Машина времени
Chapter 5
‘Goingthroughthebigpalace,itseemedtomethatthelittlepeopleavoidedme. Itmayhavebeenmyfancy,oritmayhavehadsomethingtodowithmyhammeringatthegatesofbronze. YetIfelttolerablysureoftheavoidance. Iwascareful,however,toshownoconcernandtoabstainfromanypursuitofthem,andinthecourseofadayortwothingsgotbacktotheoldfooting. ImadewhatprogressIcouldinthelanguage,andinadditionIpushedmyexplorationshereandthere. EitherImissedsomesubtlepointortheirlanguagewasexcessivelysimple—almostexclusivelycomposedofconcretesubstantivesandverbs. Thereseemedtobefew,ifany,abstractterms,orlittleuseoffigurativelanguage. Theirsentenceswereusuallysimpleandoftwowords,andIfailedtoconveyorunderstandanybutthesimplestpropositions. IdeterminedtoputthethoughtofmyTimeMachineandthemysteryofthebronzedoorsunderthesphinxasmuchaspossibleinacornerofmemory,untilmygrowingknowledgewouldleadmebacktotheminanaturalway. Yetacertainfeeling,youmayunderstand,tetheredmeinacircleofafewmilesroundthepointofmyarrival.
‘SofarasIcouldsee,alltheworlddisplayedthesameexuberantrichnessastheThamesvalley. FromeveryhillIclimbedIsawthesameabundanceofsplendidbuildings,endlesslyvariedinmaterialandstyle,thesameclusteringthicketsofevergreens,thesameblossom-ladentreesandtree-ferns. Hereandtherewatershonelikesilver,andbeyond,thelandroseintoblueundulatinghills,andsofadedintotheserenityofthesky. Apeculiarfeature,whichpresentlyattractedmyattention,wasthepresenceofcertaincircularwells,several,asitseemedtome,ofaverygreatdepth. Onelaybythepathupthehill,whichIhadfollowedduringmyfirstwalk. Liketheothers,itwasrimmedwithbronze,curiouslywrought,andprotectedbyalittlecupolafromtherain.
