beyond mere
entertainments. Those visions of hell, those poor babes and women and
girls and lads and men shrieking and supplicating in anguish--why, we
could hardly bear it, but he was as bland about it as if it had been so
many imitation rats in an artificial fire.

And always when he was talking about men and women here on the earth
and their doings--even their grandest and sublimest--we were secretly
ashamed, for his manner showed that to him they and their doings were
of paltry poor consequence; often you would think he was talking about
flies, if you didn't know. Once he even said, in so many words, that
our people down here were quite interesting to him, notwithstanding they
were so dull and ignorant and trivial and conceited, and so diseased and
rickety, and such a shabby, poor, worthless lot all around. He said it
in a quite matter-of-course way and without bitterness, just as a person
might talk about bricks or manure or any other thing that was of no
consequence and hadn't feelings. I could see he meant no offense, but in
my thoughts I set it down as not very good manners.

"Manners!" he said. "Why, it is merely the truth, and truth is good
manners; manners are a fiction. The castle is done. Do you like it?"

Any one would have been obliged to like it. It was lovely to look at,
it was so shapely and fine, and so cunningly perfect in all its
particulars, even to the little flags waving from the turrets. Satan
said we must put the artillery in place now, and station the halberdiers
and display the cavalry. Our men and horses were a spectacle to see,
they were so little like what they were intended for; for, of course, we
had no art in making such things. Satan said they were the worst he
had seen; and when he touched them and made them alive, it was just
ridiculous the way they acted, on account of their legs not being of
uniform lengths. They reeled and sprawled around as if they were drunk,
and endangered everybody's lives around them, and finally fell over and
lay helpless and kicking. It made us all laugh, though it was a shameful
thing to see. The guns were charged with dirt, to fire a salute, but
they were so crooked and so badly made that they all burst when they
went off, and killed some of the gunners and crippled the others. Satan
said we would have a storm now, and an earthquake, if we liked, but
we must stand off a piece, out of danger. We wanted to call the people
away, too, but he said never min