THE EQUINOX
black stain polluted the immaculate white of their leaves.
Only the binding bore some words. They were the titles of
those unwritten books. Thus they ran:
“The book “ Advice to
which Mankind
contains all that I know for
for a better use of their faculties.”
certain.”
No name of author was to be seen.
In the fourth compartment was a little framed picture, and
though I examined it very closely I was not able at first to
realise what the subject of the picture was. From a shallow
little boat a gigantic snake was seen to emerge, fiercely staring,
and on the opposite corner wasa round black spot. As, when
a child throws a stone in a river, the waves extend farther and
farther, shunning the bruises which the child has inflicted.upon
them, in a like manner waves of a grey lighter and lighter as
they extended towards the snake were painted in methodically
eccentric gyrations. The last wave was almost white, and
stopped at the head of the monster.
Ln the fifth compartment was a skull.
Ln the sixth compartment was a white rose, with a delicious
scent.
In the seventh compartment, as well as in the eighth and
last, I saw nothing, but a sweet music struck on my ear when
I bent over them. The tunes were very different at first,
one tender and soft, the other furious and thundering. Atthe
end, however, both melted in a whisper, to die suddenly in a
piercing cry of laughter.
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