"Haggard, H Rider- She" - читать интересную книгу автора (Haggard H. Rider)

judge. I give it him, with the exception of a very few alterations,
made with the object of concealing the identity of the actors from the
general public, exactly as it came to me. Personally I have made up my
mind to refrain from comments. At first I was inclined to believe that
this history of a woman on whom, clothed in the majesty of her almost
endless years, the shadow of Eternity itself lay like the dark wing of
Night, was some gigantic allegory of which I could not catch the
meaning. Then I thought that it might be a bold attempt to portray the
possible results of practical immortality, informing the substance of
a mortal who yet drew her strength from Earth, and in whose human
bosom passions yet rose and fell and beat as in the undying world
around her the winds and the tides rise and fall and beat unceasingly.
But as I went on I abandoned that idea also. To me the story seems to
bear the stamp of truth upon its face. Its explanation I must leave to
others, and with this slight preface, which circumstances make
necessary, I introduce the world to Ayesha and the Caves of Kфr.--The
Editor.

P.S.--There is on consideration one circumstance that, after a
reperusal of this history, struck me with so much force that I cannot
resist calling the attention of the reader to it. He will observe that
so far as we are made acquainted with him there appears to be nothing
in the character of Leo Vincey which in the opinion of most people
would have been likely to attract an intellect so powerful as that of
Ayesha. He is not even, at any rate to my view, particularly
interesting. Indeed, one might imagine that Mr. Holly would under
ordinary circumstances have easily outstripped him in the favour of
/She/. Can it be that extremes meet, and that the very excess and
splendour of her mind led her by means of some strange physical
reaction to worship at the shrine of matter? Was that ancient
Kallikrates nothing but a splendid animal loved for his hereditary
Greek beauty? Or is the true explanation what I believe it to be--
namely, that Ayesha, seeing further than we can see, perceived the
germ and smouldering spark of greatness which lay hid within her
lover's soul, and well knew that under the influence of her gift of
life, watered by her wisdom, and shone upon with the sunshine of her
presence, it would bloom like a flower and flash out like a star,
filling the world with light and fragrance?

Here also I am not able to answer, but must leave the reader to form
his own judgment on the facts before him, as detailed by Mr. Holly in
the following pages.



I

MY VISITOR

There are some events of which each circumstance and surrounding