I
　　Therearealwaystwowaysoflookingatathing，frequentlytherearesixorseven;buttwowaysoflookingataLondonfogarequiteenough。Whenitisthickandyellowinthestreetsandstingsaman’sthroatandlungsashebreathesit，anawakeningintheearlymorningiseitheranunearthlyandgrewsome，oramysteriouslyenclosing，secluding，andcomfortablething。Ifoneawakensinahealthybody，andwithaclearbrainrestedbynormalsleepandretainingmemoriesofanormallyagreeableyesterday，onemayliewatchingthehousemaidbuildingthefire;
　　andaftershehassweptthehearthandputthingsinorder，liewatchingtheflamesoftheblazingandcracklingwoodcatchthecoalsandsetthemblazingalso，anddancingmerrilyandfillingcornerswithaglow;andinsolyingandrealizingthatleapinglightandwarmthandasoftbedaregoodthings，onemayturnoveronone’sback，stretchingarmsandlegsluxuriously，drawingdeepbreathsandsmilingataknowledgeofthefogoutsidewhichmakeshalf—pasteighto’clockonaDecembermorningasdarkastwelveo’clockonaDecembernight。Undersuchconditionsthesoft，thick，yellowgloomhasitspicturesqueandevenhumorousaspect。
　　Onefeelsenclosedbyitatoncefantasticallyandcosily，andisinclinedtorevelinimaginingsofthepictureoutside，itsRembrandtlightsandorangeyellows，thehalosaboutthestreet—lamps，theilluminationofshop—
　　windows，theflareoftorchesstuckupovercosterbarrowsandcoffee—
　　stands，theshadowsonthefacesofthemenandwomensellingandbuyingbesidethem。Refreshedbysleepandcomfortandsurroundedbylight，warmth，andgoodcheer，itiseasytofacetheday，toconfrontgoingoutintothefogandfeelingasortofpleasureinitsmysteries。Thisisonewayoflookingatit，butonlyone。
　　Theotherwayismarkedbyenormousdifferences。
　　Aman——hehadgivenhisnametothepeopleofthehouseasAntonyDart——awakenedinathird—storybedroominalodging—houseinapoorstreetinLondon，andashisconsciousnessreturnedtohim，itsslowandreluctantmovingsconfrontedthesecondpointofview——markedbyenormousdifferences。Hehadnotslepttwoconsecutivehoursthroughthenight，andwhenhehadslepthehadbeentormentedbydrearydreams，whichweremorefullofmiserybecauseoftheirelusivevagueness，whichkepthistorturedbrainonawearyingstrainofefforttoreachsomedefiniteunderstandingofthem。Yetwhenheawakenedtheconsciousnessofbeingagainalivewasanawfulthing。
　　Ifthedreamscouldhavefadedintoblanknessandallhavepassedwiththepassingofthenight，howhecouldhavethankedwhatevergodstherebe！Onlynottoawake——
　　onlynottoawake！Buthehadawakened。
　　Theclockstrucknineashedidso，consequentlyheknewthehour。
　　Thelodging—houseslaveyhadarousedhimbycomingtolightthefire。Shehadsethercandleonthehearthanddoneherworkasstealthilyaspossible，buthehadbeendisturbed，thoughhehadmadeadesperateefforttostrugglebackintosleep。Thatwasnouse——nouse。Hewasawakeandhewasinthemidstofitallagain。
　　Withoutthesenseofluxuriouscomfortheopenedhiseyesandturneduponhisback，throwingouthisarmsflatly，sothathelayasintheformofacross，inheavywearinessandanguish。Formonthshehadawakenedeachmorningaftersuchanightandhadsolainlikeacrucifiedthing。
　　Ashewatchedthepainfulflickeringofthedampandsmokingwoodandcoalherememberedthisandthoughtthattherehadbeenalifetimeofsuchawakenings，notknowingthatthemorbidnessofafaggedbrainblottedoutthememoryofmorenormaldaysandtoldhimfantasticlieswhichwerebutahundredthparttruth。Hecouldseeonlythehundredthparttruth，anditassumedproportionssohugethathecouldseenothingelse。Insuchastatethehumanbrainisaninfernalmachineanditsworkingscanonlybeconqueredifthemortalthingwhichliveswithit——dayandnight，nightandday——haslearnedtoseparateitscontrollablefromitsseeminglyuncontrollableatoms，andcansilenceitsclamoronitswaytomadness。
　　AntonyDarthadnotlearnedthisthingandtheclamorhadhaditshideouswaywithhim。Physicianswouldhavegivenanametohismentalandphysicalcondition。Hehadheardthesenamesoften——appliedtomenthestrainofwhoseliveshadbeenlikethestrainofhisown，andhadleftthemasithadlefthim——
　　jaded，joyless，breakingthings。Someofthemhadbeenbrokenandhaddiedorweredraggingoutbruisedandtormenteddaysintheirownhomesorinmad—houses。Healwaysshudderedwhenheheardtheirnames，andrebelledwithsickfearagainstthemerementionofthem。Theyhadworkedashehadworked，theyhadbeenstrickenwiththedeliriumofaccumulation——accumulation——
　　ashehadbeen。Theyhadbeencaughtintherushandswirlofthegreatmaelstrom，andhadbeenborneroundandroundinit，untilhavinggraspedeverycovetedthingtossinguponitscirclingwaters，theythemselveshadbeenflungupontheshorewithbothhandsfull，therocksaboutthemstrewnwithrichpossessions，whiletheylayprostrateandgazedatalllifehadbroughtwithdull，hopeless，anguishedeyes。Heknew——iftheworstcametotheworst——
　　whatwouldbesaidofhim，becausehehadhearditsaidofothers。"Heworkedtoohard——heworkedtoohard。"Hewassickofhearingit。
　　Whatwaswrongwiththeworld——
　　whatwaswrongwithman，asMan——ifworkcouldbreakhimlikethis？
　　IfonebelievedinDeity，thelivingcreatureItbreathedintobeingmustbeaperfectthing——notonetobewearied，sickened，torturedbythelifeItsbreathinghadcreated。A
　　meremanwoulddisdaintobuildathingsopoorandincomplete。
　　Amerehumanengineerwhoconstructedanenginewhoseworkingswereperpetuallyatfault——whichwentwrongwhencalledupontodothelaboritwasmadefor——whowouldnotscoffatitandcastitasideasapieceofworthlessbungling？
　　"Somethingiswrong，"hemut—
　　tered，lyingflatuponhiscrossandstaringattheyellowhazewhichhadcreptthroughcranniesinwindow—
　　sashesintotheroom。"Someoneiswrong。IsitI——orYou？"
　　Histhinlipsdrewthemselvesbackagainsthisteethinamirthlesssmilewhichwaslikeagrin。
　　"Yes，"hesaid。"Iamprettyfargone。IambeginningtotalktomyselfaboutGod。BryandiditjustbeforehewastakentoDr。Hewletts’
　　placeandcuthisthroat。"
　　Hehadnotledaspeciallyevillife;hehadnotbrokenlaws，butthesubjectofDeitywasnotonewhichhisschemeofexistencehadincluded。Whenithadhauntedhimoflatehehadfeltitanuntowardandmorbidsign。Thethinghaddrawnhim——drawnhim;hehadcomplainedagainstit，hehadargued，sometimesheknew——shuddering——
　　thathehadraved。Somethinghadseemedtostandasideandwatchhisbeingandhisthinking。
　　Somethingwhichfilledtheuniversehadseemedtowait，andtohavewaitedthroughalltheeternalages，toseewhathe——oneman——woulddo。Attimesagreatappalledwonderhadsweptoverhimathisrealizationthathehadneverknownorthoughtofitbefore。Ithadbeentherealways——throughalltheagesthathadpassed。Andsometimes——
　　onceortwice——thethoughthadinsomeunspeakable，untranslatablewaybroughthimamoment’scalm。
　　Butatothertimeshehadsaidtohimself——withashiveringsoulcoweringwithinhim——thatthiswasonlypartofitallandwasabeginning，perhaps，ofreligiousmonomania。
　　Duringthelastweekhehadknownwhathewasgoingtodo——
　　hehadmadeuphismind。Thisabjecthorrorthroughwhichothershadletthemselvesbedraggedtomadnessordeathhewouldnotendure。Theendshouldcomequickly，andnooneshouldbesmittenaghastbyseeingorknowinghowitcame。
　　InthecrowdedshabbierstreetsofLondontherewerelodging—houseswhereone，bytakingprecautions，couldendhislifeinsuchamanneraswouldblothimoutofanyworldwheresuchamanashimselfhadbeenknown。Apistol，properlymanaged，wouldobliterateresemblancetoanyhumanthing。Monthsagothroughchancetalkhehadheardhowitcouldbedone——anddonequickly。
　　Hecouldleaveamisleadingletter。
　　Hehadplannedwhatitshouldbe——
　　thestoryitshouldtellofadisheartenedmediocreventurerofhispoorallreturningbankruptandhumiliatedfromAustralia，endingexistenceinsuchpennilessnessthattheparishmustgivehimapauper’sgrave。Whatdiditmatterwhereamanlay，sothatheslept——slept——
　　slept？Surelywithone’sbrainsscatteredonewouldsleepsoundlyanywhere。
　　Hehadcometothehousethenightbefore，dressedshabbilywiththepitiablerespectabilityofadefeatedman。Hehadentereddroopinglywithbentshouldersandhopelesshangofhead。Inhisownspherehewasamanwhoheldhimselfwell。Hehadletfallafewdispiritedsentenceswhenhehadengagedhisbackroomfromthewomanofthehouse，andshehadrecognizedhimasoneoftheluckless。
　　Infact，shehadhesitatedamomentbeforehisunreliablelookuntilhehadtakenoutmoneyfromhispocketandpaidhisrentforaweekinadvance。Shewouldhavethatatleastforhertrouble，hehadsaidtohimself。Heshouldnotoccupytheroomafterto—morrow。Inhisownhomesomedayswouldpassbeforehishouseholdbegantomakeinquiries。HehadtoldhisservantsthathewasgoingovertoParisforachange。Hewouldbesafeanddeepinhispauper’sgraveaweekbeforetheyaskedeachotherwhytheydidnothearfromhim。Allwasinorder。Oneofthemockingagonieswasthatlivingwasdonefor。Hehadceasedtolive。Work，pleasure，sun，moon，andstarshadlosttheirmeaning。Hestoodandlookedatthemostradiantlovelinessoflandandskyandseaandfeltnothing。
　　Successbroughtgreaterwealtheachdaywithoutstirringapulseofpleasure，evenintriumph。Therewasnothingleftbuttheawfuldaysandawfulnightstowhichheknewphysicianscouldgivetheirscientificname，buthadnohealingfor。Hehadgonefarenough。Hewouldgonofarther。To—morrowitwouldhavebeenoverlonghours。Andtherewouldhavebeennopublicdeclaimingoverthehumiliatingpitifulnessofhisend。Andwhatdiditmatter？
　　Howthickthefogwasoutside——
　　thickenoughforamantolosehimselfinit。Theyellowmistwhichhadcreptinunderthedoorsandthroughthecrevicesofthewindow—
　　sashesgaveaghostlylooktotheroom——aghastly，abnormallook，hesaidtohimself。Thefirewassmoulderinginsteadofblazing。Butwhatdiditmatter？Hewasgoingout。Hehadnotboughtthepistollastnight——likeafool。Somehowhisbrainhadbeensotiredandcrowdedthathehadforgotten。
　　"Forgotten。"Hementallyrepeatedthewordashegotoutofbed。
　　Bythistimeto—morrowheshouldhaveforgotteneverything。THIS
　　TIMETO—MORROW。Hismindrepeatedthatalso，ashebegantodresshimself。Whereshouldhebe？Shouldhebeanywhere？Supposeheawakenedagain——tosomethingasbadasthis？Howdidamangetoutofhisbody？Afterthecrashandshockwhathappened？DidonefindoneselfstandingbesidetheThingandlookingdownatit？Itwouldnotbeagoodthingtostandandlookdownon——evenforthatwhichhaddesertedit。Buthavingtornoneselfloosefromitanditsdevilishachesandpains，onewouldnotcare——onewouldseehowlittleitallmattered。Anythingelsemustbebetterthanthis——thethingforwhichtherewasascientificnamebutnohealing。Hehadtakenallthedrugs，hehadobeyedallthemedicalorders，andherehewasafterthatlasthellofanight——dressinghimselfinabackbedroomofacheaplodging—housetogooutandbuyapistolinthisdamnedfog。
　　Helaughedatthelastphraseofhisthought，thelaughwhichwasamirthlessgrin。
　　"IamthinkingofitasifIwasafraidoftakingcold，"hesaid。
　　"Andto—morrow——！"
　　TherewouldbenoTo—morrow。
　　To—morrowswereatanend。Nomorenights——nomoredays——nomoremorrows。
　　Hefinisheddressing，puttingonhisdiscriminatinglychosenshabby—
　　genteelclotheswithacarefortheeffectheintendedthemtoproduce。
　　Thecollarandcuffsofhisshirtwerefrayedandyellow，andhefastenedhiscollarwithapinandtiedhiswornnecktiecarelessly。Hisovercoatwasbeginningtowearagreenishshadeandlookthreadbare，sowashishat。
　　Whenhistoiletwascompletehelookedathimselfinthecrackedandhazyglass，bendingforwardtoscrutinizehisunshavenfaceundertheshadowofthedingyhat。
　　"Itisallright，"hemuttered。
　　"ItisnotfartothepawnshopwhereIsawit。"
　　Thestillnessoftheroomasheturnedtogooutwasuncanny。Asitwasabackroom，therewasnostreetbelowfromwhichcouldarisesoundsofpassingvehicles，andthethicknessofthefogmuffledsuchsoundasmighthavefloatedfromthefront。Hestoppedhalf—waytothedoor，notknowingwhy，andlistened。
　　Towhat——forwhat？Thesilenceseemedtospreadthroughallthehouse——outintothestreets——
　　throughallLondon——throughalltheworld，andhetostandinthemidstofit，amanonthewaytoDeath——withnoTo—morrow。
　　Whatdiditmean？Itseemedtomeansomething。Theworldwithdrawn——lifewithdrawn——soundwithdrawn——breathwithdrawn。Hestoodandwaited。Perhapsthiswasoneofthesymptomsofthemorbidthingforwhichtherewasthatname。Ifsohehadbettergetawayquicklyandhaveitover，lesthebefoundwanderingaboutnotknowing——notknowing。Butnowheknew——theSilence。Hewaited——waitedandtriedtohear，asifsomethingwascallinghim——callingwithoutsound。Itreturnedtohim——thethoughtofThatwhichhadwaitedthroughalltheagestoseewhathe——oneman——woulddo。
　　Hehadneverexactlypitiedhimselfbefore——hedidnotknowthathepitiedhimselfnow，buthewasamangoingtohisdeath，andalight，coldsweatbrokeoutonhimanditseemedasifitwasnothewhodidit，butsomeother——heflungouthisarmsandcriedaloudwordshehadnotknownhewasgoingtospeak。
　　"Lord！Lord！WhatshallIdotobesaved？"
　　ButtheSilencegavenoanswer。
　　ItwastheSilencestill。
　　Andafterstandingafewmomentspanting，hisarmsfellandhisheaddropped，andturningthehandleofthedoor，hewentouttobuythepistol。
　　II
　　Ashewentdownthenarrowstaircase，coveredwithitsdingyandthreadbarecarpet，hefoundthehousesofullofdirtyyellowhazethatherealizedthatthefogmustbeoftheextraordinaryoneswhicharerememberedinafter—yearsasabnormalspecimensoftheirkind。Herecalledthattherehadbeenoneofthesortthreeyearsbefore，andthattrafficandbusinesshadbeenalmostentirelystoppedbyit，thataccidentshadhappenedinthestreets，andthatpeoplehavinglosttheirwayhadwanderedaboutturningcornersuntiltheyfoundthemselvesfarfromtheirintendeddestinationsandobligedtotakerefugeinhotelsorthehousesofhospitablestrangers。Curiousincidentshadoccurredandoddstoriesweretoldbythosewhohadfeltthemselvesobligedbycircumstancestogooutintothebafflinggloom。
　　Heguessedthatsomethingofalikenaturehadfallenuponthetownagain。Thegas—lightonthelandingsandinthemelancholyhallburnedfeebly——sofeeblythatonegotbutavagueviewofthericketyhat—standandtheshabbyovercoatsandhead—gearhanginguponit。Itwaswellforhimthathehadbutacornerorsototurnbeforehereachedthepawnshopinwhosewindowhehadseenthepistolheintendedtobuy。
　　Whenheopenedthestreet—doorhesawthatthefogwas，uponthewhole，perhapsevenheavierandmoreobscuring，ifpossible，thantheonesowellremembered。Hecouldnotseeanythingthreefeetbeforehim，hecouldnotseewithdistinctnessanythingtwofeetahead。Thesensationofsteppingforwardwasuncertainandmysteriousenoughtobealmostappalling。Amannotsufficientlycautiousmighthavefallenintoanyopenholeinhispath。AntonyDartkeptascloselyaspossibletothesidesofthehouses。Itwouldhavebeeneasytowalkoffthepavementintothemiddleofthestreetbutfortheedgesofthecurbandthestepdownwardfromitslevel。Traffichadalmostabsolutelyceased，thoughinthemoreimportantstreetslink—
　　boysweremakingeffortstoguidemenorfour—wheelersslowlyalong。
　　Theblindfeelingofthethingwasratherawful。Thoughbutfewpedestrianswereout，Dartfoundhimselfonceortwicebrushingagainstorcomingintoforciblecontactwithmenfeelingtheirwayaboutlikehimself。
　　"Oneturntotheright，"herepeatedmentally，"twototheleft，andtheplaceisatthecorneroftheothersideofthestreet。"
　　Hemanagedtoreachitatlast，butithadbeenaslow，andtherefore，longjourney。Allthegas—jetsthelittleshopownedwerelighted，butevenundertheirflarethearticlesinthewindow——theoneortwooncecheaplygaudydressesandshawlsandmen’sgarments——hunginthehazelikethedreary，danglingghostsofthingsrecentlyexecuted。
　　Amongwatchesandforlornpiecesofold—fashionedjewelryandoddsandends，thepistollayagainstthefoldsofadirtygauzeshawl。Thereitwas。Itwouldhavebeenannoyingifsomeoneelsehadbeenbeforehandandhadboughtit。