Chapter X 



FLOWERLIKE FORMS AND FANTASIES 



From out of the past comes a memory of a wonder 

 world. I am standing at the edge of a pool on a sunlit 

 shore whose dank, glistening sands bespeak the out- 

 ward running of a recent tide. The day is young. 

 Shortening shadows of strange plant growths lie blue- 

 black and sharp on a watery floor; the air is still and 

 cool; the only sound is a faint murmur rising from the 

 distant washing of a gentle surf. A feeling of be- 

 wilderment possesses me. The glassy surface of the 

 tide pool, reflecting the brilliant azure of the sky, 

 smites the eye with a violent glare, but in the trans- 

 parent fulgor, fantastic forms present themselves to my 

 startled gaze. I see a forest of fairy trees, fernlike 

 glades of shimmering green, and a garden graced with 

 filmy fronds of a delicate pink. Moving shapes I see, 

 some without color and, so it seems, without substance; 

 but many shine resplendent from mystic grottoes, or 

 glide about like glittering jewels of living light. . . . 

 Yes, form, color, and w^eight are here; though to my 

 enchanted vision all realities become ethereal — the 

 loveliness, the transcendent beauty of the scene is over- 

 whelming. And as I look into the mysterious depths 

 of this magic mirror, all about me has the semblance 

 of a dream. . . . 



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