With the help of these telescopes, we were not long in discovering the lofty mountain peaks of Wealthland, though yet afar off, glittering in a flood of strange light that looked like burnished gold. Even the air all around those towering mountains seemed to our perverted fancies full of gorgeous castles and palaces, glowing with the most brilliant colored lights, but afterward we found this was only an illusory mirage that always hung over that land of enchantment.
At the sight of these we were all in ecstasies, and for many days and nights we could do little else than talk together of the good things in store for us when we reached the much-desired haven called the Bay-of-ease, that lay at the base of those mountains. There, Way-of-the-world’s directory informed us we should find plenty, ease, and security and all that our souls could desire.
Not long after this, we were joined by a fellow voyager bearing the name of Demas, who offered to pilot us to the nearest port of Wealthland. Thankful for this help, we were both soon making direct for a spacious bay that opened out before us called the Gulf of Speculation. This broad gulf we found full of busy craft, of all descriptions, actively engaged in making preparations for getting to the Golden Mountains some distance off. Many and various were the plans by which they were endeavoring to secure a safe passage and find the easiest and quickest way thereto. For it transpired that there were many different routes (all, however, beset with danger) by which the voyagers sought to reach the much-coveted Bay-of-ease.
Wishing to rest a while and consider our plans, we desired our companion to direct us to some safe anchorage, as we noticed already that many of the busy craft around us, in their tremendous haste to push on, were rushing to their destruction on the sunken rocks that were thickly scattered all through that wide Gulf. “Keep full sail on,” said Captain Demas, “for there is no good anchorage here; be on the move, and the quicker you sail the better. Then be sure to keep well to windward, or you may drift on that dangerous lee shore yonder.”
So saying, he quickly drew ahead, remarking as he passed, that we were far too slow for him, and was soon out of sight. Afterward we heard that, like a great many others, he, too, was wrecked on those treacherous rocks.
Many pilots were industriously plying about, offering their services to guide the numerous voyagers, who were eagerly striving to hasten on to the charming Bay-of-ease (as they called it) which was at the foot of the Golden Mountains.
One of these, coming alongside, very courteously offered to pilot us through the quickest route to that far-famed haven.
“There are,” said this pilot, “many ways to get there: some long and some short, but whichever way you may choose, I can safely take you through, as I know them all.”
“But which is the safest?” inquired our Captain.
“Well, there is that long roundabout passage called Policy channel, which some prefer. It may be the safest, but it is very tedious and full of shallows, where many get aground and remain.
“But just over there, where you may see several vessels now entering, there are some near channels, or short cuts, leading directly to the Golden Mountains.” On looking in the direction pointed out to us, Mr. Conscience exclaimed in great alarm, “Why those passages are full of the most terrible rocks; and see, some of those vessels have even now, at this moment, struck upon them with a fearful crash and are beginning to break in pieces!”
“Aye, occasionally that may happen,” said the strange pilot, “but it only requires some sharp and skillful maneuvering, as well as good steering, to pass down those channels without any mishap. Then, when once through, you are straightway in the delightful Bay-of ease and at the palace of the great king of Wealthland.”
Our mate, Mr. Thoughts, whispering to the Captain that there was something suspicious about this strange pilot, we declined his services, to the great relief of Mr. Conscience, whose excited manner somewhat alarmed us when he then reminded us of what we had heard about Abaddon the great pirate. And well it was that he had thus alarmed us, for truth to say, we were much taken with the fair speech of the pilot and disposed to go along with him.
That night the voice Mr. Heart had been hearing spoke again in his ear, much louder than it had ever done before. He even heard it in his dreams and was much troubled thereby. The words of the voice that night were, “He that maketh haste to be rich, shall not be innocent,” and “They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave.” Then, as he recited these solemn words to us in the morning, he trembled much for fear. Still, by endeavoring to forget these warnings, he hardened himself in his purpose to visit Wealthland at all hazards and tried to shake off his fears by gazing continually on the distant Golden Mountains and the illusory castles in the air.
Shortly after Mr. Heart had recited to us the words of the voice, and his visions of the night, a vessel called the Watchman, commanded by another of the King’s messengers, came near and hailed us, whom we mistook for one of the many pilots of that great gulf. So, we asked him to direct us into the nearest and safest way to the Golden Mountains. “I am sent here,” he replied, “by the good king Elohim, to warn you against the danger of attempting to visit that dangerous region, where the great rebellion against the King is most obstinately kept up.
“For it is there, even in that fair-looking land of the Golden Mountains (as it appears to all through old Way-of-the-world’s deceptive glasses) that a rival king reigns, who exalteth himself even as a god to be worshipped by all who visit his dominions.
“This is that usurper King MAMMON, who, by his great power and many allurements, causes all the voyagers who go there to become his slaves and to worship him, for he is withal a most despotic tyrant.
“It is thus, by his many wiles and promises of treasure from the Mines of Lucre, that he draws away the King’s subjects and gets them to serve him instead of the good King Elohim, who is the only true Sovereign of all down here, and of the whole universe.
“And as they cannot serve two masters at the same time, it is evident that all who will be slaves of King Mammon, and friends of his servants, must be enemies of King Elohim. Furthermore, King Mammon is in league with Abaddon, the great pirate, whose purpose it is to secure, in the end, these devotees and slaves of Mammon and hurry them off by a back passage which runs directly from Mammon’s palace into the bottomless abyss.
“As to the ways of getting to the Golden Mountains which you inquire about, there are certainly a great many of them, all, however, beset with innumerable snares and perils—some, it may be, more than others—while all are only so many ways of leading poor erring mortal, who have to pass over this ocean, away from their gracious King, into the paths of disobedience and destruction.”
“A pilot,” said Captain Will, “pointed out to us Policy channel and some nearer passages to the Bay-of-ease, by yonder beautiful mountains, and much commended the latter channels to us.”
“That smooth-looking Policy channel (or as some prefer to call it, Honesty-the-best-policy),” replied the Captain of the Watchman, “is certainly one of the numerous ways to that port, but vast numbers run aground on some of the sandbanks and remain there to be buffeted by the winds and waves until they, at last, drift helplessly down into the whirlpool, at the lower end of the channel.
“As to those nearer passages, there are, I regret to say, a great many of them, crowded every one of them with the most terrible breakers from beginning to end, short as they may seem.
“The three most noted of those short channels that are supposed to lead to the coveted dominions of King Mammon are: Chance Inlet, Fraud Passage, and Crooked Creek. These are often chosen by the most headstrong and deluded mariners to their utter destruction. For many of them never reach the places to which they would go but are either suddenly overwhelmed by tremendous storms or dashed in pieces on the hidden rocks, which, as I have said, abound in those passages. He that offered to pilot you through those most dangerous channels could be no other than Abaddon himself, or one of his wicked crew.
“If you would avoid destruction, change your course immediately; keep clear of all those channels, and steer directly for the Strait-of-the-Cross: the only safe channel in all the King’s dominions.”
Thanking the captain of the Watchman for his kind advice, and promising to attend to it at some other time, when more convenient, we, nevertheless, hastened on towards some of those short channels as Mr. Heart—in spite of all the warnings of the King’s messengers—had secretly determined to reach, by any possible means, the Golden Mountains which he so ardently longed to visit: though as usual, in accordance with his natural disposition, he tried to conceal his real intentions. And as Captain Will was ever ready to carry out the intentions of the owner, the Wanderer was soon rapidly making headway towards one of those dangerous short passages, according to the private instructions of Mr. Heart.
Now whilst we were thus pursuing our course, often wistfully looking at the distant hills and hoping soon to be there, Mr. Conscience came suddenly on deck and demanded to know if the Captain was, indeed, determined to risk our destruction by attempting to navigate those perilous near passages. To this the Captain rather tartly replied that he knew perfectly well how to take care of the vessel and to steer clear of all dangers if, indeed, there were any to be feared. “But see,” said Mr. Conscience, “what the Royal charts say about the perils that all are exposed to who are thus determined to visit the shrine of Mammon and become his slaves: ‘They that will be rich, fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.’”
These startling words came upon us like a thunderclap, and Mr. Heart was sorely troubled and annoyed by them; while the Captain immediately ordered Mr. Conscience to be confined below and not to be allowed again to unsettle all on board with such unseasonable words. Then driving swiftly ahead with the current, which now appeared to move with greater rapidity than ever, we soon found ourselves in the midst of crowds of vessels, jostling in disastrous collision with one another—striving in a fierce and selfish race to outrun each other in their eager haste to be the first to reach the Bay-of-ease, at the base of the Golden Mountains.
Innumerable wrecks were constantly occurring, causing such untold suffering and misery that it would fail me to recount. Often the sudden gales, the strong trade winds, and storms of business swept down upon us and tossed us about in the wildest way. What with these driving tempests, and striking on hidden rocks at one time and grounding on treacherous shoals at other times, we were in greater peril than we ever had been on the dangerous coasts of Pleasure-land: and we now began to realize the force of those warning words uttered by Mr. Conscience.
This was that world’s notable and all-absorbing “Race for Wealth,” in which such countless multitudes of misguided mariners flung away their precious souls, to grasp at fleeting shadows, and thus make shipwreck of everything, as the dark records of time could disclose.
“Gold many hunted, met and bled for gold;
Waked all the night, and labored all the day.
And what was this allurement dost thou ask?
A dust dug from the bowels of the earth,
Which, being cast into the fire, came out
A shining thing that fools admired, and called
A god; and in devout and humble plight
Before it kneeled, the greater to the less;
And on the altar sacrificed ease, peace,
Truth, faith, integrity; and good conscience, friends,
Love, charity, benevolence, and all
The sweet and tender sympathies of life;
And signalize their folly, offered up
Their souls and an eternity of bliss
To gain them—what?—an hour of dreaming joy,
A feverish hour that hasted to be done,
And ended in the bitterness of woe.”
Pollok
Being now somewhat alarmed for our safety, Mr. Heart desired to know from the Captain if it would be wise to continue our present course.
“I see no reason why we should not,” replied Captain Will, in his usual self-confident manner, “for it only requires tact, a little careful maneuvering, and good steering, to keep clear of whatever dangers may be in our way: and surely you can trust me for all these.”
“No doubt,” said Mr. Thoughts, “we shall soon pass over these difficulties and then find the rest and happiness we desire, in the charming Bay-of-ease by the Golden Mountains.”
“But suppose,” shouted Mr. Conscience—who would still be heard from his confinement below— “we did arrive there, which of us would then be able to answer the great question, ‘For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?’”
A deep and painful silence fell upon us all on hearing, at such a moment, this solemn and momentous question, for we could not deny that it was indeed unanswerable; as Mr. Heart thought thereon, he was sorely perplexed and cast down. Captain Will, however, who felt indignant at this interruption, on recovering himself, ordered Mr. Conscience to be put in irons and more closely confined in his cabin, so as not to again be permitted to discourage the officers and crew in the difficult work to which they had set themselves.
But Mr. Heart being now very much disconcerted by the words of our imprisoned Pilot—agreeing as they did with much of what the voice had recently whispered in his ear—besought the Captain to try some other safer channel.
For though much alarmed, he still was very loath, notwithstanding these numerous warnings, to give up all thoughts of going to the Golden Mountains; such was his perverseness then.