eternal spring and daffodils and
friendly girls, of which his verses make us free. It would even
explain Corinna and Herrick's rapt living without any human ties. For
all poets since the time of AEschylus, who could not write until he was
too drunken to walk, have been most readily seduced by whatever
stimulus most tended to heighten their imaginings; so that for the sake
of a song's perfection they have freely resorted to divers artificial
inspirations, and very often without evincing any undue
squeamishness. . . . I spoke of AEschylus. I am sorry, Philip, that
you are not familiar with ancient Greek life. There is so much I could
tell you of, in that event, of the quaint cult of Kore, or Pherephatta,
and of the swine of Eubouleus, and of certain ambiguous maidens, whom
those old Grecians fabled--oh, very ignorantly fabled, my lad, of
course--to rule in a more quietly lit and more tranquil world than we
blunder about. I think I could explain much which now seems
mysterious--yes, and the daffodils, also, that Herrick wrote of so
constantly. But it is better not to talk of these sinister delusions
of heathenry." Sir Thomas shrugged. "For my reward would be to have
you think me mad. I prefer to iterate the verdict of all logical
people, and formally to register my opinion that Robert Herrick was
indisputably a lunatic."

Borsdale did not seem perturbed. "I think the record of his
experiments is true, in any event. You will concede that their results
were startling? And what if his deductions be the truth? what if our
limited senses have reported to us so very little of the universe, and
even that little untruthfully?" He laughed and drummed impatiently
upon the table. "At least, he tells us that the boy returned. I
fervently believe that in this matter Dr. Herrick was capable of any
crime except falsehood. Oh, no I depend on it, he also will return."

"You imagine Herrick will break down the door between this world and
that other inconceivable world which all of us have dreamed of! To me,
my lad, it seems as if this Herrick aimed dangerously near to
repetition of the Primal Sin, for all that he handles it like a problem
in mechanical mathematics. The poet writes as if he were instructing a
dame's school as to the advisability of becoming omnipotent."

"Well, well! I am not defending Dr. Herrick in anything save his desire
to know the truth. In this respect at least, he has proven himself to
be both