Smith and the Pharaohs, and other TalesHaggard, H. Rider (Henry Rider)
General
Smith and the Pharaohs, and other Tales
Haggard, H. Rider (Henry Rider)
Adventure stories, English; Fantasy fiction, English; Short stories, English
Her heart went out towards the faithful beast in a kind of rapture, and
her intelligence formed another question, it was:
“Where am I, and if you, a creature, are here, where are the
others?”
“Be patient. I only watch you till they come,” was the answer.
“Till they come. Till who come?” she murmured.
Something within told her to inquire no more. But oh! was it possible
—was the earth dream coming true?
A long while went by. She looked about her, and understood that she was
lying in a great and beautiful room beneath a dome which seemed to be
fashioned of translucent ivory or alabaster. At the end of the room
were curtains woven of some glittering stuff that gave out light. At
length these curtains were drawn, and through them, bearing a cup in
her hand, passed a shape like to that of a mortal woman, only so
radiant that Barbara knew that had she been alive with the old life she
would have felt afraid.
This shape also was clad in garments that gave out light, and in its
hair were jewelled flowers. It glided to her side and looked at her
with loving, mysterious eyes. Then it held the cup to her lips, and
said, or rather thought, for the speech of that land declared itself in
thought and vision:
“Drink of this new wine.”
She drank of the wine, and a wonderful life fell upon her like a glory.
“Who are you, O Vision?” she asked, and by way of answer there rose
up within her a picture of herself, Barbara, leaning over a cot and
looking at the white face of a dead child in a certain room in London.
Then she knew that this was her daughter, and stretched out her arms
towards her and received her in her arms.
Presently she looked again, and there around the bed appeared four other
shapes of beauty.
“You have forgotten us, Barbara,” said one of them, “but we
are your sisters who died in infancy.”
For the third time she looked, and behold! kneeling at her side, just as
he had been found kneeling in the church, was her adored father, grown
more young. Once more she looked, and last of all, breathing ineffable
love, came her lost darling, Anthony himself.
From heart to heart flashed their swift thoughts, like lightnings from
cloud to cloud, till all her being was a very sea of joy. Now the great
room was full of presences, and now the curtains were gone and all
space beyond was full of presences, and from that glorious company of a
sudden there arose a song of welcome and beneath the burden of its
sweetness she swooned to sleep.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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