,,the ,,overman ,,by ,,the ,,same ,,author ,the ,industrial ,republic ,the ,jungle ,king ,midas ,manassas ,prince ,hagen ,the ,journal of ,arthur ,stirling ,illustration3 8#8,i ,,had ,,stepped ,,out ,,upon ,,the ,,summit1 ,,and ,,stood ,,transfixed ,,with ,,the ,,glory ,,of ,,an ,,endless ,,vision ,,of ,,dawn'0 ,the ,overman ,by ,,upton ,,sinclair ,,with ,,frontispiece ,illustration ,new ,york ,doubleday1 ,page ,company #aijg ,,copyright1 #aijf1 ,,by ,,upton ,,sinclair ,,copyright1 #aijg1 ,,by ,,doubleday1 ,,page ,,company ,,published1 ,,september1 #aijg ,,all ,,rights ,,reserved1 ,,including ,,that ,,of ,,translation ,,into ,,foreign ,,languages1 ,,including ,,the ,,scandinavian ,,the ,,overman ,the ,overman ,this is the story of ,edward ----1 as he told it to me only a few days before he died2 he told it as he lay half paralysed1 and knowing that the hand of death was upon him4 ,i am by profession a scientist4 ,my story goes back some fifty years1 when ,i was a student4 ,i had one brother1 ,daniel1 five years younger than myself1 a musician of extraordinary promise4 ,we lived abroad together for a number of years1 each pursuing his own work4 ,about my brother1 suffice it to say that music to him was everything--love and friendship1 ambition and life4 ,he was a man without a stain1 whose lower nature had been burned out by the flame of art4 ,i think the one tie that bound him to the world was myself4 ,when ,daniel was about twenty-three years of age1 his health weakened1 and a long sea voyage was decided upon4 ,i could not go with him1 so for the first time we parted2 and it was twenty years after that before ,i ever heard of him again4 ,it was believed that the ship had been wrecked in the ,south ,seas2 and ,i had given him up for dead many years1 when it chanced that1 as a man advanced in life1 ,i was travelling as a naturalist in ,ceylon1 and met an old sailor who had been with my brother1 and who told me a strange story--how one boat containing five men1 including ,daniel1 had outlived the storm and landed upon an uninhabited island2 how1 after remaining there for several months1 they had made up their minds to risk a voyage in their frail craft2 and how my brother alone had refused1 declaring his intention to remain by himself1 with his violin and the few effects that he had saved4 ,how this affected me anyone can imagine4 ,the tale was obviously a true one1 and ,i chanced to have means2 and so1 getting the best idea ,i could of the island's location1 ,i purchased a yacht outright and prepared to make a search4 ,the events immediately following bear only indirectly upon my story1 and so ,i pass over them swiftly4 ,we had been at sea for some three weeks1 and were in the locality we sought1 and watching day and night for some sign of the island1 when late one evening the native captain of the vessel came to my cabin1 trembling and pale with fright1 to tell me that the crew had mutinied and were about to murder me4 ,i rushed to my chest for my revolvers1 only to find that every cartridge was gone2 and the other's weapon proved to be in the same plight4 ,in this desperate situation the latter suggested what seemed to be the only possible expedient--that we should make our escape from the vessel in the darkness1 and trust to gaining the land4 ,while he crept out to provision and lower a boat1 ,i barricaded the cabin-door and waited2 and upon hearing the whistle agreed on1 ,i ran to a port-hole1 and seeing the boat1 slid into it4 ,an instant later the rope was cut1 and ,i got one glance at the leering countenance of my betrayer1 before the ship sped on and all was darkness4 ,i was alone6 ,the emotions of that night ,i do not like to recall4 ,life was still dear to me4 ,it was only when morning came that ,i lifted my head again and recovered my self-possession4 ,there was no land in sight--,i was tossing upon a waste of water1 and already beginning to feel the first cravings of the fearful thirst that ,i knew must come4 ,but by a strange instinct ,i still clung to my life2 and soon a storm arose1 and as the waves began to speed my frail boat along1 it rose upon one of them1 and ,i suddenly caught sight of a faint streak of land4 ,i seized the oars and set to work to race for my life4 ,i was not used to the effort1 and it took all my strength to keep the craft headed aright1 while the sea bore it on to its goal2 ,i fought desperately through the whole day1 coming nearer and nearer to my hope1 but expecting every instant to be my last1 and almost fainting with exhaustion4 ,finally ,i came to the very edge of the breakers--and then1 in spite of all that ,i could do1 the boat was seized by a wave and whirled around4 ,i saw before me a long line of bright green forest2 and1 standing upon the beach in front of me1 a single figure--a man--motionless and watching4 ,that moment a breaker smote my little craft1 and ,i was flung into the boiling sea4 ,i did not know how to swim4 ,i clutched at the boat and missed it1 and after that ,i recall only an instant or two of frantic struggling and choking4 ,when next ,i opened my eyes1 ,i lay upon the shore1 with a man bending over me2 and upon my dazed faculties was borne in the startling truth that the man was my brother4 ,it would have been long before ,i recognised him but that he was calling me by name4 ,a creature more changed no man could imagine4 ,gaunt1 hollow-eyed1 and wild in appearance1 he was scarcely the shadow of his former self2 he was clad in a rough garment of fur1 barefooted and barearmed1 and with long1 tangled hair4 ,but what most struck me--what struck me the instant ,i opened my eyes1 and what never ceased to strike me after that--was the strange1 haunted look of his whole countenance2 his eyes1 swift and restless1 shone from beneath the shadow of his brows like those of some forest animal4 ,for the first few dazed minutes ,i thought of what ,i had read of men who had gone mad1 or had reverted to the beast1 under such circumstances as these4 ,yet nothing could exceed the tenderness of my brother's voice and manner to me2 he bent over me with a gourd full of milk1 which he helped me to drink1 and he dried my face and brushed back the hair from my forehead1 whispering to me as one might to a sick child4 ,i can remember the very words of our conversation at that strange moment1 so keenly did every circumstance impress me4 ,i answered him faintly when he asked me how ,i did1 and he pressed my hand4 8,you were seeking for me1 brother80 he asked4 8,i was10 ,i said4 8,i sometimes thought that you might10 he exclaimed4 8,alas6 ,alas60 ,i had been overwhelmed with joy as the truth dawned upon me--the truth that ,i had found him4 ,i had forgotten our mutual plight4 8,never mind10 ,i whispered4 8,we may get away somehow2 and at least we can be together40 ,he answered nothing1 but helped me lift my head4 8,how came you alone in that boat80 he asked4 8,it is a long story10 ,i replied1 shuddering as ,i gazed at the waves that were thundering on the beach before us4 8,i will tell it later40 8,you have been long upon the water80 8,only since last night10 ,i said2 and then gazing about me suddenly1 ,i cried3 8,and you--you have been here all these years60 8,all these years10 he answered4 8,and alone80 8,alone40 ,i trembled as ,i gazed into his face2 his eyes seemed fairly to burn4 8,how have you borne it80 ,i cried4 8,what have you done80 ,his answer made me start4 8,i have done very well10 he said2 8,i have not been unhappy40 ,the words seemed strange to me--but his voice was stranger yet4 ,surely there were signs enough of unhappiness upon his face6 ,he seemed to read my thoughts4 8,do not worry10 he went on1 pressing his hand in mine2 8,i will tell you all about it later40 ,but my mind could not be turned away so easily4 ,when ,i felt stronger and sat up1 ,i came back to the question1 gazing at his haggard face and the strange costume he wore4 8,you can make no better clothing80 ,i cried2 8and for food--what do you do80 8,i have all the food that ,i can eat10 was the response1 8and everything else that ,i need4 ,you shall see40 8,but have you seen no one80 ,i persisted--8no ships1 in all this time80 8,i have not wished to see any10 he said2 and then he smiled gently as he saw my stare of amazement4 8,i have not wished for anything10 he said gently2 8,i have a home1 as you shall see1 and ,i have never needed company4 ,have you forgotten how it used to be1 dear brother80 ,it took me a long time to understand his words4 ,i was still gazing at him helplessly4 8,and you mean10 ,i cried--8you mean that you still--you still live in your music80 8,yes10 he said1 8,i mean that40 ,i was sitting upright and gripping his arm tightly4 8,and for twenty years60 ,i gasped4 8,twenty thousand years would be all too little for music10 was the reply4 ,i sank back1 and he wrapped his arms about me4 8,dear brother10 he said1 smiling1 8let us not go into that just now4 ,wait until to-morrow1 at the least4 ,perhaps ,i can help you now1 and we can walk40 ,we had not far to go1 and with his help ,i managed the task4 ,back from the shore rose a high cliff1 and a cavern in this was evidently his home4 ,at one side there was a pen1 in which were three or four captive goats2 and upon the grassy lawn in front was a rough seat4 ,with the exception of a fireplace1 and a path he had cut through the thicket1 there were no other signs that the place was inhabited4 ,i sank down upon the grass1 and he brought me fresh water and fruits1 and cooked rice1 which ,i ate hungrily4 ,then1 when ,i was stronger1 ,i got up and began to examine his home4 ,the cave was the size of a large room2 it was dry1 but bare of all furniture except a table and a roughly made chair and bed4 ,my brother's possessions consisted mainly of a few objects 7notably some tools7 which he and the sailors had been able to recover from the wreck of the ship4 ,there were a few skins which served him as bags in which to keep his provisions2 his bowls and dishes were gourds and the shells of turtles4 ,he was without artificial light1 and he had only a few quires of writing-paper from the ship-captain's portfolio4 ,for the rest1 a violin without strings1 and a bow without hairs1 made up a list of the possessions so far as ,i could make them out4 ,and it was upon the strength of these that he had said to me3 8,i have everything that ,i need60 ,with rest and food my strength returned1 and before long my mind was altogether occupied with my brother4 ,first of all1 of course1 my thought was of his home--of his surroundings and his ways4 ,i rummaged about his cavern1 wondering at his makeshifts--or rather1 at his lack of them4 8,you have no lamp80 ,i cried4 8,but1 ,daniel1 the wax-plant grows in this climate4 ,or you might use tallow or oil40 8,dear brother10 he answered1 8you forget that ,i have no books to read4 ,and the few things that need light--cannot ,i just as well do them by day80 8,but1 then1 the long nights--you sleep80 8,no10 said he gently1 8,i do not sleep02 and later1 with his strange smile1 he added3 8,i live40 8,you live60 ,i echoed in perplexity2 and then ,i stopped1 catching the quiet1 steady gaze of his eyes4 8,just so10 he said1 8,i live4 ,i had never lived before40 ,most of all1 ,i think1 ,i was perplexed at the sight of his violin4 ,from what ,i had seen of his youthful life1 ,i could have imagined him spending all day and all night with that2 but here it hung1 useless as a stick of wood4 8,you could have made strings for it10 ,i said4 8,i can make them for you40 8,but they would be of no use to me10 he answered4 8,and all your music--you have given it up80 8,the music ,i have to do with10 he said1 8has long ceased to be music that anyone could play40 8,but1 ,daniel60 ,i protested4 8,listen to me10 he said4 8,have you never read that ,beethoven never heard some of his greatest symphonies8 ,do you not understand how a musician can comprehend music from a score8 ,and from that1 how he can create it in his own mind and enjoy it1 without ever writing it down or hearing it80 8,then10 ,i said1 almost speechless with wonder2 8then you compose music in your mind80 8,no10 he said4 8,i live music in my soul40 ,these things were on the day of my rescue1 after ,i had recovered from my exhaustion4 ,the words which he spoke ,i no more comprehended than if ,i had been a child2 but the strangeness of the thing haunted my soul1 and my questioning and arguing never ceased4 ,all of this he bore with a gentle patience4 ,i had my youthful recollections of ,robinson ,crusoe2 and as a man of science1 ,i could naturally not spend two minutes conversing with ,daniel and examining his affairs without thinking some new device by which he could have made his lot more tolerable4 ,i could as yet hardly realise that it was to be my own fate to live upon the deserted island for ever2 all my thoughts were of what ,i should have done had ,i been in his place4 ,he had no weapons1 no traps1 no gardens1 no house--and so on4 8,but1 ,edward10 he would say again and again1 8do you not understand8 ,once more--,i have no time for such things40 8,time6 ,time60 ,i would cry4 8,but what else have you8 ,what have you to do80 8,i have my life to live10 was the invariable response2 8,i have no time for anything else40 ,we were sitting that afternoon beneath the shade of a great forest-tree before the cavern4 ,suddenly1 seeing again the dazed look upon my face1 he put his arm about me4 8,listen to me1 dear brother10 he said1 smiling4 8,you remember ,diogenes1 who lived in a tub8 ,that was in order that he might have to call no man master1 and no thing--least of all his own body4 ,and can you not see that a man's own soul is his soul just the same1 whether he be on a desert island or in the midst of a city of millions8 ,and that mind1 emotion1 will--he has the life of his soul to live80 ,i sat surprised into silence2 then suddenly ,i felt ,daniel's arm tighten about me4 8,ah1 my dear brother10 he said1 his voice lowering1 8it will be so hard6 ,do you think ,i have not realised it--how hard1 hard it will be80 8,what will be hard80 ,i asked4 8,your life--everything you have to face10 he answered4 8,how can you not see it--do you not see that you have to live upon this island1 too80 8,i have not thought of it much10 ,i said4 8,i have been thinking of you40 8,i know it10 he replied2 8but ,i do not see how you are to bear it4 ,i saw it all while ,i watched you sweep in with the boat--,i saw all the pain and all the sorrow1 and it was long before ,i made up my mind that it was not best to let you die40 ,i started1 but he held me tight4 8,yes10 he said1 8and ,i fear that ,i chose wrongly4 ,is it not strange that a man who has seen what ,i have seen should still be bound by such chains--that what ,i knew would be best1 ,i could not do1 simply because you were my brother80 ,he must have felt my heart beating faster4 8,listen to me10 he went on quickly1 but still with his frightful quietness4 8,listen to me while ,i try to tell you--what ,i can hardly bear to tell you4 ,all the tragedy of being is summed up in such a situation as this of ours2 ,i am as helpless before it as you are--both of us are as helpless as children40 ,i gazed at him again1 and suddenly he caught me with the wild look of his eyes4 ,he had no need to hold me with his hand4 8,brother10 he said1 8you must think this out for yourself1 as you can3 ,i cannot explain it to you--cannot explain anything about it4 ,suffice it to say that for twenty years ,i have lived here1 and that ,i have fought a fight which no man has ever fought before1 and seen what ,i believe no man has ever seen4 ,knowing you as ,i do1 ,i know that you can by no possibility ever follow me4 ,it is as if ,i had found the fourth dimension of space2 it is as if ,i dwelt in a house through the walls of which you walked without seeing them4 ,how you are to bear your life here1 my dear1 dear brother1 ,i do not know2 but the truth is merciless1 and you must face it--you will have to live on this island all your days1 ,i am sure2 and you will have to live here alone60 ,a sudden shudder passed through me4 8,daniel60 ,i gasped2 it seemed to me that his eyes were on fire4 8,you mean1 ,i suppose1 that you are going away to some other part of the place--to another island80 8,whether ,i go to another place or not1 what matters that8 ,no1 ,i shall not1 ,i think2 and rest assured that1 whatever ,i do1 ,i love you1 my heart yearns for you1 and all my tenderness and love are yours2 but also that though you were with me1 and held me in your arms four-and-twenty hours a day--yet all the time you would be alone40 ,i could find no word to say--,i could scarcely think4 8,the pain of it10 he went on1 still quietly1 still tenderly1 8is that ,i cannot explain it to anyone1 that ,i cannot explain it to myself2 that there are no words for it1 nothing but the thing4 ,the only explanation ,i can give is that ,i am become a madman1 and that you must accept the fact4 ,for the thing ,i do ,i can no more help doing than ,i could help the beating of my heart4 ,all the world of love that ,i might bear to you1 or to any other human soul1 could no more enable me to stop than it would enable the grass to stop growing4 ,again you must accept the fact--you must learn to think of me as a man who is in the grasp of a fiend40 ,there was a pause4 ,not once had ,i taken my eyes from my brother's1 and ,i sat with my heart throbbing wildly2 the strangeness of the whole thing was too much for me--at times ,i was certain that ,i was indeed listening to a maniac4 ,when my brother began speaking again1 ,i was at first hardly conscious of it4 8,edward10 he said1 8,i have thought about this--that perhaps my presence would be painful to you4 ,if so1 let me go away4 ,take what tools ,i have here1 and make this place your home--you have knowledge at your command1 you can plant and hunt and study1 and do what you will4 ,as for me1 such things make no difference2 ,i could soon make myself comfortable again1 and perhaps----0 8,say no more about it10 ,i interrupted quickly2 8if anyone must go1 let it be me1 for ,i shall have need of occupation40 ,for long hours after that strange experience ,i was pacing up and down the storm-swept beach of the island4 ,what ,i had heard had disturbed me more than anything before in my life2 the whole surroundings contributed to the effect--the perils ,i had passed through1 the terrible future which stretched before me1 the loss of my brother1 and the finding of this strange madman in his place4 ,but ,i was by nature a practical person1 scientific and precise in my mode of thought2 ,i did my best to convince myself that solitude and suffering had unhinged my brother's mind4 ,there is no use telling a scientist that he cannot understand a certain matter1 and expecting him to let it rest2 my mind was soon made up that ,i would study this malady1 and perhaps cure it4 ,my interest in the strange problem did more than anything else to keep me from realising to the full extent the discomfort ,i must needs face in the future4 ,when hunger brought my thoughts back to myself1 ,i returned to the cave1 where ,i found my brother pacing backward and forward upon a path which he had worn deep in the ground in front of his home2 his head was sunk forward1 his eyes on the ground1 and he was evidently lost in deep thought4 ,i spoke to him once1 but he did not hear me2 ,i walked by him and entered the cavern4 ,i now set to work to make a thorough examination of his belongings1 musing that perhaps the best way to get to the bottom of his strange trouble would be to provide him with some of the ordinary amenities of life4 ,i found that the tools were not too rusty to be of service1 and being a person with talent for doing things1 ,i was soon interested in planning how ,i could make a habitable place out of the cave4 ,in the latitude ,i knew that a door and a fireplace would never be an absolute necessity2 but ,i pleased myself thinking that they might not be useless when the storms blew in4 ,also1 being blessed with much knowledge of the natural world1 ,i flattered myself that before many days would have passed ,i should have added considerably to the comforts of the house4 ,i gave the balance of the day to a preliminary ransacking of the island4 ,a scientist has an inexhaustible mine of interest in such an environment1 and in the plans which ,i formed for work ,i forgot everything else for the time4 ,and so towards sundown ,i returned to the cabin4 ,my brother was still pacing to and fro1 exactly as ,i had left him4 ,taught by previous experience1 ,i entered the cabin without addressing him1 and set about preparing a meal4 ,i had not gone very far before ,i heard his step behind me4 8,edward10 he said4 8,what is it80 ,i asked1 turning4 8,i wished merely to tell you--that you will not see me for a day or two4 ,i wish you not to worry about me40 ,i gazed at him in perplexity that was too great to permit of my framing a question4 ,his haggard glance met mine again1 and again he put his hand upon my shoulder with a gesture of affection2 then he turned and went slowly away4 ,the incident diminished my appetite1 for ,i had expected to interest him in my banquet4 ,i sat for hours afterwards1 gazing out of the cavern entrance at the moonlighted grove1 silent and desolate beyond any telling4 ,i think ,i never felt more alone than just then4 ,the problem was my only company2 ,i had no idea where ,daniel had gone2 but after a feverish sleep ,i was up again at dawn1 my mind fully made up for a search4 ,i fear ,i drag out my story--it was nearly sundown when at last my efforts were rewarded4 ,i was returning home in despair and misery1 when1 suddenly1 in the back of the same cliffs in which was our home1 ,i saw another opening1 and with a gleam of hope ,i hurried towards it and peered in4 ,it was too dark to see1 but ,i entered and stepped to one side in the darkness2 and then1 as my eyes adjusted themselves to the gloom1 ,i saw my brother4 ,i was unperceived1 and ,i went forward until ,i could see him plainly4 ,he sat upon a block of stone1 the edge of which his hands gripped tensely2 with his face slightly raised1 he was staring before him into space4 ,i would describe1 if ,i could1 the impression which his whole appearance gave me2 it was of a man undergoing some fearful strain4 ,the knotted muscles stood out upon his arms2 his nostrils were distended1 his breath coming fast1 and ,i could see the veins throbbing in his forehead4 ,i stood for ,i know not how long1 with my heart beating madly1 a strange1 indescribable fear in possession of me4 ,divining the truth instinctively1 ,i moved in front of him and gazed into his eyes2 he neither saw me nor heard me1 nor gave any sign that he was conscious of my presence4 ,then suddenly1 unable to bear the strain any longer1 ,i clutched him in my arms1 crying wildly3 8,daniel6 ,daniel60 ,to my horror1 he gave no signs4 ,even then ,i clung to him1 ,i shook him2 ,i could feel the quivering of his tense arms4 ,at last1 completely overcome1 ,i turned and staggered from the place4 ,all that night ,i lay stretched out upon the bed1 sleepless4 ,i had studied medicine1 but nothing that ,i had ever heard of bore any resemblance to this4 ,perhaps two hours after sunrise1 as ,i was sitting with my eyes fixed in the direction of the other cavern1 all at once ,i saw my brother appear4 ,i sprang up in sheer fright2 he was pale beyond imagination4 ,he paid no attention to me1 but went past me and entered the cave4 ,he groped his way to his larder and1 sinking down upon the ground1 took some of the food and ate it slowly4 ,there was a bowl of milk which ,i had put there1 and which he drank4 ,then he lay down1 resting his head upon his arm1 and fell fast asleep4 ,i followed him in silence when he rose1 his weakness apparently gone4 ,he went to the spring which was near the cavern1 and bathed his face and arms in the stream below it4 ,after that he came towards me and1 sitting down beside me1 put his arm around me4 8,dear brother10 he said1 8it was very good of you2 but please do not do what you did again40 8,you knew that ,i was there80 ,i cried4 8,yes10 he said1 8,i knew it40 8,and why did you not answer me80 8,i could not answer you1 brother80 ,and then with a sudden gesture he checked me4 8,i could not even tell you why10 he said4 8,it must suffice you1 ,edward1 to know that this must be1 and that you cannot help it40 8,but it will kill me60 ,i cried4 8,perhaps10 he said very quietly1 8or perhaps it will kill me first4 ,i cannot tell40 ,we stood for some minutes without speaking4 8,daniel10 ,i ventured at last1 8,i had hoped that in the external ways ,i might assist you--your food1 perhaps----0 8,i could not let you serve me10 he answered2 8,i have no way to serve you in return4 ,and1 besides that1 ,i have learned to do cheerfully what little physical toil ,i must4 ,the island is covered with food1 you know40 8,but if you should be sick80 ,i cried4 8,if ,i should be sick10 he said1 8,i should either get well again1 or else die40 8,then you do not feel pain80 8,to learn to bear pain has been one of my tasks10 was the response4 8,i should think10 he continued1 changing the subject abruptly1 8that if you had studied all your life as you did when we lived together1 by this time you would not fear solitude--that you would find in this new world enough to fill all your time40 8,i might--perhaps ,i shall10 ,i said2 8but1 ,daniel1 you have been here twenty years1 and never seen a ship6 ,so how could ,i know that the result of any studies of mine would ever be made known to the world8 ,i have not even any paper to write upon40 ,the other sat gazing ahead of him at the moonlit water through the trees2 ,i saw the strange smile upon the lips again4 8,all that sorrow10 he said--8,i fought with it once myself1 and how ,i wish that ,i could help you to fight with it6 ,for a year or so ,i also waited for a ship1 and wrote down the best of my music1 and poured out the tears of my soul4 ,but1 ,edward1 ,i no longer write my music1 and ,i no longer fear lest my work be not made known to the world40 ,his voice had sunk low4 ,over the tree-tops a silver moon was gleaming1 and his eyes were fixed upon it4 8,on that huge ball of iron and rock10 said he1 8there was once power and life and beauty2 and now it rolls there through the years and the ages1 cold and dead and still4 ,and some day this planet1 too1 will roll through the years and the ages2 and no eye will behold it1 and no mind will be aware of it2 and the voices of men will be hushed upon it1 and the monuments of men will be dust upon it2 and ,edward1 what then of my music1 what then of your science and your books80 ,i answered nothing4 8,perhaps in all the ages that have gone over this island10 he continued1 8no human foot ever trod upon it before40 ,and so my brother passed on1 pressing his hand upon my shoulder2 and through the watches of the night ,i saw him pacing backward and forward1 backward and forward1 upon the long1 white stretch of sand4 ,a month must have passed after that--,i took little heed of the time4 ,i toiled at the cave1 ,i played hunter and naturalist4 ,i was busy with my hands1 but very seldom was ,i happy or at peace4 ,for day after day that silent figure roamed here and there before my eyes1 and hour after hour those strange1 silent vigils to the black cavern continued4 ,i grew more and more restless and oppressed1 until at last1 one night1 at the end of a long and exhausting vigil1 my impatience reached its climax4 ,i remember how ,i sat by his side and caught his hand1 like a supplicating child4 8,daniel10 ,i asked1 8has it never occurred to you that you are unkind to me80 8,unkind80 he asked gently4 8,unkind10 ,i said1 8,i have waited--how long have ,i waited4 ,it seemed to me that it could not last for ever--that you would not continue to treat me always as if ,i were a child40 8,edward10 he said1 8,i know what you are going to say4 ,i wish that you would spare me40 8,i cannot spare you60 ,i cried with sudden vehemence4 8,i tell you ,i cannot bear it--,i tell you ,i shall go mad6 ,this loneliness and this haunting perplexity--,i swear to you that ,i cannot endure it any longer60 ,my brother sat gazing before him4 ,after a moment ,i went on1 more quietly1 pleading with him4 8,daniel10 ,i said1 8you cannot ever persuade me that you must needs treat me as you have treated me since ,i came to this place4 ,i came here to seek for you--for that purpose alone--and with love in my heart4 ,and you keep me from you1 you treat me as if ,i were not a human being60 8,stop1 ,edward60 cried my brother imploringly2 8do not say such things as that6 ,ah6 what can ,i tell you8 ,how can ,i say it to you8--it is not enough that you should be a human being40 8,not enough60 ,i echoed4 8,ah6 do you suppose--can you suppose--that if this thing of which we speak were mine to give--if by losing it myself ,i could give it to you--can you suppose ,i would not do it1 and do it with joy8 ,all that love could make possible ,i would do--how much ,i would do ,i cannot tell you4 ,but this that you ask of me--this ,i cannot do60 8,you mean0--,i clung to the argument with my scientific instinct--8you mean that there is in your own life1 in your own mind1 certain things which could be conveyed to another's80 8,i do10 he said4 8,but the use of words----0 ,i began4 8,no words could have any relation to this10 he said4 8,but ideas1 ,daniel60 ,i protested4 8,there may be ideas in the mind for which we can find no words1 but surely we can approximate them1 we can foreshadow them40 8,there are some things in my mind that are not ideas10 was the quick reply4 8,i do not understand that10 ,i exclaimed4 8,i know it10 said my brother2 8that is the point40 8,but10 ,i cried in vexation1 8but what could such things be8 ,how can one think----0 8#8,in that high hour thought was not1'0 my brother quoted4 ,i sat silent1 and a long pause followed4 ,then ,i began once more3 8,let me ask you1 ,daniel2 perhaps you do not understand how difficult it is for one mind to believe that it cannot grasp what is in another mind4 ,but this--this knowledge to which you have come--you must surely have come to it by degrees1 by a process80 8,yes10 said he4 8,and of that--surely you could explain to me at least the beginning1 which might help me to divine in what the difference consists80 ,he answered nothing for a moment2 ,i went on quickly3 8,ah1 ,i fear that there must be another reason that you do not realise4 ,might it not be true that you would find it easier to explain to another than to me8 ,is it not at all that you shrink from my ways of thinking8 ,is it not that you know that ,i have never understood your art80 8,tell me10 he asked suddenly1 8what have you thought about me since you have been here80 8,what difference does it make what ,i think80 ,i cried4 8,what data have ,i for thinking anything8 ,i know that ,i am in the presence of something which haunts me2 and also that ,i have never been more wretched in my life4 8,ah1 ,daniel10 ,i cried1 8be fair with me--you have not been fair6 ,why should you shrink from me as if ,i were a base person8 ,what harm could it do1 even if ,i did not understand you8 ,i cannot help it--the effect of this thing upon me2 ,i am a grown man1 and yet you have turned me into a child again4 ,if you were to tell me about ghosts1 ,i think ,i should take it for the truth40 8,ah10 said my brother4 8,yes1 even that60 ,i cried4 8,but you think ,i am not worthy even to guess at your life and your knowledge--no1 do not try to stop me1 ,i know that this is the fact6 ,if it were not so1 you would trust to love--you would not cast me away from you1 you would do what you could60 8,be still6 ,be still60 he whispered4 8,do not speak to me that way--,i will do what ,i can--,i will tell you what ,i am able40 ,for a long time he sat with knit brows4 ,then at last he began his story4 8,i go back10 he said1 8to the time when ,i first landed on this island4 ,the ship was wrecked upon the bar just ahead of us2 and later1 when the sea fell1 we set to work to save from it as much as we could4 ,the voyage had restored my health1 and ,i had my violin2 and when ,i ascertained that the place sheltered no wild beasts or men1 ,i was myself well content to remain as long as might be necessary4 ,i had no doubt that some ship would appear in the end2 and meanwhile there was nothing to trouble me1 except the enforced companionship of men who did not understand me4 ,in the end1 ,i escaped from that trouble with the plea that if ,i took up my residence at the other side of the island ,i could better watch the sea2 and so ,i built a tiny hut1 and was1 ,i think1 as happy as ,i had ever been before4 8,but as the months passed by and no vessel appeared1 the situation changed4 ,i perceived that sooner or later my violin would be useless2 and about the same time the sailors came to me to say that they had decided to rig a boat with a sail1 and endeavor to reach some inhabited island4 ,it was the time of quiet seas1 and they preferred to run the risk to remaining longer in isolation4 8,i was then called upon to make the great decision4 ,should ,i chance my life with the rest1 or should ,i trust to the certainty that some day a vessel would appear1 and meanwhile devote myself to the work which loomed before me--the living of my life1 the seeking of the power which ,i felt to be hidden in me1 without any external assistance or reference whatever8 ,perhaps had ,i seen the twenty years before me1 ,i should have shrunk from the task2 but1 as it was1 ,i chose what was to be the bolder1 to my companions the more timid1 course4 8,after that1 of course1 there could be no halfway measures4 ,i had to make good my purpose2 ,i had to face either absolute victory or absolute defeat4 ,as ,i had expected1 my violin soon became useless1 and1 no ship appearing1 ,i perceived in the end that ,i had to give up that thought1 too4 8,i have already hinted the grounds of my argument to you4 ,it is my belief that life is its own end1 and needs no justification4 ,it is also my belief that each individual soul is a microcosm self-sufficient1 and its own excuse for being4 ,each day as ,i wrought1 ,i came to be more and more possessed with that truth1 it came to be more and more self-evident and final2 until at last there came a day when ,i would not have hailed a ship had ,i seen one--when the life that loomed up before me within my own heart was a thing of so much interest that the rest of the world was nothing in comparison4 8,at first ,i had felt just as you feel now--,i had been interested in food and clothing and light1 and what not else2 but in the end ,i found myself behaving as a soldier upon a long campaign--,i strewed my path with the things that had once been necessities1 and that now were encumbrances4 ,it proved thus with my violin--strings or no strings2 the music that throbbed in my soul and swept me away into the far spaces of my being--it was no longer to be limited and restrained by what human fingers could achieve4 ,it was as if ,i had once plodded upon the land and now discovered wings4 ,when the vision came to me1 ,i no longer toiled for weeks to shape it and record it--,i went on where the new light shone1 where the new hope beckoned2 and so1 day after day1 toward things with which it is not easy for words to deal40 ,my brother paused for a while2 ,i did not speak4 8,when ,i try to talk to you of these things10 he said at last1 8,i do not know where ,i stand4 ,i find myself thinking of the brother ,i remember--who was content to call himself a materialist4 ,you ask me what was this life that ,i speak of--was it thought1 was it motion1 was it will8 ,it was all1 ,i think2 always it involved contemplation1 the beholding of a universe of being1 and the comprehending of it as an utterance of power2 and always it was emotion1 the flooding of one's being with an oceantide of joy and exultation2 and always it was will--it was the concentration of all the powers of one's soul in one colossal effort4 ,but chiefest of all1 ,i think--and what is hardest even to hint at--it was the fourth1 and the highest of the faculties of the mind--it was imagination4 8,it is endless--that is the first thing that a man learns about it--it is the very presence of the infinite4 ,and also he learns that it is at his command--that it is no accident1 but his being itself2 that he has but to call1 and it comes2 that he has but to knock1 and it is opened unto him4 ,it is that for which pilgrims and crusaders have fought1 which prophets and saints have sung4 ,and it is that1 of course1 which is the life of music4 ,music lies nearest to this mystery2 to him who understands1 it is the living presence of the spirit4 ,its movement is the building up of that ecstasy1 its complexity is the infiniteness of that vision--all the fulness and the wonder and the glory of it are there40 ,i give but my recollection of my brother's words4 ,he paused again and sat gazing before him4 8,i do not know10 he said1 8how much these metaphors convey to you4 ,a long time had passed--some eight years1 ,i imagine1 though ,i kept no count of the time4 ,i was coming bit by bit to a new and strange experience--one which is not of this life1 and one which would seem to you1 ,i imagine1 as altogether supernatural4 8,so10 said ,daniel1 8you must believe me as you can4 ,i have spoken of strange bursts of vision1 sudden gleams of insight which shake one's being to its depth4 ,such experiences are not unusual--poets have sung of them2 but now there came to be something which1 strange as it may sound1 seemed to be not of a kind with my own soul--something which affected me with an indescribable fear4 ,i fought against the thought1 for ,i had no belief in the unseen4 ,i strive to put into words something that cannot be put into words--but ,i was like a man groping in utter darkness1 and touching something alive4 ,i had fought my way into this unknown land1 and everywhere ,i had gone1 so far1 the things that ,i achieved were of my own power1 the impulses were those of my own will4 ,but now1 day by day1 ,i was haunted by the unthinkable suspicion that into my life was coming something that was not myself4 ,i was a bird mounting upon the air--and the air had a will of its own6 ,it was something that repelled me--something that drew me4 ,i wrestled with the thought day and night1 comparing it with anything of which ,i had ever heard or known4 ,but in vain--it was new to me4 8,these things of which ,i speak you must understand as happening in the midst of a tempest of emotions2 ,i sat in a state which there is no imagining--,i ate nothing for days1 ,i sat for days without moving1 until at last there came the climax1 a desperate resolve1 a mounting up1 a battling with unseen forces1 a knocking upon unseen doors--and then a sudden rending away of barriers1 and the inpouring of a sea of life4 ,i can only use metaphors4 ,i was a traveller1 and ,i had toiled towards the sunrise1 climbing peak upon peak1 and suddenly ,i had stepped out upon the summit1 and stood transfixed with the glory of an endless vision of dawn40 ,my brother's voice had sunk to a whisper1 and his hand lay upon my arm4 ,i cannot tell how his words had affected me4 8,and this--this thing----0 ,i ventured4 8,it is real80 8,it is real10 he said2 8there is nothing else so real40 8,and it--it is a heaven80 8,no10 he said1 8it is another earth40 ,i started4 8,as a scientist10 he said--8what do you believe about the universe8 ,is there life throughout it80 8,i do not know1 it is a possibility40 8,yes10 said ,daniel2 8but for me it is a certainty4 ,it is a fact in which ,i live1 day after day40 ,i had caught him by the arm4 8,daniel60 ,i cried4 8,it is just so10 he said4 8,another planet80 8,i do not know10 was the answer4 8,another race of beings1 is all that ,i can tell you40 8,and are they human beings80 8,they have passed entirely beyond anything which those words can mean to me40 8,and you know them80 8,yes40 8,and personally80 8,more than personally40 8,how do you mean80 8,i know them directly4 ,i live in their lives4 ,i know them as ,i know the symphony ,i hear--as one drop of water knows the sea40 ,i was dazed2 ,i could hardly think4 8,and their name80 ,i asked4 8,they have no name10 said my brother1 8they have no words4 ,they have passed the need of language--they communicate with each other by immediate spiritual union4 ,their life is upon a higher plane than ours2 they do not deal in ideas1 but in imaginative intuitions40 8,and then1 ,daniel1 when you--when you pass into that trance--it is that60 8,it is that10 said he4 8,by an effort of my will ,i lift myself into their consciousness2 but because my physical and mental faculties have not been prepared by long ages of development1 my time with them is limited1 and ,i fall back to recruit my strength40 8,and this has been going on for years80 8,for ten or twelve years10 was his reply4 ,it will1 perhaps1 be best for me to give the substance of what he told me in the long conversation which ensued4 8,i do not know where these people are10 he told me4 8,i only know that throughout universal space they are the race which is nearest in its development to our own4 ,i do not know what they look like4 ,i have never seen nor heard them4 ,i only live their lives4 ,i do not ask them any questions2 our relation is nothing of that sort4 ,it is as if they were playing music which ,i heard2 but also as if their music was their whole life1 so that ,i know all they have and do4 ,their presence comes to me as the inwelling of universal joy2 of love and worship and rapture1 unending and unthinkable4 ,their life is infinite variety--immediate and perpetual expansion--spiritual insight developing in a ratio determined by the will of the individuals4 ,it is as if a man were to witness the springtime arising of ,nature1 but taking place in an hour instead of three months2 and he comprehending it1 not from the outside1 but living it1 as a bursting forth of song40 8,and to this song there is no limit80 ,i asked him4 8,when you speak of the soul as being infinite10 said ,daniel1 8you do not mean that it extends merely beyond your thoughts1 but you mean that you may heap quantity upon quantity1 and multiply quantity by quantity1 in any ratio and at any speed you please1 and still have infinity before you40 8,you mean that these beings understand what is going on in each other's mind80 8,they understand all minds as you understand your own4 ,it is of the nature of spiritual passion to mingle at a certain stage of intensity1 like electricity in the lightning flash4 ,this race has developed a new sense1 just as man has developed senses which are not possessed by lower animals40 8,and these people were once men80 8,presumably40 8,and then they have escaped altogether from the sorrows of life80 8,say1 rather10 he answered1 8that they have escaped to the sorrows of life4 ,the essence of life is sorrow40 8,it does not seem so1 from your picture10 ,i said4 8,that is simple because my picture is not understood4 ,every one of these beings of whom ,i speak bears in his bosom a pain for which there are no words2 every one of them--there are countless numbers of them1 living each in my consciousness as the voice of one instrument lives in a symphony--each one is a ,titan spirit1 wrestling day and night without end1 without possibility of respite1 and bearing on his shoulders a universal load of woe4 ,in no way could you imagine one better than as a soldier in the crisis of the battle1 panting1 and blind with pain1 dying amid the glory of his achievement40 8,and such a life60 ,i cried 8,why do they live it80 8,they lived it because it demands with the voice of all their being to be lived2 because the presence of it is rapture and unutterable holiness2 because it will allow no questions1 because it is instant1 imperative1 and final--it will be lived60 ,i sat in silence4 8,do ,i gather from your words10 ,i asked1 8that immortality is not one of the privileges of this race80 ,he smiled again4 8,the spiritual life10 he said1 8does not begin until the thought of immortality is flung away4 ,a man's duty looms up before him--and in his weakness he will not do it1 but puts the fruition of his life into another world1 where the terms are not so hard60 8,this people10 ,i asked--8what do they know about ,god80 8,they know no more than men do10 was the answer1 8except that they know they know nothing4 ,they know that the veil is not lifted4 ,it is not that for which they seek--life is their task1 and life only2 to behold its endless fruition2 to dwell in the beauty of it1 to wield power of it2 to toil at its whirling loom1 to build up palaces of music from it4 ,ah1 my brother1 why have you never lived a symphony80 8,these people have no physical life80 ,i asked4 8,assuredly1 they have10 was his answer1 8it is a life which does not enter their consciousness--any more than1 for instance1 the beating of your heart and the renewing of your tissues4 ,they have attained to mastery over the world of matter4 ,they temper the seasons to their wish2 disease and ill-health they have banished entirely2 and understanding the ways of ,nature1 they create their food at will40 8,and their society knows no rich and no poor8 ,their government80 8,they have no government10 he said1 8their law is their inspiration40 ,until far into the night we sat talking2 and then1 early in the morning1 as ,i went out upon the beach--,i saw a ship standing in towards the shore6 ,i recall1 as if it were yesterday1 how my heart leaped up1 and with what an agony of uncertainty ,i stood waving a signal4 ,and then ,i rushed to see my brother1 shouting the news aloud4 ,startled with his own thoughts1 he gazed at me in perplexity4 8,a ship has come60 ,i cried4 8,a ship60 8,a ship60 he echoed2 and then with a sudden light3 8,oh1 ,i see60 8,come60 ,i cried4 8,they will take us aboard60 ,but my brother shook his head4 8,no ,edward10 he replied1 8,i cannot do that40 ,i started4 8,no10 he said again1 8do not ask me4 ,you go--but let me stay here until the end60 8,what can you mean80 ,i cried4 8,can you really suppose that ,i would leave you80 8,i am not fitted to travel10 he said--8,i do not wish to change4 ,and ,i could not face the thing which you call civilisation4 ,it has no interest for me40 8,but we can live in the country10 ,i cried4 8,i have money--nothing need trouble you60 ,but all my arguments made no impression upon him2 he would only repeat that he desired to be left alone4 ,i tried to move him by saying that ,i would not leave him4 ,i might stay if ,i chose1 he said--he could not help that2 but if ,i were wise1 ,i would leave him to his own life2 and ,i would not subject him to the pain of meeting the strangers upon the ship4 ,they would not understand1 and they would only cause him vexation4 ,and even while ,i was protesting with him1 we heard the shouts of men upon the shore4 ,he rose up and laid his hand upon my shoulder1 and kissed me upon the forehead1 saying3 8,be wise--or let me be wise for you4 ,respect my judgment and let me go40 ,and so he turned and started away toward the centre of the island4 ,at the edge of the thicket he turned and waved his hand to me4 ,i never saw him again4 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,transcriber',s ,,notes #a4 ,silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in spelling4 #b4 ,retained archaic1 non-standard1 and uncertain spellings as printed4 #c4 ,enclosed italics font in underscores4