MOSSES FROM AN OLD MANSE

 By Nathaniel Hawthorne

 A SELECT PARTY 

The man of fancy made an entertainment at one of his castles in theair, and invited a select number of distinguished personages tofavor him with their presence. The mansion, though less splendidthan many that have been situated in the same region, wasnevertheless of a magnificence such as is seldom witnessed by thoseacquainted only with terrestrial architecture. Its strongfoundations and massive walls were quarried out of a ledge of heavyand sombre clouds which had hung brooding over the earth, apparentlyas dense and ponderous as its own granite, throughout a wholeautumnal day. Perceiving that the general effect was gloomy, --sothat the airy castle looked like a feudal fortress, or a monasteryof the Middle Ages, or a state prison of our own times, rather thanthe home of pleasure and repose which he intended it to be, --theowner, regardless of expense, resolved to gild the exterior from topto bottom. Fortunately, there was just then a flood of eveningsunshine in the air. This being gathered up and poured abundantlyupon the roof and walls, imbued them with a kind of solemncheerfulness; while the cupolas and pinnacles were made to glitterwith the purest gold, and all the hundred windows gleamed with aglad light, as if the edifice itself were rejoicing in its heart. 

And now, if the people of the lower world chanced to be lookingupward out of the turmoil of their petty perplexities, they probablymistook the castle in the air for a heap of sunset clouds, to whichthe magic of light and shade had imparted the aspect of afantastically constructed mansion. To such beholders it was unreal, because they lacked the imaginative faith. Had they been worthy topass within its portal, they would have recognized the truth, thatthe dominions which the spirit conquers for itself among unrealitiesbecome a thousand times more real than the earth whereon they stamptheir feet, saying, "This is solid and substantial; this may becalled a fact. "

At the appointed hour, the host stood in his great saloon to receivethe company. It was a vast and noble room, the vaulted ceiling ofwhich was supported by double rows of gigantic pillars that had beenhewn entire out of masses of variegated clouds. So brilliantly werethey polished, and so exquisitely wrought by the sculptor's skill, as to resemble the finest specimens of emerald, porphyry, opal, andchrysolite, thus producing a delicate richness of effect which theirimmense size rendered not incompatible with grandeur. To each ofthese pillars a meteor was suspended. Thousands of these ethereallustres are continually wandering about the firmament, burning outto waste, yet capable of imparting a useful radiance to any personwho has the art of converting them to domestic purposes. As managedin the saloon, they are far more economical than ordinary lamplight. Such, however, was the intensity of their blaze that it had beenfound expedient to cover each meteor with a globe of evening mist, thereby muffling the too potent glow and soothing it into a mild andcomfortable splendor. It was like the brilliancy of a powerful yetchastened imagination, --a light which seemed to hide whatever wasunworthy to be noticed and give effect to every beautiful and nobleattribute. The guests, therefore, as they advanced up the centre ofthe saloon, appeared to better advantage than ever before in theirlives. 

The first that entered, with old-fashioned punctuality, was avenerable figure in the costume of bygone days, with his white hairflowing down over his shoulders and a reverend beard upon hisbreast. He leaned upon a staff, the tremulous stroke of which, ashe set it carefully upon the floor, re-echoed through the saloon atevery footstep. Recognizing at once this celebrated personage, whomit had cost him a vast deal of trouble and research to discover, thehost advanced nearly three fourths of the distance down between thepillars to meet and welcome him. 

"Venerable sir, " said the Man of Fancy, bending to the floor, "thehonor of this visit would never be forgotten were my term ofexistence to be as happily prolonged as your own. "

The old gentleman received the compliment with graciouscondescension. He then thrust up his spectacles over his foreheadand appeared to take a critical survey of the saloon. 

"Never within my recollection, " observed he, "have I entered a morespacious and noble hall. But are you sure that it is built of solidmaterials and that the structure will be permanent?"

"O, never fear, my venerable friend, " replied the host. "Inreference to a lifetime like your own, it is true my castle may wellbe called a temporary edifice. But it will endure long enough toanswer all the purposes for which it was erected. "

But we forget that the reader has not yet been made acquainted withthe guest. It was no other than that universally accreditedcharacter so constantly referred to in all seasons of intense coldor heat; he that, remembers the hot Sunday and the cold Friday; thewitness of a past age whose negative reminiscences find their wayinto every newspaper, yet whose antiquated and dusky abode is soovershadowed by accumulated years and crowded back by modernedifices that none but the Man of Fancy could have discovered it;it was, in short, that twin brother of Time, and great-grandsire ofmankind, and hand-and-glove associate of all forgotten men andthings, --the Oldest Inhabitant. The host would willingly have drawnhim into conversation, but succeeded only in eliciting a few remarksas to the oppressive atmosphere of this present summer eveningcompared with one which the guest had experienced about fourscoreyears ago. The old gentleman, in fact, was a good deal overcome byhis journey among the clouds, which, to a frame so earth-incrustedby long continuance in a lower region, was unavoidably morefatiguing than to younger spirits. He was therefore conducted to aneasy-chair, well cushioned and stuffed with vaporous softness, andleft to take a little repose. 

The Man of Fancy now discerned another guest, who stood so quietlyin the shadow of one of the pillars that he might easily have beenoverlooked. 

"My dear sir, " exclaimed the host, grasping him warmly by the hand, "allow me to greet you as the hero of the evening. Pray do not takeit as an empty compliment; for, if there were not another guest inmy castle, it would be entirely pervaded with your presence. "

"I thank you, " answered the unpretending stranger; "but, though youhappened to overlook me, I have not just arrived. I came veryearly; and, with your permission, shall remain after the rest of thecompany have retired. "

And who does the reader imagine was this unobtrusive guest? It wasthe famous performer of acknowledged impossibilities, --a characterof superhuman capacity and virtue, and, if his enemies are to becredited, of no less remarkable weaknesses and defects. With agenerosity with which he alone sets us an example, we will glancemerely at his nobler attributes. He it is, then, who prefers theinterests of others to his own and a humble station to an exaltedone. Careless of fashion, custom, the opinions of men, and theinfluence of the press, he assimilates his life to the standard ofideal rectitude, and thus proves himself the one independent citizenof our free country. In point of ability, many people declare himto be the only mathematician capable of squaring the circle; theonly mechanic acquainted with the principle of perpetual motion; theonly scientific philosopher who can compel water to run up hill; theonly writer of the age whose genius is equal to the production of anepic poem; and, finally, so various are his accomplishments, theonly professor of gymnastics who has succeeded in jumping down hisown throat. With all these talents, however, he is so far from beingconsidered a member of good society, that it is the severest censureof any fashionable assemblage to affirm that this remarkableindividual was present. Public orators, lecturers, and theatricalperformers particularly eschew his company. For especial reasons, we are not at liberty to disclose his name, and shall mention onlyone other trait, --a most singular phenomenon in natural philosophy, --that, when he happens to cast his eyes upon a looking-glass, hebeholds Nobody reflected there!

Several other guests now made their appearance; and among them, chattering with immense volubility, a brisk little gentleman ofuniversal vogue in private society, and not unknown in the publicjournals under the title of Monsieur On-Dit. The name would seem toindicate a Frenchman; but, whatever be his country, he is thoroughlyversed in all the languages of the day, and can express himselfquite as much to the purpose in English as in any other tongue. Nosooner were the ceremonies of salutation over than this talkativelittle person put his mouth to the host's ear and whispered threesecrets of state, an important piece of commercial intelligence, anda rich item of fashionable scandal. He then assured the Man of Fancythat he would not fail to circulate in the society of the lowerworld a minute description of this magnificent castle in the air andof the festivities at which he had the honor to be a guest. Sosaying, Monsieur On-Dit made his bow and hurried from one to anotherof the company, with all of whom he seemed to be acquainted and topossess some topic of interest or amusement for every individual. Coming at last to the Oldest Inhabitant, who was slumberingcomfortably in the easy-chair, he applied his mouth to thatvenerable ear. 

"What do you say?" cried the old gentleman, starting from his napand putting up his hand to serve the purpose of an ear-trumpet. 

Monsieur On-Dit bent forward again and repeated his communication. 

"Never within my memory, " exclaimed the Oldest Inhabitant, liftinghis hands in astonishment, "has so remarkable an incident been heardof. "

Now came in the Clerk of the Weather, who had been invited out ofdeference to his official station, although the host was well awarethat his conversation was likely to contribute but little to thegeneral enjoyment. He soon, indeed, got into a corner with hisacquaintance of long ago, the Oldest Inhabitant, and began tocompare notes with him in reference to the great storms, gales ofwind, and other atmospherical facts that had occurred during acentury past. It rejoiced the Man of Fancy that his venerable andmuch-respected guest had met with so congenial an associate. Entreating them both to make themselves perfectly at home, he nowturned to receive the Wandering Jew. This personage, however, hadlatterly grown so common, by mingling in all sorts of society andappearing at the beck of every entertainer, that he could hardly bedeemed a proper guest in a very exclusive circle. Besides, beingcovered with dust from his continual wanderings along the highwaysof the world, he really looked out of place in a dress party; sothat the host felt relieved of an incommodity when the restlessindividual in question, after a brief stay, took his departure on aramble towards Oregon. 

The portal was now thronged by a crowd of shadowy people with whomthe Man of Fancy had been acquainted in his visionary youth. He hadinvited them hither for the sake of observing how they wouldcompare, whether advantageously or otherwise, with the realcharacters to whom his maturer life had introduced him. They werebeings of crude imagination, such as glide before a young man's eyeand pretend to be actual inhabitants of the earth; the wise andwitty with whom he would hereafter hold intercourse; the generousand heroic friends whose devotion would be requited with his own;the beautiful dream-woman who would become the helpmate of his humantoils and sorrows and at once the source and partaker of hishappiness. Alas! it is not good for the full-grown man to look tooclosely at these old acquaintances, but rather to reverence them ata distance through the medium of years that have gathered duskilybetween. There was something laughably untrue in their pompousstride and exaggerated sentiment; they were neither human nortolerable likenesses of humanity, but fantastic maskers, renderingheroism and nature alike ridiculous by the grave absurdity of theirpretensions to such attributes; and as for the peerless dream-lady, behold! there advanced up the saloon, with a movement like a jointeddoll, a sort of wax-figure of an angel, a creature as cold asmoonshine, an artifice in petticoats, with an intellect of prettyphrases and only the semblance of a heart, yet in all theseparticulars the true type of a young man's imaginary mistress. Hardly could the host's punctilious courtesy restrain a smile as hepaid his respects to this unreality and met the sentimental glancewith which the Dream sought to remind him of their former lovepassages. 

"No, no, fair lady, " murmured he betwixt sighing and smiling; "mytaste is changed; I have learned to love what Nature makes betterthan my own creations in the guise of womanhood. "

"Ah, false one, " shrieked the dream-lady, pretending to faint, butdissolving into thin air, out of which came the deplorable murmur ofher voice, "your inconstancy has annihilated me. "

"So be it, " said the cruel Man of Fancy to himself; "and a goodriddance too. "

Together with these shadows, and from the same region, there came anuninvited multitude of shapes which at any time during his life hadtormented the Man of Fancy in his moods of morbid melancholy or hadhaunted him in the delirium of fever. The walls of his castle inthe air were not dense enough to keep them out, nor would thestrongest of earthly architecture have availed to their exclusion. Here were those forms of dim terror which had beset him at theentrance of life, waging warfare with his hopes; here were strangeuglinesses of earlier date, such as haunt children in the night-time. He was particularly startled by the vision of a deformed oldblack woman whom he imagined as lurking in the garret of his nativehome, and who, when he was an infant, had once come to his bedsideand grinned at him in the crisis of a scarlet fever. This sameblack shadow, with others almost as hideous, now glided among thepillars of the magnificent saloon, grinning recognition, until theman shuddered anew at the forgotten terrors of his childhood. Itamused him, however, to observe the black woman, with themischievous caprice peculiar to such beings, steal up to the chairof the Oldest Inhabitant and peep into his half-dreamy mind. 

"Never within my memory, " muttered that venerable personage, aghast, "did I see such a face. "

Almost immediately after the unrealities just described, arrived anumber of guests whom incredulous readers may be inclined to rankequally among creatures of imagination. The most noteworthy were anincorruptible Patriot; a Scholar without pedantry; a Priest withoutworldly ambition; and a Beautiful Woman without pride or coquetry; aMarried Pair whose life had never been disturbed by incongruity offeeling; a Reformer untrammelled by his theory; and a Poet who feltno jealousy towards other votaries of the lyre. In truth, however, the host was not one of the cynics who consider these patterns ofexcellence, without the fatal flaw, such rarities in the world; andhe had invited them to his select party chiefly out of humbledeference to the judgment of society, which pronounces them almostimpossible to be met with. 

"In my younger days, " observed the Oldest Inhabitant, "suchcharacters might be seen at the corner of every street. "

Be that as it might, these specimens of perfection proved to be nothalf so entertaining companions as people with the ordinaryallowance of faults. 

But now appeared a stranger, whom the host had no sooner recognizedthan, with an abundance of courtesy unlavished on any other, hehastened down the whole length of the saloon in order to pay himemphatic honor. Yet he was a young man in poor attire, with noinsignia of rank or acknowledged eminence, nor anything todistinguish him among the crowd except a high, white forehead, beneath which a pair of deep-set eyes were glowing with warm light. It was such a light as never illuminates the earth save when a greatheart burns as the household fire of a grand intellect. And who washe?--who but the Master Genius for whom our country is lookinganxiously into the mist of Time, as destined to fulfil the greatmission of creating an American literature, hewing it, as it were, out of the unwrought granite of our intellectual quarries? Fromhim, whether moulded in the form of an epic poem or assuming a guisealtogether new as the spirit itself may determine, we are to receiveour first great original work, which shall do all that remains to beachieved for our glory among the nations. How this child of amighty destiny had been discovered by the Man of Fancy it is oflittle consequence to mention. Suffice it that he dwells as yetunhonored among men, unrecognized by those who have known him fromhis cradle; the noble countenance which should be distinguished by ahalo diffused around it passes daily amid the throng of peopletoiling and troubling themselves about the trifles of a moment, andnone pay reverence to the worker of immortality. Nor does it mattermuch to him, in his triumph over all the ages, though a generationor two of his own times shall do themselves the wrong to disregardhim. 

By this time Monsieur On-Dit had caught up the stranger's name anddestiny and was busily whispering the intelligence among the otherguests. 

"Pshaw!" said one. "There can never be an American genius. "

"Pish!" cried another. "We have already as good poets as any in theworld. For my part, I desire to see no better. "

And the Oldest Inhabitant, when it was proposed to introduce him tothe Master Genius, begged to be excused, observing that a man whohad been honored with the acquaintance of Dwight, and Freneau, andJoel Barlow, might be allowed a little austerity of taste. 

The saloon was now fast filling up by the arrival of otherremarkable characters, among whom were noticed Davy Jones, thedistinguished nautical personage, and a rude, carelessly dressed, harum-scarum sort of elderly fellow, known by the nickname of OldHarry. The latter, however, after being shown to a dressing-room, reappeared with his gray hair nicely combed, his clothes brushed, aclean dicky on his neck, and altogether so changed in aspect as tomerit the more respectful appellation of Venerable Henry. Joel Doeand Richard Roe came arm in arm, accompanied by a Man of Straw, afictitious indorser, and several persons who had no existence exceptas voters in closely contested elections. The celebrated Seatsfield, who now entered, was at first supposed to belong to the samebrotherhood, until he made it apparent that he was a real man offlesh and blood and had his earthly domicile in Germany. Among thelatest comers, as might reasonably be expected, arrived a guest fromthe far future. 

"Do you know him? do you know him?" whispered Monsieur On-Dit, whoseemed to be acquainted with everybody. "He is the representativeof Posterity, --the man of an age to come. "

"And how came he here?" asked a figure who was evidently theprototype of the fashion-plate in a magazine, and might be taken torepresent the vanities of the passing moment. "The fellow infringesupon our rights by coming before his time. "

"But you forget where we are, " answered the Man of Fancy, whooverheard the remark. "The lower earth, it is true, will beforbidden ground to him for many long years hence; but a castle inthe air is a sort of no-man's-land, where Posterity may makeacquaintance with us on equal terms. "

No sooner was his identity known than a throng of guests gatheredabout Posterity, all expressing the most generous interest in hiswelfare, and many boasting of the sacrifices which they had made, orwere willing to make, in his behalf. Some, with as much secrecy aspossible, desired his judgment upon certain copies of verses orgreat manuscript rolls of prose; others accosted him with thefamiliarity of old friends, taking it for granted that he wasperfectly cognizant of their names and characters. At length, finding himself thus beset, Posterity was put quite beside hispatience. 

"Gentlemen, my good friends, " cried he, breaking loose from a mistypoet who strove to hold him by the button, "I pray you to attend toyour own business, and leave me to take care of mine! I expect toowe you nothing, unless it be certain national debts, and otherencumbrances and impediments, physical and moral, which I shall findit troublesome enough to remove from my path. As to your verses, pray read them to your contemporaries. Your names are as strange tome as your faces; and even were it otherwise, --let me whisper you asecret, --the cold, icy memory which one generation may retain ofanother is but a poor recompense to barter life for. Yet, if yourheart is set on being known to me, the surest, the only method is, to live truly and wisely for your own age, whereby, if the nativeforce be in you, you may likewise live for posterity. "

"It is nonsense, " murmured the Oldest Inhabitant, who, as a man ofthe past, felt jealous that all notice should be withdrawn fromhimself to be lavished on the future, "sheer nonsense, to waste somuch thought on what only is to be. "

To divert the minds of his guests, who were considerably abashed bythis little incident, the Man of Fancy led them through severalapartments of the castle, receiving their compliments upon the tasteand varied magnificence that were displayed in each. One of theserooms was filled with moonlight, which did not enter through thewindow, but was the aggregate of all the moonshine that is scatteredaround the earth on a summer night while no eyes are awake to enjoyits beauty. Airy spirits had gathered it up, wherever they found itgleaming on the broad bosom of a lake, or silvering the meanders ofa stream, or glimmering among the wind-stirred boughs of a wood, andhad garnered it in this one spacious hall. Along the walls, illuminated by the mild intensity of the moonshine, stood amultitude of ideal statues, the original conceptions of the greatworks of ancient or modern art, which the sculptors did butimperfectly succeed in putting into marble; for it is not to besupposed that the pure idea of an immortal creation ceases to exist;it is only necessary to know where they are deposited in order toobtain possession of them. --In the alcoves of another vast apartmentwas arranged a splendid library, the volumes of which wereinestimable, because they consisted, not of actual performances, butof the works which the authors only planned, without ever findingthe happy season to achieve them. To take familiar instances, herewere the untold tales of Chaucer's Canterbury Pilgrims; theunwritten cantos of the Fairy Queen; the conclusion of Coleridge'sChristabel; and the whole of Dryden's projected epic on the subjectof King Arthur. The shelves were crowded; for it would not be toomuch to affirm that every author has imagined and shaped out in histhought more and far better works than those which actuallyproceeded from his pen. And here, likewise, where the unrealizedconceptions of youthful poets who died of the very strength of theirown genius before the world had caught one inspired murmur fromtheir lips. 

When the peculiarities of the library and statue-gallery wereexplained to the Oldest Inhabitant, he appeared infinitelyperplexed, and exclaimed, with more energy than usual, that he hadnever heard of such a thing within his memory, and, moreover, didnot at all understand how it could be. 

"But my brain, I think, " said the good old gentleman, "is gettingnot so clear as it used to be. You young folks, I suppose, can seeyour way through these strange matters. For my part, I give it up. "

"And so do I, " muttered the Old Harry. "It is enough to puzzle the--Ahem!"

Making as little reply as possible to these observations, the Man ofFancy preceded the company to another noble saloon, the pillars ofwhich were solid golden sunbeams taken out of the sky in the firsthour in the morning. Thus, as they retained all their livinglustre, the room was filled with the most cheerful radianceimaginable, yet not too dazzling to be borne with comfort anddelight. The windows were beautifully adorned with curtains made ofthe many-colored clouds of sunrise, all imbued with virgin light, and hanging in magnificent festoons from the ceiling to the floor. Moreover, there were fragments of rainbows scattered through theroom; so that the guests, astonished at one another, reciprocallysaw their heads made glorious by the seven primary hues; or, if theychose, --as who would not?--they could grasp a rainbow in the air andconvert it to their own apparel and adornment. But the morninglight and scattered rainbows were only a type and symbol of the realwonders of the apartment. By an influence akin to magic, yetperfectly natural, whatever means and opportunities of joy areneglected in the lower world had been carefully gathered up anddeposited in the saloon of morning sunshine. As may well beconceived, therefore, there was material enough to supply, notmerely a joyous evening, but also a happy lifetime, to more than asmany people as that spacious apartment could contain. The companyseemed to renew their youth; while that pattern and proverbialstandard of innocence, the Child Unborn, frolicked to and fro amongthem, communicating his own unwrinkled gayety to all who had thegood fortune to witness his gambols. 

"My honored friends, " said the Man of Fancy, after they had enjoyedthemselves awhile, "I am now to request your presence in thebanqueting-hall, where a slight collation is awaiting you. "

"Ah, well said!" ejaculated a cadaverous figure, who had beeninvited for no other reason than that he was pretty constantly inthe habit of dining with Duke Humphrey. "I was beginning to wonderwhether a castle in the air were provided with a kitchen. "

It was curious, in truth, to see how instantaneously the guests werediverted from the high moral enjoyments which they had been tastingwith so much apparent zest by a suggestion of the more solid as wellas liquid delights of the festive board. They thronged eagerly inthe rear of the host, who now ushered them into a lofty andextensive hall, from end to end of which was arranged a table, glittering all over with innumerable dishes and drinking-vessels ofgold. It is an uncertain point whether these rich articles of platewere made for the occasion out of molten sunbeams, or recovered fromthe wrecks of Spanish galleons that had lain for ages at the bottomof the sea. The upper end of the table was overshadowed by acanopy, beneath which was placed a chair of elaborate magnificence, which the host himself declined to occupy, and besought his gueststo assign it to the worthiest among them. As a suitable homage tohis incalculable antiquity and eminent distinction, the post ofhonor was at first tendered to the Oldest Inhabitant. He, however, eschewed it, and requested the favor of a bowl of gruel at a sidetable, where he could refresh himself with a quiet nap. There wassome little hesitation as to the next candidate, until Posteritytook the Master Genius of our country by the hand and led him to thechair of state beneath the princely canopy. When once they beheldhim in his true place, the company acknowledged the justice of theselection by a long thunder-roll of vehement applause. 

Then was served up a banquet, combining, if not all the delicaciesof the season, yet all the rarities which careful purveyors had metwith in the flesh, fish, and vegetable markets of the land ofNowhere. The bill of fare being unfortunately lost, we can onlymention a phoenix, roasted in its own flames, cold potted birds ofparadise, ice-creams from the Milky-Way, and whip syllabubs andflummery from the Paradise of Fools, whereof there was a very greatconsumption. As for drinkables, the temperance people contentedthemselves with water as usual; but it was the water of the Fountainof Youth; the ladies sipped Nepenthe; the lovelorn, the careworn, and the sorrow-stricken were supplied with brimming goblets of Lethe;and it was shrewdly conjectured that a certain golden vase, fromwhich only the more distinguished guests were invited to partake, contained nectar that had been mellowing ever since the days ofclassical mythology. The cloth being removed, the company, asusual, grew eloquent over their liquor and delivered themselves of asuccession of brilliant speeches, --the task of reporting which weresign to the more adequate ability of Counsellor Gill, whoseindispensable co-operation the Man of Fancy had taken the precautionto secure. 

When the festivity of the banquet was at its most ethereal point, the Clerk of the Weather was observed to steal from the table andthrust his head between the purple and golden curtains of one of thewindows. 

"My fellow-guests, " he remarked aloud, after carefully noting thesigns of the night, "I advise such of you as live at a distance tobe going as soon as possible; for a thunder-storm is certainly athand. "

"Mercy on me!" cried Mother Carey, who had left her brood ofchickens and come hither in gossamer drapery, with pink silkstockings. "How shall I ever get home?"

All now was confusion and hasty departure, with but littlesuperfluous leave-taking. The Oldest Inhabitant, however, true tothe rule of those long past days in which his courtesy had beenstudied, paused on the threshold of the meteor-lighted hall toexpress his vast satisfaction at the entertainment. 

"Never, within my memory, " observed the gracious old gentleman, "hasit been my good fortune to spend a pleasanter evening or in moreselect society. "

The wind here took his breath away, whirled his three-cornered hatinto infinite space, and drowned what further compliments it hadbeen his purpose to bestow. Many of the company had bespoken will-o'-the-wisps to convoy them home; and the host, in his generalbeneficence, had engaged the Man in the Moon, with an immense horn-lantern, to be the guide of such desolate spinsters as could do nobetter for themselves. But a blast of the rising tempest blew outall their lights in the twinkling of an eye. How, in the darknessthat ensued, the guests contrived to get back to earth, or whetherthe greater part of them contrived to get back at all, or are stillwandering among clouds, mists, and puffs of tempestuous wind, bruised by the beams and rafters of the overthrown castle in theair, and deluded by all sorts of unrealities, are points thatconcern themselves much more than the writer or the public. Peopleshould think of these matters before they trust themselves on apleasure-party into the realm of Nowhere.