438 Experiences of Haschisch. 



multiply themselves; so that as I counted " one, two,, three/' 

 they became " one, two, three years, centuries, ages/' and I 

 Hterally shrieked with the overpowering thought that I had 

 lived from all eternity, and should live to all eternity in a palace 

 of coloured stalactites, supported by shafts of emerald, resting 

 on a sea of liquid gold, for this was now the appearance of 

 things ; and the gnawing at my stomach suggested the idea that 

 I should be starved to death and yet live, the deformed wreck 

 of a deluded man. 



At this moment there was a tap at the door, and the servant 

 entered with the coffee. It was in a huge tankard chased all 

 over with dragons that extended all round the world, and I 

 saw the odour of it play round her in circles of light, and for at 

 least an hour she stood smiling and hesitating where to place it, 

 because my table was covered with papers. I Very calmly 

 removed a few of the papers, and heaved a sigh that dissipated 

 the dragons, made the odours fall in a shower of rain, and she 

 put down the tray with a crash that made every bone in my 

 body vibrate as if struck by ten thousand hammers. I know 

 not whether she was alarmed at my appearance, but she stood 

 apparently aghast, and her rosy face expanded to the size of a. 

 balloon, and away she went with the rapidity of lightning, with 

 Mr. Green in the car, and I stood applauding in the midst of 

 thousands of lamps, which I had time to note — as the scene con- 

 tinued during a period which seemed indefinite — were all glow- 

 worms, which I could touch, and they communicated to my 

 fingers phosphorescent sparks, as if they had been rubbed with 

 lucifer matches.* But I knew this was unreal ; and I drank 

 the coffee with the most perfect composure, though I felt it 

 difficult to pour it out without spilling it, and the cup came to 

 my lips as if it were the rim of a cauldron seething with a stew 

 of spices and nepenthe, and amid the steam I could see the 

 fierceness and tartness and prima materia of Jacob Behmen, all 

 displayed, so that there was an end of the mystery, and I could 

 see into his brain, as he now seemed to be looking into mine. 



The moment I sipped the coffee it darted through me, and 

 caused sensations of insupportable heat. The gnawing sensa- 

 tion of the stomach and contraction of the chest gave way to a 

 sense of pricking, most violent in my fingers and toes, and yet, 

 though painful, this was all pleasant ; and though I could now 

 collectedly observe the objects around me, yet they would 

 transport themselves to immeasurable distances, and keep con- 



* Only a few days before I had found some glow-worms in the garden, and on 

 handling them found my fingers tipped with a dull phosphoric glow. This pro- 

 bably gave rise to the illusion. In fact, I afterwards traced many of my sensations 

 during the paroxysm to previous events, and I almost believe the illusions are the 

 result of abnormal memory. 



