The Chemical Wedding by John Crowley

Author:John Crowley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Small Beer Press
Published: 2016-05-24T00:00:00+00:00

THE FOURTH DAY

I was awake and lying in bed next morning, looking idly at the wonderful images and inscriptions all around my room, when suddenly I heard the sound of trumpets, as if a procession were already underway. My page jumped out of bed as if crazed, looking more dead than alive, and you can imagine how I felt when he cried, “They’re already being presented to the king!”

I could only groan in frustration and curse my lazy bones. I got dressed, but my page was quicker than I was and ran out of the chamber to see what was what. He soon came back and gave me the good news that I actually hadn’t overslept; all I’d done was miss breakfast: they hadn’t wanted to wake an old man who needed his rest. But now I had to get ready to go with him to the lion fountain, where most of the others were gathered.

Such a relief ! My spirits recovered, and as soon as I had got into my habit, I followed him to the garden I have already told about. I found that the lion, in place of his sword, now held a rather large plaque. Examining this, I could tell that it had been taken from those ancient monuments I’d seen and put here for some special reason. The inscription on it was fading away, so I should set it down here as it was then, and ask my readers to ponder it:

PRINCE HERMES:1

NOW AFTER HUMANKIND

HAS SUFFERED SO MUCH HARM

HERE I FLOW

HAVING BY GOD’S COUNSEL

AND WITH THE HELP OF ART

BECOME A HEALING BALM.

Drink from me if you can; wash, if you like; trouble my waters if you dare.

Drink, Brethren! Drink and live!

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