"Lord Dunsany - A Tale Of London" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dunsany Lord)

storytellerthere and then perceived the look that was
death, and sent his spirit back at once toLondon as a man
runsinto his house when the thunder comes.
"And therefore," he continued, "in the desiderate city,
inLondon , all their camels are pure white. Remarkable is
theswiftness of their horses, that draw their chariots that
areof ivory along those sandy ways and that are of
surpassinglightness, they have little bells of silver upon
their horses' heads. O Friend of God, if you perceived
their merchants! The glory of their dresses in the
noonday! They are no less gorgeous than those butterflies
that float about their streets. They haveovercloaks of
greenand vestments of azure, huge purple flowers blaze on
theirovercloaks, the work of cunning needles, the centres
of the flowers are of gold and the petals of purple. All
theirhats are black --" ("No, no," said the Sultan) --
"butirises are set about the brims, and green plumes float
abovethe crowns of them.
"They have a river that is named theThames , on it their
shipsgo up with violet sails bringing incense for the
braziersthat perfume the streets, new songs exchanged for
goldwith alien tribes, raw silver for the statues of their
heroes, gold to make balconies where the women sit, great
sapphiresto reward their poets with, the secrets of old
citiesand strange lands, the learning of the dwellers in
farisles, emeralds, diamonds, and the hoards of the sea.
And whenever a ship comes into port and furls its violet
sailsand the news spreads throughLondon that she has come,
thenall the merchants go down to the river to barter, and
allday long the chariots whirl through the streets, and the
soundof their going is a mighty roar all day until evening,
theirroar is even like--"
"Not so," said the Sultan.
"Truth is not hidden from the Friend of God," replied the
hasheesh-eater, "I have erred being drunken with the
hasheesh, for in the desiderate city, even inLondon , so
thickupon the ways is the white sea-sand with which the
cityglimmers that no sound comes from the path of the
charioteers, but they go softly like a light sea-wind."
("It is well," said the Sultan.) "They go softly down to
theport where the vessels are, and the merchandise in from
thesea, amongst the wonders that the sailors show, on land
bythe high ships, and softly they go though swiftly at
eveningback to their homes.
"O would that the Munificent, the Illustrious, the Friend
ofGod, had even seen these things, had seen the jewellers
withtheir empty baskets, bargaining there by the ships,
when the barrels of emeralds came up from the hold. Or
wouldthat he had seen the fountains there in silver basins
in the midst of the ways. I have seen small spires upon