Only a hundred
yards. Or perhaps we can rest awhile under this archway and converse.
It is always pleasant to watch the movements of the country-folk, and
there is a peculiar charm in this evening light. Well, let us sit down
then. I observe you are interested in those people. A singular
illusion, is it not?"
He referred to a group of men and boys who, stripped to the waist, were
bearing aloft immense masses of some argent-coloured rock.
"You've guessed my thoughts," replied the bishop. "How on earth are
they able to support such a weight? They remind me of Atlas with the
world on his shoulders."
"It is pumice-stone--one of the old industries of the place. They
excavate it on the hill-side yonder. Volcanic stuff. There are several
suchlike indications of subterranean fires; a hot spring, for instance,
which the people regard with a kind of superstitious awe. It is
dedicated to Saint Elias and believed to stand in mysterious sympathy
with the volcano on the mainland. You will observe too, sooner or
later, something fiery and incalculable in the temperament of the
natives.
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