A Shop In Go-By Street Lord Dunsany I said I must go back to Yann again and see if _Bird of the Ri er_

sti!! p!ies up and do"n and "hether her bearded captain commands her sti!! or "hether he sits in the gate of fair Be!#oond drinking at e ening the mar e!!ous ye!!o" "ine that the mountaineer brings do"n from the $ian %in& And I "anted to see the sai!ors again "ho came from Dur! and Du# and to hear from their !ips "hat befe!! 'erdondaris "hen its doom came up "ithout "arning from the hi!!s and fe!! on that famous city& And I "anted to hear the sai!ors pray at night each to his o"n god( and to fee! the "ind of the e ening coo!!y arise "hen the sun "ent f!aming a"ay from that e)otic ri er& *or I thought ne er again to see the tide of Yann( but "hen I ga e up po!itics not !ong ago the "ings of my fancy strengthened( though they had erst"hi!e drooped( and I had hopes of coming behind the +ast once more "here Yann !ike a proud "hite "ar-horse goes through the Lands of Dream& Yet I had forgotten the "ay to those !itt!e cottages on the edge of the fie!ds "e kno" "hose upper "indo"s( though dim "ith anti,ue cob"ebs( !ook out on the fie!ds "e kno" not and are the starting-point of a!! ad enture in a!! the Lands of Dream& I therefore made en,uiries& And so I came to be directed to the shop of a dreamer "ho !i es not far from the +mbankment in the -ity& Among so many streets as there are in the city it is !itt!e "onder that there is one that has ne er been seen before. it is named Go-by Street and runs out of the Strand if you !ook ery c!ose!y& /o" "hen you enter this man0s shop you do not go straight to the point but you ask him to se!! you something( and if it is anything "ith "hich he can supp!y you he hands it you and "ishes you goodmorning& It is his "ay& And many ha e been decei ed by asking for some un!ike!y thing( such as the oyster-she!! from "hich "as taken one of those sing!e pear!s that made the gates of $ea en in Re e!ations( and finding that the o!d man had it in stock& $e "as comatose "hen I "ent into the shop( his hea y !ids a!most co ered his !itt!e eyes. he sat( and his mouth "as open& I said( 1I "ant some of Abama and 'harpah( ri ers of Damascus&1 1$o" much21 he said& 13"o and a ha!f yards of each( to be de!i ered to my f!at&1 13hat is ery tiresome(1 he muttered( 1 ery tiresome& 4e do not stock it in that ,uantity&1 13hen I "i!! take a!! you ha e(1 I said& $e rose !aborious!y and !ooked among some bott!es& I sa" one !abe!!ed5 /i!os( ri er of A+gyptos. and others $o!y Ganges( 'h!egethon( 6ordan. I "as a!most afraid he had it( "hen I heard him mutter again( 13his is ery tiresome(1 and present!y he said( 14e are out of it&1 13hen(1 I said( 1I "ish you to te!! me the "ay to those !itt!e cottages in "hose upper chambers poets !ook out upon the fie!ds "e kno" not( for I "ish to go into the Land of Dream and to sai! once more upon mighty( sea-!ike Yann&1 At that he mo ed hea i!y and s!o"!y in "ay-"orn carpet s!ippers( panting as he "ent( to the back part of his shop( and I "ent "ith him& 3his "as a dingy !umber-room fu!! of ido!s5 the near end "as dingy and dark but at the far end "as a b!ue caeru!ean g!o" in "hich stars seemed to be shining and the heads of the ido!s g!o"ed& 13his(1 said the fat o!d man in carpet s!ippers( 1is the hea en of the gods "ho s!eep&1 I asked him "hat gods s!ept and he mentioned names that I had ne er heard as "e!! as names that I kne"& 1A!! those(1 he said( 1that are not "orshipped no" are as!eep&1 13hen does 3ime not ki!! the gods21 I said to him and he ans"ered( 1/o& But for three or four thousand years a god is "orshipped and for three or four he s!eeps& 7n!y 3ime is "akefu! a!"ays&1 1But they that teach us of ne" gods1--I said to him( 1are they not ne"21 13hey hear the o!d ones stirring in their s!eep being about to "ake( because the da"n is breaking and the priests cro"& 3hese are the happy prophets5 unhappy are they that hear some o!d god speak "hi!e he s!eeps sti!! being deep in s!umber( and prophesy and prophesy and no da"n comes( they are those that men stone saying( 0'rophesy "here this stone sha!! hit you( and this&01 13hen sha!! 3ime ne er s!ay the gods(1 I said& And he ans"ered( 13hey sha!! die by the bedside of the !ast man& 3hen 3ime sha!! go mad in his so!itude and sha!! not kno" his hours from his centuries of years and they sha!! c!amour round him crying for recognition and he sha!! !ay his stricken hands on their heads and stare at them b!ind!y and say( 0%y chi!dren( I do not kno" you one from another(0 and at these "ords of 3ime empty "or!ds sha!! ree!&1 And for some "hi!e then I "as si!ent( for my imagination "ent out into those far years and !ooked back at me and mocked me because I "as the creature of a day& Sudden!y I "as a"are by the o!d man0s hea y breathing that he had gone to s!eep& It "as not an ordinary shop5 I feared !est one of his gods shou!d "ake and ca!! for him5 I feared many things( it "as so dark( and

one or t"o of those ido!s "ere something more than grotes,ue& I shook the o!d man hard by one of his arms& 13e!! me the "ay to the cottages(1 I said( 1on the edge of the fie!ds "e kno"&1 1I don0t think "e can do that(1 he said& 13hen supp!y me(1 I said( 1"ith the goods&1 3hat brought him to his senses& $e said( 1You go out by the back door and turn to the right1. and he opened a !itt!e( o!d( dark door in the "a!! through "hich I "ent( and he "hee#ed and shut the door& 3he back of the shop "as of incredib!e age& I sa" in anti,ue characters upon a mou!dering board( 1Licensed to se!! "ease!s and 8ade earrings&1 3he sun "as setting no" and shone on !itt!e go!den spires that g!eamed a!ong the roof "hich had !ong ago been thatched and "ith a "onderfu! stra"& I sa" that the "ho!e of Goby Street had the same strange appearance "hen !ooked at from behind& 3he pa ement "as the same as the pa ement of "hich I "as "eary and of "hich so many thousand mi!es !ay the other side of those houses( but the street "as of most pure untramp!ed grass "ith such mar e!!ous f!o"ers in it that they !ured do"n"ard from great heights the f!ocks of butterf!ies as they tra e!ed by( going I kno" not "hence& 3he other side of the street there "as pa ement again but no houses of any kind( and "hat there "as in p!ace of them I did not stop to see( for I turned to my right and "a!ked a!ong the back of Go-by Street ti!! I came to the open fie!ds and the gardens of the cottages that I sought& $uge f!o"ers "ent up out of these gardens !ike s!o" rockets and burst into purp!e b!ooms and stood there huge and radiant on si)-foot sta!ks and soft!y sang strange songs& 7thers came up beside them and b!oomed and began singing too& A ery o!d "itch came out of her cottage by the back door and into the garden in "hich I stood& 14hat are these "onderfu! f!o"ers21 I said to her& 1$ush9 $ush91 she said( 1I am putting the poets to bed& 3hese f!o"ers are their dreams&1 And in a !o"er oice I said5 14hat "onderfu! songs are they singing21 and she said( 1Be sti!! and !isten&1 And I !istened and found they "ere singing of my o"n chi!dhood and of things that happened there so far a"ay that I had ,uite forgotten them ti!! I heard the "onderfu! song& 14hy is the song so faint21 I said to her& 1Dead oices(1 she said( 1Dead oices(1 and turned back again to her cottage saying5 1Dead oices1 sti!!( but soft!y for fear that she shou!d "ake the poets& 13hey s!eep so bad!y "hi!e they !i e(1 she said& I sto!e on tiptoe upstairs to the !itt!e room from "hose "indo"s( !ooking one "ay( "e see the fie!ds "e kno" and( !ooking another( those hi!!y !ands that I sought--a!most I feared not to find them& I !ooked at once to"ard the mountains of faery. the afterg!o" of the sunset f!amed on them( their a a!anches f!ashed on their io!et s!opes coming do"n tremendous from emera!d peaks of ice. and there "as the o!d gap in the b!ue-grey hi!!s abo e the precipice of amethyst "hence one sees the Lands of Dream& A!! "as sti!! in the room "here the poets s!ept "hen I came ,uiet!y do"n& 3he o!d "itch sat by a tab!e "ith a !amp( knitting a sp!endid c!oak of go!d and green for a king that had been dead a thousand years& 1Is it any use(1 I said( 1to the king that is dead that you sit and knit him a c!oak of go!d and green21 14ho kno"s21 she said& 14hat a si!!y ,uestion to ask(1 said her o!d b!ack cat "ho !ay cur!ed by the f!uttering fire& A!ready the stars "ere shining on that romantic !and "hen I c!osed the "itch0s door. a!ready the g!o""orms "ere mounting guard for the night around those magica! cottages& I turned and trudged for the gap in the b!ue-grey mountains& A!ready "hen I arri ed some co!our began to sho" in the amethyst precipice be!o" the gap a!though it "as not yet morning& I heard a ratt!ing and sometimes caught a f!ash from those go!den dragons far a"ay be!o" me that are the triumph of the go!dsmiths of Sirdoo and "ere gi en !ife by the ritua! incantations of the con8urer Amargrarn& 7n the edge of the opposite c!iff( too near I thought for safety( I sa" the i ory pa!ace of Singanee that mighty e!ephant-hunter. sma!! !ights appeared in "indo"s( the s!a es "ere a"ake( and beginning "ith hea y eye!ids the "ork of the day& And no" a ray of sun!ight topped the "or!d& 7thers than I must describe ho" it s"ept from the amethyst c!iff the shado" of the b!ack one that opposed it( ho" that one shaft of sun!ight pierced the amethyst for !eagues( and ho" the re8oicing co!our !eaped up to "e!come the !ight and shot back a purp!e g!o" on the "a!!s of the pa!ace of i ory "hi!e do"n in that incredib!e ra ine the go!den dragons sti!! p!ayed in the darkness& At this moment a fema!e s!a e came out by a door of the pa!ace and tossed a basket-fu!! of sapphires o er the edge& And "hen day "as manifest on those mar e!!ous heights and the f!are of the amethyst precipice

fi!!ed the abyss( then the e!ephant-hunter arose in his i ory pa!ace and took his terrific spear and going out by a !and"ard door "ent forth to a enge 'erdondaris I turned then and !ooked upon the !ands of Dream( and the thin "hite mist that ne er ro!!s ,uite a"ay "as shifting in the morning& Rising !ike is!es abo e it I sa" the $i!!s of $ap and the city of copper( o!d( deserted Bethmoora( and :tnar ;ehi and <yph and %andaroon and the "andering !eagues of Yann& Rather I guessed than sa" the $ian %in "hose imperturbab!e and aged heads scarce recogni#e for more than c!ustered mounds the round Acroctian hi!!s( that are heaped about their feet and that she!ter( as I remembered( Dur! and Du#& But most c!ear!y I discerned that ancient "ood through "hich one going do"n to the bank of Yann "hene er the moon is o!d may come on _Bird of the Ri er_ anchored there( "aiting three days for tra e!!ers( as has been prophesied of her& And as it "as no" that season I hurried do"n from the gap in the b!ue-grey hi!!s by an e!fin path that "as coe a! "ith fab!e( and came by means of it to the edge of the "ood& B!ack though the darkness "as in that ancient "ood the beasts that mo ed in it "ere b!acker sti!!& It is ery se!dom that any dreamer tra e!!ing in Lands of Dream is e er sei#ed by these beasts( and yet I ran. for if a man0s spirit is sei#ed in the Lands of Dream his body may sur i e it for many years and "e!! kno" the beasts that mouthed him far a"ay and the !ook in their !itt!e eyes and the sme!! of their breath. that is "hy the recreation fie!d at $an"e!! is so dreadfu!!y trodden into rest!ess paths& And so I came at !ast to the sea-!ike f!ood of proud( tremendous Yann( "ith "hom there tumb!ed streams from incredib!e !ands--"ith these he "ent by singing& Singing he carried drift-"ood and "ho!e trees( fa!!en in far-a"ay( un isited forests( and s"ept them mighti!y by( but no sign "as there either out in the ri er or in the o!den anchorage near by of the ship I came to see& And I bui!t myse!f a hut and roofed it o er "ith the huge abundant !ea es of a mar e!!ous "eed and ate the meat that gro"s on the targar-tree and "aited there three days& And a!! day !ong the ri er tumb!ed by and a!! night !ong the to!u!u-bird sang on and the huge firef!ies had no other care than to pour past in torrents of dancing sparks( and nothing ripp!ed the surface of the Yann by day and nothing disturbed the to!u!u-bird by night& I kno" not "hat I feared for the ship I sought and its friend!y captain "ho came from fair Be!#oond and its cheery sai!ors out of Dur! and Du#. a!! day !ong I !ooked for it on the ri er and !istened for it by night unti! the dancing firef!ies danced me to s!eep& 3hree times on!y in those three nights the to!u!u-bird "as scared and stopped his song( and each time I a"oke "ith a start and found no ship and sa" that he "as on!y scared by the da"n& 3hose indescribab!e da"ns upon the Yann came up !ike f!ames in some !and o er the hi!!s "here a magician burns by secret means enormous amethysts in a copper pot& I used to "atch them in "onder "hi!e no bird sang--ti!! a!! of a sudden the sun came o er a hi!! and e ery bird but one began to sing( and the to!u!u-bird s!ept fast( ti!! out of an opening eye he sa" the stars& I "ou!d ha e "aited three more days( but on the third day I had gone in my !one!iness to see the ery spot "here first I met _Bird of the Ri er_ at her anchorage "ith her bearded captain sitting on the deck& And as I !ooked at the b!ack mud of the harbour and pictured in my mind that band of sai!ors "hom I had not seen for t"o years( I sa" an o!d hu!k peeping from the mud& 3he !apse of centuries seemed part!y to ha e rotted and part!y to ha e buried in the mud a!! but the pro" of the boat and on the pro" I faint!y sa" a name& I read it s!o"!y-- it "as _Bird of the Ri er&_ And then I kne" that( "hi!e in Ire!and and London t"o years had bare!y passed o er my head( ages had gone o er the region of Yann and "recked and rotted that once fami!iar ship( and buried years ago the bones of the youngest of my friends( "ho so often sang to me of Dur! and Du# or to!d the dragon-!egends of Be!#oond& *or beyond the "or!d "e kno" there roars a hurricane of centuries "hose echo on!y troub!es--though sore!y--our fie!ds. "hi!e e!se"here there is ca!m& I stayed a moment by that battered hu!k and said a prayer for "hate er may be immorta! of those "ho "ere "ont to sai! it do"n the Yann( and I prayed for them to the gods to "hom they !o ed to pray( to the !itt!e !esser gods that b!ess Be!#oond& 3hen !ea ing the hut that I bui!t to those ra enous years I turned my back to the Yann and entering the forest at e ening 8ust as its orchids "ere opening their peta!s to perfume the night came out of it in the morning( and passed that day a!ong the amethyst gu!f by the gap in the b!ue-grey mountains& I "ondered if Singanee( that mighty e!ephant-hunter( had returned again "ith his spear to his !ofty i ory pa!ace or if his doom had been one "ith that of 'erdondaris& I sa" a merchant at a sma!! back door se!!ing ne" sapphires as I passed the pa!ace( then I "ent on and came as t"i!ight fe!! to those sma!! cottages "here the e!fin mountains are in sight of the fie!ds "e kno"& And I "ent to the o!d "itch that I had seen before and she sat in her par!our "ith a red sha"! round her shou!ders sti!! knitting

the go!den c!oak( and faint!y through one of her "indo"s the e!fin mountains shone and I sa" again through another the fie!ds "e kno"& 13e!! me something(1 I said( 1of this strange !and91 1$o" much do you kno"21 she said& 1Do you kno" that dreams are i!!usion21 17f course I do(1 I said& 1+ ery one kno"s that&1 17h no they don0t(1 she said( 1the mad don0t kno" it&1 13hat is true(1 I said& 1And do you kno"(1 she said( 1that Life is i!!usion21 17f course it is not(1 I said& 1Life is rea!( Life is earnest----&1 At that the "itch and her cat ="ho had not mo ed from her o!d p!ace by the hearth> burst into !aughter& I stayed some time( for there "as much that I "ished to ask( but "hen I sa" that the !aughter "ou!d not stop I turned and "ent a"ay& ?3he end@