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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Infernal Marriage, by Benjamin Disraeli
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Infernal Marriage
+
+Author: Benjamin Disraeli
+
+Release Date: December 3, 2006 [EBook #20003]
+Last Updated: August 26, 2016
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INFERNAL MARRIAGE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE INFERNAL MARRIAGE
+
+By Benjamin Disraeli
+
+_Proserpine was the daughter of Jupiter and Ceres. Pluto, the god
+of Hell, became enamoured of her. His addresses were favoured by her
+father, but opposed by Ceres. Under these circumstances, he surprised
+her on the plains of Enna, and carried her off in his chariot._
+
+
+
+
+THE INFERNAL MARRIAGE
+
+
+
+
+PART I.
+
+     _A Sublime Elopement_
+
+IT WAS clearly a runaway match--never indeed was such a sublime
+elopement. The four horses were coal-black, with blood-red manes and
+tails; and they were shod with rubies. They were harnessed to a basaltic
+car by a single rein of flame. Waving his double-pronged trident in the
+air, the god struck the blue breast of Cyane, and the waters instantly
+parted. In rushed the wild chariot, the pale and insensible Proserpine
+clinging to the breast of her grim lover.
+
+Through the depths of the hitherto unfathomed lake the infernal steeds
+held their breathless course. The car jolted against its bed. ‘Save me!’
+exclaimed the future Queen of Hades, and she clung with renewed energy
+to the bosom of the dark bridegroom. The earth opened; they entered the
+kingdom of the gnomes. Here Pluto was popular. The lurid populace gave
+him a loud shout. The chariot whirled along through shadowy cities and
+by dim highways, swarming with a busy race of shades.
+
+‘Ye flowery meads of Enna!’ exclaimed the terrified Proserpine, ‘shall I
+never view you again? What an execrable climate!’
+
+‘Here, however, in-door nature is charming,’ responded Pluto. ‘Tis a
+great nation of manufacturers. You are better, I hope, my Proserpine.
+The passage of the water is never very agreeable, especially to ladies.’
+
+‘And which is our next stage?’ inquired Proserpine.
+
+‘The centre of Earth,’ replied Pluto. ‘Travelling is so much improved
+that at this rate we shall reach Hades before night.’
+
+‘Alas!’ exclaimed Proserpine, ‘is not this night?’
+
+‘You are not unhappy, my Proserpine?’
+
+‘Beloved of my heart, I have given up everything for you! I do not
+repent, but I am thinking of my mother.’
+
+‘Time will pacify the Lady Ceres. What is done cannot be undone. In the
+winter, when a residence among us is even desirable, I should not be
+surprised were she to pay us a visit.’
+
+‘Her prejudices are so strong,’ murmured the bride. ‘Oh my Pluto! I hope
+your family will be kind to me.’
+
+‘Who could be unkind to Proserpine? Ours is a very domestic circle. I
+can assure you that everything is so well ordered among us that I have
+no recollection of a domestic broil.’
+
+‘But marriage is such a revolution in a bachelor’s establishment,’
+replied Proserpine, despondingly. ‘To tell the truth, too, I am half
+frightened at the thought of the Furies. I have heard that their tempers
+are so violent.’
+
+‘They mean well; their feelings are strong, but their hearts are in the
+right place. I flatter myself you will like my nieces, the Parcae. They
+are accomplished, and favourites among the men.’
+
+‘Indeed!’
+
+‘Oh! quite irresistible.’
+
+‘My heart misgives me. I wish you had at least paid them the compliment
+of apprising them of our marriage.’
+
+‘Cheer up. For myself, I have none but pleasant anticipations. I long
+to be at home once more by my own fireside, and patting my faithful
+Cerberus.’
+
+‘I think I shall like Cerberus; I am fond of dogs.’
+
+‘I am sure you will. He is the most faithful creature in the world.’
+
+‘Is he very fierce?’
+
+‘Not if he takes a fancy to you; and who can help taking a fancy to
+Proserpine?’
+
+‘Ah! my Pluto, you are in love.’
+
+‘Is this Hades?’ inquired Proserpine.
+
+An avenue of colossal bulls, sculptured in basalt and breathing
+living flame, led to gates of brass, adorned with friezes of rubies,
+representing the wars and discomfiture of the Titans. A crimson cloud
+concealed the height of the immense portals, and on either side hovered
+o’er the extending walls of the city; a watch-tower or a battlement
+occasionally flashing forth, and forcing their forms through the lurid
+obscurity.
+
+‘Queen of Hades! welcome to your capital!’ exclaimed Pluto.
+
+The monarch rose in his car and whirled a javelin at the gates. There
+was an awful clang, and then a still more terrible growl.
+
+‘My faithful Cerberus!’ exclaimed the King.
+
+The portals flew open, and revealed the gigantic form of the celebrated
+watch-dog of Hell. It completely filled their wide expanse. Who but
+Pluto could have viewed without horror that enormous body covered with
+shaggy spikes, those frightful paws clothed with claws of steel, that
+tail like a boa constrictor, those fiery eyes that blazed like the
+blood-red lamps in a pharos, and those three forky tongues, round each
+of which were entwined a vigorous family of green rattlesnakes!
+
+‘Ah! Cerby! Cerby!’ exclaimed Pluto; ‘my fond and faithful Cerby!’
+
+Proserpine screamed as the animal gambolled up to the side of the
+chariot and held out its paw to its master. Then, licking the royal palm
+with its three tongues at once, it renewed its station with a wag of its
+tail which raised such a cloud of dust that for a few minutes nothing
+was perceptible.
+
+‘The monster!’ exclaimed Proserpine.
+
+‘My love!’ exclaimed Pluto, with astonishment.
+
+‘The hideous brute!’
+
+‘My dear!’ exclaimed Pluto.
+
+‘He shall never touch me.’
+
+‘Proserpine!’
+
+‘Don’t touch me with that hand. You never shall touch me, if you allow
+that disgusting animal to lick your hand.’
+
+‘I beg to inform you that there are few beings of any kind for whom I
+have a greater esteem than that faithful and affectionate beast.’
+
+‘Oh! if you like Cerberus better than me, I have no more to say,’
+exclaimed the bride, bridling up with indignation.
+
+‘My Proserpine is perverse,’ replied Pluto; ‘her memory has scarcely
+done me justice.’
+
+‘I am sure you said you liked Cerberus better than anything in the
+world,’ continued the goddess, with a voice trembling with passion.
+
+‘I said no such thing,’ replied Pluto, somewhat sternly.
+
+‘I see how it is,’ replied Proserpine, with a sob; ‘you are tired of
+me.’
+
+‘My beloved!’
+
+‘I never expected this.’
+
+‘My child!’
+
+‘Was it for this I left my mother?’
+
+‘Powers of Hades! How you can say such things!’
+
+‘Broke her heart?’
+
+‘Proserpine! Proserpine!’
+
+‘Gave up daylight?’
+
+‘For the sake of Heaven, then, calm yourself!’
+
+‘Sacrificed everything?’
+
+‘My love! my life! my angel! what is all this?’
+
+‘And then to be abused for the sake of a dog!’
+
+‘By all the shades of Hell, but this is enough to provoke even
+immortals. What have I done, said, or thought, to justify such
+treatment?’
+
+‘Oh! me!’
+
+‘Proserpine!’
+
+‘Heigho!’
+
+‘Proserpine! Proserpine!’
+
+‘So soon is the veil withdrawn!’
+
+‘Dearest, you must be unwell. This journey has been too much for you,’
+
+‘On our very bridal day to be so treated!’
+
+‘Soul of my existence, don’t make me mad. I love you, I adore you; I
+have no hope, no wish, no thought but you. I swear it; I swear it by
+my sceptre and my throne. Speak, speak to your Pluto: tell him all your
+wish, all your desire. What would you have me do?’
+
+‘Shoot that horrid beast.’
+
+‘Ah! me!’
+
+‘What, you will not? I thought how it would be. I am Proserpine, your
+beloved, adored Proserpine. You have no wish, no hope, no thought but
+for me! I have only to speak, and what I desire will be instantly done!
+And I do speak, I tell you my wish, I express to you my desire, and I
+am instantly refused! And what have I requested? Is it such a mighty
+favour? Is it anything unreasonable? Is there, indeed, in my entreaty
+anything so vastly out of the way? The death of a dog, a disgusting
+animal, which has already shaken my nerves to pieces; and if ever (here
+she hid her face in his breast), if ever that event should occur which
+both must desire, my Pluto, I am sure the very sight of that horrible
+beast will--I dare not say what it will do.’
+
+Pluto looked puzzled.
+
+‘Indeed, my Proserpine, it is not in my power to grant your request; for
+Cerberus is immortal, like ourselves.’
+
+‘Me! miserable!’
+
+‘Some arrangement, however, may be made to keep him out of your sight
+and hearing. I can banish him.’
+
+‘Can you, indeed? Oh! banish him, my Pluto! pray banish him! I never
+shall be happy until Cerberus is banished.’
+
+‘I will do anything you desire; but I confess to you I have some
+misgivings. He is an invaluable watch-dog; and I fear, without his
+superintendence, the guardians of the gate will scarcely do their duty.’
+
+‘Oh! yes: I am sure they will, my Pluto! I will ask them to, I will ask
+them myself, I will request them, as a particular and personal favour to
+myself, to be very careful indeed. And if they do their duty, and I am
+sure they will, they shall be styled, as a reward, “Proserpine’s Own
+Guards.”’
+
+‘A reward, indeed!’ said the enamoured monarch, as, with a sigh, he
+signed the order for the banishment of Cerberus in the form of his
+promotion to the office of Master of the royal and imperial bloodhounds.
+
+The burning waves of Phlegethon assumed a lighter hue. It was morning.
+It was the morning after the arrival of Pluto and his unexpected bride.
+In one of the principal rooms of the palace three beautiful females,
+clothed in cerulean robes spangled with stars, and their heads adorned
+with golden crowns, were at work together. One held a distaff, from
+which the second spun; and the third wielded an enormous pair of
+adamantine shears, with which she perpetually severed the labours of her
+sisters. Tall were they in stature and beautiful in form. Very fair;
+an expression of haughty serenity pervaded their majestic countenances.
+Their three companions, however, though apparently of the same sex, were
+of a different character. If women can ever be ugly, certainly
+these three ladies might put in a valid claim to that epithet. Their
+complexions were dark and withered, and their eyes, though bright, were
+bloodshot. Scantily clothed in black garments, not unstained with gore,
+their wan and offensive forms were but slightly veiled. Their hands were
+talons; their feet cloven; and serpents were wreathed round their brows
+instead of hair. Their restless and agitated carriage afforded also not
+less striking contrast to the polished and aristocratic demeanour of
+their companions. They paced the chamber with hurried and unequal steps,
+and wild and uncouth gestures; waving, with a reckless ferocity, burning
+torches and whips of scorpions. It is hardly necessary to add that these
+were the Furies, and that the conversation which I am about to report
+was carried on with the Fates.
+
+‘A thousand serpents!’ shrieked Tisiphone. ‘I will never believe it.’
+
+‘Racks and flames!’ squeaked Megaera. ‘It is impossible.’
+
+‘Eternal torture!’ moaned Alecto. ‘‘Tis a lie.’
+
+‘Not Jupiter himself should convince us!’ the Furies joined in infernal
+chorus.
+
+‘‘Tis nevertheless true,’ calmly observed the beautiful Clotho.
+
+‘You will soon have the honour of being presented to her,’ added the
+serene Lachesis.
+
+‘And whatever we may feel,’ observed the considerate Atropos, ‘I think,
+my dear girls, you had better restrain yourselves.’
+
+‘And what sort of thing is she?’ inquired Tisiphone, with a shriek.
+
+‘I have heard that she is lovely,’ answered Clotho. ‘Indeed, it is
+impossible to account for the affair in any other way.’
+
+‘‘Tis neither possible to account for nor to justify it,’ squeaked
+Megaera.
+
+‘Is there, indeed, a Queen in Hell?’ moaned Alecto.
+
+‘We shall hold no more drawing-rooms,’ said Lachesis.
+
+‘We will never attend hers,’ said the Furies.
+
+‘You must,’ replied the Fates.
+
+‘I have no doubt she will give herself airs,’ shrieked Tisiphone.
+
+‘We must remember where she has been brought up, and be considerate,’
+replied Lachesis.
+
+‘I dare say you three will get on very well with her,’ squeaked Megasra.
+‘You always get on well with people.’
+
+‘We must remember how very strange things here must appear to her,’
+observed Atropos.
+
+‘No one can deny that there are some very disagreeable sights,’ said
+Clotho.
+
+‘There is something in that,’ replied Tisiphone, looking in the glass,
+and arranging her serpents; ‘and for my part, poor girl, I almost pity
+her, when I think she will have to visit the Harpies.’
+
+At this moment four little pages entered the room, who, without
+exception, were the most hideous dwarfs that ever attended upon a
+monarch. They were clothed only in parti-coloured tunics, and their
+breasts and legs were quite bare. From the countenance of the first you
+would have supposed he was in a convulsion; his hands were clenched
+and his hair stood on end: this was Terror! The protruded veins of the
+second seemed ready to burst, and his rubicund visage decidedly proved
+that he had blood in his head; this was Rage! The third was of an ashen
+colour throughout: this was Paleness! And the fourth, with a countenance
+not without traces of beauty, was even more disgusting than his
+companions from the quantity of horrible flies, centipedes, snails, and
+other noisome, slimy, and indescribable monstrosities that were crawling
+all about his body and feeding on his decaying features. The name of
+this fourth page was Death!
+
+‘The King and Queen!’ announced the pages.
+
+Pluto, during the night, had prepared Proserpine for the worst, and had
+endeavoured to persuade her that his love would ever compensate for
+all annoyances. She was in excellent spirits and in very good humour;
+therefore, though she could with difficulty stifle a scream when she
+recognised the Furies, she received the congratulations of the Parcae
+with much cordiality.
+
+‘I have the pleasure, Proserpine, of presenting you to my family,’ said
+Pluto.
+
+‘Who, I am sure, hope to make Hades agreeable to your Majesty,’ rejoined
+Clotho. The Furies uttered a suppressed sound between a murmur and a
+growl.
+
+‘I have ordered the chariot,’ said Pluto. ‘I propose to take the Queen a
+ride, and show her some of our lions.’
+
+‘She will, I am sure, be delighted,’ said Lachesis.
+
+‘I long to see Ixion,’ said Proserpine.
+
+‘The wretch!’ shrieked Tisiphone.
+
+‘I cannot help thinking that he has been very unfairly treated,’ said
+Proserpine.
+
+‘What!’ squeaked Megaera. ‘The ravisher!’
+
+‘Ay! it is all very well,’ replied Proserpine; ‘but, for my part, if we
+knew the truth of that affair-----’
+
+‘Is it possible that your Majesty can speak in such a tone of levity of
+such an offender?’ shrieked Tisiphone.
+
+‘Is it possible?’ moaned Alecto.
+
+‘Ah! you have heard only one side of the question; but for my part,
+knowing as much of Juno as I do-----’
+
+‘The Queen of Heaven!’ observed Atropos, with an intimidating glance.
+
+‘The Queen of Fiddlestick!’ said Proserpine; ‘as great a flirt as ever
+existed, with all her prudish looks.’
+
+The Fates and the Furies exchanged glances of astonishment and horror.
+
+‘For my part,’ continued Proserpine, ‘I make it a rule to support the
+weaker side, and nothing will ever persuade me that Ixion is not a
+victim, and a pitiable one.’
+
+‘Well! men generally have the best of it in these affairs,’ said
+Lachesis, with a forced smile.
+
+‘Juno ought to be ashamed of herself,’ said Proserpine. ‘Had I been in
+her situation, they should have tied me to a wheel first. At any rate,
+they ought to have punished him in Heaven. I have no idea of those
+people sending every _mauvais sujet_ to Hell.’
+
+‘But what shall we do?’ inquired Pluto, who wished to turn the
+conversation.
+
+‘Shall we turn out a sinner and hunt him for her Majesty’s diversion?’
+suggested Tisiphone, flanking her serpents.
+
+‘Nothing of the kind will ever divert me,’ said Proserpine; ‘for I have
+no hesitation in saying that I do not at all approve of these eternal
+punishments, or, indeed, of any punishment whatever.’
+
+‘The heretic!’ whispered Tisiphone to Megaera. Alecto moaned.
+
+‘It might be more interesting to her Majesty,’ said Atropos, ‘to witness
+some of those extraordinary instances of predestined misery with which
+Hades abounds. Shall we visit OEdipus?’
+
+‘Poor fellow!’ exclaimed Proserpine. ‘For myself, I willingly confess
+that torture disgusts and Destiny puzzles me.’
+
+The Fates and the Furies all alike started.
+
+‘I do not understand this riddle of Destiny,’ continued the young Queen.
+‘If you, Parcae, have predestined that a man should commit a crime,
+it appears to me very unjust that you should afterwards call upon the
+Furies to punish him for its commission.’
+
+‘But man is a free agent,’ observed Lachesis, in as mild a tone as she
+could command.
+
+‘Then what becomes of Destiny?’ replied Proserpine.
+
+‘Destiny is eternal and irresistible,’ replied Clotho. ‘All is ordained;
+but man is, nevertheless, master of his own actions.’
+
+‘I do not understand that,’ said Proserpine.
+
+‘It is not meant to be understood,’ said Atropos; ‘but you must
+nevertheless believe it.’
+
+‘I make it a rule only to believe what I understand,’ replied
+Proserpine.
+
+‘It appears,’ said Lachesis, with a blended glance of contempt and
+vengeance, ‘that your Majesty, though a goddess, is an atheist.’
+
+‘As for that, anybody may call me just what they please, provided they
+do nothing else. So long as I am not tied to a wheel or whipped with
+scorpions for speaking my mind, I shall be as tolerant of the speech and
+acts of others as I expect them to be tolerant of mine. Come, Pluto, I
+am sure that the chariot must be ready!’
+
+So saying, her Majesty took the arm of her spouse, and with a haughty
+curtsey left the apartment.
+
+‘Did you ever!’ shrieked Tisiphone, as the door closed.
+
+‘No! never!’ squeaked Megaera.
+
+‘Never! never!’ moaned Alecto.
+
+‘She must understand what she believes, must she?’ said Lachesis,
+scarcely less irritated.
+
+‘I never heard such nonsense,’ said Clotho.
+
+‘What next!’ said Atropos.
+
+‘Disgusted with torture!’ exclaimed the Furies.
+
+‘Puzzled with Destiny!’ said the Fates.
+
+It was the third morning after the Infernal Marriage; the slumbering
+Proserpine reposed in the arms of the snoring Pluto. There was a loud
+knocking at the chamber-door. Pluto jumped up in the middle of a dream.
+
+‘My life, what is the matter?’ exclaimed Proserpine.
+
+The knocking was repeated and increased. There was also a loud shout of
+‘treason, murder, and fire!’
+
+‘What is the matter?’ exclaimed the god, jumping out of bed and seizing
+his trident. ‘Who is there?’
+
+‘Your pages, your faithful pages! Treason! treason! For the sake of
+Hell, open the door. Murder, fire, treason!’
+
+‘Enter!’ said Pluto, as the door was unlocked.
+
+And Terror and Rage entered.
+
+‘You frightful things, get out of the room!’ cried Proserpine.
+
+‘A moment, my angel!’ said Pluto, ‘a single moment. Be not alarmed, my
+best love; I pray you be not alarmed. Well, imps, why am I disturbed?’
+
+‘Oh!’ said Terror. Rage could not speak, but gnashed his teeth and
+stamped his feet.
+
+‘O-o-o-h!’ repeated Terror.
+
+‘Speak, cursed imps!’ cried the enraged Pluto; and he raised his arm.
+
+‘A man! a man!’ cried Terror. ‘Treason, treason! a man! a man!’
+
+‘What man?’ said Pluto, in a rage.
+
+‘A man, a live man, has entered Hell!’
+
+‘You don’t say so?’ said Proserpine; ‘a man, a live man. Let me see him
+immediately.’
+
+‘Where is he?’ said Pluto; ‘what is he doing?’
+
+‘He is here, there, and everywhere! asking for your wife, and singing
+like anything.’
+
+‘Proserpine!’ said Pluto, reproachfully; but, to do the god justice, he
+was more astounded than jealous.
+
+‘I am sure I shall be delighted to see him; it is so long since I have
+seen a live man,’ said Proserpine. ‘Who can he be? A man, and a live
+man! How delightful! It must be a messenger from my mother.’
+
+‘But how came he here?’
+
+‘Ah! how came he here?’ echoed Terror.
+
+‘No time must be lost!’ exclaimed Pluto, scrambling on his robe. ‘Seize
+him, and bring him into the council chamber. My charming Proserpine,
+excuse me for a moment.’
+
+‘Not at all; I will accompany you.’
+
+‘But, my love, my sweetest, my own, this is business; these are affairs
+of state. The council chamber is not a place for you.’
+
+‘And why not?’ said Proserpine. ‘I have no idea of ever leaving you for
+a moment. Why not for me as well as for the Fates and the Furies? Am I
+not Queen? I have no idea of such nonsense!’
+
+‘My love!’ said the deprecating husband.
+
+‘You don’t go without me,’ said the imperious wife, seizing his robe.
+
+‘I must,’ said Pluto.
+
+‘Then you shall never return,’ said Proserpine.
+
+‘Enchantress! be reasonable.’
+
+‘I never was, and I never will be,’ replied the Goddess.
+
+‘Treason! treason!’ screamed Terror.
+
+‘My love, I must go!’
+
+‘Pluto,’ said Proserpine, ‘understand me once for all, I will not be
+contradicted.’
+
+Rage stamped his foot.
+
+‘Proserpine, understand me once for all, it is impossible,’ said the
+God, frowning.
+
+‘My Pluto!’ said the Queen. ‘Is it my Pluto who speaks thus sternly to
+me? Is it he who, but an hour ago, a short hour ago, died upon my bosom
+in transports and stifled me with kisses! Unhappy woman! wretched,
+miserable Proserpine! Oh! my mother! my kind, my affectionate mother!
+Have I disobeyed you for this! For this have I deserted you! For this
+have I broken your beloved heart!’ She buried her face in the crimson
+counterpane, and bedewed its gorgeous embroidery with her fast-flowing
+tears.
+
+‘Treason!’ shouted Terror.
+
+‘Ha! ha! ha!’ exclaimed the hysterical Proserpine.
+
+‘What am I to do?’ cried Pluto. ‘Proserpine, my adored, my beloved, my
+enchanting Proserpine, compose yourself; for my sake, compose yourself.
+I love you! I adore you! You know it! oh! indeed you know it!’
+
+The hysterics increased.
+
+‘Treason! treason!’ shouted Terror.
+
+‘Hold your infernal tongue,’ said Pluto. ‘What do I care for treason
+when the Queen is in this state?’ He knelt by the bedside, and tried to
+stop her mouth with kisses, and ever and anon whispered his passion. ‘My
+Proserpine, I beseech you to be calm; I will do anything you like. Come,
+come, then, to the council!’
+
+The hysterics ceased; the Queen clasped him in her arms and rewarded him
+with a thousand embraces. Then, jumping up, she bathed her swollen eyes
+with a beautiful cosmetic that she and her maidens had distilled from
+the flowers of Enna; and, wrapping herself up in her shawl, descended
+with his Majesty, who was quite as much puzzled about the cause of this
+disturbance as when he was first roused.
+
+Crossing an immense covered bridge, the origin of the Bridge of Sighs at
+Venice, over the royal gardens, which consisted entirely of cypress,
+the royal pair, preceded by the pages-in-waiting, entered the council
+chamber. The council was already assembled. On either side of a throne
+of sulphur, from which issued the four infernal rivers of Lethe,
+Phlegethon, Cocytus, and Acheron, were ranged the Eumenides and Parcae.
+Lachesis and her sisters turned up their noses when they observed
+Proserpine; but the Eumenides could not stifle their fury, in spite of
+the hints of their more subdued but not less malignant companions.
+
+‘What is all this?’ inquired Pluto.
+
+‘The constitution is in danger,’ said the Parcae in chorus.
+
+‘Both in church and state,’ added the Furies. ‘‘Tis a case of treason
+and blasphemy;’ and they waved their torches and shook their whips with
+delighted anticipation of their use.
+
+‘Detail the circumstances,’ said Pluto, waving his hand majestically to
+Lachesis, in whose good sense he had great confidence.
+
+‘A man, a living man, has entered your kingdom, unknown and unnoticed,’
+said Lachesis.
+
+‘By my sceptre, is it true?’ said the astonished King. ‘Is he seized?’
+
+‘The extraordinary mortal baffles our efforts,’ said Lachesis. ‘He
+bears with him a lyre, the charmed gift of Apollo, and so seducing are
+his strains that in vain our guards advance to arrest his course; they
+immediately begin dancing, and he easily eludes their efforts. The
+general confusion is indescribable. All business is at a standstill:
+Ixion rests upon his wheel; old Sisyphus sits down on his mountain,
+and his stone has fallen with a terrible plash into Acheron. In short,
+unless we are energetic, we are on the eve of a revolution.’
+
+‘His purpose?’
+
+‘He seeks yourself and--her Majesty,’ added Lachesis, with a sneer.
+
+‘Immediately announce that we will receive him.’
+
+The unexpected guest was not slow in acknowledging the royal summons.
+A hasty treaty was drawn up; he was to enter the palace unmolested,
+on condition that he ceased playing his lyre. The Fates and the Furies
+exchanged significant glances as his approach was announced.
+
+The man, the live man, who had committed the unprecedented crime of
+entering Hell without a licence, and the previous deposit of his soul as
+security for the good behaviour of his body, stood before the surprised
+and indignant Court of Hades. Tall and graceful in stature, and crowned
+with laurels, Proserpine was glad to observe that the man, who was
+evidently famous, was also good-looking.
+
+‘Thy purpose, mortal?’ inquired Pluto, with awful majesty.
+
+‘Mercy!’ answered the stranger in a voice of exquisite melody, and
+sufficiently embarrassed to render him interesting.
+
+‘What is mercy?’ inquired the Fates and the Furies.
+
+‘Speak, stranger, without fear,’ said Proserpine. ‘Thy name?’
+
+‘Is Orpheus; but a few days back the too happy husband of the enchanting
+Eurydice. Alas! dread King, and thou too, beautiful and benignant
+partner of his throne, I won her by my lyre, and by my lyre I would
+redeem her. Know, then, that in the very glow of our gratified passion
+a serpent crept under the flowers on which we reposed, and by a fatal
+sting summoned my adored to the shades. Why did it not also summon me?
+I will not say why should I not have been the victim in her stead; for
+I feel too keenly that the doom of Eurydice would not have been less
+forlorn, had she been the wretched being who had been spared to life. O
+King! they whispered on earth that thou too hadst yielded thy heart to
+the charms of love. Pluto, they whispered, is no longer stern: Pluto
+also feels the all-subduing influence of beauty. Dread monarch, by the
+self-same passion that rages in our breasts alike, I implore thy mercy.
+Thou hast risen from the couch of love, the arm of thy adored has
+pressed upon thy heart, her honied lips have clung with rapture
+to thine, still echo in thy ears all the enchanting phrases of her
+idolatry. Then, by the memory of these, by all the higher and ineffable
+joys to which these lead, King of Hades, spare me, oh! spare me,
+Eurydice!’
+
+Proserpine threw her arms round the neck of her husband, and, hiding her
+face in his breast, wept.
+
+‘Rash mortal, you demand that which is not in the power of Pluto to
+concede,’ said Lachesis.
+
+‘I have heard much of treason since my entrance into Hades,’ replied
+Orpheus, ‘and this sounds like it.’
+
+‘Mortal!’ exclaimed Clotho, with contempt.
+
+‘Nor is it in your power to return, sir,’ said Tisiphone, shaking her
+whip.
+
+‘We have accounts to settle with you,’ said Megaera.
+
+‘Spare her, spare her,’ murmured Proserpine to her lover.
+
+‘King of Hades!’ said Lachesis, with much dignity, ‘I hold a
+responsible office in your realm, and I claim the constitutional
+privilege of your attention. I protest against the undue influence
+of the Queen. She is a power unknown in our constitution, and an
+irresponsible agent that I will not recognise. Let her go back to the
+drawing-room, where all will bow to her.’
+
+‘Hag!’ exclaimed Proserpine. ‘King of Hades, I, too, can appeal to you.
+Have I accepted your crown to be insulted by your subjects?’
+
+‘A subject, may it please your Majesty, who has duties as strictly
+defined by our infernal constitution as those of your royal spouse;
+duties, too, which, let me tell you, madam, I and _my order_ are
+resolved to perform.’
+
+‘Gods of Olympus!’ cried Proserpine. ‘Is this to be a Queen?’
+
+‘Before we proceed further in this discussion,’ said Lachesis, ‘I must
+move an inquiry into the conduct of his Excellency the Governor of the
+Gates. I move, then, that Cerberus be summoned.
+
+Pluto started, and the blood rose to his dark cheek. ‘I have not yet had
+an opportunity of mentioning,’ said his Majesty, in a low tone, and with
+an air of considerable confusion, ‘that I have thought fit, as a reward
+for his past services, to promote Cerberus to the office of the Master
+of the Hounds. He therefore is no longer responsible.’
+
+‘O-h!’ shrieked the Furies, as they elevated their hideous eyes.
+
+‘The constitution has invested your Majesty with a power in the
+appointment of your Officers of State which your Majesty has undoubtedly
+a right to exercise,’ said Lachesis. ‘What degree of discretion it
+anticipated in the exercise, it is now unnecessary, and would be
+extremely disagreeable, to discuss. I shall not venture to inquire by
+what new influence your Majesty has been guided in the present instance.
+The consequence of your Majesty’s conduct is obvious, in the very
+difficult situation in which your realm is now placed. For myself and my
+colleagues, I have only to observe that we decline, under this crisis,
+any further responsibility; and the distaff and the shears are at your
+Majesty’s service the moment your Majesty may find convenient successors
+to the present holders. As a last favour, in addition to the many we are
+proud to remember we have received from your Majesty, we entreat that we
+may be relieved from their burthen as quickly as possible.’ (Loud cheers
+from the Eumenides.)
+
+‘We had better recall Cerberus,’ said Pluto, alarmed, ‘and send this
+mortal about his business.’
+
+‘Not without Eurydice. Oh! not without Eurydice,’ said the Queen.
+
+‘Silence, Proserpine!’ said Pluto.
+
+‘May it please your Majesty,’ said Lachesis, ‘I am doubtful whether we
+have the power of expelling anyone from Hades. It is not less the law
+that a mortal cannot remain here; and it is too notorious for me to
+mention the fact that none here have the power of inflicting death.’
+
+‘Of what use are all your laws,’ exclaimed Proserpine, ‘if they are only
+to perplex us? As there are no statutes to guide us, it is obvious that
+the King’s will is supreme. Let Orpheus depart, then, with his bride.’
+
+‘The latter suggestion is clearly illegal,’ said Lachesis.
+
+‘Lachesis, and ye, her sisters,’ said Proserpine, ‘forget, I beseech
+you, any warm words that may have passed between us, and, as a personal
+favour to one who would willingly be your friend, release Eurydice.
+What! you shake your heads! Nay; of what importance can be a single
+miserable shade, and one, too, summoned so cruelly before her time, in
+these thickly-peopled regions?’
+
+‘‘Tis the principle,’ said Lachesis; ‘‘tis the principle. Concession is
+ever fatal, however slight. Grant this demand; others, and greater, will
+quickly follow. Mercy becomes a precedent, and the realm is ruined.’
+
+‘Ruined!’ echoed the Furies.
+
+‘And I say _preserved!_’ exclaimed Proserpine with energy. ‘The State is
+in confusion, and you yourselves confess that you know not how to remedy
+it. Unable to suggest a course, follow mine. I am the advocate of
+mercy; I am the advocate of concession; and, as you despise all higher
+impulses, I meet you on your own grounds. I am their advocate for the
+sake of policy, of expediency.’
+
+‘Never!’ said the Fates.
+
+‘Never!’ shrieked the Furies.
+
+‘What, then, will you do with Orpheus?’
+
+The Parcae shook their heads; even the Eumenides were silent.
+
+‘Then you are unable to carry on the King’s government; for Orpheus must
+be disposed of; all agree to that. Pluto, reject these counsellors, at
+once insulting and incapable. Give me the distaff and the fatal shears.
+At once form a new Cabinet; and let the release of Orpheus and Eurydice
+be the basis of their policy.’ She threw her arms round his neck and
+whispered in his ear.
+
+Pluto was perplexed; his confidence in the Parcae was shaken. A
+difficulty had occurred with which they could not cope. It was true the
+difficulty had been occasioned by a departure from their own exclusive
+and restrictive policy. It was clear that the gates of Hell ought never
+to have been opened to the stranger; but opened they had been. Forced to
+decide, he decided on the side of _expediency_, and signed a decree for
+the departure of Orpheus and Eurydice. The Parcas immediately resigned
+their posts, and the Furies walked off in a huff. Thus, on the third day
+of the Infernal Marriage, Pluto found that he had quarrelled with all
+his family, and that his ancient administration was broken up. The King
+was without a friend, and Hell was without a Government!
+
+
+
+
+PART II.
+
+     _A Visit to Elysium_
+
+LET us change the scene from Hades to Olympus.
+
+A chariot drawn by dragons hovered over that superb palace whose
+sparkling steps of lapislazuli were once pressed by the daring foot of
+Ixion. It descended into the beautiful gardens, and Ceres, stepping out,
+sought the presence of Jove.
+
+‘Father of gods and men,’ said the majestic mother of Proserpine,
+‘listen to a distracted parent! All my hopes were centred in my
+daughter, the daughter of whom you have deprived me. Is it for this that
+I endured the pangs of childbirth? Is it for this that I suckled her
+on this miserable bosom? Is it for this that I tended her girlish
+innocence, watched with vigilant fondness the development of her
+youthful mind, and cultured with a thousand graces and accomplishments
+her gifted and unrivalled promise? to lose her for ever!’
+
+‘Beloved Bona Dea,’ replied Jove, ‘calm yourself!’
+
+‘Jupiter, you forget that I am a mother.’
+
+‘It is the recollection of that happy circumstance that alone should
+make you satisfied.’
+
+‘Do you mock me? Where is my daughter?’
+
+‘In the very situation you should desire. In her destiny all is
+fulfilled which the most affectionate mother could hope. What was the
+object of all your care and all her accomplishments? a good parti; and
+she has found one.’
+
+‘To reign in Hell!’
+
+‘“Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.” What! would you have
+had her a cup-bearer, like Hebe, or a messenger, like Hermes? Was
+the daughter of Jove and Ceres to be destined to a mere place in our
+household! Lady! she is the object of envy to half the goddesses. Bating
+our own bed, which she could not share, what lot more distinguished than
+hers? Recollect that goddesses, who desire a becoming match, have a
+very limited circle to elect from. Even Venus was obliged to put up with
+Vulcan. It will not do to be too nice. Thank your stars that she is not
+an old maid like Minerva.’
+
+‘But Mars? he loved her.’
+
+‘A young officer only with his half-pay, however good his connections,
+is surely not a proper mate for our daughter.’
+
+‘Apollo?’
+
+‘I have no opinion of a literary son-in-law. These scribblers are at
+present the fashion, and are very well to ask to dinner; but I confess a
+more intimate connection with them is not at all to my taste.’
+
+‘I meet Apollo everywhere.’
+
+‘The truth is, he is courted because every one is afraid of him. He is
+the editor of a daily journal, and under the pretence of throwing light
+upon every subject, brings a great many disagreeable things into notice,
+which is excessively inconvenient. Nobody likes to be paragraphed; and
+for my part I should only be too happy to extinguish the Sun and every
+other newspaper were it only in my power.’
+
+‘But Pluto is so old, and so ugly, and, all agree, so ill-tempered.’
+
+‘He has a splendid income, a magnificent estate; his settlements are
+worthy of his means. This ought to satisfy a mother; and his political
+influence is necessary to me, and this satisfies a father.’
+
+‘But the heart-----’
+
+‘As for that, she fancies she loves him; and whether she do or not,
+these feelings, we know, never last. Rest assured, my dear Ceres, that
+our girl has made a brilliant match, in spite of the gloomy atmosphere
+in which she has to reside.’
+
+‘It must end in misery. I know Proserpine. I confess it with tears, she
+is a spoiled child.’
+
+‘This may occasion Pluto many uneasy moments; but that is nothing to you
+or me. Between ourselves, I shall not be at all surprised if she plague
+his life out.’
+
+‘But how can she consort with the Fates? How is it possible for her
+to associate with the Furies? She, who is used to the gayest and most
+amiable society in the world? Indeed, indeed, ‘tis an ill-assorted
+union!’
+
+‘They are united, however; and, take my word for it, my dear madam, that
+you had better leave Pluto alone. The interference of a mother-in-law is
+proverbially never very felicitous.’
+
+In the meantime affairs went on swimmingly in Tartarus. The obstinate
+Fates and the sulky Furies were unwittingly the cause of universal
+satisfaction. Everyone enjoyed himself, and enjoyment when it is
+unexpected is doubly satisfactory. Tantalus, Sisyphus, and Ixion, for
+the first time during their punishment, had an opportunity for a little
+conversation.
+
+‘Long live our reforming Queen,’ said the ex-king of Lydia. ‘You
+cannot conceive, my dear companions, anything more delightful than this
+long-coveted draught of cold water; its flavour far surpasses the memory
+of my choicest wines. And as for this delicious fruit, one must live
+in a hot climate, like our present one, sufficiently to appreciate
+its refreshing gust. I would, my dear friends, you could only share my
+banquet.’
+
+‘Your Majesty is very kind,’ replied Sisyphus, ‘but it seems to me that
+nothing in the world will ever induce me again to move. One must have
+toiled for ages to comprehend the rapturous sense of repose that now
+pervades my exhausted frame. Is it possible that that damned stone can
+really have disappeared?’
+
+‘You say truly,’ said Ixion, ‘the couches of Olympus cannot compare with
+this resting wheel.’
+
+‘Noble Sisyphus,’ rejoined Tantalus, ‘we are both of us acquainted with
+the cause of our companion’s presence in those infernal regions, since
+his daring exploit has had the good fortune of being celebrated by one
+of the fashionable authors of this part of the world.’
+
+‘I have never had time to read his work,’ interrupted Ixion. ‘What sort
+of a fellow is he?’
+
+‘One of the most conceited dogs that I ever met with,’ replied the King.
+‘He thinks he is a great genius, and perhaps he has some little talent
+for the extravagant.’
+
+‘Are there any critics in Hell?’
+
+‘Myriads. They abound about the marshes of Cocytus, where they croak
+furiously. They are all to a man against our author.’
+
+‘That speaks more to his credit than his own self-opinion,’ rejoined
+Ixion.
+
+‘_A nous moutons!_’ exclaimed Tantalus; ‘I was about to observe that
+I am curious to learn for what reason our friend Sisyphus was doomed to
+his late terrible exertions.’
+
+‘For the simplest in the world,’ replied the object of the inquiry;
+‘because I was not a hypocrite. No one ever led a pleasanter life than
+myself, and no one was more popular in society. I was considered, as
+they phrased it, the most long-headed prince of my time, and was in
+truth a finished man of the world. I had not an acquaintance whom I had
+not taken in, and gods and men alike favoured me. In an unlucky moment,
+however, I offended the infernal deities, and it was then suddenly
+discovered that I was the most abandoned character of my age. You know
+the rest.’
+
+‘You seem,’ exclaimed Tantalus, ‘to be relating my own history; for I
+myself led a reckless career with impunity, until some of the gods did
+me the honour of dining with me, and were dissatisfied with the repast.
+I am convinced myself that, provided a man frequent the temples, and
+observe with strictness the sacred festivals, such is the force of
+public opinion, that there is no crime which he may not commit without
+hazard.’
+
+‘Long live hypocrisy!’ exclaimed Ixion. ‘It is not my forte. But if I
+began life anew, I would be more observant in my sacrifices.’
+
+‘Who could have anticipated this wonderful revolution!’ exclaimed
+Sisyphus, stretching himself. ‘I wonder what will occur next! Perhaps we
+shall be all released.’
+
+‘You say truly,’ said Ixion. ‘I am grateful to our reforming Queen;
+but I have no idea of stopping here. This cursed wheel indeed no longer
+whirls; but I confess my expectations will be much disappointed if I
+cannot free myself from these adamantine bonds that fix me to its orb.’
+
+‘And one cannot drink water for ever,’ said Tantalus.
+
+‘D--n all half measures,’ said Ixion. ‘We must proceed in this system of
+amelioration.’
+
+‘Without doubt,’ responded his companion.
+
+‘The Queen must have a party,’ continued the audacious lover of Juno.
+‘The Fates and the Furies never can be conciliated. It is evident to me
+that she must fall unless she unbinds these chains of mine.’
+
+‘And grants me full liberty of egress and regress,’ exclaimed Sisyphus.
+
+‘And me a bottle of the finest golden wine of Lydia,’ said Tantalus.
+
+The infernal honeymoon was over. A cloud appeared in the hitherto serene
+heaven of the royal lovers. Proserpine became unwell. A mysterious
+languor pervaded her frame; her accustomed hilarity deserted her. She
+gave up her daily rides; she never quitted the palace, scarcely her
+chamber. All day long she remained lying on a sofa, and whenever Pluto
+endeavoured to console her she went into hysterics. His Majesty was
+quite miserable, and the Fates and the Furies began to hold up their
+heads. The two court physicians could throw no light upon the complaint,
+which baffled all their remedies. These, indeed, were not numerous,
+for the two physicians possessed each only one idea. With one every
+complaint was nervous; the other traced everything to the liver. The
+name of the first was Dr. Blue-Devil; and of the other Dr. Blue-Pill.
+They were most eminent men.
+
+Her Majesty, getting worse every day, Pluto, in despair, determined to
+send for AEsculapius. It was a long way to send for a physician; but then
+he was the most fashionable one in the world. He cared not how far he
+travelled to visit a patient, because he was paid by the mile; and it
+was calculated that his fee for quitting earth, and attending the Queen
+of Hell, would allow him to leave off business.
+
+What a wise physician was AEsculapius! Physic was his abhorrence. He
+never was known, in the whole course of his practice, ever to have
+prescribed a single drug. He was a handsome man, with a flowing beard
+curiously perfumed, and a robe of the choicest purple. He twirled a cane
+of agate, round which was twined a serpent of precious stones, the gift
+of Juno, and he rode in a chariot drawn by horses of the Sun. When he
+visited Proserpine, he neither examined her tongue nor felt her pulse,
+but gave her an account of a fancy ball which he had attended the last
+evening he passed on _terra firma_. His details were so interesting that
+the Queen soon felt better. The next day he renewed his visit, and gave
+her an account of a new singer that had appeared at Ephesus. The effect
+of this recital was so satisfactory, that a bulletin in the evening
+announced that the Queen was convalescent. The third day AEsculapius
+took his departure, having previously enjoined change of scene for her
+Majesty, and a visit to the Elysian Fields!
+
+‘Heh, heh!’ shrieked Tisiphone.
+
+‘Hah, hah!’ squeaked Megaera.
+
+‘Hoh, hoh!’ moaned Alecto.
+
+‘Now or never,’ said the infernal sisters. ‘There is a decided reaction.
+The moment she embarks, unquestionably we will flare up.’ So they ran
+off to the Fates.
+
+‘We must be prudent,’ said Clotho.
+
+‘Our time is not come,’ remarked Lachesis.
+
+‘I wish the reaction was more decided,’ said Atropos; ‘but it is a
+great thing that they are going to be parted, for the King must remain.’
+
+The opposition party, although aiming at the same result, was therefore
+evidently divided as to the means by which it was to be obtained. The
+sanguine Furies were for fighting it out at once, and talked bravely
+of the strong conservative spirit only dormant in Tartarus. Even the
+Radicals themselves are dissatisfied: Tantalus is no longer contented
+with water, or Ixion with repose. But the circumspect Fates felt that a
+false step at present could never be regained. They talked, therefore,
+of watching events. Both divisions, however, agreed that the royal
+embarkation was to be the signal for renewed intrigues and renovated
+exertions.
+
+When Proserpine was assured that she must be parted for a time from
+Pluto, she was inconsolable. They passed the night in sorrowful
+embraces. She vowed that she could not live a day without him, and that
+she certainly should die before she reached the first post. The mighty
+heart of the King of Hades was torn to pieces with contending emotions.
+In the agony of his overwhelming passion the security of his realm
+seemed of secondary importance compared with the happiness of his wife.
+Fear and hatred of the Parcae and the Eumenides equalled, however,
+in the breast of Proserpine, her affection for her husband. The
+consciousness that his absence would be a signal for a revolution, and
+that the crown of Tartarus might be lost to her expected offspring,
+animated her with a spirit of heroism. She reconciled herself to the
+terrible separation, on condition that Pluto wrote to her every day.
+
+‘Adieu! my best, my only beloved!’ ejaculated the unhappy Queen; ‘do not
+forget me for a moment; and let nothing in the world induce you to speak
+to any of those horrid people. I know them; I know exactly what they
+will be at: the moment I am gone they will commence their intrigues for
+the restoration of the reign of doom and torture. Do not listen to them,
+my Pluto. Sooner than have recourse to them, seek assistance from their
+former victims.’
+
+‘Calm yourself, my Proserpine. Anticipate no evil. I shall be firm; do
+not doubt me. I will cling with tenacity to that _juste milieu_ under
+which we have hitherto so eminently prospered. Neither the Parcae and the
+Eumenides, nor Ixion and his friends, shall advance a point. I will keep
+each faction in awe by the bugbear of the other’s supremacy. Trust me, I
+am a profound politician.’
+
+It was determined that the progress of Proserpine to the Elysian Fields
+should be celebrated with a pomp and magnificence becoming her exalted
+station. The day of her departure was proclaimed as a high festival in
+Hell. Tiresias, absent on a secret mission, had been summoned back by
+Pluto, and appointed to attend her Majesty during her journey and her
+visit, for Pluto had the greatest confidence in his discretion. Besides,
+as her Majesty had not at present the advantage of any female society,
+it was necessary that she should be amused; and Tiresias, though
+old, ugly, and blind, was a wit as well as a philosopher, the most
+distinguished diplomatist of his age, and considered the best company in
+Hades.
+
+An immense crowd was assembled round the gates of the palace on the morn
+of the royal departure. With what anxious curiosity did they watch those
+huge brazen portals! Every precaution was taken for the accommodation of
+the public. The streets were lined with troops of extraordinary stature,
+whose nodding plumes prevented the multitude from catching a glimpse of
+anything that passed, and who cracked the skulls of the populace with
+their scimitars if they attempted in the slightest degree to break the
+line. Moreover, there were seats erected which any one might occupy at
+a reasonable rate; but the lord steward, who had the disposal of the
+tickets, purchased them all for himself, and then resold them to his
+fellow-subjects at an enormous price.
+
+At length the hinges of the gigantic portals gave an ominous creak,
+and, amid the huzzas of men and the shrieks of women, the procession
+commenced.
+
+First came the infernal band. It consisted of five hundred performers,
+mounted on different animals. Never was such a melodious blast. Fifty
+trumpeters, mounted on zebras of all possible stripes and tints, and
+working away at huge ramshorns with their cheeks like pumpkins. Then
+there were bassoons mounted on bears, clarionets on camelopards, oboes
+on unicorns, and troops of musicians on elephants, playing on real
+serpents, whose prismatic bodies indulged in the most extraordinary
+convolutions imaginable, and whose arrowy tongues glittered with superb
+agitation at the exquisite sounds which they unintentionally delivered.
+Animals there were, too, now unknown and forgotten; but I must not
+forget the fellow who beat the kettledrums, mounted on an enormous
+mammoth, and the din of whose reverberating blows would have deadened
+the thunder of Olympus.
+
+This enchanting harmony preceded the regiment of Proserpine’s own
+guards, glowing in adamantine armour and mounted on coal-black steeds.
+Their helmets were quite awful, and surmounted by plumes plucked from
+the wings of the Harpies, which were alone enough to terrify an earthly
+host. It was droll to observe this troop of gigantic heroes commanded
+by infants, who, however, were arrayed in a similar costume, though, of
+course, on a smaller scale. But such was the admirable discipline of the
+infernal forces, that, though lions to their enemies, they were Iambs to
+their friends; and on the present occasion their colonel was carried in
+a cradle.
+
+After these came twelve most worshipful baboons, in most venerable wigs.
+They were clothed with scarlet robes lined with ermine, and ornamented
+with gold chains, and mounted on the most obstinate and inflexible mules
+in Tartarus. These were the judges. Each was provided with a pannier of
+choice cobnuts, which he cracked with great gravity, throwing the shells
+to the multitude, an infernal ceremony, there held emblematic of their
+profession.
+
+The Lord Chancellor came next in a grand car. Although his wig was even
+longer than those of his fellow functionaries, his manners and the rest
+of his costume afforded a strange contrast to them. Apparently never
+was such a droll, lively fellow. His dress was something between that of
+Harlequin and Scaramouch. He amused himself by keeping in the air
+four brazen balls at the same time, swallowing daggers, spitting fire,
+turning sugar into salt, and eating yards of pink ribbon, which, after
+being well digested, re-appeared through his nose. It is unnecessary to
+add, after this, that he was the most popular Lord Chancellor that had
+ever held the seals, and was received with loud and enthusiastic cheers,
+which apparently repaid him for all his exertions. Notwithstanding his
+numerous and curious occupations, I should not omit to add that his
+Lordship, nevertheless, found time to lead by the nose a most meek and
+milk-white jackass that immediately followed him, and which, in spite
+of the remarkable length of its ears, seemed the object of great
+veneration. There was evidently some mystery about this animal difficult
+to penetrate. Among other characteristics, it was said, at different
+seasons, to be distinguished by different titles; for sometimes it was
+styled ‘The Public,’ at others ‘Opinion,’ and occasionally was saluted
+as the ‘King’s Conscience.’
+
+Now came a numerous company of Priests, in flowing and funereal robes,
+bearing banners, inscribed with the various titles of their Queen; on
+some was inscribed Hecate, on others Juno Inferna, on others Theogamia,
+Libera on some, on others Cotytto. Those that bore banners were crowned
+with wreaths of narcissus, and mounted on bulls blacker than night, and
+of a severe and melancholy aspect. Others walked by their side, bearing
+branches of cypress.
+
+And here I must stop to notice a droll characteristic of the priestly
+economy of Hades. To be a good pedestrian was considered an essential
+virtue of an infernal clergyman; but to be mounted on a black bull was
+the highest distinction of the craft. It followed, therefore, that,
+originally, promotion to such a seat was the natural reward of any
+priest who had distinguished himself in the humbler career of a good
+walker; but in process of time, as even infernal as well as human
+institutions are alike liable to corruption, the black bulls became
+too often occupied by the halt and the crippled, the feeble and the
+paralytic, who used their influence at Court to become thus exempted
+from the performance of the severer duties of which they were incapable.
+This violation of the priestly constitution excited at first great
+murmurs among the abler but less influential brethren. But the murmurs
+of the weak prove only the tyranny of the strong; and so completely in
+the course of time do institutions depart from their original character,
+that the imbecile riders of the black bulls now avowedly defended their
+position on the very grounds which originally should have unseated
+them, and openly maintained that it was very evident that the stout were
+intended to walk, and the feeble to be carried.
+
+The priests were followed by fifty dark chariots, drawn by blue satyrs.
+Herein was the wardrobe of the Queen, and her Majesty’s cooks.
+
+Tiresias came next, in a basalt chariot, yoked to royal steeds. He was
+attended by Manto, who shared his confidence, and who, some said, was
+his daughter, and others his niece. Venerable seer! Who could behold
+that flowing beard, and the thin grey hairs of that lofty and wrinkled
+brow, without being filled with sensations of awe and affection? A smile
+of bland benignity played upon his passionless and reverend countenance.
+Fortunate the monarch who is blessed with such a counsellor! Who could
+have supposed that all this time Tiresias was concocting an epigram on
+Pluto!
+
+The Queen! The Queen!
+
+Upon a superb throne, placed upon an immense car, and drawn by twelve
+coal-black steeds, four abreast, reposed the royal daughter of Ceres.
+Her rich dark hair was braided off her high pale forehead, and fell in
+voluptuous clusters over her back. A tiara sculptured out of a single
+brilliant, and which darted a flash like lightning on the surrounding
+multitude, was placed somewhat negligently on the right side of her
+head; but no jewels broke the entrancing swell of her swan-like neck, or
+were dimmed by the lustre of her ravishing arms. How fair was the Queen
+of Hell! How thrilling the solemn lustre of her violet eye! A robe,
+purple as the last hour of twilight, encompassed her transcendent form,
+studded with golden stars!
+
+Through the dim hot streets of Tartarus moved the royal procession,
+until it reached the first winding of the river Styx. Here an immense
+assemblage of yachts and barges, dressed out with the infernal
+colours, denoted the appointed spot of the royal embarkation. Tiresias,
+dismounting from his chariot, and leaning on Manto, now approached her
+Majesty, and requesting her royal commands, recommended her to lose no
+time in getting on board.
+
+‘When your Majesty is once on the Styx,’ observed the wily seer, ‘it may
+be somewhat difficult to recall you to Hades; but I know very little of
+Clotho, may it please your Majesty, if she have not already commenced
+her intrigues in Tartarus.’
+
+‘You alarm me!’ said Proserpine.
+
+‘It was not my intention. Caution is not fear.’
+
+‘But do you think that Pluto------’
+
+‘May it please your Majesty, I make it a rule never to think. I know too
+much.’
+
+‘Let us embark immediately!’
+
+‘Certainly; I would recommend your Majesty to get off at once. Myself
+and Manto will accompany you, and the cooks. If an order arrive to stay
+our departure, we can then send back the priests.’
+
+‘You counsel well, Tiresias. I wish you had not been absent on my
+arrival. Affairs might have gone better.’
+
+‘Not at all. Had I been in Hell, your enemies would have been more wary.
+Your Majesty’s excellent spirit carried you through triumphantly; but it
+will not do so twice. You turned them out, and I must keep them out.’
+
+‘So be it, my dear friend.’ Thus saying, the Queen descended her
+throne, and leaving the rest of her retinue to follow with all possible
+despatch, embarked on board the infernal yacht, with Tiresias, Manto,
+the chief cook, and some chosen attendants, and bid adieu for the first
+time, not without agitation, to the gloomy banks of Tartarus.
+
+The breeze was favourable, and, animated by the exhortations of
+Tiresias, the crew exerted themselves to the utmost. The barque swiftly
+scudded over the dark waters. The river was of great breadth, and in
+this dim region the crew were soon out of sight of land.
+
+‘You have been in Elysium?’ inquired Proserpine of Tiresias.
+
+‘I have been everywhere,’ replied the seer, ‘and though I am blind have
+managed to see a great deal more than my fellows.’
+
+‘I have often heard of you,’ said the Queen, ‘and I confess that yours
+is a career which has much interested me. What vicissitudes in affairs
+have you not witnessed! And yet you have somehow or other contrived to
+make your way through all the storms in which others have sunk, and are
+now, as you always have been, in an exalted position. What can be
+your magic? I would that you would initiate me. I know that you are a
+prophet, and that even the gods consult you.’
+
+‘Your Majesty is complimentary. I certainly have had a great deal of
+experience. My life has no doubt been a long one, but I have made it
+longer by never losing a moment. I was born, too, at a great crisis in
+affairs. Everything that took place before the Trojan war passes for
+nothing in the annals of wisdom. That was a great revolution in all
+affairs human and divine, and from that event we must now date all our
+knowledge. Before the Trojan war we used to talk of the rebellion of
+the Titans, but that business now is an old almanac. As for my powers of
+prophecy, believe me, that those who understand the past are very well
+qualified to predict the future. For my success in life, it may be
+principally ascribed to the observance of a simple rule--I never
+trust anyone, either god or man. I make an exception in favour of the
+goddesses, and especially of your Majesty,’ added Tiresias, who piqued
+himself on his gallantry.
+
+While they were thus conversing, the Queen directed the attention
+of Manto to a mountainous elevation which now began to rise in the
+distance, and which, from the rapidity of the tide and the freshness of
+the breeze, they approached at a swift rate.
+
+‘Behold the Stygian mountains,’ replied Manto. ‘Through their centre
+runs the passage of Night which leads to the regions of Twilight.’
+
+‘We have, then, far to travel?’
+
+‘Assuredly it is no easy task to escape from the gloom of Tartarus
+to the sunbeams of Elysium,’ remarked Tiresias; ‘but the pleasant is
+generally difficult; let us be grateful that in our instance it is not,
+as usual, forbidden.’
+
+‘You say truly; I am sorry to confess how very often it appears to
+me that sin is enjoyment. But see! how awful are these perpendicular
+heights, piercing the descending vapours, with their peaks clothed with
+dark pines! We seem land-locked.’
+
+But the experienced master of the infernal yacht knew well how to steer
+his charge through the intricate windings of the river, which here,
+though deep and navigable, became as wild and narrow as a mountain
+stream; and, as the tide no longer served them, and the wind, from their
+involved course, was as often against them as in their favour, the crew
+were obliged to have recourse to their oars, and rowed along until they
+arrived at the mouth of an enormous cavern, from which the rapid stream
+apparently issued.
+
+‘I am frightened out of my wits,’ exclaimed Proserpine. ‘Surely this
+cannot be our course?’
+
+‘I hold, from your Majesty’s exclamation,’ said Tiresias, ‘that we have
+arrived at the passage of Night. When we have proceeded some hundred
+yards, we shall reach the adamantine portals. I pray your Majesty be not
+alarmed. I alone have the signet which can force these mystic gates to
+open. I must be stirring myself. What, ho! Manto.’
+
+‘Here am I, father. Hast thou the seal?’
+
+‘In my breast. I would not trust it to my secretaries. They have my
+portfolios full of secret despatches, written on purpose to deceive
+them; for I know that they are spies in the pay of Minerva; but your
+Majesty perceives, with a little prudence, that even a traitor may be
+turned to account.’
+
+Thus saying, Tiresias, leaning on Manto, hobbled to the poop of the
+vessel, and exclaiming aloud, ‘Behold the mighty seal of Dis, whereon
+is inscribed the word the Titans fear,’ the gates immediately flew open,
+revealing the gigantic form of the Titan Porphyrin, whose head touched
+the vault of the mighty cavern, although he was up to his waist in the
+waters of the river.
+
+‘Come, my noble Porphyrion,’ said Tiresias, ‘bestir thyself, I beseech
+thee. I have brought thee a Queen. Guide her Majesty, I entreat thee,
+with safety through this awful passage of Night.’
+
+‘What a horrible creature,’ whispered Proserpine. ‘I wonder you address
+him with such courtesy.’
+
+‘I am always courteous,’ replied Tiresias. ‘How know I that the Titans
+may not yet regain their lost heritage? They are terrible fellows; and
+ugly or not, I have no doubt that even your Majesty would not find them
+so ill-favoured were they seated in the halls of Olympus.’
+
+‘There is something in that,’ replied Proserpine. ‘I almost wish I were
+once more in Tartarus.’
+
+The Titan Porphyrion in the meantime had fastened a chain-cable to the
+vessel, which he placed over his shoulder, and turning his back to the
+crew, then wading through the waters, he dragged on the vessel in its
+course. The cavern widened, the waters spread. To the joy of Proserpine,
+apparently, she once more beheld the moon and stars.
+
+‘Bright crescent of Diana!’ exclaimed the enraptured Queen, ‘and ye
+too, sweet stars, that I have so often watched on the Sicilian plains;
+do I, then, indeed again behold you? or is it only some exquisite vision
+that entrances my being? for, indeed, I do not feel the freshness of
+that breeze that was wont to renovate my languid frame; nor does the
+odorous scent of flowers wafted from the shores delight my jaded senses.
+What is it? Is it life or death; earth, indeed, or Hell?’
+
+‘‘Tis nothing,’ said Tiresias, ‘but a great toy. You must know that
+Saturn--until at length, wearied by his ruinous experiments, the gods
+expelled him his empire--was a great dabbler in systems. He was always
+for making moons brighter than Diana, and lighting the stars by gas; but
+his systems never worked. The tides rebelled against their mistress, and
+the stars went out with a horrible stench. This is one of his creations,
+the most ingenious, though a failure. Jove made it a present to Pluto,
+who is quite proud of having a sun and stars of his own, and reckons it
+among the choice treasures of his kingdoms.’
+
+‘Poor Saturn! I pity him; he meant well.’ ‘Very true. He is the paviour
+of the high-street of Hades. But we cannot afford kings, and especially
+Gods, to be philosophers. The certainty of misrule is better than the
+chance of good government; uncertainty makes people restless.’
+
+‘I feel very restless myself; I wish we were in Elysium!’
+
+‘The river again narrows!’ exclaimed Manto. ‘There is no other portal
+to pass. The Saturnian moon and stars grow fainter, there is a grey tint
+expanding in the distance; ‘tis the realm of Twilight; your Majesty will
+soon disembark.’
+
+
+
+
+PART III.
+
+     _Containing an Account of Tiresias at His Rubber_
+
+TRAVELLERS who have left their homes generally grow mournful as the
+evening draws on; nor is there, perhaps, any time at which the pensive
+influence of twilight is more predominant than on the eve that follows a
+separation from those we love. Imagine, then, the feelings of the Queen
+of Hell, as her barque entered the very region of that mystic light,
+and the shadowy shores of the realm of Twilight opened before her. Her
+thoughts reverted to Pluto; and she mused over all his fondness, all his
+adoration, and all his indulgence, and the infinite solicitude of his
+affectionate heart, until the tears trickled down her beautiful cheeks,
+and she marvelled she ever could have quitted the arms of her lover.
+
+‘Your Majesty,’ observed Manto, who had been whispering to Tiresias,
+‘feels, perhaps, a little wearied?’
+
+‘By no means, my kind Manto,’ replied Proserpine, starting from her
+reverie. ‘But the truth is, my spirits are unequal; and though I
+really cannot well fix upon the cause of their present depression, I am
+apparently not free from the contagion of the surrounding gloom.’
+
+‘It is the evening air,’ said Tiresias. ‘Your Majesty had perhaps better
+re-enter the pavilion of the yacht. As for myself, I never venture about
+after sunset. One grows romantic. Night was evidently made for in-door
+nature. I propose a rubber.’
+
+To this popular suggestion Proserpine was pleased to accede, and herself
+and Tiresias, Manto and the captain of the yacht, were soon engaged at
+the proposed amusement.
+
+Tiresias loved a rubber. It was true he was blind, but then, being a
+prophet, that did not signify. Tiresias, I say, loved a rubber, and
+was a first-rate player, though, perhaps, given a little too much to
+_finesse_. Indeed, he so much enjoyed taking in his fellow-creatures,
+that he sometimes could not resist deceiving his own partner. Whist is
+a game which requires no ordinary combination of qualities; at the same
+time, memory and invention, a daring fancy, and a cool head. To a mind
+like that of Tiresias, a pack of cards was full of human nature. A
+rubber was a microcosm; and he ruffed his adversary’s king, or brought
+in a long suit of his own with as much dexterity and as much enjoyment
+as, in the real business of existence, he dethroned a monarch, or
+introduced a dynasty.
+
+‘Will your Majesty be pleased to draw your card?’ requested the sage.
+‘If I might venture to offer your Majesty a hint, I would dare to
+recommend your Majesty not to play before your turn. My friends are
+fond of ascribing my success in my various missions to the possession of
+peculiar qualities. No such thing: I owe everything to the simple habit
+of always waiting till it is my turn to speak. And believe me, that he
+who plays before his turn at whist, commits as great a blunder as he who
+speaks before his turn during a negotiation.’
+
+‘The trick, and two by honours,’ said Proserpine. ‘Pray, my dear
+Tiresias, you who are such a fine player, how came you to trump my best
+card?’
+
+‘Because I wanted the lead. And those who want to lead, please your
+Majesty, must never hesitate about sacrificing their friends.’
+
+‘I believe you speak truly. I was right in playing that thirteenth
+card?’
+
+‘Quite so. Above all things, I love a thirteenth card. I send it forth,
+like a mock project in a revolution, to try the strength of parties.’
+
+‘You should not have forced me, Lady Manto,’ said the Captain of the
+yacht, in a grumbling tone, to his partner. ‘By weakening me, you
+prevented me bringing in my spades. We might have made the game.’
+
+‘You should not have been forced,’ said Tiresias. ‘If she made a
+mistake, who was unacquainted with your plans, what a terrible blunder
+you committed to share her error without her ignorance!’
+
+‘What, then, was I to lose a trick?’
+
+‘Next to knowing when to seize an opportunity,’ replied Tiresias, ‘the
+most important thing in life is to know when to forego an advantage.’
+
+‘I have cut you an honour, sir,’ said Manto.
+
+‘Which reminds me,’ replied Tiresias, ‘that, in the last hand, your
+Majesty unfortunately forgot to lead through your adversary’s ace. I
+have often observed that nothing ever perplexes an adversary so much as
+an appeal to his honour.’
+
+‘I will not forget to follow your advice,’ said the Captain of the
+yacht, playing accordingly.
+
+‘By which you have lost the game,’ quietly remarked Tiresias. ‘There are
+exceptions to all rules, but it seldom answers to follow the advice of
+an opponent.’
+
+‘Confusion!’ exclaimed the Captain of the yacht.
+
+‘Four by honours, and the trick, I declare,’ said Proserpine. ‘I was so
+glad to see you turn up the queen, Tiresias.’
+
+‘I also, madam. Without doubt there are few cards better than her royal
+consort, or, still more, the imperial ace. Nevertheless, I must confess,
+I am perfectly satisfied whenever I remember that I have the Queen on my
+side.’
+
+Proserpine bowed.
+
+‘I have a good mind to do it, Tiresias,’ said Queen Proserpine, as that
+worthy sage paid his compliments to her at her toilet, at an hour which
+should have been noon.
+
+‘It would be a great compliment,’ said Tiresias.
+
+‘And it is not much out of our way?’
+
+‘By no means,’ replied the seer. ‘‘Tis an agreeable half-way house. He
+lives in good style.’
+
+‘And whence can a dethroned monarch gain a revenue?’ inquired the Queen.
+
+‘Your Majesty, I see, is not at all learned in politics. A sovereign
+never knows what an easy income is till he has abdicated. He generally
+commences squabbling with his subjects about the supplies; he is then
+expelled, and voted, as compensation, an amount about double the sum
+which was the cause of the original quarrel.’
+
+‘What do you think, Manto?’ said Proserpine, as that lady entered the
+cabin; ‘we propose paying a visit to Saturn. He has fixed his residence,
+you know, in these regions of twilight.’
+
+‘I love a junket,’ replied Manto, ‘above all things. And, indeed, I was
+half frightened out of my wits at the bare idea of toiling over this
+desert. All is prepared, please your Majesty, for our landing. Your
+Majesty’s litter is quite ready.’
+
+‘‘Tis well,’ said Proserpine; and leaning on the arm of Manto, the Queen
+came upon deck, and surveyed the surrounding country, a vast grey flat,
+with a cloudless sky of the same tint: in the distance some lowering
+shadows, which seemed like clouds but were in fact mountains.
+
+‘Some half-dozen hours,’ said Tiresias, ‘will bring us to the palace
+of Saturn. We shall arrive for dinner; the right hour. Let me recommend
+your Majesty to order the curtains of your litter to be drawn, and, if
+possible, to resume your dreams.’
+
+‘They were not pleasant,’ said Proserpine, ‘I dreamt of my mother and
+the Parcae. Manto, methinks I’ll read. Hast thou some book?’
+
+‘Here is a poem, Madam, but I fear it may induce those very slumbers you
+dread.’
+
+‘How call you it?’
+
+‘“The Pleasures of Oblivion.” The poet apparently is fond of his
+subject.’
+
+‘And is, I have no doubt, equal to it. Hast any prose?’
+
+‘An historical novel or so.’
+
+‘Oh! if you mean those things as full of costume as a fancy ball, and
+almost as devoid of sense, I’ll have none of them. Close the curtains;
+even visions of the Furies are preferable to these insipidities.’
+
+The halt of the litter roused the Queen from her slumbers. ‘We have
+arrived,’ said Manto, as she assisted in withdrawing the curtains.
+
+The train had halted before a vast propylon of rose-coloured granite.
+The gate was nearly two hundred feet in height, and the sides of the
+propylon, which rose like huge moles, were sculptured with colossal
+figures of a threatening aspect. Passing through the propylon, the
+Queen of Hell and her attendants entered an avenue in length about
+three-quarters of a mile, formed of colossal figures of the same
+character and substance, alternately raising in their arms javelins or
+battle-axes, as if about to strike. At the end of this heroic avenue
+appeared the palace of Saturn. Ascending a hundred steps of black
+marble, you stood before a portico supported by twenty columns of the
+same material and shading a single portal of bronze. Apparently the
+palace formed an immense quadrangle; a vast tower rising from each
+corner, and springing from the centre a huge and hooded dome. A crowd of
+attendants, in grey and sad-coloured raiment, issued from the portal
+of the palace at the approach of Proserpine, who remarked with strange
+surprise their singular countenances and demeanour; for rare in this
+silent assemblage was any visage resembling aught she had seen, human
+or divine. Some bore the heads of bats; of owls and beetles others;
+some fluttered moth-like wings, while the shoulders of other bipeds were
+surmounted, in spite of their human organisation, with the heads of rats
+and weasels, of marten-cats and of foxes. But they were all remarkably
+civil; and Proserpine, who was now used to wonders, did not shriek at
+all, and scarcely shuddered.
+
+The Queen of Hell was ushered through a superb hall, and down a splendid
+gallery, to a suite of apartments where a body of damsels of a most
+distinguished appearance awaited her. Their heads resembled those of the
+most eagerly-sought, highly-prized, and oftenest-stolen lap-dogs.
+Upon the shoulders of one was the visage of the smallest and most
+thorough-bred little Blenheim in the world. Upon her front was a white
+star, her nose was nearly flat, and her ears were tied under her chin,
+with the most jaunty air imaginable. She was an evident flirt; and a
+solemn prude of a spaniel, with a black and tan countenance, who seemed
+a sort of duenna, evidently watched her with no little distrust. The
+admirers of blonde beauties would, however, have fallen in love with
+a poodle, with the finest head of hair imaginable, and most voluptuous
+shoulders. This brilliant band began barking in the most insinuating
+tone on the appearance of the Queen; and Manto, who was almost as
+dexterous a linguist as Tiresias himself, informed her Majesty that
+these were the ladies of her bed-chamber; upon which Proserpine, who, it
+will be remembered had no passion for dogs, ordered them immediately out
+of her room.
+
+‘What a droll place!’ exclaimed the Queen. ‘Do you know, we are later
+than I imagined? A hasty toilet to-day; I long to see Saturn. It is
+droll, I am hungry. My purple velvet, I think; it may be considered a
+compliment. No diamonds, only jet; a pearl or two, perhaps. Didst ever
+see the King?
+
+They say he is gentlemanlike, though a bigot. No! no rouge to-day; this
+paleness is quite _apropos_. Were I as radiant as usual, I should be
+taken for Aurora.’
+
+So leaning on Manto, and preceded by the ladies of her bed-chamber,
+whom, notwithstanding their repulse, she found in due attendance in the
+antechamber, Proserpine again continued her progress down the gallery,
+until they stopped at a door, which opening, she was ushered into the
+grand circular saloon, crowned by the dome, whose exterior the Queen had
+already observed. The interior of this apartment was entirely of black
+and grey marble, with the exception of the dome itself, which was of
+ebony, richly carved and supported by more than a hundred columns. There
+depended from the centre of the arch a single chandelier of frosted
+silver, which was itself as big as an ordinary chamber, but of the
+most elegant form, and delicate and fantastic workmanship. As the Queen
+entered the saloon, a personage of venerable appearance, dressed in a
+suit of black velvet, and leaning on an ivory cane, advanced to salute
+her. There was no mistaking this personage; his manners were at once so
+courteous and so dignified. He was clearly their host; and Proserpine,
+who was quite charmed with his grey locks and his black velvet cap, his
+truly paternal air, and the beneficence of his unstudied smile, could
+scarcely refrain from bending her knee, and pressing her lips to his
+extended hand.
+
+‘I am proud that your Majesty has remembered me in my retirement,’ said
+Saturn, as he led Proserpine to a seat.
+
+Their mutual compliments were soon disturbed by the announcement
+of dinner, and Saturn offering his arm to the Queen with an air of
+politeness which belonged to the old school, but which the ladies admire
+in old men, handed Proserpine to the banqueting-room. They were followed
+by some of the principal personages of her Majesty’s suite, and a couple
+of young Titans, who enjoyed the posts of aides-de-camp to the ex-King,
+and whose duties consisted of carving at dinner.
+
+It was a most agreeable dinner, and Proserpine was delighted with
+Saturn, who, of course, sat by her side, and paid her every possible
+attention. Saturn, whose manners, as has been observed, were of the old
+school, loved a good story, and told several. His anecdotes, especially
+of society previous to the Trojan war, were highly interesting. There
+ran through all his behaviour, too, a tone of high breeding and of
+consideration for others which was really charming; and Proserpine, who
+had expected to find in her host a gloomy bigot, was quite surprised
+at the truly liberal spirit with which he seemed to consider affairs in
+general. Indeed this unexpected tone made so great an impression upon
+her, that finding a good opportunity after dinner, when they were
+sipping their coffee apart from the rest of the company, she could not
+refrain from entering into some conversation with the ex-King upon the
+subject, and the conversation ran thus:
+
+‘Do you know,’ said Proserpine, ‘that much as I have been pleased
+and surprised during my visit to the realms of twilight, nothing has
+pleased, and I am sure nothing has surprised me more, than to observe
+the remarkably liberal spirit in which your Majesty views the affairs of
+the day.’
+
+‘You give me a title, beautiful Proserpine, to which I have no claim,’
+replied Saturn. ‘You forget that I am now only Count Hesperus; I am no
+longer a king, and believe me, I am very glad of it.’
+
+‘What a pity, my dear sir, that you would not condescend to conform to
+the spirit of the age. For myself, I am quite a reformer.’
+
+‘So I have understood, beautiful Proserpine, which I confess has a
+little surprised me; for to tell you the truth, I do not consider that
+reform is exactly _our_ trade.’
+
+‘Affairs cannot go on as they used,’ observed Proserpine, oracularly;
+‘we must bow to the spirit of the age.’
+
+‘And what is that?’ inquired Saturn.
+
+‘I do not exactly know,’ replied Proserpine, ‘but one hears of it
+everywhere.’
+
+‘I also heard of it a great deal,’ replied Saturn, ‘and was also
+recommended to conform to it. Before doing so, however, I thought it as
+well to ascertain its nature, and something also of its strength.’
+
+‘It is terribly strong,’ observed Proserpine.
+
+‘But you think it will be stronger?’ inquired the ex-King.
+
+‘Certainly; every day it is more powerful.’
+
+‘Then if, on consideration, we were to deem resistance to it advisable,
+it is surely better to commence the contest at once than to postpone the
+struggle.’
+
+‘It is useless to talk of resisting; one must conform.’
+
+‘I certainly should consider resistance useless,’ replied Saturn, ‘for I
+tried it and failed; but at least one has a chance of success; and yet,
+having resisted this spirit and failed, I should not consider myself
+in a worse plight than you would voluntarily place yourself in by
+conforming to it.’
+
+‘You speak riddles,’ said Proserpine.
+
+‘To be plain, then,’ replied Saturn, ‘I think you may as well at once
+give up your throne, as conform to this spirit.’
+
+‘And why so?’ inquired Proserpine very ingenuously.’
+
+‘Because,’ replied Saturn, shrugging up his shoulders, ‘I look upon the
+spirit of the age as a spirit hostile to Kings and gods.’
+
+The next morning Saturn himself attended his beautiful guest over his
+residence, which Proserpine greatly admired.
+
+‘‘Tis the work of the Titans,’ replied the ex-King. ‘There never was a
+party so fond of building palaces.’
+
+‘To speak the truth,’ said Proserpine, ‘I am a little disappointed that
+I have not had an opportunity, during my visit, of becoming acquainted
+with some of the chiefs of that celebrated party; for, although a
+Liberal, I am a female one, and I like to know every sort of person who
+is distinguished.’
+
+‘The fact is,’ replied her host, ‘that the party has never recovered
+from the thunderbolt of that scheming knave Jupiter, and do not bear
+their defeat so philosophically as years, perhaps, permit me to do. If
+we have been vanquished by the spirit of the age,’ continued Saturn,
+‘you must confess that, in our case, the conqueror did not assume a
+material form very remarkable for its dignity. Had Creation resolved
+itself into its original elements, had Chaos come again, or even old
+Coelus, the indignity might have been endured; but to be baffled by
+an Olympian _juste milieu_, and to find, after all the clamour, that
+nothing has been changed save the places, is, you will own, somewhat
+mortifying.’
+
+‘But how do you reconcile,’ inquired the ingenuous Proserpine, ‘the
+success of Jupiter with the character which you ascribed last night to
+the spirit of the age?’
+
+‘Why, in truth,’ said Saturn, ‘had I not entirely freed myself from all
+party feeling, I might adduce the success of my perfidious and worthless
+relative as very good demonstration that the spirit of the age
+is nothing better than an _ignis fatuus_. Nevertheless, we must
+discriminate. Even the success of Jupiter, although he now conducts
+himself in direct opposition to the emancipating principles he at
+first professed, is no less good evidence of their force; for by his
+professions he rose. And, for my part, I consider it a great homage to
+public opinion to find every scoundrel now-a-days professing himself a
+Liberal.’
+
+‘You are candid;’ said Proserpine. ‘I should like very much to see the
+Titans.’
+
+‘My friends are at least consistent,’ observed Saturn; ‘though certainly
+at present I can say little more for them. Between the despair of one
+section of the party, and the over-sanguine expectations of the other,
+they are at present quite inactive, or move only to ensure fresh
+rebuffs.’
+
+‘You see little of them, then?’
+
+‘They keep to themselves: they generally frequent a lonely vale in the
+neighbourhood.’
+
+‘I should so like to see them!’ exclaimed Proserpine.
+
+‘Say nothing to Tiresias,’ said old Saturn, who was half in love with
+his fair friend, ‘and we will steal upon them unperceived.’ So saying,
+the god struck the earth with his cane, and there instantly sprang forth
+a convenient car, built of curiously carved cedar, and borne by four
+enormous tawny-coloured owls. Seating himself by the side of the
+delighted Proserpine, Saturn commanded the owls to bear them to the
+Valley of Lamentations.
+
+‘Twas an easy fly: the chariot soon descended upon the crest of a hill:
+and Saturn and Proserpine, leaving the car, commenced, by a winding
+path, the slight ascent of a superior elevation. Having arrived there,
+they looked down upon a valley, apparently land-locked by black and
+barren mountains of the most strange, although picturesque forms. In the
+centre of the valley was a black pool or tarn, bordered with dark purple
+flags of an immense size, twining and twisting among which might be
+observed the glancing and gliding folds of several white serpents; while
+crocodiles and alligators, and other horrible forms, poked their foul
+snouts with evident delight in a vast mass of black slime, which had,
+at various times, exuded from the lake. A single tree only was to be
+observed in this desolate place, an enormous and blasted cedar, with
+scarcely a patch of verdure, but extending its black and barren branches
+nearly across the valley. Seated on a loosened crag, but leaning against
+the trunk of the cedar, with his arms folded, his mighty eyes fixed on
+the ground, and his legs crossed with that air of complete repose which
+indicates that their owner is in no hurry again to move them, was
+
+     ‘A form, some granite god we deemed,
+     Or king of palmy Nile, colossal shapes
+     Such as Syene’s rosy quarries yield
+     To Memphian art; Horus, Osiris called,
+     Or Amenoph, who, on the Theban plain,
+     With magic melody the sun salutes;
+     Or he, far mightier, to whose conquering car
+     Monarchs were yoked, Rameses: by the Greeks
+     Sesostris styled.    And yet no sculptor’s art
+     Moulded this shape, for form it seemed of flesh,
+     Yet motionless; its dim unlustrous orbs
+     Gazing in stilly vacancy, its cheek
+     Grey  as its hairs, which, thin as they might seem,
+     No breath disturbed; a solemn countenance,
+     Not sorrowful, though full of woe sublime,
+     As if despair were now a distant dream
+     Too dim for memory.’
+
+‘‘Tis their great leader,’ said Saturn, as he pointed out the Titan to
+Proserpine, ‘the giant Enceladus. He got us into all our scrapes, but I
+must do him the justice to add, that he is the only one who can ever get
+us out of them. They say he has no heart; but I think his hook nose is
+rather fine.’
+
+‘Superb!’ said Proserpine. ‘And who is that radiant and golden-haired
+youth who is seated at his feet?’
+
+‘‘Tis no less a personage than Hyperion himself,’ replied Saturn, ‘the
+favourite counsellor of Enceladus. He is a fine orator, and makes up by
+his round sentences and choice phrases for the rhetorical deficiencies
+of his chief, who, to speak the truth, is somewhat curt and husky. They
+have enough now to do to manage their comrades and keep a semblance of
+discipline in their routed ranks. Mark that ferocious Briareus there
+scowling in a corner! Didst ever see such a moustache! He glances,
+methinks, with an evil eye on the mighty Enceladus; and, let me tell
+you, Briareus has a great following among them; so they say of him you
+know, that he hath fifty heads and a hundred arms. See! how they gather
+around him.’
+
+‘Who speaks now to Briareus?’ ‘The young and valiant Mimas. Be assured
+he is counselling war. We shall have a debate now.’
+
+‘Yon venerable personage, who is seated by the margin of the pool, and
+weeping with the crocodiles------’
+
+‘Is old Oceanus.’
+
+‘He is apparently much affected by his overthrow.’ ‘It is his wont to
+weep. He used to cry when he fought, and yet he was a powerful warrior.’
+‘Hark!’ said Proserpine.
+
+The awful voice of Briareus broke the silence. What a terrible personage
+was Briareus! His wild locks hung loose about his shoulders, and blended
+with his unshorn beard.
+
+‘Titans!’ shouted the voice which made many a heart tremble, and the
+breathless Proserpine clasp the arm of Saturn. ‘Titans! Is that spirit
+dead that once heaped Ossa upon Pelion? Is it forgotten, even by
+ourselves, that a younger born revels in our heritage? Are these forms
+that surround me, indeed, the shapes at whose dread sight the base
+Olympians fled to their fitting earth? Warriors, whose weapons were the
+rocks, whose firebrands were the burning woods, is the day forgotten
+when Jove himself turned craven, and skulked in Egypt? At least my
+memory is keen enough to support my courage, and whatever the dread
+Enceladus may counsel, my voice is still for war!’
+
+There ensued, after this harangue of Briareus, a profound and thrilling
+silence, which was, however, broken in due time by the great leader of
+the Titans himself.
+
+‘You mouth it well, Briareus,’ replied Enceladus calmly. ‘And if great
+words would re-seat us in Olympus, doubtless, with your potent aid,
+we might succeed. It never should be forgotten, however, that had we
+combined at first, in the spirit now recommended, the Olympians would
+never have triumphed; and least of all our party should Briareus and his
+friends forget the reasons of our disunion.’
+
+‘I take thy sneer, Enceladus,’ said the young and chivalric Mimas, ‘and
+throw it in thy teeth. This learn, then, from Briareus and his friends,
+that if we were lukewarm in the hour of peril, the fault lies not to
+our account, but with those who had previously so conducted themselves,
+that, when the danger arrived, it was impossible for us to distinguish
+between our friends and our foes. Enceladus apparently forgets that had
+the Olympians never been permitted to enter Heaven, it would have been
+unnecessary ever to have combined against their machinations.’
+
+‘Recrimination is useless,’ said a Titan, interposing. ‘I was one of
+those who supported Enceladus in the admission of the Olympians above,
+and I regret it. But at the time, like others, I believed it to be the
+only mode of silencing the agitation of Jupiter.’
+
+‘I separated from Enceladus on that question,’ said a huge Titan, lying
+his length on the ground and leaning one arm on a granite crag; ‘but
+I am willing to forget all our differences and support him with all
+my heart and strength in another effort to restore our glorious
+constitution.’
+
+‘Titans,’ said Enceladus, ‘who is there among you who has found me a
+laggard in the day of battle?’
+
+When the Olympians, as Briareus thinks it necessary to remind you,
+fled, I was your leader. Remember, however, then, that there were no
+thunderbolts. As for myself, I candidly confess to you, that, since the
+invention of these weapons by Jove, I do not see how war can be carried
+on by us any longer with effect.’
+
+‘By the memory of old Coelus and these fast-flowing tears,’ murmured the
+venerable Oceanus, patting at the same time a crocodile on the back,
+‘I call you all to witness that I have no interest to deceive you.
+Nevertheless, we should not forget that, in this affair of the
+thunderbolts, it is the universal opinion that there is a very
+considerable reaction. I have myself, only within these few days,
+received authentic information that several have fallen of late without
+any visible ill effects; and I am credibly assured that, during the late
+storm in Thessaly, a thunderbolt was precipitated into the centre of a
+vineyard, without affecting the flavour of a single grape.’
+
+Here several of the Titans, who had gathered round Enceladus, shook
+their heads and shrugged their shoulders, and a long and desultory
+conversation ensued upon the copious and very controversial subject of
+Re-action. In the meantime Rhoetus, a young Titan, whispered to one of
+his companions, that for his part he was convinced that the only way
+to beat the Olympians was to turn them into ridicule; and that he would
+accordingly commence at once with the pasquinade on the private life of
+Jupiter, and some peculiarly delicate criticisms on the characters of
+the goddesses.
+
+
+
+
+PART IV.
+
+     _Containing the First View of Elysium_
+
+THE toilsome desert was at length passed, and the royal cavalcade
+ascended the last chasm of mountains that divided Elysium, or the
+Regions of Bliss, from the Realm of Twilight. As she quitted those
+dim and dreary plains, the spirit of Proserpine grew lighter, and she
+indulged in silent but agreeable anticipations of the scene which she
+was now approaching. On reaching, however, the summit of the mountainous
+chain, and proceeding a short distance over the rugged table-land into
+which it now declined, her Majesty was rather alarmed at perceiving that
+her progress was impeded by a shower of flame that extended, on either
+side, as far as the eye could reach. Her alarm, however, was of short
+continuance; for, on the production of his talisman by Tiresias, the
+shower of flame instantly changed into silvery drops of rose-water and
+other delicious perfumes. Amid joyous peals of laughter, and some
+slight playful screams on the part of the ladies, the cavalcade ventured
+through the ordeal. Now the effect of this magical bath was quite
+marvellous. A burthen seemed suddenly to have been removed from the
+spirits of the whole party; their very existence seemed renewed; the
+blood danced about their veins in the liveliest manner imaginable; and
+a wild but pleasing titillation ran like lightning through their nerves,
+their countenances sparkled with excitement; and they all talked at the
+same time. Proserpine was so occupied with her own sensations, that she
+did not immediately remark the extraordinary change that had occurred
+in the appearance of the country immediately on passing this magical
+barrier. She perceived that their course now led over the most elastic
+and carefully-shaven turf; groups of beautiful shrubs occasionally
+appeared, and she discovered with delight that their flowers constantly
+opened, and sent forth from their bells diminutive birds of radiant
+plumage. Above them, too, the clouds vanished, and her head was canopied
+by a sky, unlike, indeed, all things and tints of earth, but which
+reminded her, in some degree, of the splendour of Olympus.
+
+Proserpine, restless with delight, quitted her litter, and followed by
+Manto, ran forward to catch the first view of Elysium.
+
+‘I am quite out of breath,’ said her Majesty, ‘and really must sit down
+on this bank of violets. Was ever anything in the world so delightful?
+Why, Olympus is nothing to it! And after Tartarus, too, and that poor
+unhappy Saturn, and his Titans and his twilight, it really is too much
+for me. How I do long for the view! and yet, somehow or other, my heart
+beats so I cannot walk.’
+
+‘Will your Majesty re-ascend your litter?’ suggested Manto.
+
+‘Oh, no! that is worse than anything. They are a mile behind; they are
+so slow. Why, Manto! what is this?’
+
+A beautiful white dove hovered in the air over the head of Proserpine
+and her attendant, and then dropping an olive branch into the lap of the
+Queen, flapped its wings and whirled away. But what an olive branch!
+the stem was of agate; each leaf was an emerald; and on the largest, in
+letters of brilliants, was this inscription:
+
+     _The Elysians to Their Beautiful Queen_
+
+‘Oh, is it not superb?’ exclaimed Proserpine. ‘What charming people,
+and what excellent subjects! What loyalty and what taste!’
+
+So saying, the enraptured Proserpine rose from the bank of violets, and
+had scarcely run forwards fifty yards when she suddenly stopped, and
+started with an exclamation of wonder. The table-land had ceased. She
+stood upon a precipice of white marble, in many parts clothed with
+thick bowers of myrtle; before her extended the wide-spreading plains of
+Elysium. They were bounded upon all sides by gentle elevations entirely
+covered with flowers, and occasionally shooting forward into the
+champaign country; behind these appeared a range of mountains clothed
+with bright green forests, and still loftier heights behind them,
+exhibiting, indeed, only bare and sharply-pointed peaks glittering with
+prismatic light. The undulating plain was studded in all directions with
+pavilions and pleasure-houses, and groves and gardens glowing with the
+choicest and most charming fruit; and a broad blue river wound through
+it, covered with brilliant boats, the waters flashing with phosphoric
+light as they were cut by the swift and gliding keels. And in the centre
+of the plain rose a city, a mighty group of all that was beautiful in
+form and costly in materials, bridges and palaces and triumphal gates of
+cedar and of marble, columns and minarets of gold, and cupolas and domes
+of ivory; and ever and anon appeared delicious gardens, raised on the
+terraces of the houses; and groups of palm trees with their tall, thin
+stems, and quivering and languid crests, rose amid the splendid masonry.
+A sweet soft breeze touched the cheek of the entranced Proserpine, and a
+single star of silver light glittered in the rosy sky.
+
+‘‘Tis my favourite hour,’ exclaimed Proserpine. ‘Thus have I gazed upon
+Hesperus in the meads of Enna! What a scene! How fortunate that we
+should have arrived at sunset!’
+
+‘Ah, Madam!’ observed Manto, ‘in Elysium the sky is ever thus. For the
+Elysians, the sun seems always to have just set!’
+
+‘Fortunate people!’ replied Proserpine. ‘In them, immortality and
+enjoyment seem indeed blended together. A strange feeling, half of
+languor, half of voluptuousness, steals over my senses! It seems that
+I at length behold the region of my girlish dreams. Such once I fancied
+Olympus. Ah! why does not my Pluto live in Elysium?’
+
+The Elysians consisted of a few thousand beatified mortals, the only
+occupation of whose existence was enjoyment; the rest of the population
+comprised some millions of Gnomes and Sylphs, who did nothing but work,
+and ensured by their labour the felicity of the superior class. Every
+Elysian, male or female, possessed a magnificent palace in the city,
+and an elegant pavilion on the plain; these, with a due proportion of
+chariots, horses, and slaves, constituted a proper establishment. The
+Sylphs and the Gnomes were either scattered about the country, which
+they cultivated, or lived in the city, where they kept shops, and where
+they emulated each other in displaying the most ingenious articles
+of luxury and convenience for the enjoyment and accommodation of the
+Elysians. The townspeople, indeed, rather affected to look down upon
+the more simple-minded agriculturists; but if these occasionally felt a
+little mortification in consequence, they might have been consoled, had
+they been aware that their brethren and sisters who were in the service
+of the Elysians avenged their insults, for these latter were the finest
+Gnomes and Sylphs imaginable, and scarcely deigned to notice any one who
+was in trade. Whether there were any coin or other circulating medium
+current in Elysium is a point respecting which I must confess I have not
+sufficient information to decide; but if so, it certainly would appear
+that all money transactions were confined to the Gnomes and the Sylphs,
+for the Elysians certainly never paid for anything. Perhaps this
+exemption might have been among their peculiar privileges, and was a
+substitute for what we call credit, a convenience of which the ancients
+appear to have had a limited conception. The invention, by Jupiter, of
+an aristocratic immortality, as a reward for a well-spent life on earth,
+appears to have been an ingenious idea. It really is a reward, very
+stimulative of good conduct before we shuffle off the mortal coil, and
+remarkably contrasts with the democracy of the damned. The Elysians,
+with a splendid climate, a teeming soil, and a nation made on purpose
+to wait upon them, of course enjoyed themselves very much. The arts
+flourished, the theatres paid, and they had a much finer opera than at
+Ephesus or at Halicarnassus. Their cookery was so refined, that one of
+the least sentimental ceremonies in the world was not only deprived of
+all its grossness, but was actually converted into an elegant amusement,
+and so famous that their artists were even required at Olympus. If their
+dinners were admirable, which is rare, their assemblies were amusing,
+which is still more uncommon. All the arts of society were carried to
+perfection in Elysium; a dull thing was never said, and an awkward thing
+never done. The Elysians, indeed, being highly refined and gifted, for
+they comprised in their order the very cream of terrestrial society,
+were naturally a liberal-minded race of nobles, and capable of
+appreciating every kind of excellence. If a Gnome or a Sylph, therefore,
+in any way distinguished themselves; if they sang very well, or acted
+very well, or if they were at all eminent for any of the other arts of
+amusement, ay! indeed if the poor devils could do nothing better than
+write a poem or a novel, they were sure to be noticed by the Elysians,
+who always bowed to them as they passed by, and sometimes indeed even
+admitted them into their circles.
+
+Scarcely had the train of Proserpine rejoined her on the brink of the
+precipice, than they heard the flourish of trumpets near at hand, soon
+followed by a complete harmony of many instruments. A chorus of sweet
+voices was next distinguished, growing each instant more loud and clear;
+and in a few minutes, issuing from a neighbouring grove, came forth
+a band of heroes and beautiful women, dressed in dazzling raiment,
+to greet the Queen. A troop of chariots of light and airy workmanship
+followed, and a crowd of Gnomes and Sylphs singing and playing on
+various instruments, and dancing with gestures of grace and delicacy.
+Congratulating the Queen on her arrival in Elysium, and requesting the
+honour of being permitted to attend her to her palace, they ushered
+Proserpine and her companions to the chariots, and soon, winding down a
+gradual declivity, they entered the plain.
+
+If a bird’s-eye view of the capital had enchanted Proserpine, the
+agreeable impression was not diminished, as is generally the case, by
+her entrance into the city. Never were so much splendour and neatness
+before combined. Passing through a magnificent arch, Proserpine entered
+a street of vast and beautiful proportions, lined on each side with
+palaces of various architecture, painted admirably in fresco, and richly
+gilt. The road was formed of pounded marbles of various colours, laid
+down in fanciful patterns, and forming an unrivalled mosaic; it was
+bounded on each side by a broad causeway of jasper, of a remarkably
+bright green, clouded with milk-white streaks. This street led to a
+sumptuous square, forming alone the palace destined for Proserpine.
+Its several fronts were supported and adorned by ten thousand columns,
+imitating the palm and the lotus; nor is it possible to conceive
+anything more light and graceful than the general effect of this
+stupendous building. Each front was crowned with an immense dome of
+alabaster, so transparent, that when the palace was illuminated the rosy
+heaven grew pale, and an effect similar to moonlight was diffused over
+the canopy of Elysium. And in the centre of the square a Leviathan,
+carved in white coral, and apparently flouncing in a huge basin of rock
+crystal, spouted forth from his gills a fountain twelve hundred feet in
+height; from one gill ascended a stream of delicious wine, which might
+be tempered, if necessary, by the iced water that issued from the other.
+
+At the approach of the Queen, the gigantic gates of the palace,
+framed of carved cedar, flew open with a thrilling burst of music, and
+Proserpine found herself in a hall wherein several hundred persons, who
+formed her household, knelt in stillness before her. Wearied with her
+long journey, and all the excitement of the day, Proserpine signified to
+one of the Elysians in attendance her desire for refreshment and
+repose. Immediately the household rose, and gracefully bowing retired in
+silence, while four ladies of the bed-chamber, very different from the
+dogfaced damsels of the realm of Twilight, advanced with a gracious
+smile, and each pressing a white hand to her heart, invited her Majesty
+to accompany them. Twelve beautiful pages in fanciful costume, and each
+bearing a torch of cinnamon, preceded them, and Proserpine ascended
+a staircase of turquoise and silver. As she passed along, she caught
+glimpses of costly galleries, and suites of gorgeous chambers, but she
+was almost too fatigued to distinguish anything. A confused vision of
+long lines of white columns, roofs of carved cedar, or ceilings glowing
+with forms of exquisite beauty, walls covered with lifelike tapestry,
+or reflecting in their mighty mirrors her own hurrying figure, and her
+picturesque attendants, alone remained. She rejoiced when she at length
+arrived in a small chamber, in which preparations evidently denoted
+that it was intended she should rest. It was a pretty little saloon,
+brilliantly illuminated, and hung with tapestry depicting a party of
+nymphs and shepherds feasting in an Arcadian scene. In the middle of the
+chamber a banquet was prepared, and as Proserpine seated herself, and
+partook of some of the delicacies which a page immediately presented to
+her, there arose, from invisible musicians, a joyous and festive strain,
+which accompanied her throughout her repast. When her Majesty had
+sufficiently refreshed herself, and as the banquet was removing, the
+music assumed a softer and more subduing, occasionally even a solemn
+tone; the tapestry, slowly shifting, at length represented the same
+characters sunk in repose; the attendants all this time gradually
+extinguishing the lights, and stealing on tiptoe from the chamber. So
+that, at last, the music, each moment growing fainter, entirely ceased;
+the figures on the tapestry were scarcely perceptible by the dim lustre
+of a single remaining lamp; and the slumbering Proserpine fell back upon
+her couch.
+
+But the Queen of Hell was not destined to undisturbed repose. A dream
+descended on her brain, and the dream was terrible and strange. She
+beheld herself a child, playing, as was her wont, in the gardens of
+Enna, twining garlands of roses, and chasing butterflies. Suddenly, from
+a bosky thicket of myrtle, slowly issued forth an immense serpent, dark
+as night, but with eyes of the most brilliant tint, and approached the
+daughter of Ceres. The innocent child, ignorant of evil, beheld the
+monster without alarm. Not only did she neither fly nor shriek, but she
+even welcomed and caressed the frightful stranger, patted its voluminous
+back, and admired its sparkling vision. The serpent, fascinated instead
+of fascinating, licked her feet with his arrowy tongue, and glided about
+for her diversion in a thousand shapes. Emboldened by its gentleness,
+the little Proserpine at length even mounted on its back, and rode in
+triumph among her bowers. Every day the dark serpent issued from the
+thicket, and every day he found a welcome playmate. Now it come to
+pass that one day the serpent, growing more bold, induced the young
+Proserpine to extend her ride beyond the limits of Enna. Night came on,
+and as it was too late to return, the serpent carried her to a large
+cave, where it made for her a couch of leaves, and while she slept the
+affectionate monster kept guard for her protection at the mouth of the
+cavern. For some reason or other which was not apparent, for in dreams
+there are always some effects without causes, Proserpine never returned
+to Enna, but remained and resided with cheerfulness in this cavern. Each
+morning the serpent went forth alone to seek food for its charge,
+and regularly returned with a bough in its mouth laden with delicious
+fruits. One day, during the absence of her guardian, a desire seized
+Proserpine to quit the cavern, and accordingly she went forth. The fresh
+air and fragrance of the earth were delightful to her, and she roamed
+about, unconscious of time, and thoughtless of her return. And as she
+sauntered along, singing to herself, a beautiful white dove, even
+the same dove that had welcomed her in the morning on the heights of
+Elysium, flew before her with its wings glancing in the sunshine. It
+seemed that the bird wished to attract the attention of the child, so
+long and so closely did it hover about her; now resting on a branch, as
+if inviting capture, and then skimming away only to return more swiftly;
+and occasionally, when for a moment unnoticed, even slightly flapping
+the rambler with its plume. At length the child was taken with a fancy
+to catch the bird. But no sooner had she evinced this desire, than the
+bird, once apparently so anxious to be noticed, seemed resolved to
+lead her a weary chase; and hours flew away ere Proserpine, panting and
+exhausted, had captured the beautiful rover and pressed it to her bosom.
+
+It was, indeed, a most beautiful bird, and its possession repaid her
+for all her exertions. But lo! as she stood, in a wild sylvan scene
+caressing it, smoothing its soft plumage, and pressing its head to her
+cheek, she beheld in the distance approaching her the serpent, and
+she beheld her old friend with alarm. Apparently her misgiving was
+not without cause. She observed in an instant that the appearance and
+demeanour of the serpent were greatly changed. It approached her swift
+as an arrow, its body rolling in the most agitated contortions, its jaws
+were distended as if to devour her, its eyes flashed fire, its tongue
+was a forked flame, and its hiss was like a stormy wind. Proserpine
+shrieked, and the Queen of Hell awoke from her dream.
+
+The next morning the Elysian world called to pay their respects to
+Proserpine. Her Majesty, indeed, held a drawing-room, which was
+fully and brilliantly attended. Her beauty and her graciousness were
+universally pronounced enchanting. From this moment the career of
+Proserpine was a series of magnificent entertainments. The principal
+Elysians vied with each other in the splendour and variety of the
+amusements, which they offered to the notice of their Queen. Operas,
+plays, balls, and banquets followed in dazzling succession. Proserpine,
+who was almost inexperienced in society, was quite fascinated. She
+regretted the years she had wasted in her Sicilian solitude; she
+marvelled that she ever could have looked forward with delight to a dull
+annual visit to Olympus; she almost regretted that, for the sake of an
+establishment, she could have been induced to cast her lot in the regal
+gloom of Tartarus. Elysium exactly suited her. The beauty of the climate
+and the country, the total absence of care, the constant presence of
+amusement, the luxury, gaiety, and refined enjoyment perfectly accorded
+with her amiable disposition, her lively fancy and her joyous temper.
+She drank deep and eagerly of the cup of pleasure. She entered into all
+the gay pursuits of her subjects; she even invented new combinations
+of diversion. Under her inspiring rule every one confessed that Elysium
+became every day more Elysian. The manners of her companions greatly
+pleased her. She loved those faces always wreathed with smiles, yet
+never bursting into laughter. She was charmed at the amiable tone in
+which they addressed each other. Never apparently were people at the
+same time so agreeable, so obliging, and so polished. For in all they
+said and did might be detected that peculiar air of high-breeding which
+pervades the whole conduct of existence with a certain indefinable
+spirit of calmness, so that your nerves are never shaken by too intense
+an emotion, which eventually produces a painful reaction. Whatever they
+did, the Elysians were careful never to be vehement; a grand passion,
+indeed, was unknown in these happy regions; love assumed the milder form
+of flirtation; and as for enmity, you were never abused except behind
+your back, or it exuded itself in an epigram, or, at the worst, a
+caricature scribbled upon a fan.
+
+There is one characteristic of the Elysians which, in justice to them, I
+ought not to have omitted. They were eminently a moral people. If a lady
+committed herself, she was lost for ever, and packed off immediately to
+the realm of Twilight. Indeed, they were so particular, that the moment
+one of the softer sex gave the slightest symptoms of preference to
+a fortunate admirer, the Elysian world immediately began to look
+unutterable things, shrug its moral shoulders, and elevate its
+charitable eyebrows. But if the preference, by any unlucky chance,
+assumed the nobler aspect of devotion, and the unhappy fair one gave any
+indication of really possessing a heart, rest assured she was already
+half way on the road to perdition. Then commenced one of the most
+curious processes imaginable, peculiar I apprehend to Elysium, but which
+I record that the society of less fortunate lands may avail itself of
+the advantage, and adopt the regulation in its moral police. Immediately
+that it was clearly ascertained that two persons of different sexes took
+an irrational interest in each other’s society, all the world instantly
+went about, actuated by a purely charitable sentiment, telling the most
+extraordinary falsehoods concerning them that they could devise. Thus it
+was the fashion to call at one house and announce that you had detected
+the unhappy pair in a private box at the theatre, and immediately to pay
+your respects at another mansion and declare that you had observed them
+on the very same day, and at the very same hour, in a boat on the river.
+At the next visit, the gentleman had been discovered driving her in his
+cab; and in the course of the morning the scene of indiscretion was the
+Park, where they had been watched walking by moonlight, muffled up in
+sables and cashmeres.
+
+This curious process of diffusing information was known in Elysium
+under the title of _‘being talked about;_’ and although the stories thus
+disseminated were universally understood to be fictions, the Elysians
+ascribed great virtue to the proceeding, maintaining that many an
+indiscreet fair one had been providentially alarmed by thus becoming the
+subject of universal conversation; that thus many a reputation had
+been saved by this charitable slander. There were some malignant
+philosophers, indeed, doubtless from that silly love of paradox in all
+ages too prevalent, who pretended that all this Elysian morality was one
+great delusion, and that this scrupulous anxiety about the conduct of
+others arose from a principle, not of _Purity_, but of _Corruption_.
+The woman who is ‘talked about,’ these sages would affirm, is generally
+virtuous, and she is only abused because she devotes to one the charms
+which all wish to enjoy.
+
+Thus Dido, who is really one of the finest creatures that ever existed,
+and who with a majestic beauty combines an heroic soul, has made her
+way with difficulty to the Elysian circle, to which her charms and
+rank entitle her; while Helen, who, from her very _debut_, has
+been surrounded by fifty lovers, and whose intrigues have ever been
+notorious, is the very queen of fashion; and all this merely because she
+has favoured fifty instead of one, and in the midst of all her scrapes
+has contrived to retain the countenance of her husband.
+
+Apropos of Dido, the Queen of Carthage was the person in all Elysium for
+whom Proserpine took the greatest liking. Exceedingly beautiful, with
+the most generous temper and the softest heart in the world, and blessed
+by nature with a graceful simplicity of manner, which fashion had
+never sullied, it really was impossible to gaze upon the extraordinary
+brilliancy of her radiant countenance, to watch the symmetry of her
+superb figure, and to listen to the artless yet lively observations
+uttered by a voice musical as a bell, without being fairly bewitched.
+
+When we first enter society, we are everywhere; yet there are few, I
+imagine, who, after a season, do not subside into a coterie. When the
+glare of saloons has ceased to dazzle, and we are wearied with the
+heartless notice of a crowd, we require refinement and sympathy. We find
+them, and we sink into a clique. And after all, can the river of life
+flow on more agreeably than in a sweet course of pleasure with those
+we love? To wander in the green shade of secret woods and whisper our
+affection; to float on the sunny waters of some gentle stream, and
+listen to a serenade; to canter with a light-hearted cavalcade over
+breezy downs, or cool our panting chargers in the summer stillness of
+winding and woody lanes; to banquet with the beautiful and the witty; to
+send care to the devil, and indulge the whim of the moment; the priest,
+the warrior and the statesman may frown and struggle as they like; but
+this is existence, and this, this is Elysium!
+
+So Proserpine deemed when, wearied with the monotony of the great
+world, she sought refuge in the society of Dido and Atalanta, Achilles,
+Amphion, and Patroclus or Memnon. When AEneas found that Dido had become
+fashionable, he made overtures for a reconciliation, but Dido treated
+him with calm contempt. The pious AEneas, indeed, was the aversion of
+Proserpine. He was the head of the Elysian saints, was president of a
+society to induce the Gnomes only to drink water, and was so horrified
+at the general conduct of the Elysians, that he questioned the decrees
+of Minos and Rhadamanthus, who had permitted them to enter the happy
+region so easily. The pious AEneas was of opinion that everybody ought to
+have been damned except himself. Proserpine gave him no encouragement.
+Achilles was the finest gentleman in Elysium. No one dressed or rode
+like him. He was very handsome, very witty, very unaffected, and had an
+excellent heart. Achilles was the leader of the Elysian youth, who were
+indeed devoted to him: Proserpine took care, therefore, that he should
+dangle in her train. Amphion had a charming voice for a supper after the
+opera. He was a handsome little fellow, but not to be depended upon.
+He broke a heart, or a dinner engagement, with the same reckless
+sentimentality; for he was one of those who always weep when they betray
+you, and whom you are sure never to see again immediately that they have
+vowed eternal friendship. Patroclus was a copy of Achilles without his
+talents and vivacity, but elegant and quiet. Of all these, Memnon was
+perhaps the favourite of Proserpine; nor must he be forgotten; amiable,
+gay, brilliant, the child of whim and impulse, in love with every woman
+he met for four-and-twenty hours, and always marvelling at his own
+delusion!
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Infernal Marriage, by Benjamin Disraeli
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Infernal Marriage
+
+Author: Benjamin Disraeli
+
+Release Date: December 3, 2006 [EBook #20003]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INFERNAL MARRIAGE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE INFERNAL MARRIAGE
+
+By Benjamin Disraeli
+
+_Proserpine was the daughter of Jupiter and Ceres. Pluto, the god
+of Hell, became enamoured of her. His addresses were favoured by her
+father, but opposed by Ceres. Under these circumstances, he surprised
+her on the plains of Enna, and carried her off in his chariot._
+
+
+
+
+THE INFERNAL MARRIAGE
+
+
+
+
+PART I.
+
+     _A Sublime Elopement_
+
+IT WAS clearly a runaway match--never indeed was such a sublime
+elopement. The four horses were coal-black, with blood-red manes and
+tails; and they were shod with rubies. They were harnessed to a basaltic
+car by a single rein of flame. Waving his double-pronged trident in the
+air, the god struck the blue breast of Cyane, and the waters instantly
+parted. In rushed the wild chariot, the pale and insensible Proserpine
+clinging to the breast of her grim lover.
+
+Through the depths of the hitherto unfathomed lake the infernal steeds
+held their breathless course. The car jolted against its bed. 'Save me!'
+exclaimed the future Queen of Hades, and she clung with renewed energy
+to the bosom of the dark bridegroom. The earth opened; they entered the
+kingdom of the gnomes. Here Pluto was popular. The lurid populace gave
+him a loud shout. The chariot whirled along through shadowy cities and
+by dim highways, swarming with a busy race of shades.
+
+'Ye flowery meads of Enna!' exclaimed the terrified Proserpine, 'shall I
+never view you again? What an execrable climate!'
+
+'Here, however, in-door nature is charming,' responded Pluto. 'Tis a
+great nation of manufacturers. You are better, I hope, my Proserpine.
+The passage of the water is never very agreeable, especially to ladies.'
+
+'And which is our next stage?' inquired Proserpine.
+
+'The centre of Earth,' replied Pluto. 'Travelling is so much improved
+that at this rate we shall reach Hades before night.'
+
+'Alas!' exclaimed Proserpine, 'is not this night?'
+
+'You are not unhappy, my Proserpine?'
+
+'Beloved of my heart, I have given up everything for you! I do not
+repent, but I am thinking of my mother.'
+
+'Time will pacify the Lady Ceres. What is done cannot be undone. In the
+winter, when a residence among us is even desirable, I should not be
+surprised were she to pay us a visit.'
+
+'Her prejudices are so strong,' murmured the bride. 'Oh my Pluto! I hope
+your family will be kind to me.'
+
+'Who could be unkind to Proserpine? Ours is a very domestic circle. I
+can assure you that everything is so well ordered among us that I have
+no recollection of a domestic broil.'
+
+'But marriage is such a revolution in a bachelor's establishment,'
+replied Proserpine, despondingly. 'To tell the truth, too, I am half
+frightened at the thought of the Furies. I have heard that their tempers
+are so violent.'
+
+'They mean well; their feelings are strong, but their hearts are in the
+right place. I flatter myself you will like my nieces, the Parc�. They
+are accomplished, and favourites among the men.'
+
+'Indeed!'
+
+'Oh! quite irresistible.'
+
+'My heart misgives me. I wish you had at least paid them the compliment
+of apprising them of our marriage.'
+
+'Cheer up. For myself, I have none but pleasant anticipations. I long
+to be at home once more by my own fireside, and patting my faithful
+Cerberus.'
+
+'I think I shall like Cerberus; I am fond of dogs.'
+
+'I am sure you will. He is the most faithful creature in the world.'
+
+'Is he very fierce?'
+
+'Not if he takes a fancy to you; and who can help taking a fancy to
+Proserpine?'
+
+'Ah! my Pluto, you are in love.'
+
+'Is this Hades?' inquired Proserpine.
+
+An avenue of colossal bulls, sculptured in basalt and breathing
+living flame, led to gates of brass, adorned with friezes of rubies,
+representing the wars and discomfiture of the Titans. A crimson cloud
+concealed the height of the immense portals, and on either side hovered
+o'er the extending walls of the city; a watch-tower or a battlement
+occasionally flashing forth, and forcing their forms through the lurid
+obscurity.
+
+'Queen of Hades! welcome to your capital!' exclaimed Pluto.
+
+The monarch rose in his car and whirled a javelin at the gates. There
+was an awful clang, and then a still more terrible growl.
+
+'My faithful Cerberus!' exclaimed the King.
+
+The portals flew open, and revealed the gigantic form of the celebrated
+watch-dog of Hell. It completely filled their wide expanse. Who but
+Pluto could have viewed without horror that enormous body covered with
+shaggy spikes, those frightful paws clothed with claws of steel, that
+tail like a boa constrictor, those fiery eyes that blazed like the
+blood-red lamps in a pharos, and those three forky tongues, round each
+of which were entwined a vigorous family of green rattlesnakes!
+
+'Ah! Cerby! Cerby!' exclaimed Pluto; 'my fond and faithful Cerby!'
+
+Proserpine screamed as the animal gambolled up to the side of the
+chariot and held out its paw to its master. Then, licking the royal palm
+with its three tongues at once, it renewed its station with a wag of its
+tail which raised such a cloud of dust that for a few minutes nothing
+was perceptible.
+
+'The monster!' exclaimed Proserpine.
+
+'My love!' exclaimed Pluto, with astonishment.
+
+'The hideous brute!'
+
+'My dear!' exclaimed Pluto.
+
+'He shall never touch me.'
+
+'Proserpine!'
+
+'Don't touch me with that hand. You never shall touch me, if you allow
+that disgusting animal to lick your hand.'
+
+'I beg to inform you that there are few beings of any kind for whom I
+have a greater esteem than that faithful and affectionate beast.'
+
+'Oh! if you like Cerberus better than me, I have no more to say,'
+exclaimed the bride, bridling up with indignation.
+
+'My Proserpine is perverse,' replied Pluto; 'her memory has scarcely
+done me justice.'
+
+'I am sure you said you liked Cerberus better than anything in the
+world,' continued the goddess, with a voice trembling with passion.
+
+'I said no such thing,' replied Pluto, somewhat sternly.
+
+'I see how it is,' replied Proserpine, with a sob; 'you are tired of
+me.'
+
+'My beloved!'
+
+'I never expected this.'
+
+'My child!'
+
+'Was it for this I left my mother?'
+
+'Powers of Hades! How you can say such things!'
+
+'Broke her heart?'
+
+'Proserpine! Proserpine!'
+
+'Gave up daylight?'
+
+'For the sake of Heaven, then, calm yourself!'
+
+'Sacrificed everything?'
+
+'My love! my life! my angel! what is all this?'
+
+'And then to be abused for the sake of a dog!'
+
+'By all the shades of Hell, but this is enough to provoke even
+immortals. What have I done, said, or thought, to justify such
+treatment?'
+
+'Oh! me!'
+
+'Proserpine!'
+
+'Heigho!'
+
+'Proserpine! Proserpine!'
+
+'So soon is the veil withdrawn!'
+
+'Dearest, you must be unwell. This journey has been too much for you,'
+
+'On our very bridal day to be so treated!'
+
+'Soul of my existence, don't make me mad. I love you, I adore you; I
+have no hope, no wish, no thought but you. I swear it; I swear it by
+my sceptre and my throne. Speak, speak to your Pluto: tell him all your
+wish, all your desire. What would you have me do?'
+
+'Shoot that horrid beast.'
+
+'Ah! me!'
+
+'What, you will not? I thought how it would be. I am Proserpine, your
+beloved, adored Proserpine. You have no wish, no hope, no thought but
+for me! I have only to speak, and what I desire will be instantly done!
+And I do speak, I tell you my wish, I express to you my desire, and I
+am instantly refused! And what have I requested? Is it such a mighty
+favour? Is it anything unreasonable? Is there, indeed, in my entreaty
+anything so vastly out of the way? The death of a dog, a disgusting
+animal, which has already shaken my nerves to pieces; and if ever (here
+she hid her face in his breast), if ever that event should occur which
+both must desire, my Pluto, I am sure the very sight of that horrible
+beast will--I dare not say what it will do.'
+
+Pluto looked puzzled.
+
+'Indeed, my Proserpine, it is not in my power to grant your request; for
+Cerberus is immortal, like ourselves.'
+
+'Me! miserable!'
+
+'Some arrangement, however, may be made to keep him out of your sight
+and hearing. I can banish him.'
+
+'Can you, indeed? Oh! banish him, my Pluto! pray banish him! I never
+shall be happy until Cerberus is banished.'
+
+'I will do anything you desire; but I confess to you I have some
+misgivings. He is an invaluable watch-dog; and I fear, without his
+superintendence, the guardians of the gate will scarcely do their duty.'
+
+'Oh! yes: I am sure they will, my Pluto! I will ask them to, I will ask
+them myself, I will request them, as a particular and personal favour to
+myself, to be very careful indeed. And if they do their duty, and I am
+sure they will, they shall be styled, as a reward, "Proserpine's Own
+Guards."'
+
+'A reward, indeed!' said the enamoured monarch, as, with a sigh, he
+signed the order for the banishment of Cerberus in the form of his
+promotion to the office of Master of the royal and imperial bloodhounds.
+
+The burning waves of Phlegethon assumed a lighter hue. It was morning.
+It was the morning after the arrival of Pluto and his unexpected bride.
+In one of the principal rooms of the palace three beautiful females,
+clothed in cerulean robes spangled with stars, and their heads adorned
+with golden crowns, were at work together. One held a distaff, from
+which the second spun; and the third wielded an enormous pair of
+adamantine shears, with which she perpetually severed the labours of her
+sisters. Tall were they in stature and beautiful in form. Very fair;
+an expression of haughty serenity pervaded their majestic countenances.
+Their three companions, however, though apparently of the same sex, were
+of a different character. If women can ever be ugly, certainly
+these three ladies might put in a valid claim to that epithet. Their
+complexions were dark and withered, and their eyes, though bright, were
+bloodshot. Scantily clothed in black garments, not unstained with gore,
+their wan and offensive forms were but slightly veiled. Their hands were
+talons; their feet cloven; and serpents were wreathed round their brows
+instead of hair. Their restless and agitated carriage afforded also not
+less striking contrast to the polished and aristocratic demeanour of
+their companions. They paced the chamber with hurried and unequal steps,
+and wild and uncouth gestures; waving, with a reckless ferocity, burning
+torches and whips of scorpions. It is hardly necessary to add that these
+were the Furies, and that the conversation which I am about to report
+was carried on with the Fates.
+
+'A thousand serpents!' shrieked Tisiphone. 'I will never believe it.'
+
+'Racks and flames!' squeaked Meg�ra. 'It is impossible.'
+
+'Eternal torture!' moaned Alecto. ''Tis a lie.'
+
+'Not Jupiter himself should convince us!' the Furies joined in infernal
+chorus.
+
+''Tis nevertheless true,'calmly observed the beautiful Clotho.
+
+'You will soon have the honour of being presented to her,' added the
+serene Lachesis.
+
+'And whatever we may feel,' observed the considerate Atropos, 'I think,
+my dear girls, you had better restrain yourselves.'
+
+'And what sort of thing is she?' inquired Tisiphone, with a shriek.
+
+'I have heard that she is lovely,' answered Clotho. 'Indeed, it is
+impossible to account for the affair in any other way.'
+
+''Tis neither possible to account for nor to justify it,' squeaked
+Meg�ra.
+
+'Is there, indeed, a Queen in Hell?' moaned Alecto.
+
+'We shall hold no more drawing-rooms,' said Lachesis.
+
+'We will never attend hers,' said the Furies.
+
+'You must,' replied the Fates.
+
+'I have no doubt she will give herself airs,' shrieked Tisiphone.
+
+'We must remember where she has been brought up, and be considerate,'
+replied Lachesis.
+
+'I dare say you three will get on very well with her,' squeaked Megasra.
+'You always get on well with people.'
+
+'We must remember how very strange things here must appear to her,'
+observed Atropos.
+
+'No one can deny that there are some very disagreeable sights,' said
+Clotho.
+
+'There is something in that,' replied Tisiphone, looking in the glass,
+and arranging her serpents; 'and for my part, poor girl, I almost pity
+her, when I think she will have to visit the Harpies.'
+
+At this moment four little pages entered the room, who, without
+exception, were the most hideous dwarfs that ever attended upon a
+monarch. They were clothed only in parti-coloured tunics, and their
+breasts and legs were quite bare. From the countenance of the first you
+would have supposed he was in a convulsion; his hands were clenched
+and his hair stood on end: this was Terror! The protruded veins of the
+second seemed ready to burst, and his rubicund visage decidedly proved
+that he had blood in his head; this was Rage! The third was of an ashen
+colour throughout: this was Paleness! And the fourth, with a countenance
+not without traces of beauty, was even more disgusting than his
+companions from the quantity of horrible flies, centipedes, snails, and
+other noisome, slimy, and indescribable monstrosities that were crawling
+all about his body and feeding on his decaying features. The name of
+this fourth page was Death!
+
+'The King and Queen!' announced the pages.
+
+Pluto, during the night, had prepared Proserpine for the worst, and had
+endeavoured to persuade her that his love would ever compensate for
+all annoyances. She was in excellent spirits and in very good humour;
+therefore, though she could with difficulty stifle a scream when she
+recognised the Furies, she received the congratulations of the Parc�
+with much cordiality.
+
+'I have the pleasure, Proserpine, of presenting you to my family,' said
+Pluto.
+
+'Who, I am sure, hope to make Hades agreeable to your Majesty,' rejoined
+Clotho. The Furies uttered a suppressed sound between a murmur and a
+growl.
+
+'I have ordered the chariot,' said Pluto. 'I propose to take the Queen a
+ride, and show her some of our lions.'
+
+'She will, I am sure, be delighted,' said Lachesis.
+
+'I long to see Ixion,' said Proserpine.
+
+'The wretch!' shrieked Tisiphone.
+
+'I cannot help thinking that he has been very unfairly treated,' said
+Proserpine.
+
+'What!' squeaked Meg�ra. 'The ravisher!'
+
+'Ay! it is all very well,' replied Proserpine; 'but, for my part, if we
+knew the truth of that affair-----'
+
+'Is it possible that your Majesty can speak in such a tone of levity of
+such an offender?' shrieked Tisiphone.
+
+'Is it possible?' moaned Alecto.
+
+'Ah! you have heard only one side of the question; but for my part,
+knowing as much of Juno as I do-----'
+
+'The Queen of Heaven!' observed Atropos, with an intimidating glance.
+
+'The Queen of Fiddlestick!' said Proserpine; 'as great a flirt as ever
+existed, with all her prudish looks.'
+
+The Fates and the Furies exchanged glances of astonishment and horror.
+
+'For my part,' continued Proserpine, 'I make it a rule to support the
+weaker side, and nothing will ever persuade me that Ixion is not a
+victim, and a pitiable one.'
+
+'Well! men generally have the best of it in these affairs,' said
+Lachesis, with a forced smile.
+
+'Juno ought to be ashamed of herself,' said Proserpine. 'Had I been in
+her situation, they should have tied me to a wheel first. At any rate,
+they ought to have punished him in Heaven. I have no idea of those
+people sending every _mauvais sujet_ to Hell.'
+
+'But what shall we do?' inquired Pluto, who wished to turn the
+conversation.
+
+'Shall we turn out a sinner and hunt him for her Majesty's diversion?'
+suggested Tisiphone, flanking her serpents.
+
+'Nothing of the kind will ever divert me,' said Proserpine; 'for I have
+no hesitation in saying that I do not at all approve of these eternal
+punishments, or, indeed, of any punishment whatever.'
+
+'The heretic!' whispered Tisiphone to Meg�ra. Alecto moaned.
+
+'It might be more interesting to her Majesty,' said Atropos, 'to witness
+some of those extraordinary instances of predestined misery with which
+Hades abounds. Shall we visit OEdipus?'
+
+'Poor fellow!' exclaimed Proserpine. 'For myself, I willingly confess
+that torture disgusts and Destiny puzzles me.'
+
+The Fates and the Furies all alike started.
+
+'I do not understand this riddle of Destiny,' continued the young Queen.
+'If you, Parc�, have predestined that a man should commit a crime,
+it appears to me very unjust that you should afterwards call upon the
+Furies to punish him for its commission.'
+
+'But man is a free agent,' observed Lachesis, in as mild a tone as she
+could command.
+
+'Then what becomes of Destiny?' replied Proserpine.
+
+'Destiny is eternal and irresistible,' replied Clotho. 'All is ordained;
+but man is, nevertheless, master of his own actions.'
+
+'I do not understand that,' said Proserpine.
+
+'It is not meant to be understood,' said Atropos; 'but you must
+nevertheless believe it.'
+
+'I make it a rule only to believe what I understand,' replied
+Proserpine.
+
+'It appears,' said Lachesis, with a blended glance of contempt and
+vengeance, 'that your Majesty, though a goddess, is an atheist.'
+
+'As for that, anybody may call me just what they please, provided they
+do nothing else. So long as I am not tied to a wheel or whipped with
+scorpions for speaking my mind, I shall be as tolerant of the speech and
+acts of others as I expect them to be tolerant of mine. Come, Pluto, I
+am sure that the chariot must be ready!'
+
+So saying, her Majesty took the arm of her spouse, and with a haughty
+curtsey left the apartment.
+
+'Did you ever!' shrieked Tisiphone, as the door closed.
+
+'No! never!' squeaked Megaera.
+
+'Never! never!' moaned Alecto.
+
+'She must understand what she believes, must she?' said Lachesis,
+scarcely less irritated.
+
+'I never heard such nonsense,' said Clotho.
+
+'What next!' said Atropos.
+
+'Disgusted with torture!' exclaimed the Furies.
+
+'Puzzled with Destiny!' said the Fates.
+
+It was the third morning after the Infernal Marriage; the slumbering
+Proserpine reposed in the arms of the snoring Pluto. There was a loud
+knocking at the chamber-door. Pluto jumped up in the middle of a dream.
+
+'My life, what is the matter?' exclaimed Proserpine.
+
+The knocking was repeated and increased. There was also a loud shout of
+'treason, murder, and fire!'
+
+'What is the matter?' exclaimed the god, jumping out of bed and seizing
+his trident. 'Who is there?'
+
+'Your pages, your faithful pages! Treason! treason! For the sake of
+Hell, open the door. Murder, fire, treason!'
+
+'Enter!' said Pluto, as the door was unlocked.
+
+And Terror and Rage entered.
+
+'You frightful things, get out of the room!' cried Proserpine.
+
+'A moment, my angel!' said Pluto, 'a single moment. Be not alarmed, my
+best love; I pray you be not alarmed. Well, imps, why am I disturbed?'
+
+'Oh!' said Terror. Rage could not speak, but gnashed his teeth and
+stamped his feet.
+
+'O-o-o-h!' repeated Terror.
+
+'Speak, cursed imps!' cried the enraged Pluto; and he raised his arm.
+
+'A man! a man!' cried Terror. 'Treason, treason! a man! a man!'
+
+'What man?' said Pluto, in a rage.
+
+'A man, a live man, has entered Hell!'
+
+'You don't say so?' said Proserpine; 'a man, a live man. Let me see him
+immediately.'
+
+'Where is he?' said Pluto; 'what is he doing?'
+
+'He is here, there, and everywhere! asking for your wife, and singing
+like anything.'
+
+'Proserpine!' said Pluto, reproachfully; but, to do the god justice, he
+was more astounded than jealous.
+
+'I am sure I shall be delighted to see him; it is so long since I have
+seen a live man,' said Proserpine. 'Who can he be? A man, and a live
+man! How delightful! It must be a messenger from my mother.'
+
+'But how came he here?'
+
+'Ah! how came he here?' echoed Terror.
+
+'No time must be lost!' exclaimed Pluto, scrambling on his robe. 'Seize
+him, and bring him into the council chamber. My charming Proserpine,
+excuse me for a moment.'
+
+'Not at all; I will accompany you.'
+
+'But, my love, my sweetest, my own, this is business; these are affairs
+of state. The council chamber is not a place for you.'
+
+'And why not?' said Proserpine. 'I have no idea of ever leaving you for
+a moment. Why not for me as well as for the Fates and the Furies? Am I
+not Queen? I have no idea of such nonsense!'
+
+'My love!' said the deprecating husband.
+
+'You don't go without me,' said the imperious wife, seizing his robe.
+
+'I must,' said Pluto.
+
+'Then you shall never return,' said Proserpine.
+
+'Enchantress! be reasonable.'
+
+'I never was, and I never will be,' replied the Goddess.
+
+'Treason! treason!' screamed Terror.
+
+'My love, I must go!'
+
+'Pluto,' said Proserpine, 'understand me once for all, I will not be
+contradicted.'
+
+Rage stamped his foot.
+
+'Proserpine, understand me once for all, it is impossible,' said the
+God, frowning.
+
+'My Pluto!' said the Queen. 'Is it my Pluto who speaks thus sternly to
+me? Is it he who, but an hour ago, a short hour ago, died upon my bosom
+in transports and stifled me with kisses! Unhappy woman! wretched,
+miserable Proserpine! Oh! my mother! my kind, my affectionate mother!
+Have I disobeyed you for this! For this have I deserted you! For this
+have I broken your beloved heart!' She buried her face in the crimson
+counterpane, and bedewed its gorgeous embroidery with her fast-flowing
+tears.
+
+'Treason!' shouted Terror.
+
+'Ha! ha! ha!' exclaimed the hysterical Proserpine.
+
+'What am I to do?' cried Pluto. 'Proserpine, my adored, my beloved, my
+enchanting Proserpine, compose yourself; for my sake, compose yourself.
+I love you! I adore you! You know it! oh! indeed you know it!'
+
+The hysterics increased.
+
+'Treason! treason!' shouted Terror.
+
+'Hold your infernal tongue,' said Pluto. 'What do I care for treason
+when the Queen is in this state?' He knelt by the bedside, and tried to
+stop her mouth with kisses, and ever and anon whispered his passion. 'My
+Proserpine, I beseech you to be calm; I will do anything you like. Come,
+come, then, to the council!'
+
+The hysterics ceased; the Queen clasped him in her arms and rewarded him
+with a thousand embraces. Then, jumping up, she bathed her swollen eyes
+with a beautiful cosmetic that she and her maidens had distilled from
+the flowers of Enna; and, wrapping herself up in her shawl, descended
+with his Majesty, who was quite as much puzzled about the cause of this
+disturbance as when he was first roused.
+
+Crossing an immense covered bridge, the origin of the Bridge of Sighs at
+Venice, over the royal gardens, which consisted entirely of cypress,
+the royal pair, preceded by the pages-in-waiting, entered the council
+chamber. The council was already assembled. On either side of a throne
+of sulphur, from which issued the four infernal rivers of Lethe,
+Phlegethon, Cocytus, and Acheron, were ranged the Eumenides and Parc�.
+Lachesis and her sisters turned up their noses when they observed
+Proserpine; but the Eumenides could not stifle their fury, in spite of
+the hints of their more subdued but not less malignant companions.
+
+'What is all this?' inquired Pluto.
+
+'The constitution is in danger,' said the Parc� in chorus.
+
+'Both in church and state,' added the Furies. ''Tis a case of treason
+and blasphemy;' and they waved their torches and shook their whips with
+delighted anticipation of their use.
+
+'Detail the circumstances,' said Pluto, waving his hand majestically to
+Lachesis, in whose good sense he had great confidence.
+
+'A man, a living man, has entered your kingdom, unknown and unnoticed,'
+said Lachesis.
+
+'By my sceptre, is it true?' said the astonished King. 'Is he seized?'
+
+'The extraordinary mortal baffles our efforts,' said Lachesis. 'He
+bears with him a lyre, the charmed gift of Apollo, and so seducing are
+his strains that in vain our guards advance to arrest his course; they
+immediately begin dancing, and he easily eludes their efforts. The
+general confusion is indescribable. All business is at a standstill:
+Ixion rests upon his wheel; old Sisyphus sits down on his mountain,
+and his stone has fallen with a terrible plash into Acheron. In short,
+unless we are energetic, we are on the eve of a revolution.'
+
+'His purpose?'
+
+'He seeks yourself and--her Majesty,' added Lachesis, with a sneer.
+
+'Immediately announce that we will receive him.'
+
+The unexpected guest was not slow in acknowledging the royal summons.
+A hasty treaty was drawn up; he was to enter the palace unmolested,
+on condition that he ceased playing his lyre. The Fates and the Furies
+exchanged significant glances as his approach was announced.
+
+The man, the live man, who had committed the unprecedented crime of
+entering Hell without a licence, and the previous deposit of his soul as
+security for the good behaviour of his body, stood before the surprised
+and indignant Court of Hades. Tall and graceful in stature, and crowned
+with laurels, Proserpine was glad to observe that the man, who was
+evidently famous, was also good-looking.
+
+'Thy purpose, mortal?' inquired Pluto, with awful majesty.
+
+'Mercy!' answered the stranger in a voice of exquisite melody, and
+sufficiently embarrassed to render him interesting.
+
+'What is mercy?' inquired the Fates and the Furies.
+
+'Speak, stranger, without fear,' said Proserpine. 'Thy name?'
+
+'Is Orpheus; but a few days back the too happy husband of the enchanting
+Eurydice. Alas! dread King, and thou too, beautiful and benignant
+partner of his throne, I won her by my lyre, and by my lyre I would
+redeem her. Know, then, that in the very glow of our gratified passion
+a serpent crept under the flowers on which we reposed, and by a fatal
+sting summoned my adored to the shades. Why did it not also summon me?
+I will not say why should I not have been the victim in her stead; for
+I feel too keenly that the doom of Eurydice would not have been less
+forlorn, had she been the wretched being who had been spared to life. O
+King! they whispered on earth that thou too hadst yielded thy heart to
+the charms of love. Pluto, they whispered, is no longer stern: Pluto
+also feels the all-subduing influence of beauty. Dread monarch, by the
+self-same passion that rages in our breasts alike, I implore thy mercy.
+Thou hast risen from the couch of love, the arm of thy adored has
+pressed upon thy heart, her honied lips have clung with rapture
+to thine, still echo in thy ears all the enchanting phrases of her
+idolatry. Then, by the memory of these, by all the higher and ineffable
+joys to which these lead, King of Hades, spare me, oh! spare me,
+Eurydice!'
+
+Proserpine threw her arms round the neck of her husband, and, hiding her
+face in his breast, wept.
+
+'Rash mortal, you demand that which is not in the power of Pluto to
+concede,' said Lachesis.
+
+'I have heard much of treason since my entrance into Hades,' replied
+Orpheus, 'and this sounds like it.'
+
+'Mortal!' exclaimed Clotho, with contempt.
+
+'Nor is it in your power to return, sir,' said Tisiphone, shaking her
+whip.
+
+'We have accounts to settle with you,' said Meg�ra.
+
+'Spare her, spare her,' murmured Proserpine to her lover.
+
+'King of Hades!' said Lachesis, with much dignity, 'I hold a
+responsible office in your realm, and I claim the constitutional
+privilege of your attention. I protest against the undue influence
+of the Queen. She is a power unknown in our constitution, and an
+irresponsible agent that I will not recognise. Let her go back to the
+drawing-room, where all will bow to her.'
+
+'Hag!' exclaimed Proserpine. 'King of Hades, I, too, can appeal to you.
+Have I accepted your crown to be insulted by your subjects?'
+
+'A subject, may it please your Majesty, who has duties as strictly
+defined by our infernal constitution as those of your royal spouse;
+duties, too, which, let me tell you, madam, I and _my order_ are
+resolved to perform.'
+
+'Gods of Olympus!' cried Proserpine. 'Is this to be a Queen?'
+
+'Before we proceed further in this discussion,' said Lachesis, 'I must
+move an inquiry into the conduct of his Excellency the Governor of the
+Gates. I move, then, that Cerberus be summoned.
+
+Pluto started, and the blood rose to his dark cheek. 'I have not yet had
+an opportunity of mentioning,' said his Majesty, in a low tone, and with
+an air of considerable confusion, 'that I have thought fit, as a reward
+for his past services, to promote Cerberus to the office of the Master
+of the Hounds. He therefore is no longer responsible.'
+
+'O-h!' shrieked the Furies, as they elevated their hideous eyes.
+
+'The constitution has invested your Majesty with a power in the
+appointment of your Officers of State which your Majesty has undoubtedly
+a right to exercise,' said Lachesis. 'What degree of discretion it
+anticipated in the exercise, it is now unnecessary, and would be
+extremely disagreeable, to discuss. I shall not venture to inquire by
+what new influence your Majesty has been guided in the present instance.
+The consequence of your Majesty's conduct is obvious, in the very
+difficult situation in which your realm is now placed. For myself and my
+colleagues, I have only to observe that we decline, under this crisis,
+any further responsibility; and the distaff and the shears are at your
+Majesty's service the moment your Majesty may find convenient successors
+to the present holders. As a last favour, in addition to the many we are
+proud to remember we have received from your Majesty, we entreat that we
+may be relieved from their burthen as quickly as possible.' (Loud cheers
+from the Eumenides.)
+
+'We had better recall Cerberus,' said Pluto, alarmed, 'and send this
+mortal about his business.'
+
+'Not without Eurydice. Oh! not without Eurydice,' said the Queen.
+
+'Silence, Proserpine!' said Pluto.
+
+'May it please your Majesty,' said Lachesis, 'I am doubtful whether we
+have the power of expelling anyone from Hades. It is not less the law
+that a mortal cannot remain here; and it is too notorious for me to
+mention the fact that none here have the power of inflicting death.'
+
+'Of what use are all your laws,' exclaimed Proserpine, 'if they are only
+to perplex us? As there are no statutes to guide us, it is obvious that
+the King's will is supreme. Let Orpheus depart, then, with his bride.'
+
+'The latter suggestion is clearly illegal,' said Lachesis.
+
+'Lachesis, and ye, her sisters,' said Proserpine, 'forget, I beseech
+you, any warm words that may have passed between us, and, as a personal
+favour to one who would willingly be your friend, release Eurydice.
+What! you shake your heads! Nay; of what importance can be a single
+miserable shade, and one, too, summoned so cruelly before her time, in
+these thickly-peopled regions?'
+
+''Tis the principle,' said Lachesis; ''tis the principle. Concession is
+ever fatal, however slight. Grant this demand; others, and greater, will
+quickly follow. Mercy becomes a precedent, and the realm is ruined.'
+
+'Ruined!' echoed the Furies.
+
+'And I say _preserved!_' exclaimed Proserpine with energy. 'The State is
+in confusion, and you yourselves confess that you know not how to remedy
+it. Unable to suggest a course, follow mine. I am the advocate of
+mercy; I am the advocate of concession; and, as you despise all higher
+impulses, I meet you on your own grounds. I am their advocate for the
+sake of policy, of expediency.'
+
+'Never!' said the Fates.
+
+'Never!' shrieked the Furies.
+
+'What, then, will you do with Orpheus?'
+
+The Parc� shook their heads; even the Eumenides were silent.
+
+'Then you are unable to carry on the King's government; for Orpheus must
+be disposed of; all agree to that. Pluto, reject these counsellors, at
+once insulting and incapable. Give me the distaff and the fatal shears.
+At once form a new Cabinet; and let the release of Orpheus and Eurydice
+be the basis of their policy.' She threw her arms round his neck and
+whispered in his ear.
+
+Pluto was perplexed; his confidence in the Parcae was shaken. A
+difficulty had occurred with which they could not cope. It was true the
+difficulty had been occasioned by a departure from their own exclusive
+and restrictive policy. It was clear that the gates of Hell ought never
+to have been opened to the stranger; but opened they had been. Forced to
+decide, he decided on the side of _expediency_, and signed a decree for
+the departure of Orpheus and Eurydice. The Parcas immediately resigned
+their posts, and the Furies walked off in a huff. Thus, on the third day
+of the Infernal Marriage, Pluto found that he had quarrelled with all
+his family, and that his ancient administration was broken up. The King
+was without a friend, and Hell was without a Government!
+
+
+
+
+PART II.
+
+     _A Visit to Elysium_
+
+LET us change the scene from Hades to Olympus.
+
+A chariot drawn by dragons hovered over that superb palace whose
+sparkling steps of lapislazuli were once pressed by the daring foot of
+Ixion. It descended into the beautiful gardens, and Ceres, stepping out,
+sought the presence of Jove.
+
+'Father of gods and men,' said the majestic mother of Proserpine,
+'listen to a distracted parent! All my hopes were centred in my
+daughter, the daughter of whom you have deprived me. Is it for this that
+I endured the pangs of childbirth? Is it for this that I suckled her
+on this miserable bosom? Is it for this that I tended her girlish
+innocence, watched with vigilant fondness the development of her
+youthful mind, and cultured with a thousand graces and accomplishments
+her gifted and unrivalled promise? to lose her for ever!'
+
+'Beloved Bona Dea,' replied Jove, 'calm yourself!'
+
+'Jupiter, you forget that I am a mother.'
+
+'It is the recollection of that happy circumstance that alone should
+make you satisfied.'
+
+'Do you mock me? Where is my daughter?'
+
+'In the very situation you should desire. In her destiny all is
+fulfilled which the most affectionate mother could hope. What was the
+object of all your care and all her accomplishments? a good parti; and
+she has found one.'
+
+'To reign in Hell!'
+
+'"Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven." What! would you have
+had her a cup-bearer, like Hebe, or a messenger, like Hermes? Was
+the daughter of Jove and Ceres to be destined to a mere place in our
+household! Lady! she is the object of envy to half the goddesses. Bating
+our own bed, which she could not share, what lot more distinguished than
+hers? Recollect that goddesses, who desire a becoming match, have a
+very limited circle to elect from. Even Venus was obliged to put up with
+Vulcan. It will not do to be too nice. Thank your stars that she is not
+an old maid like Minerva.'
+
+'But Mars? he loved her.'
+
+'A young officer only with his half-pay, however good his connections,
+is surely not a proper mate for our daughter.'
+
+'Apollo?'
+
+'I have no opinion of a literary son-in-law. These scribblers are at
+present the fashion, and are very well to ask to dinner; but I confess a
+more intimate connection with them is not at all to my taste.'
+
+'I meet Apollo everywhere.'
+
+'The truth is, he is courted because every one is afraid of him. He is
+the editor of a daily journal, and under the pretence of throwing light
+upon every subject, brings a great many disagreeable things into notice,
+which is excessively inconvenient. Nobody likes to be paragraphed; and
+for my part I should only be too happy to extinguish the Sun and every
+other newspaper were it only in my power.'
+
+'But Pluto is so old, and so ugly, and, all agree, so ill-tempered.'
+
+'He has a splendid income, a magnificent estate; his settlements are
+worthy of his means. This ought to satisfy a mother; and his political
+influence is necessary to me, and this satisfies a father.'
+
+'But the heart-----'
+
+'As for that, she fancies she loves him; and whether she do or not,
+these feelings, we know, never last. Rest assured, my dear Ceres, that
+our girl has made a brilliant match, in spite of the gloomy atmosphere
+in which she has to reside.'
+
+'It must end in misery. I know Proserpine. I confess it with tears, she
+is a spoiled child.'
+
+'This may occasion Pluto many uneasy moments; but that is nothing to you
+or me. Between ourselves, I shall not be at all surprised if she plague
+his life out.'
+
+'But how can she consort with the Fates? How is it possible for her
+to associate with the Furies? She, who is used to the gayest and most
+amiable society in the world? Indeed, indeed, 'tis an ill-assorted
+union!'
+
+'They are united, however; and, take my word for it, my dear madam, that
+you had better leave Pluto alone. The interference of a mother-in-law is
+proverbially never very felicitous.'
+
+In the meantime affairs went on swimmingly in Tartarus. The obstinate
+Fates and the sulky Furies were unwittingly the cause of universal
+satisfaction. Everyone enjoyed himself, and enjoyment when it is
+unexpected is doubly satisfactory. Tantalus, Sisyphus, and Ixion, for
+the first time during their punishment, had an opportunity for a little
+conversation.
+
+'Long live our reforming Queen,' said the ex-king of Lydia. 'You
+cannot conceive, my dear companions, anything more delightful than this
+long-coveted draught of cold water; its flavour far surpasses the memory
+of my choicest wines. And as for this delicious fruit, one must live
+in a hot climate, like our present one, sufficiently to appreciate
+its refreshing gust. I would, my dear friends, you could only share my
+banquet.'
+
+'Your Majesty is very kind,' replied Sisyphus, 'but it seems to me that
+nothing in the world will ever induce me again to move. One must have
+toiled for ages to comprehend the rapturous sense of repose that now
+pervades my exhausted frame. Is it possible that that damned stone can
+really have disappeared?'
+
+'You say truly,' said Ixion, 'the couches of Olympus cannot compare with
+this resting wheel.'
+
+'Noble Sisyphus,' rejoined Tantalus, 'we are both of us acquainted with
+the cause of our companion's presence in those infernal regions, since
+his daring exploit has had the good fortune of being celebrated by one
+of the fashionable authors of this part of the world.'
+
+'I have never had time to read his work,' interrupted Ixion. 'What sort
+of a fellow is he?'
+
+'One of the most conceited dogs that I ever met with,' replied the King.
+'He thinks he is a great genius, and perhaps he has some little talent
+for the extravagant.'
+
+'Are there any critics in Hell?'
+
+'Myriads. They abound about the marshes of Cocytus, where they croak
+furiously. They are all to a man against our author.'
+
+'That speaks more to his credit than his own self-opinion,' rejoined
+Ixion.
+
+'_A nous moutons!_' exclaimed Tantalus; 'I was about to observe that
+I am curious to learn for what reason our friend Sisyphus was doomed to
+his late terrible exertions.'
+
+'For the simplest in the world,' replied the object of the inquiry;
+'because I was not a hypocrite. No one ever led a pleasanter life than
+myself, and no one was more popular in society. I was considered, as
+they phrased it, the most long-headed prince of my time, and was in
+truth a finished man of the world. I had not an acquaintance whom I had
+not taken in, and gods and men alike favoured me. In an unlucky moment,
+however, I offended the infernal deities, and it was then suddenly
+discovered that I was the most abandoned character of my age. You know
+the rest.'
+
+'You seem,' exclaimed Tantalus, 'to be relating my own history; for I
+myself led a reckless career with impunity, until some of the gods did
+me the honour of dining with me, and were dissatisfied with the repast.
+I am convinced myself that, provided a man frequent the temples, and
+observe with strictness the sacred festivals, such is the force of
+public opinion, that there is no crime which he may not commit without
+hazard.'
+
+'Long live hypocrisy!' exclaimed Ixion. 'It is not my forte. But if I
+began life anew, I would be more observant in my sacrifices.'
+
+'Who could have anticipated this wonderful revolution!' exclaimed
+Sisyphus, stretching himself. 'I wonder what will occur next! Perhaps we
+shall be all released.'
+
+'You say truly,' said Ixion. 'I am grateful to our reforming Queen;
+but I have no idea of stopping here. This cursed wheel indeed no longer
+whirls; but I confess my expectations will be much disappointed if I
+cannot free myself from these adamantine bonds that fix me to its orb.'
+
+'And one cannot drink water for ever,' said Tantalus.
+
+'D--n all half measures,' said Ixion. 'We must proceed in this system of
+amelioration.'
+
+'Without doubt,' responded his companion.
+
+'The Queen must have a party,' continued the audacious lover of Juno.
+'The Fates and the Furies never can be conciliated. It is evident to me
+that she must fall unless she unbinds these chains of mine.'
+
+'And grants me full liberty of egress and regress,' exclaimed Sisyphus.
+
+'And me a bottle of the finest golden wine of Lydia,' said Tantalus.
+
+The infernal honeymoon was over. A cloud appeared in the hitherto serene
+heaven of the royal lovers. Proserpine became unwell. A mysterious
+languor pervaded her frame; her accustomed hilarity deserted her. She
+gave up her daily rides; she never quitted the palace, scarcely her
+chamber. All day long she remained lying on a sofa, and whenever Pluto
+endeavoured to console her she went into hysterics. His Majesty was
+quite miserable, and the Fates and the Furies began to hold up their
+heads. The two court physicians could throw no light upon the complaint,
+which baffled all their remedies. These, indeed, were not numerous,
+for the two physicians possessed each only one idea. With one every
+complaint was nervous; the other traced everything to the liver. The
+name of the first was Dr. Blue-Devil; and of the other Dr. Blue-Pill.
+They were most eminent men.
+
+Her Majesty, getting worse every day, Pluto, in despair, determined to
+send for �sculapius. It was a long way to send for a physician; but then
+he was the most fashionable one in the world. He cared not how far he
+travelled to visit a patient, because he was paid by the mile; and it
+was calculated that his fee for quitting earth, and attending the Queen
+of Hell, would allow him to leave off business.
+
+What a wise physician was �sculapius! Physic was his abhorrence. He
+never was known, in the whole course of his practice, ever to have
+prescribed a single drug. He was a handsome man, with a flowing beard
+curiously perfumed, and a robe of the choicest purple. He twirled a cane
+of agate, round which was twined a serpent of precious stones, the gift
+of Juno, and he rode in a chariot drawn by horses of the Sun. When he
+visited Proserpine, he neither examined her tongue nor felt her pulse,
+but gave her an account of a fancy ball which he had attended the last
+evening he passed on _terra firma_. His details were so interesting that
+the Queen soon felt better. The next day he renewed his visit, and gave
+her an account of a new singer that had appeared at Ephesus. The effect
+of this recital was so satisfactory, that a bulletin in the evening
+announced that the Queen was convalescent. The third day �sculapius
+took his departure, having previously enjoined change of scene for her
+Majesty, and a visit to the Elysian Fields!
+
+'Heh, heh!' shrieked Tisiphone.
+
+'Hah, hah!' squeaked Meg�ra.
+
+'Hoh, hoh!' moaned Alecto.
+
+'Now or never,' said the infernal sisters. 'There is a decided reaction.
+The moment she embarks, unquestionably we will flare up.' So they ran
+off to the Fates.
+
+'We must be prudent,' said Clotho.
+
+'Our time is not come,' remarked Lachesis.
+
+'I wish the reaction was more decided,' said Atropos; 'but it is a
+great thing that they are going to be parted, for the King must remain.'
+
+The opposition party, although aiming at the same result, was therefore
+evidently divided as to the means by which it was to be obtained. The
+sanguine Furies were for fighting it out at once, and talked bravely
+of the strong conservative spirit only dormant in Tartarus. Even the
+Radicals themselves are dissatisfied: Tantalus is no longer contented
+with water, or Ixion with repose. But the circumspect Fates felt that a
+false step at present could never be regained. They talked, therefore,
+of watching events. Both divisions, however, agreed that the royal
+embarkation was to be the signal for renewed intrigues and renovated
+exertions.
+
+When Proserpine was assured that she must be parted for a time from
+Pluto, she was inconsolable. They passed the night in sorrowful
+embraces. She vowed that she could not live a day without him, and that
+she certainly should die before she reached the first post. The mighty
+heart of the King of Hades was torn to pieces with contending emotions.
+In the agony of his overwhelming passion the security of his realm
+seemed of secondary importance compared with the happiness of his wife.
+Fear and hatred of the Parc� and the Eumenides equalled, however,
+in the breast of Proserpine, her affection for her husband. The
+consciousness that his absence would be a signal for a revolution, and
+that the crown of Tartarus might be lost to her expected offspring,
+animated her with a spirit of heroism. She reconciled herself to the
+terrible separation, on condition that Pluto wrote to her every day.
+
+'Adieu! my best, my only beloved!' ejaculated the unhappy Queen; 'do not
+forget me for a moment; and let nothing in the world induce you to speak
+to any of those horrid people. I know them; I know exactly what they
+will be at: the moment I am gone they will commence their intrigues for
+the restoration of the reign of doom and torture. Do not listen to them,
+my Pluto. Sooner than have recourse to them, seek assistance from their
+former victims.'
+
+'Calm yourself, my Proserpine. Anticipate no evil. I shall be firm; do
+not doubt me. I will cling with tenacity to that _juste milieu_ under
+which we have hitherto so eminently prospered. Neither the Parc� and the
+Eumenides, nor Ixion and his friends, shall advance a point. I will keep
+each faction in awe by the bugbear of the other's supremacy. Trust me, I
+am a profound politician.'
+
+It was determined that the progress of Proserpine to the Elysian Fields
+should be celebrated with a pomp and magnificence becoming her exalted
+station. The day of her departure was proclaimed as a high festival in
+Hell. Tiresias, absent on a secret mission, had been summoned back by
+Pluto, and appointed to attend her Majesty during her journey and her
+visit, for Pluto had the greatest confidence in his discretion. Besides,
+as her Majesty had not at present the advantage of any female society,
+it was necessary that she should be amused; and Tiresias, though
+old, ugly, and blind, was a wit as well as a philosopher, the most
+distinguished diplomatist of his age, and considered the best company in
+Hades.
+
+An immense crowd was assembled round the gates of the palace on the morn
+of the royal departure. With what anxious curiosity did they watch those
+huge brazen portals! Every precaution was taken for the accommodation of
+the public. The streets were lined with troops of extraordinary stature,
+whose nodding plumes prevented the multitude from catching a glimpse of
+anything that passed, and who cracked the skulls of the populace with
+their scimitars if they attempted in the slightest degree to break the
+line. Moreover, there were seats erected which any one might occupy at
+a reasonable rate; but the lord steward, who had the disposal of the
+tickets, purchased them all for himself, and then resold them to his
+fellow-subjects at an enormous price.
+
+At length the hinges of the gigantic portals gave an ominous creak,
+and, amid the huzzas of men and the shrieks of women, the procession
+commenced.
+
+First came the infernal band. It consisted of five hundred performers,
+mounted on different animals. Never was such a melodious blast. Fifty
+trumpeters, mounted on zebras of all possible stripes and tints, and
+working away at huge ramshorns with their cheeks like pumpkins. Then
+there were bassoons mounted on bears, clarionets on camelopards, oboes
+on unicorns, and troops of musicians on elephants, playing on real
+serpents, whose prismatic bodies indulged in the most extraordinary
+convolutions imaginable, and whose arrowy tongues glittered with superb
+agitation at the exquisite sounds which they unintentionally delivered.
+Animals there were, too, now unknown and forgotten; but I must not
+forget the fellow who beat the kettledrums, mounted on an enormous
+mammoth, and the din of whose reverberating blows would have deadened
+the thunder of Olympus.
+
+This enchanting harmony preceded the regiment of Proserpine's own
+guards, glowing in adamantine armour and mounted on coal-black steeds.
+Their helmets were quite awful, and surmounted by plumes plucked from
+the wings of the Harpies, which were alone enough to terrify an earthly
+host. It was droll to observe this troop of gigantic heroes commanded
+by infants, who, however, were arrayed in a similar costume, though, of
+course, on a smaller scale. But such was the admirable discipline of the
+infernal forces, that, though lions to their enemies, they were Iambs to
+their friends; and on the present occasion their colonel was carried in
+a cradle.
+
+After these came twelve most worshipful baboons, in most venerable wigs.
+They were clothed with scarlet robes lined with ermine, and ornamented
+with gold chains, and mounted on the most obstinate and inflexible mules
+in Tartarus. These were the judges. Each was provided with a pannier of
+choice cobnuts, which he cracked with great gravity, throwing the shells
+to the multitude, an infernal ceremony, there held emblematic of their
+profession.
+
+The Lord Chancellor came next in a grand car. Although his wig was even
+longer than those of his fellow functionaries, his manners and the rest
+of his costume afforded a strange contrast to them. Apparently never
+was such a droll, lively fellow. His dress was something between that of
+Harlequin and Scaramouch. He amused himself by keeping in the air
+four brazen balls at the same time, swallowing daggers, spitting fire,
+turning sugar into salt, and eating yards of pink ribbon, which, after
+being well digested, re-appeared through his nose. It is unnecessary to
+add, after this, that he was the most popular Lord Chancellor that had
+ever held the seals, and was received with loud and enthusiastic cheers,
+which apparently repaid him for all his exertions. Notwithstanding his
+numerous and curious occupations, I should not omit to add that his
+Lordship, nevertheless, found time to lead by the nose a most meek and
+milk-white jackass that immediately followed him, and which, in spite
+of the remarkable length of its ears, seemed the object of great
+veneration. There was evidently some mystery about this animal difficult
+to penetrate. Among other characteristics, it was said, at different
+seasons, to be distinguished by different titles; for sometimes it was
+styled 'The Public,' at others 'Opinion,' and occasionally was saluted
+as the 'King's Conscience.'
+
+Now came a numerous company of Priests, in flowing and funereal robes,
+bearing banners, inscribed with the various titles of their Queen; on
+some was inscribed Hecate, on others Juno Inferna, on others Theogamia,
+Libera on some, on others Cotytto. Those that bore banners were crowned
+with wreaths of narcissus, and mounted on bulls blacker than night, and
+of a severe and melancholy aspect. Others walked by their side, bearing
+branches of cypress.
+
+And here I must stop to notice a droll characteristic of the priestly
+economy of Hades. To be a good pedestrian was considered an essential
+virtue of an infernal clergyman; but to be mounted on a black bull was
+the highest distinction of the craft. It followed, therefore, that,
+originally, promotion to such a seat was the natural reward of any
+priest who had distinguished himself in the humbler career of a good
+walker; but in process of time, as even infernal as well as human
+institutions are alike liable to corruption, the black bulls became
+too often occupied by the halt and the crippled, the feeble and the
+paralytic, who used their influence at Court to become thus exempted
+from the performance of the severer duties of which they were incapable.
+This violation of the priestly constitution excited at first great
+murmurs among the abler but less influential brethren. But the murmurs
+of the weak prove only the tyranny of the strong; and so completely in
+the course of time do institutions depart from their original character,
+that the imbecile riders of the black bulls now avowedly defended their
+position on the very grounds which originally should have unseated
+them, and openly maintained that it was very evident that the stout were
+intended to walk, and the feeble to be carried.
+
+The priests were followed by fifty dark chariots, drawn by blue satyrs.
+Herein was the wardrobe of the Queen, and her Majesty's cooks.
+
+Tiresias came next, in a basalt chariot, yoked to royal steeds. He was
+attended by Manto, who shared his confidence, and who, some said, was
+his daughter, and others his niece. Venerable seer! Who could behold
+that flowing beard, and the thin grey hairs of that lofty and wrinkled
+brow, without being filled with sensations of awe and affection? A smile
+of bland benignity played upon his passionless and reverend countenance.
+Fortunate the monarch who is blessed with such a counsellor! Who could
+have supposed that all this time Tiresias was concocting an epigram on
+Pluto!
+
+The Queen! The Queen!
+
+Upon a superb throne, placed upon an immense car, and drawn by twelve
+coal-black steeds, four abreast, reposed the royal daughter of Ceres.
+Her rich dark hair was braided off her high pale forehead, and fell in
+voluptuous clusters over her back. A tiara sculptured out of a single
+brilliant, and which darted a flash like lightning on the surrounding
+multitude, was placed somewhat negligently on the right side of her
+head; but no jewels broke the entrancing swell of her swan-like neck, or
+were dimmed by the lustre of her ravishing arms. How fair was the Queen
+of Hell! How thrilling the solemn lustre of her violet eye! A robe,
+purple as the last hour of twilight, encompassed her transcendent form,
+studded with golden stars!
+
+Through the dim hot streets of Tartarus moved the royal procession,
+until it reached the first winding of the river Styx. Here an immense
+assemblage of yachts and barges, dressed out with the infernal
+colours, denoted the appointed spot of the royal embarkation. Tiresias,
+dismounting from his chariot, and leaning on Manto, now approached her
+Majesty, and requesting her royal commands, recommended her to lose no
+time in getting on board.
+
+'When your Majesty is once on the Styx,' observed the wily seer, 'it may
+be somewhat difficult to recall you to Hades; but I know very little of
+Clotho, may it please your Majesty, if she have not already commenced
+her intrigues in Tartarus.'
+
+'You alarm me!' said Proserpine.
+
+'It was not my intention. Caution is not fear.'
+
+'But do you think that Pluto------'
+
+'May it please your Majesty, I make it a rule never to think. I know too
+much.'
+
+'Let us embark immediately!'
+
+'Certainly; I would recommend your Majesty to get off at once. Myself
+and Manto will accompany you, and the cooks. If an order arrive to stay
+our departure, we can then send back the priests.'
+
+'You counsel well, Tiresias. I wish you had not been absent on my
+arrival. Affairs might have gone better.'
+
+'Not at all. Had I been in Hell, your enemies would have been more wary.
+Your Majesty's excellent spirit carried you through triumphantly; but it
+will not do so twice. You turned them out, and I must keep them out.'
+
+'So be it, my dear friend.' Thus saying, the Queen descended her
+throne, and leaving the rest of her retinue to follow with all possible
+despatch, embarked on board the infernal yacht, with Tiresias, Manto,
+the chief cook, and some chosen attendants, and bid adieu for the first
+time, not without agitation, to the gloomy banks of Tartarus.
+
+The breeze was favourable, and, animated by the exhortations of
+Tiresias, the crew exerted themselves to the utmost. The barque swiftly
+scudded over the dark waters. The river was of great breadth, and in
+this dim region the crew were soon out of sight of land.
+
+'You have been in Elysium?' inquired Proserpine of Tiresias.
+
+'I have been everywhere,' replied the seer, 'and though I am blind have
+managed to see a great deal more than my fellows.'
+
+'I have often heard of you,' said the Queen, 'and I confess that yours
+is a career which has much interested me. What vicissitudes in affairs
+have you not witnessed! And yet you have somehow or other contrived to
+make your way through all the storms in which others have sunk, and are
+now, as you always have been, in an exalted position. What can be
+your magic? I would that you would initiate me. I know that you are a
+prophet, and that even the gods consult you.'
+
+'Your Majesty is complimentary. I certainly have had a great deal of
+experience. My life has no doubt been a long one, but I have made it
+longer by never losing a moment. I was born, too, at a great crisis in
+affairs. Everything that took place before the Trojan war passes for
+nothing in the annals of wisdom. That was a great revolution in all
+affairs human and divine, and from that event we must now date all our
+knowledge. Before the Trojan war we used to talk of the rebellion of
+the Titans, but that business now is an old almanac. As for my powers of
+prophecy, believe me, that those who understand the past are very well
+qualified to predict the future. For my success in life, it may be
+principally ascribed to the observance of a simple rule--I never
+trust anyone, either god or man. I make an exception in favour of the
+goddesses, and especially of your Majesty,' added Tiresias, who piqued
+himself on his gallantry.
+
+While they were thus conversing, the Queen directed the attention
+of Manto to a mountainous elevation which now began to rise in the
+distance, and which, from the rapidity of the tide and the freshness of
+the breeze, they approached at a swift rate.
+
+'Behold the Stygian mountains,' replied Manto. 'Through their centre
+runs the passage of Night which leads to the regions of Twilight.'
+
+'We have, then, far to travel?'
+
+'Assuredly it is no easy task to escape from the gloom of Tartarus
+to the sunbeams of Elysium,' remarked Tiresias; 'but the pleasant is
+generally difficult; let us be grateful that in our instance it is not,
+as usual, forbidden.'
+
+'You say truly; I am sorry to confess how very often it appears to
+me that sin is enjoyment. But see! how awful are these perpendicular
+heights, piercing the descending vapours, with their peaks clothed with
+dark pines! We seem land-locked.'
+
+But the experienced master of the infernal yacht knew well how to steer
+his charge through the intricate windings of the river, which here,
+though deep and navigable, became as wild and narrow as a mountain
+stream; and, as the tide no longer served them, and the wind, from their
+involved course, was as often against them as in their favour, the crew
+were obliged to have recourse to their oars, and rowed along until they
+arrived at the mouth of an enormous cavern, from which the rapid stream
+apparently issued.
+
+'I am frightened out of my wits,' exclaimed Proserpine. 'Surely this
+cannot be our course?'
+
+'I hold, from your Majesty's exclamation,' said Tiresias, 'that we have
+arrived at the passage of Night. When we have proceeded some hundred
+yards, we shall reach the adamantine portals. I pray your Majesty be not
+alarmed. I alone have the signet which can force these mystic gates to
+open. I must be stirring myself. What, ho! Manto.'
+
+'Here am I, father. Hast thou the seal?'
+
+'In my breast. I would not trust it to my secretaries. They have my
+portfolios full of secret despatches, written on purpose to deceive
+them; for I know that they are spies in the pay of Minerva; but your
+Majesty perceives, with a little prudence, that even a traitor may be
+turned to account.'
+
+Thus saying, Tiresias, leaning on Manto, hobbled to the poop of the
+vessel, and exclaiming aloud, 'Behold the mighty seal of Dis, whereon
+is inscribed the word the Titans fear,' the gates immediately flew open,
+revealing the gigantic form of the Titan Porphyrin, whose head touched
+the vault of the mighty cavern, although he was up to his waist in the
+waters of the river.
+
+'Come, my noble Porphyrion,' said Tiresias, 'bestir thyself, I beseech
+thee. I have brought thee a Queen. Guide her Majesty, I entreat thee,
+with safety through this awful passage of Night.'
+
+'What a horrible creature,' whispered Proserpine. 'I wonder you address
+him with such courtesy.'
+
+'I am always courteous,' replied Tiresias. 'How know I that the Titans
+may not yet regain their lost heritage? They are terrible fellows; and
+ugly or not, I have no doubt that even your Majesty would not find them
+so ill-favoured were they seated in the halls of Olympus.'
+
+'There is something in that,' replied Proserpine. 'I almost wish I were
+once more in Tartarus.'
+
+The Titan Porphyrion in the meantime had fastened a chain-cable to the
+vessel, which he placed over his shoulder, and turning his back to the
+crew, then wading through the waters, he dragged on the vessel in its
+course. The cavern widened, the waters spread. To the joy of Proserpine,
+apparently, she once more beheld the moon and stars.
+
+'Bright crescent of Diana!' exclaimed the enraptured Queen, 'and ye
+too, sweet stars, that I have so often watched on the Sicilian plains;
+do I, then, indeed again behold you? or is it only some exquisite vision
+that entrances my being? for, indeed, I do not feel the freshness of
+that breeze that was wont to renovate my languid frame; nor does the
+odorous scent of flowers wafted from the shores delight my jaded senses.
+What is it? Is it life or death; earth, indeed, or Hell?'
+
+''Tis nothing,' said Tiresias, 'but a great toy. You must know that
+Saturn--until at length, wearied by his ruinous experiments, the gods
+expelled him his empire--was a great dabbler in systems. He was always
+for making moons brighter than Diana, and lighting the stars by gas; but
+his systems never worked. The tides rebelled against their mistress, and
+the stars went out with a horrible stench. This is one of his creations,
+the most ingenious, though a failure. Jove made it a present to Pluto,
+who is quite proud of having a sun and stars of his own, and reckons it
+among the choice treasures of his kingdoms.'
+
+'Poor Saturn! I pity him; he meant well.' 'Very true. He is the paviour
+of the high-street of Hades. But we cannot afford kings, and especially
+Gods, to be philosophers. The certainty of misrule is better than the
+chance of good government; uncertainty makes people restless.'
+
+'I feel very restless myself; I wish we were in Elysium!'
+
+'The river again narrows!' exclaimed Manto. 'There is no other portal
+to pass. The Saturnian moon and stars grow fainter, there is a grey tint
+expanding in the distance; 'tis the realm of Twilight; your Majesty will
+soon disembark.'
+
+
+
+
+PART III.
+
+     _Containing an Account of Tiresias at His Rubber_
+
+TRAVELLERS who have left their homes generally grow mournful as the
+evening draws on; nor is there, perhaps, any time at which the pensive
+influence of twilight is more predominant than on the eve that follows a
+separation from those we love. Imagine, then, the feelings of the Queen
+of Hell, as her barque entered the very region of that mystic light,
+and the shadowy shores of the realm of Twilight opened before her. Her
+thoughts reverted to Pluto; and she mused over all his fondness, all his
+adoration, and all his indulgence, and the infinite solicitude of his
+affectionate heart, until the tears trickled down her beautiful cheeks,
+and she marvelled she ever could have quitted the arms of her lover.
+
+'Your Majesty,' observed Manto, who had been whispering to Tiresias,
+'feels, perhaps, a little wearied?'
+
+'By no means, my kind Manto,' replied Proserpine, starting from her
+reverie. 'But the truth is, my spirits are unequal; and though I
+really cannot well fix upon the cause of their present depression, I am
+apparently not free from the contagion of the surrounding gloom.'
+
+'It is the evening air,' said Tiresias. 'Your Majesty had perhaps better
+re-enter the pavilion of the yacht. As for myself, I never venture about
+after sunset. One grows romantic. Night was evidently made for in-door
+nature. I propose a rubber.'
+
+To this popular suggestion Proserpine was pleased to accede, and herself
+and Tiresias, Manto and the captain of the yacht, were soon engaged at
+the proposed amusement.
+
+Tiresias loved a rubber. It was true he was blind, but then, being a
+prophet, that did not signify. Tiresias, I say, loved a rubber, and
+was a first-rate player, though, perhaps, given a little too much to
+_finesse_. Indeed, he so much enjoyed taking in his fellow-creatures,
+that he sometimes could not resist deceiving his own partner. Whist is
+a game which requires no ordinary combination of qualities; at the same
+time, memory and invention, a daring fancy, and a cool head. To a mind
+like that of Tiresias, a pack of cards was full of human nature. A
+rubber was a microcosm; and he ruffed his adversary's king, or brought
+in a long suit of his own with as much dexterity and as much enjoyment
+as, in the real business of existence, he dethroned a monarch, or
+introduced a dynasty.
+
+'Will your Majesty be pleased to draw your card?' requested the sage.
+'If I might venture to offer your Majesty a hint, I would dare to
+recommend your Majesty not to play before your turn. My friends are
+fond of ascribing my success in my various missions to the possession of
+peculiar qualities. No such thing: I owe everything to the simple habit
+of always waiting till it is my turn to speak. And believe me, that he
+who plays before his turn at whist, commits as great a blunder as he who
+speaks before his turn during a negotiation.'
+
+'The trick, and two by honours,' said Proserpine. 'Pray, my dear
+Tiresias, you who are such a fine player, how came you to trump my best
+card?'
+
+'Because I wanted the lead. And those who want to lead, please your
+Majesty, must never hesitate about sacrificing their friends.'
+
+'I believe you speak truly. I was right in playing that thirteenth
+card?'
+
+'Quite so. Above all things, I love a thirteenth card. I send it forth,
+like a mock project in a revolution, to try the strength of parties.'
+
+'You should not have forced me, Lady Manto,' said the Captain of the
+yacht, in a grumbling tone, to his partner. 'By weakening me, you
+prevented me bringing in my spades. We might have made the game.'
+
+'You should not have been forced,' said Tiresias. 'If she made a
+mistake, who was unacquainted with your plans, what a terrible blunder
+you committed to share her error without her ignorance!'
+
+'What, then, was I to lose a trick?'
+
+'Next to knowing when to seize an opportunity,' replied Tiresias, 'the
+most important thing in life is to know when to forego an advantage.'
+
+'I have cut you an honour, sir,' said Manto.
+
+'Which reminds me,' replied Tiresias, 'that, in the last hand, your
+Majesty unfortunately forgot to lead through your adversary's ace. I
+have often observed that nothing ever perplexes an adversary so much as
+an appeal to his honour.'
+
+'I will not forget to follow your advice,' said the Captain of the
+yacht, playing accordingly.
+
+'By which you have lost the game,' quietly remarked Tiresias. 'There are
+exceptions to all rules, but it seldom answers to follow the advice of
+an opponent.'
+
+'Confusion!' exclaimed the Captain of the yacht.
+
+'Four by honours, and the trick, I declare,' said Proserpine. 'I was so
+glad to see you turn up the queen, Tiresias.'
+
+'I also, madam. Without doubt there are few cards better than her royal
+consort, or, still more, the imperial ace. Nevertheless, I must confess,
+I am perfectly satisfied whenever I remember that I have the Queen on my
+side.'
+
+Proserpine bowed.
+
+'I have a good mind to do it, Tiresias,' said Queen Proserpine, as that
+worthy sage paid his compliments to her at her toilet, at an hour which
+should have been noon.
+
+'It would be a great compliment,' said Tiresias.
+
+'And it is not much out of our way?'
+
+'By no means,' replied the seer. ''Tis an agreeable half-way house. He
+lives in good style.'
+
+'And whence can a dethroned monarch gain a revenue?' inquired the Queen.
+
+'Your Majesty, I see, is not at all learned in politics. A sovereign
+never knows what an easy income is till he has abdicated. He generally
+commences squabbling with his subjects about the supplies; he is then
+expelled, and voted, as compensation, an amount about double the sum
+which was the cause of the original quarrel.'
+
+'What do you think, Manto?' said Proserpine, as that lady entered the
+cabin; 'we propose paying a visit to Saturn. He has fixed his residence,
+you know, in these regions of twilight.'
+
+'I love a junket,' replied Manto, 'above all things. And, indeed, I was
+half frightened out of my wits at the bare idea of toiling over this
+desert. All is prepared, please your Majesty, for our landing. Your
+Majesty's litter is quite ready.'
+
+''Tis well,' said Proserpine; and leaning on the arm of Manto, the Queen
+came upon deck, and surveyed the surrounding country, a vast grey flat,
+with a cloudless sky of the same tint: in the distance some lowering
+shadows, which seemed like clouds but were in fact mountains.
+
+'Some half-dozen hours,' said Tiresias, 'will bring us to the palace
+of Saturn. We shall arrive for dinner; the right hour. Let me recommend
+your Majesty to order the curtains of your litter to be drawn, and, if
+possible, to resume your dreams.'
+
+'They were not pleasant,' said Proserpine, 'I dreamt of my mother and
+the Parc�. Manto, methinks I'll read. Hast thou some book?'
+
+'Here is a poem, Madam, but I fear it may induce those very slumbers you
+dread.'
+
+'How call you it?'
+
+'"The Pleasures of Oblivion." The poet apparently is fond of his
+subject.'
+
+'And is, I have no doubt, equal to it. Hast any prose?'
+
+'An historical novel or so.'
+
+'Oh! if you mean those things as full of costume as a fancy ball, and
+almost as devoid of sense, I'll have none of them. Close the curtains;
+even visions of the Furies are preferable to these insipidities.'
+
+The halt of the litter roused the Queen from her slumbers. 'We have
+arrived,' said Manto, as she assisted in withdrawing the curtains.
+
+The train had halted before a vast propylon of rose-coloured granite.
+The gate was nearly two hundred feet in height, and the sides of the
+propylon, which rose like huge moles, were sculptured with colossal
+figures of a threatening aspect. Passing through the propylon, the
+Queen of Hell and her attendants entered an avenue in length about
+three-quarters of a mile, formed of colossal figures of the same
+character and substance, alternately raising in their arms javelins or
+battle-axes, as if about to strike. At the end of this heroic avenue
+appeared the palace of Saturn. Ascending a hundred steps of black
+marble, you stood before a portico supported by twenty columns of the
+same material and shading a single portal of bronze. Apparently the
+palace formed an immense quadrangle; a vast tower rising from each
+corner, and springing from the centre a huge and hooded dome. A crowd of
+attendants, in grey and sad-coloured raiment, issued from the portal
+of the palace at the approach of Proserpine, who remarked with strange
+surprise their singular countenances and demeanour; for rare in this
+silent assemblage was any visage resembling aught she had seen, human
+or divine. Some bore the heads of bats; of owls and beetles others;
+some fluttered moth-like wings, while the shoulders of other bipeds were
+surmounted, in spite of their human organisation, with the heads of rats
+and weasels, of marten-cats and of foxes. But they were all remarkably
+civil; and Proserpine, who was now used to wonders, did not shriek at
+all, and scarcely shuddered.
+
+The Queen of Hell was ushered through a superb hall, and down a splendid
+gallery, to a suite of apartments where a body of damsels of a most
+distinguished appearance awaited her. Their heads resembled those of the
+most eagerly-sought, highly-prized, and oftenest-stolen lap-dogs.
+Upon the shoulders of one was the visage of the smallest and most
+thorough-bred little Blenheim in the world. Upon her front was a white
+star, her nose was nearly flat, and her ears were tied under her chin,
+with the most jaunty air imaginable. She was an evident flirt; and a
+solemn prude of a spaniel, with a black and tan countenance, who seemed
+a sort of duenna, evidently watched her with no little distrust. The
+admirers of blonde beauties would, however, have fallen in love with
+a poodle, with the finest head of hair imaginable, and most voluptuous
+shoulders. This brilliant band began barking in the most insinuating
+tone on the appearance of the Queen; and Manto, who was almost as
+dexterous a linguist as Tiresias himself, informed her Majesty that
+these were the ladies of her bed-chamber; upon which Proserpine, who, it
+will be remembered had no passion for dogs, ordered them immediately out
+of her room.
+
+'What a droll place!' exclaimed the Queen. 'Do you know, we are later
+than I imagined? A hasty toilet to-day; I long to see Saturn. It is
+droll, I am hungry. My purple velvet, I think; it may be considered a
+compliment. No diamonds, only jet; a pearl or two, perhaps. Didst ever
+see the King?
+
+They say he is gentlemanlike, though a bigot. No! no rouge to-day; this
+paleness is quite _apropos_. Were I as radiant as usual, I should be
+taken for Aurora.'
+
+So leaning on Manto, and preceded by the ladies of her bed-chamber,
+whom, notwithstanding their repulse, she found in due attendance in the
+antechamber, Proserpine again continued her progress down the gallery,
+until they stopped at a door, which opening, she was ushered into the
+grand circular saloon, crowned by the dome, whose exterior the Queen had
+already observed. The interior of this apartment was entirely of black
+and grey marble, with the exception of the dome itself, which was of
+ebony, richly carved and supported by more than a hundred columns. There
+depended from the centre of the arch a single chandelier of frosted
+silver, which was itself as big as an ordinary chamber, but of the
+most elegant form, and delicate and fantastic workmanship. As the Queen
+entered the saloon, a personage of venerable appearance, dressed in a
+suit of black velvet, and leaning on an ivory cane, advanced to salute
+her. There was no mistaking this personage; his manners were at once so
+courteous and so dignified. He was clearly their host; and Proserpine,
+who was quite charmed with his grey locks and his black velvet cap, his
+truly paternal air, and the beneficence of his unstudied smile, could
+scarcely refrain from bending her knee, and pressing her lips to his
+extended hand.
+
+'I am proud that your Majesty has remembered me in my retirement,' said
+Saturn, as he led Proserpine to a seat.
+
+Their mutual compliments were soon disturbed by the announcement
+of dinner, and Saturn offering his arm to the Queen with an air of
+politeness which belonged to the old school, but which the ladies admire
+in old men, handed Proserpine to the banqueting-room. They were followed
+by some of the principal personages of her Majesty's suite, and a couple
+of young Titans, who enjoyed the posts of aides-de-camp to the ex-King,
+and whose duties consisted of carving at dinner.
+
+It was a most agreeable dinner, and Proserpine was delighted with
+Saturn, who, of course, sat by her side, and paid her every possible
+attention. Saturn, whose manners, as has been observed, were of the old
+school, loved a good story, and told several. His anecdotes, especially
+of society previous to the Trojan war, were highly interesting. There
+ran through all his behaviour, too, a tone of high breeding and of
+consideration for others which was really charming; and Proserpine, who
+had expected to find in her host a gloomy bigot, was quite surprised
+at the truly liberal spirit with which he seemed to consider affairs in
+general. Indeed this unexpected tone made so great an impression upon
+her, that finding a good opportunity after dinner, when they were
+sipping their coffee apart from the rest of the company, she could not
+refrain from entering into some conversation with the ex-King upon the
+subject, and the conversation ran thus:
+
+'Do you know,' said Proserpine, 'that much as I have been pleased
+and surprised during my visit to the realms of twilight, nothing has
+pleased, and I am sure nothing has surprised me more, than to observe
+the remarkably liberal spirit in which your Majesty views the affairs of
+the day.'
+
+'You give me a title, beautiful Proserpine, to which I have no claim,'
+replied Saturn. 'You forget that I am now only Count Hesperus; I am no
+longer a king, and believe me, I am very glad of it.'
+
+'What a pity, my dear sir, that you would not condescend to conform to
+the spirit of the age. For myself, I am quite a reformer.'
+
+'So I have understood, beautiful Proserpine, which I confess has a
+little surprised me; for to tell you the truth, I do not consider that
+reform is exactly _our_ trade.'
+
+'Affairs cannot go on as they used,' observed Proserpine, oracularly;
+'we must bow to the spirit of the age.'
+
+'And what is that?' inquired Saturn.
+
+'I do not exactly know,' replied Proserpine, 'but one hears of it
+everywhere.'
+
+'I also heard of it a great deal,' replied Saturn, 'and was also
+recommended to conform to it. Before doing so, however, I thought it as
+well to ascertain its nature, and something also of its strength.'
+
+'It is terribly strong,' observed Proserpine.
+
+'But you think it will be stronger?' inquired the ex-King.
+
+'Certainly; every day it is more powerful.'
+
+'Then if, on consideration, we were to deem resistance to it advisable,
+it is surely better to commence the contest at once than to postpone the
+struggle.'
+
+'It is useless to talk of resisting; one must conform.'
+
+'I certainly should consider resistance useless,' replied Saturn, 'for I
+tried it and failed; but at least one has a chance of success; and yet,
+having resisted this spirit and failed, I should not consider myself
+in a worse plight than you would voluntarily place yourself in by
+conforming to it.'
+
+'You speak riddles,' said Proserpine.
+
+'To be plain, then,' replied Saturn, 'I think you may as well at once
+give up your throne, as conform to this spirit.'
+
+'And why so?' inquired Proserpine very ingenuously.'
+
+'Because,' replied Saturn, shrugging up his shoulders, 'I look upon the
+spirit of the age as a spirit hostile to Kings and gods.'
+
+The next morning Saturn himself attended his beautiful guest over his
+residence, which Proserpine greatly admired.
+
+''Tis the work of the Titans,' replied the ex-King. 'There never was a
+party so fond of building palaces.'
+
+'To speak the truth,' said Proserpine, 'I am a little disappointed that
+I have not had an opportunity, during my visit, of becoming acquainted
+with some of the chiefs of that celebrated party; for, although a
+Liberal, I am a female one, and I like to know every sort of person who
+is distinguished.'
+
+'The fact is,' replied her host, 'that the party has never recovered
+from the thunderbolt of that scheming knave Jupiter, and do not bear
+their defeat so philosophically as years, perhaps, permit me to do. If
+we have been vanquished by the spirit of the age,' continued Saturn,
+'you must confess that, in our case, the conqueror did not assume a
+material form very remarkable for its dignity. Had Creation resolved
+itself into its original elements, had Chaos come again, or even old
+Coelus, the indignity might have been endured; but to be baffled by
+an Olympian _juste milieu_, and to find, after all the clamour, that
+nothing has been changed save the places, is, you will own, somewhat
+mortifying.'
+
+'But how do you reconcile,' inquired the ingenuous Proserpine, 'the
+success of Jupiter with the character which you ascribed last night to
+the spirit of the age?'
+
+'Why, in truth,' said Saturn, 'had I not entirely freed myself from all
+party feeling, I might adduce the success of my perfidious and worthless
+relative as very good demonstration that the spirit of the age
+is nothing better than an _ignis fatuus_. Nevertheless, we must
+discriminate. Even the success of Jupiter, although he now conducts
+himself in direct opposition to the emancipating principles he at
+first professed, is no less good evidence of their force; for by his
+professions he rose. And, for my part, I consider it a great homage to
+public opinion to find every scoundrel now-a-days professing himself a
+Liberal.'
+
+'You are candid;' said Proserpine. 'I should like very much to see the
+Titans.'
+
+'My friends are at least consistent,' observed Saturn; 'though certainly
+at present I can say little more for them. Between the despair of one
+section of the party, and the over-sanguine expectations of the other,
+they are at present quite inactive, or move only to ensure fresh
+rebuffs.'
+
+'You see little of them, then?'
+
+'They keep to themselves: they generally frequent a lonely vale in the
+neighbourhood.'
+
+'I should so like to see them!' exclaimed Proserpine.
+
+'Say nothing to Tiresias,' said old Saturn, who was half in love with
+his fair friend, 'and we will steal upon them unperceived.' So saying,
+the god struck the earth with his cane, and there instantly sprang forth
+a convenient car, built of curiously carved cedar, and borne by four
+enormous tawny-coloured owls. Seating himself by the side of the
+delighted Proserpine, Saturn commanded the owls to bear them to the
+Valley of Lamentations.
+
+'Twas an easy fly: the chariot soon descended upon the crest of a hill:
+and Saturn and Proserpine, leaving the car, commenced, by a winding
+path, the slight ascent of a superior elevation. Having arrived there,
+they looked down upon a valley, apparently land-locked by black and
+barren mountains of the most strange, although picturesque forms. In the
+centre of the valley was a black pool or tarn, bordered with dark purple
+flags of an immense size, twining and twisting among which might be
+observed the glancing and gliding folds of several white serpents; while
+crocodiles and alligators, and other horrible forms, poked their foul
+snouts with evident delight in a vast mass of black slime, which had,
+at various times, exuded from the lake. A single tree only was to be
+observed in this desolate place, an enormous and blasted cedar, with
+scarcely a patch of verdure, but extending its black and barren branches
+nearly across the valley. Seated on a loosened crag, but leaning against
+the trunk of the cedar, with his arms folded, his mighty eyes fixed on
+the ground, and his legs crossed with that air of complete repose which
+indicates that their owner is in no hurry again to move them, was
+
+     'A form, some granite god we deemed,
+     Or king of palmy Nile, colossal shapes
+     Such as Syene's rosy quarries yield
+     To Memphian art; Horus, Osiris called,
+     Or Amenoph, who, on the Theban plain,
+     With magic melody the sun salutes;
+     Or he, far mightier, to whose conquering car
+     Monarchs were yoked, Rameses: by the Greeks
+     Sesostris styled.    And yet no sculptor's art
+     Moulded this shape, for form it seemed of flesh,
+     Yet motionless; its dim unlustrous orbs
+     Gazing in stilly vacancy, its cheek
+     Grey  as its hairs, which, thin as they might seem,
+     No breath disturbed; a solemn countenance,
+     Not sorrowful, though full of woe sublime,
+     As if despair were now a distant dream
+     Too dim for memory.'
+
+''Tis their great leader,' said Saturn, as he pointed out the Titan to
+Proserpine, 'the giant Enceladus. He got us into all our scrapes, but I
+must do him the justice to add, that he is the only one who can ever get
+us out of them. They say he has no heart; but I think his hook nose is
+rather fine.'
+
+'Superb!' said Proserpine. 'And who is that radiant and golden-haired
+youth who is seated at his feet?'
+
+''Tis no less a personage than Hyperion himself,' replied Saturn, 'the
+favourite counsellor of Enceladus. He is a fine orator, and makes up by
+his round sentences and choice phrases for the rhetorical deficiencies
+of his chief, who, to speak the truth, is somewhat curt and husky. They
+have enough now to do to manage their comrades and keep a semblance of
+discipline in their routed ranks. Mark that ferocious Briareus there
+scowling in a corner! Didst ever see such a moustache! He glances,
+methinks, with an evil eye on the mighty Enceladus; and, let me tell
+you, Briareus has a great following among them; so they say of him you
+know, that he hath fifty heads and a hundred arms. See! how they gather
+around him.'
+
+'Who speaks now to Briareus?' 'The young and valiant Mimas. Be assured
+he is counselling war. We shall have a debate now.'
+
+'Yon venerable personage, who is seated by the margin of the pool, and
+weeping with the crocodiles------'
+
+'Is old Oceanus.'
+
+'He is apparently much affected by his overthrow.' 'It is his wont to
+weep. He used to cry when he fought, and yet he was a powerful warrior.'
+'Hark!' said Proserpine.
+
+The awful voice of Briareus broke the silence. What a terrible personage
+was Briareus! His wild locks hung loose about his shoulders, and blended
+with his unshorn beard.
+
+'Titans!' shouted the voice which made many a heart tremble, and the
+breathless Proserpine clasp the arm of Saturn. 'Titans! Is that spirit
+dead that once heaped Ossa upon Pelion? Is it forgotten, even by
+ourselves, that a younger born revels in our heritage? Are these forms
+that surround me, indeed, the shapes at whose dread sight the base
+Olympians fled to their fitting earth? Warriors, whose weapons were the
+rocks, whose firebrands were the burning woods, is the day forgotten
+when Jove himself turned craven, and skulked in Egypt? At least my
+memory is keen enough to support my courage, and whatever the dread
+Enceladus may counsel, my voice is still for war!'
+
+There ensued, after this harangue of Briareus, a profound and thrilling
+silence, which was, however, broken in due time by the great leader of
+the Titans himself.
+
+'You mouth it well, Briareus,' replied Enceladus calmly. 'And if great
+words would re-seat us in Olympus, doubtless, with your potent aid,
+we might succeed. It never should be forgotten, however, that had we
+combined at first, in the spirit now recommended, the Olympians would
+never have triumphed; and least of all our party should Briareus and his
+friends forget the reasons of our disunion.'
+
+'I take thy sneer, Enceladus,' said the young and chivalric Mimas, 'and
+throw it in thy teeth. This learn, then, from Briareus and his friends,
+that if we were lukewarm in the hour of peril, the fault lies not to
+our account, but with those who had previously so conducted themselves,
+that, when the danger arrived, it was impossible for us to distinguish
+between our friends and our foes. Enceladus apparently forgets that had
+the Olympians never been permitted to enter Heaven, it would have been
+unnecessary ever to have combined against their machinations.'
+
+'Recrimination is useless,' said a Titan, interposing. 'I was one of
+those who supported Enceladus in the admission of the Olympians above,
+and I regret it. But at the time, like others, I believed it to be the
+only mode of silencing the agitation of Jupiter.'
+
+'I separated from Enceladus on that question,' said a huge Titan, lying
+his length on the ground and leaning one arm on a granite crag; 'but
+I am willing to forget all our differences and support him with all
+my heart and strength in another effort to restore our glorious
+constitution.'
+
+'Titans,' said Enceladus, 'who is there among you who has found me a
+laggard in the day of battle?'
+
+When the Olympians, as Briareus thinks it necessary to remind you,
+fled, I was your leader. Remember, however, then, that there were no
+thunderbolts. As for myself, I candidly confess to you, that, since the
+invention of these weapons by Jove, I do not see how war can be carried
+on by us any longer with effect.'
+
+'By the memory of old Coelus and these fast-flowing tears,' murmured the
+venerable Oceanus, patting at the same time a crocodile on the back,
+'I call you all to witness that I have no interest to deceive you.
+Nevertheless, we should not forget that, in this affair of the
+thunderbolts, it is the universal opinion that there is a very
+considerable reaction. I have myself, only within these few days,
+received authentic information that several have fallen of late without
+any visible ill effects; and I am credibly assured that, during the late
+storm in Thessaly, a thunderbolt was precipitated into the centre of a
+vineyard, without affecting the flavour of a single grape.'
+
+Here several of the Titans, who had gathered round Enceladus, shook
+their heads and shrugged their shoulders, and a long and desultory
+conversation ensued upon the copious and very controversial subject of
+Re-action. In the meantime Rhoetus, a young Titan, whispered to one of
+his companions, that for his part he was convinced that the only way
+to beat the Olympians was to turn them into ridicule; and that he would
+accordingly commence at once with the pasquinade on the private life of
+Jupiter, and some peculiarly delicate criticisms on the characters of
+the goddesses.
+
+
+
+
+PART IV.
+
+     _Containing the First View of Elysium_
+
+THE toilsome desert was at length passed, and the royal cavalcade
+ascended the last chasm of mountains that divided Elysium, or the
+Regions of Bliss, from the Realm of Twilight. As she quitted those
+dim and dreary plains, the spirit of Proserpine grew lighter, and she
+indulged in silent but agreeable anticipations of the scene which she
+was now approaching. On reaching, however, the summit of the mountainous
+chain, and proceeding a short distance over the rugged table-land into
+which it now declined, her Majesty was rather alarmed at perceiving that
+her progress was impeded by a shower of flame that extended, on either
+side, as far as the eye could reach. Her alarm, however, was of short
+continuance; for, on the production of his talisman by Tiresias, the
+shower of flame instantly changed into silvery drops of rose-water and
+other delicious perfumes. Amid joyous peals of laughter, and some
+slight playful screams on the part of the ladies, the cavalcade ventured
+through the ordeal. Now the effect of this magical bath was quite
+marvellous. A burthen seemed suddenly to have been removed from the
+spirits of the whole party; their very existence seemed renewed; the
+blood danced about their veins in the liveliest manner imaginable; and
+a wild but pleasing titillation ran like lightning through their nerves,
+their countenances sparkled with excitement; and they all talked at the
+same time. Proserpine was so occupied with her own sensations, that she
+did not immediately remark the extraordinary change that had occurred
+in the appearance of the country immediately on passing this magical
+barrier. She perceived that their course now led over the most elastic
+and carefully-shaven turf; groups of beautiful shrubs occasionally
+appeared, and she discovered with delight that their flowers constantly
+opened, and sent forth from their bells diminutive birds of radiant
+plumage. Above them, too, the clouds vanished, and her head was canopied
+by a sky, unlike, indeed, all things and tints of earth, but which
+reminded her, in some degree, of the splendour of Olympus.
+
+Proserpine, restless with delight, quitted her litter, and followed by
+Manto, ran forward to catch the first view of Elysium.
+
+'I am quite out of breath,' said her Majesty, 'and really must sit down
+on this bank of violets. Was ever anything in the world so delightful?
+Why, Olympus is nothing to it! And after Tartarus, too, and that poor
+unhappy Saturn, and his Titans and his twilight, it really is too much
+for me. How I do long for the view! and yet, somehow or other, my heart
+beats so I cannot walk.'
+
+'Will your Majesty re-ascend your litter?' suggested Manto.
+
+'Oh, no! that is worse than anything. They are a mile behind; they are
+so slow. Why, Manto! what is this?'
+
+A beautiful white dove hovered in the air over the head of Proserpine
+and her attendant, and then dropping an olive branch into the lap of the
+Queen, flapped its wings and whirled away. But what an olive branch!
+the stem was of agate; each leaf was an emerald; and on the largest, in
+letters of brilliants, was this inscription:
+
+     _The Elysians to Their Beautiful Queen_
+
+'Oh, is it not superb?' exclaimed Proserpine. 'What charming people,
+and what excellent subjects! What loyalty and what taste!'
+
+So saying, the enraptured Proserpine rose from the bank of violets, and
+had scarcely run forwards fifty yards when she suddenly stopped, and
+started with an exclamation of wonder. The table-land had ceased. She
+stood upon a precipice of white marble, in many parts clothed with
+thick bowers of myrtle; before her extended the wide-spreading plains of
+Elysium. They were bounded upon all sides by gentle elevations entirely
+covered with flowers, and occasionally shooting forward into the
+champaign country; behind these appeared a range of mountains clothed
+with bright green forests, and still loftier heights behind them,
+exhibiting, indeed, only bare and sharply-pointed peaks glittering with
+prismatic light. The undulating plain was studded in all directions with
+pavilions and pleasure-houses, and groves and gardens glowing with the
+choicest and most charming fruit; and a broad blue river wound through
+it, covered with brilliant boats, the waters flashing with phosphoric
+light as they were cut by the swift and gliding keels. And in the centre
+of the plain rose a city, a mighty group of all that was beautiful in
+form and costly in materials, bridges and palaces and triumphal gates of
+cedar and of marble, columns and minarets of gold, and cupolas and domes
+of ivory; and ever and anon appeared delicious gardens, raised on the
+terraces of the houses; and groups of palm trees with their tall, thin
+stems, and quivering and languid crests, rose amid the splendid masonry.
+A sweet soft breeze touched the cheek of the entranced Proserpine, and a
+single star of silver light glittered in the rosy sky.
+
+''Tis my favourite hour,' exclaimed Proserpine. 'Thus have I gazed upon
+Hesperus in the meads of Enna! What a scene! How fortunate that we
+should have arrived at sunset!'
+
+'Ah, Madam!' observed Manto, 'in Elysium the sky is ever thus. For the
+Elysians, the sun seems always to have just set!'
+
+'Fortunate people!' replied Proserpine. 'In them, immortality and
+enjoyment seem indeed blended together. A strange feeling, half of
+languor, half of voluptuousness, steals over my senses! It seems that
+I at length behold the region of my girlish dreams. Such once I fancied
+Olympus. Ah! why does not my Pluto live in Elysium?'
+
+The Elysians consisted of a few thousand beatified mortals, the only
+occupation of whose existence was enjoyment; the rest of the population
+comprised some millions of Gnomes and Sylphs, who did nothing but work,
+and ensured by their labour the felicity of the superior class. Every
+Elysian, male or female, possessed a magnificent palace in the city,
+and an elegant pavilion on the plain; these, with a due proportion of
+chariots, horses, and slaves, constituted a proper establishment. The
+Sylphs and the Gnomes were either scattered about the country, which
+they cultivated, or lived in the city, where they kept shops, and where
+they emulated each other in displaying the most ingenious articles
+of luxury and convenience for the enjoyment and accommodation of the
+Elysians. The townspeople, indeed, rather affected to look down upon
+the more simple-minded agriculturists; but if these occasionally felt a
+little mortification in consequence, they might have been consoled, had
+they been aware that their brethren and sisters who were in the service
+of the Elysians avenged their insults, for these latter were the finest
+Gnomes and Sylphs imaginable, and scarcely deigned to notice any one who
+was in trade. Whether there were any coin or other circulating medium
+current in Elysium is a point respecting which I must confess I have not
+sufficient information to decide; but if so, it certainly would appear
+that all money transactions were confined to the Gnomes and the Sylphs,
+for the Elysians certainly never paid for anything. Perhaps this
+exemption might have been among their peculiar privileges, and was a
+substitute for what we call credit, a convenience of which the ancients
+appear to have had a limited conception. The invention, by Jupiter, of
+an aristocratic immortality, as a reward for a well-spent life on earth,
+appears to have been an ingenious idea. It really is a reward, very
+stimulative of good conduct before we shuffle off the mortal coil, and
+remarkably contrasts with the democracy of the damned. The Elysians,
+with a splendid climate, a teeming soil, and a nation made on purpose
+to wait upon them, of course enjoyed themselves very much. The arts
+flourished, the theatres paid, and they had a much finer opera than at
+Ephesus or at Halicarnassus. Their cookery was so refined, that one of
+the least sentimental ceremonies in the world was not only deprived of
+all its grossness, but was actually converted into an elegant amusement,
+and so famous that their artists were even required at Olympus. If their
+dinners were admirable, which is rare, their assemblies were amusing,
+which is still more uncommon. All the arts of society were carried to
+perfection in Elysium; a dull thing was never said, and an awkward thing
+never done. The Elysians, indeed, being highly refined and gifted, for
+they comprised in their order the very cream of terrestrial society,
+were naturally a liberal-minded race of nobles, and capable of
+appreciating every kind of excellence. If a Gnome or a Sylph, therefore,
+in any way distinguished themselves; if they sang very well, or acted
+very well, or if they were at all eminent for any of the other arts of
+amusement, ay! indeed if the poor devils could do nothing better than
+write a poem or a novel, they were sure to be noticed by the Elysians,
+who always bowed to them as they passed by, and sometimes indeed even
+admitted them into their circles.
+
+Scarcely had the train of Proserpine rejoined her on the brink of the
+precipice, than they heard the flourish of trumpets near at hand, soon
+followed by a complete harmony of many instruments. A chorus of sweet
+voices was next distinguished, growing each instant more loud and clear;
+and in a few minutes, issuing from a neighbouring grove, came forth
+a band of heroes and beautiful women, dressed in dazzling raiment,
+to greet the Queen. A troop of chariots of light and airy workmanship
+followed, and a crowd of Gnomes and Sylphs singing and playing on
+various instruments, and dancing with gestures of grace and delicacy.
+Congratulating the Queen on her arrival in Elysium, and requesting the
+honour of being permitted to attend her to her palace, they ushered
+Proserpine and her companions to the chariots, and soon, winding down a
+gradual declivity, they entered the plain.
+
+If a bird's-eye view of the capital had enchanted Proserpine, the
+agreeable impression was not diminished, as is generally the case, by
+her entrance into the city. Never were so much splendour and neatness
+before combined. Passing through a magnificent arch, Proserpine entered
+a street of vast and beautiful proportions, lined on each side with
+palaces of various architecture, painted admirably in fresco, and richly
+gilt. The road was formed of pounded marbles of various colours, laid
+down in fanciful patterns, and forming an unrivalled mosaic; it was
+bounded on each side by a broad causeway of jasper, of a remarkably
+bright green, clouded with milk-white streaks. This street led to a
+sumptuous square, forming alone the palace destined for Proserpine.
+Its several fronts were supported and adorned by ten thousand columns,
+imitating the palm and the lotus; nor is it possible to conceive
+anything more light and graceful than the general effect of this
+stupendous building. Each front was crowned with an immense dome of
+alabaster, so transparent, that when the palace was illuminated the rosy
+heaven grew pale, and an effect similar to moonlight was diffused over
+the canopy of Elysium. And in the centre of the square a Leviathan,
+carved in white coral, and apparently flouncing in a huge basin of rock
+crystal, spouted forth from his gills a fountain twelve hundred feet in
+height; from one gill ascended a stream of delicious wine, which might
+be tempered, if necessary, by the iced water that issued from the other.
+
+At the approach of the Queen, the gigantic gates of the palace,
+framed of carved cedar, flew open with a thrilling burst of music, and
+Proserpine found herself in a hall wherein several hundred persons, who
+formed her household, knelt in stillness before her. Wearied with her
+long journey, and all the excitement of the day, Proserpine signified to
+one of the Elysians in attendance her desire for refreshment and
+repose. Immediately the household rose, and gracefully bowing retired in
+silence, while four ladies of the bed-chamber, very different from the
+dogfaced damsels of the realm of Twilight, advanced with a gracious
+smile, and each pressing a white hand to her heart, invited her Majesty
+to accompany them. Twelve beautiful pages in fanciful costume, and each
+bearing a torch of cinnamon, preceded them, and Proserpine ascended
+a staircase of turquoise and silver. As she passed along, she caught
+glimpses of costly galleries, and suites of gorgeous chambers, but she
+was almost too fatigued to distinguish anything. A confused vision of
+long lines of white columns, roofs of carved cedar, or ceilings glowing
+with forms of exquisite beauty, walls covered with lifelike tapestry,
+or reflecting in their mighty mirrors her own hurrying figure, and her
+picturesque attendants, alone remained. She rejoiced when she at length
+arrived in a small chamber, in which preparations evidently denoted
+that it was intended she should rest. It was a pretty little saloon,
+brilliantly illuminated, and hung with tapestry depicting a party of
+nymphs and shepherds feasting in an Arcadian scene. In the middle of the
+chamber a banquet was prepared, and as Proserpine seated herself, and
+partook of some of the delicacies which a page immediately presented to
+her, there arose, from invisible musicians, a joyous and festive strain,
+which accompanied her throughout her repast. When her Majesty had
+sufficiently refreshed herself, and as the banquet was removing, the
+music assumed a softer and more subduing, occasionally even a solemn
+tone; the tapestry, slowly shifting, at length represented the same
+characters sunk in repose; the attendants all this time gradually
+extinguishing the lights, and stealing on tiptoe from the chamber. So
+that, at last, the music, each moment growing fainter, entirely ceased;
+the figures on the tapestry were scarcely perceptible by the dim lustre
+of a single remaining lamp; and the slumbering Proserpine fell back upon
+her couch.
+
+But the Queen of Hell was not destined to undisturbed repose. A dream
+descended on her brain, and the dream was terrible and strange. She
+beheld herself a child, playing, as was her wont, in the gardens of
+Enna, twining garlands of roses, and chasing butterflies. Suddenly, from
+a bosky thicket of myrtle, slowly issued forth an immense serpent, dark
+as night, but with eyes of the most brilliant tint, and approached the
+daughter of Ceres. The innocent child, ignorant of evil, beheld the
+monster without alarm. Not only did she neither fly nor shriek, but she
+even welcomed and caressed the frightful stranger, patted its voluminous
+back, and admired its sparkling vision. The serpent, fascinated instead
+of fascinating, licked her feet with his arrowy tongue, and glided about
+for her diversion in a thousand shapes. Emboldened by its gentleness,
+the little Proserpine at length even mounted on its back, and rode in
+triumph among her bowers. Every day the dark serpent issued from the
+thicket, and every day he found a welcome playmate. Now it come to
+pass that one day the serpent, growing more bold, induced the young
+Proserpine to extend her ride beyond the limits of Enna. Night came on,
+and as it was too late to return, the serpent carried her to a large
+cave, where it made for her a couch of leaves, and while she slept the
+affectionate monster kept guard for her protection at the mouth of the
+cavern. For some reason or other which was not apparent, for in dreams
+there are always some effects without causes, Proserpine never returned
+to Enna, but remained and resided with cheerfulness in this cavern. Each
+morning the serpent went forth alone to seek food for its charge,
+and regularly returned with a bough in its mouth laden with delicious
+fruits. One day, during the absence of her guardian, a desire seized
+Proserpine to quit the cavern, and accordingly she went forth. The fresh
+air and fragrance of the earth were delightful to her, and she roamed
+about, unconscious of time, and thoughtless of her return. And as she
+sauntered along, singing to herself, a beautiful white dove, even
+the same dove that had welcomed her in the morning on the heights of
+Elysium, flew before her with its wings glancing in the sunshine. It
+seemed that the bird wished to attract the attention of the child, so
+long and so closely did it hover about her; now resting on a branch, as
+if inviting capture, and then skimming away only to return more swiftly;
+and occasionally, when for a moment unnoticed, even slightly flapping
+the rambler with its plume. At length the child was taken with a fancy
+to catch the bird. But no sooner had she evinced this desire, than the
+bird, once apparently so anxious to be noticed, seemed resolved to
+lead her a weary chase; and hours flew away ere Proserpine, panting and
+exhausted, had captured the beautiful rover and pressed it to her bosom.
+
+It was, indeed, a most beautiful bird, and its possession repaid her
+for all her exertions. But lo! as she stood, in a wild sylvan scene
+caressing it, smoothing its soft plumage, and pressing its head to her
+cheek, she beheld in the distance approaching her the serpent, and
+she beheld her old friend with alarm. Apparently her misgiving was
+not without cause. She observed in an instant that the appearance and
+demeanour of the serpent were greatly changed. It approached her swift
+as an arrow, its body rolling in the most agitated contortions, its jaws
+were distended as if to devour her, its eyes flashed fire, its tongue
+was a forked flame, and its hiss was like a stormy wind. Proserpine
+shrieked, and the Queen of Hell awoke from her dream.
+
+The next morning the Elysian world called to pay their respects to
+Proserpine. Her Majesty, indeed, held a drawing-room, which was
+fully and brilliantly attended. Her beauty and her graciousness were
+universally pronounced enchanting. From this moment the career of
+Proserpine was a series of magnificent entertainments. The principal
+Elysians vied with each other in the splendour and variety of the
+amusements, which they offered to the notice of their Queen. Operas,
+plays, balls, and banquets followed in dazzling succession. Proserpine,
+who was almost inexperienced in society, was quite fascinated. She
+regretted the years she had wasted in her Sicilian solitude; she
+marvelled that she ever could have looked forward with delight to a dull
+annual visit to Olympus; she almost regretted that, for the sake of an
+establishment, she could have been induced to cast her lot in the regal
+gloom of Tartarus. Elysium exactly suited her. The beauty of the climate
+and the country, the total absence of care, the constant presence of
+amusement, the luxury, gaiety, and refined enjoyment perfectly accorded
+with her amiable disposition, her lively fancy and her joyous temper.
+She drank deep and eagerly of the cup of pleasure. She entered into all
+the gay pursuits of her subjects; she even invented new combinations
+of diversion. Under her inspiring rule every one confessed that Elysium
+became every day more Elysian. The manners of her companions greatly
+pleased her. She loved those faces always wreathed with smiles, yet
+never bursting into laughter. She was charmed at the amiable tone in
+which they addressed each other. Never apparently were people at the
+same time so agreeable, so obliging, and so polished. For in all they
+said and did might be detected that peculiar air of high-breeding which
+pervades the whole conduct of existence with a certain indefinable
+spirit of calmness, so that your nerves are never shaken by too intense
+an emotion, which eventually produces a painful reaction. Whatever they
+did, the Elysians were careful never to be vehement; a grand passion,
+indeed, was unknown in these happy regions; love assumed the milder form
+of flirtation; and as for enmity, you were never abused except behind
+your back, or it exuded itself in an epigram, or, at the worst, a
+caricature scribbled upon a fan.
+
+There is one characteristic of the Elysians which, in justice to them, I
+ought not to have omitted. They were eminently a moral people. If a lady
+committed herself, she was lost for ever, and packed off immediately to
+the realm of Twilight. Indeed, they were so particular, that the moment
+one of the softer sex gave the slightest symptoms of preference to
+a fortunate admirer, the Elysian world immediately began to look
+unutterable things, shrug its moral shoulders, and elevate its
+charitable eyebrows. But if the preference, by any unlucky chance,
+assumed the nobler aspect of devotion, and the unhappy fair one gave any
+indication of really possessing a heart, rest assured she was already
+half way on the road to perdition. Then commenced one of the most
+curious processes imaginable, peculiar I apprehend to Elysium, but which
+I record that the society of less fortunate lands may avail itself of
+the advantage, and adopt the regulation in its moral police. Immediately
+that it was clearly ascertained that two persons of different sexes took
+an irrational interest in each other's society, all the world instantly
+went about, actuated by a purely charitable sentiment, telling the most
+extraordinary falsehoods concerning them that they could devise. Thus it
+was the fashion to call at one house and announce that you had detected
+the unhappy pair in a private box at the theatre, and immediately to pay
+your respects at another mansion and declare that you had observed them
+on the very same day, and at the very same hour, in a boat on the river.
+At the next visit, the gentleman had been discovered driving her in his
+cab; and in the course of the morning the scene of indiscretion was the
+Park, where they had been watched walking by moonlight, muffled up in
+sables and cashmeres.
+
+This curious process of diffusing information was known in Elysium
+under the title of _'being talked about;_' and although the stories thus
+disseminated were universally understood to be fictions, the Elysians
+ascribed great virtue to the proceeding, maintaining that many an
+indiscreet fair one had been providentially alarmed by thus becoming the
+subject of universal conversation; that thus many a reputation had
+been saved by this charitable slander. There were some malignant
+philosophers, indeed, doubtless from that silly love of paradox in all
+ages too prevalent, who pretended that all this Elysian morality was one
+great delusion, and that this scrupulous anxiety about the conduct of
+others arose from a principle, not of _Purity_, but of _Corruption_.
+The woman who is 'talked about,' these sages would affirm, is generally
+virtuous, and she is only abused because she devotes to one the charms
+which all wish to enjoy.
+
+Thus Dido, who is really one of the finest creatures that ever existed,
+and who with a majestic beauty combines an heroic soul, has made her
+way with difficulty to the Elysian circle, to which her charms and
+rank entitle her; while Helen, who, from her very _d�but_, has
+been surrounded by fifty lovers, and whose intrigues have ever been
+notorious, is the very queen of fashion; and all this merely because she
+has favoured fifty instead of one, and in the midst of all her scrapes
+has contrived to retain the countenance of her husband.
+
+Apropos of Dido, the Queen of Carthage was the person in all Elysium for
+whom Proserpine took the greatest liking. Exceedingly beautiful, with
+the most generous temper and the softest heart in the world, and blessed
+by nature with a graceful simplicity of manner, which fashion had
+never sullied, it really was impossible to gaze upon the extraordinary
+brilliancy of her radiant countenance, to watch the symmetry of her
+superb figure, and to listen to the artless yet lively observations
+uttered by a voice musical as a bell, without being fairly bewitched.
+
+When we first enter society, we are everywhere; yet there are few, I
+imagine, who, after a season, do not subside into a coterie. When the
+glare of saloons has ceased to dazzle, and we are wearied with the
+heartless notice of a crowd, we require refinement and sympathy. We find
+them, and we sink into a clique. And after all, can the river of life
+flow on more agreeably than in a sweet course of pleasure with those
+we love? To wander in the green shade of secret woods and whisper our
+affection; to float on the sunny waters of some gentle stream, and
+listen to a serenade; to canter with a light-hearted cavalcade over
+breezy downs, or cool our panting chargers in the summer stillness of
+winding and woody lanes; to banquet with the beautiful and the witty; to
+send care to the devil, and indulge the whim of the moment; the priest,
+the warrior and the statesman may frown and struggle as they like; but
+this is existence, and this, this is Elysium!
+
+So Proserpine deemed when, wearied with the monotony of the great
+world, she sought refuge in the society of Dido and Atalanta, Achilles,
+Amphion, and Patroclus or Memnon. When �neas found that Dido had become
+fashionable, he made overtures for a reconciliation, but Dido treated
+him with calm contempt. The pious �neas, indeed, was the aversion of
+Proserpine. He was the head of the Elysian saints, was president of a
+society to induce the Gnomes only to drink water, and was so horrified
+at the general conduct of the Elysians, that he questioned the decrees
+of Minos and Rhadamanthus, who had permitted them to enter the happy
+region so easily. The pious �neas was of opinion that everybody ought to
+have been damned except himself. Proserpine gave him no encouragement.
+Achilles was the finest gentleman in Elysium. No one dressed or rode
+like him. He was very handsome, very witty, very unaffected, and had an
+excellent heart. Achilles was the leader of the Elysian youth, who were
+indeed devoted to him: Proserpine took care, therefore, that he should
+dangle in her train. Amphion had a charming voice for a supper after the
+opera. He was a handsome little fellow, but not to be depended upon.
+He broke a heart, or a dinner engagement, with the same reckless
+sentimentality; for he was one of those who always weep when they betray
+you, and whom you are sure never to see again immediately that they have
+vowed eternal friendship. Patroclus was a copy of Achilles without his
+talents and vivacity, but elegant and quiet. Of all these, Memnon was
+perhaps the favourite of Proserpine; nor must he be forgotten; amiable,
+gay, brilliant, the child of whim and impulse, in love with every woman
+he met for four-and-twenty hours, and always marvelling at his own
+delusion!
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Infernal Marriage, by Benjamin Disraeli
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+    <title>
+      The Infernal Marriage, by Benjamin Disraeli
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Infernal Marriage, by Benjamin Disraeli
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Infernal Marriage
+
+Author: Benjamin Disraeli
+
+Release Date: December 3, 2006 [EBook #20003]
+Last Updated: August 26, 2016
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INFERNAL MARRIAGE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <h1>
+      THE INFERNAL MARRIAGE
+    </h1>
+    <h2>
+      By Benjamin Disraeli
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <blockquote>
+      <p>
+        <i>Proserpine was the daughter of Jupiter and Ceres. Pluto, the god of
+        Hell, became enamoured of her. His addresses were favoured by her
+        father, but opposed by Ceres. Under these circumstances, he surprised
+        her on the plains of Enna, and carried her off in his chariot.</i>
+      </p>
+    </blockquote>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <blockquote>
+      <p class="toc">
+        <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big>
+      </p>
+      <p>
+        <br />
+      </p>
+      <p>
+        <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <big><b>THE INFERNAL MARRIAGE</b></big> </a>
+      </p>
+      <p>
+        <br />
+      </p>
+      <p class="toc">
+        <a href="#link2H_PART1"> PART I. </a>
+      </p>
+      <p class="toc">
+        <a href="#link2H_PART2"> PART II. </a>
+      </p>
+      <p class="toc">
+        <a href="#link2H_PART3"> PART III. </a>
+      </p>
+      <p class="toc">
+        <a href="#link2H_PART4"> PART IV. </a>
+      </p>
+    </blockquote>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h1>
+      THE INFERNAL MARRIAGE
+    </h1>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_PART1" id="link2H_PART1">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      PART I.
+    </h2>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+     <i>A Sublime Elopement</i>
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      IT WAS clearly a runaway match&mdash;never indeed was such a sublime
+      elopement. The four horses were coal-black, with blood-red manes and
+      tails; and they were shod with rubies. They were harnessed to a basaltic
+      car by a single rein of flame. Waving his double-pronged trident in the
+      air, the god struck the blue breast of Cyane, and the waters instantly
+      parted. In rushed the wild chariot, the pale and insensible Proserpine
+      clinging to the breast of her grim lover.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Through the depths of the hitherto unfathomed lake the infernal steeds
+      held their breathless course. The car jolted against its bed. &lsquo;Save me!&rsquo;
+      exclaimed the future Queen of Hades, and she clung with renewed energy to
+      the bosom of the dark bridegroom. The earth opened; they entered the
+      kingdom of the gnomes. Here Pluto was popular. The lurid populace gave him
+      a loud shout. The chariot whirled along through shadowy cities and by dim
+      highways, swarming with a busy race of shades.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Ye flowery meads of Enna!&rsquo; exclaimed the terrified Proserpine, &lsquo;shall I
+      never view you again? What an execrable climate!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Here, however, in-door nature is charming,&rsquo; responded Pluto. &lsquo;Tis a great
+      nation of manufacturers. You are better, I hope, my Proserpine. The
+      passage of the water is never very agreeable, especially to ladies.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And which is our next stage?&rsquo; inquired Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The centre of Earth,&rsquo; replied Pluto. &lsquo;Travelling is so much improved that
+      at this rate we shall reach Hades before night.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Alas!&rsquo; exclaimed Proserpine, &lsquo;is not this night?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You are not unhappy, my Proserpine?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Beloved of my heart, I have given up everything for you! I do not repent,
+      but I am thinking of my mother.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Time will pacify the Lady Ceres. What is done cannot be undone. In the
+      winter, when a residence among us is even desirable, I should not be
+      surprised were she to pay us a visit.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Her prejudices are so strong,&rsquo; murmured the bride. &lsquo;Oh my Pluto! I hope
+      your family will be kind to me.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Who could be unkind to Proserpine? Ours is a very domestic circle. I can
+      assure you that everything is so well ordered among us that I have no
+      recollection of a domestic broil.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But marriage is such a revolution in a bachelor&rsquo;s establishment,&rsquo; replied
+      Proserpine, despondingly. &lsquo;To tell the truth, too, I am half frightened at
+      the thought of the Furies. I have heard that their tempers are so
+      violent.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;They mean well; their feelings are strong, but their hearts are in the
+      right place. I flatter myself you will like my nieces, the Parcæ. They are
+      accomplished, and favourites among the men.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Indeed!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Oh! quite irresistible.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My heart misgives me. I wish you had at least paid them the compliment of
+      apprising them of our marriage.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Cheer up. For myself, I have none but pleasant anticipations. I long to
+      be at home once more by my own fireside, and patting my faithful
+      Cerberus.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I think I shall like Cerberus; I am fond of dogs.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I am sure you will. He is the most faithful creature in the world.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Is he very fierce?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Not if he takes a fancy to you; and who can help taking a fancy to
+      Proserpine?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Ah! my Pluto, you are in love.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Is this Hades?&rsquo; inquired Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      An avenue of colossal bulls, sculptured in basalt and breathing living
+      flame, led to gates of brass, adorned with friezes of rubies, representing
+      the wars and discomfiture of the Titans. A crimson cloud concealed the
+      height of the immense portals, and on either side hovered o&rsquo;er the
+      extending walls of the city; a watch-tower or a battlement occasionally
+      flashing forth, and forcing their forms through the lurid obscurity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Queen of Hades! welcome to your capital!&rsquo; exclaimed Pluto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The monarch rose in his car and whirled a javelin at the gates. There was
+      an awful clang, and then a still more terrible growl.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My faithful Cerberus!&rsquo; exclaimed the King.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The portals flew open, and revealed the gigantic form of the celebrated
+      watch-dog of Hell. It completely filled their wide expanse. Who but Pluto
+      could have viewed without horror that enormous body covered with shaggy
+      spikes, those frightful paws clothed with claws of steel, that tail like a
+      boa constrictor, those fiery eyes that blazed like the blood-red lamps in
+      a pharos, and those three forky tongues, round each of which were entwined
+      a vigorous family of green rattlesnakes!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Ah! Cerby! Cerby!&rsquo; exclaimed Pluto; &lsquo;my fond and faithful Cerby!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Proserpine screamed as the animal gambolled up to the side of the chariot
+      and held out its paw to its master. Then, licking the royal palm with its
+      three tongues at once, it renewed its station with a wag of its tail which
+      raised such a cloud of dust that for a few minutes nothing was
+      perceptible.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The monster!&rsquo; exclaimed Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My love!&rsquo; exclaimed Pluto, with astonishment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The hideous brute!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My dear!&rsquo; exclaimed Pluto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;He shall never touch me.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Proserpine!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t touch me with that hand. You never shall touch me, if you allow
+      that disgusting animal to lick your hand.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I beg to inform you that there are few beings of any kind for whom I have
+      a greater esteem than that faithful and affectionate beast.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Oh! if you like Cerberus better than me, I have no more to say,&rsquo;
+      exclaimed the bride, bridling up with indignation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My Proserpine is perverse,&rsquo; replied Pluto; &lsquo;her memory has scarcely done
+      me justice.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I am sure you said you liked Cerberus better than anything in the world,&rsquo;
+      continued the goddess, with a voice trembling with passion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I said no such thing,&rsquo; replied Pluto, somewhat sternly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I see how it is,&rsquo; replied Proserpine, with a sob; &lsquo;you are tired of me.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My beloved!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I never expected this.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My child!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Was it for this I left my mother?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Powers of Hades! How you can say such things!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Broke her heart?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Proserpine! Proserpine!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Gave up daylight?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;For the sake of Heaven, then, calm yourself!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Sacrificed everything?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My love! my life! my angel! what is all this?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And then to be abused for the sake of a dog!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;By all the shades of Hell, but this is enough to provoke even immortals.
+      What have I done, said, or thought, to justify such treatment?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Oh! me!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Proserpine!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Heigho!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Proserpine! Proserpine!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;So soon is the veil withdrawn!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Dearest, you must be unwell. This journey has been too much for you,&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;On our very bridal day to be so treated!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Soul of my existence, don&rsquo;t make me mad. I love you, I adore you; I have
+      no hope, no wish, no thought but you. I swear it; I swear it by my sceptre
+      and my throne. Speak, speak to your Pluto: tell him all your wish, all
+      your desire. What would you have me do?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Shoot that horrid beast.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Ah! me!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What, you will not? I thought how it would be. I am Proserpine, your
+      beloved, adored Proserpine. You have no wish, no hope, no thought but for
+      me! I have only to speak, and what I desire will be instantly done! And I
+      do speak, I tell you my wish, I express to you my desire, and I am
+      instantly refused! And what have I requested? Is it such a mighty favour?
+      Is it anything unreasonable? Is there, indeed, in my entreaty anything so
+      vastly out of the way? The death of a dog, a disgusting animal, which has
+      already shaken my nerves to pieces; and if ever (here she hid her face in
+      his breast), if ever that event should occur which both must desire, my
+      Pluto, I am sure the very sight of that horrible beast will&mdash;I dare
+      not say what it will do.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Pluto looked puzzled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Indeed, my Proserpine, it is not in my power to grant your request; for
+      Cerberus is immortal, like ourselves.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Me! miserable!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Some arrangement, however, may be made to keep him out of your sight and
+      hearing. I can banish him.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Can you, indeed? Oh! banish him, my Pluto! pray banish him! I never shall
+      be happy until Cerberus is banished.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I will do anything you desire; but I confess to you I have some
+      misgivings. He is an invaluable watch-dog; and I fear, without his
+      superintendence, the guardians of the gate will scarcely do their duty.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Oh! yes: I am sure they will, my Pluto! I will ask them to, I will ask
+      them myself, I will request them, as a particular and personal favour to
+      myself, to be very careful indeed. And if they do their duty, and I am
+      sure they will, they shall be styled, as a reward, &ldquo;Proserpine&rsquo;s Own
+      Guards.&rdquo;&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;A reward, indeed!&rsquo; said the enamoured monarch, as, with a sigh, he signed
+      the order for the banishment of Cerberus in the form of his promotion to
+      the office of Master of the royal and imperial bloodhounds.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The burning waves of Phlegethon assumed a lighter hue. It was morning. It
+      was the morning after the arrival of Pluto and his unexpected bride. In
+      one of the principal rooms of the palace three beautiful females, clothed
+      in cerulean robes spangled with stars, and their heads adorned with golden
+      crowns, were at work together. One held a distaff, from which the second
+      spun; and the third wielded an enormous pair of adamantine shears, with
+      which she perpetually severed the labours of her sisters. Tall were they
+      in stature and beautiful in form. Very fair; an expression of haughty
+      serenity pervaded their majestic countenances. Their three companions,
+      however, though apparently of the same sex, were of a different character.
+      If women can ever be ugly, certainly these three ladies might put in a
+      valid claim to that epithet. Their complexions were dark and withered, and
+      their eyes, though bright, were bloodshot. Scantily clothed in black
+      garments, not unstained with gore, their wan and offensive forms were but
+      slightly veiled. Their hands were talons; their feet cloven; and serpents
+      were wreathed round their brows instead of hair. Their restless and
+      agitated carriage afforded also not less striking contrast to the polished
+      and aristocratic demeanour of their companions. They paced the chamber
+      with hurried and unequal steps, and wild and uncouth gestures; waving,
+      with a reckless ferocity, burning torches and whips of scorpions. It is
+      hardly necessary to add that these were the Furies, and that the
+      conversation which I am about to report was carried on with the Fates.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;A thousand serpents!&rsquo; shrieked Tisiphone. &lsquo;I will never believe it.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Racks and flames!&rsquo; squeaked Megæra. &lsquo;It is impossible.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Eternal torture!&rsquo; moaned Alecto. &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis a lie.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Not Jupiter himself should convince us!&rsquo; the Furies joined in infernal
+      chorus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis nevertheless true,&rsquo; calmly observed the beautiful Clotho.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You will soon have the honour of being presented to her,&rsquo; added the
+      serene Lachesis.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And whatever we may feel,&rsquo; observed the considerate Atropos, &lsquo;I think, my
+      dear girls, you had better restrain yourselves.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And what sort of thing is she?&rsquo; inquired Tisiphone, with a shriek.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I have heard that she is lovely,&rsquo; answered Clotho. &lsquo;Indeed, it is
+      impossible to account for the affair in any other way.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis neither possible to account for nor to justify it,&rsquo; squeaked Megæra.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Is there, indeed, a Queen in Hell?&rsquo; moaned Alecto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;We shall hold no more drawing-rooms,&rsquo; said Lachesis.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;We will never attend hers,&rsquo; said the Furies.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You must,&rsquo; replied the Fates.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I have no doubt she will give herself airs,&rsquo; shrieked Tisiphone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;We must remember where she has been brought up, and be considerate,&rsquo;
+      replied Lachesis.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I dare say you three will get on very well with her,&rsquo; squeaked Megasra.
+      &lsquo;You always get on well with people.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;We must remember how very strange things here must appear to her,&rsquo;
+      observed Atropos.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;No one can deny that there are some very disagreeable sights,&rsquo; said
+      Clotho.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;There is something in that,&rsquo; replied Tisiphone, looking in the glass, and
+      arranging her serpents; &lsquo;and for my part, poor girl, I almost pity her,
+      when I think she will have to visit the Harpies.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this moment four little pages entered the room, who, without exception,
+      were the most hideous dwarfs that ever attended upon a monarch. They were
+      clothed only in parti-coloured tunics, and their breasts and legs were
+      quite bare. From the countenance of the first you would have supposed he
+      was in a convulsion; his hands were clenched and his hair stood on end:
+      this was Terror! The protruded veins of the second seemed ready to burst,
+      and his rubicund visage decidedly proved that he had blood in his head;
+      this was Rage! The third was of an ashen colour throughout: this was
+      Paleness! And the fourth, with a countenance not without traces of beauty,
+      was even more disgusting than his companions from the quantity of horrible
+      flies, centipedes, snails, and other noisome, slimy, and indescribable
+      monstrosities that were crawling all about his body and feeding on his
+      decaying features. The name of this fourth page was Death!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The King and Queen!&rsquo; announced the pages.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Pluto, during the night, had prepared Proserpine for the worst, and had
+      endeavoured to persuade her that his love would ever compensate for all
+      annoyances. She was in excellent spirits and in very good humour;
+      therefore, though she could with difficulty stifle a scream when she
+      recognised the Furies, she received the congratulations of the Parcæ with
+      much cordiality.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I have the pleasure, Proserpine, of presenting you to my family,&rsquo; said
+      Pluto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Who, I am sure, hope to make Hades agreeable to your Majesty,&rsquo; rejoined
+      Clotho. The Furies uttered a suppressed sound between a murmur and a
+      growl.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I have ordered the chariot,&rsquo; said Pluto. &lsquo;I propose to take the Queen a
+      ride, and show her some of our lions.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;She will, I am sure, be delighted,&rsquo; said Lachesis.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I long to see Ixion,&rsquo; said Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The wretch!&rsquo; shrieked Tisiphone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I cannot help thinking that he has been very unfairly treated,&rsquo; said
+      Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What!&rsquo; squeaked Megæra. &lsquo;The ravisher!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Ay! it is all very well,&rsquo; replied Proserpine; &lsquo;but, for my part, if we
+      knew the truth of that affair&mdash;&mdash;-&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Is it possible that your Majesty can speak in such a tone of levity of
+      such an offender?&rsquo; shrieked Tisiphone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Is it possible?&rsquo; moaned Alecto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Ah! you have heard only one side of the question; but for my part,
+      knowing as much of Juno as I do&mdash;&mdash;-&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The Queen of Heaven!&rsquo; observed Atropos, with an intimidating glance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The Queen of Fiddlestick!&rsquo; said Proserpine; &lsquo;as great a flirt as ever
+      existed, with all her prudish looks.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Fates and the Furies exchanged glances of astonishment and horror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;For my part,&rsquo; continued Proserpine, &lsquo;I make it a rule to support the
+      weaker side, and nothing will ever persuade me that Ixion is not a victim,
+      and a pitiable one.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Well! men generally have the best of it in these affairs,&rsquo; said Lachesis,
+      with a forced smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Juno ought to be ashamed of herself,&rsquo; said Proserpine. &lsquo;Had I been in her
+      situation, they should have tied me to a wheel first. At any rate, they
+      ought to have punished him in Heaven. I have no idea of those people
+      sending every <i>mauvais sujet</i> to Hell.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But what shall we do?&rsquo; inquired Pluto, who wished to turn the
+      conversation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Shall we turn out a sinner and hunt him for her Majesty&rsquo;s diversion?&rsquo;
+      suggested Tisiphone, flanking her serpents.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Nothing of the kind will ever divert me,&rsquo; said Proserpine; &lsquo;for I have no
+      hesitation in saying that I do not at all approve of these eternal
+      punishments, or, indeed, of any punishment whatever.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The heretic!&rsquo; whispered Tisiphone to Megæra. Alecto moaned.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;It might be more interesting to her Majesty,&rsquo; said Atropos, &lsquo;to witness
+      some of those extraordinary instances of predestined misery with which
+      Hades abounds. Shall we visit OEdipus?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Poor fellow!&rsquo; exclaimed Proserpine. &lsquo;For myself, I willingly confess that
+      torture disgusts and Destiny puzzles me.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Fates and the Furies all alike started.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I do not understand this riddle of Destiny,&rsquo; continued the young Queen.
+      &lsquo;If you, Parcæ, have predestined that a man should commit a crime, it
+      appears to me very unjust that you should afterwards call upon the Furies
+      to punish him for its commission.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But man is a free agent,&rsquo; observed Lachesis, in as mild a tone as she
+      could command.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Then what becomes of Destiny?&rsquo; replied Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Destiny is eternal and irresistible,&rsquo; replied Clotho. &lsquo;All is ordained;
+      but man is, nevertheless, master of his own actions.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I do not understand that,&rsquo; said Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;It is not meant to be understood,&rsquo; said Atropos; &lsquo;but you must
+      nevertheless believe it.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I make it a rule only to believe what I understand,&rsquo; replied Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;It appears,&rsquo; said Lachesis, with a blended glance of contempt and
+      vengeance, &lsquo;that your Majesty, though a goddess, is an atheist.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;As for that, anybody may call me just what they please, provided they do
+      nothing else. So long as I am not tied to a wheel or whipped with
+      scorpions for speaking my mind, I shall be as tolerant of the speech and
+      acts of others as I expect them to be tolerant of mine. Come, Pluto, I am
+      sure that the chariot must be ready!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So saying, her Majesty took the arm of her spouse, and with a haughty
+      curtsey left the apartment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Did you ever!&rsquo; shrieked Tisiphone, as the door closed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;No! never!&rsquo; squeaked Megaera.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Never! never!&rsquo; moaned Alecto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;She must understand what she believes, must she?&rsquo; said Lachesis, scarcely
+      less irritated.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I never heard such nonsense,&rsquo; said Clotho.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What next!&rsquo; said Atropos.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Disgusted with torture!&rsquo; exclaimed the Furies.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Puzzled with Destiny!&rsquo; said the Fates.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was the third morning after the Infernal Marriage; the slumbering
+      Proserpine reposed in the arms of the snoring Pluto. There was a loud
+      knocking at the chamber-door. Pluto jumped up in the middle of a dream.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My life, what is the matter?&rsquo; exclaimed Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The knocking was repeated and increased. There was also a loud shout of
+      &lsquo;treason, murder, and fire!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What is the matter?&rsquo; exclaimed the god, jumping out of bed and seizing
+      his trident. &lsquo;Who is there?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Your pages, your faithful pages! Treason! treason! For the sake of Hell,
+      open the door. Murder, fire, treason!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Enter!&rsquo; said Pluto, as the door was unlocked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And Terror and Rage entered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You frightful things, get out of the room!&rsquo; cried Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;A moment, my angel!&rsquo; said Pluto, &lsquo;a single moment. Be not alarmed, my
+      best love; I pray you be not alarmed. Well, imps, why am I disturbed?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Oh!&rsquo; said Terror. Rage could not speak, but gnashed his teeth and stamped
+      his feet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;O-o-o-h!&rsquo; repeated Terror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Speak, cursed imps!&rsquo; cried the enraged Pluto; and he raised his arm.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;A man! a man!&rsquo; cried Terror. &lsquo;Treason, treason! a man! a man!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What man?&rsquo; said Pluto, in a rage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;A man, a live man, has entered Hell!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You don&rsquo;t say so?&rsquo; said Proserpine; &lsquo;a man, a live man. Let me see him
+      immediately.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Where is he?&rsquo; said Pluto; &lsquo;what is he doing?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;He is here, there, and everywhere! asking for your wife, and singing like
+      anything.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Proserpine!&rsquo; said Pluto, reproachfully; but, to do the god justice, he
+      was more astounded than jealous.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I am sure I shall be delighted to see him; it is so long since I have
+      seen a live man,&rsquo; said Proserpine. &lsquo;Who can he be? A man, and a live man!
+      How delightful! It must be a messenger from my mother.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But how came he here?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Ah! how came he here?&rsquo; echoed Terror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;No time must be lost!&rsquo; exclaimed Pluto, scrambling on his robe. &lsquo;Seize
+      him, and bring him into the council chamber. My charming Proserpine,
+      excuse me for a moment.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Not at all; I will accompany you.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But, my love, my sweetest, my own, this is business; these are affairs of
+      state. The council chamber is not a place for you.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And why not?&rsquo; said Proserpine. &lsquo;I have no idea of ever leaving you for a
+      moment. Why not for me as well as for the Fates and the Furies? Am I not
+      Queen? I have no idea of such nonsense!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My love!&rsquo; said the deprecating husband.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You don&rsquo;t go without me,&rsquo; said the imperious wife, seizing his robe.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I must,&rsquo; said Pluto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Then you shall never return,&rsquo; said Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Enchantress! be reasonable.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I never was, and I never will be,&rsquo; replied the Goddess.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Treason! treason!&rsquo; screamed Terror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My love, I must go!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Pluto,&rsquo; said Proserpine, &lsquo;understand me once for all, I will not be
+      contradicted.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Rage stamped his foot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Proserpine, understand me once for all, it is impossible,&rsquo; said the God,
+      frowning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My Pluto!&rsquo; said the Queen. &lsquo;Is it my Pluto who speaks thus sternly to me?
+      Is it he who, but an hour ago, a short hour ago, died upon my bosom in
+      transports and stifled me with kisses! Unhappy woman! wretched, miserable
+      Proserpine! Oh! my mother! my kind, my affectionate mother! Have I
+      disobeyed you for this! For this have I deserted you! For this have I
+      broken your beloved heart!&rsquo; She buried her face in the crimson
+      counterpane, and bedewed its gorgeous embroidery with her fast-flowing
+      tears.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Treason!&rsquo; shouted Terror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Ha! ha! ha!&rsquo; exclaimed the hysterical Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What am I to do?&rsquo; cried Pluto. &lsquo;Proserpine, my adored, my beloved, my
+      enchanting Proserpine, compose yourself; for my sake, compose yourself. I
+      love you! I adore you! You know it! oh! indeed you know it!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hysterics increased.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Treason! treason!&rsquo; shouted Terror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Hold your infernal tongue,&rsquo; said Pluto. &lsquo;What do I care for treason when
+      the Queen is in this state?&rsquo; He knelt by the bedside, and tried to stop
+      her mouth with kisses, and ever and anon whispered his passion. &lsquo;My
+      Proserpine, I beseech you to be calm; I will do anything you like. Come,
+      come, then, to the council!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hysterics ceased; the Queen clasped him in her arms and rewarded him
+      with a thousand embraces. Then, jumping up, she bathed her swollen eyes
+      with a beautiful cosmetic that she and her maidens had distilled from the
+      flowers of Enna; and, wrapping herself up in her shawl, descended with his
+      Majesty, who was quite as much puzzled about the cause of this disturbance
+      as when he was first roused.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Crossing an immense covered bridge, the origin of the Bridge of Sighs at
+      Venice, over the royal gardens, which consisted entirely of cypress, the
+      royal pair, preceded by the pages-in-waiting, entered the council chamber.
+      The council was already assembled. On either side of a throne of sulphur,
+      from which issued the four infernal rivers of Lethe, Phlegethon, Cocytus,
+      and Acheron, were ranged the Eumenides and Parcæ. Lachesis and her sisters
+      turned up their noses when they observed Proserpine; but the Eumenides
+      could not stifle their fury, in spite of the hints of their more subdued
+      but not less malignant companions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What is all this?&rsquo; inquired Pluto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The constitution is in danger,&rsquo; said the Parcæ in chorus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Both in church and state,&rsquo; added the Furies. &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis a case of treason and
+      blasphemy;&rsquo; and they waved their torches and shook their whips with
+      delighted anticipation of their use.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Detail the circumstances,&rsquo; said Pluto, waving his hand majestically to
+      Lachesis, in whose good sense he had great confidence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;A man, a living man, has entered your kingdom, unknown and unnoticed,&rsquo;
+      said Lachesis.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;By my sceptre, is it true?&rsquo; said the astonished King. &lsquo;Is he seized?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The extraordinary mortal baffles our efforts,&rsquo; said Lachesis. &lsquo;He bears
+      with him a lyre, the charmed gift of Apollo, and so seducing are his
+      strains that in vain our guards advance to arrest his course; they
+      immediately begin dancing, and he easily eludes their efforts. The general
+      confusion is indescribable. All business is at a standstill: Ixion rests
+      upon his wheel; old Sisyphus sits down on his mountain, and his stone has
+      fallen with a terrible plash into Acheron. In short, unless we are
+      energetic, we are on the eve of a revolution.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;His purpose?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;He seeks yourself and&mdash;her Majesty,&rsquo; added Lachesis, with a sneer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Immediately announce that we will receive him.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The unexpected guest was not slow in acknowledging the royal summons. A
+      hasty treaty was drawn up; he was to enter the palace unmolested, on
+      condition that he ceased playing his lyre. The Fates and the Furies
+      exchanged significant glances as his approach was announced.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The man, the live man, who had committed the unprecedented crime of
+      entering Hell without a licence, and the previous deposit of his soul as
+      security for the good behaviour of his body, stood before the surprised
+      and indignant Court of Hades. Tall and graceful in stature, and crowned
+      with laurels, Proserpine was glad to observe that the man, who was
+      evidently famous, was also good-looking.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Thy purpose, mortal?&rsquo; inquired Pluto, with awful majesty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Mercy!&rsquo; answered the stranger in a voice of exquisite melody, and
+      sufficiently embarrassed to render him interesting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What is mercy?&rsquo; inquired the Fates and the Furies.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Speak, stranger, without fear,&rsquo; said Proserpine. &lsquo;Thy name?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Is Orpheus; but a few days back the too happy husband of the enchanting
+      Eurydice. Alas! dread King, and thou too, beautiful and benignant partner
+      of his throne, I won her by my lyre, and by my lyre I would redeem her.
+      Know, then, that in the very glow of our gratified passion a serpent crept
+      under the flowers on which we reposed, and by a fatal sting summoned my
+      adored to the shades. Why did it not also summon me? I will not say why
+      should I not have been the victim in her stead; for I feel too keenly that
+      the doom of Eurydice would not have been less forlorn, had she been the
+      wretched being who had been spared to life. O King! they whispered on
+      earth that thou too hadst yielded thy heart to the charms of love. Pluto,
+      they whispered, is no longer stern: Pluto also feels the all-subduing
+      influence of beauty. Dread monarch, by the self-same passion that rages in
+      our breasts alike, I implore thy mercy. Thou hast risen from the couch of
+      love, the arm of thy adored has pressed upon thy heart, her honied lips
+      have clung with rapture to thine, still echo in thy ears all the
+      enchanting phrases of her idolatry. Then, by the memory of these, by all
+      the higher and ineffable joys to which these lead, King of Hades, spare
+      me, oh! spare me, Eurydice!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Proserpine threw her arms round the neck of her husband, and, hiding her
+      face in his breast, wept.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Rash mortal, you demand that which is not in the power of Pluto to
+      concede,&rsquo; said Lachesis.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I have heard much of treason since my entrance into Hades,&rsquo; replied
+      Orpheus, &lsquo;and this sounds like it.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Mortal!&rsquo; exclaimed Clotho, with contempt.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Nor is it in your power to return, sir,&rsquo; said Tisiphone, shaking her
+      whip.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;We have accounts to settle with you,&rsquo; said Megæra.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Spare her, spare her,&rsquo; murmured Proserpine to her lover.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;King of Hades!&rsquo; said Lachesis, with much dignity, &lsquo;I hold a responsible
+      office in your realm, and I claim the constitutional privilege of your
+      attention. I protest against the undue influence of the Queen. She is a
+      power unknown in our constitution, and an irresponsible agent that I will
+      not recognise. Let her go back to the drawing-room, where all will bow to
+      her.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Hag!&rsquo; exclaimed Proserpine. &lsquo;King of Hades, I, too, can appeal to you.
+      Have I accepted your crown to be insulted by your subjects?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;A subject, may it please your Majesty, who has duties as strictly defined
+      by our infernal constitution as those of your royal spouse; duties, too,
+      which, let me tell you, madam, I and <i>my order</i> are resolved to
+      perform.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Gods of Olympus!&rsquo; cried Proserpine. &lsquo;Is this to be a Queen?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Before we proceed further in this discussion,&rsquo; said Lachesis, &lsquo;I must
+      move an inquiry into the conduct of his Excellency the Governor of the
+      Gates. I move, then, that Cerberus be summoned.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Pluto started, and the blood rose to his dark cheek. &lsquo;I have not yet had
+      an opportunity of mentioning,&rsquo; said his Majesty, in a low tone, and with
+      an air of considerable confusion, &lsquo;that I have thought fit, as a reward
+      for his past services, to promote Cerberus to the office of the Master of
+      the Hounds. He therefore is no longer responsible.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;O-h!&rsquo; shrieked the Furies, as they elevated their hideous eyes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The constitution has invested your Majesty with a power in the
+      appointment of your Officers of State which your Majesty has undoubtedly a
+      right to exercise,&rsquo; said Lachesis. &lsquo;What degree of discretion it
+      anticipated in the exercise, it is now unnecessary, and would be extremely
+      disagreeable, to discuss. I shall not venture to inquire by what new
+      influence your Majesty has been guided in the present instance. The
+      consequence of your Majesty&rsquo;s conduct is obvious, in the very difficult
+      situation in which your realm is now placed. For myself and my colleagues,
+      I have only to observe that we decline, under this crisis, any further
+      responsibility; and the distaff and the shears are at your Majesty&rsquo;s
+      service the moment your Majesty may find convenient successors to the
+      present holders. As a last favour, in addition to the many we are proud to
+      remember we have received from your Majesty, we entreat that we may be
+      relieved from their burthen as quickly as possible.&rsquo; (Loud cheers from the
+      Eumenides.)
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;We had better recall Cerberus,&rsquo; said Pluto, alarmed, &lsquo;and send this
+      mortal about his business.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Not without Eurydice. Oh! not without Eurydice,&rsquo; said the Queen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Silence, Proserpine!&rsquo; said Pluto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;May it please your Majesty,&rsquo; said Lachesis, &lsquo;I am doubtful whether we
+      have the power of expelling anyone from Hades. It is not less the law that
+      a mortal cannot remain here; and it is too notorious for me to mention the
+      fact that none here have the power of inflicting death.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Of what use are all your laws,&rsquo; exclaimed Proserpine, &lsquo;if they are only
+      to perplex us? As there are no statutes to guide us, it is obvious that
+      the King&rsquo;s will is supreme. Let Orpheus depart, then, with his bride.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The latter suggestion is clearly illegal,&rsquo; said Lachesis.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Lachesis, and ye, her sisters,&rsquo; said Proserpine, &lsquo;forget, I beseech you,
+      any warm words that may have passed between us, and, as a personal favour
+      to one who would willingly be your friend, release Eurydice. What! you
+      shake your heads! Nay; of what importance can be a single miserable shade,
+      and one, too, summoned so cruelly before her time, in these
+      thickly-peopled regions?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis the principle,&rsquo; said Lachesis; &lsquo;&lsquo;tis the principle. Concession is
+      ever fatal, however slight. Grant this demand; others, and greater, will
+      quickly follow. Mercy becomes a precedent, and the realm is ruined.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Ruined!&rsquo; echoed the Furies.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And I say <i>preserved!</i>&rsquo; exclaimed Proserpine with energy. &lsquo;The State
+      is in confusion, and you yourselves confess that you know not how to
+      remedy it. Unable to suggest a course, follow mine. I am the advocate of
+      mercy; I am the advocate of concession; and, as you despise all higher
+      impulses, I meet you on your own grounds. I am their advocate for the sake
+      of policy, of expediency.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Never!&rsquo; said the Fates.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Never!&rsquo; shrieked the Furies.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What, then, will you do with Orpheus?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Parcæ shook their heads; even the Eumenides were silent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Then you are unable to carry on the King&rsquo;s government; for Orpheus must
+      be disposed of; all agree to that. Pluto, reject these counsellors, at
+      once insulting and incapable. Give me the distaff and the fatal shears. At
+      once form a new Cabinet; and let the release of Orpheus and Eurydice be
+      the basis of their policy.&rsquo; She threw her arms round his neck and
+      whispered in his ear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Pluto was perplexed; his confidence in the Parcae was shaken. A difficulty
+      had occurred with which they could not cope. It was true the difficulty
+      had been occasioned by a departure from their own exclusive and
+      restrictive policy. It was clear that the gates of Hell ought never to
+      have been opened to the stranger; but opened they had been. Forced to
+      decide, he decided on the side of <i>expediency</i>, and signed a decree
+      for the departure of Orpheus and Eurydice. The Parcas immediately resigned
+      their posts, and the Furies walked off in a huff. Thus, on the third day
+      of the Infernal Marriage, Pluto found that he had quarrelled with all his
+      family, and that his ancient administration was broken up. The King was
+      without a friend, and Hell was without a Government!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:80%;">
+      <img alt="page025 (73K)" src="images/page025.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:80%;">
+      <img alt="page025_label (17K)" src="images/page025_label.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <a name="link2H_PART2" id="link2H_PART2">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      PART II.
+    </h2>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+     <i>A Visit to Elysium</i>
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      LET us change the scene from Hades to Olympus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A chariot drawn by dragons hovered over that superb palace whose sparkling
+      steps of lapislazuli were once pressed by the daring foot of Ixion. It
+      descended into the beautiful gardens, and Ceres, stepping out, sought the
+      presence of Jove.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Father of gods and men,&rsquo; said the majestic mother of Proserpine, &lsquo;listen
+      to a distracted parent! All my hopes were centred in my daughter, the
+      daughter of whom you have deprived me. Is it for this that I endured the
+      pangs of childbirth? Is it for this that I suckled her on this miserable
+      bosom? Is it for this that I tended her girlish innocence, watched with
+      vigilant fondness the development of her youthful mind, and cultured with
+      a thousand graces and accomplishments her gifted and unrivalled promise?
+      to lose her for ever!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Beloved Bona Dea,&rsquo; replied Jove, &lsquo;calm yourself!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Jupiter, you forget that I am a mother.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;It is the recollection of that happy circumstance that alone should make
+      you satisfied.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Do you mock me? Where is my daughter?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;In the very situation you should desire. In her destiny all is fulfilled
+      which the most affectionate mother could hope. What was the object of all
+      your care and all her accomplishments? a good parti; and she has found
+      one.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;To reign in Hell!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;&ldquo;Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.&rdquo; What! would you have had
+      her a cup-bearer, like Hebe, or a messenger, like Hermes? Was the daughter
+      of Jove and Ceres to be destined to a mere place in our household! Lady!
+      she is the object of envy to half the goddesses. Bating our own bed, which
+      she could not share, what lot more distinguished than hers? Recollect that
+      goddesses, who desire a becoming match, have a very limited circle to
+      elect from. Even Venus was obliged to put up with Vulcan. It will not do
+      to be too nice. Thank your stars that she is not an old maid like
+      Minerva.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But Mars? he loved her.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;A young officer only with his half-pay, however good his connections, is
+      surely not a proper mate for our daughter.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Apollo?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I have no opinion of a literary son-in-law. These scribblers are at
+      present the fashion, and are very well to ask to dinner; but I confess a
+      more intimate connection with them is not at all to my taste.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I meet Apollo everywhere.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The truth is, he is courted because every one is afraid of him. He is the
+      editor of a daily journal, and under the pretence of throwing light upon
+      every subject, brings a great many disagreeable things into notice, which
+      is excessively inconvenient. Nobody likes to be paragraphed; and for my
+      part I should only be too happy to extinguish the Sun and every other
+      newspaper were it only in my power.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But Pluto is so old, and so ugly, and, all agree, so ill-tempered.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;He has a splendid income, a magnificent estate; his settlements are
+      worthy of his means. This ought to satisfy a mother; and his political
+      influence is necessary to me, and this satisfies a father.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But the heart&mdash;&mdash;-&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;As for that, she fancies she loves him; and whether she do or not, these
+      feelings, we know, never last. Rest assured, my dear Ceres, that our girl
+      has made a brilliant match, in spite of the gloomy atmosphere in which she
+      has to reside.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;It must end in misery. I know Proserpine. I confess it with tears, she is
+      a spoiled child.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;This may occasion Pluto many uneasy moments; but that is nothing to you
+      or me. Between ourselves, I shall not be at all surprised if she plague
+      his life out.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But how can she consort with the Fates? How is it possible for her to
+      associate with the Furies? She, who is used to the gayest and most amiable
+      society in the world? Indeed, indeed, &lsquo;tis an ill-assorted union!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;They are united, however; and, take my word for it, my dear madam, that
+      you had better leave Pluto alone. The interference of a mother-in-law is
+      proverbially never very felicitous.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the meantime affairs went on swimmingly in Tartarus. The obstinate
+      Fates and the sulky Furies were unwittingly the cause of universal
+      satisfaction. Everyone enjoyed himself, and enjoyment when it is
+      unexpected is doubly satisfactory. Tantalus, Sisyphus, and Ixion, for the
+      first time during their punishment, had an opportunity for a little
+      conversation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Long live our reforming Queen,&rsquo; said the ex-king of Lydia. &lsquo;You cannot
+      conceive, my dear companions, anything more delightful than this
+      long-coveted draught of cold water; its flavour far surpasses the memory
+      of my choicest wines. And as for this delicious fruit, one must live in a
+      hot climate, like our present one, sufficiently to appreciate its
+      refreshing gust. I would, my dear friends, you could only share my
+      banquet.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Your Majesty is very kind,&rsquo; replied Sisyphus, &lsquo;but it seems to me that
+      nothing in the world will ever induce me again to move. One must have
+      toiled for ages to comprehend the rapturous sense of repose that now
+      pervades my exhausted frame. Is it possible that that damned stone can
+      really have disappeared?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You say truly,&rsquo; said Ixion, &lsquo;the couches of Olympus cannot compare with
+      this resting wheel.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Noble Sisyphus,&rsquo; rejoined Tantalus, &lsquo;we are both of us acquainted with
+      the cause of our companion&rsquo;s presence in those infernal regions, since his
+      daring exploit has had the good fortune of being celebrated by one of the
+      fashionable authors of this part of the world.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I have never had time to read his work,&rsquo; interrupted Ixion. &lsquo;What sort of
+      a fellow is he?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;One of the most conceited dogs that I ever met with,&rsquo; replied the King.
+      &lsquo;He thinks he is a great genius, and perhaps he has some little talent for
+      the extravagant.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Are there any critics in Hell?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Myriads. They abound about the marshes of Cocytus, where they croak
+      furiously. They are all to a man against our author.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;That speaks more to his credit than his own self-opinion,&rsquo; rejoined
+      Ixion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;<i>A nous moutons!</i>&rsquo; exclaimed Tantalus; &lsquo;I was about to observe that
+      I am curious to learn for what reason our friend Sisyphus was doomed to
+      his late terrible exertions.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;For the simplest in the world,&rsquo; replied the object of the inquiry;
+      &lsquo;because I was not a hypocrite. No one ever led a pleasanter life than
+      myself, and no one was more popular in society. I was considered, as they
+      phrased it, the most long-headed prince of my time, and was in truth a
+      finished man of the world. I had not an acquaintance whom I had not taken
+      in, and gods and men alike favoured me. In an unlucky moment, however, I
+      offended the infernal deities, and it was then suddenly discovered that I
+      was the most abandoned character of my age. You know the rest.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You seem,&rsquo; exclaimed Tantalus, &lsquo;to be relating my own history; for I
+      myself led a reckless career with impunity, until some of the gods did me
+      the honour of dining with me, and were dissatisfied with the repast. I am
+      convinced myself that, provided a man frequent the temples, and observe
+      with strictness the sacred festivals, such is the force of public opinion,
+      that there is no crime which he may not commit without hazard.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Long live hypocrisy!&rsquo; exclaimed Ixion. &lsquo;It is not my forte. But if I
+      began life anew, I would be more observant in my sacrifices.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Who could have anticipated this wonderful revolution!&rsquo; exclaimed
+      Sisyphus, stretching himself. &lsquo;I wonder what will occur next! Perhaps we
+      shall be all released.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You say truly,&rsquo; said Ixion. &lsquo;I am grateful to our reforming Queen; but I
+      have no idea of stopping here. This cursed wheel indeed no longer whirls;
+      but I confess my expectations will be much disappointed if I cannot free
+      myself from these adamantine bonds that fix me to its orb.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And one cannot drink water for ever,&rsquo; said Tantalus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;D&mdash;n all half measures,&rsquo; said Ixion. &lsquo;We must proceed in this system
+      of amelioration.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Without doubt,&rsquo; responded his companion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The Queen must have a party,&rsquo; continued the audacious lover of Juno. &lsquo;The
+      Fates and the Furies never can be conciliated. It is evident to me that
+      she must fall unless she unbinds these chains of mine.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And grants me full liberty of egress and regress,&rsquo; exclaimed Sisyphus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And me a bottle of the finest golden wine of Lydia,&rsquo; said Tantalus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The infernal honeymoon was over. A cloud appeared in the hitherto serene
+      heaven of the royal lovers. Proserpine became unwell. A mysterious languor
+      pervaded her frame; her accustomed hilarity deserted her. She gave up her
+      daily rides; she never quitted the palace, scarcely her chamber. All day
+      long she remained lying on a sofa, and whenever Pluto endeavoured to
+      console her she went into hysterics. His Majesty was quite miserable, and
+      the Fates and the Furies began to hold up their heads. The two court
+      physicians could throw no light upon the complaint, which baffled all
+      their remedies. These, indeed, were not numerous, for the two physicians
+      possessed each only one idea. With one every complaint was nervous; the
+      other traced everything to the liver. The name of the first was Dr.
+      Blue-Devil; and of the other Dr. Blue-Pill. They were most eminent men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Her Majesty, getting worse every day, Pluto, in despair, determined to
+      send for Æsculapius. It was a long way to send for a physician; but then
+      he was the most fashionable one in the world. He cared not how far he
+      travelled to visit a patient, because he was paid by the mile; and it was
+      calculated that his fee for quitting earth, and attending the Queen of
+      Hell, would allow him to leave off business.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What a wise physician was Æsculapius! Physic was his abhorrence. He never
+      was known, in the whole course of his practice, ever to have prescribed a
+      single drug. He was a handsome man, with a flowing beard curiously
+      perfumed, and a robe of the choicest purple. He twirled a cane of agate,
+      round which was twined a serpent of precious stones, the gift of Juno, and
+      he rode in a chariot drawn by horses of the Sun. When he visited
+      Proserpine, he neither examined her tongue nor felt her pulse, but gave
+      her an account of a fancy ball which he had attended the last evening he
+      passed on <i>terra firma</i>. His details were so interesting that the
+      Queen soon felt better. The next day he renewed his visit, and gave her an
+      account of a new singer that had appeared at Ephesus. The effect of this
+      recital was so satisfactory, that a bulletin in the evening announced that
+      the Queen was convalescent. The third day Æsculapius took his departure,
+      having previously enjoined change of scene for her Majesty, and a visit to
+      the Elysian Fields!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Heh, heh!&rsquo; shrieked Tisiphone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Hah, hah!&rsquo; squeaked Megæra.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Hoh, hoh!&rsquo; moaned Alecto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Now or never,&rsquo; said the infernal sisters. &lsquo;There is a decided reaction.
+      The moment she embarks, unquestionably we will flare up.&rsquo; So they ran off
+      to the Fates.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;We must be prudent,&rsquo; said Clotho.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Our time is not come,&rsquo; remarked Lachesis.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I wish the reaction was more decided,&rsquo; said Atropos; &lsquo;but it is a great
+      thing that they are going to be parted, for the King must remain.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The opposition party, although aiming at the same result, was therefore
+      evidently divided as to the means by which it was to be obtained. The
+      sanguine Furies were for fighting it out at once, and talked bravely of
+      the strong conservative spirit only dormant in Tartarus. Even the Radicals
+      themselves are dissatisfied: Tantalus is no longer contented with water,
+      or Ixion with repose. But the circumspect Fates felt that a false step at
+      present could never be regained. They talked, therefore, of watching
+      events. Both divisions, however, agreed that the royal embarkation was to
+      be the signal for renewed intrigues and renovated exertions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When Proserpine was assured that she must be parted for a time from Pluto,
+      she was inconsolable. They passed the night in sorrowful embraces. She
+      vowed that she could not live a day without him, and that she certainly
+      should die before she reached the first post. The mighty heart of the King
+      of Hades was torn to pieces with contending emotions. In the agony of his
+      overwhelming passion the security of his realm seemed of secondary
+      importance compared with the happiness of his wife. Fear and hatred of the
+      Parcæ and the Eumenides equalled, however, in the breast of Proserpine,
+      her affection for her husband. The consciousness that his absence would be
+      a signal for a revolution, and that the crown of Tartarus might be lost to
+      her expected offspring, animated her with a spirit of heroism. She
+      reconciled herself to the terrible separation, on condition that Pluto
+      wrote to her every day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Adieu! my best, my only beloved!&rsquo; ejaculated the unhappy Queen; &lsquo;do not
+      forget me for a moment; and let nothing in the world induce you to speak
+      to any of those horrid people. I know them; I know exactly what they will
+      be at: the moment I am gone they will commence their intrigues for the
+      restoration of the reign of doom and torture. Do not listen to them, my
+      Pluto. Sooner than have recourse to them, seek assistance from their
+      former victims.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Calm yourself, my Proserpine. Anticipate no evil. I shall be firm; do not
+      doubt me. I will cling with tenacity to that <i>juste milieu</i> under
+      which we have hitherto so eminently prospered. Neither the Parcæ and the
+      Eumenides, nor Ixion and his friends, shall advance a point. I will keep
+      each faction in awe by the bugbear of the other&rsquo;s supremacy. Trust me, I
+      am a profound politician.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was determined that the progress of Proserpine to the Elysian Fields
+      should be celebrated with a pomp and magnificence becoming her exalted
+      station. The day of her departure was proclaimed as a high festival in
+      Hell. Tiresias, absent on a secret mission, had been summoned back by
+      Pluto, and appointed to attend her Majesty during her journey and her
+      visit, for Pluto had the greatest confidence in his discretion. Besides,
+      as her Majesty had not at present the advantage of any female society, it
+      was necessary that she should be amused; and Tiresias, though old, ugly,
+      and blind, was a wit as well as a philosopher, the most distinguished
+      diplomatist of his age, and considered the best company in Hades.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      An immense crowd was assembled round the gates of the palace on the morn
+      of the royal departure. With what anxious curiosity did they watch those
+      huge brazen portals! Every precaution was taken for the accommodation of
+      the public. The streets were lined with troops of extraordinary stature,
+      whose nodding plumes prevented the multitude from catching a glimpse of
+      anything that passed, and who cracked the skulls of the populace with
+      their scimitars if they attempted in the slightest degree to break the
+      line. Moreover, there were seats erected which any one might occupy at a
+      reasonable rate; but the lord steward, who had the disposal of the
+      tickets, purchased them all for himself, and then resold them to his
+      fellow-subjects at an enormous price.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At length the hinges of the gigantic portals gave an ominous creak, and,
+      amid the huzzas of men and the shrieks of women, the procession commenced.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      First came the infernal band. It consisted of five hundred performers,
+      mounted on different animals. Never was such a melodious blast. Fifty
+      trumpeters, mounted on zebras of all possible stripes and tints, and
+      working away at huge ramshorns with their cheeks like pumpkins. Then there
+      were bassoons mounted on bears, clarionets on camelopards, oboes on
+      unicorns, and troops of musicians on elephants, playing on real serpents,
+      whose prismatic bodies indulged in the most extraordinary convolutions
+      imaginable, and whose arrowy tongues glittered with superb agitation at
+      the exquisite sounds which they unintentionally delivered. Animals there
+      were, too, now unknown and forgotten; but I must not forget the fellow who
+      beat the kettledrums, mounted on an enormous mammoth, and the din of whose
+      reverberating blows would have deadened the thunder of Olympus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This enchanting harmony preceded the regiment of Proserpine&rsquo;s own guards,
+      glowing in adamantine armour and mounted on coal-black steeds. Their
+      helmets were quite awful, and surmounted by plumes plucked from the wings
+      of the Harpies, which were alone enough to terrify an earthly host. It was
+      droll to observe this troop of gigantic heroes commanded by infants, who,
+      however, were arrayed in a similar costume, though, of course, on a
+      smaller scale. But such was the admirable discipline of the infernal
+      forces, that, though lions to their enemies, they were Iambs to their
+      friends; and on the present occasion their colonel was carried in a
+      cradle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After these came twelve most worshipful baboons, in most venerable wigs.
+      They were clothed with scarlet robes lined with ermine, and ornamented
+      with gold chains, and mounted on the most obstinate and inflexible mules
+      in Tartarus. These were the judges. Each was provided with a pannier of
+      choice cobnuts, which he cracked with great gravity, throwing the shells
+      to the multitude, an infernal ceremony, there held emblematic of their
+      profession.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lord Chancellor came next in a grand car. Although his wig was even
+      longer than those of his fellow functionaries, his manners and the rest of
+      his costume afforded a strange contrast to them. Apparently never was such
+      a droll, lively fellow. His dress was something between that of Harlequin
+      and Scaramouch. He amused himself by keeping in the air four brazen balls
+      at the same time, swallowing daggers, spitting fire, turning sugar into
+      salt, and eating yards of pink ribbon, which, after being well digested,
+      re-appeared through his nose. It is unnecessary to add, after this, that
+      he was the most popular Lord Chancellor that had ever held the seals, and
+      was received with loud and enthusiastic cheers, which apparently repaid
+      him for all his exertions. Notwithstanding his numerous and curious
+      occupations, I should not omit to add that his Lordship, nevertheless,
+      found time to lead by the nose a most meek and milk-white jackass that
+      immediately followed him, and which, in spite of the remarkable length of
+      its ears, seemed the object of great veneration. There was evidently some
+      mystery about this animal difficult to penetrate. Among other
+      characteristics, it was said, at different seasons, to be distinguished by
+      different titles; for sometimes it was styled &lsquo;The Public,&rsquo; at others
+      &lsquo;Opinion,&rsquo; and occasionally was saluted as the &lsquo;King&rsquo;s Conscience.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now came a numerous company of Priests, in flowing and funereal robes,
+      bearing banners, inscribed with the various titles of their Queen; on some
+      was inscribed Hecate, on others Juno Inferna, on others Theogamia, Libera
+      on some, on others Cotytto. Those that bore banners were crowned with
+      wreaths of narcissus, and mounted on bulls blacker than night, and of a
+      severe and melancholy aspect. Others walked by their side, bearing
+      branches of cypress.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And here I must stop to notice a droll characteristic of the priestly
+      economy of Hades. To be a good pedestrian was considered an essential
+      virtue of an infernal clergyman; but to be mounted on a black bull was the
+      highest distinction of the craft. It followed, therefore, that,
+      originally, promotion to such a seat was the natural reward of any priest
+      who had distinguished himself in the humbler career of a good walker; but
+      in process of time, as even infernal as well as human institutions are
+      alike liable to corruption, the black bulls became too often occupied by
+      the halt and the crippled, the feeble and the paralytic, who used their
+      influence at Court to become thus exempted from the performance of the
+      severer duties of which they were incapable. This violation of the
+      priestly constitution excited at first great murmurs among the abler but
+      less influential brethren. But the murmurs of the weak prove only the
+      tyranny of the strong; and so completely in the course of time do
+      institutions depart from their original character, that the imbecile
+      riders of the black bulls now avowedly defended their position on the very
+      grounds which originally should have unseated them, and openly maintained
+      that it was very evident that the stout were intended to walk, and the
+      feeble to be carried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The priests were followed by fifty dark chariots, drawn by blue satyrs.
+      Herein was the wardrobe of the Queen, and her Majesty&rsquo;s cooks.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tiresias came next, in a basalt chariot, yoked to royal steeds. He was
+      attended by Manto, who shared his confidence, and who, some said, was his
+      daughter, and others his niece. Venerable seer! Who could behold that
+      flowing beard, and the thin grey hairs of that lofty and wrinkled brow,
+      without being filled with sensations of awe and affection? A smile of
+      bland benignity played upon his passionless and reverend countenance.
+      Fortunate the monarch who is blessed with such a counsellor! Who could
+      have supposed that all this time Tiresias was concocting an epigram on
+      Pluto!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Queen! The Queen!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Upon a superb throne, placed upon an immense car, and drawn by twelve
+      coal-black steeds, four abreast, reposed the royal daughter of Ceres. Her
+      rich dark hair was braided off her high pale forehead, and fell in
+      voluptuous clusters over her back. A tiara sculptured out of a single
+      brilliant, and which darted a flash like lightning on the surrounding
+      multitude, was placed somewhat negligently on the right side of her head;
+      but no jewels broke the entrancing swell of her swan-like neck, or were
+      dimmed by the lustre of her ravishing arms. How fair was the Queen of
+      Hell! How thrilling the solemn lustre of her violet eye! A robe, purple as
+      the last hour of twilight, encompassed her transcendent form, studded with
+      golden stars!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Through the dim hot streets of Tartarus moved the royal procession, until
+      it reached the first winding of the river Styx. Here an immense assemblage
+      of yachts and barges, dressed out with the infernal colours, denoted the
+      appointed spot of the royal embarkation. Tiresias, dismounting from his
+      chariot, and leaning on Manto, now approached her Majesty, and requesting
+      her royal commands, recommended her to lose no time in getting on board.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;When your Majesty is once on the Styx,&rsquo; observed the wily seer, &lsquo;it may
+      be somewhat difficult to recall you to Hades; but I know very little of
+      Clotho, may it please your Majesty, if she have not already commenced her
+      intrigues in Tartarus.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You alarm me!&rsquo; said Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;It was not my intention. Caution is not fear.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But do you think that Pluto&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;May it please your Majesty, I make it a rule never to think. I know too
+      much.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Let us embark immediately!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Certainly; I would recommend your Majesty to get off at once. Myself and
+      Manto will accompany you, and the cooks. If an order arrive to stay our
+      departure, we can then send back the priests.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You counsel well, Tiresias. I wish you had not been absent on my arrival.
+      Affairs might have gone better.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Not at all. Had I been in Hell, your enemies would have been more wary.
+      Your Majesty&rsquo;s excellent spirit carried you through triumphantly; but it
+      will not do so twice. You turned them out, and I must keep them out.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;So be it, my dear friend.&rsquo; Thus saying, the Queen descended her throne,
+      and leaving the rest of her retinue to follow with all possible despatch,
+      embarked on board the infernal yacht, with Tiresias, Manto, the chief
+      cook, and some chosen attendants, and bid adieu for the first time, not
+      without agitation, to the gloomy banks of Tartarus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The breeze was favourable, and, animated by the exhortations of Tiresias,
+      the crew exerted themselves to the utmost. The barque swiftly scudded over
+      the dark waters. The river was of great breadth, and in this dim region
+      the crew were soon out of sight of land.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You have been in Elysium?&rsquo; inquired Proserpine of Tiresias.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I have been everywhere,&rsquo; replied the seer, &lsquo;and though I am blind have
+      managed to see a great deal more than my fellows.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I have often heard of you,&rsquo; said the Queen, &lsquo;and I confess that yours is
+      a career which has much interested me. What vicissitudes in affairs have
+      you not witnessed! And yet you have somehow or other contrived to make
+      your way through all the storms in which others have sunk, and are now, as
+      you always have been, in an exalted position. What can be your magic? I
+      would that you would initiate me. I know that you are a prophet, and that
+      even the gods consult you.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Your Majesty is complimentary. I certainly have had a great deal of
+      experience. My life has no doubt been a long one, but I have made it
+      longer by never losing a moment. I was born, too, at a great crisis in
+      affairs. Everything that took place before the Trojan war passes for
+      nothing in the annals of wisdom. That was a great revolution in all
+      affairs human and divine, and from that event we must now date all our
+      knowledge. Before the Trojan war we used to talk of the rebellion of the
+      Titans, but that business now is an old almanac. As for my powers of
+      prophecy, believe me, that those who understand the past are very well
+      qualified to predict the future. For my success in life, it may be
+      principally ascribed to the observance of a simple rule&mdash;I never
+      trust anyone, either god or man. I make an exception in favour of the
+      goddesses, and especially of your Majesty,&rsquo; added Tiresias, who piqued
+      himself on his gallantry.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While they were thus conversing, the Queen directed the attention of Manto
+      to a mountainous elevation which now began to rise in the distance, and
+      which, from the rapidity of the tide and the freshness of the breeze, they
+      approached at a swift rate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Behold the Stygian mountains,&rsquo; replied Manto. &lsquo;Through their centre runs
+      the passage of Night which leads to the regions of Twilight.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;We have, then, far to travel?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Assuredly it is no easy task to escape from the gloom of Tartarus to the
+      sunbeams of Elysium,&rsquo; remarked Tiresias; &lsquo;but the pleasant is generally
+      difficult; let us be grateful that in our instance it is not, as usual,
+      forbidden.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You say truly; I am sorry to confess how very often it appears to me that
+      sin is enjoyment. But see! how awful are these perpendicular heights,
+      piercing the descending vapours, with their peaks clothed with dark pines!
+      We seem land-locked.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the experienced master of the infernal yacht knew well how to steer
+      his charge through the intricate windings of the river, which here, though
+      deep and navigable, became as wild and narrow as a mountain stream; and,
+      as the tide no longer served them, and the wind, from their involved
+      course, was as often against them as in their favour, the crew were
+      obliged to have recourse to their oars, and rowed along until they arrived
+      at the mouth of an enormous cavern, from which the rapid stream apparently
+      issued.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I am frightened out of my wits,&rsquo; exclaimed Proserpine. &lsquo;Surely this
+      cannot be our course?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I hold, from your Majesty&rsquo;s exclamation,&rsquo; said Tiresias, &lsquo;that we have
+      arrived at the passage of Night. When we have proceeded some hundred
+      yards, we shall reach the adamantine portals. I pray your Majesty be not
+      alarmed. I alone have the signet which can force these mystic gates to
+      open. I must be stirring myself. What, ho! Manto.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Here am I, father. Hast thou the seal?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;In my breast. I would not trust it to my secretaries. They have my
+      portfolios full of secret despatches, written on purpose to deceive them;
+      for I know that they are spies in the pay of Minerva; but your Majesty
+      perceives, with a little prudence, that even a traitor may be turned to
+      account.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus saying, Tiresias, leaning on Manto, hobbled to the poop of the
+      vessel, and exclaiming aloud, &lsquo;Behold the mighty seal of Dis, whereon is
+      inscribed the word the Titans fear,&rsquo; the gates immediately flew open,
+      revealing the gigantic form of the Titan Porphyrin, whose head touched the
+      vault of the mighty cavern, although he was up to his waist in the waters
+      of the river.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Come, my noble Porphyrion,&rsquo; said Tiresias, &lsquo;bestir thyself, I beseech
+      thee. I have brought thee a Queen. Guide her Majesty, I entreat thee, with
+      safety through this awful passage of Night.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What a horrible creature,&rsquo; whispered Proserpine. &lsquo;I wonder you address
+      him with such courtesy.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I am always courteous,&rsquo; replied Tiresias. &lsquo;How know I that the Titans may
+      not yet regain their lost heritage? They are terrible fellows; and ugly or
+      not, I have no doubt that even your Majesty would not find them so
+      ill-favoured were they seated in the halls of Olympus.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;There is something in that,&rsquo; replied Proserpine. &lsquo;I almost wish I were
+      once more in Tartarus.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Titan Porphyrion in the meantime had fastened a chain-cable to the
+      vessel, which he placed over his shoulder, and turning his back to the
+      crew, then wading through the waters, he dragged on the vessel in its
+      course. The cavern widened, the waters spread. To the joy of Proserpine,
+      apparently, she once more beheld the moon and stars.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Bright crescent of Diana!&rsquo; exclaimed the enraptured Queen, &lsquo;and ye too,
+      sweet stars, that I have so often watched on the Sicilian plains; do I,
+      then, indeed again behold you? or is it only some exquisite vision that
+      entrances my being? for, indeed, I do not feel the freshness of that
+      breeze that was wont to renovate my languid frame; nor does the odorous
+      scent of flowers wafted from the shores delight my jaded senses. What is
+      it? Is it life or death; earth, indeed, or Hell?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis nothing,&rsquo; said Tiresias, &lsquo;but a great toy. You must know that Saturn&mdash;until
+      at length, wearied by his ruinous experiments, the gods expelled him his
+      empire&mdash;was a great dabbler in systems. He was always for making
+      moons brighter than Diana, and lighting the stars by gas; but his systems
+      never worked. The tides rebelled against their mistress, and the stars
+      went out with a horrible stench. This is one of his creations, the most
+      ingenious, though a failure. Jove made it a present to Pluto, who is quite
+      proud of having a sun and stars of his own, and reckons it among the
+      choice treasures of his kingdoms.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Poor Saturn! I pity him; he meant well.&rsquo; &lsquo;Very true. He is the paviour of
+      the high-street of Hades. But we cannot afford kings, and especially Gods,
+      to be philosophers. The certainty of misrule is better than the chance of
+      good government; uncertainty makes people restless.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I feel very restless myself; I wish we were in Elysium!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The river again narrows!&rsquo; exclaimed Manto. &lsquo;There is no other portal to
+      pass. The Saturnian moon and stars grow fainter, there is a grey tint
+      expanding in the distance; &lsquo;tis the realm of Twilight; your Majesty will
+      soon disembark.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_PART3" id="link2H_PART3">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      PART III.
+    </h2>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+     <i>Containing an Account of Tiresias at His Rubber</i>
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      TRAVELLERS who have left their homes generally grow mournful as the
+      evening draws on; nor is there, perhaps, any time at which the pensive
+      influence of twilight is more predominant than on the eve that follows a
+      separation from those we love. Imagine, then, the feelings of the Queen of
+      Hell, as her barque entered the very region of that mystic light, and the
+      shadowy shores of the realm of Twilight opened before her. Her thoughts
+      reverted to Pluto; and she mused over all his fondness, all his adoration,
+      and all his indulgence, and the infinite solicitude of his affectionate
+      heart, until the tears trickled down her beautiful cheeks, and she
+      marvelled she ever could have quitted the arms of her lover.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Your Majesty,&rsquo; observed Manto, who had been whispering to Tiresias,
+      &lsquo;feels, perhaps, a little wearied?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;By no means, my kind Manto,&rsquo; replied Proserpine, starting from her
+      reverie. &lsquo;But the truth is, my spirits are unequal; and though I really
+      cannot well fix upon the cause of their present depression, I am
+      apparently not free from the contagion of the surrounding gloom.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;It is the evening air,&rsquo; said Tiresias. &lsquo;Your Majesty had perhaps better
+      re-enter the pavilion of the yacht. As for myself, I never venture about
+      after sunset. One grows romantic. Night was evidently made for in-door
+      nature. I propose a rubber.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To this popular suggestion Proserpine was pleased to accede, and herself
+      and Tiresias, Manto and the captain of the yacht, were soon engaged at the
+      proposed amusement.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tiresias loved a rubber. It was true he was blind, but then, being a
+      prophet, that did not signify. Tiresias, I say, loved a rubber, and was a
+      first-rate player, though, perhaps, given a little too much to <i>finesse</i>.
+      Indeed, he so much enjoyed taking in his fellow-creatures, that he
+      sometimes could not resist deceiving his own partner. Whist is a game
+      which requires no ordinary combination of qualities; at the same time,
+      memory and invention, a daring fancy, and a cool head. To a mind like that
+      of Tiresias, a pack of cards was full of human nature. A rubber was a
+      microcosm; and he ruffed his adversary&rsquo;s king, or brought in a long suit
+      of his own with as much dexterity and as much enjoyment as, in the real
+      business of existence, he dethroned a monarch, or introduced a dynasty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Will your Majesty be pleased to draw your card?&rsquo; requested the sage. &lsquo;If
+      I might venture to offer your Majesty a hint, I would dare to recommend
+      your Majesty not to play before your turn. My friends are fond of
+      ascribing my success in my various missions to the possession of peculiar
+      qualities. No such thing: I owe everything to the simple habit of always
+      waiting till it is my turn to speak. And believe me, that he who plays
+      before his turn at whist, commits as great a blunder as he who speaks
+      before his turn during a negotiation.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The trick, and two by honours,&rsquo; said Proserpine. &lsquo;Pray, my dear Tiresias,
+      you who are such a fine player, how came you to trump my best card?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Because I wanted the lead. And those who want to lead, please your
+      Majesty, must never hesitate about sacrificing their friends.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I believe you speak truly. I was right in playing that thirteenth card?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Quite so. Above all things, I love a thirteenth card. I send it forth,
+      like a mock project in a revolution, to try the strength of parties.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You should not have forced me, Lady Manto,&rsquo; said the Captain of the
+      yacht, in a grumbling tone, to his partner. &lsquo;By weakening me, you
+      prevented me bringing in my spades. We might have made the game.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You should not have been forced,&rsquo; said Tiresias. &lsquo;If she made a mistake,
+      who was unacquainted with your plans, what a terrible blunder you
+      committed to share her error without her ignorance!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What, then, was I to lose a trick?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Next to knowing when to seize an opportunity,&rsquo; replied Tiresias, &lsquo;the
+      most important thing in life is to know when to forego an advantage.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I have cut you an honour, sir,&rsquo; said Manto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Which reminds me,&rsquo; replied Tiresias, &lsquo;that, in the last hand, your
+      Majesty unfortunately forgot to lead through your adversary&rsquo;s ace. I have
+      often observed that nothing ever perplexes an adversary so much as an
+      appeal to his honour.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I will not forget to follow your advice,&rsquo; said the Captain of the yacht,
+      playing accordingly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;By which you have lost the game,&rsquo; quietly remarked Tiresias. &lsquo;There are
+      exceptions to all rules, but it seldom answers to follow the advice of an
+      opponent.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Confusion!&rsquo; exclaimed the Captain of the yacht.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Four by honours, and the trick, I declare,&rsquo; said Proserpine. &lsquo;I was so
+      glad to see you turn up the queen, Tiresias.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I also, madam. Without doubt there are few cards better than her royal
+      consort, or, still more, the imperial ace. Nevertheless, I must confess, I
+      am perfectly satisfied whenever I remember that I have the Queen on my
+      side.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Proserpine bowed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I have a good mind to do it, Tiresias,&rsquo; said Queen Proserpine, as that
+      worthy sage paid his compliments to her at her toilet, at an hour which
+      should have been noon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;It would be a great compliment,&rsquo; said Tiresias.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And it is not much out of our way?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;By no means,&rsquo; replied the seer. &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis an agreeable half-way house. He
+      lives in good style.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And whence can a dethroned monarch gain a revenue?&rsquo; inquired the Queen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Your Majesty, I see, is not at all learned in politics. A sovereign never
+      knows what an easy income is till he has abdicated. He generally commences
+      squabbling with his subjects about the supplies; he is then expelled, and
+      voted, as compensation, an amount about double the sum which was the cause
+      of the original quarrel.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What do you think, Manto?&rsquo; said Proserpine, as that lady entered the
+      cabin; &lsquo;we propose paying a visit to Saturn. He has fixed his residence,
+      you know, in these regions of twilight.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I love a junket,&rsquo; replied Manto, &lsquo;above all things. And, indeed, I was
+      half frightened out of my wits at the bare idea of toiling over this
+      desert. All is prepared, please your Majesty, for our landing. Your
+      Majesty&rsquo;s litter is quite ready.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis well,&rsquo; said Proserpine; and leaning on the arm of Manto, the Queen
+      came upon deck, and surveyed the surrounding country, a vast grey flat,
+      with a cloudless sky of the same tint: in the distance some lowering
+      shadows, which seemed like clouds but were in fact mountains.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Some half-dozen hours,&rsquo; said Tiresias, &lsquo;will bring us to the palace of
+      Saturn. We shall arrive for dinner; the right hour. Let me recommend your
+      Majesty to order the curtains of your litter to be drawn, and, if
+      possible, to resume your dreams.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;They were not pleasant,&rsquo; said Proserpine, &lsquo;I dreamt of my mother and the
+      Parcæ. Manto, methinks I&rsquo;ll read. Hast thou some book?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Here is a poem, Madam, but I fear it may induce those very slumbers you
+      dread.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;How call you it?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;&ldquo;The Pleasures of Oblivion.&rdquo; The poet apparently is fond of his subject.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And is, I have no doubt, equal to it. Hast any prose?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;An historical novel or so.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Oh! if you mean those things as full of costume as a fancy ball, and
+      almost as devoid of sense, I&rsquo;ll have none of them. Close the curtains;
+      even visions of the Furies are preferable to these insipidities.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The halt of the litter roused the Queen from her slumbers. &lsquo;We have
+      arrived,&rsquo; said Manto, as she assisted in withdrawing the curtains.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The train had halted before a vast propylon of rose-coloured granite. The
+      gate was nearly two hundred feet in height, and the sides of the propylon,
+      which rose like huge moles, were sculptured with colossal figures of a
+      threatening aspect. Passing through the propylon, the Queen of Hell and
+      her attendants entered an avenue in length about three-quarters of a mile,
+      formed of colossal figures of the same character and substance,
+      alternately raising in their arms javelins or battle-axes, as if about to
+      strike. At the end of this heroic avenue appeared the palace of Saturn.
+      Ascending a hundred steps of black marble, you stood before a portico
+      supported by twenty columns of the same material and shading a single
+      portal of bronze. Apparently the palace formed an immense quadrangle; a
+      vast tower rising from each corner, and springing from the centre a huge
+      and hooded dome. A crowd of attendants, in grey and sad-coloured raiment,
+      issued from the portal of the palace at the approach of Proserpine, who
+      remarked with strange surprise their singular countenances and demeanour;
+      for rare in this silent assemblage was any visage resembling aught she had
+      seen, human or divine. Some bore the heads of bats; of owls and beetles
+      others; some fluttered moth-like wings, while the shoulders of other
+      bipeds were surmounted, in spite of their human organisation, with the
+      heads of rats and weasels, of marten-cats and of foxes. But they were all
+      remarkably civil; and Proserpine, who was now used to wonders, did not
+      shriek at all, and scarcely shuddered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Queen of Hell was ushered through a superb hall, and down a splendid
+      gallery, to a suite of apartments where a body of damsels of a most
+      distinguished appearance awaited her. Their heads resembled those of the
+      most eagerly-sought, highly-prized, and oftenest-stolen lap-dogs. Upon the
+      shoulders of one was the visage of the smallest and most thorough-bred
+      little Blenheim in the world. Upon her front was a white star, her nose
+      was nearly flat, and her ears were tied under her chin, with the most
+      jaunty air imaginable. She was an evident flirt; and a solemn prude of a
+      spaniel, with a black and tan countenance, who seemed a sort of duenna,
+      evidently watched her with no little distrust. The admirers of blonde
+      beauties would, however, have fallen in love with a poodle, with the
+      finest head of hair imaginable, and most voluptuous shoulders. This
+      brilliant band began barking in the most insinuating tone on the
+      appearance of the Queen; and Manto, who was almost as dexterous a linguist
+      as Tiresias himself, informed her Majesty that these were the ladies of
+      her bed-chamber; upon which Proserpine, who, it will be remembered had no
+      passion for dogs, ordered them immediately out of her room.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What a droll place!&rsquo; exclaimed the Queen. &lsquo;Do you know, we are later than
+      I imagined? A hasty toilet to-day; I long to see Saturn. It is droll, I am
+      hungry. My purple velvet, I think; it may be considered a compliment. No
+      diamonds, only jet; a pearl or two, perhaps. Didst ever see the King?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They say he is gentlemanlike, though a bigot. No! no rouge to-day; this
+      paleness is quite <i>apropos</i>. Were I as radiant as usual, I should be
+      taken for Aurora.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So leaning on Manto, and preceded by the ladies of her bed-chamber, whom,
+      notwithstanding their repulse, she found in due attendance in the
+      antechamber, Proserpine again continued her progress down the gallery,
+      until they stopped at a door, which opening, she was ushered into the
+      grand circular saloon, crowned by the dome, whose exterior the Queen had
+      already observed. The interior of this apartment was entirely of black and
+      grey marble, with the exception of the dome itself, which was of ebony,
+      richly carved and supported by more than a hundred columns. There depended
+      from the centre of the arch a single chandelier of frosted silver, which
+      was itself as big as an ordinary chamber, but of the most elegant form,
+      and delicate and fantastic workmanship. As the Queen entered the saloon, a
+      personage of venerable appearance, dressed in a suit of black velvet, and
+      leaning on an ivory cane, advanced to salute her. There was no mistaking
+      this personage; his manners were at once so courteous and so dignified. He
+      was clearly their host; and Proserpine, who was quite charmed with his
+      grey locks and his black velvet cap, his truly paternal air, and the
+      beneficence of his unstudied smile, could scarcely refrain from bending
+      her knee, and pressing her lips to his extended hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I am proud that your Majesty has remembered me in my retirement,&rsquo; said
+      Saturn, as he led Proserpine to a seat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Their mutual compliments were soon disturbed by the announcement of
+      dinner, and Saturn offering his arm to the Queen with an air of politeness
+      which belonged to the old school, but which the ladies admire in old men,
+      handed Proserpine to the banqueting-room. They were followed by some of
+      the principal personages of her Majesty&rsquo;s suite, and a couple of young
+      Titans, who enjoyed the posts of aides-de-camp to the ex-King, and whose
+      duties consisted of carving at dinner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a most agreeable dinner, and Proserpine was delighted with Saturn,
+      who, of course, sat by her side, and paid her every possible attention.
+      Saturn, whose manners, as has been observed, were of the old school, loved
+      a good story, and told several. His anecdotes, especially of society
+      previous to the Trojan war, were highly interesting. There ran through all
+      his behaviour, too, a tone of high breeding and of consideration for
+      others which was really charming; and Proserpine, who had expected to find
+      in her host a gloomy bigot, was quite surprised at the truly liberal
+      spirit with which he seemed to consider affairs in general. Indeed this
+      unexpected tone made so great an impression upon her, that finding a good
+      opportunity after dinner, when they were sipping their coffee apart from
+      the rest of the company, she could not refrain from entering into some
+      conversation with the ex-King upon the subject, and the conversation ran
+      thus:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Do you know,&rsquo; said Proserpine, &lsquo;that much as I have been pleased and
+      surprised during my visit to the realms of twilight, nothing has pleased,
+      and I am sure nothing has surprised me more, than to observe the
+      remarkably liberal spirit in which your Majesty views the affairs of the
+      day.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You give me a title, beautiful Proserpine, to which I have no claim,&rsquo;
+      replied Saturn. &lsquo;You forget that I am now only Count Hesperus; I am no
+      longer a king, and believe me, I am very glad of it.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What a pity, my dear sir, that you would not condescend to conform to the
+      spirit of the age. For myself, I am quite a reformer.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;So I have understood, beautiful Proserpine, which I confess has a little
+      surprised me; for to tell you the truth, I do not consider that reform is
+      exactly <i>our</i> trade.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Affairs cannot go on as they used,&rsquo; observed Proserpine, oracularly; &lsquo;we
+      must bow to the spirit of the age.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And what is that?&rsquo; inquired Saturn.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I do not exactly know,&rsquo; replied Proserpine, &lsquo;but one hears of it
+      everywhere.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I also heard of it a great deal,&rsquo; replied Saturn, &lsquo;and was also
+      recommended to conform to it. Before doing so, however, I thought it as
+      well to ascertain its nature, and something also of its strength.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;It is terribly strong,&rsquo; observed Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But you think it will be stronger?&rsquo; inquired the ex-King.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Certainly; every day it is more powerful.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Then if, on consideration, we were to deem resistance to it advisable, it
+      is surely better to commence the contest at once than to postpone the
+      struggle.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;It is useless to talk of resisting; one must conform.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I certainly should consider resistance useless,&rsquo; replied Saturn, &lsquo;for I
+      tried it and failed; but at least one has a chance of success; and yet,
+      having resisted this spirit and failed, I should not consider myself in a
+      worse plight than you would voluntarily place yourself in by conforming to
+      it.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You speak riddles,&rsquo; said Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;To be plain, then,&rsquo; replied Saturn, &lsquo;I think you may as well at once give
+      up your throne, as conform to this spirit.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And why so?&rsquo; inquired Proserpine very ingenuously.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Because,&rsquo; replied Saturn, shrugging up his shoulders, &lsquo;I look upon the
+      spirit of the age as a spirit hostile to Kings and gods.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The next morning Saturn himself attended his beautiful guest over his
+      residence, which Proserpine greatly admired.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis the work of the Titans,&rsquo; replied the ex-King. &lsquo;There never was a
+      party so fond of building palaces.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;To speak the truth,&rsquo; said Proserpine, &lsquo;I am a little disappointed that I
+      have not had an opportunity, during my visit, of becoming acquainted with
+      some of the chiefs of that celebrated party; for, although a Liberal, I am
+      a female one, and I like to know every sort of person who is
+      distinguished.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The fact is,&rsquo; replied her host, &lsquo;that the party has never recovered from
+      the thunderbolt of that scheming knave Jupiter, and do not bear their
+      defeat so philosophically as years, perhaps, permit me to do. If we have
+      been vanquished by the spirit of the age,&rsquo; continued Saturn, &lsquo;you must
+      confess that, in our case, the conqueror did not assume a material form
+      very remarkable for its dignity. Had Creation resolved itself into its
+      original elements, had Chaos come again, or even old Coelus, the indignity
+      might have been endured; but to be baffled by an Olympian <i>juste milieu</i>,
+      and to find, after all the clamour, that nothing has been changed save the
+      places, is, you will own, somewhat mortifying.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But how do you reconcile,&rsquo; inquired the ingenuous Proserpine, &lsquo;the
+      success of Jupiter with the character which you ascribed last night to the
+      spirit of the age?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Why, in truth,&rsquo; said Saturn, &lsquo;had I not entirely freed myself from all
+      party feeling, I might adduce the success of my perfidious and worthless
+      relative as very good demonstration that the spirit of the age is nothing
+      better than an <i>ignis fatuus</i>. Nevertheless, we must discriminate.
+      Even the success of Jupiter, although he now conducts himself in direct
+      opposition to the emancipating principles he at first professed, is no
+      less good evidence of their force; for by his professions he rose. And,
+      for my part, I consider it a great homage to public opinion to find every
+      scoundrel now-a-days professing himself a Liberal.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You are candid;&rsquo; said Proserpine. &lsquo;I should like very much to see the
+      Titans.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My friends are at least consistent,&rsquo; observed Saturn; &lsquo;though certainly
+      at present I can say little more for them. Between the despair of one
+      section of the party, and the over-sanguine expectations of the other,
+      they are at present quite inactive, or move only to ensure fresh rebuffs.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You see little of them, then?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;They keep to themselves: they generally frequent a lonely vale in the
+      neighbourhood.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I should so like to see them!&rsquo; exclaimed Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Say nothing to Tiresias,&rsquo; said old Saturn, who was half in love with his
+      fair friend, &lsquo;and we will steal upon them unperceived.&rsquo; So saying, the god
+      struck the earth with his cane, and there instantly sprang forth a
+      convenient car, built of curiously carved cedar, and borne by four
+      enormous tawny-coloured owls. Seating himself by the side of the delighted
+      Proserpine, Saturn commanded the owls to bear them to the Valley of
+      Lamentations.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Twas an easy fly: the chariot soon descended upon the crest of a hill:
+      and Saturn and Proserpine, leaving the car, commenced, by a winding path,
+      the slight ascent of a superior elevation. Having arrived there, they
+      looked down upon a valley, apparently land-locked by black and barren
+      mountains of the most strange, although picturesque forms. In the centre
+      of the valley was a black pool or tarn, bordered with dark purple flags of
+      an immense size, twining and twisting among which might be observed the
+      glancing and gliding folds of several white serpents; while crocodiles and
+      alligators, and other horrible forms, poked their foul snouts with evident
+      delight in a vast mass of black slime, which had, at various times, exuded
+      from the lake. A single tree only was to be observed in this desolate
+      place, an enormous and blasted cedar, with scarcely a patch of verdure,
+      but extending its black and barren branches nearly across the valley.
+      Seated on a loosened crag, but leaning against the trunk of the cedar,
+      with his arms folded, his mighty eyes fixed on the ground, and his legs
+      crossed with that air of complete repose which indicates that their owner
+      is in no hurry again to move them, was
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+     &lsquo;A form, some granite god we deemed,
+     Or king of palmy Nile, colossal shapes
+     Such as Syene&rsquo;s rosy quarries yield
+     To Memphian art; Horus, Osiris called,
+     Or Amenoph, who, on the Theban plain,
+     With magic melody the sun salutes;
+     Or he, far mightier, to whose conquering car
+     Monarchs were yoked, Rameses: by the Greeks
+     Sesostris styled.    And yet no sculptor&rsquo;s art
+     Moulded this shape, for form it seemed of flesh,
+     Yet motionless; its dim unlustrous orbs
+     Gazing in stilly vacancy, its cheek
+     Grey  as its hairs, which, thin as they might seem,
+     No breath disturbed; a solemn countenance,
+     Not sorrowful, though full of woe sublime,
+     As if despair were now a distant dream
+     Too dim for memory.&rsquo;
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis their great leader,&rsquo; said Saturn, as he pointed out the Titan to
+      Proserpine, &lsquo;the giant Enceladus. He got us into all our scrapes, but I
+      must do him the justice to add, that he is the only one who can ever get
+      us out of them. They say he has no heart; but I think his hook nose is
+      rather fine.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Superb!&rsquo; said Proserpine. &lsquo;And who is that radiant and golden-haired
+      youth who is seated at his feet?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis no less a personage than Hyperion himself,&rsquo; replied Saturn, &lsquo;the
+      favourite counsellor of Enceladus. He is a fine orator, and makes up by
+      his round sentences and choice phrases for the rhetorical deficiencies of
+      his chief, who, to speak the truth, is somewhat curt and husky. They have
+      enough now to do to manage their comrades and keep a semblance of
+      discipline in their routed ranks. Mark that ferocious Briareus there
+      scowling in a corner! Didst ever see such a moustache! He glances,
+      methinks, with an evil eye on the mighty Enceladus; and, let me tell you,
+      Briareus has a great following among them; so they say of him you know,
+      that he hath fifty heads and a hundred arms. See! how they gather around
+      him.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Who speaks now to Briareus?&rsquo; &lsquo;The young and valiant Mimas. Be assured he
+      is counselling war. We shall have a debate now.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Yon venerable personage, who is seated by the margin of the pool, and
+      weeping with the crocodiles&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Is old Oceanus.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;He is apparently much affected by his overthrow.&rsquo; &lsquo;It is his wont to
+      weep. He used to cry when he fought, and yet he was a powerful warrior.&rsquo;
+      &lsquo;Hark!&rsquo; said Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The awful voice of Briareus broke the silence. What a terrible personage
+      was Briareus! His wild locks hung loose about his shoulders, and blended
+      with his unshorn beard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Titans!&rsquo; shouted the voice which made many a heart tremble, and the
+      breathless Proserpine clasp the arm of Saturn. &lsquo;Titans! Is that spirit
+      dead that once heaped Ossa upon Pelion? Is it forgotten, even by
+      ourselves, that a younger born revels in our heritage? Are these forms
+      that surround me, indeed, the shapes at whose dread sight the base
+      Olympians fled to their fitting earth? Warriors, whose weapons were the
+      rocks, whose firebrands were the burning woods, is the day forgotten when
+      Jove himself turned craven, and skulked in Egypt? At least my memory is
+      keen enough to support my courage, and whatever the dread Enceladus may
+      counsel, my voice is still for war!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There ensued, after this harangue of Briareus, a profound and thrilling
+      silence, which was, however, broken in due time by the great leader of the
+      Titans himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You mouth it well, Briareus,&rsquo; replied Enceladus calmly. &lsquo;And if great
+      words would re-seat us in Olympus, doubtless, with your potent aid, we
+      might succeed. It never should be forgotten, however, that had we combined
+      at first, in the spirit now recommended, the Olympians would never have
+      triumphed; and least of all our party should Briareus and his friends
+      forget the reasons of our disunion.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I take thy sneer, Enceladus,&rsquo; said the young and chivalric Mimas, &lsquo;and
+      throw it in thy teeth. This learn, then, from Briareus and his friends,
+      that if we were lukewarm in the hour of peril, the fault lies not to our
+      account, but with those who had previously so conducted themselves, that,
+      when the danger arrived, it was impossible for us to distinguish between
+      our friends and our foes. Enceladus apparently forgets that had the
+      Olympians never been permitted to enter Heaven, it would have been
+      unnecessary ever to have combined against their machinations.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Recrimination is useless,&rsquo; said a Titan, interposing. &lsquo;I was one of those
+      who supported Enceladus in the admission of the Olympians above, and I
+      regret it. But at the time, like others, I believed it to be the only mode
+      of silencing the agitation of Jupiter.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I separated from Enceladus on that question,&rsquo; said a huge Titan, lying
+      his length on the ground and leaning one arm on a granite crag; &lsquo;but I am
+      willing to forget all our differences and support him with all my heart
+      and strength in another effort to restore our glorious constitution.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Titans,&rsquo; said Enceladus, &lsquo;who is there among you who has found me a
+      laggard in the day of battle?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the Olympians, as Briareus thinks it necessary to remind you, fled, I
+      was your leader. Remember, however, then, that there were no thunderbolts.
+      As for myself, I candidly confess to you, that, since the invention of
+      these weapons by Jove, I do not see how war can be carried on by us any
+      longer with effect.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;By the memory of old Coelus and these fast-flowing tears,&rsquo; murmured the
+      venerable Oceanus, patting at the same time a crocodile on the back, &lsquo;I
+      call you all to witness that I have no interest to deceive you.
+      Nevertheless, we should not forget that, in this affair of the
+      thunderbolts, it is the universal opinion that there is a very
+      considerable reaction. I have myself, only within these few days, received
+      authentic information that several have fallen of late without any visible
+      ill effects; and I am credibly assured that, during the late storm in
+      Thessaly, a thunderbolt was precipitated into the centre of a vineyard,
+      without affecting the flavour of a single grape.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here several of the Titans, who had gathered round Enceladus, shook their
+      heads and shrugged their shoulders, and a long and desultory conversation
+      ensued upon the copious and very controversial subject of Re-action. In
+      the meantime Rhoetus, a young Titan, whispered to one of his companions,
+      that for his part he was convinced that the only way to beat the Olympians
+      was to turn them into ridicule; and that he would accordingly commence at
+      once with the pasquinade on the private life of Jupiter, and some
+      peculiarly delicate criticisms on the characters of the goddesses.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_PART4" id="link2H_PART4">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      PART IV.
+    </h2>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+     <i>Containing the First View of Elysium</i>
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      THE toilsome desert was at length passed, and the royal cavalcade ascended
+      the last chasm of mountains that divided Elysium, or the Regions of Bliss,
+      from the Realm of Twilight. As she quitted those dim and dreary plains,
+      the spirit of Proserpine grew lighter, and she indulged in silent but
+      agreeable anticipations of the scene which she was now approaching. On
+      reaching, however, the summit of the mountainous chain, and proceeding a
+      short distance over the rugged table-land into which it now declined, her
+      Majesty was rather alarmed at perceiving that her progress was impeded by
+      a shower of flame that extended, on either side, as far as the eye could
+      reach. Her alarm, however, was of short continuance; for, on the
+      production of his talisman by Tiresias, the shower of flame instantly
+      changed into silvery drops of rose-water and other delicious perfumes.
+      Amid joyous peals of laughter, and some slight playful screams on the part
+      of the ladies, the cavalcade ventured through the ordeal. Now the effect
+      of this magical bath was quite marvellous. A burthen seemed suddenly to
+      have been removed from the spirits of the whole party; their very
+      existence seemed renewed; the blood danced about their veins in the
+      liveliest manner imaginable; and a wild but pleasing titillation ran like
+      lightning through their nerves, their countenances sparkled with
+      excitement; and they all talked at the same time. Proserpine was so
+      occupied with her own sensations, that she did not immediately remark the
+      extraordinary change that had occurred in the appearance of the country
+      immediately on passing this magical barrier. She perceived that their
+      course now led over the most elastic and carefully-shaven turf; groups of
+      beautiful shrubs occasionally appeared, and she discovered with delight
+      that their flowers constantly opened, and sent forth from their bells
+      diminutive birds of radiant plumage. Above them, too, the clouds vanished,
+      and her head was canopied by a sky, unlike, indeed, all things and tints
+      of earth, but which reminded her, in some degree, of the splendour of
+      Olympus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Proserpine, restless with delight, quitted her litter, and followed by
+      Manto, ran forward to catch the first view of Elysium.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I am quite out of breath,&rsquo; said her Majesty, &lsquo;and really must sit down on
+      this bank of violets. Was ever anything in the world so delightful? Why,
+      Olympus is nothing to it! And after Tartarus, too, and that poor unhappy
+      Saturn, and his Titans and his twilight, it really is too much for me. How
+      I do long for the view! and yet, somehow or other, my heart beats so I
+      cannot walk.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Will your Majesty re-ascend your litter?&rsquo; suggested Manto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Oh, no! that is worse than anything. They are a mile behind; they are so
+      slow. Why, Manto! what is this?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A beautiful white dove hovered in the air over the head of Proserpine and
+      her attendant, and then dropping an olive branch into the lap of the
+      Queen, flapped its wings and whirled away. But what an olive branch! the
+      stem was of agate; each leaf was an emerald; and on the largest, in
+      letters of brilliants, was this inscription:
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+     <i>The Elysians to Their Beautiful Queen</i>
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Oh, is it not superb?&rsquo; exclaimed Proserpine. &lsquo;What charming people, and
+      what excellent subjects! What loyalty and what taste!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So saying, the enraptured Proserpine rose from the bank of violets, and
+      had scarcely run forwards fifty yards when she suddenly stopped, and
+      started with an exclamation of wonder. The table-land had ceased. She
+      stood upon a precipice of white marble, in many parts clothed with thick
+      bowers of myrtle; before her extended the wide-spreading plains of
+      Elysium. They were bounded upon all sides by gentle elevations entirely
+      covered with flowers, and occasionally shooting forward into the champaign
+      country; behind these appeared a range of mountains clothed with bright
+      green forests, and still loftier heights behind them, exhibiting, indeed,
+      only bare and sharply-pointed peaks glittering with prismatic light. The
+      undulating plain was studded in all directions with pavilions and
+      pleasure-houses, and groves and gardens glowing with the choicest and most
+      charming fruit; and a broad blue river wound through it, covered with
+      brilliant boats, the waters flashing with phosphoric light as they were
+      cut by the swift and gliding keels. And in the centre of the plain rose a
+      city, a mighty group of all that was beautiful in form and costly in
+      materials, bridges and palaces and triumphal gates of cedar and of marble,
+      columns and minarets of gold, and cupolas and domes of ivory; and ever and
+      anon appeared delicious gardens, raised on the terraces of the houses; and
+      groups of palm trees with their tall, thin stems, and quivering and
+      languid crests, rose amid the splendid masonry. A sweet soft breeze
+      touched the cheek of the entranced Proserpine, and a single star of silver
+      light glittered in the rosy sky.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis my favourite hour,&rsquo; exclaimed Proserpine. &lsquo;Thus have I gazed upon
+      Hesperus in the meads of Enna! What a scene! How fortunate that we should
+      have arrived at sunset!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Ah, Madam!&rsquo; observed Manto, &lsquo;in Elysium the sky is ever thus. For the
+      Elysians, the sun seems always to have just set!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Fortunate people!&rsquo; replied Proserpine. &lsquo;In them, immortality and
+      enjoyment seem indeed blended together. A strange feeling, half of
+      languor, half of voluptuousness, steals over my senses! It seems that I at
+      length behold the region of my girlish dreams. Such once I fancied
+      Olympus. Ah! why does not my Pluto live in Elysium?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Elysians consisted of a few thousand beatified mortals, the only
+      occupation of whose existence was enjoyment; the rest of the population
+      comprised some millions of Gnomes and Sylphs, who did nothing but work,
+      and ensured by their labour the felicity of the superior class. Every
+      Elysian, male or female, possessed a magnificent palace in the city, and
+      an elegant pavilion on the plain; these, with a due proportion of
+      chariots, horses, and slaves, constituted a proper establishment. The
+      Sylphs and the Gnomes were either scattered about the country, which they
+      cultivated, or lived in the city, where they kept shops, and where they
+      emulated each other in displaying the most ingenious articles of luxury
+      and convenience for the enjoyment and accommodation of the Elysians. The
+      townspeople, indeed, rather affected to look down upon the more
+      simple-minded agriculturists; but if these occasionally felt a little
+      mortification in consequence, they might have been consoled, had they been
+      aware that their brethren and sisters who were in the service of the
+      Elysians avenged their insults, for these latter were the finest Gnomes
+      and Sylphs imaginable, and scarcely deigned to notice any one who was in
+      trade. Whether there were any coin or other circulating medium current in
+      Elysium is a point respecting which I must confess I have not sufficient
+      information to decide; but if so, it certainly would appear that all money
+      transactions were confined to the Gnomes and the Sylphs, for the Elysians
+      certainly never paid for anything. Perhaps this exemption might have been
+      among their peculiar privileges, and was a substitute for what we call
+      credit, a convenience of which the ancients appear to have had a limited
+      conception. The invention, by Jupiter, of an aristocratic immortality, as
+      a reward for a well-spent life on earth, appears to have been an ingenious
+      idea. It really is a reward, very stimulative of good conduct before we
+      shuffle off the mortal coil, and remarkably contrasts with the democracy
+      of the damned. The Elysians, with a splendid climate, a teeming soil, and
+      a nation made on purpose to wait upon them, of course enjoyed themselves
+      very much. The arts flourished, the theatres paid, and they had a much
+      finer opera than at Ephesus or at Halicarnassus. Their cookery was so
+      refined, that one of the least sentimental ceremonies in the world was not
+      only deprived of all its grossness, but was actually converted into an
+      elegant amusement, and so famous that their artists were even required at
+      Olympus. If their dinners were admirable, which is rare, their assemblies
+      were amusing, which is still more uncommon. All the arts of society were
+      carried to perfection in Elysium; a dull thing was never said, and an
+      awkward thing never done. The Elysians, indeed, being highly refined and
+      gifted, for they comprised in their order the very cream of terrestrial
+      society, were naturally a liberal-minded race of nobles, and capable of
+      appreciating every kind of excellence. If a Gnome or a Sylph, therefore,
+      in any way distinguished themselves; if they sang very well, or acted very
+      well, or if they were at all eminent for any of the other arts of
+      amusement, ay! indeed if the poor devils could do nothing better than
+      write a poem or a novel, they were sure to be noticed by the Elysians, who
+      always bowed to them as they passed by, and sometimes indeed even admitted
+      them into their circles.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Scarcely had the train of Proserpine rejoined her on the brink of the
+      precipice, than they heard the flourish of trumpets near at hand, soon
+      followed by a complete harmony of many instruments. A chorus of sweet
+      voices was next distinguished, growing each instant more loud and clear;
+      and in a few minutes, issuing from a neighbouring grove, came forth a band
+      of heroes and beautiful women, dressed in dazzling raiment, to greet the
+      Queen. A troop of chariots of light and airy workmanship followed, and a
+      crowd of Gnomes and Sylphs singing and playing on various instruments, and
+      dancing with gestures of grace and delicacy. Congratulating the Queen on
+      her arrival in Elysium, and requesting the honour of being permitted to
+      attend her to her palace, they ushered Proserpine and her companions to
+      the chariots, and soon, winding down a gradual declivity, they entered the
+      plain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      If a bird&rsquo;s-eye view of the capital had enchanted Proserpine, the
+      agreeable impression was not diminished, as is generally the case, by her
+      entrance into the city. Never were so much splendour and neatness before
+      combined. Passing through a magnificent arch, Proserpine entered a street
+      of vast and beautiful proportions, lined on each side with palaces of
+      various architecture, painted admirably in fresco, and richly gilt. The
+      road was formed of pounded marbles of various colours, laid down in
+      fanciful patterns, and forming an unrivalled mosaic; it was bounded on
+      each side by a broad causeway of jasper, of a remarkably bright green,
+      clouded with milk-white streaks. This street led to a sumptuous square,
+      forming alone the palace destined for Proserpine. Its several fronts were
+      supported and adorned by ten thousand columns, imitating the palm and the
+      lotus; nor is it possible to conceive anything more light and graceful
+      than the general effect of this stupendous building. Each front was
+      crowned with an immense dome of alabaster, so transparent, that when the
+      palace was illuminated the rosy heaven grew pale, and an effect similar to
+      moonlight was diffused over the canopy of Elysium. And in the centre of
+      the square a Leviathan, carved in white coral, and apparently flouncing in
+      a huge basin of rock crystal, spouted forth from his gills a fountain
+      twelve hundred feet in height; from one gill ascended a stream of
+      delicious wine, which might be tempered, if necessary, by the iced water
+      that issued from the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the approach of the Queen, the gigantic gates of the palace, framed of
+      carved cedar, flew open with a thrilling burst of music, and Proserpine
+      found herself in a hall wherein several hundred persons, who formed her
+      household, knelt in stillness before her. Wearied with her long journey,
+      and all the excitement of the day, Proserpine signified to one of the
+      Elysians in attendance her desire for refreshment and repose. Immediately
+      the household rose, and gracefully bowing retired in silence, while four
+      ladies of the bed-chamber, very different from the dogfaced damsels of the
+      realm of Twilight, advanced with a gracious smile, and each pressing a
+      white hand to her heart, invited her Majesty to accompany them. Twelve
+      beautiful pages in fanciful costume, and each bearing a torch of cinnamon,
+      preceded them, and Proserpine ascended a staircase of turquoise and
+      silver. As she passed along, she caught glimpses of costly galleries, and
+      suites of gorgeous chambers, but she was almost too fatigued to
+      distinguish anything. A confused vision of long lines of white columns,
+      roofs of carved cedar, or ceilings glowing with forms of exquisite beauty,
+      walls covered with lifelike tapestry, or reflecting in their mighty
+      mirrors her own hurrying figure, and her picturesque attendants, alone
+      remained. She rejoiced when she at length arrived in a small chamber, in
+      which preparations evidently denoted that it was intended she should rest.
+      It was a pretty little saloon, brilliantly illuminated, and hung with
+      tapestry depicting a party of nymphs and shepherds feasting in an Arcadian
+      scene. In the middle of the chamber a banquet was prepared, and as
+      Proserpine seated herself, and partook of some of the delicacies which a
+      page immediately presented to her, there arose, from invisible musicians,
+      a joyous and festive strain, which accompanied her throughout her repast.
+      When her Majesty had sufficiently refreshed herself, and as the banquet
+      was removing, the music assumed a softer and more subduing, occasionally
+      even a solemn tone; the tapestry, slowly shifting, at length represented
+      the same characters sunk in repose; the attendants all this time gradually
+      extinguishing the lights, and stealing on tiptoe from the chamber. So
+      that, at last, the music, each moment growing fainter, entirely ceased;
+      the figures on the tapestry were scarcely perceptible by the dim lustre of
+      a single remaining lamp; and the slumbering Proserpine fell back upon her
+      couch.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the Queen of Hell was not destined to undisturbed repose. A dream
+      descended on her brain, and the dream was terrible and strange. She beheld
+      herself a child, playing, as was her wont, in the gardens of Enna, twining
+      garlands of roses, and chasing butterflies. Suddenly, from a bosky thicket
+      of myrtle, slowly issued forth an immense serpent, dark as night, but with
+      eyes of the most brilliant tint, and approached the daughter of Ceres. The
+      innocent child, ignorant of evil, beheld the monster without alarm. Not
+      only did she neither fly nor shriek, but she even welcomed and caressed
+      the frightful stranger, patted its voluminous back, and admired its
+      sparkling vision. The serpent, fascinated instead of fascinating, licked
+      her feet with his arrowy tongue, and glided about for her diversion in a
+      thousand shapes. Emboldened by its gentleness, the little Proserpine at
+      length even mounted on its back, and rode in triumph among her bowers.
+      Every day the dark serpent issued from the thicket, and every day he found
+      a welcome playmate. Now it come to pass that one day the serpent, growing
+      more bold, induced the young Proserpine to extend her ride beyond the
+      limits of Enna. Night came on, and as it was too late to return, the
+      serpent carried her to a large cave, where it made for her a couch of
+      leaves, and while she slept the affectionate monster kept guard for her
+      protection at the mouth of the cavern. For some reason or other which was
+      not apparent, for in dreams there are always some effects without causes,
+      Proserpine never returned to Enna, but remained and resided with
+      cheerfulness in this cavern. Each morning the serpent went forth alone to
+      seek food for its charge, and regularly returned with a bough in its mouth
+      laden with delicious fruits. One day, during the absence of her guardian,
+      a desire seized Proserpine to quit the cavern, and accordingly she went
+      forth. The fresh air and fragrance of the earth were delightful to her,
+      and she roamed about, unconscious of time, and thoughtless of her return.
+      And as she sauntered along, singing to herself, a beautiful white dove,
+      even the same dove that had welcomed her in the morning on the heights of
+      Elysium, flew before her with its wings glancing in the sunshine. It
+      seemed that the bird wished to attract the attention of the child, so long
+      and so closely did it hover about her; now resting on a branch, as if
+      inviting capture, and then skimming away only to return more swiftly; and
+      occasionally, when for a moment unnoticed, even slightly flapping the
+      rambler with its plume. At length the child was taken with a fancy to
+      catch the bird. But no sooner had she evinced this desire, than the bird,
+      once apparently so anxious to be noticed, seemed resolved to lead her a
+      weary chase; and hours flew away ere Proserpine, panting and exhausted,
+      had captured the beautiful rover and pressed it to her bosom.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was, indeed, a most beautiful bird, and its possession repaid her for
+      all her exertions. But lo! as she stood, in a wild sylvan scene caressing
+      it, smoothing its soft plumage, and pressing its head to her cheek, she
+      beheld in the distance approaching her the serpent, and she beheld her old
+      friend with alarm. Apparently her misgiving was not without cause. She
+      observed in an instant that the appearance and demeanour of the serpent
+      were greatly changed. It approached her swift as an arrow, its body
+      rolling in the most agitated contortions, its jaws were distended as if to
+      devour her, its eyes flashed fire, its tongue was a forked flame, and its
+      hiss was like a stormy wind. Proserpine shrieked, and the Queen of Hell
+      awoke from her dream.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The next morning the Elysian world called to pay their respects to
+      Proserpine. Her Majesty, indeed, held a drawing-room, which was fully and
+      brilliantly attended. Her beauty and her graciousness were universally
+      pronounced enchanting. From this moment the career of Proserpine was a
+      series of magnificent entertainments. The principal Elysians vied with
+      each other in the splendour and variety of the amusements, which they
+      offered to the notice of their Queen. Operas, plays, balls, and banquets
+      followed in dazzling succession. Proserpine, who was almost inexperienced
+      in society, was quite fascinated. She regretted the years she had wasted
+      in her Sicilian solitude; she marvelled that she ever could have looked
+      forward with delight to a dull annual visit to Olympus; she almost
+      regretted that, for the sake of an establishment, she could have been
+      induced to cast her lot in the regal gloom of Tartarus. Elysium exactly
+      suited her. The beauty of the climate and the country, the total absence
+      of care, the constant presence of amusement, the luxury, gaiety, and
+      refined enjoyment perfectly accorded with her amiable disposition, her
+      lively fancy and her joyous temper. She drank deep and eagerly of the cup
+      of pleasure. She entered into all the gay pursuits of her subjects; she
+      even invented new combinations of diversion. Under her inspiring rule
+      every one confessed that Elysium became every day more Elysian. The
+      manners of her companions greatly pleased her. She loved those faces
+      always wreathed with smiles, yet never bursting into laughter. She was
+      charmed at the amiable tone in which they addressed each other. Never
+      apparently were people at the same time so agreeable, so obliging, and so
+      polished. For in all they said and did might be detected that peculiar air
+      of high-breeding which pervades the whole conduct of existence with a
+      certain indefinable spirit of calmness, so that your nerves are never
+      shaken by too intense an emotion, which eventually produces a painful
+      reaction. Whatever they did, the Elysians were careful never to be
+      vehement; a grand passion, indeed, was unknown in these happy regions;
+      love assumed the milder form of flirtation; and as for enmity, you were
+      never abused except behind your back, or it exuded itself in an epigram,
+      or, at the worst, a caricature scribbled upon a fan.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There is one characteristic of the Elysians which, in justice to them, I
+      ought not to have omitted. They were eminently a moral people. If a lady
+      committed herself, she was lost for ever, and packed off immediately to
+      the realm of Twilight. Indeed, they were so particular, that the moment
+      one of the softer sex gave the slightest symptoms of preference to a
+      fortunate admirer, the Elysian world immediately began to look unutterable
+      things, shrug its moral shoulders, and elevate its charitable eyebrows.
+      But if the preference, by any unlucky chance, assumed the nobler aspect of
+      devotion, and the unhappy fair one gave any indication of really
+      possessing a heart, rest assured she was already half way on the road to
+      perdition. Then commenced one of the most curious processes imaginable,
+      peculiar I apprehend to Elysium, but which I record that the society of
+      less fortunate lands may avail itself of the advantage, and adopt the
+      regulation in its moral police. Immediately that it was clearly
+      ascertained that two persons of different sexes took an irrational
+      interest in each other&rsquo;s society, all the world instantly went about,
+      actuated by a purely charitable sentiment, telling the most extraordinary
+      falsehoods concerning them that they could devise. Thus it was the fashion
+      to call at one house and announce that you had detected the unhappy pair
+      in a private box at the theatre, and immediately to pay your respects at
+      another mansion and declare that you had observed them on the very same
+      day, and at the very same hour, in a boat on the river. At the next visit,
+      the gentleman had been discovered driving her in his cab; and in the
+      course of the morning the scene of indiscretion was the Park, where they
+      had been watched walking by moonlight, muffled up in sables and cashmeres.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This curious process of diffusing information was known in Elysium under
+      the title of <i>&lsquo;being talked about;</i>&rsquo; and although the stories thus
+      disseminated were universally understood to be fictions, the Elysians
+      ascribed great virtue to the proceeding, maintaining that many an
+      indiscreet fair one had been providentially alarmed by thus becoming the
+      subject of universal conversation; that thus many a reputation had been
+      saved by this charitable slander. There were some malignant philosophers,
+      indeed, doubtless from that silly love of paradox in all ages too
+      prevalent, who pretended that all this Elysian morality was one great
+      delusion, and that this scrupulous anxiety about the conduct of others
+      arose from a principle, not of <i>Purity</i>, but of <i>Corruption</i>.
+      The woman who is &lsquo;talked about,&rsquo; these sages would affirm, is generally
+      virtuous, and she is only abused because she devotes to one the charms
+      which all wish to enjoy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus Dido, who is really one of the finest creatures that ever existed,
+      and who with a majestic beauty combines an heroic soul, has made her way
+      with difficulty to the Elysian circle, to which her charms and rank
+      entitle her; while Helen, who, from her very <i>début</i>, has been
+      surrounded by fifty lovers, and whose intrigues have ever been notorious,
+      is the very queen of fashion; and all this merely because she has favoured
+      fifty instead of one, and in the midst of all her scrapes has contrived to
+      retain the countenance of her husband.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Apropos of Dido, the Queen of Carthage was the person in all Elysium for
+      whom Proserpine took the greatest liking. Exceedingly beautiful, with the
+      most generous temper and the softest heart in the world, and blessed by
+      nature with a graceful simplicity of manner, which fashion had never
+      sullied, it really was impossible to gaze upon the extraordinary
+      brilliancy of her radiant countenance, to watch the symmetry of her superb
+      figure, and to listen to the artless yet lively observations uttered by a
+      voice musical as a bell, without being fairly bewitched.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When we first enter society, we are everywhere; yet there are few, I
+      imagine, who, after a season, do not subside into a coterie. When the
+      glare of saloons has ceased to dazzle, and we are wearied with the
+      heartless notice of a crowd, we require refinement and sympathy. We find
+      them, and we sink into a clique. And after all, can the river of life flow
+      on more agreeably than in a sweet course of pleasure with those we love?
+      To wander in the green shade of secret woods and whisper our affection; to
+      float on the sunny waters of some gentle stream, and listen to a serenade;
+      to canter with a light-hearted cavalcade over breezy downs, or cool our
+      panting chargers in the summer stillness of winding and woody lanes; to
+      banquet with the beautiful and the witty; to send care to the devil, and
+      indulge the whim of the moment; the priest, the warrior and the statesman
+      may frown and struggle as they like; but this is existence, and this, this
+      is Elysium!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So Proserpine deemed when, wearied with the monotony of the great world,
+      she sought refuge in the society of Dido and Atalanta, Achilles, Amphion,
+      and Patroclus or Memnon. When Æneas found that Dido had become
+      fashionable, he made overtures for a reconciliation, but Dido treated him
+      with calm contempt. The pious Æneas, indeed, was the aversion of
+      Proserpine. He was the head of the Elysian saints, was president of a
+      society to induce the Gnomes only to drink water, and was so horrified at
+      the general conduct of the Elysians, that he questioned the decrees of
+      Minos and Rhadamanthus, who had permitted them to enter the happy region
+      so easily. The pious Æneas was of opinion that everybody ought to have
+      been damned except himself. Proserpine gave him no encouragement. Achilles
+      was the finest gentleman in Elysium. No one dressed or rode like him. He
+      was very handsome, very witty, very unaffected, and had an excellent
+      heart. Achilles was the leader of the Elysian youth, who were indeed
+      devoted to him: Proserpine took care, therefore, that he should dangle in
+      her train. Amphion had a charming voice for a supper after the opera. He
+      was a handsome little fellow, but not to be depended upon. He broke a
+      heart, or a dinner engagement, with the same reckless sentimentality; for
+      he was one of those who always weep when they betray you, and whom you are
+      sure never to see again immediately that they have vowed eternal
+      friendship. Patroclus was a copy of Achilles without his talents and
+      vivacity, but elegant and quiet. Of all these, Memnon was perhaps the
+      favourite of Proserpine; nor must he be forgotten; amiable, gay,
+      brilliant, the child of whim and impulse, in love with every woman he met
+      for four-and-twenty hours, and always marvelling at his own delusion!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+
+
+
+
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+</pre>
+  </body>
+</html>
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@@ -0,0 +1,2764 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Infernal Marriage, by Benjamin Disraeli
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Infernal Marriage
+
+Author: Benjamin Disraeli
+
+Release Date: December 3, 2006 [EBook #20003]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INFERNAL MARRIAGE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE INFERNAL MARRIAGE
+
+By Benjamin Disraeli
+
+_Proserpine was the daughter of Jupiter and Ceres. Pluto, the god
+of Hell, became enamoured of her. His addresses were favoured by her
+father, but opposed by Ceres. Under these circumstances, he surprised
+her on the plains of Enna, and carried her off in his chariot._
+
+
+
+
+THE INFERNAL MARRIAGE
+
+
+
+
+PART I.
+
+     _A Sublime Elopement_
+
+IT WAS clearly a runaway match--never indeed was such a sublime
+elopement. The four horses were coal-black, with blood-red manes and
+tails; and they were shod with rubies. They were harnessed to a basaltic
+car by a single rein of flame. Waving his double-pronged trident in the
+air, the god struck the blue breast of Cyane, and the waters instantly
+parted. In rushed the wild chariot, the pale and insensible Proserpine
+clinging to the breast of her grim lover.
+
+Through the depths of the hitherto unfathomed lake the infernal steeds
+held their breathless course. The car jolted against its bed. 'Save me!'
+exclaimed the future Queen of Hades, and she clung with renewed energy
+to the bosom of the dark bridegroom. The earth opened; they entered the
+kingdom of the gnomes. Here Pluto was popular. The lurid populace gave
+him a loud shout. The chariot whirled along through shadowy cities and
+by dim highways, swarming with a busy race of shades.
+
+'Ye flowery meads of Enna!' exclaimed the terrified Proserpine, 'shall I
+never view you again? What an execrable climate!'
+
+'Here, however, in-door nature is charming,' responded Pluto. 'Tis a
+great nation of manufacturers. You are better, I hope, my Proserpine.
+The passage of the water is never very agreeable, especially to ladies.'
+
+'And which is our next stage?' inquired Proserpine.
+
+'The centre of Earth,' replied Pluto. 'Travelling is so much improved
+that at this rate we shall reach Hades before night.'
+
+'Alas!' exclaimed Proserpine, 'is not this night?'
+
+'You are not unhappy, my Proserpine?'
+
+'Beloved of my heart, I have given up everything for you! I do not
+repent, but I am thinking of my mother.'
+
+'Time will pacify the Lady Ceres. What is done cannot be undone. In the
+winter, when a residence among us is even desirable, I should not be
+surprised were she to pay us a visit.'
+
+'Her prejudices are so strong,' murmured the bride. 'Oh my Pluto! I hope
+your family will be kind to me.'
+
+'Who could be unkind to Proserpine? Ours is a very domestic circle. I
+can assure you that everything is so well ordered among us that I have
+no recollection of a domestic broil.'
+
+'But marriage is such a revolution in a bachelor's establishment,'
+replied Proserpine, despondingly. 'To tell the truth, too, I am half
+frightened at the thought of the Furies. I have heard that their tempers
+are so violent.'
+
+'They mean well; their feelings are strong, but their hearts are in the
+right place. I flatter myself you will like my nieces, the Parcae. They
+are accomplished, and favourites among the men.'
+
+'Indeed!'
+
+'Oh! quite irresistible.'
+
+'My heart misgives me. I wish you had at least paid them the compliment
+of apprising them of our marriage.'
+
+'Cheer up. For myself, I have none but pleasant anticipations. I long
+to be at home once more by my own fireside, and patting my faithful
+Cerberus.'
+
+'I think I shall like Cerberus; I am fond of dogs.'
+
+'I am sure you will. He is the most faithful creature in the world.'
+
+'Is he very fierce?'
+
+'Not if he takes a fancy to you; and who can help taking a fancy to
+Proserpine?'
+
+'Ah! my Pluto, you are in love.'
+
+'Is this Hades?' inquired Proserpine.
+
+An avenue of colossal bulls, sculptured in basalt and breathing
+living flame, led to gates of brass, adorned with friezes of rubies,
+representing the wars and discomfiture of the Titans. A crimson cloud
+concealed the height of the immense portals, and on either side hovered
+o'er the extending walls of the city; a watch-tower or a battlement
+occasionally flashing forth, and forcing their forms through the lurid
+obscurity.
+
+'Queen of Hades! welcome to your capital!' exclaimed Pluto.
+
+The monarch rose in his car and whirled a javelin at the gates. There
+was an awful clang, and then a still more terrible growl.
+
+'My faithful Cerberus!' exclaimed the King.
+
+The portals flew open, and revealed the gigantic form of the celebrated
+watch-dog of Hell. It completely filled their wide expanse. Who but
+Pluto could have viewed without horror that enormous body covered with
+shaggy spikes, those frightful paws clothed with claws of steel, that
+tail like a boa constrictor, those fiery eyes that blazed like the
+blood-red lamps in a pharos, and those three forky tongues, round each
+of which were entwined a vigorous family of green rattlesnakes!
+
+'Ah! Cerby! Cerby!' exclaimed Pluto; 'my fond and faithful Cerby!'
+
+Proserpine screamed as the animal gambolled up to the side of the
+chariot and held out its paw to its master. Then, licking the royal palm
+with its three tongues at once, it renewed its station with a wag of its
+tail which raised such a cloud of dust that for a few minutes nothing
+was perceptible.
+
+'The monster!' exclaimed Proserpine.
+
+'My love!' exclaimed Pluto, with astonishment.
+
+'The hideous brute!'
+
+'My dear!' exclaimed Pluto.
+
+'He shall never touch me.'
+
+'Proserpine!'
+
+'Don't touch me with that hand. You never shall touch me, if you allow
+that disgusting animal to lick your hand.'
+
+'I beg to inform you that there are few beings of any kind for whom I
+have a greater esteem than that faithful and affectionate beast.'
+
+'Oh! if you like Cerberus better than me, I have no more to say,'
+exclaimed the bride, bridling up with indignation.
+
+'My Proserpine is perverse,' replied Pluto; 'her memory has scarcely
+done me justice.'
+
+'I am sure you said you liked Cerberus better than anything in the
+world,' continued the goddess, with a voice trembling with passion.
+
+'I said no such thing,' replied Pluto, somewhat sternly.
+
+'I see how it is,' replied Proserpine, with a sob; 'you are tired of
+me.'
+
+'My beloved!'
+
+'I never expected this.'
+
+'My child!'
+
+'Was it for this I left my mother?'
+
+'Powers of Hades! How you can say such things!'
+
+'Broke her heart?'
+
+'Proserpine! Proserpine!'
+
+'Gave up daylight?'
+
+'For the sake of Heaven, then, calm yourself!'
+
+'Sacrificed everything?'
+
+'My love! my life! my angel! what is all this?'
+
+'And then to be abused for the sake of a dog!'
+
+'By all the shades of Hell, but this is enough to provoke even
+immortals. What have I done, said, or thought, to justify such
+treatment?'
+
+'Oh! me!'
+
+'Proserpine!'
+
+'Heigho!'
+
+'Proserpine! Proserpine!'
+
+'So soon is the veil withdrawn!'
+
+'Dearest, you must be unwell. This journey has been too much for you,'
+
+'On our very bridal day to be so treated!'
+
+'Soul of my existence, don't make me mad. I love you, I adore you; I
+have no hope, no wish, no thought but you. I swear it; I swear it by
+my sceptre and my throne. Speak, speak to your Pluto: tell him all your
+wish, all your desire. What would you have me do?'
+
+'Shoot that horrid beast.'
+
+'Ah! me!'
+
+'What, you will not? I thought how it would be. I am Proserpine, your
+beloved, adored Proserpine. You have no wish, no hope, no thought but
+for me! I have only to speak, and what I desire will be instantly done!
+And I do speak, I tell you my wish, I express to you my desire, and I
+am instantly refused! And what have I requested? Is it such a mighty
+favour? Is it anything unreasonable? Is there, indeed, in my entreaty
+anything so vastly out of the way? The death of a dog, a disgusting
+animal, which has already shaken my nerves to pieces; and if ever (here
+she hid her face in his breast), if ever that event should occur which
+both must desire, my Pluto, I am sure the very sight of that horrible
+beast will--I dare not say what it will do.'
+
+Pluto looked puzzled.
+
+'Indeed, my Proserpine, it is not in my power to grant your request; for
+Cerberus is immortal, like ourselves.'
+
+'Me! miserable!'
+
+'Some arrangement, however, may be made to keep him out of your sight
+and hearing. I can banish him.'
+
+'Can you, indeed? Oh! banish him, my Pluto! pray banish him! I never
+shall be happy until Cerberus is banished.'
+
+'I will do anything you desire; but I confess to you I have some
+misgivings. He is an invaluable watch-dog; and I fear, without his
+superintendence, the guardians of the gate will scarcely do their duty.'
+
+'Oh! yes: I am sure they will, my Pluto! I will ask them to, I will ask
+them myself, I will request them, as a particular and personal favour to
+myself, to be very careful indeed. And if they do their duty, and I am
+sure they will, they shall be styled, as a reward, "Proserpine's Own
+Guards."'
+
+'A reward, indeed!' said the enamoured monarch, as, with a sigh, he
+signed the order for the banishment of Cerberus in the form of his
+promotion to the office of Master of the royal and imperial bloodhounds.
+
+The burning waves of Phlegethon assumed a lighter hue. It was morning.
+It was the morning after the arrival of Pluto and his unexpected bride.
+In one of the principal rooms of the palace three beautiful females,
+clothed in cerulean robes spangled with stars, and their heads adorned
+with golden crowns, were at work together. One held a distaff, from
+which the second spun; and the third wielded an enormous pair of
+adamantine shears, with which she perpetually severed the labours of her
+sisters. Tall were they in stature and beautiful in form. Very fair;
+an expression of haughty serenity pervaded their majestic countenances.
+Their three companions, however, though apparently of the same sex, were
+of a different character. If women can ever be ugly, certainly
+these three ladies might put in a valid claim to that epithet. Their
+complexions were dark and withered, and their eyes, though bright, were
+bloodshot. Scantily clothed in black garments, not unstained with gore,
+their wan and offensive forms were but slightly veiled. Their hands were
+talons; their feet cloven; and serpents were wreathed round their brows
+instead of hair. Their restless and agitated carriage afforded also not
+less striking contrast to the polished and aristocratic demeanour of
+their companions. They paced the chamber with hurried and unequal steps,
+and wild and uncouth gestures; waving, with a reckless ferocity, burning
+torches and whips of scorpions. It is hardly necessary to add that these
+were the Furies, and that the conversation which I am about to report
+was carried on with the Fates.
+
+'A thousand serpents!' shrieked Tisiphone. 'I will never believe it.'
+
+'Racks and flames!' squeaked Megaera. 'It is impossible.'
+
+'Eternal torture!' moaned Alecto. ''Tis a lie.'
+
+'Not Jupiter himself should convince us!' the Furies joined in infernal
+chorus.
+
+''Tis nevertheless true,'calmly observed the beautiful Clotho.
+
+'You will soon have the honour of being presented to her,' added the
+serene Lachesis.
+
+'And whatever we may feel,' observed the considerate Atropos, 'I think,
+my dear girls, you had better restrain yourselves.'
+
+'And what sort of thing is she?' inquired Tisiphone, with a shriek.
+
+'I have heard that she is lovely,' answered Clotho. 'Indeed, it is
+impossible to account for the affair in any other way.'
+
+''Tis neither possible to account for nor to justify it,' squeaked
+Megaera.
+
+'Is there, indeed, a Queen in Hell?' moaned Alecto.
+
+'We shall hold no more drawing-rooms,' said Lachesis.
+
+'We will never attend hers,' said the Furies.
+
+'You must,' replied the Fates.
+
+'I have no doubt she will give herself airs,' shrieked Tisiphone.
+
+'We must remember where she has been brought up, and be considerate,'
+replied Lachesis.
+
+'I dare say you three will get on very well with her,' squeaked Megasra.
+'You always get on well with people.'
+
+'We must remember how very strange things here must appear to her,'
+observed Atropos.
+
+'No one can deny that there are some very disagreeable sights,' said
+Clotho.
+
+'There is something in that,' replied Tisiphone, looking in the glass,
+and arranging her serpents; 'and for my part, poor girl, I almost pity
+her, when I think she will have to visit the Harpies.'
+
+At this moment four little pages entered the room, who, without
+exception, were the most hideous dwarfs that ever attended upon a
+monarch. They were clothed only in parti-coloured tunics, and their
+breasts and legs were quite bare. From the countenance of the first you
+would have supposed he was in a convulsion; his hands were clenched
+and his hair stood on end: this was Terror! The protruded veins of the
+second seemed ready to burst, and his rubicund visage decidedly proved
+that he had blood in his head; this was Rage! The third was of an ashen
+colour throughout: this was Paleness! And the fourth, with a countenance
+not without traces of beauty, was even more disgusting than his
+companions from the quantity of horrible flies, centipedes, snails, and
+other noisome, slimy, and indescribable monstrosities that were crawling
+all about his body and feeding on his decaying features. The name of
+this fourth page was Death!
+
+'The King and Queen!' announced the pages.
+
+Pluto, during the night, had prepared Proserpine for the worst, and had
+endeavoured to persuade her that his love would ever compensate for
+all annoyances. She was in excellent spirits and in very good humour;
+therefore, though she could with difficulty stifle a scream when she
+recognised the Furies, she received the congratulations of the Parcae
+with much cordiality.
+
+'I have the pleasure, Proserpine, of presenting you to my family,' said
+Pluto.
+
+'Who, I am sure, hope to make Hades agreeable to your Majesty,' rejoined
+Clotho. The Furies uttered a suppressed sound between a murmur and a
+growl.
+
+'I have ordered the chariot,' said Pluto. 'I propose to take the Queen a
+ride, and show her some of our lions.'
+
+'She will, I am sure, be delighted,' said Lachesis.
+
+'I long to see Ixion,' said Proserpine.
+
+'The wretch!' shrieked Tisiphone.
+
+'I cannot help thinking that he has been very unfairly treated,' said
+Proserpine.
+
+'What!' squeaked Megaera. 'The ravisher!'
+
+'Ay! it is all very well,' replied Proserpine; 'but, for my part, if we
+knew the truth of that affair-----'
+
+'Is it possible that your Majesty can speak in such a tone of levity of
+such an offender?' shrieked Tisiphone.
+
+'Is it possible?' moaned Alecto.
+
+'Ah! you have heard only one side of the question; but for my part,
+knowing as much of Juno as I do-----'
+
+'The Queen of Heaven!' observed Atropos, with an intimidating glance.
+
+'The Queen of Fiddlestick!' said Proserpine; 'as great a flirt as ever
+existed, with all her prudish looks.'
+
+The Fates and the Furies exchanged glances of astonishment and horror.
+
+'For my part,' continued Proserpine, 'I make it a rule to support the
+weaker side, and nothing will ever persuade me that Ixion is not a
+victim, and a pitiable one.'
+
+'Well! men generally have the best of it in these affairs,' said
+Lachesis, with a forced smile.
+
+'Juno ought to be ashamed of herself,' said Proserpine. 'Had I been in
+her situation, they should have tied me to a wheel first. At any rate,
+they ought to have punished him in Heaven. I have no idea of those
+people sending every _mauvais sujet_ to Hell.'
+
+'But what shall we do?' inquired Pluto, who wished to turn the
+conversation.
+
+'Shall we turn out a sinner and hunt him for her Majesty's diversion?'
+suggested Tisiphone, flanking her serpents.
+
+'Nothing of the kind will ever divert me,' said Proserpine; 'for I have
+no hesitation in saying that I do not at all approve of these eternal
+punishments, or, indeed, of any punishment whatever.'
+
+'The heretic!' whispered Tisiphone to Megaera. Alecto moaned.
+
+'It might be more interesting to her Majesty,' said Atropos, 'to witness
+some of those extraordinary instances of predestined misery with which
+Hades abounds. Shall we visit OEdipus?'
+
+'Poor fellow!' exclaimed Proserpine. 'For myself, I willingly confess
+that torture disgusts and Destiny puzzles me.'
+
+The Fates and the Furies all alike started.
+
+'I do not understand this riddle of Destiny,' continued the young Queen.
+'If you, Parcae, have predestined that a man should commit a crime,
+it appears to me very unjust that you should afterwards call upon the
+Furies to punish him for its commission.'
+
+'But man is a free agent,' observed Lachesis, in as mild a tone as she
+could command.
+
+'Then what becomes of Destiny?' replied Proserpine.
+
+'Destiny is eternal and irresistible,' replied Clotho. 'All is ordained;
+but man is, nevertheless, master of his own actions.'
+
+'I do not understand that,' said Proserpine.
+
+'It is not meant to be understood,' said Atropos; 'but you must
+nevertheless believe it.'
+
+'I make it a rule only to believe what I understand,' replied
+Proserpine.
+
+'It appears,' said Lachesis, with a blended glance of contempt and
+vengeance, 'that your Majesty, though a goddess, is an atheist.'
+
+'As for that, anybody may call me just what they please, provided they
+do nothing else. So long as I am not tied to a wheel or whipped with
+scorpions for speaking my mind, I shall be as tolerant of the speech and
+acts of others as I expect them to be tolerant of mine. Come, Pluto, I
+am sure that the chariot must be ready!'
+
+So saying, her Majesty took the arm of her spouse, and with a haughty
+curtsey left the apartment.
+
+'Did you ever!' shrieked Tisiphone, as the door closed.
+
+'No! never!' squeaked Megaera.
+
+'Never! never!' moaned Alecto.
+
+'She must understand what she believes, must she?' said Lachesis,
+scarcely less irritated.
+
+'I never heard such nonsense,' said Clotho.
+
+'What next!' said Atropos.
+
+'Disgusted with torture!' exclaimed the Furies.
+
+'Puzzled with Destiny!' said the Fates.
+
+It was the third morning after the Infernal Marriage; the slumbering
+Proserpine reposed in the arms of the snoring Pluto. There was a loud
+knocking at the chamber-door. Pluto jumped up in the middle of a dream.
+
+'My life, what is the matter?' exclaimed Proserpine.
+
+The knocking was repeated and increased. There was also a loud shout of
+'treason, murder, and fire!'
+
+'What is the matter?' exclaimed the god, jumping out of bed and seizing
+his trident. 'Who is there?'
+
+'Your pages, your faithful pages! Treason! treason! For the sake of
+Hell, open the door. Murder, fire, treason!'
+
+'Enter!' said Pluto, as the door was unlocked.
+
+And Terror and Rage entered.
+
+'You frightful things, get out of the room!' cried Proserpine.
+
+'A moment, my angel!' said Pluto, 'a single moment. Be not alarmed, my
+best love; I pray you be not alarmed. Well, imps, why am I disturbed?'
+
+'Oh!' said Terror. Rage could not speak, but gnashed his teeth and
+stamped his feet.
+
+'O-o-o-h!' repeated Terror.
+
+'Speak, cursed imps!' cried the enraged Pluto; and he raised his arm.
+
+'A man! a man!' cried Terror. 'Treason, treason! a man! a man!'
+
+'What man?' said Pluto, in a rage.
+
+'A man, a live man, has entered Hell!'
+
+'You don't say so?' said Proserpine; 'a man, a live man. Let me see him
+immediately.'
+
+'Where is he?' said Pluto; 'what is he doing?'
+
+'He is here, there, and everywhere! asking for your wife, and singing
+like anything.'
+
+'Proserpine!' said Pluto, reproachfully; but, to do the god justice, he
+was more astounded than jealous.
+
+'I am sure I shall be delighted to see him; it is so long since I have
+seen a live man,' said Proserpine. 'Who can he be? A man, and a live
+man! How delightful! It must be a messenger from my mother.'
+
+'But how came he here?'
+
+'Ah! how came he here?' echoed Terror.
+
+'No time must be lost!' exclaimed Pluto, scrambling on his robe. 'Seize
+him, and bring him into the council chamber. My charming Proserpine,
+excuse me for a moment.'
+
+'Not at all; I will accompany you.'
+
+'But, my love, my sweetest, my own, this is business; these are affairs
+of state. The council chamber is not a place for you.'
+
+'And why not?' said Proserpine. 'I have no idea of ever leaving you for
+a moment. Why not for me as well as for the Fates and the Furies? Am I
+not Queen? I have no idea of such nonsense!'
+
+'My love!' said the deprecating husband.
+
+'You don't go without me,' said the imperious wife, seizing his robe.
+
+'I must,' said Pluto.
+
+'Then you shall never return,' said Proserpine.
+
+'Enchantress! be reasonable.'
+
+'I never was, and I never will be,' replied the Goddess.
+
+'Treason! treason!' screamed Terror.
+
+'My love, I must go!'
+
+'Pluto,' said Proserpine, 'understand me once for all, I will not be
+contradicted.'
+
+Rage stamped his foot.
+
+'Proserpine, understand me once for all, it is impossible,' said the
+God, frowning.
+
+'My Pluto!' said the Queen. 'Is it my Pluto who speaks thus sternly to
+me? Is it he who, but an hour ago, a short hour ago, died upon my bosom
+in transports and stifled me with kisses! Unhappy woman! wretched,
+miserable Proserpine! Oh! my mother! my kind, my affectionate mother!
+Have I disobeyed you for this! For this have I deserted you! For this
+have I broken your beloved heart!' She buried her face in the crimson
+counterpane, and bedewed its gorgeous embroidery with her fast-flowing
+tears.
+
+'Treason!' shouted Terror.
+
+'Ha! ha! ha!' exclaimed the hysterical Proserpine.
+
+'What am I to do?' cried Pluto. 'Proserpine, my adored, my beloved, my
+enchanting Proserpine, compose yourself; for my sake, compose yourself.
+I love you! I adore you! You know it! oh! indeed you know it!'
+
+The hysterics increased.
+
+'Treason! treason!' shouted Terror.
+
+'Hold your infernal tongue,' said Pluto. 'What do I care for treason
+when the Queen is in this state?' He knelt by the bedside, and tried to
+stop her mouth with kisses, and ever and anon whispered his passion. 'My
+Proserpine, I beseech you to be calm; I will do anything you like. Come,
+come, then, to the council!'
+
+The hysterics ceased; the Queen clasped him in her arms and rewarded him
+with a thousand embraces. Then, jumping up, she bathed her swollen eyes
+with a beautiful cosmetic that she and her maidens had distilled from
+the flowers of Enna; and, wrapping herself up in her shawl, descended
+with his Majesty, who was quite as much puzzled about the cause of this
+disturbance as when he was first roused.
+
+Crossing an immense covered bridge, the origin of the Bridge of Sighs at
+Venice, over the royal gardens, which consisted entirely of cypress,
+the royal pair, preceded by the pages-in-waiting, entered the council
+chamber. The council was already assembled. On either side of a throne
+of sulphur, from which issued the four infernal rivers of Lethe,
+Phlegethon, Cocytus, and Acheron, were ranged the Eumenides and Parcae.
+Lachesis and her sisters turned up their noses when they observed
+Proserpine; but the Eumenides could not stifle their fury, in spite of
+the hints of their more subdued but not less malignant companions.
+
+'What is all this?' inquired Pluto.
+
+'The constitution is in danger,' said the Parcae in chorus.
+
+'Both in church and state,' added the Furies. ''Tis a case of treason
+and blasphemy;' and they waved their torches and shook their whips with
+delighted anticipation of their use.
+
+'Detail the circumstances,' said Pluto, waving his hand majestically to
+Lachesis, in whose good sense he had great confidence.
+
+'A man, a living man, has entered your kingdom, unknown and unnoticed,'
+said Lachesis.
+
+'By my sceptre, is it true?' said the astonished King. 'Is he seized?'
+
+'The extraordinary mortal baffles our efforts,' said Lachesis. 'He
+bears with him a lyre, the charmed gift of Apollo, and so seducing are
+his strains that in vain our guards advance to arrest his course; they
+immediately begin dancing, and he easily eludes their efforts. The
+general confusion is indescribable. All business is at a standstill:
+Ixion rests upon his wheel; old Sisyphus sits down on his mountain,
+and his stone has fallen with a terrible plash into Acheron. In short,
+unless we are energetic, we are on the eve of a revolution.'
+
+'His purpose?'
+
+'He seeks yourself and--her Majesty,' added Lachesis, with a sneer.
+
+'Immediately announce that we will receive him.'
+
+The unexpected guest was not slow in acknowledging the royal summons.
+A hasty treaty was drawn up; he was to enter the palace unmolested,
+on condition that he ceased playing his lyre. The Fates and the Furies
+exchanged significant glances as his approach was announced.
+
+The man, the live man, who had committed the unprecedented crime of
+entering Hell without a licence, and the previous deposit of his soul as
+security for the good behaviour of his body, stood before the surprised
+and indignant Court of Hades. Tall and graceful in stature, and crowned
+with laurels, Proserpine was glad to observe that the man, who was
+evidently famous, was also good-looking.
+
+'Thy purpose, mortal?' inquired Pluto, with awful majesty.
+
+'Mercy!' answered the stranger in a voice of exquisite melody, and
+sufficiently embarrassed to render him interesting.
+
+'What is mercy?' inquired the Fates and the Furies.
+
+'Speak, stranger, without fear,' said Proserpine. 'Thy name?'
+
+'Is Orpheus; but a few days back the too happy husband of the enchanting
+Eurydice. Alas! dread King, and thou too, beautiful and benignant
+partner of his throne, I won her by my lyre, and by my lyre I would
+redeem her. Know, then, that in the very glow of our gratified passion
+a serpent crept under the flowers on which we reposed, and by a fatal
+sting summoned my adored to the shades. Why did it not also summon me?
+I will not say why should I not have been the victim in her stead; for
+I feel too keenly that the doom of Eurydice would not have been less
+forlorn, had she been the wretched being who had been spared to life. O
+King! they whispered on earth that thou too hadst yielded thy heart to
+the charms of love. Pluto, they whispered, is no longer stern: Pluto
+also feels the all-subduing influence of beauty. Dread monarch, by the
+self-same passion that rages in our breasts alike, I implore thy mercy.
+Thou hast risen from the couch of love, the arm of thy adored has
+pressed upon thy heart, her honied lips have clung with rapture
+to thine, still echo in thy ears all the enchanting phrases of her
+idolatry. Then, by the memory of these, by all the higher and ineffable
+joys to which these lead, King of Hades, spare me, oh! spare me,
+Eurydice!'
+
+Proserpine threw her arms round the neck of her husband, and, hiding her
+face in his breast, wept.
+
+'Rash mortal, you demand that which is not in the power of Pluto to
+concede,' said Lachesis.
+
+'I have heard much of treason since my entrance into Hades,' replied
+Orpheus, 'and this sounds like it.'
+
+'Mortal!' exclaimed Clotho, with contempt.
+
+'Nor is it in your power to return, sir,' said Tisiphone, shaking her
+whip.
+
+'We have accounts to settle with you,' said Megaera.
+
+'Spare her, spare her,' murmured Proserpine to her lover.
+
+'King of Hades!' said Lachesis, with much dignity, 'I hold a
+responsible office in your realm, and I claim the constitutional
+privilege of your attention. I protest against the undue influence
+of the Queen. She is a power unknown in our constitution, and an
+irresponsible agent that I will not recognise. Let her go back to the
+drawing-room, where all will bow to her.'
+
+'Hag!' exclaimed Proserpine. 'King of Hades, I, too, can appeal to you.
+Have I accepted your crown to be insulted by your subjects?'
+
+'A subject, may it please your Majesty, who has duties as strictly
+defined by our infernal constitution as those of your royal spouse;
+duties, too, which, let me tell you, madam, I and _my order_ are
+resolved to perform.'
+
+'Gods of Olympus!' cried Proserpine. 'Is this to be a Queen?'
+
+'Before we proceed further in this discussion,' said Lachesis, 'I must
+move an inquiry into the conduct of his Excellency the Governor of the
+Gates. I move, then, that Cerberus be summoned.
+
+Pluto started, and the blood rose to his dark cheek. 'I have not yet had
+an opportunity of mentioning,' said his Majesty, in a low tone, and with
+an air of considerable confusion, 'that I have thought fit, as a reward
+for his past services, to promote Cerberus to the office of the Master
+of the Hounds. He therefore is no longer responsible.'
+
+'O-h!' shrieked the Furies, as they elevated their hideous eyes.
+
+'The constitution has invested your Majesty with a power in the
+appointment of your Officers of State which your Majesty has undoubtedly
+a right to exercise,' said Lachesis. 'What degree of discretion it
+anticipated in the exercise, it is now unnecessary, and would be
+extremely disagreeable, to discuss. I shall not venture to inquire by
+what new influence your Majesty has been guided in the present instance.
+The consequence of your Majesty's conduct is obvious, in the very
+difficult situation in which your realm is now placed. For myself and my
+colleagues, I have only to observe that we decline, under this crisis,
+any further responsibility; and the distaff and the shears are at your
+Majesty's service the moment your Majesty may find convenient successors
+to the present holders. As a last favour, in addition to the many we are
+proud to remember we have received from your Majesty, we entreat that we
+may be relieved from their burthen as quickly as possible.' (Loud cheers
+from the Eumenides.)
+
+'We had better recall Cerberus,' said Pluto, alarmed, 'and send this
+mortal about his business.'
+
+'Not without Eurydice. Oh! not without Eurydice,' said the Queen.
+
+'Silence, Proserpine!' said Pluto.
+
+'May it please your Majesty,' said Lachesis, 'I am doubtful whether we
+have the power of expelling anyone from Hades. It is not less the law
+that a mortal cannot remain here; and it is too notorious for me to
+mention the fact that none here have the power of inflicting death.'
+
+'Of what use are all your laws,' exclaimed Proserpine, 'if they are only
+to perplex us? As there are no statutes to guide us, it is obvious that
+the King's will is supreme. Let Orpheus depart, then, with his bride.'
+
+'The latter suggestion is clearly illegal,' said Lachesis.
+
+'Lachesis, and ye, her sisters,' said Proserpine, 'forget, I beseech
+you, any warm words that may have passed between us, and, as a personal
+favour to one who would willingly be your friend, release Eurydice.
+What! you shake your heads! Nay; of what importance can be a single
+miserable shade, and one, too, summoned so cruelly before her time, in
+these thickly-peopled regions?'
+
+''Tis the principle,' said Lachesis; ''tis the principle. Concession is
+ever fatal, however slight. Grant this demand; others, and greater, will
+quickly follow. Mercy becomes a precedent, and the realm is ruined.'
+
+'Ruined!' echoed the Furies.
+
+'And I say _preserved!_' exclaimed Proserpine with energy. 'The State is
+in confusion, and you yourselves confess that you know not how to remedy
+it. Unable to suggest a course, follow mine. I am the advocate of
+mercy; I am the advocate of concession; and, as you despise all higher
+impulses, I meet you on your own grounds. I am their advocate for the
+sake of policy, of expediency.'
+
+'Never!' said the Fates.
+
+'Never!' shrieked the Furies.
+
+'What, then, will you do with Orpheus?'
+
+The Parcae shook their heads; even the Eumenides were silent.
+
+'Then you are unable to carry on the King's government; for Orpheus must
+be disposed of; all agree to that. Pluto, reject these counsellors, at
+once insulting and incapable. Give me the distaff and the fatal shears.
+At once form a new Cabinet; and let the release of Orpheus and Eurydice
+be the basis of their policy.' She threw her arms round his neck and
+whispered in his ear.
+
+Pluto was perplexed; his confidence in the Parcae was shaken. A
+difficulty had occurred with which they could not cope. It was true the
+difficulty had been occasioned by a departure from their own exclusive
+and restrictive policy. It was clear that the gates of Hell ought never
+to have been opened to the stranger; but opened they had been. Forced to
+decide, he decided on the side of _expediency_, and signed a decree for
+the departure of Orpheus and Eurydice. The Parcas immediately resigned
+their posts, and the Furies walked off in a huff. Thus, on the third day
+of the Infernal Marriage, Pluto found that he had quarrelled with all
+his family, and that his ancient administration was broken up. The King
+was without a friend, and Hell was without a Government!
+
+
+
+
+PART II.
+
+     _A Visit to Elysium_
+
+LET us change the scene from Hades to Olympus.
+
+A chariot drawn by dragons hovered over that superb palace whose
+sparkling steps of lapislazuli were once pressed by the daring foot of
+Ixion. It descended into the beautiful gardens, and Ceres, stepping out,
+sought the presence of Jove.
+
+'Father of gods and men,' said the majestic mother of Proserpine,
+'listen to a distracted parent! All my hopes were centred in my
+daughter, the daughter of whom you have deprived me. Is it for this that
+I endured the pangs of childbirth? Is it for this that I suckled her
+on this miserable bosom? Is it for this that I tended her girlish
+innocence, watched with vigilant fondness the development of her
+youthful mind, and cultured with a thousand graces and accomplishments
+her gifted and unrivalled promise? to lose her for ever!'
+
+'Beloved Bona Dea,' replied Jove, 'calm yourself!'
+
+'Jupiter, you forget that I am a mother.'
+
+'It is the recollection of that happy circumstance that alone should
+make you satisfied.'
+
+'Do you mock me? Where is my daughter?'
+
+'In the very situation you should desire. In her destiny all is
+fulfilled which the most affectionate mother could hope. What was the
+object of all your care and all her accomplishments? a good parti; and
+she has found one.'
+
+'To reign in Hell!'
+
+'"Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven." What! would you have
+had her a cup-bearer, like Hebe, or a messenger, like Hermes? Was
+the daughter of Jove and Ceres to be destined to a mere place in our
+household! Lady! she is the object of envy to half the goddesses. Bating
+our own bed, which she could not share, what lot more distinguished than
+hers? Recollect that goddesses, who desire a becoming match, have a
+very limited circle to elect from. Even Venus was obliged to put up with
+Vulcan. It will not do to be too nice. Thank your stars that she is not
+an old maid like Minerva.'
+
+'But Mars? he loved her.'
+
+'A young officer only with his half-pay, however good his connections,
+is surely not a proper mate for our daughter.'
+
+'Apollo?'
+
+'I have no opinion of a literary son-in-law. These scribblers are at
+present the fashion, and are very well to ask to dinner; but I confess a
+more intimate connection with them is not at all to my taste.'
+
+'I meet Apollo everywhere.'
+
+'The truth is, he is courted because every one is afraid of him. He is
+the editor of a daily journal, and under the pretence of throwing light
+upon every subject, brings a great many disagreeable things into notice,
+which is excessively inconvenient. Nobody likes to be paragraphed; and
+for my part I should only be too happy to extinguish the Sun and every
+other newspaper were it only in my power.'
+
+'But Pluto is so old, and so ugly, and, all agree, so ill-tempered.'
+
+'He has a splendid income, a magnificent estate; his settlements are
+worthy of his means. This ought to satisfy a mother; and his political
+influence is necessary to me, and this satisfies a father.'
+
+'But the heart-----'
+
+'As for that, she fancies she loves him; and whether she do or not,
+these feelings, we know, never last. Rest assured, my dear Ceres, that
+our girl has made a brilliant match, in spite of the gloomy atmosphere
+in which she has to reside.'
+
+'It must end in misery. I know Proserpine. I confess it with tears, she
+is a spoiled child.'
+
+'This may occasion Pluto many uneasy moments; but that is nothing to you
+or me. Between ourselves, I shall not be at all surprised if she plague
+his life out.'
+
+'But how can she consort with the Fates? How is it possible for her
+to associate with the Furies? She, who is used to the gayest and most
+amiable society in the world? Indeed, indeed, 'tis an ill-assorted
+union!'
+
+'They are united, however; and, take my word for it, my dear madam, that
+you had better leave Pluto alone. The interference of a mother-in-law is
+proverbially never very felicitous.'
+
+In the meantime affairs went on swimmingly in Tartarus. The obstinate
+Fates and the sulky Furies were unwittingly the cause of universal
+satisfaction. Everyone enjoyed himself, and enjoyment when it is
+unexpected is doubly satisfactory. Tantalus, Sisyphus, and Ixion, for
+the first time during their punishment, had an opportunity for a little
+conversation.
+
+'Long live our reforming Queen,' said the ex-king of Lydia. 'You
+cannot conceive, my dear companions, anything more delightful than this
+long-coveted draught of cold water; its flavour far surpasses the memory
+of my choicest wines. And as for this delicious fruit, one must live
+in a hot climate, like our present one, sufficiently to appreciate
+its refreshing gust. I would, my dear friends, you could only share my
+banquet.'
+
+'Your Majesty is very kind,' replied Sisyphus, 'but it seems to me that
+nothing in the world will ever induce me again to move. One must have
+toiled for ages to comprehend the rapturous sense of repose that now
+pervades my exhausted frame. Is it possible that that damned stone can
+really have disappeared?'
+
+'You say truly,' said Ixion, 'the couches of Olympus cannot compare with
+this resting wheel.'
+
+'Noble Sisyphus,' rejoined Tantalus, 'we are both of us acquainted with
+the cause of our companion's presence in those infernal regions, since
+his daring exploit has had the good fortune of being celebrated by one
+of the fashionable authors of this part of the world.'
+
+'I have never had time to read his work,' interrupted Ixion. 'What sort
+of a fellow is he?'
+
+'One of the most conceited dogs that I ever met with,' replied the King.
+'He thinks he is a great genius, and perhaps he has some little talent
+for the extravagant.'
+
+'Are there any critics in Hell?'
+
+'Myriads. They abound about the marshes of Cocytus, where they croak
+furiously. They are all to a man against our author.'
+
+'That speaks more to his credit than his own self-opinion,' rejoined
+Ixion.
+
+'_A nous moutons!_' exclaimed Tantalus; 'I was about to observe that
+I am curious to learn for what reason our friend Sisyphus was doomed to
+his late terrible exertions.'
+
+'For the simplest in the world,' replied the object of the inquiry;
+'because I was not a hypocrite. No one ever led a pleasanter life than
+myself, and no one was more popular in society. I was considered, as
+they phrased it, the most long-headed prince of my time, and was in
+truth a finished man of the world. I had not an acquaintance whom I had
+not taken in, and gods and men alike favoured me. In an unlucky moment,
+however, I offended the infernal deities, and it was then suddenly
+discovered that I was the most abandoned character of my age. You know
+the rest.'
+
+'You seem,' exclaimed Tantalus, 'to be relating my own history; for I
+myself led a reckless career with impunity, until some of the gods did
+me the honour of dining with me, and were dissatisfied with the repast.
+I am convinced myself that, provided a man frequent the temples, and
+observe with strictness the sacred festivals, such is the force of
+public opinion, that there is no crime which he may not commit without
+hazard.'
+
+'Long live hypocrisy!' exclaimed Ixion. 'It is not my forte. But if I
+began life anew, I would be more observant in my sacrifices.'
+
+'Who could have anticipated this wonderful revolution!' exclaimed
+Sisyphus, stretching himself. 'I wonder what will occur next! Perhaps we
+shall be all released.'
+
+'You say truly,' said Ixion. 'I am grateful to our reforming Queen;
+but I have no idea of stopping here. This cursed wheel indeed no longer
+whirls; but I confess my expectations will be much disappointed if I
+cannot free myself from these adamantine bonds that fix me to its orb.'
+
+'And one cannot drink water for ever,' said Tantalus.
+
+'D--n all half measures,' said Ixion. 'We must proceed in this system of
+amelioration.'
+
+'Without doubt,' responded his companion.
+
+'The Queen must have a party,' continued the audacious lover of Juno.
+'The Fates and the Furies never can be conciliated. It is evident to me
+that she must fall unless she unbinds these chains of mine.'
+
+'And grants me full liberty of egress and regress,' exclaimed Sisyphus.
+
+'And me a bottle of the finest golden wine of Lydia,' said Tantalus.
+
+The infernal honeymoon was over. A cloud appeared in the hitherto serene
+heaven of the royal lovers. Proserpine became unwell. A mysterious
+languor pervaded her frame; her accustomed hilarity deserted her. She
+gave up her daily rides; she never quitted the palace, scarcely her
+chamber. All day long she remained lying on a sofa, and whenever Pluto
+endeavoured to console her she went into hysterics. His Majesty was
+quite miserable, and the Fates and the Furies began to hold up their
+heads. The two court physicians could throw no light upon the complaint,
+which baffled all their remedies. These, indeed, were not numerous,
+for the two physicians possessed each only one idea. With one every
+complaint was nervous; the other traced everything to the liver. The
+name of the first was Dr. Blue-Devil; and of the other Dr. Blue-Pill.
+They were most eminent men.
+
+Her Majesty, getting worse every day, Pluto, in despair, determined to
+send for AEsculapius. It was a long way to send for a physician; but then
+he was the most fashionable one in the world. He cared not how far he
+travelled to visit a patient, because he was paid by the mile; and it
+was calculated that his fee for quitting earth, and attending the Queen
+of Hell, would allow him to leave off business.
+
+What a wise physician was AEsculapius! Physic was his abhorrence. He
+never was known, in the whole course of his practice, ever to have
+prescribed a single drug. He was a handsome man, with a flowing beard
+curiously perfumed, and a robe of the choicest purple. He twirled a cane
+of agate, round which was twined a serpent of precious stones, the gift
+of Juno, and he rode in a chariot drawn by horses of the Sun. When he
+visited Proserpine, he neither examined her tongue nor felt her pulse,
+but gave her an account of a fancy ball which he had attended the last
+evening he passed on _terra firma_. His details were so interesting that
+the Queen soon felt better. The next day he renewed his visit, and gave
+her an account of a new singer that had appeared at Ephesus. The effect
+of this recital was so satisfactory, that a bulletin in the evening
+announced that the Queen was convalescent. The third day AEsculapius
+took his departure, having previously enjoined change of scene for her
+Majesty, and a visit to the Elysian Fields!
+
+'Heh, heh!' shrieked Tisiphone.
+
+'Hah, hah!' squeaked Megaera.
+
+'Hoh, hoh!' moaned Alecto.
+
+'Now or never,' said the infernal sisters. 'There is a decided reaction.
+The moment she embarks, unquestionably we will flare up.' So they ran
+off to the Fates.
+
+'We must be prudent,' said Clotho.
+
+'Our time is not come,' remarked Lachesis.
+
+'I wish the reaction was more decided,' said Atropos; 'but it is a
+great thing that they are going to be parted, for the King must remain.'
+
+The opposition party, although aiming at the same result, was therefore
+evidently divided as to the means by which it was to be obtained. The
+sanguine Furies were for fighting it out at once, and talked bravely
+of the strong conservative spirit only dormant in Tartarus. Even the
+Radicals themselves are dissatisfied: Tantalus is no longer contented
+with water, or Ixion with repose. But the circumspect Fates felt that a
+false step at present could never be regained. They talked, therefore,
+of watching events. Both divisions, however, agreed that the royal
+embarkation was to be the signal for renewed intrigues and renovated
+exertions.
+
+When Proserpine was assured that she must be parted for a time from
+Pluto, she was inconsolable. They passed the night in sorrowful
+embraces. She vowed that she could not live a day without him, and that
+she certainly should die before she reached the first post. The mighty
+heart of the King of Hades was torn to pieces with contending emotions.
+In the agony of his overwhelming passion the security of his realm
+seemed of secondary importance compared with the happiness of his wife.
+Fear and hatred of the Parcae and the Eumenides equalled, however,
+in the breast of Proserpine, her affection for her husband. The
+consciousness that his absence would be a signal for a revolution, and
+that the crown of Tartarus might be lost to her expected offspring,
+animated her with a spirit of heroism. She reconciled herself to the
+terrible separation, on condition that Pluto wrote to her every day.
+
+'Adieu! my best, my only beloved!' ejaculated the unhappy Queen; 'do not
+forget me for a moment; and let nothing in the world induce you to speak
+to any of those horrid people. I know them; I know exactly what they
+will be at: the moment I am gone they will commence their intrigues for
+the restoration of the reign of doom and torture. Do not listen to them,
+my Pluto. Sooner than have recourse to them, seek assistance from their
+former victims.'
+
+'Calm yourself, my Proserpine. Anticipate no evil. I shall be firm; do
+not doubt me. I will cling with tenacity to that _juste milieu_ under
+which we have hitherto so eminently prospered. Neither the Parcae and the
+Eumenides, nor Ixion and his friends, shall advance a point. I will keep
+each faction in awe by the bugbear of the other's supremacy. Trust me, I
+am a profound politician.'
+
+It was determined that the progress of Proserpine to the Elysian Fields
+should be celebrated with a pomp and magnificence becoming her exalted
+station. The day of her departure was proclaimed as a high festival in
+Hell. Tiresias, absent on a secret mission, had been summoned back by
+Pluto, and appointed to attend her Majesty during her journey and her
+visit, for Pluto had the greatest confidence in his discretion. Besides,
+as her Majesty had not at present the advantage of any female society,
+it was necessary that she should be amused; and Tiresias, though
+old, ugly, and blind, was a wit as well as a philosopher, the most
+distinguished diplomatist of his age, and considered the best company in
+Hades.
+
+An immense crowd was assembled round the gates of the palace on the morn
+of the royal departure. With what anxious curiosity did they watch those
+huge brazen portals! Every precaution was taken for the accommodation of
+the public. The streets were lined with troops of extraordinary stature,
+whose nodding plumes prevented the multitude from catching a glimpse of
+anything that passed, and who cracked the skulls of the populace with
+their scimitars if they attempted in the slightest degree to break the
+line. Moreover, there were seats erected which any one might occupy at
+a reasonable rate; but the lord steward, who had the disposal of the
+tickets, purchased them all for himself, and then resold them to his
+fellow-subjects at an enormous price.
+
+At length the hinges of the gigantic portals gave an ominous creak,
+and, amid the huzzas of men and the shrieks of women, the procession
+commenced.
+
+First came the infernal band. It consisted of five hundred performers,
+mounted on different animals. Never was such a melodious blast. Fifty
+trumpeters, mounted on zebras of all possible stripes and tints, and
+working away at huge ramshorns with their cheeks like pumpkins. Then
+there were bassoons mounted on bears, clarionets on camelopards, oboes
+on unicorns, and troops of musicians on elephants, playing on real
+serpents, whose prismatic bodies indulged in the most extraordinary
+convolutions imaginable, and whose arrowy tongues glittered with superb
+agitation at the exquisite sounds which they unintentionally delivered.
+Animals there were, too, now unknown and forgotten; but I must not
+forget the fellow who beat the kettledrums, mounted on an enormous
+mammoth, and the din of whose reverberating blows would have deadened
+the thunder of Olympus.
+
+This enchanting harmony preceded the regiment of Proserpine's own
+guards, glowing in adamantine armour and mounted on coal-black steeds.
+Their helmets were quite awful, and surmounted by plumes plucked from
+the wings of the Harpies, which were alone enough to terrify an earthly
+host. It was droll to observe this troop of gigantic heroes commanded
+by infants, who, however, were arrayed in a similar costume, though, of
+course, on a smaller scale. But such was the admirable discipline of the
+infernal forces, that, though lions to their enemies, they were Iambs to
+their friends; and on the present occasion their colonel was carried in
+a cradle.
+
+After these came twelve most worshipful baboons, in most venerable wigs.
+They were clothed with scarlet robes lined with ermine, and ornamented
+with gold chains, and mounted on the most obstinate and inflexible mules
+in Tartarus. These were the judges. Each was provided with a pannier of
+choice cobnuts, which he cracked with great gravity, throwing the shells
+to the multitude, an infernal ceremony, there held emblematic of their
+profession.
+
+The Lord Chancellor came next in a grand car. Although his wig was even
+longer than those of his fellow functionaries, his manners and the rest
+of his costume afforded a strange contrast to them. Apparently never
+was such a droll, lively fellow. His dress was something between that of
+Harlequin and Scaramouch. He amused himself by keeping in the air
+four brazen balls at the same time, swallowing daggers, spitting fire,
+turning sugar into salt, and eating yards of pink ribbon, which, after
+being well digested, re-appeared through his nose. It is unnecessary to
+add, after this, that he was the most popular Lord Chancellor that had
+ever held the seals, and was received with loud and enthusiastic cheers,
+which apparently repaid him for all his exertions. Notwithstanding his
+numerous and curious occupations, I should not omit to add that his
+Lordship, nevertheless, found time to lead by the nose a most meek and
+milk-white jackass that immediately followed him, and which, in spite
+of the remarkable length of its ears, seemed the object of great
+veneration. There was evidently some mystery about this animal difficult
+to penetrate. Among other characteristics, it was said, at different
+seasons, to be distinguished by different titles; for sometimes it was
+styled 'The Public,' at others 'Opinion,' and occasionally was saluted
+as the 'King's Conscience.'
+
+Now came a numerous company of Priests, in flowing and funereal robes,
+bearing banners, inscribed with the various titles of their Queen; on
+some was inscribed Hecate, on others Juno Inferna, on others Theogamia,
+Libera on some, on others Cotytto. Those that bore banners were crowned
+with wreaths of narcissus, and mounted on bulls blacker than night, and
+of a severe and melancholy aspect. Others walked by their side, bearing
+branches of cypress.
+
+And here I must stop to notice a droll characteristic of the priestly
+economy of Hades. To be a good pedestrian was considered an essential
+virtue of an infernal clergyman; but to be mounted on a black bull was
+the highest distinction of the craft. It followed, therefore, that,
+originally, promotion to such a seat was the natural reward of any
+priest who had distinguished himself in the humbler career of a good
+walker; but in process of time, as even infernal as well as human
+institutions are alike liable to corruption, the black bulls became
+too often occupied by the halt and the crippled, the feeble and the
+paralytic, who used their influence at Court to become thus exempted
+from the performance of the severer duties of which they were incapable.
+This violation of the priestly constitution excited at first great
+murmurs among the abler but less influential brethren. But the murmurs
+of the weak prove only the tyranny of the strong; and so completely in
+the course of time do institutions depart from their original character,
+that the imbecile riders of the black bulls now avowedly defended their
+position on the very grounds which originally should have unseated
+them, and openly maintained that it was very evident that the stout were
+intended to walk, and the feeble to be carried.
+
+The priests were followed by fifty dark chariots, drawn by blue satyrs.
+Herein was the wardrobe of the Queen, and her Majesty's cooks.
+
+Tiresias came next, in a basalt chariot, yoked to royal steeds. He was
+attended by Manto, who shared his confidence, and who, some said, was
+his daughter, and others his niece. Venerable seer! Who could behold
+that flowing beard, and the thin grey hairs of that lofty and wrinkled
+brow, without being filled with sensations of awe and affection? A smile
+of bland benignity played upon his passionless and reverend countenance.
+Fortunate the monarch who is blessed with such a counsellor! Who could
+have supposed that all this time Tiresias was concocting an epigram on
+Pluto!
+
+The Queen! The Queen!
+
+Upon a superb throne, placed upon an immense car, and drawn by twelve
+coal-black steeds, four abreast, reposed the royal daughter of Ceres.
+Her rich dark hair was braided off her high pale forehead, and fell in
+voluptuous clusters over her back. A tiara sculptured out of a single
+brilliant, and which darted a flash like lightning on the surrounding
+multitude, was placed somewhat negligently on the right side of her
+head; but no jewels broke the entrancing swell of her swan-like neck, or
+were dimmed by the lustre of her ravishing arms. How fair was the Queen
+of Hell! How thrilling the solemn lustre of her violet eye! A robe,
+purple as the last hour of twilight, encompassed her transcendent form,
+studded with golden stars!
+
+Through the dim hot streets of Tartarus moved the royal procession,
+until it reached the first winding of the river Styx. Here an immense
+assemblage of yachts and barges, dressed out with the infernal
+colours, denoted the appointed spot of the royal embarkation. Tiresias,
+dismounting from his chariot, and leaning on Manto, now approached her
+Majesty, and requesting her royal commands, recommended her to lose no
+time in getting on board.
+
+'When your Majesty is once on the Styx,' observed the wily seer, 'it may
+be somewhat difficult to recall you to Hades; but I know very little of
+Clotho, may it please your Majesty, if she have not already commenced
+her intrigues in Tartarus.'
+
+'You alarm me!' said Proserpine.
+
+'It was not my intention. Caution is not fear.'
+
+'But do you think that Pluto------'
+
+'May it please your Majesty, I make it a rule never to think. I know too
+much.'
+
+'Let us embark immediately!'
+
+'Certainly; I would recommend your Majesty to get off at once. Myself
+and Manto will accompany you, and the cooks. If an order arrive to stay
+our departure, we can then send back the priests.'
+
+'You counsel well, Tiresias. I wish you had not been absent on my
+arrival. Affairs might have gone better.'
+
+'Not at all. Had I been in Hell, your enemies would have been more wary.
+Your Majesty's excellent spirit carried you through triumphantly; but it
+will not do so twice. You turned them out, and I must keep them out.'
+
+'So be it, my dear friend.' Thus saying, the Queen descended her
+throne, and leaving the rest of her retinue to follow with all possible
+despatch, embarked on board the infernal yacht, with Tiresias, Manto,
+the chief cook, and some chosen attendants, and bid adieu for the first
+time, not without agitation, to the gloomy banks of Tartarus.
+
+The breeze was favourable, and, animated by the exhortations of
+Tiresias, the crew exerted themselves to the utmost. The barque swiftly
+scudded over the dark waters. The river was of great breadth, and in
+this dim region the crew were soon out of sight of land.
+
+'You have been in Elysium?' inquired Proserpine of Tiresias.
+
+'I have been everywhere,' replied the seer, 'and though I am blind have
+managed to see a great deal more than my fellows.'
+
+'I have often heard of you,' said the Queen, 'and I confess that yours
+is a career which has much interested me. What vicissitudes in affairs
+have you not witnessed! And yet you have somehow or other contrived to
+make your way through all the storms in which others have sunk, and are
+now, as you always have been, in an exalted position. What can be
+your magic? I would that you would initiate me. I know that you are a
+prophet, and that even the gods consult you.'
+
+'Your Majesty is complimentary. I certainly have had a great deal of
+experience. My life has no doubt been a long one, but I have made it
+longer by never losing a moment. I was born, too, at a great crisis in
+affairs. Everything that took place before the Trojan war passes for
+nothing in the annals of wisdom. That was a great revolution in all
+affairs human and divine, and from that event we must now date all our
+knowledge. Before the Trojan war we used to talk of the rebellion of
+the Titans, but that business now is an old almanac. As for my powers of
+prophecy, believe me, that those who understand the past are very well
+qualified to predict the future. For my success in life, it may be
+principally ascribed to the observance of a simple rule--I never
+trust anyone, either god or man. I make an exception in favour of the
+goddesses, and especially of your Majesty,' added Tiresias, who piqued
+himself on his gallantry.
+
+While they were thus conversing, the Queen directed the attention
+of Manto to a mountainous elevation which now began to rise in the
+distance, and which, from the rapidity of the tide and the freshness of
+the breeze, they approached at a swift rate.
+
+'Behold the Stygian mountains,' replied Manto. 'Through their centre
+runs the passage of Night which leads to the regions of Twilight.'
+
+'We have, then, far to travel?'
+
+'Assuredly it is no easy task to escape from the gloom of Tartarus
+to the sunbeams of Elysium,' remarked Tiresias; 'but the pleasant is
+generally difficult; let us be grateful that in our instance it is not,
+as usual, forbidden.'
+
+'You say truly; I am sorry to confess how very often it appears to
+me that sin is enjoyment. But see! how awful are these perpendicular
+heights, piercing the descending vapours, with their peaks clothed with
+dark pines! We seem land-locked.'
+
+But the experienced master of the infernal yacht knew well how to steer
+his charge through the intricate windings of the river, which here,
+though deep and navigable, became as wild and narrow as a mountain
+stream; and, as the tide no longer served them, and the wind, from their
+involved course, was as often against them as in their favour, the crew
+were obliged to have recourse to their oars, and rowed along until they
+arrived at the mouth of an enormous cavern, from which the rapid stream
+apparently issued.
+
+'I am frightened out of my wits,' exclaimed Proserpine. 'Surely this
+cannot be our course?'
+
+'I hold, from your Majesty's exclamation,' said Tiresias, 'that we have
+arrived at the passage of Night. When we have proceeded some hundred
+yards, we shall reach the adamantine portals. I pray your Majesty be not
+alarmed. I alone have the signet which can force these mystic gates to
+open. I must be stirring myself. What, ho! Manto.'
+
+'Here am I, father. Hast thou the seal?'
+
+'In my breast. I would not trust it to my secretaries. They have my
+portfolios full of secret despatches, written on purpose to deceive
+them; for I know that they are spies in the pay of Minerva; but your
+Majesty perceives, with a little prudence, that even a traitor may be
+turned to account.'
+
+Thus saying, Tiresias, leaning on Manto, hobbled to the poop of the
+vessel, and exclaiming aloud, 'Behold the mighty seal of Dis, whereon
+is inscribed the word the Titans fear,' the gates immediately flew open,
+revealing the gigantic form of the Titan Porphyrin, whose head touched
+the vault of the mighty cavern, although he was up to his waist in the
+waters of the river.
+
+'Come, my noble Porphyrion,' said Tiresias, 'bestir thyself, I beseech
+thee. I have brought thee a Queen. Guide her Majesty, I entreat thee,
+with safety through this awful passage of Night.'
+
+'What a horrible creature,' whispered Proserpine. 'I wonder you address
+him with such courtesy.'
+
+'I am always courteous,' replied Tiresias. 'How know I that the Titans
+may not yet regain their lost heritage? They are terrible fellows; and
+ugly or not, I have no doubt that even your Majesty would not find them
+so ill-favoured were they seated in the halls of Olympus.'
+
+'There is something in that,' replied Proserpine. 'I almost wish I were
+once more in Tartarus.'
+
+The Titan Porphyrion in the meantime had fastened a chain-cable to the
+vessel, which he placed over his shoulder, and turning his back to the
+crew, then wading through the waters, he dragged on the vessel in its
+course. The cavern widened, the waters spread. To the joy of Proserpine,
+apparently, she once more beheld the moon and stars.
+
+'Bright crescent of Diana!' exclaimed the enraptured Queen, 'and ye
+too, sweet stars, that I have so often watched on the Sicilian plains;
+do I, then, indeed again behold you? or is it only some exquisite vision
+that entrances my being? for, indeed, I do not feel the freshness of
+that breeze that was wont to renovate my languid frame; nor does the
+odorous scent of flowers wafted from the shores delight my jaded senses.
+What is it? Is it life or death; earth, indeed, or Hell?'
+
+''Tis nothing,' said Tiresias, 'but a great toy. You must know that
+Saturn--until at length, wearied by his ruinous experiments, the gods
+expelled him his empire--was a great dabbler in systems. He was always
+for making moons brighter than Diana, and lighting the stars by gas; but
+his systems never worked. The tides rebelled against their mistress, and
+the stars went out with a horrible stench. This is one of his creations,
+the most ingenious, though a failure. Jove made it a present to Pluto,
+who is quite proud of having a sun and stars of his own, and reckons it
+among the choice treasures of his kingdoms.'
+
+'Poor Saturn! I pity him; he meant well.' 'Very true. He is the paviour
+of the high-street of Hades. But we cannot afford kings, and especially
+Gods, to be philosophers. The certainty of misrule is better than the
+chance of good government; uncertainty makes people restless.'
+
+'I feel very restless myself; I wish we were in Elysium!'
+
+'The river again narrows!' exclaimed Manto. 'There is no other portal
+to pass. The Saturnian moon and stars grow fainter, there is a grey tint
+expanding in the distance; 'tis the realm of Twilight; your Majesty will
+soon disembark.'
+
+
+
+
+PART III.
+
+     _Containing an Account of Tiresias at His Rubber_
+
+TRAVELLERS who have left their homes generally grow mournful as the
+evening draws on; nor is there, perhaps, any time at which the pensive
+influence of twilight is more predominant than on the eve that follows a
+separation from those we love. Imagine, then, the feelings of the Queen
+of Hell, as her barque entered the very region of that mystic light,
+and the shadowy shores of the realm of Twilight opened before her. Her
+thoughts reverted to Pluto; and she mused over all his fondness, all his
+adoration, and all his indulgence, and the infinite solicitude of his
+affectionate heart, until the tears trickled down her beautiful cheeks,
+and she marvelled she ever could have quitted the arms of her lover.
+
+'Your Majesty,' observed Manto, who had been whispering to Tiresias,
+'feels, perhaps, a little wearied?'
+
+'By no means, my kind Manto,' replied Proserpine, starting from her
+reverie. 'But the truth is, my spirits are unequal; and though I
+really cannot well fix upon the cause of their present depression, I am
+apparently not free from the contagion of the surrounding gloom.'
+
+'It is the evening air,' said Tiresias. 'Your Majesty had perhaps better
+re-enter the pavilion of the yacht. As for myself, I never venture about
+after sunset. One grows romantic. Night was evidently made for in-door
+nature. I propose a rubber.'
+
+To this popular suggestion Proserpine was pleased to accede, and herself
+and Tiresias, Manto and the captain of the yacht, were soon engaged at
+the proposed amusement.
+
+Tiresias loved a rubber. It was true he was blind, but then, being a
+prophet, that did not signify. Tiresias, I say, loved a rubber, and
+was a first-rate player, though, perhaps, given a little too much to
+_finesse_. Indeed, he so much enjoyed taking in his fellow-creatures,
+that he sometimes could not resist deceiving his own partner. Whist is
+a game which requires no ordinary combination of qualities; at the same
+time, memory and invention, a daring fancy, and a cool head. To a mind
+like that of Tiresias, a pack of cards was full of human nature. A
+rubber was a microcosm; and he ruffed his adversary's king, or brought
+in a long suit of his own with as much dexterity and as much enjoyment
+as, in the real business of existence, he dethroned a monarch, or
+introduced a dynasty.
+
+'Will your Majesty be pleased to draw your card?' requested the sage.
+'If I might venture to offer your Majesty a hint, I would dare to
+recommend your Majesty not to play before your turn. My friends are
+fond of ascribing my success in my various missions to the possession of
+peculiar qualities. No such thing: I owe everything to the simple habit
+of always waiting till it is my turn to speak. And believe me, that he
+who plays before his turn at whist, commits as great a blunder as he who
+speaks before his turn during a negotiation.'
+
+'The trick, and two by honours,' said Proserpine. 'Pray, my dear
+Tiresias, you who are such a fine player, how came you to trump my best
+card?'
+
+'Because I wanted the lead. And those who want to lead, please your
+Majesty, must never hesitate about sacrificing their friends.'
+
+'I believe you speak truly. I was right in playing that thirteenth
+card?'
+
+'Quite so. Above all things, I love a thirteenth card. I send it forth,
+like a mock project in a revolution, to try the strength of parties.'
+
+'You should not have forced me, Lady Manto,' said the Captain of the
+yacht, in a grumbling tone, to his partner. 'By weakening me, you
+prevented me bringing in my spades. We might have made the game.'
+
+'You should not have been forced,' said Tiresias. 'If she made a
+mistake, who was unacquainted with your plans, what a terrible blunder
+you committed to share her error without her ignorance!'
+
+'What, then, was I to lose a trick?'
+
+'Next to knowing when to seize an opportunity,' replied Tiresias, 'the
+most important thing in life is to know when to forego an advantage.'
+
+'I have cut you an honour, sir,' said Manto.
+
+'Which reminds me,' replied Tiresias, 'that, in the last hand, your
+Majesty unfortunately forgot to lead through your adversary's ace. I
+have often observed that nothing ever perplexes an adversary so much as
+an appeal to his honour.'
+
+'I will not forget to follow your advice,' said the Captain of the
+yacht, playing accordingly.
+
+'By which you have lost the game,' quietly remarked Tiresias. 'There are
+exceptions to all rules, but it seldom answers to follow the advice of
+an opponent.'
+
+'Confusion!' exclaimed the Captain of the yacht.
+
+'Four by honours, and the trick, I declare,' said Proserpine. 'I was so
+glad to see you turn up the queen, Tiresias.'
+
+'I also, madam. Without doubt there are few cards better than her royal
+consort, or, still more, the imperial ace. Nevertheless, I must confess,
+I am perfectly satisfied whenever I remember that I have the Queen on my
+side.'
+
+Proserpine bowed.
+
+'I have a good mind to do it, Tiresias,' said Queen Proserpine, as that
+worthy sage paid his compliments to her at her toilet, at an hour which
+should have been noon.
+
+'It would be a great compliment,' said Tiresias.
+
+'And it is not much out of our way?'
+
+'By no means,' replied the seer. ''Tis an agreeable half-way house. He
+lives in good style.'
+
+'And whence can a dethroned monarch gain a revenue?' inquired the Queen.
+
+'Your Majesty, I see, is not at all learned in politics. A sovereign
+never knows what an easy income is till he has abdicated. He generally
+commences squabbling with his subjects about the supplies; he is then
+expelled, and voted, as compensation, an amount about double the sum
+which was the cause of the original quarrel.'
+
+'What do you think, Manto?' said Proserpine, as that lady entered the
+cabin; 'we propose paying a visit to Saturn. He has fixed his residence,
+you know, in these regions of twilight.'
+
+'I love a junket,' replied Manto, 'above all things. And, indeed, I was
+half frightened out of my wits at the bare idea of toiling over this
+desert. All is prepared, please your Majesty, for our landing. Your
+Majesty's litter is quite ready.'
+
+''Tis well,' said Proserpine; and leaning on the arm of Manto, the Queen
+came upon deck, and surveyed the surrounding country, a vast grey flat,
+with a cloudless sky of the same tint: in the distance some lowering
+shadows, which seemed like clouds but were in fact mountains.
+
+'Some half-dozen hours,' said Tiresias, 'will bring us to the palace
+of Saturn. We shall arrive for dinner; the right hour. Let me recommend
+your Majesty to order the curtains of your litter to be drawn, and, if
+possible, to resume your dreams.'
+
+'They were not pleasant,' said Proserpine, 'I dreamt of my mother and
+the Parcae. Manto, methinks I'll read. Hast thou some book?'
+
+'Here is a poem, Madam, but I fear it may induce those very slumbers you
+dread.'
+
+'How call you it?'
+
+'"The Pleasures of Oblivion." The poet apparently is fond of his
+subject.'
+
+'And is, I have no doubt, equal to it. Hast any prose?'
+
+'An historical novel or so.'
+
+'Oh! if you mean those things as full of costume as a fancy ball, and
+almost as devoid of sense, I'll have none of them. Close the curtains;
+even visions of the Furies are preferable to these insipidities.'
+
+The halt of the litter roused the Queen from her slumbers. 'We have
+arrived,' said Manto, as she assisted in withdrawing the curtains.
+
+The train had halted before a vast propylon of rose-coloured granite.
+The gate was nearly two hundred feet in height, and the sides of the
+propylon, which rose like huge moles, were sculptured with colossal
+figures of a threatening aspect. Passing through the propylon, the
+Queen of Hell and her attendants entered an avenue in length about
+three-quarters of a mile, formed of colossal figures of the same
+character and substance, alternately raising in their arms javelins or
+battle-axes, as if about to strike. At the end of this heroic avenue
+appeared the palace of Saturn. Ascending a hundred steps of black
+marble, you stood before a portico supported by twenty columns of the
+same material and shading a single portal of bronze. Apparently the
+palace formed an immense quadrangle; a vast tower rising from each
+corner, and springing from the centre a huge and hooded dome. A crowd of
+attendants, in grey and sad-coloured raiment, issued from the portal
+of the palace at the approach of Proserpine, who remarked with strange
+surprise their singular countenances and demeanour; for rare in this
+silent assemblage was any visage resembling aught she had seen, human
+or divine. Some bore the heads of bats; of owls and beetles others;
+some fluttered moth-like wings, while the shoulders of other bipeds were
+surmounted, in spite of their human organisation, with the heads of rats
+and weasels, of marten-cats and of foxes. But they were all remarkably
+civil; and Proserpine, who was now used to wonders, did not shriek at
+all, and scarcely shuddered.
+
+The Queen of Hell was ushered through a superb hall, and down a splendid
+gallery, to a suite of apartments where a body of damsels of a most
+distinguished appearance awaited her. Their heads resembled those of the
+most eagerly-sought, highly-prized, and oftenest-stolen lap-dogs.
+Upon the shoulders of one was the visage of the smallest and most
+thorough-bred little Blenheim in the world. Upon her front was a white
+star, her nose was nearly flat, and her ears were tied under her chin,
+with the most jaunty air imaginable. She was an evident flirt; and a
+solemn prude of a spaniel, with a black and tan countenance, who seemed
+a sort of duenna, evidently watched her with no little distrust. The
+admirers of blonde beauties would, however, have fallen in love with
+a poodle, with the finest head of hair imaginable, and most voluptuous
+shoulders. This brilliant band began barking in the most insinuating
+tone on the appearance of the Queen; and Manto, who was almost as
+dexterous a linguist as Tiresias himself, informed her Majesty that
+these were the ladies of her bed-chamber; upon which Proserpine, who, it
+will be remembered had no passion for dogs, ordered them immediately out
+of her room.
+
+'What a droll place!' exclaimed the Queen. 'Do you know, we are later
+than I imagined? A hasty toilet to-day; I long to see Saturn. It is
+droll, I am hungry. My purple velvet, I think; it may be considered a
+compliment. No diamonds, only jet; a pearl or two, perhaps. Didst ever
+see the King?
+
+They say he is gentlemanlike, though a bigot. No! no rouge to-day; this
+paleness is quite _apropos_. Were I as radiant as usual, I should be
+taken for Aurora.'
+
+So leaning on Manto, and preceded by the ladies of her bed-chamber,
+whom, notwithstanding their repulse, she found in due attendance in the
+antechamber, Proserpine again continued her progress down the gallery,
+until they stopped at a door, which opening, she was ushered into the
+grand circular saloon, crowned by the dome, whose exterior the Queen had
+already observed. The interior of this apartment was entirely of black
+and grey marble, with the exception of the dome itself, which was of
+ebony, richly carved and supported by more than a hundred columns. There
+depended from the centre of the arch a single chandelier of frosted
+silver, which was itself as big as an ordinary chamber, but of the
+most elegant form, and delicate and fantastic workmanship. As the Queen
+entered the saloon, a personage of venerable appearance, dressed in a
+suit of black velvet, and leaning on an ivory cane, advanced to salute
+her. There was no mistaking this personage; his manners were at once so
+courteous and so dignified. He was clearly their host; and Proserpine,
+who was quite charmed with his grey locks and his black velvet cap, his
+truly paternal air, and the beneficence of his unstudied smile, could
+scarcely refrain from bending her knee, and pressing her lips to his
+extended hand.
+
+'I am proud that your Majesty has remembered me in my retirement,' said
+Saturn, as he led Proserpine to a seat.
+
+Their mutual compliments were soon disturbed by the announcement
+of dinner, and Saturn offering his arm to the Queen with an air of
+politeness which belonged to the old school, but which the ladies admire
+in old men, handed Proserpine to the banqueting-room. They were followed
+by some of the principal personages of her Majesty's suite, and a couple
+of young Titans, who enjoyed the posts of aides-de-camp to the ex-King,
+and whose duties consisted of carving at dinner.
+
+It was a most agreeable dinner, and Proserpine was delighted with
+Saturn, who, of course, sat by her side, and paid her every possible
+attention. Saturn, whose manners, as has been observed, were of the old
+school, loved a good story, and told several. His anecdotes, especially
+of society previous to the Trojan war, were highly interesting. There
+ran through all his behaviour, too, a tone of high breeding and of
+consideration for others which was really charming; and Proserpine, who
+had expected to find in her host a gloomy bigot, was quite surprised
+at the truly liberal spirit with which he seemed to consider affairs in
+general. Indeed this unexpected tone made so great an impression upon
+her, that finding a good opportunity after dinner, when they were
+sipping their coffee apart from the rest of the company, she could not
+refrain from entering into some conversation with the ex-King upon the
+subject, and the conversation ran thus:
+
+'Do you know,' said Proserpine, 'that much as I have been pleased
+and surprised during my visit to the realms of twilight, nothing has
+pleased, and I am sure nothing has surprised me more, than to observe
+the remarkably liberal spirit in which your Majesty views the affairs of
+the day.'
+
+'You give me a title, beautiful Proserpine, to which I have no claim,'
+replied Saturn. 'You forget that I am now only Count Hesperus; I am no
+longer a king, and believe me, I am very glad of it.'
+
+'What a pity, my dear sir, that you would not condescend to conform to
+the spirit of the age. For myself, I am quite a reformer.'
+
+'So I have understood, beautiful Proserpine, which I confess has a
+little surprised me; for to tell you the truth, I do not consider that
+reform is exactly _our_ trade.'
+
+'Affairs cannot go on as they used,' observed Proserpine, oracularly;
+'we must bow to the spirit of the age.'
+
+'And what is that?' inquired Saturn.
+
+'I do not exactly know,' replied Proserpine, 'but one hears of it
+everywhere.'
+
+'I also heard of it a great deal,' replied Saturn, 'and was also
+recommended to conform to it. Before doing so, however, I thought it as
+well to ascertain its nature, and something also of its strength.'
+
+'It is terribly strong,' observed Proserpine.
+
+'But you think it will be stronger?' inquired the ex-King.
+
+'Certainly; every day it is more powerful.'
+
+'Then if, on consideration, we were to deem resistance to it advisable,
+it is surely better to commence the contest at once than to postpone the
+struggle.'
+
+'It is useless to talk of resisting; one must conform.'
+
+'I certainly should consider resistance useless,' replied Saturn, 'for I
+tried it and failed; but at least one has a chance of success; and yet,
+having resisted this spirit and failed, I should not consider myself
+in a worse plight than you would voluntarily place yourself in by
+conforming to it.'
+
+'You speak riddles,' said Proserpine.
+
+'To be plain, then,' replied Saturn, 'I think you may as well at once
+give up your throne, as conform to this spirit.'
+
+'And why so?' inquired Proserpine very ingenuously.'
+
+'Because,' replied Saturn, shrugging up his shoulders, 'I look upon the
+spirit of the age as a spirit hostile to Kings and gods.'
+
+The next morning Saturn himself attended his beautiful guest over his
+residence, which Proserpine greatly admired.
+
+''Tis the work of the Titans,' replied the ex-King. 'There never was a
+party so fond of building palaces.'
+
+'To speak the truth,' said Proserpine, 'I am a little disappointed that
+I have not had an opportunity, during my visit, of becoming acquainted
+with some of the chiefs of that celebrated party; for, although a
+Liberal, I am a female one, and I like to know every sort of person who
+is distinguished.'
+
+'The fact is,' replied her host, 'that the party has never recovered
+from the thunderbolt of that scheming knave Jupiter, and do not bear
+their defeat so philosophically as years, perhaps, permit me to do. If
+we have been vanquished by the spirit of the age,' continued Saturn,
+'you must confess that, in our case, the conqueror did not assume a
+material form very remarkable for its dignity. Had Creation resolved
+itself into its original elements, had Chaos come again, or even old
+Coelus, the indignity might have been endured; but to be baffled by
+an Olympian _juste milieu_, and to find, after all the clamour, that
+nothing has been changed save the places, is, you will own, somewhat
+mortifying.'
+
+'But how do you reconcile,' inquired the ingenuous Proserpine, 'the
+success of Jupiter with the character which you ascribed last night to
+the spirit of the age?'
+
+'Why, in truth,' said Saturn, 'had I not entirely freed myself from all
+party feeling, I might adduce the success of my perfidious and worthless
+relative as very good demonstration that the spirit of the age
+is nothing better than an _ignis fatuus_. Nevertheless, we must
+discriminate. Even the success of Jupiter, although he now conducts
+himself in direct opposition to the emancipating principles he at
+first professed, is no less good evidence of their force; for by his
+professions he rose. And, for my part, I consider it a great homage to
+public opinion to find every scoundrel now-a-days professing himself a
+Liberal.'
+
+'You are candid;' said Proserpine. 'I should like very much to see the
+Titans.'
+
+'My friends are at least consistent,' observed Saturn; 'though certainly
+at present I can say little more for them. Between the despair of one
+section of the party, and the over-sanguine expectations of the other,
+they are at present quite inactive, or move only to ensure fresh
+rebuffs.'
+
+'You see little of them, then?'
+
+'They keep to themselves: they generally frequent a lonely vale in the
+neighbourhood.'
+
+'I should so like to see them!' exclaimed Proserpine.
+
+'Say nothing to Tiresias,' said old Saturn, who was half in love with
+his fair friend, 'and we will steal upon them unperceived.' So saying,
+the god struck the earth with his cane, and there instantly sprang forth
+a convenient car, built of curiously carved cedar, and borne by four
+enormous tawny-coloured owls. Seating himself by the side of the
+delighted Proserpine, Saturn commanded the owls to bear them to the
+Valley of Lamentations.
+
+'Twas an easy fly: the chariot soon descended upon the crest of a hill:
+and Saturn and Proserpine, leaving the car, commenced, by a winding
+path, the slight ascent of a superior elevation. Having arrived there,
+they looked down upon a valley, apparently land-locked by black and
+barren mountains of the most strange, although picturesque forms. In the
+centre of the valley was a black pool or tarn, bordered with dark purple
+flags of an immense size, twining and twisting among which might be
+observed the glancing and gliding folds of several white serpents; while
+crocodiles and alligators, and other horrible forms, poked their foul
+snouts with evident delight in a vast mass of black slime, which had,
+at various times, exuded from the lake. A single tree only was to be
+observed in this desolate place, an enormous and blasted cedar, with
+scarcely a patch of verdure, but extending its black and barren branches
+nearly across the valley. Seated on a loosened crag, but leaning against
+the trunk of the cedar, with his arms folded, his mighty eyes fixed on
+the ground, and his legs crossed with that air of complete repose which
+indicates that their owner is in no hurry again to move them, was
+
+     'A form, some granite god we deemed,
+     Or king of palmy Nile, colossal shapes
+     Such as Syene's rosy quarries yield
+     To Memphian art; Horus, Osiris called,
+     Or Amenoph, who, on the Theban plain,
+     With magic melody the sun salutes;
+     Or he, far mightier, to whose conquering car
+     Monarchs were yoked, Rameses: by the Greeks
+     Sesostris styled.    And yet no sculptor's art
+     Moulded this shape, for form it seemed of flesh,
+     Yet motionless; its dim unlustrous orbs
+     Gazing in stilly vacancy, its cheek
+     Grey  as its hairs, which, thin as they might seem,
+     No breath disturbed; a solemn countenance,
+     Not sorrowful, though full of woe sublime,
+     As if despair were now a distant dream
+     Too dim for memory.'
+
+''Tis their great leader,' said Saturn, as he pointed out the Titan to
+Proserpine, 'the giant Enceladus. He got us into all our scrapes, but I
+must do him the justice to add, that he is the only one who can ever get
+us out of them. They say he has no heart; but I think his hook nose is
+rather fine.'
+
+'Superb!' said Proserpine. 'And who is that radiant and golden-haired
+youth who is seated at his feet?'
+
+''Tis no less a personage than Hyperion himself,' replied Saturn, 'the
+favourite counsellor of Enceladus. He is a fine orator, and makes up by
+his round sentences and choice phrases for the rhetorical deficiencies
+of his chief, who, to speak the truth, is somewhat curt and husky. They
+have enough now to do to manage their comrades and keep a semblance of
+discipline in their routed ranks. Mark that ferocious Briareus there
+scowling in a corner! Didst ever see such a moustache! He glances,
+methinks, with an evil eye on the mighty Enceladus; and, let me tell
+you, Briareus has a great following among them; so they say of him you
+know, that he hath fifty heads and a hundred arms. See! how they gather
+around him.'
+
+'Who speaks now to Briareus?' 'The young and valiant Mimas. Be assured
+he is counselling war. We shall have a debate now.'
+
+'Yon venerable personage, who is seated by the margin of the pool, and
+weeping with the crocodiles------'
+
+'Is old Oceanus.'
+
+'He is apparently much affected by his overthrow.' 'It is his wont to
+weep. He used to cry when he fought, and yet he was a powerful warrior.'
+'Hark!' said Proserpine.
+
+The awful voice of Briareus broke the silence. What a terrible personage
+was Briareus! His wild locks hung loose about his shoulders, and blended
+with his unshorn beard.
+
+'Titans!' shouted the voice which made many a heart tremble, and the
+breathless Proserpine clasp the arm of Saturn. 'Titans! Is that spirit
+dead that once heaped Ossa upon Pelion? Is it forgotten, even by
+ourselves, that a younger born revels in our heritage? Are these forms
+that surround me, indeed, the shapes at whose dread sight the base
+Olympians fled to their fitting earth? Warriors, whose weapons were the
+rocks, whose firebrands were the burning woods, is the day forgotten
+when Jove himself turned craven, and skulked in Egypt? At least my
+memory is keen enough to support my courage, and whatever the dread
+Enceladus may counsel, my voice is still for war!'
+
+There ensued, after this harangue of Briareus, a profound and thrilling
+silence, which was, however, broken in due time by the great leader of
+the Titans himself.
+
+'You mouth it well, Briareus,' replied Enceladus calmly. 'And if great
+words would re-seat us in Olympus, doubtless, with your potent aid,
+we might succeed. It never should be forgotten, however, that had we
+combined at first, in the spirit now recommended, the Olympians would
+never have triumphed; and least of all our party should Briareus and his
+friends forget the reasons of our disunion.'
+
+'I take thy sneer, Enceladus,' said the young and chivalric Mimas, 'and
+throw it in thy teeth. This learn, then, from Briareus and his friends,
+that if we were lukewarm in the hour of peril, the fault lies not to
+our account, but with those who had previously so conducted themselves,
+that, when the danger arrived, it was impossible for us to distinguish
+between our friends and our foes. Enceladus apparently forgets that had
+the Olympians never been permitted to enter Heaven, it would have been
+unnecessary ever to have combined against their machinations.'
+
+'Recrimination is useless,' said a Titan, interposing. 'I was one of
+those who supported Enceladus in the admission of the Olympians above,
+and I regret it. But at the time, like others, I believed it to be the
+only mode of silencing the agitation of Jupiter.'
+
+'I separated from Enceladus on that question,' said a huge Titan, lying
+his length on the ground and leaning one arm on a granite crag; 'but
+I am willing to forget all our differences and support him with all
+my heart and strength in another effort to restore our glorious
+constitution.'
+
+'Titans,' said Enceladus, 'who is there among you who has found me a
+laggard in the day of battle?'
+
+When the Olympians, as Briareus thinks it necessary to remind you,
+fled, I was your leader. Remember, however, then, that there were no
+thunderbolts. As for myself, I candidly confess to you, that, since the
+invention of these weapons by Jove, I do not see how war can be carried
+on by us any longer with effect.'
+
+'By the memory of old Coelus and these fast-flowing tears,' murmured the
+venerable Oceanus, patting at the same time a crocodile on the back,
+'I call you all to witness that I have no interest to deceive you.
+Nevertheless, we should not forget that, in this affair of the
+thunderbolts, it is the universal opinion that there is a very
+considerable reaction. I have myself, only within these few days,
+received authentic information that several have fallen of late without
+any visible ill effects; and I am credibly assured that, during the late
+storm in Thessaly, a thunderbolt was precipitated into the centre of a
+vineyard, without affecting the flavour of a single grape.'
+
+Here several of the Titans, who had gathered round Enceladus, shook
+their heads and shrugged their shoulders, and a long and desultory
+conversation ensued upon the copious and very controversial subject of
+Re-action. In the meantime Rhoetus, a young Titan, whispered to one of
+his companions, that for his part he was convinced that the only way
+to beat the Olympians was to turn them into ridicule; and that he would
+accordingly commence at once with the pasquinade on the private life of
+Jupiter, and some peculiarly delicate criticisms on the characters of
+the goddesses.
+
+
+
+
+PART IV.
+
+     _Containing the First View of Elysium_
+
+THE toilsome desert was at length passed, and the royal cavalcade
+ascended the last chasm of mountains that divided Elysium, or the
+Regions of Bliss, from the Realm of Twilight. As she quitted those
+dim and dreary plains, the spirit of Proserpine grew lighter, and she
+indulged in silent but agreeable anticipations of the scene which she
+was now approaching. On reaching, however, the summit of the mountainous
+chain, and proceeding a short distance over the rugged table-land into
+which it now declined, her Majesty was rather alarmed at perceiving that
+her progress was impeded by a shower of flame that extended, on either
+side, as far as the eye could reach. Her alarm, however, was of short
+continuance; for, on the production of his talisman by Tiresias, the
+shower of flame instantly changed into silvery drops of rose-water and
+other delicious perfumes. Amid joyous peals of laughter, and some
+slight playful screams on the part of the ladies, the cavalcade ventured
+through the ordeal. Now the effect of this magical bath was quite
+marvellous. A burthen seemed suddenly to have been removed from the
+spirits of the whole party; their very existence seemed renewed; the
+blood danced about their veins in the liveliest manner imaginable; and
+a wild but pleasing titillation ran like lightning through their nerves,
+their countenances sparkled with excitement; and they all talked at the
+same time. Proserpine was so occupied with her own sensations, that she
+did not immediately remark the extraordinary change that had occurred
+in the appearance of the country immediately on passing this magical
+barrier. She perceived that their course now led over the most elastic
+and carefully-shaven turf; groups of beautiful shrubs occasionally
+appeared, and she discovered with delight that their flowers constantly
+opened, and sent forth from their bells diminutive birds of radiant
+plumage. Above them, too, the clouds vanished, and her head was canopied
+by a sky, unlike, indeed, all things and tints of earth, but which
+reminded her, in some degree, of the splendour of Olympus.
+
+Proserpine, restless with delight, quitted her litter, and followed by
+Manto, ran forward to catch the first view of Elysium.
+
+'I am quite out of breath,' said her Majesty, 'and really must sit down
+on this bank of violets. Was ever anything in the world so delightful?
+Why, Olympus is nothing to it! And after Tartarus, too, and that poor
+unhappy Saturn, and his Titans and his twilight, it really is too much
+for me. How I do long for the view! and yet, somehow or other, my heart
+beats so I cannot walk.'
+
+'Will your Majesty re-ascend your litter?' suggested Manto.
+
+'Oh, no! that is worse than anything. They are a mile behind; they are
+so slow. Why, Manto! what is this?'
+
+A beautiful white dove hovered in the air over the head of Proserpine
+and her attendant, and then dropping an olive branch into the lap of the
+Queen, flapped its wings and whirled away. But what an olive branch!
+the stem was of agate; each leaf was an emerald; and on the largest, in
+letters of brilliants, was this inscription:
+
+     _The Elysians to Their Beautiful Queen_
+
+'Oh, is it not superb?' exclaimed Proserpine. 'What charming people,
+and what excellent subjects! What loyalty and what taste!'
+
+So saying, the enraptured Proserpine rose from the bank of violets, and
+had scarcely run forwards fifty yards when she suddenly stopped, and
+started with an exclamation of wonder. The table-land had ceased. She
+stood upon a precipice of white marble, in many parts clothed with
+thick bowers of myrtle; before her extended the wide-spreading plains of
+Elysium. They were bounded upon all sides by gentle elevations entirely
+covered with flowers, and occasionally shooting forward into the
+champaign country; behind these appeared a range of mountains clothed
+with bright green forests, and still loftier heights behind them,
+exhibiting, indeed, only bare and sharply-pointed peaks glittering with
+prismatic light. The undulating plain was studded in all directions with
+pavilions and pleasure-houses, and groves and gardens glowing with the
+choicest and most charming fruit; and a broad blue river wound through
+it, covered with brilliant boats, the waters flashing with phosphoric
+light as they were cut by the swift and gliding keels. And in the centre
+of the plain rose a city, a mighty group of all that was beautiful in
+form and costly in materials, bridges and palaces and triumphal gates of
+cedar and of marble, columns and minarets of gold, and cupolas and domes
+of ivory; and ever and anon appeared delicious gardens, raised on the
+terraces of the houses; and groups of palm trees with their tall, thin
+stems, and quivering and languid crests, rose amid the splendid masonry.
+A sweet soft breeze touched the cheek of the entranced Proserpine, and a
+single star of silver light glittered in the rosy sky.
+
+''Tis my favourite hour,' exclaimed Proserpine. 'Thus have I gazed upon
+Hesperus in the meads of Enna! What a scene! How fortunate that we
+should have arrived at sunset!'
+
+'Ah, Madam!' observed Manto, 'in Elysium the sky is ever thus. For the
+Elysians, the sun seems always to have just set!'
+
+'Fortunate people!' replied Proserpine. 'In them, immortality and
+enjoyment seem indeed blended together. A strange feeling, half of
+languor, half of voluptuousness, steals over my senses! It seems that
+I at length behold the region of my girlish dreams. Such once I fancied
+Olympus. Ah! why does not my Pluto live in Elysium?'
+
+The Elysians consisted of a few thousand beatified mortals, the only
+occupation of whose existence was enjoyment; the rest of the population
+comprised some millions of Gnomes and Sylphs, who did nothing but work,
+and ensured by their labour the felicity of the superior class. Every
+Elysian, male or female, possessed a magnificent palace in the city,
+and an elegant pavilion on the plain; these, with a due proportion of
+chariots, horses, and slaves, constituted a proper establishment. The
+Sylphs and the Gnomes were either scattered about the country, which
+they cultivated, or lived in the city, where they kept shops, and where
+they emulated each other in displaying the most ingenious articles
+of luxury and convenience for the enjoyment and accommodation of the
+Elysians. The townspeople, indeed, rather affected to look down upon
+the more simple-minded agriculturists; but if these occasionally felt a
+little mortification in consequence, they might have been consoled, had
+they been aware that their brethren and sisters who were in the service
+of the Elysians avenged their insults, for these latter were the finest
+Gnomes and Sylphs imaginable, and scarcely deigned to notice any one who
+was in trade. Whether there were any coin or other circulating medium
+current in Elysium is a point respecting which I must confess I have not
+sufficient information to decide; but if so, it certainly would appear
+that all money transactions were confined to the Gnomes and the Sylphs,
+for the Elysians certainly never paid for anything. Perhaps this
+exemption might have been among their peculiar privileges, and was a
+substitute for what we call credit, a convenience of which the ancients
+appear to have had a limited conception. The invention, by Jupiter, of
+an aristocratic immortality, as a reward for a well-spent life on earth,
+appears to have been an ingenious idea. It really is a reward, very
+stimulative of good conduct before we shuffle off the mortal coil, and
+remarkably contrasts with the democracy of the damned. The Elysians,
+with a splendid climate, a teeming soil, and a nation made on purpose
+to wait upon them, of course enjoyed themselves very much. The arts
+flourished, the theatres paid, and they had a much finer opera than at
+Ephesus or at Halicarnassus. Their cookery was so refined, that one of
+the least sentimental ceremonies in the world was not only deprived of
+all its grossness, but was actually converted into an elegant amusement,
+and so famous that their artists were even required at Olympus. If their
+dinners were admirable, which is rare, their assemblies were amusing,
+which is still more uncommon. All the arts of society were carried to
+perfection in Elysium; a dull thing was never said, and an awkward thing
+never done. The Elysians, indeed, being highly refined and gifted, for
+they comprised in their order the very cream of terrestrial society,
+were naturally a liberal-minded race of nobles, and capable of
+appreciating every kind of excellence. If a Gnome or a Sylph, therefore,
+in any way distinguished themselves; if they sang very well, or acted
+very well, or if they were at all eminent for any of the other arts of
+amusement, ay! indeed if the poor devils could do nothing better than
+write a poem or a novel, they were sure to be noticed by the Elysians,
+who always bowed to them as they passed by, and sometimes indeed even
+admitted them into their circles.
+
+Scarcely had the train of Proserpine rejoined her on the brink of the
+precipice, than they heard the flourish of trumpets near at hand, soon
+followed by a complete harmony of many instruments. A chorus of sweet
+voices was next distinguished, growing each instant more loud and clear;
+and in a few minutes, issuing from a neighbouring grove, came forth
+a band of heroes and beautiful women, dressed in dazzling raiment,
+to greet the Queen. A troop of chariots of light and airy workmanship
+followed, and a crowd of Gnomes and Sylphs singing and playing on
+various instruments, and dancing with gestures of grace and delicacy.
+Congratulating the Queen on her arrival in Elysium, and requesting the
+honour of being permitted to attend her to her palace, they ushered
+Proserpine and her companions to the chariots, and soon, winding down a
+gradual declivity, they entered the plain.
+
+If a bird's-eye view of the capital had enchanted Proserpine, the
+agreeable impression was not diminished, as is generally the case, by
+her entrance into the city. Never were so much splendour and neatness
+before combined. Passing through a magnificent arch, Proserpine entered
+a street of vast and beautiful proportions, lined on each side with
+palaces of various architecture, painted admirably in fresco, and richly
+gilt. The road was formed of pounded marbles of various colours, laid
+down in fanciful patterns, and forming an unrivalled mosaic; it was
+bounded on each side by a broad causeway of jasper, of a remarkably
+bright green, clouded with milk-white streaks. This street led to a
+sumptuous square, forming alone the palace destined for Proserpine.
+Its several fronts were supported and adorned by ten thousand columns,
+imitating the palm and the lotus; nor is it possible to conceive
+anything more light and graceful than the general effect of this
+stupendous building. Each front was crowned with an immense dome of
+alabaster, so transparent, that when the palace was illuminated the rosy
+heaven grew pale, and an effect similar to moonlight was diffused over
+the canopy of Elysium. And in the centre of the square a Leviathan,
+carved in white coral, and apparently flouncing in a huge basin of rock
+crystal, spouted forth from his gills a fountain twelve hundred feet in
+height; from one gill ascended a stream of delicious wine, which might
+be tempered, if necessary, by the iced water that issued from the other.
+
+At the approach of the Queen, the gigantic gates of the palace,
+framed of carved cedar, flew open with a thrilling burst of music, and
+Proserpine found herself in a hall wherein several hundred persons, who
+formed her household, knelt in stillness before her. Wearied with her
+long journey, and all the excitement of the day, Proserpine signified to
+one of the Elysians in attendance her desire for refreshment and
+repose. Immediately the household rose, and gracefully bowing retired in
+silence, while four ladies of the bed-chamber, very different from the
+dogfaced damsels of the realm of Twilight, advanced with a gracious
+smile, and each pressing a white hand to her heart, invited her Majesty
+to accompany them. Twelve beautiful pages in fanciful costume, and each
+bearing a torch of cinnamon, preceded them, and Proserpine ascended
+a staircase of turquoise and silver. As she passed along, she caught
+glimpses of costly galleries, and suites of gorgeous chambers, but she
+was almost too fatigued to distinguish anything. A confused vision of
+long lines of white columns, roofs of carved cedar, or ceilings glowing
+with forms of exquisite beauty, walls covered with lifelike tapestry,
+or reflecting in their mighty mirrors her own hurrying figure, and her
+picturesque attendants, alone remained. She rejoiced when she at length
+arrived in a small chamber, in which preparations evidently denoted
+that it was intended she should rest. It was a pretty little saloon,
+brilliantly illuminated, and hung with tapestry depicting a party of
+nymphs and shepherds feasting in an Arcadian scene. In the middle of the
+chamber a banquet was prepared, and as Proserpine seated herself, and
+partook of some of the delicacies which a page immediately presented to
+her, there arose, from invisible musicians, a joyous and festive strain,
+which accompanied her throughout her repast. When her Majesty had
+sufficiently refreshed herself, and as the banquet was removing, the
+music assumed a softer and more subduing, occasionally even a solemn
+tone; the tapestry, slowly shifting, at length represented the same
+characters sunk in repose; the attendants all this time gradually
+extinguishing the lights, and stealing on tiptoe from the chamber. So
+that, at last, the music, each moment growing fainter, entirely ceased;
+the figures on the tapestry were scarcely perceptible by the dim lustre
+of a single remaining lamp; and the slumbering Proserpine fell back upon
+her couch.
+
+But the Queen of Hell was not destined to undisturbed repose. A dream
+descended on her brain, and the dream was terrible and strange. She
+beheld herself a child, playing, as was her wont, in the gardens of
+Enna, twining garlands of roses, and chasing butterflies. Suddenly, from
+a bosky thicket of myrtle, slowly issued forth an immense serpent, dark
+as night, but with eyes of the most brilliant tint, and approached the
+daughter of Ceres. The innocent child, ignorant of evil, beheld the
+monster without alarm. Not only did she neither fly nor shriek, but she
+even welcomed and caressed the frightful stranger, patted its voluminous
+back, and admired its sparkling vision. The serpent, fascinated instead
+of fascinating, licked her feet with his arrowy tongue, and glided about
+for her diversion in a thousand shapes. Emboldened by its gentleness,
+the little Proserpine at length even mounted on its back, and rode in
+triumph among her bowers. Every day the dark serpent issued from the
+thicket, and every day he found a welcome playmate. Now it come to
+pass that one day the serpent, growing more bold, induced the young
+Proserpine to extend her ride beyond the limits of Enna. Night came on,
+and as it was too late to return, the serpent carried her to a large
+cave, where it made for her a couch of leaves, and while she slept the
+affectionate monster kept guard for her protection at the mouth of the
+cavern. For some reason or other which was not apparent, for in dreams
+there are always some effects without causes, Proserpine never returned
+to Enna, but remained and resided with cheerfulness in this cavern. Each
+morning the serpent went forth alone to seek food for its charge,
+and regularly returned with a bough in its mouth laden with delicious
+fruits. One day, during the absence of her guardian, a desire seized
+Proserpine to quit the cavern, and accordingly she went forth. The fresh
+air and fragrance of the earth were delightful to her, and she roamed
+about, unconscious of time, and thoughtless of her return. And as she
+sauntered along, singing to herself, a beautiful white dove, even
+the same dove that had welcomed her in the morning on the heights of
+Elysium, flew before her with its wings glancing in the sunshine. It
+seemed that the bird wished to attract the attention of the child, so
+long and so closely did it hover about her; now resting on a branch, as
+if inviting capture, and then skimming away only to return more swiftly;
+and occasionally, when for a moment unnoticed, even slightly flapping
+the rambler with its plume. At length the child was taken with a fancy
+to catch the bird. But no sooner had she evinced this desire, than the
+bird, once apparently so anxious to be noticed, seemed resolved to
+lead her a weary chase; and hours flew away ere Proserpine, panting and
+exhausted, had captured the beautiful rover and pressed it to her bosom.
+
+It was, indeed, a most beautiful bird, and its possession repaid her
+for all her exertions. But lo! as she stood, in a wild sylvan scene
+caressing it, smoothing its soft plumage, and pressing its head to her
+cheek, she beheld in the distance approaching her the serpent, and
+she beheld her old friend with alarm. Apparently her misgiving was
+not without cause. She observed in an instant that the appearance and
+demeanour of the serpent were greatly changed. It approached her swift
+as an arrow, its body rolling in the most agitated contortions, its jaws
+were distended as if to devour her, its eyes flashed fire, its tongue
+was a forked flame, and its hiss was like a stormy wind. Proserpine
+shrieked, and the Queen of Hell awoke from her dream.
+
+The next morning the Elysian world called to pay their respects to
+Proserpine. Her Majesty, indeed, held a drawing-room, which was
+fully and brilliantly attended. Her beauty and her graciousness were
+universally pronounced enchanting. From this moment the career of
+Proserpine was a series of magnificent entertainments. The principal
+Elysians vied with each other in the splendour and variety of the
+amusements, which they offered to the notice of their Queen. Operas,
+plays, balls, and banquets followed in dazzling succession. Proserpine,
+who was almost inexperienced in society, was quite fascinated. She
+regretted the years she had wasted in her Sicilian solitude; she
+marvelled that she ever could have looked forward with delight to a dull
+annual visit to Olympus; she almost regretted that, for the sake of an
+establishment, she could have been induced to cast her lot in the regal
+gloom of Tartarus. Elysium exactly suited her. The beauty of the climate
+and the country, the total absence of care, the constant presence of
+amusement, the luxury, gaiety, and refined enjoyment perfectly accorded
+with her amiable disposition, her lively fancy and her joyous temper.
+She drank deep and eagerly of the cup of pleasure. She entered into all
+the gay pursuits of her subjects; she even invented new combinations
+of diversion. Under her inspiring rule every one confessed that Elysium
+became every day more Elysian. The manners of her companions greatly
+pleased her. She loved those faces always wreathed with smiles, yet
+never bursting into laughter. She was charmed at the amiable tone in
+which they addressed each other. Never apparently were people at the
+same time so agreeable, so obliging, and so polished. For in all they
+said and did might be detected that peculiar air of high-breeding which
+pervades the whole conduct of existence with a certain indefinable
+spirit of calmness, so that your nerves are never shaken by too intense
+an emotion, which eventually produces a painful reaction. Whatever they
+did, the Elysians were careful never to be vehement; a grand passion,
+indeed, was unknown in these happy regions; love assumed the milder form
+of flirtation; and as for enmity, you were never abused except behind
+your back, or it exuded itself in an epigram, or, at the worst, a
+caricature scribbled upon a fan.
+
+There is one characteristic of the Elysians which, in justice to them, I
+ought not to have omitted. They were eminently a moral people. If a lady
+committed herself, she was lost for ever, and packed off immediately to
+the realm of Twilight. Indeed, they were so particular, that the moment
+one of the softer sex gave the slightest symptoms of preference to
+a fortunate admirer, the Elysian world immediately began to look
+unutterable things, shrug its moral shoulders, and elevate its
+charitable eyebrows. But if the preference, by any unlucky chance,
+assumed the nobler aspect of devotion, and the unhappy fair one gave any
+indication of really possessing a heart, rest assured she was already
+half way on the road to perdition. Then commenced one of the most
+curious processes imaginable, peculiar I apprehend to Elysium, but which
+I record that the society of less fortunate lands may avail itself of
+the advantage, and adopt the regulation in its moral police. Immediately
+that it was clearly ascertained that two persons of different sexes took
+an irrational interest in each other's society, all the world instantly
+went about, actuated by a purely charitable sentiment, telling the most
+extraordinary falsehoods concerning them that they could devise. Thus it
+was the fashion to call at one house and announce that you had detected
+the unhappy pair in a private box at the theatre, and immediately to pay
+your respects at another mansion and declare that you had observed them
+on the very same day, and at the very same hour, in a boat on the river.
+At the next visit, the gentleman had been discovered driving her in his
+cab; and in the course of the morning the scene of indiscretion was the
+Park, where they had been watched walking by moonlight, muffled up in
+sables and cashmeres.
+
+This curious process of diffusing information was known in Elysium
+under the title of _'being talked about;_' and although the stories thus
+disseminated were universally understood to be fictions, the Elysians
+ascribed great virtue to the proceeding, maintaining that many an
+indiscreet fair one had been providentially alarmed by thus becoming the
+subject of universal conversation; that thus many a reputation had
+been saved by this charitable slander. There were some malignant
+philosophers, indeed, doubtless from that silly love of paradox in all
+ages too prevalent, who pretended that all this Elysian morality was one
+great delusion, and that this scrupulous anxiety about the conduct of
+others arose from a principle, not of _Purity_, but of _Corruption_.
+The woman who is 'talked about,' these sages would affirm, is generally
+virtuous, and she is only abused because she devotes to one the charms
+which all wish to enjoy.
+
+Thus Dido, who is really one of the finest creatures that ever existed,
+and who with a majestic beauty combines an heroic soul, has made her
+way with difficulty to the Elysian circle, to which her charms and
+rank entitle her; while Helen, who, from her very _debut_, has
+been surrounded by fifty lovers, and whose intrigues have ever been
+notorious, is the very queen of fashion; and all this merely because she
+has favoured fifty instead of one, and in the midst of all her scrapes
+has contrived to retain the countenance of her husband.
+
+Apropos of Dido, the Queen of Carthage was the person in all Elysium for
+whom Proserpine took the greatest liking. Exceedingly beautiful, with
+the most generous temper and the softest heart in the world, and blessed
+by nature with a graceful simplicity of manner, which fashion had
+never sullied, it really was impossible to gaze upon the extraordinary
+brilliancy of her radiant countenance, to watch the symmetry of her
+superb figure, and to listen to the artless yet lively observations
+uttered by a voice musical as a bell, without being fairly bewitched.
+
+When we first enter society, we are everywhere; yet there are few, I
+imagine, who, after a season, do not subside into a coterie. When the
+glare of saloons has ceased to dazzle, and we are wearied with the
+heartless notice of a crowd, we require refinement and sympathy. We find
+them, and we sink into a clique. And after all, can the river of life
+flow on more agreeably than in a sweet course of pleasure with those
+we love? To wander in the green shade of secret woods and whisper our
+affection; to float on the sunny waters of some gentle stream, and
+listen to a serenade; to canter with a light-hearted cavalcade over
+breezy downs, or cool our panting chargers in the summer stillness of
+winding and woody lanes; to banquet with the beautiful and the witty; to
+send care to the devil, and indulge the whim of the moment; the priest,
+the warrior and the statesman may frown and struggle as they like; but
+this is existence, and this, this is Elysium!
+
+So Proserpine deemed when, wearied with the monotony of the great
+world, she sought refuge in the society of Dido and Atalanta, Achilles,
+Amphion, and Patroclus or Memnon. When AEneas found that Dido had become
+fashionable, he made overtures for a reconciliation, but Dido treated
+him with calm contempt. The pious AEneas, indeed, was the aversion of
+Proserpine. He was the head of the Elysian saints, was president of a
+society to induce the Gnomes only to drink water, and was so horrified
+at the general conduct of the Elysians, that he questioned the decrees
+of Minos and Rhadamanthus, who had permitted them to enter the happy
+region so easily. The pious AEneas was of opinion that everybody ought to
+have been damned except himself. Proserpine gave him no encouragement.
+Achilles was the finest gentleman in Elysium. No one dressed or rode
+like him. He was very handsome, very witty, very unaffected, and had an
+excellent heart. Achilles was the leader of the Elysian youth, who were
+indeed devoted to him: Proserpine took care, therefore, that he should
+dangle in her train. Amphion had a charming voice for a supper after the
+opera. He was a handsome little fellow, but not to be depended upon.
+He broke a heart, or a dinner engagement, with the same reckless
+sentimentality; for he was one of those who always weep when they betray
+you, and whom you are sure never to see again immediately that they have
+vowed eternal friendship. Patroclus was a copy of Achilles without his
+talents and vivacity, but elegant and quiet. Of all these, Memnon was
+perhaps the favourite of Proserpine; nor must he be forgotten; amiable,
+gay, brilliant, the child of whim and impulse, in love with every woman
+he met for four-and-twenty hours, and always marvelling at his own
+delusion!
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
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+      The Infernal Marriage, by Benjamin Disraeli
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Infernal Marriage, by Benjamin Disraeli
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
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+
+Title: The Infernal Marriage
+
+Author: Benjamin Disraeli
+
+Release Date: December 3, 2006 [EBook #20003]
+Last Updated: August 26, 2016
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INFERNAL MARRIAGE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <h1>
+      THE INFERNAL MARRIAGE
+    </h1>
+    <h2>
+      By Benjamin Disraeli
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <blockquote>
+      <p>
+        <i>Proserpine was the daughter of Jupiter and Ceres. Pluto, the god of
+        Hell, became enamoured of her. His addresses were favoured by her
+        father, but opposed by Ceres. Under these circumstances, he surprised
+        her on the plains of Enna, and carried her off in his chariot.</i>
+      </p>
+    </blockquote>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <blockquote>
+      <p class="toc">
+        <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big>
+      </p>
+      <p>
+        <br />
+      </p>
+      <p>
+        <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <big><b>THE INFERNAL MARRIAGE</b></big> </a>
+      </p>
+      <p>
+        <br />
+      </p>
+      <p class="toc">
+        <a href="#link2H_PART1"> PART I. </a>
+      </p>
+      <p class="toc">
+        <a href="#link2H_PART2"> PART II. </a>
+      </p>
+      <p class="toc">
+        <a href="#link2H_PART3"> PART III. </a>
+      </p>
+      <p class="toc">
+        <a href="#link2H_PART4"> PART IV. </a>
+      </p>
+    </blockquote>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h1>
+      THE INFERNAL MARRIAGE
+    </h1>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_PART1" id="link2H_PART1">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      PART I.
+    </h2>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+     <i>A Sublime Elopement</i>
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      IT WAS clearly a runaway match&mdash;never indeed was such a sublime
+      elopement. The four horses were coal-black, with blood-red manes and
+      tails; and they were shod with rubies. They were harnessed to a basaltic
+      car by a single rein of flame. Waving his double-pronged trident in the
+      air, the god struck the blue breast of Cyane, and the waters instantly
+      parted. In rushed the wild chariot, the pale and insensible Proserpine
+      clinging to the breast of her grim lover.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Through the depths of the hitherto unfathomed lake the infernal steeds
+      held their breathless course. The car jolted against its bed. &lsquo;Save me!&rsquo;
+      exclaimed the future Queen of Hades, and she clung with renewed energy to
+      the bosom of the dark bridegroom. The earth opened; they entered the
+      kingdom of the gnomes. Here Pluto was popular. The lurid populace gave him
+      a loud shout. The chariot whirled along through shadowy cities and by dim
+      highways, swarming with a busy race of shades.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Ye flowery meads of Enna!&rsquo; exclaimed the terrified Proserpine, &lsquo;shall I
+      never view you again? What an execrable climate!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Here, however, in-door nature is charming,&rsquo; responded Pluto. &lsquo;Tis a great
+      nation of manufacturers. You are better, I hope, my Proserpine. The
+      passage of the water is never very agreeable, especially to ladies.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And which is our next stage?&rsquo; inquired Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The centre of Earth,&rsquo; replied Pluto. &lsquo;Travelling is so much improved that
+      at this rate we shall reach Hades before night.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Alas!&rsquo; exclaimed Proserpine, &lsquo;is not this night?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You are not unhappy, my Proserpine?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Beloved of my heart, I have given up everything for you! I do not repent,
+      but I am thinking of my mother.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Time will pacify the Lady Ceres. What is done cannot be undone. In the
+      winter, when a residence among us is even desirable, I should not be
+      surprised were she to pay us a visit.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Her prejudices are so strong,&rsquo; murmured the bride. &lsquo;Oh my Pluto! I hope
+      your family will be kind to me.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Who could be unkind to Proserpine? Ours is a very domestic circle. I can
+      assure you that everything is so well ordered among us that I have no
+      recollection of a domestic broil.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But marriage is such a revolution in a bachelor&rsquo;s establishment,&rsquo; replied
+      Proserpine, despondingly. &lsquo;To tell the truth, too, I am half frightened at
+      the thought of the Furies. I have heard that their tempers are so
+      violent.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;They mean well; their feelings are strong, but their hearts are in the
+      right place. I flatter myself you will like my nieces, the Parcæ. They are
+      accomplished, and favourites among the men.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Indeed!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Oh! quite irresistible.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My heart misgives me. I wish you had at least paid them the compliment of
+      apprising them of our marriage.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Cheer up. For myself, I have none but pleasant anticipations. I long to
+      be at home once more by my own fireside, and patting my faithful
+      Cerberus.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I think I shall like Cerberus; I am fond of dogs.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I am sure you will. He is the most faithful creature in the world.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Is he very fierce?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Not if he takes a fancy to you; and who can help taking a fancy to
+      Proserpine?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Ah! my Pluto, you are in love.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Is this Hades?&rsquo; inquired Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      An avenue of colossal bulls, sculptured in basalt and breathing living
+      flame, led to gates of brass, adorned with friezes of rubies, representing
+      the wars and discomfiture of the Titans. A crimson cloud concealed the
+      height of the immense portals, and on either side hovered o&rsquo;er the
+      extending walls of the city; a watch-tower or a battlement occasionally
+      flashing forth, and forcing their forms through the lurid obscurity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Queen of Hades! welcome to your capital!&rsquo; exclaimed Pluto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The monarch rose in his car and whirled a javelin at the gates. There was
+      an awful clang, and then a still more terrible growl.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My faithful Cerberus!&rsquo; exclaimed the King.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The portals flew open, and revealed the gigantic form of the celebrated
+      watch-dog of Hell. It completely filled their wide expanse. Who but Pluto
+      could have viewed without horror that enormous body covered with shaggy
+      spikes, those frightful paws clothed with claws of steel, that tail like a
+      boa constrictor, those fiery eyes that blazed like the blood-red lamps in
+      a pharos, and those three forky tongues, round each of which were entwined
+      a vigorous family of green rattlesnakes!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Ah! Cerby! Cerby!&rsquo; exclaimed Pluto; &lsquo;my fond and faithful Cerby!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Proserpine screamed as the animal gambolled up to the side of the chariot
+      and held out its paw to its master. Then, licking the royal palm with its
+      three tongues at once, it renewed its station with a wag of its tail which
+      raised such a cloud of dust that for a few minutes nothing was
+      perceptible.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The monster!&rsquo; exclaimed Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My love!&rsquo; exclaimed Pluto, with astonishment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The hideous brute!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My dear!&rsquo; exclaimed Pluto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;He shall never touch me.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Proserpine!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t touch me with that hand. You never shall touch me, if you allow
+      that disgusting animal to lick your hand.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I beg to inform you that there are few beings of any kind for whom I have
+      a greater esteem than that faithful and affectionate beast.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Oh! if you like Cerberus better than me, I have no more to say,&rsquo;
+      exclaimed the bride, bridling up with indignation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My Proserpine is perverse,&rsquo; replied Pluto; &lsquo;her memory has scarcely done
+      me justice.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I am sure you said you liked Cerberus better than anything in the world,&rsquo;
+      continued the goddess, with a voice trembling with passion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I said no such thing,&rsquo; replied Pluto, somewhat sternly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I see how it is,&rsquo; replied Proserpine, with a sob; &lsquo;you are tired of me.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My beloved!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I never expected this.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My child!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Was it for this I left my mother?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Powers of Hades! How you can say such things!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Broke her heart?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Proserpine! Proserpine!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Gave up daylight?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;For the sake of Heaven, then, calm yourself!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Sacrificed everything?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My love! my life! my angel! what is all this?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And then to be abused for the sake of a dog!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;By all the shades of Hell, but this is enough to provoke even immortals.
+      What have I done, said, or thought, to justify such treatment?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Oh! me!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Proserpine!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Heigho!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Proserpine! Proserpine!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;So soon is the veil withdrawn!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Dearest, you must be unwell. This journey has been too much for you,&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;On our very bridal day to be so treated!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Soul of my existence, don&rsquo;t make me mad. I love you, I adore you; I have
+      no hope, no wish, no thought but you. I swear it; I swear it by my sceptre
+      and my throne. Speak, speak to your Pluto: tell him all your wish, all
+      your desire. What would you have me do?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Shoot that horrid beast.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Ah! me!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What, you will not? I thought how it would be. I am Proserpine, your
+      beloved, adored Proserpine. You have no wish, no hope, no thought but for
+      me! I have only to speak, and what I desire will be instantly done! And I
+      do speak, I tell you my wish, I express to you my desire, and I am
+      instantly refused! And what have I requested? Is it such a mighty favour?
+      Is it anything unreasonable? Is there, indeed, in my entreaty anything so
+      vastly out of the way? The death of a dog, a disgusting animal, which has
+      already shaken my nerves to pieces; and if ever (here she hid her face in
+      his breast), if ever that event should occur which both must desire, my
+      Pluto, I am sure the very sight of that horrible beast will&mdash;I dare
+      not say what it will do.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Pluto looked puzzled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Indeed, my Proserpine, it is not in my power to grant your request; for
+      Cerberus is immortal, like ourselves.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Me! miserable!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Some arrangement, however, may be made to keep him out of your sight and
+      hearing. I can banish him.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Can you, indeed? Oh! banish him, my Pluto! pray banish him! I never shall
+      be happy until Cerberus is banished.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I will do anything you desire; but I confess to you I have some
+      misgivings. He is an invaluable watch-dog; and I fear, without his
+      superintendence, the guardians of the gate will scarcely do their duty.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Oh! yes: I am sure they will, my Pluto! I will ask them to, I will ask
+      them myself, I will request them, as a particular and personal favour to
+      myself, to be very careful indeed. And if they do their duty, and I am
+      sure they will, they shall be styled, as a reward, &ldquo;Proserpine&rsquo;s Own
+      Guards.&rdquo;&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;A reward, indeed!&rsquo; said the enamoured monarch, as, with a sigh, he signed
+      the order for the banishment of Cerberus in the form of his promotion to
+      the office of Master of the royal and imperial bloodhounds.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The burning waves of Phlegethon assumed a lighter hue. It was morning. It
+      was the morning after the arrival of Pluto and his unexpected bride. In
+      one of the principal rooms of the palace three beautiful females, clothed
+      in cerulean robes spangled with stars, and their heads adorned with golden
+      crowns, were at work together. One held a distaff, from which the second
+      spun; and the third wielded an enormous pair of adamantine shears, with
+      which she perpetually severed the labours of her sisters. Tall were they
+      in stature and beautiful in form. Very fair; an expression of haughty
+      serenity pervaded their majestic countenances. Their three companions,
+      however, though apparently of the same sex, were of a different character.
+      If women can ever be ugly, certainly these three ladies might put in a
+      valid claim to that epithet. Their complexions were dark and withered, and
+      their eyes, though bright, were bloodshot. Scantily clothed in black
+      garments, not unstained with gore, their wan and offensive forms were but
+      slightly veiled. Their hands were talons; their feet cloven; and serpents
+      were wreathed round their brows instead of hair. Their restless and
+      agitated carriage afforded also not less striking contrast to the polished
+      and aristocratic demeanour of their companions. They paced the chamber
+      with hurried and unequal steps, and wild and uncouth gestures; waving,
+      with a reckless ferocity, burning torches and whips of scorpions. It is
+      hardly necessary to add that these were the Furies, and that the
+      conversation which I am about to report was carried on with the Fates.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;A thousand serpents!&rsquo; shrieked Tisiphone. &lsquo;I will never believe it.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Racks and flames!&rsquo; squeaked Megæra. &lsquo;It is impossible.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Eternal torture!&rsquo; moaned Alecto. &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis a lie.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Not Jupiter himself should convince us!&rsquo; the Furies joined in infernal
+      chorus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis nevertheless true,&rsquo; calmly observed the beautiful Clotho.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You will soon have the honour of being presented to her,&rsquo; added the
+      serene Lachesis.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And whatever we may feel,&rsquo; observed the considerate Atropos, &lsquo;I think, my
+      dear girls, you had better restrain yourselves.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And what sort of thing is she?&rsquo; inquired Tisiphone, with a shriek.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I have heard that she is lovely,&rsquo; answered Clotho. &lsquo;Indeed, it is
+      impossible to account for the affair in any other way.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis neither possible to account for nor to justify it,&rsquo; squeaked Megæra.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Is there, indeed, a Queen in Hell?&rsquo; moaned Alecto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;We shall hold no more drawing-rooms,&rsquo; said Lachesis.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;We will never attend hers,&rsquo; said the Furies.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You must,&rsquo; replied the Fates.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I have no doubt she will give herself airs,&rsquo; shrieked Tisiphone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;We must remember where she has been brought up, and be considerate,&rsquo;
+      replied Lachesis.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I dare say you three will get on very well with her,&rsquo; squeaked Megasra.
+      &lsquo;You always get on well with people.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;We must remember how very strange things here must appear to her,&rsquo;
+      observed Atropos.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;No one can deny that there are some very disagreeable sights,&rsquo; said
+      Clotho.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;There is something in that,&rsquo; replied Tisiphone, looking in the glass, and
+      arranging her serpents; &lsquo;and for my part, poor girl, I almost pity her,
+      when I think she will have to visit the Harpies.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this moment four little pages entered the room, who, without exception,
+      were the most hideous dwarfs that ever attended upon a monarch. They were
+      clothed only in parti-coloured tunics, and their breasts and legs were
+      quite bare. From the countenance of the first you would have supposed he
+      was in a convulsion; his hands were clenched and his hair stood on end:
+      this was Terror! The protruded veins of the second seemed ready to burst,
+      and his rubicund visage decidedly proved that he had blood in his head;
+      this was Rage! The third was of an ashen colour throughout: this was
+      Paleness! And the fourth, with a countenance not without traces of beauty,
+      was even more disgusting than his companions from the quantity of horrible
+      flies, centipedes, snails, and other noisome, slimy, and indescribable
+      monstrosities that were crawling all about his body and feeding on his
+      decaying features. The name of this fourth page was Death!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The King and Queen!&rsquo; announced the pages.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Pluto, during the night, had prepared Proserpine for the worst, and had
+      endeavoured to persuade her that his love would ever compensate for all
+      annoyances. She was in excellent spirits and in very good humour;
+      therefore, though she could with difficulty stifle a scream when she
+      recognised the Furies, she received the congratulations of the Parcæ with
+      much cordiality.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I have the pleasure, Proserpine, of presenting you to my family,&rsquo; said
+      Pluto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Who, I am sure, hope to make Hades agreeable to your Majesty,&rsquo; rejoined
+      Clotho. The Furies uttered a suppressed sound between a murmur and a
+      growl.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I have ordered the chariot,&rsquo; said Pluto. &lsquo;I propose to take the Queen a
+      ride, and show her some of our lions.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;She will, I am sure, be delighted,&rsquo; said Lachesis.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I long to see Ixion,&rsquo; said Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The wretch!&rsquo; shrieked Tisiphone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I cannot help thinking that he has been very unfairly treated,&rsquo; said
+      Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What!&rsquo; squeaked Megæra. &lsquo;The ravisher!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Ay! it is all very well,&rsquo; replied Proserpine; &lsquo;but, for my part, if we
+      knew the truth of that affair&mdash;&mdash;-&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Is it possible that your Majesty can speak in such a tone of levity of
+      such an offender?&rsquo; shrieked Tisiphone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Is it possible?&rsquo; moaned Alecto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Ah! you have heard only one side of the question; but for my part,
+      knowing as much of Juno as I do&mdash;&mdash;-&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The Queen of Heaven!&rsquo; observed Atropos, with an intimidating glance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The Queen of Fiddlestick!&rsquo; said Proserpine; &lsquo;as great a flirt as ever
+      existed, with all her prudish looks.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Fates and the Furies exchanged glances of astonishment and horror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;For my part,&rsquo; continued Proserpine, &lsquo;I make it a rule to support the
+      weaker side, and nothing will ever persuade me that Ixion is not a victim,
+      and a pitiable one.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Well! men generally have the best of it in these affairs,&rsquo; said Lachesis,
+      with a forced smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Juno ought to be ashamed of herself,&rsquo; said Proserpine. &lsquo;Had I been in her
+      situation, they should have tied me to a wheel first. At any rate, they
+      ought to have punished him in Heaven. I have no idea of those people
+      sending every <i>mauvais sujet</i> to Hell.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But what shall we do?&rsquo; inquired Pluto, who wished to turn the
+      conversation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Shall we turn out a sinner and hunt him for her Majesty&rsquo;s diversion?&rsquo;
+      suggested Tisiphone, flanking her serpents.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Nothing of the kind will ever divert me,&rsquo; said Proserpine; &lsquo;for I have no
+      hesitation in saying that I do not at all approve of these eternal
+      punishments, or, indeed, of any punishment whatever.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The heretic!&rsquo; whispered Tisiphone to Megæra. Alecto moaned.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;It might be more interesting to her Majesty,&rsquo; said Atropos, &lsquo;to witness
+      some of those extraordinary instances of predestined misery with which
+      Hades abounds. Shall we visit OEdipus?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Poor fellow!&rsquo; exclaimed Proserpine. &lsquo;For myself, I willingly confess that
+      torture disgusts and Destiny puzzles me.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Fates and the Furies all alike started.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I do not understand this riddle of Destiny,&rsquo; continued the young Queen.
+      &lsquo;If you, Parcæ, have predestined that a man should commit a crime, it
+      appears to me very unjust that you should afterwards call upon the Furies
+      to punish him for its commission.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But man is a free agent,&rsquo; observed Lachesis, in as mild a tone as she
+      could command.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Then what becomes of Destiny?&rsquo; replied Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Destiny is eternal and irresistible,&rsquo; replied Clotho. &lsquo;All is ordained;
+      but man is, nevertheless, master of his own actions.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I do not understand that,&rsquo; said Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;It is not meant to be understood,&rsquo; said Atropos; &lsquo;but you must
+      nevertheless believe it.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I make it a rule only to believe what I understand,&rsquo; replied Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;It appears,&rsquo; said Lachesis, with a blended glance of contempt and
+      vengeance, &lsquo;that your Majesty, though a goddess, is an atheist.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;As for that, anybody may call me just what they please, provided they do
+      nothing else. So long as I am not tied to a wheel or whipped with
+      scorpions for speaking my mind, I shall be as tolerant of the speech and
+      acts of others as I expect them to be tolerant of mine. Come, Pluto, I am
+      sure that the chariot must be ready!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So saying, her Majesty took the arm of her spouse, and with a haughty
+      curtsey left the apartment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Did you ever!&rsquo; shrieked Tisiphone, as the door closed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;No! never!&rsquo; squeaked Megaera.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Never! never!&rsquo; moaned Alecto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;She must understand what she believes, must she?&rsquo; said Lachesis, scarcely
+      less irritated.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I never heard such nonsense,&rsquo; said Clotho.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What next!&rsquo; said Atropos.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Disgusted with torture!&rsquo; exclaimed the Furies.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Puzzled with Destiny!&rsquo; said the Fates.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was the third morning after the Infernal Marriage; the slumbering
+      Proserpine reposed in the arms of the snoring Pluto. There was a loud
+      knocking at the chamber-door. Pluto jumped up in the middle of a dream.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My life, what is the matter?&rsquo; exclaimed Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The knocking was repeated and increased. There was also a loud shout of
+      &lsquo;treason, murder, and fire!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What is the matter?&rsquo; exclaimed the god, jumping out of bed and seizing
+      his trident. &lsquo;Who is there?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Your pages, your faithful pages! Treason! treason! For the sake of Hell,
+      open the door. Murder, fire, treason!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Enter!&rsquo; said Pluto, as the door was unlocked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And Terror and Rage entered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You frightful things, get out of the room!&rsquo; cried Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;A moment, my angel!&rsquo; said Pluto, &lsquo;a single moment. Be not alarmed, my
+      best love; I pray you be not alarmed. Well, imps, why am I disturbed?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Oh!&rsquo; said Terror. Rage could not speak, but gnashed his teeth and stamped
+      his feet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;O-o-o-h!&rsquo; repeated Terror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Speak, cursed imps!&rsquo; cried the enraged Pluto; and he raised his arm.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;A man! a man!&rsquo; cried Terror. &lsquo;Treason, treason! a man! a man!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What man?&rsquo; said Pluto, in a rage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;A man, a live man, has entered Hell!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You don&rsquo;t say so?&rsquo; said Proserpine; &lsquo;a man, a live man. Let me see him
+      immediately.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Where is he?&rsquo; said Pluto; &lsquo;what is he doing?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;He is here, there, and everywhere! asking for your wife, and singing like
+      anything.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Proserpine!&rsquo; said Pluto, reproachfully; but, to do the god justice, he
+      was more astounded than jealous.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I am sure I shall be delighted to see him; it is so long since I have
+      seen a live man,&rsquo; said Proserpine. &lsquo;Who can he be? A man, and a live man!
+      How delightful! It must be a messenger from my mother.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But how came he here?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Ah! how came he here?&rsquo; echoed Terror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;No time must be lost!&rsquo; exclaimed Pluto, scrambling on his robe. &lsquo;Seize
+      him, and bring him into the council chamber. My charming Proserpine,
+      excuse me for a moment.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Not at all; I will accompany you.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But, my love, my sweetest, my own, this is business; these are affairs of
+      state. The council chamber is not a place for you.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And why not?&rsquo; said Proserpine. &lsquo;I have no idea of ever leaving you for a
+      moment. Why not for me as well as for the Fates and the Furies? Am I not
+      Queen? I have no idea of such nonsense!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My love!&rsquo; said the deprecating husband.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You don&rsquo;t go without me,&rsquo; said the imperious wife, seizing his robe.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I must,&rsquo; said Pluto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Then you shall never return,&rsquo; said Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Enchantress! be reasonable.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I never was, and I never will be,&rsquo; replied the Goddess.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Treason! treason!&rsquo; screamed Terror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My love, I must go!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Pluto,&rsquo; said Proserpine, &lsquo;understand me once for all, I will not be
+      contradicted.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Rage stamped his foot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Proserpine, understand me once for all, it is impossible,&rsquo; said the God,
+      frowning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My Pluto!&rsquo; said the Queen. &lsquo;Is it my Pluto who speaks thus sternly to me?
+      Is it he who, but an hour ago, a short hour ago, died upon my bosom in
+      transports and stifled me with kisses! Unhappy woman! wretched, miserable
+      Proserpine! Oh! my mother! my kind, my affectionate mother! Have I
+      disobeyed you for this! For this have I deserted you! For this have I
+      broken your beloved heart!&rsquo; She buried her face in the crimson
+      counterpane, and bedewed its gorgeous embroidery with her fast-flowing
+      tears.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Treason!&rsquo; shouted Terror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Ha! ha! ha!&rsquo; exclaimed the hysterical Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What am I to do?&rsquo; cried Pluto. &lsquo;Proserpine, my adored, my beloved, my
+      enchanting Proserpine, compose yourself; for my sake, compose yourself. I
+      love you! I adore you! You know it! oh! indeed you know it!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hysterics increased.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Treason! treason!&rsquo; shouted Terror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Hold your infernal tongue,&rsquo; said Pluto. &lsquo;What do I care for treason when
+      the Queen is in this state?&rsquo; He knelt by the bedside, and tried to stop
+      her mouth with kisses, and ever and anon whispered his passion. &lsquo;My
+      Proserpine, I beseech you to be calm; I will do anything you like. Come,
+      come, then, to the council!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hysterics ceased; the Queen clasped him in her arms and rewarded him
+      with a thousand embraces. Then, jumping up, she bathed her swollen eyes
+      with a beautiful cosmetic that she and her maidens had distilled from the
+      flowers of Enna; and, wrapping herself up in her shawl, descended with his
+      Majesty, who was quite as much puzzled about the cause of this disturbance
+      as when he was first roused.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Crossing an immense covered bridge, the origin of the Bridge of Sighs at
+      Venice, over the royal gardens, which consisted entirely of cypress, the
+      royal pair, preceded by the pages-in-waiting, entered the council chamber.
+      The council was already assembled. On either side of a throne of sulphur,
+      from which issued the four infernal rivers of Lethe, Phlegethon, Cocytus,
+      and Acheron, were ranged the Eumenides and Parcæ. Lachesis and her sisters
+      turned up their noses when they observed Proserpine; but the Eumenides
+      could not stifle their fury, in spite of the hints of their more subdued
+      but not less malignant companions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What is all this?&rsquo; inquired Pluto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The constitution is in danger,&rsquo; said the Parcæ in chorus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Both in church and state,&rsquo; added the Furies. &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis a case of treason and
+      blasphemy;&rsquo; and they waved their torches and shook their whips with
+      delighted anticipation of their use.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Detail the circumstances,&rsquo; said Pluto, waving his hand majestically to
+      Lachesis, in whose good sense he had great confidence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;A man, a living man, has entered your kingdom, unknown and unnoticed,&rsquo;
+      said Lachesis.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;By my sceptre, is it true?&rsquo; said the astonished King. &lsquo;Is he seized?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The extraordinary mortal baffles our efforts,&rsquo; said Lachesis. &lsquo;He bears
+      with him a lyre, the charmed gift of Apollo, and so seducing are his
+      strains that in vain our guards advance to arrest his course; they
+      immediately begin dancing, and he easily eludes their efforts. The general
+      confusion is indescribable. All business is at a standstill: Ixion rests
+      upon his wheel; old Sisyphus sits down on his mountain, and his stone has
+      fallen with a terrible plash into Acheron. In short, unless we are
+      energetic, we are on the eve of a revolution.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;His purpose?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;He seeks yourself and&mdash;her Majesty,&rsquo; added Lachesis, with a sneer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Immediately announce that we will receive him.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The unexpected guest was not slow in acknowledging the royal summons. A
+      hasty treaty was drawn up; he was to enter the palace unmolested, on
+      condition that he ceased playing his lyre. The Fates and the Furies
+      exchanged significant glances as his approach was announced.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The man, the live man, who had committed the unprecedented crime of
+      entering Hell without a licence, and the previous deposit of his soul as
+      security for the good behaviour of his body, stood before the surprised
+      and indignant Court of Hades. Tall and graceful in stature, and crowned
+      with laurels, Proserpine was glad to observe that the man, who was
+      evidently famous, was also good-looking.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Thy purpose, mortal?&rsquo; inquired Pluto, with awful majesty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Mercy!&rsquo; answered the stranger in a voice of exquisite melody, and
+      sufficiently embarrassed to render him interesting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What is mercy?&rsquo; inquired the Fates and the Furies.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Speak, stranger, without fear,&rsquo; said Proserpine. &lsquo;Thy name?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Is Orpheus; but a few days back the too happy husband of the enchanting
+      Eurydice. Alas! dread King, and thou too, beautiful and benignant partner
+      of his throne, I won her by my lyre, and by my lyre I would redeem her.
+      Know, then, that in the very glow of our gratified passion a serpent crept
+      under the flowers on which we reposed, and by a fatal sting summoned my
+      adored to the shades. Why did it not also summon me? I will not say why
+      should I not have been the victim in her stead; for I feel too keenly that
+      the doom of Eurydice would not have been less forlorn, had she been the
+      wretched being who had been spared to life. O King! they whispered on
+      earth that thou too hadst yielded thy heart to the charms of love. Pluto,
+      they whispered, is no longer stern: Pluto also feels the all-subduing
+      influence of beauty. Dread monarch, by the self-same passion that rages in
+      our breasts alike, I implore thy mercy. Thou hast risen from the couch of
+      love, the arm of thy adored has pressed upon thy heart, her honied lips
+      have clung with rapture to thine, still echo in thy ears all the
+      enchanting phrases of her idolatry. Then, by the memory of these, by all
+      the higher and ineffable joys to which these lead, King of Hades, spare
+      me, oh! spare me, Eurydice!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Proserpine threw her arms round the neck of her husband, and, hiding her
+      face in his breast, wept.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Rash mortal, you demand that which is not in the power of Pluto to
+      concede,&rsquo; said Lachesis.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I have heard much of treason since my entrance into Hades,&rsquo; replied
+      Orpheus, &lsquo;and this sounds like it.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Mortal!&rsquo; exclaimed Clotho, with contempt.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Nor is it in your power to return, sir,&rsquo; said Tisiphone, shaking her
+      whip.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;We have accounts to settle with you,&rsquo; said Megæra.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Spare her, spare her,&rsquo; murmured Proserpine to her lover.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;King of Hades!&rsquo; said Lachesis, with much dignity, &lsquo;I hold a responsible
+      office in your realm, and I claim the constitutional privilege of your
+      attention. I protest against the undue influence of the Queen. She is a
+      power unknown in our constitution, and an irresponsible agent that I will
+      not recognise. Let her go back to the drawing-room, where all will bow to
+      her.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Hag!&rsquo; exclaimed Proserpine. &lsquo;King of Hades, I, too, can appeal to you.
+      Have I accepted your crown to be insulted by your subjects?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;A subject, may it please your Majesty, who has duties as strictly defined
+      by our infernal constitution as those of your royal spouse; duties, too,
+      which, let me tell you, madam, I and <i>my order</i> are resolved to
+      perform.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Gods of Olympus!&rsquo; cried Proserpine. &lsquo;Is this to be a Queen?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Before we proceed further in this discussion,&rsquo; said Lachesis, &lsquo;I must
+      move an inquiry into the conduct of his Excellency the Governor of the
+      Gates. I move, then, that Cerberus be summoned.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Pluto started, and the blood rose to his dark cheek. &lsquo;I have not yet had
+      an opportunity of mentioning,&rsquo; said his Majesty, in a low tone, and with
+      an air of considerable confusion, &lsquo;that I have thought fit, as a reward
+      for his past services, to promote Cerberus to the office of the Master of
+      the Hounds. He therefore is no longer responsible.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;O-h!&rsquo; shrieked the Furies, as they elevated their hideous eyes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The constitution has invested your Majesty with a power in the
+      appointment of your Officers of State which your Majesty has undoubtedly a
+      right to exercise,&rsquo; said Lachesis. &lsquo;What degree of discretion it
+      anticipated in the exercise, it is now unnecessary, and would be extremely
+      disagreeable, to discuss. I shall not venture to inquire by what new
+      influence your Majesty has been guided in the present instance. The
+      consequence of your Majesty&rsquo;s conduct is obvious, in the very difficult
+      situation in which your realm is now placed. For myself and my colleagues,
+      I have only to observe that we decline, under this crisis, any further
+      responsibility; and the distaff and the shears are at your Majesty&rsquo;s
+      service the moment your Majesty may find convenient successors to the
+      present holders. As a last favour, in addition to the many we are proud to
+      remember we have received from your Majesty, we entreat that we may be
+      relieved from their burthen as quickly as possible.&rsquo; (Loud cheers from the
+      Eumenides.)
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;We had better recall Cerberus,&rsquo; said Pluto, alarmed, &lsquo;and send this
+      mortal about his business.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Not without Eurydice. Oh! not without Eurydice,&rsquo; said the Queen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Silence, Proserpine!&rsquo; said Pluto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;May it please your Majesty,&rsquo; said Lachesis, &lsquo;I am doubtful whether we
+      have the power of expelling anyone from Hades. It is not less the law that
+      a mortal cannot remain here; and it is too notorious for me to mention the
+      fact that none here have the power of inflicting death.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Of what use are all your laws,&rsquo; exclaimed Proserpine, &lsquo;if they are only
+      to perplex us? As there are no statutes to guide us, it is obvious that
+      the King&rsquo;s will is supreme. Let Orpheus depart, then, with his bride.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The latter suggestion is clearly illegal,&rsquo; said Lachesis.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Lachesis, and ye, her sisters,&rsquo; said Proserpine, &lsquo;forget, I beseech you,
+      any warm words that may have passed between us, and, as a personal favour
+      to one who would willingly be your friend, release Eurydice. What! you
+      shake your heads! Nay; of what importance can be a single miserable shade,
+      and one, too, summoned so cruelly before her time, in these
+      thickly-peopled regions?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis the principle,&rsquo; said Lachesis; &lsquo;&lsquo;tis the principle. Concession is
+      ever fatal, however slight. Grant this demand; others, and greater, will
+      quickly follow. Mercy becomes a precedent, and the realm is ruined.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Ruined!&rsquo; echoed the Furies.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And I say <i>preserved!</i>&rsquo; exclaimed Proserpine with energy. &lsquo;The State
+      is in confusion, and you yourselves confess that you know not how to
+      remedy it. Unable to suggest a course, follow mine. I am the advocate of
+      mercy; I am the advocate of concession; and, as you despise all higher
+      impulses, I meet you on your own grounds. I am their advocate for the sake
+      of policy, of expediency.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Never!&rsquo; said the Fates.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Never!&rsquo; shrieked the Furies.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What, then, will you do with Orpheus?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Parcæ shook their heads; even the Eumenides were silent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Then you are unable to carry on the King&rsquo;s government; for Orpheus must
+      be disposed of; all agree to that. Pluto, reject these counsellors, at
+      once insulting and incapable. Give me the distaff and the fatal shears. At
+      once form a new Cabinet; and let the release of Orpheus and Eurydice be
+      the basis of their policy.&rsquo; She threw her arms round his neck and
+      whispered in his ear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Pluto was perplexed; his confidence in the Parcae was shaken. A difficulty
+      had occurred with which they could not cope. It was true the difficulty
+      had been occasioned by a departure from their own exclusive and
+      restrictive policy. It was clear that the gates of Hell ought never to
+      have been opened to the stranger; but opened they had been. Forced to
+      decide, he decided on the side of <i>expediency</i>, and signed a decree
+      for the departure of Orpheus and Eurydice. The Parcas immediately resigned
+      their posts, and the Furies walked off in a huff. Thus, on the third day
+      of the Infernal Marriage, Pluto found that he had quarrelled with all his
+      family, and that his ancient administration was broken up. The King was
+      without a friend, and Hell was without a Government!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:80%;">
+      <img alt="page025 (73K)" src="images/page025.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="fig" style="width:80%;">
+      <img alt="page025_label (17K)" src="images/page025_label.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <a name="link2H_PART2" id="link2H_PART2">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      PART II.
+    </h2>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+     <i>A Visit to Elysium</i>
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      LET us change the scene from Hades to Olympus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A chariot drawn by dragons hovered over that superb palace whose sparkling
+      steps of lapislazuli were once pressed by the daring foot of Ixion. It
+      descended into the beautiful gardens, and Ceres, stepping out, sought the
+      presence of Jove.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Father of gods and men,&rsquo; said the majestic mother of Proserpine, &lsquo;listen
+      to a distracted parent! All my hopes were centred in my daughter, the
+      daughter of whom you have deprived me. Is it for this that I endured the
+      pangs of childbirth? Is it for this that I suckled her on this miserable
+      bosom? Is it for this that I tended her girlish innocence, watched with
+      vigilant fondness the development of her youthful mind, and cultured with
+      a thousand graces and accomplishments her gifted and unrivalled promise?
+      to lose her for ever!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Beloved Bona Dea,&rsquo; replied Jove, &lsquo;calm yourself!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Jupiter, you forget that I am a mother.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;It is the recollection of that happy circumstance that alone should make
+      you satisfied.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Do you mock me? Where is my daughter?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;In the very situation you should desire. In her destiny all is fulfilled
+      which the most affectionate mother could hope. What was the object of all
+      your care and all her accomplishments? a good parti; and she has found
+      one.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;To reign in Hell!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;&ldquo;Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.&rdquo; What! would you have had
+      her a cup-bearer, like Hebe, or a messenger, like Hermes? Was the daughter
+      of Jove and Ceres to be destined to a mere place in our household! Lady!
+      she is the object of envy to half the goddesses. Bating our own bed, which
+      she could not share, what lot more distinguished than hers? Recollect that
+      goddesses, who desire a becoming match, have a very limited circle to
+      elect from. Even Venus was obliged to put up with Vulcan. It will not do
+      to be too nice. Thank your stars that she is not an old maid like
+      Minerva.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But Mars? he loved her.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;A young officer only with his half-pay, however good his connections, is
+      surely not a proper mate for our daughter.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Apollo?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I have no opinion of a literary son-in-law. These scribblers are at
+      present the fashion, and are very well to ask to dinner; but I confess a
+      more intimate connection with them is not at all to my taste.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I meet Apollo everywhere.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The truth is, he is courted because every one is afraid of him. He is the
+      editor of a daily journal, and under the pretence of throwing light upon
+      every subject, brings a great many disagreeable things into notice, which
+      is excessively inconvenient. Nobody likes to be paragraphed; and for my
+      part I should only be too happy to extinguish the Sun and every other
+      newspaper were it only in my power.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But Pluto is so old, and so ugly, and, all agree, so ill-tempered.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;He has a splendid income, a magnificent estate; his settlements are
+      worthy of his means. This ought to satisfy a mother; and his political
+      influence is necessary to me, and this satisfies a father.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But the heart&mdash;&mdash;-&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;As for that, she fancies she loves him; and whether she do or not, these
+      feelings, we know, never last. Rest assured, my dear Ceres, that our girl
+      has made a brilliant match, in spite of the gloomy atmosphere in which she
+      has to reside.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;It must end in misery. I know Proserpine. I confess it with tears, she is
+      a spoiled child.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;This may occasion Pluto many uneasy moments; but that is nothing to you
+      or me. Between ourselves, I shall not be at all surprised if she plague
+      his life out.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But how can she consort with the Fates? How is it possible for her to
+      associate with the Furies? She, who is used to the gayest and most amiable
+      society in the world? Indeed, indeed, &lsquo;tis an ill-assorted union!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;They are united, however; and, take my word for it, my dear madam, that
+      you had better leave Pluto alone. The interference of a mother-in-law is
+      proverbially never very felicitous.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the meantime affairs went on swimmingly in Tartarus. The obstinate
+      Fates and the sulky Furies were unwittingly the cause of universal
+      satisfaction. Everyone enjoyed himself, and enjoyment when it is
+      unexpected is doubly satisfactory. Tantalus, Sisyphus, and Ixion, for the
+      first time during their punishment, had an opportunity for a little
+      conversation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Long live our reforming Queen,&rsquo; said the ex-king of Lydia. &lsquo;You cannot
+      conceive, my dear companions, anything more delightful than this
+      long-coveted draught of cold water; its flavour far surpasses the memory
+      of my choicest wines. And as for this delicious fruit, one must live in a
+      hot climate, like our present one, sufficiently to appreciate its
+      refreshing gust. I would, my dear friends, you could only share my
+      banquet.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Your Majesty is very kind,&rsquo; replied Sisyphus, &lsquo;but it seems to me that
+      nothing in the world will ever induce me again to move. One must have
+      toiled for ages to comprehend the rapturous sense of repose that now
+      pervades my exhausted frame. Is it possible that that damned stone can
+      really have disappeared?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You say truly,&rsquo; said Ixion, &lsquo;the couches of Olympus cannot compare with
+      this resting wheel.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Noble Sisyphus,&rsquo; rejoined Tantalus, &lsquo;we are both of us acquainted with
+      the cause of our companion&rsquo;s presence in those infernal regions, since his
+      daring exploit has had the good fortune of being celebrated by one of the
+      fashionable authors of this part of the world.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I have never had time to read his work,&rsquo; interrupted Ixion. &lsquo;What sort of
+      a fellow is he?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;One of the most conceited dogs that I ever met with,&rsquo; replied the King.
+      &lsquo;He thinks he is a great genius, and perhaps he has some little talent for
+      the extravagant.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Are there any critics in Hell?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Myriads. They abound about the marshes of Cocytus, where they croak
+      furiously. They are all to a man against our author.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;That speaks more to his credit than his own self-opinion,&rsquo; rejoined
+      Ixion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;<i>A nous moutons!</i>&rsquo; exclaimed Tantalus; &lsquo;I was about to observe that
+      I am curious to learn for what reason our friend Sisyphus was doomed to
+      his late terrible exertions.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;For the simplest in the world,&rsquo; replied the object of the inquiry;
+      &lsquo;because I was not a hypocrite. No one ever led a pleasanter life than
+      myself, and no one was more popular in society. I was considered, as they
+      phrased it, the most long-headed prince of my time, and was in truth a
+      finished man of the world. I had not an acquaintance whom I had not taken
+      in, and gods and men alike favoured me. In an unlucky moment, however, I
+      offended the infernal deities, and it was then suddenly discovered that I
+      was the most abandoned character of my age. You know the rest.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You seem,&rsquo; exclaimed Tantalus, &lsquo;to be relating my own history; for I
+      myself led a reckless career with impunity, until some of the gods did me
+      the honour of dining with me, and were dissatisfied with the repast. I am
+      convinced myself that, provided a man frequent the temples, and observe
+      with strictness the sacred festivals, such is the force of public opinion,
+      that there is no crime which he may not commit without hazard.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Long live hypocrisy!&rsquo; exclaimed Ixion. &lsquo;It is not my forte. But if I
+      began life anew, I would be more observant in my sacrifices.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Who could have anticipated this wonderful revolution!&rsquo; exclaimed
+      Sisyphus, stretching himself. &lsquo;I wonder what will occur next! Perhaps we
+      shall be all released.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You say truly,&rsquo; said Ixion. &lsquo;I am grateful to our reforming Queen; but I
+      have no idea of stopping here. This cursed wheel indeed no longer whirls;
+      but I confess my expectations will be much disappointed if I cannot free
+      myself from these adamantine bonds that fix me to its orb.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And one cannot drink water for ever,&rsquo; said Tantalus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;D&mdash;n all half measures,&rsquo; said Ixion. &lsquo;We must proceed in this system
+      of amelioration.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Without doubt,&rsquo; responded his companion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The Queen must have a party,&rsquo; continued the audacious lover of Juno. &lsquo;The
+      Fates and the Furies never can be conciliated. It is evident to me that
+      she must fall unless she unbinds these chains of mine.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And grants me full liberty of egress and regress,&rsquo; exclaimed Sisyphus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And me a bottle of the finest golden wine of Lydia,&rsquo; said Tantalus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The infernal honeymoon was over. A cloud appeared in the hitherto serene
+      heaven of the royal lovers. Proserpine became unwell. A mysterious languor
+      pervaded her frame; her accustomed hilarity deserted her. She gave up her
+      daily rides; she never quitted the palace, scarcely her chamber. All day
+      long she remained lying on a sofa, and whenever Pluto endeavoured to
+      console her she went into hysterics. His Majesty was quite miserable, and
+      the Fates and the Furies began to hold up their heads. The two court
+      physicians could throw no light upon the complaint, which baffled all
+      their remedies. These, indeed, were not numerous, for the two physicians
+      possessed each only one idea. With one every complaint was nervous; the
+      other traced everything to the liver. The name of the first was Dr.
+      Blue-Devil; and of the other Dr. Blue-Pill. They were most eminent men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Her Majesty, getting worse every day, Pluto, in despair, determined to
+      send for Æsculapius. It was a long way to send for a physician; but then
+      he was the most fashionable one in the world. He cared not how far he
+      travelled to visit a patient, because he was paid by the mile; and it was
+      calculated that his fee for quitting earth, and attending the Queen of
+      Hell, would allow him to leave off business.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What a wise physician was Æsculapius! Physic was his abhorrence. He never
+      was known, in the whole course of his practice, ever to have prescribed a
+      single drug. He was a handsome man, with a flowing beard curiously
+      perfumed, and a robe of the choicest purple. He twirled a cane of agate,
+      round which was twined a serpent of precious stones, the gift of Juno, and
+      he rode in a chariot drawn by horses of the Sun. When he visited
+      Proserpine, he neither examined her tongue nor felt her pulse, but gave
+      her an account of a fancy ball which he had attended the last evening he
+      passed on <i>terra firma</i>. His details were so interesting that the
+      Queen soon felt better. The next day he renewed his visit, and gave her an
+      account of a new singer that had appeared at Ephesus. The effect of this
+      recital was so satisfactory, that a bulletin in the evening announced that
+      the Queen was convalescent. The third day Æsculapius took his departure,
+      having previously enjoined change of scene for her Majesty, and a visit to
+      the Elysian Fields!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Heh, heh!&rsquo; shrieked Tisiphone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Hah, hah!&rsquo; squeaked Megæra.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Hoh, hoh!&rsquo; moaned Alecto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Now or never,&rsquo; said the infernal sisters. &lsquo;There is a decided reaction.
+      The moment she embarks, unquestionably we will flare up.&rsquo; So they ran off
+      to the Fates.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;We must be prudent,&rsquo; said Clotho.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Our time is not come,&rsquo; remarked Lachesis.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I wish the reaction was more decided,&rsquo; said Atropos; &lsquo;but it is a great
+      thing that they are going to be parted, for the King must remain.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The opposition party, although aiming at the same result, was therefore
+      evidently divided as to the means by which it was to be obtained. The
+      sanguine Furies were for fighting it out at once, and talked bravely of
+      the strong conservative spirit only dormant in Tartarus. Even the Radicals
+      themselves are dissatisfied: Tantalus is no longer contented with water,
+      or Ixion with repose. But the circumspect Fates felt that a false step at
+      present could never be regained. They talked, therefore, of watching
+      events. Both divisions, however, agreed that the royal embarkation was to
+      be the signal for renewed intrigues and renovated exertions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When Proserpine was assured that she must be parted for a time from Pluto,
+      she was inconsolable. They passed the night in sorrowful embraces. She
+      vowed that she could not live a day without him, and that she certainly
+      should die before she reached the first post. The mighty heart of the King
+      of Hades was torn to pieces with contending emotions. In the agony of his
+      overwhelming passion the security of his realm seemed of secondary
+      importance compared with the happiness of his wife. Fear and hatred of the
+      Parcæ and the Eumenides equalled, however, in the breast of Proserpine,
+      her affection for her husband. The consciousness that his absence would be
+      a signal for a revolution, and that the crown of Tartarus might be lost to
+      her expected offspring, animated her with a spirit of heroism. She
+      reconciled herself to the terrible separation, on condition that Pluto
+      wrote to her every day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Adieu! my best, my only beloved!&rsquo; ejaculated the unhappy Queen; &lsquo;do not
+      forget me for a moment; and let nothing in the world induce you to speak
+      to any of those horrid people. I know them; I know exactly what they will
+      be at: the moment I am gone they will commence their intrigues for the
+      restoration of the reign of doom and torture. Do not listen to them, my
+      Pluto. Sooner than have recourse to them, seek assistance from their
+      former victims.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Calm yourself, my Proserpine. Anticipate no evil. I shall be firm; do not
+      doubt me. I will cling with tenacity to that <i>juste milieu</i> under
+      which we have hitherto so eminently prospered. Neither the Parcæ and the
+      Eumenides, nor Ixion and his friends, shall advance a point. I will keep
+      each faction in awe by the bugbear of the other&rsquo;s supremacy. Trust me, I
+      am a profound politician.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was determined that the progress of Proserpine to the Elysian Fields
+      should be celebrated with a pomp and magnificence becoming her exalted
+      station. The day of her departure was proclaimed as a high festival in
+      Hell. Tiresias, absent on a secret mission, had been summoned back by
+      Pluto, and appointed to attend her Majesty during her journey and her
+      visit, for Pluto had the greatest confidence in his discretion. Besides,
+      as her Majesty had not at present the advantage of any female society, it
+      was necessary that she should be amused; and Tiresias, though old, ugly,
+      and blind, was a wit as well as a philosopher, the most distinguished
+      diplomatist of his age, and considered the best company in Hades.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      An immense crowd was assembled round the gates of the palace on the morn
+      of the royal departure. With what anxious curiosity did they watch those
+      huge brazen portals! Every precaution was taken for the accommodation of
+      the public. The streets were lined with troops of extraordinary stature,
+      whose nodding plumes prevented the multitude from catching a glimpse of
+      anything that passed, and who cracked the skulls of the populace with
+      their scimitars if they attempted in the slightest degree to break the
+      line. Moreover, there were seats erected which any one might occupy at a
+      reasonable rate; but the lord steward, who had the disposal of the
+      tickets, purchased them all for himself, and then resold them to his
+      fellow-subjects at an enormous price.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At length the hinges of the gigantic portals gave an ominous creak, and,
+      amid the huzzas of men and the shrieks of women, the procession commenced.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      First came the infernal band. It consisted of five hundred performers,
+      mounted on different animals. Never was such a melodious blast. Fifty
+      trumpeters, mounted on zebras of all possible stripes and tints, and
+      working away at huge ramshorns with their cheeks like pumpkins. Then there
+      were bassoons mounted on bears, clarionets on camelopards, oboes on
+      unicorns, and troops of musicians on elephants, playing on real serpents,
+      whose prismatic bodies indulged in the most extraordinary convolutions
+      imaginable, and whose arrowy tongues glittered with superb agitation at
+      the exquisite sounds which they unintentionally delivered. Animals there
+      were, too, now unknown and forgotten; but I must not forget the fellow who
+      beat the kettledrums, mounted on an enormous mammoth, and the din of whose
+      reverberating blows would have deadened the thunder of Olympus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This enchanting harmony preceded the regiment of Proserpine&rsquo;s own guards,
+      glowing in adamantine armour and mounted on coal-black steeds. Their
+      helmets were quite awful, and surmounted by plumes plucked from the wings
+      of the Harpies, which were alone enough to terrify an earthly host. It was
+      droll to observe this troop of gigantic heroes commanded by infants, who,
+      however, were arrayed in a similar costume, though, of course, on a
+      smaller scale. But such was the admirable discipline of the infernal
+      forces, that, though lions to their enemies, they were Iambs to their
+      friends; and on the present occasion their colonel was carried in a
+      cradle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After these came twelve most worshipful baboons, in most venerable wigs.
+      They were clothed with scarlet robes lined with ermine, and ornamented
+      with gold chains, and mounted on the most obstinate and inflexible mules
+      in Tartarus. These were the judges. Each was provided with a pannier of
+      choice cobnuts, which he cracked with great gravity, throwing the shells
+      to the multitude, an infernal ceremony, there held emblematic of their
+      profession.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lord Chancellor came next in a grand car. Although his wig was even
+      longer than those of his fellow functionaries, his manners and the rest of
+      his costume afforded a strange contrast to them. Apparently never was such
+      a droll, lively fellow. His dress was something between that of Harlequin
+      and Scaramouch. He amused himself by keeping in the air four brazen balls
+      at the same time, swallowing daggers, spitting fire, turning sugar into
+      salt, and eating yards of pink ribbon, which, after being well digested,
+      re-appeared through his nose. It is unnecessary to add, after this, that
+      he was the most popular Lord Chancellor that had ever held the seals, and
+      was received with loud and enthusiastic cheers, which apparently repaid
+      him for all his exertions. Notwithstanding his numerous and curious
+      occupations, I should not omit to add that his Lordship, nevertheless,
+      found time to lead by the nose a most meek and milk-white jackass that
+      immediately followed him, and which, in spite of the remarkable length of
+      its ears, seemed the object of great veneration. There was evidently some
+      mystery about this animal difficult to penetrate. Among other
+      characteristics, it was said, at different seasons, to be distinguished by
+      different titles; for sometimes it was styled &lsquo;The Public,&rsquo; at others
+      &lsquo;Opinion,&rsquo; and occasionally was saluted as the &lsquo;King&rsquo;s Conscience.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now came a numerous company of Priests, in flowing and funereal robes,
+      bearing banners, inscribed with the various titles of their Queen; on some
+      was inscribed Hecate, on others Juno Inferna, on others Theogamia, Libera
+      on some, on others Cotytto. Those that bore banners were crowned with
+      wreaths of narcissus, and mounted on bulls blacker than night, and of a
+      severe and melancholy aspect. Others walked by their side, bearing
+      branches of cypress.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And here I must stop to notice a droll characteristic of the priestly
+      economy of Hades. To be a good pedestrian was considered an essential
+      virtue of an infernal clergyman; but to be mounted on a black bull was the
+      highest distinction of the craft. It followed, therefore, that,
+      originally, promotion to such a seat was the natural reward of any priest
+      who had distinguished himself in the humbler career of a good walker; but
+      in process of time, as even infernal as well as human institutions are
+      alike liable to corruption, the black bulls became too often occupied by
+      the halt and the crippled, the feeble and the paralytic, who used their
+      influence at Court to become thus exempted from the performance of the
+      severer duties of which they were incapable. This violation of the
+      priestly constitution excited at first great murmurs among the abler but
+      less influential brethren. But the murmurs of the weak prove only the
+      tyranny of the strong; and so completely in the course of time do
+      institutions depart from their original character, that the imbecile
+      riders of the black bulls now avowedly defended their position on the very
+      grounds which originally should have unseated them, and openly maintained
+      that it was very evident that the stout were intended to walk, and the
+      feeble to be carried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The priests were followed by fifty dark chariots, drawn by blue satyrs.
+      Herein was the wardrobe of the Queen, and her Majesty&rsquo;s cooks.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tiresias came next, in a basalt chariot, yoked to royal steeds. He was
+      attended by Manto, who shared his confidence, and who, some said, was his
+      daughter, and others his niece. Venerable seer! Who could behold that
+      flowing beard, and the thin grey hairs of that lofty and wrinkled brow,
+      without being filled with sensations of awe and affection? A smile of
+      bland benignity played upon his passionless and reverend countenance.
+      Fortunate the monarch who is blessed with such a counsellor! Who could
+      have supposed that all this time Tiresias was concocting an epigram on
+      Pluto!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Queen! The Queen!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Upon a superb throne, placed upon an immense car, and drawn by twelve
+      coal-black steeds, four abreast, reposed the royal daughter of Ceres. Her
+      rich dark hair was braided off her high pale forehead, and fell in
+      voluptuous clusters over her back. A tiara sculptured out of a single
+      brilliant, and which darted a flash like lightning on the surrounding
+      multitude, was placed somewhat negligently on the right side of her head;
+      but no jewels broke the entrancing swell of her swan-like neck, or were
+      dimmed by the lustre of her ravishing arms. How fair was the Queen of
+      Hell! How thrilling the solemn lustre of her violet eye! A robe, purple as
+      the last hour of twilight, encompassed her transcendent form, studded with
+      golden stars!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Through the dim hot streets of Tartarus moved the royal procession, until
+      it reached the first winding of the river Styx. Here an immense assemblage
+      of yachts and barges, dressed out with the infernal colours, denoted the
+      appointed spot of the royal embarkation. Tiresias, dismounting from his
+      chariot, and leaning on Manto, now approached her Majesty, and requesting
+      her royal commands, recommended her to lose no time in getting on board.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;When your Majesty is once on the Styx,&rsquo; observed the wily seer, &lsquo;it may
+      be somewhat difficult to recall you to Hades; but I know very little of
+      Clotho, may it please your Majesty, if she have not already commenced her
+      intrigues in Tartarus.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You alarm me!&rsquo; said Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;It was not my intention. Caution is not fear.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But do you think that Pluto&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;May it please your Majesty, I make it a rule never to think. I know too
+      much.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Let us embark immediately!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Certainly; I would recommend your Majesty to get off at once. Myself and
+      Manto will accompany you, and the cooks. If an order arrive to stay our
+      departure, we can then send back the priests.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You counsel well, Tiresias. I wish you had not been absent on my arrival.
+      Affairs might have gone better.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Not at all. Had I been in Hell, your enemies would have been more wary.
+      Your Majesty&rsquo;s excellent spirit carried you through triumphantly; but it
+      will not do so twice. You turned them out, and I must keep them out.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;So be it, my dear friend.&rsquo; Thus saying, the Queen descended her throne,
+      and leaving the rest of her retinue to follow with all possible despatch,
+      embarked on board the infernal yacht, with Tiresias, Manto, the chief
+      cook, and some chosen attendants, and bid adieu for the first time, not
+      without agitation, to the gloomy banks of Tartarus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The breeze was favourable, and, animated by the exhortations of Tiresias,
+      the crew exerted themselves to the utmost. The barque swiftly scudded over
+      the dark waters. The river was of great breadth, and in this dim region
+      the crew were soon out of sight of land.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You have been in Elysium?&rsquo; inquired Proserpine of Tiresias.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I have been everywhere,&rsquo; replied the seer, &lsquo;and though I am blind have
+      managed to see a great deal more than my fellows.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I have often heard of you,&rsquo; said the Queen, &lsquo;and I confess that yours is
+      a career which has much interested me. What vicissitudes in affairs have
+      you not witnessed! And yet you have somehow or other contrived to make
+      your way through all the storms in which others have sunk, and are now, as
+      you always have been, in an exalted position. What can be your magic? I
+      would that you would initiate me. I know that you are a prophet, and that
+      even the gods consult you.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Your Majesty is complimentary. I certainly have had a great deal of
+      experience. My life has no doubt been a long one, but I have made it
+      longer by never losing a moment. I was born, too, at a great crisis in
+      affairs. Everything that took place before the Trojan war passes for
+      nothing in the annals of wisdom. That was a great revolution in all
+      affairs human and divine, and from that event we must now date all our
+      knowledge. Before the Trojan war we used to talk of the rebellion of the
+      Titans, but that business now is an old almanac. As for my powers of
+      prophecy, believe me, that those who understand the past are very well
+      qualified to predict the future. For my success in life, it may be
+      principally ascribed to the observance of a simple rule&mdash;I never
+      trust anyone, either god or man. I make an exception in favour of the
+      goddesses, and especially of your Majesty,&rsquo; added Tiresias, who piqued
+      himself on his gallantry.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While they were thus conversing, the Queen directed the attention of Manto
+      to a mountainous elevation which now began to rise in the distance, and
+      which, from the rapidity of the tide and the freshness of the breeze, they
+      approached at a swift rate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Behold the Stygian mountains,&rsquo; replied Manto. &lsquo;Through their centre runs
+      the passage of Night which leads to the regions of Twilight.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;We have, then, far to travel?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Assuredly it is no easy task to escape from the gloom of Tartarus to the
+      sunbeams of Elysium,&rsquo; remarked Tiresias; &lsquo;but the pleasant is generally
+      difficult; let us be grateful that in our instance it is not, as usual,
+      forbidden.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You say truly; I am sorry to confess how very often it appears to me that
+      sin is enjoyment. But see! how awful are these perpendicular heights,
+      piercing the descending vapours, with their peaks clothed with dark pines!
+      We seem land-locked.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the experienced master of the infernal yacht knew well how to steer
+      his charge through the intricate windings of the river, which here, though
+      deep and navigable, became as wild and narrow as a mountain stream; and,
+      as the tide no longer served them, and the wind, from their involved
+      course, was as often against them as in their favour, the crew were
+      obliged to have recourse to their oars, and rowed along until they arrived
+      at the mouth of an enormous cavern, from which the rapid stream apparently
+      issued.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I am frightened out of my wits,&rsquo; exclaimed Proserpine. &lsquo;Surely this
+      cannot be our course?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I hold, from your Majesty&rsquo;s exclamation,&rsquo; said Tiresias, &lsquo;that we have
+      arrived at the passage of Night. When we have proceeded some hundred
+      yards, we shall reach the adamantine portals. I pray your Majesty be not
+      alarmed. I alone have the signet which can force these mystic gates to
+      open. I must be stirring myself. What, ho! Manto.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Here am I, father. Hast thou the seal?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;In my breast. I would not trust it to my secretaries. They have my
+      portfolios full of secret despatches, written on purpose to deceive them;
+      for I know that they are spies in the pay of Minerva; but your Majesty
+      perceives, with a little prudence, that even a traitor may be turned to
+      account.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus saying, Tiresias, leaning on Manto, hobbled to the poop of the
+      vessel, and exclaiming aloud, &lsquo;Behold the mighty seal of Dis, whereon is
+      inscribed the word the Titans fear,&rsquo; the gates immediately flew open,
+      revealing the gigantic form of the Titan Porphyrin, whose head touched the
+      vault of the mighty cavern, although he was up to his waist in the waters
+      of the river.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Come, my noble Porphyrion,&rsquo; said Tiresias, &lsquo;bestir thyself, I beseech
+      thee. I have brought thee a Queen. Guide her Majesty, I entreat thee, with
+      safety through this awful passage of Night.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What a horrible creature,&rsquo; whispered Proserpine. &lsquo;I wonder you address
+      him with such courtesy.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I am always courteous,&rsquo; replied Tiresias. &lsquo;How know I that the Titans may
+      not yet regain their lost heritage? They are terrible fellows; and ugly or
+      not, I have no doubt that even your Majesty would not find them so
+      ill-favoured were they seated in the halls of Olympus.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;There is something in that,&rsquo; replied Proserpine. &lsquo;I almost wish I were
+      once more in Tartarus.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Titan Porphyrion in the meantime had fastened a chain-cable to the
+      vessel, which he placed over his shoulder, and turning his back to the
+      crew, then wading through the waters, he dragged on the vessel in its
+      course. The cavern widened, the waters spread. To the joy of Proserpine,
+      apparently, she once more beheld the moon and stars.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Bright crescent of Diana!&rsquo; exclaimed the enraptured Queen, &lsquo;and ye too,
+      sweet stars, that I have so often watched on the Sicilian plains; do I,
+      then, indeed again behold you? or is it only some exquisite vision that
+      entrances my being? for, indeed, I do not feel the freshness of that
+      breeze that was wont to renovate my languid frame; nor does the odorous
+      scent of flowers wafted from the shores delight my jaded senses. What is
+      it? Is it life or death; earth, indeed, or Hell?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis nothing,&rsquo; said Tiresias, &lsquo;but a great toy. You must know that Saturn&mdash;until
+      at length, wearied by his ruinous experiments, the gods expelled him his
+      empire&mdash;was a great dabbler in systems. He was always for making
+      moons brighter than Diana, and lighting the stars by gas; but his systems
+      never worked. The tides rebelled against their mistress, and the stars
+      went out with a horrible stench. This is one of his creations, the most
+      ingenious, though a failure. Jove made it a present to Pluto, who is quite
+      proud of having a sun and stars of his own, and reckons it among the
+      choice treasures of his kingdoms.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Poor Saturn! I pity him; he meant well.&rsquo; &lsquo;Very true. He is the paviour of
+      the high-street of Hades. But we cannot afford kings, and especially Gods,
+      to be philosophers. The certainty of misrule is better than the chance of
+      good government; uncertainty makes people restless.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I feel very restless myself; I wish we were in Elysium!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The river again narrows!&rsquo; exclaimed Manto. &lsquo;There is no other portal to
+      pass. The Saturnian moon and stars grow fainter, there is a grey tint
+      expanding in the distance; &lsquo;tis the realm of Twilight; your Majesty will
+      soon disembark.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_PART3" id="link2H_PART3">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      PART III.
+    </h2>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+     <i>Containing an Account of Tiresias at His Rubber</i>
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      TRAVELLERS who have left their homes generally grow mournful as the
+      evening draws on; nor is there, perhaps, any time at which the pensive
+      influence of twilight is more predominant than on the eve that follows a
+      separation from those we love. Imagine, then, the feelings of the Queen of
+      Hell, as her barque entered the very region of that mystic light, and the
+      shadowy shores of the realm of Twilight opened before her. Her thoughts
+      reverted to Pluto; and she mused over all his fondness, all his adoration,
+      and all his indulgence, and the infinite solicitude of his affectionate
+      heart, until the tears trickled down her beautiful cheeks, and she
+      marvelled she ever could have quitted the arms of her lover.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Your Majesty,&rsquo; observed Manto, who had been whispering to Tiresias,
+      &lsquo;feels, perhaps, a little wearied?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;By no means, my kind Manto,&rsquo; replied Proserpine, starting from her
+      reverie. &lsquo;But the truth is, my spirits are unequal; and though I really
+      cannot well fix upon the cause of their present depression, I am
+      apparently not free from the contagion of the surrounding gloom.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;It is the evening air,&rsquo; said Tiresias. &lsquo;Your Majesty had perhaps better
+      re-enter the pavilion of the yacht. As for myself, I never venture about
+      after sunset. One grows romantic. Night was evidently made for in-door
+      nature. I propose a rubber.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To this popular suggestion Proserpine was pleased to accede, and herself
+      and Tiresias, Manto and the captain of the yacht, were soon engaged at the
+      proposed amusement.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tiresias loved a rubber. It was true he was blind, but then, being a
+      prophet, that did not signify. Tiresias, I say, loved a rubber, and was a
+      first-rate player, though, perhaps, given a little too much to <i>finesse</i>.
+      Indeed, he so much enjoyed taking in his fellow-creatures, that he
+      sometimes could not resist deceiving his own partner. Whist is a game
+      which requires no ordinary combination of qualities; at the same time,
+      memory and invention, a daring fancy, and a cool head. To a mind like that
+      of Tiresias, a pack of cards was full of human nature. A rubber was a
+      microcosm; and he ruffed his adversary&rsquo;s king, or brought in a long suit
+      of his own with as much dexterity and as much enjoyment as, in the real
+      business of existence, he dethroned a monarch, or introduced a dynasty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Will your Majesty be pleased to draw your card?&rsquo; requested the sage. &lsquo;If
+      I might venture to offer your Majesty a hint, I would dare to recommend
+      your Majesty not to play before your turn. My friends are fond of
+      ascribing my success in my various missions to the possession of peculiar
+      qualities. No such thing: I owe everything to the simple habit of always
+      waiting till it is my turn to speak. And believe me, that he who plays
+      before his turn at whist, commits as great a blunder as he who speaks
+      before his turn during a negotiation.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The trick, and two by honours,&rsquo; said Proserpine. &lsquo;Pray, my dear Tiresias,
+      you who are such a fine player, how came you to trump my best card?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Because I wanted the lead. And those who want to lead, please your
+      Majesty, must never hesitate about sacrificing their friends.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I believe you speak truly. I was right in playing that thirteenth card?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Quite so. Above all things, I love a thirteenth card. I send it forth,
+      like a mock project in a revolution, to try the strength of parties.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You should not have forced me, Lady Manto,&rsquo; said the Captain of the
+      yacht, in a grumbling tone, to his partner. &lsquo;By weakening me, you
+      prevented me bringing in my spades. We might have made the game.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You should not have been forced,&rsquo; said Tiresias. &lsquo;If she made a mistake,
+      who was unacquainted with your plans, what a terrible blunder you
+      committed to share her error without her ignorance!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What, then, was I to lose a trick?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Next to knowing when to seize an opportunity,&rsquo; replied Tiresias, &lsquo;the
+      most important thing in life is to know when to forego an advantage.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I have cut you an honour, sir,&rsquo; said Manto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Which reminds me,&rsquo; replied Tiresias, &lsquo;that, in the last hand, your
+      Majesty unfortunately forgot to lead through your adversary&rsquo;s ace. I have
+      often observed that nothing ever perplexes an adversary so much as an
+      appeal to his honour.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I will not forget to follow your advice,&rsquo; said the Captain of the yacht,
+      playing accordingly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;By which you have lost the game,&rsquo; quietly remarked Tiresias. &lsquo;There are
+      exceptions to all rules, but it seldom answers to follow the advice of an
+      opponent.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Confusion!&rsquo; exclaimed the Captain of the yacht.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Four by honours, and the trick, I declare,&rsquo; said Proserpine. &lsquo;I was so
+      glad to see you turn up the queen, Tiresias.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I also, madam. Without doubt there are few cards better than her royal
+      consort, or, still more, the imperial ace. Nevertheless, I must confess, I
+      am perfectly satisfied whenever I remember that I have the Queen on my
+      side.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Proserpine bowed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I have a good mind to do it, Tiresias,&rsquo; said Queen Proserpine, as that
+      worthy sage paid his compliments to her at her toilet, at an hour which
+      should have been noon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;It would be a great compliment,&rsquo; said Tiresias.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And it is not much out of our way?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;By no means,&rsquo; replied the seer. &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis an agreeable half-way house. He
+      lives in good style.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And whence can a dethroned monarch gain a revenue?&rsquo; inquired the Queen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Your Majesty, I see, is not at all learned in politics. A sovereign never
+      knows what an easy income is till he has abdicated. He generally commences
+      squabbling with his subjects about the supplies; he is then expelled, and
+      voted, as compensation, an amount about double the sum which was the cause
+      of the original quarrel.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What do you think, Manto?&rsquo; said Proserpine, as that lady entered the
+      cabin; &lsquo;we propose paying a visit to Saturn. He has fixed his residence,
+      you know, in these regions of twilight.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I love a junket,&rsquo; replied Manto, &lsquo;above all things. And, indeed, I was
+      half frightened out of my wits at the bare idea of toiling over this
+      desert. All is prepared, please your Majesty, for our landing. Your
+      Majesty&rsquo;s litter is quite ready.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis well,&rsquo; said Proserpine; and leaning on the arm of Manto, the Queen
+      came upon deck, and surveyed the surrounding country, a vast grey flat,
+      with a cloudless sky of the same tint: in the distance some lowering
+      shadows, which seemed like clouds but were in fact mountains.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Some half-dozen hours,&rsquo; said Tiresias, &lsquo;will bring us to the palace of
+      Saturn. We shall arrive for dinner; the right hour. Let me recommend your
+      Majesty to order the curtains of your litter to be drawn, and, if
+      possible, to resume your dreams.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;They were not pleasant,&rsquo; said Proserpine, &lsquo;I dreamt of my mother and the
+      Parcæ. Manto, methinks I&rsquo;ll read. Hast thou some book?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Here is a poem, Madam, but I fear it may induce those very slumbers you
+      dread.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;How call you it?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;&ldquo;The Pleasures of Oblivion.&rdquo; The poet apparently is fond of his subject.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And is, I have no doubt, equal to it. Hast any prose?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;An historical novel or so.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Oh! if you mean those things as full of costume as a fancy ball, and
+      almost as devoid of sense, I&rsquo;ll have none of them. Close the curtains;
+      even visions of the Furies are preferable to these insipidities.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The halt of the litter roused the Queen from her slumbers. &lsquo;We have
+      arrived,&rsquo; said Manto, as she assisted in withdrawing the curtains.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The train had halted before a vast propylon of rose-coloured granite. The
+      gate was nearly two hundred feet in height, and the sides of the propylon,
+      which rose like huge moles, were sculptured with colossal figures of a
+      threatening aspect. Passing through the propylon, the Queen of Hell and
+      her attendants entered an avenue in length about three-quarters of a mile,
+      formed of colossal figures of the same character and substance,
+      alternately raising in their arms javelins or battle-axes, as if about to
+      strike. At the end of this heroic avenue appeared the palace of Saturn.
+      Ascending a hundred steps of black marble, you stood before a portico
+      supported by twenty columns of the same material and shading a single
+      portal of bronze. Apparently the palace formed an immense quadrangle; a
+      vast tower rising from each corner, and springing from the centre a huge
+      and hooded dome. A crowd of attendants, in grey and sad-coloured raiment,
+      issued from the portal of the palace at the approach of Proserpine, who
+      remarked with strange surprise their singular countenances and demeanour;
+      for rare in this silent assemblage was any visage resembling aught she had
+      seen, human or divine. Some bore the heads of bats; of owls and beetles
+      others; some fluttered moth-like wings, while the shoulders of other
+      bipeds were surmounted, in spite of their human organisation, with the
+      heads of rats and weasels, of marten-cats and of foxes. But they were all
+      remarkably civil; and Proserpine, who was now used to wonders, did not
+      shriek at all, and scarcely shuddered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Queen of Hell was ushered through a superb hall, and down a splendid
+      gallery, to a suite of apartments where a body of damsels of a most
+      distinguished appearance awaited her. Their heads resembled those of the
+      most eagerly-sought, highly-prized, and oftenest-stolen lap-dogs. Upon the
+      shoulders of one was the visage of the smallest and most thorough-bred
+      little Blenheim in the world. Upon her front was a white star, her nose
+      was nearly flat, and her ears were tied under her chin, with the most
+      jaunty air imaginable. She was an evident flirt; and a solemn prude of a
+      spaniel, with a black and tan countenance, who seemed a sort of duenna,
+      evidently watched her with no little distrust. The admirers of blonde
+      beauties would, however, have fallen in love with a poodle, with the
+      finest head of hair imaginable, and most voluptuous shoulders. This
+      brilliant band began barking in the most insinuating tone on the
+      appearance of the Queen; and Manto, who was almost as dexterous a linguist
+      as Tiresias himself, informed her Majesty that these were the ladies of
+      her bed-chamber; upon which Proserpine, who, it will be remembered had no
+      passion for dogs, ordered them immediately out of her room.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What a droll place!&rsquo; exclaimed the Queen. &lsquo;Do you know, we are later than
+      I imagined? A hasty toilet to-day; I long to see Saturn. It is droll, I am
+      hungry. My purple velvet, I think; it may be considered a compliment. No
+      diamonds, only jet; a pearl or two, perhaps. Didst ever see the King?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They say he is gentlemanlike, though a bigot. No! no rouge to-day; this
+      paleness is quite <i>apropos</i>. Were I as radiant as usual, I should be
+      taken for Aurora.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So leaning on Manto, and preceded by the ladies of her bed-chamber, whom,
+      notwithstanding their repulse, she found in due attendance in the
+      antechamber, Proserpine again continued her progress down the gallery,
+      until they stopped at a door, which opening, she was ushered into the
+      grand circular saloon, crowned by the dome, whose exterior the Queen had
+      already observed. The interior of this apartment was entirely of black and
+      grey marble, with the exception of the dome itself, which was of ebony,
+      richly carved and supported by more than a hundred columns. There depended
+      from the centre of the arch a single chandelier of frosted silver, which
+      was itself as big as an ordinary chamber, but of the most elegant form,
+      and delicate and fantastic workmanship. As the Queen entered the saloon, a
+      personage of venerable appearance, dressed in a suit of black velvet, and
+      leaning on an ivory cane, advanced to salute her. There was no mistaking
+      this personage; his manners were at once so courteous and so dignified. He
+      was clearly their host; and Proserpine, who was quite charmed with his
+      grey locks and his black velvet cap, his truly paternal air, and the
+      beneficence of his unstudied smile, could scarcely refrain from bending
+      her knee, and pressing her lips to his extended hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I am proud that your Majesty has remembered me in my retirement,&rsquo; said
+      Saturn, as he led Proserpine to a seat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Their mutual compliments were soon disturbed by the announcement of
+      dinner, and Saturn offering his arm to the Queen with an air of politeness
+      which belonged to the old school, but which the ladies admire in old men,
+      handed Proserpine to the banqueting-room. They were followed by some of
+      the principal personages of her Majesty&rsquo;s suite, and a couple of young
+      Titans, who enjoyed the posts of aides-de-camp to the ex-King, and whose
+      duties consisted of carving at dinner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a most agreeable dinner, and Proserpine was delighted with Saturn,
+      who, of course, sat by her side, and paid her every possible attention.
+      Saturn, whose manners, as has been observed, were of the old school, loved
+      a good story, and told several. His anecdotes, especially of society
+      previous to the Trojan war, were highly interesting. There ran through all
+      his behaviour, too, a tone of high breeding and of consideration for
+      others which was really charming; and Proserpine, who had expected to find
+      in her host a gloomy bigot, was quite surprised at the truly liberal
+      spirit with which he seemed to consider affairs in general. Indeed this
+      unexpected tone made so great an impression upon her, that finding a good
+      opportunity after dinner, when they were sipping their coffee apart from
+      the rest of the company, she could not refrain from entering into some
+      conversation with the ex-King upon the subject, and the conversation ran
+      thus:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Do you know,&rsquo; said Proserpine, &lsquo;that much as I have been pleased and
+      surprised during my visit to the realms of twilight, nothing has pleased,
+      and I am sure nothing has surprised me more, than to observe the
+      remarkably liberal spirit in which your Majesty views the affairs of the
+      day.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You give me a title, beautiful Proserpine, to which I have no claim,&rsquo;
+      replied Saturn. &lsquo;You forget that I am now only Count Hesperus; I am no
+      longer a king, and believe me, I am very glad of it.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;What a pity, my dear sir, that you would not condescend to conform to the
+      spirit of the age. For myself, I am quite a reformer.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;So I have understood, beautiful Proserpine, which I confess has a little
+      surprised me; for to tell you the truth, I do not consider that reform is
+      exactly <i>our</i> trade.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Affairs cannot go on as they used,&rsquo; observed Proserpine, oracularly; &lsquo;we
+      must bow to the spirit of the age.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And what is that?&rsquo; inquired Saturn.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I do not exactly know,&rsquo; replied Proserpine, &lsquo;but one hears of it
+      everywhere.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I also heard of it a great deal,&rsquo; replied Saturn, &lsquo;and was also
+      recommended to conform to it. Before doing so, however, I thought it as
+      well to ascertain its nature, and something also of its strength.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;It is terribly strong,&rsquo; observed Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But you think it will be stronger?&rsquo; inquired the ex-King.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Certainly; every day it is more powerful.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Then if, on consideration, we were to deem resistance to it advisable, it
+      is surely better to commence the contest at once than to postpone the
+      struggle.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;It is useless to talk of resisting; one must conform.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I certainly should consider resistance useless,&rsquo; replied Saturn, &lsquo;for I
+      tried it and failed; but at least one has a chance of success; and yet,
+      having resisted this spirit and failed, I should not consider myself in a
+      worse plight than you would voluntarily place yourself in by conforming to
+      it.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You speak riddles,&rsquo; said Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;To be plain, then,&rsquo; replied Saturn, &lsquo;I think you may as well at once give
+      up your throne, as conform to this spirit.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;And why so?&rsquo; inquired Proserpine very ingenuously.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Because,&rsquo; replied Saturn, shrugging up his shoulders, &lsquo;I look upon the
+      spirit of the age as a spirit hostile to Kings and gods.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The next morning Saturn himself attended his beautiful guest over his
+      residence, which Proserpine greatly admired.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis the work of the Titans,&rsquo; replied the ex-King. &lsquo;There never was a
+      party so fond of building palaces.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;To speak the truth,&rsquo; said Proserpine, &lsquo;I am a little disappointed that I
+      have not had an opportunity, during my visit, of becoming acquainted with
+      some of the chiefs of that celebrated party; for, although a Liberal, I am
+      a female one, and I like to know every sort of person who is
+      distinguished.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;The fact is,&rsquo; replied her host, &lsquo;that the party has never recovered from
+      the thunderbolt of that scheming knave Jupiter, and do not bear their
+      defeat so philosophically as years, perhaps, permit me to do. If we have
+      been vanquished by the spirit of the age,&rsquo; continued Saturn, &lsquo;you must
+      confess that, in our case, the conqueror did not assume a material form
+      very remarkable for its dignity. Had Creation resolved itself into its
+      original elements, had Chaos come again, or even old Coelus, the indignity
+      might have been endured; but to be baffled by an Olympian <i>juste milieu</i>,
+      and to find, after all the clamour, that nothing has been changed save the
+      places, is, you will own, somewhat mortifying.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;But how do you reconcile,&rsquo; inquired the ingenuous Proserpine, &lsquo;the
+      success of Jupiter with the character which you ascribed last night to the
+      spirit of the age?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Why, in truth,&rsquo; said Saturn, &lsquo;had I not entirely freed myself from all
+      party feeling, I might adduce the success of my perfidious and worthless
+      relative as very good demonstration that the spirit of the age is nothing
+      better than an <i>ignis fatuus</i>. Nevertheless, we must discriminate.
+      Even the success of Jupiter, although he now conducts himself in direct
+      opposition to the emancipating principles he at first professed, is no
+      less good evidence of their force; for by his professions he rose. And,
+      for my part, I consider it a great homage to public opinion to find every
+      scoundrel now-a-days professing himself a Liberal.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You are candid;&rsquo; said Proserpine. &lsquo;I should like very much to see the
+      Titans.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;My friends are at least consistent,&rsquo; observed Saturn; &lsquo;though certainly
+      at present I can say little more for them. Between the despair of one
+      section of the party, and the over-sanguine expectations of the other,
+      they are at present quite inactive, or move only to ensure fresh rebuffs.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You see little of them, then?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;They keep to themselves: they generally frequent a lonely vale in the
+      neighbourhood.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I should so like to see them!&rsquo; exclaimed Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Say nothing to Tiresias,&rsquo; said old Saturn, who was half in love with his
+      fair friend, &lsquo;and we will steal upon them unperceived.&rsquo; So saying, the god
+      struck the earth with his cane, and there instantly sprang forth a
+      convenient car, built of curiously carved cedar, and borne by four
+      enormous tawny-coloured owls. Seating himself by the side of the delighted
+      Proserpine, Saturn commanded the owls to bear them to the Valley of
+      Lamentations.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Twas an easy fly: the chariot soon descended upon the crest of a hill:
+      and Saturn and Proserpine, leaving the car, commenced, by a winding path,
+      the slight ascent of a superior elevation. Having arrived there, they
+      looked down upon a valley, apparently land-locked by black and barren
+      mountains of the most strange, although picturesque forms. In the centre
+      of the valley was a black pool or tarn, bordered with dark purple flags of
+      an immense size, twining and twisting among which might be observed the
+      glancing and gliding folds of several white serpents; while crocodiles and
+      alligators, and other horrible forms, poked their foul snouts with evident
+      delight in a vast mass of black slime, which had, at various times, exuded
+      from the lake. A single tree only was to be observed in this desolate
+      place, an enormous and blasted cedar, with scarcely a patch of verdure,
+      but extending its black and barren branches nearly across the valley.
+      Seated on a loosened crag, but leaning against the trunk of the cedar,
+      with his arms folded, his mighty eyes fixed on the ground, and his legs
+      crossed with that air of complete repose which indicates that their owner
+      is in no hurry again to move them, was
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+     &lsquo;A form, some granite god we deemed,
+     Or king of palmy Nile, colossal shapes
+     Such as Syene&rsquo;s rosy quarries yield
+     To Memphian art; Horus, Osiris called,
+     Or Amenoph, who, on the Theban plain,
+     With magic melody the sun salutes;
+     Or he, far mightier, to whose conquering car
+     Monarchs were yoked, Rameses: by the Greeks
+     Sesostris styled.    And yet no sculptor&rsquo;s art
+     Moulded this shape, for form it seemed of flesh,
+     Yet motionless; its dim unlustrous orbs
+     Gazing in stilly vacancy, its cheek
+     Grey  as its hairs, which, thin as they might seem,
+     No breath disturbed; a solemn countenance,
+     Not sorrowful, though full of woe sublime,
+     As if despair were now a distant dream
+     Too dim for memory.&rsquo;
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis their great leader,&rsquo; said Saturn, as he pointed out the Titan to
+      Proserpine, &lsquo;the giant Enceladus. He got us into all our scrapes, but I
+      must do him the justice to add, that he is the only one who can ever get
+      us out of them. They say he has no heart; but I think his hook nose is
+      rather fine.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Superb!&rsquo; said Proserpine. &lsquo;And who is that radiant and golden-haired
+      youth who is seated at his feet?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis no less a personage than Hyperion himself,&rsquo; replied Saturn, &lsquo;the
+      favourite counsellor of Enceladus. He is a fine orator, and makes up by
+      his round sentences and choice phrases for the rhetorical deficiencies of
+      his chief, who, to speak the truth, is somewhat curt and husky. They have
+      enough now to do to manage their comrades and keep a semblance of
+      discipline in their routed ranks. Mark that ferocious Briareus there
+      scowling in a corner! Didst ever see such a moustache! He glances,
+      methinks, with an evil eye on the mighty Enceladus; and, let me tell you,
+      Briareus has a great following among them; so they say of him you know,
+      that he hath fifty heads and a hundred arms. See! how they gather around
+      him.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Who speaks now to Briareus?&rsquo; &lsquo;The young and valiant Mimas. Be assured he
+      is counselling war. We shall have a debate now.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Yon venerable personage, who is seated by the margin of the pool, and
+      weeping with the crocodiles&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Is old Oceanus.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;He is apparently much affected by his overthrow.&rsquo; &lsquo;It is his wont to
+      weep. He used to cry when he fought, and yet he was a powerful warrior.&rsquo;
+      &lsquo;Hark!&rsquo; said Proserpine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The awful voice of Briareus broke the silence. What a terrible personage
+      was Briareus! His wild locks hung loose about his shoulders, and blended
+      with his unshorn beard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Titans!&rsquo; shouted the voice which made many a heart tremble, and the
+      breathless Proserpine clasp the arm of Saturn. &lsquo;Titans! Is that spirit
+      dead that once heaped Ossa upon Pelion? Is it forgotten, even by
+      ourselves, that a younger born revels in our heritage? Are these forms
+      that surround me, indeed, the shapes at whose dread sight the base
+      Olympians fled to their fitting earth? Warriors, whose weapons were the
+      rocks, whose firebrands were the burning woods, is the day forgotten when
+      Jove himself turned craven, and skulked in Egypt? At least my memory is
+      keen enough to support my courage, and whatever the dread Enceladus may
+      counsel, my voice is still for war!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There ensued, after this harangue of Briareus, a profound and thrilling
+      silence, which was, however, broken in due time by the great leader of the
+      Titans himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;You mouth it well, Briareus,&rsquo; replied Enceladus calmly. &lsquo;And if great
+      words would re-seat us in Olympus, doubtless, with your potent aid, we
+      might succeed. It never should be forgotten, however, that had we combined
+      at first, in the spirit now recommended, the Olympians would never have
+      triumphed; and least of all our party should Briareus and his friends
+      forget the reasons of our disunion.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I take thy sneer, Enceladus,&rsquo; said the young and chivalric Mimas, &lsquo;and
+      throw it in thy teeth. This learn, then, from Briareus and his friends,
+      that if we were lukewarm in the hour of peril, the fault lies not to our
+      account, but with those who had previously so conducted themselves, that,
+      when the danger arrived, it was impossible for us to distinguish between
+      our friends and our foes. Enceladus apparently forgets that had the
+      Olympians never been permitted to enter Heaven, it would have been
+      unnecessary ever to have combined against their machinations.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Recrimination is useless,&rsquo; said a Titan, interposing. &lsquo;I was one of those
+      who supported Enceladus in the admission of the Olympians above, and I
+      regret it. But at the time, like others, I believed it to be the only mode
+      of silencing the agitation of Jupiter.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I separated from Enceladus on that question,&rsquo; said a huge Titan, lying
+      his length on the ground and leaning one arm on a granite crag; &lsquo;but I am
+      willing to forget all our differences and support him with all my heart
+      and strength in another effort to restore our glorious constitution.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Titans,&rsquo; said Enceladus, &lsquo;who is there among you who has found me a
+      laggard in the day of battle?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the Olympians, as Briareus thinks it necessary to remind you, fled, I
+      was your leader. Remember, however, then, that there were no thunderbolts.
+      As for myself, I candidly confess to you, that, since the invention of
+      these weapons by Jove, I do not see how war can be carried on by us any
+      longer with effect.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;By the memory of old Coelus and these fast-flowing tears,&rsquo; murmured the
+      venerable Oceanus, patting at the same time a crocodile on the back, &lsquo;I
+      call you all to witness that I have no interest to deceive you.
+      Nevertheless, we should not forget that, in this affair of the
+      thunderbolts, it is the universal opinion that there is a very
+      considerable reaction. I have myself, only within these few days, received
+      authentic information that several have fallen of late without any visible
+      ill effects; and I am credibly assured that, during the late storm in
+      Thessaly, a thunderbolt was precipitated into the centre of a vineyard,
+      without affecting the flavour of a single grape.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here several of the Titans, who had gathered round Enceladus, shook their
+      heads and shrugged their shoulders, and a long and desultory conversation
+      ensued upon the copious and very controversial subject of Re-action. In
+      the meantime Rhoetus, a young Titan, whispered to one of his companions,
+      that for his part he was convinced that the only way to beat the Olympians
+      was to turn them into ridicule; and that he would accordingly commence at
+      once with the pasquinade on the private life of Jupiter, and some
+      peculiarly delicate criticisms on the characters of the goddesses.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_PART4" id="link2H_PART4">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      PART IV.
+    </h2>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+     <i>Containing the First View of Elysium</i>
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      THE toilsome desert was at length passed, and the royal cavalcade ascended
+      the last chasm of mountains that divided Elysium, or the Regions of Bliss,
+      from the Realm of Twilight. As she quitted those dim and dreary plains,
+      the spirit of Proserpine grew lighter, and she indulged in silent but
+      agreeable anticipations of the scene which she was now approaching. On
+      reaching, however, the summit of the mountainous chain, and proceeding a
+      short distance over the rugged table-land into which it now declined, her
+      Majesty was rather alarmed at perceiving that her progress was impeded by
+      a shower of flame that extended, on either side, as far as the eye could
+      reach. Her alarm, however, was of short continuance; for, on the
+      production of his talisman by Tiresias, the shower of flame instantly
+      changed into silvery drops of rose-water and other delicious perfumes.
+      Amid joyous peals of laughter, and some slight playful screams on the part
+      of the ladies, the cavalcade ventured through the ordeal. Now the effect
+      of this magical bath was quite marvellous. A burthen seemed suddenly to
+      have been removed from the spirits of the whole party; their very
+      existence seemed renewed; the blood danced about their veins in the
+      liveliest manner imaginable; and a wild but pleasing titillation ran like
+      lightning through their nerves, their countenances sparkled with
+      excitement; and they all talked at the same time. Proserpine was so
+      occupied with her own sensations, that she did not immediately remark the
+      extraordinary change that had occurred in the appearance of the country
+      immediately on passing this magical barrier. She perceived that their
+      course now led over the most elastic and carefully-shaven turf; groups of
+      beautiful shrubs occasionally appeared, and she discovered with delight
+      that their flowers constantly opened, and sent forth from their bells
+      diminutive birds of radiant plumage. Above them, too, the clouds vanished,
+      and her head was canopied by a sky, unlike, indeed, all things and tints
+      of earth, but which reminded her, in some degree, of the splendour of
+      Olympus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Proserpine, restless with delight, quitted her litter, and followed by
+      Manto, ran forward to catch the first view of Elysium.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;I am quite out of breath,&rsquo; said her Majesty, &lsquo;and really must sit down on
+      this bank of violets. Was ever anything in the world so delightful? Why,
+      Olympus is nothing to it! And after Tartarus, too, and that poor unhappy
+      Saturn, and his Titans and his twilight, it really is too much for me. How
+      I do long for the view! and yet, somehow or other, my heart beats so I
+      cannot walk.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Will your Majesty re-ascend your litter?&rsquo; suggested Manto.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Oh, no! that is worse than anything. They are a mile behind; they are so
+      slow. Why, Manto! what is this?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A beautiful white dove hovered in the air over the head of Proserpine and
+      her attendant, and then dropping an olive branch into the lap of the
+      Queen, flapped its wings and whirled away. But what an olive branch! the
+      stem was of agate; each leaf was an emerald; and on the largest, in
+      letters of brilliants, was this inscription:
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+     <i>The Elysians to Their Beautiful Queen</i>
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Oh, is it not superb?&rsquo; exclaimed Proserpine. &lsquo;What charming people, and
+      what excellent subjects! What loyalty and what taste!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So saying, the enraptured Proserpine rose from the bank of violets, and
+      had scarcely run forwards fifty yards when she suddenly stopped, and
+      started with an exclamation of wonder. The table-land had ceased. She
+      stood upon a precipice of white marble, in many parts clothed with thick
+      bowers of myrtle; before her extended the wide-spreading plains of
+      Elysium. They were bounded upon all sides by gentle elevations entirely
+      covered with flowers, and occasionally shooting forward into the champaign
+      country; behind these appeared a range of mountains clothed with bright
+      green forests, and still loftier heights behind them, exhibiting, indeed,
+      only bare and sharply-pointed peaks glittering with prismatic light. The
+      undulating plain was studded in all directions with pavilions and
+      pleasure-houses, and groves and gardens glowing with the choicest and most
+      charming fruit; and a broad blue river wound through it, covered with
+      brilliant boats, the waters flashing with phosphoric light as they were
+      cut by the swift and gliding keels. And in the centre of the plain rose a
+      city, a mighty group of all that was beautiful in form and costly in
+      materials, bridges and palaces and triumphal gates of cedar and of marble,
+      columns and minarets of gold, and cupolas and domes of ivory; and ever and
+      anon appeared delicious gardens, raised on the terraces of the houses; and
+      groups of palm trees with their tall, thin stems, and quivering and
+      languid crests, rose amid the splendid masonry. A sweet soft breeze
+      touched the cheek of the entranced Proserpine, and a single star of silver
+      light glittered in the rosy sky.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;&lsquo;Tis my favourite hour,&rsquo; exclaimed Proserpine. &lsquo;Thus have I gazed upon
+      Hesperus in the meads of Enna! What a scene! How fortunate that we should
+      have arrived at sunset!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Ah, Madam!&rsquo; observed Manto, &lsquo;in Elysium the sky is ever thus. For the
+      Elysians, the sun seems always to have just set!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &lsquo;Fortunate people!&rsquo; replied Proserpine. &lsquo;In them, immortality and
+      enjoyment seem indeed blended together. A strange feeling, half of
+      languor, half of voluptuousness, steals over my senses! It seems that I at
+      length behold the region of my girlish dreams. Such once I fancied
+      Olympus. Ah! why does not my Pluto live in Elysium?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Elysians consisted of a few thousand beatified mortals, the only
+      occupation of whose existence was enjoyment; the rest of the population
+      comprised some millions of Gnomes and Sylphs, who did nothing but work,
+      and ensured by their labour the felicity of the superior class. Every
+      Elysian, male or female, possessed a magnificent palace in the city, and
+      an elegant pavilion on the plain; these, with a due proportion of
+      chariots, horses, and slaves, constituted a proper establishment. The
+      Sylphs and the Gnomes were either scattered about the country, which they
+      cultivated, or lived in the city, where they kept shops, and where they
+      emulated each other in displaying the most ingenious articles of luxury
+      and convenience for the enjoyment and accommodation of the Elysians. The
+      townspeople, indeed, rather affected to look down upon the more
+      simple-minded agriculturists; but if these occasionally felt a little
+      mortification in consequence, they might have been consoled, had they been
+      aware that their brethren and sisters who were in the service of the
+      Elysians avenged their insults, for these latter were the finest Gnomes
+      and Sylphs imaginable, and scarcely deigned to notice any one who was in
+      trade. Whether there were any coin or other circulating medium current in
+      Elysium is a point respecting which I must confess I have not sufficient
+      information to decide; but if so, it certainly would appear that all money
+      transactions were confined to the Gnomes and the Sylphs, for the Elysians
+      certainly never paid for anything. Perhaps this exemption might have been
+      among their peculiar privileges, and was a substitute for what we call
+      credit, a convenience of which the ancients appear to have had a limited
+      conception. The invention, by Jupiter, of an aristocratic immortality, as
+      a reward for a well-spent life on earth, appears to have been an ingenious
+      idea. It really is a reward, very stimulative of good conduct before we
+      shuffle off the mortal coil, and remarkably contrasts with the democracy
+      of the damned. The Elysians, with a splendid climate, a teeming soil, and
+      a nation made on purpose to wait upon them, of course enjoyed themselves
+      very much. The arts flourished, the theatres paid, and they had a much
+      finer opera than at Ephesus or at Halicarnassus. Their cookery was so
+      refined, that one of the least sentimental ceremonies in the world was not
+      only deprived of all its grossness, but was actually converted into an
+      elegant amusement, and so famous that their artists were even required at
+      Olympus. If their dinners were admirable, which is rare, their assemblies
+      were amusing, which is still more uncommon. All the arts of society were
+      carried to perfection in Elysium; a dull thing was never said, and an
+      awkward thing never done. The Elysians, indeed, being highly refined and
+      gifted, for they comprised in their order the very cream of terrestrial
+      society, were naturally a liberal-minded race of nobles, and capable of
+      appreciating every kind of excellence. If a Gnome or a Sylph, therefore,
+      in any way distinguished themselves; if they sang very well, or acted very
+      well, or if they were at all eminent for any of the other arts of
+      amusement, ay! indeed if the poor devils could do nothing better than
+      write a poem or a novel, they were sure to be noticed by the Elysians, who
+      always bowed to them as they passed by, and sometimes indeed even admitted
+      them into their circles.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Scarcely had the train of Proserpine rejoined her on the brink of the
+      precipice, than they heard the flourish of trumpets near at hand, soon
+      followed by a complete harmony of many instruments. A chorus of sweet
+      voices was next distinguished, growing each instant more loud and clear;
+      and in a few minutes, issuing from a neighbouring grove, came forth a band
+      of heroes and beautiful women, dressed in dazzling raiment, to greet the
+      Queen. A troop of chariots of light and airy workmanship followed, and a
+      crowd of Gnomes and Sylphs singing and playing on various instruments, and
+      dancing with gestures of grace and delicacy. Congratulating the Queen on
+      her arrival in Elysium, and requesting the honour of being permitted to
+      attend her to her palace, they ushered Proserpine and her companions to
+      the chariots, and soon, winding down a gradual declivity, they entered the
+      plain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      If a bird&rsquo;s-eye view of the capital had enchanted Proserpine, the
+      agreeable impression was not diminished, as is generally the case, by her
+      entrance into the city. Never were so much splendour and neatness before
+      combined. Passing through a magnificent arch, Proserpine entered a street
+      of vast and beautiful proportions, lined on each side with palaces of
+      various architecture, painted admirably in fresco, and richly gilt. The
+      road was formed of pounded marbles of various colours, laid down in
+      fanciful patterns, and forming an unrivalled mosaic; it was bounded on
+      each side by a broad causeway of jasper, of a remarkably bright green,
+      clouded with milk-white streaks. This street led to a sumptuous square,
+      forming alone the palace destined for Proserpine. Its several fronts were
+      supported and adorned by ten thousand columns, imitating the palm and the
+      lotus; nor is it possible to conceive anything more light and graceful
+      than the general effect of this stupendous building. Each front was
+      crowned with an immense dome of alabaster, so transparent, that when the
+      palace was illuminated the rosy heaven grew pale, and an effect similar to
+      moonlight was diffused over the canopy of Elysium. And in the centre of
+      the square a Leviathan, carved in white coral, and apparently flouncing in
+      a huge basin of rock crystal, spouted forth from his gills a fountain
+      twelve hundred feet in height; from one gill ascended a stream of
+      delicious wine, which might be tempered, if necessary, by the iced water
+      that issued from the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the approach of the Queen, the gigantic gates of the palace, framed of
+      carved cedar, flew open with a thrilling burst of music, and Proserpine
+      found herself in a hall wherein several hundred persons, who formed her
+      household, knelt in stillness before her. Wearied with her long journey,
+      and all the excitement of the day, Proserpine signified to one of the
+      Elysians in attendance her desire for refreshment and repose. Immediately
+      the household rose, and gracefully bowing retired in silence, while four
+      ladies of the bed-chamber, very different from the dogfaced damsels of the
+      realm of Twilight, advanced with a gracious smile, and each pressing a
+      white hand to her heart, invited her Majesty to accompany them. Twelve
+      beautiful pages in fanciful costume, and each bearing a torch of cinnamon,
+      preceded them, and Proserpine ascended a staircase of turquoise and
+      silver. As she passed along, she caught glimpses of costly galleries, and
+      suites of gorgeous chambers, but she was almost too fatigued to
+      distinguish anything. A confused vision of long lines of white columns,
+      roofs of carved cedar, or ceilings glowing with forms of exquisite beauty,
+      walls covered with lifelike tapestry, or reflecting in their mighty
+      mirrors her own hurrying figure, and her picturesque attendants, alone
+      remained. She rejoiced when she at length arrived in a small chamber, in
+      which preparations evidently denoted that it was intended she should rest.
+      It was a pretty little saloon, brilliantly illuminated, and hung with
+      tapestry depicting a party of nymphs and shepherds feasting in an Arcadian
+      scene. In the middle of the chamber a banquet was prepared, and as
+      Proserpine seated herself, and partook of some of the delicacies which a
+      page immediately presented to her, there arose, from invisible musicians,
+      a joyous and festive strain, which accompanied her throughout her repast.
+      When her Majesty had sufficiently refreshed herself, and as the banquet
+      was removing, the music assumed a softer and more subduing, occasionally
+      even a solemn tone; the tapestry, slowly shifting, at length represented
+      the same characters sunk in repose; the attendants all this time gradually
+      extinguishing the lights, and stealing on tiptoe from the chamber. So
+      that, at last, the music, each moment growing fainter, entirely ceased;
+      the figures on the tapestry were scarcely perceptible by the dim lustre of
+      a single remaining lamp; and the slumbering Proserpine fell back upon her
+      couch.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the Queen of Hell was not destined to undisturbed repose. A dream
+      descended on her brain, and the dream was terrible and strange. She beheld
+      herself a child, playing, as was her wont, in the gardens of Enna, twining
+      garlands of roses, and chasing butterflies. Suddenly, from a bosky thicket
+      of myrtle, slowly issued forth an immense serpent, dark as night, but with
+      eyes of the most brilliant tint, and approached the daughter of Ceres. The
+      innocent child, ignorant of evil, beheld the monster without alarm. Not
+      only did she neither fly nor shriek, but she even welcomed and caressed
+      the frightful stranger, patted its voluminous back, and admired its
+      sparkling vision. The serpent, fascinated instead of fascinating, licked
+      her feet with his arrowy tongue, and glided about for her diversion in a
+      thousand shapes. Emboldened by its gentleness, the little Proserpine at
+      length even mounted on its back, and rode in triumph among her bowers.
+      Every day the dark serpent issued from the thicket, and every day he found
+      a welcome playmate. Now it come to pass that one day the serpent, growing
+      more bold, induced the young Proserpine to extend her ride beyond the
+      limits of Enna. Night came on, and as it was too late to return, the
+      serpent carried her to a large cave, where it made for her a couch of
+      leaves, and while she slept the affectionate monster kept guard for her
+      protection at the mouth of the cavern. For some reason or other which was
+      not apparent, for in dreams there are always some effects without causes,
+      Proserpine never returned to Enna, but remained and resided with
+      cheerfulness in this cavern. Each morning the serpent went forth alone to
+      seek food for its charge, and regularly returned with a bough in its mouth
+      laden with delicious fruits. One day, during the absence of her guardian,
+      a desire seized Proserpine to quit the cavern, and accordingly she went
+      forth. The fresh air and fragrance of the earth were delightful to her,
+      and she roamed about, unconscious of time, and thoughtless of her return.
+      And as she sauntered along, singing to herself, a beautiful white dove,
+      even the same dove that had welcomed her in the morning on the heights of
+      Elysium, flew before her with its wings glancing in the sunshine. It
+      seemed that the bird wished to attract the attention of the child, so long
+      and so closely did it hover about her; now resting on a branch, as if
+      inviting capture, and then skimming away only to return more swiftly; and
+      occasionally, when for a moment unnoticed, even slightly flapping the
+      rambler with its plume. At length the child was taken with a fancy to
+      catch the bird. But no sooner had she evinced this desire, than the bird,
+      once apparently so anxious to be noticed, seemed resolved to lead her a
+      weary chase; and hours flew away ere Proserpine, panting and exhausted,
+      had captured the beautiful rover and pressed it to her bosom.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was, indeed, a most beautiful bird, and its possession repaid her for
+      all her exertions. But lo! as she stood, in a wild sylvan scene caressing
+      it, smoothing its soft plumage, and pressing its head to her cheek, she
+      beheld in the distance approaching her the serpent, and she beheld her old
+      friend with alarm. Apparently her misgiving was not without cause. She
+      observed in an instant that the appearance and demeanour of the serpent
+      were greatly changed. It approached her swift as an arrow, its body
+      rolling in the most agitated contortions, its jaws were distended as if to
+      devour her, its eyes flashed fire, its tongue was a forked flame, and its
+      hiss was like a stormy wind. Proserpine shrieked, and the Queen of Hell
+      awoke from her dream.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The next morning the Elysian world called to pay their respects to
+      Proserpine. Her Majesty, indeed, held a drawing-room, which was fully and
+      brilliantly attended. Her beauty and her graciousness were universally
+      pronounced enchanting. From this moment the career of Proserpine was a
+      series of magnificent entertainments. The principal Elysians vied with
+      each other in the splendour and variety of the amusements, which they
+      offered to the notice of their Queen. Operas, plays, balls, and banquets
+      followed in dazzling succession. Proserpine, who was almost inexperienced
+      in society, was quite fascinated. She regretted the years she had wasted
+      in her Sicilian solitude; she marvelled that she ever could have looked
+      forward with delight to a dull annual visit to Olympus; she almost
+      regretted that, for the sake of an establishment, she could have been
+      induced to cast her lot in the regal gloom of Tartarus. Elysium exactly
+      suited her. The beauty of the climate and the country, the total absence
+      of care, the constant presence of amusement, the luxury, gaiety, and
+      refined enjoyment perfectly accorded with her amiable disposition, her
+      lively fancy and her joyous temper. She drank deep and eagerly of the cup
+      of pleasure. She entered into all the gay pursuits of her subjects; she
+      even invented new combinations of diversion. Under her inspiring rule
+      every one confessed that Elysium became every day more Elysian. The
+      manners of her companions greatly pleased her. She loved those faces
+      always wreathed with smiles, yet never bursting into laughter. She was
+      charmed at the amiable tone in which they addressed each other. Never
+      apparently were people at the same time so agreeable, so obliging, and so
+      polished. For in all they said and did might be detected that peculiar air
+      of high-breeding which pervades the whole conduct of existence with a
+      certain indefinable spirit of calmness, so that your nerves are never
+      shaken by too intense an emotion, which eventually produces a painful
+      reaction. Whatever they did, the Elysians were careful never to be
+      vehement; a grand passion, indeed, was unknown in these happy regions;
+      love assumed the milder form of flirtation; and as for enmity, you were
+      never abused except behind your back, or it exuded itself in an epigram,
+      or, at the worst, a caricature scribbled upon a fan.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There is one characteristic of the Elysians which, in justice to them, I
+      ought not to have omitted. They were eminently a moral people. If a lady
+      committed herself, she was lost for ever, and packed off immediately to
+      the realm of Twilight. Indeed, they were so particular, that the moment
+      one of the softer sex gave the slightest symptoms of preference to a
+      fortunate admirer, the Elysian world immediately began to look unutterable
+      things, shrug its moral shoulders, and elevate its charitable eyebrows.
+      But if the preference, by any unlucky chance, assumed the nobler aspect of
+      devotion, and the unhappy fair one gave any indication of really
+      possessing a heart, rest assured she was already half way on the road to
+      perdition. Then commenced one of the most curious processes imaginable,
+      peculiar I apprehend to Elysium, but which I record that the society of
+      less fortunate lands may avail itself of the advantage, and adopt the
+      regulation in its moral police. Immediately that it was clearly
+      ascertained that two persons of different sexes took an irrational
+      interest in each other&rsquo;s society, all the world instantly went about,
+      actuated by a purely charitable sentiment, telling the most extraordinary
+      falsehoods concerning them that they could devise. Thus it was the fashion
+      to call at one house and announce that you had detected the unhappy pair
+      in a private box at the theatre, and immediately to pay your respects at
+      another mansion and declare that you had observed them on the very same
+      day, and at the very same hour, in a boat on the river. At the next visit,
+      the gentleman had been discovered driving her in his cab; and in the
+      course of the morning the scene of indiscretion was the Park, where they
+      had been watched walking by moonlight, muffled up in sables and cashmeres.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This curious process of diffusing information was known in Elysium under
+      the title of <i>&lsquo;being talked about;</i>&rsquo; and although the stories thus
+      disseminated were universally understood to be fictions, the Elysians
+      ascribed great virtue to the proceeding, maintaining that many an
+      indiscreet fair one had been providentially alarmed by thus becoming the
+      subject of universal conversation; that thus many a reputation had been
+      saved by this charitable slander. There were some malignant philosophers,
+      indeed, doubtless from that silly love of paradox in all ages too
+      prevalent, who pretended that all this Elysian morality was one great
+      delusion, and that this scrupulous anxiety about the conduct of others
+      arose from a principle, not of <i>Purity</i>, but of <i>Corruption</i>.
+      The woman who is &lsquo;talked about,&rsquo; these sages would affirm, is generally
+      virtuous, and she is only abused because she devotes to one the charms
+      which all wish to enjoy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus Dido, who is really one of the finest creatures that ever existed,
+      and who with a majestic beauty combines an heroic soul, has made her way
+      with difficulty to the Elysian circle, to which her charms and rank
+      entitle her; while Helen, who, from her very <i>début</i>, has been
+      surrounded by fifty lovers, and whose intrigues have ever been notorious,
+      is the very queen of fashion; and all this merely because she has favoured
+      fifty instead of one, and in the midst of all her scrapes has contrived to
+      retain the countenance of her husband.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Apropos of Dido, the Queen of Carthage was the person in all Elysium for
+      whom Proserpine took the greatest liking. Exceedingly beautiful, with the
+      most generous temper and the softest heart in the world, and blessed by
+      nature with a graceful simplicity of manner, which fashion had never
+      sullied, it really was impossible to gaze upon the extraordinary
+      brilliancy of her radiant countenance, to watch the symmetry of her superb
+      figure, and to listen to the artless yet lively observations uttered by a
+      voice musical as a bell, without being fairly bewitched.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When we first enter society, we are everywhere; yet there are few, I
+      imagine, who, after a season, do not subside into a coterie. When the
+      glare of saloons has ceased to dazzle, and we are wearied with the
+      heartless notice of a crowd, we require refinement and sympathy. We find
+      them, and we sink into a clique. And after all, can the river of life flow
+      on more agreeably than in a sweet course of pleasure with those we love?
+      To wander in the green shade of secret woods and whisper our affection; to
+      float on the sunny waters of some gentle stream, and listen to a serenade;
+      to canter with a light-hearted cavalcade over breezy downs, or cool our
+      panting chargers in the summer stillness of winding and woody lanes; to
+      banquet with the beautiful and the witty; to send care to the devil, and
+      indulge the whim of the moment; the priest, the warrior and the statesman
+      may frown and struggle as they like; but this is existence, and this, this
+      is Elysium!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So Proserpine deemed when, wearied with the monotony of the great world,
+      she sought refuge in the society of Dido and Atalanta, Achilles, Amphion,
+      and Patroclus or Memnon. When Æneas found that Dido had become
+      fashionable, he made overtures for a reconciliation, but Dido treated him
+      with calm contempt. The pious Æneas, indeed, was the aversion of
+      Proserpine. He was the head of the Elysian saints, was president of a
+      society to induce the Gnomes only to drink water, and was so horrified at
+      the general conduct of the Elysians, that he questioned the decrees of
+      Minos and Rhadamanthus, who had permitted them to enter the happy region
+      so easily. The pious Æneas was of opinion that everybody ought to have
+      been damned except himself. Proserpine gave him no encouragement. Achilles
+      was the finest gentleman in Elysium. No one dressed or rode like him. He
+      was very handsome, very witty, very unaffected, and had an excellent
+      heart. Achilles was the leader of the Elysian youth, who were indeed
+      devoted to him: Proserpine took care, therefore, that he should dangle in
+      her train. Amphion had a charming voice for a supper after the opera. He
+      was a handsome little fellow, but not to be depended upon. He broke a
+      heart, or a dinner engagement, with the same reckless sentimentality; for
+      he was one of those who always weep when they betray you, and whom you are
+      sure never to see again immediately that they have vowed eternal
+      friendship. Patroclus was a copy of Achilles without his talents and
+      vivacity, but elegant and quiet. Of all these, Memnon was perhaps the
+      favourite of Proserpine; nor must he be forgotten; amiable, gay,
+      brilliant, the child of whim and impulse, in love with every woman he met
+      for four-and-twenty hours, and always marvelling at his own delusion!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+
+
+
+
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+</pre>
+  </body>
+</html>