Page:The Man Who Died Twice (1924).djvu/56

 Gold eye-glasses, and a conductor’s wand,

Soon followed by a brisk and long procession

Of other rats, till more than seventy of them,

All dressed in black and white, and each of them

Accoutred with his chosen instrument,

Were ranged in order on the footworn carpet

That lay between Fernando and the door.

Having no chairs, they stood erect and ready,

And having made obeisance to the master

Upon the wall, who signified his pleasure,

And likewise to the man upon the bed,

They played with unforeseen solemnity

The first chords of the first rat symphony

That human ears had heard. Baffled and scared,

Fernando looked at Bach, who nodded slowly,

And, as he fancied, somewhat ominously;

And still the music sounded, weird but firm,