The Night Land

Night Land, The

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Title: The Night Land
Author: William Hope Hodgson
Release Date: January 9, 2004 [EBook #10662]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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THE NIGHT LAND
WILLIAM HOPE HODGSON
1912

THE DREAMS THAT ARE ONLY DREAMS
"This to be Love, that your spirit to live in a natural holiness with the Beloved, and your
bodies to be a sweet and natural delight that shall be never lost of a lovely mystery....
And shame to be unborn, and all things to go wholesome and proper, out of an utter
greatness of understanding; and the Man to be an Hero and a Child before the Woman;
and the Woman to be an Holy Light of the Spirit and an Utter Companion and in the

same time a glad Possession unto the Man.... And this doth be Human Love...."
"...for this to be the especial glory of Love, that it doth make unto all Sweetness and
Greatness, and doth be a fire burning all Littleness; so that did all in this world to have
met The Beloved, then did Wantonness be dead, and there to grow Gladness and Charity,
dancing in the years."

I
MIRDATH THE BEAUTIFUL
"And I cannot touch her face And I cannot touch her hair, And I kneel to empty
shadows-- Just memories of her grace; And her voice sings in the winds And in the sobs
of dawn And among the flowers at night And from the brooks at sunrise And from the
sea at sunset, And I answer with vain callings ..."
It was the Joy of the Sunset that brought us to speech. I was gone a long way from my
house, walking lonely-wise, and stopping often that I view the piling upward of the
Battlements of Evening, and to feel the dear and strange gathering of the Dusk come over
all the world about me.
The last time that I paused, I was truly lost in a solemn joy of the Glory of the Coming
Night; and maybe I laughed a little in my throat, standing there alone in the midst of the
Dusk upon the World. And, lo! my content was answered out of the trees that bounded
the country road upon my right; and it was so as that some one had said: "And thou also!"
in glad understanding, that I laughed again a little in my throat; as though I had only a
half-believing that any true human did answer my laugh; but rather some sweet Delusion
or Spirit that was tuned to my mood.
But she spoke and called me by my name; and when I had gone to the side of the road,
that I should see her somewhat, and discover whether I knew her, I saw that she was
surely that lady, who for her beauty was known through all of that sweet County of Kent
as Lady Mirdath the Beautiful; and a near neighbour to me; for the Estates of her
Guardian abounded upon mine.
Yet, until that time, I had never met her; for I had been so oft and long abroad; and so
much given to my Studies and my Exercises when at home, that I had no further
Knowledge of her than Rumour gave to me odd time; and for the rest, I was well content;
for as I have given hint, my books held me, and likewise my Exercises; for I was always
an athlete, and never met the man so quick or so strong as I did be; save in some fiction
of a tale or in the mouth of a boaster.
Now, I stood instantly with my hat in my hand; and answered her gentle bantering so
well as I might, the while that I peered intent and wondering at her through the gloom; for
truly Rumour had told no tale to equal the beauty of this strange maid; who now stood
jesting with so sweet a spirit, and claiming kinship of Cousinhood with me, as was truth,

now that I did wake to think.
And, truly, she made no ado; but named me frank by my lad's name, and gave laughter
and right to me to name her Mirdath, and nothing less or more--at that time. And she bid
me then to come up through the hedge, and make use