FROM The Bedside Book of Birds
Stevenson remembered the story of a monk who had been distracted from his copi-work by the song of a bird.He went into the garden to listen more closely and when he returned,after he thought were only few minutes,he discovered that a century had gone by,that his fellow monks were dead and his ink turned to dust. THE SONG OF THE BIRD HAD GIVEN HIM A TASTE OF PARADISE,WHERE AN INSTANT IS A HUNDRED YEARS OF EARTHLY TIME.WAS THE SAME TRUE IN HELL ,STEVENSON ASKED HIMSELF.
