Volume I Part 33 (1/2)
”Do ye too leave s, which, to such as ye, are but mad incidents in one round of more tranquil diversions But heed me not, Media;--I a of Odo, when you list, condescend to visit the poor slave in Willamilla I account them but charity, your visits; would fain allure ye by suhout bloo uests fitly Alas, Media, at the bottom of this cup are no sparkles as at top Oh, treacherous, treacherous friend!
full of sers Yet for such as h it pierce the side; for man h a foe to all King Media, let us drink More cups!--And now, farewell”
Falling back, he averted his face; and silently we quitted the palace
CHAPTER LxxxVI Of Those Scaained, we eood time our party recovered from the seriousness into which we had been thrown; and a rather long passage being now before us, hiled away the hours as best we , narrations, old Braid-Beard, crossing his calves, and peaking his beard, regaled us with some account of certain invisible spirits, ycleped the Plujii, arrant little knaves as ever gulpedthe island of Quelquo, in a reoon; the innocent people of which island were sadly fretted and put out by their diabolical proceedings Not to be wondered at; since, dwelling as they did in the air, and completely inaccessible, these spirits were peculiarly provocative of ire
Detestable Plujii! With h winds that destroyed the banana plantations, and tu They cracked the calabashes; soured the ”poee;” induced the colic; begat the spleen; and almost rent people in tith stitches in the side In short, from whatever evil, the cause of which the Islanders could not directly impute to their Gods, or in their own opinion was not referable to theuilty With horrible dreanats, they invaded the s they bedeviled A man with a wry neck ascribed it to the Plujii; he with a badhis finger, also cursed those abominable spirits
Nor, to so presuers, the above ible traces of their presence; pinching and pounding the unfortunate Islanders; pulling their hair; plucking their ears, and tweaking their beards and their noses And thus perpetually vexing, incensing, tor their helpless victims, the atrocious Plujii reveled in their malicious dominion over the souls and bodies of the people of Quelquo
What it was, that induced them to enact such a part, Oro only knew; and never but once, it seems, did old Mohi endeavor to find out
Once upon a ti Quelquo, he chanced to encounter an old woether, both hands upon her abdoood woman,” said he, ”what under the firmament is the matter?”
”The Plujii! the Plujii!” affectionately caressing the field of their operations
”But why do they torly inquired ”How should I know? and what good would it do me if I did?”
And on she ran
At this part of his narration, Mohi was interrupted by Media; who, much to the surprise of all present, observed, that, unbeknown to him (Braid-Beard), he happened to have been on that very island, at that very time, and saw that identical old lady in the very midst of those abdoreat distress,” he went on to say, ”was plainly to be seen; but that in that particular instance, your Plujii had any hand in tor that an hour or two previous she had been partaking of some twenty unripe bananas, I rather fancied that that circus But however it was, all the herb-leeches on the island would not have altered her own opinions on the subject”
”No,” said Braid-Beard; ”a post-host”
”Curious to relate,” he continued, ”the people of that island never abuse the Plujii, notwithstanding all they suffer at their hands, unless under direct provocation; and a settled matter of faith is it, that at such tiations are entirely overlooked, nay, pardoned on the spot, by the unseen genii against whonanimous Plujii!” cried Media ”But, Babbalanja, do you, who run a tilt at all things, suffer this silly conceit to be uttered with impunity in your presence? Why so silent?”
”I have been thinking, h the people of that islandtheir calamities to the Plujii, that, nevertheless, upon the whole, they indulge in a reasonable belief For, Plujii or no Plujii, it is undeniable, that in ten thousand ways, as if by a ency, we mortals are woefully put out and torly trivial, that it would seeust Gods No; there nificant, comparatively, as to be overlooked by the supernal powers; and through therievously annoyed At any rate; such a theory would supply a hiatus in my system of meta-physics”
”Well, peace to the Plujii,” said Media; ”they trouble not liding, the lagoon a calreen, a Moslem turban by us floats--Nora-Bamma, Isle of Nods