ir its flame; yes, while it
still blew sharp upon him the flame of the candle did not move. Then
the wind would cease, and within him the intangible, imponderable power
would arise, and the voices would speak like the far, far, murmur of
a stream, and the thoughts which he could not weigh or interpret would
soak into his being like some strange dew, and, soft, soft as falling
snow, invisible feet would tread the air about him, till of a sudden a
door in his brain seemed to shut, and he woke to the world again.

Every force is subject to laws. Even if they were but the emanations of
an incipient madness which like all else have their origins, destinies,
and forms, these possessing vapours were a force, which in time Morris,
whose mind from a lifelong training was scientific and methodical,
accustomed, moreover, to struggle for dominion over elements unknown or
imperfectly appreciated, learned to regulate if not entirely to control.
Their visits were pleasant to him, a delight even; but to experience
this joy to the utmost he discovered that their power must be
concentrated; that if the full effect was to be produced this moral
morphia must be taken in strong doses, and at stated intervals,
sufficient space being allowed between them to give his mental being
time to recuperate. Science has proved that even the molecules of a wire
can grow fatigued by the constant passage of electricity, or the edge of
a razor by too frequent stropping. Both of them, to be effective, to do
their utmost service, must have periods of rest.

Here, then, his will came to his aid, for he found that by its strong,
concentrated exertion he was enabled both to shut off the sensations or
to excite them. Another thing he found also--that after a while it was
impossible to do without them. For a period the anticipation of their
next visit would buoy him up; but if it were baulked too long, then
reaction set in, and with it the horrors of the Pit.

This was the first stage of his insanity--or of his vision.

Dear as such manifestations might be to him, in time he wearied of them;
these hints which but awakened his imagination, these fantastic spiced
meats which, without staying it, only sharpened his spiritual appetite.
More than ever he longed to see and to know, to make acquaintance with
the actual presence, whereof they were but the forerunners, the cold
blasts that go before the storm, the vague, mystical draperies which
veiled the unearthly go