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052 - Book 5 Chapter VII · Last Days of Pompeii

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  Speaker 1: Book five, chapter seven of Last Days of Pompeii. This
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  Speaker 1: is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
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  Speaker 1: public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox dot org. Recording by Philippa. Last Days of Pompeii
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  Speaker 1: by Edward G. Bulwer Lytton, Book five, Chapter seven, The
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  Speaker 1: progress of the destruction. The cloud which had scattered so
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  Speaker 1: deep a murkiness over the day, had now settled into
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  Speaker 1: a solid and impenetrable mass. It resembled less even the
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  Speaker 1: thickest gloom of a night in the open air, than
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  Speaker 1: the close and blind darkness of some narrow room. But
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  Speaker 1: in proportion as the blackness gathered, did the lightnings around
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  Speaker 1: Vesuvius increase in their vivid and scorching glare. Nor was
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  Speaker 1: their horrible beauty confined to the usual hues of fire.
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  Speaker 1: No rainbow ever rivaled their varying and prodigal dyes. Now
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  Speaker 1: brightly blue as the most azure depth of a southern sky,
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  Speaker 1: now of a livid and snakelike green, darting restlessly to
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  Speaker 1: and fro as the folds of an enormous serpent, Now
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  Speaker 1: of a lurid and intolerable crimson, gushing forth through the
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  Speaker 1: columns of smoke, far and wide, and lighting up the
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  Speaker 1: whole city from arch to arch, then suddenly dying into
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  Speaker 1: a sickly paleness, like the ghost of their own life.
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  Speaker 1: In the pauses of the showers, you heard the rumbling
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  Speaker 1: of the earth beneath, and the groaning waves of the
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  Speaker 1: tortured sea, or lower still and audible, but to the
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  Speaker 1: watch of intensest fear, the grinding and hissing murmur of
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  Speaker 1: the escaping gases through the chasms of the distant mountain.
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  Speaker 1: Sometimes the cloud appeared to break from its solid mass,
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  Speaker 1: and by the lightning to assume quaint and vast mimicries
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  Speaker 1: of human or of monster shapes strike across the gloom,
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  Speaker 1: hurtling one upon the other, and vanishing swiftly into the
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  Speaker 1: turbulent abyss of shade, so that to the eyes and
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  Speaker 1: fancies of the affrighted wanderers, the unsubstantial vapors were as
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  Speaker 1: the bodily forms of gigantic foes, the agents of terror
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  Speaker 1: and of death. The ashes, in many places were already
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  Speaker 1: knee deep, and the boiling showers, which came from the
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  Speaker 1: steaming breath of the volcano forced their way into the houses,
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  Speaker 1: bearing with them a strong and suffocating vapor. In some places,
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  Speaker 1: immense fragments of rock hurled upon the house roofs, bore
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  Speaker 1: down along the street masses of confused ruin, which yet
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  Speaker 1: more and more with every hour obstructed the way. And
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  Speaker 1: as the day advanced, the motion of the earth was
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  Speaker 1: more sensibly felt. The footing seemed to slide and creep,
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  Speaker 1: nor could chariot or litter be kept steady, even on
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  Speaker 1: the most level ground. Sometimes the huge stones, striking against
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  Speaker 1: each other as they fell, broke into countless fragments, emitting
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  Speaker 1: sparks of fire, which caught whatever was combustible within their reach.
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  Speaker 1: And along the plains beyond the city, the darkness was
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  Speaker 1: now terribly relieved. For several houses and even vineyards had
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  Speaker 1: been set on flames, and at various intervals the fires
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  Speaker 1: rose suddenly and fiercely against the solid gloom. To add
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  Speaker 1: to this partial relief of the darkness, the citizens had
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  Speaker 1: here and there in the more public places, such as
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  Speaker 1: the porticoes of temples and the entrances to the forum,
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  Speaker 1: endeavored to place rows of torches, but these rarely continued long.
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  Speaker 1: The showers and the winds extinguished them, and the sudden
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  Speaker 1: darkness into which their sudden birth was converted had something
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  Speaker 1: in it doubly terrible and doubly impressing on the impotence
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  Speaker 1: of human hopes, the lesson of despair. Frequently, by the
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  Speaker 1: momentary light of these torches, parties of fugitives encountered each other,
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  Speaker 1: some hurrying towards the sea, others flying from the sea
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  Speaker 1: back to the land. For the ocean had retreated rapidly
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  Speaker 1: from the shore, an utter darkness lay over it, and
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  Speaker 1: upon its groaning and tossing waves, the storm of cinders
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  Speaker 1: and rock fell without the protection which the streets and
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  Speaker 1: roofs afforded to the land. Wild, haggard, ghastly, with supernatural fears,
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  Speaker 1: these groups encountered each other, but without the leisure to speak,
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  Speaker 1: to consult, to advise. For the showers fell now frequently,
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  Speaker 1: though not continuously, extinguishing the lights which showed to each
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  Speaker 1: band the deathlike faces of the other, and hurrying all
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  Speaker 1: to seek refuge beneath the nearest shelter. The whole elements
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  Speaker 1: of civilization were broken up, ever, and anon by the
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  Speaker 1: flickering lights, you saw the thief hastening by the most
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  Speaker 1: solemn authorities of the law, lay aiden with and fearfully
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  Speaker 1: chuckling over the produce of his sudden gains. If in
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  Speaker 1: the darkness wife was separated from husband or parent from child,
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  Speaker 1: vain was the hope of reunion. Each hurried blindly and
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  Speaker 1: confusedly on nothing in all the various and complicated machinery
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  Speaker 1: of social life was left save the primal law of
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  Speaker 1: self preservation. Through this awful scene did the Athenian wade
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  Speaker 1: his way, accompanied by Ione and the blind girl. Suddenly
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  Speaker 1: a rush of hundreds in their path to the sea.
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  Speaker 1: Swept by them, Nydia was torn from the side of Glaucus, who,
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  Speaker 1: with Ione, was borne rapidly onward. And when the crowd,
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  Speaker 1: whose forms they saw not so thick was the gloom,
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  Speaker 1: were gone, Nydia was still separated from their side. Glaucus
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  Speaker 1: shouted her name. Now answer came. They retraced their steps
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  Speaker 1: in vain they could not discover her. It was evident
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  Speaker 1: she had been swept along some opposite direction by the
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  Speaker 1: human current. Their friend, their preserver, was lost, and hitherto
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  Speaker 1: Nydia had been their guide. Her blindness rendered the scene
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  Speaker 1: familiar to her alone, accustomed through a perpetual night to
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  Speaker 1: thread the windings of the city. She had led them
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  Speaker 1: unerringly towards the sea shore, by which they had resolved
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  Speaker 1: to hazard an escape. Now which way could they wend?
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  Speaker 1: All was rayless to them, a maze without a clew. Wearied, despondent, bewildered,
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  Speaker 1: they however, passed along, the ashes, falling upon their heads,
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  Speaker 1: the fragmentary stones dashing up in sparkles before their feet. Alas,
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  Speaker 1: alas murmured ione, I can go no farther. My steps
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  Speaker 1: sink among the scorching cinders. Fly, dearest beloved, Fly and
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  Speaker 1: leave me to my fate. Hush, my betrothed, my bride.
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  Speaker 1: Death with THEE is sweeter than life without THEE. Yet, whither,
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  Speaker 1: oh whither can we direct ourselves through the gloom? Already
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  Speaker 1: it seems that we have made but a circle, and
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  Speaker 1: are in the very spot which we quitted an hour ago.
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  Speaker 1: O Gods, Yon rock, see it hath riven the roof
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  Speaker 1: before us. It is death to move through the streets.
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  Speaker 1: Blessed lightning, see I only see the portico of the
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  Speaker 1: Temple of Fortune is before us. Let us creep beneath it.
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  Speaker 1: It will protect us from the showers. He caught his
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  Speaker 1: beloved in his arms, and with difficulty and labor gained
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  Speaker 1: the temple. He bore her to the remoter and more
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  Speaker 1: sheltered part of the portico, and leaned over her that
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  Speaker 1: he might shield her with his own form from the
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  Speaker 1: lightning and the showers. The beauty and the unselfishness of
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  Speaker 1: love could hallow even that dismal time. Who is there,
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  Speaker 1: said the trembling and hollow voice of one who had
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  Speaker 1: preceded them into their place of refuge. Yet what matters
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  Speaker 1: the crush of the ruined world forbids us to friends
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  Speaker 1: or foes. Ione turned at the sound of the voice, and,
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  Speaker 1: with a faint shriek, cowered again beneath the arms of Glaucus,
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  Speaker 1: and he, looking in the direction of the voice, beheld
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  Speaker 1: the cause of her alarm. Through the darkness glared forth
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  Speaker 1: two burning eyes. The lightning flashed and lingered athwart the temple,
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  Speaker 1: and Glaucus, with a shudder perceived the lion to which
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  Speaker 1: he had been doomed, couched beneath the pillars, and close
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  Speaker 1: beside it, unwitting of the vicinity, lay the giant form
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  Speaker 1: of him who had accosted them. The wounded gladiator neger
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  Speaker 1: that lightning had revealed to each other the form of
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  Speaker 1: beast and man. Yet the instinct of both was quelled. Nay,
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  Speaker 1: the lion crept nearer and nearer to the gladiator as
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  Speaker 1: for companionship, and the gladiator did not recede or tremble.
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  Speaker 1: The revolution of nature had dissolved her lighter terrors as
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  Speaker 1: well as her wonted ties. While they were thus terribly protected.
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  Speaker 1: A group of men and women bearing torches passed by
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  Speaker 1: the temple. They were the congregation of the Nazarenes, and
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  Speaker 1: a sublime and unearthly emotion had not indeed quelled their awe,
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  Speaker 1: but it had robbed awe of fear. They had long believed,
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  Speaker 1: according to the error of the early Christians, that the
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  Speaker 1: last day was at hand. They imagined now that the
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  Speaker 1: day had come. Woe whoa cried in a shrill and
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  Speaker 1: piercing voice the elder at their head. Behold, the Lord
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  Speaker 1: descendeth the judgment. He maketh thigh, come down from heaven
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  Speaker 1: in the sight of men. Woe, Woe, ye strong and mighty,
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  Speaker 1: Woe to ye of the Faskes and the Purple. Woe
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  Speaker 1: to the idolater and the worshiper of the beast, Woe
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  Speaker 1: to ye who pour forth the blood of saints and
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  Speaker 1: gloat over the death pangs of the sons of God.
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  Speaker 1: Woe to the harlot of the sea, Woe woe. And
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  Speaker 1: with a loud and deep chorus, the troop chanted forth
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  Speaker 1: along the wild horrors of the air, Woe to the
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  Speaker 1: harlot of the sea, Woe woe. The Nazarenes paced slowly
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  Speaker 1: on their torches, still flickering in the storm, their voices
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  Speaker 1: still raised in menace and solemn warning, till lost amid
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  Speaker 1: the windings in the streets, the darkness of the atmosphere
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  Speaker 1: and the silence of death again fell over the scene.
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  Speaker 1: There was one of the frequent pauses in the showers,
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  Speaker 1: and Glaucus encouraged Ione once more to proceed. Just as
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  Speaker 1: they stood, hesitating on the last step of the portico,
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  Speaker 1: an old man with a bag in his right hand
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  Speaker 1: and leaning upon a youth, tottered by the youth, bore
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  Speaker 1: a torch. Glaucus recognized the two as father and son,
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  Speaker 1: miser and prodigal. Father said the youth, if ye cannot
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  Speaker 1: move more swiftly, I must leave you, or we both perish.
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  Speaker 1: Fly Boy then and leave thy sire, but I cannot
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  Speaker 1: fly to starve. Give me thy bag of gold, and
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  Speaker 1: the youth snatched at it, wretch, wouldst thou rob thy father?
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  Speaker 1: I who can tell the tale? In this hour miser perish.
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  Speaker 1: The boy struck the old man to the ground, plucked
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  Speaker 1: the bag from his relaxing hand, and fled onward with
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  Speaker 1: a shrill yell. Ye gods, cried Glaucus, are ye blind? Then,
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  Speaker 1: even in the dark, such crimes may well confound the
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  Speaker 1: guiltless with the guilty. In one common ruin Ione on
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  Speaker 1: on end of book five, chapter seven, h