THE PALACE.

A VISION.

I was slowly recovering from a very severe illness, indeed, only just turning back from the threshold of death. My sufferings had been great, and I was almost too weak still to lift my head. Lying on a couch in my little cottage room, looking over the sea, I had been pondering much upon the mystery of pain, wondering why it was permitted, and why one should have to bear so much, while others so lightly escape. At last, wearied out, tired of thought, perplexed and troubled, I sank back upon my pillows and listlessly watched the sunbeams making a golden pathway on the water, for it was nearing sunset. After a while a little cloud came up and a cold shadow fell on sea and shore. I looked for it to pass away speedily, but instead the light faded, faded, faded till the room round me, the furniture, the pictures on the wall, could only be discerned as shapeless blurs, and the light of the window became only a paler darkness. Still the darkness deepened, and grew to utter blackness. Sight itself seemed blotted out, and the gloom weighed on me, oppressed me, stifled me, till in my horror I could hardly keep from crying out. But now in the far-off distance, so far it seemed immeasurable, a radiant star appeared. It seemed to travel toward me, and rapidly grew larger. As it grew nearer it cast bright flakes of light upon its path, like moonlight on rippling waters. Soon these ripples of light began to reach me. At first they came and went with the sudden swiftness, but without the startling terror of lightning flashes. By degrees they became more frequent and lasted longer, till they swelled into a steady flood of light, filling all space. Bright as it was, this light was so soft, so mild, so equable, that the eye could bear its splendour without being dazzled. The air, also, became warm with a gentle but not voluptuous warmth; fragrant, too, with a fragrance unspeakably sweet, not heavy like the perfumes of human art, but exhilarating, life-giving as the scent of a heather-covered moorland or the salt sea-breeze.

I could perceive nothing but this all-pervading light. Then a sense of boundless space penetrated my whole being and filled me with a sense of unutterably glad freedom. All restraint seemed to have fallen from me, and I felt as if to wish was to accomplish. I seemed to stand, to move, to speed through space with infinite,

delightful ease. I felt irresistibly impelled to go forward. Swiftly I sped as the rays of light, and it seemed as if Time were hurrying by in like manner. Years, centuries fled like moments, and still my journey continued. At the last, amid the light, a brighter light appeared on the horizon, and scarcely appeared before it was reached. It seemed the summit of some great mountain, rising as an island out of a pearly sea. It was of massive rock, but such a rock! It might have been an immense diamond, but so pure, so flawless, that the eye pierced to depths illimitable, and still perceived depths of purity beyond. Near the edges there was a continual play of rainbow colour, but for the most part it glowed with a steady and intense white light, which was, I now perceived, the source of the splendour which had reached me so far away. Shading my eyes from the too glorious brilliance, I saw a number of figures passing and repassing in two incessant streams. They were of human form, but of more than human beauty. Those that came towards the Rock of Glory all carried something, I could not see what, in their hands. Those returning from it bore what looked like rays of light. I stood awhile and wondered.

Then-it was not that I heard a voice, but the words seemed to thrill in my inmost soul.

'Show the things that are and the things that shall be.' Immediately one of the returning throng left his fellows, and moving directly to me, stayed at my side.

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Peace be to thee, brother,' was his greeting; and I thought I had never heard sweeter music. Knowest thou what thou seest?' 'How can I know?' I answered; I pray thee tell me who are these, and what do they?'

He replied: "We are the messengers of the Great King, and we are preparing for Him a Palace exceeding magnifical.'

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But what,' I then asked, 'are you bearing?'

They are the King's jewels of which the Palace must be builded,' he answered. 'We bring them from the mines whence they are taken, and lay them up in the King's treasury against the day of building.'

'Have you not yet begun to build?'

'Not yet,' he said. We are still making ready the materials, for the building must be raised without sound of axe or hammer. All, therefore, must be prepared and ready beforehand, so that when the day comes, each stone may be fitted into its place at once. Our King hath Himself laid down the plan, and traced the foundations.'

'May I not see these stones?' I asked; and, saying, 'Come with me,' he took me by the hand.

We drew near the stream of laden messengers, and I then saw that as they approached the shores of the Rock of Glory, they plunged beneath the surface of what at first I had thought to be a sea, but now perceived to be a light vapoury mist. My guide and I joined

the throng, and, like them, passed beneath the cloud. Through it I could see the Rock of Glory sinking on every side to unknown depths, and stretching away to unknown distances. Soon the mist thickened to a belt of dark, seemingly impenetrable cloud. My guide, clasping my hand more firmly, drew me within it, while saying, 'Our King dwelleth in Light, and in Him is no darkness at all, but cloud and darkness are about His habitation.' For a short while we were wrapped in gloom; then I suddenly found we were standing before a great gateway fashioned in the side of the Rock of Glory. Passing within, we stood in what seemed a great cavern, arched like the hollow of a hand. On every side lay heaps of glittering jewels, not lying confusedly, but ranged orderly; and as each messenger brought in his burden, he laid it in its appointed place with its own kind. Here was the place of fine gold, and there a mass of purest silver. On this side diamonds flashed and sparkled, and on that lay great lustrous pearls. Rubies and emeralds; amethyst and topaz; turquoise and garnet; sapphire and the changeful mysterious opal; marbles, white and veined and crimson; alabaster, porphyries, bloodstone, carnelian, agate, lapis lazuli, corals of many tints, crystals of every hue, fine-tempered steel, burnished bronze, and many a square-hewn block of milk-white stone, all in ordered array, made the whole vastness of the cavern a dazzling glow of colour. Nor were they only beautiful in hue, and polished to the utmost brilliance, but carved and sculptured into the richest variety of form. Bold designs were there, in which figures seemed to breathe, and trees to wave in the wind; delicately elegant marvels of workmanship, too, as airily graceful as the frostwork upon the window pane; and mighty forms of heroes, or kingly animals. In one angle stood an eagle with outstretched mighty pinions, and proudly uplifted head, as though gazing on the sun. In another, a patienteyed ox seemed the type of meek, enduring strength. In another, stood a lion, not fiercely raging, but in all the calm dignity of power and courage. In the last, a man, perfect in proportion, whose noble face bespoke the empire of intellect, tempered by so wondrous a sweetness of gentle kindness as must draw powerfully the hearts of all beholders.

As in form, so also they varied in size. Those just described were gigantic figures such as are found in Egyptian for Indian temples; but many of the gems were tiny and exquisitely finished as those minute shells on the sea-beach, so small that a thousand would not make a handful.

I noticed, also, that of all the designs the most frequent seemed to be buds of lilies and of roses. Of these there was great profusion. In all, it was a scene utterly bewildering in its surpassing and unimaginable beauty.

In wonder and amazement I turned to my guide, and said, ' What and where can be the mines from which such gems are brought?'

To which he made answer, 'We will go thither now,'-and turning, left the cavern. We emerged, hand-in-hand, from the sea of mist, and joined the stream of returning messengers. Once more we sped with inconceivable rapidity. The intenser light of the Rock of Glory faded behind us. How long our journey lasted. It might have been only a few moments, but if so they were of those moments so charged with thought and feeling and intense vitality, they seem to be long years. It might have been years, but if so, they were such years of calm happiness as seem only instants.

So swift was our motion, that what appeared at first a mere speck instantly changed to a ball, a moonlike orb, a mighty world, and with some surprise I recognised our own earth. My sight swept over an entire hemisphere, and yet I could at the same time dis tinguish, not only our own land, but the village of my birth-my cottage home-the very room which had so long held me a prisoner. Everything, great or small, was clearly seen by me. The wide ocean, in one part raging, foaming, storm-tossed, in another peacefully smiling in the sunshine; the frozen lands of the north and the south; the glowing, scorching lands of the sun; great snow-crowned ranges; weary stretches of arid desert; dense masses of forest; plains, green and golden with ripe or ripening crops; majestic rivers and prattling brooks; mighty cities darkening and deafening the heavens with their smoke and tumult; palaces and hovels; stately war-fleet, and humble fishing boat; comfortable homesteads, and the grim, gigantic, mournful ruins of the past, all lay plainly before me. I could discern (for it seemed as if walls could not shut out my gaze) the craftsmen at their toil at forge and lathe and bench; merchants and traders bending over their ledgers; the wealthy in their luxurious, silken ease; the starving in their garrets; the evil-doers, thief, adulterer, murderer, stealthily following out their dark ends; the child of shame, vainly striving to hide disease and want beneath a gaundy flaunting garb, and an aching heart under a brazen leer; the thrifty housewife smilingly busy with her homely duties; the playing children and the sleeping babe; and even the diver, deep beneath the sea, and the swart miner toiling in the caverns of the earth. I could hear (for my hearing, too, was enlarged) in strange mixture the tinkle of the fountain, and the thunder of the cataract, and the lapping of the waves; the sighing of the breeze and the rush of the storm; the chirruping of birds; the lowing of cattle, and the hungry roar of wild beasts; the rattle of machinery; the hum of thronging crowds, and the silence of burning deserts and icy steppes; the sound of laughter and song and groans and wailing; the loud accents of anger, and the pleadings of sorrow; the hoarse shout of battle, the lullaby crooned by the side of the rocking cradle, and the joyous song of harvest; curses and oaths and the sound of blows, blending with the solemn tones of prayer and praise. Then I turned to my guide and said, 'Is not this Earth? Those wondrous

jewels never came from hence.' But he answered, ‘Look not upon the outward form,' and touched my eyes. Whereupon in an instant the world, that had lain before me in all its beauty and terror, vanished, and in its place there stretched before me a dark and gloomy glen. Rugged precipices fenced it on either side like prison walls. The cliff, on one hand, was straight and level, and evenly marked like the divisions of a measuring-rod. The rocks opposite were of many fantastic shapes, chief among them being a huge mass looking like the rude likeness of an aged man bearing a scythe and hour-glass. A heavy cloud of smoke, black and threatening, hung over all, here and there showing reflections of a dull crimson, like some funeral pall ominously stained with blood. From side to side echoed and reveberated a hideous clash and din and jangle; the whirring of wheels, the clang of hammers, the grinding of steel, the blasting of rocks, roaring flames, clanking chains, and a confused turmoil, sounding like yells and shrieks and groans and sighs and mocking laughter. 'What is this dreadful, dismal place?' I asked.

'This,' said my guide, 'is the Vale of Tears, where the King's jewels are found and prepared. Come, let us go nearer, and behold."

We entered the valley, and at first, what with the glare and smoke and the bewildering din of lamentable noises, I could neither see nor hear so as to distinguish anything, but stood as one stunned and confounded. Presently I began to perceive huge, flaming furnaces, mighty anvils, lathes, grindstones, and many other kinds of machines. I saw also a great multitude of hideous, grimy, misshapen dwarfs, formidable in strength despite their want of stature, their faces grotesquely horrible, and distorted as if by every evil passion at once. These were hurrying to and fro, feeding the flames, stirring them up to greater fierceness, brandishing ponderous hammers, toiling with saw and chisel, and from time to time uttering shrieks of discordant merriment. Besides these, I saw the King's messengers constantly streaming in, bearing in their hands the rays of light they had carried thither from the Rock of Glory, which they darted, like javelins, some here, some there upon the earth, and where each ray lighted there a clod of earth or morsel of rock split off and fell. These, either the dwarfs or the messengers eagerly seized and carried off.

Who are these dwarfs?' I asked, 'and what are the fragments so eagerly gathered up?'

'The dwarfs,' my guide answered, were of old messengers of the Great King, but they rebelled against Him, and now are His enemies, and hate Him with a deadly hatred. While they were faithful to Him, they were a race, tall and fair as ourselves, but when they rebelled, they became grim and unshapely as you see them. Therefore they ever seek to revenge themselves upon the King, and, because they cannot harm Himself, they have set themselves to do their utmost to damage and injure His jewels. As for the fragments of earth and rock, these are the jewels. Wherever a ray of light