Messer Marco Polo by BRIAN OSWALD DONN-BYRNE

BRIAN OSWALD DONN-BYRNE (1889-1928) A NO E ON !E A" !OR O# MESSER MAR$O POLO So Celtic in feeling and atmosphere are the stories of Donn Byrne that many of his devotees have come to believe that he never lived anywhere but in Ireland. Actually, Donn Byrne was born in New or! City. Shortly after his birth, however, his parents too! him bac! to the land of his forefathers. "here he was educated and came to !now the people of whom he wrote so magically. At Dublin #niversity his love for the Irish language and for a good fight won him many pri$es, first as a writer in %aelic and second as the #niversity&s lightweight bo'ing champion. After continuing his studies at the Sorbonne and the #niversity of (eip$ig, he returned to the #nited States, where, in )*)), he married and established a home in Broo!lyn +eights. +e earned his living, while trying to write short stories, as an editor of dictionaries. Soon his tales began to attract attention and he added to his collection of bo'ing pri$es many others won in short,story contests. -hen ./SS/0 .A0C1 21(1 appeared in )*3) his reputation in the literary world was firmly established. "hereafter, whatever he wrote was hailed enthusiastically by his ever,growing public, until )*34, when his tragic death in an automobile accident cut short the career of one of America&s best,loved story,tellers.

MESSER MAR$O POLO "he message came to me, at the second chec! of the hunt, that a countryman and a clansman needed me. "he ground was heavy, the day raw, and it was a drag, too fast for fun and too tame for sport. So I blessed the countryman and the clansman, and turned my bac! on the field. But when they told me his name, I all but fell from the saddle. 5But that man&s dead65 But he wasn&t dead. +e was in New or!. +e was traveling from the craigs of #lster to his grandson, who had an orange,grove on the Indian 0iver, in 7lorida. +e

wasn&t dead. And I said to myself with impatience, 5.ust every man born ninety years ago be dead85 5But this is a damned thing,5 I thought, 5to be saddled with a man over ninety years old. "o have to act as %A0D/,.A(AD/ at my age6 -hy couldn&t he have stayed and died at home8 Sure, one of these days he will die, as we all die, and the ghost of him will never be content on the sluggish river, by the mossy trees, where the blue herons and the white cranes and the great gray pelicans fly. It will be going bac!, I !now, to the booming surf and the red,berried rowan,trees and the bar!ing eagles of Antrim. "o die out of #lster, when one can die in #lster, there is a gey foolish thing...5 But the harsh logic of #lster left me, and the soft mood of #lster came on me as I remembered him, and I going into the town on the train. And the late winter grass, of -estchester, spare, scrofulous9 the :erry,built bungalows9 the lines of uncomely linen9 the blatant advertising boards;all the unbeauty of it passed away, and I was again in the Antrim glens. "here was the soft purple of the Irish Channel, and there the soft, dim outline of Scotland. "here was the herring school silver in the sun, and I could see it from the crags where the surf boomed li!e a drum. And underfoot was the springy heather, the belled and purple heather... And there came to me again the vision of the old man&s thatched farmhouse when the moon was up and the bats were out, and the winds of the County Antrim came bellying down the glens... "he turf fire burned on the hearth, now red, now yellow, and there was the golden light of lamps, and .alachi of the (ong %len was reciting some poem of Blind 0aftery&s, or the lament of 2ierre 0onsard for .ary, <ueen of Scots= "a ribin o mo cheadshearc ann mo phocs sios. Agas mna /irip ni leigheasfadaois mo bhron, faraor6 "a me reidh leat go ndeantar comhra caol6 Agas gobhfasfaidh an fear no dhiaidh sin thrid mo lar anios6 "here is a ribbon from my only love in my poc!et deep, And the women of /urope they could not cure my grief, alas6 I am done with you until a narrow coffin be made for me. And until the grass shall grow after that up through my heart6 And I suddenly discovered on the rumbling train that apart from the hurling and the foot,ball and the :umping of horses, what life I remembered of #lster was bound up in .alachi Campbell of the (ong %len... A very strange old man, hardy as a blac!thorn, immense, bowed shoulders, the face of some old haw! of the mountains, hair white and plentiful as some old cardinal&s. All his !insfol! were dead e'cept for one granddaughter... And he had become a tradition in the glens... It was said he had been an ecclesiastical student abroad, in >alladolid...and that he had forsa!en that life. And in 7rance he had been a tutor in the family of .ac.ahon, roi d& Irlande...and somewhere he had married, and his wife had died and left him money...and he had come bac! to Antrim... +e had been in the 2apal ?ouaves, and fought also in the American Civil -ar... A strange old

figure who !new %ree! and (atin as well as most professors, and who had never forgotten his %aelic... Antrim will ever color my own writing. .y 7ifth Avenue will have something in it of the heather glen. .y people will have always a phrase, a thought, a flash of Scots,Irish mysticism, and for that I must either than! or blame .alachi Campbell of the (ong %len. "he stories I heard, and I young, were not of (ittle 0ollo and Sir -alter Scott&s, but the horrible tale of the Na!ed +angman, who goes through the >alleys on .idsummer&s /ve9 of Dermot, and %ranye of the Bright Breasts9 of the Cattle 0aid of .aeve, <ueen of Connacht9 of the old age of Cuchulain in the Island of S!ye9 grisly, homely stories, such as yon of the ghostly foot,ballers of Cushendun, whose ball is a s!ull, and whose goal is the portals of a ruined graveyard9 strange religious poems, li!e the Dialogue of Death and the Sinner= Do thugainn loistin do gach deoraidh treith,lag; I used to give lodging to every poor wanderer9 7ood and drin! to him I would see in want, +is proper payment to the man re@uesting rec!oning, 1ch6 Is not Aesus hard if he condemns me6 All these stories, of all these people he told, had the unreal, shimmering @uality of that mirage that is seen from 2ortrush cliffs, a glittering city in a golden desert, surrounded by a strange sea mist. All these songs, all these words he spo!e, were native, had the same tang as the turf smo!e, the %aelic @uality that is in dar! la!es on mountains summits, in plovers nests amid the heather... And to remember them now in New or!, to see him... 7ifteen years had changed him but little= little more tremor and slowness in the wal!, a bow to the great shoulders, an eye that flashed li!e a !nife. 5And what do you thin! of New or!, .alachi85 5I was here before, your honor will remember. I fought at the -ilderness.5 I forbore as!ing him what change he had found. I saw his @uivering nostrils. In a few days he would proceed south, when he had orientated himself after the days of shipboard. "hat night it seemed every one chose to come in and cluster around the fire. 0andall, the poet9 and the two blond Danish girls, with their hair li!e fla'9 7raser, the golfer, :ust over from 2restwic!9 and a young writer, with his spurs yet to win9 and this one...and that one. "hey all !ept silence as old .alach spo!e, sportsmen, artists, men and women of the world9 a hush came on them and their eyes showed they were not before the crac!ling fire in the long rooms but ama$ed in the Antrim glens. es, old .alachi said, things were changed over there, and a greater change was liable... 2eople whispered that in the >alley of the Blac! 2ig the Boar without Bristles

had been seen at the close of the day, and in "emplemore there was a bleeding image, and these were ominous portents... Some fol!s believed and some didn&t... And the great Irish hunter that had won the %rand National, the greatest horse in the world... But our .an of -ar, .alachi8.. 1h, sure, all he could do was run, and a hare or a greyhound could beat him at that9 but Shawn Spadah, a great :umper him, as well as a runner9 in fine, a horse... And did I !now that 0ed Simon .c/wer of Cushundall had gone around 2ortrush in eighteen consecutive fours8... A 0athlin Islander had tried the swim across to Scotland, but didn&t ma!e it, and there was great arguing as to whether it was because of the currents or of lac! of strength... "here were rumblings in the %iants& Causeway...very strange... A woman in 1ran had the second sight, the most powerful gift of second sight in generations... "here was a new piper in Islay, and it was said he was a second .cCrimmon... And a new poet had arisen in #ist, and all over the +ighlands they were reciting his songs and his 5(ament for the Bruce5... -as I still as !een for, did I still remember the poems, and the great stories8... 5&Behold, the night is of great length,&5 I @uoted, 5&#nbearable. "ell us, therefore, of those wondrous deeds.&5 5If you&ve remembered your %aidhlig as you&ve remembered your %ree!65 5It&s a long time since you&ve had a story of me, twelve long years, and it&s a long time before you&ll have another, and I going away tomorrow. 1ld Sergeant Death has his warrant out for me this many a day, and it&s only the wisdom of an old dog fo' that eludes him9 but he&ll lay me by the heels one of these days...then there&ll be an end to the grand stories... So after this, if you&re wanting a story, you must be writing it yourself... 5But before I die, I&ll leave you the story of .arco 2olo. "here&s been a power of boo!s written about .arco 2olo. "he scholars have pushed up their spectacles and brushed the cobwebs from their ears, and they&ve said, &"here&s all there is about .arco 2olo.& 5But the scholars are a @ueer and blind people, Brian 1ge. I&ve heard tell there&s a doctor in Spain can weigh the earth. But he can&t plow a furrow that is needful, for planting corn. "he scholars can tell how many are the feathers in a bird&s wing, but it ta!es me to inform the doctors why the call comes to them, and they fly over oceans without compass or se'tant or sight of land. 5Did you ever see a scholar standing in front of a slip of a girl8 In all his learning he can find nothing to say to her. And every penny poet in the country !nows. 5(et you be listening now, Brian 1ge, and let also the scholars be listening. But whether the scholars do or not, I&m not caring. A pope once listened to me with great respect, and a marshal of 7rance and poets without number. But the scholars do be turning up their noses. And, mind you, I&ve got as much scholarship as the ne't man, as you&ll see from my story. 5Barring myself, is there no one in this house that ta!es snuff8 No6 Ah, well, times do be changing.5

$!AP ER I Now it&s nearing night on the first day of spring, and you could see how loath day was to be going for even the short time until the rising of the sun again. And though there was a chill on the canals, yet there was great color to the sunset, the red of it on the water ebbing into orange, and then to purple, and losing itself in the olive pools near the mooring,ties. And a little wind came up from the %ree! islands, and now surged and fluttered, the way you&d thin! a harper might be playing. ou&d hear no sound, but the melody was there. It was the rhythm of spring, that the old people recogni$e. But the young people would !now it was spring, too, by to!en of the gaiety that was in the air. 7or nothing brings :oy to the heart li!e the coming of spring. "he fol! who do be blind all the rest of the year, their eyes do open then, and a sunset ta!es them, and the wee virgin flowers coming up between the stones, or the twitter of a bird upon the bough... And young women do be preening themselves, and young men do be singing, even they that have the voices of roo!s. "here is something stirring in them that is stirring, in the ground, with the bursting of the seeds... And young .arco 2olo threw down the @uill in the counting house where he was learning his trade. "he night was coming on. +e was only a strip of a lad, and to lads the night is not rest from wor!, and the @uietness of sleeping, but gaming, and drin!ing, and courting young women. Now, there were two women he might have gone to, and one was a great >enetian lady, with hair the red of a @ueen&s cloa!, and a great noble shape to her and great dignity. But with her he would only be reciting verses or ma!ing grand, stilted compliments, the li!e of those you would hear in a play. And while that seemed to fit in with winter and candlelight, it was poor sport for spring. "he other one was a blac!, plump little gown,ma!er, a pleasant, singing little woman, very affectionate, and very proud to have one of the great 2olos loving her. She was eager for !issing, and always as!ing the lad to be careful of himself, to be putting his cloa! on, or to be sure and drin! something warm when he got home that night, for the air from the canals was chill. "he great lady was too much of the mind, and the little gown,ma!er was too much of the body, either of them, to be pleasing young .arco on the first night of spring. Now, it is a @ueer thing will be pleasing a young man on the first night of spring. "he wandering foot itches, and the mind and body are !een to follow. "here is that inside a young man that ma!es the hunting dog rise from the hearth on a moonlit night= 5Begor6 it&s myself&ll ta!e a turn through the fields on the chance of a bit of coursing. A weasel, maybe, or an otter, would be out the night. 1r a hare itself. Ay, there would be sport for you6 "he hare running hell,for,leather, and me after him over bra!e and dell. Ay6 Ay6 Ay6 A good hunt&s a :ewel6 I&ll ta!e a stretch along the road.5 1r there is in him what does be troubling the birds, and they on tropic islands. 5"weet,tweet,5 they grumble. 5A grand place this surely, and very comfortable for the

winter. "he palm,trees are green, but I&d rather have the green of young grass. And the sea, you !en, it becomes monotonous. Do you remember the peaches of Champagne, wife, and the cherry,trees of Antrim8 Do you remember the farmer who was such a bad shot, and his wife with the red petticoat8 I&m feeling fine and strong in the wings, A>1#0N//N. -hat do you say8 (et&s bundle and go65 +e wandered out with the discontent of the season on him. "he sun had dropped at last, and everywhere you&d see torches, and the image of torches in the water. 1n the canals of the town great barges moved. /verywhere were fine, noble shadows and the splashing of oars. "here was a great admiral&s galley, ready to put to sea against %enoa. "here a big merchantman bac! from Africa. And along the canals went all the people in the world, you&d thin!. Now it was a 7renchman, all sil!s and satins and &la, di,da, monsieur6& 1r a Spaniard with a pointed beard and long, lean legs and a long, lean sword. And now it was a %ree! courtesan, white as mil!, sitting in her gondola as on a throne. +ere was a .uscovite, hairy, dirty, with fine fur and fine :ewels and teeth sharp as a dog&s. And now an effeminate %ree! nobleman, languid as a bride. And here were .oorish captains, 1thello&s men, great giants of blac! marble9 and swarthy, hoo!,nosed merchants of 2alestine9 and the s@uires of Crusaders;pretty, ringleted boys, swearing li!e demons. And here and there were Scots and Irish mercenaries, !ilted, sensitive fol!, one moment smiling at you and the ne't a !nife in your gi$$ard. And as he went through the courts there were whispers and laughter, and occasionally a soft voice invited him to enter9 but he smiled and shoo! his head. Near the Canal de .estre, which is close by the %hetto, he stopped by the wine,shop called "he 2rince of Bulgaria, and he could hear great disputation. And some were spea!ing of Baldwin II, and how he had no guts to have let 2alaeologus ta!e Constantinople from him. And others were murmuring about %enoa. 5.ar! us, they mean trouble, those dogs. Better wipe them off the face of the earth now.5 And a group were discussing the chances of raiding the Aewish Bingdom of the emen. 5"hey&ve got temples there roofed with gold.5... And an Irish piper was playing on a little silver set of pipes, and an Indian magician was doing great sleight of hand... 5I&ll go in and tal! to the strange foreign people,5 said .arco 2olo. $!AP ER II Now, you might be thin!ing that the picture I&m drawing is out of my own head. (et you not be thin!ing of it as it is now, a city of shadows and ghosts, with a few scant visitors mooning in the canals. "he 2ride of the -est she was, the Aewel of the /ast. Constantinople was her courtyard. %reece, /gypt, Abyssinia, Bulgaria, and .uscovy, her ten,acre fields. "he Crusaders on their way to fight the Saracen stopped to plead for her help and generosity. "here were no soldiers more chivalrous, not even the 7rench. "here were no better fighters, not even the +ighland clans. Sailors8 ou&d thin! those fellows had invented the sea. And as for riches and treasures, oh6 the wonder of the world she was6 "ribute she had from everywhere9 the four great horses of Saint .ar! they came from Constantinople. "he two great marble columns facing

the 2ia$etta, sure, they came from Acre. -hen foreign powers wanted the loan of money, it was to >enice they came. Consider the probity of >enetian men. "hey once held as pledge the Crown of "horns itself. Bing (ouis IC of 7rance redeemed it. "he processions of the tradespeople were li!e a !ing&s retinue, and they marching in state on the election of a doge. /ach in their separate order they&d come, the master smiths first, as is right, every one garlanded li!e a con@ueror, with their banner and their buglers. "he furriers ne't in ermine and taffeta9 the tanners, with silver cups filled with wine9 the tailors in white, with vermilion stars9 the wool,wor!ers, with olive branches9 the @uilt,ma!ers in cloa!s trimmed with fleur,de,lis9 the cloth,of,gold weavers, with golden crowns set with pearls9 the shoema!ers in fine sil!, while the sil!,wor!ers were in fustian9 the cheese,dealers and por!,butchers in scarlet and purple9 the fish,mongers and poulterers, armed li!e men,of,war9 the glass,ma!ers, with elegant specimens of their art9 the comb,ma!ers, with little birds in cages9 the barber,surgeons on horsebac!, very dignified, very learned, and with that you&d thin! there&d be an end to them, but cast your eye bac! on that procession and you&d find guilds as far as your sight would reach... (et you be going down the mar!ets, and what would you see for sale8 Boots, clothes, bread8 No, they were out of sight9 but scattered on the booths, the li!e of farls of bread on a fair,day, you&d find cloves and nutmegs, mace and ebony from .oluccas, that had come by way of Ale'andria and the Syrian ports9 sandalwood from "imor, in Asia9 camphor from Borneo. Sumatra and Aava sent ben$oin to her mar!ets. Cochin China sent bitter aloes,wood. 7rom China and Aapan and from Siam came gum, spices, sil!s, chessmen, and curiosities for the parlor. 0ubies from 2eru, fine cloths from Coromandel, and finer still from Bengal. "hey got spi!enard from Nepaul and Bhutan. "heir diamonds were from %olconda. 7rom Nirmul they purchased Damascus steel for their swords. Nor is that all you&d see, and you&d be going down by the mar!ets on a sunny morning, and a fine,thin!ing, low,voiced woman on your arm. ou&d see pearls and sapphires, topa$ and cinnamon from Ceylon9 lac and agates, brocades and coral from Cambay9 hammered vessels and inlaid weapons and embroidered shawls from Cashmere. As for spices, never would your nostrils meet such an odor= bdellium from Scinde, mus! from "ibet, galbanum from Bhorasan9 from Afghanistan, asafetida9 from 2ersia, sagapenum9 ambergris and civet from ?an$ibar, and from ?an$ibar came ivory, too. And from ?eila, Berbera, and Shehri came balsam and fran!incense... And that was >enice, and .arco 2olo a young man. And now it&s only a town li!e any other town but for its churches and canals. "here&s many a town has ghosts, but none the ghosts that >enice has9 not 0ome itself, or "ara of the !ings. 51nce did she hold,5 0andall @uoted, 5the gorgeous /ast in fee9 And was the safeguard of the -est9 the worth 1f >enice did not fall below her birth, >enice, the eldest Child of (iberty. She was a maiden city, bright and free9 No guile seduced, no force could violate9 And, when she too! unto herself a mate, She must espouse the everlasting Sea65

"ime is the greatest rogue of all. Not all the arrows of Attila can do the damage of a tric!le of sand in an hour,glass6 "yre and Sidon, Carthage, ancient Babylon, and >enice, @ueen of them all. I am describing >enice to you for this reason. ou might now stand where "roy&s walls once were and say to yourself= 5-as this where +elen wal!ed with her little son8 -as this where the loveliest face of ages wept85 And a chill of doubt would come on you, and you would thin!, 5I&ve been wasting my sorrow and wasting my love, for it was all nothing but an old tale made up in a minstrel&s head.5 And sometime in >enice, after your dinner in a hotel, you&d go out for a while in a BA0CA, that would have no more romance to it nor the bar! a gillie would row, and you salmon,fishing on a cold, blustery day, and you would feel disappointed, you having come so far, and you&d say= 5It was a grand story surely, and bravely did it pass the winter evening9 but wasn&t old .alachi of the (ong %len the liar of the world65 I wouldn&t have you saying that, and I dead. In all I&m telling you, I&d have you to !now there&s not a ha&porth of lie. $!AP ER III And so .arco 2olo went into the wine,shop to see and hear the strange foreign people. It was a dar!, long room, very high, full of shadows between the flaming torches on the wall. At one side of it was a great fire burning, for all it was the first night of spring. At one end of it were the great barrels of li@uor for the thirsty customers9 blac! beer for the /nglish and the Irish, grand, hairy stuff with great foam to it, and brown beer for the %ermans9 and there was white wine there for the 7rench people, and red wine for the Italians, as@uebaugh for the Scots, and rum from the sugar cane for such as had cold in their bones. "here was all !ind of drin! there in the brass,bound barrels ;drin! would ma!e you mad and drin! would ma!e you merry, drin! would put heart in a timid man and drin! would ma!e fighting men peaceful as pigeons9 and drin! that would ma!e you forget trouble;all in the brass,bound barrels at the end of the room. And pleasant, fat little men were roaming around serving the varied li@uor in little silver cups, and fine >enetian glasses for the wine, and in broad,bellied drin!ing,pots that would hold more than a @uart. And there was such a babel of language as was never heard but in one place before. Some of the drin!ers were dicing and shouting as they won, and grumbling and cursing when they lost. And some were singing. And some were dancing to the Irish pipes. And there was a !not around the Indian con:urer. But there was one man by himself at a table. And him being so silent, you&d thin! he was shouting for attention. +e was so restful against the great commotion, you&d !now he was a great man. ou might turn your bac! on him, and you&d !now he was there, though he never even whispered nor put out a finger. A fat, pleasant, close, coupled man he was, in loose, green clothes, with gold brocade on them. And there

were two big gold ear,rings in his lobes. +e smo!ed a wee pipe with the bowl half, ways up it. "he pipe was silver and all stem, and the bowl no bigger than a ten,cent piece. +is shoulders were very powerful, so you&d !now he was a man you should be polite to, and out of that chest of his a great shout could come. +e might have been a wor!ing,man, only, when he fingered his pipe, you&d see his hands were as well !ept as a lord&s lady&s, fine as sil! and polished to a degree. And you&d thin! maybe a pleasant poet, which is a scarce thing, until you loo!ed at the brown face of him and big gold ear,rings. And then you&d !now what he was= he was a great sea,captain. But where did he come from8 ou might !now from the high chee! bones and the eyes that were on a slant, as it were, that it was an /astern man was in it. It might be Aava and it might be Borneo, or it might be the strange country of Aapan. And there were a couple of strange occurrences in the wine,shop. "he Indian :uggler was being baited by the fighting men, as people will be after po!ing coarse fun at a foreigner. "he slim +indu fellow wasn&t ta!ing it at all well. +e was loo!ing with eyes li!e gimlets at a big bulloc! of a soldier that was leading the tormenters. 5Show me something would surprise me,5 he was ordering. 5Be damned to this old woman&s entertainment65 says he. 5As a magician,5 says he, 5you&re the worst I ever saw. If you&re a magician,5 says he, 5I&m a rabbit.5 And there was a roar at that, because he was !nown to be a very brave man. 5Show me a magic tric!,5 says he. Says the +indu= 5.aybe you&d wish you hadn&t seen it.5 5Be damned to that65 says the big fellow. 5(oo! at this man well,5 the +indu told the room. 5(oo! at him well.5 +e throws a handful of powder in the fire and chants in his foreign language. A cloud of white smo!e arises from the fire. +e ma!es a pass before it, and, lo and behold ye6 it&s a screen against the wall. And there&s a great commotion of shadows on the screen, and suddenly you see what it&s all about. It&s a platform, and a man !neeling, with his head on the bloc!. ou don&t see who it is, but you get chilled. And suddenly there&s a headsman in a red cloa! and a red mas!, and the a' swings and falls. "he head pops off, and the body falls limp. And the head rolls down the platform and stops, and you see it&s the head of the fellow who wanted to see something, and it&s in the grisly grin of death... 5"here&s your latter end for you,5 says the con:urer. 5 ou wanted to see something. I hope you&re content.5 "he big fellow turns white, gulps, gives a bellow, and ma!es a rush9 but the con:urer isn&t there, nor his screen nor anything. /verybody in the room was white and sha!en;all but the sea,captain. +e :ust

tamps his pipe as if nothing had happened, and smo!es on. +e doesn&t even ta!e a drin! from his glass. And a little while later an Irish chieftain wal!s in. +e&s poor and ragged and very thin. ou might !now he&d been fighting the heathen for the +oly sepulchre, and so entitled to respect, no matter what his condition. And behind him are five clansmen as ragged as he. But a big %erman trooper rolls up. 5And what are you85 says the big, burly fellow. 5A gentleman, I hope,5 says the ragged chief. 5&"is yourself that says it,5 laughs the %erman trooper. "he chieftain snic!s the !nife from his armpit, and stic!s him in the :ugular as neat as be damned. 5 ou&d might ta!e that out, Bevin Beg5;the Irish chief points to the !illed man ;5and throw it in the canal. Somebody might stumble over it and bar! their shins.5 Now this, as you can conceive, roused a powerful commotion in the room. "hey were all on their feet, captains and mariners and men,at,arms, cheering or grumbling, and arguing the rights and wrongs of the matter. All but the sea,captain, who saw it all, and he never blin!ed an eyelid, never even missed a draw of the pipe. And then .arco 2olo !new him to be a Chinaman, because, as all the world !nows, Chinamen are never surprised at anything. $!AP ER I% So .arco 2olo goes over and salutes him politely. 5I wonder if you mind my sitting down by you for a while,5 he says. 5I perceive you&re from China.5 "he sea,captain waves him politely to his place. 5I&m from China.5 +e smiles. 5 ou guessed right.5 5Is it long since you&ve been in China85 5-ell, that depends upon what you call long,5 says the captain. 5If you mean time, it&s one thing. If you mean voyage, it&s another. 7or you&ve got to ta!e into account,5 says he, 5adverse winds, roundabout turns to avoid currents, possible delays to have the ship scraped free from the parasite life that does be attaching itself to the stra!es, time spent in barter and trade. 1ther matters, too9 the attac!s of pirates9 cross, grained princes who don&t want you to be leaving their ports with a good cargo in your hold9 sic!ness9 loss of sails and masts9 repairs to the ship. It wasn&t a short :ourney and it wasn&t a long one.5 5It will be a long ways to China, I&m thin!ing.5

5I can tell you how long it is from China to here, and you can reverse that, and you will get a fair idea of how long it is from here to China. I left ?eitoon with a cargo of porcelain for Aapan, and traded it for gold,dust, and from Aapan I went to Chamba to lay in a store of chessmen and pen,cases. And from Chamba I sailed to Aava, which is the greatest island in the world. Aava is fifteen hundred miles from Chamba, south and southeast, and it too! me four months sailing, but a sea,captain cannot pass Aava by, for it is the chief place for blac! pepper, nutmegs, spi!enard, galingale, cubebs, doves, and all the spices that grow. 5And I stopped at various small islands from there, until I came to Basma, which is the island of the unicorns. And there we trade in pygmies, which ignorant people thin! are human fol!. "hey are :ust a wee mon!ey, with all the hair pluc!ed out e'cept the hair of the beard. "here is great money in them. 5I stopped at Sumatra for cocoanuts and toddy, and :ust for water at Dragoian. Dragoian is not a good city. It is filled with sorcerers who have tattooed faces. At (ambri I put in for the sago you buy from the hairy men with tails. 5Son, never stop at the isle of Andaman. "he men there have faces li!e dogs. "hey are a cruel generation, and eat every one they can catch. I could tell you a story, but I would not spoil this fine spring night. %o rather to the island of Ceylon, and see the Bing&s 0uby, which is the greatest :ewel in the world. I stopped there and at Coromandel for the pearls the divers go down in the sea for, and there are no clothes on that island, so that every one goes na!ed as a fish. And there is the shrine of Saint "homas. I was there. 5%u:arat, "ana, I stopped there. "he .ale and 7emale Islands I put into for ambergris. Svestra, which is full of magicians;I was there, too. .adagascar and ?an$ibar, where they live on camel flesh, I was there. And from ?an$ibar I came north to Abyssinia, because I had to get an ostrich there for the Bing of Siam. And there was a letter and a parcel for the Sultan of /gypt. So I went to Cairo. I had a month on my hands, so I thought I&d run over and see >enice, because it&s a hobby of mine, you might say, to see the world. 5Now let me rec!on. 7our and three ma!es seven, and four more are eleven, and si' are seventeen, and let us say nine with that, and you have twenty,si'. And the month I&m forgetting on the roc!s of Aden is twenty,seven, and a wee! here and a wee! there for bad winds and such li!e. It would be safe to put that at three months. So it&s two years and a half since I left China.5 5 ou never,5 says young .arco, 5met anybody in China by the name of 2olo85 52oh,lo8 2oh,lo8 China&s a bigger place nor you would imagine, laddie. "here&s half a hundred million people there.5 5"hese were foreigners,5 .arco e'plained, 5traders. "hey were at the court of the great Bhan.5 52olo8 2olo8 -ell, now, I thin! I&ve heard of them. -as one of them a big red, bearded man with a great eye for a horse and a great eye for a woman85

5"hat would be my #ncle .atthew.5 57or %od&s sa!e6 And was the other a cold, dar! man, a good :udge of a :ewel and a grand :udge of a sword85 5.y father, Nicholas 2olo.5 57or %od&s sa!e6 ou&re the son of one and the nephew of the other85 5Did you !now them85 5Ah, laddie, how would I be !nowing people li!e that6 Sure, they&re great fol!s, high in the esteem of the grand Bhan, and I&m only a poor sailorman.5 5But you heard of them.5 5I heard of them. "hey were in good health. And I heard they were on their way home, though they would travel overland and not ris! the great dangers of the sea. I suppose, if they go bac! to China, you&ll be going with them85 5I don&t !now,5 says .arco 2olo. 5 ou ought to see China. It&s a great country, a beautiful country.5 5It would have to be very great and beautiful,5 says .arco 2olo, 5to out,weigh the greatness and the beauty that are here. ou mustn&t thin! I&m running down your country, mister,5 says he9 5but for greatness, where is the beating of >enice in this day8 -hat struc! Constantinople li!e a thunderbolt but the mailed hand of >enice8 -hen the Barbary corsairs roamed the seven seas, so that it was no more safe for a merchant vessel to be sailing than for a babe to be wal!ing through a wild :ungle, it was >enice who accepted the challenge and made the great sea as peaceful as the %rand Canal. -ho humbled proud %enoa8 And hurled the Saracen from Saint Aohn of Acre&s walls8 >enice. And as for magnificence, the retinue of our doge when he goes to marry the sea with a ring it ma!es the court of (oren$o seem li!e a huc!ster&s train.5 5It is a crowning city.5 5And as for beauty, sir,5 went on .arco 2olo, 5there is nothing in the world li!e San .arco&s, and it abla$e in the setting sun, and the great pillars before it rising in tongues of flame. And was there ever in all time anything li!e the %rand Canal at the dus! of day, and the torches beginning to show li!e fireflies, and the lap of the water, and stringed music, and the great barges going by li!e swans, now a battle,hac!ed captain of war, now a great gracious lady8 And the moon does be rising... 5 ou&ve sailed all the way from China and seen strange and beautiful things, but I remember one summer&s day, when I too! out my little sailing,boat and went out on the water to compose a poem for a lady, and the water was blue;oh, as blue as the s!y&s self, and the sands of the (ido were silver, and the water shuffled gently over them, as gently as a child&s little feet. And there was a clump of olive,trees there so

green as to be blac!, and there alighted before it a great scarlet /gyptian bird. And the beauty of that brought the tears to my eyes, so that I thought of nuns in their cells and barefoot friars in the hollow lands, and they striving for paradise. -hat did I care about paradise8 A >enetian I. So why should I want to go to China85 5 ou have made a great case for the grandeur and beauty of >enice,5 says the sea,captain. 5It is lovely, surely,5 says he, filling his pipe9 5but finer poets nor you, my lad,5 says he, lighting it, 5have tried to describe the grace and beauty of "ao,"uen, and,5 says he ta!ing a draw, 5have failed.5 5"ao,"uen is a beautiful name. It is li!e two notes pluc!ed on a harp. And it must be a wonderful place, surely, if great poets cannot describe it.5 5It is not a place,5 said the captain, 5it&s a girl.5 5As for women, >enice;5 5>enice be damned65 said the sea,captain. 5Not in >enice, not in all the world, is there the li!e for grace or beauty of "ao,"uen. "hey call her %olden Bells,5 he says. 5Is she a dancing,girl85 .arco as!ed. 5She is not a dancing,girl,5 says the sea,captain, 5she is the daughter of Bubla, the great Bhan.5 5A cold and beautiful princess,5 says .arco 2olo. 5She is not a cold and beautiful princess,5 says the sea,captain. 5She is warm as the sun in early Aune, and she may be beautiful and a princess, but we all thin! of her as %olden Bells, the little girl in the Chinese garden.5 5Did you ever see her85 says .arco, eagerly. 5"ell me.5 5I saw her before I left,5 says the sea,captain. 5I was at the Bhan&s palace of Chagannor,5 says he, 5seeing of the chief of the stewards was there anything I could get for him, and I in foreign parts. And as I was being rowed bac! along the river by my ten brawny sailormen, what did I pass but the garden of %olden Bells. 5And there she was by the river,side, a little brown slip of a girl in green coat and trousers, with a flower in her dar! hair. 5And I lower my head in reverence as we pass by. But I hear her low, merry voice, by reason of which they call her %olden Bells. 5&+o, master of the vessel.& she calls. &-here do you go8& 5And the sailors bac! water with a swish, and I stand up respectfully, for all she is only a slip of a girl. 5&I go to foreign parts, %olden Bells,& I tell her9 &to far and dangerous places, into

the Indian 1cean. "o the Island of #nicorns and to the land where men eat men.& 5&I hope you come bac! safe, master of the vessel,& she says. &I hope you have a good voyage and come bac! safe. It must be a dreadful strain on your people to thin! of you so far away.& 5&In all this wide land,& I tell her, &there is none to worry about me. I have neither chic! nor child.& 5&%olden Bells will worry about you, then,& she said, &and you in the ha$ards of the sea. And ta!e this flower for luc!.& And she gave me the flower from her hair. &And let it bring you luc! against the anger of the ocean and the enemies all men have. And let me !now when you are bac!, because I&ll be worried about a man of China and him in danger on the open sea.& 5And wasn&t that a wonderful thing from a daughter of Bubla to me, a poor sailor,man8 5"he son of the Bing of Siam came to woo her with a hundred princes on a hundred elephants, but she wouldn&t have him. &I don&t wish to be a @ueen,& she told her father. &+ow could I be a @ueen8 I am only %olden Bells.& Nor would she have anything to say to the 2rince of the (and of Dar!ness, who came to her with sea ivory and pale Arctic gold. &"he sun of China is in my heart, and you wouldn&t have me go up into the great coldness to shiver and die8& 5So she remains in her garden by the la!e of Cranes with (i 2o, the great poet, him they call the Drin!er of -ine, to ma!e songs for her9 and the SANAN% "ung Chih, the great magician, to perform wonders for her when she is wearied9 and Bulagan, her nurse, to ta!e her to her heart when she is sad. 5And sad she is a lot of the time, they tell me. She sits in her garden in the dus!, playing her lute, and singing the song of the -illow branches, which is the saddest love,song in the world... 5And why she should be singing a sad love,song, is a mystery, for her soft, brown beauty is the flower of the world. 7or there would be no lac! of suitors for her, nor is she the one to refuse love. "he only thing I ma!e of it is that the right hour hasn&t come. 5"he beauty of >enice :umps to your eyes, but the beauty of this pulls at your heart. (ittle brown %olden Bells, in her Chinese garden, singing the song of the -illow Branches at the close of day... Is that not better nor >enice85 But he got no word out of .arco 2olo, sitting with his chin cupped in his hands. And that was the finest answer at all, at all.. $!AP ER % "he times went by, and .arco 2olo busied himself with his daily affairs, !eeping trac! of the galleasses with merchandise to strange far,away ports, buying

presents for refractory governors who didn&t care for foreign trade in their domains, getting wisdom from the old cler!s, and !nowledge from the mariners9 in the main, acting as the son of a great house while the heads of it were away. ou would thin! that he would have forgotten what the sea,captain of China told him about %olden Bells, what with wor! and sport and other women near him. ou would thin! that would drop out of his memory li!e an old rime. But it stuc! there, as an old rime sometimes stic!s, and by dint of thin!ing he had her fast now in his mind ;so fast, so clear, so full of life, that she might be some one he had seen an hour ago or was going to see an hour from now. +e would thin! of the now merry, now sad eyes of her, and the soft, sweet voice of her by reason of which they called her %olden Bells, and the dus!y little face, and the hair li!e blac! sil!, and the splotch of the red flower in it. She was as distinct to him as the five fingers on his hand. It wasn&t only she was clear in his mind&s eye, but she was inside of him, closer than his heart. She was there when the sun rose, so he would be saying, 5It&s a grand day is in it surely, %olden Bells.5 She was there in the dim counting house and he going over in the great intricate ledgers the cler!s do be posting carefully with @uills of the gray goose, so that he would be saying= 5I wonder where this is and that is. Sure I had my finger on it only a moment ago, %olden Bells.5 And when the dus! was falling, and the bats came out, and the @uiet of Christ was over everything, and the swallows flew low on the great canals, she would be beside him, and never a word would he say to her, so near to him would she be. And she wrought strangeness between him and the women he !new, the great grave lady with the large, pale mouth, her that was of his mind, and the little blac! cloa!,ma!er with the eager, red mouth, her that was closer than mind or heart to him. So that the first found fault with his poetry. 5I don&t !now what&s come over you, .arco 2olo,5;and there was a touch of temper in her voice,;5but these poems of yours show me you haven&t your mind on your sub:ect. -ould you mind telling me when I had bound blac! hair85 she says. 5And you say my bosom is li!e two little russet apples. Now, a regular poet once compared it to two great silver cups, and that was a good comparison, though in truth,5 she says, 5he !new as little about it as you. And my hands are not li!e soft /astern flowers. "hey&re li!e lilies. I don&t !now where you do be getting these /astern comparisons,5 she says. 5But I don&t li!e them. "ell me, pretty boy,5;she loo!s suspicious,;5you haven&t been ta!ing any of the strange /gyptian drugs the dar! people do be selling in the dim shops on the @uiet canals8 (oo! out, pretty boy6 (oo! out65 And the little cloa!,ma!er grumbled when he was gone. 5I don&t !now what&s wrong with him,5 says she. 51r maybe it&s something that&s wrong with myself, but this delicate love isn&t all it&s crac!ed up to be. It&s all right in boo!s,5 she says, 5and it&s a grand sight, and the players doing it9 but I li!e a hug,5 she says, 5would put the breath out of you, and a !iss,5 she says, 5you could feel in the soles of your feet.5 And she lay awa!e and grumbled. 5(et him be ta!ing his la,di,da courting to those as favor it,5 says she. 5It&s not my !ind,5 and she grumbled through the lonely night. 5I wonder where my husband is now,5 she said. 5And wasn&t I the foolish girl to be sending him off6 Sure, he dran! li!e a fish and beat me something cruel, but he was a rare lover, and the mood on him. Sure, a woman never !nows when she&s well off,5 says she.

And .arco 2olo didn&t miss them any more nor you&d miss an old overcoat and the winter past. All his mind was on was the %olden Bells of China. And he thought long until his uncle and father came, so that he could be off with them to the strange Chinese land. 5But there&s no use to me going there,5 says he. 5I couldn&t marry her. She would laugh at me,5 he says. 5She, who refused the son of the Bing of Siam, with his hundred princes on a hundred elephants, what use would she have for me, who&s no better nor a peddler with his pac!8 But it would be worth wal!ing the world barefoot for to see that little golden face, to hear the low, sweet voice they call %olden Bells.5 "hey came bac! in due time, his uncle .atthew, the red, hairy man, and his father, the thin, dar! man, who !new precious stones. And he told them he wanted to go with them when they made their ne't e'pedition to China. 5-e could be using you, after your training in trade,5 says the father. But .arco 2olo would ta!e no interest in barter. 5Sure, you&d better come along,5 says his uncle .atthew. 5"here&s great sport to be had on the road, !issing and courting the foreign women and not a word of language between you, barring a smile and a laugh.5 5I have no interest in the foreign women, #ncle .atthew.5 5"hen it&s the horses you&ve been hearing about, the fine Arab horses faster nor the wind, and the little 2ersian ponies they do be playing polo on, and the grand "atar hunters that can :ump the heighth of a man, and they sure,footed as a goat. Ah, the horses, the bonny horses65 5Ah, sure, #ncle .atthew, &tis little I !now of horses. Sure, I !now all about boats, racing and trade and war boats, but a horse is not !in to me.5 5"hen what the hell&s the use of your going to China85 5Ah, sure, that&s the @uestion I&m as!ing myself, #ncle .atthew. But I have to go. I do so. "here is something calling me, #ncle .atthew;a bell in my ear, father&s brother, and there&s a ringing bell in my heart.5 $!AP ER %I I shall now tell you how it came about that .arco 2olo went to China with his uncle and father, though he had no eye for a bargain, or interest in courting foreign women, or sense of horses. Now, as you may !now, this was a great religious time. "he Crusaders, feeling shame that the Sepulchre of the (ord Aesus should be in Saracen hands, had come with horse, foot and artillery to 2alestine to give tribute of arms to +im who had died for them on the Bitter "ree. And great feats were performed and grand battles won. And !ings became saints, li!e (ouis of 7rance, and saints became !ings, li!e Baldwin of Constantinople. .ighty wonders were seen and miracles performed, so that people said, 5Now will be the second coming of Christ and the end of the world.5

And a great desire came on the Christian people to tell the truth of Christ to the strange and foreign peoples of the world. So that every day out of Aerusalem you would see friars hitting the road, some of them to confront the wi$ards of the (and of Dar!ness, and some to argue theology with the old lamas of "ibet, and some to convert the sunny Southern islands, where the young women do be letting down their hair and the men do be forgetting %od for them. And all over the world there was spreading a great rumor that the truth of all things was at last !nown. /ven Bubla Bhan had heard of it far off in China, and he had charged the uncle and father of .arco with a message to the 2ope of 0ome. (et the pope be sending some theologians to his court, and they&d argue the matter out9 and if he was satisfied that this new religion was the "rue 0eligion, then he&d turn Christian and tell his people to turn Christian, too. And let them be bringing bac! some of the 1il of the (amp which burns in the +oly Sepulchre at Aerusalem and is a cure for all the ills in the world. And when they came to the City of Acre, sure the pope was dead. And they waited a long time, but no new pope was chosen, so they decided to go bac!, because they had a good business there, and they didn&t want to lose it. And yet they !new there&d be trouble with the %rand Bhan, if they didn&t bring bac! the news of the "rue 0eligion and people to argue it. 5I&ve been a long time trading,5 says Nicolo, 5and it&s a @ueer thing, but the more trading you do, the less religion you have. "he arguing of religion would not come easy to me. And I&d be up against e'perts. I&m not the man for it,5 says he. 5+ow about you, .atthew85 51h, sure, they&d never listen to me,5 .atthew laughs;5me that&s dran! with them, and deludhered their women, and gambled until I left them nothing but the sweat of their brows. I&d be a great one to preach religion to them. -hy, man, they&d laugh at me. But I tell you what, Nicolas. "here&s a bishop in Negropont, and I !now where he lives, and I !now his house and everything. -hat do you say, Nicolas8 -e&ll :ust throw a bag over his head and tie him on a horse. 1h, sure, he&d give grand discourses to the %reat Bhan65 5+ave sense, .atthew9 have sense. ou&re always too rough9 always ready to end an argument with a !nife, or :ust lift what you want. +ave sense, man9 you can&t !idnap a bishop li!e you&d !idnap a woman. 5-ell, I don&t see why not,5 says .atthew. 5It would be easier, too, because a woman will scratch li!e a wildcat. But if you&re set against it, I won&t do it,5 he says. 5-ell, then, how about young .arco85 5.y sound man .atthew6 .y bully fellow6 Sure you were never at a loss yet6 oung .arco it is9 sure, &tis the elegant idea. "here&s not a man born of woman better for the :ob.5 Now, all the Christian world had gone religious, and young .arco was no e'ception9 for&t is not only the old that are religious. "he young are, too9 but there&s a difference. "he religion of old men is reason and translation9 the religion of the young

is :ust a burning cloud. "he "ragedy of the Bitter "ree is not a symbol to them, but a reality, and their tears are not of the spirit, but of the body, too. And there are no half,way houses, no compromises, in a young man&s creed. It&s swallow all, or be damned to you. It&s believe or be lost. And thin!ing over the little girl in the Chinese garden, there had come into .arco&s heart, a thought past enduring. If little %olden Bells did not believe, then little %olden Bells was lost. She might have everything in this world, in this life, an emperor for a father, !ings for suitors, a great poet for a minstrel, a wi$ard for an entertainer9 but once the little blue shadow left her body, she was lost forever. And the sight came to him of little %olden Bells going down the dim and lonely alleys of death, and weeping, weeping, weeping... +er eyes would be shot with panic, and the little mouth twisted, and the little flowery hands twitching at each other. And it would be cold there for her who was so warm, and it would be dar! there for her who loved light, and the %olden Bells of her voice would be lost in the whistling and clanging of the stars as they swung by in their orbits. +e to be in the great delight of paradise, and she to be in the blue,gray ma$e between the worlds;what tragedy6 Bings might bring her presents, a husband might bring her happiness9 but if he could only bring her salvation6 If he could only tell her of the Bitter "ree6 "he body, when you came to thin! of it, mattered little. All the beauty in the world could not endure more than its appointed span. +elen was dust now, and Deirdre nothing. -hat had become of the beauty of Semiramis, Ale'ander&s darling9 and Cleopatra, who loved the great proconsul9 and Bathsheba, for whom David of the 2salms fell from grace8 And Bal!is, @ueen of Sheba, with her apes, ivory, and peacoc!s8 Dust and ashes, dust and ashes6 And Schehera$ade was but a strange, sad sound. Beauty increased and waned li!e the moon. A little shadow around the eyes, a little crin!le in the nec!, the bac!s of the hands stiffening li!e parchment. Dust and ashes, dust and ashes6 But the little blue shadow would glow li!e an /aster morning. 1r it would be a poor, lonely, unlit shadow in the cold gloom of the clanging worlds. 2oor %olden Bells6 2oor little weeping %olden Bells6 If he could only tell her about the Bitter "ree6 And then what happens but his uncle .atthew claps him on the bac!, 5+ow would you li!e to go to China, .arco .ar!een,5 says he, 5and preach religion to the benighted people65 5+ow did you !now, #ncle .atthew85 5+ow did I !now what85 5"hat I wanted to go to China and preach religion to the;the people65

5-ell, if that doesn&t beat Banagher,5 says .atthew 2olo, 5and Banagher beats the devil6 "ell me, did you ever hear an old tune called &Bundle and %o6&85 And so the three of them leave upon their :ourney, but at (ayas, where the Bing of Armenia had his castle, they heard of the election of a new pope, so they came bac! to Acre to get his instructions and blessing. $!AP ER %II "he pope said a grand mass for them, and at the gospel he enters the pulpit, a burly figure of a man with sad eyes. 5"he blessing of the 7ather and the Son and the +oly %host be with you and about you, Amen. 5It is not to you, Nicolo 2olo, that I wish to spea!, nor to you, .atthew 2olo, for neither of you are my ambassadors to the %reat Bhan. .erchant and sportsmen, I honor you, and you have my blessing, but you have no hopes of mine. "he dirty diversions of the world are between your eyes and glory,5 said he. 5It&s only myself, an old and sorrowful man, and this child, a young and hopeful one, can understand9 old men having sight of visions, and young men dreaming dreams... 5Now in the matter of converting the %reat Bhan and his numerous millions, first let wisdom spea!. I have little hopes. +e wants to be argued into it, you see. 0eligion is not a matter of argument. It is a wisdom that surpasses wisdom. It drifts in men&s souls as the foggy dew comes unbidden to the trees. It is born before our soul, as the horned moon is born before our eyes. 5And now, my child, you might say, &-hat is the use of sending me to China if he !nows I cannot bring these millions into the fold8 .y dear son, there is the wisdom surpassing wisdom. A great and noble thought must not die. "hings of the spirit we cannot rec!on as a husband,man rec!ons his crops. "here is a fol! on the marches of /urope, and they are ever going into battle, and they always fall. "heir results are nothing. But their name and their glory will endure forever... 5.y dear son, %od has put wisdom in my head and beauty into yours. -isdom is needed for the governance of this world, but beauty is needed for its e'istence. In arid deserts there is no life. Birds do not sing in the dar! of night. Show me a waste country, and I&ll show you a brutal people. No faith can live that is not beautiful... 5"he beauty %od has put in your heart, child, you must always !eep... +ow much I thin! of it I&ll tell you. I&m an old man now, an old and bro!en man, and in a few years I&ll stand before my .aster. 5&-hat have you seen on my earth,& +e&ll as! me, &you who followed St. 2eter6& 5&(ord6 (ord6& I&ll tell +im, &I&ve seen mighty things. I&ve seen the bridegroom leave his bride and the !ing his !ingdom, the huc!ster leave his booth, and the reaper drop his hoo!, that they might rescue our +oly Sepulchre from pagan hands.&

5&And anything else8& +e&ll as!. 5&And I&ve seen a young man go out into the desert and over his head was a star...& 5 ou may thin! you have failed, child, but remember that in the coming times your name and fame will awa!en beauty, and many&s the traveler on the hard road will find his courage again, and he thin!ing of .arco 2olo. And many&s the young man will dream dreams, and many&s the old man will see visions, and they reading the boo! by the golden candle,light9 and many&s the young girl will give you love, and you dead for centuries. But for this you must !eep your dream. 5Now you&ll thin! it&s the @ueer pope I am to be telling you things li!e this instead of demanding converts. But the wisdom that surpasses wisdom comes to you with the Annointing of the 1il. &I !new a man in Christ above fourteen years ago,& writes Saint 2aul, &Dwhether in the body I cannot tell, or whether out of the body I cannot tell. %od !noweth.E 5&+ow that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspea!able words, which is not lawful for a man to utter.& 5Now you see there is a wisdom surpassing wisdom, and it is out of this fount of wisdom I am drawing when I spea! to you these words. 5Child, I will not !eep you any longer. 1nly to say this, and this is the chiefest thing= never let your dream be ta!en from you. Beep it unspotted from the world. In dar!ness and in tribulation it will go with you as a friend9 but in wealth and power hold fast to it, for then is danger. (et not the mists of the world, the gay diversions, the little trifles, draw you from glory. 50emember6 5Si oblitus fuero tui Aerusalem,;If I forget thee, 1 Aerusalem,; 51blivioni detur de'tera mea,;let my right hand forget her cunning; 5Adhaereat lingua mea faucibus meis, si non meminero tui,;if I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; 5Si non proposuero Aerusalem, in principis laetitiae meae,;If I prefer not Aerusalem above my chief :oy. 5I shall now send a prayer to +eaven,5 he said, 5to !eep you safe in the strange foreign ways, to protect you against wind and tempest, against pestilence and sudden death, against the powers of dar!ness, and +im who goes up and down the world for the ruin of souls.5 And he turned to the high altar again, and now you&d hear his voice loud and powerful, and now low and secret, and the bell struc!, and the acolyte intoned the responses, and all of a sudden he turned and spread forth his hands.

5Ite6 (et you go now. .issa est.5 $!AP ER %III And so they set forth with their great train of red, snarling camels and little patient don!eys and slender, nervous horses toward the rising sun. Behind them the green hills of 2alestine died out as a rainbow dies out, and now there was sand before them and now blea! mountains, and by day the wind was swift and hot and by night it was blac! and cold. And moons were born and died... And they passed through the land of the Bing of Armenia, and they passed Ararat, the mountain where Noah brought his ar! to anchor, and where it still is, and where it can be seen still, but cannot be reached, so cold and high and terrible is that mountain. And they passed ruined Babel, that was built of Nimrod, the first !ing of the world, and now is desolation. "hey passed it on a waning moon. And out of the ruins the dragons came and hissed at them, and strange, obscene birds flapped their wings in the air and cawed and pec!ed at them, and over the desert the satyr called unto her mate... And they passed through the Bingdom of %eorgia, whose !ings are born with the mar! of an eagle on their right shoulder. "hey passed through 2ersia, where the magicians worship fire. And they passed through the city of Saba, where sleep the three magi who came to worship at Bethlehem, and their names were Baspar, Balthlasar, and .elchior. And they passed through Camadi, where great ruins are and robbers roam through the magical dar!ness. And they passed northward of the 2erilous >alley, where the Devil&s +ead is in blac! stone, and that is one of the nine entrances to hell9 and passed the >alley of the Coc!adrills, where there are serpents five fathoms in length9 and passed the >alley of Cruel -omen, who have precious stones in place of eyes... And they went through the Dismal Desert, where no stream sang... And in the desert they passed the "rees of the Sun and .oon, which spea! with the voices of men. And it was from the Spea!ing "ree that Ale'ander heard of his death. And it was near there that he and Darius fought. And they passed the Arbre Sec, the Dry "ree, which has a green bar! on one side and white on the other, and there are no trees within a hundred miles of that tree, and it is sprung from the staff of Adam. And they passed through Bal!h, the .other of Cities. And they passed through "ailian, where the great salt mountains are. And they passed through Badashan, where the mountains of the rubies are. And they passed through Bashmir, whose women are very beautiful, and whose magicians weave the strongest spells in the world... And moons were born and died...

And they came to Alamoot, the fortess of Sene' de .onte, the 1ld .an of the .ountain, the Bing of the Assassins, the greatest wi$ard of all time... Now this is the tale of the 1ld .an the .ountain. -henever within his dominions there was a fine young horseman, the 1ld .an would put a spell on him and draw him to the Castle of Alamoot, and outside of the castle sleep would come on him. And when he wo!e up, he would be inside the castle, in the wonderful gardens. And they&d tell him he was dead and in paradise. And paradise it would be for him what with the lovely women and the great playing on the flutes, the birds singing, and the sun shining, the crystal rivers and the flowers of the world. And after a while the 1ld .an of the .ountain would call for him, and tell him he was sending him bac! on earth again on a mission to punish Such,and,Such. And the 1ld .an would put sleep on him and a !nife in his hand, and when he wo!e he would be outside the Castle of Alamoot. And he would start on his mission. And when he came bac! he would be readmitted to paradise. And if he didn&t come bac!, there were others to ta!e his place. "he 1ld .an of the .ountain always !ept one hundred and one assassins and four hundred and four women to tend them. Now when the caravan of the 2olos had come to rest for the day, the 1ld .an of the .ountain put out white, not blac! magic, and he drew .arco 2olo to the castle as a magnet draws a needle. And .arco 2olo galloped up to the Castle in the waning moon, and the 1ld .an loo!ed down on him from the battlements and stro!ed his long white beard. 5Do you !now me, .arco 2olo85 5I !now you and I have no fear of you, 1ld .an of the .ountain.5 5And why have you no fear of me, .arco 2olo85 5Because the cross of the (ord Aesus is between me and harm. Because it protects me night and day.5 5I !now /esa ben,.iriam,5 said the 1ld .an. 5+e was a great prophet. But whether he would have protected you from me, we will differ about that. I&ve often thought of you, .arco 2olo, and you coming this way. I could have used you in my wor! of !eeping the !ings and chieftains of the world in fear and sub:ection.5 5"hen why am n&t I in your garden, 1ld .an of the .ountain85 5"he four most beautiful women in the world are in my garden. "here is a tall, blac!,haired woman, and she is fairer and more adroit than (ilith, who was before /ve9 and there is a tall, blond woman, and she is li!e a @ueen9 and there is a slim, copper,colored woman, and she is li!e an idol in a shrine9 and there is a little brown, haired woman, and she is li!e a child. But none of those women could ma!e you believe you were in paradise while there&s a face in your heart. Not the cross of the (ord Aesus is between you and me, but the face of little %olden Bells of China.5

5But I am not going to China to woo %olden Bells, 1ld .an of the .ountain. I am going to convert the men of Cathay.5 "he 1ld .an of the .ountain laughed and stro!ed his beard. 5 ou had a sermon from %regory before you came away. Did he tell you you were to convert the men of Cathay85 5+e did not.5 5Ali, %regory&s a sound man. +e !new you can&t ma!e saints in a day. -hy, child, I&ve seen the beginning of the world, and I&ve seen the end of it. I&ve seen the beginning in a crystal glass, and I&ve seen the end in a pool of in! in a slave&s hand. I&ve seen man!ind begin lower nor the gibbering ape, and I&ve seen them end the shining sons of %od. .illions on millions on millions of years, multiplied unto di$$iness, crawling, infinitesimal wor! overcoming nature, overcoming themselves, overcoming the princes of the powers of dar!ness, one of whom I am. But this is too deep for you, .arco 2olo. 5Now you can go on your way without hindrance from me, .arco 2olo, because of the memory of an old time, when the courting of a woman was more to me than the !illing of a man, when beauty meant more nor power. 5(et you be on your way, .arco 2olo, while I sit here a lonely old man, with wee, soft ghosts whispering to him. (et you be hastening on your way before I remember I am a prince of the powers of dar!ness and should do you harm...5 $!AP ER I& And so they went on eastward, ever eastward, and the moons were born, grew, waned, and died... "hey passed through Bhotan, where the divers bring up :ade from the rivers, white :ade and blac! :ade, and green :ade veined with gold. "hey passed through Carnal, the shameful city, whose women are fair and wanton, whose men are cuc!olds. And they passed through the province of Chitingolos, where are the mountains of the Salamanders. "hey passed through the city of Campicha, where there are more idols than men. And they passed through the great city of Samar!and, where the %reen Stone is on which "imur&s throne was set... And were born and died... "hey passed through "angut, where the men will not carry the dead out through the door of a house, but must brea! a hole in the wall. And they passed through Bialehta, where there are snow,white camels. And they passed through the lands of 2rester Aohn. And now they were in the "atar lands. "here passed them lowing mus! o'en. "here passed them the wild asses of .ongolia. "here passed them the barbarians, with their great tents on wheels. "here passed them the blac!,:owled, savage, idolaters. "here passed them the pretty white,faced women. "here passed them huge,

abominable dogs. And they came to the town of (ob, and a new moon arose, and they entered the Desert of the Singing Sands. $!AP ER & -herever they went now was sand, and a dull ha$e that made the sun loo! li!e a copper coin. And a great silence fell on the caravan, and nothing was heard but the crunch of the camels& pads and the tin!le of the camels& bells. And no green thing was seen. And a great terror fell on the caravan, so that one night a third of the caravan deserted. "he rest went on in silence under the dull sun. And now they came across a village of white s!eletons grinning in the silent sand. And at night there was nothing heard, not even the bar!ing of a dog. And others of the caravan deserted, and others were lost. And now they had come so far into the desert that they could not return, but must !eep on their way, and on the fifth day they came to the +ill of the Drum. And all through the night they could not sleep for the booming of the Drum. And some of the caravan went mad there, and fled screaming into the waste. And now there was only a great ha$e about them, and they loo!ed at one another with terror, saying= 5-ere we ever any place where green was, where birds sang, or there was sweet water8 1r maybe we are dead. 1r maybe this was all our life, and the pleasant towns, and the lamplight in the villages, and the apricots in the garden, and our wives and children, maybe they were all a dream that we wo!e in the middle of. (et us lie down and sleep that we may dream again.5 But .arco 2olo would not let them lie down, for to lie down was death. But he drove them onward. And again they complained= 5Surely %od never saw this place that +e left it so terrible. Surely +e was never here. +e was never here.5 And now that their minds were pitched to the height of madness, the warloc!s of the desert too! shape and :eered at them, and the white,sheeted ghosts flitted alongside of them, and the goblins of the %obi harried them from behind. And the sun was li!e dull copper through the ha$e, and the moon li!e a guttering candle, and stars there were none. And when the moon was at its full, they came to the +ill of the Bell. And through the night the Bell went %1N%+, %1N%+, %1N%+, until they could feel it in every fiber of their bodies, and their s!in itched with it. "hey would stop their ears. But they would hear it in the palms of their hands and the soles of their feet. %1N%+, %1N%+, %1N%+. And when they left the +ill of the Bell there were only si' of the caravan left, and a multitude of white,sheeted ghosts. And the caravan plodded onward dully. And now the warloc!s of the desert played another cruelty. Afar off they would put a seeming of a la!e, and the travelers would press on gladly, crying, 5"here is water6

-ater6 %od lives6 %od lives65 But there was only sand. And now it would be a green vision, and they would cry= 5-e have come to the edge of the desert. After the long night, dawn. %od lives6 %od lives65 But there would be only sand, sand. And now it would be a city of shining domes in the distance. And they would nudge one another and croa!, 5"here are men there, brother, secure streets, and merchants in their booths9 people to tal! with, and water for our poor throats.5 But there would be only sand, sand, sand... And they would cry li!e children. 5%od is dead6 +aven&t you heard8 Don&t you !now8 %od is dead in +is heaven, and the warloc!s are loosed on the land65 And on the last day of the moon they were all but in sight of the desert&s edge, though they didn&t !now. And the goblins and the warloc!s too! counsel, for they were now afraid .arco and his few people would escape. "hey gathered together and they read the runes of the 7lowing Sand. And suddenly the camels rushed screaming into the desert with sudden panic, and a burning wind came, and the sands rose, and the desert heeled li!e a ship, and the day became night. And young .arco 2olo could stand no more. "hat was the end, the end of him, the end of the world, the end of everything. "here was red dar!ness every where, and he could see nobody. 51 my (ord Aesus65 he cried. 51 little %olden Bells65 "he wind boomed li!e an organ. "he sand screamed. 51 my (ord Aesus6 1 little %olden Bells65 And the voices of his father and uncle were li!e the tweeting birds. 5-here&s the lad, .atthew8 -here&s our lad85 5.ar!, .ar!, where have you got to8 (ad of our heart, where are you85 But they couldn&t find each other. "he sand buffeted them li!e shuttlecoc!s. 5Boy .ar!65 "he sand snarled li!e a dog9 the wind hammered li!e drums. 51h, %olden Bells6 1, little %olden Bells6 1, my (ord Aesus, must it end here85 And the fight went out of him, and a big sob bro!e in him, and he lay down to die.. $!AP ER &I I shall now tell you of %olden Bells, and her in the Chinese %arden. $!AP ER &II I would have you now see her as I see her, standing before (i 2o, the great poet, in her green costume. And (i 2o, big, fat, with sad eyes and a twisted mouth, uncomfortable as be damned. "he sun shone in the garden, the butterflies, the red and blac! and golden butterflies, flitted from blossom to blossom. And the bees droned. And on the ban!s of the green la!e the !ingfisher tunneled his wee house, and the wind shoo! the blossoms of the apple,trees. And (i 2o sat on the marble slab and was very uncomfortable. And in a dar! bower was Sanany, the magician, brooding li!e an owl. And %olden Bells stood before (i 2o, and there were hurt tears in her eyes. 5Did my father or I ever do anything to you, (i 2o, that you should ma!e a song

such as they sing in the mar!et,place85 5-hat song85 5"he Song of the Coc!atoo.5 5I don&t remember.5 5I&ll remind you, (i 2o. &"here alighted on the balcony of the Bing of Annam,& the song goes, &a red coc!atoo. It was colored as a peach,tree,blossom and it spo!e the tongue of men. And the Bing of Annam did to it what is always done to the learned and elo@uent. +e too! a cage with stout bars, and shut up inside.& And wasn&t that the cruel thing to write6 And are you so imprisoned here, (i 2o8 Ah, (i 2o, I&m thin!ing hard of you, I&m thin!ing hard.5 5-ell, now, %olden Bells, to tell you the truth there was no e'cuse for it. But often times I do be feeling sad, and thin!ing of the friends of my youth who are gone. uan Chen, who might have been a better poet nor me, if he had been spared9 and +&sieng,yang and (i Chien, too. Ah, they were great poets, %olden Bells. "hey never sang a poor song, %olden Bells, that they might wear a fine coat. And they&d write what was true, wee mistress, were all the world to turn from them. And I&m the laureate now, the court singer, living in my glory, and they&re dead with their dreams. I&m the last of the seven minstrels. And, wee %olden Bells, I do be thin!ing long. 5And sometimes an old woman in the street or a man with gray in his hair will lift a song, and before the words come to me, there&s a pain in my heart. 5And I go down to the drin!ing booths, and the passion of drin!ing comes on me ;a fury against myself and a fury against the world. And the fol! do be following me to see will I let drop one gem of verse that they can tell their grandchildren they heard from the lips of (i 2o. And when my heart is high with the drin!ing, I ta!e a lute from a traveling poet, and not !nowing what I&m saying, I compose the song. 1ut of fallow sorrow bloom the little songs. ou mustn&t be hard on an old man, wee %olden Bells, and he thin!ing long for his dead friends.5 5Ah, poor (i 2o,5 she said, and she had grown all soft again. 5Is it so terrible to be old85 5Now you as! me a @uestion, %olden Bells, and I&ll give you an answer. Besides, it&s part of my duties to teach you wisdom. Now, it is not a terrible thing, at all, at all, to be old. I see the young fol! start out in life, and before them, there&s the showers of April, there&s wind and heat and thunder and lightning. But I&m in warm, brown 1ctober, and all of it&s gone by me. And in a little while I&ll sleep, and &tis I need it, %od help me6 "he old don&t sleep much, wee %olden Bells, so &tis a comfort to loo! forward to one&s rest after the hardness of the world. In a hundred or more years or five hundred, :ust as the fancy ta!es me, I&ll wa!e up for a while and wander down the world to hear the people sing my songs, and then I&ll go bac! to my sleep.5 And she was going to as! him another @uestion when the Sanang came up. "he magician was a thic! man with merry eyes and a cruel mouth.

5%olden Bells,5 he says, 5there&s rare entertainment in the crystal glass.5 5-hat is it, Sanang65 5"he warloc!s of the %obi have a young lad down, and they&re waiting until the soul comes out of his body. Come, I&ll show you.5 And in the crystal glass he showed her .arco 2olo, and the !nees going from under him in the roaring sands. She gave a @uic! cry of pity. 51h, the poor lad65 Sanang chuc!led. 5+e started out with a big caravan to preach what he thought was a truth to China. I&ve been watching him all along, and it&s been rare sport. I !new it would come to this.5 5Couldn&t you save him, Sanang85 she cried. 51, Sanang, he&s so young, and he set out to come to us. Couldn&t you save him85 5-ell, I might.5 Sanang was not pleased. 5It&ll be a while before the shadow comes out of him. But it would be rare sport to watch and see the warloc!s and the ghouls and the goblins set on it the way terriers do be setting on an otter.5 51h, save him, Sanang6 Save him65 5Now, %olden Bells, I might be able to save him, and again I mightn&t.5 5Save him, Sanang65 (i 2o bro!e in. 5Save him the way the wee one wants. 7or if you don&t, Sanang, I&ll write a song about you that&ll be remembered for generations, and they&ll point out your grandchildren and your grandchildren&s grandchildren, and they&ll laugh and sing (i 2o&s song= 5&"here was a fat worm who considered himself a serpent;&5 51h, now, (i 2o, for %od&s sa!e, let you not be composing poems on me, for &tis you have the bitter tongue. 2romise me now, and I&ll save him. -e&ll send for the !eeper of the !han&s drums.5 And they sent for the !eeper, and Sanang gave a message to be put on the Spea!ing Drums. 5(et you now,5 he told his helper, 5get me the Distant /ars.5 And the helper brought him the %olden /ars, which were the li!e of a great bird&s wings, and he put them on his head and he listened. 5I hear the drums of the battlements,5 he said, 5...and I hear the Drums of the +ill of %raves...5 And he listened a while, and %olden Bells was white.

5I hear the Drums of the Dim .ountain,5...and for a while he said nothing. 5"hose would be the drums of ung Chang...5 5I hear the Drums of Bai u Bwan,5 he said. 5 es, Sanang, yes.5 (ittle %olden Bells was one @uiver of fear. 5I hear the Drums of the Convent of the 0ed .on!s,5 said Sanang. 5I hear drums calling the "atar tribes... I hear the slap of saddles. I hear the :ingle of bits... I hear galloping ponies...5 5 es, Sanang, 1h, hurry, Sanang6 hurry65 +e listened a little while longer, and then he too! off the Distant /ars. 5 our man&s saved,5 he said. "hen little %olden Bells laughed and then she cried. She caught (i 2o&s hand and laughed again and again she cried. Sanang shoo! his head to get out of his ears the deafening noises of the world. And (i 2o smiled out of his sad eyes. 5I thin! I&ll go and write a marriage,song, %olden Bells. 5-hom will you write the marriage,song for, (i 2o85 5I&ll write it for you, %olden Bells.5 5But I&m not going to be married, (i 2o. "here is no one. I love no one, (i 2o. I do not. I do not, indeed.5 5"hen ta!e your lute and sing me the &Song of the -illow Branches,& which is the saddest song in the world.5 She shoo! her head, and blushed. 5I cannot sing that song, (i 2o. I don&t feel li!e singing that song.5 5"hen I must write you another song, (ittle %olden Bells...5 $!AP ER &III And now when .arco 2olo was rested and had recovered, they brought him from the Convent of the 0ed .on!s to where the !han was in the city of Chandu. Now, there were two palaces in Chandu9 there was the winter palace, which was of marble, and the summer palace, which was of gilt cane. Around these palaces there was built a wall si'teen miles in compass, and inside of it was a par! of fountains, and rivers and broo!s with the spec!led trout in them, and meadows with the lar! at her ease in the grass, and trees of all varieties where the little birds do be building and none to grudge them a home. And all the wild animals were abundant, the timid hare and the wild deer and the wee croa!ing frogs, long,legged colts by their white

mothers, and little dogs tumbling over themselves with the sport of spring. Brown bees among the clover, strawberries in profusion, trees would delight your eyes, and brown cows and blac! cows, and dappled moilies under the great leaves of them, and lambs would be snowy of fleece. All the flowers of the world were there9 the paradise of wild things it was, the par! of Bubla Bhan. 5In Canadu did Bubla Bhan,5 @uoted young 0andall, 5A stately pleasure dome decree, -here Alph, the sacred river, ran "hrough caverns measureless to man, Down to a sunless sea. So twice five miles of fertile ground -ith walls and towers were girdled round= And there were gardens, bright with sinuous rills, -here blossomed many an incense,bearing tree9 And here were forests ancient as the hills, /nfolding sunny spots of greenery.5 5-hose poem is that poem, Brian 1ge85 5It is a poem of Coleridge&s, .alachi.5 5I though it was maybe a poem of Col@uitto Dall .cCrac!en of S!ye, that one of you lads had put /nglish on. It is a poem of the head, you !en, and Col@uitto, being a dar! man, could only see with the eye&s ghost. But it hasn&t the warmth, the life of the wor! of Blind Col@uitto, Brian 1ge, do you mind the poem Angus .ore Campbell of 0athlin wrote to Col@uitto Dall85 5&Is aoibhinn duid, Col@uitto Dall,&5 I remembered= 5It is happy for thee, blind Col@uitto, who dost not see much of women. If thou wert to see what we see, thou wouldst be tormented even as I am. .y sorrow, 1 %od, that I was not stric!en blind before I saw her amber, twisted hair65 5"hat&s it, that&s it, Brian 1ge. But this is not the place to be tal!ing of poetry. "here is no poetry in this story. 5I will now tell you of .arco 2olo and him entering the presence of the great !han...5 $!AP ER &I% And .arco 2olo was brought into the presence. And among all assembled there you could hear a pin drop. At the north end of the great hall sat the Bhan himself, and .arco 2olo nearly dropped with surprise9 for where he e'pected a great, magnificent figure of a man, with ma:esty shining from his eyes, he saw only a pleasant, bearded man, not @uarter so well dressed as the meanest servant on the room, and a fine, welcoming smile in his face. +is throne was elevated so that his feet were on the level of the heads of the !insmen of the Blood 0oyal beneath him, and they in sil! and ermine and fine

brocades and :ewels. And beneath these were the barons and du!es and !nights. And beneath these were the captains of the fighting men, three thousand and three. And beneath these were the musicians and the sorcerers. And behind Bubla Bhan, very big, very erect, stood his three great servants, the Beeper of the +unting (eopards, the Beeper of the Spea!ing Drums, and the Beeper of the Bhan&s Swords. And beside Bubla Bhan, on a little throne, sat %olden Bells... And it was the sight of her more than the sight of the great assembly that dumbed the words in his mouth. And Bubla was smiling at him, and she was smiling, too. And Bubla saw there was something wrong with him, that there was embarrassment on him and he rose from his= throne. 5"here is welcome for you here, .arco 2olo, and no enmity. "here is interest, in and eagerness for your message. "here is none here will critici$e you or ma!e it hard for you. (et there be no shame on you in spea!ing before so many people. Say what you have to say as if there were nobody here, if that will help you, barring myself and the little daughter beside me...5 51 /mperor,5 the words came bac! to .arco 2olo, 5and ye, great princes, du!es, and mar@uises, counts, !nights, and burgesses, and people of all degrees who desire the light of the world, grace be to you and peace, from %od our 7ather, and from the (ord Aesus Christ6 5"he message I have to give you, I shall give in the words of +im, -hose perfect message it is= 5&Beati pauperes spiritu,;Blessed are the poor in spirit. 5&<uoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum,;for theirs is the !ingdom of heaven. 5&Beati mites,;Blessed are the mee!...&5 And .arco 2olo went on and @uoted for them the words that were spo!en on the .ount in %alilee. And they listened to him with great civility and attention. And little %olden Bells leaned forward, with her chin on her hands, and Bubla leaned bac! in his throne, with his eyes half closed. 5&But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil, but whoever shall smite thee on the right chee!, turn to him the other also.&5 And at this the great Bhan loo!ed up pu$$led, and a movement went through the fighting men in the hall. But wee %olden Bells never budged a minute, and .arco 2olo went on= 5&/t factum est9 cum consummasset Aesus verba haec,;And it came to pass when Aesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine.& 5I shall now tell you of the life and death of the (ord Aesus...5 +e told them of the birth in Bethlehem, and of the teaching on the hills, and the poets nodded their heads9 and he told them of the cleansing of the lepers and of the

casting out of devils and the raising of (a$arus from the dead, and the magicians wondered9 and he told them of the betrayal by Audas with a !iss, and the captains,at, arms shuffled in their seats9 and he told them of the scourging, and of the crowning with thorns, and the great Bhan snic!ed his dagger in and out of the sheath. And a mist of tears came into the eyes of %olden Bells. And he told them of the crucifi'ion between two thieves, and a great oath ripped from the beard of Bubla Bhan, and the silver tears ran from the eyes of %olden Bells. 5&And on the third day +e arose from the dead...&5 And a great shout came from the throat of Bubla Bhan, and he stood up. 5+e arose from among the dead men, I&ll warrant9 +e showed himself to the 0oman 2ilate in all +is power and ma:esty;5 5No,5 said .arco 2alo. 5"hen +e showed himself to the thousands who had seen him die upon the gallows tree65 5No,5 said .arco 2olo. 5-ho saw +im, then85 5+is twelve Apostles and they in a little room65 And Bubla Bhan sat down suddenly and said no more. "here was a moment&s murmur of wonder among the assembly, and then silence. And .arco&s heart fell. And he was aware of two things, of the great politeness of the Chinese people and of %olden Bell&s pitying eyes... $!AP ER &% -hen Bubla Bhan dismissed the assembly, and he too! .arco 2olo into a sitting,room, and %olden Bells came with them. 5And what did you thin!, sir, of what I said8 And can you not see, sir, the truth that&s in me85 5-ell, now, laddie,5 said the great Bhan, 5when we come to e'amine this sermon you @uoted to us, what is there in it but the rule of the righteous man8 -e&ve had a great thin!er and pious man of our own, Confucius. I&m not a reading man,5 says he, 5but I&ve got an idea,5 says he, 5that there isn&t a thing you said but is embraced in the Analects. And if it isn&t it&ll be in the teachings of the (ord Buddha.5 5Ah, but, sir,5 .arco 2olo said, 5 ou&ll have to admit that +e of -hom I spea! was the true %od made man.5 5Now, laddie, remember I&m an old man, set in my head and my ways, and I&ve

been used to one belief so long it would be hard changing. So don&t press me now9 don&t press me, I as! you.5 5Ah, sir,5 pleaded .arco 2olo, 5it&s terrible to thin! of, as great a prince as you to be in the blac! spaces outside of heaven because you wouldn&t accept the truth.5 5-ell, maybe they won&t be so hard on one, my dear lad. -hen my time comes and I rap on the gate of your heaven, maybe they&ll say= &It&s only old Bubla, the soldier, is in it. +e !nows devil and all about religion, but his fights were fair fights, and he never hit a man when he was down. +e had a soft heart for wee children and he was easy on horses. Sure, what&s the difference8 (et him in6& And if they say no, I&ll tuc! the old nic!ed claymore under my arm, and be off to where the other old fighters are.5 5I see, sir, that there was little success to my message.5 5I wouldn&t say that,5 said Bubla Bhan. 5-ait a little until you perform miracles before the people to prove your truth. ou&ll !now better then.5 5Ah, sir,5 said .arco 2olo, 5I can perform no miracles. &"is only a saint can perform miracles, and I couldn&t lace a saint&s shoes. I have no miracles.5 51h, well, now, my dear boy,5 said Bubla Bhan, 5I hate to tell you, but there&s no use going further. Sure you&d be up against the sorcerers of the world. "hey&d as! you for a sign, and you&d have no sign, and they&d have signs in abundance. I wouldn&t thin! of letting you go against them. 7air play&s a :ewel, and you wouldn&t have a chance. "here&s the 0ed 2ope from "ibet and there&s the Blac! .agician from Borea and a hundred minor ones, and the -arloc! of the North, from the Islands of Ice, who governs the hail and the snow. Child, I wouldn&t let you get into the same ring with them. "hey&d ruin you.5 5But, sir, wasn&t it a great miracle of the (ord&s, my rescue in the %obi Desert85 5A miracle of the (ord&s6 A miracle of %olden Bells here. It was her magician saw you, and she had the message put on the drums, and the desert patrols went to see! you. It was herself here, wee %olden Bells.5 And %olden Bells& mouth gave a smile of shame that his thought should be bro!en in his mind. 5A long way I&m after coming,5 said .arco 2olo, 5and when I set out my heart was high.5 5Now, don&t be ta!ing it too hard,5 says the !han, !indly. 5Sure, there&s a power of good you can be doing here. .aybe you can do something with (i 2o,5 says he. 5I&d li!e fine for you to try. "he man is worrying the life out of me with his drin!ing. I never !now when he goes out whether he&ll come bac! all right or feet foremost on a door. 7or he&s got the bitter tongue when the drin!&s in him, and China could ill afford to lose him. And there are some of my captains, and the tune they&re always piping is &-ar6 -ar6 -ar6 And let&s show up this Ale'ander who said he con@uered the world.& And I&m past the age when you ma!e war for devilment. So let you be helping me out with them, .arco 2olo.5

But .arco 2olo !new this was only meant in !indness, and his heart was bro!en. 5Ah, wee lady,5;he turned to %olden Bells,;5wee lady, wee lady, why didn&t you let me die in the desert8 -hy didn&t I die85 5And why should you die, .arco 2olo85 +er low, sweet voice rang in the heart of him. 5Didn&t you come here to give your message8 And to ma!e converts8 And didn&t I hear your message8 And am n&t I your convert, .arco 2olo85 $!AP ER &%I And now the place of (i 2o was usurped, and gone Sanang with his magic glass, and in the :asmine garden by the (a!e of Cranes .arco 2olo sat and instructed %olden Bells... $!AP ER &%II And he told of the flight into /gypt when savage +erod reigned, and of the Aewish maid and her child sleeping beneath the shadow of the great Sphin', while the shades of the old Afric gods loo!ed on in reverence, Amenal! and "hoth and the moon,horned Io, Isis, and 1siris. And the painted !ings !nelt in their pyramids, and out of the sluggish Nile came the strange a@uatic population, the torpid crocodiles and monstrous water li$ards, and the great hippopotami lumbered to bow before the little (ord of all things... And he told her how Satan had tempted +im on the lonely, blac! craigs... 5But you are not listening, little %olden Bells;5 5Indeed I am listening, .arco 2olo. es, indeed I am. I love to hear your voice, .arco 2olo. ou are so earnest, .arco 2olo9 there is such a light in your eyes. (isten, .arco 2olo, (i 2o once wrote a poem, &-hite %leam the %ulls,& and it is the poem by which he is best !nown, and every time I hear it there is an echo in my heart. But, .arco 2olo, I never listened to (i 2o&s song so eagerly as I am listening to your voice.5 5But you are not ta!ing it in, little %olden Bells.5 5It is very hard to ta!e in, .arco 2olo. It happened so long ago. It is hard to thin! of a tragedy in a strange country, and we in this garden on the second moon of spring. And it was so very long ago. Do you hear the bees, .arco 2olo;the bees among the almond,blossoms8 And see the blue heron by the lotus flowers8 And do you see the little tortoise, .arco 2olo, and he sunning himself on a leaf8 If I throw a pebble, .arco 2olo, he will dive, and he is such a clumsy diver, .arco 2olo65 5But you must listen, %olden Bells, and believe me.5 5I do believe, .arco 2olo9 I honestly do. Don&t you !now I believe you8 Anything you say, .arco 2olo, I believe. ou wouldn&t be coming all the way over the world to be telling me a lie. 1f course I believe.5

5And doesn&t it ma!e you happy, %olden Bells85 51nce I was unhappy, .arco 2olo. I used sit here, and on my lute I used play the &Song of the -illow Branches,& which is the saddest song in the world. #nder the moon I used be lonely, and the droning of the bees meant nothing to me, and now it is a sweet brave song. I cannot play &-illow Branches& any more, so alien is sadness to me. And the moon smiles. I am very happy, .arco 2olo.5 5It is the "rue 0eligion, little %olden Bells, that ma!es you happy.5 5Is it, .arco 2olo8 Is it8 It must be, I suppose. I don&t !now what it is, but I am very happy.5 $!AP ER &%III And he told her of 2aul, who had seen a vision and gone preaching through, the world, who was persecuted, who was shipwrec!ed, who was bitten by a viper, and who survived everything that he might preach the (ord Aesus. +e was a fierce, ragged man with burning eyes... And he told her of 2aul&s instructions to women... 5 ou do not loo! at me when you spea!, .arco 2olo. 1nly your voice comes to me, not your eyes. Is it because of 2aul85 And .arco 2olo felt great trouble on him, because he could not e'plain. But %olden Bells went on= 5"here is little in your faith about women, .arco 2olo. Is it a faith only for men, then8 Is it against women8 .ust the young men not loo! at the young women85 5No, %olden Bells9 the young men must not loo! too much on the young women.5 5But that is very foolish, .arco 2olo. Is it wrong to see the beauty of the almond blossoms, wrong to taste the scented wind8 Is it wrong to watch the !ingfisher see!ing his nest8 Is it wrong to watch the moon, the stars8 All these are very beautiful, .arco 2olo, so beautiful as to ma!e me cry. Is it wrong to watch them85 5It is not wrong, %olden Bells. "he glory of %od is in the beauty of his handicraft.5 5(i 2o is old and wise and a great poet, .arco 2olo, and (i 2o says there is beauty in a running horse and beauty in a running stream9 but there is no beauty li!e the beauty of a young woman, and she letting down her hair. %od made the beauty of women, too, .arco 2olo, as well as the beauty of the stars. -on&t you please e'plain to me, .arco 2olo8 -hy should (i 2o say one thing and Saint 2aul another85 5But %olden Bells, Saint 2aul is inspired of %od.5 5But (i 2o is inspired of %od, too, .arco 2olo. ou mustn&t be thin!ing little of (i 2o. +e is fat and old and drun!en, but when he sings, .arco 2olo, it is the song of

the wandering stars. But why must not the young men loo! at the young women, .arco 2olo8 -hy must they not loo! with their eyes85 5It will be hard for me to tell you, %olden Bells;5 5(oo! at me now, .arco 2olo. (ift up your eyes and loo! into my eyes. Is there evil in me, .arco 2olo, that your eyes should avoid me as the fo' avoids the dog8 1r maybe I am not beautiful. .aybe they told me wrong because I was a !ing&s daughter, and they would not have me thin! little of myself. .aybe I am not beautiful, .arco 2olo, maybe I hurt your eyes;5 5Ah, %olden Bells, the little horned moon is not more beautiful.5 5"hen why must not the young men loo! at the young women, .arco 2olo8 ou are here to instruct me. -on&t you tell me why85 5.aybe;maybe;maybe it is for fear of sin, %olden Bells.5 5Sin8 Sin6 -hy should there be sin8 I !now sin, .arco 2olo. "hey have warned me against it since I crept upon the floor. "here are two sins. "here is meanness, .arco 2olo, and there is cruelty9 and those are the only sins. I !now your heart, .arco 2olo9 there is no meanness there. ou would not have come here were you mean. "he mean do not travel afar for other people. And cruelty6 Surely you would not be cruel to me, .arco 2olo. ou would not be cruel to anybody, dear .arco 2olo. ou would not be cruel to me85 5Cruel to you, little %olden Bells6 +ow could I be cruel to you85 5But the sin, .arco 2olo85 5I don&t !now, %olden Bells. I don&t !now.5 $!AP ER &I& And one dus! the moon rose over the Chinese garden, and .arco 2olo finished telling her of what Aohn saw on 2atmos and he an old man... 5&>eni, Domine Aesu. 5&%ratia Domini nostri Aesu Christi cum omnibus vobis. Amen6&5 5It is very difficult, .arco 2olo. I don&t @uite understand.5 5I don&t @uite understand myself, %olden Bells. But that is all I can tell you. But you will understand more,5 he said. 5.y mission is finished now, and I will go bac!. I will stop at the court of 2rester Aohn, and he will send a bishop surely or some great cardinal to bapti$e you and to teach you the rest.5 5 ou will go bac!85 A great pain stabbed her. 5I never thought, some how, of you as going bac!.5

5I have come on a mission, %olden Bells, and I must go bac!.5 5"here is a woman, maybe, in >enice;5 And she turned her head away from him and from the moon. 5I would not have you thin!ing that, %olden Bells. "here is none in >enice has duty from me. And if the @ueen of the world were there, and she pledged me, I could never loo! at her, and I after !nowing you, %olden Bells65 5Is it money, .arco 2olo85 she whispered in the dus!. 5It is maybe your uncle and your father are pressing you to return. (et you not worry then, for my father the great Bhan will settle with them, too. "here is not a horse in all "artary that your uncle cannot have, nor a woman, either. And your father can have all the :ewels of the treasury, and all the swords, too, even the sword with which my father con@uered China. .y father will give him that if I as!. 1nly let you not be leaving this moonlit garden.5 5Dear %olden Bells, it isn&t that9 but I came here for converts;5 51h, .arco 2olo, listen6 "here is a fol! at Bai,fung,fu, and they are an evil fol! and a cowardly fol!, and my father abhors them. I shall as! my father to send captains of war and fighting men to convert them to your faith, .arco 2olo, or lop off their heads. And we can send a few hundreds to the 2ope at 0ome, and he will never !now how they were converted, and he will be satisfied. 1nly let you not be going away from me in my moonlit garden. ou will only be turning to trade, .arco 2olo, and marrying a woman. (et you stay here in the moonlit garden65 5Ah, little %olden Bells, there is no place in the world li!e your moonlit garden. "here is no place I&d be liefer than in the moonlit garden. But little %olden Bells, I set out in life to preach the (ord Aesus crucified. It was for that I came China.5 5(et you not be fooling yourself, young .arco 2olo. (et you not always be ascribing to %od the things that are mine. ou did not come to preach to China, you came to see me, and your mind stirred up with the story the sea,captain told, of me playing &-illow Branches& at the (a!e of Cranes. 1 .arco 2olo, before you came there were the moon and the sun and the stars, and I was lonely. 1 .arco 2olo,5 she cried, 5you wouldn&t go, you couldn&t go6 -hat would you be doing in cold >enice, far from the warm moonlit garden.5 5Sure, I&ll be lonely, too, little %olden Bells, a white mon! in a monastery, praying for you.5 5But I don&t want to be prayed for, .arco 2olo.5 She stamped her foot. 5I want to be loved. And there you have it out of me, and a great shame to you that you made me say it, me that was desired of many, and would have no man until you came. And surely it is the harsh %od you have made out of "he Bindly 2erson you spo!e of. And &tis not +e would have my heart bro!en, and you turning yourself into a crabbed mon!. And how do you !now your preaching will convert any8 &"is few you converted here. Ah, I&m sorry, dear .arco 2olo9 I shouldn&t have said it, but there is despair on me, and I afraid of losing you.5

5&"is true, though. I have nothing, nobody to show.5 5 ou have me. Am n&t I converted8 Am n&t I a Christian8 .arco 2olo, let me tell you something. I said to my father I wanted to marry you, and I as!ed him if he would give you a province to govern, and he said, &Sure and welcome.& And I as!ed him for angchan, the pleasantest city in all China. And he said, &Sure and welcome, %olden Bells.& And I told him we would be married, and go there and govern his people !indly. And you wouldn&t shame me before my own father, and all the people of China. ou couldn&t do that, .arco 2olo. .arco 2olo,5;she came toward him, her eye shining,;5let you stay65 5Christ protect me6 Christ guide me6 Christ before me65 5.arco 2olo65 5Christ behind me65 5"he moon, .arco 2olo, and me, %olden Bells, and the nightingale in the apple, tree65 5Christ on my right hand6 Christ my left6 Christ below me65 +er arms were around his nec!, chee! came close to his. 5.arco 2olo6 .arco 2olo65 5Christ above me65 5.y .arco 2olo65 51, %od6 %olden Bells65 And he put his arms around her, and his chee! to hers, and all the battle and the disappointment and the fear and the strangeness went out of him. And down by the la!e the wee frogs chirruped, and in the apple,tree the nightingale never ceased from singing. And they stayed there shoulder to shoulder and chee! to chee!. And the moon rose higher. And it seemed only a moment they were there, until they heard the voice of (i 2o in the garden. 5Are you there, %olden Bells8 Are you there at all, at all8 7or two hours I&ve been hunting and couldn&t get sight or sign of you. I have the new song, %olden Bells. 7or a long time I was dumb, but a little while ago the power came to me, and I have the new song, %olden Bells, the marrying song...5 $!AP ER && 5"hus far,5 said .alachi of the (ong %len, 5the story of .arco 2olo.5 5"hat is a warm story, .alachi of the %len, a warm and colored story, and great life to it, and %olden Bells is as alive to me as herself there by the fire, and I can see

.arco 2olo as plain as I can see my cousin 0andall, and he playing with dogs...5 5If they weren&t real and live and warm, what would a story be, Brian 1ge, but a :umble of dead words8 A house with nobody in it, the poorest thing in the world.5 5But .arco 2olo came bac! to >enice, .alachi, and fought in the sea,wars.5 5"here&s more to tell, Brian 1ge. But sometimes I wonder shouldn&t the best part of the story be !ept to yourself. "he people aren&t as wise as they used to be, brown lad. "he end of a story now is a bit of !issing and courting and the !ettle boiling to be ma!ing tea. 5But the older ones were wiser, Brian Donn. "hey !new that the rhythm of life is long and swinging, and that time doesn&t stop short as a cloc!. Sure, what is a !iss from the finest of women but a pleasant thing, li!e a long putt sun!, or the first salmon of the year caught li!e a trout, or the ball through the goal before the whistle blows8 And there&s many a well,filled belly over a hungry soul. 5But a story is how destiny is interwoven, the fine and gallant and the tragic points of life. And you mustn&t loo! at them with the eyes of the body, but you must feel with the antennae of your being. Now, if you were to loo! at the (ord Aesus with physical eyes, what would it be but a !indly, cra$y man and +e coming to a hard and bitter end8 (oo! at it simply, and what was the story of "roy but a dirty row over a woman8 5But often times the stories with endings that grocer&s daughters do not be li!ing are the stories that are worth while. And the worth while stories do be lasting. Never clip a story half,ways because -idow 0obinson doesn&t li!e to have her mind disturbed, and she warming her breadth at the fire. "he -idow 0obinson may have a white coin to buy a boo! with, and thin! you&re the grand author entirely and you pleasing her. But (ord %od, who gave you the stories, !now you for a louse. 5I call to your mind the stories of great /nglish writer;the plays of the 2rince of Denmar!, and the poor blind !ing on the cliff, and the Scottish chieftain and his terrible wife. "he -idow 0obinson will not li!e those stories, and she will be !eeping her white coin... But those stories will endure forever... 5I will now tell you of .arco 2olo, and him leaving China...5 $!AP ER &&I ou must see him now as he was seventeen years after he had come to China, and fourteen years after his wife, little %olden Bells, had died, a lean figure of a man, with his hair strea!ed with gray, a lean, hard face on him and savage eyes, and all the body of him steel and whale,bone from riding on the great Bhan&s business, and riding fast and furious, so that he might sleep and forget9 but forgetting never came to him... ou might thin! he was a harsh man from his face and eyes, but he was the straight man in administering :ustice, and he had the soft heart for the poor;the heart of %olden Bells. +e was easily moved to anger, but the fine Chinese people never minded him, !nowing he was a suffering man. "hough never a word of %olden Bells

came from his mouth, barring maybe that line of Dante&s, the saddest line in the world, and that he used to repeat to himself and no one there= ...5&la bella Che mi fu tolta...che mi fu ta!en from me9 "a!en6 "a!en from me65 tolta&9 who persona was

And oftentimes a loo! would come over his face as if he were listening for a voice to spea!;listening, listening, and then a wee harsh laugh would come from him, very heartbrea!ing to hear, and whatever was in his hand, papers or a riding, whip, he would pitch down and wal! away... +e had :ust come in from the borders of the Arctic lands, from giving the !han&s orders to the s@uat, hairy tribes who live by the icy shores, and had come to the garden by the (a!e of Cranes, the garden where the %olden Bells of singing and laughter were dumb this armful of years, and he was alone, and the listening loo! was on his face, when there came Bubla and (i 2o and the old magician... Now Bubla was very old, so old he could hardly wal!, and very frail, and (i 2o was very old, too, and gray in the face, and sadder in the eyes than ever, and the magician&s white beard had grown to his !nees, but there was no more humor in his eyes... And .arco 2olo helped the old !han to sit down. 51h, sir, why did you come to me8 Sure I was going to you the moment I had changed my riding,clothes... Sir, you should have stayed in your bed...5 5"here was something on my mind, .arco, and the old do be thin!ing long to get things off their mind.5 5-hat can I do sir85 5.arco, my child, you mustn&t ta!e what I say amiss. But I want you to be going bac!, to be going bac! to >enice.5 5Sir, what have I done to dissatisfy you8 In all my embassies have I been wea! to the strong or bullying toward the wea!8 Does an oppressed man complain of in:ustice, does a merchant complain of being cheated, or a woman say she was wronged85 5Now, .arco of my heart, didn&t I say not to be ta!ing it amiss8 Is there any one closer to me nor you, or is it li!ely I&d be listening to stories brought against you8 It&s :ust this. I&m an old and tired man, .arco Beag, and in a wee! or a moon at most I&m due to die, so the Sanang tells me. Don&t be sorry, son. Be glad for me. (ife has been a wee bit too long. 5And now, son dear, I want to tell you. ou&ve been closer to me than my own sons, and you&ve been the dear lad. And there&s not one man in all China can say you did a harsh or an un:ust thing9 but, my dear son, &tis :ust the way of people9 there&s a power of hard feeling against you in this land, you being a stranger and having stood so high.

5So when I&m dead, dear son, there&s many would do you an in:ury, and treat you badly9 aye, in our family itself, though they smile on you now. (et you be going now, .arco. I&ll miss you to close my eyes for me, but my heart will be lighter. It will so. I couldn&t sleep easy, and you ill treated in this land of mine. ou as! him, too, (i 2o.5 5Ah, sir,5 .arco laughed,;5and, (i 2o, what is ill treatment to me8 Sorrow&s my blood brother. -hat I&ve suffered6 Do you thin! I could suffer more85 5I !now, .arco, I !now.5 5Don&t you thin! I suffer now, sir8 7ourteen years she&s dead now, the wee one who lay by my side in sleep. And never a word and never a sign. In the house where we were married I can see the pool and the willows and the hibiscus, but there is never a to!en of her,5 he bro!e out. 5"he leaves of trees cover the pavilion, the hair of the musicians is silver, and dust is on the blue and white tiles. And she never comes to comfort pie. I can&t sleep with waiting. "he stars never seem to wane, and the hoar frost comes on the grass, and I&m always waiting. Christ6 -hy should I go bac!8 I&ve forgotten >enice. I&ve even forgotten my %od for her65 5Sanang,5 says Bubla Bhan to the magician, 5couldn&t you do something for this poor lad85 It was now dus! in the garden by the (a!e of Cranes... 5I don&t need any damned wi$ard to bring my wife to me,5 raged .arco 2olo. 5If she were to come, she would come, and I in the dar! of the moon and the moorfowl calling. She would have come because my heart needed her.5 And he raged through the dus! by the (a!e of Cranes... 5Now, .arco, dear lad, don&t be flying off again, but remember that there is science needed to all things. And thin!, too, that maybe she was not permitted. "he older we get, the more we understand the destiny that rules all things, with now a nudge, with now a leading finger, with now a terrible blow over the heart, and what we thin! at twenty,five was a trifling accident, at seventy,five we !now to have been the enormous gesture of %od. -e are not as!ed when we li!e to be born, .arco, nor is it up to us when to die. 5And again, .arco, consider. If she were to have come to you in the dar! of the moon,time, in the strange mystic hours when you can hear eternity tic! li!e a cloc!, your eyes would have been not on this world, but the ne't. our loo! would have been vacant that&s now !een to discover in:ustice. our body would have been flabby that&s now whalebone and steel. And there would have been no memory of you in China, that&s now li!e sweet honey in the mouth. 5-ould a wee dead spirit be proud of a man, .arco, and he :ust crying, crying, crying, and letting the days go by while even the brown bee wor!s, and even the grass grows that cattle may fatten and men eat8 She might be sorry, but would there be pride on her8 /ven a dead woman wants a strong man. 5Now, I&m not saying that the silent dead should not have a voice in our affairs

when we need them. But they have wisdom, else what is the use of having died8 And if the Sanang can bring her, she&ll come now and :oin with us in as!ing you, now being the time she&s needed. 5Child, be guided by us three ancient men. I have lived long and have !nowledge of the world. (i 2o has lived long and has !nowledge of the heart. "he Sanang has lived long, and !nows the secrets of the dead. If to our three voices, who love you, there is added a sign from %olden Bells, will you leave China85 5If there is a sign from her I&ll leave China,5 said .arco 2olo. And it was dus! in the %arden by the (a!e of Cranes. $!AP ER &&II "he Sanang came over to .arco 2olo. 5%ive me the blac! tress that&s over your heart.5 And .arco 2olo undid his coat and his undercoat and his fine sar! and too! out the perfumed hair, and gave it to the Sanang. 5(et you sing a little song, (i 2o,5 the magician said, 5the way she&ll be hearing and come. I have part of her here, and let you put in the garden the atmosphere she loved.5 And (i 2o too! his lute and pluc!ed gently at the strings. 5"he swish of your sil!en s!irt is discontinued,5 he sang, 5And the grass grows through the bro!en hearth stone, And your room that was so warm and swept is cold and mouldy. But he, the beloved of your heart, clings on, A fallen leaf in the chin! of a door, In the chin! of a closed door65 And it was dus! in the garden, and the voice of (i 2o bro!e, and his lute stilled, and the old /mperor breathed his aged gentle breathing, and the Sanang said his secret terrible formulae, and .arco 2olo was tense as a hunting dog. And suddenly at the end of the garden, in the perfumed Asian dus!, there was a beam li!e moonlight, and into the soft ray of it trod little %olden Bells, with her wee warm face, and her wee warm hands, and her hair dar! as a cloud, and her eyes pleading, pleading... 5%o now, .arco 2olo, please go65 +er lips made the words, but no sound came to him. 51h, %olden Bells, %olden Bells65 he rushed forward, but the moonlight of no moon faded, and there was nothing, and he dropped on his !nees sobbing in the dus!

by the (a!e of Cranes... $!AP ER &&III And after a while he got up from his !nees and set his teeth on his sobbing and threw his head bac! and s@uared his shoulders and notched his belt and faced the three ancient men. 5-ell,5 he said, 5that&s that.5 +e went over and !nelt and !issed the Bhan&s hand. 5 ou&ll be seeing her soon, sir, you&ll be telling her... everything...5 5 es, son, I&ll tell her.5 "hen he patted the Sanang on the shoulder, and 5"han!s65 said he, simply, and he too! (i 2o&s hand in both his, and they loo!ed at each other for a moment and no words came to either. 5-ell,5 he says at length, 5I&ll be hitting the road then. I&ll not say good,by to any of you. I&ll be seeing you all pretty soon again. "here&s a war on between >enice and the %enoese, and where that&s hottest you&ll find me, and the @uic!er my end, the better I&ll be pleased. But it would be li!e my luc!,5 he said bitterly, 5not to be !illed, but to be ta!en prisoner and to end my life in some lousy :ail. 1h, well, we&ll hope for the best.5 +e laughed. 5So;so long65 And the four of them loo!ed at one another, trying to smile, and great grief on them. 5China will miss you, my son,5 said old Bubla. 5It&s nothing to how I&ll be missing China,5 said .arco 2olo. 5>enice6 It&s only a sound to me. I&ll be an e'ile in the city of my birth. But what&s the use of complaining8 If it&s go, it&s go. But it&ll be funny,5 said he. 5.y body will be there, but my heart and mind will be in China. "here&ll be a gray eye always turning to China, and it will never see China... <ueer6... All the voices and all the instruments in Saint .ar!&s, and in my ears the little drums of China... All the sunlight will be glinting on the %rand Canal, but the little rain of China;the little rain of China will be falling in my heart... 5Ah, well, if it&s go, it&s go. I&d better be hitting the road. So... I&ll say good,by for the present...and... 51h, my %od Almighty6...5