Postern of Fate (Tommy & Tuppence Mysteries, #5)

by Agatha Christie

Four great gates has the city of Damascus. . . . Postern of Fate, the Desert Gate, Disaster’s Cavern, Fort of Fear. . . . Pass not beneath, O Caravan, or pass not singing. Have you heard That silence where the birds are dead, yet something pipeth like a bird? from Gates of Damascus by James Elroy Flecker

The hog was Richard the Third, of course. Though nowadays they all write books saying he was really wonderful. Not a villain at all. But I don’t believe that. Shakespeare didn’t either. After all, he started his play by making Richard say: ‘I am determined so to prove a villain.’

“Hic-up, hic-down, hic to the next town, three hics and one cup sure to cure the hiccups. You have to hold your breath while you say it.”

Someone told me it was deadly nightshade but I don’t believe that for a moment because, I mean, everyone knows about deadly nightshade, don’t they,

All the unlikely people come out sometimes with a truth nobody had ever dreamed of.

“Are you imagining things, Tuppence? Have you gone back to the glorious days of our youth, to the time when someone gave a girl on the Lusitania something secret, the days when we had adventure, when we tracked down the enigmatic Mr. Brown?” “Goodness, that was a long time ago, Tommy. The Young Adventurers we called ourselves. Doesn’t seem real now, does it?”

“Postern of Fate. . . . Pass not beneath, O Caravan, or pass not singing. Have you heard That silence where the birds are dead, yet something pipeth like a bird?”

When you talk about old friends, either they are dead, which surprises you enormously because you didn’t think they would be, or else they’re not dead and that surprises you even more. It’s a very difficult world.”

“I’m old enough already, I should think,” said Tommy. “There can’t be much ahead of me now except a coffin, in due course.”

And—this sounds awfully silly, what I’m going to say next—” “Well, that’s hopeful,” said Mr. Robinson. “If a thing sounds silly, I always want to hear about it.”

I always look very hard at anyone who is above suspicion.

But there are a lot of things, you know. There was the political side to it, too. A lot of our prominent politicians. You know, the sort of chaps people say, ‘Well, he has real integrity.’ Real integrity is just as dangerous as being above suspicion in the Services. Real integrity my foot,”

My grandmother used to read The Prisoner of Zenda, I believe. I read it once myself. Really very enjoyable. Romantic, you know. The first romantic book, I imagine, one is allowed to read. You know, novel reading was not encouraged. My mother and my grandmother never approved of reading anything like a novel in the mornings. A story book as it was called. You know, you could read history or something serious, but novels were only pleasurable and so to be read in the afternoon.”

“New sins have old shadows,” said Tuppence, “if that’s the saying I mean. I haven’t got it quite right. New sins have old shadows. Or is it Old sins make long shadows?” “I should forget it,” said Tommy. “None of them sounds right.”

“My researcher,” said Tommy, in a rather grand voice. “The one who has been running about England, in and out of Somerset House looking up deaths, marriages and births, consulting newspaper files and census returns. She’s very good.” “Good and beautiful?” “Not beautiful so that you’d notice it,” said Tommy. “I’m glad of that,” said Tuppence. “You know, Tommy, now that you’re getting on in years you might—you might get some rather dangerous ideas about a beautiful helper.” “You don’t appreciate a faithful husband when you’ve got one,” said Tommy. “All my friends tell me you never know with husbands,” said Tuppence. “You have the wrong kind of friends,” said Tommy.

Ah well, never mind, one name’s as good as another. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Juliet said that, didn’t she? Silly things sometimes Shakespeare made them say. Of course, he couldn’t help it, he was a poet. Never cared much for Romeo and Juliet, myself. All those suicides for love’s sake.

Because, you see, there’s always trouble. There’s trouble in every country. There’s trouble all over the world now and not for the first time. No. You can go back a hundred years and you’ll find trouble, and you can go back another hundred years and you’ll find trouble. Go back to the Crusades and you’ll find everyone dashing out of the country going to deliver Jerusalem, or you’ll find risings all over the country. Wat Tyler and all the rest of them. This, that and the other, there’s always trouble.” “Do you mean there’s some special trouble now?” “Of course there is. I tell you, there’s always trouble.”

You know what the world’s like—well, the same things always. Violence, swindles, materialism, rebellion by the young, love of violence and a good deal of sadism, almost as bad as the days of the Hitler Youth. All those things. Well, when you want to find out what’s wrong not only with this country but world trouble as well, it’s not easy. It’s a good thing, the Common Market. It’s what we always needed, always wanted. But it’s got to be a real Common Market. That’s got to be understood very clearly. It’s got to be a united Europe. There’s got to be a union of civilized countries with civilized ideas and with civilized beliefs and principles.

I’m not telling you anything exact because I don’t know anything exact. The trouble with me is that nobody really knows. We think we know everything because of what we’ve been through. Wars, turmoil, peace, new forms of government. We think we know it all, but do we?

“What do you mean? Call it Swallow’s Nest and not The Laurels?” A flight of birds passed over their heads. Tuppence turned her head and looked back towards the garden gate. “Swallow’s Nest was once its name. What’s the rest of that quotation? The one your researcher quoted. Postern of Death, wasn’t it?” “No, Postern of Fate.” “Fate. That’s like a comment on what has happened to Isaac. Postern of Fate—our Garden Gate—”

You wouldn’t believe it—eggs have gone up, again. Never vote for this Government again, I won’t. I’ll give the Liberals a go.”