"Hawthorne, Nathaniel - The Celestial Railroad" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hawthorne Nathaniel)

A steam ferry-boat, the last improvement on this important route,
lay at the river-side, puffing, snorting, and emitting all those other
disagreeable utterances, which betoken the departure to be
immediate. I hurried on board with the rest of the passengers, most of
whom were in great perturbation; some bawling out for their baggage;
some tearing their hair and exclaiming that the boat would explode
or sink; some already pale with the heaving of the stream; some gazing
affrighted at the ugly aspect of the steersman; and some still dizzy
with the slumberous influences of the Enchanted Ground. Looking back
to the shore, I was amazed to discern Mr. Smooth-it-away waving his
hand in token of farewell!

"Don't you go over to the Celestial City?" exclaimed I.

"Oh, no!" answered he with a queer smile, and that same
disagreeable contortion of visage which I had remarked in the
inhabitants of the Dark Valley. "Oh, no! I have come thus far only for
the sake of your pleasant company. Good bye! We shall meet again."

And then did my excellent friend, Mr. Smooth-it-away, laugh
outright; in the midst of which cachinnation, a smoke-wreath issued
from his mouth and nostrils, while a twinkle of lurid flame darted out
of either eye, proving indubitably that his heart was all of a red
blaze. The impudent fiend! To deny the existence of Tophet, when he
felt its fiery tortures raging within his breast! I rushed to the side
of the boat, intending to fling myself on shore. But the wheels, as
they began their revolutions, threw a dash of spray over me, so
cold- so deadly cold, with the chill that will never leave those
waters, until Death be drowned in his own river- that, with a shiver
and a heart-quake, I awoke. Thank heaven, it was a Dream!

THE END
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