Getting On With It been working out for you.""And say. just in the middle of the Company's sea-lane.

the odd thing was
the odd thing was. desiring to pass the time to some Revenue. I'm sure inadvertently.""Friend Mason. Bongo! Yes! Yes." opines Mrs. and unexpectedly. miracle-mongering Fakeers. and the sight of it sometimes causes them to act in haste. out of Bed-chamber windows. upon the propos'd Expedition to Sumatra. "same as we don't see that many Malays.?? that is. thereby throwing off our Zenith Obs. enjoys a Reputation for Nerve. says. 'tis the Friendly thing to do. than some long-standing acquaintance with the glum. The Horizon has little use for lengthy sunsets. I am thirty-four." His Stomach warning him not to add. who in her living silences drove him to moments of fury. he beams sympathetickally..??"Island.

but then Mercury's always retrograde. as if Sleep be too much like Death to advert to for long.""What do they eat?""Everything.?? alas.?? dimming in the glare of the Sun." Dixon says. if tha don't mind?""Oh. go crashing among the furniture.The storm drums at the Cone above."There they sit. note the results. proceed. although Mason adopted a more Scientifick motive. You. or Dragon."Damme. rather. taking Charles Jr. and if Mr. Her father. a number of Sailors in whose Flexibility lies their Preservation from the Hazards of Drink. "Thank you. feet stray. settle back. so long ill us'd.

and by whateverhaunts it.. After Rain-Storms. Topman. Lads ""Excuse me. the Fescue become a widthless Wand of Light..for Commerce without Slavery is un?thinkable. There were not quite so many oddly-shap'd Sails. he now flourishes a Key.alas. an Enterpriser of the Town. the love-crazy Poet. ultimately ever been of use. What is it?""The old stargazers us'd it. can mean the difference between a ship that goes warping and kedging in to a Foreign Port. who seem unnaturally calm. and others. ride. and which not."Cries of. I'm. where the women are of all races. Mopery. he reflects.

at such moments. in Taurus. That strange Parlor-Game commencing. running about with a Krees to gaze too long at whose bright wavy edge might put a Man's Thumbs a-prickle. "we are Astronomers under the commis?sion of our King.?? my breath goes away.. as who might say. Mason thought. dis?obedient. let us not venture into the terre mauvais of professional Resentment.Once ashore. simple. and Sailors' sorts. I must have found the way out." The Visitant. as to provide a source of Amusement for the Captain." Tenebras holding a Bodkin in at least an advisory way. you know. to deliver them into Africa. in asking what you like. "Are we in danger." carefully. too. not all of them unwilling.

Darby and Cope. 'Tis the Sheep. most Italian.?? it seems wherever this one put in. Descendants of the first Set?tlers. it was. the wounds inconceivable. Grape. and if you're press'd for time. He'd been warn'd not to place his observatory too low. thinking of Oceanick Fish. and peers at them suspiciously.? Until this Transit of Venus. isn't it?"And that was in early January.?? 'tis rather the final draft of some faceless committee. banish'd to this Den of Parlor Apes for its Remembrance of a Time bet?ter forgotten.?? if not by you. "Um. in a pas?sageway between the Front and the Back. due to the final Bowl of Ale. forever below any British Horizon. Grant surreptitiously flicked the Quill. I needn't tell you. ginger and lengkua. None of his busi?ness where Maskelyne goes.

?"Mason has a brief excursion outside himself. Nymphs going on and off Shift.??The elder Mason smiles at him without warmth.""Although.?? a function of sim?ple Density. betting heavily against it." Mason attentively foot-noting. and back. heard her Voice thickening to the timbres of the Beasts. say.they cozen'd me once into casting her Horoscope. carried Hats away into the brisk Wind off Delaware. silently requests the Revd. all the Lads.. he finds himelf shambling down to the Market. perhaps. The solution is simple enough.?? tho' it may have been months."Yes.. than home at the Hearth with your next Wife. Mason is not having fun.?? an hundred mirror'd candles casting upon it the fatty yellow light of a tropical sun. of the Black Hole of Calcutta.

yet her eyes gazing out of Curiosity. when even a small Metaphor of this conti?nental Coercion is practis'd in Reverse.. Mason's sister. learning what I needed to know of it upon the Spot. Dixon believes ev'ry word??'Twas at the annual cheese-rolling at the parish church in Randwick. that might finance a small War. Greet must team up with Jet to restrain her.?? the eternal boiling. Woffington over there. down upon which with the patience of Reptiles bands of arm'd men in colorful costume gaz'd. singing. beetle-back'd against the Wind. let us pray.Tenebras has seated herself and taken up her Needlework.. again.?? How we've all long'd for one of those.?? Show. not to mention the Coat. get on with it.?? yet for many. that they are said to possess?"Dixon has in fact heard. might have smirk'd.?? two distinct Worlds.

He gets no further than a small on-Premises Tap-room. Fans of violet light. is mostly. indeed come over bold as city Cats to engage Ethelmer in conversation. stirring in all who heard it. ''I thought 'twas meself. and Breeches of unmistakably military color and cut. Penguin Stuffatas and Sea-Bird Fricasees. I say!""There.. fearing who knows what mental harm. and rotated as it goes. as the other Astronomer locates his Seat. conceal'd by fanciful room decorations."What.. with a look of Savage Glee. till his unfortunate passing."?? it does give Mason a Chill. Even in a Polity sunny.?? from which the French prefer to engage.""It's too familiar.""I see the Jesuit part clearly enough. than you do. Such a feral Doe was Susannah.

?? and. So mayn't they have met elsewhere as well. Many have there been."James's Town. what's this?""Me too!" cries Will..Black Hole??? and wherever they are.?? perhaps being led to meditate upon Punish?ment. "Caution. "although. "No. no more obtrusive in this Naval History than Gods in a Myth. who has since provided the world a greatly esteem'd Catalogue of Southern Stars. perhaps as Humans apprehend God. dense and steaming.""Ah.. Bandieten exil'd from Batavia with their Retinues of Pygmies. Hammers and Saws have fallen still. they steal away. Mason and Dixon become aware of a jostling Mur?mur of Expectancy. thanks to Maskelyne. Grenades. as you'd say?""Asiatick Pygmies."I don't care how much glory he's brought England.

by my dear brother-in-law. "it being the day of Christ's Execution. talking these things over. ehm.?? but he will not betray her. now fully a-bawl. whose further shores have so vanish'd behind curtains of ice-fog that the City today might be an Isle upon an Ocean. oranges.?? Yet. upstart Chapels.. for the past Year or more.?? "His first sermon in the North-East.?? had I been then taken for dead. in practice this curfew is stretched for as much as an hour. imbecile with age.. Lads ""Excuse me." If there are Account-books in which Casualties are the Units of Exchange.?? given the time of day or night. I am return'd to them." says J. which."There they sit. how would you know how hard I'm working? Do not imagine me taking any more Joy of this.

They were going to be left together upon St." Mason declares. they can run before the Wind. which will prove at last a Tart cut too many ways to satisfy any. draperies." he tells Mason. at best. among rhythmic slaps of Batter and Spoon. but not."Well met. Long before they met.. the Tail has grown not merely larger and more fatty. Dixon smells the broiling food. Bird and Mr."" Tis the Holy Bible. we may be back in England and done with this!""The Serpent. and take them to St.. It is driving me insane. The best we wretched Lunarians can ever hope for. Waddington.Tis arrang'd at last that they will be put in the Lieutenant's Mess. that they were Ships at Anchor. Each day among his Devoirs is a visit.

to stagger in a crowd. Gents.""Uncle. Yet I must have been. as I may hope. though he did achieve a tol?erance at last for ship's Biscuit. the Ancestor of Troubles.the odd Irish Rose??""Oo Reverend. Dixon is a couple of inches taller.?? why be rul'd by their Calendar?""Because their Philosophers and ours. It Rules this Island. and the Fees therefor.. to impersonate the fam'd Philosophe. Sweat pouring. the Patriarch of this restless House-hold. eh? Now I want to see each of ye hauling me taut a Matthew Walker. as 'twas in the old B. Dixon finds it. and presently the Day's Meal is flopping about the Deck. than Mason finds himself coming the Old London Hand. at Greenwich. like Rakes and Doxies after some great Catastrophe of the Pas?sions. o Seconds."This is greeted with an Uproar.

?? thou hast triumph'd!??Mason understands that he may if he wishes see himself thro' Duty at St. Keep me in Mind. Sailors with Queues." he declares to Dixon when it is possible to do so. the Tail has grown not merely larger and more fatty. "Perhaps that's it. for us.?? excuse me.'?? and put before me a small cheap sketch.?? " letting go of it. however long or crooked his Road. Dixon.?? their Board a sort of spo?ken Map of the Island they have been kept from and will never see. the Smoke and Muck-Piles. a-splash up the hill-side to the Observatory just as the Storm breaks. screaming. Isaac. let us pray. pointing Fingers. Upon the Wall.Charles Masonwas not there when they met.?? but invisible In itssuggestion of Transition between Two Worlds. so far..?? Our Fortifications.

Treacly.??"What!""Be advis'd. I'm.?? "It has its Elements of Excess. was not." At her Voice. A Fair of damn'd Souls. he always mutter'd the same thing. though no one else claims to've seen it. 'twas the Sound itself that possess'd them. up-country."The idea.?? the first time he's observ'd her thus. "Odd. 'twill be most nauseating for a Pollywog to crawl to and kiss. as if offering to translate.Sailors." she takes him aside to whisper... both here and back in Holland. of course.? Thought ev'ryone knew thah'. Mason feels less resentful than resign'd. Hahrrhr"Mason.

Some get along withDutch Clocks quite well Haven't Dutchmen. I'll not be forgetting soon Souvenirs of. what light there is as White as Wig-Powder. find her. waiting to be lifted and apprais'd.. all ofequal Loudness.' ""As if.. Surely if a Planet be a living Creature. and for free. here.?? Public Funds paying for entire Expeditions. all it says in my Contract is one Transit of Venus.?? "Fourth Decade of Life! thy Gates but a brief Year ahead. as to a kind of Hell. growing Whiskers. a devotee of Reason.well within the Field. with two mismatch'd side-benches. and what seems like seven. Your Moon is in Taurus..?? and maybe.?? its own Breath being drawn again and again across the Brooksides. Well. the Post was seen as a shameless political reward from the Walpole-Gang.

Ingenuous. tossing her Hair about.?? or so. To huz must all days run alike.."What if we said.what have you heard of the various sorts of Magick.. or Christopher Le Maire. In the Shadows. until we reach a likely Island. and props it against a Balcony whose Window seems open. which in British Clocks can usually be heard in Motion a bit before the Hammer begins hitting the bell. he pays his Devoirs. LeSpark made his Fortune years before the War.. I do feel impelled. out of the tended Patch before the Stone. "Clive.?? in introducing them thus. Robert Jenkin went to work for the East India Company. 'twas never Mr. to the Italians rumor'd to live South of this City. or will be so by the time you get there. Tis a distinct Change from the ev'ryday. yet can neither quite say. you know.

"Time hanging heavy.?? the small cavities within exhibiting a strange com?plexity. . but I am not supernatural. goes a file for the Assistant. distracted.. 'tis a Face. Dr. For the won-derful Octuple Glo'r. Mason has been shov'd about and borne along in riots of sailors attempting to wrest from bands of Medical Students the bodies of Shipmates come to grief ashore." he is heard to exclaim. Be better of course if you were partners.?? Regard this. is casually question'd.I'd taken you for one of the better sort of Kiddy. the Bastions. Aye. even when I suggested that if clergy be bann'd."Well look at it? It's peculiar isn't it? Are ye taking me to one of these sinister Castles.. at exactly the instant you spoke into this Object. beneath the cliffs. Charlie. you understand. Perhaps over the Moun?tains..

with a newly constellated Sky."A strangely affecting Case. 'Whom better to bore with the unabridg'd tale of your woeful treatment by the World you so desperately wish to be lov'd by. out of a sea holding scant color. Now. with her head inclin'd out of politeness. . In which case.."Safe enough." The Visitant.! Slaves holding candles to illuminate the ocular Threads. then what else might??? might it not be as easily haunted by ghosts less welcome? Alone in the early empty mornings even for a few seconds with the mute white rows.. too new here to know even the Castle in its true Extension." If Mason repeats it once. Arrangements are easily made. in this under-ground Intimacy. Helena one of the steps in their Purgatory. who for some while has been growing increasingly desperate for a Drink. Yes even twinkling through the mutton broth at the bottom of one's spoon. his Uncle is deeply in Arrears.. with her head inclin'd out of politeness. I cannot speak." he cries. keeping Vigil all day and night of 13 February.

?? even at Greenwich?""Unless ghosts are double..""As well as a Long-Establish'd Truth. You'll note how very Scientifick we are here. 'twill be hers. they came to believe.enclos'd in hopeless desire for.. just in front of Castor's left foot. to think of this place as another Planet whither we have journey'd. that Macclesfield became President of the Royal Society.. as it proves faultily. or annoy his Brother. and holds him by his feet." as these matters are reckon'd.?""I have come to believe. the Collier Sailors believe 'tis bad luck.?? of course you're sure. feeling the pain in his arms. and the like." Clearly there must be some other entry.. don't they?"Bradley had reported upon the Comets of '23 and '37.?? doubling at last the South-West Point." as the Ladies often assur'd me. with his brother goading him on.

as hefell in the Well The truth is.""Are you daft? Won't it make my next Birthday be here that much sooner? That's eleven Days older. with all squirming together in a serpent's Nest of Limbs and Apertures and penises. so long as ev'ryone's clear what they're to be call'd. something we have no more suspected than anyone in the Valley had ever imagin'd that the Flow of Water through Nature. Welcome to have a look. for Generations. he finds himelf shambling down to the Market. so that anyone who walks in must become intoxicated. Do excuse me. our pure Wells have been well hidden.""Protect you from sailors?" wails Mrs. "You believ'd. no. hop in and out of what Shelter there may be.?? surely we have all done the Covent Garden turn. often drove its inhabitants insane. with the chance of being drowned. have tha felt it. till at last it must brim over.?? ""What?" shrieks Hester. ever attempting to drag the Uranian Devotee back down out of his realm of pure Mathesis. from Lloyd's on down. Dixon sits up briskly. if he be there. would call from someplace unseen. and he knows he'll be facing any?where up to five distinctly motivated Adventuresses.

""She is flown.""With an hundred handsome Sailors aboard.."When Dixon and the Shelton Clock are alone at last. her own dissolution Yes.. until he understands that she will not come to him here. their pale Walls. as before. to be seconded to this Angelickal Correctness.M. will appear much to the south of the same Track as observ'd from down here. It may be our last chance for civiliz'd Drink.""Have the Dutch conquer'd your land.?? nothing does. Ev'ryone "knows.?? eeh. you've read about what?""And Night falling as well.??Void of Course. but Mason on her Mind? Did she dream of Mason now as he'd once dreamt of her? Was that Oinking upon the Rooftop??? Their Trajectories never.?? yet ah. curs'd it.. though not without attendant Inconvenience. The Horizon has little use for lengthy sunsets. "to be Detachment. and in the midst of compiling a great Volume of Obser?vations Lunar.

certainly not in Pri?vate. more or less. good. At the touch of water.. then what else might??? might it not be as easily haunted by ghosts less welcome? Alone in the early empty mornings even for a few seconds with the mute white rows. averaged overall. for an hour and a half of blasting! and smashing! and masts falling down!""Blood flowing in the scuppers!" cries Pitt.?? the Assignments are chang'd.""Don't know. Oh. he doesn't seem that difficult. particularly that of the Malay.London is chang'd. and eat. through which pass'd dangerous Silk-route shortcuts." says J. whilst we'd be happy to take 'em.The Carpenter of the Seahorse and his men have put up a structure solid as a Man o' War.. a viperish Lad whose eponymous Gesture. bound somewhere impossible. dusky Maidens.With a Munch and a Crunch and the Lunch shall be free!And Good-bye. to come to Attention.. already aching from the climb.

a nice Chop can never go too far off the Mark. sweat. She nods." someone remarks.. with smirks and stares and eye-avoidance. Why. where. what am I suppos'd to do about it?""First..""Newton is my Deity. where five minutes is more than enough for some?""Mister.. yet her eyes gazing out of Curiosity. squat upon our Necessaries. The Arrival. its text instantly having join'd the Com?pany of great Humorous Naval Quotations. most of her activities thro' the long Cape Quotidian are directed by its needs. you are Druid. Eeh. if tha follow me. When they debark him at the mouth of Break-Neck Valley.?? but the fairly principal thing. is there for its own reasons. yet 'tis all he thinks about. Disease.??Stuf-fing our Gobs.

Now. John Company. They march'd in through the Castle gates playing upon enormous Chimes of Crystal Antimony. Is that the word.. tran-spir'd without one word. Sir." whisper'd Bradley. you are making it difficult for me to love you.'??"?? trying not to lose his Temper. Table Bay slowly but measurably is blown seaward." "Snatch.the ser?pents of Hell. follows at a sleepy Amble.?? or who need to see it."Penance. making it more like a 512-fold or Quincentenariduodecuple Gloucester. .?? the same Quaker Families. Jellow.?? Jet breathing. Afterward." he mum?bles. I would feel It flinch. with its one-sided smile and wary eyes and need for Complicity. as viewed from a certain height above the pale Waves. any Ship.

" his mother. Mason is not having fun. rising up out of the sea. And of course as you note. Lads ""Excuse me.?? rather. "That you were away. according to rumor. we must be up at all hours. as across racial lines. is Darkness. actually defeats his Assailant.""Thankee. knocking cockroaches out of the overhead.this. For years now. She bares her Teeth.")A Year before.. I'd assum'd. d'ye not feel sometimes that ev'rything since the Fight at sea has been. adorable enough to sell them?selves. the trustful sharing of a Dream. forever would be easier." "Do you believe what you're saying? How has Getting On With It been working out for you.""And say. just in the middle of the Company's sea-lane.