RASSELAS DISCOVERS THE MEANS OF ESCAPE.
THE Prince now dismissed his favourite to rest; but the narrative of
wonders and novelties filled his mind with perturbation. He revolved all
that he had heard, and prepared innumerable questions for the morning.
Much of his uneasiness was now removed. He had a friend to whom he could
impart his thoughts, and whose experience could assist him in his
designs. His heart was no longer condemned to swell with silent
vexation. He thought that even the Happy Valley might be endured with
such a companion, and that if they could range the world together he
should have nothing further to desire.
In a few days the water was discharged, and the ground dried. The Prince
and Imlac then walked out together, to converse without the notice of the
rest. The Prince, whose thoughts were always on the wing, as he passed
by the gate said, with a countenance of sorrow, “Why art thou so strong,
and why is man so weak?”
“Man is not weak,” answered his companion; “knowledge is more than
equivalent to force. The master of mechanics laughs at strength. I can
burst the gate, but cannot do it secretly. Some other expedient must be
tried.”
As they were walking on the side of the mountain they observed that the
coneys, which the rain had driven from their burrows, had taken shelter
among the bushes, and formed holes behind them tending upwards in an
oblique line. “It has been the opinion of antiquity,” said Imlac, “that
human reason borrowed many arts from the instinct of animals; let us,
therefore, not think ourselves degraded by learning from the coney. We
may escape by piercing the mountain in the same direction. We will begin
where the summit hangs over the middle part, and labour upward till we
shall issue out beyond the prominence.”
The eyes of the Prince, when he heard this proposal, sparkled with joy.
The execution was easy and the success certain.
No time was now lost. They hastened early in the morning to choose a
place proper for their mine. They clambered with great fatigue among
crags and brambles, and returned without having discovered any part that
favoured their design. The second and the third day were spent in the
same manner, and with the same frustration; but on the fourth day they
found a small cavern concealed by a thicket, where they resolved to make
their experiment.
Imlac procured instruments proper to hew stone and remove earth, and they
fell to their work on the next day with more eagerness than vigour. They
were presently exhausted by their efforts, and sat down to pant upon the
grass. The Prince for a moment appeared to be discouraged. “Sir,” said
his companion, “practice will enable us to continue our labour for a
longer time. Mark, however, how far we have advanced, and ye will find
that our toil will some time have an end. Great works are performed not
by strength, but perseverance; yonder palace was raised by single stones,
yet you see its height and spaciousness. He that shall walk with vigour
three hours a day, will pass in seven years a space equal to the
circumference of the globe.”
They returned to their work day after day, and in a short time found a
fissure in the rock, which enabled them to pass far with very little
obstruction. This Rasselas considered as a good omen. “Do not disturb
your mind,” said Imlac, “with other hopes or fears than reason may
suggest; if you are pleased with the prognostics of good, you will be
terrified likewise with tokens of evil, and your whole life will be a
prey to superstition. Whatever facilitates our work is more than an
omen; it is a cause of success. This is one of those pleasing surprises
which often happen to active resolution. Many things difficult to design
prove easy to performance.”