Ala.s.sio, Italy.
XI. THE SUNLIGHT LAY ACROSS MY BED.
In the dark one night I lay upon my bed. I heard the policeman"s feet beat on the pavement; I heard the wheels of carriages roll home from houses of entertainment; I heard a woman"s laugh below my window--and then I fell asleep. And in the dark I dreamt a dream. I dreamt G.o.d took my soul to h.e.l.l.
h.e.l.l was a fair place; the water of the lake was blue.
I said to G.o.d, "I like this place."
G.o.d said, "Ay, dost thou!"
Birds sang, turf came to the water-edge, and trees grew from it. Away off among the trees I saw beautiful women walking. Their clothes were of many delicate colours and clung to them, and they were tall and graceful and had yellow hair. Their robes trailed over the gra.s.s. They glided in and out among the trees, and over their heads hung yellow fruit like large pears of melted gold.
I said, "It is very fair; I would go up and taste the--"
G.o.d said, "Wait."
And after a while I noticed a very fair woman pa.s.s: she looked this way and that, and drew down a branch, and it seemed she kissed the fruit upon it softly, and went on her way, and her dress made no rustle as she pa.s.sed over the gra.s.s. And when I saw her no more, from among the stems came another woman fair as she had been, in a delicate tinted robe; she looked this way and that. When she saw no one there she drew down the fruit, and when she had looked over it to find a place, she put her mouth to it softly, and went away. And I saw other and other women come, making no noise, and they glided away also over the gra.s.s.
And I said to G.o.d, "What are they doing?"
G.o.d said, "They are poisoning."
And I said, "How?"
G.o.d said, "They touch it with their lips, when they have made a tiny wound in it with their fore-teeth they set in it that which is under their tongues: they close it with their lip--that no man may see the place, and pa.s.s on."
I said to G.o.d, "Why do they do it?"
G.o.d said, "That another may not eat."
I said to G.o.d, "But if they poison all then none dare eat; what do they gain?"
G.o.d said, "Nothing."
I said, "Are they not afraid they themselves may bite where another has bitten?"
G.o.d said, "They are afraid. In h.e.l.l all men fear."
He called me further. And the water of the lake seemed less blue.
Then, to the right among the trees were men working. And I said to G.o.d, "I should like to go and work with them. h.e.l.l must be a very fruitful place, the gra.s.s is so green."
G.o.d said, "Nothing grows in the garden they are making."
We stood looking; and I saw them working among the bushes, digging holes, but in them they set nothing; and when they had covered them with sticks and earth each went a way off and sat behind the bushes watching; and I noticed that as each walked he set his foot down carefully looking where he trod. I said to G.o.d, "What are they doing?"
G.o.d said, "Making pitfalls into which their fellows may sink."
I said to G.o.d, "Why do they do it?"
G.o.d said, "Because each thinks that when his brother falls he will rise."
I said to G.o.d, "How will he rise?"
G.o.d said, "He will not rise."
And I saw their eyes gleam from behind the bushes.
I said to G.o.d, "Are these men sane?"
G.o.d said, "They are not sane; there is no sane man in h.e.l.l."
And he told me to come further.
And I looked where I trod.
And we came where h.e.l.l opened into a plain, and a great house stood there. Marble pillars upheld the roof, and white marble steps let up to it. The wind of heaven blew through it. Only at the back hung a thick curtain. Fair men and women there feasted at long tables. They danced, and I saw the robes of women flutter in the air and heard the laugh of strong men. What they feasted with was wine; they drew it from large jars which stood somewhat in the background, and I saw the wine sparkle as they drew it.
And I said to G.o.d, "I should like to go up and drink." And G.o.d said, "Wait." And I saw men coming in to the Banquet House; they came in from the back and lifted the corner of the curtain at the sides and crept in quickly; and they let the curtain fall behind them; they bore great jars they could hardly carry. And the men and women crowded round them, and the new-comers opened their jars and gave them of the wine to drink; and I saw that the women drank even more greedily than the men. And when others had well drunken they set the jars among the old ones beside the wall, and took their places at the table. And I saw that some of the jars were very old and mildewed and dusty, but others had still drops of new must on them and shone from the furnace.
And I said to G.o.d, "What is that?" For amid the sound of the singing, and over the dancing of feet, and over the laughing across the wine-cups I heard a cry.
And G.o.d said, "Stand a way off."
And he took me where I saw both sides of the curtain. Behind the house was the wine-press where the wine was made. I saw the grapes crushed, and I heard them cry. I said, "Do not they on the other side hear it?"
G.o.d said, "The curtain is thick; they are feasting."
And I said, "But the men who came in last. They saw?"
G.o.d said, "They let the curtain fall behind them--and they forget!"
I said, "How came they by their jars of wine?"
G.o.d said, "In the treading of the press these are they who came to the top; they have climbed out over the edge, and filled their jars from below, and have gone into the house."
And I said, "And if they had fallen as they climbed--?"
G.o.d said, "They had been wine."
I stood a way off watching in the sunshine, and I shivered.
G.o.d lay in the sunshine watching too.