Cameos Author:Marie Corelli Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE DISTANT VOICE. FTER long sleep, to wake up in heaven to the sound of a beautiful voice, singing! . . ." The sick man muttered these words aloud, and, t... more »urning on his pillows, opened his eyes to meet the cold, grey, passionless ones of his physician who bent over him, watch in hand. " Delirious, eh ?" said the doctor, observing him narrowly. " This won't do at all. How's the pulse ?" The patient extended his wrist. " H'm ! Not so bad! You were talking nonsense just now, Mr. Denver." " Was I ?" Denver smiled faintly, and sighed. " I was dreaming, I think; a strange dream, about"—he paused a moment, then went on— " about heaven." The doctor put his big watch back in its pocket, and looked about for his hat and gloves. " Ah, indeed!" he murmured abstractedly. " Very pleasant, no doubt! Dreams are often exceedingly agreeable. You must go on with the medicine, Mr. Denver; it will alleviate pain, and it is all I can do for you at present. If you could pick up your strength, we might try an operation; but it's no use just now." Denver's sad dark eyes rested on him wistfully. " Stop a moment, doctor," he said; " I shouldlike to ask you a question. I'm not delirious; I'm quite myself—at least as much as I shall ever be. I know mine is a hopeless case; cancer is bound to kill, sooner or later. Still, you're only mortal yourself, and the time must come when you will have to go the same way I am going. I'm on the verge of the grave, so it's not worth while deceiving me. Now, tell me honestly, do you believe in heaven ?" The doctor had found his hat and gloves by this time, and was ready for departure. "Dear me, no!" he answered; "certainly not! That is, if you mean a supernatural heaven. The only heaven possible to the human being is the enjoyment of a certain ...« less