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| committer | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-05 07:41:11 -0800 |
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diff --git a/old/51107-0.txt b/old/51107-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 3a1f8dd..0000000 --- a/old/51107-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4716 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Woman and Puppet, by Pierre Louÿs, -Translated by G. F. Monkshood - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: Woman and Puppet - Woman and Puppet; The New Pleasure; Byblis; Lêda;; Immortal Love; The Artist Triumphant; The Hill of Horsel - - -Author: Pierre Louÿs - - - -Release Date: February 2, 2016 [eBook #51107] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WOMAN AND PUPPET*** - - -E-text prepared by Clarity, Les Galloway, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive/American Libraries -(https://archive.org/details/americana) - - - -Note: Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive/American Libraries. See - https://archive.org/details/womanpuppetetc00louy - - -Transcriber’s note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - - - - -WOMAN AND PUPPET - - - * * * * * - -_MANY TRANSLATIONS_ -BY -G. F. MONKSHOOD -WILL BE FOUND IN THE -LOTUS LIBRARY -_UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME_ - - * * * * * - - -WOMAN AND PUPPET -ETC. - -by - -PIERRE LOUŸS - -Translated and Adapted by G. F. Monkshood - - - - - - - -[Illustration: Logo] - -London -Greening & Co., Limited -1908 - -Richard Clay & Sons, Limited, -Bread Street Hill, E.C., and -Bungay, Suffolk. - - - - - DEDICATED - - TO - - JOHN W. WHITE - - PAINTER OF BEAUTIFUL THINGS - - G. F. M. - -_London, 1908._ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - -WOMAN AND PUPPET 3 - -THE NEW PLEASURE 51 - -BYBLIS 65 - -LÊDA 89 - -IMMORTAL LOVE 107 - -THE ARTIST TRIUMPHANT 191 - -THE HILL OF HORSEL 233 - - - - -_TRANSLATOR’S NOTE_ - -_About twelve years ago Oscar Wilde dedicated his beautiful SALOME -thus: “À mon Ami Pierre Louÿs.” At that time not many gentlemen in -England knew the name of the writer who was to become famous throughout -the Land of the Mind as author of APHRODITE. His earliest fame here was -to be enshrined in that dedication. Afterwards, in THE SPIRIT LAMP, he -had the honour and pleasure of putting into a French sonnet one of the -prose poems that Wilde used to put into the post as letters. Suddenly, -about ten years ago, every one in the republic of French letters was -praising a new and wonderful book, APHRODITE. It was the most amazing -study of antiquity since the SALAMBO of Flaubert or the Mary Magdalen -of Edgar Saltus. The beautiful girl in the romance by Louÿs captivated -a continent. She was, indeed_, mystérieuse et victorieuse. _But he did -not stop. His waiting world soon had from him the CHANSONS DE BILITIS. -An English wit, one of the few, said they were CHANCES OF DEBILITY. His -phrase saves trouble, but one can say that these prose chansons were -a picture of Sapphic life and love of a very febrile sort. There is -quite a lot of that in modern French literature. It is a mode of the -moment. Louÿs then passed to the writing of the superb little books -LÊDA, BYBLIS, THE ARTIST TRIUMPHANT, and A NEW PLEASURE. They are here -translated. The narrative Louÿs called THE ADVENTURES OF KING PAUSOLUS -was of the whimsy story type. It brought to the minds of well-read -men such things as Uchard’s tale MON ONCLE BARBASSOU. It also clearly -informed the reader that Louÿs was French, and that even in the telling -of a harmless romance the strip of water between England and France is -a strip that also flows between two antipolar view-points. But Louÿs -at last came to the writing of WOMAN AND PUPPET, and wrote something -of deepest human intent. A version of it follows. The very curious -story entitled THE HILL OF HORSEL shows the fusing of fact and fiction, -antiquity and to-day. It is a most interesting effort, and achievement, -in a form of story that Poe, Gautier and D’Aurevilly also perfected._ - - G. F. MONKSHOOD. - - - - -WOMAN AND PUPPET - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -In Spain the Carnival does not finish, as in France, at eight o’clock -on the morning of Ash Wednesday. Over the wonderful gaiety of Seville -the memory that “_dust we are_,” etc., spreads its odour of sepulture -for four days only, and the first Sunday of Lent all the Carnival -reawakens. - -It is the _Domingo de Pinatas_, or the Sunday of Marmites, the Grand -Fête. All the populous town has changed its costume, and one sees in -the streets rags and tatters of red, blue, green, yellow or rose, -that have been mosquito-nets, curtains or women’s garments, all -waving in the sunlight and carried by a small body of ragamuffins. The -youngsters, noisy, many-coloured and masked, push their way through the -crowd of great personages. - -At the windows one sees pressed forward innumerable brunette heads. -Nearly all the young girls of the countryside are in Seville on such -a day as this. Paper confetti fall as a coloured rain, fans shade and -protect pretty powdered faces, there are cries, appeals and laughter in -the narrow streets. A few thousands of people make more noise on this -day of Carnival than would the whole of Paris. - -But, on the twenty-third of February in eighteen hundred and -ninety-six, André Stévenol saw the end of the Carnival approaching -with a slight feeling of vexation, for the week, although essentially -one of love-affairs, had not brought him any new adventure. Some -previous sojourning in Spain had taught him with what quickness and -freedom of the heart the knots of friendship were tied and untied in -this still primitive land. He was depressed at the thought that chance -and circumstance had not favoured him. He had had a long paper battle -with one young girl. They had fought and teased each other with the -serpentine strips of Carnival time, he in the street, she at a window. -She ran down and gave him a little red bouquet with “Many thanks, sir.” -But, alas! she had fled quickly, and at closer view illusions fled -also. André put the flower in his coat, but did not put the giver in -his memory. - -Four o’clock sounded from many clocks. He went by way of the Calle -Rodrigo and gained the Delicias, Champs-Elysées of shading trees along -the immense Guadalquivir thronged with vessels. It was there that -unrolled the Carnival of the elegant. - -At Seville the leisured class cannot always afford three good meals per -day, but would rather go without them than without the outside show -of a landau and two fine horses. Seville has hundreds of carriages, -often old-fashioned but made beautiful by their horses, and occupied by -people of noble race and face. - -André Stévenol made a way with difficulty through the crowd edging -the two sides of the vast dusty avenue. The battle of eggs was on. -Eggshells filled with paper confetti were being thrown into the -carriages, and thrown back, of course. André filled his pockets -with eggs and fought with spirit. The stream of carriages filed -past--carriages full of women, lovers, families, children, or friends. -The game had lasted an hour when André felt in his pocket his last egg. - -Suddenly there again appeared a young woman whose fan he had broken -with an egg earlier in the combat. - -She was marvellous. Deprived of the shade and shelter of the fan that -had protected her delicate, laughing features; open on all sides to the -attacks of the crowd and the nearest carriages, she took bravely her -part in the struggle, and, standing panting, hatless, flushed with heat -and frank gaiety, she gave and received attacks. She appeared to be -about twenty-two years old, and must have been at least eighteen. That -she was from Andalucia could not possibly be doubted. She was of that -admirable type that was born of the intermixing of Arabs and Vandals, -of Semites with the Germans. Such mixing has brought together in a -little valley of Europe all the perfection of two races. - -Her body, long and supple, was expressive in every line and curve. One -felt that even were she veiled one would be able to divine her thought, -and that she laughed with her limbs, even as she spoke with her -shoulders and her bosom, with grace and with liberty. Her hair was of -dark chestnut, but at a distance shone almost black. Her cheeks were of -great softness as to contour. The edges of the eyelids were very dark. - -André, pressed by the crowd close to her carriage, gazed at her -intently. His heart-beats told him that this woman would be one of -those who were destined to play a part in his life. At once he wrote -with pencil on his Carnival egg the word “QUIERO,” and threw it as one -might a rose into her hands. - -Quiero is an astonishing verb. It is “to will,” “to desire,” “to love.” -It is “to go in quest of,” it is “to cherish.” In turn, and according -to how used, it expresses an imperative passion, or a light caprice. -It is a prayer or an order, a declaration or a condescension. Often -it is but an irony. André looked as he gave it the look that can mean -“I would love to love you.” She put the curious missive in a sort of -hand-bag, and the stream of traffic took her on. André lost sight of -her after a vain attempt to follow. - -Saddened he slowly returned. For him all the Carnival was shrouded -and ended. Should he have been more determined and found a way in the -crowd? How could he find her again? It was not certain that she lived -in Seville. If not, it might be impossible to find her. And little -by little, by an unhappy illusion, the image that his mind held of -her became more charming. Certain details of her sweet features that -had only won a moment’s curious notice now became transmuted in the -crucible of memory into the principal things that made up her tender -attitude. There was a certain detail in the dressing of the hair, an -extreme mobility in the corners of the lips. The latter changed each -instant in form and expression. Often almost hidden, often almost -curved upwards, rounded, slender, pale or darkened, animated, so to -speak, with a varying flame of life and soul. Ah! perhaps one could -blame all the rest of that face--say that the nose was not Grecian, the -chin not Roman; but not to colour with pleasure at the sight of those -little lip-corners was to be past all forgiveness in this world. - -So his thoughts flew on and on till a voice cried behind him rough but -warning: a carriage was passing quickly in the narrow street. In the -carriage was a young woman who, when she saw André threw gently towards -him, as one would throw a rose, an egg inscribed “Quiero.” - -But, now, after the word there was a decided flourish. It was as if the -fair one had wished to reply by stressing his own one-word message. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -Her carriage had turned the corner of the street. André went in -pursuit, anxious not to lose a second chance that might be the last. He -arrived as the horses went through the gates of a house in the Plaza -del Triunfo. The great black gates closed upon the rapidly caught -silhouette of a woman. - -Without doubt it would have been wiser if he had prepared to learn the -name and family, or mode of life of the stranger, before bursting into -all the divine unknown of any such intrigue, in which, knowing nothing, -he could not be master of anything. André nevertheless resolved not -to quit the place without a first effort to find out something. He -deliberately rang the gate bell. - -A young custodian came, but did not open the gates. - -“What does Your Grace demand?” - -“Take my card to the Señora.” - -“To what Señora?” - -“To the one who lives here, I presume.” - -“But her name?” - -“I say that your mistress awaits me.” - -The man bowed and made a deprecatory sign with his hands, then retired -without opening the gates or taking the card. - -Then André rang a second and third time. Anger had made him -discourteous. - -“A woman so prompt to reply to a declaration of this type,” he thought, -“cannot be surprised that one insists upon trying to see her.” It did -not occur to him that the Carnival and the bacchanal forgives passing -follies, that are not usually permitted in normal social life. - -What was to be done? He paced to and fro, but there was no sight of her -and no sign. Near the house was a stall-keeper whom André bribed and -questioned. But the man replied-- - -“The Señora purchases of me, but if she knew I talked of her to any one -she would buy of my rivals. I can only tell you her name: she is the -Señora Dona Concepcion Perez, wife of Don Manuel Garcia. Her husband is -in Bolivia.” - -André heard no more, but returned to his hotel and remained there -undecided. Even upon learning of the absence of the Señora’s husband, -he had not also learnt that all the chances were upon his side. The -reserve of the dealer, who seemed to know more than he would care to -say, rather left one with the idea that there was another and luckier -lover already chosen and enthroned. The attitude of the servant at the -gates increased this awkward afterthought. - -André had to return to Paris in two weeks’ time. Would those weeks -suffice for planning and effecting an entry into the life of a -beautiful young dame, whose life was without much doubt planned, -rounded, complete? - -While thus troubled with his incertitudes a letter was handed to him. -It had no address on the envelope. He said, “Are you sure that this -letter is for me?” - -“It has just been given to me for Don Andrés Stévenol.” - -The letter was written upon a blue card, and was as follows-- - -“Don Andrés Stévenol is begged to not make so much noise, to not give -his name or demand to know mine. If he is out walking to-morrow about -three on the Empalme route a carriage will be passing. It may stop.” - -André thought how easy life was, and already had visions of approaching -intimacy. He even sought for and murmured the most tender little forms -of her charming Christian name Concepcion, Concha, Conchita, Chita. - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -On the morning of the morrow André Stévenol had a radiant awakening. -The light flooded his room, which had four windows. There also came to -him the murmurs of the town. There were the feet of horses passing, -street cries, mules’ bells, and the bells of convents. - -He could not recall having known a morning as happy as this present -one was; no, not for a long time. He flung out his arms and stretched -them; then held them tightly folded around his breast as though to -give himself the illusion or the anticipation of that eagerly awaited -embrace. - -“How easy, how simple the affairs of life are, after all!” So he mused, -smiling. “Yesterday, at this hour I was alone, without an object to -fill my mind, almost without a thought. It was merely necessary to -take a walk and, behold! a change of scene, a love-affair in view. What -is the use of taking any notice of refusals, of disdain, or any such -things. We desire and demand, and the women give themselves. Why should -it ever be otherwise?” - -He rose, and in dressing-gown and slippers rang for his bath to be -prepared. Whilst waiting with his forehead pressed to the window-panes -he stared into the thoroughfare before him, now full of the stir -of day. The houses in sight were painted in light colours that -Seville favours as a rule: colours like the gay tints of women’s -dresses--cream, rose, green, orange, violet, but not the fearful -brown of Cadiz or Madrid, or the crude white of Jérez. There were -orange-trees in sight, bearing fruit; running fountains and laughing -girls, holding their shawls close. From all sides come the sound of -the mules’ bells. André could not then imagine any other place in which -to live but--Seville. - -He finished dressing, and slowly sipped a little cup of the thick -Spanish chocolate, then, easy in mind, almost aimlessly he went out -into the busy street. - -By chance he went the shortest way, to the Plaza del Triunfo. Then he -remembered that he was not to haunt the residence of his “mistress,” -as he called her to himself, so he went to Las Delicias. The place was -strewn with paper and the usual signs of the Carnival. It was also -deserted, for Lent had recommenced. Nevertheless, by a way that led -from the city’s outskirts, André saw coming towards him one whom he -recognized. - -“Good-day, Don Mateo,” he said, holding out his hand. “I had not -thought of seeing you so soon.” - -“Well, here I am, alone, idle and at a loose end. I stroll about in the -morning and evening, and fill up most of the day reading or playing in -some way. It’s a dull sort of existence.” - -“But you have nights that console the monotony of the days, if one may -credit the chatter of the city busybody?” - -“Whoever says so says wrongly. From now to the day of his death Don -Mateo Diaz has no woman about him. But do not let us talk about me. For -how long are you still going to remain here?” - -Don Mateo was a Spaniard, forty years old, to whom André had been -introduced during his first stay in Spain. He was a man of florid -phrase and declamatory gesture, very rich, and famed for his love -affairs. So André was surprised to hear that he had renounced the -pomps and vanities of the flesh, but did not attempt to weary him with -questions. - -They walked by the river for a time, and all their talk was of Spain, -its people, its policy, and history. - -Then, “You will come and break your fast or lunch,” said Don Mateo. -“My place is there, near the route D’Empalme. We shall be there in -a half-hour, and, if you will permit me, I will keep you till the -evening. I have some fine horses I should like to show off before you.” - -“I agree to take lunch with you,” said André, “but I cannot stay. This -evening I have a rendezvous that I must not fail to keep; that is a -fact.” - -“A lady ... I ask no questions. But stay as long as you can. When I was -your age I did not want to be bothered with the outer world during my -’days of mystery.’ The only person I loved to speak to on such days was -the woman of the moment.” - -Don Mateo was silent for a while, then said in a tone of advice-- - -“Ah, guard yourself against the women! I should be the last man to say -fly from them, for I have spent my life upon them until now. And if -I had my life to live again, the hours passed with women are those I -would most desire to revive. But guard yourself; guard yourself!” - -Then, as though he had found a phrase that fitted exactly to his -thoughts, Don Mateo added more slowly-- - -“There are two kinds of women that one should avoid, at all cost: those -who do not love you, and those who do. Between these two extremes -there are thousands of women of great charm, but we do not know how to -appreciate them.” - -The lunch would have been very slow indeed if the animation of Don -Mateo had not replaced by a monologue the interchange of thought for -thought that should have taken place. André was mentally preoccupied, -and only appeared to hear the half of what his host said to him. As the -hour of his assignation drew nearer, the throbbing of his heart, as on -the Carnival day, came back to him, but intensified. It was a kind of -persistent appeal within him, and all thoughts save the thought of the -longed-for woman were driven out of him. He would have given much for -the hands of the dial near him to have pointed to the next hour, but -the face of the clock was cold to his emotion, and time would no more -flow than the water of a stagnant pond. - -At last, almost incapable of holding his tongue any longer, he -surprised his host by saying-- - -“Don Mateo, you have always given me the best advice. May I confide a -secret to you and appeal to your advice again?” - -“I am entirely yours,” replied the Spaniard, rising and making for the -smoking-room. - -“I would not ask any one but you,” said André hesitatingly. “Do you -know a lady of Seville named Donna Concepcion Garcia?” - -Mateo leaped up, then rapidly uttered-- - -“Concepcion Garcia! Concepcion Garcia! But which one? Explain. There -are twenty thousand Concepcion Garcias, in Spain to-day. It is a name -as common as Jeanne Duval or Marie Lambert in France. For Heaven’s sake -tell me what is her other name. Is it Perez, Concha Perez?” - -“Yes,” said André, completely astonished. - -Then Don Mateo continued in precise tones-- - -“Concepcion Perez de Garcia: twenty-two, Plaza del Triunfo, eighteen -years old, hair almost black, and a mouth, Heavens what a divine mouth!” - -“Yes,” again answered André. - -“Ah! You have done well to mention her name. If I can stop you at the -gate in this affair, it will be a good action on my part, and a piece -of good luck for you!” - -“Is she a girl who would go to the arms of any one?” - -“No. She has had but few lovers. For these times, she is chaste and -very intelligent, with wit and a knowledge of life. She dances with -eloquence, speaks as well as she dances, and sings equally well. Have I -said enough?” - -André could hardly get a word out before Don Mateo resumed-- - -“And she is the worst of women. I hope that God will never pardon her!” - -André rose as if to go. - -“Nevertheless, Don Mateo, I--who am not yet able to speak of this -woman as you are--I, at present, am still less able to fail to keep an -assignation she has made with me. I have made you a confession, and I -regret to break yours by a premature departure.” He held out his hand. - -Mateo placed himself before the door. - -“Hear me, I beg of you. I speak to you, man to man, and I say Stop! -return as you came. Forget who you have seen, who has spoken to you -and written to you. If you would know peace, calm nights and a life -lacking in black care, _do not approach Concha Perez_! Do not approach -this woman. Let me save you. Have mercy upon yourself, in fact.” - -“Don Mateo. Do you then love her?...” - -The Spaniard stroked his forehead, and answered-- - -“Oh no! I do not now love or hate. It is all over and done with, all -trace effaced.” - -Mateo gazed at André, then, quite changing to a tone of banter, said-- - -“Besides, one should never go to the first rendezvous a woman gives -one.” - -“Why not?” - -“Because she never comes there.” - -A memory of an affair made André smile, and admit it was often true. - -“Very often. And if by chance she comes, be sure _your_ absence will -deepen her liking for you.” - -A short silence came. They had reseated themselves, and Mateo said-- - -“Now listen, please.” - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -Three years ago I had not the grey hairs that you now see, and was -thirty-seven years of age, though I felt but twenty-two. I do not -know precisely when my youth passed from me, and it is hard for me to -realize that it has reached its end. People have told you that I was -one of the gadabouts of passion. That is false. I respected Love and I -never degraded her. Scarcely ever have I caressed a woman whom I did -not passionately love. If I were to name or number these loves to you -you would be surprised for they were but a few. I easily remember that -I have never loved a blonde. I have always ignored those pale objects -of worship. What is furthermore true, is that, for me, love has not -been a mere pleasure or pastime. It has been my very life. If I were -to take out of my life all the thoughts and actions that had the woman -for their sole end, there would remain nothing but emptiness--space. -This much said, I may now recount to you what I know of Concha Perez. - -I go first to three years and a half ago, and winter-time. I returned -from France, a bitter cold journey too, one twenty-sixth of December, -in the express that passes the bridge of the Bidassoa. - -The snow, already very thick at Biarritz and Saint Sebastian, rendered -almost impracticable the traversing of the Guipuzcoa. The train stopped -two hours at Zumarraga, for snow to be cleared away. Later an avalanche -stopped us for three hours. All night this snow trouble went on. Sounds -were deadened by the fall, and so we were travelling in a silence to -which danger gave a touch of grandeur. - -The morning of the morrow found us at Avila. We were eight hours late, -and had fasted for a day. We learnt at last that we should be “hung -up” at that place four days! Do you know Avila by any chance? It is -the place that they should send those people to who rave about Old -Spain being dead and done with. The inn I stopped at, Don Quixote could -easily have used also. - -In resuming my journey I went third-class, for a change, in a -compartment nearly full of Spanish women. There were really four -compartments with partitions about shoulder high. - -Well, we were passing the Sierra of Guadarrama, and suddenly the train -stopped again. We were blocked by another avalanche. When we realized -this there was a general request made to a gitana present to dance. - -She did dance: a woman about thirty, of the ugly gipsy type, but she -seemed to have fire in the fingers that flashed the castanets and fire -in her limbs. Everyone knelt and listened, or beat time with their -hands. I now noticed in the corner facing me a young girl, who was -singing. - -She wore a rose-coloured skirt, that made me guess she was from -Andalucia--that colour-loving province. - -Her shoulders and bosom were swathed in a creamy shawl, and she had a -throat scarf of white foulard to protect her from the cold. The whole -carriage already knew that she was trained at the Convent of San José -d’Avila, was going to Madrid to find her mother, and bore the name of -Concha Perez. - -Her voice was singularly penetrating. She sang without moving her body -about, hands in shawl, eyes closed. - -The songs she was singing were not taught her by the Sisters, I can be -quite sure. They were the little songs of four lines, only loved by the -people. Into these quatrains they put much passion. I can hear again -in memory the caress in her voice as she sang-- - - “Thy bed is of jasmins, - Thy sheets of white roses; - Of lilies thy pillows, - And a dark rose there poses.” - -There followed an angry scene between her and the gipsy. They fought, -but I stepped between, for I loathe to see women fighting. They do -it badly and dangerously. When it was all over, a gendarme came, and -after slapping Concha upon the cheeks put her in another compartment. -The train now went forward again, and my companions began to sleep. -The image of the little singer tormented me. Where had he put her? I -leant over the barrier of my carriage, and saw that she was there, -close enough to touch. She was sleeping like a tired child. I saw the -closed lids, the long lashes, the little nose and two small lips, that -seemed to be at one and the same time infantile and sensual. Gazing -for a long time at those amazing lips, I wondered whether their dream -movements were recalling the breast that nursed her or the lips of a -lover. - -Daylight came, and with it the end of the journey. I aided the little -Concha to get together six parcels, and offered to carry them but was -refused. She managed with them somehow, and ran off. I soon lost sight -of her. - -You see, do you not, this first meeting was insignificant, almost -vague. She had interested and amused me for a little while. That was -really all. Soon I ceased to think of her at all. - - - - -CHAPTER V - - -The following summer I found her again. In August, I was alone in my -house, a house that a feminine presence had filled for years. One -afternoon, bored to death, I visited the Government Tobacco Manufactory -of Seville. It was a sweltering day. I entered alone, which was a -favour, in this immense harem of about five thousand women-workers, of -a rather free-and-easy type. - -I have said the day was terribly hot? Most of the workers were -half-dressed only. It was a mixed spectacle, certainly: a sort of -panorama of women at all ages. I passed along, sometimes being asked -for a gift, sometimes being given a cynical pleasantry. Suddenly I -recognized Concha, and asked her what brought her into that place. - -“Heaven knows, I have forgotten.” - -“But your convent training?” - -“When girls go there through the door, they leave through the window.” - -“Did you?” - -“I will be honest with you. I didn’t enter at all for fear of sinning. -Give me a coin, and I will sing you something while the superintendent -is away from here.” - -Then she told me she lived with her mother, and came to the factory -when in the mood. I gave her a napoléon, and then left. - -In the youth of happy men there is a moment, an instant, that chance -decides. My moment came when I dropped that golden coin before that -girl. It was as if I had thrown a fatal die. I date from then and there -my actual life, “the life I have lived the most.” My moral ruin was -then begun. - -You shall know all; the actual story is simple enough, truly. - -I left the State Factory, and walked slowly into the shadowless street. -There she rejoined me, and said-- - -“I thank you; sir.” - -I noted that her voice had changed. The golden gift had evoked in her -the emotion that comes with the desire for wealth. She asked me to -conduct her home to the Calle Manteros, quite near. - -She told me she had no sweetheart, and I then replied-- - -“Surely, not through piety?” - -“I am pious, but I haven’t taken any vows.” - -Finally she said that she was virginal, and had kept herself pure. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - - -She admitted this with such a directness, such an air, that I -quite flushed and felt ill at ease. Whatever was passing in that -childish-looking head, behind that face so provoking, so rebellious? -What signified her decided moral attitude, her frank and, possibly, -honest eye, her sensuous mouth that seemed to tempt and yet defy. All -that I really knew was that she pleased me vastly, that I was enchanted -to have found her again, and looked forward to finding other chances -of being with her. We reached her home. Down-stairs at the doorway I -bought her some mandarines. At the top floor she gave three little -knocks at a door and I stood before her mother, a dark woman, who had -once been beautiful. - -Then began confidences; they seemed endless. The mother said she was -the widow of an engineer, and told me a story I had heard elsewhere -twenty times. - -“Ah, Caballero, we should have been rich, we two, had we but followed -evil ways. But sin has never passed the evening here!” - -Conchita during this discourse was putting powder on her cheeks. She -turned to me with a smile transfiguring her mouth. - -Finally I laid down four banknotes and arranged that Conchita was not -to return to the factory. I called again the next day. She was alone. -That day she came and sat upon my knees and kissed me with her burning -mouth. I left but to return, alas! not once, but twenty times more. I -was in love like the youngest, the most foolish of men. You must have -known such madness yourself and will understand me. Each time I left -her rooms I counted the hours until the next meeting, and those hours -never seemed to go. Little by little I got to pass the whole day with -them, paying all the expenses and the debts too. This cost me a good -deal of money. How Conchita and I talked! - -But she was impenetrable, mysterious. She seemed to love me; possibly -I really loved her. To-day I do not know what to think. To all my -pleadings she answered merely, “Later.” That resolution I could not -break. I swore to leave her and she told me to go. I threatened her, -even with my violence: it left her unconcerned. When loaded with -presents she accepted them upon her own terms. Nevertheless, when I -entered her place, I saw a light in her eyes that was not, I believe, a -feigned one. - -She slept nine hours at night and had a siesta of three hours. She did -nothing else. The work of the place was her mother’s affair. During -one whole week she refused to get up at all. Her conception of the -duties of the day was very Spanish. But I do not know from what country -came her conception of love. After twelve weeks of wooing I saw in her -maddening smile the same promises and certainly the same resistance. - -At last, one day, I took her mother into my confidence, and confessing -my love invoked her aid. After a night and a morning that were -insupportable through suspense, I received a four-line letter-- - - “_If you had loved me you would have waited. I wished to give myself - to you. You have asked that I shall be sold to you. Never again shall - you see me._ - - “CONCHITA.” - -When I reached their rooms in Seville they had left with all their -belongings. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - - -Autumn and winter passed. Memory was pitiless to me, and I felt -shattered. The months were empty. Oh, how I loved her, God of Heaven! I -thought sometimes that she was trying me, testing me, to be sure of me. -So be it. We met again. I was returning from the theatre, and in the -Calle Trajano I heard her voice call my name. She was at a window about -shoulder high from the ground, in night attire and shawled. - -I gazed at her as one entranced. She held her hand to me, and I covered -hand and arm with kisses. I was half insane with love. I craved for her -lips only to get for answer, “Later.” - -I pressed her with questions. They had been to Madrid then to -Carabanchel. By economy with my money they had now rented her present -place. There was enough money left to live honestly for a month. - -“And after that do you seriously think I shall feel embarrassed?” - -Then she paused. - -“You do not understand me. I can still work at the factory, sell -bananas, make bouquets, dance the Sevillana, can I not, Don Mateo?” - -Then with a sigh she leant forward, and said-- - -“Mateo, I will be your mistress the day after to-morrow.” - -“Are you sincere?” - -“I have said it. Leave me, Mateo. Be not impatient or jealous.” Then -she left me. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - - -Two interminable days and nights followed. I was happy and yet -suffering. A kind of troubled joy seemed to dominate every other -feeling. The hour of the assignation came, and I heard her softly -call, “Mateo.” We kissed passionately and a long love scene followed. -Questions, protestations, appeals. To hasten over what was to me a -time of great stress and strain, mental and physical, let me at once -say that Concha would in reality consent to nothing but this. I might -live with her, worship her, love her as fervently, truly, tenderly as -I liked, _but_ she was to be left wholly pure, utterly virginal. I -endured this state of things for two weeks. Concha then borrowed from -me a large sum to pay more debts, and the next day I found that mother -and daughter had fled again! - - - - -CHAPTER IX - - -It was too much to bear. I left for Madrid, and tried to get fond of an -Italian dancer. I returned to Seville, then went to Granada, Cordova, -Jérez. I sought for Concha Perez. At Cadiz we met again. One evening -I entered a drinking saloon. She was there dancing before sailors and -fishermen. At the moment I saw her I trembled and throbbed. I must have -become pale, and I felt as though I had no breath, no force, no will. I -dropped down upon the seat nearest the door, and head in hands watched -her. Her dance finished she came towards me. All knew her. From all -sides came cries of “Conchita” that made me shudder. On all sides she -cast glances. Here a smile, there a laugh, a shrug, a flower accepted, -a drink sipped. She sat at my table facing me, and desired coffee. - -I said in a low voice that I tried to steady-- - -“Then you fear nothing, Concha, not even death.” - -“You would not kill me.” - -“Do you dare me to.” - -“Yes, here or where you will. I know you, Don Mateo, as though you were -borne in my bosom nine months.” - -Bitter reproaches followed, and I taunted her. She rose, furious, and, -vowing by her father’s tomb that she was virtuous, left me. - - - - -CHAPTER X - - -After all that had happened I had three paths open before me-- - -To leave her for ever; - -To force her to stay with me; - -To take her life. - -I took a fourth path. I submitted to her own way of treating me. Each -evening I returned to my cozenage, looking at her, and waiting, waiting. - -Little by little, I think, she was more softened towards me. It even -seemed sometimes that she had not really intended me the harm that had -in fact been done. But the tavern life she now made me lead did not -suit me. It never has or can. The Señora Perez was there too. - -She seemed to know nothing of what had happened. Did she lie? I heard -her Memoirs once more, and paid for her glasses of Eau-de-vie. - -My sole instants of joy were provided by the dances of Concha. Her -triumph was the dance named _The Flamenco_. What a tragic dance! It -is, so to speak, all passion expressed in three acts. I always see her -in that dance. She was resplendent. During a month she tolerated me in -what may be called the dressing-room, at the rear of the stage where -the dances took place. I had not even the right to see her home; I kept -my “place” near her on conditions--no reproaches as to the past or the -present. As to the future I did not know anything, and had no idea -whatever what would be the solution of my most pitiable adventure of -body and spirit. - -Then came a night when, with other dancers, she danced, with bosom -bared, in a room up-stairs. There were two rich Englishmen present. - -I went up to her, and said-- - -“Follow me. Do not be afraid. But come or beware!” - -But again, she dared and defied me. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - - -They left us alone. - -“Defend yourself. Lie. You lie so well!” I cried. - -“Ah,” she answered. “You accuse me. Superb! After entering here like a -thief, spoiling my dance, and scaring every one away.” - -The usual scene of reproach, recrimination and explanation followed. At -the end I drew her on to my knees. - -“Listen,” I said. “I cannot live thus. If you stay here a day longer I -will indeed leave you for ever, Conchita.” - -Then she protested that she loved me, and had always loved me. - -Again she tamed me with her words, and the scene ended as so many had -ended--in her triumph. We returned to Seville, where I took a house -for her. In that house she pretended that she had a lover. It was -pretence, but at last I turned and struck her in the face! - -She tried to stab me but failed. Then I beat her until I hurt my own -hand. On her knees she craved my pardon, and opened her arms to me. I -took her. She was virginal as on the day of her birth. - - - - -CHAPTER XII AND LAST - - -André returned to Seville. He there met Concha Perez. - -As they were starting for Paris a letter came by hand addressed to her. -A little later in life André knew that the letter was as follows-- - - “_My Conchita, I pardon you. I cannot live where you are not. Return - to me. Now it is I who kneel to you. I kiss your feet._ - - “MATEO.” - - - - -THE NEW PLEASURE - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -For four or five years I lived in a flat that was in a street near -the little Park Monceau. I was there only for certain days in the -week. The flat was not the finest in Paris, but was discreet, and the -place generally had a well-valeted look. A distinct drawback was that -although one end of my street gave on to the park, I could not enjoy -that latter place much, for the gates were closed every evening before -midnight--just when I most deeply appreciate walking for exercise and -to take the pure air. - -One night at the flat I sat in silent contemplation of two blue china -cats that crouched upon a white table. I was wondering whether it would -be better to pass the time smoking cigarettes or writing sonnets. -Another idea was that it might be better to smoke the cigarettes and -stare at the painting on the ceiling. Cigarette, sonnet, or stare? The -most important thing at such an hour is to have a cigarette ready to -hand and lip. It enshrouds all the most material things with scarves -of cloud, fine and celestial. It adds something both to the lights and -to the dark of the chamber, taking away the hard mathematics of the -angles, and by means of a scented magical spell brings to the agitated -human spirit a panacea and peace. It brings, too, the land of dreams. -On the particular evening I now speak of there was the intention of -doing some writing, and yet the desire to do nothing was active and -coercive. Put differently, it was an evening that resembled many other -similar evenings of the “unlit lamp and ungirt loin.” Evenings that -ended with a full ink-well, sheets of dead-white writing paper, and--a -large ash-tray full of golden ends of cigarettes, ashes and unused -ideas. - -Suddenly I was brought back from my “open-eye dreams” by the unexpected -ringing of the bell. I raised my head and tried to be positive that on -Friday night, the ninth of June, I did not await any one at that hour -of the night. A second ring soon came, so I went to the door and drew -back the bolt. - -When the door was opened I saw a woman waiting. She was wrapped in a -sort of mantle, like a travelling cloak, fastened around the throat. -Above, the head was poised. I saw that her hair was blond, and that she -was young. Beneath the shadow of her tresses gleamed very dark eyes. -The face was a trifle teasing in its expression, and rather sensual, -the mouth being very red. - -“Do you wish me to come in?” she said, inclining her sweet head upon -her shoulder. - -I drew back, flattened as it were against the wall, suffering from -the genuine, the natural astonishment of a man who has to open his -door at such an hour to a woman of whom he has not the slightest -recollection--a woman, too, who used the intimate form of address, -“thou,” in the first phrase she used. - -“My dear lady,” I said, with a touch of timidity, as I followed her -into my chamber, “spare me any blame. Of course I recognize you -clearly, but by some lapse of memory I do not recall your name. Is it -not Lucienne or Tototte?” - -She smiled a tender, indulgent smile, but, making no reply, unfastened -her mantle. - -Her robe was of sea-green silk, with an iris pattern. Snared in the -low-cut corsage were beautiful breasts, that seemed as though they -longed to burst forth--a flow of imprisoned beauty. Clasped around -each of the nude, dark arms was a golden snake, with glittering -emerald eyes. Around the throat of darkest cream were two rows of -pearls--pearls that had meant the loss of many lives. - -“If you remember me it is because we have met in the land of dreams, or -in some land of the mind, where it seems that dreams come true. I am -Callisto, daughter of Lamia. During eighteen hundred years my tomb has -had peace. It is in the flowerful fields and woods of Daphne, near to -the hills where were the voluptuous dwelling-places of Antioch. But in -these days even the tombs have no abiding home. They took me to Paris, -and my shadow or spirit followed. For a long time I slept in the icy -caves of the Louvre. I should have been there for ever and ever if it -had not been for a great and grand pagan, a really holy man, Louis -Ménard. He is the only living man in all this land who knows to-day the -signs and symbols of the ancient divinities. Before my tomb he solemnly -pronounced the words that of old gave a nightly and transitory life to -the unhappy dead! Therefore behold me. For seven hours each night I may -go through your miserable city....” - -“Oh, child of the older world,” I cried, “how you must see the change -the world sorrows under!” - -“Yes, and yet no. I find the dwellings dark, the dresses ugly, the sky -sorrowful. How oddly you dress for such a climate. I find that life -in general is more stupid, and that human beings look much less happy -than in the older and more golden days. But if there is one thing that -greatly stupefies me, it is to see that you have still so many of the -things that I knew of old. What ... in eighteen hundred years have you -all made nothing more, nothing new? Is that so really and truly? What -I have seen in the houses, the open air, the streets, is that all? -Have you not succeeded in finding a new thing? If not, what misery, my -friend!” - -My attitude of astonishment was my sole reply. - -She smiled, the lovely red lips parting over her mother-of-pearl teeth -most enchantingly. Then she murmured in explanation-- - -“See how I am dressed. This was my burial attire. Regard it. In my -first lifetime one dressed in wool and silk. In returning to the earth -I thought that such things would have passed away even from the memory -of man. I imagined that after so many years that the human race would -have discovered fabrics to dress in more wonderful than a tissue of -sun and silk, more pleasurable to touch than the exquisite tender skin -of young virgins, of rose-leaves, of downy peaches. But you still -dress or clothe yourselves in thread, in wool, in the silk we all had -of old. Then look at my shoes of olive morocco, worked with gold like -the binding of a rare book. Have you as lovely things for the feet in -these days? And so with the gems and jewels of these days. I knew them -all, then.” - -“Callisto,” at last I said, “you give these things too great an -importance. A girl is never so beautiful as when she is made as the -gods made her.” - -She gazed at me, then said very slowly, “Are you sure now that women -themselves, their form, has not changed since my early days of life?” - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -To my utter amazement she followed her last words by slipping off her -jewels and robes. She had the grandeur of a goddess from throat to -feet. She curved into a long, deep, easy chair, and said, “Why have -you people of to-day not perfected the woman as you have perfected -flowers?” She continued in a soft, dreamy voice, “Oh, days of the youth -of the world, days of the first coming of pleasure!... During the -nineteen hundred years of my sleep in the grave what new joy have you -all discovered. What new pleasure have you found? Invite me to share it -with you....” - -“We need more time, Callisto,” I pleaded. - -She smiled in derision. “Your art and thought have both borrowed from -us--parasites of our dead bodies. Descartes and Kant borrowed from -our Parmenides. Euclid, Archimedes, Aristotle, Democritus, Heraclitus -... you have discovered nothing that they had not dreamt. You have -discovered nothing, not even America. Aristotle said the earth was -round, and indicated the path that Columbus finally took. But, oh! if -only you had discovered _one_ new pleasure; only one.” - -I sighed. I could not combat her arguments any more than I could -resist her beauty. Instead, I simply said, “Will you take a cigarette? -Doubtless Aristotle taught you that----” - -“No,” Callisto answered; “but do you offer me that as a new pleasure?” - -She consented to take one, and I taught her the best method of getting -joy from those tubes of white and gold. There followed a long silence. -She held in her hand my packet of cigarettes, and seemed to be deep -in the enjoyment of an emotion she would not share. Another cigarette -was lit for her, and slowly smoked. Callisto, at last, had found a new -pleasure! - - - - -BYBLIS - - - - - _Amaryllis told to the three young women and the three philosophers, - as if they were little children, this fable._ - -“Travellers I have known, who have gone to Caril by ascending the -Méandre far beyond the range of the shepherds, have seen the River God -asleep in the shade on the river-bank. He had a long green beard, and -his face was wrinkled like the river’s grey and rocky banks from which -trailed dripping plants. His old eyelids seemed dead as they overhung -the eyes which were for ever blind. It is likely that if any one went -to find him now, he would not be discovered alive. - -“Now this was the father of Byblis by his marriage with the nymph -Cyanée; I will tell you the story of the unhappy Byblis.” - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -In the grotto from which the river emerged in a mysterious way the -nymph Cyanée gave birth to twins; one was a son who was named Caunos, -and the other a girl to whom the name of Byblis was given. - -They both grew up upon the banks of the Méandre, and sometimes Cyanée -showed them beneath its transparent surface the divine appearance of -their father, whose soul disturbed its flowing stream. - -The only world the children knew was the forest in which they were -born. They had never seen the sun except through the network of its -branches. Byblis never left her brother, and walked with her arm around -his neck. - -She wore a little tunic which her mother had woven for her in the -depths of the river, which tunic was blue-grey like the first light of -dawn. Caunos wore around his waist nothing but a garland of roses from -which hung a yellow waist-cloth. - -As soon as it was light enough for them to walk in the woods, they -wandered far away, playing with the fruits which had fallen to the -ground, or searching for the largest and most sweetly-scented flowers. -They always shared their finds and never quarrelled, so that their -mother spoke proudly of them to the other nymphs her friends. - - * * * * * - -Now when twelve years from the day of their birth had sped, their -mother became uneasy and sometimes followed them. - -The two children played no longer, and when they returned from a day -in the forest, they brought back nothing with them, neither birds, -flowers, fruits, nor garlands. They walked so close together that their -hair was mingled. Byblis’ hands strayed about her brother’s arms. -Sometimes she kissed him upon the cheek: then they both remained silent. - -When the heat was too great they glided beneath the low branches, and -lying on their breasts upon the sweet-smelling grass talked and adored -each other without ever withdrawing from each other’s embrace. - -Then Cyanée took her son aside and said to him-- - -“Why are you sad?” - -Caunos replied-- - -“I am not sad. I used to be when I was playing and laughing. Now -everything is changed. I no longer feel the need of play, and if I do -not laugh it is because I am happy.” - -Then Cyanée asked him, “Why are you happy?” - -The answer which Caunos gave her was-- - -“Because I look at Byblis.” - -Cyanée asked him too-- - -“Why is it that you do not now look at the forest?” - -“Because Byblis’ hair is softer and more scented than the grass; -because Byblis’ eyes--” - -But Cyanée stopped him. “Child! be silent!” - -Hoping to cure him of his illicit passion, she at once took him -to a mountain-nymph who had seven daughters most wondrously and -indescribably beautiful. - -Both of them, after planning together, said to him-- - -“Make your choice, Caunos, and the one who pleases you shall be your -wife.” - -But Caunos looked at the seven young girls as unmovedly as if he had -been looking at seven rocks; for the image of Byblis quite filled his -little soul, and there was not room in him for an alien love. - -For a month Cyanée took her son from mountain to mountain, and from -plain to plain without succeeding in diverting him from his desire. - -At last realizing that she would never overcome his obstinate passion, -she began to hate her son and accuse him of infamous conduct. But the -child did not understand why his mother reproached him. Why among all -women was he to be refused the one he loved? Why was it that caresses, -which would have been permissible in the importunate arms of another, -became criminal in the arms of his beloved Byblis? For what mysterious -reason was it that a sentiment which he knew to be good, tender and -capable of any sacrifice, was deemed worthy of every punishment? Zeus, -he thought, married his sister, and Aphrodite dared to deceive her -brother Ares with her brother Hephaïstos. For he did not yet know that -the gods alone have given themselves an intelligent morality and that -they disturb men’s virtue by incomprehensible laws. - -Now Cyanée said to her son-- - -“I disown you as my child!” - -She made a sign to a Centaur which was going towards the sea, and had -Caunos placed upon its back. Then the beast went rapidly away. - -For some time Cyanée followed her son with her eyes. Caunos in his -fright clung to the shoulders of the beast, and was sometimes buried in -its monstrous mane. Then Centaur moved with long and powerful strides; -it travelled in a straight line, and soon grew small in the distance. -Then it turned behind a clump of bushes, and reappeared looking from -afar like a tiny and almost stationary speck. At last Cyanée could see -it no longer. - -Slowly the mother of Byblis retraced her steps into the forest. - -She was sad, but at the same time proud of saving by a forced -separation the destiny of her two children; and she thanked the gods -for giving her the strength to accomplish such a heartrending duty. - -“Now,” she thought, “Byblis being alone will forget the brother who has -been sacrificed for her. She will fall in love with the first man who -knows how to caress her, and from the marriage-bed will spring, as is -right, a race half human and half divine. Blest are the immortal gods!” - -But when she returned to the grotto, little Byblis had disappeared. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -When Byblis found herself alone upon the little bed of green leaves -upon which she had slept by her brother’s side every night, she had in -vain tried to sleep; but that evening dreams came not to her. - -She went out into the warm night. A gentle breath of air swayed the -darkness of the forest. She sat down and watched the flowing stream. - -“Why,” she thought, “has not Caunos come back. What has called him away -and kept him from me. Who is it, father, that is separating us?” - -As this last idea came to her she leant over the spring. - -“Father!” she repeated, “father! where is Caunos? Reveal the secret to -me?” - -A murmur of the water answered-- - -“Far away.” - -Byblis in affright quickly continued-- - -“When will he return? When will he come back to me?” - -“Never,” the spring replied. - -“Dead! Is he dead?” - -“No.” - -“Where shall I see him again?” - -The spring spake no more. Its gentle ripple resumed its monotonous -sound. No divine presence seemed to live in its clear waters. - -Byblis got up and fled. She knew the path by which Caunos had started -with his mother. It was a narrow track which wound from tree to tree as -it buried itself in the forest. She had not traversed it often, for it -ran through a valley infested with serpents and dangerous beasts. This -time her desire overcame her fear, and she tremblingly followed the -path with all the speed of which her little bare feet were capable. - -The night was not very dark; but the shadows thrown by the moon are -black, and behind the mighty trees Byblis had to feel her way. - -She reached a spot where the pathway split in two. Which direction was -she to take, which path was she to follow? On her knees she for a long -time sought for a footstep to guide her. But the earth was dry. Byblis -could see nothing. As she lifted her head she perceived that, hidden in -the foliage of an oak, a tree-nymph with green breasts was watching her -with a smile. - -“Oh!” Byblis cried, “which way did they go? Tell me if you saw them.” - -The tree-nymph extended one of her long branch-like arms to the right, -and Byblis thanked her with a grateful glance. - -She walked on that night for a long way. The pathway seemed -never-ending, and, besides, it was hardly visible beneath a covering of -dead leaves; it ceaselessly wound its way, determined in its direction -by the chance of the soil, and the position of the trees; it seemed to -climb up and descend into the shadows for ever. - -At last worn out with fatigue Byblis fell to the ground and went to -sleep. - -She awakened in the morning when the sun was high in the heavens with a -soft, warm sensation upon her outstretched hand. She opened her eyes to -see a white hind gently licking her. But at Byblis’ first movement the -graceful animal jumped up, pricked its ears, and fixed its lovely dark -eyes, which glittered like a mountain stream, upon a distant point. - -“Hind,” Byblis said, “to whom do you belong? If your mistress is the -Goddess Artemis guide me, for I know her. I offer up to her in the full -moonlight libations of goat’s milk which are very pleasing to her, -and, hind, she loves me dearly. If you are one of her company listen -to the voice of my anguish, and be sure that by so doing you will not -displease the kind Huntress of the Night.” - -The hind appeared to understand; it started off at a pace slow enough -for the child to follow. In this way they both traversed a vast expanse -of forest and crossed two streams, the hind crossing them with a bound -while Byblis had to wade knee-deep across them. Byblis was full of -confidence. She was now sure that she was upon the right track; without -a doubt the hind had been sent by the goddess herself out of gratitude -for her devoutness, and the divine animal was leading her through -the woods to her beloved brother from whom she would never again be -separated. Every step took her nearer to the place where she would see -Caunos again. She could even now feel upon her breast the fugitive’s -affectionate embrace. A part of his breath seemed to have entered into -the atmosphere and to have charmed the breeze. - -Suddenly the hind stopped. She slid her long head between two young -trees, where at the same time the horns of a stag appeared, and just as -if she had reached the end of her journey the hind lay down with her -hoofs beneath her and her head upon the ground. - -“Caunos!” Byblis called aloud, “Caunos, where are you?” - -Her only answer was from the stag, as he took a few steps towards her -and threatened her with his terrible horns, which were interwoven like -ten brown serpents. - -Then Byblis understood that the hind, like her, had come to meet her -lover, and that it was perhaps useless to reckon upon the help of these -entirely absorbed by an inward passion. - -She turned back, but she was lost. She took another track, which -rapidly descended to an invisible path. Her poor little weary feet -stumbled over the stones, caught in the roots, and slipped upon the -brown carpet of pine-needles. At a turn in this uneven path, which -followed the course of a stream, she stopped before a divine couple. - -They were two nymphs of different orders, one of them having authority -over the forests and the other the spring waters. The oread had brought -to the naiad the fresh offerings received from men, and both of them -were bathing in the stream, sporting and embracing as they did so. - -“Naiad,” Byblis said, “have you seen the son of Cyanée?” - -“Yes. His shadow has passed over me. It was yesterday at sunset.” - -“From what direction did he come?” - -“I do not know.” - -“Where was he going?” - -“I did not follow him.” - -Byblis uttered a profound sigh. - -“Did you,” she asked the other nymph, “see the son of Cyanée?” - -“Yes. Far away from here in the mountains.” - -“Whence did he come?” - -“I did not follow him.” - -“Where was he going?” - -“I have forgotten.” - -Then she continued, rising up in the midst of the flowing waters as she -spake-- - -“Remain with us, young girl, stay. Why do you still think of him, who -is absent? We have treasured up for you boundless present joys. There -is no future happiness worth the trouble of pursuit.” - -But Byblis did not think that the nymph had spoken the truth. Although -she was unable to express the ideas of her little soul, she could not -conceive any greater joy than to suffer in the pursuit of happiness. -During the first day of her useless journey she had counted on the -assistance and zeal of the unknown creatures. When she saw that they -were careless about aiding her destiny she relied solely upon herself, -and, leaving the winding path, penetrated haphazard into the labyrinth -of the woods. - -But the two immortals repeated their words of wisdom. - -“Stay with us, young girl, stay. Why do you still think of the absent -one? There is no future happiness worth the trouble of pursuit.” - -Long, long afterwards the child as she crossed the mysterious mountain -could hear in the distance two clear voices, calling together-- - -“Byblis!” - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -For a night and day Byblis traversed the mountain. She made anxious -inquiries of all the deities of the woods, of the trees, of the glades -and the thickets. She recounted her sorrows many times; she tremblingly -implored their assistance, and wrung her little hands. But not one of -them had seen Caunos. - -She climbed up so high that her mother’s holy name was quite unknown to -all she met, and the unconcerned nymphs did not understand her. - -She wanted to retrace her steps, but she was lost. On every side she -was surrounded by a confused colonnade of enormous pine-trees. There -were no more paths. There was no horizon. She ran in every direction. -She called out in despair. - -There was not even an echo to be heard. - -Then as her weary eyelids drooped lower and lower she lay down upon the -ground and a passing dream told her in measured tones-- - -“You will never see your brother, you will never set eyes upon him -again.” - -She awoke with a start, with her arms outstretched and her mouth open, -but she was so overwhelmed with sorrow and anguish that she had not the -strength to cry out. - -The moon rose red like blood behind the high black outlines of the -pine-trees. Byblis could hardly see it. It seemed to her that a humid -veil had been dropped over her long eyes. An eternal silence had -enveloped the sleeping woods. - -Then a large tear gathered in the corner of her left eye. - -Byblis had never before wept. She believed that she was about to die, -and sighed as if divine solace had come to her aid in a mysterious way. - -The tear grew, trembled, became larger still and then suddenly trickled -down her cheek. - -Byblis remained motionless with fixed eyes in the light of the moon. - -Then a large tear filled the corner of her right eye. It grew like the -other and trickled down her right cheek. - -Two other tears came, two burning drops which flowed down the moist -track made by the other. They reached the corner of her mouth; a -delightful bitterness overcame the worn-out child. - -Then never more would her hand touch the beloved hand of Caunos. Never -more would she see the gleam of his black eyes, his dear head, and wavy -hair. Never again would they sleep side by side in each other’s arms -upon the same bed of leaves. The forests no longer knew his name. - -An overwhelming outburst of despair made Byblis hide her face in her -hands, but such an abundance of tears moistened her inflamed cheeks -that she seemed to feel a miraculous spring washing away her sufferings -like dead leaves upon the waters of a torrent. - -The tears which had been gradually born in her, rose to her eyes, -welled up, overflowed, trickled in a warm flood over her cheeks, bathed -her tiny breasts and fell upon her entwined legs. She did not feel -them trickle one by one between her long lashes: they were a gentle -and never-ending stream, an inexhaustible flood, the outpouring of an -enchanted sea. - -But awakened by the moonlight the deities of the forest had gathered -from every side. The bark of the trees became transparent and allowed -the faces of the nymphs to be seen; and even the quivering naiads left -the water and the rocks and came into the woods. - -They all crowded around Byblis and spoke to her, for they were -frightened because the river of the child’s tears had traced in the -earth a sinuous track which was slowly extending towards the plain. - -But now Byblis could hear nothing, neither voices, footsteps, nor the -night wind. Her attitude little by little became eternal. Her skin had -assumed beneath the deluge of tears the smooth white tint of marble -washed by the waters. The wind would not have disturbed one of her -hairs which were as long as her arms. She died like pure marble. A -vague light still illuminated her vision. Suddenly it went out; but -fresh tears still flowed from her eyes. - -In that way was Byblis changed into a fountain. - - - - -LÊDA - - - - -There was not light enough in which to clearly see any creature or -thing; it was twilight, the time of the gauzy haze that haunts our -dreams. - -Moonbeams were beginning to light up the blackest branches of trees: -moonlight and the shine of flinching silver stars. - -There were four young Corinthians reclining upon the ground near to -three young men. They were deep in pleasant thought, but opened their -eyes wide when the grave Melandryon said these words-- - -“I will tell you the story of the Swan and the little Nymph who lived -upon the banks of the Eurotas. It is a story in praise of blissful -shadows.” He half raised himself, and what he told his companions now -follows. - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -In those days there were no tombs by the roadside and no temples upon -the hills. Men themselves scarce existed; there was not much talk of -them. The earth was given up to the joy of the gods and the times -favoured the birth of amazing divinities. It was the time of Echnida -and the Chimera of Pasiphæ and the Minotaur. The young ones that there -were went pale through the woods fearing to be waylaid by dragons. -Nevertheless upon the humid banks of the river Eurotas, where the -trees were so thick that one could not see the light, there lived an -extraordinary young girl who was blue-tinted like the light of the -night, mysterious as the moon and sweet as the Milky Way. That was why -they had named her Lêda. She was in truth almost blue, for the blood -of the iris was in her veins and not the blood of the rose that is in -your own veins. Her lips shone with blue like her eyes. Her hair was -so abundant that she sometimes seemed to have long wings. She loved -only the water and the night. Her chief pleasure was to walk upon the -soft springy spongy turf of the banks near the water. She could feel -the cold moisture of the water but hardly see the water itself, and her -naked feet had little shudders of pleasure and were softly moistened. - -For she did not bathe in the river because of her fear of the jealous -water-nymphs, and she did not want to give herself up to the water -entirely. But she loved to moisten her body and hair with the sweet -river-water. Sometimes she took up into her hands the freshness of the -flood and poured it between her young breasts, watching it trickle down -and run away. Sometimes she laid her full length down upon the bank -and drank from the surface of the water slowly, sweetly. Then she -seemed like a thirsty little animal. Such was chiefly her life: that -and thinking upon the satyrs. Sometimes one came upon her unexpectedly -but fled in affright, for they all thought her to be Phœbe, and austere -to those who saw her naked. She would have liked to talk to them had -they stayed near her. Their appearance filled her with astonishment. -One night when she had gone for a short walk in the forest, because it -had been raining and the ground was like a torrent, she approached one -of these half-divine creatures as he slept and gazed upon him; but she, -too, in her turn became horrified and quickly retraced her steps. Since -that time she occasionally thought of the incident and was disturbed -about things she did not understand. She began to gaze at herself and -found herself mysterious. It was the time when she became sentimental -and spent much time in weeping. - -When the nights were clear she gazed at her reflection in the water. -Once the thought came to her that it would be better for her to plait -her hair like a serpent and so display the nape of her neck which the -touch of her hand told her was beautiful. She chose a jewel for her -hair and made herself a garland of the leaves of water-lilies and their -blossoms. - -At first she took pleasure in walking like this. But as she was alone -there was none to gaze at her. Then she became unhappy and ceased to be -amused. - -Now her spirit did not know itself but her body awaited the beating of -the Swan’s wings. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -One evening, as she was hardly awake and thought of continuing her -dream, because a long streak of yellow daylight still flowed behind the -darkness of the forest, her attention was attracted by the sound of the -reeds near her and she saw the apparition of a Swan. - -The beautiful bird was as white as a woman, splendid as the light and -gleaming like a cloud. It seemed to be like a midday sky, its form and -its winged spirit. That is why it was called Dzeus. - -Lêda knew it to be looking at her as it flew and walked in turn. It -circled around the nymph at a distance and looked sidelong at her. Even -when it was almost touching her it still continued to approach, and -rising on its red feet it stretched its graceful and undulating neck -as high as possible before her young thighs. - -Lêda’s astonished hands carefully grasped its little head and caressed -it. The bird fluttered all its feathers, with its soft and feathery -wings it gripped her naked legs and bent them; Lêda let herself fall -upon the ground. - -She covered her face with her two hands. She experienced neither fear -nor shame but inexpressible joy and a beating of the heart which made -her breasts tremble. - -She did not realize or understand what was about to happen. She did not -even understand why she was happy. She felt along her arms the supple -neck of the Swan. - -Why had it come? What had she done that it should come to her? Why had -it not flown away like the other swans on the river or fled like the -satyrs into the forest? From her earliest recollection she had always -lived alone. For that reason her ideas were very limited and the events -of that night were so disconcerting. This Swan she had neither called -nor seen, for she was asleep. It had come. - -She neither dared to look nor move lest it should fly away. She felt -upon her flushed cheeks the freshness of the beating of its wings. - -Soon it seemed to recoil and its caresses changed. She felt between her -cool knees the warmth of the bird’s body. - -She uttered a long sigh of bounteous delight, let fall backward with -closed eyes her fevered head, and plucked the grass with convulsive -fingers. - -Then for a long while she remained motionless. At her first gesture -her hand met the Swan’s beak. She sat up and saw the reflection of the -great bird in the river. She wished to rise but the bird prevented her. - -She wished to take a little water in the palm of her hand and moisten -her flesh, but the Swan prevented her with its wing. - -She clasped the bird in her arms and covered its thick feathers with -kisses, making it set them up with her embraces. Then she stretched -herself upon the river-bank and fell into a deep sleep. - -The next morning at daybreak a new sensation awakened her with a start: -something seemed to become detached from her body. A large blue egg -rolled in front of her and shone like a sapphire. - -She wanted to take it and play with it or else cook it in the warm -ashes as she had seen the satyrs do; but the Swan picked it up in its -beak and placed it under a tuft of overhanging reeds. It stretched -out its wings over the egg with its gaze fixed upon Lêda, and then -with a movement of the wings slowly soared straight up into the sky to -disappear in the growing daylight with the last white star. - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -Lêda hoped that the following night the Swan would come back to her, -and she waited for it in the reeds by the river-side near the blue egg -which was born of their miraculous union. - -The Eurotas was covered with swans, but her Swan was not among them. -She would have recognized it from a thousand, and even with her eyes -shut would have perceived its approach. But it was very certain that -the one was no longer there. - -Then she took off her garland of water-lily leaves, dropped it into the -stream, let down her hair and began to weep. - -When after a time she dried her eyes a great Satyr was near her though -she had not heard his approach. - -Now she was no longer like Phœbe. She had lost her virginity. The -satyrs were no longer afraid of her. - -She leapt to her feet and drew back in affright. - -The Satyr gently said to her: “Who are you?” - -“I am Lêda,” she replied. - -He was silent for a moment and then went on-- - -“Why are you different from the other nymphs? Why are you blue like the -water and the night?” - -“I do not know.” - -He looked at her in great astonishment. - -“What are you doing here all alone?” - -“I am waiting for the Swan.” - -She was looking at the river. “What Swan?” he asked. - -“The Swan. I did not call it, I did not see it, but it appeared. I was -so surprised. I will tell you.” - -She told him what had happened and parted the reeds to show him the -blue egg. - -The Satyr understood. He began to laugh and gave her vulgar -explanations, which she stopped by putting her hand over his mouth; -then she cried-- - -“I do not wish to know. I will not know. Oh, you have told me. Oh! it -is frightful! Now I shall not be able to love the Swan, and I shall die -of unhappiness.” - -He seized her by the arm in his passion. - -“Do not touch me!” she cried through her tears. “Oh! how happy was I -this morning! I did not realize how happy I was! Now if it return I -shall not love it. Now you have told me! Ah! how wicked you are!” - -He embraced her and caressed her hair. - -“Oh, no! no! no!” she cried. “Do not do that! Oh if the Swan were to -come back! Alas! alas! all is ended.” - -She stood with staring eyes and open mouth without weeping but with -hands trembling with fear. - -“I would like to die. I do not even know whether I am mortal. I would -like to die in the water, but I fear the naiads, lest they make me join -them. Oh! what have I done!” - -She sobbed bitterly in his arms. But a serious voice spake before her, -and when she opened her eyes she saw the river god crowned with green -leaves rising half out of the water and leaning upon a staff of light -wood. - -He said-- - -“You are quite right. But you have loved the symbol of all that is -light and glorious, and you have been united to it. - -“Of the symbol is born the symbol, and of the symbol will be born -Beauty. It is in the blue egg which you have seen. Since the beginning -of the world it has been called Helen; and the last man of all shall -know of her existence. - -“You were full of love because you were ignorant. For that let the -blessed darkness be praised. - -“But you are a woman, too, and bear in you the obscure being who would -be simply himself, whose father has not foreseen him, and whose son -does not know him. I will take the germ in my waters. It shall remain -in obscurity. - -“You were full of hatred because you learned the truth. I will make you -forget it. For that let the blessed darkness be praised.” - -She did not understand what the God had said, but she thanked him with -tears. - -She entered the bed of the river to purify herself from the Satyr, and -when she returned to the bank she had lost every remembrance of her -sorrow and her joy. - - * * * * * - -Melandryon spake no more. The women were all silent. But Rhea asked-- - -“What of Kaftor and Polydeukes? You have told us nothing of them. They -were the brothers of Helen.” - -“No, that is not true, they are not interesting. Helen alone was a -child of the Swan.” - -“Why, too, do you say that the Swan wounded her with its beak? That is -not in the legend, nor is it likely. Then why do you say that Lêda was -blue like water in the night? You have a reason for saying it.” - -“Did you not hear the words of the River. Symbols must never be -explained. They must not be understood. Have faith. Ah! do not doubt. -The maker of the symbol has concealed a truth in it, but he need not -explain it or what would be the use of the reader of symbols. - -“One must not tear aside ceremonies, for they only conceal the -invisible. We know that in these trees adorable nymphs are enclosed, -and yet when the wood-cutter fells the trees they are dead. We know -that behind us are dancing satyrs and divine nakedness but we need not -turn round, for if we do all will have disappeared. - -“The undulating reflection of the springs is actually the naiad. The -buck standing in the midst of the does is the reality of the Satyr. One -or other of you all is Aphrodite in reality. But we must not know it, -we must not seek to find it out. Such is the condition of love and joy. -Praise be to the blessed darkness for it.” - - - - -IMMORTAL LOVE - -(_From “Aphrodite”_) - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE GARDENS OF THE GODDESS - - -The temple of Aphrodite-Astarte stood outside the gates of the city in -an immense domain full of flowers and shadows, where the waters of the -Nile flowed through seven aqueducts and maintained at all seasons a -state of wonderful fertility. - -This forest of flowers on the sea-shore, these deep streams, these -lakes and shady meadows had been created in the desert by Ptolemy I. -Since that time the sycamores planted by his orders had become giants; -through the fertilizing influence of the waters the lawns had grown -into meadows; the ponds had become enlarged into lakes; Nature had -turned a park into a country. - -The gardens were more than a valley, more than a country, more than a -land; they were a complete world enclosed within walls of stone, and -ruled by a Goddess who was the soul and centre of this universe. All -around this domain arose a circular terrace. Its boundary was not a -wall, it was a colossal city, consisting of fourteen hundred houses. A -like number of courtesans dwelt in this holy city and represented in -this spot alone seventy different races. - -These sacred houses were uniform in design, and had upon each door the -courtesan’s name who dwelt there. - -Upon each side of the door were two rooms without walls upon the side -next to the gardens. The room to the right was where the courtesan -arrayed in all her finery sat to await the arrival of her visitors. The -room on the left was at the disposal of those who wished to pass the -night in the open air without sleeping on the grass. - -On opening the door a passage gave entrance to a vast courtyard paved -with marble, the middle of which was adorned by an oval basin. A -peristyle provided the shade around this great square of light, and -formed a zone of coolness for the entrance to the seven rooms of the -house. At the back stood the altar which was of red granite. - -Every woman had brought from her own country a little image of the -Goddess, and as it stood there upon the altar of the house it was -worshipped by each one in her own tongue. Lakmî Ashtoreth, Venus, -Iskhtar, Freia, Mylitta, and Cypris were some of the holy names of -their Divinity of Pleasure. Some worshipped the divinity in the -symbolical shapes of a sea pebble, a conical stone, or a large prickly -shell. In many of the houses there was upon a wooden stand a rough -statuette with thin arms, large breasts, and huge thighs. They placed -a myrtle branch at the feet of the idol, strewed the altar with -rose-leaves, and burnt a grain of incense for each prayer which was -granted. The Goddess was the confidante of all their sorrows, the -witness of all their labours, and the supposed cause of all their -pleasure. At the courtesan’s death the image was placed in her fragile -coffin as a guardian of her tomb. - -The most beautiful of these girls came from the kingdoms of Asia. Every -year vessels bearing to Alexandria gifts from tributaries or allies -landed besides their cargoes a hundred virgins chosen by the priests -for the service of the sacred garden. They came from Mysia, Crete, -Phrygia, Babylon, and the banks of the Ganges, and there were also -Jewesses among them. Some were fair of skin with impassive faces and -inflexible breasts; others were dark as the earth after rain, and had -gold rings through their noses, and dark hair hanging down upon their -shoulders. Some came from still more distant lands; they were slender, -quiet little creatures, whose language no one understood and who -looked like yellow monkeys. Their eyes were long, and their straight -black hair was grotesquely arranged. These girls spent the whole of -their lives like lost and frightened animals. They knew the gestures -of love but declined to kiss upon the mouth. They amused themselves by -playing childish games. - -In a meadow apart, the fair and rosy daughters of the North lived -together sleeping upon the grass. These were women from Sarmatia -with triple-plaited hair, robust limbs, and square shoulders, who -made themselves garlands of the branches of trees and wrestled among -themselves for amusement; there were flat-nosed hairy Scythians and -gigantic Teutons who terrified the Egyptians with their hair which -was lighter than an old man’s and their flesh which was softer than a -child’s; there were Gauls like animals, who laughed without reason, and -young Celts with sea-green eyes, who never went out naked. - -The women of Iberia, too, who had swarthy breasts, spent their days -together. They had heavy masses of hair which was skilfully arranged -and did not remove the hairs from their bodies. Their firm skins and -strong limbs were much in favour with the Alexandrians. They were as -often employed as dancers as taken for mistresses. - -In the shade of the palm-trees dwelt the daughters of Africa, the -Numidians veiled in white, the Carthaginians clad in black gauze, and -Negresses clad in many-coloured costumes. - -There were fourteen hundred women. - -When a woman once entered the sacred garden, she never left it till the -first day of her old age came upon her. She gave to the temple half of -her gains and the rest sufficed for her food and perfumes. - -They were not slaves and each one really possessed one of the Terrace -houses; but all were not equally favoured and the more fortunate -often purchased houses near their own which the owners sold to save -themselves from growing thin through starvation. The latter then -removed the image of their Divinity into the park and found an altar -consisting of a flat stone, near which they took up their abode. The -poor people knew this and sought out the women who slept in the open -air near their altars; but sometimes they were neglected even by the -poor, and then the unfortunate girls united in their misery, two and -two, in a passionate friendship which became almost conjugal love, and -shared their misfortunes. - -Those without friends offered themselves as slaves to their more -fortunate companions. They were forbidden to have in their service -more than twelve of these poor girls, but these poor courtesans are -mentioned as having the maximum number which was composed of a -selection from many races. - -If a courtesan bore a son, the child was taken into the precincts of -the temple for the service of her divinity. When a daughter was born -she was consecrated to the service of the Goddess. The first day of her -life her symbolical marriage with the son of Dionysius was celebrated. -Later she entered the Didascalion, a great school situated behind the -temple where little girls learned in seven classes the theory and -method of all the erotic arts; the glance, the embrace, the movements -of the body, caresses and the secrets of the kiss. The pupil chose -the day of her first experience because desire is a command from the -Goddess which must not be disobeyed; on that day she received a house -on the Terrace; and some of these children, though not yet nubile, were -the most popular of all. - -The interior of the Didascalion, the seven classes, the little theatre -and the peristyle of the court were ornamented with ninety-two frescoes -which comprised the teaching of love. They were the lifework of a man, -Cleochares of Alexandria the natural son and disciple of Apelles, -who had furnished them on his death-bed. Lately Queen Berenice, who -was greatly interested in this famous school and had sent her little -sisters there, had ordered from Demetrios a series of marble groups to -complete the decoration; but only one of them had yet been placed in -position in the infants’ school. - -At the end of every year in the presence of all the famous courtesans, -a great gathering took place at which there was extraordinary emulation -among the women to win the twelve prizes offered, for they consisted of -the entry into the Cotytteion, the greatest honour of which they ever -dreamed. - -This last monument was wrapped in such mystery that to-day it is not -possible to give a detailed description of it. We only know that it -was in the shape of a triangle the base of which was a temple to the -Goddess Cotytto, in whose name frightful unheard-of debauchery was -committed. The two other sides of the monument consisted of eighteen -houses; thirty-six courtesans dwelt there, and were much sought after -by wealthy lovers; they were the Baptes of Alexandria. Once every -month, on the night of the full moon, they met within the temple -maddened by aphrodisiacs. The oldest of the thirty-six had to take -a fatal dose of the terrible erotogenous drug. The certainty of her -immediate death made her try without fear all the dangerous pleasures -from which the living recoil. Her body, which soon became covered with -sweat, was the centre and model of the whirling orgie; in the midst -of loud wailings, cries, tears and dancing the other naked women -embraced her, mingled their hair in her sweat, rubbed themselves upon -her burning skin and derived fresh ardour from the interrupted spasm of -this furious agony. For three years these women lived in this way, and -at the end of thirty-six months such was the intoxication of their end. - -Other but less venerated sanctuaries had been built by the women in -honour of the other names of Aphrodite. There was an altar consecrated -to the Ouranian Aphrodite which received the chaste vows of sentimental -courtesans; another to Aphrodite Apostrophia, where unfortunate love -affairs were forgotten, and there were many others. But these separate -altars were only efficacious and effective in the case of trivial -desires. They were used day by day, and their favours were trivial -ones. The suppliants who had their requests granted placed offerings -of flowers on them, while those who were not satisfied spat upon -them. They were neither consecrated nor maintained by the priests and -consequently their profanation was not punishable. - -The discipline of the Temple was very different. - -The Temple, the Mighty Temple of the Great Goddess, the most holy place -in the whole of Egypt, was a colossal edifice 336 feet in length with -golden gates standing at the top of seventeen steps at the end of the -gardens. - -The entrance was not towards the East, but in the direction of Paphos, -that is to say the north-west; the rays of the sun never penetrated -directly into the Sanctuary. Eighty-six columns supported the -architraves, they were all tinted with purple to half their height, and -the upper part of each stood out with indescribable whiteness like the -bust of a woman from her attire. - -Within were placed sculptured groups representing many famous scenes, -Europa and the Bull, Lêda and the Swan, the Siren and the dying -Glaucos, the God Pan and a Hamadryad, and at the end of the frieze the -sculptor was depicted modelling the Goddess Aphrodite herself. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -MYLITTA AND MELITTA - - -“Purify yourself, stranger.” - -“I shall enter pure,” Demetrios said. With the end of her hair dipped -in the holy water the young guardian of the gate moistened first his -eyes, then his lips and then his fingers, so that his look, the kiss -from his mouth and the caress of his hands were all sanctified. - -Then he advanced into the wood of Aphrodite. - -Through the darkening branches he saw the sun set a dark purple which -did not dazzle the eyes. It was the evening of the day when his meeting -with Chrysis had disturbed his life. That day he had seen a beautiful -woman upon the jetty, and addressed himself to her. She had declined -his advances though he was Demetrios the famous sculptor, a young, -wealthy and handsome man and the accredited lover of Queen Berenice. To -obtain her favour Chrysis, the courtesan, had imposed upon him three -almost impossible conditions. She required him to present to her the -silver mirror of Bacchis the famous courtesan, her friend, the ivory -comb worn by Touni the wife of the High Priest, and last of all the -necklace of pearls from the neck of the statue of the Goddess Aphrodite -within the Holy Temple. The first two of her demands could be carried -out possibly even without the shedding of blood, but her third behest -would mean the committal of an act of sacrilege punishable by death, -before which the boldest would hesitate. The feminine soul is so -transparent, that men cannot believe it to be so. Where there is only -a straight line they obstinately seek the complexity of an intricate -path. This was why the soul of Chrysis, in reality as clear as that of -a little child, appeared to Demetrios more mysterious than a problem -in metaphysics. When he left her on the jetty, he returned home in a -dream unable to reply to the questions which assailed him. What would -she do with the three gifts she had ordered him to procure her? It was -impossible for her to wear or sell a famous stolen mirror, the comb -of a woman who had perhaps been murdered in its acquirement, or the -necklace of pearls belonging to the Goddess. By retaining possession of -them she exposed herself every day to a discovery which would be fatal -to her. Then why did she ask for them? Was it to destroy them? He knew -that women did not rejoice in secrets and that good luck only pleased -them when it was well known to every one. Then, too, by what divination -or clairvoyance had she judged him to be capable of accomplishing three -such extraordinary deeds? - -Surely if he had wished, Chrysis might have been carried off, placed -in his power and become his mistress, his wife or his slave, as he -pleased. He had too the chance of destroying her. Revolutions in the -past had accustomed the citizens to deaths by violence, and no one was -disturbed by the disappearance of a courtesan. Chrysis must know him, -and yet she dared.... - -The more he thought of her the more her strange commands seemed to -please him. How many women were her equal! how many had presented -themselves to him in an unfavourable manner! What did she demand? -Neither love, gold, nor jewels, but three impossible crimes! She -interested him keenly. He had offered her all the treasures of Egypt: -he realized now that if she had accepted them she would not have -received two obols, and he would have wearied of her even before he had -known her. Three crimes, assuredly, were an uncommon salary; but she -was worthy to receive it since she was the woman to demand it, and he -promised himself to go on with the adventure. - -To give himself no time to repent of his resolutions that very day he -went to the house of Bacchis, found it empty, took the silver mirror -and fled into the gardens. Must he at once go to the second victim of -Chrysis? Demetrios did not think so. The wife of the High Priest Touni, -who possessed the famous ivory comb, was so charming and so weak that -he feared to approach her without preliminary precautions. So he turned -back and walked along the great Terrace. - -The courtesans were outside their dwellings like a display of flowers. -There was no less diversity in their attitudes and costumes than in -their ages, types and nationalities. The most beautiful, according -to the tradition of Phryne, only leaving the oval of their faces -uncovered, were clad from their hair to their heels in great robes -of fine wool. Others had adopted the fashion of transparent robes, -through which their beauty could be distinguished in a mysterious way, -as through limpid water one can see the patches of green weeds at the -bottom of the river. Those whose only charm was their youth remained -naked to the waist, and displayed the firmness of their breasts. But -the older women, knowing how much more quickly a woman’s face grows old -than does the skin of the body, sat quite naked, holding their breasts. - -Demetrios passed very slowly in front of them without allowing himself -to admire them. - -He could never view a woman’s nakedness without intense emotion. He -could not realize any feeling of disgust in the presence of the dead, -or of insensibility with very young girls. That evening every woman -could have charmed him. Provided she kept silence and did not display -any more ardour than the minimum demanded by politeness her beauty did -not matter. He preferred, also, that she should have a “coarse” body, -for the more his thoughts were fixed upon perfect shapes the further -away from them did his desire depart. The trouble, which the impression -of living beauty gave to him, was of an exclusively cerebral sensuality -which reduced to naught other excitation. He recollected with agony -that he had remained for an hour like an old man by the side of the -most admirable woman he had ever held in his arms. Since that night he -had learned to select less pure mistresses. - -“Friend,” a voice said, “do you not know me?” - -He turned, shook his head and went on his way, for he never visited -the same girl twice. That was the only principle he carried out in his -visits to the gardens. - -“Clonarion!” - -“Gnathene!” - -“Plango!” - -“Mnaïs!” - -“Crobyle!” - -“Iœsa!” - -They called out their names as he passed, and some added, as a further -inducement, a phrase upon their own ardent nature. Demetrios continued -his walk; he was inclined, as his usual custom was, to pick out one of -them haphazard, when a little girl dressed in blue spoke to him softly. - -“Open the door for me,” he said. “I wish to speak to you.” - -The little girl jumped gaily to her feet and knocked twice with the -knocker. An old slave opened the door. - -“Gorgo,” the girl said, “bring some wine and cakes.” - -She led the way into her chamber, which was very plain, like that of -all very young courtesans. Two large beds, a little tapestry and a few -chairs comprised the furniture, but through a large open bay could be -seen the gardens, the sea, and the roadstead of Alexandria. Demetrios -remained standing looking at the distant city. - -The sun sinking behind the harbour, that incomparable glory of a coast -town, the calm sky, the purple waters, were they not enough to bring -silence to any soul bursting with joy or sorrow! What footsteps would -they not stay, what pleasure suspend and what voice they not hush? -Demetrios watched: a swell of torrent-like flame seemed to leap out -from the sun which had half sunk into the sea and to flow straight to -the curved edge of the wood of Aphrodite. From one to another of the -two horizons the rich purple tone overran the Mediterranean in zones -of shades without transition from golden red to pale purple. Between -the moving splendour and the green mirror of the Mareotis lake the -white mass of the city was clothed in reddish violet reflections. The -different aspects of its twenty thousand flat houses marvellously -speckled it with twenty thousand patches of colour perpetually changing -with the decreasing phasis of the rays in the west. Now it was rapid -and fiery; then the sun was engulfed with almost startling suddenness -and the first approach of the night caused a tremor throughout the -earth and a hidden breeze. - -“Here are figs, sweets, honey and wine. You must eat the figs before it -is dark.” - -The girl came in with a laugh. She made the young man sit down and took -up her position upon his knees, refastening, as she did so, a rose in -her hair which was in danger of falling out. - -Demetrios uttered an exclamation of surprise, she looked so young and -childish that he felt full of pity for her. - -“But you are not a woman!” he cried. - -“I am not a woman! By the two Goddesses what am I then? a Thracian, a -porter or an old philosopher?” - -“How old are you?” - -“Ten years and a half. Eleven years. You can say eleven. I was born in -the gardens. My mother is a Milesian, her name is Pythias, nicknamed -the ’Goat.’ Shall I send for her if you think I am too young? She has a -soft skin and is very beautiful.” - -“You have been to the Didascalion?” - -“I am still there in the sixth class. I shall finish there next year; -it will not be any too soon.” - -“What don’t you like then?” - -“Ah! if you only knew how hard to please the mistresses are. They -make you begin the same lesson twenty-five times, and it is all about -useless things which the men never desire. Then one tires oneself for -nothing, and I do not like that. Come, have a fig; not that one, it is -not ripe. I will show you a new way to eat them--look.” - -“I know it. It takes longer, but it is not a better way. I believe you -are a good pupil.” - -“Oh! what I know I have learned by myself. The mistresses try to make -out they are stronger than we are. They are more experienced, but they -have not invented anything.” - -“Have you many lovers?” - -“They are all too old; it is inevitable. The young are so foolish! They -only care for women of forty. I sometimes see one pass as good-looking -as Eros, and you ought to see the woman he picks out--a hateful -hippopotamus! It makes one turn pale. I hope I shall not live to be the -age of those women; I should be ashamed to undress. That is why I am so -glad that I am young. But let me kiss you. I like you very much.” - -Here the conversation took a turn, and Demetrios soon saw that his -scruples were unnecessary in the case of such a well-informed young -woman. - -“What is your name?” he asked her presently. - -“Melitta. Did you not see the name over the door?” - -“I did not look at it.” - -“You could see it in the room. It has been written on the walls. I -shall soon have to have them repainted.” - -Demetrios raised his head. The four walls of the room were covered with -inscriptions. - -“Well, that is very curious,” he said. “May I read them?” - -“Yes, if you like. I have no secrets.” - -He read them. The name of Melitta was there several times, coupled with -various men’s names and strange designs. There were tender and comic -phrases. Lovers detailed the charms of the little courtesan, or made -jokes upon her. All that was not very interesting; but when he was -near the end of his reading he gave a start of surprise. - -“What is this? What is it? Tell me.” - -“What? Where? What is the matter?” - -“Here. This name. Who wrote that?” His finger was pointing to the name -of Chrysis. - -“Ah,” she replied, “I wrote that.” - -“But who is Chrysis?” - -“She is my great friend.” - -“I don’t doubt that. That is not what I am asking you. Which Chrysis is -it? There are so many.” - -“Mine is the most beautiful Chrysis of Galilee.” - -“You know her, then! Tell me about her! Where was her home? Where does -she live? Who is her lover? Tell me all about her.” - -He sat down upon the bed and took the girl upon his knees. - -“Are you in love with her?” she said. - -“What does it matter? Tell me what you know about her; I am anxious to -hear.” - -“Oh! I know nothing at all about her--very little indeed. She has been -twice to see me, and you can imagine that I did not ask her questions -about her relations. I was too pleased to see her to waste time in idle -conversation.” - -“What is she like?” - -“She is like a pretty girl; what do you want me to say? Must I name all -the parts of her body and say that they are all beautiful? Ah! she is a -real woman.” - -“You know nothing about her, then?” Demetrios asked. - -“I know she comes from Galilee; that she is nearly twenty, and lives in -the Jews’ quarter, on the east of the city, near the gardens. That is -all.” - -“Can you tell me nothing of her life or tastes?” - -“The first night she came here she came with her lover. Then she came -by herself, and she has promised to come and see me again.” - -“Do you know any other friend of hers in the gardens?” - -“Yes; a woman from her country----Chimairis, a poor woman.” - -“Where does she live? I want to see her.” - -“She sleeps in the wood. She has done so for a year. She sold her -house. But I know where her nest is, and I can take you there if you -wish. Put on my sandals for me, please.” - -Demetrios rapidly fastened the leather thongs of the sandals upon -Melitta’s little feet, and they went out together. - -They walked for some distance. The park was immense. Here and there a -girl beneath a tree called out her name as they passed. Melitta knew -a few, whom she embraced without stopping. As she passed a worn altar -she gathered three large flowers from the grass and placed them on the -stone. - -It was not yet quite dark. The intense light of the summer days has -something durable about it which vaguely lingers in the dusk. The -sprinkling of small stars, hardly brighter than the sky itself, -twinkled gently, and the shadows of the branches remained vague and -indefinite. - -“Ah!” said Melitta, “here is mother.” - -A woman clad in blue-striped muslin was coming slowly towards them. As -soon as she saw the child she ran to her, picked her up in her arms, -and kissed her fondly on the cheeks. - -“My little girl! my little love, where are you going?” - -“I am taking some one to see Chimairis. Are you taking a walk too?” - -“Corinna has been confined. Have been to her, and I dined at her -bedside.” - -“Is it a boy?” - -“Twins, my dear; as rosy as wax dolls. You can go and see her -to-night; she will show them to you.” - -“Oh, how nice! Two little courtesans. What are they to be called?” - -“Pannychis--both of them, because they were born on the eve of the -festival of Aphrodite. It is a divine omen. They will be beautiful!” - -She put down the child, and, turning to Demetrios, said-- - -“What do you think of my daughter? Have I not good cause to be proud of -her?” - -“You can be satisfied with one another,” he calmly replied. - -“Kiss mother,” Melitta said. - -He did so, and Pythias kissed him on the mouth as they separated. - -Demetrios went a little further still beneath the trees, while the -courtesan turned her head to watch them. At last they reached the spot -they sought, and Melitta said-- - -“Here it is.” - -Chimairis was squatting on her left heel in a little turfy glade -between two trees and a bush. She had beneath her a red rag, which was -her sole remaining garment in the daytime, and on which she lay when -the men passed. Demetrios looked at her with growing interest. She had -the feverish look of some thin, dark women whose tawny bodies seem to -be consumed by ever-present ardour. Her great lips, her eager gaze, her -livid eyes, gave her a double expression--that of covetous sensuality -and exhaustion. As Chimairis had sold everything--even her toilet -instruments--her hair was in indescribable disorder, while the down -upon her body gave her something of the appearance of a shameless and -hairy savage. - -Near her was a great stag, fastened to a tree by a gold chain which had -once adorned her mistress’s breast. - -“Chimairis,” Melitta said, “get up. Some one wants to speak to you.” - -The Jewess looked, but did not move. Demetrios approached. - -“Do you know Chrysis?” he asked. - -“Yes.” - -“Do you see her often?” - -“Yes.” - -“Can you tell me about her?” - -“No.” - -“Why not? Can’t you do so?” - -“No.” - -Melitta was surprised. - -“Speak to him,” she said. “Have confidence in him. He loves her and -wishes her well.” - -“I can clearly see that he loves her,” Chimairis replied. “If he loves -her he wishes her ill. If he loves her I will not speak.” - -Demetrios trembled with anger, but did not speak. - -“Give me your hand,” the Jewess said to him. “I will see whether I am -mistaken.” - -She took the young man’s left hand and turned towards the moonlight. -Melitta leant over to watch, although she did not know how to read the -mysterious lines; but their fatality attracted her. - -“What do you see?” Demetrios asked. - -“I see--may I tell you what I see? Shall you be pleased? Will you -believe me? First of all I see happiness, but that is in the past. I -see love, too, but that is lost in blood.” - -“Mine?” - -“The blood of a woman. Then the blood of another woman; and then, a -little later, your own.” - -Demetrios shrugged his shoulders. - -Melitta uttered a cry. - -“She is frightened,” Chimairis went on. “But this concerns neither her -nor me. Events must come to pass, since we cannot prevent them. From -before your birth your destiny was certain. Go away. I shall say no -more.” - -She let his hand drop. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -IMMORTAL LOVE AND MORTAL DEATH - - -“A woman’s blood. Afterwards the blood of another woman. Afterwards -thine; but a little later.” - -Demetrios repeated these words as he walked and a vague belief in them -oppressed him with sadness. He had never believed in oracles drawn -from the bodies of victims or from the movements of the planets. Such -affinities seemed to him much too problematic. But the complex lines -of the hand had of themselves a horoscopic aspect which was entirely -individual and which he regarded with uneasiness. Thus the prediction -remained in his mind. - -He, too, gazed at the palm of his left hand where his life was -displayed in mysterious and ineffaceable lines. He saw the signs -without being able to understand their meaning, and passing his hand -across his eyes he changed the subject of his meditation. - -Chrysis, Chrysis, Chrysis. - -The name beat in him like a fever. To satisfy her, to conquer her, to -enclose her in his arms, to flee away with her to Syria, Greece, Rome -or elsewhere, any place, in fact, where he had no mistresses and she no -lovers: that was what he had to do and to do at once! - -Of the three presents she had demanded one was already obtained. Two -others remained to be procured, the comb and the necklace. - -“First the comb,” he thought. He hastened his steps. - -Every evening after sunset the wife of the High Priest sat with her -back to the forest upon a marble seat from which a view of the sea -could be obtained, and Demetrios was aware of this, for Touni, like -many others, had been enamoured of him, and once she had told him that -the day he desired her he could take her. - -Thither he made his way. - -She was there; but she did not see him approach; she was reclining with -her eyes closed and her arms outstretched. - -She was an Egyptian. Her name was Touni. She wore a thin tunic of -bright purple without clasps or girdle, and with no other embroidery -than two black stars upon her breasts. The thin stuff reached down -to her knees and her little, round feet were shod with shoes of blue -leather. Her skin was very swarthy, her lips were very thick, her -fragile and supple waist seemed bowed down by the weight of her full -breast. She was sleeping with open lips and quietly dreaming. - -Demetrios took his seat in silence by her side. - -He gradually drew nearer to her. A young shoulder, smooth and dark and -muscular, delicately offered itself to him. - -Lower down the purple muslin tunic was open at the thigh. Demetrios -gently touched her, but she did not awake. Her dream changed but was -not dispelled. - -The eternal sea shimmered beneath a moon which was like a vast cup of -blood, but still Touni slept on with bowed head. - -The purple of the moon upon the horizon reached her from across the -sea. Its glorious and fateful light bathed her in a flame which seemed -motionless; but slowly the shadow withdrew from the Egyptian woman; one -by one her black stars appeared, and at last there suddenly emerged -from the shadows the comb, the royal comb desired by Chrysis. - -Then the sculptor took in his two hands Touni’s sweet face and turned -it towards him. She opened her eyes which grew big with surprise. - -“Demetrios! Demetrios! You!” - -Her two arms seized hold upon him. - -“Oh!” she murmured in a voice vibrating with happiness, “oh! you have -come, you are there. Is it you, Demetrios, who has awakened me with -your hands? Is it you, son of my Goddess, O God of my body and life?” - -Demetrios made a movement as if to draw back, but she at once came -suddenly quite close to him. - -“No,” she said, “what do you fear? I am not a woman to be feared by -you, one surrounded by the omnipotence of the High Priest. Forget my -name, Demetrios. Women in their lovers’ arms have no name. I am not the -woman you believe me to be. I am only a creature who loves you and is -filled with desire for you.” - -Demetrios made her no answer. - -“Listen once more,” she went on. “I know whom you possess. I do not -desire to be your mistress, nor do I aspire to become my Queen’s rival. -No, Demetrios, do with me what you will: look upon me as a little -slave whom one takes and casts aside in a moment. Take me like one of -the lowest of those poor courtesans who wait by the side of the pathway -for furtive and abortive love. In fact what am I but one of them? Have -the Gods given me anything more than they have bestowed upon the least -of all my slaves? You at least have the beauty which comes from the -Gods.” - -Demetrios gazed at her still more gravely. - -“What do you think, unhappy woman,” he asked, “also comes from the -Gods?” - -“Love.” - -“_Or death._” - -She got up. - -“What do you mean? _Death...._ Yes, death. But that is so far away from -me. In sixty years’ time I shall think of it. Why do you speak to me of -death, Demetrios?” - -He simply said-- - -“Death to-night.” - -She burst into a frightened laugh. - -“This evening ... surely not ... who says so? Why should I die?... -answer me, speak, what horrible jest is this?...” - -“You are condemned.” - -“By whom?” - -“By your destiny.” - -“How do you know that?” - -“I knew it because I, too, Touni, am involved in your destiny.” - -“And my destiny wills that I die?” - -“Your destiny demands that you die by my hand upon this seat.” - -He seized her by the wrist. - -“Demetrios,” she sobbed in her fear, “I will not cry out. I will not -call for help. Let me speak.” - -She wiped the sweat from her forehead. - -“If death comes to me through you, death will be pleasant. I will -accept it, I desire it; but listen to me.” - -She dragged him into the darkness of the wood, stumbling from stone to -stone. - -“Since you have in your hands,” she continued, “everything we receive -from the Gods, the thrill which gives life and that which takes it -away, open your two hands upon my eyes, Demetrios ... that of love and -that of death, and if you do so, I shall die without regret.” - -He gazed at her without replying, but she thought she could read assent -in his face. - -Transfigured for the second time she lifted up her face with a fresh -expression in it, one of new-born desire driving away terror with the -strength of desperation. - -She said no more, but from between her parted lips each breath seemed -to be a song of victory. - -She seized him in her arms crying-- - -“Ah! Kill me ... kill me, Demetrios, why are you waiting!” - -He rose, gazed once more at Touni as she lifted up her great eyes to -him, and taking one of the two gold pins from her hair, he buried it in -her left breast. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -APHRODITE’S PEARLS - - -Yet this woman would have given him her comb and even her hair for love -of him. - -It was simply a scruple which had prevented him asking her for it: -Chrysis had very clearly desired a crime and not the ancient ornament -from a young woman’s hair. That was the reason he believed it his duty -to take part in the shedding of blood. - -He might have considered that oaths made to a woman during an access -of love can be forgotten afterwards without any great harm being done -to the moral worth of the lover who has sworn them, and that, if ever -this involuntary forgetfulness were excusable, it was so in the -circumstances when the life of another woman, who was quite innocent, -was being weighed in the balance. But Demetrios did not stay to reason -thus. The adventure he had undertaken seemed to him too curious to be -stayed by incidents of violence. - -So after cutting off Touni’s hair and concealing the ivory comb in his -clothing, he without further reflection undertook the third of the -tasks ordered by Chrysis: the taking of the necklace of Aphrodite. - -There was no question of entering the temple by the great door. The -twelve hermaphrodites who kept the door would no doubt have allowed -Demetrios to enter, in spite of the order which refused admission to -the unsanctified in the priest’s absence; but what was the use of thus -simply establishing his guilt for the future when there was a secret -entry leading to the sanctuary. Demetrios wended his way to a lonely -part of the wood where the necropolis of the High Priests of the -Goddess was situated. He counted the tombs, opened the door of the -seventh, and closed it behind him. - -With great difficulty, for the stone was heavy, he raised a slab within -the tomb which disclosed a marble staircase and descended it step by -step. - -He knew that it was possible to take sixty steps in a straight line and -then it was necessary to advance by feeling the wall to save falling -down the subterranean staircase of the temple. - -The coolness of this deep passage gradually calmed him. In a few -minutes he reached the end of it, ascended steps and opened the door. - -The night was clear in the open, but black in the holy place. When he -had cautiously closed the heavy door, he felt himself to be trembling -as if he had been gripped by the coldness of the stones. He dared not -lift his eyes. The black silence terrified him; the darkness seemed to -him alive with the unknown. He put his hand to his brow like a man who -did not desire to awaken lest he might find himself alive. At last he -had the courage to look. - -In a gleam of bright moonlight the Goddess was visible upon a pedestal -of red stone loaded with hanging treasures. She was naked and tenderly -tinted like a woman; in one hand she held her mirror and with the other -she was adorning her beauty with a necklace of seven rows of pearls. A -pearl, larger than the rest, long and silvery, gleamed at her breast -like a crescent. These were the actual holy pearls. - -Demetrios was lost in ineffable adoration. He believed in truth that -Aphrodite herself was there. He could no longer recognize his own work, -so deep was the abyss between that which it used to be and had become. -He extended his arms and murmured the mysterious words by which the -Goddess is addressed in the Phrygian ceremonies. - -Supernatural, luminous, immaculate, nude and pure the vision seemed to -hover over the stone pedestal softly palpitating. He fixed his eyes -upon it, though he feared that the caress of his gaze would make this -feeble hallucination vanish in the air. He advanced slowly and touched -with his finger the rosy toe as if to assure himself of the existence -of the statue, and being incapable of stopping, so great was its -attraction for him, he mounted and stood by its side, placing his hands -upon the white shoulders and looking into the eyes. - -He trembled, he faltered and began to laugh with joy. His hands -wandered over the bare arms, and he clasped the cold hard waist with -all his strength. He gazed at himself in the mirror, grasped the -necklace of pearls, took it off, made it gleam in the moonlight and -then fearfully replaced it. He kissed the hand, the round neck, the -undulating throat and the half-open marble mouth. Then he withdrew to -the edge of the pedestal and gazed tenderly at the lovely bowed head. - -The hair of the statue had been arranged in the oriental fashion and -lightly veiled the forehead. The half-shut eyes were prolonged in a -smile. The lips were separated as if vanquished by a kiss. - -He silently replaced the seven rows of round pearls upon the glorious -breast and descended to gaze upon the idol from a greater distance. - -Then he seemed to awaken. He remembered his errand which he had up to -then failed to accomplish, and realized how monstrous a project it was. -He felt his blood burn to the temples. - -The memory of Chrysis came to him like a common apparition. He -enumerated everything which was at all doubtful in the courtesan’s -beauty; her full lips, her dishevelled hair and her careless walk. -He had forgotten what her hands were like, but he imagined them to be -large in order to add an odious detail to the picture which he was -attempting to reject. His state of mind was like that of a man who had -been surprised at dawn by his dear mistress in the arms of a common -girl, and could offer no explanation to himself as to why he allowed -himself the previous evening to be tempted. He could find no excuse -for himself nor even a serious reason. Evidently during the day he had -suffered from a fit of passing madness, a physical trouble, a malady. -He felt himself to be cured but still intoxicated with stupefaction. - -To complete the recovery of his senses he leant against the temple wall -and stood for a long time before the statue. The moonlight continued -to shine through the square opening in the roof; Aphrodite shone -resplendent; and as the eyes of the statue were in the shadow he tried -to catch their expression. - -He spent the whole night like this. Then daylight came and the statue -in turn assumed the living rose colour of the dawn and the golden tint -of the sunlight. - -Demetrios could no longer think. The ivory comb and the silver mirror -which he carried within his tunic had disappeared from his memory. He -gently abandoned himself to serene contemplation. - -Outside the confused singing and twittering of the birds sounded in -the gardens. The talking and laughing of women’s voices could be heard -outside the walls. The life and movement of the morning was spreading -over the awakened land. Demetrios was full of pleasant ideas. - -The sun was high and the shadow from the roof had moved before he heard -the confused sound of light footsteps on the outer staircase. - -No doubt it was the prelude of a sacrifice to the Goddess by a -procession of young women, who came to perform their vows or to offer -up their prayers before the statue on the first day of the festival of -Aphrodite. - -Demetrios wished to flee. The sacred pedestal opened at the back in a -way that only the priests and the sculptor knew. That was the position -occupied by the hierophant from which he recited to a young girl with a -clear strong voice the miraculous discourse which came from the statue -on the third day of the festival. From that place the gardens could -be reached. Demetrios entered and stood before a bronze-edged opening -which pierced the thick stone. - -The two golden gates slowly opened. Then the procession entered. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -DICE--THE VENUS THROW - - -About the middle of the night Chrysis was awakened by three knocks at -the door. - -She was sleeping with her two friends Rhodis and Myrtocleia, and rising -cautiously she went down and half opened the door. - -A voice came from without. “Who is it, Djala? Who is it?” she asked. - -“Naucrates wishes to speak to you. I told him that you were engaged.” - -“Oh, how foolish! Most certainly I will see him. I am not engaged. Come -in, Naucrates. I am in my chamber.” - -She went back to bed. Naucrates remained for a moment at the door as if -he feared to be indiscreet. The two girls, who were musicians, opened -their sleepy eyes but could not rend themselves from their dreams. - -“Sit down,” said Chrysis. “There need be no false modesty between us -two. I know that you have not come to see me. What do you want?” - -Naucrates was a well-known philosopher who for more than twenty -years had been the lover of Bacchis and had not deceived her, though -more from indolence than fidelity be it said. His grey hair was cut -short, his beard was pointed after the manner of Demosthenes and his -moustaches were even with his lips. He wore a great white woollen robe. - -“I have brought you an invitation,” he said. “Bacchis is giving a -dinner to-morrow to be followed by a fête. We shall be seven including -yourself. Be sure you come.” - -“A fête? What is the occasion?” - -“She has given freedom to her most beautiful slave Aphrodisia. There -will be dancers and musicians. I think your two friends are engaged -to be there, and ought not to be here now. They are at this moment -rehearsing at Bacchis’ house.” - -“Oh! that is right,” Rhodis cried, “we had forgotten it. Arise, Myrto, -we are very late.” - -But Chrysis declared-- - -“No! not yet! It is too bad to take away my friends. If I had suspected -I should not have admitted you. Oh! they are dressed already!” - -“Our dresses are not very elaborate,” the girl answered. “We are not -beautiful enough to spend much time over our toilettes.” - -“Shall I then see you at the temple at some hour to-morrow?” Chrysis -asked them. - -“Yes, to-morrow morning, we shall take doves as our offering. I am -taking a drachma from your purse, Chrysis. We shall not otherwise have -the money to purchase them. Good-bye till to-morrow.” - -They ran out. Naucrates gazed for some time at the door which had -closed behind them, then he rose, saying-- - -“Can I tell Bacchis that she may reckon upon you?” - -“I will come,” Chrysis replied. - -The philosopher bowed to her and slowly departed. - -As soon as he had gone Chrysis clasped her hands and spoke aloud -although she was alone. - -“Bacchis, Bacchis, he comes from her and does not know. Is the mirror -then still in her possession? Demetrios has forgotten me. If he has -hesitated on the first day, I am lost, he will do nothing. But it is -quite possible that he has obtained it. Bacchis has other mirrors which -she uses more often. Without a doubt she has not found out yet. Ye -Gods! Ye Gods! there is no way of finding out. Ah! Djala! Djala!” - -The slave entered. - -“Give me my dice. I wish to throw them,” Chrysis said. - -She tossed in the air the four dice. - -“Oh! oh! Djala, look!” - -The throw had resulted in the dice each presenting a different face. It -was thirty-five chances to one against this happening and it was the -highest scoring throw of all. - -Djala coldly observed-- - -“What did you wish?” - -“Quite true,” Chrysis said in disappointed tones. “I forgot to utter a -wish. I thought of something but said nothing. Does not that count just -the same?” - -“I don’t think so; you must start again.” - -Chrysis made a second throw. This time the result was not decisive, it -resulted in both good and bad omens and required another throw to make -its meaning clear. - -The third throw Chrysis made with one of the dice only, and when she -saw the result burst into tears. - -Djala said nothing but was herself uneasy. Chrysis lay upon her bed -weeping with her hair in disorder. At last she turned round with an -angry movement. - -“Why did you make me begin again? I am sure the first throw counted.” - -“It would have done if you had expressed a wish, but you did not. You -are the only one who knows what your desire was.” - -“Besides, dice prove nothing. It is a Greek game. I don’t believe in -it. I am going to try something else.” - -She dried her tears and crossed the room. She took from the table a box -of white counters, selected twenty-two of them, and then with the point -of a pearl hook scratched one after the other the letters of the Hebrew -alphabet upon them. - -“I rely upon this. It never deceives one,” she said. “Raise the front -of your robe, that shall be my bag.” - -She threw the twenty-two counters into the slave’s tunic, repeating in -her mind-- - -“Shall I wear Aphrodite’s necklace? Shall I wear Aphrodite’s necklace? -Shall I wear Aphrodite’s necklace?” - -She drew out the tenth arcanum which clearly meant-- - -“Yes.” - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE ROSE OF CHRYSIS THE LOVELY - - -It was a white, blue, yellow, red and green procession. - -Thirty courtesans advanced carrying baskets of flowers, snow-white -doves with red feet, veils of the most fragile azure and valuable -ornaments. - -An old white-bearded priest, enveloped from head to foot in stiff -unbleached stuff walked in front of this procession of youth and guided -towards the stone altar the line of devout worshippers. - -They sang, and their song rose and fell like the sound of the sea and -the winds. The first two carried harps, which they held in the palm of -their left hands and bent forward like sickles of slender wood. - -One of them advanced and said-- - -“Tryperha, beloved Cypris, offers thee this blue veil which she has -spun herself so that thou mayst continue thy goodness to her.” - -Another said-- - -“Mousairon lays at the feet of the Goddess of the beautiful crown, -these garlands and bouquets of flowers. She has worn them at the fête -and has invoked thy name in the intoxication of their perfumes. O -Conqueror, receive these spoils of love.” - -Another one said-- - -“As an offering to thee, golden Cytheræ, Timo consecrates this sinuous -bracelet. Mayst thou entwine thy vengeance around the throat of the one -thou knowest, as this silver serpent entwined itself about these naked -arms.” - -Myrtocleia and Rhodis advanced hand in hand. - -“Here are two doves from Smyrna with wings as white as caresses and -feet as red as kisses. O double Goddess of Amathonte, accept them from -our joint hands if it is true that the fair Adonis did not satisfy thee -and a still more sweet embrace sometimes disturbed thy slumbers.” - -A very young courtesan followed, saying-- - -“Aphrodite Peribasia receive my virginity with this stained tunic of -mine. I am Pannychis of Pharos; since last night I have vowed myself to -thy worship.” - -Another said-- - -“Dorothea begs thee, charitable Epistrophia, to banish from her mind -the desire placed there by Eros or at least to inflame for her the -eyes of the lover who refuses her. She presents to thee this branch of -myrtle because it is the tree thou preferest.” - -Another said-- - -“Upon thy altar, Paphia, Calliston places sixty drachmas of silver, the -balance of a gift she has received from Cleomenes. Give her a still -more generous lover, if the offering seems to thee acceptable.” - -The only one left in front of the idol was a blushing child who had -taken the last place. She held in her hand nothing but a tiny garland -of flowers, and the priest treated her with contempt because of the -smallness of her offering. - -She said-- - -“I am not rich enough to give thee pieces of gold, great Goddess. -Besides, what could I give thee which thou dost not already possess. -Here are green and yellow flowers woven as a garland for thy feet.” - -The procession seemed to be at an end and the other courtesans were -about to retrace their steps when a woman was seen standing at the door. - -She had nothing in her hand and seemed to have come to offer her beauty -to the Goddess. Her hair was like two waves of gold, two deep billows -full of shadow engulfing the ears and twisted in seven turns at the -throat. Her nose was fine, with expressive and palpitating nostrils, -and beneath it was a full and coral coloured mouth with rounded mobile -corners to it. The supple lines of the body undulated at each step she -took. - -Her eyes were wonderful; they were blue but dark and gleaming as well, -and changed like moonstones, as she held them half closed beneath her -long lashes. The glances of those eyes were like the sirens’ songs. - -The priest turned towards her and waited for her to speak. - -She said-- - -“Chrysis offers up her prayer to thee, O Chrysea. Receive the paltry -offering she lays at thy feet. Hear and aid, love and solace her who -lives according to thy pattern and for the worship of thy name.” - -She extended her hands golden with rings and bowed her knees before the -Goddess. - -The vague chant recommenced. The sound of the harps ascended towards -the statue with the smoke of the incense which the priest was burning -in a swinging censor. - -She slowly rose and presented a bronze mirror which had been hanging at -her girdle. - -“To thee,” she said, “Astarte, Goddess of the Night, who minglest hands -and lips and whose symbol is like unto the footprint of the hinds upon -the earth of Syria, Chrysis consecrates her mirror. It has seen the -eyes and the gleam of love in them, the hair clinging to the temples -after the rites of thy ceremonial, O thou warrior with relentless hands -thou mingler of bodies and mouths.” - -The priest placed the mirror at the foot of the statue. Chrysis drew -from her golden hair a long comb of red copper, the sacred metal of -the Goddess. - -“To thee,” she said, “Anadyomene, who wast born of the blood-hued dawn -and the foaming smile of the sea, to thee, whose nakedness is like the -gleam of pearls, who fastenest thy moist hair with ribbons of seaweed, -Chrysis dedicates her comb. It has been plunged in her hair disordered -by movements in thy name.” - -She handed the comb to the old man and leant her head to the right to -take off her emerald necklace. - -“To thee,” she said, “O Hetaira, who wipest away the blushes of -shamefaced virgins and teaches them the immodest laugh, to thee, for -whom we barter our love, Chrysis dedicates her necklace. She received -it from a man whose name she does not know and each emerald represents -a kiss where thou hast dwelt for a moment.” - -She bowed herself once again and for a longer space as she placed the -necklace in the priest’s hands and took a step as if to depart. - -But the priest detained her. - -“What do you ask from the Goddess in return for these precious -offerings?” - -She smiled and shook her head, saying-- - -“I ask for nothing.” - -Then she walked along the row of women, took a rose from a basket and -raised it to her lips as she went out. - -One by one all the women followed her and the door closed upon an empty -temple. - - * * * * * - -Demetrios had remained alone concealed in the bronze pedestal. - -He had not lost a gesture or a word of the whole of this scene, and -when it was ended he remained for a long while without moving, being -once again in a state of torment, passion and irresolution. - -He had believed himself cured of the madness of the previous night and -thought that nothing could ever again hurl him into this shadow of the -unknown. - -But he had reckoned without the woman. - -Women! women! if you desire to be loved, show yourself, return, be -ever-present! The emotion he had felt at the entrance of the courtesan -was so overwhelming and complete that there could be no thought of -opposing it by an effort of the will. Demetrios was bound like a -barbarian slave to the conqueror’s chariot. The thought that he had -freed himself was a delusion. Without knowing it and quite naturally -she had placed her hand upon him. - -He had seen her approach, for she wore the same yellow robe she had -done when he met her on the jetty. She walked with slow and graceful -steps with undulating motion of the hips. She had come straight towards -him as if she guessed he were concealed behind the stone. - -From the first he realized that he had again fallen at her feet. -When she took from her girdle the mirror of shining bronze, she gazed -at herself in it for a time before handing it to the priest, and the -splendour of her eyes became dazzling. When to take her copper comb she -put her hand to her hair and lifted her bent arm, the beautiful lines -of her body were displayed beneath her robe and the sunlight glistened -upon the tiny beads of perspiration on her skin. When, last of all, to -unfasten and take off her necklace of heavy emeralds she put aside the -thick silk which shielded her breast and left but a little space full -of shadow with just room for the insertion of a bouquet, Demetrios felt -himself seized with frenzy. - -But then she began to speak and each word of hers was suffering to him. -She, a beautiful vase, white as the statue itself and with gleaming -golden hair, seemed to insist upon pleasure. She told of her deeds in -the service of the Goddess. Even the ease with which her favours were -obtainable attracted Demetrios to her. How true it is that a woman is -not entirely seductive to her lover unless she gives him ground for -jealousy! - -So, after presenting to the Goddess her green necklace in exchange for -the one for which she was hoping, when Chrysis returned to the city she -took with her a man’s will in her mouth with the little rose the stalk -of which she was biting. - -Demetrios waited till he was alone in the holy place; then he emerged -from his retreat. - -He looked at the statue in anguish expecting a struggle within him. But -being incapable of renewing, after so short an interval, such violent -emotion, he remained wonderfully calm and without any preliminary -remorse. - -He carelessly ascended to the statue, took off the necklace of real -pearls from its bowed neck and concealed it within his raiment. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -QUEEN BERENICE - - -He walked very rapidly in the hope of overtaking Chrysis on the road -leading to the city, fearing if he lingered that he might become -cowardly and irresolute once again. - -The road, white with heat, was so luminous that Demetrios closed his -eyes as if he had been in the midday sunlight. In that way he walked -without seeing where he was going, and he had only just escaped -colliding with four black slaves who were walking in front of a cortège -when a little musical voice softly said-- - -“Beloved! how glad I am!” - -He lifted his head: it was Queen Berenice reclining in her litter. - -She ordered the bearers to stop and stretched out her arms to her -lover. - -Demetrios was much annoyed; but he could not refuse, so he slipped into -the litter, with a sullen air. - -Then Queen Berenice was filled with joy and rolled upon her cushions -like a playful cat. - -Now this litter was a room and twenty-four slaves carried it. Twelve -women could easily lie within amid its blue tapestry, cushions and -stuffs; and it was so lofty that it was not possible to touch the -ceiling even with a fan. It was greater in length than in breadth, -closed in front, but on the other three sides there were three very -light yellow curtains, through which the light came with dazzling -brightness. The floor was of cedar-wood covered with orange silk. -Within it a lighted lamp struggled with the daylight and its ever -changing shadows. Here Queen Berenice reclined between two Persian -slaves who gently fanned her with fans of peacock’s feathers. - -She invited the young sculptor to her side with a look and repeated-- - -“Beloved, I am pleased.” She put her hand upon his cheek. - -“I was seeking you, beloved. Where have you been? I have not seen you -since the day before yesterday. If I had not met you I should have -shortly died of grief. Alone in this great litter I was very dull. When -passing over the bridge of Hêrmes I threw all my jewels into the water -to make rings. You can see that I have neither rings nor necklaces now. -I am like a little pauper at your feet.” - -She turned to him and kissed him upon the lips. The two fan-bearers -withdrew a little further, and when Queen Berenice began to speak in -a low voice they put their fingers in their ears to pretend that they -were not listening. - -But Demetrios did not reply, for he hardly heard her and was quite -deranged. He could only see the young Queen’s smile on her red lips, -and the black cushion of her hair which was always loosely arranged to -serve as a pillow for her weary head. - -She said-- - -“Beloved, I have wept during the night. My bed was cold. When I -awakened, I stretched out my naked arms on each side of my body and I -did not touch you, nor could my hand find this hand of yours I am now -embracing. I expected you in the morning and since the full moon you -have not come. I sent my slaves into every quarter of the city and I -condemned them to death when they returned without you. Where have you -been? Were you at the Temple? You were not in the gardens with the -foreign women? No, I can see from your eyes that you were not. Then -what were you doing so long away from me? Were you before the statue? -Yes, I am sure you were there. You love it more now than you love me. -It is very like me, it has my eyes, my mouth, my breasts; but that is -what you seek. As for me I am poor and forlorn. You are weary of me and -I can see it clearly. You think of your marble and your ugly statues as -if I were not more beautiful than all of them, as well as being alive, -loving, good, ready to give all that you will accept and resigned to -your refusals. But you will have nothing. You would not be king, you -would not be a god and worshipped in a temple of your own. You will -hardly, even, consent to love me now.” - -She withdrew her feet beneath her and leant upon her hand. - -“I would do anything in the world to see you at the palace, beloved. -If you no longer desire me tell me who attracts you and she shall be -my friend. The women of my court are beautiful. I have twelve who -from their birth have been kept in my gynæceum and are ignorant that -men exist. They shall all be your mistresses if you come and see me -after them. Others I have with me who have had more lovers than the -sacred courtesans and are expert in love. Say one word. I have, too, a -thousand foreign slaves: those you desire shall be given to you. I will -dress them like myself, in yellow silk, gold and silver. - -“No, you are the handsomest and coldest of men. You love no one, -you lend yourself simply out of charity for those whom your eyes -have filled with love. You allow me to obtain my happiness from your -presence, but only in the way a beast allows itself to be led, looking -elsewhere. You are full of condescension. Ye Gods! Ye Gods! I shall -end by separating from you, young coxcomb whom all the city adores -and no one can make weep. I have others besides women at the palace. -I have strong Ethiopians who have chests of bronze and arms knotted -with muscles. I shall soon forget you. But the day I am sure that your -absence no longer makes me suffer, that I have replaced you, I will -send you from the top of the bridge of Hêrmes to join my necklaces and -rings like a jewel I have worn too long. Ah! what it is to be a queen!” - -She raised herself and seemed to be waiting for an answer. But -Demetrios still remained impassible and made no more movement than if -he had not heard. - -“Do you not understand?” - -He nonchalantly leant upon his elbow as he said in a very unconcerned -way-- - -“I have just had an idea for a story. - -“Long ago before Thrace was conquered by your father’s ancestors it was -overrun by wild animals and a few timid men dwelt there as well. - -“The animals were very fine; there were lions red as the sun, tigers -streaked like the evening and bears black as night. - -“The men were small and flat-nosed, clad in old hairless skins, and -armed with big spears and clumsy bows. They hid themselves in mountain -caves, behind huge blocks of stone which they moved with the greatest -difficulty. Their life was spent in hunting. There was blood in the -forests. - -“The land was so mournful that the Gods had deserted it. When at the -break of day Artemis left Olympus his path was never towards the north. -The wars there never disturbed Ares. The absence of flutes and citharas -turned away Apollo from it. The triple Hecate shone there alone like -the face of a Medusa upon a petrified land. - -“Now a man came there to dwell; a man of a more fortunate race, who did -not walk about clad in skins like the savages in the mountains. - -“He wore a long white robe which trailed behind him a little. Through -the beautiful glades of the forest he loved to wander at night in the -moonlight holding in his hand a little lute with three silver strings. - -“When his fingers touched the strings delightful music came from them, -music sweeter than the sound of the springs or the whispers of the wind -in the trees or the noise of grass shaken by the wind. The first time -he began to play three sleeping tigers awakened, and so charmed were -they that they did him no injury but came as near as possible to him -while he was playing and afterwards withdrew. The next day still more -animals came to listen, wolves, hyænas and serpents upright upon their -tails. - -“After a very short time the animals themselves came and asked him to -play to them. It often happened that a bear came to him alone and went -away satisfied with three marvellous chords. In return for his kindness -the beasts gave him his food and protected him against men. - -“But he wearied of this fastidious life. He became so sure of his -genius and of the pleasure he gave the beasts that he no longer -troubled to play well. The animals were always satisfied as long as he -played to them. Soon he even refused to give them this pleasure, and -through idleness ceased to play to them at all. The whole of the forest -was sad, but the morsels of food and tasty fruits did not cease to be -brought to the musician’s door. They continued to feed him and loved -him all the more. After this fashion are the hearts of animals made. - -“Now one day while he was leaning at his open door and watching the sun -sink behind the motionless trees a lioness passed near him. He made a -movement as if to go inside as if he expected a request which would -displease him. The lioness took no notice of him and quietly passed on. - -“Then he asked her in surprise: ’Why do you not ask me to play?’ She -replied that she did not care for it. He said: ’Do you not know me?’ -She replied: ’You are Orpheus.’ He went on; ’And you do not desire to -hear me?’ She repeated: ’I do not.’ ’Oh!’ he cried, ’Oh! how greatly I -am to be pitied! It is to you alone I always wished to play. You are -much more beautiful than the others and you would understand so much -better! If you will only listen to me for one hour, I will procure -for you everything you have ever desired to possess.’ She replied: ’I -order you to steal the fresh food belonging to the men of the plains. -I command you to assassinate the first one you meet. I command you to -steal the victims they have offered to their Gods and lay them at my -feet.’ He thanked her for not demanding more and did as she required. - -“For an hour he played to her; but afterwards he broke his lute and -lived as if he were dead.” - -The Queen sighed. - -“I never understand allegories. Explain it to me, beloved. What does it -mean?” - -He rose. - -“I did not tell it for you to understand. I told you a story to calm -you a little. Now it is late. Adieu, Berenice.” - -She began to weep. - -“I was sure of it! I was sure of it!” - -He laid her like a child upon her soft bed of silky stuffs; with a -smile placed a kiss upon her tearful eyes then calmly descended the -steps of the great litter. - - - - -THE ARTIST TRIUMPHANT - - - - - _TRANSLATOR’S NOTE_ - _TO_ - _THE ARTIST TRIUMPHANT_ - - -_Parrhasius, the great painter, son of Evenor of Ephesus, lived -about four hundred years before Christ. He was a mighty master of -his profession, and particularly excelled in strongly expressing the -violent passions. He was blessed with wondrous genius and invention, -and was particularly happy in his designs. He acquired great reputation -by his pieces, but by none more than that in which he allegorically -represented the people of Athens with all the injustice, the clemency, -the fickleness, timidity, the arrogance and inconsistency which so -eminently characterized that amazing nation. He once entered the lists -against Zeuxis, and when they had produced their respective pieces, -the birds came to pick, with the greatest avidity, the grapes which -Zeuxis had painted. Parrhasius immediately exhibited his piece, and -Zeuxis said, “Remove your curtain, that we may see the painting.” The -curtain was the painting. Zeuxis acknowledged himself conquered by -exclaiming, “Zeuxis has deceived birds, but Parrhasius has deceived -Zeuxis himself.” Parrhasius grew so vain of his art, that he clothed -himself in purple and wore a crown of gold, calling himself the king of -painters. He was lavish in his own praises, but by his vanity too often -exposed himself to the ridicule of his enemies._ - - G. F. M. - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -In the green gardens of white Ephesus we were two young learners, or -apprentices, with the aged Bryaxis, the sculptor. He was sitting upon -a seat made of stone as pallid as his face. He did not speak, but -lightly struck the earth with the end of his staff. Out of respect for -his great age and his greater glory we stood patiently before him. -Our backs leaned against two dark cypress trees. We did not talk, but -eagerly listened for him to speak. Motionless we studied him with -homage of which he appeared to be conscious. We knew that he had -survived all those whom we had longed to know. We loved him to reveal -his spirit to us, for we were simple-hearted children, born too late -to have heard the voices of heroes. We sought to trace the almost -invisible bonds that united him to his striking, astonishing lifework. -That brow had conceived, that hand had helped to model a frieze and -twelve figures for the tomb of Mausolus, the King of Caria, whose tomb -was a wonder of the world: the five Colossi erected in front of the -town of Rhodes, the Bull of Pasiphæ, that made women dream strange -dreams, the formidable Apollo of bronze, and the Seleucus Triumphant. -The more I contemplated their author, the more it seemed to me that the -Gods must have fashioned with their own hands this sculptor, in order -that he might be the means of revealing them to men! - -All at once a rush of feet, a whistle, and a cry of a gay heart; the -young Ophelion bounded among us. - -“Bryaxis,” cried he, “hear what all the city knows already. If I am the -first to tell thee I will make an offering to Artemis. But first let -us make our salute: I had forgot.” He now looked towards us, as if to -say, “Prepare yourselves well for what I am about to tell you.” Then he -began thus: “You know, revered one, that Clesides painted the portrait -of the Queen?” - -“People have spoken about it to me.” - -“But the end of the story ... has that also been told to you?” - -“Is there indeed a story then to tell?” - -“Is there a story?... You are ignorant of it all! Listen. Clesides -came expressly from Athens. They took him to the Palace. The Queen was -not yet ready; she permitted herself to be late. Finally she presented -herself, scarcely saluting her artist, and then posed--if one could -call it posing. It now seems that she continually moved, under the -pretext that Love had given her a cramp. Clesides drew in a very bad -humour, as you may imagine. His rough sketch was not even finished, -and lo! the Queen wishes to pose for her back....” - -“Without a reason?” - -“For the reason that--so she said--her back was as perfect as the -rest of her body, and must appear in the picture. Clesides might well -protest that he was a painter and not a sculptor, that one does not -turn a picture to see its back; that one cannot draw a woman seen from -every side upon the one flat plane of a picture.... The Queen merely -responded that it was her will; that the laws of art were not her laws; -that she had seen the portrait of her sister as Persephone, of her -mother as Demeter; and that she, Queen Stratonice, by her sole self, -wished to pose for the ’Three Graces.’” - -“That was not such a stupid idea of hers.” - -Our comrade appeared to take umbrage at this remark. - -“Supposing that Clesides had replied, ’No’? He was free to do so, one -would think. It is not the custom to give orders to the artist. Such a -thing as that we could _not_ support. Never would her father Demetrius -have done such a thing. Why, when he laid siege to Rhodes, where at the -time Protogenes was at work, Demetrius refused to fire that part of the -city where the sculptor worked.” - -“I know that story. Continue,” said Bryaxis. - -“Very well; I will be short with it. Clesides was very angry, but did -not show it. He finished his study of the back, and the Queen rose, -asking him to return on the morrow; he accepted, and left. Very good. -On the morrow what awaited him? A servant, saying that the Queen -Stratonice was fatigued, and would not pose any more. The servant was -to pose for her until the portrait was finished. _That_ was what the -Queen had desired!” - -We shook with mirth, and Bryaxis joined us therein. - -Ophelion then continued gaily-- - -“The slave was not badly made. Clesides gave her the same reason to be -cramped that her mistress had, and then said in a dry way that he did -not want her any more, and took himself and his drawings home.” - -“He certainly did right that time,” I said. “The Queen was merely -mocking him all the while.” - -“Well, on the way home, as he passed near the port, he saw a mariner -whom some one had told him the Queen had given herself to--though there -was no proof of it. The man was Glaucon--you know him well by sight. -Clesides got the fellow to come home with him, and pose for four days. -At the end of that time he had finished painting two scandalous little -pictures, representing the Queen in the arms of the sailor, firstly -facing the beholder, and then with the back showing. These pictures -he fastened at night to the wall of the Palace of Seleucus. He then -doubtless fled, after this public vengeance, on some vessel, for there -is said to be no trace of him. The Queen knows of it already, and if -she is furious at heart she hides it marvellously. - -“During the whole of the morning an enormous crowd defiled before -these scandalous paintings. Stratonice was told of it, and desired -to see them herself. Accompanied by twenty-five people of her court, -she stopped before the two subjects, approaching and then retreating -as though the better to judge of their artistic or truthful aspect in -detail and in general. I was there, and as I followed her glances with -a feeling of horror, wondering whom she was going to slay when her -anger reached its highest point, she said: “I do not know which is the -best; both are excellent!” - - * * * * * - -Bryaxis, in the midst of our exultation, lifted merely his eyebrows, -and so gave to his face the fine old lines that denoted surprise. - -“She proved that she is not less witty than impudent,” said he. “The -whole story is very curious; but why do you seem to be so proud of or -pleased with its hero? It seems to me that the part played by the model -is a very important one.” - -“If the Queen had dared,” said Ophelion, “she would have pursued -Clesides even to the far-off seas, and there have had him killed as one -might kill a dog. But then, through all the violet land of Greece she -would have been considered none other than a barbarian woman--she who -wishes to be thought a thorough Athenian. Stratonice holds Asia in her -hand as though it were a fly, and she has drawn back before a man who -has for weapon only a tablet and stylus.... Hereafter the Artist is the -king of kings, the sole inviolable being living under the sun. Now you -see why it is that we are so proud!” - -The elder man made a very disdainful movement of the mouth. - -“Thou art young,” he replied. “In my time we said the same thing, and -perhaps with greater reason. When Alexander timidly tried to explain -why such and such a picture seemed to be fine, my friend Apelles caused -him to be silent by saying that he was making the boys laugh who ground -up the colours; and Alexander made his excuses! Ah, well! I do not -believe that such tales really repay one for telling them. Whatever -may be the attitude--the respect or arrogance--of the King towards -contemporary painters, the pictures are not any the better, or any the -worse, for it all. It is a matter of indifference. On the other hand, -it may be good, and even noble, for an artist to dare and to be able to -put himself _not_ above the King marching with an army near the walls -of his home, but above all human laws, or even divine laws, when the -Muses, his inspiring spirits, sway him.” - -Bryaxis was now standing. We murmured in wonder-- - -“But who has done that? Of whom do you speak?” - -“None, perhaps,” came the answer of the older man, and there was in his -eyes the hazy look of the dreamer, “unless the great Parrhasius.... Did -he do wisely, I wonder? I used to believe so, but to-day I doubt and -know not what to think about it.” - -Ophelion flung me an astonished look, but I could not enlighten him in -any way as to the meaning behind the words of the aged artist. - -“We do not understand you, Bryaxis,” he said. - -He hinted, to put us upon the right way, “The Prometheus of Parrhasius.” - -“Yes; what can you tell us of that?” - -“Do you not know how Parrhasius painted the Prometheus of the -Acropolis?” - -“No. We have not been told how it was done.” - -“You do not know of that amazing scene--the deathly tragedy and alarums -from whence that picture emerged, bloodstained?” - -“Speak. Tell us all the scene; we know nought of it.” - -For an instant Bryaxis let his regards rest upon our young faces, as -if he hesitated to burden our spirits with such a memory. Then he said -with decision-- - -“Very good. I will tell you all.” - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -That which I am going to relate to you took place in the year in which -Plato died. I was then in Halicarnassus engaged upon my part of the -labour that was to produce at last the great tomb of King Mausolus the -Long-haired. It was a thankless task if ever there was one. Scopas, -who directed all of us, had decided to decorate the whole of the -eastern front of the monument himself, so that from the early morning -sunrise when they made the sacrifices the marbles of our master were -resplendent in the full light and, truly, people saw little of the -other work. - -To his comrade of the chisel, Timotheus, he had given the lateral face -of the monument, south; less interesting and more extended. Leochares -was entrusted with the western front. As for me, I had taken that side -others had not wished for--the northern, an enormous piece of work -perpetually in the shadow. - -(Pithis was also employed in raising a pyramid over this stately -monument and the top was adorned by a chariot harnessed to four horses. -The expenses of this edifice were immense, and this gave an occasion to -the philosopher Anaxagoras to exclaim when he saw it: “How much money -changed into stones!”) - -During five years I sculptured Victories and Amazons that looked, in -the sun, like living women; but each time it became necessary for me -to fix one for ever in the shadow of the monument it seemed to me that -the look of life died out of the stone form, and then my tears came. At -last my task came to an end. I occupied myself with preparations for -returning into Attica. In that year, as to-day, the Ægean Sea was not -very safe. War everywhere and strife between one city and another. -Athens besides was vanquished. The day upon which I wished to take my -departure I could not find a ship-master, or owner of a privateer, who -had any desire to go to the Piræus. The people of Caria, good dealers, -turned towards the vanquisher, and from the time that the taking of -Olynthus had let Chalcis fall into the hands of the Macedonians, all -the merchants of Halicarnassus filled out their sails for Eubœa in -order to sell there silken robes of Cos to the courtesans of Cnidus, -where Venus was the chief deity. - -I also departed for Chalcis. The voyage by sea was unpleasant to me. -I was not treated well even in the little corner of the vessel that I -professed to be satisfied with. My name in those days had not the same -sound and fame as it has to-day and the great monument to Mausolus was -too new and too near to men’s minds. The other voyagers upon the ship -contented themselves with knowing that I was a citizen of Athens. That -quite sufficed and they mocked, for Athens then was an unfortunate -city. One morning when the sun was high we landed at Chalcis in the -midst of an immense crowd in which I lost myself, and with pleasure. -In questioning some one I learnt that there was outside the gates an -extraordinary market. Philip, at the fall of Olynthus after having -destroyed the city had led into captivity and slavery the whole of the -population. - -There were about forty-five thousand people. The slave-market to -dispose of these had been on about two days and might last for three -months. Also the city was thronged, full of strangers--purchasers and -people suffering from curiosity. My interlocutor who was a dealer in -wines did not complain, but he confided to me that his neighbour who -sold slaves as a rule very dear was ruined. I heard the tavern-keeper -say with many gestures: “Consider, a Thracian of twenty years of age -one knows what he is worth, by all the Gods. When one has bought twelve -to cultivate land one counts twelve bags of gold. Now mark the price, -it has fallen to fifty drachmas. Judge of the others by that only. Such -a thing has never been heard of. There are three thousand virgins for -sale. They will go for twenty-five drachmas apiece, and please do not -think that I speak rashly on the subject. Perhaps a few drachmas more -may be got for those of the whitest skins. Ah! Philip is a great king -indeed!” - -This man wearied me and I separated from him and followed the multitude -beyond the open gates of the city to the vast stretch of country where -the Olynthians were camped. With great pains I wore myself a way -through the many groups in movement. Suddenly I saw pass near me a -procession that was extravagant and majestical. Before it the crowds -parted to left and right. - -Six Sarmatian slaves advanced in pairs, armed. Behind them a little -Ethiopian held horizontally a long cross of cedar decorated with gold. -It was the stick of the Master. Finally, gigantic and heavy, crowned -with flowers, the beard impregnated with perfumes and clad in an -enormous purple robe, I saw Parrhasius himself. He walked as though he -scorned and spurned the earth beneath his feet. Each arm was around the -shoulders of a beautiful girl. He was like the Indian Bacchus. - -His eyes fell upon me and he said-- - -“If you are not Bryaxis who gave you permission to bear his face?” - -“And you. If you are not the son of Semele who has given you that -Dionysiac stature and that robe of purple woven by the Graces of Naxos?” - -He then smiled upon me, and without lifting his arms away from their -charming supports he seized and shook my hand, pressing it against the -bared breast of one of his companions. - -“Chariclo,”--this to the young girl upon his right,--“take an arm of my -friend and let us continue our promenade. Soon the sun will become too -fierce to be pleasant.” - -We therefore as he wished went on enlaced. Parrhasius walked with -a grand heavy balancing of the body, measured and pompous as an -hexameter, the little steps of the women were as a dactyl. In a few -words he inquired of my works and my life. At each of my responses he -said with vivid words, “Yes. I understand perfectly.” He wished to cut -short any lengthy speech. Then he began to speak of himself. - -“Clearly understand that I have taken you under my protection,” said -he. “For not one citizen of Athens, save myself alone, is out of danger -when near the Macedonian. If the least little trouble had brought you -before their Court of Justice I would not have given two copper coins -for the value of your liberty. But now, maintain a tranquil mind.” - -“I am not,” I responded, “of a fearsome nature, but here in the shadow -of your mighty name----” - -“Yes,” said Parrhasius. “When Philip knew that I was going to honour -his new city he sent forward upon my route an officer of the palace. -This man brought me royal presents, among others the six colossal men -slaves and the two beautiful girls that you have seen. That is to say -Force to open my path before me and Beauty to grace my person.” - -“Girls of Macedonia?” I questioned. - -“Macedonians of Rhodes,” came the laughing answer. - -And then Parrhasius with a generous gesture of gift said-- - -“They shall both brighten your bed this night. As for me I have others -left with my valuables. But you are alone, friend. Accept these rosy -flowers of flesh from my hands. Their bright youthful skins will be -strikingly beautiful contrasted with a couch of sombre purple....” - -We approached the great market. He stopped and regarded me. - -“Indeed, you do not even ask me what it is that I come here to seek!” - -“I would not dare.” - -“Can you divine it?” - -“No; certainly not. I do not think you can want slaves, for Philip -gives you his own. Nor girls, since as you say....” - -“I have come from Athens to Chalcis to find a model, my friend. Now you -seem to be surprised.” - -“A model for you. Are there not any then between the Academe and the -Piræus?” - -“Yes: about half a million--for me,” he said majestically. “All Athens. -And yet I seek a model at the sale of the Olythians. You shall hear -why, and you will comprehend.” - -Here he drew himself up proudly-- - -“I shall make a Prometheus.” - -In saying this his face expressed the horror that the subject of -Prometheus would have. - -“There is a Prometheus (of some sort or the other) under every portico, -as you know. Timagoras made and sold one; Apollodorus has attempted -another. Zeuxis has believed that he has the power to ... but why bring -back to our memory so much piteous painting. _The_ Prometheus has never -yet been given to the world.” - -“That I fully believe,” I replied to the Master. - -“They have represented peasants naked and attached to rocks made of -wood. Their faces were distorted by a grimace of some sort, a mere -face-ache. But, Prometheus the forger of fire, and creator of the man -and his struggle with the eagle-god.... Ah! No one has yet created -that, Bryaxis. Such a Prometheus, one of the greatest grandeur, I see -as plainly before me, created by my brain, as I see your face. That -is the type of Prometheus that I wish to nail to the walls of the -Parthenon.” - -Saying that he quitted the support of his girl companion, took his wand -of wood and gold, and traced great waves of outline in the air. - -“For two months I have worked upon my great scheme. I have found -splendid rocks in the domain of Crates, at the Promontory of Astypolus. -All these studies were finished, the foundation of my picture ready, -the line of the figure in its place. All at once I find my way barred -before me. I fail to find a head. If it was merely a question of a -Hêrmes, an Apollo or Pan, all the citizens of Athens would be proud to -pose before me. But to take for model a man whose face is shining with -genius and to tie, or bind, him by the ankles, the hands, no, you can -see that is not possible. One cannot dislocate his limbs like the limbs -of a slave. We lack slaves who have the heads of freeborn Greeks. Ah, -well, Philip brings us some like that, and I come to buy where Philip -comes to sell.” - -I shuddered. - -“An Olynthian. One of the vanquished. But where do you intend to finish -this picture?” - -“At Athens.” - -“Upon the soil of Athens your slave will be free.” - -“He will be--when I wish it, and not before.” - -“But then, if you treat your captive so, have you no fear whatever of -what the laws will say?” - -“The laws?” questioned Parrhasius with a smile. “The laws are in the -hollow of my hand, even as are the folds of this mantle that I now -throw over my shoulder, behind me!” - -And with a magnificent movement he seemed at the same time to enwrap -himself with purple and with the sun. - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -The market for the sale of the Olynthians now stretched before us. -As far as one could see, and forming in a straight line six large -parallel ways, platforms of planks were erected upon tressels at a -height of about a yard from the ground. The population of an entire -city was there exposed before the population of another city: the one -as merchandise, the other as purchaser. Twenty-five thousand men, women -and children, their hands bound behind the back, the ankles shackled -with loose cords, waited, for the most part standing--waited the -unknown master who was yet to come, purchase, and lead them to some, -to them, unknown place on Grecian soil. One soldier guarded forty; -servants in crowds circulated with the bread and water needed for -the sustenance of such a host of slaves. A great and murmurous noise -perpetually ascended to the sky. It was like the sound of a great feast. - -Parrhasius penetrated into the principal “street” of slaves, where were -exposed for sale young men and young girls who appeared for one reason -or another to be of the sort that would command a high price. To my -great astonishment I did not catch in their eyes any great expression -of sadness. They seemed merely curious. Human sadness and misery, for -youth that is, has its certain measure, and they saw their sorrows were -about to pass or be moderated by the care of a master. From the time of -the ruin of their homes these beautiful beings had experienced to the -full all that could give days and nights of despair. The young men no -doubt had regained hope of their future escape: the young girls perhaps -dreamed of a love that might partly release them. By bravado or by -sheer ignorance of the fate in store they all showed a certain good -humour. The crowd pressed around them, examining and uncertain before -making a purchase. Few could have decided quickly in the midst of such -a vast choice. Often they handled the slaves. Hands tested the muscles -of a leg, the delicacy of a skin, the firmness of a breast. Then the -intending purchasers passed on hoping to find better bargains. - -Parrhasius halted an instant before a girl whose tall white form was a -harmony of lines. - -“Behold,” he said, “this is a beautiful child.” - -A seller at once came forward and cried-- - -“She is the most beautiful one offered for sale, my lord. See how -straight she is and white. Sixteen years old yesterday.” - -“Eighteen years,” rectified the young girl. - -“You lie, by Zeus! She is but sixteen years, my lord; do not credit -her when she says otherwise. Look at her black locks lifted up by this -comb. When she uncoils her hair it falls to the knees. Look at her -long white fingers, untouched by any labour. She is the daughter of a -senator.” - -“Speak not of my father,” said the girl gravely. - -“She is beautiful as a water-nymph, supple as a sword, and a virgin--as -at her birth.” - -The man disrobed her with cynical hands, but Parrhasius struck the -earth with his stick, and muttered-- - -“Virgin, you say? I care not whether she be a virgin or not, but merely -whether she be beautiful enough. Take away her shackles, that she may -robe herself properly. I will purchase her. What is her name?” - -“Artemidora,” said she. - -“Ah, good. Then know, Artemidora, that you are for the future in the -suite of Parrhasius.” - -She opened her great eyes wide, hesitated charmingly, and then said-- - -“You are the Parrhasius who....” - -“Yes, I am Parrhasius,” came the reply. - -Then, handing her to the care of his guard, he again walked on. -Presently he deigned to explain to me-- - -“Bound to the Caucausus that young girl would look charming! -Nevertheless, she will not be my Prometheus. She will serve me as model -for certain little erotic pictures with which I ease my toils during -hours of leisure--pictures that are not, however, the least noble part -of my lifework.” - -We walked on. The crowd had greatly increased. The sun became more -terrible in the midst of that vast plain, without a shadow, and in the -midst of a great and mixed concourse of people. - -Artemidora was dressed in a white tunic, girdle, and veil. She often -turned to look at us, and it seemed to me that when properly robed she -seemed to be another person. Her face acquired another expression, and -she seemed anxious to glean from one of us which was to be the man -she was fated to surrender to. Already we had been through half the -principal street when Parrhasius stopped, and said-- - -“No. That for which I seek is not here. The youth of the body and the -beauty of the face are not found together. I have more chance, I think, -of finding my man among slaves of the second class.” - -Scarcely had we gone three more paces when he extended his hand, and -cried out, “Behold him!” - -I drew near and gazed with curiosity. The man whom he pointed to -was about fifty years of age. Of a fine, tall figure and excellent -proportions, he had a large face; the arch of the brows was powerful -and muscular, the nose and ears were correctly modelled, hair grey, but -beard brown and brindled. The strong muscles of the neck formed a sort -of pedestal to his fine head, and gave it a pose of authority. - -Parrhasius questioned him. “What do you call yourself?” - -“Outis.” - -“I do not ask you for anything, my brave man, but the name that you -received from your father.” - -“For a month past I have called myself Outis. If I have ever borne -another, older name it does not please me to tell you.” - -“Why not?” - -“It does not please me to tell you why, Son of a Dog.” - -Parrhasius became maddened with anger. The seller of the slaves, -alarmed, advanced with suppliant arms. - -“Do not listen to him, my lord. He speaks as one who has lost his -senses. It is pure malice on his part, for he has more brain-power than -I have. He is a physician. For science and cleverness he had not his -equal in all Olynthus. I say what all the world would repeat, for he -was celebrated even in Macedon. People have told me that during thirty -years he has cured more Olynthians than we were able to kill when we -took their city. This will be a precious slave when he is chained and -has felt the rod. He plays the insolent, but he will change his tone, -as all the others will or have done. Then, if you lead him away with -you, Death will not come to you till your hundredth winter! Give me -thirty drachmas, and this Nicostratus will be your thing for ever.” - -“Nicostratus,” repeated Parrhasius to me; “as a poet I know one of that -name. My indifference is total towards the science of medicine.” - -Turning towards the seller he ordered-- - -“Remove his clothes.” - -Nicostratus let this be done, powerless and yet disdainful. Parrhasius -continued to command that the captive take up first one position and -then another. At last the bargain was struck. Parrhasius then said, -“Superb!” - -But I did not reply, for I felt almost envious. - -Fifty years have passed--the space of a human life. I have seen -hundreds and hundreds of models, but never one worthy to be compared -with that Nicostratus the Olynthian. He was the Statue of the Man in -all his grandeur at the full age of force and power. I never had him as -a model for anything of mine; the unfortunate being only posed once, -and you shall learn how. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -I returned upon horseback to my own place going through Attica. During -my five years of absence creditors had sold the few poor goods I -possessed, and I put up very simply at a hostelry of Athens for many -weeks. Parrhasius followed after an interval of a few days. Hearing of -my modest lodging, he at once offered me hospitality. I went to him at -once to thank him and decline. He then lived near the Academy, in a -palace of marble and metal, near to the little house that Plato lived -in. - -The gardens extended to the river, and the house was surrounded by much -pomp of trees. - -By some feebleness of the intellect that is difficult to understand -in a man of such strength and value, Parrhasius positively adored -ostentation and every show of wealth. His fortune was immense, and he -did not permit any one to think otherwise. With marble, silk, gold, -and beauteous women, his abode had the air of a palace of Artaxerxes. -He greeted me upon the threshold of the chamber that served him for a -studio. Standing robed in red silk and crowned like an Olympian god, -he opened his large arms to me. I then penetrated by his side into the -famous salon that had been the matrix of so many masterpieces. - -“My Prometheus?” he said, in answer to my question. “No; I am yet -meditating upon that. In a few days I shall see it all clearer. Come; -look at this little thing. It is wonderful. I have never done a more -beautiful thing.” - -It was a picture of a sleeping nymph and two satyrs. I saw, near, the -lovely Artemidora and two of the Sarmatians, and at once divined that -they had posed for the picture. - -He ordered the pose to be again taken, and continued the painting -before me. - - - - -CHAPTER V - - -I remained an entire month at Athens, occupied with my own personal -affairs; and these did not allow me time to return to the house of -the great painter. Athens was truly in mourning since the fall of the -Olynthians. The slave-market at Chalcis, the sale of a people, such a -scandal and insult was the subject on all tongues, and the dream of all -those who were silent. - -One day it was known that in Athens a citizen held captive an Olynthian -woman. The citizen was condemned and executed. - -Alarmed, I hastened to Parrhasius, and my entreaties gained me -admission to him.... Never shall I forget the regard, slow and grave, -with which Parrhasius greeted me when I entered. He was standing, -painting. Then, following his further glances, I saw, nude and bound -to an actual rock, Nicostratus the Olynthian. - -“Cry out!” shouted Parrhasius to him; and his awesome captive did, -cursing, foaming, and raging. - -The face of Parrhasius did not alter one line. He said to a Sarmatian -slave: “Upon his right; touch lightly, without penetrating.” -Nicostratus saw the man advance, and soon his eyes swooned and a sweat -of agony came to his temples. Moans came to the lips; then a sob, -like that of a child. Parrhasius, impassible, studied the face; then -suddenly cried out: “The imbecile! He has died too soon.” - - * * * * * - -When it was known how Parrhasius had painted his Prometheus the people -stormed his house, crying out for death to the murderer. At last -Parrhasius appeared in all his pomp and faced the crowd and all its -cries. Then, slowly lifting his painting, as though offering something -sacrosanct, he showed the Athenian people the Prometheus. - -An awesome shudder of amazement, of wonderment at its highest, came to -the populace who saw the great picture--the picture of human anguish -and final defeat by death. The summit, the uttermost, of tragic -grandeur seemed to be unveiled there for the first time.... Silence, -as of a temple, held the people for a time; then some hostile cries -broke out afresh. But they were futile, and died, lost in the splendid -thunder of glory. - - - - -THE HILL OF HORSEL - - - - -In the month of August eighteen ninety-one, shortly after I had heard, -at Bayreuth, _Tannhäuser_, _Tristan_ and _Parsifal_, for the ninth -time, I spent a fortnight in the verdant Marienthal near the ancient -city of Essenach. - -The room I occupied looked out on the west upon the lofty Wartburg, and -on the east upon Mount Horsel, that peak which used to be called by -priests and poets the Venusberg. The star of Wolfram appeared in the -bright sky of this land of Wagner. - -I was then so prone to sun that after leaning my elbows once upon the -sill of the western window before Luther’s towers I determined never to -return there even in my dreams. The Venusberg attracted me to it. - -Alone, among all the neighbouring peaks which with their coverings of -black firs or fertile meadows formed a garment for the earth, the -Venusberg was bare and like a woman’s swelling breast. Sometimes the -rosy dawn cast purple flesh-like tints upon it. It palpitated; truly at -certain hours of the evening it seemed to live, and then it appeared -as if Thuringia, like a divinity reclining in a green and black tunic, -allowed the blood of her desires to mount to the summit of her bare -breast. - -Throughout the long evenings of each day I watched the transfiguration -of the hill of Venus. I gazed at it from afar. I did not approach it. -It pleased me not to believe in its natural existence, for exquisite -is the pleasure of simplifying realities into the pure aspect of their -symbols, and remaining at such a distance that the eye is not forced -to see things as they are. I was afraid that once for all the illusion -would vanish never to return on the day when I set my foot upon the -mountain itself. - -Yet one morning I started. At first I followed the Gotha Road, which -is intersected by bridges and streams overgrown with verdure; then a -path through the fields. I had not lifted my eyes from the meadows when -three hours later I reached the end of it. Then I looked before me. - -Seen from near at hand, Mount Horsel was bare and reddish, without -earth, verdure, or water upon it; it appeared to be burned up by an -internal fire as if the legendary curse continued to arrest at its base -all the fresh vegetation which gave life to the other mountains. The -path I followed was made of stones and dead lichen, and was sometimes -quite indistinct amid a stony desert, while at other times it was -narrowly enclosed between high and rusty rocks. It ascended to the -summit, where a little grey house had been built with thick walls to -stand against the violence of the wind. - -I entered the house and discovered that I could lunch there. Lunch -upon the Venusberg! That would be the last step to my disenchantment. -I accepted the idea, to my shame, willingly enough, for in spite of -everything I was hungry. - -The two daughters of the inn-keeper, who was absent, served me upon -a little table a Wiener Schnitzl, which was perhaps more Saxon than -Austrian, and a bottle of Niersteiner. This was reality indeed. The -clean, light dining-room, the white curtains at the windows, the -freshly-cleaned floor, a light bedroom visible through an open door, -all succeeded in convincing me that I was not lunching with magicians, -as for a moment, alas! I had hoped. The two young girls were two good -spirits who would take no part in the damnation of the country. - -It is true that at the conclusion of the meal the elder discreetly -retired and the younger one gave me a smile of invitation which proved -her natural goodness; but at German inns the servants hardly fix any -precise limits to the kindness they bestow upon young travellers, and -that fact does not generally mean that they have made a compact with a -goddess of darkness. - -We talked. She was obliging enough to understand my German, though I -spoke it something like a negro from the Cameroons. I asked her for -some topographical information of the country. She gave it to me with a -very good grace. - -“Don’t forget,” she said, “to visit the grotto.” - -“What grotto?” - -“The Venushoehle.” - -“Is there a grotto of Venus?” - -“Yes! that is its name; I don’t know why; you must not go down the -mountain without seeing it.” - -Uneasy and almost jealous, I wanted to know whether many strangers came -to see this grotto, whose name alone had made me quiver. - -The young girl sadly replied-- - -“No one! You see the mountain is not lofty enough to tempt climbers, -and it is too high for walkers. Occasionally at very distant intervals -a sportsman from Essenach comes to lunch or to spend the night here; -but you are the first Frenchman I have seen since my birth.” - -“Which is the way to the grotto?” - -“Take the path to the left. You will get there in five minutes. Perhaps -you will find at the entrance a man seated upon a stone. Pay no -attention to what he says: he is mad.” - -So there was a grotto of Venus in the flanks of the Horselberg! But -then the country of Tannhäuser had retained the whole of its terrible -legend. - -The grotto of the Goddess was really there. And the man was there too. - -It was small, elliptical at the top, crowned with fine dark briars, -and appeared as the necessary symbol of the mountain, as another -justification of the old German tale still more striking than the -carnal aspect of the Venusberg on the horizon. The interior, into which -I gazed, was dark, narrow and low. Pools of water and dark recesses -made up its dark floor. It was difficult to enter without becoming -mud-stained, but some incomprehensible charm attracted me into the -humid darkness. - -“Where are you going?” the man said shortly. - -“To the bottom of the grotto.” - -“To the bottom of the grotto? But there is no bottom to it, sir. It is -the mouth of the earth.” - -“Good,” I said patiently. “I will not go far. I shall soon return.” - -His hollow cheeks grew purple. He hit his stick with his fist. - -“Ah! you will soon be back! Ha! ha! you think you can go in and out -of there at will. Do you think this grotto is a lift or a geological -curiosity? Are you a Cook’s tourist, or do you come from a natural -history museum? Have you come to write your name upon the rock, or to -gather stones for your collection? You think you are about to discover -here subterranean lakes, blind fish, architectural stalactites and -rocky arches covered with crystals! You are going to study the geology -of the Venushoehle. Ha! ha! that is admirable! Are you, too, a madman -like the others? You, also, do not understand. You then are not aware -that Venus is there in the flesh with millions of her nymphs around her -and they are more living than you are, since they are immortal.” - -“Sir,” I said, “I believe what you tell me; but you very much misjudge -me if you think that the presence of Venus will prevent me from -entering here.” - -“Hell!” he cried. - -“I should not be displeased to earn it as the price of her favours.” - -The madman made a gesture which evidently meant: “You do not -understand me at all.” Then he put his hands to his forehead and began -to speak. - -“Horselberg! or rather Hoelenberg, the Mountain of Hell! they come to -thee without being warned of thy eternal horrors, thou who waitest for -the pure, punishest the chaste, and will consume in eternity the wicked -misers of the flesh. They will have lived their lonely lives as rebels -to the great law divine, and they will not know thy atrocious burning -till the day when, by the power of the Sword, the Harbinger of Souls -will plunge them into the abyss. They have eyes and they see not, ears -have they and they hear not, they have mouths and they do not.... My -God, they are mad! mad! mad!” - -Suddenly turning to me he shouted-- - -“How can you think that the Venusberg can become a place of damnation -when it is hell itself.” - -I made a movement. - -“Alas!” he groaned. “Alas! My God!” (his hands fell from his eyes to -his beard) “Alas! shall I be the only living person to know the truth, -the truth, the truth. Will it be all in vain that the patriarchs -have placed Venus as the terrible antithesis of God, and will no one -understand that she is Satan? Is it all in vain that ancient tradition -has painted the satyrs with horns, black tail, goat’s legs and cloven -hoofs: will no one realize that they are demons? With regard to the -flames of hell, will no one in the world understand that they are -thousands of naked women dancing ...” (he struck the earth) “there -beneath our feet!” - -He shuddered. - -“Ever since man has thought, written and learned, he has said, repeated -and cried out that there is no worse torture than love. How is it he -has not foreseen that in the world of eternal torture that punishment -alone will be inflicted upon him! What other could he imagine more -terrible than it?” - -He then assumed a position as if he were gazing into the distance and -waved his hand. - -“Yes,” he said, “it is there ... it is there.... On the day when we -shall be nothing but rotting corpses and souls maddened by terror, -there we shall go in crowds, all of us, all sinners, to burn in -that horrible fire which is Lust. Every day and every hour we shall -experience desire, even to the extent of suffering, for more and more -beautiful women, and at the moment of possession we shall see them, as -on earth, vanish in smoke. But that which is here a spasm, a fear, a -cry, a sob,--which suffices to prepare the curse of a human life--will -be there a perpetual tremor, uninterrupted anguish, and the punishment -of years, of centuries and of centuries. Ah! God! such is the destiny -which awaits me.” - -His eyes became fixed upon a stone on the ground. Nodding his head he -went on in a strangely changed voice-- - -“I have lived an evil life, sir; this is the reason. I was born of -Protestant parents in the Mountain of Wartburg, that same one where -Luther, more than three centuries ago, taught his evil doctrine. I -spent my youth in piety, and led a noble and austere life. But from -my fourteenth year I could not look at a woman without being assailed -by terrible desire. I curbed it, after fierce struggles which left me -in the morning with a forehead bathed in sweat and trembling face. I -thought I could remain pure by living without love, mad that I was, -and blind to my own interests. To remain pure I would have killed -myself with my own hand before committing any sin. Those who have not -experienced nightly combats between religious duty and the frantic -desires of the body have not known sorrow. I struggled thus for a -shadow, and now I know that I struggled against God. And later I got -married, sir, but married only in the eyes of the world. The woman and -I had sworn only to unite our souls. That was how, little by little, -I was damned for my fault of lying every day to the law of life; and -afterwards there was not time for me to follow the path I had missed in -my youth. Ah! cursed be virgins! for the love they have repulsed during -their brief existence will justly be their punishment in their future -state.” - -He seized me by the arm. - -“Listen! The sun is sinking. Now is the time. Every evening I come -here, and sweetly the Goddess sings. She calls me from afar; she -attracts me. I come just as at the day of my death, at the day of my -fall into the Venushoehle. Ah! do not say a word. She is about to speak -to us.” - -I do not know whether it was these last few words, the man’s -expression, or the grasp of his hand which persuaded me that he was -speaking truly--but tremors ran through me and I listened. - -I expected, not as an accident, but with the absolute exactness of -prevision, the event predicted by the madman. - -I can only compare my state of mind to that of a traveller who, after -seeing the lightning, and knowing how far the storm is, waits for the -thunder. - -The time which separated me from the prodigy decreased first by a -quarter, then a half, then three-quarters, and at the precise moment -which I had anticipated as the end of my waiting, _a breath of perfumes -carried up to us the languishing echo of a ... Voice_! - - * * * * * - -Here ends the Book of Seven Stories by Pierre Louÿs. - -_Explicit Laus Veneris._ - - _Richard Clay & Sons, Limited, London and Bungay._ - - - - - * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber’s note: - -Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Other -variations in spelling and punctuation remain unchanged. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WOMAN AND PUPPET*** - - -******* This file should be named 51107-0.txt or 51107-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/1/1/0/51107 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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