The Five Jars by M. R. James

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter one of The Five Jars. This is a LibriVox recording.
All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
information or to volunteer, please contact LibriVox dot org. Recording
by Peter Yearsley. The Five Jars by M. R. James,
Chapter one, The Discovery. My dear Jane, you remember that

(00:24):
you were puzzled when I told you I had heard
something from the owls, Or, if not puzzled, for I
know you have some experience of these things, you were,
at any rate anxious to know exactly how it happened.
Perhaps the time has now come for you to be
told it was really luck, and not any skill of
mine that put me in the way of it. Luck,

(00:46):
and also being ready to believe more than I could see.
I have promised not to put down on paper the
name of the wood where it happened. That can keep
till we meet. But all the rest I can tell
exactly as it can about it is a wood with
a stream at the edge of it. The water is
brown and clear. On the other side of it are

(01:07):
flat meadows, and beyond these a hill side quite covered
with an oak wood. The stream has alder trees along it,
and is pretty well shaded over. The sun hits it
in places and makes flecks of light through the leaves.
The day I am thinking of was a very hot
one in early September. I had come across the meadows
with some idea of sitting by the stream and reading.

(01:30):
The only change in my plans that I made was
that instead of sitting down, I lay down, and instead
of reading, I went to sleep. You know how, sometimes,
but very very seldom, you see something in a dream
which you are quite sure is real. So it was
with me this time. I did not dream any story

(01:50):
or see any people. I only dreamt of a plant.
In the dream. No one told me anything about it.
I just saw it growing under a tree. A bit
of the tree root came into the picture, an old,
gnarled root, covered with moss, and with three sort of
eyes in it, round holes trimmed with moss. You know
the kind The plant was not one I should have

(02:12):
thought much about, though certainly it was not one that
I knew. It had no flowers or berries, and grew
quite squat in the ground, more like a yellow aconite
without the flower than anything else. It seemed to consist
of a ring of six leaves, spread out pretty flat,
with nine points on each leaf. As I say, I
saw this quite clearly and remembered it because six times

(02:35):
nine makes fifty four, which happens to be a number
which I had a particular reason for remembering. At that moment. Well,
there was no more in the dream than that, but
such as it was, it fixed itself in my mind
like a photograph, and I was sure that if ever
I saw that tree root and that plant, I should
know them again. And though I neither saw nor heard

(02:56):
anything more of them than I have told you, it
was borne in upon my mind that the plant was
worth finding. When I woke up, I still lay, feeling
very lazy, on the grass, with my head within a
foot or two of the edge of the stream, and
listened to its noise, until in five or six minutes,
whether I began to doze off again or not does

(03:18):
not much matter. The water sound became like words, and said,
trickle up, trickle up, an immense number of times. It
pleased me, for though in poetry we hear a deal
about babbling brooks, and though I am particularly fond of
the noise they make, I never was able before to
pretend that I could hear any words. And when I
did finally get up and shake myself awake, I thought

(03:42):
I would, anyhow, pay so much attention to what the
water said as to stroll up the stream instead of down.
So I did. It took me through the flat meadows,
but still along the edge of the wood, and still
every now and then I heard the same peculiar noise,
which sounded like not so very long after. I came

(04:03):
to a place where another stream ran out of the
wood into the one I had been following. And just
below the place where the two joined, there was not
a bridge, but a pole across, and another pole to
serve as a rail by which you could cross without trouble.
I did cross, not thinking much about it, but with
some idea of looking at this new little stream, which

(04:23):
went at a very quick pace and seemed to promise
small rapids and waterfalls a little higher up. Now, when
I got to the edge of it, there was no mistake.
It was saying, trickle up, or even track up, much
plainer than the old one. I stepped across it, and
went a few yards up the old stream before the
new one joined it. It was saying nothing of the kind.

(04:45):
I went back to the new one. It was talking
as plain as print. Of course, there were no two
words about what must be done. Now here was something
quite new, and even if I missed my tea, it
had got to be looked into. So I went up
the new stream into the wood. Though I was well
on the lookout for unusual things, in particular the plant,

(05:07):
which I could not help thinking about. I cannot say
that there was anything peculiar about the stream, or the plants,
or the insects or the trees, except the words which
the water was saying so long as I was in
the flat part of the wood. But as soon as
I came to a steepish bank, the land began to
slope up suddenly, and the rapids and waterfalls of the

(05:28):
brook were very gay and interesting. Then, besides track up,
which was now its word always instead of trickle, I
heard every now and then all right, which was encouraging
and exciting. Still, there was nothing out of the way
to be seen. Look as I might, the climb up
the slope or bank was fairly long. At the top
was a kind of terrace, pretty level, and with large

(05:50):
old trees growing upon it, mainly oaks. Beyond there was
a further slope up and still more woodland. But that
does not matter now. For the present. I was at
the end of my wanderings. There was no more stream,
and I had found what, of all natural things, I think,
pleases me best, a real spring of water, quite untouched.

(06:10):
Five or six oaks grew in something like a semicircle,
and in the middle of the flat ground. In front
of them was an almost perfectly round pool, not more
than four or five feet across the bottom of it.
In the middle was pale sand, which was continually rising
up in little egg shaped mounds and falling down again.
It was the clearest and strongest spring of the kind

(06:33):
I had ever seen, and I could have watched it
for hours. I did sit down by it and watch
it for some time, without thinking of anything but the
luck I had had to find it. But then I
began to wonder if it would say anything. Naturally, I
could not expect it to say track up any more,
for here I was at the end of it, so
I listened with some curiosity. It hardly made so much

(06:55):
noise as a stream. The pool was deeper, but I
thought it must say something, and I put my head
down as close as I could to the surface of
the water if I am not mistaken, And as things
turned out, I am sure I was right. The words
were gather, gather, pick, pick, or quick quick. Now I
had not been thinking about the plant for a little time,

(07:17):
but as you may suppose, this brought it back to
my mind, and I got up and began to look
about at the roots of the old oaks which grew
just round the spring. No, none of the roots on
this side, which faced towards the water, were like that
which I had seen. Still, the feeling was strong upon
me that this, if any, was the kind of place,
and even the very place where the plant must be.

(07:39):
So I walked to the back of the trees, being
careful to go from right to left according to the
course of the sun. Well I was not mistaken. At
the back of the middlemost oak tree, there were the
roots I had dreamt of, with the moss and the
holes like eyes, and between them was the plant. I
think the only thing which was new to me in
the look of it was that it was so extraordinarily green.

(08:03):
It seemed to have in it all the greenness that
was possible, or that would be wanted for a whole
field of grass. I had some scruples about touching it.
In fact, I actually went back to the stream and
listened to make sure that it was still saying the
same thing. Yes, it was gather, gather, pick. But there
was something else every now and then which I could not,

(08:25):
for the life of me make out. At first. I
lay down, put my hand round my ear, and held
my breath. It might have been bark tree, or dark tree,
or cask free. I got impatient at last and said, well,
I'm very sorry, but do what I will. I cannot
make out what you are trying to say. Instantly, a
little spurt of water hit me on the ear, and

(08:46):
I heard as clear as possible what it was. Ask tree.
I got up at once. I beg your pardon. I said,
of course, thank you very much, and the water went
on saying gather, gather, all right, dip, dip. After thinking
how best to greet it, I went back to the oak,
stood in front of it and said, of course, baring
my head, Oak, I humbly desire your good leave to

(09:09):
gather the green plant which grows between your roots. If
an acorn falls into this by right hand, which I
held out, I will count it that you answer yes,
and give you thanks. The acorn fell straight into the
palm of my hand. I said, I thank you, oak,
good growth to you. I will lay this your acorn
in the place whence I gather the plant. Then, very

(09:29):
carefully I took hold of the stalk of the plant,
which was very short, for as I said, it grew
rather flat on the ground, and pulled, and to my surprise,
it came up as easily as a mushroom. It had
a clean round bulb without any rootlets, and left a smooth,
neat hole in the ground, in which, according to promise,
I laid the acorn and covered it with earth. I

(09:51):
think it very likely that it will turn into a
second plant. Then I remembered the last word of the
spring and went back to dip the plant in. It
a shock when I did so, and it was lucky
I was holding it firm, for when it touched the water,
it struggled in my hand like a fish or a
newt had almost slipped out. I dipped it three times
and thought I felt it growing smaller in my hand,

(10:13):
And indeed, when I looked at it, I found it
had shut up its leaves and curled them in quite close,
so that the whole thing was little more than a bulb.
As I looked at it, I thought the water changed
its note and said, that'll do, that'll do. I thought
it was time to thank the spring for all it
had done for me, though as you may suppose, I
did not yet know in the least what was to

(10:34):
be done with the plant, or what use it was
going to be. So I went over and said, in
the politest words I could, how much I was obliged,
and if there was anything I had or could do
which would be agreeable, how glad I should be. Then
I listened carefully, for it seemed by this time quite
natural that I should get some sort of answer. It came.
There was a sudden change in the sound, and the

(10:55):
water said clearly and rapidly, silver, silver, silver, silver. I
felt in my pocket. Luckily I had several shillings, sixpences
and half crowns. I thought the best way was to
offer them all, so I put them in the palm
of my right hand and held it under the water, open,
just over the dancing sand. For a few seconds, the
water ran over the silver without doing anything. Only the

(11:16):
coins seemed to grow very bright and clean. Then one
of the shillings was very neatly and smoothly slid off,
and then another and a sixpence. I waited, but no
more happened, and the water seemed to draw itself down
and away from my hand, and to say all right,
so I got up. The three coins lay on the
bottom of the pool, looking brighter than even the newest

(11:38):
I have ever seen. And gradually, as they lay there,
they began to appear larger. The shillings looked like half crowns,
and the sixpence like a shilling. I thought for a
moment that it was because water magnifies, but I soon
saw that this could not be the reason, for they
went on growing larger and of course thinner, until they
finally spread into a kind of silver film all over

(11:59):
the bottom of the And as they did so, the
water began to take on a musical sound, much like
the singing that comes when you wet your finger and
draw it round the edge of a finger glass at dessert,
which some people's idea of table manners allows them to do.
It was a pretty sight and sound, and I listened
and looked for a long time. But all this time

(12:20):
what had become of the plant. Why, when I gave
the silver to the spring, I had wrapped the plant
carefully in a silk handkerchief and put it safe in
my breast pocket. I took the handkerchief out now, and
for a moment I was afraid the plant was gone.
But it was not. It had shrunk to a very small,
whitey green ball. Now what was to be done with it?
Or rather, what could it do? It was plain to

(12:42):
me that it must have a strange and valuable property
or virtue. Since I had been put on its track
in such a remarkable way, I thought I could not
do better than ask the spring. I said, oh, spring
of water, have I your good leave to ask what
I should do with this precious plant, to put it
to the best use. The silver lining of the spring

(13:02):
made its words much easier to catch when it said anything.
For I should tell you that for the most part
now it did not speak, or not in any language
that I could understand, but rather sang. And it now
said swallow, swallow, drink swallow. Prompt obedience, Dear Jane has
always been my motto, as it is doubtless yours. And

(13:22):
I at once laid myself down drank a mouthful of
water from the spring, and put the little bulb in
my mouth. It instantly grew soft and slipped down my throat.
How prosaic. I have no idea what it tasted like.
And again I addressed the spring, Is there anything more
for me to do?

Speaker 2 (13:39):
No?

Speaker 1 (13:40):
No, no, no, you'll see, you'll see. Good bye, good bye,
was the answer, which came at once. Accordingly, I once
more thanked the spring, wished it clear water, no mud,
no tramplings of cattle, and bade it farewell. But I
said I should hope to visit it again. Then I
turned away and looked about me, wondering whether, now that

(14:02):
I had swallowed the mysterious plant, I should see anything different.
The only thing I noticed was due I supposed, not
to the plant, but to the spring. But it was
odd enough. All the trees hard by were crowded with
little birds of all kinds, sitting in rows on the branches,
as they do on telegraph wires. I have no doubt
they were listening to the silver bell in the spring.

(14:24):
They were quite still and did not take any notice.
When I began to walk away, I said, you will
remember that the ground I was on was a sort
of flat terrace at the top of a steep slope. Now,
at one end this terrace just went down into the wood.
But at the other end there was a little mound
or hillock, with thick underwood behind it. I felt a

(14:44):
curiosity an inclination to walk that way. I have very
little doubt that the plant was at the bottom of it.
As I walked, I looked at the ground and noticed
a curious thing. The roots of the plants and grasses
seemed to show more than I was accustomed to see them.
It was not a great way to the hillock. When
I got to it, I wondered why I had gone,

(15:05):
for there was nothing odd about it. Still, I stepped
on to the top, and then I did see something, namely,
a square flat stone just in front of my feet.
I poked at it with my walking stick, but somehow
I did not seem to touch it, nor was there
any scraping noise. This was funny. I tried again, and
now I saw that my stick was not touching it
at all. There was something in between. I felt with

(15:27):
my hands and they met with what seemed like grass
and earth, certainly not like stone. Then I understood the
plant was the one which makes you able to see
what is under the ground. I need not tell you
all I thought, or how surprising and delightful it was.
The first thing was to get at the flat stone
and find out what was underneath it. Accordingly, what with

(15:49):
a knife and what with my fingers, I soon had
it uncovered. It was four or five inches under the surface.
There were no marks on it. It measured more than
a foot each way I lifted it. It was the
cover of a sort of box, with bottom and sides,
each made of a slab. Just like the lid in
this box was another made of some dark metal, which
I took to be led. I pulled it out and

(16:11):
found that the lid of the box was all of
one piece, with the rest like a sardine tin. Evidently
I could not open it there, and then it was
rather heavy, but I did not care, and I managed,
without too much inconvenience, to carry it home to the
place I was lodging in. Of course, I put back
the stone neatly and covered it up with earth and grass.
Again I was late for tea, but I had found

(16:33):
what was better than tea. The end of chapter one
Chapter two of the Five Jars, this LibriVox recording is
in the public domain. Recording by Peter Yearsley. The Five
Jars by M. R. James, Chapter two, The first jar.

(16:56):
That night, I waited till the moon was up before
trying to open in the box. I do not well
know why, but it seemed the right thing, and I
followed my instinct, feeling that it might be the plant
that made me think as I did. I drew up
the blind and laid the box on a table near
the window where the moon shone full on it, and
waited to see if anything else occurred to me. Suddenly

(17:19):
I heard a sort of metallic snap. I went and
looked at the box. Nothing appeared on the side nearest
to me. But when I turn it round, I saw
that all along the side which the moon had shone upon,
there was a line along the metal. I turned another
side to the moonlight, and another snap came. In two
or three minutes. Of course, I went on. When the
moon had made a groove on all four sides, I

(17:42):
tried the lid. It would not come off yet, so
there was nothing to be done but continue the process.
Three times. I did it every side. I turned to
the moon thrice, and when that was done, the lid
was free. I lifted it, and what did I see
in the box? All this writing would be very little
use if I I did not tell you, so it
must be done. There were five compartments in the box.

(18:05):
In each of them was a little jar or vase
of glass, with a round body, a narrow neck, and
spreading out a little at the top. The top of
each was covered with a plate of metal, and on
each plate was a word or two in capital letters.
On the one in the middle there were the words
unge oculus. The other jars had one word apiece aures

(18:25):
linguam frontem pectus. Now, many years ago I took great
pains to learn the Latin language, and on many occasions
I have found it most useful, whatever you may see
to the contrary in the newspaper. But seldom or never
have I found it more useful than now. I saw
at once that the words meant anoint the eyes, the ears,

(18:48):
the tongue, the forehead, the chest. What would be the
result of my doing this? Of course I knew no
more than you, but I was pretty sure that it
would not do to try them all at once. And
another thing, I I felt that it would be better
to wait till next day before trying any of them.
It was past midnight now, so I went to bed,
but first I locked up the box in a cupboard,

(19:11):
for I did not want anyone to see it as yet.
Next day I woke bright and early, looked at my watch,
found there was no need to think about getting up yet,
and like a wise creature, went to sleep again. I
mention this not merely by way of being jocose, but
because after I went to sleep, I had a dream
which most likely came from the plant and certainly had

(19:34):
to do with the box. I seemed to see a room,
or to be in a room about which I only
noticed that the floor was paved with mosaic in a
pattern mostly red and white, that there were no pictures
on the walls, and no fireplace, no sashes or indeed
panes in the window, and the moon was shining in
very bright. There was a table and a chest. Then

(19:56):
I saw an old man, rather badly shaved and bald,
in a the Roman dress, white for the most part,
with a purple stripe somewhere and sandals. He looked, by
no means a wicked or designing old man. I was
glad of that. He opened the chest, took out my box,
and placed it carefully on the table in the moonlight.
Then he went to a part of the room I

(20:16):
could not see, and I heard a sound of water
being poured into a metal basin, and he came into
sight again, wiping his hands on a white towel. He
opened the box, took out a little silver spoon and
one of the jars, took off the lid, and dipped
the spoon in the jar, and touched first his right eye,
then his left with it. Then he put the jar

(20:37):
and the spoon back, laid the lid on the box,
and put it back in the chest. After that he
went to the window and stood there looking out, and
seemed to be much amused with what he saw. That
was all hints for me. I remember thinking, perhaps it
will be best not to touch the box before the moon
is up to night, and always with washed hands. I

(20:58):
suppose I woke up immediately, for it was all very
fresh in my mind. When I did. It was something
of a disappointment to have to put off my experiments
till the night came round, But it was all for
the best, for letters came by the post which I
had to attend to. In fact, I was obliged to
go to the town a little way off to see
some one, and to send telegrams and so on. I

(21:20):
was a little doubtful about the seeing things underground, but
I soon found that unless I, so to say, turned
on the tap and specially wished and tried to use
the power, it did not interfere with my ordinary seeing.
When I did, it seemed to come forward from the
back of my eyes, and was stronger than the day before.
I could see rabbits in their burrows, and followed the

(21:41):
roots of one oak tree very deep down. Once it
threatened to be awkward when I stooped to pick up
a silver coin in the street and grazed my knuckle
against a paving stone, under which, of course it was
so much for that. By the way, I had taken
a look at the box after breakfast, I found not
very much to my surprise, that the lid was as
tight on as when I found it first. After dinner

(22:04):
that evening, I put out the light, the moon now
being bright, placed the box on the table, washed my hands,
opened it, and, shutting my eyes, put my hand on
one of the jars at random and took it out
as I had rather expected. I heard a little rattle
as I did so, and feeling in the compartment, I
found a little, a very little spoon. All was well

(22:27):
now to see which jar chance or the plant had
chosen for my first experiment, I took it to the window.
It was the one marked awlres Ears, and the spoon
had on the handle a letter A. I opened the jar.
The lid fitted close, but not over tightly. I put
in the spoon as the old man had done as

(22:48):
near as I could remember. It brought out a very
small drop of thick stuff, with which I touched first
my right ear and then my left. When I had
done so, I looked at the spoon. It was perfect dry.
I put it and the jar back closed the box,
locked it up, and, not knowing in the least what
to expect, went to the open window and put my

(23:09):
head out. For some little time. I heard nothing that
was to be expected, and I was not in the
least inclined to distrust the jar. Then I was rewarded.
A bat flew by, and I, who have not heard
a bat even squeak these twenty years, now heard this
one say in a whistling angry tone.

Speaker 2 (23:30):
Would you would you? I've got you? Ah, trat, trat.

Speaker 1 (23:34):
It was not a very exciting remark, but it was
enough to show me that a whole new world, as
the books say, was open to me. This, of course,
was only a beginning. There were some plants and flowering
shrubs under the window, and though I could see nothing,
I began to hear voices, two voices talking among them.
They sounded young. Of course, they were anyhow very small,

(23:55):
but they seemed to belong to young creatures of their kind. Hallo,
I say, what have you got there? Do it?

Speaker 2 (24:01):
Look you might as well.

Speaker 1 (24:03):
Then a pause, another voice, I believe it's a bad
one number one. Taste it number two. After another pause,
with a slight sound very diminutive of spitty the bad
I should think it was maggot number one. After laughing
rather longer than I thought, kind, look here, don't chuck
it away.

Speaker 2 (24:22):
Let's give it to the old man.

Speaker 1 (24:23):
Here, shut the piece in again and rub it over
here is very demurely.

Speaker 2 (24:27):
Oh sir, we've got such a nice.

Speaker 1 (24:30):
Looking I could not catch what it was here. We
thought you might perhaps like it, sir, would you sir?

Speaker 2 (24:36):
Oh?

Speaker 1 (24:36):
No, thank you, sir. We've had plenty, sir, but this
was the biggest we found. A third voice said something.
It was a deeper one and less easy to hear.
Number two bitten, sir, Oh, no, don't think so, do you?
A name which I did not make out? Number one?
Why how could it be number three? Again? Angry? I
thought number two rather anxiously, But sir, really, sir, I

(25:00):
don't much like them, must I really, sir? Oh, sir,
it's kind a maggot in it, and I believe they're poison.
Smack smack smack smack. Two voices, very lamentable, Oh, sir, sir, please, sir,
a considerable pause and sniffing. Then number two in a
broken voice. You silly fool. Why did you go laughing

(25:21):
like that? Right under his snout? You might have known
he'd GoGG it cog. I had not heard the word
since eighteen seventy six. There'll be an awful row to morrow.
Look here, I shall go to bed. The voices died away.
I thought number one seemed to be apologizing. That was
all I heard that night. After eleven o'clock, things seemed

(25:42):
to get very still, and I began to feel just
a little apprehensive lest something of a less innocent kind
should come along. So I went to bed end of
chapter two Chapter three of the Five Jars. This LibriVox

(26:03):
recording is in the public domain. Recording by Peter Yearsley.
The Five Jars by M. R. James, Chapter three the
second jar next day, I must say, was very amusing.
I spent the whole of it in the fields, just
strolling about and sitting down as the fancy took me,
listening to what went on in the trees and hedges.

(26:25):
I will not write down yet the kind of thing
I heard, for it was only the beginning. I had
not yet found out the way of using the new
power to the very best advantage. I felt the want
of being able to put in a remark or a
question of my own every now and then. But I
was pretty sure that the jar, which had Linguam on
it would manage that very Nearly all the talking I

(26:48):
heard was done by the birds and animals, especially the birds.
But perhaps half a dozen times, as I sat under
a tree or walked along the road, I was aware
of voices which sounded exactly like that of people, some
grown up and some children, passing by or coming towards
me and talking to each other as they went along.
Needless to say, there was nothing to be seen, no

(27:10):
movement of the grass, and no track on the dusty road.
Even when I could tell exactly where the people who
owned the voices must be, it interested me more than
anything else to guess what sort of creatures they were,
and I determined that the next jar I tried should
be the eye one. Once, I must tell you, I
ventured to say good afternoon when I heard a couple

(27:31):
of these voices within a yard of me. I think
the owners must nearly have had a fit. They stopped dead.
One of them gave a sort of cry of surprise,
and then I believed they ran or flew away. I
felt a little breath of wind on my face and
heard no more. It wasn't, as I know now, that
they couldn't see me, but they felt much as you
would if a tree or a cow were to say

(27:52):
good afternoon to you. When I was at supper that evening,
the cat came in, as she usually did, to see
what was going on. I had always been accustomed to
think that cats talk when they mew, dogs when they bark,
and so on. It is not so at all. Their
talking is almost all done except when they are in
a great state of mind in a tone which you

(28:15):
cannot possibly hear without help. Mewing is, for the most part,
only shouting without saying any words. Purring is, as we
often say, singing. Well, this cat was an ordinary nice creature, tabby,
and in she came and sat watching me while I
had soup. To all appearance, she was as innocent as
a lamb. But no matter for that. What she was

(28:37):
saying was something of this kind. Get on with it,
do shove it down, lap it up? Who cares about soup?
Get to business. I know there's fish coming. When the
fish actually came, there was a great deal of good
feeling shown at first. Ah, how much we have to
be thankful for all of us? Have we not fish? Fish?

(29:01):
What a thought, dear, kind, generous people all around us,
all striving to supply us with what is best and
pleasantest for us. Then there was a silence for a
short time. Then in a somewhat different tone, I heard, ah, Dear.
The longer I live, the wiser I find it is
not to expect too much consideration from others self. Love,

(29:24):
how few, how terribly few, are really free from it,
the nature that knows how to take a hint, how
rare it is. Another short silence, and then there you
go another great bit. I wonder you don't choke or burst, disgusting.
A good scratch all down your horrible fat cheek is
what you want, and I know some cats that would

(29:46):
give it to you. No more notion how to behave
than a cockroach. About this time I rang the bell
and the fish was taken away. The cat went too,
circling round the maid with trusting and childlike glances, and
I heard her saying in the former tone, Well, I
dare say, after all, there are some kind hearts in
the world, some that can feel for a poor, weary creature,

(30:09):
and know what a deal of strength and nourishment even
the least bit of fish could give. And I lost
the rest. When the time came and the box was
open once more, I duly anointed my eyes and went
to the window. I knew something of what I might
expect to see, but I had not realized at all

(30:30):
how much of it there would be. In the first place,
there were a great many buildings, in fact, a regular
village all about the little lawn on which my window looked.
They were, of course not big, perhaps three feet high
was the largest size. The roofs seemed to be of tiles.
The walls were white, the windows were brightly lighted, and

(30:50):
I could see people moving about inside. But there were
plenty of people outside too, people about six inches high,
walking about, standing about, talking, running, playing some game which
might have been hockey. These were on leveled surfaces, for
the grass, neatly kept as it was, would have come
half way up their legs. And there were some driving

(31:11):
along smooth tracks in carriages drawn by horses of the
right size, which were really the most charming little animals
I ever saw. You may suppose that I should not
soon have got tired of watching them and listening to
the little troubled buzz of voices that went on. But
I was interrupted. Just in front of me. I heard
what I can only call a snigger. I looked down

(31:32):
and saw four heads, supported by four pairs of elbows,
leaning on the window sill and looking up at me.
They belonged to four boys who were standing on the
twigs of a bush that grew up against the wall,
and who seemed to be very much amused. Every now
and again, one of them nudged another and pointed towards me,
and then, for some unexplained reason, they sniggered again. I

(31:54):
felt my ears growing warm and red. Well, young gentlemen,
I said, you seem to be enjoying yourselves. No answer.
I appear to be so fortunate as to afford you
some gratification. I went on, in my sarcastic manner, perhaps
you would do me the honor of stepping into my
poor apartment. Again no answer, but more undisguised amusement. I

(32:16):
was thinking out a really withering remark when one of
them said, do look, it is nose. I wonder if
they know how ridiculous they are. I should like to
talk to one of them for five minutes. Well, I said,
that can be managed very easily, and I assure you
I should be equally glad of the opportunity. My remarks
would deal with the subject of good manners. Another one

(32:39):
spoke this time, but did not answer me. Oh, I
don't know, he said. I expect they're pretty stupid. They
look it, at least this one does. Can they talk?
Said the third I've never heard em. No, but you
can see them moving their jaws and mouths and things
this one did. Just now. I saw how it was
now and becoming cooler. I recognized that these youths were

(33:02):
behaving very much as I might have done myself in
the presence of some one whom I was sure could
neither see nor hear me. I even smiled. One of
them pointed at me at once thought of a joke,
I suppose, don't keep it all to yourself, old chap.
At this moment, the fourth, who had not said anything
so far but seemed to have been listening, piped up.

(33:22):
I say, I believe I know what it is that
makes that hammering noise. It's something he has got in
his clothes. I could not resist this right again. I said,
it's my watch, and you're very welcome to look at it.
And I took it out and put it on the
window sill. An awful horror and surprise came into their faces.
In a second, they had dived down like so many ducks.

(33:45):
In another second, I saw them walking across the grass,
and each of them threw his arms round the waist
or the neck of one of the elder people who
were walking about among the houses. The person so attacked
pulled himself up and listened attentively to what the boy
was saying. The particular one I was watching looked towards
my window and then burst out laughing, slapped the boy

(34:06):
on the back, and resumed his walk. The boy went
slowly off towards one of the houses. One or two
of the other men came and stood nearer to the window,
looking up. I thought I would venture a bow, and
made one rather ceremoniously. It did not produce much effect,
and I could not at the moment think of anything
I could do that would show them quite clearly that

(34:27):
I saw them. They went on looking at me quietly enough,
and then I heard a deep, low bell, seemingly very
far off, toll five times. They heard it too, turned
sharply round, and walked off to the houses. Soon after that,
the lights in the windows died down and everything became
very still. I looked at my watch. It was ten o'clock.

(34:48):
I waited for a while to see if anything would happen,
but there was nothing. So I got some books out,
which took a few minutes, and before I settled down
to them, I thought I would just take one more
look out of the window. Where were all the little houses.
At the first glance, I thought they had vanished, but
it was not exactly so I found I could still

(35:08):
see the chimneys above the grass, but as I looked,
they too disappeared. It was done very neatly. There was
no hole. The turf closed in upon the roofs as
they sank down, just as if it was of India rubber.
There was not a trace left of houses, or roads,
or playgrounds or anything. I was strongly tempted to go
out and walk over the site of the village, but

(35:29):
I did not. For one thing, I was afraid I
might disturb the people of the house. And besides, there
was a mist coming up over the meadows which sloped
away outside the garden. So I stopped where I was.
But what a very odd mist. I began to think.
It was not coming in all in one piece as
it should. It was more in patches or even pillars

(35:50):
of a smoky gray, which moved at different rates, some
of them occasionally standing still, others even seeming to go
to and fro. And now I began to hear something
like a hollow whispering coming from their direction. It was
not conversation, for it went on quite continuously in the
same tone. It sounded more as if something was being recited.

(36:10):
I did not like it. Then I saw what I
liked less. Seven of these pillars of mist, each about
the size of a man, were standing in a row
just outside the garden fence, and in each I thought
I saw two dull red eyes, and the hollow whispering
grew louder. Just then I heard a noise behind me
in the room, as if the fire irons had suddenly

(36:31):
fallen down. So they had, and the reason why they
had was that an old horse shoe, which was on
the mantelpiece, had, for no reason that I could see,
tumbled over and knocked them. Something I had heard came
into my mind. I took the horse shoe and laid
it on the window sill. The pillars of mist swayed
and quivered, as if a sudden gust of wind had
struck them, and seemed all at once to go further off,

(36:53):
and the hollow murmur was no longer to be heard.
I shut the window and went to bed. But the
last thing I looked out once again, the meadow was
clear of mist and bright beneath the light of the moon.
As I lay in bed, I thought and thought over
what I had seen last. I was quite sure that
the pillars of mist concealed some beings who wished me

(37:15):
no good, But why should they have any spite against me?
I was also sure that they wanted to get into
the house. But again why you may think I was
slow in the wits, But I must confess that some
minutes passed before I guessed. Of course, they wanted to
get hold of the box with the five jars. The
thought disturbed me so much that I got up, lighted

(37:35):
a candle, and went to the cupboard to see if
all was safe. Yes, the box was there, but the
cupboard door, which I knew I had locked, was unfastened,
and when I had to turn the key it became
plain that the lock was hampered and useless. How could
this have come about? Earlier in the evening it had
been perfectly right, and nobody had been in the room

(37:56):
since I locked it last. Whoever had done it, they
had made the cupboard no safe place for the box.
I took it into the bedroom, and, after a minute's thought,
cleared out of space in a suit case which I
had brought with me, locked it in that and put
the key on the ring of my watch chain watch,
and all went under my pillow, and once more I
got into bed. End of chapter three, Chapter four of

(38:25):
the Five Jars. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
Recording by Peter Yursley. The Five Jars by M. R. James,
Chapter four, The Small People. You will have made sure
that the next jar I meant to try was the
one for the tongue, in hopes that it would help
me to speak to some of the creatures. Though I

(38:48):
looked forward to the experiment very much and felt somewhat
restless until I had made it, I did get a
good deal of amusement out of what I saw and heard.
The next day, the small people were not to be seen,
at least not in the morning. No, I'm wrong. I
found a bunch of three of them, young ones asleep
in a hollow tree. They woke up and looked at

(39:09):
me without much interest, and when I was withdrawing my head,
they blew kisses to me. I am afraid there is
no doubt they did so in derision. But there were others.
I passed a cottage garden in which a little dog
was barking most furiously it seemed to be barking at
a clothes line, on which, with a lot of other things,
was a print dress with rather a startling pattern of flowers.

(39:32):
The dress caught my eye, and so did something red
at the top which stuck up above the line. Gave
it another glance, and really I had a most dreadful shock.
It was a face. I gazed at it in horror
and was just gathering my wits to run and call
for help or something, when I saw that it was laughing.
Then I realized that it could not be an ordinary person,
hanging as it was on a thin piece of cord

(39:55):
and blowing to and fro in the breeze. I went nearer,
staring at it with all my eyes, and made doubt
that it was the face of an old woman, very
cheerful and ruddy, and as I said, laughing and swinging
to and fro. Suddenly she seemed to catch my eye
and to see that I saw her, and in a
flash she was off the line and round the corner

(40:15):
of the house, nearly tumbling over the dog as she went.
It rushed after her, still very angry, but soon came
trotting back rather out of breath and that incident was over,
I walked on among the village people I met. There
were one or two whom I didn't think I had
seen before. Elderly, bright eyed people. They were who seemed
very much surprised, And I said good morning to them,

(40:38):
and stopped still looking after me. When I passed on
at last, some little way outside the village, I saw
in the distance the same bright colored dress that had
been on the clothes line. The person who wore it
was going slowly and looking in the grass and hedges,
and sometimes stooping to pick a plant, as it seemed.
I quickened my pace and came up with her, And

(41:00):
when I was just behind her, I cleared my throat
rather loudly and said fine day, or words to that effect.
You should have seen her jump. I was well paid
for the fright she had given me just before. However,
the startled look cleared away from her face, and she
drew herself up and looked at me very calmly. Yes,
she said, it's a fine day. Then she actually blushed

(41:22):
and went on, I think I ought to beg your
pardon for giving you such a turn just now. Well,
I said, I certainly was a good deal startled, but
no harm was done. The dog took it more to
heart than I did. She gave a short laugh. Yes,
she said, I hardly know why I was behaving like that.
I suppose we all of us feel skittish at times.

(41:43):
She paused and said, with some little hesitation, you have them,
I suppose, And at the same time she rapidly touched
her eyes, ears, and mouth with her forefinger. I looked
at her in some doubt, for I thought, might not
she be one of the unknown who wished to get
hold of the five jars? But her eye was honest,

(42:04):
and my instinct was to trust her, so I nodded
and put my finger on my lips. Of course, she said,
you are the first, since I was a little thing,
and that's fourteen hundred years ago. You may think I
opened my eyes. Yes, Vitalis was the last, and he
lived in the villa they called it, so down by
the stream. You'll find the place some of these days

(42:25):
if you look. I heard talk yesterday that some one
had got them, and I'm told the mist was about
last night. Perhaps you saw it, Yes, I said I did,
and I guessed what it meant, and I told her
all that had happened, and ended by asking if she
could kindly advise me what to do. She thought for
a moment, and then handed me a little bunch of

(42:45):
the leaves she held in her hand, four leaved clover.
She said, I know nothing. Better lay it on the
box itself. You'll hear of them again. Be sure, who
are they? I asked, in a whisper. She shook her head,
not aloud, was all she would say. I must be going,
and she was gone, sure enough. You might suppose, as
I did, when I came to think of it, that

(43:07):
my new sight ought to have been able to see
what became of her. I think it would if she
had gone straight away from me. But what I believe
she did was to dart round behind me and then
go straight away in a straight line, so that I
was left looking in front of me while she was
traveling away behind me, like a bullet from a gun.
You need practice with these things, and I had only
been at it a couple of days. I turned and

(43:30):
walked rather quickly homewards, for I thought it would be
wise to protect my box as soon as possible, now
that I had the means. I think it was fortunate
that I did as I opened the garden gate, I
saw an old woman coming down the path, an old
woman very unlike the last. Old was not the word
for her face. She might have been born before the

(43:52):
history books begin. As to her expression, if ever, you
saw a snake with red rims to its eyes and
the expression of a parrot, you might have some idea
of it. She was hobbling along with a stick in
quite the proper manner, but I felt certain that all
that was put on, and that she could have glided
as swift as an adder if she pleased. I confess

(44:14):
I was afraid of her. I had a feeling that
she knew everything and hated everybody. And what I suddenly thought,
has she been up to? If she has got at
the box, where am I? And more than that, what
mischief will she and her company work among the small
people and the birds and beasts? There would be no

(44:34):
mercy for them. A glance at her eye told me
that it was an immense relief to see that she
could not possibly have got the box about her, and
another relief when my eye traveled to the door of
the house and I saw no fewer than three horse
shoes nailed above it, I smiled to myself. Oh how
angry she looked. But she had to act her part,

(44:56):
and with feeble curtsies and in a very small horse
trembling voice, she wished me a good day, though I
noticed her pointing to the ground with her thumb as
she said the words, and would be very obliged if
I could tell her the right time. I was going
to pull out my watch, and if I had, she
would have seen a certain key we know of when

(45:16):
something said suddenly and clearly to my brain, look out,
and by good luck, I heard a clock inside the
house strike one before I could answer. Just struck one,
was my reply, accordingly, and I said it as innocently
as I could. She drew her breath in hard and
quivered all over, and her mouth remained open like a
cat's when it is using its worst expressions. And when

(45:38):
she eventually thanked me, I leave it to you to
imagine how gracefully she did it. Well. She had no
more cards to play at the moment, and no excuse
for remaining. I stood my ground and watched her out
of the gate. A path led down the meadow, and
much against her will, no doubt, she had to keep
up the pretense, and toil painfully along it until she

(46:00):
reached another hedge and could reckon on being out of
my sight. After that I neither saw nor expected to
see anything more of her. I went up to my
room and found all safe, and laid the four leafed
clover on the box. At luncheon. I took occasion to
find out from the maid, without asking her in so
many words, whether the old woman had been visible to her.

(46:22):
Evidently she had not. Evidently also, the evil creatures were
really on the track of the five jars. Knew I
had them, and had a very fair idea of where
they were kept. However, if the maid had not seen her,
the cat had and murmured a good deal to herself,
and was in a rather nervous state. She sat with

(46:42):
her ears turned different ways on the window sill, looking out,
and twitching her back uncomfortably, like an old lady who
feels a draft. When I was available, she came and
sat on my knee, a very uncommon attention on her part,
with an air half of wishing to be protected and
half of undertaking to protect me. If there is fish

(47:03):
to night, I said, you shall have some. But I
was not yet in a position to make myself understood.
Bussy's been sleeping on your box all the afternoon, sir,
said the maid. When I came in to tea, I
couldn't get her to come off, and when I did
turn her out of the room, I do believe she
climbed up and got in again by the window. I
don't mind at all, I said, let her be there

(47:25):
as she likes, and indeed I felt quite grateful to
the cat. I don't know that she could have done
much if there had been any attempt on the box,
but I was sure her intentions were good. There was
fish that evening, and she had a good deal of it.
She did not say much that I could follow, but
chiefly sang songs without words. Not to go over the

(47:46):
preliminaries again, I did, when the proper time came. Touch
my tongue with the contents of the third jar. I
found that it worked in this way. I could not
hear what I was saying myself when I was talking
to an animal. I only thought the remark very clearly,
and then I felt my tongue and lips moving in
an odd fashion which I can't describe. But with the

(48:08):
small people in human shape. It was different. I spoke
in the ordinary way to them, and though I dare
say my voice went up an octave or two, I
can't say I perceived it. The village was there again
to night, and the life going on in it seemed
much the same. I was set upon making acquaintance in
a natural sort of way with the people, and as
it would not do to run any risk of startling them,

(48:30):
I just took my place near the window and made
some pretense of playing patience. I thought it likely that
some of the young people would come and watch me,
in spite of the fright they had had the night before.
And it was not long before I heard a rustling
in the shrubs under the window, and voices saying, is
he in there? Can you see?

Speaker 2 (48:48):
Oh? I say, do look out? You'll but have me
over that time.

Speaker 1 (48:53):
They were suddenly quiet after this, and apparently one must
have very cautiously climbed up and looked into the room.
When he got down again, there was a great fuss.

Speaker 2 (49:03):
Now is he really What do you say he was doing?

Speaker 1 (49:06):
What sort of charm?

Speaker 2 (49:07):
I say, do you think we'd better get down?

Speaker 1 (49:10):
No? But what is he really doing? Laying out rows
of flat things on the table with marks on them.
I don't believe it, Or you.

Speaker 2 (49:17):
Go and look yourself, all right? I shell yes, But
I say, do look out. Suppose you get shut in
and we're laid for the bell, Why you fool? I
shan't go into the room, only stop on the windowsill.
Well I don't know, but I do believe he saw
us last night, and my father said he thought so too.
Oh well, he can't move very quick anyway, and he's

(49:38):
some way off the window. I shall go up.

Speaker 1 (49:41):
I managed, without altering my position too much to keep
my eye on the window sill, and sure enough, in
a second or two, a small round head came into sight.
I went on with my game. At first I could
see that the watcher was ready to duck down at
the slightest provocation, But as I took no sort of notice,
he gained confidence, leant his elbows on the sill, and

(50:03):
then actually pulled himself up and sat down on it.
He bent over and whispered to the others below. And
it was not long before I saw a whole row
of heads filling up the window sill from end to end.
There must have been a dozen of them. I thought,
the time was come, and without moving and in as
careless a tone as I could, I said, come in, gentlemen,
come in, don't be shy. There was a rustle, and

(50:25):
two or three heads disappeared, but nobody said anything. Come
in if you like, I said again. You can hear
the bell quite well from here, and I shan't shut
the window, promise, said the one who was sitting on
the sill. I promise on a bright I said. Whereupon
he made the plunge. First he dropped on to the
seat of a chair by the window, and from that
to the floor. Then he wandered about the room, keeping

(50:47):
at a distance from me at first, and I have
no doubt, watching very anxiously to see whether I had
any intention of pouncing on him. The others followed, first
one by one, and then two or three at a time.
Some remained sitting on the window sill, but most plucked
up courage to get down on to the floor and explore.
I had now my first good chance of seeing what

(51:08):
they were like. They all wore the same fashion of clothes,
a tunic and close sitting hose and flat caps, seemingly
very much what a boy would have worn in Queen
Elizabeth's time. The colors were sober, dark blue, dark red,
gray brown, and each one's clothes were of one color
all through. They had some white linen underneath. It showed

(51:29):
a little at the neck. They were both fear and dark.
Among them all were clean and passably good looking, one
or two certainly handsome. The first comer was ruddy and
auburn haired, and evidently a leader. They called him Wag.
I heard whispers from corners of the room and appeals
to Wag to explain what this and that unfamiliar object was,

(51:49):
and noticed that he was never at a loss for
an answer of some kind. Correct or not. The fireplace,
which had its summer dressing, was it appeared a rock garden.
An old letter lying on the floor was a charm.
He did not touch it. The waste paper basket not,
unnaturally a prison. The pattern on the carpet was Oh,
you wouldn't understand it if I was to tell you.

(52:12):
Soon a voice, Wagg's voice, came from somewhere near my foot.
I say, could I get up on the top. I
offered to lift him, but he declined rather hastily, and
said my leg would be all right if I didn't
mind putting it out a bit sloping, and he then
ran up it on Old Four's. He was quite a
perceptible weight and got on to the table from my
knee without any difficulty. Once there, there was a great

(52:34):
deal to interest him. Books, papers, ink pens, pipes, matches
and cards. He was full of questions about them, and
his being so much at his ease encouraged the others
to follow him, so that before very long the whole
lot were perambulating the table and making me very nervous
lest they should fall off. While Wag was standing close
up to me and putting me through a catechism.

Speaker 2 (52:56):
What do you have such little spears for?

Speaker 1 (52:58):
He wanted to know, brandishing a pen at me. Is
that blood on the end? Who's blood? Oh?

Speaker 2 (53:03):
Then what do you do with it?

Speaker 1 (53:05):
Let's see only that when I wrote a word or two, Oh,
you could tell me about it another Tom. Now, I
wants to know what these clubs in the Chester are for.
I said, we make fire with them. If you like,
I'll show you. But it makes a little noise. Go on,
said Wag, and I struck a match, rather expecting a stampede.
But no, they were quite unmoved, and Wag said, beastly round, smell.

(53:26):
Why don't you do the ordinary way? He brushed the
palm of his left hand along the tips of the
fingers on his right hand, put them to his lips,
and then to his eyes, and behold, his eyes seemed
to glow from behind with a light which would have
been quite bright enough for him to read by. Quite simple,
he said, don't you know it? Then he did the
same thing in reverse order, touching eyes, lips and hand,

(53:49):
and the light was gone. I didn't like to confess
that this was beyond me. Yes, that's all very well,
I said, But how do you manage about your houses?
I'm sure I saw light? It's in the windows, course,
he said, Put as many as you want, And he
ran round the table, dabbing his hand here and there
on the cloth or on anything that lay on it,
and at every place a little round bud or drop

(54:12):
of very bright but also soft light came out. See,
he said, and darted round again, passing his hands over
the lights and touching his lips, and they were gone.
He came back and said, it's a much better way.
It is, really as if it were only my native
stupidity that prevented me from using it myself. A smaller
one who looked to me rather a quieter sort than Wag,

(54:35):
had come up and was standing by him. He now said,
in a low voice, perhaps they can't. It seemed a
new idea to Wag. He made his eyes very round. Can't, oh, rot,
It's quite simple. The other shook his head and pointed
to my hand, which rested on the table. Wag looked
at it, too, and then at my face.

Speaker 2 (54:55):
Could I see it spread out?

Speaker 1 (54:56):
He said, yes, if you promise not to despoil it.
He laughed slightly, and then both he and the other,
whom he called slim, bent over and looked closely at
the tips of my fingers. Other side, please, he said,
after a time, and they subjected my nails to a
like examination. The others, who had been at the remoter
parts of the table, wandered up and looked over their shoulders.

(55:18):
After tapping my nails and lifting up one or more fingers,
Wagg stood upright and said, well, I suppose it's true
and you can't. I thought your sword could do anything.
I thought much the same about you, I said, in
self defense. I always thought you could fly, but you
so we can, said Wagg, very sharply, and his face
grew red. Oh, I said, then, why haven't you been

(55:41):
doing it to night? He kicked one foot with the
other and looked quickly at Slim. The rest said nothing
and edged away, humming to themselves. Well we can fly perfectly, well,
only only not to night, I suppose, said I rather unkindly. No,
not to night, said Wagg. And you needn't laugh either.

(56:01):
We'll soon show you. That will be nice, I said,
And when will you show me? Let's see? He turned
to Slim. Two nights more, isn't it? Or are them
to me in two nights more? You'll see. Just then
a moth which flew in caused a welcome diversion, for
I could see that somehow I had touched on a
sore subject, and that he was feeling awkward, and he

(56:22):
first jumped at it and then ran after it. Slim lingered.
I raised my eyebrows and pointed at Wag. Slim nodded.
The fact is, he said, in a low voice.

Speaker 2 (56:32):
He got us.

Speaker 1 (56:33):
Into rather a row yesterday, and we're all stopped flying
for three nights. Oh, said I, I see. You must
tell him that I am very sorry for being so stupid.
May I ask who stopped you? Oh, just the old man,
not the owls. You do go to the owls for something, then,
I asked, trying to appear intelligent. Yes, history and geography,

(56:54):
to be sure, I said, of course they've seen a lot,
haven't they. So they say, said slim. But just then
the low toll of the bell was wafted through the window,
and there was an instant scurry to the edge of
the table, then to the seat of the chair, and
up to the window sill. Small arms waved caps at me.
The shrubs rustled, and I was left alone. End of

(57:15):
chapter four, Chapter five of the Five Jars. This LibriVox
recording is in the public domain recording by Peter Yearsley
The Five Jars by M. R. James, Chapter five, Danger
to the Jars. Now my eyes and ears and tongue

(57:38):
had been dealt with, and what remained were the forehead
and the chest. I could not guess what would come
of treating these with the ointment, but I thought I
would try the forehead first. There was still a day
or two when the moon would be bright enough for
the trial. I hoped that perhaps the effect of these
last two jars might be to make me able to
go on with my experience, to keep in touch with

(58:01):
the new people I had come across. During the time
when she the moon I mean, was out of sight.
I had one anxiety. The precious box must be guarded
from those who were after it. About this, I had
a conviction that if I could keep them off until
I had used each of the five jars, the box
and I would be safe. Why I felt sure of
this I could not say. But my experience had led

(58:23):
me to trust these beliefs that came into my head,
and I meant to trust this one. It would be best,
I thought, if I did not go far from the house.
Perhaps if I did not leave it at all till
the time of danger was past. Several things happened in
the course of the morning which confirmed me in my belief.
I took up a position at the table by the
window of my sitting room. I had put the box

(58:45):
in my suit case, which I had locked, and I
now laid it beside me where I could keep an
eye on it. The view from my window showed me
first the garden of the cottage, with its lawn and
little flower beds. Its hedge and back gate, and beyond
that a path leading down down across a field. More
fields I knew came after that one and sloped pretty
sharply down to a stream in the valley, which I

(59:07):
could not see, but I could see the sleep slope
of fields, partly pasture and then clothed with green woods
towards the top. There were no other houses in sight.
The road was behind me, passing the front of the cottage,
and my bedroom looked out that way. I had some
writing and reading to do, and I had not long
finished breakfast before I settled down to it, and heard

(59:27):
the maid doing out the bedroom as usual, accompanied every
now and then by a slight mew from the cat,
who also as usual, was watching her at work. These
mews meant nothing in particular, I may say, they were
only intended to be met by an encouraging remark, such
as there you are, then, pussy, or don't get in
my way now, or all in good time. Finally I

(59:50):
heard come along, then, and let's see what we've cut
for you downstairs, and the door was shut. I mentioned
this because of what happened about a quarter of an later.
There was suddenly a fearful crash in the bedroom, a fall,
a breaking of glass and crockery, and snapping of wood,
and then fainter sobbings and moans of pain. I started up. Goodness,

(01:00:11):
I thought she must have been dusting that heavy shelf
high up on the wall with all the china on it,
and the whole thing has given way. She must be
badly hurt. But why doesn't her mistress come rushing upstairs?
And what was that rasping noise just beside me? I
looked at my suit case, which lay on the table
just inside the open window. Across the new smooth top
of it. There were three deep scratches running towards the window,

(01:00:33):
which had not been there before I moved it to
the other side of me and sat down. There had
been an attempt to decoy me out of the room,
and it had failed. Certainly there would be more, I waited,
but everything was quiet in the house, no more noise
from the bedroom, and no one moving about upstairs or downstairs.
Nothing but the pump clanking in the scullery. I turned

(01:00:53):
to my work again. Half an hour must have gone by,
and though on the lookout I was not vedgetty. Then
I was aware of a confused noise from the field outside.

Speaker 2 (01:01:03):
Help help, keep off you brute, Help you.

Speaker 1 (01:01:06):
There as well as I could make out, again and again.
Towards the far end of the field, which was a
pretty large one, a poor old man was trying to
get to a gate in the hedge at a staggering run,
and striking now and then with his stick at a
great deer hound which was leaping up at him with
hollow barks. It seemed as if nothing but the promptest
dash to the spot could save him. It seemed too,

(01:01:26):
as if he had caught sight of me at the window,
for he beckoned, how strange the cries sounded. It was
as if someone was shouting into an empty jug. My
field glasses were by me on the table, and I
thought I would take just one look before I rushed out.
I am glad I did, for do you know? When
I had the glasses focused on the dog and the man,
all that I could see was a sort of fuzz

(01:01:48):
of dancing vapor, much as if the shimmering air that
you see on the heath on a hot day had
been gathered up and rolled into a shape. Ah, I said,
as I put down the glasses, and something in the
air about four yards off made a sharp hissing sound.
No doubt there were words, but I could not distinguish them.
A second attempt had failed. You may be sure I

(01:02:10):
was well on the alert for the next I put
away my books now and stood looking out of the
window and wondering as I watched whether there was anything
out of the common to be noticed. For one thing,
I thought there were more little birds about than I expected.
At first I did not see them, for they are
not hopping about on the lawn. But as I stared
at the hedge of the garden and at that of

(01:02:31):
the field, I became aware that these were full of life.
On almost every twig that could hold a bird in shelter.
Not on the top of the hedges, a bird was
sitting quite still, and they were all looking towards the window,
as if they were expecting something to happen there. Occasionally
one would flutter its wings a little and turn its
head towards its neighbor, but this was all they did.

(01:02:52):
I picked up my glasses and began to study the
bottom of the hedges and the bushes, where there was
some quantity of dead leaves. And here too I could
see that there were spectators. A small bright eye or
a bit of a nose was visible almost wherever I looked.
In short, the mice, and I don't doubt some of
the rats, hedgehogs and toads as well were collected there,

(01:03:13):
and were as intently on the watch as the birds.
What a chance for the cat, if only she knew.
I put my head cautiously out of the window and
looked down on the sill of the window below. I
could see her head with the ears pushed forward. She
was looking earnestly at the hedge, but she did not move.
Only at the slight noise I made, she turned her
face upwards and crowed to me in a modest but

(01:03:36):
encouraging manner. Time passed on, luncheon was laid on another table,
and was over before anything else happened. The next thing
was that I heard the maid saying, sharply, what business
have you got going round to the back. We don't
want none of your rubbish here, A hoarse voice answered
inaudibly the maid. No, nor the gentleman don't want none

(01:03:57):
of your stuff neither. And how do you know there's
a gentleman? Hear at time? Or should like to know
what don't mean no offense, I dare say, that's more
than I know. Well, that's the last word I've got
to say. In a minute more. There was a knock
at my door, and at the same time a step
on the gravel path out under my window, and a
loud hiss from the cat. As I said, come in

(01:04:18):
to the knock, I hastily looked out of the window,
but I saw nothing. It was the maid who had noted.
She had come to ask if there was anything I
should like from the village, or anything I should want
before tea time, because the mistress was going out and
wanted her to go over and fetch something from the shop.
I said there was nothing except the letters and perhaps
a small parcel from the post office. She lingered a
moment before going, and finally said, you'll excuse me, name

(01:04:41):
me it, sir, But there seems to be some funny
people about the roads to day. If you'd pleased to be,
what I mean to say, a bit on the lookout,
if you're not a going out yourself, certainly, I said, no,
I don't mean to go out either way.

Speaker 2 (01:04:55):
Who was it?

Speaker 1 (01:04:56):
Came to the door just now? Oh, it was one
of these working men, not one I've seen before, and
he must be a stranger in this part, I think,
because he began going round to the garden door, only
I stopped him. He'd got these cheap rubbishing atpins and
what not. Leastways, if you understand me what I thought
to myself, I shouldn't like to be seen with them,

(01:05:16):
whatever others might. Yes, I see, I answered, and she went,
and I turned to my books once more. Within a
very few minutes I began to suspect that I was
getting sleepy. Yes, it was undoubtedly so, what with the
warmth of the day and lunch and not having been out.
There was a curious smell in the room too, not
exactly nasty, like something burning. What did it remind me

(01:05:40):
of would smoke from a cottage fire that one smells
on an autumn evening as one comes bicycling down the
hill into a village. Not quite so nice as that,
Something more like a chemist's shop, I wondered. And as
I wondered, my eyes closed and my head went forward.
A sharp pain on the back of my hand, and
a crash of glass up I jumped, And which of

(01:06:02):
three or four things I realized first I don't know,
but I did realize in a second or two that
my hand was bleeding from a scratch all down the
back of it, that a pane of the window was broken,
and that the whole window was darkened with little birds
that were bumping their chests against it. That the cat
was on the table, gazing into my face with intense expression,
That a little smoke was drifting into the room, and

(01:06:22):
that my suit case was on the point of slipping
out over the window sill. The despairing dashed it I
made and managed to clutch it, but for the life
of me, I could not pull it back. I could
see no string or cord, much less any hand that
was dragging it. I hardly dared to take my hand
from it to catch up something and hack at the
thief I could not see. Besides, there was nothing within reach.

(01:06:43):
Then I'd remembered the knife in my pocket. Could I
get it out and open it without losing hold? They
hate steel, I thought, somehow, Frantically holding on with one hand,
I got out to the knife and opened it. Goodness
knows how, for it was horribly small and stiff with
my teeth and sheared and stabbed indiscriminately all round the
end of the suit case. Thank goodness, the strain relaxed.

(01:07:03):
I got the thing inside the window, dropped it and
stood on it, craning over the garden path and round
the corner of the house. Of course, there was nothing
to be seen. The birds were gone. The cat was
still on the table, saying, oh you owl, oh, hugh owl.
The sole and only clue to what had been happening
was a small earthenware saucer that lay on the path

(01:07:24):
immediately below the window, with a little heap of ashes
in it, from which a thin column of smoke was
coming straight up and curling over when it reached the
window level. That I could not doubt was the cause
of my sudden sleepiness. I dropped a large book straight
on to it, and had the satisfaction of hearing it
crushed to bits, and of seeing the smoke go four
ways along the ground. And vanish I was perfectly aware. Now.

(01:07:48):
I looked at the cat and showed her the back
of my hand. She sat quite still and said, well,
what did you expect. I had to do something. I'll
lick it if you like blood rather not no particular
ill feeling you under stand all the same a hundred years.
Hence I was not in a position to answer her,
so I shook my head at her, wound up my
hand in a handkerchief, and then stroked her. She took

(01:08:09):
it agreeably, jumped off the table, and requested to be
let out. So the third attack had failed, I sat
down and looked out. The hedges were empty. Not a bird,
not a mouse was left. I took this to mean
that the dangerous time was past, and great was the relief.
Soon I heard the maid come back from her errands
in the village, then the mistress's chaise, then the clock

(01:08:32):
striking five. I felt it would be all right for
me to go out after tea, and so I did, first, however,
concealing the suit case in my bedroom, not that I
supposed hiding it would be of much use, and piling
upon it poker, tongs, knife, horseshoe and anything else I
could find which I thought would keep off trespassers. I had,
by the way, to explain to the maid that a

(01:08:54):
bird had flown against the window and broken it. And
when she said, stoopid to toys, some little things they are,
I am afraid. I did not contradict her. I went
out by way of the garden and crossed the field,
near the middle of which stands a large old oak.
I went up to this for no particular reason, and
stood gazing at the trunk. As I did so, I

(01:09:15):
became aware that my eyes were beginning to see through
and behold. A family of owls was inside. As it
was near evening, they were getting wakeful, stirring, smacking their beaks,
and opening their wings a little from time to time.
At last one of them said, time's nearly up out
and about out and about any one outside? Said another.

(01:09:35):
No harm near, said the first. This short way of
talking I believe was due to the owls not being
properly awake and consequently sulky. As they brightened up and
got their eyes open, they began to be more easy
in manner. Oo ooo oooh, I've had a very good
day of it. You have too, I hope. Sound as
a rock, I thank you. Except when they were carrying

(01:09:56):
on at the cottage, Oh goodness, I forgot. They didn't
bring it off if I hope not they the watch
was too well set, but it was wanted. I had
a leaf about it. A few minutes after, and it
seems they got him asleep. Well, I never heard anyone
bring a leaf, I dare say not, but I was
expecting it. Pigeon dropped it. There it is on that
child's back. I saw the hen owl stoop and examine

(01:10:18):
a dead chestnut leaf, which lay, as the other had said,
on an owlet's back.

Speaker 2 (01:10:23):
Father, mayn't I go out to night.

Speaker 1 (01:10:26):
Said this owlet suddenly, in a shrill voice. But all
that Father did was to clasp its head in his
claw and push it to and fro several times. When
he let go, the owlet made no sound, but crept
away and hid its face in a corner, and heaved
as if with sobs. Father closed his eyes slowly and
opened them slowly. Amused. I thought the mother had been

(01:10:47):
reading the leaf all the time. Dear me, very interesting,
she said. I suppose now the worst of it is
over All's quiet for to night, anyhow, said father. But
I wish she could see some one about it to morrow.
That's their last chance, and they may He ruffled up
his feathers, lifted first one foot and then the other.
The awkwardness is, he went on, if I say too

(01:11:09):
much and they do get the jars is one risk,
and if there's no warning and they get them, there's
another risk. But if there is a warning and they
don't get them, said she very sensibly. Well, to be sure,
that would be better, even though we don't know much
about him. But where do you suppose he is?

Speaker 2 (01:11:26):
And whom ought he to see?

Speaker 1 (01:11:28):
It was just what I wanted to know, and I
thanked her. Why as to the first I suspect he's outside,
there is some one there, And why they should stop
there all this time unless they're listening, I don't know,
good gracious listening to our private conversation, and me with
all my feathers all anyhow, she began to peck at
herself vigorously, But this was straying from the point and

(01:11:51):
annoyed me. However, Father went slowly on as to that
I don't much care whether he's listening or not. As
to whom he ought to see, that's rather the more
difficult if he's got as far as talking to any
of the right people. He said this, as if they
had capital letters they'd know, of course, and some of
them down about the village they'd know. And the old

(01:12:12):
mother knows, And what about the boys, said, she pausing
in the middle of her toilet and poking her head
up at him. He wholly disdained to answer, and merely
butted at her with his head, so that she slipped
down off her ledge several inches with a great scrabbling.
Oh don't, she said peevishly, as she climbed back. I'm
all untidy again. Well, then, don't ask that ridiculous questions.

(01:12:36):
I shall buffle you with both wings next time. And now,
as soon as the coast is clear, I shall be
out and about. I took the hint and moved off,
for I had learnt as much, perhaps as I could expect,
even if all was not yet plain. And before I
had gone many paces, I was aware of the pair,
both sailing smoothly off in the opposite direction. I was

(01:12:57):
seeing through a good deal. That is, it is surprising
what a lot of coppers people drop, even on a
field path. Surprising too, in how many places there lie
unsuspected bones of men. Some things I saw which were
ugly and sad like that, but more that were amusing
and even exciting. There is one spot I could show,
where four gold cups stand round what was once a book.

(01:13:21):
But the book is no more than earth now that, however,
I did not see on this particular evening. What I
remember best is a family of young rabbits huddled round
their parents in a burrow, and the mother telling a story.
And so then he went a little farther and found
a dandelion, and stopped and sat up and began to
eat it. And when he had eaten two large leaves

(01:13:43):
and one little one, he saw a fly on it,
no two flies, And then he thought he had had
enough of that dandelion, and he went a little way
farther and found another dandelion. And so it went on,
interminably and entirely stupid, like everything else I ever heard
a rabbit say, for they have forgotten all about their
ancestor prayer rabbit. However, the children were absorbed in the

(01:14:06):
story so much so that they never heard a stoat
making its way down the burrow. But I heard it,
and by stamping and driving my stick in, I was
able to make it turn tail and go off, cursing.
All stoats, weasels, ferrets, pole cats are of the wrong people,
as you may imagine, and so are most rats and bats.

(01:14:26):
At last, I left off seeing through by trying not
to do so, and went back to the house, where
I found all safe and quiet. I ought to say
that I had not as yet tried speaking to any animal,
even to the cat when she scratched me, but I
thought I would try it now. So when she came
in at dinner time and circled about with what I

(01:14:47):
may call pious aspirations about fish and other such things,
I summoned up my courage and said, using my voice
in the way I described, or rather did not describe before,
I used to be told, if you are hungry, you
can eat dry bread. She was certainly horribly startled. At
first I thought she would have dashed up the chimney

(01:15:07):
or out of the window, but she recovered pretty quickly
and sat down, still looking at me with intense surprise.
I suppose I might have guessed, she said, But dear,
what a turn you did give me. I feel quite
faint and gracious. What a day it has been when
I found you dozy off like a great well. No
one wants to be rude, did I, But I can
tell you I had more than half a mind to

(01:15:28):
go at your face. I'm glad you didn't, I said,
And really, you know it wasn't my fault. It was
that stuff they were burning on the path. I know
that well enough, she said. But to come back to
the point, all this anxieties made me as empty in
myself as a clean saucer. Just what I was saying,
if you are hungry, you can say that again. Say it,
just once more, she said, And her eyes grew narrow

(01:15:51):
as she said it. And I shall What shall you do?
I asked for she stopped Suddenly she calmed herself. Oh,
you know how it is when one been all excited
like and worked up, we all say more than we mean.
But's that about dry bread? Well there, I simply can't
bear it. It's a wicked, cruel untruth, that's what it is.
And besides, you can't be going to eat all the

(01:16:12):
whole of what she's put down for you. Excitement was
coming on again, and she ended with a loud, ill
tempered mew. Well, I gave her what she seemed to want,
and shortly after, worn out, doubtless with the fatigues of
the day, she went to sleep on a chair, not
even caring to follow the maid downstairs when things were
cleared away. End of chapter five, Chapter six of the

(01:16:41):
Five Jars. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain
recording by Peter Yearsley The Five Jars by M. R. James,
Chapter six, The Cat, Wag, Slim, and others. I got
out my precious casket. I sat by the window and
watched the moon shone out. The lid of the box

(01:17:03):
loosened in due course, and I touched my forehead with
the ointment. But neither at once, nor for some little
time after, did I notice any fresh power coming to me.
With the moon up came also the little town, and
no sooner were the doors of the houses leveled with
the grass than the boys were out of them and
running in some numbers towards my window. In fact, some

(01:17:26):
slipped out of their own windows, not waiting for the
doors to be available. Wag was the first. Slim, more
sedate came among the crowd that followed. These were still
the only two who felt no hesitation about talking to me.
The others were all fully occupied in exploring the room.
To morrow. I said, after some sort of how do

(01:17:48):
you dos? Had been exchanged? You'll be flying all over
the place. I suppose, yes, said Wag shortly. But I
want to know, I say, Slim, what was it we
wanted first? Wasn't there a mis sit from your father?
Said Slim. Oh, yes, of course. If they're about the house,
he said, give them horse shoes. If there's a bat ball,
squirt at it. He thinks there's a squirt in the

(01:18:08):
tall house. Oh, there's a cat. I must. After delivering
all this in one sentence, he rushed to the edge
of the table and took a kind of header into
the midst of the unfortunate animal, who, however, only moaned
or crowed without waking, and turned partly over on her back.
Slim remained sitting on a book and gazing soberly at me. Well,

(01:18:30):
I said, it's very kind of Wag's father to send
me a message, but I must say I can't make
much of it. Slim nodded, so he said, and he
said you'd see when the time came. Of course, I
don't know myself. I've never seen a bat ball, Wagg
says he has, But you never know with Wag. Well,
I must do the best I can, I suppose. But

(01:18:52):
look here, Slim, I wish you could tell me one
or two things. What are you? What do they call you?
They call me slim and the whole of us they
call the right people, said slim, But it's no good
asking us much because we don't know. And besides, it
isn't good for us. How do you mean? Why? You see?
Our job is to keep the little things right, and

(01:19:13):
if we do more than that, or if we try
to find out much more, then we burst. And is
that the end of you? Oh? No, he said, cheerfully,
But that's one of the things. It's no good asking.
And if you don't do your job, what's then? Oh
then they get smaller and have no sense, he said,
they not we I noticed. I see. Well, now you

(01:19:36):
go to school, don't you? He nodded. What for isn't
that likely to be bad for you? I hardly liked
to say make you burst? No, he said, you see,
it's to learn our job. We have to be told
what used to go on, so as we can put
things right or keep them right. And the owls, you see,

(01:19:57):
they remember a long way back, but they don't know, oh,
any more than we do about the swell things. I
was very shy about putting the next question I had
in mind, but I felt I must. Now do you
know how old you are or how long it takes
you to grow up, or how how long you go
on when you are grown up. He pressed his hands

(01:20:18):
to his head, and I was dreadfully afraid for the
moment that it might be swelling and would burst. But
it was not so bad as that. After a few
seconds he looked up and said, I think it's seven
times seven moons since I went to school, and seven
times seven times seven moons before I grow up. And

(01:20:39):
the rest is no good asking. But but it's all right,
upon which he smiled. And this I may say, was
the most part of what I ventured to ask any
of them about themselves. But at other times I gathered
that as long as they did their job, nothing could
injure them. And they were regularly measured, all of them

(01:21:01):
to see if they were getting smaller, and a careful
record kept. But if anyone lost as much as a
quarter of his height, he was doomed, and he crept
off out of the settlement. Whether such a one ever
came back, I could not be sure. Most of the failures,
and they were not common, went and lived in hollow
trees or by brooks, and were happy enough, but in

(01:21:24):
a feeble way, not remembering much nor able to make anything.
And it was supposed that very slowly they shrunk to
the size of a pin's point, and probably to nothing.
All the same, it was believed that they could recover
many other things that you would have asked. I did, not,
being anxious to avoid giving trouble. But this time, anyhow,

(01:21:47):
I felt I had catechized Slim long enough, so I
broke off and said, what can Wag be doing all
this while? There's no knowing? Said Slim, but he's very quiet.
For him, either he's doing something awful or he's asleep.
I saw him with the cat last. I said you
might go and look at her. He walked to the
edge of the table and said, why he is asleep?

(01:22:09):
And so he was with his head on the cat's
chest under her chin, which she had turned up, and
she had put her front paws together over the top
of his head. As for the others, I described them
sitting in a circle in a corner of the room,
also very quiet. I imagine they were a little afraid
of doing much without Wag, and also of waking him.

(01:22:30):
But I could not make out what they were doing,
so I asked Slim racing earwigs I should think, he said,
with something of contempt. Well, I hope they won't leave
them about when they go. I don't like earwigs, who does,
he said, But they'll take them away all right. They're
prize one, some of them. I went over and looked
at the racing for a little. The course was neatly

(01:22:52):
marked out, with small lights sprouting out of the boards,
and the circle was at the winning post, the starters
being at the other end, some six feet away. I
watched one heat. The earwigs seemed to me neither very
speedy nor very intelligent, and all except one were apt
to stop in mid course and engage in personal encounters

(01:23:13):
with each other. I was beginning to wonder how long
this would go on. When Wag woke up. Like most
of us, he was not willing to allow that he
had been asleep. I thought I'd just lie down a bit,
he said, And then I didn't want to bustle your cat,
so I stopped there. And now I want to know, Slim,
I say, what was it you were asking me? Me

(01:23:34):
asking you? I don't know. Oh, yes, you do what
he was doing the other time before we came in.
I didn't ask you that you asked me. Well, it
doesn't matter who asked turning to me, what were you doing?
I don't know, I said, was it these things I
was using? Taking up a pack of cards or something

(01:23:54):
like this? I held up a book, yes, that one.
What were you doing with it? What's it for? We
call it reading a book? And I tried to explain
what the idea was and read out a few lines.
It happened to be Pickwick. They were absorbed, Slim said
half to himself, something like a glass, which I thought

(01:24:15):
quite meaningless at the time. Then I showed them a
picture in another book that they made out very quickly.
But when's it going to move on? Said Slim? Never,
I said, ours stop just like that? Always do yours?
Move on? Of course they do. Look here. He laid
down on the tablecloth and pressed his forehead on it,
but evidently could make nothing of it. It's all rough,

(01:24:38):
he said. I gave him a sheet of paper. That's better,
and he laid down again in the same posture for
a few seconds. Then he got up and began rubbing
the paper all over with the palms of his hands.
As he did so, a colored picture came out pretty quickly,
and when it was finished, he drew aside to let
me see, and said, somewhat bashfully, I don't think I've

(01:24:59):
got it quite, but I meant it. For what happened
the other evening, he had certainly not got it right,
as far as I was concerned. It was a view
of the window of the house seen from outside by moonlight,
and there was a back view of a row of
figures with their elbows on the sill. So far, so good.
But inside the open window was standing a figure which

(01:25:21):
was plainly, much too plainly I thought meant for me,
far too short and fat, far too red faced, and
with an owlish expression which I am sure I never wear.
This person was now seen to move his hand, a
very poor hand with only about three fingers, to his side,
and pull apparently out of his body a round object

(01:25:42):
more or less like a watch at any rate. It
was white on one side, with black marks and yellow
on the other, and laid down in front of him.
At this the figures at the window silled, threw up
their arms in all directions, and fell or slid down
like so many dolls. Then the picture began to get
fainter and disappeared from the paper. Slim looked at me expectantly. Well,

(01:26:06):
I said, it's very interesting to see how you do it,
But is that the best likeness of me that you
can make? What's wrong with it? Said he? Isn't it
handsome enough or something? I heard Wag throw himself down
on the table, and looking at him, I saw that
he had got both hands pressed over his mouth. May
I ask what the joke is? I said, rather dryly,

(01:26:28):
for it is surprising how touchy one can be over
one's personal appearance, even at my time of life. He
looked up for an instant at me, and then gasped
and hid his face again. Slim went up to him
and kicked him in the ribs. Where's your manners, he said,
in a loud whisper. Wagg rolled over and sat up,
wiping his eyes. I'm very sorry, he said, I'm sure

(01:26:51):
I don't know what I was laughing for Slim whistled, well,
said Wag. What was I him? Of course? And you
know perfectly well, oh was I. But perhaps you'll tell
me what there is to laugh at about him, said
Wagg rather basely. I thought so, as Slim put his
finger to his lip and looked unhappy, I interrupted. Get

(01:27:13):
up a minute, Wagg, I said, I want to see something,
What said he, jumping up at once? Stand back to
back with Slim, if you don't cry, and that's it,
dear me, I thought you were taller than that. You
looked to me taller last night. I mistake. I dare say,
all right, thanks. But there they stood gazing at each
other with horror, and I felt I had been trifling

(01:27:36):
with a most serious subject. So I laughed and said,
don't disturb yourselves. I was only chaffing you, Wag, because
you seemed to be doing something of the kind to me.
Slim understood, and heaved a sigh of relief. Wagg sat
down on a book and looked reproachfully upon me. Neither
said a word. I was very much ashamed, and begged

(01:27:57):
their pardon as nicely as I knew. How luckily, Wag
was soon convinced that I was not in earnest, and
he recovered his spirits directly. All right, he said, nodding
at me. Did I hear you say he didn't like earwigs?
That's worth remembering, Slim. This reduced me at once. I
tried to point out that he had begun it and

(01:28:17):
that it would be a mean revenge and very hard
on the earwigs if he filled my room with them,
for I should be obliged to kill all I could.
Why he said, they needn't be real earwigs. My own
tickle every bit as much as real ones. This was
no better for me, and I tried to make more
appeals to his better feelings. He did not seem to

(01:28:37):
be listening very attentively, though his eyes were fixed on me.
What's that on your neck? He said suddenly, And at
the same moment I felt a procession of legs walking
over my skin. I brushed at it hastily, and something
seemed to fall on the table. No the other sign,
I mean, said he, And again I felt the same
horrid tickling, and went through the same exercises with a

(01:28:58):
face I've no doubt cont aughtered with terror. Anyhow, it
seemed to amuse them very much. Wag, in fact, was
quite unable to speak, and could only point. It was
dull of me not to have realized at once that
these were his earwigs and not real ones. But now
I did, And though I still felt the tickling, I
did not move, but sat down and gazed severely at him.

(01:29:22):
Soon he got the better of his mirth and said,
I think we're quits now. Then, with sudden alarm, I say,
what's become of the others? The bell hasn't gone, has it?
How should I know? I said, if you hadn't been
making all this disturbance, perhaps we might have heard it.
He took a flying leap and extraordinary feet It was
from the edge of the table to a chair in

(01:29:43):
the window, scrambled up to the sill and gazed out.
It's all right, he said, in a faint voice of
infinite relief, let himself down limply to the floor, and
climbed slowly up my leg to his former place. Well,
I said, the bell hasn't gone, it seemed. But where
are the rest? I've hardly seen anything of them. Oh,

(01:30:04):
you go and find them, Slim. I'm worn out with
all these frights. Slim went to the farther end of
the table, prospected, and returned. He reported, them all right,
but they're having rather a slow time of it. I
think I too, got up, walked round and looked. They
were seated in a solemn circle on the floor, round
the cat, who was now curled up and fast asleep

(01:30:26):
on a round footstool. Not a word was being said
by anybody. I thought I had better address them, so
I said, gentlemen, I'm afraid I've been very inattentive to
you this evening. Isn't there anything I can do to
amuse you? Won't you come up on the table. You're
welcome to walk up my leg if you find that convenient.
I was almost sorry I had spoken the moment after,

(01:30:47):
for they made but one rush at my legs as
I stood by the table, and the sensation was rather
like that I imagine of a swarm of rats climbing up
one's trousers. However, it was over in a few seconds,
and all of them, over a dozen, were with wag
and slim on the table, except one, who, whether by
mistake or on purpose, went on climbing me by way

(01:31:08):
of my waistcoat buttons, rather deliberately, until he reached my shoulder.
I didn't object, of course, but I turned round, which
made him catch at my ear, and went back to
my chair, seated, in which I felt rather as if
I was presiding at a meeting. The one on my
shoulder sat down, and I thought, folded his arms and
looked at his friends with some triumph. Wagg evidently took

(01:31:31):
this to be a liberty my word. He said, what
do you mean by it? Wisp? Come off it. Wisp
was a little daunted, as I judged by his fidgeting somewhat,
but put a bold face on it and said, why
should I come off? I put in a word, I
don't mind his being here. I dare say not. That's
not the point, said Wag. Are you coming down? No,

(01:31:55):
said Wisp, not for you. But his tone was rather
blustering than very well, don't they said Wag, And I
expected him to run up and pull Wisp down by
the legs, but he didn't do that. He took something
out of the breast of his tunic, put it in
his mouth, laid down on his stomach, and with his
eyes on Wisp, puffed out his cheeks. Two or three

(01:32:18):
seconds passed, during which I felt Wisp shifting about on
his perch and breathing quickly. Then he gave a sharp
shriek which went right through my head, slipped rapidly down
my chest and legs, and on to the floor, where
he continued to squeal and run about like a mad thing.
To the great amusement of every one on the table.
Then I saw what was the matter. All round his

(01:32:39):
head were a multitude of little sparks which flew about
him like a swarm of bees, every now and then,
settling and coming off again, And I suppose burning him
every time if he beat them off, there tacked his hands,
so he was in a bad way. After watching him
for about a minute from the edge of the table,
Wag called out, do you apologize? Yes, he screamed, all right,

(01:33:01):
said Wagg. Stand still, stand still, you back? How can
I get em back? If you don't. Wag was back
to me, and I couldn't see what he did, But
Wisp sat down on the carpet, free of sparks, and
wiped his face and neck with his handkerchief for some
time while the rest gradually recovered from their laughter. You
can come up again now, said Wag, And so he did,

(01:33:22):
though he was slow and shy about it. Why didn't
he send sparks at Wag, said I to Slim. He
hasn't got em to send, was the answer. It's only
the captain of the moon. Well, now, what about a
little piece and quiet, I said, And you know I've
never been introduced to you all properly. Wouldn't it be
a good idea to do that before the bell goes?

(01:33:44):
Very well, said Wagg, We'll do it properly. You bring
him up one at a time, Slim, and to me,
you put your son hand out on the table. I
sun hand, Wag, yes, sun hand, don't you know? He
held up his right hand, then his left sun hand,
moon hand, day hand, night hand, star hand, cloud hand,

(01:34:08):
and so on. I thank you. This was done, And
meanwhile Slim forced the troop into a queue and beckoned
them up one by one. Wag stood on a book
on the right and proclaimed the name of each. First,
he had made me arrange my right hand edgeways on
the table with the forefinger out. Then Gold, said Wag.

(01:34:30):
Gold stepped forward and made a lovely bow, which I
returned with an inclination of my head. Then took as
much of my forefinger top joint in his right hand
as he could manage, bent over it and shook it,
or tried to, and then took up a position on
the left and watched the next comer. The ceremony was
the same for every one, but not all The boughs

(01:34:50):
were equally elegant. Some of the boys were jocular and
shook my finger with both hands, and a great display
of effort. These were frowned upon by Wag. I need
not set them all down. Now were all of the
same kind as you have heard. There was Red, wise,
dart Sprat, and so on. After Wisp, who came last
and was rather humble. Wag called out Slim, and after

(01:35:14):
him descended and presented himself in the same form. And
now he said, perhaps you'll tell us your name. I
did so. One is always a little shamefaced about it.
I don't know why. In full he whistled too much.
He said, what's the easiest you can do? After some thought,
I said, what about M? Or N much better? If

(01:35:37):
M's all right for you, it'll do for us. So
M was agreed on. I was still rather afraid that
the rank and file had been passing a dull evening
and would not come again, And I tried to express
as much to them, but they said, all, oh, no, M,
Why we found out all sorts of things? Really? What

(01:35:57):
sort of things? Well, inside the wall in that corner,
there's the biggest spider I've ever seen. For one thing,
good gracious, I said, I hasten. I hope it can't
get out. It would have to night if we hadn't
stopped up the hole. Something's been helping it to gnaw through,
has it? Said wagg My word, that looks bad. What

(01:36:18):
was it made the hole? Some called out a bat,
and some a rat. It doesn't matter much for that,
said Slim, So long as it's safe. Now, where is it?
Come down to the bottom, and saying awful things, Red answered, well,
I am obliged to you, I said, anything else. There's
a lot of this stuff under the floor, said Dart,

(01:36:40):
pointing with his foot at a half crown which lay
on the table. Is there whereabouts? Said I? Oh, but
I was forgetting. I can look after that myself. Yes,
of course you can, they said. And lots of things
happened here before you came. We were watching the old
man and the woman. They were the worst. Weren't they read?
Do you mean you've been here before? I asked, no, no,

(01:37:02):
but to night we were looking at them like we
do at school. This was beyond me, and I thought
it would be of no use to ask for more explanations. Besides,
just at this moment we heard the bell. They all
clambered down either me or the chairs or the tablecloth.
Slim lingered a moment to say you'll look out, won't you,
and then followed the rest on to the window sill, where,

(01:37:25):
taking the time from Captain Wagg, they all stood in
a row, bowed with their caps off, straightened up again,
each sang one note, which combined into a wonderful cord,
faced round and disappeared. I followed them to the window
and saw the inhabitants of the houses separating and going
to their homes, with the young ones capering around them.

(01:37:47):
One or two of the elders, Wagg's father in particular,
looked up at me, paused in their walk, and bowed gravely,
which courtesy I returned. I went on gazing until the
lawn was a blank once more, and then closing and
fastening the living room window, I betook myself to the
bedroom the end of chapter six Chapter seven of The

(01:38:17):
Five Jars. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain
recording by Peter Yearsley The Five Jars by M. R. James,
Chapter seven, The bat Ball. It had certainly been an
eventful day and evening, and I felt that my adventures
could not be quite at an end yet, for I

(01:38:38):
had still to find out what new power or sense
the fourth jar had brought me. I stood and thought,
and tried quite vainly to detect some difference in myself.
And then I went to the window and drew the
curtain aside, and looked out on the road. And within
a few minutes I began to understand. There came walking

(01:38:59):
rapidly along the road a young man, and he turned
in at the garden gate and came straight up the
path to the house door. I began to be surprised,
not at his coming, for it was not so very late,
but at the look of him. He was young, as
I said, rather red faced, but not bad looking, of
the class of a farmer. I thought. He wore biggish

(01:39:21):
brown whiskers, which is not common nowadays, and his hair
was rather long at the back, which also is not
common with young men who want to look smart. But
his hat and his clothes generally were the really odd
part of him. The hat was a sort of low
top hat with a curved brim. It spread out at
the top, and it was brushed rough instead of smooth.

(01:39:42):
His coat was a blue swallow tail with brass buttons.
He had a broad tie wound round and round his neck,
and a gladstone collar. His trousers were tight all the
way down, and had straps under his feet to put
it in the dullest, shortest way. He was dressed in
the fashion of eighty or ninety years ago, as we
read in the ghost stories. Evidently he knew his way

(01:40:05):
about very well. He came straight up to the front door,
and as far as I could tell, into the house.
But I did not hear the door open or shut,
or any steps on the stairs. He must, I thought,
be in my landlady's parlor downstairs. I turned away from
the window, and there was the next surprise. It was

(01:40:25):
as if there was no wall between me and the
sitting room. I saw straight into it. There was a
fire in the grate, and by it were sitting face
to face an old man and an old woman. I
thought at once of what one of the boys had said,
and I looked curiously at them. They were, you would
have said, as fine specimens of an old fashioned yeoman

(01:40:45):
and his wife as any one could wish to see.
The man was hale and red faced, with gray whiskers,
smiling as he sat bolt upright in his arm chair.
The old lady was rosy and smiling too, with a
smart silk dress and a smart cap, and tidy ringlets
on each side of her face, a regular picture of
wholesome old age. And yet I hated them both. The

(01:41:09):
young man, their son, I suppose, was in the room,
standing at the door with his hat in his hand,
looking timidly at them. The old man turned half round
in his chair, looked at him, turned down the corner
of his mouth, looked across at the old lady, and
they both smiled as if they were amused. The son
came farther into the room, put his hat down, leaned

(01:41:32):
with both hands on the table, and began to speak,
though nothing could be heard, with an earnestness that was
painful to see, because I could be certain his pleading
would be of no use. Sometimes he spread out his
hands and shook them. Every now and again he brushed
his eyes. He was very much moved, and so was
I merely watching him. The old people were not. They

(01:41:56):
leaned forward a little in their chairs, and sometimes smiled
each other again as if they were amused. At last,
he had done, and stood with his hands before him
quivering all over. His father and mother leaned back in
their chairs and looked at each other. I think they
said not a single word. The son caught up his hat,

(01:42:19):
turned round and went quickly out of the room. Then
the old man threw back his head and laughed, and
the old lady laughed too, not so boisterously. I turned
back to the window. It was as I expected outside
the garden gate. In the road, a young, slight girl
in a large poke uponnet and shawl and rather short

(01:42:42):
skirted dress was waiting in great anxiety. As I could
see by the way she held to the railings. Her
face I could not see. The young man came out.
She clasped her hands, he shook his head. They went
off together slowly up the road, he with bowed shoulder
supporting her. She, I dare say, crying again. I looked

(01:43:05):
round to the sitting room. The wall hid it. Now.
It sounds a dull, ordinary scene enough, but I can
assure you it was horribly disturbing to watch. And the cruel,
calm way in which the father and mother, who looked
so nice and worthy and were so abominable, treated their
son was like nothing I had ever seen. Of course,

(01:43:28):
I know now what the effect of the fourth jar was.
It made me able to see what had happened in
any place. I did not yet know how far back
the memories would go, or whether I was obliged to
see them if I did not want to. But it
was clear to me that the boys were sometimes taught
in this way. We were watching them like we do

(01:43:48):
at school. One of them said, And though the grammar
was poor, the meaning was plain, and I would ask
Slim about it when we next met. Meanwhile, I must
say I hoped the gift would not go on working
instead of letting me go to sleep. It did not.
Next day I met my landlady employing herself in the

(01:44:08):
garden and asked her about the people who had formerly
lived in the house. Oh, yes, said she, I can
tell you about them. For my father, he remembered all.
Mister and missus ld quite well. When he was a
slip of a lad. They wasn't liked in the place,
neither of them, partly through being so hard like to
their work people, and partly from them treating their only

(01:44:32):
son so bad, I meant to say, turning him right
off because he married without asking permission. Well, no, doubt
that's what he shouldn't have done. But my father said
it was a very nice, respectable young girl he married.
And it do seem hard for them never to say
a word of kindness all those years and leave every
penny away from the young people. What became of them,

(01:44:54):
do you say, sir? Why? I believe they emigrated away
to the United States of America and never was heard
of again. But the old people they lived on here
and I never heard. But what they was easy in
their minds right up to the day of their death.
Nice lucky old people. They was too. My father used
to say, seemed as if butter ordn't melt in their mouths,

(01:45:17):
as the saying is now. I don't know when I've
thought of them last, but I recollect my father speaking
of them as well. And the way there spoke of
on their stone that lays just to the right hand
side as you go up the churchyard path. Well you'd
think there never was such people, But I believe that
was put up by them that got the property. Now

(01:45:39):
what was that name again? But about that time I
thought I must be getting on. I also thought, as before,
that it would be well for me not to go
very far away from the house. As I strolled up
the road, I pondered over the message which Wag's father
had been so good as to send me. If if

(01:46:00):
there about the house, give them horse shoes, if there's
a bat ball squirt at it. I think there's a
squirt in the tool house. All very well, no doubt.
I had one horse shoe, but that was not much,
and I could explore the tool house and borrow the
garden squirt, but more horse shoes. At that moment I

(01:46:20):
heard a squeak and a rustle in the hedge and
could not help poking my stick into it to see
what had made the noise. The stick clinked against something
with its iron ferrell, an old horse shoe, evidently shown
to me on purpose by a friendly creature. I picked
it up, and not to make a long story of it.
I was helped by much the same devices to increase

(01:46:43):
my collection to four, and now I felt it would
be wise to turn back. As I turned into the
back garden and came in sight of the little potting
shed or tall house or whatever it was, I started,
someone was just coming out of it. I gave a
loud cough. The party turned round hastily. It was an
old man in a sleeved waistcoat made up I thought

(01:47:06):
to look like an odd man. He touched his hat
civilly enough and showed no surprise, but oh horror, he
held in his hand the garden squirt morning, I said,
going to do a bit of watering, he grinned. I
just stepped up to borrow this off the lady. There's
a lot of floy gets on the plants this weather,

(01:47:27):
I dare say there is, By the way, what a
lot of horse shoes you people leave? About? How many
do you think I picked up this morning, just along
the road. Look here, and I held one out to him,
and his hand came slowly out to meet it, as
though he could not keep it back. His face wrinkled
up into a horrible scowl. And what he was going

(01:47:47):
to say, I don't know. But just then his hand
clutched the horse shoe and he gave a shout of pain,
dropped the squirt, and the horse shoe whipped round as
quick as any young man could, and was off round
the corner of the shed. Before I had really taken
in what was happening. Before I tried to see what
had become of him. I snatched up the squirt and
the horse shoe and almost dropped them again. Both were

(01:48:09):
pretty hot, the squirt much the hotter of the two,
but both of them cooled down in a few seconds.
By that time, my old man was completely out of sight,
and I should not wonder if he was away some time,
for perhaps you know, and perhaps you don't know the
effect of an old horse shoe on that sort of people.
Not only is it of iron, which they can't abide,

(01:48:31):
but when they see, or still more touch the shoe,
they have to go all over the ground that the
shoe went over, since it was last in the blacksmith's
hands only. I doubt if the same shoe will work
for more than one witch or wizard. Anyway, I put
that one aside when I went indoors, and then I
sat and wondered what would come next and how I

(01:48:53):
could best prepare for it. It occurred to me that
it would do no harm to put one of the
shoes where it couldn't be seen at once, And it
also struck me that under the rug just inside the
bedroom door would not be a bad place. So there
I put it, and then fell to smoking and reading
a knock at the door. Come in, said I, a

(01:49:15):
little curious, But note was only the maid. As she
passed me, which she did quickly, I heard her mutter
something about unkerchiefs for the wash, and I thought there
was something not quite usual about the voice, so I
looked round. She was back to me, but the dress
and the height and the hair was what I was

(01:49:35):
accustomed to see. Into the bedroom, she hurried, and the
next thing was a scream like that of at least
two cats in agony. I could just see her leap
into the air, come down again on the rug, scream again,
and then bundle hopping, limping, I don't know what, out
of the room and down the stairs. I did catch
sight of her feet, though they were bare, they were greenish,

(01:49:57):
and they were webbed, and I think there were some
large white blisters on the soles of them. You would
have thought that the commotion would have brought the household
about my ears, but it did not, and I can
only suppose that they heard no more of it than
they did of the things which the birds and so
on say to each other. Next, please, said I, as

(01:50:18):
I lighted a pipe. But if you will believe it,
there was no next lunch, the afternoon tea all passed by,
and I was completely undisturbed. They must be saving up
for the bat ball. I thought, what in the world
can it be? As candle time came on and the

(01:50:38):
moon began to make herself felt, I took up my
old position at the window, with the garden squirt at
hand and two full jugs of water on the floor.
Plenty more to be got from the bathroom if wanted.
The leaden box of the five jars was in the
right place for the moonbeams to fall on it, but
no moonbeams would touch it to night. Why was this?

(01:51:00):
There were no clouds yet between the orb of the
moon and my box. There was some obstruction. High up
in the sky was a dancing film, thick enough to
cast a shadow on the area of the window. And
ever as the moon rose higher in the heavens, this
obstruction became more solid. It seemed gradually to get its

(01:51:20):
bearings and settle into the place where it would shut
off the light from the box most completely. I began
to guess it was the bat ball, neither more nor
less than a dense cloud of bats, gradually forming itself
into a solid ball. And coming lower and nearer to
my window. Soon they were only about thirty feet off,

(01:51:40):
and I felt that the moment was come. I have
never much liked bats or desired their company, and now
as I studied them through the glass and saw their horrid, little,
wicked faces and winking wings, I felt justified in trying
to make things as unpleasant for them as I could.
I charged the squirt and let fly, and again and
again as quick as I can could fill it. The

(01:52:01):
water spread a bit before it reached the ball, but
not too much to spoil the effect. And the effect
was almost alarming. Some hundreds of bats, all shrieking out
at once, and shrieking with rage and fear, not merely
from the excitement of chasing flies as they generally do.
Dozens of them dropping away with wings too soaked to fly,
some on to the grass, where they hopped and fluttered

(01:52:23):
and rolled in extasies of passion, some into bushes, one
or two plumb onto the path, where they lay motionless.
That was the first tableau. Then came a new feature.
From both sides. There darted into the heart of the ball,
two squadrons of figures, flying at great speed, though without wings,
and perfectly horizontal, with arms joined and straight out in

(01:52:45):
front of them, and almost at the same instant, seven
or eight more plunged into the ball from above, as
if taking headers. The boys were out. I stopped squirting,
for I did not know whether the water would fell
them as it felled the bats. But all cry rose
from below, Go on him, go on him. So I
aimed again, and it was time for a knot of

(01:53:06):
bats just then detached itself from the main body and
flew full face towards me. My shot caught the middle
one on the snout, and as I swung the squirt
to left and right, it disabled four or five others
and discouraged the rest. Meanwhile, the ball was cloven again
and again by the arms of the flying squadrons, which
shot through it from side to side and from top
to bottom, though never as it appeared later, quite through

(01:53:28):
the middle. And though it kept closing up again, it
was plainly growing smaller as more and more of the
bats outside, which were exposed to the squirt, dropped away.
I suddenly felt something alight on my shoulder, and a
voice said in my ear wax says, if you could
throw a shoe into the middle. Now he believes it
would finish them, can you It was, I think Dart

(01:53:50):
who had been sent with the message horseshoes. I suppose
he means, I said, I'll try. Wait till we're out
of the way, said Dart, and was off. A moment more.
I heard not what I was rather expecting, a horn
of elfland, but two strokes on the bell. I saw
the figures of the boys shoot up and away to
left and right, leaving the bat ball clear, and the

(01:54:11):
bats shrieked aloud, I daresay, in triumph. At the enemy's retreat,
there were only two horse shoes left. I had no
idea how they would fly, and I had not much
confidence in my power of aiming. But it must be tried,
and I threw them edgeways like quoits. The first skimmed
the top of the ball. The second went straight through
the middle. Something which the bats in the very center

(01:54:34):
were holding, something soft, was pierced by it and burst.
I think it must have been a globe of jelly
like stuff in a thin skin. The contents spurted out
on to some of the bats and seemed to scald
the fur off them. In an instant and singe up
all the membranes of their wings. They fell down at
once with broken screams. The rest darted off in every direction,

(01:54:56):
and the ball was gone. Now don't be long, said
a from the window sill. I thought I knew what
was meant, and looked to the leaden casket, as if
to make up for lost time. The moonbeam had already
made an opening all round the part on which it shone,
and I had but to turn the other three towards it,
not even very slowly to get the whole lid free.

(01:55:18):
After cleansing my hands in the water, I made trial
of the fifth jar, and as I replaced it, a
chorus of applause and cheering came up from below. The
jars were mine. End of chapter seven, Chapter eight of

(01:55:40):
the Five Jars. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
Recording by Peter Yearsley The Five Jars by m. R. James,
Chapter eight, Wag at Home. There was no scrambling up
to the window sill this time. My visitors shot in
like so many arrows, and brought up on their hands

(01:56:02):
on the tablecloth, or lit on their feet on the
top rail of a chair back, or on my shoulder
as the fancy took them. It would be tedious to
go through all the congratulations and thanks which I offered
and indeed received, for it was important to them that
the jars should not get into wrong hands. Father says,
said Wag, who was sitting on a book as usual.

(01:56:23):
Oh what fun it is to be able to fly again.
And he darted straightened level and butted head first into
the back of Sprat was it who was standing near
the edge of the table. Sprat was merely propelled into
the air a foot or so off and remained standing,
but of course turned round and told Wag what he
thought of him. Wagg returned contentedly to his book. Father says,

(01:56:46):
he resumed. He hopes you'll come and see us now.
He says, you did all right, and he's very glad
the stuff got split, because they'll take moons and moons
to get as much of it together again. He says,
they meant to squirt some of it on you when
they got near enough, and while you were trying to
get it off, they'd have got hold of He pointed
to the box of jars. There was a shyness about

(01:57:06):
mentioning it. Your father's very kind, I said, And I
hope you'll thank him from me, But I don't quite
see how I'm going to get into your house. Fancy
you not knowing? That, said Wagg. I'll tell him you'll come,
and he was out of the window as usual. I
had recourse to Slim. Why you did put some on
your chest, didn't you? Was Slim's question, Yes, but nothing

(01:57:28):
came of it. Well, I believe you can go pretty
well anywhere with that. If you think you can, can
I fly then no, I should say not. I mean,
if you couldn't fly before, you can't. Now how do
you fly? I don't see any wings. No, we never
have wings, and I'm rather glad we don't. The things
that have them are always going wrong. Somehow we just
work it in the proper way with our backs. And

(01:57:50):
there you are like this. He made a slight movement
of his shoulders and was standing in the air an
inch off the table. You never tried that, I suppose,
he went on. No, I said, only in dreams, which
evidently meant nothing to him. Well, now, I said, do
you tell me that if I went to Wagg's house
now I could get inside it. Look at the size

(01:58:12):
I am it doesn't look as if you could. He agreed,
But my father said just the same as Wagg's father
about it. Here Wagg shot on to my shoulder. Are
you coming? Yes? If I knew, how well, come and
try anyhow, very well as you please, anything to oblige.
I picked up a hat and went downstairs. All the

(01:58:32):
rest followed, if you can call it following, when there
was at least as much flying up steps and in
and out of banisters as going down. When we were
out on the path, Wagg said, with more seriousness than usual,
Now you do mean to come into our house, don't you?
Certainly I do. If you wish me to, then that's
all right. This way, there's father. We were on the

(01:58:54):
grass now, and very long it was, and nice and wet.
I thought I should be with all the deer. As
I looked up to see the elder Wag, I very
nearly fell over a large log, which it was very
careless of any one to have left about. But here
was mister Wagg within a yard of me, and to
my extreme surprise, he was quite a sizeable man of

(01:59:15):
middle height, with a sensible, good humored face in which
I could see a strong likeness to his son. We
both bowed and then shook hands, and mister Wagg was
very complimentary and pleasant about the occurrences of the evening.
We've pretty well got the mess cleared up, you see. Yes,
don't be alarmed. He went on and took hold of
my elbow, for he had no doubt seen a bewildered

(01:59:37):
look in my eyes. The fact was, as I suppose
you have made out, not that he had grown to
my size, but that I had come down to his
things right themselves. You'll have no difficulty about getting back
when the time comes. But coming, won't you? You will
expect me to describe the house and the furniture. I
shall not further than to say that it seemed to

(01:59:59):
me to be of a piece with the fashion in
which the boys were dressed. That is, it was like
my idea of a good citizen's house in Queen Elizabeth's time.
And I shall not describe missus Wagg's costume. She did
not wear a ruff anyhow, Wagg, who had been darting
about in the air while we walked to his home,
followed us in on foot. He now reached up to

(02:00:20):
my shoulder. Slim, who came in too was shorter. Haven't
you got any sisters? I took occasion to say to
wagg of course, said he don't you see em? Oh,
I forgot, Come out, you sillies, upon which they came forward,
three nice little girls, each of whom was putting away
something into a kind of locket, which she wore round

(02:00:42):
her neck. No, it is no use asking me what
their dresses were like, none at all. All I know
is that they curts it to me very nicely. And
when we all sat down, the youngest came and put
herself on my knee, as if it was a matter
of course. Why didn't I see you all before? I asked,
I suppose because the flowers were in our hair. Show

(02:01:03):
him what you mean, my dear, said her father. He
doesn't know our ways yet. Accordingly, she opened her locket
and took out of it a small blue flower, looking
as if it was made of enamel, and stuck it
in her hair over her forehead. As she did so,
she vanished, but I could still feel the weight of
her on my knee. When she took it out again,
as no doubt she did, she became visible, put it

(02:01:26):
back in the locket, and smiled agreeably. At me. Naturally,
I had a good many questions to ask about this,
but you will hardly expect me to put them all down.
Becoming invisible in this way was a privilege which the
girls always had till they were grown up, and I suppose,
I may say, came out of course if they presumed
on it. The lockets were taken away for the time being,

(02:01:47):
just in the same way as the boys were sometimes
stopped from flying, as we have seen. But their own
families could always see them, or at any rate the
flowers in their hair, and they could always see each other.
But dear me, how much am I to tell of
the conversation of that evening. One part, at least I
remembered to ask about the pictures of the things that
had happened in former times in places where I chanced

(02:02:10):
to be. Was I obliged to see them, whether they
were pleasant or horrible?

Speaker 2 (02:02:15):
Oh?

Speaker 1 (02:02:15):
No, they said. If you shut your eyes from below
that meant pushing up the lower eyelids, you would be
rid of them, and you would only begin seeing them again,
either if you wanted to, or else if you left
your mind quite blank and were thinking of nothing in particular,
then they would begin to come, and there was no
knowing how old they might be. That depended on how

(02:02:36):
angry or excited, or happy or sad the people had
been to whom they happened. And that reminds me of
another thing. Wagg had got rather fidgety while we were talking,
and was flying up to the ceiling and down again,
and walking on his hands and so forth. When his
mother said, dear, do be quiet. Why don't you take
a glass and amuse yourself with it. Here's the key

(02:02:57):
of the cupboard. She threw it to him, and he
caught it and ran to a tall bureau opposite and
unlocked it. After humming and flitting about in front of
it for a little time, he pulled a thing like
a slate off a shelf where there were a large
number of them. What have you got, said his mother,
the one I didn't get to the end of yesterday
about the dragon. Oh, that's a very good one, said she.

(02:03:19):
I used to be very fond of that. I liked
it awfully as far as I got, he said, and
was betaking him to a settle on the other side
of the room when I asked if I might see it,
and he brought it to me. It was just like
a small looking glass in a frame, and the frame
had one or two buttons or little knobs on it.
Wag put it into my hand and then got behind

(02:03:39):
me and put his chin on my shoulder. That's where
I'd got to, he said, he's just going out through
the forest. I thought at the first glance that I
was looking at a very good copy of a picture.
It was a knight on horseback in plate armor, and
the armor looked as if it had really seen service.
The horse was a massive white beast rather of the

(02:04:00):
horse type, but not so hairy in the hoof. The
background was a wood, chiefly of oak trees, but the
undergrowth was wonderfully painted. I felt that if I looked
into it, I should see every blade of grass and
every bramble leaf. Ready, said Wagg, and reached over and
moved one of the knobs. The knight shook his rein

(02:04:22):
and the horse began to move at a foot pace. Well,
but he can't hear anything, Wag said his father. I
thought you wanted to be quiet, but we'll have it
aloud if you like, said Wagg. He slid aside another knob,
and I began to hear the tread of the horse,
and the creaking of the saddle, and the chink of
the armor, as well as a rising breeze which now

(02:04:42):
came sighing through the wood like a cinema, you will say,
of course, well it was. But there was color and sound,
and you could hold it in your hand, and it
wasn't a photograph but the live thing, which you could
stop at pleasure and look into every detail of it. Well,
I went on reading, as you may say, this glass.

(02:05:03):
In a theater, you know, if you saw a knight
riding through a forest, the effect would be managed by
making the scenery slide backwards past him, And in a
cinema it could all be shortened up by increasing the
pace or leaving out a part of the film. Here
it was not like that. We seemed to be keeping
pace and going along with the night. Presently he began
to sing. He had a loud voice and uttered his

(02:05:26):
words crisply, so that I had no difficulty in making
out the song. It was about a lady who was
very proud and haughty to him, and would have nothing
to say to his suit, And it declared that the
only thing left for him was to lay himself down
under a tree, but he seemed quite cheerful about it,
and indeed neither his complexion nor the glance of his

(02:05:47):
eye gave any sign that he was suffering the pangs
of hopeless love. Suddenly his horse stopped short and snorted uneasily.
The knight left off singing in the middle of a verse,
looked earnestly into the wood the back of the picture,
and then out towards us, and then behind him. He
patted his horse's neck, and then, humming to himself, put

(02:06:08):
on his gauntlets, which were hanging at his saddle bow,
managed somehow to latch or bolt the fastenings of them,
slipped down his visor, and took the hilt of his
sword in one hand and the sheath in the other,
and loosened the blade in the sheath. He had hardly
done this when the horse shied violently and reared and
out of the thicket on the near side of the road.

(02:06:28):
I suppose something shot up in front of him on
the saddle. We all drew in our breath. Don't be frightened, dear,
said missus wagg to the youngest girl, who had given
a sort of jump. He's quite safe this time. I
must say it did not look like it. The beast
that had leapt onto the saddle was tearing with its claws,
drawing back its head and driving it forward again with

(02:06:48):
horrid force against the visor, and was at such close
quarters that the knight could not possibly either draw or
use his sword. It was a horrible beast, too, evidently
a young dragon. As it sat on the saddle, its
head was just about on a level with the knights.
It had four short legs, with long toes and claws.
It clung to the saddle with the hind feet and
tore with the fore feet. As I said, its head

(02:07:11):
was rather long, and it had two pointed ears and
two small sharp horns. Besides, it had bat wings with
which it buffeted the night, But its tail was short.
I don't know whether it had been bitten or cut
off in some previous fight. It was all of a
mustard yellow color. The night was, for the moment, having
a bad time of it, for the horse was plunging

(02:07:32):
and the dragon doing its very worst. The crisis was
not long, though the knight took hold of the right
wing with both hands and tore the membrane upwards to
the root, like parchment. It bled yellow blood, and the
dragon gave a grating scream. Then he clutched it hard
by the neck and managed to wrench it away from
its hold on the saddle. And when it was in

(02:07:52):
the air, he whirled its body heavy as it was,
first over his back and then forward again, and its
neck bone I suppose broke, for it was quite limp.
When he cast it down. He looked down at it
for a little, and, seeing it stir, he got off
with the rein over his arm, drew his sword, cut
the head off, and kicked it away some yards. The

(02:08:13):
next thing he did was to push up his visor,
look upward, mutter something I could not well hear, and
cross himself, after which he said aloud, where man finds
one of a brood, he may look for more, mounted,
turned his horse's head and galloped off the way he
had come. We had not followed him far through the
wood when bother said, Wagg, there's the bell, and he

(02:08:36):
reached over and slid back the knobs in the frame,
and the knight stopped. I was full of questions, but
there was no time to put them. Good knights had
to be said quickly, and father Wagg saw me out
of the front door. I set out on what seemed
a considerable walk across the rough grass towards the enormous
building in which I lived. I suppose I did not

(02:08:59):
really take me many minutes about getting to the path,
and as I stepped on to it rather carefully, for
it was a longish way down. Why without any shock
or any odd feeling, I was my own size again,
and I went to bed, pondering much upon the events
of the day. Well. I began this communication by saying

(02:09:20):
that I was going to explain to you how it
was that I heard something from the owls. And I
think I have explained how it is that I am
able to say that I have done so exactly what
it was that you and I were talking about when
I mentioned the owls, I dare say neither of us remembers.
As you can see, I have had more exciting experiences

(02:09:42):
than merely conversing with them. Interesting and I think unusual
as that is. I have not, of course told you
nearly all there is to tell, but perhaps I have
said enough for the present more if you should wish
it another time. As to present conditions to day, there
is a slight coolness between Whisper and the cat. He

(02:10:03):
made his way into a mouse hole which she was watching,
and enticed her close up to it by scratchings and
other sounds. And then, when she came quite near, taking
great trouble, of course to make no noise whatever, he
put his head out and blew in her face, which
affronted her very much. However, I believe I have persuaded

(02:10:23):
her that he meant no harm. The room is rather
full of them to night wag, and most of the
rest are rehearsing a play which they mean to present
before I go. Slim, who happens not to be wanted
for a time, is maneuvering on the table facing me,
and is trying to produce a portrait of me which
shall be a little less libelous than his first effort.

(02:10:45):
He has just now shown me the final production, with
which he is greatly pleased. I am not farewell. I
am with the usual expression of regard yours. End of
Chapter eight and the end of the Five Jars by M. R.
James