World Literature Classics Library: The Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 54 Sailor Samba (4)
"Well, as you know, he rules a rich valley lined by towering mountains, from which he gets his fancy tuba. In the valley is this 'Old Man of the Mountain' Hassan Sabah al-Islam The founder of the assassination sect in the Shia sect that began in the 11th century. He cultivated beautiful gardens, each with solitary pavilions and small pavilions. He received his favorites in these pavilions. According to Marco Po Luo said, "The Old Man on the Mountain" let them taste a kind of grass, and after they ate it, they ascended to Paradise, where there were green trees with flowers that always bloomed, fresh fruits that ripened all the year round, and virgins who never changed. So these The young people are extremely happy, thinking that all this is true, but in fact it is just a dream, but this dream is so sweet, so intoxicating, so full of joy, that whoever rewards them with a dream, they will wholeheartedly go to whomever, Obey him as you obey God. Ask them to kill, and they will kill the poor man, even to the ends of the earth. They will never complain when they are tortured to death, because they think death is only a transition. , just to go to the world of bliss that they have experienced from the holy grass. It is the holy grass that is placed before you now."

"Ah," cried Franz, "it's hashish! I know the stuff, or at least its name."

"You are absolutely right, Lord Aladdin, this is Indian hemp, produced in Alexandria, the best and purest marijuana extract extracted by Abugo. Abugo is a unparalleled master of cannabis refinement, and a seat should be built for him The hall, engraved with these words: 'The grateful people all over the world are dedicated to the merchants who sell happiness.'”

"Do you know?" said Franz, "I want to see for myself whether your compliments are justified or exaggerated."

"Experience it yourself, my guest, experience it well, but never try it just once, because no matter what kind of thing, as long as it is a new feeling, whether it is mild or violent, sad or happy, it needs to be used. Our senses must adapt. Human nature is not in pleasure, but in love, so human nature is in conflict with such sacred goods. This is a struggle that should make nature defeat and yield, and dreams should precede reality. Such dreams Is the master, so that dream is life, and life is dream, but this transformation is not trivial! That is to say, once you compare the pain in real life with the joy in the illusory realm, you will definitely not want to live again , but only want to dream forever. When you say goodbye to your world and return to this mortal world, you seem to come from the spring of Naples to the winter of Lapland in northern Scandinavia. It's like leaving Paradise and returning to Earth, leaving Heaven and going to Hell. Please use marijuana, my guest, and try it!"

Franz didn't speak, just took a spoonful of the syrup according to the amount the master had just taken, and then lifted it to his lips. "Oh," he said after swallowing the syrup, "I don't know if the effect will be as pleasant as you say, but I don't think this thing is as sweet as you say."

"Because what you have tasted is rare, but your palate has not yet adapted. Please tell me what you like when you first tasted oysters, tea, stout, pine mushrooms, and various other things that you later liked very much. Can you understand why the Romans like to use asafoetida, a kind of medicinal material. As a seasoning, why the Chinese love to eat bird’s nest? Oh, my God, you don’t understand, well, this marijuana is the same. Just eat it for a week , you will feel that no other food in the world can be so delicious, but today you find it tasteless and disgusting. Now let's go to the wing, this is your bedroom, Ali will send us coffee and pipes here."

Both the host and the guest stood up, and the man named Samba—we sometimes called him that, because like his guest, we always had to give him a title, and gave some instructions to his servants. Lanz has entered the next room.The room was simply furnished, but equally magnificent.The room is circular, with sofas on all four walls.Sofas, walls, ceilings and floors were covered with luxurious carpet-like hides, some of the Atlas Mountains North Africa with their mighty manes.the skin of the lion, the striped tiger of Bengal, the leopard of the Cape, with a lightness and joy, mottled as Dante saw it, the bear of Siberia, the fox of Norway, These animal skins are laid thickly one on top of the other, walking on them seems to be stepping on an extremely lush lawn, or an extremely smooth and soft bed.Both of them lay down on the couch, long Turkish pipes with jasmine wood tubes and amber mouths were placed at their hands, each one was filled with tobacco, and there was no need to smoke a pipe twice.They each took one, and Ali came up to light the fire, then stepped back to make coffee.For a while there was silence in the room, and Samba was thinking of his thoughts, which seemed to haunt him all the time, even while he was talking; This is what happens when you smoke high-quality tobacco. The green smoke will take away the troubles in your heart, and make smokers feel as if they are in a fog.Ali brought in the coffee.

"How would you like to drink it?" asked the host, "French or Turkish? Strong or light? With or without sugar? Strained or boiled? Drink it any way you like."

"I would like to drink Turkish," replied Franz.

"You have chosen well," said your host. "It shows that you like the Eastern way of life. Ah, those Orientals, as you can imagine, are the only ones who know how to live. As for me," he went on, with a look on his face. Franz always pays attention to the strange smile, "When I finish my work in Paris, I will die in the East. If you want to see me again by then, you have to go to Cairo, Baghdad or Isfahan." Find me."

"Ah," said Franz, "that's the easiest thing in the world, because I feel like I have eagle wings on my shoulders, and with these I can fly around the world in twenty-four hours." .”

"Haha, the marijuana essence has worked. Well, now spread your wings and fly to that extraordinary realm. Don't be afraid of anything, someone is watching over you. If your wings are like Icarus, the Greek mythological figure, He used wax to stick bird wings to his shoulders in an attempt to escape, and when he flew close to the sun, the wax melted and his wings fell, and he fell into the sea and died. The sun melted like that, and we will catch you.” After finishing speaking, he used In Arabic, he gave some instructions to Ali, and Ali nodded to show his obedience, and stepped back, but did not go far.

As for Franz, a strange change was taking place in him.All the physical fatigue during the day and the mental anxiety caused by the events of the evening are gradually disappearing.He seemed about to fall asleep but didn't fall asleep, and he knew quite clearly that he was about to fall asleep.His body became dazed and light, his perception became more pure and clear than ever, and his sense organs seemed to have multiplied functions.The horizon continued to expand, but it was no longer the erratic, dreadful, dark and gloomy horizon he had seen before falling asleep.The horizon that I see now is blue, clear, transparent, and boundless, filled with all the blue of the sea, shining with the various colors of the sun, and carrying all the fragrances of the breeze.Then the sailor sang so clearly that if he could write down the score, it would be a beautiful divine comedy. With the singing, he saw the island of Monte Cristo unfold before his eyes, but this was no longer the ferocious sea above the waves. It is not a reef, but an oasis scattered in the desert.As the boat approached, the singing became louder, and a mysterious and haunting harmony resounded on the island of God, as if a banshee in the legend of Lorrai lured the boatman to the rocks with her singing.Like a nymph, or there is Amphion, the Greek mythological figure, son of Zeus, who once built walls with the sound of harps.It seems that the wizard wants to lure a certain soul to the island, or wants to build a city on the island.

At last the boat touched the shore without any effort or vibration, as if lips touched lips.He walked into the cave amidst the continuous and wonderful music, and took a few steps down, or rather, he only felt like taking a few steps.As he walked, he breathed in the fresh and warm air, as if he smelled the witch in Sissy Homer's long poem "The Odyssey".In the cave, there is a fairy air that is so fragrant that it makes people dream, and that it is so warm that it makes people feel confused.Everything he saw before he fell asleep, from the eccentric host Samba to the dumb servant Ali, was presented to him one by one.And then it all seemed to vanish, like the last projections of the moment when the magic lamp was extinguished, into a blur.He went again to the room where the stone statue was placed. In the room, there was only a small antique dim lamp, which was used to guard those who were sleeping or seeking pleasure in the middle of the night.The stone statues are still the same as before, graceful, tender and sweet, full of elegance, the eyes are so charming, the smile is so touching, and the hair is so beautiful and flowing.They are Feline, Cleopatra and Messalina, respectively the prostitute of ancient Greece, the queen of Egypt and the queen of Rome.Three beauties.Then, between the three coquettish figures, it was like a ray of clear light, like a Greek mountain name from Mount Olympus, on which all the gods lived in ancient Greek mythology.The Christ-angel emerging from the midst, slipping in a pure figure, a quiet phantom, a soft phantom.It seemed ashamed to see these marble sluts, and seemed to cover its flawless brow.At this time, he felt that these three beauties were converging their love on one man, and this man was himself.He fell asleep again and saw them walking towards his bed, their feet covered by their long skirts, their necks bare, their hair flowing in waves.They are graceful and graceful, except for saints who can resist, even gods can resist.The eyes they cast straight over were like the eyes of a poisonous snake on a bird, scorching hot.The look was as sad as it was suppressed, and as sweet as a kiss, and he succumbed.

Franz thought he closed his eyes, and as he looked around for the last time, he vaguely saw that the shy stone figure was completely veiled.His eyes are closed to the real, and his senses are opened to grotesque impressions.It is an enjoyment of uninterrupted pleasure, a caress without stillness, as if Mohammad, the founder of Islam.Promised love to his chosen ones.So the stone-carved lips became full of life, and the stone-carved chests became scorching hot.Franz, who experienced the effects of marijuana for the first time, only felt that his mouth was dry and his lips were dry, but the lips of those stone statues pressed against his mouth were like the joints of a snake, soft and cold.At this time, he couldn't help feeling that such caress was almost a kind of pain, and such pleasure was almost a kind of torture.However, the more he tried to push away this never-before-experienced love with his arms, the more his senses fully absorbed the charm of this mysterious dream.After a desperate struggle, he gave in at last, gasping for breath, and fell, burning with exhaustion and ecstatic with pleasure, under the kisses of his marble mistress and the ecstasy of a dream like never before. exhausted.

(End of this chapter)