loved, just as there is no word for the big, the not quite comprehended thought which is moving in me at this moment. But that thought also is a grief—"
Manuel was still looking at the changing green and purple of the mountains and at the tall clouds trailing northward60. The things that he viewed yonder were all gigantic and lovely, and they seemed not to be very greatly bothering about humankind.
Then Freydis said: "Let us not think too much, dear, in our youth. It is such a waste of the glad time, and of the youth that will not ever be returning—"
"But I cannot put aside the thought that it will never be the true Manuel whom you will love or even know of, nor can I dismiss the knowledge that these human senses, through which alone we may obtain any knowledge of each other, are lying messengers. What can I ever be to you except flesh and a voice? Nor is this the root of my sorrowing, dear Freydis. For I know that my distrust of all living creatures—oh, even of you, dear Freydis, when I draw you closest,—must always be as a wall between us, a low, lasting61, firm-set wall which we can never pull down. And I know that I am not really a famed champion, but only a forlorn and lonely inmate62 of the doubtful castle of my body; and that I, who know not truly what I am, must die in this same doubt and loneliness, behind the strong defences of posturing63 and bluntness and jovial64 laughter which I have raised for my protecting. And that thought also is a grief."
Now Manuel was as Freydis had not ever seen him. She wondered at him, she was perturbed65 by this fine lad's incomprehensible dreariness66, with soft red willing lips so near: and her dark eyes were bent67 upon him with a beautiful and tender yearning68 which may not be told.
"I do not understand you, my dearest," said she, who was no longer the high Queen of Audela, but a mortal woman. "It is true that all the world about us is a false seeming, but you and I are real and utterly69 united, for we have no concealments from each other. I am sure that no two people could be happier than we are, nor better suited. And certainly such morbid70 notions are not like you, who, as you said yourself, only the other day, are naturally so frank and downright."
Now Manuel's thoughts came back from the clouds and the green and purple of the mountains. He looked at her very gravely for an instant or two. He laughed morosely71. He said, "There!"
"But, dearest, you are strange and not yourself—
"Yes, yes!" says Manuel, kissing her, "for the moment I had forgotten to be frank and downright, and all else which you expect of me. Now I am my old candid72, jovial, blunt self again, and I shall not worry you with such silly notions any more. No, I am Manuel: I follow after my own thinking and my own desire; and if to do that begets loneliness I must endure it"
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1
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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2
charcoal
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| n.炭，木炭，生物炭 | |
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3
shrilly
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| 尖声的； 光亮的，耀眼的 | |
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4
wailing
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
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5
wager
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| n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌 | |
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6
beaks
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| n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 )；鹰钩嘴；尖鼻子；掌权者 | |
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7
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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8
scowls
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| 不悦之色，怒容( scowl的名词复数 ) | |
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9
platitude
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| n.老生常谈，陈词滥调 | |
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10
rejection
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| n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃 | |
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11
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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12
avowing
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| v.公开声明，承认( avow的现在分词 ) | |
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13
rumor
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| n.谣言，谣传，传说 | |
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14
smearing
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| 污点，拖尾效应 | |
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15
slumberous
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| a.昏昏欲睡的 | |
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16
labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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17
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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splendor
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| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
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19
augmenting
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| 使扩张 | |
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20
ravage
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| vt.使...荒废，破坏...；n.破坏，掠夺，荒废 | |
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21
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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22
wreckage
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| n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏 | |
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23
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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24
royalty
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| n.皇家，皇族 | |
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neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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27
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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28
poises
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| 使平衡( poise的第三人称单数 )； 保持（某种姿势）； 抓紧； 使稳定 | |
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29
cleaves
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| v.劈开，剁开，割开( cleave的第三人称单数 ) | |
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gild
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| vt.给…镀金，把…漆成金色，使呈金色 | |
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31
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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32
poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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33
sable
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| n.黑貂；adj.黑色的 | |
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subservient
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| adj.卑屈的，阿谀的 | |
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patriotism
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| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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36
immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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37
delightfully
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| 大喜，欣然 | |
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quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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39
makers
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| n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式） | |
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40
habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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41
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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42
detested
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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44
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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45
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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46
wasps
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| 黄蜂( wasp的名词复数 )； 胡蜂； 易动怒的人； 刻毒的人 | |
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47
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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48
obliterated
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| v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
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49
mattress
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| n.床垫，床褥 | |
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50
gallows
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| n.绞刑架，绞台 | |
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51
droll
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| adj.古怪的，好笑的 | |
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52
ridges
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| n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊 | |
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53
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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54
moodily
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| adv.喜怒无常地；情绪多变地；心情不稳地；易生气地 | |
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55
recoil
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| vi.退却，退缩，畏缩 | |
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56
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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57
horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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58
parodied
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| v.滑稽地模仿，拙劣地模仿( parody的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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59
futilely
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| futile（无用的）的变形； 干 | |
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60
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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61
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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62
inmate
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| n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人 | |
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63
posturing
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| 做出某种姿势( posture的现在分词 ) | |
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64
jovial
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| adj.快乐的，好交际的 | |
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65
perturbed
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| adj.烦燥不安的v.使（某人）烦恼，不安( perturb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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66
dreariness
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| 沉寂，可怕，凄凉 | |
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67
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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68
yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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69
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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70
morbid
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| adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的 | |
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71
morosely
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| adv.愁眉苦脸地，忧郁地 | |
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72
candid
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| adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的 | |
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