[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
crowded house arose littlememories of a great while since that were quite quitedead, and lived awhile
again during that marvellous song.
And a strange chill went into the blood of all thatlistened, as though they stood on the border of bleak
marshes and the North Wind blew.
And some it moved to sorrow and some to regret, and
232 Lord Dunsany
some to an unearthly joy. Then suddenly the song went wailing away, like the winds of the winter from
themarshlands when Spring appears from the South.
So it ended. And a great silence fell foglike over allthat house, breaking in upon the end of a chatty
conver-sation that a lady was enjoying with a friend.
In the dead hush Signorina Russiano rushed from thestage; she appeared again running among the
audience,and dashed up to the lady.
"Take my soul," she said; "it is a beautiful soul. It canworship God, and knows the meaning of music and
canimagine Paradise. And if you go to the marshlands withit you will see beautiful things; there is an old
town therebuilt of lovely timbers, with ghosts in its streets."
The lady stared. Every one was standing up. "See,"said Signorina Russiano, "it is a beautiful soul."
And she clutched at her left breast a little above theheart, and there was the soul shining in her hand, with
the green and blue lights going round and round and thepurple flare in the midst.
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"Take it," she said, "and you will love all that is beau-tiful, and know the four winds, each one by his
name,and the songs of the birds at dawn. I do not want it,because I am not free. Put it to your left breast
a littleabove the heart."
Still everybody was standing up, and the lady feltuncomfortable.
"Please offer it to some one else," she said.
"But they all have souls already," said SignorinaRussiano.
And everybody went on standing up. And the lady took the soul in her hand.
"Perhaps it is lucky," she said.
She felt that she wanted to pray.
She half-closed her eyes, and said, "Unberufen." Thenshe put the soul to her left breast a little above the
heart,and hoped that the people would sit down and the singergo away.
Instantly a heap of clothes collapsed before her. For a moment, in the shadow among the seats, those
who wereborn in the dusk hour might have seen a little brown thing leaping free from the clothes; then it
sprang into
THE KITH OF THE ELF-FOLK 233
the bright light of the hall, and became invisible to anyhuman eye.
It dashed about for a little, then found the door, andpresently was in the lamplit streets.
To those that were born in the dusk hour it mighthave been seen leaping rapidly wherever the streets ran
northwards and eastwards, disappearing from humansight as it passed under the lamps, and appearing
againbeyond them with a marsh-light over its head.
Once a dog perceived it and gave chase, and was left far behind.
The cats of London, who are all born in the dusk hour,howled fearfully as it went by.
Presently it came to the meaner streets, where thehouses are smaller. Then it went due northeastwards,
leaping from roof to roof. And so in a few minutes itcame to more open spaces, and then to the desolate
lands, where market gardens grow, which are neithertown nor country. Till at last the good black trees
cameinto view, with their demoniac shapes in the night, andthe grass was cold and wet, and the night-mist
floated over it. And a great white owl came by, going up anddown in the dark. And at all these things the
little WildThing rejoiced elvishly.
And it left London far behind it, reddening the sky,and could distinguish no longer its unlovely roar, but
heard again the noises of the night.
And now it would come through a hamlet glowing andcomfortable in the night; and now to the dark,
wet, openfields again; and many an owl it overtook as they driftedthrough the night, a people friendly to
the Elf-folk. Sometimes it crossed wide rivers, leaping from star tostar; and, choosing its way as it went,
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
to avoid the hardrough roads, came before midnight to the East Anglianlands.
And it heard there the shout of the North Wind, whowas dominant and angry, as he drove southwards
his adventurous geese; while the rushes bent before himchaunting plaintively and low, like enslaved
rowers ofsome fabulous trireme, bending and swinging under blows of the lash, and singing all the while a
dolefulsong.
234 Lord Dunsany [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl wyciskamy.pev.pl
crowded house arose littlememories of a great while since that were quite quitedead, and lived awhile
again during that marvellous song.
And a strange chill went into the blood of all thatlistened, as though they stood on the border of bleak
marshes and the North Wind blew.
And some it moved to sorrow and some to regret, and
232 Lord Dunsany
some to an unearthly joy. Then suddenly the song went wailing away, like the winds of the winter from
themarshlands when Spring appears from the South.
So it ended. And a great silence fell foglike over allthat house, breaking in upon the end of a chatty
conver-sation that a lady was enjoying with a friend.
In the dead hush Signorina Russiano rushed from thestage; she appeared again running among the
audience,and dashed up to the lady.
"Take my soul," she said; "it is a beautiful soul. It canworship God, and knows the meaning of music and
canimagine Paradise. And if you go to the marshlands withit you will see beautiful things; there is an old
town therebuilt of lovely timbers, with ghosts in its streets."
The lady stared. Every one was standing up. "See,"said Signorina Russiano, "it is a beautiful soul."
And she clutched at her left breast a little above theheart, and there was the soul shining in her hand, with
the green and blue lights going round and round and thepurple flare in the midst.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
"Take it," she said, "and you will love all that is beau-tiful, and know the four winds, each one by his
name,and the songs of the birds at dawn. I do not want it,because I am not free. Put it to your left breast
a littleabove the heart."
Still everybody was standing up, and the lady feltuncomfortable.
"Please offer it to some one else," she said.
"But they all have souls already," said SignorinaRussiano.
And everybody went on standing up. And the lady took the soul in her hand.
"Perhaps it is lucky," she said.
She felt that she wanted to pray.
She half-closed her eyes, and said, "Unberufen." Thenshe put the soul to her left breast a little above the
heart,and hoped that the people would sit down and the singergo away.
Instantly a heap of clothes collapsed before her. For a moment, in the shadow among the seats, those
who wereborn in the dusk hour might have seen a little brown thing leaping free from the clothes; then it
sprang into
THE KITH OF THE ELF-FOLK 233
the bright light of the hall, and became invisible to anyhuman eye.
It dashed about for a little, then found the door, andpresently was in the lamplit streets.
To those that were born in the dusk hour it mighthave been seen leaping rapidly wherever the streets ran
northwards and eastwards, disappearing from humansight as it passed under the lamps, and appearing
againbeyond them with a marsh-light over its head.
Once a dog perceived it and gave chase, and was left far behind.
The cats of London, who are all born in the dusk hour,howled fearfully as it went by.
Presently it came to the meaner streets, where thehouses are smaller. Then it went due northeastwards,
leaping from roof to roof. And so in a few minutes itcame to more open spaces, and then to the desolate
lands, where market gardens grow, which are neithertown nor country. Till at last the good black trees
cameinto view, with their demoniac shapes in the night, andthe grass was cold and wet, and the night-mist
floated over it. And a great white owl came by, going up anddown in the dark. And at all these things the
little WildThing rejoiced elvishly.
And it left London far behind it, reddening the sky,and could distinguish no longer its unlovely roar, but
heard again the noises of the night.
And now it would come through a hamlet glowing andcomfortable in the night; and now to the dark,
wet, openfields again; and many an owl it overtook as they driftedthrough the night, a people friendly to
the Elf-folk. Sometimes it crossed wide rivers, leaping from star tostar; and, choosing its way as it went,
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
to avoid the hardrough roads, came before midnight to the East Anglianlands.
And it heard there the shout of the North Wind, whowas dominant and angry, as he drove southwards
his adventurous geese; while the rushes bent before himchaunting plaintively and low, like enslaved
rowers ofsome fabulous trireme, bending and swinging under blows of the lash, and singing all the while a
dolefulsong.
234 Lord Dunsany [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]