"Idle Days on the Yann" is a short story by Lord Dunsany that first appeared in his collection A Dreamer's Tales (George Allen & Sons, 1910). Set in the "Lands of Dream," it was a major influence on H. P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands tales, particularly "The White Ship."
Summary[]
"Idle Days" tells the story of a dreamer who voyages down the River Yann on the ship Bird of the River. The captain comes from "fair Belzoond," where are "worshipped gods that were the least and humblest, who seldom sent the famine or the thunder." When the sailors laugh at the dreamer for claiming to be from Ireland in Europe, since "There are no such places in all the land of dreams," he tells them that he mostly dreams of a beautiful blue city called Golthoth the Damned," in the "desert of Cuppar-Nombo," they agree that "such places might well be imagined."
When the sailors pray to their various gods, taking care "that no god should hear two men praying to him at once," the dreamer chooses to pray to "Sheol Nugganoth, whom the men of the jungle have long since deserted, who is now unworshipped and alone."
The ship comes to various cities, including Mandaroon, where the citizens sleep lest the gods die and "men may dream no more"; Astahahn, where is found nothing new, for they "have fettered and manacled Time, who would otherwise slay the gods”; Perdóndaris, where the dreamer sees "a huge ivory gate...carved out of one solid piece"; and Nen, which is crowded with Wanderers, "a weird, dark tribe, that once in every seven years came down from the peaks of Mloon."
Finally the ship comes to Bar-Wul-Yann, the Gates of Yann, where at the river's mouth "two cliffs of pink marble came out into the river, all glowing in the light of the low sun...the fairest marvel that the eye beheld—and this in a land of wonders."
The Gate of Yann, illustration by S. H. Sime
The sailors strike anchor here, "for they were sailors of the river and not of the sea." The dreamer says farewell to the captain, knowing they will never meet again, "for my fancy is weakening as the years slip by, and I go ever more seldom into the Lands of Dream."
Illustrations[]
Like many of Lord Dunsany's stories, "Idle Days of the Yann" was illustrated by S. H. Sime, who provided two images: "Bird of the River" and "The Gate of Yann."
External Link[]
- "Idle Days on the Yann" full text at Project Gutenberg
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