A splendid golden vacuity

[randy_byers]

However, it did not matter. The girl handed me the cup, and I put my lips to it. The first taste was bitter and acrid, like the liquor of long-steeped wood. At the second taste a shiver of pleasure ran through me, and I opened my eyes and stared hard. The third taste grossness and heaviness and chagrin dropped from my heart; all the complexion of Providence altered in a flash, and a stupid, irresistible joy, unreasoning, uncontrollable took possession of my fibre. I sank upon a mossy bank and, lolling my head, beamed idiotically on the lolling Martians all about me. How long I was like that I cannot say. The heavy minutes of sodden contentment slipped by unnoticed, unnumbered, till presently I felt the touch of a wine-cup at my lips again, and drinking of another liquor dullness vanished from my mind, my eyes cleared, my heart throbbed; a fantastic gaiety seized upon my limbs; I bounded to my feet, and seizing An's two hands in mine, swung that damsel round in a giddy dance, capering as never dancer danced before, till spent and weary I sank down again from sheer lack of breath, and only knew thereafter that An was sitting by me saying, "Drink! drink stranger, drink and forget!" and as a third time a cup was pressed to my lips, aches and pleasures, stupidness and joy, life itself, seemed slipping away into a splendid golden vacuity, a hazy episode of unconscious Elysium, indefinite, and unfathomable.

--Edwin L. Arnold, Gullivar of Mars, a.k.a. Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation (1905)

(It strikes me so far -- four chapters in -- that Moorcock revisited some aspects of this novel in Dancers at the End of Time, but with more sympathy for decadence.)

Comments

[strangedave.livejournal.com]

There are references to the novel in the early parts of Alan Moores League of Extraordinary Gentleman volume 2.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Interesting! It has been argued that this novel was an influence on Burroughs' Barsoom, but except for the magical space travel to Mars and one other passing reference I haven't seen much sign of similarities yet.

I also realized this morning that Moorcock was more likely refining on Wells' The Time Machine, which this novel was apparently also reacting to. The decadent Martians are supposedly patterned after the Eloi.

[strangedave.livejournal.com]

There are a few pages on it in Jess Nevins terrific and obsessively researched League guide books. I'll let you know if he says anything interesting once I'm back in the same city.