Speaker 1: Part two of cupid Cyclopedia by Oliver Hereford and John
Speaker 1: Cecil Clay. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
Speaker 1: Part two Amoria. Amoria is the most ancient and honorable
Speaker 1: country upon the Earth's surface, and is without question the
Speaker 1: most intensely populated. It is a green and fertile country,
Speaker 1: and the principal occupation of its people is horticultural husbandry.
Speaker 1: The form of government is home rule, and to become
Speaker 1: a citizen, although born in the country, it is required
Speaker 1: that at least one complete journey be made from end
Speaker 1: to end of the country's principal highway. This at first
Speaker 1: seems an odd requirement, but there is good reasoning behind it. First,
Speaker 1: as this great highway, known as the Path of True Love,
Speaker 1: in its devious windings, touch is practically every portion of
Speaker 1: the Kingdom, the trip is likely to open the traveler's
Speaker 1: eyes and teach him much of the resources and conditions
Speaker 1: of the country he wishes to call his own. Second,
Speaker 1: as the road is rough and in places sometimes seemingly impassable,
Speaker 1: the trip will test the determination and stability of the
Speaker 1: most hearty. Turn to the map, and we find Amoria
Speaker 1: bounded on three sides by misanthropia, the state of indifference,
Speaker 1: and the sea of oblivion emptying into which the Quarrel
Speaker 1: River forever pours its flotsam and jetsam. On the upper side,
Speaker 1: you will see it as bounded by the edge of
Speaker 1: the map. This is because it is too cold in
Speaker 1: that direction to sustain human life. Reader's note. Here in
Speaker 1: the text occurs a map which is amply described in
Speaker 1: the text that follows end note. Let us now follow
Speaker 1: upon the map the course of this historic road. Far
Speaker 1: up in the corner of the map we find Mount Curiosity,
Speaker 1: its snow capped peaks, lost in the soft gray veil
Speaker 1: of mist that has prevented the scientist from determining its
Speaker 1: greatest heights. The ascent of the mountain is usually made
Speaker 1: on the side where it comes nearest to the state
Speaker 1: of indifference. See note why here a well known path
Speaker 1: known as the path of least resistance takes one by
Speaker 1: such a gradual and agreeable route that little or no
Speaker 1: effort is realized in the climb, and it is usually
Speaker 1: as surprise when just a little below the frost line,
Speaker 1: one comes suddenly upon a little plateau high high in
Speaker 1: the heavens. Here the air is salubrious, and the temperature,
Speaker 1: even the view is so wonderful in the early on
Speaker 1: that the most phlegmatic will become enthusiastic. This little plateau
Speaker 1: is known as the Plateau Platonic, and is quite flat.
Speaker 1: In spite of its beauty and charm. Few travelers are
Speaker 1: satisfied to rest here long. In leaving the plateau, one
Speaker 1: must have a care, for there are two paths quite
Speaker 1: similar in appearance, one leading up the mountain to nowhere
Speaker 1: and loneliness, and the other the commencement of the path
Speaker 1: of true love. The careful traveler need not mistake the path,
Speaker 1: for beside the entrance, at about the height of a
Speaker 1: man's heart, and nailed to a great oak, is a
Speaker 1: crudely fashioned hand with finger pointing the way. This is
Speaker 1: called the hand of fate. Alas, too few take the
Speaker 1: trouble to look for this guide, and many take the
Speaker 1: wrong path, while those who, by sheer luck take the
Speaker 1: right night one are easily discouraged because of the very
Speaker 1: uncertain condition of mind They soon find themselves in These
Speaker 1: usually lose heart before going a long way, or in
Speaker 1: their careless method of progress, take some wrong turning and
Speaker 1: come to a swift and bad end. But we will
Speaker 1: follow the progress of the traveler who believes and signs.
Speaker 1: It is hard to describe those first impressions, as one
Speaker 1: comes swinging down the mountain side and sees winding far
Speaker 1: out across the verdant Valley of Dreams, dotted here and
Speaker 1: there with its picturesque castles, the path of true love
Speaker 1: like a silver thread. It seems so bright and pure,
Speaker 1: and off to the right, there is such a happy
Speaker 1: pink glow in the sky that one usually finds himself
Speaker 1: humming some old love song. Luckily the traveler who puts
Speaker 1: a clover in his buttonhole while crossing the Valley of dreams,
Speaker 1: for all too soon the cold winds that sweep across
Speaker 1: the Lake Indifference and make the trip around it a
Speaker 1: perilous and discouraging one will be chilling his marrow. He
Speaker 1: will need both courage and luck. When rounding the upper
Speaker 1: end of the lake, he comes upon the rough and
Speaker 1: rocky stretch of road running along the edge of a
Speaker 1: fearful precipice, which overhangs the lake and is known as
Speaker 1: the Height of Indifference. Here, one false step and all
Speaker 1: is lost. Past this danger, the road turns from the
Speaker 1: lake but the traveler has hardly time to congratulate himself
Speaker 1: upon the warmer conditions when he is confronted by a
Speaker 1: most disconcerting range of mountains known as the Mountains of opposition.
Speaker 1: If you do not cross the mountains, the mountains will
Speaker 1: double cross you. So push on and with tact and
Speaker 1: determination they will be overcome. The mountains passed, a smooth
Speaker 1: bit of road is reached, and brighter weather that after
Speaker 1: the lowering clouds. The storms and many obstacles met with
Speaker 1: in the mountains will likely mislead the traveler into thinking
Speaker 1: his troubles over light hearted, he will push forward hurriedly,
Speaker 1: taking little heed of the fast increasing cold. Fortunately, adjust
Speaker 1: at the edge of the map, and just upon the
Speaker 1: longitude of respect, the road takes a sudden, sharp turn,
Speaker 1: but it is almost from bad to worse, for it
Speaker 1: plunges the traveler into the forest of misunderstanding, a dark
Speaker 1: and dismal place that will fill the strongest with misgivings.
Speaker 1: The only way is to stick close to the road.
Speaker 1: This is sometimes hard in the darkness, as there are
Speaker 1: many bypaths. Travelers, once off the correct road, have been
Speaker 1: known to wander for years without once seeing the sunlight.
Speaker 1: About half way through the forest, there is a road
Speaker 1: turning to the right, it seems the easier way, dipping
Speaker 1: down as it does, into a little valley and across
Speaker 1: a turbulent little stream, beyond which it disappears from sight
Speaker 1: in the tangle of brilliant foliage covering Mount Folly. Unhappy
Speaker 1: he who takes this turn, for there is many a
Speaker 1: slippery stone in the bed of this stream, and the
Speaker 1: crossing is not a happy one if one would turn
Speaker 1: back at the first slip, But human nature is stubborn,
Speaker 1: and few do. Besides, there seems little choice between the
Speaker 1: dismal forest behind and the lure of Mount Folly ahead.
Speaker 1: Folly lasts but a day, however, and the foliage soon
Speaker 1: loses its attractive coloring. The foolish wayfarer, then, pushing on,
Speaker 1: finds himself again confronted by the turbulent stream, but easier
Speaker 1: to cross, this time a little way further. The path
Speaker 1: ends at what appears to be a refreshing spring. It
Speaker 1: is the spring of untruth, and he who lies to
Speaker 1: drink of its waters will ever be a slave of
Speaker 1: the drug. Again, as one is nearing the edges of
Speaker 1: the black forest, is another road leading off to the
Speaker 1: left and to the Spring of Mistrust. Turn not aside
Speaker 1: nor drink of this spring. Its waters are bitter, and
Speaker 1: this turning but takes one back into the depths of
Speaker 1: the dismal forest. Emerging from the black forests of Misunderstanding,
Speaker 1: the road winds across a fertile and easy going prairie land, twice,
Speaker 1: crossing the acid waters of bicker Brook see Note twenty three,
Speaker 1: and crossing the Quarrel River, takes its course along the
Speaker 1: foot of what by many is considered the most beautiful
Speaker 1: mountain in Amoria mount Unselfishness. The going is easy here,
Speaker 1: and when one comes to a little road branching off
Speaker 1: and running right up the mountain side, he is apt
Speaker 1: to feel very little inclination to take it. Nearly every
Speaker 1: traveler knows by hearsay that this is a short cut
Speaker 1: one should take. But standing at the foot of the mountain,
Speaker 1: with a broad, smooth road on one hand, and this
Speaker 1: little used, difficult mountain path, it is hardly more than
Speaker 1: a blazed trail on the other. It is much to
Speaker 1: the traveler's credit who attempts it at all. Quite a
Speaker 1: few do, however, begin the ascent, but almost without exception,
Speaker 1: have not the strength to continue and turn back to
Speaker 1: the main highway, only to be shortly plunged again and
Speaker 1: again in the cold and caustic waters of the Quarrel River.
Speaker 1: As the road crosses and recrosses it. There are no
Speaker 1: bridges here, and many a poor traveler becomes exhausted in
Speaker 1: the mad battle with the current, hopelessly loses all self
Speaker 1: control and is carried away to be lost in the
Speaker 1: sea of oblivion. At the river's mouth is lost Hope Island.
Speaker 1: This is really nothing more than a bar, and superstition
Speaker 1: has it that there, on stormy nights, when the tide
Speaker 1: is coming in congregate those poor lost souls, and it
Speaker 1: is claimed on good authority that the discords of their
Speaker 1: mormful songs can be heard even as far as the
Speaker 1: edges of the desert of Absence. After these several crossings
Speaker 1: of the Quarrel River, the road again becomes easy, and
Speaker 1: travel should be a pleasure. But the traveler is weary
Speaker 1: from the recent struggle with the river, and is almost
Speaker 1: thankful for the flat stretch of road where it first
Speaker 1: crosses the desert of Absence. Often better if this bit
Speaker 1: of road were longer for before the traveler entirely regains
Speaker 1: his former vim, he is deep in the unhealthy mists
Speaker 1: and quicksands of the slew of despond and it is
Speaker 1: in a very weakened condition that he commences the second
Speaker 1: crossing of the Desert of Absence. In this condition is
Speaker 1: it strange that one loiter in the oasis of flirtation,
Speaker 1: the one bright spot in an otherwise dull desert. But
Speaker 1: an oasis and a flirtation have their limits, and when
Speaker 1: one's thirst is satisfied, one wants to move on. And well,
Speaker 1: this is for the traveler on the path of true love.
Speaker 1: For only a little and the desert is past, and
Speaker 1: the road leads for many happy miles through the sweetest
Speaker 1: and most beautiful meadow land, where the warm sunlight, the
Speaker 1: songs of the birds, and the sweet odor of new
Speaker 1: mown hay repay one for all the hardships of the past,
Speaker 1: and so stimulate the traveler that he strikes out upon
Speaker 1: the third crossing of the Desert of Absence with a
Speaker 1: light step and a song in his heart. And though
Speaker 1: the trip is longer, it seems far shorter than either
Speaker 1: of the previous crossings. So happy indeed has he been,
Speaker 1: and with the soft airs of the desert making his
Speaker 1: heart grow fonder. The way seems so easy that the
Speaker 1: sudden obstruction of two of the lesser spurs of the
Speaker 1: mountains of opposition fill him with misgiving, and the valley
Speaker 1: between them is well named Blue Valley see Note thirteen.
Speaker 1: In such a condition of mind, the traveler plunges down
Speaker 1: the mountain side and is soon deep in a great
Speaker 1: gloomy forest, not likely to raise his spirits, but rather
Speaker 1: calculated to depress them still more ugeen then the elation.
Speaker 1: When bursting at length from the depression of the forest
Speaker 1: of gloom, the traveler sees before him that transcendently beautiful mountain,
Speaker 1: Mount Hope. Well, may he hold his breath and gaze
Speaker 1: in rapture, for before him rises the most beautiful mountain
Speaker 1: in all the world, and will ever be as long
Speaker 1: as life lasts, with its velvety slopes and shaded dells,
Speaker 1: its little silver rills tinkling down the mountain side, sounding
Speaker 1: like fairy laughter through the trees, the gently stirring air,
Speaker 1: freighted with the perfume of myriads of fragrant blossoms, and
Speaker 1: overall a tender rose colored glow reflected from the soft,
Speaker 1: pinky clouds that forever tenderly rests upon the mountain stop.
Speaker 1: It is indeed the most beautiful of nature's jewels, so
Speaker 1: it seems, with hope so long deferred to, that tired
Speaker 1: eyed struggler upon Love's highway, often heartsick and oppressed by
Speaker 1: the vicissitudes of the way. For here he may rest, and,
Speaker 1: gazing again out over the deer valley of dreams, rejuvenate
Speaker 1: the yearning, the ambition, and the determination that have brought
Speaker 1: him through so much. To these he must now add hope,
Speaker 1: And so equipped and refreshed, he dashes a second time
Speaker 1: through the forest of gloom, and, though confronted by the
Speaker 1: most stubborn and rocky section known as the parent peak
Speaker 1: in the entire range of the mountains of Opposition, his
Speaker 1: past experience and his added strength carry him over with
Speaker 1: little effort, and coming down the last steep slope, his
Speaker 1: heart gives abound as his eye follows the smooth roadway
Speaker 1: stretching invitingly across a nearly level expanse of well cultivated country,
Speaker 1: thickly dotted with the happy homes of those who had
Speaker 1: once been travelers like himself. If he be not short sighted,
Speaker 1: he is able to see even as far ahead as
Speaker 1: to where the road and his lonely journey end in
Speaker 1: heavenly Mount Heart's Desire. As he passes along, many a
Speaker 1: cheerful face smiles out at him from the doorways, and
Speaker 1: many a cheerful word of welcome and greeting encourage him
Speaker 1: to hasten. The smiles of the rosy cheeked children seem
Speaker 1: especially sweet to him. The journey's end, the goal is reached.
Speaker 1: Naught remains further for the traveler now except the oath
Speaker 1: of allegiance, which is performed with considerable ceremony in the
Speaker 1: little church just around the corner to the left. Note.
Speaker 1: Mount Heart's Desire is of an attractive shape and thickly
Speaker 1: surrounded by orange blossoms. No two travelers agree as to
Speaker 1: its height, but we are of the opinion that it
Speaker 1: must be about five feet three or four inches. Within
Speaker 1: it is a little shrine called Trust, which is the
Speaker 1: duty of every worshiper to protect. Note why it seems
Speaker 1: more than a mere coincidence that the path of least
Speaker 1: resistance should run up Mount Curiosity on the side nearest
Speaker 1: to the borders of the State of Indifference, and there
Speaker 1: is a very ancient tradition that the first person to
Speaker 1: make the ascent came from that easy going country. We
Speaker 1: believe this tradition to be another version of the Adam
Speaker 1: and Eve's story, and feel that it conclusively proves us
Speaker 1: right in our calculations as to the exact location of
Speaker 1: the Garden of Eden. We claim it was situated in
Speaker 1: that part of the State of Indifference, near to and
Speaker 1: in full view of Mount Curiosity, and that Adam was
Speaker 1: the first man to make the climb. We also believe
Speaker 1: that Adam became lost on the mountain side and never
Speaker 1: returned to Eden, and that the Path of True Love
Speaker 1: gives a pretty good idea of his subsequent wanderings, of
Speaker 1: which so little heretofore has been known. At any rate,
Speaker 1: vast numbers from the State of Indifference make the ascent
Speaker 1: of Mount Curiosity every year, and many of our best
Speaker 1: citizens have come from that state Note twenty three. At
Speaker 1: this point, after the more or less extended journey through
Speaker 1: the unhealthy forest of misunderstanding, the traveler must have a care,
Speaker 1: especially if he be of a sensitive nature, for the
Speaker 1: shock of the first plunge through bicker Brook will often
Speaker 1: throw one into a distemper or fever. Some going out
Speaker 1: salutely out of their heads, wander far afield. Herein lies
Speaker 1: a grave danger because of the nearness of the road
Speaker 1: at this point to the boundaries of Misanthropia, which state
Speaker 1: is little more than a barren waste. The peculiar mental
Speaker 1: attitude of its inhabitants gives strength to the theory advanced
Speaker 1: in Amoria that its population is made up of those poor,
Speaker 1: fever ridden souls who have wandered from the path of
Speaker 1: true love and gone quite mad Note thirteen. The higher
Speaker 1: one climbs, the duller the thud. So with the traveler
Speaker 1: who has been dreaming across sweet meadowland and balmy wastes,
Speaker 1: when suddenly confronted by a renewal of obstacles which his
Speaker 1: optimism had made him believe past forever. And it is
Speaker 1: in a nervous and uncertain state of mind we find
Speaker 1: him groping his way through the mists that always fill
Speaker 1: Blue Valley. Here is a great danger, for with the
Speaker 1: steep mountains on three sides, the traveler, if he once
Speaker 1: stumble from the road, is apt to follow the depression
Speaker 1: of the valley, until morbid and benumbed, he wander into
Speaker 1: the state of indifference. The same danger, in a lesser degree,
Speaker 1: is lurking in the Forest of Gloom. Appendix. The appendix
Speaker 1: has been removed end of Part two.