rbours
beneath a meridian sun. From bowers beyond our view came bursts of song
and snatches of lyric harmony, interspersed with faint laughter so
delicious that I urged the rowers onward in my eagerness to reach the
scene. And the bearded man spoke no word, but watched me as we
approached the lily-lined shore. Suddenly a wind blowing from over the
flowery meadows and leafy woods brought a scent at which I trembled. The
wind grew stronger, and the air was filled with the lethal, charnel
odour of plague-stricken towns and uncovered cemeteries. And as we
sailed madly away from that damnable coast the bearded man spoke at
last, saying, "This is Xura, the Land of Pleasures Unattained."

So once more the White Ship followed the bird of heaven, over warm
blessed seas fanned by caressing, aromatic breezes. Day after day and
night after night did we sail, and when the moon was full we would
listen to soft songs of the oarsmen, sweet as on that distant night when
we sailed away from my far native land. And it was by moonlight that we
anchored at last in the harbour of Sona-Nyl, which is guarded by twin
headlands of crystal that rise from the sea and meet in a resplendent
arch. This is the Land of Fancy, and we walked to the verdant shore upon
a golden bridge of moonbeams.

In the Land of Sona-Nyl there is neither time nor space, neither
suffering nor death; and there I dwelt for many aeons. Green are the
groves and pastures, bright and fragrant the flowers, blue and musical
the streams, clear and cool the fountains, and stately and gorgeous the
temples, castles, and cities of Sona-Nyl. Of that land there is no
bound, for beyond each vista of beauty rises another more beautiful.
Over the countryside and amidst the splendour of cities can move at will
the happy folk, of whom all are gifted with unmarred grace and unalloyed
happiness. For the aeons that I dwelt there I wandered blissfully through
gardens where quaint pagodas peep from pleasing clumps of bushes, and
where the white walks are bordered with delicate blossoms. I climbed
gentle hills from whose summits I could see entrancing panoramas of
loveliness, with steepled towns nestling in verdant valleys, and with
the golden domes of gigantic cities glittering on the infinitely distant
horizon. And I viewed by moonlight the sparkling sea, the crystal
headlands, and the placid harbour wherein lay anchored the White Ship.

It was against the full moon one night in the immemorial