The House on the Borderland

by William Hope Hodgson

  THE FRAGMENTS[2]

  (_The legible portions of the mutilated leaves_.)

  ... through tears ... noise of eternity in my ears, we parted ... Shewhom I love. O, my God ...!

  I was a great time dazed, and then I was alone in the blackness of thenight. I knew that I journeyed back, once more, to the known universe.Presently, I emerged from that enormous darkness. I had come among thestars ... vast time ... the sun, far and remote.

  I entered into the gulf that separates our system from the outer suns.As I sped across the dividing dark, I watched, steadily, theever-growing brightness and size of our sun. Once, I glanced back to thestars, and saw them shift, as it were, in my wake, against the mightybackground of night, so vast was the speed of my passing spirit.

  I drew nigher to our system, and now I could see the shine of Jupiter.Later, I distinguished the cold, blue gleam of the earthlight.... I hada moment of bewilderment. All about the sun there seemed to be bright,objects, moving in rapid orbits. Inward, nigh to the savage glory of thesun, there circled two darting points of light, and, further off, thereflew a blue, shining speck, that I knew to be the earth. It circled thesun in a space that seemed to be no more than an earth-minute.

  ... nearer with great speed. I saw the radiances of Jupiter andSaturn, spinning, with incredible swiftness, in huge orbits. And ever Idrew more nigh, and looked out upon this strange sight--the visiblecircling of the planets about the mother sun. It was as though time hadbeen annihilated for me; so that a year was no more to my unfleshedspirit, than is a moment to an earth-bound soul.

  The speed of the planets, appeared to increase; and, presently, I waswatching the sun, all ringed about with hair-like circles of differentcolored fire--the paths of the planets, hurtling at mighty speed, aboutthe central flame....

  "... the sun grew vast, as though it leapt to meet me.... And now I waswithin the circling of the outer planets, and flitting swiftly, towardthe place where the earth, glimmering through the blue splendor of itsorbit, as though a fiery mist, circled the sun at a monstrousspeed...." [3]