Chapter 17 Chapter 17 A Sunrise

A month later it was the evening of August 20th Simon.Ford and Madge send their best wishes to the four travelers who are about to leave the cottage. James.Starr, Harry and Jack.Ryan would take Nell onto a land where her feet had never trod, into a radiant center whose light her eyes had not yet recognized. The tour will last for two days, James.Starr and Harry agreed that after forty-eight hours outside, the young girl could see what she couldn't see in the dark coal mines, the facets of the earth, cities, plains, mountains, rivers A swirling painting of lakes, lakes, bays, and seas was displayed in front of her eyes.

In this part of Scotland, however, between Edinburgh and Glasgow, nature seems to want to gather together these human beauties with the most exactness, so that, to the sky, there seem to be everywhere, with their variations. Endless great clouds, their bright or eclipsed moons, their radiant suns, their dense stars. The excursion program is therefore arranged in such a way as to satisfy this program list. Simon.Ford and Madge were very happy to be with Nell, but they were known to be reluctant to leave the cottage, so in the end they could not make up their minds to leave their underground home, even for a day.

James.Starr was there as an observer, a philosopher, psychologically eager to observe Nell's childish feelings and perhaps even to suddenly discover some mysterious event in which her childhood had been involved. Harry, for his part, wondered wistfully if it had been another young girl than the one he loved and the one he had known up to that time, might not have been enlightened when things in the outside world were quick to enlighten her. As for Jack.Ryan, happy as a chaffinch flying around in the morning sun.He very much wanted his infectious joy to pass on to his traveling companions.It would be a way of returning his welcome.

Nell pondered. James.Starr decided, not without reason, to set off at night.Indeed, it is best for the young girl to pass unconsciously from the darkness of night into the light of day.And this arrangement will achieve this effect, since, from midnight to noon, she will go through successive phases of darkness and light, to which her eyes will be a little accustomed. Nell took Harry's hand as he was leaving the cottage, and said to him: Harry, do I really have to get out of our coal mines, if only for a few days? Yes, Nell, answered the young man, it must be so!It must be like this for you and me!

But, Harry, went on Nell, I couldn't be happier since you took me in.You have given me an education.Isn't that enough?What am I going to do there? Harry looked at her without answering.The thoughts Nell expressed were pretty much his thoughts. My daughter, at this time James."I understand your hesitation, but it pays you to come with us," Starr said.Those you love are with you, and they will bring you back.It's up to you whether you want to go on living in the coal mines after this, like old Simon, like Madge, like Harry.I don't doubt that it should be done, and I agree with you.But at least, you can compare what you've given up with what you've gained, and act with complete freedom.bring it on!

Come on, my dear Nell, said Harry. I was going with you, Harry, answered the young girl. At nine o'clock the last train in the tunnel brought Nell and her companions to the county ground.Twenty minutes later the train brought them to the station where the connection to New Aberfoyle branched off at the small junction of the line from Dumbarton to Stirling. The night has darkened.From the horizon to the zenith, some less dense vapor still raced high in the sky, blown by a northwest wind that cools the air.The day was beautiful.Night should be just as beautiful. At Stirling, Nell and her traveling companions left the station without taking the train.

Before them, among the tall trees, stretched a road to the banks of the River Worth. The first physical sensation the girl experiences is that of her lungs sucking in the pure air greedily. Breathe well, Nell, James.Breathe the country air, with all its pleasant scents, said Starr! What are these hunks of smoke racing over our heads?Nell asked. This is cloud.Harry replied that it was some semi-condensed vapor being pushed westward by the wind. ah!Nell said how I liked to feel myself drawn into their peaceful eddies!What are those flickering dots that shine brightly through the cracks in the great dark clouds?

That's the star I told you about, Nell.There are as many centers of worlds as there are suns, possibly like ours. At this time, under the gradual purification of the wind, those constellations appeared more clearly on the blue-black sky. Nell looked at the thousands of glowing stars that clouded her head. But, she said, these are the suns, how can my eyes bear their light? My daughter, James.Starr replied that these were indeed suns, but suns that were moving by gravity at great distances.The nearest of these thousands of planets, whose light reaches us all the way, is the constellation Lyra, the one you see almost at the top of the zenith, which is fifty thousand million miles away. .So its brilliance cannot cloud your gaze.But when our sun rises tomorrow a mere thirty-eight million miles away, no human eye will be able to look upon it, for it will be hotter than the fire in a great furnace.But come on, Nell, come on!

Everyone hit the road.James.Starr took the young girl by the hand.Harry walked beside her.Jack.Ryan came and went like a young dog, impatient with his owners' ramblings. There was no one on the road.Nell looked at the silhouette of the big tree blown by the wind in the shadows.It was natural for her to regard them as a few giants making many gestures.The wind howled on the high branches, and when the wind stopped, there was silence. When the road crossed a plain, the horizon became more obvious. She was completely immersed in the fresh feeling and left an indelible impression on her heart. impression.After some initial questions, Nell fell silent, while her traveling companions unanimously respected her silence.They are absolutely unwilling to use words to influence this girl to use her feelings and imagination.They preferred to let her develop these concepts in her mind.

About half-past eleven they reached the northern bank of Worth Bay. James.A boat that Starr had rented was waiting there.The ship would carry him and his traveling companions to Edinburgh Harbor in a few hours. Nell could see the shimmering water heaving under her feet under the action of the surf, like it was strewn with quivering stars. Is this a lake?she asked. No.It was a wide bay of running water, said Harry, and it was the mouth of a river, and it was like an arm of the sea.Take a little of this water in your palm, Nell, and you'll find it ain't sweet like Malcolm Lake. The girl bent down, dipped her hands in the surging waves, and then put her hands to her lips.

The water is salty, she said. Yes, Harry replied, the sea has been coming back here because of the high tide.Three-quarters of our planet is covered with this salty water you just drank a few drops of. But if the water in the river and the water in the sea are poured into them by clouds, why is it sweet?Nell asked. Because water removes its salty taste by evaporation, James.Starr replied that clouds could only form by evaporation and pour this sweet water into the sea in the form of rain. Harry, Harry!Then the young girl exclaimed, what is this reddish light that burns the horizon?Is a forest on fire? Nell pointed to a corner of the sky, among the low colored clouds to the east. No, Nell, said Harry, it's the rising moon. Yes, the moon!Jack.Ryan exclaimed, the gods in the sky let it walk in a beautiful silver plate in the sky, and it collected all the star coins! That's right, Jack, replied the engineer, laughing, I didn't know you had such a penchant for bold and original metaphors! Hi!Mr. Starr, my analogy is correct!You have seen the stars disappear as the moon advances.I therefore deduced that the stars fell into it! That is to say, Jack, replied the engineer, it is the moon that extinguishes the stars with six times its luminosity, and that is why the latter disappear as it passes. It's all so beautiful!Nell keeps saying she doesn't live by just looking at her anymore, but I thought the moon was round? It is round when the moon is full, James.Starr replied, that is, when it was opposite the sun.But tonight, the moon is in its last quarter, and it has snapped off its horns, so that our friend Jack's silver plate can only be a shaving plate! ah!Mr. Starr, Jack.exclaimed Ryan, what a disproportionate metaphor!I was about to sing this song in praise of the moon: running moon to caress Oh no!Can't sing now!Your shaved plate interrupted my inspiration! At that time, the moon gradually rose above the horizon.The last of those vapors vanished before it.In the western zenith, the stars still shine in the deep blackness, and the moon will pale them a little.Nell gazed silently at the admirable view, her eyes unwearied by the soft silvery light, but her hand trembled in Harry's to express what she had to say. Come aboard, my friends, James.Starr said we had to be on the hillside at Arthur's House before sunrise! The boat is tied to a wooden bridge on the river bank.A riverboat crew guards it.Nell and her traveling companions took their seats in the boat.The sails were stretched and bulged by the northwest wind. What new impression did the young girl feel at this moment?She had been in a boat a few times on the lake at New Aberfoyle, but the oar being stirred by Harry's hand always failed the oarsman's efforts.Here, for the first time, Nell felt pulled by a gliding almost as soft as a balloon gliding through the air.The bay is as flat as a lake.Nell half-lyed on the back of the boat, letting herself sway.Now and then, when the boat veered suddenly, the moonlight filtered through the waters of the Worth, so that the boat seemed to be driving on a glittering gold tablecloth.Tiny water waves sang along the decking.The situation is ecstatic. But then Nell's eyes closed involuntarily.She felt drowsy for a while.She fell asleep peacefully with her head tilted against Harry's chest. Harry wanted to wake her up so that she wouldn't miss the splendor of this beautiful night. Let her sleep, lad, the engineer told him, two hours' rest would better prepare her for the impressions of the day. At two o'clock in the morning the boat arrived at Granton Quay.As soon as the boat docked, Nell woke up. I am asleep?she asked. No, my daughter.James.Starr replied that you just dreamed that you were sleeping and that was all. The night was still very bright at this time.The moon was halfway from the horizon to the zenith, filling the sky with moonlight. The swells of the bay lapped against the small port of Granton, which only accommodates two or three fishing boats.The breeze dies down as morning approaches.The air cleared of mist promised a beautiful day in August, made even more beautiful by the proximity of the sea.Some sort of hot vapor emanated from the horizon, but so thin and so transparent that the rays of the rising sun might swallow them up in an instant.The young girl was thus able to observe the seascape, which she confused with the end of the sky.She felt her vision widen, but her eyesight could not bear the strangeness that the Atlantic offered when the light seemed to push its limits to infinity. Harry grabbed Nell's hand.The two followed James J.Starr and Jack.Ryan.In Nell's mind the capital's outskirts were nothing more than a collection of gloomy houses that reminded her of Coal City, only with higher vaults and sparkling dots.She walked lightly, and Harry always had to ask her to slow down in case she got tired. are not you tired?After walking for half an hour, he asked her. Not tired, she replied, my feet didn't even seem to touch the ground!The sky is so high above our heads, I wish I could fly as if I had wings! Remember it well!Jack.exclaimed Ryan, that's worth remembering, our little Neil!Me too, I experience it when I'm out of the coal mine for a while! That's because, James.We no longer feel the pinch of that slate vault that covers Coal City now, says Starr!At this time, the sky seems to be an extremely deep abyss, and people want to rush forward in it. Is this how you feel now, Neil? Yes, Mr. Stahl, replied the girl, that is so.I feel like a vertigo! You'll get used to it, Nell, replied Harry, you'll get used to this immensity of the world outside, and maybe you'll forget our dark coal mines then! Never, Harry!the girl replied. So she covered her eyes with her hands, as if she wanted to refresh in her mind the memory of what she had just left. Between the sleeping houses of the city, James.Starr and his traveling companions walked through the Leith Hiking Area.They rounded Carlton Hill, where the Observatory and Nelson's Monument stood in the gloom.They walked along Ruiqin Road, crossed a bridge, took a small turn, and reached the end of Cannon Gate. There hasn't been any activity in town yet.The Gothic clock at Cannongate Church struck two. At this point Nell stopped. What is this big blurry chunk?She pointed to a building standing alone deep in a small place. That big one, Nell, James.Starr replied that it was the palace of the old sovereigns of Scotland, the Holy Cross, and how many funerals there were!Historians can recall many kings there, from the unfortunate Mary.The shadow of Stuart, until the shadow of Charles X, the old king of France!But, notwithstanding these sad remembrances, when day comes, Nell, you shall not see a look too bleak in this mansion!The Holy Cross, with its four massive battlemented arms, does not look too much like some kind of recreational castle, the will of its master retaining its feudal character!But let's keep going!There, within the walls of the ancient abbey of the Holy Cross, rose those magnificent rocks of Salisbury; Arthur's house looked down upon them.We're going to climb up there, and on top of it, Nell, your eyes will see the sun come up on the horizon. They entered the Royal Park.Then, in a gradual ascent, they crossed Victoria Royal Road, Walter.Scott has had the honor of writing several vehicular spectacular roundabouts in the legendary novel. Arthur's House, in fact, was only a hill seven hundred and fifty feet high, with a solitary summit overlooking the surrounding plateau.Less than half an hour, James.Starr and his traveling companions came to the lion's brow by climbing an easy and winding path. When viewed from the west, Arthur's house looks like a lion. There, four people sat down, James.Stahl, rich in quotations from the great Scottish romancer, says only: Walter.Scott writes in Chapter 8 of The Edinburgh Prison: If I had to pick one place from where I can best watch the sunrise and sunset, this is it. You wait, Nell.The sun is about to appear, and for the first time, you will be able to gaze at it in all its glory. The girl's gaze turned to the east.Harry sat beside her, watching her with restless attention.Wouldn't the impression of the first sunshine be too strong on her?All were silent.Jack.Ryan also shut up. In the depths of a mist, a small pale line had been drawn on the horizon, tinged with a subtle rosy tint.A cloud of remaining steam floating in the zenith was attacked by the first ray of light.At the foot of Arthur's House Edinburgh, still half asleep, was a blur in the absolute stillness of the night.Here and there, a few points of light pierce the darkness.It was the morning star lit by the people in the old city.Looking back, to the west, the horizon, cut off by the shifting silhouettes, framed a rugged mountainous region where every ray of sunlight would put a plume of fire. At that time, the eastward perimeter of the sea was marked more clearly.The series of colors gradually follows the order of the solar spectrum.The red of the morning mist will fade to the violet of the zenith.The color palette is getting hotter by the second: rose becomes red, red becomes fiery.Day comes at the point where the bow of day determines the circle of the sea. At this time, Nell's eyes stretched from the foot of the mountain to the city, and the areas in the city began to spread out in groups.Tall monuments, several pointed bell towers peeped out here and there, now more clearly outlined, like a pale light spreading across the space.Finally, the first ray of light hit the girl's eyes.It is this green light that breaks out from the sea in the morning or evening, when the horizon is clear and pure. Half a minute later, Nell straightened up and reached out to a point overlooking the new town. A fire, she said. No, Nell, answered Harry, it wasn't a fire, it was the sun painted on Walter.A stroke of gold atop the Scott Monument! Indeed, the spire of the Minaret, two hundred feet high, shone like a first-class lighthouse. Day came.The sun is shining.Its disc still seemed wet, as if it had actually emerged from the sea.It first expands by refraction, and gradually shrinks to become a circle.Its soon unbearable radiance was the light in the mouth of a great furnace with a hole in the sky. Nell had to close her eyes almost immediately.On her eyelids that were so thin, she even had to cover them tightly with her fingers. Harry wanted her to turn to the opposite horizon. No, Harry, she said, my eyes should get used to seeing what your eyes can see. Through her palm Nell could still feel a rosy glow, fading to white as the sun rose above the horizon.Gradually her eyes got used to it.Then her eyelids lifted, so that at last her eyes were saturated with the sun's light. The pious child fell on his knees and cried: My God, your world is so beautiful! At this time, the girl lowered her eyes and watched.At her feet lay the panorama of Edinburgh: the new, neatly arranged quarters of the New Town, the rambling houses and eccentric network of streets of Ord-Leckie.The two high grounds, the castle and the Caldon hill, suspended from its basalt cliffs, on its small dome the modern ruins of a Greek monument, overlook the whole.Some beautiful and strong roads stretch from the capital to the four villages.On the north, an arm of the sea, the bay of the Worth facing the harbor of Leith; deeply notched in the shore.Above, on the third plane, stretches the shapely coastal strip of Fife.A road, as straight as Pire's, connected this northern Athena with the sea.The beautiful beaches of Nuevo Porto and Porto|Belo stretch westward, the sand on the beach yellowing the first waves that come up.Out at sea, a few boats pushed the waters of the bay, and two or three steamers lavishly embellished the sky with a cone of black smoke.Farther away, farther away, is the endless countryside covered with green clothes.The plain is uneven here and there by plain hills.To the north, the Soft Dream Hills, and to the west, Ben︱Solid Dream and Ben︱Leddy reflected the sun as if they had some eternal glass covering their tops. Nell was speechless.Her lips just whispered a few unintelligible words.Her arms trembled.Her head felt dizzy.In an instant, she collapsed.In the air so pure, before the majestic sight, she felt a sudden collapse, and fell unconscious in the arms of Harry, who was ready to accept her. This girl, who had until then spent her life in the depths of the earth, had at last contemplated these things which made up almost the whole universe created by the Creator and man.Her gaze, after looking down at the city and the countryside, opened up to the endless sea and sky for the first time.