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lantern. It had a pale ruddy sea-bottom, with black crabs
and sea-weed moving sinuously under a transparent sea,
that passed into flamy ruddiness above.
‘You’ve got the heavens above, and the waters under the
earth,’ said Birkin to her.
‘Anything but the earth itself,’ she laughed, watching his
live hands that hovered to attend to the light.
‘I’m dying to see what my second one is,’ cried Gudrun,
in a vibrating rather strident voice, that seemed to repel the
others from her.
Birkin went and kindled it. It was of a lovely deep blue
colour, with a red floor, and a great white cuttle-fish flowing
in white soft streams all over it. The cuttle-fish had a face
that stared straight from the heart of the light, very fixed
and coldly intent.
‘How truly terrifying!’ exclaimed Gudrun, in a voice of
horror. Gerald, at her side, gave a low laugh.
‘But isn’t it really fearful!’ she cried in dismay.
Again he laughed, and said:
‘Change it with Ursula, for the crabs.’
Gudrun was silent for a moment.
‘Ursula,’ she said, ‘could you bear to have this fearful
thing?’
‘I think the colouring is LOVELY,’ said Ursula.
‘So do I,’ said Gudrun. ‘But could you BEAR to have
it swinging to your boat? Don’t you want to destroy it at
ONCE?’
‘Oh no,’ said Ursula. ‘I don’t want to destroy it.’
‘Well do you mind having it instead of the crabs? Are you

254 Women in Love