The Crystal Egg by H.G. Wells
Section [1 | 2 | 3]
it must_be borne in mind that, throughout all this experience, his physical condition was one of ebb-- and he_was in considerable distress by reason of_the negligence, the positive ill- treatment even, he received from_his wife and step- children . his wife was vain, extravagant, unfeeling, and had agrowing taste for private drinking; his step- daughter was mean and over-reaching; and_his step- son had conceived a violent dislike for him, and lost no chance of showing it . the requirements of_his business pressed heavily upon him, and Mr Wace does_not think that he_was altogether free from occasional intemperance . he had begun life in a comfortable position, he_was a man of fair education, and he suffered, for weeks at a stretch, from melancholia and insomnia . afraid to disturb his family, he_would slip quietly from_his wife's side, when his thoughts became intolerable, and wander about_the house . and about three o'clock one morning, late in August, chance directed him into_the shop .

the dirty little place was impenetrably black except in one spot, where he perceived an unusual glow of light .Approaching this, he discovered it to_be the crystal egg, which_was standing on_the corner of_the counter towards the window .a thin ray smote through a crack in_the shutters, impinged upon_the object, and seemed as it were to_fill its entire interior .

it occurred to Mr cave that_this was not in accordance with_the laws of optics as he had known them in_his younger days . he_could understand the rays being refracted by_the crystal and coming to a focus in its interior, but this diffusion jarred with_his physical conceptions . he approached the crystal nearly, peering into_it and round it, with a transient revival of_the scientific curiosity that in_his youth had determined his choice of acalling . he_was surprised to_find the light not steady, but writhing within_the substance of_the egg, as_though that object was a hollow sphere of some luminous vapour . in moving about to_get different points of view, he suddenly found that he had come between it and_the ray, and_that the crystal none the less remained luminous . greatly astonished, he lifted it out_of_the light ray and carried it to_the darkest part of_the shop . it remained bright for some four or five minutes, when it slowly faded and went out . he placed it in_the thin streak of daylight, and its luminousness was almost immediately restored .

so_far, at_least, Mr Wace was able to_verify the remarkable story of Mr cave . he has himself repeatedly held this crystal in a ray of light ( which had to_be of a less diameter than one millimetre) . and in a perfect darkness, such as could_be produced by velvet wrapping, the crystal did undoubtedly appear very faintly phosphorescent . it would seem, however, that_the luminousness was of some exceptional sort, and not equally visible to all eyes; for_Mr harbinger-- whose name will_be familiar to_the scientific reader in connection with_the Pasteur institute-- was quite unable to_see any light whatever . and Mr Wace's own capacity for its appreciation was out of comparison inferior to_that of Mr cave's . even with Mr cave the power varied very considerably: his vision was most vivid during states of extreme weakness and fatigue .

now, from_the outset, this light in_the crystal exercised a curious fascination upon Mr cave . and it says more for_his loneliness of soul than a volume of pathetic writing could do, that he_told no human being of_his curious observations . he seems to_have_been living in_such an atmosphere of petty spite that to admit the existence of a pleasure would_have_been to risk the loss of it . he_found that as_the dawn advanced, and_the amount of diffused light increased, the crystal became to all appearance non- luminous . and for some_time he_was unable to_see anything in_it, except at night- time, in dark corners of_the shop .

but the use of an old velvet cloth, which he used as a background for a collection of minerals, occurred to him, and by doubling this, and putting it over his head and hands, he_was able to_get a sight of_the luminous movement within_the crystal even in_the day- time . he_was very cautious lest he_should_be thus discovered by his wife, and he practised this occupation only in_the afternoons, while she was asleep upstairs, and then circumspectly in a hollow under the counter . and one day, turning the crystal about in_his hands, he_saw something . it came and went like a flash, but it gave him the impression that_the object had for a moment opened to him the view of a wide and spacious and strange country; and turning it about, he_did, just as_the light faded, see the same vision again .

now it would_be tedious and unnecessary to state all the phases of Mr cave's discovery from_this point . suffice that_the effect was_this: the crystal, being peered into at an angle of about 137 degrees from_the direction of_the illuminating ray, gave a clear and consistent picture of a wide and peculiar country- side . it_was not dream- like at all: it produced a definite impression of reality, and_the better the light the more real and solid it seemed . it_was amoving picture: that_is_to_say, certain objects moved in_it, but slowly in an orderly manner like real things, and, according as_the direction of_the lighting and vision changed, the picture changed also . it must, indeed, have_been like looking through an oval glass at a view, and turning the glass about to_get at different aspects .

Mr cave's statements, Mr Wace assures me, were extremely circumstantial, and entirely free from any of_that emotional quality that taints hallucinatory impressions . but it must_be remembered that all the efforts of Mr Wace to_see any similar clarity in_the faint opalescence of_the crystal were wholly unsuccessful, try as he_would . the difference in intensity of_the impressions received by_the two men was very great, and it_is quite conceivable that what_was a view to Mr cave was amere blurred nebulosity to Mr Wace .

the view, as Mr cave described it, was invariably of an extensive plain, and he_seemed always to_be looking at it from a considerable height, as_if from atower or a mast . to_the east and to_the west the plain was bounded at a remote distance by vast reddish cliffs, which reminded him of_those he had seen in some picture; but what the picture was Mr Wace was unable to ascertain . these cliffs passed north and south-- he_could tell the points of_the compass by_the stars that were visible of a night--receding in an almost illimitable perspective and fading into_the mists of_the distance before_they met . he_was nearer the eastern set of cliffs; on_the occasion of_his first vision the sun was rising over them, and black against the sunlight and pale against their shadow appeared a multitude of soaring forms that Mr cave regarded as birds .a vast range of buildings spread below him; he_seemed to_be looking down upon them; and as_they approached the blurred and refracted edge of_the picture they became indistinct . there were also trees curious in shape, and in colouring a deep mossy green and an exquisite grey, beside a wide and shining canal . and something great and brilliantly coloured flew across the picture . but the first time Mr cave saw these pictures he_saw only in flashes, his hands shook, his head moved, the vision came and went, and grew foggy and indistinct . and at first he had the greatest difficulty in finding the picture again once the direction of it_was lost .

his next clear vision, which came about a week after_the first, the interval having yielded nothing but tantalising glimpses and some useful experience, showed him the view down the length of_the valley . the view was different, but he had a curious persuasion, which his subsequent observations abundantly confirmed, that he_was regarding the strange world from exactly the same spot, although he_was looking in a different direction . the long faade of_the great building, whose roof he had looked down upon before, was now receding in perspective . he recognised the roof . in_the front of_the faade was a terrace of massive proportions and extraordinary length, and down the middle of_the terrace, at certain intervals, stood huge but very graceful masts, bearing small shiny objects which reflected the setting sun . the import of_these small objects did_not occur to Mr cave until some_time after, as he_was describing the scene to Mr Wace . the terrace overhung a thicket of_the most luxuriant and graceful vegetation, and beyond this_was a wide grassy lawn on_which certain broad creatures, in form like beetles but enormously larger, reposed . beyond this again was a richly decorated causeway of pinkish stone; and beyond that, and lined with dense red weeds, and passing up the valley exactly parallel with_the distant cliffs, was a broad and mirror- like expanse of water . the air seemed full of squadrons of great birds, manoeuvring in stately curves; and across the river was a multitude of splendid buildings, richly coloured and glittering with metallic tracery and facets, among a forest of moss- like and lichenous trees . and suddenly something flapped repeatedly across the vision, like the fluttering of ajewelled fan or the beating of a wing, and a face, or rather the upper part of a face with very large eyes, came as it were close to_his own and as_if on_the other side of_the crystal .Mr cave was so startled and so impressed by_the absolute reality of_these eyes that he drew his head back from_the crystal to look behind it . he had become so absorbed in watching that he_was quite surprised to_find himself in_the cool darkness of_his little shop, with its familiar odour of methyl, mustiness, and decay . and as he blinked about him, the glowing crystal faded and went out .

such were the first general impressions of Mr cave . the story is curiously direct and circumstantial . from_the outset, when_the valley first flashed momentarily on_his senses, his imagination was strangely affected, and as he began to appreciate the details of_the scene he_saw, his wonder rose to_the point of a passion . he went about his business listless and distraught, thinking only of_the time when he_should_be_able to return to_his watching . and then a few weeks after his first sight of_the valley came the two customers, the stress and excitement of_their offer, and_the narrow escape of_the crystal from sale, as I_have already told .

now, while the thing was Mr cave's secret, it remained amere wonder, a thing to creep to covertly and peep at, as a child might peep upon a forbidden garden . but Mr Wace has, for a young scientific investigator, a particularly lucid and consecutive habit of mind . directly the crystal and its story came to him, and he had satisfied himself, by seeing the phosphorescence with_his own eyes, that there really was a certain evidence for_Mr cave's statements, he proceeded to develop the matter systematically .Mr cave was only too eager to_come and feast his eyes on_this wonderland he_saw, and he_came every night from half- past eight until half- past ten, and sometimes, in Mr Wace's absence, during the day . on Sunday afternoons, also, he_came . from_the outset Mr Wace made copious notes, and it_was due to_his scientific method that_the relation between_the direction from_which the initiating ray entered the crystal and_the orientation of_the picture were proved . and, by covering the crystal in a box perforated only with a small aperture to admit the exciting ray, and by substituting black Holland for_his buff blinds, he greatly improved the conditions of_the observations; so_that in a little while they were able to survey the valley in any direction they desired .

so having cleared the way, we_may give a brief account of_this visionary world within_the crystal . the things were in all cases seen by_Mr cave, and_the method of working was invariably for him to watch the crystal and report what he_saw, while Mr Wace ( who as a science student had learnt the trick of writing in_the dark) wrote a brief note of_his report . when_the crystal faded, it_was put into its box in_the proper position and_the electric light turned on .Mr Wace asked questions, and suggested observations to clear up difficult points . nothing, indeed, could_have_been less visionary and more matter- of- fact .

the attention of Mr cave had_been speedily directed to_the bird- like creatures he had seen so abundantly present in each of_his earlier visions . his first impression was soon corrected, and he considered for a time that they_might represent a diurnal species of bat . then he thought, grotesquely enough, that they_might_be cherubs . their heads were round and curiously human, and it was_the eyes of one_of_them that had so startled him on_his second observation . they had broad, silvery wings, not feathered, but glistening almost as brilliantly as new- killed fish and with_the same subtle play of colour, and these wings were_not built on_the plan of bird- wing or bat, Mr Wace learned, but supported by curved ribs radiating from_the body .(A sort of butterfly wing with curved ribs seems best to express their appearance .) the body was small, but fitted with two bunches of prehensile organs, like long tentacles, immediately under the mouth . incredible as it appeared to Mr Wace, the persuasion at last became irresistible

Section [1 | 2 | 3]