In
fact, 'he ate the little book,' as one of the legendary kings it
celebrates had done before him."
"Ay," broke in Cruelty wildly, "and has ever since gotten the gripes."
Atheist inclined his head. "Putting it coarsely, gentlemen, such was
the case," he said. "And away at his wit's end he hasteneth, waning
and shivering, to a great bog or quagmire--that my friend Pliable will
answer to--and plungeth in. 'Tis the same story repeated. He could be
temperate in nought. _I_ knew the bog well; but I knew the
stepping-stones better. Believe me, I have traversed the narrow way
this same Christian took, seeking the harps and pearls and the _elixir
vitae_, these many years past. The book inciteth ye to it. It sets a
man's heart on fire--that's weak enough to read it--with its pomp, and
rhetoric, and far-away promises, and lofty counsels. Oh, fine words,
who is not their puppet! I climbed 'Difficulty.' I snapped my fingers
at the grinning Lions. I passed cautiously through the 'Valley of the
Shadow'--wild scenery, sir! I visited that prince of bubbles also,
Giant Despair, in his draughty castle.
Pages:
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115