Frank Owen

“ No artist ever painted a picture more wondrous, more vivid than that black ship with the golden sails against the deep blue sky. The sheen of the orange moon upon the purple sea made a fantasy of it. And above all in perfection and glory that perfect golden girl, dancing. Every line of her slender figure was poetry more rare than the verses of Tai-Ta-mien.
Some time later Lee Goona sat in the stem of the ship. Absolute quietude reigned on board, unbroken save by the soft swish of the water against the sides of the ship and the occasional sighing of the wind against the sails. ”

“ As he did so he sprang back, falling among the cushions and gazing in awe at the jar. At once a perfume like unto nothing in his experience commenced to pervade the room. Stronger and stronger it grew. It stirred up a thousand emotions within him.
And as he watched the jar it seemed as though a strange light were coming from it, a yellow golden glow as soft as the mist of rainbows. Gradually it increased in volume until it filled the room. It was a shower of soft gold that enmeshed him like a web. The room was quaintly brilliant now, yet it was not a room at all but a golden sunlit street. ”

“ Ming Huang took the bits of paper reverently. Even an Emperor must bow to such delicate brush strokes. As he read them slowly, it was like listening to the hushed voices of mountain peaks and winding rivers, the breathless sunset sky, the wind sweeping the forest like a broom. In the vibrant words were pictures of such splendor the Courtiers about him were blanched into insignificance. He forgot that he was Emperor of China, forgot that he was supposedly presiding at Court in the Colden Pavilion. Now he was a poet, absorbed in melodies as polished as green jade. ”

“ I will kneel as she comes to me, and in the warmth of her young arms I will become young once more."
"Are you setting nets to catch the moon?" asked Trent bitterly.
"That is why I hesitate," sighed Mu Lin. "I speak of spring and yet the autumn gale blows wildly through the grass. Her body has the eloquence of jade. I gaze upon her face with the eyes of my heart, and I pray to the God of Longevity that he will help me in this supreme hour. She stands there waiting and I hesitate. The flower of yesteryear will bloom again, but not the flower of man's youth. ”

“ Did anyone ever take the trouble to trace her antecedents?"
"Perhaps you are right," said Nona reluctantly, "but even I seem to feel as if there is something sinister about Black Hill. At night when I gaze off into the shadows of the forest it is not hard for me to imagine that all sorts of weird, fantastic monstrosities are lurking in among those velvet shrouds of blackness. Every night, or almost every night, my father rushes off as if all the terrors of earth are following right at his heels. I wish more than anything else in the world that I had seen the last of Black Hill forever." ”

“ Enoch would stand speechless, gazing upon it open-mouthed in wonder. Even the fields would feel the glory of the moment. The smell of the wet loam would mingle with the sweet smell of hay. Nor would he move until the warm lights faded. A rainbow to him was an entrancing thing.
Perhaps it was natural for Enoch to love the rain. It may have been a heritage. For ever since childhood Linda had told him fairy tales about the raindrops. When he was very young she had held him in her lap when the rain was falling and crooned softly to him. ”

“ By morning of the second day the storm abated, the wind died down but it still remained cloudy. As Mary gazed out of her bedroom window, the white country and the white sky seemed to merge into one mass. It was like living on the inner side of a huge white globe. With the passing of the winds a stillness descended over the house that was more deafening than the voice of the storm. She hated silence. Silence made her think of the whispering halls in the sinister house of John Rott. There is nothing to fear in shouting, a voice that the whole world may hear, but a murmuring menace is a horror. ”

“ The fragrance in the garden increased. The wind in the trees played gentle music, in tune with a nightingale far up in the azure sky who joined in a song worth singing. Ming Huang breathed deeply of the pungent air. Some slight vestige of peace found its way to his heart. He closed his eyes and drifted off into sleep, sleep without dreams. And as he slept, the earth changed. The sun crept over the far hills to die. And a yellow moon rose like a flying lantern. ”

“ At last, the painting was finished, a scene to enchant the eye and make description impotent—a broad sweep of pastoral landscape, mountains, and woodland in which birds could be heard singing. The sun was warm and from a dark maze of bushes came the lazy drum of crickets.
Ming Huang, conscious of the increased warmth of the air, fanned himself languidly to call the wind. It was as though the walls of the room had entirely disappeared, giving way to a vista that enslaved the eye.
Wu Tao-tzu pointed to a grotto hidden in the base of a tall mountain.
"Within grows a spirit," he said. ”

“ For hours after leaving the room Ping Yung would wander about as though in a dream. It was hard for him to shake off its elusive fascination.
So passed days and nights of witchery more gorgeous than any of the poems of Lao Tzu. Existence had taken on a cast of perfection. There was nothing to break the magic contentment which lay spread over the little house like a coverlet until one night Ping Yung disappeared. He vanished like the night wind that sighs through the willows. With him vanished the silken carpet, the carpet into which Shun Hua had woven all the love of her soft body. ”

“ I see before me a clearing in the great, impenetrable African forest about five hundred miles inland from Mombasa. It is noonday, but it is almost as dark as night. Overhead the foliage, creepers and branches unite to form a natural roof of verdure. The forest is uncanny and filled with weird, fearsome noises. The buzzing of millions of insects, the Satanic screeching of countless flesh-eating animals, and the hissing of venomous, poisonous snakes gliding stealthily through the grass on their unholy errands of death—these are the sounds which haunt the heart of the jungle. ”

“ Accompanying mounted troops bore banners upon which, boldly embroidered, was the figure of a dragon on a background of yellow. An elephant, sure of foot, carried the palanquin in which the lady languorously reclined. The air was pungent with sandalwood and musk, and the faint echo of mysterious intoxicating spices. At last in the eyes of the Emperor she was precious, like ivory, white jade or pearls. He hungered for her, and the hunger of a man for a beloved woman is a force strong enough to cause a throne to tremble. ”

“ The blackness was so intense that it seemed peopled with all sorts of wild wraiths and distorted forms. I knew the hallucinations were but the imaginings of my overwrought nerves. Yet the great bulk of blackness seemed to bear down upon me as though it were a solid thing. I felt as though I were suffocating, as though I were engulfed alive in a pit of blackness. My forehead was cold with a dank sweat and my hands shook, as though I were a hundred years old.
I switched on the electric lights and looked at my face or rather I should say Visrain's face, in the mirror. ”

“ Such was the twisted way in which the mind of the Mandarin worked. He could not see that his daughter was lovelier than any flower that grew in the garden. He could not see that she was a jewel more precious than any poor dead stone that glitters only with a cold fire. He could not see that even birds stopped to listen when she spoke, so soft and sweet was her voice. But though the Mandarin was blinded by age-old custom and tradition, there was nothing wrong with the faculties of Hung Long Tom. All the love which was denied by her father was showered upon the exquisite Lotus Blossom by him. ”

“ Li Hsein alone remained, Li Hsein and the gorgeous yellow, carmine-splashed fan. Now as she sat by the doorway and the night blackness was drawn by the gods of the mountains like a great blanket up from the plains, the alley in which she dwelt almost vanished into the night mystery which is Canton. Only one shaft of light from within the house still cleft the blackness as though struggling for life. ”

“ Ming Huang found his voice. "Let me die with you, that we need never be separated!"
"No! No!" she cried. "Help me to be brave! You must live, in order that when these tumultuous days are over, China will still be China, as it has ever been, as it will ever be. Your people need you to remold a crumbling Empire. Be brave, My Emperor. Rest in the knowledge that I understand. It will be harder for you to live, than to go with me. But, O My Emperor, wherever you are I shall be near. You will hear my voice in the trees, or in the sweet breeze that drifts into your room from the garden. ”

“ It was a superb existence, living in the garden-swamp among the flowers, sleeping in the treetops beneath the moon or on the soft loam under the swaying willows. Every flower in the woodland was his friend and all the tiny animals that lived there never fled at his approach. They knew and loved him. They were all brothers. Life was happiness, song, ecstasy. What mattered that the little man was a monstrosity, a tiny dwarf who resembled a frog with great flat feet and bulbous eyes? For the flowers loved him. Their sight is very keen. ”

“ To Yuhan it was as inspiring as the beginning of a new Moon Year. That day she was entering the portals of a lavish new world. The reflection came to her somewhat bitterly that it would also be complete obscurity. The world would hear of her no more. This thought she cast from her as unworthy. What if Prince Shou should be named by Ming Huang, the Brilliant Emperor, as his successor? The thought caught her breath. Perhaps the Prince would adore her so completely that he would have little time for other women. She smiled. She had no doubt of her power over men. ”

“ Down in Zanzibar, from the balcony of the European Club, one lone man stood silently watching the sun set over the distant maze of gnarled and matted forest. Nine hours of darkness, and a new day would dawn. The world would slowly take up its endless duties as it had done for countless ages. On and on the days would go, but they would go without Coningsby. ”

“ He thought of his wife. Too bad he had ever married. He was not suited to domesticity. His horizons were too far-sweeping. He loved the mountains and the sea; the rhythm of forest trees, the silent enchantment of a desert night. At some time or other he had journeyed to every province. It was his boast that he had passed the night drunk at the foot of every sacred mountain in China. And yet, he never wearied of plodding to the top of Tai Shan, the most sacred of all mountains, a mountain that has been worshipped by men of all religions since the beginning of history. ”

“ The wind tore down over the plains in icy blasts. It beat against the strong walls of the house as though intent on tearing it down. It rattled the doors and crashed icy fists against the window panes. On the hearth huge logs burned merrily. At last Mary was able to sit in a great chair before the open fire and gaze wistfully into the flames. It was easy to dream when one concentrated on the glowing embers. Castles could be built easily of chimney-smoke. What matter if they quickly vanished? Nothing in life was lasting. ”

“ All through the chaotic years of the rebellion, Lan Jen had remained as protector of the gardens, and though there had been an endless carousal of pillage and plunder, rape, murder and bestiality, not a leaf had been broken, not a petal destroyed. Surrounded by Palace ladies, what need had the mighty rebel army for the quiet of an enchanted garden?
"Consider flowers," said Lan Jen. "Men break them, drag them from their homes, trample them into dust, and in return, they give perfume. From their fragrance, the nightingale draws song. The stars reflect their sadness." ”

“ One, two, three, the minutes dragged past. To Barlow Garth each seemed an age. As the fourth minute came he felt as though his nerves were being drawn taut like rubber bands. He longed for something to happen to break the dreadful spell. Even as the wish came to him, there appeared a bright glow in the room behind him as though someone had lighted a great torch. As he turned he beheld Coralie enveloped in flames. Jumping forward, he seized a great rug and wrapped it about her. He worked as quickly as though he had the energy of a dozen men. ”

“ He was aware of the lure of exotic, subtle perfumes and with this in mind he had made his garden. All the sweet-breathed flowers grew there beneath grim gingko trees and tranquil willows. A tiny stream tinkled merrily through the center of the garden, laughing and gurgling over the stones that lay in its path. And above the stream, a charming bridge loomed up like a crescent moon. The moon was a favorite subject in the carvings of the Jade of Woo Fung for the moon reminded him of Shun Kao. Her thin eyebrows were like the new moon's crescent, rising in the east when the month is young. ”

“ It is questionable whether its intrinsic value offsets the havoc it has wrought Hunger, hunger, the one craving from which we cannot escape be we tatterdemalion or king. Hunger is the driving force that moves the world, hunger for knowledge of the universe, hunger to know more about the far places of the earth, hunger for beauty, hunger for something that has less substance than cobwebs glistening in the sun. When man ceases to be hungry he dies. The will to live is gone. In the case of Scobee it was hunger for light, he was starving in blackness. ”

“ It was some time before Lee Goona's eyes could get used to the light on deck. For now the storm had passed completely and a pale yellow moon hung low in the sky. It lighted up the deck as though dawn had already broken. It created a street of golden light on the purple sea that stretched off to imagined isles of romance. It was a moment of superb beauty. The golden sails were set. They stood out clear-cut against the soft blue of the sky. He was surprized that the sails had not been lowered. Surely the ship had not ridden under full sail through that terrific storm! It was unnatural. ”

“ Old Visram sighed. He did not like it, but he was afraid to risk a third candle. It might not even burn as well. He appeared very tired. By lantern-light, his parchment face had a bluish tinge. Steadily he gazed at the bamboo pen, suspended by the silk thread, and now he muttered a strange gibberish more anguished than that of monkeys, or so Yuhan thought. She regretted the vanity that spawned the impulse to know the future. ”

“ Had we met in the days of adolescence I should perhaps have gone through life worshipping you, desiring no other woman. Even now as I sit in your apartment, I feel more at home than I have ever felt in my life. Your personality is in every book, every picture, every chair, and it is a personality that is utterly charming. As I sit here it is all that I can do not to cry out pleadingly to the gods to give me my youth again. We've both lived fantastic lives. Always we've walked in the shoes of other people. ”

“ For a while that night Visrain and I raved about that room as though we were mad. We cursed and raved as though we had ceased to be human. Often we hear folks envying each other, expressing a desire to be in someone else's place. Now that peculiar position had been vouchsafed to me and I found little of pleasure in it. I longed to be in my own body again. The body at best is but a shell in which we live but it is the shell by which we are known, the tangible thing by which our friends recognize us. ”

“ Ming Huang commanded, and there was pride in his tone. "My beloved is without fear."
But Kao sparred for time. Turning to Yang Kuei-fei, he asked, and his voice trembled, "How great is your love for China?"
His question surprised her, but she smiled wistfully, as she answered, "You might as well ask if I love the moon and the wind, the flowers, the trees and the sun. To me, China represents all living things. Beyond her borders is a void in which I hope I need never set foot. China is a vast pool of learning to which for countless ages men have come to drink. ”

“ It was like a city in the deep hush of the morning before the birds had awakened or the flowers had unfolded to the dawn. Their footbeats made no sound as they passed along and it was well for on the fragrant air was the suggestion of sweet singing, as though some lovely lady were crooning love melodies to the moon. Now the blue trees commenced to stir. They exhaled a sweet fragrance, fragrance of pine and fir, of myrrh and sandalwood. Onward they walked. In the houses the lamps still burned. They glowed gorgeously through the blue maze.
Hwei-Ti sighed. Vision had been granted him at last. ”