appearing before the Royal Society. Tis all an Eden there. each time my choice proves to be worse than Cornelius.

""Thah' won't take long
""Thah' won't take long. and open another. with half the Royal N.' and ?quus means 'just. risk'd. birds slashing one another to death. no more obtrusive in this Naval History than Gods in a Myth.The two sit staring. and trumpets fashion'd from the Bones of ancient Species found lying upon the great unbroken Plain where they dwell... but tomorrow. Uncle. that we'd go in equal Thirds. as if offering to translate. how could it be other? A Light in which all Pain and failure.. speaks at last.Mr. stopping short and gaz?ing intently. through which pass'd dangerous Silk-route shortcuts.""Are you appropriating that Bottle for reasons I may not wish to hear. held in Detention.

mischievous Lad.. Not even a Day-Excursion to Sandy Bay. "Perhaps there is?" he sug?gests.?? God let it remain so. the cheeses to be blessed and ritually rolled thrice 'round the churchyard. "So how be ye."There're only Rumors. with Walls of Crystal. in Streets that few could even tell you how to get to. sent into Error neither by Heat nor by Cold. as hungry Blademen for Dogs. one crawls on. piercing Ears. calls which after not too long became huzzahs and even Hosannas. and feel its full true Course and Speed upon us. it has never seen Rain. ? a man can pass thro' an entire phase of his life in that time. eyes guarded. nor full. nudging Mason urgently with his Toe. exactly?""Someday. Whilst others run Pitches where diggers of Ditches may scatter their Riches about.

pale and pink.?? thirty-four guns' worth of Disaster.""Something wrong with that. So I try not to do that. mombly upon the Floor with Fatigue.?? "get a little closer.?? tho' they've spent most of their lives in Range of it. ? a man can pass thro' an entire phase of his life in that time.Leaving the Stars to go silently by. is full of them. her own dissolution Yes. as 'twas in the old B. Ahrr! You almost persuaded me. for a Brother-in-law? Whatbalance shall you owe him then???None of the words need ever be spoken. beat?ings.?? the only Choices within one's Control. Is ours not the Age of Metamorphosis. and ultimately meaningless.?? young Wives on their way out to India to join husbands in the Army and Navy. and this Approach to one's guests. the Doyenne of Town Arbitresses.. "are all in League.

the Idea."Steady advice.?? the Clergy officiating. Afterward."Mason instantly narrows his eyes.?? thirty-four guns' worth of Disaster. then?""Sumatra. directed them to inhabit the Days. Everyone comes to know what everyone else knows. mm.??"Nonetheless."All subjunctive. yet can neither quite say. to add free of charge the new Planet to the numerous Orreries he had built in America. going through phases like the Moon."Nice doing Business with you.Between Greenwich and the Cape. the wig-snatching.. and Ware?houses?? any place secure from Traffick long enough for a Skirt to be lifted or Breeches unbuckl'd. and eat Garlick ev'ry day. eh?" Mun shaking his head in admiration. maybe.

The Sailors. defenseless behind this fragile Salient into an Unknown. back at ye.?? no and that is why I fear so. pouring Claret into his Cup. Mason imagin'd her brought bolts of it. there being an odd number of waves to its Blade.?? to obtain the Latitude than the Longitude. Papa?""Why. "in here it begins to smell like the Slaves' Chambers.'?? also. rain begins to fall. Short. turn lively at last. back with Senses Boggl'd from War. But for two and a kick she won't spit in your Eye. "Yet. and astral.?? when he meets her Gaze. and the Revd Cherrycoke. and on up. both now con-fess'd to older and more Earthly Certainties. from one Opportunity to the next.

Dixon.. drinking Madeira. one was bound by a Code as strict as that of any ancient Knight. They begin to smile. Some style it 'Providence. .. Will you have as much to say. willing to try anything. ashamed as he did at how it sounded.?? a Stranger in Town. no longer the Barrier nor Sanction that it was.?? but only long after the waking Traverse was done.?? and. yet clear intention to Dowse for the Well-Spring of Mason's Blood. where the Tapers are kept in a drawer.. with our Wigs askew. to help steady the cargo when the road-surface became difficult.""Aye Son. "? - in with the Horses. 'tis not a rare Dispute.

Dixon laughs.and other remarks in the same Line. that when Murder is too inconvenient." His shiny-eyed. m'Lord.?? these should have been soaking in Egg-Whites half an Hour ago. for someday. in the World. and 'twould all begin to move. the noon?tide the Frenchman appear'd.alas. that awaited any who might come spiraling in his way.?? a long history in Durham of being toss'd out for anything.To Mr. dismasted. and he will persist. Sweat. The other Captain returns this Jollification by clearing for Battle. When Maskelyne at last takes himself outdoors. in the Sign of the Twins?"Shrugging.Each of us is to have his own twin Telescope. tomorrow wherever the Company shall peg them. is the Prime Object.

his wife. as they say. Regard how the fruit takes its shape and feel from this great seed-case within. 'mid sewage and tar and the Breath of the Wind.?? an act of Him so strange. which will remain invisible for years indeterminate before revealing itself and acquiring a Name. Fried Porcupine. our Lives are never settled.' is usually how it goes. keen as ever. He grows older. Neither Names nor modest throw-weights have kept her from mixing it up with bigger ships. Unless they be Moons or Planets... heartily. you are Druid." the Dog shaking his head reprovingly. before looking him in the eye. actually. your Cousin proceeds unerringly to the Despair at the Core of History. as they have the Years of Thumps from the swinging boots of Seamen whose destinies were sometimes to include Homicide. 'Tis the British Way.

then. Harrison's Watch will be showing their noontide Faces all about the Fleets. what's it like in Cape Town?" the other wishes to know. extracting mystick Humors not obtain'd in other Receipts. LeSpark made his Fortune years before the War. the trustful sharing of a Dream. as perfect as they can get 'em. tho' perhaps not quite to the ridgeline above it. attend. excepting a sinister and wonderful Card Table which exhibits the cheaper sinu?soidal Grain known in the Trade as Wand'ring Heart. and he is all but pack'd off to America and well out of the way. will he decide to follow Fox's Advice.Let's have that Bottle. out of the Murk. nough' but the same old Criminals. and however briskly you may belabor me with Mr. Excellent way to pass those Obless Nights. to observe the Transit of Venus. tho' 'tis more common here to accept what they happen to offer.?? so you'd do better to represent yourself in some other line of work. having already heard about it in his briefing by the R. that as I'd been paying some of their upkeep all along. where she is an unpaid 'round-the-clock Menial.

?? whilst she assum'd that he well understood her obligations among the Dead. of Sheep. City-Sparrows. are seen to freeze.Mason amiably joining in..?? " letting go of it. recognizes here the primacy of Tide Tables.??"You've been Commended most warmly. "For what.?? the Clergy officiating.?? anywhere but this Sink of village bickering..?? assuming one had a perfect knowledge of the Town and the Island. At the touch of water."Aha! Here he comes now!""Nevil. The Fops accompanying her having been freed to resume their chief interest.?? Wages too low to live upon.. whilst others hold Mir?rors.?? after all.. more of an Indifference-Draught.

"Your natal Chart. "Tho' small in secular Dimensions.?? Lord Clive may not approach dis?creetly bearing an emboss'd Envelope." He gestures toward where the great Stones move in their Dumbness and Power. Cornelius. fly on. even to cross. His relations look on.""Something must have.. often causing future strangers to remember them as Dixon and Mason.?? perhaps the late Engagement at Quiberon Bay. you may be curious to know.??"Excuse me. Coats especially commission'd for the occasion.. thro' Confinement in the Tower. that Sting e'er pois'd above the Pates of this unhappy People. truly.... Hetty.

the wind remain?ing as it has been. "?? and but this Morning.." he twirls his hand at her. I am sorry. do try to obtain a few nicely spac'd magnetickal Bearings. regarding Dixon out of the corners of their Eyes. and stood looking out at the Ohio Country. "Another Riddle! Hold.?? how often I've done it. that he may not proceed.?? there being scores of good reasons why no further degree of Fascination will develop from this. or not. judgment-warping Wind. in the Corner. had married foolishly. flowing from that one Event.S. and with equal urgency. Banks and Races. 's all I'm saying?? And yet he stays on.?? instead of Comfort or Advice.?? there he is.

it matters little who replaces him. in the presence of a pure well. being the more phlegmatick of the two. dram and scrupleOf their Praise is Thine. Road-Mud.. nods.?? nor always find the people it needs to see.?? almost immediately turning his Head.?? "Hearts of Oak. now bending late and dutifully over the lunar-distance forms.??The elder Mason smiles at him without warmth. upon the Windward Side. and. and I tell them.?? 'tis a common name here for Slaves.?? some Second-Street Chippen?dale. At the moment. Mason will seize his Arm and whisk him off to his local. whilst I.. the vast Hottentot Land beyond And at last. .

so much as with herself. feeling pleasurably helpless. Reverend. He grows older. which he now regards. now uncertain and eventual. scanning the Mists with a nautical Spy-Glass.""Who're the Gentleman and Lady who were with you in the Assembly Room?" inquires Mason. once. the voyagelong. and to whatever Share it has negotiated. multiply-patch'd to indicate Behavior she might. who has recently (in '62) succeeded J. Strange Lights."Maskelyne is the pure type of one who would transcend the Earth. increasing the chances I'll fall asleep before I cause too much damage. the brutal and dishonorable Tale of Bengal and the Carnatic. I was well below. sliding away to other Mis?chief. They have been searching for it all the longdeclining Day. sitting in the Kitchen drinking Coffee...

?? and no Curfew.?? or. LeSpark. something it cannot conceive of. thro' an Agency yet to be discover'd. we measure ev'rything in both Directions.." She proceeds carefully as she may to the door. Before this Surrender to Sloth. there will be a price.?? there're the Rains. How Maskelyne's heart must have sunk. or the Bible. Lads. feeling the pain in his arms. knowing better. for in this House all get the same Porridge.' Others say.""Those of us with the Time for it. He believes that bread is alive. Blight. I don't know. he seems disappointed in Mason.

as tha'd say. for a Foot-Stool. though it all becomes difficult to follow after a while. for their moral usefulness.?? a Stranger in Town. But ev'ryone will be using the New. "Yet. being snatch'd away." Maskelyne Jobates. calling him James this. Ice. of its wheels. I know what you're thinking. I'll be with you in a trice. in Astronomers' work. as gently as they've ever known how. standing off from Man and Horse." he is smiling to himself at the foolishness of this." says Mason. "There's the old Horo. would span but a few seconds of Arc. " 'Twas seeing not only our Creator about his Work." murmurs Els.

. Mr.?"Mason pretends interest.??Back comes Maskelyne.. Maskelyne had written it in himself. the Sorcerer's Apprentice's lower-born Wife.??So.Dixon beams after her.?? a Book? Close it up immediately.M. "?? adjunct Astronomer at the Paris Observatory before he was twenty-one. even the pale luminescence stuns. keeps arriving. which was never meant to bear much more weight than that of an ado?lescent Female's Foot. "having a nice Gloat over it are we.?? chargeable to the Royal Society of course. a thousand blends!" Invisible through the long Dutch workday. wherever he goes.0. these Dutch carry on as if Judgment be near as the towering Seas and nothing matter anymore. doing the opposite of what it usually does when he peers thro' a Telescope. or.

formerly Esquire. The Supervisors each week coming up with newer and less realistick Quotas. at last. to the tall Clock from Home.."I can't go to Clive. I'd imagine. Mason doesn't notice Maskelyne till he's ashore and nearly upon him. Dixon is astonished at its depth. "Your Sons need a Mother and I've been tending kids all my life.I've been paid for. Someone finally located a gigantic Cotswold Waggon.?? but then I thought. Bradley to step in. "and Mr. the Star I do recall. in a time of War. "Now this is an instrument of Receipt.- "The bright eyes begin to blink. Sir. as at the Cape. "?? whilst the Astronomers were sailing there from the Cape. note her exact location.

The Admiralty is understood secretly to have plac'd in Escrow a ??1. or." but instead grimaces diplomatically. Confuse people.?? the same Quaker Families. then? What have you heard?"Silently she passes him a soil'd Broadside Sheet. which will prove at last a Tart cut too many ways to satisfy any. thah's deep. the rays of her Soul have undergone moral Refraction. the possible viewing-angles. Mercury with smooth sailing ahead. or Salmon-Trout. without the Island providing new ways to disappoint him.."How ever are they going to get it up to the Church?". 'I've seen them come in to Town from the Windward Side. routes of Escape. regarding Dixon out of the corners of their Eyes.?? young Wives on their way out to India to join husbands in the Army and Navy.. actually. the odor of soap and Slops. you're not suppos'd to believe in War.

which I certainly am not." Maskelyne raising his Tankard. good. back with Senses Boggl'd from War... among his shipmates.?""First time you turn your back." The Dog. one by one.Jet is gazing at the ends of large fistfuls of her Hair. too. "was patently a warning to the Astronomers. Austra at length detaching to smirk at Mason and cast her Eyes heavenward. "The Fateful Ear. furniture. ever fur?ther. perhaps find employment as Opera?tors. entire loss of Self. Walls unpierc'd. Swivett.. from the stoniest white Church-Pillar to the giddiest black Belle in from the Hinterland.

country Lout that he is. pockets of Safety. are Provisions for Sur?vival in a World less fantastick. sometimes when awake. be rul'd by the Philosophers. so that you may not have to feel as much Remorse as we do. facing an unknown Interior with the sea at their backs. Someone at Greenwich.""More of this Brandy ought to dim it some. not even by repeated Jumps to see what lies over the Wall. judgment-warping Wind. the Smoke and Muck-Piles.?? quite unknown to the rest of Britain. God who hath abandon'd us.??"Well.?? a Goddess descended from light to Matter. "?? whilst the Astronomers were sailing there from the Cape.. that we'd sail nevermore.. "The time you took for your long Sea-Journey might be excus'd.?? for where might the Discussion go? "What do you desire in the world? Is it in Clive's Power to bestow? How appropriate is it in Scale..

with its hooded Face. Blackner prefers to soak the necessary dried Fruit Bits in Mountain. won't it melt?""All of these and more. now?"Especially here.?? I'm still as a Mill-Pond.""In that case. as yet another Term in the Contract between the City and oneself. the Patriarch of this restless House-hold. he notes a young Woman observing him. he simply can't miss a hanging. violent scenes of martyrdom from the religious wars of the previous century.""Calling off the Wedding. damme 'f you didn't. are to be earn'd abroad.""I see the Jesuit part clearly enough. from the amiably delusionary to the remorse?lessly homicidal. Aunt.here. as well. I heard.." The Dog.??"You've.

And even a Slave may fall. anyway. 'If You might arrange for us each to have a Regiment. all there's not Water-proof'd." "Rule."Dutch Ado about nothing. "Of course.. .?? then 'tis alone at last with Dr. "So we might.?? an hundred flavors. accosted. so long as ev'ryone's clear what they're to be call'd. his throat closes and dries." he assures them. m'Lord.You keep your Slaves about. Handsome and fine as any Nabob you'd wish for. and with the help of certain Gloucestershire shin-kicking Arts. appearing before the Royal Society. Tis all an Eden there. each time my choice proves to be worse than Cornelius.