Сердце тьмы

           Seventeenpagesofclosewritinghehadfoundtimefor!Butthismusthavebeenbeforehis—letussay—nerves,wentwrong,andcausedhimtopresideatcertainmidnightdancesendingwithunspeakablerites,which—asfarasIreluctantlygatheredfromwhatIheardatvarioustimes—wereoffereduptohim—doyouunderstand?—toMr.Kurtzhimself.Butitwasabeautifulpieceofwriting.Theopeningparagraph,however,inthelightoflaterinformation,strikesmenowasominous.Hebeganwiththeargumentthatwewhites,fromthepointofdevelopmentwehadarrivedat,‘mustnecessarilyappeartothem[savages]inthenatureofsupernaturalbeings—weapproachthemwiththemightofadeity,’andsoon,andsoon.‘Bythesimpleexerciseofourwillwecanexertapowerforgoodpracticallyunbounded,’etc.,etc.Fromthatpointhesoaredandtookmewithhim.Theperorationwasmagnificent,thoughdifficulttoremember,youknow.ItgavemethenotionofanexoticImmensityruledbyanaugustBenevolence.Itmademetinglewithenthusiasm.Thiswastheunboundedpowerofeloquence—ofwords—ofburningnoblewords.Therewerenopracticalhintstointerruptthemagiccurrentofphrases,unlessakindofnoteatthefootofthelastpage,scrawledevidentlymuchlater,inanunsteadyhand,mayberegardedastheexpositionofamethod.