Part 1 of The Fisherman and His Soul by Oscar Wilde. Every evening the young fisherman went out upon the sea and threw his nets into the water. When the wind blew from the land he caught nothing, or but little at best, for it was a bitter and black-winged wind, and rough waves rose up to meet it. But when the wind blew to the shore, the fish came in from the deep and swam into the meshes of his nets, and he took them to the marketplace and sold them. Every evening he went out upon the sea, and one evening the net was so heavy that hardly could he draw it into the boat. And he laughed and said to himself, Surely I have caught all the fish that swim or snared some dull monster that will be a marvel to men, or some thing of horror that the great queen will desire. And putting forth all his strength he tugged at the coarse ropes till, like lines of blue enamel round a vase of bronze, the long veins rose up on his arms. He tugged at the thin ropes, and nearer and nearer came the circle of flat corks, and the net rose at last to the top of the water. But no fish at all was in it, nor any monster or thing of horror, but only a little mermaid lying fast asleep. Her hair was as a wet fleece of gold, and each separate hair was as a thread of fine gold in a cup of glass. Her body was as white as ivory, and her tail was of silver and pearl. Silver and pearl was her tail, and the green weeds of the sea coiled round it. And like seashells were her ears, and her lips were like sea coral. The cold waves dashed over her cold breasts, and the salt glistened upon her eyelids. So beautiful was she that when the young fisherman saw her he was filled with wonder, and he put out his hand and drew the net close to him, and leaning over the side he clasped her in his arms. And when he touched her she gave a cry like a startled seagull, and woke and looked at him in terror with her mauve amethyst eyes, and struggled that she might escape. But he held her tightly to him and would not suffer her to depart. And when she saw that she could in no way escape from him she began to weep, and said, I pray thee, let me go, for I am the only daughter of a king, and my father is aged and alone. But the young fisherman answered, I will not let thee go, save thou makest me a promise that whenever I call thee thou wilst come and sing to me, for the fish delight to listen to the song of the sea folk, and so shall my nets be full. Will thou in very truth let me go if I promise thee this? cried the mermaid. In very truth I will let thee go, said the young fisherman. So she made him the promise he desired, and swore it by the oath of the sea folk, and he loosened his arms from about her, and she sank down into the water, trembling with a strange fear. Every evening the young fisherman went out upon the sea and called to the mermaid, and she rose out of the water and sang to him. Round and round her swam the dolphins and the wild gulls wheeled above her head, and she sang a marvellous song. For she sang of the sea folk who drive their flocks from cave to cave, and carry the little calves on their shoulders. Of the tritons who have long green beards and hairy breasts, and blow through twisted conches when the king passes by. Of the palace of the king, which is all of amber, with a roof of clear emerald and a pavement of bright pearl. And of the gardens of the sea, where the great filigree fans of coral wave all day long, and the fish dart about like silver birds, and the anemones cling to the rocks, and the pinks burgeon in the ribbed yellow sand. She sang of the big whales that come down from the North Seas and have sharp icicles hanging to their fins. Of the sirens who tell of such wonderful things that the merchants have to stop their ears with wax lest they should hear them and leap into the water and be drowned. Of the sunken galleys with their tall masts and the frozen sailors clinging to their rigging, and the mackerel swimming in and out of the open portholes. Of the little barnacles who are great travelers and cling to the keels of ships and go round and round the world. And of the cuttlefish who live in the sides of the cliffs and stretch out their long black arms and can make night come when they will it. She sang of the nautilus who has a boat of her own that is carved out of an opal and steered with a silken sand. Of the happy mermen who play upon the harps and can charm the great kraken to sleep. Of the little children who catch hold of the slippery porpoises and ride laughing upon their backs. Of the mermaids who lie in the white foam and hold out their arms to the mariners. And of the sea lions with their curved tusks and the sea horses with their floating mains. And as she sang, all the tiny fish came in from the deep to listen to her. And the young fishermen threw his nets round them and caught them. And others he took with a spear. And when his boat was well laden, the mermaid would sink down into the sea, smiling at him. Yet would she never come near him that he might touch her? Oftentimes he called to her and prayed of her, but she would not. And when he sought to seize her, she dived into the water as a seal might dive. Nor did he see her again that day. And each day the sound of her voice became sweeter to his ears. So sweet was her voice that he forgot his nets and his cunning and had no care of his craft. Vermillion finned with the eyes of bossy gold the tunnies went by in shoals, but he heeded them not. His spear lay by his side, unused, and his baskets of plated osseor were empty. With lips parted and eyes dim with wonder he sat idle in his boat and listened, listening till the seamists crept round him and the wandering moon stained his brown limbs with silver. And one evening he called to her and said, Little mermaid, little mermaid, I love thee. Take me for thy bridegroom for I love thee. But the mermaid shook her head. Thou hast a human soul, she answered. If only thou would send away thy soul, then could I love thee. And the young fisherman said to himself, Of what use is my soul to me? I cannot see it, I may not touch it, I do not know it. Surely I will send it away from me, and much gladness shall be mine. And to cry of joy broke from his lips and standing up in the painted boat he held out his arms to the mermaid. I will send my soul away, he cried, and you shall be my bride, and I will be thy bridegroom, and in the depth of the sea we shall dwell together. And all thou hast sung of thou shalt show me, and all that thou's desire I will do, nor shall our lives be divided. And the little mermaid left for pleasure and hid her face in her hands. But how shall I send my soul from me? cried the young fisherman. Tell me how I may do it, and lo, it shall be done. Alas, I know not, said the little mermaid. The sea folk have no souls. And she sank down into the deep, looking wistfully at him. Now early on the next morning, before the sun was the span of a man's hand above the hill, the young fisherman went to the house of the priest and knocked three times at the door. The novice looked out through the wicket, and when he saw who it was, he drew back the latch and said to him, Enter. And the young fisherman passed in and knelt down on the sweet-smelling rushes of the floor and cried to the priest who was reading out of the Holy Book and said to him, Father, I am in love with one of the sea folk, and my soul hindereeth me from having my desire. Tell me how I can send my soul away from me. For, in truth, I have no need of it. Of what value is my soul to me? I cannot see it. I may not touch it. I do not know it.  For the soul is the noblest part of man and was given to us by God that we should nobly use it. There is no thing more precious than a human soul, nor any earthly thing that can be weighed with it. It is worth all the gold that is in the world, and it is more precious than the rubies of the kings. Therefore, my son, think not any more of this matter, for it is a sin that may not be forgiven. And as for the sea folk, they are lost, and they who would traffic with them are lost also. They are as the beasts of the field that know not good from evil, and for them the Lord has not died. The young fisherman's eyes filled with tears when he heard the bitter words of the priest, and he rose up from his knees and said to him, Father, the fawns live in the forest and are glad, and on the rocks sit the mermen with their harps of gold. Let me be as they are. I beseech thee, for their days are as the days of flowers. And as for my soul, what doth my soul profit me to stand between me and the thing that I love? The love of the body is vile, cried the priest, knitting his brows.  A cursed be the fawns of the woodland and a cursed be the singers of the sea. I have heard them at night-time and they have sought to lure me from my beads. They tap at the window and laugh. They whisper into my ears and tell of their perilous joys. They tempt me with temptations, and when I would pray they make mouths at me. They are lost, I tell thee, they are lost. For them there is no heaven nor hell, and in neither shall they praise God's name. Father, cried the young fisherman, thou knowest not what thou sayest. Once in my net I snared the daughter of a king. She is fairer than the morning star than the moon. For her body I would give my soul, and for her love I would surrender heaven. Tell me what I ask of thee, and let me go in peace. Away, away, cried the priest, thy lemen is lost and thou shall be lost with her. And he gave him no blessing, but drove him from his door. And the young fisherman went down into the marketplace, and he walked slowly and with bowed head, as one who is in sorrow. And when the merchants saw him coming, they began to whisper to each other, and one of them came forth to meet him and called him by name and said to him, What hast thou to sell? I will sell thee my soul, he answered. I pray thee buy it of me, for I am weary of it. Of what use is my soul to me? I cannot see it, I may not touch it, I do not know it. But the merchants mocked at him and said, Of what use is a man's soul to us? It is not worth a clipped piece of silver. Sell us thy body for a slave, and we will clothe thee in sea-purple and put a ring upon thy finger, and make thee the minion of the great queen. But talk not of the soul, for to us it is not, nor has it any value for our service. And the young fisherman said to himself, How strange a thing this is. The priest telleth me that the soul is worth all the gold in the world, and the merchants say that it is not worth a clipped piece of silver. And he passed out of the marketplace and went down to the shore of the sea and began to ponder on what he should do. And at noon he remembered how one of his companions, who was a gatherer of sapphire, had told him of a certain young witch who dwelt in a cave at the head of the bay and was very cunning in her witcheries. And he set to and ran. So eager was he to get rid of his soul, and a cloud of dust followed him as he sped round the sand of the shore. By the itching of her palm the young witch knew his coming, and she laughed and let down her red hair. With her red hair falling around her she stood at the opening of the cave, and in her hand she had a spray of wild hemlock that was blossoming. What do ye lack? What do ye lack? She cried, as he came panting up the steep and bent down before her. Fish for thy net when the wind is foul? I have a little reed-pipe and when I blow on it the mullet comes sailing into the bay. But it has a price, pretty boy. It has a price. What do ye lack? What do ye lack? A storm to wreck the ships and wash the chests of rich treasure ashore? I have more storms than the wind has, for I serve one who is stronger than the wind, and with a sieve and a pail of water I can send the great galleys to the bottom of the sea. But I have a price, pretty boy. I have a price. What do ye lack? What do ye lack? I know a flower that grows in the valley. None knows it but I. It has purple leaves and a star in its heart, and its juice is as white as milk. Should thou touch with this flower the hard lips of the queen she would follow thee all over the world. Out of the bed of the king she would rise and over the whole world she would follow thee. And it has a price, pretty boy. It has a price. What do ye lack? What do ye lack? I can pound a toad in a mortar and make broth of it and stir the broth with a dead man's hand. Sprinkle it on thine enemy while he sleeps and he will turn into a black viper and his own mother will slay him. With a wheel I can draw the moon from heaven and in a crystal I can show thee death. What do ye lack? What do ye lack? Tell me thy desire and I will give it thee and thou shalt pay me a price, pretty boy. Thou shalt pay me a price. My desire is but for one thing, said the young fisherman. Yet hath the priest been wroth with me and driven me forth. It is but for a little thing and the merchants have mocked at me and denied me.  I shall pay it. What wouldst thou ask the witch coming near to him? I would send my soul away from me, answered the young fisherman. The witch grew pale and shuddered and hid her face in her blue mantle. Pretty boy, pretty boy, she muttered, that is a terrible thing to do. He tossed his brown curls and laughed. My soul is not to me, he answered. I cannot see it. I may not touch it. I do not know it. What will thou give me if I tell thee? Ask the witch, looking down at him with her beautiful eyes. Five pieces of gold, he said, and my nets and the waddled house where I live and the painted boat in which I sail. Only tell me how to get rid of my soul and I will give thee all that I possess. She laughed mockingly at him and struck him with the spray of hemlock. I can turn the autumn leaves into gold, she answered, and I can weave the pale moon-beams into silver if I will it. He whom I serve is richer than all the kings of this world and has their dominions. What then shall I give thee, he cried, if thy price be neither gold nor silver? The witch stroked his hair with her thin white hand. Thou must dance with me, pretty boy, murmured, and she smiled at him as she spoke. Not but that, cried the young fisherman in wonder, and he rose to his feet. Not but that, she answered, and she smiled at him again. Then at sunset in some secret place we shall dance together, he said, and after that we have danced thou shalt tell me the thing which I desire to know. She shook her head. When the moon is full, when the moon is full, she muttered, then she peered all round and listened. A blue bird rose screaming from its nest and circled over the dunes, and three spotted birds rustled through the coarse grey grass and whistled to each other. There was no other sound save the sound of a wave fretting the smooth pebbles below, so she reached out her hand and drew him near to her and put her dry lips close to his ear. Tonight that must come to the top of the mountain, she whispered, it is Sabbath and he will be there. The young fisherman started and looked at her, and she showed her white teeth and laughed. Who is he of whom thou speakest? he asked. It matters not, she answered, go thou to-night and stand under the branches of the horn-beam and wait for my coming.  I will speak to thee, make it no answer. When the moon is full I shall be with thee and we will dance together on the grass. But wilt thou swear to tell me how I may send my soul from me? he made question. She moved out into the sunlight and through her red hair rippled the wind. By the hooves of the goat I swear it, she made answer. Thou art the best of witches, cried the young fisherman, and surely danced with thee tonight on top of the mountain. I would indeed that thou hast asked me either gold or silver, but such as thy price is thou shalt have it, for it is but a little thing. And he doffed his cap to her and bent his head low and ran back to the town filled with a great joy. And the witch watched him as he went, and when he had passed from her sight she entered her cave and having taken a mirror from a box of cedar wood she set it up on a frame and burned vervein on lighted charcoal before it and peered through the coils of smoke. And after a time she clenched her hands in anger. He should have been mine, she muttered. I am as fair as she is. And that evening when the moon had risen the young fisherman climbed up to the top of the mountain and stood under the branches of Hornbeam. Like a targe of polished metal the ground sea lay at his feet and the shadows of the fishing boats moved in the little bay. A great owl with yellow sulfurous eyes called to him by his name, but he made it no answer. A black dog ran towards him and snarled. He struck it with a rod of willow and it went away whining. At midnight the witches came flying through the air like bats. Pee! you! they cried as they lit upon the ground. Someone here we know not. And they sniffed about and shattered to each other and made signs. Last of all came the young witch with her red hair streaming in the wind.  Where is he? where is he? Shrieked the witches when they saw her. But she only left and ran to the Hornbeam and taking the fisherman by the hand out into the moonlight and began to dance. Round and round they whirled and the young witch jumped so high that he could see the scarlet heels of her shoes. Then right across the dancers came the sound of the galloping of a horse but no horse was to be seen and he felt afraid. Faster! cried the witch and she threw her arms about his neck and her breath was hot upon his face. Faster! faster! she cried and the earth seemed to spin beneath his feet and his brain grew troubled and a great terror fell on him as of some evil thing that was watching him. And at last he became aware that under the shadow of a rock there was a figure that had not been there before. It was a man dressed in a suit of black velvet cut in the Spanish fashion.  He seemed weary and was leaning back toying in a listless manner with the pommel of his dagger. On the grass beside him lay a plumed hat and a pair of riding gloves gauntleted with guilt lace and sewn with seed pearls wrought into a curious device. A short cloak lined with sabers hung from his shoulders and his delicate white hands were gemmed with rings. Heavy eyelids drooped over his eyes. The young fisherman watched him as one stared in a spell. At last their eyes met and whenever he danced it seemed to him that the eyes of the man were upon him. He heard the witch laugh and caught her by the waist and whirled her madly round and round.  As they did so a little smile touched his proud lips as a bird's wing touches the wooder as it laughed. But there was disdain in it. He kept looking at the young fisherman. Come, let us worship! whispered the witch and she led him up and a great desire to do as she besought him seized on him and he followed her. But when he came close and without knowing why he did it he made on his breast the sign of the cross and called upon the holy name. No sooner had he done so and the fox and flew away and the pallid face that had been watching him twitched with a spasm of pain. The man went over to a little wood and whistled. A jenet with silver trappings came running to meet him. As he leapt upon the saddle he turned round and looked at the young fisherman sadly. And the witch with the red hair tried to fly away also but the fisherman caught her by her wrists and held her fast. He go for thou hast named what should not be named and shown the sign that may not be looked at. Nay, he answered but I will not let thee go till thou hast told me the secret. What secret? said the witch, wrestling with him like a wildcat and biting her foam-flect lips. Thou knowest, he made an answer. Her grass-green eyes grew dim with tears and she said to the fisherman ask me anything but that. He laughed and held her all the more tightly. And when she saw that she could not free herself she whispered to him surely I am as fair as the daughters of the sea and as comely as those that dwell in the blue wooders. And she fond on him and put her face close to his. But he thrust her back frowning and said to her if thou keepest not the promise that thou madeest to me I will pay for a false witch. And she grew gray as a blossom of the Judas tree and shuddered. Be it so, she muttered. It is thy soul and not mind do with it as thou wilt. And she took from her girdle a little knife that had a handle of green viper's skin and gave it to him. What shall this serve me? He asked of her wondering. She was silent for a few moments over her face. Then she brushed her hair back from her far head and smiling strangely she said to him what men called the shadow of the body is not the shadow of the body but is the body of the soul. Stand on the sea shore with thy back to the moon and cut away from around thy feet thy shadow which is thy soul's body and bid thy soul leave thee and it will do so. The young fisherman trembled. Is this true? he murmured. It is true and I would that I had not told thee of it. She cried and she clung to his knees weeping. He put her from him and left her in the rank grass and going to the edge of the mountain he placed the knife in his belt and began to climb down. And his soul that was within him called out to him and said, Lo! I have dwelt with thee for these many years and not away from thee now for what evil have I done thee? And the young fisherman left. Thou hast done me no evil but I have no need of thee, he answered. The world is wide and there is heaven also and hell and that dim twilight house that lies between. Go wherever thou wilt but trouble me not for my love is calling to me. And his soul besought him piteously but he heeded it not to crag being sure-footed as a wild goat and at last he reached the level ground and the yellow shore of the sea. Bronze-limbed and well-knit like a statue wrought by aggression he stood on the sand with his back to the moon and out of the foam came white arms that beckoned to him and out of the waves rose dim forms that did him homage. Before him lay his shadow which was the body of his soul and behind him hung the moon in the honey-coloured air and his soul said to him if indeed thou must drive me from thee send me not forth without a heart. The world is cruel give me thy heart to take with me. He tossed his head and smiled with what should I love my love if I gave thee my heart? He cried. Nay but be merciful said his soul give me thy heart for very cruel and I am afraid. My heart is my loves he answered therefore tarry not but get thee gone should I not love also? asked his soul. Get thee gone for I have no need of thee cried the young fisherman and he took the little knife with its handle of green viper skin and caught away his shadow from around his feet and it rose up and stood before him and looked at him and it was even as himself. He crept back and thrust the knife into his belt and a feeling of awe came over him.  Nay, but we must meet again said the soul. Its voice was low and flute-like and its lips hardly moved while it spake. How shall we meet? cried the young fisherman. Thou will not follow me into the depths of the sea. Every year I will come to this place and call to thee said the soul. It may be that doubt willed have need of me. What need should I have of thee? cried the young fisherman. But be it as doubt willed and he plunged into the waters and the tritons blew their horns and the little mermaid rose up to meet him and put her arms around his neck and kissed him on the mouth. And the soul stood on the lonely beach and watched them sunk down into the sea. It went weeping away over the marshes. And after a year was over the soul came down to the shore of the sea and called to the young fisherman and he rose out of the deep and said, Why dost thou call me? and the soul answered come nearer that I may speak with thee for I have seen marvellous things. So he came nearer and couched in the shallow water and leaned his head upon his hand and listened. The soul said to him, When I left thee I turned my face to the east and journeyed. From the east cometh everything that is wise. Six days I journeyed and on the morning of the seventh day I came to a hill that is in the country of the Tartars. I sat down under the shade of a tamarisk tree to shelter myself from the sun. The land was dry and burnt up with the heat and people went too and fro over the plain like flies crawling upon a disk of polished copper. When it was noon a cloud of red dust rose up from the flat rim of the land. When the Tartars saw it they strung their painted bows and having leapt upon their little horses they galloped to meet it. The women fled screaming to the wagons and hid themselves behind the felt curtains. At twilight the Tartars returned but five of them were missing and of those that came back were seated. They harnessed their horses to the wagons and drove hastily away. Three jackals came out of a cave and peered after them.  When the moon rose I saw a campfire burning on the plain and went towards it. A company of merchants were seated rounded on carpets. Their camels were picketed behind skin upon the sand and making a high wall of the prickly pear. As I came near them the chief of the merchants rose up and drew his sword and asked me my business. I answered that I was a prince in my own land and that I had escaped from the Tartars who had sought to make me their slave. The chief smiled and showed me five heads fixed upon long reeds of bamboo. Then he asked me who was the prophet of God and I answered him, Mohammed. When he heard the name of the false prophet he bowed and took me by the hand and placed me by his side.  At daybreak we started on our journey. I rode on a red-haired camel by the side of the chief and a runner ran before us carrying a spear. The men of war were on either hand and the mules followed with the merchandise. There were forty camels in the caravan and the mules were twice forty in number. We went from the country of the Tartars into the country of those who cursed the moon. We saw the griffins guarding their gold on the white rocks and the scaled dragons sleeping in their caves. As we passed over the mountains we held our breath, lest the snows might fall on us and each man tied a veil of gauze before his eyes. As we passed through the valleys the pygmies shot arrows at us from the hollows of the trees and at night time we heard the wild men beating on their drums. When we came to the tower of apes we set fruits before them and they did not harm us. When we came to the tower of serpents we gave them warm milk in howls of brass and they let us go by. Three times in our journey we came to the banks of the oxes. We crossed it on rafts of wood with great bladders of blown hide. The river-horses raged against it and sought to slay us. When the camels saw them they trembled. The kings of each city levied tolls on us but would not suffer us to enter their gates. They threw us bread over the walls, little maize cakes baked in honey and cakes of fine flour filled with dates. For every hundred baskets we gave them a bead of amber. When the dwellers in the villages saw us coming they poisoned the wells and fled to the hill summits.  A third of our company died in battle and a third died of want. The rest murmured against me and said that I had brought them an evil fortune. I took a horned adder beneath a stone and let it sting me. When they saw that I did not sicken they grew afraid. In the fourth month we reached city of Illel. It was night time when we came to the grove that is outside the walls and the air was sultry for the moon was travelling in scorpion. We took the ripe pomegranates from the trees and break them and drank their sweet juices. Then we lay down on our carpets and waited for the dawn. Then on we rose and knocked at the gate of the city. It was wrought out of red bronze and carved with sea dragons and dragons that have wings. The guards looked down from the battlements and asked us our business. The interpreter of the caravan answered that we had come from the island of Syria with much merchandise. They took hostages and told us that they would open the gate to us at noon and bait us tarry till then. When it was noon they opened the gate and as we entered in the people came crowding out of the houses to look at us and a crier went round the city crying through a shell. We stood in the marketplace and the negroes uncorked the bails of figured cloths and opened the carved chests of Sycamore. And when they had ended their task the merchants set forth their strange wares, the waxed linen from Egypt and the painted linen from the country of the Ethiops, the purple sponges from Tyre and the blue hangings from Sidon, the cups of cold amber and the fine vessels of glass and the curious vessels of burnt clay. From the roof of a house a company of women watched us. One of them wore a mask of gilded leather. And on the first day the priests came and bartered with us and on the second day came the nobles and on the third day came the craftsmen and slaves and this is their custom with all merchants as long as they tarry in the city. And we tarried for a moon and when the moon was waning I wearied and wandered away through the streets of the city and came to the garden of its god. The priests in their yellow robes moved silently through the green trees and on a pavement of black marble stood the rose red house in which the god had his dwelling. Its doors were of powdered lacquer and bulls and peacocks were wrought on them in raised and polished gold. The tilted roof was of sea green porcelain and the jutting eaves were festooned with little bells. When the white doves flew past they struck the bells with their wings and made them tinkle. In front of the temple was a pool of clear water paved with veined onyx. I lay down beside it and with my pale fingers I touched the broad leaves. One of the priests came toward me behind me. He had sandals on his feet. One of soft serpent skin and the other of birds plumage.  Seven yellows were woven into his robe and his frizzled hair was stained with antimony. After a little while he spake to me and asked me my desire. I told him that my desire was to see the god.  Tell me what forest and I will ride with him, I answered. He combed out the soft fringes of his tunic with his long pointed nails. The god is asleep, he murmured. Tell me on what couch and I will watch by him, I answered. The god is at the feast, he cried. If the wine be sweet I will drink it with him, and if it be bitter I will drink it with him also, was my answer. He bowed his head in wonder and taking me by the hand he raised me up and led me into the temple. And in the first chamber I saw an idol seated on a throne of Jasper bordered with great orient pearls. It was carved out of ebony and in stature was of the stature of a man. On its far head was a ruby and thick oil dripped from its hair onto its thighs. Its feet were red with the blood of a newly slain kid and its loins girt with a copper belt that was studded with seven barrels. And I said to the priest, is this the god? And he answered me, this is the god. Show me the god, I cried, or I will surely slay thee. And I touched his hand and it became withered. And the priest be sought me, saying, let my lord heal this servant and I will show him the god. So I breathed with my breath upon his hand and it became whole again. And he trembled and led me into the second chamber. And I saw an idol standing on a lotus of jade hung with great emeralds. It was carved out of ivory and in stature was twice the stature of a man. On its far head was a chrysalite and its breasts were smeared with myrrh and cinnamon. In one hand it held a crooked scepter of jade and in the other a round crystal. It wear buckskins of brass and its thick neck was circled with a circle of selenites. And I said to the priest, is this the god? And he answered me, this is the god. Show me the god, I cried, or I will surely slay thee. And I touched his eyes and they became blind. And the priest be sought me, let my lord heal his servant and I will show him the god.  And he trembled again and led me into a third chamber and lo! there was no idol in it, nor image of any kind, but only a mirror of round metal set on an altar of stone. And I said to the priest, where is the god? And he answered me, there is no god but this mirror that thou seest, for this is the mirror of wisdom. And it reflecteth all things that are in heaven and on earth, save only the face of him who looketh into it. This it reflecteth not, so that he who looketh into it may be wise. Many other mirrors are there, but they are mirrors of opinion. This only is the mirror of wisdom. And they who possess this mirror know everything, nor is there wisdom. And they who possess it not have not wisdom. Therefore it is the god, and we worship it. And I looked into the mirror, and it was even as he had said to me, and I did a strange thing, but what I did matters not, for in a valley that is but a day's journey from this place I have hidden the mirror of wisdom. Do but suffer me to enter into thee again, and be thy servant, and thou shall be thine. Suffer me to enter into thee, and none will be as wise as thou. But the young fisherman laughed. Love is better than wisdom, he cried, and the little mermaid loves me. Nay, but there is nothing better than wisdom, said the soul. Love is better, answered the young fisherman, and he plunged into the deep, and the soul went weeping away over the marshes. Love, part one, of the fisherman and his soul by Oscar Wilde. Part two, of the fisherman and his soul, by Oscar Wilde. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Reading by Greg Marguerite. The Fisherman and His Soul by Oscar Wilde. Part two. And after the second year was over the soul came down to me and called to the young fisherman, and he rose out of the deep and said, Why dost thou call to me? And the soul answered, Come nearer, that I may speak with thee, for I have seen marvellous things. So he came nearer and couched in the shallow water and leaned his head upon his hand and listened. And the soul said to him, When I left thee I turned my face to the south and that is precious. Six days I journeyed along the highways that lead to the city of Ashtar. Along the dusty red dyed highways by which the pilgrims are want to go did I journey. And on the morning of the seventh day I lifted up my eyes and low the city lay at my feet, for it is in a valley. There are nine gates to this city, and in front of each gate stands a bronze horse that nays when the Bedowins come down from the mountains. The walls are cased with copper and the watch towers on the walls are roofed with brass. In every tower stands an archer with a bow in his hand. At sunrise he strikes with an arrow on a gong, and at sunset he blows through a horn of a horn. When I sought to enter the guard stopped me and asked of me who I was. I made answer that I was a dervish and on my way to the town, where there was a green veil on which the Quran was embroidered in silver letters by the hands of the angels. They were filled with wonder and entreated me to pass in. Inside it is even as a bizarre. Surely thou shouldst have been with me.  When the wind blows over the roofs they rise and fall as painted bubbles do. In front of their booths sit the merchants on silken carpets. They have straight black beards and their turbans are covered with golden sequins and long strings of amber, and carved peach stones glide through their cool fingers. Some of them sell galbanum and gnarred and curious perfumes from the islands of the Indian sea, and the thick oil of red roses and myrrh and little nail shaped clothes. When one stops to speak to them they throw pinches of frankincense upon a charcoal brazier and make the air sweet. I saw a Syrian who held in his hands a thin rod like a reed. Grey threads of smoke came from it and its odor as it burned was as the odor of the pink almond in spring. Others sell silver bracelets embossed all over with creamy blue turquoise stones and anklets of brass that are fringed with little pearls and tiger's claws set in gold, and the claws of that gilt cat, the leopard, set in gold also, and earrings of pierced emerald and finger rings of hollow jade. From the tea houses come the sound of the guitar and the opium smokers with their white smiling faces look out at the passersby of a truth that should have been with me. The wine is elbow their way through the crowd with great black skins on their shoulders. Most of them sell the wine of Shiraz which is as sweet as honey. They serve it in little metal cups and strew rose leaves upon it. In the marketplace stand the fruit sellers who sell all kinds of fruit, ripe figs with their bruised purple flesh, melons smelling of musk and yellow as topazes, citrons and rose apples and clusters of grapes, round red gold oranges and oval lemons of green gold. Once I saw an elephant go by. Its trunk was painted with vermilion and turmeric, and over its ears it had a net of crimson silk cord. It stopped opposite one of the booths and began eating the oranges, and the man only laughed. Thou canst not think how strange a people they are. When they are glad they go to the bird and buy of them a caged bird and set it free that their joy may be greater. And when they are sad they scourge themselves with thorns that their sorrow may not grow less. One evening I met some negroes carrying a heavy palakwin through the bazaar. It was made of gilded bamboo and the poles were of vermilion lacquer studded with brass peacocks. Across the windows hung thin curtains of muslin embroidered swings and with tiny seed pearls, and as it passed by a pale-faced circassian looked out and smiled at me. I followed behind, and the negroes hurried their steps and scowled, but I did not care. I felt a great curiosity come over me. At last they stopped at a square white house. There were no windows to it, only a little door like the door of a tomb. They set down the palakwin and three times with a copper hammer. An Armenian in a kaftan of green leather peered through the wicket, and when he saw them he opened and spread a carpet on the ground, and the woman stepped down. As she went in she turned round and smiled at me again. I had never seen anyone so pale. When the moon rose I returned to the same place and sought for the house, but it was no longer there. When I saw that I knew the woman was and wherefore she had smiled at me. Certainly thou shouldst have been with me. On the feast of the new moon the young emperor came forth from his palace and went into the mosque to pray. His hair and beard were dyed with rose leaves and his cheeks were powdered with a fine gold dust. The palms of his feet and hands were yellow with saffron. At sunrise he went forth from his palace in a robe of silver, and he returned to it again in a robe of gold. The people flung themselves on the ground and hid their faces, but I would not do so. I stood by the stall of a cellar of dates and waited. When the emperor saw me he raised his painted eyebrows and stopped. I stood quite still and made no obeisance. The people marveled at my boldness and counseled me to flee from the city. But went and sat with the cellars of strange gods, who by reason of their craft are abominated. When I told them what I had done each of them gave me a god and prayed me to leave them. That night as I lay on a cushion in the tea-house that is in the street of pomegranates, the guards of the emperor entered and led me to the palace. As I went in they closed each door behind me and put a chain across it. Inside was a great court with an arcade running all around. The walls were of white alabaster, set here and there with blue and green tiles. The pillars were of green marble and the pavement of a kind of peach blossom marble. I had never seen anything like it before. As I passed across the court two veiled women looked down from a balcony and cursed me. The guards hastened on and the polished floor. They opened a gate of wrought ivory and I found myself in a watered garden of seven terraces. It was planted with tulip cups and moonflowers and silver-studded aloes. Like a slim reed of crystal a fountain hung in the dusky air. The cypress trees were like burnt-out torches from one of them a nightingale was singing. At the end of the garden stood Julian. As we approached it two eunuchs came out to meet us.  One of them drew aside the captain of the guard and in a low voice whispered to him. The other kept munching scented pastiles which he took with an affected gesture out of an oval box of lilac enamel. After a few moments the captain of the guard dismissed the soldiers. They went back to the palace, the eunuchs following slowly behind and plucking the sweet mulberries from the trees as they passed. Once the elder of the two turned round and smiled at me with an evil smile. Then the captain of the guard motioned me towards the entrance of the pavilion. I walked on without trembling and drawing the heavy curtain aside I entered in. The young emperor was stretched on a couch of dyed skin skins and a girfalcon perched upon his wrist. Behind him stood a brass-turban nubian naked down to the waist and with heavy earrings in his split ears. On a table by the side of the couch lay a mighty scimitar of steel. When the emperor saw me he frowned and said to me What is thy name? Knowest thou not that I am emperor of this city? But I made him no answer. He pointed with his finger at the scimitar and the nubian seized it and rushing forward struck at me with great violence. The blade whizzed through me and did me no hurt. The man fell sprawling on the floor and when he rose up his teeth shattered with terror and he hid himself behind the couch. The emperor leapt to his feet and taking a lance from a stand of arms he threw it at me. I caught it in its flight he shot at me with an arrow but I held up my hands and it stopped in mid-air. Then he drew a dagger from a belt of white leather and stabbed the nubian in the throat lest the slave should tell of his dishonor. The man writhed like a trampled snake and a red foam burbled from his lips. As soon as he was dead the emperor turned to me and when he had wiped away the bright sweat from his brow with a little napkin he said to me, Art thou a prophet that I may not harm thee or the son of a prophet that I can do thee no hurt? I pray thee leave my city to-night for while thou art in it I am no longer its lord. And I answered him I will go for half of thy treasure give me half of thy treasure and I will go away. He took me by the hand and led me out into the garden when the captain of the guard saw me he wondered when the eunuchs saw me their knees shook and they fell upon the ground in fear. There is a chamber in the palace that has eight walls of red porphyry and a brass sealed ceiling hung with lamps. The emperor touched one of the walls and it opened and we passed down a corridor that was lit with many torches. In niches upon each side stood great wine jars filled to the silver pieces. When we reached the center of the corridor the emperor spake the word that may not be spoken and a granite door swung back on a secret spring and he put his hands before his face lest his eyes should be dazzled. Thou couldst not believe how marvelous a place it was.  The gold was stored in coffers of elephant hide and the gold dust in leather bottles. There were opals and sapphires, the former in cups of crystal and the latter in cups of jade. Round green emeralds were ranged in order upon the thin plates of ivory and in one corner were silk bags filled some with turquoise stones and others with barrels. The ivory horns were heaped with purple amethysts and though horns of brass with calcetanies and soards, the pillars which were of cedar were hung with strings of yellow link stones. In the flat oval shields there were carbuncles, both wine-colored and colored like grass and yet I have told thee but a tithe of what was there and when the emperor had taken away his hands from before his face he said to me, this is my house of treasure and half that is in it is thine even as I promise to thee I will give thee camels and camel-drivers and they shall do thy bidding and take thy share of the treasure to whatever part of the world thou desire is to go. And the thing shall be done to night for I would not that the son who is my father should see that there is in my city a man whom I cannot slay. But I answered him, the gold that is here is thine and the silver also is thine and thine are the precious jewels and the things of price as for me I have no need of these nor shall I take ought from thee but that little ring that thou wearest on the finger of thy hand and the emperor frowned it is but a ring of lead he cried nor has it any value therefore take thy half of the treasure and go from my city. Nay, I answered but I will take not but that leaden ring for I know what is written within it and for what purpose and the emperor trembled and besought me and said take all the treasure and go from my city the half that is mine shall be thine also and I did a strange thing but what I did matters not for in a cave that is but a day's journey from this place have I hidden the ring of riches. It is but a day's journey from this place and it waits for thy coming. The king who has this ring is richer than all the kings of the world come therefore and take it and the world's riches shall be thine but the young fisherman laughed love is better than riches he cried and the little mermaid loves me Nay, but there is nothing better than riches said the soul love is better answered the young fisherman and he plunged into the deep and the soul went weeping away in the marshes and after the third year was over the soul came down to the shore of the sea and called to the young fisherman and he rose out of the deep and said why dost thou call to me and the soul answered come nearer that I may speak with thee for I have seen marvelous things so he came nearer and couched in the shallow water and leaned his head upon his hand and listened and the soul said to him in the city that I know of there is an inn that standeth by a river I sat there with sailors who drank of two different colored wines and ate bread made of barley and little salt fish served in bay leaves with vinegar and as we sat and made merry there entered to us an old man bearing a leather carpet and a lute that had two horns of amber and when he had laid out the carpet on the floor he struck with a quill on the wire strings and his lute and a girl whose face was veiled ran in and began to dance before us her face was veiled with a veil of gauze but her feet were naked naked were her feet and they moved over the carpet like little white pigeons never have I seen anything so marvelous and the city in which she dances is but a day's journey from this place now when the young fisherman heard the words of his soul he heard that the little mermaid had no feet and could not dance and a great desire came over him and he said to himself it is but a day's journey and I can return to my love and he laughed and stood up in the shallow water and strode towards the shore and when he had reached the dry shore he laughed again and held out his arms to his soul and his soul gave a great cry of joy and ran to meet him and entered into him and the young fisherman saw stretched before him upon the sand that shadow of the body that is the body of the soul and his soul said to him let us not tarry but get hence at once for the sea gods are jealous and have monsters that do their bidding so they made haste and all that night they journeyed beneath the moon and all the next day they journeyed beneath the sun and on the evening of the day they came to a city and the young fisherman said to his soul is this the city in which he dances of whom thou didst speak to me and his soul answered him it is not this city but another nevertheless let us enter in so they entered in and passed through the streets and as they passed through the streets of the jewelers the young fisherman saw a fair silver cup set forth in a booth and his soul said to him take that silver cup and hide it so he took the cup and hid it in the fold of his tunic and they went heredly out of the city and after that they had gone a league from the city the young fisherman frowned and flung the cup away and said to his soul why didst thou tell me to take this cup and hide it for it was an evil thing to do but his soul answered him be at peace be at peace and on the evening of the second day they came to a city and the young fisherman said to his soul is this the city in which he dances didst speak to me and his soul answered him it is not this city but another nevertheless let us enter in so they entered in and passed through the streets and as they passed through the streets of the cellars of sandals the young fisherman saw a child standing by a jar of water and his soul said to him smite that child so he smote the child till it wept and when he had done this they went heredly out of the city and after that they had gone a league from the city the young fisherman grew wroth and said to his soul why didst thou tell me to smite the child for it was an evil thing to do but his soul answered him be at peace be at peace and on the evening of the third day they came to a city and the young fisherman said to his soul is this the city in which he dances of whom thou didst speak to me and his soul answered him it may be that it is in this city therefore let us enter in so they entered in and passed through the streets but nowhere could the young fisherman find the river or the inn that stood by its side and the people of the city looked curiously at him and he grew afraid and said to his soul let us go hence for she who dances with white feet is not here but his soul answered nay but let us tarry for the night is dark and there will be robbers on the way so he sat him down in the marketplace and rested and after a time there went by a hooded merchant who had a cloak of cloth of tartary and bare a lantern of pierced horn at the end of a jointed reed and the merchant said to him why dost thou sit in the marketplace seeing that the booths are closed and the bails courted and the young fisherman answered him I can find no inn in this city nor have I any kinsmen who might give me shelter are we not all kinsmen said the merchant and did not one god make us therefore come with me for I have a guest chamber so the young fisherman rose up and followed the merchant to his house and when he had passed through a garden of pomegranates and entered into the house the merchant brought him rose water in a copper dish that he might wash his hands he ate melons that he might quench his thirst and set a bowl of rice and a piece of roasted kid before him and after that he had finished the merchant led him to the guest chamber and bait him to sleep and be at rest and the young fisherman gave him thanks and kissed the ring that was on his hand and flung himself down on the carpets of dyed goats hair and when he had covered himself with a covering of black lambs wool he fell asleep for many hours before dawn and while it was still night his soul waked him and said to him rise up and go to the room of the merchant even to the room in which he sleepeth and slay him and take from him his gold for we have need of it and the young fisherman rose up and crept toward the room of the merchant and over the feet of the merchant there was lying a curved sword and the tray by the side of the merchant held nine purses of gold and he reached out his hand and touched the sword and when he touched it the merchant started and awoke and leaping up seized himself the sword and cried to the young fisherman dust out return evil for good and pay with the shedding of blood for the kindness that I have shown thee and his soul said to the young fisherman strike him and he struck him so that he swooned and he seized then the nine purses of gold and fled hastily from the burden of pomegranates and set his face to the star that is the star of mourning and when they had gone a league from the city the young fisherman beat his breast and said to his soul why didst thou bid me to slay the merchant and take his gold surely thou art evil but his soul answered him be at peace be at peace nay cried the young fisherman I may not be at peace but he gave me due I hate thee also I hate and I bid thee tell me wherefore thou hast wrought with me in this wise and his soul answered him when thou did send me forth into the world thou gavest me no heart so I learned to do all these things and love them what sayest thou murmured the young fisherman thou knowest answered his soul hast thou forgotten that thou gavest me no heart I trow not and so trouble not thyself nor me but be at peace for there is no pain that thou shalt not give away nor any pleasure that thou shalt not receive and when the young fisherman heard these words he trembled and said to his soul nay but thou art evil and hast made me forget my love and hast tempted me with temptations and hast set my feet in the ways of sin and his soul answered him thou hast not forgotten that when thou did send me forth into the world thou gavest me no heart come let us go to another city and make merry for we have nine purses of gold but the young fisherman took the nine purses of gold and flung them down and trampled on them nay he cried but I will have not to do with thee nor will I journey with thee anywhere but even as I sent thee away before so will I send thee away now for thou hast wrought me no good and he turned his back to the moon and with the little knife that had the handle of green viper skin he strove to cut from his feet that shadow of the body which is the body of the soul yet his soul stirred not from him nor paid he to his command but said to him the spell that the witch told thee avails thee no more for I may not leave thee nor mayest thou drive me forth once in his life may a man send his soul away but he who receiveeth back his soul must keep it with him for ever and this is his punishment and his reward and the young fisherman grew pale and clenched his hands and cried she was a false witch and that she told me not that nay answered his soul but she was true to him she worships and whose servant she will be ever and when the young fisherman knew that he could no longer get rid of his soul and that it was an evil soul and would abide with him always he fell upon the ground weeping bitterly and when it was day the young fisherman rose up and said to his soul I will bind my hands by bidding and close my lips that I may not speak thy words and I will return to the place where she whom I love has her dwelling even to the sea will I return and to the little bay where she is want to sing and I will call to her and tell her the evil I have done and the evil thou hast wrought on me and his soul tempted him and said who is thy love that thou shouldst return to her than she is there are dancing girls of Samaras who dance in the manner of all kinds of birds and beasts their feet are painted with henna and in their hands they have little copper bells they laugh while they dance and their laughter is as clear as the laughter of water come with me and I will show them to thee for what is this trouble of thine about the things of sin is that which is pleasant to eat not made for the eater is there poison in that which is sweet to drink trouble not thyself but come with me to another city there is a little city hard by in which there is a garden of tulip trees and there dwell in this comely garden white peacocks and peacocks that have blue breasts their tails when they spread them to the sun are like discs of ivory and like guilt discs and she who feeds them dances for their pleasure sometimes she dances on her hands and at other times she dances with her feet her eyes are colored with stibium and her nostrils are shaped like the wings of a swallow from a hook in one of her nostrils hangs a flower that is carved out of a pearl she laughs while she dances and the silver rings that are about her ankles tinkle like bells of silver and so trouble not thyself any more but come with me to this city young fisherman answered not his soul but closed his lips with the seal of silence and with a tight cord bound his hands and journeyed back to the place from which he had come even to the little bay where his love had been want to sing and ever did his soul tempt him by the way but he made it no answer nor would he do any of the wickedness that it sought to make him do so great was the power of the love that was within him and when he had reached the shore of the sea he loosed the cord from his hands and took the seal of silence from his lips and called to the little mermaid but she came not to his call though he called to her all day long and besought her and his soul mocked him and said surely thou hast but little joy out of thy love thou art as one who in time of death pours water into a broken vessel thou giveest away what thou hast not is given to thee in return it were better for thee to come with me for I know where the valley of pleasure lies and what things are wrought there but the young fisherman answered not his soul but in a cleft of the rock he built himself a house of wattles and abode there for the space of a year and every morning he called to the mermaid and every noon he called her again and at night time he spake her name did she rise out of the sea to meet him nor in any place of the sea could he find her though he sought for her in the caves and in the green wooder in the pools of the tide and in the wells that are at the bottom of the deep and ever did his soul tempt him with evil and whisper of terrible things yet did it not prevail against him so great was the power of his love and after the year was over the soul thought within himself I have tempted my master with evil and his love is stronger than I am I will tempt him now with good and it may be that he will come with me so he spake to the young fisherman and said I have told thee of the joy of the world and thou has turned a deaf ear to me suffer me now to tell thee of the world's pain and it may be that thou will harken for of a truth pain as the lord of this world nor is there anyone who escapes from its net there be some who lack raiment and others who lack bread there be widows who sit in purple and widows who sit in rags to and fro over the fence go the lepers and they are cruel to each other the beggars go up and down on the highways and their wallets are empty through the streets of the cities walk famine and the plague sits at their gates come let us go forth and mend these things and make them not to be wherefore shouldst thou tarry here calling to thy love seeing she comes not to thy call and what is love that thou should set this high store upon it but the young fisherman answered it not so great was the power of his love and every morning he called to the mermaid and every noon he called to her again and at night time he spake her name yet never did she rise out of the sea to meet him nor in any place of the sea could he find her though he sought for her in the rivers of the sea and in the valleys that are under the waves in the seas that the night makes purple and in the seas that the dawn leaves gray and after the second year was over the soul said to the young fisherman at night time and as he sat in the waddled house alone low now I have tempted thee with evil and I have tempted thee with good and thy love is stronger than I am wherefore will I tempt thee no longer but I pray thee to suffer me to enter thy heart that I may be one with thee even as before surely thou mayest enter said the young fisherman for in the days when with no heart thou didst go through the world thou must have much suffered the glass cried his soul I can find no place of entrance so compassed about with love is this heart of thine yet I would that I could help thee said the young fisherman and as he spake there came a great cry of mourning from the sea even the cry that men hear when one of the sea folk is dead and the young fisherman leapt up and left his waddled house and ran down to the shore and the black waves came hurrying with them a burden that was whiter than silver white as the surf it was and like a flower it tossed on the waves and the surf took it from the waves and the foam took it from the surf and the shore received it and lying at his feet the young fisherman saw the body of the little mermaid dead at his feet it was lying weeping as one smitten with pain he flung himself down beside it and kissed the cold red of the mouth and toyed with the wet amber of the hair he flung himself down beside it on the sand weeping as one trembling with joy and in his brown arms he held it to his breast cold were the lips yet he kissed them salt was the honey of the hair yet he tasted it with a bitter joy he kissed the closed eyelids and the wild spray that lay upon their cups was less salt than his tears through the dead thing he made confession into the shells of its ears he poured the harsh wine of his tail he put the little hands round his neck and with his fingers he touched the thin reed of the throat bitter, bitter was his joy and full of strange gladness was his pain the black sea came nearer and the white foam mourned like a leper with white claws of foam the sea grabbled at the shore from the palace of the sea king came the cry of mourning again and far out upon the sea the great tritons blew hoarsely upon their horns flee away said his soul for ever doth the sea come nyer and if thou tarriest it will slay thee flee away for I am afraid seeing that thy heart is closed against me by reason of the greatness of thy love flee away to a place of safety surely thou will not send me without a heart into another world but the young fisherman listened not to his soul but called on the little mermaid and said love is better than wisdom and more precious than riches and fairer than the feet of the daughters of men the fires cannot destroy it nor can the wooders quench it I called on thee at dawn and thou didst not come to my call the moon heard thy name yet hath stout no heed of me for evilly had I left thee and to my own hurt had I wandered away yet ever did thy love abide within me and ever was it strong nor did ought prevail against it though I have looked upon evil and looked upon good and now that thou art dead surely I will die with thee also and his soul be sought him to depart but he would not so great was his love and the sea came nearer and sought to cover him with its waves and when he knew that the end was at hand he kissed with mad lips the cold lips of the mermaid and the heart that was within him break and as through the fullness of his love his heart did break the soul found an entrance and entered in and was one with him even as before and the sea covered the young fisherman with its waves and in the morning the priest went forth to bless the sea for it had been troubled and with him went the monks and the musicians and the candle bearers and the swingers of sensors and a great company and when the priest reached the shore he saw the young fisherman lying drowned in the surf and clasped in his arms was the body of the little mermaid and he drew back frowning and having made the sign of the cross he cried aloud and said I will not bless the sea it is in it a cursed be the sea folk and a cursed be all they who traffic with them and as for him who for love's sake forsook God and so lieth here with his Lehman slain by God's judgment take up his body and the body of his Lehman and bury them in the corner of the field of the fullers and said no mark above them nor sign of any kind that none may know the place of their resting for a cursed were they in their lives and a cursed shall they be in their deaths also and the people did as he commanded them and in the corner of the field of the fullers where no sweet herbs grew they dug a deep pit and laid the dead things within it and when the third year was over and on a day that was a holy day the priest went up to the chapel that he might show to the people the wounds of the Lord and speak to them about the wrath of God and when he had robed himself his robes and entered in and bowed himself before the altar he saw that the altar was covered with strange flowers that never had been seen before strange were they to look at and of curious beauty and their beauty troubled him and their odor was sweet in his nostrils and he felt glad and understood not why he was glad and after that he had opened the tabernacle and incensed what was in it and shown the fair wafer to the people and hid it again behind the veil of veils he began to speak to the people desiring to speak to them of the wrath of God but the beauty of the white flowers troubled him and their odor was sweet in his nostrils and there came another word into his lips and he spake not of the wrath of God but of the God whose name is love and why he spake he knew not and when he had finished his word the people wept and the priest went back to the sacristy and his eyes were full of tears and the deacons came in and began to unrobe him and took from him the alb and the girdle the manifold and the stole and he stood as one in a dream and after that they had unrobed him he looked at them and said what are the flowers that stand on the altar what's do they come and they answered him what flowers they are we cannot tell but they come from the corner of the fuller's field and the priest trembled and returned to his own house and prayed and in the morning while it was still dawn he went forth with the monks and the musicians and the candle bearers and the swingers of censors and a great company and came to the shore of the sea and blessed the sea and the things that are in it the fawns also he blessed and the little things that dance in the woodland and the bright-eyed things that peer through the leaves all the things in God's world he blessed and the people were filled with joy and wonder yet never again in the corner of the fuller's field grew flowers of any kind but the field remained barren even as before nor came the sea folk into the bay where they had went to another part of the sea and of part two of the fisherman and his soul by Oscar Wilde


I am back again to pay my respects first to you and to the Emirate Council. We are not allowed to play politics in the palace. Otherwise, I would have made a very long speech.  One of the assignments that I have is creating an enabling environment for business. I think it's a very important thing. I believe first that technology is going to be one of the best ways for us to create good opportunities for young people in Nigeria. From 2015 to now, we have seven companies founded by young Nigerians. Nigerians who are not even 40 years old yet, seven of them. And those companies are valued at over $1 billion each. These are FinTech companies. They are FinTech companies. Many of them involved in payment processing. How did these companies come about? Many might be surprised that we have such companies. It was a change of policy that resulted in these companies emerging. If you are doing any type of financial services in the past, you must get a banking license. If you say you want to start processing payments, for instance, if you want to buy something online, there are companies that help you to pay. These are the types of companies I'm talking about. To get a banking license is $25 billion. How many people can afford $25 billion? Most people can never afford it. So we decided that we would have different categories of licenses for financial services. So there are about seven different categories of licenses now for financial services. And most of them are very cheap. You don't have to pay any large sum of money. This is why these seven companies were able to develop quickly. And many of them got these licenses, super agent licenses and those kinds of licenses. So they are now able to do the kinds of services. So I think that one of the important things that we need to do is to ensure that we are able to provide real opportunities to create business for young people.


Welcome to MOOC course on Introduction to Proteogenomics. Today I am going to talk about mass spectrometry based proteomics and various steps involved in doing mass spectrometry based proteomics. Let us look at this workflow for shotgun proteomics. You have prepared the protein sample and now you want to analyze using mass spectrometry for protein identification or quantification. Very first step you would like to do the protein digestion using enzymes like trypsin. Now proteins have been digested and formed peptides. These peptides are separated using HPLC and then samples are ionized using ionization source like electro spray ionization from which these ions are now moving inside the mass analyzer and then you are generating these chromatograms based on the M by Z values. You are using this information to search the databases and then performing the protein identification that is a nutshell of shotgun proteomics workflow. Let us now go one by one. First you want to know that how much protein you have from the given sample. So you need to perform the protein quantification. You can choose different methods of protein quantification but in the lab session we are going to show you Bradford quantification. Let us have this lab session. So now we have a bacterial lysate which we are going to quantify for how much protein is present inside the sample. So for that what we are going to do we are going to perform a Bradford essay where I have taken different dilutions which is 0, 2, 4. Similarly I had taken 6, 8 and 10 also but I am just showing 3. So what we have to do? We have to add BSA which I have taken 2 mg per ml stock and I have added 1 microliter, 2 microliter, 3, 4 and 5 microliter for different dilutions and then I had added 1 ml of Bradford reagent. So this is 0 where I have not added any protein. I am just going to add Bradford reagent. Similarly I will be adding which I have already added in different dilutions and then after adding we have to incubate it in the dark for 15 minutes and after incubation then you have to take for 0. All these steps which I have done for standard I have also done it for the sample which I have taken again 2 microliter and then similarly processed with 1 ml of Bradford reagent and incubated for 15 minutes in the dark. So now we have to take the reading. So this is the photospectrometer which we are going to use today. So this is for the Bradford Bradford's essay that's why we are setting it at 595 nanometers. Now it says to read the blank. So we are going to use this cuve and here this portion as you can see there are 2 different faces so we are going to use this face towards this arrow. Now after placing it we will close it and press read blank because this is the blank where no protein is present only Bradford's reagent is there. Similarly we are going to take the reading for 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 also followed by sample. Now I will show you I am not going to show all the steps now I am going to show you how you can plot the graph of by using these standards and then you can calculate the value of the unknown protein which you want to calculate. So we have already made a table for the readings for this as this is 0 microgram where no BSA was added only Bradford reagent was there. Here this is 2 microliter 2 microgram per microliter 4 microgram per microliter 6, 8 and 10 similar for these these are the following readings and then what we have done we have plotted a graph by using these values and we can see that the R square that is regression coefficient is equal to 0.99 which is reliable. Now we will take the absorbance of the unknown sample which is approximately 0.16 now we will plot we will put this value in this equation which is shown here on the right hand side. Now what is this this is our value for y axis after substituting the value of y will be able to find the value of x which we have got here as the concentration of the protein. Now you have quantified your protein and you are ready for the next steps. But before we proceed for the next steps let us quickly recap what we are going to do in today's workflow of mass spectrometry based proteomics. I will try to give you again the recap of how a mass spec look, how we are going to learn the samples and their visualization and finally data analysis and interpretation. Let us now walk through the steps involved in a mass spectrometry based proteomics experiment. First thing you have done the protein quantification it is also good idea to do the protein quality check using SDS page gel. Here you will get an idea that how good the protein pattern is if the protein is degraded or you are only having bias of a given protein only the high abundant proteins are being seen on the gel I think that sample prep is not good. So you need to first do a visualization on the SDS page gel and make sure that you are able to represent all type of proteins on the gel from the low molecular weight to high molecular weight they are all very well distributed on the given gel and then now these samples looks good your quantification looks good now you are ready for the next step. So once you are ready for the proceeding for the proteomics mass spectrometry based workflow then you would like to do the protein digestion. One could use either in gel digestion or in solution digestion. In solution digestion means you are directly proceeding from the proteins in the solution form and with various steps involving reduction alkylation as well as the enzyme treatment using trypsin overnight you can do the in solution digestion or else from the same gel pieces you can also do the protein identification using in gel digestion method. If in case you have a complex lysate sample you can still run on a given gel very short gradient need not to run the whole gel and then excite that whole gel piece put you know cut that into 3 or 4 pieces and now you can use that to do the protein identification for the entire proteome from that given sample. So you are not looking at the specific band in this case but if the goal was to identify a given protein which you have purified or which you are more interested then you can just simply cut a specific band or take a specific spot. So in gel digestion can be helpful in many of these steps you will first do the lysate preparation then do the reduction step using dithiothrital. You do not want it to have the re-oxidation step to again happen so you treat that with either a stomach or IAA and then proceed for the trypsin digestion so that proteins can be chopped down to the peptides. Let us now have the lab session where you will get more idea for the protocol used for doing in gel digestion. So now after running the SGS page now you have to stain and de-stain the gel so that the protein profile can be seen on the gel so for that we have already stained and de-stained the gel. You can see that this is the ladder and these are the different samples which we had run and here we want we are interested in all these four bands. So now we have to excise the band and then I will show you how we can proceed with in gel digestion and then we can subject it to mass spectrometry to identify the protein which is present in the particular band. Now we have taken the gel here in the laminar airflow and we have taken the excision tubes in which we are going to cut the bands and keep the bands so now let's see how to cut the bands. So we are interested in this thick band so I am cutting this now I have taken the desired band. We can further chop the chop down this band and make it small into smaller pieces which I have already done in KEP for you so you can see that we have to chop it fine so that all the reagents which we are going to treat it with will be able to act properly on the gel pieces. So for processing the band for in gel digestion by using trypsin we require these following solvents. Solution A includes acetone nitride and ammonium bicarbonate in two ways to one ratio then ammonium bicarbonate then IAA that is Ido acetylamide and the last one is DTT. So now first of all we will add ABC to the excise band and now we have to vortex it for 10 minutes but I am just going to show you the steps that is why I am not keeping it for 10 minutes. Then we have to give it a short spin then followed by this step you have to remove the ammonium bicarbonate solution and discard it then add solution A which is the mix of acetone nitride and ABC then again you have to vortex this gel piece for 10 minutes followed by a short spin again discard the solution and follow this step for 3 to 4 times. Then after you have washed the gel pieces then you have to reduce then you have to add the reducing agent that is DTT so that all the disulfide bonds can be reduced. So now we are going to add DTT so this is the DTT after adding DTT to the gel pieces you have to incubate it at 37 degree Celsius for 1 hour so that the DTT can penetrate and work on the gel pieces to reduce all the protein disulfide bonds. So after the incubation you have to again discard the DTT excess DTT which is there and give the wash by using ABC and solution A and after giving a wash by using ABC and solution A you have to add iodoacetamide which is light sensitive hence we have covered it with aluminum after adding this we have to incubate it in the dark for half hour so after adding this IAA you have to incubate it in the dark for 10 minutes. After incubation then you have to remove the IAA and again wash the gel pellets by using ABC and solution A. Once you are done with washing steps then you have to add trypsin to the gel pieces in the dilution form whichever is appropriate for your experiment and then incubate this on the ice for half an hour. Incubation is done on the ice for so that the trypsin can penetrate inside the gel pieces and can reach the proteins to convert it into the peptides. Now once the incubation is over then you have to submerge the gel pieces by using ABC so that the gel pieces are not dried up completely before the action of trypsin is done. So we have submerged the pieces by using ABC and now we can incubate this at 37 degree Celsius for 16 hours so that the trypsin which has already gone inside the gel pieces can start working at its optimal temperature. Once the incubation for trypsin digestion is over then you collect the supernatant part in a fresh vial then you further extract by using different concentration of acetonitrile to extract the peptides from the gel pieces. So here I have used 40 percent, 80 percent and 100 percent acn to extract the peptides out of the gel. So now I am showing you the last step how we do this. So you take 100 percent acn add to the gel pieces and again vortex it for 10 minutes. Once your vortex it for 10 minutes then you have to again give it a short spin and then collect this solution as well to your peptides. Now you have got the peptides in the in the fresh tube which you have taken and now you have to dry this solution so that you only have the dried peptides which you can store for a longer duration like 6 months or more so that you can use it whenever it is required. Alright so now you have done the angelization now you are ready for proceeding for the mass spectrometry based experiment but it is good idea you should clean up your peptides and quantify them to make sure that you know you know how much exact peptide you have before you go for loading in the mass spectrometer. You should not overload the peptide because otherwise it is going to clog the column. You should make sure the sample is clean with the salt removed otherwise again it will affect the column it may block the column or you should not you know have the quantification errors because if you need to compare two samples you should load equal amount. So you know a general recommendation is that you can have if you have a clean sample peptide you can load almost 500 nanogram to 1 microgram that will give you decent proteome coverage. Of course sometime people go even 2 or 5 microgram but that will be on the higher side that may affect your column as well. So to do the peptide quantification you will reconstitute your sample which is peptide in the right form now you will take 2 micro liter of peptide in the solution do the absorbance reading and then do the calculation of peptide concentration using a very simple scopes method. Let us now have a lab session where you will be exposed to do the peptide quantification. So till now you have seen that we have extracted the peptides out of gel pieces and we have dried the peptides. So now we have the dried peptides with us by which we have dried using speed back and now we have to reconstitute the dried peptides by using 0.1 percent formic acid which I am taking approximately 20 micro liter and then you have to reconstitute it by doing by performing vortex the amount of reconstitute the amount of FA to use for reconstitution depends on the concentration of peptides you had loaded on the gel and you have collected after extraction. So once this is reconstituted now we have to go for peptide quantification. So now on the very first well you have to load only formic acid which you had used for reconstituting your peptides. So I am loading 2 micro liter of formic acid followed by reconstituted peptides in formic acid as the test. Now we have loaded the sample on this now we will go now we can cover this now we can go to the instrument which is used to read this plate. After spotting this on the after spotting the peptides on the plate now we are going to use this machine which is known as multi scan go for reading the peptide concentration. So now we are using this particular software which is known as scanners software 4.1 for micro plate readers. So we will go on the new session now we have to design the plate template and the one which we are using is micro drop plate hence we will select this. Now we know first is the blank which is containing only 0.1 percent FA so we will mark it as blank and the second is our unknown sample which we have marked it as unknown. Now we have taken it in duplicate that is why we are again marking the other one as unknown. Now we will go for the protocols click on the protocol we can select different absorbance. So we are selecting two different absorbance that is 280 we have added this now 205. Now we are going to measure the peptide concentration by using these two different wavelengths and we will go for a precision method. Now here we have to go for blank subtraction so that the software itself will go for a blank subtraction value and will only get the sorted values. Now we will keep the plate inside the plate reader so this is the button which we can use to bring the plate out. Now here in this slot we can keep the plate in this position and then now here we can start the read by clicking on the start. So at it is take some time now we have already written the values of 205 which is blank subtracted and again 280 which is again blank subtracted. By using scopes method we have calculated the concentration of the protein which is present in the form of microgram per microliter. So this is how one can calculate the peptide concentration which we have we have started from the very beginning by digesting the peptide using angel digestion desalting it and then we had quantified the peptides. So now by using this concentration of peptide we can inject 500 nanogram to 1 microgram of the peptides in the mass spectrometry.


Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Caroline Myers from Fendex Technologies, Biotech, a sector we are watching. And you had breaking news yesterday about a breakthrough in nanotechnology with a film that repels and kills bacteria. How about I let you tell our audience how important that news release was. Thank you. Well, let me just tell you a little bit of the background. We licensed the original technology from McMaster in 2021. And over the next two years, it was clear that we needed to reformulate, to put together a nanotechnology formulation that would be amenable to scale up. And so, you know, in collaboration with McMaster, that's what we did. And so, one of the formulations that we came up with was one that both repels and kills.  But through this whole process, we discovered this film and components of it that actually kill as well as repel. And what it encompasses is a product that has a photoactive nanoparticle in it. It's called Titanium TiO2 is what it goes by. And not only does it work as a linker in the whole chemistry to create the repelling surfaces, but if you put it in, if you expose it to light, just regular light or UV light, it also kills. So our films, as it relates to repelling, they repel quite significantly. This publication actually showed that the combination of TiO2 and fluorocarbons to make our surface repel or prevent adhesion of bacteria by close to 99.8%. So that's pretty close to 100%. But if you do have residual bugs, so that other 0.2%, it will kill those bugs up to 99.6%. So surface is almost like, you know, invincible, like nothing will adhere to it. But just by virtue of the fact that these surfaces repel by close to, you know, 100%, in this particular case, 99.8%, we're still going to continue down the road of developing a repell wrap film, which is the product that just repels or prevents adhesion of bacteria and viruses quite significantly. But in the background, we'll still be looking at this repelling kill version as we move forward. So we're pretty excited about the results, and that's why we put them out, because quite frankly, I don't know of any films out there that repel, first of all, but also repel and kill. And potentially the combination might be a better than a repel version or a kill version of films. But, you know, we're getting pretty good results with our repelling properties today. So that's where we're going to continue moving down that road. And for those of you out there with your pen and paper trying to put this all together, let me just reinforce what Carolyn has just said, which is basically, and correct me if I'm wrong here. You've got, this is a specific mechanism where you take your photoactive nanoparticles and the fluorosilane, is that pronounced properly? You get fluorosilane or fluorocarbons, yeah, it's a fluorocarbon combination, yes. But these are basically activated by light exposure and film, and they work together to both repel and kill bacteria, which is really, which is the exciting and competitive advantage that we're talking about, not to mention the percentage of reduction in bacterial adhesion. Is that correct? Yeah, so let me just explain how this works. So basically you have your film, which is like the equivalent of saran wrap, right? And what you do is you activate the surface of that film, and then you attach the nanoparticles. And in this case, we attach the TIO2 to it. And then on top of it, you put the fluorosilane. And then once the chemical reactions have all happened, then you heat shrink it, and that's what creates the surface. So you can, and the TIO2, they're called linkers. So it's linking the fluorosilane to the actual film. And so there are all kinds of different linkers you can use. I mean, originally we were using aptes, which is, I'm not even going to tell you what that is because it takes me five minutes to say what aptes means. But we're also looking at other linkers. The fluorosilane is really important from the repelling standpoint. It is very important. But you need all of these components together in order to make that surface with the properties that we desire, which is this 99.9% prevention of adhesion of bacteria. So can you tell us how the film's efficacy in reducing bacterial contamination compares with existing surface protection technologies, particularly in high-risk environments like hospitals? So there are other films out there, and they work very differently than we do. They actually kill bugs on the surface. They all have some sort of either photorap, reactive, or metal ions in them. The ones that are probably most known are ones that have silver or copper in them. And those surfaces are known as being antimicrobial, that when the bugs actually stick to the surface because they can stick to the surface and they start replicating, they will be killed by the metal ions.  And if you can't attach to the surface, you can't replicate. And so in our case, because you can't replicate, the level of transmission is significantly reduced. With regard to the other films, because they are killed on the surface, they do have to replicate. And so what I've always said is that there's still a potential window of opportunity that you might get transmission and cause the bugs to be transmitted between person to person. But at the end of the day, those films are also very effective. They've shown that they can reduce, they can kill up to like in the high 90s as well. But it takes time, whereas ours, again, nothing sticks to it and instantly. So as soon as something tries to attach to the surface, it can't replicate. And so we, you know, that's our, that's the foundation of our technology and why we're so excited about moving forward with it. Certainly, it does sound incredibly exciting. Our investor talk audience was very excited about the wide ranging applications. And with the ongoing development of the Repel Wrap film, what are your anticipated applications of this technology in commercial and public settings? And can you comment on when this is expected to be widely available? So we're developing two different products. One is a film and one is a spray on of the film. The spray on of the film is a little bit earlier in development. And our film is our lead product, which currently is with our manufacturing partner, Dunmore International, where they're doing the scale of development work. And you may know, I mean, part of the reason we started this whole company was actually not because of code, I hate to say it, but it was because of the fact that there are a number of pathogens that thrive on surfaces that if they are transmitted, they can cause disease and potentially kill people. You probably know some of them, MRSA or MRSA, C. difficile and others. Some of the E. Coli strains also, you know, can be very, very lent or and potentially kill. So, so that's the reason we started the company. Our film, the idea is that we'll create films of different sizes and shapes to go on door handles to not not knobs, but door handles and on railings on flat surfaces to protect those surfaces. And we, we are really excited about the spray because if we get to the point of being able to scale it up, we anticipate that it will be easier to apply and expand the opportunity. These beyond what we're looking for with repel wrap film, which initially is healthcare, potentially other high touch surfaces and other high traffic venues, but that the spray may be able to apply to number one, more, more high touch surfaces, like the actual door knobs, taps, et cetera, and potentially go beyond high touch surfaces in terms of applications. Well, I just want to add one more item, you know, that I, that I heard you say in a conversation recently with some investors, you know, you have been involved in building some very successful companies and you, you were disclosing the organic growth path pathway. You're setting for fendex technologies, but you also included the fact that your background includes a very successful MNA licensing experience. Can you talk to talk to our audience about how this may impact your role as a CEO of fendex and how you may integrate that into your existing role? Yeah, good question. I mean, it's one of my passions. I have done a lot of work in the MNA and licensing area, having worked in senior roles in some of the large cap pharmaceutical companies in the corporate office. And what I know from having been involved in these companies and looking for external opportunities is that you cannot grow just through organic growth. Like, we have a, we have a pretty nice pipeline, but I know that you need to complement it with potential MNA or licensing opportunities, which is what we're doing now. We're exploring a few opportunities that we may bring into the company and hopefully we'll be putting out some releases in the near future with regard to that. And what we're looking for are products for acquisition or licensing that will be complementary to what we're doing today, which is really preventing the spread of potentially lethal pathogens and just under the umbrella of infectious disease control is what we're really focused on. So having done a lot of MNA and licensing my past, I've probably done 50 plus deals, some sort of various transactions. I know this area well and I, and, you know, again, it's one of my passions and in my opinion, absolutely essential to success of any company that wants to continue to grow. Carolyn, thank you so much for joining us today. And remember, Vendex Technologies repels and kills bacteria. If that doesn't make you go to their website, I don't know what does. Thank you so much for joining us today. That was great, Tracy. Always nice to join you.