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Page 61
"Pym placed his lips within an inch of the open faucet, which was only
an inch or two lower than his mouth as he stood beside the vase, and
from the opening of which came a fog-like vapor, similar in appearance
to that exhaled from the mouth and nostrils on a very cold day, and
said:
"'We came, sir, to offer our help--to procure for you wood, and, if
possible, food; or, if you should so prefer, to remove you in safety to
comfortable quarters.'
"For a moment there was silence, during which the fog-like vapor
continued to come from the spigot-hole of the inverted vase. Then the
voice of the aged mystic was again heard in reply:
"'Youth--and thine ape-like companion--go hence. Through three and fifty
of these storms have I safely passed. Beneath this vase have I two
lamps, alight; oil wherewith to supply with fuel these two lamps for a
space of eight days, which hitherto has been the longest duration of any
of these periodical storms; food and water have I sufficient for my
body's wants for a week. And, too, have I mental aliment; for have I
here a manuscript written by the youthful sage, �gyptus, who sent it to
me by the hand of Azza, long before the legend of Romulus started from
its mythic source to float adown the stream of time: a manuscript which
it delighteth my soul once in each century to peruse. Fear not for one
who knows no fear. Go hence, and quickly go--go with humiliation in thy
heart; for thou hast not yet begun to live, and yet thou presumest to
think in danger one who helped to plan and to construct what thou
callest the ancient city of Babylon. Youth, when thou didst disturb me,
I was reading from my friend, who writes from a village called Sakkarah,
of how a foolish Pharaoh thinks to perpetuate his memory by building a
mighty pyramidal structure of stone, which my friend terms a device
planned by himself to divert the fancy of his ruler, and incidentally to
astonish those European barbarians who may happen that way; and, among
other matters, this Azza asks for my opinion concerning the outer
surface of his pyramid; to which request for advice I remember that I
replied, saying that the walls should be constructed so as to ascend in
step-like angles. Ha, ha, ha!' came from the spigot-hole a hollow,
cracked attempt at derisive laughter--'Ye say--ha, ha!--ye say this
Pharaoh was of the _first_ dynasty!--ha, ha!--the first! Go hence, vain
child.'
"'But, sir,' insisted Pym, after a pause, 'have you provided for
ventilating your--your small apartment?'
"'In the floor beneath me is a knot-hole, which doth open to the outer
air; and upon the opening is a flat stone, which, little by little, more
or less, I remove and replace in accordance with certain laws, allowing
just the proper amount of atmospheric air to enter from below. This oil
maketh very little smoke, yet seest thou not some smoke emerge from the
open faucet? Feel'st thou not with thine hand the heat escape? Again I
say, go hence, vain youth.'
"Pym stood for a moment, meditating; and then something--perhaps
something connected with the words several months before whispered into
his ear by Masus�lili--impelled him to say:
"'Good sir, we meant you no harm. Tell me, Allwise One, can you read the
future?'
"Before a reply came, there was a pause so long that, says Peters, Pym
was about to speak again. Then came the voice of this old man who had
investigated and pondered for thousands of years that only inexhaustible
study in the universe, the phenomenon of consciousness--the aged mystic
no doubt being pleasantly warmed and mollified by the appellation
'Allwise One.'
"'None but God,' said Masus�lili, 'knows of a certainty the future.
Truly wise men, and the lower animals, when they would penetrate the
future, use not the crude instrument termed _reason_; but rather do they
nestle close to the bosom of--what now call ye Him? Thine ancestors, the
barbarians of Britannia, when I was with them, named Him God. Thus, and
only thus, may the future become known to thee. Have faith, as the bird,
the fish, the little ant, which, _feeling_ God, act, and are not
disappointed. Think ye that the lowest of God's creatures would not have
heard His warning voice, or seen His beckoning arm, or felt His guiding
hand when in the air lurked this present danger? Yet reason told not
you! God shows to us the future, when we should know His edicts in
advance, always--always, if only we will look and hearken. But this,
good youth, God doth permit only to those who lean with full confidence
upon Him, as do the lower animals. To the consciousness of man it is
given, if but the right conditions be attained, truly to know what in
the present happeneth anywhere in the universe. _Time_ is a barrier to
the voluntary acquisition of knowledge, but _distance_ is not an
impediment. My body is confined to this poor vase, but certainly not my
mind--it roams in Europe, in Asia, or amid the stars--but wait a moment.
Poor youth! The hand on the dial of thy destiny moves rapidly. Go! Go
now, and go in haste; for one who loves thee, at this moment sorely
needs thee. Farewell.'
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