At Telepylus 325
no right but to do thy will.’ That is why the old
hierophants shut up the candidate in silence and
darkness. He had the choice between going mad or
knowing himself. And when he was brought out into
light and life, restored to love and liberty, he was in
very truth a Neophyte, a man new-born. Big Lion
puts us through it without our knowing what he’s
doing. Though I’ve been through it myself, I didn’t
know in this clear way what had really happened until
I tried to explain it to you.”
The sense of being enchanted came over me again
very strongly. I looked across at Lou, and I could
see in her eyes that she felt the same. But she was
trembling with excitement and eagerness. Her eyes
were fixed on the face of Sister Athena with devouring
ardour. She was looking forward to undergoing this
terrific experience. My own mood was slightly different.
Already my past life surged up before me in a series
of pulsating pictures. I was revolted by the incoherence
and fatuity of the past. The achievements of which
I was proudest had lost their savour because they
pointed to nowhere in particular. The words of Lewis
Carroll came into my mind :—
‘* A wise fish never goes anywhere without a porpoise.”
And quite inconsequentially my brain took up the
tune :-—
“Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you,
Won't you join the dance? ”
When I woke it was, I suppose, about midnight.
Rugs had been thrown over me where I lay. I was
quite warm, despite the breeze that came in through
the open door. It struck me as very strange that it
should be open. The country was notoriously infested
with brigands. _
King Lamus was sitting at his desk writing by the
light of a lamp. I watched him idly, feeling very
comfortable and disinclined to move.