August 8, 2025 • 11 mins
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter sixteen, Ideas of the form of folk concerning our
upper world, the Dancing Specter, their efforts to lay hold
of him, my solemn promise that he should behave himself.
We set out for the city of the make believe eyes,
my amazement at the magnificence of the approaches to it.
(00:21):
We reached the Great Bridge of Silver, and I get
my first glance of the city of Candelabra, brief account
of the wonders spread out before my eyes. Excitement occasioned
by our arrival our silver bed chamber. Although thousands and
thousands of years had gone by since the former folk had,
by constant exposure to the flicker and glare of the
(00:43):
burning gas which their ancestors had discovered and made use
of to illume their underground world, gradually lost their sense
of sight, and then, in consequence of the deep and
awful silence that forever reigned about them, had also lost
their sense of hearing, and naturally thereafter their power of speech.
Yet marvelous to relate, they still kept within their minds
(01:07):
dim and shadowy traditions of the upper world, and the
mighty lamp, as they called the sun, which burned for
twelve hours, and then went out, leaving the world in
darkness until the spirits of the air could trim it again.
And strange to say, many of the unreal things of
the Upper world had been, by the workings of their minds,
(01:27):
transformed into realities, while the realities had become the merest
cobwebs of the brain. For instance, the shadows cast by
our bodies in the sunlight and forever following at our heels,
they had come to think were actual creatures, are doubles,
so to speak, And that on account of these dancing specters,
as they called them, which dogged our footsteps for our
(01:51):
life long, sitting like Marjoy's at our feasts, it was
utterly impossible for the people of the upper world to
be entirely happy as they were, And it occurred to
them at once that I must have such a double
following at my heels. So several times they suddenly joined hands, and,
forming a circle about me, gradually closed up with intent
(02:13):
to lay hold of the dancing specter. This they did, too,
after I had assured them that what they had in
mind was the mere shadow cast by a person walking
in the light. But as they had absolutely no idea
of the nature of light. I only had my trouble
for my pains. Nor did they give over making every
now and then the most frantic and laughable efforts to
(02:36):
catch the little dancing gentlemen, who, as they were bound
to think, was quietly trudging along at my heels. But
whoso they informed me, was far quicker in his motions
than any escaping water or falling object. Finally, they held
one of their silent but very excited pow wows, during
which the thousand lightning like pressures and tappings which they
(02:57):
made upon each other's bodies gave the spectator the idea
that there were three deaf and dumb schoolboys engaged in
a scrimmage over a bag of marbles. And then they
informed me that they had resolved to permit Bulgar and
me to enter their city, provided I would give them
the word of a nobleman that I would restrain my
nimble footed double from doing them any harm. I made
(03:20):
them a most solemn promise that he should behave himself.
Whereupon they greeted both Vulgar and me as brothers, stroking
our hair, patting our heads, and kissing me on the cheeks.
And what was more, they told us their names, which
were lung thumbs, square nose, and shuggy brows. All this
time I had been every now and then casting anxious
(03:40):
glances on ahead of me, for I was dying of
impatience to enter the marvelous city of the ant people.
I say, marvelous, dear friends. For though many had been
the wonderful things I had seen in my lifetime in
the far away corners of the upper world, yet here
was a sight which, as it gradually unfolded itself before
me my eyes shackled my very heart and caused me
(04:03):
to gasp for breath. It was with no little surprise
at the very outset that I discovered that the walls
and floor of the beautiful passage through which the pseudopsies
were leading Bulgar and me were of pure silver, the
former being composed of polished panels ornamented with finely executed
chasings and carvings, and the latter as had in fact,
(04:25):
all the floors and streets and passages of the city,
having upon their polished surfaces slightly raised characters, which I
will explain later. But as one passage opened into another,
and then four or more, all centered in a vast
circular chamber, which we traversed with our three silent guides,
only to interchambers and quarters of greater size and beauty,
(04:48):
all brilliantly lighted by rows of the same glorious candelabra,
upholding clusters of tongues of flame. I could compare the
scene to nothing save a series of magnificent ballroom and
banquet halls, out of which the happy guests had been
suddenly driven by the deep and awful rumble of an
earthquake shock, the lights having been left burning. Now the
(05:11):
scene began to change. Longthums, who was leading the way
and in whose large palm my little hand lay completely lost,
suddenly turned to the right and led me up an
arched way. I saw that we were crossing a bridge
over a stream, as black and sluggish as the leaf itself.
But such a bridge never had my eye rested upon
(05:32):
so light an arie, a span springing from bank to bank,
not the plain and solid work of the stonemason, but
the fair and cunning result of the metal worker's skill,
like the labor of love, delicate yet strong, and almost
too beautiful for use. Two rows of silver lamps of
exquisite workmanship, crowned its gracefully arching sides. And when we
(05:56):
stood upon its highest bend, Longthams halted and wrote upon
his tablet, Now, little Baron, we are about to enter
the dwelling place of our people. Thy head is large,
and there is no doubt much of wisdom stored away
in thy brain makes such use of it as not
to disturb the perfect happiness of our nation. For no
(06:17):
doubt many of our people will be suspicious of thee
and for the first time in thousands of years, a
pseudopsy will lay him down to sleep, and in his
dreams feel the touch of the dancing specter of the
upper world. I promised long Thumbs that he should have
no reason to be dissatisfied with me, And then making
an excuse that I was awary, I feasted my eyes
(06:39):
for several moments upon the glorious scenes spread out before me.
It was the city of the former folk, in all
its splendor, a splendor alas unseen by unknown too the
very people dwelling in it, for to them its silver
walls and arches, its endless rows of glorious candelabra uplifting
their countless clusters of never dying jets of flame, its
(07:02):
exquisitely carved and chiseled portals and gateways, Its graceful chairs
and settees and beds and couches and tables, and lamps
and basins and ewers, and thousands of articles of furniture,
all in purest silver, hammered or wrought by the cunning
hands of their ancestors while they still were possessed of
the power of sight. Could only be known to these
(07:26):
their descendants by the sole sense of feeling. From the
lofty ceilings of corridors and archways, from the jutting ornaments
of the house fronts, from cornice and coping, from the
four sides of columns, and from the corners of cupolas
and minarets. Here and there and everywhere hung silver lamps
of more than oriental beauty of form and finish, all
(07:48):
with their never dying tongues of flame, sending forth a soft,
though unsteady light to fall upon sightless eyes. But yet
these countless flames, by the aid of which I was
enabled to gaze upon the splendor of this city of
silver palaces, were life, if not light to the pseudopsis,
For they warmed these vast subterranean depths and filled them
(08:12):
with a deliciously soft and strangely balmy air. And yet
to think that Bulgar and I were the only to
living creatures to be able to look upon the scene
of almost celestial beauty and radiance. It made me sad
and plunged me into such a fit of deep abstraction
that it required a second gentle tug of long Thumb's
hand to bring me to myself. As we crossed the
(08:36):
bridge and entered the city proper, I was delighted to
note that the streets and open squares were ornamented with
hundreds of statues, all in solid silver, and that they
represented specimens of a race of great beauty of person.
And then it occurred to me how fortunate it was
that the pseudopsis could not gaze upon these images of
(08:57):
their ancestors, and thus become living witness of their own
woeful fallen away from the former physical grace of their race.
Now like human ants that they were, the farmer folk
began to swarm forth from their dwellings on every side
of the city, and my keen ear caught the low
shuffling sound of their bare feet over the silver streets
(09:18):
as they closed in about us, their arms flashing in
the light, and their faces lined with strange emotions as
they learned of the arrival among them of two creatures
from the upper world. They were all glad, men and
women alike, in silk garments of a chestnut brown, and
I had at once concluded that they drew this material
(09:38):
from the same sources as the Macaminkys. For dear friends,
you must not get an idea that the former folk
were not well deserving of the name which dan Fum
had bestowed upon them. They were genuine human ants, and
except when sleeping, always at work. It was true that
since their blindness had come upon them, they had not
been able to add a single column or archway to
(10:01):
the Silver City. But in all the ordinary concerns of life,
they were quite as industrious as ever, chasing, carving, chiseling, planting, weaving, knitting,
and doing a thousand and one things that you and I,
with our two good eyes would find it hard to accomplish.
I had made known to long Thumbs the fact that
(10:21):
Bulgar and I were both very tired and weary from
our long tramp, and that we crave to have some
refreshment set before us, and then to be permitted to
go to rest at once, promising that after we had
had several hours good sleep, we would take the greatest
pleasure in being presented to the worthy inhabitants of the
silver city. It was astonishing with what rapidity this request
(10:44):
of mine spread from man to man. Long thumbs made
it known to two at the same time, and these
two to four, and these four to eight, and these
eight to sixteen, and so on. You see, it wouldn't
take long at that rate to tell a million. Like magic,
the former folk disappeared from the streets, and in a
sort of orderly confusion faded from my sight. Bulgar and
(11:07):
I were right glad to be conducted to a silver bedchamber,
where the travelers every want seemed to be anticipated. The
only thing that bothered us was we had not been
accustomed to keep the light burning upon going to bed,
and this made us both a little wakeful at first,
but we were too tired to let it keep us
from dropping off after a few moments. For the mattress
(11:28):
was soft and springy enough to satisfy any one, and
I'm sure that no one could have complained that the
house wasn't quiet enough. End of chapter sixteen.
Chapter sixteen, Ideas of the form of folk concerning our
upper world, the Dancing Specter, their efforts to lay hold
of him, my solemn promise that he should behave himself.
We set out for the city of the make believe eyes,
my amazement at the magnificence of the approaches to it.
(00:21):
We reached the Great Bridge of Silver, and I get
my first glance of the city of Candelabra, brief account
of the wonders spread out before my eyes. Excitement occasioned
by our arrival our silver bed chamber. Although thousands and
thousands of years had gone by since the former folk had,
by constant exposure to the flicker and glare of the
(00:43):
burning gas which their ancestors had discovered and made use
of to illume their underground world, gradually lost their sense
of sight, and then, in consequence of the deep and
awful silence that forever reigned about them, had also lost
their sense of hearing, and naturally thereafter their power of speech.
Yet marvelous to relate, they still kept within their minds
(01:07):
dim and shadowy traditions of the upper world, and the
mighty lamp, as they called the sun, which burned for
twelve hours, and then went out, leaving the world in
darkness until the spirits of the air could trim it again.
And strange to say, many of the unreal things of
the Upper world had been, by the workings of their minds,
(01:27):
transformed into realities, while the realities had become the merest
cobwebs of the brain. For instance, the shadows cast by
our bodies in the sunlight and forever following at our heels,
they had come to think were actual creatures, are doubles,
so to speak, And that on account of these dancing specters,
as they called them, which dogged our footsteps for our
(01:51):
life long, sitting like Marjoy's at our feasts, it was
utterly impossible for the people of the upper world to
be entirely happy as they were, And it occurred to
them at once that I must have such a double
following at my heels. So several times they suddenly joined hands, and,
forming a circle about me, gradually closed up with intent
(02:13):
to lay hold of the dancing specter. This they did, too,
after I had assured them that what they had in
mind was the mere shadow cast by a person walking
in the light. But as they had absolutely no idea
of the nature of light. I only had my trouble
for my pains. Nor did they give over making every
now and then the most frantic and laughable efforts to
(02:36):
catch the little dancing gentlemen, who, as they were bound
to think, was quietly trudging along at my heels. But
whoso they informed me, was far quicker in his motions
than any escaping water or falling object. Finally, they held
one of their silent but very excited pow wows, during
which the thousand lightning like pressures and tappings which they
(02:57):
made upon each other's bodies gave the spectator the idea
that there were three deaf and dumb schoolboys engaged in
a scrimmage over a bag of marbles. And then they
informed me that they had resolved to permit Bulgar and
me to enter their city, provided I would give them
the word of a nobleman that I would restrain my
nimble footed double from doing them any harm. I made
(03:20):
them a most solemn promise that he should behave himself.
Whereupon they greeted both Vulgar and me as brothers, stroking
our hair, patting our heads, and kissing me on the cheeks.
And what was more, they told us their names, which
were lung thumbs, square nose, and shuggy brows. All this
time I had been every now and then casting anxious
(03:40):
glances on ahead of me, for I was dying of
impatience to enter the marvelous city of the ant people.
I say, marvelous, dear friends. For though many had been
the wonderful things I had seen in my lifetime in
the far away corners of the upper world, yet here
was a sight which, as it gradually unfolded itself before
me my eyes shackled my very heart and caused me
(04:03):
to gasp for breath. It was with no little surprise
at the very outset that I discovered that the walls
and floor of the beautiful passage through which the pseudopsies
were leading Bulgar and me were of pure silver, the
former being composed of polished panels ornamented with finely executed
chasings and carvings, and the latter as had in fact,
(04:25):
all the floors and streets and passages of the city,
having upon their polished surfaces slightly raised characters, which I
will explain later. But as one passage opened into another,
and then four or more, all centered in a vast
circular chamber, which we traversed with our three silent guides,
only to interchambers and quarters of greater size and beauty,
(04:48):
all brilliantly lighted by rows of the same glorious candelabra,
upholding clusters of tongues of flame. I could compare the
scene to nothing save a series of magnificent ballroom and
banquet halls, out of which the happy guests had been
suddenly driven by the deep and awful rumble of an
earthquake shock, the lights having been left burning. Now the
(05:11):
scene began to change. Longthums, who was leading the way
and in whose large palm my little hand lay completely lost,
suddenly turned to the right and led me up an
arched way. I saw that we were crossing a bridge
over a stream, as black and sluggish as the leaf itself.
But such a bridge never had my eye rested upon
(05:32):
so light an arie, a span springing from bank to bank,
not the plain and solid work of the stonemason, but
the fair and cunning result of the metal worker's skill,
like the labor of love, delicate yet strong, and almost
too beautiful for use. Two rows of silver lamps of
exquisite workmanship, crowned its gracefully arching sides. And when we
(05:56):
stood upon its highest bend, Longthams halted and wrote upon
his tablet, Now, little Baron, we are about to enter
the dwelling place of our people. Thy head is large,
and there is no doubt much of wisdom stored away
in thy brain makes such use of it as not
to disturb the perfect happiness of our nation. For no
(06:17):
doubt many of our people will be suspicious of thee
and for the first time in thousands of years, a
pseudopsy will lay him down to sleep, and in his
dreams feel the touch of the dancing specter of the
upper world. I promised long Thumbs that he should have
no reason to be dissatisfied with me, And then making
an excuse that I was awary, I feasted my eyes
(06:39):
for several moments upon the glorious scenes spread out before me.
It was the city of the former folk, in all
its splendor, a splendor alas unseen by unknown too the
very people dwelling in it, for to them its silver
walls and arches, its endless rows of glorious candelabra uplifting
their countless clusters of never dying jets of flame, its
(07:02):
exquisitely carved and chiseled portals and gateways, Its graceful chairs
and settees and beds and couches and tables, and lamps
and basins and ewers, and thousands of articles of furniture,
all in purest silver, hammered or wrought by the cunning
hands of their ancestors while they still were possessed of
the power of sight. Could only be known to these
(07:26):
their descendants by the sole sense of feeling. From the
lofty ceilings of corridors and archways, from the jutting ornaments
of the house fronts, from cornice and coping, from the
four sides of columns, and from the corners of cupolas
and minarets. Here and there and everywhere hung silver lamps
of more than oriental beauty of form and finish, all
(07:48):
with their never dying tongues of flame, sending forth a soft,
though unsteady light to fall upon sightless eyes. But yet
these countless flames, by the aid of which I was
enabled to gaze upon the splendor of this city of
silver palaces, were life, if not light to the pseudopsis,
For they warmed these vast subterranean depths and filled them
(08:12):
with a deliciously soft and strangely balmy air. And yet
to think that Bulgar and I were the only to
living creatures to be able to look upon the scene
of almost celestial beauty and radiance. It made me sad
and plunged me into such a fit of deep abstraction
that it required a second gentle tug of long Thumb's
hand to bring me to myself. As we crossed the
(08:36):
bridge and entered the city proper, I was delighted to
note that the streets and open squares were ornamented with
hundreds of statues, all in solid silver, and that they
represented specimens of a race of great beauty of person.
And then it occurred to me how fortunate it was
that the pseudopsis could not gaze upon these images of
(08:57):
their ancestors, and thus become living witness of their own
woeful fallen away from the former physical grace of their race.
Now like human ants that they were, the farmer folk
began to swarm forth from their dwellings on every side
of the city, and my keen ear caught the low
shuffling sound of their bare feet over the silver streets
(09:18):
as they closed in about us, their arms flashing in
the light, and their faces lined with strange emotions as
they learned of the arrival among them of two creatures
from the upper world. They were all glad, men and
women alike, in silk garments of a chestnut brown, and
I had at once concluded that they drew this material
(09:38):
from the same sources as the Macaminkys. For dear friends,
you must not get an idea that the former folk
were not well deserving of the name which dan Fum
had bestowed upon them. They were genuine human ants, and
except when sleeping, always at work. It was true that
since their blindness had come upon them, they had not
been able to add a single column or archway to
(10:01):
the Silver City. But in all the ordinary concerns of life,
they were quite as industrious as ever, chasing, carving, chiseling, planting, weaving, knitting,
and doing a thousand and one things that you and I,
with our two good eyes would find it hard to accomplish.
I had made known to long Thumbs the fact that
(10:21):
Bulgar and I were both very tired and weary from
our long tramp, and that we crave to have some
refreshment set before us, and then to be permitted to
go to rest at once, promising that after we had
had several hours good sleep, we would take the greatest
pleasure in being presented to the worthy inhabitants of the
silver city. It was astonishing with what rapidity this request
(10:44):
of mine spread from man to man. Long thumbs made
it known to two at the same time, and these
two to four, and these four to eight, and these
eight to sixteen, and so on. You see, it wouldn't
take long at that rate to tell a million. Like magic,
the former folk disappeared from the streets, and in a
sort of orderly confusion faded from my sight. Bulgar and
(11:07):
I were right glad to be conducted to a silver bedchamber,
where the travelers every want seemed to be anticipated. The
only thing that bothered us was we had not been
accustomed to keep the light burning upon going to bed,
and this made us both a little wakeful at first,
but we were too tired to let it keep us
from dropping off after a few moments. For the mattress
(11:28):
was soft and springy enough to satisfy any one, and
I'm sure that no one could have complained that the
house wasn't quiet enough. End of chapter sixteen.
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