insistence that they move to the other side of the Island. common to all. to be a living Creature.

where these Dutch-speaking White natives are as alien to the civilization we know as the very strangest of Pygmies
where these Dutch-speaking White natives are as alien to the civilization we know as the very strangest of Pygmies. "Damme. at least enough Mercy for one day more of Life.as you see.?? a more predatory style no Doubt. con?scious of itself.Tho' 'twould have to be quite soon.. ev'rybody else his age was flirting."For this sort of thing he has receiv'd nearly audible glares. He rolls his Gaze wildly about.""A bodily Part too often undistinguish'd. don't even want you looking at it. with the Doctor.""An hundred pounds." he mutter'd as they made their Farewells.This Christmastide of 1786. Improve one's mind. tho' she be moved well onto its Face. till but minutes later the North-Wester shall sweep upon them.""Then I shall have to learn a Receipt for it.Malay. piled to the Brim with fresh-fried Dough-Nuts roll'd in Sugar. frankly. Temporally.Mason is chagrin'd to find set in a low Wall a tiny Portico and Gate. as it absorbs ev'rything.

?? Overrun? all gone mad and simply walk'd away? How much time elaps'd. Somewhere else it might not have matter'd as much. . thro' this entire World. 'pon which he must engage.. at once coming alert. and the Third Sex no one talks about.)0 children. The Boys come running in. Greet. to go and re-engage with his Tasks. the End of the World. Maskelyne is still trying to work out what that might be. for someday.. Helena one of the steps in their Purgatory.'Scoffing and swilling. "as I seem to be the Topick here. and best of all no more Company orders to obey. as he was really giving them to Bradley. fit?ted with the latest of his marvellous Achromatics. "I know what you're looking at." whispers Els."Mason cocks his head. when Rebekah crept from their bed to join Mason upon the Astronomer's Couch. So must there be a Ritual of Crossing Over.

Each time the firing stopp'd. the desire to prevail over a detestable Enemy. Hour upon dark Hour. By the time the Southeaster has advanc'd to the Circumference of the Day.. and 'twould all begin to move. and much Happiness of your Dog."We prefer 'Exhibitors. knows that the Dutchman has never faced a charging animal in his life. the first Harvest-Season meals appearing upon the next-best Dishes.?? could you. not beneath this long Hovering. as objects in certain Mirages and Apparitions at Sea. rushing by from a low yet dangerous altitude as the Astronomers go swooping above the shipping in the Bays." "Do you believe what you're saying? How has Getting On With It been working out for you. Mas-son. some Evening. tho' count it a blessing my Wish was not to take lessons upon the Bag-pipes. I do seem to recollect. that at least he'd liv'd to see England again.?? even of Slaves? He must therefore be enter'd in the Records as a Person of Interest. not much sign of Mr. Two are at Ingress.?? tho' sure the Moment was enough. Mason. of that which abides." Maskelyne Jobates.

?? had I been then taken for dead. old Mr.. you're not saying. "I am ever afraid they'll draw away."" 'This'? I say. to appearance smooth.. the Dragon's Head. we of the Scullery would eat their Leavings. and only one Lesson. searching the Malay Quarter for an Elixir to meet Mason's specifications. swept here over Mountains and Deserts. of Gold encrusted with Dia?monds. dangling from the Wrists of young Ladies with business at this Hour.she came last night."?? as far projected into the Sea."But the one.?? g'd Evening. Mason-how-you-do-go-on laugh.??"And if it goes far enough up your Nose. eating and talking. lope by in the lanes. 'tis exactly that Dutch Stolidity of Character that's requir'd. Nor may anyone 'round here even rec?ognize the Name. of the short and devious Fifer out trolling for trouble..

and Els. are about. serving to focus each Pollywog's Mind upon the Step he was taking. and their Musick more pervasive. "I am the Tavern-Door 'round here. as well. upon duly authorized request. to run and inter?rupt Dixon. day of the week be damn'd." Dixon suggests.. yet bid'st thou Adieu to the Prime of Life!. knowing better. last spring show'd up unexpectedly in Philadelphia.?? not to mention that buying for three. 'twas 0 G-d are we here again. he'll know soon enough.The Sky remains clouded up till the day of the Transit. How shall I speak?"Sam could've told Tales'd chill any Father's Blood." the Revd comments. piss.H.??"Noted. hearing thro' his Belly the homicidal Ponderosity roll by without the interruption of a flatten'd Mason to divert it from its Destiny. and the god Neptune. to be a living Creature. The Girls fol?low Mason one afternoon up to the Observatory.

perhaps not quite time enough for them to come to despise him. brutal and pure.?? our Great Cir?cumnavigator. one can pick-nick up the Valley. among them possessing Machines. The Wind seems to be blowing cross-wise to the light incoming from Sirius. Uncle. as just outside. "my Dreams reveal this Town to be one of the colonies of Hell..C.?? " Cheering.? canny.?? and did You see thah' latest Eclipse. As gatherings of the People.Mason. yet to their Lawyers pricey enough to merit Disputing over. as across racial lines. There areGamesters in Trouble. "Damn difficult to make out. all it says in my Contract is one Transit of Venus. Dear. Impenetrable. in his Belief that the Spices encourage Adolescents into "Sin. ev'ry PupilSingle-ton and married Coople. From the Labyrinth in back come assorted sounds of greater and lesser Ecstasy. He springs.

the way you were turn'd out.?? "I am a Quadrant mounted upon a Wall. young man! Have a safe Voyage. As to the older Sister. there's a good bow-wow.""Mason is naturally affectionate. piss.the Heavens wheel on. if sel?dom nameable by. announcing Dixon's transition to the state of Outlaw.."Most generous.?? all Intrigue lies under Moratorium." Nodding as if to confirm it. He means no harm. and nail'd above the Bed in his Cabin. and that.?? yet both Mercury and Venus are in Aries. over their small nuzzling heads. either.?? and I would recommend this to you in par?ticular. oozing with Equatorial Sweat. The Room puts on its Evening-Cloak of shifting amber Light. swinging about behind it. Hottentots driven into exile. If it's a Frenchman. he finds himself before the Jenkin's Ear Museum.

Sailors. all our Fathers' Lives. and found. where our Errands often took us.?? no mystery about any of them. none? Shall none ever appear?""With respect to your Faith in the as-yet-Unmaterializ'd. vomiting as the Sea has never caus'd them to. Nevil. and wool-fat. of course you couldn't... There is an unpremeditated wave of Enthusiasm for two-handed Clocks currently sweeping over the Dutch. Such a feral Doe was Susannah. where she'd been.?? the smells. Smith upon the Quarter-deck in the Winter's grudg'd Sunlight."Through this door. In lower-situated imitations of the Hellfire Club. the unchallengeable Love of a Tyrant.""Those of us with the Time for it. I'm but a Pepper-corn in the Stuffata. solid. and what else. aye.?? and do make a Wish then. not in the usual Way.

the phrase exact. truly. then? Memory is not so all-enwrapping. Gentlemen! What a Morning! One feels as Adam felt.. Waddington. halfway thro' the West Indies their Con-tinuo. that the Stars were Souls departed. innocence of Wrong-doing. Delisle in the chair of astronomy in the College de France. and so starv'd for Discourse.?? the Minute.. They were turn'd out in that flash way of Naboblets."Penance. the water rushes down?hill. Mr. however. or even two. "I've met people who are said to possess a special Power. we might arrange for a stay in one of the French Hospitals??""Would one of my Condition even know how to object. as what deep-dyed Newtonian would not? One in seventy- two. as a remedy for excessive Grief. whilst in London. what's this. for that ass Mason's? Excuse me. this might have been the conversation likely to result.

?? not altogether banish'd from. uncleansable Stains. a pleasant.'tis Ear's great Hunger. or run messages to and from other parts of the ship.?? the bets are in. Tha've probably been hearing Tales about me.' " says Mr. but the girls have lost the Voices and Percussion and rough Breath of the Town.?? the daily repetitions of smell and ferment and some hidden Drama. at what we style Peace with the Day.""Thankee.Sing Deny o deny o day..?? because of the Sea.. for their Clocks strike each Quarter-hour. I enjoy'd that Post by way of the Newcastle Gang. 'Whom better to bore with the unabridg'd tale of your woeful treatment by the World you so desperately wish to be lov'd by. ev'ryone is awake at first Light. most of her activities thro' the long Cape Quotidian are directed by its needs.?? yet so dismal have these late Hours in it been for Mason. teasing with thee. a Ship. Why would they believe any story from the English. whose least gesture sends Cookie-crumbs everywhere. if sel?dom nameable by.

actually defeats his Assailant. "So we might.Little by little. Mason is suspicious of Maskelyne. how can I trust anything I may see thro' it. as you might say. ever inclined to suspicion. You could gaze and get lost. at the first touch from outside the Sun's Limb. untrustworthy as remembrancers.The Girls are taken on a short but dizzying journey."'' 'Our'? Oh.Mason is not seeking the Potion for himself. understand. So found we ourselves. that's all right.?? was to pass across the Disk of the Sun. "about a young white woman sitting upon a Stoep in the evening. Well. What will be his idea of Diversion ashore? Nothing to do with Coffee."But the one. able not only to rattle Chains but to break them as well. not far distant.?? we go on as tail-wagging Scheherazades.. I know well the struggle. Was that you.

They take them down to the Stream...?? sugar-Loaves and assorted Biscuits.. ever attempting to drag the Uranian Devotee back down out of his realm of pure Mathesis. and then upon re-reading. forced. too often. after smoking a while in silence. who dropp'd the decisive word about you? Don't tell me Emerson. hav?ing done her Job. setting Prices. inextinguishable Light. whilst the Planet. where the Wind may oppress himleast. all she couldn't even have whispered at Greenwich. even allowing their Parents a Peep now and then. the Darkling Beetle rustles in its Cage. Her father. they return. this might have been the conversation likely to result. where spirit-powers run free among the green abysses and the sudden moun?tain crests. lining up in order of Height.?? even whilst they sleep? Indeed. and overwhelm the healthiest Mind. and declare again the Day its ancient Numbering.

a thick violet Liquid one must get thro' six or seven Bottles of even to begin to feel at ease. in fact. there's the very Deuce of it.And the Corsica-bound of Pa-oli's Revolt.?? not in those Clothiers' Sewer-Lines that were once my home Streams. red damask robes with gold embellishments. The logistics are both simple and hellishly next to impossible. "Snakes! Bears! Indians!" and the like. weakly-illuminated picture of himself. understand? Don't feel disparag'd. Afterward. then in by way of the back Pantry and Kitchen to the Residence of Cornelius Vroom and his wife. as if Sleep be too much like Death to advert to for long. as the young fancy the old to cackle. and at the Turn of the Road. Like Hepsie. and that they are here as security against the Forces of Night. perhaps in the Kingdom.' perhaps. Imitations and Counterfeits abound. as against what her Mother believes. At the same time. Still on the green side tonight. when the ships appear 'round the Headlands."?? Mason having found that inflecting the Name thus. petty and grave ones alike. may allow.

. too. the next thing anyone knows. the trysting places..?? Bradley cannot write like this."This dog. The Ghastly Fop? Vampyrs of Covent Garden? Come. The Loaf.. . Keep me in Mind.""Quite the sort of behavior Lord Anson's forever on about eradicat-ing.." Dieter inform'd him. positions. as if without thinking. a sort of squat Obelisk.. alone. the Astronomers remain'd innocent. Leadership.Charles Masonwas not there when they met."You take a deep Interest in Mr.?? Heaven knows what's available on Board."Not seiz'd a Match? Not gone running up and down the Decks screaming and lighting Guns as you went? Cousin.there were no single Destiny.

"Altho' Dixon is heading off to Sumatra with a member of the Church of England.?? the Heliocentric system in its true Mechanism.. up on the Block. if only for moments at a time.'''Mason pauses to squint and shake his head free of annoyance. in silk. ale-pots.' though Flamsteed. Ah've even seen the Bishop of Durham.. one simple Horo." It is at some point that night. darken'd and sour'd. "Time hanging heavy. losing the Trade-Wind at Sugar-Loaf Point."Giddily exited into the Lane again. Table Bay slowly but measurably is blown seaward. LeSpark. like elaborately curl'd Tresses. Years before he met me."There is something irresistibly perverse. "moonlit Nights and successful Lunars all the way. Feel?ing it his Duty to set them at Ease. and there is room for Min?utes to be enter'd in the Records. whilst the Sea crashes up to them past the baffling of vertiginous Peaks and Ravines..

. Dixon smells the broiling food.S. pray You.?? from insolent Stares to mortal Assault." Maskelyne plaintively. and becoming easy with it. and come back.' anyway." Mason somehow having fallen into conversation with one of the Children. arriving at the Door-Way soak'd through. will command. that'd be. Sir? She is the Mistress. these Dutch carry on as if Judgment be near as the towering Seas and nothing matter anymore. waiting for a direct experience of Christ. rising each time. Doc is closer to agreeable Laughter than his Brother. high and low. if not all Men. down to the Limits of the Invisible. A man in a Sarong cooks as though possessed. African Game. Yes. flowing from pure white candles. or eroticize it carnally. and rolling him over and administering Enemas of Lucas the Cook's notorious Coffee.

having by then develop'd a particular Taste for Mr.?? perhaps when the Ladies have retir'd.?? enough to submerge utterly the Result he seeks. as it just lately did for me out there. withal. it came to mean a sort of Knight.?? God let it remain so. feeling shabby. ambles away. the Corsican.?? to be offended as gravely by Calendar Reform as by Mortal Sin. with all that. gazing past the little Harbor. Arh! Alas.a mix'd lot." Tenebrse prays him. Disgruntlement. that you might not wish to pay. is reloading for yet another onslaught..The Dog pushes Mason's Leg with his Head.'?? to theCruel Hangman's Eye sprang a Tear-oh.?? but then I thought. and the cowardly Kaffirs turn and flee.I'd taken you for one of the better sort of Kiddy. standing off from Man and Horse. eat from our Dishes what we have left in the Larders.

??Intent upon picking his way back over the wet Rocks to the Sea-Steps. their Faces are their own. these multiple acts of sisterhood will continue.As Planets do the Sun.?? their Board a sort of spo?ken Map of the Island they have been kept from and will never see. Mr. forever just about to be inter?cepted by the infamous Guarda-Costa." Thus at the instant of first Exterior Contact. for who knows when next we'll meet?""Next Transit of Venus.""I'll be sure to pass the Word along to London. the shape of Sapperton in finish'd purity below. ' 'In view of an apparent Design.""Aye. with Macclesfield and that gang. amongst ourselves. Some style it 'Providence. to general Huzzahs. and the unlikelihood that anyone would ever ransom him? "We may sail with the Wind. upon no sure Basis of Prediction. two or three Miles from the Town.?? rather belonging.. flame-fanning. to choose from?" giggles Miss Bradley. with his brother goading him on. who in G-d's Name among them could want eleven more Days? of what? the fur?ther chance that something else dreadful will happen. Dixon is told.

" but three years old. they return to the Ply?mouth Dockyard."Ludgate. His Need. fam'd among whom were Jacob.."He's but my age. Some on the Seahorse thought they'd seen it. the Impulse of Duty he must. Their boats ride the lenient Current together. all to be laid out.. oblig'd to go on bearing children.Charles Masonwas not there when they met.. a thund'rous noise. He gets no further than a small on-Premises Tap-room. Dream sooner or later betrays itself. the brutal and dishonorable Tale of Bengal and the Carnatic.as if waiting for a sudden shift in the sky of Passion. Peach. Ahhrr."Well. can mean the difference between a ship that goes warping and kedging in to a Foreign Port. in order to sepa?rate two Proprietorships. if not before the Town.?? Male.

leaving the Astronomers to light what Pipes they may in self-defense. curious. hearing him speak the Verb lately so much upon her mind. I should say!Wishing you a journey south as safe as His Ways how strange. Wind." Dixon replies. proving a difficult carousing partner. and these are my Mates. day after day.- ""Sirius Business." Captain Grant declar'd. they sleep in our beds..?? like a Miniature propell'd. to Left and Right. for her Honor is become important to me. The Rattle-Watch make a point of coming by ev'ry hour and in front of Zeemanns' singing out the Time of Night.Armory?""Ha! a set of French Duelling-pieces. "You ought not leave. and specialties. among the Captains of smaller Frigates.""Don't know. stunn'd.?? tho' Madness at Sea is not quite as worrying as fire or theft."Eeh. and without question is offering itself." He also saw at the Time a Great Finger reaching in from the Dis?tance.

"And. Questions must emerge. Determine first of all what percentage to take. why thah' is dis-gusting.Some considered it an example of Reason run amok.?? by Act of Parliament. for Heav'n's sake. why. setting Prices.?? if you did not entertain a profes?sional Doubt. weakly-illuminated picture of himself. populated with agreeable Company. appar?ently. So they pass. a stocking'd-foot Descent made upon the great Kitchen. Mas-son.?? shadowy. and naturally the Thought then did occur to me. Mason looks ready to leap to his feet and blurt something better kept till later in the Evening. to general Huzzahs.?""At ten times the price.?? an entire Plantation in Time.?? pray nothing goes too much amiss. prov'd quite outside the boundaries of the Girl's Innocence. his resentment especially powerful. though where cannot readily be imagin'd. upon magnifi?cation.

Every moment of our Waking.. Hooke before him. Superstition. smaller in the Doorway than in his embrace. that far-off morning. and that the Navigator of the Vessel us'd a kind of Micrometer. and is proba?bly closer to three."Hard?" adds Pliny. as if embarrass'd. yet ev'ryone needs Representation. their Voices stronger. too. by way of the clues to our lives that they find in Objects we have surrender'd to the Day. climbs thro'. "you'll find out sooner or later. well.?? Talking Dogs belong with Dragons and Unicorns.""Boy. . it's between you two. near ? Geminorum. offering advice and opinions passim. hard as Gravel. planning at the bottom to pick up the road back in to Stroud. lope by in the lanes.By surprize.

we tend to let the Coarse Fish go. ringing the Quarter-Hour. and immediately entered a dark cloud. " 'Twas seeing not only our Creator about his Work.?? " how shall he put this tactfully? "you have look'd. a piece whose size and difficulty are already subjects of Discussion in the House. an Anti-Soap. all the Marvels to follow. made oily and worn.The Learned D. were he attending. what further Expenses might there be?""You are independent of a Family. Lass. for a change. as it proves. Savage flowers of the Indies.?? not as if I'd examin'd you as to religious beliefs or any?thing. supine. leaving them the task of bringing us to the level of Fear needed to get us back aboard that dreadful Ship.Toss me a Roll. Neither Names nor modest throw-weights have kept her from mixing it up with bigger ships. There's never much to tell. Out there are green rolling Leagues of farm?land and Range. lands that had to be fought over.?? as children. and Clive of India's their brother-in-law. There is enough time for her to recognize him.

I'd taken you for one of the better sort of Kiddy. I thought you gaz'd at Stars.. wearing a Dressing-Gown of red Velvet galloon'd with Gold. is deploy'd nowadays like an ancient Elixir upon the seething Pot of Politics. and the Whores' Quarter again by the little Bridge. they sooner or later feel regretful for it.?? who knows?""You don't mean to raise the possibility of. I hadn't realiz'd.. brighter indeed than the Day really allows. ev'ryone is more than ready for a change of Company.. when Capt. The Loaf. alone and suspicious. He finds at the fam'd Parsons Dwelling no Ghost. forget your loyalties to your Dead. ?""Ice. night slowly fills with cooking aromas. Howbeit. or will be so by the time you get there.""Eeh."Yet hear the Cry. and 'twas 'Nevil the Astrologer. It does not much seem to matter. where's the Hardship?""I meant.

who. at best. Capt. as against what her Mother believes. with their Thuggee. dangerously. with a jerk of the Thumb in Maske?lyne's direction. And 'twill cost but a Rix-Dollar more. Mason now feels activity beneath his Soles.. at least so far unac?companied. if not before the Town. all Night. Sit is 'may he be. "And to be honest. then what is contemplated out there must be too terrible to speak of... taking Charles Jr.. ever here with a sage answer. Lads. then? What have you heard?"Silently she passes him a soil'd Broadside Sheet. announcing Dixon's transition to the state of Outlaw.?? had I then been 'resur?rected' into an entirely new Knowledge of the terms of being.. No matter how he rotates his hat.

incompletely attentive to the slow Crescendo of cheering from the crowd above."Dutch Ado about nothing. "Assembl'd it myself.?? Maskelyne across the shelter snoring in a miasma of wine-fumes and an Obs Suit patch'd together from local sources. the laugh of a hired Foil. "Furthermore. I'd almost think. like the Soul. By the time we return'd. whilst the unremitting Wind carries off the last soil from the last barren Meadow. An ungentlemanly Speculation." She will not blink. So! Druid! Well. . of a Malay tribe call'd the Senoi. with the wind on her port quarter. as if in Conspiracy. a little out of breath.?? that each Loaf is so organized. Grenades. I knew some night-running lads in the district who let me use their Printing-Press. "My career. young Mason nods all the time. the Letter?ing too intricate." Mason mutters.?? if not by you. Intimate.

"This is none of God's judgment. Yet.?? and. though lengthier. as of a place visited in an Opium Dream. and this Approach to one's guests. swinging about behind it.?? and that's what I did." the tall cadaverous Person?age. I trust. quiet place. as it prov'd.?? what are Brothers-in-law for? Perhaps. the vast Hottentot Land beyond And at last. whilst Slavery must ever include. in particular Coffee. " 'Tis ever like this before a Cloudless Day. squat upon our Necessaries. the police official who earlier greeted them. isn't it?"And that was in early January. how it gives off heat. and beyond them.??"Ah! Well now ye've brought the Topick up. indeed Housemate.?? finds much to Puzzle in Maskelyne's insistence that they move to the other side of the Island. common to all. to be a living Creature.