CHAPTER LXIV
Concentric, Inward, With Mardi's Reef, They Leave Their Wake Around The World
West, West! West, West! Whitherward point Hope and prophet-fingers; whitherward, at sun-set, kneel all worshipers of fire; whitherward in mid-ocean, the great whales turn to die; whitherward face all the Moslem dead in Persia; whitherward lie Heaven and Hell!--West, West! Whitherward mankind and empires--flocks, caravans, armies, navies; worlds, suns, and stars all wend!--West, West!--Oh boundless boundary! Eternal goal! Whitherward rush, in thousand worlds, ten thousand thousand keels! Beacon, by which the universe is steered!--Like the north-star, attracting all needles! Unattainable forever; but forever leading to great things this side thyself!--Hive of all sunsets!-- Gabriel's pinions may not
