"Wedifferedonthatpoint。Istoodtohimsome—
whatintherelationofaguardian。Youhaveprobablyseenenoughofaffairstorecognisethatoccasionallyacertainfriction——。Butevenifthatwasthecase，thereisadoubtwhetherhewilleverwake。Thissleepexhaustsslowly，butitexhausts。Apparentlyheisslidingslowly，veryslowlyandtediously，downalongslope，ifyoucanunderstandme？"
"Itwillbeapitytolosehissurprise。There’sbeenalotofchangethesetwentyyears。It’sRipVanWinklecomereal。"
"It’sBellamy，"saidWarming。"Therehasbeenalotofchangecertainly。And，amongotherchanges，Ihavechanged。Iamanoldman。"
Isbisterhesitated，andthenfeignedabelatedsurprise。
"Ishouldn’thavethoughtit。"
"Iwasforty—threewhenhisbankers——yourememberyouwiredtohisbankers——sentontome。"
"Igottheiraddressfromthechequebookinhispocket，"saidIsbister。
"Well，theadditionisnotdifficult，"saidWarming。
Therewasanotherpause，andthenIsbistergavewaytoanunavoidablecuriosity。"Hemaygoonforyearsyet，"hesaid，andhadamomentofhesitation。
"Wehavetoconsiderthat。Hisaffairs，youknow，mayfallsomedayintothehandsof——someoneelse，youknow。"
"That，ifyouwillbelieveme，Mr。Isbister，isoneoftheproblemsmostconstantlybeforemymind。Wehappentobe——asamatteroffact，therearenoverytrustworthyconnectionsofours。Itisagrotesqueandunprecedentedposition。"
"Itis，"saidIsbister。"Asamatteroffact，it’sacaseforapublictrustee，ifonlywehadsuchafunctionary。"
"Itseemstomeit’sacaseforsomepublicbody，somepracticallyundyingguardian。Ifhereallyisgoingonliving——asthedoctors，someofthem，think。
Asamatteroffact，Ihavegonetooneortwopublicmenaboutit。But，sofar，nothinghasbeendone。"
"Itwouldn’tbeabadideatohandhimovertosomepublicbody——theBritishMuseumTrustees，ortheRoyalCollegeofPhysicians。Soundsabitodd，ofcourse，butthewholesituationisodd。"
"Thedifficultyistoinducethemtotakehim。"
"Redtape，Isuppose？"
"Partly。"
Pause。"It’sacuriousbusiness，certainly，"saidIsbister。"Andcompoundinteresthasawayofmountingup。"
"Ithas，"saidWarming。"Andnowthegoldsuppliesarerunningshortthereisatendencytowards……appreciation。"
"I’vefeltthat，"saidIsbisterwithagrimace。"Butitmakesitbetterforhim。"
"Ifhewakes。"
"Ifhewakes，"echoedIsbister。"Doyounoticethepinched—illlookofhisnose，andthewayinwhichhiseyelidssink？"
Warminglookedandthoughtforaspace。"Idoubtifhewillwake，"hesaidatlast。
"Ineverproperlyunderstood，"saidIsbister，"whatitwasbroughtthison。Hetoldmesomethingaboutoverstudy。I’veoftenbeencurious。"
"Hewasamanofconsiderablegifts，butspasmodic，emotional。Hehadgravedomestictroubles，divorcedhiswife，infact，anditwasasarelieffromthat，Ithink，thathetookuppoliticsoftherabidsort。
HewasafanaticalRadical——aSocialist——ortypicalLiberal，astheyusedtocallthemselves，—oftheadvancedschool。Energetic——flighty——undisciplined。Overworkuponacontroversydidthisforhim。Irememberthepamphlethewrote——acuriousproduction。Wild，whirlingstuff。Therewereoneortwoprophecies。
Someofthemarealreadyexploded，someofthemareestablishedfacts。Butforthemostparttoreadsuchathesisistorealisehowfulltheworldisofunanticipatedthings。Hewillhavemuchtolearn，muchtounlearn，whenhewakes。Ifeverawakingcomes。"
"I’dgiveanythingtobethere，"saidIsbister，"justtohearwhathewouldsaytoitall。"
"SowouldI，"saidWarming。"Aye！sowouldI，"withanoldman’ssuddenturntoselfpity。"ButIshallneverseehimwake。"
Hestoodlookingthoughtfullyatthewaxenfigure。
"Hewillneverwake，"hesaidatlast。Hesighed"Hewillneverwakeagain。"
CHAPTERIII
THEAWAKENING
ButWarmingwaswronginthat。Anawakeningcame。
Whatawonderfullycomplexthing！thissimpleseemingunity——theself！Whocantraceitsreintegrationasmorningaftermorningweawaken，thefluxandconfluenceofitscountlessfactorsintenveaving，rebuilding，thedimfirststirringsofthesoul，thegrowthandsynthesisoftheunconscioustothesubconscious，thesub—conscioustodawningconsciousness，untilatlastwerecogniseourselvesagain。Andasithappenstomostofusafterthenight’ssleep，soitwaswithGrahamattheendofhisvastslumber。
Adimcloudofsensationtakingshape，acloudydreariness，andhefoundhimselfvaguelysomewhere，recumbent，faint，butalive。
Thepilgrimagetowardsapersonalbeingseemedtotraversevastgulfs，tooccupyepochs。Giganticdreamsthatwereterriblerealitiesatthetime，leftvagueperplexingmemories，strangecreatures，strangescenery，asiffromanotherplanet。Therewasadistinctimpression，too，ofamomentousconversation，ofaname——hecouldnottellwhatname——thatwassubsequentlytorecur，ofsomequeerlong—forgottensensationofveinandmuscle，ofafeelingofvasthopelesseffort，theeffortofamanneardrowningindarkness。Thencameapanoramaofdazzlingunstableconfluentscenes。
Grahambecameawarehiseyeswereopenandregardingsomeunfamiliarthing。
Itwassomethingwhite，theedgeofsomething，aframeofwood。Hemovedhisheadslightly，followingthecontourofthisshape。Itwentupbeyondthetopofhiseyes。Hetriedtothinkwherehemightbe。
Diditmatter，seeinghewassowretched？Thecolourofhisthoughtswasadarkdepression。Hefeltthefeaturelessmiseryofonewhowakestowardsthehourofdawn。Hehadanuncertainsenseofwhispersandfootstepshastilyreceding。
Themovementofhisheadinvolvedaperceptionofextremephysicalweakness。Hesupposedhewasinbedinthehotelattheplaceinthevalley——buthecouldnotrecallthatwhiteedge。Hemusthaveslept。
Herememberednowthathehadwantedtosleep。Herecalledthecliffandwaterfallagain，andthenrecollectedsomethingabouttalkingtoapasser—by。
Howlonghadheslept？Whatwasthatsoundofpatteringfeet？Andthatriseandfall，likethemurmurofbreakersonpebbles？Heputoutalanguidhandtoreachhiswatchfromthechairwhereonitwashishabittoplaceit，andtouchedsomesmoothhardsurfacelikeglass。Thiswassounexpectedthatitstartledhimextremely。Quitesuddenlyherolledover，staredforamoment，andstruggledintoasittingposition。Theeffortwasunexpectedlydifficult，anditlefthimgiddyandweak——andamazed。
Herubbedhiseyes。Theriddleofhissurroundingswasconfusingbuthismindwasquiteclear——evidentlyhissleephadbenefitedhim。Hewasnotinabedatallasheunderstoodtheword，butIyingnakedonaverysoftandyieldingmattress，inatroughofdarkglass。Themattresswaspartlytransparent，afactheobservedwithastrangesenseofinsecurity，andbelowitwasamirrorreflectinghimgreyly。Abouthisarm——andhesawwithashockthathisskinwasstrangIydryandyellow——wasboundacuriousapparatusofrubber，boundsocunninglythatitseemedtopassintohisskinaboveandbelow。Andthisstrangebedwasplacedinacaseofgreenishcolouredglass（asitseemedtohim），abarinthewhiteframeworkofwhichhadfirstarrestedhisattention。Inthecornerofthecasewasastandofglitteringanddelicatelymadeapparatus，forthemostpartquitestrangeappliances，thoughamaximumandminimumthermometerwasrecognisable。
Theslightlygreenishtintoftheglass—likesubstancewhichsurroundedhimoneveryhandobscuredwhatlaybehind，butheperceiveditwasavastapartmentofsplendidappearance，andwithaverylargeandsimplewhitearchwayfacinghim。Closetothewallsofthecagewerearticlesoffurniture，atablecoveredwithasilverycloth，silverylikethesideofafish，acoupleofgracefulchairs，andonthetableanumberofdisheswithsubstancespiledonthem，abottleandtwoglasses。Herealisedthathewasintenselyhungry。
Hecouldseenohumanbeing，andafteraperiodofhesitationscrambledoffthetranslucentmattressandtriedtostandonthecleanwhitefloorofhislittleapartment。Hehadmiscalculatedhisstrength，however，andstaggeredandputhishandagainsttheglasslikepanebeforehimtosteadyhimself。Foramomentitresistedhishand，bendingoutwardlikeadistendedbladder，thenitbrokewithaslightreportandvanished——aprickedbubble。Hereeledoutintothegeneralspaceofthehall，greatlyastonished。Hecaughtatthetabletosavehimself，knockingoneoftheglassestothefloor——itrangbutdidnotbreak——
andsatdowninoneofthearmchairs。
Whenhehadalittlerecoveredhefilledtheremainingglassfromthebottleanddrank——acolourlessliquiditwas，butnotwater，withapleasingfaintaromaandtasteandaqualityofimmediatesupportandstimulus。Heputdownthevesselandlookedabouthim。
Theapartmentlostnoneofitssizeandmagnificencenowthatthegreenishtransparencythathadintervenedwasremoved。Thearchwayhesawledtoaflightofsteps，goingdownwardwithouttheintermediationofadoor，toaspacioustransversepassage。
Thispassageranbetweenpolishedpillarsofsomewhite—veinedsubstanceofdeepultramarine，andalongitcamethesoundofhumanmovementsandvoicesandadeepundeviatingdroningnote。Hesat，nowfullyawake，listeningalertly，forgettingtheviandsinhisattention。
Thenwithashockherememberedthathewasnaked，andcastingabouthimforcovering，sawalongblackrobethrownononeofthechairsbesidehim。
Thishewrappedabouthimandsatdownagain，trembling。
Hismindwasstillasurgingperplexity。Clearlyhehadslept。andhadbeenremovedinhissleep。Buthere？Andwhowerethosepeople，thedistantcrowdbeyondthedeepbluepillars？Boscastle？Hepouredoutandpartiallydrankanotherglassofthecolourlessfluid。
Whatwasthisplace？——thisplacethattohissensesseemedsubtlyquiveringlikeathingalive？Helookedabouthimatthecleanandbeautifulformoftheapartment，unstainedbyornament，andsawthattheroofwasbrokeninoneplacebyacircularshaftfulloflight，and，ashelooked，asteady，sweepingshadowblotteditoutandpassed，andcameagainandpassed。
"Beat，beat，"thatsweepingshadowhadanoteofitsowninthesubduedtumultthatfilledtheair。
Hewouldhavecalledout，butonlyalittlesoundcameintohisthroat。Thenhestoodup，and，withtheuncertainstepsofadrunkard，madehiswaytowardsthearchway。Hestaggereddownthesteps，trippedonthecorneroftheblackcloakhehadwrappedabouthimself，andsavedhimselfbycatchingatoneofthebluepillars。
Thepassagerandownacoolvistaofblueandpurple，andendedremotelyinarailedspacelikeabalcony，brightlylitandprojectingintoaspaceofhaze，aspaceliketheinteriorofsomegiganticbuilding。
Beyondandremotewerevastandvaguearchitecturalforms。Thetumultofvoicesrosenowloudandclear，andonthebalconyandwiththeirbackstohim，gesticulatingandapparentlyinanimatedconversation，werethreefigures，richlydressedinlooseandeasygarmentsofbrightsoftcolourings。Thenoiseofagreatmultitudeofpeoplepouredupoverthebalcony，andonceitseemedthetopofabannerpassed，andoncesomebrightlycolouredobject，apalebluecaporgarmentthrownupintotheairperhaps，flashedathwartthespaceandfell。TheshoutssoundedlikeEnglish，therewasareiterationof"Wake！"Heheardsomeindistinctshrillcry，andabruptlythethreemenbeganlaughing。
"Ha，ha，ha！"laughedone——ared—hairedmaninashortpurplerobe。"WhentheSleeperwakes——
__When！__
Heturnedhiseyesfullofmerrimentalongthepassage。
Hisfacechanged，thewholemanchanged，becamerigid。Theothertwoturnedswiftlyathisexclamationandstoodmotionless。Theirfacesassumedanexpressionofconsternation，anexpressionthatdeepenedintoawe。
SuddenlyGraham’skneesbentbeneathhim，hisarmagainstthepillarcollapsedlimply，hestaggeredforwardandfelluponhisface。
CHAPTERIV
THESOUNDOFATUMULT
Graham’slastimpressionbeforehefaintedwasofaclamorousringingofbells。Helearntafterwardsthathewasinsensible，hangingbetweenlifeanddeath，forthebetterpartofanhour。Whenherecoveredhissenses，hewasbackonhistranslucentcouch，andtherewasastirringwarmthatheartandthroat。Thedarkapparatus，heperceived，hadbeenremovedfromhisarm，whichwasbandaged。Thewhiteframeworkwasstillabouthim，butthegreenishtransparentsubstancethathadfilleditwasaltogethergone。Amaninadeepvioletrobe，oneofthosewhohadbeenonthebalcony，waslookingkeenlyintohisface。
Remotebutinsistentwasaclamourofbellsandconfusedsounds，thatsuggestedtohismindthepictureofagreatnumberofpeopleshoutingtogether。
Somethingseemedtofallacrossthistumult，adoorsuddenlyclosed。
Grahammovedhishead。"Whatdoesthisallmean？"hesaidslowly。"WhereamI？"
Hesawthered—hairedmanwhohadbeenfirsttodiscoverhim。Avoiceseemedtobeaskingwhathehadsaid，andwasabruptlystilled。
Themaninvioletansweredinasoftvoice，speakingEnglishwithaslightlyforeignaccent，orsoatleastitseemedtotheSleeper’sears，"Youarequitesafe。
Youwerebroughthitherfromwhereyoufellasleep。
Itisquitesafe。Youhavebeenheresometime——
sleeping。Inatrance。"
HesaidsomethingfurtherthatGrahamcouldnothear，andalittlephialwashandedacrosstohim。
Grahamfeltacoolingspray，afragrantmistplayedoverhisforeheadforamoment，andhissenseofrefreshmentincreased。Heclosedhiseyesinsatisfaction。
"Better？"askedthemaninviolet，asGraham’seyesreopened。Hewasapleasant—facedmanofthirty，perhaps，withapointedflaxenbeard，andaclaspofgoldattheneckofhisvioletrobe。
"Yes，"saidGraham。
"Youhavebeenasleepsometime。Inacataleptictrance。Youhaveheard？Catalepsy？Itmayseemstrangetoyouatfirst，butIcanassureyoueverythingiswell。"
Grahamdidnotanswer，butthesewordsservedtheirreassuringpurpose。Hiseyeswentfromfacetofaceofthethreepeopleabouthim。Theywereregardinghimstrangely。HeknewheoughttobesomewhereinCornwall，buthecouldnotsquarethesethingswiththatimpression。
AmatterthathadbeeninhismindduringhislastwakingmomentsatBoscastlerecurred，athingresolveduponandsomehowneglected。Heclearedhisthroat。
"Haveyouwiredmycousin？"heasked。"E。
Warming，27，ChanceryLane？"
Theywereallassiduoustohear。Buthehadtorepeatit。"Whatanodd__blurr__inhisaccent！"
whisperedthered—hairedman。"Wire，sir？"saidtheyoungmanwiththeflaxenbeard，evidentlypuzzled。
"Hemeanssendanelectrictelegram，"volunteeredthethird，apleasant—facedyouthofnineteenortwenty。
Theflaxen—beardedmangaveacryofcomprehension。
"Howstupidofme！Youmaybesureeverythingshallbedone，sir，"hesaidtoGraham。"Iamafraiditwouldbedifficultto——wiretoyourcousin。HeisnotinLondonnow。Butdon’ttroubleaboutarrangementsyet；youhavebeenasleepaverylongtimeandtheimportantthingistogetoverthat，sir。"（Grahamconcludedthewordwassir，butthismanpronouncedit"Sire。"）
"Oh！"saidGraham，andbecamequiet。
Itwasallverypuzzling，butapparentlythesepeopleinunfamiliardressknewwhattheywereabout。Yettheywereoddandtheroomwasodd。Itseemedhewasinsomenewlyestablishedplace。Hehadasuddenflashofsuspicion。Surelythiswasn’tsomehallofpublicexhibition！IfitwashewouldgiveWarmingapieceofhismind。Butitscarcelyhadthatcharacter。Andinaplaceofpublicexhibitionhewouldnothavediscoveredhimselfnaked。
Thensuddenly，quiteabruptly，herealisedwhathadhappened。Therewasnoperceptibleintervalofsuspicion，nodawntohisknowledge。Abruptlyheknewthathistrancehadlastedforavastinterval；asifbysomeprocessesofthoughtreadingheinterpretedtheaweinthefacesthatpeeredintohis。Helookedatthemstrangely，fullofintenseemotion。Itseemedtheyreadhiseyes。Heframedhislipstospeakandcouldnot。Aqueerimpulsetohidehisknowledgecameintohismindalmostatthemomentofhisdiscovery。
Helookedathisbarefeet，regardingthensilently。Hisimpulsetospeakpassed。Hewastremblingexceedingly。
Theygavehimsomepinkfluidwithagreenishfluorescenceandameatytaste，andtheassuranceofreturningstrengthgrew。
"That——thatmakesmefeelbetter，"hesaidhoarsely，andthereweremurmursofrespectfulapproval。Heknewnowquiteclearly。Hemadetospeakagain，andagainhecouldnot。
Hepressedhisthroatandtriedathirdtime。
"Howlong？"heaskedinalevelvoice。"HowlonghaveIbeenasleep？"
"Someconsiderabletime，"saidtheflaxen—beardedman，glancingquicklyattheothers。
"Howlong？"
"Averylongtime。"
"Yes——yes，"saidGraham，suddenlytesty。"ButIwant——Isit——itis——someyears？Manyyears？
Therewassomething——Iforgetwhat。Ifeel——
confused。Butyou——"Hesobbed。"Youneednotfencewithme。Howlong——？"
Hestopped，breathingirregularly。Hesqueezedhiseyeswithhisknucklesandsatwaitingforananswer。
Theyspokeinundertones。
"Fiveorsix？"heaskedfaintly。"More？"
"Verymuchmorethanthat。"
"Morel"
"More。"
Helookedatthemanditseemedasthoughimpsweretwitchingthemusclesofhisface。Helookedhisquestion。
"Manyyears，"saidthemanwiththeredbeard。
Grahamstruggledintoasittingposition。Hewipedarheumytearfromhisfacewithaleanhand。
"Manyyears！"herepeated。Heshuthiseyestight，openedthem，andsatlookingabouthim，fromoneunfamiliarthingtoanother。
"Howmanyyears？"heasked。
"Youmustbepreparedtobesurprised。"
"Well？"
"Morethanagrossofyears。"
Hewasirritatedatthestrangeword。"Morethana__what__？"
Twoofthemspoketogether。Somequickremarksthatweremadeabout"decimal"hedidnotcatch。
"Howlongdidyousay？"askedGraham。"Howlong？Don’tlooklikethat。Tellme。"
Amongtheremarksinanundertone，hisearcaughtsixwords："Morethanacoupleofcenturies。"
__"Whats？"__hecried，turningontheyouthwhohethoughthadspoken。"Whosays——？Whatwasthat？Acoupleofcenturies！"
"Yes，"saidthemanwiththeredbeard。"Twohundredyears。"
Grahamrepeatedthewords。Hehadbeenpreparedtohearofavastrepose，andyettheseconcretecenturiesdefeatedhim。
"Twohundredyears，"hesaidagain，withthefigureofagreatgulfopeningveryslowlyinhismind；andthen，"Oh，but——！"
Theysaidnothing。
"You——didyousay——？"
"Twohundredyears。Twocenturiesofyears，"
saidthemanwiththeredbeard。
Therewasapause。Grahamlookedattheirfacesandsawthatwhathehadheardwasindeedtrue。
"Butitcan’tbe，"hesaidquerulously。"Iamdreaming。Trances。Trancesdon’tlast。Thatisnotright——thisisajokeyouhaveplayeduponme！Tellme——somedaysago，perhaps，IwaswalkingalongthecoastofCornwall——？"
Hisvoicefailedhim。
Themanwiththeflaxenbeardhesitated。"I’mnotverystronginhistory，sir，"hesaidweakly，andglancedattheothers。
"Thatwasit，sir，"saidtheyoungster。"Boscastle，intheoldDuchyofCornwall——it’sinthesouthwestcountrybeyondthedairymeadows。Thereisahousetherestill。Ihavebeenthere。"
"Boscastle！"Grahamturnedhiseyestotheyoungster。"Thatwasit——Boscastle。LittleBoscastle。
Ifellasleep——somewherethere。Idon’texactlyremember。Idon’texactlyremember。"
Hepressedhisbrowsandwhispered，"Morethantwohundredyears！"I
Hebegantospeakquicklywithatwitchingface，buthisheartwascoldwithinhim。"Butifitistwohundredyears，everysoulIknow，everyhumanbeingthateverIsaworspoketobeforeIwenttosleep，mustbedead。"
Theydidnotanswerhim。
"TheQueenandtheRoyalFamily，herMinisters，ofChurchandState。Highandlow，richandpoor，onewithanother——"
"IsthereEnglandstill？"
"That’sacomfort！IsthereLondon？"
E"This__is__London，eh？Andyouaremyassistant——
custodian；assistant—custodian。Andthese——？Eh？
Assistant—custodiansto？"
Hesatwithagauntstareonhisface。"ButwhyamIhere？No！Don’ttalk。Bequiet。Letme——"
Hesatsilent，rubbedhiseyes，and，uncoveringthem，foundanotherlittleglassofpinkishfluidheldtowardshim。Hetookthedose。Itwasalmostimmediatelysustaining。Directlyhehadtakenithebegantoweepnaturallyandrefreshingly。
Presentlyhelookedattheirfaces，suddenlylaughedthroughhistears，alittlefoolishly。"But——two——
hun——dred——years！"hesaid。Hegrimacedhystericallyandcovereduphisfaceagain。
Afteraspacehegrewcalm。Hesatup，hishandshangingoverhiskneesinalmostpreciselythesameattitudeinwhichIsbisterhadfoundhimonthecliffatPentargen。Hisattentionwasattractedbyathickdomineeringvoice，thefootstepsofanadvancingpersonage。
"Whatareyoudoing？WhywasInotwarned？Surelyyoucouldtell？Someonewillsufferforthis。Themanmustbekeptquiet。Arethedoorwaysclosed？Allthedoorways？Hemustbekeptperfectlyquiet。Hemustnotbetold。Hashebeentoldanything？"
Themanwiththefairbeardmadesomeinaudibleremark，andGrahamlookingoverhisshouldersawapproachingaveryshort，fat，andthicksetbeardlessman，withaquilinenoseandheavyneckandchin。
Verythickblackandslightlyslopingeyebrowsthatalmostmetoverhisnoseandoverhungdeepgreyeyes，gavehisfaceanoddlyformidableexpression。
HescowledmomentarilyatGrahamandthenhisregardreturnedtothemanwiththeflaxenbeard。
"Theseothers，"hesaidinavoiceofextremeirritation。"Youhadbettergo。"
"Go？"saidthered—beardedman。
"Certainly——gonow。Butseethedoorwaysareclosedasyougo。"
Thetwomenaddressedturnedobediently，afteronereluctantglanceatGraham，andinsteadofgoingthroughthearchwayasheexpected，walkedstraighttothedeadwalloftheapartmentoppositethearchway。
Andthencameastrangething；alongstripofthisapparentlysolidwallrolledupwithasnap，hungoverthetworetreatingmenandfellagain，andimmediatelyGrahamwasalonewiththenewcomerandthepurple—robedmanwiththeflaxenbeard。
ForaspacethethicksetmantooknottheslightestnoticeofGraham，butproceededtointerrogatetheother——obviouslyhissubordinate——uponthetreatmentoftheircharge。Hespokeclearly，butinphrasesonlypartiallyintelligibletoGraham。Theawakeningseemednotonlyamatterofsurprisebutofconsternationandannoyancetohim。Hewasevidentlyprofoundlyexcited。
"Youmustnotconfusehismindbytellinghimthings，"herepeatedagainandagain。"Youmustnotconfusehismind。"
Hisquestionsanswered，heturnedquicklyandeyedtheawakenedsleeperwithanambiguousexpression。
"Feelqueer？"heasked。